The Roman martyrs : introduction, translations, and commentary / Michael Lapidge.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Lapidge, Michael, compiler, translations, contributor.

Contributor:

UPSO (University Press Scholarship Online)

Series:

Oxford early Christian studies

Language:

English

Latin

Subjects (All):

Christian martyrs--Early works to 1800.

Christian martyrs.

Christian martyrs--Italy--Rome--Legends.

Christian martyrs--Rome--History--Sources.

Martyrdom--Christianity--History.

Martyrdom.

Persecution--History--Early church, ca. 30-600.

Persecution.

History.

Persecution--Early church.

Martyrdom--Christianity.

Italy--Rome.

Genre:

Legends.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (xiii, 733 pages) : maps.

Edition:

First edition.

Place of Publication:

Oxford, United Kingdom ; New York : Oxford University Press, 2018.

Language Note:

Translated from the Latin.

System Details:

text file

Summary:

The Roman Martyrs contains translations of forty Latin passiones of saints who were martyred in Rome or its near environs, during the period before the 'peace of the Church' (c. 312). Some of the Roman martyrs are universally known-SS. Agnes, Sebastian or Laurence, for example-but others are scarcely recognized outside the ecclesiastical landscape of Rome itself. Each of the translated passiones is accompanied by an individual introduction and commentary; the translations are preceded by an Introduction which describes the principal features of this little-known genre of Christian literature, and are followed by five Appendices which present translated texts which are essential for understanding the cult of Roman martyrs. This volume offers the first collection of the Roman passiones martyrum translated into a modern language. They were mostly composed during the period 425 × 675, by anonymous authors who were presumably clerics of the Roman churches or cemeteries which housed the martyrs' remains. It is clear that they were composed in response to the explosion of pilgrim traffic to martyrial shrines from the late fourth century onwards, at a time when authentic records (protocols) of their trials and executions had long since vanished, and the authors of the passiones were obliged to imagine the circumstances in which martyrs were tried and executed. The passiones are works of fiction; and because they abound in ludicrous errors of chronology, they have been largely ignored by historians of the early Church. Although they cannot be used as evidence for the original martyrdoms, they nevertheless allow a fascinating glimpse of the concerns which animated Christians during the period in question: for example, the preservation of virginity or the ever-present threat posed by pagan practices. As certain aspects of Roman life will have changed little between the second century and the fifth, the passiones shed valuable light on many aspects of Roman society, not least the nature of a trial before an urban prefect, and the horrendous tortures which were a central feature of such trials. The passiones are an indispensable resource for understanding the topography of late antique Rome and its environs, as they characteristically contain detailed reference to the places where the martyrs were tried, executed, and buried. Book jacket.

Contents:

Texts and Commentaries

I St Felicitas and Her Seven Sons 45

II SS. Anastasia, Chrysogonus, and Companions 54

III St Sebastian and Companions 88

IV St Caecilia and Companions 138

V Pope Clement 165

VI SS. Sixtus, Laurence, and Hippolytus (Passio Vetus) 180

VII Pope Cornelius 195

VIII SS. Nereus and Achilleus and Companions 201

IX SS. Eugenia, Protus, and Hyacinthus 228

X SS. Chrysanthus and Daria 250

XI St Susanna 270

XII Pope Callistus 287

XIII St Eusebius the Priest 297

XIV Pope Felix II 303

XV SS. Pudentiana and Praxedis 307

XVI SS. Polychronius and Parmenius, Abdon and Sennes, Pope Sixtus II, Laurence, and Hippolytus 316

XVII SS. Agnes and Emerentiana 348

XVIII SS. Gallicanus, John, and Paul 363

XIX SS. Processus and Martinianus 381

XX Pope Marcellus and Companions 390

XXI SS. Primus and Felicianus 411

XXII SS. Marius, Martha, Audifax, and Abacuc 420

XXIII SS. Marcellinus and Peter 436

XXIV The Four Crowned Martyrs 448

XXV St Pancratius 468

XXVI Pope Stephen I 477

XXVII SS. Gordianus and Epimachus 494

XXVIII The Greek Martyrs 500

XXIX SS. Eusebius and Pontianus 517

XXX Pope Urban 526

XXXI SS. Rufina and Secunda 551

XXXII SS. Alexander, Eventius, and Theodulus 557

XXXIII SS. Calogerus and Parthenius 573

XXXIV SS. Serapia and Sabina 582

XXXV SS. Felix and Adauctus 593

XXXVI SS. Simplicius, Faustinus, and Beatrix 598

XXXVII St Symphorosa and Her Seven Sons 603

XXXVIII St Pigmenius 608

XXXIX St Getulius 617

XL St Basilides 625.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 681-703) and indexes.

Electronic reproduction. Oxford Available via World Wide Web.

Description based on print version record.

ISBN:

9780191848391

0191848395

Publisher Number:

40027882173

Access Restriction:

Restricted for use by site license.