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The Roman Martyrs - Introduction, Translations, and Commentary (Hardcover)
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The Roman Martyrs - Introduction, Translations, and Commentary (Hardcover)
Series: Oxford Early Christian Studies
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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.
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