medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
It's odd that Matt's pictorial source would have called the second martyr here Julius rather than Julianus. The latter is the name given in Eusebius, _De martyribus Palaestinae_, 11 -- the Ur-source for the larger assemblage of martyrs of Caesarea in Palestine that includes these two --, as it is also both in the Synaxary of Constantinople and in Bl. Cesare Baronio's 1586 edition of the Roman Martyrology. Different martyrologies have have made different choices as to which of these martyrs to commemorate and on which day(s) to commemorate them. What follows is a somewhat revised version of a notice originally written from the perspective of the Roman Martyrology in its revision of 2001:
16. February
Elias, Jeremiah, Isaiah, Samuel and Daniel; Pamphilus, Valens, Paul, Seleucus, Porphyrius, Julian, Theodulus (d. 310). We know about the suffering of these twelve martyrs under Galerius from Eusebius' _De martyribus Palaestinae_ 11. 1-28. Elias, Jeremiah, Isaiah, Samuel, and Daniel were Egyptian Christians; Pamphilus was a learned priest of Caesarea in Palestine, Valens was an elderly deacon in the church of Aelia, and the others were laypersons of various stations in life. All were brought before the same magistrate, who interrogated the Egyptians first. These perplexed him by giving the names of Old Testament prophets rather than their birth names and by asserting that Jerusalem was their homeland; when after various tortures he was unable extract from them the anti-Roman secrets they were suspected of harboring he had them executed. Following this the official interrogated the Palestinians singly or in small groups and had them tortured and executed, starting with Porphyrius (a young slave of Pamphilus' household) and ending with Julian (who had just returned from a journey and whose arrest when visiting the others in prison allowed him to complete the group's Apostolic number). Those two were executed by means of a fire; the elderly Theodulus (a household slave of the Roman governor) was crucified. Thus far Eusebius.
Pamphilus was clearly the most prominent of the group. Eusebius, himself an only slightly later bishop of Caesarea, knew him as a teacher, friend, and collaborator; his biography of Pamphilus is lost but at _Mart. Pal._, 5. 4 he describes him as the age's most glorious martyr. In Eastern martyrologies and calendars, starting with the later fourth-century Syrian Martyrology, Pamphilus usually leads the list, itself somewhat variable, of these martyrs. A relatively late appearing Byzantine tradition asserts that relics of Pamphilus and of some of the other Palestinians were among those placed in the first Hagia Sophia in Constantinople at the time of its consecration. In the Latin West, the entry for the group in the (pseudo-)Hieronymian Martyrology, where Pamphilus also leads the list, is badly garbled (including, among other developments, the transmogrifications of Caesarea into Fissinari and Porphyrius into Perfidus or Perfidius [!] and an increase in the number of the Egyptians from five to five thousand). The earlier ninth-century martyrologist Florus of Lyon, followed in these respects by St. Ado of Vienne and by Usuard of Saint-Germain, entered under 16. February only Julian and the Egyptians under today and under 1. June Pamphilus alone. The Synaxary of Constantinople enters all twelve under 16 February. In the first papally approved version of the Roman Martyrology Baronio entered the first ten under 16. February, reserving Theodulus and Julian for the following day.
A few medieval images of these saints:
a) The martyrdom of Porphyrius, Julian, and Theodulus as depicted in the later tenth- or very early eleventh-century so-called Menologion of Basil II (Città del Vaticano, BAV, cod. Vat. gr. 1613, p. 405):
http://tinyurl.com/n98f8cb
NB: The so-called Menologion of Basil II also has an illumination (p. 404) depicting the martyrdom of Pamphilus, Valens, and companions. Unfortunately, there doesn't seem to be a readily findable reproduction thereof on the free Web.
b) Pamphilus as depicted in the late fourteenth-century frescoes (later 1380s?) in the church of the Holy Ascension at the Ravanica monastery near Ćuprija in central Serbia:
http://tinyurl.com/84ye98x
c) Theodulus as depicted in the late fourteenth-century frescoes (later 1380s?) in the church of the Holy Ascension at the Ravanica monastery near Ćuprija in central Serbia:
http://tinyurl.com/nauwk3x
Detail view:
http://tinyurl.com/og4sc3v
Best,
John Dillon
On 02/17/15, Matt Heintzelman wrote:
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> https://www.facebook.com/604882972899463/photos/a.624764970911263.1073741830.604882972899463/779168648804227/?type=1&theater
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> “Theodulus was an old man of eminent virtue and wisdom, who enjoyed one of the most honourable posts in the household of Firmilian, the governor of Palestine, and had several sons. His personal merit gained him the love of all that knew him, and the governor had a particular esteem for him. This holy man had seen the invincible courage and patience of the five Egyptian martyrs at Cæsarea, and, going to the prisons, made use of their example to encourage the other confessors, and prepare them for the like battles.” (http://www.bartleby.com/210/2/172.html)
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