medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
Pope St. Stephen I (d. 257), a native of Rome, was a priest there when he succeeded pope St. Lucius in 254. He is known primarily for his latitudinarian view on the validity of baptisms performed by heretics or schismatics, in which he was opposed by St. Cyprian of Carthage and others. According to St. Augustine of Hippo, Stephen threatened to excommunicate those who disagreed with him on this matter (this included the entire church of church of Carthage, which had gone on record three times as stipulating that, to be admitted to the church, persons so baptized had to be re-baptized by someone in good standing) but relented in the interest of church unity.
The Valerianic persecution began in the year of Stephen's death. Whereas there is no evidence that Stephen died other than as a confessor (he's absent, for example, from the _Depositio martyrum_ of the Chronographer of 354), a perhaps sixth-century Passio (BHL 7845-7847) has him martyred after being arrested while celebrating Mass. One would think that it was his reputation as a martyr that placed him on so many medieval liturgical calendars. Still, the earlier ninth-century Marble Calendar of Naples enters him under 2. August without employing either of its customary designations of a martyrial commemoration. In a relatively late-appearing legend, Stephen baptized the convert St. Mellonius / Mallonius and sent him north to evangelize in Rouen.
Some medieval images of St. Stephen I, pope (as opposed, say, to St. Stephen I, ecumenical patriarch of Constantinople, or to St. Stephen I, king of Hungary):
a) Stephen's martyrdom (left-hand column) as depicted in a late thirteenth-century copy of French origin of the _Legenda aurea_ (San Marino, CA, Huntington Library, ms. HM 3027, fol. 90r; image greatly expandable):
http://digitalassets.lib.berkeley.edu/ds/huntington/images//000887A.jpg
b) Stephen's martyrdom (at right; at left, the Seven Maccabees) as depicted in an earlier fourteenth-century copy (betw. 1326 and 1350) of the _Legenda Aurea_ in its French-language version by Jean de Vignay (Paris, BnF, ms. Français 185, fol. 191v): (Paris, BnF, ms. Français 185, fol. 239r):
http://tinyurl.com/2brbj9r
c) Stephen's martyrdom as depicted in the mid- to later fourteenth-century Breviary of Charles V (betw. 1347 and 1380; Paris, BnF, ms. Latin 1052, fol. 441v):
http://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/btv1b84525491/f892.image
d) Stephen as depicted (with a martyr's palm) in a later fourteenth-century Roman missal (ca. 1370) of north Italian origin (Avignon, Bibliothèque-Médiathèque Municipale Ceccano, ms. 136, fol. 258v)
http://www.enluminures.culture.fr/Wave/savimage/enlumine/irht2/IRHT_055345-p.jpg
e) Stephen as depicted (at right in the illumination in the left-hand column, sending St. Mellonius / Mallonius to evangelize in Rouen) in a later-fourteenth-century copy (ca. 1370-1380) of Vincent of Beauvais' _Speculum historiale_ in its French-language version by Jean de Vignay (Paris, BnF, ms. Nouvelle acquisition française 15941, fol. 60v):
http://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/btv1b8449688c/f128.item
f) Stephen as depicted in an earlier fifteenth-century breviary (ca. 1414) for the Use of Paris (Châteauroux, Bibliothèque municipale, ms. 2, fol. 260r):
http://www.enluminures.culture.fr/Wave/savimage/enlumine/irht2/IRHT_054105-p.jpg
g) Stephen as depicted (wearing the papal tiara and baptizing St. Mellonius / Mallonius) in a later fifteenth-century copy from Bruges (ca. 1460-1470) of the _Legenda aurea_ in its French-language version by Jean de Vignay followed by the _Festes nouvelles_ attributed to Jean Golein (Mâcon, Médiathèque municipale, ms. 3, fol. 210r):
http://www.culture.gouv.fr/Wave/savimage/enlumine/irht6/IRHT_095384-p.jpg
h) Stephen as depicted (upper register at right, wearing the papal tiara and sending St. Mellonius / Mallonius to evangelize in Rouen) in a later fifteenth-century copy (1463) of Vincent of Beauvais' _Speculum historiale_ in its French-language version by Jean de Vignay (Paris, BnF, ms. Français 51, fol. 25r):
http://tinyurl.com/pfkl3dw
i) Stephen's martyrdom as depicted a later fifteenth-century Roman breviary (betw. 1476 and 1500; Clermont-Ferrand, Bibliothèque du patrimoine, ms. 69, fol. 493v):
http://www.enluminures.culture.fr/Wave/savimage/enlumine/irht4/IRHT_081351-p.jpg
Best,
John Dillon
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From: medieval-religion - Scholarly discussions of medieval religious culture <[log in to unmask]> on behalf of Heintzelman, Matthew <[log in to unmask]> Sent: Sunday, August 2, 2015 10:08 AM To: [log in to unmask] Subject: [M-R] FEAST - A saint for the day (August 2): Pope Stephen I
medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
https://www.facebook.com/604882972899463/photos/a.624764970911263.1073741830.604882972899463/854975064556918/?type=1&theater
“Pope Stephen I (Latin: Stephanus I; died 2 August 257) was the bishop of Rome from 12 May 254 to his death in 257. Of Roman birth but of Greek ancestry, he became bishop after serving as archdeacon of Pope Lucius I, who appointed Stephen his successor.” (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_Stephen_I)
Peace,
Matt H.
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