medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
Dear Jim,
You are quite right. Without checking to see how her identifying inscription has been restored, I would say from looking at the composition that Veneranda is a Roman matron and the Petronella martyr is her patron guiding her to heaven. A quick check of informed descriptions of the site available via Google confirms that this is the standard understanding.
When in last year's version of the notice of Petronilla I first wrote "St. Veneranda" I was probably copying the caption for some view of this painting that in turn had been influenced by a guide to the catacombs identifying V. as a saint. An example of that occurs here:
http://tinyurl.com/6qyadc
Best again,
John Dillon
On Saturday, May 31, 2008, at 9:24 am, you wrote:
> > 1) Petronilla (?). P. (also Petronella) is a Roman martyr of the
> > cemetery of Domitilla on the Via Ardeatina. Not mentioned in the
> > _Depositio martyrum_ of the Chronographer of 364, she had a burial
> > place behind the apse of the the underground basilica erected by pope
> > St. Siricius (384-99) in honor of Sts. Nereus and Achilleus. A wall
> > painting in that part of the church, discovered by De Rossi in the
> > early 1870s, shows P., identified as a martyr, holding the hand of St.
> > Veneranda: http://www.umilta.net/veneranda1.jpg
> > http://membres.lycos.fr/siteimageedl/paleo/photos/49.jpg
> > http://muvtor.btk.ppke.hu/etalon/316.jpg
>
> Dear John,
> A small point, perhaps, but I've never seen Veneranda described as a
> saint. Most accounts
> I've read of this painting interpret Veneranda as the Christian woman
> who was buried here,
> who hoped that St Petronilla would help her on the way to paradise.
> If Veneranda is also
> considered a saint, do you have a reference for that?
> Cheers,
> Jim Bugslag
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