A martyrology means, properly, a list of witnesses. The martyrologies
are catalogues in which are to be found the names of the Saints, with
the days and places of their deaths, and generally with the distinctive
character of their sanctity, and with an historic summary of their
lives. The name is incorrect if we use the word "martyr" in its
restricted sense as a witness unto death. "Hagiology" would be more
suitable, as a martyrology includes the names of many Saints who were
not martyrs. But the term "Martyrology" was given to this catalogue at
an early age, when it was customary to commemorate only those who were
properly martyrs, having suffered death in testimony to their faith; but
it is not unsuitable if we regard as martyrs all those who by their
lives have testified to the truth, as indeed we are justified in doing.
In the primitive Church it was customary for the Holy Eucharist to be
celebrated on the anniversary of the death of a martyr--if possible, on
his tomb. Where in one diocese there were several martyrs, as, for
instance, in that of Caesarea, there were many days in the year on which
these commemorations were made, and the Church--say that of
Caesarea--drew up a calendar with the days marked on which these
festivals occurred.
In his "Church History," Eusebius quotes a letter from the Church of
Smyrna, in which, after giving an account of the martyrdom of their
bishop, S. Polycarp, the disciple of S. John the Divine, the Smyrnians
observe: "Our subtle enemy, the devil, did his utmost that we should not
take away the body, as many of us anxiously wished. It was suggested
that we should desert our crucified Master, and begin to worship
Polycarp. Fools! who knew not that we can never desert Christ, who died
for the salvation of all men, nor worship any other. Him we adore as the
Son of God; but we show respect to the martyrs, as His disciples and
followers. The centurion, therefore, caused the body to be burned; we
then gathered his bones, more precious than pearls, and more tried than
gold, and buried them. In this place, God willing, we will meet, and
celebrate with joy and gladness the birthday of this martyr, as well in
memory of those who have been crowned before, as by his example to
prepare and strengthen others for the combat."[2]
S. Polycarp suffered in the year 166; he had been ordained Bishop of
Smyrna by S. John in 96. This passage is extremely interesting, for it
shows us, in the age following that of the apostles, the Church already
keeping the festivals of martyrs, and, as we may conclude from the words
of the letter, over the tombs of the martyrs. In this the Church was
following the pattern shown to S. John in vision; for he heard the cry
of the souls of the martyrs reposing under the altar in heaven. Guided,
doubtless, by this, the Church erected altars over the bodies of saints.
Among the early Christian writers there are two, S. Paulinus of Nola,
and Prudentius, whose testimony is of intrinsic value, not only from its
being curiously interesting, but because it is so full and unequivocal
as to the fact of the tombs of the martyrs being used as altars.[3] In
one of his letters to Severus, S. Paulinus encloses some verses of his
own composition, which were to be inscribed over the altar under which
was deposited the body of S. Clavus, of whom the venerable prelate says:
"Sancta sub aeternis altaribus ossa quiescunt."[4]
Before describing the basilica of Nola, the Saint proceeds to give a
sketch of another but a smaller church, which he had just erected in the
town of Fondi. After furnishing some details about this latter edifice,
he says, "The sacred ashes--some of the blessed relics of the apostles
and martyrs--shall consecrate this little basilica also in the name of
Christ, the Saint of saints, the Martyr of martyrs, and the Lord of
lords."[5] For this church two inscriptions were composed by Paulinus:
one, to accompany the painting with which he had adorned the apse; the
other, to announce that portions of the relics of the Apostle S. Andrew,
of the Evangelist S. Luke, and of S. Nazarius, and other martyrs, were
deposited under the altar. His verses may be thus rendered:
"In royal shrines, with purple marble graced,
Their bones are under lighted altars placed.
A holy band enshrined in one small chest,
Full mighty names within its tiny breast."
Prudentius visited not only the more celebrated churches in Spain built
over the bodies of the martyrs, he being a Spaniard by birth, but he
also visited those of Italy and Rome on a journey made in 405. During
his residence in the capital of Christianity, the poet frequented the
catacombs; and he has bequeathed to us a valuable record of what he
there saw. In his hymn in honour of S. Hippolytus, he tells us that he
visited the sepulchral chapel in which were deposited the remains of the
martyr; and, after having described the entrance into the cemetery, and
the frescoes that adorned it, he adds:
"In gloomy cave the martyr's corpse is placed,
And there to God with sacred altars graced,
To give the sacrament the board is spread,
And zealous guard the holy martyr's bed.
The bones are resting in this hallowed tomb,
To wait th' eternal Judge's gracious boon;
And there with holy food are nourished those
Who call on Christ where tawny Tiber flows."[6]
In his other hymns, Prudentius bears the most unequivocal testimony to
the practice, even then a long time in use, of depositing the relics of
the Saints immediately under the altar. It is unnecessary to quote more.
The assertions of ancient writers on this point have been several times
verified. The bodies of the martyrs have been discovered under the high
altars of the churches dedicated to God in their memory. The body of S.
Martina, together with those of two other martyrs, SS. Concordens and
Epiphanius, were found in 1624 under the high altar of the ancient
church near the Roman Forum, which bears the name of the Saint. The body
of S. Agnes, and that of another virgin martyr, were also ascertained to
be under the high altar of her church, denominated Fuori delle Mura.
These, however, had all been removed from the Catacombs into Rome,
within the walls.
Now this fact being established, as well as that of the annual
commemoration of the Saint reposing in the church, it follows that it
became necessary for a Church to draw up calendars marking those days in
the year which were consecrated to the memory of martyrs whose relics
were preserved in it; for instance, in the Church of Fondi, which
contained relics of S. Andrew, S. Luke, S. Nazarius, and others, the
Holy Eucharist would be celebrated over the relics on the day of S.
Andrew, on that of S. Luke, on that of S. Nazarius, and so on; and it
would be necessary for the Church to have a calendar of the days thus
set apart.
In the first centuries of the Church, not only the Saints whose bodies
reposed in the church, but also the dead of the congregation were
commemorated.
When a Roman Consul was elected, on entering on his office he
distributed among his friends certain presents, called diptychs. These
diptychs were folding tablets of ivory or boxwood, sometimes of silver,
connected together by hinges, so that they could be shut or opened like
a book. The exterior surface was richly carved, and generally bore a
portrait of the Consul who gave them away. Upon the inner surface was
written an epistle which accompanied the present, or a panegyric on
himself. They were reminders to friends, given much as a Christmas card
is now sent. The diptych speedily came into use in the Church. As the
Consul on his elevation sent one to his friends to remind them of his
exaltation, so, on a death in the congregation, a diptych was sent to
the priest as a reminder of the dead who desired the prayers of the
faithful. At first, no doubt, there was a pack of these little
memorials, each bearing the name of the person who desired to be
remembered at the altar. But, for convenience, one double tablet was
after a while employed instead of a number, and all the names of those
who were to be commemorated were written in this book. From the ancient
liturgies we gather that it was the office of the deacon to rehearse
aloud, to the people and the priest, this catalogue registered in the
public diptychs. In the "Ecclesiastical Hierarchy," attributed to S.
Dionysius the Areopagite, but really of a later date, the end of the
fifth century, the author says of the ceremonies of the Eucharist, that
after the kiss of peace, "When all have reciprocally saluted one
another, there is made the mystic recitation of the sacred tablets."[7]
In the Liturgy of S. Mark we have this, "The deacon reads the diptychs
(or catalogue) of the dead. The priest then bowing down prays: To the
souls of all these, O Sovereign Lord our God, grant repose in Thy holy
tabernacle, in Thy kingdom, bestowing on them the good things promised
and prepared by Thee," etc.
It is obvious that after a while the number of names continually
swelling would become too great to be recited at once. It became
necessary, therefore, to take some names on one day, others on another.
And this originated the Necrologium, or catalogue of the dead. The
custom of reading the diptychs has ceased to be observed in the Roman
Liturgy, though we find it indicated there by the "Oratio supra
Diptycha." At present, when the celebrating priest arrives at that part
of the Canon called the "Memento," he secretly commemorates those for
whose souls he more particularly wishes to pray.
But, in addition to the diptychs of those for whom the priest and
congregation were desired to pray, there was the catalogue of the
Martyrs and Saints for whom the Church thanked God. For instance, in the
modern Roman Mass, in the Canon we have this commemoration: "Joining in
communion with, and reverencing, in the first place, the memory of the
glorious and ever-virgin Mary, Mother of our God and Lord Jesus Christ;
as also of Thy blessed apostles and martyrs, Peter and Paul, Andrew,
James, John, Thomas, James, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Simon and
Thaddaeus; Linus, Cletus, Clement, Xystus, Cornelius, Cyprian, Laurence,
Chrysogonus, John and Paul, Cosmas and Damian, and of all Thy Saints,"
etc. This is obviously a mere fragment of a commemoration of the Blessed
Virgin, of the apostles, and then of the special Roman martyrs. The
catalogue of the Saints to be remembered was long; there were hundreds
of martyrs at Rome alone, and their names were written down on sacred
diptychs especially appropriated to this purpose. Such an inscription
was equivalent to the present ceremony of canonization. The term
canonization itself tells the history of the process. It is derived from
that part of the Mass called the Canon, in which occurs that memorial
already quoted. On the day when the Pope, after a scrutinizing
examination into the sanctity of a servant of God, formally inscribes
him among the Saints, he adds his name at the end of those already
enumerated in the Canon, after "Cosmas and Damian," and immediately
reads Mass, adding this name at this place. Formerly every bishop could
and did canonize--that is, add the name of any local Saint or martyr
worthy of commemoration in his diocese.
When the list became long, it was found impracticable to commemorate all
_nominatim_ at once, and the Saints were named on their special days.
Thus, out of one set of diptychs grew the Necrologium, and out of the
other the Martyrology.
The Church took pains to collect and commit to writing the acts of the
martyrs. This is not to be wondered at; for the martyrs are the heroes
of Christianity, and as the world has her historians to record the
achievements of the warriors who have gained renown in conflict for
power, so the Church had her officers to record the victories that her
sons won over the world and Satan. The Saints are the elect children of
the spouse of Christ, the precious fruit of her body; they are her crown
of glory. And when these dear children quit her to reap their eternal
reward, the mother retains precious memorials of them, and holds up
their example to her other children to encourage them to follow their
glorious traces.
The first to institute an order of scribes to take down the acts of the
martyrs was S. Clement, the disciple of S. Peter, as we are told by Pope
S. Damasus, in the "Liber Pontificale."[8] According to this tradition,
S. Clement appointed seven notaries, men of approved character and
learning, to collect in the city of Rome, each in his own region of the
city, the acts of the martyrs who suffered in it. To add to the
guarantee of good faith, Pope S. Fabian[9] placed these seven notaries
under the control of the seven subdeacons, who with the seven deacons
were placed over the fourteen cardinal regions of the city of Rome.
Moreover, the Roman Pontiffs obtained the acts of martyrs who had
suffered in other churches. These acts were the _procès verbal_ of their
trial, with the names of the judges under whom they were sentenced, and
an account of the death endured. The acts of S. Philip of Heraclea, SS.
Hilary and Tatian, and SS. Peter, Paul, Andrew, and Dionysia, are
examples of such acts. Other acts were those written by eye-witnesses,
sometimes friends of the martyrs; those of the martyrs, SS. Perpetua,
Felicitas, and their companions are instances. The first part of these
was written by S. Perpetua herself, and reaches to the eve of her
martyrdom; then another confessor in the same prison took the pen and
added to the eve of his death, and the whole was concluded by an
eye-witness of their passion. Other acts again were written by those
who, if not eye-witnesses, were able, from being contemporaries and on
the spot, to gather reliable information; such are the narratives of the
martyrs of Palestine by Eusebius, Bishop of Caesarea. Unfortunately,
comparatively few of the acts of the martyrs have come down to us in
their genuine freshness; and the Church of Rome, which set the example
in appointing notaries to record the facts, has been most careless about
preserving these records unadulterated; so that even the acts of some of
her own bishops and martyrs, S. Alexander, and S. Marcellinus, and S.
Callixtus, are romances devoid of all stamp of truth.
Tertullian[10] says that on the natal days, that is, on the days of
martyrdom of the Saints who have suffered for Christ, "We keep an annual
commemoration." It is easy to see how this usage necessitated the
drawing up of lists in which were inscribed not only the names of the
martyrs, and the place of their decease, but also a few words relative
to their conflict, so that the people might associate their names with
their victories, and the names might not become, in time, to them empty
sounds. S. Cyprian was absent from Carthage when the persecution was
raging there, but he wrote to his clergy, "Note the days of their death,
that we may celebrate their commemorations along with the memorials of
the martyrs."[11] S. Augustine says,[12] "The Christian people celebrate
the memory of the martyrs with religious solemnity, both to excite to
imitation, and that they may become fellows in their merits and be
assisted by their prayers."
Adrian I. quotes the 13th Canon of the African Church and the 47th of
the third Carthaginian Council, in a letter to Charlemagne, in which he
says, "The Sacred Canons approved of the passions of the Holy Martyrs
being read in Church when their anniversary days were being celebrated."
The names of the martyrs to be commemorated were announced on the eve.
By degrees other names besides those of martyrs were introduced into the
Martyrologies, as those of faithful servants of God whose lives were
deserving of imitation, but who had not suffered to the death in
testimony to the truth. Thus we have confessors, or those who endured
hardships for Christ, doctors, or teachers of the Church, virgins,
widows, bishops and abbots, and even penitents.
The Martyrologies may be divided into two series, the ancient and the
modern. We need only concern ourselves with the Ancient Martyrologies.
The first to draw up a tolerably full Martyrology was Eusebius the
historian, Bishop of Caesarea in Palestine, and he did this at the
request of the Emperor Constantine. In this Martyrology he noted all the
martyrs of whom he had received an authentic account on the days of
their suffering, with the names of the judges who sentenced them, the
places where they suffered, and the nature of their sufferings. Eusebius
wrote about A.D. 320, but there were collections of the sort already
extant, as we may learn from the words of S. Cyprian already quoted, who
in his instructions to his clergy ordered them to compile what was
practically a Martyrology of the Carthaginian Church.
We have not got the Greek Martyrology of Eusebius, but we have the Latin
version made by S. Jerome. Bede says of this, "Jerome was not the
author, but the translator of this book; Eusebius is said to have been
the author."
But even this Latin version has not come down to us in its original
form. There are numerous copies, purporting to be the Martyrology of S.
Jerome, still extant, but hardly two of them agree. The copies have been
amplified. The occasion of S. Jerome making his translation was as
follows. At the Council of Milan, held in 390, the presiding Bishop,
Gregory of Cordova, read out daily on the eve, as usual, the lists of
martyrs whose anniversary was to be celebrated on the morrow. As a good
number of those present knew nothing of the martyrs thus commemorated,
they wrote by the hands of Chromatius, Bishop of Aquileja, and
Heliodorus, Bishop of Altino, to S. Jerome, then at Bethlehem, to
request him to draw up for their use a Martyrology out of the
collection made by Eusebius of Caesarea.
To this S. Jerome answered by letter, stating that he had got the
passions of the martyrs written by Eusebius, and that he would gladly
execute what was asked of him. With this letter he sent the Martyrology,
with the name of a martyr to every day in the year except the first of
January.[13] Unfortunately, as already said, we have not got a copy of
the Martyrology unamended and unenlarged.
Next in importance to the Martyrology of Jerome comes the "Martyrologium
Romanum Parvum," mentioned by S. Gregory the Great, who sent a copy of
it to the Bishop of Aquileja. Ado, Bishop of Vienne, saw this; it was
lent him for a few days, and he made a transcript with his own hand, as
he tells us in the preface to his own Martyrology, and it served him as
the basis for his work.
Baronius was unable to discover a copy, though he made inquiry for it,
in the libraries of Italy; but it was discovered by Rosweydus, the
learned Bollandist, and published by him in 1613.
S. Gregory the Great, in his 29th Epistle, says, "We have the names of
nearly all the martyrs with their passions set down on their several
days, collected into one volume, and we celebrate the Mass daily in
their honour."
Cassiodorus, in his "Institution of Divine Lessons," says, "Read
constantly the passions of the martyrs, which among other places you
will find in the letter of S. Jerome to Chromatius and Heliodorus; they
flourished over the whole earth, and provoked to imitation; you will be
led thereby to the heavenly kingdom."
Next in importance to the Martyrology of Jerome and the little Roman
Martyrology, comes that of the Venerable Bede. In the catalogue of his
own works that he drew up, he says, "I wrote a Martyrology of the natal
days of the holy martyrs, in which I took care to set down all I could
find, not only on their several days, but I also gave the sort of
conflict they underwent, and under what judge they conquered the world."
If we compare this Martyrology with the Acts of the Martyrs, we see at
once that Bede took his account from them verbatim, merely condensing
the narrative.
The Martyrology of Bede was written about 720; Drepanius Florus, a
priest of Lyons, who died 860, added to it considerably, and most of the
copies of Bede's Martyrology that we have are those enlarged by Florus.
The next martyrologist was Usuardus, monk of Saint-Germain-des-Prés, who
died in 876. He wrote his Martyrology at the request of Charles the
Bald, who was dissatisfied with the Martyrologies of Jerome and of Bede
because they were too short in their narratives, and also because
several days in the calendar were left blank. This account, which
Usuardus gives in his preface, does not tally with the words of the
epistle attributed to S. Jerome that precedes his Martyrology; and leads
to the suspicion that this portion of the epistle, at least, is not
genuine. Usuardus certainly used the Hieronyman Martyrology as the basis
of his work, and this has caused his work to be designated the larger
Hieronyman Martyrology. This work of Usuardus was so full, that it
displaced the earlier Martyrologies in a great many churches. The best
edition of the Martyrology of Usuardus is that of Solerius, Antwerp,
1714-1717.
Usuardus was followed by Wandelbert, monk of Prum, who died in 870.
Wandelbert followed the Martyrologies of SS. Jerome and Bede, as
amplified by Florus, and wrote the notices of the martyrs in hexameter
Latin verses. This monument of patience is composed of about 360
metrical pieces, of which each contains the life of the Saint
commemorated on the day. To these, which form the bulk of the work, are
prefixed others of less importance, prefaces, dedicatory epistles to
Lothair, preliminary discourses on the importance of the Martyrology, on
the knowledge of times and seasons, months and days, etc. Although
Wandelbert wrote for the most part in hexameters, he abandoned them
occasionally for lyric metres, which he managed with less facility.
D'Achéry published this Martyrology in his "Spicilegium," but the
edition is a bad one.
The next martyrologist is Ado, Bishop of Vienne, who has been already
mentioned in connection with the "Martyrologium Parvum." Ado was born
about the year 800, and died in 875. In his preface, Ado says: "For this
work of noting on their proper days the nativities of the Saints, which
are generally found confusedly in calendars, I have made use of a
venerable and very ancient Martyrology, at Aquileja, sent to a certain
holy bishop by the Roman Pontiff, and this was lent me, when at Ravenna,
for a few days by a certain religious brother. This I diligently copied,
and thought to place it at the head of my work. I have, however,
inserted the passions of the Saints somewhat longer in this Martyrology,
for the use of the infirm brothers, and those less able to get at books,
that they may be able to read out of a little book a compendium to the
praise of God and the memory of the martyrs, instead of overhauling a
host of big volumes with much labour." The best edition of Ado's
Martyrology is that by Geo. Rhodigini, published at Rome, 1740.
There have been many later Martyrologies, but these are of far inferior
importance, and need not be here enumerated. In the East, the Greeks had
anciently their collections. That of Eusebius probably formed the basis
of later Menologies. In the Horology are contained calendars of the
Saints for every day with prayers; this portion of the Horology is
called the Menology.
The Menology is divided into months, and contains the lives of the
Saints, in abridgment, for each day, or the simple commemoration of
those whose acts are extant. The Menology of the Greeks is, therefore,
much the same as the Latin Martyrology, and there are almost as many
Menologies as there are Martyrologies. The principal is that of the
Emperor Basil II. (d. 1025), published by Ughelli in his "Italia Sacra."
The larger Menologies are entitled "Synaxaria," because they were read
in the churches on days of assembly. These lives are very long, and the
Menology contains the substance in a condensed form.
The modern Roman Martyrology was drawn up by order of Pope Gregory
XIII., who appointed for the purpose eight commissaries, amongst whom
was Baronius. It leaves much to be desired, as it bristles with
inaccuracies. A fresh edition was issued with some corrections by
Benedict XIV. It demands a careful revision. Many of its inaccuracies
have been pointed out in the course of this work.
It is impossible to dismiss the subject of Martyrologies without a word
on the "Acta Sanctorum" of the Bollandists. This magnificent collection
of Lives of the Saints is arranged on the principle of the Synaxarium,
or Martyrology--that is to say, the Saints are not given in their
chronological order, but as they appear in the calendar.
Heribert Resweidus, of Utrecht, was a learned Jesuit father, born in
1563, who died 1629. In 1607 he published the "Fasti sanctorum quorum
vitae manuscriptae in Belgio," a book containing the plan of a vast work
on the lives of all the Saints, which he desired to undertake. In 1613
he published "Notes on the old Roman Martyrology," which he was the
first to discover. In 1615 he brought out the "Lives of the Hermits,"
and in 1619 another work on the "Eremites of Palestine and Egypt." In
1626 he published the "Lives of the Virgin Saints." He died before the
great work for which he had collected, and to which he had devoted his
time and thoughts, was begun. But the project was not allowed to drop.
It was taken up by John Bollandus, another Jesuit; with him were
associated two other fathers of the same order, Henschenius and
Papebrock, and in 1643 appeared the January volumes, two in number. In
1648 the three volumes of the February Saints issued from the press.
Bollandus died in 1665, and the March volumes, three in number, edited
by Henschenius and Papebrock, appeared in 1668. As the work proceeded,
material came in in abundance, and the work grew under their hands. May
was represented by seven volumes; so also June, July, and August. The
compilation is not yet complete. At present, this huge work consists of
about sixty folio volumes, which bring the student down to within three
days of the end of the month of October; but a large store of material
is being utilized in order to complete that month forthwith, and further
stores have been accumulated towards the Lives of the Saints for
November and December, about 4000 of such biographies being still to be
actually written. Moreover, the earlier volumes are very incomplete, and
at least the months of January to April need rewriting.
The principle on which the Bollandists have worked is an excellent one.
They have not themselves written the lives of the Saints, but they
publish every scrap of record, and all the ancient acts and lives of the
Saints that are extant. The work is a storehouse of historical
materials. To these materials the editors prefix an introductory essay
on the value and genuineness of the material, and on the chronology of
the Saint's life. They have done their work conscientiously and well.
Only occasionally have they omitted acts or portions of lives which
they have regarded as mythical or unedifying. These omissions are to be
regretted, as they would have been instructive.
Another valuable repository of the lives of Saints is Mabillon's
"Collection of the Acts of the Saints of the Order of S. Benedict," in
nine volumes, published 1668-1701. The arrangement in this collection is
by centuries. Theodoric Ruinart, in 1689, published the Acts of the
Martyrs, but not a complete series; he selected only those which he
regarded as genuine.
With regard to England there is a Martyrology of Christ Church,
Canterbury, written in the thirteenth century, and now in the British
Museum (Arundell MSS., No. 68); also a Martyrology written between 1220
and 1224, from the south-west of England; this also is in the British
Museum (MSS. Reg. 2, A. xiii.). A Saxon Martyrology, incomplete, is
among the Harleian MSS. (2785) in the same museum. It dates from the
fourteenth century. There is a transcript among the Sloane MSS. (4938),
of a Martyrology of North English origin, but this also is incomplete.
There are others, later, of less value. The most interesting is "The
Martiloge in Englysshe, after the use of the chirche of Salisbury,"
printed by Wynkyn de Worde in 1526, reissued by the "Henry Bradshaw
Society" in 1893. To these Martyrologies must be added the "Legenda" of
John of Tynemouth, A.D. 1350; that of Capgrave, A.D. 1450, his "Nova
Legenda," printed in 1516; Whitford's "Martyrology," 1526; Wilson's
"Martyrologue," 1st edition, 1608, 2nd edition, 1640; and Bishop
Challoner's "Memorial of Ancient British Piety," 1761. Recently the
Rev. Richard Stanton, Priest of the Oratory, London, has issued an
invaluable "Martyrology of England and Wales," 1887.
Scottish Kalendars have been reprinted and commented on, and brief lives
of the Saints given by the late Bishop Forbes of Brechin, in "Kalendars
of Scottish Saints," Edinburgh, 1872.
Unhappily little is known of the Welsh and Cornish and some local
English Saints, but it is my purpose to add such information as can be
gathered concerning them.