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48-657: The basilica was built on the site of the graves of two martyrs Cassius and Florentius, the patrons of Bonn. They are piously believed to have been Roman legionaries of the Theban Legion . At some point during their march to Gaul , the legion refused to follow the emperor's orders either to kill the indigenous Christians or to worship Maximian as a god. As a result, a large number of legionaries were martyred in Agaunum , now named Saint Maurice-en-Valais after Saint Maurice. According to legend, Saints Cassius and Florentius, who were under

96-639: A few traces of borrowings from the Passions of the martyrs , the compilation is in the form of a simple martyrology. There were three manuscript versions: those of Bern, Wolfenbuttel. and Echternach. The latter is thought to be the earliest, based on a copy possibly brought to England by Augustine of Canterbury in 597, and preserved in a manuscript at the Abbey of Echternach , founded by the English missionary Willibrord . The Martyrologium Hieronymianum Epternacense , now in

144-634: A memoir entitled Les sources du martyrologe hiéronymien (in Mélanges d'archéologie et d'histoire , V), which became the starting-point of a critical edition of the martyrology, published through their efforts in Vol. II for November of the "Acta SS." in 1894. The medievalist Henri Quentin and Bollandist Hippolyte Delehaye collaborated on an annotated edition, Commentarius Perpetuus in Martyrologium Hieronymianum , (Brussels, in 1931); Quentin supplied

192-566: A new legion were leaving port. During the trial of the martyr Maximilian, it was noted that there were Christians serving in the Roman army, and the existence of Theban Christian legionaries in the same units as mentioned in the Notitia Dignitatum was shown. In 1907, Henri Leclercq noted that the account of Eucherius "has many excellent qualities, historical as well as literary." L. Dupaz countered Denis Van Berchem's assertion by sifting through

240-561: A publication now in the public domain :  Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). " Agaunum ". Catholic Encyclopedia . New York: Robert Appleton Company. Ælfric of Eynsham (1881). "Of the Theban Legion"  . Ælfric's Lives of Saints . London, Pub. for the Early English text society, by N. Trübner & co. Martyrology A martyrology is a catalogue or list of martyrs and other saints and beati arranged in

288-482: A single cohort was martyred at Agaunum. The remainder of the cohorts (battalion sized units of which there were ten to a legion) were either on the march or already stationed along the Roman road that ran from Liguria through Turin and Milan, then across Alps and down the Rhine to Colonia Agrippinensis (Cologne). L. Dupraz and Paul Müller, by examining the military titles and ranks of the legionnaires and thereby determining

336-605: Is held on September 22. According to Eucherius of Lyon , c. 443–450, the Legion was garrisoned at Thebes in Egypt. The Legion was quartered in the East until the emperor Maximian ordered them to march to Gaul , to assist him against the rebels of Burgundy . The Theban Legion was commanded by Maurice (Mauritius), Candidus , Innocent, and Exuperius , all of whom are venerated as saints . At Saint-Maurice, Switzerland , then called Agaunum ,

384-420: Is rendered difficult by the multitude and the disparate character of the elements that compose them. Early researches dealt with the historical martyrologies . The chief works on the martyrologies are those of Heribert Rosweyde , who in 1613 published at Antwerp the martyrology of Ado ; of Sollerius, who produced a learned edition of Usuard; and of Fiorentini , who published in 1688 an annotated edition of

432-526: The Depositio martyrum and the Depositio episcoporum , lists most frequently found united. Among the Roman martyrs, mention is already made in the Ferial of African martyrs, namely, Perpetua and Felicity (March 7) and also Cyprian (September 14). The calendar of Carthage, which belongs to the sixth century, contains a larger portion of foreign martyrs and even of confessors not belonging to that region of

480-531: The Coptic Encyclopedia , there were two legions bearing the name "Theban", both of them formed by Diocletian sometime after the organization of the original Egyptian legion, stationed at Alexandria. It is not certain which of these was transferred from Egypt to Europe in order to assist Maximian in Gaul. The monastic accounts themselves do not specifically state that all the soldiers were collectively executed;

528-591: The Martyrologe universel of Chatelain (1709). Examples of local martyrologies include: The Syriac martyrology discovered by Wright ( Journal of Sacred Literature , 1866) gives the idea of a general martyrology. Prior to Vatican II , the Martyrology was read publicly as part of the Roman Catholic Divine Office at Prime . It was always anticipated , that is, the reading for the following day

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576-574: The Syriac Martyrology discovered by Wright. This is of assistance in recognizing the existence of a general martyrology of the East, written in Greek at Nicomedia , and which served as a source for the Hieronymian . This document is in poor condition. Proper names are distorted, repeated or misplaced, and in many places the text is so corrupt that it is impossible to understand it. With the exception of

624-499: The abbey of Agaunum ) to offer presents of gold, silver and other things. In the late 6th century, Gregory of Tours was convinced of the miraculous powers of the Theban Legion though he transferred the event to Cologne , where there was an early cult devoted to Maurice and the Theban Legion: At Cologne there is a church in which the fifty men from the holy Theban Legion are said to have consummated their martyrdom for

672-807: The historical martyrologies . It is in sum the Martyrology of Usuard , which was also still the title of an incunabula edition for use in Rome, completed by the "Dialogues" of Pope Gregory I and the works of some of the Church Fathers, and for the Greek saints by the catalogue known as the Menologion of Sirlet . The editio princeps appeared at Rome in 1583, under the title: Martyrologium romanum ad novam kalendarii rationem et ecclesiasticæ historiæ veritatem restitutum, Gregorii XIII pont. max. iussu editum . It bears no approbation. A second edition also appeared at Rome in

720-661: The Bibliothèque Nationale in Paris, is thought to have been written in the early eighth century as an Insular version of the "Hieronymianum", compiled from two separate copies. In some instances the feast is misplaced by a day. Also known as the Echternach recension, it was adapted to the English Church, incorporating memorials for Augustine of Canterbury, Paulinus of York and others. In 1885 De Rossi and Duchesne published

768-509: The Church. The most influential of the local martyrologies is the martyrology commonly called Hieronymian , because it is (pseudepigraphically) attributed to Jerome . It was presumably drawn up in Italy in the second half of the fifth century, and underwent recension in Gaul, probably at Auxerre , in the late sixth. All known manuscripts of the text spring from this Gallican recension. Setting aside

816-564: The Egyptian desert known as the " Desert Fathers ", and the followers they inspired during the first two centuries. The persecution of high-ranking Christian nobility under Emperor Valerian following his edict in 258 and the purge of Christians from the military from 284 through 299 under Emperor Diocletian indicate that refusing compliance with emperor worship was the common method for detecting Christians. Donald F. O'Reilly argued that evidence from coins, papyrus, and Roman army lists supports

864-836: The Martyrology of St Jerome. The critical edition of the latter by J. B. de Rossi and Louis Duchesne , was published in 1894. The notes of Baronius on the Roman Martyrology cannot be passed over in silence, the work having done much towards making known the historical sources of the compilations of the Middle Ages . In Vol. II for March of the "Acta Sanctorum" (1668) the Bollandists furnished new materials for martyrological criticism by their publication entitled Martyrologium venerabilis Bedæ presbyteri ex octo antiquis manuscriptis acceptum cum auctario Flori … . The results then achieved were in part corrected, in part rendered more specific, by

912-533: The additions it later received, the chief sources of the Hieronymian are a general martyrology of the Churches of the East, the local martyrology of the Church of Rome, a general martyrology of Italy, a general martyrology of Africa, and some literary sources, among them Eusebius . Victor De Buck ("Acta SS.", Octobris, XII, 185, and elsewhere) identified the relationship of the Hieronymian Martyrology to

960-498: The best-known historical martyrologies, the oldest go under the names of: The most famous of all is that of Usuard (c. 875), Martyrology of Usuard , on which the Roman martyrology was based. The first edition of the Roman martyrology appeared at Rome in 1583. The third edition, which appeared in 1584, was approved by Gregory XIII , who gave the Roman martyrology official status for

1008-535: The calendar order of their anniversaries or feasts. Local martyrologies record exclusively the custom of a particular Church. Local lists were enriched by names borrowed from neighbouring churches. Consolidation occurred, by the combination of several local martyrologies, with or without borrowings from literary sources. This is the now accepted meaning in the Latin Church . In the Eastern Orthodox Church ,

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1056-536: The command of Saint Gereon , were beheaded for their religious beliefs at the present location of the Minster. A memorial chapel was built in the early fourth century in what was a suburban cemetery about 1 km south of the Roman fortress. In the sixth century, a memorial building took its place. In the eighth century the Collegiate Church of SS. Cassius and Florentius" was built. The medieval town developed around

1104-437: The general question and succeeded in giving a reasonable solution, thanks to careful study of the manuscripts. As regards documents, the most important distinction is between local and general martyrologies. The former give a list of the festivals of some particular Church; the latter are the result of a combination of several local martyrologies. Certain compilations of a factitious character are also called martyrologies, e.g.

1152-446: The great work of Jean Baptiste du Sollier  [ ca ] , Martyrologium Usuardi monachi (Antwerp, 1714), published in parts in Vols. VI and VII for June of the "Acta Sanctorum." Although Du Sollier's text of Usuard is not beyond criticism, the edition surpasses anything of the kind previously attempted. Henri Quentin ( Les Martyrologes historiques du moyen âge , Paris, 1908) took up

1200-519: The legend of the Theban legion was a literary production, not based on a local tradition. David Woods, Professor of Classics at the University College Cork, alleges that the model of Maurice and the Theban Legion based on Eucherius of Lyon 's letter was a complete fiction. However, the strength of the account is based on the historical reputation of the earliest Christian monks, the hermits of

1248-604: The minster. A late Romanesque monastic church was constructed from 1140 to 1250. At one point the church served as the cathedral for the Archbishopric of Cologne. The cathedral was the model for the Gedächtniskirche in Berlin. On Pentecost Sunday 1956, the church was elevated to the status of a minor basilica. A fund raising initiative was launched in 2014 for necessary renovations to the 1,000-year-old building to address cracks in

1296-456: The name of Christ. And because the church, with its wonderful construction and mosaics, shines as if somehow gilded, the inhabitants prefer to call it the "Church of the Golden Saints". Once Eberigisilus, who was at the time bishop of Cologne, was racked with severe pains in half his head. He was then in a villa near a village. Eberigisilus sent his deacon to the church of the saints. Since there

1344-521: The nearest equivalent to the martyrology are the Synaxaria and the longer Menaia , both sometimes known as Menologia . Simple martyrologies only enumerate names. Historical martyrologies, also sometimes called passionaries , also include stories or biographical details. The martyrology, or ferial , of the Roman Church in the middle of the fourth century still exists. It comprises two distinct lists,

1392-468: The notes took place under Pope Urban VIII and was published in 1630. Pope Benedict XIV was also interested in the Roman Martyrology : his Bull of 1748 addressed to John V, King of Portugal , was often included as a preface in printed copies of the Roman Martyrology . After the Second Vatican Council , a fully revised edition was promulgated in 2001, followed in 2005 by a version (bearing

1440-456: The orders were given—since the Legion had refused to perform sacrifice according to the imperial cult —to " decimate " it by putting to death a tenth of its men. This act was repeated twice before the entire legion was put to death. According to a letter written about 450 by Eucherius, Bishop of Lyon , bodies identified as the martyrs of Agaunum were discovered by Theodore (Theodulus), the first historically identified Bishop of Octudurum , who

1488-422: The publication date of 2004) that adjusted a number of typographical errors that appeared in the 2001 edition and added 117 saints and blesseds canonized or beatified between 2001 and 2004, as well as a number of more ancient saints not included in the previous edition. "The updated Martyrology contains 7,000 saints and blesseds currently venerated by the Church, and whose cult is officially recognized and proposed to

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1536-463: The saint gave his precious soul to the most high God. How much more should this sacred place, Agaunum, be reverenced, where so many thousands of martyrs have been slain, with the sword, for the sake of Christ. As with many hagiographies, Eucherius' letter to Bishop Salvius reinforced an existing pilgrimage site. Many of the faithful were coming from diverse provinces of the empire, according to Eucherius, devoutly to honor these saints, and (important for

1584-511: The same year. This was soon replaced by the edition of 1584, which was promulgated as official for the entire Roman rite of the Church by Pope Gregory XIII . Baronius revised and corrected this work and republished it in 1586, with the Notationes and the Tractatio de Martyrologio Romano . The Antwerp edition of 1589 was corrected in some places by Baronius himself. A new edition of the text and

1632-417: The soldiers had been executed, and that this was where the story of the legion's destruction originated from. Henri Leclercq suggests that it is quite possible that an incident at Agaunum may have had to do not with a legion, but with a simple detachment . Johan Mösch, after comparing information from the various chronicles on the events and geography of the martyrdoms of the legionaries, concluded that only

1680-546: The stories, carefully matching them with archeological discoveries at Agaunum, thus concluding that the martyrdom is historical and that the relics of the martyrs were brought to Agaunum between 286 and 392 through the office of the bishop Theodore. Thierry Ruinart , Paul Allard , and the editors of the "Analecta Bollandiana" were of opinion that "the martyrdom of the legion, attested, as it is by ancient and reliable evidence, cannot be called in question by any honest mind." [REDACTED]  This article incorporates text from

1728-500: The story of the Theban Legion. A papyrus dated "in the sixth year of our Lord, the Emperor Caesar Marcus Aurelius Probus Pius Augustus, Tubi sixteenth" (13 January 282 AD), shows rations which would sustain a legion for about three months to be delivered to Panopolis to the "mobilized soldiers and sailors". Coins from Alexandria from the same time period were minted in a style used only when troops for

1776-403: The succession of witnesses from the martyrdom to his time, a span of about 150 years. The bishop had made the journey to Agaunum himself, and his report of his visit multiplied a thousandfold the standard formula of the martyrologies : We often hear, do we not, a particular locality or city is held in high honour because of one single martyr who died there, and quite rightly, because in each case

1824-461: The textual commentary and Delehaye the historical. There is another type of martyrology in which the name is followed by a short history of the saint. These are the historical martyrologies . There exists a large number of them, from the ninth century. It may be said that their chief sources are, besides the Hieronymian , accounts derived from the Acts of the martyrs and some ecclesiastical authors. Of

1872-540: The total number of soldiers involved, estimated that the Thebans martyred at Agaunum consisted of but one cohort whose number did not exceed 520 men. Thus the execution of an entire cohors is equivalent to decimation of a legion. The account of the Theban legion is regarded as fictitious by certain modern revisionist historians. In 1956 Denis Van Berchem, of the University of Geneva , proposed that Eucherius' presentation of

1920-481: The twelfth century bishop Otto of Freising (probably influenced by Gregory of Tours' account) wrote in his Chronica de duabus civitatibus that many of the legionaries escaped and only some were executed at Agaunum , and the others apprehended later and put to death both at Bonn and Köln . It is possible that the legion was simply divided during Diocletian's re-organization of units (breaking up legions of 6000 men to create smaller units of 1000), and that some of

1968-509: The vault, water damage, and an aging electric service, among other concerns. The church has square towers decorated with Lombard bands ; a Romanesque feature, the minster also shows adaptation of some Gothic elements. Writer T. Francis Bumpus said, "The most beautiful stone spire in Germany is that of the minster at Bonn." The Minster in Bonn housed one of the first organs in Germany, when in 1230 one

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2016-469: The whole Church. In 1586, Baronius published his annotated edition, which in spite of its omissions and inaccuracies is a mine of valuable information. The historical martyrologies , taken as a whole, have been studied by Quentin (1908). There are also numerous editions of calendars or martyrologies of less universal interest, and commentaries upon them. Mention ought to be made of the famous marble calendar of Naples . The critical study of martyrologies

2064-514: Was employed to condemn atrocities committed under military orders. For Donald O'Reilly, an apologist for the historicity of the account in 1978, it was "the moral issue of organized violence". Thebaei is the proper name of one particular military unit, the Legio I Maximiana , also known as Maximiana Thebaeorum , recorded in the Notitia Dignitatum . According to Samir F. Girgis, writing in

2112-467: Was included among the persecution of Christians detailed in John Foxe 's 1583 Actes and Monuments , an early Protestant stand-by. Accounts of the moral inculcated by the exemplum of the Theban Legion resonate with the immediate culture of each teller. The miraculous whole-hearted unanimity of the Legion to the last individual, was downplayed by Hugo Grotius , for whom the moral of the Theban Legion

2160-527: Was placed on the east wall in the north transept. Theban Legion The Theban Legion (also known as the Martyrs of Agaunum ) figures in Christian hagiography as a Roman legion from Egypt —"six thousand six hundred and sixty-six men" — consisting of Christian soldiers who were martyred together in 286, according to the hagiographies of Maurice , the chief among the Legion's saints. Their feast day

2208-467: Was present at the Council of Aquileia, 381 and died in 391. The basilica he built in their honor attracted the pilgrim trade; its remains can still be seen, part of the abbey begun in the early sixth century on land donated by King Sigismund of Burgundy . The earliest surviving document describing "the holy Martyrs who have made Agaunum illustrious with their blood" is the letter of Eucherius, which describes

2256-591: Was read. By decree of Vatican II, the office of Prime was suppressed. A fully revised edition the Roman Martyrology was issued in 2001, with rubrics which allow the Martyrology to be proclaimed at the end of the celebration of Lauds or of one of the Little Hours , or apart from liturgical celebrations in community gatherings for meetings or meals. The model of the Roman Martyrology is directly derived from

2304-464: Was said to be in the middle of the church a pit into which the saints were thrown together after their martyrdom , the deacon collected some dust there and brought it to the bishop . As soon as the dust touched Eberigisilus' head, immediately all pain was gone. The tale of steadfast conduct and faith was embroidered in later retellings and figured in the Golden Legend of Jacobus de Voragine and

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