ON SS. FORTUNATUS AND HERMON AND XISTUS AND MARTIALIS AND HERMOGERATUS; LIKEWISE ON SS. LAURENTIUS AND THE THREE BOYS HABUNDUS AND INNOCENTIUS AND MERENDINUS.
AT AQUILEIA IN ITALY, AND AT ROME.
FROM THE HIERONYMIAN COPIES, AND FROM FERRARI.
Under Diocletian and Maximian.
The announcements; the martyrdom of SS. Hermagoras and Fortunatus; the latter distinct from his namesake.
Fortunatus, at Aquileia in Italy, and at Rome (St.)
Hermon, at Aquileia in Italy, and at Rome (St.)
Xistus, at Aquileia in Italy, and at Rome (St.)
Martialis, at Aquileia in Italy, and at Rome (St.)
Hermogeratus: likewise at Aquileia in Italy, and at Rome (St.)
Laurentius, at Aquileia in Italy, and at Rome (St.)
Habundus, at Aquileia in Italy, and at Rome (St.)
Innocentius, at Aquileia in Italy, and at Rome (St.)
Merendinus, at Aquileia in Italy, and at Rome (St.)
BY J. P.
Those nine Saints are named in the Martyrology which Florentinius published under the name of St. Jerome, in which, however, the first five are announced at Aquileia, The announcements of these martyrs, confused in the Hieronymian transcripts, but the rest at Rome. Florentinius in his notes recites them thus from the Corbie fragment: X Kal. Sept. At Aquileia, the birthday of Saints Fortunatus, Hermogenes, Xistus, Martialis, Hermogeratus, Justus, Geratus. At Rome, the birthday of SS. Abundantius, Innocentius, Mirerendinus, Magnilus. Then, alleging the most ancient Martyrology of St. Willibrord, he produces from it two announcements different from the foregoing: X Kalends of September. At Aquileia, the birthday of Furtunatus, Ermodorus… And at Rome, at St. Laurence, of Innocentus, Sistus, Martialis, Hermogeratus, Habundus, Innocentius, Mirendinus. Into how great difficulties do those corrupted Hieronymian transcripts here again cast us, of which we have so often and deservedly complained, and are again compelled to complain.
[2] The praised Florentinius endeavors to bring some light to these shadows, the praised Florentinius endeavors to unravel: when he observes the following in the notes for this day: The common Latin martyrologies are silent about the Martyrs of Aquileia: the Ms. of the queen of Sweden, however, thus agrees: "At Aquileia, of SS. Fortunatus and Hermogenes with two others." Ferrari treats of these in the general Catalogue on the X Kal. of September, and in the Catalogue of the Saints of Italy on the same day. From the registers of the church of Aquileia, where their relics are kept, that they suffered at Singidunum in Moesia at the same time in which St. Donatus and his companions did, under the emperor Diocletian and the governor Victorianus, the same Ferrari teaches. Yet he is called Hermogenes, not Ermidorus or Ermon, who was a lector; and Fortunatus, who was a deacon of the church of Singidunum. But since in the registers and breviary of the church of Aquileia the remaining companions adduced — Xistus, Hermogeratus, and those who are added in the Corbie Martyrology, Justus and Geratus — are by no means expressed, I more willingly suspect, with the most ancient Ms., that they belong to the Roman Martyrs. Fortunatus is found in the very ancient Hieronymian Calendar of Lucca: "X Kal. Of Fortunatus. Of the three boys." Thus far Florentinius, who judges that with the Martyrs honored at Aquileia Roman ones have been mingled. And indeed in the Rheinau Martyrology these things are said of the Aquileians: At Aquilegia, of Furtunatus, Ermogenes. The Reichenau one agrees; which nevertheless writes at Aquileia, and and of Fortunatus, expressing those names a little otherwise. But this has nothing to detain us.
[3] But since it pleases Florentinius to be of opinion that Xistus, to which we Hermogeratus, Justus, and Geratus (to whom, as I think, Martialis is to be added, because in the Corbie fragment he is named above by Florentinius with those others, and is to be named below) are Roman Martyrs, let us hear him in his notes: The Antwerp Martyrology has not St. Laurence: and besides St. Laurence the most celebrated Deacon, I find no other martyr of this name venerated at Rome in the ecclesiastical registers. Whence from the most ancient Martyrology I doubt not that we should write "At Rome, at St. Laurence's," and that the Martyrs transposed to Aquileia are to be restored to Rome — Xistus, Martialis, Hermes, Geratus, or under a single name Hermegeratus; and from the Corbie Martyrology, Justus: then from our books the three boys, Abundius, Innocentius, and Merendinius. The three boys I do not find numbered elsewhere, save in the Hieronymian Calendar already adduced, but with their names not expressed. Concerning Innocentius among the companions of St. Sixtus the Pontiff, who to others is Vincentius, see the conflicting things which Ferrari notes on the VI day of August in the Catalogue of the Saints of Italy. Abundius is held to have been buried at St. Laurence's in the Acts of St. Laurence, and is honored with Irenaeus in the Roman Martyrology on the XXVI day of August: where nothing is read in our more ancient one. Besides Mirendinius the Corbie Martyrology adds also Magnilius, who may have been Magnus, of the companions of St. Sixtus, as Martialis of St. Aurea's, as will presently be said. You have, reader, Florentinius's conjectures, by which he endeavors to unravel and restore the entangled announcements of the above Saints. We add to these the following observations.
[4] [we] Our transcript from the Ms. of St. Maximin
among the people of Trier clearly marks St. Laurence, speaking thus: At Rome, of Saints Laurentius, Abundius, Innocentius. But since it is not established that the reading At Rome, at St. Laurence's, which Florentinius substituted because St. Laurence was not found in the most ancient copy, is the primitive and genuine one (and indeed who, amid so great a dislocation and corruption of the transcripts, should look for the genuine one?), for that reason I have left his name untouched in the title above: since it might easily have happened that there was a Saint of that name among the others, distinct from the most celebrated Levite of the same name. Our transcript from the manuscript codex of the most eminent Cardinal Barberini favors this, in which we read these words: X Kal. Septemb. At Rome, the birthday of Saints Laurentius, Abundius, Innocendus.
[5] [add] What Florentinius observed from Ferrari concerning SS. Fortunatus and Hermogenes also needs some animadversion. Concerning St. Donatus and his companions, martyrs, we treated on the XXI day of this month: among whom I do not find St. Fortunatus. In the Acts which we produced there, quite enough is said concerning St. Hermogenes the lector; to whom Fortunatus may have been added by Ferrari, and found either in the Passion of St. Donatus and his companions, or in the ancient breviary of Aquileia, from which he took the martyrdom of SS. Hermogenes and Fortunatus which he recites. The emperors Diocletian and Maximian, the place Singidunum, agree, as does Victorianus the governor, as may be seen on the said XXI day: where we also indicated that St. Donatus and his companions are honored among the people of Aquileia and of Cividale; but that it is not known how their sacred pledges were translated to the people of Cividale. The same Ferrari confesses concerning the two Martyrs whom he announces today: When, he says in his annotation, and how the bodies of these Martyrs were translated to Aquileia, the Acts recited in few words in the said breviary by no means teach. From these things we conclude that Hermogenes, noted today in the Hieronymian copies, is probably the same with his namesake whom we gave on the XXI of this month; yet that this is not certainly established, because, even though both on this day and on that the name of the Saint and of the place is the same, yet the companions — that is, those who are reported jointly in the same announcement on this XXIII day in the Hieronymian transcripts — are not noted on the XXI day with Hermogenes. Add that both he and Fortunatus are honored at Aquileia on account of a translation; but whether the announcement in the Hieronymian copies looked to this, or rather to the arena of the martyrdom, there is no ground from which anyone may certainly determine, especially amid so great a confusion of those transcripts.
[6] some observations. Be that as it may; we in the above title have assigned the five Saints named in the first place to Aquileia, but the rest to Rome, following the announcements of the copies of the Hieronymian Martyrology which Florentinius published. We surmise that all were distinguished with the laurel of martyrdom, and that for two reasons taken together: for to each announcement is prefixed the word birthday, and in those calendars it is Martyrs who are wont to be noted. Further, we have reported both those bands together above, because the annotations of Florentinius, such as they are, transcribed by us, fall upon both. It remains that we say a few words concerning the Acts of SS. Hermogenes and Fortunatus, or their abridgment, which Ferrari published. Whence he drew them has been indicated before. But since the copies themselves which the same author used are not at hand, we cannot pass a fair judgment upon them. Meanwhile they may be compared with the Acts of St. Donatus and his companions, of which mention was made above. And that this may be the more easily done, it has seemed good here to subjoin the narration of the martyrdom which is extant in Ferrari, since it is so brief.
[7] Hermogenes the lector, and Fortunatus the deacon of the church of Singidunum, suffered in the persecution of Diocletian and Maximian under the governor Victorianus at the same time The martyrdom of SS. Hermogenes and Fortunatus, and its time. in which St. Donatus and his companions from the same city did. For when Fortunatus, being afflicted with divers kinds of torments, persisted in the confession of the faith, he completed his martyrdom by the cutting off of his head. Then Hermogenes, seized for the same cause, when Victorianus said to him, And art thou too, Hermogenes, seduced? answered: Thou art seduced, wretch. Being asked concerning his religion and his office, he answered: I am Hermogenes, a Christian, and a lector. Lector of whom? says the Governor. The holy Martyr answered: I read to the people the knowledge of God, that is, the commandments of my Lord Jesus Christ. Being warned to sacrifice to the gods, when he freely refused to sacrifice to empty gods, he too at last, executed by the sword, attained the palm of martyrdom on the X Kal. of September: whose bodies rest at Aquileia. The chronological marks in the persecution of Diocletian and Maximian, which Ferrari noted, although it is not ready to my hand to establish them more solidly from elsewhere, I have also set down above — or rather have left standing — yet in such wise that I would have them restricted to those Martyrs alone who are named in the narration just alleged; whatever be the case concerning the others so confusedly mentioned before out of the Hieronymian copies.
[8] Further, after I had written these things, there came into my mind a certain difficulty concerning St. Fortunatus mentioned above from the narration of the martyrdom Today's Fortunatus distinguished from another. which I was reciting from Ferrari. For in volume III of July, on the XII day, in the preliminary Commentary to the Acts of SS. Hermagoras the bishop and Fortunatus the archdeacon, MM., under Nero, as was then said, page 251, it seemed to me that the Fortunatus of whom I there treated is different from his namesake, of whom we treated on the XI day of June, in volume 11 of that month, page 460, who suffered at Aquileia with St. Felix his brother, under Diocletian and Maximian. To which Fortunatuses if you add today's, you will now have three of the same name pertaining to the city of Aquileia; and today's, indeed, under Diocletian and Maximian, as Ferrari noted, likewise crowned with the laurel of martyrdom. Hence someone will ask whether today's Martyr be not confounded, or twice repeated, and the same with him who, as I said, obtained the crown of martyrdom with Felix his brother. I answer that both are sufficiently distinguished by those marks which are noted of the one and not of the other, according at least to their Acts, or the documents which are extant among us. For those two, of whom on the XI day of June, were brothers, and suffered at Aquileia, as was there indicated; not to say anything of the days, which are indeed set down differently by different writers on the page 460 cited; but this XXIII day of August by none. But today's Fortunatus has altogether other marks, as is gathered from what has been said above, to which, that I be not longer, I send the reader. On the day which I mentioned, the XII of July, in the Annotations to the translation of the relics of SS. Hermagoras and Fortunatus, letter k, page 257, mention was made of the sacred relics of Fortunatus and Felix; likewise of Hermacoras and Fortunatus; and finally of Hermogenes and Fortunatus: and then it seemed to us that the same Saints were without doubt there repeated. But that ought not to have been added; since that threefold pair of Martyrs, even though the names of the same, which are nearly similar in formation (if you except Felix), then appeared repeated, now appears as distinct.