ON THE HOLY MARTYRS VERULUS, SECUNDINUS, SIRICIUS, FELIX, SERVULUS, SATURNINUS, FORTUNATUS, JOCUNDUS, JULIAN, ALEXANDER, AND 16 COMPANIONS, AT HADRUMETUM IN AFRICA
Historical Collection.
Verulus, Martyr, at Hadrumetum in Africa (St.) Secundinus, Martyr, at Hadrumetum in Africa (St.) Siricius, Martyr, at Hadrumetum in Africa (St.) Felix, Martyr, at Hadrumetum in Africa (St.) Servulus, Martyr, at Hadrumetum in Africa (St.) Saturninus, Martyr, at Hadrumetum in Africa (St.) Fortunatus, Martyr, at Hadrumetum in Africa (St.) Jocundus, Martyr, at Hadrumetum in Africa (St.) Julian, Martyr, at Hadrumetum in Africa (St.) Alexander, Martyr, at Hadrumetum in Africa (St.) Another 16 Martyrs, at Hadrumetum in Africa
By the author G. H.
[1] Three things must be considered here: namely, what was the arena of victory appointed for these athletes; how many were they and what were their names; and at what time principally they flourished, Holy Martyrs or in what persecution they were slain. First, nearly all the Martyrologies assign Africa, of which some mention no city in addition, in Africa while others add Hadrumetum, or Adrumetum, Adrumentum, Adrumitum, who suffered at Hadrumetum and from the errors of copyists Assumitum or Arimetum. This city belongs to Africa proper, ancient and celebrated in the province of Byzacena, distinguished also by various names in ancient writers. In Ptolemy, book 4, chapter 3: "Adroumitios kolonia," Adrumittus Colonia. In Strabo, book 17: "Adrume, a city in which there were also dockyards," on account of the convenient gulf, which was called the Adrumeticus. In Stephanus of Byzantium: "Adrymas," "Adrymetos," though he asserts that the genitive is also used for the nominative. That it is also named differently by Thucydides, Pausanias, Tacitus, and Pliny is observed by Ortelius in his Geographical Thesaurus. Tertullian in his book to Scapula, chapter 3, mentions the Adrumetine Martyr Mavilum, whom we have celebrated with the Roman Martyrology on the 4th of January. Felix, Bishop of Hadrumetum, is mentioned by Victor of Utica in book 1; and Bishop Philolocius of Hadrumetum took part in the Conference of Carthage in the year 411.
[2] Three of the Martyrs who suffered at Hadrumetum on this day are provided by Usuard, Bellinus, Canisius, Maurolycus, Felicius, as well as the manuscript Martyrologies of St. Riquier, of St. Lambert at Liege, of St. Donatian at Bruges, of St. Paulinus at Trier, of the Carmelites at Cologne, of St. Gudula at Brussels, of St. Mary at Utrecht, the manuscript Ado of Therouanne and of St. Lawrence at Liege, the manuscript Florarium, and the Martyrology published at Cologne in the year 1490. In these, the same words are read almost everywhere: "In Africa, in the city of Hadrumetum, Verulus, Secundinus, Servulus Sts. Verulus, Secundinus, Servulus, and twenty others." Verulus is also called Verolus, Veronus, and Netolus by others; Secundinus is called Secundianus in the manuscript of Usuard belonging to the Queen of Sweden. The manuscript Martyrology of Lethia gives four names of Martyrs, and indeed three different from the earlier ones: "In Africa, the birthday of Sts. Servulus, Julian, Saturninus, Felix, Julian, Saturninus, Felix and seventeen others." The manuscript Martyrology of St. Martin of Tournai adds a fifth with these words: "In Africa, the birthday of Sts. Secundus, Servulus, Julian, Saturninus, Felix, and seventeen others." This Secundus, omitted in the Lethian Martyrology, is the same as Secundinus in others. Julian is added by us from these two manuscripts, which are very ancient, though he was passed over by others. In the manuscript Martyrology of St. Cyriacus at Rome, six Martyrs are named: Siricius, or Siricus "In Africa, the birthday of Sts. Verolus, Secundinus, Servulus, Siricus, Felix, Saturninus" -- with no mention made of anonymous companions, of whom the manuscript Martyrology of Cologne at St. Mary ad Gradus reports there were eighteen, in addition to the six named: "In Africa, the birthday of Sts. Saturninus, Secundus, Servulus, Siricus, Felix, Jocundus, Jocundus and eighteen others." In Bede, seven are expressed by their names: "In Africa," he says, "Sts. Verolus, Servolus, Secundinus, Siricius, Felix, Saturninus, Fortunatus Fortunatus, and sixteen others." The same is read in Rabanus, but with the name Sirici restored, not Siricii, as it reads in Bede.
[3] In the very ancient manuscript of Reichenau, with Secundinus omitted, these seven are expressed: "In Africa, in the city of Assumitum, Verilus, Jocundus, Servulus, Siricus, Felix, Saturninus, Fortunatus." expressed in other Martyrologies Eight are listed by Notker with these names: "In Africa, Sts. Verulus, Secundinus, Servulus, Syricius, Felix, Jocundus, Saturninus, Fortunatus, and seventeen others. Elsewhere, Victorinus, etc." with Victorinus to be removed from here This Victorinus, however, in the manuscript of Aachen is joined to those Africans: "In Africa, the birthday of Sts. Verolus, Servolus, Secundinus, Siricus, Felix, Saturninus, Fortunatus, Jocundinus, Victorinus, and twenty-eight others." It seems one should read "and eighteen others," unless the companions of Victorinus, who were more numerous, are being combined. In the very ancient Roman Martyrology, written about a thousand years ago, which is attributed to St. Jerome, the following is read: "9th day before the Kalends of March. In Africa, in the city of Hadrumetum, the birthday of Sts. Verulus, Secundinus, Servolus, Siricus, Felix, Saturninus, Fortunatus, Jocundus, and eighteen others. And elsewhere, Victorinus, Mippalicus, etc.," about whom we shall treat separately. But to the eight we have listed above, since we add Julian named above, the other anonymous companions remain not eighteen but only seventeen, which Bede and Rabanus assert to be sixteen. We have placed the same number in the title, adding as a seventeenth St. Alexander, St. Alexander is added, with 16 anonymous companions who alone is mentioned in the manuscript Martyrology of the monastery of St. Maximin with these words: "9th day before the Kalends of March. In Africa, the birthday of St. Alexander." Thus in total we give twenty-six holy Martyrs, as many as are also recorded in the ancient Roman Martyrology, or that of St. Jerome, but in place of two anonymous ones we substitute Julian and Alexander from other Martyrologies.
[4] So much for the number of the Martyrs, among whom whether any were Bishops or Priests, in the silence of so many and illustrious Martyrologies, we do not conjecture. Hermann Greven, in his supplement to Usuard, besides the three reported from him here, adds the following: "Likewise of Syricus, Saturninus, Fortunatus, Jocundus the Bishop, Victorinus, whether St. Jocundus was a Bishop Peter." Concerning St. Victorinus, the leader of very many Martyrs, to whom Peter is added, we have already noted that we shall treat of them separately. Baronius in his Notes to August 28th indicates, at letter f, that at Salerno in the cathedral church the bodies of Sts. Fortunatus, Caius, and Anthes, who are venerated on that day, are preserved in the lower crypt; and was St. Felix a Priest? while in the upper part, under the high altar, is placed the body of St. Felix, Priest and Martyr, whose anniversary celebration is observed there on the 21st of February. However, in the Salernitane Offices published in the year 1594, St. Felix is venerated on August 30th, killed with St. Adauctus on the Ostian Way, and his body is said to rest there enclosed in the high altar, with no mention of any cult on the 21st of February. Relics of St. Secundinus at Bologna. Relics of St. Servulus at Volterra Masinus, in his survey of Bologna, at the 21st of February, observes that some relics of St. Secundinus are venerated in the church of St. Lucy at Bologna, as if they were those of the Martyr of Hadrumetum. Likewise the people of Volterra, in a writing transmitted to us, indicated that they possess relics of this St. Servulus.
[5] Concerning the time of the martyrdom, there is deep silence among the authors cited thus far. That St. Mavilum suffered at Hadrumetum in the persecution of the Emperor Severus was stated on January 4th, but these are not therefore to be grouped with him. In the manuscript Martyrology of St. Martin at Trier, the following is read under February 20th: "In Africa, of Secundinus the Martyr and twenty-four others, whether these Martyrs suffered under Diocletian? who at the command of Diocletian were killed through various torments." This is not rejected by us. Peter Galesinius in his Martyrology assigns their death to the Vandals, in these words: "At Hadrumetum in Africa, Sts. Verulus, Secundinus, Servulus, and twenty others, who in the Vandal persecution were nobly crowned." or in the Vandal persecution? Concerning whom, as he says in his Notes, the monk Nicholas also writes, but briefly, as do the rest. But who is this Nicholas? He had previously cited Usuard, whom he also calls a monk in the Preface: did he perhaps wish to cite him here as well, with his pen going astray? Usuard treats of the same three Martyrs and twenty companions who suffered at Hadrumetum, as do the rest, but they do not mention the Vandal persecution, which Galesinius frequently appends without the authority of the ancients. Meanwhile, following Galesinius, Baronius inscribed the following in the Roman Martyrology: "At Hadrumetum in Africa, the holy Martyrs Verulus, Secundinus, Syricius, Felix, Servulus, Saturninus, Fortunatus, and sixteen others, who were crowned in the Vandal persecution for the confession of the Catholic faith." In his Notes he observes: "Bede and Usuard also speak of these. What is here added, that they suffered in the Vandal persecution, you should know was restored from the said old manuscript." He means the manuscript Martyrology of the monastery of St. Cyriacus, in which we said above only these words are contained: "9th day before the Kalends of March. In Africa, the birthday of Sts. Verolus, Secundinus, Servulus, Siricus, Felix, Saturninus" -- without mention of the city of Hadrumetum, of St. Fortunatus and the other sixteen, or of the Vandal persecution, which Galesinius was the first to append, though he meanwhile in his Preface to his Martyrology, citing the authority of St. Augustine, says that Africa is full and the province everywhere packed with Martyrs, and there is scarcely any place anywhere where there do not exist some monuments of noble slaughter endured for the glory of Christ -- which, however, cannot all be referred to the Vandal persecution.