ON THE HOLY MARTYRS HERACLIUS, ZOSIMUS,
ALEXANDER, PHILOMUS THE BISHOP, CANDIDUS, VALERIUS, QUIRILLUS, PETRONIUS,
CAIUS, MARTIANUS, YSICUS OR SICIPUS, PIPERION, AND FIFTEEN OTHERS, AT CARTHAGE,
OR PERHAPS SOME OF THEM AT ALEXANDRIA,
A HISTORICAL COMMENTARY.
Heraclius, Martyr at Carthage, or perhaps some of them at Alexandria (Saint)
Zosimus, Martyr at Carthage, or perhaps some of them at Alexandria (Saint)
Alexander, Martyr at Carthage, or perhaps some of them at Alexandria (Saint)
Philomus, Bishop and Martyr at Carthage, or perhaps some of them at Alexandria (Saint)
Candidus, Martyr at Carthage, or perhaps some of them at Alexandria (Saint)
Valerius, Martyr at Carthage, or perhaps some of them at Alexandria (Saint)
Quirillus, Martyr at Carthage, or perhaps some of them at Alexandria (Saint)
Petronius, Martyr at Carthage, or perhaps some of them at Alexandria (Saint)
Caius, Martyr at Carthage, or perhaps some of them at Alexandria (Saint)
Martianus, Martyr at Carthage, or perhaps some of them at Alexandria (Saint)
Ysicus, or Sicipus, Martyr at Carthage, or perhaps some of them at Alexandria (Saint)
Peperion, Martyr at Carthage, or perhaps some of them at Alexandria (Saint)
Fifteen others, Martyrs at Carthage, or perhaps some of them at Alexandria (Saints)
[1] The Martyrology of Saint Jerome, printed at Paris, begins this day with these Martyrs in these words: On the fifth day before the Ides of March, at Carthage, of Heraclius, Zosimus, Alexander, [At Carthage, all are said to have suffered according to ancient manuscript Martyrologies,] Philomus the Bishop, Candidus, Valerius, Quirillus, Petronius, Caius, Martianus, Ysicus, Piperion, and fifteen others. Of Rogatus and Cendeus.
The same is read in our manuscript of the same Saint Jerome and in another manuscript which exists in our possession, written nearly a thousand years ago. In this latter, Caius is placed before Philomus, or, as it is read there, Pilomus the Bishop, and at the end twelve are added in place of fifteen, but these fifteen are also found in the Lucca and Blumian codices. In these the name of Heraclius is absent and one reads Sycus for Ysicus. In the rest there is found great agreement, and everywhere the name Alexander is read as that of a Martyr, not of the city of Alexandria, though in this word a great controversy is raised. The manuscript Martyrology of Corbie agrees with what has been said; from it we give the following: On the fifth day before the Ides of March, at Carthage, of Heraclius, Zosimus, Alexander, Philomus the Bishop, Candidus, Valerius, Quirillus. Furthermore, the manuscript Martyrologies of Trier at Saint Maximin's, of the Cathedral Church of Prague, of the Canons Regular at Albergen, of Frankfurt which is preserved at Cologne among the Carmelites, of the Society of Jesus at Louvain, of Saint Gudula at Brussels, likewise of Saint Cecilia at Leiden, and four others which are in our possession, likewise the printed Martyrologies of Lubeck from the year 1475, of Paris from the year 1490, of Bellini from the year 1498, of Hermann Greven, of Maurolycus, of Whitford, of Canisius, and in printed ones of Molanus, all have everywhere in the same words: At Carthage, of the holy Martyrs Heraclius, Zosimus, Alexander, Candidus, Piperion, and twenty others. In the Cologne Martyrology and the Doctrinale Clericorum, printed in the year 1490, there is added: crowned for Christ. In Galesin, certain details are added concerning the time of martyrdom, as will be said below.
In the manuscript of Utrecht of Saint Jerome the name Alexander is absent. In the manuscript of Trier at Saint Paulinus the following is read: At Carthage, of Heraclius and twenty-nine others. Indeed, with Heraclius himself there are only twenty-nine, even if Rogatus and Cendeus are added, who are appended after the number of fifteen others, and who are perhaps the same as those who are venerated with other Martyrs on the tenth of March, and therefore should be passed over here.
Thus also in the twenty codices already cited, besides the five named, twenty others are indicated: according to the threefold Martyrology of Saint Jerome there would be twenty-two, or if Rogatus and Cendeus are added, there would be twenty-four. In the manuscript Martyrology or Calendar of the Vallicellian library of the Congregation of the Oratory at Rome, prefixed to the book of Saint Isidore On Ecclesiastical Offices, one reads: At Carthage, of Eradius, Zozimus.
In the manuscript of Augsburg from the monastery of Saint Ulrich, without place and in reversed order, the memory of these is listed: Alexander, Agapius, Philomus, Candidus, Valerius, Quirillus, Petronius, Heraclius, Zosimus, Martianus. The same and in this order are reported in the Paris manuscript of Labbe, but in place of Agapius there is better, in agreement with others, the name Caius; in place of Alexander, which has not previously been done, one reads Alexandria: concerning which word more will be said presently. In the Monte Cassino manuscript, mention is made of Saints Candidus, Valerianus, and Alexander. But in place of Valerianus, in other sources the name Valerius appears.
[2] Peter de Natalibus, in book 3 of his Catalogue, chapter 191, citing Ado, reports the following: Hiradus (rather Heraclus or Heraclius), Zosimus, Alexander, Candidus, Piperion, and twenty others of their company, having suffered at Carthage for the confession of Christ's name, obtained from the Lord the triumph of victory on the fifth day before the Ides of March. Baronius, for the Roman Martyrology, divided them into two classes, citing Peter de Natalibus in both places, Some are attributed to Alexandria: and the following is now read: At Carthage, of the holy Martyrs Heraclius and Zosimus. At Alexandria, the passion of Saints Candidus, Piperion, and twenty others. In his annotations he advises that they should be placed separately on account of ancient manuscripts: namely that of the monastery of Saint Cyriacus, in which they are thus recorded: At Carthage, of Eraclius, Zosimus. At Alexandria, of Gagius, Candidus, and fifteen others. The Vatican manuscript of the church of Saint Peter under the name of Bede agrees: At Carthage, of Eraclius, Zosimus. At Alexandria, of Gagus, Candidus, without the number of companions. Meanwhile, if one reads Alexander instead of Alexandria, as in twenty or more Martyrologies, the reasoning will be the same everywhere: and the fifteen companions drawn from the Martyrology of Saint Jerome support this. Meanwhile, in this text eight Martyrs indicated by their proper names have been omitted. Finally, in the Roman Martyrology, in place of Gagius or Gagus, the name Piperion is substituted from other sources, and in place of the anonymous fifteen, twenty are read.
[3] Another source of error seems to have been drawn from the aforementioned manuscript Martyrology of Saint Jerome which is in our possession: namely that on the previous day, or on the tenth of March, the following is read: At Alexandria, the birthday of Candidus, as on 10 March. Valerius, Peter, Marcianus, and fifteen other Martyrs. But we conclude that all of this was badly interpolated through the ignorance of some copyist, because all of it is absent from the Lucca and Blumian codices of the same Saint Jerome, and also from the Martyrology of this same Saint printed at Paris. Meanwhile, from a similar source, error has crept into other manuscript Martyrologies, and thus in the manuscript of Ado belonging to Queen Christina of Sweden, one reads at 10 March: At Alexandria, of Saint Candidus; in the Tournai and Laetian manuscripts there is added: and of Valerius; in the Reichenau manuscript it is described more fully, with the addition of Peter and Marcianus. Peter is the same as Petronius mentioned above. Again in the same copies of the Martyrology, at the end of the tenth of March, one reads: At Alexandria, of Eraclius, Zosimus, Alexander, and Gaipe, or Gaipen, or Caius Pennus: for the codices vary thus. Holstenius, in his Observations on the Roman Martyrology, found thus in a manuscript: At Alexandria, of Zosimus and Alexander with three others, and so the controversy concerning the addition of Caius is avoided. Notker, who reports the same, has only Caius: but Rabanus has Gayperius, for which there is printed in the margin Candidus and Piperion; but rather Caius and Piperion or Perion, and thus all can be referred to these Carthaginian Martyrs. If, however, anyone wishes to establish that the Martyrs just mentioned are different from the Carthaginians, we shall not object. But because in the printed Bede the first three are recorded on this day, the eleventh, in these words: At Alexandria, of Eraclius, Zosimus, Alexander, we plainly judge that an error underlies this and that it should be read At Carthage: because these are not treated separately in the said printed Bede.
[4] Again in the Cologne Martyrology, the Doctrinale Clericorum, the supplement of Greven, and certain manuscripts, the following is found for this day, the eleventh: At Alexandria, of Saints Philomus the Bishop, others are attributed to Alexandria Candidus, Valerius, and twenty other Martyrs. In some codices, with Candidus omitted, twenty-one others are added. In place of Philomus, the name Philonius and Philoromus has also been written. In the Tournai manuscript, a new distinction of cities has been interpolated in these words: At Nicomedia, the birthday of Saints Gorgonius, Eraclius, Alexander. At Carthage, of Zosimus, and at Alexandria, of Saints Candidus, Marcianus, Quirillus. In the Laetian manuscript the same holy Martyrs are read, but the intervening words At Alexandria are absent: so that the three latter are reported as crowned with Zosimus by martyrdom at Carthage, to whom also Eraclius and Alexander should be referred. or at Nicomedia One Gorgonius does not belong here, and seems to be the one who is reported on the following day, the twelfth of March, by many and is venerated on the ninth of September. Concerning another Gorgonius and Firmus, Martyrs of Nicaea, we have treated on the tenth of this month. Finally, in the Pleschion manuscript these Martyrs are listed: At Alexandria, of Saints Caius, Candidus, Alexander, and Neonas the Deacon, and fifteen others. But among the Martyrs who suffered at Alexandria on the twelfth of March are Alexander and Neonas the Deacon, so that from this, too, occasion could have been seized to ascribe more of the said Martyrs to the city of Alexandria. For the rest, we leave everything to the judgment of the learned reader. Wandelbert honored two of these in this verse:
"Candidus here and Valerius claim the fifth for themselves."
[5] The time of these Martyrs is assigned by Galesin as when Valerian and Gallienus, enemies of the faith, were ruling. But since in his annotations he gives no reason for his statement, at what time they are said to have been crowned.
he seems to have done so from mere conjecture alone. In the Cologne manuscript of Saint Mary ad Gradus, the persecution of the Emperor Licinius seems to be implied. But these same Martyrs are also attributed to Nicomedia in these words: At Nicomedia, of Saints Eraclius, Zosimus, Candidus, Cyrillus, Claudius, and twenty-five others, in the time of King Lucinus. Where the names Cyrillus and Claudius seem to have been substituted for Quirillus and Gagus. Otherwise, a certain Martyr named Claudius is among the Forty Martyrs who suffered at Sebastea under Licinius, who are also celebrated in many Martyrologies on the eleventh of March.
[6] A new difficulty has been created by the person who recently put forward a Chronicle under the name of Lucius Flavius Dexter: into which the following has been inserted at the year of Christ 268: whether some are in Spain: At Carthage in Spain, under the Emperors Gallienus and Valerian, Heraclius and Zosimus become illustrious Martyrs for Christ. That those whom we reported in the first place above are to be understood is affirmed by Bivarius and Rodericus Carus in their annotations, by Tamayo Salazar in his Spanish Martyrology, and by others cited by him. But the Martyrologies we have extensively reviewed establish only Carthage as the arena of combat, with no mention made of Spain. But why were the remaining companion Martyrs not added? Unless because they were found separately in the current Roman Martyrology, to which the time of martyrdom was appended from Galesin.