ON THE HOLY MARTYRS VICTOR, MARCELLINUS, SATULLUS, CRUSES, AGATHONIA, AQUILINA THE VIRGIN, SATURNINUS, EULALIA THE VIRGIN, PHILIPPOLUS, AND DATIVUS.
CommentaryVictor, Martyr (St.)
Marcellinus, Martyr (St.)
Satullus, Martyr (St.)
Cruses, Martyr (St.)
Agathonia, Martyr (St.)
Aquilina, Virgin and Martyr (St.)
Saturninus, Martyr (St.)
Eubalia, Virgin and Martyr (St.)
Philippolus, Martyr (St.)
Dativus, Martyr (St.)
[1] This is the second class of Martyrs, but assigned to no place, and perhaps of those who suffered in various places on this day. The Martyrology of St. Jerome in the Lucca copy has the following: The third day before the Kalends of April. In the city of Thessalonica, of Domninus, Philopholis, Acacius, Names in ancient Martyrologies: Palatinus, about whom we have treated. And elsewhere, of Victor, Marcellinus, Satullus, Crusis, Agathonia, Aquilina the Virgin, Saturninus, Eulalia the Virgin, Philippolus. In the Blume copy, in place of Crusis, Orusis is read. In the Corbie copy printed at Paris, in place of Aquilina and Philippolus, Aquila and Philippopolus is written, and Dativus and Pastor are added. We shall treat of Pastor separately: we leave Dativus joined to these. In our very ancient manuscript, the first part with the four Saints having been omitted through the fault of copyists, only these are found: Agadonia, Aquilina the Virgin, Saturninus, Eulalia the Virgin, Philipulus. Four of these are commemorated in the Roman manuscript of Cardinal Barberini and the Trier manuscript of St. Maximin: And elsewhere, of Victor, Marcellinus, Saturninus, and Eulalia the Virgin. The same are recorded in the Prague manuscript, and the name of Philofolis is prefixed, but whether he pertains to the preceding or to this class, we are in doubt. Three are celebrated in the Reichenau and Cassino manuscripts: Likewise elsewhere, of Victor, Marcellinus, Eulalia the Virgin. In the ancient manuscript of Queen Christina of Sweden, from which Holstenius principally collected his Observations on the Roman Martyrology, the following is found: And elsewhere, of Victor, Marcellinus, with seven others, for so many without Dativus, who appears in a single manuscript, are generally numbered. In the Augsburg and Labbaeus manuscripts two are read thus: Elsewhere, of Victor, Eulalia the Virgin. But mention of Victor alone is made in the Rheinau, Aquileia, and Trier St. Martin manuscripts, but in the last is added: and four others.
[2] In the very ancient manuscript of St. Maximin is proposed: The Passion of Eulalia the Virgin, Aquilina the Virgin, Pastor, and others. Eulalia separately in many: The Altemps manuscript: On the same day, of Saints Ascescama and Eulalia. Can this be for Aquilina and Eulalia? Eulalia the Virgin is also commemorated in the manuscript of St. Cyriacus, highly praised by Baronius, and in the manuscripts of St. Lambert at Liege, St. Gudula at Brussels, St. Martin at Tournai, Arras, and the manuscript Florarium. In the Tallaght manuscript these names are gathered: Victor, Marcellinus, Linus, Satulus, Crusis, Agathonia, Eulalia, Euphemia, Aquilina, Saturninus. Philopolus is missing, whether Linus, Euphemia, or Romulus should be joined? unless for this and the preceding class the names Pillo and Pli are placed for the Saints. The name Linus seems to be truncated from the word Marcellinus: and Euphemia repeated for Eulalia. If, however, they are found added in other manuscripts, it will be permitted as far as we are concerned: as also the name of St. Romulus, joined for this reason in the manuscript Ado of St. Lawrence near Liege: in which the following is read: Likewise of Eulalia the Virgin, Domninus, Victor, Romulus. Of these, Domninus pertains to the preceding class, and we said in the same place that Romulus is joined to him in the manuscript of St. Lambert at Liege; and we doubt whether in his place St. Regulus the Bishop should be placed, whether there were 601 companions? about whom we treat separately. Canisius in the German Martyrology celebrates St. Eulalia the Virgin with six hundred and one. The same things are read in Greven in the Supplement to Usuard, and in the ancient Aachen manuscript, to which the name of Victor is subjoined, and Filipolus is prefixed to both.
[3] Two Martyrs are the leaders in this and the preceding class, Saints Domninus and Victor: whom Wandelbert, as he often does elsewhere, celebrates in one and the same verse: The third day shines with Domninus and his companion Victor. whether St. Victor is a companion of Domninus? We consider Victor a Companion of Domninus not in the place of passion but in the day of veneration. Hence, however, the occasion was taken of joining Victor to the Martyrs of Thessalonica, as we noted above. In the manuscript Florarium is read: of Victor the King and Confessor, for which we think should be read: of Victor, about whom we have treated, of Regulus the Bishop and Confessor, about whom we shall presently treat.
[4] We said above that St. Secundus suffered on this day in the city of Asti, whether St. Eulalia suffered in the city of Asti: whose church is said by Ughelli in volume 4 of Sacred Italy, pages 473 and 474, to have offered among other holy Martyrs, as first-fruits, to her spouse Christ, St. Eulalia the Virgin and Martyr, whose body Pope Julius III ordered to be carried to the church of St. Mary the New in the year 1553. Of this one we have not found elsewhere
any mention, so that at least some suspicion has been raised whether perhaps this St. Eulalia, cited from twenty Martyrologies, was crowned with the laurel of martyrdom at Asti; which we propose to the people of Asti themselves for further examination. We have in the church of the Professed House of our Society at Antwerp some relics of St. Eulalia received from Rome, whom together with other Saints, of whom we also have some sacred remains, we venerate on the twenty-eighth of February.