ON ST. DOMNINUS OF TIFERNUM, CONFESSOR, NEAR TIFERNUM TIBERINUM, NOW CITTÀ DI CASTELLO, IN UMBRIA,
SYLLOGE.
The Saint's cult, his flight to Perugia, his return to his homeland, and his solitary life.
Domninus, conf., near Tifernum Tiberinum in Umbria. (S.)
About the beginning of the seventh century.
One Tifernum was formerly called Tiberinum, another Metaurense, because the former lay beside the river Tiber, the latter beside the river Metaurus. The Saint's cult; Tiberinum was situated at the roots of the Apennines, and was assigned to Umbria by Ptolemy and Pliny: about the middle of the sixth century, overthrown by Totila, king of the Goths, and then restored, its ancient name being changed, it began to be called Città di Castello. The cause of the changed name was handed down by Arnulf, deacon of Arezzo, a writer of the eleventh century, in the Life of St. Floridus, bishop of Tifernum, whom the people of Tifernum venerate on the 13th day of November: But then, he says, out of the ruins of the city long since overthrown they rebuilt a small little town in the manner of a fort. Which on account of its smallness was named by some Castellum, which name remains to it even to this day. About the third milestone from the city of Tifernum there is a village which the inhabitants call Robiano; here St. Domninus, confessor, led and ended the solitary life for some time, and here he chiefly enjoys a sacred cult: for there not only are his sacred remains preserved and honoured, but he also has a church dedicated to his name, long since accustomed to be devoutly visited by a frequent multitude of the faithful: he is venerated with a double rite on the ninth of October throughout the diocese of Tifernum. Alessandro Filodoro, bishop of Tifernum, inspected his relics at Robiano in the year 1543 on the 28th day of October and shut them up beneath the altar, as Angelo Conti relates from the bishop's charter drawn up on that matter. Some of his relics the Dominican Fathers of Tifernum, as the same Conti writes in his Work on the Saints of Tifernum, page 155, received — I do not know whether from the aforesaid Filidoro, a nursling of the family of St. Dominic.
[2] and his deeds from more recent writers, Ferrari, in the Catalogue of the Saints of Italy, adorned an elogium of St. Domninus from the monuments of the church of Tifernum of this kind: Domninus, a simple man, after the departure of St. Amantius the priest, led for a long time, unknown, a solitary life on wild fruits and the roots of herbs among the mountains and woods of the territory of Tifernum, in the place which is called Robianum; until he was discovered by countrymen who came to that place to gather acorns. And as many flocked daily to see him, he most earnestly begged them not to disturb him and his solitude by their visits, threatening that he would withdraw thence. And when he had spent several years there in that austerity of life, in prayers, fasts and pious meditations, on the 7th day before the Ides of October he passed to Christ, and was buried in that same place. Where a church was built and dedicated to his name. Angelo Conti and Jacobilli, who wrote the Life of St. Domninus in the Italian language, praise the same monuments of the church of Tifernum. But that they are not of very great antiquity is clear from Conti; on whose testimony the Lives of SS. Floridus, Illuminatus and Donninus composed by him were for the greater part drawn either from the paintings which are seen in the choir of the canons of Tifernum or from their Offices: but the paintings and the Offices he praises were made only in the sixteenth century, while Filidoro governed the church of Tifernum, the former indeed in the year 1543, in which, as was said above, Filidoro inspected the relics of St. Domninus at Robiano: and the latter three years afterwards, that is in the year 1546. Far older indeed than these is Arnulf, deacon of Arezzo, who in the Life of St. Floridus, which he inscribed to Theobald, bishop of Tifernum toward the end of the eleventh century, records some things pertaining to St. Domninus, an intimate, as he writes, of St. Floridus; but he too, being at the least four centuries later than St. Domninus, will not seem to anyone to be one whose credit is certain on every side: but what does he say of St. Domninus?
[3] Totila, made king of the Goths about the year 541, who write that he fled to Perugia on account of Totila's fury, when he moved his arms hither and thither through Italy, spread the fear of himself on every side; whereby it came about that those who dwelt in the lesser towns fled to safer and better fortified places: among these were St. Floridus, then a deacon, St. Amantius, priest, and St. Domninus, who, having left Tifernum, their homeland, as they will have it, fled to St. Herculanus, bishop of Perugia, and sought their safety at Perugia. But then, says Arnulf, deacon of Arezzo, while Totila, king of the Goths, was laying waste with barbaric ferocity, with iron and fire, very many cities of Italy that he had taken, all the citizens of Tifernum who were able to escape the imminent sword of the Goths fleeing hither and thither, Floridus the deacon, with Amantius, a religious priest, and Domninus, endowed with the uprightness of simple innocence, making for Perugia, came to the most reverend man Herculanus, bishop of the same city, by whom he was most gloriously received, and having stayed with him for some time, etc. Perugia in the year of Christ 547, the thirteenth of the Gothic war, yielded to Totila, who ordered St. Herculanus, bishop of Perugia, who was treated in volume 1 of March, pages 47 and following, to be cut down; the body of the holy Martyr was first buried beside the walls of the city; and, the citizens who had fled being recalled on the fortieth day after the capture of Perugia, it was translated with much honour into the church of St. Peter; at which time at length St. Floridus with his companions SS. Amantius and Domninus returned to Tifernum. Bl. Floridus therefore having returned, says Arnulf, with the aforesaid most holy men, etc. But of the things already related most rest on no ancient monument sufficient for them to be held as certain. Gregory the Great, in book 3 of the Dialogues, chapter 13, does indeed mention Perugia besieged and captured by the Goths, and mentions Herculanus, Floridus and Amantius; but nowhere indicates that these, or St. Domninus, were at Perugia when the Goths were besieging it: he does, however, introduce Floridus speaking of himself in such a way that he says he was brought up by Herculanus: this therefore can be believed somewhat more probably of Floridus than of St. Amantius or St. Domninus. Concerning St. Amantius see what was said in volume VII of September, page 275. But as regards St. Domninus, if he had reached manly age either about the year 541 — which the Office of St. Floridus published at Rome in the year 1654 insinuates, calling St. Domninus an excellent man where there is talk of the departure of St. Floridus with SS. Amantius and Domninus to Perugia — or about the year 547, which Arnulf, just praised, intimates, and passed from this life, as Jacobilli says, in the year 610; he must be said to have lived about a hundred years, which, though it does not exceed belief, is nevertheless perhaps foreign to the truth.
[4] but afterwards to have led a solitary life, Not long after his return to his homeland he withdrew to Robiano, to lead the solitary life thenceforth, as Angelo Conti and Jacobilli write: but what they say happened not long after his return to his homeland, Arnulf defers until after the deaths of SS. Floridus and Amantius; and since SS. Floridus and Amantius more probably died about the year 600, if credit is to be given to Arnulf, much older than these writers, it is necessary that about half a century intervened between St. Domninus's return from Perugia to his homeland and his withdrawal into solitude. Here are the words of Arnulf, in which he not only affirms what I have just said, but also explains the rest of St. Domninus's course and manner of living: Not long after the departure of Bl. Floridus, St. Amantius the priest too, the course of his life being completed, put off the man, and following the Prelate sought the heavenly kingdoms, and his body was buried with great honour in the same church as the prelate's. But Domninus, a man of simple nature and innocent life, after the decease of St. Amantius, despising the throng of the people, chose to lead the hermit's life alone in the mountainous woods among the lairs of wild beasts, in the place which they name Robianum; where, when he had lived for some time on fruits and the roots of herbs, he was found by countrymen who had come there to gather acorns, and was restored to the knowledge of the people. And when many ran together to him, he asked them not to molest him with such frequent visiting. Otherwise he himself would depart thence. But if they wished to impart some charity to him, let them build a small hut for him there, where on the Sabbath, through one or two men, they might minister to him suitable victuals; and they did everything according to his will. And when he had persevered there for some years in fasts and prayers, he too happily passed to the Lord, and was buried in the same place, and there afterwards a venerable church was built in his honour, in which even to this day he is commemorated and celebrated with worthy honour.
[5] and they write that he is patron of those hurt by rabid animals. That St. Domninus was famous for miracles while he lived on earth I nowhere read: but Angelo Conti writes that a certain poor sick man, his help having been invoked, recovered when his funeral rites were being performed: and those whom rabid animals have bitten have him especially propitious to them; and there is kept in the church dedicated to his name a chalice from which those who fear rabies for themselves drink wine. They say that St. Domninus used it when he offered sacrifice to God. There are, however, those who do not think he was a priest, although in his church he is depicted clad in priestly vestments and holding a chalice in his hand. Those images, as was said above, are not very ancient: whence there is little support in them for those who vote for the priesthood of St. Domninus. The matter appears to me very doubtful: certainly Arnulf, deacon of Arezzo, brings forward nothing anywhere from which you might gather his priesthood, much less grant it as in any way proved.