ON ST. NONA, MARTYR, AT LEÓN IN SPAIN,
PERHAPS ABOUT THE YEAR 303.
CRITICAL COMMENTARY.
Nona, martyr at León in Spain. (S.)
BY R. D. B.
§ Sole. Was St. Nona the wife of St. Marcellus the centurion, and mother of twelve martyrs? Her cult.
Two writers, ancient above the rest, have handed down to posterity the praises of St. Nona. The former, Lucas of Tuy, in the thirteenth century, extols the glory of the town of León in these words: St. Nona What country or what city has brought forth anything such as León, a city of Spain, which produced Marcellus the centurion, martyr of Christ, with his most blessed wife Nona and twelve sons, centurions and martyrs of Christ, by whose blood and faith the Catholic people is strengthened? Their names are these: Claudius, Lupercus, Victoricus, Facundus, Primitivus, etc. Hispania illustrata, volume IV, Chronicon Mundi, page 2.. Lucius Marineus Siculus, who lived in the early sixteenth century, sets forth a not much different tradition about the same holy woman. St. Martiel, he says, and St. Nona were citizens of León and noble of family, who had twelve sons in number, most holy worshippers of the Christian religion; of whom eleven with their father Martiel suffered a most bitter martyrdom on one day. When St. Nona saw them dead, clasping her only little son in her arms, with bent knees and bathed in many tears, she prayed to God to rescue her with her son from the dangers of life. And when she had said this, suddenly a lake arose, which at once by divine power swallowed up the mother with her son, whose water the sick drink and are healed. There the city of León built around the lake a church, which is called that of St. Nona Ibid., volume I, De Rebus Hispaniae, book V, page 333..
[2] she was not the wife of St. Marcellus the centurion, The narrative of Marineus has rightly displeased several writers. It is more likely, in the view of Alfonso de Villegas Flos Sanctorum, page 380, edition of 1583., that the blessed woman was thrown into the lake by persecutors: an opinion which Felipe de la Gándara follows as certain Palmas y triunfos etc. de Galicia, volume I, page 310.. I add as probable by conjecture that, on account of the merits of St. Nona, as has several times happened to other saints too, the power of healing the sick was given by God to the waters of the lake. Then, as appears from what is discussed at page 278, it is by no means certain that St. Nona was the wife of St. Marcellus the centurion. But since from remote times Spanish writers, especially those of León, call her the wife of some holy martyr Marcellus, and the mother of twelve martyred sons, and it should not be imagined that nothing but false things is related there, he will perhaps not be far from the truth who judges that she was joined in matrimony to some Marcellus, martyr of León, distinct from the holy centurion, and bore by him several sons, all or nearly all of whom met death for the religion of Christ. And if St. Marcellus of Tangier was taken for a certain holy martyr of the same name of León, it will not be surprising:
for that names have often been mistaken in this way, especially in regions laid waste with fire and sword by the enemies of the Christian religion, but a martyr, and, as it seems, of León. has several times been shown in our Work.
[3] From this confusion of things someone will perhaps infer that it is not established that St. Nona should be reckoned among the martyrs, or even that she was among the living. But an inference of this kind is wholly to be rejected, especially because the people of León built a church sacred to her. For it is one thing to have borne martyrdom, another to have completed this or that kind of martyrdom. Indeed in nearly every volume of the Bollandist Work there occur one or more saints whose martyrdom is certain from popular tradition; but the kind, time and circumstances of the death are either unknown or doubtful. That St. Nona is to be reckoned among martyrs of this sort no one will deny except rashly. Nor let anyone be seized with fear because the Higuera school wrongly invented many Spanish saints who never existed: among whom perhaps St. Nona would be numbered. This fear is empty; for this school, being born about the year 1600, had not yet come into the light when Lucas of Tuy, Lucius Marineus and others wrote the praise of St. Nona in their books. And so much for the martyrdom of St. Nona. Of its time we have not brought forward so much as a word: nor is it our intention to undertake a discussion of the matter, lest we lose our oil and labour, documents being lacking. But since the writers relate that she underwent martyrdom in the same year as SS. Claudius, Lupercus and the others, that is, under Diocletian, we refer her death to about the year 303.
[4] Her cult is explained. It remains for us to show that St. Nona, a hundred years before the Urban decree of the year 1634 and thereafter, was adorned with the glory of ecclesiastical cult, and so is rightly and deservedly celebrated in this our Work. That she was honoured with an ecclesiastical Office or Mass is hardly likely, since Spanish writers point to no traces of this matter. But there is a certain undoubted sign of ecclesiastical cult paid to her, namely that in her honour the episcopal city of León … built a church, which was called that of St. Nona in the year 1533, about which year Lucius Marineus was writing his books on Spanish affairs. This church is mentioned by Vasaeus Hispania illustrata, volume I, Hispaniae Chronicon, page 649. in the year 1551, nearly copying Marineus, and about the year 1592 by Francisco de Trujillo España sagrada, volume XXXIV, page 350., bishop of León, who adds that a certain confraternity followed the holy martyr with singular piety. These writers, just like Ambrosio de Morales about the year 1572 Viage, page 56 and following, edition of 1765., Padilla in the year 1605 Historia eclesiástica de España, volume I, folio 138., Felipe de la Gándara about the year 1670, Pablo de San Nicolás Antiguedades eclesiásticas de España, pages 261 and 264. in the year 1725, Francisco Xavier de la Huerta Anales de Galicia, volume I, page 192. in the year 1733, and others, call her blessed or holy. All of these had to some extent been preceded by Lucas of Tuy, of the thirteenth century, as we have already pointed out, no ignoble writer, calling St. Nona the most blessed wife of St. Marcellus the martyr. But these things are confirmed as greatly as possible by a letter which was written to me on the 14th day of July of the year 1879 by the most illustrious and reverend lord Saturnino Fernández de Castro, bishop of León. An image of St. Nona, he says, is shown on the high altar of the church of St. Marcellus, and on another, older altar, which is kept in the sacristy of the chapel commonly named "Christ of the Victory", whose antiquity reaches at least to the twelfth century, and also on another altar of a chapel outside the city erected in honour of the same saint. And below: Under the title of St. Nona there is to be seen today in this city a chapel near the monastery of St. Claudius, erected in the same place from which, as pious tradition reports, the same saint passed to heaven. Finally in these clear words the most illustrious prelate adds that in our age no traces of cult paid to the blessed woman are found in the liturgical books (and this was also our conjecture), and even that no sacred relics of Blessed Nona survive: which no one will be surprised at who knows the wretched fate of the ancient Spanish Church. We treat of her at this day because Arthur du Moustier celebrates her martyrdom at the 30th day of October in the Gynecaeum: At León in Spanish Tarraconensis, he says, of Nonia, martyr, wife of Blessed Marcellus: who was punished with the loss of her head for the confession of Christ. From what source Arthur drew the fact that her head was taken off, he omits to indicate.