ON SS. SOCRATES AND STEPHEN, MM.,
IN ENGLAND,
Perhaps under Diocletian.
SYLLOGE.
Socrates, M., in England. (S.)
Stephen, M., in England. (S.)
BY C. S.
These two Martyrs of Great Britain, known only by name and by their British arena, the Martyrologies, ancient as well as more recent, announce with great consent on the present day of September. Their memory in the Martyrologies. Of the Hieronymian transcripts, the Epternach copy, in Florentinius's Notes on his Martyrology, commemorates them thus: XV Kalends of October: of Britain, of Socrates, of Stephen. Bede, in the Martyrology published by us before tom. 2 of March, has on the same day: Among the Britons, of Socrates and Stephen; in the Metrical, however, he keeps deep silence. Notker reports them in the same words: Rabanus and Ado agree, and after him Usuard, as also the compiler of our manuscript Florarium of the Saints, saying: In the Britains, of the holy Socrates and Stephen. Finally Baronius, following these, says on this day in the Roman Martyrology: In Britain, of the holy martyrs Socrates and Stephen. The other Martyrologies, which I could bring forward in great number, I pass over; because besides the names of the Martyrs and their uncertain arena in Britain, they teach us nothing.
[2] But John Wilson treats of them more at length in his Martyrologium Anglicanum, Their elogium published first in the year 1608 and then with some emendations in the year 1640. The elogium which he there wove I subjoin, turned from English into Latin. In the later edition, then, he has it thus: In South Wales, the Passion of SS. Stephen and Socrates, martyrs, by nation noble Britons, who, when they had been converted to the faith of Christ by St. Amphibalus, presbyter and martyr, were slain in Britain by most bitter torments in the persecution of the emperor Diocletian, about the year of Christ CCCIV. Their memory was of old famous in South Wales, chiefly in the duchy of Monmouth, where many monuments dedicated to their name and honor survive even now. Thus he there, with some changes from what he had set down a little differently in the earlier edition. For he had said that the Saints, with many others, on account of
the same cause (namely the Christian religion) had been slain; but about their cult he had written: Many temples still survive in Wales, consecrated of old in their honor; where also their memory is famous down to these times, especially in the duchy of Monmouth and the adjoining Southern parts.
[3] in the English Martyrology Things agreeing with these are had by Michael Alford in the Annals of the British Church, tom. 1, at the year of Christ 287, num. 30, praising the aforesaid Martyrology, and authors of whom he names none, and who are unknown to me from elsewhere. No more do I know what old manuscripts the most eminent Baronius saw, of which he makes mention thus in his Notes on the text of his Martyrology reported above: Bede, Usuard, Ado and others treat of the same on this day; with whom also old Manuscripts agree. Certainly I have neither found such in our Museum, nor read any published by others, nor did Baronius himself, so far as I could discover, make mention of these holy Martyrs in his Annals. In this scarcity of documents, therefore, I can do nothing else than investigate on what foundation Wilson's statements seem to rest. That the Saints were Britons or English is made sufficiently likely by their martyrdom being consummated on that island; but as regards the nobility of their stock, by what reasoning will Wilson prove it?
[4] it is set forth as sufficiently likely. He likewise does not wander from likelihood in wishing them to have suffered in the persecution of Diocletian; for in that persecution England too beheld her heroes, of whom Bede in book 1 of his History, chapter 7, treating of St. Alban, wrote this: There suffered at that time Aaron and Julius, citizens of the City of the Legions, and very many others of both sexes in various places, who, tortured with various torments and torn with unheard-of rending of their limbs, sent forth their souls, the contest being finished, to the joys of the heavenly city. Of SS. Aaron and Julius we have treated in our Work on the 1st day of July; but of the holy Alban and of Amphibalus, his master in the faith, a cleric, on the XXII of June, where in the Acts published in the second place, about two thousand are said to have been converted to Christ by his work and crowned with the laurel of martyrdom, the martyrdom of all of whom is there referred to the great Diocletianic persecution of the year 303. Among these, therefore, SS. Socrates and Stephen were believed by Wilson to have been, and therefore they were called by him disciples of St. Amphibalus, and slain with the most bitter torments: which, although it be not certain, is nevertheless not an inept conjecture. For the same cause he placed their arena in South Wales, because many in that province, taught Christ by St. Amphibalus, died a glorious martyrdom. This opinion is much favored if, as Wilson says, in the duchy of Monmouth, commonly Monmouth-shire, our holy Martyrs formerly had churches dedicated to them, and their sacred monuments even now survive; concerning which, however, I could find nothing in other writers after diligent examination.
[5] Tamayo's assertion is fictitious. Further, although all the Martyrologies which have mentioned these holy Martyrs place their arena in Britain, John Tamayo nevertheless in his Martyrologium Hispanicum, on this day of September, did not hesitate to assert that they suffered at Britonia or Brionia, which was formerly a city of Spain in Galicia, now destroyed. At Britonia in Spain, he says, of SS. Socrates and Stephen, who, being seized in the dire storm of Ulpius Trajan's persecution on account of the Catholic faith, torn asunder with various torments, are at last crowned as martyrs in the supreme contest. For this assertion of his, which he acknowledges the other martyrologists to oppose, he cites as surety the pseudo-Julian, whom after his manner he prefers to all others. Julian, he says, archpresbyter of Toledo, in his Chronicle, year XCIV, num. XXVI, fol. XVI, although in the published codex the names of the holy Martyrs and the place of their arena are found corrupted, affirms that they completed their contest in Britonia of Spain in this series: "In the same persecution (Trajan's) in Spain, in the city Brionia or Briania (read Britonia), of the holy martyrs Sociotis (restore Socrates) and Stephen. Others under Nero." He also subjoins in the same place an Epigram of the same Julian, in manuscript among the poems of Halus, treating of the same men: but that both this and the aforesaid Chronicle are fictitious has already been so often shown, both in our Work and by others, that there is no need of further refutation.