E00548: Gregory of Tours, in his Glory of the Martyrs (48), tells of the martyrdom of the 48 *Martyrs of Lyon (S00316), naming 45 of them; the scattering of their ashes in the Rhône; their apparition to the Christians of Lyon, leading to the recovery of their relics; and the construction of a great church in the district of Ainay; all in Lyon (central Gaul). Written in Latin in Tours (north-west Gaul), 580/594.
Creators: name: Dlambert
Publisher: name: University of Oxford
Year: 2015
Subjects: History

description: Gregory of Tours, Glory of the Martyrs 48<br><br>Quadraginta octo vero martyrum nomina, qui Lugduno passi dicuntur, haec sunt: Vettius Epagatus, Zaccharias, Macharius, Alcipiadis, Silvius, Primus, Alpius, Vitalis, Comminius, October, Philominus, Geminus, Iulia, Albina, Grata, Aemelia, Postumiana, Pompeia, Rodonae, Biblis, Quarta, Materna, Elpenipsa, Stamas. Hii autem bestiis traditi sunt: Sanctus et Maturus, Alexander, Ponticus, Blandina. Hii sunt qui in carcerem spiritum reddiderunt: Arescius, Photinus, Cornelius, Zotimus, Titus, Zoticus, Iulius, Aemelia, Gamnitae, Pompeia, Alumna, Mamilia, Iusta, Trifimae, Antonia et beatus Photinus episcopus. Quorum sancta corpora iudex iniquus igni tradi praecepit exustaque in Rodanum pulvera iussit spargi. Sed postquam haec gesta sunt, cum christiani maerorem maximum haberent, quasi deperissent beatae reliquiae, nocte apparuerunt viris fidelibus in eo loco quo igni traditi sunt stantes integri ac inlaesi. Et conversi ad viros, dixerunt eis: "Reliquiae nostrae ab hoc collegantur loco, quia nullus periit a nobis. Ex hoc enim translati sumus ad requiem, quam nobis promisit rex caelorum Christus, pro cuius nomine passi sumus". Haec renuntiantes viri illi reliquis christianis, gratias egerunt Deo et confortati sunt in fide, collegentesque sacros cineres, aedificaverunt basilicam mirae magnitudinis in eorum honore. Et sepelierunt beata pignora sub sancto altare, ubi se semper virtutibus manifestis cum Deo habitare declaraverunt. Locus autem ille in quo passi sunt Athanaco vocatur, ideoque et ipsi martyres a quibusdam vocantur Athanacenses.<br><br>'These are the names of the forty-eight martyrs who are said to have suffered at Lyon: Vettius Epagatus, Zaccharias, Macharius, Alcipiadis, Silvius, Primus, Alpius, Vitalis, Comminius, October, Philominus, Geminus, Julia, Albina, Grata, Aemelia, Postumiana, Pompeia, Rodonae, Biblis, Quarta, Materna, Elpenipsa, Stamas. These martyrs were condemned to the wild beasts: Sanctus and Maturus, Alexander, Ponticus, Blandina. These are the martyrs who gave up their lives in prison: Arescius, Photinus, Cornelius, Zotimus, Titus, Zoticus, Julius, Aemelia, Gamnitae, Pompeia, Alumna, Mamilia, Justa, Trifimae, Antonia, and the blessed bishop Photinus. A wicked judge decreed that their holy bodies be thrown on a fire and then ordered their burned ashes to be sprinkled on the Rhône river. After his orders were carried out, the Christians were very sad that the holy relics were lost. But during the night the martyrs, standing intact and unwounded, appeared to believers in that place where they had been thrown into a fire. They turned to the men and said to them: 'Let our relics be gathered from this place, because none of us died. For we have been transported from here to that repose promised us by Christ, the king of heaven, for whose name we suffered.' These men reported this [vision] to the other Christians, who thanked God and were restored in their faith. They gathered the holy ashes and built a church of astounding size in honour of the martyrs. They buried the sacred relics beneath the holy altar, where the martyrs revealed by their public miracles that they always live with God. The place where they suffered is called Ainay, and they are therefore called by some the martyrs of Ainay.'<br><br>Text: Krusch 1969, 71. Translation: Van Dam 2004, 47-48.