Christelle JULLIEN. Découverte d’un martyr perse dans un légendier latin médiéval.
A mediaeval Latin manuscript has preserved the Passion of a fifth-century Persian martyr, Vamnes, who is totally unknown in the hagiographic and liturgical sources of the various Oriental Christian communities. In determining the historical value of the text the author shows the probability of an underlying Syriac original which had probably been translated into Greek before being translated into Latin.
Michael LAPIDGE. The Anonymous Passio S. Dionysii (BHL 2178).
The “anonymous Passio S. Dionysii“, which is listed by the Bollandistes as BHL 2178, was apparently composed by a monk of Saint-Denis in Paris during the abbacy of Waldo (806-814). It drew substantially on the earlier, eight-century Passio of the saint (BHL 2171), and was used in turn by Hilduin of Saint-Denis, in his widely influential account of the martyrdom of St Dionysius (BHL 2175). Although it did not circulate widely, the “anonymous Passio S. Dionysii” occupies an important position in the hagiographical dossier of St Dionysius, because it is the earliest text to associate the Parisian martyr with the Dionysius of Athens who, according to biblical Acts (17, 34) was converted by St Paul, and is the earliest text to describe the saint’s miraculous cephalophory, according to which, following his decapitation, he carried his head for two miles from the place of execution to his final resting-place. The article includes a new critical edition, together with an English translation and a thorough historical commentary of this text.
Christodoulos PAPAVARNAVAS. The Role of the Audience in the Pre-Metaphrastic Passions.
En examinant quatre Passions de martyrs antérieures au Xe s. – la Passion de Pistis, Elpis, Agape et leur mère Sophie (BHG 1637z), la Passion des dix martyrs de Crète (BHG 1196), la Passion des quarante martyrs de Sébaste (BHG 1201) et la Passion de Juliana de Nicomédie (BHG 962z), cet article entend jeter une lumière nouvelle sur la réception de la littérature hagiographique par son public, à savoir l’auditeur et le lecteur byzantins. Pour déterminer les effets des Passions sur l’audience, une comparaison littéraire est établie entre le public intratextuel et extratextuel. En effet, en considérant de près les personnages secondaires dans les différentes narrations, il semble possible de retracer la manière dont ces personnages ont pu être interprétés comme des modèles inspirant la réaction du public extratextuel. Selon cette approche, le texte devient spectacle et le lecteur ou l’auditeur se mue en spectateur. Cette analyse des Passions peut conduire non seulement à une meilleure compréhension de chaque texte, mais aussi à préciser la relation entre le texte et son public au fil du temps.
Dirk KRAUSMÜLLER. John of Phoberos, a 12th-Century Monastic Founder, and His Saints: Luke of Mesembria and Symeon of the Wondrous Mountain.
The monk John, abbot ofthe Phoberos monastery and author of a monastic rule, held two saints in greatesteem, his predecessor Luke of Mesembria, and the sixth-century saint Symeon of the Wondrous Mountain. While his relationship with Luke is easily explained, John’s veneration of Symeon is rather more unusual. It finds its most likelyexplanation in the literary activities of the monks of the Wondrous Mountain whodid everything to promote their patron saint.
Bernard JOASSART. Claude Chastelain, collaborateur des Bollandistes.
Bernard JOASSART. Deux lettres du bollandiste Constantin Suyskens à Barthélemy Mercier de Saint-Léger.
Gionata BRUSA. I manoscritti agiografici della Biblioteca Capitolare di Vercelli. Con un’appendice sui frammenti.
Among the conspicuous and rich treasure of manuscripts preserved in the Biblioteca Capitolare of Vercelli, the codices with a hagiographic subject re-present an important section of its patrimony with sixteen manuscripts and some fragments. The present article aims to describe the contents of such precious wit-nesses which date from the 7th to the 14th cent. In total there are over 500 hagiographic texts described in the catalogue.
François DOLBEAU. Catalogues de manuscrits latins. Inventaire hagiographique (trente-troisième série).
Manuscrits hagiographiques conservés à Augsbourg / Bautzen / Munich / Weimar / Innsbruck / Oxford [Holkham Hall] / Maynooth / Gorizia / Lucques / Mantoue / Palerme / Perugia / Varsovie.
Robert GODDING. Italia Hagiographica (IX). Chronique d’hagiographie italienne (première partie).