E00946: Latin poem on the martyrdom of *Romanos (martyr of Antioch, S00120) is composed by Prudentius, writing c. 400 in Calahorra (northern Spain). The poem, part of his Crowns of the Martyrs (Peristephanon), is an elaborate account of the tortures and miracles that occurred around the saint's death. Overview of Peristephanon X

Liber Peristephanon, Poem X

Summary:

Prudentius addresses Romanus and asks him for his help in composing the poem – see $E00947.

During the reign of Galerius, Christian cult is suppressed and churches are being desecrated. In Antioch, Romanus warns his fellow Christians that the soldiers of the emperor want to enter the church. As a leader of the community he is arrested and tortured. His status as a nobleman makes the judge change the way he is punished: instead of having his flesh cut with claws, he is beaten. During the tortures Romanus describes in detail and condemns the pagan rites in Rome and in diverse sanctuaries, and denounces pagan cults at length. He praises God and the Christian religion. His persecutor is outraged by the long speech and tries to force Romanus to venerate the pagan gods and pray for the emperor. In return Romanus offends the emperor and, on the persecutor's order, the soldiers cut his flesh with swords. Romanus claims that he doesn't care about pain and is looking forward to death. The persecutor, annoyed by Romanus' eloquence, orders the torturer to wound his mouth.

With his cheeks cut, Romanus still argues with the persecutor. He asks him to choose an innocent boy aged seven, who would indicate which religion is true: the pagan or the Christian. The chosen boy declares his faith in Christ and admits that it was his mother who taught him the Christian religion. In revenge the persecutor orders the boy to be tortured in his mother's sight. The public is moved by this scene and only the mother shows no sorrow; when the boy asks for water, she encourages him rather to drink from the living spring – Christ. She reminds him of the story of the *Seven Maccabean Brothers and their mother who saw them being tortured. The child is uplifted and laughs. The persecutor lets him be placed in prison and orders Romanus to be tortured further. Finally, he lets Romanus be burnt and the boy beheaded, so that they die together. The mother carries her son to the place of execution. As the pyre is built, Romanus announces that a miracle is going to happen and that he will not die from fire. Indeed, heavy rain extinguishes the flames. The persecutor decides that Romanus should die through dismemberment. He calls for a surgeon who first cuts out his tongue. A renewed attempt is made to force Romanus to sacrifice to the pagan gods, but the martyr withstands the attempt. In spite of being deprived of his tongue, he speaks, praising the miracle and Christ. The persecutor calls the doctor, accuses him of fraud and does not listen to his explanations. He also suspects that the blood covering the martyr is not his own. To this Romanus answers with a speech in which he mocks the pagan rites of taurobolium, hecatomb, self-mutilations linked with the cult of the Magna Mater, and argues that pagans are violent and like to hurt innocent people like himself. After the speech, the enraged governor orders Romanus to be taken away from the court and killed, he is dragged to the prison and there the executioner breaks his neck.

The governor sends the written record of the events to the emperor but the poet says that they were destroyed by the passage of time while the words of God are indestructible. In heaven, an angel wrote down all the words of Romanus, made the exact pictures of his wounds, and measured the blood that poured from every one. This book is kept in the heavenly register and will be read on the Day of Judgement. At the end, the poet expresses hope that at the Day of Judgement he will be saved thanks to the prayers of Romanus.

Text: Cunningham 1966, 330-369. Translation: Thomson 1953, 226-229. Summary: M. Tycner.