ܘܒܬܫܥܣܪܐ ܒܗ ܒܟܢܘܢ ܐܚܪܝ ܒܢܝܩܝܐ ܡܕܝܢܬܐ ܡܢ ܡܘ̈ܕܝܢܐ ܩ̈ܕܡܝܐ ܩܘܣܩܘܢܝܤ ܘܙܢܘܢ ܘܡܠܝܘܗܦܘܤ.
'And on the nineteenth (day) of the Latter Kanun – in the city of Nicaea, from the ancient martyrs, Cresconius, and Zenōn, and Melanippos.'
Text: Nau 1912, p. 12. Translation: Sergey Minov.
Evidence ID
E01410Saint Name
Cresconius, Zenōn and Melanippos, martyrs in Nicaea : S00952Saint Name in Source
ܩܘܣܩܘܢܝܤ ܘܙܢܘܢ ܘܡܠܝܘܗܦܘܤType of Evidence
Liturgical texts - Calendars and martyrologiesEvidence not before
411Evidence not after
412Activity not before
360Activity not after
411Place of Evidence - Region
MesopotamiaPlace of Evidence - City, village, etc
EdessaPlace of evidence - City name in other Language(s)
Edessa
Edessa
Edessa
Ἔδεσσα
EdessaMajor author/Major anonymous work
Syriac Martyrology of 411Cult activities - Festivals
Source
The Syriac Martyrology of the year 411 is the earliest liturgical calendar preserved in Syriac. It appears in the manuscript BL Add. 12150. The manuscript's colophon relates that it was produced in the city of Edessa in the year 411. Composed during the last decades of the fourth or the first decade of the fifth century, the Martyrology is divided into two sections, a longer section devoted to the Christian martyrs of the Roman empire, and a shorter one, devoted to Christians executed in the Sasanian empire. The section on the Roman empire is derived from a lost Greek martyrology. For more information, see E00465.
Syriac text: Wright 1865-1866; Nau 1912, pp. 11-26; Brock and van Rompay 2014, pp. 389-392; English translation: Wright 1865-1866, pp. 423-432; French translation: Nau 1912, pp. 11-26; German translation: Lietzmann 1903, pp. 9-16; Latin translation: Mariani 1956. For general information, see Taylor 2012, pp. 80-81; Schäferdiek 2005.Discussion
The Martyrology provides the earliest evidence for the liturgical commemoration of the martyrs Cresconius, Zenōn and Melanippos among Syriac-speaking Christians.
The exact identity of the first martyr, whose name in Syriac is 'Qōscōnīs,' is not quite certain. Most likely, it is a corrupt version of the name 'Cresconius/Crisconius' (cf. Nau 1912, p. 12, n. 7).Bibliography
Main editions and translations:
Brock, S.P., and van Rompay, L., Catalogue of the Syriac Manuscripts and Fragments in the Library of Deir al-Surian, Wadi al-Natrun (Egypt) (Orientalia Lovaniensia Analecta 227; Leuven: Peeters, 2014).
Lietzmann, H., Die drei ältesten Martyrologien (Kleine Texte für Theologische Vorlesungen und Übungen 2; Bonn: A. Marcus und E. Weber, 1903).
Mariani, B., Breviarium syriacum seu martyrologium syriacum saec. IV (Rerum ecclesiasticarum documenta, Series minor: Subsidia studiorum 3; Roma: Herder, 1956).
Nau, F., Martyrologes et ménologes orientaux, I–XIII. Un martyrologie et douze ménologes syriaques édités et traduits (Patrologia Orientalis 10.1 [46]; Paris: Firmin-Didot, 1912).
Wright, W., “An Ancient Syriac Martyrology,” Journal of Sacred Literature and Biblical Record NS VIII, 15 (1865), 45-56; 16 (1866), 423-432.
Further reading:
Schäferdiek, K., “Bemerkungen zum Martyrologium Syriacum,” Analecta Bollandiana 123:1 (2005), 5-22.
Taylor, D.G.K., “Hagiographie et liturgie syriaque,” in: A. Binggeli (ed.), L’hagiographie syriaque (Études syriaques 9; Paris: Paul Geuthner, 2012), 77-112.
