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E05772: Agnellus of Ravenna, in his Liber Pontificalis Ecclesiae Ravennatis, written in Latin, refers to a monasterium dedicated to *Andrew (the Apostle, S00288) in Ravenna, now the Cappella Arcivescovile; it was built, according to Agnellus, by bishop Peter II (494-520). Account written in Ravenna in 830/846.

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posted on 2018-06-19, 00:00 authored by frances
Agnellus of Ravenna, Liber Pontificalis Ecclesiae Ravennatis 50

Fecit que non longe ab eadem domo monasterium sancti Andreae apostoli; sua que effigies super ualuas eiusdem monasterii est inferius tessellis depicta.

‘And not far from that house [the episcopal palace called ‘Tricollis’] he [Peter II, bishop of Ravenna, 494-520] built the monasterium of St Andrew the apostle, and his image is depicted inside this monasterium, over the doors.’

Agnellus then quotes a long dedicatory the inscription from the chapel (now lost) identifying Peter as the founder, but referring not to any saints, but repeatedly to Christ.

Text: Deliyannis 2006. Translation: Deliyannis 2004.

History

Evidence ID

E05772

Saint Name

Andrew, the Apostle : S00288

Saint Name in Source

Andreas

Type of Evidence

Literary - Other narrative texts (including Histories)

Language

  • Latin

Evidence not before

830

Evidence not after

846

Activity not before

494

Activity not after

520

Place of Evidence - Region

Italy north of Rome with Corsica and Sardinia

Place of Evidence - City, village, etc

Ravenna

Place of evidence - City name in other Language(s)

Ravenna Sardinia Sardinia Sardegna Sardinia

Major author/Major anonymous work

Agnellus of Ravenna

Cult activities - Places

Cult building - dependent (chapel, baptistery, etc.)

Cult activities - Non Liturgical Practices and Customs

Construction of cult buildings

Source

Agnellus of Ravenna (ob. c. 846) was a deacon of the cathedral in Ravenna and – by hereditary right – abbot of two monasteries in Ravenna. He wrote his Liber Pontificalis Ecclessiae Ravennatis between 830 and 846, following the model of the Roman Liber Pontificalis. This work provides biographies of all the bishops of Ravenna from the legendary founder bishop Apollinaris to those active in Agnellus’ own day, and was originally composed to be delivered orally, most likely to clerics of Ravenna. This text is preserved in two manuscripts: one from the 15th c. (Bibliotec Estense Cod. Lat. 371 X.P.4.9.) and a fragmentary manuscript from the 16th c. (MS Vat. Lat. 5834). Agnellus bases his account of the lives of late antique bishops on documents preserved in Ravenna, stories which had been transmitted orally, and his own experience of the architectural landscape of 9th c. Ravenna. Agnellus' work contains invaluable architectural and art historical information about Ravenna: Agnellus refers to several religious buildings in Ravenna and the neighbouring settlements of Caeserea and Classe. He describes their decoration and preserves several inscriptions, many of which are now lost to us. It must be remembered this is a 9th c. work. Agnellus’ descriptions of buildings and their fixtures is based on his 9th c. experience, and not late antique reality. Indeed, his accounts of the events of earlier years are often riddled with inaccuracies. Yet it is likely that his descriptions of the churches of Ravenna are more trustworthy. As Deborah Mauskopf Deliyannis argues, a comparison of surviving late antique mosaics with Agnellus’ account suggests that his descriptions were largely accurate. This is limited to what he does tell us – for example Arian foundations are often ignored whilst orthodox foundations are emphasised. Yet, overall, this text provides invaluable information about the cult of saints in late antique Ravenna.

Discussion

This monasterium still exists today, now known as the 'Cappella Arcivescovile', with much of its 6th c. mosaic decoration intact (see E05950). J. M. Stansterre and E. Morini have both argued convincingly that, throughout Agnellus’ account, monasterium can be used to mean any foundation – for example a chapel or church – dedicated to a saint. It does not necessarily refer to a monastery. Agnellus gained his information about the builder from the inscription which he quotes in full. The image he refers to may have represented Peter II as the donor of the monasterium, though the reference to 'his image' sitting above the door is ambiguous and might refer to the Apostle. Indeed, if there was an image of Andrew here, this might explain why Agnellus attributed the chapel's dedication to this Apostle – in the surviving mosaics, and in the quoted dedicatory inscription, there is no indication that Andrew played any special role within the chapel. A plan of the chapel and map showing the likely locations of the foundations in Classe and Ravenna is attached to this record.

Bibliography

Text: Deliyannis, Deborah Mauskopf, Agnelli Ravennatis Liber pontificalis ecclesiae Ravennatis (Corpus Christianorum Continuatio Mediaevalis 199; Turnhout, 2006). Translation: Deliyannis, Deborah Mauskopf, The Book of Pontiffs of the Church of Ravenna (Washington D.C., 2004). Further Reading: Deichmann, Friedrich Wilhelm, Ravenna, Hauptstadt des spätantiken Abendlandes, vol. 1-3, (Wiesbaden, 1958-89). Deliyannis, Deborah Mauskopf, Ravenna in Late Antiquity (Cambridge, 2010). Mackie, Gillian, Early Christian Chapels in the West: Decoration, Function and Patronage (Toronto, 2003). Moffat, Ann, "Sixth Century Ravenna from the Perspective of Abbot Agnellus," in: P. Allen and E.M. Jeffreys (eds,), The Sixth Century – End or Beginning? (Brisbane, 1996), 236-246. Morini, E., "Le strutture monastische a Ravenna," in: Storia di Ravenna, 2.2, Dall’età bizantia all’ età ottania, ed. A. Carile (Ravenna, 1992), 305-312. Schoolman, Edward, Rediscovering Sainthood in Italy: Hagiography and the Late Antique Past in Medieval Ravenna (Basingstoke, 2016). Stansterre, J. M., "Monaci e monastery greci a Ravenna," in: Storia di Ravenna, 2.1, Dall’età bizantia all’ età ottania, ed. A. Carile (Ravenna, 1992), 323-329. Verhoeven, Mariëtte, The Early Christian Monuments of Ravenna: Transformations and Memory (Turnhout, 2011).

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    Evidence -  The Cult of Saints in Late Antiquity

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