Agnellus of Ravenna, Liber Pontificalis Ecclesiae Ravennatis 21
Sepultus est hic sanctus uir in monasterio sanctae Petronillae, haerens muris ecclesiae apostolorum.
‘This holy man [Florentius, 4th c. bishop of Ravenna] was buried in the monasterium of St Petronilla, clinging to the walls of the church of the Apostles.’
Agnellus of Ravenna, Liber Pontificalis Ecclesiae Ravennatis 29
Sepultus olim in basilica apostolorum ante altare beati apostoli Petri subtus porfireticum lapidem...
‘Formerly he [Neon, Bishop of Ravenna, 450-73] was buried in the basilica of the Apostles, before the altar of the blessed Apostle *Peter [
S00036] under a porphyry stone ...’
Agnellus of Ravenna, Liber Pontificalis Ecclesiae Ravennatis 56
Sepultus est in ecclesia Apostolorum iuxta ambonem, non longe a tumulo ubi beatus requiescit Neon, antequam a nobis Neonis corpus ad sedem translatum fuisset.
‘He [Aurelian, Bishop of Ravenna, 521] was buried in the church of the Apostles next to the ambo, not far from the tomb where blessed Neon rests, before the body of Neon was translated by us to the apse.’
Text: Deliyannis 2006. Translation: Deliyannis 2004.
Evidence ID
E05793Saint Name
Petronilla, daughter of saint Peter and martyr of Rome : S00402
Apostles, unnamed or name lost : S00084
Peter the Apostle : S00036Saint Name in Source
Petronilla
PetrusType of Evidence
Literary - Other narrative texts (including Histories)Evidence not before
830Evidence not after
846Activity not before
300Activity not after
521Place of Evidence - Region
Italy north of Rome with Corsica and SardiniaPlace of Evidence - City, village, etc
RavennaPlace of evidence - City name in other Language(s)
Ravenna
Sardinia
Sardinia
Sardegna
SardiniaMajor author/Major anonymous work
Agnellus of RavennaCult activities - Places
Cult building - monasticCult activities - Non Liturgical Practices and Customs
Burial ad sanctosCult Activities - Protagonists in Cult and Narratives
Ecclesiastics - bishopsCult Activities - Relics
Bodily relic - unspecified
Transfer, translation and deposition of relicsSource
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
Agnellus gained this information from the epitaphs of these bishops, which he quotes in full in the Liber Pontificalis.
Deborah Mauskopf Deliyannis argues that the basilica dedicated to the Apostles was probably built before the reign of Neon (Bishop of Ravenna, 450-473) as he was buried therein. The original church was completely rebuilt in the 10th c. It was given to the Franciscans in 1261 and survives today as San Francesco. In the present church, we find 24 columns, capitals and impost blocks which date to the mid 5th c. It is possible they were used in the original church.
J. M. Stansterre and E. Morini have both argued convincingly that, throughout Agnellus’ account, monasterium can used to mean any foundation – for example a chapel or church – dedicated to a saint. It does not necessarily refer to a monastery. As such, the original Latin is preserved in this record.
Maps showing the likely locations of the foundations in Classe and Ravenna are 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).
