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E06333: A letter of Pope Gregory the Great (Register 2.26) of 592, to Stephanus, chartularius of Sicily, tells him to investigate problems in a monastery dedicated to *George (soldier and martyr, S00259), presumably in Sicily. Written in Latin in Rome.

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posted on 2018-09-11, 00:00 authored by frances
Pope Gregory the Great, Register of Letters 2.26


Extract from a letter asking Stephanus to sort out problems in a monastery of St George:

Insinuatum igitur nobis est in massa quae nuncupatur Maratodis ab abbate monasterii sancti Georgii quod in eadem situm est duos monachos refugisse, et unum quidem ex eis iam coniugem accepisse, alium autem laicum effectum saeculariter uiuere.

‘And it has been suggested to us by the abbot of the monastery of Saint George, which is situated in the domain called Maratodis, that two monks have taken refuge there, and one of them has in fact already taken a wife from the locals, while the other lives a secular life, having become a layman.’


Text: Norberg 1982, vol. 1, 112. Translation: Martyn 2004, vol. 1, 209.

History

Evidence ID

E06333

Saint Name

George, soldier and martyr : S00259

Saint Name in Source

Georgius

Type of Evidence

Literary - Letters

Language

  • Latin

Evidence not before

592

Evidence not after

592

Activity not before

592

Activity not after

592

Place of Evidence - Region

Rome and region

Place of Evidence - City, village, etc

Rome

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

Rome Rome Rome Roma Ῥώμη Rhōmē

Major author/Major anonymous work

Gregory of Nazianzus

Cult activities - Places

Cult building - monastic

Cult activities - Non Liturgical Practices and Customs

Seeking asylum at church/shrine

Cult Activities - Protagonists in Cult and Narratives

Ecclesiastics - monks/nuns/hermits

Source

A letter transmitted as part of Gregory the Great’s Register of Letters. This letter collection, organised into fourteen books, is large and contains letters to a variety of recipients, including prominent aristocrats, members of the clergy and royalty. The issues touched on in the letters are equally varied, ranging from theological considerations to mundane administrative matters. This collection of letters, which was possibly curated by Gregory, was originally much larger. The surviving Register comprises several groups of letters which were extracted at several later moments in history, the largest of which took place in the papacy of Hadrian I (772-795).

Discussion

This estate ('Maratodis') and monastery do not appear in any other letters.

Bibliography

Edition: Norberg, D., S. Gregorii Magni, Registrum epistularum. 2 vols. (Corpus Christianorum Series Latina 140-140A; Turnhout: Brepols, 1982). English translation: Martyn, J.R.C., The Letters of Gregory the Great, 3 vols. (Toronto: Pontifical Institute of Mediaeval Studies, 2004). Further Reading: Neil, B., and Dal Santo, M. (eds.), A Companion to Gregory the Great (Leiden: Brill, 2013).

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    Evidence -  The Cult of Saints in Late Antiquity

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