E06927: Aldhelm, in his poem On the Altars of the Twelve Apostles, records the dedication of an altar to *Bartholomew (the Apostle, S00256), presumably in Britain. Written in Latin in southern Britain, c. 670/710.

Aldhelm, Carmina Ecclesiastica, 4.9

IX. IN SANCTI BARTHOLOMEI
Ultima terrarum praepollens India constat,
Quas tres in partes librorum scripta sequestrant.
Idola quae coluit paganis dedita sacris;
Sed Bartholomeus destruxit fana profana
Effigies veterum confringens iure deorum;
Ebrea quem clamat peregrinis lingua loquelis
'Proles suspendentis aquas in nubibus atris,'
Quod signat procerum 'caelestis ' dogma ' profundi, a
Umida nimbosis dum stillant aethera guttis,
Ut quondam cecinit psalmorum carmine vates:
'Ecce, latex rorat tenebrosus nubibus aeris.'
Post haec martirii mercatur serta cruenta
Et sequitur Dominum pictus cum stigmate Christi:
Cuius hoc templum veneranda tuebitur ara.


'ix. On St Bartholomew
Mighty India stands as the last of the lands of the earth, which the writings in books divide up into three parts. Given over to pagan rites, India used to worship idols. But Bartholomew destroyed the pagan shrines, duly smashing the images of the pagan gods. A dialect of the Hebrew language [i.e. Syriac] names him 'the offspring of one suspending the waters in black clouds' – inasmuch as humid skies drip with swelling drops – which refers to the exalted doctrine concerning the 'vast heaven', as the poet of the Psalms once sang in verse: 'Behold, the dark water drips from the clouds of the sky' [Psalm 17:12].

After these events (Bartholomew) purchased martyrdom with a bloody garland and, marked with the stigma of Christ, he follows his Lord. This church shall be protected by the venerable altar in this name.'


Text: Ehwald 1919, 28. Translation: Lapidge and Rosier 1985, 55.