Original scientific paper
Hagiographic Tradition of Istria and Material Traces of Martyrs’ Worshiping in the Late Antiquity and Early Middle Ages
Marina Zgrablić
; Juraj Dobrila University of Pula, Faculty of Philosophy, Department of History, Pula, Croatia
Abstract
This investigation of the hagiographical tradition in Istria is based upon an analysis of the passions of the martyrs from Istria, and writings about it are preserved in Carolingian codices from the end of the ninth and tenth centuries. Since the character of such investigation is a rather complex topic, this unavoidably raises the question of solid material evidence that could support the theory, i.e. archaeological remains that could witness worshiping cults of the martyrs in Istria. Such an approach should include unambiguous research of the material remains of ecclesiastical edifices in which such venerating took place, as well as findings of epigraphical material, reliquaries, and illustrations of martyrs. Since Istria lacks unambiguous archaeological findings regarding the cult of martyrs in the late antiquity and early Middle Ages, one has to use the methodology of identification of early dedications of local churches. The investigation revealed that the passions of the Istrian martyrs have limited historical value, though their general intention was to show all the martyrs as antique and to settle the time and circumstances of their deaths in the period of prosecutions of early Christians. Contents and structure of hagiographical texts in some segments reveal older nucleus, which can be testified by some philological characteristics like the usage of terminology characteristic for the Late antiquity and early Byzantine administration. Still, data extracted from the Istrian hagiographical tradition cannot be sufficiently corroborated with archaeological findings, except in the case of St Maurus, who – considering the fact of the identity switch, which happened in the ninth century – incorporated diverse characteristics. Recent and more reliable hagiographical interpretations refer to Novigrad. Namely, in the case of Novigrad one can also trace specific circumstances of occurrence and development of the cult of St Pelagius, or better to say his relics; mainly because of the specific political and ecclesiastical status of this city, which was placed on the border with the Frankish Empire. In this context relics of St Pelagia undoubtedly are present in the crypt of the cathedral of Novigrad already in the late eighth century, and as such they represent a basis for the formation of the passion at least at the end of the ninth century. Thus, such findings are in accord with the framework of the hagiographical corpus of Aquileia. Even though there is no explicit mention in the Late antiquity sources, one can still recognize St Iustus of Trieste as a genuine Istrian martyr, since he died during great prosecutions during the reign of emperors Diocletian and Maximian (303 – 304). By the same token, hagiographical specificities of Pula can be explained by the fact that in the cathedral complex of Pula believers worshiped relics of St Thomas Apostle, and this fact placed Pula high in the ranking list of cities and bishoprics already in the Late antiquity; although it is not clear why there are no traces of veneration of the local martyr German during the Late antiquity and early Middle Ages when all the cities tended to create their own urban awareness and identity around the cult of a local saint. It is indicative that none of the protagonists of the Istrian passions was a member of the highest ecclesiastical circles. Consequently, these Istrian martyrs cannot be related to the epoch of redaction of biographies of bishop-martyrs, which was a major characteristic of the hagiographies from Northern Italy in the period between the end of the eighth and first half of the ninth century. In this sense, it is important to note that from the last quarter of the eighth century in Istria bishops were supporters of Carolingian penetration into traditionally Byzantine territories, and in this region military stratum was deeply connected with the Empire. Considering such circumstances, passions created in this period were placed into a hagiographical ambiance of Aquileia, especially after the Council of Mantua (827) when Istrian bishoprics were subjected to the Archbishopric of Aquileia.
Keywords
Istrian martyrs; Aquileia; passions; late antiquity; churches.
Hrčak ID:
217670
URI
Publication date:
20.6.2018.
Visits: 1.586 *