Original scientific paper
THE SPURIOUS DONATION OF THE EMPEROR JUSTINIAN I TO ST.BENEDICT AND THE MENTION OF CIBALAE IN IT
Stanko ANDRIĆ
Abstract
Even before it was published in 1723 by Lodovico Antonio Muratori within his famous source collection,the medieval historical compilation entitled Epitome chronicorum Casinensium was known to be grossly unreliable.Jean Mabillon rejected the ninth-century
scholar Anastasius Bibliothecarius as the text ’s purported author and identi fied the actual author in a twelfth-century Benedictine monk and writer,Peter the Deacon of Monte Cassino.Later research con firmed this identi fication and also revealed Peter the Deacon to be one of the most proli fic medieval forgers.(A fundamental contribution to this research has been Erich Caspar ’s Petrus Diaconus und die Monte Cassineser Fälschungen,published in 1909.)A characteristically audacious invention of Peter ’s is the fictitious donation deed of the Emperor Justinian I (ruled 527-565)to St.Benedict of Nursia and his monastery of Monte Cassino,which Peter »summarized « on the initial pages of his Epitome..The dona-
tion enumerates a long list of »possessions « in various Roman provinces,,among them ten places located »in Pannonia « ((Cibalim,Antianim,Himasam,Balcum,Scarabantiam, Vindemonam,Arlapem,Yaciacum,Nimaniam,Artabindo).In actuality,Peter composed this list by making use of the famous late Roman Itinerarium Antonini.He borrowed the »Pannonian « possessions from the description of a major route running from Sirmium (Sremska Mitrovica)to Treveri (Trier),and he thus included in his selection not only the actual Pannonian settlements – from Cibalis ((=Cibalae)to Vindemona (=Vindobona) – but also some of those belonging to Noricum,,Rhaetia and Gallia Belgica.Epitome at-
tracted the interest of Croatian historians because of its mention of Cibalae (present-day Vinkovci)among the Pannonian places »donated « to St..Benedict.The first scholars who quoted this interesting information were Mijo Brašnić and Josip Brunšmid,both unaware of the spurious nature of its source,and many more recent authors folowed suit.It is obvious,however,that Epitome and its account of Justinian ’s donation – given their nature,, source and actual author – do not shed any reliable light on the fate of the Roman city of Cibalae in the sixth century.
Keywords
St.Benedict of Nursia; Justinian I.; Vinkovci; Cibaliae; Sirmium (Srijemska Mitrovica)
Hrčak ID:
9649
URI
Publication date:
15.6.2005.
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