MARTYROLOGY OF ST. JEROME

The martyrology of St. Jerome is a calendar recording of the feast days of saints in the early Roman, African, and Oriental Churches, whose authorship was falsely attributed to St. Jerome. The original source of its notations is a general martyrology, probably of Nicomedian origin, closely related to the earliest Syrian maryrology. During the early 5th century, the Greek text of this Eastern martyrology was translated into Latin by an unknown northern Italian cleric, and combined with several Western church calendars. The name of St. Jerome was employed to give the work value, and it was supplied with two spurious letters by way of a preface; the first supposedly from chromatius of aquileia and Heliodorus of Altinum, who asked Jerome to send them a list of feasts contained in the Feriale of Eusebius; the second, Jerome's response stating that he had shortened the list because of the plethora of names in the original, which cited between 500 and 800 saints for each day.

Besides the Oriental martyrology, L. Duchesne indicates two other principal sources found in the martyrology: the chronographer of 354, which furnishes the data under the rubric Romae, and an African martyrology of the 4th century with the names under the rubric In Africa.

The original Latin version of the martyrology was prepared for use in the daily liturgy as a supplement to the diptychs; but whether it was actually used as such is not known. In the 6th century the Martyrology of St. Jerome served as a book of edification in monasteries (Cassiodorus, De inst. divin. lect. 32) and was cited by gregory i in 598 (Epist. 1.8, 29). In the 7th century it disappeared from the Church of Italy; between 592 and 600, according to Duchesne; and before 627, according to J. Kirsch. Meanwhile, it was brought to Arles, and from there it spread to the rest of Gaul. This Gallican recension is the source of all the extant manuscripts, a fact that is verified not only by the mention of the local French saints, but also by the appearance of certain feasts of Christ, Our Lady, and the Apostles proper to the Gallic church such as the depositio beatae Mariae on January 18.

Many mistakes in the manuscripts were caused by the carelessness of copyists or by the juxtaposition of documents, as when saints or groups of saints are repeated two, three, or even as many as ten times. Long and difficult study regarding the source and provinience of the martyrology yielded few results until the principal key was found with the discovery by F. Wright of the Syrian Martyrology.

The Martyrology of St. Jerome begins with December 25 and gives, in calendar form, the names of saints commemorated each day, with a notation regarding the city where their cult or grave is located. Information is also supplied concerning the translation of relics, the consecration of bishops, and the dedication of churches.

Bibliography: Editions. j. b. de rossi and l. duchesne, eds., Acta Sanctorum, Nov. 2.1 (1894), new ed. h. quentin, Acta Sanctorum, Nov. 2.2 (1931), with comment. by h. delehaye. j. b. de rossi and l. duchesne, "Les Sources du Martyrologe hiéronymien," Mélanges d'archéologie et d'histoire 5 (1885) 115–160. j.p. kirsch, Der staatsrömische christliche Festkalender im Altertum: Textkritisch Untersuchungen zu den römischen "Depositiones" und dem Martyrologium Hieronymianum (Münster 1924). w. h. frere, Studies in Early Roman Liturgy, 3 v. (Oxford 1930–35) v.1 The Kalendar. Dictionnaire d'archéologie chrétienne et de liturgie, ed. f. cabrol, h. leclercq and h. i. marrou, 15 v. (Paris 1907–53) 10.2:2523–2619. r. aigrain, L'Hagiographie (Paris 1953). b. de gaiffier, Analecta Bollandiana 79 (1961) 40–59. b. altaner, Patrology, tr. h. graef from 5th German ed. (New York 1960) 247–248. r. stieger, Lexikon für Theologie und Kirche, ed. j. hofer and k. rahner, 10 v. (2d, new ed. Freiburg 1957–65) 7:138–140.

[r. bryan]