King Pippin coronation: Idem namque sanctus pontifex...

[Hroswitha]

Of late, the translations have been going smoothly, but I've run into a difficult patch in this 14th century text and am looking for assistance.

This section of the text concerns the coronation and annointing of King Pippin the first in the 8th century. He was consecrated in the abbey of St-Denis by the pope at the time, after he arranged for the deposing of the last Merovingian king, Childeric. This section is, I think, important, but the prose is just all snarled up in my head. Any suggestions would be welcome.

Idem namque sanctus pontifex reliquias sanctissimi Dyonisii romam detulit, et monasterium in honore ipsius edificare in proprio suo cepit, quod eius successor paulus illo morte prevento quoniam ipsi in pontificatum successerat nobiliter consummavit, et convectis ibidem plurimis sanctorum martyrem corporibus consecravit, seu veluti a fratre et predecessore suo iussus fuerat famulatores domini natione grecos inibi constituit, et idem monasterium ad sanctos martyres in scola grecorum appellari fecit, ad honorem et memoriam preciosissimi Dyonisii sociorum que eius quorum cultus et veneratio redundat ad laudem et gloriam domini nostri Jesu Christi cum deo patre in unitate spiritus sancti; cui debetur honor et adoratio per immortalia secula seculorum. Memoratus itaque Pipinus ecclesiarum ministrorumque dei convelator egregius et ditator magnificus summam semper curam gessit sollicitudinem ea que a ministris Christo famulantibus postulate fuissent sicut et quemlibet decet principem et sollerter attendere, et congrua ac oportuna eis beneficia non negare. Hic etiam ecclesiis sub eius dominio constitutis, sed et pre ceteris ecclesie beati ariopagite Dyonisius quem peculiarem in omnibus et precedentium sequentiumque regum more patronum ac defensorem asserebat precipium multa bona et loca qua plurima, et ut verum fatear vix valde numerabilia que a pravis hominibus per iniquam cupiditatem seu malo ingenio et ministrorum tepiditate seu neglectu iudicum a supradicto monasterio distracta fuerant missis hinc inde nuncios restitui fecit atque reddi.

Any ideas?

 

[Cato]

I am writing this while away from my home computer (spending some time on the road for work), so I don't have my usual tools. The text seems very tricky to me; it's clear the pope took a number of relics related to St. Denis, and Pipin got them restored, but the author's rhetoric is a bit lost on me.

Nevertheless, here's a cold translation, with a few alernate readings I think make sense. I'm not 100% on this one, but here goes:

"And in fact the same holy pontiff deposited the relics of most holy Denis (assume this is Dyonisius), and began to build a monastery in his honor in his own land (in proprio suo seems odd; this is a guess), (a monastery) which, when he died, his successor Paul--because he had succeeded him--majestically completed, and he consecrated that same place by collecting more bodies of the holy martyrs (assuming martyrum instead of martyrem), or as if he had been commanded by his brother and predecessor, he set up greek servants of the lord in the nation in that same place, and he named "The Monastery To the Holy Martyrs" in the Greek school, to the honor and memory of precious Denis and his companions, whose worship and veneration overflowed toward the praise and glory of our lord Jesus Christ with God the father in the unity of the Holy Spirit; to whom honor and adoration is due forever and ever. And so, Pipin, mindful of the churches and the priests, well-known as one clothed in God (best I can do with Dei convelator) and a magnificent philanthropist (who) always bore the highest care and concern (dropping ea here) had been asked (taking postulatus over postulate here) by the priests attending to Christ (and just as it is proper for any sovereign) that he listen carefully and not deny similar and suitable benefits to them. Churches had been built under his rule, but first among other (churches) was St. Denis the Areopagite (not at all sure of this), whom he claimed was special in all and patron and defender of regents (principium for precipium) by the custom of past and future kings. He worked to restore and return many goods and places from which more came (and truly I can scarcely confess how numerable were the things which had been divided by crooked men through iniquitous desire--whether by means of an evil plan and the mediocrity of the priests or the disregard of judges from the aforementioned monastery) by sending messengers here and there (missis..nuncios would be unusual grammar here, but not unprecedented; it would be fine if it were nunciis)."

 

[Iynx]

That Dionysius (usually thus spelt) Parisiorum and the Dionysius Aeropagita of Acts xvii were the same person is of course a chronological absurdity, but was widely believed in medieval times; certain very influential Greek writings ascribed to him/them are certainly the work of neither.

These confusions (embarassingly) survived into modern times in the Catholic liturgy, and are the cause of some of the most acid comments in all of Thurston and Attwater's edition of Butler's Lives of the Saints (October 9). They seem to lay much of the blame upon a certain ninth-century Abbot of, um, St-Denis, name of Hilduin, who translated Pseudo-Dionysius into Latin, and who wrote a piece of hagiography called the Aeropagitica.

"It is difficult (say T & A) to believe in [Hilduin's] complete good faith: the life is a tissue of fables. The Aeropagite comes to Rome where Pope St. Clement I receives him and sends him to evangelize the Parisii. They try in vain to put him to death by wild beasts, fire and crucifixion; then, together with Rusticus and Eleutherius, he is successfully beheaded on Montmartre. The dead body of St. Dionysius rose on its feet and, led by an angel, walked the two miles from Montmartre to.. Saint-Denis...crrying its head in its hands and surrounded by singing angels, and so was there buried. Of which marvel the Roman Breviary makes mention".

 

[Cato]

That Dionysius (usually thus spelt) Parisiorum and the Dionysius Aeropagita of Acts xvii were the same person is of course a chronological absurdity, but was widely believed in medieval times; certain very influential Greek writings ascribed to him/them are certainly the work of neither.

I didn't know this, and it's actually a bit of a relief; I thought I was missing something badly in the text. Still not 100%, but at least I understand why "The Areopagite" is mentioned...

 

[Hroswitha]

Yes, the text I'm working on is the Vie de Saint-Denis, written in the early 14th century as a work of propaganda for the saint and given to the royal court around 1319. It's divided into three (official) books, owing to the late 14 century intercollation of French translated text into the original volume, doubling it in size. The fourth section, which is my focus at the moment, is called The Chronicle of Kings, and details significant events in both the line of French kings and in the deeds of the saint.

There were, officially, three St. Denis. The first was the famous individual converted to Christianity by St. Paul himself, and the first abbot of Athens. He appears in the Acts of the Apostles. He is called the Areopogite, as he is a man of the section of Athens ruled over by Ares and centered around the hill where his temple stands.

The second is known as Dyonisius the Pseudo-Areopagite, though no one knows his actual name. In the third century (I believe), he wrote two important texts of Christian mysticism -- the Celestial Hierarchy and a book on mystical visions. These ideas have been incorporated into Christianity nearly wholesale, and have shaped the belief systems regarding the afterlife since they were written.

The third is St. Dyonisius (often simply known as St. Denis) who was sent as a missionary to Gaul where he converted the Parisienses -- the tribal people centered in the region of Paris. He suffered martyrdom there and, as mentioned by another, carried his head two miles to from the hill of Montmartre (named after him and his companions Eleuthyrius and Rusticius, who were also beheaded there) to the site of the eventual shrine of St. Denis, built by St. Genevieve herself, the patron saint of the city of Paris.

Hilduin was responsible for conflating these three figures, along with his pupil Hincmar, in the eighth century. His translation of the Mystical Treatises from Greek was poor, and later individuals produced an authoritative translation for use by scholars around Paris. It was highly influential, and in the 13th century came under the scrutiny of Robert Grosseteste among others, who wrote considerable commentary on it, along with the Celestial Hierarchy. A separate life of St. Denis can be dated back to the 1230s, and was popular in the University environment.

The book I'm working with now is the Chronology of Kings, and to my knowledge, has never been translated into English. It also received a translation into French in the 14th century, but this material has been relegated to the margins of the text rather than intercollated as it was in the earlier sections. It is propaganda -- for the saint's shrine and cult, and for the royal family. The history of the book itself is separate from the first three volumes. It seems to have been split off from the earlier three when the translations occurred and remained in the hands of members of the royal family. There's a great deal in it regarding reasons why the court should continue to financially and publically support the saint's cult, from reminders of St. Denis' ability to protect the king in battle and bring victory, to accounts of earlier kings or majordomos who treated the churches badly and suffer eternal damnation as a result (Charles Martel, for example). It's a fascinating text, and is the source for my dissertation.

Butler is correct in tracing the conflation of the three saints to Hilduin, but castigating that individual for his deeds fails to recognize the medieval context. Of course he knowingly pieced together these saints, and he did so as a means to promote the cult and the shrine. How many saints can you name who were, all at once, the first bishop of Athens, a convert of St. Paul, an influential mystic favored with divine visions, and a famous martyr? Hilduin advertised. By the 13th century, that story had fallen apart -- Peter Abelard, you may recall, sheltered in St.-Denis after his mutilation but was nearly murdered when he presented evidence that the three St. Denis were not the same guy. Anyone who thought about it knew the truth, but the truth wasn't important when the lie brought popular support from people who credited the saint with miraculous healing powers and money from the royal family who supported the abbey and used it as their royal sepulchre.

I've rambled enough. Thank you again and again, Cato, for your help with this. While I recognized that passage addressed the primacy of the abbey and importance of the holy relics, the asides were giving me headaches.