Let’s have some more of the canons of Hippo. Dull as they are, they provide context as to what we can expect of a set of canons.
25. Ut primae sedis episcopus non appelletur princeps sacerdotum, aut summus sacerdos, aut aliquid huiusmodi, sed tantum primae sedis episcopus.
That the bishop of the first see shall not be called “chief of the priests” or “highest priest” or something of this sort, but only bishop of the first see.
This also reappears as canon 39 in the Register of canons in the council of Carthage of 419.
26. Ut clerici edendi vel bibendi causa tabernas non ingrediantur, nisi peregrinationis necessitate.
That clergy shall not enter taverns for the purpose of eating or drinking except from the necessity of a journey.
So does this; canon 40.
27. Ut episcopi trans mare non proficiscantur, nisi consulto primae sedis episcopo suae cuiusque provinciae, ut ab eo praecipue possint formatas accipere. Hinc etiam dirigendae litterae concilii ad transmarinos episcopos.
That bishops shall not travel overseas, except after consulting the bishop of the first see of his own province**, so that from him they shall chiefly be able to receive letters of recommendation**. From now on also the letters of the council (sing) that need to be sent (gerundive) to overseas bishops.
The “cuiusque” bit is a bit of a guess. It means “of each”, and is singular, so must line up with suae provinciae. The “formata” is from Niemeyer, who gives this meaning based on … a canon from an African council! A bit circular, but the idea of a letter of authorisation is probably right. Another canon then says that clergy who turn up overseas without such a letter should be shown the door. Clearly Aurelius of Carthage did not intend to let people bypass him; and other archbishops thought the same.
28. Ut sacramenta altaris nonnisi a jejunis hominibus celebrentur, excepto uno die anniversario quo Cena Domini celebratur. Nam si aliquorum postmeridiano tempore defunctorum sive episcoporum sive clericorum sive ceterorum commendatio facienda est, solis orationibus fiat, si illi qui faciunt iam pransi inveniantur.
That the sacraments of the altar shall not be celebrated except by men fasting, except on the one anniversary day** on which the Lord’s Supper is celebrated. For if a service of commendation of some of the dead, whether bishops or clergy, is to be made in the afternoon, let it be with prayers only, if those who shall be available** have already had breakfast.**
“excepto… anniversario” seems to be an ablative absolute. “inveniantur” is present subjunctive, so we’re rendering all these subjunctives as “shall”, with an eye to a future action. “faciunt” is present indicative, but refers to a time before the time when people are available to officiate at the service. I hope that’s right!
There’s a definite air in some of these canons of an exasperated archbishop saying, “OK you bums, listen up and listen gooood….” It’s noticeable how almost everything is about the clergy, and the laity are almost invisible. We are not really in the early church any more, but well on our way to the medieval church.
In the Rhineland, there are over a thousand inscriptions and reliefs dedicated to the “Matronae”. All of these are Roman, and date to the second-third centuries AD. There is some kind of close relationship with a particular German tribe, the Ubians. The reliefs show three women; two older, either side of a younger woman. In a 2016 thesis available online here, Kevin Worram states:[1]
Despite similarities to certain Celtic goddesses, like the Gallic Matres, the Matronae appear to be particular to this region based on their iconography.2 When depicted artistically, rather than just named on a votive, the Matronae come in a group of three with two older women flanking a younger maiden in the center (See Figure 1). They wear Ubian dresses and hairstyles, suggesting that the Ubians either brought the Matronae with them across the Rhine or adopted them after settling in the Celtic area west of the river.1 Often they have an epithet that ties them to a specific place or to the clan lineage of the devotee. Based on the votives, the Matronae cult seems to have been closely tied to this area and the Ubian population who lived there.
The figure referred to is the altar of Q. Vettius Severus (image via Wikimedia here):
The altar of Q. Vettius Severus. Via Wikimedia.
This is dedicated to the “Matronae Aufaniae”. The Matronae usually seem to have an epithet like this. The meanings of these are unknown, but seem to be locations – the “Mothers of Aufania” or something like this.
This leads us straight into the most important fact about the cult of the Matronae. The fact is that we know nothing about it.
It seems that this Roman cult – presumably a version of a pre-existing Germanic cult – is not referenced in any literary source. No ancient writer ever mentions such a thing. Consequently everything that is written on the subject is derived – or not derived – from the inscriptions and reliefs. These say very little. For instance, the inscription above reads:
To the Mothers of Aufania, Q. Vettius Severis, quaestor of the colony of Cologne, freely and deservedly fulfills his vow, Macrinus and Celsus being consuls.
VLSM is just a formula. The date is 164 AD, the year when those two were consuls. So … it tells us nothing. Vettius Severus set up this item, dedicated to the Matronae, to fulfil a vow of some sort.
In 1958 there was a substantial find of inscriptions of this sort, during quarrying at a place named Morken-Harff in the Rheinland. A dam was found, which had been built out of reused stones. Over a thousand stones proved to come from 250-300 separate monuments, all fragmentary.[2] The find was published by Hans-Georg Kolbe, “Die neuen Matroneninschriften von Morken-Harff”, Bonner Jahrbücher 160, (1960), 50-124, plates 10-25. Unfortunately this is not online.
All the monuments are dedicated to the “Matronae Austriahenae”, with the exception of a dedication to Mercury; no dedications to the Matronae Austriahenae are known from elsewhere. This must be a local cult. The meaning of “Austriahenae” is unknown. Maybe it is a place. Nobody knows.
I was able to find online this image of one of the finds, an altar:
Inscription:
Matronis / Austriahe/nabus / Q(uintus) Lucretius / Patro pro se / v(otum) s(olvit) l(ibens) m(erito)
To the Matronae Austriahenae, Q. Lucretius Patro for himself freely and deservedly fulfills his vow.
Useful. A search in the Clauss-Slaby database here for “austriahenibus” brings up 34 inscriptions, with pictures, mostly of fragments.
About this cult we know nothing. It is perhaps unfortunate, but when we know nothing, it is very important to acknowledge this. Failure to do so invariably results in the production of nonsense.
Since 1962, there has been a considerable literature on what this might mean. Speculation has run rife, for evidence there is none. In an evil hour the philologists were let loose, and some of these managed to infer from “austria-” a link – presumably based on what they think these words must have sounded like – to the Anglo-Saxon goddess Eostre mentioned by Bede in 725 AD in De ratione temporum. Bede gives Eostre as the origin of the old English month named Eosturmonath. The ancient Christian festival of Pasch falls in that month, and so arises the English word “Easter”, familiar to us today.
All this would be very much a fringe interest. Sadly in the last two years there has been a massive upsurge in social media posts making the extraordinary claim “Easter is pagan! ha ha!”, usually at Christian holidays. Much of this seems to come from the professional online army of Democrat party, presumably as part of the horrible politics of our day in order to spite their political foes.
These stormtroopers have no idea how this claim could be so, nor do they care. The object is mockery, not information. But others have come to their aid. They claim that Eostre predates Easter.
Sane people point out that Eostre is only recorded once, in 725 AD, while Easter is recorded in the 2nd century AD. The early Christians did not possess time-machines. Sadly such obvious responses have little effect.
Lately I have seen the reply that Eostre is recorded as the Matronae Austriahenae. It seems that one of these people has edited the dreadful Wikipedia article on Eostre to insert material which will infallibly be taken that way. The reference given has been carefully and selectively quoted to suggest that the name “must be cognate to Eostre”, which is enough for the purpose. But it leaves a sane man wondering how anybody could know this.
It is curious to learn that people are so certain of the sounds of these words, which they know only from a written form. They know the origin of words whose sound has not been heard by any man, and whose meaning is unknown to any man, living, or who have lived, for more than a thousand years. How odd to be certain that history may be discovered based on nothing more than a supposed sound and a supposed similarity. Sometimes you wonder whether the humanities is really, as the scientists think, just a game rather than a discipline.
The truth is that nothing whatever is known of the Matronae Austriahenae, except that some Romans dedicated a stone to them in fulfillment of vows between 150-250 AD. There is no link with Anglo-Saxon goddess five centuries and hundreds of miles further away. The rest is imaginary.
Let’s try translating a few more of the canons, in the summary of the canons of Hippo made for the council of Carthage in 397.
21. Ut nemo in precibus vel Patrem pro Filio, vel Filium pro Patre nominet; et cum altari assistitur semper ad Patrem dirigatur oratio. Et quicumque sibi preces aliunde describit, non eis utatur, nisi prius eas cum instructioribus fratribus contulerit.
That no-one in the prayers shall name the Father for the Son, or the Son for the Father; and when he is officiating at the altar, let the prayer be directed always to the father. And anyone who transcribes the prayers for him from elsewhere, he shall not use them,** unless he has discussed them first with the better-educated brothers.
** “utor” is deponent, and takes the ablative.
22. Ut nullus clericorum amplius recipiat, quam cuiquam commodaverit, sive pecuniam det, sive quamlibet speciem.
That none of the clergy shall receive more than he lent to anyone, whether he gives money, or in kind,** however much.
** “species” in late Latin is goods, wares, the annona.
23. Ut in sacramentis corporis et sanguinis Domini, nihil amplius offeratur, quam ipse Dominus tradidit, hoc est panem et vinum aquae mixtum. Primitiae vero seu lac et mel, quod uno die solemnissimo pro infantum mysterio solet offerri, quamvis in altari offerantur, suam tamen habent propriam benedictionem, ut a sacramento dominici corporis et sanguinis distinguantur. Nec amplius in primitiis offeratur quam de uvis et frumentis.
That nothing else shall be offered in the sacraments of the body and blood of the Lord, than the Lord himself handed down, that is bread and wine mixed with water. But the first-fruits, whether milk or honey, which are accustomed to be offered on one most solemn day for the service of the infants, however much they shall be offered on the altar, they shall have however their own blessing, so that they may be distinguished from the sacrament of the Lord’s body and blood. Nor shall more in the first fruits be offered than that from grapes and corn.
This is repeated as canon 37 of the Register of canons issued in 419.
24. Ut clerici continentes ad viduas, vel virgines, nisi ex jussu vel permissu episcoporum vel presbyterorum, non accedant; et hoc non soli faciant, sed cum clericis, aut cum his cum quibus episcopus aut presbyter jusserit. Sed nec ipsi episcopi aut presbyteri soli habeant accessum ad huiusmodi feminas, sed aut ubi clerici praesentes sunt, aut graves aliqui christiani.
That celibate clergy shall not approach widows or virgins, except by order or permission of the bishops of presbyters; and they shall not do so alone, but with clergy, or with those with whom the bishop or presbyter ordered. But the bishops or presbyters themselves shall not have access to women of this kind, except where either some clergy are present or some respectable Christians.
This is repeated as canon 38 of the Register of canons issued in 419.
