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the "Acta SS/' Particularly interesting, however, is
the marble calendar of Naples, at present in the arch-
diocesan chapel, and which is the object of the lengthy
commentaries of Mazocchi ("Commentariiin marmo-
reum Neapol. Kalendarium", Naples, 1755, 3 vols.)
and of Saboatini (" II vetusto calendario napolitano",
Naples, 1744, 12 vols.); the metrical martyrology of
Wsmdelbert of PrOm (ninth century) , of which DOmmler
Published a critical edition (Monumenta Germanise,
- octffi lat., II, 578-602); the martyrology which it
has been agreed to call the " Little Roman ' vcontempo- rary with Ado, who made it known, and which must be mentioned because of the importance which was for a long time attached to it, wrongly, as recent researches have proved. Among the artificial com- pilations which have been given the title of martyrolo- gies may be mentioned as more important the '* Mar- tyrologium Gallicanum" of Andr6 du Saussay (Paris, 1637), the *'Catalogus Sanctorum Italiae" of Philip Ferrari (Milan, 1613), the " Martyrologium Hispa- num" of Tamayo (Lyons, 1651-59); the last-named must be consulted with great caution. The universal martyrology of Chastetain (Paris, 1709) represents vast researches.
The critical study of martyrologies is rendered very difficult by the multitude and the disparate charac- ter of the elements which compose them. Elarly re- searches dealt with the historical martyrologies. The notes of Baronius on the Roman Martyrology cannot be passed over in silence, the work being the result of vast and solid erudition which has done much towards making known the historical sources of the compila- tions of the Middle Ages. In 1613 Rosweyde pub- lished at Antwerp a good edition of Ado, preceded by the " Little Roman " which he called " vetus Roma- num ". It was only replaced by that of Gior^ (Rome, 1745), based on new MSS. and enriched with notes. In Vol. II for March of the "Acta SS." (1668) the Bollandists furnished new materials for martyrologi- cal criticism by their publication entitled "Martyro- logium veneraoilis Bedas presbyteri ex octo antiquis manuscriptis acceptum cum auctario Flori ... ". The results which seemed then to have been achieved were in part corrected, in part rendered more specific, by the great work of P6re Du Sollier, " Martyrologium Usuardi monachi" (Antwerp, 1714), published in parts in Vols. VI and VII for June of the " Acta SS ". Although some have criticized Du Sollier for his text of Usuard^ the edition far surpasses anything of the kind previously attempted, and considering the re- sources at his disposal and the methods of the time when it was prepared, it may be regarded as a master- piece. Quite recently D. Quentin (" Les Martyrologes nistoriques du moyen &ge ". Paris, 1908) has taken up the general Question and nas succeeded in giving a reasonable solution, thanks to a very deep and careful study of the manuscripts.
For a long time the study of the "Hieronymian Blartyrolop^ yielded few results, and the edition of F. M. Fiorentini (" Vetustius occidentalis ecclesise martyrologium", Lucca, 1668), accompanied by a very erudite historical commentary, caused it to make no notable progress. It was the publication of the Syriac Martyrologv discovered by Wright ("Journal of Sacred Literature *', 1866, 45 sqq.), which gave the im- petus to a series of researches which still continue. Father Victor De Buck ("Acta SS". Octobris, XII, 185, and elsewhere) signalizes the relationship of this martyrology to the " Hieronjrmian Martyrology". This fact, which escaped the first editor, is of assist- ance in recognizing the existence of a general mar- tyrology of the Orient, written in Greek at Nicomedia, and which served as a source for the " Hieronymian ". In 1885 De Rossi and Duchesne published a memoir entitled "Les sources du martvrologe hi^ronymien" (in Melanges d'arch^ologie et d'nistoire, V), which be- came the jjtarting-point of a critical edition of the
martyrology, published throu^ their efiforts in Vol.
II for November of the "Acta SS." in 1894. But
little criticism has been devoted to the Roman Martyr-
ology which has become an official book, its revision
being reserved to the Roman Curia. Every effort de-
voted to the study of the " Hieronymian ", the histori-
cal martyrologies, and the Greek " Synaxaria " helps
the study of this compilation, which is derived from
them. Attention may be called to the large conmia^
tary on the Roman Martyrology, by Alexander Politi
(Florence, 1751). Only the first volimie, containing
the month of January, has appeared.
Besides the works already quoted see the followiiis: Ma-
martyroiooe romaxn €utuel in Ds Backer, Stb,
TAONB, Le
Serivaina de la Comp. d« Jinia, 2iid ed.. Ill (1876), 368 sqq . Dc Smedt, IrUrodueHo generalia ad historiam ^celentuHeam entice tmdandam (Ghoit. 1876), 127-158; db Buck. Recherchee aw les caUndriera ecdiaiaatvitiea in Pr6eia hiatoriquea (Brussels, 1877), 12 sqq.; Achelxs^Dm Mariyrologien, ihre OeechiehU %aui ihr Weri (Benin, 1900); Delbhaye, Le Umoignage dee vtartyro' logea in Analeei. Bolland., XXVI, 78 sqq. A himdy edition of the Martyrolooium Romanum was published at Turin (1010}: there is an English translation, The Roman Martyrvlogy (Balti- more, 1907). HiPPOLYTB DelSUATE.
MartsrropoUs, a titular see, suffragan of Amida in the Province of Mesopotamia or Armenia Quarta. It was only a small town, named Maipherqat, but was rendered oelebrated at the' end of the fourth century, by its bishop, St. Maruthas. Enjoying great influ- ence at the Roman and the Persian Courts, Maruthas was sent on several important missions to Seleucia- Ctesiphon or Constantinople and succeeded in ob- taining religious liberty for the Persian Christians in 410. On his return ^rom one of the journeys he brought back to Maipherqat fromJPersia many relics of the martyrs, in consequence of which the town be- came known as Martyropolis. The emperor Theo- dosius II aided Maruthas in this work of reconstruc- tion and embellishment. Captured by the Persians under Anastasius I, the town was retaken by the Romans and successfully defended in the time of Justinian (Ahrens and Kriiger, "Die sogenannte Kirchengeschichte des Zacharias Rhetor", 171-75; Procopius, " Bellum pers.", I, xxi, xxiii ; '* De nedifidis ", III, 2). Its name was then changed for a short time to J ustinianopolis (Malalas, " Chronographia ", XVIII ; P. G., XCVIl, 629). Martyropolis is mentioned very often in the time of the wars between the Romans and the Persians, from 584 to 589 (Theophanis, "Chrono- graphia", anno mundi 6077, 6079, 6080); Heradius halted there in 624 (op.cit.,6116); in712, itwasin the hands of the Arabs (op. cit., 6204). Lequien (Oriens CJhristianus, II, 997-1002) mentions several of its Greek bishops, among them being the Metropolitan Basil who assisted at the conciliabulum of Photius in 878. We know, indeed, hy a statement in the " Noti- tia episcopatuum " of Antioch, in the tenth century (Echos d 'Orient, X, 93) that Martyropcdis had been withdrawn from the jurisdiction of Amida, and be-
Jacobite bishops. At present, Martyropolis is caUed
Mefarkin, or Snvan; it is a caza of the vilayet of Diar-
bekir. The town, situated 42 miles north-east of
Diarbekir, contains 7(XX) inhabitants, of whom 4000
are Mussulmans, 20(X) schismatic Armenians. 430
Catholic Armenians, and about 511 Syrian Jacobites.
It possesses 3 churches for these dinerent religjous
communities.
CtriNET, La Turquie d'Asie. II, 470-72; Chapot, La frontihre de VEuphrate (Pans, 1907), 359-61. g VAILHfe
Martjrrs, Acts of the. — In a strict sense the Acts of the Martyrs are the official records of the trials of early Christian martyrs made by the notaries of the court. In a wider sense, however, the title is applied to all the narratives of the martyrs' trial and death. In the latter sense, they may be classified as follows:
