Burial inscription for Maximilla from Rome made by Lucceia, daughter of the praet. prefect Viventius
source date: October 4th, 389 AD
edition published: 2020-05-08
availability: This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/)

Maximilla potens servare federa Crhisti | propositumque fidem, mors abstulit omnia vitae; | sed melius vivit, vitam Cristi qui sperat eternam, | si animo recolat fidem datam omnibus unam; | tunc poterit mors ipsa mori cum tempore toto, | vita perennis erit, veniam dabit omnibus unam. | Sed meritis vegetans super hanc, Lucceia, fecisti, | nam memor ipsa tui cum reddis vota sepulcrhi | ostendis mentem religiosa vita repleta. |[^1] Mirae fide

[^1: prose]

et innocentiae optimique propositi Maximilla virgo ancilla Dei civis Pannonia, que vixit annis numero L, huic sepulturae condita est a Lucceia, clarissima femina filia Viventi, clarissimae recordationis viri, ex praefecto pretorio et urbis aeternae propter amicitiam sibi coniuntam, que diem clusit una cum matre sua pariter Nunita, que fuit matrona diaconis et vixit annis numero LXX, die IIII nonas Octobres Flaviis Timasio et Promoto viris clarissimis consulibus.

Edition based on CIL.

“Maximilla was able to preserve the covenant with Christ, her vocation and her faith, death has taken away everything of life; but those who hope in Christ’s eternal life live best, if in her soul she cultivated unceasingly the one faith given to all; then death itself will die with all time, life will be eternal, (Christ) will give everybody the same forgiveness. But flourishing for your merits, for the merits towards her, Lucceia, you have, in fact, made yourself mindful of yourself, fulfilling the vows of the sepulchre, you show a spirit full of religious life.

The virgin Maximilla, God’s servant, with extraordinary faith and purity and perfect in her vocation, citizen of Pannonia, who lived for 50 years, was buried in this sepulchre by Lucceia, woman of clarissimus rank, daughter of Viventius, man of clarissime memory, former praetorian prefect and prefect of the eternal city, for the friendship she has towards her, who ended her days together with her own mother Nunita, who was the wife of a deacon and lived for 70 years, on the fourth day before the none of October (= October 4th), under the consulship of Flavii Timasius and Promotus, of clarissimus rank.”

“Maximilla a pu maintenir les promesses, la vocation et la foi du Christ, la mort a enlevé toutes les choses de la vie ; mais ceux qui espèrent en la vie éternelle du Christ vivent mieux si dans leur âme ils cultivent sans cesse cette foi unique donnée à tous ; alors la mort elle-même mourra avec tous les temps, la vie sera éternelle, (le Christ) donnera à tous le même pardon. Mais en t’épanouissant pour tes bienfaits envers elle, Lucceia, tu as pris conscience de toi-même, et en accomplissant les voeux du sépulcre, tu fais preuve d’un esprit rempli de vie religieuse.

La vierge Maximille, servante de Dieu, de foi et d’une extraordinaire pureté, parfaite dans sa vocation, citoyenne de Pannonie, qui a vécu 50 ans, a été déposée dans cette tombe par Lucceia, fille de Viventius, home de clarissime mémoire, ancien préfet du prétoire et de la ville éternelle, pour le lien d’amitié pour elle, qui terminé ses jours avec sa mère Nunita, épouse de diacre, qui vécut 70 ans, le quatrième jour avant le none d’octobre (= 4 octobre), lorsque les clarissimes Flavii Timasius et Promotus (= 389) étaient consuls.”

“Maximilla è stata capace di mantenere i patti di Cristo, la vocazione e la fede, la morte ha portato via tutte le cose della vita; ma vive meglio chi spera nella vita eterna di Cristo, se nell’animo coltiva senza sosta quella unica fede data a tutti; allora potrà la morte stessa morire con tutto il tempo, la vita sarà eterna, (Cristo) darà a tutti lo stesso perdono. Ma fiorendo per i meriti verso di lei, Lucceia, hai fatto te stessa memore di te, e mentre adempi ai voti del sepolcro, mostri una mente ricolma di vita religiosa.

La vergine Maximilla, ancella di Dio dalla fede e dalla purezza straordinarie e perfetta nella vocazione, cittadina della Pannonia, che visse 50 anni, è stata deposta in questa sepoltura dalla chiarissima Lucceia, figlia di Viventius, di chiarissima memoria, ex prefetto del pretorio e della città eterna, per il legame di amicizia verso di lei, che pose fine ai suoi giorni assieme alla propria madre Nunita, la quale fu moglie di un diacono e visse 70 anni, il quarto giorno prima delle none di ottobre (= 4 ottobre), quando erano consoli i chiarissimi Flavii Timasius e Promotus.”

The inscription was chiselled on the lid (ll. 1-3) and on the front (ll. 4-8) of a marble sarcophagus, found in June 1930 in a mausoleum beside the apse of the Basilica San Sebastiano on the Appian Way (Styger 1935, p. 155; Ferrua 1937, pp. 131-132; CIL 06, 41342). It records the burial of the consecrated virgin Maximilla, a native of Pannonia (PChBE II/2, p. 1461), and her mother Nunita (PChBE II/2, p. 1545), widow of a deacon. The inscription opens with a praise, in nine hexameters (ll. 1-3), of the faith of Maximilla and the piety of a third woman, Lucceia, who organized the burial, carried out on October 4th 389 AD. Lucceia, of senatorial rank, was the daughter of the former praetorian prefect and prefect of the city of Rome Viventius.

Viventius was among the Illyrians who supported the rise to power of their fellow Valentinian I (Alföldi 1952, pp. 13-27; Matthews 1975, pp. 35-41; Raimondi 2001, pp. 63-71; Lenski 2002, pp. 20-22; Castello 2012, pp. 139-158). A Pannonian from Siscia himself (modern Sisak, Croatia), he was the first questor of Valentinian (364-365 AD) and later held the prestigious offices listed in the inscription: prefect of Rome (365/6-367 AD) and praetorian prefect (of Gauls, 367/8-371/2 AD).

No information about his previous career survives. Viventius could have been nominated questor by Jovian (Lenski 2002, p. 56; by Valentinian I, according to Olszaniec 2013, p. 435), but the first time he appears in the sources is at the beginning of the reign of Valentinian and Valens, at Constantinople, when he was asked to investigate with the magister officiorum Ursacius (Clauss 1980, pp. 196-197; Olszaniec 2013, pp. 428-430) the allegations of sourcery surrounding the mysterious fever that had affected the imperial brothers (Amm. 26, 04, 04; Zos. 04, 01-02). According to Ammianus and Zosimus, it was a purge, an attempt to eliminate several supporters of the late emperor Julian, but no evidence was found against them (see den Boeft et alii 2008, pp. 84-86). In the Summer of 364 AD, Viventius followed Valentinian to Italy and during his stay at Mediolanum, again with Ursacius, he presided over an investigation into the orthodoxy of Auxentius, bishop of the city (Barnes 2002, pp. 227-231).

After September 365 AD, when the imperial comitatus left Northern Italy and moved to Gaul, Viventius was nominated to the very prestigious post of prefect of the city of Rome (Chastagnol 1962, pp. 170-171; Olszaniec 2013, pp. 436-437) where he replaced Volusianus Lampadius (former praetorian prefect, see PPRET 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41). Despite his origins and the promotion to an office usually reserved for the leading members of the senatorial aristocracy, Viventius established friendly relationships with the Roman élite and this probably explains the very favorable portrait that Ammianus provides of the Pannonian official (Alföldi 1952, p. 16; cf. Barnes 1998, p. 111; Lizzi Testa 2004, pp. 153-157; Lizzi Testa 2007a, pp. 331-337; Lizzi Testa 2007b, pp. 121-124; Colombo 2008, pp. 209-210). The urban prefecture of Viventius was troubled by the violent clash between the supporters of Damasus and Ursinus for the succession to the bishop of Rome Liberius (Amm. 27, 03, 11-13; on this episode see Lizzi Testa 2004, pp. 129-170; cf. Lippold 1965; Kahlos 1997, pp. 41-44; Clemente 2017, pp. 126-130): Viventius, unable to restore order, was forced to temporarily withdraw to a suburban villa. Later, the prefect supported Damasus and condemned Ursinus and his followers to exile. According to a pro-Ursinus source (Coll. Avell. 01, 06), Viventius and the prefect of the annona Iulianus had been corrupted by Damasus. Where was this suburban villa? An inscription engraved on a slave collar (CIL 15, 07193 = Thurmond 1994, p. 481, nr. 31 = Thompson 2003, p. 239, fig. 104), might refer to it. The collar in question recommends the return of the slave to his master Viventius «in ar<e>a Callisti», a place otherwise unknown, perhaps near the Basilica of Santa Maria in Trastevere (De Rossi 1866, p. 94; cf. Chastagnol 1962, p. 171; Hillner 2001, p. 214; but Bertolino 1994, pp. 187-190, suggests the cemetery of S. Callisto on the Appian way, near the Basilica San Sebastiano where the inscription of Maximilla was found).

The problems in the administration of Rome do not appear to have hindered Viventius’ career: replaced by Praetextatus between May 5th and August 18th 367 AD (an "intermediate" prefecture of Pomponius Ammonius, suggested by Crimi, Orlandi 2017, seems unlikely given the very short interval and the silence of Ammianus), Viventius was shortly afterwards promoted to the praetorian prefecture of Gauls in substitution of Florentius (PLRE I, Florentius 5, p. 364; Olszaniec 2013, pp. 194-195, 437-438). In the Theodosian Code, for the years 368-371 AD, eleven laws addressed to Viventius praetorian prefect (three times with the specification Galliarum) survive (contents and chronology can be found in Schmidt-Hofner 2008a e 2008b). Among the prefects of Gauls, only Fl. Vincentius (PLRE II, Vincentius 6, p. 1169) under Honorius received more constitutions. These texts are the only evidence we have concerning the activity of Viventius in this period. We know that he was in Trier in the same years as Valentinian. Although the latter had his headquarters here, the prefect had his own seat and was not part of the imperial comitatus, as shown by the subscription of Frg. Vat. 37 (= CTh 10, 17, 01), a constitution on state auctions that was signed by the imperial hand in Trier on November 3rd 369 AD and received by Viventius some days later (cf. Schmidt-Hofner 2008b, pp. 542-543). In CTh 08, 07, 10 the prefect was praised by Valentinian for having cleared his office of the clerks who had illegally entered it. Viventius was finally replaced by Maximinus (PLRE I, Maximinus 7, pp. 577-578). The chronology of the change is uncertain: the last constitution addressed to Viventius records the date as June 29th 371 AD (CTh 12, 01, 075). The CI 06, 22, 07, issued on August 7th 371 AD, could be the first law addressed to his successor, but the inscription reads «ad Maximum» (not Maximinus), without reference to an office. Recently T.D. Barnes has suggested a date after February 372 AD when, according to CTh 14, 03, 14, Maximinus was still vicar of the city of Rome (Barnes 1998, pp. 241-246; cf. Lizzi Testa 2004, pp. 50-51).

There is little evidence about Viventius after his prefecture: Ammianus tells us that his nephew Faustinus, son of his sister, was sentenced to death by the praetorian prefect Petronius Probus in Illyricum (Amm. 30, 05, 11; cf. den Boeft et alii 2015, pp. 124-126); in 384 AD, in a report to the emperor, the prefect of Rome Q. Aurelius Symmachus calls his predecessor Viventius «clarissimae et inlustris memoriae vir» (Symm., Rel. 30: see Vera 1981, pp. 232-239): this means that at the time Viventius was already dead.

The burial inscription of Maximilla, engraved in 389 AD, shows the links of Viventius’ family with the city of Rome and the Christian circles of the capital well beyond the term of his urban prefecture. A.H.M. Jones (PLRE I, p. 972) suggested that Viventius was a Christian on the grounds of two constitutions, addressed to him, granting tax exemptions to virgins and elderly widows (CTh 13, 10, 04 and CTh 13, 10, 06; on these texts see Carrié 1994, pp. 41-42). The assumption that the prefect was not only the recipient but also the proponent of these laws is now strengthened by the evidence of our inscription, that shows the close relationship his daughter had with a virgin and a widow of a (Roman?) deacon. The sarcophagus was found in a mausoleum connected to the Basilica of San Sebastiano. The precise function and ownership of this mausoleum, the so called Platonia, have long been debated (Nieddu 2008a). The discovery in the same area of several funerary inscriptions of figures who, like Maximilla, recalled their Pannonian origins, has led to the idea of a “national” Pannonian cemetery in Rome (Styger 1935, p. 151; Bertolino 1997; Saghy 2016, pp. 470-471). However, this hardly could be the function of such a small mausoleum. A. Ferrua tentatively proposed to identify this space as the mausoleum of the family of Viventius and this would explain why his daughter Lucceia could use the area for the burial of her friend and her mother (Ferrua 1937, p. 137; Ferrua 1961, pp. 218-226; Bertolino 1994, pp. 185-186; Nieddu 2009, pp. 253-254). Shortly after Maximilla’s burial, the mausoleum was deeply transformed to house the relics, transferred from Illyricum, of the martyr Quirinus (executed in 309 AD in Pannonia Prima, cf. Nieddu 2008b, pp. 361-364; Nieddu 2009, pp. 212-256). The relationship between this initiative and the family of Viventius is not clear, but Quirinus, martyred at Savaria under the tetrarchy, was bishop of Siscia (Chiesa 2013, pp. 505-529), the city where the prefect was born. It is, therefore, possible that the heirs of Viventius played a role in the transfer of the relics, providing a place for the cult of the Pannonian martyr in Rome.

Styger 1935, pp. 154-155 (with photo) Ferrua 1937, pp. 131-132 ICUR n.s., 05, 13355 CIL 06, 41342 (with photo) Nieddu 2009, p. 224, nt. 996 (with photo, p. 227, nr. 264) = AE 2009, 0145

EDCS 01000473 EDR 093574 EDB 27045 EDH 032687 MQDQ 443 TM 262836

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ex praefecto pretorio