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Konsthistorisk tidskrift/Journal of Art History


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Triumphus and trophaea sacra: Notes on the


iconography and spirituality of the triumphant
martyr
a
Leif Holm Monssen
a
Oslo
Published online: 01 Sep 2008.

To cite this article: Leif Holm Monssen (1982) Triumphus and trophaea sacra: Notes on the iconography and spirituality of
the triumphant martyr, Konsthistorisk tidskrift/Journal of Art History, 51:1, 10-20, DOI: 10.1080/00233608208603986

To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00233608208603986

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Triumphus and Trophaea Sacra:
Notes on the Iconography and
Spirituality of the Triumphant
Martyr
LEIF HOLM MONSSEN
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The present study proposes to examine some aspects of should therefore not be surprising that Gregory XIII's
the iconography and spirituality of the triumphant mar- papacy was one in which processions for the translation
tyr in Rome during the late papacy of Gregory XIII with of saints were quite popular. These translations were in
respect to Christian and Roman triumphal processions, fact held to have great spiritual, devotional and didactic
special attention being given to the painted martyrdom utility. Florio Lelio, a contemporary of Gregory XIII,
cycle in Santo Stefano Rotondo and documentation (pic- wrote that translations were to be considered among the
torial, and especially verbal) of the translation of St Gre- "great holidays" of the Church, and among "those things
gory of Nazianzus in 1580. which are worthy of everlasting memory". He added that
Under the papacy of Gregory XIII, there was a new these ceremonies took place "either for revelation, or for
surge of interest in the Church martyrs and their cult. some new occurrence, or at the request of a king, prince
This can be explained partly by the reformatory work of or other lords, not without increasing the glory of God
the Roman Church going on at that time, initiated in the and honour and devotion to the saints and the spiritual
first half of the century. In order to strengthen its posi- and temporal utility of the people, and not without
tion as the centre of the Christian world, among other ornamenting the city, which happens especially in Rome
things, the Church renewed interest in the papacy of
Gregory the Great and the martyrs of Christian Rome.1 It It may have been Pope Gregory's interest in the ancient

Fig. 1. The Triumphant Pope Gregory XIII. From Fabricii, Fig·. 2. The Translation of the Picture of Mary. From Fabricii,
Delle Allvsioni ..., Rome, 1588. Photo: Bibliotheca Hertziana. DelleAllusioni..., Rome, 1588. Photo: Bibliotheca Hertziana.

Konsthislorisk Tidskriß LI
11

triumphant martyrs3 which urged Fabricii, a contempo-


rary author, to look upon the pope, with allusion to the
ancient Roman emperors, as a triumpher dressed in pon-
tificials seated on a currus triumphalis, harnessed by two
dragons, the pope's coat of arms (Fig. I).4 The book in
which this description appeared also included an engrav-
ing of the triumphant translation of the devotional pic-
ture of Mary to the pope's newly built Gregorian Chapel
in St Peter's on 17 October 1580 (Fig. 2).5 This concern
for Mary and especially for the ancient militant Church
was implemented by the Jesuit Society as for instance in
the translation of the saints Abundius and Abundatius to
the new Jesuit capital church, II Gesù, in 1584 (Fig. 3)6
and in particular, as we shall see in the following, by the
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alumni of die German-Hungarian Jesuit College in Rome,


the pop's favorite college.

The martyrdom cycle in Santo Stefano Rotondo


The martyrdom cycle in Santo Stefano. Rotondo, the
German-Hungarian Jesuit College church, was painted
in 1582 by Niccolô Circignani (II Pomarancio) and Mat-
teo da Siena.7 The thirty frescoes are painted on the
ambulatory wall (Fig. 4) which encircles the nave, and
represent chronologically, for a period of more than four
hundred years, the martyrdoms of the primitive
Church,8 beginning with the Crucifixion. Each fresco is Fig. 3. The Translation of Srs. Abundius and Abundantius.
flanked by two half columns or one half column and a From F. Cardulo, Sanctorum Martyrum Abundii Presbyteri Abun-
brick pillar and surmounted by an undecorated arched dandi..., Rome, 1584. Photo: Bibliotheca Hertziana.
area pierced by a round window.
These frescoes were soon after engraved by G. B. De
Cavallieri and published in two different editions in years in the very same Santo Stefano Rotondo to the
Rome in 1583 and 1587entitled, Ecclesiae MilitantisTrium-mosaic in apsis in die Cappella dei SS. Primo e Feliciano
12
phi sivé Deo Amabilium Martyrum Gloriosa pro Christi Fide (Fig. 6), from about 650 where the two martyrs in
Certamina and Triumphus Martyrum in Templo D. Stephani Paradise guard the Cross surmounted by Christ in a
Caelii Montis Expressus. Here, as the titles of the two books clipeus. The laurel wreath in the apex of the vault is
show, die martyr has gained the status of a triumpher. delivered by the hand of God and affects simultaneously
This same idea is expressed in the Latin poem by Giulio the victorious vexillum and the two martyrs. Both in the
Rossi from Orte9 which is included in the 1587 edition, poem and the mosaic we see the martyr as a witness of the
accompanying a representation of the first fresco in the blood, who in his own deadi bears testimony to the death
cycle, a Crucifixion (Fig. 5). Entitled "To the Cross's most and suffering of Christ. We see him, through his imitatio,
sacred Banner, under which the most nobly born Martyrs sharing Christ's victory and triumph: "Qui vicerit, dabo ei
in Christ have been fighting", it portrays the Cross as a cedere mecum in throno meo" (apoc. Ill, 2). The martyr as
symbol of Christ's victory over death and expresses the the triumphant comrade of Christ, has obtained eternal
idea that Christ's death is a prize of glory worthily shared praise and glory: "Isti sunt triumphatores et amid dei ...
by His close followers.10 Thematically speaking, these meruerunt praemia aeterna".13
paintings are a variant of the iconographical category The important status of the martyr as victor and
called ecclesia triumphans11 which displays by way of al-triumpher, as we have seen it expressed pictorially and
legories the victories of Christianity. Pictorial representa- poetically, was inspired by the liturgy of the Roman
tions of this same idea can be traced back more than 900 Church. For example we can cite the ordo missae: "Oramus

Konsthistorisk Tidskrift LI
12
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Fig·. 4. The East-south sector of the am-


bulatory in Santo Stefano Rotondo.
Photo: Gabinetto Fotografico Nazionale,
Rome.

te, Domine, per mérita sanctorum tuorum quorum reliquiae hie Another type of procession which can be seen as an
sunt". As martyrdom is an offering to God,14 the martyr's influence on our fresco cycle is the Corpus Domini proces-
relics then may be placed in an altar-grave. This commun- sion. It was introduced in Italy in the fifteenth century
ion of the participant and the triumphant Church is also and developed from the medieval triumphal natalL· pro-
accomplished in the Communicantes and the Nobù quoque cessions21 in which the Eucharist together with statues
of the canon where the living, militant Church partakes representing the martyr commemorated in this festive
of and benefits from the gifts of the triumphant manner, pictures, banners and crosses was carried, ac-
Church.15 companied by jubilant hymns and choir-prayers.22
The first fresco of the martyrdom cycle is accompanied Particularly famous and hence extensively commentated
23
by inscriptions from the hymn Rex gloriose martyrum.16is the celebration in Viterbo in 1462 in which the pro-
And in my opinion it is here, in the words trophaea sacra cession stopped periodically along the road for a sacra
that we find the religious definition of our frescoes, a rappresentazione to be enacted, its subject matter inspired
display of trophies of martyrial triumphs and victories by the holy scriptures. Similar "productions" were en-
over the suffering of torture17 and death; an echo of couraged during the second half of the sixteenth century,
classical Roman triumph.18 In the Italian Cinquecento in in particular by the Cpnfraternità del Sacramento and
fact, triumphal processions were quite popular, especially the Jesuits. For example, in Genoa in 1558, the Jesuit
the so-called entrata; a type of procession closely related to alumni decorated the outer walls of their college facing
the ancient adventus.19 Such festival celebrations, like the procession with elegant cartelli containing inscriptions
24
Pope Leo X's entrance in Florence in 1515,20 were made and sentences pertaining to the Eucharist. Even the
up of both static and dynamic elements; the static ele- German-Hungarian College in Rome contributed to the
ments being decorations hanging from house facades dynamic element of the Corpus Domini procession when in
flanking the procession and triumphal arches erected for its "private" celebration in the parish around its main
the occasion and embellished with allegories and inscrip- college church Sant'Apollinare, a short distance from
tions pertaining to classical mythology as well as to Chris- Piazza. Navona, several of the alumni headed the proces-
25
tian theology: and the dynamic elements being the pro- sion dressed as saints.
cession itself and its decorated cam. One feature which distinguishes the entrata type of

KonslhUtorisk Tidshiß LI
13

AD S A N C T I S S I M A E
. Cracis vcxillum fub quo gene
rofiffimi Christ marty-
res milicarunc ·
Crux vtltrix ventrindi Piltjcrrsfc, mtrijĹ.
Crux Domini fun tint!A enuremet.
SceptrA tibifefi fr Regum diidimitifubdil^
' Subdlturí;Cthun,Tirttrei^.Ului.
HccfU/ùbpge» meruenuit tgnint quit/put
Îdkiulidnifiicrt cclfipcdr.
Hocfines beUâr:iiirifib tegmintfîeth
Fcemineeicidcmttxitfyvmbr&thtrts. '
7* vit nurtjributßecimeBJ; actaßfilutii,
Tu icCHt^ir »oßrii va A mcdcU milii.
l'/AK'VSO>T'>lniMOKR'. M .
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pue eo oyoo. LABOXAVIT Λ Ν : Ι ' . t. ::


VICíEBIT' I ť i A T V J l A i l T V t ' • J " !'
ι ΓΕΛΤΙΛΗ SI f t V M M O Í K T . ' " I V " -
Fig. 5. Engraving by G. B. De Cavallieri, ι|; U W n U T i f O L I A · IÎJLIAE.. L-H • J
in Triumphus Martyrium . . . , Rome, 1587,
after the fresco of N. Circignani, with a
poem by Giulio Rossi from Orte. Photo:
Istituto Nazionale d'Archeologia e Storia
dell'Arte, Rome.
%

i A a

procession from the Corpus Domini type is the static ele- ing support for the Jesuit Society and its work in the
ment which, on the one hand, is composed of triumphal salvation of souls.28 Although, as we have just seen, this
arches embellished with pictorial representations and, on procession cannot be classified as triumphal, its existence
the other, οι tableaux vivants or cartelli. In our attempt todoes provide the evidence for our interpretation. So if we
demonstrate the influence of both types of processions have the frescoes themselves as the static elements of the
on our fresco cycle, we would like to suggest that each procession, we have here something quite different from
fresco be seen as a kind of trophy-tableau, that is the a typical pictorial representation of a procession which as
illustration of a scene from the history of the Church a rule portrays it as a continuum of contemporary scenes
which by the nature of its content (a martyrdom scene) moving through the pictorial space which is intended as
obtains the status of a sacred trophy. the procession's pathway. In our fresco cycle, however, I
This interpretation of the paintings as sacred trophies, see the procession as covering a temporal—rather than a
and therefore as the static elements of a procession was spacial—distance; that is, we have a series of portrayals of
suggested to me by a diary entry dated March 1583, one motif moving chronologically through time. And,
written by the rector of the German-Hungarian College, contrary to the traditional procession, in which the
Michèle Lauretano (1573-1587). In a description of the dynamic element is the procession itself, here the
celebration of the second Sunday of Lent, he wrote: "Si dynamic element can be seen as the beholder who moves
cantô la Messa solennemente, et avanti quella si fece la before the paintings, as they unfold along the circular
processione attorno la chiesa, dicendo le litanie .. Λ26 If ambulatory wall. And so the idea that the frescoes them-
the quotation is interpreted as meaning that the proces- selves are the static elements of the procession fits into
sion happened in the church and not outside of it, then it this overall interpretation, but unlike the moveable and
possibly moved through the ambulatory from east to perishable ones made for live processions, these are "fas-
north, following the chronological procession of the fres- tened" 1to the ambulatory wall, where they are "im-
coes. printed! for eternity below apotheosizing arches.29 They
This procession can be best defined as a private sta- are a kind of fixed decoration to the memory of the
tional procession,27 a festive celebration of the Eucharist Church's progression through its history of salvation—
including the singing of the All Saints Litany. Here we the militant Church marching ahead towards the trium-
have a prayer of praise to Christ and all the saints, invok- phant One, its glorious way strewn with sacred trophies.

Konsthistorisk Tidskrifl U
14
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Fig·. 6. Apse mosaic in the Cappella dei


SS. Primo e Feliciano in Santo Stefano
Rotondo. Photo: Alinari.

The translation of S t Gregory ofNazianzvs in 1580 mentioned there were four dragons in the form of De-
St Gregory's remains were transferred in a jubilant and vices of Our Lord ,..'.34
triumphal procession from Santa Maria di Campo Marzo The procession was headed by five men mounted on
to a new altar-grave in the Gregorian Chapel of St Peter's horseback holding trumpets, followed by thirty-seven
on Saturday, the 11th of June 1580. The translation is armed cavalrymen, the catechumens, the Archicon-
documented by the vast decoration of the upper part of fraternità del Santissimo Crocifisso of San Marcello, rep-
the wall of Gregory XIII's Loggia III in the Vatican, resentatives of several Orders and Societies carrying
painted by Antonio Tempesta and Paolo Bril.30 There are torches, crosses and banners decorated, among other
also several written accounts of the celebration, the most things, with the Holy Trinity and saints. Then came
detailed of which is by Florio Lelio who was present.31 He priests, Vatican officials with torches, two acolytes burn-
described it as it went from Santa Maria di Campo Marzo, ing incense around the saint's corpse carried by St Peter's
passing by the Scrofa to San Trifone, then to Sant'Agos- canonics. The catafalque which was covered with white
tino by Torre Sanguigna turning at Santa Maria velvet and four ribbons embellished with pictures of the
dell'Anima, at Pasquino, passing by Parione, by Banchi, saint in gold and silver, was transported, among others,
by Borgo, finally to St Peter's.32 His adjectives for the by senators and conservatores under a baldachin of white
procession are "sumptuous" and "splendid"33 and as his damask. The last part of the procession was made up of
description unfolds, the appropriateness of these words barons, signori, members of the Greek Seminar, the Swiss
becomes clear. The facade of Santa Maria di Campo Guard and an indefinite number of noblemen.
Marzo was embellished in such a way that it resembled a The translation proceeded through the streets, flanked
triumphal arch surmounted by trophies: "from the top to by Gobelin tapestries, brocades, embroidered pillows,
the bottom of the door where they were like Trophies ornamental pictorial representations which hung from
(since it did not seem to be other than an ornament of a the windows also decorated with flowers. At Sant'Agos-
Triumphal arch) of this near Triumph; there was a Book tino a short tableau-vivant was performed; and later at the
above Which a mitre could be seen, and a Pastoral as a German-Hungarian Jesuit College35 three alumni dressed
sign of the doctrine and dignity of St Gregory of as angels joined in an ode, the text of which hung near
Nazianzus; and then the arms of the Church; and these the college's newly erected triumphal arch. In fact Lelio's
trophies were on both sides of the door; besides these description of this arch makes up a considerable part of

Konsthistorisk Tidskrifl LI
15
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Fig. 7. Antonio Tempesta and Paolo Bril: The Translation of St


Gregory of Nazianzus, detail. Photo: Musei Vaticani, Archivio
Fotografico.

his text thus stressing the alumni's participation as a major the one where the Holy body was to enter, but also two
event of the procession: "then on reaching Sant'Agostino others; the entrance was completely decorated with very
at the entrance to the square, one could see that arch, lovely tapestries, there were two marvellous embroideries,
which joins the one building of the German College with one large one to the right of the Assumption of the
the other ... under this arch passed the procession. Its Madonna worth twelve thousand scudi, and the other to
ornament seemed truely a triumphal arch, and certainly the left which was half as large, where there was the Birth
if any arch by right can be called triumphal this one of Christ, worth six thousand scudi".38 From the church
seems so to me, since below it passed not a mortal man, the master of ceremonies advanced carrying a silver staff,
but a divine one".36 In the middle of the arch there was a escorted by servants dressed in red, archbishops, bishops
picture of St Gregory of Nazianzus together with those of wearing mitre and pluviale, then cardinals in pontificials,
St Apollinare and other saints as well as the pope's coat of two priests bearing the papal triregnum and mitre, then
arms, the drake, and ornaments made of coloured paper the Cross and Pope Gregory XIII carried under a bal-
etc. On the two facades to the left and right of the arch, dachin by his knights and several others. At the foot of
there were long, horizontal friezes composed of festoons the stairs they all came to a halt; the pope descended and
of myrtles and below another one showing imprese in- walked the rest of the way down to the saint's catafalque
scribed with Greek mottoes and verses which gran- where he knelt down on a brocade pillow. This new
diloquently praised both the martyr and the pope.37 procession which emerged from the interior of St Peter
The triumphal procession made a halt fifteen paces returned afterwards with the saint's corpse.
from the stairs leading up to St Peter (Fig. 7). The door of Lelio finishes his description in this way: "Here were
the church "was of the same decoration as that of the heard bells, trumpets, here trombones, and flutes, here
Church of Santa Maria in Campo Marzo, and not only artillery, here the voices and the very great rejoicing of
**-821845 Kowlhislorisk Tiäskriß U
16

procedure for the consecration of a church as it is estab-


lished in the Pontificale Romanian.** After the hours, ma-
tin and laud said from the Common of Several Martyrs at
the place where the saint's corpse is kept for the occasion,
for instance, in another church, the pope walks to the
new church's closed door and invokes assistance from the
Holy Trinity and the triumphant Church by way of the
All Saints Litany. Later he knocks on the door exclaim-
ing, "Attolite portas, principes vestras, Et elevami, portae aeter-
nas, Et introibit rex gloriac, Dominus fortis et potens, Dominas
potens inproelio" (Ps. 27, 7—8), thus announcing the pos-
session of the church by Crist, the triumphant King and
Commander-in-chief, here symbolized by the pope. The
demons are driven out of the church by the Crucified
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One, when the pope, before entering the church, makes


the sign of the Cross, accompanied by the words, "Ecce
Fig. 8. F. Villamena: De Ecclesiae dedicatione. From Pontificale crurís signum,fuggiantphantasmata cuncta". Then he walks
Romanum, Rome, 1595, 2, 346. Photo: Biblioteca Apostolica into the church singing "Paxaeterna", and when reaching
Vaticana. its centre, adds "Veni creator Spiritus", and the All Saints
Litany in order that grace may descend and sustain the
sacraments of this His church delivered at the dedicatory
the people with so much gaiety that nearly all of them saint's altar. At this point the pope returns to the corpse
were crying and especially our Lord"."9 Rastelli, another which is carried in a jubilant procession, its members
reporter of the event, adds at this point: "a possessed joining in three antiphones, one of which is the rather
woman who was among the people, shouting loudly that suggestive "Ambulate sancti Dei, ingredimi in civitatem Do-
he had been terribly persecuted until he had been got at, mini, Istorum est enim regnum caelorum". Before the proces-
and it is said that she was freed, which is attributed to the sion enters through the church door and walks towards
virtue of the presence of this holy Body".40 the altar to be consecrated (Fig. 8), the door is blessed by
the following words, "porta sis introitus salute et pacts; porta
sis ostiumpacificum"'.
In the above quoted parts of the ritual, there are at
The entrance into St Peter and the classical adventus least two points of similarity with the adventus celebration.
The exultant conclusion of the festival procession, the First, the triumphant Church which descends at the city
entrance into St Peter and the simultaneous scene of a gate in the greeting of the emperor ("Benedictus qui venit")
"miraculous" intervention, encourages me to hypothesize in the adventus is also present in the consecration cere-
a relationship with the classical adventus*1 or its descen- mony, at the church door and inside the church; and
dant in the Renaissance, the entrata. second, as there are Messianic connotations to the em-
We can begin to support this argument by going back peror's entrance45 promising a new Golden Age, here too
to the origins of the translation procession, the translatio the pope's entrance in the church, as he symbolizes the
cadaveris, the details of which had, by the 10th century, Crucified Commander-in-chief, means promise of peace
been incorporated in the papal rituals for the dedication and power.
and consecration of a church, or—where the church had Further support for our argument can be found in two
already been consecrated—to that of an altar.42 It is here, examples of papal triumphal processions. The first is the
with the Roman rituals for the consecration of a church pope's festival entrance in the city dressed in his pontifi-
that we begin our comparison. Although there is nothing, cials, as for instance, that of Pope Clement VIII in Ferra-
to my knowledge, in the compiled rituals that suggests ra in 1598 (Fig. 9). For this ceremonial the Roman rituals
either a textual or a ceremonial identity with those of the prescribe a greeting of the pope at the city gate by the
adventus tradition,43 what I venture to demonstrate is the antiphone, "Ecce sacerdos magnus, etc., Et alium, Dum esset
existence of a similarity between the two. summus Pontifex"*6 thus stressing his dual competence:
At this point it is useful to review selected parts of the that of distributing the sacramental gifts promoting salva-
Konslhislorisk Tldskriß LI
17
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Fig. 9. Pope Clement VIII's entrance into Ferrara. Engraving


from A. Rocca, Apostolici Palatij Sacrista, De sacrosancto Christi
corpore Romanis Pontificibus iter confiaentibvs praeferendo commen-
larius, Rome, 1599. Photo: Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana.
Fig. 10. The Triumphal Arch erected on Capitol Hill during the
possesso of Pope Gregory XIV. Engraving from F. Albertonio,
tion, and that of exercising regal rights by which the Ragguaglio ..., Rome, 1590. Photo: Biblioteca Apostolica Va-
sacrament may be enforced. ticana.
The other procession is the pope's triumphal/>oij£wo of
San Giovanni in Laterano where after being elected
pope, he is constituted as bishop of Rome. For an exam- Now, in these two processions, the pope makes an
ple of this ceremony which goes back to the end of the entrance in his sacerdotal capacity (as priest or bishop)
eight century, we can take Pope Gregory XlV'spossesso in and in his papal role, but in addition, as I see it, asvicario
1590 which proceeded up to the Campidoglio through a Christi, the prime force and exponent of the carrying out
triumphal arch which had been built for the occasion of universal salvation. Thus in a soteriological sense, the
(Fig. 10)47 and then having descended presumably on the two events qualify as Messianic, and can be connected
east side, passed along Via Sacra through the two Roman with the adventus tradition through a common model,
triumphal arches in the Forum Romanian which were rich- Christ's triumphal entrance into the city of Jerusalem. 48
ly decorated. At San Giovanni in Laterano the pope dis- If we return now to our original subject, the St Gregory
mounted his mule, received the keys of the church in translation of 1580, we find in Lelio's description that
front of the closed door, was acclaimed by way of an differently from the two papal processions just described,
oratio, kisses etc. and Finally was carried under a bal- here the pope as when consecrating a church or an altar
dachin through the door and into the church. may be said to stand symbolically for the Commander-

Konsthistorisk Tidskrifi LI
18

3
in-chief; but here, exactly as occurs also in the emperor's L. von Pastor, Geschichte der Päpste, IX, Freiburg i. B. 1923, 191-197;
entrata ceremony,39 the pope descends from his church to Lelio 1585, 4r.
4
Fabricii, Delle Allusioni, imprese et attioni di Gregorio XIII Pontefice Mas-
greet the welcome savior, in this case, St Gregory, Christ's simo ..., Rome 1588.
triumphant soldier. Supported by the triumphant 5
M. Cerrati, Tiberi Alpharani, De basilicae Vaticanae antiquissima et nova
Chruch and—here we may draw a similarity with the structura (Studi e Testi 26), Rome 1914, 94; Collectionis BullarumSS.
Basilicae Vaticanae III, Rome 1752, 113, 134. The two engravings of.
pope in the possesso ceremony at San Giovanni in Pope Gregory XIII and of the picture of Mary are accompanied by the
Laterano—St Gregory takes possession of his own altar following inscriptions:
for the benefit of its sacramental gifts and of peace in the "Santo Motor, che l'ampia terra, e' 1 Cielo
Church. Sol col cenno governi, e reggi, e freni
I Venti, e ľacque; e fulgori, e baleni;
E l'Alma informi nel corpore o velo;
There is one interesting fact about the iconography of Infiamma nel mio cor l'ardente zelo
the translation procession; the entrance into the church Ch'io solo avampi, e i miei desir sien pieni
Dite Signor si, che'a tua gloria meni
which is to receive the holy remains of the martyr is Il mondo sciolto da pruine, e gelo.
seldom if ever represented pictorially. In fact, Tempesta E dite sol mi vanti, e del tuo legno,
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and Bril's decoration, vast though it may be, comes to a Che l'Alme, e i Corpi, e ľuniverso domo;
E a me s'inchini ogn'alto Imperio, e Regno;
halt just before the doors of St Peter's. One hypothesis A te rinuovi, a te riporti ogn'huomo,
might be that the significance of the event, being only Che ricomprò tuo precioso pegno
implied in die Roman ritual, was not fully perceived by Dal mal, che gli apportò ľacerbo Pomo."
(Fabricii 1588, 345)
the general public, including artists.
"Delle nostre miserie al gran soccorso
It is certain, however, that the classical reference of the Vergine eletta, e da ciascun nomata;
triumphant martyr translations was understood and, to Fù tua figura al novo Tempio alzata
summarize an article by Richard Krautheimer,50 these Su del santo pastor beato dorso;
C'havendo posto al duro Scita il morso,
processions were seen to mean that the Roman martyrs, A Garamanti nova legge data,
having triumphed over those that formerly had trod the E la Greca dottrina riformata,
same path for wordly glory, had thus defeated paganism E frenato a Germania l'empio corso:
Posto del mondo ogn'aspro flutto in pace.
and made Rome into a Christian city. In fact, this is Per render grade a la più chiara Stella,
expressed in a poem by Giulio Rossi from Orte, pub- E di terra, e di Ciel più ardente fece;
lished in the second edition from 1589 of the book of Porta I'imagin sua legiadra, e bella,
Que si vegga da ciascun vivace,
engravings Triumphus Marlyrum in Templo D. Stephani...
Ne la neva di Pietro Navicella."
from Santo Stefano Rotondo: here the ancient Roman (Fabricii 1588, 106)
commanders-in-chief on Capitol Hill must yield to the 6 F. Cardulo, Sanctorum Martyrium Abundii Presbyteri Abundantii Diaconi
martyrs' trophies, to their purple-coloured wounds and Marciani ..., Rome 1584; M. A. Ciappi, Compendio delle historiche et
laurel wreaths.51 gloriose attioni, et santa vitadipapa Greg. XIII, Rome 1596, 13.
7
G. Baglione, Le Vite de Pittori, Scultori et Architetti ..., Rome 1642, 41,
44; L. H. Monssen, "Rex Gloriose Martyrum: A Contribution to Jesuit
Iconography", Art Bulletin 1981, 130-137.
8
P. Ugonio,Historia delle stationi di Roma ..., Rome 1588, 290v.
Notes 9
For more information about this poet, see C. Huelsen, Le Chiese di
Roma nel Medio Evo, Florence 1927, xxxi-xxxii.
1 10
Symptomatic of the revival of the old Christian Roman tradition is the The text of the poem is reproduced in Fig. 5.
11
disposition of the new calendarium, not less than 85 % of the saints being W. Greisenegger, "Ecclesia", Lexikon der christlichen Ikonographie, 1,
from the first four centuries, about 50 % of them martyrs and 40 % Rome/Freiburg/Basel/Vienna 1968, 567-568; G. Schiller, Ikonographie
saints from the city of Roma. See E. Focke/H. Heinrichs, "Das Kalen- der christlichen Kunst, 4, Gütersloh 1976, 106-117.
12
darium des Missale Pianum vom Jahre 1570 und seine Tendenzen", E. Mâle, Rome et ses vieilles églises, Paris 1965, 88-97.
13
TheologischeQuartakchrift1939, 465 ff. Responsory from the Common of Apostles mBreviarium Romanum ex
2
F. Lelio, Pompa e apparato fatto in Roma nel giorno del la traslatione del
Decreto Sacrosancti Concilii Tridentini Restitutum, Rome 1568.
14
corpo di San Gregorio Nazianzeno da Santa Maria di Campo Mono nella H. F. von Campenhausen, Die Idee des Martyriums in der alten Kirche,
Cappella Gregoriana, Venice 1585, 3r: "Fra le feste grandi, ehe santa Göttingen 1964, 95.
15
Chiesa guidata dallo Spirito santo sollenneggia, come anche tra cose J. Α. Jungmann S.J., Missarum Sollemnia 2, Freiburg 1958, 213ff,
degne di perpetua memoria, meritevolmente si ponno, e deonsi an- 309ff; CathechismusConcibiiTridentini, Paris 1860, 106: "sed ejusdem
noverare le traslationi de'Santi, le quali ordinariamente si fanno, o per Ecclesiae, ut antea diximus, partes duae sunt, quarum una antecessit, et
rivelatione, o per qualche nuova oecorrenza, o per richiesta di Re, caelesti patria jam potitur: altera in dies sequitur, donec aliquando cum
Prencipi, et altri Signori, non senza aecreseimento della gloria de Dio, e Salvatore
16
nostro conjuncta, in sempiterna felicitate conquiescat".
delľhonore, e devotione verso i Santi, e delľutilità spirituale, e tem- The inscriptions are (Fig. 5), above: Rex Gloriose Martyrum, in the
porale de'Popoli, et ornamento delle Città, il ehe specialmente awiene picture: Tu Vincis in MarAr. The second stanza of the hymn runs as
in Roma ...". follows:

Ktmsthislomk Tldshifi U
19

33
"Aurem benignam protinus Ibid., 10v, 11r.
34
Intende nostris vocibus: Ibid., 11v, 12r: "dall'alto al basso della porta dove e r a n o a guisa di
Trophaea sacra pangimus: ???rofei (poiché l'apparato d'essa n o n parea altro ch'un'ornamento d'un
Ignosce quod deliquimus." arco Trionfale) d i questo quasi Trionfo, eravi u n Libro sopra del quale
17
Another example, and an even more explicit one, can be found in the si vedea u n a mitra, et un Pastorale in segno della dottrina, e dignita di S.
title of the book of engravings, published in 1584 of the martyr frescoes GREGORIO NANZIANZENO, et ancora l'arme della Chiesa, et questi"
in the English Jesuit College church San Tomaso di Cantorbery depict- si fatti trofei erano. d a tutti d u e i lati della porta, oltra questi detti
ing, among others, English martyrs (now lost): Esslesiae Angücanae v'erano quattro draghi in forma d'Imprese di N.S . . . "
35
Trophaea sive Sanctor Martyrum, qui pro Christa Catholicaeq Fidei... T h e German Jesuit College was united with the Hungarian Jesuit
l8
For specific information about Roman trophies, one could refer to G. College in 1580 by the papal bull Unto CollegijGermanicacum0Ungarico.
C. Picard, Les trophées romains. Contribution à ľhistoire de la religion et de See J. Cordara, Collegii Germanici et Hungarici Historia, Rome 1770.
36
Cart triomphal de Rome (Bibliothéque des Écoles d e Rome 187), Paris Lelio, Pompa e apparato ..., 12v: "indi arrivando a S. Agostino nell'en-
1957. trar della piazza si vedea quelľarco, che congiunge l'un palazzo con
19
A. Alföldi, "Die Ausgestaltung des monarchischen Zermoniells am 1'altro del Collegio Germanico . . . sotto quest'arco passava la proces-
römischen Kaiserhofe", Römische Mitteilungen 1934, 88-93. sione. L'ornamento suo pareva un'arco trionfale, e certo se alcun arco di
20
Vasari, Le Vite, VI, Florence 1881, 250 ff.; J . Shearman, " T h e Floren- ragione si può chiamare trionfale questo mi pare, poiché di qui sotto
tine Entrata of Leo X 1515", Journal of Warburg and Courtauld Institutes non huomo più mortale, ma già divino passò".
37
1975, 136-154. For instance:
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21
They seem to have continued into the second half of the 15th cen- 44
GREGORIUM insanos mores dum legibus aequat
tury, see W. Weisbach, Trionfi, Berlin 1919, 14-15. Corrigit erectum vidit ab arce Deus
22
P. Browe, Die Verehrung der Eucharistie im Mittelalter, Munich 1933, Tum sic alloquitur, caclo dignissime terras
111, 118; M. Righetri, Manuale della Storia Liturgica, 3, Milan 1969, Desere conspectum non mervere tuum.
332-334. Sedibus aethereis animus, nostroque fruatur.
23
I. Ciampi, Cronache e statuti della Città di Viterbo (Documenti di Storia Aspectu nihil hic quod timeatur, erit
Italiana V), Florence 1872, 84-87; H. Caspary, "Kult und Auf- Urbs sacrorum, orbisque caput Roma inclyta condet
bewahrung der Eucharistie in Italien vor dem Tridentinum", Archiv für Servandum extremam corpus ad usq; diem.
Liturgiewissenschaft 1965, 102-130, esp. 106-107. Imo etiam simili pietate, et nomine Pastor
244
P. Tacchi Ve???nturi,Storia della Compagnia di Gesù in Italia, I, Rome/Mi- Insigni augustam construet arte domum
lan 1910, 197. Hic tibi maioris laudum servantur honores
25
M. Lauretano, Consuetudini del Collegio Germanico, et Hungarico, MS, Quam facit a Graia Dedecus invidia".
Rome, 1587, Archivio del Collegio Germanico-Ungarico, Hist. 150, 52r. (Lelio 1585, 15v.)
26
M. Lauretano, Diario, MS, Archivio del Collegio Germanico-Un-
garico, Hist. 103, 63. Concerning the general rules for the composition "Virtutem nova Roma tuam Pater expulit olim
of religious processions see for instance, Sacerdotale iuxta. s. Romanae Roma vetus festo suscipit ossa sinu
Ecclesiae, Venice 1560, 226v. r., or any Pontificale Romanum. Profuit exilium, meritos cumulavit honores
27
Righetti, Manuale ..., 1, 1964, 409. T h e stational procession ceased at Roma vetus debet quos nova Roma tibi".
the time of the Council of Avignon, was resumed by St Carlo Borromeo (Lelio 1585, 18r.)
in Milan in 1572 and by Pope Sixtus V in 1586. Later with few excep-
38
tions, for instance, during the papacy of Gregory XVI (see, G. Moroni, Ibid., 20r: "del medesimo ornamento di quello della Chiesa di S.
Dizionario di erudizione storico-ecclesiastico, 69, Venice 1854, 288) the feast Maria di Campo Marzo, e non solo quella per dove havea da entrare il
was celebrated in the pontificial chapel. For further information about corpo Santo, ma ancora I'altre due, la entrata era tutta guernita di
the stational procession, see H. Grisar S.J., Das Missale im Lichte römischer tapezzarie molto vaghe, vi erano due quadri meravigliosi di recamo,
Stadtgeschichte, Stationen, Perikopen, Gebräuche, Freiburg 1925, esp. 5. uno grande a man destra dell'Assontione della Madonna, di valuta di
28 dodici mila scudi, e l'altro a man manca che era per la metà del grande,
M. A. Fiorito, "Las letanias de los sanctos", Strometa 1965, 507-513;
A. Coemans, De litaniis communibus recitandis, Rome 1941, 31; dove era la Natività di Christo di sei mila scudi."
39
Jungmann, Missarum ..., 1, 429 ff; V. Raffa, "Le intercessioni di Lodi e Ibid., 26r: "Qui si sentivano campane, trombe, qui tromboni, e flauti,
Vespri", Ephemerides liturgicae 1972, 41-60. qui artiglierie, qui le voci, et il giubilo grandissimo delle genti con tanta
29
For two different views on the significance of the arch, see E. Dyggve, allegrezza che quasi tutti piangevano, e specialmente N. Signore."
40
Ravennatum polatium sacrum (Archæologisk-kunsthistoriske Meddelelser Rastelli, Descrittione ..., 6v: "una spiritata che fra il popolo era,
III, 2), Copenhagen 1941, and G. De Francovich, 11 Polatium di gridando ad alta voce che era stato tanto perseguitato finché era stato
Theodorico a Ravenna e la cosidetta "architettura di potenza" (Problemi d'in- giunto, e dicesi che fù liberata, lo che si attribuisce alla virtù della
terpretazione achitettoniche nell'arte tardoantica e alto-medioevale), presenza de questo santo Corpo."
41
Rome 1970. T h e essential element of the Roman triumph was the emperor's
30 entrance in the city, his adventus through a special Porta Triumphalis. See
Baglione, Le Vite ..., 314; F. Gori, "Una delle più singolari proces-
sioni del secolo XVI in Roma", Il Buonarotti, III, 1868, 41-49; M. Vaes, H. S. Versnel, Triumphus. An Inquiry into the Origin, Development and
"Matthieu Bril", Bulletin de l'Institut Historique Belge de Rome 1928, 3 1 2 - Meaning of the Roman Triumph, Leiden 1970, 3 8 8 ; Alföldi 1934, 8 3 - 9 3 .
42
313. Righetti, Manuale ..., 4, 1959, 5 0 2 - 5 2 3 .
31 43
Lelio, Pompa e apparato . . . ; G. B. Rastelli, Descrittione della Pompa et del See C. Vogel/R. Elze eds., Le Pontifical Romano-Germanique du Dixième
Apparato fatto in Roma per la Traslatione del Corpo di S. Gregorio, Perugia Siècle (Studi e Testi, 226-227, 269), Città del Vaticano, 1963-1972; M.
1580; Ciappi, Compendio . . . , 15; L. Frizolio, Sacellum Gregorianum Andrieu ed., Les Ordines romani du haut moyen-age (Spicilegium Sacrum
Laurentii Frizolii, Rome 1582; Collectionis Bullarum SS. Basilicae Vaticanae, Louvaniense. É t u d e s et Documents 11, 23-24, 28-29), Louvain, 1931-
III, Rome 1752, 134-136. 1961; M. Andrieu ed., Le Pontifical romain au moyen-âge (Studi e Testi,
32
Lelio, Pompa e apparato .... 8 r : "Santa Maria di C a m p o M a r z o , p a s - 86-88, 99), Città del Vaticano, 1938-1941. For a detailed analysis of the
sando per la Scrofa a san Trifone, indi a Santo Agostino p e r T o r r e advent tradition into the Middle Ages, see E. H. Kantorowicz, " ' T h e
Sanguigna voltando a santa Maria dell'anima, a Pasquino, p e r Parione, King's Advent" and the Enigmatic Panels in the Doors of Santa Sabina",
per Banchi, per Borgo finalmente a san Pietro." Art Bulletin 1944, 207-231.

Konsthistorisk Tidskrifi LI
20

44 50
See Pontificale Romanum, Venice 1561, 104v seq.; L. Eisenhoffer, R. Krautheimer, "A Christian T r i u m p h in 1597", in Essays in the
Handbuch der katholischen Liturgik, 2 , F r e i b u r g i . B. 1933, 448-468, n . 45. History of Art Presented to Rudolf Wittkower, 2 , London 1967, 174-178,
45
Kantorowicz, o p . cit. esp. 178.
46 51
C. Marcello, " O r d o intrandi aliquam u r b e m in pontificalibus", in "O qui purpureo sanguine lauream
Rituum ecclesiasticorum sive sacrorum ceremoniarum SS. Romanae Ecclesiae Estis promeriti, qui super aethera
Libri tres, Venice 1516, LIIr-LIIIr. Longo, nee trepidi tenditis, agmine
47
F . Albertoni, Ragguaglio della cavalcata di nostro signore Gregorio XIIII Sacro vulnere saucij.
.... 1590; F. Cancellieri, Stone de'solenni possessi de'sommi pontefici detti Quis nunc Romulidum praelia conferat,
anticamente processi o processioni dopo la loro coronazione dalla basilica Vatica-
Euectasq; rotas per Capitolium"
na alla Lateranese, R o m e 1802, 139-149.
48 Centum cum Ducibus Roma vetus suis
H . J . Gräf, Palmenweihe und Palmenprozession in der lateinische Liturgie,
Vestris credit honoribus."
Diss., Kaldenkirchen 1959, esp. 115-149.
49
Marcello, " D e urbis ingressu Imperatoris", in Rituum . . . , xxIIr-
xxvIv.
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Konsthistorisk Tidskrifi U

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