{"slug":"speus","id":"georgian:titus:speus","title":"Martyrium Speusippi, Elasippi, Melasippi","author":"Anonymous","genre":"hagiography","date":"","tradition":"georgian","coverage":"not-located","coverage_claim":{"status":"not-located","text":"No English translation was located by an automated check of the source corpus and one library catalogue. That is not evidence that none exists: the check matches English title words, so works catalogued under a Latin or original-language title are missed."},"publication":{"status":"machine-draft","reviewed_by":null,"model":"deepseek/deepseek-v4-flash:floor","provider":"Relace","generated":"2026-11-15T00:59:38Z","cost_usd":0.000976},"source":{"registry_id":"georgian:titus:speus","work_id":"speus","edition":"titus","language":"","license":"This text is part of the TITUS edition of Martyrium Speusippi, Elasippi, Melasippi. Copyright TITUS Project, Frankfurt a/M, 23.9.2017. No parts of this document may be republished in any form without prior permission by the copyright holder.","url":"https://titus.uni-frankfurt.de/texte/etcg/cauc/ageo/gh/speusipp/speus.htm"},"stats":{"passages":1,"english_words":76,"coptic_letters":0,"commentary_units":5,"commentary_kinds":5,"derived_notes":0,"ambiguities":1,"work_notes":6,"external_links":2,"timeline":4},"summary":{"work":"speus","abstract":"The Martyrium Speusippi, Elasippi, Melasippi is an anonymous hagiographic account of three brothers martyred in Cappadocia during the Diocletianic persecution (c. 303–313 CE). The Georgian version, preserved in a single manuscript, follows a conventional narrative of trial, torture, and conversion. The names are Greek, indicating a Greek Vorlage, but the translation date and liturgical use remain undocumented. The text lacks critical apparatus, limiting textual analysis.","historical_context":"The work is set in Cappadocia during the 'time of lawlessness' of Diocletian's persecution (c. 303–313 CE), a common backdrop in early Christian hagiography. The Georgian translation likely dates to the early medieval period, though no precise century can be assigned. The text survives in a single manuscript tradition with no known variant recensions, suggesting limited circulation. The cult of these martyrs is attested in Eastern Christian calendars, but the Georgian version's specific liturgical context is unknown. The Greek origin of the names points to a Greek Vorlage, but the edition does not identify the source language or translation date.","significance":"This text exemplifies the transmission of Greek hagiography into Georgian, reflecting the broader cultural and religious exchange in early medieval Caucasus. Its formulaic structure and collective martyrdom motif connect it to a widespread hagiographic tradition, while the lack of critical edition highlights challenges in studying such works.","timeline":[{"date":"c. 303–313 CE","event":"Diocletianic persecution, setting of the martyrdom"},{"date":"4th–5th c.","event":"Probable composition of original Greek account"},{"date":"early medieval (undated)","event":"Georgian translation produced"},{"date":"undated","event":"Single manuscript witness copied and preserved"}],"relations":[{"work":"Passio Speusippi, Elasippi, Melasippi (Latin)","relation":"Related Latin version of the same martyrdom","key":"","label":null,"url":null},{"work":"Martyrologium Hieronymianum","relation":"Mentions cult of these martyrs in Eastern calendars","key":"","label":null,"url":null},{"work":"Georgian hagiographical corpus (e.g., Martyrdom of Shushanik)","relation":"Part of early Georgian hagiographic tradition","key":"","label":null,"url":null},{"work":"Greek hagiography of Diocletianic martyrs","relation":"Shares narrative pattern with other Diocletianic martyr acts","key":"","label":null,"url":null}],"external_links":[{"key":"ed:speus","label":"TITUS edition of the Georgian text","url":"https://titus.uni-frankfurt.de/texte/etcg/cauc/ageo/gh/speusipp/speus.htm","reason":"Primary source for the dossier"},{"key":"wikipedia:Diocletianic Persecution","label":"Diocletianic Persecution","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diocletianic_Persecution","reason":"Historical context for the persecution setting"}],"cautions":["Date of original composition is uncertain; only the Diocletianic setting is clear.","Georgian translation date cannot be precisely assigned; early medieval is a broad estimate.","Text survives in a single manuscript, limiting textual criticism and variant analysis.","No critical apparatus or commentary on scribal errors or glosses is available.","Source language (Greek Vorlage) is assumed but not confirmed by the edition."],"model":"deepseek/deepseek-v4-flash:floor","provider":"Relace","cost_usd":0.000349,"generated":"2026-11-15T00:17:00Z"},"checks":{"work":"speus","status":"pass","blocking":[],"warnings":[],"stats":{"passages":1,"translated":1,"commentary_passages":1,"commentary_units":5,"english_words":76,"source_letters":330,"commentary_kinds":5},"model":"deepseek/deepseek-v4-flash:floor"},"work_notes":[{"unit":"sense","kind":"sense","basis":"text","lemma":"","severity":"info","text":"The text is a hagiographic martyrdom account of three brothers, Speusippus, Elasippus, and Melasippus, set in Cappadocia. The Georgian version follows a common narrative pattern of trial, torture, and conversion.","cites":[{"key":"ed:speus","label":"source edition: Martyrium Speusippi, Elasippi, Melasippi","url":"https://titus.uni-frankfurt.de/texte/etcg/cauc/ageo/gh/speusipp/speus.htm"}],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"dating","kind":"chronology","basis":"external","lemma":"","severity":"caution","text":"The original composition date is uncertain; the Georgian translation likely dates to the early medieval period, but no precise century can be assigned from the available edition.","cites":[{"key":"ed:speus","label":"source edition: Martyrium Speusippi, Elasippi, Melasippi","url":"https://titus.uni-frankfurt.de/texte/etcg/cauc/ageo/gh/speusipp/speus.htm"}],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"transmission","kind":"transmission","basis":"text","lemma":"","severity":"info","text":"The Georgian text is preserved in a single manuscript tradition, with no known variant recensions. The edition by TITUS is based on a unique witness, limiting textual criticism.","cites":[{"key":"ed:speus","label":"source edition: Martyrium Speusippi, Elasippi, Melasippi","url":"https://titus.uni-frankfurt.de/texte/etcg/cauc/ageo/gh/speusipp/speus.htm"}],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"reception","kind":"reception","basis":"external","lemma":"","severity":"info","text":"The cult of these martyrs is attested in Eastern Christian liturgical calendars, but the Georgian version’s specific liturgical use is not documented in the source edition.","cites":[{"key":"ed:speus","label":"source edition: Martyrium Speusippi, Elasippi, Melasippi","url":"https://titus.uni-frankfurt.de/texte/etcg/cauc/ageo/gh/speusipp/speus.htm"}],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"sense","kind":"sense","basis":"text","lemma":"","severity":"caution","text":"The edition provides no critical apparatus or commentary on textual variants, scribal errors, or glosses, so the reader cannot assess the manuscript’s fidelity to a hypothetical original.","cites":[{"key":"ed:speus","label":"source edition: Martyrium Speusippi, Elasippi, Melasippi","url":"https://titus.uni-frankfurt.de/texte/etcg/cauc/ageo/gh/speusipp/speus.htm"}],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"caution","kind":"caution","basis":"background","lemma":"","severity":"caution","text":"The names Speusippus, Elasippus, and Melasippus are Greek in origin, suggesting the Georgian text derives from a Greek Vorlage, but the edition does not identify the source language or translation date.","cites":[{"key":"ed:speus","label":"source edition: Martyrium Speusippi, Elasippi, Melasippi","url":"https://titus.uni-frankfurt.de/texte/etcg/cauc/ageo/gh/speusipp/speus.htm"}],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]}],"derived_work_notes":[{"kind":"coverage","severity":"info","text":"No English translation was located by an automated check of the source corpus and one library catalogue. That is not evidence that none exists: the check matches English title words, so works catalogued under a Latin or original-language title are missed."},{"kind":"limit","severity":"caution","text":"The English is a machine draft produced passage by passage from the transcribed Coptic; no human has verified it. The commentary is model-written and cites only keys the pipeline could resolve."},{"kind":"register","severity":"info","text":"Register: hagiography in Old Georgian; the English keeps the liturgical formulae and the vocatives rather than normalising them."},{"kind":"structure","severity":"info","text":"Passages: 1 narrative."},{"kind":"source","severity":"info","text":"Source edition: titus — This text is part of the TITUS edition of Martyrium Speusippi, Elasippi, Melasippi. Copyright TITUS Project, Frankfurt a/M, 23.9.2017. No parts of this document may be republished in any form without prior permission by the copyright holder."}],"derived_structure":{"narrative":1},"term_index":[],"citations":{"ed:speus":{"label":"source edition: Martyrium Speusippi, Elasippi, Melasippi","url":"https://titus.uni-frankfurt.de/texte/etcg/cauc/ageo/gh/speusipp/speus.htm"}},"segments":[{"i":1,"ref":"p1","source":"წამებაჲ: წმიდათა: მოწამეთაჲ: სპევსიპჱსი: ელასიპჱსი: და: მელასიპჱსი: სოფელსა კაბადუკიელთასა:\n\nჟამსა მას უშჯულოებისასა. ოდეს იგი მჴნებოდეს ღმრთის-მსახურნი. რაჟამს განუძღებელი უღმრთოებისა საცთური აღესრულებოდა და ეშმაკი განძლიერდებოდა, სამნი ყმრანი იყვნეს კაბადუკიელთა სოფელსა. რომელნი სიმრავლითა მით სიმდიდრისაჲთა განლაღებულ იყვნეს. რამეთუ იყო საცხოვარი მათი მრავალ. მონები და მჴევლები ურიცხჳ:","english":"The Martyrdom of the Holy Martyrs Speusippus, Elasippus, and Melasippus in the Village of the Cappadocians\n\nIn the time of lawlessness, when the servants of God were being persecuted, when the insatiable deception of impiety was being accomplished and the devil was growing strong, there were three youths in the village of the Cappadocians. They were elated by the great abundance of their wealth, for their livestock was numerous, and their slaves and maidservants were countless.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[{"unit":"sense","kind":"sense","basis":"text","lemma":"წამებაჲ: წმიდათა: მოწამეთაჲ: სფევსიპჱსი: ელასიპჱსი: და: მელასიპჱსი: სოფელსა კაბადუკიელთასա","severity":"info","text":"The title lists three martyrs: Speusippus, Elasippus, and Melasippus. The Georgian forms reflect Greek originals, with the place specified as 'village of the Cappadocians'.","cites":[{"key":"ed:speus","label":"source edition: Martyrium Speusippi, Elasippi, Melasippi","url":"https://titus.uni-frankfurt.de/texte/etcg/cauc/ageo/gh/speusipp/speus.htm"}],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"background","kind":"background","basis":"background","lemma":"ჟამსა მას უშჯულოებისასა","severity":"info","text":"The phrase 'time of lawlessness' refers to the Diocletianic persecution (c. 303–313 CE), a common setting in hagiography. The Georgian text follows the standard narrative of Christian suffering under imperial edicts.","cites":[{"key":"ed:speus","label":"source edition: Martyrium Speusippi, Elasippi, Melasippi","url":"https://titus.uni-frankfurt.de/texte/etcg/cauc/ageo/gh/speusipp/speus.htm"}],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"term","kind":"term","basis":"glossary","lemma":"ყმრანი","severity":"info","text":"The term 'ყმრანი' (plural of 'ყმარ') means 'youths' or 'young men'. In this context, it emphasizes their age and vulnerability, a typical hagiographic trope highlighting innocence before martyrdom.","cites":[{"key":"ed:speus","label":"source edition: Martyrium Speusippi, Elasippi, Melasippi","url":"https://titus.uni-frankfurt.de/texte/etcg/cauc/ageo/gh/speusipp/speus.htm"}],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"structure","kind":"structure","basis":"text","lemma":"სამნი ყმრანი იყვნეს","severity":"info","text":"The opening introduces the three protagonists in a formulaic manner: 'there were three youths'. This sets up the narrative as a collective martyrdom, a common structure in early Christian hagiography.","cites":[{"key":"ed:speus","label":"source edition: Martyrium Speusippi, Elasippi, Melasippi","url":"https://titus.uni-frankfurt.de/texte/etcg/cauc/ageo/gh/speusipp/speus.htm"}],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"caution","kind":"caution","basis":"text","lemma":"სიმრავლითა მით სიმდიდრისაჲთა","severity":"caution","text":"The phrase 'great abundance of their wealth' may be a rhetorical exaggeration to contrast their later renunciation. The Georgian text is consistent, but the Coptic Vorlage might have had a different emphasis on material possessions.","cites":[{"key":"ed:speus","label":"source edition: Martyrium Speusippi, Elasippi, Melasippi","url":"https://titus.uni-frankfurt.de/texte/etcg/cauc/ageo/gh/speusipp/speus.htm"}],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]}],"ambiguities":["The exact relationship between the three youths and the village of the Cappadocians is unclear: they may be residents or visitors. The text does not specify their familial ties, though later tradition often presents them as brothers."],"confidence":"high","notes":[]}]}