{"slug":"stoa0193.stoa006.opp-lat1","id":"latin:ogl-pl:stoa0193.stoa006.opp-lat1","title":"Opusculum De Pascha","title_source":"Opusculum De Pascha","author":"Martinus Dumiensis Episcopus Bracarensis","genre":"treatise","date":"","tradition":"latin","coverage":"not-located","coverage_claim":{"status":"not-located","text":"No English translation could be identified: a language model asked twice could not name one, though it could not rule one out either. That is not proof that none exists — translations in dissertations, recent books and other modern languages are easily missed."},"publication":{"status":"machine-draft","reviewed_by":null,"model":"deepseek/deepseek-v4-flash:floor","provider":"Relace","generated":"2026-11-15T06:02:11Z","cost_usd":0.002023},"source":{"registry_id":"latin:ogl-pl:stoa0193.stoa006.opp-lat1","work_id":"stoa0193.stoa006.opp-lat1","edition":"ogl-pl","language":"","license":"Available under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License","url":"https://github.com/OpenGreekAndLatin/patrologia_latina-dev/blob/master/data/stoa0193/stoa006/stoa0193.stoa006.opp-lat1.xml"},"stats":{"passages":3,"english_words":701,"coptic_letters":0,"source_letters":2584,"commentary_units":18,"commentary_kinds":8,"derived_notes":1,"ambiguities":5,"work_notes":6,"external_links":2,"timeline":5},"summary":{"work":"stoa0193.stoa006.opp-lat1","abstract":"The Opusculum De Pascha, attributed to Martin of Braga (c. 520–580), is a Latin treatise on the calculation of Easter. It survives in a single manuscript tradition within Martin's corpus, preserved in medieval Iberian codices. The work addresses the Paschal date, contrasting earlier obscure methods with a proposed system based on lunar reckoning and biblical authority. It influenced later computus collections and Hispanic liturgy, though its attribution to Martin is disputed due to stylistic differences. The edition derives from Patrologia Latina (PL 72), not direct manuscript consultation, limiting textual verification.","historical_context":"The treatise likely dates to the later 6th century, during Martin's episcopate in Suevic Gallaecia (modern northwestern Iberia). The region was a crossroads of Roman, Suevic, and Visigothic cultures, with a vibrant Christian community engaged in liturgical debates. The work reflects late antique and early medieval computistical controversies, particularly the calculation of Easter, which divided Western churches. Martin's method, equating the first month with 22 March–11 May, was idiosyncratic. The text survives only in medieval codices from Iberia, with no early independent witnesses, and was transmitted through later computus collections. Its attribution to Martin is traditional but questioned; some scholars note stylistic differences from his other writings. The edition relies on PL 72, which derives from earlier printed editions, not manuscript sources.","significance":"The Opusculum De Pascha is significant for understanding early medieval computus and the Hispanic liturgical tradition. It illustrates the adaptation of earlier chronographical methods (e.g., Hippolytus) and the use of biblical authority (Exodus 12:2) to ground lunar reckoning. Its influence on later computus collections and debates about Easter dating highlights the work's role in shaping Western Christian timekeeping.","timeline":[{"date":"c. 520–580","event":"Life of Martin of Braga, traditional author of the treatise."},{"date":"6th c.","event":"Composition of Opusculum De Pascha, likely during Martin's episcopate in Suevic Gallaecia."},{"date":"6th–8th c.","event":"Transmission of the text in medieval Iberian codices, within Martin's corpus."},{"date":"9th–12th c.","event":"Use of the treatise in later computus collections and Hispanic liturgy."},{"date":"19th c.","event":"Publication in Patrologia Latina (PL 72), based on earlier printed editions."}],"relations":[{"work":"De Pascha Computus","relation":"Similar computistical treatise on Easter dating, possibly by Martin or contemporary.","key":"","label":null,"url":null},{"work":"Exodus 12:2 (Vulgate)","relation":"Biblical source cited for lunar month authority.","key":"","label":null,"url":null},{"work":"Hippolytus' Chronicon","relation":"Earlier chronography using 22 March as creation date, influencing Martin's system.","key":"","label":null,"url":null},{"work":"Patrologia Latina (PL 72)","relation":"Edition used for this text, derived from earlier printed editions.","key":"","label":null,"url":null}],"external_links":[{"key":"wikipedia:Martin of Braga","label":"Martin of Braga","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_of_Braga","reason":"Biographical context for the traditional author."},{"key":"wikipedia:Computus","label":"Computus","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Date_of_Easter","reason":"Genre of the treatise, calculation of Easter."}],"cautions":["Attribution to Martin of Braga is traditional but disputed; some scholars question authenticity due to stylistic differences.","Precise date of composition unknown; likely 6th century but not securely datable.","Text survives in a single manuscript tradition; no early independent witnesses.","Edition based on Patrologia Latina (PL 72), not direct manuscript consultation; textual variants and stemmatic relationships unverified."],"model":"deepseek/deepseek-v4-flash:floor","provider":"Relace","cost_usd":0.000417,"generated":"2026-11-15T06:02:10Z"},"links":[{"kind":"source","label":"Open Greek and Latin Patrologia Latina","url":"https://github.com/OpenGreekAndLatin/patrologia_latina-dev/blob/master/data/stoa0193/stoa006/stoa0193.stoa006.opp-lat1.xml"}],"checks":{"work":"stoa0193.stoa006.opp-lat1","status":"pass","blocking":[],"warnings":[],"stats":{"passages":3,"translated":3,"commentary_passages":3,"commentary_units":18,"english_words":701,"source_letters":2574,"commentary_kinds":8},"model":"deepseek/deepseek-v4-flash:floor"},"work_notes":[{"unit":"dating","kind":"chronology","basis":"text","lemma":"","severity":"info","text":"The work is attributed to Martin of Braga (c. 520–580), but the precise date of composition is unknown. It likely belongs to the later 6th century, during Martin's episcopate in Suevic Gallaecia.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"transmission","kind":"transmission","basis":"text","lemma":"","severity":"info","text":"The text survives in a single manuscript tradition within the corpus of Martin of Braga, preserved in medieval codices from the Iberian Peninsula. No early independent witnesses are known.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"reception","kind":"reception","basis":"background","lemma":"","severity":"info","text":"The treatise was used in later medieval computus collections and influenced the development of the Latin computistical tradition, particularly in the Hispanic liturgy and the calculation of Easter.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"sense","kind":"sense","basis":"text","lemma":"","severity":"caution","text":"This edition (ogl-pl) does not provide a critical apparatus or collation of variant readings. The user cannot verify the text's stemmatic relationships or scribal errors from this source alone.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"caution","kind":"caution","basis":"text","lemma":"","severity":"caution","text":"The attribution to Martin of Braga is traditional but not universally accepted; some scholars have questioned the work's authenticity due to stylistic differences from his other writings.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"sense","kind":"sense","basis":"background","lemma":"","severity":"info","text":"The edition is based on the Patrologia Latina text (PL 72), which itself derives from earlier printed editions, not from direct manuscript consultation.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]}],"derived_work_notes":[{"kind":"coverage","severity":"info","text":"No English translation could be identified: a language model asked twice could not name one, though it could not rule one out either. That is not proof that none exists — translations in dissertations, recent books and other modern languages are easily 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: treatise in Latin; the English keeps the liturgical formulae and the vocatives rather than normalising them."},{"kind":"structure","severity":"info","text":"Passages: 3 narrative."},{"kind":"caution","severity":"caution","text":"1 passage(s) are fragmentary in the source; the English bridges each break and says so in the note."},{"kind":"source","severity":"info","text":"Source edition: ogl-pl — Available under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License"}],"derived_structure":{"narrative":3},"term_index":[],"citations":{},"segments":[{"i":1,"ref":"p1","source":"OPUSCULUM VII.\n\nDE PASCHA.\n\nI. Plerique mysterium Paschae enarrare voluerunt ex ratione supputationis in mense, et luna, et die: sed, sive scientiae, sive sermonis impossibilitate, id reliquerunt obscurius, quasi nihil inde dixissent. Scio enim multos scrupulosius interrogare solitos quare secundum morem Judæorum ad lunae computationein diversis generibus Pascha celebremus, dicentes rectius sibi videri si dominicae passionis commemoratio agatur, ut unum anniversarium natalis diem observemus, sicuti a plerisque Gallicanis epi. scopis usque ante non multum tempus custoditum est, ut semper VIII Kal. April. diem Paschae celebrareRt, in quo facta Christi resurrectio traditur. Placuit autem mibi, inquirenti curiose quid majores nostri secuti essent, aperte exponere.\n\nII. Passio Christi redemptio est creaturae, de qua dies et luna concurrerent. Neque enim hoc sine Scripture auctoritate. Ait enim Moyses: Mensis hic vobisinitium mensium est: primus erit in mensibus anni (Exod. XII, 2). Quo vei bo totum mensem ad natalis mundi diem consecravit. Ita majores nostri qui XI Kal. Apr. die natalem mundi invenerunt, meusem primum constituentes in xi Kal. Maias definierunt. Sic Pascha nec ante XI Kat. Apr. nec post xi Kal. Maias celebrare licebit. Sed cum in hoc mense et luna et dies convenissent, luna scilicet decima quarta et dies Dominica, tunc Pascha celebraretur.","english":"SEVENTH OPUSCULE.\n\nON PASCHA.\n\nI. Many have wished to explain the mystery of Pascha from the reckoning of the month, the moon, and the day; but, whether from the impossibility of knowledge or of speech, they have left it more obscure, as if they had said nothing at all. For I know that many are accustomed to inquire rather scrupulously why, according to the custom of the Jews, we celebrate Pascha in different ways by the computation of the moon, saying that it seems to them more correct if the commemoration of the Lord's passion were observed, so that we might keep a single anniversary day of the nativity, as was maintained by many Gallican bishops until not long ago, that they always celebrated the day of Pascha on the VIII Kalends of April, on which the resurrection of Christ is said to have taken place. But it has pleased me, inquiring curiously what our ancestors followed, to set forth openly.\n\nII. The passion of Christ is the redemption of creation, concerning which the day and the moon concurred. For this is not without the authority of Scripture. For Moses says: \"This month shall be for you the beginning of months; it shall be the first in the months of the year\" (Exod. 12:2). By which word he consecrated the whole month to the day of the world's nativity. Thus our ancestors, who found the nativity of the world on the XI Kalends of April, established the first month, defining it on the XI Kalends of May. Thus it will be permitted to celebrate Pascha neither before the XI Kalends of April nor after the XI Kalends of May. But when in this month both the moon and the day concurred, that is, the fourteenth moon and the Lord's day, then Pascha would be celebrated.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[{"unit":"background","kind":"background","basis":"text","lemma":"Plerique mysterium Paschae enarrare voluerunt","severity":"info","text":"Martin contrasts his own method with earlier, obscure attempts to explain the Paschal date. The passage reflects a late antique and early medieval debate about computus.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"term","kind":"term","basis":"text","lemma":"VIII Kal. April.","severity":"info","text":"The date 25 March (VIII Kal. Apr.) was traditionally associated with the Crucifixion and, in some Western traditions, with the Resurrection. Martin notes its use by Gallican bishops.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"scripture","kind":"scripture","basis":"text","lemma":"Mensis hic vobis initium mensium est: primus erit in mensibus anni (Exod. XII, 2)","severity":"info","text":"Martin cites Exodus 12:2 to ground the lunar month in biblical authority. The Vulgate reads: 'Mensis iste caput mensium erit, primus in mensibus anni.'","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"background","kind":"background","basis":"text","lemma":"XI Kal. Apr.","severity":"info","text":"22 March (XI Kal. Apr.) is here given as the date of the world's creation (natalis mundi). This reflects a common early Christian chronography, e.g., in Hippolytus and later computists.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"structure","kind":"structure","basis":"text","lemma":"I. ... II.","severity":"info","text":"The passage is divided into two numbered sections. Section I states the problem and the Gallican alternative; section II gives the scriptural and traditional basis for the lunar reckoning.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"caution","kind":"caution","basis":"text","lemma":"luna decima quarta et dies Dominica","severity":"caution","text":"Martin's rule that Easter falls on the Sunday after the 14th moon of the first month is standard, but his equation of the first month with 22 March–11 May is idiosyncratic and not universally accepted.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]}],"ambiguities":["The phrase 'XI Kal. Maias' (21 April) as the end of the first month is unusual; most computists set the Paschal limit to 21 April, but Martin's wording may imply a different boundary.","The relation between 'natalis mundi' and the equinox is not explicitly stated, though it is implied by the date 22 March."],"confidence":"high","notes":[]},{"i":2,"ref":"p2","source":"Sane quia rursus frequenter luna decima quarta cum Dominica die concurreret, extendi lunam septem dies maluerunt, dummodo diem Dominicam in resurrectionis laetitia retinerent. Ita quando sic dies venerit usque ad vicesimam primam lunam, propter Dominicam diem Pascha differimus semper, ut nec ante xi Kal. Apr. nec post XI Kal. Maias celebretur: sic inventum est, ut mensis et dies et luna In celebratione Paschae retineretur.\n\nVII. Prudenter igitur, magis ad lunam et diem, quam ad xi Kal. Apr. ad natalem mundi redigemur. Luna enim prima totas noctis illuminat tenebras, et Dominica dies resurrectio est dierum: ad initium enim rediit [Forte, reditJ, et fidem dicrum renovat. Haec magis erunt in natalis lætitia. et in creaturæ liberatione servauda, maxime cum intra primi mensis terminos retinentur. Rursum majoreui diei religionem, quam lunæ dic 'runt. Decimam quartam enim lunam egredimur; diem autem nunquam egredimur, quia tota salus est In resurrectione diei. Dies autem Dominica et initium dierdm habet et resurrectionem; propter quod in ipsa Dominus resurrexit; luna vero, licet usque ad vicesimam primam partem extensam [ An extensa? ], noh totam complet noctem: plurimnm tamen noetis illuminat, et post se quidem relinquit tenebras, sed eas quæ in ante sunt superat: in quo majores nostri maluerunt usque ad vicesimam a quam ante decimam quartam Pascha celebrari.","english":"Indeed, because the fourteenth moon frequently coincided with the Lord's day, they preferred to extend the moon by seven days, provided they retained the Lord's day in the joy of the resurrection. Thus, when the day has come in this way up to the twenty-first moon, on account of the Lord's day we always postpone Pascha, so that it is celebrated neither before the eleventh Kalends of April nor after the eleventh Kalends of May: thus it was found that the month, the day, and the moon were retained in the celebration of Pascha.\n\nVII. Prudently, therefore, we are reduced more to the moon and the day than to the eleventh Kalends of April, to the birth of the world. For the first moon illuminates the whole darkness of the night, and the Lord's day is the resurrection of days: for it returns to the beginning and renews the faith of the days. These things will be more to be observed in the joy of the birth and in the liberation of creation, especially since they are retained within the limits of the first month. Again, they called the religion of the greater day rather than that of the moon. For we go out from the fourteenth moon; but we never go out from the day, because the whole salvation is in the resurrection of the day. Moreover, the Lord's day has both the beginning of days and the resurrection; for which reason the Lord rose on it; the moon, however, although extended up to the twenty-first part, does not complete the whole night: yet it illuminates the greater part of the night, and leaves darkness behind it, indeed, but overcomes that which is ahead: in which our ancestors preferred Pascha to be celebrated up to the twenty-first rather than before the fourteenth.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[{"unit":"term","kind":"term","basis":"text","lemma":"luna decima quarta","severity":"info","text":"The fourteenth moon is the day of the Jewish Passover (14 Nisan); early Christians debated whether to follow this date or the following Sunday.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"background","kind":"background","basis":"text","lemma":"xi Kal. Apr. ... XI Kal. Maias","severity":"info","text":"These dates (22 March and 21 April) are the earliest and latest limits for Easter in the Roman computus, derived from the Council of Nicaea (325) and later Roman practice.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"term","kind":"term","basis":"text","lemma":"natalem mundi","severity":"info","text":"The 'birth of the world' refers to the creation of the world, often dated to the spring equinox (25 March) in early Christian chronography.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"structure","kind":"structure","basis":"text","lemma":"VII. Prudenter igitur","severity":"info","text":"This section begins a new argument: the priority of moon and day over fixed calendar dates, linking Easter to cosmic and salvation history.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"caution","kind":"caution","basis":"text","lemma":"extensam [ An extensa? ]","severity":"caution","text":"The Latin text has a textual crux: 'extensam' may be a scribal error for 'extensa' (nominative), affecting the grammar of the moon's description.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"reception","kind":"reception","basis":"text","lemma":"majores nostri maluerunt","severity":"info","text":"Martin appeals to the authority of earlier Christian computists (e.g., Anatolius, Augustine) who preferred the 15th–21st moon range for Easter, a standard in the Roman tradition.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]}],"ambiguities":["The phrase 'ad natalem mundi redigemur' could mean 'we are reduced to the birth of the world' (as a chronological anchor) or 'we are brought back to the creation of the world' (as a theological principle). The translation adopts the latter.","The textual crux 'extensam [An extensa?]' leaves the grammatical gender of the participle uncertain; the translation follows the emendation to 'extensa'."],"confidence":"high","notes":[{"kind":"lacuna","severity":"caution","text":"The source is fragmentary here: the edition marks a break or an editorial bracket, and the English carries across it. Treat the bridge as supplied, not translated."}]},{"i":3,"ref":"p3","source":"Quia relifiquere tenebras post tergum melius est, quam antecedentes non posse superare. Itaque hac sumna et hac conclusione, quæ a majoribus constitutum est b, Pascha neque ante xi Kal. Apr. nec post XI Ka!. Maias posse celebrari. Cujus pinacis constituendi quæ fuerit ratio, in quo mediocritas potuit, ediximus: per gratiam Salvatoris nostri Jesu Christi, cui est honor et gloria in sæculis, et in sæcula sæculorum. Amen.","english":"Because it is better to leave the shadows behind than to be unable to overcome those that lie ahead. Therefore, by this sum and this conclusion, which was established by our predecessors, Easter can be celebrated neither before the eleventh Kalends of April nor after the eleventh Kalends of May. We have set forth, as far as our modest ability allowed, what the reasoning was for establishing this table, through the grace of our Savior Jesus Christ, to whom is honor and glory throughout the ages, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[{"unit":"sense","kind":"sense","basis":"text","lemma":"relifiquere tenebras post tergum","severity":"info","text":"The metaphor of leaving shadows behind contrasts with the preceding passage's discussion of delaying Pascha to avoid the fourteenth moon. It suggests that postponement is preferable to celebrating prematurely.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"term","kind":"term","basis":"text","lemma":"sumna","severity":"info","text":"The Latin 'sumna' (likely a scribal variant of 'summa') means 'sum' or 'summary,' referring to the preceding argument or rule about Paschal dating.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"term","kind":"term","basis":"text","lemma":"pinacis","severity":"info","text":"'Pinacis' (from Greek πίναξ) means 'table' or 'list,' here referring to the Paschal table or computus that Martinus has been explaining.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"dating","kind":"chronology","basis":"text","lemma":"xi Kal. Apr. ... XI Kal. Maias","severity":"info","text":"The dates 'eleventh Kalends of April' (22 March) and 'eleventh Kalends of May' (21 April) define the earliest and latest possible dates for Easter in the Alexandrian computus adopted by Martinus.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"reception","kind":"reception","basis":"text","lemma":"per gratiam Salvatoris nostri Jesu Christi","severity":"info","text":"This doxological closing is typical of early medieval computistical treatises, reflecting the liturgical and theological framing of Paschal calculation as an act of Christian devotion.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"structure","kind":"structure","basis":"text","lemma":"Itaque ... ediximus","severity":"info","text":"This sentence concludes the treatise by summarizing the rule (Pascha between 22 March and 21 April) and referencing the preceding explanation of the table's rationale.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]}],"ambiguities":["The phrase 'relifiquere tenebras' may be a scribal error for 'relinquere tenebras' (to leave behind shadows). The reading 'sumna' is taken as 'summa' (summary). The date 'XI Ka!. Maias' is a likely scribal error for 'XI Kal. Maias' (eleventh Kalends of May)."],"confidence":"high","notes":[]}]}