ት Tergwame Greek · Coptic · Ethiopic · Syriac · Armenian · Georgian · Latin

Latin · Treatises ·

De vitis apostolorum

Hieronymus · ogl-pl

BothSourceEnglish
JSON Dossier
machine-draft · no human review 3 passages · 483 words

Work dossier · summary and historical context

Summary

De vitis apostolorum is a series of brief hagiographic sketches of the apostles, traditionally attributed to Jerome but likely compiled in the 6th–7th century during the Merovingian period. Drawing on apocryphal Acts and patristic traditions, the work describes apostolic missions, martyrdom accounts, and burial places. It survives in numerous medieval manuscripts with significant variation, indicating fluid transmission. Widely used in medieval liturgy and hagiography, it influenced later compilations such as the Legenda Aurea. The text is considered legendary rather than historical, and this edition follows the OGL-PL base text without collating all manuscript variants.

De vitis apostolorum is a key witness to the development of apostolic legends in early medieval Latin Christianity. It shaped later hagiographic compilations like the Legenda Aurea and influenced medieval liturgy and popular piety. Its fluid transmission and legendary content highlight the gap between historical apostolic traditions and medieval hagiography, making it a valuable source for studying the evolution of apostolic cults and the reception of apocryphal Acts.

Historical context

The work is pseudepigraphically attributed to Jerome (c. 347–420), but its composition likely dates to the 6th–7th century in Merovingian Gaul or a related Latin-speaking milieu. It was compiled from earlier apocryphal Acts (e.g., Acts of Philip, Acts of Andrew) and patristic sources, reflecting the early medieval interest in apostolic legends. The text survives in many medieval manuscripts, often appended to Jerome's authentic works, and shows significant variation across copies, suggesting a fluid transmission shaped by liturgical and hagiographic needs. The OGL-PL edition provides a base text but may not represent the earliest or most reliable witness. The work's legendary material—such as apostolic missions to Scythians, Sogdians, and Sacae—reflects ancient geographical traditions from the Black Sea to Central Asia, and its martyrdom accounts (e.g., at Aegeas in Edessa) are not corroborated by early Christian sources.

Apparatus · what the pipeline recorded

Annotation and terms

18 commentary units 10 background2 structure2 reception1 transmission1 caution1 sense1 term 0 derived notes 7 open questions 3 narrative
What the kinds mean

Pipeline notes

  • coverageNo 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.
  • limitThe 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.
  • registerRegister: treatise in Latin; the English keeps the liturgical formulae and the vocatives rather than normalising them.
  • structurePassages: 3 narrative.
  • sourceSource edition: ogl-pl — Available under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License

Term index

CopticRenderingCountFirst
no glossary terms recorded
tmp429.tmp429.opp-lat1:1 · narrativehigh
Source
APPENDIX. Quam versioni Graecae Libri de viris Illustribus sub SOPHRONII nomine in ms. codice suo intextam (cap. 1, post cap. 1, et caetera post cap. 4) ERASMUS reperit. I. DE VITIS APOSTOLORUM, I. Andreas frater hujus 1, ut majores nostri prodiderunt, Scythis et Sogdianis et Saccis praedicavit Evangelium Domini nostri Jesu Christi, et in Sebastopoli praedicavit, quae cognominatur magna, ubi est irruptio Apsari, et Phasis fluvius: illic incolunt AEthiopes interiores 2. Supultus est autem Patris civitate Achaiae, cruci suffixus ab AEgea praefecto Edessenorum. II. Jacobus Zebedaei filius, duodecim tribus quae erant in dispersione, omnibus praedicavit Evangelium Domini nostri Jesu Christi. Interfectus est autem gladio ab Herode tetrarcha Judaeorum. III. Philippus apostolus in Phrygia praedicat Evangelium Domini Jesu. Sepelitur Hierapoli, cum filiabus, honorifice.
English
APPENDIX. Which Erasmus found woven into the Greek version of the Book of Illustrious Men under the name of Sophronius in his manuscript codex (chapter 1, after chapter 1, and the rest after chapter 4). I. ON THE LIVES OF THE APOSTLES. I. Andrew, brother of this one [Peter], as our ancestors handed down, preached the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ to the Scythians, Sogdians, and Sacae, and he preached in Sebastopolis, which is called Great, where the Apsarus breaks through and the Phasis River flows; there dwell the inner Ethiopians. He was buried in the city of Patras in Achaia, crucified by Aegeas, prefect of the Edessenes. II. James, son of Zebedee, preached the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ to all the twelve tribes that were in the dispersion. He was killed by the sword by Herod, tetrarch of the Jews. III. Philip the apostle preaches the Gospel of the Lord Jesus in Phrygia. He is buried at Hierapolis, with his daughters, honorably.
tmp429.tmp429.opp-lat1:2 · narrativemedium
Source
IV. Bartholomaeus apostolus, Indis iis qui dicuntur Fortunati praedicavit Evangelium Christi, et Evangelium quod est secundum Matthaeum eis tradidit. Dormivit autem Albanopoli oppido majoris Armeniae. V. Thomas apostolus, quemadmodum traditum est nobis, Parthis et Medis et Persis et Carmanis et Hyrcanis et Bactris et Magis praedicavit Evangelium Domini. Dormivit in civitate Calamina, quae est Indiae. VI. Simon Chananaeus, cognomento Judas, frater Jacobi episcopi, qui et successit illi in episcopatum, post obitum Jacobi cognomento Justi, vixit annos viginti supra centum. Crucifixus autem sub Trajano imperatore, mota persecutione gravi, dormivit. VII. Matthias, cum unus esset e numero Septuaginta, allectus est in ordinem undecim apostolorum, in locum Judae Iscariotae, qui fuit proditor. In altera AEthiopia 3, ubi est irruptio Apsari, et Hyssi portus, praedicavit Evangelium, cum essent homines agrestes. Et illic dormivit, et illic sepultus est, usque ad hodiernum diem.
English
IV. The apostle Bartholomew preached the Gospel of Christ to those Indians who are called the Fortunate, and delivered to them the Gospel according to Matthew. He fell asleep at Albanopolis, a town of Greater Armenia. V. The apostle Thomas, as has been handed down to us, preached the Gospel of the Lord to the Parthians, Medes, Persians, Carmanians, Hyrcanians, Bactrians, and Magi. He fell asleep in the city of Calamina, which is in India. VI. Simon the Canaanite, surnamed Judas, brother of James the bishop, who also succeeded him in the episcopate after the death of James surnamed the Just, lived for one hundred and twenty years. He was crucified under the emperor Trajan, when a severe persecution was stirred up, and fell asleep. VII. Matthias, being one of the number of the Seventy, was chosen into the order of the eleven apostles in the place of Judas Iscariot, who was the traitor. In another Ethiopia, where is the mouth of the Apsarus and the port of Hyssus, he preached the Gospel, the people there being rustic. And there he fell asleep, and there he was buried, up to the present day.
tmp429.tmp429.opp-lat1:3 · narrativehigh
Source
VΠI. Timotheus autem, Ephesiorum episcopus, ordinatus a beato Paulo, ex gentibus erat, non ex circumcisione. De quo multa testatur Paulus, admonens ut honestam professionem dati sibi doni servaret, qui et gloriose illic testificatus est. IX. Titus, episcopus Cretae, in eadem et in circumjacentibus insulis praedicavit Evangelium Christi. Ibidem autem et dormivit, et sepultus est, nempe in Creta. X. Crescens in Galliis praedicavit Evangelium, et illic sepultus est. Eunuchus Candaces AEthiopum reginae in Arabia cognomento Felici, et in Taprobana insula maris Rubri praedicavit Evangelium Domini. Aiunt autem eum et ibidem martyrium pertulisse, et honorifice fuisse sepultum.
English
VIII. Timothy, however, bishop of the Ephesians, ordained by the blessed Paul, was from the Gentiles, not from the circumcision. Concerning him Paul testifies much, admonishing him to preserve the honorable profession of the gift given to him, who also there gloriously bore witness. IX. Titus, bishop of Crete, preached the Gospel of Christ in the same place and in the surrounding islands. There also he fell asleep and was buried, namely in Crete. X. Crescens preached the Gospel in Gaul, and was buried there. The eunuch of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, preached the Gospel of the Lord in Arabia Felix, and in the island of Taprobana of the Red Sea. They say that he also suffered martyrdom there, and was honorably buried.
Citation. Tergwame, “De vitis apostolorum”, tmp429.tmp429.opp-lat1:1, machine-draft, 2026. https://naxiai.com/christian/works/tmp429.tmp429.opp-lat1#s1
Colophon. Source: ogl-pl · licence: Available under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License · model: deepseek/deepseek-v4-flash:floor · provider: Relace · cost: $0.0020 · generated 2026-11-15.