Epistula Lentuli
Standard abbreviation: Ep. Lent.
Other titles: Letter of Lentulus
Clavis numbers: ECCA 507; CANT 310
VIAF: 181738305
Category: Epistles
Related literature: Homily on the Life and the Passion of Christ by Pseudo-Cyril of Jerusalem
Status: compiled by Katherine Mellor (York University) under the supervision of Tony Burke, York University.
Citing this resource (using Chicago Manual of Style): Mellor, Katherine. “Epistle of Lentulus.” e-Clavis: Christian Apocrypha. Accessed DAY MONTH YEAR. https://www.nasscal.com/e-clavis-christian-apocrypha/epistle-of-lentulus/.
Created March 2018. Current as of January 2024.
1. SUMMARY
Ep. Lent. presents itself as a letter written to the Roman Senate by a Roman official who lived at the time of Jesus. The author is identified as Publius Lentulus, said to be the Governor of Judea prior to Pontius Pilate. He writes of Jesus Christ being a powerful man who is considered by the gentiles to be the Son of God and has the power to heal and raise the dead. Lentulus then proceeds to illustrate Jesus’ physical characteristics. He discusses his stature and provides an illustrative account of the hue and condition of his skin, the colour, length, style and texture of his hair and beard, his faultless nose and mouth. The narrative continues with a description of his eyes and how they express traits that Jesus exemplifies: flashing, clear, kind, loveable, yet grave. He finishes by describing his physique, arms, hands, and speech, which is reserved and modest. The letter ends stating that Jesus is fairer than all men.
The letter was incorporated in Ludolph of Saxony’s (d. 1377) Life of Christ, though without attribution to Lentulus and said to have been found in the “annals of the Romans.” Its first appearance in print was an edition of Life of Christ printed in 1474. Soon after it was printed in an introduction to the works of Anselm published in Nuremburg in 1491. A manuscript from Jena, now lost, bears a colophon stating the letter was found by Giacomo Colonna in 1421 in a document sent to Rome from Constantinople, although no original Greek manuscript has been found. In the sixteenth century, Matthias Flacius, a Protestant theologian, cited the work as authentic; authenticity was championed also by Friedrich Münter in the early nineteenth century.
Overwhelmingly scholars have denounced the letter as fraudulent. Likely it was composed in the late Middle Ages, in Italy, to provide qualification to much of the iconography associated with the personal appearance of Jesus Christ and potentially, to elevate the political positioning of the Colonna family. There are many texts that exist, some where the introductions do not attribute the letter to Publius Lenutlus; however, the fact of the matter is that there is no indication that this individual existed. Further, in antiquity, any Roman official would have written to the emperor, not the Roman Senate. A Roman also would not have called Jesus “Christ” nor would have been versed in the Hebrew prophets or understood customs of Nazarites, as discussed in the letter. Finally, and most significantly, this letter makes indications that Jesus appeared Aryan as opposed to a Palestinian Jew, which clearly would not have been possible.
Another ancient description of Jesus is given in the much less studied homily On the Life and the Passion of Christ attributed to Cyril of Jerusalem: “As, then, they brought Jesus before him, he looked at him for a long time, marveling at his beauty and his youth. This is his appearance: he is corn-coloured, his hair is black, coming down to his shoulders like bunches of grapes, his nose is prominent, he has beautiful eyes, his eyebrows are joined together, his cheeks are red like roses. He wears a grape-coloured tunic, he has silver-studded adornments on his side, like a sword, and a linen garment covers him so that he looks like a royal son” (114). Also important is the Doctrine of Addai, a sequel to the Abgar Correspondence. It mentions a painting made of Jesus by King Abgar’s emissary and brought back to Edessa. Although Jesus’ appearance is not specifically described in that text, many artistic works depicting this story exist. Among more recent works describing Jesus are the Ecclesiastical History of Nicephorus Callistus (ca. 1256–1335), who says the description he offers was “learned from the ancients,” the Handbook of Painting by the eighteenth-century monk Dionysius of Fourna, and the eighth-century Epistle to Theophilus by John of Damascus.
Named historical figures and characters: Jesus Christ, Lentulus.
Geographical locations: Judea.
2. RESOURCES
2.1 Web Sites
“Letter of Lentulus.” Orthodox Wiki.
“Letter of Lentulus.” Wikipedia.
Pamphlet of the Letter of Lentulus printed in London in 1680.
“Publius Lentulus.” Catholic Online.
2.2 Iconography
Diptych of Image of Christ (Museum Catharijneconvent, Utrecht; ca. 1490–1499): contains Ep. Lent. in Latin on the right side in gold letters and an image of Jesus on the left.
3. BIBLIOGRAPHY
3.1 Manuscripts and Editions
3.1.1 Armenian
Tayec‘i, E. Ankanon girk‘ nor ktakaranac‘ (Libri spurii Noui Testamenti). 2 vols. Venice, 1898 (vol. 2, pp. 381–82).
3.1.2 French
Manuscripts and incunabula listed in von Dobschütz, Christusbilder, 310.
3.1.3 German
Manuscripts and incunabula listed in von Dobschütz, Christusbilder, 310.
3.1.4 Greek
Paris, Bibliothèque Jean de Vernon, ICP, IFEB 19, pp. 727–730 (18th cent.)
Noret, Jacques. “Catalogues récents de manuscrits cinquième série (Fonds grecs).” AnBoll 91 (1973): 419–32 at 430.
3.1.5 Irish
Flower, Robin. “Epistola Lentuli.” Pages 25–27 in Féil-Sgribhinn Eóin Mhic Néill: Essays and Studies Presented to Professor Eoin MacNeill on the Occasion of his Seventieth Birthday, May 15th 1938. Edited by John Ryan. Dublin: Three Candles, 1940.
McNamara, Martin. The Apocrypha in the Irish Church. Dublin: Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies, 1975 (pp. 59–60).
3.1.6 Italian
Manuscripts and incunabula listed in von Dobschütz, Christusbilder, 310.
3.1.7 Latin
Manuscripts up to 1899 listed in von Dobschütz, Christusbilder, 308–10 with additional sources (and Manuscriptorum apocryphorum entries) below. Von Dobschütz divided the materials into seven recensions, with d considered the “received text” even though a, which lacks mention of Lentulus, is believed to be earlier.
Dobschütz, Ernst von. Christusbilder: Untersuchungen zur christlichen Legende. 3 vols. Leipzig: J.C. Hinrichs, 1899 (pp. 308–30).
a1 Vienna, Österreichische Nationalbibliothek, pal. 509, fol. 1 (15th cent.)
a2 Vienna, Österreichische Nationalbibliothek, pal. 4781, fol. 24 (15th cent.)
a3 Munich, Bayerische Staatsbibliothek, lat. 9022, fol. 370 (1411)
a4 Brussels, Bibliothèque Royale Albert Ier, lat. 2659, fol. 111 (15th cent.)
a5 Zwettl, Zisterzienserstift, 11, fol. 182 (14th cent.)
a1v Vienna, Österreichische Nationalbibliothek, Fideicomm. 7915, fol. 8 (15th cent.)
b1 London, British Library, Harl. 2729, fol. 1 (12th cent.)
b2 Leipzig, Leipziger Städtische Bibliotheken, Lat. 92, fol. 87 (1439)
b3 Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France, lat. 3159, fol. 5 (15th cent.)
b4 Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France, lat. 18089, fol. 28 (1467)
b5 Munich, Bayerische Staatsbibliothek, lat. 6722, fol. 170 (15th cent.)
b6 Florence, Biblioteca Medicea Laurenziana, Plutei 19.29, p. 235 (15th cent.)
b7 Florence, Biblioteca Medicea Laurenziana, pal. 52, p. 188 (15th/17th cent.)
bsm Munich, Bayerische Staatsbibliothek, lat. 15227, fol. 220 (1528)
c1 Vienna, Österreichische Nationalbibliothek, pal. 557(1), fol. 80 (1447)
c2 Vienna, Österreichische Nationalbibliothek, pal. 4576, fol. 104 (15th cent.)
c3 Vienna, Österreichische Nationalbibliothek, pal. 557(3), fol. 81 (ca. 1447)
c4 Vienna, Österreichische Nationalbibliothek, pal. 557(2), fol. 80 (ca. 1447)
c5 Vienna, Österreichische Nationalbibliothek, pal. 5056, fol. 249 (15th cent.)
c6 Vienna, Österreichische Nationalbibliothek, pal. 1354, fol. 218 (16th cent.)
c7 Vienna, Österreichische Nationalbibliothek, pal. 960, fol. 5 (15th cent.)
c8 Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France, n. a. l. 1151, fol. 71 (15th/16th cent.) ~ Gallica
c9 Munich, Bayerische Staatsbibliothek, 443, fol. 114 (1479/85)
c10 Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France, lat. 3158, fol. 24 (16th cent.)
c11 Vienna, Österreichische Nationalbibliothek, pal. 4119, fol. 170 (ca. 1548) ~ ONB
c12 Vienna, Österreichische Nationalbibliothek, pal. 618, fol. 22 (1439/1440)
c13 Jena, Bibliotheca Electoralis, Fol. 1 (ca. 1500)
c14 Munich, Bayerische Staatsbibliothek, lat. 249, fol. 198 (15th cent.)
c15 Munich, Bayerische Staatsbibliothek, lat. 850, fol. 85 (15th cent.)
c16 Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France, lat. 3282, fol. 18v (16th cent.)
c17 Munich, Bayerische Staatsbibliothek, lat. 504, fol. 306 (15th cent.)
c18 Munich, Bayerische Staatsbibliothek, lat. 426, fol. 25 (16th cent.)
c19 Munich, Bayerische Staatsbibliothek, lat. 6975 (ca. 1486)
c20 Munich, Bayerische Staatsbibliothek, l.13182, fol. 51 (15th cent.)
c21 Munich, Bayerische Staatsbibliothek, 1.15612, fol. 90 (15th cent.)
c22 Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France, lat. 8619, fol. 121 (15th/16th cent.)
c23 Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France, lat. 17730, fol. 7 (15th cent.) ~ Gallica
c24 Clermont-Ferrand, Bibliothèque municipale, 104, fol. 69 (15th/16th cent.)
c25 Oxford, Brasenose College, 7, fol. 134
c26 Brussels, Bibliothèque Royale Albert Ier, lat. 1144, fol. 107v (14th cent.)
c27 St. Gallen, Stiftsbibliothek, Cod. Sang. 583, p. 3 (14th cent.)
d1 Vienna, Österreichische Nationalbibliothek, pal. 4453, fol. 383 (1437/62)
d2 Vat. ? (no other information provided)
d3 Munich, Bayerische Staatsbibliothek, lat. 19608, fol. 201 (1482)
d4 Munich, Bayerische Staatsbibliothek, lat. 11748, fol. 54 (15th cent.)
e1 Jena, Bibliotheca Electoralis, F. 76, fol. 326 (15th cent.)
e2 Vienna, Österreichische Nationalbibliothek, pal. 4899, fol. 368 (1452)
f1 Vatican, Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, Vat. pal. 327, fol. 229 (15th cent.)
f2 Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France, lat. 2962, fol. 174 (15th/16th cent.) ~ Gallica
f3 Munich, Bayerische Staatsbibliothek, lat. 5350, fol. 112 (15th cent.)
f4 Munich, Bayerische Staatsbibliothek, lat. 5613, fol. 261 (1477)
f5 Munich, Bayerische Staatsbibliothek, lat. 24878, fol. 36 (1473)
f6 Munich, Bayerische Staatsbibliothek, lat. 6007, fol. 122 (1500)
f7 Vienna, Österreichische Nationalbibliothek, 6249, fol. 105 (17th cent.)
g ms. Goldasti (private collection of Melchior Goldast)
Unclassified Manuscripts:
x1 Augsburg IX q6 3 (Reiser 50) (no other information provided)
x2 Basel, Universitätsbibliothek, A. IX 12
x3 Casiu. 437 (no other information provided)
x4 Donaueschingen, Stadtbibliothek, 30, fol. 10 (15th cent.)
x6 Florence, Biblioteca Medicea Laurenziana, Gadd. 38, p. 154 (15th cent.)
x7 Florence, Biblioteca S. Marci, I D 9 (before 1481)
x10 Hohenfurth, Cisterciácký klášter, 132, fol. 343 (15th cent.)
x11 London, British Library, Arund. 128 (15th cent.)
x12 London, British Library, Cotton Vit. E VIII n. 11
x13 London, British Library, Cotton Vespasian D.18 n. 9
x14 London, British Library, Cotton Titus D XIX n. 17
x15 London, British Library, Cinnus 11 (Bernard 8720)
x16 London, British Library, Harl. 2471, fol. 39v (14th cent.)
x17 Marseille, Archives départementales des Bouches-du-Rhône, A 69
x18 Padua, Monastery of Saint John de Viridario, Pluteo 21 (https://sdbm.library.upenn.edu/entries/188448)
x19 Paris, Abbey of Saint Victor (Montf. bibl. bibl. 1373a)
x20 Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France, reg. 1604
Additional Manuscripts:
London, British Library, Harley 2472, fols. 37v–38r (15th cent.)
New Haven, Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Marston 49, fols. 74v–75v (1476)
Flacius, Matthias, et al. Ecclesiastica historia integram Ecclesiae Christi … in urbe Magdeburgica. 13 vols. Basel: Oporinus, 1559–1574 (incorporates Latin text from an unidentified manuscript).
Grynaeus, Johann J. Monumenta S. Patrum Orthodoxographa, hoc est Theologiae sacrosanctae ac syncerioris fidei Doctores, numero circiter LXXXV. 2 vols. Basel: Henric Petrina, 1569 (vol. 1, p. 1).
Gundermann, Gotthold. “Der Brief des P. Lentulus über Jesum.” ZWT 29 (1886): 241 (edition of Harley 2729).
Heroldus, Johannes. Orthodoxographa Theologiae Sacrosanctae ac syncerioris fidei Doctores Numero LXXVI. Basil: Heinrich Petri 1555 (see p. 2).
Lutz, Cora E. “The Letter of Lentulus Describing Christ.” Yale University Gazette 50.2 (1975): 91–97 (edition and translation of Beinecke Marston 49).
Mylius, Johann Christopher. Memorabilia Bibliothecae Academiae Jenensis. Jenna: Johann Christopher Croeker, 1746 (publication of Jena manuscript, now lost).
Neander, Michel, ed. Catechesis Martini Lutheri parva graeco-latina. Basel: Ioannis Oporinum, 1557 (2nd ed. 1564; 3rd ed. 1567) (pp. 410-–11).
Reiske, Johan. Exercitationes historicae de imaginibus Jesu Christi. 1672. Jena: Joh. Christi Wolffartii, 1685 (Latin text from Grynaeus and unidentified Jena manuscript, pp. 151–54).
3.1.8 Middle English
Cursor mundi, sc. XIV, Ausg. der. EETS, S. 1079, z. 18817–59.
Ashmol. B 45 (Bernard 8462, Add. 20)
London, British Library, Add. 14974, fol. 97 (ca. 1640)
Bowers, R. H. “The Letter of Lentulus in Middle English.” Notes and Queries 203.10 (1958): 423–24.
3.1.9 Persian
Xavier, Jerome, ed. and trans. Historia Christi Persice Conscripta simulque multis modis contaminata. Leiden: Elzevir, 1639 (p. 532–36).
3.1.10 Spanish
Manuscripts and incunabula listed in von Dobschütz, Christusbilder, 311.
3.1.11 Syriac
Alqoš, Notre-Dame des Semences, Scher 326, fol. 97 (ca. 1900)
Baghdad, Chaldean Patriarchate of Baghdad, 377, fols. 20r–21r (1894)
Edgbaston, University of Birmingham, Mingana Syr. 47, fol. 45 (1907)
Brock, Sebastian. P. “A Syriac Version of the Letters of Lentulus and Pilate.” OCP 35 (1969): 45–62 (edition and translation of Mingana Syr. 47, pp. 48–50).
3.2 Modern Translations
3.2.1 English
Elliott, J.K. The Apocryphal New Testament. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1993 (pp. 542–43).
James, Montague Rhodes. The Apocryphal New Testament: Being the Apocryphal Gospels, Acts, Epistles, and Apocalypses. Oxford: Clarendon, 1924; corrected edition, 1953 (pp. 477–78).
3.2.2 French
Backus, Irena. “Lettre de Lentulus.” Pages 1123–29 in vol. 2 of Écrits apocryphes chrétiens. Edited by P. Geoltrain and J.-D. Kaestli. Bibliothèque de la Pléiade 516. Paris: Gallimard, 2005.
Migne, Jacques-Paul. Dictionnaire des Apocryphes. 2 vols. 1856. Repr., Turnhout: Brepols, 1989 (vol. 2, cols. 454–56).
3.2.3 Italian
Erbetta, Mario. Gli apocrifi del Nuovo Testamento. 3 vols. Italy: Marietti, 1975–1981 (vol. 3, pp. 137–38).
Moraldi, Luigi. Apocrifi del Nuovo Testamento. 2 vols. Classici delle religioni, Sezione quarta, La religione cattolica 24. Turin: Unione Tipografico-Editrice Torinese, 1971 (vol. 2, pp. 1651–56).
3.3 General Works
Backus, Irena. “Christoph Scheurl and his Anthology of ‘New Testament Apocrypha’ (1506, 1513, 1515).” Apocrypha 9 (1998): 133–56 esp. 145–149.
Cavalcaselle, Giovanni Battista, Joseph Archer Crowe and Anna Jameson. Early Italian Painting. New York: Parkstone International, 2011 (p. 27).
Charlesworth, James H. The Historical Jesus an Essential Guide. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2008.
Gregory, Andrew. “Non-Canonical Epistles and Related Literature.” Pages 90–114 in The Oxford Handbook of Early Christian Apocrypha. Edited by Andrew Gregory and Christopher Tuckett. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2015 (pp. 106–107).
Inglis, Erik. Faces of Power and Piety. London: British Library, 2008 (p. 23).
Jones, Mark, et al. Fake? The Art of Deception. Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1990 (p 79).
Kessel, Elsje van. The Lives of Paintings Presence, Agency and Likeness in Venetian Art of the Sixteenth Century. Leiden: Leiden University Press, 2017 (pp. 231–32).
Münter, Friedrich. Die Sinnbilder und Kunstvorstellungen der alten Christen. Altona: K. Busch, 1825 ( p. 9).
Pérès, Jacques-Noel. “Untersuchungen im Zusammenhang mit der sogenannten Epistula Lentuli.” Apocrypha 11 (2000): 59–75.
Robinson, Edward. “On the Letter Attributed to Publius Lentulus, Respecting the Personal Appearance of Christ.” Biblical Repository and Classical Review 2.6 (1832): 367–93 (text of Grynaeus, with readings from the Jena and Vatican manuscripts, with commentary).
Taylor, Joan E. What Did Jesus Look Like. Edinburgh: T & T Clark, 1988.