Life of Pilate

Vita Pilati

Standard abbreviation: Life Pil.

Other titles: Historia apocrypha, Ortu Pilati

Clavis numbers: ECCA 247

Category: Pilate Cycle

Related literature: Death of Pilate (Mors Pilati), Healing of Tiberius, Vengeance of the Savior; Golden Legend 53, 67, 89.

Compiled by: Tony Burke, York University

Citing this resource (using Chicago Manual of Style): Burke, Tony. “Life of Pilate.” e-Clavis: Christian Apocrypha. Accessed DAY MONTH YEAR. https://www.nasscal.com/e-clavis-christian-apocrypha/life-of-pilate/.

Created April 2025.

1. SUMMARY

The Life of Pilate is a source used by Jacobus de Voragine in The Golden Legend for information about Pilate and Nero. De Voragine calls this source “an apocryphal history.” It begins with an account of the birth of Pilate. King Tyrus of Mainz is hunting in Berlich, a town in the Babenberg region. At night time, he examines the stars and determines that if he is able to have a child at this time, his offspring would be a great ruler. But his wife is not with him, so he orders his men to find him a woman. The men bring him Pyla, the daughter of a miller named Atus. When their child is born, they name him a combination of Pyla and Atus. At three years old, the boy is handed over to his father and raised with his brother, born to the king and queen. The two boys compete in wrestling and other sports, but the queen’s son, because of his double nobility, always triumphs. Grieved, Pilate kills his brother. When his father learns, he is greatly troubled and asks the assembly of the people what should be done. They call for Pilate’s death but the king sends him to Rome as a hostage for his annual tribute to Rome.

In Rome, Pilate kills Paginus, the son of the king of France, who was also sent to Rome as a tribune. Rather than execute him, the Romans decide that it would be best to use Pilate for their own brutish means. They appoint him judge over the island Pontus, which did not tolerate the rule of any judge. He is able to subdue the entire wicked nation with promises and rewards, threats and punishment. For his victory, he receives the title of Pilate of Pontus, or Pontius Pilate.

Herod Antipas hears of Pilate’s ruthlessness and invites him to Judea. He makes him deputy over the land. But Pilate wants full rule and brings money to Tiberius to purchase power. This makes Pilate and Herod enemies until Herod delivers Jesus to Pilate (as in Luke 23:11–12). Pilate executes Jesus at the instigation of the Jewish leaders. Worried that this might offend Tiberius, Pilate sends a messenger named Adrianus to tell him that Jesus was a magician who had called himself king, so Pilate killed him to preserve law and justice. Adrianus is shipwrecked in Galatia, which is ruled by Vespasian. Learning that Adrianus is from Judea, Vespasian thinks he must know medical arts and demands that he cure him of the worms that were infesting his nostrils. Adrianus says that he is no physician but there is a man in Judea who could heal him. Convinced that Jesus could effect a cure, Vespasian is instantly healed of his affliction. Vespasian vows to avenge the death of Jesus on Judea and Adrianus is sent on to Rome.

Tiberius also learns about the Jerusalem physician, who he hopes would cure him of leprosy. He instructs Albanus to go to Pilate and have him send Jesus to him. Pilate stalls for 14 days, terrified of angering Tiberius. In the meantime, Albanus travels the land, looking for information about Jesus. He finds Veronica, who tells him that Jesus had been crucified by Pilate but she has his image on a linen cloth. She promises Albanus that Tiberius will be healed by looking upon the image. They journey to Rome and Tiberius is indeed healed. Veronica returns home with the image.

Pilate is brought to Rome in chains. (Here the Golden Legend, and the Death of Pilate, report that Pilate is able to escape Tiberius’s anger for a time because he wears Jesus’ seamless tunic; only when Pilate is stripped of the tunic is Tiberius able to pass a sentence.) As Pilate awaits execution, he kills himself with his own knife. His corpse is thrown into the Tiber, but evil spirits cause the river to flood and create storms. The body is taken to Vienne (said to be named from Via Gehennae, the road to hell) and dumped in the Rhone. But the activity of the spirits continues, so the corpse is moved to Lausanne where it is submerged in a well surrounded by seven large mountains in the Alps. To this day diabolical energies bubble up from the well.

Tiberius dies and is succeeded by Caligula, then Gaius, then Nero, who executes Peter and Paul. The text gives a full account of how Nero forced Seneca to die by his own hand. Then follows an account of Nero’s murder of his own mother. Nero was obsessed with his mother’s womb and orders the physicians to open it up for him to see. The physicians do so but are troubled by a son killing his own mother. Nero responds that they should make it possible for him to give birth so that he can understand the labor and pain felt by his mother. Threatened with death, they give him a potion containing a tadpole. As it grows, Nero’s belly swells. In pain, Nero tells them to accelerate the birth. They give him a potion that forces him to vomit out the frog. Nero is horrified at the sight but is told that the fetus is deformed because he could not wait for it to reach full term. The physicians say also this is what he looked like when he was born. Nero hides the frog in a stone shell. The story continues with Nero’s burning of Rome. For this crime he is driven from the city, but before he can be executed, he pierces his body with a stake. His enemies fid the frog and kill it behind the walls. Where the frog was hidden receives the name Lateranus (from latente rana, hiding frog).

Nero is succeeded by Anastasius under whom Vespasian devastates Judea and Jerusalem (in reality, Nero ordered the war and it continued under the rules of Galba, Otho, and Vitellius). The first city to be assaulted is Jonapata, ruled by Josephus. When the destruction of the city is imminent, Josephus and eleven other Jews hide in an underground room. Each dies at the hand of another until only Josephus and one other remain. Josephus saves his own life when he is brought before Vespasian in chains and foretells Vespasian’s ascension to the throne. He also aids in curing the general Titus of paralysis in his leg. For his service, Josephus is freed from captivity. After Vespasian destroys Jerusalem, he is succeeded by Titus, and then by others (all listed), leading up to Hadrian who destroys Jerusalem a second time (in the Bar Kokhba Revolt of 132–136 CE). The Judeans hope to rebuild the city, but flee one day when they find crosses among the ruins. The next day they find crosses stitched into their clothing. On the third day, they are burned by steam from the ground.

Named historical figures and characters: Adrianus, Albanus/Volusianus, Anastasius, Archelaus, Athus, Caligula, Domitian, Gaius (emperor), Hadrian, Herod (the Great), Herod Antipas, James (son of Zebedee), Josephus, Nero, Nerva, Paginus, Paul (apostle), Peter (apostle), Pontius Pilate, Pyla, Seneca, Tiberius (emperor), Titus (emperor), Trajan (emperor), Tyrus, Veronica, Vespasian.

Geographical locations: Babenberg, Berlich, Calvary, France, Galatia, Galilee, Gehenna, Jerusalem, Jonapata, Judea, Lateran, Losania (Lausanne), Mainz, Pontus, Rome, Rhône River, Tiber River, Troy, Vienne.

2. RESOURCES

3. BIBLIOGRAPHY

3.1 Manuscripts and Editions

3.1.1 Latin

3.1.1.1 Prose A (BHL 4222d)

Ma Munich, Bayerische Staatsbibliothek, Clm 21259, fols. 227^v–230^v (13th/14th cent.) ~ CATALOG; IMAGES

Mb Munich, Bayerische Staatsbibliothek, Clm 23390, fols. 44–51 and 53 (12th/13th cent.) ~ CATALOG

T Trier, Bistumsarchiv, Abt. 95, Nr. 29 (Ms. 2), fols. 70^v–77^v (12th/13th cent.) ~ Gutenberg; HMML

Brussels, Koninklijke Bibliotheek van België, 531-539, fols. 378^v–388^v (1453/1454) = Izydorczyk, Census no. 37

Gothenburg, Universitetsbibliotek, lat.21

Graz, Universitätsbibliothek, 1314 (14th cent.) = Izydorczyk, Census no. 98

Lille, Bibliothèque municipale, 138 (1431) = Izydorczyk, Census no. 139

Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France, lat. 11867, fols. 177^v–179^r (13th cent.)

Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France, lat. 16079, fols. 177^v–179^r (13th cent.) ~ Gallica

Paris, Bibliothèque Mazarine, 693 (12th/13th cent.) = Izydorczyk, Census no. 250

Prague, Národní knihovna, 2119

Vienna, Österreichische Nationalbibliothek, Cod. 372, fols. 15^r–16^v (13th cent.) ~ ONB

Vienna, Österreichische Nationalbibliothek, 1180, fols. 194–196 (13th cent.) = Izydorczyk, Census no. 396

Werner, Doris. Pylatus: Untersuchungen zur metrischen lateinischen Pilatuslegende und kritische Textausgabe. Beihefte zum Mittellateinischen Jahrbuch 8. Ratingen: A. Henn, 1972 (edition based on Ma with variant readings from Mb and T, pp. 261–73).

3.1.1.2 Prose B (shortened text containing up to the Passion in Golden Legend 53)

Cambridge, St. John’s College, 214 (13th cent.)

Leipzig, Universitätsbibliothek, 828 (15th cent.)

Munich, Bayerische Staatsbibliothek, Clm 15329 (15th cent.)

Munich, Bayerische Staatsbibliothek, Clm 19544 (13th cent.) = Izydorczyk, Census no. 200

Prague, Národní knihovna, Lat. 105

Prague, UB, I.C.14 (15th cent.)

3.1.1.3 Prose C (similar to Prose A but with a longer excursus on Veronica)

Oxford, Bodleian Library, Laud. Misc. 633, fols. 95^r–97^v (12th cent.) ~ CATALOG; IMAGES

3.1.1.4 Origo Pilati (derived from the Golden Legend; focuses only on the birth of Pilate)

Bamberg, Staatsbibliothek, Msc. Theol. 107 (15th cent.) ~ Handscriftenportal

Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France, n.a. lat. 1154, fols. 19^v (15th cent.) = Izydorczyk, Census 287; GALLICA

3.1.1.5 De vita Pilati (Prose D; a transformation of the poetic text back into prose)

Prague, Národní knihovna, XIII G.18 (15th cent.)

3.1.1.6 Legenda metrica (BHL 4222f; finishes at Pilate’s death)

du Méril, Edélestand, ed. Poésies populaires latines du Moyen Age. Paris: Firmin Didot & A. Franck, 1847 (pp. 343–57).

Mone, Franz Josef. “Die Sage vom Pilatus.” Anzeiger für Kunde der deutschen Vorzeit 4 (1835): 421–33.

Werner, Doris. Pylatus: Untersuchungen zur metrischen lateinischen Pilatuslegende und kritische Textausgabe. Beihefte zum Mittellateinischen Jahrbuch 8. Ratingen: A. Henn, 1972 (edition based on 25 manuscripts and two incunabula, pp. 194–238; manuscripts discussed, pp. 101–37).

3.1.2 Middle English (life of Pilate in poetic verse incorporated into the South English Legendary; finishes at Pilate’s death)

London, British Library, Harley 2277 (ca. 1300) ~ CATALOG

Furnivall, Frederick J. Early English Poems and Lives of Saints. Berlin: A. Asher & Co., 1862 (text based on BL Harley 2277, pp. 111–18).

3.2 Modern Translations

3.3 General Works

Creizenach, Wilhelm. “Legenden und Sagen von Pilatus.” Beiträge zur Geschichte der deutschen Sprache und Literatur 1 (1874): 89–107.

Dobschütz, Ernst von. Christusbilder. Untersuchungen zur christlicher Legende. Leipzig: Hinrichs, 1899 (pp. 230-62, 278*–279*, 305*).

Hauck, Karl. “Pontius Pilatus aus Forchheim.” Jahrbuch für fränkische Landesforschung 19 (1959): 171–92.

Knape, Joachim. “Pilatus.” Pages 669–82 in vol. 7 of Verfasserlexikon – Die deutsche Literatur des Mittelalters ‘Oberdeutscher Servatius’ – Reuchart von Salzburg. Edited by Kurt Ruh et al. 13 vols. Berlin: de Gruyter, 1978–2007.

Scheidgen, Andreas. Die Gestalt des Pontius Pilatus in Legende, Bibelauslegung und Geschichtsdichtung vom Mittelalter bis in die frühe Neuzeit. Literaturgeschichte einer umstrittenen Figur. Mikrokosmos. Beiträge zur Literaturwissenschaft und Bedeutungsforschung 68. Frankfurt-am-Main: Peter Lang, 2002.

Schönbach, Anton. Review of Evangelia apocrypha, by Constantin Tischendorf. Anzeiger für Deutsches Alterthum und deutsche Litteratur 2 (1876): 149–212.