Passion of Bartholomew

Passio Bartholomaei

Standard abbreviation: Pass. Bart.

Other titles: none

Clavis numbers: ECCA 617; CANT 259

VIAF: 169144782965737622369 (Apostolic Histories)

Category: Apocryphal Acts

Related literature: Acts of Bartholomew; Acts of Bartholomew and Barnabas; Encomium on Bartholomew, by Nicetas of Paphlagonia; Golden Legend 123

Compiled by: Tony Burke, York University ([email protected])

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

Created March 2022. Current as of April 2023.

1. SUMMARY

The text begins by identifying three Indias: one facing Ethiopia (India Felix), one that extends towards the Medes, and the third “completes the country” (i.e., what is considered India today). It is to the latter that Bartholomew journeys. When he arrives he goes to a temple where there is a statue of Astaroth. The people think him Astaroth a god but he is really a demon who inflicts maladies upon them so that they will come to him for relief, then he heals them and they give him sacrifices. While Bartholomew was present he could do no healing and the temple filled with the sick. So they moved on to another temple, this one of Beireth. They asked why Astaroth was no longer healing them. And Beireth tells them it is because of Bartholomew, who has come to banish the gods worshiped by the Indians. Beireth tells them how to identify him; his description includes a statement that he has worn the same clothes and sandals for 20 years and they show no signs of wear or dirt and has special abilities: he is never tired or hungry, he foresees all and knows all, knows all languages, and can turn invisible if he wishes to not be seen.

In the meantime, Bartholomew expels a demon from a man named Pseustius, attracting the attention of Polymius, the king of the region, whose daughter has violent fits and bites people. The king sends for Bartholomew. Seeing her in chains, the apostle orders her release saying she no longer wants to harm anyone. In gratitude, the king tries to send Bartholomew camels bearing treasures and clothing but the apostle appears to the king at dawn in his room and tells him the gifts are for people who want earthly things. Then he delivers a lesson on the Son of God as born from Mary, the first virgin. He goes on to recount the annunciation and the temptation, connecting it to the temptation of the serpent to Eve. Though the devil was able to tempt the first son of a virgin to eat he lost to a Son of a Virgin who was temperate. Polymius asks how the first man was a son of a virgin; it is because he was made from earth that was not contaminated by human blood. He tells the king that if the king agrees to be baptized, he will show him the evil he needs to avoid. He says also that he will vanquish the demon in the temple.

The next day, Bartholomew approaches the demon and commands him to confess what he has done to the people; he admits that he is a demon of his prince, the devil. Bartholomew turns to the people and tells them he will pray for their healing but first they must throw down the idol and break it. Then he will dedicate the temple to Jesus and baptize everyone. They are unable to topple the statue so Bartholomew banishes the demon to the desert and as he flees he tears down all of the idols, and insignia and paintings.

The people declare Bartholomew’s god the one true god and he prays for them to be saved. Then an angel of the Lord arrives. He flies to the four corners of the temple and traces a cross in the stone with his finger, declaring the temple cleansed. He tells everyone to make the same sign on their foreheads and all evils will flee from them. He then calls back the demon so they can see what he looked like: an Ethiopian blacker than soot, with eyes of fire, with sparks emitting from his mouth and thorny wings like a porcupine and his hands bound behind his shoulders with chains of fire. Then the angel banishes him back to the desert to await Judgment Day.

All the people are baptized and the king lays down his crown to follow Bartholomew. Meanwhile the high priests of all the temples meet with Astrige, the king’s elder brother, and convince him to punish the “disciple of a magician.” He takes Bartholomew prisoner and accuses him of subverting his brother and banishing the god of the temple. Bartholomew responds that he converted the king and banished a demon and the same will happen to Astrige’s god. As they are speaking, Astrige is told that his own god Vualdath has fallen and broken to pieces. Astrige has Bartholomew beaten with clubs and flayed alive (the Greek text says he was beheaded; the Irish that he is beaten, flayed alive, and then beheaded). The people who had become believers take away his body and give it an honorable burial (the Greek text adds that the king orders his remains to be thrown into the sea, where they are carried to the island of Lipari). Thirty days later, Astrige and the temple priests are strangled by demons. More people become believers and are baptized by the priests who were ordained by Bartholomew. Polymius becomes bishop, and he holds the episcopate for twenty years.

Named historical figures and characters: Abraham (patriarch), Adam (patriarch), Astaroth, Astrige, Bartholomew (apostle), Beireth, Eve, Gabriel (angel), Holy Spirit, Isaac (patriarch), Jacob (patriarch), Jesus Christ, Mary (Virgin), Polymius, Pseustius, Satan, Vualdath.

Geographical locations: India, India Felix, Lipari.

2. RESOURCES

2.1 Online Resources

“Bartholomew the Apostle.” Wikipedia.

“Saint Bartholomew: The Iconography.” Christian Iconography.

2.2 Art and Iconography

The thirteenth-century window of the upper basilica of St. Francis of Assisi includes scenes from the text. Also, the mosaics at the Church of San Marco in Venice (ca. 1100 CE) place Bartholomew in “Upper India” and depict his martyrdom by flaying. See Cartlidge, David R., and J. Keith Elliott. Art and the Christian Apocrypha. London and New York: Routledge, 2001 (pp. 224–25).

Beresford, Andrew M. Sacred Skin: The Legend of St. Bartholomew in Spanish Art and Literature. Medieval and Early Modern Iberian World 72. Leiden: Brill, 2020.

3. BIBLIOGRAPHY

3.1 Manuscripts and Editions

3.1.1 Greek (BHG 227; translated from Latin)

Venice, Biblioteca Nazionale Marciana, gr. Z. 362, fols. 117^r–125^r (1279) ~ Pinakes

Bonnet, Maximilien. “Passio sancti Bartholomaei apostoli.” Pages 128–50 in vol. 2.1 of Acta apostolorum apocrypha. 2 vols. in 3 parts. Edited by Richard A. Lipsius and Maximilien Bonnet. Leipzig: Mendelssohn, 1889–1903; reprinted Hildesheim: Georg Olms, 1959 (parallel edition of Greek and Latin texts).

Tischendorf, Constantin. Acta apostolorum apocrypha. Leipzig: Avenarius et Mendelssohn, 1851 (introduction p. lxix–lxx; edition pp. 243–60).

3.1.2 Middle Irish (incorporated into the Leabhar Breac)

Dublin, Royal Irish Academy, 23 P 16 (the Leabhar Breac), pp. 175b–177a (1408–1411)

Atkinson, Robert, ed. and trans. The Passions and the Homilies from Leabhar Breac. Dublin: Royal Irish Academy, 1887 (text, pp. 95–101; English translation, pp. 339–46).

3.1.3 Latin (BHL 1002)

Manuscripts used by Bonnet:

B Bamberg, Staatsbibliothek Bamberg, Q IV 59 (11th cent.)

C Brussels, Staatsbibliothek Royale, 104, fols. 285^v–288^v (12th cent.)

M Montpellier, Bibliothèque de la Faculté de médicine, 55, fols. 21^v–25^v(ca. 800)

P Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France, lat. 18298, fols. 67^v–75^v (9th cent.)

Q Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France, lat. 12604, fols. 60^r–64^r (12th cent.)

R Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France, lat. 17002, fols. 55^v–57^v (10th cent.)

S Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France, lat. 5273, fols. 28^v–33^r (12th cent.)

W Wolfenbüttel, Herzog August Bibliothek Weissenburg, 48, fols. 101^v–107^v (9th cent.)

Additional manuscripts:

Angers, Bibliothèque municipale de Angers, 281, fols. 139^r–144^v (11th cent.)

Dublin, Trinity College, 737, fols. 99^v–106^v (9th and 12th/13th cent.)

Engelberg, Stiftsbibliothek, 2, fols. 45^r–48^r (12th cent.)

Munich, Bayerische Staatsbibliothek, Clm 4554, fols. 31^r–34^v(8th/9th cent.)

Munich, Bayerische Staatsbibliothek, Clm 13074, fols. 83^v–89^v; illustrations fol. 82^v, 83^r (1175)

Munich, Bayerische Staatsbibliothek, Clm 22020, fols. 41^v–45^v (12th cent.)

Vienna, Österreichische Nationalbibliothek, Cod. 455, fols. 113^v–121^r (9th cent.)

Vienna, Österreichische Nationalbibliothek, Cod. 534, fols. 172^v–186^v (9th cent.)

Würzburg, Universitätsbibliothek, M.p.th.f. 78, fols. 15^v–20^v (8th cent.)

Bolland, Jean et al., eds. Acta Sanctorum, Augusti. Vol. 5. Antwerp: P. Jacobs 1741; 3rd ed. Paris: V. Palmé, 1868 (Latin text, pp. 34–39).

Fabricius, Johann Albert. Codex Apocryphus Novi Testamenti. 2 vols. 2nd ed. Hamburg: Schiller, 1719 (a reprint of Lazius’ edition via Lefèvre in vol. 2, pp. 669–87).

Giles, J. A. Codex Apocryphus Novi Testamenti: The Uncanonical Gospels and Other Writings. London: D. Nutt, 1852 (reproduction of Fabricius, pp. 410–21).

Lazius, Wolfgang. Abdiae Babyloniae episcopi et apostolorum discipuli de historia certaminis apostolici libri decem. Bale, 1552 (Repr. Paris: Guillard & Belot, 1566; reprint by Jean Lefèvre in 1560) (based on ONB 455 and 534 but with some editorial glosses at the beginning of the texts, pp. 96r–102r).

Nausea, Friedrich. Anonymi Pilalethi Eusebiani in vitas, miracula passionesque apostolorum rhapsodiae. Cologne: Peter Quentel, 1531 (Latin text from unidentified source, fols. 52v–56v).

Philippart, Guy. Les légendiers latins et autres manuscrits hagiographiques. Typologie des sources du Moyen Age occidental 24–25. Turnhout: Brepols, 1977 (list of manuscripts, pp. 13–20).

Piñero, Antonio, and Gonzalo del Cerro. Hechos apócrifos de los Apóstoles. 3 vols. Madrid: Biblioteca de Autores Cristianos, 2011 (Latin edition utilizing Bonnet’s manuscripts with facing Spanish translation, vol. 3, pp. 847–73).

3.2 Modern Translations

3.2.1 English

Atkinson, Robert. The Passions and the Homilies from Leabhar Breac. Dublin: Royal Irish Academy, 1887 (English translation from the Leabhar breac, pp. 339–46).

Elliott, J. K. The Apocryphal New Testament. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1993 (summary, pp. 519–20).

James, Montague Rhodes. The Apocryphal New Testament: Being the Apocryphal Gospels, Acts, Epistles, and Apocalypses. Oxford: Clarendon, 1924; corrected edition, 1953 (summary, pp. 467–68).

Walker, A. Apocryphal Gospels, Acts and Revelations. Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark, 1873. Repr. as vol. 16 of The Ante-Nicene Christian Library. Edited by Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson. 24 vols. Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark, 1867–1883 (translation of Tischendorf’s Greek edition, pp. 429–39).

3.2.2 French

L’Histoire apostolique d’Abdias, premier évêque de Babylon institué par les apostres, tournie d’hebreu en grec par Eutrope, puis en latin par Jule Africain . . . et nouvellement traduite en nostre vulgaire. Paris: G. Guillard, 1564. Second ed. Lyon: B. Rigaud, 1582 (translation of the edition by Lazius, pp. 111r–118v).

Alibert, Dominique, Gisèle Besson, Michèle Brossard-Dandré, and Simon Claude Mimouni. “Passion de Barthélemy.” Pages 791–808 in volume 2 of Écrits apocryphes chrétiens. Edited by Pierre Geoltrain and Jean-Daniel Kaestli. Bibliothèque de la Pléiade 516. Paris: Gallimard, 2005 (French translation based on Wolfenbüttel 48, Angers 281, Dublin 737, and Paris lat. 12604).

Migne, Jacques-Paul. Dictionnaire des Apocryphes. 2 vols. 1856. Repr., Turnhout: Brepols, 1989 (translation of the edition by Fabricius, vol. 2, cols. 149–59).

3.2.3 German

Borberg, Karl Friedrich. Bibliothek der neutestamentlichen Apokryphen, gesammelt, übersetzt, und erläutert. Stuttgart: Literatur-Comptoir, 1841 (translation of the edition by Fabricius, vol. 1, pp. 657–72).

3.3.4 Italian

Erbetta, Mario. Gli apocrifi del Nuovo Testamento. 3 vols. Italy: Marietti, 1975–1981 (translation of the edition by Fabricius, vol. 2, pp. 581–88).

Moraldi, Luigi. Apocrifi del Nuovo Testamento. 2 vols. Classici delle religioni, Sezione quarta, La religione cattolica 24. Turin: Unione Tipografico-Editrice Torinese, 1971 (translation of the edition by Fabricius, vol. 2, pp. 1568–76).

3.2.5 Spanish

Piñero, Antonio, and Gonzalo del Cerro. Hechos apócrifos de los Apóstoles. 3 vols. Madrid: Biblioteca de Autores Cristianos, 2011 (Latin edition with facing Spanish translation, vol. 3, pp. 847–73).

3.3 General Works

See also works on the Apostolic Histories collection.

Bonnet, Max. “La Passion de S. Barthélemy en quelle langue at-elle été écrite?” AnBoll 14 (1895): 353–66.

Maggioni, Giovanni Paolo. “Le Molte Legende Aurée: Modiﬁcazioni testuali e itinerari narrativi.” Pages 5–40 in De la sainteté à l’hagiographie: genèse et usage de la “Légende dorée.” Edited by Barbara Fleith and Franco Morenzoni. Genève: Droz, 2001.

__________. Ricerche sulla composizione e sulla trasmis sione della “Legenda aurea.” Spoleto: Centro italiano di studi sull’alto Medioevo, 1995 (pp. 71–73).

Kay, Sarah. “Original Skin: Flaying, Reading, and Thinking in the Legend of Saint Bartholomew and Other Works.” Journal of Medieval and Early Modern Studies 36 (2006): 35–74.

Lipsius, Richard A. Die apokryphen Apostelgeschichten und Apostellegenden. 2 vols. in 3 parts. Braunschweig, 1883–1890 (see vol. 2.2:65–67).

McNamara, Martin. Apocrypha in the Irish Church. Dublin: Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies, 1975 (pp. 93–94).

Santos Otero, Aurelio de. “Later Acts of the Apostles.” Pages 426–82 in New Testament Apocrypha. Vol. 2: Writings Relating to the Apostles; Apocalypses and Related Subjects. Edited by Wilhelm Schneemelcher. Translated by R. McLachlan Wilson. Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox, 1992 (see pp. 452–53).