Università Roma Tre

Course Title:
Saint Sebastian: Between Legend and Devotion

Course Description:
This course aims to reconstruct the early phases of the veneration of the (bi)martyr saint, Saint Sebastian. He is first recorded in the Depositio martyrum of 354, with a commemoration date of January 20, noting his burial on the Via Appia ad catacumbas, where the Memoria Apostolorum was located (later known as the Basilica Apostolorum under Constantine). Subsequently, he is briefly mentioned by Ambrose in his Commentary on Psalm 118 and ultimately becomes the central figure in the Passio Sancti Sebastiani, written between 430 and 450 by Arnobius the Younger, an African monk contemporary with Augustine, residing in the monastery established next to the Basilica Apostolorum. The course will particularly focus on analyzing this text, which enjoyed significant popularity. Students interested in exploring further may participate in a storytelling workshop with professional actors, who, alongside the course instructor, are engaged in a project to enhance the Basilica of Saint Sebastian in celebration of the Jubilee. This workshop aims to immerse students in the performative dimension characteristic of many ancient and medieval hagiographical texts.

Michael Lapidge (ed.), The Roman Martyrs, Oxford 2018.
Further bibliography willl be provided during the course