Volume 2

A dictionary of Christian antiquities : being a continuation of the 'Dictionary of the Bible' / edited by William Smith and Samuel Cheetham ; illustrated by engravings on wood.

Date:
[between 1890 and 1899?]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: A dictionary of Christian antiquities : being a continuation of the 'Dictionary of the Bible' / edited by William Smith and Samuel Cheetham ; illustrated by engravings on wood. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    29/1016 (page 1081)
    MALEFICUS MAMMITA lOSl A specimen of a curse denounced against those who took possession of the lands of a monastery is given by Martene {de Rit. Antiq. III. iii. Ordo 3): “ May their portion and their inheritance be the torments of everlasting fire, with Korah, Dathan, and Abiram, who went down quick into hell, with Judas and Pilate, with Annas and Caiaphas, with Simon Magus and Nero; with whom may they be tormented in everlasting torment without end, so as to have no fellowship with Christ or His saints in the rest of heaven, but have fellowship with the devil and his companions, being appointed to the torments of hell, and perish everlastingly. So be it! So be it!” [C.] MALEFICUS, the name popularly given to one supposed able to bewitch a person or his pro- perty. “ Quos vere Maleficos vulgus appellat,” says Lactantius (^Div. Instit. ii. 16), and simi- larly Constantins {Lrges^ 4, 6 de Malef. in Codex I'/ieod.'S. ix. 16), and St. Augustine (de Civ. Dei, X. 9). The crime was itself called Maleficium, as if pi-e-eminently a deed of wickedness. A law of Constantins, A.D. 357, after reference to aruspices and others, proceeds to condemn “ the Chaldeans and Magi, and the rest whom the common people call Malefici, from the greatness of their misdoing ” (1. 4, u. s.). They were believed to obtain their power to injure others from evil spirits, either demons properly so called, or the souls of the dead. Thus Lactan- tius (u. s.), speaking of the demons, says that the Malefici, “ when they exercise their execrable arts, call them up by their true names ” (not by those of the ancient heroes, etc., which they assumed to deceive). These spirits were invoked with bloody sacrifices and other pagan rites. St. Jerome, distinguishing between Malefici and other professors of occult arts, says that the former “use blood and victims, and often touch the bodies of the dead ” (Comm, in Dan. ii.). They corresponded to the yograi of the Greeks, who were so called from the peculiar howl in which they intoned their incantations: “ Illicitis artibus deditos . . . quos et Maleficos vulgus appellat . . . ad goetiam pertinere dicunt ” (August. u. s.). roTjreia, as Zonaras explains, “ is the doing aught to the injury of others by means of incantations and invocation of demons” (Comm. in St. Bas. Epist. ad Amphil. ad can. 65: sim. Balsamon, ibid.). See Magic. [W. E. S.] MALINUS, martyr ; commemorated at Alex- andria with 170 others, Ap. 28 (Hieron. Mart.; Bed. Mart. Auct.). [C. H.] MALLUSTUS, martyr; commemorated at Cologne with 330 others, Oct. 10 (Hieron. Mart.). Called also Malusius (Bed. Mart. Auct.). [C. H.] MAMA, virgin ; commemorated June 2 (Cal. Arm.). [C. H.] MAMAS (1) Martyr; commemorated in the Greek church, July 12 (Boll. Acta SS. July, iii. 303). (2) Martyr; commemorated with Basiliscus in the Greek church, July 30 (Boll. Acta SS. July, vii. 149). (3) MAMES, or MAMMES, martyr at Caesarea in Cappadocia under Aurelian; com- memorated Aug. 17 (Hieron. Mart. ; Usuard. Mart.; Vet. Rom. Mart. ; Bed. Mart. Auct., Boll. Acta SS. Aug. iii. 423). Florus assigns Aug. 7 to him. The Greek church commemo- rated him on Sept. 2 (Basil. Menol.; Cal. Bgzant.). Another Mammes is mentioned under Aug. 17, commemorated at Alexandria, by Hieron. Mart.) George Codinus states that there was at Constantinople a temple of St. Mamas, built by the sister of empress Mauricius,where she interred the bodies of Mauricius and his children (de Antiq. Const. 61). Which St. Mamas (if there were two) he does not say. (4) Commemorated in Greek church Sept. 23 (Cal. Armen.). MAMELCHTA or MAMELTA, martyr in Persia, probably in the 5th century; comme- morated Oct. 17 (Boll. Acta SS. Oct. viii. 53); assigned to Oct. 5 in Basil. Menol. [C. H.] MAMERTINUS, martyr with Marianus, monks at Auxerre, in the 5th century; comme- morated April 20 (Boll. Acta SS. Ap. ii. 759). [C. H.] MAMERTUS, bishop of Vienne and con- fessor after a.d. 475; commemorated May 11 (Hieron. Mart.; Usuard. Mart. ; Florus ap. Bed. Mart. ; Boll. Acta SS. May, ii. 629). [C. H.] MAMERUS, martyr; commemorated April 12 (Hieron. Mart.). [C. H.] MAMERUS, martyr; commemorated in Africa March 14 (Hieron. Mart.). [ C. H.] MAMILIANUS (1) or MAXIMILIANUS, martyr at Rome; commemorated March 12 (Boll. Acta SS. ii. 104). (2) Bishop of Panormus, probably in 5th cen- tury ; commemorated Sept. 15 (Boll. Acta SS. Sept. V. 45). [C. H.] MAMMARIA, martyr; commemorated in Mauritania Dec. 2 (Hieron. Mart.). [C. H.] MAMMARIUS, presbyter, martyr, a.d. 254 ; commemorated June 10 (Boll. Acta SS. June, ii. 268). [C. H.] MAMMARUS (1) Martyr in Phrygia ; com- memorated Nov. 6 (Hieron. Mart.). (2) Martyr in Africa; commemorated Dec. 1 (Hieron. Mart.). . [C. H.] MAMMAS (1) Martyr; commemorated at Tarragona Jan. 21 (Hieron. Mart.). (2) Female martyr; commemorated July 17 (Hieron. Mart.; Boll. Acta SS. July, iv. 220). [C. H.] MAMMERUS (1) Martyr; commemorated in Istria June 5 (Hieron. Mart.). (2) Martyr; commemorated in Africa Nov. 24 (Hieron. Mart.). [C. H.J MAMMES (1), Martyr at Caesarea ; comme- morated July 16 (Hieron. Mart. ; Bed. Mart. Auct.). (2) Martyr; commemorated Aug. 17. [Ma- mas.] [C. H.] MAMMITA and her companions, martyrs at Alexandria; commemorated Aug. 17 (Hieron. Mart.). [C. H.]