Vincent of Saragossa

Vincent of Saragossa (d. 304), deacon and proto-Martyr of Spain. Vincent, trained by Valerius, bishop of Saragossa, is known almost exclusively through his martyrdom. Of its fact there can be no doubt, but of its manner there is much room for speculation. The earliest witness was Prudentius; while Augustine said, in a sermon in memory of the martyr, that his cult extended all over the Roman Empire and wherever the name of Christ was known. The Legend is old but not an eye-witness account. According to this, Vincent was a victim of the persecution caused by the edicts of Diocletian and Maximian. First he was imprisoned and weakened by semistarvation. Then he was commanded to sacrifice, but he refused. Then he was racked, roasted on a gridiron, thrown into prison, and set in stocks. He died as a result of his sufferings.

Relics were claimed by Valencia and Saragossa, Lisbon, Paris, and Le Mans. While his cult in England is ancient, with mention in the OE Martyrology and plenty of pre-Conquest calendars for his usual feast, Abingdon (whose substantial relics of him were acquired in the 12th century by abbot Faricius), graded the feast extremely high with an octave. There are six ancient church dedications to him in England. In art he is often represented as a deacon holding a palm or else suffering the torture of the gridiron. This feature of his passion was afterwards appropriated to Laurence.

In Burgundy and elsewhere he is patron of vine-growers and wine-makers through his believed efficacy in protecting against the frosts which often occur on or near his feast-day. Feast: 22 January.

Bibliography
Click here for a list of abbreviations used in this bibliography.

• Prudentius, Peristephanon, v; Augustine, sermons, pp. 274–7, P.L., xxxviii. 1252–68; Ps-Leo, Sermon XII, P.L., liv. 501–6; AA.SS. Jan II (1643), 393–414; L. de Lagger, S. Vincent de Saragosse (1927); H. Delehaye, Les Origines du culte des martyrs (1993), pp. 367–8; R.P.S.; C.S.P