The designation Four Crowned Martyrs or Four Holy Crowned Ones (in Latin, Sancti Quatuor Coronati) actually refers to 9 separate martyrs, divided into two groups:
- Severus (or Secundius), Severian(us), Carpophorus (Carpoforus), Victorinus (Victorius, Vittorinus)
- Claudius, Castorius, Symphorian (Simpronian), Nicostratus, and Simplicius
According to the Golden Legend, the names of the members of the first group were not known at the time of their death “but were learned through the Lord’s revelation after many years had passed." They were called the "Four Crowned Martyrs" because their names were unknown ("crown" referring to the crown of martyrdom).
Read more about Four Crowned Martyrs: First Group, Second Group, Joint Veneration, Confusion and Conclusions, Basilica of Santi Quattro Coronati, Veneration, Depictions in Art
Famous quotes containing the words crowned and/or martyrs:
“Our haughty life is crowned with darkness,
Like London with its own black wreath,”
—William Wordsworth (1770–1850)
“No one can understand Paris and its history who does not understand that its fierceness is the balance and justification of its frivolity. It is called a city of pleasure; but it may also very specially be called a city of pain. The crown of roses is also a crown of thorns. Its people are too prone to hurt others, but quite ready also to hurt themselves. They are martyrs for religion, they are martyrs for irreligion; they are even martyrs for immorality.”
—Gilbert Keith Chesterton (1874–1936)