Enciclopedia Cattolica Vol. VIII, 1952 History & biography Historians, various biographies

Melania the Elder

MELANIA SENIORE

Italian original Cite

Also known as: Saint Melania the Elder

MELANIA THE ELDER. - Roman noble matron of Spanish origin, b. in Rome in 349-50, d. in Jerusalem on June 8, 410. She married the illustrious Valerius Maximus at a very young age. At 22 she was left a widow with a six-year-old son, whom she left in the care of a guardian in order to go to Palestine and dedicate the remainder of her life to recollection and prayer.

In 378 she built a monastery on the Mount of Olives and gathered fifty virgins around her. After about 30 years' stay in the East, she returned to Rome, to confirm her granddaughter, Melania the Younger (v.), in her ascetic resolve. During the journey she stopped at Nola, to greet the bishop Paulinus. In 403 she again left Italy for Jerusalem.

Bibliography3 works

BIBL.: Tillemont, X, pp. 591-613, 821-24; M. Rampolla, S. Melania Giuniore, Rome 1905, pp. 93-105; W. H. Fremantle, s. v. in Dictionary of Christian biography, III, p. 888 ff.

Emanuele Romanelli

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By Emanuele Romanelli

How we know signed in print

Translated from the Enciclopedia Cattolica, vol. VIII (1952), coll. 630–631.

More by Emanuele Romanelli: Melania the Younger, Saint · Mellitus, Saint · Medard, Saint · Menas, Patriarch of Constantinople, Saint · Mennon, Bishop of Ephesus

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Chicago

Romanelli, Emanuele. “Melania Seniore.” In Enciclopedia Cattolica, vol. VIII, coll. 630–631. Città del Vaticano: Ente per l’Enciclopedia Cattolica e per il Libro Cattolico, 1952. https://azioneromana.com/article/melania-seniore.

MLA

Romanelli, Emanuele. “Melania Seniore.” Enciclopedia Cattolica, vol. VIII, Ente per l’Enciclopedia Cattolica e per il Libro Cattolico, 1952, coll. 630–631. Azione Romana, https://azioneromana.com/article/melania-seniore.

BibTeX

@incollection{ec8_melania_seniore,
  author    = {Romanelli, Emanuele},
  title     = {Melania Seniore},
  booktitle = {Enciclopedia Cattolica},
  volume    = {VIII},
  pages     = {630--631},
  note      = {Cited by column},
  publisher = {Ente per l’Enciclopedia Cattolica e per il Libro Cattolico},
  address   = {Città del Vaticano},
  year      = {1952},
  url       = {https://azioneromana.com/article/melania-seniore}
}

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