XANTEN (Ad Sanctos). — In the Rhineland (Germany). It stands on the site of the ancient “Colonia Traiana,” founded by the Emperor of that name.
The present city of X. developed around the revered tomb of the martyr Vittore; indeed, X. is merely a derivative of “ad sanctos.” Gregory of Tours relates that his colleague Ebregesilo, bishop of Cologne, founded a basilica for the martyr Malloso, whose tomb had been found near the “oppidum Bertensium” (present-day Birten, 3 km north of X.), and that the tomb of the martyr Vittore was also there, although his body had not yet been found (In gloria martyrum, 62). In the Hieronymian Martyrology, Mallosus and Victor appear under 10 October. Around the tomb of the latter, a pagan burial ground and a Christian cemetery developed, and a basilica was built over his tomb, subsequently renovated several times.
During work carried out in 1933, ancient masonry and sarcophagi were discovered beneath the floor of the sacred building; a cell was identified which formed the nucleus of the Basilica, with an altar, beneath which two skeletons enclosed in a wooden chest were found; a coin recovered there dates from the reign of Theodosius I (379–95). The church was enlarged around the time of Pippin, and a coin of his was also found; somewhat later the building was enlarged again, acquiring a nave 14 m long with a mosaic floor. After being plundered by the Normans in 864, the present Gothic church was subsequently built. — Vedi tav. CLVII.