Hieromartyr 5th century

Memorius & Companions

died 451

Also known as Nemorius the Deacon and five companions

A deacon of Troyes sent with five companions to plead with Attila, who had them all beheaded (451)

Feast Day

September 7

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Commemorated as

The Holy Hieromartyr Memorius the Deacon and his Companions, Martyrs of Troyes

Life

Memorius was a deacon of Troyes in Gaul who, according to tradition, was put to death together with several companions during the invasion of Gaul by Attila and the Huns in 451. He is commemorated on September 7, and his companions are remembered with him as a group of martyrs of the Troyes region.

By the traditional account, Memorius was sent by Saint Lupus, then bishop of Troyes, as part of a small delegation to petition Attila to spare the city. Rather than grant the plea, Attila ordered the envoys beheaded. The number of companions is given variously by the sources as four others, making a delegation of five, or as five companions; their individual names are not preserved.

The historical record surrounding Memorius is limited, and some sources note doubt about the precise details of the account. The episode is set against the wider campaign of 451, the same invasion in which Saint Lupus of Troyes is traditionally said to have confronted Attila and obtained the sparing of his city. Memorius is venerated as a saint of the undivided Church of the pre-schism West, and his commemoration appears among the Western martyrs kept on September 7.

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Historical Setting

The martyrdom is dated to 451, the year Attila led the Huns westward into Gaul. The campaign culminated in the Battle of the Catalaunian Plains, and several cities of the region preserved traditions of intercession, escape, or martyrdom from that summer. Troyes itself is associated with the figure of its bishop, Saint Lupus, whose dealings with Attila became part of the city's memory.

Within this setting, the account of Memorius presents him as a clergyman drawn into a diplomatic errand on behalf of his bishop. Because the surviving record is sparse, the tradition is best read as preserving the memory of clergy who perished during the Hunnic incursion rather than as a detailed chronicle.

Sources: Roman Martyrology