The Nicene Age · AD 313–400
Mutus
fl. c. AD 305 (death unrecorded) · Sand-quarry worker (harenarius) of Cirta · Cirta (Constantina), Numidia
The Nicene Age
Who Mutus was
A harenarius — a labourer in the sand-pits, the same trade that cut the catacombs — who carried Silvanus on his shoulders at the disputed consecration while the congregation was shut in the shed. Three witnesses confirmed it under oath. He is a named manual labourer at the physical centre of the event that began the Donatist schism, and he exists in no other source.
Named once, in the Gesta apud Zenophilum — the Cirta records of 19 May 303 and 13 December 320; no other ancient source names him.
Common questions
When was Mutus active?
Mutus is dated fl. c. AD 305 (death unrecorded) in the archive, which places Mutus in the Nicene Age (AD 313–400). The dating is traditional and approximate; the archive marks it as uncertain rather than fixing a year the sources do not give.
Which early sources mention Mutus?
Mutus is named in 1 primary-source passage catalogued here, drawn from Gesta apud Zenophilum. Every passage is quoted from a named public-domain translation, earliest first.
Where was Mutus from?
The archive associates Mutus with Cirta (Constantina), Numidia. The sources record more than one location, so the places are listed in the order the record moves through them.
Who were Mutus’ contemporaries?
The archive links Mutus to 3 other figures, including Silvanus of Cirta, Crescentianus and Saturninus. Each connection is drawn from a source that places them together, not from inference.
Primary-source mentions (1)
Every passage below is quoted from a named public-domain translation, earliest first.
The trial before Domitius Zenophilus, 13 December 320
c. AD 320Nundinarius said: ‘I saw Mutus the worker in the sand-quarries carry him on his shoulders.’ Zenophilus said to Saturninus: ‘Did it happen in this way?’ Saturninus said: ‘Yes, in this way.’Gesta apud Zenophilum · Gesta apud Zenophilum, trial of 13 December 320 · source text
Connected in the archive
People
Events in this lifetime
- AD 250 · The Decian persecution, AD 250
- AD 251 · The Novatianist schism, AD 251
- AD 257 · The Valerian persecution, AD 257
- AD 260 · Gallienus’ edict of toleration, AD 260
- AD 268 · Antioch deposes Paul of Samosata, AD 268
- AD 272 · Aurelian awards the Antioch church, AD 272
- AD 301 · Hripsime and her company, AD 301
- AD 303 · The Great Persecution begins, AD 303
- AD 303 · The search of the church at Cirta, AD 303
- AD 306 · The Council of Elvira, AD 306
- AD 311 · Galerius’ edict of Serdica, AD 311
- AD 313 · The Edict of Milan, AD 313
- AD 314 · The Council of Arles, AD 314
- AD 320 · Silvanus tried before Zenophilus, AD 320
Place
Places served
The 2 places the sources put Mutus, in the order the record moves through them. This is what the sources attest, not a reconstructed route.