JUGEMENT DE SAINTE DEVOTE
MONACO 1951

At first glance, this stamp appeared to be a scene which depicted a young innocent woman pleading for leniency possibly for the soldier that was lying prostrate next to the presiding roman governor or magistrate. There are images of twenty adults, one child and one toddler drawn into the scene along with the rest of the scenery. Lightly inscribed at the lower center of the image it reads, “Jugement De Sainte Devote.” The spelling of the word Jugement comes from the old French spelling, which is the official language of Monaco.

Upon searching the phrase inscribed the name Devote was found. “Saint Devota (French: Sainte Dévote died ca. 303 AD) is the patron saint of Corsica and Monaco. She was killed during the persecutions of Diocletian and Maximian.”

It’s noted on Ancient History Encyclopedia that, “Diocletian was Roman emperor from 284 to 305 CE” and on Encyclopedia Britannica is states that, “Maximian, Latin in full Marcus Aurelius Valerius Maximianus, (born c. ad 250, Sirmium, Pannonia Inferior—died 310, Massilia [now Marseille, France]), Roman emperor with Diocletian from ad 286 to 305.”

On wikipedia.org the article further describes the legend of the woman that this stamp appears to represent. Respectfully, the information on wikipedia.org further states it best that,

“Tradition holds that she was a Corsican woman born around 283 AD at Mariana. A young virgin, she had decided to devote herself fully to the service of God. Devota was part the household of senator Eutychius. During the Diocletian persecution, the prefect Barbarus arrived in Corsica with a fleet and when he learned that the senator was harboring a Christian in his house, demanded that she be given up and compelled to perform the requisite sacrifice to the imperial cult. Eutychius refused, and not wishing to confront him directly, Barbarus arranged to have him poisoned. Devota was imprisoned and tortured for her faith. Her mouth was crushed, and her body was dragged through rocks and brambles. She was martyred at Mariana by being racked or stoned to death.

After her death, the governor of the province ordered for her body to be burnt to prevent its veneration. However, it was saved from the flames by Christians. Her body was placed on a boat bound for Africa. Gratianus (Graziano), the boat's pilot Benedict (Benenato), a priest and Apollinaris, his deacon believed it would receive proper Christian burial there. However, a storm overtook the boat. A dove appeared and guided the boat to present-day Les Gaumates, today part of the Principality of Monaco, where a chapel dedicated to Saint George stood. In her honor a chapel was built, which stands in Monaco still. Traditionally, flowers are said to bloom before their season on January 27, the saint's feast day.”

On this stamp it has the words Anno Santo on the right side above center, which translated from Italian means Holy Year. The stamp has a date of 1951.

In an article on reuters.com it states that “A Holy Year, also known as a Jubilee, usually happens once every 25 years, unless a pope calls an extraordinary one to call attention to a particular issue or celebrate a momentous event.”

Coincidentally, in another article on wikipedia.org is states that,

“In the Catholic Church, a jubilee is a special year of remission of sins and universal pardon. In Leviticus, a jubilee year (Hebrew: יובל‎ yūḇāl) is mentioned to occur every 50th year, during which slaves and prisoners would be freed, debts would be forgiven and the mercies of God would be particularly manifest.”

The year 1950 was also considered a jubilee year. It brings up the question about the design of this stamp and does it coincide with the special year in remembrance of the sins committed by early leaders of the Roman Empire?

In the background there is a statue that appears to be the image of a man strangling a goose. In a 2006 article by Brunilde S. Ridgway at Bryn Mawr College offers the analyses “The Boy Strangling The Goose: Genre Figure or Mythological Symbol?”

In the abstract section it states that, “Kunze has suggested that Hellenistic sculpture depicting themes of everyday activities that are traditionally classified as genre subjects may carry very different meanings. This note argues that, in Graeco-Roman terms, the chubby personage in depictions of the Boy Strangling the Goose is not simply a child but the personification of Dionysos/Harpokrates the goose is not a household pet but an evil spirit over which the Divine Child triumphs. The manner of the representation is Greek and can be read at a superficial level the deeper content is Egyptian and contains a symbolic message of rebirth and victory.”

On theoi.com it states that, “DIONYSOS (Dionysus) was the Olympian god of wine, vegetation, pleasure, festivity, madness and wild frenzy.” The story of Harpokrates states that, “Harpocrates (Ancient Greek: Ἁρποκράτης) was the god of silence, secrets and confidentiality in the Hellenistic religion developed in Ptolemaic Alexandria (and also an embodiment of hope, according to Plutarch). Harpocrates was adapted by the Greeks from the Egyptian child god Horus, who represented the newborn sun, rising each day at dawn. Harpocrates's name was a Hellenization of the Egyptian Har-pa-khered or Heru-pa-khered, meaning "Horus the Child." wikipedia.org.

Referring to the Hellenistic period, mymodernmet.com notes it as “an era in Ancient Greece that lasted from 323 BCE to 31 CE.” A Greek sculptor, Boethus during the 2nd century BCE, during the Hellinistic age, created the sculpture of the boy with the goose.

This stamp clearly implies a deeper meaning then what might be seen at first glance. On the far left there is a darker character drawn as well as in the background on the right behind two other men. It might be possible that these characters are depicted as whispering false assertions against Devote to incite the crowd to require a jugement against this innocent young woman.

Although stamps are useful for mailing letters it seems that they can also carry a deeper implication of historical events.

Referenced Articles

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Devota

https://www.ancient.eu/Diocletian/

https://www.britannica.com/biography/Maximian

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-pope-holyyear-factbox/factbox-what-is-a-roman-catholic-holy-year-idUSKBN0TN0SO20151204

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jubilee_in_the_Catholic_Church

https://repository.brynmawr.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1086&c arch_pubs

https://www.theoi.com/Olympios/Dionysos.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harpocrates

https://mymodernmet.com/what-is-hellenistic-sculpture-history/