Rufinus and Valerius, Roman tax collectors who converted to Christianity and were martyred at Soissons during the Diocletian persecution in 287, are honored by the Roman martyrology on this date.

They’re saints of a lesser firmament, although Rufinus has a spot of archaeological distinction as the intercessor honored on the Darenth Bowl, a beautiful fifth-century glass artifact that somehow survived to us intact. (Note, however, that there are 11 saints Rufinus.)

They figure indirectly in one of the martyrology’s recurrent themes, the Saul-like conversion of Roman persecutors to the Christian faith: Rufinus and Valerius were held to have been martyred by the Roman prefect Rictius Varus,* who presents as a recurrent tormenter of Christians and in the martyrology arrives to dispatch our taxmen straightaway after doing the same to future Shakespeare monologue superstars Crispin and Crispinian.

In fact, Rictius Varus figures in no fewer than nine late third century martyrologies, compassing 20+ champions of the faith … the last of whom was the great Saint Lucy who is said to have induced Varus to embrace the same persecution and suffer martyrdom right along with her.

* Sometimes rendered Rictiovarus or Rixiovarus. He is no relation to the Varus from the Battle of Teutoburg Forest: that (in)famous man‘s cognomen was not Varus, but Quinctilius.

On this day..

• 2000: Qader Aktar Hassan, Anis Qassem Dahnassi and Fatima Yussef al-Din Sayed
• 1884: Seven anarchists of La Mano Negra
• 1797: Thomas Starr, penknife murderer
• 1816: Philip Street
• 1662: Sir Henry Vane, Commonwealth parliamentarian
• 1972: Sanong Phobang, Thanoochai Montriwat, and Jumnian Jantra
• 1897: Choka Ebin, by his own relatives
• 2001: Jay Scott, trend-setter
• 1381: Simon of Sudbury and Robert Hales during Wat Tyler's peasant rebellion
• 1441: Corrado Trinci, Lord of Foligno
• 2008: Anandrao Sainu Koram, Naxalite informer
• 1856: Dr. William Palmer, the Rugeley Poisoner