Romaiius, the name of a number of saints of the Roman Catholic Church.
1. RoMANUs Thaumaturgus, said to have lived at Antioch in the 5th century, to have led a very abstemi- ous life in a cave — partaking of only bread, salt, and water, and never kindling a tire — and to have wrought many wonders. His day is Feb. 9.
2. An archbishop of Rheims (530), a reputed relative of pope Vigilius, said to have been at first a monk and to have built a monastery in the neighborhood of Troves, which was confirmed by Clodowig I. His death took place in 533 or 534. His anniversary is Feb. 28.
3. An abbot of the convent of Jaux, in Burgundy, who is said to have been born near the end of the 4th century and to have been consecrated priest by Hilary, the bishop of Aries. It is related that he retired into solitude at the age of thirty-five; that he introduced the hermit life into France, built cells and convents, and healed the sick through prayer and the kiss. He died in 460, and his day is also Feb. 28.
4. Albert and Domitian, said to have been mar- tyred at Rome. Their alleged remains were exhumed in Rome in 1059 and placed in the Jesuit church at Antwerp. They are commemorated March 14.
5. A monk in the diocese of Auxerre and Sens in the Cth century, who was divinely instructed to go from devastated Italy to France, and there built monasteries, converted many people to a monastic life, and wrought miracles. His relics are preserved at Sens. His day is May 22.
6. An archbishop of Rouen (622) said to belong to the royal family of France, of whom the legend relates that when a monster which devoured man and beast ravaged the city of Rouen, he provided a criminal who was awaiting death with the symbol of the cross and commanded him to remove the monster. The result was that the monster followed like a tame animal, and was burned. Romanus is said to have died in 639, and is commemorated on the reported date of his death, Oct. 23, and also on ]May 30.
7. A martyr, alleged to have been baptized by St. Laurent and to have been beheaded under Decius, A.D. 255. Commemorated Aug. 9.
8. A deacon of Ciesarea, martyred under Diocletian, to whom Nov. 18 is assigned.
9. A reputed priest of Bordeaux whose death is fixed in 318, of whom the legend states that many wonders
were wrought through his prayers, particularly that of rescuing shipwrecked persons. His day is Nov. 24.
See Ausfuhrl. Heiliyen-Lex., with Calendar (Cologne and Frankf. 1719), p. 1928 sq.; Les Vies cl. Saints, etc. (Par. 1734), i, 243 ; ii, 101 — Herzog, Real-Encykl. s! v.
Romanus, Pope in A.D. 897, reigned only four months and twenty-three days. A single letter is all that history has preserved of his remains, and the only remarkable event of his pontificate was his disapproval of the indignities inflicted by his predecessor, Stephen VI, on the lifeless boily of Formosus I (891-896). See the article. Romanus abrogated the unjust decrees of his predecessor, by which all the acts of Formosus had been declared void, and confirmed the consecrations and other pontiflcal acts which had been so nullified. See Bower, hires of the Popes, v, 7 1-73; Baronius, Annales, A.D. 891-896. — Wetzer u. Welte, Kirchen-Lex. s. v.
Rombouts, DiRCK, a Flemish historical painter, was born at Antwerp July 1, 1597. A pupil of Jansen's, he inherited the hatred of his master for Rubens, and opened a rival school. In 1617 he went to Italy, where his reputation was soon established, and he was called to the court of the grand-duke Cosmo II. He returned to Antwerp, where he spent the rest of his life. He was master of the Guild of St. Luke and held municipal offices. He died in 1637. The Takiny-down from the C'ross,St. Francis Receiving the Stiymata, and Themis with the Attributes of Justice show him to have pos- sessed the qualities of a great master. — Enylish Cy- clopcedia, s. v.
Rome (Piopr] [in Greek, strenyth; but probably from Romulus, the founder], expressly mentioned in tlic Bi- ble onlj' in the books of the Maccabees, and in Acts xviii, 2, etc. ; Rom. i, 7, 15 ; 2 Tim. i, 17 ; see also " Baby- lon," Rev. xiv, 8, etc.), the ancient capital of the Western world, and the present residence of the pope and capital of Italy. In the following brief account, we adhere in the main to the statements found in Kitto and Smith. See Roman Empire.
I. General Description. — Rome lies on the river Ti- ber, about fifteen miles from its mouth, in the plain of what is now called the Camjiagna (Felix ilia Campania, Pliny, Hist. Nat. iii, 6), in lat. h° 54' N., long. 12° 28' E. The country around the city, however, is not altogether a plain, but a sort of undulating table-land, crossed by hills, while it sinks towards the south-west to the marshes of Maremma, which coast the Mediterranean. In ancient geography, the country in the midst of which Rome lay was termed Latium, which, in the earliest times, comprised within a space of about four geograph- ical square miles the country lying between the Tiber and the Numicius, extending from the Alban Hills to the sea, having for its chief city Laurentum. The "seven hills" (Rev. xvii, 9) which formed the nucleus of the ancient city stand on the left (eastern) bank. On the opposite side of the river rises the far higher ridge of the Janiculum. Here from very early times was a fortress, with a suburb beneath it extending to the river. Modern Rome lies to the north of the an- cient cit}', covering with its principal portion the plain to the north of the seven hills, once known as the Cam- pus Martins, and on the opposite bank extending over the low ground beneath the Vatican to the north of the ancient Janiculum.