The pseudepigraphical Passio sanctorum Petri et Pauli (Passion of Saints Peter and Paul) is a late version of the martyrdoms of the two apostles, which claims to have been written by a certain Marcellus, thus the anonymous author, of whom nothing further is known, is referred to as the "pseudo-Marcellus". The intended Marcellus is doubtless he who after the martyrdom takes the lead in burying St. Peter "near the Naumachia in the place called the Vatican."[1]
The so-called Epistle of Pontius Pilate is often inserted into the Pseudo-Marcellus Passio sanctorum Petri et Pauli . The Passio, which appears in numerous medieval manuscripts,[2] was known to Jacobus de Voragine who noted in his vita[3] of the Apostle Peter, "His martyrdom wrote Marcellus, Linus pope, Hegesippus, and Leo the pope." There are two Old English analogues, Ælfric's Passio Apostolorum Petri et Pauli and the anonymous Blickling Homily 15, Spel Be Petrus & Paulus.[4]