Einhard and the Historia Augusta (original) (raw)
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Since its coinage in the nineteenth century, the concept of Carolingian renaissance has been primarily based on the revival of classical texts promoted by Charlemagne and his successors. Among the positive consequences of Carolingian classicism is the careful - if discreet - preservation of the text of Lucretius' De Rerum Natura, which survives in three valuable ninth-century manuscripts. Whereas rigorous philological studies of these manuscripts have been offered, little attention has been paid to their role in, and connection with, the reception of Lucretius in ninth-century literature. It has been generally assumed that for the Carolingians the DRN was essentially a source for grammatical and metrical usage, and extensive efforts have been made to distinguish between direct and indirect quotations of Lucretian lines. In the present paper, I shall adopt a different approach, starting from the observation that the diffusion of DRN in ninth-century Europe coincided with an increasing interest in its content. I shall argue that a deeper understanding of Lucretius' Carolingian reception can be achieved if one overcomes the dichotomies usually maintained by the philological Quellenforschung, as such dichotomies tend to overshadow the historically and culturally specific features of the early medieval practice of 'imitatio'. By endorsing the perspective of intertextual studies, reception theory, and rhetorical criticism, I shall point out a so far unrecognized 'imitatio Lucretii' in the astronomical work (Liber de Astronomia) of the Irishman Dicuil, whose allusions to Lucretius -particularly to the cosmological treatment of Book 5, the so-called "apology" of Book 1 (921-950 = 4.1-25), and the calf argument of Book 2 (352-366) - are representative of the peculiarities of Carolingian reading culture. N.B. These are the uncorrected proofs of the above-mentioned article.
The Orosius in King Alfred’s Court: A Ninth-Century Historical Renaissance
UBC Okanagan Faculty of Creative and Critical Studies/UBC Okanagan Library, 2012
This paper compares Paulus Orosius’ original Historiarum Adversum Paganos Libri VII (hereafter Historiarum) with its anonymous ninth century Old English vernacular translation (hereafter Orosius), in order to examine how the Anglo-Saxon author’s inclusion of additional narrative elements, such as the voyages of Ohthere and Wulfstan, overshadows the original’s moralistic imperative. Deborah VanderBilt argues that in addition to composing new narrative dialogue delivered by Orosius ‘the author’, the Anglo-Saxon translator cuts “nearly all of the sections in which [the Historiarum] engages in rhetorical argument or polemic” (379). In her own edition of the Old English text, Janet Bately further contends that Orosius’ original Historiarum, though still geographically and historically significant, is, in the end, a polemical argument that Christianity is not to blame for the downfall of Rome (xciii). While the original's Christian moral is still present in the Old English Orosius, it is generally engulfed by new and/or ratified narrative components, which the translator uses as vessels in which to explore the nature of hardship, history, war and the northern Germanic homeland, rather than the socio-cultural impact of Roman Christianity in late antiquity. Ultimately, I will show how the author of the Old English Orosius is more interested in periphrastically bringing the history and geography of the original text into concurrence with his own age than explicating the veracity and superiority of the Christian faith, as per the mandate of the Latin original.
C arolingian learning was deeply engaged with the past. Classical, especially Roman history, provided Carolingian intellectuals with a context for interpreting texts, and it also guided them in conceptualizing more recent and contemporary events. Turning to the past to seek moral lessons, cultural and political models, and roots of ethnic identity, early medieval scholars engaged in a dialogue with ancient authorities, ideas, and heroes. Recent studies have demonstrated how skilfully and deliberately Carolingian scholars worked with their sources in order to understand and make use of the past. 1 How did Carolingians acquire and practise the ideas and techniques that enabled their approach to studying and writing history? The medieval system of education and learning that essentially followed classical traditions did not give history the status of an 1 Studies of the uses and perceptions of the past in the Carolingian world continue the trend that began several decades ago when scholars shifted their focus in studying medieval historical texts and exploring the ways in which their authors constructed the past.
Revista Signum, 2018
This article is a follow-up on the recent editio princeps of the Pauca de barbarismo collecta de multis, a Carolingian grammar on the traditional topic of the uitia et uirtutes orationis. Here are some observations on questions that have remained open and suggestions for further research. As for the authorship of the treatise, here it is suggested that the most likely author is Clemens Scottus, master of the palace school in the early ninth century. It is still doubtful whether Clemens also wrote one of two extant grammars on the parts of speech. The second question concerns the position of a Bamberg manuscript within the tradition of this treatise. It is cautiously suggested that the branch in which this manuscript belongs is the product of a revision. The third question concerns the relationship between the Pauca de barbarismo and some ninth-century commentaries on Aelius Donatus’ Ars maior. Our treatise is earlier but more research is needed to clarify its position within this group of analogous texts.