Anonymous Valezia ( Anonymus Valesianus ), also Excerpta Valesiana I and II - the conventional name of the Latin text, which was first published by the French scholar Henri de Valois ( Latin Henricus Valesius , 1603-1676) in the appendix to his edition of Ammianus Marcellinus (1636). The title does not quite accurately reflect the content of the text, since in fact we are talking about two different compositions that have nothing in common with each other, except that both are related to the history of late antiquity. The texts come from a medieval manuscript of the VIII or IX century, created in Verona, which is now stored in the State Library in Berlin (MS Philipps 1885, f. 30v - 36 v).
Excerpt I
The passage I is also known as the Origin of Emperor Constantini ( Origo Constantini Imperatoris ) and is dedicated to the history of Emperor Constantine the Great . The unknown author was a pagan and wrote shortly after the death of the emperor in 337. Presumably, he used as one of the sources the biography of Konstantin, compiled by Praxagoras of Athens, now lost, but still known to Zonara . At the same time, The Origins of Constantine has much in common with the works of other late Antique authors, such as Eutropius and Aurelius Victor . Most likely, they used the same sources. Later, several inserts of a Christian character were made into the text, mainly, probably, borrowed from the history of Orosius .
The author was well aware of the state activities and personal life of Konstantin, and many of the information he provided was not found anywhere else. Information about Konstantin’s early life is especially important: the author confirms that Konstantin was born in Naiss , reports data on the career of his father, Constantius , on the departure of Constantine to his father in Britain [1] .
Excerpt II
Theodore Mommsen called the second passage the “Theodorich Chronicle” ( Chronica Theodericiana ). This essay is dedicated to the history of Italy, from the reign of Julius Nepot to the death of the Ostrogothic king Theodorich the Great . Theodorich Chronicle is one of the most important sources in the history of Ostrogothic Italy. An anonymous author (possibly two authors, since the text traces two different assessments of Theodorich’s personality) wrote around the middle of the VI century and was opposed to Arianism . The creator of the chronicle lived in Ravenna or, at least, had a special interest in this city [2] .
Describing the events associated with the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476, the author does not recognize the legitimacy of the power of Julius Nepot and believes that with his flight from Ravenna, he virtually ceased to be emperor. Some of the information reported in this passage is unique and is not contained in any other sources [3] . Among them is a mention of the further fate of Romulus Augustul .
Although the author praises the policy of unity between the Romans and the Goths, which pursued Theodoric, in the end, he evaluates his personality negatively, condemning the brutal execution of Boethius on the orders of the king. “King Theodorich,” the author reports, “was illiterate and so dumb that for ten years he could not learn the four letters of the signature under his edict. Therefore, he ordered a gold plate with slots and four letters LEGI; if he wanted to sign, then put the tablet on the parchment and held it with a pen, so it seemed like it was his signature ” [4] .
Notes
- ↑ Lieu SNC, Montserrat D. From Constantine to Julian: Pagan and Byzantine Views. A Source History. New York 1996.P. 40.
- ↑ Ward-Perkins B. From classical antiquity to the Middle Ages: urban public building in northern and central Italy, AD 300-850. Oxford University Press, 1984. P. 115-116, 160-161.
- ↑ Wes MA Das Ende des Kaisertums im Westen des Römischen Reichs / Aus dem Holländischen übertr. v. KE Mittring. 's-Gravenhage, 1967. P. 66-68.
- ↑ Igitur rex Theodericus illiteratus erat et sic obtuso sensu, ut in decem annos regni sui quattuor litteras subscriptionis edicti sui discere nullatenus potuisset. De qua re laminam auream iussit interrasilem fieri, quattuor litteras "legi" habentem; unde si subscribere voluisset, posita lamina super chartam, per eam pennam ducebat, ut subscriptio eius tantum videretur.
Editions and translations (in chronological order)
- Origo Constantni imperatoris sive Anonymi Valesiani pars prior; Anonymi Valesiani pars posterior // Monumenta Germaniae Historica . Auctores antiquissimi. Vol. IX: Chronica minora Saec. IV. V. VI. VII. Vol. I. Berolini, 1892. P. 1-11; 259, 306—328 online
- Excerpta Valesiana / Ed. J. Moreau. Leipzig, 1961
- König I. Origo Constantini: Anonymus Valesianus 1. Verl. Trierer Histor. Forchungen. Trier 1987 (German translation, commentary).
- Lieu SNC, Montserrat D. From Constantine to Julian: Pagan and Byzantine Views. A Source History. New York 1996. P. 39-62 (only Origo Constantini Imperatoris; transl. By Jane Stevenson) ISBN 0-415-09335-X
- König I. Aus der Zeit Theoderichs des Großen. Einleitung, Text, Übersetzung und Kommentar einer anonymen Quelle. Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft, Darmstadt 1997.
- Anonymous Valezia. Extracts / per. V. M. Tyuleneva // Forms of historical consciousness from late antiquity to the Renaissance (Studies and texts). Collection of scientific works in memory of Claudia Dmitrievna Avdeeva. Ivanovo Ivanovo State University. 2000.
Literature
- Adams JN The Text and Language of a Vulgar Latin Chronicle (Anonymus Valesianus II). BICS Suppl. 36. London 1976.
- Barnes TD Jerome and the Origo Constantini Imperatoris // Phoenix 43 (1). 1989. P. 158—161
- Barnish SJB The Anonymus Valesianus II as a Source for the Last Years of Theoderic // Latomus. Vol. 42. 1983. P. 572-596.
- Mensching E. Anonymus Valesianus // Reallexikon der Germanischen Altertumskunde (RGA). Bd. 1, S. 344f.
- Sirotenko V. T. Introduction to the history of international relations in Europe in the second half of the IV - beginning of the VI centuries. Part I. Sources. Perm, 1973.
- Kozlov A. S. The social aspect of the information of “Anonymous Valezia” // Antiquity and the Middle Ages. - Yekaterinburg: Publishing House Ural. University, 2011. - Vol. 40 . - S. 40-59 .
- Goltz, Andreas. Barbar - König - Tyrann. Das Bild Theoderichs des Großen in der Überlieferung des 5.bis 9. Jahrhunderts. Berlin; Boston, 2008, S. 476-526. ISBN 9783110210125 .