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Transcript of BARNISH, Martianus Capella and Rome in the Late Fifth Century
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Martianus Capella and Rome in the Late Fifth Century
Author(s): S. I. B. BarnishSource: Hermes, Vol. 114, No. 1 (1st Qtr., 1986), pp. 98-111Published by: Franz Steiner VerlagStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/4476480 .
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98 S. I. B. BARNISH
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MARTIANUS CAPELLA AND ROME
IN THE LATE FIFTH CENTURY
The author of the 'De Nuptiis Mercuriiet Philologiae', that strange
compoundof encyclopaedia,Platonicmyth,andMenippean atire,hasnever,
sincethe Dark Ages, beenmuchmorethan a nameto his readers.Fromhis
own words, we learnthat he was agedabout fifty, had a son, and was very
possiblya lawyer;from them, and his manuscripts, hat he was a nativeof
Carthagel. The ninth century commentator, Remigius of Auxerre, tells us
thathe dividedhis timebetweenCarthage,Rome,and Italy2.So latea source
canhardlybe reliedon, but we shallsee that the claimhas someplausibility.
I De Nupt.I.2, VI.577,IX.999(J. A. WILLIS'Teubner ext, Stuttgart1983,cited).2 Remigius,Comm.in Mart.Cap. I (ed. C. LUTZ, eiden1962),p. 66.
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MartianusCapellaand Romein the Late FifthCentury 99
Martianus'dateis a matter or speculation, hemorerecentof whichhasbeen
tendingtowardsthe later fifth century3.The terminusantequem is givenbyan edititionproduced n 534, the consulshipof Paulinus,in Rome, by Felix,rhetorof the city, and Deuteriushis pupil, working ad Portam Capenam4.Theearliestwriters o knowof, orto use himall belongafter 480. Inthe560s,Cassiodoruswasawareof hiswork,buthadneverreadhim5.Boethius' Con-solatioPhilosophiae' c. 524)showsparallels,verbal,metrical, tructural, ndthematic6; but the same author's 'De Musica' (c. 500) ignores him7.Ennodius' 'Paraenesis Didascalia' (c. 510) has some resemblances8.TheAfrican scholar, Fulgentius,whose 'Mythologiae'may possibly have been
writtenunderkingHilderic 523- 530) cites him in the 'ExpositioSermonumAntiquorum'9.The terminuspost quem is harder to establish. A possiblereference o the sack of Rome, in 410, is ambiguous 0.It can be argued, exsilentiisthatMartianuswaswriting aterthanthe 'Retractationes', r the 'DeCivitateDei' of Augustine but this seems rather enuous. In this article,Ishall try to show that the narrativedetail, and religious content of the 'DeNuptiis' give some support to the late fifth centurydate, and therebyshedlight on its political and culturalcontext, and the audiencefor whichit waswritten.
Whenthe CapitolineTriad debate on the marriageof Mercury,Minervaadvises augustius quoquefieri Ioviale decretum, cum coetu deorum attestante
depromitur, ipsamque (sc. Philologiam) nupturam deo convenire non posse,
nisi superi senatus consulto mortalis esse desineret12. A divine councilon the
3 Cf. J. A. WILLIS, ed. cit., p.V, n. 1, and:MartianusCapellaunddiemittelalterliche chul-bildung,Das Altertum19, 1973, 165; L. LENAZ, Nota a Mart.Cap. I, Latomus39, 1980,735;D. SHANZER,A Philologicaland PhilosophicalComm.on Martianus.. Book I (unpublishedD. Phil. diss.)Oxford1980,1- 25, summarizedn Beitrage urGeschichte erDeutschenSpra-che undLiteratur 04, 1982, 111(review).
4 On thissubscription, ivenby WILLIS, ed. cit., p. 28, cf. J. PRtAUX, SecUrusMeliorFelix,Instrumenta atrist.11, 1975, 101 121.Justpossibly,Paulinuswas the consulof 498 (cf. DERossi, Inscr.Christ.Urb. Rom.L.L.,p. 475f.), butFelix s also attested n 527.
s Institutiones II.ii.17, iii.20.6 Cf. J. GRUBER, Komm.zu Boethius De Cons. Phil. (Berlin1978),17f.; H. Chadwick,
Boethius,Oxford1981,22,224,232,235,297; HANZER,Op.cit. 11,35f., 42.7 Cf. SHANZER, p. cit. 11f.8 Cf. ibid. 12.9 Expos.45;cf. J. MARTINDALE,Prosopography f the LaterRomanEmpire I, Cambridge
1980,488, on Myth.,praef. ButR. HELM, DerBischofFulgentiusundderMythograph,Rhein.Mus.54, 1899, 117- 26, argues trongly or a date underGunthamund484-96).
10 Cf. WILLIS, art.cit. 165,SHANZER,op. cit. 7, againstM. CAPPUYNS,inDict.d'Hist.et Geog. Ecclesiastique l (Paris1947),483,on DeNupt.VI.637, psacaputgentiumRoma .. quam-diu viguit, caeli vestri (DICK readcaeliferis) laudibus conferenda.
I Thus,SHANZER,Op. Cit. 14- 18.12 De Nupt.I.40.
7.
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100 S. I. B. BARNISH
admissionor status of a new deity was no literarynovelty. Lucianhad used it
in the 'ConciliumDeorum',and Julian n his 'Caesares'3. More mportantly,
Seneca, n the 'Apocolocyntosis',andApuleius, a fellow African, n the 'Me-
tamorphoses',had given it the form of a meeting of the Roman Senate4.
However, the use which Martianusmakes of the theme is notably updated,
andhas no clear parallel n lateantiquity' . The SenecanSenatehad debated
thequestion n order,and voted on it by division pedibus),under he discreet,
and not always effortless presidencyof Jupiter, in a manner familiar to
readersof Tacitus. In Martianus,Jupiteralone puts a sententia, in a single
speech, censendum, superi; and they immediatelydo so (in suffragiumconcitatur), ombiningvote and opinions n anacclamation,withthe additionthat other distinguishedmortals should be named designati caelites, to
become deorum curialesafter death. With Jove's consent, Philosophiais
commanded o publishthesenatusconsultumon bronzetablets,per urbeset
compita'6.So too, new senators,adlectedby theemperor,probablyhad to be
voted in by the Senateitself 7. So too, in 438, the 'TheodosianCode' was
put for confirmationby a representative f the emperor,and acceptedby
senatorial acclamations. These added riders on its preservation and
distribution,which were in turn accepted by the emperors18. The second
meetingof Martianus'Senate, held the following day, to receivethe bride,does have some debate:first, on whetherproceedings an be shortenedby
admittingany of Philologia's dowryof attendantsunexamined; econd, on
whether the scrutinyof the dowrywhich she herselfbringscan legally be
deferreduntil the day after the marriage.Jupiterrefersthe latterpoint to
Saturn, for an expert juristic opinion19. The late Roman Senate was
sometimesusedasa court,andmightwellbeexpected o assist heemperorby
discussing egal questions20.
13 Cf. SHANZER, p. cit. 36-8.
14 Cf. ibid. NoticehowbothSenecaand Martianusmakecomicplaywiththesenatorialecre-
taries Apocol.ix.2, De Nupt. 1.65,89).Apuleius' oetuscoelestium Met.VI.23) s a contioheld
incaelesti heatro;but Jupiter ddresseshe assembly s Dei conscriptiMusarum lbo.Note Psy-
che, in De Nupt. I.6f.Is Cf. Claudian, De Raptu Pros. III.1 -66. This council has some parallels with the De
Nupt., butis notpresented s senatorial.Cf., also, Sidonius,Carm.vii (Pan. Aviti),17 f., 598 f.16 De Nupt. 1.91 6.
17 Cf. A. H. M. JONES,TheLaterRomanEmpire,Oxford1973,531 ., 541;Cassiodorus,Or-
do GenerisCassiodororum, .7f. (ed. MOMMSEN,MGH,Auct. Ant. XII, p. Vf.), thoughthisindicatesa commendatorypeechby a senator,perhapsas the ruler'srepresentative.18 GestaSenatus,Cod. Theod.(ed. MOMMSEN/MEYER,Berlin 1905), pp. 1 -4.
19 De Nupt. IX.888 - 98.20 Cf. below S. 103, JONES, Op. cit. 331f., 506f., J. B. BURY, History of the Later Roman
Empire , London 1923,21 f.
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MartianusCapellaand Romein the LateFifthCentury 101
Martianus'narrative, hen, seemsto be generally onsistentwith theprac-tice of the later empire. It may even serve as evidence for the procedurewhen a senatorialmeetingwasheldin theimperialpresence,ourknowledgeofwhich s rather canty. Totalconsistency,however, s too muchto expect.Forinstance,Jupiterpublica et quae senatum contracturus ssumitindumenta.
These garments,though, are impossible for mortals, and are inventedasreligious and cosmological symbols21.Hence, we cannot deduce that theemperorwore a specialdress n the Senate.Again,amonghumans,at least, asenatorial debate on apotheosis was a remote anachronism;and, in thisrespect,the 'De Nuptiis'had no immediate elevance o contemporaryife22.
The authoris moreinterested n the divinethanin the terrestrialworld.Nonetheless, we may be able to find some independent estimonyto the
functions and observancesof the Senate, and thus, with due caution, tonarrow down the date at which he wrote. First, the place of senatorialassembly.In the 'De Nuptiis',unlikethe Curiaof the 'Apocolocyntosis', hisis the palaceof Jupiter23. imilarly, n thetime of JohnLydus,theConstanti-nopolitanSenatemet in the imperialpalace,and not, as once, in a hall of itsown24.Evenunder he Ostrogoths,however, ts Romancounterpart tillmet,as a rule,in theCuriaof Diocletian25.Privatehousesmightalso, perhaps,be
used,as earliern the tTheodosianCode'session;andit is possible hat, whena king,or a lateemperorvisitedthecity, he sometimes onvened heSenate none of hispalaces.But, whenTheodericarrived n 500, heprobablyaddressedit in the Curia26.Moreover,as we shall see, Martianus s far moreconcernedwith the western, hanwith theeastern,capital. All the same, the locationhegives s some slight ndicationof a date in thelate fifth, oreven theearlysixth,century.
The divine Senate of the 'De Nuptiis' seems a particularly arge andcomprehensive ody. It has its seniormembers- the Dei Consentes,whose
namesare one of Jupiter's tate secrets, andthe twelve Enniandeities of theRoman pantheon - but it includes omnis ... populus potestatum. Their
names are announcedby Fama, as herald, and they are seated in order of
21 De Nupt. I.66;cf. S~ANzER, p.cit. 185ff.22 Butnote thatdeademperorswerestill formallydivi. Sidoniuscould evenshowthem as
increasing he divorumnumerum Carm. 11.317f.,cf. 210); while, in Africa and elsewhere,vestigesof theimperialprovincial ultsurvived mongtheChristian entryevenintothe6th.c.(cf. A. CHASTAGNOL/N.UVAL,n: M6langes ffertsAW. Seston,Paris1974,pp. 87- 118).
23
De Nupt.I.63,97,11.208;Apocol.viii.l, ix.l.24 De Magistratibus.9.25 Cf. CILVI.1794,L. TRAUBE,ndex o MGH,Auct.Ant. XII, p. 507, s. v. Libertatis tria
etc.26 AnonymusValesianus 6: he addressed he people ad Palmamnearby,aftervisiting he
Senate.
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102 S. I. B. BARNISH
rank27. n his accountof the secondsenatorialmeeting,Martianusmay some-timesrefer to the minor deitiesas if they were an equivalentof the people,
assisting at a major imperialceremony28.However, in the debate on the
examination f the dowry,ruricolaeomnescunctiquefluctigenae, uamplures
etiamassensereastrilucidivi to the insinuatioof Venus29.Now, during the
fifth century, the earthlySenates declined in numbers.By laws of c. 450,
attendancewasdiscouraged,houghnot forbidden, ospectabilesandclarissi-
mi, while those living in the provinceswere excluded from the praetorship.
UnderJustinianandtheOstrogoths,only illustresmightenterthe Senateand
sententiamdicere,a changewhichmay go backwellintothefifthcentury30.fMartianuss herereflecting omething ikecontemporary ractice,we should
bewareof datinghim too many yearsafter 450.
Yet, we should also notice that spectabilescontinued to be allowed
membershipof the consistorium31.While Martianus almost always uses
senatorialterminology or his assembly,he twice calls it a consistorium32*
This may give another indicationof date. During the fifth century, that
imperialcouncil ost someof its distinction; ts functionsand topicsof debate
cameto overlapwiththoseof theSenate;and,eventually,meetingsof thetwo
bodieswere sometimescombined,on occasion for imperial levations,or the
hearing of law-suits, or appeals 3. But our first clear evidence for this
procedure omesfrom thereignof Anastasius 491- 518), although t may go
back earlier34.UnderTheodosiusII, they appearstill to havemetseparately;
and, evenin the 470s, we hearof formal sessionsof the council in whichthe
Senate seems to have had no part35. If Martianus' use of the word
27 De Nupt. I.42 - 4,62,90.
28 De Nupt. V.425f., vulgusqueminorum caelicolum .. terrestrium lebs deorum;cf.
Ammianus Marc., XVI.10.5. f., Anon. Val. 65, Constantine Porph., De Caerimoniis 1.92, P. 423
(ed. REISKE,Bonn1829).29 De Nupt. IX.889f.30 Cf. Cod. Iust. XII.I.15, 2.1, Digest I.ix.12.1; JoNEs, op. cit., pp. 529, 1221f. (n. 16),
BURY,OP.cit., I, p. 21. For an estimate of consequent western senatorial numbers, see A. CHA-
STAGNOL, Le Stnat Romain sous le regne d'Odoacre, Bonn 1966, 46f. But, on the epigraphy, cf.
A. CAMERON/D. SCHAUER, J.R.S. 72, 1982, 144f.
31 Cf. JoNEs, op. cit. 1222 (n. 16), on Cassiodorus, Variae VI.12.
32 De Nupt. 1.64,89.
33 Cf. Const. Porph. De Caer. I.92, p. 422, 95, p. 433, Nov. Iust. 62.1, 124.1, JONES, Op.cit.
338,BURY, Op. cit. I p. 24.
34 Marcian (Nov. 5, a.455) heard an appeal in presence of the Senate - perhaps therefore of
the consistorium too. Cf. JoNEs,op. cit. p. 507. The practice may even go back to Arcadius. Cf.
John Lydus, De Mag. I11.60,CH. LtCRIVAIN, Le Senat Romain depuis Dioclitien, Paris 1888,
225.
35 Cf. Cod. Iust. 1.14.8, Acta Conc. Oec. (ed. SCHWARTZ) I,i.3, p. 37, iv.1, p. 63, Const.
Porph., De Caer. I.87f.
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MartianusCapellaand Romein the Late FifthCentury 103
consistorium is deliberate36 - and he is a careful stylist - it would seem to
push his date well forward in the fifth century. No doubt, the combined
assembly of the east was partly due to the permanent residence of the emperor
and his advisers in Constantinople. But only when the monarch was at Rome
could the sessions of the western consistorium have been joined with those of
the Senate. Valentinian III, Petronius Maximus, Avitus, Libius Severus,
Anthemius, Olybrius, Glycerius, and Iulius Nepos spent all or part of their
reigns at Rome, a result of the Vandal threat. Not so the rulers before or after.
During this period, the emperors may sometimes have consulted Senate and
consistorium together, and have summoned them, on occasion, to the
imperial palace37.This would help to date the 'De Nuptiis' between the fall of
Carthage, in 439, and 47538,or at least not many years later.
As noticed, in 438, the Senate voted, without debate, by acclamation, on
an imperial proposal. Acclamations had long played a part in senatorial pro-
cedure39;but, about 405, Prudentius could still representanother such vote as
carried out pedibus, a division of the house, like that of the 'Apocolocynto-
sis'40. The 'Historia Augusta', however, in its accounts, largely imaginary,
and probably late fourth century, of senatorial meetings, sometimes shows
vote and acclamations combined, and perhaps following the expressed
sententiae of leading senators41. In 384, Senate and emperor together restoredthe traditional order in which these sententiae were given42. Evidently,
procedure in this respect was rather fluid, and cannot be used to give the 'De
Nuptiis' a precise date in late antiquity.
The final pointer to the date is prosopographical. The lictor of Rhetorica
carries a staff topped by a crow; and, of his mistress quamplures deorum eam
quidem nobilissimam feminam, sed aut Apoilinis cognatam credidere, si
Graia est, aut, si Romulea, de gente Corvini43.The immediate reference may
be to the famous Augustan orator, Messala Corvinus; but we may also see in
it a probable compliment to Gennadius Avienus, consul in 450, and one of themost influential senators under Anthemius (467 -472), whose descent from
36 We shouldpossiblytranslate>>council-chamber<(;ut senatorialmeetings n consistorio
themselvesndicate he near dentityof theassembliesnthe late5th.- early6th. c. Cf. BURY, Op.
cit., I, p. 24.37 ButnotethatNov. Val. 1 waspublished t Rome, butreadto theSenatebytheex-consul
(?) Postumianus.38 Cf. below,S. 106,and noteNov. Val.4, datedJan., 440, at Rome.
39Cf. Suetonius,Domitian33, Pliny,Pan. 73 f.40 ContraOr. Symmachi .608- 15.41 Cf., especially,TacitusIV.l -VII.l, ProbusXI.5-XII.8. Theacclamations f Commo-
dusXVIII-XX,allegedlycitedfromMariusMaximus,merelyrequesta vote.42 Cf. Symmachus,Ep. X.8.43 De Nupt.V.433 f. (DickreadCorvina.)
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104 S. I. B. BARNISH
the Corvini is mentioned by Sidonius Apollinaris44.He is the only
representativeof his family45 to be directly associated with the nameCorvinus;but, c. 527, Cassiodorus ould complimenta novus homo enteringthe Senate by comparinghim to the Decii and Corviniof old46. The Senate
was then almost filled with supposedmembers f the former ens47 and, sixty
yearsearlier, heirhead, CaecinaBasilius,hadrivalledGennadius n power4'.
Rhetorica'sGreekand Latin distinctionsare both emphasized.According o
their kinsman, Ennodius, perhaps the first user of the 'De Nuptiis',
Gennadius'son and grandson, Faustus Niger and Avienus,werefamedfor
their learning and eloquence in the two languages49.
All this suggestsnot just a late fifth centurydate, but a context n the cityof Rome, for the 'De Nuptiis'. While a member of the provincialupper-
classes may have been adequatelyinformed on senatorial procedure,we
shouldnotice, again,thattheauthor'suse of it is exceptional.EvenSidonius,
who actually served as prefect of Rome, cannot be compared. Martianus,
moreover,may have been writingat a timewhen few provincialnoblescould
expectto enter the Senate.Most of his earlyreadersalso indicatea Roman
and senatorialaudience50.Howconsistent s thiswith hisAfricanorigins,and
his use by Fulgentius he mythographer?WhenGeiseric ook Carthage,many
of its nobleswere banished o Italy, if they did not, like the grandfather fbishop Fulgentius,choose freedom, as voluntaryemigr6s51.His sons later
returned,and recoveredpartof theirestates roma Vandalmonarch52.n the
earlysixthcentury,at leastone Roman senatorretainedconnections n Afri-
ca53.Althoughthe Vandalsshowedsome suspicionof overseascontacts,ar-
chaeologyand numismatics uggest hat Africantradespreadwidelythrough
theMediterraneannder heirrule54.MovementbyMartianus etweenRome
and Carthage,and the circulationof his workin bothcities, seemthen to be
44 Ep. 1.9.4.
4s He was connected with the Valerii Messalae - one of his grandsons was a Messala. They
had long claimed descent from the Valerii of the Republic and early principate. Cf. M. ARNHEim,
The Senatorial Aristocracy in the Later Roman Empire, Oxford 1972, p. 139f.
46 Var. VIII.22; cf. X.1l.47 Var. IX.22.
48 Cf. Sidon., Ep. I.9.2.
49 Ep. 1.5, Carm. 1}.3, Opusc. 6 (the Martianian 'Paraenesis').
50 Note his editor Felix's collaboration on the 'Epodes', with the great senator Vettius Agori-
us Basilius Mavortius (PRAAux,art. cit., 105).
51 Victor Vitensis, Hist. Persecutionis I.15, Ferrandus, Vita Fulgentii 1.
32 Ibid. MARTINDALE, op. cit., p. 300, conjectures Geiseric; but cf. below.
S3 Opilio (Ennod., Ep. IV.18); perhaps also Agnellus (cf. Cassiod., Var. 1.15).
54 Cf. Victor, Hist. Pers. 1.23, III.19, Procopius, Bell. Vand. 1.20.5; M. lFULFORD, Carthage,
Overseas Trade, and the Political Economy, Reading Mediaeval Studies 6, 1980, 68- 80.
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MartianusCapellaand Romein the Late FifthCentury 105
verypossible. We shouldcompareMacrobius,an African,perhapswriting nAfrica, for Romanaristocrats,who had fled from Italyin 41055.
As forthe actualdeities,and thereligiouscontentof the 'De Nuptiis', theyare, at least,consistentwitha Roman-Italian rientation,and with a late fifthcenturydate.But, as evidence orthelatter,they areverydoubtful. TheCapi-toline Triad, the Dei Consentes, the minor Italian deities, marshalledaccording o an Etruscanplanof theheavens56, nd theevident nterestof theauthor in theurgy, and neo-Platonicmysteries57, ould well belong to themilieuof VettiusAgoriusPraetextatus.Weshouldrecall he restoration f the
imagesof the Dei Consentes, n 367/8, and the laterconsultationof Etruscandiviners,duringAlaric'ssiegeof Rome, in 408/0958.The 'Saturnalia'of Ma-crobius,notnecessarily paganwork, showshow these nterestspersistednawesternsenatorialcontext, linkedboth with Africa and Italy, well into thefifth century59.Again, possibleallusions to the Ariancontroversyalso suit
60Italy,and the late fourthcenturyTheselast, however, are no less appropriate o an African, writingafter
the Vandalconquest.Dr. SHANZER,urthermore,hasargued hat the openlytheurgicalelements of the 'De Nuptiis' - Philologia is portrayed,in the
secondbook, asan expert n charmsandarithmology couldnot safely havebeenpublishedafter thecampaigns gainstsorceryof Valentinian ndValens,orat any timebeforethemid fifthcentury,whensuchartsenjoyedsomethingof a revival,associatedwithProclus61.TheemperorValentinian II(425- 55)acquiredat least a posthumousreputationfor magic and astrology62.She,though, wouldplace the 'De Nuptiis' later, in the reignof Anthemius,who,according to Damascius, plotted to restore pagan worship63,and wasdistinguished or his philosophical earning64.One of his leadingsupporterswas MessiusPhoebusSeverus.Damasciusalso tells us that this great noble
SS Cf. T. D. BARNES,Aspectsof theBackground f theCityof God,in:L'AfriqueRomaine,ed. C. WELLES(VanierLectures),Ottawa1982,69 - 85.
56 Cf. S. WEINSTOCK,MartianusCapellaand theCosmicSystemof theEtruscans, .R.S. 34,1944,100-29.
57 Cf. SHANZER,Op. cit., 17ff., CHADWICK,OP. cit. 21, P. COURCELLE,LateLatinWritersandtheirGreekSources,Cambridge,Mass. 1969,214- 19.
58 Inscr.Lat.Select.(DESSAU), no. 4003;Zosimus,Hist. Nova V.40.59 Cf. A. CAMERON,The Date and Identityof Macrobius,J.R.S. 56, 1966,25- 38; J. F.
MATTHEws, WesternAristocracies nd ImperialCourt,Oxford1975,369- 72, BARNES, above,n. 55.
60Cf. LENAZ, art. cit., p. 732, on De Nupt. II.206. He also notes (pp. 727-31) possibleallusions o another4th. c. Christian ontroversy.
61 Op. cit., p. 21 f.
62 Procop., Bell.Vand.1.3.11.63 VitaIsidoried. C. ZINTZEN,Hildesheim1967,p. 148.64 Cf. SidoniusApoll., Carm.I.156- 81.
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106 S. I. B. BARNISH
had withdrawn o Alexandria,out of dislike for Romanpubliclife, andhadthere attackedthe emperorsand people. He returned n the hope that An-
themiuswould restoreRome, andachieved he consulshipand city prefecture
in 47065.Egypt, at this time, was particularlyassociatedwith magic and
idolatry66, nd Severussharedthe plans of Anthemius.Anotherpagansup-
porterwas CountMarcellinus, killed in divination67.The Lupercaliawere
celebratedduringAnthemius'residence n Rome. We shouldalso note that
the emperor s said to havefavoured he semi-ArianMacedonianheretics,at
that time68.
This Anthemiandate would sort well with those pointerswhichwe dis-coveredearlier. There is, however,a seriousobjection. Could the kind of
movementwhichwe have envisaged or Martianushave takenplacebefore
475/76, when theVandalsmade peacewithOrestesandOdoacer69? recon-
ciliationhad followedthe defeatof Majorian n 46070,but it had been very
short-lived.Anthemiusand Marcellinus ided Leo's great expeditionagainst
Geiseric, n 468. Martianus,moreover, n praisingCarthage,describes t as
nuncfelicitate reverenda71.The phraseseems unnaturalwhen applied by a
traditionallymindedRomanAfrican,at a timewhen thecitywasthe baseof
Rome's enemies. But, under Huneric(477-484), and Hilderic(523 530),
Felix Karthagoappearsas a legendon Vandal coins72.PerhapsMartianus
beganhis long andcomplexwork at Rome,underAnthemius,and finished t
severalyears ater,at Carthage,as a returned migr673. elix, editingthe 'De
Nuptiis' ex mendosissimis xemplaribusperhapsgot no furtherthan Book
II74.Thismayindicate hattheearlier,most Romanpartof the workhadlong
beenin separatecirculation,andhad originallybeenpublishedon its own75.
65 V. Isidori, pp. 94- 98, 148.
66 Cf. SHANZER,op. cit. 23.
67 V. Isidori, p. 132f., Chron. Com. Marcellini, a.468.
68 Gelasius, Tract. VI.5,10, Epist. Romanorum Pontificum Genuinae, ed. A. ThIEL,
Brunswick 1868, 601, 605; Ep. 26.11, ibid., p. 408.
69 Cf. Victor, Hist. Pers. I.14, Paulus Diaconus, Hist. Romanorum XV.7. Peace had been
made with the eastern empire in 474; cf. C. COURTOIS,es Vandales et l'Afrique, Paris 1955, 204.
70 Cf. COURTOIS,p.cit. 199f.
71 De Nupt. VI.669.
72 Cf. W. WROTH,Catalogue of the Coins of the Vandals, etc., in the British Museum, Lon-
don 1911, xxvii ff., 5- 14. For comparable praise of Vandal Carthage, cf. Florentius, Anthologia
Latina, 371 BAILEY379RIESE).73 Cf. BARNES, 'Afrique, p. 84, on Macrobius' composition of the 'De Somnio' in Africa,
publication of the'Saturnalia' in Italy.
74Cf. PR Aux, art. cit., 109, n. 2.
75 SHANZER,P.cit. 62, also notes the lack of major reference (I.30 a minor exception) to the
sobriae disciplinae until the end of II.
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MartianusCapellaandRomein the LateFifthCentury 107
All thesame,such a date canbe nomorethan an attractivepossibility.The'De Nuptiis' certainlyseems to fit best in a late fifth centurycontext, but itmay still have been started twenty years before or after the death of
Anthemius. We should notice how the western Senate flourished under
Odoacerand Theoderic76. am also inclined o doubtSHANZER'Snterpreta-tionof theworkas a pieceof crypto-pagan ropaganda77. heChristianity f
upper-classcircles at this time had room for a wide variety of religious
attitudes.At an earlierdate, thepossibly,but far fromcertainly,paganClau-
dian hadpraisedStilicho,whoburnt heSibyllineOracles,witha Gnosticizing
allegorywhichmay have influencedMartianus78.He also wrotea poem ofsome meriton the Incarnation79. alvianof Marseilles omplainedof those
Carthaginians,many of them nobles, who worshippedequally Christ, and
luno Caelestis80.Anthemiushimself hadtheological nterests,and foundeda
churchat Constantinople81.Andromachus,who supportedthe LupercaliaunderOdoacer,probablyalso servedas a papal envoyto Zeno82.Traditionsof sorcery urvived,anditspractice ould provedangerous, venfor senators,as is shownby the casesof BasiliusandPraetextatus,andof Boethius,under
Theoderic83. uttherewill, I suspect,havebeen manywhose interest n pagan
cult, and evenin pagan magic, was either conventionalor academic84. uchinterestmay have been stimulatedby Anthemiusand his circle, and it is tosuch an audiencethat the 'De Nuptiis' may have been addressed.Its early
users were all Christians:Ennodius, Boethius, Fulgentius, very possiblyidenticalwith the saintly bishop of Ruspe, and, following their founder'sre-
commendation, hemonksof Vivarium85. oethiusexploited t in thewritingof the 'Consolatio', while indignantlyrebutting he chargeof sorceryunderwhichhe then lay86.Such men evidentlysaw nothingsinister n the work. If
propaganda, t was rather a failure. We should, once again, comparethe
76 Cf. JoNFs, op. cit., 253 f., CHASTAGNOL,OP. cit., 52-6.
77 Op. cit. 17- 24; cf. 172f. She does not see Martianus as ))tryingto convert the masses((
(private letter). Note, also, her remarks in Beitrage, p. 112f.
78 De Cons. Stil. II.424 ff.; cf. SHANZER,Op. cit., 203. On Claudian's religion, cf. A. CAME-
RON, Claudian, Oxford 1970, cap. 8, very illuminating. For Stilicho and the Oracles, see Rutilius
Namatianus, De Reditu Suo I1.51 ff.
79 Carm. Min. xxxii.
80 De Gubernatione Dei VIII.2.9- 17; cf. De Nupt. 1.58,168, for luno Caelestis.81 Cf. L. VASSILI, La Cultura di Antemio, Athenaeum 16, 1938, 38-45.82 Gelasius, Ep. 10.7 (Thiel, op. cit., p. 346).83 Cf. Cassiod., Var. IV.22- 3, Gregorius Magnus, Dial. 1.4; Boethius, Cons. Phil. 1, pr.
4,37 -42.
84 Cf. CHASTAGNOL,p. cit. 51.
8S Note Christo adiuvante in Felix's subscription. On Vivarium's probable acquisition of the
'De Nuptiis', see P. COURCELLE,Histoire d'un Brouillon Cassiodorien, R.E.A. 44, 1942, 45.
86 Cons. Phil. loc. cit.
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108 S. 1. B. BARNISH
writingsof Macrobius.His neo-Platonistcommentary n the 'SomniumSci-pionis' was edited, about this time, by a descendant,and by Symmachus, a-
ther-in-lawof Boethius, and another learnedand pious Christian87. agan
polytheismoften gets a rathersatirical reatmentn the 'De Nuptiis'88. This,
however, was traditional n the genre, and the neo-Platonic,and still pagan
mysticismof Philologia'sascentto the heavens eemsmoreseriouslymeant89.
It was the age both of Proclus, and of his follower,Dionysius he Areopagite,
one in which it is not always easy to identify the religioussympathiesof the
intellectuals.Boethius, and even Cassiodorus,have sometimesbeen taken as
pagans. The defectus oraculorumpassage of the 'De Nuptiis', on whichSHANZERays much stress, certainly shows a kind of sentimentalpagan
nostalgia, but it could, I feel, have been the work of an at least occasional
church-goer9.
Indeed, it is doubtfulhow far Martianus ould have given Christian orm
to his treatisewithoutreducingt to a merehand-book, ikethe 'Institutiones'
of Cassiodorus, Philology, the liberal arts, and the divine patronageof
learningcould scarcelyhave been adaptedto the mythologyof the new reli-
gion91.The 'De Nuptiis' also hasmuchin commonwiththeepithalamium92,
a form in which highly Christianpoets, Sidonius, Dracontius, Ennodius,foundthemselves,willy-nilly,givinga pagantone to their work. Paulinusof
Nola is the solitary exception93.Sidonius, moreover,substitutingPallas for
Venus, once combineshis marriageverseswitha didacticmessagesimilar o
that of the 'De Nuptiis'9. We should also compare the mythological
apparatusof his panegyrics,which includesdivinecouncils,and paganora-
cles95. One scholarhas recentlyseen Martianusas the implicitand lonely
advocatenot just of pagan religious,but of modernsexualtolerance96.Yet
87 The Subscription, not mentioning Symmachus' consulship, may be pre-485.
88 Cf. De Nupt. L.5,7 ad fin., 65,88f., IV.331f., V.425f., VI.589, VII.725ff., VIII.804ff.,
IX.888 ff.89 Cf. De Nupt. 11.185 f., 202 ff. But 185 has another possible allusion to Christian doctrine
(LENAZ, art.cit. 732f.).90 Op. cit. 18, on De Nupt. I.8 - 10. Note that, despite Stilicho, Sibylline Oracles, at least,
might be acceptable to Christians (CAMERON,Op. cit. 220f.). They are mentioned at De Nupt.
I.10, 11.159.91 But was the didactic element of the De Nupt. originally intended? Cf. SHANZER, cited
above 8, n. 11. Philologia is far more than a symbol of scholarship (cf. SHANZER, 80- 3).
92 Cf. SHANZER, op. cit. 89ff. For a comparison between the allegory of the late epithala-
mium and that of Martianus, see C. S. LEWiS, The Allegory of Love, Oxford 1958, pp. 74ff.
93 Cf. Cameron op. cit. 193 ff.
94 Carm. XV. 36- 125, a philosopher's wedding.95 Cf. Carm. V.259-266, VII.17-612; CAMERON,Op. cit. 163.
96 E. BROWN, Jr., Epicurus and Voluptas in Late Antiquity: the Curious Case of Martianus
Capella, Traditio 38, 1982, 75- 106. I am unconvinced by his detection of a jibe at Prudentius'
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Martianus Capella and Rome in the Late Fifth Century 109
Dracontius at times surpasseshis fellow African in the erotic97; whileEnnodiusshowsVenusandCupiddeploring he effectwhichthe cult of frigi-
da .. . virginitas s having on their realm. The victim whom they choose toredress hebalance s referred o asfidei monumentum98. othEnnodiusand
Sidoniusalso show somethingof Martianus'nostalgiafor the old gods9.If the 'De Nuptiis'does indeed reflectsomethingof the religious nterests
of Anthemius' reign, it may also tell us somethingabout its politics. Did
nobles such as Severus,or GennadiusAvienus, hope for anequivalent o that
close and harmonious working relationshipwhich Martianus describes
betweenJupiterandhis Senate?And, if so, werethey disappointed?Severushad evidentlycometo Italywithhighexpectations,buthis earliercriticismof
the emperors uggests he archaicand exactingquasi-republicandealswhich
we can detectin Boethius?. It would be interesting o know what part the
Senateplayed in the marriageof Anthemius'daughterto Ricimer101; lsowhether,as JoNEsconjectured,Anthemiuswas responsible or reducing he
sizeof the westernSenate 02. Inthe Arvandus ase, he threwa heavypoliticalburdenon thatassembly103;ut, unlikesomeotheremperors,he seemsneverto have referredhis legislationto it, for consultation,or confirmation.The
one lawwhichhe is known to have submitted or confirmationwent, instead,to Leo in Constantinople 4. In his geographical ection, Martianushonours
both Rome and Carthage, but gives the eastern capital a bare mention,derivedfrom Solinus, as Byzantium 05.Sidonius' 'Panegyric' may show a
certaindefensivenessn its eulogyof Anthemius'easternorigins 06; while En-nodiusremembered imas a Graeculus,and a Galatusconcitatus107. ome issaid to have beendivided over his civil war with Ricimer108,and the Senate
eventuallybetrayedhim in favour of a candidateof its own stock, Anicius
morality pp. 88ff.), andwouldput smallweighton it, even if genuine.Apartfromthis, as heremarks,>)in De Nuptiis',anti-Christianolemic s not easyto find&p. 101).
97 Cf. RomuleaVI.47ff., VII.Slff., the latteraddressed o the childrenof two Christianpriests.
98 Carm.I.4.19,53 122.
99 Ibid.; Sidon.Ap., Carm.XI, especially 7ff.100Onthese,cf. J. F. MAITHEWS, in: Boethius, ed. M. GIBSON,Oxford 1981, 37f.101 This was celebrated at Rome; cf. Sidon. Ap., Ep. I.5.lOf.102 Op. cit., p. 529. He also suggests Theoderic.103 Cf. Sidon.Ap., Ep. I.7.
104
Nov. Anth.3. Leosimilarly otAnthemius o confirmone of his laws(Nov.Anth.2), butthe phrasing uggests hatthis wasmuch moreof a formality.105 De Nupt. VI. 637,669,657.
106Carm.II.30ff., 437ff. On jealousybetween he capitals,cf. M. A. WES,Das Ende desKaisertumsm Westendes rdmischenReiches,TheHague1967,cap. 1.
107 VitaEpiphanii 3f.; cf. Sidon.Ap., Ep. I.7.5.108PaulusDiac., Hist. Rom. XV.3.
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110 S. I. B. BARNISH: Martianus Capella and Rome in the Late Fifth Century
Olybrius 09. Cassiodorus seems to have blamed him for that war1 O. Again,Odoacer,while favouring he senatorialclass, and honouring he Senate,is
not known to have consulted it. He too may have been betrayedby a
senatorialdecree11. The senatorialmeetingsof the 'De Nuptiis'may, then,be
morean echo of a pious hope,or nostalgicmemory, hananimageof an ideal
achieved.Indeed, neitherthe gods, nor theirSenate, are alwaystaken very
seriously.
Not only political,but also cultural ensionbetweenthe easternand the
westernRome may alsobe reflected n the 'De Nuptiis'.An invocation o Pal-
las endsinspiransnobis GraiasLatiariter rtes21. Rhetorica,aswe haveseen,is portrayedas both Greekand Latin. Grammatica,despiteher Greekand
Egyptianorigins, tamenritu Romuleo propterLatiarenumenet Oli caput
propterqueMartiamgentem Venerisqueropaginem enatumdeumingressa
estpaenulata 3. Dialectica,on the otherhand, orderedby Jupiter,posteram
RomuleisviribusGraiamevitatemaestimans, o speak n Latin, s hardlyable
to obey' 4. Geometriahas to decideto translateEuclidand ArchimedesRo-
muleis ... vocibus 5.Of Philosophia,and herpredilection or uncouthand
ascetic sages, it is said denique,si MarcumTerentium aucosqueRomuleos
excipiasconsulares,nullusprorsus rit,cuius sta limen ntrarit'6 Martianus'Greekwas possibly imited117;but some of this language, n its light-hearted
way, suggestsBoethius'early sixth centuryprogrammeof translations,his
wish, as a consul, to follow up the politicalwith the literaryconquestof the
east, to transferthe wealthof Greek letters to the Roman treasury'8. We
should remember, oo, the religious ranslationswhich Cassiodorusmadeor
sponsoredat Vivarium.Some of the more narrow-mindedwesternersmay
haveresentedeventhis kindof approach o eastern earning119;and the 'De
Nuptiis',likewise,sometimesdisplaysa traditionallyRomancontempt or sly
anddisputatiousGreek ntellectuals'20*
109John of Antioch, fr.209.1, Frag. Hist. Graec. IV, ed. C. MOLLER,Paris 1851, 617; cf.
Malchus, fr. 10, ibid. 119.
110 Cf. Jordanes, Getica 239; but contrast Cassiodorus' Chron., a.472.
M Cf. John Malalas, Chron. XV. 0 94.
112 VI.574.
113 II1.223; cf. 229.
114 IV.333 ff.
115VI.587f.
116 VI.578. The implication seems to be not a shortage of philosophers, but of respectable,
Roman ones.117 Cf. COURCELLE,op. cit. 212ff.; but this is strongly denied by SHANZER,Op. cit. Sf.
118 Cf. Patr. Lat. 64, p. 201, 63, p. 1079.
119 Cf. COURCELLE,Op. cit. 322ff.; but contrast H. KIRKBY, n Boethius, ed. GIBSON, P. 57.
120 Cf. II.213, IV.328-34,423.
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WESLEY E. THOMPSON: The Battleof the Bagradas i11
Martianus' work, then, fits well into the setting of Roman high society in
the last years of the western empire. It was probably directed at a learned and
aristocratic audience, and it certainly reached that mark. Its readers, I feel,
enjoyed it less because it advocated their religious and political interests than
because it laughed at them, in a gentle and sympathetic way. Those areas of
the book where a serious intention is longest, and most clearly, sustained are
the dry, academic lectures of the seven arts and sciences. It was as a laborious
encyclopaedia, rather than as a piece of topical humour, that the 'De Nuptiis'
was to reach and serve posterity.
Bangor S. I. B. BARNISH
Postscript: must thankDr. DANUTA HANZERor many valuable comments and criticisms on
thispaper.She is not, of course,responsibleor any of its errors.On deification, cf. G. HERZOG-HAUSER,ESupp.IV, 852, on ILS 1277;on the locationof
senatorial meetings, cf. Zosimus V. 29.5 f., John of Antioch, fr. 201.4; on Anthemius and magic,
cf. John of Antioch, fr. 207.
THE BATTLE OF THE BAGRADAS
Hamilcar's actics at the BagradasRiverduringthe MercenaryWar haveseldombeendiscussedand neveradequately xplained . Themercenaries ndLibyans were besieging Utica with some fifteen thousand men and hadanother enthousand omewhere o thesouth,guarding heonlybridgeacrosstheriver2.HamilcarmarchedwestfromCarthageandfordedtheBagradas tits mouth. Then he turned left and marchedup along the rivertoward the
bridge,with the elephants n the van, the cavalryand light infantryin thecenter,and theheavy nfantry n therear.Bothdivisionsof theenemycametomeet him en masse, trapping him in the middle (Andsi&' i'g auvdanov ilxov
&1Xfx0oL, VojtioaVTts ?V g TOU; KapXf8oviou4 s7riX@pFVat ...
ThereuponHamilcarordered his entire force to about-face(&vaotporp&v
7rap1pyy&lXEdai toiS tautoi), commanded he mobile forces to withdraw
1 For a summary of earlier views cf. F. W. WALBANK, A Historical Commentary on Polybius
I, Oxford 1957, 142f.2 Our sole source for this episode is Polyb. 1, 75, 1- 76, 9. Some scholars dispute Polybius'
estimate of the rebel numbers; cf. WALBANK, op. cit. (supra n. 1) 142. Polybius gives Hamilcar's
strength as ten thousand, with seventy elephants. WALBANK, 141, also has a useful discussion of
the possible location of the bridge.
3 The emendation, ?i5 c6voncov, will be discussed later.