Eutropius (historian)
Eutropius (fl. AD 363–387), scholarly abbreviated Eutr., Eutr. Brev. or Eutrop., was a Roman official and historian. His book Breviarium Historiae Romanae summarizes events from the founding of Rome in the 8th century BC down to the author's lifetime. Appreciated by later generations for its clear presentation and writing style,[1] the Breviarium can be used as a supplement to more comprehensive Roman historical texts that have survived in fragmentary condition.
Life
The exact background and birthplace of Eutropius is disputed. Some scholars claim he was born in Burdigala (Bordeaux) and was a man of medicine.[1] Others, most notably Harold W. Bird, have dismissed these claims as being highly unlikely. Eutropius has been referred to as 'Italian' in other sources and supposedly held estates in Asia. Aside from that, his name was Greek, making it unlikely he came from Gaul. Confusion about this has arisen due to the fact that Eutropius was a popular name in late antiquity.[2] He was almost certainly a pagan and remained one under the emperor Julian's Christian successors.[1]
He served as the imperial secretary (
Work
His Summary of Roman History (
Eutropius stressed the importance of the Senate in his work.
Legacy
The independent value of his Summary is small, but it sometimes fills a gap left by the more authoritative records. It is particularly useful to historians for its account of the First Punic War, as no copy of Livy's original books for that period have survived.
Its stylistic and methodological virtues caused it to be much used by later Roman chroniclers. and by Capito Lycius in the 6th century. The latter translation has survived almost in its entirety.
Although Eutropius's style contains some idiosyncrasies, the work's plain style made it long a favorite elementary Latin schoolbook.[3] A scholarly edition was compiled by H. Droysen in 1879, containing Capito Lycius's Greek edition and the expanded Latin editions of Paul and Landolf.[3] There have been numerous English editions and translations, including Bird's.[7]
References
Citations
Bibliography
- public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Eutropius". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 9 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 958. This article incorporates text from a publication now in the
- Bird, Harold W., ed. (1993), Eutropius: Breviarium, Liverpool: Liverpool University Press, ISBN 978-0853232087.
- Den Boer, Willem (1972), Some Minor Roman Historians, Leiden: Brill, pp. 114 & seq., ISBN 90-04-03545-1
- Lieu, Samuel N. C. (1998), "Eutropius", Encyclopaedia Iranica, vol. IX, Fasc. 1, p. 77.
External links
- Online version of a 1559/61 Basel edition of the Breviarium with detailed comments by Glareanus and other humanists (Latin)
- Eutropius, Abridgement of Roman History, John Selby Watson (translator), (1853) (from Forum Romanum; both Latin text and English translation)
- Eutropius, Abridgement of Roman History, John Selby Watson (translator), (1886) (from The Tertullian Project; only English translation)
- Eutropius, Abridgement of Roman History, Lamberto Bozzi (translator), (2019) (from CRT Pesaro; both Latin text and English translation)
- Eutropius, Eutropii Breviarium (from The Latin Library; only Latin text)
- Eutropius, Eutropi Breviarium ab urbe condita cum versionibus graecis et Pauli Landolfique additamentis, Ed. Droysen, Hans. (from Monumenta Germaniae Historica Digital); Image files include the preface, Greek and Latin text, critical apparatus, appendices and indices
- The Chinese translation of Eutropi Breviarium