Historical Miscellany including Paul the Deacon, Historia romana (Roman History)

Historical Miscellany including Paul the Deacon, Historia romana (Roman History)

This miscellany contains the Historia romana, a reworking by Paul the Deacon (ca. 720–99) of the classic Breviarium ab urbe condita written by Eutropius (fl. ca. 360 AD), which itself drew heavily from classical Roman authors. The next section contains excerpts of speeches that purport to be by the Greek orators Aeschines, Demades, and Demosthenes, translated into Latin. In reality, these consist of fifteenth-century satirical forgeries, usually attributed to Pietro Marcello. Finally, two short exhortative epistles on the value of studying ancient texts, Leonardo Bruni’s letter of 1424 to the poetess Battista Malatesta (De studiis et litteris), and Basil of Caesarea’s De legendis libris gentilium, originally written in Greek in the fourth century, but newly translated into Latin by Bruni, are included. Bruni’s missive is noted for its insistence that women as well as men were suited to reading a classical cursus.

Authors: Basil of Caesare, Leonardo Bruni, Demades, Aeschines, Demosthenes, Paul the Deacon, Eutropius

ca. 1450

Manuscript on parchment, 54 fols.

The Free Library of Philadelphia, Lewis E 71

Italy (Lombardy or Piedmont?)