Eutropius (historian)
- For the Byzantine officer, see also Eutropius (Byzantine official) (396-397). For the Saint, see Saint Eutropius.
Eutropius (flourished 350-370[1]) was an Ancient Roman polytheist historian who flourished in the latter half of the 4th century. He held the office of secretary (magister memoriae) at Constantinople, accompanied the Emperor Julian (361 - 363) on his expedition against the Persians (363), and was alive during the reign of Valens (364-378), to whom he dedicates his Breviarium historiae Romanae and where his history ends. Another historian, Georgius Codinus, in De Originibus Constantinopolitanis notes that Eutropius had been a secretary to Constantine I, but it is not clear if he is referring of the same Eutropius.
The Breviarium historiae Romanae is a complete compendium, in ten books, of Roman history from the foundation of the city to the accession of Valens. It was compiled with considerable care from the best accessible authorities, and is written generally with impartiality, and in a clear and simple style. Although the Latin in some instances differs from that of the purest models, the work was for a long time a favorite elementary school-book. Its independent value is small, but it sometimes fills a gap left by the more authoritative records. Eutropius used for example the now lost Enmannsche Kaisergeschichte. The Breviarium was enlarged and continued down to the time of Justinian by Paulus Diaconus; the work of the latter was in turn enlarged by Landolfus Sagax (c. 1000), and taken down to the time of the emperor Leo the Armenian (813-820) in the Historia Miscella.
Of the Greek translations by Capito Lycius and Paeanius, the version of the latter is extant in an almost complete state. The best edition of Eutropius is by H. Droysen (1879), containing the Greek version and the enlarged editions of Paulus Diaconus and Landolfus. There are numerous English editions and translations.
External links
- 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, 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
References
- This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.
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