Leo of Naples

Leo of Naples was an archipresbyter (archpriest) of the 10th century .

Leo is known for his Historia de preliis Alexandri Magni , a translation of the adventurous Alexander novel by Pseudo-Callisthenes from Greek into Latin .

We learn about the life of Leo from the prologue which he placed before his translation. He traveled from Naples to Constantinople around 950 on behalf of the Dukes John II and Marinus II . There he discovered a Greek manuscript of the Alexander romance, from which he made a copy. A few years later, on his return to Italy, he made a Latin translation with the title Nativitas et victoria Alexandri Magni regis . However, this translation was not widely used. Only the stylistically smoothed and interpolated versions, the common name of which is derived from an incunabula edition with the title Historia Alexandri Magni regis Macedonis de preliis , achieved a strong impact.

Leo's Latin version served as the basis for numerous translations into other European languages ​​as well as into Hebrew .

Text output

• Friedrich Pfister : The Alexander novel by Archipresbyter Leo . Collection of Middle Latin texts 6. Winter, Heidelberg 1913. 141 pp.
• Hermann-Josef Bergmeister (ed.): The Historia de preliis Alexandri Magni. Synoptic edition of the reviews of Leo Archipresbyter and the interpolated versions J1, J2, J3 (books I and II) , Hain, Meisenheim 1975
• Alfons Hilka / Karl Steffens (eds.): Historia Alexandri Magni (Historia de preliis), review J1 , Hain, Meisenheim 1979
• Alfons Hilka / Rüdiger Grossmann: Historia Alexandri Magni (Historia de preliis), review J2 (Orosius review) , 2 volumes, Hain, Meisenheim 1976–1977
• Karl Steffens (Ed.): The Historia de preliis Alexandri Magni, Review J3 , Hain, Meisenheim 1975

literature

• George Cary: The Medieval Alexander . University Press, Cambridge 1956

Web links

• Historia de preliis Alexandri Magni (Latin)