Marcellinus Comes (

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

: Μαρκελλίνος ό Κόμης, died c. 534) was a Latin chronicler of the

Eastern Roman Empire The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived the events that caused the fall of the Western Roman E ...

. An Illyrian by birth, he spent most of his life at the court of

Constantinople Constantinople (#Names of Constantinople, see other names) was a historical city located on the Bosporus that served as the capital of the Roman Empire, Roman, Byzantine Empire, Byzantine, Latin Empire, Latin, and Ottoman Empire, Ottoman empire ...

. His only surviving work, the ''Chronicle'', focuses on the Eastern Roman Empire.

Chronicle

Only one work of his survives, a chronicle (''Annales''), which was a continuation of

Eusebius Eusebius of Caesarea (30 May AD 339), also known as Eusebius Pamphilius, was a historian of Christianity, exegete, and Christian polemicist from the Roman province of Syria Palaestina. In about AD 314 he became the bishop of Caesarea Maritima. ...

's ''

Ecclesiastical History Church history or ecclesiastical history as an academic discipline studies the history of Christianity and the way the Christian Church has developed since its inception. Henry Melvill Gwatkin defined church history as "the spiritual side of the ...

''. It covers the period from 379 to 534, although an unknown writer added a continuation down to 566. Although his work is in

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

, it primarily describes the affairs of the Eastern Roman Empire. Some information about

Western Europe Western Europe is the western region of Europe. The region's extent varies depending on context. The concept of "the West" appeared in Europe in juxtaposition to "the East" and originally applied to the Western half of the ancient Mediterranean ...

, drawn from

Orosius Paulus Orosius (; born 375/385 – 420 AD), less often Paul Orosius in English, was a Roman priest, historian and theologian, and a student of Augustine of Hippo. It is possible that he was born in '' Bracara Augusta'' (now Braga, Portugal), ...

's ''Historia adversus paganos'' and Gennadius' ''De viris illustribus'', is introduced insofar as it relates to Constantinople. The chronicle is filled with details and anecdotes about the city and the court. Marcellinus was an Orthodox and has little good to say about heretics in his work.

References

Sources

Literature

*''The Chronicle of Marcellinus: a translation and commentary'', by Brian Croke (translation/commentary) and Theodor Mommsen (edition). Sydney: Australian Association for Byzantine Studies, 1995. *''Count Marcellinus and His Chronicle'' by Brian Croke. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2001. *''La Cronaca dei Due Imperi, Il Chronicon di Marcellino Comes (A.D. 379–534 & Auctarium).'' Introduzione, traduzione e note a cura di A. Palo. Testo latino a fronte. Il Saggio Editore 2021.
* Dagmar Bartonkova, ''Marcellinus Comes and Jordanes's Romana'', SBORNlK PRACI FILOSOFICKE FAKULTY BRNENSKE UNIVERSITY, E 12, 1967, pp. 185-194. * Brian Croke, ''Marcellinus on Dara: a Fragment of his lost De Temporum Qualitatibus et Positionibus Locorum'', in Phoenix 38 1984, pp. 77-88. * Massimo Gusso, ''A proposito dell'uso di «interrex» nel «Chronicon» di Marcellinus Comes'', Critica Storica 28, 1, 1991, pp. 133-152. * Massimo Gusso, ''Contributi allo studio della composizione e delle fonti del Chronicon di Marcellinus comes'', Studia et Documenta Historiae e Iuris (Pontificia Università Lateranense), 61, 1995, pp. 557-622. * Massimo Gusso, ''Index Marcellinianus: an index to the Chronicon of Marcellinus Comes'', Olms-Weidmann, Hildesheim 1996, pp. xiii, 171 (''Konkordanzen zur klassischen Philologie'', nr. 183). * Massimo Gusso, ''Il Chronicon di Marcellinus Comes: a proposito di un libro recente'', Cassiodorus, 3 (1997), pp. 273–289 (about: Brian Croke, ''The Chronicle of Marcellinus, Translation and Commentary, with a Reproduction of Mommsen's Edition of the Text'', Australian Association for Byzantine Studies (Byzantina Australiensia 7), Sydney 1995, pp. xxvii-152). * Massimo Gusso, ''La «caduta» dell’Impero Romano nella percezione dei contemporanei'', Circolo Vittoriese di Ricerche Storiche, Quaderno n. 7, 2002, pp. 31-49. * Massimo Gusso, ''Orientale tantum secutum imperium'', Rivista di cultura classica e medioevale, 66, 1, 2004, pp. 121–137 (about: Brian Croke, ''Count Marcellinus and his Chronicle'', Oxford University Press, Oxford 2001). * Theodore Nagy, ''The Reoccupation of Pannonia from the Huns in 427 (Did Jordanes use the Chronicon of Marcellinus Comes at the writing of the Getica?)'', Acta Antiqua. Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae, 15 (1967), pp. 159-186. * László Várady, ''Jordanes Studien. Jordanes und das "Chronicon" des Marcellinus Comes. Die Selbständigkeit des Jordanes'', in Chiron 1976, pp. 441-487.

External links

Opera Omnia by Migne Patrologia Latina with analytical indexes
{{Authority control Byzantine chroniclers 6th-century writers in Latin 6th-century Christians 6th-century Byzantine historians Illyrian people 530s deaths Year of birth unknown