Vacca was a 6th-century grammarian who studied and commented on the works of
Lucan
Marcus Annaeus Lucanus (3 November AD 39 – 30 April AD 65), better known in English as Lucan (), was a Roman poet, born in Corduba, Hispania Baetica (present-day Córdoba, Spain). He is regarded as one of the outstanding figures of the Imper ...
. Little is known of Vacca other than that he wrote ''Vita Lucani'' (''Life of Lucan''), which is not to be confused with
Suetonius
Gaius Suetonius Tranquillus (), commonly referred to as Suetonius ( ; – after AD 122), was a Roman historian who wrote during the early Imperial era of the Roman Empire. His most important surviving work is ''De vita Caesarum'', common ...
' ''Vita Lucani''.
Vacca's commentaries were used in the medieval study of Lucan.
Though he is not named, evidence of Vacca's writing appears in the 10th-century works ''
Commenta Bernensia
The ''Commenta Bernensia'' and ''Adnotationes Super Lucanum'' are two 9th-century compilations of scholia (explanatory notes) on the Latin poet Lucan's ''Pharsalia''.
Lucan's poem was very popular in late antiquity and the middle ages, which cr ...
'' and ''Adnotationes super Lucanum''.
Vacca's ''Life of Lucan'' gives sole accounts of many of Lucan's lost works, as well as accounts of the feud between Lucan and
Nero
Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus ( ; born Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus; 15 December AD 37 – 9 June AD 68) was a Roman emperor and the final emperor of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, reigning from AD 54 until his ...
, which agrees with
Tacitus
Publius Cornelius Tacitus, known simply as Tacitus ( , ; – ), was a Roman historian and politician. Tacitus is widely regarded as one of the greatest Roman historians by modern scholars.
Tacitus’ two major historical works, ''Annals'' ( ...
' and contradicts
Suetonius
Gaius Suetonius Tranquillus (), commonly referred to as Suetonius ( ; – after AD 122), was a Roman historian who wrote during the early Imperial era of the Roman Empire. His most important surviving work is ''De vita Caesarum'', common ...
'.
External links
*''M. Annaei Lucani Pharsalia'', Petrus-Augustus Lemaire (ed.), vol. 1, Parisiis, colligebat Nicolaus Eligius Lemaiure, 1830
pp. XLV-XLVII
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vacca
Grammarians of Latin
6th-century scholars
6th-century writers in Latin