Macrobius in english-language research

Abstract

The article examines the principal English-language studies of the last century focused on exploring the personality of Macrobius (5th century) and his works — Saturnalia (Saturnalia [ed. Willis, 1963]), Commentary on the 'Dream of Scipio' (Commentarii in Somnium Scipionis [ed. Willis, 1963]), and On the differences and similarities of Greek and Latin verbs (De verborum graeci et latini differentiis vel societatibus excerpta [ed. De Paolis, 1990]), written for educational purposes and representing a compendium of Greek knowledge. Interest in Macrobius's creative legacy notably intensified towards the end of the 19th century, a trend linked to the release of critical editions of Macrobian texts and their subsequent translations into French. In particular, the study analyzes the research of Thomas Whittaker (Macrobius; or philosophy, science and letters in the year 400; published in 1923), William Harris Stahl (Macrobius, Commentary on the ‘Dream of Scipio’, published in 1952), Alan Cameron (The date and identity of Macrobius [published in 1966] and Macrobius, Avienus, and Avianus [published in 1967]), Herman De Ley (Macrobius and Numenius. A study of Macrobius, ‘In Somn.’ I, c. 12; published in 1972), Stephen Gersh (Middle platonism and neoplatonism, the Latin tradition; published in 1986), Roger A. Pack (A medieval critic of Macrobius’ cosmometrics; published in 1981), Alison Peden (Science and philosophy in Wales at the time of the Norman conquest: a Macrobius manuscript from Llabadarn; published in 1981), among others. It highlights the primary issues that researchers have focused on when studying Macrobius's literary legacy, identifies the challenges in analyzing his works, and acknowledges the contribution of English-speaking scholars to the global historiography.