Valeria Provincia in the Cosmography of Anonymous of Ravenna

Abstract

Anonymous of Ravenna wrote the Cosmography at the beginning of the eighth century, but his creation of the work cannot be determined more precisely. The Cosmography contains descriptions of the entire world in five books, the fourth of which includes a narration of Provincia Valeria Media. In describing the province, Anonymous of Ravenna referred to several authors’ works, including the Tabula Peutingeriana, Marcomir and Jordanes’ works, and other sources of unknown origin. Anonymous noted that Provincia Valeria Media was located between the Pannonia Superior and Pannonia Inferior, covering the area of the ancient provinces of Valeria and Savia. Anonymous listed the toponyms in Provincia Valeria Media’s territory, which he took from an early copy or transcript of the Tabula Peutingeriana. In Cosmography, Carniola was the western neighbour of Provincia Valeria Media, and it was bounded on the south by Liburnia Tarsaticensis. Regarding the name of Carniola, this researcher can assume that it was a later addition to the text of the Cosmography. Scholars disputed whether Provincia Valeria Media existed in the fifth century or whether Anonymous took its name from historical sources. Recent research has suggested that Anonymous borrowed the name Valeria from Jordan and the name Media Provincia from the Tabula Peutingeriana. He merged the two terms into Provincia Valeria Media. The actual historical value of the Cosmography is not the creation of the name Provincia Valeria Media but the early medieval data that Anonymous recorded in his book.