Orosius in the Middle Ages

The History written by Paulus Orosius in the 5th century carried influence for a thousand years afterward:

"The exceptionality of the Historiae is indicated by its incredibly rich and diverse reception over the subsequent centuries. The work became the standard point of reference on antiquity for the medieval and early modern world. It had an enormous impact of the historiography of later centuries, from Bede and Otto of Freising, to Petrarch and Dante, to Edward Gibbon.

At least two hundred and seventy-five manuscripts survive, the oldest dating to the sixth century, and the work was translated into Old English, Arabic, Aragonese, and Castilian prior to the modern period." [source]

That statement comes from a report on a three-day conference at the University of London in May 2022 with a score of scholarly presentations on Orosius' effect on the centuries that followed

One of the first laps in its progress came during the reign of Alfred the Great (849 - 899) of England. Alfred was a promoter of education and literacy, and wanted important works translated into Anglo-Saxon/Old English for his own (and others) pleasure.

We have two Old English manuscripts of the History, from the 10th and the 11th centuries, as well as some fragments. This version differs from the Latin original in that it was expanded with descriptions of Germania, Scandinavia, and the Baltic region, with a very detailed verbal map, for example:

To the west of the Old Saxons is the mouth of the river Elbe and Frisia. To the north-west is the region called Anglia and Silland and part of the land of the Danes. To the north of them are the Abodriti, and to the north-east the Wilti who are called Havolans. To the east is the territory of the Wends who are called the Siusli. To the south-east, some distance away, is Moravia. The Moravians have to their west the Thuringians ...

It makes sense that a king with more ties to Northern Europe than a Mediterranean author would want an expanded version that covers areas significant to his kingdom. Two travelers familiar to this time period—Ohthere and Wulfstan of Hedeby (sent by Alfred to Prussia to open up trade)—have their travel narratives added to Orosius as well during Alfred's time.

Let's learn more about Ohthere tomorrow.

(The illustration is of a carpet page from a 7th century manuscript of the History. It is the earliest known carpet page of an English manuscript.)

History Against the Pagans

Orosius wrote an influential book on the history of the world, Historiarum Adversum Paganos Libri VII, or "Seven Books of History Against the Pagans." The aim was to show how Christianity had made the world better. It was influenced by talks he had with Augustine of Hippo, whom he visited more than once. The opening shows Augustine's influence in its writing:

I have obeyed your instructions, blessed Augustine, and may my achievement match my good intentions.

... 

You bade me reply to the empty chatter and perversity of those who, aliens to the City of God*, are called "pagans" [pagani] because they come from the countryside [ex pagis] and the crossroads of the rural districts, or "heathen" because of their knowledge of earthly matters. Although these people do not seek out the future and moreover either forget or know nothing of the past, nevertheless they charge that the present times are unusually beset with calamities for the sole reason that men believe in Christ and worship God while idols are increasingly neglected.

He decided to start his history from "the beginning of man's misery from the beginning of his sin":

From Adam, the first man, to Ninus, whom they call "The Great" and in whose time Abraham was born, 3,184 years elapsed, a period that all historians have either disregarded or have not known. But from Ninus, or from Abraham, to Caesar Augustus, that is, to the birth of Christ, which took place in the forty-second year of Caesar's rule, when, on the conclusion of peace with the Parthians, the gates of Janus were closed and wars ceased over all the world, there were 2,015 years.**

We started talking about Orosius a couple days ago because of his reference to Noah. Curiously, not only does Orosius refer to the Flood and the repopulating of the world in his first of seven books without mentioning Noah by name, he also offers evidence for the Flood with:

Other writers, too, have testified to this truth. Though ignorant of the past and even of the very Creator of the ages, they have nevertheless learned about the flood by drawing logical inferences from the evidence offered by stones which, encrusted with shells and often corroded by water, we are accustomed to see on far-away mountains.

Orosius' History was a valuable resource in the Middle Ages; we've seen it mentioned here and here. We'll talk more about its use tomorrow.

*City of God was Augustine's major work.

**I want to point out that Orosius' gives a longer period of time prior to Jesus' birth than that of James Ussher (1581 - 1656), the Archbishop of Armagh who calculated Creation as taking place on 22 October 4004 BCE)

Paulus Orosius

Yesterday's post mentioned one of the most influential books on history that formed the foundation of the medieval era's understanding of their world. The Historiarum Adversum Paganos Libri VII, or "Seven Books of History Against the Pagans," was written by Orosius and covers from Noah's Flood to his own time (he died c.420CE).

Paulus Orosius was born c.375/385CE, possibly in the Roman province that is now Portugal. Although we know almost nothing of his origin, he was well-known to and trusted by the intellectuals and theologians of his day.

He visited Augustine of Hippo and collaborated with him on City of God. He visited St. Jerome, bringing him letters from Augustine. He was entrusted with delivering the relics of St. Stephen, the first Christian martyr who was stoned by (among others) Saul of Tarsus. The illustration shows the extent of at least some of his travels. The blue line shows him going all the way to Palestine on behalf of Augustine, where he wanted to meet with Jerome and learn more about some of the groups there. He met with Priscillians to learn about their heretical practices, as well as Pelagians. Orosius presented Augustine's arguments against Pelagius during the Jerusalem Synod of 415, prompting Pelagius to say Et quis est mihi Augustinus? ("Who is Augustine to me?").

Another synod that same year, the Synod of Diospolis, saw Orosius as well as Pelagius branded as heretics. Orosius wrote a book in response, the Liber Apologeticus, defending his beliefs.

Returning westward, he brought letters from Jerome to Augustine. He stayed with Augustine awhile, and some think it is here his History was conceived. We will talk about Orosius and his history more tomorrow.

Noah and the Anglo-Saxons

Yesterday we talked about the medieval attitude toward Noah, mostly from the Jewish viewpoint. Another group that spent a significant amount of time writing about Noah was the Anglo-Saxons in England.

Part of the reason was that King Alfred the Great (reigned 871 - 899) wanted important Latin works translated into English to be more accessible to more people. One of those works was a history by Orosius, the Historiarum Adversum Paganos Libri VII, or "Seven Books of History Against the Pagans." Orosius starts with Noah's Flood and tells the story of history up to his own time (he died c.420CE).

His goal was to explain how Christianity improved the lives of humankind, and he gives details such as the dimensions of the Ark:

Adam lived for 930 years. Noah lived 600 years before the Flood and 350 winters after it and he was in the Ark for 40 days, he and his three sons Shem, Ham and Japheth and their three wives. The Ark was 300 fathoms long, 50 fathoms wide, and 30 fathoms high. And his son Shem lived 630 years and his son Arfaxad lived 438 years. Then he begat a son called Heber. From him sprung forth the ‘Hebrew’ people.

Arfaxad was one of the sons of Shem, but the Anglo-Saxons were interested in a different descendant from Noah:

The story of Noah and his sons, and the building of the Ark, seems to have been popular in Anglo-Saxon England. Many of the surviving genealogical lists of Anglo-Saxon kings, for example, feature Noah prominently. The West Saxon Regnal List tell us that the line of the kings of Wessex, the dominant kingdom of Anglo-Saxon England from the late 9th century onwards, was descended from the Old Testament patriarch, through his fourth son Sceaf, said to have been born on the Ark itself. [link]

A list of West Saxon kings declares that they descended from Noah through his fourth [sic] son, Sceaf. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle for year 855 supports this, at least in two versions (B & C), saying Sceaf was born in the Ark.

Outside of Anglo-Saxon sources, the Noah-Sceaf link is unknown. A reference to him in Snorri Sturluson is explained because the Prose Edda drew on English sources.

Of course, in Beowulf we hear the story of Scyld Scefing, "Shield, son of Scef," who floats ashore as a babe on a ship laden with treasure and becomes king of Denmark. The "genealogy" of the ark-born Sceaf in Orosius and the ship-delivered Scyld Scefing of Beowulf would be a good dissertation topic for someone in my field of study.

We, however, will go in a different direction and look at Paul Orosius and his history.