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 the relics of St. Stephen, the first Christian martyr who was stood 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 a heretic. 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 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.