Customer Reviews

The Chronicle of Eusebius and Greek Chronographic Tradition

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

As every schoolboy know, history is about dates and events. In antiquity, this was not a simple matter, for there was no universal system like AD and BC, nor agreement as to when the year started, nor on the months in use. Ancient chronographers listed the names of kings, and the number of years for which they reigned, and might mention some event that occurred 'in the 4th year of king XYZ.' Since there were many series of such monarchs in cities and kingdoms, this was not much help.

In 313AD Eusebius Pamphili, Bishop of Caesarea, made a critical breakthrough. He invented a format for a chronicle in which he laid out multiple vertical columns of rulers, tied together by syncronisms at various points. It ran from the first date he thought he could have any real chance of dating, the birth of Abraham, down to 313, later 326AD. This meant that for any year it was possible to see who was doing what. Into it he processed all the mass of material that existed in the Greek chronographic tradition. His format meant both that he could use material from any list of rulers, and that he could detect errors.

His chronicle fell on relatively stony ground in the Greek world; only an Armenian translation of a form revised (and corrupted) exists. But a copy came into the hands of St. Jerome, who translated it into Latin, added material from the West, and thereby laid the foundations for all subsequent chronicles. In the Latin form, over 100 manuscripts exist, some from the 5th century.

All this is explained by Mosshammer in a marvellous manner. It is clear, it is detailed, it is well-referenced. Mosshammer disentangles the remains of the chronicle in its various versions, and lays the results out clearly. He includes monochrome photographs from the 5th century Bodleian Library manuscript, which allows us to see the innovative format.

The history of the various printed editions is exceedingly complex. Here again Mosshammer is simply an incredibly useful resource. It is almost impossible for the layman to make sense of the manner in which the various editions, past and present, Armenian, German, Latin, and Syriac, interrelate. Worse still, older editions have been republished while better editions have not. Mosshammer guides the reader through them all. Indeed it is the only guide known to me in English, and quite indispensable.

The second portion of the book takes various events, recorded in the various versions of the chronicle, and discusses how they come to be, which is correct, and how the reading derives (which it usually does) from one strand or another of the pre-existing mass of material. Some 12 cases are examined in detail. The results are really for specialists, but are certainly very well done.

It is hard to see how a book of this kind could have been improved within its lengthy compass. Armed with it, the newcomer to Eusebius-Jerome can chart his own course.

The monograph "The Chronicle of Eusebius and Greek Chronographic Tradition" by Alden Mosshammer is a must read for one who wants to analyse the reliability of Eusebius' "Chronicon," by which to form the chronology of the early historical period of the west.
The bood is thorough and helpful. But without an English translation of the original Chronicon (either Armenian or Jeromi) in print, this book fell out of use, and out of print.
To make the full usage of this important book, one may utilize the online translations of the Chronicon at [...]
and
[...]