Fabius Planciades Fulgentius () was a
Latin writer of
late antiquity
Late antiquity is the time of transition from classical antiquity to the Middle Ages, generally spanning the 3rd–7th century in Europe and adjacent areas bordering the Mediterranean Basin. The popularization of this periodization in English ha ...
. Four extant works are commonly attributed to him, as well as a possible fifth which some scholars include in compilations with much reservation. His
mythography was greatly admired and highly influential throughout much of the medieval period, but it is viewed with little favour today.
Life
Very little is known about the life of Fulgentius other than the few references he makes to himself in his own works. His style of
Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
, his knowledge of
Greek
Greek may refer to:
Greece
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group.
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family.
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
, and his view on classical authors and cults suggests that he was probably educated in
North Africa
North Africa, or Northern Africa is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region, and it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of Mauritania in ...
. Other references to African culture in his work support placing him in this region before the Muslim invasions of the 7th century. Moreover, his apparent knowledge of the Libyco-Berber language and script indicates that he was probably an ethnic African: he refers to the language in his ''On the Ages of the World and of Man'' as being part of his 'own' heritage.
[Vandals, Romans and Berbers](_blank)
p. 104 Traditionally, Fulgentius is thought to have had a professional career as a ''
grammaticus
Grammaticus is the Latin word for grammarian; see Grammarian (Greco-Roman world). It is also used to refer to a Roman patrician school.
As an agnomen, it may refer to:
* Ammonius Grammaticus (4th century), Greek grammarian
* Diomedes Grammaticus ...
'' or ''
rhetor
Rhetoric () is the art of persuasion, which along with grammar and logic (or dialectic), is one of the three ancient arts of discourse. Rhetoric aims to study the techniques writers or speakers utilize to inform, persuade, or motivate partic ...
'' (teacher of rhetoric). However, this belief is based on small incidental clues Fulgentius leaves behind in work and has been contested by some scholars. It remains possible that he was an amateur writer: in his prologue to Book 1 of the ''Mythologies'', Fulgentius mentions a wife, though it is unclear whether this is a genuine autobiographical detail or part of his fictional persona in the story.
Identity with Saint Fulgentius of Ruspe
There is a continuing debate as to whether or not Fabius Planciades Fulgentius, and a contemporary, Saint
Fulgentius of Ruspe
Fabius Claudius Gordianus Fulgentius, also known as Fulgentius of Ruspe (462 or 467 – 1 January 527 or 533) was North African Christian prelate who served as Bishop of Ruspe, in modern-day Tunisia, during the 5th and 6th century. He has been ca ...
(a Christian bishop) were the same person. The identification of the two Fulgentii was first made by medieval scholars and scribes as far back as the
Carolingian
The Carolingian dynasty (; known variously as the Carlovingians, Carolingus, Carolings, Karolinger or Karlings) was a Frankish noble family named after Charlemagne, grandson of mayor Charles Martel and a descendant of the Arnulfing and Pippin ...
period.
There is some overlap in the influences of the two authors (as could be expected from writers working in the same time period and location), such as a common interest in thinkers like
Augustine of Hippo
Augustine of Hippo ( , ; la, Aurelius Augustinus Hipponensis; 13 November 354 – 28 August 430), also known as Saint Augustine, was a theologian and philosopher of Berber origin and the bishop of Hippo Regius in Numidia, Roman North Af ...
. However, the primary focus and concern of each writer seems to set them apart. For example, most of the works attributed to Fulgentius the bishop deal with his opposition to heretical factions such as
Arianism
Arianism ( grc-x-koine, Ἀρειανισμός, ) is a Christological doctrine first attributed to Arius (), a Christian presbyter from Alexandria, Egypt. Arian theology holds that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, who was begotten by God ...
, a topic for which Fabius Fulgentius seems to have no concern. Topics on which the bishop seemed to have been strongly opinionated (Arianism, free-will, etc.) are never discussed in the mythographer's work, even when a discussion of such things would seem to fit his discussion. From a linguistic standpoint, the mythographer's unique style and inclusion of otherwise unused words and idioms is not replicated in the work of the bishop, which suggests further a negative identification.
It has been suggested that Fabius Fulgentius, who is traditionally thought to have been writing in the late 5th and early 6th centuries may have borrowed a line from
Corippus Flavius Cresconius Corippus was a late Berber-Roman epic poet of the 6th century, who flourished under East Roman Emperors Justinian I and Justin II. His major works are the epic poem '' Iohannis'' and the panegyric ''In laudem Iustini minoris''. ...
's Iohannis in his ''Mythologies'', which indicates that he was writing after 550. This discovery has called into serious doubt the possibility of identifying the bishop as the mythographer, as Saint
Fulgentius of Ruspe
Fabius Claudius Gordianus Fulgentius, also known as Fulgentius of Ruspe (462 or 467 – 1 January 527 or 533) was North African Christian prelate who served as Bishop of Ruspe, in modern-day Tunisia, during the 5th and 6th century. He has been ca ...
is known to have died in 533.
Although the identification debate has not yet been settled, the answer to the question of whether to ascribe the authorship of the works to a single person appears to depend on subjective interpretation of the available evidence: Critical analysis which compares the writing styles used in the written works and marginal biographical details. Conflating the authors of the works is a tradition that began centuries ago, but that idea most likely originated as the result of a Carolingian-era scribal error.
Writings
The four extant works attributed to Fulgentius include (listed in what is believed to be chronological order):
#''Mythologiae (Mythologies)''
#''Expositio continentiae Virgilianae secundum philosophos moralis (The Exposition of the Content of Virgil According to Moral Philosophy)''
#''Expositio sermonum antiquorum (The Explanation of Obsolete Words)''
#''De aetatibus mundi et hominis (On the Ages of the World and of Man)''
A fifth work, which in the past has been attributed to Fulgentius is the ''Super Thebaiden'' (On the
Thebaid
The Thebaid or Thebais ( grc-gre, Θηβαΐς, ''Thēbaïs'') was a region in ancient Egypt, comprising the 13 southernmost nomes of Upper Egypt, from Abydos to Aswan.
Pharaonic history
The Thebaid acquired its name from its proximity to ...
). The manuscript ascribes the work to "S. Fulgencius Episcopus", whom Rudolf Helm (the first modern publisher of Fulgentius' work) considered to be the mythographer. This work was not included in the Carolingian manuscripts (possibly because it did not exist at this time), but was included in Helm's 1897 edition of the works of Fulgentius with strong reservations. While there is no consensus on the authenticity of the treatise, there is strong evidence to support the fact that the work was written in the twelfth century by a writer imitating the allegorical style of Fulgentius. This is not to say that the work was a forgery, but more likely that it was mistakenly attributed to Fulgentius as a result of scribal error.
In addition to these, Fulgentius mentions other works that have not survived to the present. In the first prologue to the ''Mythologies'' he mentions earlier satirical poems, and in the ''Content of Virgil'' he makes reference to his work on physiology.
''Mythologies''
Generally known as his chief work, the ''Mythologies'' (Latin: ''Mitologiarum