Fenestella (c. 52 BC – c. AD 19) was a Roman historian and encyclopaedic writer.

Biography

He flourished in the reign of

Tiberius Tiberius Julius Caesar Augustus (; 16 November 42 BC – 16 March AD 37) was the second Roman emperor. He reigned from AD 14 until 37, succeeding his stepfather, the first Roman emperor Augustus. Tiberius was born in Rome in 42 BC. His father ...

. According to

Jerome Jerome (; la, Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus; grc-gre, Εὐσέβιος Σωφρόνιος Ἱερώνυμος; – 30 September 420), also known as Jerome of Stridon, was a Christian presbyter, priest, Confessor of the Faith, confessor, th ...

, he lived from 52 BC to AD 19 (according to others 35 BC – AD 36).

Pliny the Elder Gaius Plinius Secundus (AD 23/2479), called Pliny the Elder (), was a Roman author, naturalist and natural philosopher, and naval and army commander of the early Roman Empire, and a friend of the emperor Vespasian. He wrote the encyclopedic '' ...

, '' Natural History'' 33.146 states, that Fenestella died at the end of the reign of the emperor

Work

Taking

Varro Marcus Terentius Varro (; 116–27 BC) was a Roman polymath and a prolific author. He is regarded as ancient Rome's greatest scholar, and was described by Petrarch as "the third great light of Rome" (after Vergil and Cicero). He is sometimes calle ...

for his model, Fenestella was one of the chief representatives of the new style of historical writing which, in the place of the brilliant descriptive pictures of

Livy Titus Livius (; 59 BC – AD 17), known in English as Livy ( ), was a Ancient Rome, Roman historian. He wrote a monumental history of Rome and the Roman people, titled , covering the period from the earliest legends of Rome before the traditiona ...

, discussed curious and out-of-the-way incidents and customs of political and social life, including literary history. He was the author of a work entitled ''Annales'', probably from the earliest times down to his own days. The fragments indicate the great variety of subjects discussed: the origin of the appeal to the people (''provocatio''); the use of elephants in the circus games; the wearing of gold rings; the introduction of the olive tree; the material for making the toga; the cultivation of the soil; certain details as to the lives of

Cicero Marcus Tullius Cicero ( ; ; 3 January 106 BC – 7 December 43 BC) was a Roman statesman, lawyer, scholar, philosopher, and academic skeptic, who tried to uphold optimate principles during the political crises that led to the estab ...

and

Terence Publius Terentius Afer (; – ), better known in English as Terence (), was a Roman African playwright during the Roman Republic. His comedies were performed for the first time around 166–160 BC. Terentius Lucanus, a Roman senator, brought ...

. The work was referred to (mention is made of an abridged edition) by

Asconius Pedianus Quintus Asconius Pedianus (BC 9 - AD 76) was a Roman historian. There is no evidence that Asconius engaged in a public career, but he was familiar both with Roman government of his time and with the geography of the city. He may, therefore, have w ...

(the commentator on Cicero), Nonius and the philologists. Fragments of his work can be found in Hermann Peter's ''Historicorum Romanorum fragmenta'' (1883). A work published under the name of L. Fenestella (''De magistratibus et sacerdotiis Romanorum'', 1510) is really by A. D. Fiocchi, canon and papal secretary, and was subsequently published as by him (under the Latinized form of his name, Floccus), edited by Aegidius Witsius (1561).

Notes

References

* This work in turn cites: ** A monograph by

L. Mercklin Carl Linnaeus (; 23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after his ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné Blunt (2004), p. 171. (), was a Swedish botanist, zoologist, taxonomist, and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, the ...

(1844) ** Joseph Poeth, ''De fenestella historiarum scriptore et carminum'' (1849) **

Martin Schanz Martin Schanz (12 June 1842 – 15 December 1914) was a German classicist and Plato scholar. He was a Dozent and Professor at the University of Würzburg from 1867 to 1912, and is especially known for his history of Roman literature and his groun ...

, ''Geschichte der Röm. Litt.'', 2nd ed. (1901) **

Teuffel Wilhelm Siegmund Teuffel (; September 27, 1820March 8, 1878), German classical scholar, was born at Ludwigsburg in the Kingdom of Württemberg. In 1849 he was appointed extraordinary, in 1857 ordinary professor in the university of Tübingen, whic ...

, ''Hist. of Roman Literature'', p. 259. {{EB1911 article with no significant updates 50s BC births 10s deaths Ancient Roman writers Golden Age Latin writers 1st-century BC Romans 1st-century Romans 1st-century historians Latin historians Latin encyclopedists Roman encyclopedists