The ''Chronica Gallica of 452'', also called the ''Gallic Chronicle of 452'', is a Latin chronicle 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 ...
, presented in the form of annals, which continues
that
''That'' is an English language word used for several grammatical purposes. These include use as an adjective, conjunction, pronoun, adverb, and intensifier; it has distance from the speaker, as opposed to words like ''this''. The word did not ori ...
of
Jerome
Jerome (; la, Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus; grc-gre, Εὐσέβιος Σωφρόνιος Ἱερώνυμος; – 30 September 420), also known as Jerome of Stridon, was a Christian priest, confessor, theologian, and historian; he is co ...
. It was edited by
Theodor Mommsen
Christian Matthias Theodor Mommsen (; 30 November 1817 – 1 November 1903) was a German classical scholar, historian, jurist, journalist, politician and archaeologist. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest classicists of the 19th centu ...
in the ''
Monumenta Germaniae Historica'' as ''Chronica Gallica A. CCCCLII'', along with another anonymous Gallic chronicle, the ''
Chronica Gallica of 511
The ''Chronica'' or ''Cronaca Gallica of 511'', also called the ''Gallic Chronicle of 511'', is a chronicle of late antiquity preserved today in a single manuscript of the thirteenth century now in Madrid. It resembles in all its traits another lat ...
''.
The chronicle begins in 379 with the elevation of
Theodosius I
Theodosius I ( grc-gre, Θεοδόσιος ; 11 January 347 – 17 January 395), also called Theodosius the Great, was Roman emperor from 379 to 395. During his reign, he succeeded in a crucial war against the Goths, as well as in two ...
as co-emperor, and ends with the attack of
Attila, king of the
Huns
The Huns were a nomadic people who lived in Central Asia, the Caucasus, and Eastern Europe between the 4th and 6th century AD. According to European tradition, they were first reported living east of the Volga River, in an area that was part ...
, on Italy in 452. The contents focus on
Gaul
Gaul ( la, Gallia) was a region of Western Europe first described by the Romans. It was inhabited by Celtic and Aquitani tribes, encompassing present-day France, Belgium, Luxembourg, most of Switzerland, parts of Northern Italy (only during ...
, the emperors and the popes, while events in the eastern part of the empire find little mention. It is the oldest preserved historical work from Gaul. The place of origin is controversial, but most likely somewhere in the
Rhône
The Rhône ( , ; wae, Rotten ; frp, Rôno ; oc, Ròse ) is a major river in France and Switzerland, rising in the Alps and flowing west and south through Lake Geneva and southeastern France before discharging into the Mediterranean Sea. At Ar ...
Valley or, as some suggest, specifically
Marseilles.
The ''Chronica Gallica of 511'', edited in the same MGH volume, also begins with Theodosius, but covers the period up to 511.
Sources
*MGH Auctores antiquissimi 9: Chronica minora saec. IV. V. VI. VII. (I). ed. Theodor Mommsen. Berlin 1892, p. 615–666, Digitalised. (Text: p. 646ff. and each second page
48, 650 etc.
*Richard Burgess: The Gallic Chronicle of 452: A New Critical Edition with a Brief Introduction. In: Ralph W. Mathisen, Danuta Shanzer (eds.): Society and Culture in Late Antique Gaul. Revisiting the Sources. Aldershot 2001, p. 52ff.
*Steven Muhlberger: The Fifth-Century Chroniclers: Prosper, Hydatius, and the Gallic Chronicler of 452. Leeds 1990.
*Jan-Markus Kötter, Carlo Scardino (Hrsg.): ''Gallische Chroniken'' (= ''
Kleine und fragmentarische Historiker der Spätantike'' G 7–8). Schöningh, Paderborn 2016, {{ISBN, 978-3-506-78489-6.
French chronicles
452
5th-century history books
5th-century Latin books