All cited passages are from W.Seyfarth, Ammiani Marcellini rerum gestarum libri qui supersunt, Leipzig, Teubner, 1978. From the general statement of divine favour, the soldiers move to the notion of a fortunate leader, which in Ammianus usage means much more than simply lucky, as J.C.Rolfe translates31. cit., p.66-67 and n. 194, notes that the speech of the signifer is a trope of Roman historiography. Web2 For a concise history of Ammianus stylistic reception, see R. B lockley, Ammianus Marcellinus and ; 3 The now classic account is that of E. A uerbach, Mimesis. The author expresses himself in the obscure and labored Latin typical of the late empire. Want to know what people are actually reading right now? Julian, on the other hand, suffers a setback in confidence (. In the later appearances Ammianus will present this public genius more concretely and also associate it more directly with Julians personal tutelary spirit, as if to conjoin the personal destiny of his favourite with the cosmic destiny of the Roman state, this eagerness had the approval of the superior officers. Our summaries and analyses are written by experts, and your questions are answered by real teachers. Fourth-century historian Ammianus Marcellinus wrote: "Never, since the Battle of Cannae, has there been such slaughter." A Greek of a prominent uppermiddleclass family, he served as a military officer under Ursicinus in Italy, on the Rhine, and in the East (353360); took part in the Persian campaign of julian the apostate (363); spent time in Antioch; and settled in Rome after 378. The interruption of the expected formal sequence, as Julian halts his advance and addresses the army, clearly corresponds to the substance of the speech itself, which recommends a postponement of the intended engagement. Topics. In this case, however, there is no mention of a prepared platform or retinue (both correspond to Augustan privilege). In addition to preserving a sense of Caesarian propriety, several aspects of this, The general impression of Julian that Ammianus wishes to convey in the chapters before the Strasbourg battle narrative is clear: the pious, learned, divinely favoured Caesar is achieving great things in the provinces against adversaries both native (in campaigns against the Alamanni and Franks) and Roman (he is calumniated by the, XVI, 4-6 describe the initial drawing up of the opposing armies. At XVI, 12, 9, on the verge of battle, Julian delivers a brief speech to his troops which counsels delay. Historischer Kommentar zu Ammianus Marcellinus Buch XX-XXI. By clicking Sign Up, I acknowledge that I have read and agree to Penguin Random House's Privacy Policy and Terms of Use and understand that Penguin Random House collects certain categories of personal information for the purposes listed in that policy, discloses, sells, or shares certain personal information and retains personal information in accordance with the policy. Ammianus mentions the independence of the Gallic army soon. Free shipping for many products! On the other hand, by cuing contrasts and concordances between the emperors focalized, and the objective judgement of his own third-person narrative, Ammianus develops an individualized subjective portrait of the man in purple. Peter OBrien, Ammianus Marcellinus, the Caesar Julian, and Rhetorical Failure,Cahiers des tudes anciennes [En ligne], L|2013, mis en ligne le 19 aot 2013, consult le 05 avril 2023. 13The general impression of Julian that Ammianus wishes to convey in the chapters before the Strasbourg battle narrative is clear: the pious, learned, divinely favoured Caesar is achieving great things in the provinces against adversaries both native (in campaigns against the Alamanni and Franks) and Roman (he is calumniated by the magister peditum et equitum Marcellus, XVI, 7, who had refused him aid in battle, XVI, 4, 3). 21 The epic tone is continued in the following phrase, tubarum concinente clangore. 6In its own position, Julians Strasbourg speech draws on the standards of ceremonial legitimacy that accompanied Ammianus portrayal of his Caesarian accession in 355 (XV, 8), where he has no speaking role, but is presented before the army for investiture by Constantius at that point his benefactor and patron. Peter OBrien, Ammianus Marcellinus, the Caesar Julian, and Rhetorical Failure,Cahiers des tudes anciennes, L|2013, 139-160. Closeness to Ursicinus sometimes clouded his judgment, and he did not do complete justice to Gallus, but his eulogistic tone toward Julian did not blind him to that emperor's faults. Despite this opposition and indeed against it, Ammianus continues to build on his contention that Julian was marked out by supernatural favour at an early age for the imperial role that he subjectively comes to accept only gradually and reluctantly in 360 (XX, 4-5). After these words had been spoken no one was silent, but all the soldiers began to strike their shields on their knees with a horrible clash. During the Reigns of the Emperors Constantius, Julian, Jovianus, Valentinian, and Valens. At Adrianople (now Edirne), they found Fritigerns Visigoths camped atop a hill, their wagons ringing the summit in an impromptu fortress. Of Germanic origin, the Goths had settled territories to the north of the Black Sea. 23In Ammianus distillation of the diverse shouts of the soldiery, four separate, if not wholly distinct reasons for engaging an enemy already in sight stand out. 27 R.Seager, Ammianus Marcellinus: Seven Studies in his Language and Thought, Columbia, University of Missouri Press, 1986, p.69; 7176. 6 Apr. 4 (1957), p.78-84, on the role of the Caesar in the time of Ammianus. Firstly, the soldiers rely on the favour of the heavenly deity, secondly on their own self-confidence, thirdly on the tried valour of their fortunate leader. 37 N.Bitter, op. His knowledge of ancient history and literature is impressive. The Treatment of Narrative in Late Antique Literature: Ammianus Marcellinus (XVI, 10), Rutilius Namatianus and Paulinus of Pella. 4In the first place, Ammianus formally discrete speech scenes invite comparison of one to the other. Finally, Ammianus adds a sort of adjunct to their first reason (the force and distinctiveness of which is emphasized, as it were, by a shift into direct from indirect discourse) asserting the presence of a certain tutelary spirit, which was urging them into the fight. Buy. Ammianus mentions the independence of the Gallic army soon after the speech in Florentius disquisition (XVI, 12, 14). Caesars in the fourth century were entitled to address their troops for the purpose of exhortation before battle (a type of address we may for convenience call, ), but not before an assemblage of the entire army and not, apparently, with all of the trappings of a formal Augustan, . Following the recitation of Florentius reasoning, Ammianus launches into a three-paragraph explication of the military estate of Gaul and of various particularities of the enemy force. 395 CE, a Greek of Antioch, joined the army when still young and served under the governor Ursicinus and the emperor of the East Constantius II, and later under the emperor Julian, whom he admired and accompanied against the Alamanni and the Persians. It is ironic that Gaius Iulius Caesar, a contemporary of Cicero and Catullus, and certainly another contender for the title of Most I, Marcus Terentius Varro The Strasbourg speech captures Julian at a point of military crisis, to be sure, but also at a point in his relationship with Constantius Augustus in which his success is both expected and suspected. But therefore to conclude that the speeches are merely perfunctory generic relics is seriously to underestimate their role in Ammianus complex narrative. In keeping with the general trend to re-evaluate late antique culture on its own terms rather than on those of the classical canon, recent scholarship has been more forgiving of Ammianus stylistic quirks and eccentricities. Theodor Mommsen was the most productive and influential German his, Orosius In a life that spanned the reigns of the Flavian emperors and of Trajan, Livy The otherwise vivid accounts of the usurpations of Silvanus (XV, 5) and of Procopius (XXVI, 6) are notably devoid of adlocutiones in direct speech. onward, survive. WebPaulus, genannt Catena (die Kette; Ende 361/Anfang 362), war ein sptantiker rmischer Beamter am Hof des Kaisers Constantius II., wo er von 353 bis 361 als notarius fungierte. They were depending on the favour of a heavenly god, their own self-confidence, and on the tried courage of a general loved by Fortune; and indeed, as the outcome demonstrated, some tutelary genius was present, spurring them to the fight while he was able to help. Unlike all the other battlefield speeches incorporated into his narrative, this is not, strictly speaking, an, . There is a brief and dated monograph: G.B. I Discorsi nelle Storie dAmmiano Marcellino, Speeches and Imperial Characterization in Ammianus Marcellinus. The additional adjective genuina, the primary sense of which is innate according to P. De Jonge, could also carry with it a secondary sense of genuine, which is a post-classical accretion. 5 In my doctoral dissertation, on parts of which this article is based (P.OBrien, Speeches and Imperial Characterization in Ammianus Marcellinus, diss. 
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