Has anybody ever heard of a military manual dating to the last partof the 3rd century by a certain Modestus? Apparently he wrote for Aurelian, and it is thought Vegetius used him for a source. I would very much like to read an English translation as well as the original.<br>
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Valete,<br>
Valerius/Robert <p></p><i></i>
www.polybiblio.com/finch/84730.html :<br>
Quote:</em></strong><hr>Modestus, the author of the fourth treatise, addressed it to the Emperor Tacitus. It contains an explanation of some common terms, and an outline of the system pursued at that period in classifying and disciplining soldiers<hr><br>
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Most of the things I can find about Modestus and his <em>de re militari</em> or <em>Libellus de uocabulis rei militaris ad Tacitum Augustum</em> come from university libraries' lists of rare books and incunabula... if there's a collection that has it nearby, you might be able to ask them to look at it. He seems to be grouped among the three "Scriptores de Re Militari" along with Frontinus and Vegetius.<br>
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although, now, I find:<br>
www.history.uiuc.edu/fac_...eenth.html :<br>
Quote:</em></strong><hr>The title De vocabulis rei militaris ... by "Modestus" is actually a forgery by Pomponius Laetus, or one of his pupils, based upon Vegetius. Nevertheless, the Libellus De vocabulis rei militaris [the full title] is "a short, but valuable vocabulary of terms used in the drilling and manoeuvering of the phalanx."<hr><br>
I'm not sure what to make of that... Pomponius Laetus, on further research, seems quite an interesting character... 1425-1497, apparently one of the earliest Roman reenactors: [url=http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/08738a.htm" target="top]www.newadvent.org/cathen/08738a.htm[/url] "He wished to live the life of the ancients. His vineyard on the Quirinal was cultivated in accordance with the precepts of Varro and of Columella, and he was himself regarded as a second Cato... Its members assumed Latin names and celebrated every year the festival of the Palilia â€â€Â
Hi Danno,<br>
<br>
Thanks for the investigation! I may be able to trace the work locally with this additional information.<br>
Say, that Pomponius Laetus character is quite the Renaissance man (1425-1497)! And quite the purist, too:<br>
Quote:</em></strong><hr>He had declined to study Greek for fear of spoiling his Latin style. He went so far as to read the most classical authors only and disdained the Bible and the Fathers.<hr><br>
Indeed, considering the ways of the times I would not dare and call <em>de re militari</em> original. I sure hope other versions of 'his' manuscripts exist! he and his contemporaries did not think of 'adding' or 're-writing' as forging..<br>
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Thanks!<br>
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Valete,<br>
Valerius/Robert <p></p><i></i>
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It could be of same help: it's the complete six pages, latin text, of Modestus' manual:<br>
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[url=http://cnum.cnam.fr/CGI/fpage.cgi?fY29/282/100/288/0/0" target="top]cnum.cnam.fr/CGI/fpage.cgi?fY29/282/100/288/0/0[/url]<br>
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It's short but interesting: at the first glance it's told about cataphracti, dracones, martiobabuli, plumbatae and missiles too...<br>
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Go to the previous pages for Vegetius and Aelianus.<br>
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Valete,<br>
Titus <p></p><i></i>
Modestus is almost certainly a rip-off of Vegetius (savour the irony!) but I would like to see a detailed computer analysis of the language used to be sure (M is largely ignored by the academic community - witness the <em>huge</em> number of scholarly editions). M as a source for V does not work for me; Schenk made a detailed case for V's relationship to his sources and M is just cheating on his homework, if you ask me (no anti-plagiarismn software in those days;-)...<br>
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Mike Bishop <p></p><i></i>
A volunteer for translation, please..<br>
Come on. It's very short. It'll take you no time. <p></p><i></i>
<em>A volunteer for translation, please..</em><br>
<br>
Already done, as part of my Vegetius on the web project (
www.vegetius.org ); all I need is the time to finish the whole thing off.<br>
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Mike Bishop <p></p><i>Edited by: <A HREF=http://p200.ezboard.com/bromanarmytalk.showUserPublicProfile?gid=richsc>Richsc</A> at: 6/16/04 6:21 pm<br></i>
Dr. Bishop, do you ever rest or sleep? All that work!<br>
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Hans<br>
<p></p><i></i>
But it's a blank page! <p></p><i></i>
<em> But it's a blank page!</em><br>
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No it's not - it contains the words<br>
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'Flavivs Vegetivs Renatvs<br>
This will be his home page'<br>
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so it is <em>not</em> blank. As I said, I am still working on finishing this.<br>
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Mike Bishop <p></p><i></i>