Exemplary Biography

Moving away from the nineteenth century’s concern with Quellenforschung, serious study of Valerius Maximus’ Facta et dicta memorabilia in the twentieth century produced a variety of different approaches to this Tiberian text of exemplary tales. One of the most interesting projects in this regard was produced by T.F. Carney, who scrutinised a key exemplar, Gaius Marius, across the work. In constructing a ‘biography’ from the exempla themselves, Carney’s labour contributed much to Roman history generally, but also pioneered a novel methodology for reading Valerius Maximus—one that was taken up and imitated by later scholars. This methodology, however, is not without problems, particularly in relation to the way that Valerius has shaped, structured, and arranged his work at the level of chapter. By building upon Carney’s methodology, but also considering the context of the individual chapters themselves, I provide in this paper a case study of the way in which Valerius writes the life of Marcus Tullius Cicero—a figure unique in the Facta et dicta memorabilia in being both exemplar and a major source for the work. In doing so, this article elucidates the process of ‘exemplary biography’.

Notas marginales anónimas en un ejemplar de la edición de los Facta et Dicta Memorabilia de Valerio Máximo a cargo de Juan María de Terranova (Salamanca, 1560)

Las notas marginales, escritas en latín, castellano y griego, encontradas en un ejemplar de la edición de Facta et Dicta Memorabilia realizada por Juan María de Terranova en Salamanca (Archivo Municipal de Gijón, R/1), son el objeto de análisis de este trabajo. El estudio de estos elementos paratextuales supone la muestra de no solo un alto grado de interés por el texto de Valerio Máximo que refleja, sino también de unos sólidos conocimientos de la lengua latina y, además, de las ediciones, comentarios y Annotationes posteriores del mismo autor, lo que deja entrever un profundo esfuerzo por parte del glosador para mejorar su ejemplar. The marginal notes, written in Latin, Spanish and Greek, found in a copy of the edition of Facta et Dicta Memorabilia edited by Juan María de Terranova in Salamanca (Archivo Municipal de Gijón, R/1), are the object of analysis of this work. The study of these paratextual elements reveals not only a high degree of interest in Valerius Maximus text, but also a solid knowledge of the Latin language and, moreover, of the later editions and commentaries on the same author, which shows a great effort by the glossator to improve his copy.