Work dossier · summary and historical context
The Kalendarium Anno CCCCIIL Conscriptum, attributed to Polemeus Silvius, is a Latin calendar that claims composition in the year 402 but contains feasts and historical notices suggesting a later, possibly 5th-century, compilation. It survives in a single manuscript with significant lacunae and scribal errors. The work blends pagan Roman, Jewish, Egyptian, and Christian elements, reflecting the religious and cultural transitions of late antiquity. Its attribution to Polemeus Silvius is uncertain, and the original extent of the calendar remains unclear due to the fragmentary state of the sole witness. The calendar was used by later medieval computists and martyrologists, though its influence is limited compared to other late antique calendars.
The Kalendarium is significant for its syncretic blend of pagan Roman, Jewish, Egyptian, and Christian elements, illustrating the cultural and religious transitions of late antiquity. It provides insight into early Christian liturgical diversity, such as the conflation of Epiphany traditions, and preserves aetiological notes on Roman customs. Despite its fragmentary state and uncertain authorship, it offers a rare glimpse into the calendrical and computational practices of a transitional period.
The Kalendarium is attributed to Polemeus Silvius, a name possibly associated with 5th-century Gaul, though the attribution is uncertain and may be a pseudonym or later addition. The work claims the year 402, but internal evidence—such as the inclusion of feasts like Epiphany with multiple traditions (Magi, water-into-wine, baptism) and historical notices—points to a later compilation, likely in the 5th century. The calendar survives in a single manuscript tradition, with significant lacunae and scribal errors that obscure the original text. It reflects a period of Christianization in the Roman world, where older pagan and Jewish calendrical elements were adapted into Christian liturgical frameworks. The work's transmission is limited, and its influence on later medieval computists and martyrologists is noted but modest compared to other late antique calendars like the Chronograph of 354.
Apparatus · what the pipeline recorded
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