The Personality of the Distant Past in the Context of Foreign Historiography: on Macrobius and Research Practices of German, French-Speaking and Italian Historiography of the 19th — 21st Centuries

Abstract

The paper notes that attempts to study the personality of Macrobius (5th century) and his creative heritage lasted for more than one century in foreign historiography — German, French-speaking and Italian. However, the interest of Western European scholars to the Latin author and his texts under the titles “Saturnalia”, “Commentary on the Dream of Scipio” and “On the Differences and Similarities of Greek and Latin Verbs” began to grow rapidly only in the 19th century. This was due to the publication of critical editions of Macrobius’ texts and the appearance of their French translations. The studies of the 19th — 21st centuries devoted to Macrobius and his texts are analyzed; all of them are considered fundamental in French-speaking, German and Italian historiography, which formed scientific schools in the field of research, called “Macrobius-Studies”.