International congress of byzantine studies belgrade, 22 27 august 2016

Lorenzo Focanti
Universiteit Gent, Ghent, Belgium; 
[e-mail]
Exi, Februarie
: Brunichius in Malalas’ Chronicle
The studies concerning the sources of Malalas’ Chronographia are usually characterized by a 
strong skeptical attitude. The fact that many of the seventy-five authors listed by the chronicle are not 
attested elsewhere is surely one of the main reasons for that. The lack of testimonies has encouraged 
scholars to consider these sources garbled secondary references, or inventions of Malalas (see, for 
instance, the studies of Bourier, Jeffreys, and Treadgold). Such a suspicious approach has latterly 
been questioned. A new strategy has been proposed, whose goal is to take «Malalas’ references to lost 
authors seriously» (Van Nuffelen). It has achieved interesting results in analyzing historians such as 
Clemens, Bruttius and Theophilus. The aim of my paper is to apply it to another author, Brunichius. 
The seventh book of the Chronographia focuses on Roman Republic: along with the end of the 
monarchy and the deeds of Brutus, Malalas describes the Gallic siege of Rome, presenting Manlius 
Capitolinus as the hero who saved the city. After the liberation, the Roman banished the Gallic 
senator Februarius and gave his name to the shortest month of the year (Chron. VII 10-12). At 
the end of the episode, Malalas names his source: «the Account (Ἔκθεσις) of the Roman historian 
Brunichius» (Chron. VII 12). Such a reference presents many elements of interest: first of all, the 
name of the source. As Niebuhr already observed in his Römische Geschichte (688, n.1345), it 
probably reveals a Gothic origin (from the Germanic root *brunjō-, i.e. ‘armor’). Moreover, Malalas 
writes that he has read the text of Brunichius in person, whereas most of his quotes are introduced in 
an impersonal way (e.g. with the adverb καθώς). According to the chronicler, the copy of Brunichius 
was conserved in Thessalonica. The city is itself a remarkable element: for better or for worse, it has 
often been linked to Gothic movements in late antiquity. Finally, the tale of Februarius and his 
banishment from Rome is quite interesting too. In spite of its historical mistakes (e.g. the absence of 
Camillus and the positive image of Manlius), it has enjoyed widespread appreciation in Byzantine 
literature. The story seems to mix the literary topos of the φαρμακός, the scapegoat, with the Roman 
celebration of the lupercalia, the ritual purifications of February. 
I will treat all these aspects: I think indeed that the results of the analysis will give us a deeper 
knowledge not only of Malalas’ chronicle, but also of the literary context who inspired it.

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