538 Glossary of Select Sources
figures as the nun Proba of Rome, whose library he used, and Dionysius Exiguus,
who dedicated a Latin translation of Gregory of Nyssa to him.Jordanes (d. after 552) A Latin author whose biography is a matter of scholarly
debate but who is usually identified as a notary of barbarian ancestry (Goth or
Alan), either from the Balkans or from Italy, who later experienced a conversio (the
meaning of which is another matter of scholarly debate) and who, while residing in
Constantinople in the early 550s, wrote two historical works, which were joined into
one volume. The first of these works is known as the Romana. It provides a world his-
tory beginning with Creation but eventually focusing on Roman history alone and
concluding with a Constantinople-centred Roman Empire in the mid 6th century.
Although some of the material is clearly Jordanes’ own, the Romana relies heavily
on other sources for its narrative, particularly on the Chronicle of Marcellinus Comes
and its continuation, as well as an unknown source, for its treatment of events from
the mid 5th century forward. Of particular interest is its account of Italian history
following the death of Theoderic (d. 526) and especially the events of the Gothic
War. Jordanes’ second work, known as the Getica, was begun and completed while
he was still composing the Romana. It provides a history of the Goths as a whole
from their mythical origins to the late 4th century, at which point separate accounts
are provided for the Visigoths and then Ostrogoths. The latter brings the history of
both peoples to the mid 6th century, although Ostrogothic Italy itself receives a rel-
atively short treatment at roughly twenty chapters. Like the Romana, the Getica is
derivative and relies on a number of Greek and Latin sources for its narrative. Most
controversial is its relationship to Cassiodorus’ lost Gothic History, a work Jordanes
claims he read and epitomized from memory and to which he admits adding mate-
rial of his own. The sources for and reliability of much of the Getica’s earliest mate-
rial is likewise a matter of scholarly debate, as is Jordanes’ purpose and motivation
in composing this work.
Liber Pontificalis ‘The Pontifical Book’ presents short lives of individual popes
beginning with Peter and continuing forward with each subsequent bishop of the
Roman see. While some entries offer early biographical information they gener-
ally focus on developments during the bishops’ episcopal tenures with emphasis
placed on liturgical innovation, church building and decoration, clerical ordina-
tions, the pope’s death, burial, and interregnum. Transmitted anonymously, the
Liber Pontificalis was most likely produced by a team of writers, presumably local
Roman clerics, who had access to a range of materials and who showed familiarity
with the religious topography of the city. Moreover, the Liber Pontificalis is a ‘liv-
ing document’, a text that was continuously amended, added to, and abridged at
various points across centuries, and thus eschews simple dating. Since the early