Martianus Capella and the Seven Liberal Arts: The Quadrivium of Martianus Capella: Latin Traditions in the Mathematical Sciences

by Martianus Capella, William Harris Stahl

Part of a detailed compendium of late-Roman learning in each of the seven liberal arts, set within an amusing mythological-allegorical tale of courtship and marriage among the pagan gods. The text provides an understanding of medieval allegory and the components of a medieval education.

Genres: Philosophy, Education, Classics, Medieval

389 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 439

About the author

Martianus Minneus Felix Capella was a Latin prose writer of Late Antiquity (fl. c. 410–420), one of the earliest developers of the system of the seven liberal arts that structured early medieval education. His single encyclopedic work, De nuptiis Philologiae et Mercurii ("On the Marriage of Philology and Mercury", also called De septem disciplinis "On the seven disciplines") is an elaborate didactic allegory written in a mixture of prose and elaborately allusive verse.

Martianus often presents philosophical views based on Neoplatonism, the Platonic school of philosophy pioneered by Plotinus and his followers. Like his near-contemporary Macrobius, who also produced a major work on classical Roman religion, Martianus never directly identifies his own religious affiliation. Much of his work occurs in the form of dialogue, and the views of the interlocutors may not represent the author's own.

Reviews

[Erick · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's taken me a while to finish this. There's a couple of reasons for that: I've had less time recently to read, and the book didn't keep my attention that well. I actually read a couple of other books between starting and finishing this. I am glad to have read it; it was incredibly influential in the middle ages, so it's well worth being acquainted with. It was a bit of a chore to finally finish it though.

This is one more of those notable go-to handbooks for the scholastics. Martianus Capella was another encyclopedist who wrote books dedicated to presenting a compendium of prior knowledge. Little is known about him. Some have suggested that he was lawyer and surmised that he was almost certainly a non-Christian. He apparently wrote this book for his son, who was also named Martianus.

A listing of some of the titles of the "books" or chapters in here might give a sense of the subject matter: book 3 is titled Grammar; book 4 is titled Dialectic; 5, Rhetoric; 6, Geometry; 7, Arithmetic; 8, Astronomy and 9, Harmony. The presentation of the material is rather mythologically theatrical. As the title indicates, it is a wedding party of various Roman deities where the subjects of books are personified and give an account of their occupations. The first two books (or chapters) are simply an introduction to the subjects treated. The account of Latin grammar was something that I had not encountered in the other encyclopedists I've read, so that was new. It was also something that didn't particularly interest me. Most of the other subjects were familiar territory for me. I'm not sure that Martianus had the same command of the material as Macrobius or Calcidius did. Martianus apparently relied so heavily on his sources that much of it was a direct quotation of whole passages of Pliny, Aristides Quintilianus, or some other previous writer. Macrobius and Calcidius seemed to have absorbed their sources a lot better, so that even when not original, they were not simply regurgitating someone else word for word.

Worth reading, but glad to be done with it. I might suggest reading it to someone who is as fascinated by the history of knowledge as I am, but if someone just wants to read a more engaging encyclopedist, I would definitely recommend Calcidius or Macrobius first.

[Joshua Lister · Rating 3 out of 5]

Capella's work is a collection of information on the seven liberal arts. This book laid the foundation for medieval learning throughout Europe. The historical value adds to the reading experience. The work is in the form of an allegory. The first two books set up the betrothal of Mercury to Philology and the subsequent preparations for the wedding. These first two books are, frankly, stunning.

The rest of the book is difficult to work through. Each art is presented as a bridesmaid giving speeches at the wedding. Seven books are dedicated to these speeches from each of the language and mathematical arts. The speeches contain a collection of content from other authors in the classical world. Unfortunately, Cappella moves from fascinating allegorical narrative to lists of tedious definitions. But, to his credit, he sprinkles in some humor in the boring parts.

[Brent Pinkall · Rating 3 out of 5]

Confusing and tedious but strangely compelling. There is a reason this book became so wildly popular throughout the middle ages.