Alternate Names
Capella, Martianus (Felix) Minneius; Capella, Martianus (Felix) Minneus
Flourished Carthage, (Tunisia), Fifth century
Martianus Capella was an author of late Antiquity about whose life little is known, and all conjectures about dates in which he lived have arisen from possible clues within his one known work. As a consequence, scholars disagree as to whether he worked in the early or latter end of the century. Some sources state that Capella was born in Madaura, a town 150 miles southwest of Carthage, and the home of Apuleius (of “Golden Ass” fame), but W. H. Stahl argues that there is no evidence for this. Capella tends to use legal terms and language, but Stahl states that a Roman legal expert suggests that a layman could have used such terms. In short, there is no consensus on Capella’s birth place, dates of birth and death, or his occupation.
Capella compiled what is often referred to as the “Satiricon” (or “Satyricon”), a kind of encyclopedia, which was widely...
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Selected References
Dick, Adolf, ed. Martianus Capella. Stuttgart: Teubner, 1925, 1969. (See later editions edited by Jean Preaux: Teubner 1978; James Willis. Leipzig: Teubner, 1983.)
Eastwood, B. S. (1982). “The Chaster Path of Venus “(Orbis Veneris Castior) in ”Astronomy of Martianus Capella,” Archives Internationales d’Histoire des Sciences, 109: 145–158.
John the Scot (Joannes Scotus Eriugena) (1939). Annotationes in Marcianum, edited by Cora E. Lutz. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Mediaeval Academy of America.
Martianus Capella (1599). Martiani Capellae de nuptiis Philologiae et Mercurii, edited by H. Grotius. Leiden. (Minei Felicis Capellae Carthaginiensis viri proconsularis Satyricon, in quo denuptiis Philologiae & Mercurij libri duo, …/Omnes, & emendati, … Hug. Grotii illustrate.)
Sarton, George (1959). A History of Science. Vol. 2, Hellenistic Science and Culture in the Last Three Centuries B.C. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. (Reprint, New York: W. W. Norton and Co., 1970.)
Shanzer, Danuta (1986). A Philosophical and Literary Commentary on Martianus Capella’s De Nuptiis Philologiae et Mercurii Book 1. Berkeley: University of California Press.
Stahl, William Harris (1971). Martianus Capella and the Seven Liberal Arts. Vol. 1, The Quadrivium of Martianus Capella: Latin Traditions in the Mathematical Sciences, 50B.C.-A.D. 1250. With a Study of the Allegory and the Verbal Disciplines by Richard Johnson and E. L. Burge. New York: Columbia University Press.
Stahl, William Harris, Richard Johnson, with E. L. Burge (trans.) (1977). Martianus Capella and the Seven Liberal Arts. Vol. 2, The Marriage of Philology and Mercury. New York: Columbia University Press.
Tommasi, Chiara Ombretta (2012). The Bee-Orchid. Religione e cultura in Marziano Capella. Napoli: M. D'Auria Editore.
Westra, Haijo J. (ed.) (1986). The Commentary on Martianus Capella’s De Nuptiis Philologiae et Mercurii attributed to Bernardus Silvestris. Toronto: Pontifical Institute of Mediaeval Studies.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2014 Springer Science+Business Media New York
About this entry
Cite this entry
Milone, E.F. (2014). Capella, Martianus (Felix) Mineus. In: Hockey, T., et al. Biographical Encyclopedia of Astronomers. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-9917-7_236
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-9917-7_236
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY
Print ISBN: 978-1-4419-9916-0
Online ISBN: 978-1-4419-9917-7
eBook Packages: Physics and AstronomyReference Module Physical and Materials ScienceReference Module Chemistry, Materials and Physics