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Leo GRAMMATICUS

15. GRAMMATICUS, one of the continuators of Byzantine history from the period when Theophanes leaves off. Nothing certain is known of him. A note, subjoined by the transcriber, to the Parisian MS. of Georgius Syncellus, Theophanes, and Leo Grammaticus states that "the chronography of the recent emperors, completed (πληρωθεῖσα) by Leo Grammaticus, was finished on the 8th of the month of July, on the feast of the holy martyr Procopius, in the year 6521 (of the Mundane era of Constantinople), in the 11th Indiction," A. D. 1013 common era; but there can be little doubt that this date refers to the completion, not of the original work, but of the transcript. Cave indeed understands the date as being that of the original work. A postscript to the same MS., but by a different hand, gives to Leo the surname of Tzicandalus (Τζικάνδαλος), and states that he was civil and military governor (πρόεδρος δὲ δούξ) of the Cibyraeans, and one of the household (or perhaps the intimate friend, for the expression οὶκεῖος ἅνθρωπος is ambiguous) of our mighty and supreme (or chief, πρώτου) emperor. Combéfis (Notae ad Leonem Grammat. ad initium) understands the emperor to be Constantine Porphyrogenitus [CONSTANTINUS VII.], which is probable; and though there are some difficulties about this inscription, which prevent our giving entire credit to it, we do not participate in the doubt of Combéfis whether it refers to Leo Grammaticus or the anonymous continuator of Theophanes. The town of Cibyra is by Pliny included in Caria, and this furnishes Combéfis with one reason for identifying Leo Grammaticus with Leo the Carian mentioned by Cedrenus. (Compend. Historiae, sub init.) That the two are identical is very probable; but the epithet "Carian" is probably given rather from Leo's birthplace than from his government, which appears to have included not merely the town of Cibyra, but the whole thema of the Cibyraeans or Cibyrrhaeans (θέμα Κιβυρραιωτῶν, Constant. Porphyrog. De Themnatib. i. Th. 14), comprehending all the S.W. part of Asia Minor, and, of course, Caria. Leo Grammaticus is perhaps identical with the Leo Asinus, Ἀσινός, mentioned by Joannes Scylitza (apud Montfaucon, Biblioth. Coislin, p. 209).


Works


Χρονογραφία, τὰ τῶν νέων Βασιλέων περιέχονσα,

The work of Leo Grammaticus is entitled Χρονογραφία, τὰ τῶν νέων Βασιλέων περιέχονσα, Chronographia Res a Recentioribus Imperatoribus Gestas Complectens, and extends from the accession of Leo V. the Armenian, A. D. 813, to the death of Romanus Lecapenus, A. D. 948 or 949, not, as Cave inaccurately states, to A. D. 1013.

Leo has little in common with the anonymous continuator of Theophanes [LEONTIUS, No. 6] in that part of his work which comprehends the period before Basil the Macedonian; but in the latter part the two authors have many passages either identical or varying but little from each other: but the uncertainty attaching to the date of Leo's work makes it doubtful which was the first written. The anonymous continuation of Theophanes comes down to a later period than the work of Leo, and may therefore be inferred to have been written later. The somewhat abrupt termination of Leo's history soon after the recovery of the sole possession of theimperial power by the emperor Constantine Porphyrogenitus would lead to the conclusion that the writer lived at that period, and brought down his narrative to the time of its composition, had he not elsewhere (sub init. imperii Constant. Porphyrog. p. 488, ed. Paris, p. 387, ed. Ven.) given a statement of the whole length of Constantine's reign, which shows that he must have written after its close. Possibly he wrote during the reign of his son and successor Romanus II., and broke off where he did in order to avoid the necessity of adverting to Constantine's unhappy death and the parricide of Romanus.

Editions

It was prepared for publication by Goar, but actually published with Theophanes, under the care of Combéfis, fol. Paris, 1655, in the Parisian edition of the Corpus Historiae Byzantinae, and was reprinted at Venice, fol. 1729.


Verses ascribed to Leo

Some verses, probably by Leo of Thessalonica [No. 29], are in some MSS. ascribed to Leo Grammaticus. (Comp. Cedrenus, p. 641, ed. Paris, vol. ii. p. 337, ed. Bonn.)


Letter ascribed to Leo

Cotelerius (Monum. Eccles. Graec., vol. 3.463, &c.) has given a letter on a question of canon law from a presbyter Joannes to " his guide and spiritual father, Leo Grammaticus, archbishop of Calabria," with Leo's answer. But this Leo cannot be the historian, unless we reject the account of the latter being governor of Cibyra, or suppose him to have exchanged his secular for an ecclesiastical life.


Further Information

Fabric. Bibl. Gr. vol. vii. p. 713; Cave, Hist. Litt. vol. ii. p. 128; Hankius, De Byzantin. Rerum Scriptorib. pt. ii. c. vii.; Voss. De Hist. Graec. 4.21.

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