Valerius Maximus & the Rhetoric of the New Nobility

Bloomer, W. Martin

ISBN 10: 0807820474 / ISBN 13: 9780807820476

Published by Chapel Hill, North Carolina, U.S.A.: Univ of North Carolina Pr, 1992

About this Item

List price $135.00. "Throughout the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, Valerius Maximus' Memorable Deeds and Sayings was the most widely read prose after the Bible, but the work's vision of ancient history and its author's literary style have since fallen into disrepute. Martin Bloomer revives the classic to examine how, why, and for whom Valerius Maximus composed this collection of rhetorical examples. Designed to influence the most esteemed of public art forms in Tiberian Rome - declamation - Valerius' work expresses the concerns and anxieties of literate first-century Romans. At the same time it creates paradigms for a new culture, according to Bloomer. While offering contemporaries a handbook of Roman speech, Valerius' work affords later scholars unique insights into the hierarchy of values, behavior, and ethics in Tiberian Rome. Bloomer addresses the peculiar qualities of Valerius' composition and systematically examines his use of sources such as Livy and Cicero. He also considers Valerius' handling of the most delicate and dangerous of all material for the imperial historian - the Roman civil wars and the ascendancy of the Caesars. Valerius emerges not as the beginning of the end of Latin letters but as a crucial and fascinating index to the declamatory culture of Tiberian Rome. " (Publisher).

Seller Inventory # HA667Q

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Valerius Maximus & the Rhetoric of the New Nobility
• Publisher: Chapel Hill, North Carolina, U.S.A.: Univ of North Carolina Pr
• Publication Date: 1992
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0807820474
• ISBN 13: 9780807820476
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition: 1st Edition
• Condition: Very Good
• Dust Jacket Condition: Very Good
• Seller catalogs:
  • CLASSICS

About this title

Synopsis

Throughout the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, Valerius Maximus’s Memorable Deeds and Sayings was the most widely read prose after the Bible. Bloomer revives this classic text to examine how, why, and for whom Valerius composed this collection of rhetorical examples. He argues that the work expresses the concerns and anxieties of literate first-century Romans and shows that it creates paradigms for a new culture.

Originally published in 1992.

A UNC Press Enduring Edition — UNC Press Enduring Editions use the latest in digital technology to make available again books from our distinguished backlist that were previously out of print. These editions are published unaltered from the original, and are presented in affordable paperback formats, bringing readers both historical and cultural value.

Book Description

"Makes a valuable contribution to our understanding of Valerius within the cultural and social conditions in which he lived. . . . All readers will profit from Bloomer's book, and we should eagerly look forward to his further insights into Roman literature."-- AJP