How Palladium's Opus Agriculturae Incorporated Columella and Gargil Martial

Abstract

The objective of this article is to approach authors and works of Latin technical literature, specifically in its agrarian aspect. In order to achieve this, we firstly place this literary species in the context of previous technical works composed in Rome. We then present information about the agronomists – Columella (1st century AD), Gargilius Martialis (3rd century AD), and Palladius (4th–5th century AD) – who were chosen to incorporate our studies. Following this initial task, a commentary of the general structure of their texts was conducted. As a result, Columella’s work is comprehensive and well developed at the linguistic level, serving as the foundation for other authors’ technical documentation. In Martialis, we find an agronomist who was in charge of composing texts transmitted in an incomplete way, casting doubt on their articulation. Opus Agriculturae, a work by Palladius, adopted the “original” calendar format while still owing a great deal to Columella and Martialis, either as its sources or in additional aspects. In order to show Palladius’ relative independence from the writing patterns of his forebears, we lastly contrasted two passages from Opus Agriculturae with the ideas contained in the excerpts of Columella and Gargilius Martialis that served as their foundation.