A Rare Manuscript from Livy?s Seminal Work: From a 15th c. copy of the History of Rome (Written in the 15th Century, it describes Roman consolidation of power, collected by the famous Otto Ege who wanted to put a Medieval manuscript in every home)

A very uncommon leaf from Livy, very few manuscript examples having survivedRome, having survived the invasions of the Celtic Gauls in the early 4th century BC, set its sights on further expansion in the middle part of the century. They re-conquered those Latin and Etruscan towns that had left the fold during the Gallic occupation, and in absorbing others, reconsolidated their position as the dominant force in Latium and Central Italy. With their home turf secured (or so it seemed) the Romans looked south towards Campania.At this time, the Samnites had moved into the fertile lands of Campania, from the south-central Appenines. They already controlled the towns of Capua and Cumae to the south of Rome, and held sway to the east, as well. Rome, to protect its flanks while still in the midst of re-taking Latium and Etruria, wisely entered into an alliance with the Samnites in 354 BC. Conflict with Samnium over Campanian dominance was inevitable, however, and would soon turn into a series of wars lasting from 343 - 290 BC.The years surrounding the Samnite Wars were not only one of military prowess for Rome, but of great public works, as well. In 329 BC, the Circus Maximus got one of many face-lifts throughout its history, gaining permanent horse-stalls and starting gates. The first Roman road, the Via Appia, was constructed from Rome to Capua in 312 BC and the first aqueduct, the Aqua Appia, was also established at the same time. These magnificent structures not only were of great benefit to Rome and her people, but proved the flourishing disposition of the state even during time of war and expansion. At the end of the Samnite Wars, Rome held perhaps as many as 150,000 people making it one of the largest cities in the Mediterranean region. As many as 1,000,000 people claimed citizenship to Rome, and vastly larger numbers were obligated through Latin rights and allied status.With the defeat of Samnium, the last major Italian threat, Rome was the master of nearly the entire Italian peninsula, save for the Gauls occupying the Po valley in the north and the Greek holdout cities like Tarentum in the far south. This growing power soon gained the attention of regional powers in Greece and later, the masters of the Mediterranean, the Carthaginians.Livy, or Titus Livius, (59 BC - 17AD), wrote his history of Rome starting with the foundation myth of Aeneas (510 BC) up to the successful German campaigns and death of Emperor Drusus (9 BC). This history comprised 142 books. Of those books, 35 survive to present day, with the bulk being the first 10 years (Books 1-10), fragments of 11, Books 21-45, fragments of 91, and scattered quotations preserved in secondary works.Though the accounts differ, the destruction of Livy?s work has been attributed to the hand of Pope Gregory the Great (590?604), who was trying to eliminate pagan works from Christian hands. This biblioclasm, whether it was through the Pope?s doing or through the natural loss of material to time, has severed us from an important access point to Roman history, as some of the material used by Livy has not been found in his source texts.With the bulk of the texts destroyed, Livy?s History of Rome passed into the Middle Ages primarily through summary, and with the extreme length of the work, the original Classical and Early Medieval manuscripts were not recopied and fell into decay and loss. Thus, by the so-called 12th Century Renaissance, Livy?s historical writing was quite rare. It was not until the 1300s that Livy regained popularity. Dante was one of those who respected Livy, and in his Inferno the poet references Livy, "come Liv?o scrive, che non erra" (as Livy wrote, who does not err).The hunt was on for Livy?s lost manuscripts, even just a fragmental scrap was a treasure worth finding in the 1300s. Even Pope Nicholas V turned his efforts towards finding these rare manuscripts, some of which had been destroyed by his papal predecessor. The Italian Humanist period into the Renaissa.…