Re: VIRGIL: death by water

[James Butrica]

>Yesterday I received the following message from Tom Bestul, my old
>Anglo-Saxon teacher:
>
>>I am editing a commentary on Proverbs by Alexander Nequam (d. 1217), and
>>have encountered what seems to me a very curious statement about Aeneas,
>>namely that he drowned in the battle with Turnus, and this fact was covered
>>up by Virgil:
>>
>>Eneas conflictum Turni sustinere non ualens, phaselum intrare coactus est et
>>sic submersus, licet Eneis virgiliana ueritatem historie ob gloriam Romani
>>nominis commutauerit.
>>
>>I've checked the usual places; Servius, Augustine, Orosius, Bernard
>>Silvestris, etc., and can find the tradition that Aeneas  died in the
>>climactic battle, and that his body was nowhere to be found (Serv ad Aen
>>4.620, e.g).
>>
>>But I can't find a source for Nequam's claim that Aeneas was forced into a
>>boat and drowned (I believe drowning is the intended meeting, rather than
>>mere submersal (like Turnus, earlier), since the account is included in a
>>list of other notables who drowned, such as Osiris and Frederick
>>Barbarossa).
>
>I had a few ideas, most of which had occurred to him already:
>
>1. Livy 1.2 states that the site where Aeneas died is above the river Numicus.
>
>For death by drowning, see
>
>2. Ovid, Met. 14 says that the mortal part of Aeneas was washed away in the
>Numicus. This is probably the most important source for the tradition that
>Aeneas drowned. -- Might check a good commentary on this passage to see if
>it gives any cross-references.
>
>3. Servius, in Aen. 1.259, 4.620 (which records the bizarre tradition that
>Aeneas fell into the river while sacrificing, as does Servius auctus on
>12.794), 6.88, 7.150 and 7.797 (which claim that the body _was_ found in
>the river, contradicting what he says elsewhere), and 12.139 (which doesn't
>mention the death of Aeneas, but says that the water for all Roman
>sacrifices came from the Numicus; this explains the tradition that Aeneas
>fell into the river while sacrificing).
>
>4. Tibullus 2.5.43-44 has "illic sanctus eris cum te ueneranda Numici /
>unda deum caelo miserit indigetem," where te = Aeneas. Tibullus doesn't say
>how Aeneas came to be in the worshipful wave of Numicus, but this is pretty
>good evidence that the death by water tradition is older than Virgil. --
>Might check a good commentary on this passage to see if it gives any
>cross-references.
>
>What I can't explain is Alexander's reference to a boat. Servius auctus (in
>Aen. 1.259 and 12.794) says that Aeneas may have fallen into the river
>while fleeing Messapus or Mezentius. Bits of Servius auctus did circulate
>in the Middle Ages, but not widely, and that doesn't really solve the
>problem anyway.
>
>A possibility: Alexander is conflating the death by water tradition with
>Aen. 10.653, in which Turnus is lured into a boat by a phantom-Aeneas, in
>order to draw him away from the fighting and save his life.
>
>-- Does anyone have a better source for "phaselum intrare coactus"?
>
Maybe not better, but Smith's commentary on Tibullus identifies Augustine's
City of God (18.19) as quoting Varro on the subject of Aeneas' death;
Justin 43.1.10 also dealt with the death of Aeneas; and so apparently did
an anonymous work called the Origo gentis romanae 14.2; these seem to be
the only passages relating to the death of Aeneas that could have been
available to Neckham and haven't yet been cited -- and of which I do not
have copies readily available.
Another possibility is that the boat is simply Neckham's own elaboration of
the scenario; presenting "the real story" that was covered up by Virgil
might equally hint at an attempt to flatter someone who died by drowning
(or someone who lost a relation by drowning)

James L. P. Butrica
Department of Classics
The Memorial University of Newfoundland
St. John's NL  A1C 5S7
(709) 737-7914 / (709) 753-5799 (home)


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