Excerpta Anonymi

The chapter dates the unique codex of the Excerpta Anonymi to the mid-tenth century. It considers the contents, sources, and the structure of the Excerpta Anonymi. The chapter reflects on the compositional method of the collection and examines the relationship between the Exerpta Anonymi and the CE. It puts forward the historical and cultural context within which the Excerpta Anonymi were compiled. Specifically, contrary to scholarly views that the selection of material in the Excerpta Anonymi either was made at random or represents the genre of lexica, the chapter shows that the anonymous compiler of the sylloge made a conscious selection of passages. It shows that the working method in the Excerpta Anonymi is identical to the one applied to the EC as well as to earlier collections of historical excerpts, and that the selection of material was motivated by contemporary ideology.