The Philosopher of Istria

Aethicus Istrius

Aethicus Istrius, apparently the most radical Flat Earth cosmographer in the history of the Christian Church (and possibly ever as he leaves the pagan fables in the dust by comparison although the Book of Enoch would probably outdo him) was of "Russian" extraction.  I had formerly mistakenly assumed (following Raymond Beazeley's never the less informative 'Dawn of Modern Geography') that Aethicus of Istria was from the Istrian peninsula of western Croatia in the northern Adriatic, but Rabbanus Maurus of Mainz (a knowledgeable eighth century Christian Orthodox German advocate of the Flat Earth) indicates that Aethicus Istria was a Scythian who conducted wonderful travels throughout the World during the fourth century AD in the age of Constantine the Great and wrote a Flat Earth Cosmography of the World in Greek which was only later translated into Latin from the Greek (during the seventh century which is when Beazeley mistakenly assumes Aethicus lived).  This means that Aethicus predates the sixth century Egyptian cosmographer Cosmas Indicopleustes.  

A congratulations must go to Leo Ferrari of the defunct Flat Earth Society of Canada for basing his cosmological beliefs upon Aethicus Istrius as he does surpass even Cosmas Indicopleustes as the greatest cosmographer in the history of the Christian Church.

The following excerpt is from a 1911 Encyclopedia courtesy of the 'Ancient Library':
http://www.ancientlibrary.com/smith-bio/0059.html
http://vitiaz.ru/congress/en/thesis/2.html

A German publisher reprinted the 'Cosmography' of Aethicus Istrius in Latin in the early 1990's, and the work is also contained in Jacque Migne's 480 volume Patrologiae.  The latter vast collection is now available on CD-ROM.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacques_Paul_Migne
http://rosetta.reltech.org/reltech/PG/

- Dionysios

The Cosmography of Aethicus of Istria

Apparently, M.W. Herren has prepared an english translation of this early Christian flat earth cosmography for publication by Oxford Medieval Texts. 
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aethicus_Ister

Anyone with further information on the availability of this important book, please let us know.

The Cosmography of Aethicus Ister: A Critical Edition, Translation, and Commentary
Translated By Michael Herren
http://www.amazon.com/Cosmography-Aethicus-Ister-Translation-Publications/dp/2503535771

Excellent find!

Although the only edition I so far possess is the Latin edition published in Germany in 1993, it appears that Aethicus himself was a pagan traveler from Scythia who lived during the 300's A.D., and his book was edited by Saint Jerome circa 400 A.D.  Any mention of persons such as Isidore of Seville who lived well after Jerome are the result of a later edition likely made during the 700's. 

Most of the extant Latin manuscripts are from Germany which is consistent with other evidence of flat earth belief in eighth century Germany such as the teachings of Rabanus Maurus. 

While not explicitly cosmographical, of related interest is the 'Seven Books of History Against the Pagans' which is a history of the world from its creation to 417 A.D. written by the Iberian (Spanish) ecclesiastic Paulus Orosius during Saint Jerome's lifetime and which contains a good deal of information about world geography including many elements contained in Aethicus's Cosmography and other ancient works dealing with geography.

'Seven Books of History'
By Paulus Orosius
http://sites.google.com/site/demontortoise2000/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orosius
http://baheyeldin.com/history/orosius.html

The Cosmography of Aethicus Ister: A Critical Edition, Translation, and Commentary
Translated By Michael Herren
http://www.amazon.com/Cosmography-Aethicus-Ister-Translation-Publications/dp/2503535771

Cool! Correct me if I'm wrong, but is he the same author that is doing a translation of Cosmas Indicopleustes The Christian Topography?

Quote from: 17 November on June 02, 2011, 08:31:19 PM

The Cosmography of Aethicus Ister: A Critical Edition, Translation, and Commentary
Translated By Michael Herren
http://www.amazon.com/Cosmography-Aethicus-Ister-Translation-Publications/dp/2503535771

Cool! Correct me if I'm wrong, but is he the same author that is doing a translation of Cosmas Indicopleustes The Christian Topography?

No, I am not aware of such a thing.  Judging by the translations he has made so far, Michael Herren seems to be a translator of ancient Latin books into english, especially but not exclusively ancient Irish literature.

The english translation of Cosmas's 'Christian Topography' by William McCrindle has been out since 1897 when it was published by the Hakluyt Society, but McCrindle's translation was suddenly reprinted several times within the last five years and is now widely available.  McCrindle's is the only english translation of the Christian Topography of which I am aware, and in my opinion it is sufficient.

'Christian Topography'
By Cosmas Indicopleustes
Translated By J. W. McCrindle
http://www.sacred-texts.com/earth/ct/index.htm

Also,  the extant manuscripts of Aethicus's 'Cosmography' credit Saint Jerome as the author or editor of Aethicus's book.  Most modern scholars (including Michael Herren) dismiss this out of hand, but I let the book speak for it self rather than second guessing it.  Not to argue the point here, but to point out that the authorship of Aethicus's 'Cosmography' has been disputed by western scholars since the mid-nineteenth century.  Prior to the nineteenth century, the scholarly consensus had always held Saint Jerome as the author.  Since the ninth century German ecclesiastic Rabanus Maurus wrote that Aethicus himself was a pagan Scythian traveller that lived in the fourth century after Christ and Saint Jerome was born in the fourth century, then it is entirely possible chronologically that they knew each other or that Saint Jerome met Aethicus in his old age.  Since Saint Jerome lived from circa 347 to 420 A.D., the 'Cosmographia' of Aethicus must have initially been completed by 420 A.D. or earlier.  Well over 100 years after Saint Jerome reposed, Cosmas published the definitive edition of his 'Christian Topography' in Sinai in 548 A.D.

Since all extant manuscripts of Aethicus's 'Cosmography' are in Latin, and Saint Jerome is famous above all for translating the Greek Bible into Latin (known as the Vulgate) as well as other translations of Christian books into Latin for the benefit of western Christians, Saint Jerome's original edition of Aethicus's 'Cosmography' was in all likelihood in Latin as well.