The Liber Memorialis is an ancient book in Latin featuring an extremely concise summary—a kind of index—of universal history from earliest times to the reign of Trajan. It was written by Lucius Ampelius, who was possibly a tutor or schoolmaster. Nothing is known of him or of the date at which he lived; the times of Trajan, Hadrian, Antoninus Pius, the beginning of the 3rd century, and the age of Diocletian and Constantine have all been suggested. The book is dedicated to a Macrinus, who may have been the emperor who reigned 217-218, but that name was not uncommon, and it seems more likely he was simply a young man with a thirst for universal knowledge, which the book was compiled to satisfy. Latin is the language originally spoken in the region around Rome called Latium. ... A history resource for kids -Chronology of Events in History, Mythology, and Folklore. ... Emperor Trajan Marcus Ulpius Nerva Traianus (September 18, 53 - August 9, 117), Roman Emperor (98 - 117), commonly called Trajan, was the second of the so-called five good emperors of the Roman Empire. ... Lucius Ampelius, possibly a tutor or schoolmaster, authored the Liber Memorialis, an ancient text in Latin featuring an extremely concise summary—a kind of index—of universal history from earliest times to the reign of Trajan. ... Emperor Hadrian Publius Aelius Traianus Hadrianus (January 24, 76 - July 10, 138), known as Hadrian in English, was Roman emperor from 117 - 138, and member of the gens Aelia Hadrian was born in Italica, Hispania, to a well-established settler family. ... Emperor Antoninus Pius Titus Aurelius Fulvius Boionius Arrius Antoninus Pius (September 19, 86 - March 7, 161) was Roman emperor from 138 to 161. ... (2nd century - 3rd century - 4th century - other centuries) Events The Sassanid dynasty of Persia launches a war to reconquer lost lands in the Roman east. ... Gaius Aurelius Valerius Diocletianus (245-313 AD), born Diocles, was Roman Emperor from November 20, 284 to May 1, 305. ... Constantine. ... Macrinus on an aureus. ...

The book's object and scope are indicated in its dedication:

"Since you desire to know everything, I have written this 'book of notes,' that you may learn of what the universe and its elements consist, what the world contains, and what the human race has done."

The Liber Memorialis seems to have been intended as a textbook to be learned by heart. This little work, in fifty chapters, gives a sketch of cosmography, geography, mythology (Chapters I-X), and history (Chapters X to end). The historical portion, dealing mainly with the republican period, is untrustworthy and the text in many places corrupt; the earlier chapters are more valuable, and contain some interesting information. Textbooks are defined as a manual of instruction, a standard book in any branch of study. They are further defined by both the age of the person who is to study the text and the classification of the subject matter itself. ... Cosmography is the science that maps the general features of the universe; describes both heaven and earth (but without encroaching on geography or astronomy) A representation of the earth or the heavens. ... Mythology is the study of myths: stories of a particular culture that it believes to be true and that feature a specific religious or belief system. ... See also Roman Republic (18th century) and Roman Republic (19th century). ...

Chapter VIII (Miracula Mundi) contains the following, the only reference by an ancient writer to the famous sculptures of Pergamon, which were discovered in 1871, excavated in 1878, and are now in Berlin: Pergamon or Pergamum (modern day Bergama in Turkey) was a Greek city, in northwestern Anatolia, 16 miles from the Aegean Sea, located on a promontory on the north side of the river Caicus (modern day Bakir), that became an important kingdom during the Hellenistic period, under the Attalid dynasty, 282... 1871 was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... Berlin (pronounced: , German ) is the capital of Germany and its largest city, with 3,426,000 inhabitants (as of January 2005); down from 4. ...

"At Pergamum there is a great marble altar, 40 feet high, with colossal sculptures, representing a battle of the giants."

The first edition of the Liber Memorialis was published in 1638 by Salmasius (Saumaise) from the Dijon manuscript, now lost, together with the Epitome of Florus. An 1854 edition by Wölfflin was based on Salmasius's copy of the lost codex. At least one other edition has followed. Picture of an altar from the Meyer Encyclopaedia An altar, (Hebrew mizbeah, from a word meaning to slay) is any structure on which sacrifices known as the korbanot as well as incense offerings are offered for religious purposes. ... For other meanings of the word giant, see Giant (disambiguation) Giants are humanoid creatures of prodigious size and strength, a type of legendary monster that appear in the tales of many different races and cultures. ... Florus, Roman historian, flourished in the time of Trajan and Hadrian. ...

External references

• Glaser, Rheinisches Museum, ii. (1843)
• Wölfflin, De L. Ampelii Libro Memoriali (1854)
• Zink, Eos, ii (1866)

This article incorporates text from the public domain 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica. The public domain comprises the body of all creative works and other knowledge—writing, artwork, music, science, inventions, and others—in which no person or organization has any proprietary interest. ... The Eleventh Edition of the Encyclopædia Britannica (1911) in many ways represents the sum of knowledge at the beginning of the 20th century. ...