Author Description

In 1522 Alexander Barclay (ca. 1476-1552), best known as the author of the satirical poem, 'The Ship of Fools', published his own English translation of the Roman historian, Sallust's, account of the war between the Romans and Jurgurtha, King of Numidia. Barclay expanded his source text to incorporate explanations for the benefit of the non-scholarly audience of young English noblemen who were his intended audience, as stated in his Preface. He drew heavily on two printed commentaries on Sallust's text: the first written by the Italian Humanist, Johannes Chrysostomus Soldus (published in 1495), and the second by the Parisian printer and scholar, Josse Badius Ascensius (published in 1504), weaving their explanatory material into his translation. This is the first modern critical edition of this text, which one of the earliest translations from the classics into English. It is accompanied by a full introduction, explanatory notes, and a glossary.