Eticus Hister and his Cosmographia

Abstract

Eticus Hister remains one of the most enigmatic figures in Latin medieval literature. His vast Cosmographia has been classified by critics as a novel about fictional geography with emphasis on satire and moralising. With regard to the structure of the work, there should also be highlighted the author’s referring to the ancient geographical tradition. In all likehood, Eticus means philosophus; on the basis of the epithet Hister critics and historians have tried to find out the origin of the mysterious writer: he may have come from Istria, Ireland, the Danube basin, or the coasts of the Black Sea. While this question remains open, Eticus’s knowledge of the Northern Adriatic is incontestable, as is evident especially in the excursus on the fights of the bloodthirsty Romulus against Francus and Vassus.