The four extant works attributed to Fulgentius include (listed in what is believed to be chronological order): •
Mythologiae (Mythologies) •
Expositio continentiae Virgilianae secundum philosophos moralis (The Exposition of the Content of Virgil According to Moral Philosophy) •
Expositio sermonum antiquorum (The Explanation of Obsolete Words) •
De aetatibus mundi et hominis (On the Ages of the World and of Man) A fifth work, which in the past has been attributed to Fulgentius is the
Super Thebaiden (On the
Thebaid). The manuscript ascribes the work to "S. Fulgencius Episcopus", whom Rudolf Helm (the first modern publisher of Fulgentius' work) considered to be the mythographer. This work was not included in the Carolingian manuscripts (possibly because it did not exist at this time), but was included in Helm's 1897 edition of the works of Fulgentius with strong reservations. While there is no consensus on the authenticity of the treatise, there is strong evidence to support the fact that the work was written in the twelfth century by a writer imitating the allegorical style of Fulgentius. This is not to say that the work was a forgery, but more likely that it was mistakenly attributed to Fulgentius as a result of scribal error. In addition to these, Fulgentius mentions other works that have not survived to the present. In the first prologue to the
Mythologies he mentions earlier satirical poems, and in the
Content of Virgil he makes reference to his work on physiology.
Mythologies Generally known as his chief work, the
Mythologies () is a series of legends told in three books. Each book is introduced by its own prologue. There are a total of fifty chapters: each chapter explains a classical myth and interprets that myth using allegory. These interpretations include etymologies of the names of certain characters, as well as conclusions as to the purpose of the story in terms of morality. In the prologue, Fulgentius claims that his purpose was to strip the classic Greek myths of all their fictitious and meaningless details in order to reveal the obscure truths they contain. He also suggests a
Christian motive, though it would be inaccurate to define the
Mythologies or any of Fulgentius' allegorical works as 'Christian allegories'. Hays argues the traditional description of Fulgentius' work as 'Christian allegories' is quite inaccurate. The morals Fulgentius extracted from the classical myths were fairly generic, and would have been acceptable to any audience. Fulgentius's etymologies (while typical of his age) have been recently criticized as being extravagant, arbitrary, and often incorrect. While few have had anything positive to say about such etymological methods within the last two hundred years, the tradition dates back to the work of
Plato and was common practice for such philosophic traditions as the
Stoics and
Neoplatonists. His use of such arbitrary etymologies to substantiate his allegorical claims is typical of his relentless tendency to stretch interpretations and search for truths that are not readily evident. Several manuscripts of the
Mythologies are addressed to an unidentified Catus, Presbyter of Carthage.
The exposition of the content of Virgil according to moral philosophy In this exposition (),
Virgil and the
Muses are summoned to explain the truth of his
Aeneid. This text is similar to Fulgentius's interpretations of classical myths in the
Mythologies . The shade of Virgil assumes a sage-like status, and he addresses the author in a pretentious and condescending way, often calling him a
"homunculus", or 'boy'. While Fulgentius claims to explain the
Aeneid as an allegory for the full range of human life, the work seems to end rather abruptly, and the telling only goes as far as manhood. There is no evidence to suggest, however, that any part of the original text was lost. His hurried finish was probably caused by a loss of interest in its completion. By the time of the
Content of Virgil writing, the tradition of allegorizing Virgil was not new.
Aelius Donatus had already completed an allegorical exposition of passages of the
Aeneid which closely resembles Fulgentius's ideas, indicating that they were probably not unique to Fulgentius. Furthermore, Fulgentius appears to have taken the idea of Virgil as a sage from the earlier writer
Macrobius. However, it seems Fulgentius was original in his attempt to systematically interpret the entire
Aeneid. He also seems to be the first to attempt to explain the text in a way at least partly acceptable to Christian readers.
The explanation of obsolete words This text (), addressed to a person named Calcidium in some manuscripts, is an explanation of 62 antique Latin words that may be found in
Roman literature. In his Prologue to the work, Fulgentius states that he compiled the list of words in order to fulfill the commissions assigned by his master (who remains unidentified). His stated aim is to make clear the meaning of these words, not to revive them. However, beginning in the Carolingian period, writers did in fact make use of these rarities, using this text as their source. With nearly every explanation, Fulgentius provides the reader with a small quotation as an example of the word's practical use, often citing the work it was taken from. However, many of these quotes are likely to be faked. Some works may be entirely made-up, while others have been liberally edited by Fulgentius. As was common with writers of this period, Fulgentius does not cite his immediate sources, perhaps in an attempt to obscure the fact that he had access to very few to draw from. The entire work was probably an attempt to improve his reputation as a scholar in hopes the reader would not take a critical look into his methods.
On the ages of the world and of man This compendium of biblical and classical history (original title:
De aetatibus mundi et hominis libri XXIII) is told in fourteen books, each
lacking a particular letter of the alphabet ('A' in book i, 'B' in book ii., etc.). The deliberate omission of each letter means that Fulgentius cannot use any word containing that letter for the entirety of that section. However, he varies this avoidance of words with his second technique of swapping omitted letters for other arbitrarily selected letters. These techniques obscure his language, making it very difficult for the reader to understand his meaning. Just as in the
Content of Virgil, Fulgentius claims the work was completed as a result of the request of his unnamed patron. The increasingly rapid rate of historical retelling that occurs near the end of the work raises the question of whether the work was completed. Some manuscripts include in their prologues an introduction of the text as running 'from a to z', and others end book fourteen with the statement, "Here begins the fifteenth book, lacking P". However, book thirteen includes a line about ending the series with a history of the
Roman emperors. It is possible that the last books have been lost over time, though it is also likely that Fulgentius simply lost interest in the work and gave it a hurried anticlimactic finish, as he did with other works such as the
Content of Virgil. Throughout his retelling of history, Fulgentius adds moral interpretations of events. He goes to great lengths to justify
God's ways, and, consistent with his past works, stretches allegories to fit his ethical interpretations. Unlike Fulgentius' other works,
Ages of the World did not seem to attract much attention or admiration in the medieval period, probably due to its confusing literary techniques and style. There has been some doubt as to whether or not this work was actually that of Fabius Fulgentius, though similarities in language and writing style convincingly demonstrate the attribution of this work to the same author as the first three. Among the arguments for a different author is an argument in favor of attributing this work to the bishop Fulgentius. This theory is based on the fact that the manuscripts of the
Ages of the World attribute the work to "Fabius Claudius Gordianus Fulgentius" (Claudius and Gordianus both being names known to belong to members of the bishop's immediate family). However, the inclusion of these names in manuscripts was most likely the mistake of some eight or ninth century scribe who assumed 'Fulgentius' to be the well-known theologian. It is also possible that Fabius Fulgentius had multiple names (very popular for aristocrats of the time) which included Claudius and Gordianus. == Historiographical contribution ==