Late Antique Historiography

Life of Constantine

Title(s):
  • Life of Constantine
  • Εἰς τὸν βίον τοῦ μακαρίου Κωνσταντίνου τοῦ βασιλέως
    (Εis ton bion tοu makariοu Kōnstantinοu tοu basileōs, On the life of the blessed Emperor Constantine)
  • Vita Constantini
Author:
Period covered:
Ca. 270-337
Language:
Greek
State of Preservation:
Full
Genre:
  • Biography (general)
Remarks:
Chapter headings were added by a later redactor, perhaps Eusebius' successor Acacius (Cameron and Hall 1999: 9). Barnes argues that the work went through two distinct stages and that Eusebius began to collect material from 324 onwards (Barnes 1989: lvi-lvii).
Edition - Translation:
  • F. Winkelmann (1975) (ed.) Eusebius: Werke. Volume One, Part One: Über das Leben des Kaisers Konstantin. Berlin.
  • B. Bleckmann, H. Schneider (2007) (tr.) Eusebius von Caesarea: De Vita Constantini, Über das leben Konstantins (Fontes christiani, 83). Turnhout.
  • Av. Cameron, S.G. Hall (1999) (tr.) Eusebius: Life of Constantine. Oxford.
  • P. Dräger (2007) (tr.) Eusebius: De vita Constantini, Über das Leben des glückseligen Kaisers Konstantin. Oberhaid.
  • L. Franco Franco (2014) Eusebio di Cesarea: Vita di Costantino. Milan.
  • M. Curruchaga (1994) Eusebio de Cesarea: Vida de Costantino. Madrid.
Fragments:
Users:
Sources:
Bibliography:
  • (1974) Clavis patrum Graecorum (CPG) 3496
  • T.D. Barnes (1981) Constantine and Eusebius. Cambridge.
  • T.D. Barnes (1989) 'Panegyric, history and hagiography in Eusebius' Life of Constantine'. In: The making of Orthodoxy: Essays in honour of Henry Chadwick, ed. R. Williams. Cambridge: 94-123.
  • T.D. Barnes (1994) 'The two drafts of Eusebius' Vita Constantini'. In: From Eusebius to Augustine: Selected papers 1982-1993, ed. T.D. Barnes. Aldershot.
  • Av. Cameron (1997) 'Eusebius' Vita Constantini and the construction of Constantine'. In: Portraits: Biographical representation in the Greek and Latin literature of the Roman empire, ed. M.J. Edwards - S. Swain. Oxford: 145-174.
  • A. Johnson (2014) Eusebius. London.
  • C. Rapp (1998) 'Imperial ideology in the making: Eusebius of Caesarea on Constantine as "Bishop"'. The Journal of Theological Studies 49.2: 685-695.
  • W.T. Treadgold (2010) The early Byzantine historians. Basingstoke: 23-41.
  • P. Van Nuffelen (2013) 'The life of Constantine: The image of an image'. In: Eusebius of Caesarea: Traditions and innovations, ed. A. Johnson - J. Schott. Washington D.C.: 133-149.
  • F. Winkelmann (1962) 'Zur Geschichte des Authentizitätsproblem der Vita Constantini'. Klio 42: 187-243.
  • F. Winkelmann (1993) Studien zu Konstantin dem Großen und zur byzantinischen Kirchengeschichte. Birmingham.
  • S.C. Zinsli (2014) Kommentar zur Vita Heliogabali der Historia Augusta. Bonn: 132-134.