MACROBEUS, MACROBYE. Ambrosius Theodosius Macrobius, fl. c. A.D. 399-422, appears to have been a North African. In the Preface to Book I, 11-12, of Saturnalia, Macrobius says that he was born in a foreign country and indicates that Latin is not his native tongue. If so, he belongs to a group of North African writers with a similar background, including Apuleius, Fronto, Fulgentius, Maritanus Capella, and Suetonius. Two of his works, Saturnalia and Commentarius in somnium Scipionis, are dedicated to his son Eustachius. Saturnalia is a dialogue among twelve friends at a banquet on the night of a pagan feast and follows Platonic tradition; the Commentarius is a Neoplatonic commentary on Cicero's Somnium Scipionis, which formed part of De re publica VI. The Saturnalia influenced Isidore of Seville, Bede, and John of Salisbury.

According to Macrobeus, dreams warn of the future and are called avisiouns, NPT 3122-3126. In Commentarius in Somnium Scipionis I.iii.2, Macrobius discusses five kinds of dreams: (l) the somnium or enigmatic dream, (2) the visio or prophetic dream, (3) the oracular dream, (4) the insomnium or nightmare, and (5) the visum or apparition in a dream. The first three are prophetic in that they point to future events. Not even Macrobeus can interpret the poet's dream, BD 284-290. Affrican will reward the poet for reading in his old torn book, of which Macrobye wrote not a little, PF 109-112. The syntax of these references confuse the authorship of the commentary and the text. Chaucer's copy has seven chapters, PF 29-84, and this number suggests a combined edition of Cicero and Macrobius. [Affrican: Cipioun: Scithero: Swetonius]

Macrobeus occurs once initially, NPT 3123, and once in final rhyming position, BD 284; Macrobye, three syllables, occurs in medial position, PF 111.