A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology. By various writers. Ed. by William Smith. Illustrated by numerous engravings on wood.

MERUL A. MESSALiA. 1049.(Trdves), the burning of Mettis (Metz), and the in the' sanctuary of the Capitoline Jupiter. Before
invasion of the country as far as Aureliani -or Au- he inflicted his death-wounds'he carefully laid aside
reiia (Orleans); but the silence of Gregory of his official head-dress (apex), and left a record in
Tours renders the account very questionable, unless writing that he had -not profaned by death the
we suppose that Meroveus and the Franks formed sacred emblem of his pontificate. His last breath
part of the army of Attila, who about that time was spent in imprecating curses on his murderers,
destroyed Metz and penetrated to Orleans: but Cinna and Marius. The priesthood of the flamena
this is contrary to the opinion of Dubos, and most dialis was not filled up until 72 years after Memodern historians, who range Meroveus and his rula's death. (Appian, B. C. 1, 65, 70, 75; Vell.
Franks on the side of Aetius. If we suppose that ii. 20, 22; Flor. iii. 21. ~ 61; Val. Max. ix. 12.
-Meroveus was with Attila, we may perhaps adopt ~ 5;Dion Cass. liv. 36; Tac. Ann. iii. 58; Plut.
the supposition that he was one of the two Frank- Mar. 41, 45; Plut. Quaest. Rom. 40; Diod. ap.
ish princes, sons of a deceased king, who according Val. Fr.; August. de Civ. Dei, iii. 27; Diet. of
to the rhetorician Priscus (apud Excepta de' Lega- Antiq. s. v. FlaCi en.) [W. B. D.]
tionibus, p. 40, ed. Paris), disputed their father's MERYLLUS (MepuAAos), a Greek writer,
succession, and claimed the assistance, the one of who wrote a work on Boeotia.(Plut.' Par. Mmin,
Attila, the other of Aitius. This would sufficiently c. 14), and another on Italy (ibid. c. 26). In the
accord with the C~ronicon of Prosper Tyro, which latter passage of Plutarch, perhaps Dercylus is the
places the commencement of Meroveus's reign in correct reading, as Dercylus was the author of a
A. D. 448, but the authority of this probably inter- work on Italy. (Vossius, De Hist. Graec. p. 469.
polated chronicle is not great, Meroveus is said ed. Westermann.) [DiRCYLus.]
to have reigned ten years. That he was the father MESATEUS (Meoaevi's), a surname of Dionyof Childeric, and the grandfather of Clovis, appears sus, derived from the town of Mesatis, where, acwell established; as well as that the first race of cording to a tradition at Patrae, he had been
the Frankish kings of Gaul derived from him the educated. (Paus. vii. 18. ~ 3, 21. ~ 2.) [L. S.]
title Merovingi or Merovinchi, Merovingian; un- MESCI'NIUS RUFUS. [Ru.Fvs.]
less we suppose with Sismondi (Hist. des Franfais, MESOME'DES (MeoEgo t5j7s), a lyric and epich. iii.) that this name was derived from an-earlier grammatic poet under Hadrian and the Antonines,
Meroveus, the common ancestor of all the kings'of was a native of Crete, and a freedman of Hadrian,
the tribes who formed the Frankish confederacy. whose favourite Antinous he celebrated inma poem.
(Greg. Turon. I. a.; Fredegarius Scholast. Gregq. (Suid. s. v.) A salary, which he had received from
Turon. Historia Epitomata, c. 9; Priscus, 1. c.; Hadrian, was diminished by Antonirius Pius.
G(esta Reguan Francorumn; Ado Vienn. C/iron.; (Capit. Ant. Pius, 7.) Three poems of his are
Mezerai, Le P. Daniel, Velly, Histoire de France; preserved in the Greek Anthology. (Brunck, Anal.
Dubos, Hist. Crit; de l'Etablissement de la io- vol. ii. p. 292; Jacobs, Ant&i. Graec. vol. iii. p. 6,
narchie Francoise; Sismondi, Hist. des Franfais, vol. xiii. p. 917; Fabric. Bibl. Graec. vol. ii. pp.
ch. iv.) [J. C..] 130, 131.) -' [P. S.]
MER/ULA, was a surname of the Gens Cor- MESSALLA, a cognomen of the Gens Valeria
nelia at Rome. It signifies an ouzle or blackbird. at Rome, was originally assumed by M. Valerius
(Varr. R. R. iii. 2. ~~ 2. 38; Quint. Inst. i. 6. ~ Maximus [No. 1] after his relief of Messana in
38.) The following Cornelii Merulae occur in Sicily from' blockade by the Carthaginians in the
history:- second year of the first Punic war, B.aC. 263,
1. L. CORNELIUS L. P. MERULA, was consul in (Macrob. Sat. i. 6; Sen. Brev. Vit. 13.) For the
a. c. 193. His province was Gallia Cisalpina. antiquity of the Messalla branch of the Valerian
Merula closed an active predatory campaign by a gens see Tibullus (Crrne. i. 28;'comp. Dionys.
total defeat of the Boian Gauls in the neighbour- iv. 67; Rutil. Iter. i. 169; Sidon. Apoll. Ep. i.
hood of Mutina. But since his victory cost the 9). They appear for the first time on the consular
Romans dear, and the officers of Merula accused Fasti in B. C. 263, and for the last in A. D. 506;
him of negligence on, his march to Mutina, the and, during this period of nearly eightlcenturies,
senate refused him a triumph on his return to they held twenty-two consulships and three cenRome. (Liv. xxxiv, 54, 55, 56, 57, xxxv. 4,5, sorships. (Sidon. Apoll. Clrm. ix. 302; Rutil.
6, 8.) 1. c.; Symmach, /Lp. ii.'. 90.) The cognomen
2. CN. (CORNELIUS?) MERULA, was appointed- Messalla, frequently written Messala, appears with
legatus by the senate in B. c. 162-161, to adjust the agnomens Barbatus, Niger, Rufus, with the
the disputes between the brothers Ptolemy Philo- nomens Ennodius, Pacatus, Silius, Thrasia Priscus,
metor and Physcon respecting the sovereignty of Vipstanus, and with the praenomens Potitus and
Cyprus. Merula accompanied Physcon to'Crete Volesus, and was itself originally, and when conland Asia Minor, and, after an ineffectual embassy bined with Corvinus, an agnomen, as M. Valerius
to the elder brother at Alexandria, he induced the Maximus Corvinus Messalla, i. e. of Messana.
senate, on his return to Rome, to cancel the existing 1. M'. VALERIUS ILF. M. N. MAxiiius CORtreaty with Philometor. (Polyb. xxxi. 18, 25, 26, VINUS MESSALLA, son of M. Valeriuns Maximus
27, xxxii. 1.) Corvinus, was consul in B. C.'263, the second year
3. L. CORNELIUS MERULA, was flamen dialis, of the first Punic war. Sicily was assigned to'both
and, on the deposition of tL. Cinna in B. c. 87, was the consuls:for their province. Their campaign
elected consul in his place. [CORNELIUS CINNA, was brilliant: more than sixty of the Sicilian towns
No. 2.] On the return of Marius from exile in the acknowleged the supremacy of Rome, and the
stme year Merula was summoned to take his trial consuls concluded a peace with Hieron, which
for, illegally exercising the consulship. (Plut. lasted the remainder of his long life, and proved
Quaest. Rom.. 113.) - He had already resigned it, equally advantageous to both Syracuse and Rome.
but his condemnation was certain. Merula there- [HIERON, NO. 2.] Messalla's share in' this camfore anticipated his sentence by opening his veins paign is inseparable from that of PM. Otacilius