Discourse and Silence in Martianus Capella's De nuptiis Philologiae et Mercurii

Abstract

The present paper analyzes Martianus Capella’s De nuptiis Philologiae et Mercurii from a generic point of view, departing from Systemic Functional Linguistics, in order to establish parody as its main feature, in consistence with its generic adscription to Menippean Satire. As a result, we expect to prove that Martianus is attacking discourse and discursive knowledge, and proposing silence as an alternative category for the characterization of transcendence and truth. This perspective intends to show De nuptiis as a Menippean Satire which subverts all values exposed along the work, turning thus into an anti-didactic text.