Leo MAGENTENUS
17. MAGENTENUS (Μαγεντῆνος) or MAGENTINUS (Μαγεντῖνος), a commentator on Aristotle, flourished during the first half of the fourteenth century. His first name, Leo, is frequently omitted in the MSS. of his works. He was a monk, and afterwards archbishop of Mytilene.
Works
Leo wrote:
1. Ἐξήγσις εἰς τὸ περὶ ἑρμηνείας Ἀριστοτέλους
Ἐξήγσις εἰς τὸ περὶ ἑρμηνείας Ἀριστοτέλους, Commentarius in Aristotelis De Interpretatione Librum.
Editions
This commentary was published by Aldus, fol. Venice, 1503, with the commentary of Ammonius, from which Leo borrowed very largely, and the paraphrase of Psellus on the same book of Aristotle, and the commentary of Ammonius on Aristotle's Categoriae s. Praedicamenta. In the Latin title of this edition the author is called by a misprint, Margentinus. A Latin version of Leo's commentary, by J. B. Rasarius, has been repeatedly printed with the Latin version of Ammonius. Another Latin version by Hieronymus Leustrius has also been printed.
2. Ἐξήγησις εἰς τὰ πρότερα ἀναλυτικὰ τοῦ Ἀριστοτέλους
Ἐξήγησις εἰς τὰ πρότερα ἀναλυτικὰ τοῦ Ἀριστοτέλους, Commentarius in Priora Analtica Aristotelis.
Editions
This was printed with the commentary of Joannes Philoponus on the same work, by Trincavellus, fol. Venice, 1536; and a Latin version of it by Rasarius has been repeatedly printed, either separately, or with other commentaries on Aristotle.
Works not yet printed
The following works in MS. are ascribed, but with doubtful correctness, to Leo Magentenus:
3. Commentarius in Categorias Aristotelis,
Commentarius in Categorias Aristotelis, is extant in the King's Library at Paris.
4. Ἀριστοτέλους σοφιστικῶν ἐλέγχων έρμηνεία
Ἀριστοτέλους σοφιστικῶν ἐλέγχων έρμηνεία, Expositio Aristotelis De Sophisticis Elenchis: and
5. Ἀριστοτέλουσπερὶ εὐπορίας προτάσεων
Ἀριστοτέλουσπερὶ εὐπορίας προτάσεων. These two works are mentioned by Montfaucon (Bibl. Coislin. p. 225). The latter is, perhaps, not a distinct work, but a portion of No. 1. In the MS. the author is called Leontius Magentenus.
6. Commentarius in Isagogen. s. Quinque Voces Porphyrii.
Buhle doubts if this work, which is in the Medicean library at Florence (Bandini, Catalog. Codd. Laur. Medic. vol. iii. p. 239), is correctly ascribed to Magentenus.
Other commentaries
In the catalogue of the MSS. in the king's library at Paris (vol. ii. pp. 410, 421), two MSS. Nos. mdcccxlv. and mcmxxviii., contain Scholia on the Categoriae, the Analytica Priora et Posteriora, and the Topica of Aristotle, and on the Isagoge of Porphyry, by MAGNENTIUS. Buhle conjectures, with probability, that Magnentius is a corruption of Magentenus or Magentinus: if so, and the works are assigned to their real author, we must add the commentaries on the Topica and the Analytica Posteriora to the works already mentioned. Nicolaus Comnenus Papadopoli speaks of many other works of Leo, but his authority is of little value.
Further Information
Fabric. Bibl. Graec. vol. iii. pp. 210, 213, 215, 218, 498, 7.717, 8.143, 12.208; Montfaucon, l.c. and p. 219; Buhle, Opera Aristotelis, vol. i. pp. 165, 305, 306, ed. Bipont; Catalog. MStor. Biblioth. Regiae, fol. Paris, 1740, l.c.
From William Smith (ed.), Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology. Text provided under a CC BY-SA license by Perseus Digital Library, http://www.perseus.tufts.edu, with funding from the National Endowment for the Humanities and Tufts University. Data accessed from https://github.com/PerseusDL/canonical-pdlrefwk/ on 17 October 2026.