Quintus Ennius (239–169 BC), widely recognized as the father of Roman literature, was instrumental in creating a new Roman literary identity and inspired significant developments in Roman religion, social organization, and popular culture. Born in Calabria, in Rudiae, Ennius claimed descent from Messapus, the hero of Messapia, and was the uncle of the tragic playwright Pacuvius. He was brought to Rome in 204 BC from Sardinia in the entourage of Cato, and having settled on the Aventine, speaking fluently in his native language, Oscan, as well as Greek and Latin, he became one of the first teachers to introduce Greek knowledge to the Romans through public readings of Greek and Latin texts.

Surpassing partisan interests, Ennius cultivated close relationships with several of Rome's most distinguished families, including the family of Marcus Fulvius Nobilior, through which he eventually acquired Roman citizenship. Known for appropriating Greek epic and dramatic work, Ennius engaged in a wide range of literary endeavors and, apart from comedy, succeeded in all. He thus played a significant role in shaping Latin literature in its narrative course, which would be its characteristic throughout the Roman Republic. His tragedies were considered classic works of the genre, while his "Annals" gave the Roman epic its expansive form and pioneered many of its most characteristic elements.

His other proposals included philosophical works in prose and verse, epic poetry, didactic poems, dramas with Roman themes (praetextae), and occasional poetry that shaped the development of satire later on. This extensive edition of Ennius, inaugurating the "Fragmentary Republican Latin" series of Loeb, replaces that of Warmington in "Remains of Old Latin," Volume I, and offers fresh texts, translations, and commentary that are fully updated with contemporary research.