Priscian

Priscianus Caesariensis or Priscian, an important late antique Latin grammarian, lived about 500 and died probably at the beginning of the reign of Emperor Justinian I (527-565 ) in Constantinople Opel.

Life

That Priscian had around 500 in the decades is demonstrated by the eulogy, which he addressed to the Eastern Roman Emperor Anastasius ( 491-518 ), and by the fact that the manuscripts of his Institutiones grammaticae contain a postscript that tells that the work was 526/527 copies of Flavius ​​Theodorus, a clerk in the Imperial Secretariat in Constantinople Opel. At this time Latin played in the Eastern Roman Empire still an important, albeit diminishing role, because it is for the pursuit of activities in administration or army was the mastery of Latin in the 6th century remains as indispensable, why Priscians grammar early very wide distribution found - not only in Byzantium, but also in the West.

Priscians Caesariensis epithet probably indicates ( according to Niebuhr and others) in the province of Mauretania Caesarea on (North West Africa) as the origin out. However, there were several cities of this name in the Mediterranean; Researchers such as Warren Treadgold doubt the origin Priscians from Mauritania and take him for a East Romans. However, meets the traditional and widely accepted hypothesis, as Priscian, was under the rule of the Vandals, who controlled this part of North Africa 429-534, was born. Priscians teacher was a certain Theoctistus, which also has a Institutio artis grammaticae wrote. Three smaller treatises devoted Priscian the younger Symmachus, the father of Boethius. Cassiodorus overwrites some excerpts from Priscian by noting that he had taught in Constantinople Opel to his ( Cassiodorus ) Time ( Keil, Gr. Lat. Vii. 207).

Priscians work has been received in the rapidly throughout the late antique and early medieval Mediterranean. It is even quoted by several British authors of the 8th century - Aldhelm of Sherborne, the Venerable Bede, Alcuin - and was among other things used by Rabanus Maurus of Fulda and Servatus Lupus of Ferrieres. Its importance for the maintenance of the Latin language in the Middle Ages is hard to overestimate.

Over many centuries was Priscians grammar as fundamental. There is hardly a major library in Europe that has a copy of his work, of which there are about a thousand manuscripts in existence or had. The greater part of it consists only of the books I to XVI (sometimes called Priscianus major ); some contain (in addition to the three books Ad Symmachum ) only the Books XVII and XVIII ( Priscian minor); few both parts. The earliest manuscripts date from the 9th century, only a few fragments are older. All, however, they are derived ultimately from the one copy, the created Theodorus.

The Institutiones grammaticae are a systematic presentation of the Latin grammar, the consul and patrician Julian devoted to equate some researchers with the author of the famous statement of Justinian Novellae ( a part of the Codex Iuris Civilis ), but it seems this lawyer some time later than Priscian lived have to. Perhaps this is meant rather that Julian, who officiated by 530 as Justinian Praetorian Prefect Orientis and even dabbled as a poet. The Institutiones are divided into eighteen books, of which the first sixteen mainly deal with sound, word formation and inflections, the last two, up one quarter of the complete works constitute about a third, with the syntax.

Priscian informed in his preface that he had taken those basic rules of the Greeks Aelius Herodianus and Apollonius Dyskolos into Latin, which was considered appropriate to him, and they 've added to the Latin grammar. He has many fragments of older writers that would otherwise have been lost narrated, for example, of Ennius, Pacuvius, Lucius Accius, Gaius Lucilius, Cato and Varro. The authors, the most frequently he quotes, but are especially Virgil, then Terence, Cicero and Plautus, finally, Lucan, Horace, Juvenal, Sallust, Statius, Ovid, Livy and Persius.

His hard work in the collection of forms and examples was great, his approach methodically. His Latin style is without frills, it writes a clear, understandable technical language.

The shortcomings of his work can be summarized ( from a modern perspective ) in four main points:

Often Priscian is a rule also too general or too concentrated, and then searches for restrictions or extensions. His " etymologies " are sometimes extremely daring and absurd: for example caelebs of caelestium vitam ducens, b instead of a consonantal u, because a consonant can not stand in front of another; Deterior from the verb detero, deteris, potior ( as an adjective ) of potior, potiris; arbor of robur; verbum of verberatus aeris etc. Also in Greek practices it is not always correct. Despite these weaknesses Priscians performance was very impressive.

For students of classical philology are the 18 volumes of his grammar appear successively in German. So far, the books are 12-14 and 16-17 on the pronouns, prepositions, conjunctions, and the first part of its syntax ( the Priscian Minor ) and attributed to him from the medieval tradition treatise De accentibus in annotated German translation.

Priscians three short, devoted Symmachus papers deal with weights and measures, the metrics Terence and some rhetorical elements ( translated exercises of Hermogenes ). He also wrote De nomine, pronomine, et verbo ( a summary of parts of his Institutiones ) and an interesting sample of grammar teaching in schools in the form of a complete syntax analysis by question and answer to the first twelve lines of the Aeneid ( Partitiones xii. Versuum Aeneidos principalium ). The metric is discussed first, each verse is examined, and every word examined thoroughly and instructive. Also a treatise on accents was formerly attributed Priscian, but this is rejected by modern scholars because of the topic and the language mostly.

Priscian wrote two long, literary not remarkable poems, namely the already mentioned ( and historic ) panegyric on the Emperor Anastasius in 312 hexameters with a short iambic introduction and a literal translation in 1087 hexameters of Dionysius ' Periegesis, a geographical overview of the world.