THE LATIN OF THE PASSIONES MARTYRVM OF LATE ANTIQUE ROME

2020 ◽  
Vol 66 ◽  
pp. 96-143
Author(s):  
Michael Lapidge
Keyword(s):  
Spoken Language ◽  
Statistical Analyses ◽  
Seventh Century ◽  
Educational Standards ◽  
Late Antique ◽  
Linguistic Features ◽  
Rightward Shift ◽  
Latin Language

A substantial number of passiones (some forty) of Roman martyrs was composed at Rome and its environs between the early fifth and late seventh century (c. 425 – c. 675). Although these texts have hitherto been neglected by students of the Latin language (not least because they are only available in early printed editions dating from the fifteenth to seventeenth centuries, none of which are easily accessible), they provide a valuable witness to changes in the language during that period, when, as a reflex of developments in the spoken language and of deterioration in educational standards, written Latin began to exhibit a rightward shift of verb satellites (change to VO-order in main clauses, placement of the infinitive after the modal auxiliary, placement of the dependent genitive after its noun etc.), as well as a number of associated linguistic features. These changes are illustrated by statistical analyses, the results of which are presented in accompanying tables.

Secular Monograms, Social Status, and Authority in the Late Roman World and Early Byzantium

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ildar Garipzanov
Keyword(s):  
Social Status ◽  
Social Power ◽  
Fifth Century ◽  
Seventh Century ◽  
Sixth Century ◽  
Late Antique ◽  
Imperial Authority ◽  
Christian Culture ◽  
Noble Identity ◽  
Late Roman

This chapter examines the use of monograms as graphic signs of imperial authority in the late Roman and early Byzantine empire, from its appropriation on imperial coinage in the mid-fifth century to its employment in other material media in the following centuries. It also overviews the use of monograms by imperial officials and aristocrats as visible signs of social power and noble identity on mass-produced objects, dress accessories, and luxury items. The concluding section discusses a new social function for late antique monograms as visible tokens of a new Christian paideia and of elevated social status, related to ennobling calligraphic skills. This transformation of monograms into an attribute of visual Christian culture became especially apparent in sixth-century Byzantium, with the cruciform monograms appearing in the second quarter of the sixth century and becoming a default monogrammatic form from the seventh century onwards.

The Roman Martyrs

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Lapidge
Keyword(s):  
Fourth Century ◽  
Second Century ◽  
Seventh Century ◽  
Early Church ◽  
Central Feature ◽  
Late Antique ◽  
Modern Language ◽  
Roman Society ◽  
Christian Literature ◽  
The Church

The Roman Martyrs contains translations of forty Latin passiones of saints who were martyred in Rome or its near environs, during the period before the ‘peace of the Church’ (c. 312). Some of these Roman martyrs are universally known — SS. Agnes, Sebastian or Laurence, for example — but others are scarcely known outside the ecclesiastical landscape of Rome itself. Each of the translated passiones, which vary in length from a few paragraphs to over ninety, is accompanied by an individual introduction and commentary; the translations are preceded by an Introduction which describes the principal features of this little-known genre of Christian literature. The Roman passiones martyrum have never previously been collected together, and have never been translated into a modern language. They were mostly composed during the period 425 x 675, by anonymous authors who who were presumably clerics of the Roman churches or cemeteries which housed the martyrs’ remains. It is clear that they were composed in response to the huge explosion of pilgrim traffic to martyrial shrines from the late fourth century onwards, at a time when authentic records (protocols) of their trials and executions had long since vanished, and the authors of the passiones were obliged to imagine the circumstances in which martyrs were tried and executed. The passiones are works of pure fiction; and because they abound in ludicrous errors of chronology, they have been largely ignored by historians of the early Church. But although they cannot be used as evidence for the original martyrdoms, they nevertheless allow a fascinating glimpse of the concerns which animated Christians during the period in question: for example, the preservation of virginity, or the ever-present threat posed by pagan practices. And because certain aspects of Roman life will have changed little between (say) the second century and the fifth, the passiones throw valuable light on many aspects of Roman society, not least the nature of a trial before an urban prefect, and the horrendous tortures which were a central feature of such trials. Above all, perhaps, the passiones are an indispensable resource for understanding the topography of late antique Rome and its environs, since they characteristically contain detailed reference to the places where the martyrs were tried, executed, and buried. The book contains five Appendices containing translations of texts relevant to the study of Roman martyrs: the Depositio martyrum of A.D. 354 (Appendix I); the epigrammata of Pope Damasus d. 384) which pertain to Roman martyrs treated in the passiones (II); entries pertaining to Roman martyrs in the Martyrologium Hieronymianum (III); entries in seventh-century pilgrim itineraries pertaining to shrines of Roman martyrs in suburban cemeteries (IV); and entries commemorating these martyrs in early Roman liturgical books (V).

scholarly journals INDIVIDUAL LINGUISTIC PECULIARITIES OF A STORYTELLER (THE CASE OF SHOR HEROIC EPIC STORIES’ RECORDINGS)

2020 ◽  
pp. 20-31
Author(s):  
Любовь Николаевна Арбачакова ◽  
Ирина Анатольевна Невская
Keyword(s):  
Spoken Language ◽  
The State ◽  
Linguistic Features ◽  
Word Usage ◽  
Heroic Epic ◽  
State Of Mind ◽  
Stylistic Device

В данной статье на примерах расшифрованных рукописных текстов героических сказаний рассматриваются индивидуальные особенности словоупотребления сказителей. Сказители используют сходные стилистические и коммуникативно-прагматические средства. Во-первых, каждого из сказителей отличают особенности их родного диалекта или говора, как лексические, так и грамматические. Во-вторых, для современных сказителей типично широкое использование русских заимствований, как глобальных копирований, так и частичных. В-третьих, практически все исполнители используют просторечные стяженные формы глаголов, местоимений, существительных, характерные для устной речи. В-четвертых, сказители очень часто используют предпочитаемые ими коммуникативно-прагматические частицы, которые достаточно сложно перевести на русский язык и которые в обработанных фольклорных текстах часто опускаются их издателями (полза; тедир; ноо). В-пятых, у каждого исполнителя есть собственная (индивидуальная) лексика, употребляемая им во время эпического исполнения. Устный регистр исполнения эпического текста делает особенно проминентным использование коммуникативно-прагматических частиц. Каждый из рассмотренных сказителей предпочитает ту или иную частицу при том, что практически все они при исполнении используют все вышеупомянутые частицы. Эти частицы принадлежат устному регистру исполнения текста, помогая сказителю психологически настроиться на дальнейшее исполнение, собраться с мыслями и т. п. В то же время они выполняют важные семантические и прагматические функции. Тедир подчеркивает пересказывательность текста: как говорят, насколько я могу судить, по мере моего понимания, насколько я видел или слышал, как оказалось и т. п. Изä употребляется как маркер верности передачи смысла эпоса. Полза, широко использующееся в шорском языке как частица, маркирующая смену темы высказывания, в эпических текстах может становиться частицей, служащей для выражения повествовательного стилистического приема саспенс, помогающего сказителю повысить интерес слушателя к продолжению текста. При общности этих особенностей для всех представителей современного поколения сказителей конкретный выбор того или иного полнозначного слова, его формы или прагматической частицы являются индивидуальными для каждого из сказителей. По этим «собственным» сказительским словоупотреблениям и предпочтениям, как по почерку, можно определить личность кайчи. This article deals with individual peculiarities of word usage by Shor storytellers (qaychi’s). We have analyzed (and, partially, deciphered) a row of manuscripts of Shor heroic epic stories and delineated some linguistic features typical for a certain storyteller. Storytellers use similar or identical stylistic devices and communicative and pragmatic means. Firstly, each storyteller preserves the features of his or her dialect or subdialect, both lexical and grammatical ones. Secondly, modern storytellers widely use Russian borrowings as global or partial copies. Thirdly, practically all storytellers use typical for the spoken language contracted forms of verbs, verbal forms, pronouns and nouns. Fourthly, storytellers abundantly use communicative and pragmatic particles of their choice. Such particles are difficult for translation into Russian; they are often omitted in written editions of epic texts (e. g. polza, tedir, noo, etc.). Fifthly, each storyteller has its own individual expressions and words. The oral register of telling an epic story makes the use of communicative and pragmatic particles especially prominent. Each storyteller has his or her preferred particles used most often, although, of course, all particles can be used by any storyteller. Such particles help the storyteller to collect his or her thoughts, to communicate with the listeners, etc.; moreover, they fulfill very important semantic and pragmatic functions: Tedir stresses the hearsay evidentiality of epic texts or a certain distance of the speaker to the narrated events meaning ‘as one says, as people say, as far as I can judge, as far as I could understand, it has appeared (to me), etc.’ Izä in epic texts stresses the adequacy of a narration. Polza is used in Shor as a particle marking switch reference (as for …); in epics, it is a particle serving as a stylistic device suspense, and helping to raise the interest of the listeners in the continuation of the story. Even if these features are common to all storytellers whose epic texts we have analyzed, their choices of a certain word, expression or form are individual. Certain words and peculiarities of their usage indicate the personality of a storyteller, similar to his typical handwriting; both of them are individual and unique. Moreover, some usages give a clue to the emotions and the state of mind of the qaychi during his performance.

The Machinery of the Andrew of Caesarea Tradition

2020 ◽  
pp. 74-120
Author(s):  
Garrick V. Allen
Keyword(s):  
New Testament ◽  
Seventh Century ◽  
Late Antique ◽  
The New Testament ◽  
Different Parts ◽  
Commentary Tradition

Although ubiquitous and informative, titles are not the only paratextual item that define Revelation’s manuscripts. An even more conspicuous force on the shape of Revelation’s interpretation and transmission is the commentary initially produced by the late sixth-/early seventh-century Archbishop of Cappadocian Caesarea, Andrew. This chapter maps the features of the late-antique Andrew of Caesarea commentary tradition, not only its explicit commentary, but also the prologue, kephalaia tables, epilogue, intertitles, and textual divisions. Different parts of the Andrew tradition appear in variegated ways in different manuscripts, but nearly half of all of Revelation’s Greek manuscripts maintain at least parts of the Andrew’s apparatus. Commentary manuscripts are a key part of the New Testament tradition that provide an array of information that informs reception-historical enquiry.

Bracelets and Torcs

2021 ◽  
pp. 115-161
Author(s):  
Ellen Swift ◽  
Jo Stoner ◽  
April Pudsey
Keyword(s):  
Literature Review ◽  
Social Identities ◽  
Seventh Century ◽  
Late Antique ◽  
Social Functions ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Preliminary Discussion ◽  
The Social ◽  
New Evidence ◽  
Infants And Young Children

The chapter illuminates how bracelets and torcs were used to construct social identities, and their importance as protective artefacts, using new evidence, particularly relating to diameter sizes, to question some previous interpretations of these artefacts. It starts with a preliminary discussion regarding identification and how these objects were worn. The data set of bracelets is then presented and evidence for dating of particular bracelet types is considered. Evidence for the use and social function of bracelets is then set out, particularly diameter sizes, which are shown to be important in identifying use by people at particular life course stages, for instance infants and children. Bracelets are shown to be especially common as a children’s item in Egypt, in contrast to other provinces. One particular type of bracelet, the amuletic disc bracelet, is shown to be associated with protection during pregnancy. The chapter then examines torcs, and following a literature review and discussion of dating evidence for particular types, it is established that most are of sixth- to seventh-century CE date. It is also shown that, contrary to established opinion, torcs do not have military associations in the late antique period, at least in Egypt. The diameter sizes of types of non-openable torcs instead show a strong bias to wear by infants and young children. The social functions of torcs are then discussed, which could include protection, status assertion, and signifier of dedication to a particular role. Other topics discussed include inheritance of these objects within families.

Spoken Latin behind written texts

Diachronica ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 35 (3) ◽  
pp. 429-449
Author(s):  
Timo Korkiakangas
Keyword(s):  
Spoken Language ◽  
Linguistic Features ◽  
Early Medieval ◽  
Medieval Italy ◽  
Free Part ◽  
Conservative Form ◽  
Written Texts

Abstract This study uses treebanking to investigate how spoken language infiltrated legal Latin in early medieval Italy. The documents used are always formulaic, but they also always contain a ‘free’ part where the case in question is described in free prose. This paper uses this difference to measure how ten linguistic features, representative of the evolution that took place between Classical and Late Latin, are distributed between the formulaic and free parts. Some variants are attested equally often in both parts of the documents, while perceptually or conceptually salient variants appear to be preserved in their conservative form mainly in the formulaic parts.

Roman Knossos: Discovering the City through the Evidence of Rescue Excavations

2010 ◽  
Vol 105 ◽  
pp. 339-379 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rebecca J. Sweetman
Keyword(s):  
Material Culture ◽  
Seventh Century ◽  
Complete Picture ◽  
Late Antique ◽  
Industrial Areas ◽  
The Many ◽  
The City ◽  
Do So

Thus far, much of the analysis of Roman and Late Antique Knossos has been based on the material culture produced through research excavations such as the Villa Dionysus and the Unexplored Mansion. Such excavations provide a tantalizing view of select aspects of the community and city and are essential for an understanding of the chronology of much of the material culture. However, these excavations cannot provide a complete picture of the character and diachronic range of the entire city. To do so, it is necessary to turn to the hitherto unpublished rescue excavations undertaken in dispersed locations of the valley. These range from the many graves located on the slopes of the surrounding hills, to monumental architectural remains in the area to the east of the Villa Dionysus, and to mundane features such as cisterns and roads in the modern village. In this paper, within the context of the published Roman material and with a focus on mosaics and ceramics, the evidence of the rescue material is used to develop a better perception of the city and all its residents, including the layout in terms of administrative, residential, and industrial areas from the first to the seventh centuryad.Μέχρι σήμερα ένα μεγάλο μέρος της εξέτασης της Κνωσού κατά τη ρωμαϊκή περίοδο και την ύστερη αρχαιότητα έχει βασιστεί στα υλικά κατάλοιπα από συστηματικές ανασκαφές, όπως στην Έπαυλη του Διονύσου και την Ανευξερεύνητη Οικία. Αυτές οι ανασκαφές παρουσιάςουν μία δελεαστική όψη επιλεκτικών εκφάνσεων της κοινότητας και της πόλης. Επιπλέον είναι σημαντικές για την κατανόηση της χρονολόγησης ενός μεγάλου μέρους των υλικών καταλοίπων. Ωστόσο, δεν μπορούν να παρουσιάσουν μία συνολική εικόνα του χαρακτήρα και της διαχρονικής αλληλουχίας όλης της πόλης. Για να γίνει κάτι τέτοιο είναι απαραίτητο να στρέψουμε την προσοχή μας στο μέχρι σήμερα αδημοσίευτο υλικό των σωστικών ανασκαφών που έχουν πραγματοποιηθεί σε διάφορες θέσεις στην πεδιάδα. Αυτές οι ανασκαφές ποικίλλουν: από τους πολλούς τάφους στις πλαγιές των γειτονικών λόφων, στα μνημειακά αρχιτεκτονικά κατάλοιπα στην περιοχή ανατολικά της Έπαυλης του Διονύσου και τα κοινότοπα στοιχεία, όπως δεξαμενές και δρόμοι στο σύγχρονο χωριό. Στο άρθρο αυτό, μέσα στο πλαίσιο του δημοσνευμένου ρωμαϊκού υλικού και με έμφαση στα ψηφιδωτά και την κεραμεική, τα δεδομένα από το υλικό των σωστικών ανασκαφών χρησιμοποιούνται για την καλύτερη κατανόηση της πόλης και όλων των κατοίκων της συμπεριλαμβανομένης της διάρθρωσής της ως προς τις περιοχές διοίκησης, κατοίκησης και βιοτεχνικής παραγωγής από τον πρώτο μέχρι τον έβδομο αιώνα μετά Χριστόν.

Writing as Devotion: Hagiographical Composition and the Cult of the Saints in Theodoret of Cyrrhus and Cyril of Scythopolis

1997 ◽  
Vol 66 (4) ◽  
pp. 707-719 ◽  
Author(s):  
Derek Krueger
Keyword(s):  
Popular Culture ◽  
Social History ◽  
Late Antiquity ◽  
Seventh Century ◽  
Late Antique ◽  
Historical Inquiry ◽  
Men And Women ◽  
Gregory Of Nyssa ◽  
Religious Dimensions

The period from the fourth through the seventh century witnessed the elaboration of Christian cults of saints with a particular interest in the ascetic labors and miraculous powers of holy men and women. Although much evidence for these cults derives from literary saints' lives, a genre that emerged simultaneously with the cults, scholars have overlooked the role of the hagiographer as devotee. Previous studies have tended to view an author's piety as a barrier to historical inquiry, dismissing miracle accounts (among other hagiographical elements) as pious fictions. Neglect of the religious dimensions of the activity of writing arises in part from the confluence of two trends. First, renewed interest in late antique popular culture highlights the affinities between the religious life of elites and nonelites. Despite the refreshing aspects of this approach, the distinctly literary contributions to the formation of piety have been overlooked. Second, traditional divisions between patristics and social history continue to exclude theology and religious composition from discussions of piety on the assumption that thought and action are separable. Thanks to the work of Catherine Bell and others, students of religion can appreciate that thinking is an activity, something obvious to Christians in late antiquity such as Gregory of Nyssa, for whom contemplation of God was virtuous motion.

scholarly journals The interrelationship between scriptal and linguistic variation in notary signatures of Greek contracts from late antique Egypt

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-47
Author(s):  
Antonia Apostolakou
Keyword(s):  
Roman Law ◽  
Social Semiotics ◽  
Late Antique ◽  
Greek Language ◽  
Theoretical Concepts ◽  
Latin Language ◽  
Latin Script ◽  
Greek Alphabet ◽  
The One ◽  
Do So

This study investigates linguistic and scriptal variation in notary signatures found in late antique contracts from Egypt, seeking to identify and interpret the potential relationship between choices in language and script. To answer this, theoretical concepts and methods from sociolinguistics, social semiotics, and multilingual studies are used, with the objective of adding a new, more linguistically-oriented perspective to existing research on notarial signatures. On the one hand, this research demonstrates how the Latin script seems to restrict notaries, resulting in transliterated Greek signatures with very homogeneous content. The familiarity of notaries with the Greek language and writing is, on the other hand, reflected in signatures written in the Greek alphabet, which are much more diverse and at times adjusted to the circumstances under which specific documents were composed. Even if notaries seem to lack confidence in freely producing text in the Latin script, they choose to do so due to its functional values, which are conveyed and perceived visually. Latin letters create an association between signatories and Roman law, adding to the trustworthiness and prestige of the signatures. Differentiating between script and language allows us to understand how the Latin script maintained the connotations that formerly accompanied the Latin language, gradually replacing it in the form of transliterated passages, at a time when the language was disappearing from papyrological documentation. In this sense, sociolinguistics, and especially social semiotics, prove useful when dealing with visual aspects of language in papyri, as they prevent their functions and meanings from being overlooked.

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