The Cosmography of Aethicus Ister: Edition, Translation and Commentary 2503535771, 9782503535777 [PDF]

PUBLICATIONS THE

JOURNAL OF MEDIEVAL

LATIN

A Publication of The Medieval Latin Association of North America

Editor: Michael W. Herren, York University and University of Toronto Review Editor: Bernice M. Kaczynski, McMaster University Associate Editors: Alexander Andrée

University of Toronto

Ross G. Arthur Greti Dinkova-Bruun

York University University of Toronto Pontifical Institute of Mediaeval Studies

C.J. McDonough

University of Toronto

Andy Orchard

University of Toronto

John Magee

Carin Ruff

Independent Scholar

David Townsend

University of Toronto

Gernot Wieland

University of British Columbia

Advisory Board: Walter Berschin

University of Heidelberg

James P. Carley

York University

Michael Lapidge

Clare College Cambridge

1Claudio Leonardi

University of Florence

A.G. Rigg

University of Toronto

Brian Stock

University of Toronto

Haijo J. Westra

University of Calgary

Jan M. Ziolkowski

Harvard University

Editorial Assistant: Clare Orchard

General Editors, Publications of The Journal of Medieval Latin Michael W. Herren, C.J. McDonough, Gernot Wieland

The Cosmography of Aethicus Ister Edition, Translation and Commentary by

Michael W. Herren

BREPOLS

O 2011, Brepols Publishers n.v., Turnhout, Belgium. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise,

without the prior permission of the publisher. ISBN 978-2-503-53577-7 D/2011/0095/83 Printed in the E.U. on acid-free paper

Table of Contents Prolegomena [ntroduction Abbreviations and Sigla Text, Translation, and Commentary Pt. 1, $1-843, Text and Translation Commentary Pt. 2, $44—857, Text and Translation Commentary Pt. 3, §58a—113, Text and Translation Commentary Bibliography Indices Index Codicum Index Vocum Rariorum

Index Nominum Propriorum

Appendix: Addenda et Corrigenda

vll

For Ross Arthur, best of colleagues and a dear friend

Prolegomena This book is the work of many years — and many fits and starts. Although my interest in the Cosmography began in the 1970s, it was only after the

publication of Otto Prinz's MGH edition of 1993 that I formed a clear idea of what I wanted to do with this work and how to go about it. In the same

year I published a critical review of Dr. Prinz's edition in The Journal of Medieval Latin (vol. 3, pp. 236—45). Some of the criticisms offered there can still stand, but over time I realized that I was wrong about several important things. Prinz was right to conserve the orthography, morphology, and syntax of this eighth-century work. He was also right, or more nearly so, about the date of the work. He was right as well to reject my hypothesis (based on a suggestion by Manitius) that the earliest manuscript was a lost copy written in 754. I noted in my review that Prinz had correctly constructed the archetype of the text, and that his work could form a solid basis for a future edition. As I was to discover, his collations were remarkably accurate, and his recensio codicum impeccable. In the present edition I have retained Prinz's recensio and have implemented what is logically the next step, namely emendatio. In not a few cases I have changed words, though not grammar: in some instances by choosing superior manuscript readings, in others by adopting the emendations of the earlier editors, and still others by hazarding my own emendations (see the list at the end of the Introduction). I have also repunctuated Prinz’s long, often formless sentences. The result 1s a very different edition from that of Prinz. I hope that my efforts will assist the reader in gaining an understanding of this challenging work. Some scholars may have hoped that any edition subsequent to Prinz's would be based on a larger selection of manuscripts. However, Prinz himself traced the lineage of the inferiores, and was unable to discover any sign of a tradition other than the two main branches that he posited in his stemma. Moreover, the chronological proximity of the selected manuscripts to the date of composition argue strongly for their use as the basis of the reconstructed archetype. Should a future editor attempt to test Prinz's (and now my) recensio, that person would have my blessing. Whereas my edition builds on the work of others, my translation does not. A few short passsages of the Cosmography have been translated in articles, but the present volume contains the first complete translation of this work into a modern language. First translations of any work are fraught with risks. Translating the Cosmography presents special challenges due to the uncertainty of the text at many places, the abstruse lexica, and the confusing vii

vili

Aethicus Ister

syntax throughout. Some notes in the commentary give explanations for particular renderings. I hardly expect that readers will agree with everything, and I welcome suggestions for improvement. However, I am reasonably confident that both text and translation offered here are sound enough to be used by scholars who wish to use the Cosmography for their own research. If all my debts to scholars and institutions were promissory notes to banks, I would be in debtors' prison by now. A number of scholars reviewed sizeable sections of my text and translation at various stages, and offered many excellent suggestions on readings, translation, and presentation. For their generous help I thank Greti Dinkova-Bruun, Gregory Hays, Michael Lapidge, Rosalind Love, Christopher McDonough, Danuta Shanzer, Gernot Wieland, and Michael Winterbottom. Other scholars were most helpful in supplying specialist help on individual points: Bruce Barker-Benfield, the late Virginia Brown, Andrew Cain, Gerard Duursma, Mirella Ferrari, John Haldon, Dáibhí O Crónín, Richard Pollard, Kurt Smolak, Wesley Stevens,

Verena Winiwarter, Charles Wright, and Jan Ziolkowski. Their individual contributions are noted at appropriate places in the commentary. [ am grateful, too, for the encouragement of an earlier generation of scholars who worked on various facets of the Cosmography: Heinz Lówe, Bernhard Bischoff, Franz Brunhólzl, and Prinz himself. I learned much from these distinguished scholars over the decades through direct personal contact and through reading their works. To all those mentioned, both living and dead, I owe a deep debt of gratitude. Not all the good ideas to be found in this book were theirs, but all the foolish decisions detected herein are mine alone.

Active research on the Cosmography spanning more than two decades received generous funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, the Deutscher Akademischer Austausch Dienst, and the Alexander-von-Humboldt-Stiftung. To all these institutions I offer sincere thanks. I am especially grateful to the Humboldt-Stiftung for according me a Forschungspreis in 2004—5, during which time I completed a first draft of this edition. I also wish to thank the institutions that granted me free access to their resources: the Mittellateinisches Würterbuch Project, the Handschriftenabteilung der bayrischen Staatsbibliothek, and the Institut für die lateinische Philologie des Mittelalters — all in Munich. Thanks are due as well to the Manuscript Department of the Bodleian Library, Oxford,

and to

the same department of the Rijksuniversiteitsbibliotheek in Leiden, by whose kind permission the two plates containing the “alphabet of Aethicus” are reproduced here. I should not neglect to mention the Canadian institutions that have fostered and facilitated my work over the course of a

Prolegomena

long career: York University, Toronto, especially the former Atkinson College; the Centre for Medieval Studies of the University of Toronto; and the wonderful Library of the Pontifical Institute of Mediaeval Studies, Toronto. For the making of a manuscript into a book I am very thankful to the History Department, York University, for funding the highly competent

services of two doctoral students, Anna Irish and William den Hollander for

proof-reading and reference-checking. I am also grateful to my former student Brent Miles for checking my text against earlier editions. Thanks are due as well to Sara Kun for her timely help with the indices of this volume. As always, l am greatly indebted to my friend and colleague Ross Arthur for in limitless patience and his seemingly his beautiful typography implementing the changes I requested. I thank him, too, for excising much error and for querying both text and translation. I also wish to thank Luc Jocqué and Brepols N.V. for their help with this volume as well as for a seamless collaboration over many years.

The last word of thanks goes to my dear wife, Shirley Ann Brown, for her steady encouragement and for her kindly patience. Toronto

St. Patrick's Day, 2011

INTRODUCTION I. The Work A. The state of the question The Cosmography of Aethicus Ister stands at a crossroad between the ancient and medieval worlds. It also marks an intersection between East and West. Part cosmography, more travelogue, the work is a farrago of science fiction, travel adventure, literary criticism, and prophecy, with just a dash of historical detail and scientific investigation. Its author was a talented forger with a keen sense of satire. Under the cloak of pseudonymity, he revelled in poking fun at some of the biggest targets of his day — flat-earth cosmography, literal interpretation of the scriptures, censorship of heathen fables, and human gullibility in general. Of course, he knew well enough how to cover his rear flank. Posing as St. Jerome, he uttered pious platitudes at every turn, recited an orthodox creed, and tweaked the pagan “philosopher” Aethicus for writing incredible tales about unknown places and peoples, particularly the peoples of the North whom no one else had described. Yet “Jerome” believed almost everything Aethicus told him, and thus became one of the author's targets himself. Even Alexander the Great was treated to a royal roasting. Not nearly as brave as he 1s made out to be, Alexander triumphed over the barbarians more by stealth than physical courage — and sometimes he didn't win. However, Alexander's entrance marks a faultline in the work's ostensibly satirical purpose, shifting its tone from scholastic parody to sombre prophecy. Alexander, for all his shortcomings, is the one figure who, had he still been living, might have saved the western world from the hordes invading from the East. Greece, Alexander's homeland, had fallen from its pedestal, grown decadent and cruelly self-centred, no longer able to withstand the fresh forces arrayed against her. Her enemies include the northern barbarians (the offspring of Gog and Magog whom Alexander enclosed behind mountains)' and the once-vanquished peoples of the East, who now invade the West on camels as they seek revenge on their former conquerors. ! A.R. Anderson, Alexander's (Cambridge, MA, 1932).

Gate,

Gog

and

Magog,

and

the

Inclosed

Nations

Aethicus Ister

X11

One is left to wonder why such a rare and unusual work, with so much light to shed on the literary culture of western Europe in the deepest of the

dark ages, has been so little read. What other “ancient” source teaches us that the sun travels through the world on a dense bed of clouds, that barbarian submarines were illuminated by sun-mirrors, that Amazons raised minotaurs and centaurs and taught them how to fight, that a bridge spanned the Mediterranean from Greece to Africa, or that Apollo was treacherously murdered by Hercules? The Cosmography of Aethicus Ister has been known to scholars for over 150 years. Composed in the first part of the eighth century, it was preserved throughout the Middle Ages and Renaissance in forty-four copies or fragments.” It is also mentioned in medieval library catalogues. However, it was very little glossed, and it is hard to say how well it was understood by medieval readers, or what its reception may have been.' Today there exist three full editions and one partial edition of the worl?

poorly

as well as about four dozen

known

even

studies.® Nonetheless,

to medievalists.

It has never

been

the work remains

translated

into a

? Listed in K.A.F. Pertz, De cosmographia Ethici libri tres (Berlin, 1853), pp. 100-32; modifications in Bruno Krusch, “Origo Francorum Duplex," in MGH Rer. Mer. 7 (Hannover

and Leipzig, 1920), pp. 517-28, esp. 521-23.

?Gustav Becker, Catalogi Bibliothecarum Antiqui (Bonn, 1885; repr. [augmented] Hildesheim, 1973), no. 6 Reichenau (a. 822), no. 10 Reichenau (a. 842), no. 12 Friuli (a. 837), no. 22 St. Gall (saec. IX), no. 32 Bobbio (saec. X?, saec. IX?), no. 37 Lorsch (saec. X), no. 42, St. Emmeram (975—1000), no. 114 Saint-Amand (saec. XII), no. 128 Fulda (saec. XII). " A comprehensive treatment of the reception of the Cosmography remains to be written; it will not be attempted in the present edition. However, see the initial work by K.A.F. Pertz, De cosmographia Ethici libri tres (Berlin, 1853), pp. 89—98; further, Manitius (cit. infr., n. 8), vol. 1, Index, p. 725 records citations or uses in Hrabanus Maurus, Ratramnus of Corbie, the glossator of the Gesta Berengarii, and others. See also the indices to vols. 2-3. "Full editions: Armand D'Avezac, Mémoire sur Ethicus et sur ses ouvrages cosmographiques intitulés de son nom, in: Mémoires présentés a l'Académie des inscriptions et belles lettres. Prémiére série. Tome 2 (1852), pp. 230—454 (edition: pp. 454—541); Heinrich Wuttke, Cosmographia Aethici Istrici ab Hieronymo ex Graeco in Latinum redacta (Leipzig, [853; repr. 1854 with appendix, “Die Achtheit des Auszugs aus der Kosmographie des Aethicus"); Otto Prinz, Die Kosmographie des Aethicus, MGH: Quellen zur Geistesgeschichte des Mittelalters 14 (Munich, 1993). Partial edition: selection by Bruno Krusch (above, n. 2) = §§102-4 in Wuttke's (and the present) edition. A photostatic

reproduction of Leiden Scaliger 69 with discussion is given by T.A.M. Bishop, Aethici Istrici

Cosmographia Vergilio Salisburgensi rectius adscripta: Umbrae Codicum Occidentalium 10 (Amsterdam, 1966).

* A full list is given below in the Bibliography.

Codex Leidensis Scaligeranus

69,

Introduction

xiii

modern language, nor made the subject of a full philological study.’ Moreover, nearly all the studies of the Cosmography dealing with its authorship, date, milieu, literary character, and scientific interest are written

in German. Until very recently anyone wishing to obtain a general description of this work was obliged to consult one of the German handbooks on Medieval Latin literature." . The opaqueness of the Cosmography's Latin is a principal cause of this state of affairs. This manifests itself in several ways. First, the author often obfuscates

his thought

by using

rare words,

grecisms,

neologisms,

words

wrenched out of normal context, unusual metaphors, and expressions that are not idiomatic (see below, Latinity). This problem is exacerbated by the writer's apparent inability at times to write coherent sentences: word order is often convoluted; connectives sometimes seem to be used interchangeably; the arrangement of thoughts and topics is occasionally bizarre. Most notably, despite the author's command of an extraordinarily rich. and varied vocabulary, his grasp of Latin syntax frequently fails him, leaving the sense of many sentences in doubt. If all this were not enough, the single lost manuscript (hereafter designated by a) that is the ultimate source of all our extant copies 1s corrupt: it contains interpolations, is occasionally lacunose, and offers many readings that are senseless. Moreover, it is often difficult to know where sentences begin and end. No edition to date has come to grips with these problems in a comprehensive way. It is therefore little wonder that the Cosmography has not been translated into a modern language before. Notwithstanding these difficulties, there have been serious advances in our understanding of this work since the appearance of the first two editions in the 1850s.” Of fundamental importance is the work of Karl Pertz, who definitively distinguished between our Ps. Jerome work and another that

" The best overall study of the language of this text to date is Prinz, ed., pp. 28-44. A more complete survey with fuller data are provided below: VI, Latinity, pp. Ixxvii—xcix. * Max Manitius, Geschichte der lateinischen Literatur des Mittelalters. Bd. 1: Von Justinian bis zur Mitte des zehnten Jahrhunderts (Munich, 1911), pp. 229-34. Franz Brunholzl, Geschichte der lateinischen Literatur des Mittelalters. Bd. [: Von Cassiodor bis

zum Ausklang der karolingischen Erneuerung (Munich,

1975), pp. 63-64. H. Berger in RE

[.1: 697-99. Wikipedia now offers a very brief, but generally helpful introduction to the work in English.

? Discussed below, p. cxii.

Aethicus Ister

X1V

travelled under the name of Cosmographia Aethici.'® Pertz established the manuscript base of both works, and undertook a study of the medieval reception of our Ps. Jerome. To K.L. Roth'' goes the distinction of demonstrating that the Cosmography relied heavily on Isidore’s Etymologiae, and thus cannot be a genuine work by St. Jerome, a notion that had been vigorously argued by Heinrich Wuttke in the appendix to his revised edition." In the twentieth century several notable advances occurred. Of special importance is the two-volume study by Kurt Hillkowitz on the sources of our work, of which the first volume remains indispensable." The studies of Heinz Lówe on the connections of the work to Ireland remain of value for numerous insights into the work's sources and literary culture, even though a number of scholars (including myself) reject his hypothesis that the work is by the Irishman Virgil of Salzburg.'* Otto Prinz’s detailed investigation of the text tradition and orthography of the Cosmography has proved essential for establishing the recensio codicum;" moreover, it has undermined the notion that the work was transmitted by Insular scribes. Other contributions of note: Hildegard Tristram showed that the author was capable of stylistic differentiation, ^ while Peter Dronke was the first to ' Pertz, De Cosmographia attributed to Julius Honorius, 1878; repr. Hildesheim, 1964), "'K.L. Roth, Review of

Aethici, pp. 1—86. For an edition of the Cosmographia Aethici see Alexander Riese, Geographi Latini Minores (Heilbronn, pp. 22—55. the Edition by Wuttke and the Monograph by K. Pertz,

Heidelberger Jahrbücher der Literatur 47 (1854), pp. 100—6.

7 Wuttke, *Die Achtheit” (cit. above, n. 5).

? Kurt Hillkowitz, Zur Kosmographie des Aethicus. Teil 1. Ph.D. Diss. University of

Bonn, 1934 (Cologne, 1934); Teil II (Frankfurt-am-Main, 1973). ^ Heinz Lówe, “Ein literarischer Widersacher des Bonifatius. Virgil von Salzburg und die

Kosmographie des Aethicus Ister," Abhandlungen der Akademie von Mainz.

sozialwissenschaftliche

Geistes- und

Klasse 1951, Nr. 11, pp. 903-83; idem, “Salzburg als Zentrum literarischen Schaffens im 8. Jahrhundert," Mitteilungen der Gesellschaft für Salzburger Landeskunde 115 (1975), pp. 114—43. Lówe's attribution was so influential that most library catalogues recorded Virgil as the author of the Cosmography. The difficulties with this attribution will be discussed below under The Author and his Book, pp. Ixxiii-vii. For earlier demurrals see Maartje Draak, “Vergil of Salzburg v. Aethicus Ister,” in Dancwerk opstellen aangeboden aan D. Th. Enklaar, ed. W. Jappe Alberts et al. (Groningen, 1959), pp. 33-42; Franz Brunhólzl, “Zur Kosmographie des Aethicus," in Festschrift für Max Spindler, ed. D. Albrecht et al. ( Munich, 1969), pp. 75-89; and Hildegard Tristram (cit. n. 16). ?^Otto “Untersuchungen Prinz, zur Uberlieferung und zur Orthographie der Kosmographie des Aethicus," Deutsches Archiv für Erforschung des Mittelalters 37.2 (1981),

474—5]0.

'®Hildegard L.C. Tristram, *Ohthere, Wulfstan und der Aethicus Ister," Zeitschrift für deutsches Altertum und deutsche Literatur 111 (1982), 157—67, at p. 158. The article is also

Introduction

observe that the work is a prosimetrum.!! Vittorio Peri's thesis'® that the Cosmography contains a genuine ancient cosmographical work in epitome form, though definitively refuted,'^ has proved fruitful, at least to me, as it underscores the manifold connections of our work to the ancient world, and

especially to the literary culture of late antiquity.”’ These connections include a number of allusions to classical mythology and the use of ancient literary motifs and critical techniques; I discuss these in the notes to the translation. In a recent article Danuta Shanzer explores the possibility that the author of the Cosmography used a Latin translation of Philosotratus's life of Apollonius and provides evidence for the existence of one or more versions.^' She also explores in depth the question of our work's genre. In a series of articles I have taken up various problems connected to our work: its fictional structure, the author's knowledge of Greek, his milieu and audience, his Latinity, and the relation of the work to ancient travel literature.^ Yet numerous problems remain unsolved: the date and milieu of important for its criticisms of Lówe's hypothesis that the author is to be identified with Virgil, the Irish bishop of Salzburg. " Dronke, Peter. Verse with Prose from Petronius to Dante: The Art and Scope of the Mixed Form. Cambridge, MA, and London, 1994. Pp. 14-18. '5 Vittorio Peri, “La Cosmographia dell' Anonimo di Histria e il suo compendio dell" VIII secolo," in Vestigia. Studi in onore di Giuseppe Billanovich, ed. R. Avesani et al. (Rome, 1984), pp. 503—58. ? Pierre G. Dalché, *Du nouveau sur Aethicus Ister? À propos d'une théorie récente," Journal des savants, 1983—1984, pp. 175—86. ? Michael W. Herren, “The Cosmography of Aethicus Ister. and Ancient Travel Literature,” in The World of Travellers. Exploration and Imagination, ed. K. Dekkers, K. Olsen, and T. Hofstra, Germania Latina 7 (Leuven, 2009), pp. 5-30. * Danuta Shanzer, “The Cosmographia Attributed to Aethicus Ister as Philosophen- or Reiseroman," in Insignis Sophiae Arcator: Medieval Latin Studies in Honour of Michael Herren on his 65th Birthday, ed. G.R. Wieland, C. Ruff, and R.G.Arthur. Publications of the The Journal of Medieval Latin 8 (Turnhout, 2006), pp. 57-86, at 78-81. ^^ Michael W. Herren, *Wozu diente die Fülschung der Kosmographie des Aethicus?,” in Lateinische Kultur im VII. Jahrhundert. (Traube Gedenkschrift), ed. A. Lehner and W. Berschin (St. Ottilien, 1990), pp. 145—59; idem, “The Greek Element in the Cosmography of Aethicus Ister," JMLat 11 (2001), 184-200; idem, “The Cosmography of Aethicus Ister: Speculations about its Date, Provenance, and Audience," in Nova de Veteribus: Festschrift für Professor Dr. Paul Gerhard Schmidt, ed. Andreas Bihrer and Elisabeth Stein (Munich, 2004), pp. 79-102; idem, “Crux-busting on the Danube: ue/ Coniectanea in Cosmographiam Aethici, ut dicitur, Istri," in Source of Wisdom: Old English and Early Medieval Latin Studies in Honour of Thomas D. Hill (Toronto, 2007), pp. 353-69; idem, *Romance Elements in the

Latinity of the Cosmography of Aethicus Ister,” in Latin vulgaire latin tardif: Actes du VIIIe colloque international sur le latin vulgaire et tardif Oxford, 6-9 septembre 2006, ed.

XV1

Aethicus Ister

the work, the author’s audience, and the ultimate purpose of the writing. It is to be hoped that the close translation provided here along with further investigation of sources and allusions to historical events will lead to progress on these important questions.

B. Narrative Structure and Literary Features The Cosmography is characterized by a highly original narrative structure. Employing the technique of the “found work," for which there are wellknown precedents in antiquity," the author presents himself as a certain “Hieronymus prebyster" who has come across a work by a Scythian^" philosopher named Aethicus, written in both Greek and Latin, to which are added passages in an enigmatic alphabet. Hieronymus claims to epitomize this work in a breviarium and to edit it extensively, removing passages that are either not to be believed or present dangers to the faithful.^ His justification for publishing the work is that its teachings on many points are consistent with Scripture, while it offers much information on lands and peoples not mentioned there, namely the peoples of the North. It may thus be allowed to serve as a kind of Supplementband to the Old Testament and Josephus's Jewish Antiquities (§30). However, in contrast to most of its predecessors, where an editor offers an introductory statement about the work he has discovered, then disappears,"? the “editor” of the Cosmography remains in the picture throughout, often expressing scepticism about Aethicus's claims, at other times praising his writing for thoroughness and originality. He also interrupts the narrative with remarks drawn from his own life experience.”’

R. Wright (Hildesheim, 2008), pp. 472-81; idem, “The Cosmography of Aethicus Ister and Ancient Travel Literature" (above, n. 20 ); see also idem, “The Cosmography of Aethicus [ster:

One

Latin

Novel?,"

in Fictional

Traces:

Receptions

of the Ancient

Novel,

ed.

Marilia P. Futre Pinheiro and Stephen Harrison, vol. 1 (Groningen, 201 1), pp. 31—52. ? Herren, *Wozu diente die Fálschung der Kosmographie?," pp. 156—57. *On Latin writers for whom a Scythian origin is alleged see Kurt Smolak, “Scythische Schriftsteller in der lateinischen Literatur der Spátantike," in Miscellanea Bulgarica 5, ed. V. Gjunzelev and R. Pillinger (Vienna, 1987), pp. 23-29.

2881, 12, 43, 58a, 58d, 66a, 66d, 68d, 84b.

^^ An exception might be Philostratus's Life of Apollonius, in which the author (Philostratus himself) claims to construct the sage's biography from the diaries of one Damis,

a travel companion of Apollonius, and occasionally intervenes to vouch for their accuracy against the more derogatory accounts of others.

?7 88 11, 17, 58b, 58c, 59d, 66c.

Introduction

xvil

The differentiation between the two chief characters, Aethicus and Jerome, is skilfully achieved through stylistic characterization® — this despite the author's deficiencies in the Latin language. Passages in direct speech by Aethicus are marked, even when they are probably intended as prose rather than verse. The style is paratactical, oracular, bombastic, elusive — and allusive. By contrast, Jerome's style is characterized by a developed periodic structure, and is rich in biblical and patristic vocabulary, occasionally using some of St. Jerome's favourite words and expressions, such as /atrare to impugn critics, or inennarabilis to denote the mysteries of Scripture. Much of the work, however, is composed in a more “neutral” style consisting of “easier” sentences and less exotic vocabulary. This 1s employed to paraphrase Aethicus's text or his statements where direct speech is not quoted. It is to be noted that both characters, Aethicus and Jerome,

speak

in the first person, and this occasionally

leads to confusion.

The use of the double narrator device is characteristic of ancient Greek fiction, and is one of several indications of the author's wide — if not deep — literary culture. Another narrative device used by the author is the telescoping of time. This 1s achieved through the almost shameless employment of anachronism. Admittedly, some of the anachronisms in the work may be unintentional, i.e. to be ascribed to the author’s ignorance. A good example is “Jerome’s” explicit citation of the De spiritalis historiae gestis of Avitus. Saint Jerome died in 420, while the Avitus who wrote the biblical epic was identical to the bishop of Vienne who died in 518.^ However, it is very possible that the cosmographer mistook Alcimus Avitus, the bishop of Vienne, for Jerome's correspondant Avitus." (The author of the Cosmography had a good knowledge of Jerome's writings including his epistolography.) Another example is “Jerome™’s noting of a resurgence of the Istrian heresy (858c), a schism that developed only in the mid-sixth century, more than a century after the death of the church father. Other anachronisms — especially those involving Aethicus — appear to be deliberate. Aethicus lived before the coming of Christ ($72b), yet he was able to visit Ireland and comment (negatively) on its reputation for its books and learning (§25). Such a reputation could not have developed before the seventh century A.D. Aethicus also built ships in Grecia that had windows designed in such a way that one could shoot fire out of them (§95). Greek fire is first attested in the ?5 Tristram, *Ohthere," p. 158.

?? Sec the entry “Avitus (7)? in RE 2:2398.

% See Jerome's letter to a certain Avitus, Ep. 11, PL 22:1069-70.

xviti

Aethicus Ister

670s. Long-dead personalities in Rome's earliest history (Romulus, Numitor, Tarquinius Priscus, Tarquinius Superbus) are given new life as actors in conflicts in the Balkans that apparently belong to the Byzantine age (88102-103b). One must surely wonder what the point of such deliberate anachronisms might be, or stated in other words, what could have been the author's purpose in setting his hero's existence in two separate eras? I shall attempt to answer this question below in The Author and his Book. Clearly, our work is to be classified as a literary forgery."' *Hieronymus presbyter" is not just any priest: he presents himself as none other than the great church father, Saint Jerome. In his personal remarks Hieronymus alludes to his famous dream recorded in Ep. 22 (§58b); he refers to Donatus as his paedagogus (§66¢) — recall that the real St. Jerome was taught by this famous grammarian; and he even claims citations from St. Jerome's letters as his own work (817: Ep. 53). More generally, he mentions writings against heretics as his, including a breuiarium contra hereticorum (sic) (§58a, with n. 4). There can be no question, then, that the author wished his readers to believe that the Cosmography was epitomized and edited by Saint Jerome. "Jerome""s "^ attitudes to the author whose work he has “found” are heavily conflicted. On the one hand, he acknowledges that it contains dangers to the faith and stretches credibility to its limits; on the other, he is deeply attracted to the daring and originality of his subject and accords Aethicus fulsome praise in a number of places.” The impersonation of a famous writer was not the only forger’s device available to the author. He also employed the familiar technique of citing wholly bogus authorities, or giving quotations from known authors or works that cannot be verified from extant sources." He seems to have been particularly resourceful in coining the names of philosophers, often with comic effect: Cluontes (based on Cleanthes?) and Argyppus (Chrysippus downgraded?). Cicero is split into two personalities, Cicero and Tullius, a silly mistake that may have been occasioned by the author’s misunderstanding of the opening pages of Macrobius’s Commentarii in Somnium Scipionis (§66b, n. 256). Aethicus himself is provided with a scholarly bibliography: a set of Aenigmata, a work call the Sophogramii 31 On methods of forgery see generally Wolfgang Speyer, Die literarische Fálschung im heidnischen und christlichen Altertum: ein Versuch ihrer Deutung (Munich, 1971).

?? Hereafter “Jerome” = the fictional Hieronymus, St. Jerome = the real church father.

3 For testimonia showing “Jerome™’s conflicted attitude towards Aethicus, see Shanzer, *The Cosmographia,” pp. 74—706.

?^ Speyer, Die literarische Fülschung, pp. 44—84.

Introduction

X1X

(“Wise Writings”), another called Rus artium, and a collection of the sayings of Pythagoras. (It should be noted that no work attributed to Aethicus Ister including the Cosmography was ever cited in any ancient source.) Even renowned patristic authorities are not spared falsification: a quotation attributed to Agustinus in one of "Jerome"'s more purple passages (§58b) has proved to be unidentifiable. However, there appears to be some genuine basis for the author's allusions to Lucanus (the poet Lucan) and Mantuanus (Vergil), as will be shown in the section on sources, below. Considered formally, the Cosmography is a prosimetrum, or Menippaean satire, as Dronke observed.? The author himself wished his work to be taken

thus, as he make Aethicus refer to an encomium he wrote in praise of the Sibyl and Pythagoras as a carmen and uersus (§98). Even so, the designation might be challenged on the ground that passages which Dronke marked as verse (and similarly those so designated in this edition) do not belong to any known metrical or rhythmical category. However, the “poems” can be viewed as consisting of short phrases, often joined loosely syntactically, and employing such usual poetic features as apostrophe, alliteration and assonance, especially one-syllable assonance linking the ends of lines. Characteristic of these “verses” is the marked employment of asyndeton throughout. Many of the verses might be termed “oracular” and possess a hieratic quality. They exhibit rare vocabulary, contorted phrasing, and sometimes nearly impenetrable mythological allusions. Moreover, our work might also be labelled “Menippaean” in a sense other than the formal. Like its classical and late antique forebears — Petronius's Satyricon, Seneca's Apocolocyntosis Claudii, and Martianus Capella's De nuptiis Philologiae et Mercurii — one sees in places™® a readiness to invent nova de veteribus, and

? Dronke, Verse with Prose, pp. 15-17. * While Dronke states (Verse with Prose, p. 17), “I would see the Cosmographia as comic in a Menippean way throughout,” I find that there are significant tracts of the work that

were intended seriously: the enclosure of the unclean races, the prophecies of their escape in the last days, the Arab attacks on islands in the Mediterranean, and the unhappy events surrounding Aethicus and his family that are mentioned near the end of the work. (8103b) On the “scientific” side, notwithstanding his spoof of flat-earth cosmology, the author appears to

show a serious interest in volcanoes and their effects (§75, §100), or how the salt water from the abyss is desalinated when it reaches the earth's surface. (§112) For a useful corrective to the modern tendency to find parody where it does not exist see Vivien Law, Wisdom,

Authority and Grammar

in the Seventh Century: Decoding

Virgilius Maro

Grammaticus

(Cambridge, 1995), pp. 3—21, and eadem, "Serious Aspects of the Wordplay of Virgilius Maro Grammaticus," in L'héritage des grammairiens latins de l'Antiquité aux Lumiéres, ed. I. Rosier (Paris and Louvain, 1988), pp. 121-31.

Aethicus Ister

to take a lighthearted, ironical, or satirical approach to matters considered to be serious, or even sacred.

Finally, the Cosmography bears the imprint not only of the periplous, but also of the ancient Philosophenroman.”’ Aethicus is an itinerant philosopherscientist making his way through the known oikumene and beyond. He 1s accompanied by disciples whom he instructs, drawing his lessons from the places and cultures he visits. He takes special delight in debating with the great sages of other lands (including Greece itself) and stumping them with his riddles. Aethicus takes a keen interest in technology of all kinds — mining, shipbuilding, siegecraft and weaponry — and "Jerome" claims that Aethicus invented not only a special alphabet (§66d), but also a type of ship which can shoot fire from its portals ($95). Yet he moralizes on the evils of warfare and the pursuit of power and wealth (8105). Thus, combining elements of Apollonius of Tyana and Anacharsis, Aethicus plays the role of the Greek sage who revels in debates and will travel great distances to find an equal match.”® C. Content

The title Cosmography is somewhat misleading: only part of the work is a cosmography. By far the larger portion is a travelogue — a description of the oikumene and its inhabitants that 1is prefaced by a cosmographical section. One of the purposes of the cosmographical portion is to help the reader understand aspects of the geographical descriptions presented in the longer travel chapters. Why, for instance, does the northern edge of the world suffer a constant state of pollution such that the air is unbreathable and fish cannot survive in the overheated waters? It is because Hell 1s in the North, situated

under the surface of the earth and connected to the surface by the River Acheron which flows into Ocean (§§59b—59¢), the river that surrounds the known world. Or why is the traveller Aethicus unable to complete his journey to the far East? (§23) The answer is that it stands too close to the Titanic Gate ($18), the portal of the sun, conceived as a physical entity through which the sun passes on its daily journey. The sea in that region remains perpetually hot. ?7 See the thorough discussion of this issue by Shanzer, “The Cosmographia Attributed to Acthicus Ister," esp. pp. 77-86, arguing that the work has more in common with the Reiseroman. 35 Herren, *Aethicus Ister and Ancient Travel Literature," pp. 24-25. [ incline to the view that these ancient genres (Philosophenroman, Reiseroman) were not sharply distinguished. See the conclusion in my “The Cosmography of Aethicus Ister: One More Latin Novel?," pp. 49-51.

Introduction

XX1

The cosmographical section (§§1-23) gives us a complete picture of the universe entailing a curious blend of biblical and Homeric features. The universe is tripartite, consisting of the earth, hell, and the heavens, which are connected to each other by physical structures. The earth is a flat disk around which flows the River Ocean. Ocean is prevented from draining off the edge of the world by huge ramparts. Beyond the ramparts lies the fathomless abyss. At the eastern and western ends of the disk are portals through which the sun passes. Everything seems to need physical support in Aethicus's world. Even the sun does not travel unaided: it rests on a bank of thick cloud called the mensa solis, “table of the sun." (§14) Not unexpectedly, hell (§5) is located under the earth and is divided into four parts according to the divisions of the compass. The northern section contains fire and brimstone and appears to be the worst part — all things northern in our work are treated as negative! The southern part consists of “transitory fire" for purging sins and thus seems to correspond to purgatory. In the western section is found the proverbial worm “that dieth not." The author seems to have overlooked the eastern part, or else it dropped out of the transmitted text. Hell is presided over by a real devil, and angels stand on guard to ensure there are no revolts or escapes. ($10b) The heavens ($20) are firmly connected to the earth by “stable” hinges fastened to the northern and southern edges of the world. Aethicus testifies to their utter reliability, which he explains by claiming that the two great hinges are buttressed by a pole (/ineam) running from north to south. Heaven is divided into ten sections (§4), one for each of the nine orders of angels and another reserved for the saints who will replace the fallen angels. It is covered at the bottom by a very firm veil that prevents gawkers on earth from looking in. No Christian cosmography would be complete without an account of the creation, and our author obliges. However, the description (§3) is one of the most opaque passages in the work: clarity i$ not assisted by the poor state of transmission. The author relies here on the Ps. Augustinian De mirabilibus sacrae scripturae (discussed below under sources), which, drawing on genuine works of Augustine, posits unformed matter created by God out of nothing, from which all species of things are generated. The author of De mirabilibus is apparently following Augustine's doctrine, expressed in his two Genesis commentaries, that God created primal matter out of nothing and used this to make everything that was not created out of himself. While much of Aethicus's cosmology is biblically based, and other portions are simply fanciful, one detects here and there some attempts at

XX11

Aethicus Ister

"serious science." The cosmographer's theory of the origin of volcanoes (§100) is particularly interesting. Their activity is caused by the confluence of sulphur and excessively hot water drawn from the abyss that occurs in the “oreat gap" (chalao magnus) between the abyss and the sea. The gap acts as a kind of bladder that draws in some water from the abyss and pushes some out. Inside the gap the sulphur is cooked to the temperature of hot lead, then under pressure from the earth’s "navel" the incredibly hot particles are impelled by winds upwards into the mountain. Aethicus notes that the activity is continuous (iugifer), an observation that is borne out by modern science. The cosmographer appears to have had a general interest in subterranean happenings. The winds originate beneath the earth (§112) in the great gap. The gap is also the source of earthquakes that cause fissures in the earth that allow for the upward movement of both wind and water. The cosmographical section fades imperceptibly into the travel portion at §23. (Note that the rubrics transmitted in the archetype are unreliable as indicators of divisions in the text.) $822—23 are well designed as a transition point, for there its 1s claimed that Aethicus personally investigated many of the phenomena that he has previously described: the portals of the sky (or sun), the hinges of the world, the stabilizing meridian line, and the ramparts (gates) of the sea (Ocean). Aethicus can now devote his attention to the regions and peoples of the known and unknown world. Thus the rest of the work (8824—113) is occupied with travel with three exceptions: §§44-57 is an excursus containing a catalogue of different types of ships, most of them imaginary, but some resembling known ship types of the early Middle Ages; $112 deals with the nature of wind, while $113 presents the alphabet claimed earlier in the work (§66d) to be the invention of Aethicus (reproduced here at the end of the text). One can only wonder why these passages occur where they do. No justification is given for inserting the “catalogue of ships" in the middle of the narrative of Aethicus's exploration of the North and East, while the passage on the winds would look much better placed in the cosmographical section. Similarly, the presentation of Aethicus's alphabet (§114) would seem to be more suitably placed in the section where it is described (§73). Aethicus's travels are divided into two parts involving two separate journeys. The first journey extending from $24 to $104 encompasses the West, the North and the unknown parts of the East; the second journey ($8105— 111), the South and the parts of the East known from the Bible or from the Alexander legend (India). The second journey is handled summatim (the author's word), and seems almost to be tacked on for the sake of

Introduction

XX111

completeness: certainly the author meant his readers to focus their attention on the first journey. “Jerome’’s numerous interventions in this section reinforce this impression: Aethicus describes peoples and places that no previous writer was aware of, or else provides more information on these exotic places than his predecessors. “Jerome” tries valiantly to verify as many claims as he can. Not only has he read all the “historiographers” and

poets who might conceivably have described the North, he claims that he

was in a position (in Palestine?) to hear travellers’ reports from the East (§59d). The use of “Jerome” as a kind of “goalkeeper,” whose job it is to keep loose lies and fictions from flying between the goal posts, liberates the author from his sources and allows him the freedom to indulge his fantasies to the fullest. Aethicus tells us that he begins his travels in Taprobane (Sri Lanka), possibly because Cosmas Indicopleustes was credited with sailing there.” We find him next in the Adriatic (4driakeon, §24). Bypasssing the sights of Rome

and

Gaul,

Aethicus

makes

for

Cadiz,

where

sojourns,

trading

riddles with the philosophers Aurelius and Arbocrates (§24). Thence through the Pillars of Hercules and upwards around Galicia to the so-called “Vacetan Islands,"

which

are allegedly

at the mouth

of the Loire,

then

onwards

Ireland (§25). There he remained “for some time poring over their books." Aethicus was thoroughly unimpressed with Irish teachers and their writings and regarded his journey there as a big waste of time. From Ireland he sailed to Thyle (possibly, but not certainly, Iceland), then to “the British Isles" (§26), which he called the “Brutish Isles," though he grudgingly conceded that the inhabitants pursued many arts and were good at mining. A voyage through the Hebrides (§27), and, we may hazard, around the top of Britain, brought him to the Orkneys, where he discovered numerous mines. “Jerome” tells us that Aethicus recorded his observations about these islands in a work he entitled Rus artium (“The Country of Arts") and also in his Aenigmata. “Jerome” seems to imply that if readers want more information, they can consult these *works"! Like Homer and many ancient authors before him, the cosmographer mingles real and fictitious places." Aethicus next moves from the wellknown constellation of the British Isles to the "northern isle" of Munitia (§28), where the cynocephali dwell. Munitia is not completely a “fantasy island," as we learn that it was visited by merchants and tribute collectors ? For the possibility that our author was familiar with some aspects of the Topographia

Christiana, see below, Sources, pp. 1-1i. ^0 See my discussion, “The Cosmography and Ancient Travel Literature," pp. 6-8.

XXIV

Aethicus Ister

from Germania. Likewise, the cynocephali, the dog-headed people of myth who are normally assigned to India or “the East,” are not just another group of freakish peoples like pygmies or Blemmae, but are assigned a new role as one of the unclean races that engage in every kind of abomination (here: eating unclean foods). This description of them clearly reflects the Talmudic interpolation of the Ps. Callisthenes tradition, in which Alexander the Great IS credited with enclosing twenty-two unclean races along with their kings behind gates at the “Breasts of the North." This same interpolation is repeated in the Apocalypse of Ps. Methodius (see below, Sources, IL.A.6). In this tradition the cynocephali are named as one of these races. The cosmographer retains the reputation of this race as “unclean,” but pulls them out of the “enclosure narrative" and gives them a separate place in his fictional geography. The cynocephali are lumped together with other groups, some real, some fictitious ($29), the former including Turks, Alans, Huns, Frisians, and Danes — all of which are filthy in their habits, and all belonging to that huge and poorly defined region that ancient geographers called Germania. According to Aethicus (or *Jerome"?), the area stretches from the Rhine

to the

Sea

of Azov,

and

northwards

to Ocean

with

its numerous

islands. At this point ($30), “Jerome” steps in to explain that Aethicus omitted descriptions of peoples and places described in the Holy Scripture, or in the "history" of Josephus (i.e. the Jewish Antiquities). His reason for doing so was that he esteemed the Hagiographia as the "fountain of the laws and liberal letters" and held Josephus's writings 1n the highest regard. There was no need to repeat what was contained therein. Moreover, Aethicus felt that he had enough to do with describing the *deeds and discoveries of many arts ... found among the peoples of the North." This piece of editorial fiction serves a double purpose: (1) it justifies “Jerome™’s decision to edit and publish a work written by a pagan (note the hesitation expressed in $1), and even, possibly, exculpates him from the vow the real Jerome expressed in Ep. 22 never to read profane literature again; (2) it explains “Jerome™’s willingness to believe many of the things that Aethicus writes — how can a pagan who reveres the Holy Scripture and regards it as the source of law tell lies? In this way the author, the master puppeteer, has enhanced the characterization of the fictional Jerome as fearful for his reputation and eager to justify his work, and at the same time set him up as the gullible recipient of the fables that Aethicus doles out to him. To enhance the irony, the author laces “Jerome™’s subsequent interventions with expressions of scepticism.

Introduction

XXV

The manuscripts introduce the next section as “About the Tools of Many Arts," and the writer continues the discussion of the northern peoples and islands ($31). Again we see real and fictitious peoples mingled together (Saxons with Griphon-Folk) as well as real and fictitious places (the Don River with the Hyperborean Mountains). The Saxons are described as “the most stupid of all the races" at the North; they are also among the cruellest,

for hardly ever does any captive escape from them. They live by the Northern Ocean — roughly in the same region as the Turks."' At this juncture the reader must realize that few, if any, advances had been made in mapping *the barbarian world" since Herodotus's time. *Ocean" was a concept more

poorly defined than even *Germany." The Northern Ocean could refer to the

North Sea or the Baltic — even the Caspian Sea was considered a branch of

it.^ In the very next chapter (32) Aethicus tells us that the territory of the Turks extends "as far as the bays of the Black (Euxinum) Sea." Turchi appear in the Chronicon of Fredegar 2.6 (mid-seventh century), and in Ps. Callisthenes version [, which describes their slaughter (along with *Armenians") at the hands of Alexander.” The chapters on the Turks (32—33) introduce more mythical geography and bring us directly into the motif of Alexander's enclosure of the unclean

races. Here we first encounter “the Breasts of the North," the “Caspian

Gates, and the “Taracontan Islands.” Interestingly, these isles, which the Turks inhabit, turn up on the Hereford Map with a slightly altered name: Terraconta." The Turks belong to the descendants of Gog and Magog (the latter was a son of Japheth), who live on the undefined “Isles of the Gentiles" (Gen. 10.5). As such they are guilty of every kind of excess and abomination. Of potential interest to historians of teligion is Aethicus's claim that the Turks worship Saturn under the name Morcholom; they allegedly celebrate his feast in August. $33 describes Alexander’s vain attempt to enclose the Turks with the other unclean races and his recognition of the terrible consequences of his failure. More “Germanic islands" are described ($34), followed by the Gadarontan Isles and their people (§35). In contrast to other barbarians, the * On Turkish peoples that predate the Seljuks, see Carter Vaughan Findley, The Turks in World History (New York, 2005), pp. 21-55. ?? Richard Stoneman, Alexander the Great: A Life in Legend (New Haven and London, 2008), p. 78. Stoneman notes that the Tabula Peutingeriana depicts the Caspian Sea as a gulf of Ocean. 55 Ed. Leif Bergson, Der griechische Alexanderroman Rezension [3 (Uppsala, 1965), p. 207. ^* Stoneman, 4 Life in Legend, p. 81.

XXVI

Aethicus Ister

Gadarontans are depicted in a positive light. They possess exceptional musical ability, such that they can charm the Sirens themselves! Perhaps we may detect here some slight trace of the “hyperborean” tradition — ancient legends surrounding the peoples of the utter North who, favoured by Apollo, live at ease and cultivate the arts. The Gadarontans also excel at mining and the nautical arts, producing marvellous ships called birrones that are very swift and can survive tempests. Next are the Maeoparan Isles at the edge of the two gates into the Northern Ocean (§36a). Their people (§§36b-36¢) produce submarines (colimphas) which they use for piracy. The description of how the colimpha is made (§36b) is a triumph of authorial ingenuity. In 936c we learn that Alexander himself visited the Isles to “test drive" a colimpha — a tradition obviously borrowed from Ps. Callisthenes f or y, and elaborated upon here." $837a-37c describe the Ripharians (the name is surely derived from the “Riphaean” Mountains) and their military inventions, the bastarma (an ingenious siege device) and the frucurrus (a kind of primitive tank); this is followed by a recipe for getting rid of the poisonous "Jacedaemonians." The Ripharians are lauded (§37d) for their "ingenuity, art, and subtlety," but condemned for their idolatry. They are also praised for not warring among themselves. Moreover, they are advanced at warcraft, as their inventions show, and also their techniques of undermining walls (described in $38b). Alexander attempted to enclose these island peoples as well (§39) to stem their piracy, but once again his luck deserted him. $$40—43 present the legend of Alexander's enclosure of the twenty-two unclean

races,

also

attested

in Ps.

Callisthenes

and

Ps.

Methodius.*®

The

great hero prayed to God for help, even sacrificing victims (§41a). God obliged and sent an earthquake that moved mountain ranges together at the “Breasts of the North," thus providing the place of enclosure. Alexander then proceeded to trick the unclean races with the pretence of a peace pact sealed with the unclean offerings of pork. After threatening the gentiles the hero immured them behind “gates of wondrous magnitude," which he sealed with locks and asyncitum (“unmixed bitumen"). We learn that the gentile races will remain locked up until the time of the Anti-Christ, when they will burst their bonds and rage through the world to punish it for its sins. In the final passage ($43) of the section (and end of the short version), Jerome intrudes to warn readers against believing everything that Aethicus says. He ?5 See the translation at $36c, nn. 375—76. ^6 For textual comparisons between Ps. Callisthenes and Ps. Methodius, Alexander’s Gate, pp. 38-41.

see Anderson,

Introduction

xxVvil

likens Aethicus to “the Mantuan" (Vergil): both constitute a spiritual obstacle, a spiritalem petram. There follows (8844—57) an excursus on ship-types, which in contrast to Homer's famous catalogue, bears no obvious relation to the narrative. Some of the vessels are dredged up from Isidore's catalogue of ships at Etym. 19.1, others are the apparently fanciful creations of the author.'" Here, as elsewhere, the author cannot resist a silly joke, defining a trireme (§47) as composed of “three ships fastened together" (!) rather than as having three banks of oars. Rostratae or “prow-ships™ (§49) were designed by a certain Grypho, who was apotheosized by the heathens because he fashioned images

of gryphons from bronze. The ships were used in the time of Alexander. The

chimaera or “witch-ship” (§50) has four heads instead of the traditional three and is useful for ramming ships with lances and sinking them. Perhaps most ingenious is the camereca (§55), which has a curved shell in the middle like the hump of a camel. It terrifies the enemy with the terrible sound it emits from a kettle built atop the hump. This ship was invented by Cecrops on the Frisian Isles! The narrative resumes at $58a, introduced by the inscription DE INSOLIS GENTIVM PLVIMARVMQUE ARTIVM. “Jerome” tells us at the end of this opening passage that he has avoided recording everything Aethicus says for fear of introducing error, and chides the writings of the philosophers because they neglect the Holy Scripture. “Jerome™ proceeds with a long and somewhat unfocused harangue against heretics, heathens, and bad teachers (858b-$58d), beginning with his own experience of "corruptible blows" — an obvious allusion to St. Jerome's famous dream (Ep. 22) — and the admission that he too would have been damned had he not been saved by *the keys of David." This is followed by an attack on the heretics Eunomius and Priscillian and against the Istrian heresy introduced by “Arculius, Anfianus, Hircanus, and Macedonius" (see below, pp. lix—Ix), which has recently brought its foul corruption to Rome. He concludes with the advice (§58c) that it is best to temper even the study of the scriptures, taking in only a little at a time, to avert spiritual shipwreck. In $58d the author repeats his monitum that he records only part of what Aethicus relates about the “Japheth” and the peoples of the North, omitting all that he finds doubtful. " See now Ian Woods and George Indruszewski, *An 8th-century Written Source on

Ships and Navigation: The Cosmography of Aethicus Ister," in Wulfstan's Voyage: The Baltic

Sea Region in the Early Viking Age as Seen from Shipboard, ed. A. Englert and E Trakadas (Roskilde, 2009), pp. 220—34.

xxvill

Aethicus Ister

$59a describes the habitat of the Murini who live at the edge of the River Acheron

(near the abyss), where the air is breathable only at midday;

at all

other times the inhalation of its fumes brings on a condition that cannot be cured. Inside the mountain range that hems in the river ($59b) the North Wind blows its baneful blast causing animals to age prematurely. Only shrivelled shrubs grow there. The River Ocean flows into Acheron (859c), and the heat at their confluence spreads to the seas destroying fish and maritime

trade.

The

Murini,

who

dwell

the

region,

are,

perhaps

understandably “an extremely stupid and very lazy race.” Alexander the Great (§60) attempted one of his periodic genocides of barbarians, and after shedding much blood, subjugated the deformed people with one of his tricks. Aethicus went to the region to buy or barter gold and “Rifarian” gems to use in his commercial ventures; he also found there one-eyed minotaurs which he claimed were very useful in war. He then visited the city of Trimarchia ($61), built by Mosoc, a son of Japheth; the inhabitants descend from the race of the giants. The half-eaten crops and bitter water found there stand in contrast to the beautiful mines of gold and quantities of marble. Moreover, the warlike people know the use of bridles and have very swift horses, camels, and mules. More barbarian races descending from Japheth are described in $62. Their filthy women (in both senses) seek out men for sex. The *Albanians" come next (§63). They do not live in the country now called Albania, but are scattered throughout the North extending as far south as the Maeotidan Swamps “as far as the Turks.” They employ a unique weapon called the "hornet-shooter," and drink strong liquor. They also employ several types of ships and engage in trade, which is often disrupted by the Maeoparans. Moreover, they hold two islands in the Northern Sea under tribute ($64). In their mountains one finds hot springs near which ancient shrines were constructed in the time of the giants. Alexander did not like these people either. He nearly wiped them out “more through strategy than through courage." In the description of the Gargani (§65), Aethicus concentrates on the people’s idolatry, which includes worshipping pillars and strange beings that bark, practising augury, venerating bird voices, and worshipping the sun and the moon. Al of $66 (a--d) belongs to “Jerome,” who barges in at §66a to remind us that he has censored much about the idolatrous practices of heathens. He then resumes his disguise as Saint Jerome and informs us that he has gone about editing Aethicus's books by employing the philologist’s tools of *cancellation marks and obeli," much as the real Jerome did when he edited

the

Bible.

The

final

product

is described

a single

digest

with

Introduction

XXIX

accompanying commentary. There we also learn that Aethicus wrote “in Greek syllables," but increasingly used "Latin prosody." In $66b “Jerome” discusses the vexed question of employing fables in a work that deals with “the deep and difficult and very obscure matters of the cosmos." It appears that he bases his discussion of this topic on Macrobius's discourse on the same subject in book 1 of the Commentary on the Dream of Scipio. Both discuss Plato and Cicero as prime examples of writers who illustrate their teachings with fables. *Jerome" levels further criticism at those who imbue God's creation with an auram inanem et tenuem (Macrobius's world soul?). At the end of the section “Jerome” mentions books with * songs of battles" illustrated in colour and provided with captions — a tantalizing allusion to a Vergil manuscript such as the Vaticanus or Romanus? The "Jerome" soliloquy culminates in $66c. There we learn about the editor's punishment with physical blows for neglecting the scriptures, his dalliance with composing poetry, and his attachment to his teacher Donatus. The impersonation of the saint has become complete. $66d concludes with an allusion to the famous “alphabet of Aethicus" and a promise to describe it more fully (cf. $73). The long “Jerome” passage establishes a convenient break between Aethicus's description of the monstrous tribes and hideous geography of the uncharted North and the somewhat more familiar world of Scythia known from geographers and ethnographers. However, the description of Scythia's boundaries given in $67a appears confused, and the initial description of the Scythians exhibits little or no direct knowledge of the race, but falls back on topoi that apply to the barbarous peoples previously described (eating human flesh, drinking blood). Things liven up in $67b with the description of gryphons, who are born on the Hyperborean Mountains. These monsters destroy the horses and livestock of the Scythians, but the clever race has figured out a method of dealing with them. The section 1s devoted to a most excellent manner of trapping and killing gryphons. $67c describes the rivers of Scythia. Here the author shows some independence from his chief source (Isidore) in describing the circular course of what might be the Tanais (Don). The section ends with an anecdote about the Amazon queen Tamaris (sc. Thamyris), which serves as a segue to a long discussion of the Amazons and their history (§67d-68d) that depends mainly on Orosius (and the author’s imagination!). This includes their origin, character, weapons, mating and breeding habits, and eventual decline, which is caused by the treachery of Hercules ($68c). (Hercules and Alexander appear as geminated examples of the Homeric ooqí(a.) Aethicus intrudes at §68d to inform us that he

XXX

Aethicus Ister

personally

investigated

the

Amazon's

“hiding

places,

huts,

caves,

and

grottoes.” He also relates “new” information about their strategy of training minotaurs and centaurs, which they nursed with mother's milk, for use in battle. $69 provides no more than a brief mention of Hyrcania based largely on Isidore. In $70 Aethicus tells us that he meant to stay *a year and five months" in Armenia in order to repair Noah's ark, but did not “dare to climb to the top of those mountains." In Asia Minor (§71) Aethicus encounters illustrated stories painted on ramskin and smeared in gold that remind him of . books by the Mantuan and “Hebion.” There follows the longest connected section of the book (§§72-98), a description of Greece in all its parts, including the islands. Aethicus claims that he journeyed through the entire country for five years engaging in debate with its *most illustrious teachers." He prefaces his description with a "panegyric" which he entitled "Paternal Loins, Maternal Breasts"(!). The "verses" contain familiar moralizing themes. Innocence and virtue accompany the beginnings of a great civilization (Greece); valour and sacrifice lead to greatness; in a final phase, greed and unbridled self-interest promote

decay,

and ultimately,

a downfall.

In $75,

on Galatia, there is an

interesting discussion on the effects of volcanoes on sea life. Chimaera (in southern Turkey), Aetna, Thera (ex emend.), and the mysterious “Caspian Tower" are named. Aethicus raises the question of how volcanic fire can continue to burn on sea water, and attempts an explanation. $79 opens with a long encomium of Athens, mingling great admiration for her achievements with regret for the almost unending bloodshed she caused. There Aethicus spent five years debating with Fabius, the foremost philosopher of his day. The section ends with one of Aethicus's “oracular” statements alluding to the rebellion of the Balkan peoples (/stria) against their Greek masters (Jonia). §80a-b presents what looks like an allegory of a struggle between Greeks and Scythians. Apollo, depicted as a Scythian leader (Choatra), 1s deceived and murdered at a banquet by Hercules (symbolizing Greece?) and a gang of thugs. The passage ends with a panegyric to Thessaly praising her for her “ancient images" (iconisma), relief carvings, and beautiful coinage. Macedonia is discussed in $82a-84b, which naturally brings us back to the central figure of Alexander. The passage is packed with numerous allusions to Alexander's infancy, childhood, and early adolescence. Practically all of the allusions can be understood by reference to Julius

Valerius's Res gestae Alexandri Macedonis.

After the long encomium

984a, $84b commences with an appeal to the great hero to “return to Mount Sion." The peoples of the East (whom Alexander conquered) are returning

Introduction

their

dromedaries

Mediterranean.

and

overruning

XXX1

the

A saviour is needed. However,

coastal

regions

the

the cosmographer notes that

this calamity would not be occurring, had Alexander not first seized the kingdom of Macedonia.' $89 introduces a long discussion of the Greek islands. After lauding Cyprus for her beauty ($90), Aethicus appeals to her people to offer hospitality to the foreigners coming to her shores — almost certainly a reference to the division of the island between Greeks and invading Arabs that occurred under Justinian II. The *Carpathian ships" built on Crete (§91), noted for its manufacture of weapons, are highly effective against the “Tyrians.” At $892 we learn that Aethicus wanted to outdo Xerxes

and build a non-vibrating bridge across the Hellespont," but his disciples

were unwilling to cooperate in the venture. $95 presents what seems to be an account of a contemporary scene: the visits of relatives to prisoners of war held captive in the Cyclades. There we learn that Aethicus himself designed the “Carpathian ships" that expel various missiles and fire in naval encounters; these so-called “palace-ships” he built *in Greece." $98

describes Aethicus's visit to Samos, where he wrote a poem in praise of the

Samian Sibyl and Pythagoras, whose writings he set out to edit! The long carmen contains one of the most obscure passages in the entire work. There is an appeal for resistance, then what looks like a description of a secret ritual. There is rejoicing at the appearance of the Sibyl, Pythagoras, and sacred Gradiva (a female incarnation of Mars?). More vulcanology follows in §§99-100, including a detailed description of how a volcano is supposed to work and a refutation of false theories. $101 presents a brief overview of islands in the Mediterranean other than Greek. $8101—103 form a coherent section in which the Balkan region figures prominently. The Istria and Albania mentioned here are probably the western regions to which these names are attached. The reader will be surprised to encounter the ancient kings of Rome (Tarquinius Priscus Superbus [!], Romulus and Remus, and Numitor) playing leading roles. These are characterized as wicked, corrupt, and oppressive, the source of much death and devastation in the region. They are opposed by Francus and Vassus, who ally themselves with the “Albanians,” but are ultimately defeated by Romulus. Romulus then invaded Istria and won a great victory *5 See my

discussion

in “Constructing

the Memory

of Alexander

in the Early Eighth

Century," in Strategies of Remembrance from Pindar to Hólderlin, ed. Lucie Dolezavola

(Newcastle upon Tyne, 2009), pp. 163—74, esp. 171-73, ?? The author explains to his readers that Xerxes' bridge was built atop connected boats, and therefore was sure to vibrate when men and equipment passed over it.

XXXII

Aethicus Ister

at the Danube, but lost the greater part of his army. The section ends with a first-person account by Aethicus of the sufferings his own family had to undergo, including deportation. In $104 Aethicus explains why he postponed his discussion of territory with which he was familiar in favour of rough and frigid lands. . $8105-110 comprise what looks like a separate journey to the East, described *in summary fashion." In $105 we learn of Aethicus's failed attempt to repair Noah's ark on the peak of Mt. Caucasus (!). This mission was undertaken in order to save a remnant of the fratres, should another cataclysm occur. Alas, Aethicus and his disciples could not find the object of their search; a profound depression for our hero ensued, characterized by heavy drinking (crapula). Nights were spent keeping watch against possible attacks by the gryphons, serpents, and savage ants that guarded the treasure of the Golden Ridges. In the next section (8106) Aethicus and his academics had moved on to India (near the Ganges) where they were warmly welcomed and entertained by King Ferezis. As they continued their journey on the Ganges, they suffered an attack by river horses, which they averted with a hail of weapons and their stout Carpathian ships. §§107-110, describing Parthia, Arabia, Egypt, and Libya, offer little in the way of narrative or original observation. They appear to have been included for the sake of completing the world tour. In $111 "Jerome" returns to explain that Aethicus was not able to order his material “according to a ship's circuit of Ocean," because there were places where it was not possible to sail and he had to conduct his journey on land. $112 is introduced by the inscription DE TERRA ET FLATV VENTORVM VENISQVE AQVARVM PARVAM MENTIONEM FECIT. It reads as though it should have been included in the cosmographical section at the beginning. However, a reference to a previous section leaves no doubt that the author meant to place the passage where it is. It contains discussion about the chasm (calao) above the abyss and how it operates essentially to desalinate sea water, and keep it free from sulphur, so that (propelled upwards by wind) it can join fresh water near the surface of the earth. The section and the entire work ends with the subscription: “Here ends the book of Aethicus the philosopher and cosmographer, a Scythian by nationality and offspring of noble parents; ethical philosophy brought its origin from him to other philosophers." The “alphabet of Aethicus" follows in a number of manuscripts.

Introduction

XXX111

II. Sources Apart from the work done on the text itself, no facet of “Aethican Studies" has attracted more attention than the sources. The two early editors, D'Avezac and Wuttke, devoted portions of their introduction to this topic, as did Karl Pertz in his dissertation. As noted above, Roth achieved a

breakthrough by showing that the Cosmography is heavily dependent on Isidore's Etymologies, thus shattering for good any illusion that St. Jerome could have been the author. Hillkowitz's volumes brought the study of the sources a long way forward, though it is now generally agreed that the second volume, written long after the first, contained too much speculation. "" Prinz brought little that was new to the question of sources, but he managed to clear away much fruitless conjecture.' Yet even his attribution of passages to biblical sources may be too generous, with many phrases or collocations belonging to the common stock of Latin 1diom. It should be stated at the outset that allegations for the direct use of Greek sources by our author should be greeted with scepticism. As we shall see below, the cosmographer arguably borrows ideas from Cosmas Indicopleustes, and he alludes to episodes in the Ps. Callisthenes tradition that had not been attested in Latin at the time when the Cosmography was composed; yet these borrowings do not of themselves prove that the cosmographer knew Greek.? More likely, they are to be explained by the hypothesis of lost Latin intermediaries, or else are to be attributed to oral teaching. The cosmographer very rarely cites the author or name of a work used. Avitus is a rare exception. À line of his poetry is cited and attributed to “Alchimus,” the author's praenomen. (§11) Josephus's “history” is mentioned (§30), but no quotation can be identified. Likewise *Augustine" is cited ($58b), but the quotation has not been traced. Scholars have noted that the author appears deliberately to conceal his sources, not only by not citing names and titles, but also by borrowing only a few words and then expanding the thought borrowed or substituting his own words; sometimes

? See especially the review by Wesley Stevens, Speculum 51 (1976), 752-55. I Prinz, ed., pp. 22-28.

?? See my earlier remarks, *The Greek Element," p. 199: *We cannot completely rule out the possibility that the author could have read easy Greek texts, e.g. the scriptures, with the

help of a teacher as well as lexical aids." However, note the strictures of Bengt Lófstedt,

“Mixtum compositum: Abschliessende Notizen eines Latinisten," AL MA 62 (2004), 161—62, challenging several of the examples [ adduced for the author's knowledge of Greek syntax.

XXX1V

Aethicus Ister

he inserts his own inventions into the middle of a quotation." At other places one suspects allusions to a work, however elusive, but can find no exact words. Still at others, one can point to a given work as a possible source

of information

for a statement,

but that is all. There

is the further

question of how many sources the author had to have had in front of him, or available to him, at the time of final redaction. It is possible that in his travels the cosmographer visited a number of libraries and copied out passages that he thought might be put to use at a later point. We shall raise this question again when we look into where he might have worked when finishing his book. Finally, there is the question of oral sources, or more specifically, information transmitted by teachers. For a number of borrowings, the author seems to have followed the practice of using a single source to support a statement for which he does not rely on the Etymologies, the Bible, or his own vivid imagination. In what follows I arrange sources and putative sources into the following categories: A) works cited verbatim or paene ad litteram; B) works from which just a few significant words are borrowed, the rest paraphrased or altered; C) works alluded to or used to supply information; D) stylistic models; E) glossaries. I do not attempt to give an exhaustive list; my aim, rather, is to show how Ps. Jerome used his sources. A. Works cited verbatim or paene ad litteram 1. Orosius, Historiae contra paganos Ps.

Jerome

exploited

this

popular

Christian

history,

written

the

fifth

century, primarily for the section on the Amazons, though occasional traces

can be found elsewhere.

Cosmog. 68a: Horum uxores exilio ac uiduetate tetra impietate a finibus illius regionis condemnantes exterminant ... [Cosmog. 68b] arma sumentes, sicut superius idem scribit, uiros qui superfuerant interficiunt atque in hostem accensae sanguine suo finitimorum ultionem excidio consec*ntur. Orosius, Hist. 1.15.1-—2: Horum uxores exilio ac uiduitate permotae arma sumunt et, ut omnibus par ex simili

condicione animus fleret, uiros qui superfuerant interficiunt atque accensae in hostem sanguine suo ultionem caesorum coniugum finitimorum excidio consequuntur.

?Hillkowitz, 1:67—69; Prinz, ed., p. 24. See most recently R.M.Pollard, *Denuo on Lucan, the Orpheus, and ‘Aethicus Ister': Nihil sub Sole Novum," JMLat 20 (2010), pp. 58— 69.

Introduction

XXXV

The cosmographer inserts much matter where the ellipsis occurs (some of which is also drawn from Orosius) before proceeding to use the rest of Orosius's sentence verbatim, excepting the omission of caesorum and a minor alteration of the word order. Cosmog. 68a: Duos regios iuuenes egregius ac sagacissimus Plynio et Solapesio, sodalium nobilium

atque industrium ingentem iuuentutem ab Scithia secum traxerunt, memoratum amnem et praedictus campus in confinio Scithico atque prouinciae

Cappadocianaeque

diu

finitima

quaeque

proximorumque habitatores crudeli gladio trucidantur.

proxima

et iuxta Ponticae

uastantes

Orosius, Hist. 1.15.]—2: ... duo regii iuuenes Plynos et Scolopetius ... ingentem iuuentutem secum traxere et in Cappadociae Ponticae ora iuxta amnem Thermodontem consederunt campis

Themiscyriis

sibi

subiectis;

ubi

finitimorum per insidias trucidantur.

diu

proxima

quaeque

populati

conspiratione

The cosmographer expatiates with adjectives — egregius ac sagacissimus, nobilium

atque

industrium

—, substitutes prouinciae

for ora, uastantes

for

populati, proximorum for finitimorum, and crudeli gladio for per insidias. Proxima quaeque is rendered as quaeque et proxima. However, he or his scribe renders the passage almost unintelligible. Apart from the corruption of the name Scolopetius, the accusatives that start the sentence (and these include egregius tor egregios and sagacissimus for sagacissimos) leave us to understand that the Amazons (understood) brought the two royal youths and their retinue with them, whereas Orosius tells us only that the two royal youths brought their retinue with them and says nothing about Amazons. Moreover, proximorumque habitatores ... trucidantur garbles the sense even more. Cosmog. 67¢: [bi et Tamisiam

urbem

famosissimam

construxit [sc. Tamaris,

utre sanguinem regis Darei illic sitiens consparsit.

i.e. Thamyris]

et de

Orosius, Hist. 2.7.6: Regina [sc. Thamyris] caput Cypri amputari atque in utrem humano sanguine oppletum coici iubet non muliebriter increpitans: “Satia te,” inquit, “sanguine quem sitisti" ...

Here the cosmographer departs from his source in significant ways, substituting Darei for Cypri and portraying Thamyris rather than the Persian king as being thirsty for human blood. It is hard to tell whether our author cited from a faulty memory, deliberately altered his source, or simply misread it. Scribal error in the source text or mistakes by the scribe of a

XXXVI

could

Aethicus Ister

be another

factor.

Did

the author

mean

to write sitiens,

or did the

scribe of o substitute sitiens for sitientis? Despite such discrepancies, it remains likely that the author used Orosius, as Queen Thamyris is the subject of both versions, and both versions involve the drinking of blood from a bag. Moreover, Orosius was the author's chief source for nearly all of the Amazon material recorded in the commentary. 2. Alcimus Avitus, De spiritalis historiae gestis Cosmog. l1: et illud quod ait Alchimus ... quique creatura praefulsit in ordine primus, / idemque primus i nouissimo, iudice terribile uenturo, poenas daturus. De spiritalis historiae gestis 2.47—48: Quique creaturae praefulsit in ordine primus, / primas uenturo pendet sub iudice

poenas.

With one minor inflectional change the cosmographer has quoted the first line verbatim; in the second line most of the vocabulary has been preserved,

but in addition to an substituted for pendet.

inflectional

change

daturus

(ex emend.)

has

been

3. Isidore, Etymologies The cosmographer's reliance on and direct citation of the Eftymologies 1s so heavy that a full list of borrowings here would take up far too much space. All citations of the Etymologies are treated extensively in the commentary. Moreover, despite the heaviest use of book 14 (geography), there is evidence of reliance on every book of that work without exception." Many passages are taken over verbatim, others are very close. However, it would not be true to state that the cosmographer did not tamper with these as well. Sometimes he would interpolate his own "information" into a passage quoted verbatim, or nearly so; sometimes he would “adjust” the measurements given by Isidore by adding a number of gressus (“paces”) to Isidore's figure given in milia passuum (*miles"). Sometimes he would add a geographical name to Isidore's

list, such

as he

does

at $67c,

where

inserts

Murgincen

into

[sidore’s list of the rivers of Scythia. On at least one occasion the cosmographer repeats an error made by Isidore or his scribes, as he does (again) at $67c, when he writes the river name Oscorum instead of the correct Moscorum. Or he distorts a reading in Isidore by substituting a wrong word, as he does at §101, replacing Isidore's quadraginta milia (“forty miles") with quadratim milia (“tour miles")! The cosmographer's uses and abuses of the Etymoflogies are treated in extenso in the commentary. ?* See Prinz's list, pp. 324—27.

Introduction

XXXVH

4. Jsidore, Sententiae Cosmog. 4: ... cum nouem ordinibus angelorum ... signaculum quae ruinam fecit ... Ordo idem decimus futurum cum hominibus sanctis. Sent. 1.10.15, 1.10.6, 1.10.13: novem esse ordines angelorum ... qui lapsus est ... signaculum ... bonorum angelorum numerus, qui post ruinam angelorum malorum est diminutus, ex numero angelorum hominum supplebitur.

The next example is much closer in wording: Cosmog. 9: Hoc utique ante omnem

creaturam mundi creati sunt angeli et ante omnem

creaturam

angelorum conditus est diabolus. Sent. 1.10.4 Ante omnem

creationem

mundi

angelorum diabolus conditus est.

creati

sunt

angeli

ante

omnem

creationem |

5. Ps. Augustine, De mirabilibus sacrae scripturae The Ps. Augustinian De mirabilibus sacrae scripturae, written in Ireland in . 5 . . . . 655> and circulated in a full version and an epitome, also appears to have been used in part for content, but a small portion of it was quoted directly. Cosmog. 3: Primum omnium initium — mirabiliorum | deus — instituit, illudque fundamentum principaliter posuit sua dispensatione mirabiliter atque potenter, quando omnes creaturas indiuisas atque incompositas in sua sapientia aedificium summopere in unam ergatam instituit; atque eas quas ex nihilo fecit multipliciter prolatas dilatauit ... Materiam autem informem sic in multas species diuisit. De mirabilibus, tull version, 1 (ed. MacGinty, 2:7): Quorum ormnium mirabilium uelut principale quoddam fundamentum instituit quando omnes quas condidit creaturas ex nihilo fecit ... ex informi materia quam ipse prius ex nihilo condidit cunctarum inuisibilium ac inuisibilium rerum, hoc est, sensibilium et insensibilium, intellectualium et intellectu carentium, species multiformas diuisit.

The same passage is represented in the epitome (ed. MacGinty, 1:1*) of this work begins as follows:

‘

For the date see Mario Esposito, “On the Pseudo-Augustinian Treatise sanctae scripturae, written in Ireland in the year 655," Proceedings of Academy 35C (Dublin, 1919), pp. 189—207; repr. as no. XI in Mario Esposito. in Medieval Ireland, ed. Michael Lapidge (London, 1988). Citations are from Ph.D. thesis of Dom Francis P. MacGinty, 2 vols. (University College Dublin,

. q-

‘De mirabilibus the Royal Irish Latin Learning the unpublished 1971).

XXXVl Omnium

Aethicus Ister mirabilium

uelut principale fundamentum

deus

instituit, quoniam

omnes

creaturas quas condidit ex nihilo fecit ... Informem autem materiam in multas species

diuisit.

Whereas minor differences between the two texts in the first part of the passage point now in one direction, now in the other as the source of Ps. Jerome, the deciding factor comes at the end, where both the cosmographer and the epitomator write /nformem autem materiam in multas species diuisit (the cosmographer omits sic and alters the word order of informem materiam). Note as well the inclusion of deus in the epitome, lacking in the long version. The employment of quando (long version) in line 2 of the Cosmography passage rather than quoniam (epitome) can be explained by the hypothesis that Ps. Jerome used an Insular manuscript of the epitome that was written prior to the earliest surviving copy from Reichenau, now Karlsruhe,

Badische

Landesbibliothek,

Aug.

CXCL/*

whose

scribe

misread the compendium for quando. It is reasonably certain, then, that our author had copied from an exemplar of the epitome of this Ps. Augustinian work rather than the full version. 6. Ps. Methodius, Apocalypse (Revelations) The Latin translation of the work known as the Apocalypse or Revelations of Ps. Methodius was the chief source of the cosmographer's account of the enclosure of the unclean races at the “Breasts of the North" by Alexander. Two passages in $41b show reliance on passages in Apoc. 8: Cosmog. 41b: et [minans] minauit eos et omnem subolem eorum, ef inclusit eos ad ubera aquilonis in anno uno et mensibus quattuor. Apoc. 8.6 (ed. Aerts and Kortekaas, p. 113): Et eduxit eos de terra orientale ef conclusit minans eos, donec introissent in finibus

Aquilonis.

The passage in Cosmog. illustrates the author's method of disguising his borrowings. He changes the word order, replaces conclusit with inclusit, and adds details of place and time. Cosmog. 41b:

Erexitque portas et limina et serracula mirae magnitudinis et induxit ac liniuit eas assincitum bitumen incognitum in orbe terrarum, nisi in insolam unde superius

? Bernhard

Bischoff

dates

this

manuscript

“saec.

in.*

Die

südostdeutschen

Schreibschulen und Bibliotheken in der Karolingerzeit. Teil 1, 2nd ed. (Wiesbaden, 214 (no. 59).

1960), p.

Introduction

XXXIX

scripsimus. Tanta enim uehementia habere adscribitur, ut neque incidatur neque ignem aut aquam dissoluatur.

acumen

aut ferro

Apoc. 8.8 (ed. Aerts and Kortekaas, p. 115): Et construxit portas aereas et superinduxit eas asincitum, ut, si voluerint eas patefacere, non possunt aut dissolvere per ignem nec valeant utrumque sed statim ignis omnis extinguitur. Talis enim est natura asinciti, quia neque ferro confringitur ictus ferientes neque igne suscipit resolutionem.

We see that our author substitutes synonyms (induxit for superinduxit, incidatur for confringitur), paraphrases (dissoluatur for suscipit resolutionem), and adds details (seracula mirae magnitudinis). Other passages seem to be based more loosely on Apoc. Cosmog. 65: Carnes

animalium

bestiarum

cuncta

abortiua

morticina

cruenta

usum

uescentur.

Apoc. 8.4 (ed. Aerts and Kortekaas, p. 109-11) Commedebant ... morticinorum carnes, aborticia ...

7. Liber historiae Francorum Cosmog. 102; Commoto exercitu debellauit ...

Romanorum

aui

crudelitatem

arreptus

Lacedemones

crudeliter

LHF 2, p. 242.13 (rec. B) commoto exercito magno Romanorum ... eos ... debellavit Cosmog. 103a: Francus et Vassus caesum cernentes exercitum ... per fugam lapsi euaserunt. LHF 9, p. 251.18 (rec. A) lesum cernens exercitum suum per fugam lapsus ... aufugit Cosmog.103a: ... peruenerunt, leuaque Maeotidas paludes demittentes sua lingua nuncupant ...

LHF 1, p. 242.4—6 (rec. A) ... pervenerunt ... iuxta Meotidas paludes appellaveruntque eam Sicambriam.

... Sichambriam

barbarica

et coeperunt aedificare civitatem

...

The first example is particularly important, because the passage used by the cosmographer from Recension B replaces a sentence with similar content in Recension A. The fact that the cosmographer elsewhere uses Recension A shows that he used a version of LHF written before its division into two recensions and which is thus very close to the authorial text. See below, Date of the Work.

Aethicus Ister

The second example of an imported verbal parallel is also of interest. The cosmographer uses “caesum cernentes exercitum ... per fugam lapsi evaserunt" in connection with the Francus and Vassus story, a legend that is not represented in LHF, but is found (much altered) in the Historia Daretis. However, in LHF the collocation occurs in a passage dealing with events after the death of Childeric (481/482). This shows that the cosmographer did not merely employ passages from the “pre-historical” account in LHF, but read far enough into the work to excerpt phrases from passages that refer to datable events. The fact that all of the certain borrowings occur near the very end of the Cosmography may suggest that the work reached the author at a late stage of composition. Finally, a comparison with the wording of the LHF passage with that of Gregory of Tours (Hist. 2.27), on which LHF at this point is based, reveals clearly that the cosmographer drew on LHF, not Gregory. B. Works providing just a few significant words |. Jerome, Ep. 53 Cosmog. 17: Hiarcam sablo cathedram sedenrem auream ad meridiem maris oceani disputantem cum discipulis de mensa solis, astrorum siderumque differentia, Ep. 53.1.4: Hiarcam i throno sedentem in aureo ... de moribus ac de siderum cursu audiret ... de natura, de moribus ac de siderum cursu audiret docentem.

Here the cosmographer has retained several significant words from Jerome's letter (itself a paraphrase of the Vita Apolonii 3.16), but substituting words (cathedram for throno, disputantem for docentem), adding details (Hiarcas's throne is set in the sand near the Southern Ocean), and changing the subject of the discourse. 2. Jerome, Ep. 119 Cosmog. 58a: aut nouum mundum m athom*o monentaneo ponimus Ep. 119.5.4: in puncto temporis et in motu oculi atque momento ... unde et Epicurus ex suis atomis mundum struit.

In this example the cosmographer has conserved only three of Jerome's important words (with different inflections), but appears to have preserved his allusion to universes created out of atoms that endure only for seconds.

Introduction

xli

3. Servius, in Vergilii carmina commentarii That our author used Servius instead of Vergil in one of his pointed criticisms of the teachings of Mantuanus 1s shown by the following example: Reprehendit Cluontem et Argypphum philosophos, Scitharum astrolocus et Mantuanum. In uanum multa edidisse reprehendit, eo quod caelum pro aere et interdum aerem pro caelo posuerunt, cum tenues sit aer et caelum ualde spissum. [17] He rebuked the philosophers Cluontes and Argyppus, the Scythian astrologers, and the Mantuan for publishing many studies that benefited no one, because they said “sky” when they meant air," and sometimes vice-versa, albeit air is thin and the sky is very dense.

Servius, at Aeneid 6.724 aethere posuit.

(commenting

on caelum):

caelum pro

aere

C. Works alluded to or used as a source of information |. Vergil's Poems Although the poems of Vergil were still read in many parts of western Europe in the darkest of the Dark Ages, our author seems to have had a very limited acquaintance with them despite his hostile references to "Mantuanus." Once the cosmographer refers cryptically to the three great poems as a group: “... facta rusticola aut puerorum tracoedia scribunt uel cymbalistria bella" (“the deeds of rustics, the goat songs of boys ... and cymbal-clashing wars"). The three categories correspond neatly to Vergil’s Georgics, Eclogues, and Aeneid in that order. It is possible that the cosmographer had seen a manuscript of the A4eneid containing the prefatory lines now invariably thought to be spurious: [lle ego, qui quondam gracili modulatus avena carmen, et egressus silvis vicina coegi, ut quamvis avido parerent arva colono, |

gratum opus agricolis, at nunc horrentia Martis.

Another possibility is that he knew these lines from their citation in the opening pages of Servius's commentary (ed. Thilo-Hagen, 1:2). The cosmographer may not have read Vergil, but he apparently did see a copy of his works, or more specifically, the 4eneid (§66b, ad fin.): . magis alia pro aliis creaturis a deo conditis in uanis sculptilibus commutantes, tantam suorum librorum subtilem textionem magis monstra inuisibilium rerum — uolucrum, serenarum et bestiarum, — tracoedias proeliorum et multa alia, quae narrare longum est, tot scriptis atque picto colore transformatis.

xlii

Aethicus Ister ... but rather exchanging in the form of empty idols some created by God, transforming the ever so subtle texture of signs of invisible things — birds, siren-serpents and beasts many other things too long to narrate, all with captions and

creatures in place of others their books even more with — and songs of battles, and coloured drawings.

Given that Mantuanus 1s mentioned at the opening of this same section, it is possible that the author actually saw a manuscript with colour illustrations of the Aeneid, a work that contains tracoedias, or one which contained Vergil's

three major works.

2. Macrobius, Somnium Scipionis Heinz Lówe pointed out some sixty years ago that the cosmographer alluded to Macrobius's Commentary on the Dream of Scipio with the words “Et quia oriens et meridies ... tot scriptores habet res publica et philosophus et somniatores ... ". ^... because the East and South have as many reporters

the republic has philosophers and dreamers."($44)" Is there more evidence of use of Macrobius's work? Let us look at this passage from §66b: Tullium et Ciceronem,

Platonem et Hebionem

duris et acrioribus disputationibus,

contumiliis conpositionum, gentilium argumentis, fidelium obstaculis fore multorum, sicut et nobis patent documenta praecognita ...

dico ruinam

I say that Tully and Cicero, Plato and Hebion will be the ruin of many and a stumbling block to the faithful because of their harsh and bitter disputes, the quarrelsome nature of their writings, and their heathen fables, just as their well-known teachings reveal to us ...

The collocation of Tullium, Ciceronem, Platonem and the division of Cicero into two persons may not be one of the author's attempts at wit, but rather the result of a misunderstanding of passages in Macrobius, Comm. 1.1, where the names of Cicero and Plato are linked, and where Tullius is substituted indiscriminately for Cicero: Comm. 1.1.1: Inter Platonis et Ciceronis libros, quos de re publica uterque constituit Comm. 1.1.8: Hunc ordinem Tullius non minore iudicio reservans quam ingenio repertus est

Comm.

1.1.9: Hanc fabulam Cicero licet ab indoctis quasi ipse veri

conscius doleat irrisam

>’ Lówe, “Virgil of Salzburg," pp. 952—53. One of the “dreamers” alluded to is, of course,

Scipio, whose dream (the Somnium Scipionis) about the afterlife of statesmen occurs at the end of Cicero's De re publica, and is the ostensible subject of Macrobius's commentary.

Introduction

Comm.

2.1.1: enodandum

nobis est a quo genere hominum

xliii

Tullius

memoret vel irrisam Platonis fabulam Comm. 1.2.4: manebit Ciceroni cum Platone communis

Further, “Jerome” attacks the same pagan writers for their belief in heavenly bodies inhabited by gods, a topic taken up by Macrobius, Comm. 1.19.20, while the charge that the heathens imbued the creation with an auram inanem et tenuem (§66b) would seem to reflect Macrobius's theory of the world soul (Comm. 1.14.14). These testimonia, taken together, indicate that the author of the Cosmography had dipped into the opening chapters of the first book of Macrobius's work. 3. *Lucanus" and the Liber monstrorum

The following passage from Cosmog. 20 opened up a long debate over whether the cosmographer knew Lucan's lost poem Orpheus: Insolas quoque aurum gignentes et gemmis atque margaritis, elefantes et ymineones, chylixas bestiolas uenenatas nimium, leones, pardos, aephipharos, quae primus praeter istum Lucanus mentionem fecit in codicibus suis dicens: ^Et meridies opima

aurea concordeque fulgit metalla terra infusa, ymeneones et chylixas, aephipharos uenena fundentes quae, quamuis paruolae ut uulpes, statim leones pardosque et

dracones uno ictu interemunt. Et limpha aequoris magni contingui € Gangen opopodamis. Equiter ergo pinnigeris hostium confligunt cateruis quaeque mater fertilis filiis gignit uiperiis.” Lucanus quidem ista sentiens tantundem exorsus est dicere; Aethicus uero multas bestias scribit, quae nullo modo aliubi audiuimus uel legimus.

The history Pollard and complicated intermediate beasts which Orphei (2.7,

of this debate has now been treated in great detail by Richard need not be rehearsed here.”® The question was earlier by the observation that the cosmographer may have used an source, namely the Liber monstrorum, which cites lists of the author of that work attributed to Lucanus poeta ad liram ed. Porsia, p. 228):

Pantheras autem quidam mites quidam horribiles esse describunt. quas Lucanus poeta

ad liram Orphei cum ceteris animantibus et bestiis a deserto Thraciae per carmen miserabile prouocatas cecinit dum ipse tristis et maerens ad undam Strymonis raptam Eurydicem lacrimabili defleuit carmine.

58 For the history of the long debate on whether the author of the Cosmography knew Lucan's lost poem Orpheus, see Pollard, "Denuo on Lucan,” pp. 58—-69.

xliv

Aethicus Ister

This passage, however, is hardly relevant to the "Lucan citation" in the Cosmography. It shows, however, that the author of L M knew the Orpheus,sg

as does the following passage (1.4, p. 142):

Fauni enim siluicolae, qui sicut a fando nuncupatur sunt; a capite usque ad umbilicum hominis speciem habent; capita autem curuata naribus cornua dissimulans et inferior pars duorum pedum et femorum in caprarum forma depingitur. Quos poeta Lucanus, secundum opinionem Graecorum, ad Orphei liram, cum innumerosis ferarum generibus, cantu deductos cecinit.

None of the LM passages that cites Lucan and alludes to the Orpheus bears upon Aethicus's list of poisonous beasts. But let us look at the following passage from the L M (2.23, ed. Porsia, p. 246): De bestia venenosa. Bestia autem illa inter omnes beluas dirissima fertur in qua tantam veneni copiam adfirmant, ut eam sibi leones quamvis invalidioris feram corporis timeant; et tantam vim eius venenum habere arbitrantur ut eo licet ferri acies intincta liquescat.??

This passage might Cosmography:"'

stand

the

source

two

passages

the

$20 (cit. above) . aephipharos uenena fundentes quae, quamuis pardosque et dracones uno ictu interemunt,

paruolae

ut uulpes, statim

leones

$37c: [n hac insola siluarum magnitudo, et tlacedaemones,T bestsiolas uenenatas ita ut tacto suorum dentium uel anelitus alias bestias maiores et homines peremant.... Illinc enim falees ferreos quadrangulatos ponunt sursum curuatos deorsum erectos. lilae itaque bestiolae ut inuenerint offendicula, statim uenena diffundunt, et caliscente ferro illisque in ira saeuientes, et magis ac magis uenena erumpentes, [et] lances dissoluuntur, et bestiolae ab ustione ferri consumuntur.

One further detail in the “Lucanus” passage (§20) may derive from LM: Et limpha aequoris magni contingui e Gangen opopodamis. (And the water of the great sea is tainted by hippopotamuses from the Ganges.)

? LM offers a précis of the Orpheus legend at 1.5 (ed. Porsia, p. 142). 9 Trans, Orchard, p. 301: [Concerning a poisonous beast] “But that beast is said to be the fiercest of all brutes, in which they assert that there is such a quantity of venom that lions fear it although it is an animal of weaker body, and they reckon that its poison has such strength, that the cutting edge even of iron, dipped in it, melts." ol Pollard, *Denuo on Lucan,” pp. 66—68.

Introduction

xlv

LM 2.9 repeats a story drawn from the Epistola Alexandri ad Aristotelem 1.15 relating how Alexander's soldiers are dragged to the bottom of the Ganges by hippopotamuses, then devoured. Alexander responds by throwing his Indian guides to the hippos as a punishment for misleading him. LM summarizes the tale, and adds the interesting detail that hippopotamuses “in

quodam fluuio aquae impotabilis demorari."

The argument for the use of “Lucan” might be framed thus: The cosmographer knew the Liber monstrorum and cited it as “Lucan” because LM cites Lucan as his source of information on strange beasts (Fauni and innumeris ferarum generibus 1.4; pantheras 2.7). He laid under contribution the “De bestia venenosa" in two separate places: (1) in $20 as the source of the idea that tiny poisonous beasts can harm even lions; (2) in $37c as the germ of the 1dea that the poison of some tiny beast is potent enough to melt even iron. The tainted water of the Ganges in $20 might also be ascribed to the aquae impotabilis of LM 2.9. The use of the name “Lucan” may have thus been intended as a coded clue to the source. In any case, it shows the dependence of the Cosmography on LM rather than the reverse. In fine, the whole question of whether the cosmographer knew Lucan's lost poem Orpheus should be laid to rest." But it remains a good possibility that he did know the LM and referred to its author as "Lucanus." Whether the list of baneful serpents described in Lucan's De bello civili 9.700—33 played a role® is worth further consideration. 4. The Alexander Matter

Whereas the cosmographer relied principally on the Latin Ps. Methodius for Alexander's role in the enclosure of the “unclean races" — a motif that also occurs in interpolations in the D and y versions of Ps. Callisthenes — it seems certain that he also used various descendants of Ps. Callisthenes for other Alexander episodes that occur in different parts of the work. The cosmographer used different sources for separate events in the Alexander legend that occur in the Cosmography. These occur in the following order: the hero's voyage in a submarine, his conception and birth, his father's attempt on his life, his journey to India. Other episodes are alluded to in tantalizing fashion: his connection to “Sion” (§84b) and his flight into the air (§84D). ?^ Porsia, ed., p. 100, assumed that the LM borrowed from the Cosmography. 0 Rightly concluded by Gregory Hays, “‘Important if True': Lucan’s Orpheus

?! Suggested by Hays, '* Important if True'," ?

p. 199.

and

xlvi

Aethicus Ister

a. The Submarine Voyage The motif of Alexander's exploration of the sea in a submarine rather than a diving bell may well be the invention of the cosmographer. The Greek versions D and vy refer to the vessel as a xí(80c, “jar.” The word used by "Aethicus" is colimpha, "a diver.” However, the author's detailed description of the colimpha at §36¢ show beyond a doubt that a submarine is meant. The underwater ship is the invention of the Meopari who live on

islands at the end of the world. Alexander travels there to see how the vessel

works and try one out for himself. Here is what the cosmographer says: Alexandrum

magnum

famosissimas

fabulas

ibidem per obsidum

foedera peraccessisse ob hoc tantum, ut

hac causa naualium industrium consideraret astutiam, et ultra quam credi potest de eo inquiunt.

Aiunt enim

in ipsas colimphas

ipsum

Alexandrum

introisse et profundum maris discendisse usque ad imum, ut [sciret] oceani

profundum et diferentia maris et abyssi sciret. He asserts that Alexander the Great, through an exchange of hostages, went to the same region for this reason alone, that he might look into their skill in naval technology, and they relate very famous tales about Alexander that defy credence. For example, they say how this Alexander entered these submarines and descended to the very bottom of the sea in order to know its depth and the distance between the sea and the abyss.

It would appear that Greek version y (Engelman, p. 303) is closer than 3, as it states that Alexander's motive for sailing in the miBog was curiosity, whereas asserts that the hero was searching for pearls (Bergson, pp. 196— 98). However, no Latin source written before the eighth century conveys the motif in any form, and we are left to wonder how our author could have known of it. Although I can offer no proof, I think that a lost Latin source is the most satisfactory explanation. The invention of the colimpha with its magical sun mirror and sea-bottom-gripping fingers is undoubtedly the

product of Ps. Jerome's imagination.

b. Alexander's Conception and Birth® The tale of Alexander's conception through the adulterous relation between

Olympias

and

the Egyptian

magus

Nectanebo

is related

in the

earliest

surviving Greek version of Ps. Callisthenes (recension a) and reported also in recensions f and y. However, a was translated, or more accurately,

95 For the Latin tradition of Ps. Callisthenes after Julius Valerius, see George Cary, The

Medieval Alexander, ed. D.J.A. Ross (Cambridge, 1956), pp. 24-61.

66 Citation of Julius Valerius here is according to the edition of Rossellini (Stuttgart, 1993), whose numbering differs from that of Kuebler.

Introduction

xlvii

paraphrased into Latin by Julius Valerius some time in the fourth century C.E.

shall see below,

this translation was

available

centres by the eighth century. A number of veiled allusions regarding Alexander's and early life occur in 82b: Sciscitantur

poetae,

interrogantur

philosophi

quod

uel

quale

in some

Latin

conception, birth, signum

nato

daret

praesagium. Sortita sua Sibilla puero dant responso: “Signum arietis prole dearum fecunda in uteri nobicillo subintrat nympho nocturnus; corrusco immo uibrante, uirago edidit lactante.

The poets enquire and the philosophers ask what or what sort of sign would give a presage {concerning}the boy. The Sibyl drawing lots gives her responses: “{Under} the sign of the ram the nocturnal bridegroom stealthily inserts the child of goddesses into the fecund noble womb; as lightning vibrates, the man-like woman gives birth to the suckling.

Julius Valerius, Res gestae Alexandri Macedonis, provides all of this information: the consultation regarding the sign and the response (1.4), the adulterous act (1.7), and the birth itself accompanied by lightning (1.13). Philip's doubts about Alexander's true parentage when the boy had attained the age of twelve are alluded to at the beginning of 82b, which, unfortunately, is corrupt: Primus Philippus aestuat ultra uiribus, secum nocte silente percunctatur rei notitiae si Tduodecim annorumT adesse uirtute fecunda;

In Julius Valerius (1.14) Philip's doubts about Alexander's paternity are expressed openly to the boy when he had reached the age of twelve. The mention of nocte silente may be drawn from a separate passage (1.8) in which Nectanebo sends Philip a dream in the form of a hawk, which was to make Philip believe that a god had come to Olympias and impregnated her. Philip consulted an interpreter who told him that Ammon was the child's father, though Philip doubted this and believed it was a man. Another detail probably drawn from Julius Valerius is the cosmographer's allusion protomaterno amisso, “when the first-born child had been lost." Julius Valerius, 1.13 tells us that Philip named Alexander

“inque memoriam eius filii qui mihi natus occubuit de prioribus nuptiis.” c. Philip's attempt on Alexander's life Cosmog. 82a Non patitur scillania ubera passa camilla; non prodet aucupata lamina inter cunabula ...

xlviii

Aethicus Ister

(“The unblemished youth does not suffer the extended breasts of Scylla; the blade that is captured does not betray fthe one} in his infancy ... ) Julius Valerius, 1.21: Sed rex [Philippus] efferuescente iam irae professione prosiliens in Alexandrum labitur crureque laeso et uulnerato procumbit. Tum parum temperans uoci iuuenis: “En,” inquit, ille qui Asiam Europamque subiecit, unius lectuli spatium sine periculo non emensus est!" Et cum dicto rapit gladium omnesque, qui forte sese ueluti ad

comprehendendum inruerant, disicit ...

The scillania ubera passa (“extended breasts of Scylla") probably are those of Cleopatra, daughter of Atallus, whom Philip intended to marry, and who, as a stepmother, would have posed a threat to the young Alexander, the legitimacy of whose birth by Olympias was highly suspect. d. Alexander's Journey to the East The so-called *voyage to the East" $106 occurs in the framework of a rumour heard by Aethicus that the Garden of Eden was situated in India. The

India episode describes a visit to the palace of a certain Ferezis, a description of its luxuries, an encounter with hippopotamuses, then a list of the animals, birds, plants, and precious stones produced by that country: Vale fecimus deos deasque Indiae et aula regis Ferezis, qui bona fecit nobis, palatia et cenacula sua nobis ostendit ex auro et gemmis, uinias in similitudine maceriarum ex gemmis uariatoque opere ad instar butrionum. Nusquam ultra talia repperimus Indiam fertilem. Opopodiani contra, riui aequi proni, obstacula nostri esse uoluerunt, sed propter aulonas laborum nostrorum fabrefactas dromunculas, ob obpraessionem lapidum et iacularum, relictis nauiculis, fugierunt. Ab India magna et Gange regressi incl*tis regionibus atque saluberrimis, in anno omnes fruges dinuo metentes ac collegentes. Aves magnas mittit, psiptacum more hominum loquentem, habet elefantes et monoceros, bestias magnas; gignit enim cinamum et piper, calamum quoque aromaticum et ebor, chariston, berillo, crisoprasso atque crisolido,

adamantem

probatissimum ac carbunculo,

miriaces; uicinae montes aureos.

leaenitis itaque et margaritis, uniones et

We made our farewells to the gods and goddesses of India and the court of King Ferezis, who did favours for us and showed us his palaces and dining rooms {covered with} gold and gems, {and} his vineyards that were like walls of gems and varied workmanship in the form of grape-clusters. Such things we found nowhere in fertile India. Opposite us hippopotamuses, river horses that sink, sought to be obstacles in our path, but they left our ships alone and fled, thanks to our palace-ships, the corsairs designed by our labours, {and} a hail of stones and missiles. We returned from Great India and the Ganges, famous and most salubrious regions that harvest and gather their crops twice a year. It generates huge birds {and} parrots that speak like humans; it has elephants and unicorns, gigantic beasts; it also produces cinnamon and pepper, aromatic reed and ivory, marble, beryl, chrysoprase and topaz, excellent

Introduction

xlix

adamant and carbuncle, white marble and also normal miriaces; the regions are near the Golden Mountains.

pearls,

large

pearls

and

Almost everything from Ab India magna to the end is drawn from Isidore (see the commentary ad loc.). However, the encounter with the unfriendly opopodiani is loosely reminiscent of a scene in the Epistola Alexandri ad Aristotelem, $15 that describes the drowning of humans by submerged hippopotamuses and a fruitless attempt by Alexander and his men to battle them. Similarly, the description of the king's palace here bears some resemblance to that found in Ep. §8: Cosmog. 106 uinias in similitudine maceriarum ex gemmis uariatoque opere ad instar butrionum. Epistula ad Aristotelem, $8 (ed. Orchard, p. 206):

Uineam quoque solidam auream argenteam inter columnas pendentem miratus sum,

in qua folia erant aurea distinguentibus smaragdis.

racemique

chrystallini

lignitis

erant

interpositi

However, the identity of the king and the nature of the visit are more problematic. In the Epistola the king named is Porus, the enemy whom Alexander had defeated and whose palace he had seized. In that version Alexander and his men gloat over the spoils. In contrast, the king named in the Cosmography 1s Ferezis, and the visit described is one of extended hospitality. Ferezis is surely a corruption of Pharasmenes, a ruler of Iberia (now Georgia) cited in the Vita Hadriani. This name, in various forms, is given as the author of a letter to the Emperor Hadrian. The letter survives in a number of recensions." There also appears to be a somewhat general reference to Alexander's flight (the iter ad paradisum) at $84b: “Si plura desideras, . . . ascende ab (1.e. ad) Olympo,

aere discurre; patefiant portae caeli et alta secreta, si uales

ingredere regna inpenetrabilia." Again, we know of no Latin source prior to the Cosmography that contains this motif.^ We must conclude that the identification of the sources for some, indeed much, of the Alexander matter remains problematic. If there is any fixed point, it is doubtless the work of Julius Valerius, Res gestae Alexandri Macedonis, the use of which best explains the conception, birth, and paternal threat episodes. Ps. Methodius was undoubtedly the principal source for the

? See now Patrizia Lendinara, “The Letfer of Fermes: Not only Marvels," in The World of Travellers: Exploration and Imagination, ed. K. Dekker, K. Olsen, and T. Hofstra, Germania Latina 7 (Leuven, Paris, and Walpole, MA, 2009), pp. 31—60. 5* On this point see Hillkowitz, 1:66, with n. 5, citing a twelfth-century French source.

Aethicus Ister

enclosure episode. The Greek sources for the more exotic episodes — the voyage in the submarine, flight into the air, ascent into heaven — are established,

but

the

Latin

intermediaries,

if such

existed,

have

not

been

identified. Moreover, the voyage to India appears to reflect a contamination of the Epistola Alexandri ad Aristotelem and Vita Hadriani traditions. 5. Cosmas Indicopleustes, Topographia Christiana

This is the name given to the anonymous author of the Christian Topography, a work which, like the Cosmography of Aethicus Ister, combines travel in the East with flat-earth cosmology based on Antiochene exegesis. It was written in the first half of the sixth century, and much criticized in its day for its apparent simplicity. Written in Greek, there is no known Latin translation. However, two fragments of a translation survive, both emanating from late seventh-century England. One fragment, from book 2.47-48 of Cosmas's work, is found in an early ninth-century manuscript that contains the so-called “Leiden Glossary" (Leiden Voss. Q. 69, part 2), on fol. 13v: De mans

Christian historicus:

longitudine contineri, una queq .

mansiones habere d«ic*ntu»r.??

d«ic*ntu»r

c.c.c.c. mansiones

mansio xxx. milia habere.

in mundi

Latitudine

c.c.

The second fragment occurs in the Biblical Commentaries from the Canterbury School at Gen. 11.4 (the Tower of Babel); it is based on bk. 3.1 of on the Greek Topographia Christiana:" Dicit Christianus Historicus [Cosmas Indicopleustes] ideo eos fecisse, quia uoluerunt

in caelum uindicare, eo quod inde in diluuio puniti sunt plurimi."!

Ps. Jerome displays acquaintance with this work in §§1-20, where discussion of cosmography is concentrated. The cosmographer’s firmamentum is stabile et immobile (§8) as is that of Cosmas (4.18—19). In the Cosmography hinges between earth and the sky (820) are needed to keep ? Noted by Michael Lapidge in Bernhard Bischoff and Michael Lapidge, Biblical Commentaries from the Canterbury School of Theodore and Hadrian (Cambridge, 1994), p. 210. Further discussion in: Rolf H. Bremmer, Jr., *Leiden, Vossianus Lat. Q. 69 (Part 2): Schoolbook or Proto-Encyclopaedic Miscellany?," in Practice in Learning: The Transfer of Encyclopaedic Knowledge in the Early Middle Ages, ed. R.H. Bremmer and K. Dekker

(Leuven, 2010), pp. 19—54, at 46-47. P References to Cosmas Indicopleustes here are from the edition of Wanda Topographie chrétienne. Introduction,

Wolska,

texte critique, illustration, traduction et notes (Paris,

1968). " Biblical Commentaries from the Canterbury School, ed. Bischoff and Lapidge, p. 320.

Introduction

the heavens stable and immobile. These correspond to Cosmas's four walls (west, east, north, south) that extend upwards from the earth and are attached

to the first heaven (4.8, 6 ovpavog zodvoc). In $23 Ps. Jerome describes the “Gates” (pilas, i.e. vóXac), which “encircle the seas and provide a bulwark.” Obviously, if the earth is flat, walls are needed to prevent River Ocean (the waters that encircle the earth) from draining off the edges. For Cosmas, the problem is solved simply by positing heaped-up earth as a border (4.7). At one stage ($14) Ps. Jerome appears to debate with Cosmas over the direction of the sun's movements after its setting in the West. Our cosmographer claims that the sun retraces its course along its southerly path, whereas (ut alii philosophi adserunt) Cosmas asserts (4.12) that it continues in a circle to its rising point in the east travelling through the west and the north. The two works are also arguably connected to each other by the shared concept of conditio (xaváovaoti in Cosmas), with the restricted meaning “place” rather than “condition” or “nature.” According to Cosmas, God created only two katastaseis, that above the stereoma, where the divine beings dwell, and that below, inhabited by angels, men, and the rest of creation. Although

Ps. Jerome (posing as Aethicus) differs from Cosmas in assigning angels to the higher condition, he adheres strictly to Cosmas's two-conditions model. For Aethicus,

God

did not create hell

as a third condition,

but rather the

fallen angels created it out of their own fiery nature as they fell. (§5) To emphasize the point, he says that God created all things except “eam conditionem quae nunc diximus superius."($12) Given the rarity of works then in existence that advocated a flat-earth universe and provided a fullscale model, it seems reasonable to think that Ps. Jerome knew and utilized

this work. Whether he encountered it in a Latin translation (of which only two small festimonia survive), or knew it through the medium of oral instruction, cannot be ascertained.

6. Josephus, Antiquitates Iudaicae (?) Josephus is one of a handful of authors that Ps. Jerome cite by name (§30): "Iosephum affatim [ac] celebre eius historiam retenit," *... and retains much of Josephus and his famous history." There are no indications in our work that the author knew the Bellum ludaicum. The same can be said for the Antiquitates. Despite the author’s claim that Aethicus retained Josephus affatim, there are only a few places where he may have drawn upon the Antig. to supplement the Bible. Examples occur at $59d, where the connection between Ham and Ethiopia (de stirpe Cham), which is not in Genesis, can be explained by Josephus, Antig. 1.6.2 (= 1.130—31, ed. Niese), and in the same section the

lii

Aethicus Ister

information that the Medes descend from Japheth via Mades comes ultimately from Antig. 1.6.1 (1.124, ed. Niese). But it is much more likely that the direct source

is Isidore, Etym.

9.2.28 for the Medes,

and 9.2.10 for

the Ethiopians. It is thus not clear if our author used Josephus at all, but simply mentioned him for display.

D. Stylistic/structural sources l. Hisperica famina Lówe argued that the vocabulary of the Cosmography displays Irish influence, especially that of the Hisperica Famina.”” However, correspondences of individual lexica are very few. Of so-called “hispericisms” I have been able to locate only sophicus and phoebeus in both texts. Nonetheless, both works exhibit a tendency to create unparalleled neologisms out of Greek and Latin elements, sometimes from Greek alone. Often these words are made up “just for the fun of it," as they are used to replace Latin words, and even ordinary Greek works. Endings in —icus were favoured by authors of both works. So we find piricus (= igneus; cf. pirrius in Cosmog.), tithicus and thalassicus (both = marinus) in the H.F., while Cosmog. has carpaicus (= frugifer), hemiticus (= sanguineus), and saphicus, (= perspicuus, clarus), aphrodicus (= spumeus; cf. afroniosus in H.F.). Sometimes up to three elements are employed to make a new word, e.g. philarchosmos (Cosmog.) and melchilentus (H.F.) On occasion the cosmographer outdoes the faminator, as when he creates callarius and calleficolus with no other purpose than to expand Greek xaAóc." This “purely formal" influence, however, should not be undervalued. It is difficult to account for this type of neologistic eccentricity in the seventh or eighth century outside an Irish milieu. 2. Virgilius Maro Grammaticus Whatever this author's origins, his works, composed in the middle of the seventh century, are first attested in Ireland and were disseminated from there." There is no evidence of direct borrowing. However, the Epitomae and Epistolae may have served Ps. Jerome as a model for his adoption of the H FM 3 ? " Maro

Lówe, "Virgil von (1996), 135—52, at For more detail see Dáibhí Ó Cróinín, Grammaticus,”

Salzburg," pp. 920-25; also Smolak, “Notizen zu Aethicus Ister,” p. 151. Herren, *The Greek Element,” pp. 193-95, 199. “The Date, Provenance, and Earliest Use of the Works of Virgilius in Tradition und Wertung: Festschrift fiir Franz | Brunhólzl

(Sigmaringen, 1989), pp. 13-22.

Introduction

prosimetrum, scholastic parody, and techniques of literary forgery, which include invented sources and misattributed quotations. Virgilius's catalogue of grammarians comprises three Virgilii, three Donati, two Terrentii, one Horatius, one Homerus, and a host of others, of whom

the most famous and

authoritative is Aeneas. “Citations” from these luminaries are recorded throughout the two works. One can surely entertain the possibility that Ps. Jerome attempted to emulate Virgilius by replacing grammarians with philosophers. Aethicus debated natural philosophy and held riddle contests with Aurilius and Arbocrates at Cadiz (824) and with Fabius philosophus in Greece (§79); he cites the philosopher Dimomorchas who lived on a lowlying island between Arcadia and Byzantium ($88); he chides the philosophers Argypphus and Cluontes (§17), lumping them with the Scythian astrologers and Mantuanus (transparently the poet Vergil) for confusing the air with the sky. Most of these names appear to be the author's inventions, though some are obvious distortions of the names of attested philosophers, e.g. Argypphus is arguably based on Chrysippus, and Cluontes on Cleanthes, both Stoics. Just as Virgilius placed quotations in the mouths of his grammarians, Aethicus did the same with his philosophers. One might also legitimately ask if Virgilius's character Estrius or Istrius, described as a vir Hispanus, played a role in the creation of the character Aethicus Ister.” This Estrius (Istrius) was a composer of historiae and a moralist. In one passage he inveighs against avarice: Epit. 15.5: Item interrogatio: “o avare, quid celum, quid terra, quid mare sua dona tibi ferunt, et tu tua tuo bona non feres proximo?" item: “en maris piscem obvia quaeque vorantem

nec satiari potentem; sic mens hominis avari toto nescit saeculo-satiari.”

Cosmog. 105: O inaccessibiles thesauros maximos, tam auaros et crudeles habent custodes... Discat impiorum uesania aurum quale sit custodia, qui dentibus frendeant qui non indigentibus bona tribuant.

The same scholar Estrius was also a practitioner of scinderatio fonorum, a series of techniques invented by Virgilius that include not only the scrambling of words, but also the addition of meaningless syllables to a word, or a subtraction of a needed syllable therefrom. ? In an earlier essay | assumed a reverse relationship between the Cosmography and

Virgilius's

Kerlouégan,

writings: “Aethicus Ister and Virgil the Grammarian," in. Mélanges Francois ed. D. Conso, N. Fick, and B. Poule (Paris, 1994), pp. 283-88, at p. 288.

Subsequent research revealed that the Cosmography was composed nearly a century later than the writings of Virgilius.

liv

Aethicus fster Epit. 10.3: Solent etiam rehtores mensurandorum pedum temporumque gratia aliquas syllabas in modis addere, ut illud Estrii: “voluimus navigabere pontum," hoc posuit pro navigare; idem alibi: “flamma aurum accensi probaat camini,” pro probat.

A handful of similar word-distortions occurs in the Cosmography: gignarus for gnarus, philosophom*orum for philosophorum, litteribus for litteris, Beomaron for Meoparon; perhaps, too, mirabiliorum for mirabilium. 3. Dares Phrygius, Dictys Cretensis, and the Vita Apollonii Although Ps. Jerome does not describe the circ*mstances in which he discovered or was given the text of the heathen writer Aethicus, it is clear that our author is employing a variant of the technique designated as “a found work." The reader is invited to believe that St. Jerome has somehow come across a lost writing on cosmography that in its essentials agrees with the teachings of Christianity, even though written by a pagan who lived before Christ. As I argued in a previous writing, the late antique works of Dares Phrygius and Dictys Cretensis, both pseudo-histories of the Trojan war, provide models for a would-be forger wishing to use this device.”® In neither

of these

works,

however,

is the

involvement

of the

discoverer

sustained. Ps. Jerome, by contrast, maintains the presence and close involvement of “Jerome” throughout the Cosmography. The resulting double forgery entails a dual narratative structure. This may owe something to the model provided by the Vita Apollonii of Philostratus, also a “found work." Philostratus undertakes to write a biography of the sage Apollonius of Tyana based on the ‘“hitherto unknown

memoirs"

of a certain Damis

of Nineveh,

the sage's travelling companion. At places Philostratus intervenes in his own person to correct what Damis has reported. As Danuta Shanzer has shown, at least one Latin translation of that work was available in late antiquity.”’ E. Glossaries and Lexical resources

The question of the author's use of glossaries is vexed to a considerable degree by the difficulty of dating the individual glossaries identified by Goetz and Lindsay, and also by the fact that many rare words appear in more than one glossary. It is probable, however, that Ps. Jerome used Sextus Pompeius Festus's De verborum significatu in a version that preceded the

"6 Herren, “Die Falschung," pp. 156—57. " Shanzer, *The Cosmographia Attributed to Aethicus Ister," pp. 78—82.

Introduction

epitome of Paul the Deacon.” This is shown by the use of damia (879; cf. n.

563), adoria (882a; cf. n. 661), bellarium (8101; cf. n. 933, tragena). He also apparently used Jerome's De nominibus hebraicis for place-names. [n conclusion, one must admit the possibility that other, as yet unidentified sources lurk behind the scenes, and that some works or passages alleged here as possible sources or inspirations may not have been used at all. I remain unconvinced that works such as the Liber genealogus and the Liber generationis — not to mention the Fredegar continuator" — were used by the cosmographer, while the parallels alleged for Gregory of Tours are better explained by the use of the Liber historiae Francorum. On the whole, Ps. Jerome used a relatively small number of books in composing the Cosmography. A review of the evidence cited above shows clearly that our author excerpted a very narrow range of quotations from any

given source other than Isidore's Etymologies and the Bible and laid them

under contribution in an almost equally narrow span of his own text. Accordingly, he excerpted a snippet from the beginning of the epitome of the De mirabilibus sacrae scripturae and employed it at the beginning of his own text ($3). He may have excerpted sections of book 4 from a lost Latin translation of the Topographia Christiana and used them in the cosmographical part of the work, especially $814—18. Similarly, he used two

quotations from the same section of Isidore's Sententiae 1n his discussion of

angels (§4, §9). The allusions to Macrobius's Commentarius in $44 all come from the early chapters of book 1 of that source. This supports the hypothesis that Ps. Jerome made excerpts of works he thought might be useful at a later time, and thus that he travelled to a number of libraries.

III. Date of the Work The date of the Cosmography can be determined by combining what we know of dated sources used by the author together with internal references to contemporary

events.

This,

in turn, can be confirmed

textual transmission. For the terminus-post-quem should be considered:

by circ*mstances

the following

evidence

75 For the dissemination of Festus's work prior to Paul's epitome see the papers by W.M. Lindsay assembled in Wallace Martin Lindsay, Studies in Early Medieval Latin Glossaries, ed. M. Lapidge (Aldershot, Hampshire, 1996); for recent work see Settimo Lanciotti, “Tra

Festo e Paolo," in Paolo Diacono: uno scrittore fra tradizione longobarda e rinnovamento carolingio, ed. P. Chiesa (Udine, 2000), pp. 237—50.

? Brunhólzl, “Zur Kosmographie des Aethicus," p. 76—77, rightly rejects the parallels alleged for the use of the *Fredegar-Fortsetzung."

]vi

Aethicus Ister

636 — publication of Braulio's edition of Isidore's Etymologiae, a work that is copiously exploited by the author without acknowledgement. Numerous word-for-word borrowings are cited in the notes to the translation. 649 — the pillaging of Cyprus. Attacks on the island began as early as 649.?? See $84b: (addressed to Alexander) Reuertere, immo reuertere a monte Sion! Ciprum et maritimam necnon et Ahilo semita pedestrium tuorum maris penetrant, aequestrium

uiolenta praedatio oceana litora occupant, transire et transmeare a parte usque ad

partem, a ianuis et cardinibus cunctisque mundi finibus, Persi, Moedi,Birronis, et Varri, Foenicis, Meonis, Mesopotamii, et Tyrii secum ferentes dromodas opibus subactis honoratis. (Alexander,) return to Mount Sion! They are penetrating Cyprus and the coastal regions and Ahilon along the path of your foot soldiers over the backs of the sea; they seize the coastline with their violent depradations; Persians, Medes, Byrones and Varri, Phoenicians, Maeones, Mesopotamians and Tyrians cross and pass from region

to region from the gates of the sun and the hinges to all the ends of the earth, bringing

with them dromedaries weighed down with conquered booty.

655 — publication of Augustinus Hibernicus, De mirabilibus sacrae scripturae. The author cites a passage in $3 from an epitome made of this work (see above, Sources). 658 — invasion of Sklavinia by Constans II (Constantine III) and resettling of captives. An allusion to this event may occur in $103b (see comment under 679/80): Romulus ... Histriam ingressus, cruore tanto fuso, ita ut undas Histri humanus cruor praeoccupasset; uictoria parat, mox Albaniam peraccessit. Quanta certamina et strages uniuersaque mala quae perpetrata fuerunt longum est inseri. Romulus amisso inter

caedes maximam partem exercitus sui, tamen cum multa spolia uel captiuis reuersus est.

Romulus ... invaded Istria and shed such a great quantity of blood that human gore saturated the waters of the Danube; after securing victory he then advanced on

Albania. It would be a lengthy task to relate the number of battles, slaughters, and universal evils that were perpetrated. Though Romulus lost the greatest part of his army amidst the carnage, nevertheless he returned with a great wealth of spoils and captives.

673 (674) and 678 — first mentions of Greek fire, of which the most dramatic instance occurred in 678, when Constantinople (then under Constantine IV)

$ Y F. Haldon, Byzantium in the Seventh (Cambridge, 1990; repr. 1997), p. 55.

Century:

The

Transformation

of a Culture

Introduction

was saved by this weapon testimony for its use here is contains a significant variant. ships in Greece to be used capable of expelling fire from

from a sea attack not unambiguous, The cosmographer in naval warfare, their windows.

lvil

by Arabs." See §95. as the Latin is muddy, tells us that Aethicus and that these ships

The and built were

De ipsis fenestellis (sc. nauium) iacula sagittis et fundas (funde V) ignem ac diuersa tela; hostium cuneos cum carpasiis et fugant et necant et saepe capiunt. [stas nauiculas

uehementes ac uelocissimas in hoc mare et Grecia ad nauales hostes repellendos idem

philosophus sua arte instruxit et excogitauit, et ob hoc aulonas nuncupauit uelut maris aut nauium palatia.

From

these little windows

{come}

missiles, arrows, and slings, fire and diverse

weapons; they rout, kill, and frequently capture enemy units with the Carpasian ships. The same philosopher skilfully designed and built these powerful and very fast ships in this sea and in Greece to repel naval enemies, and he called them “palace ships" because they are like sea-palaces or ship-palaces.

679/680 — Emperor Constantine IV's incursions across the Danube against the Bulgars and subsequent defeat ($102): ... Histrum transiens cum Albanos altercauit, sed superare non potuit; cum magna spolia remeauit. Nec multo post obiurgantes mutuo nepotes cum auo consurrexitque Romolus super auum, Numitorem interfecit, regnum sagaciter et adroganter usurpauit. Euandriae urbis muros et moenia ampliauit, ipsam nimpe urbem a suo uocabulo Romam nuncupauit. Ipse uero post auum fratrecida extetit, Remum necauit, spurcitia omni deditus et luxoria, freniticus pellexatur nefarius.' (Numitor) crossing the Danube fought with the Albanians, but was unable to subdue them, though he returned with considerable spoils. Not long afterwards the grandsons were quarrelling by turns with their grandfather; Romulus, rose up against his grandfather, slew Numitor, and shrewdly and impudently usurped the kingdom ... After killing his grandfather he became a fratricide and slew Remus; a mad and wicked womanizer, he devoted himself to every kind of filth and debauchery.

It would appear that the author here and at the entry for 658 is referring to contemporary events, and has resorted to speaking in code, with Rome standing for Constantinople, and the ancient Roman kings Numitor, Romulus, and Tarquinius Priscus Superbus (!) standing for Byzantine emperors. In Roman legend, Numitor was the grandfather of Romulus, the first Roman king, and Tarquinius Priscus Superbus must be a conflation of the fifth and seventh of the Roman kings, Tarquinius Priscus and Tarquinius Superbus. If we relate these to the major Byzantine emperors figuring in seventh-century events beginning ca. 650, these would correspond *! Haldon, Byzantium in the Seventh Century, pp. 63—64.

]viii

Aethicus Ister

respectively to Constans II (reigned as Constantine III, 641—668), his son Constantine IV (reigned 668—685), and the latter's son Justinian II (reigned 685-695, 705—711). But even when one reads this passage as historical allegory, it remains confused and confusing. Constantine IV crossed the Danube in 679 to halt the advances of the Bulgarians (not Albanians). He did not succeed in defeating them (cf. Cosmog. “sed superare non potuit"). Indeed, the opposite result was achieved, with the Bulgarians advancing south of the river and settling among the Slavs in Moesia. His father Constans II also invaded Sklavinia in 658, but his campaign appears to have been more successful, as he managed to bring back captives and resettle them (cf. Cosmog. “tamen cum multa spolia uel captiuis reuersus est"). Although Constantine IV mutilated and deposed his brothers, he was not known

for fratricide.

However,

this action

can

be accorded

to his father,

Constans II, who killed his brother Theodosius, and was known as Cain to the citizens of Constantinople." It is true that Constans II was murdered, and blame may have been attached to his son Constantine IV. Thus, we must allow for the possibility that Numitor and Romulus stand for these two emperors, with the chronology reversed. Indeed, Constans II (reigned as Constantine III) and Constantine (IV) have been confused with each other in the record, and this may be due to the fact that both were called Pogonatos ("bearded"). Tarquinius (Justinian II?) does not figure in any particular action, but is blamed for his share of the calamities that affected the Balkans.

All three emperors,

in fact, mounted

campaigns

in that region.

See next

entry.

685 — death of Constantine IV from dystentery." This may be the subject of §103b: Ipse quoque Romulus post tot facinora et uim et animam iniquissime et indigne fudit. But Romulus himself after so many crimes most unsuitably and disgracefully poured out his strength and his life.

Of the main seventh-century emperors after Heraclius, Constans II was murdered, Justinian II was assassinated and decapitated. Only Constantine IV can be said to have died from an illness that might be discribed by uim et animam ... indigne fudit.

*? Haldon, Byzantium

in the Seventh

Century,

p. 59. For a discussion

of Constans

II's

motives for this act see A.N. Stratos, Byzantium in the Seventh Century, vol. 3 (Amsterdam, 1973). Pp. 191—96.

9 ODB |:501.

Introduction

lix

688 — treaty between Justinian II and Caliph Abd al-Malik placing the island of Cyprus under the joint administration of Constantinople and the caliphate;"* see §90: me hercola amice foedera iura pone. Ciprus amica, multimoda dape uicina butrionum ophinum, calaria fercola, falernum, in uisione amplecti tua currile sella ... ne spernas fessis longinco nauigatis sintque tibi incolae proselitae alienigenae. by Hercula, establish covenants and laws in amicable fashion. approach with many kinds of feasts and Cypriot butter, beautiful wine to embrace the currile seat in a vision... do not spurn the race are weary, having sailed from afar; let the foreigners and aliens be you.

O Cyprus, friend, trays of food and of sojourners who residents amongst

698—700 — a reference to the last outbreak of the Istrian Schism, a division in

the western church that was finally healed ca. 700 at the Council of Aquileia. “Jerome” refers to the events as a recent (nuper) occurrence at $58c: Cursimque uicina finitima huius regionis Histria multa induxit scismata hereticorum magistrantium, hinnula in alta quaeque mater philosophorum, nutrix errorum. Vnde apparet errasse Scithia, triturasse floniam ArculiumTt et Anfianum Hircanumque et Macedonium huius regionis ab Histria ortus; nuper usque magnam Romam nouam petiginem imperitamque cloacam pullulasse. Qui scripserunt nonnulla inutilia et nociua, quae mergunt hominem in interitum et perditionem. Istria, the territory bordering on this region, speedily introduced the many schisms of heretical teachers, while the she-ass, mother of philosophers and wet-nurse of errors, brayed whatever she liked to high heaven. Whence it appears that Scythia lapsed into error, while fArculiust, Anfianus, Hircanus and Macedonius, springing from the Istria of this region, threshed Ionia; recently a new eruption and foul ignorance spread as faras great Rome. They wrote some useless and harmful things that drown men in death and destruction.

Jerome,

who

died

in 420,

could

not have

witnessed

the beginning

of the

Aquileian Schism in the 550s (shortly after the proclamation of the “Three Chapters" at the Fifth Council, a. 553).

As noted, however, our work is full

of anachronisms: none is more obvious than Jerome's citation of Avitus's poem De spiritalis historiae gestis. It is plausible, therefore, that we have here a reference to an event that is contemporary with the author. Heinz Lówe sought to link the Macedonius mentioned in this passage with the fourth-century bishop of Constantinople known for his teaching that the Holy Spirit was not ^omoousian." But this figure had no known connection with either the Istria on the Black Sea or the Istria where Aquileia was ** Haldon, Byzantium in the Seventh Century, pp. 70—71; ODB

% Lowe, “Virgil von Salzburg," pp. 956-98.

1:567.

Aethicus Ister

jocated. Our author specifically notes that Macedonius was huius regionis ab

Histria ortus. This rather strange writer knew that there were fwo Macedonius sprang from the Istria Was the cosmographer imagining

phrase regions “of this the real

points to the likelihood that our designated as “Istria,” and that region" rather than the other one. Jerome in his home province of

Dalmatia, which borders on Istria (uicina finitima), or in Aquileia itself viewing the whole province as the bordering region? Whatever the case, Jerome could not have regarded the other Istria (Scythia Minor) as uicina.

This being so, our Macedonius should be identified with the Macedomus patriarch of Aquileia (535—556), who was the author of the Istrian Schism.* But as it is clear that Ps. Jerome lived long after the beginning of the schism,

it is probable that nouam petiginem refers to the final outbreak ot the schism that was resolved at the Council of Aquileia, variously dated 698—700, called at the behest of Pope Sergius (hcnce the words usque magnam Romam)."! Additional evidence of the papacy's role in resolving the schism is p10v1ded by the Liber pontificalis under the pontificate of Sergius (687——101).*

Ca. 700 x 727 — the composition of the Latin translation of the Apocalypse Bern of this work, earliest manuscript The Methodius. of Ps. Bugerbibliothek 611, is dated by a computistical notice to the year 727. Lowe writes: *Written apparently in East France. The precise date 727 is fixed by the computus, which states that 5928 years have passed 'a principio mundi usque in presente anno' — a date not incompatible with the paleography of the manuscript. "$? Aerts and Kortekaas, the most recent editors of the Apocalypse, place the composition of the Latin translation between 710 and 720, noting that “nur wenige Zwischenstationen liegen kónnen" between the translation and the earliest witnesses. 9

726/27 — eruption of Santorini. This date has relevance only if one accepts the emendation that I propose to the text at §75. There I conjecture mons Tera (i.e. Thera) for mons tema.

8 pius Bonifatius Gams,

Series Episcoporum

Ecclesiae

n(l

Catholicae, 27

ed. (Leipzig,

1931), 2:773. 87 Johannes Dominicus Mansi, Sacrorum Conciliorum Nova et Amplissima Collectio, rev. N. Coleti (Paris, 1901—1927), 12:115-17. ed. L. duch*esne, 2 vols. (Paris, 8 1 e liber pontificalis: texte, introduction et commentaire, 1886-1892), 1: 376.

89 CT 4 7, no. 604c.

90 u

J. Aerts and G.A.A. Kortekaas, Die Apokalpyse des Pseudo-Methodius: Die dltesten griechischen und lateinischen Übersetzungen (Leuwen, 1998), p. 30.

Introduction

Ixi

Tabida Tera (i.e. Thera, Tema MSS) mons nocua nebula sub sole eminus conspicua

alit caligine, umbrifera subdolo sulphoria aestuante Cimera, fumanteque Sicilia Ethna de alto vergit. Mount Thera nurtures a noxious cloud beneath the sun with a fog {that is} visible from afar, while Chimaera secretly seethes in sulphurous gloom, and Aetna smoking from Sicily verges out of the deep.

The eruption of Thera in 726/27 is documented Theophanes, ad ann.; see the commentary ad loc.

the

Chronicle

727 — Publication of the Liber historiae Francorum. Our cosmographer definitely used this work, and not Gregory of Tours, and not a lost source of the Liber (see above, Sources). As will be shown in the section on manuscripts and textual transmission, L, the earliest extant manuscript of the Cosmography, was written in the last

quarter of the the eighth century. We can thus set the outer limits for the

composition of our work at 727 X ca. 780. To conclude: Any attempt to set the work

before

727

can

now

be ruled

out.

But,

on the

basis

of what

known of the transmission history of the Cosmography, it is difficult to imagine that the Cosmography was written very much later. As noted above,

pp. xxxix-xl, the cosmographer had access to the Liber historiae Francorum

before its division into two recensions, and thus must have seen it at an early stage of its transmission. The terminus-ante quem can be reduced considerably when it is recognized that between the author and L there are at least two intervening stages, while between the author and the copies of the epitome (G and B, saec. VIII/IX) there are three. As will be shown below (VII, The Edition), one additional stage can be posited between the author and the archetype. We must now revise our previous dating 700 x 725 (or 675 x 725 in earlier publications") to paulo post 727.

IV. Milieu of Composition Essential to any attempt to establish the place of composition of an anonymous work is an investigation of the sources used by the writer followed by the discovery of where those works might have been consulted. In the case of a work written ca. 730 this is not an easy task. Our earliest library catalogues and book lists date from the ninth century." I argued ?! Herren *The *Cosmography,' Travel Literature,” pp. 19-20.

of Aethicus Ister," p. 100; “Aethicus Ister and Ancient

? Becker, Catalogi Bibliothecarum Antiqui, passim. An exception is a book list from

Lombard Italy dated to the eighth century: see Walter Berschin, “An Eighth-Century Library

Ixii

Aethicus Ister

elsewhere that our cosmographer travelled, perhaps extensively." From what we have established about his principle of using sources, it seems that he could have roamed through western Europe (including Ireland and England) collecting what he needed, and required only a desk and chair to assemble what he had amassed into a coherent piece of work. There 1s a kernel of truth in this, but only a kernel. At some point Ps. Jerome would have required a library where he could sit for an extended period and consult all twenty books of Isidore's Etymologies. The same would apply to the Bible. Moreover, there 1s the question of where he might have consulted certain rarities. Isidore's FEtymologies and Orosius’s Historiae contra paganos were relatively easy to find even in this early period, but what about Macrobius's commentary on the Somnium Scipionis, the Apocalypse of Ps. Methodius, or the Res gestae Alexandri Magni of Julius Valerius? And if the author did use the Liber monstrorum, as I think, where would he have come across it? Was there any library in Europe that held all these works, and if so, would they have been there shortly after ca. 725? The famous Munari Catalogue of the Bobbio library, reprinted by Becker (no. 32) is dated “saec. X" on the basis of the date of the manuscript, now lost, that contained it. However, scholars have argued convincingly that this list was based on a late ninth-century exemplar." Even so, it remains an unreliable index for what was held in that monastery library in the first quarter of the eighth century. Carolingian works are mingled with classical, late antique, and early medieval texts. Nonetheless, it may be worthwhile to look at its contents. The following works, listed above as certain or probable sources for the Cosmography, were available in Bobbio by some time in the tenth century:^

Catalogue from Eighth-Century Lombard Italy," /MLat 11 (2001), 201—09. For early AngloSaxon book inventories written ca. 800, see Michael Lapidge, The Anglo-Saxon Library

(Oxford, 2006), pp. 81—85. ?! Herren, *The *Cosmography' of Aethicus Ister”; *Aethicus Ister and Ancient Travel

Literature." ?' Mario Esposito, “The Ancient Catalogue of Bobbio," Journal of Theological Studies, o.s. 32 (1931), 337-44, at p. 343, followed by Bernhard Bischoff, *Die Bibliothek im Dienste der Schule,” in Bischoff, ed., Mittelalterliche Studien, 3:230. See the review of the scholarship by Michael Richter, Bobbio in the Early Middle Ages: The Abiding Legacy of

Columbanus (Dublin, 2008), pp. 140-41.

55 The cataloguer consistently uses the term /iber to refer to a volume, not a *book" as a discrete portion of an individual writing.

Introduction nos.

Ix111

21 librum I quaestionum in Matthaeum & Lucam: in quo habentur libri III quos composuit Adamnianus de situ Hierusalem & terra repromissionis & urbe Constantinopolitana. 66 Librum I in quo sunt prologi in libros regum, in eptatico, in paralipomenon, et Esdra 74—80 libros VII de epistolis Hieronymi 125-26 [Ambrosii] in Luca libros II 168—71 [Isidori] libros ethom*ologiarum IV

172—74 [Isidori] libros sententiarum III

203—6 libros Pauli Orosi IV 222 et unum de falsa religione in quo habentur dicta Sibyllae 234 librum Metodii episcopi de regno gentium et novissimis temporibus I 242-44 Plinii secundi naturalis historiae libros III 273 librum pandectarum I in quo est expositio cuiusdam in Matheum 290 librum I cuiusdam de remediis peccatorum; in quo habentur libri VI Alchimii metrice conte ... 358-61 libros Virgili numero quatuor 362-65 Lucani libros IV 391 librum Honorati I (= Servius?) 409 librum I in veteri testamento conscriptum metrice, in quo continentur libri Alchimi et Catonis 435 librum Donati super Virgilium unum 466—67 libros Septimi Sereni duos, unum de ruralibus, alterum de historia Troiana in quo et habetur historia Daretis 468 librum unum Daretis de vastatione Troiae 469 librum I de epistolis Alexandri et Dindimi 470 librum I de situ Indiae Alexandri ad Aristotelem magistrum 472 de historia Alexandri Magni Macedonis librum unum 473 de diuersis generibus monstrorum librum I 615 Expositio in somnio Scipionis et Boetii de musica Here

should

draw

attention

to a work

omitted

from

this list, no. 471

librum I cosmographiae. While this could refer either to our work or the work by Julius Honorius, or even some other cosmographical work, there is good reason to think that this entry is the Ps. Jerome text. The entry rests in the middle of three Alexander items and what must certainly be the Liber

Ixiv

Aethicus Ister

monstrorum (no. 473).5 It would seem that the ninth- or tenth-century cataloguer, who showed himself to be conscientious in his grouping of texts, associated the /ibrum cosmographiae not with serious works of travel (such as no. 21, *quos composuit Adamnianus [sic] de situ Hierusalem, etc."), but with fanciful legends about the Trojan War, Alexander,

and a collection of

monstrous beasts and races. Can any of the manuscripts of the works listed above be considered old enough to have been used by the cosmographer? Entry no. 203-06 “libros Pauli Orosi IV" refers arguably to the famous “Bobbio. Orosius," Milan, Biblioteca Ambrosiana, MS D 23 sup., written in insular majuscule, and

dated to the seventh century." Nos. 172-74 “libros sententiarum III" (Isidore, Sententiae) can be linked to Milan, Biblioteca Ambrosiana, MS 77 sup., written possibly as early as ca. 700.^* As for the Etymologies, nos. 168— 71, three eighth-century copies, two of which were written before the middle of the century, can be traced to *einem oberitalischen Skriptorium."^ Of the three “Alexander items" listed, one certainly belongs to this very early period of the library's development, namely no.472, *de historia Alexandri Magni Macedonis librum unum." This is undoubtedly the work of Julius Valerius, Res gestae Alexandri Macedonis, transmitted under various titles.? This entry has been identified with the famous "Taurinensis" (Turin, Biblioteca nazionale, MS IL2), ! which Lowe dates to saec. VIIIin. and assigns to northern Italy saying, *written probably at Bobbio."!? Three other works listed in the catalogue are of potential interest because of their exceptional rarity in the early eighth century. The first of these is the Commentarii in Somnium Scipionis of Macrobius, which did not come into ?? See the apparatus criticus in Franco Porsia's edition, Liber monstrorum: Introduzione,

edizione, versione e commento (Bari, 1976), p. 132, which gives “de diversis generibus" as the title given by MS A. " CLA

3:328. The

identification is supported

by Paolo

Collura, Studi paleografici.

precarolina e la carolina a Bobbio. Fontes Ambrosiani 22 (Milan, 1943), pp. 228—29.

95 CLA 3:317; Collura, ibid. See Bischoff, “Die europáische Verbreitung der Werke Isidors von Sevilla, Mittelalterliche Studien 1:171—94, at p. 176. ?? Bischoff, *Die europáische Verbreitung," p. 176. Of these manuscripts Bischoff writes: von den Schreibern, die alle einheimisch oberitalienisch sind, machen mehrere reichlichen Gebrauch von dem irischen Abkurzungssystem, das ihnen in der Vorlage entgegentrat und mit dem sic vielleicht aus anderen Handschriften der Bobbienser Bibliothek wohl vertraut waren." !O See the apparatus criticus in Rosellini's edition, p. 1. "I Destroyed by fire in 1904, but preserved in facsimile and in the transcription of the earlier editor Kuebler; see Rosellini, ed., p. xlvii.

[19

07 CLA 4:439; Collura, ibid.

Introduction

use until

the ninth

century.

Scipionis et Boetii de musica,

copy

Ixv

of this work,

is listed as no. 615

Expositio

in somnio

in the Munari

Catalogue.

This manuscript was already missing from the library in the tenth century, for the librarian who compiled the Munari Catalogue reports "quas non reperimus." However, we can immediately exclude any possible use of this manuscript, whatever its date of origin, by our cosmographer. It did not

reach Bobbio until the ninth century when it was donated to the library by

Petrus presbyter." Much more relevant for our purposes is the so-called *Bobbio Macrobius," now Naples, Biblioteca nationale, MS Lat. 2 (Vindob.

16), of which fols. 157—58 contain excerpts from Macrobius's Commentarii

in Somnium Scipionis and the same writer's De differentiis graeci latinique verbi, “written side by side at Bobbio in the eighth century.”'™ The hand is Irish minuscule, and Lowe dates it broadly to saec. VIIL.'® However, Mirella Ferrari, followed by T.J. Brown, proposed the dating saec. VII/VIII.'5 The surviving fragments of Comm. are excerpts, not pieces of continuous text that had been dislocated." Assuming that they were actually written at Bobbio, as now appears to be the consensus, one must presume that a full (or at least fuller) exemplar of these works had to have been there, and probably

' Becker, Catalogi, p. 72: “Item de libris Petris presbyteri." This list comprises nos.

590-640.

Since the accessions

lists of the Munari

Catalogue appear to be chronologically

arranged, one may be reasonably certain that the donation took place at some time between

that of Dungal (ca. 825) and before Abbot Agilulf (ca. 840—896). See Richter, Bobbio in the Early Middle Ages, p. 143. " B.C. Barker-Benfield, “Macrobius,” in Texts and Transmission: A Survey of the Latin Classics, ed. L.D. Reynolds et al. (Oxford, 1983), p. 223. Dr. Barker-Benfield was more cautious regarding the actual place of writing in his dissertation of 1976, “The Manuscripts of Macrobius' Commentary on the Somnium Scipionis, 2 vols. (D. phil. Thesis, Oxford, 1976), (:81-86. The excerpts of De differentiis were used in the edition by Paolo De Paolis, ed., Macrobii Theodosii de verborum Graeci et Latini differentiis vel societatibus excerpta (Urbino, 1990). Dr. Barker-Benfield published the excerpts from Comim., ibid. All come from book l. (I am deeply grateful to Dr. Barker-Bentield for sending me the relevant portion of his dissertation.)

0* CLA 3:397b.

19 Eerrari, *Centri di trasmissione: Monza, Pavia, Milano, Bobbio,” in La cultura antica nell 'Occidente latino dal VH all'XI secolo, Settimane di Studio del Centro Italiano di Studi sull'alto medioevo 22, pt. 1 (Spoleto, 1975, pp. 303-320, at 314-15; T.J. Brown, "The Irish Element in the Insular System of Scripts to circa A.D. 850," in Die Iren und Europa im früheren Mittelalter, ed. H. Lowe, 2 vols. (Stuttgart, 1982), Teilband 1, pp. 101—19,at 114, 07 According to Dr. Barker-Benfield, ibid., the excerpts of Comm. are as follows: the passage on dreams (1.3.2-11); a note on pregancy (1.6.17); a passage on the influence of the number seven on the human embryo (1.6.59—71).

Ixvi

Aethicus Ister

in time for use by the cosmographer.108 It should not be overlooked that the cosmographer's allusion to diuinationes et somnia in the same sentence that alludes to Macrobius's title ($44) finds a response in the Bobbio fragment of that author's passage on dreams (1.3.2-12: “Item Macrobius dicit post somnum [sic] nullum sui utilitatem uel significationem relinquit ... ita nos defunctis superi habemur. Omnia enim [sic] quae uidere sibi dormientes uidentur ... seu alia sidera uel caelum omnes terras aliquid somniat innouatum.")'9? The next two items can be considered rare in the early eighth century because the works they represent had scarcely been written. The first of these is no. 234, (Ps. Methodius) “librum Metodii episcopi de regno gentium et novissimis temporibus L" which corresponds closely to the title given in the oldest manuscripts of the Latin recension: “INCIPIT SANCTI METHODII EPISCOPI PATERENSIS SERMO DE REGNUM GENTIVM

IN NOVISSIMIS

TEMPORIBVS

CERTA

DEMONSTRATIO."!'?

Various scholars have placed the origin of this work in eastern France (Luxeuil?), apparently on the ground that the earliest manuscript Bern 611 (written a. 727) is assigned to that region. ! However, the editors place the composition of the work 710 x 720, allowing for at least “wenige Zwischensstationen" between it and the autograph.'^ All that we know of the translator comes from a praefatiuncula written by a certain Petrus monachus, who is silent regarding the milieu where he worked. It seems likelier to me that a person capable of producing a reasonably accurate, if very literal, translation of a Greek original would have been active in Rome or a centre in southern Italy where Greek was still current.' A site such as "% It is instructive that the Irish scholar Dungal, closely associated with Pavia and Bobbio

in the early ninth century, cited portions of bks 1 and 2 of Comm. For an excellent assessment

of the fortuna of this Macrobian work in the pre-Carolingian era see Irene Caiazzo, “Esquisse de la reception des Commentarii in Somnium Scipionis," m Caiazzo, ed., Lectures médiévales

de Macrobe: les Glosae colonienses super Macrobium, pp. 31—33.

0 Naples, MS 2, fol. 158r, lines 13-42, which omit the passages words. (With thanks again to Dr. Bruce Barker-Benfield.)

that contain Greek

! Ed. Aerts and Kortekaas, p. 71.

' CLA 7:604c, followed with a question mark by Aerts and Kortekaas, ed., p. 50. For a catalogue of conjectures regarding the milieu of the Latin translation, see Aerts and

Kortekaas, ed., pp. 29-31. The list is aptly prefaced by the editors’remark: “Die Frage nach dem Kloster, in dem Petrus gearbeitet hat, muss noch unbeantwortet bleiben." "2 Aerts and Kortekaas, ed., p. 30.

!^ For a salutary reminder of the importance of Rome for the continuity of Greek translation in the early Middle Ages, see Claudio Leonardi, “Anastasio Bibliotecario e le traduzioni dal greco nella Roma

altomediovale,"

in The Sacred Nectar of the Greeks:

The

Introduction

Ixvil

Naples, which housed the learned and bilingual Hadrian (later of Canterbury) would be one such possibility as its place of composition. Similarly, it seems more probable that the translation would have made its way north to Bobbio and thence to the Columbanian sister house in eastern France, than to suppose a route in the other direction.''* The Bobbio entry here might then constitute the earliest record of the work of Ps. Methodius that exists. But this is speculation; there is nothing in the author's Latinity or internal references to provide a decisive answer to the question of milieu.'? The second puzzle involves no. 473 “de diuersis generibus monstrorum librum

L" re. the Liber monstrorum,

(Malmesbury?) ca. 700 according copy was early, how did it get there the group of books, among which Alexander sources employed by the

a work

written

in southern

England

to scholarly consensus.''® If the library so soon? Notice that it was catalogued in were de cosmographia and two of the cosmographer (470 and 472):

466—67 libros Septimi Sereni, unum de ruralibus, alterum de historia Troiana, in quo & habetur historia Daretis 468 librum I Daretis de vastatione Troiae 469 librum I de epistolis Alexandri et Dindimi 470 Hbrum I de situ Indiae Alexandri ad Aristotelem magistrum 47] hbrum I cosmographiae 472 dehistoria Alexandri Magni Macedonis librum unum 473 de diuersis generibus monstrorum librum I One notes that the common themes of all these books are “the matter of Troy" and the figure of Alexander (assuming the /ibrum cosmographiae listed to be our work), and it is likely that our ninth-century librarian Study of Greek in the West in the Early Middle Ages, ed. M. Herren and S.A. Brown (London, 1988), pp. 277-96. !^ It should be noted that of the four oldest manuscripts of the Apocalypse only two are of Frankish origin; of the others one was written in Italy: Vatican City, BAV, MS Barb. Lat. 671 (V). See Aerts and Kortekaas, p. 55, and Bernhard Bischoff, "Panorama der Handschriftenüberlieferung," in Bischoff, ed., Mittelalterliche Studien: Aufsátze zur Schriftkunde und Literaturgeschichte, vol. 3 (Stuttgart, 1981), pp. 5—38, at p. 29, n. 124, who localizes the manuscript to Tuscany (saec. VIllmed.-ex.). Note also that St. Gall, Stiftsbibliothek 225, saec. VlIIIex. (G), was written at St. Gall (thus Lowe, CLA 7:924). !I? See Kortekaas, in Aerts and Kortekaas, ed., p. 29, for a list of “French” and “Italian” symptoms of grammar and idiom. !6 Porsia, ed., pp. 93-106; Michael Lapidge, “Beowulf, Aldhelm, the Liber Monstrorum and Wessex," in Anglo-Latin Literature 600-899 (London and Rio Grande, 1996), pp. 272—

312, at 282—96. Lapidge excludes the authorship of Aldhelm, but links the work closely to

Wessex and Aldhelm's circle.

Ixviil

Aethicus Ister

grouped them together on that account. If we can trust the catalogue, all the books mentioned in the longer list above belong to the *original" collection of the monastery (nos. [—479), and not the later accessions, which are catalogued by donor beginning with the aforementioned Dungal, praecipuus Scottorum. Almost every one of the 479 items was authored before ca. 700. Even so, at least two works, nos. 251—53

“libros Smaragdi

III" and no. 255

“Claudii episcopi Taurinensis in epistola ad Corinthos" show us that some early Carolingian productions were included in the ‘“original catalogue.” Moreover, we cannot assume that all of the copies of the listed works written before 700 were actually copied by the early eighth century. Even if one imagined that by ca. 725 the library of Bobbio contained all the resources in the longer list above (including the handy pandect, no. 273), we would still be missing some crucial items that were laid under contribution by Ps. Jerome. These include the Irish work, De mirabilibus sacrae sripturae, a Latin translation of Cosmas Indicopleustes (or at least of book 4), and a Latin source for the content of the o and 3 versions of Ps. Callisthenes. As noted, some scholars have detected stylistic influences of the Hisperica famina and Virgilius Maro Grammaticus on the Cosmography.' None of these works is attested in the old Bobbio catalogue. The De mirabilibus, a putative Latin Cosmas, the Hisperica famina, and the writings of Virgilius are either insular productions or have demonstrable insular connections. The De mirabilibus was written in Ireland (above,

n. 55); a Latin

translation

of Cosmas,

if one

existed,

would

have

emanated from southern England (above, p. 1); the Hisperica famina were written in Ireland; * the writings of Virgilius were addressed to an Irish audience and its earliest transmission was demonstrably in Ireland itself.'” Although there is no entry for this Virgilius in the Munari Catalogue, there is evidence for the presence of his writings at Bobbio in the eighth century. This

is to be

found

in Milan,

Biblioteca

Ambrosiana,

F 60

sup.,

miscellany of exegetical and computistical works written by several Irish hands and dated to the eighth century.? On the other hand, no evidence for

"7 Above, p. lii-iv; for more detail see Herren, “The *Cosmography' of Aethicus Ister,” pp. 88-92. !5 Herren, ed., 1:32—39. !I? Ó Cróinín, “The Date, Provenance, and Earliest Use"; see now Richard M.A. Marshall, “Studies on the Text of the Ars Sergi/li?i with an Edition,” JMLat 20 (2010), 167-231, at pp. 174-84, where the author deals with the milieu of the writer who called himself discipulus Virgilii.

'29See Mirella Ferrari, *Nota sui codici di Virgilio Marone grammatico,"

Marone grammatico

in Virgilio

Epitomi ed Epistole, ed. and trans. G. Polara and L. Caruso (Naples,

Introduction

Ixix

the De mirabilibus can be found on the continent before the appearance of the earliest copy of the epitome, traceable to Reichenau: Badische Landesbibliothek, Aug. Perg. CXCI, saec. IXin."'

Karlesruhe, As for the

Hisperica famina, their circulation seems to have been confined to the British Isles until they were transmitted via Brittany to the continent in the ninth century. ^ [ hypothesized elsewhere that Ps. Jerome attended classes given by Theodore at Canterbury, where he would have come into contact not only with the Greek language (of which he acquired some vocabulary and a smattering of grammar), but more importantly Antiochene approaches to exegesis and “Nestorian” cosmology.'^ There he would have encountered the flat-earth cosmology of Cosmas Indicopleustes, whether in notes taken from

lectures,

in Latin

translation.

There,

too,

somewhere

else

southern England (Malmesbury?), he might have encountered the Liber monstrorum for the first time. Did he bring a copy back to Bobbio with him? Copies of the Hisperica famina and of Virgilius Maro Grammaticus's writings were also likely available in southern England."* If the De mirabilibus had not already migrated to England (it was used by Alcuin'^), Ps. Jerome might have acquired his excerpt during a sojourn in Ireland; note that Aethicus specifically mentions poring over Irish books in Ireland (§25).

1979), p. xxxvii. The extracts are edited by G. Pesenti, *Frammento bobiense di Virgilio

grammatico," Bolletino di filologia classica 27 (1920—21), 49—52.

? For a recent status quaestionis see Lucia Castaldi, “La trasmissione e rielaborazione

dell'esegesi patristica," in L Irlanda e gli irlandesi nell'alto 2009, Settimane di studio della Fondazione centro Italiano (Spoleto, 2010), pp. 393—428, at 412-14. 2* The structure of the *hisperic" line found no imitators. confined to vocabulary. Apart from the “hisperic poems"

medioevo, Spoleto, 16-21 aprile di Studi sull’alto medioevo 57 The influence of these works is I edited in Hisperica famina Il

(Toronto, 1987), traces of hisperic diction can be found in Irish works or authors: the poem

"Altus prosator" (attributed to Columba), Virgilius Maro Grammaticus, "Sergilius," Adomnán, and some Irish computistical tracts; in at at least one Cambro-Latin work, the socalled “Hisperic Colloquy"; and in a handful of Anglo-Latin writers: Aldhelm, Aethilwald, Aethilwulf. There are also traces of hisperic diction in a poem by the Breton Lios Monocos

(tenth century). The versions A and D contain Breton glosses, and there is a glossary (“C”)

with Latin and Breton definitions, reflecting a lost version.

2 *The *Cosmography? of Aethicus Ister,” pp. 96-98.

7 For the Hisperica famina see Paul Grosjean, *Confusa caligo: remarques sur les Hisperica Famina," Celtica 3 (1956), 35-85, at pp. 66—-67; for Virgilius see Ludwig Traube,

"Virgilius Maro Grammaticus," Hermes 24 (1889), 647—49, followed by Michael Lapidge and Michael Herren, Aldhelm the Prose Works (Cambridge, 1979; repr. 2009), p. 202, n. 37. ^5 Esposito, “On the De mirabilibus sanctae scripturae," pp. 200—01.

Ixx

Aethicus Ister

It would seem that his knowledge of the Topographia Christiana (Cosmas Indicopleustes) could only have come from Theodore's school at Canterbury — whether the cosmographer knew it from lectures or from a (lost) Latin translation. In the last analysis, Ps. Jerome needed not just a desk and chair where he could write up the notes he made from libraries around the world; as noted, he also needed a library where he could have had unimpeded access to Isidore's Etymologies and all of the Bible. Southern England could have provided these by 700 as well as copies of Servius, Orosius, the Latin Josephus (Antiquitates — if they were used!), Avitus's De spiritalibus historiae gestis,"^ much of Jerome, Ambrose's commentary on Luke,

the Liber monstrorum,

and the Epistola Alexandri ad Aristotelem

principal source of the LM), and just possibly Isidore's Sententiae.* On the other hand, there were some important works used by the cosmographer that were not available in southern England at the time. Chief among these were the Apocalpyse of Ps. Methodius and Macrobius’s Commentarii, of which, as argued above, it is reasonably certain that at least

parts of the first book of the Macrobian work were available in Bobbio in the early eighth century. Moreover, if Ps. Jerome used Pliny's encyclopedic work to supplement Isidore, he would have had to travel to Northumbria to visit Bede, for there is no evidence for the work's availability in the South in this period. We cannot be certain that the Bobbio copy (no. 242-44) was already there when the cosmographer wrote. However, it has been shown that the transmission of the Naturalis historia originated in northern Italy in the late sixth century." Further, 882b contains allusions to sybilline prophecies concerning Alexander's origin and birth. Note that *et unum de 126 Thomas Gártner, “Zum spátantiken und mittelalterlichen Nachwirken der Dichtungen des Alcimus Avitus," FM 9 (2002), 109-221. Gártner's work proves conclusively that Aldhelm used the De spitalis historiae gestis frequently in his metrical De virginitate; see pp. 125-31. He further shows (pp. 130—31) that Aldhelm used an exemplar of the work that antedated the division of the stemma into the divisions. See now Lapidge, The Anglo-Saxon Library, pp. 69—70.

77 An early inventory of books from a Würzburg manuscript (now Oxford, Bodleian

Library, MS

Laud. misc.

126, written ca. 800 in Anglo-Saxon minuscule, contains an entry

for the Sententiae. According to Lapidge, The Anglo-Saxon Library, pp. 82-83, and Appendix

B. Another inventory from Fulda (now Basel, Universitátsbibliothek, MS F. IIf, 15a), written

about the same time, also contains an entry for this work. According to Lapidge, p. 82, these

manuscripts (along with an inventory in Vatican City, BAV, MS Pal. Lat. 210) represent “the eighth-century holdings of the libraries of Würzburg, Fulda, and (probably) Echternach."

None of this, however, proves that copies of the Sententiae were available in England itself in the early eighth-century. 1281, D. Reynolds, “The Elder Pliny,” in Texts and Transmission, p. 308, n. 3.

Introduction

Ixxi

falsa religione in quo habentur dicta Sibyllae" is listed as no. 222 in the Munari Catalogue — but again, we cannot be certain of when this item was accessioned, or what version of the oracles it contained. ? It strikes me as a possibility that items 466 through 473 constitute a personal collection that included a copy of Ps. Jerome's own book. No. 473 *de diuersis generibus monstrorum librum L" i.e. the Liber monstrorum, might well have been a copy that the author made or had made for him in England."" The same might apply to no. 470 “librum I de situ Indiae Alexandri

Aristotelem

magistrum,"

which,

as noted,

was

a principal

source of the Liber monstrorum and also served as a rough model for Aethicus's voyage to the East (§§105-6). No. 468 “librum unum Daretis de vastatione Troiae" is doubtless identical to the work of “Dares Phrygius,” which circulated under the titles De excidio Troiae, Historia de excidio Troianorum, Historiae de Troiae excidio.”' As noted above (p. liv), this work may have served as an inspiration for Ps. Jerome's use of the device of the “found work.” Perhaps item 466—67, which comprises a copy of the Historia Daretis, was the fruit of his travels in Gaul. This strange little work, which is a different work entirely from the previous item, is a collection of Greek and Roman legends superimposed on the foundation myths of the Frankish kingdom, including the only other reference to the legend of Francus and Vassus. It contains nothing of interest to Lombard history, and

appears to be detached from its usual textual environment. "^ Given that the

work is usually appended to the end of the Fredegar Continuationes, which was not completed until 768, it is possible that the Bobbio copy had been acquired early enough to serve the needs of Ps. Jerome, if indeed it was not a personal copy. No. 472, “de historia Alexandri Magni Macedonis librum unum” is doubtless the work by Julius Valerius that paraphrases version a. of Ps. Callisthenes. As noted above (p. Ixiv), this work was thought to be copied at Bobbio in the early eighth century. U? For an overview of the transmission of the “Sibylline Oracles" in the early Middle Ages, see Bischoff, *Die lateinischen Übersetzungen und Bearbeitungen aus den Oracula Sibyllina,” in Bischoff, Mittelalterliche Studien, 1:150—71. ?? Recall that the word /iber in the Munari Catalogue is used consistently to indicate a volume; its use here does not imply that only one of the three “books” of this work was available in the library. ! Martin Shanz, Carl Hosius, and Gustav Krüger, Geschichte der rómischen Literatur bis zum Gesetzgebungswerk des Kaisers Justinian, Teil 4.2 (Munich, 1920), p. 86 (no. 42). This

late antique (sixth century?) work was transmitted with Universiteitsbibliotheek, Voss. F. 113 (V); cf. ibid., p. 87.

?? Ed. B. Krusch, MGH SS Rer. Mer. 2, p. 194.

the Cosmography

in Leiden,

Ixx1i

Aethicus [ster

The analysis advanced here points to the tentative conclusion that the cosmographer completed his book at Bobbio. The “staple works" — the Bible, Isidore's Etymologies and Sententiae, Orosius's Historiae, St. Jerome's Letters — were available there in early copies. Our author made relatively heavy use of the Apocalypse of Ps. Methodius and the Res gestae Alexandri Magni of Julius Valerius, works that were not available in England in the eighth century, if at all prior to the Conquest." Nor could he have accessed Macrobius's Commentarii in England during his lifetime."" He might have read the Liber monstrorum in southern England where it was composed, or he might have utilized the Bobbio copy, assuming it was available. Ps. Jerome must have sojourned in and maintained close connections to a centre or centres in Francia, as he definitely used a few passages from the Liber historiae Francorum; nor can we rule out the possibility that the copy of Ps. Methodius that he consulted was the Luxeuil manuscript written in 727, from which he made excerpts. An important factor in formulating an hypothesis regarding the milieu where the Cosmography was completed is the route of transmission of our work. The earliest extant copies of the Cosmography are to be found in Freising (L), Murbach (O), St. Emmeram (W, allegedly written at St. Amand), St. Gall (G), and Salzburg (A), while an early ninth-century catalogue attests another at Reichenau (catalogue of 822, Becker no. 6). An “outlier,” so to speak, is Friuli, where we find a copy listed in a ducal will dated to 837.'? St. Gall, Murbach, and Reichenau indicate a concentration around

Lake

Constance,

while

Freising,

St.

Emmeram

(Regensburg),

and

salzburg point to (historical) Bavaria. Prinz's theory that St. Gall was the Heimat of our work must be rejected, as the library of that centre in the first half of the eighth century was still very meagre. ^ However, it is noteworthy that the library of Bobbio was a supplier of texts to both Reichenau and St. Gall. By contrast, evidence for the transmission of the Cosmography in England is wanting. The earliest English copy, Leiden, Universiteitsbibliotheek, MS Scaligeranus 69 (S), was written in the second half of the tenth century, and evidence for an English role in the work's transmission to 133 Neither author has an index entry in Lapidge, The Anglo-Saxon Library. 'Dhe earliest copy of the Commentarii to reach England was the ninth-century manuscript London, British Library, Harley 647, which arrived in Ramsey saec. X/XI. See

Lapidge, 7he Anglo-Saxon Library, p. 170.

35 Becker, Catalogi Bibliotehcarum Antiqui, no. 12, item 13: *cosmographiam philosophi." See also item 12: “librum bestiarum" (the Liber monstrorum?).

96 ) M. Clark, The Abbey of St. Gaul (Cambridge, 1926), pp. 24—25.

Ethici

Introduction

Ixxil

the continent is sparse."" On the available evidence, the Cosmography of

Aethicus Ister was completed at a continental centre that had good connections to monastic libraries in the region of Lake Constance and historical Bavaria. Bobbio presents itself as an attractive candidate for the milieu where Ps. Jerome finished his book; but for the present this must remain an hypothesis.

V. The Author and His Book The person who posed as St. Jerome in the act of editing an otherwise unknown cosmographical work by Aethicus Ister, reputedly a pagan sophist from Scythia, will probably never be identified. This holds despite the valiant and learned efforts of Heinz Lówe to demonstrate that he was Virgil, the Irish bishop of Salzburg. The thesis can no longer be sustained. Nor is i1t all likely that the author was an Irishman or a native of any other part of the Insular world, given what we know of his Latinity and sources. His apparent lack of a real grasp of the Greek language' * excludes the possibility that he was educated at Constantinople or Athens, where Greek had almost entirely displaced Latin. The same would hold for an origin in a Greek-speaking part of Italy. However, it is next to impossible to pinpoint the author's ethnic identity or his native language. Although there are marked traces of Romance as well as learned elements in his Latinity, his Latin is neither idiomatic (like that of Gregory of Tours) nor really learned — despite strenuous efforts to make it appear so. The Romance elements in his work (see Latinity, p. xcix) are more in keeping with a training in Merovingian Gaul or northern Italy."^ Future close research may yet reveal a substrate language, but attempts thus far to identify it have been unsuccessful. Thus, for example, a single Germanic-based word, filteratis « Filz, “felt” (§28), YT Bishop, Zethici Istrici Cosmographia (see n. 5), p. v. Our work was also known at Fulda; see the entry (saec. XIl), in Becker, Catalogi, no. 128, item 82: “liber Aethici cosmographi abs Hieronymo translatus.” For copies written in England in the eleventh century and later see Prinz, ed., pp. 63-64; also Helmut Gneuss, Handlist of Anglo-Saxon Manuscripts Written or Owned in England up to 1100 (Tempe, AZ, 2001), nos. 386, 439,

839.

5* See. Herren, “The Greek Element,” pp. 195-98. The very few instances I cited of possible Greek influence on the author's syntax met with the objection that they could be

explained from Latin examples; see Bengt Lófstedt, *Mixtum compositum," (cit. n. 52), pp. 161—62. ? That a number of morphological changes occur in roughly the same proportion in

documents from Francia and Italy is shown by Robert L. Politzer, 4 Study of the Language of

Eighth Century Lombardic Documents (New York, 1949), pp. 138-43.

Ixxiv

Aethicus Ister

scarcely proves that the author was a Goth, Frank, or Lombard. Note that ornechas (cf. OHD horneta) is an interpolated gloss on the crabro-element of crabronistas (§63), and thus is not authorial. Our only "information" about this anonymous writer comes from the Cosmography. All of the historical events that I have attempted to identify take place in the East, with the exception of the Council of Aquileia, which deals with a controversy between East and West. The majority of those mentioned above (Date, pp. lv-Ixi) cover the reigns of Constans II, Constantine 1V, Justinian II, — thus the period 641—705. Assuming that my emendation Tera (i.e. Thera) for Tema is correct, the last historical event alluded to 1s the eruption of Thera (726/27). This event is said to have influenced Leo III's decision to institute his iconoclastic policies, though, apart from the word iconisma (§81), there are no traces of that dispute. The only praise accorded to any people is given to the Greeks. The cosmographer devoted a very large portion of his work to a description of Greece and its islands ($872a-101). Greek accomplishments in the arts, technology, and warfare set the standards by which the barbarian world is measured. Even more telling, perhaps, Greek use of wine, olive oil, and salt constituted the mark of a civilized life. Despite important advances in technology (especially ships and implements of war), the barbarian world of the West and North remained hopelessly backward and uncivilized in the eyes of Aethicus. Curiously, the author displayed no interest in the events that take place in the West or in the politics of the Frankish or Lombard kingdoms. Though some scholars have pointed to the Francus and Vassus episode (§103a) as a sign of the author's interest in the origin of the Franks, an accurate reading of the outcome of this tale indicates otherwise. In the Cosmography Francus and Vassus, defeated by Romulus, end their days near the Black Sea in a settlement devoted to thievery and rapine! In an earlier writing I insisted that the Cosmography was a work of pure fiction,

and

that

neither

Aethicus

nor

Jerome

could

invoked

representative of the author's personality or ideas.'*® Of late I have begun to question this hypothesis. At the basis of my doubt lies the author's employment of anachronism. Whereas the anachronisms in the passages assigned to “Jerome” seem unintentional, that is, they are likely due to the author's ignorance of St. Jerome's dates or the identity of his correspondents, those that occur with reference to Aethicus strike me as otherwise. Why did Ps. Jerome design a character who lived in two different 140 Herren, “Die Filschung,” p. 159: “Weder vertritt die eine fiktive Persónlichkeit noch die andere den Autor oder seine Ideen."

Introduction

Ixxv

worlds — an undefined ancient world that existed before the descent of the Samaritanus

(§72b), and the world of his own

time, exemplified

mainly in

the conflicts of the Byzantines with the Arabs and the Slavs? Was it not enough to invent two distinct protagonists without splitting one of them into two? The answer may well be that the author wished the ancient Aethicus to serve as a cover for the modern one. At the end of $101 Aethicus professes his intention to revisit his own regions (“Lacedemonia,” Pannonia, and Istria). $8102—104 deal with the cruel exploits of *Numitor" and “Romulus” in these regions, and also contain personal remarks by Aethicus regarding the treatment of his people and his family in particular. A passage near the end of the Cosmography, arguably provides autobiographical information that pertains to the author himself. It is found in $103b: Quid subolis ignauiae meae meruerit non pratermittam, cum eo tempore captiuati ab Histria Casiopas insolas peruenerunt, post multa annorum curricula uix ad uastam et

inuiam, caenum ac puluerum ustionem cum magno merore et taedio repedauerunt, et

usque in diem natiuitatis meae culta quae dudum fuerunt in solitudinem redacta.

[ shall not pass over {the chance} to explain what my people earned because of my

indolence, when at that time captives from Istria arrived on the Cassiopan Islands; fand} after many cycles of years with difficulty retraced their steps with great sadness and weariness to a devastated, impassable, filthy and dusty scorched earth, which had been continuously cultivated even down to the day of my birth, {now} reduced to a desert.

This passage tells us that Aethicus's native community had been destroyed, and the inhabitants deported to Corfu. This assertion is wholly consistent with what we know of Byzantine policy of deporting populations that resisted their control; this included mass deportation of Slavs.'"' Whatever his ethnic identity, the author's early life was framed by events in the Adriatic and Mediterranean and southeastern Europe: the Arab invasions, the retreat of the Byzantines from the Danube theatre, the memory

of deportations, the partitioning of Cyprus,.and the resolution of the “Istrian Schism." The lack of a real working knowledge of Greek and the complete reliance on Latin sources, or Greek sources mediated through Latin, indicate that our author received his formation in a western centre. The character of his Latin points firmly to a region where spoken Romance influenced the written language. This region would include roughly what is now Francia, Switzerland, western Germany,

and northern Italy. Given our writer's dates,

it is all but certain that his education took place in a monastic

school or

!^! See P. Charanis, “The Transfer of Population as a Policy in the Byzantine Empire,” Comparative Studies in Society and History 3 (The Hague, 1961), pp. 140—54.

Ixxvi

Aethicus Ister

schools. Only one passage in the Cosmography speaks to a monastic connection: $105, “qua arte reliquiae fratrum remansissent," i.e. Aethicus wanted to restore the ark for the use "of the brethren" should another inundation occur. Beyond this, there is no acknowledgement of monastic life or monastic education. Yet we know from the author's rich Latinity and the panorama of works laid under contribution that he must have spent considerable time in a monastic library or libraries. Ps. Jerome appears to have enjoyed a great deal of freedom to travel and study. We have seen from our source study that he very probably spent some time in the Insular world. The assertion at 825 that Aethicus spent time in [reland poring over their books may not be fiction. The Aethicus who lived before the Samaritanus would have found druids in Ireland, but only a seventh-eighth-century Aethicus would have found books. Aethicus's sojourn in Britain ($26) might also point to a period of study in England, in which Ps. Jerome acquired familiarity with the doctrines of Cosmas Indicopleustes. If he did manage to hear Theodore at Canterbury, his sojourn would have had to occur before 690, the year of Theodore's death. A journey to Ireland and England might well reflect an association with a Frankish monastic community, as Frankish ecclesiastical connections to both England and lreland are well attested.'^ One influential Frankish cleric of the seventh century who visited both islands was Agilbert, who, according to Bede, studied for a while in Ireland, then became bishop of Wessex and later participated at the Synod of Whitby before returning to Francia. Another itinerant Frankish bishop was Arculf, who journeyed to Iona, where he reported to Adomnán on his travels in the Holy Land. The careers of these Frankish bishops suggest that for a few, at least, freedom to travel and study was a real possibility. Our author appears to have written his book in stages. Indeed, as noted, there appears to be a rupture in what he conceived as the purpose of his work. The cosmographical section and the first *chapters" of the travelogue appear as scholastic satire on Antiochene cosmology, with the ideas of Cosmas Indicopleustes and perhaps also the De mirabilibus sacrae scripturae as the intended targets. The apparent focus of the work changes abruptly with the introduction of the Turks and Alexander's enclosure of the unclean nations, entailing the prophecy of their escape at the time of the Antichrist and the havoc they will cause. The “enclosure chapters" and the " For western England in the seventh century see Patrick Sims-Williams, Religion and

Literature in Western England 600-800, (Cambridge, 1990), pp. 110—13, 204-5.

Cambridge

Studies

in Anglo-Saxon

England

Introduction

Ixxviil

later references to Alexander were surely motivated by — or at least dovetail with — a reading of the Apocalypse of Ps. Methodius, which would not have been available much before ca. 720. If, however, the sojourn in England occurred before 690, there would have been a considerable hiatus between the undertaking of the book and its resumption (and change of direction). There 1s also a hiatus in the historical events mentioned between the Council of Aquileia (699/700) and the eruption of Thera (726). One may hypothesize that Ps. Jerome was burdened by administrative duties and was unable to write for several decades. When he finally returned to his book, he had an altered outlook on life, and ended up writing a different work from the one he started in his youth. As he laboured over the last sections of his book, he also took the time to cross reference his work and even to rewrite in a few

places, as the final section of this Introduction will show (below, pp. cv—

cvii). Can we construct the chronology of the author's life? Hesitantly. Let us suppose he was born in 658, the year Constans II brought back captives from Sklavinia, and possibly the year in which his family was deported and their land destroyed. He would have grown up as an indentured shipwright (see 895) separated from his family. Around 680 he might have been released or escaped and wandered into Francia, where he began his education in a monastic school. In the later 680s he went to Ireland and England, perhaps encountering Theodore at Canterbury, and reading Cosmas Indicopleustes in Latin or else hearing a summary of his cosmology. After this he spent some time at Malmesbury, where he began his book using the resources of that library

which

included

Avitus,

Isidore,

Jerome's

letters,

and

the

Liber

monstrorum. He had already made excerpts of the De mirabilibus sacrae scripturae, presumably while in Ireland. He may have begun a sketch of the Cosmography while at Malmesbury. Returning to the continent in the early eighth century, he was occupied with ecclesiastical or other administration (in Francia?), and did not return to writing until after ca. 720, possibly not unttl after 727,

when

both the Liber historiae Francorum

and

the earliest

known manuscript of Ps. Methodius had become available. After excerpting these, he settled down to retirement in Bobbio ca. 730, where nearly all of the works that he had begun to use in England were once more available to him, and where he also encountered book 1 of Macrobius's Somnium Scipionis and Julius Valerius's Res gestae Alexandri Magni. In his old age, the harsh events of his childhood and youth weighed heavily upon him, prompting the late chapters on “the kings of Rome.” He completed his opus

Ixxviil

Aethicus Ister

within a few years and died probably around 740. A copy of his book remained in the Bobbio library.

VI. Latinity To date, there has been only a handful of studies devoted to the language of the Cosmography. As noted, Otto Prinz published a definitive article on the orthography of this work,'* establishing, among other things, that there were very few traces of Insular spellings. Michael Richter, in his “Sprachliche Untersuchung der Kosmographie des Aethicus Ister,” published in the proceedings of the Virgil of Salzburg colloquium of 1984, argued that the Cosmography displayed a number of hibernisms in word-formation as well as word-usage and idiom.^ His thesis was decisively rejected by Hans Schmeja, who showed that many of the features he adduced were attested outside Ireland and areas of Irish influence.'^ In his 1993 MGH edition Prinz devoted a section of his Introduction to the language of the work, divided according to the usual categories: orthography, morphology and syntax, vocabulary

and word-formation.* As noted earlier, I published

article on the use of Greek in the Cosmography and a subsequent article on the Romance elements that I identified.'" In what follows I intend to offer only a brief synopsis of orthographical characteristics, as these were treated in Prinz's 1981 article and in his edition; however, I expand the data for morphology, syntax, and vocabulary. Even so, this will leave much unexplored. Future scholars may wish to investigate

the author's

and use of prose rhythm.

sentence

structure,

word

order,

rhetorical

devices,

A. Orthography l. vowels a. E 1s substituted for i commonly in the following circ*mstances: — in the suffix —idus: aredus 21a, caledus 101, marcedus 20, torreda 20 — 1n juncture vowels: artefices 37b, arteficia 88, aurefices 34 ' Prinz, “Untersuchung” (above, n. 15). ^ Virsil von Salzburg. Missionar und Gelehrter, ed. H. Dopsch and R. Juffinger (Salzburg, 1985), pp. 147-53. ^5 Hans Schmeja, *Zur Latinitát des Aethicus Ister," in Latin vulgaire — Latin tardif IIl : Actes du IIlé Colloque international sur le latin vulgaire et tardif (Innsbruck, 2-5 septembre 1991), ed. M. Iliescu and W. Margut (Tübingen, 1992), pp. 293-305.

46 Prinz, ed., pp. 28-44.

/4? Herren, “The Greek Element" and idem, *Romance Elements” (above, n. 22).

Introduction

— in the inchoative pubiscentem

—escere:

caliscente

37c,

]xxix

lasisceret 30, patiscant

14,

13. . turgiscentibus 37a, fatisc*nt 59b, obstupisc*nt 59c

— in verbal recomposition: collegunt 38b, interemunt 20, peremant 32, porregit 21b, possederel 0a, retenet 18 — in the endings of third-declension verbs (causing confusion with the future tense): ponet 14, tendetur 15, (regreditur et) claudetur 18 — occasionally in the nominative or genitive singular of third-declension nouns: mole liuores (= liuoris) 10a, angues nulla 34. b. E 1s regularly substituted for —i principally in the ablative singular ending of third-declension i-stem nouns and adjectives; see under Morphology, B.1.c.1. c. L 1s substituted for € in the following circ*mstances: -- jn the suffix —eus: sulphuria 5, uitrio 36b. d. 7 is substituted for & in the following circ*mstances: — in the perfect stem of verbs in composition: acciperat ( — acceperat) 10b, recipimus ( — recepimus) 66d — ii the nominative and accusative plural endings of third declension nouns and adjectives: necdum damnabilis sed reparaturos 5, tempestatis maris ... non metuunt 36b, et ipsas pilas maris gyrantis (“and these gates encircling the seas") 23, tam inaestimabiles artium multitudinis 36c — in some root vowels: stillal6, catinulas 36b, biluarum (= beluarum) 36c. e. O is substituted for d in the following circ*mstances: — in the suffix —ulus: catinolis 36b, fabolas 36c, insola passim, paruola 19, Hercoleas 24 — jn some closed internal syllables: absorda 10b, colomnas (var.). f. O is substituted for ii — occasionally in the ablative endings of fourth-declension nouns: boato 37a, flato 37a, tacto 37c. g. U is subtituted for ó: — in closed syllables before r: curcodrillium 31, scurpionum 31. h. U is subtituted for ó: — frequently as the accusative plural of second-declension nouns: achademicus (= academicos) 1, astrolocus (= astrologos) 17, incultus doctores 25, homines cenocefalus 28, Turchus (= Turchos), Alanus (= Alanos), and many more.

Ixxx

Aethicus Ister

— in open accented syllables, especially before r: transiturium 5, rumureque I Ob, renturiis 30, putatores 41a. 2. diphthongs E is so frequently substituted for ae in postclassical Latin that examples need not be given. Ae is occasionally substituted for e; note especially aequus for equus, aedificare regularly for edificare, aemoluminium for emolumentum, aethimologia for etymologia, Aethna for Etna, inaestimabilis for inestimabilis. Aethicus is most likely the authorial spelling of the name which according to its etymology (cf. §113 ad fin.) should be Ethicus.'*® Dissimilation is the probable cause of the spelling Agosto and Agusti for Augusto and Augusti 32, and Agustinus for Augustinus 58b. 3. Recomposition This feature occurs most commonly in verbs and participles; verbs (cit. 1.a): possedere 10a, subiacere 10b, choarcendi 10b, reclaudetur 11, interemunt 20, retenent 21a, porregit 21b, peremant 32, collegunt 38b; participles: inclausae 40, excarpsum 40. 4. Consonants

a. aspiration — hac and ac are frequently confused in the manuscripts. " 9 — h is sometimes omitted internally, as in the spelling anelitus 21b, 110 for anhelitus. — h is sometimes incorrectly combined with unvoiced consonants, e.g. chosmografus (passim), achademicus (passim). The example cachinfatorum 36c may be due to the influence of cachinnus. — superfluous ^ is most commonly found in combination with £: athomica 6, Celthi 21b, Scitharum passim. — h is represented by ¢ (= ch) in cidrosistas 21a. b. assibilation of # before front vowels is rare: artium : 150 sometimes confused. Otherwise, ci for tj and vice-versa occur only as variants. "* On

this

point

see

Prinz,

"Untersuchung,"

p. 488,

with

and

47,

arcium

who

states

are

cautiously: “So ist die authentische Schreibweise unsicher, und man wird bei ‘Acthicus’ bleiben."

' Note that they are silently distinguished in this edition. 59 These are distinguished in the edition, with variants given in the apparatus.

Introduction

Ixxxi

c. assimilation of the prefix in compound verbs. Non-assimilation of the prefix was the practice consistently followed by the author. Assimilation is so rare that where it occurs in any of the manuscripts, the non-assimilated form is to be preferred. Note the dissimilation in unquam 67d. d. gemination — ] geminated in /ollerant 36b, intollerabilis 38b; also in calidus causing confusion between calidus and callidus"! — r geminated in borrea (i.e. borea) and its derivatives (borreus, borricus) — t geminated in gluttinantem 32 (var.). e. various — z replaces d in zeta for diaeta 81; the zi- of zismaragdus 67c reflects reduplication of the sibilant in ismaragdus (for correct smaragdus). —c Sometimes replaces g in words such as fracoedias, wuacantes (7 uagantes), astrolocus. — g falls out in pimentum 42; cf. the commentary ibid., n. 477. — f replaces ph in a number of Greek words, e.g. sofista, chosmografus, falanga, filarchosmos. B. Morphology I. The nominal system: the cases The nominal system in our work displays many of the changes that can be attested in other continental works from the mid-seventh to mid-eighth century.

a. The first declension

The most striking innovation in this declension is the development of a nominative plural in —as, perhaps by analogy with the third declension in which the nominative and accusative plural forms are identical. Most of the examples occur in adjectives, but the last two examples involve a noun and a pronoun respectively. Tantam enim uim et uigorem angelorum manus ignitas habent /3 Gentes stultissimas ... sunt inter alias gentes 3/

quod et ... fixum tenetur Viarcem et Briddino insolas oceani 34

ubi barbaras gentes inhabitant 35 Hircanas uel Scythas et Albanas gentes ... utilia arma ... deportant 37b In hac insola siluarum magnitudo et lacedaemones,T bestiolas uenenatas 37c et in eas similiter barbaras gentes inhabitant 38«

! These are distinguished in the edition, with variants given in the apparatus.

Ixxxil

Aethicus Ister

praecogniti plus quam alias gentes terrarum 38b Cristallum lucidissimum ... inuenitur et gemmas uariatas 385 Eas attamen in Mediterraneo mare nusquam reperiuntur 57 Grifas et serpentes inibi iugiter inuigilant /05 quae alia regna uel terras in usum mercantur /09

b. The second declension

1. While this declension remains relatively stable, examples of —o replacing the genitive singular in —i;

one

may

cite a few

INCIPIT LIBER AETHICO titulus nam auro fodina et oricalco 26 philosopho auctoritate prolata 66a Eius abcturio [i.e. abecedarii] ... caracteres notauimus 66d Auro fuluo ... argentique fodina 72a

ii. Second-declension neuter plural nouns only rarely are treated as first declension singular nouns: “quae sarfaicam et aceruicam habuerint aruam" 26. c. The third declension

i. A notable feature 1s the near disappearance of the ;-ending in the ablative singular of neuter nouns (mari is consistently replaced by mare), accompanied by the reduction (but not total extinction) of -i in the ablative singular of adjectives: in sequente uolumine 22, nauale conmercio 51, et tame ueloce cursu 50, in plaga septentrionale 58d, gentes deforme aspectu 59c, humile ceruice se subdunt 60, hiemale rigore semper obpressa 65, omne opere uel uita spurcissimus 65, a plaga septentrionale 67d, ex simileque genere 68c, arte tam pulchra uel utile 68c, sequente titulo 69, rore caeleste infecta 72a, sequente uero pagina 73, in omne Graecia 73, cum ingente globo 15, ab alia parte orientale 76, and more. Converse examples: omni tempore frigus 38b, ueloci cursu uagantes 57, ex

omni

parte

contremesc*nt 69.

65,

cum

ingenti

exercitu

68b.

quae

omni

tempore

i. Comparative adjectives and present participles used as adjectives are sometimes assimilated to the first declension: dum altiora fabrica 3; de ea massa quae meliora fuit 4; radiantia uia solis tendetur 15; rumpheas ingentias 3'7b; sed altiora limfa 58c; altioraque fcasturicat 58c; uirentia coma 72a; inmensa ardentia et inacessabiles flamma 75, fauentia archania (1.e. arcana) 90. Omnia spurcitia 72b and elsewhere cannot be classified; it can only be explained as Endungsassimilation.

Introduction

]xxxiii

iii. The endings of first and second declension adjectives are sometimes expanded to —ius: contignatia 37a, tantia 82a, archania (1.e. arcana) 90 may be affected by third declension neuter adjective endings. iv. The accusative singular of neuter nouns is occasionally assimilated to the masculine ending: frigore et rigore ferentes ultra omnes gentes 29. v. The —ibus ending of the dative and ablative plural is occasionally replaced by —is: trauis (= trabibus) 28, 37a, tenuis (= tenuibus) 57, talis (= talibus) 73, gurgis (= gurgitibus) 75. d. The fourth declension

This declension is relatively stable in our work. One occasionally sees —o for -u in the ablative singular: flato 37a, tacto 37c; note also flatui for flatus (gen.) 80b. e. The fifth declension

This declension, which is very small even in Classical Latin, is represented by acies, glacies (but also glacia), ingluvies, materies (only one example to eight of materia), res, temperies — an indication that the paradigm was alive and well at least among educated authors of the eighth century. f. Declensions I-IV

The suppression of the sound of final —m in the accusative singular of declensions I-IV entailed the writing of accusative forms without final -, and conversely, the hypercorrect writing of the ablative singular with final -m added. No example of this phenomenon occurs in the-fifth declension. i) Accusative singular expressed without final [llae bestiae ... eius cortice [III] detrahunt 27a crines ... fetore [IIT] nimium reddentes 28 uita inmundissima [I] degentes 29 rigore [III] ferentes 29 ferentes uentorum uehementia [III] 35 quae arena auro pretioso [II] praefert et lapide [III] calchirio precioso [(II] 37d

reliquo uero exercitu [IV] ... inter colles collocauit 475 et uasta [I] solitudine [III] faciunt 68a boatu et mugitu [IV] magno [II] emittit 75

ii) Ablative singular indicated by addition of final -m: in magnum oceanum [II] 2/a et in eam [I] aliquandiu commoratus est 25 Cogitabat enim qualem [III] ingenium [II] aut artem [I1I] obstrueret 33

Ixxxiv

Aethicus Ister

in arenam [I] itaque maris 34 in oceanum magnum borricum [II] 36a circumuallata ipsum pelagum [I1] 36a neque ignem [III] aut aquam [T] dissoluatur 475 raroque in mare Magnum [II] 47 ac liniuit eas assincitum [II] bitumen [III] 475 qui de Cham subolem [III] 594 cum Arbogen principem [III] 64 in hunc modum [II] 675 in Arminiam[I] 69 in ipsum idem trochum 75

2. Pronouns. Only a few changes in the forms of pronouns are to be noted: a. Totus is undeclined at 38b: “ne praua uideatur tot laboris industria.” b. Nullius occurs as a nominative in three instances. This may be explained possibly by the influence of the parisyllabic i-stem pronoun a/ius (nom.), alius (gen.): et nullius hominum tactu audet palpare 59b; ut nullius hominum legere uel deserere (i.e. disserere) possit 73; sed nullius umquam amicorum ... facere uoluit 92. c. Nulla 1s used for nihil at 5: “sub illaque nulla inferius ad examinationem malorum." Compare Italian nulla. 3. Verbs

a. Verbs of the third conjugations are sometimes assimilated to the second especially in the third person singular and plural: ponet = ponit 14, reuertentur = reuertuntur 16, claudetur = clauditur 18, ducetur = ducitur 36a, 43; comedent — comedunt 32, 38b. Endings of third conjugation verbs

are sometimes drawn from the —io system, e.g. uehientes 75, 79, carpiunt 109.

b. The passive of verbs in the perfect, pluperfect, and future perfect tense, as well as perfect infinitive, is frequently formed with fui, fueram, fuero, fuisse rather than with classical sum, eram, ero, esse: fuisse institutam 3, fuit constitutus 3, indiscretus credatur fuisse 4, quo mare statutum fuerat 8, qui

primus conditus fuerat 11, uel a deo missi fuerint 13, idemque passus fuit 33, fuerat uisus neque auditus 41a, ubi repertae fuerunt 48, temptati fuerunt 68c, ausus fuit 70, non fuerat inibi praedicatum 72b, a Samaritano missus fuerat 72b, ortus fuisti 98, and more.

c. Because of its appearance as an active form, fif is expanded to fitur to

reinforce its passive meaning: fiantur 19, fitur 63, fiuntur 109.

Introduction

d. Occasionally incucurrerit 31.

reduplicating

element

Ixxxv

retained

compound:

e. Peculiarities arise in the formation of perfect passive participles: stertissimus = *stratissimus 32, adnectas — adnexas 36b, excarpsum = excerptum 66c, Janfracta] 70. Note ceptum 81with n. 609a. 4. Prepositions While the author frequently distinguishes correctly between a and ad, there are a number of cases where a is substituted for ad: et uiciniorem densitatem a caelo et paene abyssum 20 sterelis adeo in diuersa torreda ac pruinosa a septentrione 20 sic et a meridie nimis opulentam plagam 20 fluente a (ad GWPV) meridianam plagam 40 eminentiores a puppe (“higher at the poop") 49 a nobis inaccessibiles et incognitas 56 Haec generatio incognita nobis uel a reliquis auctoribus 59d a meridie (“at the South”) 63 a domesticis fidei (= ad domesticos fidei) 65 a nobis incognita 66a a praecedentibus lectoribus (“to previous readers") 66a a plaga septentrionale (“to the northern region") 67d a parte nempe australe (“at the southern part") 68a a monte Cimera 74 (*at Mt. Chimaera") Achaiam a Macedonia coniunctam 86 alia ab imperitis peregrina 67 baratra cedere ... a feruore abyssi 700

Examples such as a nobis incognitas (cf. Fr. à nous inconnu) show that the development of Romance preposition a (“to,” “at”) was already underway before the middle of the eighth century. 5. Miscellaneous

a. A few forms appear sporadically, and do not seem to represent any particular tendency: mus 1s plural (28); lac is used instead of lactem (42); maris is used for maria (44, 53, possibly representing mares on the assumption

that

mare

masculine;

messium

(59c,

65)

used

nominative in place of messis or messio. Mirabiliorum (3) is used for mirabilium, implying a nominative mirabilium, -ii. Camoribus 81 is used in place of correct camis. Vsque haeccine (59d) appears to be a conflation of usque haec and hucine, which, without usque, means “to this point."

Ixxxvi

Aethicus Ister

b. Some forms appear to be learned affections or deliberate expansions of words: Gignarus (54, 63, and passim) replaces gnarus (though note variants) and appears to be authorial; the element gi- may be a playful attempt to imitate the yv- of yvyvooxo. The strange opopodamis (21a, 106) for hippopotamis might have been occasioned by the Greek article and noun in crasis: Ó immomotapog > Omxonóvauoc. Philosophom*orum (58b) and litteribus (92) appear to be deliberate expansions of philosophorum and litteris with changed meanings. Beomaron (60) is probably formed by reversing the letters of Meoparon (and the voicing of p). Though not strictly morphological, note that the preposition ad follows the noun it takes (utilitatem) in 25, possibly reflecting the Greek postpositive, or else socalled scinderatio fonorum. The latter would seem to apply most especially to niamaduertens for animaduertens 100; however, this is given only by L, leaving its authenticity in doubt. c. “Transgendering”: feminine

forms:

The names

Hercola

90,

of masculine gods and heroes appear in Didola

(for

Daedola)

96,

Gradiva

98.

Conversely, Minerua appears as the river name Mineruio at 37d. Whether this reflects a consistent authorial intention 1s difficult to say. C. Syntax 1. The nominal system: Use of the cases

a. The nominative. There are very few anomalies here. One might note the unusual use of cunei as a direct object at 47: pondus ... ferre potest neque opus tam magnum uel fcunei]; see also 82b quasi laeana nemo (1.e. nullum) formidante. The nominative is erroneously used for the ablative at 76: interclusam ... Istrum amnem, ab alia parte orientale urbs Constantinopolis. b. The genitive. One finds a number of seemingly erratic uses of this case: i. as a direct object of a verb: et eorum aliorumque ille reprehendit 17, aliorum gentium praetermisit 58a; quae ceterarum regionum a partibus orientis ... diuidit 67c; horum uirtutum plaudis 84a. l as an indirect object: censum dederunt ... nullorum regum aut imperatorum 32; ut si iacula obsedentium euenerint 38b; dederunt operam inanis gloriae 68d; ab initio illius generationis multorum eruditionem ... claruit 81. iii. locative usage: nam illarum partium non inuenitur 28; nullarum partium . similia opera ... inuenisse 36c; tam in litoribus ... quam et reliquorum

Introduction

finium 40. Cf. also 51: onera maris uel (“transporting cargoes on the seas and rivers”).

Ixxxvii

fluuiorum

adferentem

iv. in prepositional phrases: tamque ueloces in artium naualium 36a, in omnium adinuentionum uel utilitatum famosissimus 41a; contra hereticorum 58a; quod in tot gurgitum maris 75. See also quando ad bella hostium — ad bellum cum hostibus 38a. v. dubious uses of the partitive genitive: et ibidem frigoris et stridoris ualde 35, nullus hominum 59d (cf. CL nullus hom*o or nullus ex hominibus); see also 59b nullius hominum tactu audet palpare, with nullius used in place of nullus (cf. B.2.b). vi. genitive absolute: 37a

duodecim

milia hominum

vil. attraction to the antecedent: hominibus incertum ducetur 36b

ad pugnam procedentium

inuersionem

arcium,

viii. genitive of description (interpretation): ad scientiam ruina prauitatis 66a, praedam exubiarum 68b.

quarum

eruditionis

17,

Some of these examples can conceivably be explained by Greek influence: the first two examples of 1, the example contra hereticorum in 1v, and the single examples in vi and vii. The extension of the locative formed on the genitive to common nouns may have been based on analogy with Romae. c. The dative case

i. used for the genitive: These examples correspond to the development of the —o genitive singular in the second declension. See under Morphology, |.b.t. ii. locative usage: de ignotis gentibus huic loco multa praedixit 58d; huic terrae canes ingentissimi 63 iii. used as object of verb (all personal objects): unde legentibus obsecro 1; confundunt multi operibus dei 10a; et quot malis passuri sunt impii 11; erudiens discipulis suis 26; tamen diis adorant 37d; ambulantibus perforant 38a. 1v. dative of interest: The CL dative of interest is clearly represented at 66c: Donatus mihi inter maximus (i.e. maximos) primus praeerat. (Donatus, foremost among the greatest, in my opinion was unsurpassed.") d. The accusative case

Ixxxvill

Aethicus Ister

i. The most significant development here is the supplanting of feminine nominative plurals in —ae with the accusative form in —as. See under Morphology, 1.a. ii. The accusative singular substituting for the nominative is relatively rare: gratia quam diuidi nec minuere ac retrocedere non potest 12; imbrium copiam imminet 21b, ab initio illius generationis multorum eruditionem claruit 81. 111. The accusative is used for the genitive at 79: prona memor rudera. iv. The accusative is used for the dative at 62: quae alias gentes ignota. v. The accusative singular is frequently substituted for the ablative as the object of a preposition; however, the cause is almost invariably hypercorrection due to loss of the sound of final [m], e.g. in unam ergatam 3, in arenam itaque maris 34, in oceanum magnum borricum 36a, in ipsum mare 50, in Arminiam 69. vi. The accusative plural is frequently substituted for the ablative plural after prepositions. The cause, however, is not phonetic, but rather loss of distinction between the functions of the cases: nos itaque in aliquas epistolas 17, de ubera aquilonis 23, multi in eas insolas 26, in ipsas Orcadas 27, DE ARTIVM PLVRIMARVM INSTRVMENTA titulus 31, cum iuga qui subtus sunt 37, in aliorum codices philosophorum 56, in ipsos enim montes 59b, in ora ipsius fluminis sine arma et tela inuicta 75, aut in densissimos imbres fulgora 75, and passim. Note that the examples involve nouns and adjectives of the first three declensions. vii. The accusative is used frequently (but not consistently) in place of the ablative after utor: sal nullatenus utuntur 32; frumentum numquam usi 32; utilia arma ... utuntur 37b; perpauci sunt qui eas utantur 46; Scithae enim eas solomodo utuntur 46; quam Hircani utuntur 56; Tulchi has naues utuntur 57; usque nunc haec arma utuntur 67d, and others. For examples of correct usage see fentoriis filteratis utentes 28; artifices multi ... usi sunt eo modo 26; stagno magis utuntur quam argento 28. viii. The accusative absolute: secerpta flante uehementi anhelitu ignifera iacula lOb; aliarum — gentium | originem obmissam 30; naufragium perpetratum 36a; uaticinium prophetae auditum 4la, gyratam amnem Beomaron 60; dentes ... uictum decerpentes 62; parabolam ... adsumptam 62, 75; congluttinatum fomitem iugiter permanentem 75; omnes nouem ustionem dantes 100. Most of the examples appear to have arisen because of

Introduction

hypercorrection decerpentes

(wrongful

62, arma

addition

bellica furtim

final

ablata 66d,

|xxxiX

—m).

However,

and omnes

show unambiguously that case functions were confused.

dentes

... dantes

100

e. The ablative case

i. used for the nominative. Examples of this phenomenon involve third declension nouns or participles: excellentissima parte quae remanserat inculta animabus sanctis deique agricolis repleretur (10b); fumanteque Sicilia Ethna de alto uergit 75; et quasi leaena nemo (1.e. nullum) formidante 82b; Regione igitur Macedoniae ... argenti fodina opima 83. i1. used for the genitive. Three examples appear to be caused by attraction: a radicibus montibus Humerosis (for montium H.) 67a; in lateribus Yperboriis montibus 67b; deposita a clientibus umeris hidria 79 (for clientum). i1, used for the dative: quae uicinae sunt dextra parte 21b; capite canino habere similitudinem 28; catinulas ferro ductile insertas cortice 36b; prouidentiam huic magno principe credimus fuisse ostensam 41b. iv. used for the accusative. Once again, examples of the singular involve loss of the sound of final - and are phonetically conditioned. However, examples involving the plural point to loss of distinction between the functions of the cases: aurum gignentes et gemmis atque margaritis 20; aquis amarissimis producentem 61; uicinis paruolis humanis ... comedent 62; auro ... gignunt et margaritis 64; catolis minotauris inuenisse 68d. 2. The Nominal System: Accidence a. Agreement of cases i. Nouns in a series. There are very numerous "errors" of agreement of nouns in a series where identical functions require identical cases: sine conciuibus sanctis ac beatis angelorum agminibus et archangelorum, thronis ac dominationibus, principatus ac potestates uel uirtutes 70b sed quas! densissimam nebulam uicinam caeli uel aquis /4

de ianuis caeli et cardinibus mundi tergaque solis 22

disputasse cum Aurilio philosopho et Arbocraten 24 agriculturam et confersa falerna, brutis animalibus et pingues uitulos 24 insolis uel litoribus inclusos Birricheos montes et Taracontas insolas 32 et illae maxime de negotiis degent, hordeum et far tantomodo 35

trieribus aut scaphas seu carinas dolose foramine pertunsum 36a alii clipeo tecti, lorica et arma 36b ut neque acumen aut ferro incidatur 475 de ignotis gentibus uel insolas septentrionales 42

Aethicus Ister a Griphone quodam gentilem artificem 49 acumen et ferri caliditate lances duratos 49 ut ipsam altitudinem aquarum ac uehementia uentorum magnopere repugnent 56 nec inmersionem undarum aut aquarum gurgitibus 56 quasi in olla uel cacabum cernentes 59a adserens quod monstra ... reperisset, minotauris in specie monauclis 60 trimuris uallatam esse, moenia fortissima 6/ et tribus diebus cruentissimo bello, caedes ac clades maxima 64

quae auro ... gignunt et margaritis 64 annum et mensibus quinque se mansurum adserit 70

feminas purporias, terra fructifera domesticisque habitatoribus 77 quia omnia scelera et ignominia repletus erat 72b terra frondibus aptissimis fecunda, poma et mala granata 78 erudita litteris, legem et scientiam 79

ii. Noun-adjective/participle anomalies of agreement, attributive position: usque trecensimo terminus diei luminis 15; manus et pedes sicut reliqui hominum genus 28; usque Euxinum maris sinus 32; illisque in ira saeuientes

37c; inmanissimos malleorum ictibus 38b; praecurrente potentiam Dei 41a;

ratiarias ... ex tignis asserebusque connexum 45; nam ipsas rostratas in altum erectae 49; nauticos gignaris prouehitur 54; numquid enim maiora

comolum 58c; terra exesis frugibus germinantem 61; quae auro in aliquibus sirtes gignunt 64; de diis gentium et diis suos 66b; usque ad eodem mare 70; in ipso mare nostrum 73, and more.

iii. Noun-adjective anomalies of agreement, predicate position: Stillae itaque in ipsa siderum parte, unde et lunam intuemur, non fixas 16; Scitharum gentes in multam munitionem ... refertissimam 67a; populo gignaro et ad proeliandum ultra omnes gentes illas detonantior 78 (est understood). b. Gender agreement i. Masculine nouns construed with feminine adjectives. To be singled out for separate treatment are masculine nouns in —or construed with feminine adjectives, as this construction

is indicative of the writings of Francia,

and

points the way to modern French. Examples: eam fragorem 10b, multas labores 11, propter nimiam ardorem uel calorem 14, nimiam rigorem 18, et prae torreda calore 21b, nimium calorem inducit 21b, praeter ardorem ualidam 23, Labores eorum sunt satis exiguae 35, nouam errorem 58a, and

more. Examples of other masculine nouns construed with feminine adjectives: ordinem decimam 2, hanc cardinem 20, clauos ingentes adfixas 37a, tiriacas fontes 64.

Introduction

xci

ii. Neuter nouns construed with masculine adjectives: quadratus agmen 38a, maiorem pondus 47, contra mare feruentem 59d, in mare septentrionalem 64 (for mare as masculine see above, B.5.a). The example quadratus agmen shows most clearly the growing tendency to assimilate neuter nouns of the third declension to the masculine gender. 1ii. Feminine nouns construed with masculine or neuter adjectives: et tantum eius ruina esse potuit inferius 10b, feminae eorum non praeferunt tantum horum

similitudinem

28,

celebre

eius

historiam

30, ad

castrorum

aciem

laculandum 37b, ingentissimos ... congeries 38b, post plagam excidii meruerunt stupendum 59b, atroque ... plaga 59d, peltas ualde robustos bituminatos 67d, unam caelebre conlaudauit 73. iv. Neuter nouns construed with statuam 3, quatrifida toreuma 50.

feminine

adjectives:

unam

atque

idem

2. Comparison of Adjectives and Adverbs a. The comparative is sometimes formed with u/tra or super * the items compared: ac uita inmundissima degentes ultra terrarum 29; frigore et rigore ferentes ultra omnes gentes 29; philosophos ... hic eminentius et subtilius disputauit 44; tam omnes partes orbis 52; ultra omnes gentes detonantior 78.

accusative of omnia regna et super alios magnas ultra

b. The superlative, when it indicates an extreme degree (“the very best,” “the very worst") is formed with the normal superlative form followed by inter or ultra ^ accusative of the items compared: stultissimas inter alias gentes (1.€. stultissimas omnium gentium) 31; canes fortissimos ultra omnes generationes 32; gentium pessimarum ultra omnem terram (i.e. gentium pessimarum totius orbis terrarum) 40. 3. Pronouns

a. The relative pronoun i. À striking phenomenon is the extension of quae (represented in the singular and plural paradigms of the relative pronoun) to form the *allpurpose" quae reflected in the Romance pronoun [ke]: cf. Fr. que, Sp. que, It. che: eam conditionem quae nunc diximus superius /2 leones, pardos, aephipharos, quae primus praeter istum Lucanus mentionem fecit 20

Aethicus uero multas bestias scribit, quae nullo modo aliubi audiuimus 20 ab alio latere quae porrigit faciem 275

insolas quae supra praedixit 22

Xcll

Aethicus Ister et libellum quae arte sua inuenerat 27 et cuniculi ac lepus, quae tamen uulpes [uulpe a] metuunt 34 Tantum ignotas gentes uel artium illarum, quae alii ignorauerunt 44 uel in paruis riuolis quae ex montanis fluunt 65 cum humano sanguine mixto, quae nullo gladio nec acumene unquam incidere [i.e. incidi] potest 67d

ii. Vnde 1s extended in meaning to subtitute for ablatival uses of the relative pronoun: nisi in insolam unde superius scripsimus Alb; nauium illarum ... unde (— de quo) supra inuenimus scripta 53; ex corio animalium erasa, unde peltas connectunt 53; gentibus ferocissimis, unde supra mentio fitur 63. b.

The

indefinite

accompanying

pronoun.

si: quae

reuertere quis ualet 31.

Quis

necdum

used

cerni quis possit

place

of aliquis

without

1; aut nunquam

aut uix

c. Ipse, -a, -um is used for hic, haec, hoc passim.

d. The reflexive pronoun se is occasionally omitted in the indirect discourse: multa enucleatim fabricam inenarrabilem texere ait 2; Philosophus hic plus quam alii alta disputare ... praefatus est 58d. 4. Verbs a. Finite verbs

1. Verb-subject agreement. Singular subjects are occasionally construed with plural verbs and vice-versa: fixum tenetur Viarcem et Bridinno insolas oceani 34; Hos uulgus nanos appellant 34; fabulas philosophus narrat, quae nulla utilitate legenti praebet affectu 34; cristallum lucidissimum inuenitur et gemmas uariatas 38b. ii. Mood. The subjunctive and indicative moods are nearly always correctly distinguished. ill. Voice. Confusion of the active and passive voice is rampant throughout the verbal system. a. Passive forms are frequently used in place of active: (Bestiae) eius cortice detrahunt ut plus uenenum acuantur 2/«

Pagani ... ipsum magum ... in multitudinem deorum suorum connumerati sunt 49

Hanc nauem Cicrobs ... idem historicus inuenisse narratur 55 Ut in aliquod rei ueritatis proderer 66a Haec omnia se uidisse idem soficus narratur 67b

Et maximam partem Hircaniae occupatur 69

Qui eorum uulneribus medicamenta lacrimarum flendo curaretur 72b

Qui tunc caelebre uariis problemis dissoluebantur 73

Introduction

XCll1

Quarum flumina ... secernuntur a leua barbaros modos uel fines terminantur 74 Oriente et meridie illi sagace indagatione plana et optima elimati sunt. /04 Quae alia regna uel terras in usum mercantur /09

Deponent verbs treated as active: sciscitantur (used as passive) 82b, sciscitaui 100, percunctaui (— percontatus sum) 100. Reverse example: elimati sunt (= elimauerunt) 104. D. An active form is occasionally substituted for the passive: Secernunt ab oriente sub mare Caspium surgentes (sc. Albani) 63. y. The medio-passive or “reflexive.” Passive forms in the future tense are occasionally used in a reflexive sense, e.g. preparantur ad aciem 68b (“they prepare themselves for battle"); conspicere 83 (“you will see for yourself"); repperere 84a (“you will discover for yourself"); gloriam ... non amittere unquam 90 (“you shall never lose the glory for yourself"). 0. The passive formed with se and an active verb. There is only one clear example of this proto-Romance construction: se dicit 83, “it is said.” b. Participles, gerunds, gerundives i. Present participles without es? are sometimes substituted for a finite verb: quia quemadmodum sartago feruens [1.e. feruit] in calore et uapore ignis 59c; pilas Caspias scribens [i.e. scribit]; quas et supra mentionem intulit 60; Haec omnia scribens [i.e. scribit] idem soficus 61; Ipse se inquiens [i.e. inquit| philosophus uidisse receptacula ac casulas 68d; Sed multum admirans nonnulla alia scribens [i.e. scribit] illarum peritia 68d, and more. i. Confusion of active and passive forms of the participle. An active participle is used for the passive at 5: quae necdum damnabilis [i.e. —es] reparaturos |for reparandos] post lapsum. A future passive participle is employed where a present active participle should have been used at 36b: Habent itaque industriam operandi [for operantes] nauticam. One also finds an example of the medio-passive at 10a: alia pro aliis mendaciter fallentes. Respirantibus is apparently passive at 100. iii. Replacement of the present active participle with a gerund in the ablative case is another common feature of Medieval Latinity of all periods. Examples: carina ... undarum magnitudine uelut uolatu auium superferendo 33; centauris [i.e. centauros] frendendo atque saeuiendo aduersus perimentes 68d; [Aethicus] ... nunquam deserendo artem 73; siluis auibus plurimis [i.e. aues plurimas] gignendis.

XCIV

Aethicus Ister

IV. Conversely, the present active participle is occasionally employed in place of a gerund: cum tantam uim discurrentium et properantium habeant 49, v. Ad is sometimes omitted in gerundive constructions: cunctis legentibus proficiendam auctoritatis indaginem 12; ac iaculis arcendas uias aerum nubiumque 13; qui tam utilia argumenta agrestium hominum uesaniam retrudendam adinuenit 41b. c. Infinitives 1. Tenses

o. The future form fore is frequently substituted for esse, as in the following examples: Infernum ... uoraginem asperam [in] baratrum fore teterrimum 5; Alarum extensionem quasi palleum mirae magnitudinis lumine mirico fore 13; et criptas tanta uoragine ad meridiem fore 21b; facilius fuerat in te obturationem | inaccessibilem fore uelut infernum 33; sub latice fore dromones 36c; fenestras obliquas modicas ad uentorum receptacula fore 55; mare in tam magno feruore turbolento fore 59c; atroque diuulsa aquilonis fore plaga 59d; cum Eulo fore diurno bello 62. p. The perfect infinitive is occasionally substituted for the present: mea indagatione concurrisse compererint 1; haec omnia iudicio Dei habuisse [1.e. haberi] sub formam . . . scripsit. i. The passive infinitive is replaced by widespread through medieval Latinity. minuere ... potest 12; et leuius inuenire ab curare poterit 59a; Piscis illuc nequaquam uix domare potest 60; in ora ipsius fluminis uno uolumine contenere posse cuncta mala

the active. This phenomenon is Examples: quam diuidere nec habitatoribus 26; a nullis medicis uiuus inuenire potest 59c; quae inuenire memoratur 70; uix ... in 79.

iii. The active infinitive is replaced by the passive: quae necdum cerni quis possit 1; eo quod post ruinam antiquam

possint 8; in ipsa massa malos 10a.

ultra corrui ex ea parte nullatenus

... et infernum damnatorum

more liuores corrui

iv. The deponent infinitive is sometimes replaced by a supposed active: adgredere 10b, imitare 68c [but note archaic collateral form], conare 68c. v. The infinitive is used once with quasi to express purpose: quasi ad pacem foedera sociare 41b. Elsewhere without quasi: cum extensione uelorum .. uentorum uehementiam recipere ... peruenire ad portum 50.

Introduction

XCV

5. Conjunctions a. The encl*tic

l. The encl*tic —que occurs occasionally at the end of the first item joined, e.g. uelandamque ornaturam 8, limphaque arma 36c.

ii. Pleonasm. —Que is sometimes combined with ez and ac: magnatimque ac

cursim 1, suauesque et dulces 72a.

. —Que .. -que: Ingemuitque aedificauitque dapibusque fundata fluminibusque mulis 77.

41a,

oppida

plurima

iv. -que frequently introduces a new clause: primosque codices suos Chosmografiam nuncupauit 2; illudque fundamentum principaliter posuit sua dispensatione 3; suamque formam repositam 3; eiusque condicione fieri formentis ac poenis perpetuis 5; idemque liuorem superbiae ambiens 9;

ipsumque montem diuersos stridores strepitusque — reddentem appellauitque eos ideomochos uel ideotistas 25, and passim.

21b:

b. Vel is equated with et and ac: principatus ac potestates uel uirtutes 10b; eo igne in eorum fabricam eminentissimam uel esse 13. c. Mixture of connectives

l. aut ... uel: aut feriantur uel conledantur 49; aut aquarum gurgitibus uel aliarum nauium praedam capiendo 56 i. nec ... aut: nec inmersionem undarum aut aquarum gurgitibus 56. li. nec ... ac: nec minuere ac retrocedere non potest 12.. lv. non

tam

... quam

apicum caracteres 66b.

etiam:

non

tam

disputationibus

quam

etiam

et ipsos

v. non solum . . . necnon et: non solum , . . laci antiqui tormenta . . adgredere, necnon et . . . . talia mundi subiacere 10b. vi. non tantum . . . quam: Itaque non tantum meafe] causa fuit . . . quam a praecedentibus lectoribus errorem . . . panderem 66a. Non alta deserere coepi litterarum tantum plene «quam? notus magister ortografus 66c. 6. Negation. Double negation is fairly common in our work: ut nullo umquam tempore in eas nihil uiride aut floridum 19; nullarum partium [in] tam inaestimabiles artium multitudinis similia opera uel similitudine non inuenisse 36c; quod in nullas insolas uel orbem terrarum | inueniri

incognitum est 36c; et conledi in nulla parte non potest 37a; ut iacula atque

XCVI

Aethicus Ister

sagittae eis nocere nec liuorare non nullo modo aliquis capere potuit 68c.

ualeant

37b;

nec

earum

7. The indefinite article. This feature is weakly (and represented: aedificium summopere in unam ergatam unam nimiam rigorem et maiorem motionem 18.

magisterio

ambiguously) instituit 3; in

8. Numerals. 7er is used in place of triplex at 37a: ter coctione Quadratim is used incorrectly for quadraginta at 101; cf. n. 928a.

laterum.

D. Vocabulary and Word-Formation 1. Archaisms.

This

feature

is relatively

rare.

The

words

are derived

from

examuisin

[i.e.

glossaries and were “revived” in Late and Medieval Latin: affatim 30, 72a, 81,

dapsilitas

71,

robulus « robus

exammusim] 80b, clepere 80b.

80a,

adoria

82a,

2. Words used in unusual senses. The author employs many pre-existing words in unusual senses, some (weakly) attested, others wholly of the

author's invention:

— legere 1, 58a — “select” rather than *read" — rumor

10b = *a noise" or “rumbling” rather than “fame” or *rumour";

cf. It. rumore

— labor 11, 12 = the work produced (i.e. opus) rather than the act of working or toil — chasma 18 = “burning,” through conflation with cauma — quaestionarius

16, 66c — a “searcher,” “researcher,”

or “prospector”

rather than an

“examiner” or “torturer” — ars, used in several senses including its normal ones, but at 27 it means “book™ (cf. ars grammatica), while at 33, 41a, and passim it means *a stratagem" — inquinare (ex emend.) 36b = “to smear" or “coat” rather than “defile, ? *pollute" — percussor 37a — “one who strikes blows" (cf. percutere) rather than, specifically, *assassin" or “murderer” — maxilla 38a — “largish” (cf. pauxilla) rather than “jaw” — acumen 38b, 41b — "steel" rather than "sharpness" or “acuity” — argumentum 40, 41b, 44, 57 — "stratagem," "device" rather than "argument" or

“plot” — gens 44 = “the people in general" (cf. Fr. gens) rather than “nation” (which it means elsewhere)

— — — — — — —

softsma 44 — “teaching(s)” rather than “sophistry” cachinfatus 44, 62 — “contemptible,” *risible" through influence of cachinnus opus 44, 53 — “a siege machine,” “war-engine” soloecismus 44 — “an error in general" rather than *solecism" lamia 50 — *a type of ship" rather than “witch” chimaera 50 = another ship type calami 50 — “oars,” apparently extending the meaning “rods” or “poles” hirmo « hirmos 59b — *a mountain ridge" rather a the rhetorical term iferare 38c — “to travel" rather than “repeat”

Introduction

xcvii

— fauna 59b — “beast” rather than the goddess name Fauna — aucupes 59c = “birds of prey" rather than “bird catchers" — paradigma 59d — “synopsis” rather than “a paradigm" -.-/"I.UUS

—

"bank

['ive[">

(Cf

Fr‘

’..l've)

rather

than

“i’iver”

“Sn~ean1”

(lts

meaning elsewhere) — disputatio 66b — “mathematical structure" rather than “disputation” — certatim 68d - “with certainty" (but “forcefully” elsewhere) - pretiosus 76, 87 = “beautiful” rather than "precious," “valuable” — conthorrus « cothurnus 80a = “arrogant” rather than “tragic actor” — materiam 8] = “cause,” “origin” rather than “matter” — lanista 81 = *wool-maker" (a sense neologism based on /ana) rather than “a trainer

of gladiators" — aucupatus 82a = “captured,” a generalizing of the meaning “to catch birds" - pedetemptim 93 — “approximately” rather than “gradually” — hostes 95, 103b = “armies” rather than “enemies” — strofosus 103a - “deceitful” rather than “affected by gripes"

- naupicus < naupegus 105 — *navigator" rather than “shipwright” or “ship-owner”

Soloecismus and hirmo are generalizations of technical terms (grammar); inquinare also derives from a technical usage (architecture), as does opus (military science). Rumor, hostes, riuus, and gens herald meaning change in Romance languages. The meaning of /anista (“trainer of gladiators") is reinvented on the basis of its apparent etymology (/ana - -ista), as are strofosus and iterare. Tragena, a Greek word for “a type of dessert,” 1s taken to mean *a siege-engine" through a misunderstanding of the meaning of the gloss bellaria. 3. Neologisms. The author indulged in numerous coinages and word expansions, employing both Greek and Latin elements. Verbal neologisms are rare (note globitare 18, torghinare 62). However, the neologisms in the nominal area are plentiful: a. suffixes in —acus: sparacus 0, tiriacus 64 b. suffixes in —ellus/illus: nobicillus 82b, perspicillus 84a. c. suffixes in -eus/ius: idolatrius 32, onagrius Ala, sirteus (< Syrtis) 49, geranius 80a, ergatorius 81; cf. the noun nitellia 82a. d. suffixes in —icus: brumarricus

6, torradicus 6, hemeticus

6, carpaicus 6,

sorreticus 6, atomicus 6, miricus (?) 14, myrphoicus 7, 14, titanticus 18, aceruicus 26, afrodicus 26, borricus 36a, 52, eufonicus 66c, safficus 82a; and note the noun camereca (= camerica: camera -- -icus) 54. In a special

xcvill

Aethicus Ister

class are the geographical names Rifargicus Frisargicus 55 (but note also safargicus 6).

19 (but also Rifaricus 60) and

e. suffixes in —im (adverbs): magnatim 1, sceleratim 10b, minutatim 13. f. suffixes in —ista and: cydrosista 21a, ideotista 25, crabronista 63. g. suffixes in istrius: cimbalistria 44, titanistria 62. h. suffixes in —o, -onis. These are exclusively ship-types: collo 45, vagio 57, piro 57,775. 1. suffixes in —osus: Vmerosus (sc. mons) 59d, uliginosus 80a. j. suffixes in —trix: aletrix 79, altercatrix 80a k. co-valent suffixes 1. Latin elements only: bastarma 37a, tricurrus 37a, trimurus 61.

ii. Greek elements (Graeco-Latin and Greek): Sophogrammius 2, merocleus 18, aephiparus 20, ideomochus 25, filarchosmus 44, philosophom*ori (L) 58b, filosarcha 58b, termofiles 59b, nisargiuus 61, phorrosarchus 80a, caraxatura 66, calleficolus 79, protomaternus 82b, trimodarchus 82a, pachachomus 88. 4. Attested Greek words'>? l. words commonly attested in Latin works: aenigma, aether, academicus, botanicus, | comoedus, cosmographia, dialecticus, ethicus, etymologia,

orthographus,

paedagogus,

physicus, problema,

trophaeum, and more.

rhetoricus,

paradigma,

philosophus,

scholasticus,

sophista,

philosophicus,

thesaurus,

thronus,

i, Chrstian terms: abyssus, anathema, daemon, diabolus, dogma, dogmaticus, eulogium, euangelium, haeresis, haereticus, hagiographia,

neomenia, neophytus, parabola, paradisus, presbyter, propheta, proselyta, schisma, and more. iii. mythological names and derivatives: Amazon, Atlas, Camilla, Cecrops, Charybdis,

centaurus, chimaera, cynocephali, Cytheria, gryphus, Hercules,

herculeus, | Hippodamia, lason, Menalyppa, Minerva, | minotaurus, monocerus, Olympus, Parnassus, Pluto, Remus, Romulus, Scylla, Sibylla, Titan, Vulcanus. 152

91.

For more complete lists with discussion, see Herren, *The Greek Element,” pp. 190—

Introduction

XCIX

iv. words rarely attested or found only in glossaries: acenaces (“swords”), achoniti ("without a struggle"), aspidiscus (“a clister”), asynchitus “unmixed”; used here to mean “a sealing material"), cataphractus (*armoured"), cilia (“excrement™), peripsima (f* scourings"), philosarcus (“flesh-loving™), theristrum (“a summer garment") Adjectives include

protus and calistus.

v. Byzantine Greek: turmachus = turmarchus for tovpudoyog, “a military commander,” is the clearest example."" A sense neologism is fracoedia NI 154 (tragoedia) in the sense of *song." E. Conclusion

The foregoing description of the linguistic features of the Cosmography does not contain complete data, and was not intended to be exhaustive. Its main function was to serve as an aid to the editorial process, that is, to make the editor aware of the range of deviations from Classical Latinity and to assist in distinguishing potentially authorial “errors” from the purely scribal. In applied terms, this type of analysis helps to prevent unnecessary emendations. Latinity is, in most cases, a crude instrument to use in dating and localizing a work. I would hazard only to say that the data produced here are consistent with those of literary texts from Francia and northern Italy produced between the late sixth and later eighth century. If anything, they show more extreme deviations from Classical Latinity than other writings of that region, and thus support a date in the eighth century. Romance elements are strongly in evidence. Notable are the development of the “all-purpose quae," the frequent substitution of a for ad, the nominative feminine plural in —as, the numerous instances of the analytical passive formed with the perfective tenses of esse coupled with systematic confusion of the synthetic forms, and the large number of errors of accidence in words in a series. A possible localizing feature (for Francia) is the frequent collocation of masculine nouns in —or with feminine adjectives, but one should not place too much weight on this. Conservative features include the consistent distinction between the indicative and subjunctive, the relative rarity of the second-declension genitive singular in —o, the preservation of the fourth declension nearly intact, and the absence of syncope. It is to be hoped that scholars of early medieval Latinity will include the text of the Cosmography in future comparative studies of continental writings from this period. It ! Other possibilities discussed in Herren, “The Greek Element,” pp. 192-93. (* See the commentary at $44, n. 16.

Aethicus Ister

should be studied alongside the Liber historiae Francorum and the Chronicle of Fredegar'? and its Continuatio. Its relation to *Insular" works has been exaggerated. The connection is based primarily on the author's penchant for neologisms, particularly those involving Greek elements. But the author's grammar was the Romance-coloured language used by continental writers in the seventh and eighth centuries. If the cosmographer travelled in Ireland and England, as I think he did, he would have had some trouble communicating with the Latin speakers in those regions.*

VII. Construction of the Text The present text is constructed on the same manuscript base as that of the recent edition by Otto Prinz, namely on the five oldest witnesses. These date from the end of the eighth century to a the last quarter of the ninth. There are essentially two versions of the work: the long version, i.e. the work as we have it in its entirety, and the short version, which represents about the first 3096 of the work (to $43 inclusive). Witnesses used for the long version: L Leipzig, Universitütsbibliothek, Repos. I 40 72, according to Bischoff written in Freising" in the time of Arbeo (d. 783),"* in Caroline minuscule (CLA 8:1228). The text of the Cosmography takes up the entire codex. In addition to the correcting hand of the single scribe, there are two later correctors, the latter of the later Gothic period. Of the three main witnesses to the long version, this is the poorest. "

%> See the essential studies by Oskar Haag, Die Latinitiit Fredegars (Erlangen, 1898), and Pauline Taylor, The Latinity of the Liber historiae Francorum: A Phonological Morphological and Syntactical Study (New York, 1924). /?? See the engaging article by Roger Wright, “Foreigners’ Latin and Romance: Boniface and Pope Gregory IL" in 4 Sociophilological Study of Late Latin (Turnhout, 2002), pp. 95—

109.

" For a palaeographical description and identification of its origin and later provenance, see Bischoff, Die südostdeutschen Schreibschulen und Bibliotheken in der Karolingerzeit. 1. Die bayerischen Diózesen (Wiesbaden, 1960), pp. 77—78 (no. 13). 73 Bischoff, *Panorama der Handschriftenüberlteferung," in Mittelalterliche Studien, 3:24, n. 98. Because of its numerous errors Prinz (ed., p. 55) expressed scepticism that it was

written in Arbeo's angesehenem Skriptorium.

? Tora long list of errors see Prinz, ed., pp. 55—56, n. 188.

Introduction

O Oxford, Bodleian Library, Junius 25, fol. 2v-60r, written at the end of the

eighth

century

Lehmann,

1t was

(CLA

2:242),

written

Caroline

in Murbach;'^'

minuscule.' ^ According

it may

identical

to the

copy

mentioned in the Reichenau catalogues of 821—822 and 835-842.'% It contains corrections of not much later date written in a hand similar to the main scribe's.'? Except for one longish lacuna near the end, this is the most reliable of the three. Contents: O contains a collection of glossaries and excerpts of grammatical works. It is noted for its Latin-Old High German glossaries fols. 118r—122v, 1521-153v, 1821-183v, and hymns glossed in OHG fols. 116r-117v, 122v— 129r. Alcuin's Rhetoric occurs 60v—72r. V Leiden, Universiteitsbibliotheek, Voss. Lat. F 113, fol. 1r - 30r, written at

Tours in the last quarter of the ninth century. Because of the period in which it was written, there are rather numerous attempts to improve spelling and syntax, and even to supplant words. ^* Some of the emendations, both by the main scribe and near contemporary correctors, are ingenious. The manuscript divergences significantly from LOGW in its headings. Contents: Historia Apollonii Regis Tyri fols. 30v—38v, Historia Troiana Daretis Phrygii fols. 39r-47r, De situ orbis fols. 71r—90r, plus treatises by or ascribed to Augustine including Aduersus quinque haereses fols. 5,9r-68v. Witnesses to the short version:

These include, following:

of course,

G St. Gall, Süftsbibliothek,

the

three

manuscripts

listed

above

plus

the

133, pp. 197—298, written at the turn of the ninth

century (Lowe, CLA 2:65) in Rhetian minuscule, possibly at St. Gall itself. The text contains numerous omissions and errors.

!? Palaeographical description in F. Madan and H.H.E. Craster, A Summary Catalogue of

Western Manuscripts in the Bodleian Library of Oxford, vol. 2.2 (Oxford, 1937), pp. 969—71

(no. 5137). 6! Paul Lehmann, Mittelalterliche Bibliothekskataloge Deutschlands und der Schweiz 1. Die Bistiimer Konstanz und Chur (Munich, 1918), p. 224. The localization was accepted by Bischoff, “Zur ültesten Handschrift der Vulgata-Evangelien," in Mittelalterliche Studien,

1:105.

102 Becker, Catalogi, nos. 6, 10. 163 Confirmed for me by the late Virginia Brown who placed the correcting hand in the second quarter of the ninth century.

64 See the list in Prinz, ed., pp. 73-74.

Cli

Aethicus Ister

Contents:

The

manuscript

contains

Isidore’s

“Laus

Gothorum"

(i.e.

the

Historiae Gothorum) and, the tract Sex mundi aetates attributed to Isidore, and a collection of didactic works with the titles “Liber locorum,”

"Prophetiarum collectio," *Nomina propria in Biblia,” “Gentes ex filiis Noe propagatae," “Interpretationes Hebraicarum” (sic), and the like.

Wolfenbüttel,

Herzog

August

Bibliothek,

80.

Aug.

8°

entire

manuscript. According to Bischoff written at St. Amand, ? later at Regensburg, where it is twice mentioned in the library catalogues (993 and 1347). The hand is early Caroline minuscule. The text is much superior to that of G. The opening of the Cosmography (§§1-10a.8) is missing, but thanks to a very careful copy by Hartmann Schedel, made in 1483 (Munich, Bayerische Staatsbibliothek, clm 901, fol. 145r-168r), it can be reliably recaptured. See next. Whs

Munich,

Staatsbibliothek,

clm

901,

fols.

145r-168r.

Written

Nuremburg in 1483 by Dr. Hartmann Schedel, the manuscript is a careful copy of W. Its chief value consists in its restoration of the lost two quarternions of W (8$1—10a.8). It contains the following subscription by the copyist: Scripsi ego Hartmannus Schedel de Nürenberga artium et medicine doctor ex libro veteri sumpto ex bibliotheca cenobii sancti Emerammi Ratispone ea forma uti reperi

anno domini 1483. Fuit autem liber vetus scriptus tercio anno regnante Pipino filio Karolo rege Francorum hoc est annus domini DCCLIIII a nativitate Christi.

The words “tercio anno ... Christi" are doubtless a citation of the dating formula as written in the codex, for it is highly unlikely that the humanist scholar Schedel would have written filio Karolo rege Francorum or annus domini, which should be in apposition with /ercio anno. Bischoff, followed by Lówe, ^ believed that W was written at St. Amand, then was sent to Tours, where it was combined with material written

by Wicbert, abbot and bishop of St. Martin's who died in 756. Wicbert or his scribe supplied the dating formula with the year 754. This composite codex later went to Regensburg. When Schedel saw it in 1483, the text of W would have been complete. Schedel mistook the dating clause of the composite manuscript as valid for the text of W. At some time after 1483 the Cosmography was detached from the rest of the manuscript and made its '6 Note the entry for the Cosmography in the catalogue of St. Amand Becker, no. 114.1.

19.

(Elno, saec. XILD,

166 Bischoff, Schreibschulen, p. 259, p. 172, n. 2; Lówe, “Virgil von Salzburg," pp. 918—

Introduction

way to Wolfenbüttel, where it now resides. Whatever one wishes to make of this rather complicated history, my own inspection of Whs satisfied me that Schedel copied W, not a hypothetical exemplar written in. 754. Two corrections made by a late rubricating hand in close order were adopted by Schedel at $31: *De ea generatione nullus fidelis aliquando qui narret fuisse (narratur W2, Whs). Et ea regio nulla fruge utile (nullas fruges utiles W2, Whs) gignit" In this instance, two swallows make a spring. Schedel's exemplar was W, not the hypothetical manuscript of 754. If one were to assume that “754” was the archetype of W and Whs, copied at Regensburg in different periods, one would have to assume that a/l the corrections made to ^754" were available to the copyist of W writing ca. 800. We must then conclude that Schedel copied W when it was still intact, but was deceived by the dating formula of the composite manuscript — whatever the history of that manuscript might have been. We must now set to rest any notion that a copy of the short version of the Cosmography was written out at Regensburg in 754. In addition to the five main witnesses I have followed Prinz in reconstructing the lacuna of O at $90.11—92.4: R Vatican City, Bibliotheca Apostolica Vaticana, MS Reg. lat. 1260 (497), fols. 125—164. Written saec. X in Brittany, later at Tours. S Leiden, Universiteitsbibliotheek, MS

Scaliger 69, entire text. Written saec.

X2 at St. Augustine's Canterbury. Facsimile by T. A.M. Bishop (above, n. 5). Finally, for the *alphabet of Aethicus" (8113) a tiny fragment of a late eighth-century manuscript thought to be written in Salzburg was used in my

collation:

A Admont, Stiftsbibliothek, fragment of MS 472. A double leaf containing the ending of the Cosmography including the alphabet. Thought to be written in the Salzburg scriptorium in the late eighth century.'®’ Prinz, in his section “Die in der Edition nicht beriicksichtigten Handschriften" (pp. 62—69), lists some twenty-six manuscripts, all written after saec. IX. He indicates that a number of these are either direct copies or closely related to the manuscripts written saec. VIII-IX used in his (and this) edition. The following remarks are worth noting:

/07 Rdited and discussed in full by Winfried Stelzer, “Ein Alt-Salzburger Fragment der Kosmographie des Aethicus Ister aus dem 8. Jahrhundert," Mitteilungen des Instituts für Ósterreichische Geschichtsforschung, Bd. 100.1—4 (1992), 132—49.

CIV

Aethicus Ister *Die

Überlieferung

insgesamt

ist,

wie

die

folgende

Aufstellung

zeigt,

ziemlich

umfangreich, aber eine Nachprüfung der wichstigeren Codices hat ergeben, das kein

weiterer selbstándiger Uberlieferung existiert, der für die Textgestaltung von Gewicht

< 168 wáüre.

While scholars at some future time may wish to test this assertion, I feel reasonably confident that the small number of manuscripts used for Prinz's (and this) edition is not merely adequate, but indeed, provides a solid basis for the construction of the text. The samples I have made from manuscripts written after saec. IX show a decided trend to correct the orthography, morphology, and syntax of the early manuscripts according to the classical norms reestablished in the early Carolingian age. Indeed, one sees the same trend at work in the ninth-century and later corrections of the readings of the base manuscripts. As I hope I have proved independently of the question of Latinity, the Cosmography of Aethicus Ister was written in the second quarter of the eighth century, that is, about fifty years before the onset of the grammatical reforms. The temporal proximity of the base manuscripts to the date of composition is a happy coincidence, as the uncorrected texts they contain transmit grammatical data that is wholly consistent with that of other pre-Carolingian literary works. These data offer a precious insight into the milieu in which our author worked. It should be noted that the long version is not an expansion of the short, but rather that it preceded the short version, which is an excerpt made from it. (It is not, then, an epitome in the true sense of the word, though the term is sometimes used here loosely.) This was successfully demonstrated by Prinz, who proved that V, a witness to the full text, and GW descend from a common exemplar. " The manuscripts GWV are separated from LO by disjunctive

readings,

while

contain

errors,

including /acunae,

that are

not found in the group LOV: Separative Readings in the Groups LO and GWV: $3 recondere GWV: recedere LO $5 atque uaporem GWV : atque per uaporem LO $10a acciperet

(-it) GWV : arceret LO

$17 tenue GWV : tenues LO

$19 aut Iulio GWY : aut

in Iulio LO $20 perspicuum GWV : praespicuum LO $27 Beteoricas scripsi : Berotitas GW : Betorititas LO $30 historiarum GWV : historiam LO $33 atque GWV : ac LO $34 est et utilitas GWV : om. et LO 36a in ingenio GWV : ingenio (om. in) LO 836b duceretur GWV : ducetur LO; faciunt nimpe GWV : om. faciunt LO 168 prinz, ed., p. 62. 169 prinz, ed., pp. 60-61.

Introduction

Separative Readings in the Groups LOV and GW: $10b et ignis feruens truculenta fabrica cremaretur LOV : om. GW $813 Eo igne LOV : et eo igne GW $14 itum LOV : iterum GW $821b sicut enim ad leuam meridie LO : om. GW $25 uel ideothistas LO : om. GW §37a Conubio LOV : Nubio GW $43 FINIT : add. GW Separative Readings in the Long Version (selected readings given first)

There are a few lacunae in 7(the longest at 884b and §94), but these cannot be considered probative, as any single manuscript can make individual errors of omission. More significant are the lacunae shared by LO: huic loco is omitted at §58d, longum est (in the phrase quae narrare longum est) at $66b, and Alexander procerior ambitione maris capitur. Olympus duratus silice at 84a. Whereas many of the divergent readings between LO and ¥ can be

explained by the efforts of the scribe of V' to improve on orthography,

morphology, syntax, and word order, a number of them may arguably be ascribed to divergent exemplars: $59 a morbo LO : morte ; $66b uanam 7 :

unam LO; §68a agilitate V : utilitate LO; §72a lampadibus LO : lapidibus V; $72b dialecticis LO : delictis /; $ 81 coniunctoribus LO : coniectoribus V; §84a neomenia LO: nec omnia V; $ 86 fungifera V : fructifera LO; §91

$104 fessa LO : festa V; regidaque mollissima LRS : nobilissima V (rigidaque) LO : aridaque V ; $105 Discat V' : Dicat LO; $106 incl*tis Vinclinatis LO; metentes LO : mittentes F.

Prinzs construction of the early phase of the transmission of the Cosmography is admirable, but, in my opinion, he overlooked the importance of double readings and interpolated glosses, There is some evidence to show that o contains interpolated glosses and double readings that are best explained by a glossed intermediary between it and the author. They are presented here in the order in which they occur without editorial intervention: 85 [Pr 90.11] Infernum in ima parte infimo uoraginem asperam in baratrum fore teterrimum. It seems likely that ima parte stood as a gloss to the less familiar infimo, then interpolated into the text. $5

[Pr

92.3-4].

Haec

omnia

subterius

ipsa

massa

deorsum

iudicando iudicio Dei habuisse sub formam Aethicus sofista scripsit.

a Deo

_ . . . p z : 170 This is obviously caused by eye-skip, as the next phrase is A/exander durior corde.

CVI

Aethicus Ister

The highly redundant a deo iudicando iudicio dei can scarcely reflect the author's ultima manus. The author may have attempted to improve an original a deo iudicando (“by a judging God") with the more classical

iudicio Dei. The scribe of a, or the author's own amanuensis, maladroitly

interpolated the author's revision into the line without excising the unwanted words.

$6 [Pr 92.6—93.2] Terram dicit in ipsam massam cum suis possessoribus et pecoribus ac bestiis uolatilibus cum aere, ut hemitica, carpaica, satayca et sorrectica ac humarrica atque athomica torradicaque safargica, sparaca, et brummarica in eaque massa posita. This is a case of dittography involving both repositioning of a phrase and grammatical correction. Can it be a case of authorial correction? But why, then, did the author not delete the first occurrence, which is poorly placed and grammatically incorrect? §22. [Pr 111.1—4] Haec omnia de ianuis caeli et cardinibus mundi fergaque solis septentrion et umbelicum eius meridiem, lineam a parte ad partem mediam mundi protelantem ab aquilone in meridiem, It is possible that septentrion and meridiem are authorial glosses to tergaque solis and umbelicum eius respectively. Even so, their inclusion is awkward syntactically; one would expect a helpful i.e. in each case. It is also possible that ad partem was an authorial revision to the VL a parte, that the revision stood over the original a parte, and was simply interpolated into a. $26 [Pr 114.45]. ... et leuius inuenire non difficile ab habitatoribus uel questionariis suis . . . This seems to be a clear-cut instance of an interpolated gloss. One might tolerate a pleonastic sine difficultate, but non difficile, which does not fit the syntax, and is almost certainly meant to explain the increasingly rare comparative adverb in -ius. §36b . . . in ipsas colimphas ipsum Alexandrum introisse et profundum maris discendisse ut sciret oceani profundum et differentia maris et abyssi sciret. The author may have meant to correct his word order and place the verb at the end. He or his scribe may have forgotten to correct the first sciret. The case 1s analogous to $ in ipsam massam . . . in eaque massa. $41b [Pr 140.13-14] et minans minauit eos et omnem inclusit eos ad ubera aquilonis.

subolem eorum, et

Introduction

cvli

The author has taken this passage from the Apocalypse of Ps. Methodius 8.6: * . et conclusit minans eos, donec introissent in finibus Aquilonis." Minans,

then, is the source word;

minauit is likely an instance of authorial

revision written above minans in the author's copy. They appear in a adjacent to each other. The authorial revision was set into the line by the scribe of a, who then failed to remove the word to be replaced. The case resembles $5 a deo iudicando iudicio Dei. $63. [Pr 164.15-165.1] luricas uel ocreas, gladius atque ornechas crabronistas et multarum artium peritissimus. Crabronista is apparently a coinage based on crabro, “wasp,” “hornet” + -ista; 1t may mean something like “hornet-shooter.” Ornechas appears to be a garbled Germanic gloss on crabro; see Steinmeyer-Sievers, 4.210.43 "crabro horneta." This appears to be the only example of an OHD gloss that has been interpolated into the text. §67c [Pr 176.20—21] ... cristallus autem i//ic purissimus praegrandisque illinc veperitur. Jllinc improves upon i/lic in positioning but not in meaning. However, the author seems to use them interchangeably to mean ibi, and each word appears as often as the other. Here, it seems, it was the author who neglected to signal clearly his change to the scribe; the case is analogous to in ipsam mass ... in eaque massa.

§80b. [Pr 197.8—10 Nefarie luere cognatis fore fortuito propinquis suos uliginosos clepere ignaros sodales. Fore is neither the infinitive commonly used to replace esse, nor a mistake for forte,

but

the

ablative

of the

rare fors, foris.

Fortuito

is much

widely attested, thus very probably a gloss on fore interpolated into the text.

$84b [Pr 210.9] Tuus auriga, Alexander, si praesto superstes (suprestis MSS) fuissit, forsitan ista argumenta fingere non dubitassit. Clearly, suprestis is not a mistake for superestis, as superestis would leave us with an unwanted verb. It is almost certainly a scribal error for superstes,

an exact synonym of praesto. On balance, given derivatives (cf. REW 6726), praesto would seem to for “at hand," “at the ready" than superstes. It is gloss-word that has been interpolated. It seems glossing is at issue here.

the wealth be a more probably, unlikely

$100 [Pr 226.14] Profecto repperi inueni quem quaesiul.

of Romance familiar work therefore, the that authorial

CVIIH

Aethicus Ister

While this may look like a case of an interpolated gloss (but which word glosses which?), I think it more likely an instance of authorial pleonasm. It is then better to punctuate repperi, inueni, *Truly I discovered, I found what I was looking for." While 1t is believable that the author might himself have left hermeneumata to some of his neologisms, and thus a would be a direct, if inept, copy of an authorial exemplar, this does appear to the case. The "hardest" words in the text remain unglossed. Rather, we have examples of standard, but somewhat less common, words glossed by “easier” words: in ima parte for infimo, non difficile for leuius, fortuito for fore, praesto for superstes, and one Germanic gloss ornecha (a garbling of horneta) for

crabro. Whereas one does not need to assume an intermediary for the cases of authorial revisions that were clumsily inserted, the glosses does. Thus « does not descend directly from author's copy, but from an interpolated intermediary. transmission history back another stage, and offers earlier date of composition. The stemma codicum will

) T

interpolation of lexical a glossed and revised This pushes the work's reinforcement for an now look like this:

Whs

Prinz, to his credit, reconstructed the archetype (o), from which all witnesses descend. However, he did not proceed from recensio to emendatio, except in a very few instances, and mainly where he accepted earlier corrections by D'Avezac and Wuttke. The result is that many omissions and lacunae have been left unaddressed, double readings not recognized as such, and scores of erroneous readings left uncorrected. Moreover, Prinz's punctuation of the text is minimal, making it difficult to discern where a sentence begins and ends.

Introduction

CIX

I have endeavoured to respect the orthography of the manuscripts where they give an archetypal reading; in cases of disagreement between the branches I have tended to print a classical spelling. I have also tended to leave syntax alone, except in instances where what is transmitted completely hinders the understanding of the text, or where one can be sure that the author knew better.'"' T am convinced that the author knew such things as the difference between indicative and subjunctive, and usually recognized that plural verbs must be governed by plural subjects. Case usage, however, is completely erratic (see the section on Syntax above, VI.B.1—2), as is the use of the active and passive voice. I have identified a number of spellings which seem to be authorial (see list below). I have followed a very different procedure in my choice of words. While it is easy to become attached to a manuscript for its particular virtue (e.g. O's steadiness, "s ingenuity), I remain resolutely polygamous in my choice of readings. Not only have I not tried to follow a “best” manuscript, I have also avoided becoming attached to a particular group, i.e. LO as against GWY (in the short version, or first 43 sections). I have sometimes favoured a “late” correction by one manuscript over the combined witness of the rest, and even more often have preferred ratio et res ipsa to the testimony of all the manuscripts. The apparatus criticus here is much leaner than that in Prinz's edition. I rarely give orthographical variants, and do not report every divergence in morphology and syntax. Those wishing to have a fuller record should consult Prinz's edition: his page numbering is given in the margins. Some words appear to reflect authorial spellings, e.g. aequos for equos, Aethicus for Ethicus, chosmografus for cosmographus, deserere for disserere, gignaros for gnaros,172 insola, paruola, eté. for insul-, paru-, nimpe for nempe, sofista for sophista, tantomodo for tantummodo. 1 silently distinguish

between

ac and hac;

in the cases arcis and artis, callidus and

calidus 1 print the word I think the author intended, and cite the variants 1n the apparatus. Ialso conserve the author's morphology where it 1s archetypal: nullius nominative, grave and the like as ablative singular, -us for -os as accusative plural, etc.

4 good example can be found at $59a, where the phrase radii solis is construed

incorrectly with a singular verb, but three lines down radius solis is used correctly with a singular verb. Aiding the correction of the first instance is the variant radiis (V).

"2 1t is likely that the author used both these forms; I print the reading of a where this can

be ascertained.

Aethicus

Ister

Changes to Prinz's Text What follows 1is a rich, but not exhaustive, selection of changes made to Prinz's text. supp. — suppleui, except when followed by an editor's siglum (Av, Wu, Pr); secl. = seclusi, with same exceptions; scr. = scripsi, with same exceptions. Section 1

§1 apposui scr. : opposui; autem scr. : tam; supp.; Quae scr. : Quur; distulerint scr.: distulit et; protuli VIWu : protulit; concurrisse V2 : cucurisse; [quae] secl. Wu. $4 eleuationem scr. : eleuatam; facturae V : factore. $5 [ima parte] sec/l, sulphure L2Wu : sopire; sartagine scr. catagine; tertiam supp. AvWu; supp.; [a deo 1udicando] sec/. $6 [ipsam massam] secl. $7 pellicolam scr. : pelbhloicam. §10a «cognitum» supp.; supp.; supp. $10b cum protoplausto L/: conplausto. $11 parietum Wu: parilium; daturus scr. : damnaturos. $12 creaturam scr.: creaturarum; corrueruntque scr. : corruerunt quae. $13 peccantium scr. : peccaminum. $14 ut 4vWu : et. 815 lumine scr. : luna; rursum scr. : sursum. 918 quasi scr. : quae. $19 ablatis VOI : oblatis LOGW. tali modo scr. : tantomodo; ut AvWu: aut. $320 connexum scr. : conuexum; terra Wu : temna; contigui scr. : contiqui. $22 [a parte] secl. 823 praeter scr. : propter (bis). $824 usque Adriakeon Lowe: usque ad Riakeon. $25 et scr. sed. 826 [non difficile] sec/. $27 Beteoricas (Betoricas Av) : Betorititas. $28 Cainaneos scr. Cananeos. $29 supp. $30 supp. Winterbottom; [ac] secl. supp.; «ea continere non ualeret> supp.; [quae ab occiduo ... Iafeth dilatatur] sec/. $31 qui scr. : quis. $32; supp.; supp. $33 procedens 4v : praecedens. $34 accumulationem scr. : eleuationem.

$36b inuersionem scr.: inuentionem;

inquinant scr. : inquiunt;

figere VIAvWu : fieri; incurrunt supp. $37a [et ex quacumque parte euenerit] sec/l. $37b capetur supp. acerrimo scr. : acueruo. $38b robustarum AvWu : roobitarum. $40 Tandem scr. : Tamen. §41a onagrias scr. : honargias; dicitur scr. dici. $41b [minans] secl. $43 inter

Supp.

Section 2 $44 adhibet scr. : ad nibe. $45 «quae» supp. supp. $46 collaria Scr. : colla. $47 [aut opus] secl. $49 quodam scr. : quondam; nauale Supp. AvWu. $53 arcium V : artium. $56 suppl.

Introduction

cxi

Section 3

$58a Quae scr. : Quia. $58b philosophom*orum ZLWu : philosophorum; filosarcha scr. : fissarcha. $58c illius AvWu: illis; considerentur scr. consideranter; supp.; in alta Wu : multa; at AvWu: et. $58d supp. AvWu. §59a [accessus] secl.; radius scr. : radii; nam scr. : non. $59b frutecta AvWu : fructa; aquila Wu : aquilo. $59c supp. Av; «unde dicit> supp. si L : nisi; fruges supp. $59d [primum] sec/. $60 cum plura 4vWu : conplura; «causa» supp. $61 Trimarchiam scr. Trinachiam; habenas V : habens ; supp. Wu. $62 Trimarcem Wu : arcem; tyranni scr. : tyronis; Triuiarum scr. : triarum; lemurias scr. : lemurcas. $63 fitur scr.: fatur; inculta scr. : incola; industria Wu : industrii; citronorum scr. :

cetoniorum;

$64 supp.

scr. : ne uim; suas ibidem

$65 supp.

§66a ne neuum

: sua sibi idem; contiguis scr. : contique; $66b

mentiendo scr. mentionem; numinibus O2A4vWu : nominibus. $66c supp. Wu; coepl scr. : coepit; supp. risui. Wu : nisi. §66d supp.; lineamenta scr. linea(m) in. $67a quo scr. : quod. $67b [figuram] secl. $67c [illic] seclusi; aquas Wu: quas. §68a [faciunt] sec/. $68b supp.; concepta scr. : decepta. §68c tela scr. : tale. §68d [primum] secl.; scr.; assensum scr. : a senso; supp. §72a equis scr. equitibus;

remeant

scr.

: remanent;

rudera scr.

: ruda.

$874 Quarum

Quae. $75 Tera scr. : Tema; caligine scr. : caligina; ipsum hispidum; sublinent scr. : sibimet. $78 numine O : nomine. $79 illicci»bus Pr (illius LOV); supp.; quam scr. : quo; antra. §80a Antroniam scr. : Antroham; incolis scr. : 1acolis; aemulatore

scr.

: Amfibroniae

nummator;

inuolator.

scr.

idem scr. : illiciis scr. : arma scr. : Amfitrionis

Nam

scr.

: invothor

turritarum

scr.

: turrium;

Naim. $80b [fortuito] secl.; supp. $81 coniunctoribus Vconiectoribus;

camoribus

LOV:

moribus;

quam [plurimis] crebriis secl; caracem scr. : toracem; germina scr. gramina; sigillata scr. : sigillatim $82a uoraces scr. : ueraces; caulaticas scr. : calaurias; ludios scr. : ludos; supp. $82b fecunda scr. : funda; nympho scr. : nippho; laminam scr. : lamiam. $83 ferunt scr. : fuerunt. $84a dierum supp. $84b [praesto] secl.; superstes scr.: suprestis; fingere scr. : fieri. $86 modica [mediocris] secl; supp. $87; emouet scr. : euomet; [statim] sec. $88 Chthonica scr. : Chlochochomia; insulsus scr. : insulsum; laesa scr. : inlaesa. $890 uberum scr. : umbum. $92 nullius 7 : nulli. $94 machinatum scr. : machamitum. $95 Theniensis scr. : Atheniensis; samsugis scr. : samsamsagis; inuitae scr.: inuitatae; mitigare scr. : militare; Carpasiae Wu : carpiae; supp.; necant scr. negant. $98 monere scr. : movere; facundo Av : fecundo; nomencalata scr. :

cxli

Aethicus Ister

nomen

culata; clinata scr.

: clinacha;

monilia scr.

: manilia.

$100

fugerunt

scr. : fuerunt; terruit scr. : terrui. §101 «a continente> supp.; omisit scr. : amisit. $103b supp.; quoque VT: quique. $104 quaeque Av : quoque. $105 parietes Hays: parentes; coaxari scr. : coaui; paenituit AvWu : paenitus; qui non scr. non qui. $106 propter O : praeter; contra riui aequi proni scr. contrarii aequi proni; incl*tis 7: inclinatis. $107 Primam post Indiam O : Post primam Indiam. $108 supp. $109 punicei scr. : pinici. $111 inlicitum V: licitum; cathologo Av : catholoco. In the translation I have attempted to stay close to the Latin text while not being overly-literal. Translation is the art of serving two masters, neither loving nor hating the one or the other. I have striven to render sentence for sentence in every case, and to translate per cola et commata wherever possible. The commentary is keyed to the translation. The notes therein contain explanations of the choice of readings, sources, grammatical and lexical helps, and identifications of persons, places, and things.

VIII. A Note on the Older Editions A. The Edition of A. D 'Avezac (1852) This was apparently the first edition of the Cosmography, although the editor cites readings or conjectures from a certain Lylius Gyraldi in excerptis ex Aethico, quae libello suo de Re nautica inseruit. D' Avezac's text was based principally on four Paris manuscripts: Paris lat. 4808 (P), lat. 4871 (T), lat. 7561 (B), lat. 8501A (D), plus London BL Cotton Vesp. B.X (C)). These range narrowly in date from the eleventh to the twelfth century. B seems to have been little used. The group PTCD generally breaks into the division CP : TD. However, numerous Schónheitsverbesserungen and suppletions in PTD or CPD, sometimes in PTCD, point to an archetype (saec. XI) for this group. In general, D'Avezac favoured the classicizing corrections of these later manuscripts and the “improvements” of Gyraldi, having been convinced that the Latin work was indeed a fourth-century translation of a lost Greek work.'” Even though D'Avezac's edition does not reflect the literary tradition or limitations of its eighth century author, it contains many inspired conjectures that I have made use of here.

1 Prinz, ed., p. 70; for the manuscripts see ibid., pp. 63-64, pp. 65-66.

Introduction

CX111

B. The Editions of H. Wuttke (1853 and 1854) Like his predecessor, Wuttke reflected the editorial taste of his day, and also like D'Avezac, Wuttke was a gifted philologist. He had the advantage of D’Avezac’s work and also knew and used several of the earliest manuscripts:

and,

above

all, L.

Indeed,

it is clear enough

that he

employed L as a base manuscript, which he corrected with the aid of D'Avezac's manuscripts (and emendations) and his own lights. Like D'Avezac, Wuttke believed that St. Jerome was truly the editor of a lost work written in Greek by an otherwise unknown Istrian philosopher, as his Anhang to the 1854 reissue argues. To his credit, Wuttke distinguished typographically between the text as transmitted by L and the corrections and suppletions of the later manuscripts.

Abbreviations of Frequently Cited Works, Series, and Journals ALMA = Archivum Latinitatis Medii Aevi (Bulletin du Cange) Anderson, Alexander's Gate — A.R. Anderson, Alexander's Gate, Gog and Magog, and the Inclosed Nations (Cambridge, MA, 1932). Atlas of the Classical World = A.M. Van der Heyden and H.H. Scullard, eds., Atlas of the Classical World (London, 1963). Becker, Catalogi = Gustav Becker, Catalogi Bibliothecarum Antqiui (Bonn, 1885). Bischoff,

Schreibschulen

Bernhard

Bischoff,

Die

südostdeutschen

Schreibschulen und Bibliotheken in der Karolingerzeit. 1. Die bayerischen Diózesen, 2nd ed. (Wiesbaden, 1960). Bischoff and Lapidge, Biblical Commentaries = B. Bischoff and M. Lapidge, ed. and trans., Biblical Commentaries from the Canterbury School of Theodore and Hadrian (Cambridge, 1994). Blaise = Albert Blaise, Dictionnaire latin-francais des auteurs chrétiens (Turnhout, 1954). Bonnet = Max Bonnet, Le latin de Grégoire de Tours (Paris, 1890). CCCM = Corpus Christianorum Continuatio Medievalis. CCSL = Corpus Christianorum Series Latina. CSEL = Corpus Scriptorum Ecclesiasticorum Latinorum Chantraine — Pierre Chantraine, Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue grecque: Histoire des mots, rev. ed. (Paris, 2009).

CGL = H. Goetz, Corpus Glossariorum Latinorum, 7 vols. (Leipzig, 1888— 1923). CPL = Eligius Dekkers and Aemilius Gaar, Clavis Patrum Latinorum, 3rd ed. (Steenbrugge, 1995). | D'Avezac — A. D'Avezac, ed., Ethicus et les ouvrages cosmographiques intitulés de son nom, in. Mémoires présentés par divers savants à l'Académie des inscriptions et belles lettres, Iére série, I (Paris, 1852), pp. 455—541. | Du Cange - Charles Dufresne Du Cange, Glossarium ad Scriptores Mediae et Infimae Latinitatis (Graz, 1958). Elco*ck, Romance Languages = W.D. Elco*ck, The Romance Languages, rev. ed. (London, 1975). FM - Filologia mediolatina Gamillscheg = Ernst Gamillscheg, Etymologisches |.-Wórterbuch der franzósischen Sprache (Heidelberg, 1928). Gloss. Lat. = Glossaria Latina, ed. W.M. Lindsay (Paris, 1926).

CXV

CXV]

Aethicus Ister

Herren, *Aethicus Ister and Ancient Travel Literature" = M.W. Herren, “The Cosmography of Aethicus Ister and Ancient Travel Literature," in The World of Travellers. Exploration and Imagination, ed. K. Dekkers et al. (Leuven, 2009), pp. 5-30. Herren, “Die Fálschung" = “M.W. Herren, “Wozu diente die Fálschung der Kosmographie des Aethicus?," in Lateinische Kultur im VIII. Jahrhundert (Traube Gedenkschrifi), ed. A. Lehner and W. Berschin (St. Ottilien, 1990), pp. 145—59. Herren, “The Cosmography" = M.W. Herren, “The ‘Cosmography’ of Aethicus Ister" — “The ‘Cosmography’ of Aethicus Ister: Speculations about

its

Date,

Provenance,

and

Audience,"

Festschrift für Prof. Dr. Paul Gerhard Schmidt, Stein (Munich, 2004), pp. 79—102.

Herren, “The Greek Element" = M.W.

Nova

Veteribus:

ed. A. Bihrer and E.

Herren, “The ‘Greek Element’

in the

Cosmographia of Aethicus Ister," The Journal of Medieval Latin 11 (2001), 184—200. Hillkowitz = K. Hillkowitz, Zur Kosmographie des Aethicus, 2 vols. (Cologne, 1934; Frankfurt-am-Main, 1973). Ignis Sophiae Arcator — Ignis Sophiae Arcator: Medieval Latin Studies in Honour of Michael Herren on His 65th Birthday, ed. G. Wieland, C. Ruff, and R.G. Arthur (Turnhout, 2006).

JMLat = The Journal of Medieval Latin. Krusch, Origo Francorum - Origo Francorum Duplex: Aethici Istri Cosmographi et Codicis Bonnensis Legis Salicis, ed. Bruno Krusch, MGH Rer. Mer. 7 (Hannover and Leipzig, 1920), pp. 517—528. Lampe — G.W.H. Lampe, 4 Patristic Greek Lexicon (Oxford, 1961). Latham = R.E. Latham, Revised Medieval Latin Word-List from British and Irish Sources. London,

1965.

Lewis and Short = Charleton T. Lewis and Charles Short, A Latin Dictionary (Oxford, 1958). LHS — Manu Leumann, J.B. Hofmann, 5th ed., 2 vols. (Munich, 1977).

A. Szantyr, Lateinische Grammatik,

Liddell and Scott = H.G. Liddell and Robert Scott, 4 Greek-English Lexicon, E.

Oth ed., rev. H.S. Jones (Oxford, 1940).

Lófstedt = Einar Lófstedt, Syntactica: Studien und Beitrdge zur historischen Syntax des Lateins. 2 vols. (Lund, 1956). Lówe, "Salzburg" = Heinz Lówe, “Salzburg als Zentrum literarischen Schaffens im $8. Jahrhundert, Mitteilungen der Gesellschaft für Salzsburger Landeskunde 105 (1975), 99—143.

Abbreviations

cxvii

Lówe, “Virgil von Salzburg" = Heinz Lówe, “Ein literarischer Widersacher des Bonifatius: Virgil von Salzburg und die Kosmographie des Aethicus Ister," in Abhandlungen der Akademie der Wissenschaften und der Literatur in Mainz,

Geistes- und sozialwissenschaftlichen Klasse, Nr.

(Mainz, 1951), pp. 903-88. Maltby = Robert Maltby, 4 Lexicon of Ancient Etymologies (Leeds, 1991). MGH = Monumenta Germaniae Historica MJ — Mittellateinisches Jahrbuch MIWb = Mittellateinisches Wérterbuch bis zum ausgehenden 13. Jahrhundert (Munich, 1959). Niermeyer

—

J.F.

Niermeyer,

Mediae

Latinitatis

Lexicon

Minus,

3 vols.

(Leiden, 1954—1958). Novum Glossarium — Novum Glossarium Mediae Latinitatis ab Anno DCCC usque ad Annum MCC, ed. F. Blatt (Copenhagen, 1957 — ). OCD = Simon Hornblower and Antony Spawforth, The Oxford Classical Dictionary, 3rd ed. (Oxford and New York, 1996). ODB - Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium, 3 vols. (Oxford, 1991). OLD - Oxford Latin Dictionary, ed. P. Glare (Oxford, 1968). Orbis

Latinus

J.G.T. Grásse,

Orbis

Latinus:

Lexikon

lateinischer

geographischer Namen des Mittelalters und der Neuzeit. 3 vols. (Braunschweig, 1972). Orchard, Pride and Prodigies = Andy Orchard, Pride and Prodigies: Studies in the Monsters of the Beowulf-Manuscript (Toronto, 1995). Pertz, De cosmographia Ethici = K.A.F. Pertz, De cosmographia Ethici libri tres (Berlin, 1853). Plater and White = W.E. Plater and H.J. White, 4 Gràmmar of the Vulgate (Oxford, 1926). Politzer, Eighth-Century Documents — Robert L. Politzer, A Study of the Language of Eighth-Century Lombardic Documents (New York, 1949). PL = Patrologia Latina, ed. J.-P. Migne. Prinz, ed. = O. Prinz, ed., Die Kosmographie des Aethicus. MGH: Quellen zur Geistegeschichte des Mittelalters 14 (Munich, 1993). Prinz, “Untersuchungen” — Otto Prinz, “Untersuchungen zur Überlieferung und zur Orthographie der Kosmographie des Aethicus," Deutsches Archiv für Erforschung des Mittelalters 37.2 (1981), 474—510. RE = Paulys Real-Encyclopádie der classischen Altertumswissenschaft: neue Bearbeitung, 34 vols in 68 (Stuttgart, 1893—1972). REW = W. Meyer-Lübke, Romanisches etymologisches Worterbuch. 3rd ed. (New York, 1923).

Cxviii

Aethicus Ister

Romm, The Edees of the Earth = James S. Romm, The Edges of the Earth in Ancient Thought: Geography, Exploration, and Fiction (Princeton, 1992). Roscher, Lexikon = W.H. Roscher, Ausfürhliches Lexikon der griechischen und rómischen Mythologie, 7 vols. (Leipzig, 1884—1886). schwyzer, Griechische Grammatik = Eduard Schwyzer, Griechische Grammatik auf der Grundlage von Karl Brugmanns Griechischer Grammatik, 4th ed. 3 vols. (Munich, 1968). Shanzer, “The Cosmographia Attributed to Aethicus Ister" = Danuta Shanzer, “The Cosmographia Attributed to Aethicus Ister," in [gnis Sophiae Arcator, pp. 57—86. Smyth,

“Das

Universum"

Marina

Smyth,

“Das

Universum

der

Kosmographie des Aethicus Ister," in H. Dopsch and R. Juffinger, eds., Virgil von Salzburg. Missionar und Gelehrter: Beitrdge des Internationalen Symposiums vom 21.—24. September 1964 in der Salzburger Residenz (Salzburg, 1985). Stoneman, Life in Legend — Richard Stoneman, Alexander the Great: A Life in Legend (New Haven and London, 2008). Stotz — Peter Stotz, Lateinische Sprache

des Mittelalters,

5 vols. (Munich,

1996—2004). StS — E. Steinmeyer and E. Sievers, Die althochdeutschen Glossen. 5 vols. (Berlin, 1879—1922) Thiel, Grundlagen und Gestalt der Hebrdischkenntnisse = Matthias Thiel, Grundlagen und Gestalt der Hebrdischkenntnisse des frühen Mittelalters (Spoleto, 1973). TLL — Thesaurus Linguae Latinae. Tristrtam,

“Ohthere”

H.L.C.

Tristram,

Aethicus Ister," Zeitschrift für Literatur 151.3 (1982), 154-68.

Winterbottom,

Review

Prinz

“Ohthere,

Deutsches Michael

Wulfstan

Altertum

Winterbottom,

und

der

Deutsche Review

O. Prinz, Die Kosmographie des Aethicus, Peritia 9 (1995), 430—32. Wolska, La Topographie = Wanda Wolska, La Topographie chrétienne de Cosmas Indicopleustes (Paris, 1962). Wuttke — H. Wuttke, ed., Die Kosmographie des lstrier Aethicos im lateinischen Auszuge des Hieronymus (Leipzig, 1853). Other Abbreviations a. — anno CL - Classical Latin Fr. = French

Abbreviations

cxix

Jt. = Italian OE - Old English OHD - Old High German

Sp. = Spanish

VL = Vulgar Latin Sigla

A = Admont, Stiftsbibliothek, Fragment from Codex 472

G = St. Gall, Stiftsbibliothek, MS 133 L = Leipzig, Universitütsbibliothek, MS Repos. I 4° 72 O = Oxford, Bodleian Library, MS Junius 25 R = Vatican City, Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, Reg. Lat. 1260 S = Leiden, Universiteitsbibliotheek, Codex Scaligeranus 69 W - Wolfenbüttel, Herzog August Bibliothek, MS 80.6 Aug. 8? Whs = Munich, Staatsbibliothek, clm 901 V — Leiden, Universiteitsbibliotheek, Voss. Lat. F 113 & — archetype (uncorrected readings in LOGWV in §§1-43; LOV 113) Av — D'Avezac edd. = consensus editorum (AvWuPr) Pr 7 Prinz Wu = Wuttke Editorial Symbols t T = locus desperatus lacuna < > suppletion [ ] deletion { } words supplied in the translation that are not in the Latin text * item in Addenda et Corrigenda

in §44—

The Cosmography

INCIPIT LIBER AETHICO TRANSLATO PHILOSOPHICO EDITO ORACVLO HIERONIMO PRESBYTERO, DILATVM EX CHOSMOGRAFIA, ID EST MVNDI SCRIPTVRA. EDICTA AETHICI PHILOSOPHI CHOSMOGRAFI secundum

SOPHISTAE.

INCIPIVNT

CAPITVLA

LIBRI

I Liber Ethico translato philosophico

PHILOSOPHI

ATQVE

editus oraculo a Hieronimo

ETHICI

presbyterq

V De artium plurimarum

instrumenta

delatum ex cosmographia, id est mundi scriptura. II De informe materia III De orbe condita IIII De gentibus quae

uetus testamentum

non habent

VIII De

quas

non

VI De nauibus ignotis et earum argumenta VII De insulis gentium plurimarumque arcium questionibus

alia

scriptura

narrat

VIIII De

terra

et aquarum

decursu

ue]

uenis aquarum De flatu uentorum et aquarum motione EXPLICIVNT CAPITVLA INCIPIT DE INFORME MATERIA

$1. Philosophorum scidolas sagace indagatione inuestigans, mihi laborem tantundem apposui^ achademicus tanto studio indagare, et altiora magnatimque ac cursim autem^ astrologia fastigiaque excellentia «xplanare,^ quae necdum cerni quis possit. Illi conati sunt tam magna 5 dixisse, quae nos metuendo ac dubitando scribere uel legere in usum 88 coepimus «eb temeranter adtrectare. Quaed Aethicus iste chosmografus tam difficilia appetisse didicerit, quaeque et Moyses et uetus historia in enarrando distulerint® hic secerpens protuli./ Vnde legentibus obsecro ne me

temerarium

aestiment,

cum

tanta

10 indagatione concurrisse^ [quae]/ conpererint.

aliorum

audacia€

mea

? apposui] scripsi : opposui GF : obposui LOWhs; cf. comm. ad loc. bautem] scripsi : tam o Cexplanare] suppleui ^Quae] scripsi : Quur a. *distulerint] scripsi : distulit et o ^ protuli]

VIWu : protulit advPr . Saudacia] audatia G, audatiam V — " concurrisse] V2 : cucurrisse o ! quae] seclusit W

$2. Hic igitur Aethicus Istriae regione sofista claruit, primosque codices suos Chosmografiam nuncupauit, aliosque non minora sed maiora dixisse cognouimus quos Sofogrammius appellauit. In codices ubi cosmografiam digressus est multa enucleatim «de»? fabricam inenarrabilem texere ait. 4 de] suppleui

$3. Primum omnium initium mirabiliorum Deus instituit, illudque fundamentum principaliter posuit sua dispensatione mirabiliter atque 89 potenter, quando omnes creaturas indiuisas atque inconpositas in sua sapientia «im aedificium summopere in unam ergatam instituit;¢ atque eas 5 quas ex nihilo fecit multipliciter prolatas® dilatauit, et [omnes creaturas quas ex nihilo fecit]? incunctanter omnia quasi aceruum eminentem

HERE BEGINS THE BOOK OF AETHICUS THE PHILOSOPHICAL ORACLE, TRANSLATED AND EDITED BY HIERONYMUS THE PRESBYTER, TAKEN FROM THE COSMOGRAPHY, THAT IS THE DESCRIPTION OF THE COSMOS. THE SAYINGS OF AETHICUS PHILOSOPHER AND COSMOGRAPHER

:$1. While investigating the pages of the philosophers in keen study, I -assigned' to myself a task proportionate to^ {my} enthusiasm’ to investigate -Jearned writers," the deeper places? to a significant degree,? and cursorily «to .explaim astronomical matters and the excelling heights, which no one yet' is -able to perceive.® Those íwriters) attempted to speak about such great’ matters, which we with trepidation and hesitation have begun to transcribe and select for use «and» boldly to discuss. I have reproduced here in “selection the very difficult matters which the cosmographer Aethicus learned 'to pursue, and also the matters which Moses and the Old Testament omitted in their narrative. Hence, I implore my readers'' not to think me imprudent, ^when they discover that certain very great {achievements} owed to the daring of others are harmonized by my investigation.

§2. This Aethicus was a brilliant sophist from the region of Istria." And he -called his first books the Cosmography, and we know that he dictated others

not smaller, but larger, which he called Wisdom

Writings." In the books

-where he digressed on cosmography he claims that he interwove .matters in plain speech «egardingo the ineffable creation. ;';§3. God

instituted

the

first beginning14

of all miracles,?

and

in the

many

first

Anstance established the foundation miraculously and powerfully through his : dlspensatlon when in his wisdom and with utmost effort he placed all “creatures unseparated and incomposite into a str uctule with a single action;’ "and those creatures that he made out of nothing'’ he produced and extended jin multiple form, and instantaneously all things in their diversity were

Aethicus Ister $$3—5 nouorum frugum diuersaque in unum collecta. Nonnulla recondered semina, ut uidimus, in unam congeriem, gramina disparilia mira structura coaptata, et alia uentilata separatim diuidere gramina. Materiam autem informem sic in multas species diuisit. Vnam itaque atque idem TstatuamT^ in una massa informe fuisse institutam; ipsam autem 90 materiam in multas species diuisit. Mundus quidem in massa informe fuit

constitutus/ sine uocabulo ac discretione,? suamque formam repositam,

dum altiora consistunt.

fabrica

tecta

uidebatur,

unde

mirabiliter

^ instituit] statuit ¥ ? prolatas] ¥/ : prolata a. Comnes ... fecit] seclusi recedere LO — *Tstatuamt[] anm legitur statumen?; constitutus fuit G &ac discretione] ad discritionem L

c¢f

comm.

firmata

"recondere]

loc. ffuit

arce

GVWhs :

constitutus]

§4. Paradisus de ea massa quae meliora^ fuit indiscretus credatur fuisse cum nouem ordinibus angelorum sursum. Primam eleuationem? ordinem decimam ignis spirans flatum, [in] ordinem refulgentem conditam facturae^ signaculum quae ruinam fecit. Ordo idem decimus^ futurum cum hominibus sanctis. Glebam in unam partem diu a* conditore seruatam adsignatam, cuncta producta «ad» optimam reseruare facturam. ^meliora] LOGWhs : melior V; cf. comm. ad loc. — Peleuationem] scripsi: eleuatam Cfacturae] V : facturam L2, factore LOGW " decimus] dicimus G. *diu a] diuisam G

$5. Infernum in [uma parte]? infimo uoraginem asperam [in] baratrum fore teterrimum ab alto sulphure.? Casurus quos adtendebat in conditione priores, discerptam nubilo flammam, ignem conicere rutulantem; eiusque condicione fieri^ tormentis ac poenis perpetuis sub terra collocata 91 sartagine,7 sub illaque nulla inferius ad examinationem malorum, crudelium atque damnabilium, quae quadrifarie secernendo scribit diuisum. Primam partem regionem tenebrarum ab aquilone, sicut ait propheta: *Ab aquilone malum inducam super terram." Secundam ab oriente ardorem atque? uaporem, sulphoria flamma «ac» quaeque diuersa 10 tormenta. «Tertiam»/ a meridie ignem dicit transiturium sursum inferno inferiore, quae necdum damnabilis sed reparaturos post lapsum «purgeb,S ut ait propheta: “Transiuimus per ignem et aquam et induxisti nos in refrigerium." «Per quam aquam purgatam animam a^ peccatis, per ignem abluenda uitia uel refrigeranda post laborem. Quartam partem ab occiduo, 15 quod stagnum ignis e diuerso ruinam impiorum nominat, iter exterminii uermium ac serpentium bestiarumque immortalium. Occidua parte 92 submersionem, frigus et/ stridor dentium, ut ait propheta: “In inferno

Cosmographia $93—5

. gathered into one place like a high heap of new crops. As we have seen, he -Sstored some seeds and various'® grasses joined together in a single pile of remarkable structure, and other grasses, having been winnowed, he divided -into separate heaps. Thus he divided unformed matter into many species. “And so, one and the same Tstructuref ^ was drawn up into a single

-unformed mass; he divided this matter into many species. The world was “established in the unformed mass without a name'^ and without separation, vand

its form

was

put in place when

the higher

fabric^ was

seen to be

covere% lover, and hence stands firm in marvellous fashion strengthened by a

- citadel."

- §4. It should be believed that paradise®® with its nine orders of angels® * above was unseparated {and made} out of that mass which was the better.** . He says that the first elevation is the tenth order {of angels] ? breathing a .fiery wind, an order created flashing the sign of the creature that caused ruin. . This same tenth order shall be {reestablished} among saintly men.”® A plot . of earth in one part had long been saved and assigned by the creator, and all of its produce reserved^' «fon the very best creature.

. 85. (He says that} hell is*® a pungent whirlpool in the deepest part (of the world), an abyss most foul from the deep sulphur.^ Those whom He . heeded, " who were foremost in their condition,"' having seized flame from a "-cloud as they were about to fall, hurled flashing fire; and for this condition™

a baking-pan’ situated under the earth was made for torments and perpetual pains, and beneath it there is nothing"" lower for the inquisition of the evil, ' eruel and damnable, which he describes as divided, separating {it} into four - parts. The first part {is} the region of darkness to the North; as the prophet

: said, “I shall bring evil upon the earth from the North.”” The second region

: to the East is heat and vapour, fire and brimstone, «and» various torments. He - claims that the «third» region to the South is a transitory fire^ above"! the inferno below, «to purify» those who are not completely damnable, but can - be mended after a fall; as the prophet said, *We have passed through fire and . water, and thou has brought us out into refreshment."* (Througl» this water .the spirit is purged of its sins, through fire vices are cleansed, and {the .Spirit will be refreshed after its labour. The fourth region is to the West, " which he calls *a pool of fire,” or variously, “the ruin of the impious," the

Aethicus Ister $$5—9 autem quis confitebitur tibi?” Haec omnia subterius in ipsa massa deorsum [a Deo iudicando}/ iudicio Dei habuisse sub formam Aethicus sofista scripsit.

^ima

parte]

glossam

interpolatam | seclusi

OGWhsVAvPr; cf. comm. ad loc. *fieri] om. G LWu, catagine OGWRhsAvPr; cf. comm. ad loc.

AvWu loc..

S€purget] suppleui

"a] om. L

‘et] ac LG

bsulphure]

L2Wu:

sophire

sopire

dsartagine] scripsi ; carthagine V, catagina €atque] add. per LO JTertiam] suppleuit

/a Deo iudicando] seclusi; cf. comm. ad

$6. Terram dicit [in ipsam massam]^ cum suis possessoribus et pecoribus ac bestiis uolatilibus cum aere, ut hemitica, carpaica, satayca et sorrectica

ac humarrica atque athomica torradicaque safargica, sparaca, et brum- 93

marica in eaque massa posita.

7 lin ipsam massam] seclusi; cf. comm. ad loc..

§7. Mare adserit similitudinem . pellicolam^ molliorem ac crassiorem, myrpho«picum quasi bitumine; parte maxima in ea forma tenere cum diuersis generibus piscium beluisque et^ bestiis; sablo similitudinem habere. ^ pellicolam] scripsi : pelbhloicam o, cf. comm. ad loc.

Pet] ac Whs

§8. Caelum dicit aerea massa similitudinem fieri super ea parte qua terra, quo mare statutum stellis, discursiones,

fuerat, cum sole et luna, astris et sideribus ac 94 suffusiones atque certa indicia, et in similitudinem

pellium extensum aequae^ membranae subpositum quasi uelum 5 uelandamque ornaturam® supernorum ciuium, ne illa agmina possent cerni «ab eis qui¢ uelamine teguntur peccatorum. Adserit eum esse sub alios

sex,

qui

sursum

sunt

mirabiliores

atque

pretiosiores,

ubi

sunt

caelicole collocati. Quos firmamentum appellauit, eo quod post ruinam antiquam ultra corrui ex ea parte nullatenus possint, cum stabile ac 10 immobile sint¢ situ. Haec omnia habuit ipsa massa inseparabilis et indiuisa in informe illa materia simul constituta. ^aequae] ie. aeque — b p*rnaturam] OGWhsV

OV : ornaturum LGWhs

— ^qui]

quia

VWu

dsint]

om.

$9. [I. DE IPSA STATVA AC MASSA]^ Qualis species prima diuisa fuit ab his omnibus? Vel quod diabolus procul dubium, qui decimam eleuationem in cacumine in ea massa in initium ignis lumine claram eminentiam refulserat, et qui primus in luce claruit, idemque? primus^

Cosmographia $$5—9

road of extinction by worms and serpents and beasts that never die. In the western region is submersion, cold and the “gnashing of teeth,”” as the prophet said: *And who shall confess to thee in hell?"? Aethicus the sophist wrote at a later point" that all these things in that mass below are held beneath the formation* by the judgement of God.^

§6. He says that the earth," — as sanguine, fructifying, heavy, heaped, bituminous, atomic, scorching, burning, crackling and wintry? — together with its possessors and cattle, beasts and birds, and air, are placed in that

mass.^?

$7. He claims that the sea in the likeness of a little skin," {is} rather soft and thick {and} resinous like bitumen;* it has the greatest part in that form," together with various kinds of fish, monsters and beasts, {and} bears a resemblance to sand.

$8. He says that the sky?

is made like a mass of air over that region where

the earth and sea had been

étoiles and Sterne,"

placed,

together with the sun and moon,

scatterings and suffusions®

stars,

and certain indications;"

and stretched like skins™ or a membrane, it is placed beneath as a veil in

order to conceal and embellish the heavenly citizens," lest those hosts might be seen «by those who are covered with a veil of sins. He claims that it exists

below

six

other

heavens

above, ^ which

are

marvellous

and

splendid, and where the heavenly ones are gathered. These {heavens} he called the firmament,”’ because after the ancient fall {the heavenly ones} can in no way tumble from that region, because they are {in} a stable and immovable place. This inseparable and indivisible mass had all these {properties}, having been constituted on a single occasion in that unformed matter.

$9. REGARDING THIS FORMATION AND MASS. Which™ species

was first separated from all the rest? Or is it not without doubt that the Devil, who, in the tenth elevation at the peak in that mass, radiated his eminence at

the beginning, brilliant with the light of fire, and who shone foremost with

Aethicus Ister $$9—10b

5 liuorem superbiae ambiens a culmine altitudinis decedit? Hoc utique 95 ante omnem

creaturam mundi creati sunt angeli et ante omnem

creaturam

angelorum conditus est diabolus.

“DE IPSA STATVA AC MASSA] DE IPSA MASSA AC STATVA CONDITO V bidemquc] edd : idque o * primus] primos L, corr. L2.

ORBE

$10a. Confundunt multi operibus Dei, alia pro aliis mendaciter fallentes, quod diabolus in suo iudicio non demum arbitratus, sed suo liuore uulneratus, sibimet nefandam damnationem postmodum suae ruinae acciperet.^ Sed sciendum est utique quia in ipsa massa, quae materies informes habuit, quando omnipotens multifarie eam diuisit in iudicio suo, nouerat praesciendo electos et ruituros impios. Sicut ei «cognitum»? fuit in ipsa massa uel materia rude et infernum damnatorum mole liuores corrui malos, «sio ^ et paradisum^ iustorum et angelorum uel sanctorum beatitudinem inmensam recipere «bonos*? et sine fine aeterna gaudia possedere. Et qui prior in ordine claritatem inmensam cerni gloriatus est, plus superbia inimica «ao iactantia erupit. Quum/ Omnipotens4 tanta fecisse«b et tam magna statuisse«b, humile ac laudabile mansuetudine” laudabileque ac^" magnifica uoce, “ter sanctus," sicut alia agmina subplici confessione proclamassent. Qui/ elata/ contumelia non meruit tam nouam et inmensam percipere gloriam; et sicut prae ceteris eminentior in Omnipotentis massa informe claruerat, «sic tam tumidus tamque 96 superbus eleuare callidus^ «eb ignifer spiritus appetiuit ut se contra deum extolleret dicens: “Ponam sedem meam ad aquilonem, super astra Dei exaltabo solium meum superque altitudinem nubium ascendam; similis ero altissimo."

" acciperet] acciperit V1, arceretLO b cognitum] suppleui. incipit

W — *bonos]

suppleui

fQuum]

scripsi:

cum

Omnipotentis LOV — "-^ mansuetudine ... ac] om. G. electa O

* callidus] calidus LOJ; cf. comm. ad loc.

^sic] supplewi

quam

“et paradisum] hic

aPrWu

qui] L1 : quia a

$Omnipotens]

Jelata] elatus V,

§10b. Tam inaudita et absorda calliditas," qui? contra conditorem eleuatus, ei similis esse uoluit qui ex nihilo eum condiderat. Et tantum eius ruina esse potuit inferius quantum se extulerat eminentius, ut non fierit forma quae inferius erat "impiorum excidium" uacua sine 5 habitatoribus, quemadmodum nec caelorum magnitudo sine conciuibus sanctis ac beatis angelorum agminibus et archangelorum, thronis ac dominationibus, principatus ac potestates uel uirtutes, cherubim atque^ seraphim, praeter illam partem quae sine habitatoribus erat, unde ipse

Cosmographia $$9—10b

his light, and the same who, going about in the ill-will of his pride, was the first to fall from the grandeur of his height? Thus,'" surely, the angels were created before every other creature in the world, and the Devil was made before the entire creation of angels.?'

810a. Many confuse the works'^ of God, falsely mistaking® some for others, in that the Devil, not reasoning precisely with his judgement, but wounded by his malice, afterwards received the abominable punishment of his ruin. But indeed it should be known that when the Omnipotent divided that mass which contained unformed matter into many species according to his judgement, he knew by his prescience both the elect and the wicked who would fall into it. Just as it was to him that the wicked through the weight of their spite would fall into this mass and rude matter and inferno of the damned, «so» also {it was known} that «the good» would receive the paradise of the just and the immeasurable blessedness of the angels and saints, and possess eternal joys without end. And he {the devil}, who being first in his order boasted that his immeasurable brilliance was obvious, burst

forth all the more with hostile pride «and» arrogance. When the Almighty had made such great things and established them, he called out “thrice blessed" with mild and exemplary gentleness and with a word of glorification and laudation, just as the other ranks had proclaimed with suppliant praise. He who with swollen pride did not deserve to receive such novel and limitless glory; and, just as he had shone as more eminent than the rest in the Almighty's unformed mass, «so» this puffed-up, proud in his elevation, cunning”™ «and» fiery spirit sought to raise himself against God, saying: “I shall establish my seat in the North. I shall exalt my throne above the stars of God, I shall ascend above the heights of the clouds, I shall be like

the Most High."? $10b. This unexampled and senseless incarnation of cleverness, who?? raised himself up against his Creator, desired to be like the one who had made him out of nothing. And to the extent his fall could be lower, to the same extent he had raised himself higher, so that the formation that was *the destruction of the wicked"?' below might not be empty, lacking inhabitants, just as the vastness of the heavens would not be without holy fellow-citizens and the blessed ranks of angels and archangels, thrones and dominations, principalities,”® powers and virtues, cherubim and seraphim, except for that

Aethicus Ister $$10b—11 antiquus

sursum,

hostis

corruerat,

hominibus

sanctis,

summo? per

arche;

Dominum

imo

esse

cum

repletum.

protoplausto? Quae

ipse

Euangelio desertum in parabolis praedixit absque ouibus, ubi ouem quae in imo perierat ab inferis suis humeris euexit, ut quemadmodum antiquus

hostis ardua fastigia in/ inferiora decessit, sic ab imo excellentissima

parte, quae remanserat inculta,& animabus sanctis Deique agricolis 15 repleretur, et" ignis feruens, truculenta fabrica, cremaretur” cum spiritu qui primus flatum a conditore acciperat. Et ob hoc aerii spiritus dicerentur quasi ab aere flatu ualedo cum feruore ignis crepitare. Vnde credimus eam fragorem conmixtim cum rumore tonitrui, secerpta flante uehementi anhelitu ignifera iacula, ab initio a creatore ob eorum offensa pro illa 20 superbia sceleratim admissa, non solum tartareca ac truculenta laci! antiqui tormenta inimicis saeuis adgredere, nec non et obturatis nubium densitate rumureque/ tonitrui aerea igne conmixta igneis* malignorum spiritibus talia mundi subiacere, ut qui’ ex alto corruerant, si ab"' inferis prae terrore et" tribulatione aera petierint, statim cum angelis sanctis 25 submoti ac igne inminente choarcendi sunt. ^ calliditas] caliditas O/

^qui] quae L24vWu; cf. comm. ad loc.

Catque] et V.

^summo] a:

summa L/ *cum protoplausto] L/ : com(con)plausto a; cf. comm. ad loc. fin] om. G £inculta] om. L ^-"et ... cremaretur] om. GW — !laci] laici L /rumureque] murmureque L2Wu; cf. comm. ad loc. kigneis] O : igneos LYGW lqui] que L "siab]sub O "et] ex L

§11. Aethicus itaque philosophus de hac creatura multa scripsit. Nos uero quae utilia cognouimus ac retinenda ab omnibus in structuram 98 parilium? librorum e Chosmografia recipiendo, et quicquid causa ueritatis inibi continetur cum tremoris reuerentia texuimus. Multas philosophorum 5 labores et tot inuenisse et tam magna

dixisse « . . . »,? anhelitus corporis

mei cum tedio multo patitur anxietates^ uitae meae. « . . . » et illud quod ait Alchimus, ut diabolus, qui primus conditus fuerat et primus corruerat, in die iudicii ante omnes pessimos homines diabolus punietur et in^ infernum reclaudetur, quia “quique creaturae praefulsit in ordine primus" 10 et uiarum Dei claruit in rude miraculum, idemque primus in nouissimo, iudice? terribile uenturo, poenas daturus./ Quales ab initio dictae sunt in cauernam laci, tot ante tribunal regis in ipso iudicio dilatae mortisque indicium peccatorum, idemque cum auctore mortis praeferendae atque ostendendae

erunt,

relegato

catenato

id«em»que

antiquo

serpente,

I5 cernantg impii truculentissimum ac furibundum mortis auctorem, 99 quem secuti fuerunt in “desideria multa inutilia” et nociua quae mergunt hominem in interitum." Et quot malis passuri sunt impii in infernum tot

Cosmographia $$10b—11

part that was without inhabitants, from which the ancient enemy had fallen, the highest kingdom;*® this was replenished above by the Lord with protoplasm® from below, the saintly men. He himself in the Gospel" proclaimed these things in parables to be a desert place without sheep, when he raised up on to his shoulders the sheep that had fallen to a place below, so that, just as the ancient enemy’' had fallen from lofty heights to lower (places), so too the very best place,^ which had remained uncultivated, would be replenished from below with saintly souls and the tillers of the Lord,” and the glowing fire, the savage creation that first had taken breath from its creator, would be burned together with its spirit. And hence they might be called aerial spirits,’* as though they crackled from the air with a powerful blast with the intensity of fire. Hence we believe that this sound” crackling in mixed fashion’® with the noise of thunder, after a powerful fiery breath and flaming dart had been snatched away, was permitted from the beginning by the Creator, on account of their offences and that pride that was criminally’’ accepted, not only to inflict the hellish and savage torments of the ancient lake upon fierce enemies, but also’® to subjugate" by means of dense clouds and the rumbling" of thunder and fiery air such parts of the universe as are mingled with the imprisoned"! fiery spirits of the wicked, so that those who had fallen from on high, should they seek the upper air from below on account of their terror and tribulation, repelled immediately with® holy angels and menacing fire, will be constrained.? §11. And so the philosopher Aethicus wrote many things about this creature. The matters that we have found worth retaining by everyone we have woven with reverential dread into a structure of similar®™ books, taking {material} from the Cosmography and whatever was contained in it that served the truth. until he ran against the Isle of Syrtinice. And ". fhere he found terrible, unknown little beasts: water serpents"" equipped with stingers like a porcupine's, and a swarm of Sil‘ell-sel‘pents;'87 overcome * with terrible fear of these, no hope for the future awaited " him. On the - aforesaid island there were numerous tamarisks, trees imbued with such bitterness"? that its bark and fruit give the flavour of aloe. Indeed, those *. beasts which contain the poison strip off its bark so as to make their poison

: even more acute. ^"

Aethicus Ister

$$21b—22

§21b. Montemque habet Austronothium [in] ea insola. Narrat eum non minorem eminentiam habere quam Caucasum et Astrixim. Tantam scribit eius altitudinem ut si deorsum aspicias a superius, nubes tamquam scabillum pedum credas. Ibi ascensum quasi per gradus habere, et criptas 5 tanta uoragine ad meridiem fore et crepidines et calles eminentes terribiles nimium; ipsumque montem diuersos stridores strepitusque^ 110 reddentem tubarum? similitudinem reboantum.^ Illuc enim ascendisse se fertur, et splendorem solis uim tantae claritatis «habere» ? ut cerni «ui»oe quid/ possit a facie solis et ignis. Idem refert sofista de uertice ipsius 10

montis arduae ultra oceanum uidisse, autumans

flatum uentus australis in

modum columnarum quasi palmarum anelitus nimiam extensionem ' and up to now many miners^" in these islands employed this method. If on the seashores or river banks gravel {mixed} with sand emits the whiteness of chalk, and red, hot (but not too hot) and bubbly tiny rivulets pour out from a part of the veins in a mixture with foamy and hot earth,”” you will find gold or yellow copper ore or bronze in quarries on the shores which have hot, heaped-up^" earth.”” But mines^^ of silver and tin metals are also found in scattered places. Aquitania in particular, Spain, Valeria,"" and many other regions of the earth have them, and they are very easily^? discovered^" by the inhabitants or by local prospectors;"" indeed, he stated that a pit of gold or yellow copper24[ (can be} found by skilful miners in the way that^" above.

§27. (On! the Orkneys and Hebrides^" he found a large quantity of very fine and beautiful yellow copper. From there a part of the sea from Ocean"" extends forward and verges towards Germany in its southern part.^? {Aethicus} was the first to find large and numerous mines in the said Orkneys,

which

no one

{oral} memory or he composed with mentioned by the about these islands

before

him

had

discovered,

whether

according to

a written account.^^ And he entitled the little book which his own skill The Country of Arts," and claimed that it is poets.^ He described many other perplexing matters in his Aenigmata that we hold uncertain or dubious.^"

$28. He describes the northern isle of Munitia.^" Examining the Dogheaded”' men there according to his well-known investigative method, {he claims that} their heads resemble canine heads,”” but the rest of their members — hands, feet — were of the human species {and} like other race{s} of men.^? They are tall in stature, savage in appearance, and {one finds] also unheard-of monstrosities among those whom neighbouring peoples around them call Cainanei,"" for their women do not bear a very great resemblance to the men. They are a miscreant race, which no history describes except our philosopher's. And the peoples of Germany, especially

Aethicus Ister $$28—30

10 gentem illam *C«d»ananeos" uocitant. Idem gentiles nudatis cruribus incedunt, crines nutriunt oleo inlitas aut adipe fetore nimium reddentes, spurcissimam uitam ducentes. Inmundarum quatrupediarum inlicita comedent, mus et talpas et reliqua. Aedificia nulla condigna, trauis cum tentoriis filteratis utentes; siluestria loca et deuia, paludes et arundinosa; 15 pecora nimium et auium copia ouiumque^ plurimarum. Ignorantes deum, demonia et auguria^ colentes, regem non habent. Stagno magis utuntur quam argento; molliorem et clariorem argentum dic*nt stagnum; nam illarum partium non inuenitur, nisi illinc fuerit delatum aliunde; 116 aurum inuenitur in litoribus eorum. Fruges non gignit nec holera; lactis 20 copia multum, mel parum. Haec omnia idem philosophus profana mentione scribit. ^ Cainaneos] scripsi: Cananeos LOV; cf. comm. ad loc. auria LGW

P copia ouiumque] om. G.

auguria]

§29. Sic et Vafros, Fricontas, Murrinos, Alapes, Turchus, Alanus, Meotas, Chugnos,

Frigis, Danus,

Vinnosus,^

Rifeos, Olches,

quos uulgus

in illis

regionibus *Orcus"^ appellant, gentes spurcissimas ac uita inmundissima degentes ultra omnia regna terrarum, sine deo, sine lege uel caerimonias. 5 Nam et illarum regionum pagi omnes? Germania est appellata, eo 117 quod «gentes sint inmania corpora inmanesque nationes, seuissimis moribus

duratae;

gentes. Centum inhabitabiles/ a£ [0 Meotidas paludes. ^ Vinnosu(o)s] regionibus g

adeo

indomiti,

pagos dicit Reno fluuio

Vinosus G, cf. comm

GWV

. *caerimonias]

fet inhabitabiles] om. G

frigore

esse usque

ad loc.;

caerimoniis

et rigore

ultra

omnes

inter «plagas? habitabiles oceanum,? insolas plurimas

et et

"in illis regionibus Orcus] Orcos(-us) in illis OV/

domnes

$^ $a Reno fluuio usque oceanum] om.

[IIL MVLTA SCRIBIT DE TESTAMENTVM NON HABE[N]T]

ferentes

GENTIBVS

omnis

Cplagas|

QVAE

suppleui Pl

VETUS

$30. Aliarum gentium originem obmissam, quae agiografia ueteris testamenti concelebrat, idem philosophus non scribit, quia omnes 5 scripturas et legum et liberalium «litterarum»^ fontem uiuum et matrem historiarum? appellat Legem Moysi plurimum conlaudat; losephum affatim ac celebre eius historiam retenit, et ea quae in eorum codicibus

inuenit denuo scribere et retexere noluit. Dicit enim ob hoc uagas et

Cosmographia $928—30

their tribute collectors and merchants, affirm that they often come to this island?? for sea commerce, and they call that people Chananei.P^ These same heathens?" go about bare-legged, and they treat their hair by smearing it in oil or fat, which gives off a terrible stench; they lead a most filthy life. They eat the forbidden meat of unclean quadrupeds - mice,”® moles, and the

like. They have no proper buildings, but make use of poles?? with felt tentcoverh—]gs;zöO their settlements are in wooded and remote locations, swamps and marshy places; cattle are abundant, and there is a good supply of game birds as well as numerous sheep. Ignorant of God, worshipping demons® and omens,* they have no king. They use tin rather than silver, {and} they

say that it is softer and brighter than silver;^" indeed, {silver} is not found in

those parts unless brought there from elsewhere; gold is found on their shores.^" The land produces neither corn nor vegetables; there is an abundance of milk, {but} very little honey. The same philosopher describes all these matters in his record of the heathens./^ §29. Likewise, too, the Vaﬁ"i,Z(’(’ Friconti, Murrini, Alapes, Turks, Alani, Meotae, Huns, Frisians, Danes, Vinnosi, Riphaeans, and Olches, whom the

folk in those parts call orci, " very filthy peoples leading the most foul life — worse than^?* all the kingdoms of the world — without a god, or làw, or rituals. Moreover, all the districts of those lands are called Germania, because the «peoples^" are immense in body?? and are monstrous races, hardened by the most savage folkways; moreover, they are indomitable, bearing cold and hardship better than all {other} peoples. He claims that there are one hundred districts" between the inhabitable and uninhabitable «egions from the River Rhine to Ocean, numerous islands, and the Meotidan Swamps.^^

[IIIL. HE DESCRIBES MANY THINGS REGARDING THE WHOM THE OLD TESTAMENT DOES NOT CONTAIN] §30. The peoples because liberal" ? Torah of not wish

PEOPLES

same philosopher does not describe, but omits, the origins of other which the sacred writing of the Old Testament makes known, he calls all the Scriptures the living fountain of the laws and detters» and the mother of histories. He showers much praise on the Moses,""" and retains much of Josephus and his history,”” and did to describe anew or repeat those matters which he found in their

Aethicus Ister

$$30—31

stultas gentes non scripsisse, quia indigna et uana eorum facta et gesta 10 fuerunt in diis gentium et abominationibus, idolis simulacrorum, et alia multa magicis artibus inuenta, et non scientia Dei ore prophetico elimata, Pulchre enim huic loco scripturae suae historia sancta inlustrat. Ait etenim: “Si ea facta uel adinuentiones, quae apud gentes quae ad 118 aquilonem sunt, et artium plurimarum in aere et ferro, arma et nauale 15 instructione et captura bestiarum et uolucrum, murorum scientia, et alia nonnulla unum uolumen «scriberentup,^ uel multorum philosophorum et scriptorum indagatio ultra omnes uires lasisceret." [quae ab occiduo usque orientem septentrionale plaga in insolis et tenturiis tribus Iafeth dilatatur]4 "7|itterarum] suppl. Winterbottom, p. 431; cf. comm. ad loc. bhistoriarum] ^scriberentur] suppleui d quae . . . dilatatur] seclusi ; cf. comm. ad loc..

[[IIII. DE ARTIVM PLVRIMARVM

historiam LO

INSTRVMENTA |4

831. Gentes et insolas septentrionales hic philosophus adgreditur. Griphas gentes proximam oceani partem, unde ait uetusta fama processisse Saxonum sobolem et ad Germaniam proeliorum feritate? peraccessisse. 5 Gentes

stultissimas,

uelut

ferarum

strutionum

uel

curcodrillium

scurpionum genera, sunt inter alias gentes ad aquilonem iuxta Iperboriis

montibus,

uallata

gentium;

ubi¢

inter

Tanais

oceanum

si captiuorum

amnis

exoritur;

et Tanaim.

nimio

Gens

caterua in eorum

frigore

inquieta,

manibus

undique

praedones

circum-

incucurrerit,

aliarum aut 119

10 numquam aut uix reuertere quis ualet. De ea generatione nullus® fidelis aliquando qui/ narret£ fuisse. Ea regio nulla fruge utile" gignit; bestiarum multitudinem et pecorum, equorum multitudinem eminentiores et utiliores quam 1in alias gentes, simios et pantheras. Gignit plurimum cristallum et sucinum lucidissimum et obdurantem uelut lapides et pulcherrimum. 15 Gignaros gentiles artifices diuersos in tubarum strepitu et bestiarum captura. Habet et/ aurum optimum in aliquibus locis; fabricam industriorum hominum in arma bellica: loricarum galearumque et ocreas; et diues ualde est ferro. Habet aues Hircanias et fibras quarum pinnae nocte mirae magnitudinis lucent./ Inhabitant enim oceanum borreum 20 quorum finitima barbarica, inaudita et abdita, in qua Turchi inhabitant. ^DE . ARTIVM INSVLARVMQVE Cubi] om. G.

nullis

PLVRIMARVM INSTRVMENTA] DE J GENTIVM PERITIA POSITIONE IDEM SCRIBIT PHILOSOPHVS ¥V ^feritate] ueritate G

? incucurrerit]

VW : incurrerit OGVI,

L. /qui] scripsi : quis o, cf. comm. ad loc.

incucurrit L; cf. comm.

ad loc.

*nullus]

8narret] narratur W24vWu — "nulla fruge

utile] nullam frugem utilem O, nullas fruges utiles W2

'et] om. L Jlucent] luceant L

Cosmographia $930—31

books. He also says that he did not write about {these} nomadic and stupid peoples on the ground that their unworthy and foolish deeds and actions were discovered in the gods of the pagans and their abominations and idolatry, and many other things in the magical arts, and not refined by true knowledge of God through the mouth of the prophets.”’® Truly, Holy Scripture fittingly illuminates this section of his own writing. He states;^" “If the deeds and the discoveries of many arts in bronze and iron that are {found} among the peoples who live in the North, as well as their weaponry, naval skill, {methods of} snaring animals and birds, and knowledge of fortifications and much else «were described> in one volume, the investigative skill of many writers and philosophers would be exhausted beyond its powers."^^* [IIII. ABOUT THE TOOLS OF MANY ARTS] §31. This philosopher then goes to the northern peoples and islands. The Grypho11—Folk279 {dwell} by the closest part of Ocean,"? from where, according to ancient report, the Saxon race^"' went out, and by the ferocity of {their} battles arrived in Germany. These peoples, who are like species of wild beasts — ostriches, crocodiles,

and scorpions — are the most stupid of

all^^ the races at the North near the Hyperborean Mountains,/* where the Don River has its source; they are enveloped on all sides by the terrible cold between Ocean and the Don. A restless race, they prey on other peoples; if a band of captives should fall^ into their hands, never, or hardly ever, is anyone^? able to escape. As for their origin, (there was} no trustworthy (personY?^ at any time who might recount {what} it was. That region produces no useful crop, {but} there are lots of animals and cattle, and numerous horses {which arej taller and more useful than {those} among other peoples; {there are} also monkeys and panthers. It also produces a good quantity of crystal and amber {that is} very brilliant and beautiful and hard as stone. {Among} the heathens {there are} various craftsmen knowledgeable in playing trumpets^" and snaring animals. In some places (the region} also has gold of the best quality. Industrious men manufacture arms for war — breastplates, helmets and greaves — for the region is exceedingly rich in iron. There are also Hircanian birds and fibrae, ? whose feathers of remarkable size glow in the night. They inhabit the northern Ocean,

whose

regions

are

barbarous,

regions) where the Turks dwell.

unknown,

and

hard

to find

—

{the

Aethicus Ister $$32—35 §32. Turchos enim alia scriptura obmittit; nam poetae et philosophi eorum mentionem faciunt non umquam,^ «sed» etiam alia gesta gentium 120 Aethicus plurimum dicit: eos «tendere? usque Euxinum maris sinus, insolis uel litoribus inclusos Birricheos montes et Taracontas insolas contra ubera aquilonis. Gens ignominiosa et incognita, monstruosa, idolatria, fornicaria in cunctis stupris et lupanariis, truculenta, a qua wocer¢ et nomen accepit, de stirpe Gog et Magog. Comedent enim uniuersa

abominabilia

et — abortiua

hominum,

| iuuenum

— carnes

iumentorumque et ursorum, uultorum et choradrium ac miluorum, bubonum atque uisontium, canum et simiarum. Statura deforme,^ numquam lotus aqua; uinum paenitus ignorant, sal nullatenus utuntur, frumentum numquam usi. Diem festum nequaquam nisi mense 121 Agusto mediante colere Saturnum, ob hoc quod temporibus Octauiani Agusti censum dederunt in auro litorico, nullorum regum aut imperatorum nec antea nec postmodum, et tunc quidem sponte. Videntes quoque uicinas regiones censum dare, arbitrati sunt quod deus dierum nouus ortus fuisset, et in ipso mense Agusto congregauerunt ad unam cateruam generationem cunctam seminis eorum in insola maiore maris oceani Taraconta. Fecerunt aceruum magnum lapide ac bitumine conglutinatum, aedificantes pilas praegrandes mirae magnitudinis et cloacas subtus marmore constructas phyrram fontem glutinantem. Et appellauerunt "Morcholom" lingua sua, id est stellam deorum, quae diriuato® nomine Saturnum appellant, et urbem maximam ac munitissimam erexerunt illic nuncupatam Taraconta. Quae gens Antechristi temporibus multam facient uastationem, et eum deum dierum appellabunt. Cum semine pessimo eorum prosapia reclusa/ portas Caspias. Habent enim statura fuligine teterrima, crines coruini similitudinis,€ — dentes — stertissimos. 122 Camelorum — multitudinem quales et Bactria gignit; mulorum copiam uelocissimorum magis quam Nabathei et Ismahelitae uel Hircani. Canes fortissimos ultra omnes generationes ingentesque ita ut leones, pardos et ursos peremant.

“non umquam] numquam OG; cf. comm. ad loc. btendere] suppleui ^uoce] scripsi; cf. comm. ad loc. ddeforme] deformes V *diriuato] diriuatiuo ¥ /reclusa] add. post AvWu $ similitudinis] similitudine L, similitudines O

§33. Alexander enim. magnus Macedo hanc generationem capere nec subicere potuit; multis nimpe uicibus exercitum uel aciem contra eos direxit et non potuit superare. Qua in re considerans eorum ferocitatem et

Cosmographia $332—33

§32. Other writings omit the Turks;^" for the poets and philosophers do not ever make mention of them,"? «bub Aethicus says much about certain®' of the doings of {these} heathens: they «extend»^^ as far as the bays of the Black

Sea,””

their

islands

and

shores

enclosed^"^

the

Birrichean

Mountains^" and the Taracontan Islands^"^ opposite the Breasts of the North."?" The people are disgraceful to an extent unknown — monstrous, ido_latrous,” l debauching {themselves} in every sexual excess and whor*dom, truculent, from which «word» they got their name;"" {they are] of the offspring of Gog and Magog."" They eag??* every kind of abomination;"! aborted human fetuses, the flesh of their young, draft animals and bears, vultures, curlews, kites and owls, bison, dogs and monkeys. They are deformed in stature, never bathing in water; they are completely ignorant of wine, and never apply salt or make use of corn. They have no feast days at all except when they worship Saturn in the middle of

August,"^ because in the days of Octavian Augustus they paid tribute? in gold dug from their shores. {This they did} for no kings or emperors either before or afterwards, but on that occasion {they paid it} willingly. Seeing that the neighbouring regions also paid tribute, they believed that a new god of days'" had arisen, and in the very month of August they gathered the entire offspring of their seed in a single band on Taraconta, the very great island of Ocean. They raised a huge mound and cemented it with rock and bitumen, building huge gates' ? of wondrous size, and beneath {them} were

constructed sewage drains of marble, which are joined to a hot spring."?

And they called upon Morcholom, " that is *star of the gods" in their tongue, whom they address as Saturn on account of the derivation of the name;"* and they erected there a great and well-fortified city named Taraconta. This people will wreak much destruction in the times of the Antichrist, and they will call upon that god of days. This race with its terrible progeny is secluded by the Caspian Gates." They have a foul and very dusky aspect, hair like a crow's, and very widespread" " teeth. There are lots of camels such as Bactria produces, ! as well as many mules which are swifter than the Nabathean, Ishmaelite, or Hircanian (mules). They have the most powerful dogs of any people, and they are so huge that they can kill lions, panthers, and bears. $33. Alexander the Great of Macedon was unable to capture or subjugate this race; indeed, he led an army or battalion against them many times, but was unable to vanquish them. In this affair, as he was considering their ferocity and greed {and} their well-fortified and very safe locations in

Aethicus Ister

$933—34

auiditatem, loca munitissima atque tutissima, montuosa ac siluestria, obstupefactus ad satrapas suos,^ ut hic sofista ait, dixisse fertur:? “Terrarum regna et regiones a mundi climatibus ambiuimus, gentes sapientes et rationabiles uastantes adtriuimus, populum incl*tum sublimem ac sincerem ab India Magna usque meridiem «debellauimus »,* et ab Aethiopia usque occiduum maris cuncta lustrauimus. Quidd utilitatis, causae,? aut necessitatis/ extitit tot sanguinem hominum

fundere et ultionem capere domesticarum gentium? Idcirco omnes 123 inferorum demones et aduersariorum falangas$ huc reliquimus in humanam speciem latentes? Heu, ne quando audiant uel percipiant mellifluam et uberrimam mundi gloriam et abundantiam et regna incl*ta, cuncta bona et optima, omnemque decorem et pulchritudinem hominum, ne forte inruant in uniuersam superficiem terrae et quasi panem cuncta decerpiant ac deglutiant. O et tu aquilon! mater draconum 20 et nutrix scorpionum, fouea serpentium lacusque demonum, facilius fuerat in te obturationem inaccessibilem fore uelut infernum quam 25 tales gentes parturire." Cogitabat" enim qualem ingenium aut artem! eos obstrueret, et non praeualuit propter magnitudinem maris uel montium. Tamen omnibus diebus uitae suae inmensa molestia idemque passus fuit, quid ob hoc agere deberet. Dehinc ad Caspios transiit et ibidem grande luctamen ac/ certamen habuit, sicuti inantea pagina procedens*^ ostendit. ^suos] om. G — Pfertur] refertur L LOGW. *causae] scripsi : causa a.

falanga a.

"Cogitabat] Cogitabant L

praecedens o, cf. comm. ad loc.

* debellauimus] suppleui causa rhythmi dQuid] quod /necessitatis] necessitas GW €falangas] phalangas V1,

'artem] aerem L

/ac] atque GIWV — *procedens] 4v :

$34. Nunc igitur ad coeptum^ opus a capite Germaniae insolas oceani uertamus, philosophi indagationem cursim peragratam.^ Exorsus est ita, quod et habitatoribus Germaniae fixum tenetur Viarcem et Bridinno 124 insolas oceani. Tam pusilla statura ut ad minorem cubitum mensuram uix perueniant, populus exiguus, ad nullam utilitatem aptus uel prumptus, nisi tantomodo reliquis populis¢ fortior; striones, plumarios ac polemitarios; fabros enim aurefices ex eis plurimi fiunt. Hos uulgus nanos appellant, philosophus ergo hos nothos uel nugaces nuncupat. In has insolas fera nulla, angues nulla, bestia raro nisi uulpes et cuniculi multi ac lepus, quae

Cosmographia $933—34

mountains and forests, he is reported to have addressed his satraps (as this sophist says) in a state of bewilderment: "Over kingdoms and regions from the zones of the earth [we have rushed, wise and rational nations we have destroyed and crushed, illustrious, lofty and sincere folk from Great India south [«set under our rody, and from Ethiopia west over all things we trod. What use or cause or need was there to shed the blood of so many men, or take vengeance upon peoples living in their homelands? Is it for this that we have left here all the demons of hell and the phalanxes of our adversaries" disguised as human beings? Ah, let them not at any time"" hear or learn of the most sweet and rich glory and abundance of the world, or of famous kingdoms, or of all our excellent wares and all the loveliness and beauty of men, lest perchance they burst out over the whole face of the earth and tear and devour everything like bread. And you, O North,

mother of dragons and nurse of scorpions, pit of vipers and lake of demons,

it was better that an inaccessible enclosure like hell be within you than to beget such races." He deliberated by what kind of trick or stratagem’'* he might enclose them, but did not succeed on account of the vastness of the sea and the mountains. But'" for all the days of his life the same man suffered immense anxiety over what he ought to have done about this. From there he passed on to the Caspian region and in that place sustained a great struggle and battle, such as a following ? page will soon"" show.

§34. But now let us return to the work begun at the Isles of Ocean at the head of Germany, * briefly traversing the investigation of the philosopher. He began in this way because the islands of Ocean, Viarce and Bridinnum," are held to be the starting point by the inhabitants of Germany. The tiny folk are of such trifling stature that they barely attain the measure of the lesser cubit — they are not suited or adaptable to any useful work, save only that they are more robust than other peoples; they are actors,"" embroiderers, damask-weavers, and many of them become goldsmiths. They are commonly

called nani, *dwarves"; ^! the philosopher, however, labels them

Aethicus Ister $$34—36a

10 tamen uulpes? metuunt, et saramandras. Vtique?^ has insolas mare circumdat «aub saltus paruulus./ In Viarce quippe maiorem staturam habere dicit quam in Bridinno. Auium copiam tam inmensam quam alia insola nulla reperit€ nisi in Meotido lacu; et talem tumultuationem uel garretum faciunt” omne tempore quasi tonitruum magnum aut 125 15 eleuatio maris, quia flante uento borea rugitum non modicum plumis et pinnis uelut/ densissimam accumulationem/ nebulae eleuat. In arenam itaque maris panicium et milium seminant et multum in sem*n proficit.^ Haec illorum labor et uita et opus est et/ utilitas. Vnde mirabiliter actus et opera illorum in ridiculum et fabulas philosophus narrat, quae nulla 20 utilitate legenti praebet affectu. “ad coeptum] acceptum V bperagratam o an legatur reliquus (-os) populus (-0s) a duulpes] scripsi : uulpem V Jparuulus] paruulas GWV — Sreperit] repperit V ^ Jaccumulationem] scripsi : eleuationem a; cf. comm. ad LO "'affectu] effectum Wu, om. Av

peragrantes? Creliquis populis] O2 : O, uulpe LGWV *Vtique] Vndique faciunt] V1 : faciant a ‘uelut] om. V loc. * proficit] profecit GW l'et] om.

§35. Gadarontas scribit insolas, ultraque illas nullas? autumat, et ibidem frigoris et stridoris ualde ubi barbaras gentes inhabitant. Arte musica cum tibiis aereis uel oricalco ornatis, uiribus prolatis, incognita carmina Tultra alias gentest, ita ut^ Serenarum multitudinem suorum carminum 5 inmensitate promoueant. Et illae maxime de negotiis degent, hordeum et far tantomodo. Labores eorum sunt satis exiguae, ferri metalla fertiles et maxime nautica arte inbuti. Pyrones^ eorum lingua uocitant paruolas naues in altum ueluti piramides porrectas et in angusto finitas quasi 126 dromones.

Cursu

uelocissimo

maris

unda,

ferentes

uentorum

10 uehementia, resistentes magno uigore tempestatis? maris, adeo uim sine periculo transegere¢ ut saluber fiat portus nauigantium. ^nullas]

nullus G ^ut] om.

G ¢Pyrones]

birrones «; cf. comm.

tempestates //, tempestatibus Wu, tempestati Av; ¢f. comm. G, transigere V

ad loc.

tantam

dtempestatis]

dtransegere] transagere

$36a. Dein^ ad insolas Meoparonitas Aethicus peruehitur,? quas duarum geminatas ianuarum ambitum inquiens in oceanum magnum borricum. In longitudine non modica, circumuallata ipsum pelagum; nam inundatione fluminum inrigua populo barbarico fecunda. Ingenio^ efficaces? tamque* 5 ueloces/ in artium naualium et strinuos in fabrorum fornace, eorum peritia in diuersis operibus occupata. Nonnumquam etiam tam ueloces® nauigatione, ut, latenter trieribus aut scaphas seu carinas dolose foramine

Cosmographia $$34—36a

nothi, or “triflers.” There are no savage animals or snakes on these islands; animals indeed are rare with the exception of foxes, numerous domestic rabbits, and hare,"^ which the foxes are afraid of ?? — and salamanders. Now the sea, «or a small strait, surrounds these islands. He says that the people on Viarce are larger in stature than on Bridinnum. He found such an immense number of birds on no other island except in Lake Maeotis, and these make an enormous noise and chatter all the time like a great thunderstorm

or tidal wave,

because when

the north wind blows"^ it raises

up no small roar with its plumes and feathers — as though raising a very dense accumulation"? of cloud. (The people} sow panic-grass and millet in the sand of the sea and profit considerably from the produce. This is their labour,"^ life, and work,

and

usefulness.

this account

our philosopher

gives a marvellous description of their actions and accomplishments in {the form of} jokes and fables, which produces no useful sentiment in the reader.

§35. He describes the Gadarontan Isles," and claims that beyond these there are no others, and in the same place where the barbarian peoples™® live {there is} a great deal of cold and noise.^ They make music on brass flutes decorated with false gold: extending their powers, their melodies {are} unparalleled tamong other peoples,T^^ such that they can coax a throng of Sirens™' through the power of their songs.?"? (The Gadarontan folk?^? live mainly by trade, but only in barley and spelt. Their skills are relatively few,"^ but they are productive in mining"" and especially gifted in the nautical arts. They call their little ships pyrones "* in their language. These extend in height like pyramids, and in their width they are thin like corsairs. The vessels course™’ very swiftly through the waves of the sea, enduring the vehemence of the winds {and} resisting the great vigour of the sea's tempest,"? so that they pass through all its force without peril, with the result that a sate port 1s achieved for the sailors. §36a. Then Aethicus sails on to the Maeroparan Isles, stating that these twin {islands} in the great Northern^" Ocean {are} within the periphery’*® of the two gates.”' They are not inconsiderable in length (and) are encircled by this sea;"^^ assuredly," there are fertile areas for the barbarian inhabitants on account of the irrigating flood of the rivers. (He says that} they are practical in their talents, very"^ quick-witted in the nautical arts,"^^ and vigorous

the

smithy's

forge,

their

skill

consumed

various

tasks.

Aethicus Ister

$$36a—36c

pertunsum, earum ruinam et necem nauigantium, uel ruinam maximam faciant, et omnia quae inibi sunt uiolenter auferant, et ad extremum, 10 iterum pericl*tatis nauticis, naufragium perpetratum, iterum nauium instructione dnm pristina reparant. ^Dein] De L. ef(ficace

"peruehitur] prouehitur ¥

§36b. Habent

partibus mundi 5

*Ingenio] LO : in ingenio GWV

*tamque] tamquam L fueloces]

itaque

industriam

V : ueloce(-i) LOGW

operandi^

defficaces] VI :

£ueloces] V1

nauticam,

quam

: ueloce(-i)

nullis

uel insolis maris conperire se dicit, ad inuersionem?

arcium,^ quarum ab hominibus incertum ducetur.9 Faciunt¢ nimpe naues quas colimphas nuncupant, adnectas catinulas ferro ductile insertas 127 cortice in gyro usque ad summum miro ingenio, adstrictam tantummodo fundus lignis leuigatis, et ab intus stagno et crudo admodum et extento corio cum bitumine uiriliter adstricta, uidelicet asincito. Meopari quoque citimam confectionem inquinant/ a parte€ solis speculo electrino et uitrio ualde lucidissimo spissoque connectentes acerrimo Tculicef ponunt. Tam sub aquarum densitate quam et mediam inundationem si incumbuerint, lumen numquam indigent in tenuem ingluuiem aquarum sursum^ respicientes. Tantam uim ingeniorum sunt edocti ut, resupinatis uiribus, iuxta illa specula paruo uoragine cum bitumine supradicto lita, aquae interius introire non queant. Vncinis/ ferreis adeo in manuum uel digitorum similitudinem curuatis cum/ catinolis ferreis miro ingenio productas, ut in quibuscumque gurgitibus impetu uelocissimo emissae fuerint, mox ut quamuis modico lapillo contigerint, colimphas ubicumque uoluerint anchoram figere,^ statim quandoque uoluerint stationem 128 faciunt et aliarum/ nauium ruinam «nom/' incurrunt. Ventorum uehementia tollerant absque ullo periculo. Tempestatis" maris, quas aequor ille saepius patitur, non metuunt nec periculum

sed in tanta uelocitate eleuationem aquarum molestia portum quo tendunt pertingant. ?

illarum incurrunt,

sufferunt, ut absque aliqua

^operandi] operandi sic à; cf. comm. ad loc. binuersionem] scripsi : inuentionem a; cf comm. ad loc. Carcium] artium OWV dducetur] ducitur VI, duceretur LO *Faciunt] om. LO

Jinquinant] scripsi : inquiunt à; cf. comm. ad loc.

8a parte] a parto L, aperto O

rursum G /Vncinis] Vicinis G /cum] om. L kfigere] aliorum GW "'non] suppleui " tempestatis] tempestates ¥/

"sursum]

Vl AvWu : fieri aPr, — 'aliarum] ?pertingant] pertingunt G

936c. Maxime ab initio mensis Iunii, quando situm stellarum uel signa praecipua cognouerint, usque Kalendarum Nouembrium quasi ad praedam

Cosmographia $$36a—36c

Sometimes, too, they are so clever at navigation that, after having stealthily and craftily pierced a trireme, skiff, or keel with a hole,^ they cause their destruction and the deaths of the sailors, or do maximum damage, and take

away"? by force everything left in them; and finally, sometimes they expose their crews after running the ships aground," sometimes" by rebuilding the ships they restore them «to» their pristine state.

§36b. {Their} engineers"^ also have a shipbuilding industry for the overturning"?? of citadels, which he says he found in no {other} parts of the world, or islands in the sea; {but} this"! is regarded ? as dubious by people. But most certainly " they build ships which they call colimphas,"" very skilfully inserting small connected"? chains with a guiding rod into the hull in circular fashion up to the top, and fastening them only at the bottom with planed wood, and on the inside with rough tin and stretched rawhide forcefully sealed with undiluted bitumen.?? The Meopari also smear""! their famous™® concoction on part of a sun-mirror (made of} amber and very thick and shining glass, and connect it with a very sharp t“gnat™}.>>” If the ships happen to lie beneath the density of the waters or at moderate depth, they are never in want of light, when they look upwards into the thin maw of the water. They are blessed with such great force of wit that, when their powers are exhausted {and} there is a small eddy of water near the mirror, {because it is} smeared with the aforesaid bitumen the water cannot get inside. Moreover, {the ships have} little iron hooks curved in the shape of hands or fingers, which extend on little iron chains in marvellous fashion, so that if {the vessels} are hurled about with violent force in any eddies whatsoever, as soon as they touch even the tiniest rock, the submarines^ can fasten their anchor wherever they like and immediately come to a stop as soon as they want to, and thus do «nob undergo the damage (suffered by} other ships. They endure the vehemence of the winds without any danger. They do not dread the sea storms which that sea often undergoes, nor incur their peril, but persist amidst the rising waters in such great speed that they reach the port where they are heading without trouble.

$36c. Mainly from the beginning of June, when they notice that the position of the stars and the constellations are favourable, to the first of November,

Aethicus Ister $36c

sine ulla intermissione erumpunt. Vnde idem philosophus ait: O tu mare brumericum, catagoge^ multorum hominum, aquilarum pinnas ad summum naufragium gentium ad extremum ultra magnitudinem,

piscium et biluarum ac homelicum? hamum, triumphatorium hostium cachinfatorum,

129

naufragium aulonium nauium. Priuata uehicula nauclerium

subsecuta iam morte periculum, limphaque arma adsumitur

et carina magna trituratur,

trieris singultum rigatur, schafa dolose obpraemitur. V]ulant naues maris, mure uorante decipula, colimphas in modum testudinis^ cocleis adamantinis, a terga nauium aculeum umbelicis. ¢

Meoparorum

insidiae

ruina

multorum

fieri.^

Gement

naues

maris

praedonum crudelium sub latice fore dromones. Barbarica enim lingua 25 Tdromu uaginesf pyrnas nuncupant, id est aquarum praedones sub aqua degentes. Idem ait philosophus ultra illas gentes uel insolas alias non esse, et in laboribus suis, quibus a meridie ambiuit per oceanum, nullarum partium [in] tam inaestimabiles artium multitudinis, similia opera, uel similitudine non inuenisse. Adserit Alexandrum magnum ibidem per 30 obsidum/ foedera peraccessisse ob hoc tantum, ut hac causa naualium industrium consideraret astutiam, et ultra quam credi potest de eo8 famosissimas fabolas inquiunt. Aiunt enim in ipsas colimphas ipsum Alexandrum introisse et an> profundum maris discendisse usque ad 130 imum, ut [sciret]" oceani profundum et diferentia/ maris et abyssi sciret. uero incredibile uidetur, philosophus namque per eorum 35 Nobis adsertionem tantomodo hoc adfirmat. In amicitia secum Alexander ipsos/ adplicuit et munera multa dedit eis, ibique aras magnas fixit quae usque

nunc

“Arae

Alexandri

Magni"

dic*ntur.

Idemque

ipsis Meoparis

inuentum dicit bitumen, unde Caspias portas muniuit, in insola Tripicia

Cosmographia $36c {the Meopari}

burst forth without pause for the sake of *! booty. On this

account the same philosopher says:

O thou stormy sea, landing place'*^ of many men, wings of eagles to the summit, shipwreck of nations to the utmost, beyond quantity, hook of fish and whales and comrades,

363

triumphant over hosts to be scorned," shipwreck of palace-ships."? Private vessels of ship-owners, now pursuing peril and death, 366 are consumed by water and weapons and a great keel is threshed, a trireme 1s drenched in groaning, a skiff is drowned by treachery. The ships of the sea bewail as the trap devours the mouse, diving-bells in the form of tortoises with shells of steel— a sting in the navels of ships from behind! The ambushes of the Meopari become" " the ruin of many. The ships of the sea lament that the corsairs of the cruel pirates are beneath the water. ? They call the Twandering

corsairsT369 pymae3 7 in the barbarian tongue, that is,

pirates of the sea living under the water. The same philosopher claims that there are no other peoples or islands beyond these,"' and in'his travails in which he sailed through Ocean from the South he discovered in no other regions "^ such innumerable muititudes"" of skills, similar accomplishments, or anything like them. He asserts that Alexander the Great, through an exchange of hostages, went to the same region "^ for this reason alone, that he might look into their skill in naval technology, and they relate tales about Alexander that defy credence. For example, they say how this Alexander entered these submarines’” and descended «to» the very bottom of the sea in order to know its depth and the distance between the sea and the abyss." "? This seems incredible to us, especially as the philosopher affirms this only on their report. Alexander the Great joined these {people} to him in friendship, gave them many gifts, and erected great altars there, which even now are called the “Altars of Alexander the Great"" The same {philosopher} also claims that the bitumen,"? which Alexander used to

Aethicus Ister $$36c—37a

40 paruola

maris

oceani,

quod

inueniri incognitum^ est.

in nullas alias insolas uel orbem

terrarum

"catagoge] scripsi: catago LOVW, catagis G; ¢f comm. ad loc. Phomelicum] Scripsi : homicum aPr, hominum AvWu; cf. comm. ad loc. Ctestudinis] testitidunis LO d aculeum umbelicis] scripsi : u. a. o *fieri] figeri LVPr; cf. comm. ad loc. " obsidum] obsidium L Ede eo] deo G. "sciret] seclusi; cf. praef, p.cvi '!diferentia] LGW : deferencia G, dif(f)erentiam OV Jipsos] ipsas magnas V kincognitum] cognitum W2, cf. comm. ad loc.

§37a. Deinde ad insolam Riffarricam stilum ponit idem sophista, ibique gentem audacem atque uelocem et ualido ingenio, gignarum in subuersione urbium ac ciuitatum munitarum prumptissimum, et callidum ingenium fabrorum arte. Praecogniti arietibus diuersa arte instrumentoque bellico efficaces; trucurros et bastarmas faciunt eo modo ad murorum 131 ac moenium munitarum arcium subuertendum, cedentes et^ dirimentes

fortia quaeque ferro acerrimo. Ter coctione laterum et copia carbonum «eb adpositarum rerum, per manus artificum trauibus ex lignis leuigatis cauatis super propter is supported by §106, where Aethicus tells us that he heard from Indian travellers, *. . . quod in 1llis partibus Eden nemus dei caeli et ortus inaccessibilis carnale creaturae situs esset." The passage may reflect an attempt at a naturalistic explanation of Gen. 3.24: *et conlocavit ante paradisum voluptatis cherubin et flammeum gladium atque versatilem ad custodiendam viam ligni vitae." 210. ardorem ualidam: For declension

$24

nouns

linking of feminine adjectives with third

in -or, see the Introduction,

VI.C.2.b.i.

211. oportuna tempora: understood as ablative. 212. Tabrobane:

Perhaps

Cosmas:

Ceylon,

this unusual

now

Sri Lanka;

starting point owes

for the latter's route

and

La Topographie, pp. 3—11, esp. 4.

notice

cf. Isidore, Etym.

14.6.12.

its origin to a mention

of Taprobane,

see Wolska,

213. Sirtinice: cf. n. 185. 214. Calaopa: The name was probably intended to recall the muse KaAAwt, “she of the beautiful voice.” It is not clear where the author meant to locate this imaginary island. 215. 4driakeon (ad Riakeon “Salzburg,” p. 124, n. 108, Fredegar, Chronicon 1.5 (ed. Adriaticum.” But even if the

a, “the Adriatic"): According to Lówe, Adriaticum, is to be understood. Cf. Krusch, p. 21): “Adriace, ex qua pilagus author had not read Fredegar, he could

easily have known the Greek name AdpLaxov. 216. Aurilio: more likely meant to recall

a pagan philosopher such as

the emperor Marcus Aurelius than a Christian such as Aurelius Prudentius Clemens or Aurelius Augustinus, as suggested by Prinz, n. 139. The author consistently portrays Aethicus in agreement with Christian thinking, while frequently disagreeing with pagans such as Mantuanus (Vergil) For the inconsistencies in the author’s

Commentary $$24—25

217. Arbocrates: The nearest name of a Greek philosopher would be Harpocration (end of second century A.D.), compiler of a Plato commentary and lexicon. See RE 7:2411, s.v. 2. 218. deserere: 1.e. disserere (O2V). 219. Galacia (Galliciam V): The author's geography is frequently confused, as Galicia, not Galatia (-acia), is surely the next place one would come to after passing through the pillars of Hercules. Galacia is more likely an authorial than a scribal blunder.

220. Cantabria: cf. Isidore, Etym. 9.2.113: “Cantabri gens Hispaniae

a vocabulo urbis et [beri amnis, cui insidunt, appellati." 221.

Vacetas insolas: See Heinz Lówe, “Die Vacetae insulae und die

Entstehungszeit der Kosmographie des Aethicus Ister," Deutsches Archiv 31 (1975), 1—16, at pp. 5-7, who seeks to identify this group with small islands just north of the mouth of the Loire. 222. falerna (*wines"): Cf. Isidore, Etym. 20.3.6: “Falernum vinum vocatum a Falerna regione Campaniae, ubi optima vina nasc*ntur." 223. uberes. . . tenues: 1.e. uberem. . . tenuem. The transmitted words

were attracted to the accidence of pingues uitulos, but it is not easy to

$25

decide whether the error is authorial or scribal.

224. Hiberniam properauit: an unusual passage, as Ireland is the only “barbarian” country described as having books and teachers, indicating that the author was at least aware of the Irish reputation for learning, however little worth he accorded it. The author's low esteem for Irish books and teachers accords with the criticism of late seventhcentury opinions emanating from England, particularly Aldhelm's Ep. 5 and the Laterculus Malalianus. Note as well that “Nennius” (Historia Britonum, ed. Morris, p. 51, p. 59) states that a noble Scythian visited Ireland after being expelled from Egypt. Whether this is loosely based on a knowledge of the Cosmography 1s hard to say. 225. ideomochos uel ideothistas: Both words were made up by the author. Ideomochus may comprise tóvoc and uóyOoc, i.e. “labouring strangely," “working in their own manner." Jdeothista is the equivalent of ióuótnc, with an expanding suffix -isía; it is used perhaps to mean “a person without professional knowledge." 226. Mundi finibus terminare... onerosus est labor, sed nulla facultas: The author may have made ironic use of an Irish proverb attested by the ninth century: “Teicht do Róim mór saido, becc

Commentary $$25—26

torbai." “Going to Rome

*Codex Boernerianus": 145b (Paul to Romans),

i1s a great effort, the profit is small." See the

Dresden, Sáchische Landesbibliothek, MS A. fol. 23r. (I am very grateful to Prof. Dáibhí Ó

Cróinín [Galway] for this reference.)

227. sed utilitatem ad non profecit: The postpositioning of ad may reflect satirical intent, if employed in umitation of the so-called scinderatio fonorum advocated by Virgilius Maro Grammaticus. See Prinz, pp. 40—41 with n. 138, and the Introduction, p. VI.B.5.ii. $26

228. Tylen: not certainly to be identified with Iceland. Indeed, the earliest indication of this identification begins with Dicuil in the ninth century. Dicuil, De mensura orbis 7.6—13 cites a number of a testimonia regarding Thule, but also reports that he had spoken with clerics who lived on the island, and notes that “those authors are

wrong. . . who have written that the sea will be solid about Thule, and

that day without night continues uninterrupted from the equinox,” etc. (ed.Tierney, p. 75). 229. Brutanicas: The etymology Brito « Brutus was disseminated in British historical sources, beginning with "Nennius." See Historia Britonum (ed. Morris, p. 59): “Britannia insula a. quodam Bruto,

consule Romana, dicta." (ed. Morris, p. 59). The cosmographer's direct source was doubtless Isidore, Etym. 9.2.102: “Brittones quidam Latine nominatos suspicantur, eo quod bruti sint."

230. ingenio (*natural talent"): to be contrasted with their status as inperitissimam gentem.

231. « ... » One would expect that some saying by Aethicus has fallen out here. D'Avezac (followed by Wuttke) supplies "fecit eos artifices mirificos" drawn from the late manuscripts CPTD. This and

other

unanimously

transmitted

suppletions

in D'Avazec's

edition

argue for an archetype of a revised and corrected version of a; see the Introduction, p. 112.

232. artifices (“miners”): practitioners of any skill.

our

work

all-purpose

word

for

233. afrodica terra (“foamy earth"): « àqoóc, “foam”; ef safargica: see above, $6, n. 45. 234. aceruicam ("heaped-up"): apparently hapax, obviously based used to replace attested acerualis; author's free-spirited use of suffixes

not attested in TLL or MIWD, on aceruus, “heap, " *mound" and cf. TLL 1, cols. 373-74. For the see the Introduction, VI.D.3.

Commentary $$26—27

235. aruam (*earth"): for aruum, rarely attested; cf. TLL 2.3, col.

731, with early examples from Naevius 4:21.29: “arvas agros, solum, terra.”

and

Pacuvius;

also

CGL

236. metalla uel mina: The explanatory mina is not necessarily interpolated. The author may have realized that metallum in the sense

of *mine" had become rare, and provided the “new word" mina (see Niermeyer, 2:682, s. 2. mina 2) as an aid to his readers. Mina, believed to be of Celtic origin, is not attested in Classical Latin; cf. REW 5465, s. meina. The singular mina here doubtless gave rise to the singular inuenitur. 237. Valeria: a region in Spain? Note the city-name Valeria in the

province of Cartagena: F. Van der Meer and Christine Mohrmann,

Atlas van de oudchristelijke Wereld (Amsterdam and Brussels (1961), map 25. See also Prinz, n. 932. 238. leuius. .. [non difficile]: The neuter comparative adverb was becoming a rarity, hence the need for the explanatory non difficile interpolated into the text. See the Introduction, p. cvii. 239. inuenire: i.e. inueniri (cf. also this section ad fin.), see the Introduction, VI.C.4.c.11. 240. questionariis suis ("local prospectors"): None of the usual classical range of meanings of quaestionarius — ( inquisitor," “preceptor,” “torturer”) or the medieval “tax collector" applies here. DuCange, s.v., helpfully supplies a definition from Hugutio, “qui quaestu vivit sicut mercator." This shows that there is occasional confusion between quaestionarius and quaestuarius. Quaestionarius appears to be used somewhat differently at $66c. I translate suis by “local,” as the word is probably meant to refer to “regions” rather than “inhabitants.” 241. auro fodina et oricalco (“a pit of gold and yellow copper"): For the replacement of the genitive with the dative see the Introduction, VI.B.1.b.1. 242. quae (qua O). O's reading offers better grammar, but I retain what I think is the authorial “all-purpose” quae. See the Introduction,

VI.C.3.a.i.

$27

243. Beteoricas: here for transmitted — Betorititas / Beteoricae is an attested Latin name for the Hebrides: Latinus 1:269.

Berotitas. see Orbis

Commentary §27-28 244. ab Whereas

oceano maris parte (*a part of the sea from Ocean”): mare Oceanum normally constitutes a single — entity

(“Ocean”), here I think the author means that a part of Ocean breaks

off to form a separate sea, presumably the North Sea. 245. Germaniam meridiana parte: the southern part of Scandinavia? 246. arte

(“written

account"):

compare

ars grammatica,

ars

rhetorica, etc.; here ars refers to the actual book.

247. "Rure artium" (“Country of Arts"): The author meaning of ars throughout this passage and elsewhere: has its normal meaning “art” or “skill,” but often composition, as in the phrase arte sua, “in his work." note. 248. ipsumque

mentione poetarum

plays on the sometimes it it indicates a See the above

adseruit. Y take it that ipsumque

refers to Aethicus's book, which gained in authority from the citations of it by the poets (whoever of these was meant). Juvenal, Sat. 2.161 mentions the Orkneys, but says nothing of mining.

249.quae... incertum uel dubium retenetur: 1 have retained the received text here despite the clash of accidence with the plural antecedent. We see another example here of all-purpose quae, which is treated indifferently with regard to gender and number; see the

$28

Introduction, VI.C.3.a.1.

250. Munitia: possibly related to the Old Norse place-name Muness on the Shetlands. See Jakob Jakobsen, The Place Names of Shetland (London and Copenhagen,

origin of the name.

1936), p. 82. Jakobsen notes the Old Norse

251. homines cenocefalus (*Dog-headed men"): Our author's version of the cynocephali, *dog-headed people," setting them in the

North, belongs to the *Alexander's Gate" tradition; see Ps. Methodius,

Apocalypse 8.10 (ed. Aerts and Kortekaas, p. 117). The cynocephali belong to the twenty-two unclean races according to the interpolated passage in Ps. Callisthenes p, 3.29 (ed. Bergson, p. 207), but note that the non-interpolated portion of the same version sets them by the Red Sea (B, 3.28, pp. 174—75). Elsewhere the cynocephali are connected to the East beginning with Ctesias, /ndica 37 (ed. D. Lenfant, pp. 179— 80), accessible from Pliny, Nat. hist. 37.2.8—9. For a recent discussion of this ^monstrous race," see Scott Bruce, *Hagiography as Monstrous Ethnography," in Insignis arcator sophiae, pp. 45—56; also Orchard, Pride and Prodigies, pp.

14—18.

Commentary $$28—29 252. capite canino. . . similitudinem: cf. Isidore, Etym. "Cynocephali appellantur eo quod canina capita habeant."

11.3.15:

253. sicut reliqui hominum genus (“like other race{s} of men”): apparently a case of conflated constructions: “sicut reliqui homines” and *sicut reliqua hominum genera.” 254. Ca«bnaneos: for transmitted Cananeos: My emendation rests on an implicit Greek etymology « xatvóc, “strange,” “new,” and véoc, which has nearly the same meaning and doubles as the Latin suffix, both words reflecting monstra and inaudita. 255. hoc (*to this island"): 1.e. huc. 256. Cdpananeos: cf. Jerome, De nominibus Hebraeis, p. 135.8 “Chananei negotiatores.” The author plays on the descriptors of the Cynocephali: caninus (*dog-like"), cainaneus (*strange"; see n. 254), and Chananeus, “Caananite,” hence “tradesman.” 257. Idem gentiles: presumably the Germani. 258. mus: seemingly used as a plural, though the author was aware that mus was declinable; cf. $36c “mure uorante decipula." Compare lepus at $34. 259. trauis (“poles™): i.e. trabibus; given as trauibus at §37a. 260. tentoriis filteratis utentes: Prinz, n. 161, predicates a derivation of filteratis

trom

West

Germanic

*filtur, for Romance derivatives.

filtir,

“felt”.

see

REW

3305,

261. demonia . . . colentes: The worship of Mercury, Hercules Mars,

and Isis (!) by the Germani 1s described by Tacitus, Germania 9. 262.auguria colentes: cf. Tacitus, sortesque ut qui maxime observant."

Germania

10:

“Auspicia

263. argentum: 1.€. argento. 264. illarum partium (“in those parts”): For the locative use of the

genitive see the Introduction, VI.C.].b.iii.

265. profana mentione (*record of the heathens"): I take profana as applying to the heathens described, not Aethicus. Mentio appears to be extended to include a physical record, rather than simply the act of remembering or mentioning. We can safely exclude the late meaning “lie” derived from mentiri (cf. Niermeyer, s.v.; Novum Gloss., s.v.)

$29

266. Vafros, etc.: The list comprises real and fictitious peoples. Vafri is transparently from vafer, “a sly person," while Vinnosos may refer

Commentary $$29—30

to wine-bibbers (« uinosus, note G's reading) rather than to Vinidi or Winidi, given that there are no examples of the suffix -osus used in compounds to form racial names. For formations in -osus see the list in LHS 1:341-42, $305, which includes the example vinosus, “Wein duftend.” The name Alapes might be rendered “ear-boxers,” from alapa. Meotas 1s doubtless an invented racial name based on the name of the sea, the palus Meotidus (“Sea of Azov"), just as the Riphaeans are derived from a (mythical) geographical feature, the Riphaean Mountains. Apart from the Cenocefali mentioned in §28, only the Alani appear in Ps. Methodius's list (4pocalypse 8.10) of the offspring of Gog and Magog. 267. Olches. . . Orcus: This etymology suggests that the author had some knowledge of the Irish language, however superficial. Orc 1s Old lrish for *young pig," though it can have the general meaning “pig” as well; see The Dictionary of the Irish Language, fasc. N-P, p. 153.

268. ultra omnia regna (*worse than all the kingdoms"): Vitra here does not mean not “beyond” in the geographical sense, but effectively "than." For Late Latin examples see LHS 2:112, §75d ad fin. Note the example from the Vitae patrum 6.1.15 "ultra omnes. . . turpior." For other examples in our work see this section ad fin. and the Introduction, VI.C.2.a.

269. «gentes»: restored according to the author's source; see the next note.

270. Germania est appellata, etc.: cf. Isidore, Etym. 9.2.97: “Germanicae gentes dictae, quod sint inmania corpora inmanesque

nationes saevissimis duratae frigoribus; qui mores ex ipso caeli rigore

traxerunt, ferocis animi et semper indomiti.” 271. Centum pagos: cf. 1bid., 98: “(Suevi) pagos."

272. Meotidas

paludes

(*Sea

Germania cf. Isidore, Etym. $30

of Azov")

14.4.3—4.

quorum

fuisse centum

For

boundaries

the

2/13. liberalium «litterarum»: cf. lsidore, Etym. 14.4.10 “mater liberalium litterarum et philosophorum nutrix" (applied to Athens). 274. Legem Moysi: As often in patristic and medieval works, the term refers to the Torah or Pentateuch, traditionally ascribed to Moses. However, legem may also embrace the law itself, as Aethicus reproaches barbarians for some of the practices prescribed therein.

Commentary $$30—31 275. losephum:

doubtless a reference to the Antiquitates Tudaicae.

However, it is not clear if the author used this work directly, or cited it second-hand; see the Introduction, p. li.

276. ore prophetico (“through the mouth of the prophets™): for the phrase cf. e.g. Isidore, De fide catholica contra Iudaeos 1.9. 2777. Ait etenim, etc.: The sentence as transmitted is lacunose and corrupt, and the reconstruction of it, hazardous. I take the meaning to be this: Aethicus declines to write about the histories of the other sons of Noah (Shem and Ham), because Scripture records them, and because he has more than enough to do with his treatment of the peoples of the North (i.e. the sons of Japheth), which comprises the main focus of his work. 278. [quae (qua?). . . dilatatur] (“{from} which the tribe of Japheth spreads out on islands and in tents from West to East in the northern region"): These excised words cannot be forced into the structure of the sentence. The quae introduces an explanatory gloss not to indagatio, but to gentes, combining Gen. 9.27 with additional information about the extent of Japheth's tribe possibly culled from Josephus,

831

Antiquitates

iudaicae

1.6

ed.

Niese,

1.124-28).

The

scholion was clumsily placed at the end of the sentence. The medieval editor of the “revised edition" (represented in the late MSS PTD) attempted to fix the problem by adding the words quanto magis hoc quod after lacisceret; see the Introduction, p. 112. 279. Griphas gentes: transparently based on mythological gryphons. 280. proximam oceani partem: at the northern tip of Denmark? 281. unde. . . Saxonum sobolem: Isidore places the Saxons at the shores of Ocean; cf. Etym. 9.2.100: “Saxonum gens in Oceani litoribus. . .". 282. stultissimas . . . inter alias gentes (*most stupid of all the races"): used in place of “stultissimas omnium gentium," or “inter alias gentes stulta"; ct. Cicero Ver. 2.1.65: “ut erat in primis inter suos copiosus." For expressions of comparison in our work see the Introduction, p. VI.C.2.b. 283. iuxta Iperboriis montibus (“near the Hyberborean Mountains "): cf. Isidore, Etym. 14. 8.7: “Hyperborei montes Scythiae, dicti quod supra, id est ultra, eos flat Boreas."

Commentary $$331—32 284. incucurrerit: an attested examples in Z7ZL 7.1, col. 1083.

form

the

classical

period;

see

the

285. numquam . . . quis (*no one. . . ever^): for *nullus. . . umquam." For the use of quis for aliquis see LHS 2:194, §107; note the example Hier. adv. Ruf. 2.18, *ne mente quidem quis captus." 286. nullus . . . qui (quis mittellateinisch ist nu/lus. this is E. Lófstedt, 1:194,

passage required narret).

832

According

to LHS

2:802,

§41,

“‘erst

. quis. " Unfortunately, the authority for whose only example is this unemended

from the Cosmographia! The emendation to qui seems to introduce the relative purpose clause (note subjunctive

287. tubarum strepitu: Our northern barbarians some of as well as the bestial ones abilities of the Hyperboreans 288.

o):

author through Aethicus attributes to the the refined qualities of the Hyperboreans of the tribe of Japheth. For the musical see below, $35 with n. 332.

fibras: a fictitious bird's name of uncertain etymology.

289. Turchos. .. alia scriptura obmittit: This 1s not really accurate. The Turks are noted previously in Fredegar's Chronicon 2.6 as descendants of the Trojans. These, however, are not to be confused

with the Seljuk Turks, who do not appear before the tenth century. On Turkic peoples before the Seljuks see Carter Vaughan Findley, The Turks in World History (New York, 2005), pp. 21—55. The connection between Alexander and the Turks is made through the interpolated f and y-recensions of Ps. Callisthenes (see the evidence in Hillkowitz, 2:63). The Turks are mentioned once by Ps. Methodius (Apoc. 10.5), but not in connection with Alexander, or the legend of the enclosure of the “unclean races.” 290. eorum mentionem faciunt non umquam (numquam QOG, *not ever”): L take non umquam to mean numquam, not nonnumquam — this at least accords with the sense of the previous clause.

291. alia: 1.e. quaedam; cf. LHS 2:208, $11 1, Zus. D. 292. «endere»: Obviously, a verb 1s missing; tendere 1s the author's usual word for “extend.” 293. Euxinum maris: 1.e.. Euxini maris. Aethicus's notion of the world north of the Black Sea is as vague as that of Herodotus or of any of the Greek geographers. The “Isles of the Turks" (cf. Gen. 10.5

Commentary $32 for the insulae gentium) simply extend northward to the edge of the world. 294. inclusos:

1.e. inclusis.

295. Birricheos. .. insolas: understood as ablative. The adjective Birricheos may be derived from the island-name Berrice, mentioned by Pytheas of Massalia, frag. 11b. 296. Taracontas insolas: fictitious islands. The name may be based on the element 1apax- (cf. vapooy( “confusion,” “disorder” « 1&06000), “disturb,” *agitate"). Note that the name is also given to the city located on one of the islands. The author appears to engage in a series of Graeco-Latin word-plays: Turc(h)us, truculentus, Taracontas « vau o (?), all with the element trc(A). 297. contra ubera aquilonis: see above, $23, n. 206. 298. idolatria (“idolatrous™): implies the existence of an adjective in -ius, -ia, -ium, which is not clearly attested. TLL 7.1.2, col. 225, lists

idolatricus (-ius?).

299. truculenta, a qua (uoce» et nomen accepit: a punning etymology Turcus a truculento. (“The Turks are a truculent folk!”) Although qua properly goes with stirpe, an etymology of Turcus based on Gog and Magog does not work, hence the insertion of aoce. 300. de stirpe Gog et Magog: Magog is first attested biblically at Gen.10.2 (as the son of Japheth). Josephus, Antiquitates Iudaicae 1.6 ( — ed. Niese, 1.23) makes him the ancestor of the Scythian race. Gog is first conjoined to Magog at Ezech. 38.1—3, and placed in the uttermost parts of the North. According to Apoc. 20.7-8, the two will be gathered "together in battle" when Satan comes to “seduce the nations." For the tradition of Gog and Magog, see Anderson, Alexander's Gate, pp. 3—51, especially 51—53, where the author deals with the Cosmography. 300a. Comedent (“they eat") Le. comedunt. conjugation see the Introduction, VI.B.3.a.

For

confusion

301. universa abominabilia (“every kind of abomination") Cf. Ps. Methodius, Apocalypse 8.4 (ed. Aerts and Kortekaas, pp. 109—1 1): “Commedebant (sc. ex filiis Iapeth nepotes) enim hi omnes cantharo speciem omnem coinquinabilem vel spurcebilem, id est canes, mures, serpentes, morticinorum

carnes, aborticia, informabilia corpora et ea,

Commentary $32

que in alvo necdum. . . coaculata sunt. . . et haec iumentorum, necnon etiam et omne speciem ferarum inmundarum." 302. mense Agusto mediante colere Saturnum: Augustus was an honorific bestowed on Saturn (Roscher, Lexikon, 4:442) in North African inscriptions (see n. 307, Morcholom). The month of August is named after the emperor Augustus, and thus the month dedicated to

Saturn. The author seems to have been unaware of the far more

popular tradition December.

that

Saturn's

303. temporibus Octauiani

main

feast (the Saturnalia)

fell

Agusti censum dederunt: cf. Matth. 22.17

“censum dare Caesari," “give tribute to Caesar." Prinz, n. 192, draws

attention to an attested tribute payment by Scythians (and Indians) to Augustus: Exordia Scythica 24 (MGH AA 11, p. 319). 304. deus dierum (“god of days") This epithet is probably connected to the widespread derivation of the Greek name for Saturn (Kronos) from “Vnde et eum

chronos, xXoóvoc, “time”; cf. Isidore, Etym. 8.11.31: Graeci Cronos nomen habere dic*nt, id est tempus,

quod filios suos fertur devorasse, hoc est annos. . .". Note that Saturn (Kronos), portrayed with his sickle, became identified with “Father Time." Saturn is connected specifically to Saturday; cf. Isidore, Etym. 5. 30.7: "Septimus (dies) ab stella Saturni," etc. 305. pilas: i.e. nóAac. 306. phyrram fontem (*a hot spring") 1.e. mopLov fontem): Aethicus's little joke is that the Turks built their monument to the “god of days" out of rock, but constructed their sewers out of marble, which they drain into a hot spring (intended for bathing). 307. Morcholom: almost certainly related to Moloch, the name of the Phoenician or Carthaginian god identified with Saturn and strongly connected to human sacrifice, particularly child-sacrifice. See Roscher, Lexikon, s. Kronos, 2.1:1501-7; s. Saturn, 4:441. Spelled backwards, Morcholom yields moloch Rom, which could be read as

Hebrew for “king of Rome” (= Augustus?). Perhaps our author knew that Hebrew was read from right to left, and challenged his readers to decode this.* 308. diriuato nomine Saturmum appellant: The etymology must apply to Saturnum, not Morcholom, and relates to Saturn's function as a divinized planet; cf. Isidore, Etym. 5.30.7 "Septimus [dies] ab stella

Commentary $$32—34 Saturni." For the connection between dies and deus, see ibid. 5 “dies

dicti a diis."

309. portas Caspias (“Caspian Gates”): According to Anderson, Alexander's Gate, p. 51, *. . . originally applied to the passes between Media and Parthia southeast of Rhagae, was from the time of Nero applied also to the pass of Dariel in the central Caucasus where tradition originally placed Alexander's Gate.” The phrase smóAac Koomondg occurs in Ps. Callisthenes 3, 3.29 (ed. Bergson, p. 207); see §59d “et Caspias pilas narrat.” 310. dentes stertissimos ( *very widespread teeth"): The author appears to have coined a past participle stertus from sternere, “to spread out,” and from it a superlative. However, sterfus is not attested in TLL “Zettelmaterial.” (I am grateful to Dr. Gerard Duursma of TLL for this information.) A check of the material in the MIWb archives likewise revealed that the form is attested only here. A classical author doubtless would have written dentes rarissimos.

§33

311. quales et Bactria gignit: 1.e. the two-humped camel; cf. Pliny, Nat. hist. 8.18.26, $67. 312. aduersariorum: not just *an enemy," but the devil (devils); cf. Blaise, s.v.

313. quando ("*at any time"): 1.e. aliquando: cf. LHS 2:520, §285b. 314. qualem. .. artem (*by what... strategem"): For the different meanings of ars in this work see §27a, nn. 246—47, §41a, n. 461. 315. Tamen: here, apparently, without much adversative force. 316. Procedens

(Av, praecedens

a): this reading is also given by

Oxford, Bodleian Library, Auct. F. 3. 7. See Winterbottom, Review of

Prinz, p. 432.

317. inantea (“soon”): Not attested in Classical Latin, the word can point both forwards and backwards in time. Here, context points to the future;

cf. Niermeyer,

1:516—17,

events described in $$39—41b.

934

s.v. 4—5.

The

author alludes to the

318. a capite Germaniae: the top of the Danish peninsula? But cf. Isidore, Etym. 14.8.8: *Riphaei montes in capite Germaniae," which, given the flat topography of Denmark, must mean somewhere else. Ancient geographers, philosophers and poets were in disagreement about the location of the Riphaeans, and some even doubted their existence. See OCD, p. 1315.

Commentary $9$34—35 319. Viarcem

et Bridinno:

unidentified. These

89 are described below

as surrounded by the sea or a small straight. The description would fit the large islands of Denmark, Fyn and Sjelland. 320. striones:

Prinz, n. 214,

doubted

that Aistriones

was

intended;

however, it is the reading of all the manuscripts of the author's principal source, Isidore, Etym. 18.48: "«Ebistriones [striones codd. ] sunt qui muliebri indumento gestus inpudicarum feminarum exprimebant." This accords with the effeminate occupations that Aethicus ascribes to them. 321. Hos uulgus nanos appellant. 1f authorial, then we have the conflation of two constructions: “Hos uulgus nanos appellat” and “Hi uulgo nani appellantur.” 322. ac lepus: 1t is hard to tell if the author thought that /epus was a

fourth declension plural, or whether he was speaking colloquially; cf. English: “You’ll find rabbit and hare in these parts.” See LHS 2:13— 14, 820. 323. quae . . . uulpes metuunt: 1 to uulpes It 1s obvious that rabbits would be typical of the author's purpose relative pronoun; see the

have emended the transmitted zulpe fear foxes, but the reverse assertion rustic wit. Again, quae is the allIntroduction, VI.C.3.a.1.

324. quia flante uento borea: See the continuation of Isidore's remark about the caput Germaniae and the Riphaei montes (Etym. 14.8.8): *Riphaei montes. . . a perpetuo ventorum flatu nominati." Just prior to this (ibid., 7) he mentions the Hyperborei montes: **. .. dicti quod supra, id est ultra, eos flat Boreas." 325. accumulationem (eleuationem | à): Clearly, the archeypal reading makes no sense: it was occasioned by eye-skip to e/euat. 326. Haec...

labor:

For

feminine

adjectives/pronouns

nouns in -or see the Introduction, VI.C.2.b.1. $35

used

with

327. Gadarontas scribit insolas: 1t 1s tempting to associate the name with the biblical Gadara, but geography excludes the connection. (Gadara, now Um Qeis, is in the Jordan valley.) Perhaps the invention was inspired by Fredegar, Chronicon 1.5 (ed. Krusch, p. 21): *Sunt autem fines eorum ad borram usque Gadira. . .", although this does

not really explain the location.

Commentary $35 328. ubi barbaras gentes inhabitant: For other examples of first declension accusative plural adjectives used as nominatives, see the

Introduction, VI.B.1.a.

329. frigoris et stridoris: probably meant to rhyme, even though they would not in Classical Latin. The genitives after ualde are odd indeed — perhaps an attempt at imitating a partitive genitive construction based on the analogy of satis + gen. The substantival use of ualde is unexampled; however, if frigoris and stridoris are construed as anomalous nominatives, there would be no verb for ua/de to modify. 330. tultra

alias

gentest

(*among

other

peoples"):

seems to have conflated u/tra and inter. However,

The

author

I have hesitated to

emend as the phrase u/tra alias gentes 1s formulaic in our work. See

the Introduction, VI.B.2.a.

331. Serenarum winged

multitudinem

(*a throng

of Sirens"):

neither

serpents (see $21a, n. 187) nor birds, but the Homeric

the

Sirens

who lure men with their songs. Giving the Sirens a taste of their own medicine constitutes one of the author's better jokes.

332. carminum inmensitate promoueant: The author applies the Hyperborean quality of music-making to the Gadarontans; in particular, the use of flutes by the Hyperboreans is noted in ancient sources: see Roscher, Lexikon

1.2:2816—17.

333. Et illae: transmitted in all the manuscripts; i.e. i//i. 334. Labores. . . exiguae: For masculine nouns in -or construed with feminine adjectives, see the Introduction, VI.C.2.b.1. 335. ferri metalla fertiles: literally “productive in mines of iron.” The author regularly uses metallum in the plural to indicate “mines” rather than “metals.” 336. Pyrones (birrones à): one of Aethicus's fantastical ships; the name also appears as pirones (§57) and pyrrones (§75). The invention is attributed to a certain Pyrronius magus at $45. The connection of the name to Pyronius and pyramids makes it likely that pyr(r)ones 1s authorial. 337. dromones . . . cursu (*corsairs . . runners"): The translation 1s meant to reflect the author's connecting of Greek óoóuoc (“course,” “race”) and Latin cursus. Cf. Isidore, Etym. 19. 1.14: “Dromo autem a decurrendo dictus; cursum enim Graeci ópóuov vocant.”

Commentary $$35—36b

338. resistentes magno uigore tempestatis maris: 1 understand uigore as an instance of the ablative used for dative (see the Introduction, VI.C.l.e.iii), which is the right case to construe with resistere. Alternatively, one might read tempestates with VI, and understand magno uigore as ablative of manner.

$36a

339. borricum (“Northern™): i.e. borreum. For coinages of adjectives in -jcus used as a replacement for -eus, -ius, -(i)alis, -ilis, see the Introduction, VI.D.3.d.

340. ambitum: 1.e. ambitu. 341. duarum . . . ianuarum ambitum: The ianuae are located in the East and the West, so perhaps the idea is that these two northern isles are within the latitude of the gates and not to the north of them. We learn in $35 that the Gadarontan Isles are the most northerly islands. 342. ipsum pelagum: i.e. ipso pelago. 343. nam (“assuredly”): here, as elsewhere, used for emphasis rather than explanation; cf. OLD, s.v. 1. 344. tam (“very”): 2:592, §318y.

For

discussion

of this

development

see

LHS

344a. in artium naualium (“in the nautical arts"): For the use of the genitive after prepositions, see the Introduction, VI.C.1.b.iv.

345. latenter trieribus . .. pertunsum: seemingly meant as ablative absolute. However, given the number of errors of accidence, there is nothing to be gained by emendation. 346. auferant: subjunctive by assimilation to the preceding faciant.

347. naufragium perpetratum: 1.e. naufragio perpetrato. 348. iterum. . . iterum (“‘sometimes. . . sometimes"): cf. TLL 7.2, col. 562, s.v. ILA.2b. $836b

349. operandi (o, "engineers"): i.e. operantes. For examples confusion of voice in participles see the Introduction, VI.C.4.b.ii.

350. inuersionem (inuentionem a, "overturning"): Although inuersio is normally used in the context of rhetoric ("transposition"), it can

have the basic sense “to turn upside down" « inuertere. Cf. TLL 7.2.2,

col. 164, s.v. A.1.b = eversio.

351. quarum: attracted to the case of arcium. Whether this curiosity Is to be attributed to the imperitia of scribes, or is the author's artful attempt at a Greek construction, is hard to say.

Commentary $36b

352. ducetur: i.e. ducitur. For the confusion of conjugation see the Introduction, VI.B.3.a.

353. nimpe (certainly"): regularly for nempe, used here to respond to the scepticism expressed in the previous sentence. 354. colimphas: « wókouoc, a word that Liddell and Scott, s.v., equate with xóXuupic, “a diver" (name of a diving bird, “a grebe”). According to G. Rohlfs, Lexicon Graecanicum Italiae inferioris, 2nd ed. (Tübingen, 1964), p. 553, an extended meaning is “submerged portion of a boat.” Our author, however, makes it clear that the colimpha

nauis,

which

can

navigate

under

water,

thus

“a

submarine." An important stage in this development may be found in a passage in the non-interpolated portion of Ps. Callisthenes p and vy (2.38, ed. Bergson, p. 132; ed. Engelmann, p. 303): xoXóufo óufX00ov artd 1o0 mÀAowao(ou gic vv vijoov, “[some of the soldiers] passed through to the island from the boat by means of a xoXóupo. Chantraine, p. 537, explains that «óXuufoc gives rise to the denominative verb xoXvupaívo, whence a verbal noun in -nowg, “act of swimming." Thus, if xoXóufo in the passage cited probably cannot be taken as a verbal noun, *by swimming," does it refer to a craft of some type? 355. adnectas: 1.e. adnexas.

356. asincito (“undiluted bitumen?): < Greek &oóyyxvroc, “unmixed.” According to Prinz, n. 228, the word is borrowed from the Latin translation

Ps. Methodius.

However,

also

found

Ps. Callisthenes in the interpolated B version (3.29, bis, Bergson, p.206) and y version (30a, Parthe, p. 430). Alexander used this material to seal in the barbarians at the Caspian gates; cf. $41b where the word is construed adjectivally with bitumen. 357. inquinant (inquiunt o, "smear"): For inquinare in the neutral sense “to tincture,” *imbue" rather than *to stain," “defile,” see TLL 7.1.2, col. 1814, s.v.: "laxius in neutram partem 1. q. oblinere VITRUV. 7.3.11 *cum paries totus luto inquinatus fuerit'. ?

358. citimam ("famous"): almost certainly representing 460u40c, “famous” (Prinz, n. 229).

a form of

359. tculicet (*gnat"): If the reading is right, the author uses the word in an unattested sense to mean a “sharp tool." Cf. Isidore, Etym. 12.8.13: *Culex ab aculeo dictus."

Commentary $936b—36c

360. colimphas: i.e. colimphae. For femine plural nouns adjectives in the accusative used for the nominative see Introduction, VI.B.1.a.

§36¢

361. quasi ad praedam: to explain a motive.

or the

Quasi here appears to reflect Greek c&c used

362.catagoge (catago o, "landing place"): Prinz's attempt to connect this word with xavavyíc, “storm” or “hurricane” seems off the mark. Rather, xavoyoy, “landing place," conveys the bitter irony that may be intended: “The sea is your port!" 363. homelicum (homicum a, “of comrades"): D'Avezac

and Wuttke

conjecture ^ominum, which makes good sense, but is perhaps too easy

a correction, especially in a “purple passage." I suggest that the author

intended the genitive plural of óutjAS, -vxoc, “age-mate,” “comrade.” 364. cachinfatorum

(*'to be scorned"): Prinz, n. 236, rightly remarks

that cacemphaton « xoaxéguqaov, “ill-sounding,” “improper,” has been wrenched from its normal context as a grammatical term to do general service as a negative qualifier. It would appear from its use at $44 that the word has been coloured by cachinnus, “derisive laughter"; see n. 20 in that section. See also the note on Airmo,

n. 85.

365. aulonium (“of palace-ships"): aula than Greek aA

probably

based

§59b,

on Latin

366. limphaque arma (“water and weapons": i.e. armis: reflects the author's tendency to employ end assonance in defiance of syntax; see the

Introduction,

VI.C.5.a.1.

VI.B.l.c.i;

for

the

position

the

encl*tic

see

367. fieri (figeri LVPr): The numerous occurrences of fieri argue that it is an authorial spelling. Figeri here is thus a scribal aberration occasioned by a semi-vocalic pronunciation of the first / (). 368. Meoparorum. .. dromones: apparently a short prose paraphrase of Aethicus's oracular pronouncements, as is common in the prosimetrum. See §79.

369. Tdromu uaginest (“wandering corsairs"?): The received words conceal a phrase such as dromones uagantes. Do we have here a textual corruption or authorial word game? 370. pyrnae: The pyr- element may reflect the pir- (pyr-) of pirata (aquarum praedones).

Commentary $36c 371. insolas alias non esse: contradicts the information in $35 that there is nothing beyond the Gadarontan Isles. 372. nullarum partium (“in no other regions"): For the locative use of the genitive, see the Introduction, VI.C.1.b.iii. 373. multitudinis: 1.e. multitudines.

374. ibidem: & northern journey by Alexander may not be without literary precedent. See Ps. Callisthenes 3, 2.38 (ed. Bergson, pp. 131— 32); v, 2.37 (ed. Engelmann, p. 300), which describes a voyage during which it was totally dark for ten days. 375. ipsas colimphas (“these submarines"): For the meaning see n. 354. In the Ps. Callisthenes tradition Alexander does not descend in a boat, but in a jar (zt(00c) attached to a chain (see the next note). It is *Aethicus" who transforms Alexander’s “diving bell” into a submarine (colimpha). 376. ut. . . diferentia maris et abyssi sciret: Alexander here is made with accords scientific curiosity, which to share Aethicus’s interpolated the in whereas 303), p. Engelmann, (ed. v Ps. Callisthenes portion of Ps. Callisthenes f the purpose of Alexander's submarine

voyage is exploration combined with the desire to discover valuable

pearls (2.38, ed. Bergson, pp.196-98). See the discussion in Hillkowitz, 1:60. The difference or distance between the sea and the abyss (what Aethicus calls the chalao) is examined by Aethicus at $100 and again at $112, “De terra et flatu uentorum." 377. Arae Alexandri Magni: These are the Bouoi AAXse&é&vOoov, relocated from India, where Philosotratus (Life of Apollonius 2.43) placed them, to the northernmost isle of Ocean. Compare the relocation of the Cenocephali from India to Munitia at §28. The arae Alexandri appear on the Peutinger Table; see Stoneman, Life in Legend, p. 79. Their position in India would have been accessible from Pliny, Nat. hist. 6.6.18. 378. bitumen: 1.e. the asincitum; see the note at 36b.

379. quod in nullas alias insolas. . . incognitum (cognitum W2): The archetypal reading preserves another example of the author's use of double negation, and should not be emended; for more examples see the Introduction, VI.C.6.

Commentary $936c—37b

380. Tripicia: < 1o(mqyuc, “three cubits (in length)"? Given the author's penchant for hyperbolic wit, this would surely suit what he calls an insola. . . paruola! §37a

381. insolam Riffaricam: another toponym based on the name of the mythical mountain range (Riphaeus, Rhiphaeus) in the far North. 382. trucurros: see $37b with nn. 392-93. 383. bastarmam: most likely a conflation of basterna, *an enclosed litter carried by mules," with arma (cf. Prinz, "Untersuchung, p. 490),

with possible influence of Bastarnae, the name of a roving barbarian tribe that first appeared on the lower Danube ca. 200 B.C. (OCD, p. 235). The tribal name is attested Liber geneal. 1.83 (ed. Mommsen, p. 97) and Fredegar, Chron., praef. (ed Krusch, p. 21).

384. repacula subtus ferrea: 1.€. repaculis . . . ferreis. A word such as connexis appears to be missing. 385. toruos (“bellows’): The author seems to imagine the bellows as very large bags in which the winds are trapped. 386. Percussorum (“of the strikers"): apparently the men assigned to wield the iron hammers. Percussor is not attested with this meaning, but is a sense-neologism coined on percutere, which can have the meaning "destroy a building or fortification"; cf. TLL 10.1.8, col. 1244, lines 1-22, with examples from Vegetius. 387. duodecim milia hominum ad pugnam procedentium: genitive absolute, used apparently as a substitute for the ablative absolute; for unusual uses of the genitive see the Introduction, VI.C.1.b. 388. tegetur. . . capetur: It is hard to tell whether these forms signify present or future tenses, though here they seem to express the future. For capetur for capietur as an example of confusion of conjugations see the Introduction, VI.B.3.a. The insertion of «nom is obviously needed here for sense. 337b

389. rumpheas ingentias (for r. ingentes) another example assonance trumping syntax; see the Introduction, VI.B.1.c.11.

390. acumine (“with steel”): probably the metal known in Greek and Latin as chalybs; see Hillkowitz, 2:58. See below, $38b ad fin. 391. artifices (for artificium a, “the makers"): The form in -ium may have been caused by attraction to the preceding trucurrorum. The ending in -ium instead of -um reflects confusion of genitive plural

Commentary $37b endings B2.

in third-declension consonant stems:

see LHS

1:439, $357,

392. Trucurrorum: The spelling tru- is attested in all the MSS despite the etymological connection made to /ri-. Perhaps the author thought of the trucurrus as a trux currus; see above, §32, n. 299. 393. tricurros: unattested; Prinz, n. 253a., suggests "troikas." For the use of fortified wagons by the Sklavin, see Omeljan Pritsak, “The Slavs and the Avars," in G/i Slavi occidentali e meridionali nell'alto medioevo,

Settimano

studio

del

Centro

sull'altomedioevo 30.1 (1983), pp. 353—432, at 411. 394. uehiculis (“spans”): The author may iunctum, but the sentence remains a puzzle.

italiano

mean

the

studi

uehiculum

395. iaculandum (a,iaculandam V1): For agreement errors in gender in nouns, adjectives, and participles, see the Introduction, VI.C.2.b.ii1. 396. coopertum (*covered"): The writer switches abruptly to the neuter singular, then to the masculine singular (munitus). There is little point in emending; see the Introduction, VI.C.2.b. 397. rotundarum

rotarum

extenti:

1.e.

rotundis

rotis

extenti.

unusual uses of the genitive see the Introduction, VI.C.1.b.iv. 398. liuorare:

according

Prinz,

256,

not

For

unambiguously

attested 1n antiquity; cf. TLL 7.2.10, col. 1549 for a possible occurrence 1n Petronius. The apparent meaning of this denominative is “to cause ill-will," “to spite." In this passage, it appears to be a nearsynonym of nocere. See the Liber historiae Francorum 17 (ed. Krusch, p.269): “propter luricam qua indutus erat eum non livoraverunt"; Formulae Marculfi, “Formulae Turonicenses" 31 (ed. Zeumer, p. 154): *Ille me adsallivit vel livoravit et colaphis super me posuit." 399. Hircanas. . .gentes: another example of femine plural nouns or adjectives used as nominatives; see the Introduction, VI.B.1.a. 400. Albanas: here probably not the Illyrian people located on the Adriatic Sea next to Macedonia, but the ancient race located in the southeastern Caucasus on the Caspian Sea. See Atlas of the Classical World, map 36, and RE 1:305—6, s.v. 2. 401. tlacedaemonest §230) Lacedemon(es)

(o, lacertae uermes Wu): Elsewhere (§228, is used to indicate a people. Perhaps a

Commentary $$37b—36a

compound with d(a)emones was intended, with /atent concealed in the lace- element. §37¢

402. bestiolas: in apposition with /acedemones, thus meant to do service as a nominative; see the Introduction, p. VI.B.1.a. For the likelihood that the Liber monstrorum 2.23, *De bestia venenosa,” is the source of this passage, see the Introduction, VI.B.1.a. 403. tacto (tactu V): For the substitution of o for u in the ablative singular of fourth-declension nouns, see the Introduction, VI.B.1.d.

404. illisque. . . saeuientes: 1.e. illisque saeuientibus; but see the next note. 405. saeuientes. . . erumpentes,

§37d

dissoluuntur. ..

consumuntur.

particularly good example of the author's use of Rheimprosa; see E. Norden, Die antike Kunstprosa, 2™ ed. (Leipzig and Berlin, 1909), 2:622—3 (examples from Augustine's sermons).

406. Mineruio et Conubio: transparently the names of the goddess Minerva and an hypostasized con(n)ubium, both rendered as masculine. Perhaps translate “the Rivers Virginity and Marriage™? 407. calchirio:

cf.

MIWb,

s. chalcirius

Etym. 16.15.9: “Chalcitis aerei coloris est.”

and

chalcitis;,

cf.

Isidore,

408. crisolido: 1.e. chrysolithus; cf. Isidore, Etym. 16.15.2: “Chrysolithus auro similis est cum marini coloris similitudine." 409. operum ipsorum: genitive of respect dependent upon Omnia; 1 take the ablatives distributed throughout the sentence to express cause. 410. quae Dei sunt: cf. Matth. 16.23, Mc. 8.33. 4]1. Regem non habent sed duces: Franc. 2.9 (ed. Krusch, p. 52).

cf.

Gregory

of Tours,

Hist.

412. pacis foedera, etc.: The mention of the peaceful nature of the Ripharians (at least amongst themselves) may be another vestige of the tradition that the Hyperboreans lived at peace with one another; see Roscher, Lexikon

1.2:2827.

413. diis adorant: Prinz, n. 263, points out that the construction of adorare with the dative occurs mainly in the Vetus Latina; cf. 7LL 1, col. 819, s.v. For a general discussion of replacement of the accusative by the dative after verbs see E. Lófstedt, 1:200—8. 938a

414. Bizas: very probably based on Biza, the northeast wind; see below, §38b, n. 432.

Commentary $$36a—38b

415. Crisolida: based on xpvoó80c, “topaz.” 416. barbaras gentes inhabitant: See the Introduction, VI.B.1.a, for this construction. 417. montes Byrrenos: montes; cf. §32.

perhaps

to be connected

to the Birrichios

418. si. .. si (“whether. .. or else"): replacing aut. .. aut; cf. LSH 2:546, §296, IIIe. 419. quadratus agmen: This error of accidence underscores the trend towards the elimination of the neuter in the Romance languages; see the examples in Stotz, 4:153, §76.6, and the Introduction, VI.C.2.b.ii. 420. maxillam (L, “largish™): Prinz, n. 268, rightly form as "eher spielerischer Suplerlativ nach pauxilli."

explains

this

421. quasi (“practically”): cf. OLD, s.v. B8, with most examples from the Republican period. It is this sense of the word that is reprised in Italian quasi. 38b

422. obsidentium:

genitive

used

in place

of the

dative;

see

the

Introduction, VI.C.1.b.11.

423. In gyrum... urbium (“around the cities”): I take urbium as dependent upon in gyrum, used prepositionally (“around”). See the examples of in giro and per gyrum (“als quasi-Praep.”) in LHS 2:227, $119, Zus. b. 424. corruent (*collapse"): probably intended to be present tense matching quatiunt; for confusion of conjugations see the Introduction, VEB.3.a. 425. catasta (“by a scaffold"): here, apparently, a protected platform abutting the wall to be destroyed. 426. robustarum . (roobitarum o). D’Avezac’s and Wuttke's correction of the transmitted text seems far more plausible than Hillkowitz's (2:202) attempt to explain the corruption as related to the Old Slavonic word for “female slave," or even Prinz's (n. 271) more convincing theory that there might be here a distortion of the biblical Moabitarum. 427.

Locusta, bruchus:

cf.

Ps. 104.34:

*venit

The bruchus is defined as “a wingless locust." 428. meniana

(*walls"): more

maeniana, " balconies."

lucusta

et bruchus.”

likely an expansion of moenia than

Commentary $$38b—40

429. aurea uitula: 1.e. aureus uitulus. The “golden calf" of Ex. 32.1— 6 1s called the uitulus conflatilis (not aureus), but one frequently finds the phrase uitulus aureus 11 exegetical literature, usually connoting

idolatry. Here, Aethicus the moralist seems to make the obvious point

that the destruction of cities and peoples worship of wealth. 430.tot:

ie.

fotius.

Possibly

to be

is caused

explained

by greed, the

a substantive

followed by the partitive genitive; cf. LHS 2:197, §107f,a.

431. dnsulsus»: sc. populus. The insertion 1s required to complete the sense. The author probably intended a pun on the double meaning of the word insulsus, 7.1.12, cols. 2040-41.

“saltless”

and

“witless.”

See

OLD,

s.v.,

TLL

432. Bizam: a Frankish word for the northeast wind that made its way into Romance dialects; cf. REW 1120, s. bisa. See above, n. 414. 433. cantaridas: For the gem name see MIWb 2:188, lines 9ff. 434. leenitas: pxobably a corruption of leaena and Prinz, n. 281, suggests (following Hillkowitz, 1:12).

lychnitas,

435. acumen (*'steel"): see above, n. 390. $39

436. sicut et alia uiginti duo regna Gog et Magog: For a comparison of the lists of these tribes Hilkowitz, 1:61-63.

in Ps. Methodius

and Ps. Callisthenes,

see

437. quae sub caelo sunt: cf. Gen. 1.9. 438. munitos montes: understood as ablative. 439. pelagum:

i.e. pelago.

440. Sed . . . gladio crudeliter interfecit: The sentence 1s reminiscent of an interpolated passage in Ps. Callisthenes ( (3.29, ed. Bergson, p. 207), where Alexander, after the enclosure of the twenty-two kings at the Caspian Gates, rages among the Turks and Armenians and claims to slay them all together with their king with his sword: xai ATLERTELVA £v óoyucpatqo. Grxovxac o ov Daouéac. S40

AAY. argumentorum (Cstratagems"): Argumentum is regularly used to mean *"stratagem" or 'trick," perhaps through confusion with argutiae,

device.

this meaning

is extended

to encompass

a physical

object or

442. pilas (*gates"): 1.e. mwohag, doubtless to be equated with the Caspias portas. According to (interpolated) Ps. Callisthenes (3, 3.29

Commentary $$40—41a

100

(ed. Bergson, pp. 206-7), the so-named gates (vt'óAac Kaomiandg) are the place of the enclosure of the twenty-two unclean peoples. For the phrase Caspias pilas in the Cosmography see §59d with n. 108. 443. a (ad GWV, *'to"): another example of a used for ad. The source of GWV corrects to ad, but a 1s probably authorial. See the Introduction, VI.B.4.

444. quasi ("about"): see above, $38a, n. 421. 445. Ab utrisque partibus. . . uallatus: The subject of the sentence is not given, but presumably it is the entire region inhabited by the descendants of Gog and Magog, not the Caspian Sea. 446. utroque mare: presumably the Caspian at the West and South and Ocean at the North; understood as genitive dependent on ambage. 447. reliquorum. . . regionum: again, a genitive used locatively; see the Introduction, VI.C.1.b.111. 448. sectilis: 1.e. sectilia.

449, dextros (“right”): Aethicus approaches the Caspian Sea from the far North; thus, the Caucasus range would be seen to be on his right. 450. inclausae: i.e. inclusae; see the examples (nearly all late) of inclausus in TLL 7.1.6, col. 949. Bonnet, p. 488, gives examples of recomposition of re- and prae- * claudere in Gregory of Tours. See the Introduction, VI.A.3.

94la

451. ut supra diximus: cf. §33. 452. onagrias (honargias, -arzias o, “Ass-men”): a coinage based on onager (Gvarypog), “wild ass." Cf. Ps. Methodius, Apoc. [11], 17.5— 6ff. (ed. Aerts and Kortekaas, p. 153). 453. dicitur: Dici, the reading of a, is meaningless, and V1°’s dictu does not seem to help. 454. philosarchis: « quXoo&oxoc. The sense is not, as Prinz (n. 290) supposed, reliant on patristic usage, but to be understood more literally as “lovers of flesh," hence “flesh-eaters”; cf. $58b, n. 28. 455. putatores (*drinkers"): i.e. potatores (reading of V). 456. odientes bonum, diligentes malum et diligite bonum.”

malum:

cf.

Amos

5.15:

“odite

457. haec uidens, etc.: The motif of Alexander's perception of the activities of the unclean races and fear that these would pollute other

Commentary §§41a—41b

101

peoples is recorded in the interpolated passages of Ps. Callisthenes , 3.29 (ed. Bergson, p.205) and vy, 30a (ed. Parthe, p.428) and introduced by Ozaoáuevocg and different verbs for “fearing.” The same motif and introductory words occur in the Greek text of Ps. Methodius, Apoc. 8.5 (Aerts and Kortekaas, pp. 110-11). The Latin, ibid., uses contemplatus and timens. The cosmographer hews more closely to Ps.Methodius (doubtless the Latin version). Ps. Methodius directs Alexander's fears specifically to the Holy Land (in terra sancta), and the cosmographer speaks of ferra . .. melliflua (cf. Exod. 3.8: *. .. in terram quae fluit lacte et melle"), i.e. the land promised to Abraham and Jacob. Neither version of Ps. Callisthenes specifies the lands potentially affected by the pollution. 458. ultra quam credi potest: a biblical expression; cf. Gen. 27.33: *Expavit Isaac stupore vehementi et ultra quam credi potest admirans ait.” 459. monte

Chelion:

According

Prinz,

294,

Chelion

personal name taken from Ruth 1.2.5, and 4.9. However, it is also possible that a metathesis of Helicon, the mount sacred to the Muses, is the intended name, or that Chelion stands for Helion,

“the sun’; cf.

$21a, n. 186, cidrosista. 460. depraecatuques est: cf. Ps. Methodius, Apoc. 8.7 (ed. Aerts and Kortekaas, p.113) “Continuo ergo supplicatus est Deum Alexander...". 461. artem (“stratagem”): cf. $33, n. 314. 462. terrae motus. . . auditus: cf. (Vulg.) Apoc. factus est magnus, qualis numquam fuit."

16.18: “terraemotus

463. proximauerunt se montes, etc.: cf. Ps. Methodius, Apoc. 8.7: “adiuncti (sc. montes) proximaverunt invicem usque ad duodecim cubitorum." Note that the cosmographer's measurements frequently differ from those of his sources. 464. "Surge, contende, " etc.: directly from Micheas 6.1-2. 465. Hinc enim montes, etc.: cf. Isaiah 54.10 “montes enim commovebuntur, et colles contremescent." Rote knowledge of the biblical text may have occasioned the error in the verb tense in our work. §41b

466. iuxta utroque mare (“near to each sea"): It is not very clear here how the author imagined the geography.

102

Commentary $$41b—42 467. ferentesque porcum (“bringing pork {offerings}”): The use of pork as a fitting food for a peace treaty is mentioned by Vergil, Aen. 8.641: “stabant et caesa iungebant foedera porca.” However, its use here probably reflects the view that it is an unclean food fit only for unclean peoples. 468. [minans| minauit eos: cf. Ps. Methodius, Apoc. 8.6 (ed. Aerts and Kortekaas, p. 113): “Et eduxit eos de terra orientale et conclusit minans eos, donec introissent in finibus Aquilonis." Our text may show an attempt at revision either by the author himself or an intermediary.* 469. unde (“about which"): On this sense of unde see Niermeyer, 2:1050, s.v. 2; for unde > Fr. dont, see REW 9062. See also LHS 2:209, Zus. a, especially the example from Salvian, De ecclesia 3.17: “de his unde nunc loquimur”; see the Introduction, VI.C.3.a.11. 470. acumen (“by 'steel'"): cf. above, $37b, n. 390.

471. Tanta. . .aquam dissoluatur: cf. Ps. Methodius, Apoc. 8.8 (ibid., p. 115): “Et construxit portas aereas et superinduxit eas asincitum, ut, si voluerint eas patefacere in ferro, non possunt aut dissolvere per igne nec valeant utrumque sed statim ignis omnis extinguitur. Talis enim est natura asinciti, quia neque ferro confringitur ictus ferientes neque igne suscipit resolutionem.” Similar formulae are to be found in (interpolated) Ps. Callisthenes f3, 3.29 (ed. Bergson, p. 206) and vy, 30a (ed. Parthe, p. 430), and also in the Byzantine floc AAeEóvóoov; cf. Anderson, A/exander 's Gate, p. 40. 472. Tamen (“but”): The point of the adversative, apparently, is that Alexander did not perform this feat entirely on his own, but required the help of God. 473. argumenta (“stratagems”): for this meaning see above, §40, n. 44].

$42

474. quorum . . . credimus adfuturam: cf. Ps. Methodius, Apoc. 8.10 (ibid., p. 117): “In novissimis vero temporibus secundum Ezechielis prophetiam, que dicit: ‘In novissimo die consummationes mundi exiet Gog et Magog in terra Israel.”” The release of the unclean races (Gog and Magog) is absent from the Alexander material. 475. sarfaica (“baked”): cf. §6, n. 45.

Commentary $$942—43

103

476. uinum tamen incognitum: The presence of famen renders the transmitted text problematic. The author probably meant to say that vines are indigenous but are not used to produce wine; cf. $32 adfin. 477. pimentum (pigmentum V O2, "pepper"): not to be understood as the classical word for “pigment,” but as the root of Romance words

for

843

"spice"

pigmentum.

"pepper"

478. Mantuanum:

(cf.

Eng.

“pimento”);

sc. Vergil; see above, nn.

479. ad plenum (*to the full extent"): cf. e.g. Seneca, Ep. 71.18: “Academici etiam inter hos cruciatus fatentur, sed plenum, quod nullo modo potest recipi." to stick to his bowdlerized edition, and unexpurgated work.

see

REW

535,

144—45.

a collocation attested in CL; veteres beatum quidem esse non ad perfectum nec ad “Jerome” advises his readers not attempt to read the full

480. spiritalem «se» adlidat petram: The earlier editors understood that this stone was not a kindly one, and led them to insert se. Thus

Prinz's reference to ] Cor. 10.4, “bibebant autem de spiritali consequenti eos petra," alluding to the rock of Moses that gives forth

water,

misses

the point.

apt would

be Satan's

words

to Jesus

according to Matth. 4.6: ... ne forte offendas ad lapidem pedem tuum." The spiritalem petram is thus a spiritual danger, not a source of life. For further discussion see K. Smolak,

Ister," FM 3 (1996), 135—52, at pp. 147—49.

*Notizen

zu Aethicus

481. sapientiam . . . stultitiam: cf. 1 Cor. 3.19 "sapientia enim huius mundi stultitia est apud Deum."

[V. DE NAVIBVS

INDAGATIONEM

PHILOSOPHVS.]?

44. Grande enim scrupolo idem philosophus adplicuit in pauca, nimpe nauale gubernaculo. «Vb uelox stilus innectens manu calabat, adhibet^ ocianum

sinum

inreductam

filarchosmus,

cura

laborum

secutarum

5 gentium maris uel stagna inuestigans. Credimus et aliorum philosophorum codices in hac parte recipisse, at^ ipse suo studio peraccedens elicuit. 143 Solomodo in hoc uolumine priorum decessorum sofisma secutus similia parum disciuit. Tamen plura et ualde ingenio peritissimo honestissime intimare orsus est, et post incognitarum gentium et insolarum 10 occidentalium et septentrionum nauium gubernacula et earum ergata illarumque ingeniositatem^ et per semetipsum plura adserit et cum aliis non defitetur. Meridianam itaque plagam ob hoc nonnulla obmisit, nisi tantum astrorum sagacitatem lineam ducens, et super alios philosophos et eorum doctores hic eminentius et subtilius^ disputauit. Solocismus 15 illorum respuens “ludichus achademicus" eos uocitauit. “Et quia oriens et meridies," sic infit, “tot scriptores habet «quob res publica/ et philosophus [quot] et somniatores, non solum facta rusticola aut puerorum tracoedia

scribunt uel cimbalistria bella, sed et diuinationes et somnia membranis suis inserunt, multa inutilia." Quae iste cachinfata€ deridit, sicut de 144

Helis et germano Helispontum dictum scribunt," cum Heliadae sint insolae maris Magni et montes Helides, et ab una insola in alias cernere possint in pontium similitudinem, et ob hoc mare adstrictum Helispontum uocant. Tantum «de ignotas gentes uel artium illarum, quae alii ignorauerunt, in multis argumentis hic explanare non dubitat.

"^V. DE NAVIBUS INDAGATIONEM PHILOSOPHVS] LO : IIIlL. DE ARTIVM PLVRIMARVM INSTRVMENTA F badhibet] scripsi : ad nibe LOVPr, at nimpe Av, at nivem Wu; cf. comm. ad loc. “at] Wu : an LOVvPr, sed 4v dingeniositatem] AvWu :

ingeniositatum LOVPr — 8subtilius] O1V: subtilibus LO

/res publica] scripsi : rei publicus

LOV S&cachinfata] cachinfacta O, cachinno facta (-0) AvWu; cf. comm. scripsi : scribant LOV

ad loc.

/’scribunt]

45. Nauium inuentores primum Lidia protulit. Pyrronius magus antiquissimo tempore^ ratem in Lidia fabricauit, donec sciret purpora et omnia pulcherrima quae in® insolas¢ maris Magni habentur. Vnde et omnis Lidia purporarias magnas et incl*tas sicut Ciprus et Ciclades 5 «quae^ usque nunc praeclaras habetur. ¢ et ratiaras aliae gentes et in circuitum nationes ex tignis asserebusque connexum. 104

[V. THE PHILOSOPHER {MAKES AN} INVESTIGATION ABOUT SHIPS.] 44. The same philosopher applied great care to a few matters, certainly the navigation of ships. «As the swift pen joining his hand descended,' the cosmographer? turns to? Ocean, the gulf that does not return,' investigating seas? and still waters with the care {and} efforts of the people? following (him). We believe that in this part {of the work} he accepted the books of other philosophers, but he elicited (their meaning} by approaching them thoroughly through his own research. In this volume alone, following the similar teachings! of his predecessors, he hardly deviated at all.® Nevertheless, he also began very respectably to express many things through his own exceptional talent® and, later, about the navigation {methods} of the unknown peoples both of the western and northern islands and the ingenuity of their hoisting engines;' and he asserts more things on his own authority, and does not differ with others. And therefore he omitted some matters about the southern region, except only for sketching an outline of the stars'’ in perspicacious fashion," and {on this subject] he discoursed more brilliantly and subtly than other philosophers and their teachers. Rejecting their errors," he called them “light-weight academics."'^ “And,” as he says, “because the East and the South have as many reporters «as» the republic has philosophers and dreamers," these not only describe the deeds of rustics, the goat-songs of boys'® and cymbal-clashing wars," but they also insert divinations and dreams'® into their parchments, " {and} much else that is useless." These things he derided as risible,” as, when they write that the Hellespont is named after Helis^' and her brother, whereas {in fact} the Heliads^ are islands in the Mediterranean and the Helids are mountains, and

from one island to the other {people} are able to see and on this account they call the place where the Hellespont."?^ In {his} numerous accounts^' «aboub their skills,? he does not hesitate to explain.a great not know.

the likeness of bridges, sea is hemmed in “the unknown peoples and deal which ? others did

45. Lydia first produced inventors of ships.”” The magician Pyrronius^ built a raft in Lydia in ancient times so that^ he might have knowledge of all the purple garments and all the beautiful things that are contained in the islands of the Mediterranean. Whence, too, Lydia {has} all the brilliant, great and outstanding purple-dyers" as {does} Cyprus and the Cyclades, «who» are regarded as outstanding even now. Other peoples and nations in the region" « have»* rafts joined together by beams and poles. 105

106

Aethicus Ister $$46—49

^tempore]

tempora

suppleui; cf. comm. ad loc.

—in]

om.

Cinsolas]

insolis

V —

quae] suppleui

— *Habent]

46. Collones deinceps naues mirae magnitudinis uelocissimae, sursum erectae, in altum ductiles; pellibus ursorum et hircorum in altum quasi collaria^ circumdata, paruolis fenestellis quattuor in ipsis pellibus 145 consutae. In modum fabrorum toruum uentis respirantibus «m» uellera 5 turgiscentia tanta uelocitate, undas maris et tempestates inmensas ualea»t absque ullo periculo tollerare. Iam in hoc tempore perpauci sunt qui eas utantur; Scithae enim eas solomodo utuntur. 4 collaria] scripsi : colla LOVedd

47.' Trieris nauis magna ex tribus nauibus fabricata ferroque plurimum adfixa atque copulata, Orientalem oceanum maxime in usum habita, et in Rubro mare similiter, raroque^ in mare Magnum. Nulla enim nauis maiorem pondus [aut opus]? ferre potest, neque opus tam magnum uel 5 populorum fcuneif¢ ad^ nauale bellum procedentium. ^raroque] rareque L — Paut opus] seclusi — ^Tcuneif] cuneos Av; cf. comm. ad loc. edd. : aut LOV

dad]

48. Liburnae negotiatorum naues aptae, ueloces enim ueluti dromones, inter undas maris uel procellas admodum necessariae. Nonnullae enim in Libia inueniuntur, ubi repertae fuerunt. 49. Rostratas naues in oceanum septentrionalem magno opere fabricatas a Griphone quodam^ gentilem artificem, magum?^ ueteranis temporibus, fabrorum aeris magistrum,^ Scitica natione exortus, in multarum artium ingenio peritus, maxime in nauale «opere ^ et fabrorum fornace. Nam 146 5 ipsas rostratas in altum erectae quasi cacumen sirteum eminentiores? a puppe, in fronte rostra aerea habent propter scopulos, ne forte, cum tantam/ uim discurrentium uel properantium habeant,€ aut feriantur uel conledantur. Pagani namque ipsum magum’” eorum magistrum in multitudinem^ deorum suorum connumerati sunt, eo quod in 10 similitudinem griphorum, animalium, uel altilium pinnatorum eis/ ex aere et auro fusile simulacrum fabricauit. Ob hoc in illis regionibus Griphonem^ ipsum uolantem semper manentem arbitrati sunt falsa et uana opinione. Et mare Magnum has naues rostratas temporibus Alexandri Magni habere coeperunt.! Itaque eminentiores ac maiores in 15 oceanum Septentrionalem inueniuntur.

Cosmographia $$46—49

107

46. Next, collar-ships" are very swift ships of great magnitude, built high, and mobile on the deep; they are covered up to the peak with the hides of bears and goats like collars,"^ with four little windows sewn?? into the hides. As the winds blow with great velocity dánto» the swelling sails like the bellows'? of smiths, the ships are able to withstand the waves of the sea and immense storms without any peril. Now at this time there are very few who use them;"' for the Scythians are the only ones®® who do.

47. The trireme," a large ship made out of three ships fastened together and joined by a lot of iron, is used mainly in the Oriental Ocean and likewise in the Red Sea, and occasionally in the Mediterranean. There is no ship able to sustain more weight," or carry such a large siege device,"' or funitst? of personnel proceeding to a naval encounter.

48. Liburnae" {are} ships suitable for" merchants, for they are very fast like “corsairs,” {and} very necessary in the midst of sea-swells and storms. . 0 p . 4 Some are found in Libya, where they were invented.*’ 49. {He says that} “prow-ships,” {which are used} mainly in the Northern Ocean, were fabricated by a certain Grypho, a pagan designer {and} a magician in ancient times, {as well as} a master of the bronze-smiths, a Scythian by nationality, blest with talent in many arts, particularly shipbuilding and the smithy's art. Indeed, his prow-ships,*’ rising straight up to a height like a sand dune,*® are higher at the poop," and have bronze prows at the bow on account of the rocks, lest perchance they be either struck or smashed, since they have so much power of movement and speed.”® And indeed, the heathens numbered this magician, their teacher, among the multitude"' of their gods, because he fashioned for them a molten image of bronze and gold in the likeness of gryphons, animals" and feathered birds.?? On this account the people in those regions mistakenly and vainly believed that Grypho®* himself flew, enduring forever. And {the people} began® to use prow-ships (in) the Mediterranean in the time of Alexander the Great. And so, (because they are} taller and bigger than other ships, they are found in the Northern Ocean.

108

Aethicus Ister $$50—52

^ quodam] scripsi : quondam LOVedd b magum] magnum LV, corr. V1 — *magistrum] add. hic V1 “opere] suppl. AvWu — *eminentiores] scripsi : eminentiorem LOV ftantam] tanta LO &habeant] O2 : habeat LOV h magum| magnum Z !multitudinem] scripsi : similitudinem LOV; cf. comm. ad loc. . Jeis] om. O *Griphonem] scripsi: griphem LOV; cf. comm. ad loc. ! coeperunt] comperunt V'

50. Lamia nauis prolixa in directum in ipsum mare birremicum; quattuor capita in uno cacumine, quattuor in alio narratur habere in similitudinem Cimerae, ex aere calamorum^ repacula in utrisque partibus conlocata. Acumen et ferri caliditate? lances duratos, turriculas segmentatas¢ cum 5

extensione

| uelorum

utraqued

latera,

uergentium¢

uentorum

147

uehementiam recipere et in similitudinem globorum anhelitus respirare et tam ueloce cursu peruenire ad portum. Vel in nauale proelio si incurrerint, statim inruunt lances ingentes ex lamia et impetu ualedo perimunt quos repperirent. [nde Aethicus ait: 10 Nauta maris ignotam subinfert praedam

e caeca/ catasta trusa pellicia

furenti€ uibratur^ lamia; quatrifida toreuma fauet subire limpha; aequor camum

multorum detulit hamum; decrescente nauta,

gemet uicina agricola. ^calamorum] camalorum L — ?caliditate] calliditate OV; cf. comm. ad loc.

€ segmentatas] Pr

in app. : sagmentatas LOVAvWu dutraque] ultra quae V. — *uergentium] pergentium F Je caeca] OVPr : aceta L, et haec Av, acuta JWu; cf. comm. ad loc. Sturenti] scripsi : furentium LOV ^ uibratur] uibrat OV

51. Classem lignis leuigatis factam, uelocem, onera maris uel fluuiorum sagaciter adferentem nauale conmercio, nam a^ uelocitate nomen traxit. Scithae enim primum has naues in usu habuerunt. “alom. L

52. Barcas «dissimiles?^ non esse trieribus,? nauibus magnis ferroque uallatis in oceanum borrecum. Tam magnas ultra omnes partes orbis, ita ut una structa¢ compages unam legionem hostium capiat et tueatur sine ullo naufragio gurgitum. ^ «diysimiles] cf. comm. ad loc. — "trieribus] edd. : tribus LOV

structa] instructa ¥

Cosmographia $$50—52

50. The “witch™® ship

{is} an extended bireme

109

{employed}

in the region

of'! this sea;? it is said to have four “heads” at one summit, four at the other

in the form of a chimera;"? oarlocks® of bronze are located at both parts.61 (It has} lances?^ made hard with steel” and by the hotness® of iron, segmented turrets, with on both sides an extension of sails, turning so as to catch the force of the winds and to breathe, as it were, balls of breath, and with speedy course arrive at port. Or if they happen to engage in naval battle, immediately huge lances project from the “witch” and destroy those whom they might encounter with a powerful impact. On this account Aethicus says: The sailor of the sea accumulates untold booty; from a blind spot? the skin-covered structure is shoved {and} shaken by the raging “witch”; a thing bored through,^ split into four pieces, it inclines to sink into the water. The sea with its hook®’ carried off a trap®® with many men; as sailors grow fewer, the neighbouring farmer groans.

51. (He says that} the "fleet-ship"" made of planed wood {is} swift, speedily transporting cargoes on the seas and rivers® for naval commerce; for it took its name from its speed." The Scythians used these vessels first.

52. (He says that} barques"' are not dissimilar to in the Northern Ocean” fortified with iron. They ships in all parts of the world" — that a single capture and guard an {entire} enemy legion shipwreck in the eddies.

triremes, the great ships are so big — bigger than attached structure” can without any danger of

110

Aethicus Ister

$953—56

53. Scithae et Griphes, Taracontas et Saxonum genus inopinatissimum [a Meoparitis ingenio ualde peritis]|^ mioparo «faciunb^ ad 148 similitudinem nauium illarum «a Meoparitis ingenio ualde peritis>, unde supra inuenimus scripta, scaffas ex uimine litas bitumine. Ex corio 5 animalium erasa, unde peltas connectunt, contextas lora cruda ad solem et

prunas ualde duratas. Ob nimiam agilitatem nomen traxerunt: per paludatos lacus uel maris aut fluminum maiorem^ agilitatem quam reliquae uicinae naues, sed non conueniunt ad opus arcium? illarum, quod philosophus supra retulit.

^ 4 Meoparitis . . . peritis] uoces perperam positas; cf. comm. ad loc. — Pfaciunt] suppl. AvWu ^maiorem] maiorum LV

d arcium] artium LO; cf. comm. ad loc.

54. Carina ob agilitatem uocata undarum magnitudine uelut uolatu auium superferendo. Properans concauis lateribus, producto cacumine sursumque soliditate firmata, prora tabulata conpage erecta flatuque uentorum recepta, cursu uelocissimo nauticos gignaris prouehitur; unde 5 carina quasi currina credimus nuncupata. 55. Camereca nauis opinatissima ob hoc nuncupata: camelorum more in medio curuo colcherio? quasi gibbum cameli, fenestras obliquas modicas ad uentorum receptacula fore.? Camara sursum consuta coriis magnis coniunctis umbonem in similitudinem lebetum factum in ipsum gibbum, 5 qui,€ ut anhelitum uentorum reciperit, mox in similitudinem tonitrui 149 magni reboat terribilem sonitum. Tempestates maris sine periculo tollerat. Ad naualem bellum robustissimo uigore obfirmata atque munita narratur. Hanc nauem Cycrobs in oceanas insolas Frisargicas in suae artis peritiam

idem^

historicus inuenisse narratur.

? colcherio] LO : cholcerio V; cf. comm. ad loc.

Pfore] fere V.

^qui] quia LO

didem] idest

56. Hiberiota nauis, quam Hircani utuntur, longitudine prolixae, latitudine coartatae, in altum uimine circumdatae, textae pellibus hircinis et

ursorum, ita ut ipsam altitudinem aquarum ac uehementia uentorum magnopere repugnent. Ad expilandas uicinas insolas uel regiones agiles et 5 uelocissimas. Itidem in aliorum codices philosophorum aut^ narratione historiarum? nullatenus nautarum¢ artem^ nec legendo? didicimus nec artifices «aub/ instructores praeter unum, qui Hiberiotam fieri potuissit in Hircania, et gentilem maritimum, qui «asseruib$ mioparo Germanico a uulgi ingenio facto non esse tale nec in artis peritia, nec inmersionem”

Cosmographia $953—56

111

53. The Scythians, Gryphons and Taracontans, and, most surprisingly,"? the Saxon race «build» a mioparo,’” skiffs" {made} out of osiers and sealed with bitumen" after the pattern of those ships {built} with great skill by the ingenious Maeoparotans,” which?' we found® described above. They are covered

with

raw

leather,

shaved

from

the

skins

of animals

and

much

hardened by sun and coals,” from which they attach their shields. They took their name from their exceptional agility: they have greater agility in swampy^" lakes or seas®™ or rivers than all the ships of their neighbours, *^ but they are not suited for the siege engine {used} against citadels, ? which the philosopher mentioned above.*

54. The caréne,"' or *keel," gets its name from its agility, as it skims over the height of the waves like a bird in flight. Sped along by its concave gunwales, its mast extended and stabilized at the top, its prow (made of} a structure of planks held erect, it takes the blasts of the winds as ever so swiftly it is propelled on its course by its skilful sailors; whence we believe that the caréne is so called because it “careens.”® 55. The cameléque® is a highly celebrated ship, and is so called {because} like a camel {there is) a curved shell” in the middle like the hump of a camel; there are^' oblique windows of modest size as receptacles for the wind. A chamber’ on top is sewn together out of large hides joined to a boss in the form of kettle built on the same hump, which, as soon as it receives the breath of the wind, straightaway emits a terrible sound like a huge thunder-clap. (The cameleque} takes the storms on the-sea without any danger. It is reported to be very powerfully reinforced and fortified for naval warfare. That same investigator" relates’* that Cecrops^ invented this ship on the Frisian Isles™ of Ocean? through his expert skill.?*

56. The Hiberiot^ {is} a ship which the Hircanians? use; they are very long and quite narrow, encircled with osiers all the way to the top, {and} covered with the hides of goats and bears so that they best withstand the height of the waves and the vehemence of the winds. They are agile and very swift for pillaging neighbouring islands and territories. Again, in no wise have we learned or read about the craft of sailors or the designers «or;* builders of ships in the books of other philosophers, or in historical accounts, except from one person, who might have been an Hiberiot in Hircania and a heathen sailor, who «claimed» that the German mioparo, built by the skill of ordinary

112

Aethicus Ister $$56—57

10 undarum aut aquarum gurgitibus, uel aliarum nauium praedam capiendo, quemadmodum in Meoparorum insolas a nobis inaccessibiles et incognitas. daut] hanc V b historiarum] historiorum L, historicorum Wu — ^nautarum Wu] nauter L, naut O, nautae V dartem] arcem L — *legendo] neglegendo V /aut] suppleui ex fonte; cf. comm. ad loc. &asseruit] suppleui h inmersionem] inmensionem LO; cf. comm. ad loc.

57. Vagiones nauiculas in mare miro ingenio fabricatas," ut 150 philosophus adserit, ex tenuis tabulis leuigatis ac dolatis, aereas laminas circumdatas, turriculas sursum caelatas conclusas gipsis bituminatis, sicut in arcam fuisse legimus^ factum. Et ob hoc uagiones nuncupati, «quasb^ huc illucque ueloci cursu uagantes? et cito properantes, qualisque^ in Troianica obsidione in Simoem fuerunt. Nam Albani, Meoti, Mazeti, Gangines, Tulchi has naues utuntur et eas pirones in barbarica lingua appellant. Vtiliores enim quam dromones; eas/ attamen in Mediterraneo mare nusquam reperiuntur.

Hucusque

«de

nauale

adsertionem & scripsimus.

argumentum

philosophi

adfirmationem

uel

7 fabricatas] fabricatus L bfuisse legimus] legimus fuisse O — *quasi] suppleui "'iagantes] O2 : uacantes LOV *qualisque] qualitatem V u eas] LOVPr : sunt AvWu; cf. comm. ad loc. gadsertionem] adsentionem V h scripsimus] add. Finit LO

Cosmographia $$56—57

113

people, was not the equal of the ones in the inaccessible and unknown Meoparan Isles with regard to craftsmanship, immersion"' in waves or eddies of water, or capturing the booty of other ships.

57. Vagiones ^ are small sea-going ships, fabricated with marvellous skill, as the philosopher asserts, out of thin' boards, planed and shaped {and} surrounded

with

bronze

laminate,

with turrets with

carved-metal

relief on

top sealed with a mixture of plaster and bitumen, just as we read was done'"" to the ark. ? And for this reason they are called vagiones, «as» ? they course swiftly and vaguely this way and that, and move very quickly like fthe boats used) on {the River] Simois during the siege of Troy. Indeed, the Albanians,

Maeoti,

and Mazeti, people from the Ganges,

and Turks all use

these boats, and call them pirones in their barbarian tongue. These are more useful

than

corsairs;

nevertheless,

thcym8

Mediterranean. We have recorded our philosopher's «egarding» naval design up to this point.

are

found

attestation

nowhere

and

the

affirmation

114 944

Commentary $44 l. calabat: weakly attested in Niermeyer, See Prinz, n. 315, who

autem calamus, ponere dicitur."

quod

1:114 (“lower,”

refers calabat to Isidore Etym.

liquorem

ponat,

unde

et apud

«€

“sink™).

6.14.5: “dictus

nautas

calare

2. filarchosmus ("the cosmographer"): a neologism comprising the Greek elements qu-, dpy-, and «óouoc, literally, *a lover of the first principles of the cosmos," an apt coinage for a cosmographer who is not only an explorer, but also an “investigator” of the world's beginnings. For a discussion of this and similar coinages in the Cosmography, see Herren, “The Greek Element,” p. 193. 3. adhibet (adnibe LOV): Transmitted ad nibe is nonsense: a verb with a third-person ending is wanted, and adhibet supplies an apt meaning. I suspect a series of corruptions: authorial adhibet > hyperarchetypal adhibe, archetypal adnibe. Interestingly, adnibe (as one word) occurs in the “Aethicus batches" of an eleventh-century alphabetical glossary from . Tegernsee: Munich, Bayerische Staatsbibliothek, clm 19439, fol. 3r: adnibe. adscisci, adiungi.

4. inreductam: 1.e. inreductum. It is 1mpossible to decide whether this frequent type of error is to be ascribed to a copyist confusing u for an open a, or whether the author was ignorant of the invariably masculine gender of sinus. The other examples of sinus in our work are of no help in deciding this. For other examples of feminine adjectives construed with masculine nouns see the Introduction, VI.C.2.b.i. That *Ocean" is called inreductam shows that it is still conceived of as a river. See the Introduction, p. xxi. 5. maris: i.e. mares = maria. The only forms of this noun that occur in the text as transmitted are mare and maris. See the examples in Stotz, 4:153, $76.6: pectores, oviles.

6. secutarum gentium (“of the people following”): cf. Modern French “les gens qui suivent,” where gens means “people,” not “peoples.” 7.sofisma (“teachings™): for sophismata (ooqíouova), a sense neologism. The Greek term almost invariably carries a negative meaning. See the Introduction, VI.D.2. 8. parum disciuit (“he hardly deviated"): an exaggeration. The writer draws upon Isidore, Etym.19.1, *De navibus," but alters much and invents a number of his ship types.

Commentary $44

115

8a. et ualde ingenio peritissimo. Valde is redundant 1f meant to be construed with peritissimo, which is already superlative. Compare Eng. “the very biggest.” 9. ergata (for plural): here in the usual sense of “windlass” or “hoistengine." I have taken the phrase as an hendiadys; literally it translates “their hoisting machines and their ingenuity.” For a different sense of this word (“hoisting action") see $3, n. 16. 10. et cum aliis non defitetur: The passage is confusing, but “Jerome” seems to mean that after Aethicus's discussions of the inventions of the unknown peoples of the West and North (which only he confirms), his statements about other parts of the world coincide with what others say, even if he describes them according to his own experience. 11. astrorum . . . ducens: No discussion of the southern sky occurs in the text as we have it. However, the mention of astrorum lineam points to the likelihood that the author was aware of the existence of different constellations in the South. 12. sagacitatem: understood as ablative of manner without the usual preposition; astrorum is dependent upon /ineam. 13. Solocismus (for soloecismos): The author has wrenched this word out of its usual, strictly grammatical, context, and broadened it to mean *error" in general. Cf. the use of cachinfata, below, n. 20, and hirmo, $59b, n. 85; for words used in unusual senses cf. the

introduction, VI.D.2. 14. ludichus: ie. ludicros: achademicus: 1.e. academicos.

“sportive,”

ie.

“not

serious";

15.et philosophus [quot] et somniatores: almost certainly a reference to Cicero's “Dream of Scipio" at the end of the De republica. The author would scarcely have known this work directly, but might have known about it from Macrobius's Commentarii in somnium Scipionis. Knowledge of this work by Macrobius is rare in the seventh and eighth centuries: Hubert Silvestre, "Note sur la survie de Macrobe au moyen áge," Classica et Medievalia 24 (1963), 170— 80; Pierre Courcelle, “La postérité chrétienne du Songe de Scipion,” Revue des études latines 36 (1958), 205—34. However, eighth-century extracts from book 1 of this work survived at Bobbio; see the Introduction. pp. xiv—vi.

Commentary $$44

116

16. tracoedia (plural): not used in the usual sense of “tragedies,” but more likely in its etymological sense “goat songs”; see the references in Maltby, p. 617. However, it cannot be ruled out that the author knew the word in its modern application “songs”; cf. Modern Greek toayoUoL. See the next note. 17. cimbalistria bella (“cymbal-clashing wars") As Lówe noted (*Virgil," p. 953), the three classes of subject matter mentioned here — "deeds of rustics," “(goat-)songs of boys," and “cymbal-clashing wars" — doubtless refer to the three major works of Vergil: the Georgics, Eclogues, and Aeneid. Note Aethicus’s criticisms of Mantuanus (Vergil) at $17 and $43. 18. diuinationes et somnia: likely an allusion to the section on dreams in Macrobius's Commentary on the Dream of Scipio (1.3. 1— 16, ed. Willis, pp. 85-12). A fragment of this section survives in a Bobbio manuscript, now Naples MS 2; see the Introduction, pp. lv-vi. 19. membranis suis inserunt: another of the author's unwitting anachronisms. Aethicus (who is “quoted” here) would have been acquainted only with works written on papyrus. For anachronisms in the work see the Introduction, pp. xvii-viii. 20. cachinfata (cachinfacta O, cachinno facta|-o] AvWu, "risible"): a rhetorical term (cacemphaton) meaning “ill-sounding or improper expression" (cf. the "Aethicus batches" in clm 19439, fol. llr: "cacinfactus male loquens”). Here, too, the word is taken from its normal technical context and given a general meaning, very probably influenced. by cachinnus, “derisive laughter" (cf. O's reading) Compare

solocismus.

its

use

$36c

with

364.

See

also

above,

13,

21. Helis (LOV): spelling for Helles; cf. Isidore, Etym. 13.16.8: "Helles autem soror eius [sc. Phrixi] perpessa naufragium decidit in mare et mortua Hellesponti mari nomen dedit." 22. Heliadae: There is apparently no connection in Greek mythology between the Heliads, who were the daughters of Helios (the sun), and Helles. Aethicus's remarks appear to be more confused than those he criticizes. Cf. the “Aethicus batches" in clm 19439, fol. 30v: *Heliadis filias solis." 23. Helispontum: The etymology (not in Maltby) appears to contain the elements £(Àc, “hem in,” “surround,” and nzóvtoc, “sea,” with wordplay on the foregoing Latin pontium.

Commentary $844—46

117

24. argumentis ("accounts"): Here argumentum 1s used in one of its normal

senses,

"narrative,"

(*stratagems") at $840, 41b.

“story”;

cf. OLD,

s.v. 6; contrast

its use

25. artium illarum: one of many instances where errors of caseusage are caused by assimilation to the case of a neighbouring word. 26. Tantum . . . quae: another instance of the all-purpose quae; see the Introduction, VI.C.3.a.

945

27. Nauium . . . protulit: This sentence and the last adhere closely to Isidore, Etym. 19.1.8. The tale of Pyrronius's quest is the author's addition. See the next note. 28. Pyrronius:

Prinz

explains,

225,

the

name

1s probably

connected to the ship-type pirones, mentioned in $57.

29. donec (*so that"): A simple uf would have served here, but perhaps the text is defective: supply nauigabat? (“He sailed until he might experience all the brilliant and beautiful things," etc.); cf. $21a. 30. Lidia purporarias: cf. Act. 16.14: “et quaedam mulier nomine P Lydia purpuraria civitatis Thyatirenorum colens Deum audivit." 31. et in circuitum (*and in the region"): cf. Ier. 25.9: "super omnes nationes, quae in circuitu illius sunt."

$46

32. «Habenb: habetur.

33. Collones:

doubtless

lost in transmission

for calones;

cf. Isidore,

due to the preceding

Etym.

19.1.15:

“unde

calones nauiculae, quae ligna militibus portant.” The spelling colldoubtless reflects the etymological connection to co//area. See the next note.

34. collaria (colla LOV): Colla, *necks," makes no sense. The scribe of a may have failed to notice the vowel + r- sign after the second /. I think that our author imagined “collars” or bands of bear and goat skins placed in layers around the ship. The ending of circumdata,

which

should

construed

with

naues,

1s attracted

collaria. 35. consutae: 1.e. consutis, an example of conflating the ablative absolute with the nominative absolute. See Stotz 4:239, $3.4. 36. toruum (for torum): The author appears to use foruum (1.€. torus) as a synonym for follis, *bellows," perhaps because of its meaning “pillow” or “bolster”; cf. $37a.

118

Commentary $$46—49 37. eas utantur . . . eas utuntur: The author (?) vacillates between the accusative and the ablative after utor. See the Introduction, VIEC.1.d.vii. 38. solomodo: used instead of the expected soli.

§47

39. Trieris: another of the ships in Isidore's list (Etym. 19.1.10) : “Trierts navis magna, quam Graeci durconem uocant.” Aethicus's trieris 1s entirely made up: he appears to coin his word from fri- and ratis ("three ships”), while, in fact, frieris (Greek voujonc) means “thrice-rowed.” The usual Latin equivalent is not trieris, but triremis (tri- - remus). 40. maiorem pondus: i.e. maius pondus. See the examples of neuter nouns conjoined to masculine adjectives in Stotz 4:153, $76.6, and the

Introduction, VI.C.2.b.ii. It is remarkable here that the author (?) retains the correct neuter accusative for the noun, but still employs a masculine adjective. 41. opus tam magnum: opus here in the sense of a siege device; see the numerous examples in 7LL 9:2.6, cols. 847—48, s.v. IIB. 42. TcuneiT (“units”): The nominative used for accusative is rare in our work; for the use of the nominative in place of an oblique case see Stotz, 4:242-42, §5, and the Introduction, VI.C.1.a.

948

43. Liburnae: Here the author adheres to the information provided by his source;

cf. Isidore, Etym.

naues enim sunt negotiatorum.”

19.1.12:

“Liburnae

dictae a Libyis;

44. aptae: Aptus construed with the genitive is not attested. For other unusual uses of the genitive see the Introduction, VI.C.1.b. 45. dromones (*corsairs"): cf. §35, where the dromo is compared to the byrro or pyrro. Isidore, in his list of ships (Etym. 19.1.14), gives an etymology (*a decurrendo . . . cursum enim Graeci Ópóuov vocant”), but no description. 46. repertae fuerunt: ve. repertae sunt. For use of the perfect auxiliary in place of the present in periphrastic passive forms see the Introduction, VI.B.3.b. $949

47. Nam ipsas rostratas: another instance of a subject (note the nominative erectae) formed with a feminine plural adjective in the accusative; see the Introduction, VI.B.1.a.

48. sirteum: presumably the "pertaining to a sand-bank."

author's

coinage

based

syrtis,

Commentary $849—50

119

49. a puppe: i.e. ad puppem, an early attestation of “Romance” a for Latin ad; see Gamillscheg, p. 1, s. v. 2 (with references); for more examples see the Introduction, p. VI.B.4. 50. uim

discurrentium

uel

properantium:

presents — participles

apparently used for gerunds, viz. uim discurrendi et properandi (incidentally, the readings of MSS C and P in D'Avezac's edition).

51. multitudinem (similitudinem LOV): a scribal error doubtless occasioned by eye-skip to the neighbouring similitudinem (griphorum, etc.). 52. animalium uel altilium pinnatorum: The author may have meant to say that gryphons are composed of animals and birds, but I have followed the Latin here literally. 53. altilium ("birds"): perhaps a mistake for alitum (« ales). However, altilis is frequently used substantively to mean "fattened fowl”: ef. TLL 1:1763, s.v. 1, which note examples of other confusions of altilium and alitum. 54. Griphonem (griphem LOV): It is clear from context that the

inventor Grypho, not just any gryphon, is intended here. The passage yields another example of Aethicus's attempts to rationalize myths. One such method, known from antiquity, is the explanation of the origin of gods or fabulous creatures as a simple misunderstanding of a personal name.

850

55. coeperunt (“They began"): I prefer to take this as an impersonal usage rather than understanding mare magnum as the subject and emending to coepit. " 56. Lamia (^witch"): nowhere attested as a ship's name. 57.in

directum

(“in the region of?): cf. REW

4379,

*indirectum,

“gegen.” Transmitted in that follows may have been meant as a gloss, but this is not certain. 58. ipsum mare: i.e. the Northern Ocean mentioned at the end of §49. 59. Cimerae: The traditional chimaera has only three heads (lion’s, goat's, dragon's); thus Aethicus's Cimera with quattuor capita may be another of his jokes. 60. calamorum repacula: Calamorum is apparently a metaphor for oars; calamus (“reed”) designates various types of shafts or poles (e.g.

120

Commentary

arrows, fishing rods), though confined to our work.

$850—52

its application

to oars appears

to be

61. utrisque partibus: presumably by each cacumen, where the ship Is raised ends!

at the front and

the back.

This

“bireme”

is rowed

at both

62. lances: 1.e. lanceas.

63. Acumen (“with steel”): i.e. acumine; for the meaning see $37b, n. 390. 64. caliditate (call- OV): This appears to be a coinage based on calidus; calliditas (“shrewdness”) makes no sense in this context. 65. e caeca ("from a blind spot"): An idiom, whose exact meaning is unclear, seems to be at work here; cf. Italian alla cieca.

66. toreuma (*a thing bored through"): Assuming the text to be right, toreuma (xópgvua) appears to have been wrenched from its normal sense (“a work in relief") and employed to render the meaning of its etymon topevw, “to bore through.” 67. hamum:

1.e. hamo.

68. camum (*a trap"): seemingly based on Greek *nuóc in the sense of “eel-basket”; cf. Liddell and Scott, s.v. II. The author's 1mage is radical: the sea 1s envisioned as a fisherman, and men are its catch.

$51

69. Classem: uocabulo, dnd Classical Latin cols. 1283—84,

cf. Isidore, Etym. 19.1.15: *Classis dicta est a Graeco vv xáXov, id est lignis." Classis is used even in to denote a single ship rather than a fleet: see TLL 3.6, s.v. IIB (metonymice).

69a. onera maris uel fluuiorum: The genitives are not dependent on onera, but

852

used locatively; see the Introduction, VI.C.1.b.ii.

70. Classem . . . a uelocitate: This or Greek; see Maltby, p. 134. One play is involved here: OE flofa can of ships, while OE fleótig means Mod. Eng. *A fleet is called from however, that this would be the influence.

etymology is inscrutable in Latin wonders if an Old Euglish wordmean either a single ship or group “swift”; thus flota ex fleotig (cf. fleetness"). It must be cautioned, only example of Old English

7]. Barcas: probably another of the author's dim-witted jokes. It was widely known that "barques" are small vessels. Moreover, according to Isidore they are used for commerce, not warfare: Efym. 19.1.19: “Barca est, quae cuncta navis conmercia ad litus portat.”

Commentary

$$52—53

121

72. «dis»issimilis (similes LOV): It is clear from context that the archetypal reading makes no sense, and we must either read dissimilis or delete non. 73. borrecum (-icum): for boreus or borius, which also occurs several times (with double 7); see the index for both words and the Introduction, VI.D.3.d, for the author's neologisms in —icus. 74. Tam magnas

orbis: an example of the author's difficulty in

formulating comparisons;

see the Introduction,

VI.C.2.

75. structa compages ("attached structure"): cf. §47, where the trieris 1s described as “nauis magna ex tribus nauibus fabricata" and "ferroque adfixa atque copulata." $53

76. inopinatissimum (*surprisingly"): 1.e. ex inopinato. At $31 Aethicus calls the Saxons gentes stultissimas; thus, he thinks 1t highly surprising that they can manufacture boats. 77. mioparo: not the co/impha (*submarine"), for overturning citadels (§36b), about whose

but the ship designed existence doubt was

expressed. In $56 we learn that the Saxon version is inferior to the originals manufactured by the Maeoparans. Cf. Isidore Etym. 19.1.21. 78. scaffas: The author makes no use of Isidore's etymology, Etym. 19.1.18: *Scapha, qui [sic] et xaváoxomoc, nauigium quod Latine speculatorium dicitur." However, the description is based on Isidore's . est enim description of the mioparo (Etym. 19.1.21): *Mioparo scapha ex vimine facta, etc." The mention of shields appended to the sides of a ship calls to mind the image of a viking ship. Ian Wood and George Indruszewski (“An 8th-Century Written Source on Ships and Navigation: the Cosmography of Aethicus Ister," in Wulfstan's lVoyage, ed. A. Englert and A. Trakadas, pp. 225—31) point out that Aethicus links the various “hide boats" to peoples of the North. 79. bitumine: doubtless the asincitum discovered by the Meoparans

(cf. §36b) and again referred to as their special invention

“assincitum

bitumen

incognitum

unde superius scripsimus."

in orbe

80. «a Meoparitis ingenio ualde peritis): in transmission. 81. unde:

used

as a relative pronoun

terrarum

nisi

at §41b: insolam,

The words were misplaced expressing

agency;

Introduction, VI.C.3.a.ii.

82. inuenimus: Jerome is speaking here; cf. $36b ad init.

see the

Commentary $853—55

122

(“coals”): Le. prunis, seemingly a reference to making

83. prunas cuirboulli,

hardened

83a.per

paludatus

as a type

leather used

heating process is used.

lacus

(“in

swampy

of armour,

lakes")

not

for which

attested

meaning of paludatus in CL, where the word invariably refers to the

wearing

neologism

of the military cloak. Thus paludatus standing

in for paludensis

here is a sense

and paludosus,

“fenny”;

cf.

OLD, s.vv. 84. maris: 1.e. maria; cf. 844, n. 5.

84a. quam reliquae uicinae naues: 1.e. quam omnes naues uicinorum eorum. 85.ad opus arcium (artium LO, “for the siege engine against citadels"): The sense of opus here as a siege engine (cf. OLD, s.v. 10) as well as the crux arcium/artium 1s resolved by the author's reference to the passage above, $47 with n. 41. 86. quod . . . supra retulit: Ships used for destroying citadels are mentioned at $36b init. $54 1

87. Carina:

cf. Isidore, Etym.

quasi currina. Fori nauium

19.2.1—2:

“Carina

a currendo

dicta

latera concaua, a ferendo onere dicta; siue

tabulata nauium quae sternuntur, dicta ab eo, quod incessus ferant uel foris emineant." Our author uses some of this, but invents much else.

88. carina quasi currina: 1 have not tried to reproduce the Latin wordplay, but have resorted in the translation to a French-based etymology: English “careen” comes from French caréne, a “keel,” which in turn derives from Latin carina. 1 use North American "careen" (verb) here rather than standard “career” for the sake of the word-play. $55

89. Camereca ( *cameléque"): wholly the author's invention. name puns on camelus (*camel") and camera (“‘chamber”).

The

90. colcherio (cochleario LO, cholcerio V): *a snail shell^); according to Prinz, n. 354, “Etymologisch schwer erklürblar." However, it should be plain to see that simple metathesis is involved here. TLL 3.6, col. 1400, s. cochlearium, defines the word as "aedificium rusticis cochleis servandis factum." Our author has taken this expanded form as a synonym of cochlea (coclea), “snail shell." 91. fore: i.e. esse; see the Introduction, VI.C.4.c.1.

Commentary §855-57

123

92. Camara: a common VL spelling of camera; cf. Appendix Probi 84: “camera non cammara."

93. historicus Aethicus

(“investigator”):

1s the referent. Aethicus

The

use

idem

ensures

is not an historian as we

that

conceive

the word; rather, he is an "investigator," one who enquires into the causes of things (« iotopundg, “related to enquiry”).

94. narratur. i.e. narrat. For persistent confusion passive forms see the Introduction, VI.C.4.a.ni.U.

of active

and

95. Cycrobs: 1.e. Cecropem. Cecrops was the mythical founder of the citadel of Athens, who is said to have come from Egypt. His connection to ships is weakly attested by Ovid, Ars amatoria 1.172 (Cecropias rates), but there Cecropias seems to mean little more than "* Athenian." How Cecrops ended up on the Frisian Isles is a mystery. See the next note. 96. insolas Frisargicas: Frisargicas 1s doubtless just an expansion of Frisius, “Frisian,” a name attested from antiquity. For the wordformation, see the Introduction, VI.D.3.d. 97. oceanas (*of Ocean"):

assumes an adjectival form oceanus, -a,

-um, weakly attested in TLL 9.2.3, col. 410, s.v. IT.

$56

98.in suae artis peritiam (*through "through the expertise of his skill."

his

expert

skill”):

literally,

99. Hiberiota: another ship-type invented by the author. The name might be based on Hiberio, an early attested name for Ireland: see Patrick,

Confessio

1.7,

16.1, 23.6,

28.1, 41.1,

and

62.4; Epistula

Coroticum

1.1, 5.6, 10.1, and

12.6, regularly in the "oblique" form

“Hiberiot”

and the Irish currach, an agile, skin-covered boat which

Hiberione. There is at least a general resemblance between Aethicus’s

the Irish employed for raiding. Against this suggestion, however, is the greater possibility that the author meant to base the name on Hiberia (Iberia), not the Spanish peninsula, but rather a country near the Caucasus, now in Georgia; cf. Isidore, Etym. 14. 3.36: “Hiberia regio Asiae est, prope Pontum Armeniae iuncta.” This would better suit a connection to the Hircanians. See the next note. 100. Hircani: cf. Isidore, Etym. 14.3.33: “Hyrcania dicta a silva Hyrcana, quae Scythiae subiacet, habens ab oriente mare Caspium, a meridie

Besides

Armeniam,

septentrione

an allusion to the regional

Albaniam,

connection

occasu

between

Iberiam."

Hiberia and

124

Commentary $57 the Hircani, the author may have intended a pun on the racial name and pellibus hircinis. 100a. «aub: supplied on the basis of Isidore, Etym. Graeci téxvovagc vocant, id est instructores."

$57

19.8.1: “artifices

101. inmersionem (inmensionem LO, "immersion"): From its description the “Hiberiot” is not a submarine. /nmersionem, therefore, must refer to the magnitude of a ship's draught rather than the capacity to be completely submerged. 102. Vagiones: another of the author's concoctions. As Prinz points out, n. 358a, the name may be a variant of uagines, mentioned at §36¢. 103. tenuis: 1.e. tenuibus; tor the substitution of -is for ibus endings in the third declension see the Introduction, VI.B.1.c.iv.

104. fuisse: 1.e. fieri. 105. arcam: mansiunculas extrinsecus."

cf. in

Gen. arca

6.14: *Fac tibi arcam de lignis levigatis, facies, et bitumine linies intrinsecus et

106. «quasb: supplied as a conjunction to introduce an etymology, as one finds frequently in Isidore. Cf. $18, n. 152. 107. in Troianica obsidione in Simoem: According to most sources, the Greek invaders at Troy beached their ships and fought on land. However, Euripides records incursions into the River Simois in Iphigenia in Aulis, see especially lines 762—66 (chorus): “Upon the battle towers of Troy, / Around her walls, Trojans will stand / When Ares in harness of bronze / On these stately ships over the sea / Moves to the runnels of Simois." (Ed. and trans. David Grene and Richmond Lattimore, The Complete Greek Tragedies, vol. 4 (Chicago, 1958), p. 335. It is very doubtful that the author read or could have read Euripides;

however,

I have

not found

an intermediate

source.

very grateful to Richard Pollard, University of Cambridge, reference.)

(I am

for this

108. eas (sunt AvWu): This could be construed with dromones (allowing for incorrect accidence) and sunt supplied rather than substituted for eas. However, given the rather numerous examples of nouns and adjectives ending in -as used as subjects (see the Introduction, VI.B.1.a), it is probably best to let it stand as the subject of reperiuntur.

[VI. DE INSOLIS GENTIVM PLVRIMARVMQVE

ARTIVUM]

58a. Aliarum gentium praetermisit? philosophus, quibus codicibus historiograforum multorum plenitudinem auctoritatis et ueritatis cognouit esse diffusa magnitudine. Indagata tamen et ea metrico et prosodico stilo Grecis caracteribus distinxit in enigmate rethorico. Quae nobis 151 scribere uel legere non est amplius necesse, quam^ nos in nostris codicibus commentauimus in breuiarium — contra — hereticorum, detractoribus® male latrantibus. Haec uero quae de Iafeth hic scribit hoc proemium, quod ille se dicit iterando peragrasse? tam nauale labore quam 10 terreno itinere, 1ipse solus sibimet testis suae scripturae esse uidetur. Iuga montium, deuia uallium, stagnarum et lacorum brumerecum ac paludum, inaudita quaeque et incredibilia multa scribit. Habitatoribus earum insignia figmenta, in alequibus regionibus monstra scribit. Vnde in superiore pagina, ubi de insolis gentium mentionem fecit, multa nec 15 aliquando cognita, raro utique audita scripsit. Quae* nos, si tanta aut narramus audientibus aut scribimus legentibus quanta hic inuenimus inserta, aut nouam errorem aliorum librorum aliarumque scripturarum[que],

quod

absit,

inducemus,

aut

nouum

mundum

athom*o

momentaneo ponimus, quia philosophorum doctrina, dum tanta indagatione percurretur, ueritas sanctae scripturae neglegitur, unde in 152 futuro damnatur.

7 praetermisit] praemisit O

bquam] an legatur quum?

cf. comm. ad loc. — peragrasse] peragrare V..

— *detractoribus] detractatoribus

Quae] scripsi : quia LOVedd

58b. Testis est ignauia? meae cogitationi falsae^ conscientiae, unde corruptibilibus ictibus propria cutis capessit, quia multa dixerunt, et tamen nonnulla inbuente^ diabolo, adgressi sunt et appetitu[s] i1actantiae alta et difficilia coeperunt. Nosque ob hoc praecipue in eorum codicibus laborasse, ut ad totum pars accipiatur in ueritate, et non pro toto lassiscat fidelis cum infidele. Non laboraui tot diebus ad haec, ut eorum astutia

tantum caperem, sed ut ueritatem ob nimiam difficultatem paucis fauorum criptolis prodere ualerem, ut nimia alitudo^ litterarum spiritalem intellectum non subfocet, quia® mundi sapientiam ob hoc stultam sermo 10 diuinus dicit, quod semper mundum utitur et contra creatorem creatura sapere contenditur, «eb quia nisi tanta inquisitio philosophom*orum/ in diuerso dogmate non pullulassit, nequaquam heresis mundi creuissit. Vt ait Agustinus: “Anathema fui in enigmatibus$ hereticorum et mundi filosarcha"

exteti,

nisi

clauues

Dauid,

126

dissolutis

uinculis

mortis,

153

[VI. REGARDING THE ISLANDS OF THE HEATHENS AND {THEIR} MANY ARTS] 58a. Our philosopher passed over other heathen peoples, {concerning} whom he knew a great amount had been published in the books of many historians with a plenitude of authority and truth. Nevertheless, even these matters he investigated, and set them apart with Greek letters and a metrical poetic style in his rhetorical riddle.^ It is no longer necessary to record or select’ these matters, which we commented on in our books in a summary* against the heretics,” despite the savage barking® of critics.” {Regarding} these places that he describes in his preface about Japheth, which he says he traversed while travelling? on difficult’ naval as well as overland journeys, Aethicus appears to be the sole authority for his writing. He describes mountain ridges, hidden places in valleys, ponds, wintry'® lakes and swamps, some unheard of things and many that are incredible. He also records notorious fictions {about} the inhabitants, {and} describes monsters in some regions. Thus, on the previous page, where he mentioned the isles of the heathens,'' he wrote about many things that were not known at any time, and indeed, rarely heard of. But if we were to relate to an audience or write down

for readers all such matters as introduce a new error'^ into posit a new world existing in truth of the Holy Scripture is when

one examines

time to come.

we have found inserted here, we would either other books and writings — God forbid! — or an atom of momentary duration," because the neglected by the teaching of the philosophers,

it with considerable care; hence it is condemned

in the

58b. {My} cowardice is witness to the reflection of my false" conscience'® — whence {my}skin seized what is proper to corruptible blows," because they

{sc. the philosophers}'® discussed many matters, and yet, with the devil

initiating some things, they engaged and undertook'’ some deep and difficult (problems) because of their love of vaunting. For this reason especially we have laboured over their books, so that a part be accepted for the whole as truth, and the believer not be wearied along with the heathen on account of the whole. I have not laboured for so many days on these things just so that 1 might lay hold of their speciousness, " but rather that I might be able to produce the truth from a few little crypts of these honeycombs" with a view

to {their} exceptional difficulty, so that the excessive nurture" of the literal not suppress

the spiritual sense,"

because

the divine

discourse

calls the

wisdom of the world foolish," in that it always relies upon what is worldly,? and the creature contends in knowledge

127

against his creator, «ancd» because

128

Aethicus Ister $$58b—56c

15 aperuissit mihi, sempiterna."

stulta

mundi

calcata

dispicerem

amplecterer

^ignauia] ignauiae ¥ — ^falsae scripsi : fuisse LOV; cf. comm. ad loc. *inbuente] iubente L/, iubuente L "alitudo] altitudo LOVedd; cf. comm. ad loc. X *quia] quae V f philosophom*orum] LWu : philosophorum OVAvPr; cf. comm. ad loc. £enigmatibus] philosophorum uel add. O, quae uoces interpolatae esse uidentur hfllosarcha] SCFIpsi: fisarcha LOVedd

58c. Vnde quaeso sapientibus qui legerint me quoque non reprehensuros, nec illius? totum obseruare, sed considerentur? quae utilia sunt legere, inutilia refutare, ne qui ueritatis discipuli esse potuerant ad docendum magistri

erroris

existant

seducendum,

ut,

dum

ualde

alta

mundi

5 quaesierint, de summo ad ima corruant, ut Eonomius et Priscillianus. Cursimque uicina finitima huius regionis Histria multa induxit scismata hereticorum magistrantium, hinnula ¢ de Iafeth et «stirpe»? quae in¢ plaga septentrionale conmorare uel cohabitare scribens praesens pagina ex parte narratur, et ea, quae a nobis dubium retenendum fuit, praetermisimus. ^ utile] utiliter ¥

! huic loco] om. LO

. *Quae] suppleui

astirpe] suppl.AvWu — *in] om. L

59a. Murinus itaque primum mentionem fecit, inhabitatores a Tauro 155 monte respicientes borream ad mare Caspium, donec ueniant montes Umerosos, ubi ait baratrum esse, ultra quod nullius hominum habitatio uel accessio^ esse potest. Et Acheron fluuium ultra ipsos montes Umerosos

5 adserit fumantem et nebulosum, et tam inmenso fetore reddentem, ita ut mane et declinante die ad uesperam in ipsis montibus nullus hominum [accessus]? audeat propinquare nisi tantum meridie, quando raro radius¢ solis percipitur. "Tunc enim," inquid, “strepidum undarum feruentium quasi in olla uel cacabum cernentes contemplantur. Nam qui oderatum 10 illius fumi, postquam radius solis recesserit, naribus uel ore senserit uel parum aliquid hauserit, deinceps a nullis medicis curare poterit, sed magis ac magis crudeli morbo^ turgiscit.” Inquiens enim a parte inferorum prope¢ gehennam fontem/ manantem, ob uaporem terribilem illius ardoris ipsum fontem feruescentem, et fauillas inferorum illuc decedentes 15 crepitare, nams ut Ethna et Vulganus aut Cimera, quae ex sulphoria terra, aquis parumper flatu inhiantibus baratris africo flante, ignem uel sulphorem emittunt. “accessio] accessus

morte / — *prope] pro L comm. ad loc.

baccessus] seclusi — Cradius] scripsi : radiis V, radii LO — "morbo] /fontem] fonte LO . £nam] Par. lat. 85014 : non LOVedd, cf.

59b. Dicit enim inferos ultra memoratum amnem esse et limfam fuliginosam esse et teterrimam et nullius? hominum tactu audet 156 palpare. Bestiae et uolucres fugiunt ab impetu illius feruoris undarum, €(... ? circ*mseptus est enim eminentissimis montibus. “In ipsos enim montes," inquid, “nullius arboris uirgultum aut saltus uirentia folia aut surculis emitti possunt. Quando enim Aquilo flatum magnum dederit, a fetore horribile corporum elementa mutantur, quin? etiam^ et ager, «dunmpo? mundi annalia® redeuntia fatisc*nt, statu/ maturia faunis trituris reddunt. Aer, consumptis redolentibus floribus, rore madido marcescit. Ea

10 frutecta$ omne regnum illud parturit, qualia Sodomis post plagam excidii

Cosmographia $$56d—59b

131

58d. This philosopher proclaimed that he discussed®® more than others some deep and very great matters that are beyond human measurement, which are useful to read. But now in this place" he proclaimed many things that are difficult to believe about unknown peoples. «The things the present page describes® about Japheth and the «race» that sojourns or lives in the northern region are narrated in part, and those matters that were doubtful to retain we have passed over.

59a. And so he first mentioned" the Murini," inhabitants by^' Mt. Taurus? looking

north?

to the Caspian

Sea until the Humar

Mountains/^

appear,

where he says the abyss is located, beyond which no? human habitation or

access Is possible. And he claims that beyond these same Humar Mountains {is} the River Acheron®® pouring out smoke and cloud, and putting out a stench so foul that at morning and evening near the close of day no one should dare approach these mountains, but only at midday, when a rare ray of sun is seen. “For then," he said, “they observe Acheron, perceiving the din* of its waves seething as if {they were! in a pot or kettle. But once the ray of sunlight has receded, should anyone sense the odour of that smoke through the nose or mouth, or inhale even a little of it, from this point on he will not be able to be cured? by any physician, but {will} swell up more and

more^ with the cruel disease." For he {is} saying’® that at the part of the underworld near Gehenna’' {there is} a dripping fountain, {and} the same fountain seethes on account of the terrible vapour from that heat, and ashes of the underworld falling from it crackle, for? it emits fire and brimstone

just like Aetna or Vulcan™ or Chimaera," which {pour these out} for a while from the sulphurous earth, when the South waters into their gaping apertures."^

Wind

with a blast blows

the

59b. For he says that hell is on the other side of the aforesaid stream, and

that its water is polluted and very foul, and no human” dares to touch it.”

Beasts and birds flee from the impact of the heat of its waves, « . . . »," for

{the river}

is hemmed

in by extremely

high mountains.

“In these same

mountains," he says, “there 1s no shoot of a tree, nor can the greening leaves

of the woodland be emitted from branches. For when the North Wind issues a great blast, the elements of bodies are transformed by its horrible stench; moreover, the field, too, as the recurrent annual cycles of the cosmos grow

weak,” imparts a condition of ripeness"? upon beasts? with a threshing

action. The air withers because of the humid dew, as sweet-smelling flowers

132

Aethicus Ister $$59b—59d

meruerunt stupendum. Idem sofista admirans rumorem intollerabilem infit: “Tenent” rura mugitum undique ruitura montium, titubantur aucupes, et collium hirmo lucubria parturit, amnes ruinam et ur/ emanant fontes. Resiliit aquila/ caladris^ bella gerendo, termofiles specus 157 15 uoraginem appetit et meditullia secerpit." "nullius] sic LOV; cf. comm. ad loc. b quin] qui L “etiam] enim LO d dum] suppleui *annalia] animalia ¥/ f statu] O: statum LV, statim 4v — Sfrutecta] AvWu: fructa LOPr, frustra V, corr. in frucstra VI; cf. comm. ad loc. ^ Tenent] WuPr :te enim LOVAv. ! ur] huc

V; cf. comm. ad loc.

aquila] Wu : aquilo LOVAvPr. — * caladris] suggerit Pr in app. : calabris

VOAv, cabris L, capris Wu

59c. Ait enim idem oceanum, ab Acheron ubi recipitur, mugitum aquarum intestina feruentium

feruor«»

idemque

merebantque

«dab, 4ita ut iter? nauium

nauigantes,

amne

mare

piscatores,f

the waters of Lake Murginacus"? from"? the Humeric Gates as far as

the Trimarchian"? altars, which

were erected by the ancients where

they

thought the world ended because of the density of the mountains.**' There

the Murginacean River’* turns in a big circle from the North to the southern region,"? and into the land-bound sea.’** Where Scythia turns,? it joins®*

with the River Thermodon"" and circles around the area of the Temiscyrian Fields,"* where Queen Tamaris'? arrayed a force and a great battle against the Medes and Persians. There too she built the very famous city of

Tamisia,"" and there, being thirsty, she sprinkled the blood of King Darius from a water-bag.^ 67d. And this land also harshest and most savage war, very stout shields bitumen. Such bitumen

has very warlike tribes, a people hardened by the customs; {they have} the most elegant weapons of sealed on both sides between the two walls with {is} drawn from Lake Humar"^ and mixed with

human blood, which"? can never be penetrated by any sword or steel.* In the times of King Ninus,? who ordered the Scythians to suck human blood

and instituted in that country the most cruel and foul customs - from that time down to the present they have used these weapons. They were taken up by the Amazons anew, refurbished, and repaired. Now the men are highly skilled {at building) various edifices in the cities, {and} are industrious

manufacturers of battering-rams and siege engines.”® {They also have} horses, mules, {and} very fast dromedaries.” The women are very tough, as skilled in combat as they are at handicraft, and undefiled.?* The land has

remained unconquered since time immemorial. These and many other things

152

Aethicus Ister $$66a—68b

^ durissimis] duris/mus L blaco] lacu OV LO, acumen V. *tam] suppleui

— €gladio] gaudio L

"acumene] O2Pr : acume

68a. Temiscerius campus opinionem proelii cruentissimus, Amazonas et agilitate? earum inquiens in fines? Schitiae et memoratum amnem Termodontem. Duos regios iuuenes egregius ac sagacissimus Plyino et Solapesio, sodalium nobilium atque industrium ingentem iuuentutem 179 5 ab Scithia secum traxerunt, et iuxta memoratum amnem et praedictus campus in confinio Scithico atque Ponticae prouinciae Cappadocianaeque diu finitima quaeque et proxima uastantes proximorumque habitatores crudeli gladio trucidantur. Horum uxores exilio ac uiduetate tetra impietate a finibus illius regionis condemnantes exterminant a Vafris fontibus¢ vel lacu Murginacum, ubi supradictus amnes? Murgincen in diuersis riuolis diuiditur, et finem Scithiae [faciunt]¢ et uasta solitudine faciunt. A parte nempe australe saluberrimis frugibus, gentes uero inualidas, qua/ post gyratam Scithiam a meridie Amazonae profugae atque proselitae in eadem palustriam — diu exules resederunt. ^ apilitate] utilitate LO; cf. comm. ad loc. — " fines] finis V — ^fontibus] frontibus amnis LO

LOV

C¢Faciunt] hanc uocem per dittographiam scriptam seclusi

L. “amnes]

u qua scripsi : quae

68b. Post non multum etenim tempus, consilio infiduo accepto uicissim, tela multa uel arma noua arte^ conposita, fabros mercede in ignominia conductos gignarusque artifices ipsosque postmodum, «prius^ quam eorum arte«o conpertae sunt, dolose trucidantes, praeparantur ad aciem. Ea parma noua arte excogitata cum bitumine et sanguine humano

natorum

propriorum. Masculisque in stupro prole concepta^ tenellos trucidantes, arma sumentes, sicut superius idem^ scribit, uiros qui superfuerant 180 interficiunt atque in hostem accensae sanguine suo finitimorum ultionem excidio consec*ntur. Tunc inuicem, pace patrata, incertus concubitus

[0 ineunt, masculos enimuero necantes feminas reseruant, ac studiose nutrientes atque inbuentes dexteras papillas exurunt, ne fiaculat sagittarum confosae lederentur. Harum duas reginas pulchras atque gignaras eligentes^ instituunt, quarum una Marpoesia, alia Lampoeto uocabatur. Quae ex utraque parte curam belli gerebant et multitudinem 15 non modicam concionantes ad proelium uicinas regiones uastantes ad/ tutiora

loca

priora,

exubiis

magnis

detractis,

remeabant,

donec

tandem

aliquando cum ingenti exercitu ab ipsis locis munitissimis egressae cum multis opibus, armis, aequitibus, curribus ac tentoriis, cum bellicossismo

Cosmographia $367d—66b

153

the philosopher reported about the Scythians. No kingdom or region extends

«so» far and wide to?? the northern region in diverse directions, or is {so well} irrigated and highly fortified."9 68a. He discusses®®! the very

bloodv

Temiscvrian Fields with their reputation y p

for battle, the Amazons, and their movements'* at the boundaries of Scythia

and the aforementioned River Thermodon. They brought with them from Scythia two distinguished and very sagacious royal youths, Plynius and

Solapesius," and a large youth corps of noble and assiduous®® comrades,

and, near the aforesaid river and previously mentioned fields at the border between Scythia and the province of Pontic Cappadocia, laying waste over a long period to some of the neighbouring territories {and} their inhabitants,

they ? are slaughtered by the cruel sword. The wives of these men,

because of their exile and widowhood

{and} the foul treachery, doom and

exterminate {the peoples) from the boundaries of that region to'^' the Springs of the Sly Folk," or Lake Murginacus, where the aforesaid River Murgincen divides into various tributaries'^' and forms the border of Scythia

and a vast wasteland. At'" the southern part the crops are very good but the

people weak; there in this same swampy region past the curve of Scythia?"

at the south the Amazons settled as refugees and foreigners^ (having been} a long time in exile.

68b. Not long afterwards, after mutually agreeing upon a treacherous®” plan

{and} contriving numerous missiles and for pay — and to their shame — skilled afterwards, treacherously slaying them discovered, they prepare themselves for which they designed {was sealed} with

their

own’™

children.

After

weapons of a new type, they hire craftsmen {to make them}, and their .-arts have been combat. The new type of shield bitumen and the human blood of

conceiving’”

offspring

from

males

debauchery, they slaughter the male babies, and taking up arms, as the same writer narrates above,"^ slay the men who were surplus to requirements, and, with their blood boiling against the enemy, pursue revenge in the destruction

of their neighbours."" Then, again,’”® once peace had been attained, they undertake indiscriminate sexual arrangements, slay the male {offspring}’” while keeping the females, {whom} they zealously nurture and indoctrinate, {and} burn off their right breasts lest these be injured or gouged from

fshootingt" arrows. Of these®' they elect and install two beautiful and skilful queens, one of whom was called Marpoesia, the other, Lampoeto.”®

The two bore responsibility equally for warfare, and assembling their not inconsiderable throng for battle, {and}, devastating the surrounding regions,

154

Aethicus Ister $$66b—68d

apparatu Asiam 20

a €

suo

moderamine

maxima parte& aedificantes

uastantes, urbes multas capientes, alias construunt,

semper

humano

sanguine

sitientes fundunt, usque quo Asia ex parte populantes cum maximo hostium | uallatu luricis exercitu, ut erant edoctae, Eurupam 181 properantes peraccedunt. Aliquandiu Ilium uel Troianorum regionem super amnem Semoen resedentes cunctaque debellantes tentis tentoriis conmoratae sunt; praedam exubiarum Asiam suis urbibus ditatis, cuncta recondentes reserantur. Scitharum gentes uel terram plurimum terrorem incutiunt et cum ipsis saepius ac magis altercantes dimicant. arte] arta L. — ^prius] suppleui — *concepta] scripsi : decepta LOVedd eligentes] elegantes LO ad] at V. £parte] ex parte O

didem]

ita V

68c. Decedente etenim Marpoesia et Lampoeto, duae^ sorores successerunt post priores in regno, Anthiopia et Oricia. Ex simileque genere et Menalyppae? priorem audaciam ac uirtutem gerentes,^ sed consilio dissimile sperantes./ Cuncta uindicata et subacta, donec ab Hercule uel sodalibus suis delinitae atque matrimonio distractae, arma bellica furtim ablata, uigorem et potentiam eius dolo uel arte ac pristigio amiserunt. Praeualuit itaque uesaniae* robor et potentia/ earum per annos ferme centum, quae nec adtunsae nec fugatae nec praedatae nec subactae fuerunt, neque arma earum quisquam derepere uel imitare potuit. Telas 10 arte tam pulchra uel utile eo tempore in usum habere, unde posthaec Scithae, Iones, Cappadoces et Germani atque Troiani in usu similia arma, tela ac iacula uel gladios caelebre sumpserunt. Parmas igitur tale arte 182 saeuissime duratas atque infractas multi artifices excogitare uel facere talia conare temptati fuerunt,” sed non ualuerunt, nec earum magisterio 15 nullo modo aliquis capere potuit, quia arte sua alios docere noluerunt. “duae] duce L

[’Menalyppae]

Menaly(i)ppa LOV —

“gerentes] gentes L

d sperantes]

OVAvPr : superantes LWy — *uesaniae] uesania LO et potentia] ad potentiam LO — $Tela] scripsi : Tale LOVedd — " fuerunt] sunt O; cf. comm. ad loc.

68d. Ipse se inquiens philosophus uidisse receptacula ac casulas, antra et speluncas earum in ipsas insolas uel paludes uidisse, et ob hoc illuc usque peraccessisse, ut earum et originem et exilium atque reparationem certatim ueracius sciret. Sed multum admirans nonnulla alia scribens 5 illarum peritia, quae nobis incredibile uidentur.? In solitudinibus catolis

Cosmographia $$66b—66d

155

they repeatedly came back to the safety of their former locations,"? bringing

with them copious spoils, until finally at some point,"** going out from these highly fortified places with an enormous army with copious supplies, weapons, cavalry, chariots, tents, and {every sort of} of the most warlike equipment, devastating a huge part of Asia, capturing numerous cities, they construct others {which they place} under their rule, ever thirsting for and shedding human blood, up to the point where, having depopulated a part of Asia with an enormous miltitude of hosts, which was protected’ by the breastplates (as they had been instructed), hastening onwards they invade Europe. Settling for some time on the River Simois {by} Troy and the territory of the Trojans"^ and vanquishing everything, they dwell in their

encampments;"' they lay all things bare,”® storing up everything, and enriching their cities in Asia with the plundered booty."? They strike great

terror into the Scythian peoples’ and their land, quarrelling with them and

ever more frequently waging war.

68c. At the death of Marpoesia and Lampoeto, two sisters, Anthiopia and

Oricia, succeeded after the first ones to rule.?' And they were of the same

stock as®” Menalyppa,? displaying her former audacity and courage, but trusting different counsel. Everything was subdued and under control, until,

suborned""

and

confused

{offers

of]

marriage

by Hercules

or his

companions,”” they lost their vigour and power when their weapons were secretly removed through his skilful deceit and machinations."" And so the

force of their"" madness and power prevailed for almost a hundred years™® — they were unvanquished, and were never expelled, despoiled or subjugated,

nor was anyone able to capture their arms or imitate'? them. They had such

skilful and practical weapons for their use at that time, whence afterwards the Scythians, lonians, Cappadocians, Germanic peoples and Trojans famously took up similar arms, Javelins, darts, and swords. Thus numerous

craftsman were tempted"" to try*! to design or manufacture their shields,

which had been ferociously hardened by their special art and {were) unbreakable, but they were unable to do so, nor was anyone able in any way to get instruction from these women, because they did not want to teach their art to others. 68d. The philosopher says"" that he had personally seen their hiding places, huts, caves and grottoes on those islands and swamps, and on this account

journeyed as far as this place in order to know with certainty"? {and} more

accurately their {places of} origin, exile, and recovery. He greatly admired some things and describes some other matters {regarding} their expertise

156

Aethicus Ister $$68d—70

minotauris inuenisse ac enutrisse mansueteque domasse, et primum cum ipsis in aciem cuneos hostium superasse, [primum]? et plus uirtus fuisse minotauris quam armatorum legio bellantes in proelio. Similiter centauris lac mulierum enutrisse, et humanitatis causa «ao pietatis «mites^ ante

10 nutrices,/ frendendo atque saeuiendo aduersus perimentes; amicas ac nutrices defendentes, sese in mortem ponunt. De elefantis nec non talia protulit, et ob hanc¢ causam primum illarum uirtus et robor in uictoriam uel certamina diuulgata est. Nos itaque nec refutauimus nec alicut 183 causam conmisimus retenendam, quamuis itaque, ut superius intim15 auimus, philosophi prae ubertate litterarum aut rerum scientia assensum/ «denb.8 Si^ narrationis’ alicuius aliquid senserunt in laudibus suae scientiae, dederunt operam inanis gloriae. Itaque nonnulla de Schitia ultra omnes scriptores hic plurima scripsit. d nutrices] nutricem 4^yidentur] uidetur LV bprimum] seclusit Av — €mites] scripsi *hanc] hoc V fassensum] scripsi : a senso L, assenso O, corr. in assensu O2, asensus É dent] suppleui /’si] in ¥ 'narrationis] narrationes V

¥ V

69. Nam Hircania? sequente titulo intromisit, «dictam^ ab Hircana silua, quae inter Scithiam et Asiam subiacet et maximam partem Hircaniae occupatur. Est enim in multis locis inaccessibilis, ut antea testatur. Ait enim huic loco usque Caspias pilas pertingere et montana, quae omni tempore contremesc*nt, et ibi perpetuus terrae motus esse memoratur, cum tremore et pauore populi magis ac magis usque in diem, qua ipsae portae solutae erunt. Ipsum quoque desertum malas et ferocissimas bestias gignit, pardos, tigris et panteris. ^ Hircania ] Hircaniam V.

^dictam] suppleui ex fonte; cf. comm. ad loc.

70. In Arminiam ideoque annum et mensibus quinque se mansurum adserit propter aedificium arcae Noe, sed nullatenus cacumen montium illorum ascendere ausus fuit. Aurum multum et optimum ultra omnem terram, gemmas multas, falerna inprouisa et nulla similia. Refert enim, quia, quando sonus multae pluuiae euenerit de ipso monte ubi ipsa 184 arca resedit, tam magnum sonitum et boatum dare, ita ut usque ad fines regionis illius? audiatur. Ipsam Arminiam usque ad eodem mare Caspium peruenire et inibi terminum facere testatur Hiberiam Paruam. Texit historiam Tanfractay regna maiora et gentes barbaras obsessam. Vnam 10 urbem tantum ad salutem uel copiam ipsius dilatauit laudabilem, Isauriam nimpe, aequorum copiam, segitibus refertam, Haalum fluuium inrigantem,

Cosmographia $$68d—70

157

that seem incredible to us. (The Amazons) discovered minotaur cubs** in deserted places, nurtured and gently tamed them, and with these for the first

time they defeated squadrons of their enemies in combat, and there was more valour in the minotaurs in battle than (in) a legion of armed men. In similar fashion they nursed centaurs with their mother's milk, and because of their kindness «and» affection the centaurs are of towers that curve upwards in a circular fashion;*” {they are}

fastened

beneath

with

rods

and

planed

beams,

with

a three-chambered

section then a two-chambered"? part rising in steps like the pinnacle of the

temple®' designed to withstand all the breath and impact of the winds. From

these little windows {come} missiles, arrows and slings,"^ fire and diverse weapons; they rout, kill and frequently capture enemy Carpasian ships. The same philosopher skilfully designed

units with the and built these

powerful and very fast ships in this sea®” and in Greece to repel naval enemies, ^^ and he called them

palaces or ship-palaces.*^

“palace ships" because they are like sea-

96. The Isle of Cythera®® also belongs to the Cyclades in the western part, as

also does Icaria; and, having no sea inlets on any side because of the oppressive height of the encompassing cliffs, «they do not have» any convenient harbours?' or naval commerce. It was there he claims that

Didola,** the sister of Hippodamia®® through Minerva's line,? and mistress

of the arts of wool-spinning, damask-making, and dyeing, was born.

97. Naxos and Melos and these islands?"" are islands of the Cyclades, and the very round Isle of Melon as welLl"' which is very fertile; Jason, Pluto or Paron, and Pharius were born there.*”” The carnelian?" is found there, a stone

superior to marble and more beautiful in its variety; nevertheless, it is not

196

Aethicus Ister $$97—96

5 Cicladum inuenitur. det om. V.

optima,

nimpe

Pfertilis] fertiles OV

ubi pretiosus?

mastix

et ualde

probatissimus

Cpretiosus] pretiosius V

98. Samo insola ex ipsis? in mare Aegeo, ubi Iuno nata scribitur." Ex qua orta fuit Sibilla Samia et Pithagoras Samius, a quo philosophia — 223

primum

inuenta

uel

dilatata

est,

eiusque

adsertiones

idem

Aethicus

rethorico more stiloque prosodico ualde obscure digessit, et ipsum solum tantociens ex maxima parte recepit® et ex aliqua parte^ reppulit. Hac

insola in“laude carminis Sibilla et Phithagora edidit inquiens, adsumpta sibimet sententia uersuum suorum prolata:

Querillae monere^ me cogent amici, ne sinas achoniti,

perpende aure/ taxata4 sensum et mente;" aduerte ore facundo./

Obde claustra serena,

pande nomencalata:/

uiscera clinatia^ passa.

Diua’ mitrella gemmis crispantia, Samia ornata Sibilla,

lacertis armillis gestatis; colla bullas Pitagoras. Kalendae atque neominiae sunt Samo solemnes"' feriae;

insignia uaticinia, praeconia tota. Concursus fit inter conuiuia: haeccine organa, aulea, climmata, conuenite, date oscula.

Sacra Gradiua, agea,

gratissima, lacinia" summa margine,

semitae gratae, ferte? gratis oneratis fercolis cunctis bonis in sinibus maris.

Electa, fulcite monilia ulnas; Sibilla Samia facesset munera,

dilibuta aromata tibi haec monilia.2

224

197

Cosmographia $$97—96

the precious stones. Chios®’ * is an outstanding island of the

counted among

Cyclades,

98.

The

where

and

where indeed lovely and most excellent mastic is found.

Isle of Samos?^?

it is written

Samian

(belongs

that Juno

Pythagoras,

was

to}

born.

whom

those

(islands)

it were

philosophy

born

was

in the Aegean the Samian

first

Sea,

Sibyl??

discovered

and

disseminated;?" and the same Aethicus edited his pronouncements in a rhetorical, poetic and very obscure style;*”® and very often he accepted him (sc.

Pythagoras)

rejected {him}

exclusively

to a very

great

extent,

and

{sometimes}

the Sibyl and Pythagoras, appropriating to himself the feeling verses (and) expanding upon it, saying: The laments of a friend compel me to give admonitions.?"! Do not let this pass without a struggle. 882 Heed with chastened ear, intellect and mind; be attentive to the eloquent mouth. Fasten the bars letting in the light; 883

reveal the list of names;***

the bent entrails are spread out.??

The divine Samian Sibyl

is adorned with a headband®® with gems curled around,

and bears bracelets on her arms;

Pythagoras (is adorned} with studs*"' around his neck.

The Kalends and new moons???

are solemn feasts for Samos; famous are the prophecies, all the proclamations.

Gatherings arise in the midst of feasting;

hither, organs, tapestries, vine-branches,*? come

in some part. On this island he wrote a poem?" in praise of

together, give kisses.

Sacred Gradiva," holy,®" most welcome, your garment very high at the hem,*”

your paths are pleasing; bring delightful trays laden 893 with all the good things in the bays of the sea. O chosen one, place armlets on your elbows; 894 the Samian Sibyl eagerly performs offerings to you:

these bracelets®” dipped in scents.

of their 880

198

Aethicus Ister $$98—99 Sospes eximia,

O, tua? unguenta certatim pandent dorsa quaeque sua summa limfa. Haec tibi uia benigna quoque dorsa deferens," agea. Silices magni remouent semita

achademici, amice, a quo uenisti.

Samo electa insola, protus, ortus fuisti. Gloria, laus, decus 1n sinibus?

huius maris, cunctatus repperi, Samo mea, quam quaesiul. In ea quidem insola uasa fictilia primum reperta fuerunt, quae meliora et duriora plus quam in aliis locis ibidem esse dicit.

dex ipsis] om. L — ?scribitur] scribit L. ^ recepit .. . parte] om. V d in] om. L *monere] scripsi : mouere LOVAvPr, uouere Wu / äure] aura L &taxata] texata V h mente] mentem V ‘facundo] 4v : fecundo LOVPrWu — /nomencalata] nomen calata V, nomen culata LO; cf.

comm. ad loc. — *clinatia] chlinatia V, clinachia LO

"jacinia]laconia V.

?ferte] forte ¥

7 O tua] octua LV, octaua V1

"Diua] om. ¥

" solem(p)nes] solemnis

P monilia] 4vWu : manilia LOVPr; cf. comm. ad loc.

" deferens] scripsi : deferentes LOV *sinibus] finibus O

99. Finem summatim insolis Cicladibus terminans Siciliam nobis uicinam^ in breuiario titulauit. Vt fruiti sumus, habet itaque in longo milia passuum CLXXVIL? in lato «mili;^ passuum CLVIIII. Terra uero, quae ab utrisque partibus sicut et reliquae mare circumdata, ualde quoque bona, 5 multum frugifera. Aurum plurimum abundans optimum, etenim — 225 multis in ea cauernis et fistolis; uentis ualidis semper agitata. Sulphore quippe plena, ubi est et? Ethna mons magnus et famosissimus, qui ab stultis ab inferis autumatur urendo radice^ procedere et cum fumo et fetore flammae sursum eructuare. Sed falsa opinio est, nam cum feruente 10 mare et uiolentia uentorum terra sulphoria nimia areditate incaluerit, statim fumum ac flammam exalat, quemadmodum Cimera super mare Caspium. Ibi enim magna incendia pernoctantia perseuerant. In cuius uicinio freto Scilla et Karibdis sunt, quibus nauigia ualde magna/ naufragio absorbuntur et conleduntur. Insola namque tyrannorum nutrix 15 habet urbem metropolim Serecusam aliasque multas subiectas. Inrigatur fluuio magno Alfeo et& Achate fluuio, ubi lapis acaten inuenitur, et mare eiusdem corallium pretiosum mittit. Pars eius uicina Italiae” est, alia pars Mauretaniam respicit. Tapsum insola et ipsa Siciliae est’ uicina.

Cosmographia $$98—99

199

O splendid saviouress,

your perfumes will forcefully?? spread the ridges {of the sea]? and their highest water. Benign for you is this road, that also carries away the {watery} ridges, holy one. Huge rocks move back from the path

of the scholar, along which you have come, O friend.*®

You, foremost one, were born on the elect isle of Samos.??

There is glory, praise and beauty"? in the bays of this sea; sojourning I found what I sought, my Samos.

901

Earthen vessels were first discovered on that island,"^ which he says are better and harder than {those} in other places in the same region.

99. Closing

his section on the Cyclades

Islands

in summary

fashion, he

devoted a chapter in the epitome to Sicily," which is near to us."* As we

have experienced,” it is 177 miles in length, 159 in width. The land, which

is surrounded on both sides by sea, just like the rest, is also very good and

very fertile.5 It abounds in much gold of the first quality, for it has many

caverns and openings; it is always agitated by powerful winds. Indeed, it is full of sulphur at the site of the great and very famous Mt. Aetna, which is thought by the ignorant to flow from a burning root below and belch upwards with smoke and the stench of its flame. But the supposition is false, for when, as the sea churns and the sulphurous earth heats up with excessive parching from the violence of the winds, (Aetna) immediately exhales

smoke and flame, as does {Mt.} Chimaera on the Caspian Sea.” In that

place huge conflagrations last over some nights. In its (Aetna's) strait nearby are Scylla and Charybdis," in which very large vessels are

swallowed and smashed in shipwreck. Moreover, the island, a nurturer of tyrants, has Syracuse as its principal city and many other cities under its sway. It is irrigated by the large river Alpheus and by the Achates, where the agate stone is found, and the Sicilian Sea casts up lovely coral. Part of the island is near to Italy, another part looks towards Mauretania. The Isle of

Thapsus is close to Sicily.”

200

Aethicus Ister $$100-101

^uicinam]

uiciniam L, om. O

¢radice] radicem V

bCLXXVlI]

CLXXII

Jmagna] scripsi: magno LOV

*milia] suppleui

8et] om. L

d et] om.

Mtaliae] Italia L

'est] om.

100. Eulae insolaeque^ et Vulganiae uocantur, eo quod et ipsae sicut 226 Ethna et Cimera ardere uisae sunt, [sunt] omnes nouem eandem ustionem dantes. De his enim philosophus ait: *Pro uano® merore aestuare cogor animaduertens^ quid agam. Conicior mundi conpagines totque cardinibus

5 angens laboraui cunctatus, uiatorque exteti dorsa maris oceani, et sinus

maris Magni accola fui. Dum uehitare coepi uehicolae meae rudentes unde fugerunt? in tedium fui si noctem requiem dedi. Cimera terruit,e Ethnam formidaui, dolores parturientes Vulcaniae et Eule praeerant. Stulta mundi inueni, sapientes ipsius deprehendi, scriptoresque ipsius mihi 10 ridiculum fuerunt. Hoc sciscitaui et percunctaui unde/ profundo chalao sursum nimirum subire flatum sulphorium boatumques eructuare. Profecto repperi, inueni^ quem quaesiui. Inter abyssum et mare sulphoria baratra cedere umbonum instar a feruore abyssi magni, ubi 227 sorbiciunculas «sorbeb/ in modum uisicarum chalao magnus/ prae 15 ubertate et inundatione aquarum, tam illis respirantibus quam istis inundantibus, instante umbelico, uentis discurrentibus Aura^ et Altano, piras in molliciem redactas et ut cerussa recoctas,’ uelut silices quatientes statim in sulphore et igne ualedissime conleduntur, et flatum magnum impetum uaporis iugiter fumantem et crepitantem emittunt.” "Eulae insolaeque] Eulae insulae quae LO, Eole insula quae V b pro uano] profano LV Canimaduertens] niamaduertens L, cf comm. ad loc. dt’ugerunt] scripsi: fuerunt LOV * Cimera terruit] Cimeram terrui LOV /et percunctaui unde] scripsi : unde et percunctaui LOVedd . Sboatumque] beatumque L L repperi inueni] an una aut altera uox glossa interpolata intellegatur esse? cf. praef., p. evii ' sorbet] scripsi /magnus] manus O kaura] OVPr : auro L, euro Wu, cf. comm. ad loc. 1 recoctas] recoctus L

101. Stoae — insolae — cades Marsiliensium, sexaginta milium spatio «a continente," in fronte Narbonensis prouinciae, qua Rodanus fluuius in mare

influit. Sardinia insola, disterminans

milia

passuum

mensuram

eius, tenit in longo

milia passuum CCXXX, in latum quadratim milia CCLXXX; fontes habet 5 caledos Tmorbida limfat. Ibi nec uenenum nec serpens nec mala bestia, terra enim uber est? et fecunda. Corsica insola habet in longitudinem CLX

gressus

XX,

latitudinem

XXVI;¢

multis

enim

promunturiis angulosa; pabula fecunda et lapidem catociten. Ebosus 228 insola, serpentis contraria, Hispania subiacens. Baleares insolae anfractae 10 duae gemellae, quas uulgo Maioricam et Minoricam uocant. In his insolis primum funda ad lapides iaciendos inuenta testatur, balistas quidem et

Cosmographia $$100—101

201

100. And the Aeolan Isles'" are also called “the Vulcanian," because they

too are seen to glow like Aetna and Chimaera, all nine exuding the same

burning."? Concerning these the philosopher says: *For empty grief I am

compelled to be in turmoil, considering’'' what I should do. I am driven through the fastenings of the world, and have laboured anxiously over as many hinges while sojourning, and I have been a traveller on the ridges of Ocean, and a settler in the bays of the Mediterranean. When I began to turn the ropes of my ship {in the direction} from which they fled, I was in distress 1f at night I gave myself over to rest. Chimaera terrified me, I dreaded

Aetna;

the Vulcanians

and

the Aeolans

Isles,

begetters

of woes,

were ever-present. I discovered the foolish things of the world?^ and unmasked its philosophers," and its writers were a joke to me. I enquired

about this and investigated"" from where precisely in the deep gap^^ the sulphurous

blast comes

and

belches

out a bellowing

sound.

Truly

discovered, I found”'® what?" I was looking for. Between the abyss and the sea^^ pits of sulphur yield like shields?" to?? the raging heat of the great

abyss, where the great gap «absorbs tiny draughts {of the abyss} like a bladder on account of the superfluity and flooding of the waters, some

(waters) being exhaled"' while others flood, as the earth's navel applies

pressure, and Aura and the Southwest Wind^" run hither and thither; {the tiny draughts?,"? having been reduced by the fires to softness and cooked

like white lead, are immediately fand) powerfully crushed like shattering pebbles in the sulphur and fire, and emit a great blast of vapour that continually smokes and crackles."

101. The Stoaecadan"^ Isles?? are the Isles of Marseilles,"5 sixty miles

from the mainlandb,"' facing the province of Nàrbonne where the River Rhone flows into the sea. The Isle of Sardinia,"? dividing its measurements,

is 230 miles in length, four^** miles and 280 {paces} in width; it has hot

springs,

T... .^

In that place there is neither poison,

nor serpent,

nor

dangerous animal; the soil is rich and fertile. The Isle of Corsica?? is 160

miles and 20 paces in length, and has a width of 26 {miles}; it is ragged with many promontories; it produces plenty of food and the catochite stone. The

Island of Ibiza,"' hostile to snakes, ""* lies beneath Spain. The Baleares,""

curving isles, twin jewels, are commonly called Majorca and Minorca. He attests that the sling for shooting stones was first invented on these islands,

202

Aethicus Ister $$101—102

tragenas. Gades insola superius in alia pagina cum Athlante et Hercoliis colomnis praefatus est. Abhinc recessus maris post spatium urbis incl*tae usque Rifeis montibus uel montem Laceden, unde Lacedemones 15 uocabulum et nomen traxerunt. Stilo posuit Cefalanias insolas, Casiopas et Liburnicas uicinarum suarum repetendum «eb explendi operis sui ordinem, ubi non magna feruntur? artificia, et aliis uarie distincta omisit.e ^ continente] suppleui ex Isidori Etym. 14.6.38 — Puber est] uberes L, uberis O XXV V. feruntur] fuerunt V.. *omisit] scripsi : amisit LOVPrWu, misit4v

^ XXVI]

102. Lacedemonia, Pannonia, et Histria, post celeberrimam Greciam, 229 suarum generationum «regiones^ repetens, ait: *Me^ circuitum uirium mearum et opus et rumor subrepsit ut decidentium,^ si falsa «quae» fuerunt retroacta obmitterem, aut si uera reciperim si ambigua «ueb frustra ducerer. Pondus laboris mei «eb meae causa«e extetit, ut itineris uocatio,? ueritas laborem sequatur. Quantae clades in Lacedemonia, Norico et Pannonia, Histria et Albania, uicinae meae septentrionalium regiones, primum a Romanis et Numitore tyranno, dein sub Romolo Remoque fratribus postque Tarquinio Prisco Superbo. Cum taedio cordis mei 10 stragem sobolis mei cogor propalare, « ... . .» et postmodum orientalium ac loca meridiana, quae obmisi, retexam. Numitorem igitur regnum male usurpatum, hostem et uastationem Tusciae saeuissimam intulit. Pirreos montes Cisalpinaque® iuga peraccessit, Noricos obtenuit, Histriam crudeliter obpraessit. Histrum transiens cum Albanos altercauit, sed 15 superare non potuit, cum magna spolia remeauit. Nec multo post obiurgantes mutuo nepotes cum auo, consurrexitque Romulus super auum, Numitorem interfecit, regnum sagaciter et adroganter/ 230 usurpauit. Euandriae urbis muros et moenia ampliauit, ipsam nimpe urbem a suo uocabulo Romam nuncupauit. Ipse uero post auum fratricida 20 extetit, Remum necauit;$ spurcitia omni deditus et luxoria, freniticus pellexatur nefarius. Commoto exercitu Romanorum aui crudelitatem arreptus Lacedemones crudeliter debellauit, Pannoniam uastauit, Semoen transiit, post primam euersionem Troiae secundus cruentator peraccessit. Cum Franco et Vasso, qui ex regia prosapia remanserant, certando 25 demicauit ipsosque superatos Illium dinuo captam remeauit ad urbem. “regiones] suppleui bMe] ne V * Cisalpinaque] Cisalpina itaque OV

decidentium] decedentium ¥ dyocatio] uacatio OV fadroganter] adrogant L. necauit] negauit L

Cosmographia $$101—102

203

as well as ballistas and the tragenas." He mentioned the Isle of Cadiz" above on another page^? along with Atlas and the Columns of Hercules. From there after the interval of the famous city"^ are the recesses of the sea as

far

the

Riphaean

Mountains

and

Mount

Laceden,

whence

the

Lacedemonians draw their eponym and name."' He described the Cephalenian Isles™® and also the Cassiopan"" and Liburnican Islands?"? {for

the sake of] revisiting his own regions"'' and completing the sequence of his work;""^ no great inventions are reported in these places, and he omitted things that were distinctive in various ways in other {regions}.

102. After most renowned Greece he revisited his own people's «egions —

Lacedemonia,'? Pannonia, and Istria — saying: “{My} work and fame have bereft"" me of the course of my powers, to wit, of deciding whether I should omit things «whicl» have been rejected as false, or 1f I should receive them

as true if I deemed them doubtful «on vain.”® It has been the burden of my

task «and» my purpose that truth, which summoned me on my path, follow upon my labour. How many calamities there were in Lacedemonia, Noricum

and Pannonia, Istria and Albania, neighbouring regions to the north of us, ^ first {caused} by the Romans and the tyrant Numitor," then under the brothers

Romulus

and

Remus

and

afterwards

Tarquinius

Priscus

the

Proud."* With heaviness in my heart I am compelled to reveal the massacre

of my race,” « . ... ; ?? and afterwards I shall describe the regions of the South and the East, which I omitted.?' Then Numitor, after wickedly usurping the kingdom,"" inflicted his army and the most savage devastation on Tuscany. He reached the Pyrrean mountains^" and the Cisalpine ridges,

captured Noricum, (andj cruelly oppressed Istria. Crossing the Danube he fought with the Albanians, but was unable to subdue them, {though} he returned with plentiful spoils. Not long afterwards the grandsons were quarrelling by turns with their grandfather; Romulus rose up against his

grandfather, slew Numitor,"^ and shrewdly and impudently usurped kingdom. He expanded the walls and fortifications of Evander's city^? called this very city Rome after his own name.””® The same man {murdering?} his grandfather became a fratricide and slew Remus;”’ a and wicked womanizer,”® he was given to every kind of filth debauchery.

Roman

Pannonia,

Taking

army,""

to himself his grandfather's

savagely

crossed the Simois,

defeated

and

came

the

cruelty

and

Lacedemonians,

against Troy

the and after mad and

rousing the

devastated

as a second

butcher

after its first destruction. He waged a struggle against Francus and Vassus,”

who were survivors of the royal line, and after beating them and capturing [lium again returned to the capital."

204

Aethicus Ister $$103a—103b

103a. Francus enim et Vassus foedus apud Albanos patrauerant, mutuo mouentes exercitum contra Romolum. Montana Histriae transeuntes fixerunt tentoria, contra quos Romolus castra obponit. Cum Franco et Vasso dinuo bellaturus properauit in montem sacrum arasque Iovis 231 famosissimas. Praeparantur ad aciem perduellis hostes inuicem demicantes. Romolus post cruentissimam stragem, sicut maximum mouerat exercitum, uictor extetit debellaturosque^ superauit. Francus et Vassus caesum cernentes exercitum cum paucis qui remanserant per fugam lapsi euaserunt. Albani prostrati atque deuicti, qui euadere 10 potuerant a caede maxima, reuersi[que] sunt ad^ propria. Francus, ut diximus, et Vassus uidentes se superatos, terra autem adflicta et uastata in solitudineque redacta, relinquentes propria cum paucis sodalibus, sed uiris expeditis, pulsi a sede statim Retia penetrantes, ad inuia et deserta Germaniae peruenerunt. Leuaque Meotidas paludes demittentes more 15 praedonum pyrraticum¢ et strofosum atque latronum degentes, urbem construunt, «quam» Sichambriam barbarica sua lingua nuncupant, id est? gladio et arcum, more praedonum externorumque posita. ^ debellaturosque] debellaturusque V7 om.V

4id est] idem L

Pad] L34vWu : om. LOVPr

€praedonum pyrraticum]

103b. Romolus dein humanum sitiens sanguinem hostium plurimorum 232 congestum,

Histriam

ingressus,

cruore

tanto

fuso,

ita ut

undas

Histri

humanus cruor praeoccupasset; uictoria parata, mox Albaniam peraccessit. Quanta certamina et strages uniuersaque mala quae“ perpetrata fuerunt longum est inseri. Romolus, amisso inter caedes maximam partem exercitus sui, tamen cum multa spolia uel captiuis reuersus est. Posthaec Valeriam debellauit, urbes maritimas usque Italiae fines coepit ac tenus Mantuam urbem accedens, quae a Manto Tirhesiae filia «dicta»,? post interitum Thebanorum in Italiam comitatam in 10 Veneciam quae Gallia Cisalpina dicitur. Hanc urbem in recollectionem^ incolatus sui aedificauit, quam praefatus Romolus uim roboris sui certando capessit et uentilando diruit. Iterumque Gallias edomuit, in suaque ditione tributarias fecit, omneque malitia consumata regna ac terras sanguine humano infectas in tantum, ut posthaec captiuitas 15 plurimorum paruulorum ac mulierum multarum quoque^ regionum ignorarent et terras et linguam,* et nusquam remeantes propria uel 233 propinquos amiserunt. Ipse quoque Romolus post tot facinora et uim et animam iniquissime et indigne fudit. Vae, obmissa mundi plurima bella uel clade pestifera./ Quid sobolis ignauiae meae meruerit non

Cosmographia $$103a—103b

205

103a. Francus and Vassus concluded a treaty with the Albanians, with each side dispatching its army against Romulus. Crossing the mountains of Istria they pitched their tents; Romulus established a camp facing them. Before waging renewed war against Francus and Vassus, he hastened to the sacred mountain and the most famous altars of Jupiter. The hostile armies contending against each other prepare for battle. As he had brought forward the largest army, Romulus was victorious and defeated those warring (against him} after a most bloody slaughter. Seeing that their army had been

cut down,”' Francus and Vassus slipped away and fled with the few who

had remained standing. After being beaten and laid low, those of the Albanians who were able to escape from the tremendous slaughter returned to their own territory. Francus and Vassus, as we said, seeing themselves defeated and their land ruined, devastated and reduced to a desert, abandoning their territory with a few companions, yet the readiest men, driven from their homeland, straightaway invaded Rhetia and reached the

pathless and uninhabited parts of Germany. And descending’ to the Meotidan swamps on the left, and living in the piratical and deceitful’®

manner of raiders and thieves, they construct a city and name it “Sichambria®® in their barbarous tongue, which means “the sword and the bow,"?*? situating {it} in the manner of brigands and aliens. 103b. Then Romulus, who was thirsting for human blood, gathering numerous hosts,"^ invaded Istria and shed such a great quantity of blood that human gore saturated the waters of the Danube; after securing victory he then advanced on Albania. It would be a lengthy task to relate the number of battles, slaughters and universal evils that were perpetrated. Though

Romulus

lost'^

the

greatest

part

his

army

amidst

the

carnage,

nevertheless he returned with a wealth of spoils and captives. After these

events he suppressed Valeria'" and captured the coastal cities up to the

boundaries of Italy as far as the city of Mantua, which is named> after Manto the daughter of Tiresias, who after the destruction of the Thebans accompanied him to Italy into {the region of} Venetia, which is called

Cisalpine Gaul.* As a monument to her sojourn she established this city,"?

which the aforesaid Romulus destroyed in battle, seized and threshed by dint of his power.”” Again he conquered Gaul and held it under his sway as a tributary {province}, while the kingdom was consumed by every type of evil and the lands stained with so much human blood that afterwards the captive band"" of numerous children and women and of many regions no longer knew its own lands and language, and not returning anywhere, lost its

possessions and its kin."^ But Romulus himself after so many crimes most

206

Aethicus Ister $9

103b—105

20 praetermittam, cum eo tempore captiuati ab Histria Casiopas insolas peruenerunt, post multa annorum curricula uix ad uastam et inuiam, caenum ac puluerum ustionem cum magno merore et taedio repedauerunt, et usque in diem natiuitatis meae culta quae dudum fuerunt, in solitudinem redacta.& 25 ^quae] L3Wu : om. LOVAvPr ? dicta] suppleui ex fonte; cf. comm. ad loc. *recollectionem] scripsi: collectionem LOVedd d quoque /7] quique LOV *linguam] lingua LO f þestifera] bestifera L 5redacta] add. sunt V

104. Post^ ambitum maris et percunctatum? orbem quae prima postposui «eiS quae alii ignorauerunt, et per memetipsum cum labore et fessa^ indagatione angor praetermissorum fecit reperta. quae uero illi scripserunt, opus dempsi. Oriente et meridie illi 5 indagatione plana et optima elimati sunt; nos quaeque^ regidaque/ et aquosa et brumerica percunctauimus. ^Post] pro V.

Ppercunctatum] percunctatam

festa V — "illi] ille L, om.

aridaque V

V, per cunctum O, per cunctam L

*quaeque] 4v : quoque LOVPrWu

fuerunt ingente Digessi sagace aspera “fessa]

fregiclaque] rigidaeque O,

105. Nunc summatim ad orientem. Certatim gressum posuimus a cacumine Caucasi montis calles artissimos usque magnum Gangen propter aedificium arcae: parietes? coaxari? et camaras ac artificia illius, si ultra inundatio aquarum chosmo uim intulisset, qua^ arte reliquiae 5 fratrum remansissent. Sed Arminiae pilas «eb iuga subiimus et 234 nullatenus . repperimus. Elangui ego igitur et aegrotaui, nox pro cibo et crapula mihi fuit. Non repperi quem quaesiui, paenituit? me huius operis ignorantia, cur non inueni et ea 1gnoro; diffesso labore tabisco. Submotus ab his eminentissimis montibus, aureus iuges noctem cum facibus adfui 10 propter metum draconum et strutionum. Grifas et serpentes inibi iugiter inuigilant, formicas more canum rapacissimas centauriasque lacertas uenenatas ualde. Reliqui cum sociis meis uiris achademicis et inquiens retuli:

inaccessibiles

thesauros

maximos,

tam

auaros

crudeles

habentes custodes. Ante morsum dentibus adtrectant quam pulchra et 15 opima custodia ostendant. Non fuissit internicio bellatorum, si tellus proditor non fuissit horum metallorum. Discat¢ impiorum uesania/ 235 aurum quale sit custodia, qui dentibus frendeant qui non^ indigentibus bona tribuant." Recessuros ab his iugibus’ uiator noster naupicus adfuit.

Cosmographia $$105b—-105

207

unsuitably and disgracefully poured out his strength and his life.^" Alas,

very many wars and baneful disasters of the world {have been} omitted. I shall not pass over what my people"" earned because of my indolence, when

at that time as captives from [stria they arrived on the Cassiopan Isles,?

{and} after many cycles of years with difficulty retraced their steps in great sorrow and weariness to a devastated, impassable, filthy and dusty scorched earth, which had been continually cultivated even down to the day of my

birth, (now) reduced to a desert.

104. After circling the sea and investigating"^ the world, I postponed the

things which came first in favour of «those» which others did not know, and things discovered with great toil and wearying investigation caused anxiety""* in me for matters passed over. I made a digest of the matters those {writers} described, (and) shortened my work. With insightful investigation they wrote clear and excellent things about the South and East in polished

fashion;" we directed our enquiry to some rough and frigid lands, (places)

surrounded by water and afflicted by storms.

105. Now in summary fashion to the East. We eagerly’’™ turned our steps from the peak of Mt. Caucasus {and} its very dense crags towards the great

Ganges for the sake of the repair of the ark — to join together the walls?5 and its chambers and artifacts, by which means a remnant of the brethren’” might persist, should a flood of water bring its power against the world

again. However, we reached the mountain passes? and ridges of Armenia and were in no wise able to find {it}. And so I languished and

fell ill — the

night was {given} to feasting and heavy drinking.”®' I did not find what I

was seeking (andj rued my ignorance in this task, and I do not know why I did not find these things as well; I waste away wearied by my work. At a

remove from the highest peaks I passed the night by the Golden Ridges""

with torches out of fear of dragons and ostriches." Gryphons^"^ and serpents keep watch there continually, fas do} ants with the savageness of dogs^" and very poisonous lizards in the form of centaurs.

I left with my fellow

academics, and retreated"? saying: *O great and inaccessible treasures that

have such greedy and cruel guardians. Before they apply the bite with their

teeth let them display the beauteous and rich things which they guard.""' There would not have been a massacre of warriors, 1f the earth had not been

a betrayer of these metals. Let the madness of impious men learn how fine is the gold in the custody {of those} who grind with their teeth those who do

208

Aethicus Ister

$9106—107

^parietes] Hays apud JMLat 13, p. 176, n. 42 : parentes LOV, peragrantes Av, cf. comm. ad loc. * coaxari] scripsi : coaui LOV, comeaui Wu; cf. comm. ad loc. — *qua] qui L, quin O d paenituit] AvWu : paenitus LOVPr — *Discat] Dicat LO fuesania] uesaniam LO — 8sit] fit V ^ qui non] scripsi : non qui LOVedd Hiugibus] lugibus L, iugiter V

106. Gangen ingressi terram inhabitabilem adire disposuimus, sed non potuimus propter? ardorem solis. Nemora pulcherrima ultra montana uidimus, sed palpare solis ortum nullus ualere audebat, plus enim incendia oculorum et corporum erat quam huius mundi clibani aut termas. A 5 narrantibus nobis reuertentibus, temerariis et inpudicis uicinis illius habitatoribus Indiae, regionibus^ ualde felicibus, repperimus, quod in illis¢ partibus Eden nemus Dei caeli et ortus, inaccessibilis carnale creaturae, situs esset. Vale fecimus deos deasque Indiae? et aula regis Ferezis, qui bona fecit nobis, palatia et cenacula sua nobis ostendit ex auro 10 et gemmis, uinias in similitudine maceriarum ex gemmis uariatoque opere ad instar butrionum. Nusquam ultra talia repperimus Indiam fertilem. Opopodiani contra, riui/ aequi proni,& obstacula nostri esse uoluerunt, sed

propter aulonas laborum nostrorum fabrefactas dromunculas, ob 236 obpraessionem lapidum et iacularum, relictis nauiculis, fugierunt. Ab 15 India magna et Gange regressi incl*tis" regionibus atque saluberrimis, in anno omnes fruges dinuo metentes/ ac collegentes. Aves magnas mittit, psiptacum more hominum loquentem, habet elefantes et monoceros, bestias magnas; gignit enim cinamum et piper, calamum quoque aromaticum

20 adamantem

ebor,

chariston,

probatissimum

berillo,

ac carbunculo,

crisoprasso

atque

crisolido,

leaenitis itaque et margaritis,

uniones et miriaces; uicinae montes aureos. “propter] praeter LV

bregionibus] regionis LV.

€in illis] nullis LO

desset] et O . * Indiae]

Mesopotamiam

fertilem,

om. V. /contra riui] scripsi : contrarii LOVedd — 8proni] edd : ppni LOV LO 'metentes] mittentes V

107.

Dein

Parthia

India

usque

/'incl*tis] inclinatis

populum

robustum. Vicinae earum sunt Aracusia, Parthia Minor, Assyria, Media et

magna Persida, quae et origine populorum et initium ab Indo amne magno sumuntur. Regiones fertilissimas, populo quidem barbarico et gentes 5 robustissimas; flumina magna inrigantur Idaspem et Arbem et alia 237 quam plurima. Assyria etenim nobilissima, purpora quidem procerior, ornata opibus omnium bonorum. Vmbelicum ac medullam Niniven, quam philosophus inter alias urbis moenianam archochyram uocitauit, primam tyrannidem bellicosissimam, sua enim arte eruditissimus." Primam post

Cosmographia $$105—107

209

not give goods to the needy." As we receded from these mountain ridges our

navigator"? {and} guide was there.

106. On entering the Ganges we made ready to approach the uninhabitable

land, but were unable on account of the sun’s heat. We beheld very beautiful forests beyond the mountains, but no one dared to summon up courage to

touch {the place of} the rising sun, for the burning sensation in our eyes and bodies was greater than that of the ovens or hot springs of this world.”®® As we were returning, we learned from reports that the inhabitants of that neighbouring part of India were bold and shameless, but the regions

exceedingly blessed, because Eden,"? the grove and garden of the God of heaven, inaccessible to the carnal creature,"' was located in those parts. We made our farewells”” to the gods and goddesses of India and the court of

King Ferezis,” who did favours for us {and} showed us his palaces and

dining rooms {covered with} gold and gems,"" {and} his vineyards that were like walls of gems and varied workmanship in the form of grape-

clusters.”” Such things we found nowhere else in fertile India. Opposite us hippopotamuses,"^ river horses that sink, sought to be obstacles in our path, but they left our ships alone and fled, thanks to our palace-ships, the corsairs

from Great India and the Ganges, famous and most salubrious regions that

harvest and gather their crops twice a year.” It generates huge birds {and} parrots

that

speak

humans;

elephants

it has

and

unicorns,

gigantic

beasts; It also produces cinnamon and pepper, aromatic reed and ivory,”’

marble,^" beryl, chrysoprase'® and topaz, excellent adamant and carbuncle, white marble'®” and also normal pearls, large pearls'? and ' miriaces;* the regions are near the Golden Mountains. 107. Next Parthia, from India all the way to fertile Mesopotamia — a robust

people. Its neighbours'™ are Aracusia," Parthia Minor, Assyria, Media, and Great Persia, which

take the origin of their people and their starting

point from the great Indus River.' 5 The regions are very fertile, the people

barbarous and the tribes very tough; they are drained by the great rivers

Hydaspes and Arbis"? and very many others. Assyria is of great renown,

more outstanding for imperial rule,'?'? furnished with a wealth of all good

things. Its navel and marrow is Nineveh,?'" which the most erudite philosopher in his work'"" called “the stoutest'"" bulwark"'^ and the foremost

bellicose

ruler"^

among

all

cities.

First

after

India

this

210

Aethicus Ister §§108—109

10 Indiam,? ultra omnes multiplicans. ? eruditissimus] eruditissimos V

ista caeleberior uicina, crescens et adfluens atque PPrimam post Indiam] O: Post primam Indiam LV

108. Inde Arabia, et ipsa nobilis ac^ pinguissima et^ bona, quae supra diximus,

maxima,

affluens,

atque

succrescens.

Post

hanc

Chaldeam

inuenimus, diuersam gentem in multis diuisam, ubi famosissimam urbem

repperimus

— Babylloniam,

— extollente — uirtute

— cunctarum — urbium,

caeleberior; quam omnium primam ac nouissimam arbitrati sumus omnem roborem et decorem et pulchritudinem. Vbi concionantes operam dederunt fil hominum, quo[s] noster Eufraten intersecat. Deinde Syria inter 238 magno amne^ Eufraten et montem Guzan,7 idolorum magnum usque mare uicinum, terra gignenda multorum* populorum. Aegypto coniuncta 10 parte maxima, aliasque partes Armoenia et Cappadocia uergentes climma nostrarum regionum, ubi Conmagina, Fenicia atque Palastina uicinae et subiectae sunt. Deinde ad meridiem Chanaan, sortem affluentem omnibus bonis, inriguam Tiberiade et Genasar, alueum Iordanis a uineis Engaddi et

lacum bituminum et harundinetum Parioticum et Salariam superiorem ac 15 tenus ad Libanum tendentes. Vbi in medullam et umbelicum urbs magna, ortus et aletrix regum, uaticinia et ostenta atque prodigia festiua/ Hierusalem

fabricata

et sita est,

ubi

eorum

uates

futuram

239

restaurationem mundi iudiciariam impetu sui spiritus fore adfirmantur. Illic Galilea regio Iordanis Samariae urbis uicina, confinium et ianua 20 regionis opimas$ et spatiosa, ambitiosam incolarum speculatricem incl*tam. Vicinarum terra inhabitabilis Sodomorum, ubi trea iudicia magna idem dicit regis maioris caelestis iram et uindictam decedisse: ignis fulminis” et bituminis; eorum audacia et temeritate aborruit achademicus. Pentapolim ob nimiam affluentiam ignominiosam; sine 25 lege, absque eruditione, sine rege indisciplinata, ruina maxima prae ubertate corruisse. Sicharia regio quae postea Nabathea nuncupatur, siluestria ualde, ubi Ismahelitae emenus «habitanb./ Sur inter mare Rubrum et Arabiam sita, Aegipti finibus deducta, populo uafro et ualde nugace, terra nimirum inuia. “ac] atque V betleta V, ea LO ¢ amne] om. O dGuzan] om. O f*multorum] multarum 7 /festiua] festigia O €opima . .. gignit [§109] om. L — "fulminis] fluminis V ' habitant] suppleui

Cosmographia $$108—109 neighbouring

{region}

1016

affluent and multiplying.

is more

famous

211

than all others,

increasing

and

108. From there Arabia, and this noble and very rich and good land, which

we have mentioned above,"" {is} great, affluent, and thriving.?? After this

we came upon Chaldea, a diverse people divided into many groups, where we discovered the most celebrated city of Babylon, its power excelling that

of all cities, {and} more famous;?? we judged it to be the alpha and omega

of all in the entirety of its strength and elegance and beauty. There where our

{philosopher} crossed the Euphrates, the sons of men'* called an assembly

and set their minds.^' Then Syria,^ {situated} between the great River

Euphrates and Mt. Guzan,"? great in idols as far as the neighbouring sea,^ a land that gives birth'"? to many peoples. A large part of it is joined to

Egypt, other parts to Armenia and Cappadocia;^ it verges on the zone ! of

our regions,"

where

Commagena,""

Phoenicia

and

Palestine

are

its

neighbours and subjects. Then to Canaan in the South, abounding by fortune

in all good things, irrigated by {Lake} Tiberiad, the Genasar"" and the channel of the Jordan, {extending} from the vineyards of Engaddi'®' and the lake of asphalt'?? and a reed-thicket of Parion and upper Salaria'®’ as far as Lebanon. There,'^ constructed in its marrow and navel,? is set the great city of Jerusalem, author and nurse of kings, prophecies, portents and happy omens, where their prophets aver that the coming judicial restoration of the

world will occur through the power of his spirit.'"^ In that place'?" are Galilee and the region of Jordan, which neighbours the city of Samaria,?

the boundary

famous

and

guardian

spacious

of her

door

of this wealthy

inhabitants."^

The

land

region,

boasting

of the

in the

neighbouring

Sodomites is uninhabitable; the same philosopher states that there three mighty judgements came down on them on account of the wrath and

vengeance of the great heavenly king: fire, lightning and bitumen;'" our scholar hated their audacity and insolence. (He says that} Pentapolis'®*' was

infamous because of its excessive affluence; lacking both law and learning, unbridled for want of a king, it collapsed into a massive ruin on account of

wealth. The region of Sicharia,"? which later was called Nabathea,? where the Ishmaelites «dwelb at a distance, is heavily forested. Sur,'** set between

the Red Sea and Arabia, is down by the border of Egypt; the people are clever and very frivolous, the land, very inaccessible.

212

Aethicus Ister 109. Aegiptus?

aliarum,^

magna,

imbribus

$9109—I1I1

uberrima ac fertilissima, medulla terrarum

et pruinis

incognita,

hieme

carens.

Nilo¢

240

omnibus

bonis confersa atque inrigua, ampla ualde in latum; gemino mare coniuncta atque uallata, Rubro quippe et Gaditanum, quod est Magnum., In longitudine igitur usque Aethiopiam et Libiam, omnium frugum et

arborum

ac frondium

opolentissimam.

Vbi¢

sunt arbores

magni

qui

punicei£ dic*ntur, unde in anno bis uellera carpiunt et optimas uestes ex ipsa fiuntur,/ quae alia regna uel terras in usum mercantur? ut” non gignit^ talia. Canophea insola oceani, quae ex parte Aegipto, ex parte Libia subiacet, omnibus bonis iocunda, aurum optimum et uniones lapides gignit. Bactria et ipsa ualde fecunda dromodas et camelos numquam atterentes pedes mittit, aequos et mulos uelocissimos inter omnes terras. ^ Aegiptus] Aegipti ¥

Pterrarum aliarum] aliarum terrarum ¥

^punicei] scripsi: picini LOedd, pinici V — / ipsa fiuntur] mergantur V h ut] scripsi: et LOV !finit lacuna apud L

^Nilo] nihil O

ipsas faciunt

“ubi] ibi V

&mercantur]

110. Libia magna, ponto magno uel aequore oceano uallata utrisque partibus, decora et adeo fertilis et pingua. Aethiopia montuosa et arenosa, longe lateque in magnitudine porrecta atque diffusa, in aliquibus 241 partibus deserta et inaccessibilis. Plures itaque gentes uultu horribile et nonnulla? monstruosa; serpentium et ferarum multitudinem, rinocerotas, camilopardus, basiliscus et dracones inmensus, quorum ex cerebro gemmae pulcherrimae — extrahuntur. lacinctus et crisoprassus ibi repperiuntur, cinamum et calaicum plurimum mittit Aethiopia. Post ipsam? alia est inhabitabilis propter ardorem solis. Alias quidem in Africa

10 qrouincia$: Cartaginem

Libiam et urbem

Cerenensem, et^ regionem,

item Mauritania Tingitania,^ Garamantas ac Getuliam.

^nonnulla]

Trogoditae

Wt : nonnullas Av, nonnullo LOVPr.—

LO Bizancium V.

Pentapolim, Tripolim, Bizacium,¢ Numidiam, Mauritaniam Istifinsem,

et barbaras gentes Natabres et

Pipsam] ipsum L

^Bizacium]

Bizantirum

“et] om. LO . *Mauritania Tingitania] Mauritaniam Tingitaniam V

111. Haec omnia nationum et gentium atque terrarum proprio labore desudauit, ut adserit idem sofista, non per ordinem propter naualem maris oceani ambitum, quia, ubi ei? nauigare inlicitum,^ [et] difficile fuit. Inde a septentrione terrarum et populorum ordinem duxit et ob hoc de gentibus et regionibus plura non dixit.¢ Ea quae in aliorum codicibus scita uel 242 scripta deprehendit, sibi explicato catalogo,? conpescuit.

Cosmographia $$9109—111 109. {Next} great Egypt, walled in by the Great Sea and fertile, the marrow of other lands, a stranger to winter. It 1s drained and filled with all good things very ample in width; {it is} joined to and walled in

213 or Ocean, {is} very rich rain and frost, lacking a by the Nile, which {is} by two seas, to wit, the

Red Sea and the Sea of Cadiz, that is, the Mediterranean.'? In length, then,

it extends as far as Ethiopia and Libya; it is very rich in every fruit, tree, and

foliage. There are large trees there which are called "scarlet,"""* from which'® they pluck the fleece twice a year and top-quality clothes are made

from it, which other kingdoms and lands'* purchase for their use, as they do

not produce? such things. Canopus is an island of Ocean,"" part of which is adjacent to Egypt, part to Libya; it is produces the best-quality gold and large fecund, breeds dromedaries and camels (as well as} the fastest horses and mules

110. Great Libya, walled

Oceanic

Sea,'”

delightful for all its good things; it pearls. Bactria, which is also very which never exhaust their feet,'^'! in all the lands.

in on both sides by the Mediterranean

is beautiful

and the

and very fertile and rich.'?? Ethiopia is

mountainous and sandy,'”* extending and spreading far and wide

in its

magnitude, in some parts uninhabited and inaccessible. Very many of its people'®* have hideous faces, and {there are} some monstrosities; there is a

multitude

of serpents

and

wild

beasts,

rhinoceroses,

camelopards,^^

basilisks, and immense dragons, from whose heads very beautiful gems are extracted. Amethyst and chrysoprase are found there; Aethiopia produces

much cinnamon and turqoise.* After it the rest {of Africa) is uninhabitable because

of the sun's heat. The

other «provinces

in Africa are;" Libia

Cyrenaica,?* Pentapolis, Tripoli, Bizacium,"" and Carthage (both the city and

region)

Numidia,

Mauretania

Sitifensis,

likewise

Mauretania

Tangitana,? the Trogodytes^ and the barbarous Natabrian people, and the Garamantes^ and Getulia.''^ [11. With his own labour he sweated over all these matters {pertaining to} nations and peoples and lands, as the same sophist states, not according to a ship's circuit of Ocean, because where he was not permitted to sail, it was

difficult.'” And so he traced the order of lands and peoples beginning at the

North,

and

on this account

he did not say more

about

the peoples

and

regions.' ? He compressed the things that he gathered which were known or

214 Cle

Aethicus Ister

1] et LO

binlicitum]

licitum LO

*dixit]

$$112—113

duxit L

dcatalogo]

Áv : catha loco O2Wu,

catholoco LOVPr

[VII. DE TERRA ET FLATV VENTORVM PARVAM MENTIONEM FECIT.]4

VENISQUE

AQVARVM

112. Flatum uentorum se uidisse ad meridiem superius et nunc inquiens in modum columnarum in tribus cathigis ramorum eructuare quasi densissimam nebulam; mare tale motionem fieri et eleuare ultra ardua? montium cacumina. Calao super abyssum ac terram superius nimia uehementia tremefacere a mare usque ad mare terram, sicut offam et similam crescere et meatus ac fissuras in modum sfungiam facere, et a facie uentorum in directum uenas dare, et aquas discurrere uel flumina consurgere. Et amaritudinem salis ac maris non retenere ob hanc causam, quia postquam aquae maris ipsud calao roborem petrae et humorem terrae palpauerint, statim in rigorem uersae omnem amaritudinem amittunt; 243 et si in sulphoria terrarum uehementiam non incocurrerint,^ semper dulcia et recentiora consistunt. Et in duritiam salis coaculare non ualent et reuera quia, quotiens flatus et sonitus uentorum euenerit, statim inruptio pluuiarum subsequitur. Et sic adfirmat terram super aquas quasi sfungia. Quemadmodum sfungia per fissuras et meatus consumit aquam, ita per terram duobus modis currit: aqua quandoquidem interundatam, aliquando autem illam aquam subterraneam in directum per terram leuatam,7 ut uidemus.*^ Latices, hoc est fontes, qui currere uidentur iugiter per uenas diuersas, per terram in modum sfungiam; hinc uentis et aquas discurrere, et a facie uentorum prius atque magis flumina et aquas inundare et motum magnum facere quam/ reliqua elimenta mundi. Et in hanc$ parte philosophus ultra omnes sapientes pulchrius adinueniens deseruit quam reliqui, quos nos indaganter inuestigauimus.

“DE TERRA, ETC.] DE TERRA FLATV

VENTORVM

incurrerint V

ET AQVARVM

MOTIONE

DECVRSV

VEL VENIS

^ ardua] arduam LO

. “leuatam] leuantem V. *uidemus] uidimus LO

/ quam] aquam L

113. Suos caracteres litterarum, quos adinuenit, ita distinxit:? alamou iofithy salathy becah kaithy intalach cathy lethfy thothimos delfou malathy azathot pro r

EARVM

*incocurerint]

&hanc) hac

244

Cosmographia $$112—113

written down

himself.'?9'

in the works

215

of others, having explained his selection"?

[VII. HE MADE SMALL MENTION OF THE EARTH AND THE BLAST OF THE WINDS AND VEINS OF WATER. ]

112. He says above'?* and now that in the South he saw the blast of the

winds belching forth in the form of columns in three branching squalls?* like a very dense cloud; such a movement

is created in the sea and {it} is

lifted above the high peaks of the mountains.'”® A gap'?" above the abyss

and the land above {it} causes the earth to tremble with great vehemence

from sea to sea, just as a lump of flour"^ grows and creates sponge-like??

passages and fissures, and grants passageways directly to'" the face of the winds, and waters run hither and thither and rivers rise. And these do not retain the bitterness of salt and the sea for this reason, because after the

waters of the sea strike this gap {which has} the force of a rock and the moisture of the earth, having been transformed immediately into a hard state, they lose all their bitterness; and if they {sc. the waters} do not encounter the sulphurous violence of the earth, they remain ever sweet and very fresh. They are not able to coagulate into the hardness of salt, and that is true because whenever the blast and sound of the wind occurs, immediately an eruption of rain follows. And thus he affirms that the earth above the waters is like a sponge. Just as a sponge consumes water in its fissures and

passages, so too {water} runs through the earth in two modes:'^ sometimes?* {it runs} in the form of aquifers;"" sometimes, however, that subterranean water is lifted straight through the earth, as we see.'”® {There

are} the waters, that i1s the fountains, which are seen to flow continually through various veins through the earth in the manner of a sponge; on this side {there are} the waters running to and fro on account of the winds, and from" the face of the winds first and foremost rivers and waters flood and cause a great movement, {more} than the other elements of the world. And in this section the philosopher discovering more than all the sages discoursed more elegantly than the rest whom we have examined in our investigation.

113. He distinguished the characters of the alphabet'?^ that he invented in this way:'?» alamou becah

iofithy kaithy

salathy intalach

delfou

malathy

azathot pro r

cathy

lethfy

thothimos

216 effothy fomethy garfou hethmu

Aethicus Ister $113 nabelech — yrchoni ozechy zothychin chorizech phithyrin

4 distinxit) om. L alamou] LA : alamon O, alamos V¥ becah] OA : becach L, baecach V, corr. in baecac V1 cathy] LA : cathu O, cathi V' delfou] LOA : delfothy V — effothy] LAV : effothu O fomethy] LAV: fomethu O — garfou] O : garphoy LA, garfohy V hethmy] LA : hethmu] O, hethymy V iofithy] LAV : iofithu O : kaithy] LAV : kaithu O. lethfy] LVA : lethfu O — malathy] OL : malathi V4 nabelech] LO : nabeleth V, nabeleot 4 ozechy] L : ozechi OA, o zethy V chorizech] LOV : corizech 4 phithyrin] OA : pithyrin V, pithirin £L salathy] LOV : salat4 inthalech] LO, inthalech V, intalah 4 thothimos] LO : thothmos 4, tothmos V azathot pro r] OLA : azathot V, add. pro r VI yrchoni] OA : urchoni L, yrchony V zothychin LO : zothichyn V, zothychyn A Glossae codicis V:

alamos alacris ; baecach sublimis ; cathi fortis ; delfothy sutilis ; effothy magnus ; fomethy gloriosus ; garfohy momtque ; hethymy

fanaticus ; iofythy abilis ; kaithy gratiosus ; lethfy

miles ; malathi durus ; efethi malignus ; nabeleth confudit ; o zethy magnificauit ; chorizech concessit ; phithyrin /aborauit ;

salathy inuestigauit ; inthalech concessit ; tothmos dicauit ;

azathot supplicauit ; yrchony sanciuit ; zothychyn sancticauit ; baraccin consignauit ; talmin confirmauit

Explicit liber Aethici philosophi chosmografi, natione Schitica, nobile prosapia parentum. Ab eo enim ethica philosophia a reliquis sapientibus originem traxit. a) enim] om. V

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596. propinquis: According to tradition, Hercules and Apollo shared a common father (Zeus). Cognatis in the same sentence may be an interpolated gloss to the less familiar propinquis.

276

Commentary $$960b—81 597. clepere (“you are robbed”): sc. “of your attributes.” The word is rare and mostly ante-classical except for glossaries; cf. 7LL 3.6, cols, 1337-38. 598. sonitum tubae ac fistulae: taken from Dan. 3.5. 599. flatui magni: 1.e. flatus magni.

600. in amplexu osculi: likely meant to recall the kiss of Judas (e.g. Matth. 26.48—49). 601. coliria (*poisons"): i.e. XoAXópoiov, for which Du Cange, s. colerium (*pro Collyrium") supplies the interpretation “Genus medicamenti." This word should not be confused with collyra « XOÀXóoa, “a kind of bread”; cf. TLL 3.7, col. 1667.

602. carissimae amicae (amici V): The gender is puzzling, but perhaps we are to imagine the transference of Apollo's gift of prophecy to the Sibyls with the removal of the discernicula.

603. discernicula (“head covering") ie. the python's skin. The author particularizes its meaning; cf. CGL 5:285.61: “discerniculum ornamentum capitis virginalis ex auro.” 604. munuscula bidentalia: 1t is hard to translate this phrase. Bidental is a technical religious term referring to rites connected with places struck by lightning. The author seems to use it as a general term for *cruel or savage rituals"; see next.

605. fitilia ("sacrifices"): i.e. fitillae), a type of gruel associated with

sacrifices.

See

TLL

6.1.4,

col.

831,

especially

the citation

of Pliny,

Nat. hist. 18.84: " ... et hodie sacra et prisca atque natalium pulte fitilla conficiuntur." The cosmographer extends the meaning to the sacrifice itself.

$81

606. docimenta (documenta V): The spelling doci- is attested from the classical period; cf. TLL 5.1.8, cols. 1803-4. 607. idem (*likewise"): i.e. item. 608. Thessalia . . . opida: cf. Isidore, Etym.14.4.12. 609. conplura ... praecipua: understood as ablatives dependent on inrigua. 609a. ceptum: ie. captum, a rare example of the supine of a compound verb (incipere, inceptum) detached from the compound and used in place of the simplex. See the discussion of It. chiudere «

Commentary $61 *cludere p. 188.

Lofstedt,

Sprache

der

277 langobardischen

Gesetze,

610. Quorum . .. initio: cf. Isidore, Etym., ibid.: “.. domandorum quoque equorum usus primum repertus est." Transmitted ab initio makes poor sense. It is likely that the author wrote (incorrectly) ceptum initio, and a corrector inserted ab to restore a familiar idiom. 611. coniunctoribus (coniectoribus LO, *yokers"): cf. TLL 4.2:330 (“adiector”), and especially CGL 2:564.40. Prinz, n. 679, reads coniectoribus, but admits that coniunctoribus “ist .. . nicht ganz von der Hand zu weisen." 612. ac camoribus (camoribus LOV, ac moribus O2edd): Surely persons experienced with yokes (see the above note) and muzzles would make better authorities for the size of horses than moralists (moribus peritissimis). The author assumed camus, -oris for the correct camus, -i, *muzzle." See the Introduction, VI.B.5.a.

613. medicos gignaros (“knowledgeable physicians"): almost certainly an allusion to Chiron, the centaur-physician, who educated Asclepius and Achilles; but see Isidore (Etym. 4.9.12), who confuses the centaur with the author of a veterinary treastise (the so-called Mulomedicina Chironis): “Medicinam iumentorum Chiron quidam Graecus inuenit. Inde pingitur dimidia parte hom*o, dimidia equus." 614. eruditionem:

VI.C.1.d.11.

taken

nominative.

See

the

Introduction,

615. multorum: taken as dative. See the Introduction, VI.B.1.b.11. 616. Parnasus etenim mons ... Appolloni consecratas: cf. Isidore, Etym. 14.8.11: "Parnassus mons Thessaliae . . . eo quod in in singulis iugis colebantur Apollo et Liber." The description of Apollo's temple appears to be of the author's manufacture. 617. gradum: i.e. graduum. 618. zetas (*rooms"y: i.e. diaetas; cf. TLL 5.1.4, cols. 947-48 for both forms and meanings (note the frequency of the ze- form in the citations from glossaries). For the development di > z compare diabolus ^ zabulus. For further examples see C.H. Grandgent, An Introduction to Vulgar Latin (New Y ork, 1962), pp. 140—41. 619. suspicatur (*is discernible"): The active form suspico is attested only once in CL: Plautus, Men. 5.9.22. For confusion of active, passive, and deponent forms see the Introduction, VI.C.4.111.a—p.

278

Commentary $61 620. uim anhelitum: 1.e. ui anhelituum. 621. Multa: i.e. multo.

622.quam [plurimis] crebriis (quam plurimis crebrius V, quam plurimis LO): V has intelligently emended quam plurimis crebris, which was doubtless the reading of B (see the stemma, Introduction, p.ecvii), while y and its descendants LO simplified the reading, conserving only plurimis, the lectio facilior. The author wrote quam crebris. For interpolated glosses see the Introduction, pp. cvii-viti. 623.

materiam:

the

sense

*'(cause"

"origin" ; cf. TLL 8.3, col. 463, s.v. IV.B. 624. Soledorum aureorum: solidi aurei facti sunt."

“occasion,”

hence

cf. Isidore, ibid.: “In Thessalia primum

625. caracem (toracem LOV, “with a carving tool"): formed on Xóoa&E, “a sharp tool used to cut or make incisions." Toracem, "thorax," or “breastplate,” makes no sense. 626. nauta: difficult to identify, but one might speculate that the reference here is to Alexander, under whom the Thessalian cavalry fought in Asia; cf. OCD, 3rd ed., p. 1511.

627. affatim (“sufficiently”): cf. §72a, n. 438. 628. germina (gramina LOV): gmnadoubtless stood in the archetype. Clearly Aethicus does not mean to discourse on grasses; cf. TLL 6.2.9, col. 1923, s. germen (I. 6C). Thessaly's former bad reputation (olim inuisa) may be based on the story of the battle of the lapiths and centaurs. 629. ergatoriis: a coinage based on £oyé&tc (Lat. ergata); cf. Gloss. Ansil. ER103 “ergata vicinus aut operator”; CGL 2:313 épydng operarius." 630. lanista (^wool-makers"): here a sense neologism: /ana “wool” + -ista, *one who does or makes.” It is unlikely that the word is used in its proper sense here, 1.e. “trainer of gladiators." 631. Targinat (“idelness:): not attested in Greek or Latin. The closest Greek would seem to be ógoy(a, “idleness” — a notion consistent with Aethicus's teachings elsewhere regarding the dangers of effeminacy and luxury (§72a, §79, “verse” passages). 632. iconisma (“images”): « eixóvvoua, -atog, used for plural. The Greek term embraces the concept of “image” in a number of senses ranging from the artistic to the philosophical; see the references in

Commentary $3961—ó62a Lampe,

p. 410.

There

is no

the iconoclast controversy.

sure

ground

279

for assuming

allusion

633. sigillata ... sola: Transmitted sigillatim apparently is not the common (mis)spelling of singulatim, *one by one," but an error for sigillata, “covered with images in relief.” 634. tferialist (“‘commemorative”): i.e. ferales. The weakly attested ferialis (cf. TLL 6.1, col. 506), relating to a list of the feriae, makes no apparent sense here. One might think of a neologism based on ferr-, “made of iron," but iron was not used for minting by the Byzantines (cf. ODB 1:478). Feralis, *commemorative" (cf. TLL 6.1, cols. 485— 86, s.v. I C), is also problematic, as coins were minted to bear the image of living emperors. Nonetheless, coins do preserve the memory of a once-living ruler. $82a

. 635. aurigarum ... uoraces: presumably a generalized allusion Alexander's victories over Persian armies famed for their chariots. 636. calauticas (“headdresses”) for Obviously, the author is not discussing the

transmitted — Calaurias: islands off the coast of

Argolis (now Poro): calautica strictly means “a woman's headdress,” but the author has generalized its meaning.

637. Tischolmiat (*sheaths"): cf. Niermeyer, 2:946, s. scogilum and scogilatus, designated as “Germ.” The prothetic ; before the cluster initial s + consonant is productive in Romance; cf. Elco*ck, The Romance Languages, p. 37. The author's hyperbolical point is that the Macedonians used their greaves as sheaths. Prinz, n. 695, following Hillkowitz (2:38), suggests an etymology from Greek oxéAun, “knife” or *"sword," which is phonetically satisfying and fits the context generally. Against this, however, is the fact that in the three preceding commata, pro is used to mean “to serve as." Thus, the Macedonians use their greaves as sheathes; they do not use their greaves as a substitute for swords. 638. ludios (ludos a, “swordsmen”?): Prinz, n. 696, calls attention to the “Germanic-Romance” /eudis cited in TLL 7.2, col. 1196, with the

definitions minister, comes. However, this interpretation does not yield good sense. Ludos is probably a mistake for /udios 1n the sense “gladiators” (cf. TLL s.v. 2b) hence my loose translation *swordsmen."

639. ut . . . arietes: cf. Exod. 29:17: *. . . arietem secabis 1n frusta.”

280

Commentary $82a 640. Has . . . gentes ("these people”): cf. Fr. les gens. Clearly, only one race is involved. 641. Macedoniam ... Dalmatia: cf. Isidore, Etym. 14.4.13: “Est autem confinis ab oriente Aegeo mari, a meridie Achaiae, ab occasu Dalmatiae, a septentrione Moesiae." 642. cercensem (“northern”):

not circensis ("relating to a circuit"),

but a re-formation of circius, -a, -um, “northern,” ultimately based on WL oxc.

643. Filius aetate tenellus, etc.: The first four lines of this “poem” provide one of the very few examples of developed two-syllable rhyme and an alternating rhyme-scheme. 644. nouellus (*a novelty”): cf. OLD s.v. 4, and compare nouellitas (Blaise, s.v.). I suspect that our author is insinuating that Alexander is illegitimate rather than simply the lastest addition to Philip's line. 645. mantica (“prophecy”): sc. () povuxy (téyvm). Perhaps the prophecy in question is Nectanebus's horoscope of Olympias predicting her repudiation by Philip (with potential consequences for Alexander) cf. Ps. Callisthenes a, 1.4 (ed. Kroll, p. 5); Julius Valerius, 1.4 (ed. Rosselini, pp. 4—5). 646. saffica: Prinz, n. 701, rightly suggests a connection to cagic, “clear,” *manifest." For the word-formation, see Herren, “The Greek Element," p. 199. 647. anne«bt micat."

(“flash™):

cf. CGL

5:491.25:

“annet

splendet

fulget

648. didola (“inventive”): 1.e. daedala. 649. camilla: technically, an unblemished female suitable for performing religious rites, applied here to Alexander in place of camillus? Note the author's fondness for "transgendering" nouns, e.g. Hercola (§90), Gradiva (890) — names of heroes or gods that one would not expect to see cross-dressed — all for the sake of preserving end-assonance. Hillkowitz's attempt (2:118, n. 127) to connect camilla to the warrior Camilla of the Aeneid (7.803, 11.535) seems out-of-place; also, camilla is probably not the same word as chamilla at §88. 650. patitur . .. passa: wordplay on patior (“suffer”) and pando (“spread,” *extend"). The idea seems to be that Alexander escapes the

Commentary $62a

281

consequences of Philip's impending marriage to Cleopatra, would have left him at the mercy of a jealous stepmother.

which

651. scillania ubera: Scylla's erotic nature, and not just her monstrous form or geographical significance, is underscored in Ovid's Metamorphoses 13.730-14.1—74, and in Aldhelm's riddle Scilla, which seems to have drawn on Ovid's account; see Aldhelm the Poetic

MWorks, trans. M. Lapidge and J. Rosier (Cambridge, 1985), p. 254, n. 85. The author appears to equate Scylla with the usurping Cleopatra rather than Olympias, whom Alexander loved and defended against Philip (cf. Julius Valerius, 1.22).. 652. aucupata lamina (“The blade that is captured"): Aucupata is used as an extension of its basic meaning "to catch birds": here simply “catch” or “capture” (cf. OLD, s.v. 1). The passage appears to be a paraphrase of Julius Valerius, 1.21 (Rosellini, p. 29): *et cum dicto rapuit gladium (Alexander)." The context is the feast at which Philip proposes to marry Cleopatra, daughter of the nobleman Attalus. Alexander

in a rage throws

a cup

at Lysias,

one of the guests,

and

wounds him. Philip draws his sword and attacks Alexander, but trips on a step. Alexander seizes the sword (“rapuit gladium": aucupata lamina) and wreaks havoc among the banqueters. 653. non prodet . . . inter cunabula: The use of prodet must refer to a father's attempted betrayal of his son. /nter cunabula (literally, “within the cradles") hardly describes the age of Alexander, who 1s fifteen at this point. One wonders if inter cenacula was the intended phrase, as the incident described takes place during a.banquet. See the above note. 654. gemellis papillis augusta: doubtless Olympias (augusta). 654a. nec opinata: sc. by Philip. 655. nobilior: Alexander is held to be “nobler” due to his alleged descent from

the god Ammon,

from goddesses.

656. nitellia (“splendour”):

or else, as the cosmographer

alleges,

diminutive « nitor, with -ia ending for

the sake of end-assonance; cf. CGL 5:313.42; 374.69.

657. pignerata (“of his lineage"): a sense neologism based on pignus with the meaning “offspring.”

282

Commentary $$62a—82b 658. Num, etc.: The difficulty of translating this sentence is exacerbated by the alternation of singular and plural nominative forms, all referring apparently to Alexander. 659. trimodarchi (“three-bushel rulers"): unattested; according to Hillkowitz (2:38) a coinage from tri- - modus ( *measure") * àoyxf| or &oxóc (“rule” or “ruler”); cf. Herren, “The Greek Element," p. 194, for similar formations. In American slang the phrase could be translated “two-bit kings." 660. a latice clima secreta (“in regions [/it. a region] removed from the sea"): Macedon is not landlocked. Perhaps the author was thinking of its distance from the Adriatic, which,

was

the sea from

661. adoria ("praise"): i.e. adorea; cf. Paulus-Festus p. 3): "4doriam: laudem sive gloriam dicebant.”

3 (Lindsay,

his perspective.

arguably,

662. prius . . . quin: apparently for potius . . . quam. 663. peripsima (“‘contempt”): Greek meplynmua, literally, “something wiped or scoured off,” not Latin per ipsima. Prinz, n. 202, rightly calls attention to Ansileubi PE 844 (Lindsay, 5:437), which provides the correct

solution

from

Latin interpretation.

Greek,

664. tantia: i.e. tanta, altered Introduction, VI.B.1.c.1u.

but then for the

abandons sake

it in favour

of end-rhyme;

of the see

the

665. Chaonii: a people of Epirus. Epirus was overrun by the Slavs at some time in the sixth to seventh century A.D., and not restored to (partial) Byzantine rule until the eighth; cf. ODB 1:715. The fact that the Chaonians are described as still suffering (patiuntur) is an indication that the restoration of Epirus had not yet occurred. 666. Anthia: the Amazon Anthiopia (Antiope)? cf. 68c. Amazons are used as code for barbarians, specifically the inhabitants of Scythia, possibly the Slavs. 667. frontones: an unidentified siege-machine used by Amazons; see above, $67d, n. 356.

668. cliuio (*sloping"): presumably a heterocl*tic form of cliuus. Perhaps the author here anticipates the discussion of Arab incursions ($84b) — hence the “sloping sword." The passage seems to point to the dual threat to the Byzantines: the Slavs and the Arabs.

Commentary $982b 669. acenace

(*with

a sword"):

« óuváxwxnc,

283 a type of curved

sword

used by the Persians. The author appears to use the word specifically (note c/iuio, *sloping") rather than as a general word for “sword” such as one finds in CGL 5.339.26: “acinaces gladii.” 670. cilia (“excrement”): « xovuAa. 671. Aspidiscus priscus (“The ancient surgical hook") For aspidiscus in the glossaries see CGL 4.476.39; 5:624.42. This rather startling image is puzzling, but we may have an allusion to Hercules who cleaned the dung out of the Augean stables and also fought against the Amazons. For Hercules’ connection to the Amazons in this work, see $68c.

$82b

672. bacilla atrox: the club of Hercules (here for Hercules himself)? 673. Primus (“at first"): a mistake for primo or primum. 674. percunctatur (*he seeks"): 1.e. percontatur.

675. rei notitiae si: Philip

consulted

the oracle

of Delphi

in Ps.

Callisthenes a, 1.15 (Julius Valerius, 1.15), and a dream interpreter in Ps. Callisthenes p, 1.8. As for nocte silente, this might reflect the nocturnal dream sent by Nectanebus to Philip (via a hawk!) according to Julius Valerius, 1.8 (ed. Rosselini, p. 9),

676. Tduodecim annorumt adesse uirtute fecunda: Cf. Julius Valerius, 1.14 (Rosselini, p. 17): “Sed interea Alexander iam annum duodecimum appelens et comes patri fiebat et usu armorum indui meditabatur ... adeo ut Philippus haec demirans sic ad illum: “O puer, faliot quidem et vultu fruens et moribus tuis eorumque aliud duco ad similitudinem nostri, aliud vero auctius quam ut sit ex nostra natura."

677. ueteranus: Hercules again? In Julius Valerius, 1.15 (Rosselini, p. 20) the oracle refers to Alexander as Herculem iuniorem.

678. anceps Saturnus: Saturn is called anceps possibly because of his contradictory repute: he castrated his father and devoured his children, yet ushered in the golden age for mankind. 679. Sciscitantur . . . interrogantur ( *are consulted" . . . *are asked”): Sciscitari, a deponent in CL, is used as a non-deponent and to be understood as passive; cf. $100, *Hoc sciscitaui et percunctaui . . ." For confusion of deponents and non-deponents see the Introduction, VI.C.4.111.0. For the likely source see the next note.

284

Commentary $82b 680. Sibilla . . . responsa: cf. Vergil, den. 6.144 responsa Sibyllae, and n. 693, below. 681. Signum arietis ("under the sign of the ram”): cf. Julius Valerius, 1.4 (ed. Rosellini, p. 5): “...de facie sciscitatur et cultu. canum caesarie dicit

ore

praelepidum,

temporibus

tamen

atque

fronte

arietis

cornibus asperatum." Alexander is born under the sign of the Ram. Nectanebus, the magus and Alexander's natural father, delays the child's birth until Jupiter is in the sign of the Ram, a symbol of kingship and identical with Ammon, the pharaonic person of Nectanebus; see Stoneman, Life in Legend, p. 22.

682. dearum (“of goddesses"): another instance of “transgendering”? According

to Ps. Callisthenes

a, Q, and y, Alexander

either the Egyptian god Ammon, same god. See n. 656.

is the child of

or of Nectanebus impersonating the

683. nobicillo: Prinz, n. 721, cites perspecilla (§84a) for analogous word-formation. 684. nympho . nocturnus (“the — nocturnal bridegroom"): sc. Nectanebus, a priest and prophet; the *"noble womb" belongs to Olympias, wife of Philip of Macedon. The account of the adulterous relationship and the conception of Alexander is given by Ps. Callisthenes

P, vy, Julius

Valerius,

§§

4—12,

aetatibus mundi et hominis 10 (ed. Helm, p. 164).

and

Fulgentius,

684a. uirago: sc. Olympias. 685. accubauit ("hatched"): used apparently for incubauit. 686. nemo . . . formidante (*fearing no one”): 1.e. nullum. Perhaps the author took nemo to be indeclinable like nmihil; this is its only occurrence in the work. 686a. funda (foundations"): i.e. fundos; cf. pars rerum (cf. fundamentum)."

TLL 6.7, col. 1574: “ima

687. Vt unicornius laminam (lamiam LOV): Unable to find a source or analogue for unicorns murdering sorceresses, I conjectured that lamiam was an error for /aminam (used as abl.) in the sense “blade” or “sword” (cf. TLL 7.2.6, col. 906, s.v. 4). For the strength and destructiveness of unicorns see Isaias 34:7: “et descendent unicornes cum eis et tauri cum potentibus, inebriabitur terra eorum sanguine et humus eorum adipe pinguium."

Commentary §§82b—83

688. dentium heap

...

aceruum:

The

author

of skulls, in which teeth are prominent.

689. De regibus Hab. 1.10.

.. . Fidiculum

erunt:

285

was,

almost

perhaps,

visioning

word-for-word

from

690. quis nec: 1.€. nec aliquis. 690a. dedicatura: ending attracted to the ending of infula. 691. magna Ionia (*gxeater Greece")" for another instance of /onia as a metonymy for Greece see above n. 549. 692. amisso protomaterno: Protomaternus 1s not attested; I follow Prinz's suggested meaning (“first born™), n. 731. The *first-born lost” is probably Philip's deceased son by his former wife, after whom he named Alexander: cf. Ps. Callisthenes a, 1.13 (ed. Kroll, p. 13); Julius Valerius, 1.13 (Rosselini, p. 14): * . .. inque memoriam eius filii qui mihi natus occubuit de prioribus nuptiis Alexandri eidem nomen dabo." 693. prosarcha (*chief Sibyl”): possibly formed sense of Latin prae * feminine of àoxóc, “ruler.”

from

mpdg,

in the

694. Sibilla ... natiuitate Alexandri: Our author seems to have known of the existence of the Sibylline Oracles, of which the third book includes a prophecy of the birth and deeds of Alexander (from a negative perspective). In the translation of J.J. Collins (Charlesworth, 1983), 1:370: “Macedonia will bring forth a great affliction for Asia ... But all Asia will bear an evil yoke, and the earth deluged will imbibe much gore. See R. Buitenwerf, Book III of the Sibylline Oracles and Its Social Setting (Leiden, 2003), pp. 210-15. $83

695. Regione: understand as nominative; for other examples see the Introduction, VI.C.1.e.1.

696. Macedonia: Our author excerpts Isidore only for the beginning and the end of this passage: cf. Etym. 14.4.13: “est (Macedonia) . .. regio aureis venis argentique opima; lapidem, quem paeaniten vocant, ista gignit." 697. lachon lapidem: unattested; probably based on the name of the region Laconia.

authorial

invention

698. Lachonia: 1.e. Laconica, the province in which Sparta is located. See $101, where the author uses the name Lacedaemonia for a separate region in the neighbourhood of Istria and Pannonia, and thus not a part of ancient Greece.

Commentary §§83—84a

286 699.

a noto

Macedoniam,

a fabonio

Achaiam.

The

author

is half-

right. Achaia is to the west of Laconia (Laconica), and the latter is to the south of Macedonia, but hardly adjacent to it, as Laconica is in the extreme

south

the

Peloponnese,

while

Macedonia

lies

the

northernmost part of Greece. 700. tinter

Trabundium

and

Taprobanam

the Isle of Taprobana")

insolamt

There

(“between

is obviously

problem here, as the ensuing discussion does not involve an unnamed

place between Trabundium and Taprobanam, but rather Trabundium itself (whatever place may be meant thereby).

701. uel egressionem . . .adfirmat: £ a river on this fictional isle flows into the Red Sea, the isle is obviously a very long way from Taprobana (Sri Lanka). 702. conspicere: future passive, used reflexively (“you will see for yourself"). 703. magnus based on so/.

. .. paruus:

The

number

and

gender

are apparently

704. se dicit (“it is said"): for dicitur; cf. It. si dice, Sp. se dice, Rum, se zice. For this Romance construction see Elco*ck, Romance Languages, p. 117. 705. Xerxen ... sepulchrum: perhaps loosely based on the descriptions of the tombs of the Persians mentioned by Ps. Callisthenes &, 2.18 (ed. Kroll, p. 88); cf. Julius Valerius, 2.17—18 (Rosselini, p. 111—12), where the tombs of Xerxes and Cyrus are described.

706. quae Macedonia subiacet: see above, n. 699. 707. peaniten

...

olefacturio:

Peaniten

stone mentioned by Isidore, Etym.

Olefacturio: i.e. olfactorio.

§84a

« paeanitis

1s a precious

14.4.13; the stone is not identified.

708. parabolam (*in a simile”): The author uses parabola somewhat

differently at §75, where he relates a narrative that might be described

as “a parable" in the usual English sense. 709. perspecilla

(“perspicuous”):

neologism

perspicuus, -a, -um; cf. nobicillo (882b). 710. calista (^very beautiful"): « «áXoca.

(dim.)

formed

711. quo ducit pro nihilo obsidem (“where a hostage is brought in vain"): i.e. “quo ducitur pro nihilo obses." The (apparently) authorial

Commentary $84a

287

confusion of active and passive forms occasioned the accusative obsidem in this instance. 712. repperere (*you will see for yourself”): i.e. reperies, apparently intended to be used reflexively; cf. conspicere, above, n. 702, and the Introduction, VI.C.4.a.y. 713. inuisum (“envied”): The word can also mean “unseen.” Do we

have here an exposure story? If so, there is no evidence for it in Ps. Callisthenes. 714. clepius: i.e. clipeus. of the home was (Epirus) Chaonia 715. totam . Chaoniam: Alexander's mother Olympias. However, the allusion may be contemporary rather than historical; cf. $82a, with n. 665. 716. ambitione (“by the ambit"): The basic meaning of ambitio is

circuitus, and thus a near-synonym

of ambitus; cf. TLL

1, col.

1851,

s.v. L.

717. fauentia (^with the favour of”): not the attested noun, but more likely the present participle fauente, with an ungrammatical ending for the sake of rhyme. Note that in the verse passages and encomia -a and -ia endings are heavily favoured. 718. neominia (“new moons"): Again, we see an association between Alexander and Jewish practice; see the next note. 719. «festarum» dierum (“of feast days"): Neomeniis frequently in combination with festis diebus, vel sim; trans. Rufin. in Numeros homiliae 23.11: *quem de neomeniis posuit"; Quodvultdeus Liber promissionum neomeniis diebusque festis"; Hier. in Ezech. 5.16 “in et in diebus festis et neomeniis accipiendum."

was used fairly cf. e.g. Origen, diebus festis et 2.5: “uel certis sabbatis quoque

720. uirum dearum: sc. Alexander; note prole dearum at $82b ad fin. Despite the confuing syntax (ultra uirum), it 1s obvious that Alexander

is not meant to be the victim, but the recipient of sacrifice. The author

must have been aware of the tradition of Alexander's apotheosis. For this sense of uir see OLD, s.v. 3.

720a. famosissima: ending attracted to that of Macedonia. 721. Horum uirtutum: i.e. has uirtutes. For the use of the genitive as a direct object see the Introduction, VI.C.1.b.i. 722. hoste (“by his army"): a common usage of Aostis in Medieval Latin, especially the earliest period; cf. Niermeyer, 1:505, s.v. 2.

288

Commentary $64a 723. TchereTt (*delights"?): If Greek xaioe is the intended word, its use is unparalleled. I suspect that either the author or the scribe of ¢ confused this word for a greeting with xaoat, “delights.” 724. gloriam Libani: cf. Isai. 35.2: “gloria Libani data est tibi;" Isai. 60.13: “gloria Libani ad te veniet abies et buxus et pinus simul ad ornandum

locum

sanctificationis

meae;"

also

Jerome,

Comm.

Isaiam ad locc. The second passage from Isaiah is the more relevant, as 1t refers to the ornamentation of a temple. The prohibitions issued to Macedonia are intended for Alexander. See the next note.

725. uallem Sorech: where Samson found Dalila; cf. Judges 16.4. The two prohibitions of the ne quaeras clause were both violated: Alexander declared divine honours for himself and he took a foreign woman (Roxane) as spouse. According to Josephus, Antig. 11.8, Alexander had agreed to live according to the law of the Jewish God. 726. chanistra (chonistra LOV, *on votive baskets™): i.e. canistris. For the specifically religious use of the canistrum cf. TLL 3.2, col. 259, s.v. 2. Note the example VULG. Num. 6.17 “offerens canistrum azymorum." 727. tua articula: The attested meaning “parts or divisions of a discourse" (or “writing”) might be taken as metonymy for the discourse itself; cf. Fr. article, English “article,” etc.

728. piritris, 1.e. pyritreis: cf. Isidore, Etym. 16.4.5: “pyrites Persicus lapis fuluus." Our author, working from this source (as so often), could have formed the adjective pyritreus, “of the colour of pyrite,” thus, “deep yellow," a fitting epithet for membranis, “parchment.” (The phrase “pyrite yellow" is attested in Webster's Third New International Dictionary, p. 1853). 729. teristra (“summer garments"): « Ogoí(otovov, attested as Latin theristrum at Gen. 38.14 (Vulgate) and by Jerome, in Isaiam 2.3.23 and Ep. 107.7. 730. Choa: cf. 3 Reg. 10.28: “et educebantur equi Salamoni de Aegypto et de Coa." This toponym might possibly designate a region

in southern Babylonia; cf. The Interpreter's Dictionary of the Bible

3:48, s. Koa.

731. in uallem Butrionis (*in the Vale of Eshcol"): cf. Num. 32.9 and Deut. 1.24 for the phrase. The allusion to Numbers is pointed: God gave the vale to the sons of Israel, but they chose not to enter it.

Commentary $$64a—64b Alexander, personified as Macedonia, establish a settlement there.

289

should

do the opposite

and

732. Saba: i.e. Sheba. Cf. Isaiah 60: 6: “Omnes de Saba uenient aurum et tus deferentes"; see also 3 Reg. 10.25. The repeated use of Isaiah 60 (*Trito-Isaiah"), with its alleged Christological allusions, invites further study. 733. rinoceria plaustra: Possibly, the author means to describe chariots (rather than common carts) decorated with horn (or ivory) carvings. 734. Super montem Oliuarum (*on the Mount of Olives"): combines allusions to Zach. 14.4, which prophesies the destruction of the mountain

itself, with Marc.

14.26, which narrates Christ's prophecies

on the Mount of Olives, enumerating the signs of “the last days."

735. murinas (“with necklaces"): Prinz, n. 765, rightly 1dentifies this word as a form of muraena, “torquis genus" (TLL 8:1669). 736. mitras baltea: indebted perhaps to Exod. 29.8—9: tunicis lineis cingesque balteo . . . et impones eis mitras." 737. coly(i)mba (“sweetmeats”): Comm.

Matth.

21.12-13

*... indues

1.e. collybia, explained by Jerome, tragemata,

*sweetmeats";

cf.

TLL

3.7.1667, s. collybus, 2. 738. Vrbs Palmarum: cf. Jerome, Quaestiones Hebraicae in Genesin 14. 7 (ed. de Lagarde, p. 18): “Asason thamar in lingua nostra resonat Urbs Palmarum." Jericho is frequently called the “city of palms" (Deut. 34.13; Jud. 1.16, 3.13; 2 Paol. 28.15).

739. Salaria: unidentified region or town famous for producing salt. 740.fons Edi; for fons interpretation of Engaddi in Lagarde, p. 93.17).

haedi, “fountain of the goat," the Jerome's De nominibus hebraicis (ed. de

741. Alophili (“foreign races"): i.e. allophyli. The word is used frequently (and usually negatively) in patristic sources to denote gentile peoples hostile to Israel. Most likely, allophyli retains its negative sense here, as Alexander is identified closely with the Jewish cause (see beginning of $84b). See especially Isidore, Etym. 9.2.58: “Idem

et allophyli,

id est alienigenae,

ob hoc,

quia

semper

fuerunt

inimici Israel, et longe ab eorum genere ac societate separati.” 742. TSarmaitet (*Samaritans"): Prinz, n. 771, following Hillkowitz, suspects that Samarites (“Samaritans”) is the intended word.

290

884b

Commentary $84b Samaritans could well be grouped with allophyli; cf. especially John 4.9, which specifically deals with a Samaritan offering a drink to a Jew: “Quomodo tu, Iudaeus cum sis, bibere a me poscis, quae sum mulier Samaritana? Non enim coutuntur Iudaei Samaritanis.” See the note immediately above. It seems unlikely that “Sarmatians” are intended here. 743.

Reuertere

. .. reuertere:

cf. Cant.

6.12:

“reuertere,

reuertere,"

following 6.11: “nescivi anima mea conturbavit me propter quadrigas Aminadab" — appropriate in the context.

744. a monte Sion (“to Mount Sion"): The preposition a here almost certainly stands for ad; see the Introduction, VI.B.4. There would be no reason for Alexander to come from Sion, but every reason to go fo its defence,

as Jerusalem

fell to the Muslims

in 638; see next notes.

The portrayal of Alexander as highly favourable to the Jewish people may be based on events recounted in Josephus, Antiq. 11.306—46 (Niese). 745. Ahilon: see especially 2 Paral. 11.10: *Saraa quoque et Ahilon et Hebron quae erant in Iuda et Beniamin civitates munitissimas."

746. Birronis et Varri: For Birronis (= -es) cf. Birrichios montes (§32). Varri: possibly the Varvari, people of Istria mentioned by Pliny, Nat. hist. 3.23.30. 747. Meonis: cf. Isidore, Etym. 9.2.4: “Filii Aram, nepotes Sem quattuor: Hus et VI et Gether et Mes ... Mes, a quo sunt his qui vocantur Maeones.” 748. Ciprum, etc.:: The passage summoning Alexander to return appears to be an unambiguous reference to the Arab invasion of Cyprus and coastal areas in the Mediterranean beginning around 647 (cf. $90 and n. 788). The shared occupation (Byzantine and Arab) of Cyprus persisted until 965, when it was reclaimed by the Byzantine Empire; cf. ODB 1:567. 749. pinnigeris aequis curribus pirriis: The author combines classical and biblical images: Pegasus yoked to Elijah's fiery chariot. Piriis (pirius, -a, um) 1s a neologism based on xóo and the Latin adjectival ending -eus/-ius; compare piricus at Hisperica famina A350. 750. aere

discurre:

likely

a reference

to Alexander's

aerial

flight,

described in Ps. Callisthenes, recension 0, and derived ultimately from the Talmud. For the textual history of the motif, see Victor M.

Commentary $$84b—86

29]

Schmidt, 4 Legend and its Image: The Aerial Flight of Alexander the Great in Medieval Art (Groningen, 1995), p. 11. See now Stoneman, Life in Legend, pp. 114—19. 751. superstes (praesto suprestis (-tes LOV). Suprestis 1s almost certainly an error for superstes, which can mean both “standing by" and *surviving." It is unlikely that praesto was anything other than an

interlinear gloss, inserted into the text by o, giving more evidence for

the existence of a stage of transmission between the author and a. See the Introduction, pp. cvii-viit.

752. argumenta (*stratagems"): see above, §40, n. 441. 753. praeoccupasses: sc. Alexander. Aethicus's apostrophe switches back to Alexander without warning. On this passage see now Michael Herren, “Constructing the Memory of Alexander in the Early Eighth Century," in Strategies of Remembrance from Pindar to Hélderlin, ed. L. Dolezavola (Newcastle-on-Tyne, 2009), pp. 163—74, at 172-73. 754. fore .. . futurum ( forte V). Because the author frequently uses fore as a substitute for esse (see the Introduction, VI.C.4.c.1), futurum is added for clarity. V's forte, though intelligent, weakens the sentence.

885

755. Macedonia: tergo Pieria est.”

cf. Isidore, Etym.

14.4.12: “Macedoniae

. . . cuius a

756. Pieritia (with V): sc. Pieria, probably one of the author's wordplays. Note the reference to Pieria as skilled at the end of $81l: “opificis praecipua suos dilatat Piaeria.” 757. Lachonia: cf. §83, n. 698. 758. Isidore, Etym.

Maltby,

p. 262,

etymology.

$86

14.4.7: “Graecia a Graeco rege uocata." See also

s. Graecia

et Graeci,

for earlier

attestations

of this

coniunctam: again a for ad, here combined with perfect passive participle; CL would use cum with coniungere. 759.a

...

the

160. ut et alia scriptura testatur: specifically, Isidore, Etym. 14.4.14.

Isidore says nothing about a “metropolis,” but he does say “Achaia . . . et urbs et provincia appellata." 761. ubi Macedoniam tangit ... Casiopas: The entire passage is a close paraphrase of Isidore, Etym. 14.4.14. Orosius (Hist. 1.2.58) assists with the locating of the Cassiopas: "Achaia. . . ab Africa et occasu Cephaleniam et Cassiopam insulas."

292

Commentary $$86—88 762. Inachum: mentioned very cursorily at Etym. 14.4.14. Our author "scrolled up" to 13. 21.25 to retrieve the information that Achaia was irrigated by the Inachus. 763. fungifera (V's reading; "rich in mushrooms"): a neologism. 764. non modica (modica mediocris LOV): Clearly both words are not needed, and it is hard to tell which word is a gloss of which, as both are widely attested and neither can be dubbed *a hard word." However, the author frequently uses modicus, whereas mediocris occurs only here.

887

765. etenim . . . sinus est: It is probable that the author incorporated into this passage the beginning of Etym. 14.4.15 *Arcadia vero sinus Achaiae est." The sense may be: Arcadia forms the bosom of Achaia and thus enlarges the province. Hence, sinus is probably not a “bay,” as one might expect. See the next note. 766. inter

lonium

mare

Aegeum

14.4.15: “Arcadia vero sinus Achaiae lonium et Aegeum mare exposita,” etc.

disposita:

Cf.

est, ut platani

Isidore,

folium

Etym.

inter

767. pretiosa ("beautiful"): for this usage see above, §76, n. 538. 768. ob magnitudinem . . uocabulum: cf. Isidore, Etym. 14.4.15: The reference to King Sychion's long feasts and his height, added by the cosmographer, is apparently based on the etymon ovxvóc, “long.” 769. fluuium Aerimantium: cf. ibid. 770. lapis a«s»beston: Cf. ibid. and Etym. 16.4.4: “Asbestos Arcadiae lapis ferrei coloris, ab igne nomen sortitus eo quod accensus semel numquam extinguitur." That the stone could be used to cure snakebite is doubtless the author's own addition. 771. Chollice: Prinz, n. 796, notes Hillkowitz's (2:105) observation that Chollice might be based on Hebrew c/ol, *sand," and thus relate to the sandbank described: note sablum fodiens in the next sentence. 772. adiecit (“adjacent to"): i.e. adiacuit. 773. casmatium ullicem (a burning rosemary bush") Casmatium appears to be formed on xaüua, -atog + -ius, -a, -um, thus, “burning.” For the frequent confusion of chasma and cauma in Latin manuscripts see §18, n. 149. An irreverent joke might be intended here; cf. Exod. 3.2: "Apparuitque ei Dominus in flamma ignis de medio rubi.”

Commentary $966—90

293

774. metalla (*deposits") ... metalla (“metals”): The author seems to use this word in both senses; for metalla in the sense of *mines" or "deposits" see $26, n. 236. 775. ab inperitis (“to the inexperienced"): for a, ab meaning “to” see

$88

the Introduction, VI.B.4.

776. Chthonica: V's reading Chochothonica helps to clarify what otherwise could not have been explained. The name is obviously based on Greek y8ówioc, “beneath the earth.” The rightness of the explanation is confirmed by propter maris oppraessionem. TT1. Chamillam: probably not related to camilla §82a or to the Volscian warrioress of the Aeneid, but rather a coinage on Greek vaual, “low-lying,” and thus a match for Chthonica (see previous note). T78. Dimomorchas: See the explanation by Hillkowitz, 2:90—91, who ingeniously derives the name from óaíucv and óoxac, “Daimon der Lust." 779. pachachomis: a coinage from nayóc + «óun, “thick-haired.” As Prinz points out, n. 801, the name Pachomius may have influenced the formation. Presumably, the word means something like “woolyminded." 780. insulsus . . sal . . . salsum: the usual play on insulsus, “saltless” and “witless,” incorporating an allusion to Marc. 9.49: "si sal insulsum fuerit." (X3

781. paulominus (“for a short time"): see above, $58c,n. 45.

689

782. ergastorem (“the labourer"): not connected to ergata, as Prinz surmised, n. 803 (with reference to his n. 9), but transparently from Greek éoyaofo, with the Greek agent ending -vrjo replaced by Latin -tor. The Greek term and opifex are close in meaning, but it is obvious that the author meant to distinguish between them. 783. Tatiana: fictitious. Perhaps Titania should be read. If so, then the name likely applies to Circe, and hence to her island; cf. Ovid, Metamorphoses 14.382. Prinz, n. 804, connects Tatiana with the ecclesiastical writer Tatian, which seems off the mark.

784. Hisperiam (*Spain"): For the equating of Hisperia with Spain (rather than the usual Italy), see Isidore, Etym. 9.2.126. 785. in breuiario: an “epitome” by Aethicus rather than “Jerome”? If so, the author seems to have nodded.

294

890

Commentary $$90—91 786. archania (archana V, “secret”): For the supplanting of correct endings in -a with ia in the oracular pronouncements of Aethicus, see

the Introduction, VI.B.1.c.iii.

787.me hercola: for the usual mehercle or mehercule, *by Hercules!." The author's fondness for feminizing nouns and adjectives in his encomia extends to proper names. See the Introduction, VI.B.5.c. 788. foedera iura pone: The foedera, almost certainly refer to the pact of Caliph Abd Al-Malik placing Cyprus sentence "ne spernas fessis longinco proselitae alienigenae." See ODB pp. lviii-ix.

“covenants,” and iura, rights," 688 between Justinian II and under joint rule, as does the nauigatis, sintque tibi incolae 1:567 and the Introduction,

789. uicina (“approach”): The deponent wicinor is attested in CL in the sense of “to be neighbouring.” For non-deponent wicinare, "approach," “draw near," cf. It. avvicinare. 790. ophinum:

10.229.

1.e. Ophiusiam,

"Cypriot";

cf. Ovid,

Metamorphoses

791. calaria: probably another neologism based on «aAóc; cf. calans ($72a), calleficola (§79), calista (§84a). 792. currile sella: for the usual sella curulis, i.e. the “consulship,” or the role of a magistrate. 793.amittere: future passive with reflexive rather than passive meaning. See the Introduction, VI.C.4.a.iii.[J. 794. mare . .. Carpathium: cf. Isidore, Etym. 14.6.14: Item insulae quae Hellesponto usque ad Gades in mare Magno sunt constitutae. Cypros insula a civitate Cypro, quae in ea est, nomen accepit; ipsa est et Paphos Veneri consecrata in Carpathio mare," etc. Our author invents his /aco [i.e. lacu] Gaditano out of this material. 795. milia passuum (*miles"): Mille passus (“a thousand paces") was the Roman mile, somewhat smaller than the .English mile; it was roughly equivalent to 1481 metres (1620 yards). 796. gressus ("paces"): The author delights in trying to conceal his source (Isidore) by adding invented information. The gressus are extra paces, mentioned to give the impression of a more exact measurement! 797. zazetum: 1.€. acetum; see above, $572a, n. 439.

Commentary $990—91

295

798. pretiosum et fuluum (*lovely and tawny"): literally, “valuable” and *golden." However, pretiosus regularly has the sense of “lovely”

or *beautiful," hence the translation.

799. instructuris ('constructions"): cf. Isidore, FEtym. 19.18.1: "Instructura autem parietum ad normam fieri et ad perpendiculum respondere oportet." In this passasge the meaning is extended from the act of constructing or arranging to the result of such activity; for the more usual meaning see $95, “De his enim instrumentis nauium . . .”, 800. Gilo: possibly named after the legacy-hunter Gillo mentioned in Juvenal, Sat. 1.40? Aethicus's sand-banks were a source of gold! $91

801. milia passuum CLXXII, etc.: These measurements are omitted by Isidore (Etym. 14.6. 15—16, where Crete is discussed). The author's source is Orosius, Hist. 1.2.97: * .. . habet in longo milia passuum CLXXII, in lato L." The gressus are doubtless the author's invention. 802. Vrbibus . .. nonaginta tribus: Our author delights in claiming more accurate information than that offered by Isidore, who mentions an even one hundred (Etym. 14.6.15).

803. Anthiopolim . . . metropolim: This *information" 1s undoubtedly

fabricated.

The

name

seems

based

Anthia,

Aethicus's

“shortened” form of the name Anthiopia, the Amazon queen; cf. $82a. See also §68b—c for Amazon conquests and for the story of Anthiopia. The mention of gemmam Oriciam at the end of this passage recalls another Amazon 804. musicorum

queen (cf. $68c). arte

peritissima:

cf.

Isidore,

Etym.

14.6.16:

to the Carpasiis

«nauibus»

“studium musicum ab Idaeis dactylis in ea coeptum." 805. Carpatas naues: mentioned in $95.

perhaps

identical

806. magistracs» erga Tyrios: The ancient Palestinian city of Tyre was captured by the Arabs in 635 and used afterwards for Arab maritime expeditions; cf. ODB 3:2134—35. 807. Capris cervos eget."

copiosa:

cf.

Isidore,

Etym.

14.6.16:

“Capris

808. cotafia: < xovvápua, “curly-haired,” not attested Greek; see Herren, “The Greek Element," pp. 192-93.

copiosa,

in Classical

809. ultra omnes insolas, etc.:: another example of the author struggling to express a comparison; see the Introduction, VI.C.2.a.

Commentary $$991—92

296 810. Angues

rara:

modification

Isidore's

(Etym.

14.6.16);

“serpens nulla ibi."

811. cruentalia: apparently a neologism; sc. cruenta.

812. Lupus et ursus, etc.: cf. Isidore, Etym. 14.6.16: “lupos et vulpes aliaque ferarum noxia nusquam gignit." 813. emineius (i.e. -os, “half-asses™): cf. §20, n. 178 (ymineones). 814. nec emineius neque noctuas: Why half-asses and nightowls are included in a list of baneful beasts is a mystery, but at least the noctua can be explained by its presence in Isidore's list of animals not found on Crete (Etym. 14.6.16). Dragons and lions (as well as half-asses) are added by our author. 815. Sfalangos: sc. qaXáyyuvov, a type of venemous spider; cf. [sidore, ibid.:: “Phalangos (vars. sfalangos, spalangos) autem venenatos gignit . . .". 815a. itheum dactalum (“the Idaean dactyl”): cf. n. 804. 816. Yron: The name might be based on Greek etoov, “dissembler,” “given to irony," with the diphthong given the late Greek itacistic pronunciation.

892

817. Oriciam: probably alluding to the Amazon Oricia (Orythia) mentioned at 868c; note the mention of Anthiopolis with a putative etymology from Anthiope. Prinz, n. 832, suggests a derivation from Oricus, a coastal town in Epirus. 818. Vicinaque illius: This is completely wrong. Abydos is not an island, nor is it anywhere near Crete. Rather, it is a city situated on the northwestern portion of the Phrygian coast; for references to it see Der kleine Pauly, 1:22-23. The author inserts the words wicinaque illius again for the purpose of adding information not in his source (Isidore). Isidore, however, is responsible for the error that Abydos is an island;

see the next note. 819. Abidos: cf. Isidore, Etym. 14. 6.17: *Abydos insula in Europa super Hellespontum posita angusto et periculoso mari separata et ApBvdoc Graece dicta est quod sit introitus Hellesponti maris, in quo Xerxes pontem ex nauibus fecit et in Graeciam transilt." 820. mare Gaditano: sc. the Mediterranean because it begins at Cadiz; see $90, n. 794. It would be more accurate to place Abydos in the Aegean Sea.

Commentary $$93—94

297

821. ubi etiam Xerxis: Et is not in the author's source; it may have been added to indicate that Aethicus at least had the intention of building a bridge over the same span; see the ensuing text. 822. litteribus (“letterature”): R and S correct to read /itteris. D'Avezac's MS P has littoribus. But it 1s likelier that /itteribus is one of the

author's

deliberate

word

distortions,

intended

to reflect

the

strangeness of Aethicus’s original text written in his alphabet; cf. $73 for a description. For other cases see the Introduction, VI.B.5.b. 823. palam, see.

“obviously”:

Otherwise

it would

824. nullius (nulli LRS): another example nominative; see the Introduction, VI.B.2.b. $93

still be there for all to

of nullius

used

825. Chos: cf. Isidore, Etym. 14.6.18: "Coos insula adiacens prouinciae Atticae, in qua Hippocrates medicus natus est; quae, ut Varro testis est, arte lanificii prima in ornamento feminarum inclaruit." 826. quadratim: literally, “four-fold.” The assertion that an island is surrounded by sea on four sides looks at first like a tautology. However, there are triangular and other non-four-sided islands. 827. pedetimptim: The usual meaning is “gradually,” “cautiously,” "step by step" (OLD). Here it is used to provide an estimate, thus "approximately." ??

C€€

828. industriam (industriae LOV): The mistake in the archetype is probably caused by attraction to neighbouring medicinam.

$94

829. ex parte (*to the best of our ability"): seemingly used in place of CL pro parte. 830. Ciclades insolae: cf. Isidore, Etym. 14.6.20: “Cyclades . .. in Hellesponto inter Aegeum et Maleum mare constitutae circumdantur etiam pelago Myrtoo; sunt autem numero, quinquaginta tres, tenentes a septentrione in meridiem milia quingenta, ab oriente in occasum milia ducenta; metropolis earum Rhodos." 831. machinatum (*ground"): for transmitted machamitum; cf. REW 5206. The transmitted form, of course, might be one of the author's deliberate word distortions. However, I think it likelier that the

problem here lies in an archetypal error.

832. pelles . .. uariantur atque tinguntur. more likely a reference to the dyeing of animal skins than to the manufacture of cosmetics; cf.

Commentary $95

298

Exod. 25.4-5: *coccumque bis tinctum et byssum, pilos caprarum, et

pelles arietum rubricatas," etc.

833. metafiata ("fine clothing"): derived from Greek uevoauquáGo,

participial

ending.

The

word

This word is almost certainly “to exchange clothing" - Latin

survives

Modern

Greek

uevoupuéGo, “dress up," “wear fine clothes"; hence the translation. 834. mala . .. cusizia (*quinces"):

cf. TLL

Onom.

2C, col. 814, s.

Cyzicenus, “DIOSC. 3.4] 'samsucus utilis est quizicenis ... a quiticenis et a siculis amaros nominatur’”; 3.42 ‘melilotu utile est

895

atticu et quiticenu.""

835. Delos . .. Rhodus: cf. Isidore, Etym. 14.6.22: “Delos autem et ciuitas dicitur et insula; ... et urbs et insula Rhodos est appellata." Delos is omitted in Orosius's list of the Cyclades: Hist. 1.2.98. 836. Tenedos: cf. lIsidore, Etym. 14.6.23: “Tenedos una ex Cycladibus a septentrione sita, in qua olim civitas a Tene quodam

condita est." Isidore has confused Tenos, which is in the northern part

of the Cyclades, with Tenedos, an island off the coast of Troy (cf. Der kleine Pauly, 5:585—86), which plays a role in the Trojan saga. The cosmographer repeats the error.

837. [Aftheniense(i)s LOV): Neither Tenos nor Tenedos is occupied by Athenians (except now, perhaps, during the summer holidays). The cosmographer replaces the correct Tenedii with Thenienses, which was corrupted in a to the familiar Athenienses. 838. Carpatos: cf. Isidore, Etym. 14.6.24: "Carpathos una ex Cycladibus a meridie posita contra Aegyptum ... est enim inter Aegyptum et Rhodum." Carpasias appears to be the author's spelling of Carpathias. 839. hostium Niermeyer,

(“of

armies")

For

this

1:505, s.v. 2; note the example

meaning

hostis

see

from Gregory the Great's

letters, “hostem collectam habet" (2.32, p. 129).

840. caulonum (*of limbs"): cf. Greek «àAov, “limb.” The spelling with au may represent a hypercorrection of the usual VL development au -

84l.samsugis:

(samsucus

MSS),

cf.

Isidore,

“marjoram,”

Etym.

17.9.14,

is rendered

where

in Latin

which our author equated with amarus; cf. Prinz, n. 849.

sampsuchus

as amaracus,

Commentary $95

299

842. Carpasiae: Here the sea between Crete and Rhodes is probably meant.

843. amicae

uicinae:

again,

inexplicably

feminized;

see

the

Introduction, VI.B.5.c.

844. propinquis exoles: 1.e. exulibus. For ransom and prisoner exchange in the wars between the Byzantines and the Arabs see the articles “Prisoners, Exchanges of' and "Prisoners of War,” ODB 3:1722-23. 845. lautomiae (“whips”): The cosmographer follows Isidore's description of penalties and torments that begins at Etym. 5.27; cf. ibid, 23-24: "Est et latomia supplicii genus ad verberandum aptum, inventum a Tarquinio Superbo ad poenam sceleratorum. Iste enim prior latomias, tormenta, fustes, metalla atque exilia adinvenit . .. Talio est similitudo vindictae, ut taliter quis patiatur ut fecit." Latomiae elsewhere commonly refers to a prison; cf. TLL 7.2.7, col. 1010, s.v. B. * 846. inter trudes (intertrudes LOV): Prinz, n. 853, regards the rare verb intertrudes as *schwer erklárbar." The problem disappears with the word separation. 847. ergatae (“hoists”): here, apparently, as an implement of torture. See $3, n. 16, and $44, n. 9.

848. talionum (“an above, n. 845 ad fin.

eye

for an eye"):

see the note

to /automiae,

849. extera (“extreme {measures}”): Transmitted externa makes little sense. 850. tyrannidis: Although the whole region of Carpasia is the subject of the apostrophe, it is possible that a particular ruler is addressed in this passage. Note the word-play on tyronis.and tyrannis. 851. cfructum»: goes logically with amarum; the word fell out due to the f~r-u-t of the preceding deferunt. 852. Quin laudaris, etc.: Aethicus appears to be addressing himself. That Aethicus himself designed the Carpathian ship is explained in this passage, below. 853. aemoluminium:

1.e. emolumentum.

854. argumentis (“techniques™): regularly in this sense; see $40, n. 44].

300

Commentary $$95—96 855. arte

(^work"): for this usage see §27, nn. 246-47.

856. dogmat«ic»os (“teachers™): for examples of doyuatndc used as a neuter substantive see Lampe, p. 378, s.v. 3 ad fin. There are no examples of the word applying to persons; we have to do here with a sense neologism. 857. fenestellis ("little windows"): Except for an attestation in Columella, all instances of this diminutive are late (cf. TLL 6.1.2, col. 478). There are no examples of a military application.

858. parata (“fitted out”): I understand the remainder of the sentence as dependent upon parata, which does not occur until the end; logically, parata should be paratas to modify naues; however, it is neuter plural by attraction to biclinia et triclinia. 859. in modum curricula (“in circular fashion"): ie. in modum curriculi. Here curriculum refers to the shape of a racetrack (hence “circular”); cf. TLL 4.3, col. 1506, s.v. 1b.

860. biclinia et triclinia: cf. CGL 5:348.50: “biclinium quasi bicellium,” thus having two cellae or chambers; similarly triclinium. 861. templi pinna: cf. Luc. 4.9: “statuit eum supra pinnam templi.” 862. iacula . .. tela: The passage appears to describe the use of Greek fire against the Arabs in the second half of the seventh century. Our author may have imagined that this weapon was propelled by slings or other missiles. "s reading funde, however, is interesting, as it implies that fire was poured out on the surface of the sea. For Greek fire see OCD 2:873, where it is hypothesized that projectiles were used to ignite the Uypdv xÜo. For Byzantine naval warfare see ch. 19 in the new edition and translation of The Taktika of Leo VI by George T. Dennis in the Dumbarton Oaks Texts (2010). 863. in hoc mare: i.e. the Carpathian Sea.

864. ad nauales hostes repellendos: Note that the author does not ascribe to Aethicus the invention of Greek fire, but only the ships designed to employ it. A certain Kallinikos is credited (rightly?) with the discovery that saved Constantinople against an Arab siege 674— 678 (ODB 2:1094). See J.R. Partington, 4 History of Greek Fire and Gunpowder (Cambridge, 1960), pp. 12-14. 865. aulonas . . . palatia: cf. [sidore, Etym. regia . ..”

15.3.3: *Aula domus est

Commentary $996—98 896

301

866. Citerea insola: cf. Isidore, Etym. 14.6.25—26: “Cytherea insula una ex Cycladibus a parte occidua sita ... Icaria insula una de Cycladibus . . . procurrentibus saxis inhospitalis est, et nullis sinibus portuosa." Neither of these islands properly belongs to the Cyclades. Cythera lies off the southeast coast of the Peloponnese, whereas Icaria is the northernmost isle in the group called the Sporades. 867. portuosa: sc. loca.

868. Didola: the Hercola 890 and

(invented) female counterpart of Daedalus; cf. Gradiva §98. There is also etymological play:

daedalus means “skilful,” *clever."

869. Hippodamia: the heroine of an archetypal tale of a father's (Oenomaus's) lethal jealousy of all potential suitors for his daughter's hand. Eventually Pelops, with divine help, escapes the stratagems of Oinomaus and wins Hippodamia, from whose union are born Atreus and Thyestes. For details see Roscher, Lexikon 1.2:2667-71. 870. ex sobole Mineruae (“through Minerva's line"): lit. “from the offspring of Minerva," doubtless another of the author's witticisms intended to catch his readers off their guard. Minerva (Athena) was a virgin goddess with no known offspring. 870a. et ipsae insolae (*and these islands”): The referent 1s unclear. $97

871. insolaque Melon rotundissima: cf. Isidore, Etym. 14.6.28: “Melos ex numero Cycladum, una omnium insularum rotundissima; unde et nuncupata.” The information that Melos (Melon) is very fertile is the author's addition; see the next note.

872. ubi lason et Plutonem, etc.: a garbled version of Isidore, Etym. [4.6.29: *Historia dicit ex [as«pone natum fuisse Philomelum et Plutum, ex Philomelo Pareantum genitum, qui de suo nomine Paron insulam et oppidum appellavit." 873. sarda lapis: cf. Isidore, ibid. 874. Cion insula: cf. Isidore, 16.6.30: “Chios appellatur eo quod ibi mastix gignitur . . ." $98

insula

Syra

lingua

875. Samo insola: cf. Isidore, Etym. 14.6.31: *Samos insula est in mari Aegeo, ubi nata est Iuno; ex qua fuit Sibylla Samia et Pythagoras Samius, a quo philosophiae nomen inuentum est.” 876. Sibilla Samia: cf. the above note and also Efym. 8.8.4: “Sexta {Sibylla} Samia, quae Phemonoe dicta est, a Samo insula, unde fuit cognominata."

302

Commentary $98 877. uel dilatata (“and disseminated"): The author may have known the tradition that Pythagoras was exiled from Samos and settled in South Italy, where he established his school (cf. OCD, p. 1283), However, the sense of dilatata may be that Pythagoras broadened philosophy, which in the sixth century B.C. focussed almost exclusively on nature, to embrace ethical issues. This may be inferred from Isidore's discussion of the growth of the subject of philosophy at Etym. 8.6.2—5. 878. ualde obscure digessit: Aethicus's alleged anthologizing of the sayings of Pythagoras reinforces his own penchant for obscurity. 879. in laude carminis Sibilla et Phithagora: Sibillae et Phithagorae.

1.e. carmen in laudem

880. uersuum suorum: 1 have taken suorum as eorum, frequently confused in Medieval Latin. Aethicus seems to be saying that his encomium will be written in a style that captures the “feel” of the oracular language (1.e. the verses) of the Sibyl and Pythagoras. 881. monere for transmitted mouere: an easy correction. Aethicus issues a call for unity and resistance. Presumably, we have another allusion to the troubled situation in the eastern Mediterranean in the mid-to-late seventh century. Samos appears to be particularly affected: cf. ODB 3:1836. The friend whose complaints inspired the poem is mentioned again towards the end. 882. achoniti: the Greek adverb "without a struggle." Its only apparently, is Nat. hist. 35.139, iactum pulveris by “quod vocant Oscar Weise, Die griechischen p. 328.

&xovu, literally *without dust,” i.e. occurrence in any Latin work, where Pliny glosses the idiom citra àxovu(." See the useful work by Fr. Worter im Latein (Leipzig, 1882),

883. Obde claustra serena: This and the following lines create the mysterious atmosphere of a cave or enclosed place heralding the prophecy of the sibyl. 884. nomencalata (with V): Culata (LO), read by Prinz, is scarcely attested, and one would surely wonder how this denominative from culus could be appropriate here. Nomenclator (nomencalator) and nomenclatura assume *nomencalare, “to call out a list of names." The

imagined gathering was regarded as esoteric: not all were invited. 885. uiscera clinata passa: V's chlinatia against LO's chlinachia shows the way: not a Greek word, but the rare and early classical

Commentary $98

303

clinatus, “bent”; see TLL 3, col.1349. Passa is not from pascor, but from pando. The reference to the reading of entrails (haruspicium) is a Roman practice unconnected to Sibylline prophecy. 886. mitrella ...crispantia: cf. Jerome, Ep. mitellis crispantibus. Mitrella: 1.e. mitella: conserves the original r of the simplex (mitra). 887. bullas (*studs"): cf. Isidore, geruntur; feminis vero monilia."

Etym.

38.4.2 for the phrase the transmitted form

19.31.11:

*bullae

a viris

888. Kalendae atque neominiae: cf. Isai. 1.13—14: “Ne adferatis ultra sacrificium frustra, incensum abominatio est mihi, neomeniam et sabbatum et festivatates alias non feram; iniqui sunt coetus vestri, kalendas vestras et sollemnitates vestras odivit anima mea.” Given the apparent sympathy of Aethicus for the Samians, it is rather surprising that he invokes this passage. Or is "Jerome" somehow *'palimpsested" here? Cf. $84a, nn. 718-19. 889. climmata: more probably from xAfjua than xA(ua, the former being a vine-branch intended for festive use, with a possible secondary allusion to the vine-whip of the Roman legions. Note other symbols of belligerence in the passage. 890. Gradiua: an invented (?) female counterpart to Gradivus, or Mars, the god of war. For other examples cf. Hercola (§90) and Didola (§96). Despite the soft feminine imagery that accompanies Gradiva, the author appeals to his audience to rekindle their martial spirit. 891. agea: i.e. &yia. See the examples of this spelling in Hisperica famina A233, 283, 583. 892. lacinia summa margine: literally: “your garment very high at the hem," i.e. tucked up in preparation for war? 893. oneratis fercolis: 1 understand the words as accusatives gratis and cunctis bonis dependent on oneratis (= -a).

with

894. ulnas: 1.e. ulnis 895. monilia (manilia LOV) : Manilius, -a, -um has a derived meaning only in the context of the Manilian laws, specifically those pertaining to slaves. This does not seem to fit the context. 896. certatim (“torcefully”): but cf. §68d, n. 403. 897. dorsa (“ridges” {of the sea}): cf. $100 “dorsa maris oceani et sinus maris."

Commentary $$965—100

304

898. amice: Pythagoras? 899. protus, ortus fuisti: Aethicus is apparently addressing Pythagoras: it is fitting that the “foremost” philosopher should be born on a “chosen” isle. Samo 1s (rightly) ablative dependent on ortus, and electa insola stands in apposition. 900. gloria, laus, decus: The phrase reminds one of a doxology; compare the frequent collocation gloria, laus, et honor. 901. quam quaesiui: Aethicus “sought out” Samos, presumably with the intention of collecting the sayings of Pythagoras. 902. uasa fictilia: cf. Isidore, Etym. prius fictilia uasa traduntur." $99

14.6.31: “In hac insula reperta

902a. Sicilia: This section is heavily dependent on Isidore, Etym. 14.6.32: *. . . terris frugifera, auro abundans, cavernis tamen et fistulis penetrabilis, ventisque et sulphure plena; unde et ibi Aethnae montis extant incendia. In cuius fretu Scylla est et Charybdis, quibus navigia aut absorbuntur aut conliduntur ... Principem urbium Syracusas habet, fontem Arethusam et Alpheum fluvium ...; achaten lapidem ipsa primum ex Achate flumine dedit. Parturit et mare eius corallium." 903. nobis uicinam: Here we should probably imagine Jerome still in Rome rather than settled in Bethlehem. 904. Vt fruiti sumus: That the real Jerome had direct experience of Sicily might be inferred from his several voyages between Rome and the East. In August of 385 Jerome left Rome on an eastbound ship and mentions that he stopped at Rhegium: Apologia contra Rufinum 3.22. (I owe this reference to the kindness of Andrew Cain, University of Colorado.) For the form fruiti (frequent in the Vulgate and Jerome) see TLL 6.6, col. 1423.

905. frugifera, etc.: cf. Isidore, Etym. 14.6.32-35: The remainder of the passage relies heavily on these sections of Isidore’s work, with the exception of the discussion of the cause of volcanoes. 906. Cimera super mare Caspium: Mt. Chimaera, is in fact, in Lycia, on the south coast of Asia Minor.

907. Ct.

Jerome,

Apol.

3.22:

*Veni

Regium

Soyllaeo

litore

paululum steti, ubi veteres didici fabulas." See above, n. 904.

908. Tapsum . . . uicina: cf. Isidore, Etym. stadiis decem a Sicilia remota."

14.6.35: “Thapsus insula

Commentary $100

$100

909. Eulae

insolae

(“‘the Aeolian

305

Isles"):

cf.

Isidore,

Etym.

14.6.36—

37: “Aeoliae insulae . .. Eaedem insulae et Vulcaniae vocantur, quod et ipsae sicut Aethna ardeant. Sunt autem novem habentes propria nomina."

910. omnes Introduction,

. . dantes: nominative VI.C.1.d.vii.

accusative

911. animaduertens: L's niamaduertens blunder, but see the Introduction, VI.B.5.b. 912. Stulta mundi: cf.

1 Cor.

absolute;

probably

just

see

the

silly

1.27.

913. sapientes ipsius: i.e. the secular philosophers who are frequent targets of “Jerome "'s harangues; see $$17, 43, and especially 66b. Le. percontaui (percontatus 914. percunctaui (*I investigated"): sum). See the Introduction, VI.C.4.iii.a. 915. chalao: arguably based on Italian Greek xaXéo, “to open." Cf. Gerhard Rohlfs, Lexicon Graecanicum Italiae inferioris, 2nd ed.

(Tübingen, 1964), p. 226; compare its classical meaning *'to slacken." The author apparently has converted this verb to a noun which is

indeclinable.

I treat repperi inueni as an example of pleonasm; see the Introduction, p. cvii. D'Avezac dealt with the problem by placing a semi-colon after inueni and retaining repperi. Wuttke rather ingeniously conjectured igrem: “Truly I found the fire that I sought," etc. However, it 1s not impossible that imueni 1s an interpolated gloss. See the Introduction, p. cvii. 916. repperi,

917. quem:

inuent:

sc. que

(quae),

but see Wuttke's

solution

in the above

note.

918. /nter abyssum et mare (“between the abyss and the sea"): Note that the author credits Alexander with the exploration of the depths of

the sea in abyss; cf. (profundo encounter continuous

order to discover the difference between the sea and the $36c. Aethicus reports here that there is a deep gap chalao) between them, and in this gap quantities of sulphur the excessively hot water of the abyss, resulting in volcanic activity.

919. umbonum instar (“like shields"): The author seems to imagine a shield-wall in retreat.

920. cedere a Introduction, C.B.4.

(“give

way

to")

cf.

Fr.

céder

and

the

306

Commentary $$100—101 921. respirantibus ("being exhaled"): /it. “exhaling.” The great gap, which

functions

a bladder,

absorbs

some, presumably back into the abyss. 922. aura (OV, auro

L): Though

some

water

it looks somewhat

and

“exhales”

incongruous,

have retained aura, as the author here is probably following Isidore, Etym. 13.11.16: “duo sunt extra hos ubique spiritus magis quam venti: aura et altanus". For the subterranean origin of the winds see $112.

$101

923. piras (“by the fires"): understood as ablative. 924. Stoae - insolae - cades: a tmesis patterned on septem - triones. See the discussion by Frederic Amory, “Tmesis in Mlat., ON, and Olr.

Poetry: An Unwritten notatio norrena," Sártryck ur Arkiv for Nordisk Filologi 94 (1979), 42—49, esp. pp. 46-47. 925. Stoaecades insulae: word for word from Isidore, Etym. 14.6.38: "Stoechades insulae Massiliensium sexaginta milium spatio a continenti in fronte Narbonensis provinciae, qua Rodanus fluvius in mare exit." 926. Marsiliensium: 1.e. Massiliensium. The transmitted spelling is interesting in view of the development of this name in French. 927.

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