Coming
mainly from Egypt and other Roman provinces (as well as Herculaneum and
Ravenna), Latin papyri deserve more scholarly attention not only from
papyrologists and paleographers, but also from scholars of Latin
language, as well as intellectual and cultural historians of Rome. Latin
papyri, tablets, and ostraka (potsherds) are constantly
increasing in number through archaeological discoveries. Because they
are so rare, they are even more valuable than the Greek papyri, which
have garnered much attention. Latin papyri have hitherto represented a
border-line field of study that has not been fully exploited either by
papyrologists or by scholars of Latin literature. Moreover, the obsolete
bibliography and the considerable number of unpublished texts make the
study of Latin papyri (and bilingual Latin-Greek, Latin-Coptic,
Latin-Punic texts) – whether literary (e.g. Cicero, Vergil, law),
paraliterary (grammar, medicine, magic), or documentary (letters,
official registers, receipts) – a pioneering and challenging task.
Posts
Stumble It!
No comments:
Post a Comment