''De verborum significatione libri XX'' ('Twenty Books on the Meaning of Words'), also known as the ''Lexicon of Festus'', is an

epitome An epitome (; gr, ἐπιτομή, from ἐπιτέμνειν ''epitemnein'' meaning "to cut short") is a summary or miniature form, or an instance that represents a larger reality, also used as a synonym for embodiment. Epitomacy represents " ...

compiled, edited, and annotated by

Sextus Pompeius Festus Sextus Pompeius Festus, usually known simply as Festus, was a Roman grammarian who probably flourished in the later 2nd century AD, perhaps at Narbo (Narbonne) in Gaul. Work He made a 20-volume epitome of Verrius Flaccus's voluminous and encyclop ...

from the encyclopedic works of Verrius Flaccus. Festus' epitome is typically dated to the 2nd century, but the work only survives in an incomplete 11th-century manuscript and copies of its own separate epitome.

Background

Verrius Flaccus was a prominent

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: * Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lett ...

grammarian Grammarian may refer to: * Alexandrine grammarians, philologists and textual scholars in Hellenistic Alexandria in the 3rd and 2nd centuries BCE * Biblical grammarians, scholars who study the Bible and the Hebrew language * Grammarian (Greco-Roman ...

known for his writings on the

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through ...

language and for tutoring the grandsons of

Caesar Augustus Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian, was the first Roman emperor; he reigned from 27 BC until his death in AD 14. He is known for being the founder of the Roman Pr ...

during his reign. He is best known for ''De verborum significatu'', the name which Festus later adopted for his epitome, the first major alphabetical Latin

dictionary A dictionary is a listing of lexemes from the lexicon of one or more specific languages, often arranged alphabetically (or by radical and stroke for ideographic languages), which may include information on definitions, usage, etymologie ...

. The 40-volume

lexicon A lexicon is the vocabulary of a language or branch of knowledge (such as nautical or medical). In linguistics, a lexicon is a language's inventory of lexemes. The word ''lexicon'' derives from Greek word (), neuter of () meaning 'of or fo ...

is regarded as among the most important such works of

classical antiquity Classical antiquity (also the classical era, classical period or classical age) is the period of cultural history between the 8th century BC and the 5th century AD centred on the Mediterranean Sea, comprising the interlocking civilizations of ...

, though all but a few fragments of the original have been lost, perhaps in part due to its impractical size. Sextus Pompeius Festus, also a grammarian, likely flourished in the later 2nd century and is thought to have come from Narbo in

Gaul Gaul ( la, Gallia) was a region of Western Europe first described by the Romans. It was inhabited by Celtic and Aquitani tribes, encompassing present-day France, Belgium, Luxembourg, most of Switzerland, parts of Northern Italy (only during ...

, though few details are known about his life. Festus wrote his epitome of Flaccus' works during a time in the

history of the Roman Empire The history of the Roman Empire covers the history of ancient Rome from the fall of the Roman Republic in 27 BC until the abdication of Romulus Augustulus in AD 476 in the West, and the Fall of Constantinople in the East in AD 1453. Ancient Ro ...

when greater priority was placed on defense after a long period of expansion. There was an anxious effort by many scholars to record their history and culture as means of preservation. Though another of Festus' books is mentioned in ''De verborum significatione'', none of his other works have survived. Festus' work originally contained 20 volumes. The only surviving copy is the ''Codex Farnesianus'', an 11th-century copy in poor condition, missing the first half of its alphabetized entries and suffering fire damage. Much of what we know about it comes from a summary of the full original, abridged in the 8th century by

Paul the Deacon Paul the Deacon ( 720s 13 April in 796, 797, 798, or 799 AD), also known as ''Paulus Diaconus'', ''Warnefridus'', ''Barnefridus'', or ''Winfridus'', and sometimes suffixed ''Cassinensis'' (''i.e.'' "of Monte Cassino"), was a Benedictine monk, ...

(Paulus Diaconus) as a contribution to the library of

Charlemagne Charlemagne ( , ) or Charles the Great ( la, Carolus Magnus; german: Karl der Große; 2 April 747 – 28 January 814), a member of the Carolingian dynasty, was King of the Franks from 768, King of the Lombards from 774, and the first E ...

. As Festus reduced Flaccus from 40 to 20 volumes, so did Paul condense Festus by roughly half, excising entries he considered unnecessary or redundant, modifying parts of the text he thought unclear or obscure, and stripping away details like citations. Paulus Diaconus Plutei 65

Content

The entries in Festus' epitome are organized semi-alphabetically, grouped according to first but not following letters, and with some exceptions according to particular themes, arguments, or sources. Festus altered some of Flaccus' text and inserted some critical remarks of his own. He updated the language, omitting Latin words that had fallen out of use, and documented his modifications in the now lost separate work, ''Priscorum verborum cum exemplis''. Though it is a summary, Festus preserves a great deal of Flaccus' original work, including etymologies and definitions and the rich historical, religious, political, and cultural information the original ''De verborum significatione'' is known for. In an 1880 essay about Flaccus, classical scholar

Henry Nettleship Henry Nettleship (5 May 1839 – 10 July 1893) was an English classical scholar. Life Nettleship was born at Kettering, and was educated at Lancing College, Durham School and Charterhouse schools, and gained a scholarship for entry to Corpus Ch ...

criticized Festus' work as "an affair of scissors and paste, in which conceit and incompetence are perhaps equally blended". Other scholars, like Alessandro Moscadi, suggest understanding it as instead a work of independent scholarship.

Scholarship

When a copy of Paul's version was discovered by scholars at the Abbey of St. Gall in 1416, during the

Italian Renaissance The Italian Renaissance ( it, Rinascimento ) was a period in Italian history covering the 15th and 16th centuries. The period is known for the initial development of the broader Renaissance culture that spread across Europe and marked the trans ...

, it attracted a surge of renewed interest and study. The

Italian humanists Renaissance humanism was a revival in the study of classical antiquity, at first in Italy and then spreading across Western Europe in the 14th, 15th, and 16th centuries. During the period, the term ''humanist'' ( it, umanista) referred to teac ...

, who were enthusiastically seeking out and studying ancient Latin texts, made a number of significant contributions to the work, and several copies from the time still exist today. ''De verborum significatione'' is a valuable resource for scholars studying language use, culture, religion, social life, and the broader history of Ancient Rome. It also provides insight into other Romans and their works which used, were used by, influenced, or were influenced by Flaccus' work. For example, Flaccus utilized

Marcus Terentius Varro Marcus Terentius Varro (; 116–27 BC) was a Roman polymath and a prolific author. He is regarded as ancient Rome's greatest scholar, and was described by Petrarch as "the third great light of Rome" (after Vergil and Cicero). He is sometimes calle ...

's lost ''Antiquitates rerum humanarum et divinarum'' (47 BCE), while

Pliny the Elder Gaius Plinius Secundus (AD 23/2479), called Pliny the Elder (), was a Roman author, naturalist and natural philosopher, and naval and army commander of the early Roman Empire, and a friend of the emperor Vespasian. He wrote the encyclopedic ' ...

drew a great deal from Flaccus for his highly influential '' Naturalis historia'' (c. 77 CE). Among the other authors Festus cites are

Lucius Accius Lucius Accius (; 170 – c. 86 BC), or Lucius Attius, was a Roman tragic poet and literary scholar. Accius was born in 170 BC at Pisaurum, a town founded in the Ager Gallicus in 184 BC. He was the son of a freedman and a freedwoman, probably from ...

Cornificius Quintus Cornificius (died 42 BC) was an ancient Roman of senatorial rank from the '' gens'' Cornificia. He was a general, orator and poet, a friend of Catullus and a correspondent of Cicero. He was also an augur. He wrote a now lost epyllion title ...

, Sulpicius Rufus, Gaius Ateius Capito, and

Ennius Quintus Ennius (; c. 239 – c. 169 BC) was a writer and poet who lived during the Roman Republic. He is often considered the father of Roman poetry. He was born in the small town of Rudiae, located near modern Lecce, Apulia, (Ancient Calabri ...

. Festus included many quotations and citations from authors for whom it serves as the only record of their work. For others, such as

Plautus Titus Maccius Plautus (; c. 254 – 184 BC), commonly known as Plautus, was a Roman playwright of the Old Latin period. His comedies are the earliest Latin literary works to have survived in their entirety. He wrote Palliata comoedia, the g ...

, whose work would otherwise be known only through copies and quotations made much later, Festus provides verification or highlights the ways in which it had been altered. The Festus Lexicon Project at

University College London , mottoeng = Let all come who by merit deserve the most reward , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £143 million (2020) , budget = ...

is collating the fragments that remain of Festus' work and republishing them with translations. The project's aims are to provide public access to the work and to encourage study of both the work itself and the subjects it covers.

Notes

References

External links

Sexti Pompei Festi De Verborum Significatu quae Supersunt cum Pauli Epitome
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Wallace Lindsay Wallace Martin Lindsay (12 February 1858 – 21 February 1937) was a classical scholar of the late 19th and early 20th centuries and a palaeographer. He was Professor of Humanity at University of St Andrews. Biography Lindsay was born in P ...

's authoritative 1913 version (via Hathi Trust) ;Other versions
1889 edition
edited by Emil Thewrewk (via the

Internet Archive The Internet Archive is an American digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It provides free public access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, software applications/games, music, ...