Junius Philargyrius (Philargirius, Filargirius) was an early
commentator on the ''
Bucolica
The ''Eclogues'' (; , ), also called the ''Bucolics'', is the first of the three major works of the Latin poet Virgil.
Background
Taking as his generic model the Greek bucolic poetry of Theocritus, Virgil created a Roman version partly by off ...
'' and ''
Georgica'' of
Vergil
Publius Vergilius Maro (; 15 October 70 BC21 September 19 BC), usually called Virgil or Vergil ( ) in English, was an ancient Roman poet of the Augustan period. He composed three of the most famous poems in Latin literature: the ''Eclogues'' ...
, dedicated to a certain Valentinianus. He was a member of the
Junia gens, active in
Milan
Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...
.
The commentary is preserved in two recensions: one is found in the
Berne scholia
The ''Commenta Bernensia'' and ''Adnotationes Super Lucanum'' are two 9th-century compilations of scholia (explanatory notes) on the Latin poet Lucan's ''Pharsalia''.
Lucan's poem was very popular in late antiquity and the middle ages, which cr ...
(ed. H. Hagen, ''Jahrbuch für classische Philologie'' Suppl. 4.5 Leipzig, 1867). The other contains ''Explan.'' 1 and 2 on the ''Buc.'', and the ''Brevis expositi'' on the ''Georg.'' (ed. Thilo and Hagen 1881
The text is later than the first quarter of the 5th century, but there is no certain ''terminus ante quem'', and dates in the 6th or 7th century are possible. It has been shown that the ''Explanationes'' were known to
Adomnán, Adomán, abbot of
Iona
Iona (; , sometimes simply ''Ì'') is an island in the Inner Hebrides, off the Ross of Mull on the western coast of Scotland. It is mainly known for Iona Abbey, though there are other buildings on the island. Iona Abbey was a centre of Gaeli ...
in the mid-seventh century.
See also
*
Titus Gallus Titus Gallus is an early Vergilian commentator, fl. in the 5th or 6th century.
He is known only from a mention in the Berne scholia
The ''Commenta Bernensia'' and ''Adnotationes Super Lucanum'' are two 9th-century compilations of scholia (expla ...
References
*G. Funaioli, ''L'esegesi virgiliana di Giunio Filargirio e di Tito Gallo'', SIFC NS 1, 1920, 184–296.
*G. Funaioli, ''Esegesi Virgiliana Antica. Prolegomeni alla edizione del Commento di Giunio Filargirio e di Tito Gallo'' Milan: Società editrice ‘Vita e Pensiero,’ 1930.
*Karl Barwick, ''De Ivnio Filargirio Vergilii interprete'', 1908.
*Joan J. Brewer, ''An analysis of the Berne scholia and their relation to Philargyrius, the Servian commentaries and other exegesis of Virgil's Eclogues'', Diss. Univ. of Virginia Charlottesville, 1973.
* Robert A. Kaster, ''Guardians of Language: The Grammarian and Society in Late Antiquity'', Berkeley: University of California Press, 1997, p. 284
External links
*
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Junius Philargyrius
Virgil
Year of death unknown
5th-century writers in Latin
Year of birth unknown
Philargyrius