The Date, Purpose, and Historical Context of the Original Greek and the Latin Translation of the So-calledExcerpta Latina Barbari

Abstract

TheExcerpta Latina barbari, also known as theBarbarus Scaligeri, is a peculiar and unfairly neglected text that has been compared to a Russian nested doll. It survives alone in Parisinus latinus 4884 of the Bibliothèque nationale in Paris, a manuscript of sixty-three folios, usually dated to the late seventh or early eighth century. The nature of the text demonstrates that it was translated from a Greek exemplar, usually dated to the second half of the first quarter of the fifth century, which was lavishly illustrated. Although spaces were left for illustrations in the Latin translation, no attempt was ever made to undertake them. Little is generally known about the origins or purpose of this Latin translation or the Greek original, in spite of a magisterial study by Carl Frick in 1892, and recent renewed interest in this text makes it imperative that it be subjected to a careful analysis in the light of modern paleographical research and a better understanding of the sources of its Greek exemplar.