The work of C. Iulius Solinus, commonly known as the Collectanea rerum memorabilium, but which ought to be accorded the title Polyhistor, represents a valuable window into the ancient chorographic tradition of late antiquity. The Polyhistor had a lasting effect upon medieval and early modern views of the world, but is today little read and accorded scant respect. This thesis provides an in-depth critical study of Solinus' entire work (excluding the initial chapter), enabling a revisitation of questions concerning the nature of the treatise, its date of composition, the nature of its relationship with its predecessors and sources, and previous scholarship on these matters." - [Synopsis]

The Polyhistor has been translated into English only once. In 1587 Arthur Golding ... produced a version entitled The Excellent and Pleasant Worke of Julius Ca. Solinus, containing the Noble Actions of Human Creatures, &c. While Golding was on occasions misled by Solinus’ Latin, and failed to translate sections which offended his notions of propriety, his version is generally accurate, and, to modern ears, quaint and charming. As W.H. Stahl remarks, there is a certain appropriateness about an Elizabethan rendition of accounts of mirabilia (W.H. Stahl, Roman Science, p. 141). Stahl goes on to predict dire challenges for anyone undertaking a new translation of the Polyhistor, an “inexpertly and drastically reduced compilation”. If the translator adhered faithfully to the text, he theorised, the results would strike readers as strange, and at times nonsensical. Any attempt to gloss over Solinus’ “carelessness and ignorance”, he continued, would create a false impression of the author. But this is something on an exaggeration. Solinus was (in the main) not nearly so unskillful a writer as Stahl would have us believe. The translated text, as it stands, certainly does not require constant glossing to render it intelligible, though the esoteric nature of certain passages, particularly those describing gemstones (see e.g. XXXIII §18-19) ensures sporadic difficulties. The compilatory nature of the Polyhistor undoubtedly compromises ready comprehension at certain junctures, but the minutiae necessary for a deeper understanding are by no means indispensable navigatory aids. Certain passages do present distractingly contrasting styles (compare, e.g., the two prefatory letters, Chapters I-II, and Chapter XXIV) which may be galling to the modern reader, but I have attempted to preserve these contrasts in an effort to represent the relationship between the author and the text or texts he was abstracting. - [Apps, introduction]

Language: English

MacqueryUniversitiy: mq=71976/(AuNrM)2116731-macqdb-Voyager