The Latin Polycarp, the Division Hypothesis, and Polylingual Text

Polycarp’s Letter to the Philippians (Pol.Phil.) is poorly attested. All extant Greek manuscripts (G) stem from one source, Vaticanus Graecus 859 (V), which preserves only a portion of the text. Accordingly, editors reproduce G, supplemented as needed with the old Latin translation (L), preserved in...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Gasse, Grant W. (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
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Interlibrary Loan:Interlibrary Loan for the Fachinformationsdienste (Specialized Information Services in Germany)
Published: 2024
In: Vigiliae Christianae
Year: 2024, Volume: 78, Issue: 3, Pages: 287-322
Further subjects:B editorial practice
B division hypothesis
B Vaticanus Graecus 859
B ancient Latin translation
B Letter to the Philippians
B Polycarp
B Apostolic Fathers
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Summary:Polycarp’s Letter to the Philippians (Pol.Phil.) is poorly attested. All extant Greek manuscripts (G) stem from one source, Vaticanus Graecus 859 (V), which preserves only a portion of the text. Accordingly, editors reproduce G, supplemented as needed with the old Latin translation (L), preserved in its entirety, and with Greek fragments preserved in Eusebius. I argue that L ought to be treated as a discrete witness to the epistle, and not merely as supplement to G. The paper proceeds in two parts: first, I offer a careful analysis of the translation, concluding that L offers a relatively faithful, literal translation and a comparably well-preserved attestation to the epistle. Second, I demonstrate that the well-known “division hypothesis” relies upon an incomplete analysis of L. In short, I contend that the construction of composite, polylingual critical editions of Pol.Phil. has occasioned textual problemata unreflected in the text’s individual manuscript traditions.
ISSN:1570-0720
Contains:Enthalten in: Vigiliae Christianae
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1163/15700720-bja10083