Ze Slovníku středověké latiny: asalus a achilon

• Authors: Šedinová Hana

Title variants

EN

FROM THE DICTIONARY OF MEDIEVAL LATIN IN CZECH LANDS: ASALUS AND ACHILON

• Languages of publication: CS

Abstracts

EN

The main aim of this article is to identify the origin and meaning of two Latin zoological terms in the works of Thomas of Cantimpré and the Czech medieval lexicographer Bartholomaeus de Solencia dictus Claretus. Both works mention names of animals that are extremely difficult to interpret semantically as well as linguistically, and their Greek or Latin origin is not immediately clear. Most of them are attached to animals the description of which, according to Thomas, is to be derived from Aristotle. Thomas used the Latin version of the Aristotle’s work Historia animalium, translated from Arabic by Michael Scotus. Due to phonetical differences between these languages as well as inaccuracies and mistakes in both translations, the text of Aristotle and the forms of the original Greek names were variously modified. Aristotle’s term αισάλων, denoting a species of a bird of prey (not certainly identified), reached the Middle Ages not only through Pliny the Elder and classical Latin name aesalon, which occurs as asalon in Thomas of Cantimpré’s encyclopaedia and as asalus in Claretus’ Glossary, but also via translations of Aristotle into Arabic and then into Latin in the form achilon, which occurs in one manuscript of the National museum in Prague.

Keywords

EN

medieval lexicography; ancient and medieval zoology; Latin names of birds; Bartholomaeus de Solencia dictus Claretus; Aristoteles; Aristoteles Latinus; Michael Scotus; Thomas of Cantimpré

Discipline

• PHILOLOGY_&_LINGUISTICS: PHILOLOGY & LINGUISTICS

• Publisher: Institute of Philosophy, Czech Academy of Sciences
• Journal: Listy filologické (Folia philologica)
• Year: 2016
• Volume: 139
• Issue: 1-2
• Pages: 189-205

Contributors

author

Šedinová Hana

• Kabinet pro klasická studia FLÚ AV ČR, v. v. i, Na Florenci 3, 110 00, Praha 1, Czech Republic