Estudio crítico-textual del libro III de NA de Claudio Eliano: normativismo y cuestiones de método para la edición de la obra

Abstract

The authoress of this paper develops a critical study on the main debatable passages of the text of the third book of De natura animalium (NA) by Aelian. (III 2. 60.20-24; 3. 60.27; 18. 67.12-13; 21. 68.1; 22. 69.7-10; 23. 69.17-20; 26. 71.23; 26. 71.28-9; 38. 75.29; 42. 77.15; 44. 77.27). In the analysis she attempts to demonstrate, on the one hand, that the language of Aelian is still very poorly known, and how it is necessary to eliminate the conjectures and the alterations which had been arbitrarily made by earlier critics, and to prepare an edition of this work in order to understand well many key passages of his work. On the other hand, she exposes and applies the Textkritisch method, as the koiné literary texts need a rigourous and differenciated treatment that takes into account the period’s literary vogue, the evolution and language uses, namely in the phonetic, morphological and syntactic peculiarities of late Greek prose together with the author’s usage. Despite all those considerations, Aelian’s works has usually been judged and analysed through classical Greek standards. This research is a new contribution to the knowledge of the language of Aelian, of postclassical Greek and of ecdotics for Greek texts of the imperial period.