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the corpus, épinal, erfurt and leyden glossaries, viii - World eBook ...

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PART I 5<br />

possible doubt that, for example, <strong>the</strong> gloss Mapalia : casae<br />

pastorum (Ep. 15 C 3) has actually come from a note on a<br />

certain line of Phocas (p. 428, 1. 3), <strong>the</strong> only occurrence of <strong>the</strong><br />

word in his grammar. The Leyden Glossar}' item (from <strong>the</strong><br />

Phocas section), Magalia : hyrae (§ 46, 37),<br />

is not needed in<br />

corroboration. (It refers to ano<strong>the</strong>r line in <strong>the</strong> same paragraph<br />

of Phocas— 428, 12—where <strong>the</strong> word magalia is also cited among<br />

<strong>the</strong> 'pluralia tantum.') The mere presence of <strong>the</strong> gloss in this<br />

unmistakeable Phocas-batch (not to speak of its place in <strong>the</strong><br />

batch) is enough to shew that it cannot come from any o<strong>the</strong>r<br />

source. Did it appear elsewhere in <strong>the</strong> glossary, we might<br />

maintain a doubt whe<strong>the</strong>r it might not have come from Virgil's<br />

line (Geo. iii, 340): raris habitata mapalia tectis; or even from<br />

a line of some o<strong>the</strong>r poet (e.g. Silius Italicus xvii, 89 ; Val,<br />

Flaccus ii, 460) or prose-writer (Sallust <strong>and</strong> Livy use <strong>the</strong> word)<br />

or from a passage of some o<strong>the</strong>r grammarian or from Festus. All<br />

doubt is removed by its position in <strong>the</strong> EE Glossary. Even in<br />

<strong>the</strong> case of so common words as merx <strong>and</strong> miis, we can refer<br />

unhesitatingly <strong>the</strong>se EE items to one particular<br />

sentence of one<br />

particular author.<br />

The Corpus Glossary everyone knows to have used much<br />

<strong>the</strong> same materials as <strong>the</strong> EE Glossary. But in <strong>the</strong> only MS.<br />

which has preserved it <strong>the</strong>se materials have been re-arranged<br />

in what is called AB-order. Instead of one large M-chapter we<br />

find a number of chapters: <strong>the</strong> MA-chapter, <strong>the</strong> ME-chapter,<br />

<strong>the</strong> Ml-chapter, <strong>and</strong> so on. Alphabetical re-shuffling<br />

like this<br />

may be effected smoothly <strong>and</strong> easily nowadays with our plenty<br />

of writing-material, but seventh or eighth century writers had<br />

to re-arrange as <strong>the</strong>y transcribed; <strong>and</strong>, since <strong>the</strong> order of a<br />

glossary's items was of no account, would leave any misplaced<br />

items without an attempt to transpose <strong>the</strong>m or to indicate <strong>the</strong>ir<br />

true position. Let us imagine oureelves to be transferring <strong>the</strong><br />

Phocas-batch of EE (or ra<strong>the</strong>r of its source) to a glossary<br />

arranged like Corpus. We should select lor <strong>the</strong> ^MA-chapter<br />

Mango, Matrix, Mapalia, Magistratus, Mango (again). Mars, Mas,<br />

all in this order ; for <strong>the</strong> ME-chapter Merx, Meio, Mergus, Merx<br />

(again); for <strong>the</strong> MU-chapter Mulio, Mugil, Muria, Murex, Mus.<br />

What do we actually find in Corpus ? In <strong>the</strong> MA-chapter :

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