What do we learn from the oldest witnesses of the Liber Glossarum on the archaetype? ; Que nous apprennent les écritures des plus anciens témoins du Liber Glossarum sur l'archétype ?

Abstract

the handwritten tradition of Liber glossarum has several very interesting features. It makes it possible to see how lexicographic knowledge has been developed in practice and shows what care, those who have applied to transmit them, sought to refine them. The oldest manuscripts kept (Paris, Cambrai and Vatican) are the second generation copies, yet they still strongly retain the archaetype's footprint. Their layout, the critical signs placed on the margins and sometimes even their abbreviations reproduce as much as possible the characteristics of their common ancestor. The aim of this communication is to provide a description of the archaetype as it appears behind its copies and thus to contribute to the survey on the history of the Liber glossarum constitution. In the first part, I will propose an overview of the main physical characteristics of the text (provision, writing, etc.), with particular interest in the critical revision to which the archaetype appears to have been subject before it was circulated. The second part will provide some studies of recurrent paleographic problems caused by the collision of graphic systems with different geographical origins. This contribution will provide an opportunity to take stock of the assumptions about the origin of the Liber glossarum. ; International audience The manuscript tradition of the Liber glossarum has several interesting features. It allows us to observe how the lexicographical knowledge has been materially elaborated and shows how carefully those who have transmitted them have sought to refine them. The oldest preserved manuscripts (Paris, Cambrai and Vatican) are second generation's copies and yet they still retain marks of the archetype. Their layout, the critical signs placed into the margins and sometimes even their abbreviations reproduce as much as possible their common ancestor. The purpose of this paper is to provide a description of the archetype as it appears behind its copies and thus contribute to the inquiry into the history of the ...