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Omnia et furibunde explicabat: per una nuova edizione della Vita parodica del grammatico Donato
2006-08-21T10:41:07Z
Abstract
Even for so authoritative figure as Donatus, the only information we have is the date of his floruit, around 350 B.C. An attempt to fill in this gap, and hence also to desecrate the sacral figure of Donatus, was carried out by an unknown figure who, many centuries later, wrote a Vita domini Donati grammatici, a text which modern scholars neglected and minimized as did their forebears. The anonymous author may have been a teacher or someone who for reasons linked to his profession was deeply familiar with the practice of ars grammatica – as suggested by the fact that he uses out-of-date words that could only be known through glossaries or manuals - and could be dated to between the 7th and 9th century, in the North of France. Furthermore, the Vita Donati is closely linked to the Vita Vergilii known as the Suetoniana-Donatiana, and it employs many of its biographical τόποι, which this paper will detail.