THE MANUSCRIPTS OF TACITUS' AGRICOLA

In the absence of archaeological evidence, unlikely to be conclusive in support of Agricola's naval movements, literary evidence must be scrupulously examined at source and philological arguments proffered for a radical reinterpretation of Tacitus' statements on the role of Agricola's fleet in the north. In order to understand the points which will be subsequently clarified a very brief explanation of the manuscript tradition is necessary¹⁰⁸.

The standard texts of Tacitus' Agricola are based on a 9th century¹⁰⁹ MS, the codex Aesinas latinus 8 (E)¹¹⁰, which resurfaced in 1902. The three other MSS¹¹¹, all written in the 15th century, are derived from the archetype. Unfortunately E, in Caroline minuscule, exists only from chs. 13.1 to 40.2 (ff. 56-63) together with a palimpsest (f. 69) with some decipherable readings from 40.2 to 43.4. The rest of the manuscript is a 15th century transcription of the missing sections in the hand of S. Guarnieri (e). E contains corrections in the text (E2) and marginal variants (E2m) which, being contemporary with E, have equal validity and are, in some cases, superior to those in the text, especially in the interpretation of proper names¹¹². The last point is important in the light of the argument I shall propose.

Tacitus Agricola 38, 3-4, Codex Aesinas latinus 8, folio 63, verso (from Till's Untersuchungen).

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INTRODUCTION | PART ONE: Shetland: The Classical Geographical Context
PART TWO: The Manuscripts of Tacitus' Agricola | PART THREE: Reassessment of Vocabulary and Sense
PART FOUR: The Search for a Harbour | PART FIVE: Thule in Contemporary Latin Literature
CONCLUSION | APPENDIX The Boresti: The Creation of a Myth
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS | BIBLIOGRAPHY | ENDNOTES

Copyright © 2002 by Stan Wolfson. All rights reserved.