The Etymologies of Isidore of Seville

489 Pages·2009·6.077 MB·English

by  Stephen A. Barney, W. J. Lewis, J. A. Beach,

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TheEtymologiesofIsidoreofSeville
This work is the first complete English translation of the Latin Etymologies of
Isidore,bishopofSeville(c.560–636).Isidorecompiledtheworkbetweenc.615
andtheearly630sandittakestheformofanencyclopedia,arrangedbysubject
matter.ItcontainsmuchloreofthelateclassicalworldbeginningwiththeSeven
LiberalArts,includingRhetoric,andtouchesonhundredsoftopicsrangingfrom
thenamesofGod,theterminologyofthelaw,thetechnologiesoffabrics,ships,
andagriculture,tothenamesofcitiesandrivers,thetheatricalarts,andcooking
utensils.Isidoreprovidesetymologiesformostofthetermsheexplains,finding
in the causes of words the underlying key to their meaning. This book offers a
highlyreadabletranslationofthetwentybooksoftheEtymologies,oneofthemost
widelyknowntextsforathousandyearsfromIsidore’stime.
stephen a. barney is Emeritus Professor of English at the University of
California, Irvine. He edited and annotated Chaucer’s Troilus for The Riverside
Chaucer(1987),andamonghisbooksareWord-Hoard(1977),AllegoriesofHistory,
Allegories of Love (1978), Studies in Troilus (1993), and A Commentary on ‘Piers
Plowman’(forthcoming).
w. j. lewis is a translator and editor. Her previous translations include two
worksbyGalen:HippocratesontheNatureofManandOntheElementsAccording
toHippocrates,andsheco-translatedOnthePropertiesofDiscourse:ATranslation
of Tractatus de Proprietatibus Sermonum with Stephen Barney, Calvin Normore
andTerenceParsons(1997).
j. a. beach is an independent classics scholar and senior documenter for a
software engineering company. She worked for several years at the Thesaurus
LinguaeGraecaeandcontinuestoexploretherelationshipbetweenclassicsand
computertechnology.
oliver berghofisAssociateProfessorofComparativeLiteratureatCalifornia
StateUniversity,SanMarcosandlecturerinhumanitiesatUniversityofCalifornia,
Irvine.HispreviouspublicationsincludeGeorgForster:AVoyageRoundtheWorld
(ed.withNicholasThomas)(2000).

The Etymologies
of Isidore of Seville
stephen a. barney,
w. j. lewis, j. a. beach, oliver berghof
withthecollaborationof
muriel hall
CAMBRIDGEUNIVERSITY PRESS
Cambridge, New York, Melbourne, Madrid, Cape Town, Singapore, São Paulo
Cambridge University Press
The Edinburgh Building, Cambridge CB2 8RU, UK
Published in the United States of America by Cambridge University Press, New York
www.cambridge.org
Information on this title: www.cambridge.org/9780521837491
© Stephen A. Barney, W. J. Lewis, J. A. Beach and Oliver Berghof, 2006
This publication is in copyright. Subject to statutory exception and to the provision of
relevant collective licensing agreements, no reproduction of any part may take place
without the written permission of Cambridge University Press.
First published in print format 2006
ISBN-13 978-0-511-22100-2 eBook (NetLibrary)
ISBN-10 0-511-22100-2 eBook (NetLibrary)
ISBN-13 978-0-521-83749-1 hardback
ISBN-10 0-521-83749-9 hardback
Cambridge University Press has no responsibility for the persistence or accuracy of urls
for external or third-party internet websites referred to in this publication, and does not
guarantee that any content on such websites is, or will remain, accurate or appropriate.
Wededicatethistranslationto
bennett and jeanette lewis
antonio
annabelle beatrice berghof
and
hildegard, gregor, alice,andines berghof
thomas andpeter barney

Contents
Acknowledgements pageix
Notetothereader xi
introduction
Introduction 3
Historicalbackground 4
Chronology 6
Lifeandworks 7
ThesourcesoftheEtymologies 10
Thecharacterofthe Etymologies 17
TheinfluenceoftheEtymologies 24
Editionsofthe Etymologiesandthis
translation 27
Bibliography 29
the etymologies
Analyticaltableofcontents 34
book i Grammar 39
book ii Rhetoricanddialectic 69
book iii Mathematics,music,astronomy 89
book iv Medicine 109
book v Lawsandtimes 117
book vi Booksandecclesiasticaloffices 135
book vii God,angels,andsaints 153
book viii TheChurchandsects 173
book ix Languages,nations,reigns,themilitary,
citizens,familyrelationships 191
book x Vocabulary 213
book xi Thehumanbeingandportents 231
book xii Animals 247
book xiii Thecosmosanditsparts 271
book xiv Theearthanditsparts 285
book xv Buildingsandfields 301
vii
viii Contents
book xvi Stonesandmetals 317
book xvii Ruralmatters 337
book xviii Warandgames 359
book xix Ships,buildings,andclothing 373
book xx Provisionsandvariousimplements 395
appendix
CorrespondenceofIsidoreandBraulio 409
indexes
Generalindex 417 IndexofGreekwords 465
Indexofcitations 469