Opera I
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Book Series
Corpus Christianorum Series Latina, vol. 170
Athanasius Alexandrinus, Evagrius Antiochenus, Anonymus
Vitae Antonii Versiones latinae
Vita beati Antonii abbatis Evagrio interprete. Versio uetustissima
Lois Gandt, Pascal H.E. Bertrand (eds)
- Pages: ccxlii + 363 p.
- Size:155 x 245 mm
- Illustrations:8 tables b/w.
- Language(s):Latin, English, German
- Publication Year:2019
- € 350,00 EXCL. VAT RETAIL PRICE
- ISBN: 978-2-503-57748-7
- Hardback
- Available
This volume provides a critical edition of the two ancient Latin translations of the Life of Antony by Athanasius of Alexandria.
Subject(s)
Review(s)
« La publication en un seul volume de ces trois textes [la version d'Évagre, le texte grec reprenant celui établi par G. Bartelink dans le vol. 400 des Sources Chrétiennes et enfin le texte de la Versio vetustissima] stimulera la recherche scientifique en des domaines aussi divers que l'histoire du monachisme ancien, la tradition médiévale des Vitae patrum et l'étude tout à la fois des mouvements ascétiques égyptiens des premiers siècles chrétiens et de leur influence, considérable, sur l'Occident chrétien antique et médiéval. » (Pierre-André Burton, dans Collectanea Cisterciensia. Revue de spiritualité monastique, 81/4, 2019, p. 415-416)
« Il faut surtout se rejouir de pouvoir disposer desormais de l’ensemble du dossier latin de la Vita Antonii dans une édition fiable. Cerise sur le gâteau: les pp. 185-336, intitulées Concordia versionum cum textu graeco, nous offrent une synopse du texte d’Athanase et de ses deux traductions latines, ce qui ne manquera pas de stimuler les études comparatives, qui affineront encore notre connaissance de chaque version. » (Robert Godding, dans Analecta Bollandiana, 137/2, 2019, p. 435-437)
« Leur contribution devrait stimuler de nouveaux regards sur le monachisme égyptien et son expansion en Occident. » (I. Baise, dans Revue Bénédictine, 1, 2020, p. 179)
“Insgesamt bietet die vorliegende Ausgabe erstmals eine kombinierte Textausgabe zweier für sich, aber auch miteinander höchst bemerkenswerter lateinischer monastischer Texte des vierten Jahrhunderts, über deren individuelles Gepräge und ihr wechselseitiges Verhältnis die Akten noch nicht geschlossen sind. Philologisch liegt damit eine sehr gute Grundlage für künftige Forschungen vor.” (Peter Gemeinhardt, in Zeitschrift für Antikes Christentum, 24/2, 2020, p. 434)
« Voilà donc un utile volume, qui offre deux éditions des deux traductions latines anciennes d’un texte majeur du réertoire hagiographique et ascétique. » (M. Cassin, dans Revue des Sciences philosophiques et théologiques, 104, 2020, p. 348-352)
BIO
Pascal Bertrand studied Dutch Language and Literature and Medieval Studies at Utrecht University. In 2005 he completed a PhD thesis on the manuscript tradition of the Latin Vita Antonii and the reception of this text from the fourth until the eleventh century. His research interests include hagiography (Latin and medieval Dutch) and church history.
Lois Gandt completed her PhD in Theology at Fordham University in 2008, with a specialization in Patristics. Her research interests include the development of early asceticism and monasticism, and the transmission of the spirituality of the desert elders to the West.
Summary
Shortly after the death of Egypt's most famous hermit in 356, Athanasius of Alexandria wrote the Life of Antony, a text that had an immediate as well as enduring influence on monastic life and thought. While Athanasius's vivid description of the life of Antony the Great initiated the genre of the saint's life in Christian literature, his inclusion of many of his own theological ideas also provides insight into the turbulent doctrinal disputes of the fourth century. The significance of the Life of Antony is demonstrated by the fact that it was translated into Latin twice within two decades after its composition. The first version, prepared by an anonymous translator shortly after Athanasius completed his Greek text, provides a literal translation that is extant in only one complete manuscript. The literary translation prepared by Evagrius of Antioch in 373 was rapidly and widely transmitted throughout the Latin West. New editions of both translations are presented in this volume, with the edition of Evagrius's translation based on 28 manuscripts dating from the ninth to the eleventh century.
In recognition of the close relationship between these ancient Latin translations and the Greek original of the Life of Antony, this volume also includes an Appendix in which the text of these new editions is provided in parallel columns alongside the edition of the Greek text that was published by G.J.M. Bartelink in 1994 (Sources Chrétiennes, 400).
