John Lydus’ knowledge of Latin and language politics in sixth-century Constantinople

This article contextualizes an old debate about the extent of knowledge of Latin by John Lydus, a state official and an erudite from sixth-century Constantinople, within a broader issue of the role of Latin in early Byzantium. It is argued here that Lydus’ startling etymological explanations had no...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Dmitriev, Sviatoslav ca. 20./21. Jahrhundert (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
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Published: De Gruyter [2018]
In: Byzantinische Zeitschrift
Year: 2018, Volume: 111, Issue: 1, Pages: 55-70
Further subjects:B Byzantine studies
B Patristics
B Theologie und Religion
B Altertumswissenschaften
B History
B Diverses
B Historische Epochen
Online Access: Volltext (Verlag)
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Summary:This article contextualizes an old debate about the extent of knowledge of Latin by John Lydus, a state official and an erudite from sixth-century Constantinople, within a broader issue of the role of Latin in early Byzantium. It is argued here that Lydus’ startling etymological explanations had no relation to his level of knowledge of Latin, but reflected the declining official use of Latin in Byzantium by resurrecting the theory about Latin as a dialect of Greek.null
ISSN:1868-9027
Contains:Enthalten in: Byzantinische Zeitschrift
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1515/bz-2018-0003