The Classical Commentary: Histories, Practices, Theory

This collection explores the issues raised by the writing and reading of commentaries on classical Greek and Latin texts. Written primarily by practising commentators, the papers examine: philosophical, narratological and historiographical commentaries; ancient, Byzantine and Renaissance commentary practice and theory, with special emphasis on Galen, Tzetzes and La Cerda; the relationship between the author of the primary text, the commentary writer and the reader; special problems posed by fragmentary and spurious texts; the role and scope of citation, selectivity, lemmatization and revision; the practical future of commentary-writing and publication; and the way computers are changing the shape of classical commentary. With a genesis in discussion panels mounted in the UK in 1996 and the USA in 1997, this volume continues international dialogue on the genre and future of commentaries.