Appendix Probi
Encyclopedia
The Appendix Probi is a palimpsest
appended to the Instituta Artium, a work written in the third or fourth century AD by the grammarian Valerius Probus
. The text only survives in a manuscript of the seventh or eighth century. In the past it was attributed to Probus, but this is now considered erroneous.
The Appendix lists common mistakes in the written Latin of the time. In these mistakes, we can observe tendencies in the grammar, spelling, and pronunciation of the contemporary vernacular which would become the various Romance languages. The author's corrections of these usages give us insight into how Latin was evolving at that time. For example, the instruction ("passim, not passi") or ("numquam, not numqua") tells the reader that the Classical Latin word is written with an . The fact that this was a common spelling error suggests that word-final had become silent. Many of these mistakes later became well-and-truly standard, cf. Spanish nunca, from (nunquam). In some cases, the document recommends forms that are not the usual Classical ones, for example ("amfora, not ampora") recommends an , whereas amphora
is normally spelled with .
Palimpsest
A palimpsest is a manuscript page from a scroll or book from which the text has been scraped off and which can be used again. The word "palimpsest" comes through Latin palimpsēstus from Ancient Greek παλίμψηστος originally compounded from πάλιν and ψάω literally meaning “scraped...
appended to the Instituta Artium, a work written in the third or fourth century AD by the grammarian Valerius Probus
Marcus Valerius Probus
Marcus Valerius Probus, of Berytus, was a Roman grammarian and critic, who flourished during the Flavian dynasty.He was a student rather than a teacher, and devoted himself to the criticism and elucidation of the texts of classical authors by means of marginal notes or by signs, after the manner...
. The text only survives in a manuscript of the seventh or eighth century. In the past it was attributed to Probus, but this is now considered erroneous.
The Appendix lists common mistakes in the written Latin of the time. In these mistakes, we can observe tendencies in the grammar, spelling, and pronunciation of the contemporary vernacular which would become the various Romance languages. The author's corrections of these usages give us insight into how Latin was evolving at that time. For example, the instruction ("passim, not passi") or ("numquam, not numqua") tells the reader that the Classical Latin word is written with an . The fact that this was a common spelling error suggests that word-final had become silent. Many of these mistakes later became well-and-truly standard, cf. Spanish nunca, from (nunquam). In some cases, the document recommends forms that are not the usual Classical ones, for example ("amfora, not ampora") recommends an , whereas amphora
Amphora
An amphora is a type of vase-shaped, usually ceramic container with two handles and a long neck narrower than the body...
is normally spelled with .