I read the ancient Greek/Syriac version of the legend of Saint George today (only in translation because I don't happen to understand classical Syriac - yet), and remarkably, unlike the Latin version by Jacobus Voragine (or 'Veragine' in some texts), there is no dragon. Strange.
Today I am nearing the end to Jan Potocki's magnificent little magnum opus and it has reached a marvellous section where the gypsy king recounts his service among the knights of Malta. It is a fabulous little love story.
Another book arrived today, Dorotheus of Sidon translated from classical Arabic. According to the translator, this version was based on texts written in Palhavi script (Pingree, 2005, p.vii), which is seemingly a kind of Persian language derived from Aramaic. In any case, it is nice to finish one book only to begin another (one gets bored of reading the same old texts, even the hundreds of magnificent texts which adorn my shelves). It is a book on astrology, the Carmen Astrologicum which is of help in my current translation.
If, for example, you happened to be studying with the Open University, and you typed in the name of this text I am currently translating (the main name, for it has three names) you would find nothing on it. Zero. All you would find one article which is in the public domain anyway, under a creative commons licence (the only other article I have found, I had to use my personal Jstor account, as the University did not have access to it: both these articles refer to a different book with (roughly) the same name, probably written a century earlier than the one I am translating currently. To make matters worse, they touch upon similar subjects, but a close inspection of the Latin of both works reveals that they are separate). For the record - and this is not being defamatory but merely stating a fact - the OU Library has gotten progressively worse and worse over the twelve years I have studied there. When I first began studying, in 2010, the OU Library was so great. You could search and find any module materials from any subject you liked, as well as an extremely wide range of articles and journals, academic essays etc. Then, just as I began my first degree, suddenly all the module materials were made inaccessible to students (except for the one module you happened to be studying). Then, as I was nearing the end of my first degree, suddenly very many articles disappeared from search results as the Library was "upgraded" (downgraded, in reality). Then, it was again "upgraded" just last year, and yet more articles are again inaccessible. Even so, it's better than no access at all, and there are still many things useful up there, but certainly not worth the £3,200/year (at current rates: studying two law modules at a time) you have to pay for access to it. Anyway, back to cases. This book which arrived today (Dorotheus of Sidon) has helped me finally pin down a rough date for my current translation's composition. It is much later than I thought.
Like I said, there is very little information about this particular book which I am translating, anywhere. Most of the information I have on it comes from passing references in books I own on the subject, and of course the vast commentary in the critical edition itself (which I can't read because I only understand French and Latin, and some ancient Greek). Evidently it is not written in a language I understand. I do, however, own a book which teaches one how to understand that language, and I have a good dictionary of that particular tongue, so fathoming it is not impossible, given enough time and work.
In any case, happy Saint George's Day everyone. Ciao for now.
Max.
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