PatriarX: PAths of the TRansmIssion of SAint CyRil’s LeXicon

The present research group (PatriarX, PAths of the TRansmIssion of SAint CyRil’s LeXicon) aims at laying the foundation of the first full-scale edition of Cyril’s Lexicon, one of the most impressive Greek dictionaries to survive from Late Antiquity and a real treasure-trove of quotations, many of which not otherwise attested. In spite of influence across the centuries upon different strands of medieval and humanistic lexicography and cultural relevance for the textual transmission of classical and Christian texts, the Lexicon, in its several and sometimes heavily interpolated recensions, is basically still unedited. The project is the first ever comprehensive attempt at mapping out systematically the whole evidence on the manuscript tradition of Cyril’s Lexicon. PatriarX will also address a set of closely interrelated issues: (a) preliminar assessment of the unpublished work of previous scholars who planned a full edition of ‘Cyril’ (A.B. Drachmann and M. Naoumides), which represents a still uncharted chapter of the classical scholarship of the 20th century; (b) proekdoseis of the oldest fragmentary witnesses (P. Rainer Unterricht = MPER XV 142; P. Ness. II 8) and of case studes (selected as it includes a limited number of entries) based on fresh collation of the manuscripts and the draft editions by Drachmann and Naoumides; (c) more detailed inquiries on selected poorly investigated textual recensions. If substantial funds are granted, a dedicated web-based and open access platform will host the database and the trial editions and will also serve as a space to widely disseminate the in-progress research strands of PatriarX. PatriarX will fruitfully exploit in a multidisciplinary approach textual philology, cutting-edge trends in Greek palaeography, and the best practices in text markup applied to a text that is fluid by nature.