Symphosius

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Caelius Firmianus Symphosius was the author of an ancient collection of 100 Latin puzzles (Aenigmata). It is the first surviving collection of its kind in Latin literature.

There is little evidence of dating. Symphosius probably lived in the 4th or 5th century; the dating approaches represented in research vary between the 2nd / 3rd and the 6th century. The poet preceded his work with a preface of 17 verses in which he claimed that he had composed the riddles off the cuff during a feast at the Saturnalia ; with this communication he combined an appeal to the readers for indulgence. The puzzles consist of three hexameters each. They concern everyday objects and natural history; Christian and erotic themes are avoided.

The first edition appeared in Paris in 1533; the editor was Joachim Perionius. The collection served as a model for other puzzle collections. German updates were published in 1605/06 by Johannes Sommer (Aenigmatographia Rhytmica), in 1610 by Melchior Stahlschmidt (Iocoseria mensalia) and in 1650/51 by Georg Philipp Harsdörffer (appendix to Nathan and Jotham).

reception

Editions, translations and commentaries

  • Manuela Bergamin (Ed.): Aenigmata Symposii. La fondazione dell'enigmistica come genere poetico. SISMEL, Firenze 2005, ISBN 88-8450-167-9 (critical edition with Italian translation and commentary)
  • François Glorie (ed.): Variae collectiones aenignmatum Merovingicae aetatis (pars altera) (= Corpus Christianorum, Series Latina 133a). Brepols, Turnhout 1968, pp. 620-723.
  • Tim J. Leary (Ed.): Symphosius: The Aenigmata. An Introduction, Text and Commentary. Bloomsbury, London et al. 2014, ISBN 978-1-4742-5764-0

literature

  • Kurt Smolak : Symphosius. In: Reinhart Herzog (ed.): Restoration and renewal. The Latin literature from 284 to 374 AD (= Handbook of the Latin Literature of Antiquity , Volume 5). CH Beck, Munich 1989, ISBN 3-406-31863-0 , pp. 249-252

Web links

Wikisource: Symphosius  - Sources and full texts
  • Latin text
  • English / Latin
  • Elizabeth Hickman du Bois (Peck): The Hundred Riddles of Symphosius, Woodstock, Vermont: The Elm Tree Press, 1912 (with English translation), Archives

Remarks

  1. ↑ Heike Bismark, puzzle books, De Gruyter 2007.
personal data
SURNAME Symphosius
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Author of a collection of Latin puzzles
DATE OF BIRTH 4th century or 5th century
DATE OF DEATH 4th century or 5th century