Praeneste fibula
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The Praeneste fibula (the "brooch of Palestrina") is a golden brooch bearing an inscription that was accepted nearly without question since its presentation to the public in 1887 by Wolfgang Helbig, an archaeologist, as the earliest surviving specimen of the Latin language.[1] The origin of the fibula was not stated in the presentation.[2] Eventually it found its way to the Museo Preistorico Etnografico Luigi Pigorini in Rome.
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[edit] Date and inscription
The fibula was thought to originate from the 7th century BC. It is inscribed with a text that appears to be written in Old Latin, here transcribed to English letters:
- MANIOS MED FHE FHAKED NVMASIOI
The equivalent Classical Latin sentence obtained by applying the appropriate differences between Old Latin and Classical Latin would probably have been:
- *MANIVS ME FECIT NVMERIO
translated as:
- Manius fashioned me for Numerius
[edit] Possible hoax
In 1980 Margherita Guarducci, a leading epigraphist, published a book claiming that the inscription had been forged by Francesco Martinetti, an art dealer, and Helbig, who were known to have collaborated in shady dealings. Its presentation in 1887, she claimed, was in fact a hoax perpetrated to advance the careers of both men.[3] This was the most formal but not the first accusation of its kind: Georg Karo had said that Martinetti told him he had stolen the fibula unengraved from the Tomba Bernadini.[2] This is, however, hearsay, and the evidence presented by Guarducci is circumstantial. She accuses Helbig of having forged the inscription himself, without direct evidence of the forging.
However, Edilberto Formigli and Daniela Ferro performed optical, physical and chemical analyses. In June 2011 they showed the results of their research that strongly suggest that the artifact and the inscription are ancient.[4]
[edit] References
- ^ Conway, Robert Seymour (1897). The Italic Dialects: edited with a grammar and glossary. I. Cambridge (England): University Press. pp. 311–312. http://books.google.com/?id=AvglAAAAMAAJ&printsec=titlepage.
- ^ a b Momigliano, A. (1989). "The Origin of Rome: III Settlement, Society and Culture in Latium and at Rome". In Edwards, I E S. The Cambridge Ancient History. VII. Part 2: The Rise of Rome to 220 B.C. (2 ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 73–74. ISBN 9780521234467.
- ^ Gordon, Arthur E (October - November, 1982). "Review: La cosiddetta Fibula Prenestina. Antiquari, eruditi e falsari nella Roma dell' Ottocento by Margherita Guarducci". The Classical Journal (The Classical Association of the Middle West and South, Inc.) 78 (1): 64–70. http://www.jstor.org/pss/3297269.
- ^ Daniele F. Maras, Scientists declare the Fibula Praenestina and its inscription to be genuine “beyond any reasonable doubt”, Etruscan News, Volume 14, Winter 2012.PDF (14.9 MB)
[edit] Further reading
For an explanation of why the fibula is likely a 19th‑century forgery, see:
- Eric P. Hamp, Is the Fibula a Fake?, American Journal of Philology 102, 1981, 151-153.
- Arthur E. Gordon, Illustrated Introduction to Latin Epigraphy, Berkeley/Los Angeles/London 1983, ISBN 0-520-03898-3
- Larissa Bonfante, Etruscan Life and Afterlife: A Handbook of Etruscan Studies, Wayne State University Press, Detroit, 1986
For those who continue to hold the view that the fibula is authentic, see:
- Winfred P. Lehmann, Historical Linguistics, Routledge; 3rd edition, January, 1993
- R. Wachter, Altlateinische Inschriften. Sprachliche und epigraphische Untersuchungen zu den Dokumenten bis 150 v. Chr., Bern etc. 1987.
- E. Formigli, "Indagini archeometriche sull'autenticità della Fibula Praenestina". MDAI(R) 99 (1992) 329-343, Taf. 88-96.
[edit] External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Praeneste fibula |
- Harsch, Ulrich (1996). "Fibula Praenestina". Bibliotheca Augustana. http://www.hs-augsburg.de/~harsch/Chronologia/Lsante07/Fibula/fib_insc.html. Retrieved 2009-02-09.
