Manuscript

Carolingian Greek Grammar

Description

A range of different resources were used by Latin scholars in the 8th and 9th centuries to learn Greek. Examples of some of these resources can be seen in Harley 5642, written around 900 CE. In addition to simple dialogues and descriptive passages presented in parallel Greek and Latin columns, the manuscript also contains basic grammatical texts and handbooks. Most of these texts date back to late antiquity, and would initially have been used to instruct Greek-speaking children in Latin.

The manuscript forms part of the Harley Collection, formed by Robert Harley (1661–1724), 1st earl of Oxford and Mortimer, politician, and Edward Harley (1689–1741), 2nd earl of Oxford and Mortimer, book collector and patron of the arts. The Harley Collection is one of the foundation collections of the British Library.

Full title:
Carolingian Greek Grammar
Published:
c 900
Created:
c 900
Format:
Manuscript
Language:
Greek
Usage terms

Public Domain in most countries other than the UK.

Held by
British Library
Shelfmark:
Harley MS 5642

Full catalogue details

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A detail from an 8th-century glossary, featuring a list of Greek words and their Latin equivalents.

The Greek language in the Latin West

Article by:
Cillian O’Hogan
Themes:
Scholarship, The Greek World

After late antiquity, knowledge of Greek declined in Latin-speaking Western Europe. Although Greek would not be taught widely in the West again until the Renaissance, a number of manuscripts indicate that there was interest in learning about Greek letters during the Middle Ages, as Cillian O’Hogan explains.