Anchora

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Anchora herba in locis cultis et ortensibus nascens raro invenitur nisi cum floret Butannicus de ipsa loquitur.


Apparatus:

Anchora ACH jp | Ancora B ef
{herba} est add. B
ortensibus | ortis B
raro | uno f
floret | flore AC
Butanicus | Butãnicus AC | botimicus? ms. e
{Butanicus} qui add. efjp | quidem BH | quid’ p


Translation:

Anchora is a herb that grows in cultivated places or in gardens. It can rarely be found except when it is flowering. Butannicus speaks of this plant.


Commentary:

Anchora:
is a corrupted form of the more classical Latin acorus/ acorum, which is itself taken from Greek ἄκορον /ákoron/, identified by LSJ as ἄκορον /ákoron/ "yellow flag, Iris Pseudoacorus. In later Latin flowers were often changed into the –a declension, i.e. Anchora, as indeed happened here.

This is a near verbatim quote from Botanicus, 9, ed. Niederer (2003: 84): Nomen herba ancora, where it says: Nascitur locis cultis uel ortinsis. Hec herba raro inuenitur, nisi cum flores habuerit.

This is itself a retelling of Ps.-Apuleius’ Herbarius, 6, ed. Howald (1927: 36). HERBA VENERIA [[1]]. A number of Herbarius mss. have achorum instead of veneria. The synonymy is also confirmed in the section: Nomina herbae, where it says: A Graecis dicitur acorum … Itali ueneria …. – "By the Greeks it is called acorum, … the Italics call it veneria …"

Simon does not cross-reference Anchora with his entries Acorus or Venerea.

Cf. Niederer (St. Galler Botanicus) for the text (2003: 84) and for a linguistic commentary (2003: 243ff). Cf. also the comment by Dahhaoui (2001: 113-4).


WilfGunther 11:22, 7 September 2014 (BST)


For further information see Acorus, Venerea


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