Epimedium (1)

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Complete text of entry:

Epimedium Dyascorides sive ut latini vinecta hastam habet non maiorem edere similem et folia .v. aut .vi. carens flore et semine, radix est illi tenera et nigra cum odore gravi et gustu fatuo, nascitur locis humidis et cetera Plinius Epimedion caulis est non magnus edere foliis denis atque duodenis nunquam florens radice tenui nigra gravi odore, nascitur humidis et cetera.


Complete translation:

Dyascorides: Epimedium according to Dyascorides, or as Latin speakers say vinecta, has a stem similar but not bigger than edera {"ivy"} and five or six {ten or twelve} leaves and it lacks flower and seeds; it has a tender and black root with an oppressive smell and it has an insipid taste. It grows in damp places, et cetera.
Pliny: Epimedion; its stem is not bigger than that of edera {"ivy"}; it has ten or twelve leaves; it never flowers; it has a thin black root with an oppressive smell. It grows in humid places, et cetera.


Simon's text sectioned. Dyascorides

Epimedium Dyascorides sive ut latini vinecta hastam habet non maiorem edere similem et folia .v. aut .vi. carens flore et semine, radix est illi tenera et nigra cum odore gravi et gustu fatuo, nascitur locis humidis et cetera.


Apparatus:

Epimedium | Emipediũ ms. e
siue | si͡u f | sine B {typesetting error 'n' for 'u'}
vinecta AC | uinea B | vineta fp | victa ms. e See Commentary | uiuectu j
hastam AC fp | astam B ej
non om. p
qinqʒ aut sex ms. e | v. aut sex (6 j) B j | v. aut .vi. AC p | x a' xij f See Commentary
et semine om. AC. See Commentary
humidis | huĩs B
et cetera om. ef


Translation:

Epimedium according to Dyascorides, or as Latin speakers say vinecta, has a stem similar but not bigger than edera {"ivy"} and five or six {ten or twelve} leaves and it lacks flower and seeds; it has a tender and black root with an oppressive smell and it has an insipid taste. It grows in damp places, et cetera.


Commentary:

This is a near verbatim excerpt from Dyascorides alphabeticus, Bodmer [f 37v] Spumediũ {capital 'E' misread as 'S'} [[1]], which is taken from Dioscorides Longobardus, 4, 19, ed. Stadler (1901: 17). De epimedio.

The Greek original can be found in 4, 19, ed. Wellmann (1906-14: II.184-5) ἐπιμήδιον /epimḗdion/ [[2]].

Epimedium:
Greek ἐπιμήδιον /epimḗdion/, Latinised epimedium, has an uncertain etymology. In the Greek original, op.cit., chapter 19 is preceded by chapter 18, which describes the plant μήδιον /mḗdion/, (1906-14: II.183), whose etymology is equally uncertain, cf. entry Medion. André (1985: 95), s.v. epimēdion, thinks that there might be some connection between the two plant names with ἐπιμήδιον /epimḗdion/ possibly meaning "similar to medion", analogous to ἐπιμηλίς /epimēlís/ meaning "similar to μῆλον /mêlon/ {'apple-tree'}". But the description of the two plants is so divergent that no similarity is obvious.

However Genaust, (1996: 230), s.v. Epimédium, thinks it was named after Ἐπιμῆδης /Epimḗdēs/, one of the Dactyls [[3]], or Kuretes [[4]], with κοῦρος /koûros/ simply meaning "young arms-bearing man". Genaust thinks that the fluffy beard growth of young men, here represented by Epimedes, could have been compared to the fluff growing on some plants.

For vinecta see Vinecta.

Concerning the number of leaves, the Greek text has δέκα ἣ δώδεκα /déka ḕ dṓdeka/ "ten or twelve", Dioscorides Longobardus: decem aut duodecem; Dyascorides alphabeticus: x. au̅ .xij. Of Simon's witnesses only ms. f has the original number.

The Greek text says: οὔτε δὲ καρπὸν οὔτε ἄνθος φέρει /oùte dè karpòn oùte ànthos phérei/ "it bears neither fruit nor flower"; Longobardus: nec flore nec semen habet; Dyascorides: carẽs flore & seĩe, so witnesses A and C have simply omitted 'et semine'.


Simon's text sectioned. Plinius

Plinius: Epimedion caulis est non magnus edere foliis denis atque duodenis nunquam florens radice tenui nigra gravi odore, nascitur humidis et cetera.


Apparatus:

Witness C, j and possibly witness A treat Pliny's text Epimedion as an extra entry different from Epimedium (1), with the word Pli. {= Plinius} erroneously added on to the preceding Dioscoridean text.
After initial pli’. {= Plinius} ms. p draws a line ----------- and omits the rest of this entry’s text.
Epimedion | epimodion ms. e
caulis | caulus ms. e
nunquam | nõquam B | a͡nquam {= antequam?} f
radice | redice C {printer’s error}
humidis | huĩs B
et cetera om. efj

Translation:

Pliny: Epimedion; its stem is not bigger than that of edera {"ivy"}; it has ten or twelve leaves; it never flowers; it has a thin black root with an oppressive smell. It grows in humid places, et cetera.


Commentary:

This is a near verbatim excerpt from Pliny, 27, 52, 76, ed. W.H.S. Jones (1938-63: VII.434).

Pliny obviously prefers the form Epimedion which is closer to the Greek.


Botanical identification:

The plant is relatively well described in very similar terms by both authors. They state that its stem is not large, there are 10 to 12 leaves, resembling those of hedera, κισσός /kissós/ {"ivy"}; it has no flower nor seeds and a thin black root, with an overwhelming smell. It prefers growing in moist places. The texts of the two authors are virtually identical and appear to be two different translations from the same source, with the Greek text in its wording presumably being closest to this source.

In spite of the detailed description few modern botanist have attempted an identification. André (1985: 95) thinks it might possibly be a fern.

However Genaust (1996: 230), thinks that the fluffy beard growth of young men could have been compared to the fluff sometimes growing on plants, e.g. Epimedium pubigerum DC. Decne. [[5]], [[6]]. In fact he thinks that E. pubigerum – the latter adjective means "fluff-bearing" – may well have been the plant(s).the ancients had in mind since its distribution covers Bulgaria, Asia Minor, European Turkey and the Caucasus.


Epimedium has survived into modern botanical terminology introduced by Linnaeus as the genus name for Epimedium alpinum L. "barrenwort" of Eastern Europe, but most plants of this genus are endemic to China.


WilfGunther 25/03/2014


See also Vinecta


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