6.2. Filiation of the Vocabularius nebrissensis/Epithoma vocabulorum

Lindemann (1985: 66f., 1994: 253) identifies eleven editions of the VN/EV:

Beaulieux (1904: 374) considers the edition by Regnault Chaudière of Paris (VN2) to be the oldest of the VN and gives it a date of 1500. However, Lindemann (1985: 67; 1994: 251) demonstrates that the Regnault Chaudière edition should be dated 1516, and states that the 1511 edition of Simon Vincent of Lyon (VN1) is the oldest and the tête de série.

The following research is based on Lépinette's examination of VN1 and VN10, on Lindemann's examination (we are not certain of the editions), and on our direct examination of VN3, and VN/EV8.

The title of VN1 reads:

The reverse of the title page is occupied by a verse consisting of eight distichs, entitled Ars ipsa ad lectores. The following two folios are taken up on both sides by a long, pious exhortation to youth, which begins: Cuiusdam picardi dullendiensis ad iuvenes exhortatoria monitio. (We assume the possibility that the unnamed "Picard of Doullens" is the translator of the first edition of the VN.) The incipit of the dictionary reads: Aelii Anthonii nebrissensis grammatici lexicon id est dictionarium nuperimme ex hispaniense in gallicum traductum eloquium.

The title of VN3 is set in a narrow border of religious figures, and above the printer's plaque (which also has a religious theme). There is a minor change in the title, wherein the last sentence, which began Quod si comparaveris..., now reads:

The printer/bookseller is identified on the title page below his plaque: The verse Ars ipsa and the Picard's exhortation are in the same form and in the same place in VN3 as in VN1. Column b of the last page of VN3 concludes: According to Lindemann (1994: 601f.), another sentence is added to the title of VN6: The three editions produced at Caen by Michael and Gerard Angier for Guillaume Le Moine under the title Epithoma vocabulorum, present some variations from other editions of the VN and may be considered a separate branch of the series. The title page of VN/EV7 is entirely different from that of the Lyons series. Le Moine, who occupied a chair in the Faculty of Arts at the University of Caen from 1514 and is accorded by Delisle (1894: 14) "a modest place among the first French humanists" eliminates the religious motifs from the title page and replaces the title (which was addressed to preachers, see above) with the following:

The title of VN/EV7 is followed by a verse consisting of eight distichs written by Magistri Jacobi le Roulx, Gonfrevillensis curati and addressed: Liber ad discipulos. The printer's name and address are at the bottom of the page: Le Moine also removed the verse Ars ipsa and the exhortation to youth which appear in the earlier editions of the VN. In their place, on folio A.i.v is a dedication to Joannes Faber of Rouen, in which Guillaume Le Moine repeats his claim that his dictionary draws on several works, especially Calepino and Nebrija. The only existing copy of VN/EV7 is incomplete and lacks a colophon.

The title page of VN/EV8 begins with the title Epithoma vocabulorum and the same list of sources as does VN/EV7. The verse written by Master Jacob le Roulx is replaced by one from Dr. David Jore, which begins ¶  David Iorius Condetanus Subviriacus Franciscum mousseum motanum salutat. The page concludes with the same identification of Michael Angier as does VN/EV7. The dedication to Joannes Faber on folio A.i.v is replaced by a letter which begins:

The one-page letter ends Anno a christo nato M.D.xxix. septimo idus februarias, thus providing the only date among the three editions published at Caen. Column b on the last page of VN/EV8 ends: The preliminary pages of VN10 differ slightly from those in earlier editions of VN. The title reads: At the end of the text, a colophon reads: The verse Ars ipsa ad lectorem appears as usual on folio a.ii, followed by other distichs which are not found in previous editions of VN, but which appeared in the 1507 edition of Busa's Latin-Catalan/Catalan-Latin dictionary. The names of the authors, Martí Ivarra and Joan Garganter, included in Busa, are omitted from VN10. Folio a.iii of this edition presents an exact reproduction of Gabriel Busa's declaration to his Provincial which opened his 1507 edition. Beginning on folio a.iiii is the pious exhortation to youth which appeared in earlier editions of VN, without change except for omission of the reference to the "Picard of Doullens". Lépinette (1992: 236) concludes from the inclusion of material from Busa (1507) that the author of VN10 had access to a copy of Busa's dictionary.

6.3. Conclusion

Lépinette (1992) and Lindemann (1985 and 1994: ch. 3.) have thoroughly described the internal and external (i.e. in relation to other contemporary Latin-French dictionaries) characteristics of the macrostructure and the microstructure of the VN/EV. We do not believe it is useful to recapitulate their findings here. However, in Chapter 8.0. we discuss the VN/EV's consultability in comparison with the other printed bilingual dictionaries in our corpus.

Busa preserved the integrity of Nebrija's dictionary when he compiled his Latin-Catalan adaptation. It is clear, however, that the compiler of the VN did not understand the originality of Nebrija's work and, moreover, had a different purpose in mind. As Lépinette (1992: 251) accurately observes, "The culture implicit in the VN and that underlying Nebrija-Busa belong to the same period but they come from two different intellectual worlds: medieval vs. humanist. The distance between them is clearly shown in the changes effected in the work of the Spanish humanist by the French compiler."

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