Some Observations on the Prefaces to two Greek versions of the Life of Hilarion by Jerome (BHG 752 and 753)

Quelques remarques sur les préfaces de deux versions grecques de la Vie d’Hilarion (BHG 752 et 753)

Anna Lampadaridi (1, 2)

1 HiSoMA - Histoire et Sources des Mondes antiques
2 OM - ORIENT ET MÉDITERRANÉE : Textes, Archéologie, Histoire

This article focuses on the circulation of Latin hagiographical literature throughout the Greek-speaking world. The interest of such an approach lies in reversing the traditionally dominant view that the East gives and the West receives, by bringing in material that is often unpublished. Composed by Jerome at the end of the 4th century, the Life of the Monk Hilarion (BHL 3879) was translated into Greek in a variety of contexts. The richness and diversity of the Greek dossier of this Latin legend provide an excellent starting point for examining the linguistic and cultural transfers of Latin hagiographical texts to the Greek-speaking world. Considered the founder of Gazan monasticism, Hilarion was born around 290 in Thabatha, a town near Gaza, and died around 371 in Cyprus. Only a few years after it was written in Latin, this colourful hagiography was translated into Greek. In his De viris illustribus, composed between 392 and 393, Jerome informs us of the existence of a Greek translation written in elegant language and signed by a certain Sophronius. After a brief literature review of the subject, this article presents a comparative study of the prefaces to the two main Greek versions of the legend of Hilarion (Lives BHG 752 and 753). Life BHG 752, an extremely rare case of literal translation of a Latin hagiographical text into Greek, is re-edited here in the light of a new manuscript discovery. Probably written by a Latin speaker with a fairly limited knowledge of Greek, Life BHG 752 resembles a first-draft translation and is surprisingly literal, defying the rules of Greek grammar and syntax. On the other hand, the author of Life BHG 753 aspired to rewrite the legend of the monk Hilarion by adapting it to the expectations of its recipients. By looking closely at the two prefaces, we can explore the ways in which a Latin hagiographical text was translated and rewritten in Greek.

Mots clés: byzance; hagiographie; traduction

Domaines: Sciences de l'Homme et Société; Histoire

Anna Lampadaridi. Quelques remarques sur les préfaces de deux versions grecques de la Vie d’Hilarion (BHG 752 et 753). Zbornik radova Vizantoloskog instituta, inPress, 60/1 (2023), pp.347-366. ⟨10.2298/ZRVI2360347L⟩. ⟨hal-03871771⟩