The Annals of Quintus Ennius: study, translation and notes

Author(s)

Everton da Silva Natividade

• Document type: Master's Dissertation
• Press: São Paulo.
• Institution: Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Faculdade de Filosofia, Letras e Ciências Humanas (FFLCH/SBD)
• Defense date: 2009-04-14

Examining board members

Zelia Ladeira Veras de Almeida Cardoso; Ariovaldo Augusto Peterlini; Paulo Sérgio de Vasconcellos

• Advisor: Zelia Ladeira Veras de Almeida Cardoso

Abstract

This thesis presents the translation of the remaining fragments of the epic poem Annals by Quintus Ennius (239ca. 169 BC). An introductory section discusses what is known about the poet, taking the ancient authors quotes that refer to him as a starting-point. In this initial section a study on the Annals is also included; it observes the poem according to the ancients point of view and to what it is today, in the fragmentary form in which it has come down to us, the philological work of critics from all over the world being its unifying element. The kernel of this text consists of the translation and commentary of the 420 fragments taken from the Italian edition of Valmaggi (1945). The comments are based primarily on the contributions of Skutsch (1985), Steuart (1876), Warmington (1988) and Vahlen (1967), and the contextualization given to each fragment, since such procedure aids and enables my search for the theme it is connected with and thus explains why each fragment was included in the book it is part of. I then analize the fragments one by one, mark its stylistic motivations and linguistic uses, and search for the meaning of each text-fragment, which is done through diverse resources, such as the help of different dictionaries, word comparison in distinct fragments either of the Annals or other Ennius works, and the study of a words usage in similar contexts found in other authors, and in different contexts of Ennius contemporary authors. (AU)