SV: [gothic-l] Your opinions on this site...

[Munkhammar Lars]

Dear Vito,

I looked at the midhnottsol site, and like you I read some of it. Yes, it
seems hard to believe, but we don't have to believe it. It comes from a
professor at Harvard, yes, but concerning the Gothic manuscripts, we have so
many professors to refer to, that we don't especially have to refer to one
of Slavic Languages and Literature. 

I have just read what Leo Wiener says about the Gothic Bible and about Codex
argenteus, since that is what I am specially interested in. Wiener says that
Wulfila did not invent a Gothic alphabet and that he didn't translate the
Bible into Gothic. There is just the tradition (some named sources) saying
that Wulfila made the alphabet and the translation. Yes, it is true that we
cannot prove Wulfila's copyright here, but there is no one else in history
claiming this copyright either. The denial of Wulfila's copyright doesn't
even have a tradition to cite. Probably Wulfila (or whoever was the chief
translator of the Gothic Bible) had collaborators. One conceivable that is
named is Selenas, Wulfila's successor as bishop.

More fantastic is Wiener's thesis, that Codex argenteus was not written in
Italy during the Ostrogothic empire, but somewhere else during the
Carolingian renaissance. He claims to base this assertion on paleographic
grounds, and by that he rejects the results of very many scholars of
paleography and related disciplines with names as (just to name some of
those from the 20th century) Friesen, Grape, Nordenfalk, Tjäder, Scardigli,
Andersson-Schmitt and Hermodsson. But, O.K., it is theoretically possible
that Wiener has seen what all these scolars have not seen. But on the other
hand, today we have seen something, that Wiener has not seen. In March 1998,
a C-14- analysis was made at Uppsala University of (among other things) the
parchment of a leaf of the Codex argenteus. The material turned out to be
from the early 6th century. So if the codex was not written on three hundred
years old parchment, Professor Wiener should rather return to Tolstoy and
related subjects.

Lars Munkhammar

-----Ursprungligt meddelande-----
Från: Vito Evola [mailto:vito.evola at libero.it]
Skickat: den 28 september 2000 20:25
Till: gothic-l at egroups.com
Ämne: [gothic-l] Your opinions on this site...


I'd like to have some feedback on this site:

http://www.midhnottsol.org/public/germaniclaw/

I've read some of it. It seems hard to believe, but it does come from
a professor at Harvard, so there must be *some* credibility.

Could someone please take a look at it and share their thoughts?
confused, tired, and happy,

Vito (WEITO)



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