Priscian (fl. c.500 CE,) fully Priscianus Caesariensis, was a Latin grammarian best known for Institutiones Grammaticae (c.526,) a definitive treatise that became the standard reference for medieval scholars.
Born in Caesarea, Mauretania (modern Algeria,) he later moved to Constantinople, where he taught Latin grammar. His Institutiones Grammaticae, divided into 18 books, synthesized earlier grammatical theories, particularly those of Apollonius Dyscolus and Aelius Herodianus, preserving quotations from classical authors like Cicero, Virgil, and Horace.
Widely used in medieval education, his work influenced scholars such as Alcuin, Hrabanus Maurus, and Bede. It consists of Priscianus Major (Books I–XVI,) covering phonetics, morphology, and inflection, and Priscianus Minor (Books XVII–XVIII,) focusing on syntax.
His minor works include De metris Terentii (on Terence’s poetic meters,) De ponderibus et mensuris (on weights and measures,) and Praeexercitamina (Latin translations of Greek rhetorical exercises.)
More: Wikipedia • READ: Works by Priscian
Forget your woes when you see your friend.
—Priscian
Topics: Friendship
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