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Tignum Iunctum: The Xii Tables And A Lost Word, Alan Watson
Tignum Iunctum: The Xii Tables And A Lost Word, Alan Watson
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A text of the scholar Festus, which is famous among Latinists and lawyers alike, reads:
Tignum non solum in aedificiis, quo utuntur, appellatur, sed etiam in vineis, ut est in XII: "Tignum iunctum aedibus vineave et concapit ne solvito".
For the quotation from the XII Tables, the manuscripts showsome variation for 'vineave': 'victum' in W, 'vineaque' in V and 'minerve' in X. But these we can happily leave aside and com to the crux of the text, 'concapit', which appears in all the manuscripts. "'Concapit', a corrupt word, and difficult of explanation" say Lewis and Short! And the emendations proposed …