''Tractatus coislinianus'' is an ancient Greek manuscript outlining a theory of
comedy
Comedy is a genre of fiction that consists of discourses or works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. The term o ...
in the tradition of
Aristotle
Aristotle (; grc-gre, Ἀριστοτέλης ''Aristotélēs'', ; 384–322 BC) was a Greek philosopher and polymath during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. Taught by Plato, he was the founder of the Peripatetic school of phil ...
's ''
Poetics
Poetics is the theory of structure, form, and discourse within literature, and, in particular, within poetry.
History
The term ''poetics'' derives from the Ancient Greek ποιητικός ''poietikos'' "pertaining to poetry"; also "creative" an ...
''.
Dramatic theory
The ''Tractatus'' states that comedy invokes laughter and pleasure, thus purging those emotions (
catharsis
Catharsis (from Greek , , meaning "purification" or "cleansing" or "clarification") is the purification and purgation of emotions through dramatic art, or it may be any extreme emotional state that results in renewal and restoration. In its lite ...
), in a manner parallel to the description of
tragedy
Tragedy (from the grc-gre, τραγῳδία, ''tragōidia'', ''tragōidia'') is a genre of drama based on human suffering and, mainly, the terrible or sorrowful events that befall a main character. Traditionally, the intention of tragedy ...
in the ''Poetics''. It proceeds to describe the devices used and manner in which
catharsis
Catharsis (from Greek , , meaning "purification" or "cleansing" or "clarification") is the purification and purgation of emotions through dramatic art, or it may be any extreme emotional state that results in renewal and restoration. In its lite ...
is brought about.
History
The manuscript now resides in
Paris, France
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...
, at the
Bibliothèque Nationale
A library is a collection of materials, books or media that are accessible for use and not just for display purposes. A library provides physical (hard copies) or digital access (soft copies) materials, and may be a physical location or a vir ...
; it is labeled "Coislinianus 120". The 10th-century manuscript resided at
Great Lavra
The Monastery of Great Lavra ( el, Μονή Μεγίστης Λαύρας) is the first monastery built on Mount Athos. It is located on the southeastern foot of the Mount at an elevation of . The founding of the monastery in AD 963 by Athanasiu ...
on
Mount Athos
Mount Athos (; el, Ἄθως, ) is a mountain in the distal part of the eponymous Athos peninsula and site of an important centre of Eastern Orthodox monasticism in northeastern Greece. The mountain along with the respective part of the penins ...
. In 1643,
Athanasius Rhetor sent it from
Cyprus
Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is geo ...
to
Séguier de Coislin. The classicist
J. A. Cramer, poring through the collection of
Henri Charles du Cambout de Coislin
Henri-Charles du Camboust (15 September 1665, Paris – 28 November 1732) was a French prelate. He was bishop of Metz from 1697 to 1732, and duc de Coislin from 1710.
Biography
Great-grandson of chancellor Séguier, brother of Pierre de Camboust ...
, was struck by the content, believing it to be the work of a commentator on Aristotle's theory of comedy, and published it in 1839. This belief was soon derided, but it has gained force in the 20th century;
Richard Janko
Richard Charles Murray Janko (born May 30, 1955) is an Anglo-American classical scholar and the Gerald F. Else Distinguished University Professor of Classical Studies at the University of Michigan. has argued that it is the notes or sketches of the lost second section of the ''Poetics''. Nesselrath argues that it is a later work, perhaps by
Theophrastus
Theophrastus (; grc-gre, Θεόφραστος ; c. 371c. 287 BC), a Greek philosopher and the successor to Aristotle in the Peripatetic school. He was a native of Eresos in Lesbos.Gavin Hardy and Laurence Totelin, ''Ancient Botany'', Routledge ...
.
Sources
*
Janko, Richard, trans. 1987. ''Poetics with Tractatus Coislinianus, Reconstruction of Poetics II and the Fragments of the On Poets.'' By
Aristotle
Aristotle (; grc-gre, Ἀριστοτέλης ''Aristotélēs'', ; 384–322 BC) was a Greek philosopher and polymath during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. Taught by Plato, he was the founder of the Peripatetic school of phil ...
. Cambridge: Hackett. .
*
Nesselrath, Heinz-Günther. 1990. ''Die attische mittlere Komödie: ihre Stellung in der antiken Literaturkritik und Literaturgeschichte.'' Untersuchungen zur antiken Literatur und Geschichte vol. 36. Berlin: Walter de Gruyter. .
Further reading
* Watson, Walter, 2012. ''The Lost Second Book of Aristotle's 'Poetics. Chicago : University of Chicago Press. .
External links
* Lane Cooper, {{Internet Archive, aristoteliantheo00coop, An Aristotelian theory of comedy : with an adaptation of the Poetics, and a translation of the "Tractatus Coislinianus" (1922)
Ancient Greek theatre
Ancient Greek works
Aristotelianism
Books of literary criticism
Books about literary theory
10th-century books
Comedy
Treatises