The Pope’s Shoes: The Scope of Glosses in Guido Juvenalis’s Commentary on Terence

Abstract

In 1492 in Paris, Guido Juvenalis (Guy Jouenneaux) became the first scholar to publish his own Latin commentary on all six plays of Terence. A year later, Juvenalis’ commentary was chosen by Badius for his landmark illustrated edition of Terence, printed by Trechsel in Lyons. Juvenalis aimed his commentary at young students who needed the minutiae explained to them, and sought to improve their Latin by revealing the origins of Latin words and their cultural connections. In glossing such things as sandals, centurions and maniples, sponges, and prostitutes, he followed the paradigm of the Donatus commentary in quoting ancient grammarians such as Varro, Festus, and Nonnius, but also drew attention to matters of ancient history, and even to equivalents in the ‘vulgar’ tongue. While avoiding explicit moralizing, Juvenalis emerged as a philologist in the truest sense -- a ‘lover of words’, for whom linguistic curiosities are the treasure to be unearthed in Terence’s comedies.