Publication details
Die neuentdeckten tabellae defixionum und deren Beitrag zu unserer Kenntnis der Varianten des Lateins
| Title in English | The new Latin tabellae defixionum and their contribution to our knowlege of the variations of Latin |
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| Year of publication | 2012 |
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| Description | This contributio deals with the distribution of curse types and curse formulas and the specific features of the surviving Latin curse tablets in the various provinces of the Roman Empire in time and space. The Latin tabellae defixionum represent a special kind of epigraphic documents, the number of which has increased significantly over the last decades. A new modern corpus of Latin curse tablets was published by Amina Kropp, and a new category within the curse types has been recognized – the so-called prayers for justice. The analysis of these texts written on sheets of lead enables us to see the areas with specific connections, correspondences and differences in the content of the curse text, the frequency and types of used formulas, invoked deities and daemons, the application of magical words and special graphic features, which help us find out the relations between the curse type and the aim of the writer in the whole Latin curse tradition. In this analysis of a total of 309 quite undamaged and intelligible curse texts I have also tried to compare the possible relationsbetwen the curse formulas and the "bad wishes" – or targets of the curse writers in the cases of curses and prayers of justice. |