Union Académique Internationale

Catalogus Translationum et Commentariorum

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Project nº14, adopted in 1951

The Catalogus Translationum et Commentariorum (CTC) provides scholars and students with an unrivalled guide to the classical tradition and its afterlife in all its inexhaustible variety.

The original plan for the project was developed over 1945–46, under the aegis of the American Council of Learned Societies. Its organizational form was established in 1946 and comprised an Executive Committee, an Editorial Board, and an International Advisory Committee. The project was adopted by the Union Académique Internationale on the initiative of the Medieval Academy of America in 1951.

The general aims of the Catalogus at its inception were outlined in 1958 by the project’s founder and first Executive Editor Paul Oskar Kristeller, and were published as the Preface to the first volume of the series. The CTC was defined as intended to illustrate the transmission of the ideas and the influence of ancient Greek and Latin authors (until 600 CE) during the Middle Ages and the Renaissance (up to 1600 CE). Over time the original design of the Catalogus has evolved in directions reflecting developments in the growing field of reception studies. The period covered by the articles has been extended beyond the original terminus to allow contributors to explore the reception history of their authors past that date, even down to the present. Vernacular translations and commentaries have also been included within the purview of the series. In addition, some of the more austere principles outlined by the founding editor have been modified: the scope of articles has grown to include not only lengthy dedications in manuscripts or early printed editions but also other paratextual material pertinent to the understanding of the Nachleben of ancient authors. Each CTC article treats an individual classical author, beginning with a thoroughgoing survey of the author’s reception from Antiquity to the modern era. This study of the “Fortuna” is followed by a comprehensive bibliography and detailed lists of both commentaries on and translations of the author’s works into various languages. For each translation and commentary, the Catalogus provides a brief introductory statement on the historical context, a description of the work, and a list of all known manuscripts and printed editions. A short bio-bibliography of each medieval or later translator or commentator is also included. A typical CTC volume contains articles on both Greek and Latin authors, with a section of Addenda et Corrigenda at the end, as well as various indices. Since the publication of the first volume in 1960, ten further volumes have been published, comprising over 100 articles; many more articles are in active preparation.

During its long history the Catalogus Translationum et Commentariorum has become an indispensable research tool for scholars interested in the history of the ancient classical tradition in the West during the Middle Ages, the Renaissance, and beyond. The project boasts an international team of contributors from twelve countries in Europe and North America. Given the ever-growing interest in the history of the reception of classical Greek and Latin literature across departments of English, French, German, of various other European languages, and also of Comparative Literature, the foundational scholarship that is the hallmark of the CTC has become more vital to research in the humanities than ever.

The vast resources represented by the Catalogus are also accessible electronically: digitized versions of the first nine volumes are available in the ACLS Humanities E-Book Collection, and composite indices to ancient authors, translators and commentators, and manuscripts, as well as to the authors of all articles, can be found at the project’s own website.

List of Committees

Editorial Team
HANKINS JamesAssociate Editor
DINKOVA-BRUNN GretiEditor in Chief
GAISSER Julia H.Associate Editor
Editorial Board
MACK P.Member
VESSEY M.Member
ZIOLKOWSKI J. M.Member
ALLEN M.J.B.Member
CELENZA C. S.Member
COPENHAVER B. P. Member
COULSON F. T.Member
HAUGEN K.Member
KASTER R. A.Member
Executive Committee
DINKOVA-BRUNN GretiEditor in Chief
GAISSER Julia H.Associate Editor
HANKINS JamesAssociate Editor
KALLENDORF CraigMembre
GRAFTON AnthonyMember
O'DONNELL JimMember
International Committee
ENENKEL K.Member
KENNEY E. J.Member
MUNK OLSEN BirgerMemberThe Royal Danish Academy of Sciences and Letters - Det Kongelige Danske Videnskabernes Selskab
NUTTON V.Member
RIZZO S.Member
WILSON N. G.Member