David A Traill
University of California, Davis, Classics, Faculty Member
- Classics, Medieval Latin Literature, Schliemann, Medieval Studies, Medieval Latin, Virgil, and 21 moreMycenaean era archaeology, Latin poetry, Aegean Bronze Age (Bronze Age Archaeology), Troy Studies, Medieval History, History of Scholarship, Classical philology, Medieval Latin Poetry, Carmina Burana, Latin Literature, Augustan Poetry, Medieval Literature, Epic poetry, Classical Reception Studies, Medieval parody and satire, History of Archaeology, Homer, Aegean Archaeology, Catullus, Vergil, and Anatolian Archaeologyedit
- I am a retired classicist at the University of California, Davis with continuing research interests in Schliemann and Medieval Latin lyric, mostly the latter now.edit
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EnglishAfter a brief sketch of the life of Philip the Chancellor, including a family tree showing his family connection to Walter, the powerful chamberlain of both Louis VII and Philip Augustus, the article examines the poems In occasu... more
EnglishAfter a brief sketch of the life of Philip the Chancellor, including a family tree showing his family connection to Walter, the powerful chamberlain of both Louis VII and Philip Augustus, the article examines the poems In occasu syderis, Redit etas aurea, and Expirante primitivo. All three poems are found to be primarily focused on Richard the Lionheart, with the In occasu syderis referring to the death of his brother Henry (1183) rather than his father Henry II, as previously thought. The second poem must date after July 1189, as it celebrates Richard’s accession to the throne, while the third mourns his death in April 1199. The analysis of each poem is followed by arguments attributing all three to Philip the Chancellor. francaisApres un bref resume de la vie de Philippe le Chancelier, incluant un arbre genealogique demontrant ses liens avec Gauthier, le puissant chambellan des rois Louis VII et Philippe Auguste, cet article analyse les poemes In occasu syderis, Redit etas aurea et Expirante primitivo. Ces trois poemes s’averent centres sur Richard Coeur de Lion. Ainsi, In occasu syderis evoque la mort de son frere Henri (1183) plutot que son pere Henri II, contrairement a ce qui a ete etabli jusqu’ici. Le deuxieme poeme doit avoir ete compose apres juillet 1189, puisqu’il celebre l’ascension de Richard au trone, tandis que le troisieme pleure sa mort en avril 1199. L’etude de chaque poeme est suivie d’une discussion identifiant Philippe le Chancelier comme leur auteur.
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... Troy, it seems safest to assume that the idea first occurred to him in 1868, when he was forty-six.3 On 25 July 1868 he met the German architect Ernst Ziller (1837-1923), who in 1864 had assisted G. von Hahn's excavations at... more
... Troy, it seems safest to assume that the idea first occurred to him in 1868, when he was forty-six.3 On 25 July 1868 he met the German architect Ernst Ziller (1837-1923), who in 1864 had assisted G. von Hahn's excavations at Plnarbasi (Bunarbashi) in quest of Homer's Troy.4 ...
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Schliemann's first campaign of excavation at Troy (1871–3) culminated in the discovery of ‘Priam's Treasure’. The find remains the largest and certainly the most controversial ever to have been made at Troy. In 1984 l argued that... more
Schliemann's first campaign of excavation at Troy (1871–3) culminated in the discovery of ‘Priam's Treasure’. The find remains the largest and certainly the most controversial ever to have been made at Troy. In 1984 l argued that it was not a single find, as Schliemann reports, but a composite, comprising a core of pieces actually found on 31 May 1873 and a number of other pieces found earlier (Traill 1984 = 1993: 127–53). The article generated a considerable response and, apparently, some confusion. For instance, after demonstrating that Schliemann's story of Sophia's assistance at the discovery was a lie, I asked if there were adequate grounds for believing that he had actually found the pieces of ‘Priam's Treasure’ at Troy rather than, say, bought them from local dealers. I then indicated that the answer was ‘overwhelmingly in the affirmative’ and listed six specific reasons why we should believe this. I concluded: ‘These facts constitute a powerful argument t...
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The importance of Schliemann's excavations at Troy, Mycenae and elsewhere is beyond dispute. Yet the aura of greatness which his remarkable achievements have rightly conferred on his name has tended to blur our perception of the man... more
The importance of Schliemann's excavations at Troy, Mycenae and elsewhere is beyond dispute. Yet the aura of greatness which his remarkable achievements have rightly conferred on his name has tended to blur our perception of the man himself. Psychoanalytic studies by W. G. Niederland have offered fresh insight into his complex character, but it is the paper given by W. M. Calder III on the one hundred and fiftieth anniversary of his birth that marks the beginning of the new sceptical attitude to Schliemann. Calder pointed out that Schliemann's autobiographical writings contain many false claims and purely fictitious episodes which biographers have uncritically accepted as fact. This new view of Schliemann as an unreliable witness, which, incidentally, was held by many of his contemporaries, has now been confirmed and expanded by subsequent research.It is principally in matters of his personal life that recent studies have exposed Schliemann's propensity for lies and frau...
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By uncovering what he claimed to be Homer's Troy and Mycenate, Heinrich Schliemann (1822-90) became one of the dominant personalities of his age. Yet this biography shows him to have lived an entire life of fraud. Rumours and claims... more
By uncovering what he claimed to be Homer's Troy and Mycenate, Heinrich Schliemann (1822-90) became one of the dominant personalities of his age. Yet this biography shows him to have lived an entire life of fraud. Rumours and claims that he fabricated evidence, or bought, buried and "found" artefacts, are fully evaluated, as the author reassesses Schliemann's life, travels and shady dealings. The book is an assessment of one of the great archaeological stories of all time and a study of a man apparently driven to shroud his own life in fantasy.
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... Since my foreman, Spyridon Demetriou, is returning to Athens, I charged him to accompany the above antiquities and to bring them to ... whereas most of Europe had adopted the Gregorian calendar, Greece and Turkey were still officially... more
... Since my foreman, Spyridon Demetriou, is returning to Athens, I charged him to accompany the above antiquities and to bring them to ... whereas most of Europe had adopted the Gregorian calendar, Greece and Turkey were still officially operating on the Julian calendar, which ...
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Research Interests: Philosophy and PLEA
Classics Faculty the Major Program Units Classical and Mediterranean Civilizations Track Preparatory Subject Matter ..............26-27 Total Units for the Major ..................66-67 Classical Languages and Literatures Track Preparatory Subject Matter ...................34 Latin 1-2-3 and Greekmore
include machines as metaphor and embodied thought, eccentric customizing and fictional technologies. GE credit: VL. 158. Technology and the Modern American Body (4) Lecture/discussion—3 hours; term paper. Prerequisite: course 1 and either... more
include machines as metaphor and embodied thought, eccentric customizing and fictional technologies. GE credit: VL. 158. Technology and the Modern American Body (4) Lecture/discussion—3 hours; term paper. Prerequisite: course 1 and either American Studies 1A or 5. The history and analysis of the relationships between human bodies and technologies in modern society. Dominant and eccentric examples of how human bodies and technologies influence one another and reveal underlying cultural assumptions. (Same course as American Studies 158.) GE credit: ArtHum|ACGH, AH, WE.—de la Pena 159. Media Subcultures (4) Lecture/discussion—3 hours; term paper. Relationships between subcultural groups and media technologies. Media as the cohesive and persuasive force of subcultural activities. List-servs, Web sites, free radio, fan 'zines, and hip-hop culture. GE credit: Div|ACGH, VL.—W. (W.) Drew 160. Ghosts of the Machine: How Technology Rewires our Senses (4) Lecture—3 hours; extensive writing...
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In all examples of this kind of anaphora in Catullus, we see balancing or contrasting elements in the two halves of the line.2 In most cases each half is grammatically independent of the other. In 64.70, however, one half has the common... more
In all examples of this kind of anaphora in Catullus, we see balancing or contrasting elements in the two halves of the line.2 In most cases each half is grammatically independent of the other. In 64.70, however, one half has the common subject and verb, while in 64.336 these elements are divided between the two halves. In the refrain of the song of the Fates, there is no real opposition between the two halves. Instead of two balancing vocatives, we have a vocative in the second part and its modifier in the first. The refrain therefore might be seen as providing something of a parallel to line 24 as it appears in the manuscripts, where carmine in the second half is modified by meo in the first. A moment's reflection, however, shows that while ducentes subtegmina provides a satisfactory counterbalance to fusi, meo will not do as a counterbalance to carmine. It is too insignificant, too colorless, and too dependent on carmine. This is why Mynors and most subsequent editors punctuate after saepe. But this does violence to the natural rhythm of the line and runs counter to Catullus' practice, as is clear from the examples cited above. The suspicion that meo is corrupt gains strength from the second difficulty it poses: what can Catullus mean by meo . . . carmine? The natural interpretation, "in my poem," is belied by the evidence of the poem itself. As Fordyce observes, "the promise is not fulfilled."3 Quinn gamely argues that the phrase means "in my poetry,"4 but while carmen tout court occasionally does mean "poetry," it is hard to believe that when qualified with a modifier like hoc or meum it could ever bear that
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a/AapTLca of Gastron; and, finally, by her reference to the forthcoming Gerenia festival in which, as Bitinna herself recalls, libations are poured to the dead. Gastron and Bitinna had earlier defined avopwnros by his capacity to err; to... more
a/AapTLca of Gastron; and, finally, by her reference to the forthcoming Gerenia festival in which, as Bitinna herself recalls, libations are poured to the dead. Gastron and Bitinna had earlier defined avopwnros by his capacity to err; to Cydilla it is even more that he is liable ...
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INTRODUCTION I. THE AUTHOR II. THE POEMS IN THIS COLLECTION The St Omer collection Strecker's moral-satirical collection Wilmart's attributions Arundel collection Other attributions Arrangement of the poems III. METRE IV.... more
INTRODUCTION I. THE AUTHOR II. THE POEMS IN THIS COLLECTION The St Omer collection Strecker's moral-satirical collection Wilmart's attributions Arundel collection Other attributions Arrangement of the poems III. METRE IV. MANUSCRIPTS V. RECURRING THEMES Feast of Fools Auaritia and largitas VI. ON TEXTS AND TRANSLATIONS VII. INTRODUCTORY NOTES TO INDIVIDUAL POEMS LIST OF SIGLA TEXTS AND TRANSLATIONS 1. The St Omer Collection: poems 1-33 2. Poems from various sources: poems 34-67 APPENDICES 1. A and B (two medleys) 2. Textual Notes CONCORDANCES
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nos numerus sumus et frugis consumere nati, sponsi Penelopae nebulones Alcinoique in cute curanda plus aequo operata iuuentus, cui pulchrum fuit in medios dormire dies et 30 ad strepitum citharae cessatum ducere curam. ut iugulent... more
nos numerus sumus et frugis consumere nati, sponsi Penelopae nebulones Alcinoique in cute curanda plus aequo operata iuuentus, cui pulchrum fuit in medios dormire dies et 30 ad strepitum citharae cessatum ducere curam. ut iugulent hominem, surgunt de nocte latrones: ut te ipsum serues, non expergisceris? We are ciphers, born to eat bread, the worthless suitors of Penelope and the young men of Alcinous’ court, all too concerned with keeping their skin attractive, who thought it a fine thing to sleep till midday and * * * To murder a man, thieves get up at night; to save yourself, won't you wake up?
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... For their part, the well-greaved Achaeans brought Ajax, as he rejoiced in his victory (KXaprl6ta viK1), to Agamemnon." Homer, then, has Diomedes get the better of the exchange in order to make it clear that he would have been... more
... For their part, the well-greaved Achaeans brought Ajax, as he rejoiced in his victory (KXaprl6ta viK1), to Agamemnon." Homer, then, has Diomedes get the better of the exchange in order to make it clear that he would have been victorious if they had fought and to compensate ...
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In 1972 Wm. M. Calder III pointed out that Schliemann's autobiographical writings are riddled with false claims and fictitious episodes (Calder, 1972). Subsequent research has confirmed and extended his findings. The purpose of this... more
In 1972 Wm. M. Calder III pointed out that Schliemann's autobiographical writings are riddled with false claims and fictitious episodes (Calder, 1972). Subsequent research has confirmed and extended his findings. The purpose of this article is to show that Schliemann's mendacity was not confined to details of his personal life. The focus of our inquiry will be the famous incident towards the end of his 1873 excavations at Troy-the discovery of what he called 'Priam's Treasure'. Schliemann described this momentous occasion in about a dozen different places. We shall restrict ourselves to four of the earliest versions. It will be convenient to refer to these early accounts as A, B, C, and D. A and B are two versions of Schliemann's 31 May report to his publishers, Brockhaus of Leipzig.
Research Interests: Archaeology and Antiquity
... love but also with Allius' assistance, whereas in b (135-148) we meet with Catullus' love again but ... we have just the arrival of the mortal guests, whereas in c (267-302) we have the departure ... A (1-11) Attis... more
... love but also with Allius' assistance, whereas in b (135-148) we meet with Catullus' love again but ... we have just the arrival of the mortal guests, whereas in c (267-302) we have the departure ... A (1-11) Attis submits to Cybele's power; onset of furor B (12-26) Speech; Attis calls on ...
