Praeneste fibula

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The Praeneste fibula (the "brooch of Palestrina") is a golden brooch bearing an inscription that was accepted nearly without question since its presentation to the public in 1887 by Wolfgang Helbig, an archaeologist, as the the earliest surviving specimen of the Latin language.^[1] The origin of the fibula was not stated in the presentation.^[2] Eventually it found its way to the Museo Preistorico Etnografico Luigi Pigorini in Rome. For many years it was kept on display but after it acquired notoriety when its authenticity was questioned more formally was removed from display.

Contents 1 Date and inscription 2 Possible hoax 3 Sources 4 Additional reading 5 External links

[edit] Date and inscription

The fibula was thought to originate from the 7th century BCE. It is inscribed with a text that appears to be written in Old Latin, here transcribed to English letters:

MANIOS MED FHEFHAKED NVMASIOI

The equivalent Classical Latin sentence obtained by applying the appropriate differences between Old Latin and Classical Latin would probably have been:

*MANIVS ME FECIT NVMERIO

translated as:

Manius fashioned me for Numerius

[edit] Possible hoax

In 1980 Margherita Guarducci, a leading epigraphist, published a book claiming that the inscription had been forged by Francesco Martinetti, an art dealer, and Helbig, who were known to have collaborated in shady dealings. Its presentation in 1887, she claimed, was in fact a hoax perpetrated to advance the careers of both men.^[3] This was the most formal but not the first accusation of its kind: Georg Karo had said that Martinetti told him he had stolen the fibula unengraved from the Tomba Bernadini.^[2] This is, however, hearsay, and the evidence presented by Guarducci is circumstantial. She accuses Helbig of having forged the inscription himself, without direct evidence of the forging.

[edit] Sources

1. ^ Conway, Robert Seymour (1897). The Italic Dialects: edited with a grammar and glossary. I. Cambridge (England): University Press. pp. 311-312. http://books.google.com/books?id=AvglAAAAMAAJ&printsec=titlepage&source=gbs_summary_r&cad=0. 
2. ^ ^{a b} Momigliano, A. (1989). "The Origin of Rome: III Settlement, Society and Culture in Latium and at Rome". The Cambridge Ancient History. VII Part 2: The Rise of Rome to 220 B.C. (2 ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 73-74. ISBN 0521234468, 9780521234467. 
3. ^ Gordon, Arthur E (October - November, 1982). "Review: La cosiddetta Fibula Prenestina. Antiquari, eruditi e falsari nella Roma dell' Ottocento by Margherita Guarducci". The Classical Journal 78 (1): 64-70. http://www.jstor.org/pss/3297269. 

[edit] Additional reading

For an explanation of why the fibula is likely a 19th‑century forgery, see:

• Arthur E. Gordon, Illustrated Introduction to Latin Epigraphy, Berkeley/Los Angeles/London 1983, ISBN 0-520-03898-3
• Larissa Bonfante, Etruscan Life and Afterlife: A Handbook of Etruscan Studies, Wayne State University Press, Detroit, 1986

For those who continue to hold the view that the fibula is authentic, see:

• Winfred P. Lehmann, Historical Linguistics, Routledge; 3rd edition, January, 1993
• R. Wachter, Altlateinische Inschriften. Sprachliche und epigraphische Untersuchungen zu den Dokumenten bis 150 v. Chr., Bern etc. 1987.
• E. Formigli, "Indagini archeometriche sull'autenticità della Fibula Praenestina". MDAI(R) 99 (1992) 329-343, Taf. 88-96.

[edit] External links

• Harsch, Ulrich (1996). "Fibula Praenestina" (html). Bibliotheca Augustana. http://www.hs-augsburg.de/~harsch/Chronologia/Lsante07/Fibula/fib_insc.html. Retrieved on 2009-02-09. 

This article includes a list of references, related reading or external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks inline citations. Please improve this article by introducing more precise citations where appropriate. (February 2008)