Catulli Veronensis Liber

Emil Baehrens (1848-1888) was a German classicist, who produced many important editions of Latin poets, travelling extensively to view manuscript sources. This edition of Catullus was published in two parts, the text in 1876 and the commentary in 1885. It was particularly significant for its analysis of the manuscript sources. He proved conclusively that the late fourteenth-century texts known as Codex Oxoniensis and Codex Sangermanensis were derived from an earlier, almost complete, manuscript from Catullus’ home town of Verona, and that all editions should be based on these texts. A. E. Housman considered Baehren’s edition to be a landmark in Catullus scholarship, and that while it was not faultless, it had both intrinsic merit and historical interest. Although not all of Baehrens’ readings are now accepted, and a third reliable source has since been found, the book still has a value for those interested in classical textual scholarship.