Encyclopedia of Early Modern History Online

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Commentary
(1,006 words)

1. Concept and origins

The commentary is one of the most widespread learned text types of the early modern period. It had essentially emerged in all its various forms during Antiquity [8]. The practice of commentating dates back to the Athenian schools of the 5th century BCE and was soon the custom among teachers and scholars for working with texts. The commentary was brought to Western Europe in Late Antiquity by way of Rome. The original meaning of the Latin commentarius is a written a…

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Neumann, Florian, “Commentary”, in: Encyclopedia of Early Modern History Online, Editors of the English edition: Graeme Dunphy, Andrew Gow. Original German Edition: Enzyklopädie der Neuzeit. Im Auftrag des Kulturwissenschaftlichen Instituts (Essen) und in Verbindung mit den Fachherausgebern herausgegeben von Friedrich Jaeger. Copyright © J.B. Metzlersche Verlagsbuchhandlung und Carl Ernst Poeschel Verlag GmbH 2005–2012. Consulted online on 19 March 2024 <http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/2352-0272_emho_COM_022429>
First published online: 2015
First print edition: 20170206



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