Plants in Exegesis: Difficulties in Medieval Slavonic Translations of John Chrysostom and Theodoret of Cyrrhus
Plants in Exegesis: Difficulties in Medieval Slavonic Translations of John Chrysostom and Theodoret of Cyrrhus

Summary/Abstract: This study examines how medieval South Slavonic translators rendered Greek botanical terminology into Old Church Slavonic (Old Bulgarian) and how their choices varied. Early translations from the 9th – 11th centuries tended to be contextual and flexible, while 14th – 15th-century translators preferred greater lexical and grammatical precision, frequently adopting Greek loanwords. Using different translations of the commentaries to the Song of Songs and of John Chrysostom’s De statuis as case studies, the article illustrates how botanical terms were interpreted differently according to the translators’ strategies and skill. Particular attention is given to plant names whose interpretation depended on theological commentaries, especially in late catena translations, where loanwords were introduced, but sometimes explanatory synonyms were added for clarity. These examples highlight the translators’ efforts to render Greek sources faithfully while remaining comprehensible to Slavic readership.

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