Abstract

Ever since the work of Otto Miiller it has been generally agreed that the most important manuscript of the Thebaid is Puteaneus , a ninth-century manuscript in the Bibliothèque Nationale . It is not only the earliest extant manuscript but it has a large number of readings not found elsewhere, many of which are obviously preferable to what is offered by the other tradition, normally referred to as ω. Both traditions are early, however, since Lactantius depends on inferior ω material while Priscian seems to have followed the P tradition