Grammarian’s teaching vs. Actual use: the use of conjunctions in the Vindolanda writing tablets

Abstract

This article aims to sketch the grammatical scholarship on the copulative conjunction et in the Vindolanda tablets, comparing the few apparently non-Classical uses with the alleged testimony of the only coeval Latin grammarian who extensively dealt with the matter, i.e. Remmius Palaemon. It is possible to trace two important elements back to the sources quoting Palaemon’s contribution to grammatical scholarship: the concept of ordo applied to the use of conjunction and the use of verses from Virgil’s most famous masterpiece. With reference to the use of the conjunction et, it is possible to compare whether its use within the Vindolanda tablets is coherent with the prescription of use allegedly recommended by Palaemon (although through the words of Charisius and Diomedes).