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ΤΡΑΚΤΩΜΑ ΤΡAΚΤΩΣΟΝ, AVEC OU SANS CIRE ?
Authors
Anne-Marie Doyen-Higuet
Université catholique de Louvain Institut des civilisations, arts et lettres (INCAL) Centre d’études orientales - Institut orientaliste de Louvain (CIOL) Université de Namur Patrimoines, Transmissions, Héritages (PaTHs) Fontes Antiquitatis
Abstract
ΤΡΑΚΤΩΜΑ ΤΡΑΚΤΩΣΟΝ, WITH OR WITHOUT WAX?The Greek noun τράκτωμα (or sometimes τράκτον) and corresponding verb τράκτωσον appear as far as we know in a very few medical texts, mainly veterinary (horses and falcons), but also human, in unedited recipes of the Parisinus Gr. 2510. Most dictionaries define the term as a plaster made with treated wax (κηρὸς τρακτός), but a careful study of the texts shows that often wax does not even enter into the composition of a τράκτωμα. This confirms Manfred Bambeck’s translation (1959) “Klebepflaster”, more in accordance with the true etymology (as shown by Pascal Luccioni, 2003) from Latin tractum/tracta.
