Towards a New Edition of the Chronographia Attributed to Malalas

The transmission of the text of the Chronographia attributed to Malalas is rather complex. In addition to an unique incomplete manuscript (Baroccianus 182), the parallel tradition is intricate and diverse: summaries, excerpts, rewritings not only in Greek but also in Latin, in Slavonic, in Ethiopian. The monumental edition prepared by Hans Thurn for the Corpus Fontium Historian Byzantine was published over 25 years ago. However, this work suffered from the death of its author, and experts identified areas of improvement immediately after its publication. The translation and commentary work carried out on the text since then has further sharpened this conviction. A better understanding of the text makes it possible to reconsider the problem of its transmission. In particular, it appears now crucial to approach the editing method itself on a new basis, to take account of the fluidity of the tradition, which is a corollary of the very nature of the Chronographia considered as an 'open text'. This paper presents an overview of the issue and outlines the prospects for producing a new edition of the Chronographia that reflects the complexity and versatility of its production, transmission, and posterity.