On the Bishops of Gubbio

(a) See Gerard Johann Vossius, On the Permutation of Letters, on the letter G.

In the older languages, as well as in Etruscan, the letter G was unknown. In its place, they used C or K. Hence, on the Duillius column, we find lecion, pucnando, maceftratos, and exfociont for legion, pugnando, magistratus, and effugiunt (a). In the Eugubine Tables—well known to all scholars by this very name—there are five tables written in that ancient Italian or Etruscan language, yet using Latin or, as some say, Pelasgic letters. However, the other five are written in the same ancient language and using characters that are either ancient Italian or Etruscan. Those words which have the letter G in the first two tables have the letter K in the remaining five, which the Etruscans used everywhere for C. Therefore, what was Ikuvium and Ikuvinus to the older Italians or Etruscans seemed to have the same sound as Iguvium and Iguvinus, as the Latins wrote it later.

(b) Pliny, Natural History, Book 15, Chapter 7. (c) Turnebus, Adversaria, Book 27, Chapter 17. (d) Book 3, Chapter 14.

VII. Subsequently, however, as the Latin language lost its original polish, the name of this city was also not slightly changed and corrupted. Turnebus, correcting a poorly rendered passage of Pliny (b), where in books published up to that day it read sicut in Italia e gummi as in Italy with gum, advises that it should be read, based on the authority of manuscript codices, sicut in Italia Eguvini as the Eguvini in Italy (c). If it were certain that Pliny had written it so, it would be evident that the ancient name Iguvium had already shifted to Eguvium by that time. But, even if I readily grant that Turnebus found Eguvini in the manuscript copies, I can hardly believe that Pliny himself, who in those same books of natural history, while listing the peoples of Umbria according to the order of their letters, had written Iguvinos (d), would have called the same people Eguvinos in another place. Therefore, I believe this change in the original name occurred after Pliny's age, and I do not wonder that Turnebus found it in copies of Pliny's history transcribed in a later era.

(e) Among these are Vibus, Vibas or Bibas, Bictor, Seberus, Balerius, etc., for Vivus, Vivas, Victor, Severus, Valerius, etc.

VIII. Once the old name Iguvium shifted to Eguvium, it necessarily, or at least very easily, had to migrate to Egubium. Everyone who has even the slightest knowledge of antiquity knows that in the fourth, fifth, and several following centuries after Christ, the letter B was customarily used everywhere in place of the consonant V. Countless examples of this occur in sepulchral inscriptions and other monuments of those times (e). This transmutation of letters had begun to prevail not only in a later age, but while the Latin language was still flourishing. To use this one example: in the inscription of the Fratres Arvales...