The legacy of Priscian and the doctrine of syntax in the Medieval Grammars

There are several gaps in the history of linguistics especially in the field of the origin of syntax. In spite of what one may find in the literature, syntax belonged to speculation on language and to the point of the interplay of grammar, rhetoric, and logic even up to the earliest phases of the modern age. The history of Western linguistic thought shows us that, at least until the Renaissance, the Trivium referred to the canonical ‘eight partes orationis’ rooted in the principles codified by Priscianus. The goal of our work is to trace a path of a doctrine of syntax within a concealed tradition, or, at least, in a tradition that was not given the importance such as it deserves in the history of linguistics. In particular, following some preliminary studies, we will first analyse the coniunctiones as partes orationis (relating to their original Greek label syndesmos) and provide an overview on the functions of specific syntactic categories, expressed e.g. through the participle (ad/con)nectens and ordinans, combined with either sententia / sententiae (sg. or pl.) or dictio or again elocutio.