Eusebius’ Canon Tables as a Paratext for Ordering Textual Knowledge

Abstract

This chapter situates the Eusebian apparatus against the backdrop of the theory and history of paratexts and the theory and history of information visualization. It argues that Eusebius’ Canon Tables were a highly original paratext and a remarkably sophisticated instance of information visualization when compared to what preceded them. The closest formal analogue to the Canon Tables is shown to be the astronomical tables composed by Ptolemy in the second century. When seen in relation to the fourfold gospel, the Canon Tables are a paratext that orders the textual material of the gospels by organizing it into relational categories and providing the user with a navigational system when reading the corpus.