Fragment einer historischen Dichtung über Kaiser Ludwig II. († 875)

Abstract

A late-eleventh or early-twelfth-century manuscript from Thorney abbey, preserved in the National Library of Scotland, uniquely transmits the beginning of a historical poem on the Carolingian emperor Louis II († 875, Schaller/Könsgen/Klein, ICL3866). Although its first editor, André Vernet, indicated some borrowings from Latinpoetry, he failed to recognize a crucial feature: the anonymous author, who probably worked in Northern Italy, adopted a rara avis of late antique Latin literature as his model, Priscian’s panegyric on emperor Anastasius I († 518). This article gives a newcritical edition of the Carolingian verses together with a translation and an extensivecommentary.
Keywords: Emperor Louis II, Emperor Anastasius I, Priscianus, ‹Gesta Berengarii›,Panegyric Literature, Reception of late antique Latin literature, Carolingian Poetry