Susannas verlorene Stimme. Das Gedicht ‹Versus de sancta Susanna›: Erstedition und Analyse

Abstract

The aim of this article is to provide a critical edition of the poem ‹Versus de sanctaSusanna› found in Cracow, Ms. Theol. Lat. Oct. 94. This text seems to rewrite Peter Riga’s poem on the same theme from his ‹Floridus Aspectus›, versifying the biblicalstory of the chaste Susanna accused of adultery by the two Elders and rescued from death by Daniel (Dn 13). Consequently, it pertains to the well-known phenomenon of rewriting and completing Riga’s ‹Aurora›. The connection between the two works, i.e. model and epigone, is seen in their astonishingly similar structure and composition. These characteristics are analyzed in detail in the first part of the article in relationship to another of Riga’s poems on adultery, namely ‹Versus de sponso aduersussponsam suam›. These three pieces are transmitted in the same manuscript, thus demonstrating not only a thematic but also a compositional connection. In addition, through its vocabulary and style, the anonymous ‹Versus de sancta Susanna› contributes to the typological reading of the Susanna as a figurative type of Christ.

Keywords: Bible, biblical poetry, Petrus Riga, Susanna, versification, typology, ‹FloridusAspectus›, ‹Versus de sponso aduersus sponsam suam›