Mittellateinisches Jahrbuch

Inhaltsverzeichnis

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Inhaltsverzeichnis Band 58, Heft 3 (2023)

Wrocław, University Library, Mil. II 150: Date, Place, Origin and Witnesses of a Late Medieval Latin Compilation

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Wrocław, University Library, Mil. II 150 (6180) is a German manuscript transmitting a set of patristic, medieval, and humanistic Latin texts. Although it gives no explicit clue as to its date or origin, it can be convincingly demonstrated that it was written sometime between the 29th November 1458 and the end of 1460 within the environment of the University of Leipzig and, specifically, the Faculty of Theology. This manuscript and its owner and partial scribe – the theologian and academic Andreas Rüdiger – can be linked to other manuscripts and people active at Leipzig University. This relationship sheds light on a set of German academics and students, who shared common interests in Latin works written by (or attributed to) Isidore of Seville, as well as in texts related to the Bohemian Hussite revolution. A commented list of books owned and works written by Andreas Rüdiger is offered as an appendix.

Der Pauper scolaris des Volpertus (1343)

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Thomas Haye: The Pauper scolaris of Volpertus (1343). A lament about being a schoolmaster and the hunt for a prebend

In his Pauper scolaris, completed in 1343, the poet Volpertus describes the ideal-typical biography of a poor schoolteacher who applies to the papal curia in forma pauperum for a benefice. The text is inspired by the Laborintus of Eberhard the German and follows the traditions of satire and didactic poetry. In addition, Volpertus apparently also incorporates his own experiences. As one can see from the text, the author received a nomination from Pope Clement VI (1342 – 1352) for the prebend of a provost at a church in Mainz. However, the fact that he, although a studied teacher, is only fourth on the list of candidates seems unfair to him and a sign of a capricious fate. Beyond its poetic value, the poem is also an important psychological source for the late medieval system of awarding benefices. On the basis of the unique source (Mainz, Stadtbibliothek, Hs I 117), it is edited here for the first time and analysed in the light of literary history.

Spätantike Vorlagen in Cathwulfs Brief an Karl den Großen

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Rainer Carl Wierzcholowski: Late antique models in Cathwulf’s letter to Charlemagne

This article examines two hitherto overlooked models in Cathwulf’s famous admonitory letter to Charlemagne (ca 775): Lactantius’ De opificio Dei (19,4 – 5) in the exordium and the so-called Heptateuch poet (exod. 507 – 521) in the concluding poem. Analysing Cathwulf’s adaptation of these texts, the article sheds light not only on the textual transmission, but above all on stylistic and literary features of the letter. Firstly, while Cathwulf relies on De opificio Dei to support his argument, he also tries to improve his model stylistically. Secondly, the adaptation of the Heptateuch reveals an elaborate literary device: Drawing on the Canticle of Moses, the poet praises Charlemagne as ›new Moses‹. As a result, Cathwulf proves himself to be a literarily ambitious epistolographer who both demonstrates and demands erudition in his correspondence.

Petrarch and ›Modern Writers‹: Two Little-Known Witnesses to the Legend of ›Fastrada’s Ring‹

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This paper studies two little-known Italian witnesses to the legend of ›Fastrada’s ring‹: chap. 33 in Book 2 of Francesco Pipino’s Chronicon (c. 1321 – 1328) and a passage from the life of Emperor Otto IV in Matteo Maria Boiardo’s Historia Imperiale (mid-1470s). The testimony of the Chronicon deserves particular attention, because it is earlier than Petrarch’s letter in the Familiares (Book 1, letter 4), which until now has been regarded as the first existing Latin account of the legend. The Chronicon is the work of a compiler: Pipino writes history by assembling and juxtaposing different sources, which he almost always indicates accurately. However, he does not mention the source of chap. 33 in Book 2. This paper examines the different sources of Book 2 of the Chronicon and attempts to explain the relationship between Pipino and Petrarch’s tales.

Nachruf: Helmut Gneuss (1927 – 2023)

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Helmut Gneuss (29 October 1927 – 26 February 2023)

Albertino Mussato’s Glosses on Seneca’s Tragedies: Preliminary Remarks

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The paper offers an overview of Albertino Mussato’s commentary on Seneca’s Tragedies, which survives in fragmentary form in two manuscripts; dating to the beginning of the 14th c., it is probably the earliest exposition on the work of the tragedian. Hypotheses are suggested concerning the relationship between the commentary and other writings of Mussato devoted to Seneca, such as a Vita Senece, the Argumenta to the ten plays and a treatise on meter known as Evidentia tragediarum Senece. Moreover, the main features of the glosses are presented, with particular regard to Mussato’s remarks on meter, to the parallels with classical, medieval and biblical passages that the author pointed out in his exposition, and to his philological approach to the Senecan text.