Gli elogi nelle lettere di raccomandazione di alti dignitari ecclesiastici nel secolo XII

Through the comparative analysis of Latin letters of recommendation written by five high ranking twelfth-century religious men (Bernard of Clairvaux, Peter the Venerable, Peter of Celle, Gilbert Foliot, John of Salisbury), this study aims to show that the praises contained in these letters are not completely independent from any characteristics of the letter itself, but are rather influenced by various of its elements. The article, focuses on the way in which each author’s peculiar tendencies are reflected in the kind of praises used in the letters, and on how these praises differ on the basis of the type of beneficiary and request. Therefore, this attests to the existence of a shared repertoire of traits ideally associated with a certain role in society, for example that of a cleric, a monk, a bishop, an abbot, and even of a clerk and a letter-bearer

Pratiques et conceptions de l’amitié dans le recueil des lettres de Pierre le Vénérable (première moitié du XIIe siècle)

es lettres se présentent comme une source idéale pour examiner les pratiques et les conceptions amicales au XIIe siècle. Celles de Pierre le Vénérable, neuvième abbé de Cluny, constituent un matériau particulièrement riche: elles témoignent du rôle de l'amitié comme code de communication, nourri de modèles classiques et bibliques, avec ses lieux communs et ses formules propres. En outre, elles dessinent tout un réseau de relations, politiques mais aussi affectives, qui se superpose à celui de la hiérarchie institutionnelle, à l'intérieur du monastère comme dans les relations avec le monde extérieur. Indispensable pour l'action politique et sociale, l'amitié est enfin un thème important dans la réflexion religieuse du XIIe siècle

Memory and Materiality in the Letters and Gifts sent by Ansellus ‘de Turre’ from Jerusalem to Paris, ca 1120

Questo articolo analizza come i riferimenti a elementi materiali esistenti (ambienti e oggetti) potessero essere usati a scopo memoriale, sia per coltivare memorie passate, sia per crearne di nuove. Prenderà come caso di studio due lettere inviate da Ansellus, allora cantore del Santo Sepolcro a Gerusalemme, al capitolo della cattedrale di Notre-Dame a Parigi, nel 1120, con l’obiettivo di sottolineare e rafforzare il suo legame con la comunità. Queste lettere attestano la varietà dei mezzi usati a questo scopo: dall’uso sapiente della retorica all’invio di doni preziosi (specificamente, reliquie) e alla condivisione di un patrimonio di conoscenze, fino alla circolazione di inviati e alla creazione di associazioni di preghiera

Horizontal learning in the high middle ages : introduction

While medieval learning has long been the object of scholarly attention, ‘horizontal learning’ – that is, knowledge transmitted and acquired in a context of informal interactions, to which traditional categories such as ‘teachers’ and ‘disciples’ do not necessarily apply – remains little studied. To f ill this gap, this volume builds on ideas formulated by Jean Lave and Étienne Wenger to approach learning as a situated phenomenon that can never be decontextualized from the social and even physical environment in which it took place. The contributions collected here will exemplify various means of learning, considering the interplay between literate and non-literate modes as well as the problems posed by the necessity of using written sources as attestations of non-literate forms of learning

L'autografia d'autore Cambiamenti nella realizzazione e nella concezione del libro dal XII secolo all'invenzione della stampa

Si ritiene a volte che l'invenzione della stampa abbia innescato il cambiamento nel modo di concepire l'oggetto libro, segnando il passaggio dall'idea medievale a quella moderna. Occorre però tenere presente che esiste un'importante evoluzione interna al medioevo e che l'invenzione della stampa, per quanto fondamentale, è da inserire all'interno di questo processo più ampio, che a partire dal XII secolo circa trasforma l'uso e la funzione stessa della scrittura, rivoluziona il modo di leggere e di conseguenza il libro stesso, sia concettualmente sia come oggetto fisico. L'approccio scelto per questo studio mira a risalire alle radici culturali dei cambiamenti nelle pratiche del lavoro intellettuale e, viceversa, a indagare se e come tali cambiamenti abbiano potuto influenzare, attraverso le opere stesse, la cultura dell'epoca. Il fenomeno oggetto specifico dell'indagine è l'autografia letteraria d'autore che, eccezionale nell'alto medioevo, è testimoniata da una nuova e ininterrotta serie di casi a partire dall'XI-XII secolo, per poi diffondersi nei secoli successivi. Il panorama culturale della fine del medioevo appare dunque caratterizzato dalla tensione tra una ricorrente aspirazione all'individualizzazione del rapporto tra l'autore e il suo testo, che si realizzava in un modello di produzione libraria basato su uno stretto controllo dell'autore sul prodotto finale, dal punto di vista sia filologico-testuale sia grafico e materiale, e l'opposta tendenza all'allentamento del controllo dell'autore sulla propria opera, come naturale conseguenza di una sempre più vasta circolazione dei testi ma anche di una diversa concezione del ruolo autoriale. It is generally believed that the invention of printing triggered a cultural change, marking the passage between the medieval idea of the book and the modern one. It should be noted, though, that there was an important evolution through the Late Middle Ages, and that the printing revolution, however crucial, must be placed inside the wider process that from the XIIth century onwards transformed the use and function of writing, of reading and, consequently, the book itself, both theoretically and physically. The aim of this study is to track the cultural roots of the changes in the practices of intellectual work and, viceversa, to determine whether and how such changes may have influenced, through the literary production, late medieval culture. I have focused on the phenomenon of literary autography which, very unusual in the Early Middle Ages, is attested by a new and uninterrupted series of examples from the XIth-XIIth centuries onwards. The cultural landscape of the end of the Middle Ages appears therefore marked by the tension between a recurring drive towards an individualisation of the relation between an author and his work and a strict control by the author over the final product (both philologically and graphically) and an opposite trend leading to the loosening of the author's control over his work, as a natural result of the circulation of the texts but also of a different idea of the authorial role

Autografia ed epistolografia tra XI e XIII secolo: per un'analisi delle testimonianze sulla 'scrittura di propria mano'

«Dear friend, I am writing this letter to you in my own hand...». Such are the declarations of medieval authors whose texts are here collected and analyzed. In a world where the vast majority of intellectuals did not write with their own hand, but rather employed a secretary who wrote under dictation, the epistolary milieu was one of the contexts in which the practice of autography and its valorization developed, foreshadowing their spread in the modern age. The letters often offer information concerning the circumstances in which they were written and the aims of their authors, and therefore constitute a suitable source; the analysis of the references to autography in Latin letter written between the beginning of the XI century and the first half of the XIII allows to examine the authors’ awareness of the possible uses and advantages of autography, and more generally their conception of writing and composing

Entre spiritualité monastique et canoniale : le thème de la formation dans les lettres d’Adam de Perseigne

La pensée d’Adam, deuxième abbé du monastère cistercien de Perseigne entre 1188 et 1221, nous est attestée, au-delà des sermons, par un recueil de lettres où le thème de la formation se révèle central. Son enseignement a été défini « très caractéristiquement cistercien », mais la présente étude se propose de mettre en lumière la présence, à côté d’éléments caractéristiques de la tradition cistercienne et monastique, d’éléments atypiques, qui semblent relever plutôt de la spiritualité canoniale. En particulier, l’abbé prête attention à la manière dont le comportement de l’individu affecte son prochain, auquel, selon lui, tous, y compris les moines, ont le devoir d’enseigner à travers la parole et l’exemple. Cette particularité, qui distingue Adam des autres auteurs monastiques de l’époque, est probablement le fruit de sa carrière religieuse mouvementée, et en particulier de son expérience comme chanoine régulier.The thought of Adam, second abbot of the Cistercian monastery of Perseigne between 1188 and 1221, is attested to us by his sermons and by a letter-collection. In the latter, which will be analyzed here, the theme of learning emerges as a crucial one. His ideas have been labelled as “characteristically Cistercian”; however, this study aims to highlight that, next to aspects which are typical of the monastic (and especially Cistercian) tradition, there are also atypical elements, which are usually associated with the spirituality of regular canons. Most importantly, Adam pays a remarkable attention to the way in which individual behavior affects one’s neighbor, whom everyone, including monks, has the responsibility to edify through teaching by word and example. This peculiarity, which sets Adam apart from the other monastic authors of his time, is probably the result of his complicated religious career, and in particular of his experience as a regular canon