Work, version, text and scriptum: high medieval manuscript terminology in the aftermath of the new philology

This article reviews the terminological framework to describe manuscripts. The Lachmannian terminology allows scholars to classify manuscripts as versions or variants of a work on a purely textual basis, but lacks a rigid designator to indicate a (part of a) manuscript as a unit of text and material considerations. Conversely, scholars who adopt Dagenais’ solution to renounce the work and concentrate on the material scriptum gain a rigid designator, but threaten to lose the ability to classify manuscripts at all. Proceeding from a case study, the article argues that the twelfth-century view of a work’s ontological status enables medievalists to keep classifying their scripta on both textual and material grounds. It explores the possibility of using Dagenais’ scriptum as the foundation for a Neo-Lachmannian terminological framework that allows scholars to study manuscript variance and materiality without losing the ability to classify them

Handschriftelijke productie in tijden van hervorming: de kloosterbibliotheek van Sint-Gislenus in het tweede kwart van de elfde eeuw

When Heribrand became abbot of Saint-Ghislain (circa 1024/1025 - circa 1051), the Benedictine abbey had been fighting poverty, attacks from secular lords and underpopulation for years. Under the new abbot the monastery began to take a turn for the better, as is indicated by the growth of its library. This article investigates that library in an attempt to gain a better insight in the policy of Heribrand and his immediate successors. A codicological analysis shows that five hagiographical manuscripts, currently preserved in Brussels and Mons, were produced as one ambitious project of at least 445 folios. This project was started relatively shortly after Heribrand became abbot of Saint-Ghislain and was more soberly executed than was strictly necessary. This article argues that this austerity cannot be satisfactorily linked to the abbeys poverty or presumed apostolic ideals, as other Saint-Ghislain manuscripts from the same period were lavishly illuminated. Instead, their austerity seems to be related to their context of use. The same goes for the manuscript production in most reformed eleventh-century abbeys, leading to the conclusion that reformed abbots were viewing manuscript layout in a pragmatic light, rather then trying to make them all conform to a spiritual ideal. Secondly, Heribrand had sent scribes to various monasteries in order to copy the most interesting hagiographical redactions. In doing so, these scribes exhibited a remarkable preference for abbeys that were only recently reformed, like Saint-Ghislain itself, and abbeys that were located within the boundaries of the Empire. Moreover, a new Life of Ghislain expound in great detail on this saint’s relations with the patrons of neighboring monasteries. I argue that this might indicate a desire by Heribrand to cultivate ties with other abbeys, in order to put the impoverished abbey of Saint-Ghislain back on the religious map of the Southern Low Countries

From scandal to monastic penance: a reconciliatory manuscript from the early twelfth-century abbey of St. Laurent in Liège

An important element of monastic penance and conflict resolution was its repetitive, almost cyclical nature. The manuscripts that were used during these performances often proceed implicitly, which makes them difficult to contextualize and understand. This article considers a possible example of such "hidden" reconciliatory discourse in a manuscript that was produced for the congregation of St. Laurent in Liege around the turn of the eleventh century: Brussels, Royal Library 9361-9367. It examines the sin of pride in monastic dignitaries, discusses the best way to atone for it, and provides tools for the penitent to start living a more virtuous life in the future. The surviving evidence suggests that this manuscript was produced in reaction to the deeds of abbot Berenger, whose actions in 1095 were considered scandalous by contemporaries because he had led his monks into confusion and sin. The article shows how the combination of texts in this manuscript takes on a different meaning because of these politically charged circumstances, and argues that the St. Laurent manuscript was a discreet but methodical way to end the resulting estrangement between Berenger and his monks. In this interpretation, Brussels RL 9361-9367 is a rare and highly relevant testimony to the ways in which monks in the early twelfth century dealt with psychological and social tensions in the wake of an intra-group conflict

Een boek voor de koning. Erasmus, Hendrik VIII en convoluut CaaA282

status: publishe

Theo Janssen and Ann Marynissen, Het Narrenschip in de Lage Landen. DEEL 1: Josse Bade. Der zotten ende der narren scip – tekst en hertaling. DEEL 2: Het schip ingaan – inleiding en aantekeningen

status: publishe

The Black Cistercians: The Reactions of Black Monks to Bernard of Clairvaux and the Challenges of Increased Competition

In the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, Black Monks possessed more works by Bernard of Clairvaux than the Cistercians themselves. This situation has historically been taken as evidence for the Black Monks' great admiration for Bernard's spiritual message. Based on a comparison of booklists from Southern Germany, England, and the Southern Low Countries, this article argues that the reality was more acomplicated. In the Southern Low Countries, the Black Monks studied Bernard's works and for a while attempted to counter the pull of Clairvaux by becoming more like the Cistercians themselves. In England and Southern Germany, where Bernard posed less of a threat, the Black Monks were significantly less interested in his writings.status: publishe