Since December 2023, we have added 242 new works to the Library of Latin Texts, for a total of 6 million words, and we have replaced a number of already available texts by a more recent edition. Consequently, the LLT now contains 12,149 works (5,804 of which are diplomatic charters), which amounts to almost 165 million words.
Patristic era
Our endeavour to incorporate sermons falsely attributed to Saint Augustine has resulted in the addition of 31 pseudo-Augustinian sermons or sets of sermons, most of them from Late Antiquity or the Early Middle Ages. These include, among other texts, the so-called Apocrypha Priscillianistica and a series of sermons from the ‘School of Saint Augustine’.
From now on, scholars can also search the extensive series of (usually fairly short) commentaries on the Apostle’s Creed from Late Antiquity. More information about these expositiones symboli, as they are called, can be found in the overview works by Liuwe H. Westra (The Apostles’ Creed: Origin, History and Some Early Commentaries [Instrumenta Patristica et Mediaevalia, 43], Turnhout, 2002) and Susan Keefe (Explanationes symboli aevi Carolini [Corpus Christianorum, Continuatio Mediaevalis, 254], Turnhout, 2012).
We also draw attention to the addition of texts by lesser-known Patristic authors, such as the commentaries on the Epistles of Paul by the heretic Pelagius or the sermons of Eusebius of Emesa as translated into Latin in the fourth/fifth century.
And finally, we have updated the text of Jerome’s Commentaries on the Minor Prophets, which now contains the commentaries edited for the Series Latina of the Corpus Christianorum by Msgr Gryson in 2020 and 2023. Similarly, we have updated the letters addressed to Saint Augustine, replacing the early twentieth-century Goldbacher edition with the text edited by K. D. Daur for the Series Latina between 2004 and 2009.
Middle Ages
Following the inclusion of the Speculum doctrinale in 2020, we have now added a second part of Vincent of Beauvais’ Speculum maius: the Speculum historiale. This historical component of Vincent’s magnus opus gives an overview of history from the creation up to Vincent’s own time. Further parts of the Speculum maius will be added in the future. In the same encyclopaedic vein, Albert the Great’s De animalibus describes all common knowledge about zoology at the time of writing.
Furthermore, after ten years of gradual progress, the complete Opera omnia of Denis the Carthusian (1402–1471) are now available in the LLT. Celebrated as Doctor ecstaticus, Denis was one of the most prolific theologians of his time. He wrote over 150 works, mainly commentaries (on the Bible, several Patristic authors, and Peter the Lombard’s Sentences), but also theological treatises, sermons, and religious poems.
Over the last few updates, we have gradually been introducing the works of another famous Carthusian, Adam of Dryburgh (c. 1140–c. 1212). The current update sees the addition of some of his more famous works, such as the De quadripertito exercitio cellae and his treatise on the way of life of the Premonstratensian canons – Adam had indeed entered the Order of Prémontré before becoming a Carthusian.
From the twelfth and thirteenth centuries onwards, the Catholic Church saw the rise of the mendicant orders, with the Dominicans, or the Order of Preachers, being one of their prime examples. The current update of the LLT features the text of their oldest Constitutions, according to their reconstruction by Father Thomas. These Constitutions are commented upon by Humbert of Romans, the order’s fifth General Master, the majority of whose works can now be consulted in our database as well.
Finally, the current update enriches the LLT with a some important scholastic texts: Radulphus Brito’s Quaestiones super librum Ethicorum Aristotelis, Peter of Auvergne’s Questiones super I-VII libros Politicorum, and the texts published in the Artistarium series of Brepols.
Neo-Latin literature
We end our chronological overview with a selection of Neo-Latin texts. First, the Sylvae lyricae are a collection of occasional poetry composed by the German poet Jakob Balde (1604–1668) and inspired by the Roman poet Statius’ Silvae.
Secondly, as we approach the University of Leuven’s six-hundredth anniversary, we have added to our database the Historiae Lovaniensis libri XIV, a history of Leuven and its university written by Joannes Molanus (1533–1585).
Finally, we remain in the sixteenth century with Justus Lipsius’ (1547–1606) Monita et exempla politica, a series of concrete models of behaviour for rulers in the framework of Habsburg politics, and John Barclay’s (1582–1621) Icon animorum, in which the author describes the manners of his European contemporaries.
Announcement
In 2025, the first beta version of the LLT’s new interface will be made available alongside the existing interface. This new interface will not only feature an updated user experience, but also a completely reformed data structure, which will allow for more complex queries and better linking to external resources.
More information
Of course, this overview can only give a glimpse of the various recent additions to the LLT. Therefore, we invite our users to consult the list of new works (“New titles 2024”) and the full list of authors and titles (“All titles”). Both can be found in the “About” section of the database and are accessible without a subscription.