Overview of new texts

The 2022 updates of the Library of Latin Texts (which since 2021 has brought together the former LLT-A and LLT-B) add 200 new works to the database. Furthermore, three texts have been made available from a new edition, and the textual corpus of three dossiers has been augmented. Therefore, compared to December 2021, the LLT now contains over 7.5 million words pertaining to works that have been added or modified. Consequently, the LLT now contains a total of some 153.8 million words. The current version of the LLT allows scholars to consult 11,614 works (among which 5,804 are diplomatic charters).

In this overview, the texts are presented in a chronological order. Note that we will describe an important new corpus of twentieth-century texts at the end of this presentation.

With regard to the texts from the Patristic period, we have re-organized the dossier of Gregory the Great’s epistulae. The content of the Registrum epistularum has been limited to that of the Registrum Lateranense edited by Dag Norberg, which corresponds, as far as possible, to the corpus of letters compiled at Gregory’s own request. We have begun enriching this corpus with a whole series of texts that constitute letters written by or attributed to Gregory, as well as letters addressed to Gregory or appearing in the manuscripts that preserve his correspondence. These added works include, among others, the ten texts that can be found as Appendices published by Dag Norberg at the end of his edition of the Registrum.

The corpus of Saint Jerome’s translations of Origen has been enlarged by those of the homilies on Isaiah and Ezekiel. Furthermore; within the Commentarii in prophetas minores, the old edition by Marc Adriaen of Jerome’s commentary on the prophet Habakuk has been replaced by the new edition published by Sincero Mantello. We have also been able to integrate two texts falsely attributed to the scholar from Stridon: a Praefatio to the Book of Psalms and, above all, the Breuiarium in psalmos, compiled in the middle or at the end of the seventh century from, among other sources, the authentic Commentarioli in psalmos and Tractatus LIX in psalmos, as well as the anonymous compilation called Glosa psalmorum ex traditione seniorum, which dates back to the first half of the seventh century.

Once more, the dossier of Saint Augustine’s Sermones ad populum has been updated. The text of six sermons has been replaced by a new edition: serm. 101 auct (Wilmart 20), serm. 256, serm. 263 auct., serm. 266, serm. 299E, and serm. 381.

Extracts from the Collectio quae dicitur ‘Palatina primaria’, a collection of texts relating mainly to the Ecumenical Councils of Ephesus (431) and Chalcedon (451), which was assembled by an anonymous Scythian monk in the sixth century, were included in the LLT from its first publication, the text being taken from the Series Latina, volume 85A. We have now inserted into the database the complete text of the Collatio, and we have also integrated the additamenta to the Collectio ‘Palatina’, published between 1924 and 1926 by E. Schwartz in volume V of the Acta conciliorum oecumenicorum. Also included in this group of texts is the Epistula synodica ad Nestorium by Cyril of Alexandria, as translated by Dionysius Exiguus.

As usual, this year we have also incorporated the Latin texts published over the course of the previous year in the Sacris Erudiri journal. The current update includes, first of all, the De diuersis appellationibus, whose attribution to Nicetas of Remesiana cannot be proven. A second text, whose editio princeps was published in Sacris Erudiri, is the Commentarius exegeticus in ‘Versus maligni angeli’, a commentary dating from the twelfth century that deals with an obscure poem, the Versus maligni angeli, and which has been preserved in a twelfth-century manuscript housed at the Médiathèque Voyelles of Charleville-Mézières. Next, the update includes an Epistula contra haereticos dating from the beginning of the ninth century, a refutation of unknown heretics from the years 800-810, who claimed that Christ did not rise in his ‘true’ flesh and that he could not have retained it in heaven. Finally, we have also integrated the Epistula ad Taionem by Quiricus of Barcelona (d. 666).

We have also integrated into the database various other texts published in recent volumes of this journal. Among these are the sermons of Odo of Châteauroux (Odo de Castro Radulphi, c. 1200–1273), an anonymous treatise from the tenth century dealing with exegetical and catechetical matters, entitled Item aliae quaestiones in quibus sunt nonnullae de Genesi, as well as other hagiographical, poetic, and polemical texts. Similarly, we have incorporated the Vita Froilanis episcopi Legionensis, published by José Carlos Martín in the miscellany offered to François Dolbeau in 2009.

The series of newly introduced medieval texts largely consists of letter collections. Thus we have inserted the epistolary corpora of Alexander III (pope from 1159 to 1181) and Celestine III (pope from 1191 to 1198). The database now also contains two letters by Aimery of Limoges (patriarch of Antioch from 1140 to 1165 and from 1170 to 1193), two letters by Terricus (the Templariorum magnus praeceptor, who called himself ‘Grand Preceptor of the Temple House in Jerusalem’), and finally a series of letters by the Conuentus Claraeuallensis and by Petrus Monoculus (c. 1125–1186), the sixth abbot of Clairvaux.

Another important epistolary corpus is the correspondence of Peter of Blois (c. 1135–c. 1203). His letters place him among the most brilliant representatives of Latin literature at the time (Rolf Köhn). We have reproduced the text of the edition published in 1847 by John Allen Giles, which, although it is still the reference edition, “is fraught with problems” (L. Wahlgren); the letters of Peter of Blois are in dire need of a new critical edition. We have respected the structure of Giles’ edition, which distinguishes between: (1) the letters edited in 1667 by Peter of Goussainville, (2) the letters not covered by Goussainville, but reinstated among the authentic epistulae by Giles on the authority of the codex Sidnaeo-Sussexianus Cantabrigensis Δ 5 13, and (3) the letters published for the first time by Giles.

Among the important works by Peter of Blois, we also need to point out his sermons. We have integrated into the database the sermons published by Giles (who reuses Goussainville’s edition of 1667). These sermons date from the time when Peter was an archdeacon. We have distinguished the sermons recognized as authentic by the communis opinio from the non-authentic sermons.

With regard to Alcuin, Charlemagne’s erudite adviser, we have completed the dossier of his pedagogical works by including the De dialectica.

The Carthusian monk Adam Scotus (Adam of Dryburgh, d. c. 1212) was a prolific author. From the many sermons he wrote, the 2022 update of the database includes the 47 Sermones de tempore, reprinted by Migne in volume 198 of his Patrology.

Petrus Comestor (d. 1179) is best known for his Historia scholastica, which has long been included in the database, but he was also known at the time as a preacher. Contemporary research has made it possible to attribute to him about one hundred and ninety sermons. We have integrated into the LLT the sermons which appear in volume 198 of the Patrologia Latina and which are part of the fifty-one sermons formerly attributed to Peter of Blois.

The Dominican friar Alfonsus Bonihominis (Alfonso Buenhombre, d. c. 1353) was a successful author in his time. The publication of his opera omnia in 2020 by Antoni Biosca Bas has made him known to modern readers. We have incorporated his Disputatio Abutalib Sarraceni et Samuelis Iudaei and Epistula Samuelis, as well as three texts translated from Arabic by Bonihominis: the Historia Ioseph, the Legenda sancti Antonii, and the Tractatus contra malos medicos.

The twelve commentaries on the Minor Prophets, which Eucharius Cervicornus published in 1529 under the name of Haymo of Halberstadt, are a complex set of texts when it comes to their authenticity. The first four of these commentaries must be attributed to Haymo of Auxerre (a contemporary of Haymo of Halberstadt), while the latter eight should be attributed to Heiric of Auxerre, Haymo’s pupil and successor. A part of the manuscript tradition replaces Haymo’s commentaries to Obadiah, Amos, and Joel with commentaries by unknown authors. Msgr Roger Gryson has edited all the texts in this dossier in the Continuatio Mediaevalis (CCCM 135F–135G), and this is the edition that we have used as the basis for our current update.

Medieval exegesis is also represented by the Commentarium in LXXV Dauidis psalmos by the eleventh-century abbot Letbert of Saint-Ruf. This commentary had been falsely attributed to Rufinus of Aquileia until Dom Wilmart definitively resolved the issue of Letbert’s authorship in 1914.

Another important exegete, Andrew of Saint-Victor, is represented in the current update by his Expositio super Isaiam, a Bible commentary influenced by contemporary Jewish exegesis.

The Commentarium in Psalmos, which we have integrated under the name of Anselm of Laon, was printed by Migne, following the tradition, as a work by Haymo of Halberstadt. Dom Wilmart attributed this commentary to Anselm, but this attribution remains controversial.

Bruno the Carthusian, born around 1030 in Cologne, was the founder of the Carthusian Order. Among the many works attributed to him, an attribution which, in general, does not stand up to critical examination, we have included in the LLT the Expositio in Psalmos and the Expositiones in omnes epistulas Pauli apostoli. The authenticity of these two important texts remains disputed and is denied by most scholars.

In 2020 we incorporated those parts of the Expositio in Psalmos by Honorius of Autun (c. 1080–after 1153) that can be found in the Patrologia Latina. This time, we are continuing the inclusion of Honorius’ works with the Gemma animae, the Speculum ecclesiae, the Expositio in Cantica canticorum, and the De cognitione uerae uitae, which is an authentic work, even though the manuscripts are more or less unanimous in attributing it to Saint Augustine.

For many years, the LLT has offered access to a number of collections of exempla (e.g. works by Stephen of Bourbon, Humbert of Romans, and anonymous works such as, among others, the Collectaneum exemplorum uisionum Claraeuallense e codice Trecensi 946). This time, we have added to this series the Compilatio singularis exemplorum that dates from the thirteenth or fourteenth century.

From 1456 to 1457, an (unsuccessful) process of canonization took place with the intention of beatifying Rosa of Viterbo, a young girl who was born around 1233 and died in 1251 or 1252, and who lived a devout life in the time of Frederick II. On this occasion, a hagiographical dossier was collected, including her vita as well as two series of miracula. This dossier has been incorporated according to the text published in volume 306 of the Corpus Christianorum’s Continuatio mediaevalis.

The corpus of Peter Abelard’s works has been enriched by the integration of the collection of his sermons. The texts in our database are taken from the first critical edition of this corpus, drawn up by L. J. Engels and completed by Chr. Vande Veire.

We have continued integrating the works of Denis the Carthusian into the database. This time, we have made available Denis’ adaptions (which he called translationes) of John Cassian’s Conferences and Institutes, his Sermones de tempore tam ad saeculares quam ad religiosos, and his commentaries on Boethius’ Consolation of Philosophy.

For many years now, the corpus of John Wyclif’s works in the LLT has been regularly enlarged by the addition of new works. In the current update, the Trialogus and the De donatione ecclesiae (also called Supplementum Trialogi) have been added, as well as the series of opera minora, published in 1913 by Johannes Loserth.

The Cistercian monk Helinand of Froidmont (d. after 1229) is widely known for his Chronicon, a universal history from Creation to 1204 that is only partially preserved. We have integrated into the database those parts that were printed in the Patrologia Latina. Of the sixty-eight sermons identified as being written by Helinand, only twenty-eight have been printed. Here again, we have inserted the text that Migne printed in his Patrologia.

The corpus of Raimundus Lullus has been enlarged by the insertion of his Ars ad faciendum et soluendum quaestiones (op. lat. 64), a work composed in Catalan, the Latin translation of which was only completed in 1407, a long time after the philosopher’s death.

Two works by Peter the Chanter, Verbum abbreuiatum and the Summa de sacramentis et animae consiliis, were already present in the LLT before the current update. However, apart from these contributions to scholastic literature, Peter the Chanter can also be considered the ‘front-runner’ of the literary genre of distinctiones. This genre can be described as ‘alphabetical repertories, in which the ‘equivocal’ terms of the Bible, or at least those deemed to be so, are explained and discussed with more or less insistence and according to various methods’ (A. Wilmart). Peter the Chanter’s Distinctiones Abel have been introduced into the LLT from the first complete critical edition of the work, published in 2004 by Stephen A. Barney.

We have completed the incorporation of the six works that make up the Corpus iuris canonici by inserting into the database the Clementinae (i.e. the Constitutiones of Clement V), the Extrauagantes Ioannis papae XXII (twenty Constitutiones of John XXII), and the Extrauagantes communes (i.e. the Extrauagantes decretales, the beginnings of which go back to John XXII, and which constitute a corpus compiled and arranged in the last instance by Jean Chappuis for his 1500 edition).

The literary production of Ratramnus of Corbie can be situated largely between the years 845 and 870. We have integrated his De anima (not to be confused with the Liber de anima ad Odonem Bellouacensem by the same author) from the text of the editio princeps published in 1931 in the Revue Bénédictine by Dom André Wilmart.

The 2020 update of the LLT included the Latin translation of more than 1,900 excerpts from the Babylonian Talmud per ordinem sequentialem (i.e. following the order of the Talmudic treatises), which was part of a large indictment file compiled in Paris in 1245 during the so-called ‘Trial of the Talmud’ (1236-1248). With the current update, we have integrated another translation, namely the translation per ordinem thematicum (which organizes these texts according to thirteen topics). The translation per ordinem thematicum can be considered as a work in its own right, which contributed decisively to the definitive condemnation of the Talmud.

Through his many activities, the Byzantine humanist Bessarion (1408–1472) truly became the torchbearer of humanism in Italy. With the current update, his In calumniatorem Platonis has been incorporated into the LLT. This work, which was intended as a pamphlet against the anti-Platonic attacks of the Comparatio Aristotelis et Platonis by George of Trebizond, became an in-depth work on Plato, his work, his vision of the world, and his literary activity. We have reproduced the edition published in 1927 by Ludwig Mohler. In the third book of the In calumniatorem, Bessarion integrated a substantial part of the notes that the Dominican friar Iohannes Gatti (Giovanni Gatti, c. 1420–1484) had prepared for him. The complete text of Gatti’s Notata seu Tractatus qui erat fons libri III operis Bessarionis In calumniatorem Platonis aduersus Georgium Trapezuntium has been inserted into the database from its editio princeps published in 2021 by John Monfasani (CC SG 94).

George of Trebizond (1395–1484) became known as a defender of Aristotelian philosophy and as a translator of Greek authors. His virulent anti-Platonism characterizes the Comparatio philosophorum Platonis et Aristotelis et De Aristotelis praestantia, the work attacked by Bessarion (see above). Apart from the aforementioned work, the current update includes a series of other works–by George of Trebizond and other authors–relating to the controversy between Platonism and Aristotelianism, as published in 2021 by John Monfasani (Vindicatio Aristotelis. Two Works of George of Trebizond in the Plato-Aristotle Controversy of the Fifteenth Century Two Works in the Plato-Aristotle Controversy of the Fifteenth Century). Among these, the user can henceforth consult the In peruersionem Problematum Aristotelis protectio, a work in which the author defends his translation of the Pseudo-Aristotelian Problemata (various books of which have been integrated into the LLT), while attacking the competing translation made by Theodorus Gaza.

Together Erasmus and Grotius, Justus Lipsius (Overijse, 1547–Leuven, 1606) belongs to the great names of Dutch humanism. His correspondence (some 4,300 letters) has contributed to a large extent to this reputation. Thanks to an agreement with the Koninklijke Vlaamse Academie van België voor Wetenschappen en Kunsten, we have been able to begin introducing this correspondence into the LLT from the text of the edition published under the auspices of the same academy. We have started with the insertion of the letters from the first five volumes of Iusti Lipsi Epistulae, which include the letters written between 1564 and 1592. We have distinguished the letters written by Justus Lipsius and those addressed to him by presenting them as two different dossiers.

The Italian philosopher and writer Giovanni Francesco Pico (1469-1533), lord of Mirandola and count of Concordia (nephew of the better-known Giovanni Pico della Mirandola), played an important role in the cultural context of the late fifteenth and the first half of the sixteenth century. We have integrated, according to Alfredo Perifano’s edition, his treatise on demonic possession, the treatise Strix sive de ludificatione daemonum published in 1523.

Last but not least: thanks to an agreement with the Universitetet i Oslo, an important corpus of Latin texts relating to Fascism and written during the ventennio fascista (1922-1943) are being integrated into the LLT starting from the current July 2022 update. The texts in question have been published under the direction of Han Lamers and Bettina Reitz-Joose in the ‘FLT – Fascist Latin Texts Library’, hosted by the Universitetet i Oslo (accessible at https://flt.hf.uio.no/). Famous names among the authors whose works have been incorporated in the current update include: Aurelio Giuseppe Amatucci (the author of the Codex Fori Mussolini), Alfredo Bartoli (who wrote under various pseudonyms), Nazareno Capo, Vittorio Genovesi (the famous hymnographer of the Vatican), Nello Martinelli, Francesco Sofia Alessio, Anacleto Trazzi, and, finally, Benito Mussolini himself (whose Romae laudes were translated into Latin by Vincenzo Ussani).

For more details about this update of the LLT (that gives a single access to the former Series A and B of the Library of Latin Texts), we invite our users to consult the lists of authors and titles in the “About” section of the database (“New titles 2022” and “All titles”).