Overview of new texts

As of December 2023, 289 new works have been added to the Library of Latin Texts (which since 2021 has brought together the former LLT-A and LLT-B). Furthermore, the textual corpus of 48 dossiers has been reworked or augmented, and some sermons of Saint Augustine have been made available according to a new edition. Since December 2022, almost 7.5 million words have been added or modified in the database. Consequently, the LLT now contains a total of more than 158.9 million words. The current version of the LLT allows scholars to consult 11,904 works (among which 5,804 are diplomatic charters).

We consider the corpus of Saint Augustine’s Sermones ad populum as of the most important entries in the database. We regularly incorporate newly published texts. In 2023, the new critical editions of sermons 276, 277A, 288, and 313 (= sermon s. Denis 15), published by François Dolbeau, have replaced the old texts.

The first 2023 update of the LLT marked the start of a programme to incorporate the sermons falsely attributed to Saint Augustine. For example, we have introduced the Sermo in cathedra Petri (CPL 369) – maybe composed by a fifth-century Roman author – and various sermons whose attribution to Quodvultdeus or Optatus of Milevis is questionable.

The Quaestiones Veteris et Noui Testamenti, conventionally attributed to the so-called ‘Ambrosiaster’, have long been present in the database according to what the editor calls the recensio altera. The texts of the recensio prima (i.e. the ‘appendix’) not included in the recensio altera have been integrated into the database in 2023. Thus, the entirety of the Quaestiones can now be consulted in the LLT.

Among the other texts from the Aetas patrum that we have included, we can list three works by Nicetas of Remesiana (including the De lapsu virginis consecratae, whose attribution remains doubtful), three Carmina by Fructuosus of Braga (again, of doubtful attribution), and the Sententiarum libri V by Taio (who was bishop of Zaragoza from 651 to 664).

After the insertion, in 2022, of the texts belonging to the Collectio Palatina (attributed to an anonymous Scythian monk of the sixth century), which mainly contains texts related to the Ecumenical Councils of Ephesus (431) and Chalcedon (451), we follow up in 2023 with the texts of the Collectio Sichardiana, also edited by Eduard Schwartz in volume I,5 of the Acta Conciliorum Oecumenicorum.Top of Form

The Epistula consolatoria olim De consolatione in aduersis has traditionally been attributed to Basil the Great. However, it is, in fact, a work composed in Gaul during Late Antiquity. We have incorporated the text published in 2023 by Álvaro Cancela Cilleruelo.

We have extensively reworked the texts related to the Concilia Galliae held between 511 and 695, originally published in 1963 by C. de Clercq in volume 148A of the Series Latina of the Corpus Christianorum. The changes compared to the previous version of the LLT mainly involve completing texts previously only partially integrated and improving the textual references.

Regarding the Middle Ages, we have significantly expanded the corpus of works by or attributed to Richard of Saint-Victor, so that at the end of 2023, this corpus comprises twenty-eight works.

We continue the integration of the works of Denis the Carthusian. In 2023, we have introduced 29 works, including the Elementatio philosophica, the Elementatio theologica, the De lumine Christianae theoriae, siue De diuina essentia, the Sermones de sanctis tam ad saeculares quam ad religiosos, and the De auctoritate summi pontificis et generalis concilii libri tres, as well as various works reflecting the author’s thoughts on Islam, such as the Contra perfidiam Mahometi libri quatuor.

Gerhoh of Reichersberg (1092/1093–1169) was previously represented by a portion of his commentary on the Psalms. In 2023, we have completed the insertion of the preserved sections of this work. We have also included six other works published in 1955 in volume 8 of the Spicilegium Pontificii Athenaei Antoniani, among which, for instance, the Liber de laude fidei and the Libellus de ordine donorum Sancti Spiritus.

Thanks to an agreement with Peeters Publishers (Leuven, Belgium), we have started to introduce the works of the Dominican theologian Durandus of Saint-Pourçain (c. 1275–1334). These works have been published by the Thomas-Institut of the Philosophische Fakultät at the University of Cologne, under the direction of Andreas Speer. In the course of 2023, we have incorporated Durandus’ commentaries on the first book of Sentences by Peter Lombard, according to the redactio B.

Martin of Leon (c. 1120/1130–1203), a regular canon of the Basilica of Saint Isidore of León, left behind a substantial corpus of texts. Among the works published in Migne’s Patrologia Latina, we have incorporated the three major collections of sermons (the corpus of Sermones, the Sermones de diuersis, and the Sermones de sanctis), as well as four exegetical works (the Expositio libri Apocalypsis, and commentaries on the Epistle of James, the First Epistle of Peter, and the first two Epistles of John).

Adam the Premonstratensian, also known as Adam of Dryburgh, Adam the Carthusian, Adam Anglicus, and Adam Scotus (d. 1212), was initially a Premonstratensian before later becoming a Carthusian. From this prolific author, we have included two collections of sermons: 21 Sermones published in 1901 by Walter de Gray Birch, as well as the collection of 14 sermons published in 1934 by Father François Petit. These works supplement the Sermones de tempore, incorporated in 2022 according to the text of the Patrologia.

In Migne’s Patrologia, the Allegoriae in uniuersam sacram scripturam are printed in volume 112 under the name of Rabanus Maurus, an attribution that cannot be maintained. Contemporary scholarship hesitates between attributing them to Adam Scotus and Garnerius of Rochefort. We have included them under the name Anonymus (opus attributum dubitanter Adamo Scoto uel Garnerio de Rupeforti et perperam Hrabano Mauro).

In 2023, we initiated the incorporation of the works of the Benedictine monk Renier (born between 1110 and 1120, and died after 1188), who was active in the Saint-Laurent Abbey of Liège. Renier is notably known for his theological, exegetical, historical, and biographical works, written in both prose and verse. As part of this effort, we included his Vita Wolbodonis episcopi Leodiensis, the In nouem antenatalitias antiphonas commentatio (whose authenticity is contested), and the Lacrimarum libelli tres.

We are continuing to include new works by Honorius of Autun (c. 1080–after 1153), such as the In librum Ecclesiastes commentarius (formerly attributed to Rupert of Deutz), the De libero arbitrio libellus, and the small text known under the title Utrum sit peccatum nubere uel carnes comedere.

The De philosophia mundi has been published under the name of Honorius of Autun since the Basel edition of 1544. However, it is actually a work by William of Conches (c. 1090–after 1154). The work is considered one of the most important treatises on natural philosophy of the twelfth century. We have adopted the text printed by Migne but corrected the author’s name according to the status quaestionis.

The LLT includes a number of works written by Jan van Ruusbroec (1293–1381) and Gerard Groote (1340–1384). In the course of 2023, we have incorporated the Latin translations made by Groote of works written by members of his circle, particularly those of Ruusbroec. This includes the Speculum aeternae salutis (the translation of Een spieghel der eeuwigher salicheit), a summary of the De septem clausuris (Ruusbroec’s Vanden seven sloten), and the De duodecim uirtutibus (the translation of Godfried Wevel’s Vanden twaelf dogheden).

There is currently no printed edition available of Gilbert of Poitiers’ (c. 1075–1154) Commentarium in sancti Pauli epistulas. Nevertheless, thanks to an agreement with Karlfried Froehlich, we are including the transcription of this important work that he made, based on the manuscript Zwettl, Zisterzienserstift, cod. 58 (which dates from the third or fourth quarter of the twelfth century).

The Cistercian Gunther of Pairis is primarily known for his Historia Constantinopolitana, which narrates the conquest of Constantinople during the Fourth Crusade, as well as his historical epics. In 2023, we have included his theological treatise De oratione, ieiunio et eleemosyna. Additionally, we have incorporated the prologue from the editio princeps of 1507, which was written by the learned Cistercian scholar Conrad of Leonberg (c. 1465–1511).

The Flores philosophorum et poetarum, dating from the end of the thirteenth century, are an anonymous anthology compiled from Books V and VI of Vincent of Beauvais’ Speculum doctrinale. We have included the edition published in 2020 by Irene Villarroel Fernández in the collection Textes et Études du Moyen Âge.

Volume 310 of the Continuatio Mediaeualis (edited by José Carlos Martín-Iglesias and his collaborators) contains twenty-two hagiographical texts of Spanish origin (from Aragon, Castile, and León), written between the ninth and the thirteenth centuries. All of these texts have been integrated into the LLT. They include hagiographical accounts of Saint Indalecius of Urci, Saint Zoilus of Cordoba, as well as Saint Votus and Saint Felix, among others.

The Tractatus contra Graecos, written in 1252 by an anonymous Dominican, is a key work in the Latin theological controversy of the thirteenth century. It holds significant importance not only concerning the theological dispute between the Latins and the Greeks during the thirteenth century but also with regard to the early history of the Dominican Order in the East. The importance of this work cannot be overstated. We have included the edition published in 2020 by Andrea Riedl in the Continuatio Mediaeualis.

As has become customary in recent years, we are again introducing into the database newly published Latin texts from the journal Sacris Erudiri. In 2023, we have included various texts published since 1987, but mainly from the 2022 and 2023 issues. We can point out a number of poetic texts, among which the Carmina in solo cod. Winchester College MS 48 seruata, a few carmina by Peter Abelard and some carmina attributed to the Archpoet. It is also important to emphasize a number of sermons, among them Jacques de Vitry’s Sermon 62 (c. 1165–1240), edited in 2023 by Rita Beyers and Christine Vande Veire, which has been integrated into its appropriate place within the Sermones uulgares uel ad status. In the same category, we can include three sermons by Iacobus Furnensis edited by Gérard de Martel.

Regarding the Archipoet, we have also included the ten pieces that are traditionally attributed to him.

The theologian and canonist Laborans (1120/1125 - 1189/1190) was a prolific author. We have incorporated the five theological treatises published in 1932 by Arthur Landgraf in the Florilegium Patristicum (fasc. 32).

The theologian Garnerius of Saint-Victor (d. 1170) composed the Gregorianum, essentially an encyclopedia in 16 books compiled from the writings of Gregory the Great. We are using the text from Migne’s Patrologia, which is based on the edition published in 1608.

A number of ‘minor works’ have been inserted from various volumes of the Patrologia Latina. These include, for instance, the dossier related to Clement III (c. 1130–1191) from vol. 204, which also contains Ermengaud of Béziers’ Contra haereticos (Contra Waldenses) (active around 1200) and the Vita haereticorum (Manifestatio haeresis Catharorum) by Bonacursus (or Bonacursius), who lived in the late twelfth century. Other texts come from vol. 212 of the Patrologia, such as those in the dossier related to Helinand of Froidmont (c. 1160–after 1229).

We continue the incorporation of texts published by Msgr Andrieu in his collection of the Ordines Romani. In 2023, we have included volumes XVIV, XV, XVII, XVIII, and XIX.

Regarding the Recentior Latinitas, it is worth mentioning the epic poem Plus ultra, composed by Aloysius Mickl (1711–1767). Mickl’s Plus ultra is the latest among a series of epic poems dedicated to Christopher Columbus (which includes Ubertino Carrara’s Columbus, carmen epicum, integrated into the LLT in 2012). The title of Mickl’s epic alludes to Plus ultra, the motto of Emperor Charles V, and to the presumed inscription Non plus ultra on the Columns of Hercules (Gibraltar). Mickl wrote this poem during his studies, before entering the Cistercian Order. He conceived it as an ‘Anti-Virgil’, while composing the verses on the Virgilian model. The Plus ultra was not printed during the author’s lifetime. We are using the text from the first edition, which was produced by Father Rudolf Schmidtmayer in 1902. The editor includes at the end of his introduction, as a conclusion, the beautiful ode Christophorus Columbus et Leo XIII P. M., Anno MDCCCXCII, composed by the Jesuit Ottavio Cagnacci (1837–1902). This latter poem, which comes from the collection of Cagnacci’s Odae, has been included in the database alongside Mickl’s epic.

Another interesting work of recent Latin literature is the Grobianus siue de morum simplicitate by Friedrich Dedekind (1524–1598), which provides an exemplary presentation of improper behaviour.

Together with 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. After the additions made in 2023 (volumes five to nine), the database now contains all letters written between 1564 and 1596. We have distinguished the letters written by Justus Lipsius and those addressed to him by presenting them as two different dossiers.

Ludvig Holberg (1684–1754), who is often considered “the first great writer of the Nordic countries in modern times”, authored numerous scientific, historical, and literary works. However, today he is primarily known internationally for his utopian novel Nicolai Klimii iter subterraneum, published in Latin in 1741. This novel depicts a journey to the center of the Earth, combining imaginative fantasy, satire, and Enlightenment thinking. As early as 1742, the novel was translated into Danish and several European languages. We have included the critical edition published in 1866 by Carolus Guil. Elberling.

Last but not least, we must mention a very particular group of texts from the twentieth century. Thanks to an agreement with the University of Oslo, a significant corpus of Latin texts on subjects related to Italian fascism, written during the fascist period (the Ventennio fascista, 1922–1943), has been integrated into the LLT. These texts have been published online under the direction of Han Lamers and Bettina Reitz-Joosse in Fascist Latin Texts (FLT; accessible at https://flt.hf.uio.no/). The inclusion of these texts began in 2022. With the current 2023 update, we have included no fewer than 63 works. Among the authors covered, there are some notable figures such as the Jesuit Vittorio Genovesi (with poems that he did not include in his collection of Carmina published in 1959) and Ippolito Galante (known for his epic Saniucta from 1957, also available in the LLT). It is worth noting the number of Latin translations of speeches by Benito Mussolini (we have included twelve), which clearly demonstrate, as do many other texts included, the importance that the fascist regime attributed to Latin. “Mussolini encouraged and praised the use of Latin as an instrument of fascism. […] The Latin language was not only considered particularly close to Italian but was also presented as particularly close to the fascist spirit” (J. Luggen, 2020). “Mussolini, with his ideologues and cultural bureaucrats, made ancient Rome the backbone of fascist ideology and propaganda” (Han Lamers in his introduction to Mussolini in FLT). It should be noted that many of the included texts were taken from textbooks.

Among the authors represented by the highest number of contributions, we can mention Francesco Lo Parco, Paolino Menna (whose Quaedam Latinitatis specimina have now been united in a single dossier), and Giovanni Napoleone. We have also included texts mentioned in FLT but that have not yet been integrated into the Oslo database, such as Anacleto Trazzi’s Vergilius redux seu de uita recentiore.

For more details about this update of the LLT (that unites the former Series A and B of the Library of Latin Texts in one database), we invite our users to consult the lists of authors and titles in the “About” section of the database (“New titles 2023” and “All titles”).