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Glossae divinae historiae

John Scottus Eriugena
  • Latin
  • Hiberno-Latin texts, Irish glosses
A glossary to the Old Testament, mainly in Latin but also including a series of Old Irish glosses. The earliest manuscript copy, which also seems to be closest to John Eriugena's original text, is found in BNF lat. 3088. The other four manuscripts include recensions of a later, mixed compilation whose original compiler took excerpts from two glossaries in alternation: (1) a commentary indicated in the margin or above with the abbreviation ‘AI’ or ‘HAI’, and (2) John's Glossae divinae historiae, indicated likewise with ‘IO’ or ‘IOH’. In the 1890s, long before the discovery of the text in BNF lat. 3088, Bruno Güterbock suggested that the abbreviated forms probably refer to the names of Haimo of Auxerre/St-Vaast and Iohannes (John) Eriugena respectively, and that in this way these scholars are credited with writing or preparing the excerpts.(1)n. 1 Bruno Güterbock, ‘Aus irischen Handschriften in Turin und Rom’, Zeitschrift für vergleichende Sprachforschung auf dem Gebiete der indogermanischen Sprachen 33 (1895). Later scholarship has reinforced their identification as the original glossators.(2)n. 2 With regard to the latter, see especially the introduction in John J. Contreni • Pádraig P. Ó Néill, Glossae divinae historiae: the biblical glosses of John Scottus Eriugena (1997). Haimo's glossary, which covered both the Old and New Testament and was much indebted to an abridged version of the so-called Rz glosses (8th century), was taken as the basis for the HAI-OIH compilation.(3)n. 3 John J. Contreni, ‘The biblical glosses of Haimo of Auxerre and John Scottus Eriugena’, Speculum 51 (1976): 418. As the IO/IOH set of extracts was fitted into this mould, it lost something of the original arrangement of John's text. Many of the Old Irish glosses were included and many survived in transmission, even if the responsible (continental) scribes probably did not understand Irish themselves.(4)n. 4 James F. Kenney, The sources for the early history of Ireland: an introduction and guide. Volume 1: ecclesiastical (1966).
Title
Glossae divinae historiae
This is the title found in Paris, BN lat. 3088 and that adopted in the edition by Contreni and Ó Néill (1997).
Author
John Scottus EriugenaJohn Scottus Eriugena
(fl 9th century)
Irish scholar and theologian who had been active as a teacher at the palace school of Charles the Bald.
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Manuscripts
Earliest recension:
Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France, MS lat. 3088 [s. ix]
ff. 110v–115v
Entitled Glossae divinae historiae, includes Old Irish glosses transcribed from an earlier exemplar.
As text incorporated in the HAI-OIH (Haimo of Auxerre-John Scottus) compilation:
HAI-OIH Recension 1
Vatican City, Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, MS Reg. lat. 215 [876 x 877]
ff. 88r–106r
Begins ‘Incipiunt glosae veteris ac novi testamenti’, but breaks off after a gloss on the Book of Malachi. The Irish glosses cover 88v-90v, 91v, 95r-96r, 97r, 99v, 100v, 101v, 102v and 103v-106r.
Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France, MS lat. 4338A [s. xex/xiin]
ff. 7ra–19rb
Later version, closely related to the Vatican copy
HAI-OIH Recension 2
Bern, Burgerbibliothek, MS 258 [s. ix/x]
ff. 16va–46ra
A more corrupt copy, different from the Vatican copy.
Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France, MS lat. 1977 [s. xiiex/xiiiin]
ff. 63r–83v
Language
  • Latin
  • Secondary language(s): Old Irish
  • Latin and some Old Irish.
Textual relationships
(Possible) sources: Old TestamentOld TestamentView incoming data

Classification

Hiberno-Latin textsHiberno-Latin texts
...
Irish glossesIrish glosses
...

...

Sources

Notes

{
1.
Bruno Güterbock, ‘Aus irischen Handschriften in Turin und Rom’, Zeitschrift für vergleichende Sprachforschung auf dem Gebiete der indogermanischen Sprachen 33 (1895).
2.
With regard to the latter, see especially the introduction in John J. Contreni • Pádraig P. Ó Néill, Glossae divinae historiae: the biblical glosses of John Scottus Eriugena (1997).
3.
John J. Contreni, ‘The biblical glosses of Haimo of Auxerre and John Scottus Eriugena’, Speculum 51 (1976): 418.
4.
James F. Kenney, The sources for the early history of Ireland: an introduction and guide. Volume 1: ecclesiastical (1966).

Primary sources Text editions and/or modern translations – in whole or in part – along with publications containing additions and corrections, if known. Diplomatic editions, facsimiles and digital image reproductions of the manuscripts are not always listed here but may be found in entries for the relevant manuscripts. For historical purposes, early editions, transcriptions and translations are not excluded, even if their reliability does not meet modern standards.

[ed.] Contreni, John J., and Pádraig P. Ó Néill [eds.], Glossae divinae historiae: the biblical glosses of John Scottus Eriugena, Millenio medievale, 1, Florence: SISMEL, Edizioni del Galluzzo, 1997.
[ed.] Contreni, John J., “The biblical glosses of Haimo of Auxerre and John Scottus Eriugena”, Speculum 51 (1976): 411–434.
HAI-OIH recensions. In a postscript, the author announces that the copy of Paris, BN lat. 3088 has been discovered sometime after he submitted the article.
Old Irish glosses
[ed.] [tr.] Stokes, Whitley, and John Strachan [eds.], Thesaurus palaeohibernicus: a collection of Old-Irish glosses, scholia, prose, and verse, 3 vols, vol. 1: Biblical glosses and scholia, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1901.  
comments: The first volume of Thesaurus palaeohibernicus covers glosses and scholia on the Old and New Testament. Reprinted by DIAS in 1975.
Internet Archive – vol. 1: <link>
1–2 The Vatican copy. direct link
[ed.] [tr.] Stokes, Whitley [ed. and tr.], “The Old-Irish glosses in Regina Nr. 215”, Zeitschrift für vergleichende Sprachforschung auf dem Gebiete der indogermanischen Sprachen 30 (1889, 1890): 555–561.
Internet Archive: <link> Internet Archive: <link>
[ed.] Güterbock, Bruno, “Aus irischen Handschriften in Turin und Rom”, Zeitschrift für vergleichende Sprachforschung auf dem Gebiete der indogermanischen Sprachen 33 (1895): 86–105.
Internet Archive: <link>

Secondary sources (select)

Kenney, James F., “Chapter VI: The expansion of Irish Christianity”, in: James F. Kenney, The sources for the early history of Ireland: an introduction and guide. Volume 1: ecclesiastical, Revised ed., 11, New York: Octagon, 1966. 486–621.
586–587 (§ 396) [id. 396.]
web page identifiers
Contributors
C. A., Dennis Groenewegen
Page created
September 2011, last updated: June 2023
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