Compitum

Jamie Wood et Andy Fear (éd.), Isidore of Seville and His Reception in the Early Middle Ages. Transmitting and Transforming Knowledge, Amsterdam, 2016.

Éditeur : Amsterdam University Press
Collection : Late Antique and Early Medieval Iberia
236 pages
ISBN : 9789089648280
79 €

Isidore of Seville (560—636) was a crucial figure in the preservation and sharing of classical and early Christian knowledge. His compilations of the works of earlier authorities formed an essential part of monastic education for centuries. Due to the vast amount of information he gathered and its wide dissemination in the Middle Ages, Pope John Paul II even named Isidore the patron saint of the Internet in 1997. This volume represents a cross section of the various approaches scholars have taken toward Isidore's writings. The essays explore his sources, how he selected and arranged them for posterity, and how his legacy was reflected in later generations' work across the early medieval West. Rich in archival detail, this collection provides a wealth of interdisciplinary expertise on one of history's greatest intellectuals.

Source : Amsterdam University Press

John P. Bequette (éd.), A Companion to Medieval Christian Humanism. Essays on Principal Thinkers, Leyde-Boston, 2016.

Éditeur : Brill
Collection : Brill's Companions to the Christian Tradition, 69
VIII-354 pages
ISBN : 978-90-04-24845-8
199 €

A Companion to Medieval Christian Humanism explores the perennial questions of Christian humanism as these emerge in the writings of key medieval thinkers, questions pertaining to the dignity of the human person, the human person's place in the cosmos, and the moral and educational ideals involved in shaping human persons toward the full realization of their dignity. The contributors explore what form these questions take for medieval thinkers and how they answer these questions, thereby revealing the depth of medieval Christian humanism.

Jan Rothkamm (éd.), Three Speeches by Venetian Ambassadors 1433-1486, Wiesbaden, 2016.

Éditeur : Harrassowitz Verlag
Collection : Gratia, 54
XIV-185 pages
ISBN : 978-3-447-10597-2
48 €

Francesco Barbaro, Ad Sigismundum Caesarem
Bernardo Giustinian, Ad universitatem Parisiensem
Ermolao Barbaro, Ad Federicum imperatorem / Ad Maximilianum regem Romanorum.

In an age characterized by the intensification of diplomatic relations on the one hand and a renewed interest in classical antiquity on the other, ambassadors were expected to present an elaborated Latin speech on arrival at their destination. There is no consensus among scholars as to whether these orations were purely ceremonial or of greater relevance for the mission in question and the wider political and intellectual context.
This book proposes to revisit the genre. It offers a selection of three speeches delivered by ambassadors of a state of particular importance at the time, the Republic of Venice, and addressed to representatives of territories situated north of the Alps, sc. the Holy Roman Empire and France. The text comes in the format of a modern, critical edition, and is based on a fresh collation of all available manuscript and printed evidence. Emphasis is laid upon the first or initial version supposed to be the one actually presented. Separate introductions to each speech provide information about the general historical context, the specific circumstances of the mission, as well as the educational background and stylistic preferences of each author. The commentary is mainly intended to make the experience of studying the speeches in the original as rewarding and comfortable as possible: an ample collection of parallels from the classical corpora, including biblical and patristic sources, is supplemented by historical detail and references to contemporary literature where necessary for the understanding.

Source : Harrassowitz Verlag