A singular 'De diuisionibus temporum' and the manuscript Laon, Bibliothèque Municipale, MS 422

The thesis examines the manuscript Laon, Bibliothèque Municipale, MS 422 (L) and the contents of the astronomical and computistical compilation De astronomia et compoto held therein. The central focus was placed on the chapters containing materials from the Hiberno-Latin tract on the divisions of time, De diuisionibus temporum (DDT) with the aim of revealing the different strands of textual strata which make up these chapters. The thesis makes two significant contributions to knowledge. Firstly, it offers an analysis of the DDT chapters of the compilation in L, whose composition, it is argued, was the work of an Irish scholar operating on the continent in the last quarter of the eighth century. The in-depth analysis of a selection of L’s DDT chapters demonstrates the use of two different DDT tracts, and the elements of authorial contribution repeatedly align with Irish or Irish-associated scholarship of the eighth century. Secondly, the thesis contributes to the evolving understanding of the wider DDT tradition. Using the corpus of manuscript witnesses gathered by Bisagni in his 2019 study of DDT, the ‘expanded’ versions are used as comparanda for L and to illustrate the intersection of textual materials found in circulation during the Carolingian period, but which were distinct from the conventional and more commonly transmitted Standard DDT. This study argues that DDT should not be regarded as a single text, since, as demonstrated in this study, there were at least four distinct DDT tracts in circulation by the early ninth century. Accordingly, this thesis aims to contribute towards our understanding of the reception and transmission of Irish and Irish-influenced scholarly culture on the Carolingian continent.

Funder

Irish Research Council

Publisher

University of Galway

Rights

CC BY-NC-ND

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Collections

University of Galway Theses (PhD Theses)