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Time and How to Calculate It: a Study and Edition with Translation of Book 10 of Hrabanus Maurus’ De Rerum Naturis

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Time and How to Calculate It: A Study and Edition with Translation of Book 10 of Hrabanus Maurus’ De rerum naturis by Lisa Lynn Chen Obrist A thesis submitted in conformity with the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Centre for Medieval Studies University of Toronto © Copyright by Lisa Lynn Chen Obrist 2015 Time and How to Calculate It: A Study and Edition with Translation of Book 10 of Hrabanus Maurus’ De rerum naturis Lisa Lynn Chen Obrist Doctor of Philosophy Centre for Medieval Studies University of Toronto 2015 Abstract This study investigates the text and context of book 10 of Hrabanus Maurus’ De rerum naturis (DRN) and presents a new edition of the Latin text and an English translation. Chapter one provides an introduction to the topic of computus in the early middle ages, beginning with a definition of the term computus and its cognate disciplines. The chapter continues with a summary of the historical development of the computistical sciences from the early Christian church up to the Carolingian age. In order to contextualize book 10 of DRN, an overview of the encyclopedic genre is offered to lead into the discussions of Hrabanus’ computistical and encyclopedic works: De clericorum institutione, De computo, and DRN. Chapter two presents the first modern edition of the Latin text of book 10 of DRN based on the earliest manuscripts and includes descriptions of the sources and textual history, the manuscript witnesses used, and the editorial principles applied. Chapter three provides a commentary on the structure, content, textual sources, and literary traditions of book 10 of DRN. Particular attention is given to the four main source authors: Venerable Bede, Isidore of Seville, Cassiodorus, and the anonymous author of the Clavis Melitonis. As well, previously unidentified passages in book 10 are now ii attributed to eight new sources including works by Ambrosiaster, Origen, and Paterius. Additional passages which were introduced in the later manuscript and print traditions have also been identified and sourced. Chapter four explores the reception and influence of book 10 of DRN and the story behind the possible twelfth-century additions to the text as well as possible future avenues of study. The three appendices comprise the new English translation of book 10, a glossary of computistical terms, and instructions for calculating the date of Easter. iii Acknowledgments I would like to thank all those who have helped me to bring this dissertation to a successful conclusion. I am grateful to my supervisor Prof. John Magee for committing whole-heartedly to helping me reach my goal and for always challenging me to be a better scholar. I deeply appreciate the work of my committee members, Prof. Nicholas Everett, Prof. Bernice Kaczynski, and Prof. William Robins. They generously shared with me their academic rigour, germane advice, and continuous mentorship. My gratitude also extends to my internal examiner, Dr. Greti Dinkova-Bruun, for her careful assessment and helpful comments, and to my external examiner, Prof. Helmut Reimitz, for his encouraging remarks and constructive criticisms. Special recognition goes to Dr. Kristen Allen for her editorial assistance and Prof. William Schipper, without whom this dissertation would never have started in the first place. It was only with his blessing that I was able to claim book 10 for my own exploration and only with his generosity that I was able to access an abundance of resources that made this project possible. All their help made this a better dissertation and the onus for any remaining deficiencies is on me. I learned from many great teachers but the following deserve special mention: Prof. Faith Wallis for introducing me to the history and science of the European middle ages; Prof. Adam S. Cohen for encouraging my discovery of astronomical and computistical manuscripts; the late Prof. Virginia Brown for sharing her passion for palaeography; and Prof. Emeritus A. George Rigg for being my guide to Medieval Latin. I am thankful for the camaraderie and inspiration I continue to find at the gatherings presided over by Prof. Dáibhí Ó Cróinín and Dr. Immo Warntjes at the International Conferences on the Science of Computus at the National University of Ireland, Galway. This dissertation is the product of a personal journey as well as an academic programme. I found tremendous motivation and fellowship in the University of Toronto community, in particular at the Centre for Medieval Studies, in the Book History & Print Culture Programme at Massey College, in the Department of History, in the Department of Art, and at the Pontifical Institute of Mediaeval Studies. I am very fortunate to have had the opportunity to expand my fellowship network to include teachers and classmates from the SCRIPTO programme (Scholarly Codicological Research, iv Information & Paleographical Tools) at the Lehrstuhl für Lateinische Philologie des Mittelalters und der Neuzeit at Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, especially Prof. Dr. Michele C. Ferrari, Dr. Stefan Weber, and Dr. Diana Müller. I benefited greatly from professional development opportunities with the Library of Parliament (Ottawa), the Royal Ontario Museum, the Medieval Academy of America, the Text Creation Project with Early English Books Online, Robarts Library at UofT, and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. I would also like to thank the staff who supported my research at the following libraries and archives: Universitätsbibliothek Basel, Stiftsbibliothek St.Gallen, Bayerische Staatsbibliothek, Universitätsbibliothek Erlangen-Nürnberg, Herzog August Bibliothek Wolfenbüttel; and at the University of Toronto, the Pontifical Institute of Mediaeval Studies Library, Robarts Library, and the Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library. I gratefully acknowledge the financial support I received from the University of Toronto community, especially the School of Graduate Studies, the Centre for Medieval Studies, the Centre for Reformation and Renaissance Studies, and the International Student Exchange Office. I also wish to thank the individuals and families who support the John Leyerle Scholarship Fund and the Colin Chase Bursary Fund. Grants from these funds enabled me to access manuscripts at libraries and present my research at conferences in Switzerland, Ireland and England. To my classmates who started this voyage with me and others who joined along the way: Heather Coffey, Kris Kobold, Jared Wielfaert, Christian Knudsen, Eileen Kim, Clare Snow, Jennifer Konieczny, Jennifer Gilchrist, Steffany Campbell, Daniel Brielmaier, Sean Winslow, and Daniel DiCenso. Thank you for your friendship and support. Finally, I offer my deepest gratitude to my wonderful friends and family: Ken and Agnes Croxford for their support and sanctuary; my brother Tyson for always being ready and able to help in so many ways; my parents Beverly and Patrick for their nurturing of my body and mind and their constant belief in me; my husband Urs for his patience, devotion, and commitment to being my companion on this journey; and our daughter Beatrice, who arrived just in time for us to start a new journey together as this one was nearing its end. v Table of Contents Acknowledgments .......................................................................................................................... iv Table of Contents ........................................................................................................................... vi List of Tables ............................................................................................................................... viii List of Figures ................................................................................................................................ ix List of Abbreviations ...................................................................................................................... x List of Appendices ......................................................................................................................... xi Chapter 1 Introduction .................................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Computus in the Carolingian World ................................................................................... 4 1.2 The Encyclopedic Tradition in the Early Middle Ages .................................................... 33 1.3 Hrabanus Maurus and his Computistical and Encyclopedic Writings .............................. 46 1.3.1 De clericorum institutione .................................................................................... 59 1.3.2 De computo ........................................................................................................... 62 1.3.3 De rerum naturis ................................................................................................... 70 1.3.3.1 The Genesis of De rerum naturis ........................................................... 71 1.3.3.2 The Methodology and Genre of De rerum naturis ................................. 74 1.3.3.3 The Structure and Content of De rerum naturis ..................................... 80 1.3.3.4 The Sources of De rerum naturis ........................................................... 82 1.3.3.5 The Manuscripts and Printed Editions of De rerum naturis .................. 88 1.3.3.6 The Textual History of De rerum naturis ............................................... 92
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