Absence of Navigational Reading Aids

This last section of the chapter investigates the rate at which navigational reading aids (chapter tables, running titles, and navigational paragraph marks) were applied to the manuscripts copied at Fécamp over the course of the eleventh and twelfth centuries.

When analyzing the data collected from in situ research of these books, it came as somewhat of a surprise to find that these features are largely absent from the Fécamp manuscripts. The final section of the chapter examines this phenomenon and considers how the absence of navigational reading aids may have supported the practice of lectio divina.

Out of the sixty-six volumes examined in the Fécamp corpus, forty-eight manuscripts (or 73%) do not contain any kind of navigational reading aid. These books are presented in a list below (arranged by genre).

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Table 3: Fécamp Manuscripts Without Navigational Reading Aids A: Shelfmark; B: Date; C: Author; D: Text

Ref. A B C D

I. Biblical Books

1 Rouen 118 1075-1150 Expositions on the Psalms

2 Rouen 313 1108-1187 Gospels

3 Rouen 116 1108-1187 Genesis with gloss;

Psalms with gloss⁴⁵ 4 BnF, lat. 188 1075-1150 Job with gloss 5 Rouen 41 1108-1187 Leviticus with gloss

6 Rouen 86 1108-1187 St Matthew with

gloss

II. Patristic Texts

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45 This MS has one paragraph mark next to a chapter number on the first page, but the entirety of the manuscript has no further chapter numbers or other navigational markings. The one paragraph mark present does not seem to link up to any visible navigational system either.

7 BnF, lat. 1939 c. 1050 Augustine De doctrina christiana 8 Bern, Cod.

162

c. 1050 Augustine De opere monachorum, De fide et operibus, Contra Donatistas, De bono virginitatis, De bono coniugali, De bono viduitatis, De symbolo sermo, De oratione dominica sermo 9 BnF, lat. 1992 1050-1075 Augustine Ennarationes in Psalmos 10 BnF, lat. 2079 1075-1100 Augustine Contra Faustum

11 Rouen 477 1075-1100 Augustine Contra Julianum hereticum, De perfectione justitae hominum,

Contra adversarium legis et prophetarum,

Contra sermonem Arianorum, De anima et eius origine, De correptione et gratia, De magistro, De mendacio, De natura et gratia, De vera religione 12 Rouen 478 1108-1187 Augustine;

Pseudo-Augustine

Augustine:

Contra Academicos, Contra quinque haereses, De beata vita,

De duabus animabus, De ordine,

Enchiridion;

Pseudo-Augustine:

Hypomnesticon 13 BnF, lat. 2639 1050-1075 Ambrose De Isaac et anima,

De bono mortis, De fuga saeculi, De Iacob et uita beata, De paradyso,

De consolatione ulaentiniani, Epistola ad Vercellenses 14 Rouen 429 1108-1187 Ambrose De fuga saeculi,

De sancte virgintate, Exhortatio virginitatis 15 BnF, lat. 5290,

part 5 (fols. 151r-159v)

1050-1075 Anonymous;

Bede

Anonymous:

Vita sancti Romani, Rothomagensis Archiepiscopi;

Bede:

Tractatus in Proverbia

Salomonis

16 Rouen 526 1100-1150 Bede Expositio in Parabolas Salomonis

17 Rouen 525, part 3 (fols.

31r-135v)

1108-1187 Bede In genisim

18 Rouen 451 c. 1100 Jerome Commentarius in canticum Deborae,

De distantiis locorum, Interpretationes Hebraicorum nominum

19 Rouen 424 1120-1130 Rufin In explanationem Originensis super epistolam Pauli ad Romanos

20 Rouen 444 1100-1150 Jerome Super Jeremiam 21 Rouen 445 1108-1187 Jerome Expositio in Ezechiel 22 Rouen 448 1150-1200 Jerome;

Anonymous;

Pamphilus

Jerome:

Super Marcum;

Anonymous:

Ecclesiasticus, Martyrologium;

Pamphilus:

Apologeticus pro excusatione Origensis

III. Contemporary Theological Works 23 BnF, lat. 989,

part 3 (fols. 8v-40r, 53v)

1025-1050 Anonymous;

Alcuin

Anonymous:

Vita, inventio et miraculi St Taurini; Alcuin:

Homily and sermon on St Taurin

24 BnF, lat. 5305, part 2 (fols. 49r-110r)

1093-1150 Anselm;

Fulco of Beauvais

Anselm:

De processione spiritus sancti, Epistola de sacrificio azymi et fermentati;

Fulco:

Opera 25 Rouen 525,

part 1 (fols. 1r-22)

1108-1187 Arnaldus Carnotensis

De verbis Domini in cruce

26 BnF, lat. 564, part 2 (fols. 4v-20v)

1108-1187 Bernard of Clairvaux

Commentary on the Song of Songs

27 Rouen 491, part 1 (fols. 1r-4v, 13r-223)

1075-1100 Cassiodorus Expositio in Psalmos

28 Rouen 491, part 2 (fols.

5r-1100-1150 Cassiodorus Expositio in Psalmos

12v)

29 Rouen 492 1108-1187 Cassiodorus Expositio in Psalmos 30 BnF, lat. 5057 1108-1187 Flavius

Josephus

De bello judacio

31 BnF, lat. 437 1075-1150 Gregory;

Augustine

Gregory:

Commentary on the Psalms and Song of Songs, Homily on Ezechiel;

Augustine:

Extracts 32 BnF, lat. 564,

part 4 (fols. 34r-69v)

1108-1187 Hildebert of Le Mans

Versus de mysterio missae, Vita sanctae Mariae Aegyptiacae,

Versus de novo sacrifcio vetus abrogante,

De baptismo,

De nova lege veterem abrogante 33 BnF, lat. 440 1100-1150 John of

Rheims

Commentary on the Psalms

IV. Hagiography 34 BnF, lat. 989,

part 4 (fols. 41r-53r)

1025-1050 Passio metrica St Luciae

35 BnF, lat. 5290, part 3 (fols. 54r-138v)

1050-1075 Saints’ lives

36 BnF, lat. 5290, part 4 (fols. 139r-150v)

1050-1075 Saints’ lives and passions

37 BnF, lat. 5305, part 1 (fols. 1-48v)

1075-1150 Saints’ lives

38 Rouen 1388 1108-1187 Saints’ lives 39 Rouen 1400 1108-1187 Saints’ lives 40 Rouen 1404 1100-1150 Saints’ lives 41 BnF, lat. 5390,

part 2 (fols. 222r-235r)

1028-1078 Vita sancti Willelmi, Abbatis primi Fiscannensis, Adsonis (Monachi) ad Gerbergam,

Franciae Reginam espitola de ortu et tempore Antichristi, Syntagma de Sibylla, sive vaticanatio de mundi fine V. Compilations (Multiple Authors)

42 BnF, lat. 564, 1108-1187 Anonymous Treaty on the asceticism

part 3 (fols. 23r-33r)

of monks 43 BnF, lat. 1684 1050-1078 Athanasius;

Vigilius Tapsensis;

Potamius;

Jerome

Athanasius:

Epistolae II ad Luciferum;

Vigilius Tapsensis:

De trinitate,

Contra Arianos dialogus, Solutiones objectionum Arianorum;

Potamius:

Epistola ad Athanasium;

Jerome:

De fide 44 Rouen 471 1028-1078 Augustine;

Fulbert;

Fulgentius;

Anonymous

Augustine:

De symbolo,

De virtutibus caritatis, Contra Felicianum hereticum, De cantico novo,

De cataclismo, De tempore barbarico;

Fulbert:

Sermones;

Fulgentius:

Pro fide catholica;

Anonymous:

Miracula St Michaelis Archangeli

45 BnF, lat. 564, part 5 (fols. 71r-132r)

1108-1187 Bernard of Clairvaux;

William of Champeaux;

Anselm of Canterbury

Bernard of Clairvaux:

Apologia, Liber de praecepto et dispensatione,

Optima sententia de corpore et sanguine Domini;

William of Champeaux:

Fragmentum de Eucharista;

Anselm:

Meditatio de humana redemptione, Proslogion 46 Rouen 489 c. 1050 Gerbert;

Boethius;

Anonymous

Gerbert:

Regulae de numerorum abaci rationibus,

De numerorum divisione;

Boethius:

De trinitate;

Anonymous:

De divisione, De fide catholica,

Liber contra Eutchen et Nestorium

47 BnF, lat. 3776 1028-1078 Gregory;

Origen;

Isidore;

Jerome;

Augustine;

Cassian

Homilies on the Gospels

48 BnF, lat. 989, part 5 (fols. 54r-131v)

1025-1050 Johannes Diaconus Neapolitanus Paulinus;

Augustine;

Prudentius

Johannes:

Vita St Nicolai cum prologus;

Paulinus Nolensis and Augustine: Epistolae;

Anonymous:

Fragments of homilies for the office;

Prudentius:

Psychomachia

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As the list shows, there is a high number of volumes (featuring a range of different texts) from the Fécamp corpus that do not contain navigational reading aids. While these books often include basic reading aids in the form of initials, rubrication, punctuation, and in some cases chapter numbers, there are no auxiliary reading aids present that propel these features to function in a navigational capacity.

At first, the conspicuous lack of navigational reading aids in the manuscripts from Fécamp may seem rather perplexing. One might immediately run through a list of potential explanations as to why the Fécamp scribes opted to exclude navigational tools from the majority of the books they copied: perhaps the scribes were untrained in the use of navigational reading aids; perhaps they were following an exemplar that did not include these features; or perhaps the lack of navigational reading aids has to do with the types of texts that these books contain. While these scenarios may, initially, seem to have merit, in the following section I will demonstrate that these explanations do not stand up to critical evaluation, and should ultimately be discounted in favour of a fourth option: the role of lectio divina and its impact on the physical design of the books from Fécamp.

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In document The Spirit of the Page: (pagina 84-89)