Proposals for the Textual Tradition of the Poem De mortibus boum by Severus Sanctus Endelechius

Abstract

Since the publication of Marcel Cock´s A propos de la tradition manuscrite du Carmen de mortibus boum d´Endéléchius in 1971, textual criticism studies of the poem admit without discussion a classification of the witnesses that assumes the existence of three lost medieval manuscripts (Y, X, and M), of which at least two (X and M) are supposed to have been lost in the 16th century. In addition, this classification confuses important philological aspects in particular, the superposition of the Saint-Oyen catalog (O) with the manuscript mentioned in catalog (Y), and the ancient codex used by P. Pithou (X) with its printed edition (P) and historical aspects regarding circulation of the poem in the 16th century. However, based on the provenance, date, or ecdotic features of the manuscript and printed witnesses of the poem De mortibus boum, it seems possible to restore the relationships between Y, O, X, M, P, and A.