A Fragment of Colossians with Hiberno-Latin Glosses in St. Gall, Stiftsbibliothek, Cod. Sang. 1395

Abstract

This article examines a fragment of the Epistle of Paul to the Colossians with a series of marginal comments included in St. Gall, Stiftsbibliothek, Cod. Sang. 1395. Written in a ninth-century Irish minuscule, this fragment has clear connections to early medieval Hiberno-Latin and Irish-influenced biblical exegesis, with implications for further study of this field. Many of the glosses derive from the Expositiones xiii epistularum Pauli by Pelagius, and the fragment therefore acts as a witness to the transmission of this work. A number of the non-Pelagian glosses remain unidentified in comparison with other early medieval commentaries, and such comments may be original to this fragment. Moreover, due to the layout of the manuscript with both biblical text and marginal commentary, this fragment also serves as evidence for shifts in exegetical and scribal practices in the ninth century. Considering the evidence of paleography, biblical text, and the character of the commentary, the early provenance (and possibly origin) for the fragment is placed at the abbey of St. Gall. The article concludes with an edition of both the biblical text and the marginal glosses.