Entre Renacimientos: trasmisión textual, público y contextos de la literatura latina de la Baja Edad Media

Abstract

This paper presents and discusses some aspects of Late Medieval Latin literature. The first part focusses on the peculiarities of its textual transmission. There is a huge amount of late medieval manuscripts, many of which have not yet been catalogued, let alone described. Yet it is safe to assume that there have been heavy losses, as late medieval paper manuscripts containing liturgy or pious texts were destroyed in great numbers during Reformation and the dissolution of monasteries in different European countries. The collectors of the early modern period usually preferred older parchment codices, although individual interests may have helped to preserve late medieval texts. These circumstances must be taken into account when trying to assess the distribution of a particular work. The second part concentrates on the readers of Latin literature. The flourishing research on literacy and on women’s monasticism has brought new insights into the uses and distribution of texts. Three examples show that Latin texts probably had more readers than it was once assumed. Finally, a third part argues for the necessity of considering late medieval literature as a whole in spite of all differences, and especially of taking into account the relationship between Humanism and Scholasticism. This leads to a better understanding of the circumstances which favoured the expansion of Humanism.