Un testo sconosciuto di Jean Miélot: la traduzione dei “Vaticinia de summis pontificibus”

Abstract

This study is an initial attempt to investigate an unknown text by Jean Miélot: a Middle French translation of the Vaticinia de summis pontificibus transmitted by the manuscript Giessen, Universitätsbibliothek, Hs 633a. This series of illustrated Pope prophecies was attributed in 1862 to “Jo. Imelot” by Johan Valentin Adrian, who transliterated in this way the name of the writer and caused the volume to be forgotten for a long time. In the first part of the article, results of an early codicological analysis are shared; then, the research provides an overview of the story of the Vaticinia Latin version, which encountered a remarkable success between the xv and the xvi centuries. A detailed central section aims to describe Miélot’s peculiar layout and points out his interest both in vernacular and in the material aspect of the book. Finally, the study suggests some philological hypotheses: the use of more than one source as well as the adoption of a model possibly coming from Italy is discussed. In conclusion, the results of this study highlight the importance of the Giessen manuscript and support further researches. Being actually one of the first Vaticinia translations in vernacular, Miélot’s text also improves our knowledge of his literary production and allows refining our notion of his working methods.