Vernacular Bible Manuscripts in Late Medieval Italy: Cultural Appropriation and Textual Transformation

Abstract

Franco Sacchetti combined business, diplomatic missions and literary activities with commentaries on the Gospels, theological issues, catechetical discussions and moral interpretations of biblical episodes. This chapter analyses the formation of textual clusters in vernacular Bible manuscripts, in which the biblical text is combined with basic catechetical instruction, as well as with moral and didactic treatises. The examination of this combination of biblical, didactic and catechetical material will contribute to the reconstruction of the social and cultural context in which the diffusion of vernacular Bible manuscripts in medieval Italy occurred. The fragmentation of the biblical text, which was probably influenced by the private and liturgical use of the codices, is also reflected in the composite character of the manuscripts. The combination of religious education and moral instructions suggested and described by Paolo da Certaldo plays a pivotal role in the construction of lay religious identities in late medieval Italy. Keywords:cultural context; didactic treatises; Gospels; late medieval italy; textual clusters; vernacular Bible manuscripts