Peter Lombard on Titus and Philemon: Tracing patterns in Parisian manuscripts made before c. 1250

Abstract

Peter Lombard was a twelfth-century theologian who worked in Paris, which was, at that time, a major centre for manuscript production. This research project focuses on the Collectanea, Lombard s commentary on the Pauline Epistles as it appears in manuscripts produced principally in Paris in the late twelfth and early thirteenth centuries, to explore the reception of Lombard s hugely popular text over the century following his death. Given the length of Lombard s text, his commentary to Titus and Philemon has been chosen as a focus for this project. The intent of this thesis is to present a comparison of six Parisian manuscripts made between c. 1160 and c. 1250 in order to provide insight into reading practices of Lombard s text in the thirteenth century. The analysis compares the overall design of each manuscript, the various textual elements and any included decoration. The physical form of the manuscripts is at the core of this study and once the comparison is complete the thesis then places Lombard's commentary within the context of scholarship during this period.