Paris, Bibliothèque Nationale Latin 7906: An Unnoticed Very Early Fragment of the ‘Liber Historiae Francorum’
Manuscript Paris, B.N. lat. 7906 could contain the oldest known copy of part of the eighth-century Frankish chronicle, the Liber Historiae Francorum (LHF). The manuscript was an exciting discovery because of its antiquity, and at the same time a challenging one because it does not neatly fit with ot...
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Cambridge University Press
1987
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| In: |
Traditio
Year: 1987, Volume: 43, Pages: 381-386 |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (JSTOR) Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Summary: | Manuscript Paris, B.N. lat. 7906 could contain the oldest known copy of part of the eighth-century Frankish chronicle, the Liber Historiae Francorum (LHF). The manuscript was an exciting discovery because of its antiquity, and at the same time a challenging one because it does not neatly fit with other known early manuscripts of the work. From folio 81 to 88v, B.N. lat. 7906 contains the first part of the LHF, breaking off abruptly in the course of chapter 17. The break comes in mid-sentence and falls at the end of the last line of a verso. The complete LHF contains 53 chapters, and obviously here, in mid-sentence in chapter 17, is not the place the scribe intended to end his copy. The author took the majority of his first 34 chapters from the Historia of Gregory of Tours. These are chapters of the LHF which are not as valuable historically as the work's later sections, which contain more original material from the author himself. Since the Paris manuscript stops in chapter 17, and since it does not contain any historical information not already known from other early manuscripts of the work, it does not add to the LHF's value as a historical source. It does, however, call into question the now universally held contention that the Liber Historiae Francorum was written in two neatly defined recensions, each with its own known date of composition. |
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| ISSN: | 2166-5508 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Traditio
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1017/S0362152900012617 |