The Relatio metrica de duobus ducibus : a twelfth-century Cluniac poem on prayer for the dead / [edition, translation and commentary by] Christopher A. Jones and Scott G. Bruce.
Container of (expression): Relatio metrica de duobus ducibus. English.
Notes:
Includes bibliographical references (pages 181-202) and indexes.
Contents:
General index. Abbreviations -- Introduction -- Appendix : the prose relatio de duobus ducibus (long version) -- The latin prose exemplum of the two dukes -- The manuscript of the relatio metrica -- Patterns in the poet's adaptations of the prose source -- The conditions of purgative suffering after death -- The morality of war and of the warrior class -- Elaborative allusions to the Old Testament and classical literature -- Biblical allusions -- Classical allusions -- Versification and language -- Prosody -- Rhyme -- Disposition of dactyls and spondees -- Hiatus, elision, and caesuras -- Final clausulae -- Vocabulary and idiom -- Syntax -- The poet's literary sources -- Classical and patristic latin literature -- Eleventh- and twelfth-century verse -- Bernard of cluny -- Other poetic sources of the later eleventh and twelfth centuries -- The authorship of the relatio metrica -- A work by Bernardus scriba? -- Bernardus scriba and Bernard of cluny -- Principles of the edition, translation, and commentary -- Edition and translation -- Commentary -- Appendix : the prose relatio de duobus ducibus (long version) -- Bibliography -- Indices -- Index of biblical passages cited in the commentary -- Index of primary sources and parallels cited in the commentary -- General index.
Summary:
The first edition and translation of a fascinating Latin poem on the cult of the dead at twelfth-century Cluny. The twelfth-century Latin poem called the 'Relatio metrica de duobus ducibus' has never been edited or translated before. On its surface, the poem retells a popular exemplum about an encounter between two warring dukes and a mysterious army from heaven. While retelling the story in verse, however, the poet has greatly expanded his prose source, elaborating its teachings about the importance of intercessions for the dead and introducing wholly new emphases on knightly piety and the benefits of dying for a holy cause. The present book, which offers the first edition, translation, and analysis of the poem, situates the 827-line poem in its literary and historical contexts. The publication of the 'Relatio metrica' should be of interest to scholars of medieval Latin poetry, Cluniac monasticism, and the spirituality of the Crusades.
Series:
Publications of the Journal of Medieval Latin ; 10
This resource is supported by the Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act as administered by State Library of Iowa.