The harmonious organ of Sedulius Scottus : an introduction and translation of selections of his 'Collectaneum in Apostolum'

Abstract

Most of the limited scholarship on Sedulius Scottus focuses on his poems and treatise, De Rectoribus Christianis. As the product of a central ecclesiastical figure in Liège, the intellectual capital of Louis the German’s kingdom, Sedulius’ biblical exegesis also deserves study. The Carolingians revered classical society and culture and at the same time sought to become a wholly Christian empire, thus, it is not surprising that the content of Sedulius’ Collectaneum in Apostolum contains both classical and Christian elements. In 1997, J. Frede published a critical edition of Sedulius’ Collectaneum in Apostolum, but there remains today neither a translation nor specific study of this work in any modern language. My thesis seeks to provide an introduction and translation for the Prologue and commentaries on Galatians and Ephesians as contained in Frede’s critical edition of Sedulius Scottus’ Collectaneum in Apostolum. After situating Sedulius in his historical context and highlighting the tradition of biblical collectanea, I present external evidence – which demonstrates Sedulius’ familiarity with Donatus’ Vita and Servius’ commentary on the Aeneid – as well as intertextual links to the latter works to argue that Servius’ pedagogical commentary served as a literary model for Sedulius’ Collectaneum. I also introduce and explain Sedulius’ organizing template for the Prologue, which is his employment of the classical rhetorical schema, “the seven types of circumstance”. This schema is an important rhetorical tool of many classical and medieval authors that has heretofore been misrepresented as originating from Hermagoras. Sedulius’ literary style and format are examined as matters of introduction, which further reveals the influence of Servius. The commentaries within the Collectaneum in Apostolum are essentially based on older, formative religious writers such as Jerome, Augustine, and Pelagius. Not only do I survey Sedulius’ doctrinal stances on important theological and ecclesiastical issues of his time, but I discuss Sedulius’ reception of the above three authors in particular and demonstrate how his Collectaneum in Apostolum attempts to harmonize their sometimes discordant voices.