Papers by Patrizia Lendinara
Filologia Germanica – Germanic Philology Beiheft 4 (2025), pp. 13-18
uno dei 5 interventi alla tavola rotonda del febbraio 2024.
, 2025
a review of the book by Pádraic Moran, De Origine Scoticae Linguae (O’Mulconry’s Glossary)
in Cultural Connections between the Continent and Early Medieval England: Philological Studies in Honour of Rolf H. Bremmer Jr, ed. Thijs Porck, Kees Dekker and László Sándor Chardonnens, Cambridge: Boydell & Brewer 2025, pp. 270-291, 2025
Brussels, Koninklijke Bibliotheek van België, ms. 1828–30 is a composite codex comprised of two p... more Brussels, Koninklijke Bibliotheek van België, ms. 1828–30 is a composite codex comprised of two parts of differing date and origin: fols 1–35 and fols 36–109. The first part, whose main content is the Historia apostolica of Arator, dates to the tenth century and was written on the Continent. The latter part (fols 36–109) is thought to have been copied in England during the first half of the eleventh century and then moved to the Continent, where it received additions, to be eventually bound to the first part of the manuscript. Before the two parts of the codex were bound together, one – or more – twelfth–century Continental hands copied poetic compositions, sometimes fragmentary, on fols 1r and 35r–v, which mark the beginning and the end of the first part of the manuscript. The main contents of these two folios are eight Latin poems, which are somehow connected in content and tone. Five of these poems celebrate the song of the nightingale, while the other three have different subjects but share a riddling quality
ἀγλαὰ δῶρα. Miscellanea in onore di Dora Faraci, eds. Susan Irvine, Carla Riviello, Paolo Vaciago e Ruggero Bianchin, Roma: Roma Tre Press, 2025, pp. 523-544, 2025
The chapter on the siren in the Middle English Bestiary is remarkable for its change in perspect... more The chapter on the siren in the Middle English Bestiary is remarkable for its change in perspective in the description of what happens when the sailors encounter the sirens. On hearing the voice of the sirens, which receives a focused description, sailors fall asleep, in line with the traditional narrative, and their boat, no longer being steered, is shipwrecked. According to this new representation, the sirens do not take advantage of the sailors’ drowsiness to approach the ship or climb aboard. They do not either assault or cannibalise the sailors. The role played by the sirens is limited, although the outcome of their luring of the sailors by singing proves fatal not only for the men on board, but also for the ship, which is irreparably unrecoverably lost. Both the images of the shipwreck and the eddy where the boat sinks are unique in the bestiaries, but have a number of parallels worthy of investigation. Finally, the importance attributed to the sunken vessel is emblematic of the mercantile ideological scheme that prevailed in thirteenth century England. Apparently, the primary importance of ships and merchant trading superseded all other considerations.
Museikon, 2024
Le présent article s’inscrit dans la continuité de celui qui a été publié en 2023 dans la même re... more Le présent article s’inscrit dans la continuité de celui qui a été publié en 2023 dans la même revue (The Manufactory of Old French Psalters : Part 1…). Ce deuxième volet comprend d’abord une section de addenda qui complètent certaines parties du précèdent article. S’ajoutent ensuite les érasures dans diverses formes verbales, suivies par un recensement des corrections liées aux préfixes ex– et es–. D’autres séries d’érasures concernent différentes parties du discours : articles définis ; pronoms personnels ; pronoms réflexifs ; formes possessives ; démonstratifs ; avec une étude de cas sur les choix de traduction du génitif "eius", dont plusieurs documentent l’existence d’un antigraphe. Il s’agit souvent d’une hésitation entre les formes faibles et fortes. Des sections complémentaires sont consacrées aux érasures des pronoms relatifs et de la conjonction "que" ; à l’adjectif pronominal "toz" / "tuit" ; aux prépositions ; à la conjonction "é" ; aux signes de ponctuation ; et aux particules négatives. L’analyse des érasures du manuscrit d’Oxford, Bibliothèque bodléienne, Douce 320 se termine par un examen détaillé des corrections liées à différents phénomènes lexicaux. L’article porte ensuite sur les rapports entre le manuscrit Douce et les fragments de Maidstone, dont la transcription a été publiée dans le premier volet. Suivent une transcription des fragments de l’Orne (Paris, Archives Nationales, dossier AB xix 1734) et une étude sur l’origine de ces derniers et sur leurs liens avec le texte de Douce. Les choix de traduction pour le latin "numquid" documentent les liens entre Douce, Arundel (Londres, Bibliothèque britannique, Arundel 230) et Orne. Les choix de traduction du latin "exaltare" permettent en partie de restituer le texte latin de la source de Douce. Les différentes stratégies de traduction d’Orne, de Douce et d’Arundel semblent être des réécritures d’antigraphes similaires. Toutes ces analyses montrent que Douce, Arundel, Orne et Maidstone proviennent de deux ou plusieurs gloses vernaculaires apparentées. L’article propose ensuite une perspective globale sur les approches vernaculaires de la traduction des psaumes en Angleterre jusqu’au XIIIe siècle, qui documente l’interaction des langues vernaculaires anglaise et française avec les textes (et l’exégèse) latins. Il se termine par une discussion (appuyée sur deux exemples du XIIe siècle) concernant le double pliage du Douce, lié sans doute à sa circulation et à son emploi dans la réalisation des psautiers bilingues à deux colonnes. Le troisième volet du présent article est prévu pour 2025. Il comprendra la transcription du texte de Douce (avec l’accentuation originale et l’emplacement des érasures), ainsi que plusieurs études complémentaires.
Glosse e glossari nel medioevo germanico. Atti XXI Seminario anivanzato in filologia germanica, a cura di Carla Falluomini, Alessandra, Edizioni dell’Orso, pp. 143-199, 2024
I glossari composti in Inghilterra nel periodo che va dal VII all’XI secolo (e oltre) costituisco... more I glossari composti in Inghilterra nel periodo che va dal VII all’XI secolo (e oltre) costituiscono un corpus molto vasto e caratterizzato da testimonianze precoci rispetto al resto dell’Europa occidentale.
È possibile distinguere due fasi di questa produzione glossografica. Il primo periodo ha visto la stesura di glossari di ampie dimensioni, tre dei quali alfabetici, legati tra loro e riconducibili a Canterbury. Il secondo periodo, il cui inizio precede di poco la cosiddetta Riforma benedettina inglese, mostra un continuato interesse nei glossari più antichi, e la compilazione di un numero di glossari di diverse dimensioni, alcuni di grossa mole, caratterizzandosi per la produzione di glossari tematici, con finalità di ordine pratico e scolastico.
in Incontri filologici. Studi in onore di Claudia Händl /Philologische Begegnungen. Festschrift für Claudia Händl, edd. Chiara Benati e Simona Leonardi (Göppinger Arbeiten zur Germanistik, 794), Göppingen, Kummerle 2024, pp. 23-36.
Far from being barren storehouses of unfamiliar words, medieval glossaries speak to us of the at... more Far from being barren storehouses of unfamiliar words, medieval glossaries speak to us of the attitude of their author or the scribe who copied a version of the text. The change and the additions to the interpretation of a lemma in three still unedited glossaries dating to the ninth and tenth centuries are indicative of the glossators’ approach to the issues of contemporary society.
The essay investigates an entry which occurs in a number of glossaries, mostly unprinted, such as the third glossary of Barcelona, Arxiu de la Corona d’Aragó, Ripoll 74.
The entrybwhose lemma is 'Barones' features variant readings and an interpolation - connecting baro with beard - which is worth investigating.
Perspectives on Old Frisian Philology, eds. R. Bremmer Jr, S. Laker and A. Popkema (= Amsterdamer Beiträge zur älteren Germanistik 84), pp. 190-212, 2024
In his Historia ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum, V.10, Bede apparently introduced a twofold divisio... more In his Historia ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum, V.10, Bede apparently introduced a twofold division of Frisia when he called the region Frisia citerior to where Ecgberht sent missionaries. Neither Bede nor the Old English translator of Bede's work offer a precise identification of the region at issue; moreover, the passage does not mention a possible counterpart, that is, Frisia ulterior. While Bede uses Frisia citerior, the translator refers to fyrran Fresan. An analysis of possible sources does not yield any parallel to Bede's reference, nor to the use of the term as a geographically identifiable territory. On the other hand, the use of Old English feorr in similar geographical contexts, whether in translations or original texts, vouches for a free and imaginative employment of the comparative fyrran, which was not used as a precise geographical marker. This essay suggests that the mission to Frisia, which was of great importance in both Bede's narrative and the Lives of missionaries, such as that of Willibrord, had the effect of striking the translator's imagination. He chose a suggestive term, rich in connotations, rather than supplying a geographical identifiable information.
Il culto micaelico nelle tradizioni germaniche medievali. XXI Sem. avanzato in filologia germanica, ed. Dario Bullitta (Bibliotheca germ. Studi e Testi, 58) Alessandria: Edizioni dell’Orso,2023, pp. 141-210, 2023
Nella tradizione garganica rappresentata dalLiber de apparitione sancti Michaelis in monte Gargan... more Nella tradizione garganica rappresentata dalLiber de apparitione sancti Michaelis in monte Gargano (o Apparitio), la cui diffusione in Inghilterra è illustrata nel saggio. Michele è il protettore degli abitanti di Siponto che porta alla vittoria col favore delle forze della natura, mentre nella parte iniziale del testo, dove comunica la sua presenza, l’arcangelo protegge un animale e, nella terza, di carattere devozionale, fa emergere la sua funzione iatrica nelle guarigioni operate dall’acqua della grotta.
Nell’esaminare la letteratura in inglese antico, osservando anche in controluce quella irlandese, dove tanto spazio è accordato alla figura dell’arcangelo Michele e dove si materializzano altri ambiti di azione, come la battaglia con il drago, è emersa, in più di un caso, la necessità di ovviare al disallineamento di alcuni riferimenti a Michele nella Bibliotheca Hagiographica Latina (= BHL), per cui si propongono, nelle conclusioni, revisioni e aggiunte.
The Bella Parisiacae urbis by Abbo of Saint-Germain-des-Prés, a poem written in the 880s and app... more The Bella Parisiacae urbis by Abbo of Saint-Germain-des-Prés, a poem written in the 880s and apparently completed by 897, consists of three books. In the third book, the historical description of the siege of Paris is set aside and Abbo addresses a young cleric in the first person, providing him with all sorts of advice, at times sharp and often cryptic. Abbo crams his verses with hundreds of uncommon words, among which Greek loanwords play a major role. Rare words are not lacking in the first two books, but their frequency in the third is astonishing and gives this part of Abbo’s work that unusual flavour which guaranteed the poem’s wide renown. In several cases the words used in the poem had no circulation outside of glossaries.
About half the words in Abbo’s third book are provided with glosses in the manuscripts transmitting the poem, thus yielding an average of three glossed lemmata per line. These all-Latin glosses were evidently part of the original plan as conceived by Abbo and the relationship between the words of the poem and their glosses is an intimate one. In a number of cases, the unusual terms agree with only one of the meanings of their Latin gloss or glosses, which might also be obscure.
In a departure from normal practice, in the third book Abbo did not add a gloss to facilitate the interpretation of a difficult phrase or line. Rather, he assembled a double set of words (lemma and interpretamentum) for each verse, selecting them simultaneously from his sources. The third book, together with its gloss, is thus a peculiar and idiosyncratic creation. The Latin glosses, which are found with little variation in all manuscripts of the poem, often enhance textual concealment rather than reducing it. The ratio between lemma and gloss is usually one-to-one and there is no accumulation of additional glosses over time.
Travelling Texts – Texts Travelling. A Gedenkschrift for Hans Sauer, edd. Renate Bauer, Christine Elsweiler, Ulriche Krischke & Kerstin Majewski, München, utzVerlagGmbH, pp. 235-253 , 2023
London, British Library, Cotton Julius A. vi contains a version of the anonymous poem which celeb... more London, British Library, Cotton Julius A. vi contains a version of the anonymous poem which celebrates the translatio studii and the seven liberal arts: 'Ad mensam Philosophiae'. The poem was copied on folio 90r–v, which was originally blank, following a rhythm attributed to Peter Damian: O genitrix. Both poem and rhythm were added to the manuscript at the end of the eleventh century. The matching of these two works – both much downsized – on the last folio of a hymnary is intriguing. Also remarkable is the selection of the lines copied in Julius A. vi, which has no counterpart in the other versions of Ad mensam Philosophiae, as well as the erasure of some words in the poem. The same is true of O genitrix, which, compared to all the other versions of
this rhythm, features a lower number of strophes and exclusive variant readings. The joint occurrence of the two texts may help shed light on the route by which both compositions travelled to England.
Filologia Germanica – Germanic Philology. Supplemento 3, 2022
One of the earliest Lives of Saints written in England is the anonymous Life of Saint Cuthbert,... more One of the earliest Lives of Saints written in England is the anonymous Life of Saint Cuthbert, which was soon followed by the two Lives written by Bede. These three works will be examined with respect to the typologies of food miracles involving Cuthbert, which are either narrated in all the three Lives or are found in only one of these works (see the Appendix for a synoptic list). Food miracles are reported in the Bible and occur in numerous medieval hagiographies and other texts concerning the life and deeds of a saint. The food miracles which involve Cuthbert are apparently routine events, but in three instances they also reveal his power of foreknowledge. Cuthbert providentially receives food before taking his vows and when he is a monk at Melrose and Ripon. In these episodes, food is bestowed upon Cuthbert, who is portrayed as a rather passive recipient. On the other hand, the food miracles that take place during his hermitage on Inner Farne, including those occurring in the days of his last retreat to this small island, are enacted by Cuthbert. As will become evident, the nature of the miracles changes in parallel with the steps of his life. The variation in typology, as well as the difference within the same kind of food miracle, account for the complexity of this saintly figure.
in E/C 27 Politiche della cucina. Discorsi, conflitti, culture. Rivista on-line dell’AISS - Associazione Italiana di Studi Semiotici, pp. 1-11, 2019
http://www.ec-aiss.it/monografici/ 27_politiche_della_cucina.php
in Litterarum dulces fructus: Studies in Honour of Michael Herren for his 80th Birthday, ed. Scott G. Bruce (Instrumenta Patristica et Mediaevalia, 85), Turnhout, Brepols, 2021, pp. 235-273, 2021
The earliest lists of animal names paired with the verbs indicating their distinctive cries date ... more The earliest lists of animal names paired with the verbs indicating their distinctive cries date from Late Antiquity and one of them has long been attributed to Suetonius. A short list, the contents and structure of which was repeated again and again with small variations over a long period of time, is included in the Laterculus of Polemius Silvius. In the case of Basel, Universitätsbibliothek, B XI.8, the poem on fol. 41v is in fact a versification of Polemius's list in dactylic hexameters. The lists of Voces animantium also took the form of poetical compositions such as the 'De cantibus avium' (AL no. 733) or the 'Carmen de philomela' (incipit 'Dulcis amica veni …'); lines based on animal names and their sounds also occur within longer poems. The short poetical compositions facilitated easy memorisation and were sometimes accompanied by interlinear glosses in the vernacular.
in Zoosemiotica 2.0. Forme e politiche dell’animalità, ed. Gianfranco Marrone (Nuovi Quaderni del Circolo semiologico siciliano, 1), Palermo, Edizioni Museo Pasqualino, 2017, pp. 465-478
Che i versi degli animali costituiscano un insieme di segni e come tale possono essere studiati n... more Che i versi degli animali costituiscano un insieme di segni e come tale possono essere studiati non era sfuggito a Umberto Eco (1985). Piccole raccolte di 'voci' di animali, ma anche di elementi della natura come il vento e altri soggetti, circolano dall'antichità sia in greco sia in latino. Sotto il nome di 'Voces variae animantium' va una produzione vasta e eterogenea dove i terionimi sono accompagnati dal caratteristico verso. Usati dai grammatici a scopo esemplificativo, le voces compaiono intensamente-e incidentalmente o meno-in prosa e in poesia, specialmente nel medioevo. Riunite in lunghe liste, sono testimoniate da numerosi manoscritti medievali e continuano a essere copiate fino alla prima età moderna. Non si sa nulla di preciso della lista maggiormente citata, pubblicata da Reifferscheid come fragm. 161 e attri-buita a Svetonio, se non che non si tratta, con buona probabilità, di un passo di Svetonio. Le liste indipendenti testimoniano un interesse di tipo enciclopedico. In-dubbia anche la funzione didattica, comunque intesa, che si materializza in vari modi, che dettano la forma dei testi volti a insegnare la terminologia degli animali e dei rispettivi versi. Tanto resta da fare per definire la tipologia delle 'Voces variae animantium', che assumono molteplici forme e che registrano una drastica diminuzione e un diminuito favore con l'avvento delle lingue volgari. All'interno dei nuovi codici linguistici sembrano venire meno i pre-supposti delle elencazioni di voces e va ricreata l'eufonia dalle onomatopee che funzionava in latino. Stringhe di terionimi mantengono la loro vitalità solo nelle filastrocche destinate al pubblico infantile.
Luflice ond freondlice. Studi in onore di Maria Elena Ruggerini, edd. Carla Cucina, Lorenzo Lozzi Gallo & Veronka Szoke. Milano: Prometheus, pp. 243-274. , 2023
The 1127 annal of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle features an intriguing parallel between Henry of Poit... more The 1127 annal of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle features an intriguing parallel between Henry of Poitou and a drone in a beehive. The unbecoming behaviour of Henry, appointed as the abbot of Peterborough by King Henry I, finally ended up with his withdrawal from the abbey. This metaphorical employment of the apian imagery had no counterpart in Old English literature; however, this negative image of the drone, as synonymous with an idle and predatory person, who contributes nothing to the hive and lives off the works of the others, derives from an ancient literary tradition that began with Hesiod. The drone simile, which was used in twelfth-century England as a symbol of immoderate pillage taking place within the walls of a monastery, has not garnered much critical attention and remains overlooked. Beginning with such unexamined passage of the Chronicle, this article traces the interpretation of the apian imagery as a symbol of natural corruption of human society, earthly towns, and monastic communities.
Parola, suono, immagine. Fenomeni traduttivi, intersemiotici, transmediali. Studi in memoria di Maria Vittoria Molinari, ed. Maria Grazia Cammarota, Gabriele Cocco, Francesco Lo Monaco, Bergamo, Bergamo University Press, 2022, pp. 55-78. , 2022
Il saggio prende in esame i lavori di Maria Vittoria Molinari dedicati alla poesia antico inglese... more Il saggio prende in esame i lavori di Maria Vittoria Molinari dedicati alla poesia antico inglese, mettendo in risalto il suo approccio e l'orientamento della sua critica letteraria
Prassi ecdotiche e restitutio dei testi germanici XX Sem. avanzato in filologia germanica, ed. Roberto Rosselli Del Turco, Alessandria: Edizioni dell'Orso,, pp. 11-103, 2022
The essay takes into examination the development of the editions of Old English texts since the s... more The essay takes into examination the development of the editions of Old English texts since the seventeenth century, to focus on the issues of the last twenty years of the twentieth century.
In the second part of the essay, the most relevant editions of Old English texts published in the last twenty years are taken into esamination, sketching a panorama of current research on this field.
in Current Issues in Medieval England, ed. Letizia Vezzosi, Berlin: Peter Lang (Studies in English Medieval Language and Literature, 59), pp. 59-85 , 2021
The Tretiz of Walter of Bibbesworth exerted quite an influence on literature over the two centuri... more The Tretiz of Walter of Bibbesworth exerted quite an influence on literature over the two centuries that followed its composition. It served as the basis for two long works in French – accompanied by a full translation in English – which were employed as learning tools, while its effect was evidently felt in a number of bilingual (or trilingual) glossaries, such as the Glossary in Cambridge, St John’s College, E.17 (120). Later French language learning tools circulating well into the fifteenth century also display a working knowledge of the Tretiz.
Medioevo Europeo 3/1 (2019), pp. 19-39, 2019
Il glossario del ms. Cambridge, St John’s College, E.17 (120) presenta due occorrenze di schūpe, ... more Il glossario del ms. Cambridge, St John’s College, E.17 (120) presenta due occorrenze di schūpe, una forma secondaria di medio inglese hēpe ‘cinorrodo, frutto della rosa canina’. Schūpe ricomparirà, molto più avanti, in uno dei primi dizionari inglesi, il Catholicon anglicum. La forma che ricorre per la prima volta nel glossario presenta la stessa evoluzione fonetica della consonante iniziale di una serie di toponimi e di voci dialettali come shoop. Il glossario del St John’s College, E.17, con la sua doppia occorrenza di schūpe, aggiunge un tassello importante alla distribuzione cronologica e diatopica dello sviluppo di [ʃ-] in medio inglese.
ABSTRACT: The glossary in Cambridge, St John’s College, E.17 (120) features two occurrences of schūpe, a by-form of Middle English hēpe ‘rose hip’. Schūpe will occur again, much later, in one of the first English dictionaries, the Catholicon anglicum. The by-form which occurs for the first time in this glossary features the same sound-change of the initial consonant as a few place names and modern dialect forms such as shoop. The glossary in St John’s College, E.17, with its double occurrence of schūpe, adds one more piece to the puzzle of the chronological and diatopic distribution of the Middle English development of [ʃ-] forms.
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Papers by Patrizia Lendinara
È possibile distinguere due fasi di questa produzione glossografica. Il primo periodo ha visto la stesura di glossari di ampie dimensioni, tre dei quali alfabetici, legati tra loro e riconducibili a Canterbury. Il secondo periodo, il cui inizio precede di poco la cosiddetta Riforma benedettina inglese, mostra un continuato interesse nei glossari più antichi, e la compilazione di un numero di glossari di diverse dimensioni, alcuni di grossa mole, caratterizzandosi per la produzione di glossari tematici, con finalità di ordine pratico e scolastico.
The essay investigates an entry which occurs in a number of glossaries, mostly unprinted, such as the third glossary of Barcelona, Arxiu de la Corona d’Aragó, Ripoll 74.
The entrybwhose lemma is 'Barones' features variant readings and an interpolation - connecting baro with beard - which is worth investigating.
Nell’esaminare la letteratura in inglese antico, osservando anche in controluce quella irlandese, dove tanto spazio è accordato alla figura dell’arcangelo Michele e dove si materializzano altri ambiti di azione, come la battaglia con il drago, è emersa, in più di un caso, la necessità di ovviare al disallineamento di alcuni riferimenti a Michele nella Bibliotheca Hagiographica Latina (= BHL), per cui si propongono, nelle conclusioni, revisioni e aggiunte.
About half the words in Abbo’s third book are provided with glosses in the manuscripts transmitting the poem, thus yielding an average of three glossed lemmata per line. These all-Latin glosses were evidently part of the original plan as conceived by Abbo and the relationship between the words of the poem and their glosses is an intimate one. In a number of cases, the unusual terms agree with only one of the meanings of their Latin gloss or glosses, which might also be obscure.
In a departure from normal practice, in the third book Abbo did not add a gloss to facilitate the interpretation of a difficult phrase or line. Rather, he assembled a double set of words (lemma and interpretamentum) for each verse, selecting them simultaneously from his sources. The third book, together with its gloss, is thus a peculiar and idiosyncratic creation. The Latin glosses, which are found with little variation in all manuscripts of the poem, often enhance textual concealment rather than reducing it. The ratio between lemma and gloss is usually one-to-one and there is no accumulation of additional glosses over time.
this rhythm, features a lower number of strophes and exclusive variant readings. The joint occurrence of the two texts may help shed light on the route by which both compositions travelled to England.
In the second part of the essay, the most relevant editions of Old English texts published in the last twenty years are taken into esamination, sketching a panorama of current research on this field.
ABSTRACT: The glossary in Cambridge, St John’s College, E.17 (120) features two occurrences of schūpe, a by-form of Middle English hēpe ‘rose hip’. Schūpe will occur again, much later, in one of the first English dictionaries, the Catholicon anglicum. The by-form which occurs for the first time in this glossary features the same sound-change of the initial consonant as a few place names and modern dialect forms such as shoop. The glossary in St John’s College, E.17, with its double occurrence of schūpe, adds one more piece to the puzzle of the chronological and diatopic distribution of the Middle English development of [ʃ-] forms.