Hildeberts Prosimetrum de querimonia und die Gedichte eines Anonymus

Hildebert of Lavardin (1056-1133) is one of the most famous writers of the Latin Middle Ages. His unfinished De querimonia, dealing with the precarious relationship of body and soul, is a precious example of his masterly acquaintance with Latin prose and verse. It is the first of a series of philosophical prosimetra, composed during the 12th century and partly influenced by Hildebert. In this volume, De querimonia is critically edited and analyzed for the first time. Besides the broad manuscript basis used in preparing the text, special attention is given to the secondary tradition in florilegia and the encyclopaedic compilations of Vincent of Beauvais. In three of the manuscripts De querimonia is accompanied by an anonymous collection of Latin poems by a younger contemporary of Hildebert (ca.1130). Most of the 25 pieces have not been published before. Though most of them are influenced by Ovid, some, however, are inspired by Hildebert and other poets of the time. They offer a great variety of themes – poetic, theological, historical and satirical poems and epigrams, unequalled in the Latin literature of the 12th century. The second part of the present book is a critical edition of the whole collection including an introduction and commentary.