Luoghi sallustiani a chiosa del “De inventione” nel commento del “magister Menegaldus” (sec. XI)

The paper deals with an hitherto unknown example of Sallust’s success in the Middle Ages: the commentary on Cicero, De inventione which is commonly attributed to the “magister Menegaldus” (11th century) and which – although still unpublished – represents the first systematic commentary on the classical rhetorical handbook after Marius Victorinus (4th century). Sallust (either in the Coniuratio or in the Bellum Iugurthinum) seems to be by far the most quoted auctor in Menegaldus’ exposition: the 14 quotations, which are here considered (30% of the total), clearly point out that the medieval magister wants either illustrate in a better way many rhetorical rules (which were explained by Cicero and Victorinus only in theory) or stress the rhetorical nature of some Sallust’s passages. Furthermore the paper shows that many quotations originally introduced by Menegaldus were immediately accepted in another significant commentary on Cicero, De inventione, that is, the exposition of “magister Guillielmus” (perhaps William of Champeaux, 11th-12th century)