The Old Saxon Leipzig Heliand manuscript fragment (MS L): New evidence concerning Luther, the poet, and Ottonian heritage

Begun as an investigation of the linguistic and paleographic evidence on the Old Saxon Leipzig Heliand fragment, the dissertation encompasses three analyses spanning over a millennium of that manuscript's existence.First, a direct analysis clarifies errors in the published transcription (4.2). The corrections result from digital imaging processes (2.3) which reveal scribal details that are otherwise invisible. A revised phylogenic tree (2.2) places MS L as the oldest extant Heliand document. Further buoying this are transcription corrections for all six Heliand manuscripts (4.1). Altogether, the corrections contrast with the Old High German Tatian's Monotessaron (3.3), i.e. the poet's assumed source text (3.1). In fact, digital analysis of MS L reveals a small detail (4.2) not present in the Tatian text, thus calling into question earlier presumptions about the location and timing of the Heliand's creation (14.4).Second, given centuries-long rumors (6.2, 7.1) that Luther once had a Heliand codex, the MS L discovery in Leipzig is conspicuous: close to Luther's Wittenberg, Leipzig is also home to the library dedicated by Luther (5.1)--the very institution at which MS L was discovered. The analysis investigates: whence the Luther rumors come (7.1); their veracity (8.4, 9.1); and their timing relative to Luther (6.3, 10.4, 11.3). The result: a Heliand codex existed in Leipzig prior to Luther's death (6.2). Moreover, the men responsible for its presence there were those who established that library (5.1). These men comprised Luther's inner circle of Reformation thinkers (6.2). Additionally, the identity of one `rumor' author, an enigmatic Reformation firebrand by the name of Ioannes Manlius (9.2), is revealed.Third, a trail of the Leipzig Heliand codex is traced through time, linking Luther's Heliand codex to Heliand manuscripts L and P (2.1). A second trail back to the epic's creation date (13.4) points to Ottonian dynasty involvement in disseminating the Heliand to the discovery locations of the extant manuscripts (14.3). A further connection between the Ottonian Harz and Southern England (14.3) proves a ring existed between Medieval England and Ottonian Germany allowing for trade of histories and religious materials (14.5)