Peter Comestor's Lectures on the Glossa ‘ordinaria’ on John (ca. 1165): An Historical Introduction with a Critical Edition

This thesis encompasses the first partial critical edition and specialised study of a series of lectures from the cathedral school of Notre-Dame, Peter Comestor’s Glosae super Iohannem glosatum. Delivered in Paris in the mid-1160s, Comestor’s lecture course on the Glossa ‘ordinaria’ on the Gospel of John has survived in seventeen manuscript witnesses, being preserved in the form of continuous transcripts taken in shorthand by a student-reporter (reportationes). Following a careful census of the manuscript tradition, I have selected ten of the best witnesses dating from between ca. 1175 and 1225 to produce a critical edition of the prothemata and the first chapter of Comestor’s lectures. In addition to the text of the original lectures, I provide two appendices containing subsequent accretions to the lecture materials contributed by Comestor and his students, as well as a third appendix containing an edition of the corresponding portion of the Glossa ‘ordinaria’ from which Comestor lectured. The second part of this thesis, comprised of five chapters, represents a critical study of the historical and intellectual context of Peter Comestor’s biblical teaching. Chapter One presents an outline of Comestor’s scholastic career and known works, a survey of the scholarship on his biblical glosses, and a general introduction to the text of the edition: its date, genre, and title. Chapter Two charts the intellectual landscape of Comestor’s lectures: namely, the tradition of biblical teaching originating at the School of Laon, preserved in the Glossa ‘ordinaria,’ and subsequently developed in the classroom by Peter Lombard and a succession of Parisian masters. Chapter Three examines more closely the portion of the Glosae presented in this thesis, encompassing: an overview of its structure and narrative sequence, an examination of Comestor’s teaching method and scholastic setting, an outline of the sources behind the master’s biblical scholarship, and a survey of his engagement in contemporary doctrinal controversies. In Chapter Four, I provide a detailed description of the manuscripts selected for this edition together with a stemmatic analysis of their relations. Finally, Chapter Five sets forth the editorial principles observed in the edition, its various apparatus, and the appendices.Ph.D