Wednesday 15 June 2011

ALISON BONNER: Some manuscript witnesses of Pelagius' Ad Demetriadem, and what they reveal about the manuscript transmission pattern of the text

The manuscript tradition of Pelagius' Ad Demetriadem is large, and its scale raises questions about an account of 'Pelagianism' which suggests that Pelagius' teaching was expelled from mainstream Christianity in 418. This paper looks at manuscript witnesses of Pelagius' Ad Demetriadem that are particularly relevant to the question of why the manuscript transmission of the text is as extensive as it is. In doing so, possible explanations for the scale of the manuscript tradition of Ad Demetriadem will be explored: for instance rote-copying of letter-collections which contained the text under a false attribution. Conversely, evidence that copyists were aware that the contents of the text had been judged to be doctrinally not orthodox will also be presented.

The conclusion of the paper will point toward some of the implications for the received narrative concerning  'Pelagianism' that are presented by the manuscript transmission pattern of Pelagius' Ad Demetriadem. 

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