«Monumenta Liturgica Beneventana»: The program of research on medieval manuscripts from south Italy and Dalmatia

Abstract

The author presents a brief history of the studies into the manuscripts "written with a clear and beautiful, south-Italian and Dalmatian script called Beneventan", explaining the origins of the research program "Monumenta Liturgica Beneventana" realized by the Pontifical Institute of Medieval Studies in Toronto. Among its main goals is to correct mistakes in previously accepted dating of part of the manuscripts, and exploration of more than 200 still unknown examples of the Beneventan script, not included in the new, revised and updated edition from 1980 of E.A. Lowe's classic work "The Beneventan Script". The program includes also several other goals, like completion of microfilm and photo collections of the aforementioned manuscripts of the Institute; description of all liturgical codices in codicological and paleographical aspects, the introduction of transcriptions of liturgical texts into the computer repertory of the Institute, preparation of their critical editions, and publication of the results of studies, e.g. in special subseries of the "Medieval Studies" journal – "Miscellanea Beneventana" and "Parerga Beneventana". The article presents the status of the realisation of the goals accepted in the program „Monumenta Liturgica Beneventana”.