The aim of my research project is to produce a critical edition of a yet unpublished medieval French translation of the Book of Revelation, providing a comprehensive and detailed account of the text’s composition, transmission, and reception. Despite the relevance of this version – the most widespread with sixty-two manuscript witnesses – it has never received scholar’s attention. Seldom copied by itself, this vernacular version is transmitted in two of the most influential French medieval Bible translations: the first major translation of the Vulgate into French prose, generally known as the Bible du XIII^e siècle (BXIII), and the Bible historiale complétée (BHC). Given the complexity and extent of its manuscript tradition, which is still almost completely unexplored, first priority will have to be given to the study of the oldest version of the text, most likely to be recognized in the mss. of BXIII (13 in total).

Another hitherto neglected aspect that I do not intend to overlook, however, is the analysis of the textual dynamics of the translation of the Apocalypse throughout BHC’s editorial history, to clarify its evolution and its different editorial stages and to assess whether these are congruent with Samuel Berger’s and Clive Sneddon’s classifications of the manuscripts of BHC, identified solely on the basis of their content.

If the primary outcome of the project will be a critical edition of the Apocalypse, complete with a detailed introduction, critical apparatus, and textual commentary, a further goal of the project is then to consider the possible connections with other vernacular versions of the text, with the possibility of including Italian versions in the survey as well, exploring a side so far not sufficiently emphasized by studies: a survey of translation strategies, together with the analysis of the syntax and lexicon used, would make it possible to examine how medieval translators dealt with the same text.

Co-tutelle agreement with École nationale des chartes – PSL.