Periodic Reporting for period 1 - TRANSMAR (Angelo Clareno (ca. 1260-1337) as a marginal Translator of the Greek Fathers : Circulation of Texts and People in Europe before Humanism)
Reporting period: 2023-05-15 to 2025-11-14
Hosted by Ca' Foscari University of Venice, TRANSMAR (Angelo Clareno (c. 1260–1337) as a Marginal Translator of the Greek Fathers: Circulation of Texts and People in Europe before Humanism) investigates the translation, appropriation, and circulation of the Greek Fathers in the Latin West before 15th-century Humanism. Focusing on Angelo Clareno, an Italian Franciscan dissident who spent several years in exile in the Eastern Mediterranean, the project examines his translations and writings to show that Greek patristic and ascetic texts, previously unknown in Western Europe, were already circulating by the early 14th century. It also explores how marginal doctrines and initiatives, such as Clareno's, contributed to long-term intellectual, spiritual, religious, and social renewal. TRANSMAR employs an interdisciplinary approach combining manuscript studies, philology, textual analysis, translation studies, historical enquiry, minority and dissent studies, religious and spirituality studies, and digital humanities, providing a comprehensive understanding of translation, dissent, and spiritual renewal in the late medieval period.
The project systematically reviewed manuscript catalogues, databases, and relevant literature to establish the first comprehensive census of the manuscript witnesses preserving Clareno's translations or those attributed to him. It identified 120 Latin witnesses for the Scala Paradisi; between 2 and 14 for each of the texts forming the dossier of Basil's Ascetics; 28 for pseudo-Chrysostom's Letter 125; 9 for the florilegium of Maximus the Confessor; 9 for pseudo-Macarius' 150 Chapters; 1 for the Great Letter; and three each for the Letter on the Psalms of Athanasius of Alexandria and the Diapsalma of Gregory of Nyssa.
A structured digital corpus was compiled, gathering all manuscript witnesses for these translations. This resource provides manuscript coordinates, titles/rubrics, incipits, explicits, bibliographic information, and links to the Greek sources via CPG numbers (Clavis Patrum Graecorum) and to the Pinakes Database. The data are being made progressively available, organised by author and text, through the electronic journal Oliviana (OpenEdition), ensuring immediate access. The examination and collation of the witnesses, including the critical editing of selected texts, shows that Clareno is the translator of thirty-one texts, not counting excerpts from Gregory of Nazianzus's Orationes, which survive only as quotations in his writings. This work clarifies the circulation of these texts across chronological, geographical, and institutional contexts, defines their main textual features, and outlines the profile of the Greek manuscripts he used. While the precise chronology of these translations is difficult to determine, several corpora begun during his stay in Greece (especially the Scala and the Ascetics) were completed after his return to Italy, with the final version of the Ascetics preceding 1323.
A structured digital corpus was compiled, gathering all manuscript witnesses for these translations. This resource provides manuscript coordinates, titles/rubrics, incipits, explicits, bibliographic information, and links to the Greek sources via CPG numbers (Clavis Patrum Graecorum) and to the Pinakes Database. The data are being made progressively available, organised by author and text, through the electronic journal Oliviana (OpenEdition), ensuring immediate access. The examination and collation of the witnesses, including the critical editing of selected texts, shows that Clareno is the translator of thirty-one texts, not counting excerpts from Gregory of Nazianzus's Orationes, which survive only as quotations in his writings. This work clarifies the circulation of these texts across chronological, geographical, and institutional contexts, defines their main textual features, and outlines the profile of the Greek manuscripts he used. While the precise chronology of these translations is difficult to determine, several corpora begun during his stay in Greece (especially the Scala and the Ascetics) were completed after his return to Italy, with the final version of the Ascetics preceding 1323.
TRANSMAR has achieved unprecedented results, fundamentally revising the scholarly consensus on Clareno's activity as a translator and on the reception of Greek ascetic and patristic texts in the Medieval West. For the first time, the project established the complete and systematic manuscript tradition of Clareno's translations. A major discovery is the identification of a single, previously overlooked manuscript collection crucial to disseminating several texts: the Scala Paradisi (over half of the Latin witnesses depend on it), pseudo-Chrysostom's Letter 125 (over half of the witnesses), and the florilegium of Maximus the Confessor (all nine known witnesses). The study distinguished two modes of manuscript circulation: a broad European network and a geographically restricted, exclusively Italian circuit. The Scala Paradisi's considerable influence is confirmed by both its extensive manuscript tradition and the commentaries it inspired.
The project confirmed Jean Gribomont's hypothesis regarding the Ascetics: a nucleus translated in Greece from a single manuscript was later supplemented (both preceding and following the core text) by texts translated from one or more Italo-Greek manuscripts. In contrast, the Scala Paradisi underwent only minimal revision, with very few texts added after its initial translation in Greece. Detailed collation allowed a critical re-evaluation of Clareno as a translator, showing that he cannot be reduced to a servile, word-for-word translator; his work demonstrates deliberate philological choices and a coherent translation strategy.
The project provides a methodological tool not only for historians of the medieval West but also for Byzantinists, historians of translation, and specialists in the history of religion and spirituality. The results pave the way for new research in these fields and specifically support the preparation of future critical editions and digital humanities projects. Complementary work is suggested: preparation of a critical edition of the Scala Paradisi to fully gauge its influence through witnesses and commentaries; codicological analysis of early witnesses to refine dating; and regular verification of catalogues and manuscript databases. Improved knowledge of Clareno's translations will also facilitate better critical editions of his personal works, which contain long excerpts of these translations.
The project confirmed Jean Gribomont's hypothesis regarding the Ascetics: a nucleus translated in Greece from a single manuscript was later supplemented (both preceding and following the core text) by texts translated from one or more Italo-Greek manuscripts. In contrast, the Scala Paradisi underwent only minimal revision, with very few texts added after its initial translation in Greece. Detailed collation allowed a critical re-evaluation of Clareno as a translator, showing that he cannot be reduced to a servile, word-for-word translator; his work demonstrates deliberate philological choices and a coherent translation strategy.
The project provides a methodological tool not only for historians of the medieval West but also for Byzantinists, historians of translation, and specialists in the history of religion and spirituality. The results pave the way for new research in these fields and specifically support the preparation of future critical editions and digital humanities projects. Complementary work is suggested: preparation of a critical edition of the Scala Paradisi to fully gauge its influence through witnesses and commentaries; codicological analysis of early witnesses to refine dating; and regular verification of catalogues and manuscript databases. Improved knowledge of Clareno's translations will also facilitate better critical editions of his personal works, which contain long excerpts of these translations.