Peter of Poitiers' "Compendium historiae". A Living Work and its Transformations

• Applicants: Professor Dr. Patrick Sahle; Professorin Dr. Andrea Worm
• Subject Area: Art History ; Greek and Latin Philology ; Medieval History
• Term: since 2022
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 504265959

Peter of Poitiers conceived the "Compendium historiae in genealogia Christi" in Paris in the late 12th century. Laid out in the form of a genealogical chart, the work provides a concise overview of biblical history from Adam to Christ. Christ’s ancestors appear alongside lines of ruling dynasties, priests, and prophets. Like a map of time, the "Compendium historiae" functions as a synoptic picture of diachronic and synchronic relationships. Transmitted on both rolls and in codices, this graphically innovative work spread quickly throughout the Latin West. Our database includes more than 320 manuscript witnesses (more than 80 of those previously unknown). Documenting the breadth and diversity of the tradition, our research platform now offers a more complete picture of the work’s transmission as its variants. With respect to its text, the work is transmitted in Short, Interpolated, and Long Text Versions. Graphically and visually, however, these text versions are quite heterogeneous. Our research platform makes the Short Text Version accessible via a visual edition (a navigable graph with two supplementary layers presenting more detailed views of single elements and larger sections) a critical text, and a scholarly commentary on the graphic elements of the work as well as its historical and intellectual context. With this foundation, Phase II of the project will investigate the nature of the "Compendium historiae" as a “living work”. The "Compendium"’s graphic structure, texts, diagrams, and iconographic program vary widely across its spatially and temporally extensive adaptations. This variance sheds light, moreover, on the work’s diverse functions for different types of users and audiences – and thus the sheer extent of its influence. We have four objectives: (1) A critical representation of the Compendium historiae as a “living work”. This will entail a second navigational graph displaying the Compendium’s graphic and textual transformations and the edition of Interpolated and Long Text Versions. Apparatuses and indices will provide access to the intertextual and semantic dimensions of the work. 2) A stemmatic analysis of textual and graphic variants via a multi-perspective approach (phylogenetic methods, explorative forms of visualisation, and a formalised representation of graph variance). (3) An art-historical commentary analysing the iconographic repertoire (especially significant from the 13th century onwards). (4) Research and publications on the work’s audiences and functions in light of its adaptations and transformations.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants
• International Connection: Austria
• Partner Organisation: Fonds zur Förderung der wissenschaftlichen Forschung (FWF)
• Cooperation Partner: Professor Dr. Georg Vogeler