The transmission and reception of the De Institutione Clericorum

Abstract

Rabanus Maurus, known as primus praeceptor Germania, composed his De institutione clericorum in AD 819. Although in modern literature is mentioned as a sort of Liberal Arts encyclopedia, the truth is that it is rather a handbook conceived for the education of young clerics preparing for the priesthood. Rabanus’ influence was wide and deep in the Carolingian Empire, as at least some parts of the Glossa ordinaria seem to come from him directly or indirectly. In this article we study the dissemination of this text, giving special attention to the preserved manuscripts and trying to discover the routes and mechanisms by which the text spread across the Carolingian Empire.