Martianus Capella, De nuptiis Philologiae et Mercurii; Remigius of Auxerre, Commentum in Martianum Capellam: Venus Rediviva
Martianus Capella, De nuptiis Philologiae et Mercurii; Remigius of Auxerre, Commentum in Martianum Capellam: Venus Rediviva
This chapter focuses, in large part, on a medieval commentary on the De nuptiis Philologiae et Mercurii. It analyzes Martianus' work as an ascensional allegory in which the intellect (Philology) strives to join with a transcendent language (Mercury) that would enable humanity to articulate the workings of the divine mind (Pallas). The final result of this endeavor would be represented by the physical union of the first two of these personified categories, whose wedding is celebrated by the Olympian gods and accompanied by lengthy treatises on mortal learning in the allegorical figures of the seven liberal arts. The De nuptiis came to achieve its canonical status in the aftermath of the Carolingian renaissance, and its importance to the era is evinced by the glosses of Johannes Scotus Eriugena, Martin of Loan, and Remigius of Auxerre. Such growth in interest can primarily be explained in pedagogical terms. The chapter also turns to the glosses of Remigius of Auxerre, the most ambitious to have been produced during the ninth century.
Keywords: De nuptiis Philologiae et Mercurii, Philology, Mercury, Olympian gods, physical union, Remigius of Auxerre
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