Zachary Guiliano: The sermons of Pseudo-Maximus of Turin: authenticity, transmission, and theology

In late antiquity and in the Middle Ages, hundreds of sermons were attributed to the fourth-century preaching bishop, Maximus of Turin. The authenticity of these sermons has been contested since the early modern period, culminating in the mid-twentieth century with the critical essays and, ultimately, CCSL edition of Almut Mutzenbecher, which has been the basis of research ever since. The manuscript basis of Mutzenbecher's work, however, is questionable and based on a faulty assessment of several early witnesses to the work of Maximus. Her criteria for excluding certain sermons also needs re-examining. This paper will return to the sermons that Mutzenbecher deemed pseudepigraphal, examining their transmission in various manuscripts (especially homiliary manuscripts) and their theological character, before offering some initial attributions and explanations for their origin.