Jesse Keskiaho: Annotations and the early reception of Augustine’s major works

This paper discusses the late ancient and early medieval annotations made before the tenth century in the manuscript copies of some of Augustine’s major works, his Confessiones, De ciuitate Dei, De doctrina Christiana and De Genesi ad litteram. These early annotations, numbering in thousands, can tell us how these works were approached and read during the first five hundred years of their circulation. I will discuss the nature of this evidence, and its use in studying the early reception of these works. I focus especially on annotations that appear designed to direct the reading of others, and the interests reflected in such designs.