This paper outlines the Medieval transmission of Pelagius' Letter to
Demetrias, as uncovered by my work to create a critical edition of the text,
and asks whether any implications can be drawn from the scale and nature of its
transmission. It discusses the reception of the text as revealed in manuscript
marginalia, and the level of understanding among medieval readers of the
question of the relationship between free will and prevenient grace. The paper
will look at evidence about how the text was perceived, and will propose some
conclusions about what the transmission pattern of Letter to Demetrias
may imply about the role of the principle of human free will and the idea of the
innate goodness of man created in God's image, within the Christian message of
salvation. Finally, it will address the question of whether or not there is a
tension between the received narrative describing Pelagius' teaching as
heretical, and the transmission patterns of his writings.
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