Bibliotheca Arnamagnæana - 01.06.1996, Blaðsíða 154

144
not, for example, to the equally popular, but quite unrelated work of
Thomas Aquinas entitled Compendium Theologiae.11 Fortunately, ampie
evidence of the popularity of Hugh’s theological manual in medieval
Iceland is provided by the many instances in which Icelandic authors
cite passages from CTV in translation.
The author of the prologue to Mariu saga II, preserved in MS. AM
240 fol., fragm. IX (c. 1350-1400) and MS. Stockholm Perg. Nr.l, 4to
(c. 1450-1500), quotes from CTV, referred to as ein ågæt bok, er heitir
Compendium Theologie.18 An explanation of the significance of the let-
ters of the name JESUS in Tveggja postula saga Jons ok Jakobs (the
oldest manuscripts of which date from the fourteenth century)19 also ap-
pears to be taken from CTV.20 An Icelandic theological treatise in many
17 See Thomas Aquinas, Compendium Theologiæ ad Fratrem Reginaldum socium suum
carissimum, ed. S.E. Fretté, Doctoris Angelici Divi Thomæ Aquinatis... Opera Omnia 27
(Paris, i 875), pp. 1 -27. On the attribution of Hugh Ripelin’s work to a great variety of au-
thors besides Aquinas - Aegidius Romanus, Alexander of Hales, Albertus Magnus, Bo-
naventura and Petrus of Tarantasia, to name but a few - see Steer, Hugo Ripelin, pp. 205-
214; Kaeppeli and Panella, Scriptores Ordinis Praedicatorum, II, p. 261.
18 See C.R. Unger, ed., Martu saga (Christiania, 1871), p. 333, where it is noted that
when the Virgin Mary carried in her womb the Lord Jesus (the sol justitiae), her body and
soul shone with the light of the Divinity, as an excellent book called Compendium Theo-
logie says:
Ok sva framt sem persi rettlætiss solin hin haleitazta var fyrir briosti sancte Marie
meyiar med skierri birti gudligs lioma, skein bædi hennar avnd ok likamr med liosi
guddomsins, sem segir ein agiet bok, er heitir Compendium Theologie.
The author appears to refer to C7V IV.iv. 124B, 30-125A, 11-24:
Tres autem fuerunt sanctificationes Matris Dei ... Tertia sanctificatio fuit in Filii Dei
inhabitatione, qui novem mensibus in utero ejus mansit, et his omnibus prædictis
duos effectus addidit... Secundus fuit dedicatio ad divina, ita quod etiam licitis usi-
bus mundanis, scilicet matrimonialibus, eam optare esset impossibile: quia tune non
solum mens, sed etiam corpus luce divinitatis resplenduit, ut significatum est Eze-
chiel, XLIII, 2 et seq.
19 See the list of manuscripts of Tveggja postula saga Jons ok Jakobs (hins eldra) in
Ordbog over det norrøne prosasprog: Registre, udg. af Den amamagnæanske kommis-
sion (Copenhagen, 1989), p. 304.
20 See Tveggja postula saga Jons ok Jakobs, c. 2, in C.R. Unger, ed., Postola Sogur
(Christiania, 1874), p. 541:
..., jrviat i nafni Jesu ero .v. stafir fullir med skyring sannrar truar ok råksemdar, er
sva megu lysaz medr fåm ordum, at fyrsti stafr merkir giedi sytandi manna, annarr
eilifd lifandi manna, pridi sadning hungrandi manna, iiijdi fliotandi nægd Jiurfandi
manna, ,v.“ heilsa siukra manna.
James Marchand long ago pointed out that this passage, which makes no sense as an
etymological account of the name Jesus, becomes intelligible when placed against a pas-
sage in CTV IV, in which the spiritual significance of the five letters of the name is ex-
pounded (C7VIV.xii. 136B, 25-29): —>