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tion ‘fatækum monnum’ in BD. She concluded that the original reading
at this point was: så sem likamanum gerir kråsafullar fæzlur og kostn-
adarmiklar (or -samar). In the archetype of the extant manuscripts, this
had already been corrupted to: så sem fåtækum monnum gerir
kråsafullar veizlur og kostnadarmiklar / -samar. The scribe of A, it was
argued, had had access to the original reading, and corrected the suspect
fåtækum monnum in his exemplar to likamanum, but retained the more
plausible veizlur beside fæzlur.60
In faet, comparison with the Latin parallel text for this section of
Spec. Pen. demonstrates that, on the contrary, the BD reading is correct
and the A reading is secondary, and at the same time provides us with a
slightly clearer idea of the particular form of the Latin text from which
the Icelandic translator worked. As we have seen, the passage in ques-
tion renders part of Caesarius of Arles’ Sermo 179, where it is stated
that one may be said to have committed a small sin ‘if he has prepared
exceedingly luxurious or sumptuous feasts for himself while the poor
were hungry'’:... sipauperibus esurientibus nimium deliciosa vel sump-
tuosa sibi convivia praeparaverit.6I In this form, Caesarius’ text does
not provide a precise parallel to the Icelandic text of BD. However, the
source in question was sometimes incorporated into penitential man-
uals, some of which present variant texts of the sermon. Compare, for ex-
ample, the version available in Thomas Chobham’s Summa Confessor-
um: ... si pauperibus esurientibus nimium deliciosa vel sumptuosa con-
vivia preparaverit.62 The Icelandic translator evidently worked from a
version such as this, in which the reflexive pronoun sibi was omitted,
allowing a reader to translate this passage: ‘if he has prepared exceed-
ingly luxurious or sumptuous feasts for the starving poor’, a fair equi-
valent of the rendering presented in manuscripts B and D of Spec. Pen.63
60 Ibid.
61 Caesarius of Arles, Sermo 179.3, CCSL 104, p. 725, lines 22-24.
62 Thomas Chobham, Summa Confessorum, Art. III, Dist. I, Questio Ila., p. 18, lines 28-
29.
63 It might be noted that even some versions of Caesarius’ sermon which retain the re-
flexive pronoun sibi nevertheless interpret pauperibus esurientibus as dative indirect ob-
ject of the verb, rather than as an ablative absolute. Compare, for example, Caesarius,
Sermo 179.3, CCSL 104, p. 725 var. leet.: ‘pauperibus esurientibus cibum non dederit, aut
... sibi convivia praeparaverit’ p (Operum S. Augustini editionis benedict. an. 1683 Ap-
pend. t. V, see Morin, CCSL 103, p. XIV); or: ‘pauperibus esurientibus elimosinam non
tribuerit et sibi convivia praeparaverit’ W (Wirziburgensis homiliarum viginti novem, —>