Mnemonic verses and pastoral care – the case of MS Aldini 69 from Bibliotheca Universitaria in Pavia.

This paper is a detailed study of a unique vernacular Lord's Prayer from a thirteenth-century manuscript from Pavia, Bibliotheca Universitaria MS Aldini 69. The text is an interesting marginal addition in early Middle English by one scribe, modified by another scribe to create a verse mnemonic. The paper also introduces another marginal, hitherto unnoticed, Latin Pater Noster from the same codex in the form of a diagrammatic representation. It is argued that both these additions complement the conceptual framework of the entire volume and are representative of the state-of-the-art practical theology promulgated by William de Montibus and his students in the theological and intellectual circle of thirteenth-century Lincoln in the wake of the Fourth Lateral Council. The reanalysis of the vernacular translation of the Lord's Prayer vis-à-vis other materials from the manuscript confirms this geographical location and it further bears witness to the exchange of materials in the thirteenth century between pastorally minded clerics in England and Italy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]