THE DISCOVERY OF A NEW WITNESS TO WILLIAM OF MOERBEKE’S TRANSLATION OF ARISTOTLE’S DE AN-IMALIBUS IN VERCELLI, MUSEO LEONE

Abstract

A hitherto neglected manuscript preserved in the Biblioteca del Museo Camillo Leone (Vercelli) contains William of Moerbeke’s translations of De animalibus, i.e., the Latin collection of Aristotle’s Historia animalium, De partibus animalium and De generatione animalium. Two colophons deserve particular attention. The first records the completion of the Historia animalium on 21 November 1260, a date previously unknown; the second confirms the already attested completion date of De partibus animalium (23 December 1260). This discovery prompted a closer examination of the manuscript, focusing on the text of the Historia animalium. The results suggest not only that the newly attested date deserves to be taken into account in reconstructing the chronology of Moerbeke’s translation, but also that the manuscript preserves an exceptionally valuable textual witness for the final chapters of Book X. The manuscript thus provides new evidence both for the chronology of Moerbeke’s translation and for the textual reconstruction of its concluding section.