The discovery of a new continental version: The Berlin fragment of the Vita Sancti Columbae Adamnani

Abstract

The Secret State Archives of the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation in Berlin holds a manuscript fragment of Adomnán’s Vita Sancti Columbae. This fragment of an abridged text version of the saint’s Vita seems to have been completely unknown until now. In any case, neither in the relevant manuscript bibliographies nor in the editions of the Vita Sancti Columbae is there a corresponding entry. This contribution begins with a presentation of the Berlin fragment concerning its appearance and the context in which it was found. Then, the fragment will be contextualised based on its particularities, followed by an interpretation of its possible provenance.