„Historia Veteris et Novi Testamenti” charakterystyka dzieła, metoda pracy jej autora i zarys tradycji rękopiśmiennej utworu

"Historia Scholastica" by Petrus Comestor used to be one of the most popular theological texts in Middle Ages. Written in an intelligible form of a biblical comment had been used at the universities as a handbook of biblical history and for interpretation of literal sense of the Bible. Soon however, it overstepped the boundaries of Medieval colleges and had been broadly utilized also in earlier stages of education; and again in clerical milieu as the basis for meditation on biblical events an figures. Already at the end of 12th century the first abstract of the "Historia Scholastica" had been compiled, and from the first half of 13th century the work’s reception bad been broadened by subsequent redactions and numerous translations to vernacular languages. One of such interpretations is the eponymous "Historia Vetris et Novi Testamenti", the oldest transcript of which dates back to the late 13th century. In Middle Ages it belonged to a Cistercian library in Henryków and now it is in collection of the Wrocław University Library. The still ongoing query has revealed 48 manuscripts rewritten from late 13th century to the 1480s. The largest number of them – 13 in total – is found in Polish libraries, including nine in the Wrocław University Library. Two more of Polish provenance – formerly in the Warmia Chapter Library – are at present in collection of the Uppsala University Library. Further six copies can be found in Czech libraries (including three in the Chapter Library in Olomouc). The libraries in the Benedictine abbey in Admont, the Bayerische Staatsbibliothek in Munich and the Herzog August Bibliothek in Wolfenbüttel each own three manuscripts. The others are in libraries scattered all over Europe. The most characteristic difference between "Historia Veteris et Novi Testamenti" and "Historia Scholastica" is the removal of some sections – even entire chapters – of the text. Thus the contents of this abstract is poorer that of the original. The subsequent transcripts are different variations of the text. The carried out comparative analyses indicate much similarities of both manuscripts from Henryków (now in Wrocław University Library - BUWr I Q 20 and BUWr I Q 21) and the copy in the Chapter Library in Olomouc (shelf-mark 184). On the opposite end is the codex in Uppsala (University Library C 137) that contains many different lections than all the earlier mentioned ones and has many omissions. That manuscript distinctly diverges from other comparable ones both because of text variations and because of the lack of chapter headings and an individual chapter structure. Between the group of similar Henryków and Olomouc manuscripts and the different Uppsala manuscript stands a manuscript form the Vyšši Brod Abbey (shelf-mark LIV). In respect of the chapter structure and headings it is similar to the first group of manuscripts and in respect of the contents variation it is positioned between that group and the Swedish manuscript.