Petri lohannis Olivi Expositio in Canticum Canticorum. Collectio Oliviana II ed. by J. Schlageter, and: Petri lohannis Olivi Quaestiones Circa Matrimonium. Editio Prima Et Commentarius Theologicus. Collectio Oliviana III by A. Ciceri (review)

278 Bo o k Revie w s reminder that in our western world of rampant materialism God still listens most attentively to the cry of the poor. Washington Theological Union ILIA DELIO, O.S.F. J. Schlageter, ed. Petri lohannis Olivi Expositio in Canticum Canticorum. Collectio Oliviana II. Grottaferrata (Rome), 1999. A. Ciceri, Petri lohannis Olivi Quaestiones Circa Matrimonium. Editio Prima Et Commentarius Theologicus. Collectio Oliviana III. Grottaferrata (Rome), 2001. Two editions of writings by Peter Olivi have recently been published— J. Schlageter, to whom we owe the edition of Olivi’s treatise on poverty (1989), and more recently in 1999 Olivi’s commentary on The Song of Songs. In the same year (1999), A. Ciceri supplied medievalists with a most useful tool by publishing as much data as he could gather on manuscripts with writings by Peter Olivi.1 He began his list when looking for manuscripts containing Olivi’s treatment of marriage. What he found he has now used to edit Olivi’s writings on marriage, along with a detailed commentary (2001). All three books have appeared in the series Collectio Oliviana, launched at the conclusion of the December 1997 conference on the writings of Peter Olivi.2 Schlageter sets up his edition of Olivi’s Song commentary by examining closely the ten manuscripts that have saved it from the ravages of time. His review of the material allows him to give a conclusive answer to the central question of its edition. A long and a short version of the text have come down to us. Moreover, the longer one, edited by B. Bonelli and ascribed to Bonaventure of Bagnoregio in the eighteenth century, has understandably received some attention. That is what existed as the commentary until now. Schlageter shows that Olivi wrote the shorter text, whereas the longer text arose later, with additions working their way into Olivi’s text in stages. Of the seven early manuscripts with the commentary, six have the shorter version, 'A. Ciceri, Petri lohannis Olivi Opera. Censimento dei manoscritti. Collectio Oliviana I. Grottaferrata (Rome), 1999. 2On that conference see Archivum Franciscanum Historicum Vol. 91, the JulyDecember issue. Bo o k Revie w s 279 whereas only one has the material of the longer version; and that one manuscript has some passages of the longer version still in its margins, not yet worked into the text. The longer version’s first full appearance is in a manuscript of the sixteenth century. Schlageter also shows that the additions proceed from a different reading of the Song. Whereas the additions are reflections inspired by the biblical text, Olivi focuses on the text itself, taking it as a tale of divine love. With that question settled, Schlageter proceeded to work out the text’s tradition and so define the contribution of the different manuscripts to the edition (79-90). He faced a highly contaminated history, which led him to a complex schema of the tradition and a sensitive ratio editionis (89-90). His apparatus displays the evidence relevant to the text’s edition and regularly footnotes the grounds for his choice of readings. Schlageter has added a new commentary to the growing body of Olivi’s edited exegesis. He has, as well, translated his edition into German. Before getting to the description of the manuscripts and the ratio for his edition, Schlageter offers an introduction to the commentary. He characterizes the commentary as textual and historical in the following sense. First, Olivi focuses on the text itself. He wants to understand what Solomon wrote. As Christian tradition since Origen has had it, Olivi insists that the text speaks about love of God in the language of human love. Working in that tradition, he traces the fine distinction between true human love, as we find it in the Song of Songs, and sinful sexuality, which we do not find in the text. Sexuality, created by God, leads us back to God, as is implied by the fact that marriage is a sacrament. The Holy Spirit has used a regal union to sing of divine love. In this sense, Olivi insists he is reading the text and not engaging in allegorical interpretation. Schlageter broaches the proposal that this...