Description of Manuscripts

A: Oxford, New College 49
This manuscript is parchment and was written in the last half the of the fourteenth century. It contains 158 folios and the text is written in two columns. The folios transcribed in this edition are 105ra through 108rb.
B: Vatican City, Vaticanus latinus 10900
This manuscript is parchment and was written in the fifteenth century. It is written in two columns of approximately 43 to 49 lines, and contains 207 folios that are 211x142mm. The scribe used red, blue and violet when composing the large and ornate initial letters that mark each new chapter. The chapter headings are found in red at the top of each recto. The folios transcribed in this edition are 120ra through 124vb.
C: Vatican City, Vaticanus latinus 1001
This manuscript is parchment and was written in the fourteenth century. It is written in two columns of text and contains 165 folios that are 250x186mm. In composing the initial letters that mark the beginning of each chapter, the scribe used red blue or violet. The chapter headings are found at the top of each recto. It is missing the first few folios of chapter 16, though the chapter markings indicate otherwise. The folios transcribed in this edition are 126ra through 129va.
D: Vatican City, Vaticanus latinus 8670
This manuscript is paper and was written in the first half of the fifteenth century. It contains 204 folios, with the text running in two columns. The commentary on Matthew is found in the first 196 folios and is followed by a commentary on the Pater Noster. The folios transcribed in this edition are 129ra through 132va.

Editorial Principles

In creating this edition, I have attempted to remain faithful to the text in both spelling and syntax as it appears in the New College 49 manuscript, except in the following instances: I have regularized the assibilated ci/ti to ti, as in the case of words such as vicia which appear as vitia in the edition; I have capitalized all proper names; in angled brackets, I have added letters and/or words not found in any of the manuscripts in order to correct the text or to offer a more familiar spelling of a word; and I have attempted to impose modern English punctuation, including paragraph notation, onto the Medieval Latin.
I have included an Appendix for Biblical and Patristic citation for the ease of the reader. Other than some version of the Vulgate Bible, Olivi seems to have relied heavily on the Catena aurea of Thomas Aquinas. When Olivi uses a source other than the Catena, I have included that citation as well in the Appendix.

Variant Spellings and Word Transposition in other Manuscripts

Word transposition in other manuscripts has been included in notation in the main body of this edition, but I have made no attempt to use them as a means of determining the relationships between the manuscripts because I possess only four and further study is needed of the other manuscripts. Also, the exact transposition of the same words in more than one manuscript is rare, and occurs only seventeen times. They are as follows: once in B and C, four times in B and D, five times in C and D, and seven times in all three.
For the ease of the reader, I have omitted notation concerning the occurrence of variant spelling even when it occurs in more than one manuscript. It should be noted that there are 440 variations not including variant spellings, and therefore, I have given only information concerning the addition or omission of words and phrases and variant words. However, I have provided here the information regarding those variant spellings found in the other three manuscripts versus the same words in the New College 49.

Substitutions

d/t
A: caput; D: capud
A: apud; D: apu

b/p
A: optinebit; B/C/D: obtinebit
A: opturans; B/C/D: obturans

m/b
A: ommitto; C/D: obmitto

Additions

i
A: ciconia; D: ciiconia
A: cibis; D: ciibis

p and l
A: solemnem; C/D: sollempnem
A: solemniori C/D: sollempniori

p
A: opiniones, etc.; C: oppiniones, etc.
A: contemni, etc.; B/C/D: contempni, etc.
A: damnare, etc; C/D: dampnare, etc.
A: damnatio; B/C/D: dampnatio
A: damnum; C/D: dampnum

h
A: erronee C: herronee
A: antonomatice; C/D: anthonomatice
A: edificii; C/D: hedificii
A: edificationem; C/D: hedificationem
A: edificata; C/D: hedificata
A: ostium; C/D: hostium

x
A: estimare D: exstimare

Loss

h
A: hortatur; C/D: ortatur
A: exhortando; C/D: exortando

i
A: hiis B: his