John Trevisa and the Gospel of Nicodemus

Abstract

This thesis presents a new critical edition of John Trevisa’s translation of the Evangelium Nicodemi (EN), or Gospel of Nicodemus (GN), alongside supporting material that places the text within its historical and literary context. The last edition was undertaken half a century ago, using the two manuscripts then available, with recourse only to limited Latin sources for comparison. Since then, a third manuscript of Trevisa’s translation has been identified and our understanding of his Latin source has been transformed by the cataloguing and collation of hundreds of witnesses. Therefore, a complete re-editing and re-evaluation of the text is now necessary.

Chapter one traces the history and reception of the EN from early testimony up to the present. Chapter two discusses Trevisa’s life, a consideration of the evidence of his character and opinions through analysis of his ‘translator’s notes’, and a survey of the canon of his works. Chapter three provides a commentary on the Latin version of the EN, especially the Acta Pilati highlighting differences between the Greek and Latin recensions. Chapter four deals with the specifics of John Trevisa’s translation of the GN, addressing questions of method and style. Chapter five concerns the edition itself, providing detailed descriptions of each manuscript, the relation of the manuscripts, and editorial matters. The edited text, the notes to the text and a list of total variant readings are contained in appendices.