The Supposed Autographa of John the Scot

A meticulous study of medieval manuscript culture lies at the heart of this work, which follows the tangled transmission of John the Scot’s De Divisione Naturae. The author traces how marginal notes—once thought to be the saint’s own hand—appear in copies from Reims, Laon, Bamberg and Paris, revealing a complex web of scribes, correctors and layered revisions.

Traveling to archives across Europe, the researcher examines ink, script style and the subtle interplay of insular and continental hands. By comparing the earliest fragment, a brief Reims version, with later, more elaborate recensions, the investigation tests whether the marginalia truly belong to John himself or to later editors copying his ideas.

The analysis culminates in a sober reassessment: despite compelling clues, the evidence points to the autograph still eluding discovery. Listeners are invited into this scholarly detective story, watching how careful observation can upend long‑held assumptions about a medieval author’s own pen.