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New Perspectives for Critical Editions of Franciscan Texts of the Middle Ages

The critical assessment of the editions established in Quaracchi is a complex task.1 First of all, because we have to take into account a series of editions of various works established by different teams which did not always follow the same operating criteria or, which is even worse, had a different view of the concept of "critical edition." We will have to deal with this issue again. The first thing we need to emphasize is that most of these editions date back to the previous century and that, thanks to the work produced, many medievalists have for a long time been able to tackle and study closely the texts of the great Franciscan masters who, without that work, would have remained unknown for quite a number of years. Therefore, before we examine their work, we wish to express our gratitude to the Fathers of Quaracchi for the work they have accomplished and to admire the productivity of those teams of researchers who, in many cases, have devoted their lives to making the heritage that had been bequeathed to them available to medievalists. In this way they have shown the wealth of the philosophical and theological heritage of the Franciscan school in the Middle Ages and we thank them for doing so. But the preparation of this edition was at its peak a hundred years ago and we must admit that studies have greatly evolved since then. Therefore, for a reliable assessment, we first need to examine the rules of edition which were applied at the time, then to see how the requirements regarding critical work have evolved over a hundred years. We then will be able to move on to precise examples and show what we may presently expect from a good edition, which will allow us to make a selection and establish a list of texts for which a new edition is needed, while including the catalogue of editions that are still satisfactory.