Completion of the third and final volume of a critical edition of the thirteenth-century Anglo-Norman 'Vie de seint Clement'

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The 'Vie de seint Clement' is an early thirteenth-century Anglo-Norman hagiographical narrative comprising 14,994 lines of octosyllabic couplets, preserved in one manuscript copied towards the middle of the thirteenth century: Cambridge Trinity College R.3.46 (ff. 122-356). Telling of Pope Saint Clement I's separation from, and eventual reunion with, his family, and of Clement's adventures with Saint Peter as the latter battles against Simon Magus, the text combines into a single narrative translations of three Latin texts: the Pseudo-Clementine 'Recognitiones' and 'Epistula Clementis ad Iacobum', both translated by Rufinus of Aquileia, and the 'Passio sanctorum apostolorum Petri et Pauli' attributed to Pseudo-Marcellus.As one of the longest extant texts of its kind, and one of significant literary merit, the 'Vie de seint Clement' is of great interest to scholars of Anglo-Norman and medieval French literature and language, in particular those focussing on the writing and translation of religious material into the French of medieval England. Moreover, since the Latin sources are of particular importance in the study of the early Church, as they provide fascinating details regarding the life and teaching of Saint Peter, the evidence of their dissemination provided by their translation into Anglo-Norman is also of significance to ecclesiastical historians. Unfortunately, the absence of a published critical edition has hitherto prevented scholars from studying the text in the depth that it deserves. The goal of the present project is to remedy this situation through the publication of the first fully annotated critical edition of the 'Vie de seint Clement'.The edition has been accepted for publication by the Anglo-Norman Text Society, and is scheduled to appear in three volumes as the Society's annual publications for 2007-9. The first of two volumes of critical text will be printed in late 2007, with the second to appear during 2008. Research leave is sought in order to enable completion of the third and final volume of supporting materials and notes for publication during 2009.