Franciscan Studies

THE ALLEGED FOURTH BOOK ON THE SENTENCES OF ODO RIGAUD AND RELATED DOCUMENTS* Zg|\ DO RIGAUD came into prominence some seventy-five V*Cr years 3S0 through the connection of his writings with those of the Seraphic Doctor. Fidelis a Fanna in searching out the manuscripts of St. Bonaventure in view of the forthcoming edition came across not a few of these of Rigaud, and that the alliance of these two authors doctrinally speaking did not escape our connoisseur, may be seen from the unpublished notes left by him in this regard. The author of these different Rigaldian manuscripts was, in fact, in the light of' this doctrinal affinity, considered not the teacher but the disciple of St. Bonaventure. The present article constitutes an attempt to clarify whatever remaining insecurity rests with the outstanding work of Rigaud, namely his Commentary on the Sentences, and in particular the fourth book of this Commentary. The problem of this book may be said to have been placed by the edition of the Opera Omnia of St. Bonaventure. Here we read: Troyes Bibl. Civit. In eadem bibliotheca est cod. membr. in 8, sign. 1862, qui sub nomine S. Bonaventurae refert commentarium in III et IV Sent.; redactor ejus est Odo Rigaldus Ord. Min., Archiepiscopus Rothomagensis. 2 In the judgment of the editors of St. Bonaventure it would seem, then, that Rigaud could lay claim to having finished his Commentary. Such a judgment gained strength on the *We extend here our thanks to Fr. Damián van den Eynde, O.F.M., Pontificium Athenaeum Antonianum, Rome, as also to Frs. Victorin Doucet, O.F.M. and Fr. F.M. Henquinet, O.F.M. oí the Collegium S. Bonaventurae of Quaracchi, for timely assistance. 1.Cf. F. M. Henquinet, Les manuscrits et l'influence des écrits théologiques d'Eudes Rigaux O.F.M., in Recherches de Théologie ancienne et médiévale, Xl (1939)324-350, cf. p. 349. Since there shall be numerous occasions for citing this article throughout the present pages, it shall be referred to solely by the first words of the title, seil. Les Manuscrits. 2.Opera Omnia S. Bonaventurae, Quaracchi, I (1882) lxix; cf. also F.M. Henquinet, Les manuscrits, p. 339, ?. 53. 87 88THE ALLEGED FOURTH BOOK OF ODO RIGAUD appearance of a twin manuscript to the above, that of Trojes City Library 824, ff. 247r-306r, which likewise was described and catalogued first by Fidelis a Fanna and later by E. Smeets.3 While the attribution of Troyes 1862 to Rigaud was evidently due to its being found in association with an easily recognizable third book, Troyes 824 in addition to being associated with the other three books has the added evidence of an explicit attribution. On its last folio, ·306?, we find the predominant inscription Summa fratris Rigaldi de Ordine Minorum, and above this Summa Magistri Rigaldi super quattuor Sententiarum, while below L. 24 Liber Sanctae M ariae Clare ?ailens is. Tractatus magistri Rigaldi super UIl libros Sententiarum.* This last is in a contemporary hand. Since all four books judging from the manuscript were already copied in the middle thirteenth century and as a unit come under the attribution of the scribe, viz. "Tractatus magistri Rigaldi super IUI libros Sententiarum", there would seem to be little reason for doubting either the authenticity of Troyes 1862 or 824, or the completion of the commentary. No doctrinal contradictions of any sort whatever had been proposed between the fourth book and the other three, and no contender had entered the field. In 1927, however, and thereafter, A. Landgraf repeatedly cited another fourth book, that of the Bibliothèque Royale of Bruxelles 1542, ff. 179a-253b, which he attributes to Rigaud, and continues to cite as belonging to that author. The doctrinal 3.Cf. F.M. Henquinet, Les manuscrits, p. 337, 23. With reference to this and the preceding note, _cf. also F.M. Henquinet, Le Commentaire d'Eudes Rigaud , O.F.M. sur le IVme Livre des Sentences, in Collectanea Franciscana, X (1940) 481-493, cf. p. 482. Since this second article of F.M. Henquinet is an ex professe treatment of the problem of these pages, it likewise...