Project

The TRANSMAR project sheds new light on an overlooked chapter of intellectual history: the transmission of Greek patristic texts into Latin before the rise of Humanism.
At the heart of this story is Angelo Clareno (c. 1260-1337), a Franciscan friar who, instead of openly opposing ecclesiastical authority, explored alternative spiritual paths to those officially endorsed by the Church hierarchy. Well before Greek became widely studied in the West, Clareno undertook the pioneering task of translating several Eastern Christian works into Latin, many previously unknown to the Latin Church. Some of these translations remained confined to Italy; others spread throughout Europe, influencing spiritual and intellectual currents in unexpected ways.

TRANSMAR traces the journey of these texts and explores the networks of people – author himself, scribes, readers, communities – who contributed to their preservation and circulation.

Research

Below is a short presentation of each translation, along with the list of manuscript witnesses in which they are preserved. More detailed results are gradually being published in the electronic journal “Oliviana”, under the title “Clareniana: Les traductions d’Angelo Clareno”.

• John Climacus, Scala Paradisi (Ladder of Divine Ascent)
  Translated at least in part before 1298, likely during Clareno’s exile in Greece, this collection had a major influence on Western spirituality. Thanks to Clareno’s version, John Climacus – until then unknown to the Latin world – was cited as an authority as early as the first half of the 14th century, alongside Ambrose, John Cassian, Bernard of Clairvaux, and Augustine.
  The “Scala Paradisi” was the focus of a dedicated workshop held on 11 November 2024.

• Basil of Caesarea, Ascetica
  Clareno’s Latin version of the “Ascetica” – a collection then attributed to Basil of Caesarea – was probably composed partly during his time abroad, and partly after his return to Italy (around 1304). Except for the final text in the series, these translations circulated only in Italy and had little impact beyond.

• Pseudo-Macarius, Opuscula II-VII (150 Chapters) and Epistula Magna
  Also translated during Clareno’s stay in Greece, these spiritual texts had limited diffusion. Although they are preserved in slightly more manuscripts than some others, their overall impact remained marginal. See also A. Le Huërou, “Angelo Clareno traducteur de Macaire”.

• Pseudo-Chrysostom, Letter to Cyriacus (Epistula ad Cyriacum, Letter 125)
  This text, translated in Italy and often transmitted alongside the Scala, gained significant popularity. It quickly spread from Italy to the Low Countries and across Germanic and Slavic regions. See also A. Le Huërou, “Angelo Clareno traducteur d’une lettre de Jean Chrysostome”.

• Maximus the Confessor, Florilegium (from Ambigua ad Iohannem)
  A selection of extracts from “Ambigua ad Iohannem” survives only in manuscript collections that also include the “Scala” and “Letter 125”.

• Gregory of Nazianzus, Orationes (Sermons)
  In his writings and letters, Clareno quotes substantial passages from the “Orationes” of Gregory of Nazianzus – texts not otherwise available in Latin before his time.

• Athanasius of Alexandria, Letter to Marcellinus on the Psalms
  This is the first known Latin version of Athanasius’s famous letter. It survives in three manuscripts, two preserved within collections of Clareno’s translations.

• Gregory of Nyssa, De diapsalma
  This short extract, taken from Gregory’s “On the Titles of the Psalms”, is transmitted only alongside Athanasius’s “Letter to Marcellinus”.

Events