Il viaggio dei monaci galilei al paradiso terrestre nel Pantheon di Goffredo da Viterbo

Abstract

The Pantheon by Goffredo da Viterbo is one of the most interesting and curious works in medieval Latin literature. Awork of history, but also of poetry, it has been the subject of a troubled composition, rethought and rewritten severaltimes, bringing back numerous tales belonging to rare traditions, whose origin is often unknown. Among these is thedescription of the journey to the earthly paradise of some Galilean monks, who left from the western coasts of Brittanyand reached their destination after crossing the ocean. The story is interesting for at least three reasons. First of all, forthe destination of the journey itself, since it is a successful journey to the earthly paradise. Secondly, since Goffredospeaks of a manuscript, in the distant Breton abbey of Saint Mathieu, where one can read of this journey, anticipating aliterary tradition that goes from Cervantes, to Scott, to Manzoni up to the present day. Finally, the journey of the monksis a journey into another temporal dimension, where time flows differently, a narrative peculiarity not very commonin medieval literature. In any case, the text presents inconsistencies that are not easily resolved. This study proposesan edition of the text based on the author’s autograph, compared with the witnesses of the previous editions, drawingindications on the working method of Goffredo da Viterbo and on the composition of the Pantheon.