Epistulae LVI-C
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Book Series
Corpus Christianorum Series Latina, vol. 3J
Pseudo Cyprianus
De duodecim abusivis saeculi
Aidan Breen †, Constant J. Mews, Stephen James Joyce (eds)
- Pages: approx. clviii + 74 p.
- Size:155 x 245 mm
- Illustrations:12 tables b/w., 2 stemmata
- Language(s):Latin
- Publication Year:2026
- € 190,00 EXCL. VAT RETAIL PRICE
- ISBN: 978-2-503-62540-9
- Hardback
- Forthcoming (Dec/26)
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On the Twelve Abuses of the Age offers a critique of social behaviour of enormous influence in the medieval period.
Subject(s)
BIO
Aidan Breen (1953-2013), an accomplished scholar of Celtic Latin texts, submitted an edition and translation of the treatise as a PhD thesis in 1988 to the University of Dublin.
Constant J. Mews, an Emeritus Professor at Monash University, Australia is a specialist in medieval religious history and thought.
Stephen J. Joyce, a Research Affliliate at Monash University, is a specialist in late antique and early medieval thought, with special attention to Gildas.
Summary
De duodecim abusiuis saeculi (On the Twelve Abuses of the Age) is a Hiberno-Latin text of the mid-seventh-century that circulated widely in the medieval period, most often as a text attributed to either Cyprian of Carthage or to Augustine of Hippo. Written in the style of rhyming prose employed by Gregory the Great, it presents twelve types of abusive behaviour: a learned man without good works, an old man without religion, a youth without obedience, a rich man without almsgiving, a woman without modesty, a lord without moral strength, a contentious Christian, a proud pauper, an unjust king, a negligent bishop, common folk without discipline, and a people without law. In each of its twelve chapters, the treatise draws heavily on both scripture and the Fathers to formulate a set of core ethical principles relevant to every major group in society. Its ninth chapter on unjust kingship would provide a foundation for thinking about the ethics of government in the early medieval period, while its tenth chapter, on a negligent bishop, would provoke reflection on abuses within the church over many centuries subsequently.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Scriptores Celtigenae: A Note on the Sub-Series
Acknowledgements
Abbreviations
Introduction
1. The manuscript tradition of the De duodecim abusiuis saeculi (DDAS)
A. Criteria for distinguishing α, β, and γ manuscripts
B. The diffusion of DDAS and associated texts
C. Medieval translations and adaptations of DDAS
D. Early editions of DDAS
E. Surviving manuscripts containing the list of twelve abuses
F. Attributions of authorship in MSS of DDAS
2. Establishing a stemma for DDAS
A. Differences between α, β, and γ groupings
B. The α grouping
C. The copy of DDAS in U
D. The α1 subgroup
E. The α2 subgroup
F. The β grouping of MSS
G. The γ variants of DDAS
H. The indirect tradition of DDAS
I. Variants from the Hellmann edition
J. Stemmata
3. The literary sources of DDAS
A. Scriptural allusions
B. Patristic sources
C. The twelve abusiua
D. Conclusion
4. Principles of the edition
Bibliography
Textus
Indices
Index locorum Sacrae Scripturae
Index auctorum
Index manuscriptorum
Index nominum
