Author Description

A 12th-century collection of documents held at Montecassino, Italy, relating to the history of the abbey from its beginnings to the 1130s. Many of the documents describe landed possessions acquired over centuries. It was complied by the librarian of the abbey, Peter the Deacon. Many of the documents are forgeries by his hand, designed to magnify the wealth and reputation of the monastery. There is yet no critical edition or translations. The current volume is a facsimile of the original document, written in the difficult Beneventan script. For an analysis of its contents, Herbert Bloch, Monte Cassino in the Middle Ages 3 vols (Harvard U.P. 1986) and H. Hoffmann, "Chronik und Urkunde in Montecassino," Quellen und Forschungen aus italienischen Archiven und Bibliotheken 52 (1972), 93-206.