Annäherungen an Form und Gattung der Gotica Bononiensia

Abstract

One of the most controversial aspects of the new found fragments is their so called “Sitz im Leben” and, in connection with this question, their literary genre. Based on codicological features of the folia, the characteristic traits of the text,  and  the  assumed  historical  background  of  the  Gothica  Bononiensia,  the  following article examines their literary character against the patterns of preaching  in  the  late  antique  and  the  early  mediaeval  periods.  Strong  evidence  suggests a classification of the fragments as a literary recorded ‘sermon’ or part of a sermon collection.