oa Nicholas Trevet OP (c. 1258-after 1334) as Publishing Friar: Part I. Commentaries on the Authors of Classical and Christian Antiquity

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This chapter investigates the ways in which Nicholas Trevet’s commentaries on Boethius’s Consolation of Philosophy, Seneca the Elder’s Controversiae, Seneca the Younger’s Tragedies, Augustine’s City of God, and Livy were published. Analysing authorial paratexts and the philological, codicological, and book-historical evidence of early manuscripts, extant and lost, it assesses pertinent actions by the author and his publishing circle, a group of associates who contributed to the release and primary circulation of his works. The dedicatory letter of Trevet’s commentary on Boethius betrays two fair copies, made by him or under his oversight. Dedications of three of the said commentaries and the execution of certain illustrations in his expositions of the Consolation and the Tragedies likewise reflect his efforts to publish. The Dominican Order furnished Trevet with a setting to circulate his works, and his confreres are often mentioned as a target audience. The evidence of the primary circulation and reception suggests that the order actively assisted in publication. Trevet’s teaching positions at Oxford also provided opportunities to obtain readerships. The clearest insight through our sources is, however, into publishing on the Continent, with the contribution of individuals within and without the order. Particularly important figures were Cardinal Niccolò da Prato OP and Pope John XXII. Besides commissioning two of the works studied, they supervised and financed the copying of Trevet’s commentaries, perhaps combining them with the texts commented on, recommended them to potential readers, and made copies available.