Bibliography
Rob (R. M. J.)
Meens b. 1959
Works authored
Works edited
Contributions to journals
Meens, Rob, “The oldest manuscript witness of the Collectio canonum Hibernensis”, Peritia 14 (2000): 1–19.
abstract:
This article examines two small collections of canonistical material in Copenhagen, Kongelige Bibliotek, ms Ny. Kgl. S. 58 8° containing material which has close parallels with the Collectio canonum hibernensis. It discusses the relationship between these collections and the Hibernensis. The fact that one Copenhagen collection contains a much longer extract from the letter to bishop Massona, allegedy written by Isidore of Seville, than the one found in the Hibernensis, suggests that we have here with one of the forerunners of the Hibernensis. On palaeographical grounds, the Copenhagen manuscript has been assigned to the first half of the eighth century. It is, therefore, older than the oldest mss of the Hibernensis. Lowe has implausibly ascribed it to southern France. Though a northern Italian origin cannot be ruled out, its penitential and canonistic texts strongly suggest the recently converted regions of northern Gaul as the place of compilation and use.
abstract:
This article examines two small collections of canonistical material in Copenhagen, Kongelige Bibliotek, ms Ny. Kgl. S. 58 8° containing material which has close parallels with the Collectio canonum hibernensis. It discusses the relationship between these collections and the Hibernensis. The fact that one Copenhagen collection contains a much longer extract from the letter to bishop Massona, allegedy written by Isidore of Seville, than the one found in the Hibernensis, suggests that we have here with one of the forerunners of the Hibernensis. On palaeographical grounds, the Copenhagen manuscript has been assigned to the first half of the eighth century. It is, therefore, older than the oldest mss of the Hibernensis. Lowe has implausibly ascribed it to southern France. Though a northern Italian origin cannot be ruled out, its penitential and canonistic texts strongly suggest the recently converted regions of northern Gaul as the place of compilation and use.
Contributions to edited collections or authored works
Meens, Rob, “With one foot in the font: the failed baptism of the Frisian king Radbod and the 8th-century discussion about the fate of unbaptized forefathers”, in: Pádraic Moran, and Immo Warntjes (eds), Early medieval Ireland and Europe: chronology, contacts, scholarship. A Festschrift for Dáibhí Ó Cróinín, 14, Turnhout: Brepols, 2015. 577–596.
abstract:
This contribution tries to outline a context for the well-known story of the Frisian King Radbod withdrawing from the baptismal font when hearing that his ancestors would not receive the same privilege. This story is transmitted in the Vita Wulframni, a text that has been regarded as a forgery. Following a summary of Stephane Lebecq’s analysis of the Vita, the story about Radbod’s failed baptism can be shown to belong to a part of this text that was composed by the Frisian monk Ovo in the AD 740s. As such, it is a central document in the debate about the fate of pagan ancestors vibrant at precisely this time, with Boniface and the Irish bishop Clemens being the best-known protagonists. The anecdote was not written to deny Willibrord his pride of place in the Christianization of Frisia, but rather to corroborate Boniface’s point of view with Willibrord’s authority. There is some indication suggesting that Willibrord himself had a different opinion in this question, a crucial element in the process of Christianization.
abstract:
This contribution tries to outline a context for the well-known story of the Frisian King Radbod withdrawing from the baptismal font when hearing that his ancestors would not receive the same privilege. This story is transmitted in the Vita Wulframni, a text that has been regarded as a forgery. Following a summary of Stephane Lebecq’s analysis of the Vita, the story about Radbod’s failed baptism can be shown to belong to a part of this text that was composed by the Frisian monk Ovo in the AD 740s. As such, it is a central document in the debate about the fate of pagan ancestors vibrant at precisely this time, with Boniface and the Irish bishop Clemens being the best-known protagonists. The anecdote was not written to deny Willibrord his pride of place in the Christianization of Frisia, but rather to corroborate Boniface’s point of view with Willibrord’s authority. There is some indication suggesting that Willibrord himself had a different opinion in this question, a crucial element in the process of Christianization.
Meens, Rob [Meens, R. M. J.], “Exil, Buße und sozialer Tod. Ausschließungsmechanismen in den frühmittelalterlichen Bußbüchern”, in: Claudia Garnier, and Johannes Schnocks (eds), Sterben über den Tod hinaus. Politische, soziale und religiöse Ausgrenzung in vormodernen Gesellschaften, Würzburg: Ergon, 2012. 117–131.
