The Third Latin Recension of the Revelationes of Pseudo-Methodius – Introduction and Edition

This contribution aims, first and foremost, to enhance our understanding of one of the more prominent early medieval texts attributed to Methodius, the late antique bishop of Patara. An apocalyptic world history, written in Syriac in the late seventh century, was attributed to him. The text’s main objective was to place the Islamic expansion in the East in the context of the history of salvation and it includes a prophetic section that runs up until the end of times. The Revelationes enjoyed instant success in the post-Roman world and were quickly translated into Greek and Latin. The latter version underwent a series of revisions early on, which led to several redactions being available by the ninth century. This article will mainly address the particular Latin redaction of the text which has been dubbed the “Third Recension” by modern scholars. It will offer a description of the context of its transmission, a summary of the contents and the first critical edition of the text. In order to understand the changes made by the redactor who produced this version, we need first to take a closer look at the genesis of the work in the Syrian East and at the first Latin version, which originated in the early eighth century.