An Unidentified Version of Achard of Saint-Victor’s De discretione animae, spiritus et mentis in Oxford, Exeter College Library, Ms. 23

Oxford, Exeter College, MS. 23, ff. 195va-198ra transmits a myscellany of psychological texts, divided into various sections. This article shows that the first sections of such myscellany (ff. 195va-196vb, called OxDASM in the article) reproduce most of Achard of St. Victor's De discretione animae, spiritus et mentis (DASM), but arrange its material in a different overall order to DASM and and express similar ideas with different wording or word-order. OxDASM could be, or derive from, an unknown version of DASM. It certainly is to be added to the medieval dissemination of DASM, of which four manuscripts only, and no indirect tradition, was known. More in detail, the article has four parts. The first is an outline of Achard's works and their dissemination. Secondly the content of DASM is scrutinised and some of the editor's, Nicholas Häring, choices are discussed. Thirdly, the Oxford MS is presented, with particular reference to the relationship between OxDASM and DASM. The appendix contains an edition of OxDASM, where all parallel paragraphs in DASM are indicated.