Geografia, storia e profezie: prolegomeni per un’indagine topografica e prosopografica sulle "Prophecies de Merlin"

Abstract

This contribution intends to lay the methodological groundwork for a topographical and prosopographical investigation of the Arthurian Romance Prophecies de Merlin and presents the results of a close examination of the prophetic sections. With regard to Merlin’s prophecies, attention focuses in particular on the geographical references to the area surrounding Padua and Venice and on the historical characters active in that area during the thirteenth century. Finally, I propose a transcription of the commentary preserved in the margins of the MS Venice, Biblioteca Nazionale Marciana, Str. App. 29 (243), an important witness of the Prophecies de Merlin for exploring early reception of the text.