Mario Esposito

The twenty papers by Mario Esposito (1887-1975) reprinted here date from 1909 to 1961, and complete the collection of his Hiberno-Latin studies presented in the first two volumes of his papers, published in the Variorum Collected Studies Series in 1988 and 1990. The studies exemplify Esposito's assiduous work with manuscripts, as he laid the foundations of this field (and indeed seems to have given it its name) and revealed the vast extent and nature of the literature, as well as his concern over the proper identification of Irish authors and texts. These papers are preceded by bio-bibliographical studies of Esposito himself, and the publication of some surviving correspondence.

The field of Hiberno-Latin literature, a term coined to describe the Latin literature written in Ireland, or by Irishmen abroad, between 400 and 1500, was first defined by the late Mario Esposito. His work, too, revealed its vast extent and range, so enabling a significantly better understanding of the importance of Irish scholarship in the cultural history of the Western Middle Ages. This volume concentrates on Hiberno-Latin authors, and on texts composed in Ireland; a second collection of Esposito’s articles contains studies on Irish learning and texts written on the Continent. The great strength of his research is that it is founded on unparalleled knowledge of the manuscripts - many of which, indeed, no longer survive. The articles, now provided with extensive indexes to facilitate their consultation, therefore form the essential basis and guide for any further enquiry into the authors dealt with or their works.