Resumen de Notes on the "Vita S. Constantinae Virginis" (BHL 1927)
The "Vita Constantinae" tells the story of its heroine’s engagement to the general Gallicanus and the latter’s subsequent conversion to Christianity and the ascetic life. The bulk of the text is occupied by a kind of roundtable or seminar on virginity, moderated by Constantina. The work survives, in whole or in part, in four tenth-century manuscripts, which form the basis of the recent edition by Marco Conti, Virginia Burrus, and Dennis Trout. This article discusses various passages in which the transmitted text requires emendation or in which the editors’ text and translation can be improved. It also notes clear borrowings from Arnobius Iunior and Beatus of Liébana which may have a bearing on the dating and localization of the work.
