The Trivium in 'Páls saga postula' II

Abstract

Páls saga postola II (PSP II) is the younger of two extant Old Norse-Icelandic lives of the Apostle Paul. A product of the medieval compilatio tradition, the text reworks materials from the biblical book of Acts into a biography of Paul accompanied by commentative materials from a range of sources, only some of which have been identified. This paper examines the ways in which both alterations to the text edited commentary draw out Paul’s gifts as an orator through references to the Trivium, grammar, dialectic, and rhetoric, and to the integration of the Trivium with Christian exegetical practices.