In contrast to the Renaissance interest in the pagan antiquity and
classical literature, the story of the rediscovery of the Greek Fathers remains, for the most
part, untold and understudied. The number of inaccuracies in the
regional, national and collective online repertoires available at
present means that bibliographical research becomes a time-consuming and
largely unrewarding exercise, severely hindering the progress of
patristic studies.
To tackle this issue, AGAPE records every edition of Greek patristic
works printed in Europe from 1465 to 1600 in the original language, as
well as in Latin and vernacular translations. AGAPE refines the
available data and substantially improves their level of detail: not
only does it link each work to the unique identification number
established by the
Clavis Patrum Graecorum (CPG), the standard authority in the
field, but also thoroughly describes all contents (texts as well as
paratext) and strictly relies on the analysis of at least one copy of
each edition. Further information on AGAPE's IT features, bibliographical criteria and editorial choices can be found
here.
A bibliographical database with an eye to book history and reception
studies, AGAPE exploits the relational mode of data and relies on a
highly popular open-source database, MySQL. For the server-side, PHP 7
is used together with Zend 1 as framework, while jQuery and Bootstrap are
supporting the client-side. All information and entries are freely
downloadable in multiple formats, in order to assure legibility,
transferability, and durability.
The versatile Greek word ἀγάπη qualifies a selfless, charitable,
brotherly form of love as well as the bond between God and mankind and
the early-Christian feast in celebration of it. Featuring many times in
the New Testament, it was analysed by the Greek and Latin Fathers,
debated on in the Eucharistic disputes during the Reformation, and
variously adopted by modern theologians and philosophers. In this light,
the term fittingly recalls the complex routes of the Jewish-Christian
tradition which the database helps elucidate, as well the idea of
unbiased sharing which stands behind open-access scientific research in
general.
In the words of Chrysostom (hom. XIII on Hebrews, 7:19), “to make men
perfect it was of no use”. And this database makes no exception with
regard to flaws and perfectibility. We therefore welcome any comments,
reports of mistakes and requests for special research needs. Please
address your questions at info@agapepatristics.net.
Editions described in AGAPE: 310 (12%)
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Incunables (as in ISTC)
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16th-c. editions
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Estimated number of editions: 2500
We are particularly grateful to:
We are also indebted to the following colleagues for their advice and feedback:
Andreas Ammann (LMU)
Ann Blair (Harvard)
Lucas Burkart (UNIBAS)
Hadrien Dami (IHR, UNIGE)
Claudia Daniotti (Warwick)
Geri Della Rocca de Candal (Oxford)
Cristina Dondi (Oxford)
Nicolas Fornerod (IHR, UNIGE)
Giovanni Gellera (IHR, UNIGE)
Anja-Silvia Goeing (Harvard/UZH)
Anthony Grafton (Princeton)
Sam Kennerley (LMU)
Jill Kraye (Warburg Institute)
Thaddeus Lipinski (Oxford)
Paul-Alexis Mellet (IHR, UNIGE)
Johnathan S. Nathan (Cambridge)
Angela Nuovo (UNIMI)
Maria Cristina Pitassi (IHR, UNIGE)
Jean-Louis Quantin (EPHE)
Bill Sherman (Warburg Institute)
Daniela Solfaroli Camillocci (IHR, UNIGE)
Ueli Zahnd (IHR, UNIGE)
Finally, we wish to express our gratitude to the many libraries which facilitated the physical or online access to their books, especially to the exquisitely patient staff of:
Basel, Universitätsbibliothek
Brussels, Koninklijke Bibliotheek/Bibliothèque royale
Darmstadt, Universitäts- und Landesbibliothek
Florence, Biblioteca Nazionale Centrale
The Hague, Koninklijke Bibliotheek
Milan, Biblioteca Nazionale Braidense
Milan, Veneranda Biblioteca Ambrosiana
Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France
Vatican City, Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana
Vienna, Österreichische Nationalbibliothek
Washington DC, Library of Congress