Nicolaus Maniacoria ( – ) was a Roman churchman,

Hebraist A Hebraist is a specialist in Jewish, Hebrew and Hebraic studies. Specifically, British and German scholars of the 18th and 19th centuries who were involved in the study of Hebrew language and literature were commonly known by this designation, a ...

, biblical commentator and textual critic. He is known today for his knowledge of languages and his theoretical sophistication. His first name may be anglicized Nicholas or italianized Nicolò. His surname is spelled many ways: Maniacoria, Maniacutia, Magnacutius, Magnacoze, Manicoria and Maniacocia.

Life

What little is known of Nicolaus' life has been pieced together from his writings. He was probably born shortly after 1100 in Rome. Around 1145, he was a deacon of

San Lorenzo in Damaso The Minor Basilica of St. Lawrence in Damaso (Basilica Minore di San Lorenzo in Damaso) or simply San Lorenzo in Damaso is a parish and titular church in central Rome, Italy that is dedicated to St. Lawrence, deacon and martyr. It is incorporate ...

. During this period, he wrote his ''Suffraganeus bibliothecae'' and several

saints' lives A hagiography (; ) is a biography of a saint or an ecclesiastical leader, as well as, by extension, an adulatory and idealized biography of a preacher, priest, founder, saint, monk, nun or icon in any of the world's religions. Early Christian ...

., citing . He copied a complete

Bible The Bible is a collection of religious texts that are central to Christianity and Judaism, and esteemed in other Abrahamic religions such as Islam. The Bible is an anthology (a compilation of texts of a variety of forms) originally writt ...

for a woman named Constantia, who died in 1144 or 1145. She may have been his mother. He also copied the

Psalms The Book of Psalms ( , ; ; ; ; , in Islam also called Zabur, ), also known as the Psalter, is the first book of the third section of the Tanakh (Hebrew Bible) called ('Writings'), and a book of the Old Testament. The book is an anthology of B ...

for a nun and noblewoman named Scotta, including marginal notes on variations in the Hebrew text., citing . Nicolaus later joined the

Cistercians The Cistercians (), officially the Order of Cistercians (, abbreviated as OCist or SOCist), are a Catholic religious order of monks and nuns that branched off from the Benedictines and follow the Rule of Saint Benedict, as well as the contri ...

., citing , whose chronology differs from , who has him entering Tre Fontane in the early 1140s during the abbacy of Bernardo Pigantelli, the future Pope Eugene III. He may have entered

Tre Fontane Abbey Tre Fontane Abbey (; ), or the Abbey of Saints Vincent and Anastasius, is a Roman Catholic abbey in Rome, held by monks of the Cistercian Order of the Strict Observance, better known as Trappists. It is known for raising the lambs whose wool is u ...

, but this is not certain. A proposed connection with

Santa Pudenziana The Basilica of Santa Pudenziana (Spanish—Filipino: ''Santa Potenciana'') is the eldest Roman Catholic basilica built in the fourth century. The original shrine building dates back from the second century and is dedicated to Saint Pudentiana, ...

is also uncertain. He may have later served as a

canon Canon or Canons may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Canon (fiction), the material accepted as officially written by an author or an ascribed author * Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture ** Western canon, th ...

at the

Lateran Basilica The Archbasilica of Saint John Lateran (officially the ''Major Papal, Patriarchal and Roman Archbasilica, Metropolitan and Primatial Cathedral of the Most Holy Savior and Saints John the Baptist and the Evangelist in Lateran, Mother and Head of A ...

, but his too is uncertain. There is no basis for the claims that Nicolaus was a

cardinal Cardinal or The Cardinal most commonly refers to * Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds **''Cardinalis'', genus of three species in the family Cardinalidae ***Northern cardinal, ''Cardinalis cardinalis'', the common cardinal of ...

or a papal librarian. Nicolaus probably died around 1160.

Works

Nicolaus' magnum opus, the ''Suffraganeus bibliothecae'' (meaning 'aid to the Bible'), is a commentary on the literal sense of the

Old Testament The Old Testament (OT) is the first division of the Christian biblical canon, which is based primarily upon the 24 books of the Hebrew Bible, or Tanakh, a collection of ancient religious Hebrew and occasionally Aramaic writings by the Isr ...

. He wrote it shortly after the election of

Pope Eugene III Pope Eugene III (; c. 1080 – 8 July 1153), born Bernardo Pignatelli, or possibly Paganelli, called Bernardo da Pisa, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 15 February 1145 to his death in 1153. He was the first Cist ...

in February 1145. It is most famous for its theoretical introduction, in which outlines the three ways in which a text can become corrupted in copying (addition, substitution, omission) with examples of each. In the commentary itself, Nicolaus cites

Jerome Jerome (; ; ; – 30 September 420), also known as Jerome of Stridon, was an early Christian presbyter, priest, Confessor of the Faith, confessor, theologian, translator, and historian; he is commonly known as Saint Jerome. He is best known ...

Pseudo-Jerome Pseudo-Jerome is the name given to several authors misidentified as, or pseudepigraphically claiming to be, Saint Jerome. A principal writing identified as "Pseudo Jerome" is the ninth-century writing the ''Epistle of Pseudo-Jerome to Paula and Eu ...

, the ''

Glossae biblicae vaticanae ''Glossa'' (γλῶσσα) is a Greek word meaning "tongue" or "language", used in several English words including gloss (annotation), gloss, glossary, glossitis, and others. Glossa may also refer to: * Glossa (journal), ''Glossa'' (journal), a p ...

'',

Rashi Shlomo Yitzchaki (; ; ; 13 July 1105) was a French rabbi who authored comprehensive commentaries on the Talmud and Hebrew Bible. He is commonly known by the List of rabbis known by acronyms, Rabbinic acronym Rashi (). Born in Troyes, Rashi stud ...

Abraham ibn Ezra Abraham ben Meir Ibn Ezra (, often abbreviated as ; ''Ibrāhim al-Mājid ibn Ezra''; also known as Abenezra or simply ibn Ezra, 1089 / 1092 – 27 January 1164 / 23 January 1167)''Jewish Encyclopedia''online; '' Chambers Biographical Dictionar ...

and

Hugh of Saint Victor Hugh of Saint Victor ( 1096 – 11 February 1141) was a Saxon canon regular and a leading theologian and writer on mystical theology. Life As with many medieval figures, little is known about Hugh's early life. He was probably born in the 1090s. ...

's ''De sacramentis''. During his Cistercian period, Nicolaus wrote the ''Libellus de corruptione et correptione Psalmorum'', a critical study of the text of the Latin Psalter.

Notes

Bibliography

* * * * * * * {{refend 1100s births 12th-century deaths Clergy from Rome Writers from Rome Roman Catholic deacons Bible commentators Christian Hebraists