ABSTRACT

The two Varia sections, constituting a major part of the Collectio Britannica (CB), contain decretal, patristic and Roman law material including extracts from the Digestum vetus. While the Urban II excerpts and other decretal excerpts, the Deusdedit material and the excerpts from the Digest all indicate that the main part of the CB goes back to Italian sources, there is evidence that links the present version of the CB to northern France. The main evidence comes from VariaII, 14, a series of historical excerpts which shows an interest in Frankish affairs and draws on sources apparently not circulating outside Francia, and certainly not in Italy. This chapter expands this thesis further, arguing that the excerpts not only strongly suggest that the CB was reworked in Northern France but also that the historical excerpts are closely linked to the disputed coronation of Louis VI in 1108 and finally, that the extant manuscript of the CB was written after this date.