The 2025 publication presenting a curated selection from the Carmina of Baudri de Bourgueil (c. 1046-1130), edited by Christine Ratkowitsch, constitutes a significant and welcome contribution to the study of twelfth-century Latin poetry. Appearing in the Mittellateinische Bibliothek series, the volume masterfully revives the sophisticated and charming poetic voice of the abbot of Bourgueil and later archbishop of Dol - a literary figure whose oeuvre exemplifies the period's creative reworking of classical models.

The anthology's principal strength lies in its judicious and well-justified selection of 21 poems from the extant corpus of 256 carmina, primarily preserved in Vatican Reg. lat. 1351. Ratkowitsch's rationale for this choice is explicitly articulated, offering readers a representative cross-section of Baudri's thematic and generic breadth. The anthology brings together a representative choice of Baudri's Latin poems, displaying both the formal variety and thematic richness of his corpus. It opens with "An Encouragement of His Book Against the Critics," composed in elegiac distichs, in which the poet defends his work and asserts his creative confidence. This is followed by "A Dream and Its Interpretation," written in dactylic hexameter, a text that blends personal vision with allegorical self-commentary. The third poem, "To an Overly Proud Young Man," likewise in hexameters, adopts a moralizing tone typical of Baudri's didactic vein.

Further in the selection appear the paired erotic epistles "Paris to Helen" and "Helen to Paris", both written in the elegiac distich form that naturally evokes Ovid's Heroides, and thus situates Baudri within that classical epistolary tradition. The "Protreptic to Monasticism," dedicated to Gerardus of Loudun, returns to the hexameter, its sustained moral argument matching the gravity of the measure. The brief "Armor Against Dissipation," an epigram of six lines in elegiac distich, offers compact moral advice, while "To His Scribe," again in hexameters and dedicated to Hugo, one of Baudri's copyists, articulates gratitude toward those who transmit his verses.

The sequence proceeds with "The Intention of His Poetry," a reflective piece on authorial purpose, and "To Marbod, the Most Excellent of Poets," where Baudri salutes his contemporary and friend. Written in the elegiac distich, "The Great Grief for the Broken Stylus" expresses creative frustration, while the paired Ovidian exchanges "Florus to Ovid" and "Ovid to Florus" continue in the same measure, demonstrating Baudri's engagement with classical exempla. Two pieces addressed "To Godfrey of Reims" - the first in distichs, the second a six-line hexameter epigram - further attest to the network of poetic correspondence.

Among the moral and confessional texts stands "A Penitent Confession," alongside "Moderation in Desires," both in elegiac distichs, marking Baudri's blend of ethical reflection and devotional sentiment. Particularly notable are the two poems dedicated to Countess Adela of Blois: the very long "To Countess Adela," in distichs, and "To the Same Adela, on the Mantle Promised by Her," a shorter composition of thirty-two hexameter lines that mingles praise, wit, and affectionate irony. The selection concludes with the correspondence "To Lady Constantia" and "Constantia's Reply," a pair of elegiac distich poems forming a playful Ovidian dialogue between poet and addressee.

Taken together, these poems map the full range of Baudri's literary persona - from moralist to lover - and reveal the deliberate modulation between hexameter and elegiac distich, between the elevated and the intimate, that defines the artistry of his Latin poetry.

The editorial framework of the volume builds on the prior scholarship, moving from Phyllis Abrahams' 1926 edition through Karlheinz Hilbert's 1979 text to Jean-Yves Tilliette's magisterial two-volume critical edition (1998-2002). Within this established tradition, Ratkowitsch's achievement stands out for combining philological precision with interpretive clarity.

Ratkowitsch's introduction - concise yet informative - traces Baudri's biography from his origins near Meung-sur-Loire to his roles in ecclesiastical reform and his literary engagement with the Loire School. The discussion situates his poetry firmly within a milieu deeply responsive to Ovid, particularly the Heroides and exile elegies, while also tracing subtle echoes of Horace and Virgil. This contextual grounding underscores Baudri's importance within the intellectual and artistic networks of the twelfth century.

Formally, the volume presents a critically established Latin text alongside a facing-page German translation. Notably, this is the first rendering of Baudri's Carmina into modern German. Although the translation is not in verse, it succeeds in conveying much of the stylistic sophistication of the original while remaining accessible to a contemporary audience.

Each poem is accompanied by extensive commentary and notes that combine structural analysis with detailed discussion of intertextual sources. Beyond identifying Baudri's classical inspirations, Ratkowitsch situates his use of inherited topoi within the broader framework of medieval literary practice, illuminating the continuity and transformation of ancient motifs.

In sum, this anthology offers a long-overdue modern gateway to a poet whose works are central to our understanding of the erudite playfulness and sophisticated classicism of the twelfth-century Renaissance. Ratkowitsch's edition is particularly welcome because it equips modern readers with the means to appreciate the enduring vitality of the ancient literary tradition as refracted through the creative sensibilities of the Middle Ages.

Beata Spieralska-Kasprzyk