The Rawlinson Excidium Troie — A Study of Source Problems in Mediaeval Troy Literature

The hitherto unpublished Rawlinson Excidium Troie, contained in MS. Rawl. D893, does not depend for its interest on the scholarly problems it involves. It is in a sense a unique document, since it embodies the only complete mediaeval account of the Trojan War completely independent of Dares and Dictys. The existence of such an account is quite sufficient to challenge the attention of mediaevalists. Yet the manuscript does have its scholarly significance: it is intimately connected with a number of vernacular versions of the Trojan War whose source relations have long remained doubtful. It is fitting therefore that, before going into a detailed discussion of the Excidium Troie, we should review briefly the problem which led to its discovery.