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What's a Florilegium?

 Literally, it means "a gathering of flowers". Florilegia were collections of
choice tidbits (from Ovid, Aristotle, various popes, church scholars, etc)
arranged topically.

 Typically, a florilegium is huge, encyclopedic, and contains only choice
selections from particular
 works. Example, Ovid's Metamorphoses would be too long to include in its
entirety and might
 suggest some of the wrong ideas (from a Church viewpoint), so only those works
that offer clear
 exegetic or moralistic exempla would likely be included. Thus, a florilegium
would probably not
 include Nestor's account of the battle of the Lapiths -- the tale pokes fun at
Nestor, at old men
 attempting to claim wisdom solely based upon age, and (less directly) at Homer.
A florilegium
 probably would contain the tales of Midas, however, because they provide
lessons on the evils
 of greed, pride, and gossip.
--
THLord Stefan li Rous    Barony of Bryn Gwlad    Kingdom of Ansteorra
   Mark S. Harris            Austin, Texas          stefan at texas.net
**** See Stefan's Florilegium files at:  http://www.florilegium.org ****