Accessus ad auctores was a literary genre of the Middle Ages. Originally an accessus was the introduction placed at the start of a commentary on a classical author, giving background on the author and the work. From the twelfth century onward these introductions were excerpted from their commentaries and published as separate collections, to which modern scholars give the collective name accessus ad auctores. They were invariably written in Latin and designed for students of Latin grammar.
Facts
Notable ExampleAccessus Ouidianus (introductions to Ovid) 1 Defining TraitArranged as a series of questions in heading form followed by answers 1 Sources
1. Wikipedia: Accessus ad auctores
Main text, Ovid
Ovid was so popular an author that different accessus for him were often anthologized as an accessus Ouidianus.
Main text, standard form
The standard accessus was arranged as a series of questions in the form headings followed by their answers.
In Group: Medieval and Byzantine Prose Genres, Lead section
The accessus ad auctores ('introduction to authors') was a literary genre of the Middle Ages.
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