Talk:Libellus de Nativitate Sanctae Mariae

Titling

The title of this work is something of a sticking point in terms of further development of the article. "Libellus de Nativitate Sanctae Mariae" is the title of the Latin version found among the works of St. Jerome, but he certainly isn't the author; at it's earliest possible date this text did not exist before the ninth century. Brandon Hawk at https://www.nasscal.com/e-clavis-christian-apocrypha/nativity-of-mary/ calls it both "De nativitate Mariae" and "Nativity of Mary," and apparently the short form title used for scholarly purposes is "Nat. Mary." "Nativity of Mary" is problematical as it is already established as the title on the Wiki on the church holiday known by that name. The first modern publication of the piece in English was in "The New Testament Apocrypha" (1820), better known in its later edition as "The Lost Books of the Bible" (1926), and the title given there is "The Gospel of the Birth of Mary." This title also appears alongside of the "Libellus" title in the list of Gospels already established in Wikipedia. According to Rita Beyers, cited in the Hawk article linked above, this work exists in no less than 95 medieval manuscripts, none of which can be considered primary. It is my opinion that Wikipedia should adopt the title "The Gospel of the Birth of Mary" as it is the title of the best known English version of the work and has been in use for over two centuries.Pinikadia 19:43, 3 August 2022 (UTC)