Bened. Iesu

Meaning

This abbreviated designation occurs in the introductory catalogue of reputed possessors of the art, between Pythagoras and Alexander. The supplied English leaves the abbreviation substantially unchanged. Its rhetorical function is clear: it contributes a name to the treatise's display of authorities. Its expansion and personal identification are not established by the catalogue itself. Keeping the printed abbreviation rather than manufacturing a full name preserves both its value as an access point and the limit of what the local evidence warrants.