Influence
The Tractatus was arguably the most popular vision of Purgatory throughout the Middle Ages and survives in over 30 versions in almost every European vernacular. More than 150 manuscripts of the Latin text are extant. It was read and adapted long after several ideas feature prominently in it fell out of mainstream belief (e.g. the idea of the earthly paradise as an afterlife location where souls would spend time between their period in purgatory and their entry into heaven).
Among the most famous versions of the Tractatus is the Anglo-Norman translation the Legend of the Purgatory of St. Patrick by Marie de France. The Auchinleck manuscript preserves a version in Middle English verse. The story was almost certainly known to Dante.
In its themes, Irish background, and breadth of influence, it is comparable to the Visio Tnugdali. The two texts are nearly contemporary and frequently appear in the same manuscripts. Like the Visio Tnugdali, the Tractatus was instrumental in shaping popular ideas of the Otherworld.
Read more about this topic: Tractatus De Purgatorio Sancti Patricii
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