Forthcoming Translation of Gottschalk of Orbais
I am very happy to announce a forthcoming translation of writings by Gottschalk of Orbais, a ninth-century monk who spent twenty years in prison for preaching a view of divine predestination that diverged from the mainstream.
Of his writings, some were lost after his death, and none enjoyed considerable circulation. Two “confessions” of his were discovered in the 17th century, about 800 years after his death, and were printed by Bishop Ussher. In the 19th century they were reprinted by Migne, and MGH published several of his poems that had been discovered. Then in the early 20th century, a scholar found a large number of his writings in a library in Berne, and in 1945 Cyrille Lambot printed them. They include treatises on predestination, the Trinity, the Eucharist, and grammar.
Since 2003, Victor Genke and I have been translating these works from Latin to English. We decided to narrow our project down to his works on predestination, although Victor had previously translated the treatise on the Eucharist. After translating the texts and writing short introductions to each, we divided up the remaining tasks. Victor composed a comprehensive introduction to the life and theology of Gottschalk, and I standardized the biblical quotes and footnotes, compiled a bibliography, and created indices. We submitted the completed work to a major university press, and after several revisions, were offered a publishing contract.
The book, tentatively entitled Gottschalk of Orbais: Translated Texts from a Medieval Predestination Controversy, will be published by Marquette University Press in 2011 in their series Medieval Philosophical Texts in Translation. The final Word document was over 400 pages, which after typesetting will probably be a bit smaller.
Part One will include Gottschalk’s “Shorter Confession,” “Longer Confession,” “Confession of Faith at Mainz,” “On Predestination,” “On Different Ways of Speaking About Redemption,” and “Another Treatise on Predestination.” In addition selections from Gottschalk’s “Answers to Various Questions,” and the extant fragments of his “Reply to Rabanus Maurus,” and “Tome to Giselmar” will be translated therein.
Part Two is comprised of translations of letters by Rabanus Maurus, Hincmar of Reims, and Amolo of Lyons, along with a sermon on predestination by Florus of Lyons, all written during the Gottschalk controversy. These texts shed light on the history of the controversy, provide a glimse of how others viewed Gottschalk, and elucidate the arguments of his opponents.
It is our hope that these twenty-one texts, together with the introduction, maps, and photos that accompany them, will stimulate further research on this fascinating figure of the Carolingian renaissance. For more information on Gottschalk, I invite you to read the articles posted on this website “Predestination in the Century Before Gottschalk,” and “Gottschalk of Orbais: A Medieval Predestinarian.” I also encourage you to visit Victor Genke’s website Gottschalk of Orbais at gottschalk.inrebus.com.
Blessings,
Frank
