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Alcuin of York

New Books and Commentaries on Revelation from the Middle Ages

August 7, 2016 by Frank Leave a Comment

The purpose of this notice is to inform readers about commentaries on the Book of Revelation from the Middle Ages that have been published recently.Tyconius

Two Apocalypse commentaries attributed to Alcuin of York (d. 804) were recently translated by Sarah Van Der Pas and published in the Consolamini Commentary Series at Consolamini Publications in West Monroe, Louisiana.

A new critical edition and English translation of Scholia in Apocalypsin, once attributed to Origen, was published by Cambridge University Press in 2013.  Its title is An Ancient Commentary on the Book of Revelation by P. Tzamalikos.

A new translation by Faith Wallis of Bede’s eighth-century Commentary on Revelation was published by Liverpool University Press in 2013 in the Translated Texts for Historians series, Volume 58.  It contains a great introduction and extensive notes.

The first portion of Beatus of Liebana’s eighth-century Commentary on the Apocalypse is available in English translation by Maureen O’Brien.  It is for sale in electronic form on amazon.

A Gloss on the Apocalypse found in a tenth-century manuscript at Cambridge was edited recently by Roger Gryson in Corpus Christianorum.  The commentary may be from an earlier century.  Dr. Colin McAllister of the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs is preparing an English translation of it.

The Glossa Ordinaria on the Apocalypse was recently translated into English by Sarah Van Der Pas.  Its title is Consolamini Commentary Series:  The Glossa Ordinaria on Revelation.  An English Translation.  It was published in 2015 by Consolamini Publications in West Monroe, Louisianna.

Catherine A. Scine wrote a very informative doctoral dissertation that discusses in much detail commentaries on the Apocalypse from the thirteenth century, including those of Peter of Tarentaise and Hugh of Saint Cher.  Hugh wrote two commentaries, with the incipits Aser pinguis and Vidid Jacob respectively.  The dissertation is entitled “Early Dominicans on the Apocalypse:  A Reading of the 1260s Apocalypse Commentary of Peter of Tarentaise,” and is available from Proquest.

Finally, a Latin edition of Peter John Olivi’s Lectura super Apocalypsim from the year 1298 is now available from Franciscan Institute Publications.  This edition by Warren Lewis was previously only available in a hard-to-locate typewritten European doctoral dissertation from the 1970s, and is a great edition to scholarship on the subject.

I hope in these volumes you find refreshment, delight, and insight.

Frank

Filed Under: Biblical Commentaries, Eschatology, Medieval theology, Translated Texts Tagged With: Alcuin of York, Bede, Cambridge Gloss on the Apocalypse, Cambridge University Press, Catherine Scine, Colin McAllister, Faith Wallis, Glossa Ordinaria, Hugh of Saint Cher, Lectura super Apocalypsim, Liverpool University Press, Origen, Peter John Olivi, Peter of Tarentaise, Roger Gryson, Sarah Van Der Pas, Scholia in Apocalypsin, Translated Texts for Historians, Tzamalikos, Warren Lewis

Predestination in the Century Before Gottschalk

October 13, 2009 by Frank Leave a Comment

In the mid-ninth century, a wandering monk named Gottschalk of Orbais (d. 868) sparked a controversy over divine predestination that shook both church and state in central Europe. But was Gottschalk the maverick that he is often made out to be? What did the church teach about grace and divine predestination in the century before Gottschalk? Through examination of the theological literature written between 740 and 840 AD, this two-part series answers those questions.

These articles appeared in recent issues of Evangelical Quarterly. You can read both articles here: Predestination in the Century Before Gottschalk, Part 1 & Part 2

Have a great day. Frank

Filed Under: Biblical Commentaries, Medieval theology, Reformed theology, Theology of Grace, Translated Texts Tagged With: Agobard of Lyons, Alcuin of York, early middle ages, Gottschalk of Orbais, Pelagianism, predestination, Sedulius Scottus, Semi-Pelagianism, Smaragdus of Saint Mihiel

Seven Seals of the Apocalypse

June 30, 2009 by Frank Leave a Comment

The Seven Seals of the Apocalypse: Medieval Texts in Translation” was recently published by Medieval Institute Publications at Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo. Designed as a supplementary text for classroom use in medieval studies programs, and part of a medieval biblical commentary series, The Seven Seals contains fifteen translations of portions of Apocalypse commentaries from 500 to 1500 AD, showing how Christians in the middle ages interpreted Revelation 5-8.

I found much variety of interpretation on the seven seals by these biblical scholars of the middle ages. Some of them said that the opening of the seals corresponded to seven events in the life of Jesus which had been “sealed up” (concealed) in prophecies of the Old Testament. Others saw the seals as descriptions of life in the Church between the first and second comings of Christ. Still others viewed the seals as markers in a grand blueprint of history or as symbols of judgments associated with the Second Coming.

The Seven Seals includes translated texts from notables like Caesarius of Arles, who convened the Council of Orange in 529, Cassiodorus whose library at Viviarum preserved so many of the ancient texts we have today, Alcuin of York, the secretary and minister of education under the emperor Charlemagne, who is responsible for how we today write our upper and lower case letters, and Joachim of Fiore, the famous abbot from Calabria whom many regarded as a prophet in the time of the crusades.

If you are interested in how Revelation has been interpreted in the history of Christianity, The Seven Seals is a nice sampling of texts, heretofore unavailable in English translation, at a very reasonable price. I hope you enjoy it.

Frank

Filed Under: Biblical Commentaries, Early Christian Studies, Eschatology, Medieval theology, Patristics, Translated Texts Tagged With: Alcuin of York, Apocalypse, Book of Revelation, Caesarius of Arles, Cassiodorus, Joachim of Fiore, medieval Christianity, Second Coming, seven seals, Translated Texts

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