Boydell Medieval Texts – serie

The Miracles of the Virgin Mary, written c. 1135 by the Benedictine monk and historian William of Malmesbury (d. 1143), is an important document in the history of Marian devotion in medieval Europe.This is the first title in the new series Boydell Medieval Texts, which will provide scholarly editions of major works with facing translation.Written c. 1135 by the Benedictine monk, historian and scholar William ofMalmesbury (d. 1143), The Miracles of the Blessed Virgin Mary is of interest on several counts. It belongs in the first wave of collected miracles of the Virgin, produced by English Benedictine monks in the 1120s and '30s.These collections were to be influential across Europe and through the rest of the medieval period. Only two copies of William's work survive in anything like its complete form, and only one of them represents the finished product. But many of the stories were also transmitted separately, in groups or individually; the systematic use of this evidence is a feature of this new text.The work is written in elegant Latin and embellished with William's customary erudition, including frequent quotations and echoes from (sometimes unusual) ancient authors. His instinct as a historian is to the fore, as he tries to establish historical context and credibility for his stories. Above all, the scope of the collection is surprisingly international, including stories drawn from all around the Mediterranean.This is an important document in the history of Marian devotion in medieval Europe. In his long Prologue (which enjoyed some independent circulation), William argues strongly for the Virgin's Immaculate Conception and bodily Assumption, doctrines still not generally accepted in western Europe at the time.With the appearance of this book all of William of Malmesbury's major works are available in modern editions and translations. A paperback edition of the translation alone is also available (9781783271962).

Originally written in elegant Latin, this paperback takes the translation from the original hardcover to produce an attractive edition for the student or general reader. It retains the introduction, notes and appendices while presenting the text in a modern English version as elegant and engaging as the original.Written around 1135 by the Benedictine monk, historian and scholar William of Malmesbury (d. 1143), The Miracles of the Blessed Virgin Mary belongs in the first wave of collected miracles of the Virgin, produced by EnglishBenedictine monks in the 1120s and '30s. Only two copies of William's work survive in anything like its complete form, and only one of them represents the finished product. But many of the stories were also transmitted separately,in groups or individually; the systematic use of this evidence is a feature of this new text.Originally written in elegant Latin, this paperback takes the translation from the original hardcover to produce an attractive edition for the student or general reader. It retains the introduction, notes and appendices - important to understand William's quotations and echoes from ancient authors - while presenting the text in a modern English version as elegant and engaging as the original.Anyone wishing to compare the original and this translation may refer to the hardcover which remains available (9781783270163).

The first modern edition of a text which shows the suspicion with which Geoffrey of Monmouth's History of the Kings of Britain was received two decades after it first appeared.The history of the Yorkshire secular clerk, Alfred of Beverley (c.1148 x c.1151), an important primary source in Anglo-Norman historiography, supplies a history of Britain from its supposed foundation by Brutus down to the death of Henry I in 1135.Alfred's history is of particular interest in that it is the first Insular Latin chronicle to incorporate the legendary British history of Geoffrey of Monmouth (published c.mid 1130s) within a continuous account of the island's past. In attempting to fuse the radically new Galfridian account of the past with that of the conventional twelfth-century (Bedan) view, Alfred's use and manipulation of his sources is highly revealing and suggests a quite critical reception of Geoffrey's history, a mindset which by the end of the twelfth century appears almost entirely to have disappeared amongst chroniclers. Alfred's history is also an important, and presently undervalued, witness to the reception and dissemination of three of the most important Anglo-Norman histories: Symeon of Durham Historia Regum, The Chronicle of John of Worcester and Henry of Huntingdon, Historia Anglorum, from which works it borrows extensively. In the manner of use of these sources, the author tells us much about the ecclesiastical and intellectual interests and outlook of the period.

The famous letters of Bernard of Clairvaux attacking the philosopher Peter Abelard and a vituperative response to them are presented together for the first time.The late eleventh and twelfth centuries were Europe's first age of pamphlet warfare, of invective and satire. The perceived failure, or at least hypocrisy, of its new institutions-the new monastic orders and the reformed papacy-gave rise to the phenomenon, and it was shaped by the study of grammar and rhetoric in the new Schools. The central figures in the texts in the present book are Bernard of Clairvaux, the powerful ostensible founder of the Cistercianorder, and the popular and influential teacher Peter Abelard, leader of the radical faction in the Schools of Paris. The event which sparked this controversy was the Church council at Sens in 1141 which had led to the condemnation of Abelard's doctrines. Abelard proposed to use reason to explain the mysteries of faith, and this had led him into all kinds of difficulties with established church doctrine. The leading light in the atttack on his ideas was Bernard, the famous abbot of Clairvaux, a group of whose letters, written to gather support for it before and after the Council, are presented here. A little while later Abelard was defended by the vituperative but otherwise unknown Berengar, who wrote an outrageous Apology attacking Bernard; we also edit his remaining polemical works: his Letter to the Carthusians, and his Letter to the Bishop of Mende. None of Berengar's works has been translated before.An extensive introductory essay describes the course of the debate and the personnel, and analyses the invective employed by both Bernard and Berengar. There is full annotation identifying the writers' sources and clarifying the issues.

A miracle book, prayers and hymns inspired by Simon de Montfort provide rare evidence of an unusual aspect of popular religion.Simon de Montfort led the barons' rebellion against Henry III in 1265, and was killed at the battle of Evesham. The rebellion had attempted to force changes in central and local government on the king, and was to some degree a popular protest movement. Earl Simon was immediately the object of an unofficial miracle cult, which lasted until c.1280. In England no other layman had attracted a miracle cult since Earl Waltheof (d.1076). It centred on Montfort's grave in Evesham abbey, and it had to be practised in secret for at least two years. Earl Simon was never officially canonized. The Evesham miracle book records some two hundred alleged events, and the contemporary laments, prayers, and hymns reflect the bitterness, despair and longing that animated the cult.The only previous edition of the miracle book appeared in 1840; most of the verses and prayers also appeared in print long ago, but in scattered publications and to no uniform standard. The documents are mostly in Latin, with a few in French. Only some of the items have hitherto been translated into English prose. Collectively, the documents illustrate local and social history, popular religion, and contemporary opinion across a range of social ranks at a time of crisis.