About the Book
A Benedictine Reader, 530–1530, has been more than twenty years in the making. A collaboration of a dozen scholars, this project gives as broad and deep a sense of the reality of the first one thousand years of Benedictine monasticism as can be done in one volume, using primary sources in English translation. The texts included are drawn from many different genres and from several languages and areas of Europe. The introduction to each of the thirty-two chapters aims to situate each author and text and to make connections with other texts and studies within and outside the Reader. The general introduction summarizes the main ideas and practices that are present in the Rule of Saint Benedict and in the first thousand years of Benedictine monasticism while suggesting questions that a reader might bring to the texts.
Table of Contents:
Contents
Epigraph xi
Saint Anselm (1033–1109), Benedictine of Bec and Archbishop of Canterbury Oratio 18: “A Prayer for Friends”
Preface xv
By E. Rozanne Elder
Contributors xxxvi
Abbreviations xxxix
Introduction xli
By Hugh Feiss, OSB
Acknowledgments lx
I. Foundations
1. The Rule of Saint Benedict: Selected Chapters 2
Introduction and translation by Terrence G. Kardong, OSB
2. Gregory the Great: The Life of Benedict (Dialogues, Book II) [Selections] 19
Introduction and translation by Hugh Feiss, OSB
II. The Benedictine Centuries
3. The Venerable Bede: The Life of the Holy Abbots of the Monastery in Wearmouth and Jarrow: Benedict, Ceolfrid, Eosterwine, Sigfrid, and Hwaetbert [Selections] 34
Introduction and translation by Ronald E. Pepin
4. Benedict of Aniane: Concordia regularum and Supplement of Aniane [Selections] 51
Introduction and translation by Colleen Maura McGrane, OSB
5. Supplex libellus 67
Introduction and translation by Michael T. Martin
6. The Book of Nunnaminster [Selections] 78
Introduction and translation by Marie Schilling Grogan
7. Hildemar of Corbie: Commentary on the Rule of Saint Benedict [Selections] 94
Introduction by Terrence G. Kardong, OSB
Translation by Albrecht Diem and Members of the Hildemar Project
8. Walafrid Strabo: Hortulus: On the Cultivation of Gardens [Selections] 113
Introduction and translation by Ronald E. Pepin
9. Servatus Lupus of Ferrières: Selected Letters 126
Introduction and translation by Ronald E. Pepin
10. Haimo of Auxerre: Commentary on the Song of Songs [Selections] 143
Introduction and translation by Michael T. Martin
11. Abbo of Fleury: The Martyrdom of Saint Edmund 154
Introduction and translation by Hugh Feiss, OSB
III. The Long Twelfth Century (1050–1215)
12. Rudolph of La Chaise-Dieu: The Life of Saint Adelelm [Selections] 184
Introduction and translation by Hugh Feiss, OSB
13. John of Fécamp: The Theological Confession and Poem on the Last Things 205
Introduction and translation by Hugh Feiss, OSB
14. Quid Deceat Monachum: A Versified Ideal of Monastic Life 220
Introduction and translation by Ronald E. Pepin
15. Benedictine Monasticism and the Development of the Art of Stained Glass 254
Introduction by María Pilar Alonso Abad
Translation by Hugh Feiss, OSB
16. Abelard I: O Quanta Qualia; Planctus; and Confessio fidei ad Heloissam 272
Introduction and translation by Ronald E. Pepin
Abelard II: Prayers for the Gifts of the Holy Spirit and a Letter Containing Two Prayers for Himself 283
Introduction and translation by Hugh Feiss, OSB
17. The Life of Christina of Markyate [Selections] 287
Introduction and translation by Ellen E. Martin
18. The Chronicle of Petershausen [Selections] 307
Introduction by Hugh Feiss, OSB, and Ronald E. Pepin
Translation by Ronald E. Pepin
19. Julian of Vézelay: Prologue and Sermon 16 [On the Works of Mercy] 330
Introduction and translation by Hugh Feiss, OSB
20. Robert of Torigni: Treatise on the Change in the Monastic Order (1156) [Selections] 345
Introduction and translation by Hugh Feiss, OSB
21. Hildegard of Bingen [Selections] 362
Introduction and translation by Hugh Feiss, OSB
22. Peter of Celle: The Book of Breads [Selections] 380
Introduction and translation by Hugh Feiss, OSB
23. Nigel of Canterbury: Speculum Stultorum [Selections] 402
Introduction and translation by Ronald E. Pepin
24. Adam of Eynsham: The Vision of a Monk of Eynsham [Selections] 417
Introduction and translation by Ronald E. Pepin
25. Gonzalo de Berceo: The Life of Saint Dominic of Silos 436
Introduction and translation by Carmen Wyatt-Hayes
IV. Later Middle Ages (1215–1550)
26. Raymond Féraud: The Life of Saint Honoratus [Selections] 470
Introduction and translation by Christopher Callahan
27. Pope Benedict XII (1334–1342): Decree Summi magistri dignatio for the Black Monks [Selections] 477
Introduction by Hugh Feiss, OSB
Translation by Ronald E. Pepin
28. Ranulph Higden: The Mirror for Curates [Selections] 495
Introduction and translation by Margaret Jennings
29. Melk Reforms of the First Half of the Fifteenth Century [Selections] 512
Introduction by Hugh Feiss, OSB
Translation by Ronald E. Pepin
30. John Lydgate [Selections] 531
Introduction and translation by Ellen Martin
31. John Trithemius: Sermon on the True Humility of Monks 561
Introduction and translation by Ronald E. Pepin
32. Louis de Blois: Statuta Monastica [Selections] 580
Introduction by Hugh Feiss, OSB, and Ronald E. Pepin
Translation by Ronald E. Pepin
Bibliography of Christian Authors 605
Bibliography of Classical Authors 617
Bibliography of Secondary Sources 619
Scriptural Index 636
Index of Classical Authors 645
Index of Christian Names and Works 648
Rule of Saint Benedict Index 663
Index of Modern Authors 666
About the Author :
Hugh Feiss, OSB, is a monk of the Monastery of the Ascension in Jerome, Idaho. He earned his licentiate in philosophy and his doctorate in theology at Sant’Anselmo and is managing editor of the series Victorine Texts in Translation (Brepols/New City Press). He published Essential Monastic Wisdom, a thematic anthology of Benedictine and Cistercian texts (HarperSan Francisco, 2000). For Cistercian Publications he has translated works of Peter of Celle and Achard of Saint Victor and collaborated on Saint Mary of Egypt: Three Medieval Lives in Verse and The Lives of Monastic Reformers,1 and 2.
Ronald E. Pepin, received his PhD from Fordham University. In addition to The Lives of Monastic Reformers, 1 and 2 (in collaboration with Hugh Feiss and Maureen O’Brien), his published translations include The Vatican Mythographers (Fordham, 2008), Anselm & Becket (PIMS, 2009), and Sextus Amarcius: Satires (DOML: Harvard, 2011).
Maureen M. O’Brien, is professor in the Department of History at Saint Cloud State University, where she teaches ancient and medieval European history. She edited Stephen of Muret’s Maxims and Bernard of Clairvaux’s The Parables & The Sentences; she also collaborated with Hugh Feiss and Ronald Pepin on The Lives of Monastic Reformers, 1 and 2.
Review :
"A Benedictine Reader is an exciting volume of sources that includes key texts from the Order's inception in 530 through the sixteenth century. These `Benedictine Centuries' demonstrate the rich and varied contributions that knit together the religious, political, social, and cultural fabric of European society throughout the Middle Ages and into the Early Modern period. Translated into fresh and readable English, each text contains a concise introduction that has an almost intuitive quality. This is a welcome addition to the field and is an excellent resource for both scholars and students alike."Alice Chapman, Associate Professor of History, Grand Valley State University
"Perfectae Caritatis invited religious to enter into their original sources and primitive inspirations. A Benedictine Reader achieves this by creating a fascinating world of medieval monastic doctrine. This anthology opens up for any interested person ancient sources that fashioned monastic aggiornamento through the centuries. With quite remarkable scholarship, the wealth of footnotes in this volume introduces contemporary authorities promoting this renewal. Together these ancient monastics and contemporary scholars form a valuable treasure for a rebirth in monastic wisdom and insight." Thomas X. Davis, OCSO, Abbot Emeritus, New Clairvaux Abbey
"A Benedictine Reader brings together in a single volume the Venerable Bede, John of Fécamp, Abelard, Hildegard of Bingen, and other well-known figures of Western medieval monasticism. Also included are lesser-known authors and works by anonymous voices. This virtual library of medieval Benedictine texts fills a gaping hole in monastic libraries and will be an excellent resource in monastic formation programs." Mark A. Scott, OCSO, Abbot of New Melleray, Peosta, Iowa
"A monument to the first millennium of Benedictine tradition. It is particularly welcome to see so many female voices from the Benedictine tradition represented in this volume. The diversity in genre of documents is breathtaking, with poetry, art, music, liturgy, horticulture, hagiography and law among the areas covered, all usually in a Benedictine and theological key."The Furrow
"The editors provided what Benedictine studies have long lacked: a single volume resource that displays the riches of the Benedictine tradition in an array of genres. Monastics, oblates, and others devoted to the Benedictine way of life will find spirituality nourishing selections. Instructors and students of monastic culture in colleges, monasteries, and seminaries will find a welcome resource that may initially feel overwhelming, but ultimately leaves one wanting more."Jacob Riyeff, Spirit & Life
"Novice masters will find it to be a useful reference in their novitiate classes. The professed monks, oblates, indeed anyone who is interested in learning more about the monastic way as it has been handed down through the ages will find this Reader valuable and will be grateful for the scholarship and long labor that has gone into its production."
Cistercian Studies Quarterly
"Anyone interested in medieval monastic intellectual culture will find this book to be a springboard for jumping into further study or pursuance of the topics found in it. It may find a home in medieval monastic history courses, perhaps not as the basic reader but as one whose diverse authors and genres will be enriching."
American Benedictine Review
“This work has much to appeal to those interested in the Benedictine tradition. It has a wide array of material from a diverse range of activities all enriched by the contributions of the Benedictines during their first thousand years of existence. For the gardening enthusiast to the pedagogue, this collection has something to share from the treasuries of the Benedictine tradition.”
Tjurunga
"A richly rewarding selection that will surely broaden and deepen any reader's knowledge and appreciation of the Benedictine tradition as it developed from the end of antiquity through the dawn of the modern era."
Catholic Books Review
“A treasure trove of monastic material spanning a thousand years: letters, chronicles, biographies, prayers, legislation, satires, scriptural commentaries, sermons, and a papal decree. Three bibliographies—of Christian authors, classical authors, and secondary sources—plus five indexes round out a hefty, reasonably priced volume that will be of much value and interest for anyone seeking a broader familiarity with one of the most important movements in the history of the church.”
Theological Studies
"Twenty years in the making, A Benedictine Reader is a good guide for anyone interested in further research in the area. If this volume can introduce students and seminaries to a tradition so foundational, it will be all to the good."
The Living Church
