Omnia disce – Medieval Studies in Memory of Leonard Boyle, O.P.: (Church, Faith and Culture in the Medieval West)

The eighteen studies included here reflect three particular aspects of Leonard Boyle's remarkable impact on teaching and scholarship. His abiding interest in the early history and architecture of the basilica of San Clemente in Rome forms the focus of Part I; his profound contribution to the theory and practice of palaeography is reflected in Part II; and his creative work on clerical education, pastoral care, and the Dominican Order, inspires Part III. In all these areas, Fr Boyle combined remarkable attention to detail with the humane ability to bring clarity to complex issues. This book commemorates his inspiration, but also reflects his favourite maxim, derived from the twelfth-century teacher-theologian, Hugh of St-Victor, to 'Learn everything', for 'afterwards you will find that nothing is superfluous.' The fourth section is devoted to Fr Leonard as friend, scholar, and Prefect of the Vatican Library, and it ends, fittingly, with what may be regarded as his own scholarly valediction, 'St Thomas Aquinas and the Third Millennium'.

Table of Contents:
Contents: Preface; Part I Rome and the Papacy: Leonard Boyle and the lower church of San Clemente, Rome, John Osborne; A new look at the mosaics of San Clemente, Joan Barclay Lloyd; The appearance of the motif of the Virgo Glykophilousa in western manuscripts and the Mulier Vidua of San Clemente in Rome, Isabelle Engammare; 'The caravan rests': Innocent III's use of itineration, Brenda Bolton; Boyle and Boniface: Cum ex eo - dispensations in the 15th century, Ludwig Schmugge; The notaries' archives of Rome as a source for English history, Margaret Harvey; Appointment of papal auditors in the 15th century, Per Ingesman. Part II Palaeography and Manuscript Studies: Latin palaeography since Bischoff, David Ganz; Building Babel: the architecture of the early written western vernaculars, Michelle P. Brown; Commas and Columba, power and Patrick: restating the archaic in the Book of Kells, Carol A. Farr; Straying hither and thither: wanderings of Carolingian manuscripts to and from the Vatican library, Christine Maria Grafinger; A Becket office at Stavelot: London, British Library, additional MS 16964, Anne J. Duggan; Innocent III's writings in English Benedictine libraries, Joan Greatrex. Part III Clerical Education, Pastoral Care, and the Friars: Pope Honorius III's Gratiarum Omnium and the beginnings of the Dominican order, Patrick Zutshi; The scholastic psalms' commentary as a textbook for theology: the case of Thomas Aquinas, James R. Ginther; The excommunicated castle: clerical power and the natural world, Andrea L. Winkler; The formation of the Medieval English friar: from Dominican model to Carmelite practice, Richard Copsey, O. Carm.; The fame of the Dominicans according to the penitentiary archives, Kirsi Salonen. Part IV The Inspiration of Leonard Boyle, O.P.: Recollections of friends and colleagues: memoire of a friend, James M. Powell; Canadian reflections, Margaret Wade Labarge; Projects for the Vatican library, Christine Maria Grafinger; Leonard Boyle's scholarly valediction: introduction, Paul Murray, O.P.; St Thomas Aquinas and the third millennium, Leonard E. Boyle, O.P. Index.

Review :
'Overall, this is a varied and interesting set of papers that does justice to the range of Boyle's own interests, and the personal reflections that finish the volume give the reader a sense of the man as well as the scholar.' Journal of Ecclesiastical History ’Unlike most memorial volumes, Omnia disce contains not only learned articles but also personal reminiscences of Fr Boyle by some of his scholarly friends, and even a hitherto unpublished paper by the dedicatee. ... This is a different sort of memorial volume, and the better for that. Adding to its richness are 34 illustrations, including a photograph of a smiling Fr Boyle in the cortile of San Clemente, his arms uplifted and his eyes raised to the heavens. This volume would give him much to smile about.’ English Historical Review