Eyal Poleg | Queen Mary, University of London (original) (raw)

Books by Eyal Poleg

Research paper thumbnail of The Great Bible as a Useless Book

A Material History of the Bible, England 1200-1553, 2020

The Great Bible, instigated by Thomas Cromwell, edited by Miles Coverdale, and supported by Henry... more The Great Bible, instigated by Thomas Cromwell, edited by Miles Coverdale, and supported by Henry VIII, has often been seen as a monument of reform and authority. This chapter explores the Bible’s materiality to reveal hesitation and tensions in its creation. Its layout and title page reveal Henry’s ambivalence towards Bible reading. Mandated for each parish church in the realm it was nevertheless incompatible with the liturgy performed there, leading to the curbing of Bible reading four years after its introduction.

Research paper thumbnail of Discount - Paperback Edition of A Material History of the Bible in England, 1200-1553

A Material History of the Bible in England, 1200-1553, 2020

This book is the first in-depth study of the production and use of Bibles in late medieval and ea... more This book is the first in-depth study of the production and use of Bibles in late medieval and early modern England.
Over three and a half centuries, from the nascent universities and Latin Bibles of the thirteenth century to the death of Edward VI in 1553, it puts a new perspective on the advent of moveable type print and religious reform. Based on the analysis of hundreds of biblical manuscripts and prints it reveals how scribes, printers, readers, and patrons have reacted to religious and political turmoil. The material evidence undermines traditional narratives, revealing, for example, evidence of Church worship in English prior to the Reformation, or seeing Henry VIII’s Great Bible as a useless book.

Research paper thumbnail of Collaborative Scientific Analysis: Henry VIII's Great Bible

An ongoing account of a new collaborative scientific analysis (with Dr Paola Ricciardi, the Fitzw... more An ongoing account of a new collaborative scientific analysis (with Dr Paola Ricciardi, the Fitzwilliam Museum Cambridge) of a unique presentation copy of the Great Bible, currently at the National Library of Wales

Research paper thumbnail of A Material History of the Bible, England 1200-1553 - Discount

Research paper thumbnail of A MATERIAL HISTORY OF THE BIBLE, England 1200-1553

This book is the first in-depth study of the production and use of Bibles in late medieval and ea... more This book is the first in-depth study of the production and use of Bibles in late medieval and early modern England. Over three and a half centuries, from the nascent universities and Latin Bibles of the thirteenth century to the death of Edward VI in 1553, it puts a new perspective on the advent of moveable type print and religious reform. Based on the analysis of hundreds of biblical manuscripts and prints it reveals how scribes, printers, readers, and patrons have reacted to religious and political turmoil. The material evidence undermines traditional narratives, revealing, for example, evidence of Church worship in English prior to the Reformation, or seeing Henry VIII's Great Bible as a useless book.

https://global.oup.com/academic/product/a-material-history-of-the-bible-england-1200-1553-9780197266717?q=A%20material%20history%20of%20the%20English&lang=en&cc=gb#

Research paper thumbnail of Epilogue, Clothing Sacred Scriptures

Clothing Sacred Scriptures: book art and book religion in Christian, Islamic, and Jewish cultures, ed. David Ganz and Barbara Schellewald, Manuscripta Biblica 2 (Berlin: De Gruyter), 2019

Research paper thumbnail of New Book Series: Christianities Before Modernity

Challenging the perception of Christianity as a unified and European religion before the sixteent... more Challenging the perception of Christianity as a unified and European religion before the sixteenth century, this series interrogates the traditional chronological, geographical, social, and institutional boundaries of premodern Christianity. Books in this series seek to rebuild the lived experiences and religious worlds of understudied people as well as landmark disputes and iconic figures by recovering underappreciated vernacular sources, situating localized problems and mundane practices within broader social contexts, and addressing questions framed by contemporary theoretical and methodological conversations. Christianities Before Modernity embraces an interdisciplinary and comparative approach, publishing on history, literature, music, theater, classics, folklore, art history, archaeology, religious studies, philosophy, gender studies, anthropology, sociology, and other areas. Grounded in original sources and informed by ongoing disciplinary disputes, this series demonstrates how premodern Christians comprised diverse and conflicted communities embedded in a religiously diverse world.

Research paper thumbnail of Approaching the Bible in Medieval England

How did people learn their Bibles in the Middle Ages? Did church murals, biblical manuscripts, se... more How did people learn their Bibles in the Middle Ages? Did church murals, biblical manuscripts, sermons or liturgical processions transmit the Bible in the same way?

This book unveils the dynamics of biblical knowledge and dissemination in thirteenth- and fourteenth-century England. An extensive and interdisciplinary survey of biblical manuscripts and visual images, sermons and chants, reveals how the unique qualities of each medium became part of the way the Bible was known and recalled; how oral, textual, performative and visual means of transmission joined to present a surprisingly complex biblical worldview. This study of liturgy and preaching, manuscript culture and talismanic use introduces the concept of biblical mediation, a new way to explore Scriptures and society. It challenges the lay-clerical divide by demonstrating that biblical exegesis was presented to the laity in non-textual means, while the ‘naked text’ of the Bible remained elusive even for the educated clergy.

Research paper thumbnail of Form and Function in the Late Medieval BIble

""Thirteenth- and fourteenth-century Latin Bibles survive in hundreds of manuscripts, one of the ... more ""Thirteenth- and fourteenth-century Latin Bibles survive in hundreds of manuscripts, one of the most popular books of the Middle Ages. Their innovative layout and organization established the norm for Bibles for centuries to come. This volume is the first study of these Bibles as a cohesive group. Multi- and inter-disciplinary analyses in art history, liturgy, exegesis, preaching and manuscript studies, reveal the nature and evolution of layout and addenda. They follow these Bibles as they were used by monks and friars, preachers and merchants. By addressing Latin Bibles alongside their French, Italian and English counterparts, this book challenges the Latin-vernacular dichotomy to show links, as well as discrepancies, between lay and clerical audiences and their books.
Contributors include Diane Reilly, Paul Saenger, Richard Gameson, Chiara Ruzzier, Giovanna Murano, Cornelia Linde, Lucie Doležalová, Laura Light, Eyal Poleg, Sabina Magrini, Sabrina Corbellini, Margriet Hoogvliet, Guy Lobrichon, Elizabeth Solopova, and Matti Peikola"

LIVE(!) table of contents:

Introduction ................................................................................................................ 1
Eyal Poleg and Laura Light

The Bible as Bellwether: Manuscript Bibles in the Context of
Spiritual, Liturgical and Educational Reform, 1000–1200 (http://www.academia.edu/3742204/The_Bible_as_Bellwether_Manuscript_Bibles_in_the_Context_of_Spiritual_Liturgical_and_Educational_Reform_1000-1200_in_Form_and_Function_in_the_Late_Medieval_Bible_eds._Eyal_Poleg_and_Laura_Light
Diane J. Reilly

The Twelfth-Century Reception of Oriental Languages and
the Graphic Mise en page of Latin Vulgate Bibles Copied
in England............................................................................................................ 31
Paul Saenger

Durham’s Paris Bible and the Use of Communal Bibles in a
Benedictine Cathedral Priory in the Later Middle Ages ......................... 67
Richard Gameson

The Miniaturisation of Bible Manuscripts in the
Thirteenth Century. A Comparative Study ............................................... 105
Chiara Ruzzier

The Epistles of St. Paul of the Convent of San Domenico
(Bologna, Biblioteca Universitaria, MS 1545).......................................... 127
Giovanna Murano

John Pecham on the Form of Lamentations ................................................. 147
J. Cornelia Linde

The Summarium Biblicum: A Biblical Tool both Popular and Obscure............................................................................................................... 163
Lucie Doležalová

The Thirteenth-Century Pandect and the Liturgy:
Bibles with Missals .......................................................................................... 185
Laura Light

The Interpretations of Hebrew Names in Theory and Practice ............... 217
Eyal Poleg

Vernacular Bibles, Biblical Quotations and the Paris Bible in
Italy from the Thirteenth to the Fifteenth Century: A
First Report........................................................................................................237
Sabina Magrini

Vernacular Bible Manuscripts in Late Medieval Italy: Cultural Appropriation and Textual Transformation ............................................. 261
Sabrina Corbellini

The Medieval Vernacular Bible in French as a Flexible Text:
Selective and Discontinuous Reading Practices...................................... 283
Margriet Hoogvliet

The Story of a Success: The Bible historiale in French
(1295-ca. 1500)................................................................................................307
Guy Lobrichon

Manuscript Evidence for the Patronage, Ownership and Use
of the Wycliffite Bible ..................................................................................... 333
Elizabeth Solopova

Tables of Lections in Manuscripts of the Wycliffite Bible ......................... 351
Matti Peikola

Epilogue................................................................................................................... 379
Peter Stallybrass "

Research paper thumbnail of The Practice of the Bible in the Middle Ages: Production, Reception, and Performance in Western Christianity

In this volume, specialists in literature, theology, liturgy, manuscript studies, and history int... more In this volume, specialists in literature, theology, liturgy, manuscript studies, and history introduce the medieval culture of the Bible in Western Christianity. Emphasizing the living quality of the text and the unique literary traditions that arose from it, they show the many ways in which the Bible was read, performed, recorded, and interpreted by various groups in medieval Europe. An initial orientation introduces the origins, com- ponents, and organization of medieval Bibles. Subsequent chapters address the use of the Bible in teaching and preaching, the production and purpose of Biblical manuscripts in religious life, early vernacular versions of the Bible, its influence on medieval historical accounts, the relationship between the Bible and monasticism, and instances of privileged and practical use, as well as the various forms the text took in differ- ent parts of Europe. The dedicated merging of disciplines, both within each chapter and overall in the book, enable readers to encounter the Bible in much the same way as it was once experienced: on multiple levels and registers, through differ- ent lenses and screens, and always personally and intimately.

Papers by Eyal Poleg

Research paper thumbnail of An Experiment in Extremity: The Portrayal of Violence in Robert the Monk's Narrative of the First Crusade

Research paper thumbnail of The Late Medieval Bible: Beyond Innovation

A Material History of the Bible, England 1200-1553, 2020

This chapter contextualises the mass-produced Latin Bibles of the thirteenth and fourteenth centu... more This chapter contextualises the mass-produced Latin Bibles of the thirteenth and fourteenth century, addressing both innovation and conservatism in their layout and use. It explores their simplicity on the background of their predecessor, the highly complex glossed Bibles; it then moves to address the use of these Bibles in exegesis, preaching, and the liturgy, arguing against a simplistic transformative view. It introduces key features, such as the chapter division and the use of Bibles in the liturgy, which are then explored throughout the book.

Research paper thumbnail of On the Books of Maccabees: An Unpublished Poem by Geoffrey, Prior of the Templum Domini

Research paper thumbnail of Wycliffite Bibles and the Limits of Orthodoxy

A Material History of the Bible, England 1200-1553, 2020

The first translation of the entire Bible into Middle English had originated among the followers ... more The first translation of the entire Bible into Middle English had originated among the followers of John Wyclif, an Oxford theologian whose followers incurred the wrath of Church and state. This chapter explores surviving manuscripts of the Wycliffite Bible to unfold a gradual move away from the Bible’s heterodox origins and into the realm of licit Church worship. The materiality of the Wycliffite Bible further leads to nunneries and chapels, with evidence for the cohabitation of Latin and English in the liturgy performed there.

Research paper thumbnail of The Bible and liturgy

Approaching the Bible in medieval England, 2016

Research paper thumbnail of List of figures

Approaching the Bible in medieval England, 2016

Research paper thumbnail of Paratext and meaning in Late Medieval Bibles

Approaching the Bible in medieval England, 2016

Research paper thumbnail of Note on transcription

Approaching the Bible in medieval England, 2016

Research paper thumbnail of The Great Bible as a Useless Book

A Material History of the Bible, England 1200-1553, 2020

The Great Bible, instigated by Thomas Cromwell, edited by Miles Coverdale, and supported by Henry... more The Great Bible, instigated by Thomas Cromwell, edited by Miles Coverdale, and supported by Henry VIII, has often been seen as a monument of reform and authority. This chapter explores the Bible’s materiality to reveal hesitation and tensions in its creation. Its layout and title page reveal Henry’s ambivalence towards Bible reading. Mandated for each parish church in the realm it was nevertheless incompatible with the liturgy performed there, leading to the curbing of Bible reading four years after its introduction.

Research paper thumbnail of The Bible as talisman: Textus and oath-books

Research paper thumbnail of The Great Bible as a Useless Book

A Material History of the Bible, England 1200-1553, 2020

The Great Bible, instigated by Thomas Cromwell, edited by Miles Coverdale, and supported by Henry... more The Great Bible, instigated by Thomas Cromwell, edited by Miles Coverdale, and supported by Henry VIII, has often been seen as a monument of reform and authority. This chapter explores the Bible’s materiality to reveal hesitation and tensions in its creation. Its layout and title page reveal Henry’s ambivalence towards Bible reading. Mandated for each parish church in the realm it was nevertheless incompatible with the liturgy performed there, leading to the curbing of Bible reading four years after its introduction.

Research paper thumbnail of Discount - Paperback Edition of A Material History of the Bible in England, 1200-1553

A Material History of the Bible in England, 1200-1553, 2020

This book is the first in-depth study of the production and use of Bibles in late medieval and ea... more This book is the first in-depth study of the production and use of Bibles in late medieval and early modern England.
Over three and a half centuries, from the nascent universities and Latin Bibles of the thirteenth century to the death of Edward VI in 1553, it puts a new perspective on the advent of moveable type print and religious reform. Based on the analysis of hundreds of biblical manuscripts and prints it reveals how scribes, printers, readers, and patrons have reacted to religious and political turmoil. The material evidence undermines traditional narratives, revealing, for example, evidence of Church worship in English prior to the Reformation, or seeing Henry VIII’s Great Bible as a useless book.

Research paper thumbnail of Collaborative Scientific Analysis: Henry VIII's Great Bible

An ongoing account of a new collaborative scientific analysis (with Dr Paola Ricciardi, the Fitzw... more An ongoing account of a new collaborative scientific analysis (with Dr Paola Ricciardi, the Fitzwilliam Museum Cambridge) of a unique presentation copy of the Great Bible, currently at the National Library of Wales

Research paper thumbnail of A Material History of the Bible, England 1200-1553 - Discount

Research paper thumbnail of A MATERIAL HISTORY OF THE BIBLE, England 1200-1553

This book is the first in-depth study of the production and use of Bibles in late medieval and ea... more This book is the first in-depth study of the production and use of Bibles in late medieval and early modern England. Over three and a half centuries, from the nascent universities and Latin Bibles of the thirteenth century to the death of Edward VI in 1553, it puts a new perspective on the advent of moveable type print and religious reform. Based on the analysis of hundreds of biblical manuscripts and prints it reveals how scribes, printers, readers, and patrons have reacted to religious and political turmoil. The material evidence undermines traditional narratives, revealing, for example, evidence of Church worship in English prior to the Reformation, or seeing Henry VIII's Great Bible as a useless book.

https://global.oup.com/academic/product/a-material-history-of-the-bible-england-1200-1553-9780197266717?q=A%20material%20history%20of%20the%20English&lang=en&cc=gb#

Research paper thumbnail of Epilogue, Clothing Sacred Scriptures

Clothing Sacred Scriptures: book art and book religion in Christian, Islamic, and Jewish cultures, ed. David Ganz and Barbara Schellewald, Manuscripta Biblica 2 (Berlin: De Gruyter), 2019

Research paper thumbnail of New Book Series: Christianities Before Modernity

Challenging the perception of Christianity as a unified and European religion before the sixteent... more Challenging the perception of Christianity as a unified and European religion before the sixteenth century, this series interrogates the traditional chronological, geographical, social, and institutional boundaries of premodern Christianity. Books in this series seek to rebuild the lived experiences and religious worlds of understudied people as well as landmark disputes and iconic figures by recovering underappreciated vernacular sources, situating localized problems and mundane practices within broader social contexts, and addressing questions framed by contemporary theoretical and methodological conversations. Christianities Before Modernity embraces an interdisciplinary and comparative approach, publishing on history, literature, music, theater, classics, folklore, art history, archaeology, religious studies, philosophy, gender studies, anthropology, sociology, and other areas. Grounded in original sources and informed by ongoing disciplinary disputes, this series demonstrates how premodern Christians comprised diverse and conflicted communities embedded in a religiously diverse world.

Research paper thumbnail of Approaching the Bible in Medieval England

How did people learn their Bibles in the Middle Ages? Did church murals, biblical manuscripts, se... more How did people learn their Bibles in the Middle Ages? Did church murals, biblical manuscripts, sermons or liturgical processions transmit the Bible in the same way?

This book unveils the dynamics of biblical knowledge and dissemination in thirteenth- and fourteenth-century England. An extensive and interdisciplinary survey of biblical manuscripts and visual images, sermons and chants, reveals how the unique qualities of each medium became part of the way the Bible was known and recalled; how oral, textual, performative and visual means of transmission joined to present a surprisingly complex biblical worldview. This study of liturgy and preaching, manuscript culture and talismanic use introduces the concept of biblical mediation, a new way to explore Scriptures and society. It challenges the lay-clerical divide by demonstrating that biblical exegesis was presented to the laity in non-textual means, while the ‘naked text’ of the Bible remained elusive even for the educated clergy.

Research paper thumbnail of Form and Function in the Late Medieval BIble

""Thirteenth- and fourteenth-century Latin Bibles survive in hundreds of manuscripts, one of the ... more ""Thirteenth- and fourteenth-century Latin Bibles survive in hundreds of manuscripts, one of the most popular books of the Middle Ages. Their innovative layout and organization established the norm for Bibles for centuries to come. This volume is the first study of these Bibles as a cohesive group. Multi- and inter-disciplinary analyses in art history, liturgy, exegesis, preaching and manuscript studies, reveal the nature and evolution of layout and addenda. They follow these Bibles as they were used by monks and friars, preachers and merchants. By addressing Latin Bibles alongside their French, Italian and English counterparts, this book challenges the Latin-vernacular dichotomy to show links, as well as discrepancies, between lay and clerical audiences and their books.
Contributors include Diane Reilly, Paul Saenger, Richard Gameson, Chiara Ruzzier, Giovanna Murano, Cornelia Linde, Lucie Doležalová, Laura Light, Eyal Poleg, Sabina Magrini, Sabrina Corbellini, Margriet Hoogvliet, Guy Lobrichon, Elizabeth Solopova, and Matti Peikola"

LIVE(!) table of contents:

Introduction ................................................................................................................ 1
Eyal Poleg and Laura Light

The Bible as Bellwether: Manuscript Bibles in the Context of
Spiritual, Liturgical and Educational Reform, 1000–1200 (http://www.academia.edu/3742204/The_Bible_as_Bellwether_Manuscript_Bibles_in_the_Context_of_Spiritual_Liturgical_and_Educational_Reform_1000-1200_in_Form_and_Function_in_the_Late_Medieval_Bible_eds._Eyal_Poleg_and_Laura_Light
Diane J. Reilly

The Twelfth-Century Reception of Oriental Languages and
the Graphic Mise en page of Latin Vulgate Bibles Copied
in England............................................................................................................ 31
Paul Saenger

Durham’s Paris Bible and the Use of Communal Bibles in a
Benedictine Cathedral Priory in the Later Middle Ages ......................... 67
Richard Gameson

The Miniaturisation of Bible Manuscripts in the
Thirteenth Century. A Comparative Study ............................................... 105
Chiara Ruzzier

The Epistles of St. Paul of the Convent of San Domenico
(Bologna, Biblioteca Universitaria, MS 1545).......................................... 127
Giovanna Murano

John Pecham on the Form of Lamentations ................................................. 147
J. Cornelia Linde

The Summarium Biblicum: A Biblical Tool both Popular and Obscure............................................................................................................... 163
Lucie Doležalová

The Thirteenth-Century Pandect and the Liturgy:
Bibles with Missals .......................................................................................... 185
Laura Light

The Interpretations of Hebrew Names in Theory and Practice ............... 217
Eyal Poleg

Vernacular Bibles, Biblical Quotations and the Paris Bible in
Italy from the Thirteenth to the Fifteenth Century: A
First Report........................................................................................................237
Sabina Magrini

Vernacular Bible Manuscripts in Late Medieval Italy: Cultural Appropriation and Textual Transformation ............................................. 261
Sabrina Corbellini

The Medieval Vernacular Bible in French as a Flexible Text:
Selective and Discontinuous Reading Practices...................................... 283
Margriet Hoogvliet

The Story of a Success: The Bible historiale in French
(1295-ca. 1500)................................................................................................307
Guy Lobrichon

Manuscript Evidence for the Patronage, Ownership and Use
of the Wycliffite Bible ..................................................................................... 333
Elizabeth Solopova

Tables of Lections in Manuscripts of the Wycliffite Bible ......................... 351
Matti Peikola

Epilogue................................................................................................................... 379
Peter Stallybrass "

Research paper thumbnail of The Practice of the Bible in the Middle Ages: Production, Reception, and Performance in Western Christianity

In this volume, specialists in literature, theology, liturgy, manuscript studies, and history int... more In this volume, specialists in literature, theology, liturgy, manuscript studies, and history introduce the medieval culture of the Bible in Western Christianity. Emphasizing the living quality of the text and the unique literary traditions that arose from it, they show the many ways in which the Bible was read, performed, recorded, and interpreted by various groups in medieval Europe. An initial orientation introduces the origins, com- ponents, and organization of medieval Bibles. Subsequent chapters address the use of the Bible in teaching and preaching, the production and purpose of Biblical manuscripts in religious life, early vernacular versions of the Bible, its influence on medieval historical accounts, the relationship between the Bible and monasticism, and instances of privileged and practical use, as well as the various forms the text took in differ- ent parts of Europe. The dedicated merging of disciplines, both within each chapter and overall in the book, enable readers to encounter the Bible in much the same way as it was once experienced: on multiple levels and registers, through differ- ent lenses and screens, and always personally and intimately.

Research paper thumbnail of An Experiment in Extremity: The Portrayal of Violence in Robert the Monk's Narrative of the First Crusade

Research paper thumbnail of The Late Medieval Bible: Beyond Innovation

A Material History of the Bible, England 1200-1553, 2020

This chapter contextualises the mass-produced Latin Bibles of the thirteenth and fourteenth centu... more This chapter contextualises the mass-produced Latin Bibles of the thirteenth and fourteenth century, addressing both innovation and conservatism in their layout and use. It explores their simplicity on the background of their predecessor, the highly complex glossed Bibles; it then moves to address the use of these Bibles in exegesis, preaching, and the liturgy, arguing against a simplistic transformative view. It introduces key features, such as the chapter division and the use of Bibles in the liturgy, which are then explored throughout the book.

Research paper thumbnail of On the Books of Maccabees: An Unpublished Poem by Geoffrey, Prior of the Templum Domini

Research paper thumbnail of Wycliffite Bibles and the Limits of Orthodoxy

A Material History of the Bible, England 1200-1553, 2020

The first translation of the entire Bible into Middle English had originated among the followers ... more The first translation of the entire Bible into Middle English had originated among the followers of John Wyclif, an Oxford theologian whose followers incurred the wrath of Church and state. This chapter explores surviving manuscripts of the Wycliffite Bible to unfold a gradual move away from the Bible’s heterodox origins and into the realm of licit Church worship. The materiality of the Wycliffite Bible further leads to nunneries and chapels, with evidence for the cohabitation of Latin and English in the liturgy performed there.

Research paper thumbnail of The Bible and liturgy

Approaching the Bible in medieval England, 2016

Research paper thumbnail of List of figures

Approaching the Bible in medieval England, 2016

Research paper thumbnail of Paratext and meaning in Late Medieval Bibles

Approaching the Bible in medieval England, 2016

Research paper thumbnail of Note on transcription

Approaching the Bible in medieval England, 2016

Research paper thumbnail of The Great Bible as a Useless Book

A Material History of the Bible, England 1200-1553, 2020

The Great Bible, instigated by Thomas Cromwell, edited by Miles Coverdale, and supported by Henry... more The Great Bible, instigated by Thomas Cromwell, edited by Miles Coverdale, and supported by Henry VIII, has often been seen as a monument of reform and authority. This chapter explores the Bible’s materiality to reveal hesitation and tensions in its creation. Its layout and title page reveal Henry’s ambivalence towards Bible reading. Mandated for each parish church in the realm it was nevertheless incompatible with the liturgy performed there, leading to the curbing of Bible reading four years after its introduction.

Research paper thumbnail of The Bible as talisman: Textus and oath-books

Research paper thumbnail of Into Fast Forward: The Bibles of Edward VI

The last chapter explores the Bibles printed in the short minority reign of Edward VI. It reveals... more The last chapter explores the Bibles printed in the short minority reign of Edward VI. It reveals a period of intense creativity, when – free from financial or religious constraints – printers experimented with size, layout, and addenda. Different printers produced pocket or lectern Bibles to suit different audiences and uses. With the introduction of the Book of Common Prayer, Bibles began to make, for the first time, liturgical sense. The last Bible of the period reveals the most experimental book of the reign, and serves as a testimony to its abrupt end.

Research paper thumbnail of Mediations of the Bible in Late Medieval England

Direct access to the Bible was the exception rather than the rule in medieval Europe. Limitations... more Direct access to the Bible was the exception rather than the rule in medieval Europe. Limitations imposed by cost, sacrality and degrees of literacy determined people's ability to own or consult the Bible. The multitude of events and objects, which offered mediated access to the Bible, stand at the core of the dissertation. From liturgy and sermons to church murals and ornate Gospel Books, a mediated biblical world-view was presented to medieval audiences. A close analysis of these media reveals that, although relying on the Bible as a source of authority, its language and narrative were altered in an attempt to make it palatable and effective to medieval audiences. Analyses of specific test cases, such as Palm Sunday processions and Advent sermons, reveal a constant clerical effort of displaying the Bible and its narratives in visual, vernacular and performative ways. The Bible can never be divorced from its physical form and shape. Through an extensive survey of biblical manus...

Research paper thumbnail of List of Plates

Research paper thumbnail of Preaching the Bible

Research paper thumbnail of A Material History of the Bible, England 1200-1553

This book examines the production and use of Bibles in late medieval and early modern England. Th... more This book examines the production and use of Bibles in late medieval and early modern England. The analysis of hundreds of biblical manuscripts and prints reveals how scribes, printers, readers, and patrons have reacted to religious and political turmoil. Looking at the modification of biblical manuscripts, or the changes introduced into subsequent printed editions, reveals the ways in which commerce and devotions joined to shape biblical access. The book explores the period from c.1200 to 1553, which saw the advent of moveable-type print as well as the Reformation. The book’s long-view places both technological and religious transformation in a new perspective. The book progresses chronologically, starting with the mass-produced innovative Late Medieval Bible, which has often been linked to the emerging universities and book-trade of the thirteenth century. The second chapter explores Wycliffite Bibles, arguing against their common affiliation with groups outside Church orthodoxy. ...

Research paper thumbnail of List of music examples

Approaching the Bible in medieval England, May 16, 2016

Research paper thumbnail of Approaching the Bible in medieval England

Approaching the Bible in medieval England, 2016

Many books on topics related to the medieval Bible have appeared in recent years, usually collect... more Many books on topics related to the medieval Bible have appeared in recent years, usually collections of essays by different authors, and a lot of them have been disappointing in their lack of overall focus and variable scholarly quality. The volume under review in the Manchester Medieval Studies series is a singleauthor work with a clear aim, and is rigorously scholarly throughout. Its title is ambiguous. Is it an account of how people in medieval England approached the Bible, or is it a guide to how we might today approach the topic of the Bible in medieval England? It turns out to be predominantly the former, but at the same time it promotes a challenging methodology which will interest all who work in this very broad and dauntingly complex field. At first glance, the four long chapters cover widely differing topics: the Bible and liturgy, the Bible as talisman, biblical 'paratext', and the preaching of the Bible. In fact, it is the 'multimedia' approach that is the point of the book, as Poleg explains in his introduction. His theme is 'mediation', how the Bible (the Latin Vulgate) was mediated to its audiences in a variety of different but closely interrelated waysoral, performative and material. The point is that the complexity of the Bible itself is paralleled by the complexity of its transmission and reception. The first chapter ('The Bible and liturgy') explores the process by which the biblical narratives are recreated in the liturgy by means of elaborations, additions and interpretations, which thereby shape the medieval audience's knowledge of biblical events. Poleg concentrates on the rituals of Easter and shows how liturgical re-enactment's are grounded in the local landscape. The 'locating' of the Palm Sunday presentation of Christ's entry into Jerusalem, for instance, involves clergy and congregation processing through the city gates or around the outside of the church. Among the paraphernalia of the ritual are the all-important 'palms'

Research paper thumbnail of Wycliffite Bibles as Orthodoxy

Instructing the Soul, Feeding the Spirit, and Awakening the Passion, 2013

Research paper thumbnail of The Interpretations of Hebrew Names in Theory and Practice

Form and Function in the Late Medieval Bible, 2013

Guiding readers through the long, complex and foreign text of the Bible, none was as popular as t... more Guiding readers through the long, complex and foreign text of the Bible, none was as popular as the Interpretations of Hebrew Names (IHN), a biblical glossary that was affixed to the majority of Late Medieval Bibles. This chapter explores the evolution and nature of this important aid to identify a link between the glossary and a new form of preaching that came into the limelight at the end of the twelfth century and the beginning of the thirteenth, a close contemporary to the Late Medieval Bible. In the twelfth century, the rise of urban schools and their engagement with biblical exegesis led to a renewed interest in biblical etymology and to the proliferation of biblical glossaries. At the very same time that novel biblical manuscripts spread throughout Western Europe, a new form of preaching began to be practised, primarily in universities and by members of the mendicant orders. Keywords:Interpretations of Hebrew Names (IHN); Late Medieval Bibles; preaching techniques

Research paper thumbnail of The earliest evidence for anti-Lollard polemics in medieval Scotland

Research paper thumbnail of Telegraph Article on Recent Discoveries

The Telegraph, 2020

Scientific analysis with Dr Paola Ricciardi (Cambridge) revealed last-known portrait of Cromwell ... more Scientific analysis with Dr Paola Ricciardi (Cambridge) revealed last-known portrait of Cromwell prior to his execution, as well as careful manipulation of Great Bible iconic title page

Research paper thumbnail of History of Liturgy Seminar 2017

Programme for the 2017/18 Seminar at the Institute of Historical Research, London