Michael Scott Woodward has written the newest volume in the TEAMS Commentary Series published by the Medieval Institute. The latest volume to present an English translation of the Glossa Ordinaria, The Glossa Ordinaria on Romans includes an astute introduction to the issues related to the Gloss, and particularly to the Gloss on Romans. The first printed edition of the Gloss (1481) is the only edition where the gloss on Romans appears alone and in its entirety. Woodward suggests that the Gloss on Romans is an abridgement of Peter Lombard's commentary on Paul and advances the idea that it was written around 1140 at the school of St. Victor. The Gloss on Romans is a good place for those interested in the Glossa Ordinaria to begin their study. As Woodward notes, although the Gloss incorporates patristic and classical sources, the Gloss on Romans actually reproduces sources "as they were filtered through florilegia and the tradition of biblical studies" (xi); thus, exact quotations are rare as are citations and references. In his introduction, Woodward catalogs the number of references to major patristic authors, citing Augustine as the most frequently named (sixty-one times in this text). Other than Lombard, the two other moderni who appear unacknowledged are Peter Abelard and William of Saint-Thierry, which Woodward notes as "strange" since both were theological rivals of Lombard.
The Glossa Ordinaria is indeed a complex and complicated work. Although it advances a multi-faceted and layered reading of the Bible, it does not aim to instruct on how to read the text but only provides its readers with different avenues to understanding. In the Gloss on Romans, the difficult of understanding is only exacerbated by the complexity of Paul's language and theology. Woodward treats the opposition in Paul's writing between law and gospel and notes that much of the introductory material in the Gloss on Romans is draw from heretical sources, including two pieces most likely by Pelagius. Woodward is insightful and concise on the heresies (particularly Pelagianism and Marcionism), explaining them succinctly for the uninitiated.
One of the Glossa Ordinaria's hallmarks is the marriage of conflicting authorities, particularly patristic, heretical, and classical. As Woodward rightly suggests, the Gloss "is content to let incompatible interpretations lie side by side" (xv). This is one of the great accomplishments of this text, that it does not in fact attempt reconciliation, choosing instead to present conflict to the reader, allowing the reader to negotiate the reconciliation him- or herself. As the glossator's prologue to Romans notes, "The Romans are made up of both Jewish and Gentile believers" (3). In this text we witness the medieval Christian continuum of engaging non-believers through their own textual traditions in order to invite them into the Christian sea. Thus the glossator continues with allusions and references to Abraham and Moses before noting that both are figurae for "the messiah promised to us."
Certainly the heart and bulk of this volume is the translation itself. After a sixteen-page introduction, Woodward provides his accurate and exacting English translation of the Glossa's sometimes cryptic Latin. His own commentary is helpful but spare. For example, one of the most debated verses in Romans (5:1) is hardly glossed here, and Woodward provides little commentary to indicate the verse's later explosive and divisive nature. Given that Martin Luther wrestled with this verse and its translation, it is intriguing to note the Gloss's unbiased remark: "Because justification is by faith, have peace with God, as though to say: This dissension among yourselves is against God" (74). On this verse, Woodward says nothing, choosing instead to be the silent translator. As a result, this volume is truly an edition of the Gloss on Romans and not in any way an additional commentary.
Michael Scott Woodward provides us here with another helpful volume translating the Glossa Ordinaria into English; Mary Dove's 2004 volume does the same for the Song of Songs. The task, monumental as it is, is integral to contemporary medieval studies if we are to fill out our understanding of the Middle Ages, particularly the medieval Church. Yes, it is helpful if one can read the original Latin and decipher the often-cryptic abbreviations and references in the printed volumes of 1481. However, easy access to a clear English translation is indispensable. One could see future volumes in this series (edited by E. Ann Matter) treating the separate books of the Glossa Ordinaria, giving us, ultimately, a complete and accurate English translation of one of the more important works of the Middle Ages.