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20.03.07 Schroeder, The Book of Jeremiah

20.03.07 Schroeder, The Book of Jeremiah


This volume is the fourth instalment in Eerdmans' The Bible in Medieval Tradition series, which aims to provide a wide readership with English translations of a selection of biblical commentaries from the medieval Latin West for both scholarly and spiritual use. Professor Schroeder, who holds the Bergener Chair in Theology and Religion at Capital University and Trinity Seminary in Columbus, Ohio, successfully accomplishes this aim with this well contextualised and thoughtfully annotated collection of medieval Latin commentaries on the Book of Jeremiah.

The selection of excerpts offered in the volume is informed by the wider aim of the series: Schroeder strives to provide commentary for all of the chapters of Jeremiah "found in major western Christian lectionaries" and those "considered essential for researchers interested in the history of interpretation" (10). Beyond this, the content of the volume is shaped by the relative dearth of published medieval works on the Book of Jeremiah. As Schroeder states, the volume contains almost "every medieval Latin Jeremiah commentary currently available in print" (9). This selection comprises works by the Carolingian monk Rabanus Maurus, the twelfth-century Benedictine Rupert of Deutz, three thirteenth-century Dominicans (Albert the Great, Hugh of St. Cher, and Thomas Aquinas), the Franciscan Nicholas of Lyra writing in the fourteenth century, and finally the fifteenth-century Denis the Carthusian. In addition, Schroeder also briefly highlights additional sources that address the Book of Jeremiah in less conventional or substantial ways, as well as the "esoteric" Pseudo-Joachim commentary (45-47). Of particular note is the attention she draws to biblical exegesis by women, found in a variety of textual genres, in this case the interpretations of Jeremiah in the writings of visionary women such as Birgitta of Sweden, Hildegard of Bingen, and Mechthild of Magdeburg (48-49).

An imbalance in favour of scholastic and later medieval sources is evident in the selection, as it is in all volumes of The Bible in Medieval Tradition series to date. However, in many ways this is attributable to the current state of the field in relation to critical editions. Swathes of early medieval commentaries, many anonymous but nonetheless hugely significant to medieval biblical exegesis, remain unedited entirely, and even commentaries by prominent figures of the later Middle Ages remain available only in outdated editions ranging from the fifteenth to the nineteenth centuries. As this crucial editorial work continues to progress, so no doubt will our perspective on the range and development of the medieval commentary tradition.

A key merit of this volume is the way in which it contextualises the material. At each stage, Schroeder offers a concise but not oversimplified historical and scholarly background to the texts in question, beginning first and foremost with the biblical Book of Jeremiah itself. Schroeder gives an overview of the historical context in which the events of the Book of Jeremiah occur, as well as a summary of its content, highlighting passages that are prominent in the medieval commentaries that follow. Schroeder sets the foundations for an understanding of the medieval commentary tradition with an overview of the patristic works on which the authors of the eighth to fifteenth centuries drew, as well as the exegetical approaches used in relation to Jeremiah, including notably discussions on the role and nature of prophecy. Schroeder then provides a systematic introduction to each of the translated excerpts in the volume, including relevant biographical information for the author, an overview of the work and its historical context, and a focused introduction to the translated excerpt. Most useful in all of this is that, where possible, the discussion is illustrated with references to the excerpts included in the volume.

The organisation of the translations is also pragmatic. For the most part the selections are ordered chronologically; however, the volume begins with the commentaries of Rupert of Deutz and Albert the Great on Jeremiah 1, which have the advantage of offering a general introduction to the Book of Jeremiah and the main themes that emerge from its exegesis. Principally this concerns the application of Jeremiah's critique of the Judaeans' failure of faith to the castigation of the shortcomings of the church and clergy contemporary to the individual commentators. There is a strong emphasis on the lexical and historical explanation of the text to support a full understanding of this. The other prominent themes are the Christological interpretations, including a typological reading of Jeremiah as Christ and the "double literal" interpretation of Jeremiah's prophecies as announcing both the historical figures they reference and Christ.

The translated texts begin with Rupert of Deutz on Jeremiah 1. The style of the commentary is predominantly historical and typological. Schroeder makes a point of identifying and disavowing the anti-Jewish themes in Rupert's work and setting them firmly in their historical context--of particular importance given the intended use of the series for modern spiritual contemplation as well as academic scholarship (20-22). The renowned scholar Albert the Great follows, for whom Schroeder translates the entirety of what remains of his Postillae super Ieremiam(Postils on Jeremiah). Although fragmentary, this excerpt, also on Jeremiah 1, displays the typical features of Albert's methods in composing biblical commentary, heavily influenced by his work as a lecturer (23). We are introduced to this scholar's engagement with structuring the biblical text in order to facilitate the navigation of it and its meaning. Albert also draws on an extensive array of Christian and pre-Christian sources, citations from which are identified and well referenced in the volume. Also evident here is the frequently encountered feature of collating numerous complementary scriptural citations that speak to the themes of the text or its exegesis.

The extracts then return to chronological order, beginning with Rabanus Maurus's commentary on Jeremiah 2 to 4. This illustrates one early medieval treatment of patristic authorities: the work is composed for the most part of selections from Jerome's expansive In Hieremiam (On Jeremiah), and additional excerpts from Origen, Gregory the Great, and Cassian, with interjections in Rabanus's own curatorial voice. Schroeder follows Van Liere in arguing for the creativity and value of such early medieval compilations, presenting a considered assessment of the way in which Rabanus succeeds in creating a nuanced and original text, one that speaks to the political circumstances and clerical issues of his time (17-18). [1]

The vast commentary on the entire Bible compiled under the direction of Hugh of St Cher is significant for a number of reasons. The commentary structures the biblical text for ease of reference, dividing chapters into further sections lettered from a to g--one of the many developments that led towards the eventual division of the biblical text into verses in the sixteenth century. The extent of the composition is also relevant, in that it allowed the compilers to provide the widest possible selection of interpretations and explanations, as is evident in the excerpts treating Jeremiah 7 and 8 here. Less known for biblical commentaries than for theological works, Thomas Aquinas nonetheless lectured extensively on the Bible (30). Super Ieremiam (On Jeremiah) is an early work, of which Schroeder translates the commentary on chapters 9, 11, 14, 15, 17, 18 and 20. As in the compilation of Hugh of St Cher, there is a prominent structural element to Thomas's work as the chapters are divided into units and subunits. Schroeder also highlights what are now referred to as Thomas's "collations": summary passages which elaborate on the key themes suited to individual contemplation and pastoral guidance.

The commentary by Nicholas of Lyra on Jeremiah 23 and 28 to 31 stands out because Nicholas is the only medieval scholar in the volume to have had a substantial knowledge of Hebrew, and so to have been able to make use of Jewish sources in his work. This is further highlighted by the fact that, in the fifteenth century, this compilation of postils on the entire Bible attracted a set of marginal annotations by Bishop Paul of Burgos, a converted rabbi. As these are often included in printed editions, Schroeder also includes this additional layer of commentary in the translation, where it offers insightful counterpoint and critiques of Nicholas's readings.

The final translated excerpt is taken from Denis the Carthusian's commentary, also covering all of the biblical books and encompassing a vast array of additional sources. The excerpts translated here discuss Jeremiah 32, 33 and 36 to 39.

A minor incongruity in the volume is the decision to use references to the Vulgate numbering for the Book of Jeremiah but to the New Revised Standard Version numbering for all other biblical citations: given the attentiveness to the underlying Latin of the texts in translation, this dual referencing seems somewhat counterintuitive. In all other regards, Schroeder has effectively annotated the translations. Ranging from the linguistic, such as explanatory comments on Hebrew (e.g., 215, n. 14), and the textual, such as introducing the chronological framework of the "six ages" of the world (52, n. 1), to the historical, for example, identifying Pelagius as the subject of a passage from Jerome used by Rabanus (76, n. 5), these contextual notes offer a reader from any background a deeper understanding of the content of these commentaries. In addition to providing access to excerpts of numerous texts previously untranslated into English, Schroeder supplies an excellent range of references and bibliography for readers interested in pursuing any aspect of these works further, without overwhelming a volume that fundamentally seeks to supply its readership with an informed insight into and appreciation of a range of medieval sources.

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Note:

1. Frans Van Liere, An Introduction to the Medieval Bible (New York: Cambridge University Press, 2014), 148.