1st Edition

The Bible in the Renaissance Essays on Biblical Commentary and Translation in the Fifteenth and Sixteenth Centuries

Edited By Richard Griffiths Copyright 2001

    This collection of nine essays, with an introduction by Richard Griffiths, examines some of the broad themes relating to the way in which the reading, translation and interpretation of the Bible in the Renaissance could serve the specific and often practical aims of those involved. Moving from humanist issues concerned with the nature of the sacred texts and methods for interpreting them, the volume examines the uses of the Bible in different contexts, and looks at the social, political and religious impact of its translations in the sixteenth century.

    Contents: Preface; Introduction, Richard Griffiths; The ark and the temple in Savonarola’s teaching (Winter 1494), Michael O’Connor; Erasmus and the psalms, Michael J. Heath; Martin Luther’s Bible translation in its German and European context, John L. Flood; A neglected facet of Cardinal Cajetan: biblical reform in high Renaissance Rome, Michael O’Connor; Strategies of biblical exemplarity in Gil Vicente, Paulo Cardoso Pereira; Tyndale, Henry Wansbrough; English fears of social disintegration and modes of control 1533-1611, Vincent Strudwick; The Bible and Protestant inculturation in the Homilies of the Church of England, Luc Borot; The Welsh Bible and Renaissance learning, Ceri Davies; Index.

    Biography

    Richard Griffiths

    'This fascinating collection of papers will interest specialists and general readers alike.' Theology 'The contributors ... are experts who fascinate and write with authority.' Church Times '... these essays offer an impressively broad view of the way in which many political arguments were located in biblical commentary and translation during the Renaissance. The collection will be valuable to both historians and literary scholars.' Renaissance Quarterly 'Conferences invariably produce publications, and some of these deserve to endure. This veritable cornucopia of Renaissance and Reformation essays, edited by Professor Richard Griffiths, is one such volume.' Journal of Theological Studies '... a work of solid scholarship... will be of value to all interested in the history of exegesis and theology during the Renaissance and the Reformation.' New Blackfriars '... offers [...] engaging scholarship... clear and concise... accessible to beginning students.' Religious Studies Review 'These essays put the Renaissance Bible in its many versions at the center of the culture of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. Perhaps no other book on the subject has the sweep and learning of this one.' Erasmus of Rotterdam Society