Heaven and hell, angels and demons, the Virgin Mary and the devil battling over the state of human souls, the world on the edge of apocalypse awaiting the coming of the Judge and the resurrection of the dead, the transubstantiation of bread and wine into body and blood, the great adventures of the saints. As Rudolf Bultmann put it in his summary of the “world picture” of the New Testament, “all of this is mythological talk,” arguably unnecessary for Christian theology. And yet, without its mythology, much of Christianity become incomprehensible as a religious or symbolic system. This course is intended as an introduction to the stories that medieval Christians told about God, his Mother, the angels, and the saints, along with the place of the sacraments and miracles in the world picture of the medieval Church. Sources will range from Hugh of St. Victor’s summa on the sacraments, Guido of Monte Rochen’s handbook for parish priests and Bonaventure’s Soul’s Journey Into God to the Pseudo-Bonaventuran Meditations on the Life of Christ, Jacobus de Voragine’s Golden Legend, instructions for summoning angels and the York cycle of mystery plays. Emphasis will also be given to the way in which these stories were represented in art.
Books available for purchase from the Seminary Co-op Bookstore
Anselm of Canterbury, The Prayers and Meditations, with the Proslogion, trans. Sister Benedicta Ward (London: Penguin Classics, 1979) [ISBN 978-0140442786] [BX2110.A57 1979]
Bonaventure, The Soul’s Journey Into God, The Tree of Life, The Life of St. Francis, trans. Ewert Cousins (New York: Paulist Press, 1978) [ISBN 978-0809121212] [BX890.B67313130 1978]
Émile Mâle, Religious Art in France of the Thirteenth Century (alt. The Gothic Image), trans. Dora Nussey (first published New York: E.P. Dutton & Co., 1913) [ISBN Dover edition 978-0486410616] [N7949 .M3313 1972eb]
York Mystery Plays: A Selection in Modern Spelling, ed. Richard Beadle and Pamela King (New York: Oxford University Press, 1995) [ISBN 978-0199552535] [PR1248.Y86 1984]
Recommended: Holy Bible: Douay-Rheims Version (Charlotte, N.C.: St. Benedict Press, 2009) [ISBN 978-1935302056]
Course requirements
1. Reading, attendance, and participation in class discussion (10% of your final grade)
2. “Sermons” (three blog posts, 900-1200 words each, 35% of your final grade), reflecting on our class discussion for the day. At least one blog post must include significant commentary on the scripture readings for the day. Reflections must be posted within 48 hours of our class discussion (by Thursday at 2:00pm for Tuesday discussions; by Saturday at 2:00pm for Thursday discussions). Blog address: http://speculumaureum.blogspot.com
3. Final paper (8-10 pages [Hist/Mdvl 21903]; 12-15 pages [Hist 31903], double-spaced, 55% of your final grade). Working bibliography due on April 28 in Canvas Dropbox. Final paper due May 24 in Canvas Dropbox. File format: YOURLASTNAME.pdf
Reading and discussion assignments
March 19 Myth vs. Drama
Rudolf Bultmann, “New Testament and Mythology: The Problem of Demythologizing the New Testament Proclamation” (1941), in New Testament and Mythology and Other Basic Writings (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1989), pp. 1-43 [e-reserve]
C.S. Lewis, “The Funeral of a Great Myth,” and “Myth Became Fact” (1944), in Essay Collection and Other Short Pieces, ed. Lesley Walmsley (London: HarperCollins, 2000), pp. 22-32, 138-42 [e-reserve]
Dorothy Sayers, “The Dogma is the Drama,” and “Creed or Chaos?” in Christian Letters to a Post-Christian World, ed. Roderick Jellema (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1969), pp. 23-26, 31-45 [BT15.S27]
March 21 Angles and Angels
Bede, Ecclesiastical History of England, Book I, chaps. 23-33; Book II, chap. 1, trans. A.M. Sellar (London: G. Bell and Sons, 1912), pp. 42-73, 75-83 [Hathi Trust: University of California scan]
Gregory the Great, Moralia in Job, Epistle to Leander, and The First Part: Preface, trans. John Henry Parker (London: J.G.F. Rivington, 1844) vol. I, pp. 5-32 <http://www.lectionarycentral.com/gregorymoraliaindex.html>
Christopher de Hamel, Meetings with Remarkable Manuscripts (London: Allen Lane, 2016), chap. 1: “The Gospels of St. Augustine,” pp. 10-53 [Z106.5.E85 D44 2016]
March 26 The Tabernacle in the Wilderness
Exodus 24-40
Letter to the Hebrews 1-13
Bede, On the Tabernacle, Book 1.1-6, trans. Arthur G. Holder (Liverpool: Liverpool University Press, 1994), pp. 1-27 [BS1245.B4213 1994]
Peter Darby, “Bede, iconoclasm, and the Temple of Solomon,” Early Medieval Europe 21.4 (2013): 390-421
Margaret Barker, Gate of Heaven: The History and Symbolism of the Temple in Jerusalem (London: SPCK, 1991), pp. 104-32 (“The Veil”) [DS109.3.B37 2008]
Christopher de Hamel, Meetings with Remarkable Manuscripts, chap. 2: “The Codex Amiatinus,” pp. 54-95
March 28 Royal Psalmody
Psalms (Septuagint/Vulgate numbering) 94; 2, 109; 8, 18, 23, 44, 45, 86, 95, 96, 97; 92, 99, 62, 66, 148, 149, 150
Daniel 3:51-90
St. Benedict, Rule for Monasteries, Prologue, chaps. 1-20, trans. Leonard J. Doyle (Collegeville, Minn.: The Liturgical Press, 1948) <https://www.gutenberg.org/files/50040/50040-h/50040-h.htm>
The Metrical Psalms of the Paris Psalter, trans. Craig Williamson, The Complete Old English Poems (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2017), pp. 707-846 passim [PR1508. C47 2017]: compare Douay-Rheims Vulgate with Williamson translation of psalms for Lauds (92, 99, 62, 66, 148, 149, 150)
Michael Wood, In Search of England: Journeys into the English Past (London: Viking, 1999), chap. 9: “The Story of a Book,” pp. 169-85, 317-18 [DA130.W66 1999]
April 2 Minding the Maker
Genesis 1-2
Caedmon’s Hymn, trans. Williamson, The Complete Old English Poems, pp. 1049-50 [PR1508. C47 2017]
Anselm, Letter to the Countess Matilda, Prayer to God, and Proslogion, trans. Ward, pp. 90-92, 238-67
Hugh of St. Victor, On the Sacraments of the Christian Faith, trans. Roy J. Deferrari (Cambridge, Mass.: Medieval Academy of America, 1951), book I, part III (“On the Trinity”), pp. 41-61 [BX2200.H891 Hathi Trust]
Rachel Fulton Brown, “Three-in-One: Making God in Twelfth-Century Liturgy, Theology, and Devotion,” in European Transformations: The Long Twelfth Century, ed. Thomas F.X. Noble and John Van Engen (Notre Dame: University of Notre Dame Press, 2012), pp. 468-97 [D201.8.E87 2012]
Dorothy Sayers, The Mind of the Maker (New York: Harcourt Brace, 1941; Harper San Francisco, 1979), chaps. 2-3: “The Image of God,” “Idea, Energy, Power,” pp. 19-45 [BR100.S27]
April 4 Hosts of Heaven
Isaiah 6
Ezekiel 1
Pseudo-Dionysius, Celestial Hierarchy <http://www.tertullian.org/fathers/areopagite_13_heavenly_hierarchy.htm>
Hugh of St. Victor, On the Sacraments, trans. Deferrari, book I, part V (“On the creation of the angels”), pp. 74-93 [BX2200.H891 Hathi Trust]
Honorius, The Sworne Booke (Prologue, Chapter headings, and Of the making of the Seal of God) <http://www.esotericarchives.com/juratus/juratus.htm>
York Mystery Plays, ed. Beadle and King, pp. 1-7 (“The Barkers: The Fall of the Angels”)
Margaret Barker, Temple Mysticism: An Introduction (London: SPCK, 2011), pp. 63-96 (“The Many”) [BM655.B375 2011]
April 9 Old Testament: Figurae
Genesis 3-9 and Exodus 1-14
Genesis (A and B), trans. Williamson, The Complete Old English Poems, pp. 34-82 [PR1508. C47 2017]
Exodus, trans. Williamson, The Complete Old English Poems, pp. 116-36 [PR1508. C47 2017]
York Mystery Plays, ed. Beadle and King, pp. 8-47 (“The Coopers: The Fall of Man,” “The Shipwrights: The Building of the Ark,” “The Fishers and Mariners: The Flood,” and “The Hosiers: Moses and Pharoah”)
Erich Auerbach, Mimesis: The Representation of Reality in Western Literature, trans. Willard R. Trask (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1953), pp. 143-73 (“Adam and Eve”) [PN56.R3A904]
Mâle, Religious Art, Introduction, pp. 1-26; book I (“The Mirror of Nature”), pp. 27-63; book IV, chapter I (“The Old Testament”), pp. 131-75; chapter III, section I (“Apocryphal Stories”), pp. 202-206
April 11 Nativity of the Lord
The Gospels: Matthew 1-2 and Luke 1-2
Christ I: Advent Lyrics, trans. Williamson, The Complete Old English Poems, pp. 303-25 [PR1508. C47 2017]
York Mystery Plays, ed. Beadle and King, pp. 48-97 (“The Pewterers and Founders: Joseph’s Trouble about Mary,” “The Tilethatchers: The Nativity,” “The Masons; the Goldsmiths: Herod and The Magi,” “The Marshals: Flight into Egypt,” and “The Girdlers and Nailers: The Slaughter of the Innocents”)
Mâle, Religious Art, book IV, chapter II (“The Gospels”), pp. 176-201; chapter III, sections II-IV (“Apocryphal Stories”), pp. 206-21
April 16 Incarnate Word
The Gospels: John 1
Anselm, Prayer no. 2 and Meditations nos. 1-3, trans. Ward, pp. 93-99, 220-37
Hugh of St. Victor, On the Sacraments, trans. Deferrari, book II, part I (“On the Incarnation of the Word”), pp. 205-53 [BX2200.H891 Hathi Trust]
Rachel Fulton Brown, From Judgment to Passion: Devotion to Christ and the Virgin Mary, 800-1200 (New York: Columbia University Press, 2002), pp. 170-92 [BT590.C85 F85 2002]
April 18 The Mother of the Lord
The Gospels: Luke 1; John 2
Anselm, Prayers nos. 5-7, trans. Ward, pp. 106-26
Jacobus de Voragine, Golden Legend, trans. Ryan, 1:196-202 (The Annunciation), 2:77-97 (The Assumption of the Virgin), 2:149-58 (The Nativity of the Virgin) [BX4654.J3340 1993]
Rachel Fulton Brown, Mary and the Art of Prayer: The Hours of the Virgin in Medieval Christian Life and Thought (New York: Columbia University Press, 2017), pp. 47-101 [BX2025.F85 2018] <https://issuu.com/columbiaup/docs/mary_and_the_art_of_prayer_ave_mari>
Mâle, Religious Art, book IV, chapter III, sections VII-VIII (“Legends of the Virgin,” “Miracles of the Virgin”), pp. 231-66
April 23 Christianity 101
Song of Songs (Canticle of Canticles) 1-8
The Lord’s Prayer I, trans. Williamson, The Complete Old English Poems, p. 574 [PR1508. C47 2017]
The Lord’s Prayer II, trans. Williamson, The Complete Old English Poems, pp. 996-1001 [PR1508. C47 2017]
The Creed, trans. Williamson, The Complete Old English Poems, pp. 1009-12 [PR1508. C47 2017]
Bernard of Clairvaux, On the Song of Songs I: Sermons 1-20, trans. Kilian Walsh, Cistercian Fathers Series 4 (Kalamazoo: Cistercian Publications, 1981), sermons 1-4, pp. 1-24 [BS1485.B5 1971]
Guido of Monte Rochen, Handbook for Curates, trans. Anne T. Thayer (Washington, D.C.: The Catholic University of America Press, 2011), pp. 271-306 (“Basic Catechesis”) [BX1913.G8313 2011]
Mâle, Religious Art, Book III (“The Mirror of Morals”), pp. 98-130
April 25 NO CLASS—work on your bibliography for your final paper
April 30 Last Supper
The Gospels: Matthew 26, Mark 14, Luke 22, John 13
Hugh of St. Victor, On the Sacraments, trans. Deferrari, book II, part VIII (“On the Sacrament of the Body and Blood of Christ”), pp. 304-15 [BX2200.H891 Hathi Trust]
Guido of Monte Rochen, Handbook for Curates, trans. Thayer, pp. 43-108 (“Tract 4 On the sacrament of the Eucharist”) [BX1913.G8313 2011]
Fulton Brown, From Judgment to Passion, pp. 9-59 [BT590.C85 F85 2002]
May 2 Passion
The Gospels: Matthew 26-27, Mark 14-15, Luke 22-23, John 18-19
The Dream of the Rood, trans. Williamson, The Complete Old English Poems, pp. 253-58 [PR1508. C47 2017]
John of Caulibus, Meditations on the Life of Christ, trans. Francis X. Taney, Anne Miller, and C. Mary Stallings-Taney (Asheville, N.C.: Pegasus Press, 2000), pp. 236-68 [BT306.4. M4413 2000]
York Mystery Plays, ed. Beadle and King, pp. 106-236 (“The Skinners: The Entry into Jerusalem,” “The Cutlers: The Conspiracy,” “The Bowers and Fletchers: Christ before Annas and Caiaphas,” “The Tapiters and Couchers: Christ before Pilate I, and Dream of Pilate’s Wife,” “The Litsters: Christ before Herod,” “The Tilemakers: Christ before Pilate II,” “The Pinners: The Crucifixion,” and “The Butchers: The Death of Christ”
Mâle, Religious Art, book IV, chapter III, sections V-VI (“Apocryphal Stories”), pp. 222-31
May 7 Resurrection
The Gospels: Matthew 28, Mark 16, Luke 24, John 20-21
John of Caulibus, Meditations on the Life of Christ, trans. Taney et al., pp. 280-96 [BT306.4. M4413 2000]
York Mystery Plays, ed. Beadle and King, pp. 237-66 (“The Saddlers: The Harrowing of Hell,” “The Carpenters: The Resurrection”)
Caroline Walker Bynum, The Resurrection of the Body in Western Christianity, 200-1336 (New York: Columbia University Press, 1995), pp. 156-99 (“Psychosomatic Persons and Reclothed Skeletons”) [BL87.A1L5 no. 15]
May 9 Christianity 102
Bonaventure, The Soul’s Journey into God, and The Tree of Life, trans. Ewert Cousins, pp. 53-175
May 14 Holy Heroes!
Acts of the Apostles 1-8
Anselm of Canterbury, Prayers nos. 8-16, trans. Ward, pp. 127-206
Jacobus de Voragine, Golden Legend: Readings on the Saints, trans. William Granger Ryan, 2 vols. (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1993), 1:374-83 (St. Mary Magdalen), 2:3-10 (St. James the Greater), 2:44-58 (St. Dominic), 2:272-80 (All Saints), 2:334-41 (St. Catherine) [BX4654.J3340 1993]
Bonaventure, The Life of St. Francis, trans. Cousins, pp. 179-327
Rachel Fulton Brown, “Anselm and Praying with the Saints,” in Experiments in Empathy: The Middle Ages, ed. Karl Morrison and Rudolph M. Bell (Turnholt: Brepols, 2013), pp. 115-38 [e-reserve]
Mâle, Religious Art, Book IV, chapter IV (“The Saints of the Golden Legend”), pp. 267-331
May 16 Judgment Day
The Gospels: Matthew 24-25, Mark 13, Luke 21, John 14-17
Revelation 1-22
Christ III: Judgment, trans. Williamson, The Complete Old English Poems, pp. 341-63 [PR1508. C47 2017]
Hugh of St. Victor, On the Sacraments, trans. Deferrari, book II, parts XVII-XVIII (“On the End of the World,” “On the State of the Future Life”), pp. 451-76 [BX2200.H891 Hathi Trust]
York Mystery Plays, ed. Beadle and King, pp. 267-79 (“The Mercers: The Last Judgement”)
Fulton Brown, From Judgment to Passion, pp. 60-87 [BT590.C85 F85 2002]
Mâle, Religious Art, book IV, chapter VI (“The Close of History”), pp. 355-99
Final paper due May 24 in Canvas Dropbox
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