
Reginald of Durham
The Life and Miracles of Saint Godric, Hermit of Finchale
Margaret Coombe(Editor)
Oxford University Press
Published on 18. February 2022
Book
Hardback
1072 pages
978-0-19-964179-6 (ISBN)
Description
Godric of Finchdale was a hermit, merchant, and medieval saint. His life was recorded by Benedictine monk Reginald of Durham, but the work has hitherto only been available in manuscripts and in one nineteenth century edition by Joseph Stevenson. The contemporary audience for Reginald's account has been said to be small, provincial and local, comprising mostly peasants and women. Subsequently, Godric has been famous for his songs, which have had a separate transmission and are still performed today.
Much past research on Godric of Finchdale has been based on summaries or epitomes of Reginald's work. It is now clear that several authors rewrote the story to omit many miracles and large potions of text, and that only one manuscript remains testament to the original. This book is the first full, literal translation, presenting Reginald's work as closely as possible to the single original manuscript, and opening up the work to a wider audience for the first time.
This translation of The Life and Miracles of Saint Godric, Hermit of Finchale uses the one remaining original manuscript to open up Reginald of Durham's work to a wider audience.
Much past research on Godric of Finchdale has been based on summaries or epitomes of Reginald's work. It is now clear that several authors rewrote the story to omit many miracles and large potions of text, and that only one manuscript remains testament to the original. This book is the first full, literal translation, presenting Reginald's work as closely as possible to the single original manuscript, and opening up the work to a wider audience for the first time.
This translation of The Life and Miracles of Saint Godric, Hermit of Finchale uses the one remaining original manuscript to open up Reginald of Durham's work to a wider audience.
Reviews / Votes
This is not a book to drop on your toe; but it is a volume to cherish. Coombe deserves our warmest thanks and admiration for the phenomenal labour that has gone into her work. * Tom Licence, Routledge, Taylor and Francis Group * M.C. has carried out a long and meticulous task. Tomorrow's historians and specialists will be grateful to him for his ed. and his trans. of Reginald, whose text is at once 'complex yet imprecise'. * Alison Hudson, Le Moyen Age * The Life and Miracles of Saint Godric is naturally a very important source for the religious life of the period, especially for the model of the holy man, but it is also, like many hagiographical texts, a window on social history, with information on trial by battle, language use, naming patterns, childbirth, even signposts. All this is now available for those with little or no Latin to use for their own purposes. And it is easy to read - fluent, clear, and well constructed. * Robert Bartlett, Medium AEvum Journal *More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
Oxford
United Kingdom
Product notice
sewn/stitched
Cloth over boards
Dimensions
Height: 213 mm
Width: 137 mm
Thickness: 64 mm
Weight
1338 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-19-964179-6 (9780199641796)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Person
Margaret Coombe is Director of Study Skills at Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford. Following from undergraduate degrees in History and French, and postgraduate in Art History and Classics, Margaret returned to Oxford in 2005 to undertake her D.Phil. as a mature student in History. She was subsequently acting Senior Tutor, and since 2018 she has been Director of Study Skills at the Oxford Study Skills Centre at Lady Margaret Hall.
Editor
Director of Study SkillsDirector of Study Skills, Lady Margaret Hall, University of Oxford, UK
Content
- Introduction
- Text and Translation
- Appendices