
The Letters of Adam Marsh
Volume I
Hugh Lawrence(Editor)
Clarendon Press
Published on 28. September 2006
Book
Hardback
344 pages
978-0-19-928179-4 (ISBN)
Description
The first Franciscan friar to occupy a chair of theology at Oxford, Adam Marsh became famous both in England and on the continent as one of the foremost Biblical scholars of his time. He moved with equal assurance in the world of politics and the scholastic world of the university. Few men without official position can have had their advice so eagerly sought by so many in high places. He was counsellor to King Henry III and the queen, the spiritual director of Simon de Montfort and his wife, the devoted friend and counsellor of Robert Grosseteste, and consultant to the rulers of the Franciscan order. Scholars have long recognized the importance of his influence as mentor and spiritual activator of a circle of idealistic clergy and laymen, whose pressure for reform in secular government as well as in the Church culminated in the political upheavals of the years 1258-65. The collection of his letters, compiled by an unknown copyist within thirty years of his death, is perhaps the most illuminating and historically important series of private letters to be produced in England before the fifteenth century. The inclusion among his correspondents of such notable figures as Grosseteste, Simon de Montfort, Queen Eleanor, and Archbishop Boniface, make the collection a source of primary importance for the political history of England, the English Church, and the organization of Oxford University in the turbulent middle years of the thirteenth century.
This critical edition, which supersedes the only previous edition published by J. S. Brewer in the Rolls Series nearly 150 years ago, is accompanied for the first time by an English translation. One batch of correspondence is included in this volume, along with an introduction that elucidates the role of Adam Marsh in the political and religious movements of the thirteenth century. A further set of letters and an index will follow in Volume II.
This critical edition, which supersedes the only previous edition published by J. S. Brewer in the Rolls Series nearly 150 years ago, is accompanied for the first time by an English translation. One batch of correspondence is included in this volume, along with an introduction that elucidates the role of Adam Marsh in the political and religious movements of the thirteenth century. A further set of letters and an index will follow in Volume II.
Reviews / Votes
This volume is accompanied...by a fine introduction to Adam himself and to the general context in which his life was played out. The translations are clear and perserve effectively the slightly fussy scholarly tone of the original. When the second volume of letters appears, it will surely replace Brewer's original volumes for the Rolls series as the definitive edition. * Andrew Jotischky, Journal of Ecclesiastical History * C. H. L. is to be warmly congratulated on this fine edition, which does much to illuminate the life of the Franciscan order and the condition of the Church in 13th century England. * Michael Robson, Revue d'Histoire Ecclesiastique * ...a most welcome addition to its series. * G. R. Evans, Journal of Theological Studies * a comprehensive introduction by the editor, C.H. Lawrence, and 109 of the 246 extant letters of Adam Marsh ... These letters contribute to a deeper understanding of the politics, both ecclesiastical and secular, of the time and of the organisation of the University of Oxford. * Pluscarden Benedictines * C.H. Lawrence's admirable edition...has made a scrupulously faithful translation of the tediously elaborate Latin into a graceful, slightly old-fashioned English which is a pleasure to read. * Medium Aevum *More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
Oxford
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Oxford University Press
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Scholars and students of medieval history and religion, readers interested in Franciscan studies.
Dimensions
Height: 222 mm
Width: 145 mm
Thickness: 24 mm
Weight
614 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-19-928179-4 (9780199281794)
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
Other editions
Additional editions

E-Book
09/2006
1st Edition
OUP eBook
€193.99
Available for download
Person
Content
Introduction ; Select Bibliography ; Letters 1-109: Latin Text and Translation ; Index of Quotations ; General Index