The Glossa Ordinaria on the Bible was the ubiquitous text of the Middle Ages. Compiled in twelfth-century France, this multi-volume work, containing the entire text of Scripture surrounded by a commentary drawn from patristic and medieval authors, is still extant in thousands of manuscripts, testifying to the centrality of the work for generations of medieval scholars. Although the Glossa has been the subject of modern study, it is surrounded by myth. This book, based on manuscript evidence, is the first to draw together the history of this monumental work, its authorship, content, layout, production and use. Raising new questions, and pointing the way to further research, it opens up the Glossa to all students of medieval religion and intellectual history.
Lesley Smith (DPhil., Oxon.) is Fellow of Harris Manchester College, Oxford University. An intellectual historian, she is the author of Masters of the Sacred Page (Notre Dame, 2001) and co-editor of Nicholas of Lyra: the Senses of Scripture (Brill, 2000).
Acknowledgements ... ix
Abbreviations ... xi
List of Figures and Diagrams ... xiii
Chapter Four Production and Ownership ... 141
I. The First Stage: to c. 1140 ... 141
II. The Second Stage, c. 1140âc. 1200: Paris ... 145
III. The Second Stage, c. 1140âc. 1200: Beyond Paris ... 153
IV. The Thirteenth Century and Beyond ... 181
V. Printing ... 187
VI. Summary ... 191
Bibliography ... 241
Index of Manuscripts ... 257
Index of Biblical Books ... 261
General Index ... 263
All those interested in medieval intellectual history, the twelfth century, biblical exegesis, medieval theology, patristic influence, the history of universities, the history of the book, book design and manuscript studies.