Book and verse
Book Description
For centuries, scholars believed that ordinary people in medieval England had little access to biblical wisdom, cut off by the barrier of Latin from the sacred texts that shaped their world. James H. Morey's groundbreaking research reveals a dramatically different reality.
This comprehensive exploration uncovers a rich tradition of Middle English biblical literature that flourished between the twelfth and fifteenth centuries. Rather than remaining locked away in scholarly Latin, biblical stories, teachings, and spiritual insights found vibrant expression through creative paraphrases and vernacular adaptations that spoke directly to English-speaking communities.
Morey demonstrates how medieval writers systematically transformed and reimagined biblical material, making sacred wisdom accessible through familiar language and cultural contexts. These adaptations became the primary way ordinary people encountered biblical narratives, explaining why scriptural themes and models permeate virtually every form of medieval English literature.
Serving as both scholarly catalog and cultural revelation, this work maps the extensive landscape of biblical literature that existed outside formal church Latin. Each entry provides detailed guidance on which portions of scripture appeared in Middle English and where readers can locate these materials today.
For anyone interested in how spiritual wisdom travels across languages, cultures, and centuries, this study illuminates the creative ways communities have always found to make sacred teachings their own. It reveals medieval England as a place where biblical spirituality thrived in the vernacular, accessible to all who sought its guidance.
Who Is This For?
📖 Reading Level: Long (> 400 pages) (~12 hours)
📄 Length: 428 pages
What You'll Discover
- ✓ Explore English literature
- ✓ Explore Christianity and literature
- ✓ Study Bible from spiritual perspective
- ✓ Explore Christian literature, English (Middle)
- ✓ Explore 11.32 history of text and translation of the Bible
- ✓ Explore Christian literature, history and criticism
- ✓ Explore Bible
- ✓ Explore Letterkunde
