The Bible was translated into English for the first time in the late 1300s by John Wyclif and his supporters. In the first study of the Wycliffite Bible for nearly a century, Mary Dove explains why pe
The Bible was translated into English for the first time in the late 1300s by John Wyclif and his supporters. In the first study of the Wycliffite Bible for nearly a century, Mary Dove explains why people wanted an English translation, why many clergy opposed the idea, and why the Church's attempt to censor the translation was unsuccessful. Based on intensive study of the surviving manuscripts, Dove takes the reader through every step of the conception, design and execution of the first English Bible. Illuminating examples are included at every point, and textual analyses and a complete listing of surviving manuscripts are appended. Despite the meagre and inadequate resources with which the Wycliffites carried through their enormous enterprise, and the disagreements and changes of direction it involved, Dove demonstrates that the first English Bible initiated a tradition of scholarly, stylish and thoughtful biblical translation, and remains a major cultural landmark.
Originally published in 1986, this is an investigation of one particular aspect of what is usually called the Ages of Man. Human beings seem always to have divided up their lives into separate stages: this book argues that the medieval understanding of the age in the middle of man's life was very different from contemporary ideas. Middle age in the Middle Ages did not have dim and negative associations. Instead, it was typically perceived as a 'perfect' age, an age of fulfilment which reached its consummation in the redemption brought about by Christ in his perfect age. The implications of this for medieval understanding of the series of the ages are discussed here for the first time.
Dove translates and annotates the exegetical comments of Origen of Alexandria, Gregory the Great, the Venerable Bede, Anslem of Laon and other scholars on this controversial text. She includes comment
The debate over whether to translate the Bible into English—which erupted during the late 1300s and lasted well into the 1500s—is one of the most significant in English cultural, litera
Through the lens of cultural studies, 14 essays explore the way that women writers attempted to use their writings and their personal relationships to fashion gender roles and other political cultural
