Reading Matthew with Monks: Laying the Foundations for Conversation between Modern Biblical Scholarship and Early Medieval Monastic Interpretation Open Access
Olsen, Derek Alan (2011)
Abstract
Abstract
Reading Matthew with Monks:
Laying the Foundations for Conversation between Modern
Biblical Scholarship and Early Medieval Monastic
Interpretation
By
Derek A. Olsen
In this study, I lay the foundations for a conversation between the
modern academic study of the Bible and early medieval monastic
reading strategies. From a cultural perspective, I examine the
similarities and differences between the modern academic reading
culture and the culture of early medieval monastics with a
particular focus on the English 10th Century Benedictine Revival
and its chief catechist, Ælfric of Eynsham. Three major points
of contact-the use of mimetic processes of formation, the literary
focus of the communities, and the awareness of participating within
a critical conversation-are examined from primary and secondary
sources to uncover both the methods and purposes of each culture's
reading strategies. Assessing these points enables the reading
process of the medieval monastics to be seen on their own terms
rather than from a strictly modern perspective. Next, a discussion
of the distinctive factor of early medieval monastic culture, the
liturgical shape of communal life, provides a central context for
understanding monastic homilies. Once the backgrounds and
strategies have been discussed in the abstract, I examine the
particularities of the reading strategies in relation to four
Matthean passages: Matt 4:1-11, 5:1-12, 8:1-13, and 25:1-13. I
place the work of four major modern scholars, Ulrich Luz, W. D.
Davies and Dale Allison, M. Eugene Boring, and Douglas Hare, in
relation to homilies on
these passages by Ælfric of Eynsham as considered in their
liturgical settings.
Table of Contents
Table of Abbreviations...ix
Table of Figures...xi
Chapter 1...1
Conversations and Criticisms...1
Introduction...1
A Multiplicity of Voices...1
Criteria for Conversations...5
The Early Medieval Monastic Micro-Culture...7
Applying the Criteria...12
Naming the Prejudices: Biblical Scholarship's Assessment of the Early Medieval Period...15
Positive Assessments of Early Medieval Monastic Reading...21
Building a Conversation...28
Selecting Texts...28
Selecting Conversation Partners...30
The Aim of the Conversation...32
The Shape of the Conversation...32
Chapter 2...34
Introduction...34
Mimetic Cultures...35
The Scientific Study of the NT...35
Mimesis in Early Medieval Monastic Culture...38
Summary...50
Literary Cultures...50
The Hermeneutical Framework...52
The Critical Conversation...74
The Modern Situation...74
The Early Medieval Situation...83
Summary...98
Chapter 3...100
Introduction...100
Liturgical Interpretation...101
The Three Kinds of Liturgical Services...103
The Daily Office...104
The Mass...109
The Chapter...111
The Monastic Day-Cycle...112
Scripture and The Church Year...114
Secondary Occasions of the Season...124
Summary...129
Chapter 4...131
Matthew 4:1-11...132
Introduction...132
Modern Interpreters...133
Ælfric's Interpretation...142
Discussion...163
Matthew 5:1-12...167
Introduction...167
Modern Interpreters...168
Ælfric's Interpretation...182
Discussion...196
Chapter 5...200
Matthew 8:1-13...200
Introduction...200
Modern Interpreters...201
Ælfric's Interpretation...215
Discussion...231
Matthew 25:1-13...236
Introduction...236
Modern Interpreters...236
Ælfric's Interpretation...249
Discussion...262
Chapter 6...266
Appendix...271
Catholic Homily I, 11: 1st Sunday In Lent (Matt 4:1-11)...271
Catholic Homily I, 36: Feast of All Saints (Matt 5:1-12)...279
Catholic Homily I, 8: 3rd Sunday after Epiphany (Matt 8:1-13)...289
Catholic Homily II, 39: For Plural Virgins (Matt 25:1-13)...296
Bibliography...303
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