Böcker av Jacobus de Voragine

*** UNABRIDGED PREMIUM EDITION IN SEVEN VOLUMES ***AMONG the books which afford us an insight into he popular religious thought of the middle ages, none holds a more important place than the Legenda Aurea or Golden Legend. The book was compiled and put into form about the year 1275 by Jacobus de Voragine, Archbishop of Genoa, who laid under contribution for his purpose the Lives of the Fathers by S. Jerome, the Ecclesiastical History of Eusebius, and other books of a like kind; while for the lives of the saints more nearly approaching his own age he appears to have industriously collected such legends as he could meet with, whether in manuscript or handed down by oral tradition. All persons living in later times have been deeply indebted to the man who thus embodied for their benefit and instruction a picture of the mental attitude of the age in which he lived. If the study of it be not absolutely essential, it may safely be averred that it will be most helpful and profitable, to all those who care to realise to themselves the faith of their forefathers, and in no small degree will it enable them more fully to understand the inspiration of the men whose faith found its expression in the glories and mysteries of Gothic ecclesiastical architecture.

Den Namen "Legenda aurea" verdankt das von Jacobus de Voragine - dem späteren Erzbischof von Genua - zwischen 1260 und 1270 zusammengestellte lateinische Legendenwerk seinem ungewöhnlichen Erfolg: neben mehr als 1000 lateinischen Manuskriptfassungen und Frühdrucken ist eine noch nicht erfaßte Zahl von spätmittelalterlichen volkssprachlichen Übersetzungen und Bearbeitungen der Sammlung überliefert. Aus dem Sprachbereich der langue d'oc sind drei bisher unedierte Handschriften erhalten (Version A, B, C), die alle eine enge Beziehung zur ältesten katalanischen "Legenda aurea" erkennen lassen. Die nun edierte altokzitanische Version B enthält in neuer Anordnung eine Auswahl von 102 bearbeiteten, zumeist stark gekürzten Kapiteln des Originalkorpus sowie vier Heiligenleben, die nicht dem ursprünglichen "Legenda-aurea"-Korpus angehören. Den einzelnen Legendentexten dieser Sammlung liegen verschiedene okzitanische bzw. katalanische Übersetzungen aus dem Lateinischen zugrunde. Die hier vorgelegte Edition der Version B veranschaulicht einerseits das Verhältnis der okzitanischen Legendenfassungen zur lateinischen Textgrundlage, andererseits ihren Zusammenhang mit der katalanischen "Legenda-aurea"-Überlieferung. Der sprachliche Kommentar befaßt sich vorrangig mit der lexikalischen Auswertung der altokzitanischen Texte. Formen und Bedeutungen, die in den einschlägigen Wörterbüchern fehlen, werden einzeln kommentiert, während das Glossar den Gesamtwortschatz erfaßt. Damit liefert die Arbeit einen wichtigen Beitrag zur altokzitanischen Lexikographie, die bisher den Bereich der Prosaliteratur noch ganz unzureichend erschließt.

These stories have the effect of bringing the saints to life as real people. In the course of reading these stories we happen upon many fascinating cultural and historical topics, such as the Christianization of Roman holidays, the symbolism behind the monk's tonsure, Nero's "pregnancy," and the reason why chaste but hot-blooded women can grow beards. At the same time these stories draw abundantly on Holy Scripture to shed light on the mysteries of the Christian faith. Table of Contents: Joshua, Saul, David, Solomon, Rehoboam. Job, Tobit, Judith, St. Andrew, St. Nicholas the Bishop, The Blessed Virgin, SS Gentian, Fulcian, Victorice, S. Nicasius, St. Thomas the Apostle, St. Anastasia, S. Eugenia, S. Stephen Protomartyr, S. John the Evangelist, the History of the Innocents, S. Thomas, martyr, of Canterbury, S. Silvester, S. Paul the first Hermit, S. Remigius, S. Hilary, S. Firmin, Macarias, Life of S. Felix, S. Marcel, S. Anthony, S. Anthony, S. Fabian, S. Sebastian, S. Agnes, S. Vincent, S. Basil, S. John the Almoner, and S. Paul and of the name of conversion.

Depicting the lives of the saints in an array of factual and fictional stories, The Golden Legend was perhaps the most widely read book, after the Bible, during the late Middle Ages. It was compiled around 1260 by Jacobus de Voragine, a scholarly friar and later archbishop of Genoa, whose purpose was to captivate, encourage, and edify the faithful, while preserving a vast store of information pertaining to the legends and traditions of the church. In this translation, the first in English of the complete text, William Granger Ryan captures the immediacy of this rich work, which offers an important guide for readers interested in medieval art and literature and, more generally, in popular religious culture. Arranged according to the order of saints' feast days, these fascinating stories are now combined into one volume. This edition also features an introduction by Eamon Duffy contextualizing the work.

Depicting the lives of the saints in an array of both factual and fictional stories - some preposterous, some profound, and some shocking - "The Golden Legend" was perhaps the most widely read book, after the Bible, during the late Middle Ages. This title presents an English translation of the complete text.

Depicting the lives of the saints in an array of both factual and fictional stories, "The Golden Legend" was perhaps the most widely read book, after the Bible, during the late Middle Ages. This title captures the immediacy of this image-filled work, and offers an important guide for readers interested in medieval art and literature.