Paulus, Bedae, ed., Expositio in Lamentationes Hieremiae Libri Quinque (Turnhout: Brepols Series)
Text name(s): Expositio in Lamentationes Hieremiae
Number of pages of primary source text: 342
Author(s):
Dates: 845 - 857
Archival Reference:
Original Language(s):
- Latin
Translation:
- Original language included.
Translation Comments:
Geopolitical Region(s):
- France
- Europe
County/Region: Jerusalem
Record Types:
- Commentary / Gloss / Exegesis
Subject Headings:
- Theology - Scriptural / Exegesis
- Monasticism
- Clergy - Monks, Nuns, Friars
- Piety - Confession, Penance
Apparatus:
- Index
- Introduction
Comments:
In his Expositio in Lamentationes Hieremiae (An Exposition of the Lamentations of Jeremiah), Radbertus treats the Book of Lamentations in the Bible as a theological and devotional counterpart to the Book of the Song of Songs (also in the Bible): the Lamentations of Jeremiah express God’s desertion of humankind just as the Song of Songs express His divine protection. Drawing upon biblical typology in general and from the work of Hrbanus in particular, Radbertus explicates the Lamentations in terms of the destruction of Jerusalem in the past, present, and the future. The work is thus of immense significance to students interested in literary texts dealing with Jerusalem such as the Siege of Jerusalem. The product of his mature age, Radbertus’ Expositio also contains a castigation of the vices afflicting the laity and clergy of his time: Radbertus sought to instill in his readers the motivation to repent of their sins. The Expositio is generally regarded as his last work and anticipated in his earlier commentary on the Book of Matthew.
Introduction Summary:
In his Introduction (19 pages), the editor opens with an overview of the immediate political and literary context of Radbertus’ Expositio and then proceeds to speak of its intention, readership, and sources. The editor devotes a brief section to a list unique features of the work, and substantial one to its manuscript history. He concludes with an account of the relationship between the manuscripts of the work.
Cataloger: AT
