| Unit name | The Reception of the Bible in the Middle Ages |
|---|---|
| Unit code | THRSM0034 |
| Credit points | 20 |
| Level of study | M/7 |
| Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 2 (weeks 13 - 24) |
| Unit director | Professor. Muessig |
| Open unit status | Not open |
| Pre-requisites |
None |
| Co-requisites |
None |
| School/department | Department of Religion and Theology |
| Faculty | Faculty of Arts |
This unit outlines the main trends in the use of the Bible between the twelfth and fifteenth centuries in Western Europe. Monks, nuns and scholastic theologians read the Bible through the glasses of patristic tradition transmitted in the form of bible commentaries. Biblical commentary was the main medium of transmission of exegesis in the later Middle Ages in scholastic and monastic milieus. Although both monastic and scholastic scholars employed traditional authorities, their readings rendered a completely different understanding of how the Bible should be understood and hence used in society. Furthermore, the Bible was taught and $�read&� in the larger Christianity community not through the tool of literacy but through sermons and art. Therefore, the significance of orality and visual culture in the transmission of the Bible among lay and religious groups will be considered equally alongside the role that literacy played in the dissemination of biblical learning.
