When I learned about the publication of The Jewish Annotated Apocrypha, I was thrilled. Edited by Jonathan Klawans and Lawrence M. Wills, this is an excellent volume and worth owning for any scholar of early Judaism and early Christianity. So I decided to write up some thoughts about it. The editors emphasize a few ways … Continue reading Review of The Jewish Annotated Apocrypha
Harrowing of Hell in the Tiberius Psalter (London, British Library, Cotton Tiberius C.vi; c.1050), folio 14r. This piece of dramatic liturgy retelling the Harrowing of Hell (in Latin) survives in the ninth-century Book of Cerne (Cambridge, University Library, Ll.1.10; 820x840, Mercia), on folios 98v–99v. This verse text is based on the Latin Pseudo-Augustine Sermo 160, … Continue reading The Book of Cerne Harrowing of Hell: A Translation
[This is the third in a series of posts as I write and gear up for the publication of a new introduction to biblical apocrypha for general audiences. EDIT: Apocrypha for Beginners is on sale now! Check out all of the posts in this series here.] One of the most significant aspects of studying biblical … Continue reading Ethiopian Biblical Canons and Apocrypha
[This is the second in a series of posts as I write and gear up for the publication of a new introduction to biblical apocrypha for general audiences. EDIT: Apocrypha for Beginners is on sale now! Check out all of the posts in this series here.] One of the most basic questions we encounter in … Continue reading What Are Biblical Apocrypha?
I'm very pleased to announce that I've been asked to write a new book that presents an introduction to biblical apocrypha for general audiences. Over the next several months, I'll be writing the book and gearing up for its publication. EDIT: Apocrypha for Beginners is on sale now! Check out all of the posts in … Continue reading Comparing Biblical Canons
https://www.flickr.com/photos/boston_public_library/6899587060/ Brooklyn Museum, Eastern Parkway, Brooklyn NY But as my mind walks through those placesI’m wonderin’What’s come of them….Neil Diamond, “Brooklyn Roads” This is a story about trying to hunt down a medieval manuscript supposedly in the Brooklyn Museum. It all started when I agreed to contribute an introduction and translation of the Latin Life of … Continue reading Brooklyn Roads: A Manuscript Provenance Story
Just yesterday, The Atlantic published an article by Shannon Chamberlain about fan fiction and sexuality. The article is a smart piece, linking fan fiction practices in the eighteenth century with current pop culture trends. A previous iteration of the article was titled "The Surprising 18th-Century Origins of Fan Fiction," which betrays some of the author's … Continue reading A Response to Shannon Chamberlain on Fan Fiction
With the release of Star Wars, Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker, the nine-part narrative that George Lucas began in 1977 has come to an end. That does not mean an end to Star Wars stories, but it does bring a conclusion to the main story arc. Like many other episodic narratives, more Star Wars … Continue reading Medievalism in The Rise of Skywalker
I've been thinking for a while about posting my talk from Kalamazoo 2019, and I've finally gotten around to doing that. I was invited to present about my work on apocrypha for a session titled "Old English Homilies I: New Discoveries, New Insight," sponsored by the Dictionary of Old English (DOE) and Electronic Corpus of … Continue reading Preaching Apocrypha in Early England: Historiographic Currents
Over the past month or so I've tweeted about my senior seminar for English majors, and several people were interested in the course, so I'm posting a version of the reading schedule here. In many ways, it's experimental, driven by my interest in theorizing "the global Middle Ages," and I'm tackling some works of literature … Continue reading Medieval World Literature Senior Seminar
Brandon W. Hawk 