Translating the Gospel of Pseudo-Matthew

My book The Gospel of Pseudo-Matthew and the Nativity of Mary is now available from Cascade Books! I've written about these texts and my work on them before, and I'd like to take the opportunity of the book's release to talk a bit about translation. I've been interested in both the practice of translation and … Continue reading Translating the Gospel of Pseudo-Matthew

Dragons in the Gospel of Pseudo-Matthew

It's no secret that many people who love the Middle Ages also love dragons. We find dragons in literature like the Old English poem Beowulf, Norse sagas, saints' lives, romances, Arthurian legends, even historical chronicles. We also find dragons in modern fantasy literature inspired by medieval culture, like J. R. R. Tolkien's The Hobbit, Ursula … Continue reading Dragons in the Gospel of Pseudo-Matthew

Prefaces to the Gospel of Pseudo-Matthew and Nativity of Mary

It's International Translation Day! Not coincidentally, September 30 is also the feast day of Saint Jerome (347-420), who translated the Bible into Latin (known as the Vulgate), as it was known for hundreds of years in medieval Western Europe. Jerome is also the patron saint of translators because of his reputation. Jerome's legacy as a … Continue reading Prefaces to the Gospel of Pseudo-Matthew and Nativity of Mary

The Afterlife of the Gospel of Pseudo-Matthew Preview

This post is essentially a teaser for my upcoming presentation at the International Congress on Medieval Studies in Kalamazoo next week. I'll be presenting a paper titled "The Afterlife of the Gospel of Pseudo-Matthew" on session 41, "The Scripturesque Middle Ages: Uses/Reception of Apocrypha along the Medieval North Sea," organized by Stephen Hopkins, in Sangren 1320, … Continue reading The Afterlife of the Gospel of Pseudo-Matthew Preview

Forthcoming: “The Gospel of Pseudo-Matthew, the Rule of the Master, and the Rule of Benedict”

For anyone who follows my blog, or my Twitter account, it's obvious that the Gospel of Pseudo-Matthew has been a major part of my research life over the last year and a half or so. (You can read more about other aspects of my work on Pseudo-Matthew here.) While I've been working on a new translation of … Continue reading Forthcoming: “The Gospel of Pseudo-Matthew, the Rule of the Master, and the Rule of Benedict”

A Tale of Two Women: Anna & Mary in Advent

During the season leading up to Christmas known as Advent, the Christian story of Jesus' birth is often a centerpiece of Western culture. Yet many Christians also celebrate another miraculous story during this time: the Conception of the Virgin Mary, Jesus' mother. The feast day is traditionally observed on December 8, exactly nine months before the … Continue reading A Tale of Two Women: Anna & Mary in Advent