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
Depiction of Saint Matthew in an eight-century Irish Evangelary, Saint Gall, Stiftsbibliothek, Cod. Sang. 51 (c.750), p. 2. September 21 is the Feast of Saint Matthew, Apostle and Evangelist, in the Western Christian tradition. (The feast for his nativity is May 6 in the West, and he also enjoys a number of other feast days throughout … Continue reading Saint Matthew and Apocryphal Gospels
This morning I was pleasantly elated to discover a fact of the calendar and a trio of celebrations coming together. Today, on May 25, 2017 we get to commemorate three major events simultaneously: Bede's Day, the 40th anniversary of Star Wars, and Ascension Day! This is just a happy coincidence in the way that these celebrations fall in the calendar. … Continue reading Bede, Star Wars, and Ascension Day
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
Today marks 1380 years since of the death of Isidore of Seville (c.560-636), the famous sixth-/seventh-century Spanish archbishop and scholar. As a diverse writer, who synthesized ideas from the late antique world (including both pagan and Christian authors), his works were significant, influential, and highly popular touchstones for medieval thinkers. This British Library Medieval Manuscripts Blog … Continue reading Isidore of Seville & Old Media
As someone who specializes in Anglo-Saxon literature, each year during the season of Advent, I'm reminded of a poem in the Old English Exeter Book titled Christ I. This poem, written in vernacular English (probably in the ninth century), is a series of reflections known as the Advent Lyrics, based on a Latin liturgical cycle sung … Continue reading Advent Reflections through Apocryphal Dialogue
Brandon W. Hawk 