LUP_Wallis_Bede_Revel_00_Prelims
Translated Texts for Historians 300–800 AD is the time of late antiquity and the early middle ages: the transformation of the classical world, the beginnings of Europe and of Islam, and the evolution of Byzantium. TTH makes available sources translated from Greek, Latin, Syriac, Coptic, Arabic, Georgian, Gothic and Armenian.
Each volume provides an expert scholarly translation, with an introduction setting texts and authors in context, and with notes on content, interpretation and debates.
Editorial Committee Sebastian Brock, Oriental Institute, University of Oxford Averil Cameron, Keble College, Oxford Marios Costambeys, University of Liverpool
Carlotta Dionisotti, King's College, London Peter Heather, King's College, London Robert Hoyland, University of Oxford William E. Klingshirn, The Catholic University of America
Michael Lapidge, Clare College, Cambridge John Matthews, Yale University Neil McLynn, Corpus Christi College, Oxford
Richard Price, Heythrop College, University of London Claudia Rapp, Institut für Byzantinistik und Neogräzistik, Universität Wien
Judith Ryder, University of Oxford Raymond Van Dam, University of Michigan Michael Whitby, University of Birmingham
Ian Wood, University of Leeds General Editors Gillian Clark, University of Bristol Mark Humphries, Swansea University Mary Whitby, University of Oxford
A full list of published titles in the Translated Texts for Historians series is available on request. The most recently published are shown below.
Nemesius: On the Nature of Man Translated with introduction and notes by R. W. SHARPLES and P. J. VAN DER EIJK
Volume 49: 283pp., 2008, ISBN 978-1-84631-132-1 Sources for the History of the School of Nisibis
Translated with introduction and notes by ADAM H. BECKER Volume 50: 217pp., 2008, ISBN 978-1-84631-161-1
Acts of the Council of Constantinople of 553: with related texts on the Three Chapters Controversy
Translated with an introduction and notes by Richard Price Volume 51, 2 vols, 384pp + 360pp, 2009, ISBN 9781846311789
Three Political Voices from the Age of Justinian: Agapetus – Advice to the Emperor,
Dialogue on Political Science, Paul the Silentiary – Description of Hagia Sophia
Translated with notes and an introduction by PETER N. BELL Volume 52: 249pp, ISBN 978-1-84631-209-0
History and Hagiography from the Late Antique Sinai DANIEL F. CANER, with contributions by SEBASTIAN BROCK, RICHARD M. PRICE and
KEVIN VAN BLADEL
Volume 53: 346pp, ISBN 978-1-84631-216-8 Orosius: Seven Books of History against the Pagans
Translated with introduction and notes by A. T. FEAR Volume 54: 456pp., 2010; ISBN 978-1-84631-473-5 cased, 978-1-84631-239-7 limp
The Chronicle of Pseudo-Zachariah Rhetor: Church and War in Late Antiquity Translated by GEOFFREY GREATREX, with ROBERT PHENIX and CORNELIA HORN; introductory material by SEBASTIAN BROCK and WITOLD WITAKOWSKI
Volume 55: 2010; ISBN 978-1-84631-493-3 cased, 978-1-84631-494-0 limp Bede: On the Nature of Things and On Times
Translated with introduction and notes by CALVIN B. KENDALL and FAITH WALLIS Volume 56: 371pp., 2010, ISBN 978-1-84631-495-7
Theophilus of Edessa's Chronicle Translated with introduction and notes by ROBERT G. HOYLAND
Volume 57: 368pp., 2011, ISBN 978-1-84631-697-5 cased, 978-1-84631-698-2 limp For full details of Translated Texts for Historians, including prices and ordering information, please write to the following:
All countries, except the USA and Canada: Liverpool University Press, 4 Cambridge Street, Liverpool, L69 7ZU, UK (Tel +44-[0]151-794 2233,
Fax +44-[0]151-794 2235, Email [email protected], http://www.liverpool universitypress.co.uk). USA and Canada: University of Chicago Press,
1427 E. 60th Street, Chicago, IL, 60637, US (Tel 773-702-7700, Fax 773-702-9756, www.press.uchicago.edu)
Translated Texts for Historians Volume 58 Bede:
Commentary on Revelation Translated with an introduction and notes by
FAITH WALLIS
Liverpool University Press
First published 2013 Liverpool University Press 4 Cambridge Street Liverpool, L69 7ZU Copyright © 2013 Faith Wallis The right of Faith Wallis to be identified as the author of this book has been asserted by her in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher.
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data A British Library CIP Record is available.
ISBN 978-1-84631-844-3 cased ISBN 978-1-84631-845-0 limp Set in Times by Koinonia, Manchester Printed and bound by Bell & Bain Ltd, Glasgow
To the 'Bede-niks' of Kalamazoo and Leeds
contents Acknowledgements ix Abbreviations xi Introduction 1. Bede and the Latin Tradition of Exegesis of Revelation
1.1 The Roots of Bede's Major Exegetical Theme
1.2 Victorinus of Pettau
1.3 Apocalyptic Retreats and Revivals in the Fourth Century
1.4 Tyconius
1.5 The Tyconian Tradition from Augustine to the End of the
Sixth Century
2. Bede's Immediate Sources and How He Used Them
2.1 'Commaticum interpretandi genus'
2.2 A Mosaic of Quotations
2.3 Reconstructing Bede's Use of Tyconius
2.4 The Occlusion of Primasius
2.5 Did Bede Read Caesarius?
2.6 Bede's Borrowings from Augustine
2.7 Bede Reads Jerome and Gregory
2.8 Was Bede's Exegesis Influenced by Visual Sources?
2.9 Bede and the Text of the Bible
3. Date and Circumstances of Composition
3.1 The Significance of the Date of Composition
3.2 The Commentary on Revelation and the Preface to the
Commentary on Acts
3.3 Obstrepentes causae?
3.4 An Apocalyptic Eighth Century?
4. Shape and Style of the Commentary on Revelation
4.1 The Poem of Bede the Priest
viii CONTENTS
4.2 Bede's Preface: The Structure of Revelation and
the 'periochae'
4.3 Bede's Preface: The Methodological Framework
4.4. The Unscheduled Future: How Bede Shapes the Meaning
of Revelation
4.5 Judgement and Reform
5. Bede's Commentary on Revelation: Transmission and Translation
5.1 Transmission in Manuscript
5.2 The Commentary in Print
5.3 Principles Governing the Present Translation
Bede: Commentary on Revelation The Poem of Bede the Priest
Preface
Book 1
Book 2
Book 3
Appendix: The capitula lectionum on Revelation Ascribed to Bede
Select Bibliography
Index of Sources and Parallels
General Index
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The seeds of this translation were sown many decades ago at the Pontifical Institute of Mediaeval Studies in Toronto, in the margins (so to speak) of a research essay on Bede's use of Augustine which I wrote for Prof. Jocelyn
N. Hillgarth's memorable seminar on the medieval transmission and reception of the City of God. These seeds remained buried for some years, as I turned my attention to Bede's scientific writings on time; but Bede's exegetical reflections on the beginning and end of time always seemed to me to be an essential thread in the complex web of his thinking on this difficult subject. The major obstacle to publishing a translation of the Commentary on Revelation was the want of a reliable modern edition of the original text.
This has recently been furnished by Dr Roger Gryson, but even before his edition appeared in print, Dr Gryson gave me very valuable advice, and proposed important corrections to my translations. As the seeds sprouted and put out their first leaves, I had the privilege of a month's visit, thanks to a Universitas 21 fellowship, from Peter Darby, then a doctoral student at the University of Birmingham. Technically, I was supervising his visiting studentship; in reality, we were exchanging our work, commenting on each other's drafts (I on Peter's thesis-in-progress, he on this translation), and enjoying long, digressive conversations about Bede's views on the course of time, and the events that would announce its end. Peter is now Dr Darby of the University of Leicester, but his generous concern with this translation has remained constant, and I am thankful for his perceptive and careful reading of the penultimate draft. Peter and I first met at Kalamazoo, in one of the legendary series of Bede sessions organized by Prof. Scott DeGregorio.
Over the years, these sessions have contributed enormously to my thinking about Bede in general, and the Commentary on Revelation in particular, and Peter is continuing the tradition at both Kalamazoo and Leeds. Scott himself kept up the pressure on me to complete the Commentary, and kindly vetted the Introduction. To honour Scott, Peter, and the other scholars whose devotion to these annual gatherings furnished so much to the project – and whose 'sapient colloquy' over cakes and ale is such a pleasure – this volume
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
is dedicated to the 'Bede-niks' of Kalamazoo and Leeds. The Bede-niks are an inclusive club, and to thank the members individually would be impossible; nonetheless, I cannot miss this opportunity to send particular salutations to George Hardin Brown, Calvin Kendall, Paul Hilliard, Tom Mackay,
Jo Story, Alan Thacker, and Josh Westgard. My thanks as well go out to Dr Luciana Cuppo-Csaki for sharing her research on De duobus testibus.
I owe a great debt to Dr Michael Lapidge, who combed through every line of my text with exceptional erudition and diligence, and whose superb command of medieval Latin and knowledge of the scholarship on AngloSaxon England and early medieval Europe caught many mistakes, and filled many gaps. Dr Mary Whitby has been a stalwart and extraordinarily patient editor; may she rejoice to see a book whose seemingly endless gestation she supervised with such good will, and whose final form has been improved by her corrections and suggestions. The wonderful librarians of McGill University, and especially of its Interlibrary Loans service, have earned my humble gratitude. The most wonderful librarian of all is my husband Kendall, who retired from his day job in the Reference Department of McLennan Library to start a second career as my personal, live-in research assistant. His astounding skill at ferreting out bibliographic references and spading up information lies behind virtually every page of this book; his beautiful mind and radiant soul are the greatest blessings of my life.
ABBREVIATIONS
Augustine, DCD Augustine, De civitate Dei. Ed. B. Dombart and A. Kalb. CCSL 47–48 (1955), 2 vols. Trans. R.W. Dyson, Augustine: The City of God against the Pagans. Cambridge: Cambridge University
Press, 1998.
—. DDC De doctrina christiana. Ed. J. Martin. CCSL 32 (1962).
Beatus Beatus of Liébana, Beati in Apocalypsin libri 12. Ed. A. Sanders.
Papers and Monographs of the American Academy in Rome 7. Rome: American Academy in Rome, 1930. References are to book, chapter and sentence; pr. = praefatio; T = (glossed) sections of text of Revelation heading Beatus's storiae.
Bede, Act. Ap.
Expositio Actuum Apostolorum. Retractatio in Actus Apostolorum. ed. M.L.W. Laistner. Cambridge, Mass.: Mediaeval Academy of America, 1939. Trans. Lawrence T. Martin. The Venerable Bede:
Commentary on the Acts of the Apostles. Cistercian Studies Series 117. Kalamazoo: Cistercian Publications, 1989.
—. Cath. Ep.
Bede, De Epistolis VII catholicis. Ed. D. Hurst. CCSL 121 (1983). Trans. D. Hurst. Kalamazoo: Cistercian Publications,
1985.
—. De tab.
De tabernaculo. Ed. D. Hurst. CCSL 119B (1969): 1–139.
Trans. Arthur G. Holder. Translated Texts for Historians 18.
Liverpool: Liverpool University Press, 1994.
—. De tem.
De templo. Ed. D. Hurst. CCSL 119A (1969): 143–234. Trans.
S. Connolly. Translated Texts for Historians 21. Liverpool:
Liverpool University Press, 1995.
—. DNR De natura rerum. Ed. C.W. Jones. CCSL 123A (1975). Trans.
Calvin Kendall and Faith Wallis, Bede: On the Nature of Things and On Times. Translated Texts for Historians 56. Liverpool:
Liverpool University Press, 2010.
—. DT De temporibus. Ed. C.W. Jones. CCSL 123C (1980). Trans.
Calvin Kendall and Faith Wallis (see previous entry).
—. DTR De temporum ratione. Ed. C.W. Jones. CCSL 123B (1977).
Trans. Faith Wallis, Bede: The Reckoning of Time. Translated Texts for Historians 29. Liverpool: Liverpool University Press,
1999; rev. ed. 2004.
xii
ABBREVIATIONS
—. Ep. Pleg.
Epistola ad Pleguinam. Ed. C.W. Jones. CCSL 123C (1980).
Trans. in Wallis (previous entry) Appendix 3.1.
—. HE Historia ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum. Ed. and trans. Bertram Colgrave and R.A.B. Mynors. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1969.
—. Hom.
Homeliae. Ed. D. Hurst. CCSL 122 (1955): 1–384. Trans.
Lawrence T. Martin and David Hurst, Bede the Venerable:
Homilies on the Gospels, 2 vols. Cistercian Studies Series 110–111. Kalamazoo: Cistercian Publications, 1991.
—. In Cant. Cant. In Cantica Canticorum allegorica expositio. Ed. D. Hurst and J.F. Hudson. CCSL 119B (1983): 167–375. Trans. Arthur G.
Holder, On the Song of Songs and Selected Writings. New York and Mahwah, NJ: Paulist Press, 2011.
—. In Ez.
In Ezram et Neemiam. Ed. D. Hurst. CCSL 119A (1969). Trans.
Scott DeGregorio, On Ezra and Nehemiah. Translated Texts for Historians 47. Liverpool: Liverpool University Press, 2006.
References are to book and line number in Hurst's edition.
—. In Gen.
Libri quatuor in principium Genesis usque ad nativitatem Isaac et eiectionem Ismahelis adnotationum. Ed. C.W. Jones. CCSL
118A (1967). Trans. Calvin B. Kendall. On Genesis. Translated Texts for Historians 48. Liverpool: Liverpool University Press,
2008.
—. In Lucam Ed. D. Hurst. CCSL 120 (1960). References are to book and line number.
—. In Marcum Ed. D. Hurst. CCSL 120 (1960). References are to book and line number.
—. In Prov.
In Proverbia Salomonis. Ed. D. Hurst. CCSL 119B (1983).
References are to book and line number.
—. In Sam.
In primam partem Samuhelis. Ed. D. Hurst. CCSL 119 (1962).
References are to book and line number.
Caesarius Caesarius of Arles, Expositio in Apocalypsin. In Opera omnia.
Ed. G. Morin. Maredsous: [Abbey], 1942.
CCCM Corpus christianorum continuatio medievalis. Turnhout:
Brepols, 1966–.
CCSL Corpus christianorum series latina. Turnhout: Brepols, 1953–.
CSEL Corpus scriptorum ecclesiasticorum latinorum. Vienna, Prague, Leipzig: Temsky, etc., 1866–.
De XII lap.
Anon. (Irish, 7th c.), De XII lapidibus. Martha Bayless and Michael Lapidge, eds. Collectanea pseudo-Bedae. Scriptores
Latini Hiberniae 14. 164–167. Dublin: School of Celtic Studies, Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies, 1988.
Eusebius, HE Eusebius, Historia ecclesiastica. Trans. Rufinus. Ed. T.
Mommsen. Eusebius Werke 2.1–2. Griechische christliche Schriftsteller 9.1–2. Leipzig: Hinrichs, 1903–1908.
Gregory, Mor.
Moralia in Iob. Ed. M. Adriaen. CCSL 143, 143A, 143B (1979).
xiii
ABBREVIATIONS
Gryson, Bede ed. Bedae Presbyteri Expositio Apocalypseos. Ed. Roger Gryson.
Introduction CCSL 121A. Turnhout: Brepols, 2001. Introduction.
—. Tyc. ed.
Tyconii Afri Expositio Apocalypseos. Ed. Roger Gryson (see Introduction below, Tyconius). Introduction.
—. Tyc. trans.
Tyconius, Commentaire de l'Apocalypse. Trans. Roger Gryson, Introduction Corpus christianorum in translation 10. Turnhout: Brepols,
2010. Introduction.
Isidore, Etym.
Etymologiae sive origines. Ed. W.M. Lindsay. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1911.
Jerome, In Dan.
Commentariorum in Danielem libri III. Ed. F. Glorie. CCSL 75A (1964). Trans. Gleason L. Archer, Jr. Jerome's Commentary on Daniel. Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1977.
—. In Is.
Explanationum in Esaiam libri 18. Commentaire de Jérôme sur le prophète Isaïe. Ed. R. Gryson. 5 v. Freiburg: Herder,
1993–1999.
—. In Ez.
Commentariorum in Hiezechielem libri 14. Ed. F. Glorie. CCSL 75 (1964).
—. Lib. int.
Liber interpretationis hebraicorum nominum. Ed. P. de Lagarde.
CCSL 72 (1959). pp. 57–161.
(ps.)-Jerome, Incerti auctoris commemoratorium de Apocalypsi Johannis CommemoraApostoli. Ed. Roger Gryson, in Commentaria minora in Apocatorium lypsin Johannis. CCSL 107 (2003): 161–229. References are to pages and lines. Note that Gryson's apparatus to his edition of Bede's commentary, which appeared before his edition of pseudo-Jerome, cites Rapisarda's edition (see Bibliography).
Pliny, HN Pliny the Elder, Historia naturalis. Ed. H. Rackham, W.E.S.
Jones and D.E. Eichholz. 10 vols. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press and London: Heinemann, 1938 (repr. 1961).
Primasius Primasius of Hadrumentum, Commentarius in Apocalypsim. Ed.
A.W. Adams. CCSL 92 (1985). References are to chapter of Revelation, and line(s) of Primasius's text.
PL Patrologia cursus completus. Series latina. Ed. J.-P. Migne. 221 vols. Paris: J.-P. Migne and Garnier Frères, 1841–1880, with volumes reissued by Garnier to 1905.
Sparks [Bible. Vulgate. Apocalypse.] Ed. H.F.D. Sparks. Nouum Testamentum Domini Nostri Iesu Chrisi latine secundum editionem sancti Hieronymi. Ed. J. Wordsworth and H.J. White. Part 3, fasc. 3. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1954.
Tyconius Tyconii Afri Expositio Apocalypseos. Accedunt eiusdem expositionis a quodam retractatae fragmenta Tauriensia. Ed. Roger
Gryson. CCSL 107A (2011). References are to periocha and chapter, followed by page and line.
xiv
ABBREVIATIONS
—. (Bud. fr.) Budapest fragments of Tyconius, In Apocalypsin. Ed. Roger Gryson, 'Fragments inédits du Commentaire de Tyconius sur l'Apocalypse', Revue bénédictine 107 (1997): 189–226. References are to the folio and lines of the fragments, followed by the page number in this edition.
—. (Tur. fr.) Turin fragments of an early medieval condensed version of Tyconius, In Apocalypsin. Ed. Fr. Lo Bue and G.G. Willis, The Turin Fragments of Tyconius' Commentary on Revelation. Texts and Studies n.s. 7. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press,
1963. References are to sentence number. This is the edition cited in Roger Gryson's edition of Bede; the same sentence numbers are used in Gryson's new edition of the Tur. fr., in his edition of Tyconius (see above), pp. 350–385.
—. Lib. reg.
Liber regularum. Ed. F.C. Burkitt. The Rules of Tyconius. Texts and Studies 3.1. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1894.
Victorinus/Jerome Victorinus of Pettau, In Apocalypsin, revised by Jerome. Ed. J.
Haussleiter. Victorini episcopi Petavionensis opera. CSEL 49.
Leipzig: Freytag, 1916.
Books of the Bible are abbreviated as follows Old Testament Gen.
Genesis Exod.
Exodus Lev.
Leviticus Num.
Numbers Deut.
Deuteronomy Josh.
Joshua Judg.
Judges Ruth Ruth 1–2 Sam.
1–2 Samuel 1–4 Kings 1–4 Kings 1–2 Chron.
1–2 Chronicles Ezra Ezra Neh.
Nehemiah Esther Esther Job Job Ps.
Psalms Prov.
Proverbs Eccles.
Ecclesiastes Song of Sol.
Song of Solomon Isa.
Isaiah Jer.
Jeremiah Lam.
Lamentations Ezek.
Ezekiel Dan.
Daniel Hos.
Hosea Joel Joel Amos Amos Obad.
Obadiah Jon.
Jonah Mic.
Michah Nah.
Nahum Hab.
Habakkuk Zeph.
Zephaniah Hag.
Haggai Zech.
Zechariah Mal.
Malachi
ABBREVIATIONS
Apocrypha (selected) Tob.
Tobit Wisd. of Sol. The Wisdom of Solomon Ecclus.
Ecclesiasticus Song of Three Children The Song of the Three Holy Children 1–2 Macc.
1–2 Maccabees New Testament Matt.
Matthew Mark Mark Luke Luke John John Acts Acts of the Apostles Rom.
Romans 1–2 Cor.
1–2 Corinthians Gal.
Galatians Eph.
Ephesians Phil.
Philippians Col.
Colossians 1–2 Thess.
1–2 Thessalonians 1–2 Tim.
1–2 Timothy Titus Titus Philem.
Philemon Heb.
Hebrews James James 1–2 Pet.
1–2 Peter 1–3 John 1–3 John Jude Jude Rev.
Revelation