This is the first English translation of the Venerable Bede's commentary on the book of Genesis. Dealing as it does with the biblical account of the creation of the world and of mankind, and of mankind's fall from grace and exile into the life of time, On Genesis offers essential insights into Bede's fundamental assumptions as a theologian, historian, and scientific cosmologist. Bede's role in laying the foundations of the modern world cannot be overemphasised. From his quantitative approach to questions of science to his introduction of the Anno Domini system of dating and his text-critical methods of biblical analysis, he anticipated and influenced modern ways of thinking. Bede regarded the opening chapters of Genesis as the foundation narrative of the world. From it Bede derived the theoretical basis for his scientific treatises and his notion of the English as a chosen people of God, which informs the Ecclesiastical History. This translation and introduction attempts to make
Bede's commentary accessible to anyone with an interest in his work.
Industry Reviews
Another welcome addition to the most valuable 'Translated Texts for Historians Series from the Liverpool University Press. Calvin Kendall is to be commended for continuing the excellent standards in translating and annotating that mark the series. His is the first rendering of the work into any language. The achievement is significant as reading Bede's commentaries in the original Latin is not easily essayed. Kendall's book this joins the other published translations of Bede's commentaries in making these important texts -- which Bede himself did not hesitate to describe as his life's work. The Venerable Bede's In principium Genesis, usque ad natiuitatem Isaac et eiectionem Ismahelis, libri IIII (On Genesis) is, for the modern scholar at least, one of his most interesting works, not because of its influence in the later Middle Ages (which was slight compared to many of his other works), nor because of the originality of the author's interpretation of individual points (in which he is often building upon patristic predecessors), but rather because it is in this work, perhaps more than any other, that the fundamental unity of Bede's wide-ranging intellectual programme is most clearly on display. It is a scholarly commonplace to call Bede a master of multiple genres - most notably, the historical, exegetical and scientific - and there can be no doubt that he consciously worked in various literary modes, but as On Genesis makes clear, Bede's overarching goal was always the same: namely, to understand God's plan, whether it was being revealed to humankind through the scriptures, in the natural world, or by the unfolding of history. Because of the unique contents of the biblical book of Genesis, Bede was able to pursue all three of these paths at various points in On Genesis, which in turn makes this work particularly helpful for understanding his thought. The appearance of Calvin B. Kendall's learned translation of this important work in the Translated Texts for Historians series is, therefore, especially welcome. Kendall is an experienced editor and translator of Bedan texts, and this is the first English translation of this important work, but like the best volumes in the TTH series, it is much more than just a translation. In addition to a clear, faithful, and quite readable rendering of Bede's Latin, Kendall supplies copious notes that provide both reference to sources and commentary on content, as well as a detailed introduction that considers the work's major themes and its author's methods, including, among many others, Bede's literal and allegorical modes of interpretation, his understanding of symbols, the theme of exile, and his treatment of the Jews. Also in the introduction Kendall reconsiders the origins, dates, and transmission of the three attested versions of Bede's work, the shortest of which (the so-called Ia) is, as Kendall convincingly demonstrates, not an authorial edition, but rather a later, truncated redaction of the author's first edition (Ia + Ib). In summarizing the work's transmission, Kendall (followingMichael Gorman) supplies a list of twenty-two manuscripts of the three versions, a much fuller list than is found in the edition (ed. Jones, CCSL 118A, pp. i-iii), but to which should be added at least one additional codex: Cologne, Historisches Archiv, W* 34 (s. xii2), which is one of only four manuscripts containing the complete text of Bede's earlier version of the commentary in two books. Sadly, in the aftermath of the tragic collapse of the Historisches Archiv building on 3 March 2009, the fate of this manuscript remains unknown, though a microfilm has been preserved in the Hill Museum and Manuscript Library at St John's University (Collegeville, Minnesota). Kendall also provides an important list of some 218 corrections to the edition of the Latin text, a full bibliography, and a helpful index of sources and parallels. The cumulative effect of this material is to make Kendall's volume an indispensible supplement to Jones's edition. At the same time, however, it will be of great value for anyone looking for an accessible introduction to the range of Bede's thought, as well as for anyone interested in the role of the creation narrative in the culture of Anglo-Saxon England, or in the long tradition of medieval Genesis exegesis. Kendall's volume - very skilfully copy-edited and attractively and durably produced - is the latest in a long series of excellent Bedan translations in the TTH series, and one sincerely hopes that it will not be the last. Kendall's volume - very skilfully copy-edited and attractively and durably produced - is the latest in a long series of excellent Bedan translations in the TTH series, and one sincerely hopes that it will not be the last.
