The Practice of the Bible in the Middle Ages

"The essays in this extraordinary volume will remind scholar and layperson how much the Bible Christians use today is the product of the Middle Ages. Not only did the uses of sacred scripture shape its very format and organization, but the liturgy, habits of monastic reading, preaching techniques, dramatization, and even politics molded its contents, the layout of its pages, and its translation as well. With scientific rigor and imagination, The Practice of the Bible in the Middle Ages demonstrates the ways in which even God's word had a human history."

-Herbert L. Kessler, Johns Hopkins University, author of Judaism and Christian Art

"The Practice of the Bible in the Middle Ages is informed by a variety of textual, ritual, and art historical methods, in addition to more traditional exegetical questions. The central tenet of the work, and the fruit of that integration, is that the Bible was never simply or even primarily a text in the Middle Ages. Rather, it was a plastic and multiform body of texts that were meant to be thoroughly incorporated into one's prayer, worship, and daily life, and a variety of means were available to aid that process."

-Louis I. Hamilton, Drew University