'wading Lambs and Swimming Elephants': The Bible for the Laity and Theologians in Late Medieval and Early Modern Era

1. Auflage 2012
ISBN: 978-90-429-2755-1
Verlag: PEETERS PUB

Buch, Englisch, Band 257, 422 Seiten

Reihe: Bibliotheca Ephemeridum Theolo

The book’s title alludes to Gregory the Great’s famous metaphor in his Moralia

in Job: The Bible is like a stream, broad and deep, shallow enough

for the lamb to go wading, but deep enough for the elephant to swim.

Gregory’s intention was to show that the Bible contains several levels

of instruction, so that it is fully accessible to both the lettered and

the unlettered.

This powerful metaphor has been applied and re-applied in various

Christian traditions, and has been given expression in many and various

ways. In this book, it is understood as a reference to the diverse

biblical genres, vernacular and scholarly, as well as literary and

pictorial, illustrating the wide reception of the Bible throughout

history, both among the educated and uneducated. The articles included

in this volume deal with diverse aspects of the history of the Church

and theology, literary history, art history, and book history, but above

all give testimony to the broad reception of the Bible in the Middle

Ages and the Early Modern Era.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Den Hollander, Aa

François, W.

Francois, W.

den Hollander, A.A.

Fachgebiete

• Geisteswissenschaften Christentum, Christliche Theologie Systematische Theologie