Biography: religious and spiritual Books

Book SynopsisThe great Florentine Protestant reformer Peter Martyr Vermigli (1499-1562) made a unique contribution to the scriptural hermeneutics of the Renaissance and Reformation, where classical theories of interpretation derived from Patristic and Scholastic sources engaged with new methods drawn from Humanism and Hebraism. Vermigli was one of the pioneers of the sixteenth century in acknowledging and harnessing the biblical scholarship of the medieval Rabbis. His eminence in the Catholic Church in Italy (until 1542) was followed by an equally distinguished career as theologian and exegete in Protestant Europe where he was professor successively in Strasbourg, Oxford, and finally in Zurich. The Companion consists of 24 essays divided among five themes addressing Vermigli’s international career, hermeneutical method, biblical commentaries, major theological topics, and his later influence. Contributors include: Scott Amos, Michael Baumann, Jon Balserak, Luca Baschera, Maurice Boutin, Emidio Campi, John Patrick Donnelly SJ, Max Engammare, Gerald Hobbs, Frank James III, Gary Jenkins, Robert Kingdon, Torrance Kirby, William Klempa, Joseph McLelland, Charlotte Methuen, Christian Moser, David Neelands, Peter Opitz, Herman Selderhuis, Daniel Shute, David Wright, and Jason Zuidema.Trade Review“While the size and subject matter might intimidate some readers at first glance, the collection is quite engaging […]. It will be of interest not only to biblical scholars and professors of theology, but also to historians, philosophers, philologists and those interested in the history of higher education. […] This volume certainly reveals for readers the dynamism of Peter Martyr Vermigli’s thought and makes a convincing argument that a better understanding of the hermeneutics of this Italian-born Protestant reformer will lead to a better understanding of the Renaissance and the Reformation and the relationship between the two.” Carrie Euler, Central Michigan University. In: The Journal of Ecclesiastical History, Vol. 62, No. 2 (April 2011), pp. 397-398. "Der Companion to Peter Martyr Vermigli lässt sich sowohl als Einleitung zu einzelnen Aspekten als auch als Darstellung des Forschungsstandes nutzen […].Das Buch gibt einen sehr guten Überblick über die wesentlichen Aspekte der Theologie und des Wirkens Vermiglis.“ Christoph Strohm, Heidelberg University. In: Zwingliana, Vol. 37 (2010), pp. 205-209. ‘’Après les colloques de 1977 et de 1999, ce symposium fera date dans les études sur Vermigli, comme ce volume, outil désormais indispensable, par la somme des informations, la qualité des contributions et le soin apporté à sa confection, à quiconque voudrait consacrer ses talents de chercheur à ce Réformateur novateur et prolixe, ou s’initier simplement à l’herméneutique de Vermigli.’’ A. Noblesse-Rocher, Université de Strasbourg. In: Revue D’histoire et de Philosophie, 2011, Tome 91, n° 4, p. 587.Table of ContentsList of Illustrations List of Contributors Acknowledgements Abbreviations and Acronyms Introduction Convocation Oration, Emidio Campi Part I International Career 1. Italy: Religious and Intellectual Ferment, Joseph McLelland 2. Strasbourg: Vermigli and the Senior School, Gerald Hobbs 3. Oxford: Reading Scripture in the University, Charlotte Methuen 4. Zurich: Professor in the Schola Tigurina, Emidio Campi Part II Learning Sacred and Profane 5. Exegesis and Patristic Authority, David Wright (†2008) 6. Aristotle and Scholasticism, Luca Baschera 7. Humanism, Hebraism, and Scriptural Hermeneutics, Max Engammare 8. Exegesis and Theological Method, Scott Amos 9. Ex parte videntium: Hermeneutics of the Eucharist, Maurice Boutin Part III Biblical Commentaries 10. Genesis Commentary: Interpreting Creation, Emidio Campi 11. Judges Commentary: Patristic and Medieval Sources, Gary Jenkins 12. Expounding Psalms: the Preces Sacrae, Herman Selderhuis 13. Lamentations Commentary: Theodicy, Daniel Shute 14. First Corinthians Commentary: Exegetical Tradition, Jon Balserak 15. Romans Commentary: Justification and Sanctification, Frank James III Part IV Theological Loci 16. Classical Christology, William Klempa 17. Predestination and the Thirty-Nine Articles, David Neelands 18. Ecclesiology: Exegesis and Discipline, Robert Kingdon 19. Eucharistic Theology, Peter Opitz 20. Political Theology: the Godly Prince, Torrance Kirby 21. Prayers and Sermons, John Patrick Donnelly 22. Epistolary: Theological Themes, Christian Moser Part V Nachleben 23. Josias Simler’s hagiography, Michael Baumann 24. Vermigli and French Reform, Jason Zuidema 25. History of the Loci Communes, Joseph McLelland Conclusion: Vermigli’s ‘Stromatic’ Theology, Joseph McLelland Bibliography General Index Index of Names

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Book SynopsisThe Companion to Jean Gerson provides a guide to new research on Jean Gerson (1363-1429), theologian, chancellor of the University of Paris, and church reformer. Ten articles outline his life and works, contribution to lay devotion, place as biblical theologian, role as humanist, mystical theology, involvement in the conciliar movement, dilemmas as university master and conflicts with the mendicants, views on women and especially on female visionaries, participation in the debate on the "Roman de la Rose", and the afterlife of his works until the French Revolution. Some of the contributors are veterans of gersonian studies, while others have recently completed their dissertations. All map the relevance of Gerson to understanding late medieval and early modern culture, religion and spirituality.Table of ContentsList of Contributors Introduction In Search of Jean Gerson: Chronology of His Life and Works, Brian Patrick McGuire Gerson on Lay Devotion, Daniel B. Hobbins Discovering Gerson the Humanist: Fifty Years of Serendipity, Gilbert Ouy Making Sense of it all: Gerson’s Biblical Theology, D. Zach Flanagin Gerson as Conciliarist, Francis Oakley Gerson’s Mystical Theology: A New Profile of its Evolution, Jeffrey Fisher Gerson as Preacher in the Conflict between Mendicants and Secular Priests, Nancy McLoughlin Gerson’s Stance on Women, Wendy Love Anderson Jean Gerson and the Debate on the Romance of the Rose, Renate Blumenfeld-Kosinski Gerson’s Afterlife, Yelena Mazour-Matusevich Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisIn Jesuit Polymath of Madrid D. Scott Hendrickson offers the first English-language account of the life and work of Juan Eusebio Nieremberg (1595-1658), a leading intellectual in Spain during the turbulent decades of the mid-seventeenth century. Most remembered as a prominent ascetic in the neo-Platonic tradition, Nieremberg emerges here as a writer deeply indebted to the legacy of Ignatius Loyola and his Spiritual Exercises. Hendrickson convincingly shows how Nieremberg drew from his formation in the Jesuit order at the time of its first centenary to engage the cultural and intellectual currents of the Spanish Golden Age. As an author of some seventy-five works, which represent several genres and were translated throughout Europe and abroad, Nieremberg’s literary enterprise demands attention.Trade Review“Thoroughly and carefully researched, elegantly written, and clearly organized, this study serves as an excellent introduction to Nieremberg and his age. […] This book is a landmark achievement.” - Carlos Eire, Yale University, in: Journal of Jesuit Studies 3/4 (2016), pp. 694-696 [DOI: 10.1163/22141332-00304009-03] “Essential reading for those interested in Jesuit studies and the intellectual history of early modern Spain.” - Xavier Tubau, Hamilton College, in: Renaissance Quarterly, Vol. 70, No. 2 (Summer 2017), pp. 767-769 “This volume is an excellent introduction to Spanish literary and spiritual motifs of the seventeenth century. Hendrickson ably succeeds in his case for Nieremberg’s continued place in the pantheon of Jesuit writers.” - Barton T. Geger, SJ, Regis University, Denver, in: Theological Studies 77/3 (2016), pp. 742-743 “Como suele ser habitual en la editorial Brill, la factura del libro es magnífica en cuanto a su impresión, encuadernación e ilustración, destacando en esto último las acertadas incursiones que realiza en la pintura del sevillano Valdés Leal, el último gran pintor alegórico del Barroco español. Valoriza más la edición la inclusión de útiles apéndices (una bibliografía nierembergiana completa y una selección de decretos trentinos aludidos), de una completa y bien clasificada bibliografía y de un imprescindible índice onomástico y temático en donde se trasluce la enorme cantidad de recursos empleados en esta exitosa investigación.” - Francisco José Aranda Pérez, Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha, in: Vínculos de Historia 5 (2016), pp. 381-383Table of ContentsAcknowledgments Abbreviations Introduction Chapter 1. Juan Eusebio Nieremberg Introduction The Jesuit Faithful Son of Saint Ignatius Christian Discernment The Ignatian Exercises: Seeking and Finding the Divine Will Discernment in Early Modern Spain Nieremberg and the Exercises Jesuit Ministry of the Word Erudite Eclecticism Conclusion Chapter 2. Catechetical Innovations Introduction Catechetical Context: Crying Tears of Blood Nieremberg and Trent The Voice of Doctrine The Catechetical Examples: Entertaining Digressions Narrative Appeal: The Open Roads of Spain Contemplating the Example: To Bring to Memory Assimilating the Example: The Story of One’s Life The Wider Application of the Exemplo Conclusion Chapter 3. Contemplating the Book of Nature Introduction Nieremberg’s Natural Philosophy The Miscellanies: Part Knowledge, Part Wonder Knowledge of the Natural World: Ad perfectam cognitionem Reading the Book of Nature: Harmony and Deformity Contemplating the Book of Nature: The Consideration Applying the Lessons of Nature: Deus me fecit Conclusion Chapter 4. The Spiritual Exercise of Reading Introduction The Eusebio Proper Knowledge Contemptus mundi Didactic Iconography: Ser and Parecer A Spiritual Itinerary Meditative Reading Conclusion Chapter 5. Public Maladies and Prudent Reform Introduction Words of Counsel The Pain of National Decline The Cause The Remedy Prudent Reform Conclusion Conclusion Appendix 1. Bibliography of Works by Juan Eusebio Nieremberg Appendix 2. Cited Decrees from the Council of Trent Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisRichard ‘Dutch’ Thomson (d. 1613), best known today as a Bible translator and one of the earliest English Arminians, was admired in his own day for his learning. This book provides the first biography of Thomson. It maps his connections with his contemporaries, reconstructs his reading, and edits his surviving correspondence, some seventy-eight letters. Thomson moved among the greatest scholars of his day, and was good friends with Joseph Scaliger and Isaac Casaubon. He travelled in Italy, Germany, and the Low Countries, became a member of five universities, and worked with manuscripts in the libraries in England, Florence, Geneva, Heidelberg and Leiden. Modern scholarship, working within national boundaries, has tended to see only a part of the whole picture.Trade Review“Botley’s heroic effort to trace Thomson has produced a valuable resource for research on many topics, for this multilingual, well-educated, English-Dutch son of a Protestant merchant was committed to advancing classical learning in an international circle of acquaintances and friends that included some of the best scholars of his day.” Judith Rice Henderson, University of Saskatchewan. In: Renaissance Quarterly, Vol. 70, No. 4 (Winter 2017), pp. 1483-1485.Table of ContentsAcknowledgements Preface Abbreviations PART 1 Thomson’s Life 1 Early Life 2 Cambridge, 1583–1587 3 Germany, 1587 4 Leiden, 1588–1591? 5 England, 1591–May 1592 6 Germany, May 1592–April 1593 7 Geneva, April–August 1593 8 Frankfurt, September 1593 9 Leiden, December 1593–May 1594 10 Stade, May 1594 11 England, June 1594–August? 1596 12 Geneva, October? 1596–April 1597 13 Italy, April 1597–April 1599 14 Paris, July 1599 15 Augsburg, Autumn 1599? 16 England, from December 1599 17 Reading Casaubon on Athenaeus 18 Richard Mountague 19 Visitors to Cambridge 20 The Lexicon of Photius 21 Johannes de Laet, 1603–1606 22 Petrus Scriverius’ Lost Edition of Martial, 1602–1605 23 Thomson’s Hebrew 24 Bringing Casaubon to England, 1607–1610 25 Thomson’s Elenchus, 1611 26 Final Years and Death 27 Thomson’s Legacy: The Diatriba, 1616 28 Thomson’s Posthumous Reputation 29 Conclusion PART 2 Thomson’s Letters The Letters Editorial Principles and Conventions The Text and Apparatus Inventory of the Correspondence List of Correspondents The Letters Appendix 1: Thomson’s Poetry Appendix 2: Thomson’s Library Index

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Book SynopsisThis new volume of essays marks eighty years since the death of Marmaduke Pickthall. His various roles as translator of the Qurʾan, traveller to the Near East, political journalist writing on behalf of Muslim Turkey, and creator of the Muslim novel are discussed. In later life Pickthall became a prominent member of the British Muslim community in London and Woking, co-worker with Muslims in the Indian subcontinent, supporter of the Khilafat movement, and editor of the journal Islamic Culture under the patronage of the Nizam of Hyderabad. Marmaduke Pickthall: Islam and the Modern World makes an important contribution to the field of Muslims in Europe in the first half of the twentieth century. Contributors are: Humayun Ansari, Adnan Ashraf, James Canton, Peter Clark, Ron Geaves, A.R. Kidwai, Faruk Kokoglu, Andrew C. Long, Geoffrey P. Nash, M. A. Sherif and Mohammad Siddique Seddon.Table of ContentsAcknowledgements Foreword: Marmaduke Pickthall After 1936, PETER CLARK 1. Introduction: Pickthall, Islam and the Modern World, GEOFFREY P. NASH Part One: Pickthall and the British Muslim Community 2. Pickthall, Muslims of South Asia, and members of the British Muslim Community of the early 1900s, K. HUMAYUN ANSARI 3. Marmaduke Pickthall and the British Muslim Convert Community JAMIE GILHAM 4. Abdullah Quilliam (Henri de Léon) and Marmaduke Pickthall: Agreements and disagreements between two prominent Muslims in the London and Woking Communities, RON GEAVES Part Two: Pickthall’s Religious and Political Thought 5. Pickthall’s Anti-Ottoman Dissent: The Politics of Religious Conversion, MOHAMMAD SIDDIQUE SEDDON 6. Pickthall’s Islamic Politics, M.A.SHERIF 7. Pickthall, Ottomanism, and Modern Turkey, GEOFFREY P. NASH Part Three: Man of Letters, Traveller and Translator 8. Oriental Eyes – or seeing and being seen: Popular Culture and the Near Eastern fiction of Marmaduke Pickthall, ANDREW C. LONG 9. A Vehicle for the Sacred: Marmaduke Pickthall’s Near Eastern novels, ADNAN ASHRAF 10. Becoming Woman and Gender Typologies in Marmaduke Pickthall’s Oriental fiction, FARUK KÖKOĞLU 11. “Throwing off the European”: Marmaduke Pickthall’s travels in Arabia 1892-94, JAMES CANTON 12. Muhammad Marmaduke Pickthall’s English translation of the Quran (1930): An Assessment, A.R. KIDWAI Index

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Book SynopsisSt. Birgitta of Sweden (d. 1373) is one of the most celebrated female visionaries and authors of the Middle Ages and a central figure in the history of late-medieval religion. An aristocratic widow, Birgitta left her native country in 1349 and settled in Rome, where she established herself as an outspoken critic of the Avignon Papacy and an advocate of spiritual and ecclesiastical reform. Birgitta founded a new monastic order, and her major work, The Heavenly Book of Revelations, circulated widely in a variety of monastic, reformist, and intellectual milieus following her death. This volume offers an introduction to the saint and the reception of her work written by experts from various disciplines. In addition to acquainting the reader with the state of the scholarship, the study also presents fresh interpretations and new perspectives on Birgitta and the sources for her life and writings. Contributors: Roger Andersson, Nirit Ben-Aryeh Debby, Unn Falkeid, Anna Fredriksson, Birgitta Fritz, Ann M. Hutchison, F. Thomas Luongo, Maria H. Oen, Anders Piltz, and Pavlína Rychterová.Trade Review"In conclusion, this volume contributes essential knowledge about one of the most brilliant saints of the Middle Ages. St Birgitta's impact both in Sweden and internationally is presented in an excellent way. This volume will give English-speaking students important knowledge about St Birgitta and will provide researchers with an opportunity to develop the presented perspectives and conclusions." (Translated from Swedish original) Erik Bergman, Lund University, in Kyrkohistorisk årsskrift 2020, pp. 199-201Table of ContentsAcknowledgements List of Illustrations List of Abbreviations Notes on Editions and Translations Notes on Contributors Timeline Introduction: Birgitta Birgersdotter and the Liber celestis revelacionum  Maria H. Oen 1 God’s Words, or Birgitta’s? Birgitta of Sweden as Author  F. Thomas Luongo 2 Birgitta and the Bible  Anders Piltz 3 The Political Discourse of Birgitta of Sweden  Unn Falkeid 4 Challenging and Championing St Birgitta’s Revelations at the Councils of Constance and Basel  Anna Fredriksson 5 The History and Spiritual Life of Vadstena Abbey  Birgitta Fritz 6 Birgitta and Her Revelations in the Sermons of the Vadstena Brothers  Roger Andersson 7 The Iconography of Liber celestis revelacionum  Maria H. Oen 8 Reshaping Birgitta of Sweden in Tuscan Art and Sermons  Nirit Ben-Aryeh Debby 9 The Revelations of St Birgitta in the Holy Roman Empire  Pavlína Rychterová 10 Birgitta and Late-Medieval English Spirituality  Ann M. Hutchison Bibliography General Index

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Book SynopsisIn this biography of Reformed theologian Francis Turretin (1623-87), Nicholas A. Cumming provides critical context for the life and theology of this important seventeenth-century theologian and his impact on the Reformed tradition as a whole. Turretin has commonly been identified as a strict scholastic theologian; this work places Turretin in his broader context, analyzing his life and theology in terms of the political and religious aspects of post-Reformation Europe and his posthumous influence on nineteenth- and twentieth-century Reformed theology. This work begins with a biography of Turretin, including his education and ministry, then proceeds to the context of Turretin’s theology in the early modern and modern periods, particularly in relation to his major work The Institutes of Elenctic Theology.Table of ContentsAbbreviations Notes on Conventions Chapter 1: Introduction Chapter 2: Turretin’s Early Life and Education Chapter 3: Turretin in Geneva Chapter 4: The Institutes of Elenctic Theology Chapter 5: Turretin’s Sermons, Disputations and the Formula Chapter 6: Publication History Chapter 7: Turretin’s Impact: the Eighteenth Century Chapter 8: Turretin’s Impact: the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries Chapter 9: Conclusion Appendix Select Bibliography

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Book SynopsisDominican Resonances in Medieval Iceland explores the life and legacy of Jón Halldórsson, Bishop of Skálholt (1322–39), a Dominican who had studied the liberal arts in Paris and canon law in Bologna. Combining different disciplinary approaches (literary and intellectual history, manuscript studies, musicology), this book aims to examine the conditions under which literate culture thrived in 14th-century Scandinavia. The studies included in this volume consider Jón Halldórsson’s educational background and his contributions as a storyteller to Old Norse literature, focusing especially upon legendary sagas such as Clári saga and examining their link to the Dominican tradition of exempla. The volume also includes critical studies of manuscripts that contain tales and adventures, secular law and canon law, administrative writings, as well as music and liturgy from the province of Nidaros. Combining these various analytical perspectives results in rich insights with broad implications for our understanding of medieval Nordic culture. Contributors are Astrid Marner, Christian Etheridge, Embla Aae, Gisela Attinger, Gottskálk Jensson, Gunnar Harðarson, Hjalti Snær Ægisson, Karl G. Johansson, Stefan Drechsler, Védís Ragnheiðardóttir, and Viðar Pálsson

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