Archbishop Theodore: Commemorative Studies on his Life and Influence (Cambridge Studies in Anglo-Saxon England, Series Number 11)

Theodore, Archbishop of Canterbury (668SH90), shaped the English Church into a structure it has retained for a millennium. Yet until recently he has remained a shadowy figure, whose early career in the Near East and at Rome has been unknown. In this book, which builds on the 1994 publication of previously unprinted Biblical commentaries from Theodore's Canterbury school, internationally distinguished scholars provide a fresh account of the career and writings of a unique personality who brought to Anglo-Saxon England the cultural heritage of Syria, Byzantium and Rome. Theodore, archbishop of Canterbury (668-90), was a monk of Greek origin and extraordinary learning, who shaped the English church into a structure it retained for a millennium. Yet until recently he has remained a shadowy figure, whose early career in the Near East and at Rome has been wholly unknown. The recent publication of previously unprinted biblical commentaries from Theodore's Canterbury school has helped to clarify the picture. Building on these commentaries, this new book presents a detailed investigation of the now available evidence and establishes Theodore's cultural and spiritual background and the formation of his learning. It draws on the expertise of scholars across a wide range of disciplines to provide a fresh account of Theodore's career and writings on such diverse subjects as canon law, penitential literature, liturgy and Latin rhythmical verse - revealing a unique personality who brought to Anglo-Saxon England the cultural heritage of Syria, Byzantium and Rome. Until quite recently, our knowledge of the career of Archbishop Theodore has depended almost entirely on the information conveyed by Bede in his Historia ecclesiastica, which may be summarized as follows: Theodore died on 19 September 690, aged 88 (HE V.8), and hence was born in 602; according to Bede he was a native of Tarsus in Cilicia, was well instructed in secular and Christian literature both Greek and Latin (HE IV.1) and was latterly living as a monk in Rome when he came to the attention of Pope Vitalian (657-72), through the recommendation of Hadrian, then abbot of a monastery near Naples but subsequently to become Theodore's companion during his English appointment; and after being consecrated archbishop of Canterbury in Rome on 26 March 668, Theodore arrived in England a year later, on 27 May 669, then aged 67, to begin his twenty-two-year archbishopric, a period described by Bede as the happiest since the English first came to Britain. Cambridge University Press Contents 6 Preface 8 Abbreviations 12 1 The career of Archbishop Theodore 16 2 The Syriac background 45 3 Theodore of Tarsus and the Greek culture of his time 69 4 Rome in the seventh century 83 5 Theodore, the English church and the monothelete controversy 103 6 The importation of Mediterranean manuscripts into Theodore's England 111 7 Theodore and the Latin canon law 135 8 The Penitential of Theodore and the 156 9 Theodore and the Pass to S. Anastasii 190 10 Theodore and the Laterculus Malalianus 219 11 Theodore and the liturgy 237 12 Theodore's Bible: the Pentateuch 251 13 Theodore's Bible: the gospels 270 14 Theodore and Anglo-Latin octosyllabic verse 275 15 The Canterbury Bible glosses: facts and problems 296 Index 349 ISBN-13,9780521480772,hardback,ISBN-13,9780521032100,paperback ISBN-13 9780521480772 hardback,ISBN-13 9780521032100 paperback Theodore, Archbishop of Canterbury (668-90), was a monk of Greek origin and extraordinary learning, who shaped the English Church into a structure it retained for a millennium. Yet until recently his early career has been unknown. This book builds on the publication of previously unprinted biblical commentaries from Theodore's Canterbury school, and establishes Theodore's cultural and spiritual background and the formation of his learning. Scholars provide a fresh account of Theodore's career and writings on diverse subjects, revealing a unique personality who brought to Anglo-Saxon England the cultural heritage of Syria, Byzantium and Rome Theodore, Archbishop of Canterbury (668 - 690), shaped the English Church into a structure it has retained for a millennium. Yet until recently he has remained a shadowy figure, whose early career in the Near East and at Rome has been unknown. In this book, which builds on the 1994 publication of previously unprinted Biblical commentaries from Theodore's Canterbury school, internationally distinguished scholars provide a fresh account of the career and writings of a unique personality who brought to Anglo-Saxon England the cultural heritage of Syria, Byzantium and Rome. Theodore, Archbishop of Canterbury (668-90), shaped the English Church into a structure it has retained for a millennium. Yet, he has remained relatively a shadowy figure, whose early career in the Near East and Rome has been largely unknown. In this book internationally distinguished scholars provide a fresh account of the career and writings of a unique personality who brought to Anglo-Saxon England the cultural heritage of Syria, Byzantium and Rome Edited By Michael Lapidge. Includes Bibliographical References And Index.