In Praise of the Virgin Mary, the God-Bearer

Ann W. Astell is the John Cardinal O’Hara Professor of Theology at the University of Notre Dame. The author of seven books and the editor or co-editor of seven volumes, she has recently published essays on Honorius Augustodunensis, Bernard of Clairvaux, Eadmer of Canterbury, and Aelred of Rievaulx.

• ContentsAcknowledgments   ixAbbreviations   xiiIntroduction   xiiiIn Praise of the Virgin Mary, the God-Bearer: Alan of Lille’s Concise Elucidation of the Song of Songs   1Author’s Prologue   3Chapter One   5Chapter Two   33Chapter Three   49Chapter Four   59Chapter Five   73Chapter Six   87Chapter Seven   99Chapter Eight   111Appendix 1. Citations of the Song of Songs in the Liber in Distinctionibus dictionum theologicalium   125Appendix 2. Luna in Dictionary, Commentary, and Sermon   135Bibliography   137Index of Scriptural References   147General Index   151

“Ann Astell's elegant translation of Alan's commentary on Solomon's love song catapults the reader into a world of vivid metaphor in which the creatures of God become material symbols of spiritual beauty. Inspiring poets from Dante to Spenser, Alan's reading of the Song became a staple for Christian apologetics in praise of God's Artifact, underpinning both contemplative treatises on the ascent of the soul and catalogues of the creatures encountered in Scripture. Astell's introduction and notes make this richness clear to the modern reader, while at the same time inviting us to encounter the truth of the Incarnation on which Alan's allegory drew. A gem of a medieval text, exquisitely rendered into modern prose.”Rachel Fulton Brown, author of From Judgment to Passion: Devotion to Christ and the Virgin Mary, 800-1200 and Mary and the Art of Prayer: The Hours of the Virgin in Medieval Christian Life and Thought