Books by David M . Foley
"Originally published over the course of eleven years (1840-1851) in three ample volumes that spa... more "Originally published over the course of eleven years (1840-1851) in three ample volumes that span nearly two thousand pages, Dom Prosper Guéranger's Liturgical Institutions sets forth an erudite and impassioned history of the Roman Rite and of the depredations it has suffered over the centuries at the hands of "anti-liturgical heretics" whose lineage is by no means exhausted. A vast narrative of astonishing breadth and penetration, the Institutions remains a masterpiece of analysis and synthesis, with striking relevance to our times. In this first-ever English translation of the Institutions, based on Jean Vaquié's deftly-condensed one-volume French edition from 1977, the reader will find a comprehensive vision of Catholic worship, incomparably defining and defending the rites – and rights — of sacred tradition."
This monograph encompasses the first critical edition, translation, and historical study of a ser... more This monograph encompasses the first critical edition, translation, and historical study of a series of lectures from the cathedral school of Notre-Dame, Peter Comestor’s Glosses on the Glossed Gospel of John. Delivered in Paris in the mid-1150s, Comestor’s expansive lecture course on the Glossa ordinaria on the Gospel of John has survived in no fewer than seventeen manuscript witnesses, being preserved in the form of continuous transcripts taken in shorthand by a student-reporter (reportationes). The editor has selected the fifteen best witnesses to produce a critical edition and translation of the first chapter of Comestor’s lectures on the Gospel of John. In addition to the text of the original lectures, the edition includes appendices containing accretions to the lecture materials added by Comestor and his students, as well as the corresponding text of the Glossa ordinaria from which Comestor lectured.
The Latin text and translation of Peter Comestor’s lectures are preceded by a wide-ranging critical study of the historical and intellectual context of Peter Comestor’s biblical teaching. This study begins with an outline of Comestor’s scholastic career and known works, with a detailed introduction to his Gospel lectures and the relevant historiography. Subsequently, a survey is made of the intellectual landscape of Comestor’s lectures: namely, the tradition of biblical teaching originating at the School of Laon, preserved in the Glossa ordinaria, and developed in the classroom by Peter Lombard and a succession of Parisian masters, notably Comestor himself. The following section examines the portion of the lectures presented in this book, encompassing an overview of its contents and structure, a description of Comestor’s teaching method and scholastic setting, a study of the text’s sources, and a consideration of Comestor’s participation and reception in the scholastic tradition. The final chapters contain a careful description of the manuscripts and editorial principles adopted in the Latin edition and translation.
Angelus Press: Saint Marys, KS, 2023
Lectures on the Glossa ordinaria FOLEY and WHEDBEE Peter Comestor's oral lectures on the Glossa o... more Lectures on the Glossa ordinaria FOLEY and WHEDBEE Peter Comestor's oral lectures on the Glossa ordinaria were originally delivered at the cathedral school of Paris around the year and survive in the form of student transcripts. As one of the period's pioneering masters, Comestor lectured using the newly-fashioned biblical Gloss as his textbook, meticulously weaving its component glosses into his teaching to distil its richly varied patristic exegesis. While at times elegant and consciously rhetorical, Comestor's lectures are preserved in vividly conversational Latin, bearing traces of the master's direct address to his students and lively examples drawn from contemporary life in the schools. Edited for the rst time from the late twel h-century manuscript Troyes, Médiathèque du Grand Troyes, MS , the prefatory material of Comestor's lecture courses on the four glossed Gospels o ers a unique glimpse into the classroom of one of Paris's preeminent masters at the height of the renaissance of the twel h century. Bruges, Openbare Bibliotheek, MS , fol. r. e Luke Gloss, with paraphrases of Peter Comestor's lectures on Luke added as marginal and interlinear glosses. Reproduced by permission.
Book Reviews by David M . Foley
The Journal of Medieval Latin, 2020
Papers by David M . Foley
Quaderni di storia religiosa medievale, 2022
Peter Comestor's classroom lectures on the glossed Gospels are replete with references to contemp... more Peter Comestor's classroom lectures on the glossed Gospels are replete with references to contemporary theologians, described using the terms "quidam" and "alii." It is rarely possible to identify the masters who are hidden behind these references, yet Comestor's recurrent use of the terms reveals a vast tradition of Gospel teaching in 12th-century schools centred around the Glossa ordinaria. Whether discussing minute points of biblical interpretation or engaging in contemporary theological debates of the highest importance, Comestor continually exposes his students to the tradition. In this study, the identity of Comestor's "quidam" and the broader significance of the Parisian culture of oral teaching concealed in his lectures will be considered.
Angelus Magazine: The Era of Light: The Twelfth and Thirteenth Centuries, 2023
Thesis Chapters by David M . Foley
PhD Thesis: University of Toronto, 2020
This thesis encompasses the first partial critical edition and specialised study of a series of l... more This thesis encompasses the first partial critical edition and specialised study of a series of lectures from the cathedral school of Notre-Dame, Peter Comestor's Glosae super Iohannem glosatum. Delivered in Paris in the mid-1160s, Comestor's lecture course on the Glossa 'ordinaria' on the Gospel of John has survived in seventeen manuscript witnesses, being preserved in the form of continuous transcripts taken in shorthand by a student-reporter (reportationes). Following a careful census of the manuscript tradition, I have selected ten of the best witnesses dating from between ca. 1175 and 1225 to produce a critical edition of the prothemata and the first chapter of Comestor's lectures. In addition to the text of the original lectures, I provide two appendices containing subsequent accretions to the lecture materials contributed by Comestor and his students, as well as a third appendix containing an edition of the corresponding portion of the Glossa 'ordinaria' from which Comestor lectured. The second part of this thesis, comprised of five chapters, represents a critical study of the historical and intellectual context of Peter Comestor's biblical teaching.
Book Chapters by David M . Foley
Master of Histories," pp. -. . The master's death is generally dated to , although contemporary r... more Master of Histories," pp. -. . The master's death is generally dated to , although contemporary records are not unanimous on this date; see Daly, "Master of Histories," pp. -. person singular (particularly dico and inquam) represent Comestor's speech, serving to emphasize a point that he is making to his students. Similarly, with the third-person plural Peter refers to the course of lectures as a collective enterprise (for example, diximus, 'we have discussed' and legemus, 'we will read') -a convention still observed in any modern classroom. Perhaps most evocative of the classroom setting are the imperative and jussive subjunctive forms of the second person (for example, intelligite, nota, caue ne construas), occurring most frequently in the singular, but occasionally in the plural, which represent Comestor's direct address to his students. These forms sometimes occur when the master is conducting the class through a particularly important or intricate interpretation; nevertheless, Peter most commonly addresses his auditors to provide instructions about how to follow his lecture from their biblical textbook, the Glossa ordinaria (or simply 'the Gloss'). Significantly, Comestor's are the earliest known lectures to comment, not simply on the Gospels, but on the glossed Gospels, or Euangelia glosata -that is, the sacred text as it circulated from the mid-twelfth century with a 'standard' (ordinaria) apparatus of marginal and interlinear glosses drawn from patristic writings. In the prefatory material edited below, Comestor lectures on a series of prefaces drawn from the relevant book of the Glossa ordinaria. Here, Comestor provides a continuous, verseby-verse exposition of each preface in a fashion resembling the 'literary' (i.e. composed rather than orally delivered) commentaries of the period. However, when the lectures turn to the Gospel text itself -a transition that the reader will not encounter . See for example, Beryl Smalley, "Peter Comestor on the Gospels and His Sources," Recherches de théologie ancienne et médiévale ( ), -, at p. .
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Books by David M . Foley
The Latin text and translation of Peter Comestor’s lectures are preceded by a wide-ranging critical study of the historical and intellectual context of Peter Comestor’s biblical teaching. This study begins with an outline of Comestor’s scholastic career and known works, with a detailed introduction to his Gospel lectures and the relevant historiography. Subsequently, a survey is made of the intellectual landscape of Comestor’s lectures: namely, the tradition of biblical teaching originating at the School of Laon, preserved in the Glossa ordinaria, and developed in the classroom by Peter Lombard and a succession of Parisian masters, notably Comestor himself. The following section examines the portion of the lectures presented in this book, encompassing an overview of its contents and structure, a description of Comestor’s teaching method and scholastic setting, a study of the text’s sources, and a consideration of Comestor’s participation and reception in the scholastic tradition. The final chapters contain a careful description of the manuscripts and editorial principles adopted in the Latin edition and translation.
Book Reviews by David M . Foley
Papers by David M . Foley
Thesis Chapters by David M . Foley
Book Chapters by David M . Foley