Out of The Cloister. Scholastic Exegesis of The Song of Songs, 1100-1250 - Suzanne LaVere (Brill, Leiden 2016)

i
Out of the Cloister
koninklijke brill nv, leiden, 2016|doi 10.1163/9789004313842_001

ii
Commentaria
Sacred Texts and Their Commentaries:
Jewish, Christian and Islamic
Founding Editors
Grover A. Zinn
Michael A. Signer (ob.)
Editors
Frans van Liere

Lesley Smith
E. Ann Matter
Thomas E. Burman
Robert A. Harris
Walid Saleh
VOLUME 6
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Out of the Cloister

Scholastic Exegesis of the Song of Songs, 11001250
By
Suzanne LaVere
LEIDEN | BOSTON
iv
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: LaVere, Suzanne, author.

Title: Out of the cloister : scholastic exegesis of the Song of Songs,
1100-1250 / by Suzanne LaVere.
Description: Boston : Brill, 2016. | Series: Commentaria, sacred texts and
their commentaries: Jewish, Christian, and Islamic, ISSN 1874-8236 ;
VOLUME 6 | Includes bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2015048710 (print) | LCCN 2016002502 (ebook) | ISBN
9789004311985 (hardback : alk. paper) | ISBN 9789004313842 (E-book)
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Contents
Contents v
Contents
Acknowledgementsvii
Introduction
A New Species of High Medieval Song of Songs Commentary1
1 Preach, O Gathering of My Friends! Anselm of Laons Continuous

Commentary and the Active Life8
2 Innovation and Compilation at Laon: The Glossed Song of Songs and Its
Influence51
3 Arise From Contemplation and Undertake Useful Preaching. Peter the

Chanters Practical Approach to the Song of Songs72
4 Glossing the Gloss: Stephen Langtons Super-Commentary on the Song

of Songs97
5 Hugh of St. Cher and the Postill: Reading the Song of Songs as a
Mendicant Text119
Epilogue-Mendicant Song of Songs of Exegesis in the Late 13thEarly

14th Centuries: The Commentaries of Peter Olivi and Nicholas of
Lyra159
Bibliography175
Index185
vi Contents
Contentsv
Acknowledgmentsvii
Introduction1
Chapter 1
Preach, O Gathering of My Friends! Anselm of Laons Continuous Commentary and the Active Life8
Chapter 2
Innovation and Compilation at Laon: The Glossed Song of Songs and Its Influence51
Chapter 3
Arise From Contemplation and Undertake Useful Preaching. Peter the Chanters Practical Approach to the Song of Songs72
Chapter 4
Glossing the Gloss: Stephen Langtons Super-Commentary on the Song of Songs97
Chapter 5
Hugh of St. Cher and the Postill: Reading the Song of Songs as a Mendicant Text119
Epilogue: Mendicant Song of Songs Exegesis in the Late 13th-Early 14th Centuries159
Bibliography175
Index185
Acknowledgments
Acknowledgments vii
Acknowledgments
I gratefully acknowledge the influence of the many wonderful teachers I have

been lucky enough to learn from over the years, including Philip Daileader, Ed
Muir, Richard Kieckhefer, and especially Robert E. Lerner. I have valued his
indefatigable support, admired his profound knowledge, and shared his love of
classic movies and baseball. Although I only met him a few times, I am also
indebted to John W. Baldwin, whose incisive mind and elegant writing pro-
vided me with a model for scholarship, and whose kindness and generosity
encouraged me as I struggled through manuscript transcriptions. Additionally,
though I never met her, this book is deeply influenced by Beryl Smalley. Her
groundbreaking work on the medieval Bible provided a strong framework for
others to build on, and I only hope that I have been able to add to the remark-
able body of knowledge she established.
I completed significant work on this project under the auspices of an A.W.
Mellon Postdoctoral Fellowship in Medieval Studies at Notre Dames Medieval
Institute. I was grateful to have all the Institutes indispensable resources at my
fingertips and for the friendliness of the students, staff, and faculty, particularly
Remie Constable. I am particularly indebted to Deeana Klepper and Timothy
Bellamah, who traveled to Notre Dame to participate in my Mellon colloquium
and who provided insightful comments on an early draft of this manuscript. I
carried out additional research with the help of the excellent staff at the Hill
Monastic Manuscript Library on the beautiful campus of St. Johns University
with funding from an Indiana University Exploration Traveling Fellowship. I
also had the privilege of receiving funding from the Embassy of France in the
United States, the Newberry Library, and the cole des Chartes, which allowed
me to spend time in Paris examining several of the manuscripts used in this
book. I owe much to the staffs at the Bibliothque Nationale de France, the
Bibliothque de lArsenal, and the Bibliothque Mazarine, who helped me
with my research and tolerated my often spotty French. My thanks also goes
to the kind and helpful staff at the Bodleian Library. A summer grant from my
home institution, Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne, allowed
me to complete additional research in Paris, and the librarians at IPFW always
tracked down any resources I needed.
This work has benefited greatly from the helpful comments of outside read-
ers and members of the Commentaria editorial board. I am especially grateful
to Grover Zinn, Lesley Smith, and Frans van Liere for their assistance in the
publication process. I also thank Marcella Mulder for her helpful responses to
viii Acknowledgments
my many questions and J. Naomi Linzer for her work on the index. Closer to
home, I am thankful for my supportive colleagues at IPFW, not just alongside
me in the history department but in several other departments across campus.
I have shared many conversations with them that have helped me to think
about my research in new and exciting ways. Above all, I thank my family, es-
pecially my husband Craig. Spending years absorbing the profound love ex-
pressed in the text of the Song of Songs has made me ever more grateful that I
am my beloveds, and my beloved is mine.
Introduction
Introduction 1
Introduction
A New Species of High Medieval Song of Songs Commentary
In the mid-twentieth century, Pre M.-D. Chenu, Herbert Grundmann, and

others wrote of a newly expressed desire of some, in the wake of the Gregorian
reform movement of the late eleventh century, to follow a way of life that
imitated that of the apostles. Brenda Bolton has characterized this as a rec-
ognizable shift of religious emphasis the infusion of a new zeal and vigor.1
Among those in the secular clergy, in monasteries, and in the laity, there was
a growing aspiration to embrace a new kind of spirituality. In the early twelfth
century, the institutional Church had yet to determine how to deal with
this new wish of many to live the apostolic life, which had begun to mani-
fest itself as heresy in various places in Europe. One milieu in which those
representing the Church would take on these new ideas was in the cathedral
schools of growing urban areas, where masters were tasked with interpreting
the Bible and passing on knowledge of Scripture to their students. As Frans
van Liere remarks, in these schools, biblical exegesis was transformed from
a monastic method of spiritual reading into a discipline whose main aim was
to strengthen church doctrine, legislation, and preaching.2 It was precisely
during this period in which the Church was trying to adapt to new ideas that
an original interpretation of the Song of Songs, a biblical book that had until
then been mostly limited to the purview of monastics, developed. This new
interpretation argued that not only was an active life of teaching and preach-
ing important, it was superior to a monastic life spent in contemplation and
isolation from the world. In order to combat heresy and other problems among
the laity, those who represented the hierarchy of the Church must embrace
a form of the apostolic life centered on preaching and instruction. This new
interpretation of the Song of Songs was so radically different compared to
the interpretations that preceded it that I believe the group of texts exam-
ined in this book form an entirely new species of commentary. From roughly
1100 to 1250, this species dominated Song of Songs commentary produced in
1 Brenda Bolton, The Medieval Reformation (London, 1983), 17.

2 Frans van Liere, Biblical Exegesis Through the Twelfth Century. In The Practice of the Bible
in the Middle Ages: Production, Reception, and Performance in Western Christianity, eds. Susan
Boynton and Diane J. Reilly (New York, 2011), 167. On the development of schools and eventu-
ally the University of Paris, Ian P. Wei, Intellectual Culture in Medieval Paris: Theologians and
the University c. 11001330 (Cambridge, 2012) is a useful recent study.

2 Introduction
the schools, first at Laon and then at Paris. The innovative content of these
commentaries influenced those trained in the schools who would go on to
teach and preach among the laity. Within the context of what Bolton, Giles
Constable, and others have termed a medieval reformation, we can see in this
specifically scholastic exegesis of the Song of Songs a new movement to make
the interpretation of this biblical book relevant to the burgeoning spirituality
that characterized the High Middle Ages.3
This new species of commentary that emerged in the early twelfth century
did not arise ex nihilo; it drew extensively on the ecclesiological interpretation
of the Song of Songs first articulated by Origen in the third century and popu-
larized by Bede in his eighth-century commentary. Bede, in centering his text
around the idea that the bride and bridegroom of the Song of Songs were alle-
gorical representations of the Church and Christ respectively, wrote of the
importance of preaching to protect and enrich the Church. He never argues,
however, that an active life dedicated to preaching is superior to the monastic
life; and therein lies the key difference between the ecclesiological interpreta-
tion of the Song of Songs and this new, apostolic interpretation of the text put
forward in the twelfth century. The scholastic mode of interpretation found in
this new species of commentary places preaching above all else, with Christ
urging the Church to preach and the Church in turn telling the readers of these
commentaries that they must preach or risk exposing the Church to heretics
and other perils. In this new twelfth-century interpretation, action is not the
means through which one ascends to the perfection of contemplation; action
is the ideal mode of living; it is the way of life that imitates Christ and the
apostles and is most useful to the Church. While this theme is not the only one
of importance, it is the dominant strand of thought that characterizes all the
commentaries explored in this book. This apostolic reading of the text forms
the core of what I characterize as scholastic exegesis of the Song of Songs,
which is distinct from the interpretations of the text popularized by monks.
Indeed, this new, scholastic way of interpreting the Song of Songs
emerged during a period in which an entirely different way of reading this
biblical text was dominant. Monastic figures like Rupert of Deutz, Honorius
Augustodunensis, and Bernard of Clairvaux wrote Song of Songs commentar-
ies and sermons dedicated either to an affective reading of the text in which
the relationship between the individual soul and Christ is explored or a
Mariological reading in which the bride as Mary is glorified. It may seem obvi-
ous that biblical commentaries written in the practical context of the schools
3 See Boltons volume, along with Giles Constable, The Reformation of the Twelfth Century
(Cambridge, 1996).
Introduction 3
would avoid these interpretations and would renew the ecclesiological view of
the Song of Songs. Certainly biblical books were interpreted differently in the
schools than they would have been in the cloister. It is nevertheless striking
that in the same twelfth century in which Bernard and other monastic figures
dominate the interpretation of the Song of Songs with their popular texts, an
entirely different exegetical tradition begins to build from within the schools
of Laon and Paris.
There is a tendency still among modern scholars to privilege these monastic
readings of the Song of Songs because of the existence of so many influential
commentaries, and thus to think of the Song of Songs as a monastic text.
Song of Songs commentaries written by school figures have been the subject of
scholarly research far less frequently than those authored by their monastic
counterparts. Most of the commentaries explored in this book are unedited
and have not been extensively treated in other scholarly works, and biblical
commentary in general has been overlooked as a laboratory of sorts in which
we can see the reforming ideas that were being created in the twelfth century.
The Song of Songs presents a particularly interesting case precisely because it
is often considered in the monastic context. This new scholastic mode of inter-
pretation of the Song of Songs not only reflects the desire for change within the
Church that had been building since before the Gregorian Reform, but also
innovates in taking a biblical book that was a favorite subject of monks and
reigniting Bedes ecclesiological interpretation of the text for use in the context
of the reforming twelfth- and thirteenth-century Church. This speaks to the
medieval ability to contextualize biblical texts and interpret them in different
ways; the Song of Songs was being used simultaneously by both monks and
secular masters to speak to the sometimes conflicting ideas they held most
dear.
This book argues that there was a specific strand of interpretation of the
Song of Songs within scholastic circles, and that this interpretation reflected
the growing importance of Church reform in the High Middle Ages. It traces
the growth of this species of Song of Songs commentary from its origins at Laon
in the early twelfth century to its culmination in the Dominican studium of St.
Jacques in Paris during the 1230s. For the masters who championed preaching
and the active life, the Song of Songs was a biblical text that matched perfectly
with the idea of a reforming Church. Using an allegorical interpretation, these
commentators mined the Song of Songs for verses that emphasized the themes
most important to them. As mentioned above, at the core of this species of
commentary lay a strong emphasis on preaching and the active life. In every
one of the eight chapters of the Song of Songs, these commentators found
verses that they used to support their contention that Christ was demanding
4 Introduction
preaching from his beloved Church. Using the forceful, active language of the
biblical text, verses like Song of Songs 2:10, arise, hurry, my beloved, my dove,
my beautiful one, and come are turned into rallying cries issuing directly from
Christ, wherein the audience is urged to arise from the peace and solitude of
contemplation to the more challenging, more useful, and ultimately superior
active life of preaching.4
Within this dominant strand of thought, these masters used the Song of
Songs text to argue not only for the necessity of preaching, but also for the
need for morally suitable preachers who have properly cleansed themselves of
sin who and preach for the glory of God rather than for fame or financial gain.
These authors also use the text to warn future preachers of the limits of their
intellect and the perils that can befall those who lack good intentions. Each of
these commentaries also addresses the dangers posed to the Church by here-
tics, and argues that preachers must defend the Church against their incursions.
The commentaries also argue for the necessity of the conversion of the Jews.
All of this, the authors argue, will be accomplished through a vigorous program
of preaching. The Song of Songs, in this species of commentary, is the narrative
of the Churchs triumph over evil through adherence to an active, apostolic life
centered on preaching, a way of life which has been prescribed by Christ
Himself.
This book begins with an exploration of Anselm of Laons (d. 1117) continu-
ous Song of Songs commentary, which exists in both full and abridged versions
found in several different manuscripts. This continuous commentary forms
the foundation of the influential Glossa Ordinaria on the Song of Songs and
passes on to later scholars the idea that this biblical book can and should be
4 The commentaries examined in this book use many of the same verses from the Song of Songs
to make their argument in support of the active life. On the overall theme of preaching, several
verses from books 2 and 5 are employed by all the authors to emphasize the relationship be-
tween the bride and bridegroom (the Church and Christ) and Christs desire for the Church
to preach. The commentators also use verses from book 7, which features a description of the
brides beauty, to discuss this same idea. Ultimately, the verses that seem to attract the most
commentary on this theme of preaching and the active life involve Christ directly addressing
the Church or the Church addressing her friends. In discussing heretics, the authors most
frequently employ Song of Songs 2:15, catch for us the little foxes that destroy the vineyards
to talk about the destructive nature of heretics, but they also use verses 1:67, 3:8, 4:3, 4:8, 5:2,
5:5, 5:13, and 7:8 to approach this issue. In discussing the idea of the conversion of the Jews,
multiple authors employ verses 1:5, 4:12, and 6:11. The theme of the importance of preaching
and the active life permeates these commentaries to such an extent that over 40 different
verses from the Song of Songs are used to help emphasize this active, apostolic reading of the
text.
Introduction 5
read as a call to preaching and the active life. Perhaps unsurprisingly, Anselms
commentary and the Glossed Song of Songs share much of the same content,
but Anselms continuous commentary places more emphasis on the impor-
tance of preaching and argues that heretics must be persecuted and their
pernicious doctrines must be prevented from poisoning the minds of the
impressionable laity. In addition, Anselm argues that Jews, while enemies of
Christ, can and must be converted. Anselm uses the Song of Songs text to pro-
vide a narrative structure for the Jews conversion, displaying a notably more
positive view toward Jews than some of his contemporaries.
Anselm, as the head of the project to compose the Gloss and as the author
of his own Song of Songs commentary, originates this species of Song of Songs
exegesis and exercises a considerable influence on later scholastic theologians.
Chapter 2 of this book is dedicated to an examination of the Song of Songs
commentary from the Glossa Ordinaria (the Gloss), the indispensable biblical
guide for theology students initiated by Anselm of Laon and completed early
in the twelfth century. In this chapter I argue that the Gloss, which many schol-
ars have dismissed as a patchwork of quotations taken from the Church Fathers
and other sources, might have more original content than previously thought.
In the Glossed Song of Songs, at least, my research reveals over 200 new
glosses, interpretations that had not appeared in any previous sources. More
importantly, over thirty of these new glosses advocated the importance of ded-
ication to an active life of preaching over a life of isolated contemplation.
Instead of being derivative, the Glossed Song of Songs offers a groundbreaking
new perspective on the biblical text, and reveals an early attempt by members
of the Church hierarchy to play a role in the growing emphasis on the apostolic
life emerging during the early twelfth century.
With Chapter 3, the scene shifts from Laon to Paris, which had become the
center for theology, and indeed for northern European intellectual life by the
late twelfth century. This chapter examines a Song of Songs commentary by
Peter the Chanter (d. 1197), known as the first Parisian master to comment on
all books of the Bible, and deemed the originator of a biblical-moral school
concerned above all else with the practical application of spirituality, espe-
cially in the growing urban areas of Europe.5 The Chanter was known for his
desire to make his commentaries as clear and concise as possible, and he
always looked to the Bible as his first source of interpretation. The content of
5 The phrase biblical-moral school was coined by Martin Grabmann, Die Geschichte der scho-
lastischen Methode, v. 2 (Freiburg im Breisgau, 1911) 467 ff., and was popularized by John W.
Baldwin in Masters, Princes, and Merchants: The Social Views of Peter the Chanter and His Circle,
v. 1 (Princeton, 1970).
6 Introduction
his commentary, while very similar to that of the Gloss, was in many cases
more explicit as to why preaching was a necessary and honorable occupation.
Chapter 4 serves as a fitting companion to the chapter on Peter the Chanter.
This chapter discusses the Song of Songs commentary written by Stephen
Langton (d. 1228), who may have been the Chanters student and who certainly
falls within the Chanters circle of influence. Langtons commentary shows
the influence of the Chanter, but the format of his content is very different.
Langtons commentary is in fact a gloss on the Gloss, showing the extent to
which the Gloss had become an indispensable text in the schools. Langtons
commentaries were notoriously prolix, and his work on the Song of Songs was
no exception; he treats the issues of preaching and the active life in particular
very extensively, building on the ideas of the Gloss and the Chanter. By showing
the evolution of Song of Songs commentary at Paris, this chapter emphasizes
that Anselms particular interpretation of the text remains influential at the
end of the twelfth century.
The themes of preaching and the active life that drive this species of exege-
sis influenced two popes trained in theology at Paris, Innocent III (d. 1216) and
Honorius III (d. 1227). The writings and actions of these popes clearly show, as
is discussed at the beginning of Chapter 5, the extent to which they were influ-
enced by their training at Paris and by commentaries such as those composed
by the Chanter and Langton. The legislation of the Fourth Lateran Council in
1215 and the establishment of the new mendicant orders illustrate how ideas
discussed in biblical commentary made an impact in the Church and the world
at large. Secular masters like Anselm, the Chanter, and Langton exercised a
profound influence on the Dominicans and Franciscans who came to domi-
nate theology at Paris beginning in the 1230s. This influence is perhaps most
clearly illustrated in the postill on the Song of Songs composed by Hugh of St.
Cher (d. 1263) and a team of Dominicans working at the Parisian studium of St.
Jacques, which serves as the main subject of Chapter 5. The postills attributed
to Hugh would come to supplant or at least complement the Gloss as the main
biblical reference used in the University of Paris, but the Glossators notions
about preaching and the active life would remain intact in Hughs work.
Moreover, Hugh and his team employed more emphatic language than any of
the earlier commentaries in the group that I examine. Not only does Hugh
argue that preaching is superior to contemplation, but he roundly condemns
monks and clerics who neglect action in favor of contemplation. Hugh and his
team also put a particularly mendicant stamp on their postill, arguing that
poverty and humility must go hand in hand with preaching in order to achieve
the best and most useful life. With Hughs postill on the Song of Songs, we can
see the zenith of Anselms pastoral interpretation of the biblical text; as a
Introduction 7
member of the Order of Preachers, Hugh is part of a group whose primary mis-
sion was to carry out the type of work that is called for in this particular species
of Song of Songs commentary.
The epilogue briefly explores the Song of Songs commentaries of the
Franciscans Peter Olivi (d. 1298) and Nicholas of Lyra (d. 1349), whose works
demonstrate that the particular species of Song of Songs interpretation that
originated with Anselm of Laon seems to have faded in importance by the mid-
thirteenth century. Despite the fact that Olivi and Nicholas were mendicants,
they showed little interest in their Song of Songs commentaries in exploring
the importance of preaching, the conversion of the Jews, and the suppression
of heretics, ideas that had dominated the commentaries of their scholastic
predecessors. While the commentaries of both men do contain a few scattered
references to preaching, by and large, they have moved on to other concerns.
This epilogue, in addition to examining Olivi and Nicholass commentaries,
also speculates as to why preaching no longer dominated scholastic Song of
Songs commentary.
Despite the shift in the content of scholastic Song of Songs commentary
that seems to have occurred after 1250, it is my contention that between 1100
and the 1250, a new and highly influential style of Song of Songs interpretation
dominated scholastic writings on this particular biblical book. The Song of
Songs, which many modern scholars have seen as a monastic favorite ripe for a
contemplative interpretation, was taken up by several scholastic masters, who
saw the book as a vehicle through which they could communicate their notion
that preaching was a necessity in the High Middle Ages, a period of growth and
change for the Church. It is my hope that this work sheds new light on medi-
eval scholastic exegesis and the impact it had not only on the schools and the
clergy, but on the way the clergy was attempting to influence the laity. By using
this particular biblical book as their medium, medieval secular masters and
mendicants took the Song of Songs out of the cloister and argued that the text
could influence how those in clerical positions should interact with those in
the wider world. Using the Song of Songs as an instruction manual for the reli-
gious life, these men played an important part in movements that changed the
very structure and meaning of medieval Christianity.
8 Chapter 1
Chapter 1
Preach, O Gathering of My Friends! Anselm of

Laons Continuous Commentary and the Active Life
The school of Anselm that was located in the cathedral city of Laon dominated
the study of theology in the early twelfth century, flourishing in the years
before Paris became the unchallenged intellectual center of northern Europe.
Master Anselm (c. 10501117), along with his brother Ralph (d. c. 1136) formed
the core of a school that explored a wide variety of theological issues, produc-
ing numerous sentence collections, biblical commentaries, and the beginnings
of the Glossa Ordinaria (hereafter the Gloss), a work that, as will be explored in
the next chapter, profoundly influenced theologians throughout the medieval
period. And yet the details of Anselms life remain rather hazy; as Beryl Smalley
remarked, the Master was one of those scholars who sink their own personal-
ity in teamwork,1 leaving modern historians with some impressions of Anselm
recorded by his contemporaries, but little concrete information about his
teaching or the works he composed. Anselm was a powerful figure in Laon,
serving as archdeacon, chancellor, and dean of the cathedral in addition to his
role as a secular master at the cathedral school. Peter the Chanter surmised in
one of his own biblical commentaries that Anselm was not able to gloss the
entire Bible because the canons whose dean he was, and many others, used
often to hinder him in his work, involving him in all the concerns of the cathe-
dral chapter.2 Nevertheless, in addition to his work on the Gloss, Anselm was
able to compose separate continuous commentaries on the Psalms, Pauline
Epistles, and the Song of Songs.3 Centered on the importance of preaching and
conversion, Anselms Song of Songs commentary was used extensively in the
compilation of the Glossed Songs of Songs, as will be examined in this chapter
and the next. The glosses found in the Glossed Song of Songs that originated in
1 Beryl Smalley, The Study of the Bible in the Middle Ages, 3rd ed. (Oxford, 1983), 50.
2 Ibid.
3 Ibid., 68. Anselm may have also written a commentary on the book of Revelation, and another
on the Gospel of John. On the Psalms, Martin Morards unpublished 2008 dissertation com-
pleted at the Universit Paris Sorbonne-Paris IV, La Harpe des Clercs: Rception Mdivales du
Psautier Latin Entre Usages Populaires et Commentaires Scolaires provides insight. See also
Cdric Giraud, Per verba magistri. Anselme de Laon et son cole au XIIe sicle (Turnhout, 2010).
Girauds book concentrates on Anselms sentences collection rather than on his continuous
commentaries.

Preach, O Gathering of My Friends! 9
the Anselm commentary were used extensively by later authors, so Anselms

continuous commentary, through the filter of the Gloss, went on to exercise an
extraordinary amount of influence on the works of Parisian theologians well
into the thirteenth century.
Anselms contemporaries generally held him in high esteem, and noted that
his school at Laon drew crowds of students eager to pursue theological studies
under the guidance of the renowned master.4 The Benedictine monk Guibert
of Nogent, writing around 1115, is particularly effusive in his praise of Anselm,
saying that his knowledge of the liberal arts made him a beacon for all of
France and, indeed, the whole Latin world.5 Guibert does not otherwise men-
tion Anselms activities as a secular master, and he never refers to the school at
Laon. Instead, Guibert provides us with an interesting glimpse into the role
Anselm played in episcopal elections and as a church leader and politician of
sorts during the revolt of the Laon commune in 1112 and its aftermath.
Guibert linked Laons problems with the perversity of its bishops, begin-
ning with Adalbron in the late tenth century and stretching to Gaudry,
chancellor of Henry I of England, who apparently was awarded the bishopric
by the king when he captured the duke of Normandy in battle.6 Anselm, as
dean and chancellor of the cathedral at Laon, was inevitably involved in the
politics surrounding the bishopric.7 Guibert noted that Anselm was the only
cleric to publicly oppose the election of Gaudry as bishop of Laon; Anselm
objected to the pope that Gaudrys character was not appropriate for a bishop.8
Three years into his tenure, Gaudry, according to Guibert, gave his contempo-
raries an unmistakable sign of his true character by fleeing to Rome and
allowing a monastery warden named Grard de Quierzy to be murdered after
Gaudry had argued with Grard.9 When Gaudry returned, Laon descended
into chaos, and a commune was established by the citizens in revolt against
public authority. Anselm tried to warn the bishop that leaders of the Laon
commune uprising were plotting his murder, but to no avail. Later, he arranged
for the burial of Gaudry, and both these actions earned Anselm Guiberts admi-
ration, given that Anselm had opposed Gaudrys election.10 Michael Clanchy
remarked that Anselm contributed to pacifying the city and restoring its
4 M.T. Clanchy, Abelard: A Medieval Life (Oxford, 1997), 72.

5 Paul J. Archambault, trans., A Monks Confession: The Memoirs of Guibert of Nogent (Uni-
versity Park, PA, 1996), 130.
6 Ibid., 129, n. 21.
7 Clanchy, 73.
8 Benton, 15455.
9 Ibid., 135.
10 Ibid., 182.
10 Chapter 1
reputation as a magnet for students, after the uprising, and by 1115 Laon was
once again crowded with cathedral school students.11
Anselm was certainly not without his detractors, which included two of the
most prominent theologians of the early twelfth century, Rupert of Deutz and
Peter Abelard. Rupert, although he granted that Anselm was an eminent church
leader, referred to him as Lucifer, mostly because he vociferously objected
to secular masters commenting on Scripture, a task Rupert felt only monks
like himself should pursue.12 While Rupert branded Anselm a dangerous inno-
vator for writing biblical commentaries, Peter Abelard disparaged him as an
unimaginative and decidedly second-rate theologian, and wondered about the
need for new biblical commentaries when the glosses of the Fathers provided
all the information necessary to interpret Scripture.13 In his Historia calami-
tatum, Abelard recalled being drawn to Laon to study with Anselm because
of his great renown, but he was disappointed to find that Anselm owed his
reputation more to long practice than to intelligence or memory, and could be
compared to a tree in full leaf which could be seen from afar, but on closer and
more careful inspection proved to be barren.14
Abelard found Anselms traditional lectio divina style of teaching useless
compared to his own preferred dialectical method, and he wrote that he
stopped attending Anselms lectures, raising the ire of Anselm and his stu-
dents. Michael Clanchy has argued that Abelards intentions in coming to Laon
may not have been purely academic, and that he may have been an agent for
the French crown, looking to strengthen its influence in Laon after the uprising
and subsequent death of the kings newly appointed bishop.15 While there is
no evidence of this apart from Abelards own claims in his Historia calamita-
tum, if this was indeed the case, Anselm might have been wary of Abelard even
11 Clanchy, 72.
12 John Van Engen, Rupert of Deutz (Berkeley, 1983), 194.
13 Peter Abelard, Historia calamitatum, in Betty Radice, trans., The Letters of Abelard and
Heloise (London, 2004), 63. Nevertheless, Abelard began to write his own commentary on
Ezekiel when challenged by the students at Laon, and according to his account, the stu-
dents flocked to his lectures on Ezekiel and clamored for copies of the text, making
Anselm wildly jealous. Before the challenge of the Laon students, Abelard remarked
that he had not studied Scripture at all, instead focusing on philosophy. In addition to his
work on Ezekiel, which does not survive, Abelard also wrote commentaries on the Hexae-
meron and Romans.
14 Ibid., 62.
15 Clanchy, 73.
before he began to question Anselms teaching. In any event, Abelard, as a pro-

ponent of dialectic and disputation, saw little value in the more conservative,
and yet still innovative, work that Anselm was doing at Laon.
As Marcia Colish has remarked, Abelards opinion of Anselm and the school
of Laon has remained influential for centuries, and the idea that Anselm was
a theological has-been has only begun to disappear over the past several
decades.16 Jean Leclercqs article on the Song of Songs commentary attributed
to Anselm, published in 1949, helped to stir interest in this continuous com-
mentary (rather than a glossed text with marginal and interlinear glosses) as
a separate entity from the Glossed Song of Songs. Leclercqs most important
contribution was to note that the commentary existed in three distinct ver-
sions, which he refers to as versions A, B, and E; (A), the Glosule super Canticum
canticorum Salomonis secundum magistrum Anselmum, a lengthy work con-
tained only in Paris, BnF, MS lat. 568, fols. 1r-64v; (B) an abridgement, found in
Paris, BnF, MS lat. 14801, fols. 1r-33r, provenance St. Victor (attributed to Anselm
based on the explicit, which reads finitur exce[r]ptum Anselmi magistri viri
religiosi); and (E) the Enarrationes in Cantica canticorum, a shorter, more liter-
ary work, possibly compiled by Anselms brother Ralph, which is derived from
an abridged version of (B) and the Glossed Song of Songs and is published in the
Patrologia Latina (162: 1187A-1228B).17 Mary Doves exhaustive editorial work on
the Glossed Song of Songs proved that Anselms continuous commentary and
the Glossed Song of Songs were inextricably linked; she noted that versions
(A) and (B) taken together served as sources for over a hundred glosses in the
Glossed Song of Songs.18 Other recent work on Anselm and Laon has focused
on the production of theological sentences; Marcia Colishs aforementioned
article was a response to the 1976 article of Valerie Flint, which questioned
16 Marcia L. Colish, Another Look at the School of Laon, in Archives dHistoire Doctrinale et
Littraire du Moyen Age 53 (1986), 722, at 15.
17 Jean Leclercq, Le Commentaire du Cantique des cantiques attribu Anselme de Laon,
Recherches de Thologie Ancienne et Mdievale 16 (1949), 2939. Rossana E. Guglielmetti
has placed several other manuscripts in the category of abridgements (B), and her work
will be discussed below. I will not address the Enarrationes in this study, since it is written
in a different style than the other commentaries and because its attribution to Anselm is
unlikely.
18 Mary Dove, ed. Glossa Ordinaria in Canticum Canticorum, Corpus Christianorum Con-
tinuatio Mediaevalis, CLXX (Turnhout, 1997), 426429. Hereafter cited as Dove, Glossa.
12 Chapter 1
whether historians could properly speak of a school of Laon at all.19 More

recently, Rossana E. Guglielmetti, who has produced a compendium listing
manuscripts of Song of Songs commentaries through the twelfth century,
has shown interest in Anselms Song of Songs commentary and its compli-
cated history.20 Due to the complex nature of the manuscript tradition, I will
discuss in some detail the various classifications of the Song of Songs com-
mentaries attributed to Anselm; this is necessary for a proper understanding of
Anselms continuous commentary and its relationship to the Glossed Song of
Songs.
As Guglielmetti makes clear in her study of early and high medieval Song of
Songs manuscripts, works that can be identified in some way with the teaching
of Anselm weave a tangled web. As noted above, Leclercq found only one man-
uscript, Paris, BnF, MS lat. 568, containing what seems to be a full Anselmian
Song of Songs commentary. Guglielmetti argues that the title given to this ver-
sion (A) of Anselms commentary on the opening folio, Glosule super Canticum
canticorum Salomonis secundum magistrum Anselmum, precludes the notion
that Anselm himself produced it, and the occasional lack of clarity in the docu-
ment may arise from it being compiled from notes taken at Anselms lectures.21
In any case, she dates this manuscript, which contains continuous text written
in a single column with the biblical text underlined, to the twelfth century and
acknowledges that it contains the most extended version of materials drawn
from Anselms teaching on the Song of Songs.22
What Leclercq calls version (B); in other words, those works that are
abridgements of version (A), presents a much more complex set of classifica-
tion problems. Guglielmetti explains that some of these problems began with
Georges Lacombe and Beryl Smalleys misattributions of various manuscripts to
Stephen Langton. In their 1930 work, Studies on the Commentaries of Cardinal
19 Valerie I.J. Flint, The School of Laon: A Reconsideration, Recherches de Thologie Anci-
enne et Mdievale 43 (1976), 89110.
20 Rossana E. Guglielmetti, La Tradizione Manoscritta dei Commenti Latini al Cantico dei
Cantici, Origini-XII Secolo (Florence, 2006).
21 Guglielmetti, L. (Guglielmettis introduction is numbered with capital Roman numerals.)
The idea of lecture notes being preserved as reportationes will be further discussed in
Chapter 3, see also Smalley, Study of the Bible, 201202.
22 Guglielmetti, L. It is interesting to note that the remainder of BnF, MS lat. 568 (the Anselm
material only fills fols. 164) contains various sermons from Maurice of Sully, Achard of St.
Victor, Hugh of St. Victor, Eudes of Chteauroux and Peter Comestor. A number of these
sermons touch on themes such as the active and contemplative lives and preaching,
including several on the theme Ego sum pastor bonus (Jo. 10:11).
Stephen Langton, Lacombe and Smalley attributed two groups of manuscripts

containing Song of Songs commentaries to Langton: 1) A group consisting of
Oxford, Bodleian Library, MS Bodl. 87; Oxford, Bodleian Library, MS Laud Misc.
37; Paris, BnF, MS lat. 338; Paris, BnF, MS lat. 14801; and Wien, sterreichische
Nationalbibliothek, MS 1466; and 2) a group consisting of Oxford, Bodleian
Library, MS Bodl. 528; Paris, BnF, MS lat. 3652; and Firenze, BML, MS Pl. X dext.
5.23 Guglielmetti, by following the work of Leclercq and Helmut Riedlinger,
and grouping together manuscripts by their incipits and explicits, dismissed
Lacombe and Smalleys attributions and began to sort these manuscripts and
others with similar incipits and explicits into groups.24 Guglielmetti noted that
there seemed to be two distinct groupings of (B) commentaries according to
their incipits and explicits; and that within those two groups, only the explicit
matched in some cases. Thus, Guglielmetti found four different groupings of
texts, with what she terms specific classis, or types, within the versions of the
text she sorted. She also noted that four of the manuscripts contained only
partial Song of Songs commentaries, but they all shared incipits with her ver-
sion 1. She grouped them into a category called version 1, fragmenta. In this
chapter I will draw material from eight manuscripts containing versions of (B),
Anselms abridged commentary, in addition to using BnF, MS lat. 568, which
contains version (A).25 Table 1 reflects Guglielmettis classifications of manu-
scripts fitting Leclercqs categories of (A), the unabridged commentary, and
(B), abridged versions thereof. Manuscripts in bold on Table 1 are analyzed in
this chapter.
I will use at least one manuscript from each of Guglielmettis catego-
ries, save two.26 I have examined Wien, ONB MS 1466, which Guglielmetti
places in her group (B), version 1, classis 2. While the incipit, portions of the
23 Georges Lacombe and Beryl Smalley, Studies on the Commentaries of Cardinal Stephen
Langton, Archives dHistoire Doctrinale et Littraire du Moyen Age 5 (1930), 5151. These
attributions to Langton will also be discussed in Chapter 4.
24 Guglielmetti, L-LIV; See also Helmut Riedlinger, Die Makellosigkeit der Kirche in den latei
nischen Hoheliedkommentaren des Mittelalters (Mnster, 1958), 121124.
25 As I explain below, I initially conducted my research under the impression that Paris, BnF,
MS lat. 338 and Paris, BnF, MS lat. 3652, which I now believe can be attributed to Anselm,
were actually manuscripts containing Stephen Langtons Song of Songs commentary.
26 The manuscripts cited in the chapter below are Paris, BnF, MS lat. 568; Paris, BnF, MS lat.
338; Tortosa, Archivo Capitular, MS 219; Paris, BnF, MS lat. 3652; Toledo, Archivo y Biblio-
teca Capitulares Cabildo, MS 513; Graz, Universittsbibliothek, MS 290; Wien, ONB, MS
1272; Wien, ONB, MS 12762; and Zwettl, Bibliothek des Zisterzienserstifts, MS 390. I have
chosen at least one manuscript from each of Guglielmettis categories, save for those
described on this page and the next as problematic for attribution to Anselm.
14 Chapter 1
Table 1 Manuscripts of Anselm of Laons Continuous Commentary on the Song of Songs, as

classified by Rossana E. Guglielmetti2728
(A)- (B) version 1, (B) version 1, (B) version (B) version 2, (B) (B)
unabridged classis 1 classis 2 1, fragmenta classis 1 version 2, version 2,
classis 2 uncertain
classis
Paris, BnF, Paris, BnF, MS Wien, ONB, Paris, BnF, Graz, Paris, Zwettl,
MS lat. 568 lat. 338 MS 1466 MS lat. 3652 Universitts- BnF, MS Bibliothek
bibliothek, lat. 2327 des
MS 290 Zisterzien-
serstifts,
MS 39028
Paris, BnF, MS Roma, Paris, BnF, Paris, BnF, MS Wien,
lat. 14801 Corsiniana, MS lat. 565 lat. 393 ONB,
MS 1122 MS 1272
Tortosa, Roma, Paris, BnF, Wien,
Archivo Vallicelliana, MS lat. 3713 ONB, MS
Capitular, MS MS B. 59 12762
219
Hamburg, Firenze, Toledo,
Staats- und BML, MS Pl. X Archivo y
Universitts- dext. 5 Biblioteca
bibliothek, MS Capitulares
Petr. 53 Cabildo, MS
513
prologue, and explicit match with other manuscripts with commentaries

Guglielmetti attributes to Anselm, the bulk of the text does not. Therefore, I
am unsure if this commentary can be safely attributed to Anselm, and thus
I have eliminated it from this study.29 Guglielmetti also has another group of
27 See Guglielmetti, L-LXI for a list of the manuscripts she attributes to the school of Anselm.
28 Zwettl, Bibliothek des Zisterzienserstifts, MS 390 lacks an incipit, so Guglielmetti was not
able to completely categorize it; after transcribing this manuscript, I noted overall more
similarities to Graz, Universittsbibliothek, MS 290 than to (B) version 2, classis 2 manu-
scripts, so I would likely place it in the category of (B) version 2, classis 1.
29 I was unable to examine the three Italian manuscripts that make up the rest of this group
in Guglielmettis classifications, but since she classified the manuscripts mostly based on
three manuscripts that she includes under the heading of Excerptum Anselmi
magistri viri religiosi as various recensions of (B), version 1; they are the
Oxford manuscripts formerly attributed to Stephen Langton by Lacombe and
Smalley, Oxford, Bodleian Library, MS Bodl. 87; Oxford, Bodleian Library, MS
Laud Misc. 37, and Oxford, Bodleian Library, MS Bodl. 528. After examining
these three manuscripts, I determined that they would not be included in this
study because of their doubtful attribution to Anselm of Laon. For example,
Oxford, Bodleian Library, MS Bodl. 528 shares its incipit with Paris, BnF, MS
lat. 338, Paris, BnF, MS lat. 3652, and Paris, BnF, MS lat. 14801 but the bulk of
the remaining text is lifted directly from the version of Haimo of Auxerres
Song of Songs commentary contained in the Patrologia Latina, rather than
sharing content with the aforementioned manuscripts. Similar issues with the
other two Oxford manuscripts have led me to call into question their attribu-
tion to either Stephen Langton or Anselm of Laon, and thus I have excluded
them from this chapter.30 Indeed Guglielmetti mentions in her brief descrip-
tions of these three manuscripts that after initially coinciding with the text of
manuscripts with firmer attributions to Anselm, they begin to depart from the
text, indicating that she also questions to whom these commentaries may be
attributed.31
Examining two of the manuscripts in detail, in the BnF catalog, MS lat. 338
(Song of Songs commentary, fols. 61r-77v) is attributed to Stephen Langton
with references to the work of Georges Lacombe and Palemon Glorieux, and
nothing is said of the school of Laon. The manuscript dates from the thirteenth
century, and the provenance is unknown. BnF, MS lat. 338 features text laid out
in double columns, with the biblical text written in the columns, but under-
lined and roughly twice the size of the commentary text. The other manuscript
used in this chapter, Paris, BnF, MS lat. 3652 (Songs of Songs commentary, fols.
11r-17v), is a fragment of the same Song of Songs commentary through Chapter
4, verse 3. The BnF catalog dates it to the twelfth century, and while no prove-
nance is given, Guglielmetti proposes a provenance of southwestern France in
her catalog of Song of Songs manuscripts, although she does not provide
incipits and explicits, it is difficult to tell whether they include commentaries that can be
attributed to the school of Laon.
30 Haimo of Auxerres Commentarius in Cantica canticorum can be found in volume 117 of
the Patrologia Latina; further study is necessary on these Oxford manuscripts as well as
on the version of Haimos commentary in the Patrologia Latina in order to determine
attributions with any degree of certainty.
31 Guglielmetti, La Tradizione Manoscritta, 154158.
16 Chapter 1
grounds for this conclusion.32 The catalog, referring to the works of Georges
Lacombe and Helmut Riedlinger, notes that Lacombe attributed BnF, MS lat.
3652 to Langton, while Riedlinger later assigned it to the school of Laon.33
Despite the divergent attributions of the commentaries in these two manu-
scripts, I am relatively confident that both BnF, MS lat. 338 and BnF, MS lat.
3652 can be attributed to Anselm, or at least to his school at Laon. Cdric
Giraud generously provided a rough transcription of BnF, MS lat. 14801, version
(B) of Anselms commentary, which he dates to no later than the beginning of
the 1130s.34 With a few exceptions, the texts of BnF, MS lat. 338 and 3652 match
the text of BnF, MS lat. 14801.
In addition, BnF, MS lat. 3652 contains many features that likely date it to
before 1200. The layout of BnF, MS lat. 3652 seems somewhat atypical for a
glossed book of the Bible in that the text runs continuously across the page in
a single column and the biblical text is not underlined (although each new
biblical phrase is introduced by a capital). The script is generally what Albert
Derolez calls Pregothic, a script that he dates to earlier than roughly 1200; for
example, the o has taken on more of an oval shape, while the lower bow of the
g remains open, perhaps indicating a manuscript from the first half of the
twelfth century.35 On the other hand, BnF, MS lat. 3652 contains no amper-
sands, but always uses the tironian sign for et. Derolez remarks that in the
second half of the [twelfth] century, both forms were still often used inter-
changeably but the tironian et came to the fore in the last decades of the
century,36 which may indicate a later date for the manuscript. BnF, MS
lat. 3652 uses both the straight and curved s, with the straight s often occurring
at the end of words, which was common in twelfth-century manuscripts. The
manuscript also contains both the upright and curved d, but the sloping
ascenders on the curved d are not very pronounced. Derolez mentions that the
upright or straight d was abandoned in full-grown Northern Textualis, which
32 Ibid., 181.
33 These varying attributions are also present in Friedrich Stegmllers Repertorium Bibli-
cum, which lists both BnF lat. 338 and BnF lat. 3652 under the headings for both Anselm
of Laon and Stephen Langton. See Friedrich Stegmller, with N. Reinhardt, Repertorium
Biblicum Medii Aevi, v. 3 (Madrid, 19501980).
34 Cdric Giraud, Lectiones Magistri Anselmi. Les Commentaires dAnselme de Laon sur le
Cantique des Cantiques, In The Multiple Meaning of Scripture: The Role of Exegesis in
Early-Christian and Medieval Culture, ed. Ineke van t Spijker (Leiden, 2008), 181.
35 Albert Derolez, The Paleography of Gothic Manuscript Books: From the Twelfth Century to
the Early Sixteenth Century (Cambridge, 2003), 58, 61.
36 Ibid., 66.
did not emerge until the beginning of the thirteenth century.37 All of these
paleographical tests indicate that the manuscript can likely be dated to a tran-
sitional period between Pregothic and Gothic scripts. Taken together, all of
these factors make the authorship of Stephen Langton unlikely, although it
would not entirely exclude it. Above all, the fact that BnF, MS lat. 338 and BnF,
MS lat. 3652, as well as the manuscripts in Guglielmettis (B), version 2, serve as
major sources for the Glossed Song of Songs, as will be discussed in this chap-
ter and the next, provides solid evidence for an attribution to Anselm of Laon
rather than Stephen Langton.
Delving now into the content of what I will consider to be Anselms exegeti-
cal work on the Song of Songs, it is evident that he devoted large parts of it to
issues such as the importance of preaching and the moral suitability of preach-
ers; the limits of the human intellect; the dangers of heresy; and the pressing
need for the conversion of the Jews, something Anselm believes can only be
brought about by the power of preaching. Large portions of the abridgements
of Anselms commentary appear in the Gloss text, as we will see in the follow-
ing chapter, but the nature of the Gloss project limited the extent to which the
glossator could discuss any particular topic. It is difficult to determine with
any degree of certainty whether the Glossed Song of Songs or Anselms com-
mentary was written first, but as noted above, the fact that large portions of the
continuous commentary appear in the Gloss lends credence to the notion that
the continuous commentary was the earlier work. Indeed, Margaret T. Gibson
writes that there is every reason to date Anselms creative work to his earlier
years at Laon [c. 10801100],38 and Mary Dove avers that there seems to be no
reason why he should not have proceeded to compile the Glossed Song of Songs
making use of the source materials he had gathered for his lectures, and of
the lectures themselves, although it is unknown whether Anselm himself was
the anonymous Glossator who produced the Glossed Song of Songs text.39 On
the other hand, it is possible that Anselm felt the need to expand upon the
issue of the active life found in the Gloss, and chose to write a full-scale com-
mentary on the Song of Songs that would be a more appropriate forum for an
extended treatment of the issues mentioned above, though this notion seems
rather unlikely. Regardless of the order of composition, Anselm explored the
37 Ibid., 60. In addition, the text in BnF, MS lat. 3652 immediately after the Song of Songs text
breaks off appears to be from the twelfth century. It is written in a different hand, but
shares characteristics with the Song of Songs hand, including the use of the upright d and
the g with the open lower bow.
38 Froehlich and Gibson, Biblia Latina cum Glossa Ordinaria, x.
39 Dove, Glossa, 3738.
18 Chapter 1
issues listed above in much greater depth in his commentary, and emphasized
that preaching was both the key to the creation of a universal Church and the
means by which Christ and the Church would be joined in eternal union. The
remainder of this chapter will explore Anselms writing on these themes found
in both the unabridged, or full commentary (A), and various manuscripts
containing the two versions of the abridged commentaries (B). The abridged
commentaries are not simply shortened versions of the full commentary (A),
but include additional interpretations not found in version (A). Thus, we may
greater insight into all of Anselms work on the Song of Songs by examining
manuscripts containing all versions of his continuous commentary.
Anselm remarks several times in his commentary that there is a dire need
for preaching, both because Christians have grown lax in their faith, and
because so many Jews remain unconverted. From the very opening verse of the
text in all versions of his commentary, Anselm has Christ referring to the
Church as the collectio amicarum, a gathering of friends, using this term
interchangeably with the term sponsa, or bride, which is the preferred term
for the Church in the Glossed Song of Songs.40 The use of the word collectio
helps to emphasize that the Church is not a monumental entity, but is com-
prised of many individuals at varying stages of faith. Anselm stresses that until
the earthly Church and its members have achieved union amongst themselves,
union with Christ in the heavenly kingdom is impossible. It may seem odd to a
modern reader that a commentary addressed to an exclusively male audience
would use a feminine noun like amice to refer to a gathering of friends. Since
Anselm uses collectio amicarum interchangeably with sponsa, and both
terms refer to the Church (and by extension, its members, male and female),
Anselm sees no reason to change the gender of the noun to the masculine, and
his readers would understand that they were included under the rubric of the
amicarum.
Commenting again on Song of Songs 1:1, Let him kiss me with the kisses of
his mouth, because your breasts are better than wine, Anselm shows no con-
40 This term first occurs in Anselms comment on 1:1, Let him kiss me with the kisses of his
mouth, and is used, in various forms, over fifty times throughout the commentary. Varia-
tions on the collectio amicarum include collectio fidelium and collectio iudeorum.
The genders of the nouns are interchangeable and Anselm ascribes little meaning to
them. As is usual in medieval scholastic interpretation of the Song of Songs, the bride is
Ecclesia, the Church. Iudei carries a negative connotation until the Synagogue converts
at the end of Chapter 6, when Anselm begins to refer to the Jews as collectio conversa de
Iudeis.
cern with breasts being attributed to Christ.41 He writes, your breasts, that is,
your teachings, which are breasts, that is nourishing the faithful, just as breasts
nourish children.42 Anselm offers no other remarks about these breasts other
than to repeat that they are beautiful and better than wine. In the Glossed Song
of Songs, on the other hand, the glossator affirms that the breasts belong to the
bridegroom, but then adds the following line, taken from Bede: He speaks of
the breasts of the bridegroom, a female term, so that from the very beginning
of this song he may reveal himself to be speaking figuratively.43 Perhaps since
the Gloss functioned as a textbook, the glossator felt that it was necessary to
clarify a possible ambiguity, something that is unnecessary in the more spe-
cialized commentary by Anselm.44
Anselms entire commentary is marked by exhortative language; Anselm
frequently uses the vocative mood, with Christ using direct address, saying O
gathering of my friends, O, you Jews , O, my bride, and O, you faithful,
which lends a sense of immediacy to the lines following the addresses.45
Anselms repeated use of the verb debere (to have to) and the imperative
tense also contributes to the feeling of urgency that pervades the text. Often,
when Christ directly addresses the Church or the Jews, the following line con-
41 Anselm shares this idea of attributing breasts to Christ with Anselm of Canterbury, who
refers to both Jesus and Paul as mothers who nurture the faithful at their breast, and with
Bernard of Clairvaux, who, in commenting on the same verse in his sermons on the Song
of Songs, writes of the breasts belonging to Christ: When she said, then, Your breasts are
better than wine, she meant: The richness of the grace that flows from your breasts con-
tributes far more to my spiritual progress than the biting reprimands of superiors. See
Caroline Walker Bynum, Jesus as Mother and Abbot as Mother: Some Themes in Twelfth-
Century Cistercian Writing, in her Jesus as Mother: Studies in the Spirituality of the High
Middle Ages (Los Angeles, 1982), 113117.
42 ubera tua id est precepta que sunt ubera id est fideles nutrientia ut ubera nutriunt
pueros Anselm of Laon, BnF, MS lat. 338, f. 61rb; BnF, MS lat. 3652, f. 12r.
43 Ubera sponsi nominat, quod muliebre est, ut ipso carminis initio figurate se loqui mani-
festet. Dove, Glossa. All translations from the Glossed Song of Songs are Doves. Refer-
ences from Doves edition are cited as I, 1, 11, 3738, which indicates Chapter I, Verse 1,
Gloss 11, Lines 3738.
44 In other words, this may be a simplification of a potentially confusing interpretation; the
glossator does show a tendency to clarify and simplify the biblical text for his readers; see
Chapter 2, 6566.
45 O collectio amicarum, Anselm of Laon, BnF, MS lat. 338, f. 62ra; BnF, MS lat. 3652, f. 12r.;
O vos Iudei, BnF, MS lat. 338, f. 67rb; BnF, MS lat. 3652, f. 17r.; O sponsa,, BnF, MS lat. 338,
f. 61va; BnF, MS lat. 3652, f. 11v; O vos fideles, BnF, MS lat. 568, f. 60v. Many other variations
on this occur repeatedly in all versions of Anselms commentary.
20 Chapter 1
tains some sort of directive.46 In addition, forms of the verb festinare (to
hurry) appear eleven times in Anselms text. For example, in Anselms gloss in
(B), version 1 on Song of Songs 4:9, you have wounded my heart, my sister, my
bride, Christ says O my bride, I will come to you so that you may receive me,
and rightly you must receive me, and you must hasten to me.47 Christ tells the
bride to hurry to his side several times throughout the text, communicating
Anselms feeling that the marriage of Christ and the Church must soon take
place.
According to Anselm, those who preach must be morally pure before they
can take up their duties, but he also shows concern about spending time in
contemplation when the Church is in peril. His glosses on Song of Songs 2:10,
arise, hurry, my beloved, my dove, my beautiful one, and come, in both (A)
and (B), version 1 of his commentary, speak to this first issue. In the unabridged
commentary (A), Anselm writes Arise, that is raise yourself up in virtues. O my
beloved, that is, arise in yourself, hurry to attract others by preaching and
bringing about other virtues.48 Similarly, (B), version 1, states O my bride, my
beloved, preach to others, but first arise in yourself; that is, raise yourself up in
virtues and hurry to preach to others.49 As we will see in the next chapter, the
Gloss does not focus on the need to cleanse oneself before preaching in com-
menting on this passage, but rather on the need to break off contemplation in
order to preach and become worthy of Christ. (B), version 2 of Anselms con-
tinuous commentary may be the source for this sentiment found in the Gloss.
On this same phrase in Song of Songs 2:10, this version of Anselms commen-
tary reads Arise, that is hurry, work to interrupt your contemplation, and you
must hurry to [do] this because the time is short, and I will be without friends
unless you hurry.50 In explicating this verse, Anselm addresses two of his cen-
46 Many of the passages analyzed in the remainder of this chapter dealing with preaching
contain forms of the verb debere, illustrating the importance that Anselm attributed to
this task.
47 O sponsa veniam ad te ut recipiam te. Et merito te debeo recipere et tu ad me festinare.
Anselm of Laon, BnF, MS lat. 338, f. 68vb.
48 Surge id est sursum erige te in virtutibus. O amica mea id est surgendo in te propera aliis
predicando virtutes faciendo alios attrahere. Anselm of Laon, BnF, MS lat. 568, f. 24r.
49 O sponsa amica predica aliis sed prius surge in te id est prius sursum te erige in virtutes
et propera aliis predicare Anselm of Laon, BnF, MS lat. 338, f. 65rb; BnF, MS lat. 3652, f.
15r, Tortosa, Archivo Capitular, MS 219, f. 109v.
50 Surge, id est propera labora interrumpere contemplationem tuam et ad hoc propera quia
tempus est breve et ero sine amicabus nisi properaveris. Anselm of Laon, Zwettl, Biblio-
thek des Zisterzienserstifts, MS 390, f. 6v; Graz, Universittsbibliothek, MS 290, f. 215ra,
Wien, ONB, MS 12762, f. 5v.
tral concerns; the moral purity of preachers and the need to arise to preach.
Interpreting the Song of Songs in an ecclesiological manner, where the bride
and bridegroom in the text are seen as the Church and Christ, respectively,
allows Anselm to place these ideas about preaching in the mouth of Christ. In
this passage, it is Christ who asks the Church (and its members) to be morally
upright before preaching, and it is Christ who implores the Church to break off
contemplation and preach, saying that he will be friendless unless the Church
makes haste to undertake this task. Anselm employs this same technique sev-
eral times in his Song of Songs exegesis, which allows him to impart a powerful
message to those who heard his lectures and read his commentaries.
In glossing 5:5, I arose in order to open to my beloved, the Glossed Song of
Songs and the abridged (B), version 1 of Anselms commentary are much more
closely related. Indeed, the two works share a large portion of text and discuss
the issue of purging oneself of sin:5152
Gloss Anselm of Laon, (B), version 1

I arose from sleep to work because it I arose, the voice of the bride [speak-
is necessary that he who determines ing] to her friends. Preach, O gather-
to preach the truth should first arise ing of my friends! And so that you
in order to do those things he may preach better to others, arise,
preaches, lest, preaching to others, he that is, first purge yourself as I did. For
may himself be condemned.51 first I arose, that is purged myself, so
that I might be more worthy to open
the hearts of others to my beloved
[Christ]. I arose from sleep to work
because it is necessary that he who
determines to preach the truth should
first arise in order to do those things
he preaches, lest, preaching to others,
he may himself be condemned52
51 Surrexi a dormitione ad laborem quia necesse est ut qui veritatem predicare disponit
prius ad agenda ea que predicat assurgat, ne aliis predicans ipse reprobus efficiatur.
Dove, Glossa, V, 5, 58, 48.
52 Vox sponse ad amices. Predica O collectio amicarum! Et ut melius aliis predices surge, id
est prius purga te, sicut ego feci. Nam ego prius surrexi id est purgavi me ut dignius aperi-
rem corda aliorum dilecto meo. Surrexi a dormitione ad laborem quia necesse est ut qui
veritatem predicare disponit prius ad agenda ea que predicat assurgat, ne aliis predicans
ipse reprobus efficiatur. Anselm of Laon, BnF, MS lat. 338, f. 71rb.
22 Chapter 1
As can be seen above, both the Gloss and Anselm stress the need for preachers
to purify themselves in preparation for their crucial task. The words are placed
in the mouth of the Church, here interpreted as the bride speaking to her
friends. Anselm, however, has the Church speak more bluntly, openly saying
that even she herself, the pure and beloved bride of Christ, had to purge herself
before preaching. The language in Anselms unabridged version (A) is quite
similar:
I arose. The bride, wishing to show her friends her manner of preaching,
said I advise you to preach to others, but in order that you may preach
unimpeded and without blame, first you must arise in yourselves, that is
you must root out vices in order to scale the peak of virtues, just as I first
arose in myself, that is, I rooted out my sins before preaching to others.53
If we take the Church as Anselm does in both versions of his commentary to be

the historical Church, in this passage the Church speaks of purging itself of all
that may make it unworthy, which will in turn allow it to grow through the
conversion of others. This sends a powerful message to the students forming
Anselms core audience: moral rectitude is a requirement for preachers, and
the Church asks you to cleanse yourself so that you may add more members to
her ranks and follow her own example.
Song of Songs 6:7, there are sixty queens and eighty concubines and young
girls without number, offers Anselm an opportunity to discuss those preach-
ers who lack this necessary purity and who therefore are choosing not to follow
the Churchs moral commandments. Commenting on this verse, Anselm
writes in the abridged (B), version 1 that Concubines signify those who do
not preach about Christ sincerely, but for temporal gain or popular renown.54
53 Surrexi. Sponsa volens amicabus suis ostendere modum predicandi dicit ego quid vos ad
predicandum aliis amoneo sed ut liberius et sine reprehensione predicetis prius surgite in
vobis id est vitia extirpando ad culmen virtutum enitamini quemadmodum ego prius in
me surrexi id est vitia mea priusquam aliis predicare extirpavi. Anselm of Laon, BnF, MS
lat. 568, f. 41v. There is similar language about opening hearts in (B), version 2 of the
commentary, but once again, this version focuses on the idea of giving up contemplation
in order to preach: Ideo surrexi id est a contemplationis mee quiete vacat ut aperire
dilecto meo id est reserarem ei occulta corda et quia ipse tetigit ventrem et ut bonum
exemplum daret eis quibus predicaret. Anselm of Laon, Zwettl, Bibliothek des
Zisterzienserstifts, MS 390, f. 19r; Wien, ONB, MS 12762, f. 10v; Graz, Universittsbibliothek,
MS 290, f. 220vb.
54 Concubine significant eos qui non sincere Christem predicant sed propter lucra tempo-
ralia vel propter laudes populares. Anselm of Laon, BnF, MS lat. 338, f. 73vb.
The Gloss makes a somewhat similar statement, noting that there are con-
cubines who proclaim Christ along with the love of temporal things.55 In
Anselms commentary in particular, concubines are interpreted as preachers
who are interested not in spreading the word of God, but in reaping the tem-
poral rewards that may be available. Here, Anselm seems to warn his students
to avoid the possible moral pitfalls of the early apostolic movement discussed
in the last chapter. He indicates that while preaching is a powerful tool that can
strengthen the Church, it is an activity open to abuse, and those who seek to
preach must be pure of conscience in order to communicate the messages of
Scripture to the laity.
Despite these warnings, Anselm communicates to his students that they
must not be afraid of the onerous task facing them, even though their success
is by no means assured. In commenting in (B), version 1 on Song of Songs 5:4,
my beloved put his hand through the aperture, and my insides trembled at his
touch, Anselm, as he did in his interpretation of 1:1, assumes that his students,
as members of the collectio amicarum identify with the bride in this verse.
Anselms commentary matches the Gloss interpretation of this phrase, with
one important exception that seems to contradict the biblical text. Both texts
ignore any erotic implication in the text, and instead Anselm writes those who
undertake the office of preaching recognize that they are hardly suitable [for
the task of preaching], and therefore they are not afraid.56 The Gloss avers that
these preachers do indeed fear the task at hand, hence the trembling insides.
Anselm reminds his students that the humility required of preachers will allow
them to realize that they can never be truly worthy to preach the word of God.
They must undertake the task, however, because they have been trained to
preach and are more suitable for the role of preacher than anyone else. Thus,
Anselm urges them to steady themselves and preach without fear.
There are several references to fear and trembling in the Gloss interpreta-
tion of Song of Songs 5:4, including the Church admitting I am very afraid of
worldly affairs, and the brides insides trembling due to their infirmity and
lack of courage.57 Anselm, however, does not dwell in any commentary on the
trepidation that may come with the task of preaching to the laity, and makes
no reference to the Church fearing the duty that she must perform. Instead, he
seems to view the entire passage as an opportunity to strengthen the resolve of
55 concubine, que amore temporalium Christum annuntiant. Dove, Glossa, VI, 7, 39, 7.
56 illorum qui predicationis officium suscipiunt quia se minus idoneos recognoscunt et
ideo non timent. Anselm of Laon, BnF, MS lat. 338, f. 71rb.
57 pertimesco quidem seculi conversationem venter intremiscit Dove, Glossa, V, 4, 49,
67; Dove, Glossa, V, 4, 50, 12.
24 Chapter 1
the future preachers at his school. Anselm writes, for example, in the abridged
(B), version 1 that the beloveds hand thrust through the aperture, here inter-
preted as the ears of the hearers, helps to establish firmly the Churchs
preaching.58 With the aid of Christ, the Church is able to preach without fear.
In the continuous commentary, Anselm addresses the usefulness of preach-
ers and elaborates on the tasks they perform for the Church. In commenting
on 5:6 in the abridged commentary (B), version 1, I opened the bolt of the door
to my beloved, Anselm writes in the voice of the bride, I truly opened the
hearts of many to my beloved, for I opened, that is, my preaching drew to my
beloved those people who were a bolt, that is, who had bolted hearts.59 Here,
the Churchs preaching had the power to open the hearts of those who were
closed off from Christs teachings. These people, who are described as a bolt,
blocked Christ from entering their lives, and thus impeded the Churchs mis-
sion of conversion. Anselm uses the voice of the Church to relate the power of
preaching to his students, instilling in them the message that preachers can
make Christ known to those who have become lukewarm in their faith. In the
full commentary (A) and the abridged (B), version 2, Anselm describes the bolt
blocking the hearts of these people as both sins and enemies, which cut off
people from salvation. Preachers are warned to be careful in undertaking their
work to open these hearts, and in (A) in particular, the Church tells potential
preachers to be sure they preach for the right reasons, not for profit or the
peoples applause, but to the honor of my beloved.60 This echoes the senti-
ments Anselm expressed in glossing Song of Songs 6:7, warning preachers to
avoid preaching for temporal gain or popular renown.61
58 per foramen auditorum meorum id est per aures eorum dilectus meus per predica-
tionem meam misit id est firmiter stabilivit manum suam Anselm of Laon, BnF, MS lat.
338, f. 71ra.
59 Vere ego aperui dilecto meo corda multorum nam ego aperui id est predicatione mea
attraxi dilecto meo illos qui erant pessulum id est qui habebant pessulata corda. Anselm
of Laon, BnF, MS lat. 338, f. 71rb.
60 Nam etiam pessulata et valde obserata corda ipsorum qui modo sunt hostium per me id
est per quos item iam venerunt ad fidem. Aperui, non pro lucro vel pro favore hominum
sed ad honorem dilecti mei. Anselm of Laon, BnF, MS lat. 568, f. 41v., Anselm repeats this
dictum that one must not preach for the wrong reasons in the version (A) gloss on Song
of Songs 7:2, saying, pauper predicationibus qua predicatione minores potabit et hoc
non faciet per favorem hominum vel pro terreno lucro Anselm of Laon, BnF, MS lat.
568, f. 55r.; Et per illa bona opera que dabam aliis in exemplum aperui pessulum hostii
mei id est removi hostium id est peccata michi subditorum hostium dicitu peccatum
quod obstat Deo in homine. Anselm of Laon, Zwettl, Bibliothek des Zisterzienserstifts,
MS 390, f. 19r; Wien, ONB, MS 12762, f. 10v.
61 See above, 22.
Not only is preaching powerful, but it is necessary for the health and growth
of the Church. In the long commentary (A) at Song of Songs 7:1, The joins of
your thighs are like jewels that are made by the hand of a skillful workman, a
chorus of the daughters of Jerusalem proclaims the beauty of the bride. Anselm
ensures, however, that the chapter is not simply fulsome praise by having the
chorus exhort the bride to preach. They declare, You, bride, must preach
incessantly, because you have saving doctrine, and therefore it is inexcusable if
you do not constantly preach.62 The daughters of Jerusalem declare that the
bride is beautiful, but that she must not let her beauty be for naught. The
Church contains all doctrine necessary for salvation, but it is of little use unless
preachers of the Church constantly pass on this message to the people.
Anselms language is quite forceful here, arguing as he does that not preaching
is inexcusable. Indeed, the phrase you much preach incessantly permeates
Anselms glosses on chapter seven in the unabridged commentary (A), and in
most cases, Anselm places these words in the mouth of Christ.63 This makes it
clear that Anselm believes this task is of paramount importance for the Church.
In other parts of the unabridged version (A) of Anselms commentary, he
asserts that preaching is a powerful tool, and again emphasizes that it is Christ
who is calling out for preaching. In glossing Song of Songs 2:10, Arise, hurry, my
beloved, my dove, my beautiful one, and come, the bridegroom asks the bride
to arise and preach, telling her your preaching makes others come to me.64
Anselm also expresses this belief in the power of preaching toward the end of
his commentary while glossing Song of Songs 8:13, You who live in the gar-
dens, friends are listening. Make me hear your voice. He writes:
Make me hear, that is, make me to work well so that I shall hear your
preaching, and you shall do this diligently and with great care, because
[there are] friends, that is to say malicious souls who were formerly
friends, which means they are laying a trap for you. Or alternatively,
[understand] from this that you can make me hear your voice because
the unfaithful have been made friends by listening and continuing to
heed your preaching willingly and attentively.65
62 Tu sponsa incessanter predicare debes quia salutiferam doctrinam habes et ideo inex-
cusabiliter est quin assidue predices. Anselm of Laon, BnF, MS lat. 568, f. 54r.
63 See Anselm of Laon, BnF, MS lat. 568, fols. 54v-59v. In these folios, the phrase predicare
debes incessanter or a slight variation thereof appears eight times.
64 tua predicatione alios fac ad me venire. Anselm of Laon, BnF, MS lat. 568, f. 24r.
65 Fac me audire. Id est fac me bene operari ut ego audiam predicationem tuam et hoc
attente et cum magna sollicitudine facias quia amici id est maligni spiritus olim amici id
est insidiantur tibi. Vel aliter unde potes me facere audire vocem tuam quia infideles facti
26 Chapter 1
According to Anselm, the speaker in this verse is again Christ, who is asking the
Church to preach. Interestingly, Christ seems to be setting two goals for the
Church in Anselms interpretation of the verse; the Church must preach care-
fully and assiduously in order to avoid the snares of those former friends
(heretics), and she must preach so that those lacking faith can continue to be
drawn to her. For Anselm, preaching is the primary spiritual weapon for both
repelling enemies and winning true and willing friends for the Church, and he
emphasizes this point by having Christ issue these repeated calls to preach.
Preachers are so successful in achieving these goals because they can bridge
the wide gulf between God and man, as Anselm vividly explains in comment-
ing in the abridged commentary (B), version 1 on Song of Songs 7:2, your navel
is a turned bowl never lacking in [liquid for the] cups. He writes, your navel,
that is, your preachers who are a navel; that is, joining the inferior to the supe-
rior, that is the worldly to the heavenly, just as the navel is the junction of the
upper and lower members.66 In the Gloss, on the other hand, the navel is
interpreted as the frailty of our morality, and those among the soft or weak
ones who bear children and yet proclaim the faith well, cleaving to the world
in an allowable way.67 Thus, while the Gloss interprets the navel as weak but
harmless people, Anselm seizes on the imagery of the navel as the center of the
body, extending the metaphor to preachers acting as the intermediaries who
are able to join humankind to God.
Although Anselm emphasizes the connection that those who preach might
have with God, he is careful to warn his students about the limits of earthly
knowledge. In glossing Song of Songs 3:1, on my bed, by night I have sought
him whom my soul loves, in the abridged (B), version 1, Anselm decries phi-
losophy, arguing that it is useless for trying to gain knowledge of God: I did not
find him, as if I sought him by night, that is through philosophical ideas,
through which he cannot be found. These ideas are called by night because
they are obscure. God is only found through good works and good intentions,
not through the ideas of philosophers.68 The exposition of this verse in the
long version (A) of Anselms commentary contains a more specific reference,
amici auscultant et auscultabunt predicationem tuam libenter et attente. Anselm of

Laon, BnF, MS lat. 568, f. 64r.
66 umbilicus tuus id est predicatores tui qui sunt umbilicus id est coniugentes inferiora
superioribus id est mundanos celestibus sicut umbilicus est iunctura superiorum et infe-
riorum membrorum. Anselm of Laon, BnF, MS lat. 338, f. 74vb.
67 infirmitas mortalitatis nostre illi qui inter molles gignunt etsi mundo licute herent
tamen bene annuntiant. Dove, Glossa, VII, 2, 17, 2; Dove, Glossa, VII, 2, 20, 3435.
68 non inveni eum quasi quesivi eum per noctes id est per philosoficas sententias quibus non
potest inveniri que sententie dicuntur noctes quia sunt obscure. Deus enim solis bonis
stating by night, that is through ignorance or through the shadowy opinions of

philosophers, namely [those] of Plato and others, just as Dionysius the
Areopagite did.69 Version (A) also contains two other glosses on the phrase
on my bed, by night, referring to existing in carnal pleasure and worldly
delight and remaining in sin, so the verse is given wholly negative
connotations.70
In both versions of his commentary on this verse, Anselm makes plain
his belief that philosophy, the method of choice for those in the vanguard of
twelfth-century intellectual life, cannot reveal anything about the true nature
of God. Anselm stresses more simple virtues, such as charity, imparting the
implicit message to his students that pure and simple thoughts and actions
should not be overlooked, especially when one is steeped in an intellectual
environment such as the cathedral school at Laon. Anselms suspicion of phi-
losophy was shared by later moralists in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries
such as Peter Lombard, Peter Comestor, Jacques de Vitry, and Peter of Poitiers,
who, as Stephen C. Ferruolo has noted, all expressed ambivalence toward the
works of pagan philosophers and their influence. One might admire pagan
philosophers for seeking knowledge, but they sought it for the wrong reasons,
as Peter of Poitiers (d. c. 1215) remarked in a sermon; Intent upon exploring
the secrets of nature and esteeming their own words, the pagan philosophers
thought happiness lay in the knowledge of causes, rather than in simple faith,
operibus et bonis cogitationibus invenitur non per philosophorum sententias. Anselm of

Laon, BnF, MS lat. 338, f. 66ra; BnF, MS lat. 3652, f. 16r.
69 Per noctes, id est per ignorantiam vel per umbratiles sententies philosophorum platonis
scilicet et aliorum ut dionisus ariopagita fecit. Anselm of Laon, BnF, MS lat. 568, f. 27v. I
am unsure as to why there is a specific reference to Pseudo-Dionysius (the sixth-century
Christian theologian and philosopher) in this gloss, but as David Knowles remarks,
Pseudo-Dionysius thought was deeply impregnated with Platonic and Plotinian ele-
ments, and Anselm may have seen him as an example of an influential philosopher. As
Marcia Colish has noted, While the Pseudo-Areopagite could thus adduce Neoplatonic
support both for Christian mysticism and for the religious practices of ordinary believers,
in some areas his philosophy could be seen as deforming as well as informing Christian
theology. In his explication of Song of Songs 3:1, Anselm seems to communicate the idea
that philosophy is not only not useful for seeking God, but is potentially dangerous. See
David Knowles, The Evolution of Medieval Thought, 2nd ed. (London, 1988), 51 and Marcia
L. Colish, Medieval Foundations of the Western Intellectual Tradition, 4001400 (New
Haven, 1997), 121.
70 In lectulo meo, id est in carnalis delectatione et in secularibus voluptatibus existens vel
per noctes, id est morans in peccatis. Anselm of Laon, BnF, MS lat. 568, f. 27v.
28 Chapter 1
virtue, and good works pleasing to God.71 Peter of Poitiers, along with other
Parisian scholars, echoes sentiments expressed by Anselm in the early part of
the twelfth century about the dangers inherent in the schools. As a forerunner
of these Parisian moralists, Anselms attitude toward philosophy makes per-
fect sense; one being educated in the schools, he argues, should not focus on
the lofty, but somehow still limited knowledge gained from philosophy, but on
learning how to preach the word of God in order to enrich the Church here on
earth. Anselm emphasizes the notion that there is much work to be done in
the world, but the pursuit of philosophical knowledge will neither help with
this earthly work nor allow one to gain any knowledge of God.72
Anselm adds to this idea about the limits of philosophy and earthly knowl-
edge later when glossing Song of Songs 5:6, he had turned aside and gone
by I sought him and did not find him, I called him and he did not reply to
me. His gloss in the abridged (B), version 1 is in the voice of the Church,
saying
he had gone by, that is, he had exceeded my understanding. For I sought
him, that is, I sought him with my intellect, but nevertheless, I was unable
to comprehend the loftiness of his divinity. And since I was unable to
understand, I called him, that is, I sent up many prayers so that he might
grant me understanding he did not grant to me that I might be able to
understand him fully.73
In this passage there seems to be almost a hint of desperation in the voice of the
Church. She tries to understand God, and when that cannot be accomplished,
she prays for guidance and the ability to commune with Him. The prayers go
unanswered, emphasizing Anselms point that the intellect cannot fully know
God on earth. Any prayers to understand God in this way will go unheeded
because they seek to know the ineffable. Here, Anselm again espouses the vir-
tues of faith and good works, which can be embraced by all Christians.
71 Stephen C. Ferruolo, The Origins of the University: The Schools of Paris and Their Critics,
11001215 (Stanford, CA, 1985), 254.
72 For a good overview of philosophy and its impact on scholastic theology, see Ulrich G.
Leinsle, Introduction to Scholastic Theology, trans. Michael J. Miller (Washington, DC,
2010).
73 ille transierat id est excesserat intellectum meum. Nam ego quesivi id est investigavi
illum intellectui meo sed tamen altitudinem divinitatis eius intellectu non potui compre-
hendere. Et cum ego non possem intelligere vocavi eum id est misisti eum multis precibus
ut se daret mihi intelligere non dedit mihi ut ego possem eum ad plenum intelligere.
Anselm of Laon, BnF, MS lat. 338, f. 71va.
The most effective preachers, Anselm argues, are those who ensure that
their message about these simple virtues can actually be understood by those
who hear it. The full version (A) of Anselms commentary contains an addi-
tional gloss on Song of Songs 5:6 that discusses another interpretation of the
word transierat. Anselm argues using the voice of the Church that if Gods
divinity exceeds the understanding of educated preachers, surely unlettered
laypeople will also have difficulty. The Church says, Gone by from my listen-
ers or even from myself, that is, his divinity exceeds the capacity of our
exploring nature, according to which the Psalmist says Man shall come to a
deep heart and God shall be exalted (Ps. 63:78). Therefore [the Church] says
this to her friends in order to insinuate a method of preaching, namely that
their preaching should not exceed the capacity of their listeners.74 Through
the voice of the Church, Anselm seems to be giving practical advice to future
preachers, urging them to preach a simple message that an uneducated audi-
ence could easily grasp.
This same type of advice arises again in Anselms interpretation of Song of
Songs 5:14 in the long version (A) of his commentary. Glossing the verse his
hands are turned and as of gold, full of hyacinths, Anselm writes about the
importance of varying ones method or mode of preaching, stating and full
of hyacinths, that is variation of preaching. For just as that stone hyacinth is
variegated in color in the manner of clouds, in the same way preachers them-
selves are variegated in their method [of preaching], that is according to the
capacity of [their] listeners.75 This phrase appears again in (A) when Anselm
glosses Song of Songs 8:2, and I shall give you a cup of wine preserved with
spices. He writes, a cup of wine, that is because of your instruction, you make
worldly men surrender to oblivion, and certainly your instruction is preserved
with spices, that is tempered according to the capacity of [your] listeners.76
Interestingly, this idea of modulating preaching to fit the audience appears in
74 Transierat ab auditoribus meis vel etiam a me id est capacitatem nostri ingenii eius
divinitatem speculantis excesserat iuxta illud quod dicit psalmista accedet homo ad cor
altum et exaltabitur deus. Hoc ideo dicit ut amicabus insinuet modum predicandi ita
scilicet ne predicatio earum excedat capacitatem auditorum. Anselm of Laon, BnF, MS
lat. 568, f. 42r.
75 [E]t plene iacinctus id est variatione predicationis. Nam quemadmodum iacinctus ille
lapis variatur in colore ad modum aeris eodum modo predicatores ipsi variantur in predi
catione ad modum id est iuxta capacitatem auditoris. Anselm of Laon, BnF, MS lat. 568,
f. 46r.
76 ex vino tuo, id est ex doctrina tua faciente homines oblivioni tradere terrena que scilicet
doctrina tua est condita id est iuxta capacitatem auditorum temperata. Anselm of Laon,
BnF, MS lat. 568, fols. 60r-v.
30 Chapter 1
the abridged commentary (B), version 2, in Anselms gloss on Song of Songs 7:2,
your navel is a turned bowl never lacking in [liquid for the] cups. While (B),
version 1 uses this phrase to talk about those people who attach themselves
to the world in an allowable way (as fathers and mothers do), in at least one
manuscript of (B), version 2, Anselm interprets the verse with language that
tries to ensure that the needs of these people will be met, saying to potential
preachers, lacking in [liquid for the] cups, that is by offering various meanings
according to the capacity of [your] listeners.77 Anselm hopes to communi-
cate to future preachers hearing his lectures and reading his commentary that
while the very act of preaching is important and meritorious, carefully tailor-
ing sermons to reach specific audiences and ensure the understanding of the
people will meet with greater success.
Anselms views of preaching and its power are encapsulated in the
unabridged (A) commentarys gloss on Song of Songs 7:9, Your throat [is] like
the best wine, worthy for my beloved to drink and for his lips and teeth to
savor. Anselm writes:
Your throat, that is your great preachers who will be like wine, that is thus
intoxicating others so that you may make them surrender to earthly
oblivion. And you will not be like just any wine, but like the best wine,
because you will not preach against the Church. Hearing the voice of the
bridegroom [say] that there had been such a wine, the bride reminds his
[the bridegrooms] preachers that so excellent a wine should be given
over to others. And listeners, so that so excellent a wine is savored with
pleasure, this is why it is rightly said that you must give this wine over to
others because this wine is worthy for my beloved to drink. To others, that
is, so that others may thence be filled and saturated. O you listeners, this
so excellent wine is for you to savor, and I say [this] to you, who will soon
thereafter be lips, that is uncovering the secrets of God, and will soon
thereafter be teeth, that is consuming vice in yourself and in others.78
77 indigentes poculis id est variis sententiis secundum capacitatem auditorum prelatis.

Anselm of Laon, Zwettl, Bibliothek des Zisterzienserstifts, MS 390, f. 27v.
78 Guttur tuum, id est maiores predicatores tui erunt sicut vinum, id est ita inebriantes
alios ut ipsi terrena oblivioni tradere faciant et non erunt sicut quodlibet vinum sed sicut
optimum quia adversus ecclesiam non predicabunt. Vox sponse audiens sponsa quod
tale fuerat vinum ammonet predicatores suos ut tale vinum aliis propinent et auditores
ut tale vinum libenter ruminent, et hoc est quod dicit bene debetis istud vinum propi
nare aliis quia istud vinum est dilecto meo dignum ad potandum. Alios, id est ut alii inde
repleantur et saturentur et o vos auditores, istud tale vinum est vobis ruminandum et
vobis dico duturis inde labiis, id est Dei secreta aperientibus, et futuris inde dentibus, id
In his explication of this verse, Anselm seems to be talking directly to his audi-
ence of future preachers, telling them that they will be the best wine, which
is worthy for Christ to drink. Their preaching will incorporate them into the
body of Christ, and they will act as His throat, lips, and teeth on earth, tearing
away at sin and proclaiming the word of God. Anselm also warns his listeners
that the excellent wine of preaching must be given over to others to drink, so
they must follow advice given at other points in the commentary and preach
so that people understand and dedicate themselves to the beloved. Thus, in
Anselms Song of Songs commentary, to preach, and moreover, to preach pure
and simple doctrine that uneducated audiences may grasp, is held up as the
highest good.
Fittingly, the penultimate verse of the Song of Songs, 8:13, reads you who
live in the gardens, friends are listening. Make me hear your voice. This last
line, written in the imperative, seems almost ideally crafted for Anselm. He
seizes upon it, glossing the line in the abridged (B), version 1 as Christ saying O
bride of the Jews and Gentiles, make me hear your voice, that is your doctrine
and preaching.79 The combined Church and Synagogue is now instructed by
Christ to continue the work of conversion and make her voice known. Anselm
even follows this with Christ urging members of the Church hierarchy to
preach, I say to you, priests and archdeacons, who are prelates in the Church,
make me hear your voice.80 Anselm boldly exhorts his colleagues to follow his
example and the example of Christ by preaching. With this ending, Anselm is
able to relate to his students and to prelates and archdeacons that Christ him-
self desires preaching and knows its power.
est in vobis et in aliis vitia consumentibus. Anselm of Laon, BnF, MS lat. 568, fols. 58v-59r.
Note that preachers are like the best wine in part because they will not preach against
the Church, unlike heretics, many of whom preach, but preach in order to condemn the
Church and its actions. It is notable that Anselm refers to preaching and preachers as the
best wine here, because in his gloss on Song of Songs 1:1, Let him kiss me with the kisses
of his mouth, because your breasts are better than wine, wine is glossed as mundana
sapientia, pseudo prophetis, id est falsis predicatoribus, seculari et phylosophyica sci-
entia, carnali delectatione et observantia, and austeritate legis, all of which Anselm
repeatedly describes negatively and dismisses throughout his commentary. The differ-
ence is that only preaching and preachers are the best wine, worthy for my beloved to
drink.
79 O sponsa de Iudeis et de gentibus, fac me audire vocem tuam id est doctrinam et predi-
cationem tuam. Anselm of Laon, BnF, MS lat. 338, f. 77va.
80 Vobis dico pontifices et archidiaconi qui estis in ea ecclesia prelati facite me audire
vocem vestram. Anselm of Laon, BnF, MS lat. 338, f. 77va-b.
32 Chapter 1
The idea of the value of preachers and the important things they are able to
accomplish is linked in Anselms commentary to their ability to preach to and
about those who are not considered Christians. He devotes large portions of
both versions of his commentary to heretics, who willfully reject the Church
and its doctrines, and Jews, who are ignorant of the teachings of Christ. While
Anselm sees heretics as threats to the Church who should be eradicated and
who are usually beyond the help of preaching, he argues quite forcefully that
Jews can and will be converted by preaching, first by Christians preaching to
Jews, and then by Jews preaching to their unconverted former brethren. Anselm
expresses negative opinions about both groups, but ultimately the narrative of
his Song of Songs commentary leads to the conversion of the Jews and the final
triumph of a universal Church. He feels that Jews must be brought into the fold
and can be taught to reject the carnal law and embrace the spirit; heretics, on
the other hand, willfully reject the Church and thus are condemned. Heretics,
as depraved Christians, actively pervert the teachings of Christ and cannot pro-
fess ignorance of the Churchs basic teachings. In essence, then, Anselm tells
his audience not to preach to heretics (with a few exceptions, which will be
discussed below), but only to preach against them to others. Therefore, while
Anselm speaks positively of a converted Synagogue which becomes the sponsa
de Iudeis, his depictions of heretics are entirely negative. Anselm finds ample
opportunity in the Song of Songs text to comment on the evils of heretics, and
some of the most striking images in his commentary arise from his abhorrence
of those who flout the Churchs laws and customs.
Anselm shows a tendency in his commentary to associate heretics with vari-
ous animals mentioned in the text of the Song of Songs.81 Commenting on 1:6,
lest I begin to wander after the flocks of your companions, all versions of
Anselms commentary, as well as the Glossed Song of Songs, interpret these
companions as heretics, who, according to the Gloss, cause hidden tribula-
tion and can be described as the wanton crowds following the broad road.82
The same sentiments are found in Anselms commentary, where he ends his
interpretation of this verse in both the full commentary (A) and the abridged
(B), version 1 by stating that the flocks of heretics and their followers are
81 This fits in with Beverly Mayne Kienzles idea that animals, including foxes, wolves, dogs,
and serpents are repeatedly interpreted as heretics in various medieval texts, see Beverly
Mayne Kienzle, Cistercians, Heresy and Crusade in Occitania, 11451229: Preaching in the
Lords Vineyard (Bury St. Edmunds, 2001), 215.
82 de occulta tribulatione que ab hereticis fit id est lascivas multitudines latam viam
insistentes. Dove, Glossa, I, 6, 101, 3031; Dove, Glossa, I, 6, 109, 4344.
living in a bestial manner, presumably by roaming in groups and blindly fol-

lowing heretical leaders.83
Both Anselms commentary and the Gloss also seize upon Song of Songs
2:15, catch for us the little foxes that destroy the vineyards, one of the most
well-known phrases in the text. As L.J.Sackville remarks, many since the time
of the early Church had interpreted these foxes as heretics, but the Gloss, and
I would argue, Anselms continuous commentary, made this interpretation
more contemporary and direct.84 Anselm and the Gloss, then, follow many
others in describing these foxes as heretics85, but Anselm in particular is effu-
sive in his use of adjectives in the abridged (B), version 1; his abhorrence of
heretics and all they stand for seems almost to burst forth from the page: foxes,
that is, crafty and deceitful heretics [these] foxes are called little, that is,
heretics are called little, that is, alleging false humility. Rightly I say these foxes
must be caught, because they destroy and gnaw away at the vineyards, that is,
they destroy gatherings of the faithful.86 Anselm remains rather traditional
here in his interpretation, but he does offer us a reason why heretics must be
captured like foxes they destroy gatherings of the faithful, or the orthodox
Church, with their pernicious lies, eating away at the very structure of the
Church. Above all, they are false, pretending to be humble and all the while
using their cunning tactics to draw foolish Christians who know no better into
the web of their heresies.
The explication of Song of Songs 2:15 in both the unabridged commentary
(A) and the abridged (B), version 2, is quite similar in describing heretics as
cunning and destructive deceivers, but both works do hold out the possibility
of heretics being brought back into the Church. In the abridged commentary,
catch for us is interpreted as expel or convert for us these foxes that destroy
83 Post discipulos bestialiter viventes Anselm of Laon, BnF, MS lat. 568, f. 10r; bes
tialiter viventes Anselm of Laon, BnF, MS lat. 338, f. 62vb; BnF, MS lat. 3652, f. 12v.
84 L.J.Sackville, Heresy and Heretics in the Thirteenth Century: The Textual Representations
(York, 2011), 156. Sackville argues that the continual use of the foxes as heretics imagery
into the rest of the twelfth century and beyond is due to its popularization by Bernard of
Clairvaux in his sermons on the Song of Songs, but I would argue that the Gloss also
helped to further spread this interpretation because it was so widely used in the schools.
85 See Herbert Grundmann, Oportet et Haereses Esse, in Herbert Grundmann: Ausgewhlte
Aufstze, v. 1, Schriften der Monumenta Germaniae Historica (Stuttgart, 1976), 339.
86 vulpes id est callidos et dolosos hereticos Vulpes dico parvulas id est hereticos dico
parvulos id est falsam humilitatem pretendentes. Vulpes dico bene capiendas quia demo-
liuntur et corrodunt vineas id est destruunt collectiones fidelium. Anselm of Laon, BnF,
MS lat. 338, f. 65vb; BnF, MS lat. 3652, f. 15v.
34 Chapter 1
the vineyard.87 The full commentary (A), as may be expected, offers a more
expanded gloss regarding this idea. Anselm writes, Catch the foxes, that is
bring heretics back to me, drawing them away from their error not through
secular power or monetary reward, which is prohibited [in the text] above, but
through good works, examples of virtues, and your preaching.88 Though ver-
sion (A) of the commentary goes on to describe heretics as destroying the
vineyard with their depraved opinions and hold to the twisting path of
error, Anselm begins his gloss on Song of Songs 2:15 with Christ asking the
Church to bring heretics back from their sinful ways.89
In glossing certain passages of the Song of Songs text, Anselms continuous
commentary seems to focus more on the issue of heresy than the Gloss. For
example, the Gloss text and Anselms abridged commentary (B), version 1 dif-
fer completely in their interpretation of Song of Songs 4:3, your cheeks are like
a piece of pomegranate, apart from that which lies inside:9091
Gloss Anselm of Laon, (B), version 1

Apart from that which lies inside. There Apart from that which lies inside. That is,
may be great things externally apparent, apart from the deceit and heresy of sects,
yet greater things, which only divine for that often lies inside. For heretics cover
eyes see, remain hidden.90 themselves in the hides of sheep when
inside they are wolves [cf. Mt. 7:15]91
The Gloss interprets that which lies inside in a wholly positive manner,
whereas Anselm sees this verse as an opportunity to speak to the falseness of
heretics. With his interpretation, a paraphrase of Matthew 7:15, Anselm
reminds his audience that sometimes that which lies inside is not greater
things pleasing to God, but false and heretical opinions, which are indeed the
worst possible things. He warns his readers to be on their guard and avoid
87 id est capiendo expellite vel convertite nobis, Zwettl, Bibliothek des Zisterzienserstifts,
MS 390, f. 8r; Graz, Universittsbibliothek, MS 290, f. 215vb; id est capiendo expellite vel
convertate nobis, Wien, ONB, MS 12762, f. 6r.
88 Capite vulpes, id est reducite hereticos ad me retrahendo eos ab errore suo non vi secu-
lari vel precio quod superius prohibitum est sed bonorum operum atque virtutum exem-
plis et predicationibus vestris. Anselm of Laon, BnF, MS lat. 568, f. 25v.
89 pravis sententiis non rectam viam sed tortuosam viam tenent Anselm of Laon,
BnF, MS lat. 568, f. 26r.
90 Absque eo quod intrinsecus latet. Licet sint magna que exterius apparent, maiora tamen
in occulto retinent que divini oculi soli vident. Dove, Glossa, IV, 3, 39, 2526.
91 Absque eo quod intrinsecus latet, id est absque simulatione et heresi heresis enim latere
solet intrinsecus. Nam heretici ovium pelle se cooperiunt cum intrinsecus sunt lupi.
Anselm of Laon, BnF, MS lat. 338, f. 67vb.
being fooled by heretics, who pretend to be meek sheep following the tenets of
the Church when they are in fact ravenous wolves seeking to devour honest
Christians.
Anselms commentary also differs from the Gloss interpretation at Song of
Songs 4:8, come from Lebanon, my bride from the dens of lions, from the
mountains of leopards. Both Anselm and the Gloss refer to the leopards as
heretics, but in both the unabridged commentary (A) and the abridged (B),
version 1, Anselm offers a new opinion about heretics that differs from the pre-
viously discussed animal images:929394
Gloss Anselm of Laon, unabridged (A);

(B), version 1
From the mountains of leopards (A): From the mountains of leop-
leopards, heretics whom he [the devil] ards For just as those animals
deceives with separate tricks living in the mountains are foul-
leopards on account of cruelty or smelling and of various colors,
diversity of malign arts.92 therefore heretics are foul-smelling,
that is vicious and diverse in their
opinions and in their depraved
sects.93
(B) version 1: From the mountains
of leopards and for leopards,
[read] heretics, whom the devil
deceives with separate tricks
heretics are called leopards because
they are diverse in their opinions,
and they are therefore called this
because the leopard is an animal of
diverse colors.94
92 de montibus pardorum per pardos hereticos quorum distinctis dolis decipit pardi
propter crudelitatem vel variationem atrium malignarum. Dove, Glossa, IV, 8, 72, 27;
Dove, Glossa, IV, 8, 74, 3637.
93 de montibus pardorum Nam quemadmodum illa animalia in montibus habitantia
sunt fetidi et variis coloris ita quo heretici sunt fetentes id est vitiosi et variis in sentenciis
et in sectis pravis. Anselm of Laon, BnF, MS lat. 568, f. 35v.
94 de montibus pardorum per pardos hereticos quorum distinctis dolis decipit diabolis
Heretici dicuntur pardi quia sunt in sententiis varii et hoc ideo quia pardus varii coloris
est animal. Anselm of Laon, BnF, MS lat. 338, f. 68vb.
36 Chapter 1
Instead of linking heretics to leopards because the animals are hunters or

predators, which would be similar to the other two animal images I have dis-
cussed, Anselm compares the divergent opinions of heretics to the leopards
many colors or spots. Thus, he is able to offer another opinion on heretics: they
are not a cohesive group. All heretics reject the Churchs teachings, but there
are different heretical groups with a multitude of opinions among them. As
L.J.Sackville remarks, this idea of the plurality of heresy became common in
the twelfth century.95 Heretics are dangerous, Church leaders like Anselm
argued, but the many and diverse sects that the Church considered heretical
were by no means united, and thus heretics will be unable to band together
and will be defeated by a unified Church.
In addition to these images of animals as heretics, Anselm scatters other
negative comments about heretics throughout his Song of Songs commentary.
Glossing 5:2 in the abridged (B), version 1, my head is full of dew and my
locks with drops of the night, a verse in which Anselm writes of the Church
bemoaning the enemies that beset her, he refers to these drops as the opin-
ions of heretics.96 In commenting on 7:8 in the abridged (B), version 1, I said:
I shall climb the palm tree and seize its fruits, and your breasts will be like the
grapes of the vine, Anselm compares heretics to orthodox preachers, writing
Note that I say the grapes of the vine and not the grapes picked without vines.
Grapes picked without vines are heretical. There are fruits abounding in
preaching, but they are not grapes of the vine. True preachers, however, are
grapes of the vine.97 In this enigmatic gloss, Anselm seems to be saying that
true preachers are grapes of the vine (the Church) because they grow to matu-
rity, learning from the Church until they are ripe for preaching and can
distribute the sweet wine of Christs teachings to a wide audience. Heretical
preachers are not true grapes of the vine because they have decided to be cut
off from the Church, and therefore cannot grow and flourish.
Anselm also touches on the many ways in which representatives of the
Church see heretics as deliberately taking on a false appearance. Over the
course of the twelfth century, this became a typical attribute to ascribe to
heretics; as Sackville mentions, several of the twelfth-century church councils
95 Sackville, Heresy and Heretics, 185.

96 sunt pleni guttis noctium, id est sententiis hereticorum. Anselm of Laon, BnF, MS lat.
338, f. 70vb.
97 Notandum est quod dicit botros vinee et non botros extra vineas acceptos. Botri extra
vineas accepti sunt heretici. Nam et illi sunt botri id est predicatione habundantes sed
non sunt botri vinee. Veri autem predicatores sunt botri vinee. Anselm of Laon, BnF, MS
lat. 338, f. 75va.
contain references to false appearance in their treatment of heretics, includ-

ing the 1119 council of Toulouse and the 1157 council of Reims.98 Heretics
operated under the appearance of religion, adopting qualities they did not
truly have in order to spread their depraved doctrine.99 The sheep/wolf imag-
ery discussed above is one way in which Anselm describes the falseness of
heretics in his Song of Songs commentary, but other examples abound. In the
unabridged commentary (A), Anselm quickly indicts heretics in his gloss on 1:1,
Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth, because your breasts are better
than wine. In glossing wine, he writes Wine. That is, pseudo-prophets, that
is false preachers, making the less perfect in the Church deviate from the heav-
enly kingdom.100 Heretics preach, but they do so without a license and without
the correct doctrine. Their false preaching, Anselm states, fools those less per-
fect members who constitute the laity, and some are taken in by these slippery
heretics.101 These less perfect members of the Church may also be fooled,
Anselm states, by heretics practicing what he calls a false mortification of the
flesh. In both the full commentary (A) and the abridged commentary (B), ver-
sion 2, Anselm writes about this notion when glossing Song of Songs 5:5, my
hands dripped myrrh, my fingers [were] full of the finest myrrh, remarking
full of myrrh, that is mortification of the flesh, not feigned as heretics do, but
the finest.102 In another verse within the Song of Songs discussing myrrh,
Anselm makes a similar remark in the abridged commentary (B), version 2.103
Song of Songs 5:13 speaks of the bridegrooms lips as lilies dripping finest
myrrh, and here Anselm writes Lips, I say, dripping myrrh, that is pouring
myrrh [out] to others, that is mortifying themselves, and not for the eye [for
others to see], as heretics do, but the finest, that is not feigned.104 Publicly
98 Sackville, Heresy and Heretics, 164.

99 Ibid.
100 Vino. Pseudo prophetis, id est falsis predicatoribus facientibus minus perfectos in eccle-
sia deviare a celesti patria. Anselm of Laon, BnF, MS lat. 568, f. 4r.
101 The idea that simple folk would be won over by heretics taking on false appearance and
preaching false doctrine also became commonplace in the twelfth and thirteenth centu-
ries; see Sackville, Heresy and Heretics, 169.
102 Mirra, id est mortificatio carnis dico non ficta ut heretici faciunt sed probatissimam
Anselm of Laon, BnF, MS lat. 568, f. 41v; Zwettl, Bibliothek des Zisterzienserstifts, MS 390,
f. 19r.
103 Myrrh was commonly used as an embalming fluid, and Gregory the Great and others
wrote in their Song of Songs commentaries that myrrh should be associated with the
mortification of the flesh.
104 Labia dico distillantia mirra id est aliis fundentes mirram id est se mortificant et non ad
oculum ut heretici sed prima id est non fictam. Anselm of Laon, Zwettl, Bibliothek des
Zisterzienserstifts, MS 390, f. 21v.
38 Chapter 1
practicing mortification of the flesh would give heretics the appearance of

piety; Anselm argues here that the finest mortification of the flesh is that
done with a pure heart, not that done falsely.
Another quality of heretics Anselm mentions in the abridged commentary
(B), version 2 is that they are mobile. Those who are good examples of preach-
ers, namely Paul and Christ, are also described as going from place to place in
order to win converts.105 The Church herself speaks in two of Anselms glosses
in chapter 5 as going from place to place to preach and dispute against here-
tics.106 Anselm, however, also declares that heretics are confirmed in their
heresy by always moving from place to place in his gloss on Song of Songs 1:7.107
As Caterina Bruschi remarks, the evangelical precept to go and preach implies
that both movement and preaching are requirements of true followers of
Christ, and that the link with the imitation of Christ and the apostles and the
connection with preaching were in fact shared by both heretical and non-
heretical groups.108 Wandering preachers, as will be discussed below, skirted
the margins of heresy during Anselms lifetime, and by the middle of the
twelfth century, those accused of heresy were often spoken of as moving from
place to place.109 While Anselm expresses approval of those within the Church
undertaking the labor of preaching and moving from place to place in order to
dispute and preach, he, like other representatives of the institutional Church,
objects to heretics, who lack the strong support of a profound knowledge and
correct interpretation of the Scriptures, doing the same thing.110 In the eyes of
the Church, these heretics are not wanderers seeking to pass on the word of
God, but vagrants.
105 Paulum suscitabant subditi sui peccantes ita quod oportuit eum ire de loco ad locum ut
de Romans ad Chorinteos de Corintheis ad alios corrigendos, Anselm of Laon, Zwettl,
Bibliothek des Zisterzienserstifts, MS 390, f. 30v; Ferculum id est illos qui feruntur vel qui
ferunt ipsum Christum de loco ad locum et per quos ipse iudicat alios quosdam ligando
id est de fortibus et candidis non desequentibus molliciem carnis. Anselm of Laon,
Zwettl, Bibliothek des Zisterzienserstifts, MS 390, f. 12r.
106 contra hereticos disputabam ibam de loco ad locum predicando; resumendo laborem
predicationis contra hereticos et iterum de loco ad locum ibo Anselm of Laon, Zwettl,
Bibliothek des Zisterzienserstifts, MS 390, f. 18r-v.
107 id est per heresim sua confirmando sepe de loco ad locum moventur. Anselm of Laon,
Zwettl, Bibliothek des Zisterzienserstifts, MS 390, f. 3v.
108 Caterina Bruschi, The Wandering Heretics of Languedoc (Cambridge, 2009), 103104.
109 See R.I. Moore, The War on Heresy (Cambridge, MA, 2012), 171, which gives an example
from the 1157 council of Reims, where Manichees are described as wretched weavers
who move from place to place.
110 Bruschi, Wandering Heretics, 114.
Because of all the false appearances heretics take on, and because the peo-
ple are so vulnerable to their tricks, preachers must be careful in their dealings
with them. Despite stating several times throughout his commentary that it is
necessary for those qualified to preach and that preaching must be shared with
the people, Anselm expresses some wariness about orthodox preaching being
co-opted by heretics. In the unabridged commentary (A), Anselm glosses Song
of Songs 3:8, All holding swords and most experienced in making war, by
writing:
Holding swords, because he who preaches is filled with [good] works,

and thus he holds his preaching. Or then holding his preaching to him-
self, while not scattering it among swine; following this precept: Do not
scatter your pearls among swine [cf. Mt. 7:6], that is because heretics may
be able to hold [swords] and preaching, whereas they will not be able to
do this if you continue to preach with discretion.111
Anselm urges those who preach to be careful not to cast their pearls before
swine, that is to preach to those who they fear are unrepentant heretics.
Anselm argues that preachers can serve as the major line of defense against
heretics precisely because they are able to tell the difference between heretical
and orthodox ideas and between unrepentant heretics and those who can be
won back to the Church. In the full commentary (A) when glossing Song of
Songs 7:4, your nose is like a tower of Lebanon, Anselm writes that the nose is
those discerning good opinions from the opinions of heretics and hypocrites.112
He writes a similar gloss in the abridged commentary (B), version 2 on Song of
Songs 1:7, If you do not know yourself, O beautiful among women, go forth and
depart in the footprints of the flocks and feed your goats beside the tents of the
shepherds. Anselm turns this verse into a prayer from Christ that prelates will
be able to discern between true and false preachers.113 Preachers are entrusted
111 Tenentes gladios, quia que predicant operibus adimplent, et ita suam predicationem
tenent. Vel tunc tenent ipsi predicationis suas cum nolite eas spargere inter porcos; ser-
vantes illud preceptum, nolite margaritas spargere inter porcos, id est quia possent here-
tici et etiam predicationem tenere, et non esse facendi atque ad predicandum discreti
subdit. Anselm of Laon, BnF, MS lat. 568, f. 30r.
112 Nasus tuus discernentes bonas sententias a sententias hereticorum et ipocritarum
Anselm of Laon, BnF, MS lat. 568, f. 56r.
113 Si ignoras te o pulchra inter mulieres egredere et abi post vestigia gregum tuorum et
pasce hedos tuos iuxta tabernacula pastorum. Dixit orationem quam faciunt prelati sub-
ditorum causa ut possint dinoscere veros a falsis predicatoribus. Anselm of Laon, Zwettl,
Bibliothek des Zisterzienserstifts, MS 390, f. 3r.
40 Chapter 1
in Anselms commentary with the duty of protecting the Church from heretics,
because only they are able to correctly gauge the threat to the Church. Overall,
Anselms references to heretics in his commentary leave the reader with the
impression that they are a destructive force that must be either won back into
the Church or completely eradicated.
This is not an original sentiment by any means; indeed, Christian writers
had naturally been characterizing heretics in this manner for centuries. We
must consider the notion, however, that Anselms virulent rhetoric may have
been a response to a real heretical threat in early twelfth-century France, and
therefore his writings about heretics in the Song of Songs commentary reveal a
sense of urgency about the damage heretics might inflict on the Church.
Malcolm Lambert has remarked that during this very period, half a centurys
silence in the history of Western heresy was broken.114 Heretical movements
like Arianism had flourished in the early medieval period, and several sporadic
outbreaks of heresy occurred in the mid-eleventh century and met with a vio-
lent response from authorities, who burned heretics in Orlans, Monteforte,
and elsewhere.115 Once these movements were repressed, heresy seemed to
disappear, only to emerge again with a new, more aggressive character.
Lambert, R.I. Moore, and others have posited that the Gregorian reform move-
ment and its ultimate failure in the eyes of some clergy and laypeople to fulfill
its promise of a free Church that stressed a return to the apostolic life led to
this outbreak of heresy.116
Some of those who wandered throughout the European countryside preach-
ing the value of poverty obtained licenses from the Church legitimizing their
activity. In northern France during Anselms lifetime, the wandering preachers
Robert of Arbrissel and Norbert of Xanten espoused some unconventional
ideas, but remained in the orthodox fold; Robert founded the abbey at
Fontevrault and Norbert established the Premonstratensian Order.117 Herbert
Grundmann is careful to point out, however, that this desire to lead the
114 Malcolm Lambert, Medieval Heresy: Popular Movements from the Gregorian Reform to the
Reformation, 3rd ed. (Oxford, 2002), 43.
115 Ibid., 32.
116 Ibid., Medieval Heresy, 4546; R.I.Moore, The Origins of European Dissent (Oxford, 1985),
63.
117 Lambert, 4950. Lambert remarks that some questions did arise among the Church hier-
archy about the legitimacy of these wandering preachers, especially because they some-
times denounced the sins of the clergy. Norbert of Xanten, for example, was questioned
in 1119 about his wandering preaching tours despite having received the permission of the
Church, indicating the Churchs wariness toward the apostolic life early in the twelfth
century.
apostolic life was at the root of both orthodox and heretical movements in the
early twelfth century, and their common motivations have to be kept in mind
in order to understand the course and destiny of the movement for religious
poverty.118 Since he was likely writing his Song of Songs commentary against
this backdrop, it is interesting to note the possible impact that the apostolic
movement may have had on Anselm. While Anselm repeatedly calls for the
theological students he addresses to go out and preach, he never specifically
endorses a life of poverty or a career as a wandering preacher. Anselm does
share some traits with the orthodox wandering preachers in espousing simple
values and good works and in that he urges his audience to purge themselves
of sin and vice before preaching to others. Above all, the overwhelming empha-
sis on preaching in Anselms Song of Songs commentary places his sympathies
in line with those of the orthodox wandering preachers who launched the
apostolic movement. For Anselm, however, the fear of heretical preachers
spreading lies about the Church and perverting the apostolic life always lurks
in his exposition of the Song of Songs text.
One particular incident in 1114 helps to elucidate Anselms attitudes toward
heresy. We turn back to Guibert of Nogent, who again acts as an eyewitness to
events in Laon and the surrounding area. Guibert writes about a certain peas-
ant by the name of Clement, who with his brother Evrard lived at Bucy, a village
in the vicinity of Soissons.119 In describing the heresy of the brothers, Guibert
adopts the same attitude as Anselm, speaking of it as something that crawls
clandestinely like a serpent and reveals itself only through its perpetual
slitherings.120 Guibert writes that the heretics reject the baptism of children
before the age of reason abhor the mystery that we perform upon our altars
condemn marriage and the production of offspring [and] hold their meet-
ings in underground vaults or hidden cellars.121 Guibert notes that the heretical
activities practiced by Clement and Evrard are similar to the list of the prac-
tices of the Manicheans produced by Augustine in his Liber de heresibus ad
Quodvultdeum, making it difficult to know whether these peasants actually
participated in such activities or whether Guibert just ascribed the heresies to
them, using Augustine as his guide.122
118 Herbert Grundmann, Religious Movements in the Middle Ages, trans. Steven Rowan (Notre
Dame, 1995), 9.
119 Archambault, A Monks Confession, 19596.
120 Ibid., 196.
121 Ibid.
122 Ibid., 19697.
42 Chapter 1
Guibert also accuses the heretics of claiming to be leading the apostolic

life and says that they have read the Acts of the Apostles and little else.123 It
is interesting that Guibert here links claims to the apostolic life with heresy,
throwing into sharp relief the confusion that plagued the orthodox clergy
when they were confronted with the new apostolic movement. The bishop of
Soissons, unsure of what to do with the heretics, asked Guibert to question
them and then subjected to them to the ordeal of cold water. Clement failed
the ordeal, and Guibert notes that the crowd gathered around the proceedings
went rapturous with joy when seeing this proof of Clements guilt and hear-
ing Evrards confession.124 Guibert writes approvingly of the crowd when they,
fearing the weakness of the clergy and seeing the bishops indecision, seize
and burn the heretics themselves, saying Thus the people of God, fearing the
spread of this cancer, took the matter of justice into their own zealous hands.125
If we trust the tone of Guiberts account, the majority of peasants, at least
those in and around Soissons, held true to the orthodox faith and rejected her-
esy, going so far as to form a violent lynch mob in an attempt to eradicate the
heterodox threat.126
It is perhaps impossible to know whether or not this specific case in Bucy
had any impact on Anselms writings or led him to condemn heresy so enthu-
siastically. One can easily imagine that the incident with Clement and Evrard
was not an isolated one, and that there were other outbreaks of heresy in
Northern France during Anselms lifetime. Indeed, in Anselms last years of life
and then increasingly throughout the first half of the twelfth century, heretical
movements became more widespread and cohesive throughout western
Europe. Tanchelm of Antwerp, who died c. 1115, had been a priest but had a
spiritual awakening while on a diplomatic mission to Rome for the Count of
Flanders. He began preaching against the corruption of the clergy throughout
the Low Countries and showed contempt for priestly offices by claiming the
sacramental value of his bathwater and marrying himself to a statue of the
Virgin in order to collect wedding gifts from the crowd gathered to see him.127
Other popular heretical leaders in Talchelms generation included Henry the
Monk and Peter of Bruis. Peter was a priest who lived as a wandering preacher
123 Ibid., 197.

124 Ibid., 198.
125 Ibid.
126 It is certainly also possible that Guibert was attributing feelings to these peasants that
they did not have, and they were simply acting against those in a weaker position than
themselves.
127 Moore, Origins of European Dissent, 6364.
beginning in 1112 or 1113 in the Dauphin, and argued that prayers for the dead
were useless, infant baptism was invalid, and that the Eucharist was a unique
sacrifice offered only once to the disciples.128 The Cluniac monk Peter the
Venerable wrote a polemical treatise condemning Peter of Bruis (Contra
Petrobrusianos), illustrating that a representative of the official Church consid-
ered this heresy particularly dangerous. Henry the Monk, who was perhaps a
renegade Cluniac, preached in Le Mans in 1116, entering the city preceded by
two disciples carrying a cross on an iron-tipped staff, bearded, barefoot, and
with poor clothing.129 The bishop gave Henry permission to preach, but he
was later expelled from the city for what Heinrich Fichtenau calls views [that]
placed him at the fringes of the Church rather than out-and-out heresy.130
Nevertheless, like Peter of Bruis and Tanchelm of Antwerp, Henry argued that
corrupt clergy had no power to perform sacraments and opposed infant bap-
tism. While the more developed and dangerous heresies of the Cathars and
Waldenses did not arise until the 1150s and the 1170s, respectively, it is possible
to see a growing heretical threat led by charismatic preachers in the early
twelfth century that deeply disturbed orthodox churchmen like Anselm and
may have led him to fervently condemn heresy, but still hold out hope for pre-
vailing upon heretics and bringing them back into the Church.
Unlike heretics, Anselm communicates throughout his Song of Songs com-
mentary that Jews need to be converted rather than persecuted. This idea that
a number of Jews will be converted was present in the works of Augustine and
Bede, and the idea was taken up by many theologians in the generations fol-
lowing Anselm, including Hugh of St. Victor, Peter the Chanter, Stephen
Langton, and Alexander of Hales.131 While this optimistic view about the Jews
future by no means indicates that Anselm viewed them without suspicion he
does make clear his belief that, ultimately, most Jews will be swayed by preach-
ing to convert, and will in turn convert others to the Christian faith.
In the Song of Songs narrative, these attempts at conversion get off to a rocky
start. In glossing 1:5 in the abridged commentary (B), version 1, my mothers
sons have fought against me, Anselm explains that this is the voice of the
Church, speaking about the sons (Jews) of her mother (the Synagogue), and
128 Heinrich Fichtenau, Heretics and Scholars in the High Middle Ages, 10001200. Trans.
Denise A. Kaiser (University Park, PA, 1998), 57.
129 Lambert, Medieval Heresy, 52.
130 Fichtenau, Heretics and Scholars, 61.
131 See Sarah Lipton, Images of Intolerance: The Representation of Jews and Judaism in the
Bible moralise (Berkeley, 1999), 114116.
44 Chapter 1
says they have fought against me, that is they refused to accept my preaching.132
As discussed above (p. 36), just as she felt weighed down by the drops of the
night that Anselm interpreted as the opinions of heretics, so does the Church
despair over the Jews refusal to be converted in Anselms gloss in (B), version
1 on Song of Songs 5:2, saying my head, that is my divinity, is full of dew, that
is the cold infidelity of the Jews, who say that Christ is only a man, and not
God.133 Anselm repeats a common medieval accusation linking back to the
Gospels in commenting in (B), version 1 on 3:11, go out, daughters of Sion, and
see Solomon the king wearing the diadem with which his mother crowned
him. Anselm interprets go out as an exhortation to the Jews to go out from
literal understanding to spiritual understanding, because due to their adher-
ence to the literal and carnal, Christ was crucified by the Jews.134
Despite all of the negative glosses, however, Anselm maintains a certain
optimism throughout his commentary. Writing on Song of Songs 4:12 in (B),
version 1, A garden shut up is my sister, my bride, a garden shut up, a spring
sealed, Anselm has Christ say to his bride that the gathering of Jews are a
future garden, which is arid and uncultivated now, but will soon be fruitful.135
The garden will become fruitful when it is watered by the spring, that is, when
the Jews undergo the ritual of baptism that will initiate them into the Church.136
132 pugnaverunt, id est noluerunt recipere predicationem meam Anselm of Laon, BnF,
MS lat. 338, f. 62va; BnF, MS lat. 3652, f. 12v. The Gloss interpretation of this verse is similar
in that the Church describes the Synagogue fighting against her, but Anselms commen-
tary specifically says that the Jews, and not simply an allegorical Synagogue, were fighting
against the preaching of the Church.
133 caput meum id est divinitas mea est plena rore id est frigida iudeorum infidelitate. Dicit
enim Christum tantum esse hominem et non Deum. Anselm of Laon, BnF, MS lat. 338,
f. 70vb.
134 egredimini de literali intellectu ad spiritualem intellectum nam a Iudeis crucifixus est
Christus. Anselm of Laon, BnF, MS lat. 338, f. 67rb; BnF, MS lat. 3652, f. 17r. On the idea of
the Jews as Christ-killers in the medieval Church, see Jeremy Cohen, The Jews as the Kill-
ers of Christ in the Latin Tradition, From Augustine to the Friars Traditio, 39 (1983), 127.
Cohen writes that Anselm in the Enarrationes on Matthew and in the Gloss argued that
the Jews killed Christ intentionally and could not claim ignorance of His true nature, but
in Anselms Song of Songs commentary, the sponsa de Iudeis does claim ignorance, say-
ing at Song 6:11 nescivi, and then turns to the embrace of Christ. See the following page
for more on this verse.
135 Nam illi qui sunt in collectione tua de Iudeis sunt futuri ortus id est de inculta et inarata
terra sunt futuri ortus id est culta et fructuosa terra Anselm of Laon, BnF, MS lat. 338,
f. 69rb.
136 Et non quilibet ortus sunt futuri illi de gentibus sed talis qui non erit aridus sed talis in
quo erit fons signatus id est sanctus id est fons baptismatis erit in illo orto rigans illum
ortum. Anselm of Laon, BnF, MS lat. 338, f. 69rb.
In (B), version 1, Anselm specifically describes how the Jews can be saved in his
comment on the aptly chosen Song of Songs 5:8, I adjure you, daughters of
Jerusalem, if you find my beloved, tell him I am languishing with love. He actu-
ally depicts the Churchs adjuration, with her saying O you daughters of
Jerusalem, I tell you, that is, I bind you to this principle, if you find my beloved,
that is Christ, through penitence. Indeed, through penitence he is found. And
when you find him I adjure you to announce and proclaim this to others
(emphasis mine).137 The biblical text, if you find my beloved has become
when you find him. By this point in the narrative, Anselm communicates that
the ultimate plan is coming into fruition and the Synagogue is ready to be
converted.
By 6:11 in both the Gloss and Anselms commentary the Synagogue has lis-
tened to the Church give a lengthy description of Christs beauty and virtues.
The turning point in the biblical text comes here. The text reads I did not
know. My soul perturbed me on account of Aminadabs four-wheeled chariot.
Here, Anselm writes of a newly converted Synagogue, which has now become
the sponsa de Iudeis, admitting the error of her ways and speaking to those
Jews still unconverted. His commentary on this verse in the unabridged com-
mentary (A) reads O you future friends, do not still stay behind in your
infidelity; you do this because of your ignorance, because you have remained
in your sin and in error for so long.138 Similarly, the abridged (B), version 1
states that this verse features The voice of the Jewish bride thus speaking to
the unconverted Synagogue: O my unconverted parents, convert without delay
and thus follow my example you, my parents, should no longer wish to
remain in the literal understanding, but to cross over to the spiritual just as I
did.139 Here, the converted Synagogue actually preaches to her parents, and
tells them of the four-wheeled chariot (the Gospels) and Aminadab (Christ)
137 O vos filie ierusalem, adiuro vos, dico id est ad hanc regulam vos astringo si inveneritis
dilectum meum id est Christum per penitentiam. Per penitentiam enim invenitur. Et cum
eum inveneritis adiuro vos ut eum aliis anuncietis et predicetis Anselm of Laon, BnF,
MS lat. 338, f. 71vb.
138 O vos amice future nolite tamen in infidelitate vestra morari quam per ignorantiam hoc
facitis quod vos tamdiu in peccato et in errore nostro manetis Anselm of Laon, BnF,
MS lat. 568, f. 53r.
139 Vox ipsius sponse de Iudeis sic dicentis ad sinagogam non conversam. O vos parentes
mei non conversi convertimini sine mora et hoc ad exemplum mei Vos mei parentes
nolite morari in litterali intellectum sed transire ad spiritualem sicut ego feci. Anselm of
Laon, BnF, MS lat. 338, f. 74rb.
46 Chapter 1
that converted her, and follows the exhortation of the Church in 5:8, to
announce and proclaim Christ to others.140
The converted Synagogue continues to preach to her unconverted Jewish
brethren in Anselms exposition of Song of Songs 7:10 in the unabridged com-
mentary (A), but by this point in the narrative, she speaks to the Gentiles as
well. In glossing the verse, I am my beloveds, and his turning [is] toward me,
Anselm writes The bride, compelled to preach, turns herself toward her future
friends among the Jews and the Gentiles saying: O you future friends, you have
remained in unfaithfulness for a long time, but you shall be converted to the
Lord your God, and he will immediately turn himself to you so that you may
see and believe.141 If you turn to Christ, the recently converted bride states, he
will turn to you. The task of preaching to both unconverted Jews and Gentiles,
which Anselm clearly holds to be one of the most important duties of the
Church, is entrusted to those who have recently turned to Christ. This does not
mean, however, that the Church is relieved of the task of preaching. In the
abridged commentary (B), version 2 gloss on Song of Songs 7:8, I said: I shall
climb the palm tree and seize its fruits, Anselm ensures that Christ gives
advice to the Church, made up of those who were once Gentiles. Anselm
writes:
the bridegroom reminds the Church of the Gentiles that she must work
for the conversion of the Jews, who are going to be just as I have now
shown [see below; Christ has just praised the Jewish bride]. Now he adds
another reason so that he is able to sufficiently remind the Gentiles that
they must work to convert the Jews, namely that for them and others, he
deigned to ascend the cross and to suffer the punishment of sinners.142
140 On the converted Synagogue and its use in medieval commentary see Jeremy Cohen,
Synagoga Conversa: Honorius Augustodunensis, the Song of Songs, and Christianitys
Eschatological Jew, in Speculum 79 (2004), 309340.
141 Sponsa coacta ut predicet vertit se ad amicas futuras de Iudeis et sui de gentibus sic
dicens: o vos amice future nolite in infidelitate diucius permanere, sed convertimini ad
dominum Deum vestrum, et ipse statim convertet se ad vos et unde hoc possitis videre et
credere. Anselm of Laon, BnF, MS lat. 568, f. 59r.
142 Ammonuit sponsus ecclesiam de gentibus ut laboret de conversione Iudeorum qui futuri
sunt sicut iam ostendit. Nunc aliam causam subponit que satis potest ammonere gentiles
ut laboret de Iudeis convertendis scilicet quod pro illis et aliis dignatus est ascendere
crucem et penam reorum pati. Anselm of Laon, Zwettl, Bibliothek des Zisterzienserstifts,
MS 390, f. 28v.
With the gloss on this phrase, Anselm communicates two ideas. First of all, in
this gloss, Christ reminds those in the Church that they must continue to
preach to unconverted Jews; this is not now solely the task of Jews who have
already converted. Secondly, Christ reminds those in the Church that he died
for all for those who were formerly Gentiles, but also for the Jews, both con-
verted and unconverted. Christ deigned to suffer the punishment of sinners
though he was without sin himself. Therefore, all must be included in the pro-
gram of preaching, and all must be brought to Christ.
In Anselms commentary in Chapter 7, the converted Synagogue is richly
rewarded for her newfound Christian faith with Christs lavish praise of his
new bride. In the Gloss, this chapter is interpreted as praise of the combined
Church and Synagogue, but here Anselm specifically directs the praise toward
the Synagogue alone.143 Jeremy Cohen has argued that Honorius Augusto
dunensis, in his Expositio in Cantica canticorum, was the first to attribute these
verses in Chapter 7 as praise for the Synagogue alone, and not praise for the
combined Church and Synagogue. Cohen writes that the figure of Synagoga
conversa, one should note, has made earlier appearances in Latin commen-
taries on the Song of Songs, as well as in other exegetical contexts Where
his predecessors beheld Christ serenading Ecclesia in these verses, Honorius
understood the body and beauty under discussion as those of Synagoga.144
As Cohen notes, however, sometime after 1132, perhaps as late as the mid-
1150s, Honorius wrote his longer and more innovative Expositio in Cantica
canticorum.145 Therefore, Anselms continuous commentary must have pre-
ceded Honorius Expositio, since Anselm died in 1117. Valerie Flint and E. Ann
Matter have argued that Honorius used the Glossed Song of Songs as one of his
sources for the Expositio; since the interpretation that the praise in Chapter 7
is directed at the Synagogue alone appeared not in the Gloss but in Anselms
commentary, it seems reasonable to assert that Honorius may have also used
143 Quam pulcri gressus in calciamentis filia principis. Vox eiusdem sponsi sic dicentis. Et
propter hoc etiam debes illam exhortari. O sinagoga conversa quia quam id est quam
inestimabiliter gressus tui futuri pulcri mea id est exempla tua et predicatio tua quam
pulcra sunt futura in ea multum inquam. Et hoc o tu filia mei principia tu sinagoga con-
versa et ideo filia mea non debet imputare tibi cum tu sumas hoc in calciamentis id est in
exemplis apostolorum qui sunt calciamentum et ornamentum scripturarum et omnium
predicatorum. Anselm of Laon, BnF, MS lat. 338, f. 74va. Note here that Christ specifically
speaks to the sinagoga conversa and not the ecclesia de Iudeis et gentibus.
144 Cohen, Synagoga Conversa, 324.
145 Ibid., 311.
48 Chapter 1
Anselms continuous commentary as one of his sources.146 The interpretation

in Honorius Expositio that Cohen deems novel and innovative may have
been drawn from Anselm, which makes Anselms commentary loom even
larger in its influence on high medieval Song of Songs exegesis.147
As many scholars have noted, twelfth-century Christian tradition is brim-
ming over with contradictory ideas about the Jews. As Anna Sapir Abulafia has
written, Marked interest in the relationship between Judaism and Christianity
is proved by the exponential growth of Christian-Jewish disputations in the
twelfth century and the large amount of exegetical work on the subject But
at the same time, we see the continuity of fundamental Christian ambiguity
towards Judaism.148 On the one hand, some twelfth-century scholars like
Andrew of St. Victor and Herbert of Bosham knew some Hebrew and grappled
with the works of Jewish commentators like Rashi.149 On the other hand,
Jewish-Christian relations in northern Europe rapidly deteriorated in the early
twelfth century, and many figures within the Church increasingly saw Judaism
as the ultimate heresy and Jews as the most dangerous enemies of Christ. The
146 See Valerie I.J. Flint, The Commentaries of Honorius Augustodunensis on the Song of
Songs, Revue benedictine 84 (1974), 196211 (205 for reference to the Gloss) and E. Ann
Matter, The Church Fathers and the Glossa Ordinaria, in The Reception of the Church
Fathers in the West: From the Carolingians to the Maurists, ed. Irena Backus, v. 1 (Leiden,
1997), 83111, at 99.
147 Cohen, Synagoga Conversa, 310, 320.
148 Anna Sapir Abulafia, Continuity and Change in Twelfth-Century Christian-Jewish Rela-
tions, in Thomas F.X. Noble and John Van Engen, eds., European Transformations: The
Long Twelfth Century (Notre Dame, IN, 2012), 314337, at 329.
149 There is a vast amount of literature from recent years on Christian-Jewish relations in the
High Middle Ages and the interactions between Christian and Jewish scholars. Works
touching on the idea of Christian Hebraism or at least the interactions between Jewish
and Christian interpretations of Scripture include Deborah L. Goodwin, Take Hold of the
Robe of a Jew: Herbert of Boshams Christian Hebraism (Leiden, 2006); a number of essays
in the excellent volume edited by Franklin T. Harkins, Transforming Relations: Essays on
Jews and Christians Throughout History in Honor of Michael A. Signer (Notre Dame, IN,
2010); two works by Gilbert Dahan, Les Intellectuels Chrtiens et les Juifs au Moyen ge
(Paris, 1990), and the volume he edited, Les Juifs au Regard de lHistoire: Mlanges en
lHonneur de Bernhard Blumenkranz (Paris, 1985); and Devorah Schoenfelds recent work
Isaac on Jewish and Christian Altars: Polemic and Exegesis in Rashi and the Glossa Ordina-
ria (New York, 2013). Recent studies of Christian-Jewish relations include Christian Atti-
tudes Toward the Jews in the Middle Ages, ed. Michael Frassetto (New York, 2007); Anna
Sapir Abulafias Christian-Jewish Relations, 10001300: Jews in the Service of Medieval Chris-
tendom (Harlow, 2011); and Irven M. Resnick, Marks of Distinction: Christian Perceptions of
Jews in the High Middle Ages (Washington DC, 2012). As is quite evident, this is a fertile
area for even more future study.
attitude Anselm displays in his continuous commentary, at least, toward Jews

seems opposed to that held by a significant portion of his contemporaries. As
we have seen, he disparages Jews for their focus on the literal rather than the
spiritual and criticizes them for past errors, but ultimately he feels that the
majority of Jews will be converted and in turn work to convert others. Anselms
contemporaries Guibert of Nogent, Rupert of Deutz, and Peter the Venerable,
on the other hand, have little to no hope for the conversion of the Jews and
indeed, see them as irredeemable sinners whose hands will always be stained
with Christs blood.
Like Anselm, Guibert, Rupert, and Peter all accuse the Jews of embracing
carnality over spirituality. The latter three, however, all use vituperative lan-
guage, excoriating the Jews not only for their rejection of Christ, but also
claiming that they lack all reason. Rupert debated face-to-face with Jews, and
John Van Engen reminds us that in personal encounters [Rupert] could adopt
a friendly attitude and debate on common ground with Jews.150 In his writ-
ings, however, Rupert insists that the Jews failure to receive Christ as the Son
of God sprang from active rejection, from proud and stubborn resistance to
Gods ways and teachings.151 Anna Sapir Abulafia remarks that Rupert accused
the Jews of both greed and irrationality, because in their eagerness to keep
what they believed to be Gods salvation for themselves they were intention-
ally unwilling to accept the idea that Jesus Christ had come to save the whole
of mankind.152 Guibert, like Rupert, debated Jews, in this case at Soissons.
Guiberts Tractatus de incarnatione contra Iudeos was also directed to Count
John of Soissons, whom Guibert accused of being both a Judaizer and a here-
tic.153 In his treatise, Guibert asserts that the Jews lack the purity of mind and
heart necessary to understand the idea of the Incarnation.154 Like Rupert, he
writes repeatedly about the Jews concern with the Law, marveling that they
could be so concerned with the minutiae of some laws when the focal point of
their Law, that is to say the Temple with its sacrifices and priesthood, was no
more.155
The Cluniac monk Peter the Venerable exceeds both Rupert and Guibert in
terms of the polemical tone of his writings against Jews, going so far as to dehu-
150 Van Engen, Rupert of Deutz, 244.

151 Ibid.
152 Anna Sapir Abulafia, Christians and Jews in the Twelfth-Century Renaissance (New York,
1995), 121.
153 Jay Rubenstein, Guibert of Nogent: Portrait of a Medieval Mind (New York, 2002), 115.
154 Abulafia, Christians and Jews, 111.
155 Ibid., 103.
50 Chapter 1
manize them completely by comparing them to animals (a trope somewhat

similar to Anselms comparisons of heretics to various animals). In his Adversus
Iudeos, Peter asserts that Christians have tried to explain the New Testament
and a Christological reading of the Hebrew Bible many times, but Jews are too
foolish to accept the Word of God. Sapir Abulafia notes that Peter repeatedly
wonders at the nature of the Jews, saying I do not know whether I am speak-
ing to a man I know not whether a Jew is a man because he does not cede to
human reason, nor does he acquiesce to the divine authorities which are his
own.156 Peter objects to the Jews on economic and political grounds as well,
arguing that they were wrongly protected by greedy kings and lords and were
involved only in underhanded occupations, especially usury.157 Peters goal was
to attack every aspect of Jewish life and religion, and he sees no redeeming
value in Judaism or the Jewish people. Any rhetoric against Jews in Anselms
Song of Songs commentary seems gentle in comparison to that of his contem-
poraries. As we saw above, in Anselms Song of Songs narrative, the Synagogue
does realize the error of her ways and is given a chance to be converted and to
contribute to the life of the Church. Above all, Anselms expressed desire for
converted Jews to convert their former brethren clearly sets him apart from
certain other representatives of the institutional Church in the early twelfth
century.
Anselms work on the Song of Songs becomes even more important when
one takes into account the notion that hardly any school-based commentaries
on the Song of Songs are extant from the first half of the twelfth century. The
content of his commentary, especially his attitudes toward the conversion of
the Jews and the necessity for Jews to take up preaching, would seem to be
extraordinary for the early twelfth century. His attitude toward preaching in
general places him within the orbit of the apostolic movement of this period,
and makes him one of the earlier representatives of the institutional Church to
call for pastoral reform and new approaches toward preaching and conversion.
His commentary impresses his readers with the belief that preaching is the
key to winning new converts to the Church and encouraging those lukewarm
Christians to participate more fully in the life of the Church. As the following
chapter will show, many of the ideas from Anselms continuous commentary
on the Song of Songs would surface in the Gloss on that biblical book. Through
his initiation and direction of the Glossa Ordinaria project, Anselm would con-
tinue to have an impact on learning within the Church well after his death.
156 Ibid., 116.

157 Dominique Iogna-Prat, Order and Exclusion: Cluny and Christendom Face Heresy, Judaism,
and Islam (10001150) (Ithaca, NY, 2002), 28485.
Innovation and Compilation at Laon 51
Chapter 2
Innovation and Compilation at Laon: The Glossed

Song of Songs and Its Influence
You must not cease preaching for the sake of quietness, because Christ,
who was in great quietness with the Father, to an extent interrupted qui-
etness for the sake of preaching.
Glossa Ordinaria, on Song of Songs 2:121

Jean Leclercq observed some years ago that the Canticle of Canticles is a con-
templative text it is not pastoral in nature; it does not teach morality it was
more attuned than any other book in Sacred Scripture to loving, disinterested
contemplation.2 This echoes the view held by Leclercqs medieval monastic
predecessors. The Song of Songs was cherished by medieval monks, who saw
contemplation of God and the divine mysteries as their primary, and some-
times sole, occupation. As Denys Turner states, the Song of Songs offered
something no other biblical book could provide, its exuberant celebration of
eros.3 Monks did not comment on the book, however, because they found the
language erotic, but because they saw it as an allegory in which Christ shows
His love for the human soul.4 The books language of desire, therefore, became
the quintessential vehicle through which monks expressed their profound
longing for God. For those committed to the monastic life, this sort of contem-
plation was more important than an active life of teaching and preaching.
Action paved the way for the contemplative life but passed with this world,
while contemplation continued and grew in the next life. Gregory the Great
1 Pro quiete tua non debes dimittere predicationem, quia Christus qui in magna quiete erat
cum patre quietem quodammodo pro predicatione intermisit. Dove, Glossa, II, 12, 111, 2022.
A version of this chapter was printed as From Contemplation to Action: The Role of the Active
Life in the Glossa ordinaria on the Song of Songs, in Speculum, v. 82, no. 1 (Jan. 2007),
5469.
2 Jean Leclercq, The Love of Learning and the Desire for God: A Study of Monastic Culture, trans.
Catharine Misrahi (New York, 1961), 108.
3 Denys Turner, Eros and Allegory: Medieval Exegesis of the Song of Songs (Kalamazoo, 1995), 41.
4 Van Liere, Biblical Exegesis Through the Twelfth Century, 18.

52 Chapter 2
expressed this view in his Moralia in Job, writing although we do some good by
the active life, we fly to heavenly desire by the contemplative life.5 Although
medieval commentaries on the Song of Songs customarily stressed the impor-
tance of contemplation, one commentary in particular turned this traditional
order of religious life on its head. The twelfth-century Glossa Ordinaria on the
Song of Songs, using material from Anselm of Laons continuous commentary
on that text, argued for a return from contemplation to action, urging readers
to arise from sleep to work in order to preach for the sake of the Church.
Scholars recognize the central place of the Glossa Ordinaria (or the Gloss)
in the history of western Christian reading and teaching of the Bible. They
acknowledge that the idea and initiative of the Gloss may be traced back to
Laon and Master Anselm, although the question still remains as to who com-
piled the various books and exactly when and where this task was completed.6
In recent years, scholars have increased their efforts to determine this infor-
mation; Alexander Andre has made a strong case for Anselms involvement
in the compilation of the Gospel of John, and in her seminal work The Glossa
Ordinaria: The Making of a Medieval Bible Commentary, Lesley Smith has been
able to tease out likely attributions for several books of the Gloss.7 In any
event, the Gloss became the standard set of texts used by students for centu-
ries thereafter as a basis for the study of the Bible, first in the various cathedral
schools of northern France and later in university theology studies.8 Indeed,
many scholars agree that the production of the Gloss was one of the key muta-
tions that marked the intellectual and religious life of the twelfth century. The
Gloss represented both a crucial stimulus for and intellectual product of what
Gilbert Dahan called the creation and development of schools located in
towns, which supplanted monastic schools and transformed the approach to
the studied texts, particularly the Bible, which was at the center of teaching.9
But despite the importance attached to the Gloss, those who work on the text
tend to focus on the innovative nature of its format as opposed to its actual
5 Quoted in Giles Constable,The Interpretation of Mary and Martha, in Three Studies in

Medieval Religious and Social Thought (Cambridge, 1995), 20.
6 Alexander Andre, ed. Gilbertus Universalis: Glossa Ordinaria in Lamentationes Ieremie
Prophete, Prothemata et Liber I (Stockholm, 2005), 20.
7 Lesley Smith, The Glossa Ordinaria: The Making of a Medieval Bible Commentary (Leiden,
2009). See page 3233 in particular for a list of these attributions.
8 For example, see Kevin Madigan, Olivi and the Interpretation of Matthew in the High Middle
Ages (Notre Dame, 2003), 18, and Smalley, Study of the Bible, 6466.
9 Gilbert Dahan, LExgse chrtienne de la Bible en Occident medieval (Paris, 1999), 9192.
content.10 As I hope to show, the Glossed Song of Songs contains new con-
tent, which controverts scholarly assertions that the Gloss merely repackages
patristic material in a new format for use in the schools.11
One great impediment to the careful study of the Gloss has been the lack of
a satisfactory edition. J.-P. Mignes edition of the Gloss in the Patrologia Latina,
published in 1852, was the only easily available edition until a decade ago.
Migne subscribed to the legend attributing the marginal glosses to Walafrid
Strabo, and he published the Gloss under that name.12 Migne drew on a 1617
Douai/Antwerp edition of the Gloss in which it was claimed that Anselm of
Laon wrote the interlinear gloss around 1100. Accordingly, Migne omitted the
interlinear gloss, claiming that he would not print additions of the writers of
the twelfth, thirteenth, or even fifteenth centuries to a work he believed was
Strabos.13 There is no indication that anyone working on the Patrologia Latina
project consulted the manuscript tradition. Although the Migne edition of the
Gloss has been available to scholars for over 150 years, most have been frus-
10 In particular, see C.F.R.De Hamel, Glossed Books of the Bible and the Origins of the Paris
Booktrade (Woodbridge, Suffolk, 1984), 1427.
11 The list of scholars who have asserted that the Gloss does not contain new material is
long. I will cite only Kevin L. Hughes, who states that the Gloss is a complete edition of
the bible that excerpts and summarizes patristic and medieval exegesis in marginal and
interlinear glosses. See Constructing Antichrist: Paul, Biblical Commentary, and the Devel-
opment of Doctrine in the Early Middle Ages (Washington, DC, 2005), 207. Hughes finds no
evidence in the Gloss on Paul of any new content, and indeed, I do not argue that new
material can be found in any book of the Gloss other than in the Song of Songs. Most
recent studies of the Gloss also emphasize the importance of form over content. That is
not to say that these recent studies are not innovative; David A. Salomons work, for exam-
ple, reads the Gloss as a sort of hypertext, using modern theories about the production
and reception of texts. See David A. Salomon, An Introduction to the Glossa Ordinaria as
Medieval Hypertext (Cardiff, 2012). Devorah Schoenfelds recent volume Isaac on Jewish
and Christian Altars, referenced in Chapter 1, n. 149, has considered the content of a par-
ticular verse and examined it in both the Gloss and the work of Rashi, coming to impor-
tant conclusions about Jewish-Christian relations in the High Middle Ages.
12 A helpful study on the false attribution to Strabo is Karlfried Froelich, Walafrid Strabo
and the Glossa Ordinaria: the Making of a Myth in a collection of Froelichs works, Bibli-
cal Interpretation From the Church Fathers to the Reformation (Farnham, 2010), II, 192196.
This volume also contains several other important contributions to the study of the Gloss,
including Makers and Takers: the Shaping of the Biblical Glossa Ordinaria, III, 119 and
The Glossa Ordinaria and Medieval Preaching, IV, 121.
13 Dove, Glossa, 5. For more on Mignes editiorial decisions, see R. Howard Bloch, Gods Pla-
giarist: Being an Account of the Fabulous Industry and Irregular Commerce of the Abb
Migne (Chicago, 1994), especially Chapter 4.
54 Chapter 2
trated by its faults; Beryl Smalley, for example, wrote that anyone who has
tried to use it knows how worthless it is.14
The first impediment to close study of the Gloss was removed by the publi-
cation of a printed facsimile of the 1480/81 Strassburg edition of the Gloss in
1992.15 This text was produced by Adolf Rusch. In addition, the Rusch text
contains very few glosses that are obviously corrupt, which indicates that it
was based on a substantially reliable manuscript.16 Its publication has allowed
scholars to examine individual books of the Glossed Bible. This edition offers
insight into the format of the Gloss, but it is no substitute for a critical edition
of the Gloss.
In 1997, Mary Dove followed up on Beryl Smalleys proposal to prepare an
edition of the Gloss [as it appeared] at the time it left the hands of Master
Anselm of Laon and his circle by publishing an edition of the Gloss on the
Song of Songs.17 Dove located seventy manuscripts of the Glossed Song of
Songs from English, Northern French, German, and Italian libraries and chose
eight manuscripts upon which she based her edition. These included five man-
uscripts that Dove dated to before 1150, as well as three Parisian manuscripts,
two of which date from the mid-twelfth century, and one dating to the last
quarter of the twelfth century.18 One of Doves choices, Laon, Bibliothque
Municipale, MS 74, is the earliest known extant manuscript of the Glossed
Song of Songs.19 Because this manuscript is incomplete, however, breaking off
abruptly at chapter 4, verse 14, Dove was unable to use it as the base for her
14 Smalley, Study of the Bible, 56.

15 Biblia Latina cum Glossa Ordinaria. Facsimile reprint of the editio princeps: Adolf Rusch of
Strassburg 1480/81, intro. Karlfried Froehlich and Margaret T. Gibson, 4 vols. (Turnhout,
1992).
16 Ibid., xv.
17 Dove, Glossa, 3.
18 See Doves introduction, 1021, for a thorough description of each of these eight manu-
scripts.
19 For assessments of the date of this manuscript, see Patricia Stirnemann, O ont t fabri
qus les livres de la Glose Ordinaire dans la premire moiti du XIIe sicle?, in Le XIIe
Sicle: mutations et renouveau en France dans la premire moiti du XII sicle, ed. Franoise
Gasparri (Paris, 1994), 259260, and De Hamel, Glossed Books, 2. While De Hamel accepts
the notion proposed by Bernard Merlette that Laon MS 74 contains corrections in Anselm
of Laons hand and therefore must be dated to before his death in 1117, Stirnemann dis-
counts this idea and dates the manuscript from 1120 to 1135. Bringing together evidence
from the work of Dove, Stirnemann, Merlette, and Guy Lobrichon, Lesley Smith has
argued that the Gloss on the Song of Songs, along with those on Job and Revelation, can
be tied more closely than any of the other Glossed books to Anselm himself and a circle
of close collaborators at Laon. See Smith, The Glossa Ordinaria, 3233.
edition. Instead she used Hereford Cathedral Library, MS P I 8, dated 11351145

as the base manuscript; glosses that do not appear in the Hereford manuscript
but are present in one or more of the others are noted in the critical appara-
tus.20 By following one base manuscript, Dove achieved her goal of producing
a text of the Glossed Song of Songs that a scriptorium in the third quarter of
the twelfth century would have been happy to receive as an exemplar. In addi-
tion, by including glosses from several manuscripts in the critical apparatus,
her edition serves as a representative text that incorporates readings spanning
the twelfth century.21
Doves choice of the Song of Songs is fortunate in that it provides a basis for
analyzing the Glosss treatment of a particularly significant biblical book. We
can see what happened when a biblical book that was cherished by monks was
glossed for the purpose of teaching in the schools.22 Doves edition allows
scholars to explore the shift in format and intended audience that occurred
between the many monastic commentaries on the Song of Songs and the Gloss
of the text. Some scholars have argued that the format of the Gloss represented
an adaptation and continuation of the patristic tradition of biblical commen-
tary, with the scriptural text written in the center of the page, framed by
marginal glosses and punctuated by interlinear glosses written above impor-
tant passages.23 It is important to note, however, that the earlier examples of
this type of glossed format, which amounts to two dozen Carolingian glossed
Psalters, differ from the Gloss in that they are not scholars books full of the
latest information; thus the precise origins of the particular form of the Gloss
remain unknown.24
20 Dove, Glossa, 27. In addition, Dove used the Hereford manuscript to determine which
glosses are marginal and which are interlinear, but she consulted the other manuscripts
when it was idiosyncratic in its positioning of glosses.
22 The notion that the Gloss was widely used in the schools as a reference book is confirmed
by Robert of Meluns vociferous objections to its use as the primary text for students; as
Smalley writes, Robert felt that Masters were reading the text for the sake of the Gloss
instead of vice versa, a practice which served to merely waste time and distract the stu-
dent from a serious study of the Bible and the Fathers. See Smalley, Study of the Bible,
215216.
23 E. Ann Matter, The Church Fathers and the Glossa Ordinaria, 83111. This article offers an
excellent overview of possible compilers of the books of the Gloss and the sources used
by the glossators.
24 Lesley Smith, What Was the Bible in the Twelfth and Thirteenth Centuries?, in Neue
Richtungen in der hoch- und sptmitterlalterlichen Bibelexegese, ed. Robert E. Lerner and
Elisabeth Mller-Luckner (Mnchen, 1996), 5. Margaret Gibson has argued that the Gloss
may have been distributed by Hugh of St. Victor or his colleagues. See The Place of the
56 Chapter 2
Although many have acknowledged the way in which the Gloss revived
this format, few have pursued the question of whether these changes led to
any differences in the content of the commentaries. While Smalley noted that
the Gloss included occasional [independent] remarks by the glossators, she
and others who have investigated the Gloss argue that there are few, if any,
original ideas, and that the glossators simply gave more efficient order to the
traditions of earlier commentaries.25 According to E. Ann Matter, for example,
the content of Glossed books is ultimately patristic, often mediated through
Carolingian compendia or reworkings of patristic exegesis, and then further
selected and adapted for twelfth-century students of the Bible.26 The con-
tributions of the Gloss are said to lie in the glossators skill at choosing the
exegetical traditions that best worked for their teaching purposes. For the Song
of Songs in particular, Friedrich Ohly and Helmut Riedlinger, two German
scholars of the 1950s who wrote on the history of medieval Song of Songs inter-
pretation are probably the two most authoritative names in the field.27 Both
men researched commentaries of the Song of Songs, with Ohly tracing the
development of interpretation from 200 to 1200 and Riedlinger advancing into
the fifteenth century and focusing on the idea of the spotless Church. Ohly
believed that the Glossed Song of Songs was entirely derivative, and that its
author was strictly conservative in his use of texts.28 Riedlinger stressed that
in the heart of its content, the Gloss was completely traditional.29
Glossa Ordinaria in Medieval Exegesis, in Ad Litteram, ed. Mark D. Jordan and Kent
Emery (Notre Dame, 1992), 527.
25 Beryl Smalley, Glossa Ordinaria, Theologische Realenzyklopdie 13 (1984): 45257. und
dazu gelegentlichen Bemerkunen der Glossatoren.
26 Matter, The Church Fathers and the Glossa Ordinaria, 85.
27 Friedrich Ohly, Hohelied-Studen: Grundzge Einer Geschichte der Hoheliedauslegung des
Abendlandes bis um 1200 (Weisbaden, 1958); Helmut Riedlinger, Die Makellosigkeit der
Kirche in den lateinischen Hoheliedkommentaren des Mittelalters (Mnster, 1958)
28 Ohly, Hohelied-Studen, 113115.
29 Riedlinger, Die Makellosigkeit, 119, In ihrem inhaltlichen Kern war sie ganz traditionell
Like Ohly and Riedlinger, in her book on the Song of Songs in the Middle Ages, E. Ann
Matter explored various medieval commentaries. While she did not deal directly with the
Gloss, Matter did delve into the details of commentaries that influenced the Glossed Song
of Songs, such as that of Bede, and those that were in turn influenced by the Gloss, includ-
ing the Expositio in Canticum Canticorum of Honorius Augustodunensis. E. Ann Matter,
The Voice of My Beloved: The Song of Songs in Western Medieval Christianity (Philadelphia,
1990). For other views of the Song of Songs in the Middle Ages, see Rachel Fulton, From
Judgment to Passion: Devotion to Christ and the Virgin Mary, 8001200 (New York, 2002),
which deals with the role of the Virgin Mary in the liturgy and how this influenced the
Song of Songs (an aspect of the Song of Songs that the Gloss does not tackle), and Ann W.
Dove implicitly discredited Ohly and Riedlinger by finding 207 glosses that
she was unable to trace to any previous source, which showed that they were
all but certainly new contributions.30 In checking the databases of the
Patrologia Latina and the Corpus Christianorum, I was able to find sources for
only five of these glosses.31 This reinforces the conclusion that most of the
glosses untraced by Dove were original contributions to Song of Songs exege-
sis. While it is always possible that a handful of the untraced glosses may still
be identified, I nevertheless take the liberty of referring to the collectivity of
them from here on as the new glosses.
Not only are these glosses new, but the doctrine of approximately thirty
of them is new, as becomes clear when one notices that a surprising number
of the 207 new glosses comment upon the importance of preaching. Unlike
patristic sources for the Glossed Song of Songs, which generally favor the con-
templative life, these new glosses repeatedly refer to contemplation as a time
of leisure and even sleep that must be given up, at least temporarily, in order
to turn to the task of preaching and conversion. While preaching is advocated
in the Song of Songs commentaries produced by Bede and others, the reader is
never exhorted to abandon contemplation for the sake of action. In contrast,
the message behind several of these new glosses lends credence to the idea
that the Glossa Ordinaria text, while incorporating many traditional sources
and ideas, also produced an interpretation of the Song of Songs specifically
directed toward those future clerics who would be active among the laity.
Looking first at the inherited exegesis, the Gloss did draw heavily on the
standard patristic and Carolingian texts. The three main authors whose works
form the basis of the Glossed Song of Songs are Origen, Gregory the Great, and
Bede. The Glossator likely based his text on the works of these authors as well
as on those of Alcuin and Haimo of Auxerre, whose commentaries on the Song
of Songs combined and condensed the ideas and language of all three of the
Astell, The Song of Songs in the Middle Ages (Ithaca, 1990), which concentrates on the role
of the Song of Songs as literature and in literature, particularly in the vernacular.
30 Dove does not make any special note of these untraced glosses except for a brief mention
in her introduction of the allegorical and literal senses brought forth by one of them on
p. 47; Since Dove herself does not indicate the number of glosses she was unable to trace,
I determined their number by going through Doves critical apparatus and making note of
those glosses that she does not trace to any source.
31 Namely a gloss on chapter 4, verse 3, which can be attributed to Gregory the Great; glosses
on chapter 1, verse 3 and chapter 1, verse 11, which were taken from Bedes Song of Songs
commentary; a gloss on chapter 3, verse 8 taken from Haimo of Auxerres Song of Songs
commentary; and a gloss on chapter 6, verse 8 which was taken from Anselm of Laons
Enarrationes in Cantica Canticorum.
58 Chapter 2
aforementioned patristic authors.32 Origen was the author of the first impor-
tant Christian commentaries on the Song of Songs, which include a
commentary that is preserved through chapter 2, verse 15 and a set of homilies
through 2:14.33 These works were composed around 240244, and later trans-
lated from the Greek by Rufinus and Jerome, respectively. Origens writings on
the Song of Songs treated the book allegorically, both as an expression of the
love between Christ and the Church and between Christ and the individual
soul, and legitimized an emotional and even erotic reading of the text.34 The
first two chapters of Doves edition of the Glossed Song of Songs offer 44 cita-
tions from Origens Homiliae in Cantica Canticorum. The Gloss was the first
work to cite Origen by name, although previous exegetes had already exten-
sively used his commentaries without naming the author.35 Due to Origens
condemnation by the Second Council of Constantinople in 553, his reputation
suffered and exegetes were loath to cite him by name in their works, leading to
a sort of shadow tradition throughout the early Middle Ages wherein Origen
was frequently quoted but not named.36
The influence of Gregory the Great, largely as transmitted by Bede, is evident
throughout Doves edition of the Glossed Song of Songs. Gregorys work on the
Song of Songs appears in the Moralia in Job and the Homiliae in Hiezechielem
Prophetam as well as the fragmentary Expositio in Canticum Canticorum.37 As
Ann Matter noted, his interpretation of the Song of Songs was new in that it
showed a pastoral concern for individual Christians, who can be led astray
even by those within the hierarchy of the Church.38 Gregory, who as both a
monk and as pope was concerned with the Churchs sanctity, did not show
the Church as entirely triumphant but rather as beset by enemies from within.
This theme of the laxity and corruption of the Church can be seen in many
medieval commentaries on the Song of Songs that followed, including the

33 Matter, The Voice of My Beloved, 26; Origen, ed. Baehrens, Homiliae in Cantica Canticorum,
trans. Jerome in Origenes Werke 8, Die griechischen Christlichen Schriftsteller der ersten
drei Jahrhunderte, vol. 33 (Leipzig, 1925), 2660.
34 Matter, The Voice of My Beloved, 3035.
35 Ibid., 38. Matter mentions that the Glosss open use of Origen influenced the popular
biblical paraphrase Aurora, written by Peter Riga between 1170 and 1200, to follow suit.
36 Ibid., 3940.
37 Gregory the Great, Expositio in Canticum Canticorum, Corpus Christianorum Series Latina
144 (Turnhout, 1963), 146; ibid., Homiliae in Hiezechielem Prophetam, ed. M. Adriaen, Cor-
pus Christianorum Series Latina 142 (Turnhout, 1971); ibid., Moralia in Job, ed. M. Adriaen,
Corpus Christianorum Series Latina 143143B (Turnhout, 19791985).
38 Matter, The Voice of My Beloved, 95- 96.
Gloss. Gregory stressed the superiority of the contemplative life, and praised
the active life in terms of its role as preceding the contemplative life. The Gloss,
however, alters this idea, arguing that it is necessary to arise from the rest of
contemplation to an active life of preaching in order to lend aid to the Church.
By far the most frequently cited work in the Glossed Song of Songs is Bedes
In Cantica Canticorum.39 This work contained a five-book running commen-
tary on the Song of Songs and an additional book, which was a collection of
passages on the Song of Songs taken from works of Gregory the Great other
than his Song of Songs commentary.40 The compiler of the Glossed Song of
Songs adopted a modified version of the form of Bedes commentary, which is
in speaker-rubrics.41 Therefore, the text of the Glossed Song of Songs is pep-
pered with phrases like the bridegroom says and the bride replied that
preface some of the glosses.42 This format tends to increase the interest of the
reader and heighten the drama of the allegory. Bedes commentary empha-
sized the monastic life of prayer and contemplation as the human ideal. Most
of the passages in which Bede wrote about the active and contemplative lives
urged a balanced approach. Bede follows Gregory in arguing that the two lives
are connected, but clearly states in his commentary on Luke that the life of
Mary (contemplative) is superior to the life of Martha (active) because it can-
not be taken away from her and will continue even beyond death.43 While
Origen, Gregory, and Bede all praise preaching, they always assert that contem-
plation is superior. In the new glosses on the Song of Songs, the Gloss author
does not endorse this view. He instead argues that because the Church is in
peril, preaching is superior to the contemplative life, at least for a time. Rather
than merely parroting his sources, the author of the Glossed Song of Songs
dared to write a commentary that introduced a new emphasis on the positive
value of preaching and the active life.
The new passages emphasizing preaching permeate the entire Glossed Song
of Songs, beginning in chapter 1, verse 6, show me the man whom my soul
loves where you feed where you rest at midday The twelfth-century author
expounded on this passage with a marginal gloss derived from Bede stating
that this exhortation comes from the bride, asking Christ that she may be able
39 Bede, In Cantica Canticorum, ed. D. Hurst, Corpus Christianorum Series Latina 119 B
(Turnhout, 1985), 166375.
40 Matter, The Voice of My Beloved, 97.
41 Dove, Glossa, 29. These speaker-rubrics are also present in Haimo of Auxerres commen-
tary on the Song of Songs, and may have entered the Gloss by way of this work.
42 Ibid.
43 Constable, Three Studies, 24.
60 Chapter 2
to discern in what kind of avocation and labor he may be found.44 While this
gloss is vague as to how to go about seeking Christ, the new gloss explaining
the same passage that follows is very explicit. Specifically it says that this could
also be the voice of the preachers asking the bridegroom [Christ] to enable
them to discern in what ways they ought to administer the words of life.45
This gloss cleverly echoes the language of the one that precedes it, and easily
communicates the point that preachers are to be identified with the Church
and that preaching is the kind of avocation and labor in which Christ may be
found. This marginal gloss is followed by a new interlinear gloss which equates
where you feed with the active life and where you rest with the contempla-
tive life or rest after activity, a theme that will return in other new glosses later
in the Gloss.46
Chapter 5, verse 2 of the Glossed Song of Songs also emphasizes preaching
over contemplation. I am asleep and my heart keeps watch is interpreted as
the Church being [admonished to be] strengthened by others, lest she should
recklessly leave off preaching and devote herself entirely to contemplation.47
Since the Church is not yet perfect, she must continue to preach in order to
exhort those in the Church who are lukewarm in regard to their faith.48 The
passage my head is full of dew and my locks with the drops of the night is
taken to mean that faith in the Church has dwindled in the hearts of those
blinded by love of earthly things, and therefore for the sake of correcting
these it is necessary for you to put aside the sweetness of contemplation.49
44 Dove, Glossa, I, 6, 95, 78, exorat ut possit discernere in quorum professione et opera
possit inveniri
45 Dove, Glossa, I, 6, 95, 1213, Vel in voce predicatorum ad sponsum, ut discernere possint
quibus vitae verba dispensare debeant. Compare this to Anselm of Laon, BnF, MS lat. 338,
62vb, Vel in voce predicatorum ad sponsum ut discernere possunt quibus verba vite
predicare debeant.
46 Dove, Glossa, I, 6, 105106, 3739, [ubi pascas] id est actius; [ubi cubes] scilicet in con-
templativis, post pastum quies.
47 Dove, Glossa, V, 2, 21, 810, ne secura predicationem dimittat et soli contemplationi
intendat, iniungitur ei de aliorum confirmatione Cf. Anselm of Laon, BnF, MS lat. 338,
70va, ne secura ideo predicationem dimittat et soli contemplationi intendat iniungitur ei
de aliorum confirmatione dum dicitur.
48 Dove, Glossa, V, 2, 21, 1415, sed potius ad eos exhortandos qui sunt tepidi in ecclesia.
Cf. Anselm of Laon, BnF, MS lat. 338, 70va-b, Et hic non videntur mitti ad omnio infideles
sed potius ad eos exorandos qui sunt tepidi in ecclesia.
49 Dove, Glossa, V, 2, 24, 2930, 3435, amor mei in cordibus eorum excecatis amore terre-
norum refrixit et quasi prorsus defecit et causa horum corrigendum oportet te dulcedi-
nem contemplationis interponere. Cf. Anselm of Laon, BnF, MS lat. 338, 70rb, Cincinni
id est amor proximorum qui sunt capilli mihi capiti inherentes sunt pleni guttis noctium
Preaching is clearly seen as the way of protecting the Church and winning con-
verts and lukewarm Christians to her side.
If the Glossed Song of Songs can be said to follow a narrative of sorts, it fol-
lows Gregory and Bede in relating the Churchs journey from its primitive state
to its ideal state in union with Christ. The idea of the primitive Church battling
enemies from within and without in order to achieve perfection derives from
Gregory the Greats Expositio in Canticum Canticorum and was transmitted to
the Gloss through Bedes In Cantica Canticorum. Gregory and Bede rely primar-
ily on a combination of monastic virtues and elements of the active life in
order to spur the Church along its path to perfection. For them, action leads to
the perfection of contemplation. In the Glossed Song of Songs, however, there
are several new glosses dealing with the primitive church that place a particu-
lar emphasis on breaking off contemplation entirely in order to tend to the
preaching and good works that will lead to the conversion of Jews and those
who have become lax in their faith. The monastic idea that leaving off contem-
plation to preach is a form of intense suffering is present in the Glossed Song
of Songs, but the bulk of the new glosses dealing with this issue praise action
over contemplation or equate contemplation with rest. Interestingly, the Gloss
author never seems to openly acknowledge disjunctions between the patristic
sources he employs and his new glosses. These different views on the active life
exist side by side in the Gloss text.
At the beginning of the second chapter of the Song of Songs, the primitive
Church is at rest in contemplation, having been led to a state of near perfection
by the apostles and by the sacrifice of Christ. At this point in the biblical text,
Christ declares I am the flower of the field and the lily of the valley, and
adjures the Church to prepare for the duty of preaching. The marginal gloss
taken from Bede that is included in the Glossed Song of Songs refers to a
Church that must give up the quietness in which she delighted in order to
exercise herself in toil by preaching.50 After lavishly praising the bride-
groom, the Church is again called by Christ and she hears the voice of my
beloved/behold he comes leaping on the mountains, jumping over the hills. In
this new gloss, the bride notices that she is being implicitly instructed that she
should wish voluntarily to rise, that is, the Church should desire to turn to the
id est paciuntur grave frigus persecutionis tenebrosorum id est et erga me sunt infideles
et proximos persecuntur et causa horum corrigendorum oportet te dulcedinem contem-
plationis interponere.
50 Dove, Glossa, II, 1, 1, 45, ad laborum exercitia.
62 Chapter 2
active life.51 In addition, this same new gloss shows the Church and its mem-
bers recognizing the job they had to do:
For after the apostles placed in the primitive church of the nations had
led themselves and others into such a state of perfection that they then
took time off for contemplation, they again realize[d] the duty imposed
on them, that of traveling throughout the world and establishing new
churches.52
Although the author of this gloss does not mean to imply that contemplation
is a hollow pursuit, he makes it clear that contemplation must be subordinated
to action when it is necessary for the good of the Church as an institution.
Christ repeats his adjuration to the Church in chapter 2, verse 10 to arise,
hurry, my beloved, my dove, my beautiful one, and come. Bedes gloss on the
word come taken over by our glossator reads Come to devote yourself to the
salvation of your neighbours through sedulous attention to preaching.53 This
would seem to be sufficient to express the importance of preaching, but a strik-
ing new additional gloss reads so that you may be worthy to be received
with the great company at the wedding [the heavenly banquet], as if [the
bridegroom says]: you believe you will quickly come [to me] if you go apart in
contemplation, but a better way of coming [to me] is through work of this
kind.54 These words are especially potent because the author placed them in
the mouth of Christ, who seems to be endorsing the salvific power of preach-
ing over that of contemplation, at least when the Church is in peril.
As the narrative continues, the importance of preaching is the subject of
several more new glosses. In Song of Songs 2:12, Christ announces, flowers
51 Dove, Glossa, II, 8, 54, 68, animadvertit sibi latenter precipi ut ipsa sponte surgere
velit.
52 Dove, Glossa, II, 8, 54, 914, Postquam enim apostoli in primitiua gentium ecclesia positi
in tantam perfectionem se et alios induxerant ut iam contemplationi vacarent iterum
intelligunt sibi impositam necessitatem discurrendi per totum mundum et construendi
novas ecclesias.
53 Dove, Glossa, II, 10, 90, 2425, Veni ad impendendam etiam proximis curam salutis per
studium sedulae predicationis
54 Dove, Glossa, II, 10, 90, 2528, ut cum magno comitatu ad nuptias merearis recipi,
quasi: credis te venturam si vacaveris contemplationi, sed venies melius per laborem hui-
usmodi. Cf. Anselm of Laon, Zwettl, Bibliothek des Zisterzienserstifts, MS 390, f. 7v; Wien,
ONB, MS 12762, f. 6r, Surge id est interrumpe contemplationis tuam et veni id est propara
comites ut digne possis accedere ad nuptias. See also Anselm of Laon, Zwettl, Bibliothek
des Zisterzienserstifts, MS 390, f. 7r; Wien, ONB, MS 12762, f. 5v, et veni, ideo sis parata
ad nuptias ita ut cum veneris vestes ac familiam tecum adducas ut digna possis venire
ad nuptias.
have come forth upon our earth, the time for pruning has come/the voice of
the turtle-dove is heard in our land. While the previously discussed gloss
referred to Christ speaking about the importance of preaching, a new marginal
gloss in this passage exhorts people to emulate Christ by leading an active life:
You must not cease preaching for the sake of quietness, because Christ, who
was in great quietness with the Father, to an extent interrupted quietness for
the sake of preaching.55 Since Christ was willing to give up the perfect peace
of heaven in order to preach, it should not be difficult for a prelate or priest to
interrupt his comparatively inferior contemplation and quietness in order to
do the same.
Connected with this gloss are three new interlinear glosses that speak either
of the ineffability of God or of the weaknesses of contemplation.56 These
glosses assert that no one can know God, no matter how much time they spend
in contemplation. In Song of Songs 5:6, the Church says, I opened the door to
my beloved but he had turned aside and gone by. The new gloss for gone by
asserts that God does not show himself fully to anybody but, incomprehensi-
ble, surpasses the senses of all people.57 Song of Songs 6:4 features Christ
telling the Church, turn your eyes away from me because they have made me
flee [from you]. In the marginal glosses to this verse, Bede and Alcuin both
warn against attaching too much importance to contemplation, and the new
interlinear gloss expands on this, equating the eyes of the bride to the feeble
contemplation of your mind, emphasizing the folly of devoting oneself
entirely to the contemplative life.58 The final new gloss in the edition, coming
at the very end of the last chapter and verse, shows the Churchs acceptance of
its inability to know God while still on earth. The Church understands that
Christ must depart, and says flee, my beloved, and be like a gazelle and the
young of stags upon the mountains of spices. The new gloss of the word flee
is again the Church saying to Christ you do not allow yourself to be known,
55 Dove, Glossa, II, 12, 111, 2022, Pro quiete tua non debes dimittere predicationem, quia
Christus qui in magna quiete erat cum patre quietem quodammodo pro predicatione
intermisit.
56 These interlinear glosses are literally written between the lines of commentary and bibli-
cal text, and tend to be quite brief, whereas marginal glosses are found in the margins
surrounding the main body of text and are often lengthier.
57 Dove, Glossa, V, 6, 74, 3738, [transierat] quia Deus nulli ad plenum patet sed incompre-
hensibilis sensus omnium excedit. Cf. Anselm of Laon, BnF, MS lat. 338, 71va, Nam ego
quesivi id est investigavi illum intellectui meo sed tamen altitudinem divinitatis eius
intellectu non potui comprehendere. While the language is not the same, the idea
expressed is very similar.
58 Dove, Glossa, VI, 4, 30, 21, [oculos tuos] tuae mentis infirmam contemplationem.
64 Chapter 2
but to be understood by faith alone, which stresses the simple virtue of faith
over the lofty goals of contemplation.59
This idea of those who understood God by faith alone [the laity] appearing
in one of the final glosses of the Songs of Songs relates to several new glosses
that address the so-called simple or lowly members of the Church. Both Christ
and the Church urge each other to impart wisdom to these lowly Christians
and help them grow in their faith. In Song of Songs 2:17, the Church urges
Christ to let his presence be known, saying until the day will breathe and the
shadows incline/turn back my beloved, be like a gazelle or like the young of
stags, on the mountain of Bethel. In the marginal gloss for the second line,
Bede has the Church asking God to Mark lofty minds with your tracks.60 A
new gloss adds, when descending from them appear also to the lowlier
[minds] that are in the valley, asking Christ to bestow knowledge and grace on
people other than simply priests, prelates, and church leaders.61
Despite asking Christ to favor lowlier Christians, the new glosses also show
some fear of them. At the same time, the glosses also evince a desire to help the
lowly. In Song of Songs 5:4, the new marginal gloss of the ostensibly most erotic
verse my beloved puts his hand through the aperture and my insides trembled
at his touch, has the Church saying I am very afraid of worldly affairs, but I
understand that love covers a multitude of sins [cf. 1 Peter 4:8], and I trust in
the help of my beloved, by whom their hearts are already pierced.62 As long
as these worldly people have faith in Christ, the Church feels more comfortable
in administering to them. Another new gloss follows, this time on and my
insides trembled at his touch. The author equates this trembling with fear and
cowardice, saying that The heart trembles if it refuses to do for its neighbours
what God did for his enemies.63 This gloss expresses the authors belief that
preachers should be able to minister to their neighbors in Christ without any
fear of their worldly nature.
In two different new glosses in book five of the Glossed Song of Songs, the
elect and the lowly are encouraged to learn from each other. The phrase 5:1, I
have eaten [my] honeycomb with its honey, I have drunk my wine with my
59 Dove, Glossa, VIII, 14, 2627, [fuge] non permittas te cognosci sed sola fide intelligi.
60 Dove, Glossa, II, 17, 172, 16, In excelsis mentibus vestigia pone
61 Dove, Glossa, II, 17, 172, 1618, et ab illis aliquando etiam condescendendo inferioribus
appare qui in valle sunt.
62 Dove, Glossa, V, 4, 49, 69, pertimesco quidem seculi conversationem, sed intelligo
quod caritas operit multitudinem peccatorum et confido in dilecti mei auxilio, a quo iam
sunt compuncta corda eorum.
63 Dove, Glossa, V, 4, 51, 1819, Cor tremiscit si facere recusant pro proximis quod Deus fecit
pro inimicis.
milk/eat, friends, and drink was interpreted as dishes served at a sort of

banquet joining together members of the church. Bede glossed eat, friends,
and drink as Christ encouraging the faithful to rejoice together over the kind
of banquet at which they may more fully show the mutual loving care between
them.64 The new gloss added to Bedes states that at this banquet, the lesser
ones may concern themselves with learning by imitation what they see among
the greater.65
New glosses also encourage the reader to learn from lowly members of the
clergy, who are said to display the simple virtues of faith and humility. While
the new glosses in chapter 5, verse 8 do not advocate the elect imitating these
lower clergymen, they do point out some of their strengths. The new marginal
gloss interprets I adjure you, daughters of Jerusalem, if you find my beloved/
to tell him that I am languishing with love. The daughters of Jerusalem are
those in lowly positions in the church, whom their superiors also admonish
to seek [the bridegroom] with them, because what is sought by many is some-
times found more quickly, and so that the dearness of love may be revealed
everywhere.66 This gloss assigns a positive value to the faith and religious fer-
vor of those in lowly church positions. The new interlinear gloss of if you find
even suggests that these humble clergymen may be more useful than the elect
in seeking Christ: it sometimes happens that one who began to search not
long ago may find [the object sought] more quickly than one who began to
search a long time before.67
It is well to note that not all of the new glosses are by any means as novel and
striking as those described above. Indeed, many of them expressed in different
language ideas that were common in patristic exegesis of the Song of Songs.
For example, the new gloss of Song of Songs 1:2, fragrant with the best per-
fumes/your name is oil poured out reads that this is true because it [Christs
name] surpasses all the anointings of the old law in nature and effect.68
64 Dove, Glossa, V, 1, 5, 3335, hortatur fideles ad congaudendum super tali convivio ut

amplius mutuam inter se dilectiones curam exhibeant
65 Dove, Glossa, V, 1, 5, 3536, et minores quod in maioribus viderint memoriter imitari
satagant. Cf. Anselm of Laon, BnF, MS lat. 338, f. 70va, et minores, quod in maioribus
viderint memoriter imitari et satagant.
66 Dove, Glossa, V, 8, 92, 812, Vel per filias Ierusalem possumus accipere etiam inferiores in
ecclesia quos admonent etiam superiores ut secum querant, quia quod a pluribus queri-
tur quandoque citius repperitur et ut ubique caritas dilectionis ostendatur.
67 Dove, Glossa, V, 8, 93, 1315, [si inveneritis] evenit aliquando ut qui nuper querere incepit
citius inveniat quam ille qui dudum querere inceperat.
68 Dove, Glossa, I, 2, 29, 3536, [unguentis optimis] quia precedit effectu et natura omnes
unctiones veteris legis.
66 Chapter 2
Although this idea was not expressed by patristic authors when commenting
upon this scriptural phrase, the notion that the new law surpasses the old was
certainly common in the Christian tradition. Similarly, the new gloss of Song of
Songs 5:15 reads, his thighs are marble columns established upon golden ped-
estals, who are the prophets, because He appeared just as He was predicted
by those reading in the divine dispensation 69 Again, the idea that the
prophets predicted the coming of Christ has been expressed many times in
patristic exegesis, so the new gloss in the Glossed Songs of Songs, while per-
haps original in the way that it phrased that idea, drew on traditional exegesis.
In addition, one of the new glosses seems to have been included as a point of
clarification for students using the text. The first five verses of chapter 4 of the
Song of Songs is an extended description of the various body parts of the
beloved, which are interpreted both in the patristic exegesis and in the Glossed
Song of Songs as the various groups that make up the Church. After comment-
ing upon Song of Songs 4:1, your eyes are of doves, apart from that which lies
inside, the compiler of the Glossed Song of Songs inserted a gloss that reads:
So that all things may flow more easily, let us briefly run through the
items one by one: the tresses are the willing poor, the cheeks [Song of
Songs 4:3] are the noblest prelates, the teeth (those within the cheeks)
[Song of Songs 4:2] other lower prelates, the lips [Song of Songs 4:3]
preachers.70
Although the parts of the beloved are described again in their proper places in
Song of Songs 4:23, the glossator of the Glossed Song of Songs seems to have
wanted to ensure that the students using the text would be clear on the details
of this passage. This change suggests that the author wanted to provide a point
of reference that would be especially helpful to future preachers, aiding them
in compiling their own sermons.
Another new gloss seems to impart to students of the Bible the idea that
what they study is more important than any other subject taught in the schools.
A gloss on chapter 4, verse 10, how beautiful are your breasts, my sister, my
bride/your breasts are more beautiful than wine, reads [the bridegroom says]
all the things you teach are [more beautiful] more honest and more useful
69 Dove, Glossa, V, 15, 150, 911. id est super prophetas, quia talis apparuit qualis predictus
ab illis in divina dispositione legentibus
70 Dove, Glossa, IV, 1, 7, 2326, Ut facilius cuncta liquescant breviter singula percurramus:
capilli sunt spontanei pauperes, genae summi prelati, dentes vero genarum alii inferiores
prelati, labia sermocinatores.
[than wine] than legal or philosophical teachings.71 This gloss shows Christ
reassuring the Church that her work is superior to any sort of secular teach-
ings, and may have been included in the Gloss text to reemphasize to scriptural
students the importance of their work as preachers. Overall, it can be general-
ized that few (approximately 30 to 40) of the 202 new glosses are innovative,
but that those that are novel are largely concerned with the importance of
preaching and the active life.
While these new glosses repeatedly stress the need for preaching, they are
frustrating in that the glossator rarely states explicitly what should be preached
and instead only offers vague impressions of what he felt was necessary for
preachers to communicate to their audience. This is somewhat different from
Anselms continuous commentary discussed in the previous chapter, which at
least seemed to provide some advice to future preachers about varying their
sermons for differing audiences. A new gloss on chapter 1, verse 9, your cheeks
are beautiful like a turtle doves, does state that these cheeks are preachers,
who grind up the food of the Scriptures and make it edible for its hearers.72
While this gloss does not offer any specifics, it indicates that preachers are
enjoined with the task of presenting biblical texts to their audience in such a
way as to make them easily understood. Another new gloss, on chapter 2, verse
12, flowers have come forth upon our earth, the time for pruning has come,
specifically mentions that the time for the remission of sins has come,73
which may refer to the need to preach penance. While the new glosses never
state explicitly that preachers should instruct their audience on moral issues,
this is implied in several glosses that stress the importance of performing good
works and teaching others to do the same.
Also frustrating is the lack of specific reference to the audience preachers
should be addressing. The new glosses simply speak of converting lukewarm
Christians who have become lax in their faith. Most often, the glossator adopts
71 Dove, Glossa, IV, 10, 99100, 3032, [pulchriora] honestiora et utiliora sunt omnia quae-
cumque tu doces/[vino] quam philosophicae vel legales doctrinae. Cf. a similar senti-
ment in glossing Song 3:1 in Anselm of Laon, BnF, MS lat. 338, 66ra, Vel ideo non inveni
eum quasi quesivi eum per noctes id est per philosoficas sententias quibus non potet
inveniri que sententie dicuntur noctes quia sunt obscure. Deus enim solis bonis operibus
et bonis cogitationibus invenitur non per philosophorum sententias.
72 Dove, Glossa, I, 9, 137, 3941, [genae tuae] vel genae, predicators qui cibum scripturarum
conterunt et auditoribus comestibilem reddunt. Cf. Anselm of Laon, Zwettl, Bibliothek
des Zisterzienserstifts, MS 390, f. 3v, id est illi predicatores tui qui habent officium gena-
rum id est cibum conterunt et in alium dimittunt id est qui sacram scripturam bene per-
spiciunt et postea inferioribus trandunt.
73 Dove, Glossa, II, 12, 109, 12, venit tempus remissionis peccatorum.
68 Chapter 2
the term for the preachers audience used by Bede: neighbors who need to be
brought back into the fold of the church. Due to the lack of evidence it can
only be inferred that because the Glossed Song of Songs was part of a project
that grew out of an urban milieu, the implicit audience is the new urban popu-
lation that was rapidly increasing. The theology students studying from the
Gloss text would be given the task of preaching to those living in towns and
cities, a task which became more urgent as the urban population grew.74
To sum up, out of the 202 untraced glosses in the Glossed Song of Songs that
I am calling new, over thirty of them call for a special commitment to the
active life. This fits well with our understanding that the Glossed Song of Songs
was created in a school environment and was intended largely to help train
future preachers and teachers. The Gloss was supposed to instruct people who
would eventually be responsible for pastoral care, so a text that urged students
to devote time to preaching makes sense within this context.
These explicit calls to the active life and preaching originating in a school
environment allow us to view the growing emphasis on the vita apostolica in a
new context. As Caroline Walker Bynum has stated, the years between 1050
and 1215 saw a new emphasis on the obligation to love and serve ones neigh-
bor, a new sense that Christ wished his followers not merely to worship him
and avoid wrongdoing but also to care for their brothers.75 The importance of
preaching as an integral part of the vita apostolica emerged gradually through-
out this period. The late eleventh and early twelfth centuries saw the emergence
of wandering preachers, who in many cases gained permission from the
Church to preach. As Herbert Grundmann reminds us, however, many of these
same preachers subsequently ran afoul of the hierarchy when they scourged
the sins of the clergy with reckless abandon, stimulating opposition from
groups favoring the hierarchy as well as threatening to undermine general
respect for the hierarchical order.76 In contrast, the new glosses in the Glossed
Song of Songs express the views of one who was part of that hierarchical order.
The Gloss does acknowledge the possible moral failings of preachers, and in a
new gloss on Song of Songs 3:8 urges students to avoid impulses of the flesh
74 It is worthwhile to note that the movement for independent urban organizations in

northern France was just getting underway in the period when the Gloss was being com-
posed. Indeed, as we have seen in Chapter 1, in Laon itself there was a communal uprising
in 1112, described by Guibert of Nogent. A charter was granted to Laon in 1128, leading
to the creation of an urban class with its own law and status. See the introduction to
Edmond-Ren Labande, Guibert de Nogent: Autobiographie (Paris, 1981).
75 Caroline Walker Bynum, The Spirituality of Regular Canons in the Twelfth Century, in
her Jesus as Mother: Studies in the Spirituality of the High Middle Ages (Berkeley, 1982), 22.
76 Grundmann, Religious Movements, 19.
lest when they preach to others they are themselves found reprobate.77 The
new glosses, however, show respect and admiration for a clergy that includes
preachers who teach by word and example. The Glossed Song of Songs can
perhaps be seen as representing the beginning of a shift toward authoritative
acceptance of an apostolic life centered on preaching.
While some canons and wandering preachers were beginning to advocate
the active life by the late eleventh and early twelfth centuries, monks typically
defined the vita apostolica in a different way. According to Giles Constable, up
until at least the twelfth century the vita apostolica referred to the withdrawn
life of the apostles described in the book of Acts.78 In the monastic realm,
some questioned the way of life that focused entirely on contemplation, but
most felt that they were living the true apostolic life. As M.-D. Chenu observed,
works such as De vita vere apostolica, written by Rupert of Deutz in the 1120s,
claimed that the true apostolic life was not preaching or baptizing but being
virtuous and, in particular, living more humbly than anyone else.79 Any calls
to preaching that emerged in the early twelfth century remained blocked,
within this paramonastic world, by the lack of an encounter with the secular
realities which condition any apostolic conquest.80 Ruperts position on the
vita apostolica was still the prevailing one when the Glossed Song of Songs was
compiled. The notion that the apostolic life did include, and indeed should be
centered upon, preaching only began to emerge prominently by the middle of
the twelfth century.81 Thus, the emphasis on the active life in the Glossed Song
77 Dove, Glossa, III, 8, 78, 2324, ne cum predicant ipsi reprobi inveniantur. See the previ-
ous chapter for more on this theme in Anselms continuous commentary.
79 M-D. Chenu, Monks, Canons, and Laymen in Search of the Apostolic Life, in his Nature,
Man and Society in the Twelfth Century, ed. Jerome Taylor and Lester K. Little (Chicago,
1968), 202238, at 211.
80 Ibid., 212213. For more on monks and regular canons and their view of the active and
contemplative lives in the twelfth century, see Caroline Walker Bynum, Docere Verbo et
Exemplo: An Aspect of Twelfth-Century Spirituality (Missoula, MT, 1979).
81 Although members of the Church were actively debating the role of preaching and the
active life by the late twelfth century (see for example Phillipe Buc, Vox Clamantis in
Deserto? Pierre le Chantre et la Predication Laque Revue Mabillon 4 (1993), 547), I have
been unable to find solid evidence that the official Church was placing emphasis on
preaching around the time the Gloss was composed (c. 11001130). As mentioned above,
the Church did grant permission to preach to some wandering preachers in the late elev-
enth and early twelfth century, but none of these figures were members of the Church
hierarchy. Various apostolic groups also emerged in the early twelfth century, such as that
of Stephen of Thiers-Muret (d. 1124), who believed in personal and communal poverty,
and taught that the Gospel was the Rule of Rules for Christians, but these communities
70 Chapter 2
of Songs stands out for being so early, and indicates that the glossators attitude
toward preaching was atypical for the time.82
By the late twelfth century, it is possible to see the impact that the Glossed
Song of Songs had on those masters who trained future preachers at the uni-
versity of Paris. The commentaries of Peter the Chanter and Stephen Langton,
who taught at Paris roughly three-quarters of a century after the Gloss was
produced, show that the idea of the importance of the active life as transmit-
ted by the Glossed Song of Songs lived on.83 These commentaries, moreover,
perhaps reflecting the increased urgency placed on preaching in the schools,
further emphasized the importance of the active life. This focus on reform was
already present in the Glossed Song of Songs long before the Chanter and
Langton expressed it, which shows that the Glossator stood at the vanguard of
did not focus on preaching as an integral part of the active life. As Duane V. Lapsanski
notes, during the 1170s and 1180s the relationship [between the Church and apostolic
groups] was marked by open conflict, bitterness, and excommunications, indicating that
the debate over what activities comprised the active life had not yet been resolved. See
Lapsanski, Evangelical Perfection: An Historical Examination of the Concept in the Early
Franciscan Sources, Franciscan Institute Publications, Theology Series, 7 (St. Bonaventure,
NY, 1977), 36.
82 Toward the beginning of my investigation into the Glossed Song of Songs, the notion that
the author of these glosses emphasizing the importance of the active life may have been
atypical led me to pursue the idea that he may have been Peter Abelard. Abelard was a
student at Laon in 1113, and his frequent citations of Origen by name in his only extant
biblical commentary (on Romans), may provide a link to the Gloss, which is thought to
be the first work to cite Origen by name. When this possibility is examined, however,
Abelards authorship of the Glossed Song of Songs seems rather unlikely. In the first
place, Abelards contempt for Anselm (and vice versa) would seem to preclude Abelards
involvement in a project spearheaded by Anselm. Secondly, in other writings, Abelard
placed more importance on the contemplative life than the active life. For example, in
a sermon on John the Baptist, Abelard wrote, The more imperfect life of active men is
a sort of beginning of the faithful, in which they exert themselves before they rise to the
perfection of contemplation, quoted in Constable, Three Studies, 79.
83 The postill of Hugh of St. Cher both shows his dedication to preaching as a member of the
Dominican Order and draws heavily on the Gloss interpretation, indicating that the
Glosss influence on the content of what was taught at the university of Paris was felt well
into the thirteenth century. John W. Baldwin notes that the Chanters most distinctive
trait was to turn the Song of Songs into an elaborate allegory on preaching and teaching
that followed the parts of the sexual body, but it seems that the Chanter adopted this
method from the Glossed Song of Songs. See John W. Baldwin, The Language of Sex: Five
Voices from Northern France around 1200 (Chicago, 1994), 170. Chapters 3, 4, and 5 below
will elaborate on Anselm and the Gloss influence on these three authors.
a movement calling for increased preaching to the laity. In its role as a text
widely used in the schools, the Glossed Song of Songs was able to impart this
idea of the importance of preaching and the active life to those students who
would serve as the link between the Church and the world.
72 Chapter 3
Chapter 3
Arise From Contemplation and Undertake Useful

Preaching. Peter the Chanters Practical Approach
to the Song of Songs
As the twelfth century wore on, the intellectual scene in France began to shift
from scattered cathedral schools like that at Laon toward consolidation at
Paris. It was during this dynamic period that the Parisian schools gradually
surpassed those of Laon, Reims, Orlans, Chartres, and other towns to place
the royal city at the fore of learning in northern Europe.1 As more schools
were established, the number of students inhabiting Paris steadily increased,
and eventually the population spilled over from the crowded Ile de la Cit to
the Left Bank, which was still rather bucolic in mid-century, with cultivated
vineyards and spacious meadows and fields close at hand.2 Even as Paris
began to outstrip Laon as a center of learning, Laons primary intellectual
product, the Gloss, continued to serve as a cornerstone of theological educa-
tion. The Gloss became one of the primary textbooks used by theology students
and served as the basis for biblical commentaries composed by Parisian mas-
ters. Among these masters, one of the most active and influential was Peter the
Chanter (d. 1197). As John W. Baldwin and others have noted, the Chanter was
the first master working in Paris to write commentaries on all books of the
Bible, and therefore he left behind an extensive body of written work.3 This
chapter will examine the Chanters Song of Songs commentary, which in both
its structure and many of its ideas follows the program of interpretation laid
out by the Gloss. In his commentary, however, the Chanter expanded on the
Glosss exegetical program, and focused on what Beryl Smalley called moral
training, the preparation of his theology students for their role in the world
outside the schools.4 The Chanters Song of Songs commentary allows insight
into the changing nature of biblical exegesis in the twelfth-century schools.
As is the case with many of his medieval counterparts, the date of Peter
the Chanters birth is unknown. John W. Baldwin, whose Masters, Princes, and
Merchants is the seminal work on Peter the Chanter and the circle of men
1 Baldwin, Masters, Princes, and Merchants, 72.

2 Ibid., 64.
3 Ibid., 95.

Arise From Contemplation and Undertake Useful Preaching 73
he taught and influenced, conjectures that the Chanter may have been born
between 1127 and 1147, given that he died in 1197 and a normal life span was
between fifty and seventy years.5 Charters and other legal documents indicate
that the Chanter was a member of the noble Hodenc-en-Bray family that origi-
nated in the Beauvaisis. He may have received his early education in Reims,
and certainly held a prebend in the church of that city. Unfortunately, no evi-
dence has yet been discovered which yields the date and circumstances under
which the Chanter came to Paris. Baldwin provides evidence indicating that
the Chanter was likely in residence at Paris by 1173, but remarks that histori-
cal sources are nearly mute on his academic career, except for an occasional
recording of his title, Magister.6 Agneta Sylwan, who edited the Chanters
commentary on Genesis, uses the same evidence available to Baldwin and
writes that the Chanter was in Paris by 1170 or soon after.7 Chronicles, charters,
and other sources of evidence from Paris during the late twelfth century tend
to focus on the Chanters activities as chanter of Notre-Dame, a post to which
he was elevated in 1183, rather than his achievements as a Parisian master.
Although we lack contemporary accounts of the Chanters academic prow-
ess, we possess the fruits of the Chanters intellectual labors in the form of the
many biblical commentaries he left behind. As Baldwin remarks, commenting
and lecturing on the Bible was the chief task of a twelfth-century theologian,
and these types of works are the Chanters major written legacy.8 The Chanter
famously described the threefold function of a theologian, comparing lectio,
disputatio, and predicatio to the foundation, walls, and roof of a building,
respectively. He argued that the Scriptures must be fully read and understood
before the task of preaching was undertaken, noting the danger posed to the
faithful when a preacher does not understand the material he expounds. The
Chanter was a well-known proponent of lectio, which consisted of not only
reading the Bible but also lecturing on and commenting on the text. He consid-
ered lectio to be the foundation of a theological education, and noted that a
5 Baldwin, Masters, Princes, and Merchants, 3. The biographical details of the Chanters life
contained in this paragraph can be found in Baldwin, Masters, Princes, and Merchants, 36.
6 Baldwins evidence for this dating comes from Caesarius of Heisterbachs Dialogus miraculo-
rum, composed between 1219 and 1223. The anecdote relating to the Chanter involves him
debating the issue of Thomas Beckets sanctity with a Master Roger in Paris. Baldwin postu-
lates that since Becket died in December 1170 and was canonized in February 1173, the debate
must have taken place by the latter date, and the Chanter must have been present in Paris.
This appears to be the only piece of evidence discovered thus far about the Chanters arrival
in Paris. See Baldwin, Masters, Princes, and Merchants, 56.
7 Agneta Sylwan, ed., Glossae super Genesim: prologus et capitula 13 (Gteborg, 1992), ix.
74 Chapter 3
master must understand the biblical text before attempting to dispute contra-
dictory passages or preach the word of God.9 Therefore, one seeking insight
into the Chanters ideas and views must look to these lectures that constituted
his program of instruction at Paris.
The Chanter seemed to approach glossing the Bible with a fair amount of
caution; at any rate it is evident that he was mindful of the potential abuses of
the glossing method. He was perhaps aware of Robert of Meluns objections
to glossing voiced in the mid-twelfth century. In the words of Smalley, Robert
feared that reading with glosses was putting the cart before the horse, and
that masters were placing more importance on interpretations of the Bible
than on the text itself.10 As Gilbert Dahan states, however, historians must
remember that Roberts complaints against glossing, while giving insight
into the changing nature of biblical exegesis, should be viewed in light of
his particular writings and opinions and should not be taken as the general
opinion toward glossing in the mid-twelfth century.11 In any case, the Chanter
was somewhat wary of certain methods of biblical glossing, but he did not
share Robert of Meluns notions. While he took no issue with biblical com-
mentaries and saw them as crucial for understanding the Bible, he did argue
against the tendency toward a superfluity of glosses in his Verbum abbrevia-
tum, a work whose very title indicates the Chanters preference for clear and
concise language and exposition. He seems to have objected to superfluous
glosses because they robbed the Scriptures of their clarity, and on a more prac-
tical note, the Chanter felt that excess glosses produced ponderous books we
lose precious time and energy in copying, reading, correcting, and even car-
rying 12 In addition, the Chanter expressed concern over unnecessary or
reckless use of the allegorical sense in interpreting Scripture. He echoed a
Jewish prescription that the study of books like the Songs of Songs, which cried
out for an allegorical interpretation, should be forbidden to men under the age
of thirty who were not yet spiritually mature.13 Overall, the Chanter saw bibli-
cal commentaries as necessary and important contributions of theologians,
but argued for brevity and clarity of expression over allegorical flights of fancy.
Like most biblical commentaries produced in the milieu of the twelfth-cen-
tury Parisian schools, the Chanters works have been passed down to us in the
9 Ibid., 9091.
11 Dahan, LExgse chrtienne, 96.
13 Ibid., 94. This argument comes from the Chanters commentary on the Song of Songs and
is discussed in more detail below.
form of reportationes. As Beryl Smalley explains, the medieval reportatio has

no pretensions to be literature, but was born out of necessity.14 A student
attending a lecture in Paris would be engaged by a master to write down as full
an account as possible of the masters lecture, with the master having final
approval over the document, so that it could later be reviewed for publication
and distribution to other students. Smalley notes that the first description we
have of a reportatio being copied comes from St. Victor, but that the practice
could have dated back to Anselms tenure at Laon.15 At any rate, reportationes
had become common by the Chanters teaching days in the latter third of the
twelfth century. The manuscript copies of his commentaries bear all the hall-
marks of reportationes, including the use of the third person to note the
opinions of the master, noted in phrases such as dicit magister and magister his
non acquiescit.16
Only one version of each biblical book the Chanter commented on is extant,
unlike the more prolific Stephen Langton, whose Song of Songs commentaries
will be discussed in the following chapter.17 Since we do not know the exact
dates of the Chanters career in Paris, it is difficult to assign any firm dates for
the composition of his biblical commentaries. Baldwin notes that although
exact dates remain elusive, due to the extensive nature of the Chanters com-
mentaries it is likely that they were composed during the entire length of his
academic career.18 The only evidence for dating them comes from the com-
mentaries themselves. Smalley points out that the Chanters work on Judges
refers to his own gloss on the Psalms, indicating that the Psalms commentary
was composed earlier. She surmises that the Chanter may have followed the
same exegetical program worked out by Stephen Langton, who in turn was
influenced by Hugh of St. Victors recommendations on the proper order of
study. If this is indeed the case, then the Chanter would have commented
on the Gospels before the historical books of the Old Testament and the so-
called plain and easily grasped books of Solomon before those of the major
Prophets.19 Although this supposition does not lead to any firm date, if the
Chanter followed this pattern, it suggests that he may have commented on the

15 Ibid., 201202.
16 Ibid., 205.
17 The two groups of Langton manuscripts I analyze in the next chapter contain some differ-
ences in content, perhaps indicating that two different reportationes were produced from
two different lectures by Langton on the Song of Songs.
76 Chapter 3
Song of Songs at a relatively early point in his Parisian career, which is likely to
have been in the 1170s.
It is important to note that there is a striking dearth of scholastic com-
mentaries on the Song of Songs produced between the Gloss and that of Peter
the Chanter. I am unsure as to how to account for this fifty-year absence of
extant scholastic Song of Songs glosses; certainly scholastic figures including
Peter Abelard and Peter Comestor were active during this period and wrote
commentaries on other books of the Bible. Dahan states that the Chanters
commentaries draw on those of his immediate predecessors Andrew of St.
Victor and Peter Comestor, but since neither of these men commented on
the Song of Songs, we cannot see how their exegesis may have influenced
the Chanter for this particular book.20 The Song of Songs remained a popu-
lar subject for monks during the early to mid-twelfth century, with Bernard
of Clairvaux producing his sermons on a portion of the book beginning in
the 1130s, and Honorius Augustodunensis writing his influential commentary
before 1150. This lack of scholastic commentaries on the Song of Songs seems to
make the Chanters work even more important. His commentary incorporates
the Gloss interpretation while expanding on points that dovetailed with his
interest in preaching and practical matters. The Chanters commentary thus
serves as a bridge between the world of the cathedral school and that of the
urban center of Paris. The Chanters work on the Song of Songs picks up where
the Gloss left off and spreads the ecclesiological interpretation of the text and
the Gloss focus on the active life to a new generation of Parisian scholastics.
The two manuscript copies of the Chanters Song of Songs commentary
I have studied are both located in Paris. As mentioned above, there is only one
existing version of each commentary, so the content of the two manuscripts,
Paris, Bibliothque nationale de France, MS lat. 15565 and Paris, Mazarine, MS
178 (Incipit: Salomon iuxta numerum vocabulorum tres libros fecit), is essen-
tially the same, with only slight variations in wording throughout.21 Paris, BnF,
MS lat. 15565 contains several of the Chanters biblical commentaries, includ-

21 The Chanters Song of Songs commentary remains unedited, but John W. Baldwin used
both of these manuscripts and reproduced small portions of them in his book The Lan-
guage of Sex. To my knowledge, the only critical edition of a Chanter commentary that
has been published is the aforementioned Agneta Sylwans edition of a portion of Gene-
sis. Guglielmetti mentions two other manuscripts containing the Chanters commentary,
both housed at the Bibliothque Municipale in Chartres; MS 85 was destroyed in the Sec-
ond World War; I was not able to examine MS 201. See Guglielmetti, 4849.
ing all of the Wisdom books.22 Mazarine, MS 178, on the other hand, contains
many commentaries by Gregory the Great, in addition to the Chanters com-
mentaries on the Song of Songs, Daniel, and Job. Both manuscripts lack color
and are unadorned, reflecting the utilitarian nature of many scholastic com-
mentaries on the Bible.
It is particularly important to examine the layout of the Chanters manu-
scripts because several changes were occurring at this time in relation to format.
As Christopher De Hamel notes, earlier glossed books of the Bible produced
before about 1150 always ran down the center of the pages and formed the
framework, as it were, around which the layout was constructed.23 The layout
of glossed Bibles began to shift just as Gilbert de la Porre (d. 1154) expanded on
the texts of the Glossed Psalter and Pauline Epistles. It is at this point that the
central column of biblical text disappears and manuscripts featuring a two-
column continuous commentary without biblical text appear. Another change
occurred by the late 1150s in which the bulk of the biblical text is incorporated
into the two-column gloss, and either underlined or written in red ink.24 The
next important development came when Peter Lombard began to revise these
same Glossed books. By the 1160s, glossed books of the Bible featured the bibli-
cal text written in the margins beside the gloss explicating it.25 Interestingly,
the Chanter manuscripts employed here seem to incorporate the two methods
of writing out the biblical text discussed above. The two manuscripts share a
similar layout in which there are two columns per page of continuous com-
mentary, and the biblical text is written phrase by phrase in the margins next
to its explication in the main body of the text. In addition, the biblical text is
also underlined in the main columns of both manuscripts, where it appears
in a highly abbreviated form.26 In this way, although the biblical text does not
22 The manuscript order does not follow the traditional order of the Wisdom books; instead
the manuscript order is Song of Songs, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Sirach (Ecclesiasticus), Wis-
dom of Solomon. The Song of Songs commentary runs from f. 52r-66v in BnF, MS lat. 15565
and from f. 41r-50v in Mazarine, MS 178. BnF, MS lat. 15565 is marked Sorbonne 52, indi-
cating that it was once part of the collection there. Mazarine, MS 178 bears the notation
Conventus Carmelitarum Parisiensium, ad usum Carmelitarum 1351.
23 De Hamel, Glossed Books of the Bible, 18.
24 Ibid., 19.
25 Ibid., 23.
26 This abbreviation of the biblical text may indicate that students following along with the
commentary may have had Bibles with them in the classroom, as Smalley suggests: Then
the master reads out the text and its glosses. His students, judging by the custom of a later
date, were supposed to bring Bibles to class with them, and possibly these would have
been glossed. Smalley, Study of the Bible, 217. In Mazarine, MS 178, the underlining of the
78 Chapter 3
occupy the center of the manuscripts, it is still the focal point. The marginal
lemmata and the repetition of the biblical text in the two columns of glosses
direct readers to center their attention on Scripture and remind them that the
words of the Bible, rather than the glosses, form the true core of the commen-
tary. The Chanters desire for a clear and concise commentary and his desire to
avoid superfluous glosses led him to cite the Bible far more frequently than the
Glossator, at least in the case of the Song of Songs. In terms of his use of other
books of the Bible, the Chanter often cites biblical passages without indicating
the book, and never in these Song of Songs manuscripts is there a mention of
specific chapter divisions by number. Citations of biblical quotations usually
begin with unde, and are nearly always abbreviated, ending with etc. The
Chanter also sometimes paraphrases biblical quotations, perhaps indicating
that he is citing them from memory.27
Turning now to the content of the Chanters Song of Songs commentary, it is
evident that his interpretation was greatly influenced by that of the Gloss.28 The
Chanter follows the ecclesiological interpretation of the Song of Songs seen in
the Gloss, with the bride and bridegroom of the text viewed as the Church and
Christ, respectively. Other interpretations of the Song of Songs common in the
twelfth century seem to have had no influence on the Chanter; there is almost
no mention of the Virgin, despite the growing popularity in monastic circles of
a Marian interpretation of the text, and the Chanter also eschews the notion
of the bride representing the individual soul, an interpretation championed
by Bernard of Clairvaux and other monks.29 The Chanters focus remains that
of the Gloss. Both depict a Church assailed by its enemies from without and
biblical texts seems to be more haphazard than in BnF, MS lat. 15565; the underlining
occurs sporadically and sometimes disappears for pages. I am not certain if this indicates
anything about the quality of the reportatio; since the biblical text was already written in
the margins, it seems possible that the reporter found underlining the text to be redun-
dant, especially if students had Bibles and could easily recognize the biblical phrases in
the columns as they followed along with the text.
27 Sylwan, Glossae super Genesim, xlix-l.
28 While the influence of the Gloss on the Chanter is marked, he does not seem to be gloss-
ing the Gloss in his commentary. Stephen Langton, as will be seen in the following chap-
ter, uses the Gloss even more extensively than the Chanter, citing it frequently by name
and glossing its interpretations as well as the biblical text.
29 A Marian interpretation of the Song of Songs, dramatizing the relationship of the bride,
Mary, with the bridegroom, Christ, was popularized by Rupert of Deutz in the first third
of the twelfth century. Bernards mystical interpretation, as written in his 86 sermons on
the Song of Songs, was more personal than either the Marian or ecclesiological interpre-
tation, and was widely copied by other monks who commented on the Song of Songs.
weighed down by indifferent believers from within. By the end of the Song
of Songs narrative the Church has reached a state of near perfection, but still
must wait for Christs return and the final triumph of union with Christ.30 The
Chanter follows the Gloss closely throughout, but the Churchs journey from
a state of uncertainty to perfect union with Christ is by no means identical in
the two works.
The bulk of the prologue to the Chanters work on the Song of Songs is
unoriginal. The prologue essentially paraphrases that of the Gloss, which in
turn was taken mostly from Origens and Bedes commentaries on the Song of
Songs. As Beryl Smalley states, prologues seem to have been regarded as com-
mon property and were borrowed without scruple, by authors of medieval
biblical commentaries, so the Chanter was certainly not alone in this practice.31
The Chanters prologue repeats the standard medieval idea that Solomon
authored three biblical books. Proverbs was written in order to instruct the
young and beginning students in morals. Ecclesiastes was directed toward the
more proficient, and teaches them to despise transitory things, opening with
the line Vanity of vanities, and all is vanity (Eccl. 1:2).32 According to this pro-
logue, Solomon wrote the Song of Songs for the mature and perfect, who alone
are prepared to learn about the love and peace of God.33 In essence, the Song
of Songs is supposed to serve as the spiritual companion to the more practical
books of Solomon. Because of this status, it is particularly important that only
those who are capable of understanding the Song of Songs attempt to read it.
30 This interpretation in the Gloss fits well with the final line of the Song of Songs, flee, my
beloved, and be like a gazelle and the young of stags upon the mountain of spices. By the
end of the narrative, the Church is resigned to the idea that her time for union with Christ
has not yet come, and she agrees to wait patiently for Christs return. Thus, while the Gloss
interpretation (which at this point is a hybrid of Gregory and Bede) does not end with a
triumphant Church, the final lines are hopeful and speak to the Churchs enduring
patience.
31 Smalley, Study of the Bible, 217. See also A.J. Minnis, Medieval Theory of Authorship: Scho-
lastic Literary Attitudes in the Later Middle Ages (London, 1984) on medieval ideas behind
the authorship of prologues and their adaptation.
32 libros Proverbiorum in quo docet incipientes et parvulos non tam etate quam sapien-
tia de equanimi conversione in mundo, scilicet qualiter possit uti licite temporalibus
vocatus est et Ecclesiastes, id est concionatur, quo nomine censetur et secundum opus
eius in quo construit proficientes ad contemptum caducorum inquiens vanitas vani-
tatum et omnia vanitas (Eccl. 1:2). Peter the Chanter, Mazarine, MS 178, f. 41ra. Words taken
from the Gloss are in bold, quotes from Scripture are italicized.
33 composuit Cantica Canticorum in quo libro docet maturos perfectos et pervenientes
de solo amore et pace Dei Peter the Chanter, Mazarine, MS 178, f. 41ra.
80 Chapter 3
This notion is emphasized in the Gloss, in which the prologue ends with the
following injunction:
Nor should we overlook what our scholars tell us was the custom among
the Jews: they did not allow anyone to read this book [the Song of Songs]
unless he was complete in knowledge and confirmed in faith, lest per-
haps on account of childish weakness and inexperience in faith study
might not so much refine wavering minds as the text pervert them to
carnal desires.34
Interestingly, the Chanter does not include this in his prologue. Instead, these
same lines appear at the very end of his commentary, which arguably gives
them more importance.35 Since a student reading the Chanters commentary
or following the lecture on which the commentary was based would have most
likely had a Glossed Bible on hand, he would have noted this warning against
perverting the meaning of the Song of Songs at the very beginning of his study
of the book. By placing this same caveat at the end of his commentary, the
Chanter reminds the student to banish any impure thoughts he might have
had while studying the Song of Songs, echoing the Gloss statement that it is
purely a book about the love of God.
These admonitions in the Gloss and in the Chanters commentary were
deemed necessary because of the ostensibly erotic content of the Song of
Songs. If the text is read without an eye to allegory, it appears to be a love song
between a handsome young man and his beautiful bride-to-be, and it is easy to
see how the reader could think the Song of Songs was about worldly love. The
book is full of imagery that could titillate a young theology student; the full
breasts, scarlet lips, and shining hair of the bride were likely tempting, perhaps
especially to those who had vowed to deny the flesh. The Chanter seems to be
particularly aware of this, and in closing his prologue, he explains to his stu-
dents that there are various kinds of love, only some of which are licit. He
explains that love is a fourfold concept, the highest and most meritorious
aspect of which is divine or heavenly love of God and of ones neighbors.
34 Illud vero non est omittendum quod a doctoribus nostris traditur apud Hebreos hanc
fuisse observationem, ne cuiquam hunc librum legere permitterent nisi viro iam perfecte
scientie et roborate fidei ne forte per imbecillitatem infantie et fidei imperitiam non tam
erudiret cognitione lubricas mentes quam textus ad concupiscentias corporalis con-
verteret. Dove, Glossa, Prologue, section vii, lines 101108.
35 Peter the Chanter, Mazarine, MS 178, f. 50vb.
The Chanter quickly goes on to say that the opposite of this is carnal lust
and sexual desire, which proceeds from the Devil and is entirely damnable.36
This condemnation speaks directly to those wavering minds who are led into
temptation by the erotic imagery of the Song of Songs, warning them that any
such distortion of the text leads only to perdition. The other two types of love,
that of parents and family and that of the world, are acceptable only if prac-
ticed in moderation and guided by love of God. The Chanter illustrates this
with Scripture, quoting Matthew 10:37, He that loves his father and mother
more than me is not worthy of me, and James 4:4, Friend[ship] of this world
is the enemy of God.37 Thus, the only entirely worthy love is that of God and
heavenly things, and the Chanter impresses this on his readers in order to focus
their minds on what he sees as the proper interpretation of the Song of Songs.
For the Chanter, as in the Glossed Song of Songs, this proper interpreta-
tion is ecclesiological in nature. In the Chanters commentary, Solomon is a
theologian recounting the story of the bridegroom (Christ) and the bride (the
Church).38 Like the Gloss, the Chanters interpretation of the Song of Songs
turns the text into an epithalamium, or wedding song; Christ and the Church
as a betrothed couple celebrate their love for one another, describe one
anothers beauty, and long for their eventual union. While the language of this
longing is erotic, the Chanter, like his predecessor the Glossator, does not seem
to embrace an erotic interpretation of the text; indeed, both authors reinter-
pret this language of desire, understanding the various body parts described
as preachers, teachers, and other figures. In the Chanters commentary, the
breasts of the bride, for example, are never described as sexual in nature. They
are discussed in their capacity to give milk, which is interpreted as knowledge
that nourishes the weak. As John W. Baldwin remarks, although all elements
were available for commuting the sexual desire of Scripture to the spiritual
desire of God in the Song of Songs, the Chanter is uninterested in this sort of
sublimation, so famously practiced by Bernard of Clairvaux in his sermons on
36 quod quadruplex est amor. Est enim amor divinus vel ethereus de dilectione Dei et
proximi et hic in precepto consistens meritorius est et alius diabolicus venereus libidino-
sus et hic dampnabilis est. Peter the Chanter, Mazarine, MS 178, f. 41va.
37 Est et alius carnalis quo quis carnem propriam vel parentes diligit qui si moderatus est et
sub Deo tolerabilis est, si inmoderatus execrebilis est. Qui amat parentes, etc. (Mt. 10:37).
Et alius mundialis qui moderatus licitus est si inmoderatus et contra Deum detestabilis et
pernitiosus, quia amicus mundi inimicus Dei, etc. (Jac. 4:4). Peter the Chanter, Mazarine,
MS 178, f. 41va.
38 In Canticis canticorum theologus sermocinans de divinis figurabatur etiam iste cantico-
rum Salomonis Materia sunt sponsus et sponsa, capud et membra, Christus et eccle-
sia. Peter the Chanter, Mazarine, MS 178, f. 41rb.
82 Chapter 3
the Song of Songs.39 The Chanters focus is on the larger matter of the relation-
ship between Christ and the Church as a whole, leaving the exploration of the
mystical and spiritual relationship between Christ and the individual soul to
monastic authors.
In the body of his commentary on the Song of Songs, the Chanter tries to
avoid the practice he himself criticized in biblical glosses. As mentioned, the
Chanter resists the scholastic tendency to explain every passage of a biblical
book with several glosses, which in his opinion led expositors further and fur-
ther away from the original meaning of the text.40 His inclination toward
brevity is evident in the length of his Song of Songs commentary; the Mazarine,
MS 178 manuscript commentary is only ten folios long, notably shorter than
two Song of Songs commentary manuscripts by the more verbose Stephen
Langton, which run fifteen and seventeen folios, respectively.41 Remarking
upon the Chanters terse commentary style, Baldwin states that although he
regularly employed the Gloss and occasionally developed the allegorical or
moral sense of a passage, for the most part his comments move briskly through
the biblical text.42 Using the Gloss as a point of reference does not hinder the
Chanter from keeping his commentary brief and to the point. He simply
chooses the parts of the Gloss that he felt were most important, and leaves out
what he thought superfluous.
Ultimately for the Chanter, the Bible itself serves as an even more impor-
tant source than the Gloss, and there are frequent cross-references to biblical
texts other than the Song of Songs. As Baldwin states, the Chanter strives to
emulate Jerome, who by explaining the sacred text through other passages of
Scripture, avoided superfluous glosses.43 The Bible was of course regarded as
the principal source of knowledge and the repository of ultimate truth, so the
Chanters desire to employ biblical passages as much as possible in his com-
mentary seems natural. In addition, the Chanters students knew the Bible
better than any other source they encountered in their scholarly careers. By
explaining passages of the Song of Songs with passages from other biblical
books, the Chanter both draws on the knowledge of his audience and encour-
39 Baldwin, The Language of Sex, 171.

40 See above, 74.
41 The Song of Songs commentary in the Mazarine, MS 178 manuscript runs from 41ra to
50vb, with columns measuring 2 inches wide by 9 inches long. BnF, MS lat. 15565
runs 15 folios, from 52rb to 66vb, but with columns measuring only 2 inches wide by 7
inches long. The Langton manuscripts are Paris, Arsenal, MS 64 and Paris, BnF, MS lat. 338.
Langtons prolixity will be discussed in detail in the following chapter.
42 Baldwin, Masters, Prince, and Merchants, 95.
43 Ibid., 95.
ages them to understand the text more deeply. The students studying the
Chanters commentary would be more likely to understand a familiar biblical
passage than a lengthy and possibly confusing explanation for a passage in
the Song of Songs, which was already regarded as a difficult and potentially
dangerous book to interpret, because of the erotic contents potential to be
misinterpreted by those not mature enough to understand the true meaning
of the text. The Chanters use of biblical passages also encourages students to
make connections between the books of the Bible. In linking passages of the
Hebrew Bible together with those of the New Testament, the Chanter draws
the Song of Songs into the context of the whole Bible and its overarching his-
tory of salvation.
The Chanter begins to employ biblical passages as explanatory tools from
the beginning of his commentary. In his explanation of Song of Songs 1:1, Let
him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth, the Chanter lists several biblical quo-
tations referring to mouths and kisses in both positive and negative lights. The
negative depictions of kisses and mouths are all taken in this instance from the
book of Proverbs, another work said to be written by Solomon. The Chanter
mentions a trio of phrases that specifically refer to the dangers of women: for
your lips [those of a harlot] are like honeycomb dripping, but her end is as bit-
ter as wormwood (Pr. 5:34); the mouth of a strange woman is a deep pit. He
whom the Lord is angry with will fall in it (Pr. 22:14); and the woman caught
the young man and kissed him (cf. Pr. 7:13), referring to a woman who flatters
foolish men and draws them into her sinful life.44 These biblical quotations
help explain the phrase the kisses of his mouth by pointing out what those
kisses are not; that is, the quotations from Proverbs are set up in opposition to
the kisses of his mouth from the Song of Songs, which are wholly positive.
Using these passages from Proverbs also allows the Chanter to point out to his
students the dangers of carnal lust for women and the troubles that can result
from associations with women, something that should not be overlooked in
a commentary directed toward young and impressionable theology students.
The Chanter immediately follows these negative depictions of kisses with
positive examples that are completely devoid of any erotic meaning, including
the kiss of chaste love given by the bride to the bridegroom in the Song of
Songs (Song 8:1), the kiss of peace and reconciliation given to the prodigal son
by his father (Lk. 15:20), and the reverential kiss given at the foot of ones lord
44 favus enim distillans labia tua novissima autem amara quasi absinthium, etc. (Pr. 5:4),
fovea profunda os aliene cui iratus est dominus incidet in illam (Pr. 22:14), mulier appre-
hensum deosculatur iuvenem (cf. Pr. 7:13). Peter the Chanter, Mazarine, MS 178, f. 41vb.
84 Chapter 3
or on the hand of a priest.45 Unlike the quotations from Proverbs, these are all
possible definitions for the kisses of his mouth. In this case, the Chanter may
be using biblical passages so extensively because the phrase he is addressing is
relatively difficult to explain. By giving his readers examples of both negative
and carnal kisses and positive and chaste kisses, the Chanter is able to explain
what he sees as the spiritual intention behind the ostensibly erotic opening
line of the Song of Songs.
The Chanter follows this same method of explicating the Song of Songs with
other biblical passages in his commentary on 2:5, I am languishing with
love. He notes that this languishing is a spiritual longing that Christ and the
Church have for each other. The Chanter then goes on to mention other
instances of languishing in the Bible: Daniels physical and spiritual weakness
after experiencing a troubling vision, And Daniel was sick and my soul lan-
guished for many days (cf. Dan. 8:27); Paul speaking of his suffering, who is
weak, and I am not weak (2 Cor. 11:29); and Davids spiritual longing in the
Psalms, my soul languishes for your salvation (Ps. 118:81).46 These descrip-
tions of languishing help to describe the almost painful quality of the longing
that the Church feels for Christ. Since these other biblical passages can eluci-
date the meaning of the Song of Songs, the Chanter does not feel that it is
necessary to include his own lengthy explanation of the Churchs longing.
Using this method, the Chanter is often able to follow the simple and stream-
lined exegetical program he proposes.
He applies this method to most of the passages he explicates in the Song
of Songs, although not always to such a great extent. Almost every passage
is accompanied by a quotation from another biblical book that is suggested
by the Song of Songs text. Not surprisingly, the Chanter quotes the Psalms
more frequently than any other biblical book. In the ten folios that comprise
his Song of Songs commentary, the Chanter refers to the Psalms a total of 45
times. The Book of Psalms was perhaps the biblical book most commented
on in the Middle Ages, and its remarkable breadth allowed exegetes like the
45 Et est osculum casti amoris scilicet osculum columbe de quo hic et item quis mihi det ut
inveniam te foris et deosculer te et iam me nemo despiciat (Song 8:1). Est et osculum pacis et
reconciliationis unde in evangelico pater procidens in osculo prodigi filii osculatus est
eum (Lk. 15:20) et salutate vos unitie in osculo sancto est et osculum reverentie cum
quis osculatur pedem domini sui vel manus sacerdotis Peter the Chanter, Mazarine,
MS 178, f. 41vb.
46 Unde etiam Daniel egrotavit et languit anima mea per dies plurimos (cf. Dan. 8:27). Ita et
Ieremias pro reparatione Ierusalem et templi. Et apostolus quis infirmatur, etc. (2 Cor.
11:29). Et David defecit in salutare tuum anima mea (Ps. 118:81). Peter the Chanter, Maza-
rine, MS 178, f. 44rb.
Chanter to mine it frequently for apt quotations befitting almost any situa-
tion.47 The Chanter also seems to have some favorite quotations that he uses
more than once in his commentary. We see now through a glass darkly, but
then face to face (1Cor. 13:12), appears six times in the Song of Songs commen-
tary, usually when the Chanter is discussing the ineffability of God. He also
quotes Matthew 7:6, do not cast your pearls before swine, three times, in each
instance warning his readers not to waste the best efforts of their preaching on
the undeserving. Overall, the Chanter is able to keep his commentary relatively
brief by relying on an exegetical method practiced by the Church Fathers. In
applying this method so diligently, the Chanter rejects the notion that bibli-
cal commentaries must be abstruse documents made nearly impenetrable by
layer upon layer of exegesis.
According to Peter the Chanters threefold system of theology, preaching is
the roof built on foundations of careful reading, public lecturing, and disputa-
tion, and like a roof, preaching holds the Church together and protects the
faithful within. Evidently, the Chanter held preaching in high esteem and
judged its faithful execution to be perhaps the most important duty, and
indeed, the crowning adornment of a school-trained theologian.48 Thus, it is
not surprising that the Chanter stresses the importance of preaching and the
active life in his Song of Songs commentary, especially since the Gloss that he
so frequently looked to repeatedly dwells on the need for preaching both
within and outside of the Church. By the time the Chanter composed his com-
mentaries, some fifty years after the Gloss, those within the Church hierarchy
were increasingly seeing preaching as an important tool for correcting errant
Christians and winning new converts. The Chanters focus on preaching in his
Song of Songs commentary both reflects the concerns of the late twelfth cen-
tury and offers inspiration for the future preachers he sought to train.
The Chanter echoes the Glossed Song of Songs in writing extensively about
preaching and the active life, but he adds his own perspective and strives to
outline the mission and qualifications of the preacher in a clear and concise
manner. He first significantly expands on the Gloss notions about preaching
in Song of Songs 1:16, the timbers of our dwellings are beams of cedar:
47 See Martin Morard, Entre mode et tradition: Les commentaries des Psaumes de 1160
1350, in La Bibbia del XIII secole: Storia del testo, storia dellesegesi. Atti del Convegno della
Societ Internazionale per lo Studio del Medioevo Latino (SISMEL) (Florence, June 12
2001), ed. Giuseppe Cremascoli and Francesco Santi (Florence, 2004)
86 Chapter 3
Gloss Peter the Chanter

Of cedar, incorruptible, and putting Of cedar, the cedar is a tall and
snakes, that is demons, to flight by its incorruptible tree whose sap and
scent.49 scent kills snakes. Preachers, more-
over, are incorruptible and lacking
vices, rendering others incorruptible
by the scent of the honest beliefs and
by the words of their preaching.50
4950
In this passage, the author of the Gloss simply states that cedar is incorrupt-
ible, without indicating what cedar may represent. The Chanter equates cedar
with preachers, thus stating that preachers are imperishable, that is, they are
saved and their souls will dwell eternally with God. More importantly, preach-
ers who lack vices and share their honest beliefs with others by preaching are
able to render others incorruptible as well. In other words, preachers who live
honestly and impart the word of God act as Gods instruments on earth, saving
the souls of those who would otherwise be damned. This passage goes hand in
hand with the Chanters comment on Song of Songs 2:13, Arise, my love, my
beautiful one, and come. The Chanter warns his students to arise from sin,
before seeking to preach to others, lest they find themselves guilty of the very
sins they wish to eliminate from the Church.51 The Chanter uses these pas-
sages to offer advice to his readers, those theology students being trained at
Paris. If they avoid vice and hold fast to their beliefs, not only are they saved,
but they have the capacity and indeed, the duty to save others as well. By sim-
ply expanding upon the Gloss imagery the Chanter is able to offer instruction
to his readers and assure them of the importance of their mission.
The Chanter echoes the advice he gives above in his explication of 2:9, my
beloved is like a gazelle and the young of stags:
49 Dove, Glossa, I, 16, 187, 1819, cedrina, imputrabilia et odore suo serpents, id est demones,
fugantia.
50 Cedrus est arbor alta imputribiles cuius succus et odor serpentes extinguit. Predicatores
autem sunt imputribiles carentes vitiis alios etiam imputribiles redunt odore bone opin-
ionis et verbo predicationis. Peter the Chanter, Mazarine, MS 178, f. 43vb.
51 surge a peccato Peter the Chanter, Mazarine, MS 178, f. 45ra.

the young of stags, according to his Or by a deer, which is called a gazelle,
works, because he has opposed [is meant] the contemplative life,
hostile forces.52 which is loftier and more acute
observation of God. The young of
stags, by stags [is meant] the active
[life], preachers whose sound has
gone forth into all the earth (Rom.
10:18), from whose mouth quickly
flows the word of Christ, because they
speak without scandal and without
worldly concern.53
5253
Here, the Chanter interprets the young of stags as the active life rightfully pur-
sued by preachers. He again implicitly advises his readers, remarking that
honest preachers are able to make themselves heard over all the earth because
they avoid sin and scandal. In this passage, the Chanter also indicates that
preachers speak without worldly concern, but still spread their message to oth-
ers. He communicates to his readers that it is possible to preach and be active
in the world, and still be free of worldly concern; in other words, the ideal
preacher should care for his neighbors, but should avoid attaching himself to
this world and any person or thing dwelling in it. The Chanter here addresses
the fine line that preachers must walk between the secular and divine worlds,
putting forth the notion that preachers act as a bridge through which people
can gain access to God.
The Chanter makes it clear that preachers are urgently needed to bridge the
gap between the earthly and the divine. Commenting on Song of Songs 2:10
(arise, hurry, my beloved, my dove, my beautiful one, and come), he speaks of
how the active life can serve this need and why preaching is so desperately
needed at this time:
52 hinnuloque cervorum, secundum opera, quia contrarias fortitudines contrivit. Dove,

Glossa, II, 9, 76, 5758.
53 Vel per capream que dorcas dicitur contemplativa, que altius et acutius speculatur
Deum. Per hynulum activa predicatores quorum sonus exivit in orbis terre (Rom. 10:18) in
quorum ore velociter currit sermo Christi quia sine scandalo sine solicitudine seculari
locuntur Peter the Chanter, Mazarine, MS 178, f. 44va.
88 Chapter 3

Arise, that is, break off contemplation Arise, arise therefore from
and labor to gain other [converts], or contemplation at the right time. Arise
arise from the love of earthly things from the love of earthly things and
come to devote yourself to the from the flesh to sing of [preach]
salvation of your neighbors through repentance hurry, because the time
sedulous attention to preaching is short and the crops are white [to
you believe you will quickly come [to harvest] (John 4:35) but a better
me-the bridegroom] if you go apart way of coming to me is through
in contemplation, but a better way of work of this kind, that is useful and
coming to me is through work of this fruitful [work], because for many the
kind.54 active way of life is better than the
contemplative. The contemplative
life is safer, but the active life is better
than the contemplative, that is, more
useful to [your] neighbors.55
5455
The Chanter adds to the Gloss by saying that necessity drives the act of breaking
off contemplation and arising to action. Although the Chanter acknowledges
the importance of preaching and sees it as an instrument through which
reform of the Church and widespread conversion can be achieved, he, like
most other medieval theologians, does not deny preachings potential difficul-
ties and dangers. The Chanter stresses to his readers that they must abandon
contemplation, at least temporarily, because the crops are white, that is, peo-
ple are ready and willing to receive the word of God. Moreover, the people
now need to hear the word of God; many within the Church lead lax lives and
are believers in name only, and the Churchs enemies, especially Jews and her-
etics, threaten the Church from without. Despite stating that necessity leads to
the need for preaching, the Chanter unequivocally avers that the active life is
superior to the contemplative life. The Gloss communicates this idea as well,
but the Chanter is more explicit, clearly saying that the active life is preferable
54 Surge, id est interrumpe contemplationem et labora in acquisitione aliorum, vel surge ab

amore terrenorum veni ad impendendam etiam proximis curam salutis per studium
sedule predicationis credis te venturam si vacaveris contemplationi, sed venies melius
per laborem huiusmodi. Dove, Glossa, II, 10, 94, 3334 and Dove, Glossa, II, 10, 90, 2425
and 2628.
55 Surge ergo a contemplatione ad tempus. Surge ab amore terrenorum a corpore acinere
penitentie propera quia tempus breve et messes albent (Jo. 4:35) sed venies melius
per laborem huiusmodi, id est utilius et copiosis, quia cum pluribus status contemplatio
melior est status active. Contemplative, id est securior, sed status active melior status
contemplative, id est utilior proximis. Peter the Chanter, Mazarine, MS 178, f. 44vb.
specifically because it is more useful than contemplation. The Chanter grants

that contemplation is a safer pursuit, but he intimates that it helps no one
but the person practicing it. An active life centered on preaching, on the other
hand, potentially benefits everyone, and in his exposition of this passage, the
Chanter encourages his readers to take up the task for the sake of reform
Again in his exposition of Song of Songs 2:12, the Chanter expresses the
same idea put forth in the Gloss, but more emphatically:

the voice of the turtle-dove, you must the voice of the turtle-dove, [The
not cease preaching for the sake of bridegroom] had encouraged the
quietness, because Christ, who was in bride to the labor of preaching, but
great quietness with the Father, to an because she ought not refuse that
extent interrupted quietness for the [labor], He makes clear the saviors
sake of preaching.56 example, because Christ, who was
resting in the bosom of the Father,
wished to descend to us for our
[sake] and take up the burden of
preaching as if [the bridegroom
says] arise and come, and you must,
because Christ himself actually
came to preach.57
5657
The author of the Gloss manages to communicate his point; Christ interrupted
the ultimate quietness of eternity with the Father in order to return to the
world and preach, so those on earth should be able to give up their compara-
tively inferior contemplation to do the same. The Chanter, however, is more
direct, stating that Christ willingly left his time of rest with the Father because
he knew that his preaching was needed. The Chanter also declares plainly to
his readers that they must preach in imitation of Christ, without such qualify-
ing phrases as to an extent. This passage serves as yet another opportunity for
the Chanter to encourage his theology students to pursue the active life; the
56 Pro quiete tua non debes dimittere predicationem, quia Christus qui in magna quiete
erat cum patre quietem quodammodo pro predicatione intermisit. Dove, Glossa, II, 12,
111, 2022.
57 Vox, invitaverat sponsam ad laborem predicationis modo quod istud recusare non debeat
ostendit, exemplo salvatoris quia Christus qui in sinu patris quiescebat voluit pro nobis
ad nostras descendere et honus predicationis subire multo magis et membra sua quasi
surge et veni et debes quia etiam ipsum Christus venit predicare. Peter the Chanter,
Mazarine, MS 178, f. 45ra.
90 Chapter 3
opportunity to follow Christs example is perhaps the strongest argument the

Chanter can make in favor of preaching
The fourth chapter of the Song of Songs, which features a lengthy physical
description of the bride, is rich in opportunities for both the author of the
Gloss and the Chanter to encourage the active life. Both authors compare the
various parts of the brides body with preachers, delineating the many func-
tions of those who pursue the active life. They are compared first to eyes, then
teeth, and finally to the lips of the bride:

your eyes are of doves, apart from your eyes are of doves, apart from
that which lies inside, eyes, those who that which lies inside, your eyes, your
provide for you, or your external, providers, certainly preachers who
historical way of life of doves because supply just as the eyes see for the
the holy spirit appeared in the form of body of doves, simple, without
a dove, spiritual grace is aptly signified the folds of error and duplicity of
by its name that which lies inside spirit apart from that which lies
that is the intention, which alone was inside, besides that vision which
beautiful, and on account of which we see face to face (1 Cor. 13:12). For
those things [good works] are to be no one has seen God at any time
commended.58 (John 1:18, 1 John 4:12) in the present
unless through a glass darkly (1 Cor.
13:12), just as now you see God, but
in the future you will see him more
intimately.59
5859
While the Gloss does not specifically assign a role to those who provide for
you, the Chanter explains that these eyes are preachers, who provide and see
for the Church just as the eyes see for the body. The Chanter also hearkens back
58 Oculi tui columbarum absque eo quod intrinsecus latet, oculi, illi qui provident tibi, vel
conversation exterior ad litteram columbarum, quia spiritus sanctus in specie columbe
apparuit merito illius nomine spiritualis gratia signatur eo quod intrinsecus latet, id est
intentione qua sola pulchra esset et per quam illa sunt commendabilia. Dove, Glossa, IV,
1, 1315, 4348.
59 Oculi tui, provisores tui scilicet predicatores qui subditis sicut oculi provident corpori
columbarum, id est simplica, sine plica erroris et duplicitatis spiritualia absque eo quod
intrinsecus, preter illam visionem quam eum videmus facie ad faciem (1 Cor. 13:12). Deum
enim nemo vidit umquam (John 1:18, 1 John 4:12) in presenti nisi per speculum et in enigmate
(1 Cor. 13:12) quomodo nunc vides Deum sed in futuro videbit eum interiori Peter the
Chanter, Mazarine, MS 178, f. 46ra-b.
to a favorite theme with a clever play on words (simplica/sine plica), that of the
suitability to preach. Preachers, like doves, are simple and pure, and lack a
duplicitous nature that might lead them to preach for worldly acclaim or mon-
etary reward. The Chanter is careful to point out, however, that preachers in
their role as the eyes of the Church are not granted any sort of special access to
God. Though they may see for the Church, protecting and providing for her,
they are only able to see God through a glass darkly in this life. The final revela-
tion of Gods divine mysteries is withheld from both actives and contemplatives
(as well as everyone else) while they are living. Thus, the Chanter ensures that
his readers have no illusions about their role as preachers granting them any
sort of special access to God.
Preachers are then described as the teeth and lips of the Church for various
reasons:
60

Your teeth, which gnaw sins and grind Your teeth, gnawing preachers, namely,
the Scriptures. Your lips are like a who gnaw sins and grind the Scriptures,
band of scarlet, preachers are said to and who draw others into the body of
be a band because by their preaching the Church or teeth, expositors of
they restrain the unstable thoughts Holy Scripture, Jerome, Augustine, and
in the hearts of men the teeth [are Gregory, who chew them and explain
those] who grind, the lips [those] them. Your lips are like a band of scarlet,
who release the things ground. Your preachers who are sometimes called
neck is like the tower of David. On teeth and sometimes called lips. With
account of one thing preachers are those same teeth that grind, that is, that
called eyes, on account of another, explain sacred Scripture, with those same
teeth, on account of another, cheeks, lips they release the things ground to
on account of another, the neck.60 others. Teeth therefore are rightly called
expositors, and lips, preachers, who are
like a band. Just as a band holds together
the hairs of the head, thus preachers
suppress the unstable thoughts in the
hearts of men. Or therefore, they
60 Dentes, qui peccata rodunt, scripturas atterunt sicut vitta coccinea labia, predicatores
vitta dicuntur quia fluxas cogitationes in cordibus hominum suis predicationibus restrin-
gunt dentes qui terunt, labia qui trita aperiunt Propter aliud predicatores oculi, prop-
ter aliud dentes, propter aliud gene, propter aliud collum vocantur. Dove, Glossa, IV, 2, 26,
24; Dove, Glossa, IV, 3, 3435, 69; Dove, Glossa, IV, 4, 46, 2223.
92 Chapter 3
Gloss Peter the Chanter (cont.)

[preachers and a band of scarlet] are
compared because just as a band clings
to the head, so do preachers cling to
Christ, so that they do not slip away
into temptation. Apart from that which
lies inside, pious preachers are called
by diverse names. They are called
eyes, providers, called hair, voluntary
paupers, called the neck because through
them the food of the word of God is
transmitted through the neck to the
limbs.61
61
Here, the Chanter pays homage to the Church fathers (in chronological order)
whose work he most admired, equating their exegetical work with chewing the
Scriptures and making them more palatable and understandable to theology
students, who in turn will preach the Scriptures to others. Both the Chanter
and the Glossator state that preachers are like teeth because they gnaw away at
sin and grind the Scriptures, but the Chanter reconnects this with the meta-
phor occurring earlier in the Gloss and his commentary wherein the Church is
a body, and Christ is its head. By making the Scriptures understandable,
preachers thus transfer them into the body of the Church. The Chanter further
develops this image when offering a summary of the names by which preach-
ers are called. Most parts of the head, including the eyes, lips, teeth, and hair,
are identified with preachers. Preachers are also the neck, because after seeing
those who require instruction in the scriptures, they grind them up with their
teeth, making them more understandable, and then swallow the word of
God, which becomes food to nourish the body that is the Church. Preachers
61 Dentes, rosorii predicatores scilicet, qui peccata rodunt, scripturas atterunt, et alios in
corpus ecclesie trahiciunt Vel dentes, expositiores sacre scripture Ieronimus, Augus
tinus, Gregorius, qui eam masticant et exponunt Sicut labia, sunt predicatores qui
quandoque dentes, quandoque labia dicuntur. Dentes, eo quod terant, id est quod expo
nant sacram scirpturam labia eo quod trita aliis aperiant et predicant. Dentes, ergo
proprie dicuntur expositores labia predicatores qui sunt sicut vitta. Sicut vitta, capillos
capitis constringit. Sic predicatores comprimunt fluxas cogitationes in cordibus homi-
num Vel ideo comparantur quia sicut vitte coherent capiti, sic predicatores Christo ut
nulla temptatione recedunt habent sancti predicatores diversis vocabulis appellantur.
Dicuntur oculi, provisores, dicuntur capilli, spontanei pauperes, dicuntur et collum quia
per illos cibus verbi Dei ad membra mittenda transmittuntur collo etiam capud. Peter
the Chanter, Mazarine, MS 178, fols. 46rb-46va.
again act as a bridge between Christ and the Church, and the Chanter seems to
indicate that without them and their crucial work, Christ and the Church
might not be properly joined, and humans would not receive the message of
Christ. Most importantly, the Chanter calls preachers voluntary paupers, in a
reference that is particularly striking because it comes many years before the
founding of the mendicant orders. Perhaps the Chanter was, as Philippe Buc
has discussed, expressing a certain amount of sympathy for the Waldensian
movement and their commitment to poverty and desire for the authorization
of lay preaching.62 In any case, this use of the term voluntary paupers shows
that the Chanter was confronting an issue that had not yet become particularly
current in the 1180s.
The Chanter emphasizes the close relationship between Christ and his
preachers, stating that preachers cling to Christ like hairs cling to the head, and
thus avoid sin and temptation. It is this relationship between Christ and those
he has inspired to preach that allows preachers to communicate the word of
God. If preachers do slip away from Christ and into temptation, they no longer
have the authority to preach. This serves as yet another warning from the
Chanter to his readers to avoid sin and remain worthy of preaching to others.
Preachers bind together the hairs, or Church members, of the head which is
Christ, and if preachers cease to serve as this band, the Church members drift
away from Christ. For their own sake and for the good of the Church, the
Chanter admonishes his audience of future preachers to realize the impor-
tance of the duty placed before them.
The Chanter makes what is perhaps his most impassioned statement on the
importance of preaching while commenting on Song of Songs 5:2, open to me,
my sister, my friend, my dove, my spotless one:
6364

[open to me] arise from the leisure [open to me] arise from the flesh,
and quietness of contemplation, and from leisure, from quietness of
open [your] hearts.63 contemplation, and open the hearts
of your listeners with your preaching
arise from contemplation and
undertake useful preaching.64
62 See Buc, Vox Clamantis in Deserto?, 547.

63 aperi michi, surge ab otio et quiete contemplationis et aperi corda Dove, Glossa, V, 2,
22, 1819.
64 Aperi, quasi surge a corpore, ab otio, a quiete contemplationis et aperi corda auditorum
tua predicatione surge a contemplatione et bonus predicandi suscipe. Peter the
Chanter, Mazarine, MS 178, f. 47vb.
94 Chapter 3
While the Gloss shows Christ telling those who are about to preach to open
their own hearts, the Chanter emphasizes that the hearts preachers must open
are not their own, but those of their listeners. Preaching is the instrument by
which the hearts of believers and non-believers alike are opened to receiving
the word of God. In addition, the Chanter repeats his earlier statement made
when commenting on Song of Songs 2:10, that preaching is a useful undertak-
ing. Because preaching brings many people to Christ, it is the most important
task an educated theologian can undertake. For the Chanter, the benefits of
contemplation pale in comparison to the legions of followers that can be won
over to Christ by eloquent preaching, and this is the message that he impresses
upon his students.
According to the Chanter, preaching, in addition to inspiring the many luke-
warm Christians within the Church, is also the main tool by which Jews will be
converted to Christianity.65 The Chanters commentary shares one of the cen-
tral elements of the Glossed Song of Songs narrative, the idea that the Church
and the Synagogue must unite before Christ can return to the world. The first
few references to the Jews in the Chanters commentary occur early in the first
chapter of the Song of Songs and are entirely negative. In commenting on Song
of Songs 1:5, they have made me a guard in the vineyards/I have not guarded
my own vineyard, the Chanter reads this as the Synagogues rejection of Christ:
the Synagogue did not exhibit protection, namely because she opposed the
evangelical word of God the apostles wished to gather in order to preach, but
[were] however sent away by the Jews, and thus departed.66 Because of this
rejection of the new dispensation, the Jews are the goats in Song of Songs 1:7,
go forth and depart in the footprints of the flocks and feed your goats Jews
are the damned hearers who are rightly called goats because they are placed
at His left hand, who furthermore gnaw away at and disparage the word of God
67 By depicting the Jews in this negative light, the Chanter shows his readers
why he believes the need for conversion is so great.
By the midpoint of the Song of Songs narrative, the Jews have yet to unite
with the Church. The bridegroom describes his bride at Song of Songs 4:12 as
65 For more on the Chanters treatment of Jews beyond the Song of Songs commentary, see
Jack Watts essay, Parisian Theologians and the Jews: Peter Lombard and Peter Cantor, in
Peter Biller and Barrie Dobson, eds. The Medieval Church: Universities, Heresy, and the Reli-
gious Life: Essays in Honour of Gordon Leff (Woodbridge, 1999), 5576.
66 Non custodivi, id est sinagoge custodiam non exhibui quia enim repugnat verbum Dei
evangelicam sed apostolos ut predicarent cogere volebant dimissis autem Iudeis
abierunt Peter the Chanter, Mazarine, MS 178, f. 42va.
67 hedos tuos, perditos auditores qui recte vocantur hedi, quia ad sinistras ponendi qui
etiam corrodunt et vituperant verbum Dei Peter the Chanter, Mazarine, MS 178, f. 43ra.
a garden shut up, and the Chanter comments on this by writing a garden,
not exposed to thieves and sorceresses, and enemies [such as] heretics, Jews,
pagans, and invisible demons 68 The Church must still be protected against
the Jews, who are lumped together with various other enemies of Christ. The
Chanter makes it clear that the Jews will not be allowed to enter the garden, that
is, the Church, until they obey evangelical precepts and convert. The Synagogue
does not begin to show a desire to convert until the sixth chapter of the Song
of Songs. By Song of Songs 6:9, who is this one who comes up like the dawn
rising, the Synagogue sees the beauty and power of the Church and begins to
question herself. In Song of Songs 6:11, the Synagogue admits her wrongdoing,
saying I did not know The Chanter remarks that the Synagogues error was
following the carnal sense of the law rather than believing in the redemp-
tive power of Christ.69 Chapter six ends with the beginnings of the conversion
of the Synagogue: turn back, the Church hears the Synagogue recognize her
error and the cause of her errors is laid bare turn back, as if up to this point
she has been hindered and led astray by error, but lately [she has] turned back
to knowledge of and faith in the redeemer.70 The bridegroom then devotes a
large section of chapter seven to praise of the newly converted Synagogue.
The Chanter emphasizes that the conversion of the Jews is not a quick and
easy task, and he reminds his readers that they must preach in order to win as
many converts as possible. He interprets the passage come my beloved, let us
go out into the field, let us linger in the villages (Song 7:11) as an invitation for
the Church to continue the work of conversion, saying in the voice of the
Church I will unite [Jews and Gentiles], that is, I will preach by word and
example we devote zeal and frequency to earnest preaching in converting
them [Jews] 71 The Chanters interpretation of the Song of Songs also refers
to heretics, who must also be converted back to true faith by preaching. In the
earlier portions of the Chanters commentary, heretics often appear alongside
Jews as enemies of the Church. In Song of Songs 1:5, my mothers sons have
fought against me, the author of the Gloss interprets these sons as Jews who
continue to reject the Church. The Chanter, on the other hand, assigns this role
68 ortus, dico non expositus furibus et anibus hostibus, scilicet ut hereticis Iudeis paganis et
invisibilibus demonibus Peter the Chanter, Mazarine, MS 178, f. 47rb.
69 carnalis sensus legis Peter the Chanter, Mazarine, MS 178, f. 49rb.
70 Revertere, Audiens ecclesia synagogam recognoscere suum errorem et causam sui erroris
denudantem revertere, quasi huc usque tardata est errore seducta, sed a modo revertere
ad cognitionem et fidem redemptoris Peter the Chanter, Mazarine, MS 178, f. 49rb.
71 ego cooperabor, id est, verbo et exemplo predicabo studium et frequentiam assidua
predicationem impendamus in illis convertendis Peter the Chanter, Mazarine, MS 178,
f. 50ra.
96 Chapter 3
to false brothers, heretics who profess faith in the Church and Christ, but
only pretend to be true brothers to the faithful.72 Christ, however, is not fooled
by these false brothers scattered throughout the Church: the guard in the
vineyard [Christ] is not deceived in the multitude of vineyards of heretics,
hypocrites, and false brothers.73 The Chanter here states his belief that with
the help of Christ and with careful attention to preaching, the Church will be
able to determine who its true friends are. Above all, the Chanter impresses
upon his readers the idea that the Church is facing a desperate time; there are
lax Christians within the Church and Jews and heretics outside the Church
who need to be inspired by preaching.
The Chanters Song of Songs commentary is a product of the intellectual
world in which it was written, although the reference to voluntary paupers is
quite remarkable for the time. By the late twelfth century, Paris had become
the center for theological studies in Europe, but students and masters alike
continued to use the Gloss, composed at a cathedral school some forty years
before, as their major source for the study of the Bible. Although he was at the
forefront of biblical studies, the Chanter saw no reason to abandon the Gloss
as the basis for his commentaries. He agreed with the ecclesiological nature of
the narrative of the Glossed Song of Songs, and, as an advocate of preaching,
only added to the exhortations to the active life present in the Gloss. Students
reading the Chanters commentary were faced with a clear and concise expli-
cation of a difficult and potentially dangerous text. They could easily see that
the commentary was directed toward them, as future teachers and preachers
who must protect the Church from its enemies. The Chanter sought to take a
text ostensibly referring to erotic love and turn the focus of the reader to the
chaste love of Christ and the Church. His work on the Song of Songs exercised
a clear influence on Stephen Langton, who was perhaps the Chanters student
and who certainly fell within the orbit of the biblical-moral school. Taken
together, the Chanter and Langtons commentaries reveal the ways in which
the nature of biblical and theological studies was changing in the last few years
of the twelfth century.
72 falsi fratres, heretici Peter the Chanter, Mazarine, MS 178, f. 42va.

73 facta sunt custos in vineis et ne fallar in multitudine vinearum hereticorum, ypocrita-
rum, falsorum fratrum. Peter the Chanter, Mazarine, MS 178, f. 42va.
Glossing the Gloss 97
Chapter 4
Glossing the Gloss: Stephen Langtons Super-

Commentary on the Song of Songs
The Song of Songs commentary of Stephen Langton (d. 1228) combined the
works of his predecessors, the Glossator and Peter the Chanter, with his own
ideas, encapsulating the ecclesiological interpretation of the biblical text. This
reading of the Song of Songs remained the standard in the scholastic milieu
throughout the twelfth and early thirteenth centuries, even as Marian readings
of the text or interpretations focused on the souls personal relationship with
Christ increasingly appeared in monastic works. This ecclesiological reading of
the Song of Songs allowed secular masters to trace the history of the Church
and speak about the Church in their own time. Langtons commentary, how-
ever, differs quite radically in some respects from those explored in preceding
chapters. While Langtons commentary shares its basic form with the Gloss, it
is in fact both a continuous commentary and a gloss on the Gloss itself, in
which Langton endeavors to explain the Glossa Ordinaria and expand upon
the themes that echo throughout that text and the commentary of the Chanter.
The type of scholastic commentary discussed in the previous chapters reached
a new height in the works of Stephen Langton, who managed to expand upon
the already spectacularly ambitious exegetical programs undertaken by
Anselm of Laon, the Glossator, and Peter the Chanter. Langtons commentaries
became an important part of the scholastic exegetical tradition, and had a pro-
digious impact on the nascent form of university exegesis that would reign
supreme in thirteenth-century Paris.
Stephen Langton is best known as the great medieval protagonist of politi-
cal liberty, who helped the English barons wrest Magna Carta from King John
in 1215.1 His remarkable literary output, however, was little explored until
Maurice Powicke made Langton the topic of the Ford Lectures at Oxford in
1927.2 These lectures served as the impetus for a survey of extant Langton
manuscripts by Georges Lacombe and Powickes student Beryl Smalley, who
discovered that Langton commented on nearly the entire Bible and played a
role in medieval exegesis certainly as important as that of Nicholas of Lyra or
1 Lacombe and Smalley, Studies on the Commentaries, 5.

2 Maurice Powicke, Stephen Langton: Being the Ford Lectures Delivered in the University of Oxford
in Hilary Term 1927 (Oxford, 1928).

98 Chapter 4
of Hugh of St. Cher.3 It seems clear that by commenting on the biblical corpus,
Langton was following in the footsteps of Peter the Chanter. John W. Baldwin
notes that while we do not know exactly who taught Langton at Paris, the influ-
ence of Peter the Chanter and the biblical-moral school has left many traces on
Langtons biblical commentaries in that he was more interested in addressing
practical moral questions than engaging in speculative theology.4 Additionally,
Baldwin remarks that Langtons career as a master beginning in the 1180s over-
lapped with that of the Chanter.5 Although there is no solid evidence linking
Langton and the Chanter as student and teacher, the fact that Langton directly
copied large portions of the Chanters Song of Songs commentary and drew
extensively on the Chanters mode of exegesis lends credence to the idea that
Langton was a member of the Chanters Parisian circle.
Before delving into Langtons commentary on the Song of Songs, it is useful
to review the work that scholars have done on his university career. Following
Powickes lectures, Smalley and Lacombe wrote on Langtons commentaries,
providing a valuable list of the extant manuscripts in addition to useful explo-
rations of Langtons glosses on the Historia Scholastica of Peter the Chanter
and the Book of Ruth. Smalley later wrote extensively about Langton and the
biblical-moral school in The Study of the Bible in the Middle Ages. In the 1960s
and 1970s, several more scholars added to the study of Langtons works, includ-
ing Phyllis Barzillay Roberts, who studied and edited some of his sermons.6
John W. Baldwins work on the circle of Peter the Chanter encapsulated knowl-
edge about Langtons life and career and served to link him to the figure who
exercised a profound influence on Langtons exegesis. Avrom Saltman pro-
duced a critical edition of Langtons commentary on Chronicles, which offered
insight into Langtons use of Jewish exegesis to treat a biblical book often
neglected by medieval theologians.7 More recently, Riccardo Quinto has stud-
ied Langtons questiones, which originated from disputations at Paris and
3 Ibid., 15. There is no extant manuscript of a commentary by Langton on the Psalms; Lacombe
notes however that Otto of St. Blasien recorded that Langton did indeed comment on the
book, remarking that it would have been incredible that the Psalter, which with the Epistles
of St. Paul was the book most commented on in the Middle Ages should not have been
glossed by Langton. See Stegmller, Repertorium Biblicum, 266272 for a list of manuscripts
of Langtons biblical commentaries, though be advised that his attributions may not be
correct.
5 Ibid., 2526.
6 Phyllis Barzillay Roberts, Studies in the Sermons of Stephen Langton (Toronto, 1968).
7 Avrom Saltman, ed. Stephen Langton- Commentary on the Book of Chronicles (Ramat-Gan,
1978).
covered various theological topics such as the punishment of sins and the dis-
tinction between latria and dulia, and more practical issues such as usury.8 A
conference held in Paris in September 2006 on Langton led to the publication
of a volume of its proceedings, which is illustrative of the strong scholarly
interest in further exploring his role as a preacher, biblical scholar, and
theologian.9
Unlike Peter the Chanter, whose academic career was rarely if at all men-
tioned in contemporary sources, Langtons extraordinary academic output
was well recognized. In fact, Langtons contemporaries and later writers
remembered him far more for his biblical commentaries than for his activities
as archbishop of Canterbury. The chronicler Otto of St. Blasien wrote about
Langtons appointment as archbishop, calling him nominatissimus doctor
theologus, and named several of the biblical commentaries that Langton had
written.10 In writing about Langtons death, Otto declared that Langton was a
theologian known above all others of his time, who wrote many theological
commentaries and books worthy of the consideration of later genera-
tions 11 Similarly, in the De Viris Illustribus of Pseudo-Henry of Ghent,
Langton is remembered as presiding over the faculty of Arts at Paris, after
which he directed a school in theology, and taught that science with great dis-
tinction. He was the first who began to comment on the whole Bible in its
moral and its full sense explaining them after the method used in the scho-
lastic lectio.12
Although Langtons work in Paris was obviously recognized and appreciated
by his contemporaries, scholars working on Langton have been unable to
uncover much information about his years in that city. The date he left Paris,
8 Riccardo Quinto, Doctor Nominatissimus, Stefano Langton e la Tradizione delle sue Opere
(Mnster, 1994); idem., La Parabola del Levitico, in La Bibbia del XIII secole: Storia del
testo, storia dellesegesi. Atti del Convegno della Societ Internazionale per lo Studio del
Medioevo Latino (SISMEL) (Florence, June 12 2001), ed. Giuseppe Cremascoli and Franco
Santi (Florence, 2004), 187219.
9 Nicole Briou,Gilbert Dahan, and Riccardo Quinto, eds., tienne Langton: Bibliste, Prdi-
cateur, Thologien (Turnhout, 2010).
11 Ibid., 14. super omnes sui temporis nominatus theologus, qui multas expositions theo-
logicas fecit et scripsit, et libros ad memoriam posteris reliquit
12 Ibid., 14. Stephanus Parisius liberalium artium scolis prefuit; inde theologice scole
presidens theologiam celeberrime docuit. Totam scripturam primus medullitus et mora
liter cepit exponere secundum modum scolastice lectionis, exponens. For more con-
temporary praise of Langtons biblical scholarship, see Roberts, Studies in the Sermons of
Stephen Langton, 3.
100 Chapter 4
however, is firm. A letter of Innocent III indicates that Langton was called to
Rome and made a cardinal in 1206.13 The best estimate for the date of Langtons
birth falls between 1150 and 1155. Phyllis Roberts placed Langtons inaugural
sermon as master of theology in 1180, so it is not implausible that Langton may
have arrived in Paris by 1170, and perhaps even before.14 There is, however, no
evidence that gives any indication of Langtons whereabouts before 1180. In
terms of Langtons writings, the first firm date we have is given by Langton
himself in a version of his gloss on the Historia Scholastica. Lacombe found
that the chronological data Langton recorded in the gloss dated this version to
14 March 1193, and the year at least is confirmed by a mention in the work that
it was the thirty-third year of the episcopate of the bishop of Paris, Maurice of
Sully.15
The dating and order of Langtons biblical commentaries are particularly
difficult to establish. Dating is complicated because many of the commentar-
ies exist in more than one version, and there are almost two hundred extant
manuscripts containing Langtons works.16 It may be assumed that all of his
commentaries were produced before he left Paris in 1206, although it is not
impossible that he may have revised them in later years.17 Some of Langtons
commentaries can be grouped together, indicating that they were most likely
composed in sequence. In the case of the Pentateuch, it is evident that Langton
intended his commentaries on the books to be seen as a whole, as indicated by
a line in his prologue to Genesis stressing that the five books were tied togeth-
er.18 For the major Prophets, there exists a prologue to the entire group with an
incipit that reads Quatuor rote per bases singulas, thus grouping the four
books together.19 In addition, there is internal evidence in some of Langtons
works that shows when they were composed. Langtons commentaries on the
Minor Prophets contain two direct references to his commentary on the
13 Baldwin, Masters, Princes, and Merchants, 2627. Innocent mentions in the letter that
Langton had been at Paris for an extended period of time, but unfortunately, no dates are
given.
14 Roberts, Studies in the Sermons of Stephen Langton, 21.
16 Ibid., 16. See also Stegmller, Repertorium Biblicum, 266270 for the Langton Song of
Songs manuscripts.
18 Lacombe and Smalley, Studies on the Commentaries, 128. The text reads Tabernaculum
Moysi coopertum erat quinque cortinis, and Lacombe stresses that Langton chose it to
let him play on the number five: Item alie quinque cortine quidem sunt quinque libri
Moysi.
19 Ibid., 130.
Epistles of St. Paul, indicating that the epistles commentary was composed
first.20 Langton also references his commentary on John in his work on Exodus.
In yet another example of these internal references, Langton often mentions
his commentary on Numbers in his work on Joshua, indicating that he must
have worked on the Pentateuch first.
From these references, Smalley and Lacombe were able to conjecture a
rough order in which Langton commented on the Bible. As previously men-
tioned in connection with the Chanter, Langton probably glossed the Bible in
the order suggested by Hugh of St. Victor; that is, he commented upon the New
Testament before the Old Testament, moving from the concrete and suppos-
edly more easily grasped books to the more complex works of the Major
Prophets.21 Langton himself wrote in his commentary on Zachariah that the
moral teaching of the books of Solomon is plain and easily grasped, but that
the Prophets require multiple expositions before they will yield it.22 Following
this system, Langton would have glossed the Gospels before the Pentateuch
and the historical books and Minor Prophets of the Old Testament, and then
commented on the sapiential books before the Major Prophets.23 For the Song
of Songs (one of the books of Solomon) in particular, Smalley and Lacombe
could not find any internal details in the work that yielded a firm date, but they
argue that Langtons work on this book antedated his Glosses on the Historical
Books, which he must have begun about 11801185.24 While it must be kept in
mind that according to Smalley and Lacombes scheme, Langton would have
commented on the entire New Testament first, the evidence seems to point
towards a rather early composition date in Langtons career for the Song of
Songs commentary. Thus, Langtons commentary was most likely composed in
the 1180s, which may be roughly a decade after the Chanter produced his work
on the Song of Songs.
As was the case with the Chanter, Langtons biblical commentaries have
been passed down to us as reportationes, a format which was discussed in
the previous chapter. At any rate, Smalley and Lacombes conclusion that
Langtons commentaries took this format certainly does not preclude the idea
that Langton would have been involved in the recording and publication of
his exegesis. Like the Chanter, Langton would have determined what the final
20 Ibid., 63.
21 Ibid., 161. Hugh of St. Victors order makes sense to a certain extent, but few would argue
that Revelation is a more easily grasped biblical book than Leviticus, for example.
22 Beryl Smalley, Study of the Bible, 198.
24 Ibid., 144.
102 Chapter 4
version of the text would look like. That the work is passed down to us as a
reportatio in no way detracts from its status as a continuous commentary. All
of Langtons commentaries, however, seem to exist in more than one version.
Smalley and Lacombe discovered that some versions contain just the literal
interpretation of Scripture, some just the moral sense, and others combined
the two, constituting a full commentary. It is most likely that the commentar-
ies were originally produced in their full version, and later separated into literal
and moral excerpts.25 Therefore, it seems evident that Langton wrote only one
full commentary on the Song of Songs, and that of the extant manuscripts,
some are full commentaries, while others are simply excerpted literal and
moral interpretations. Lacombe and Smalley noted eight presumed extant cop-
ies of Langtons commentary on the Song of Songs, but Rossana Guglielmetti
has now attributed all of these manuscripts to the school of Laon. Helmut
Riedlinger attributed two more manuscripts to Langton.26 This chapter will
25 Ibid., 157. As Smalley asserts, in the excerpted literal and moral forms of Langtons com-
mentaries, the excerpts appear to have been taken mechanically and not always intelli-
gently. A scholar rearranging his own work would be likely to show more care, and this
would seem to apply especially to a scholar as thorough and careful as Langton.
26 Scholars have had differing opinions on which manuscripts can be attributed to Langton,
making for a rather confusing landscape. The manuscripts that Lacombe indentifies as
Langton Song of Songs commentaries are Paris, BnF, MS lat. 338, 3652, and 14801; Oxford,
Bodleian Library MS Bodl. 87, Bodl. 528, and Laud Misc. 37; Wien, sterreichische Nation-
albibliothek, MS 1466; and Firenze, Laurentian Library, Plut. X dext. 5. As noted earlier,
Rossana Guglielmetti instead attributes all these manuscripts to the school of Anselm at
Laon, and I am hesitant to attribute the Oxford manuscripts or Wien MS 1466 to either
Anselm or Langton. Riedlinger followed Stegmller in attributing the Song of Songs man-
uscripts Paris, BnF, MS lat. 14434 and Paris, Arsenal, MS 64 to Langton, see Helmut
Riedlinger, Die Makellosigkeit der Kirche,133. Riedlinger also followed Jean Leclercq in
attributing Paris, BnF, MS lat. 338, 3652, and 14801 to the school of Laon rather than to
Langton. See Jean Leclercq, Le commentaire du Cantique des cantiques attribu
Anselme de Laon, Recherches de thologie ancienne et mdivale 16 (1949), 2939 and
Chapter 1 above. As I have indicated in Chapter 1, since BnF, MS lat. 338, 3652, and 14801
appear to be sources for the Glossed Song of Songs, their attribution to Langton seems
unlikely. Lacombe noted Paris, Arsenal, MS 64 as a collection of Langtons works contain-
ing the Minor Prophets, Catholic Epistles, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs, Wisdom,
Ecclesiasticus, and Revelation, but he placed a question mark next to the Song of Songs,
indicating that he was unsure of its attribution to Langton (although he provided no rea-
son for this uncertainty). See Lacombe and Smalley, Studies on the Commentaries,
6667. In sum, it seems that the eight manuscripts attributed to Langton by Lacombe in
fact contain Anselms commentary. Guglielmetti lists eight different manuscripts that she
believes contain Langtons Expositio in Cantica canticorum: Carcassonne, Bibliothque
Municipale, MS 3 (24445); Durham, Cathedral Library, MS A.I.9; Madrid, Biblioteca
follow Riedlingers attribution, and treat Langtons full commentary, found in

two Parisian manuscripts, BnF, MS lat. 14434 and Arsenal, MS 64. I will also
make reference to Wien, sterreichische Nationalbibliothek, MS 1301, which
Guglielmetti dates to the fourteenth century, and which contains a text nearly
identical to BnF, MS lat. 14434 and Arsenal, MS 64.27
The format of Langtons commentary is very different from that of the
Chanter. While the Chanter produced a relatively concise continuous commen-
tary, Langtons work on the Song of Songs is actually an extended commentary
on the Glossa Ordinaria.28 This was by no means atypical in late twelfth-cen-
tury Paris; by this period, the Gloss had become an indispensable teaching
tool, and was recognized as the standard authority to be read alongside the
Scriptures themselves. Indeed, if a tool such as the Gloss had not been avail-
able to students, learning the standard interpretations of biblical texts would
have been a much more arduous and time-consuming process. As Avrom
Saltman notes, Langtons glosses on the Gloss, which he refers to as super-
commentaries, helped ensure that students understood the glosses and were
capable of attaching them to the appropriate biblical texts.29 Although the
Parisian masters were accused by some of regarding the Gloss as an end in
itself, it is evident from their lectures that they used the Gloss as a convenient
starting point for further exposition.30 As Smalley remarks, the length and
thoroughness of [the Parisian masters] exposition will convince by wearying
us that they did not simply rely on the Gloss and abandon further commen-
tary on the biblical text.31
The manuscripts used for this chapter, BnF, MS lat. 14434, Arsenal, MS 64,
and Wien, ONB, MS 1301, are nearly identical in content, but there are impor-
tant differences in the ways in which they are formatted. Arsenal, MS 64 (Song
Nacional, MS 377 (A. 164); Mnchen, Bayerische Staatsbibliothek, MS lat. 2627; Paris, BnF,
MS lat. 14434; Paris, Arsenal, MS 64 and 264; and Wien, sterreichische Nationalbiblio-
thek, MS 1301. See Guglielmetti, 335. Of these, I have examined four; as noted above, this
chapter uses BnF, MS lat. 14434, Arsenal, MS 64, and Wien, ONB, MS 1301. The other manu-
script I have examined, Durham, Cathedral Library, MS A.I.9, suffered significant damage
in a fire, and thus certain portions of the text are completely obscured. Having transcribed
as much of this manuscript as possible, given the legibility issues, I am satisfied that it
matches the text of the other three manuscripts with very little variation.
27 Guglielmetti, 264.
28 See Smith, The Glossa Ordinaria, 215217 for a good summary of this idea.
29 Saltman, Stephen Langton- Commentary, 22.
30 Smalley, Study of the Bible, 230. In addition, see Chapter 2, 55 and Chapter 3, 74 above for
a discussion of Robert of Melun and his objections to glossing.
31 Ibid.
104 Chapter 4
of Songs commentary, fols. 118r-132r), which bears the shield emblem of the
Parisian abbey of St. Victor and a note about its Victorine provenance on
the opening folio, contains several other biblical commentaries written by
Langton.32 Gilbert Ouy dates the manuscripts to the beginning of the 13th
century.33 The work on the Song of Songs is entitled Glose super cantica canti-
corum. The commentary is laid out in two columns on the page, with nothing
written in the margins except for an occasional correction. Unlike the manu-
scripts of Peter the Chanter examined in the last chapter, the biblical text here
is written with the commentary in the columns, rather than placed in the mar-
gins next to the commentary. The biblical text, and nothing else, is underlined;
Smalley tells us that this is the case in the majority of Langtons commenta
ries.34 The relevant commentary is written in the columns after the biblical
text, and words taken from the Gloss are differentiated from Langtons own
glosses by the words Hoc vult illa glosa, or simply Hoc glosa. The Song of
Songs text is almost always abbreviated, either by writing out the first few
words of the passage and adding etc., or by using only one or two letters to
represent each word of the text.35 Wien, ONB, MS 1301 (Song of Songs commen-
tary fols. 39r-62v), is laid out in a similar way, with two columns and the biblical
text underlined. Both Arsenal, MS 64 and Wien, ONB, MS 1301 are written out
with the prologue (incipit: Legitur Salomon tria habuisse vocabula) copied at
the end rather than at the beginning of the text; both manuscripts contain the
words expliciunt note super cantica canticorum at the end of the glosses on
Song of Songs 8:14, which is then followed by the words Introitus super can-
tica canticorum and the prologue in the case of Arsenal, MS 64, and supra
cantica canticorum followed by the prologue in Wien, ONB, MS 1301.36
32 The blue and gold shield on f. 1r is surrounded by the words Jesus, Maria, S. Victor, S.
Augustinus, and the inscription on f. 1v. reads Iste liber est sancti victoris parisiensis.
The other commentaries in this manuscript are the Minor Prophets, the Catholic Epistles,
Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, the Wisdom of Solomon, Ecclesiasticus/Sirach, and Revelation.
33 Gilbert Ouy, Les Manuscrits de LAbbaye de Saint-Victor: Catalogue tabli sur la Base du
Rpertoire de Claude de Grandrue (1514), Bibliotheca Victorina X, Tome 2 (Turnhout, 1999),
41.
35 For example, in f. 118rb, the first time Song of Songs 1:2, [oleum effusum] nomen tuum is
glossed, the scribe writes nom. tuu. Subsequent references to the same text are no. t.
and n. t. This indicates that students attending the lecture likely had Bibles in hand
(perhaps Glossed Bibles) that they could consult, and that wasting valuable space on
expensive parchment by writing out the full biblical text was not necessary.
36 Guglielmetti, La Tradizione Manoscritta, 198, 264.
Paris, BnF, MS lat. 14434 also comes from St. Victor, and in addition to
Langtons work on the Song of Songs (fols. 119r-132v), the manuscript consists
of various glosses on the Gospels. Ouy dates this manuscript to the first half
of the thirteenth century.37 Like Arsenal, MS 64 and Wien, ONB, MS 1301, the
commentary is written in two columns, and the biblical text is written, again in
abbreviated form, in the columns. Interestingly, however, there are some major
differences between this manuscript and the other two. BnF, MS lat. 14434 has
a different prologue from Arsenal, MS 64 and Wien, ONB, MS 1301 (incipit: Ex
difficultate et dignitate), and the words of the Gloss are underlined in addi-
tion to the biblical text.38 In both manuscripts, quotations from the Gloss
are preceded with the words Hoc vult illa glosa, or simply Hoc glosa. Thus,
it seems to have been superfluous to have underlined the Gloss quotations,
but perhaps this can be seen as a way to place further emphasis on the com-
mentary as both a close examination of the biblical text and as a gloss on the
Gloss.
Paris, BnF, MS lat. 14434 has another feature that sets it apart from Arsenal,
MS 64 and Wien, ONB, MS 1301: at various places in the text from the opening
folio through Langtons exposition of Song of Songs 4:12, there are interpola-
tions into the two-column format written in the same hand as the rest of the
text. Several factors argue against Langton being the author of these inserts.
Surprisingly, many of the inserts are Marian in nature, which is perhaps the
strongest indication that they were added to Langtons Song of Songs commen-
tary by an editor. Langton, like his fellow members of the biblical-moral school,
expressed little or no interest in following the Marian interpretation of the
Song of Songs put forth in works by twelfth-century monastics, most notably
Rupert of Deutz39 As Helmut Riedlinger remarks, the inserts are presented in
an inconsistent manner, being quite numerous in the first half of the text but
disappearing completely in the second half. Riedlinger notes that this rather
haphazard approach seems not to fit with Langtons careful and almost pedan-
tic way of working.40 Since these interpolations appear to have little relevance
to either the Gloss text or Langtons commentary, and do not appear to have
been written by Langton, they are beyond the scope of this book. Despite these
37 Ouy, Les Manuscrits, 43. Ouy notes that the manuscript consists of two distinct sections;
folios 166 contain commentaries on the Gospels, and Ouy dates them to the beginning
of the 13th century; folios 67132 contain commentaries on Mark and John in addition to
the Song of Songs commentary.
38 Guglielmetti, La Tradizione Manoscritta, 187.
39 For more on Ruperts commentary, see Van Engen, Rupert of Deutz.
40 Riedlinger, Die Makellosigkeit der Kirche, 134.
106 Chapter 4
differences in the appearance and initial layout of the text in BnF, MS lat. 14434,
beyond the prologue and the Mariological interpolations, the content of the
commentary is essentially the same.41
Gilbert Dahan notes that the exegesis of the schools was characterized by
several forms, and Langtons Song of Songs commentary employs many of
them. Dahan speaks of the gloss format as the most elementary structure of
exegesis, its atom or most basic component.42 Langtons commentary is con-
tinuous, but it is essentially one simple structure on top of another, with
explanatory glosses elucidating other glosses on the biblical text. This format
remained popular in the schools throughout the twelfth century, perhaps
because of the appeal of its simplicity; glosses explained biblical text in a clear
and concise way and helped students grasp difficult scriptural passages.
Whereas the Chanter often combined the Gloss interpretation with his own
without citing the Gloss, Langton clearly works within the framework of the
Gloss, setting his own interpretation apart from the Glossators and noting
which words are derived from that anonymous source. As Riedlinger explains,
for Langton, the Gloss is an authority which cannot be altered, so he must
comment on the whole complex, of biblical and Gloss texts, paraphrasing the
Gloss and breaking it down into manageable chunks for his students to digest.43
To give an example of how this format works, I will reproduce a section of
Langtons commentary on Song of Songs 1:9, your neck is like jewels, below
with the Gloss words in bold:
41 Historians have often given Langton credit for introducing the modern use of chapter
divisions to the Bible in the twelfth century; none of the Langton manuscripts I examined
contain these chapter divisions, and, as Paul Saenger has recently written, it is not likely
that Langton was the orginator of these divisions at all. See Paul Saenger, The Twelfth-
Century Reception of Oriental Languages and the Graphic Mise En Page of Latin Vulgate
Bibles Copied in England in Form and Function in the Late Medieval Bible, ed. Eyal Poleg
and Laura Light (Leiden, 2013), 3166.
42 Dahan, LExgse chrtienne, 123. Dahan emphasizes in note 1 that the term glosa was
synonymous with the term commentary in scholastic exegesis, and thus although Lang-
tons work is headed Glose super cantica canticorum, I often refer to it as a commentary.
See also Dahans article Recherches sur LExgse du Cantique des Cantiques au XIII e
Siecle in Il Cantico dei Cantici nel Medioevo: Atti del Convegno Internazionale dellUniversit
degli Studi di Milano e della Societ Internazionale per lo Studio del Medioevo Latino,
SISMEL, Gargnano sul Garda, 2224 maggio 2006, ed. Rossana E. Guglielmetti (Florence,
2008), 493536.
43 Riedlinger, Die Makellosigkeit der Kirche, 133.
Your neck. The reading concerning preachers continues, as if [to say] O

my bride, you have modesty in your cheeks, but you can keep this intact
because your neck is like jewels. Thus continues the Gloss, who by this
[grace], etc., up to by the neck, etc. Suitably therefore, through the neck
preachers are signified, just as indeed by the neck we bring forth words
and put in food to refresh the body, and that middle limb, [the neck] is
joined to the head 44
As this passage illustrates, Langton often cites the Gloss in an abbreviated

form, listing a few words from one Gloss passage and notifying his readers to
look at all the other relevant Glosses, both interlinear and marginal. In this
manner, Langton is able to encapsulate the Gloss interpretation, explaining it
for his students even while adding his own style, language, and content, fusing
his own commentary with that of the Gloss.
Langton often indicates if he is referring to the interlinear or marginal Gloss,
perhaps to clarify the situation for his students; an example of this can be
found at Song of Songs 3:6, who is this who comes up through the desert like
a column of smoke? Langtons explication of this passage ends with those
two interlinear [glosses], upright, etc. and on account of, etc., and the mar-
ginal gloss, smoke from fire, etc.45 In this case and several others throughout
the manuscripts, Langton simply quotes a few words from the marginal and
interlinear Gloss, pointing out to his students where they might be found in a
Glossed Bible. Langton tends to point out the interlinear Gloss (as opposed to
the marginal Gloss) more frequently, usually with the words Glosa interlin-
earis or simply illa interlinearis. Since the interlinear Gloss is often just a few
words clarifying one or two words of the biblical text, Langton usually men-
tions them separately. Often, Langton simply incorporates the contents of the
marginal Gloss into his own running commentary, combining them with his
exegesis. In almost every case, however, Langton acknowledges this usage of
the Gloss at the end of each passage of biblical text with the words hoc vult
illa Glosa [thus, the Gloss means] or hoc Glosa, [thus, the Gloss] followed
44 Collum tuum, etc. procedit lectio de predicatoribus quasi o sponsa sobrietatem habes in
genis sed hanc conservare potes quia collum tuum sicut monilia hanc continuationem vult
illa Glosa que sit huius, etc. usque ibi per collum, etc. Convenientur ergo per collum sig-
nificantur predicatores sicut enim per collum proferimus verba et cibos ad reficiendum
corpus trahicimus et illo medio membra capiti uniuntur Stephen Langton, Arsenal, MS
64, f. 119va, BnF, MS lat. 14434, f. 121ra, Wien, ONB, MS 1301, f. 41va-b.
45 ille due interlineares recta, etc. et propter, etc. et illa marginalis fumus ex igne, etc.
Stephen Langton, Arsenal, MS 64, f. 122vb, BnF, MS lat. 14434, f. 124va, Wien, ONB, MS 1301,
f. 47rb.
108 Chapter 4
by a few words from the marginal Gloss. The structure of Langtons commen-
tary and the way in which he acknowledges his main source leaves no doubt
that it is at least in part a gloss on the Gloss.
In addition to the gloss format, Dahan identifies several other microstruc-
tures or simple forms found in the exegesis of the schools. The questio is a
form that became very complex in the thirteenth-century university. In earlier
patristic or school exegesis, questiones were rather straightforward, with an
issue arising generally from a contradiction in the commentated text (inter-
nal contradiction or between this text and another one) or from an anomaly
in this text.46 The format of the questio was increasingly structured over the
course of the twelfth century, and can often be identified by words such as que-
ritur and solutio. Langton produced questiones arising out of disputations,
which are treated at length by Riccardo Quinto.47 Some of his commentaries
also included questiones which were incorporated into the text. The reporta-
tio of Langtons gloss on the Song of Songs under examination here, however,
contains no questiones. There are no passages with a questio-responsio for-
mat, perhaps because in this commentary Langton focuses specifically on
elucidating the Gloss exegesis and does not devote attention to other authori-
ties and any conflicts that might arise between their exegesis and the Gloss
interpretation.
As mentioned above, since this is a full commentary, most of the Song of
Songs text is glossed both literally and allegorically or morally. Several times in
his commentary, Langton identifies the type of exegesis he undertakes in cer-
tain passages. Dahan writes that Langton, like Peter the Chanter, often points
out the types of exegesis in the margins of his commentaries, but in the case of
these Song of Songs manuscripts, these terms are written in the columns along
with the rest of the text.48 Langton indicates the literal exegesis more fre-
quently than the various forms of spiritual exegesis, and thus the phrases ad
litteram, and litteram sic expone are scattered throughout his commentary.
He also points out when the Gloss exegesis is literal, often with the phrase
continuatio ad litteram est illa Glosa. Literal exegesis of the biblical text
encompasses several types of glosses, including literary, historical, and lexico-
graphical explanations. Many of the literal expositions in this reportatio of the
Song of Songs are geographical or historical in nature. For example, the literal
gloss on 1:13, my beloved is to me a Cyprus plant among the vines of Engaddi,
reads Cyprus is an island abounding with clusters of grapes for the making of
46 Gilbert Dahan, Genres, Forms and Various Methods in Christian Exegesis of the Middle
Ages, in Magne Saebo, ed. Hebrew Bible/Old Testament: The History of Its Interpretation
(Gttingen, 2000), 196235, at 222.
47 See above, 9899. Quinto discusses Langtons questiones in Doctor Nominatissimus
48 Dahan, Genres , 207.
sweet wine.49 Almost all of these literal glosses are followed by a spiritual gloss
that gives the allegorical or moral sense of the passage, thus allowing the read-
ers of the commentary to glean several levels of meaning from each portion of
the biblical text.
The spiritual exegesis, which is based on the idea that all words and objects
in a biblical text signify something, is a type of interpretation that Langton
uses frequently.50 Of the many spiritual glosses in Langtons commentary, how-
ever, only a few are specifically labeled as being this type of interpretation.
Langton provides a moral gloss dealing with proper actions and behavior at 1:5,
They have made me a guard in the vineyards. I have not guarded my own vine-
yard. The moral gloss reads or we may understand morally, by vines, our
actions, which we have not guarded well.51 An example of an allegorical, or
symbolic type of exegesis can be seen in Langtons comment on a gloss explain-
ing Song of Songs 7:12, let us arise early in the morning and go to the vineyards.
Here, the Gloss interprets the vineyards as a field of Christians, ready to listen
to the inspired words of preachers. Langton adds that the Gloss interpretation
here is quickly comprehended, but nevertheless, it is in part an allegory, which
must be considered carefully.52 As Langton reminds his students, these spiri-
tual interpretations of the biblical text are more difficult to grasp than the
literal interpretation, but they yield useful knowledge, allowing students to
plumb the spiritual depths of the Scriptures.
Dahan notes that animals should be assigned their own category under the
rubric of spiritual exegesis, and for the Song of Songs, this is particularly neces-
sary.53 In the text, there are references to sheep, goats, foxes, leopards, lions,
doves, and other creatures. Langton is wholly traditional in the way he explains
the animals mentioned in the Song of Songs text. For example, at 2:15, catch
for us the little foxes, Langton follows the Gloss, and indeed accepted tradi-
tion, in identifying the foxes with heretics, who possess the same qualities of
craftiness and slyness often attributed to foxes. Similarly, the dove mentioned
at Song of Songs 2:10, Arise, hurry, my beloved, my dove is described as a pure
49 Cyprus est insula habundans botris racemis vinum dulce facientibus Stephen
Langton, Arsenal, MS 64, f. 119vb, BnF, MS lat. 14434, f. 121va, Wien, ONB, MS 1301, f. 42va.
51 vel possumus moraliter per vineas intelligere acciones nostras quas non bene custo
dimus Stephen Langton, Arsenal, MS 64, f. 118vb, BnF, MS lat. 14434, f. 120ra, Wien, ONB,
MS 1301, f. 40va.
52 illa Glosa breviter comprehensa in agro christiani, etc. verumtamen in parte est alia
allegoria quod diligenter intueberis. Stephen Langton, Arsenal, MS 64, f. 130va, BnF,
MS lat. 14434, f. 131vb, Wien, ONB, MS 1301, f. 59va. See also Chapter 1, 3334 for Anselms
interpretation of the little foxes
53 Dahan, LExgse chrtienne 347.
110 Chapter 4
representation of the Holy Spirit.54 Every word in a biblical text, including

mentions of time and season, is imbued with several meanings that must be
uncovered in order to present a full explanation of the book. Thus, Song of
Songs 2:11, for example, for already the winter has passed, the rain has gone
away and departed, gives Langton an opportunity to link winter with the
death of Christ, and winters passage with the increasing strength of the
Church to fight persecution, leading to a time of greater tranquility.55 The use
of spiritual exegesis allows Langton and other exegetes to assign deeper mean-
ings to the many things that appear in the biblical text.
One theme that has remained consistently important in all the commentar-
ies examined thus far has been that of preaching and the active life. This
certainly is the case for Langton, who, in the words of Smalley, was giving his
pupils a moral training, and preparing them for the task of preaching to clergy
and people.56 During the early part of the twelfth century when Anselm of
Laon and the author of the Glossed Song of Songs were working, most theolo-
gians did not discuss the preachers calling. As my earlier chapters have shown,
Anselms continuous commentary and the Gloss which borrows from it seems
to be among the first works to argue for the precedence of preaching over con-
templation. In the latter part of the twelfth century when Langton was writing
his Song of Songs commentary, he was working at a time and within a theologi-
cal school that devoted more attention to the role of preachers and the
importance of participation in the active life.
The standard medieval view on the issue of the active versus the contempla-
tive life was introduced by Origen, and was often explained in exegesis of the
story of Mary and Martha in Luke 10:3842, with Mary interpreted as repre-
senting the contemplative life and Martha the active life. In this story, the
sisters Mary and Martha welcome Jesus into their home, and Mary listened at
Jesus feet while Martha was distracted by various tasks. When Martha com-
plained that Mary had left her to do all the work alone, Jesus proclaimed that
by remaining still and listening to him, Mary had chosen the better part, which
will not be taken away from her. The Church Fathers argued that the two lives
were linked, and that the best possible life would combine both contemplation
and action. The views of Origen, Gregory the Great and others, however, held
that the merits of the active life are great, but those of the contemplative life
54 Columba mea simplex et munda spiritu sancto illustrata Stephen Langton, Arsenal,
MS 64, f. 121va, BnF, MS lat. 14434, f. 123rb., Wien, ONB, MS 1301, f. 45rb.
55 Per hiemem frigus infidelitatis per ymbrem sancte ecclesie significat persecutionem.
Omnia vero ista post mortem Christi transierunt quia licet in primitiva ecclesia invaluis-
set persecutio magna tamen illa compulsa cito reddita est tranquilitas Stephen Lang-
ton, Arsenal, MS 64, f. 121va, BnF, MS lat. 14434, f. 123rb, Wien, ONB, MS 1301, f. 45va.
are preferable the works of the active life pass with the body but the joys of
the contemplative life become greater after the end.57 Many living in the
twelfth century, especially monastic figures such as Rupert of Deutz and
Bernard of Clairvaux, echoed this idea that contemplation was superior to
action, even while stating that a combination of the two was best.58
Some, however, including Langton, presented the argument that while the
contemplative life was more secure and peaceful, the active life was ultimately
more fruitful and benefited more people. Simon of Tournai stated that He
who will strive more strenuously [in action and administration] will be
crowned more blessedly.59 Similarly, Innocent III, who at the Fourth Lateran
Council in 1215 called for diocesan preachers to work among the faithful,
argued, in a letter he wrote to the abbot of Tilieto in 1209, that where the battle
is harder, the victory is more glorious, as the Apostle says that he is not crowned
except he strive lawfully [2 Tim. 2:5].60 Taking the point even further, Innocent
wrote in a letter to the bishop of Cagliari, We therefore advise you not to reject
the work of pastoral rule, lest perchance He refuse to receive you with Mary at
His feet if you have refused to minister to Him with the careful Martha when
he visited you.61 As Giles Constable states, Innocent communicated the idea
that to reject the summons [of Christ to action] and to prefer solitude and
contemplation was to run the risk of displeasing Christ 62 Langton, fol-
lowing in the footsteps of the Glossator and the Chanter, expressed this same
idea in his gloss on the Song of Songs. For Langton, while the balanced life was
best, the need for the reform of the church was obvious, and necessitated aris-
ing from contemplation to action and preaching.
One of the most striking passages in Langtons commentary, as well as in the
Gloss and Peter the Chanters commentary is the explication of Song of Songs
chapter 2, verse 10, in which all three texts specifically announce that the active
life is better than the contemplative life and serves as a more certain path to
salvation. Langton, however, expresses this idea more forcefully than the Gloss
(and assigns a different reason for preachings superiority than the Chanter),
but is careful to add that those who live a life balanced between contemplation
and action are not to be criticized. In the passage from Langtons commentary
below, material taken from the Gloss is in bold, and that taken from the Chanter
is in small caps.
57 Gregory the Great, Moralia in Job, VI, 37601 in Corpus Christianorum, CXLIII, 32931.
Quoted in Constable, The Interpretation of Mary and Martha, in Three Studies, 20.
58 Constable, Three Studies, 20, 76.
59 Ibid., 91.
60 Ibid., 99.
61 Ibid., 98.
62 Ibid., 99.
112 Chapter 4
63
Gloss (interlinear and marginal) Langton

And my beloved says to me arise, Arise. That is, break off contemplation and
hurry, my beloved, my dove, my hurry, that is you must prepare to work in
beautiful one, and come. that is, gaining others (converts) or, arise from the
break off contemplation and labor love of earthly things so that you love
to gain other [converts], or arise heavenly things more than earthly things,
from the love of earthly things. and you must arise and hurry because the
Come to devote yourself to the time is short. I say arise, and you must
salvation of your neighbors because you are my beloved, whom I love
through sedulous attention to and who loves me. The interlinear [Gloss
preaching, so that you may be reads] and you must, et cetera. My dove,
worthy to be received with the pure and clean, illumined by the Holy
great company at the wedding Spirit. My beautiful one, through beauty of
[the heavenly banquet, as if [the morals. I say arise, hurry, and it must be
bridegroom says]: you believe you done because there is a time for all things
will quickly come [to me] if you go (Eccl. 3:11), and you are strengthened
apart in contemplation, but a by the Holy Spirit, and the hearers have
better way of coming [to me] is been prepared to undertake the faith.
through work of this kind. Arise. Certainly, therefore, before rest Paul swore
That is, [the bridegroom says:] to the bridegroom his labor of preaching.
break off contemplation and labor The Gloss [says] arise, hurry all things. I
to gain others, or arise from the say arise and come to fulfill the task of the
love of earthly things. And you salvation of all your neighbors, this is that
must arise because I love you and nuptial garment in the Gospel (Mt. 22:11),
you me. Hurry. Because the time is Friend, how did you get in here without
short. My dove. Pure of heart, not having (a nuptial garment), et cetera. This
envious, illumined by the Holy garment is [both] twofold and simple; the
Spirit. My beautiful one. Through simple garment is charity, which is suffi-
beauty of morals.63 cient for those who do not engage in the
cause of the preacher, but this is not
sufficient for others unless they have the
task of the salvation of their neighbors, so
63 id est interrumpe contemplationem et labora in acquisitione aliorum, vel surge ab amore

terrenorum. Veni ad impendendam etiam proximis curam salutis per studium sedulae
praedicationis ut cum magno comitatu ad nuptias merearis recipi, quasi: credis te ven-
turam si vacaveris contemplationem, sed venies melius per laborem huiusmodi; surge id
est interrumpe contemplationem et labora in acquisitione aliorum, vel surge ab amore
terrenorum, et debes surgere quia amo te et tu me; propera quia tempus breve; columba
mea simplex, non invida, spiritu sancto illustrate; formosa mea per morum pulchritudi-
nem. Dove, Glossa, II, 10, 90, 2428.
that therefore they are worthy to be received

at the nuptial banquet. You must take up the
twofold garment. It is indeed better to enter
into the wedding [the heavenly banquet]
with the great company than to go off alone
in contemplation. The Gloss [says] Come to
fulfill, et cetera, and below that you will
come better [to Christ through preaching],
et cetera. The rewards of preaching are
greater than those of rest; that is [he who]
preaches rather than contemplates will
enter the heavenly kingdom with the
greater company. And note that the com-
parison is not made unless (it is) between
one who is thus in contemplation and not in
the action of preaching and one who is in
contemplation and sometimes engaged in
preaching.64
64
The first thing one likely notices when looking at these two passages is Langtons
verbosity. He communicates both the Gloss interpretation of the text and his
own, which is very similar to the Gloss, but much more expansive. While the
Gloss certainly states that preaching should be preferred to contemplation and
64 Surge, id est, interrumpe contemplationem et propera labora in aliorum acquisitione vel

surge ab amorem terrenorum, ut plus celestia quam terrene ames et debes surgere et
propera quia tempus breve est. Dico surge et debes quia amica mea es quam amo et que
me amas. Hoc interlinearis [glossa] et debes et cetera. Columba mea simplex,et munda
spiritu sancto illustrata. per morum pulchritudinem. Dico surge et propera et faciendum
est quia omnia tempus habent et tu es solidata spiritu sancto et auditores parati sunt
fidem suscipere. Scilicet ergo quod Paulo ante quietem sponse adiurbat eius laborem
predicat. Hoc Glossa surge propera omnia et cetera. Dico surge et veni ad implendam
omnem proximi curam salutis, hec est illa vestis nuptialis de qua in evangelio, amice quo-
modo huc intrasti non habens, et cetera. Hec vestis duplex est et simplex, simplex vestis
est caritas que sufficit hiis quibus non est conmissa causa predicatoris sed hoc non sufficit
aliis nisi et curam salutis proximorum habent ut ergo digne ad nuptias merearis recipe.
Sume tibi duplicem vestem. Melius est enim magno comitatu ad nuptias intrare quam
solum et contemplationi vacare. Hoc Glossa veni ad implendam et cetera, et infra sed
venies melius etc Maior est fructus predicationis quam quietis, id est maiori comitatu
ingredietur celestem patriam predicator quam contemplator. Et nota quod non fit com
peratio nisi inter illum qui est ita in contemplatione quod non in predicandi acctione, et
illum qui est in contemplatione est quandoque in predicandi labore. Stephen Langton,
Arsenal, MS 64, f. 121va; BnF, MS lat. 14434, f. 123rb, Wien, ONB, MS 1301, f. 45rb-va.
114 Chapter 4
is a better way to come to Christ, Langtons statement is both more direct

and more dramatic in that he emphasizes that the rewards of preaching are
greater than those of rest; that is [he who] preaches rather than contemplates
will enter the heavenly kingdom with the greater company. While the task of
preaching is more burdensome than the security and peace of contemplation,
it is a task that aids more people and reaps greater rewards. He makes clear,
however, at the end of his interpretation of this passage that contemplation
does not bar one from entering heaven with the greater company. Langton
does not take issue with those who lead balanced lives, and indeed, as men-
tioned earlier, he would most likely argue along with his contemporaries that
a balanced life is best. Langton only seems to object to those who completely
isolate themselves from the world and ignore the Churchs appeal for aid, and
yet believe that they are pursuing the best path to salvation.
Despite this acceptance of a balanced life, Langton does tend to emphasize
the importance of the action of preaching. By saying It is indeed better to enter
into the wedding with the great company than to go off alone in contempla-
tion, Langton implies that those who devote all of their time to contemplation
do not merit entering heaven with the great company, which would presum-
ably include those engaged in the active life. In addition, Langton speaks of
arising from contemplation to action. As Giles Constable states, the image of
ascent and descent was often applied to the two lives, but more often in the
sense of rising from action to contemplation than the reverse.65 In Langtons
view, one must abandon contemplation and rise to action in order to heed
Christs call to preaching.
Repeating his assertion that the active life brings greater rewards than the
contemplative life is just one way in which Langton attempts to make his mes-
sage clear to his students. Langtons frequent use of the phrase I say arise
gives the passage a rhetorical quality that may have inspired students to turn
the words of the Lord into deed. In addition, Langton uses biblical examples
that the students would have been familiar with to elucidate his points. He
mentions that Paul swore to the bridegroom to engage in preaching and con-
version before rest. While the Gloss mentions the wedding or heavenly
banquet, Langton actually quotes the parable from which the Gloss takes its
reference (Mt. 22:11). This method may have helped encourage students to link
seemingly diverse biblical texts together, and in this case, students may have
recalled the closing line of this parable, which states For many are called, but
few are chosen (Mt. 22:14). This phrase neatly underscores the hopes that

Langton seems to be communicating in this passage: that the future preachers

in his classroom are among those who take up the task of preaching and
become worthy to be received at the heavenly banquet with the great com-
pany. These students are those few who are chosen.
It is important to unpack the dense language evident in this passage in order
to gain a greater understanding of what Langton was actually trying to com-
municate to his students. In describing the nuptial garment that the preacher
will be clothed in at the heavenly banquet from the parable in Matthew 22:11,
Langton calls it twofold and simple, arguing that the simple garment repre-
sents charity. While charity is sufficient for those who do not preach, Langton
stresses that preachers must take on the twofold garment, which would seem
to represent the love of both God and neighbor, a twofold love that can best
be expressed through participation in the active life. All of this is implied in
the text, but is not clearly stated, which lends credence to the idea that stu-
dents listening to a lecture like Langtons on the Song of Songs would have a
Glossed Bible in front of them so they could see where all the various biblical
references in the lecture originated and better understand the message com-
municated by the master.
Langton again echoes the Gloss, and also the various versions of Anselm of
Laons continuous commentary, in his exposition of Song of Songs 5:5, I arose
in order to open to my beloved. Langton writes,
I arose, that is, I interrupted my contemplation so that I might open to my

beloved, that is, so that I might open up sealed hearts to him. And note
that the bride is rightly reminded to arise first and open to her beloved
after, because it is necessary for the preacher to first arise to a good life
and afterwards administer his preaching to others, lest preaching to oth-
ers, he may himself be found to be reprobate. Thus, the Gloss says arise
from sleep, etc.66
66 Surrexi, id est conteplationem meam interrumpi ut aperirem meo dilecto id est resera-
rem conclusa corda ei. Et nota quod sponsa bene prius surrexisse et post ut aperiret
dilecto commemoratur quia necesse est ut predicator primo bona vita assurgat et postea
aliis predicare disponat ne aliis predicans ipse reprobus reperiatur hoc vult illa Glosa sur-
rexi a dormitione, etc. Stephen Langton, Arsenal, MS 64, f. 126rb; BnF, MS lat. 14434,
f. 128ra-b; Wien, ONB, MS 1301, f. 53rb. Compare this to the Gloss, which reads Surrexi a
dormitione ad laborem quia necesse est ut qui veritatem predicare disponit prius ad
agenda ea que predicat assurgat, ne aliis predicans ipse reprobus efficiatur. Dove, Glossa,
V, 5, 58, 48. Cf. Ideo surrexi id est a contemplationis mee quiete vacat ut aperire dilecto
meo id est reserarem ei occulta corda et quia ipse tetigit ventrem et ut bonum exemplum
116 Chapter 4
In Langtons work, we see both the idea of giving up contemplation for action
and the necessity of the preacher purging himself of sin in order to provide a
good example to the people and avoid being condemned for wrongdoing.
Langton links this back to another interpretation taken from the Gloss on Song
of Songs 5:4, my beloved put his hand through the aperture, and my insides
trembled at his touch. For this verse, Langton writes, or by insides, we can
understand soft and fragile preachers who fear to take up the office of preach-
ing because they find themselves less suitable.67 If, Langton seems to argue, a
preacher properly rids himself of vice and is willing to arise from contempla-
tion to action, he will have no need to fear for his suitability, and will be counted
among the strong and effective preachers, rather than the soft and fragile
ones.
As was the case with the Anselms commentary, the Gloss, and the Chanters
work, Langton also portrays Christ as a preacher himself and as desirous of
more preachers to take on important tasks in the Church. At times when
expressing this idea in his commentary, Langton simply replicates what the
Chanter had wrote in his commentary, clearly illustrating the Chanters influ-
ence on Langton. An example of this can be seen with Langtons gloss on Song
of Songs 2:12, the voice of the turtledove is heard in our land.
The voice of the turtledove, etc. [The bridegroom] had encouraged the
bride to the labor of preaching, but because she ought not refuse that
[labor], He makes clear the saviors example, because if Christ, who was
resting in the bosom of the Father, wished to descend[to earth] for us and
endure the burden of preaching for us, to a much greater extent the
members [of Christs Church], as it were, must arise and come. And you
must do this, because Christ himself came to preach.68
daret eis quibus predicaret. Anselm of Laon, Zwettl, Bibliothek des Zisterzienserstifts,
MS 390, f. 19r; Wien, ONB, MS 12762, f. 10v; Graz, Universittsbibliothek, MS 290, f. 220vb.
67 vel possumus intelligere per ventrem molles et fragiles predicatores qui officium predi-
cationis suscipientes timent quia se minus ydoneos cognoscunt. Stephen Langton, Arse-
nal, MS 64, f. 12rb; BnF, MS lat. 14434, f. 128ra; Wien, ONB, MS 1301, f. 53ra. Cf. the Gloss,
illorum qui predicationis officium suscipiunt quia se minus idoneos recognoscunt et
ideo timent. Dove, Glossa, V, 4, 50, 13.
68 Vox turturis, etc. invitaverat sponsam ad laborem predicationis sed quod istud recusare
non debeat ostendit exemplo salvatoris quia si Christus qui in sinu patris quiescebat
voluit pro nobis ad nostras descendere et honus predicationis subire multo magis et
membra sua quasi surge et veni et debes quia ipsemet Christus venit predicare. Stephen
Langton, Arsenal, MS 64, f. 121vb; BnF, MS lat. 14434, f. 123va; Wien, ONB, MS 1301, f. 45va.
This passage is almost identical to what the Chanter wrote on this particular
verse, that potential preachers must follow the example of Christ, who gave up
perfect contemplation and understanding alongside the Father to descend to
earth and preach. Both the Chanter and Langton, echoing the Gloss before
them, argue that preachers must, like Christ, work here on earth. They must
strike a careful balance between caring for the people of the Church and striv-
ing to win new converts and avoiding becoming overly attached to secular
affairs. It is clear in the work of Langton that preaching is difficult and can be
construed as a burden, but only the strongest can lift this burden and act as
guardians of the Church.
Langtons work on the Song of Songs represents another step in the evolu-
tion of the scholastic Song of Songs commentary. He incorporated material
from the Gloss, Anselm, and the Chanter while expanding upon the content of
their commentaries with his own verbose style. Langton goes further than any
of his sources in his support for the active life, arguing that preaching pays the
greatest benefits to both the preacher and the audience. As Riccardo Quinto
remarks, Langton privileged preaching in his commentary, and he goes fur-
ther than Peter the Chanter, underlining the dignity of an intellectual approach
to the Holy Scripture.69 Perhaps most important, however, is the very format
that his commentary takes. Langtons gloss on the Gloss raises the Glossed
Song of Songs to a more important level that we see in the Chanters commen-
tary because Langton cites it by name. He is careful, however, to separate his
own exegesis from that of the Gloss, which allows the reader to easily identify
sections where Langton goes beyond his sources and offers his own interpreta-
tions of the biblical text. As Quinto writes, Langton shows a certain continuity
between this attitude [toward preaching and Scripture] and the intellectual
skill that early Dominicans tried to attain in order to be effective in their pasto-
ral activity Stephen Langton is in this sense definitely not part of the
Compare this to the Chanter on this phrase, which was discussed above on page 126: Vox,
invitaverat sponsam ad laborem predicationis modo quod istud recusare non debeat
ostendit, exemplo salvatoris quia Christus qui in sinu patris quiescebat voluit pro nobis
ad nostras descendere et honus predicationis subire multo magis et membra sua quasi
surge et veni et debes quia etiam ipsum Christus venit predicare. Peter the Chanter,
Mazarine, MS 178, f. 45ra.
69 Riccardo Quinto, The Influence of Stephen Langton on the Idea of the Preacher in the De
eruditione predicatorum of Humbert of Romans and the Postille on the Scriptures of
Hugh of St-Cher, in Christ Among the Medieval Dominicans: Representations of Christ in
the Texts and Images of the Order of Preachers, Kent Emery, Jr. and Joseph Wawrykow, eds.
(Notre Dame, IN, 1998), 64.
118 Chapter 4
environment which produced monastic theology.70 Thus, these new develop-

ments in the format and content of Song of Songs commentaries lead to both
continuity and change as the mendicants inherit the task of scholastic biblical
exegesis in Paris.
70 Ibid.
Hugh of St. Cher and the Postill 119
Chapter 5
Hugh of St. Cher and the Postill: Reading the Song

of Songs as a Mendicant Text
The themes of the importance of preaching and the active life which are so
central to the Gloss and the Song of Songs commentaries of the figures explored
in previous chapters are also strikingly evident in the postills on the Bible
written under the guidance of the Dominican Hugh of St. Cher (c. 1190/1200
1263). Going beyond their predecessors, however, Hugh and his team will not
simply champion action in their Song of Songs postill, but will argue for the
superiority of the mendicant way of life above all other religious callings.
Before delving into the project that Hugh and his brothers undertook, there-
fore, it is important to note the changes happening in the Church around the
turn of the thirteenth century and the impact that both reform movements
and heresies had had on the direction of the Church so that we can account for
Hughs argument. We must, in short, see where Hugh and his brothers had
their origins in order to understand their particular reading of the Song of
Songs. The early thirteenth century saw a number of important developments
within the Church, including the founding of the monumentally significant
mendicant movements. While the impetus for these movements came from
figures like Francis and Dominic, without papal approval and acclaim, they
would not have been able to play the pivotal role they did in the history of the
Church.
A belief in the importance of preaching and support for a well-regulated
apostolic life is clearly evident in the sermons, letters, and actions of Popes
Innocent III (r. 11981216) and Honorius III (r. 12161227). Under the aegis of
these two popes, and due to the initiative of the mendicant leaders Francis and
Dominic, the program of preaching advocated by the masters of the sacred
page became a reality, and orthodox preachers took up the mantle of reform
that was in danger of being appropriated by heretics and lay preachers through-
out the twelfth century. Innocent and Honorius used the position as vicars of
Christ to promote preaching as a tool to combat heretics and Muslims, to con-
vert Jews, and to inspire Christians who had become lax in their faith. In a brief
thirty-year period, Innocent and Honorius enacted two of the most important
reforms of the medieval Church: the provisions of the Fourth Lateran Council
and the approval of the new mendicant orders. Both Innocent and Honorius
sought to bring about reform of the Church, clergy, and laity from the top

120 Chapter 5
down, which was precisely the kind of reform advocated in the Song of Songs
commentaries of Anselm and the Parisian masters. As Malcolm Lambert
remarks, Paris masters combined intellectual activity with action to instruct
the priesthood, and arm them against heretics, and the traditions of reform-
ing schoolmen thus contributed directly to the mendicant advance.1 Therefore,
the actions of Innocent III and Honorius III can be seen as the culmination of
the movement toward the active life that had been building among certain
schoolmen since the early twelfth century. The writings and actions of these
two popes clearly illustrate that the ideas circulating in biblical commentaries
had important practical implications.
Innocent in particular can be seen as an heir to this Parisian exegetical tra-
dition. Lotario of Segni, the future Innocent III, studied in Paris in the 1170s,
and as John C. Moore states, Lotarios stay in Paris probably lasted six to ten
years, giving him time to complete his studies in the liberal arts and to pursue
courses in theology.2 According to John W. Baldwin, Innocent may have had
an association with the circle of Peter the Chanter, and did study with Peter of
Corbeil, a theologian who was also interested in the practical problems that
Peter the Chanter and his associates were addressing.3 Consequently, Innocent
received the bulk of his training in an environment where scriptural study and
exegesis ultimately leading to preaching was paramount. This is reflected in his
theological treatises and especially in his sermons, which are, in the words of
Corinne J. Vause and Frank C. Gardiner, meta-pastoral, in that they teach the
pastoral role even as they are the means Innocent employs for carrying out that
role.4 What Innocent learned at Paris continued to influence him throughout
his career, and his enthusiasm for preaching is evident in his legislation at the
Fourth Lateran Council, as well as in his letters and sermons.
It is telling that Innocent was one of the few popes of the High Middle Ages
to have compiled a sermon collection. Vause and Gardiner go so far as to say
that before Innocents time, only Leo I (r. 44061) and Gregory I (r. 590604),
1 Lambert, Medieval Heresy, 99. I do not argue here that Innocent and Honorius were directly
influenced through reading the previously discussed Song of Songs commentaries, but simply
that the ideas circulating in Laon and then in Paris certainly had an impact on two men whom
we might call biblical-moral popes.
2 John C. Moore, Pope Innocent III (1160/611216): To Root Up and to Plant (Leiden, 2003), 8.
3 Baldwin, Masters, Princes, and Merchants, 343, 18, 46. Baldwin notes on page 46 that none of
his [Peter of Corbeils] academic writings have been successfully identified, but works that
he is suspected of authoring investigate the sorts of practical problems that also interested
Peter the Chanter.
4 Corinne J. Vause and Frank C. Gardiner, Pope Innocent III: Between God and Man: Six Sermons
on the Priestly Office (Washington, DC, 2004), xiv.
also men deeply engaged in administrative and secular affairs, had left such
extensive homiletic legacies.5 This would appear to be illustrative of the
importance Innocent and other secular clergy placed on preaching, and
indeed, of the growing need for the reform of the Church. Innocents collection
of 79 sermons, which are included in volume 217 of the Patrologia Latina,
seems to have been compiled between 12011205.6 John C. Moore writes that
there is evidence in the sermons that they were actually given, including occa-
sional phrases indicating that Innocent has become aware his is running on
too long and must cut the sermon short.7 Much can be gleaned from these
sermons and from Innocents letters about his attitude toward preaching and
the value of the active life.8
In particular, a letter Innocent sent to Arnald, the abbot of Cteaux, to serve
as a prologue to his sermon collection illustrates Innocents commitment to
the duty of preaching and his recognition of its power. He wrote to Arnald
that [a]mong the many ministries that belong to the pastoral office, the virtue
of holy preaching is the most excellent [i]ndeed preaching has such great
power that it calls the soul back from error to truth, and from vices to virtues.9
In their acknowledgement of the preeminence of preaching, these senti-
ments echo those seen in the Song of Songs commentaries of Anselm and the
Parisian masters. For all these men, instructing others in the faith and building
upon the foundation of the Scriptures is the most difficult, most rewarding,
and most important task that any clergyman could perform. Innocents letter
to the Bishop of Cagliari (quoted above, p. 111) reinforces this idea by declaring
that the active life should be favored over the contemplative.
Innocent, like the masters who preceded him, believed that the clergy must
reform itself before the wider goals of preaching could be accomplished. As
Vause and Gardiner state, [b]ecause the reformation of the clergy was at the
heart of Innocents plan for the reformation of the [C]hurch, his instructions
on the nature of priesthood give us a valuable key for understanding the
5 Ibid., xiii.
6 John C. Moore, The Sermons of Pope Innocent III, in Rmische Historische Mitteilungen, 36
(Vienna, 1994), 81142, at 87.
7 Ibid., 83.
8 Innocent, like the other men discussed in this book, was heavily indebted to Gregory the Great
for his thoughts on pastoral care and his writings; for further discussion on the relationship
between Innocent and Gregory, see Christoph Eggers essay, The Growling of the Lion and
the Humming of the Fly: Gregory the Great and Innocent III, in Frances Andrews, Christoph
Egger, and Constance M. Rousseau, eds., Pope, Church and City: Essays in Honour of Brenda M.
Bolton (Leiden, 2004), 1346.
9 Vause and Gardiner, Pope Innocent III: Between God and Man, 4.
122 Chapter 5
attitudes he held while undertaking that reform.10 Innocent and the Parisian
secular masters emphasized the role of priests as intermediaries between
Christ and His people, and thus stressed that priests must be morally upright
in order to properly communicate Christs message. This message is particu-
larly present in Innocents sermon to the Roman synod. In this sermon,
Innocent outlined how priests should behave and what their duties entailed.
He wrote that priests are held to a higher standard than the laity, and that the
sin of the priest is equivalent to the sin of the whole people because the priest,
in his sin, brings guilt down upon the people.11 The priest serves as an exam-
ple to his congregation, so many sins are venial for the laity that are mortal
sins for the clergy.12 Any priest who commits sins infects those under his pas-
toral care, so Innocent emphasized that more than anyone else, priests must
strive to live blameless lives. The consequences if they fail to live up to this
standard is a theme touched upon in the Gloss, which warns preachers to avoid
sin, lest when they preach to others they themselves are found reprobate.13
Innocent quotes this same passage in his letter to Arnald of Cteaux, and also
urges clergy not to look to favorably on their own preaching skill, noting that
certainly the dust of vainglory often clings to the feet of preachers.14 Innocent
and his predecessors argued that only those who were morally pure were able
to successfully take up the burden of preaching.
Going hand in hand with this moral reform of the clergy was the need for
educational reform. The Parisian masters felt strongly that scriptural interpre-
tation was an activity which required rigorous orthodox training, and they
viewed lay attempts to read and explain the Bible as roughly the equivalent of
a modern persons practicing surgery or dentistry without any formal educa-
tion laughable if it were not so dangerous.15 The training and moral rectitude
necessary for priests discussed above was important precisely because a grow-
ing number of laypeople were growing dissatisfied with inadequate clergy and
wished to interpret Scripture for themselves. As noted in Chapters 1 and 2, the
Church hierarchy seemed to lag behind popular wandering preachers like
Norbert of Xanten and Robert of Arbrissel in its attempts to satisfy some lay-
people who showed a growing interest in reading Scripture and leading the
apostolic life.
10 Ibid., xxvii.
11 Ibid., 11.
12 Ibid., 9.
13 See above, Chapter 2, 69.
15 Moore, Pope Innocent III, 10.
By the late twelfth century, Innocent was forced to confront the problem of
laypeople gathering to read and interpret vernacular translations of Scripture,
an act which teetered dangerously on the brink of heresy. A revealing example
of Innocents attempts to deal with this problem can be found in his letter to
the people of Metz, written in 1199. In the letter, addressed to the citizens of the
diocese as whole, Innocent expressed his alarm over supposed secret gather-
ings of laypeople to read vernacular Scripture. He emphasized that the desire
to understand the divine Scriptures and to encourage enthusiasm for them
deserves not censure, but praise, making clear that he wants the laity to be
involved in the Church, one of the overarching goals of his pontificate.16
Innocent does not hesitate, however, to announce to the people of Metz that
they deserve to be criticized for holding their meetings in secret, usurping the
office of preaching, making fun of the priests simple-mindedness, and scorn-
ing the company of those not interested in such things.17 Although Innocent
realized that there were many parish priests who were unequipped to shep-
herd their flocks, above all he cautioned the laity in Metz that they must honor
the dignity of the priestly office, and not try to usurp it in any way.
Innocent used scriptural references to argue against secret meetings and to
upbraid the citizens for criticizing even simpleminded priests, who should
really be chastised in the spirit of mildness by the bishop for whose correction
he is appointed.18 The letter ended on a threatening note, with Innocent
writing, [u]nless you humbly and devoutly accept our fatherly correction and
admonition, we will pour wine on after the oil, and apply ecclesiastical sever-
ity, so that those who would not willingly obey may learn to give in even against
their will.19 This warning helps to reinforce the scriptural arguments Innocent
made earlier in the letter and allows him to deftly and subtly outline the spiri-
tual consequences that those who continue to defy him will face. When
confronted with out-and-out heresy, however, Innocent did not fail to strike
more harshly with both the spiritual and the temporal sword.20
16 Innocent III, Letter to the People of Metz, (1199) in Julius Kirshner and Karl F. Morrison,
eds., University of Chicago Readings in Western Civilization: Vol. 4-Medieval Europe (Chi-
cago, 1986), 363.
17 Ibid.
18 Ibid., 365.
19 Ibid., 3678.
20 When confronted with religious groups that had earlier been deemed to be heretics, such
as the Humiliati, Innocent granted many of them at least some form of approval, see Fran-
ces Andrews article Innocent III and Evangelical Enthusiasts: The Route to Approval in
John C. Moore, ed., Pope Innocent III and His World, (Aldershot, 1999), 229241. For more
on Innocents decretals dealing with heresy, particularly the decretal Vergentis of 1199, see
124 Chapter 5
There is no doubt that the increasing activity throughout parts of Europe of

those the Church considered heretics was one impetus for Innocents interest
in preaching. The heresies discussed in Chapter 1 continued to spread through-
out the twelfth century, and by the time of Innocents papacy, Catharism and
Waldensianism were strong forces. Despite the fact that we can identify the
heretics that threatened the Church at this time, Innocent, like Anselm, the
Chanter, and Langton, is distressingly vague about the heresies that preachers
must combat. He does argue, in his sermon to the Roman synod, that heretics
look for preachers to commit errors, in order to prey on the weak minds of the
congregation and lure them into heresy. He wrote, [w]hen heretics see us sin,
they teach that alms should not be given to us, drawing on the authority of
Sacred Scripture . When heretics see us sin, they teach that our preaching
should not be listened to, proving this by the authority of Sacred Scripture.21
These heretics, like the crafty foxes who populate the Song of Songs commen-
taries of Anselm and the Parisian masters, are well-versed in Scripture and able
to draw on that knowledge to argue against orthodox preachers.22
To confront these heretics, particularly those in Languedoc, Innocent
appealed to the Cistercians in the first year of his pontificate to go out and
preach.23 In letters written to persuade the Cistercians, Beverly Mayne Kienzle
notes that Innocent laid out his argument for the importance of preaching,
noting that it was necessary even for the Cistercians to leave the contempla-
tive life of Rachel and Mary and to take on the burden of Leah or the service of
Martha.24 The Cistercians continued in their roles as preachers even when the
papal legate Peter of Castelnau was murdered in 1208, which led Innocent to
call the Albigensian Crusade. The Cistercians and Innocent made use of the
vineyard imagery so prevalent in the Song of Songs, and wrote and preached
about the little foxes who persisted in destroying the Lords vineyard. Joining
the Cistercians in Languedoc were popular preachers who were associated
Keith H. Kendall, Mute Dogs, Unable to Bark: Innocent IIIs Call to Combat Heresy, in
Wolfgang P. Mller and Mary E. Sommer, eds., Medieval Church Law and the Origins of the
Western Legal Tradition: A Tribute to Kenneth Pennington (Washington, DC, 2006), 170178.
22 For more on Innocent III and the members of the biblical-moral school on orthodoxy vs.
heresy, see Jessalyn Bird, The Construction of Orthodoxy and the (De)construction of
Heretical Attacks on the Eucharist in Pastoralia from Peter the Chanters Circle in Paris
in Caterina Bruschi and Peter Biller, eds., Texts and the Repression of Medieval Heresy
(York, 2003), 4561.
23 Innocent was also sending popular preachers and trying to recruit the Cistercians to
preach a crusade in the East.
24 Kienzle, Cistercians, Heresy and Crusade, 1356.
with the circle of Peter the Chanter, most notable Fulk de Neuilly and Jacques
de Vitry. Kienzle notes that these [c]onnections between the Cistercians and
the Chanters circle illustrate the white monks involvement in the ambitious
program of reform mandated by Innocent III.25 This broad coalition speaks to
Innocents belief that preaching was the most powerful spiritual weapon avail-
able to combat the incursions of heretics into orthodox society.
The culmination of Innocents reform program was the legislation enacted
at the Fourth Lateran Council in 1215. Broadly stated, Innocents goals in
convening the council were rooting up vices and planting virtues, correct-
ing excesses and reforming morals, eliminating heresies and strengthening
faith among other things, including calling the Fifth Crusade.26 Several of
the canons reflected Innocents desire to enact far-reaching moral reforms.
Canons 7 and 8 called for investigation into any sin or wrongdoing by a prel-
ate and canons 10 and 11 guaranteed that the material and educational needs
of the clergy would be met, which would ensure that they were prepared to
lead by word and example. Canon 10 in particular asked bishops to appoint
suitable men, potent in work and word, to carry on the office of holy preach-
ing in a beneficial way.27 These canons are perhaps the strongest indicator of
Innocents devotion to the priesthood. Clergy was to be supported, and their
moral character was to be strictly upheld so that the laity could reap the ben-
efits of honest preaching. Phyllis B. Roberts writes that Innocent served as a
model preacher who set an example with his own preaching and his reform
program, and that [m]asters in the cathedral schools in Paris who were
trained in theology, such as Stephen Langton, later archbishop of Canterbury,
Peter the Chanter, and Robert of Courson, responded to this call.28 Innocent
certainly played a pivotal role in bringing about the reform of the clergy and
laity, but it is important to note that rather than responding to his call for
preaching, Langton and especially the Chanter were on the vanguard of this
movement, calling for more widespread preaching and the education of clergy
well before 1215. We must not underestimate the role that these secular mas-
ters, stretching back to Anselm of Laon in the early twelfth century, played
25 Ibid., 173.
26 Moore, Pope Innocent III, 207.
27 James M. Powell, The Prefatory Letters to the Sermons of Pope Honorius III and the
Reform of Preaching in Rivista di Storia della Chiesa in Italia 33 (1979), 95. These canons
echo the ideas about the morality of preachers put forth by Anselm, the Gloss, the
Chanter, and Langton in their Song of Songs commentaries.
28 Phyllis B. Roberts, Preaching in/and the Medieval City, in Medieval Sermons and Society:
Cloister, City, University: Proceedings of International Symposia at Kalamazoo and New York
(Louvain-la-Neuve, 1998), 1534.
126 Chapter 5
in spurring concrete reforms with the exhortations to the active life that are
infused throughout their commentaries on the Song of Songs.
After the death of Innocent III in 1216, Honorius III succeeded him as pon-
tiff and sought to further develop the program laid out by his predecessor.
Honorius writings and personality seem to pale in comparison to Innocent,
who was certainly a more dynamic pontiff, and who brought the papacy to the
height of its power. Nevertheless, in many ways Honorius strove to continue
Innocents legacy of reform, and his sermons extend a pastoral message even
further than Innocent IIIs writings. Since Innocent died in 1216 soon after the
adjournment of the Fourth Lateran Council, it was left to Honorius to carry out
the canons and the reform of preaching. As James M. Powell notes, one of the
most significant changes to occur during [Honorius IIIs] pontificate was the
emergence of the mendicant orders, and particularly the Dominicans, as pop-
ular preachers.29 Honorius was instrumental in encouraging the growth of the
mendicant orders and in urging them to preach. He went even further by send-
ing his sermon collections to the Dominicans, Cistercians, and others,
indicating that like Innocent, Honorius wished to cultivate a broad base of
support for pastoral missions and reform. Powell argues that by sending his
sermon collections to the Dominicans first (c. 12201), Honorius was indicating
that he had marked the Dominicans as the group most suited to carry out
canon 10 of the Fourth Lateran Council.30 Thus, Honorius continued in the
tradition of his predecessor Innocent and the Parisian masters in recognizing
the power of preaching and its usefulness in carrying out reform.
The commitment to preaching and the active life evinced by Innocent and
Honorius echoed the reform movement already underway in the schools as
shown in the Gloss and the Song of Songs commentaries of Anselm, the
Chanter, and Langton. This commitment also paved the way for the confirma-
tion and support of the Franciscan and Dominican orders, who would carry
out the mission of preaching. Innocents blueprint for moral reform had been
provided by works like the Gloss and the commentaries of the Parisian mas-
ters. Innocent and Honorius bridged the gap between the scholastic masters
and the mendicants, imparting the message of reform to a new type of reformer.
As Phyllis B. Roberts reminds us, it is important to see [t]he founding of the
mendicant orders and their rapid spread throughout the cities of western
Europe in the course of the thirteenth century as part of this ongoing effort
by the Church to educate and persuade the laity of the medieval city.31 Now
29 Powell, The Prefatory Letters, 96.

30 Ibid., 100.
31 Roberts, Preaching in/and the Medieval City, 154.
that the clergy had been placed on the path toward reform, the laity, and in
particular urban populations like that in Paris, became the focus of the mendi-
cants. The following chapter will explore Hugh of St. Cher, a member of one of
these new mendicant orders, the Order of Preachers, and his supervision of the
project to assemble wide-ranging postills on the entire Bible in the 1230s. Hugh
and the Dominicans on his exegetical team incorporated the old traditions of
the Gloss with the opinions of the biblical-moral school. The importance of
preaching and the active life remains a central theme in Hughs postill on the
Song of Songs. Innocent and Honorius, perhaps more than anyone else, fos-
tered this tradition of biblical exegesis that was subsequently adopted and
further transformed by mendicants in the thirteenth century.
Within a few short decades of their foundation, the mendicant orders that
Innocent III and Honorius III had championed had established themselves as
leaders of thirteenth-century Parisian intellectual life, establishing studia
where they studied and taught the Bible. The establishment of these orders
had a prodigious impact on the Church for many reasons, not the least of
which was that after the departure of the theology master Stephen Langton
from Paris in 1206, the secular masters in particular gradually abandoned the
practice of lecturing ex cathedra on different biblical books and circulating
their biblical lecture courses in extended published commentaries.32 It was
left to the mendicants to take up the task of teaching and writing on the Bible
that Anselm and the Parisian moralists had done so extensively, and they cer-
tainly answered the call. The Dominican Hugh of St. Cher was prominent
among these early mendicants, and in the 1230s, Hugh and a team of fellow
Dominicans at the Parisian studium of St. Jacques produced three massive
scriptural projects: a biblical concordance, a correctorium, and postills encom-
passing the entire Bible.33 Since, as Bert Roest remarks, solid biblical learning
was a cornerstone of the Dominican identity from the outset, it is not surpris-
ing that a Dominican team would work to reshape how medieval students and
masters used the Bible.34 This postill project was a remarkable undertaking,
32 Bert Roest, Mendicant School Exegesis, In The Practice of the Bible in the Middle Ages:
Production, Reception, and Performance in Western Christianity, eds. Susan Boynton and
Diane J. Reilly (New York, 2011), 180181.
33 For Hughs biographical data, including his time as a cardinal, see Jacques Verger, Hugues
de Saint-Cher dans le Contexte Universitaire Parisien, 1322, and Pierre-Marie Gy,
Hugues de Saint-Cher Dominicain, 2328, in Hugues de Saint-Cher (+1263), Bibliste et
thologien, eds. Louis-Jacques Bataillon, Gilbert Dahan, and Pierre-Marie Gy (Turnhout,
2004).
34 Roest, Mendicant School Exegesis, 179.
128 Chapter 5
which may have had the goal of supplanting the Glossa Ordinaria and incorpo-
rating interpretations of the Bible produced since the writing of the Gloss.
Most scholars agree that Hugh was successful in establishing the postills as
a major biblical reference used in the schools; Gilbert Dahan has called the
postills the most important commentary of the thirteenth century (by its
impact), and Beryl Smalley asserts that the postills were to be found on the
shelves of any self-respecting library in the later middle ages.35 The postills
were also printed many times between the late fifteenth and eighteenth centu-
ries, suggesting that they had a lasting impact on biblical exegesis. The height
of Hugh of St. Chers career as an exegete in Paris came between 12301240, at
the precise moment when theology was being constructed as a science, sepa-
rate from the study of Scripture, and school exegesis was evolving into a
particular kind of university exegesis.36 Martin Morard notes that there are
numerous details that indicate they [the postills] were addressed to a univer-
sity public, and Patricia Stirnemann, in her work on postills manuscripts,
refers to Sorbonne 16, a pecia manuscript prepared for a university audience.37
Hughs work on the postills project, however, pertains more to the genre of
exegesis of the schools than to that of university exegesis, which grew during
his lifetime.38 Instead of serving as a link between school exegesis and the
more structured and scientific exegesis of the universities, Hugh connects two
other medieval intellectual traditions. His work connects the biblical-moral
school and the mendicant movement by injecting the ideals of both groups
into his postills. Thus, Hughs postills can be seen as the culmination in a way
of the exegetical work of the Gloss, Anselm of Laon, and the members of the
biblical-moral school. He employs their ideas, but lends them a particularly
mendicant sensibility, producing a postill that serves as an ideal endpoint for
an investigation of Song of Songs exegesis in the schools.39
The most extensive investigations into Hughs postills in the mid-twentieth
century were made by Beryl Smalley, who incorporated sections on the postills
into both The Study of the Bible in the Middle Ages and The Gospels in the
Schools. In recent years, scholars have begun to answer Smalleys call for a
35 Gilbert Dahan, Genres , 211; Smalley, Study of the Bible, 270.

36 Bataillon, Hugues de Saint-Cher (+1263), 7.
37 Martin Morard, Hugues de Saint-Cher, Commentateur des Psaumes, 122; Patricia Stirne-
mann, Les Manuscrits de La Postille, 34. Both in Hugues de Saint-Cher (+1263), Bibliste et
thologien.
39 See also M. Michle Mulchahey, First the Bow is Bent in Study: Dominican Education
Before 1350 (Toronto, 1998), especially 485506 for an overview of the postills project.
critical study of the manuscript tradition and the sources of Hughs postills.40
The proceedings of a 2000 international colloquium on Hugh of St. Cher spear-
headed by Louis-Jacques Bataillon, Gilbert Dahan, and Pierre-Marie Gy held in
Paris contains a number of papers that help to clarify Hughs life and his exe-
getical, homiletic, and theological work.41 Perhaps the most important
discovery that scholars studying Hugh have made was that the postill project
was a collaborative effort. These scholars acknowledge that the sheer size and
breadth of the postills renders unlikely the idea that Hugh alone wrote or com-
piled them. As Robert E. Lerner remarks, not only is it inconceivable that a
single individual could have accomplished such a vast amount of work by him-
self while also attending to weighty academic, homiletic, and administrative
responsibilities, but the postills contain within them differing opinions that
attest to multiple authorship.42 Nonetheless, the postills circulated under
Hughs name, and he likely directed any collaborative effort to write the works,
so I will refer to the authors of the postills as Hugh or occasionally Hugh and
his team or make reference to the Hugh postill throughout this chapter.43

41 The proceedings are collected in Hugues de Saint-Cher (+1263), a volume containing
twenty invaluable articles on Hugh and his works. See note 33 above.
42 Robert E. Lerner, The Vocation of the Friars Preacher: Hugh of St. Cher between Peter the
Chanter and Albert the Great, in Hugues de Saint-Cher (+1263), Bibliste et thologien, 215.
Lerner also expressed this idea in his earlier work Poverty, Preaching, and Eschatology in
the Revelation Commentaries of Hugh of St. Cher, in The Bible in the Medieval World:
Essays in Memory of Beryl Smalley, ed. K. Walsh and D. Wood (Oxford, 1985), 157189.
Philippe Buc has also noted that political opinions expressed in the postill differ from one
book to another, lending credence to the idea that the postills were a collaborative proj-
ect. See Philippe Buc, LAmbiguit du Livre, (Paris, 1994), 64. Lesley Smiths contribution to
a volume honoring the late Michael Signer serves as an important corrective to this idea.
Smith notes that scholars such as Lerner and Riccardo Quinto who have argued that the
postills were a collaborative project do not have much evidence for this claim, and tend
to quote each other when making this assertion. Both Lerner and Quinto refer to Hugh
when discussing the postills, emphasizing the notion that Hugh himself was not solely
responsible for their authorship. Ultimately, Smith rejects this notion and argues that
Hugh played a role as the controlling mind in writing and producing the Postilla at St.
Jacques. See Lesley Smith, Hugh of St. Cher and Medieval Collaboration, in Transform-
ing Relations: Essays on Jews and Christians Throughout History in Honor of Michael A.
Signer, ed. Franklin T. Harkins (Notre Dame, 2010), 241264.
43 I will not follow the practice of Lerner and Quinto of always placing Hughs name in quo-
tation marks. Although I make no pretensions to know whether or not Hugh of St. Cher
can be considered the author of the postills, as I argue in this chapter, the postill on the
Song of Songs attributed to Hugh does seem to have a cohesive message and distinctive
character.
130 Chapter 5
One question that many have struggled with is why these works were known
as postills. Beryl Smalley notes that the term may derive from post illa verba,
which may refer to the fact that the comment was written out as a continuous
gloss, interposed between the loci of the text.44 Smalley also mentions that
this became the standard term for texts of this kind, and that the term can be
used to refer to commentaries emanating from the schools.45 In any case,
the precise meaning of the term still remains elusive. As mentioned above, in
the intervening years between the production of the Gloss and the issuance of
Hughs postills, many new scriptural interpretations had appeared. Smalley
argues that Hugh and his team had a systematic goal in mind when producing
his postills: he wanted to supplant the Gloss as the established reference Bible
used in the schools and include these new interpretations, especially those of
the members of the biblical-moral school.46 Lerner is less certain that the
authors of the Hugh postill had this particular goal in mind, asserting that the
postills more closely resemble a great bulging duffle bag crammed with all
sorts of interpretations rather than a systematic supplement to the Gloss, and
that we cannot know exactly what goal Hugh and his team had in mind when
composing the postills.47 In any case, as Gilbert Dahan notes, these new works,
especially those commentaries by Peter the Chanter and Stephen Langton, had
in a way completed the Gloss and become the commentaries of reference in
Paris by the beginning of the thirteenth century.48 Hughs postills in turn
added to the available interpretations. Hugh was also careful to incorporate
other current interpretations of the Song of Songs into his postill, including
works by the Cistercians Bernard of Clairvaux and Thomas the Cistercian, and
various aspects of the Marian interpretation of the book popularized by
monks. In combining the Gloss, with its vast compendium of the scriptural
interpretations of the Church Fathers, with contemporary works on the van-
guard of biblical exegesis, Hugh was able to produce a work that remained the
standard biblical reference for the rest of the thirteenth century, whether he
intended to or not.
Patricia Stirnemann, Bruno Carra de Vaux, and others have noted that most
of Hughs postills exist in both long and short versions.49 The short versions, as

45 Ibid. Smalley argues that postilla may have replaced glossa because the latter term was
beginning to have a pejorative sense.
47 Lerner, The Vocation of the Friars Preacher, 216.
49 See Patricia Stirnemann, Les Manuscrits de La Postille, in Hugues de Saint-Cher (+1263),
Bibliste et thologien, 3142, which provides invaluable information on the collections of
postill manuscripts and their provenance.
Carra de Vaux writes, appear more neglected: their style is more syncopated,
sometimes at the risk of becoming obscure, and biblical quotations are incom-
plete, with only the first word or two presented.50 The short versions of the
postills are not simply abridgements of the long; they seem less concerned
with interpreting some verses, but give longer expositions of others than the
long version, so the relationship between the two versions of the texts remains
somewhat obscure and cannot be generalized.51 It is difficult to say why there
are two versions of the postills; Beryl Smalleys idea that the only safe hypoth-
esis must be that the postills were given as lectures in some places and in some
places reported, either before or after the travail dquipe of Hugh and his assis-
tants, still seems to be the best available explanation.52
For the Song of Songs postill, Friedrich Stegmller notes that the long version
is found in a series of printed editions produced in Venice in the early eigh-
teenth century. These Venetian editions are by no means the earliest editions
of the postills that were produced; there are, for example, editions of Hughs
postills printed in Basel, 14981502 and Paris, 1531 and 1539.53 Nevertheless, the
printed editions seem to always contain the same text, so the Venetian editions
of the eighteenth century and the earlier (and later) editions are essentially
the same. There do not appear to be any surviving manuscripts that contain
the long version of the postill.54 The short version exists in four manuscripts,
including three located in Paris.55 For the purposes of this study, I have used
the long version of the Song of Songs postill in the Venetian edition of 1732,
found at the Newberry Library in Chicago.56
50 apparat plus nglig: son style est plus syncop, au risque parfois dtre obscure.
Citant lEcriture, il se contente souvent de quelques premiers mots de la phrase, laise
incomplte Bruno Carra de Vaux, La Constitution du Corpus Exgtique, in Hugues
de Saint-Cher (+1263), Bibliste et thologien,4363, at 49. Here, I take Carra de Vaux to mean
by the term syncopated that Hugh and his team cut out certain words of the text in
constructing the short versions of the postills.
51 Ibid., 51. Lesley Smith argues that the short versions may have not been supervised by
Hugh, who would have been a cardinal by the time the earliest surviving manuscripts of
the short versions were produced. See Hugh of St. Cher and Medieval Collaboration, in
Transforming Relations, 254.
52 Beryl Smalley, The Gospels in the Schools, c. 11001280 (London, 1985), 126.
53 Lerner, Poverty, Preaching, and Eschatology, 158.
54 Athanasius Sulavik notes that this is also the case for the postill on Baruch; the long ver-
sion of the postill remains only in these Venetian printed editions. Athanasius Sulavik,
Hugh of St. Chers Postill on the Book of Baruch: The Work of a Medieval Compiler or
Biblical Exegete? in Hugues de Saint-Cher (+1263), Bibliste et thologien, 155171, at 158.
55 Friedrich Stegmller, Repertorium Biblicum, v. 3, 136.
56 Hugh of St. Cher, Opera omnia in universum Vetus et Novum Testamentum, vol. III (Venice,
1732).
132 Chapter 5
The postill on the Song of Songs is certainly a wide-ranging work, contain-

ing many different modes of biblical interpretation. In the Venetian edition,
there are notations indicating the kind of scriptural interpretation presented
in the columns scattered throughout the text. The types of interpretation most
frequently noted are the moral and mystical. These notations are often repeated
in the body of the text itself, reading for example, moraliter secundum B.
Greg. Or Mystice. Potest hoc exponi secundum nominum interpretationem.57
In addition to these notations, the edition also contains scattered notations
reading aliter, which point out each new interpretation in the text. Hugh also
relates the literal or historical interpretations of many verses, but these are
almost never marked with notations indicating what the sense is. An example
of this can be seen in Hughs exposition of the Song of Songs text at 1:12, A little
bundle of myrrh is my beloved to me, which he begins by borrowing from the
Gloss, writing Myrrh is an Arabian tree, five cubits in height.58 While Hughs
commentaries on some verses of the Song of Songs are lengthier and more in
depth than others, he offers at least one literal, moral, and mystical interpreta-
tion for every verse.
Another prominent feature in Hughs postill is the presence of distinctiones,
or different definitions for words, in this case found in biblical quotations, that
preachers could use to further develop their sermons. As Athanasius Sulavik
remarks, these distinctiones were common at the time and would have pro-
vided accessory material which could easily be inserted into a sermon.59 The
Song of Songs postill is studded with these distinctiones, which are often noted
in the margins as, for example, Triplex onus amoris, or Quatuor soni.60 The
Hugh postill then gives the various senses of the keys words chosen, which
allows for the development of the various spiritual and moral meanings of the
text. An example of a distinctio in the Song of Songs postill can be found at 1:15,
57 Hugh of St. Cher, Opera omnia, III, f. 108rb; f. 107vb.

58 Myrrha est arbor Arabie, quinque cubitorum altitudinis. Hugh of St. Cher, Opera omnia,
III, f. 111ra.
59 Sulavik, Hugh of St. Chers Postill on the Book of Baruch, 162. In addition, there is a wide
array of secondary literature on the development of sermons in the twelfth and thir-
teenth centuries and beyond. See, for example, Nicole Brious seminal work, Lavnement
des Mitres de la Parole: la Prdication Paris au XIII e sicle, vv. 1 and 2 (Paris, 1998) and her
volume edited with Franco Morenzoni, Prdication et liturgie au Moyen ge (Turnhout,
2008). Other useful works on the history of medieval preaching include the volume edited
by Jacqueline Hamesse and Xavier Hermand, De lHomlie au Sermon: Histoire de la Prdi-
cation Mdivale (Louvain-la-Neuve, 1993), and the volume directed by Beverly Mayne
Kienzle, The Sermon. Typologie des sources du Moyen Age, fasc. 8183 (Turnhout, 2000).
60 These notations are found on f. 107va and f. 119ra, respectively.
our bed is flowery. After lengthy explanations of the literal, moral, and mys-
tical senses of this verse, Hugh explains that
this bed is also usually separated into four different aspects. The first is
the filthy bed of wantons, which is bad. Second is the lasting bed of mar-
ried people, which is good. Third is the pure bed of those abstaining,
which is better. Fourth is the flowery bed of the virgin, which is best. Of
the first bed, in Romans 13d, it says not in reveling and drunkenness, not
in debauchery and licentiousness. [Rom. 13:13]. Of the second bed
Hebrews 13a says Let marriage be held in honor by all, and let the mar-
riage bed be kept undefiled. [Heb. 13:4]. Of the third bed, Luke 11a says
Do not bother me; the door has already been locked, and my children are
with me in bed [Lk. 11:7], that is, good desire and good work in a chaste
heart. About which it is rightly said: this bed is pure because it has been
washed in the tears of penitence. From whence Psalm 6 says every night
I will wash my bed, I will water my couch with my tears. [Ps. 6:7]. Of the
fourth bed, this is said: Our bed is flowery, [Song 1:15].61
This distinctio enumerates the various meanings of the word bed for preach-
ers, and then offers biblical quotations suitable for each meaning. It is easy to
see that these distinctiones would be useful tools for preachers, who could pick
and choose meanings and quotations that would suit their purpose. The pres-
ence of these distinctiones in the postill indicates that it was meant to be used
as a tool for preachers in addition to its role as a schoolbook and Gloss supple-
ment, which is not surprising, given that the postill was composed by members
of the Order of Preachers.
As may be expected for such an ambitious and extensive work, the postills
of Hugh of St. Cher appear to be influenced by a wide variety of sources. The
works that exerted the most influence on the postill on the Song of Songs were
the Gloss, the Song of Songs commentaries of Peter the Chanter and Thomas
61 Solet autem quadruplex lectus hic distingui. Primus est sordidus luxuriosorum, malus.
Secundus solidus conjugatorum, bonus. Tertius candidus continentium, melior. Quartus
floridus virginum, optimus. De primo dicitur Rom. 13d. Non in comestationibus, et ebrie-
tatibus, non in cubilibus, et impudicitiis. De secundo Heb. 13a. Honorabile connubium in
omnibus, et thorus immaculatus. De tertio dicitur Luc. 11a. Noli mihi molestus esse; iam
ostium clausum est, et pueri mei mecum sunt in cubili, id est bona desideria, et bona
opera in casto corde. Unde recte dicitur: candidus lectus iste, quia lotus lachrymis peni-
tentie. Unde Psal 6. Lavabo per singulas noctes lectum meum, lachrymis meis stratum
meum rigabo. De quarto dicitur hic: Lectulus noster floridus. Hugh of St. Cher, Opera
omnia, III, f. 112rb.
134 Chapter 5
the Cistercian (d. 1198), and the works of Bernard of Clairvaux, especially his
sermons on the Song of Songs. These first two sources are not surprising, since
the Gloss was a well-known textbook to which Hugh and his team may have
wanted to add new information, and the Chanters attitude toward preaching
meshed well with Hughs own. The expansive use of Cistercian texts, however,
sets Hughs postill apart from the Song of Songs commentaries of the biblical-
moral school, and will be discussed in more detail below.
One may perhaps anticipate that Stephen Langtons work would influence
Hughs postills, and indeed, as Riccardo Quinto states, those who have com-
pared the biblical commentaries of Langton and Hugh maintain that Hughs
commentaries are not much more than updated abridgements of those by
Stephen.62 Quinto disagrees with this position, and I hope to demonstrate
that it is certainly not the case for the postill on the Song of Songs. There are
echoes of Langton throughout the Song of Songs postill, and thus it is clear that
Hugh knew Langtons work, but I have not found direct quotations of any
length.63 Hugh and Langton both emphasize preaching and the active life, but
Hugh quotes the Gloss and the Chanter on these issues rather than Langton.
This would seem to fit with Quintos findings on the relationship between the
work of Langton and Hugh; Quinto compared several passages in the Epistles
commentaries of the two men and reported that he did not find the strict
dependence of Hugh on Stephen which the claims of earlier scholars had led
[him] to expect.64 In heeding Quintos advice to carefully check and compare
the exegesis of Langton and Hugh, I find that for the Song of Songs at least,
Hugh is far more dependent on sources other than Langton, and in no way
simply produces an updated version of Langtons commentary.
62 Riccardo Quinto, Hugh of St.-Chers Use of Stephen Langton, in Medieval Analyses in

Language and Cognition: Acts of the Symposium, the Copenhagen School of Medieval Phi-
losophy, January 1013, 1996, eds. Sten Ebbesen and Russell L. Friedman, (Copenhagen,
1999), 281300, at 284. Quinto notes that Artur Landgraf (who examined Hughs postills
on the Pauline Epistles) and Avrom Saltman (Chronicles) made claims of this nature.
Beryl Smalley also writes about Langtons influence on Hugh in both The Study of the Bible
in the Middle Ages (see pages 295 and 305 in particular) and The Gospels in the Schools (see
pages 135136). Robert E. Lerner notes that Hugh used Langtons work in several of the
postills, so the fact that he does not employ Langtons commentaries in the Song of Songs
postill may be yet another indication that the postills were composed by a team of
Dominicans.
63 Robert E. Lerners reference to the postills as a great bulging duffle bag in The Vocation
of the Friars Preacher, (see p. 182 above) stuffed with a variety of different sources cer-
tainly does bring to mind the prolix Langton; perhaps Hugh and his team drew inspira-
tion from Langtons commentaries, trying to incorporate as much information as possible
into their postills.
64 Quinto, Hugh of St.-Chers Use of Stephen Langton, 285.
In addition to his reliance on the aforementioned moderni, Hugh frequently

quotes Church Fathers like Gregory the Great and Augustine, and makes refer-
ences to authors such as Boethius, citing all of these authors by name.65
Quotations from ancient pagan authors appear in the Song of Songs postill on
a much smaller scale, which lends some credence to Smalleys assertion that
[pagan] writers do not figure largely in Hughs postills.66 Aristotle, for exam-
ple, is cited as Arist. for a quotation which I was unable to trace, and another
quotation by quidam Philosophus is perhaps a reference to one of Zenos
paradoxes, that a friend is another self (alter ipse amicus.)67 Hugh also makes
reference to types of works not mentioned in the earlier Song of Songs com-
mentaries I have discussed. For example, he cites two hymns from the Good
Friday liturgy in commenting on Song of Songs 8:5, I raised you up under
the evil tree.68 Another interesting reference comes at Song of Songs 4:9, you
have wounded my heart, my sister, my bride. Here among several other inter-
pretations, Hugh implicitly quotes the anonymous twelfth-century poem
Pamphilus, writing that the bridegroom seems to say I am wounded, and I
bear the weapon enclosed in my heart.69 As Anne Howland Schotter notes,
Pamphilus is a product of the twelfth-century revival of interest in the trivium,
and its dialogue form suggests that it may have been written as a schoolroom
65 For example, Gregory the Great, III, f. 108 rb; Augustine, III, f. 115va; Boethius, III, f. 109rb;
Ambrose, III, f. 136vb. In addition, Hugh attributes a quotation from the De rerum natura
of Hrabanus Maurus to Augustine, Maior enim est fructus predicationis, et uberiorem
reddit ecclesiam, ut dicit Aug., quam quietis. Hugh of St. Cher, Opera omnia, f. 113rb. The
quotation can be found in Hrabanus Maurus, De rerum natura, Book XIX. This may be due
to any number of factors, including scribal error or the misattribution of the source in the
library of St. Jacques.
66 Smalley, The Gospels in the Schools, 134.
67 The Aristotle quotation simply reads Et majora, et minora videntur, ut dicit Arist. Hugh
of St. Cher, Opera omnia, III, f. 109rb. The other reads ut dicit quidam Philosophus,
amicus meus non est, nisi alter ego. Hugh of St. Cher, Opera omnia, III, f. 112ra. It is diffi-
cult to say whether these reference were found in the manuscript, or were added in the
printed edition. As Beryl Smalley notes, Hugh does not necessarily quote these sources
verbatim, and indeed, quotations such as the one above, and that Smalley lists, men are
friends because they have an enemy in common, could possibly be clichs. See Smalley,
The Gospels in the Schools, 134.
68 Quod de ligno crucis potest exponi, de quo cantamus: Nulla silva talem profert/Fronde,
flore, germine Unde cantat ecclesia: Ipse lignum tunc notavit/Damna ligni, ut solveret.
Hugh of St. Cher, Opera omnia, III, f. 137ra. These lines are taken from the Pange Lingua of
Venantius Fortunatus (530609).
69 Vulnerasti, etc. ut videatur Sponsus dicere: Vulneror, et clausum porto sub pectore
telum. Hugh of St. Cher, Opera omnia, III, f. 126rb. A note in the margin next to the text
reads Pamphilus.
136 Chapter 5
exercise in disputatio for young men studying dialectic.70 Thus Hugh or a

member of his exegetical team may have been familiar with the poem from
their school days, and the wound imagery in Song of Songs 4:9 may have
recalled the line from Pamphilus to mind. This rather staggering array of
sources ensures that Hughs postill on the Song of Songs is host to a number of
different interpretations of the biblical text.
The extent to which Hugh actually names the sources that he cites varies
widely. Hugh and his team seem to consistently cite older sources by name
more frequently than newer ones, with Bernard of Clairvaux being the excep-
tion. Thus, when Gregory the Great, Augustine, or another Church Father is
cited, the text is prefaced with phrases such as ut dicit Aug. and quas ponit
hic Greg.71 Hugh also cites the Bible more explicitly than his predecessors.
Unlike the other exegetes discussed in this book, Hugh names the books and
chapters from which he draws his biblical quotations. This would allow Hughs
readers to quickly locate the verses in their own Bibles and immediately begin
to associate the themes of the Song of Songs with those of other biblical books.72
Those quotations and ideas drawn from sources produced in the generations
directly preceding Hughs tend to cited by name less frequently in the Song of
Songs postill.
Of these more modern authors, only the Gloss and Bernard of Clairvaux are
cited by name. Hugh often attributes interpretations and direct quotations
that he takes from the Gloss, writing for example in his explication of Song of
Songs 1:2, your name is oil poured out, therefore the young girls have loved
you, that the Gloss says because they are not able to see you as you really are,
they regard you more highly than all other things for the sweetness of you
name alone.73 This is a direct quotation from the Gloss, with no alterations.
There are several occasions, however, when Hugh quotes the Gloss, but does
not cite the text by name. An example of this can be found in Hughs commen-
70 Anne Howland Schotter, The Transformation of Ovid in the Twelfth-Century Pamphilus,

in Desiring Discourse: The Literature of Love, Ovid Through Chaucer, eds. James J. Paxson
and Cynthia A. Gravlee (Selinsgrove, PA, 1998), 7288, at 73. Schotter notes that the poem
is about a seduction that ends in a rape, which may strike modern readers as an odd
subject for a school text.
71 See Hugh of St. Cher, Opera omnia, III, f. 108ra and f. 111va.
72 There are several examples of this on every folio of Hughs postill on the Song of Songs, on
f. 131r alone, for example, there are quotations from the Psalms, Ecclesiastes, Isaiah, Eze-
kiel, Matthew, Luke, John, Corinthians, Galatians, and Timothy.
73 Unde dicit Gloss. Quia te in essentia videre non possunt, sola dulcidine nominis tui
omnibus rebus anteponunt. Hugh of St. Cher, Opera omnia, III, f. 106vb. Cf. Dove, Glossa,
I, 2, 35, 4445.
tary on Song of Songs 2:7, I adjure you, daughters of Jerusalem, by the gazelles
and the stags of the field After offering a number of other interpretations,
Hugh and his team quote a description of stags taken from the Gloss, writing
stags leave their native country at breeding time, and they hold themselves up
with the haunches of one placed on the head of another 74 This particular
line is drawn directly from the Gloss. While the remainder of the passage is not
taken verbatim from the Gloss, it is very similar in language and content, and
unlike many other contributions from the Gloss, this quotation is not intro-
duced by unde dicit Glossa or any other signifier. The general pattern seems
to be that short quotations from the Gloss are cited by name, whereas when
Hugh borrows longer passages from the Gloss, he does not indicate this in his
text. In any case, using both of these methods, Hugh incorporates large por-
tions of the Gloss interpretation of the Song of Songs into his own text.
Bernard of Clairvaux is cited several times in the printed edition of the pos-
till as B. Bern., and many of the quotations taken from Bernards sermons on
the Song of Songs are clustered in the first two chapters of the Hugh postill.
This is not surprising, since Bernards 86 sermons only cover the biblical text
through Chapter 3, verse 1. Quotations from Bernard that appear later in the
postill are taken from various other sermon collections. Although Hughs pos-
till is peppered with quotations derived from the Song of Songs commentaries
of Thomas the Cistercian and Peter the Chanter, in this work, Hugh never cites
either man by name. Smalley notes that Hugh quotes the Chanter by name in
his postill on Matthew, ascribing an exemplum to the Chanter with the words
sicut narrat Cantor Parisiensis, so it was not unknown for Hugh to acknowl-
edge his debt to the Chanter.75 Thus, it seems that there was no set practice for
determining which sources would be cited by name in the postills. Overall, the
Song of Songs postill is marked by the influence of a wide array of sources, and
therefore contains many different interpretations of the biblical text.
Moving now to the content of the Hugh postill, it introduces certain themes
that received little attention in the Glossed Song of Songs and in the commen-
taries of the members of the biblical-moral school and gives them a more
extensive treatment. Chief among these is the Marian interpretation of the
Song of Songs. While the Virgin Mary is hardly a popular topic of discussion in
the commentaries I have discussed in preceding chapters, a Marian reading of
the Song of Songs was popular in monastic circles, and thus is included in a
work such as Hughs that attempts to include all current interpretations of the
74 Cervi tempore amoris discendentes a patria, alter alterius clunibus supposito capite tran-
seuntes Hugh of St. Cher, Opera omnia, III, f. 116rb. Cf. Dove, Glossa, II, 7, 43, 2122.
138 Chapter 5
Song of Songs in one text. As Rachel Fulton remarks, [b]y the second half of
the twelfth century, the Marian reading of the Song of Songs had entered the
mainstream of the commentary tradition, and so it is an interpretation that
Hugh was certain to include in his postill.76
Fulton notes that several verses of the Song of Songs came to be interpreted
in commentaries in a Marian sense because of their use in sermons and hymns
in feasts in celebration with the Virgin. Of the eight verses that Fulton remarks
were often given a Marian sense, Hugh assigns this interpretation to six.77
There are other references to the Virgin scattered throughout the postill, often
noted by the phrase de Beata Virgine. There appears to be no original content
in Hughs Marian interpretations, but the very fact that he devotes consider-
able space to pursuing Marian themes sets his commentary apart from those of
the biblical-moral school and the Gloss, works which contained only faint
traces of the Marian interpretation of the Song of Songs. Hugh often incorpo-
rates the Marian interpretation into verses that he comments upon at length.
For example, in his exposition of Song of Songs 1:15, Behold, you are beautiful,
my beloved, and lovely, our bed is flowery, Hugh fills an entire folio with a
number of moral, mystical, literal, and allegorical interpretations of this verse.
The postill briefly mentions the Virgin, stating In another way, the bed is the
womb of the blessed Virgin, in which the most blessed bridegroom glorified
their union, where he deigned to join himself with human nature.78 This is a
rather commonplace interpretation of this phrase, and Hugh seems to include
it among a long list of other interpretations in order to ensure that his postill
remains comprehensive. Hugh and his team repeat this same kind of interpre-
tation at Song of Songs 3:9, Solomon the king made a litter for himself from
the trees of Lebanon, writing, and this is also explained concerning the
blessed Virgin Mary: That Solomon the king made a litter for himself, that is
Christ, whom she carried in her womb for nine months.79 Again, this interpre-
tation is included alongside a number of others as part of Hughs wide-ranging
exegetical program.
There are several other Marian verses in the postill that praise the Virgin for
her virtues, chief among which is Hughs comment on Song of Songs 5:9, What
76 Rachel Fulton, The Virgin Mary and the Song of Songs in the High Middle Ages (Unpubl.
Ph.D. diss., Columbia University, 1994), 543.
77 The verses that Fulton notes are the following: Song of Songs 1:23; 1:4; 3:6; 4:12; 6:3; 6:8;
6:9; and 8:5. Hugh mentions the Virgin in his commentary on all of these verses save 1:23
and 6:8. Fulton also notes the responsories and antiphons which were linked to these
particular verses, see Fulton, The Virgin Mary, 543544.
78 Aliter: Lectulus est uterus B. Virginis, in quo Sponsus beatissimam copulam celebravit,
qua humane nature dignatus est copulari. Hugh of St. Cher, Opera omnia, III, f. 112rb.
79 Exponitur et hoc de B. Virgine Maria etiam: Quam Ferculum fecit sibi Rex Salomon, id est,
Christus, que eum in utero suo novem mensibus portavit. Hugh of St. Cher, Opera omnia,
III, f. 122rb.
kind of beloved is yours from the beloved, O most beautiful of women? Hugh
writes,
What kind of beloved is yours, not adding from the beloved, so that there
is a nod to seeking what kind [of beloved] it is according to human nature
[rather than divine], according to which it is not from the [male] beloved
but rather from the [female] beloved, namely the Virgin Mary, as if she is
as lovely, as incomprehensible, as holy, and as undefiled and beautiful in
appearance in comparison with any daughter of men, as full of grace and
truth, as excellent in every kind of goodness.80
Here, Hugh describes Mary as the height of feminine perfection, and praises
her rather than the bridegroom, who is the actual subject being discussed in
the biblical verse. The Virgin possesses all possible virtues, and is as worthy of
praise as Christ, according to Hugh. He praises the Virgin again at Song of
Songs 6:9, Who is this one who comes up like the dawn rising, beautiful as the
moon, excellent as the sun, terrible as a line of battle assembled in the camps,
arguing that Marian verses of the Bible can be employed to combat enemy
groups. He writes,
assembled in three ways against three battle lines of enemies, namely

pagans, heretics, and Jews. Of which Ecclesiasticus 50d [says] there are
two nations which my soul hates, and the third is no nation, which I hate,
etc. (Ecclus. 50:27). They are arranged against pagans, exhibiting true
worship of God while saying: my soul magnifies the Lord, etc. (Lk. 1:46)
Against heretics, while saying and my spirit has rejoiced, etc. (Lk. 1:47).
Against Jews, while saying he has received Israel as his servant, etc. (Lk.
1:54).81
Thus true Christians can align themselves in battle against their enemies, and
Hugh argues that verses in praise of the Virgin should be used in order to resist
the pagans, heretics, and Jews that try to harm the Church. Hugh, therefore,
80 Qualis est dilectus tuus, nec addit ex dilectio, ut innuat se querere quails sit secundum
humanum naturam, secundum quam non est ex dilectio, sed potius ex dilecta, scilicet
Virgine Maria, quasi quam amabilis, quam incomprehensibilis, quam sanctus, et quam
impollutus, quam speciosus forma pre filiis hominum, quam plenus gratia et veritate,
quam excellens omnimoda bonitate. Hugh of St.Cher. Opera omnia, III, f. 130va.
81 Ordinata tripliciter contra tres acies inimicorum, Paganos scilicet, Hereticos, et Judeos.
De quibus Eccl. 50d, Duas gentes odivit anima mea, et tertia non est gens quam oderim,
etc. Contra paganos ordinata est, latriam exhibens Deo vero, cum dixit Magnificat anima
mea Dominum, etc Contra hereticos, cum dixit Et exultavit spiritus meus, etc. Contra
Judeos, cum dixit Suscepit Israel puerum suum, etc. Hugh of St. Cher, Opera omnia, III,
f. 133rb.
140 Chapter 5
combines traditional Marian interpretations of the Song of Songs with effusive

praise for the Virgin, a powerful partner of the bridegroom whose virtues are
inspirational to Christians in their quest to strengthen the Church.
Some of these Marian elements, along with the tropological interpreta-
tion of the bride and bridegroom as the individual soul and Christ, enter the
Hugh postill through the influence of Bernard of Clairvaux and Thomas the
Cistercian. Beryl Smalley notes that Bernardine spirituality appealed to our
Dominican, and that Hugh used Bernards words in two ways, partly as an
exegetical source and partly to sugar his comments on the text with pious
thoughts and rhetorical exclamations.82 Smalley also argues that this mas-
sive infiltration was new and that while other secular clerics writing at Paris
occasionally quoted Bernard, Hugh and the Dominicans were among the first
to quote Bernards works extensively and put them in wide circulation in the
schools.83
As stated above, quotations from Bernards sermons on the Song of Songs
appear mostly in the first two chapters of the Hugh postill. Most of the quota-
tions taken from Bernards sermons fall under the rubric of the moral
interpretation, and offer advice or warnings about moral behavior to the
reader. For example, in commenting on Song of Songs 1:6, show me the man
whom my soul loves, where you feed, where you rest at midday, Hugh and his
team replicate a large portion of Bernards Sermon XXX, Mystical Vineyards
and the Prudence of the Flesh, writing, B. Bern. What amazes me, he says, is
the audacity of those who seem to harvest only brambles and thistles from
their own vineyards, and yet are not afraid to intrude themselves on the vine-
yards of the Lord will a flood of tears be enough to fertilize the barrenness of
my soul?84 After recapitulating this passage, Hugh returns to distinctiones,
listing the four different types of tears. He quotes Bernard again in comment-
ing on Song of Songs 1:12, a little bundle of myrrh [is] my beloved to me, he will
remain between my breasts. Here, he writes, according to blessed Bernard,
speaking and introducing and explaining this opinion to his brothers, you too,
if you are wise, will imitate the prudence of the bride, and never permit even
for an hour that this precious bunch of myrrh [representing the suffering and
death of Jesus] should be removed from your bosom.85 In passages such as
these, we can see both the pious thoughts and rhetorical exclamations that

83 Ibid.
84 B. Bern. Miror, inquit, audaciam plurimorum; quos videmus de sui vineis non colligere
nisi spinas et tribulos, vineis enim dominicis etiam se ingerere non vereri Quo imbre
lachrymis ego rigabo sterilitatem vinee mee? Translation taken from Kilian Walsh, trans.,
Bernard of Clairvaux: On the Song of Songs, v. II, (Kalamazoo, MI, 1983), 117118.
85 Unde et B. Bern., fratribus suis loquens et inducens et exponens hanc auctoritatem, dixit,
tu quoque si sapis, imitaberis Sponse prudentiam et hunc myrrhe, tam charum fascicu-
Bernards words lent to Hughs postill, along with elements of practical moral
instruction that would have appealed to Hugh in his quest to ensure that his
mendicant readers became worthy of imitation themselves.
Rachel Fulton has noted Hughs reliance on Thomas the Cistercian, remark-
ing that he drew the majority of his citations from Thomas the Cistercians
comprehensive compendium of Song exegesis.86 I think that this perhaps
overstates Hughs dependence on Thomas commentary, but nevertheless, the
Cistercians work was an important source for Hugh. Thomas, who is also
known as Thomas of Perseigne and Thomas of Vaucelles, was active in the last
third of the twelfth century, making him a contemporary of Peter the Chanter.
Denys Turner writes that there are but two works attributable to Thomas, the
De preparatione cordis, a rambling ascetical treatise, and his vast Commentary
on the Song of Songs.87 This latter work, which Turner notes comprises 845
columns in the Patrologia Latina, survives in sixty manuscripts, indicating that
it was a very popular commentary.88 Thomas commentary is notable in that it
is lengthy and rather loosely structured, includes citations from a wide array of
ancient and medieval sources, and incorporates several themes seen in other
Song of Songs commentaries, including the importance of balancing the active
life with the contemplative. In its length and breadth, Thomas commentary is
rather similar to Hughs postill, and Thomas seems to share Hughs goal of
including a variety of interpretations in his work.
Hugh does not turn to Thomas work for citations on any particular theme.
Instead, he tends to borrow quotations that fit into the structural elements of
the postill, and thus, many of the passages taken from Thomas commentary
contain distinctiones and biblical quotations. One example of this comes at
Hughs exegesis of Song of Songs 1:4, I am black but beautiful, O daughters of
Jerusalem. Hugh borrows several lines from Thomas commentary, writing
black through the worthlessness of the body, but beautiful through the sanc-
tity of the soul. Black on earth, but beautiful in heaven. Black through suffering
the evils of the temporal world, but beautiful through the hope for eternal joy.
You hear beautiful rejoicing in hope (Rom. 12:12), you hear black, patient in
tribulation (Rom. 12:12).89 This example is similar to many of the other ele-
lum de principali tui pectoris, nec ad horam patieris auferri Hugh of St. Cher, Opera
omnia, III, f. 111ra. Translation taken from Walsh, 221.
86 Fulton, The Virgin Mary, 583.
87 Turner, Eros and Allegory, 309.
88 Ibid.
89 Nigram per corporis vilitatem, sed formosam per anime sanctitatem. Nigram in terris,
sed formosam in celis. Nigram mala temporalia patiendo, sed formosam eternal gaudia
sperando. Audi formosam spe gaudentes, audi nigram in tribulation patientes. Hugh of St.
Cher, Opera omnia, III, f. 107vb; Thomas the Cistercian, Commentary on the Song of Songs,
Patrologia Latina 206: 66C.
142 Chapter 5
ments of Thomas commentary that Hugh borrows. Since Thomas project was
so similar to Hughs in many ways, Hugh was able to incorporate many por-
tions of the Cistercian commentary.
Despite the inclusion of these diverse strands of exegesis and the influence
of many interpretations of the Song of Songs, the Hugh postill remains cen-
tered on the ecclesiological interpretation of this biblical text. In making the
relationship between Christ and the Church the focal point of the postill, Hugh
continues the exegetical program followed by the Glossator, Anselm of Laon,
Peter the Chanter, and Stephen Langton. Like these men, Hugh traces the rela-
tionship between the bride, who represents the Church, and the bridegroom,
who represents Christ, leading to their eventual union at the close of the Song
of Songs narrative. Throughout his commentary, Hugh argues forcefully that
preaching and devotion to the active life are necessary activities for those prel-
ates, clerics, and mendicants within the Church, who must help her achieve
her triumphant union with Christ.
This theme, which was so integral to the Song of Songs commentaries I have
treated in the preceding chapters, occupies the central role in Hughs exegesis.
He reiterates the arguments of his predecessors, and then consistently expands
on what they say about the active and contemplative lives. It is primarily in this
context that Hugh displays original thought. Although the Glossator and the
members of the biblical-moral school have already established the theme of
preaching as the central concern for the passages that follow, Hugh adds his
own ideas to their commentary. In these passages, Hugh is more critical in his
assessment of the contemplative life than his models, and he praises action
evenly more openly. He urges his readers to follow a life devoted to preaching,
arguing that it is both more useful and more rewarding than contemplation,
and writes that humility and poverty are the core values that preachers must
hold dear. At several points in the postill, Hugh rails against what he sees as the
hypocrisy of monks and secular clerics who live leisurely lives and do not labor
on behalf of others. In these trenchant comments, modern readers are most
clearly able to see the distinctive contributions of Hugh and his team to Song
of Songs exegesis. Hugh emerges in this postill as a staunch defender of not
only an active way of life, but of a particularly mendicant way of life that is
clearly cast in opposition to monastic and secular vocations. For Hugh and his
Dominican brothers, living the active life was at the core of their orders mis-
sion, and this sentiment is clearly expressed in the Song of Songs postill. It is in
these passages that Hugh appears to us not simply as a compiler of past inter-
pretations, but as an exegete with original ideas.
As was the case with the Gloss, Peter the Chanter, and Stephen Langton,
Hughs comment on Song of Songs 2:10 speaks to the superiority of the active
life. I have argued in previous chapters that the Gloss introduced the idea that
preaching is a better way of coming to Christ in its explication of this verse,
but that the Chanter and Langton went beyond the Gloss in using more force-
ful language to argue for the importance of preaching. Hugh follows this
pattern, moving even further beyond the members of the biblical-moral school
in his praise of action. He adopts the language of both the Gloss and the
Chanter, but seems to advocate a life almost wholly devoted to action, rather
than the balanced life of both preaching and contemplation that those works
argued was the ideal. Below, I will use parallel columns to compare the writings
of Hugh of St. Cher with the Gloss and Peter the Chanters commentary when
warranted. Material that Hugh takes from the Gloss is in bold, and that taken
from the Chanter is in small caps.
90
Gloss Peter the Chanter Hugh of St. Cher
Arise, that is, break off Arise, arise therefore Arise from the bed of contempla-
contemplation and labor from contemplation tion where until now you have
to gain other [converts], at the right time. been pleasantly been sleeping, so
or arise from the love of Arise from the love of that you may stand on the battle-
earthly things come to earthly things and field of action. Hurry, because
devote yourself to the from the flesh to sing the time is short, and vice is
salvation of your neigh- of [preach] repen- growing stronger, and therefore
bors through sedulous tance hurry, delay is dangerous, because it is
attention to preaching, so because the time is too late to employ medicine when
that you may be worthy short and the crops evil has grown strong by long
to be received with the are white [to harvest] habit (Ovid, Remedia Amoris XCI.)
great company at the (Jo. 4:35) but a Concerning this, Proverbs 6:3 says
wedding [the heavenly better way of coming go, hurry, and plead with your
banquet] you believe to me is through work neighbor. Give your eyes no sleep,
you will quickly come [to of this kind, that is as if [the bridegroom says] for the
me-the bridegroom] if useful and fruitful salvation of others, you must
you go apart in contem- [work], because for interrupt your sleep. The Gloss
plation, but a better way many the active way says you must not cease preach-
of coming to me is of life is better than ing for the sake of quietness,
through work of this the contemplative. because Christ, who was in great
kind.90 The contemplative quietness with the father, to an
life is extent interrupted quietness for
the sake of preaching. (Gloss
comment on 2:12) And come to
devote yourself to the salvation of
90 Surge, id est interrumpe contemplationem et labora in acquisitione aliorum, vel surge ab
amore terrenorum veni ad impendendam etiam proximis curam salutis per studium
sedule predicationiscredis te venturam si vacaveris contemplationi, sed venies melius
per laborem huiusmodi. Dove, Glossa, II, 10, 94, 33-34 and Dove, Glossa, II, 10, 90, 2425
and 2628.
144 Chapter 5
Gloss Peter the Chanter Hugh of St. Cher (cont.)

safer, but the active your neighbors through sedulous
life is better than the attention to preaching, so that
contemplative, that is, you may be worthy to be received
more useful to [your] with the great company at the
neighbors.91 wedding [the heavenly banquet,]
as if the bridegroom says to the
bride you believe you will quickly
come to the wedding if you go
apart in contemplation, but a
better way of coming [to me] is
through work of this kind. The
Gloss says that the active [life] is
better than the contemplative
[life.] And this is true, but the
contemplative [life] is happier
and safer. The Apostle says that
one should not glory in the
quietness of contemplation, but in
the toil of preaching: By the grace
of God, he says, I am what I am,
and his grace toward me has not
been in vain, but I have labored
more abundantly than any of
them. (1Cor. 10:15) Arise from
the earth to heaven through
voluntary poverty, from sin to
9192 grace through penitence.92
91 Surge ergo a contemplatione ad tempus. Surge ab amore terrenorum a corpore acinere

penitentie propera quia tempus breve et messes albent (Jo. 4:35) sed venies melius
per laborem huiusmodi, id est utilius et copiosius, quia cum pluribus status contemplatio
melior est status active. Contemplative, id est securior, sed status active melior status
contemplative, id est utilior proximis. Peter the Chanter, Mazarine, MS 178, f. 44vb.
92 Surge a lectio contemplationis, ubi usque modo suaviter dormivisti, ut stes in campo
actionis. Propera quia tempus breve est, et morbus invalescens: et ideo mora in periculo
est, quia sero medicina paratur: cum mala per longas convaluere moras. De hoc dicitur
Prov. 6 a. Discurre, festina, suscita amicum tuum, ne dederis somnum oculis tuis, quasi
dicat, pro salute aliorum debes irrumpere somnum tumm. Unde dicit Glosa Pro quiete
tua non debes dimittere predicationem quia Christus qui in magna quiete erat cum Patre,
quietem suam quodammodo pro predicatione intermisit. Et veni ad impendendam
curam salutis proximis per studium sedule predicationis, ut cum magno comitatu ad
nuptias recipi merearis, quasi dicat Sponsus Sponse: Tu credis te venturum ad nuptias si
vacaveris contemplationi, sed venies melius per laborem huiusmodi. Hec Glosa vult,
Here, Hugh borrows a fair amount from the Gloss, echoing the idea that
preaching serves as an imitation of Christ and that devoting oneself to preach-
ing rather than contemplation leads to greater rewards. Hugh has also
reproduced the Chanters idea that preaching is a more worthy pursuit, but the
contemplative life is more secure and restful. Hughs lengthy and detailed
exposition of this verse and his descriptive language, however, seem to have
more in common with the style of Stephen Langton than the more spare and
economical language that the Gloss and the Chanter employ.93 While the Gloss
and the Chanter speak simply of breaking off or arising from contemplation,
Hugh emphasizes the leisureliness of this mode of life, referring to the bed of
contemplation upon which people pleasantly slumber. He contrasts this with
the battlefield of action, where the challenge is greater, but the rewards are as
well. Like Langton, Hugh offers numerous quotations in order to make his
argument for the importance of preaching, including in this case a quotation
from Ovids Remedia Amoris.94 These quotations offer new evidence for
preachers to use in order to emphasize the urgency of the Churchs situation,
although once again, we are given no specific reasons as to why preaching is so
greatly needed at this moment.
Hughs exposition of this verse is also striking in that he is even more force-
ful about the supremacy of preaching than his predecessors. While both the
Chanter and Langton are more direct than the Gloss in stating their prefer-
ence for the active life, Hugh goes beyond even them, simply rephrasing the
Gloss and boiling it down to its essential elements: The Gloss says that the
active [life] is better than the contemplative [life.] He provides the reader of
the postill with the text from the Gloss itself, and then baldly states the Gloss
meaning, making certain that the message is absolutely clear and implicitly
arguing that the Gloss can be taken as a trusted authority on this subject. In
addition, Hugh and his team follow the Glossator in using Christ and the saints
to endorse the power of preaching. In the Gloss, Christ argues that you believe
you will quickly come [to me] if you go apart in contemplation, but a better way
of coming to me is through work of this kind. Hugh chooses a biblical verse
from 1 Corinthians that he believes illustrates St. Paul saying that one should
not glory in the quietness of contemplation, but in the toil of preaching Hugh
quod melior sit activa, quam contemplativa. Et verum est, sed contemplativa felicior, vel
securior est. Unde Apostulus, non de quiete contemplationis gloriatur, sed de labore pre-
dicationis: Gratia Dei, inquit, sum id, quod sum et gratia eius in me vacua non fuit, sed
abundantius illis omnibus laboravi (1Cor. 15b) Surge a mundo ad celum per volun
tariam paupertatem, a peccato ad gratiam per penitentiam. Hugh of St. Cher, Opera
omnia III, f. 117vb.
93 See above, Chapter 4 on Langtons verbosity and expansive style.
94 See Chapter 4 for Langtons argument in favor of preaching.
146 Chapter 5
repeats Christs endorsement of preaching from the Gloss, and then adds a
similar one from St. Paul, along with a biblical verse to support his assertion.
By fashioning these strong statements of divine approval for preaching, Hugh
is able to argue that the active life is most pleasing to God.
At other points throughout the Hugh postill, he strongly asserts the superi-
ority of preaching over contemplation. As with Hughs exposition of 2:10, in
these following passages, Hughs originality lies in the very forcefulness of his
message and his blunt assessment of the relative values of action and contem-
plation. In commenting on Song of Songs 3:9, for example, Solomon the king
made a litter for himself from the trees of Lebanon, Hugh equates Solomons
litter with the loftier position of action relative to contemplation, writing:
As if King Solomon says if I ascend, it is not on account of myself, for it is

for Christ himself, ruling all and making peace in all respects, that I made
myself this litter, a vehicle which is higher. Through this it is evident that
the status of preaching is loftier, greater, and more worthy than the status
of contemplation. As Paul said to the Corinthians For you are bought
with a great price. Glorify and bear God in your body (1Cor. 6:20) And in
praise of Paul, the Lord said to Ananias in Acts 9 to me he is a vessel of
election, to carry my name before the Gentiles, and kings and the chil-
dren of Israel (Acts 9:15). He [the Lord] did not say to pray, or to read, or
to contemplate my name, but to carry [my name] to others, preaching
by word and example, which is higher.95
Hugh uses aptly chosen biblical quotations including words like bear and
carry in order to comment upon a passage about a litter, a vehicle upon which
people are carried. Bearing God in ones body is equated to carrying the name
of the Lord to others through preaching. As was the case with Chapter 2, verse
10, we again have a reference to what Christ or a saint said, using biblical quo-
tations to make strong statements of divine approval for preaching. Here,
Christ says that to carry his name means to preach to others by word and
example. This carrying that Christ specifically requests does not consist of
95 Ferculum fecit Ierusalem. Quasi dicat non est ex me si ascendo quia Rex Salomon, id est
Christus omnia regens, et omnia pacificans, feci me sibi ferculum id est vehiculum quod
plus est. Per quod patet, quod altior est, maior, et dignior status predicationis quam con-
templationis. Unde et Paulus dicit Corinthiis: Empti estis pretio magno: gloricate et por-
tate Seum in corpore vestro 1Cor. 6d. Et in laudibus Pauli dixit Dominus Ananie, Act 9. Vas
electionis mihi est iste, ut portet nomen meum coram Gentibus, et Regibus, et filiis Israel.
Non dicit, ut oret, vel legat, vel contempletur nomen meum; sed ut portet aliis predicando
verbo et exemplo, quod plus est. Hugh of St. Cher, Opera Omnia, III, f. 122ra.
praying or reading or contemplating his name, but only of preaching. Preaching

is elevated to a status above all other religious duties, which makes clear in
Hughs interpretation that the active life is loftier, greater, and more worthy
than the contemplative. This assertion dovetails well with the idea stated in
the Gloss and echoed in Hughs postill, that preaching is the best way of com-
ing to Christ.
This declaration of the superiority of the active life appears in many other
places throughout the Song of Songs postill. Hugh designates the field in Song
of Songs 2:1, I am the flower of the field , as the location for the labor of
preaching, and contrasts it with the bed in Song of Songs 1:15, our bed is
flowery, which he associated in one interpretation with contemplation.96 He
writes that the field is called this in opposition to certain people who, presum-
ing most vainly, suppose there to be salvation only in the ease of contemplation,
not in the labor of action or in the concerns of prelates, as if only the bed of
contemplation is flowery, and the whole field of the active way of life is filthy.97
According to Hugh, it is possible for both the bed and the field to be blooming
with flowers, which can be seen as representing the approbation of Christ.
Hugh seems to communicate here and in Chapter 1:15 that there is merit in
both the active and contemplative lives, but he also appears to be on the defen-
sive, shielding a devotion to preaching and pastoral concerns against those
certain people who believe their own contemplative way of life to be supe-
rior, and indeed, the only certain way to salvation.
This bed of contemplation/field of action theme arises again in Hughs
exposition of Song of Songs 3:1, On my bed, night after night I have sought him
whom my soul loves. I have sought him and not found [him]. Here, Hugh
seems to give no quarter to the contemplative life at all, writing I have sought
him and not found him, Therefore the bridegroom must be sought in the field of
battle and in the field of work, not in the bed of contemplation.98 In using
language that is more declarative than defensive, Hugh forcefully asserts his
stance on which way of life is superior. At other points in his commentary on
Song of Songs 3:1, Hugh shifts from simply defending the active life from the
onslaughts of contemplatives and takes the offensive, seeming almost to deni-
96 Lectulus dicitur gratia, sive quies contemplationis Hugh of St. Cher, Opera omnia, III,
f. 112ra.
97 Ego flos campi. Hoc dicitur contra quosdam vanissime presumentes, qui in solo otio con-
templationis, non in labore actionis, vel in sollicitudine prelationis opinantur esse
salutem, quasi solus lectulus contemplationis sit floridus, et totus campus conversationis
active sit sordidus. Hugh of St. Cher, Opera omnia, III, f. 112vb.
98 In campis ergo certaminis, et in agro laboris querendus est Sponsus, non in lectulo con-
templationis. Hugh of St. Cher, Opera omnia, III, f. 120rb.
148 Chapter 5
grate the contemplative life in writing that members of various monastic

orders do not find Christ when they seek him:
I have sought him with many groans and sighs, and not found him.
Why? Because by nights I am still in bed. It is better to seek him by work-
ing, and he is found more quickly by working than by sleeping I shall
arise from beds of this kind, where I have not found the bridegroom, and
go around the city, the world, where I might be able to find the bride-
groom somewhere. Through the streets and squares I shall seek him whom
my soul loves, that is, through all strict monasteries and more lax cloisters
and secular orders, as if one street is the Carthusian order, another street
the Cistercian order, and another street the Cluniac order, and thus the
others. Indeed, the squares can be called the more lax convents or the
secular orders. And as if he has not yet found the bridegroom he adds:
I have sought him and not found him, because he has steadfastly concealed
himself so that he is not found the watchmen, that is, preachers, who
guard the city found me, that is, preachers very shortly after I had run
through them that is, I had run through them, seeing their conduct and
hearing their preaching. I found the one whom my soul loves, by them
leading me, etc. and by teaching me by word and example 99
Through the striking imagery of this passage, Hugh conjures up an image of

the bride, or the Church, frantically examining all manner of different ways of
monastic and secular life in an attempt to find Christ. In a rather stunning turn
of phrase, Hugh argues that those monks and secular clerics (the streets and
squares) can be grouped together in their inability to find Christ precisely
because he has concealed himself from them. In other words, Hugh declares
99 Quesivi illum et non inveni gemitibus et suspiriis multiplicatis, et non inveni. Quare?
Quia per noctes etiam in lectulo. Melius enim queritur operando, et citius invenitur,
quam dormiendo Surgam de huiusmodi lectulo, ubi Sponsus non invenitur et circu-
ibo civitatem (Ps. 58:7), mundi, si enim alicubi possim invenire Sponsum. Per vicos et
plateas queram quem diligit anima mea id est, per omnes conventus arctiores, et laxiores
claustrales, et seculares. Quasi enim unus vicus est ordo Carthusiensum, alius vicus ordo
Cisterciensum, alius vicus ordo Cluniacensum, et sic de aliis. Platee vero possunt dici
conventus laxiores, vel conventus seculares. Et quasi nondum invenerit Sponsum, sub-
jungit. Quesivi illum et non inveni, quia forte absconderat se, ne inveniretur Invenerunt
me vigiles, id est, predicatores Paululum cum pertransissem eos, id est transissem per
eos, videns eorum conversationem, et audiens eorum predicationem. Inveni, quem diligit
anima mea, illis me ducentibus, etc. docentibus verbo et exemplo. Hugh of St Cher, Opera
omnia, III, f. 120rb-va.
that Christ is actively ensuring that He cannot be found by means of contem-

plation. This connects with the theme of the ineffability of God that I have
touched upon in previous chapters, and the idea expressed by the Glossator
and Anselm of Laon in particular that contemplation, philosophy, and erudi-
tion cannot help one to know what is incomprehensible.100 Hugh and his team
go a step beyond these authors, however, in declaring that preaching will
indeed lead the Church to Christ and allow Him to be found. It is action, and
not contemplation, that is the true route to Christ. Only after the bride is found
by the watchmen, or the preachers, is she able to find Christ, the one whom her
soul loves. It is the preachers who find the Church and teach her by word and
example, thus allowing her to find her beloved. In addition, Hugh seems to
imply that these preachers are Dominicans. The phrase go around the city, the
world is similar to the language of a proclamation in the postill on Isaiah 2:4,
noted by Robert E. Lerner, Behold the order of the preacher [Ordo Praedi
catoris]! First, he is bound to teach; second, to walk, not only the roads of the
commandments but the narrow paths of the counsels; third, to preach.101
Lerner also finds that in the Hugh postill on the Psalms, Hugh refers to the
Dominicans in glossing Ps. 58:7, writing Of the Order of Preachers it may be
said: they will be converted in the evening, for now is the evening of the world;
and they will be reputed as dogs [Ps. 58:7], namely converting some; and they go
around the city [Ps. 58:7], that is, preaching in the world.102 In the Song of
Songs postill, Hugh seems to connect the idea of preachers going around the
city with this proclamation of the duties of Dominicans. While Hugh does not
explicitly say that these preachers are Dominican, this notion can still be found
in the text.
Hugh fires a salvo at monks and secular clerics from another direction with
his commentary on Song of Songs 4:1, your eyes are [the eyes] of doves,
apart from that which lies inside. Hughs interpretation of that which lies
inside builds upon that of the Gloss, which states that the spirit, preaching,
and good intentions lie inside and are pleasing to God.103 Hugh uses the verse
to rail against those who neglect all these things and focus instead on external
appearances:
100 See above, Chapter 1, 2629; Chapter 2, 6364.

102 Robert E. Lerner, Philip the Chancellor Greets the Early Dominicans in Paris, in Archi-
vum Fratrum Praedicatorum 77 (2007), 517, at 13.
103 See Dove, Glossa, IV, 1, 1116, 4149.
150 Chapter 5
Apart from that which lies inside, which is said against hypocrites, and as
many others, both monks and seculars, who improve their more external
selves with remarkable zeal, and adorn themselves with remarkable
splendor; and truly allow their more interior selves to go entirely unculti-
vated, as if it is not more dangerous to displease God, who sees within,
than men, who [only] see the exterior; or as if it is easier to deceive God
than men; or as if God is more interested in our more external selves,
than in what lies inside Thus Matthew chapter 23c says woe to you,
scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you clean the outside of the
cup and of the plate, but inside they are full of rapine and dirtiness. You
blind Pharisee, first clean the inside of the cup and of the dish, so that the
outside may also become clean.104
Here Hugh is not criticizing the contemplative life, but taking monks and secu-
lar clerics to task for hypocritical behavior and for bending more to the will of
men than to the will of God. As was the case with the previous passage, the
language here is also striking. Hugh openly accuses certain religious of neglect-
ing that which lies inside, their spirit, for their more external selves, which as
he remarks, do not particularly concern God. These hypocritical monks and
clerics are more concerned with life on earth and mundane matters such as
wealth and appearance than with spiritual matters and with adorning their
own souls. Hugh even goes so far as to say that these hypocrites believe that
they can actually deceive God in the same way that they deceive men with
their outward appearances. Again Hugh seems to locate the most apt biblical
quotation, comparing these hypocritical monks and clerics to the Pharisees
that Christ condemns. Whereas in his exposition of Song of Songs 2:10, Hugh
employs a literary device that uses biblical quotations to express divine
approval for preaching, here Hugh uses the same method to express divine
disapproval of the hypocritical behavior and spiritual neglect perpetrated by
certain monks and secular clerics.
104 Absque eo quod intrinsecus latet. Quod dicitur contra hypocrites, et multos alios tam
claustrales, quam seculares, qui exteriora sua miro studio excolunt, et miro apparatus
exornant, interiora vero sua omnino inculta dimittunt, quasi periculosius non sit Deo
displicere, qui videt interius, quam hominibus, qui vident exterius, aut quasi facilius sit
fallere Deum, quam homines; aut quasi Deus exteriora nostra magis curet, quam interi-
ora Unde Matth. cap. 23c, Vae vobis, scribe et Pharisei hypocrite, qui mundatis, quod
deforis est calicis, et parapsidis; intus autem pleni estis rapina, et omni immunditia.
Pharise cece, munda prius, quod intus est calicis, et parapsidis,ut fiat et id, quod deforis
est, mundum. Hugh of St. Cher, Opera omnia, III, f. 124rb.
We have seen that Hugh frequently expresses his disapproval of monks and
secular clerics who neglect action for contemplation or behave hypocritically.
The Hugh postill also praises preaching and those prelates who pursue the
active life. And yet, he never refers in this postill either to Dominicans specifi-
cally or mendicants in general. Beryl Smalley found this to be the case in her
research on Hugh as well, stating that Hugh never mentions either his Order
or its founder, and she takes this to mean that Hugh was either very conserva-
tive or unwilling to annoy the older religious and the seculars by cracking up
the friars.105 The vitriolic language in the Song of Songs postill alone would
seem to contradict the latter notion. After condemning hypocritical monks
and secular clerics and arguing that Carthusians, Cistercians, and Cluniacs are
on the wrong path to God, it is quite clear that Hugh was not afraid to annoy
the older religious and the seculars.
Is there any evidence, then, in the Song of Songs postill that Hugh believed
that the mendicant way of life in particular was the ideal, in spite of the fact
that he does not specifically refer to mendicants?106 I believe the answer to
that question can be found in Hughs specific references in the postill to preach-
ing in voluntary poverty and humility. For Hugh, poverty and humility are the
most important values for a preacher, and these two values, along with a love
of learning, are paramount for the Dominicans. Robert E. Lerner notes that
Hugh links poverty and humility with good preaching in other postills, and
argues that this is an indication that the first generation of Dominicans in St.
Jacques lives up to expectations in its dedication to poverty and humility.107
The many references to poverty and humility and their importance for preach-
ing in the Song of Songs postill tend to reinforce this notion. While the
references to poverty in the postill are certainly not as stunning as Peter the
Chanters brief but striking mention of voluntary paupers, they are no less
105 Smalley, The Gospels in the Schools, 138. One should never say never in the field of biblical
studies, of course, and Robert E. Lerner has found references to both the Dominicans and
the Franciscans in Hughs postills, and argues that the orders being mentioned together
and carrying out the mission of preaching shows that the postills show a special sense of
calling. Lerner also mentions a passage in the postill on Luke that offers a sequence of
salvational history in which the mendicants supersede secular preachers, and argues
that this contradicts Smalleys statement. See Lerner, The Vocation of the Friars Preacher,
228230.
106 As noted above, the discussion of preachers going around the city might be an implicit
mention of the Dominicans rather than just generic preachers.
152 Chapter 5
interesting, and they reveal to us Hughs belief that mendicancy is the most
useful way of life.108
The first reference Hugh makes to poverty in his postill is connected with
the Chanters discussion of preachers in his exposition of Song of Songs 1:16,
the timbers of our dwellings are beams of cedar. The Chanter writes that [P]
reachers, moreover, are incorruptible and lacking vices, rendering others incor-
ruptible by the scent of the honest beliefs and by the words of their preaching.109
Hugh echoes the Chanter, but then adds that preachers are incorruptible due
to their chastity, incombustible due to their love of poverty.110 Thus, in addi-
tion to the good qualities of preachers that the Chanter lists, Hugh adds that a
dedication to poverty also helps preachers remain free from corruption and
better able to lead others to Christ. Hugh and his team explore another aspect
of poverty in his exposition of 2:10, which I have mentioned above. They link
poverty with even loftier aspirations than preaching to others, writing, [A]rise
from the earth to heaven through voluntary poverty, from sin to grace through
penitence.111 Here, Hugh indicates that voluntary poverty aids in turning ones
thoughts from earthly things to heaven. In monastic commentaries on the
Song of Songs, it is usually contemplation that fills this role. Thus, Hugh seeks
to shift the focus of the religious way of life, allowing poverty to play an integral
role in the lives of religious. Poverty helps mendicants to preach to those in the
world, and it helps them turn their sights on heaven.
The Hugh postill expands on the Chanters brief mention of voluntary pau-
pers in his exposition of Song of Songs 4:1, your tresses are like flocks of
gazelles. While the Chanter simply writes that preachers are called hair, vol-
untary paupers, Hugh offers an explanation as to why this should be the case,
writing, Your hair, that is your faithful ones, slender due to humility, thinned
by voluntary poverty 112 Hugh seems to note here that a life of voluntary
poverty is difficult, but preachers, represented by the hairs, still cling closely to
the head, or Christ. In this way, Hugh makes clear that the preachers devotion
to a life of poverty is an integral part of what allows him to remain close to God.
108 See above, Chapter 3, 92.

109 Predicatores autem sunt imputribiles carentes vitiis alios etiam imputribiles redunt
odore bone opinionis et verbo predicationis. Peter the Chanter, Mazarine, MS 178, f. 43vb.
See above, Chapter 3, 86 for more on the Chanters exposition of this verse.
110 Imputrabiles castitate, incombustibiles paupertatis amore Hugh of St. Cher, Opera
omnia, III, f. 112va.
111 Surge a mundo ad celum per voluntariam paupertatem, a peccato ad gratiam per pene-
tentiam. Hugh of St. Cher, Opera omnia III, f. 117vb.
112 Capilli tui, id est, fideles tui graciles humilitate, attenuate voluntaria paupertate Hugh
of St. Cher, Opera omnia, III, f. 123ra.
The vow of poverty that mendicants take also protects the Church from the
incursions of its enemies, as Hugh notes in his exposition of Song of Songs 4:12,
A garden shut up is my sister, my bride, writing, [T]hat garden is shut up.
First, against lasciviousness, through the vow of continence. Against greed, or
desire for worldly things, by the vow of poverty. Against spiritual negligence,
through the vow of obedience 113 The bride, or the Church, is a garden shut
up, sealed off from danger by the vows taken by religious, with poverty protect-
ing against greed. By vowing to remain paupers, Hugh notes that religious are
able to fortify the Church and preach to others more effectively.
Hugh and his associates also believe that preachers must remain humble in
order to win converts and preach morals and repentance to Christians. In the
commentary on Song of Songs 2:14, show me your face and let your voice
sound in my ears, Hugh writes, show me your face, that is your intention, so
that you do not presume to teach or preach for the sake of another [rather]
than for my glory, and the salvation of your neighbors.114 Here, Hugh wants to
ensure that his readers are preaching for the right reasons, and not for the sake
of another, that is, for the sake of the adulation of those hearing the sermons.
Preachers must remember that they are preaching for the glory of God, and to
ensure the salvation of others. Seeking fame and fortune through preaching
contradicts the principles of the mendicants, and Hugh seeks to communicate
to his audience that those who take up the task of preaching must do so only
for the right reasons. These quotations illustrate that Hugh does not need to
mention the mendicant orders by name in order to communicate his belief
that a specifically mendicant way of life, and not simply the active life, is best.
While Smalley states that the Friar Preacher, devoted not only to preaching,
but to preaching in poverty remains elusive in Hughs work on the Gospels, I
believe that Hugh emerges as just this sort of figure in the Song of Songs postill,
despite the lack of explicit references to mendicancy.115
Besides offering this more general moral advice to preachers, Hugh even
provides his readers with practical advice on approaches to preaching in his
comment on Song of Songs 7:11, Come my beloved, let us go out into the field,
let us linger in the villages.
113 Conclusus est hortus iste. Primo contra lasciviam, per votum contientie. Contra cupidi-
tatem, sive mundi concupiscentiam, per votum paupertatis. Contra spirituals nequitias,
per votum obedientie Hugh of St. Cher, Opera omnia, III, f. 127ra.
114 Ostende mihi faciem tuam, id est, intentionem tuam, ut non ob aliud, quam ob gloriam
meam, et salute proximi tui predicare, vel docere presumas. Hugh of St. Cher, Opera
omnia, III, f. 118vb.
115 Smalley, The Gospels in the Schools, 143. This difference is yet another indication that there
was more than one author of the postills.
154 Chapter 5
Gloss Hugh of St. Cher

Come my beloved, let us go out into the Come my beloved, let us go out into the
field, let us linger in the villages. The field, let us linger in the villages. By
Church, seeing that she is not in villages are understood neophytes
herself sufficient to do good works, or [newly converted Christians] and the
to go out [to convert others,] or to simple and the uncultivated, who
[linger in the villages, that is] have less order, sophistication,
persevere in goodness, or to perceive fortification, and foresight than
how much her hearers have accom- [people in] camps or cities, linger for
plished, pleads for help By field is a greater amount of time, until they
signified Christians, by village, come to greater perfection. You
unbelievers [let us linger] by should linger in these villages,
earnest preaching [in the villages] in moreover, by instructing these people,
those already instructed in how to by governing their morals, by present-
live lawfully.116 ing yourself to them as friendly, and
by showing them sociable goodwill.117
116117
Hughs commentary on this passage is especially noteworthy because it offers

a glimpse into the practical details of preaching to certain audiences, a con-
cept which has remained abstract throughout the commentaries I have
discussed. Hugh urges his readers to follow the biblical text to the letter, and
linger in the villages, or the more unsophisticated rural areas where the peo-
ple are less knowledgeable about their own religion then their more refined
urban counterparts. Hugh tells his audience that they should be sure to preach
concerning morals in particular, which will be valuable in leading these unde-
veloped Christians into greater perfection. Perhaps most interestingly, Hugh
writes that preachers attempting to instruct villagers in Christian doctrine
116 Veni, etc. Ecclesia videns quod nec ad bene operandum vel egrediendum per se suffi
cit nec in bono persistere, vel auditores quantum profecerint discernere, implorat auxi-
lium In agro Christiani, in villa pagani [commoremur] assidua predicatione [in villis]
in illis iam ad legitime vivendum instruendis. Dove, Glossa, VII, 11, 8389, 425.
117 Commoremur in villis Per villas neopyti et simplices, ac rudes intelliguntur, qui minus
habent compositionis, urbanitatis, munitionis, et circumspectionis, quam castra, vel civi-
tates, circa quos est amplius commorandum, donec veniant ad maiorem perfectionem.
Commorandum autem est in eis eos instruendo, morem eis gerendo, se eis affabiles exhi-
bendo, ad socialem dilectionem ostendendo. Hugh of St. Cher, Opera omnia, III, f.
135ra-b.
must not hold themselves aloof from the population. Rather than simply
preaching their sermons and then refusing to further interact with the local
population, Hugh urges his readers to be friendly and show goodwill to those
whom they wish to impart their knowledge and moral guidance. This passage
reveals fascinating insights into the practicalities of the mission of preaching,
details which have been sorely lacking in earlier Song of Songs commentaries.
It serves as an illustration of Hughs desire for preachers to truly instruct others
by both word and example.
This passage also challenges the standard notion that the Dominicans pre-
ferred preaching in cities. Hughs idea of Dominicans lingering in rural villages,
instructing unrefined peasants and being friendly with them does not fit the
traditional image we have of the Dominicans preaching in places like Paris.
The passage goes on to say or in the villages, literally in worldly parishes,
where orphans without walls and without the protection of any rule are
confined.118 Here, the Hugh postill may be referring to members of the rural
parish clergy, living in villages that unlike cities, lack walls. These poorly edu-
cated priests, unlike the Dominicans, do not have the benefit of living under a
rule and being well educated. Hugh seems to be telling his readers that these
parish priests need instruction so they can better serve their flocks, and that
those who do live under a rule and who do have the benefit of education, the
Dominicans, should make it one of their tasks to teach these priests. Thus, the
focus of the Dominicans should not be only those living in cities, but those in
the countryside as well.
Hugh, like his predecessors that I have previously discussed, seems to argue
that one of the primary objectives of preaching is to combat heretics, a nebu-
lous and insidious group that continues to be a concern for orthodox clerics a
century after the Glossator wrote about their malign influence on weak-
minded Christians. In his interpretation of Song of Songs 2:15, Catch for us the
little foxes that destroy the vineyards, Hugh borrows from the Gloss and the
Chanter, but also incorporates Isidores Etymologies:
118 Vel in villis ad litteram in secularibus parochiis, ubi sunt pupilli absque muro et defen-
sione alicuius certe regule, qua claudantur. Hugh of St. Cher, Opera omnia, III, f. 135rb.
156 Chapter 5
Gloss Peter the Chanter Hugh of St. Cher

Catch for us the little Catch, therefore, seize Catch, with the snares of doctrine and
foxes, Foxes hide in and subdue the foxes, the hunting spears of preachingfor
holes, and when they clever schismatics us, not for you, that is [both] for my
come out they never and heretics little, honor and glory and for your
run in straight lines, that is while they are advantage. The little foxes, that is
just like heretics. Or little, in the beginning cunning heretics and clever schis-
little, that is, that is of their trickery, lest matics. Little, that is while they are
[catch them] in the they grow and thus little, and new in their trickery, lest
very beginning of harm more consider- greater acts should harm more
[their] trickery, lest ably. Catch for us, for considerably, and they are not able to
greater acts should my honor and glory be captured. Or little, that is, humble,
harm more consider- and for our advan- not in truth, but by pretense. Accord-
ably [catch] seize tage.120 ing to Isidore, they are called foxes, as
and subdue the little if [the word were] volipes (they are
foxes schismatics and twisting on their feet), whether by
heretics who are flying due to their swiftness, or by
cunning and make rolling on account of enveloping
themselves out to be [themselves] in deceitfulness. And
humble.119 therefore heretics are rightly called
foxes because they walk twisting and
entangled paths in disputing with and
speaking to others. Thus Job Chapter
6c says the paths of their steps are
entangled, they shall walk in vain,
and shall perish, (Job 6:18). The fox
also displays this kind of deceitful-
ness: when it has no food, it pretends
to be dead, and snatches and devours
the birds that descend toward it [cf.
Isidore of Seville, Etymologies, Book
119120
119 Capite nobis vulpes parvulas, vulpes in fovee abduntur et cum apparuerint numquam
directis itineribus currunt, sic heretici. Vel parvulas, id est in ipso initio fraudis ne maiores
effecte amplius noceant [capite] deprehendite et debellate vulpes parvulas scismaticos
et hereticos qui callidi sunt et se humiles fingunt. Dove, Glossa, II, 15, 155156, 912; II, 15,
160, 2021.
120 Capite ergo deprehendite et debellate vulpes astutos scismaticos et hereticos parvulas
id est dum sunt parvule initio fraudis destructe hereses ne grandescant et ita amplius
noceant capite inquam nobis ad gloriam et honorem mei et utilitatem nostri. Peter the
Chanter, Mazarine, MS 178, f. 45ra.
XII, 2, 29]. Thus heretics pretend to

be dead to the world, and they snatch
the incautious ones coming
to them, dragging these people into
hell with them, just as is said in
Proverbs 9d, her guests are in the
depths of hell [Prov. 9:18] which can
indeed be applied to those descend-
ing into hell. Therefore catch for us
these foxes, either with snares, as was
said [above], or with the might and
121 power of the secular arm.121
Here, Hugh echoes the Gloss, the Chanter, and most other exegetes in inter-
preting the foxes as heretics. He also parrots the Gloss in arguing that heretics
must be caught and either reformed or punished while they are little, or
before they have caused irreparable harm to the surrounding community.
Hugh, however, adds the colorful imagery of Isidore, who relates that foxes
feign death in order to lure unsuspecting birds into their mouths. Hugh pro-
vides the reader with a striking image when he argues that heretics do this as
well, by pretending to be dead to the world, or by feigning humility and pre-
tending that they do not care for worldly things. The heretics then drag their
unsuspecting victims into the depths of hell, where their souls are devoured.
In order to defeat heretics, Hugh proposes two solutions: they can be caught
with the snares and spears of good doctrine and preaching, or, if that fails, they
can be executed by the power of secular law. Thus Church and state must work
together in order to combat that grave threat of heresy. Hugh not only expands
121 Capite retibus doctrine, et predicationis venabulis nobis, non vobis, id est, ad honorem
et gloriam meam, et utilitatem vestram. Vulpes, id est, callidos hereticos, et astutos schis-
maticos. Parvulas, id est, dum parvule sunt, et nove in fraude sua, ne majores effecte plus
noceant, et capi non possint. Vel parvulas, id est, humiles, non veritate, sed simulatione.
Secundum Isid., vulpes dicitur, quasi volipes, sive a volando propter velocitatem, sive a
volvendo propter involutionem dolositatis. Et ideo recte heretici vulpes dicuntur, quia
tortuose et involute ambulant disputando, vel alias colloquendo. Unde Job 6c, Involute
sunt semite gressuum eorum, ambulabunt in vacuum, et peribunt. Habet etiam istam
fraudulentiam vulpes, ut cum escam non habet, mortuam se simulate, et aves ad ipsam
descendentes rapit, et devorat. Ita heretici mundo mortuos se simulant, et incautos ad eos
venientes rapiunt, et secum detrahunt ad infernum, sicut dicitur Prov. 9d, In profundis
inferni convive eius, qui enim applicabitur illi, descendit ad inferos. Has igitur vulpes
capite nobis ve retibus, ut dictum est, vel vi et potentia brachii secularis. Hugh of St. Cher,
Opera omnia, f. 119ra.
158 Chapter 5
upon the already colorful imagery we have seen applied to heretics by the
Glossator, Anselm, and the Chanter, but he goes beyond his predecessors in
calling for the ultimate punishment to be meted out to those heretics who can-
not be swayed by preaching and the powers of the Church.
Hughs postill on the Song of Songs is different from the works discussed in
preceding chapters in that it contains interpretations that do not play a signifi-
cant part in these other scholastic works, including the Marian interpretation
and the tropological interpretation. Nevertheless, the postill has far more simi-
larities than differences with the Gloss and the commentaries of Anselm of
Laon and the members of the biblical-moral school. Chief among these simi-
larities, of course, is the extensive amount of attention that Hugh devotes to
discussing the importance of preaching. In this way, the postill can certainly be
seen as following in footsteps of its predecessors. As is the case with the Gloss,
Hughs postill on the Song of Songs was a project launched in order to gather
together and simplify the work of biblical exegetes. But the postill is also simi-
lar to the Gloss in that both works contain many original contributions, and in
particular offer forceful opinions on the importance of preaching and the
active life to the health and survival of the Church. Hugh is not only calling for
a life focused on preaching, but he is living it out. Even more so than the
Glossator, Hugh speaks in his own voice, arguing for the supremacy of the
mendicant life of preaching, humility, and voluntary poverty.
Between 1100 and 1250, the model established in part by Gregory the Great
and Bede, but in its fullness by Anselm of Laon, the Chanter, Langton, and
Hugh, had become a reality. A mendicant order devoted to preaching above all
else was established. Popes called for preaching, wrote and delivered sermons
themselves, and gathered Church councils that enacted sweeping reforms. The
field of pastoralia, replete with collections of distinctiones and guidebooks for
pastoral care, exploded in popularity. A biblical book that had been viewed as
monastic in nature had been transformed into a text that featured both Christ
and the Church giving a ringing endorsement to an active life of preaching
rather than a quiet and retired life of contemplation. The commentary of
Anselm of Laon and the Gloss derived from it and Hugh of St. Chers postill
serve as bookends for an era of strikingly original interpretations of the Song of
Songs that differ greatly from monastic works and test our notions of how we
should define medieval Song of Songs exegesis.
Epilogue-Mendicant
Epilogue-Mendicant SongExegesis
Song of Songs of Songs Exegesis 159
Epilogue-Mendicant Song of Songs Exegesis in the

Late 13thEarly 14th Centuries: The Commentaries
of Peter Olivi and Nicholas of Lyra
While the end of the exegetical work of Hugh of St. Cher and his team around
1240 did not signal the absolute end of this particularly scholastic species of
Song of Songs commentary that focused on preaching and combating heresy,
the Hugh postill seems to be one of the last Song of Songs commentaries that
treats these issues in such depth. Overall, as Bert Roest has stated, the relative
weight of biblical studies vis--vis Sentences lectures and advanced quaestio-
nes literature within mendicant circles had changed after the 1230s, and
lectures on the Bible declined.1 This did not, however, signal an end to biblical
lectures and biblical commentary altogether. Commentaries by the Franciscans
Peter Olivi (12481298) and Nicholas of Lyra (c. 12701349) do not comfortably
fit into the same category as the commentaries I have previously discussed, but
Nicholas work in particular managed to exercise a considerable amount of
influence. While preaching is mentioned in the commentaries of both Olivi
and Nicholas, the pursuit of the active life is not a central concern of either
text. Each man concentrates on new themes and modes of exegesis, for the
most part leaving the mode of his predecessors behind. Despite all this, how-
ever, mendicant exegetes continued to write within homiletic contexts,
producing commentaries and postills that gave, in the words of Roest, fellow
preachers the materials to expound the word of God in the world.2
Peter Olivi, as David Burr has remarked, was a man apparently born to
polarize opinion.3 He was educated in Paris, likely arriving at the Franciscan
studium no later than 1268, but never attaining the rank of master.4 Olivi was
then sent to southern France, and during his time at houses in Montpellier and
Narbonne in the 1270s and 1280s, he produced a number of biblical commen-
taries, most likely including that on the Song of Songs.5 After being accused of
error in 1282, Olivi successfully defended himself and was rehabilitated at the
Franciscan General Chapter of Montpellier in 1287.6 Olivis work did not face

2 Ibid., 196.
3 David Burr, Olivi and Franciscan Poverty: The Origins of the Usus Pauper Controversy
(Philadelphia, 1989), 158.
4 Madigan, Olivi and the Interpretation of Matthew, 68.
5 Ibid.
6 Ibid., 71.

160 Epilogue-mendicant Song Of Songs Exegesis
condemnation again until after his death, when his Revelation commentary
was questioned in a lengthy process at the Council of Vienne in 1311 and finally
condemned by John XXII in 1326.7
Olivis commentary on the Song of Songs, however, did not face any particu-
lar scrutiny, and was not controversial. Johannes Schlageter, who has produced
an edition and German translation of the commentary, notes that like other
ecclesiastical commentators, Olivi rejects the notion that the Song of Songs is
concerned with carnal love.8 Instead, he believes that it treats divine love,
and he mixes an ecclesiological interpretation of the text, which had been
employed by most of his predecessors, with a more focused spiritual/mystical
interpretation, concentrating on the relationship between Christ and the indi-
vidual soul. In this respect, Olivis commentary has more in common with
monastic works on the Song of Songs such as Bernard of Clairvauxs sermons
than with the works of Anselm, the Chanter, and others who favored exploring
the story of Christs relationship with the Church.
Despite this significant difference, however, Schlageter notes in his appara-
tus 52 instances in which Olivi refers to the Gloss. In several of these references,
Olivi cites the Gloss explicitly. For example, in commenting on the vineyards
of Engaddi in Song 1:13, Olivi writes, And the Gloss says that these balsam
trees which grow in Engaddi are called vines because they are cultivated in the
[same] way as vines.9 Here, Olivi echoes the Gloss nearly word for word, sug-
gesting that he had a Glossed Bible alongside him as he worked on his own
commentary. The other commentators that Olivi refers to by name include
Church Fathers such as Jerome and Isidore of Seville and more modern writers
including Bernard of Clairvaux and Hugh of St. Victor, but he makes no refer-
ence, implicit or explicit, to the works of Anselm, the Chanter, Langton, or
Hugh of St. Cher. Indeed, the references that Olivi does make to the Gloss do
not focus on preaching or the active life, so it is perhaps not surprising that he
does not make use of the commentaries I have previously discussed. The issues
that these commentators focus on are not the issues that Olivi chooses to
emphasize in his own commentary.
7 David Burr, Olivis Peaceable Kingdom: A Reading of the Apocalypse Commentary (Philadelphia,
1993), 221.
8 Olivi distanziert sich nun grundstzlich von einer Deutung des Hohenlieds auf blo fleisch
liche liebe und verwirft sie im Einklang mit kirchlicher Tradition als ketzerisch. Johannes
Schlageter, ed. and trans., Petri Johannes Olivi, Expositio in Canticum Canticorum (Rome,
1999), 42.
9 Et dicit Glossa quod hic appellat vineas arbores balsami que in Engaddi crescent, quia in
modum vinearum excoluntur. Schlageter, Petri Johannes Olivi, 144.
Epilogue-Mendicant Song of Songs Exegesis 161
Olivi does make a few scattered references to preaching and the active life,
but these references make no claim that the active life is superior to the con-
templative, a notion that we have seen in all the commentaries explored in
this book. For example, in commenting on Song of Songs 7:1, the juncture of
your thighs like jewels which are made by the hand of a craftsman, Olivi writes
that or by this juncture, may be designated the unity of the active and
contemplative lives, in whose radical connection and stability lies the strength
[of the] proclaimed spiritual generation.10 Here, Olivi asserts, as many of his
predecessors have done, that a life uniting the active and contemplative is best,
and it is in this type of life that future generations of religious will flourish. He
does not argue, as Hugh of St. Cher in particular had so forcefully stated, that
the active life is superior to the contemplative, instead remaining rather tradi-
tional in calling for a balanced life.
Olivi is somewhat more forceful in his support of preaching in his epilogue,
in which he elaborates on the Song of Songs description of the various body
parts of the bride, which can be found in Chapters 4 and 7 of the text. In writ-
ing about the brides feet, Olivi notes that By feet, one may understand perfect
actives [those living the active life] who go forth around the world humbly and
in support of the whole Church; or feet are evangelical preachers wandering
about to and fro in poverty of spirit and in their nakedness for the spiritual sup-
port of the Church.11 Here, Olivi seems to argue that preachers, those perfect
actives, serve as the feet of the Church, in that they support the Church by
serving as a solid base and by their wandering preaching, which wins more
support for the Church. This echoes the attitudes toward preaching expressed
by Olivis predecessors, who all argue that preachers play an integral role in
protecting the Church and supporting it by spreading its message throughout
the world. These few passages are the only ones in which Olivi comments on
preaching and its importance. In commenting on verses like Song of Songs 2:10,
Arise, my beloved, and come, and 4:1, How beautiful you are, my beloved,
Olivis predecessors had all discussed the importance of preaching and in most
cases, the superiority of the active life. In his Song of Songs commentary, Olivi
either discusses spiritual matters and the virtues of contemplation (as is the
10 Vel per hanc iuncturam potest designari concordia vite active et contemplative a qua
manant gressus supradicti, in quarum radicali connexione et consistentia est vis concep-
tiva prolis spiritualis. Schlageter, Petri Johannes Olivi, 276.
11 Per pedes, etiam possunt intelligi perfecti active circa terram humiliter et in supporta-
tionem totius ecclesie procedentes; vel pedes sunt predicators evangelici in paupertate
spiritus et in nuditate ipsius pro spirituali supportatione ecclesie discurrentes hinc inde.
Schlageter, Petri Johannes Olivi, 332.
case in his interpretation of 4:1), or offers no comment at all (which is the case
for 2:10). The themes that had preoccupied Olivis predecessors do not capture
his interest in the same way.
While Olivis predecessors all show an interest in combating heresy, Olivi
shows little concern about heretics. In commenting on Song of Songs 2:15,
catch for us the little foxes that destroy the vineyards, all of Olivis predeces-
sors specifically associate these foxes with heretics. Olivi is more vague about
the foxes, writing,
Note that just as during the time of the flowering of the vineyard of the
primitive Church, there were false apostles who wandered to and fro like
little foxes gnawing the new flowers and buds of the newly converted
with their cunning teeth; thus in other times where there is a similar
beginning of a spiritual epoch, hypocrites alleging false humility and
temperance stream forth and lay waste to the new buds of the vineyard of
the Church.12
Here, Olivi echoes Anselm and the Chanter in particular, referring to hypo-
crites who allege false humility, but unlike those commentators, Olivi does not
explicitly refer to these hypocrites as heretics. While his predecessors use Song
of Songs 2:15 along with other verses as opportunities to rail against heretics
who are currently damaging the Church, the above comment serves as the only
one by Olivi that refers even obliquely to heresy. Indeed, it is possible that Olivi
means to refer not to heretics, but to those in his own order whose opinions
clash with his own. For Olivi, they may be more damaging to the Church than
any particular heretical group.
Unlike his commentaries on Matthew and the Apocalypse, which are rife
with references to Franciscan poverty, Olivi makes but one reference to this
issue in his Song of Songs commentary. In his interpretation of 8:7, if a man
were to give all the substance of his household for love, he would scorn it as
nothing, Olivi writes that
12 Nota quod sicut tempore primitive ecclesie florentis instar vinee fuerunt pseudo-apos-
toli quasi vulpecule discurrentes hinc inde et novos flores et germina noviter converso-
rum suis dolosis dentibus corrodentes, sic in ceteris temporibus circa consimilia initia
spiritualem statuum exundant hypocrite quamdam falsam humilitatis modicitatem pre-
tendentes et novella vinearum Christi germina devastantes. Schlageter, Petri Johannes
Olivi, 168170.
perfect love the love of the bride must certainly be of this kind
always includes in itself evangelical poverty, as long as it is a more internal
action, which, unless legitimate obstacles or impediments are present, it
is always necessary for external action to follow. This [external] action, in
fact, is the nature of our perfect internal will.13
Here, Olivi expresses the idea that voluntary poverty is an integral part of per-
fect love, and in fact stems naturally from the internal will. When perfect love
manifests itself in external actions, these actions always include adherence
to poverty, unless there are extenuating circumstances of some kind, which
Olivi fails to describe in detail. For Olivi, evangelical poverty is natural and
good, and comes from perfect love and a perfect internal will. There is no nega-
tive or vitriolic language directed against those who Olivi sees as being on the
wrong side of the usus pauper controversy, only this positive declaration of
the perfection of evangelical poverty. Interestingly, at least in the case of his
Song of Songs commentary, Olivi seems less concerned with addressing the
importance of voluntary poverty than Hugh of St. Cher and his team, who, as
mentioned above in Chapter 5, repeatedly mention poverty alongside humility
as essential qualities of preachers. Anyone reading Olivis Song of Songs com-
mentary knowing his devotion to the issue of poverty would likely be surprised
by his lack of emphasis on this issue in this particular work.
Since he was a mendicant and since his Song of Songs commentary was
written in the wake of that of Hugh of St. Cher and his team, one reading Olivis
work might expect to see similar language and content to Hughs postill.14 But
in Olivis commentary, there are no indictments of monks and secular clerics
for hypocritical behavior. There is no outright championing of the active life of
prayer over the contemplative life of isolated meditation, as we have seen in
Hughs postill and in the works of Olivis other predecessors. Instead, Olivis
commentary is a rather traditional offering from a Franciscan who courted
13 perfecta caritas qualis utique debet esse caritas sponse includit in se simper evan-
gelicam paupertatem quoad suum actum interiorem, quem-nisi assit legitimum obstacu-
lum vel impedimentum-actus suus exterior simper et necessario habet sequi. Hoc enim
est de natura perefecti actus interioris nostre voluntatis. Schlageter, Petri Johannes Olivi,
316.
14 Olivi does not cite Hugh in his Revelation commentary either, perhaps indicating that
Hughs postills were not quite so indispensible as Smalley believes them to have been.
See Smalley, Study of the Bible, 273. We must also keep in mind that Olivi was not a typical
Franciscan of his era, and may not have used all the typical sources. He was sent away
from Paris, and although his Song of Songs commentary was not questioned, other works
he wrote were cited for error.
controversy his whole career and faced condemnation for his Apocalypse
commentary. The commentary is quite distinct from the Song of Songs com-
mentaries of Olivis predecessors discussed earlier in this book, despite the
presence of a few scattered similarities to those works. Overall, Olivis com-
mentary cannot be said to fall into the same tradition as the other works
discussed in this book, perhaps indicating that by Olivis time, the method and
content used to compose Song of Songs commentary had shifted once more, at
least for some working on the text.
Nicholas of Lyras postill on the Song of Songs, like Olivis commentary, does
not dwell on the importance of preaching and the active life. Nicholas has
been called the greatest biblical exegete of the fourteenth century, and per-
haps the greatest in the West since Jerome.15 He earned this reputation due to
his knowledge of Hebrew teachings, his clear and simple style of exegesis, and
his dedication to commenting on the literal sense of the books of the Bible. He
entered the Franciscan order in 1300, and became a master in 1308, joining the
theology faculty at Paris the following year.16 Nicholas began his literal postill
on the entire Bible in 1322, and completed it nine years later, producing a work
that sought to complement the allegorical interpretations produced by his pre-
decessors and contemporaries.17 By 1339, he completed the much shorter
moral postill, which, as Bert Roest states, was meant to be a concise handbook
for order lectors and preachers in the provinces, providing short moral, typo-
logical, and allegorical notes 18 Nicholas himself noted that the Song of
Songs was particularly difficult to interpret literally, and he seems to have com-
mented on the book only once.19 Through the use of the parabolic or double
literal sense, Nicholas was able to show that which is signified by the words and
15 Philip D.W. Krey and Lesley Smith, Nicholas of Lyra: The Senses of Scripture (Leiden,
2000), 1.
16 Ibid., 2.
17 Deeana Klepper notes that [b]y the time he began compiling his definitive version of the
Postilla litteralis super Bibliam in 1322, he had already worked out earlier versions of com-
mentary on a number of books, which helps to explain how he was able to complete such
a monumental task single-handedly in the span of nine years. See Deeana Klepper, The
Insight of Unbelievers: Nicholas of Lyra and Christian Readings of Jewish Text in the Later
Middle Ages (Philadelphia, 2007), 1011.
19 As James Kiecker notes, quite possibly Lyras attitude toward the Song was the same as
his attitude toward the Epistles which he also explained only once: sensus litteralis est
simpliciter moralis propter quod illas pertranseo (the literal sense is simply the moral
sense, so I will skip them). See James George Kiecker, ed. and trans., The Postilla of Nicho-
las of Lyra on the Song of Songs (Marquette, WI, 1998), 12.
the figurative meaning of the words.20 In this way, he produced a cleverly writ-
ten work that serves as one of scholasticisms most significant contributions
to the creative understanding of biblical literature.21
Nicholas opens his postill on the Song of Songs with a lengthy passage
describing the many types of Song of Songs exegesis and laying out his ratio-
nale for interpreting the text literally. Interestingly, this is not a separate incipit,
but part of his commentary on 1:1, Let him kiss me with the kisses of his
mouth. Nicholas notes that the Song of Songs directs us to seek heavenly
bliss, and writes that he already explained this quite fully in his preface to
the three books of Solomon.22 Nevertheless, he still feels that it is necessary to
describe fully how he plans to interpret the text and what pitfalls the exegete of
this enigmatic book may encounter. Among these problems Nicholas notes is
that our [Latin] translation frequently disagrees with the Hebrew text.23 The
other major difficulty with the text, according to Nicholas, is that while the
Song of Songs takes the form of a parable, it is not clear to whom the points of
the parable should be applied in order to arrive at the literal sense, and this
makes it difficult to interpret this book.24 In other words, there is a bride and
a groom, but the text does not offer any clues to tell the reader who this bride
and groom are or how their wedding song should be interpreted. These are the
major issues that Nicholas grapples with in his postill. It is interesting to note
that these issues do not seem to have piqued the interest of the predecessors of
Nicholas whose commentaries I discussed earlier.25 The Glossator, Anselm,
the Chanter, Langton, and Hugh all subscribe to the ecclesiological interpreta-
tion of the Song of Songs and for the most part show little to no concern with
20 Mary Dove, Literal Senses in the Song of Songs, in Krey and Smith, Nicholas of Lyra, 132.
21 Ibid., 146.
22 tertius inducens ad amorem superne felicitates; sicut dictum fuit plenius ubi posui
quondam prefationem pro istis tribus libris. All translations from Nicholas Song of Songs
commentary are taken from Kiecker, The Postilla of Nicholas of Lyra; this quotation can be
found on 2829. The first number indicates the page number of the original Latin (from
the Biblia cum postillis, 3 vols., Venice: Franciscus Renner, 1482), the second the page num-
ber of the English translation.
23 translatio nostra in pluribus locis discrepat a littera Hebraica Kiecker, The Postilla
of Nicholas of Lyra, 2829.
24 nec tamen apparet lucide quibus personis determinate parabole secundum sensum
litteralem sint applicande, et hoc cum predictis difficultatem ingerit in hoc libro. Kiecker,
The Postilla of Nicholas of Lyra, 2829.
25 As was the case with Olivi, when I refer to Nicholas predecessors or the schoolmen
who preceded Nicholas in this chapter, I am referring only to the Glossator, Anselm, the
Chanter, Langton, and Hugh, and not any other commentator on the Song of Songs whose
work I have not discussed extensively.
(or knowledge about) differences between the Hebrew and Latin text. These
characteristics of Nicholas postill serve to set it apart from these other com-
mentaries, and show the new ground he was breaking as a biblical exegete.
Nicholas goes on in his prefatory remarks to note the different interpreta-
tions of the parable told in the Song of Songs. He writes that some assign the
role of the groom to Solomon, while his bride is Pharaohs daughter, but
Nicholas rejects this notion as improper for Scripture, for although this love
would be within the bonds of matrimony nevertheless, it would be fleshly
and often such a love has a certain dishonorable and improper quality about
it.26 Thus, Nicholas rejects this interpretation as faulty because a parable
dealing with carnal love of any kind would not be included among the canoni-
cal books by the Hebrews and the Latins 27
Nicholas also finds problematic the very interpretation of the text on which
his predecessors relied. He notes that Hebrew scholars have interpreted the
text as referring to the love between God and the Jews, while Catholic exposi-
tors commonly say that this book depicts the love between Christ and the
Church, understanding the Church as an entity separate from the Synagogue
and that in doing this, the Catholic interpreters like the Hebrews try to use
the text for their own purposes.28 In stating this, Nicholas does not seem to
account for the fact that many of his predecessors followed the Glossators lead
(and indeed that of Gregory the Great, Bede, and others), arguing that the
Church and Synagogue joined together toward the end of the Song of Songs
narrative. Mary Dove notes that Nicholas must certainly have known that all
significant Catholic expositors identify the bride both with the Synagogue and
with the Christian Church, but he may have been attempting to set himself
apart from what he saw as incomplete expositions of the Song of Songs text.29
Nicholas claims that both interpretations are too narrow, and that the Hebrew
interpreters cannot explain some things without the New Testament, and
Catholic interpreters often use the Hebrew Bible incorrectly. The only way to
26 infra limies matrimonii contentus tamen carnalis fuit, et frequenter habet talis
amor aliquid inhonestum et illicitum adiunctum Kiecker, The Postilla of Nicholas of Lyra,
28,30; 29.
27 hic liber qui semper fuit ab Hebreis et Latinis inter canonicos libros reputatus
Kiecker, The Postilla of Nicholas of Lyra, 3031.
28 Expositores vero Catholici dicunt communiter, quod iste liber loquitur de amore Christi
et Ecclesie, accipiendo Ecclesiam prout dividitur contra synagogam et sic tam illi quam
isti nituntur ad suas intentiones litteram applicare. Kiecker, The Postilla of Nicholas of
Lyra, 3031.
29 Mary Dove, Literal Senses in the Song of Songs, 135.
attempt to combine these interpretations and get closer to the true meaning of
the Song of Songs is to give the literal sense.
Nicholas states that the literal sense is not that which is signified by the
words, but that which is signified by the things signified by the words.30 For
Nicholas, the thing that is signified by the word bridegroom is God, and
that signified by bride is the Church, embracing the circumstances of
both Testaments. For just as there is one faith held by modern and ancient
people so there is one Church though there are differences depending on
greater or lesser closeness to God, with greater closeness occurring in the time
of the New Testament.31 Thus, Nicholas writes that his exposition of the Song
of Songs will fit into a historical context. Chapters one through six will describe
the love between God and the Church during the time of the Hebrew Bible,
and the last two chapters will describe the love during the New Testament.
As Dove notes, this structure is untraditional in that Nicholas divides up the
book in such a way that Old and New Testaments are given something like pro-
portional representation.32 Throughout the first half of his postill, Nicholas,
like many Rabbinic exegetes including Rashi, describes the Song of Songs in
the historical context of the Jews and their exodus from Egypt. Dove remarks,
however, that even while Nicholas concentrates on the literal-historical inter-
pretation of the Jews and their interactions with God through chapter six of
the Song of Songs, he mentions the New Testament when commenting on Song
4:6, writing Till the day break, namely, the period of the New Testament And
the shadows retire, because in the New Testament the figures cease when the
Truth comes, whose shadows in a certain sense they were.33 Thus, Nicholas
devotes space in his postill to both the history of the Jews and the love between
Christ and the Church as displayed in the New Testament.
30 non ille qui per voces significatur, sed qui per res significatas primo intelligitur
31 complectens statum utriusqur Testamenti, quia sicut est una fides modernorum et
antiquorum sic est una Ecclesia variata tamen secundum maiorem et minorem coni-
unctionem ad Deum, quia magis coniuncta est tempore Novi Testamenti Kiecker, The
Postilla of Nicholas of Lyra, 3233.
32 Dove, Literal Senses in the Song of Songs, 136.
33 Donec aspiret dies, scilicet, Novi Testamenti Et inclinentur umbre, quia in Novo Testa-
mento cessant figure adveniente veritate, cuius quodammodo errant umbre. Keicker, The
Postilla of Nicholas of Lyra, 6869. Dove notes that the New Testament is first mentioned
here at the midpoint of the Song of Songs text, saying that the moment of transition from
Old to New is nevertheless at the centre of history, and so, for Nicholas, it is the cent[er]-
point of the text. Dove, Literal Senses in the Song of Songs, 136.
Throughout his postill, Nicholas compares the Hebrew text with the Latin
and almost always finds the Latin text lacking, a flaw that he is not at all reluc-
tant to emphasize. For example, in commenting on Song of Songs 1:9, Your
cheeks are beautiful as the turtledoves, Nicholas writes:
The Hebrew text has, Thy cheeks are beautiful in rows, that is in rows of
ornamentation circling your face, orderly arranged. This fits in with the
statement which follows, Thy neck as jewels, since jewels are ornamenta-
tion for the neck The Hebrew word used here means both turtledoves
and rows. Our [Latin] translation follows the first meaning, but the
Hebrew interpreters follow the other. The word rows agrees more with
the statement which follows, as we saw. It also fits better with the state-
ment that comes after that: We will make thee chains of gold inlaid with
silver.34
Here, Nicholas uses the context of the passage to determine that the Hebrew
meaning of the word used by Jewish commentators is superior to that used by
Latin exegetes. As he often does throughout his postill, Nicholas sides with
Jewish exegetes, who he believes have chosen the correct interpretation of the
term. Thus, Nicholas goes back to the Hebrew source and looks at Jewish inter-
pretations of the text in order to determine the best translation. This sort of
exercise was not performed by his predecessors, who had little or no knowl-
edge of Hebrew and did not appear to have examined Jewish interpretations of
the Song of Songs in any depth.
Nicholas also examines the Hebrew text in commenting on 1:3, Draw me
after you, we will run to the odor of your ointments. He notes, however, that
this last phrase, to the odor of thy ointments, does not belong in the [Latin]
text because it is not in the Hebrew. Apparently, some doctor wrote this phrase
as an interlinear gloss, and later it was inserted in to the [Latin] text by scribal
error.35 Here, we not only see Nicholas examining the Hebrew, but also finding
34 Pulchre sunt gene tue sicut turturis, id est, pulchritude fides tue est mihi amabilis. In
Hebreo habitu: Pulchre sunt gene tue in ordinibus, id est in ornamentis circa faciem tuam
ordinate dispositis, et ad hoc consonant litteram sequens cum dicitur: Collum tuum sicut
monila, sunt enim monila colli ornamenta nomen Hebraicum ibi positum est equivo-
cum ad turtures et ordines, translatio nostra sequitur primam significationem, Hebrei
vero aliam quorum dicto magis consonant littera sequens, ut visum est. Et ad idem perti-
nent quod subditur: Murenulas aureas faciemus tibi vermiculatas argento Kiecker, The
Postilla of Nicholas of Lyra, 4243.
35 Trahe me post te Hoc tamen, scilicet, In odore unguentorum tuorum, non est de textu,
quia non est in Hebreo, secundum ab aliquot doctore fuit appositum per modum interlin-
what appears to be a phrase in the Latin translation that was not in the original
text. He even posits a plausible-sounding reason for this error. All the com-
mentaries I have examined by his predecessors, of course, contain the phrase
to the odor of your ointments, and comment on it. They also all make refer-
ence to the island of Cyprus when commenting on Song of Songs 1:13, a cluster
of cypress is my love to me, whereas Nicholas simply writes, Cypress here is
not the name of the island [Cyprus], which is in the Mediterranean Sea.36
Since Cyprus is in the Mediterranean and not the Holy Land, it does not fit into
the literal-historical narrative that Nicholas is trying to construct in his com-
mentary, and thus he rejects the commonplace used by so many of his
predecessors. Nicholas shows his knowledge of Hebrew once again in com-
menting on 8:5, under the apple tree, I raised you up. He writes You must also
realize that the word apple here is not an adjective, as some think, explaining
this as a reference to the tree which was forbidden to Adam and Eve, because
in Hebrew, instead of two words apple tree, there is only one word, red, which
refers to a pomegranate tree. The former explanation comes from an ignorance
of idiomatic Hebrew.37 Here, Nicholas again tears down a well-established
interpretation of this verse used by all his predecessors and implicitly criticizes
other Latin exegetes for not knowing Hebrew so they can try to recapture the
original meaning of the text.
Nicholas displays a difference between his interpretation and those of the
Glossator and Anselm in his comment on 1:1, because your breasts are better
than wine. He writes
The Hebrew word used here means both loves and breasts in this
case the Hebrew interpreters seem to be on better ground, because,
according to the peculiar nature of the Hebrew language, what seems
here to be directed to the bride is actually directed to the groom, and, in
praising the groom, it does not seem proper to mention his breasts. On
the other hand, it might be said that, by the breasts of the groom, the full-
ness of Gods mercy is understood.38
earis glose, qua postea inserta fuit textui per imperitam scriptorium. Kiecker, The Postilla
of Nicholas of Lyra, 3637.
36 Et ideo Cyprus non est hic nomen insule que est in Mari Mediterraneo, quia ibi non sunt
dicte vine. Kiecker, The Postilla of Nicholas of Lyra, 4446; 47.
37 Et sciendum quod littera malo non est hic adiectivum, ut credunt aliqui, exponents hoc
de arbore vetita Ade et Eve, quia in Hebreo pro istis duabus dictionibus, arbore mal, poni-
tur punica, que significant malogranatum, ideo exposition illa procedit ex ignorantia
idiomatis Hebrei. Kiecker, The Postilla of Nicholas of Lyra, 112114; 115.
38 nomen enim Hebraicum hic positum equivocum est ad amores et ubera in hoc
videntur Hebrei melius dicere, quia secundum proprietatem Hebraici sermonis sponsa
hic alloquitur sponsum, in commendatio vero sponsi non videtur decenter fieri mentio
Despite this last comment, Nicholas seems unconvinced that the bridegrooms
breasts should be mentioned at all; he immediately begins to talk about the
bridegrooms loves in the next sentence. The Glossator, following Bede, dif-
fered from Nicholas in that he felt that the term breasts had been used
deliberately in order to show that from the very beginning of this song, he
may reveal himself to be speaking figuratively.39 While Bede and the Glossator
are not as disturbed by the phrase as Nicholas seems to be, they still feel the
need to further explicate this somewhat confusing verse. Anselm of Laon, on
the other hand, has no qualms in accepting Christ as having breasts, Anselm
simply writes, your breasts, that is, your teachings, which are breasts, that is
nourishing the faithful, just as breasts nourish children, with no extraneous
explanations.40 Nicholas himself then seems to reject his own squeamishness
with the idea of Christs breasts in his comment on 7:7, your stature is likened
to a palm tree, and your breasts to clusters of grapes. Here, Nicholas writes
with no other comment that Christs breasts contain an abundance of milk for
nursing his sons and the whole Church.41 Perhaps there is no ambiguity with
the Hebrew here, or perhaps Nicholas felt that the breasts of Christ made
more sense in this context than in 1:1. In any case, Nicholas interpretation is
much closer to that of his predecessors in this second reference.
Throughout his postill, Nicholas seems to accept the Hebrew interpretation
over the Latin in several cases. He rejects the Hebrew interpretation, however,
rather strikingly in his comment on the last verse of the Song of Songs, 8:14. It
reads:
Flee away, O my beloved This flee away means the taking of the bride
with the groom to heaven in the near future, which the Church so highly
desires and seeks in her flee away in line with the mistaken Jewish belief,
saying that with these words the Jewish people seek to be freed from the
captivity in which they now live by the coming of the Messiah. But this
de uberibus. Potest tamen dici quod per ubera sponsi hic intelligitur plentudo miseri-
cordie Dei. Kiecker, The Postilla of Nicholas of Lyra, 3234; 35.
39 Ubera sponsi nominat, quod muliebre est, ut ipso carminis initio figurate se loqui mani-
festet. Dove, Glossa, I, 1, 11, 3738. Dove also discusses this in Literal Senses, 133.
40 ubera tua id est precepta que sunt ubera id est fideles nutrientia ut ubera nutriunt
pueros Anselm of Laon, BnF, MS lat. 338 f. 61rb; BnF, MS lat. 3652, f. 12r. See above, 19.
41 abundantiam lactis ad nutritionem filiorum Christi et Ecclesie. Kiecker, The Postilla of
Nicholas of Lyra, 196107.
explanation is based on a shaky foundation. These words are better

explained as I did.42
When his ideological difference with the Jewish interpretation is great,

Nicholas has no problem bluntly rejecting it. Interestingly, unlike in other pas-
sages, Nicholas does not try to explain or qualify why he chooses this particular
interpretation. It seems that theology and the basic difference in the tenets of
Christianity and Judaism led Nicholas to draw his commentary to a close with
a strong Christian message.
The notion of the importance of preaching and the active life is almost
entirely absent in Nicholas Song of Songs postill, as is any mention of the
perils of heresy, both issues that occupied large portions of his predecessors
commentaries. Nicholas makes no specific references to heretics, and only two
somewhat oblique references to preaching, which both occur in Chapter 7. In
his comment on 7:8, I said, I will go up into the palm tree, Nicholas writes For
while they are in contemplation, contemplatives absorb what they afterwards
pour forth in their teaching, as can be clearly seen in the case of Paul after his
vision, and in the lives of many other doctors of the Church.43 This sounds as
if it could have come from the commentaries of any of Nicholas predecessors,
who favored preaching over contemplation, and yet argued that a balanced
life in most cases is best, and that one should go up from contemplation to
action. Two verses later, Nicholas also echoes some of his predecessors in his
comment on 7:11, Let us go out into the field, let us linger in the villages, writ-
ing, This is what the bride is asking for here, when she says, Come, my beloved,
let us go forth into the villages, by spreading the faith throughout the world. Let
us abide in the villages by building churches in the cities and villages.44 Again,
Nicholas essentially follows the same interpretation as his predecessors, albeit
in a more subdued manner.
42 per eam intelligitur velox translatio sponse cum sponso ad celestia, quod summe
desiderat et petit in orationibus suis Ecclesia, ut patet in officio ecclesastico, et per talem
modum exponit hanc fugam Rabbi Salomon trahendo tamen litteram ad errorem Iudai-
cum, dicens quod plebs Iudaica per hoc petit liberari a captivitate ista in qua est modo
per Messiam futuram. Sed hec expositio fundatur super falsum fundamentum, ideo bene
exponitur modo predicto Kiecker, The Postilla of Nicholas of Lyra, 122124; 123125.
43 Contemplativi enim in contemplatione hauriunt que postea per doctrinam effundunt,
sicut patet de Paulo post eius raptum, et de multis aliis doctoribus. Kiecker, The Postilla of
Nicholas of Lyra, 106107.
44 et hoc est quod petit sponsa hic: Veni dilecte mi egrediamur in agrum, per diffusionem
fidei in orbe terrarium. Commoremur in villis, edificando Ecclesias in civitatibus et villis.
For the most part, however, Nicholas seems unconcerned with issues like
preaching and heresy. In commenting on verses of the Song of Songs which
figures like the Chanter and Langton had used to write about preaching and
the active life, Nicholas employs his own literal-historical interpretation of the
text and eschews his predecessors example. For 2:15, catch for us the little
foxes, for example, Nicholas predecessors (and older figures such as Gregory
the Great and Bede) all refer to the foxes as heretics who are destroying the
vineyard (the Church) and must be captured. Nicholas, on the other hand,
writes that the foxes are
those persons who cunningly led the people into idolatry. For our vine-
yards, that is, the Israelites, as in Isaiah 5 [7]: For the vineyard of the Lord
of hosts is the house of Israel Just as wolves, running through a vine-
yard in blossom, cause great damage by knocking off the blossoms, so the
above-mentioned idolaters caused great spiritual damage in the vineyard
of Israel.45
While one could interpret those persons who cunningly led the people into
idolatry, as heretics, Nicholas specifically couches the foxes in terms of those
who led the Israelites into idolatry in the book of Exodus, which is the histori-
cal context in which Nicholas writes the first half of his commentary. In
contrast with his predecessors, he seems unconcerned with contemporary
problems with heresy.
While Nicholas comment on 2:15 could possibly be interpreted as referring
in some way to contemporary heretics, his explication of 4:1, apart from that
which lies inside, bears no relation to the interpretations of his predecessors.
Nicholas asserts that the opening verses of Chapter 4 describe the brides phys-
ical beauty, which is in turn equal to her spiritual beauty. Overall, she can be
interpreted as representing Israel. Therefore, apart from that which lies inside
is interpreted as the beautiful alignment of the limbs concealed under the
clothing, and not as Hugh interprets it, referring to hypocritical monks and
seculars.46 In addition, the hair, teeth, and lips are actually the hair, teeth, and
45 personas dolose inducentes populam ad idolatriam. Nam vinea nosta, id est, plebs
Israelitica, Isaias V: Vinea Domini exercituum domus Israel est sicut tempore floritionis
vinee vulpes ibi transeuntes et flores excutientes faciunt magnum damnum, sic predicti
idolatre in vinea Israel fecerunt magnum damnum spiritual. Kiecker, The Postilla of Nicho-
las of Lyra, 5455.
46 Absque eo quod intrinsecus latet, id est, pulchra membrorum dispositio sub vestibus
latent. Kiecker, The Postilla of Nicholas of Lyra, 64; 6567.
lips of the bride, and not preachers or voluntary paupers or any other more
allegorical figures. Song of Songs 2:10, Arise, hurry, my beloved, and come,
which has been a key verse for Nicholas predecessors in talking about arising
from contemplation to action, is interpreted by Nicholas as lift up your spirit
at my words, my love, that is, by means of love, my dove, by undivided atten-
tion, my beautiful one, by outward decency, and come, to serve me alone.47
Thus, the themes that seemed to have driven the other commentators for the
most part have disappeared in Nicholas postill. In his desire to explain the
Song of Songs in a literal and historical sense, he avoided the allegorical inter-
pretation favored by his predecessors, who turned the Song of Songs into an
urgent divine command to preach in order to save the Church from peril.
Nicholas of Lyra, on the other hand, strove to incorporate Hebrew interpreta-
tions into his postill, and to produce a clear and useful interpretation of the
Song of Songs.
Overall, the striking similarities that seem to group together the Gloss and
the Song of Songs commentaries of Anselm, the Chanter, Langton, and Hugh
are largely absent from the commentaries of Peter Olivi and Nicholas of Lyra.
The general emphasis on preaching and combating heresy in order to improve
the state of the Church that characterized the first set of works is difficult to find
in the second set. Why is it the case that the commentaries of two Franciscans,
members of an order dedicated in large part to preaching, rarely even mention
preaching? Perhaps the best answer to this question is to note that the nature
of biblical exegesis changed by the end of the thirteenth century. As Beryl
Smalley notes, If we examine a Paris postill of the later thirteenth century we
shall be equally impressed by what is not there. Masters have reduced both
form and content of their lectures to something more closely resembling a
modern university course.48 Gone were the days of lengthy, overstuffed com-
mentaries like those of Langton; late thirteenth century and early fourteenth
century biblical commentaries tended to be more specialized.
In addition, Smalley writes that the art of preaching was not actually taught
as a separate subject in the schools; but the production of the ars predicato-
ria and the exempla collection has relieved him [the master] of the need to
put so much instruction on preaching into his lectures49 Thus, the emphasis
that the Glossator, Anselm, and the Parisian masters placed on preaching in
47 Surge propera, ide est, animum erige ad verba mea. Amica mea, per caritatatem.
Columba mea, per intentionis simplicitatem. Formosa mea, per exteriorem honestatem.
Et veni, ad serviendum mihi soli. Kiecker, The Postilla of Nicholas of Lyra, 5253.
49 Ibid.
their Song of Songs commentaries found another outlet in these new types
of collections. By the late thirteenth century, these specialized preaching col-
lections may have made commentaries containing lengthy passages on the
importance of the active life obsolete in a way. Parisian masters, even those
mendicants whose orders were founded on preaching, now dedicated their
Song of Songs commentaries to new topics and new ways of seeking various
interpretations of the text. Themes that had been dominant among the bibli-
cal-moral school and Hugh of St. Cher and his team were supplanted by new
themes. Nevertheless, Anselm, the Glossator, the Chanter, Langton, and Hugh
all played an important role in the medieval schools, wielding considerable
influence over the clergy and its interactions with the laity. The ideas of the
first four men contributed to the founding of the mendicant movement that
the fifth man represented so well. This group of exegetes helped establish a
particular species of scholastic exegesis that flourished in Paris and environs
for almost two hundred years, leaving its mark on the high medieval Church.
They took a biblical text that monks had seen as a reflective work championing
contemplation and transmuted it into a guidebook for leading a religious life
marked by pastoral reform in the exciting environment of spiritual ferment in
twelfth- and thirteenth-century Europe.
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Index Index 185
Index
Page numbers in italics indicate tables. and, 1825, 18n40, 20n46, 4546, 142, 160;
bridegroom/Christ allegory and, 1924,
Abelard, Peter, 1011, 10n13, 70n82, 76 20n46, 46, 142; bride/Synagogue allegory
Abulafia, Anna Sapir, 4850 and, 18n40, 3132, 4448, 44n132, 50; the
active life: Anselm of Laon and, 45, 17, 50, 111, Chanter on, 8; classifications of Song of
126; apostolic imitation and, 12, 38; the Songs and, 1217, 12nn2122, 13, 14, 13n26,
Chanter and, 76, 8590, 88, 96, 111, 126; 14nn2728, 16n33, 17n37; continuous
Christ imitation and, 2, 63, 89, 11011, 145; commentaries and, 4, 8, 8n3, 11n17, 1218,
Church debates and, 69, 69n81; Glossed 12nn2122, 13, 14, 13n26, 14n28; conversion
Song of Songs and, 5, 5963, 67, 7071, of Jews and, 5, 8, 1718, 18n40, 24, 3132,
70n82, 8889; Martha and, 59, 11011, 124; 4344, 44n132, 44n134, 50; erotic imagery
mendicants and, 7; and monastic life and, 23; exegetical commentaries and, 8;
combination, 5960, 11014, 11718, 141, 143, the Gloss and, 45, 8, 17, 50, 52, 54, 54n19;
16162, 171; new themes in scholastic Glossed Song of Songs and, 45, 89, 1112,
exegesis and, 15961, 163, 17172, 174; 1718, 2122, 50, 52, 70n82, 97, 111; heresy
papacy and, 111, 12021, 124, 126; patristic threats and, 5, 17, 2526, 3243, 32n81,
exegesis, 5152, 5961, 11011; Song of 33n84, 37n101, 37n103, 38n109, 40n117,
Songs text and, 34, 4n4; superiority of, 4143, 124, 15758; Jews as preachers and,
14, 67, 5152, 5961, 67, 76, 8590, 88, 96, 47, 50; Langton and, 97, 106, 111, 11517;
11016, 119, 126, 14249, 151, 153. See also Laon school masters and, 9; lax Christians
preaching; teaching and, 18; literal exegesis and, 4445, 49;
Alcuin, 5758, 63 negative view of Jews and, 18n40, 32;
Alexander of Hales, 43 philosophical ideas as suspect and, 2628,
allegorical exegesis: animals/heretics and, 27n69, 149; positive view of Jews and, 5,
3237, 32n81, 33n84, 124, 15558, 162, 172; 4445, 4850; practical issues and, 29;
body parts and, 70n83, 81, 9093, 152, 161; preachers characteristics and role and, 17,
individual soul and, 2, 51, 58, 78, 78n29, 82, 2324, 2731, 41, 125n27, 162; preaching
97, 14041, 14749, 160; Israel and, 172; and, 46, 8, 1726, 19n41, 19n44, 20n46,
Langton and, 10810; scholastic exegesis 2426, 2943, 30n78, 32n81, 33n84, 37n101,
and, 3. See also bride allegory; bridegroom 37n103, 46, 50, 110, 116, 121; reform and, 25,
allegory 50, 11920, 120n1; reportationes and, 75;
Andre, Alexander, 52 salvation and, 2425; scholastic theolo-
Andrew of St. Victor, 48, 76 gians' influences and, 56, 9, 11, 4748, 50,
animals/heretics allegory, 3237, 32n81, 158; speaker-rubrics and, 18, 18n40, 59;
33n84, 124, 15558, 162, 172 students preparation for preaching and,
Anselm of Canterbury, 19n41 2324, 2931; teaching and, 8, 1011; union
Anselm of Laon: abridged commentary and, of Christ with Church and, 18; wandering
4, 11n17, 18; active life and, 45, 17, 50, 111, preachers as heretics and, 3840, 38n109,
126; animals/heretics allegory and, 3237, 40n117, 4243
32n81, 33n84, 124, 15758; attributions/ apostles, 12, 38, 62, 69
misattributions of commentaries and, apostolic life: Christ imitation and, 2, 4;
1117, 11n17, 12n22, 13, 14, 14nn2728, 16n33, Church debates and, 12, 45, 7, 68, 69,
102, 102n26; biographical information 69n81; exegetical commentaries and, 12;
about, 811; breasts imagery and, 1819, Glossed Song of Songs and, 5, 68; heresy
19n41, 3637, 169; bride/Church allegory apostolic life: Christ imitation and (cont.)

186 Index
threats and, 1, 4, 123; papacy and, 119; 136n71, 139, 141, 146, 16667, 167n33;
poverty commitment and, 69n81; teaching and, 52
preaching and, 1, 4, 6869; reform and, 7; body parts allegories, 70n83, 81, 9093, 152,
Song of Songs verses and, 4n4; superiority 161
of, 13, 67; teaching and, 1 Bolton, Brenda, 12
Aristotle, 135, 135n67 breasts imagery, 1819, 19n41, 3637, 6667, 81,
Astell, Ann W., 56n29 16970
Augustine, 41, 43, 13536 bride allegory: Church and, 24, 4n4, 1825,
18n40, 19n41, 20n46, 4546, 6162, 142,
Baldwin, John W., 5n5, 70n83, 7273, 73n6, 75, 14849, 153, 16667; individual soul and, 2,
76n21, 8182, 98, 120 51, 58, 78, 82, 14041, 14749, 160; Mariol-
Bataillon, Louis-Jacques, 129 ogy and, 2, 78, 78n29, 97, 138; Synagogue
Bede: active and monastic life combination and, 18n40, 31, 4346, 44n132, 47, 50,
and, 5960; animals/heretics allegory and, 9495, 166
172; breasts imagery and, 170; bride/ bridegroom allegory: Christ and, 24, 4n4,
Church allegory and, 2, 166; bridegroom/ 1924, 19n44, 20n46, 46, 5962, 13839, 142,
Christ allegory and, 2, 19, 5960, 166; 16667; Solomon and, 138, 166
conversion of Jews and, 43; exegetical Bruschi, Caterina, 38
commentaries and, 3; faith and, 65; Buc, Philippe, 93
Glossed Song of Songs and, 56n29, 57n31, Burr, David, 159
5762, 6465, 6768, 79; laity and, 64; lax
Christians and, 61; monastic life as Carolingian texts, 5557
superior and, 2, 59, 61, 63; preaching and, Carra de Vaux, Bruno, 13031, 131n50
2, 5961, 6768; salvation and, 62; Catharism, 43, 124, 148
scholastic theologians' influence and, 158; cathedral schools: exegetical commentaries
union of Christ with Church and, 61, and, 23, 7; the Gloss and, 57, 52, 55,
79n30 55n22; Glossed Song of Songs and, 66,
Bernard of Clairvaux: active and monastic life 7071; Laon school and, 13, 811, 52, 54,
combination and, 111; animals/heretics 54n19, 68n74, 72; scholastic exegesis and, 1.
allegory and, 33n84, 172; breasts imagery See also Parisian masters and schools
and, 19n41, 140; Dominicans and, 140; Chenu, M.-D., 1, 69
individual soul and, 2, 78, 78n29, 140, 160; Christ: active life as imitation of, 2, 63, 89,
monastic life as superior and, 111; moral 11011, 145; apostolic life as imitation of, 2,
behavior and, 140; postills project and, 130, 4; breasts imagery and, 1819, 19n41, 170;
13334, 13637, 140; practical issues and, bridegroom allegory and, 24, 4n4, 1924,
14041; sermons and, 76, 78n29, 8182, 19n44, 20n46, 46, 5962, 13839, 142,
13334, 137, 140, 160; as source for 16667; faith and, 6364; individual soul
commentaries, 160; spiritual/mystical relationship with, 2, 51, 58, 78, 78n29, 82,
exegesis and, 78, 78n29 97, 14041, 14749, 160; preaching and, 24,
biblical exegesis. See exegetical commentaries 4n4, 1924, 20n46, 38, 46, 6162, 8990,
biblical-moral school: the Chanter and, 5, 5n5, 9394, 11314, 11617, 14550; union of
72, 96, 98; Langton and, 96, 98, 110; Church with, 18, 6162, 79, 79n30, 8182,
mendicants and, 128; papacy and, 120n1; 84, 9295, 13839, 142
postills project and, 12728, 130, 134, Cistercians, 124n23, 12426, 130, 13334, 137,
13738, 14243 14042, 148, 151
biblical texts: chapter divisions and, 106n41; Clanchy, Michael T., 910
salvation and, 8384; as source for Clement of Bucy, 4142
commentaries, 78, 8285, 11415, 127, 136, Cohen, Jeremy, 4748
Index 187
Colish, Marcia L., 11, 27n69 faith, 2728, 6365

Comestor, Peter, 12n22, 27, 76 Ferruolo, Stephen C., 27
Constable, Giles, 2, 69, 70n82, 111, 114 Fichtenau, Heinrich, 43
conversion of Jews: Anselm of Laon and, 5, 8, Flint, Valerie I.J., 11, 47
1718, 18n40, 24, 3132, 4344, 44n132, Fourth Lateran Council, 6, 111, 11920, 125
44n134, 50; Bede and, 43; the Chanter and, Francis (saint), 119
43, 85, 88, 9496, 117; the Gloss and, 117; Franciscans, 67, 119, 126, 151n105, 159. See also
Glossed Song of Songs and, 44n132, mendicants ; and specific individuals
44n134, 45, 61; Langton and, 43, 117; new Fulk de Neuilly, 12425
themes in scholastic exegesis and, 7; Fulton, Rachel, 56n29, 138, 138n77, 141
papacy and, 119; preaching and, 18, 18n40,
88, 9496; scholastic exegesis and, 4, 4n4 Gardiner, Frank C., 120, 121
Gibson, Margaret T., 17, 55n24
Dahan, Gilbert, 52, 74, 76, 106, 106n42, 1089, Gilbert de la Porre, 77
12830 Giraud, Cdric, 8n3, 16
De Hamel, C.F.R., 54n19 Glorieux, Palemon, 15
Derolez, Albert, 1617, 17n37 Glossa Ordinaria (the Gloss): active life as
disputations (disputatio), 1011, 48, 7374, 85, superior and, 11114, 126, 14243, 145;
9899, 108, 13536. See also questiones Anselm of Laon and, 45, 8, 17, 50, 52, 54,
distinctiones, 13233, 14041, 157 54n19; biblical texts and, 78; body parts
Dominic (saint), 119 allegories and, 92; breasts imagery and,
Dominicans, 3, 6, 11719, 12627, 140, 151, 16970; bride/Church allegory and, 142,
151n105, 155. See also mendicants; postills 166; bridegroom/Christ allegory and, 142,
project; and specific individuals 166; Carolingian texts and, 5557;
Dove, Mary, 11, 17, 54n19, 5455, 55n20, 55n22, cathedral schools and, 57, 52, 55n22,
55n24, 57n30, 5758, 16667, 167n33 5556, 70; conversion of Jews and, 117;
editions of, 5355, 54n19, 57, 57n30; erotic
erotic imagery, 23, 51, 58, 64, 8081, 8384, 96. imagery and, 81; format of texts and,
See also love concepts 5253, 5556, 97; glossing style and, 145;
Evrard of Bucy, 4142 heresy threats and, 155; history of, 5,
exegetical commentaries: Anselm of Laon 55n24; interlinear glosses and, 53, 53n11,
and, 8; apostolic life and, 12; Bede and, 3; 55, 55n20, 60, 63, 63n56, 65, 107, 112;
cathedral schools and, 23, 7; the Chanter Langton and, 97, 1039, 11117; Laon school
and, 7273, 7577, 77n22; Dominicans and, and, 8, 52, 54; marginal glosses and, 53,
127; format of texts and, 77n26, 7778; 53n11, 55, 55n20, 5961, 63n56, 6365,
glossed Bibles and, 54, 77, 80, 104n35, 107, 1078, 112; original content exegesis and,
115, 160; historical context and, 167n33, 53, 53n11, 5657, 57n30; Parisian masters
16769, 17273; by Jews, 168, 17071, 173; and schools and, 70n83, 72, 76; patristic
Langton and, 75, 98, 98n3, 99, 100n18, exegesis and, 53, 53n11, 5558, 56n29,
100101, 101n21, 104, 104n32, 108; Latin 57nn3031, 58n35, 70n82, 79; postills
versus Hebrew text and, 16566, 16870, project and, 6, 70n83, 12728, 130, 13334,
173; mendicants and, 127, 159, 164; new 13638, 14247, 14950, 15558; preachers
themes in, 17374; Nicholas of Lyra and, moral suitability and, 6869; preaching
159, 164; Olivi and, 159; papacy and, 127; and, 142, 145, 147; reform and, 126;
Parisian masters and, 3, 103; postills salvation and, 11112; scholastic theolo-
project and, 128; poverty commitment gians' influences and, 8, 70n83, 73; as
and, 162; scholastic exegesis and, 23; source for commentaries, 160; teaching
transformation of, 12, 52, 127, 158 and, 52
glossed Bibles, 54, 77, 80, 104n35, 107, 115, 160
188 Index
Glossed Song of Songs: overview of, 6870; 5961, 11011; postills project and, 13536;
active life and, 5, 5963, 67, 7071, 70n82, preaching and, 59, 121n8; reform and, 1, 3,
8889; animals/heretics allegory and, 40; scholastic theologians' influence and,
3235, 32n81, 15758; Anselm of Laon 158; union of Christ with Church and, 61,
citations and, 45, 89, 1112, 1718, 2122, 79n30; writings of, 37n103, 12021, 121n8
50, 52, 70n82, 97, 111; apostolic life and, 5, Grundmann, Herbert, 1, 4041, 68
68; audience and, 55, 6768, 68n74; Bede Guglielmetti, Rossana E.: abridged commen-
citations and, 56n29, 57n31, 5762, 6465, tary by Anselm of Laon and, 11n17; the
6768, 79; breasts imagery and, 19, 6667; Chanters Song of Songs commentaries
bride/Church allegory and, 1819, 18n40, and, 76n21; continuous commentary of
19n41, 20n46, 46, 6162; bridegroom/Christ Anselm of Laon and, 11n17, 1217,
allegory and, 19, 19n44, 20n46, 46, 5962; 12nn2122, 13, 14, 13n26, 14nn2829, 15n29;
cathedral schools and, 66, 7071; the Song of Songs commentaries manuscripts
Chanter and, 70n83, 72, 76, 78, 78n28; and, 1217
Christ imitation and, 89; conversion of Guibert of Nogent, 9, 4142, 42n126, 49,
Jews and, 44n132, 44n134, 45, 61; corrup- 68n74
tion of Church and, 5859; erotic imagery Gy, Pierre-Marie, 129
and, 23, 51, 58, 64; format of texts and, 55,
97; Gregory the Great and, 57n31, 5859; Haimo of Auxerre, 15, 15n30, 57n31, 5758,
heresy threats and, 3235, 32n81, 15758; 59n41
Honorius Augustodunensis commentary Hebrew language, 16566, 16870, 173
and, 47; laity and, 6465; lax Christians Henry the Monk, 4243
and, 5861, 6768; manuscript versions of, Herbert of Bosham, 48
11, 11n17; monastic life and, 5, 51, 5964, Hereford Cathedral Library manuscript of the
6667, 6971, 70n82, 85; original content Gloss, 55, 55n20
exegesis and, 5, 59, 6870; patristic heresy: Anselm of Laon and, 5, 17, 2526,
exegesis and, 5, 56n29, 5659, 57n31, 66; 3243, 32n81, 33n84, 37n101, 37n103,
preachers' characteristics and role and, 19, 38n109, 40n117, 4143, 124, 15758;
19n41, 21, 2324, 26, 6369, 125n27; apostolic life and, 1, 4, 123; the Chanter
preaching and, 5, 20n46, 3435, 46, 51, and, 88, 9496, 15758; Glossed Song of
5962, 6668, 7071, 85, 110; prologues Songs and, 3235, 32n81, 15758; Langton
and, 79; reform and, 7071; salvation and, and, 10910, 124; new themes in scholastic
62, 88; scholastic theologians' influences exegesis and, 7, 162, 17173; papacy and,
and, 9, 70n83, 73; speaker-rubrics and, 18, 119, 123n20, 12324; postills project and,
59, 59n41; students preparation for 119, 139; preaching against, 12, 4, 4n4, 45,
preaching and, 66, 68, 70; teaching and, 52, 7, 25, 3243, 32n81, 33n84, 3435, 37,
5556, 6669; text clarity and, 6566; 37n101, 37n103, 9596, 11920, 124; teaching
union of Christ with Church and, 79, against, 1; wandering preachers and,
79n30. See also Glossa Ordinaria (the 3840, 38n109, 40n117, 4243
Gloss) historical context exegesis, 167n33, 16769,
gloss on the Gloss, 6, 97, 103, 1058, 117 17273
Grabmann, Martin, 5n5 Holy Spirit, 90, 10910, 112
Gregory the Great: active and monastic life Honorius Augustodunensis, 2, 4748, 56n29,
combination and 5960; active life as 76
superior and, 5152, 5961; corruption of Honorius III, 6, 11920, 120n1, 12627
the Church and, 58; Glossed Song of Songs Hughes, Kevin L., 53n11
and, 57n31, 5859; lax Christians and, 58, Hugh of St. Cher: biographical information
61; monastic life as superior and, 5152, about, 128, 131n51; Order of Preachers and,
Index 189
67, 127, 133, 149; scholastic theologians' 97, 106, 111, 11517; attributions/misattribu-
influence and, 9798, 128; as source for tions of commentaries and, 1213, 13n25,
commentaries, 160; writings of, 127. See 1517, 16n33, 102, 102n26, 1023; biblical-
also postills project moral school and, 96, 98, 110; biblical texts
Hugh of St. Victor, 12n22, 43, 55n24, 101, as source and, 11415; biographical
101n21 information about, 97, 99100, 100n13;
hymns, and commentaries, 135 bride/Church allegory and, 142; bride-
groom/Christ allegory and, 142; the
individual soul, 2, 51, 58, 78, 78n29, 82, 97, Chanter and, 9698, 100104, 106, 108, 111,
14041, 14749, 160 11617; chapter divisions in Bible and,
Innocent III, 6, 100, 100n13, 111, 11927, 120n1, 106n41; continuous commentaries and,
121n8, 123n20, 124n23, 125n27 102; conversion of Jews and, 43, 117;
Isidore of Seville, 15557, 160 exegetical commentaries and, 75, 98, 98n3,
Israel allegory, 172 99, 100n18, 100101, 101n21, 104, 104n32, 108;
format of texts and, 97, 1036, 104n35,
Jacques de Vitry, 27, 125 105n37, 106n41; the Gloss and, 97, 1039,
Jerome, 58, 82, 91, 160, 164 11117; glossing style and, 75, 82, 106,
Jesus Christ. See Christ 106n42, 113, 134n63, 145; gloss on the Gloss
Jews (Judaism): Christians relationship with, and, 6, 97, 103, 1058, 117; heresy threats
4850, 53n11; disputations and, 48; and, 10910, 124; Holy Spirit representation
exegetical commentaries by, 168, 17071, and, 10910, 112; lectio and, 99; literal
173; Hebrew language and texts and, exegesis and, 102, 102n25, 1089; manu-
16466, 16870, 173; historical context script versions of Song of Songs commen-
exegesis and, 167; love concepts and, 166; tary and, 82, 82n41, 102n26, 1026, 104n32,
negative view of, 18n40, 32, 4849, 9495, 105n37, 106n41; moral exegesis and, 102,
139; positive view of, 5, 4445, 4850; as 102n25, 1089; postills project and, 134,
preachers, 47, 50; salvation and, 49; 134nn6263, 142; practical issues and,
Synagogue allegories and, 18n40, 3132, 9899; preachers characteristics and role
4348, 44n132, 50, 166. See also conversion and, 125, 125n27; preaching and, 6, 110,
of Jews 11316; questiones and, 9899, 108; reform
John XXII, 15960 and, 70, 111, 125; reportationes and, 75, 75n7,
1012, 1089; salvation and, 11114;
Kiecker, James George, 164n19 scholarship on, 98n3, 98102, 102nn2526;
Kienzle, Beverly Mayne, 32n81, 12425 scholastic theologians' influence and, 6,
Knowles, David, 27n69 9799, 130, 158; spiritual/mystical exegesis
and, 10810; students preparation for
Lacombe, Georges: attributions/misattribu- preaching and, 110, 11415
tions of commentaries and, 1213, 1516, Laon, history of, 910, 68n74
102, 102n26; Langton and, 9798, 98n3, Laon school, 13, 812, 52, 54, 54n19, 68n74,
100n18, 100102, 102n26 72
laity, 2, 4, 4n4, 6465, 12225, 123n20, 14042 Lapsanski, Duane V., 69n81
Lambert, Malcolm, 40, 40n117, 120 Latin compared with Hebrew text, 16566,
Landgraf, Artur, 134n62 16870, 173
Langton, Stephen: overview of, 6, 11718; lax Christians: Anselm of Laon and, 18; Bede
active and monastic life combination and, and, 61; the Chanter and, 7879, 88, 96;
11114, 117; active life as superior and, 6, Glossed Song of Songs and, 5861, 6768;
11013, 11516, 126, 14243, 145; allegorical Gregory the Great and, 58, 61; Innocent III
exegesis and, 10810; animals/heretics and, 119; papacy and, 119; preaching and,
allegory and, 10910; Anselm of Laon and, 18, 18n40, 5961, 6768, 85, 9394, 96
190 Index
Leclercq, Jean, 1113, 51, 102n11 15961, 16164, 163n14, 17172; papacy and,
lectio, 7374, 85, 99 119, 12627, 15960; poverty commitment
Leo I, 12021 and, 6, 142, 144, 15153, 16263; preachers
Lerner, Robert E., 129nn4243, 12930, characteristics and role and, 151, 162, 164;
134nn6263, 149, 151, 151n105 preaching and, 7, 117, 119, 126, 149, 151,
literal exegesis: Anselm of Laon and, 4445, 151n105, 155, 159, 161, 171; reform and, 119,
49; Langton and, 102, 102n25, 1089; 126; scholastic theologians' influence and,
mendicants and, 164n19, 16467, 169, 6, 9798, 140, 159; source texts for
17273; Nicholas of Lyra and, 164n19, commentaries and, 160, 16667, 167n33;
16467, 169, 17273; postills project and, spiritual/mystical exegesis and, 16062;
13233, 138 studia and, 3, 6, 124, 127, 159; superiority of,
Lobrichon, Guy, 54n19 119, 151, 151nn1056, 153. See also postills
Lombard, Peter, 27, 77 project; and specific individuals
Lotario of Segni. See Innocent III Merlette, Bernard, 54n19
love concepts, 8081, 8384, 96, 160, 16263, Migne, J.-P., 5354
167, 16970. See also erotic imagery monastic life: and active life combination,
5960, 11014, 11718, 141, 143, 16162, 171;
Mariology: bride allegory and, 2, 78, 78n29, 97, apostles and, 69; Glossed Song of Songs
138; monastic life and, 59, 78, 78n29, 11011, and, 5, 51, 5964, 6667, 6971, 70n82, 85;
124; postills project and, 130, 13740, individual soul and, 51, 78, 78n29, 82, 97;
138n77; sermons and, 138; Song of Songs inferiority of, 6, 142, 14751; Mariology and,
and, 56n29, 78, 97, 1056 59, 11011, 124; Song of Songs and, 3, 7, 51,
Martha (biblical figure), and active life, 59, 76; spiritual/mystical exegesis and, 82;
11011, 124 superiority of, 7, 5152, 5961, 11011;
Matter, E. Ann, 47, 56, 56n29, 58, 58n35 teaching and, 1, 51; vita apostolica and, 69
Maurice of Sully, 12n22, 100 Moore, John C., 12021
mendicants: active and monastic life Moore, R.I., 38n108, 40
combination and, 11718, 16162, 171; active moral exegesis, 102, 102n25, 1089, 13233, 138,
life and, 7; animals/heretics allegory and, 164, 164n19
162, 172; biblical-moral school and, 128; Morard, Martin, 128
body parts allegories and, 161; breasts mystical/spiritual exegesis, 78, 78n29, 82,
imagery and, 16970; bride/Church 10810, 13233, 138, 16062
allegory and, 16667; bridegroom/Christ
allegory and, 16667; Dominicans and, 3, Nicholas of Lyra: active and monastic life
6, 11719, 12627, 140, 151, 151n105, 155; combination and, 171; animals/heretics
exegesis style and, 159, 164; exegetical allegory and, 172; biblical texts as source
commentaries and, 127, 159, 164; Francis- for commentaries and, 16667, 167n33;
cans and, 67, 119, 126, 151n105, 159; breasts imagery and, 16970; bride/Church
Hebrew language and texts and, 16466, allegory and, 16667; bridegroom/Christ
16870, 173; historical context exegesis allegory and, 16667; exegesis style and,
and, 167n33, 16769, 17273; history of, 6, 159, 164; exegetical commentaries and, 159,
119, 126; individual soul and, 160; Jewish 164; Hebrew language and, 16566, 16870,
exegesis and, 168, 17071, 173; Latin versus 173; historical context exegesis and,
Hebrew text and, 16566, 16870, 173; 167n33, 16769, 17273; Jewish exegesis
literal exegesis and, 164n19, 16467, 169, and, 168, 17071, 173; Latin compared with
17273; love concepts and, 160, 16263, 167, Hebrew text and, 16566, 16870, 173;
16970; moral exegesis and, 164, 164n19; literal exegesis and, 164n19, 16467, 169,
new themes in scholastic exegesis and, 7, 17273; love concepts and, 163, 167, 16970;
Index 191
moral exegesis and, 164, 164n19; new 5152, 5961; corruption of the Church
themes in scholastic exegesis and, 7, and, 5859; the Gloss and, 53, 53n11, 5558,
15961, 17172; preachers sermons and, 56n29, 57nn3031, 70n82, 79; Glossed Song
164; preaching and, 7, 159, 171; scholastic of Songs and, 5, 56n29, 5659, 57n31, 66;
theologians' influence and, 9798, 159 glossing style and, 85; Gregorian Reform
Norbert of Xanten, 40, 40n117, 122 and, 1, 3, 40; individual soul and, 58; lax
Christians and, 58, 61; monastic life as
Ohly, Friedrich, 56n29, 5657 superior and, 5152, 5961, 11011; original
Olivi, Peter, 7, 15964, 163n14 content exegesis and, 10; postills project
Order of Preachers, 67, 127, 133, 149 and, 130, 13536; preaching and, 59, 121n8;
Origen, 2, 5759, 58n35, 70n82, 79, 11011 scholastic theologians' influence and, 158;
original content exegesis, 5, 10, 53, 53n11, Song of Songs and, 2; as source for
5657, 57n30, 59, 6870, 142, 146 exegesis, 160; union of Christ with Church
Otto of St. Blasien, 98n3, 99 and, 61, 79n30. See also exegetical
Ouy, Gilbert, 1045, 105n37 commentaries
Peter of Bruis, 4243
Pamphilus, 135n69, 13536, 136n70 Peter of Castelnau, 124
papacy: active life and, 111, 12021, 124, 126; Peter of Corbeil, 120, 120n3
animals/heretics allegory and, 124; Peter of Poitiers, 2728
apostolic life and, 119; biblical-moral Peter the Chanter (the Chanter): overview of,
school and, 120n1; conversion of Jews and, 56; active life as superior and, 76, 8590,
119; crusades and, 124n23, 12425; 88, 96, 111, 126, 14244, 145; on Anselm of
exegetical commentaries and, 127; Fourth Laon, 8; biblical-moral school and, 5, 5n5,
Lateran Council and, 6, 111, 11920, 12526; 72, 96, 98; biblical texts and, 78; biblical
heresy threats and, 119, 123n20, 12324; texts as source and, 8285; biographical
laity and, 123, 123n20; Langton and, 100, information about, 7273, 73n6; body
100n13; lax Christians and, 119; mendicants parts allegories and, 70n83, 81, 9093, 152;
and, 119, 12627, 15960; Parisian schools breasts imagery and, 81; bride/Church alle-
and, 120; practical issues and, 120; gory and, 8182, 84, 9495, 142, 160;
preachers characteristics and role and, bridegroom/Christ allegory and, 8182, 84,
122, 125, 125n27; preaching and, 11922, 9495, 142; bride/Synagogue and, 9495;
121n8, 12426, 158; reform and, 11920, Christ imitation and, 8990; conversion of
11922, 120n1, 12526, 158; scholastic Jews and, 43, 85, 88, 9496, 117; disputation
theologians' influence and, 6; writings and, 7374, 85; erotic imagery and, 8081,
and, 100, 100n13, 111, 12023, 125n27, 126, 158 8384, 96; exegetical commentaries and,
Paris, 3, 6, 72, 137 7273, 7577, 77n22; format of texts and,
Parisian masters and schools: animals/ 7778, 104; Glossed Song of Songs and,
heretics allegory and, 124; exegetical 70n83, 72, 76, 78, 78n28; glossing style and,
commentaries and, 3, 103; the Gloss and, 74, 78, 82, 8485, 106, 145; heresy threats
70n83, 72, 76; history of, 72; Innocent III and, 88, 9496, 15758; Langton and,
and, 120; preachers characteristics and 9698, 100104, 106, 108, 111, 11617; lax
role and, 122, 125; preaching and, 11921, Christians and, 7879, 88, 9394, 96; lectio
126; reform and, 11920, 120n1, 122, 12426; and, 7374, 85; love concepts and, 8081,
scholastic exegesis and, 12, 97. See also 8384, 96; manuscripts of Song of Songs
Peter the Chanter (the Chanter) commentaries and, 76n21, 7677, 77n22,
patristic (Church Fathers) exegesis: active 82, 82n41; Mariology and, 78, 78n29;
and monastic life combination and, negative view of Jews and, 9495; postills
5960, 11011; active life as superior and, project and, 13334, 137, 14145, 15152,
192 Index
Peter the Chanter (the Chanter): (cont.) 151nn1056; monastic life as inferior and,
15558; poverty commitment and, 93, 96, 6, 142, 14751; moral exegesis and, 13233,
151; practical issues and, 5, 76, 120, 120n3; 138; mystical/spiritual exegesis and,
preachers characteristics and role and, 13233, 138; negative view of Jews and, 139;
8587, 9091, 93, 125n27, 162; preaching original content exegesis and, 142, 146;
and, 56, 70n83, 7374, 76, 81, 8596; patristic exegesis and, 130, 13536; postill
prologues and, 79; reform and, 70, 8889, defined and, 130, 130n45; poverty
12425; reportationes and, 7475, 1012; commitment and, 6, 142, 144, 15153, 163;
salvation and, 83, 111; scholastic theolo- practical issues and, 14041, 15355;
gians' influences and, 6, 130, 158; Solomon preachers characteristics and role and, 6,
as theologian and, 81; students prepara- 132, 142, 14750, 151, 153, 155, 163; preaching
tion for preaching and, 5, 5n5, 72, 8586, and, 6, 12021, 121n8, 122, 127, 142, 14547,
9293; teaching and, 70n83, 81; under- 14951, 158; reform and, 6, 119; salvation
standing/misunderstanding text issue and, 147, 151n105, 153; scholarship on,
and, 7374, 74n13, 7980, 83; union of 12829; scholastic theologians' influences
Christ with Church and, 79, 79n30, 8182, and, 128, 158; source texts and, 13337,
84, 9295 134nn6263, 135n65, 135n67, 135n69,
Peter the Venerable, 43, 4950 136n70, 136n72, 14041; studia and, 6, 127;
philosophical ideas as suspect, 2628, 27n69, Thomas the Cistercian and, 130, 13334,
149 137, 14041; union of Christ with Church
postills project: overview of, 67, 128, 158; and, 13839, 142, 14849
active life as superior and, 6, 119, 14249, poverty commitment, 6, 4041, 69n81, 93, 96,
151, 153, 161; allegorical exegesis and, 138; 142, 144, 15153, 16263
animals/heretics allegory and, 15557; Powell, James M., 126
Anselm of Laon and, 142; Augustine and, Powicke, Maurice, 9798
13536; authorship and, 129, 129n4243; practical issues, 5, 29, 76, 9899, 120, 120n3,
Bernard of Clairvaux and, 130, 13334, 14041, 15355
13637, 140; biblical-moral school and, preachers characteristics and role: Anselm of
12728, 130, 134, 13738, 14243; biblical Laon and, 17, 2324, 2731, 41; audiences
texts and, 127, 136, 136n71, 139, 141, 146; and, 6768; bridge between God and man
bride/Church allegory and, 142, 14849, and, 26, 87; distinctiones and, 13233,
153; bridegroom/Christ allegory and, 14041, 157; Dominicans and, 151;
13839, 142; the Chanter and, 13334, 137, educational reform and, 12223, 12526;
14145, 15152, 15558; collaboration and, faith and, 2728, 6365; fame/financial
6, 127, 129, 129nn4243, 134n62, 153n115; gain versus glory of God and, 17, 2224, 87,
distinctiones and, 13233, 14041; 14950, 153; fears and, 2324, 64, 116; good
exegetical commentaries and, 128; the works and, 2728, 41; humility and, 6,
Gloss and, 6, 70n83, 12728, 130, 13334, 2324, 65, 142, 151, 153, 163; Jews as
13638, 14247, 14950, 15558; glossing preachers and, 47, 50; mendicants and, 151,
style and, 145; goals of, 12728, 130, 141; 162, 164; moral suitability and, 4, 17, 2022,
Gregory the Great and, 13536; heresy 26, 41, 6869, 86, 91, 93, 122, 125, 125n27,
threats and, 119, 139, 15558; individual 153, 162; papacy and, 122, 125, 125n27;
soul and, 14041, 14749; laity and, 14042; Parisian masters and, 122, 125; poverty
Langton and, 134, 134nn6263, 142; literal commitment and, 6, 4041, 93, 96, 142, 144,
exegesis and, 13233, 138; manuscript 15153; reform and, 6, 50, 12223, 12526,
versions of, 13031, 131nn5051, 131n54; 158, 174; sermons and, 17, 19, 19n41, 2931,
Mariology and, 130, 13740, 138n77; 6667, 13233, 138, 14041, 153, 155, 157, 159,
mendicant movement and, 119, 128, 151, 162, 164; virtue/values and, 2728, 41,
Index 193
6365; wandering preachers and, 3843, Ralph of Laon, 8, 11

38n109, 40n117, 68, 69n81, 122 Rashi, 48, 53n11, 167
preaching: Anselm of Laon and, 46, 8, 1726, reform: overview of, 13, 7; Anselm of Laon
19n41, 19n44, 20n46, 2426, 2943, 30n78, and, 25, 50, 11920, 120n1; apostolic life
32n81, 33n84, 37n101, 37n103, 46, 50, 110, and, 7; the Chanter and, 70, 8889, 12425;
116, 121; apostolic imitation and, 38; Dominicans and, 119, 126; Fourth Lateran
apostolic life and, 1, 4, 6869; body parts Council and, 6, 111, 11920, 12526; the
allegories and, 70n83, 81, 9093; bride/ Gloss and, 126; Glossed Song of Songs and,
Church allegory and, 2, 4, 4n4; the Chanter 7071; Gregory the Great and, 1, 3, 40;
and, 56, 70n83, 7374, 76, 81, 8596; Langton and, 70, 111, 125; mendicants and,
Christ and, 24, 4n4, 1924, 20n46, 38, 46, 119, 126; papacy and, 11920, 11922, 120n1,
6162, 8990, 9394, 11314, 11617, 14550; 12526; Parisian masters and, 11920,
Church debates and, 69, 69n81; conversion 120n1, 122, 12426; postills project and, 6,
of Jews and, 18, 18n40, 88, 9496; 119; preachers characteristics and role
Dominicans and, 117, 126, 149, 151, 151n105, and, 6, 50, 12223, 12526, 158, 174
155; exegetical commentaries transforma- reportationes, 7475, 1012, 1089
tion and, 12; fame/financial gain versus Riedlinger, Helmut, 13, 16, 56n29, 5657,
glory of God and, 4, 17, 2223, 2324, 102n26, 1023, 1056
14950; the Gloss and, 142, 145, 147; Robert of Arbrissel, 40, 122
Glossed Song of Songs and, 5, 20n46, Robert of Courson, 125
3435, 46, 51, 5962, 6668, 7071, 85, 110; Robert of Melun, 55n22, 74
Gregory the Great and, 59, 121n8; heresy Roberts, Phyllis Barzillay, 98, 100, 12526
threats and, 12, 4, 4n4, 45, 7, 25, 3243, Roest, Bert, 127, 159, 164
32n81, 33n84, 3435, 37, 37n101, 37n103, Rufinus, 58
9596, 11920, 124; laity and, 2, 4, 4n4, Rupert of Deutz, 2, 10, 49, 69, 78n29, 105, 111
12223, 12225; Langton and, 6, 110, 11316; Rusch, Adolf, 54
lax Christians and, 18, 18n40, 5961, 6768,
85, 9394, 96; mendicants and, 7, 117, 119, Sackville, L.J., 33, 33n84, 3637
126, 149, 151, 151n105, 155, 159, 161, 171; Saenger, Paul, 106n41
monastic life and, 12, 23, 5, 6, 7, 51, 70; St. Victor abbey, 75, 104n32, 1045
new themes in scholastic exegesis and, 7, Salomon, David A., 53n11
16162, 17273; Nicholas of Lyra and, 7, 159, Saltman, Avrom, 98, 103, 134n62
171; Olivi and, 7, 159, 161; papacy and, salvation, 2425, 49, 62, 8384, 88, 11114, 147,
11922, 121n8, 12425; Parisian masters and, 151n105, 153
11921, 126; postills project and, 127, 142, Schlageter, Johannes, 160
14547, 14951; power of, 17, 2425, 2426, Schoenfeld, Devorah, 53n11
3031, 30n78, 121, 126, 145; simplification of scholastic exegesis: overview of, 14, 4n4, 7, 11,
text and, 17, 19, 19n44, 2931, 67; superior- 38, 158, 174; new themes in, 7, 15974,
ity of, 13, 7, 111; as useful to Church, 2, 6, 7, 163n14, 167n33; university exegesis and, 97,
24, 5962, 85, 8889, 94; vita apostolica 128, 173. See also exegetical commentaries;
and, 68. See also wandering preachers and specific individuals
prologues, 79 Schotter, Anne Howland, 13536, 136n70
Pseudo-Dionysius, 27n69 Simon of Tournai, 111
Pseudo-Henry of Ghent, 99 Smalley, Beryl: Anselm of Laon and, 8;
attributions/misattributions of commen-
questiones, 9899, 108. See also disputations taries and, 1213, 15; biblical-moral school
(disputatio) and, 72, 98, 110; the Chanter and, 72, 75;
Quinto, Riccardo, 9899, 108, 11718, format of texts and, 77n26, 104; the Gloss
129nn4243, 134, 134n62 and, 5354, 55n22, 56; Langton and, 9798,
194 Index
Smalley, Beryl: Anselm of Laon and (cont.) studia, 3, 6, 124, 127, 159
1014, 102n25, 110; Parisian masters Sulavik, Anthanasius, 131n54, 132
exegetical commentaries and, 103; postills Sylwan, Agneta, 73, 76n21
project and, 12829, 130n45, 131, 134n62, symbolic exegesis. See allegorical exegesis
135, 151, 151n102, 153, 163n14; prologues and, Synagogue allegories, 18n40, 3132, 4348,
79; reportationes and, 75 44n132, 50, 166
Smith, Lesley, 52, 54n19, 129n42, 131n51
Solomon (biblical figure), 81, 138, 166 Tanchelm of Antwerp, 4243
Song of Songs: attributions/misattributions of teaching: among laity, 2; Anselm of Laon and,
commentaries and, 1117, 11n17, 12n22, 13, 8, 1012; biblical texts and, 52; body parts
14, 13n25, 14nn2728, 16n33, 102, 102n26; allegories and, 70n83, 81; the Gloss and, 52;
classifications of manuscripts and, 1217, Glossed Song of Songs and, 52, 5556,
12nn2122, 13, 14, 13n26, 14nn2728, 6669; heresy threats and, 1; monastic life
15nn2930, 16n33, 17n37; monastic life and, and, 1, 51; university exegesis and, 97, 128
3, 7, 51, 76; verses on active life and, 34, Thomas the Cistercian, 130, 13334, 137, 14041
4n4. See also cathedral schools; Glossa Turner, Denys, 51, 141
Ordinaria (the Gloss); Glossed Song of
Songs; Parisian masters and schools; and union of Christ with Church, 18, 6162, 79,
specific theological scholars 79n30, 8182, 84, 9295, 13839, 142,
speaker-rubrics, 18, 18n40, 59, 59n41 14849
spiritual/mystical exegesis, 78, 78n29, 82, university exegesis, 97, 128, 173
10810, 13233, 138, 16062
Stegmller, Friedrich, 16n33, 98n3, 102n26, 131 Van Engen, John, 49
Stephen of Thiers-Muret, 69n81 Van Liere, Frans, 1
Stirnemann, Patricia, 54n19, 128, 130 Vause, Corinne J., 120, 121
Strabo, Walafrid, 53 Virgin Mary. See Mariology
Strassburg, 1480/81 edition of the Gloss, 54 vita apostolica, 6869
students preparation for preaching: Anselm
of Laon and, 2324, 2931; biblical-moral Waldensianism, 43, 93, 124
school and, 5, 5n5, 72, 96; the Chanter and, wandering preachers, 3843, 38n109, 40n117,
5, 5n5, 72, 8586, 9293; Glossed Song of 68, 69n81, 122
Songs and, 66, 68, 70

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Out of the Cloister

koninklijke brill nv, leiden, 2016|doi 10.1163/9789004313842_001

Frans van Liere

The titles published in this series are listed at brill.com/comm

Out of the Cloister

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: LaVere, Suzanne, author.

Copyright 2016 by Koninklijke Brill nv, Leiden, The Netherlands.

This book is printed on acid-free paper and produced in a sustainable manner.

1 Preach, O Gathering of My Friends! Anselm of Laons Continuous

3 Arise From Contemplation and Undertake Useful Preaching. Peter the

4 Glossing the Gloss: Stephen Langtons Super-Commentary on the Song

Epilogue-Mendicant Song of Songs of Exegesis in the Late 13thEarly

I gratefully acknowledge the influence of the many wonderful teachers I have

In the mid-twentieth century, Pre M.-D. Chenu, Herbert Grundmann, and

1 Brenda Bolton, The Medieval Reformation (London, 1983), 17.

koninklijke brill nv, leiden, 2016|doi 10.1163/9789004313842_002

Preach, O Gathering of My Friends! Anselm of

koninklijke brill nv, leiden, 2016|doi 10.1163/9789004313842_003

the Anselm commentary were used extensively by later authors, so Anselms

4 M.T. Clanchy, Abelard: A Medieval Life (Oxford, 1997), 72.

before he began to question Anselms teaching. In any event, Abelard, as a pro-

whether historians could properly speak of a school of Laon at all.19 More

Stephen Langton, Lacombe and Smalley attributed two groups of manuscripts

Table 1 Manuscripts of Anselm of Laons Continuous Commentary on the Song of Songs, as

prologue, and explicit match with other manuscripts with commentaries

Gloss Anselm of Laon, (B), version 1

If we take the Church as Anselm does in both versions of his commentary to be

amici auscultant et auscultabunt predicationem tuam libenter et attente. Anselm of

stating by night, that is through ignorance or through the shadowy opinions of

operibus et bonis cogitationibus invenitur non per philosophorum sententias. Anselm of

77 indigentes poculis id est variis sententiis secundum capacitatem auditorum prelatis.

living in a bestial manner, presumably by roaming in groups and blindly fol-

Gloss Anselm of Laon, (B), version 1

Gloss Anselm of Laon, unabridged (A);

Instead of linking heretics to leopards because the animals are hunters or

95 Sackville, Heresy and Heretics, 185.

contain references to false appearance in their treatment of heretics, includ-

98 Sackville, Heresy and Heretics, 164.

practicing mortification of the flesh would give heretics the appearance of

Holding swords, because he who preaches is filled with [good] works,

Guibert also accuses the heretics of claiming to be leading the apostolic

123 Ibid., 197.

Anselms continuous commentary as one of his sources.146 The interpretation

attitude Anselm displays in his continuous commentary, at least, toward Jews

150 Van Engen, Rupert of Deutz, 244.

manize them completely by comparing them to animals (a trope somewhat

156 Ibid., 116.

Innovation and Compilation at Laon: The Glossed

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5 Quoted in Giles Constable,The Interpretation of Mary and Martha, in Three Studies in

14 Smalley, Study of the Bible, 56.

edition. Instead she used Hereford Cathedral Library, MS P I 8, dated 11351145

32 Dove, Glossa, 2930.

milk/eat, friends, and drink was interpreted as dishes served at a sort of

64 Dove, Glossa, V, 1, 5, 3335, hortatur fideles ad congaudendum super tali convivio ut

74 It is worthwhile to note that the movement for independent urban organizations in

Arise From Contemplation and Undertake Useful

1 Baldwin, Masters, Princes, and Merchants, 72.

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form of reportationes. As Beryl Smalley explains, the medieval reportatio has

14 Smalley, Study of the Bible, 201.