Lollards and Their Books: Religious Texts & History of the Lollard Movement | Medieval Christian Studies & Historical Research

An erudite review of 13th Century Wycliffe Manuscripts. Some readers may be put off by the Authors acedemic use of Latin without an English translation. With patience the Middle English in the "English" MS and fragment quotes can be discerned. The Book is repetitious at times but the most grievious offense is its default position of the Papist view that Lollardy was Heresy. This view repeats the errors of other so called "Orthodox" Acedemic writers, but completely obscures the actual flavor of life in an England in the 1390's.The marvel of the preservation of several hundred manuscript fragments of Wycliffe and his followers is amazing considering the book burning that went on from the 13th to the 16th century. Unfortunetly the Author does not feel it worthy to give a synopsis of the key doctrines that made Wycliffe the "Morning Star" of the Reformation. She appears to consider that the cataloging of fragmentary copies more important than their contents or the ramifications in an England that was forbidden to read the scriptures by Clergy in anything else but Latin.A good read for an Acedemic with a heavy ancient Latin background. Puritan oriented believers will be dissapointed by a complete lack of the historical life-pulse of the 13th Century, and the vital contextual spirit which seeded the reformation.A good background reference for the various Latin MS and fragments. Written by a good acedemic, sans the actual flavor of the times.