medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
Dear Margaret,
There is no question of the importance of the book. However, it
escapes me what a professional medievalist does with the translation.
One cannot refer to it and there is allways the question of
reliability of the translation, no matter what the reviews say. As for
those who read medieval stuff for the fun of it, Durandus is not very
funny writer.
All the best,
Jussi Hanska
Lainaus "Cormack, Margaret Jean" <[log in to unmask]>:
> medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
>
> Greetings all!
> Those of you who receive the Labyrinth discount book catalog may
> have noticed on p. 67
> 'The Rationale Divinorum Officiorum of William Durande of Mende Book
> 1: A new Translation of the Prologue.'
> reduced from $34.50 to $ 12.98. There was a time when I would have
> ordered this like a shot (even without the discount!), but my shelf
> space is severely limited and I´m trying to downsize. The blurb
> informs us that the 'Rationale Div. Off. is arguably the most
> important meieval treatise on the symbolism of church architecture
> and rituals of worship . . . This edition is the first English
> translation of the Prologue and Book One in almost two centuries.'
>
> My queries:
> 1) Is the Rationale indeed as important and useful as the blurb claims?
> 2) Is the translation competent?
> 3) Is there much point in acquiring only the introduction and book
> 1? How many books are there, and have they also been translated? If
> not, are they available in a decent edition, and what is Durandus´
> Latin like?
>
> Thanks in advance,
> Meg
> [log in to unmask] <mailto:[log in to unmask]>
>
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