A locus classicus of those who believe that glossolalia (speaking in
tongues) was practiced in the Middle Ages is a passage from Guibert of
Nogent's autobiography (d. c.1125) (De vita sua sive monodiarum libri tres,
lib.ii, cap.xvii); the passage concerns some heretics who lived not far
from Soissons.
The key part of the crucial sentence reads: '...suum autem appellant verbum
Dei, quod fit quo nescio rotatu longo sermonum..'
E.-R. Labande (1981) translates it: 'Pour eux, le verbe de Dieu, c'est leur
propre discours, engendre par je ne sais que quelle longue repetition de
paroles...'
John F. Benton (1970), renders it: 'They call upon God's own Word, which
comes into being by some long rigmarole of talk.'
Does the passage indicate glossolalia, or not?
Replies gratefully received.
Gary Dickson
University of Edinburgh
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