In Praise of the Virgin Mary, the God-Bearer
Alan of Lille’s Concise Elucidation of the Song of Songs
In Praise of the Virgin Mary, the God-Bearer
Alan of Lille’s Concise Elucidation of the Song of Songs
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Publisher: Liturgical Press
ISBN: 9780879074333
Number of Pages: 204
Published: 15/11/2025
Width: 14 cm
Height: 21.6 cm
Translated here in its entirety for the first time, Alan of Lille’s Elucidatio in Cantica Canticorum provides a measure for the originality of his Mariology.
Fifty years after the death of Bernard of Clairvaux, Alan of Lille died in 1202 or 1203 among the Cistercians at Cîteaux. Celebrated in his own time as doctor universalis, Alan made pioneering contributions in a variety of genres. Best known today for his influential epic poems, the Anticlaudianus and the Complaint of Nature, Alan also composed a theological dictionary, a handbook for preachers, a defense of the catholic faith against the Cathars, and one of the first Marian commentaries on the Song of Songs. Translated here in its entirety for the first time, Alan’s Elucidatio in Cantica Canticorum illumines his other writings and provides a measure for the originality of his Mariology.
Fifty years after the death of Bernard of Clairvaux, Alan of Lille died in 1202 or 1203 among the Cistercians at Cîteaux. Celebrated in his own time as doctor universalis, Alan made pioneering contributions in a variety of genres. Best known today for his influential epic poems, the Anticlaudianus and the Complaint of Nature, Alan also composed a theological dictionary, a handbook for preachers, a defense of the catholic faith against the Cathars, and one of the first Marian commentaries on the Song of Songs. Translated here in its entirety for the first time, Alan’s Elucidatio in Cantica Canticorum illumines his other writings and provides a measure for the originality of his Mariology.
Contents
Acknowledgments ix
Abbreviations xii
Introduction xiii
In Praise of the Virgin Mary, the God-Bearer:
Alan of Lille’s Concise Elucidation of the Song of Songs 1
Author’s Prologue 3
Chapter One 5
Chapter Two 33
Chapter Three 49
Chapter Four 59
Chapter Five 73
Chapter Six 87
Chapter Seven 99
Chapter Eight 111
Appendix 1. Citations of the Song of Songs in the Liber in Distinctionibus dictionum theologicalium 125
Appendix 2. Luna in Dictionary, Commentary, and Sermon 135
Bibliography 137
Index of Scriptural References 147
General Index 151
