When she died in 2016, Dr Jennifer O'Reilly left behind a body of published and unpublished work in three areas of medieval studies: the iconography of the Gospel Books produced in early medieval Ireland and Anglo-Saxon England; the writings of Bede and his older Irish contemporary, Adomnan of Iona; and the early lives of Thomas Becket. In these three areas she explored the connections between historical texts, artistic images and biblical exegesis.

This volume is a collection of 16 essays, old and new, relating history and exegesis in the writings of Bede and Adomnan, and in the lives of Thomas Becket. The first part consists of seven studies of Bede's writings, notably his biblical commentaries and his Ecclesiastical History. Two of the essays are published here for the first time. The five studies in the second part, devoted to Adomnan, discuss his life of Saint Columba (the Vita Columbae) and his guide to the Holy Places (De locis sanctis). One essay ('The Bible as Map'), published posthumously, compares his presentation of a major theme, the earthly and heavenly Jerusalem, with the approach adopted by Bede. The third section consists of two essays on the lives of Thomas Becket that were composed shortly after his death. They examine, in the context of patristic exegesis, the biblical images invoked in the texts in order to show how the saint's biographers understood the complex relationship between hagiography and history. With the exception of the Jarrow Lecture on Bede and the essays on Becket, the studies in both parts were published originally in edited books, some of them now hard to come by. (CS1078).

About the Author

Jennifer O'Reilly received her B.A. Honours degree in History in 1964, and her Ph.D. in Art History in 1972, both in the University of Nottingham. Her monograph, Studies in the Iconography of the Virtues and Vices in the Middle Ages was published in 1988. A book of essays in her honour was published in 2011: Listen, o isles, unto me: studies in medieval word and image.

Dr Mairin MacCarron is a Senior Researcher at the University of Sheffield. She has published on Women in Medieval Society, the Development of Chronology and Computus in the Early Middle Ages, and Network Science and Digital Humanities.

Dr Diarmuid Scully lectures in the School of History, University College Cork. His research interests include Bede and the textual and visual representation of late antique and medieval Insular identities.

Reviews

'This collection brings into sharp focus O'Reilly's contributions to medieval studies, especially her profound expertise in Scripture and her sensitivity to the spiritual and theological motivations of Bede and Adomnan' - Sharon M. Rowley, Peritia, 31 (2022).

Book Information
ISBN 9781032092362
Author Jennifer O'Reilly
Format Paperback
Page Count 408
Imprint Routledge
Publisher Taylor & Francis Ltd
Weight(grams) 566g