The Benedictine Prologue

A Contribution to the Early History of the Latin Prologues to the Pauline Epistles

by Jeremy C. Thompson and Clare K. Rothschild

Book cover: The Benedictine Prologue

Extent: 198 pages

Publisher: Mohr Siebeck

Subjects: Biblical Studies, Classical Studies

Series: Studien und Texte zu Antike und Christentum / Studies and Texts in Antiquity and Christianity

Series volume number: 136

Language: English

Paperback (Published)

(December 2023)

ISBN: 9783161625503

9.09 x 6.06 inches

Price: $105.00

In stock

For centuries, biblical prologues served as gateways to the themes and problems of the Latin Bible. The present study of the overlooked Benedictine Prologue illuminates textual influences, intellectual exchange, and doctrinal confrontations as they unfolded at the time of the appearance of the Vulgate Bible.


For centuries, biblical prologues introduced readers to the themes and problems of the Latin Bible. Paul’s profile has undoubtedly been shaped by this genre: Paul the new Moses, Paul the theologian, Paul the arbitrator between Jews and gentiles. Despite fine critical editions, the texts and historical situations of these prologues still lack scholarly attention. The present monograph examines one such introduction known as the Benedictine Prologue, acknowledged for its relationship to the Muratorian Fragment but excluded from all indices of biblical paratexts. Prompted by a new manuscript discovery, Jeremy C. Thompson and Clare K. Rothschild treat the prologue in its own right with a new edition and commentary covering all known sources and analogues. Ultimately, they propose to ground this rare text in the book practices, theological polemics, and intellectual exchange between Greek and Latin writers of the early fifth century and beyond.

  • By (author) Clare K Rothschild
  • By (author) Jeremy C Thompson