SUGGESTION: Nicholas of Lyra (very important in the history of exegesis, and for Martin Luther)

fgh

"Nicholas of Lyra (...) was among the most influential practitioners of Biblical exegesis in the Middle Ages. Born into a Jewish family, Nicholas of Lyra received baptism and became a Catholic Christian. In 1291 he entered the Franciscan order (...). He was a doctor at the Sorbonne by 1309 and ten years later was appointed the head of all Franciscans in France. His major work, Postillae perpetuae in universam S. Scripturam, was the first printed commentary on the Bible. (...)

Nicolas of Lyra's approach to explicating Scripture was firmly based on the literal sense, which for him is the foundation of all mystical or allegorical or anagogical expositions. He deplored the tortured and elaborated readings being given to Scripture in his time. The textual basis was so important that he urged that errors be corrected with reference to Hebrew texts, an early glimmer of techniques of textual criticism, though Nicholas recognized the authoritative value of the Church's Tradition:

"I protest that I do not intend to assert or determine anything that has not been manifestly determined by Sacred Scripture or by the authority of the Church... Wherefore I submit all I have said or shall say to the correction of Holy Mother Church and of all learned men..." (Second Prologue to Postillae).

Nicholas utilized all sources available to him, fully mastered Hebrew and drew copiously from Rashi and other rabbinic commentaries, the Pugio Fidei of Raymond Martini and of course the commentaries of St. Thomas Aquinas. His lucid and concise exposition, his soundly-based observations made Postillae the most-consulted manual of exegesis until the 16th century. Martin Luther depended upon it. He used his commentaries extensively in his own work on the book of Genesis, "Lectures on Genesis".^[1] He also highly praised his works in the Table Talk.^[2] When E.A. Gosselin compiled a listing of the printed editions of works by Nicolaus de Lyra, it ran to 27 pages (in Traditio 26 (1970), pp 399–426)." (From Wikipedia. My bold.)

• The Postilla of Nicholas of Lyra on the Song of Songs (Reformation Texts With Translation (1350-1650). Biblical...
• Nicholas of Lyra's Apocalypse Commentary (Commentary Series)

A shame the rest hasn't been translated!

Also see http://community.logos.com/forums/t/78670.aspx.

Anthony H

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