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222 Short Notices Roquebert's 'Petites digressions sur le Marteau des heretiques' (pp. 85-107). The final article of the journal is by Christiane Labossiere, and it bears the title 'Societe et politique: les Ecrifs de Londres de Simone Weil' (pp. 109-25). The author cites inter alia Weil's impressions and pronouncements about medieval life and times, including heretical practices in the Midi. These were penned during her exile in London in the Second World War. I fail to see how this paper contributes to our knowledge of medieval heresy, and I wonder w h y the editors of Heresis accepted it for publication. K. V. Sinclair Canberra Hudson, Anne, ed., Selections from English Wycliffite Writings (Medieval Academy Reprints for Teaching 38), Toronto/Buffalo/London, University of Toronto Press, 1997; paper; pp. x, 235; R.R.P. US$16.95. This, the latest in the series of Medieval Academy Reprints for Teaching, i substantially the same as the original edition first published in 1978. Anne Hudson says 'research in the past twenty years has in many ways advanced understanding of Wyclif, his followers and opponents, and of their context; but it would be impossible to take account of that research without completely rewriting the book'. As an introduction to Wycliffite writing the book has richly informative critical apparatus: the clear introduction, imaginative selection of texts, full notes, comprehensive glossary, and select bibliography are all that could be required of a foundation text. The thirteen-page introduction gives a brief biographical account of Wyclifs life and a resume of his writings. This is followed by a lucid explanation of the substance of Wyclifs heresy and the reasons for his downfall. In the final analysis, his rejection of the Eucharistic doctrine of transubstantiation and of the priestly power of absolution challenged clerical authority. His further emphasis on the accessibility of the Bible to all and its importance as the single source of authority in the Church was considered by his contemporaries to be the prelude to social anarchy. The second half of the introduction is devoted to Wyclifs followers and to the Lollard movement which Anne Hudson firmly associates with Wyclif, though some scholars have disputed this. The twenty-seven texts are categorised under four sections: the nature of Wycliffite belief; the Lollards and the Bible; Lollard polemic; and Lollard doctrine. As the introduction suggests, many of the ideas expressed in the English writings are more fully developed in the Latin works of Wyclif and his followers. The very fact that w e have English texts which discuss theological and political topics is a testimony to the strength of their appeal to his followers and a triumph for Wyclifs support of the vernacular. Time Short Notices 223 and again copies were committed to bonfires by the authorities in England, only to be copied again and disseminated from the continent. They represent the revival of a tradition of vernacular writing which had not been used systematically in England since the days of Aelfric. To students of Lollardism the notes to the edition are a compendium of historical, theological, and literary information. For students of literature the comprehensive glossary is a bonus. The importance of Lollard texts in the development of English as a m e d i u m for literature should not be underestimated. In that respect, this re-issued edition is particularly valuable. Anne Scott Department of English University of Western Australia Kahn, Deborah, Canterbury Cathedral and its Romanesque Sculpture, London, Harvey Miller, 1991; cloth; pp. 232; 278 b/w plates, 12 colour plates; RRPĀ£125.00. In one of the best books of its kind, Deborah Kahn has presented a wealth material on Canterbury without becoming lost in the isolation of her subject. Yet although she gives a myriad references to contemporary buildings in France and Normandy, particularly to carved capitals that might reinforce her dates, there is little of the political situation which must have profoundly affected construction at Canterbury. The civil war between Stephen and Matilda from the later 1130s to the later 1150s she passes over with 'there was a lull in building activity from 1130 until the middle of the century'. The two little churches...

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