The Anglo-Norman Gospel Harmony: A Translation of the ‘Estoire de l’Evangile’ (Dublin, Christ Church Cathedral C6.1.1, Liber niger) by Brent A. Pitts (review)

This volume in the ‘French of England Translation Series’ from the Arizona Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies presents an anonymous text, probably from the mid-thirteenth century, which amalgamates the stories of the evangelists into one hybrid ‘Gospel Harmony’. Known in French as the Estoire de l’Evangile, it survives in a single manuscript. Professor Brent Pitts previously produced a critical edition of the text in its original Anglo-Norman French form for the ‘Medium Ævum Monographs’ series in 2011. He has now complemented that earlier volume with a translation into modern English, though with much of the same critical apparatus and shared (but updated) introductory material.

The idea of a Gospel Harmony was not new. Several Latin versions were produced in Europe and made their way to England during the twelfth century, a time of renewed interest in the Gospel stories. These followed the tradition of early Christian Harmonies, the oldest of which was the Diatessaron attributed to Tatian, an author of the second century. The Diatessaron became so popular that it was suppressed. No original manuscript survives, the earliest remaining copy having been commissioned in 547. Scholars have been able to draw links between this Harmony and the later medieval adaptations on which the Anglo-Norman Estoire drew. In its turn, the Estoire probably served as a model for the much better known ME version, the so-called Pepysian Gospel Harmony dated to c. 1400.

The Harmony itself is arranged into seven ‘meditations’ comprising a total of almost 2,500 lines divided into 113 chapters. Pitts argues that, while the work could be consulted at any time, each of the meditations was especially intended to be read on a specific day during Holy Week in order to encourage regular contemplation of Christ’s life and ministry. The translation contains many familiar biblical stories in renditions that smooth out contradictions between the canonical versions. The text is accompanied by a series of useful appendices that highlight comparisons between the Estoire and its ME equivalent and also between the Estoire and the original Gospels.