And Then the End Will Come: Early Latin Christian Interpretations of the Opening of the Seven Seals (review)

Short Notices 253 This bibliographical guide, compiled by Lotte Kery, provides a definitive bibliographical guide to the vast range of canon law collections compiled between the earlyfifthcentury and the time of Gratian. Some of these, such as the Collectio Hibernensis of the eighth century, the Decretales of Pseudo-Isidore from the mid ninth century, or the great collections of Burchard of Worms and of Ivo of Chartres from the eleventh and early twelfth centuries, exist in large numbers of manuscripts. Kery's guide provides a detailed list of manuscripts, editions and bibliography to all ofthese works, as well as to many others known only to specialists. Any scholar who comes across a manuscript containing some elements of a canonical collection has here an invaluable reference tool to help identify the work in question. A wealth of meticulous research has gone into this guide, relating to the identification of a vast range of texts, as well as to the dating and provenance of countless manuscripts. This is an indispensable tool for any scholar working with manuscripts that relate to canon law, as well as for any historian of the early medieval period who is concerned with the effort of medieval churchmen to impose rational order on the vast body of ecclesiastical precedent formulated over earlier centuries. Constant J. Mews Monash University Lumsden, Douglas W, And Then the End Will Come: Early Latin Christian Interpretations of the Opening of the Seven Seals, N e w York, Garland Publishing, 2001; cloth; pp.xii, 112; R R P US$40.00; ISBN 041592961X. This book is concerned with the ways in which Latin Christian authors from th fourth to the ninth centuries discussed a passage in the Apocalypse (Book of Revelation) which describes the opening of a sequence of seven seals by the Lamb. After examining commentaries written in late antiquity by Victorinus, Tyconius and Jerome, individual chapters consider the thinking of Primasius, Bede, Ambrosius Autpertus, Beatus of Liebana and Haimo of Auxerre on the opening of the seals. A brief epilogue attempts to relate these ideas to the monasticism of the tenth century. In all cases, the material is drawn from commentaries specifically on the Apocalypse, rather than references to it in works on other subjects. The text was generally seen as referring to the role ofthe church inhistory, rather than being prophetic ofend times. The different emphases among 254 Short Notices these authors, especially the subtle ways in which they intruded idiosyncratic elements into what the author properly sees as a single exegetical tradition, are intriguing. In general, there was a move away from literal understanding. When the book turns away from summarizing the material in the texts, odd understandings emerge. Are the efforts of Pope Gregory I in England and Boniface on the Continent appropriately described as simply attempts to extend the Roman liturgy? In what sense was Ambrosius Autpertus a 'Carolingian mystic'? Even conceding the latter term, it seems bizarre to see someone writing in the south ofItaly between 758 and 767 as 'reflecting the optimism ofthe Carolingian religious spirit.' It is false to see Charlemagne absorbing Arian Lombards. Ultimately, while this book constitutes a scholarly and thoughtful contribution to its topic, it does not make a major statement. The author is properly reluctant to make connections between the emphases of Beatus, for example, and the Islamic occupation of much of Spain. But what w e are left with are summaries of the discussions, usually brief, in the works of a series of generally marginal authors (Augustine is mentioned just three times, Ambrose and Gregory not at all), of a passage in a text which was itself seen as marginal within the biblical canon. Doubtless it is good to have it, but there is an air of the secondary about this project. John Moorhead Department ofHistory University of Queensland ...