Golden Legend
The Golden Legend (Legenda aurea) is a book written in Latin between 1261 and 1266 by Jacques de Voragine , Dominican and Archbishop of Genoa , which chronicles the lives of about 150 groups of saints or holy , holy and martyred Christians , how certain episodes of the liturgical year commemorating the life of such Christ and the Virgin (about 27 chapters), see related article list of saints of the ).
Summary |
Jacques de Voragine drew on all the classic texts of medieval religious literature, and their bibliography occupies nearly thirty pages of the critical edition, one can mention in particular the apocryphal gospels of Jacques , of Nicodemus , the historial Speculum of Vincent de Beauvais , the works of the Latin Fathers Gregory of Tours , St. Augustine , St. Jerome , Vitae Patrum, Cassian and Greek fathers already translated into Latin as St. John Chrysostom. He tried not to resort to the legends of local saints.
The book
Originally entitled Legenda sanctorum alias Hystoria Lombardy, which literally means "that which must be read or holy history of Lombardy," this work is quickly called Legenda aurea because its content of great value, is as precious as gold. Besides the lives of saints, about 40% of the Golden Legend is devoted to explanations of major religious holidays, which refer to the life of Christ.
The book is divided into 5 parts and 178 chapters, organized according to both the order of the liturgical calendar (of the Advent in late November) and age of grace or salvation: renewal time (5 chapters) , reconciliation and pilgrimage (25 chapters), deviation (21 chapters), reconciliation (20 chapters), the pilgrimage Distribution
This book knows its inception, about one thousand two hundred and sixty-one - 1266 , considerable success. The oldest manuscript, dated 1282 , is now in the Staatsbibliothek in Munich } {desired reference. Very quickly, the Golden Legend is with the Bible and the Psalter , one of the most widely read works, most copied, but perhaps also more increased: the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, it is not uncommon to find copies containing not less than 400 stories ... It is estimated that there are over 1000 manuscripts, from simple to more illuminated. The arrival of printing further enhances its dissemination.
Influence in art
The Golden Legend also affects very significantly the art of the Middle Ages , and allows "very often alone explain most of the bas-reliefs of a cathedral" ( Emile Male ). Painters like Giotto , Simone Martini , Jan Van Eyck , Fra Angelico , Masaccio , Piero della Francesca , Antonello da Messina , Andrea Mantegna , Hans Memling , Gerard David and many others draw heavily in this work, featuring life saints.
Bibliography
Latin printed editions
- Iacopo da Varazze, Legenda aurea. Critical edition (Latin text) by Giovanni Paolo Maggioni, Firenze, SISMEL - Ed del Galluzzo, 1998 Some vulgar language translations
- 1476 (French): Jacques de Voragine, The Golden Legend. Critical edition in the revision of 1476 by John Battle, from the translation of Jean de Vignay (1333-1348), published by Brenda Dunn-Lardeau, Paris, Editions Champion, 1997. It is the most famous French translation
- 1483 (English medium): William Caxton, 1483, Edinburgh, Temple Classics reprint, 1900, online at the website of Paul Halsall, Internet History Sourcebooks Project, Fordham University Studies
- Pierre Saintyves , the margins of the Golden Legend, Paris, mile Noury, 1931.
- The Golden Legend of Jacques de Voragine illustrated by painters of the Italian Renaissance (400 paintings and frescoes of the fourteenth and fifteenth century Italian), Paris, edition of Diane Saddlers , 2000.
- Barbara and Franco Fleith Morenzoni, holiness to hagiography. Genesis and use of the "Golden Legend", Geneva, ed. Droz, 2001.
See also
Related articles
External Links
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