Undusted Texts

The Byzantine Rite is, unfortunately, woefully lacking in hymns and traditions for Advent and Christmastide compared to the Roman Rite, particularly the rich old English tradition.  Liturgically, outside of the Matins Katavasia (the Nativity katavasia are first used on November 21), there is no preparation for the Nativity until two Sundays beforehand.  The Byzantine Rite has the Nativity Fast itself, of course, but it has no traditions like the Advent Wreath.  Some have tried to adapt Latin traditions: for instance, Elissa Bjeletich put an Orthodox spin on the Jesse Tree with her 2016 book Welcoming the Christ Child: Family Readings for the Nativity Fast .  (Originally, the book was packaged with a set of ornaments, to form a true Jesse Tree; the ornaments seem out of print, but a Kindle version of the book is available, and the paperback still appears available from the publisher, St. Sebastian Orthodox Press .) There are a couple of paraliturgical services: the M...

For more details on Jean Gerson's idea for a Feast of the Espousals of Mary and Joseph, to be hold on the Thursday between the Third and Fourth Sundays of Advent, see my recent post , quoting some of his letters.  For the other texts of the Office Gerson wrote for this proposed feast, see this older post .  What I translate here are the Matins readings Gerson wrote for this office.   In the Tridentine Divine Office, the Office of Matins was generally equivalent to the modern Office of Readings; however, while the Office of Readings can be read at any time of day, Matins was a midnight office (though its name means "morning").  The traditional arrangement of readings was three groups (Nocturns), each consisting of three readings.  For a normal day, these would consist Psalms or portions of Psalms; on feast days, or during certain liturgical seasons, some or all of these Psalms would be replaced by other readings (maybe Epistles; maybe lives of the saints; ma...

  Wedding of Joseph and Mary, from St. John the Baptist Basilica in Berlin, Germany    Earlier this year, I translated the main text of an Office that Jean Gerson (1363-1429) composed for a Feast of the Espousals of Mary and Joseph. Here, I summarize two letters he wrote promoting such a feast.    Letter of August 13-17, 1400 In this letter, Jean Gerson discusses his proposal for a Feast of the Marriage ( conjugium ) of Mary and Joseph: " It has pleased divine wisdom (who reaches from end to end strongly, disposes all things sweetly (Wis 8:1)) to, in these last times, incline the hearts of many to teach that the virginal (so Jerome calls it) marriage of the just Joseph and Mary should be venerated with the solemn cult of the Church, and to promote its devotion.They are moved (so I deem) by the Gospel’s word, excellently and often preaching the prerogatives with which that just Joseph shone. They are moved by the honor and love of his most blessed wife, who ca...

Dante's Divine Comedy quickly attracted commentaries on its intricacies, beginning with Dante himself (in his Epistle to Can Grande , often labelled Epistle XIII).  The earliest commentary was by Dante's son Jacopo (1285-1348), in Italian; a Latin commentary was later written by another son, Pietro (d. 1364). Pietro kept revising his commentary throughout his life, becoming a miniature of the Renaissance, in a way.  The earliest version—out of the three distinct ones that have been preserved—is rich in Patristic and theological references; as time went on, these references gave way to classical references, as the burgeoning Renaissance spurred an increase in studies of and love for the classics.   In 2002, Massimiliano Chiamenti edited the third version of Pietro's Commentary ; from that edition, I have translated the introduction, which serves as both an introduction to the whole Comedy as well as to the Inferno in particular. Academia.edu Direct Download

To pair with this blog, I've finally launched a basic author page at Undusted Texts .  It provides little-to-no information not already found on this blog, but it is arranged in a different way.  The key benefit to the author page is that it includes self-hosted copies of many of my articles, translations, and essays, so that potential readers no longer have to head to Academia.edu or Internet Archive to find them.  Browse through the Publications page and its subsections to find them.  I will also add links to these direct downloads at relevant locations on this blog.

  Pascal's Anguish Maurice Barrès Buy the Kindle Edition Here    Newly-released is a set of two essays by Maurice Barrès (1862-1923).  Barrès was a novelist, traveloguist, and politician; I previously translated a volume of his writings on Joan of Arc . The present eBook consists of the essay "Pascal's Anguish," along with the shorter complement "The Enfances Pascal ," about Pascal's childhood.  The main essay discusses Pascal's spiritual anguish, which was resolved by a revelation, the experience of which was enshrined in Pascal's Memorial .  The essay includes a line-by-line commentary on the Memorial .  The second essay delves into Pascal's intellectual and spiritual development during his childhood.  As with my other translations, I have added many footnotes explaining Barrès' references. Being short, this new translation is available in eBook format only; as with my other eBooks, it can be read for free by subscribers to Kindle ...