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Teaching the Teachers: The Vercelli Book and the Mixed Life

Abstract:
In this article I propose that the rationale of the compilation of the Vercelli Book is best appreciated if we group texts according to theme and content rather than form. The distinction between prose and verse appears to have been of little concern to the compiler, who combines homiletic texts with exemplary narratives concerning the education of teachers and, finally, a life of a hermit. This points to an interest in the tension between the pastoral duties of the preacher and the contemplative virtues of the ascetic life. Drawing on Gregory the Great's influential formulation of the “mixed life” of the ideal pastor in his “Cura Pastoralis”, I argue that the Vercelli Book invites the implied preacher-reader to balance the duty of preaching with the need for prayer, thereby harmonizing the active and contemplative lives.
Publication status:
Published
Peer review status:
Peer reviewed

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Publisher copy:
10.1080/0013838X.2013.814319

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Institution:
University of Oxford
Division:
HUMS
Department:
English Faculty
Role:
Author


Publisher:
Routledge
Journal:
English Studies More from this journal
Volume:
94
Issue:
6
Pages:
627-658
Publication date:
2013-10-01
DOI:
EISSN:
1744-4217
ISSN:
0013-838X


Keywords:
Pubs id:
pubs:571351
UUID:
uuid:fee124e2-e0ae-49f2-8e3f-9f9ab0120d9b
Local pid:
pubs:571351
Source identifiers:
571351
Deposit date:
2015-10-26

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