Meditations on the Life of Christ

“In addition to the critical edition, the volume includes a translation into English, contextual annotations to the text, a linguistic analysis of the manuscript by Pär Larson of the Opera del Vocabolario Italiano, and an extensive introduction. This is a substantial and noteworthy contribution to the scholarship on the Meditations on the Life of Christ and on medieval devotional literature.” — Zygmunt G. Barański, University of Notre Dame

"In this ground-breaking edition and study Sarah McNamer makes a very persuasive argument for the primacy of this short Italian text of the Meditations on the Life of Christ among the many longer and later versions, both Italian and Latin. She situates the narrative within the highly affective religious, literary, and artistic traditions of the Trecento, and her careful examination of the evidence—especially the compassionate way the author shapes the narrative in the Infancy and Passion chapters—strongly suggests that its author was a nun of the Clarissan Order in Pisa. The extensive introductory material is replete with sound critical, artistic, historical, and linguistic insights, and McNamer’s excellent edition and translation reflect her meticulous attention both to detail and to the larger literary, historical, and artistic context of the work. This is a major contribution to our greater understanding of the 'minor' literature of the fourteenth century." —Christopher Kleinhenz, Carol Mason Kirk Professor Emeritus of Italian, University of Wisconsin-Madison

"Through this labor of love and painstaking editorial scholarship, Sarah McNamer provides us with a first opportunity to read a beautiful and succinct Italian life of Christ. She further invites us to consider this text as the earliest, and female-authored, version of the Meditations on the Life of Christ, a text read everywhere in Europe from the Prague of the Emperor Charles IV to the Lynn of Margery Kempe. Highly recommended." —David Wallace, Judith Rodin Professor of English, University of Pennsylvania

"McNamer . . . offers the first critical edition of the Italian text of the Meditations on the Life of Christ, one of the most widespread devotional books of the late Middle Ages, along with a beautifully rendered English translation. . . . This volume will be of great value to those interested in the history of women, early vernacular literature, or textual criticism as well as students of Franciscan history and late-medieval devotion." — Choice

“Sarah McNamer has done scholars a great service. . . . Not only has she made a significant contribution to understanding medieval women’s contributions to Christian spirituality, she continues to grow out scholarship on medieval devotional practices and the spread of spiritual literature, clearing up some misunderstandings.” —Magistra

“This long-awaited publication is at once a monograph, arguing passionately. . . for the primacy of a ‘short’ Italian text. . . . This edition provides an essential point of reference for that debate.” —Medium Aevum

"By arguing for the authorship of the earliest form of the Meditationes by a Poor Clare, McNamer situates a woman as being the most influential devotional writer of the late Middle Ages. McNamer suggests that this volume will be of interest to anyone researching the study of early Franciscan women, the early interorder circulation of devotional texts among religious women’s communities, the role of women in the textual community of Pisa, the artistic and cultural history of the Trecento, vernacular theology, and the history of emotion." —Medieval Femininst Forum

"Much is at stake here, and it will take time for Italianists and Franciscan scholars to give these issues the thorough vetting they deserve. In the meantime, McNamer’s compelling arguments have already changed our understanding of theMVC and its reception." —Catholic Historical Review

"But if McNamer’s claims are sustained by further research, she will have restored a classic to early fourteenth-century devotional literature. Her work is a groundbreaking contribution to vernacular devotional writing in Italian, and will both stir and shape debate on the MVC for years to come." —Renaissance Quarterly

“The book presents an edition and facing-page translation of the Canonici text, prefaced by a study addressing the textual history of the MVC, its authorship, date and place of composition, and the manuscript itself. . . . McNamer’s compelling arguments have already changed our understanding of the MVC and its reception.” —The Catholic Historical Review

"McNamer’s work is an exciting contribution, not only to medieval scholarship but to the academy many of us would like to build." —Speculum

"This is a publication that in addition to providing a much-needed edition of a significant text of central Italian medieval devotional literature, will soon become a model for studies in vernacular theology, women's literature, and Franciscanism." —Sixteenth Century Journal