Coffee shop Latin

THE BIBLE AND INTERPRETATION:

What I Learned While Translating Medieval Latin Commentaries in Coffee Shops

Now, instead of poring over an ancient tome or bringing the blurry image into focus on the microfilm reader screen, I can view Latin scripture commentary on my tiny laptop. I do not know what the medieval authors whom I have been translating would make of my experience. I expect that these scholarly biblical commentators would covet the enormous treasure trove of texts so readily accessible to me. After all, most of these authors were compilers, sorters, arrangers, and distributors of massive amounts of information. They wrote reference works, concordances, and study aids. I imagine they might be chagrined to learn that when they introduced a quotation with the words, “As blessed Augustine said,” I often Googled the Latin phrase they quoted. This sometimes yielded the footnote information I needed, though search engines are not yet a substitute for familiarity with the primary sources, especially when “blessed Augustine” wasn’t really the source of that quotation!

See Also: The Book of Genesis (Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co, 2015)

By Joy A. Schroeder
Bergener Professor of Theology and Religion
Capital University and Trinity Lutheran Seminary
October 2015

Although Latin was the language of the Roman Empire and the Western Church, it is sometimes quite important for the study of ancient Judaism, such as when dealing with the book of 4 Ezra or with Pseudo-Hegesippus. And, of course, there's St. Jerome.