Early Latin Commentaries on the Apocalypse

Book excerpt: Many commentaries on the Apocalypse were produced in the early Middle Ages. This book provides translations of two Apocalypse commentaries from the seventh and eighth centuries. On the Mysteries of the Apocalypse of John is part of a large one-volume "Reference Bible" composed about 750. Written probably by an Irish teacher residing in northern France, it answers difficulties arising from the biblical text. The Handbook on the Apocalypse of the Apostle John, attributed erroneously to Jerome and written before 767, contains brief moral and allegorical interpretations of particular words and phrases of the Apocalypse. The introduction highlights the unique features of each commentary and the interrelationship of the three texts.