Dumbarton Oaks Medieval Library
Encyclopedia
The Dumbarton Oaks Medieval Library is a new series published by Harvard University Press in collaboration with the Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection, which presents original medieval Latin, Greek, and Old English texts with facing-page translations designed to make written achievements of medieval and Byzantine
culture available to English-speaking scholars and general readers. It offers familiar classics of the medieval canon as well as lesser-known texts of literary and cultural value to a global audience in accessible, modern translations based on the latest research by leading figures in the field.
With material and texts ranging from The Vulgate Bible and the lives of saints to the deeds of heroes, and genres as diverse as travelogues, scientific treatises, and epic
and lyric
poetry, this new series brings the medieval world populated by holy men and sinners, monsters and angels, kings and slaves, knights and poets, to a new generation of readers. The series begins with a focus on three languages—Byzantine Greek, Medieval Latin
, and Old English
—that will be enlarged to incorporate additional vernacular languages in the future.
The general editor of the series is Jan M. Ziolkowski
. The language editors are Daniel Donoghue (Old English), Danuta Shanzer (Medieval Latin), and Alice-Mary Talbot (Byzantine Greek).
Byzantine
Byzantine usually refers to the Roman Empire during the Middle Ages.Byzantine may also refer to:* A citizen of the Byzantine Empire, or native Greek during the Middle Ages...
culture available to English-speaking scholars and general readers. It offers familiar classics of the medieval canon as well as lesser-known texts of literary and cultural value to a global audience in accessible, modern translations based on the latest research by leading figures in the field.
With material and texts ranging from The Vulgate Bible and the lives of saints to the deeds of heroes, and genres as diverse as travelogues, scientific treatises, and epic
Epic poetry
An epic is a lengthy narrative poem, ordinarily concerning a serious subject containing details of heroic deeds and events significant to a culture or nation. Oral poetry may qualify as an epic, and Albert Lord and Milman Parry have argued that classical epics were fundamentally an oral poetic form...
and lyric
Lyric poetry
Lyric poetry is a genre of poetry that expresses personal and emotional feelings. In the ancient world, lyric poems were those which were sung to the lyre. Lyric poems do not have to rhyme, and today do not need to be set to music or a beat...
poetry, this new series brings the medieval world populated by holy men and sinners, monsters and angels, kings and slaves, knights and poets, to a new generation of readers. The series begins with a focus on three languages—Byzantine Greek, Medieval Latin
Medieval Latin
Medieval Latin was the form of Latin used in the Middle Ages, primarily as a medium of scholarly exchange and as the liturgical language of the medieval Roman Catholic Church, but also as a language of science, literature, law, and administration. Despite the clerical origin of many of its authors,...
, and Old English
Old English language
Old English or Anglo-Saxon is an early form of the English language that was spoken and written by the Anglo-Saxons and their descendants in parts of what are now England and southeastern Scotland between at least the mid-5th century and the mid-12th century...
—that will be enlarged to incorporate additional vernacular languages in the future.
The general editor of the series is Jan M. Ziolkowski
Jan M. Ziolkowski
Jan Ziolkowski is the Arthur Kingsley Porter Professor of Medieval Latin at Harvard University and Director of the Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection. His scholarship has focused on the literature of the Latin Middle Ages.-Career:...
. The language editors are Daniel Donoghue (Old English), Danuta Shanzer (Medieval Latin), and Alice-Mary Talbot (Byzantine Greek).