The volumes under review present Latin editions and English translations of three of Nigel of Canterbury’s lesser-known works. In each case, the Latin text has been updated from a previously published modern edition, but the translations are new. The book begins with Jan Ziolkowski’s revision of his 1986 edition of Nigel’s Miracula sancte Dei genitricis uirginis Marie uersifice, originally published in the Toronto Medieval Latin Texts series. The poet chose well-known tales that emphasized the Virgin’s ability to intercede in human affairs in a variety of circumstances, which Ziolkowksi has translated in clear and readable prose. The supplemental volume of commentary by Ziolkowski is an essential reference tool for specialists interested in the virtuosity of this poem and its author’s indebtedness to late antique and medieval conventions and commonplaces. It is voluminous and exhaustive. Next, Ronald E. Pepin adapts the Latin text of André Boutemy’s 1959 edition of Nigel’s Tractatus contra curiales et officiales clericos. Pepin’s translation, the first ever in English, is lively and alliterative.
This thick volume is a welcome addition to the Dumbarton Oaks Medieval Library. The English translations in this handsome volume are sure to bring new attention to this important twelfth-century poet and critic.
Scott G. Bruce
Journal of Medieval Latin
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