“For centuries, the Glossa ordinaria on the Bible served as the entry point and guide to biblical exegesis for students of theology, preachers, and also many religious meditating on Scripture. It itself was the product of centuries of biblical exegesis in a tradition of thought that understood Scripture as the multilayered Word of God revealed by the Holy Spirit for the guidance of the Church and the salvation of souls. This tradition of exegesis, in which human words reflect on God’s Word, reached its fullest visual expression in the Glossa ordinaria in the High Middle Ages, where the human words wrap around and interlace the divine words that they are attempting to grasp. This lucid translation of the Gloss on the Gospel of Matthew by Samuel Klumpenhouwer and its striking visual representation and careful source notes bring the high medieval gloss commentary tradition, bound to its Carolingian and patristic predecessors, to the modern world. This achievement will serve equally well scholars of medieval culture, theology, and schools on the one hand and, on the other, students and devotees of Christian Scripture who are interested in reigniting a more holistic and spiritual tradition of scriptural exegesis.”

“This exquisite volume retrieves for the Church one of the high points of high medieval exegesis—the Glossa ordinaria of Matthew’s Gospel. The culmination of a thousand-year tradition, these glosses are invaluable for today’s preacher and scholar: The patristic and medieval notes beautifully and truthfully interpret the Gospel of Saint Matthew as ‘the Church’s Gospel’—building upon the patristic tradition of Jerome, Augustine, and other luminaries. Translator and editor Samuel Klumpenhouwer earns his rightful place among them with this outstanding accomplishment of a yeoman’s task.”

“The Glossa ordinaria represents the standard of Christian biblical interpretation to which modern exegetes originally understood themselves to be contributing, whether by way of correction, supplementation, or reformation. Yet few today have any familiarity with this standard, and as a result much of modern exegesis is alienated from its own origins, offering a counterpoint to a theme it no longer remembers. This excellent volume offers a happy step towards overcoming this collective amnesia, and reintroduces contemporary lay readers to the synthesis of patristic exegesis which generations of medieval readers before us so highly valued, and scholars to the common standard of interpretation which is so vital for understanding subsequent developments in the study of Scripture.”

“A magnificent achievement. English-speaking readers are now able to read the standard medieval Christian interpretation of Scripture—in the case of this volume, the Gospel of Matthew—but they are able to experience reading it almost as medievals would have read it, that is, in the glossed format, where the scriptural text is in the middle of the page, and it is surrounded on its two sides with the glosses, the comments of the early Church fathers and medieval commentators. The Glossa ordinaria was, in its time, a radically innovative work, because for the first time it literally put Scripture and commentary on the same page, and it revolutionized Christian education and preaching. This English translation will have an inestimable impact on how medieval Christianity is now understood today—by teachers and students alike.”

“It is glorious to have in hand another installment of Samuel J. Klumpenhouwer’s wondrous effort to translate the Ordinary Gloss to the Bible. The Gloss is one of a handful of works that can truly be said to be foundational of high medieval culture; it should be of necessary interest to all who strive to penetrate any aspect of that culture. Above all, it is among the strongest evidence for the most characterizing feature of that culture, that is, its piety in all its variety, richness, and complexity, and always grounded in Scripture. It is pietas too that alone can explain Klumpenhouwer’s loving commitment to the fearful project of making the entire Gloss intelligible to us. May its portion on Matthew find many grateful readers!”