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The first full English translation of one of the most important sources on Thomas Becket.
Benedict of Peterborough's Passion and Miracles of St Thomas Becket puts the reader in Canterbury on the day of one of the most famous murders of all time, when four of King Henry II's knights killed the archbishop inside his cathedral on 29 December 1170. It reveals how a monk thrust into the role of chronicler attempted to understand the earliest cures at Thomas Becket's tomb and the rapid growth of his reputation as a miracle-worker. With its description of Becket's murder and some 275 miracles, all dating to 1171-1173, Benedict's text, which went on to circulate across Europe, is by far our most important source for the beginnings of the cult that would draw hundreds of thousands of medieval pilgrims to Canterbury.
This book provides the first full English translation of Benedict's Passion and Miracles from the original Latin. It includes an introduction that assesses the relationship of the Canterbury monks to the archbishop, analyses the story of the murder as told in the Passion, and examines the ways in which Benedict gathered material and constructed the Miracles. The translation is also accompanied by full explanatory notes, while two appendices provide biographical information and a translation of the eighteen stories in the Miracles that are also recounted in a slightly later Canterbury collection. This translation will make Benedict's hugely significant text accessible to a wider audience for the first time.
This book is available as Open Access under the Creative Commons license CC BY-NC-ND.
Benedict of Peterborough's Passion and Miracles of St Thomas Becket puts the reader in Canterbury on the day of one of the most famous murders of all time, when four of King Henry II's knights killed the archbishop inside his cathedral on 29 December 1170. It reveals how a monk thrust into the role of chronicler attempted to understand the earliest cures at Thomas Becket's tomb and the rapid growth of his reputation as a miracle-worker. With its description of Becket's murder and some 275 miracles, all dating to 1171-1173, Benedict's text, which went on to circulate across Europe, is by far our most important source for the beginnings of the cult that would draw hundreds of thousands of medieval pilgrims to Canterbury.
This book provides the first full English translation of Benedict's Passion and Miracles from the original Latin. It includes an introduction that assesses the relationship of the Canterbury monks to the archbishop, analyses the story of the murder as told in the Passion, and examines the ways in which Benedict gathered material and constructed the Miracles. The translation is also accompanied by full explanatory notes, while two appendices provide biographical information and a translation of the eighteen stories in the Miracles that are also recounted in a slightly later Canterbury collection. This translation will make Benedict's hugely significant text accessible to a wider audience for the first time.
This book is available as Open Access under the Creative Commons license CC BY-NC-ND.
Price: $39.95
Pages: 400
Publisher: Boydell & Brewer Inc.
Imprint: Boydell Press
Publication Date:
06 May 2025
Trim Size: 6.14 X 9.21 in
ISBN: 9781837652716
Format: Paperback
BISACs:
HISTORY / Europe / Great Britain / Norman Conquest to Late Medieval (1066-1485), European history: medieval period, middle ages, RELIGION / Christianity / Saints & Sainthood, History of religion, Criticism and exegesis of sacred texts
In any form, as a piece of scholarship, this book is genuine, humane, and relatable, and just the kind of labor that helps preserve the Middle Ages with its deep and thrilling spiritual histories. It could certainly serve in any number of literature or history classes ... Readers will pick up, and finally put down, this book with a sense of contemplative awe and a deepened understanding of a man who, for many, might have only been the subject of a footnote from Chaucer's Canterbury Tales.
This book presents the first full-length English translation of Benedict of Peterborough's Passio Sancti Thomae Cantuariensis. In so doing, Rachel Koopmans has brought together two distinct texts by Benedict of Peterborough, one about the martyrdom of Thomas Becket, the other about miracles attributed to him after his assassination. ... the thoroughness of her Introduction keeps the reader curious about the full text, and reading her translation is worth the wait.
This book presents the first full-length English translation of Benedict of Peterborough's Passio Sancti Thomae Cantuariensis. In so doing, Rachel Koopmans has brought together two distinct texts by Benedict of Peterborough, one about the martyrdom of Thomas Becket, the other about miracles attributed to him after his assassination. ... the thoroughness of her Introduction keeps the reader curious about the full text, and reading her translation is worth the wait.
Acknowledgements
Note on the Translation
List of Abbreviations
Introduction
THE PASSION OF ST THOMAS BECKET
THE MIRACLES OF ST THOMAS BECKET
PROLOGUE
BOOK I
BOOK II
BOOK III
BOOK IV
ADDITIONS
Biographical Notes
Appendix: William of Canterbury, The Parallel Miracles
Select Bibliography
Index to Biblical Allusions
General Index
Note on the Translation
List of Abbreviations
Introduction
THE PASSION OF ST THOMAS BECKET
THE MIRACLES OF ST THOMAS BECKET
PROLOGUE
BOOK I
BOOK II
BOOK III
BOOK IV
ADDITIONS
Biographical Notes
Appendix: William of Canterbury, The Parallel Miracles
Select Bibliography
Index to Biblical Allusions
General Index