Abstract
Hrabanus Maurus' Commentary on the Books of Kings, a compilation of reflections on the Books of Kings, was described on several historical occasions as a mere coalition of biblical and Patristic passages without any individual originality. This article aims to reflect on the motivations for the composition of this work within the broader Carolingian tradition of biblical commentaries. It tries therefore to expose how its anthological nature is not subject to any simplistic or reductive approach, since the work is part of a complex and new project of working the biblical text. This new approach revealed not only a profound interest on the past, but also a strong concern over its future textual transmission. It is precisely by dealing with the exegetical work as a reading legacy enriched in each new reception context, that the second section of this article features a brief reflection on the two illuminated Hrabanus’ Commentaries on the Books of Kings part of Portuguese collections. We finally conclude with some observations on the relationship between the work and the prevailing political circumstances of the author, namely the instability period of the Louis the Pious reign. This aims to convey, following Chevalier-Royet (2009: 153- 154), how Hrabanus’ Commentary proposed not only a reinterpretation of the biblical text adapted to his own times, but also the composition of a behavior manual for Christian monarchs.
| Original language | Portuguese |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 8-15 |
| Number of pages | 8 |
| Journal | Invenire. Revista de Bens Culturais da Igreja |
| Issue number | esp. |
| Publication status | Published - 2015 |
| Externally published | Yes |