Letter R

R

Rabanus Magnentius Maurus [Hrabanus Maurus], the sixth Archbishop of Mainz, a German by nation, from the city of Fulda in Buchonia, formerly the fourth Abbot of the monastery of Fulda, of the Order of St. Benedict, a hearer of Albinus the Englishman [Alcuin], a man most consummate in the knowledge of all the disciplines — Rhetor, Poet, astronomer, Philosopher, and Theologian, to whom Germany had no equal in that age. He, I say, offended by the wickedness of his monks, who condemned him because — too intent on the studies of the sacred letters — he neglected temporal things, deserted the ungrateful ones and betook himself to Louis Augustus, and remained with him some months, the monks earnestly recalling him (of their deed they had already repented); but they did not prevail, God so willing, who a little afterward, to their confusion, took him up to the Archbishopric of Mainz. He, then, while he was still in his monastery, at the urging of Freculf, Bishop of Lisieux, and of the Augusti Louis and Lothair, composed on all the divine Scriptures, according to the sense of the letter and the spiritual understanding, 172 books of commentaries; which he gathered from all the Latin Fathers, in a continuous series from Jerome down to Bede, everywhere preserving their sayings and their meanings; and in those places where he did not find an exposition of the Fathers, he used his own explanations, noting at the head of the pages the names both of himself and of the other interpreters, whose opinions he had fitted together in the codices, so that the reader might know both what he had from the Fathers and what from him, and by what judgment each thing was to be read. Besides these, he also gathered, on the whole divine Scripture, a Dictionary of mystical significations, most useful for the spiritual senses of the holy volumes. Of these volumes I have read only the [following] written below, printed, their beginnings for the greater part different from those which Trithemius noted in his catalog:

• On Genesis, to Freculf, Bishop of Lisieux, 4 books — [incipit] The endeavor of the men of old.
• On Exodus, to the same, 4 books — Among the other scriptures.
• On Numbers, to the same, 4 books — The book of Numbers.
• On Deuteronomy, to the same, 4 books — These things, therefore, having been run through.
• On Ecclesiasticus, to Otgar the Archbishop, 10 books — Knowing [your] benevolence.
• On Jeremiah, to the Emperor Lothair, 18 books — After the little commentaries.
• On Lamentations, to the same, 3 books — The last part of Jeremiah.

…which the typographers, inserted among the Hieronymian works and falsely inscribed with the title of JEROME, sell. The beginnings of his other lucubrations, not yet seen by us, you have in Trithemius. He flourished in the year of the Lord 855.

Radulph [Ralph of Flavigny], a Benedictine monk of the monastery of Flavigny — or, as others say, of Fulda in Germany — a man most distinguished in his time in the more polished letters, and, in expounding the divine Scriptures, having obtained a divine genius, published twenty books of commentaries on Leviticus; in which he explained all the mysteries of this book so eloquently, piously, and learnedly, both according to the historical and according to the spiritual sense, that in comparison with him the other expositors of the same book seem hardly to have expounded [it] at all. The opening of the work is, When once, among friends, a discourse chanced [to arise] concerning the contentions of the Jews. He also wrote fourteen books on all the epistles of Paul. He flourished in the year of the Lord 910 [so printed; Radulph of Flavigny flourished rather in the 12th century].

Rainuldus of Piperno [Reginald of Piperno], of the Order of Preachers [Dominican], gathered from the explanations of St. Thomas Aquinas a scholastic Lecture on the Gospel of John, beginning, I saw the Lord. It is extant, written by hand, in the Dominican Library at Bologna.

Rainerius Snoy of Gouda [Rainerius Snoygoudanus], a physician, gathered from Jerome, Arnobius, Augustine, Cassiodorus, and other ancient fathers a Paraphrase — or rather Scholia — on all the Psalms of David; which he so explained that not even a single word was omitted by him, with little glosses interposed within the text, so welded together that, unless the words of the Psalm were distinguished by different type-characters, these could not be told apart from those; adding also, at the end of the several Psalms, some pious little prayers, drawn from the very bowels of the preceding Psalm. The work begins, The sacrosanct Psalter. He flourished in the year of the Lord 1550.

Remigius of Auxerre [Antisiodorensis], a bishop [so printed; Remigius of Auxerre was a monk, not a bishop], a Benedictine monk, most learned in divine and human letters, illustrious in doctrine and sanctity, wrote a succinct narrative-exposition on all the Psalms; in which he compressed most briefly whatever Ambrose, Augustine, and Cassiodorus wrote on the Psalms, with additions also, and thoughts interspersed of his own, not wholly to be despised. The work begins, It must be said what Prophecy is. He wrote likewise, with similar industry, five books on the Pentateuch.

• On the Song of Songs, one book — [incipit] Solomon inspired.
• On the 12 Prophets, twelve books.
• On Matthew, one book.
• On all the epistles of Paul, 14 books.

He flourished under Charles the Bald, Emperor, in the year of the Lord 880.

Remigio de’ Nannini [Remigius de Nanninis], a Florentine, of the Order of Preachers [Dominican], a professor of Theology, a poet of elegant genius and skilled in histories, wrote on the sacred Books of both Testaments Annotations not to be regretted; in which he embraced most diligently the history of illustrious men, and the description of the animals, plants, stones, mountains, rivers, cities, towns, and other such things which the divine Scripture mentions here and there. He also gathered a volume of Scholia on the encyclical readings of the Epistles and Gospels [the lectionary], published in the Italian tongue, and rendered the Psalms of David into Tuscan verses. He lives up to the present year of our salvation 1566, being 44 years old.

Rhaethicius [Reticius], bishop of Autun of the Aedui, reputed a Churchman of most celebrated fame in Gaul, was sent to Rome by the Emperor Constantine, under Pope Sylvester, on account of the affair of the Montenses [the Donatists]; where he had earlier taken part, under Pope Miltiades, together with those who had condemned Donatus, the author of the schism, and had absolved Caecilian, Bishop of the Church of Carthage. He published commentaries on the Song of Songs; of whom Jerome, writing to Marcella, approves the eloquence, raised on the Gallic buskin [cothurnus], but disapproves the erudition and the judgment. He lived in the year of the Lord 320.

Richard, a Monk of Cluny, learned and pious, composed a book, entitled τῶν ἀντικειμένων — that is, Of Contraries, or Of things set in opposition — comprising questions from both Testaments that seem to conflict, and their clear solutions, explained by question and answer in a terse brevity; whose beginning is, Why in Genesis seven, etc. Alfonso [de Castro] of Zamora, in book 14 against heresies, attributes this work to Salvian, bishop of Marseilles. He flourished under Frederick the First, Emperor, in the year of the Lord 1160.

Richard of Exeter, an Englishman, wrote a Postil on the Psalms, in the year of the Lord one thousand three hundred and thirty [1330].

Richard Lavenham, a Carmelite, an Englishman, wrote a Scholastic Postil on Isaiah, in the year of the Lord one thousand three hundred and eighty-one [1381].

Richard Middleton [Mediavilla], a Scot, of the Order of Minors [Franciscan], most highly learned in the divine Scriptures, in Pontifical [canon] law, and in secular doctrines, wrote, in scholastic discourse, on the four Gospels, four books — one on each — in the year of the Lord 1290.

Richard, a monk and Prior of the monastery of St. Victor at Paris [Richard of St. Victor], of the Order of Augustinian Canons, a man conspicuous for the honesty of his life and for the doctrine of his erudition, subtle in wit, and in eloquence walking a middle path between the sharpness of Augustine and the sweetness of Bernard, wrote many little works on the divine Scriptures of the mystical sense, in which he instructs the understanding, kindles the affection, and advances and draws forth the reader’s zeal to greater things. Of their number are:

• An Epitome of the whole divine Scripture, one book.
• On Genesis ch. 14, On Melchizedek, mystically, one book.
• On Genesis ch. 15, On the sacrifice of Abraham, mystically, 1 book.
• On Genesis ch. 49, On the blessings of the Patriarchs, 1 book.
• On Exodus 26, On the tabernacle of the covenant, two books — one according to the letter, the other mystically.
• On the 3rd book of Kings, from ch. 6, On the Temple of Solomon, according to the letter, one book.
• On the same book, a Chronography, to St. Bernard, one book — most necessary for the understanding of the things written from chapter 12 of the 3rd [book] of Kings up to the end of the fourth [book] of Kings; in which is treated On the division of the kingdom of Judah and Israel, and On the concord of the times of the kings co-reigning over Judah and over Israel. And there are in it two tables, of which the first represents those things which make and bring about the contrariety of the times of the kings co-reigning over Judah and over Israel; but the second shows the concord of the same co-reigning kings over Judah and Israel. The book begins, In these things which [are] in the book of Kings.
• On the Song of Songs, commentaries of an interpolated explanation, which expound spiritually the various sentences of the same book here and there. At the beginning of the work is prefixed the preface of the fourth book of the Dialogues of St. Gregory, in these words, After [I had spoken] of the joys of paradise.
• On that [text] of Isaiah 7, Behold, a virgin shall conceive, two books, entitled On Emmanuel; in which, to refute the perfidy of the Jews, he most strongly shows that the aforesaid prophecy cannot be understood except of the Virgin Mary. The work begins, Behold, a virgin.
• On the description of the temple of Ezekiel, a literal explanation being applied, in which — with most fitting pictures and geometrical demonstrations — he expressed most diligently the several parts of the temple. The beginning of the work is, About to speak of the building of Ezekiel.
• On the whole of Daniel, one book of mystical explanation, cited by Trithemius; which, when I had long sought and not found, I at last found a great part of in the compendium of Allegories of Godfrey Tilmann on the book of Daniel.
• One book of explanation of many difficult Passages in all the epistles of Paul, which begins, If those things which [are said] of the law.
• On the Apocalypse, a notable work according to the seven visions which John saw, divided into seven books; whose beginning is, Receive, brother.

He flourished under Conrad III, Emperor, in the year of the Lord 1140.

Richard of Hampole [Richard Rolle], an Anglo-Saxon, a hermit, a man of sincere piety and erudition, wrote on the Psalter a compendious and lucid exposition, beginning, Great spiritual joy. Likewise, on the lections which are read in the suffrages [Office] of the dead, from the seventh and tenth chapters of Job, two books, of which he gathered the latter from the sayings of St. Gregory. The beginning of the work is, My soul is weary. He also wrote, on the twentieth Psalm, a particular little book, beginning, When Christ. And on the Lamentations of Jeremiah, one book, opening, The Lamentations, as Jerome says.

Rhodon the Asian [Asianus], a hearer and disciple of Tatian in the holy Scriptures, composed in the Greek tongue, on the first chapter of Genesis — which by the Greeks is called HEXAEMERON — most elegant treatises, or homilies to the people; in which he most strongly refuted especially the heresy of Apelles the Marcionite, who asserted that the whole world was created by an evil God. He flourished in the times of the Emperors Commodus and Severus, in the year of the Lord 200.

Rudolph Agricola [Rodolphus Agricola], a Frisian, the chief of all the most learned men of his time, a Philosopher, Rhetor, and most noble poet, [most learned in] Greek,

…[Rudolph Agricola,] excellently skilled in Greek, Latin, and Hebrew, translated the Psalter from the Hebrew truth, which is highly commended by those learned in the Hebrew tongue. He flourished under Frederick III, Emperor, in the year of the Lord 1485.

Rudolph Bayne [Rudolphus Baynus], of Cambridge, most learned in the sacred eloquences, and public professor at Paris of all the tongues, and especially of the holy tongue [Hebrew], wrote to Henry, King of the French, three books of commentaries on the Proverbs of Solomon; in which he pursued the historical sense — before nearly untouched by other expositors — according to the property of the Hebrew tongue, with a clear and open exposition, the allegorical and more sublime senses not being neglected.¹ The preface of the work so begins, It is a glorious thing for the great fathers. He flourished in the year of the Lord 1553.

Rudolph Lange [Rudolphus Langius], a German, a Canon of the church of Münster in Westphalia, a man adorned with all the arts and sciences, of singular genius and eloquence, wrote to Hermann Lange, a deacon of the same church, two not-useless books On the city of Jerusalem, for the understanding of the things which the divine Scripture mentions concerning the affairs of Jerusalem; in which he set forth brilliantly the ancient form, site, and state of that city. The beginning of the work is, Of the once most splendid city. He flourished under the Emperor Maximilian, in the year of the Lord 1444.

Rufinus Turranius [Tyrannius Rufinus], a monk, presbyter of the Church of Aquileia, at the request of Paulinus, Bishop of Nola, wrote to him, in the Latin tongue, one book On the blessing of the Patriarch Judah, according to the threefold sense of the divine Scripture; whose beginning is, The more I excuse myself to you. Then, the same Paulinus urgently demanding [it], he published another book to the same, in which he pursued, with a threefold explanation, the blessings of the other eleven Patriarchs. The book begins, First it must be known. He also wrote on Hosea one book, on Amos one book, and on Joel one book. He flourished in the year of the Lord 400.

Rupert the Gaul [Rupertus Gallus], a Carmelite, a professor of Scholastic Theology, a declaimer eloquent in his own tongue, and a not-contemptible expositor of the holy Scriptures, wrote on all the epistles of Paul fourteen books, in the year of the Lord 1350.

Rupert Goullet [Rupertus Goulletus], a doctor of the Parisian Academy, gathered from the four Evangelists a single body of the Gospel history, which he entitled TETRAMENON EVANGELICUM [The Fourfold Gospel]. Its beginning is, Although the doctors.

Rupert Holcot [Robert Holcot], an Englishman by nation, of the Order of Preachers [Dominican], greatly exercised in Scholastic Theology, and outstanding in expounding the holy Scriptures, wrote a Lecture on the book of Wisdom, which begins, The Lord [is] my rock; and a Lecture on the Song of Songs. But most recently he composed, on the first seven chapters of Ecclesiasticus, a scholastic Lecture divided into eighty-eight lections, filled with copious and subtle erudition, which he left unfinished, overwhelmed by a sudden death from that sharp pestilence which was under Charles IV, Emperor, in the year of the Lord 1300 [so printed; Holcot died in the plague of 1349]. The work begins, Master and lord Gandisalvus.

Rupert [Robert Grosseteste], Bishop of Lincoln, surnamed Grosseteste, having obtained the first place among the Philosophers and Theologians of his age, most subtle in the keenness of his wit, most brief in speech, and most copious in the weight of his sentences, wrote succinct commentaries on the whole Psalter; whose beginning is, The book of the Psalms, in Greek. They are extant, written by hand, at Bologna in the Dominican Library. He flourished under the Emperor Conrad, in the year of the Lord 1140 [so printed; Grosseteste, bishop of Lincoln, belongs rather to the 13th century].

Rupert, Abbot of Limburg, a Benedictine monk, a German by nation, a man illustrious for sanctity and for divine revelations, formerly a celebrated philosopher in the Academy of Paris, and after his entry into religion most skilled by assiduous meditation in the holy Scriptures, published, in an open, simple, and not inelegant style, four books of Commentaries on the Song of Songs; whose beginning is, Whoever [understands] the nature of his own self. He flourished under Henry the Fifth, Emperor, in the year of the Lord 1124.

Rupert Rose [Rupertus Roseus], an Englishman, a Carmelite, wrote on Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, and Ecclesiasticus a scholastic Postil. In the year of the Lord 1420.

Rupert the Englishman, of the Order of Preachers [Dominican], a Scholastic by profession, made a Postil on Job, on Daniel, on John, on Matthew, and on Luke; which is seen at Bologna in the Dominican Library.

Rupert, Abbot of Deutz [Tuitiensis], near Cologne, a Benedictine by profession, a German by nation, a man most learned in the divine Scriptures — the Holy Spirit illuminating him through vision — outstanding in eloquence; at the urging of Cuno, Abbot of Siegburg (afterward Archbishop of Regensburg), gathered, on all the divine Scriptures, excellent terse commentaries of varied sense — and especially very many of the allegorical [sense] — from the writings of the Fathers: from which is derived a notable volume, whose title is ON THE HOLY TRINITY AND ITS WORKS, on both Testaments, to Cuno, Abbot of Siegburg — 42 books. Which work he so divided into three parts, that the first part contains the proper works of the Father in three books, that is, from the first creation of the world up to the casting-out of Adam from Paradise; the second part has the proper works of the Son, which — from the casting-out of Adam up to the incarnation and death of the Son of God — were said and done in figures, prophecies, visions, and Scriptures on account of the Christ to come, in 30 books; and the third part concludes, in nine books, the proper works of the Holy Spirit — namely, [those] recited in the Scriptures from the incarnation of the Son of God up to the end of the age. Of which 42 books, all noted together, here is the Index:

FIRST PART. On the holy Trinity, and on the works of the Father, on the first three chapters of Genesis, three books of commentaries: of which the first begins, Of all the Scriptures.

SECOND PART. On the Trinity, and on the works of the Son, thirty books of commentaries. Namely:

- On the Residue of the book of Genesis, 6 books of commentaries — [incipit] A human creature.

• On Exodus, 4 books of commentaries — For what cause, or in what order.
• On Leviticus, 2 books of commentaries — This book.
• On Numbers, 2 books of commentaries — Opened in the Apocalypse.
• On Deuteronomy, 2 books — This book.
• On Joshua, 1 book of commentaries — In seven periods.
• On Judges and Ruth, 1 book — After the death of Joshua.
• On the four books of Kings, the book of Psalms being adjoined, 1 book — After the ample [reward] of virtue.
• On Isaiah, 1 book — Every soul which [seeks] Christ, etc.
• On Jeremiah, 1 book — The twilight of the fifth age of the world.
• On Ezekiel, 1 book — In this age of the world.
• On Daniel, Zechariah, and Malachi together, 2 books — Christ opening [it].
• On the Maccabees, 1 book.
• On the volume of the four Evangelists, 1 book — In the sixth age of the world.

THIRD PART. On the works of the Holy Spirit, from the coming of Christ up to the end of the age, 9 books — [incipit] The wrath of the Almighty.

But besides these he also wrote, in a broader style, more commentaries on various books of Holy Scripture; among which are: On the incarnation of the Lord, on the Song of Songs according to the mystical sense, seven most learned books, whose beginning is, Who against man; on the XII Minor Prophets, to Frederick, Archbishop of Cologne, 30 books, of which the first begins, To the Holy Spirit; to Cuno the Abbot, On the glory and honor of the Son of Man, on Matthew, 13 books, whose beginning is, You demand of me, O Christ-loving Cuno; on John’s Gospel, 14 books — [incipit] The disciple whom [Jesus loved], etc.; to Frederick, Archbishop of Cologne, 12 books of commentaries on the Apocalypse, whose beginning is, That you too, O venerable Archbishop of the people of Cologne. He dies in the year of the Lord 1124.

Rupert Walsingham [Rupertus Valsigen], an Englishman, a Carmelite, a Norwich man by fatherland, wrote, in scholastic manner, commentaries on Ecclesiasticus, in the year of the Lord 1310.