From the Treasure-House of Scripture: An Analysis of Scriptural Sources in de Imitatione Christi

From the Treasure-House of Scripture presents the first comprehensive assessment of the relation between the Latin Bible and the text of the highly influential late-medieval devotional manual known as De Imitatione Christi (The Imitation of Christ). Consisting of a detailed analysis of scriptural sources in The Imitation, this work contains the complete Latin text of The Imitation juxtaposed against 3815 Vulgate source texts. Included are some 2600 sources collated from citations in seventy editions of The Imitation, and some 1200 sources newly identified in this study. A collation is presented of explicit statements in The Imitation on ‘Scripture’ and aspects of lectio divina (‘prayed reading’). The textual analysis highlights several aspects of the relation between The Imitation and the Vulgate. First, some fifty ‘forms of usage’ of scriptural passages in The Imitation are described. Secondly, some three hundred scriptural passages important in informing the overall content of The Imitation are identified. Thirdly, the role of scriptural sources in helping to shape the ascetic character of The Imitation is discussed. Background information is presented on the content, authorship and influence of The Imitation; the Devotio moderna (‘New Devotion’ or ‘Modern Devotion’) movement; the life of Thomas a Kempis; the role of Scripture and lectio divina in the New Devotion movement; and the general role of Scripture in Thomas a Kempis’s oeuvre.