Publisher's Synopsis
This study relates the utopian expectation of (early) medieval Apocalypse commentaries to exegesis and liturgy as well as to (later) medieval art. It provides a first-time ever discussion of the commentary by Berengaudus of Ferrières, establishes him as a Carolingian and rejects arguments for an 11th-12th-century date by way of an evaluation of extant ms. evidence. The book highlights Berengaudus' optimism about the promised new world of Apoc. 21-22. The commentary's 11th-12th-century popularity coincided with the rebuilding of churches and the author proposes a new interpretation of Romanesque Revelation iconography in Western France. In addition, the application of Berengaudus' vision to the Ghent Altarpiece permits a coherent reading of its iconology that serves as a corrective on recent studies.
