Author Description

The Glosae super Iohannem, here printed for the first time, is a continuously-written commentary on the Gospel of John. Surviving in fourteen manuscripts from medieval France, England, Italy and Germany, the text is critically edited and analyzed as to authorship, composition, sources and later influence. Though mostly anonymously transmitted, through an assessment of external and internal evidence it is possible to restore the Glosae to Anselm of Laon (d. 1117), acclaimed teacher of the sacra pagina at the cathedral school of Laon in the early twelfth century. By substantially reorganizing and rewriting previous commentary material, Anselm crafted a unique compendium of the 'best' exegesis on the Gospel of John. Popular in its own right, the Glosae also served as primary source of the immensely popular Glossa, later known as the 'ordinaria', on the Fourth Gospel, thus extending even further the influence of its author and his school.