Bede: The Reckoning of Time - (Translated Texts for Historians) 2nd Edition (Hardcover)

About the Book

From the patristic age until the Gregorian calendar reform of 1582, computus - the science of time reckoning and art of calendar construction - was a subject of intense concern to medieval people. Bede's The Reckoning of Time (De temporum ratione) was the first comprehensive treatise on this subject, and the model and reference for all subsequent teaching, discussion and criticism of the Christian calendar. The Reckoning of Time is a systematic exposition of the Julian solar calendar and the Paschal table of Dionysius Exiguus, with their related formulae for calculating dates. But it is more than a technical handbook. Bede sets calendar lore within a broad scientific framework and a coherent Christian concept of time, and incorporates themes as diverse as the theory of tides and the threat of chiliasm. This translation of the full text includes an extensive historical introduction and a chapter-by-chapter commentary. The Reckoning of Time also serves as an accessible introduction to the computus itself.
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Book Synopsis

The Reckoning of Time is Bede's comprehensive account of computus - the body of information, technique and precept that governed how the medieval Christian calendar was managed. Bede sought not only to resolve debates about determining the date of Easter once and for all, but aimed to make computus teachable to monks and clerics. He also situated computus within an encyclopedic framework of classical astronomical and cosmographic knowledge that served as the basis of 'science literacy' for generations. Finally, Bede extended the reach of computus to embrace history, and even the end of time. Woven into this synthesis is a theological vision of God as creator of the cosmos whose motions define time, and as governor and goal of redemptive history.

Faith Wallis' translation of Bede: the Reckoning of Time first appeared in 1999. This new edition features a fully overhauled Introduction and Commentary that incorporate the abundant research of the past quarter-century, as well as a thorough revision of the translation. It will interest students of medieval science, theology, education and culture, and serve as an accessible introduction to computus itself. Generations of medieval computists nourished their expertise on Bede's limpid prose and orderly presentation; modern scholars in quest of safe passage through this often unfamiliar terrain can hope for no better guide.

Review Quotes

This is the first full translation of this work, and beautifully edited. Professor Wallis offers a very clear introduction and a detailed chapter by chapter commentary. This is a wonderful book.
New Directions

About the Author

Faith Wallis teaches in the Departments of History and of Social Studies of Medicine at McGill University.