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Document Details :

Title: Iste liber aliter intitulatur Russhbroke
Subtitle: Unanswered Questions Concerning Marguerite Porete and John of Ruusbroec in England
Author(s): ARBLASTER, John
Journal: Ons Geestelijk Erf
Volume: 90    Issue: 3-4   Date: 2020   
Pages: 258-278
DOI: 10.2143/OGE.90.3.3289108

Abstract :
This article concerns the transmission and reception in England of the works of Marguerite Porete and John of Ruusbroec. It focuses particularly on a number of manuscripts, addressing (1) the significance of the fact that two extant manuscripts copied in England contain works by both Marguerite and Ruusbroec, (2) the significance of the fact that a third manuscript attributes Marguerite’s Mirror to Ruusbroec and (3) what we can infer from 1 and 2 about the transmission of Marguerite’s and Ruusbroec’s works in late medieval England. This paper also presents the initial results of a comparison of some crucial passages in Marguerite’s and Ruusbroec’s texts in Middle English translation, which may shed further light on our understanding of their respective receptions. The article revises a number of existing misconceptions in the secondary literature and offers suggestions for further research, both relating to the translation strategies of Marguerite’s and Ruusbroec’s works, as well as with respect to the theological content of the two authors’ works. This exploration thus attempts to open new vistas on our understanding not only of the way Marguerite and Ruusbroec were read in the past, but also on our current perceptions of the relationship between their thought.

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