The Eusebian Canon Tables: Ordering Textual Knowledge in Late Antiquity

— —

Matthew R. Crawford (Associate Professor and Director of the Program in Biblical and Early Christian Studies, Institu te for Religion and Critical Inquiry, Australian Catholic University)

The Eusebian Canon Tables

Ordering Textual Knowledge in Late Antiquity

Matthew R. Crawford (Associate Professor and Director of the Program in Biblical and Early Christian Studies, Institu te for Religion and Critical Inquiry, Australian Catholic University)

$242

Hardback

Not in-store but you can order this
How long will it take?

Availability Information

We source books from suppliers in Australia and overseas. For books we don't currently have in stock, the time it takes to get them from our suppliers can vary widely - from a few days to a few months - so we check each book with each supplier to determine the expected time it will take to be supplied to us.

We then advise you accordingly. If the time taken to get any book is too long for you, you can let us know and we will cancel or adjust your order, and refund as required.

To find out the anticipated arrival time for specific items prior to ordering, please contact us by phone or email:

Phone +61 2 9264 3111, or 1800 4 BOOKS (1800 4 26657) if outside Sydney:
option 1 Abbey's Bookshop (Crime, History, Science, Kids & more) • info@abbeys.com.au
option 2 Language Book Centre (ESL & Foreign Languages) • language@abbeys.com.au
option 3 Galaxy Bookshop (Sci-fi, Fantasy, Romance, Graphic Novels) • sf@galaxybooks.com.au

QTY:

English

Oxford University Press
16 May 2019

Religion & beliefs; The Early Church; New Testaments

Series: Oxford Early Christian Studies

One of the books most central to late-antique religious life was the four-gospel codex, containing the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. A common feature in such manuscripts was a marginal cross-referencing system known as the Canon Tables. This reading aid was invented in the early fourth century by Eusebius of Caesarea and represented a milestone achievement both in the history of the book and in the scholarly study of the fourfold gospel. In this work, Matthew R. Crawford provides the first book-length treatment of the origins and use of the Canon Tables apparatus in any language. Part one begins by defining the Canon Tables as a paratextual device that orders the textual content of the fourfold gospel. It then considers the relation of the system to the prior work of Ammonius of Alexandria and the hermeneutical implications of reading a four-gospel codex equipped with the marginal apparatus. Part two transitions to the reception of the paratext in subsequent centuries by highlighting four case studies from different cultural and theological traditions, from Augustine of Hippo, who used the Canon Tables to develop the first ever theory of gospel composition, to a Syriac translator in the fifth century, to later monastic scholars in Ireland between the seventh and ninth centuries. Finally, from the eighth century onwards, Armenian commentators used the artistic adornment of the Canon Tables as a basis for contemplative meditation. These four case studies represent four different modes of using the Canon Tables as a paratext and illustrate the potential inherent in the Eusebian apparatus for engaging with the fourfold gospel in a variety of ways, from the philological to the theological to the visual.

By: Matthew R. Crawford (Associate Professor and Director of the Program in Biblical and Early Christian Studies Institu te for Religion and Critical Inquiry Australian Catholic University)
Imprint: Oxford University Press
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions: Height: 243mm, Width: 161mm, Spine: 26mm
Weight: 800g
ISBN: 9780198802600
ISBN 10: 0198802609
Series: Oxford Early Christian Studies
Pages: 400
Publication Date: 16 May 2019
Audience: Professional and scholarly , Undergraduate
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active

Matthew R. Crawford is an Associate Professor and Director of the Program in Biblical and Early Christian Studies in the Institute for Religion and Critical Inquiry at Australian Catholic University. From 2012 to 2015 he held an AHRC-funded postdoc at Durham University on canonical and non-canonical gospel literature, and from 2013 to 2015 a Junior Research Fellowship from Hatfield College. He is the author of Cyril of Alexandria's Trinitarian Theology of Scripture (2014).