The Wycliffite Old Testament Lectionary Early English Text Society Original Series

The Wycliffite Old Testament Lectionary contains English translations of those parts of the Old Testament which were used as readings at Mass. Extant in thirty-nine manuscripts and fragments, the Lectionary presents a liturgically organised set of readings, based on the Latin readings of the Use of Sarum. Most of these translations derive from the books of the Old Testament in the Wycliffite Bible (using both the Early Version and the Late Version). In addition, however, the Old Testament Lectionary also contains readings which were translated from the Sarum Missal independently, and which show striking differences to the early and late Wycliffite versions.

The Old Testament Lectionary is therefore vitally important in understanding the textual tradition of the Wycliffite Bible as well as the organisation, methods, and motivation behind this major fourteenth-century scholarly translation project. The Old Testament Lectionary is not just a collection of extracts from the Bible but a continuous structured text. In the manuscripts, the readings are presented in the order of the liturgical year with rubrics, running titles indicating liturgical seasons, and a sophisticated system of cross-references for readings used on more than one liturgical occasion.

This volume presents the first full edition of the Wycliffite Old Testament Lectionary, together with an introduction containing a complete list and description of all extant manuscripts (surviving from the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries). The edition also contains a detailed analysis of textual and contextual features of the Old Testament Lectionary and its sources.