LUDOLPH of SAXONY. The Life of Jesus Christ: Part Two – Volume 1, Chapters 1-57, translated by Milton T. Walsh. Cistercian Studies vol. 283. Collegeville, MN: Cistercian Publications, 2021. Pp. xxvi + 860. $79.95 cloth. ISBN 978-0-87907-283-4. Reviewed by Patrick F. O’CONNELL, Gannon University, Erie, PA 16541. 

The third (and longest) segment of Milton Walsh’s four-volume translation of the Vita Christi, Ludolph of Saxony’s celebrated fourteenth-century gospel commentary, has now appeared, including the first 57 of the 89 chapters that constitute what Ludolph himself designated as Part II of his massive compendium, extending from Peter’s confession of Jesus as Messiah and Son of God and the journey to Jerusalem not only through Christ’s passion and resurrection but the Ascension, Pentecost and a concluding preview of the Final Judgment. Like the 92 chapters of Part I, the material in this volume incorporates citation and expansion of the Gospel texts themselves, extensive quotations from patristic and medieval authors, usually referred to by name (according to not always accurate traditions), detailed moral and spiritual applications to the lives of his readers, frequently presented through enumerated lists which the author obviously considered an effective organizational and pedagogical technique, occasionally supplemented by invitations to participate imaginatively in the stories being presented, with brief prayers concluding each chapter that are among the work’s most attractive features. The translation is once again accompanied by Walsh’s meticulous annotations, providing literally thousands of marginal citations identifying the source of quoted passages, whether indicated by Ludolph or not, correcting misattributions and referencing even obscure unpublished manuscript materials of similar genre used by Ludolph without acknowledgement – a prodigious scholarly enterprise.

            While this second part is largely organized according to familiar patterns and motifs, Ludolph signals at its very outset the new focus that apparently prompted him to distinguish the material to follow from that of the previous part by providing it with its own chapter series. He writes: “Part One of this book made no explicit mention of Christ’s passion. It will be spoken of frequently in this second part, and indeed will be described in its entirety, along with all that followed it” (3) – and before the end of this opening chapter the first prediction of the passion has indeed been made and is followed by a chapter entitled “Christ’s Exhortation to Take Up the Cross” (22-37). But even at this stage Ludolph is careful not to separate the cross from the entire drama of redemption, concluding chapter 1 with a section subtitled “Let Us Glory in the Cross,” featuring a lengthy passage from John Chrysostom emphasizing the cross as the “sign of victory . . . the sign of our salvation” (20), while the conclusion of chapter 2 echoes the words of the risen Christ: “Do not be afraid,” and promises that “joys follow upon sorrows” (35).

            The material included in this volume can be conveniently considered in three segments: chapters 1-25 (1-390) relate the journey from Caesarea Philippi to Jerusalem; chapters 26-50 (391-738) then focus on the triumphant entry into the Holy City and Christ’s brief but busy ministry there; finally, chapters 51-57 (739-860) provide a detailed discussion of the events of the Last Supper. As usual, the first of these groupings basically follows the Matthaean sequence with corresponding synoptic parallels, and insertions of unique Lukan and Johannine material, usually, though not always, integrated smoothly into the overall progression. The first six chapters move from Matthew 16:13 through 18:10 – the Petrine confession and commissioning; then the admonishment in response to Peter’s reaction to the first passion prediction; followed by the transfiguration scene and its sequel, the healing of the epileptic child; the uniquely Matthaean pericope of the temple tax; the apostles’ argument about who is the greatest and the linked sayings about becoming like a child and not despising or scandalizing them. At this point in Matthew comes the parable of the lost sheep (18:12-14), which prompts Ludolph to insert in chapter 7 commentary as well on the parables of the lost coin and the prodigal son that accompany this story in Luke (15:1-32). Chapters 8-14 continue with the Matthaean sequence of events from 18:15 through 20:16, which includes the unique parables of the unforgiving debtor (18:23-35) and the laborers in the vineyard (19:30-20:16) framing the shared synoptic story of the encounter with the rich young man (Mt. 19:16-30; Mk. 10:17-31; Lk. 18:18-23). Then follows six chapters of non-Matthaean material: the Lucan parables of the dishonest steward and the rich man and Lazarus (16:1-31); two chapters of Johannine material, for the first time in Part II: the raising of Lazarus and the subsequent beginnings of the plot against Jesus (11:1-57); then  back to Luke, with the story of the healing of the ten lepers (17:11-19) and the enmity of the Samaritans (9:52-55). These journey chapters conclude with James and John’s request (or that of their mother) for the best seats in the kingdom, found in some form in all three synoptics, followed by another two chapters of uniquely Lukan material (18:35-19:10) on events at Jericho (healing of the blind man and the Zacchaeus story); the alternative synoptic story of the healing on the way out of Jericho of one (Mark) or two (Matthew) blind men; and the anointing at Bethany that climaxes the journey narrative with a scene that attempts to synthesize the  Matthew/Mark version of this story with the quite different details of John (the Lukan equivalent from chapter 7 of his Gospel had been presented back in chapter 60 of Part I, though it is mentioned here as a separate incident involving some of the same characters). As can be seen particularly by the ordering of the Lukan chapters, the itinerary becomes rather tangled in the latter part of this segment, with the raising of Lazarus and its aftermath seemingly placed too early (to juxtapose – though without comment – the Lukan Lazarus and his story with the Johannine figure?) – requiring Jesus to go to Bethany, bring his friend back to life, than somehow backtrack to Samaria (to Luke chapter 9, which in the sequence of that Gospel precedes material found in Part I, chapter 45!) and then proceed immediately to Jericho (nine chapters later in Luke) to rejoin the sequence found in Matthew and Mark. Ludolph simply says “And after these events . . .” to begin chapter 21, silently slipping past any discrepancy. Interestingly he opts for the Johannine chronology for the Bethany anointing, “six days before the Pasch” (369), thus preceding the triumphal entrance into Jerusalem, whereas it takes place immediately before the Last Supper in Matthew and Mark. Likewise, following long-established tradition, he simply merges the very different details of place: Simon the Leper’s house in Matthew/Mark, implicitly the house of Martha, Mary and Lazarus in John; the unnamed woman anointing the Lord’s head with ointment in the synoptic version, Mary of Bethany (identified with Magdalene) anointing Christ’s feet in John; the complaints of the disciples in general in Matthew and Mark, that of Judas specifically in John.    

            The presentation of the material in the following 25 chapters, on the Lord’s entrance into and teaching in Jerusalem during the days preceding his arrest and death, is a good deal less complicated, since the sequence in all three synoptics is quite similar, though not identical, and the corresponding material in John is integrated fairly easily. Virtually the entire contents of Matthew 21-25 are presented sequentially, with their synoptic parallels. (Oddly, the Lord’s address to Jerusalem in Matthew 23:37-39, though discussed in detail in chapter 39, is not mentioned in the headnote to that chapter, nor is the virtually identical passage in Luke 13:34-35, which occurs much earlier in that Gospel.) The one passage in this section found only in Mark and Luke, on the widow’s mite (Mk. 12:41-44; Lk. 21:1-4), is included in the chapter following the “second” cleansing of the temple along with the unique Lukan narrative of the Pharisee and the publican, though Ludolph makes no mention of the fact that it had appeared earlier in that Gospel (18:9-14), before the arrival at Jericho, but was presumably inserted here, along with Luke’s brief mention of Jesus teaching daily in the temple (19:47-48), because Jesus had described the incident as taking place in the temple precincts. A number of passages which Matthew and Mark situate in Jerusalem (the parable of the wedding guests; the two great commandments; various eschatological teachings) had been used earlier in Luke but are considered according to Matthew’s sequence; one particularly effective transposition by Ludolph is to use Luke’s additional verses on servants prepared for the master’s return with lamps lit (12:35 ff.) in a separate chapter (47) that serves as a transition between the common synoptic story and Matthew’s parable of the wise and foolish virgins, which of course also features lamps, lit and unlit. Also effective is the juxtaposition in a single chapter (31) of the Matthaean story of the curse on the barren fig tree with most of the remaining verses of John 12, featuring the seed that in dying becomes fruitful, as well as the coming judgment of “the Prince of this world.” The section concludes with the three parables of Matthew 25, the wise and foolish virgins, the talents (with its Markan and Lukan versions as well) and the great climactic scene of the Last Judgment. Thus, in this section Ludolph manages to integrate material from all four Gospels in a way that does, in the main, “harmonize” them.

            The final seven chapters in this volume, beginning with one entitled “An Introduction to the Lord’s Passion and Passover” (739-49), could well have been left for the final installment of the translation – even with the additional 122 pages, chapters 51-89 would still have been somewhat shorter than the present text of volume 3 – but the inclusion of a comprehensive index (along with a brief index of Gospel passages) of over 100 pages at the conclusion of the entire translation made that option unfeasible. But of course, these chapters on the Last Supper provide an effective transition from the public life and ministry to the passion narrative wherever they might be located. Ludolph alternates between the events found in the synoptics and those related in John: chapters 51-53 relate details of the preparations for Passover and the betrayal of Judas according to the synoptics; chapter 54 then turns to the foot washing scene from John 13, followed by the departure of Judas, drawing on all four gospel accounts; the penultimate chapter 56 considers the details of the institution narratives as found in the three synoptics, and the long concluding chapter (825-60) recounts and draws lessons from the Johannine farewell discourse (cc. 13:33-17:26, though the last of these chapters, the “high priestly” prayer of Jesus, included as an integral part of the discussion, is unaccountably omitted from the headnote). Thus, the reader is poised to plunge into the events of the paschal mystery and its effects to be presented in the final 32 chapters of Ludolph’s (and his translator’s) magnum opus.

            As mentioned earlier, the author’s preferred technique of communicating moral and spiritual lessons through enumerated, often allegorical lists is everywhere in evidence here. For example, in the chapter on the Transfiguration the six participants in the scene are considered as representing six goods conferred on contemplatives (50), while a few pages later seven reasons, the first five drawn from five different authorities, are presented for the Lord’s directive to keep silent about what the disciples had seen on the mountain (54-55). Ten distinct stages are indicated that make the raising of Lazarus “a spiritual image of the sinner’s resurrection” (281-84); “five events that befell Christ” on the journey to Jerusalem “take place now spiritually in the lives of religious, for Christ is suffering in them” (323-24) – the list of lists could go on and on. In this regard it is noteworthy that among these earlier chapters of Part II Ludolph actually includes a couple not keyed to specific scriptural passages: chapter 12 (185-98) discusses in detail the twelve evangelical counsels, as a complement to the survey of the ten commandments presented in the previous chapter on the rich young man (174-77); chapter 41 (608-19) consists of identification and discussion of six remedies to counter temptations by the devil, followed by eleven remedies to counter temptations by wicked people, and fourteen incentives “to help you realize your indolence and emptiness in the good things you have undertaken” (615).            

            As in Part I, Ludolph is reluctant, unlike some of his predecessors, to include apocryphal materials in his discussions. Only the famous “Quo vadis?” story of Peter’s encounter with Christ outside the walls of Rome before his martyrdom (320) and the legend that Simon the Leper was later known as St. Julian the Hospitaler, who lived a life of penitential hospitality after mistakenly killing his parents and eventually was merged with the figure of the same name sent by the apostles to Gaul to be the first bishop of Le Mans (370), are found in these chapters (the latter introduced by the non-committal “They say . . .” which suggests a lack of endorsement on the author’s part of the story’s accuracy).

            Over one hundred distinct sources are included in the “Works Cited” list of this volume, with material by the four Latin Fathers (Ambrose, Augustine, Jerome, Gregory), their Greek contemporary John Chrysostom (authentic and pseudo-) and such medieval successors as Bede and Bernard once again the most frequently cited, while virtually unknown predecessors in the gospel meditation genre such as Nicholas of Gorran and Michael de Massa are drawn on extensively but without explicit citation. Significantly, the later chapters of this volume are marked by the return of the strongly affective form of meditation, generally attributed to Anselm at this time but actually by such authors as Aelred of Rievaulx, Drogo of Ostia, Eckbert of Schönau and the pseudo-Bonaventurean Meditationes Vitae Christi. Such excerpts were sparingly employed in the chapters on the public life and ministry but are incorporated here by Ludolph at key points from the anointing at Bethany onward to heighten the emotional intensity by inviting the reader to intense imaginative participation in the events being described, as when he quotes “Anselm” (actually Aelred): “Be glad to take part in this meal, I ask you, and mark carefully the part each one plays: Martha serves, Lazarus reclines at table, Mary anoints. This last is your office. Break the alabaster of your heart, and whatever love you have, whatever devotion, whatever affection, pour it all out upon your Bridegroom’s head, adoring the man in God and God in the man” (387). Though this style is not that of Ludolph himself, his judicious use of it as his story moves toward the passion is an effective preparation for engaging the reader in the climactic events of the redemptive sacrifice of the Savior that are still to come in the final installment of the Vita Christi that will bring to its triumphant conclusion this collaboration between fourteenth-century author and twenty-first-century translator.