The Life Of Saint Wilfrid By Edmer
Vita Sancti Wilfridi Auctore Edmero

This work is an edition of Edmer of Canterbury's 12th-century "Vita Sancti Wilfridi" ("Life of St Wilfrid"); it also includes a critical edition of the Latin text, a translation, historical introduction and commentary, a rhetorical analysis of Edmer's style, and two appendices. The introduction examines the influence of 12th century ecclesiastical politics on the development of the cult of St Wilfrid, and reassesses the prejudices of the early accounts of Wilfrid's life by Stephen (Eddius) and Bede.

The edition is based on all known surviving texts of the "vita", including a recently discovered witness in The Ballarat Fine Arts Gallery, Australia. It traces the influence and use of the "vita" during the three centuries after it was written, with specific reference to historical and ecclesiastical compilations and its use as a source for liturgical texts. It also assesses the early printed tradition of the "vita".

Foreword, vii; Acknowledgements, viii; Introduction, ix; 1.0 General Comments, ix; 2.0 The Life of Wilfrid, x; 3.0 The Life of Edmer, xxvi; 4.0 Edmer's Vita Sancti Wilfridi, xxix; 5.0 Other Accounts of Wilfrid's Life by Edmer, xliii; 6.0 Later Medieval Use and the Influence of the VSW, xlviii; 7.0 The Manuscript Tradition, lxii; 8.0 Relationships between the Manuscripts, lxviii; 9.0 Previous Printed Editions of the VSW, lxxx; 10.0 Editorial Principles of the Present Edition, lxxxv; Summary of the Vita Sancti Wilfridi, 1; Vita Sancti Wilfridi: Text and Translation, 8; Breuiloquium Vite Sancti Wilfridi: Text and Translation, 162; Commentary, 185; Bibliography, 251; Abbreviations, 251; Primary Sources, 252; Secondary Sources, 254; Reference Works and Catalogues, 267; Appendices, 271; 1: Ripon and Balliol Excerpts, 271; 2: The Parent Composite Manuscript, 277; Index of Proper Names, 287.

Bernard Muir is Reader in Medieval Language and Literature in the English Department, University of Melbourne. His publications include The Exeter Anthology of Old English Poetry (Exeter) and A Pre-Conquest English Prayerbook (Boydell).