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Introduction to the Translation Thanks to the help of many generous translators from http://latindiscussion.com/forum/ I was able to complete this translation on the Gloss on Jonah. With their help and the help of existing translations of the works that the compiler of the Gloss drew from, I was able to fill the void of my limitations as a Latin translator. My goal was to make the Gloss on Jonah available to those who rely on English translations. I have a passion for the Glossa Ordinaria because I believe it has so much to offer to the student of the Bible and those who appreciate Medieval Exegesis. I believe that the Glossa Ordinaria is beneficial for edification of the meaning of Scripture. The Glossa Ordinaria was the standard Bible commentary of the Church during the Middle Ages. Many great scholars of the Church such as St. Thomas Aquinas and others seemed to almost always consult the Glossa Ordinaria while presenting their own expositions. The Gloss on Jonah relied very heavily upon the commentary of St. Jerome. Over the centuries the Glossa Ordinaria was expanded upon and more comments were provided. I have chosen to add some of these interpolations into this translation, since I am not concerned with originality as much as I am edification. But I have marked those interpolations with asterisks (example *) so that the reader is aware that it is an interpolation. As for the interpretation given by the Gloss, the practice of the different senses of Scripture was used. The modern reader who is not use to medieval exegesis might find some of the allegorical interpretations to be a little strange. But the ancient Christians were fond of finding the spiritual meaning behind the literal. They were very good at seeing symbols of Christ and the Church within the text of Old Testament Scriptures. In the Gloss on Jonah you will find that sometimes Jonah is compared to Christ, the whale compared to Hell, Nineveh compared to the world or the Church, etc. In the Glossa Ordinaria, the text of Scripture is presented with marginal glosses that were arranged on the sides of the page, while the Scripture text itself was in the middle of the page. The marginal glosses were usually selected comments that the compiler of the gloss chose from the commentaries and writings of the Early Church Fathers. But the Gloss was never limited to the Church Fathers alone, selected comments were gleaned from those of following generations. The marginal glosses often provide concise explanations, drawing from other earlier expositions, often nearly word for word but in a condensed form, therefore providing the intended meaning of the borrowed source with as few words as possible. The Glossa Ordinaria also provides interlinear glosses. These handy short remarks were placed along the words of the Scripture text. They provided an extension to the interpretation of the Scriptures by serving as sometimes short comments or even single words to help bring out a fuller interpretation. Sometimes they would provide almost paraphrases to the text, or provided alternative words to the text. There were a few various ways I could have done the lay-out of this translation. But I have chosen to provide the Bible verses individually, with the interlinear glosses directly underneath, and the marginal glosses underneath the interlinear glosses. This is not the original lay-out of the Glossa Ordinaria, for the Glossa provided the Scripture text in middle, marginal glosses on the sides, and the interlinear above the words of Scripture that it is interpreting. This translation is provided to be used freely to everyone. Sincerely, John Litteral |