After another trip to the university archives and a second examination of the English Polyglot Bible, I made an important discovery.\u00a0 On the back cover of the pocket-sized tome was a note, addressed to \u2018Maggie W. Plaskitt from a friend May 10, 1870.\u2019\u00a0 This surname matches that of one of the printers of this Bible (Armstrong and Plaskitt).<\/p>\n
However, there is also a connection between this bible as well as the \u201cBible with Engravings\u201d which my classmate Nicole is currently studying.\u00a0 The \u201cBible with Engravings\u201d was part of the Plaskitt family\u2019s library.\u00a0 In looking at the lineage of this family that Nicole researched and shared in one of her posts, I believe that the Maggie W. Plaskitt to whom the English Polyglot Bible was gifted is Margaret Worthington Plaskitt, the scion of John Plaskitt (the printer) and his wife Catharine Ann Amoss.![](\"https:\/\/loyolanotredamelib.org\/bibleasbook\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/Polyglot-Bible-Note-e1491582292755-225x300.jpg\")
\nThe family history lists Margaret Worthington Plaskitt\u2019s date of birth as 1844, placing her at about twenty-six years of age when she received this bible.\u00a0 Although its title page indicates that this Bible was meant primarily for instruction and lessons, taking a step back and approaching it from a different perspective yields an interesting view.\u00a0 The Bible\u2019s pristine condition indicates that it did not see heavy use, and the inscription relates its intention as a gift to Maggie.<\/p>\n
Thinking of this Bible instead as a gift rather than sacred text, especially since it was most likely printed by Maggie\u2019s father, gives this book layers of personal and sentimental significance.\u00a0 Perhaps its primary purpose was that of memento, rather than teaching tool.<\/p>\n
I would be remiss in my duties as blogger of Bibles if I didn\u2019t take a second look at the Clementine Vulgate during my visit to the university archives.\u00a0 Upon closer examination of this Bible, I noticed that it included the supplementary text \u201cThe Interpretation of Hebrew Names.\u201d\u00a0 At first glance the inclusion of this textual resource, which was a standard addition to Latin Bibles beginning in the thirteenth century, appears fairly innocuous.<\/p>\n
![](\"https:\/\/loyolanotredamelib.org\/bibleasbook\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/Vulgate-Picture-e1491582441489-225x300.jpg\")
However, placing this Bible in its historical context as a rebuttal from the papacy to the Protestant Reformation makes the inclusion of this text more polemical.\u00a0 As some historical background, the format of the Bible accepted by the papacy was established by the Paris Bible, created in the thirteenth century.\u00a0 De Hamel notes in the course text that theologians at the university in Paris finalized the order of the biblical books as well as the supplemental texts that accompany the biblical text. \u00a0By aligning with this format and including resources such as the Interpretation of Hebrew Names, the Clementine Vulgate asserts the legitimacy and authority of the Roman Catholic Church.<\/p>\n
Although Pope Benedict XIV (the bishop of Rome at the time this Vulgate was printed) allowed for the printing of Bibles in approved vernacular translations, he did not prohibit the printing of Bibles in the traditional Latin.\u00a0 In doing so, Pope Benedict XIV assumed a middle ground since he did not resist the translation of the Bible into vernacular languages, yet he did not abandon the Vulgate altogether.<\/p>\n
From this perspective then, the Clementine Vulgate signifies the papacy\u2019s assertion of their authority and legitimacy as a response to the difficult questions that the Protestant Reformation posed.\u00a0 In its larger historical context however, it marks the beginning of a shift in the Bible instituted by Pope Benedict XIV and his realization that vernacular translations promoted accessibility to the laity.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
I spent my first two blog posts developing the historical contexts of both a Clementine Vulgate Bible and an English Polyglot Bible, and now in this final post, I want to discuss the \u201chuman element\u201d that composes an integral part of these Bibles as books. Before I begin, I want to preface my findings regarding …<\/p>\n