The Douce Apocalypse 21r - Oxford - Bodleian Library

Berengaudus (840–892) was a

Benedictine The Benedictines, officially the Order of Saint Benedict (, abbreviated as O.S.B. or OSB), are a mainly contemplative monastic order of the Catholic Church for men and for women who follow the Rule of Saint Benedict. Initiated in 529, th ...

monk, supposed author of ''Expositio super septem visiones libri Apocalypsis'', a Latin commentary on the ''

Book of Revelation The Book of Revelation, also known as the Book of the Apocalypse or the Apocalypse of John, is the final book of the New Testament, and therefore the final book of the Bible#Christian Bible, Christian Bible. Written in Greek language, Greek, ...

''. He has traditionally been assumed to be a monk of

Ferrières Abbey Ferrières Abbey was a Benedictine monastery situated at Ferrières-en-Gâtinais in the ''arrondissement'' of Montargis, in the ''département'' of Loiret, France. History Represented in the famous '' Monasticon Gallicanum'', it seems clear th ...

, at the time of

Lupus Servatus Lupus Servatus, also Servatus Lupus ( 805 – c. 862), in French Loup, was a Benedictine monk and Abbot of Ferrières Abbey during the Carolingian dynasty, who was also a member of Charles the Bald's court and a noted theological author of the 9th ...

. The attribution has been questioned, but the ''Expositio'' was later (by the 12th century) much circulated in manuscript. It was printed in ''

Patrologia Latina The ''Patrologia Latina'' (Latin for ''The Latin Patrology'') is an enormous collection of the writings of the Church Fathers and other ecclesiastical writers published by Jacques Paul Migne between 1841 and 1855, with indices published betwe ...

'' vol. XVII under

Ambrose Ambrose of Milan (; 4 April 397), venerated as Saint Ambrose, was a theologian and statesman who served as Bishop of Milan from 374 to 397. He expressed himself prominently as a public figure, fiercely promoting Roman Christianity against Ari ...

, following an attribution by

Cuthbert Tunstall Cuthbert Tunstall (otherwise spelt Tunstal or Tonstall; 1474 – 18 November 1559) was an England, English humanist, bishop, diplomat, administrator and royal adviser. He served as Bishop of Durham during the reigns of Henry VIII, Edward VI of ...

Jacques-Paul Migne Jacques Paul Migne (; 25 October 1800 – 24 October 1875) was a French priest who published inexpensive and widely distributed editions of theological works, encyclopedias, and the texts of the Church Fathers, with the goal of providing a ...

, ''Patrologiae cursus completus'' (1879) vol. 17 col. 843
archive.org.
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Date of the ''Expositio''

It has been argued that the ''Expositio's'' date cannot now be definitely given, but that it is closer to the 12th century than the 9th century. It has also been said that "Berengaudus" was a contemporary of

Anselm of Laon Anselm of Laon (; 1117), properly Ansel ('), was a French theology, theologian and founder of a school of scholars who helped to pioneer biblical hermeneutics. Biography Born of very humble parents at Laon before the middle of the 11th centur ...

; and that he was somewhat earlier, c. 1040. But Visser argues from familiarity with the commentary of

Haimo of Auxerre Haimo of Auxerre (died c. 865) was a member of the Benedictine Abbey of Saint-Germain d'Auxerre. Although he was the author of numerous Biblical commentaries and theological texts, little of his life is known today. Haimo defended the real presenc ...

, and internal evidence of an acrostic, that the traditional identification is valid.

Notes

{{Authority control 840 births 892 deaths French Benedictines 9th-century writers in Latin Book of Revelation Writers from the Carolingian Empire