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Duelling with the Past: Medieval Authors and the Problem of the Christian Era, c.

990!!"#.By Peter Verbist. Studies in the Early Middle Ages 21. Turnhout, Belgium:Brepols, 21. Pp. !, "##. $12.. %SB&: 2'("'(2)"'(.

*uelling +ith the Past is an innoatie +or- that oers a aluable insight into the/omple!, te/hni/al +orld o /omputus studies in the /entral Middle Ages. Verbist0saim is to analyse /riti/ally t+o -ey elements o the arious /omputisti/al pro/essesthat eight medieal authors undertoo- +hen attempting to /orre/t the la+ed hristianera dating system Anno Domini3 o *ionysius E!iguus /. 4) ' (443. The irstrelates to the /hronologi/al and /hronographi/al /omponents or ea/h o thesearguments su/h as the number o years by +hi/h the *ionysian era +as /orre/ted,and the /omputisti/al basis or su/h /orre/tions to ta-e pla/e3. The se/ond /on/ernsthe underlying themati/ impetuses or /ondu/ting and re/ording su/h treatises on thistheologi/ally sensitie sub5e/t. Through this t+o'old e!amination Verbistsu//essully demonstrates the orm and e!tent to +hi/h these treatises /hallenged

popular /ontemporary methodologi/al pra/ti/es regarding the a//eptan/e andtransmission o the date or the year o hrist0s birth. At the same time he /onsidersthe ee/t that these parti/ular authors had on deeloping intelle/tual indiidualism in6estern a/ademia beore the adent o S/holasti/ism.

The stru/ture o Duelling with the Pastis /ommendably /omprehensie and easy toollo+. The introdu/tion briely a/7uaints the reader +ith the ma5or issues /on/erningthe /onstru/tion o early medieal dating systems to determine hrist0s in/arnationand passion8 Verbist outlines the main dii/ulties that /omputus s/holars en/ountered+ith auctoritaste!tual authority3 and arious argumentaestablished rules o thumb3+hen trying to promulgate alternatie dating systems to that o *ionysius. 9e also

proides a brie surey o the attempts to establish a /onsistent tradition or both theree- and ;atin spheres o hristendom during the period bet+een the /ompositiono 23, erland the omputist d. post 1?"3, Sigebert o emblou! d. 11123, 9e@eloo luny d. 112"3, an anonymous author rom ;imoges, and 9eimo o Bamberg d.11"?3. Ea/h /hapter /ontains a brie introdu/tion to the author, a des/ription o theirmanus/ripts3,a /omplete te/hni/al brea-do+n o their dating system, and inally asummation o its un/tion and purpose. Verbist /on/ludes by /on/isely dra+ing up

the te/hni/al dieren/es and similarities bet+een the respe/tie dating systems +hilstdis/ussing the e!tent o ea/h0s impa/t to amend /ontemporary /omputus pra/ti/es by6estern e//lesiasti/s as +ell as their /olle/tie /ontribution to pre's/holasti/intelle/tualism.

Although the boo- as a +hole should be admired or its sheer isionary s/ope and thee!treme leels o intri/ate analysis that it applies to the eight authors and their te!ts,Verbist0s e!tensie, though appropriate, use o ery spe/ii/ te/hni/al 5argon ma-esareas the te!t some+hat impenetrable. This is parti/ularly eident+ithin the /haptersour and eight, +hen he is dis/ussing Marianus S/ottus and 9eimo o Bamberg0s/omputisti/al systems. The non'spe/ialist +ill ind it ery dii/ult trying to grasp all

o the interesting aspe/ts that are being presented to them at any one time. 9aingsaid that, Verbist0s analysis o Siegbert o emblou!0s'iber decennalis 1?23 is

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e!tremely /lear and /ogent in its e!planation o the dii/ult issues that Siegbert +as+restling +ith.%ndeed, as these problems are uniersal to all o the other authors,

perhaps it +ould hae been e!pedient to open the boo- +ith this /ase e!ample.

That alue and impli/ations o this timely +or- are proound. %n proiding us an up'

to'date, e!amination o the /urrent /orpus o te!ts dealing +ith /omputisti/al/orre/tions rom this parti/ular era, Verbist has done something that has not beenattempted beore, despite the signii/ant amount o attention re/ently paid to /entralmedieal apo/alypti/ism. Moreoer he has indire/tly reealed some pressing/ontemporary theologi/al /on/erns that guided medieal /omputus s/holars. 6e aregien strong indi/ations that /al/ulations regarding the uture ages o the +orld +erenot a ma5or /on/ern to these authors. 9is un/oering o these authors0 7uest orintelle/tual autonomy by these authors, in the a/e o +idespread silent a/7uies/en/eabout a generally a/-no+ledged erroneous dating system be/-ons to be in/orporatedto our present understanding o medieal interpretations to+ards authority as +ell asmillenarianism.

%he (niversit) of E*eter eorge 9ouse