The Life of Jesus Christ: Part One, Volume 1, Chapters 1–40 (Volume 267)

by Ludolph of Saxony

The Vita Christi of the fourteenth century Carthusian, Ludolph of Saxony, is the most comprehensive series of meditations on the life of Christ of the late Middle Ages. Ludolph assembles a wealth of commentary from the fathers of the church and the great medieval spiritual writers and weaves them into a seamless exposition on the Gospel. This is the first English translation of this classic work, and it also is the first edition in any language to identify the thousands of sources used by Ludolph, both those he quotes and the many he cites without attribution. It will be of great interest to students of Christian spirituality, but it is intended, as was the original text, for ordinary believers seeking to enter more deeply into the meaning of the life of Christ. When complete, there will be 4 volumes.

Genres: Spirituality, Medieval

832 pages, Hardcover

Published May 7, 2018

About the author

Ludolph of Saxony (c. 1295 – 1378), also known as Ludolphus de Saxonia and Ludolph the Carthusian, was a German Roman Catholic theologian of the fourteenth century.

His principal work, first printed in the 1470s, was the Vita Christi (Life of Christ). It had significant influence on the development of techniques for Christian meditation by introducing the concept of immersing and projecting oneself into a Biblical scene about the life of Jesus which became popular among the Devotio Moderna community, and later influenced Ignatius of Loyola.

Reviews

[Bryan Dunne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ludolph is an excellent writer and he has found a good translator into English in Fr Milton Walsh. The translation is readable and bright and Walsh provides sources for Ludolph's extensive quotations from the Fathers. Walsh's footnotes are also interesting and helpful. Ludolph provides excellent commentary on passages from the Gospels and always gives one something on which to meditate.