Description

Ailerani: Interpretatio Mystica Progenitorum Domini Iesu Christi is the definitive modern edition of one of the earliest surviving works of Irish biblical exegesis. Edited and translated by Aidan Breen, the volume presents the original Latin text of Ailerán’s seventh-century interpretation of the genealogy of Jesus in the Gospel of Matthew, together with an authoritative English translation, extensive introduction, textual notes, and scholarly commentary.

Little is known about Ailerán beyond his position as lector at the famous monastic school of Clonard and his death during the plague of AD 665. His Interpretatio Mystica nevertheless stands as one of the finest examples of early Irish theological writing. Rather than treating Christ’s genealogy as a simple historical record, Ailerán explores its symbolic, spiritual, and moral meanings, revealing the sophisticated biblical scholarship cultivated within Ireland’s early monastic tradition. The edition also includes the Recensio of Sedulius Scottus and provides valuable discussion of the manuscripts, linguistic features, Hiberno-Latin scholarship, and the work’s place within medieval Christian interpretation.

Meticulously edited and supported by comprehensive references and indexes, this volume is an essential resource for students and scholars of early Christianity, Celtic studies, medieval theology, biblical interpretation, and Irish intellectual history. Published as part of the Celtic Studies series by Four Courts Press, it remains the standard modern edition of this remarkable seventh-century text.