The Christiad: A Poem In Six Books

by Marcus Hieronymus Vida, J. Cranwell (Translator)

The Christiad is a religious epic poem written by Marcus Hieronymus Vida. The poem is divided into six books and is an account of the life and teachings of Jesus Christ, as well as the events leading up to his crucifixion and resurrection. The poem is written in Latin and was first published in 1535. The Christiad is considered to be one of the most important works of Christian literature from the Renaissance period. The poem is known for its vivid descriptions of biblical events and its use of classical literary forms. The Christiad is a powerful and moving work that celebrates the life and teachings of Jesus Christ and has been read and studied by Christians for centuries.This scarce antiquarian book is a facsimile reprint of the old original and may contain some imperfections such as library marks and notations. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment for protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature in affordable, high quality, modern editions, that are true to their original work.

412 pages, Paperback

First published January 17, 2007

Reviews

[Helen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this epic poem for a class at the library; the translation from the original Latin was from 1775, and the edition was a reproduction of a 1775 edition of the translation, so it was difficult to read.

The poem, which was written by a Vatican churchman with the encouragement of a Pope, is an attempt to put the story of Jesus into epic poetic form i.e. it was inspired by, or emulates, how for example Virgil might have written the story of Jesus in an epic poem (analogous to the Aeneid). There are even allusions to Olympus and other familiar tropes of classical epic poetry appear in the work.

I am not too well versed in the Bible/Christianity (despite being an Orthodox Christian) so there were a number of aspects of the story that I wasn't familiar with. From the perspective of learning more about the details of Christ's life, his crucifixion and so forth, it was interesting, but ultimately, it was not a work I would have ordinarily picked up to read - although I don't regret having read it. I had heard about many of the miracles but this book put them into context - as well as Jesus saving the adulterous woman from stoning (let him who is without sin cast the first stone). Jesus wanted people to obey the spirit of the law, not just the letter.

This translation of "The Christiad" was actually pretty good if you can get over the initial obstacles of the archaic form of English, the poetic license/style, and the reproduction of the poor print of the 1775 edition. For anyone interested in epic poetry, this is an obscure (to present-day readers) example that should be of interest if the reader puts in the effort to read it.