The Roads from Bethlehem: Christmas Literature from Writers Ancient and Modern

by Pegram Johnson, III (Editor), Edna M. Troiano (Editor)

Other authors: Adam of Dryburgh (Contributor), James Agee (Contributor), William Alabaster (Contributor), Ambrose of Milan (Contributor), Lancelot Andrewes (Contributor) — 53 more, John Audelay (Contributor), Ælfric of Eynsham (Contributor), Martin Bell (Contributor), Bernard of Clairvaux (Contributor), William Blake (Contributor), G.K. Chesterton (Contributor), Lucille Clifton (Contributor), Richard Crashaw (Contributor), Jacopone da Todi (Contributor), Juana Inés de la Cruz (Contributor), John Donne (Contributor), John Dryden (Contributor), William Dunbar (Contributor), Ephraim the Syrian (Contributor), Lawrence Ferlinghetti (Contributor), Theophile Gautier (Contributor), Sidney Godolphin (Contributor), Thomas Hardy (Contributor), George Herbert (Contributor), Robert Herrick (Contributor), Gerard Manley Hopkins (Contributor), Ignatius of Antioch (Contributor), John Irving (Contributor), Sarah Orne Jewett (Contributor), Ben Jonson (Contributor), Rudyard Kipling (Contributor), E.V. Lucas (Contributor), Aodh Mac Cathmhaoil (Contributor), Thomas Malory (Contributor), Clément Marot (Contributor), John Milton (Contributor), Grace Paley (Contributor), Prudentius (Contributor), Rainer Maria Rilke (Contributor), Edwin Arlington Robinson (Contributor), Christina Rossetti (Contributor), Saint Bonaventure (Contributor), Saki (Contributor), Sedulius (Contributor), William Shakespeare (Contributor), Christopher Smart (Contributor), Betty Smith (Contributor), Lee Smith (Contributor), Robert Southwell (Contributor), Henry Suso (Contributor), Johannes Tauler (Contributor), Edward Taylor (Contributor), Alfred Tennyson (Contributor), Tertullian (Contributor), Anthony Trollope (Contributor), Henry Vaughan (Contributor), Richard Wilbur (Contributor), George Wither (Contributor)

Members	Reviews	Popularity	Average rating	Conversations
28	1	803,747	(4.5)	None
This collection of Christmas literature--a selection of some of the best writings by authors from many times and places, including China, Syria, Egypt, France, Spain, England, Mexico, Canada, and the United States--enables readers to appreciate the dimensions of Jesus' birth. Works of art from the Far East, the Sudan, Russia, Hispanic America, and England underscore the universality of the story of Jesus. Chapters are arranged in chronological order and each is divided into literary genres--liturgy, sermon or treatise, drama, fiction, and poetry. Language in the early English work has been modernized, and several Latin, French, Spanish, and Arabic works are translated and published in English for the first time.… (more)

all members

▾Members

Recently added by

scriptor_incertus, StDavids_GraceCath, MoravianResources, stmarksLR, SWLSimple, jeffmcarn, S.W.M.T.C., NUMC.DC, LOLSCWAZ, barnabasanglican

▾Tags

▾LibraryThing Recommendations

▾Lists

None

▾Will you like it?

▾Conversations (About links)

No current Talk conversations about this book.

▾Member reviews

Great collection of poems and prose about the Christmas story and its message for today, written from the Middle Ages onwards. Some funny, some poignant, some moving, some hard to understand. Early traditions, Middle Ages, renaissance, also feature. Too many authors to mention all of them. (

)

cbinstead | Dec 22, 2014 |

▾Published reviews

no reviews | add a review

▾Other authors

» Add other authors

Author name	Role	Type of author	Work?	Status
Johnson, Pegram, III	Editor	primary author	all editions	confirmed
Troiano, Edna M.	Editor	main author	all editions	confirmed
Adam of Dryburgh	Contributor	secondary author	all editions	confirmed
Agee, James	Contributor	secondary author	all editions	confirmed
Alabaster, William	Contributor	secondary author	all editions	confirmed
Ambrose of Milan	Contributor	secondary author	all editions	confirmed
Andrewes, Lancelot	Contributor	secondary author	all editions	confirmed
Audelay, John	Contributor	secondary author	all editions	confirmed
Ælfric of Eynsham	Contributor	secondary author	all editions	confirmed
Bell, Martin	Contributor	secondary author	all editions	confirmed
Bernard of Clairvaux	Contributor	secondary author	all editions	confirmed
Blake, William	Contributor	secondary author	all editions	confirmed
Chesterton, G.K.	Contributor	secondary author	all editions	confirmed
Clifton, Lucille	Contributor	secondary author	all editions	confirmed
Crashaw, Richard	Contributor	secondary author	all editions	confirmed
da Todi, Jacopone	Contributor	secondary author	all editions	confirmed
de la Cruz, Juana Inés	Contributor	secondary author	all editions	confirmed
Donne, John	Contributor	secondary author	all editions	confirmed
Dryden, John	Contributor	secondary author	all editions	confirmed
Dunbar, William	Contributor	secondary author	all editions	confirmed
Ephraim the Syrian	Contributor	secondary author	all editions	confirmed
Ferlinghetti, Lawrence	Contributor	secondary author	all editions	confirmed
Gautier, Theophile	Contributor	secondary author	all editions	confirmed
Godolphin, Sidney	Contributor	secondary author	all editions	confirmed
Hardy, Thomas	Contributor	secondary author	all editions	confirmed
Herbert, George	Contributor	secondary author	all editions	confirmed
Herrick, Robert	Contributor	secondary author	all editions	confirmed
Hopkins, Gerard Manley	Contributor	secondary author	all editions	confirmed
Ignatius of Antioch	Contributor	secondary author	all editions	confirmed
Irving, John	Contributor	secondary author	all editions	confirmed
Jewett, Sarah Orne	Contributor	secondary author	all editions	confirmed
Jonson, Ben	Contributor	secondary author	all editions	confirmed
Kipling, Rudyard	Contributor	secondary author	all editions	confirmed
Lucas, E.V.	Contributor	secondary author	all editions	confirmed
Mac Cathmhaoil, Aodh	Contributor	secondary author	all editions	confirmed
Malory, Thomas	Contributor	secondary author	all editions	confirmed
Marot, Clément	Contributor	secondary author	all editions	confirmed
Milton, John	Contributor	secondary author	all editions	confirmed
Paley, Grace	Contributor	secondary author	all editions	confirmed
Prudentius	Contributor	secondary author	all editions	confirmed
Rilke, Rainer Maria	Contributor	secondary author	all editions	confirmed
Robinson, Edwin Arlington	Contributor	secondary author	all editions	confirmed
Rossetti, Christina	Contributor	secondary author	all editions	confirmed
Saint Bonaventure	Contributor	secondary author	all editions	confirmed
Saki	Contributor	secondary author	all editions	confirmed
Sedulius	Contributor	secondary author	all editions	confirmed
Shakespeare, William	Contributor	secondary author	all editions	confirmed
Smart, Christopher	Contributor	secondary author	all editions	confirmed
Smith, Betty	Contributor	secondary author	all editions	confirmed
Smith, Lee	Contributor	secondary author	all editions	confirmed
Southwell, Robert	Contributor	secondary author	all editions	confirmed
Suso, Henry	Contributor	secondary author	all editions	confirmed
Tauler, Johannes	Contributor	secondary author	all editions	confirmed
Taylor, Edward	Contributor	secondary author	all editions	confirmed
Tennyson, Alfred	Contributor	secondary author	all editions	confirmed
Tertullian	Contributor	secondary author	all editions	confirmed
Trollope, Anthony	Contributor	secondary author	all editions	confirmed
Vaughan, Henry	Contributor	secondary author	all editions	confirmed
Wilbur, Richard	Contributor	secondary author	all editions	confirmed
Wither, George	Contributor	secondary author	all editions	confirmed

▾Series and work relationships

Contains

The Two Generals [short story] by Anthony Trollope

I Sing of a Maiden by Unknown

Ríu Ríu Chíu by Anonymous

The Huron Carol

On the Morning of Christ's Nativity by John Milton

Reginald's Christmas Revel by Saki

(show 3 more)

A Christmas carol by Christina Georgina Rossetti

The wreck of the Deutschland by Gerard Manley Hopkins

Jesus, Jesus, Rest Your Head

Is an abridged version of

▾Awards and Honors

view history

▾Common Knowledge

You must log in to edit Common Knowledge data.

For more help see the Common Knowledge help page.

Canonical title

Original title

Alternative titles

Original publication date

People/Characters

Important places

Important events

Related movies

Awards and honors

Epigraph

Dedication

First words

Quotations

Last words

Disambiguation notice

Publisher's editors

Blurbers

Original language

Canonical DDC/MDS

Canonical LCC

▾References

References to this work on external resources.

Wikipedia in English

None

▾Book descriptions

This collection of Christmas literature--a selection of some of the best writings by authors from many times and places, including China, Syria, Egypt, France, Spain, England, Mexico, Canada, and the United States--enables readers to appreciate the dimensions of Jesus' birth. Works of art from the Far East, the Sudan, Russia, Hispanic America, and England underscore the universality of the story of Jesus. Chapters are arranged in chronological order and each is divided into literary genres--liturgy, sermon or treatise, drama, fiction, and poetry. Language in the early English work has been modernized, and several Latin, French, Spanish, and Arabic works are translated and published in English for the first time.

▾Library descriptions

No library descriptions found.

▾LibraryThing members' description

Book description

Contains:

Chapter 1, Scripture and Early Traditions: Old Testament Prophecies
- The Gospel According to St. Matthew
- The Gospel According to St. Luke
- The Revelation of St. John the Divine
- The Protevangelium of James
- The Arabic Gospel
- Tertullian: On the Flesh of Christ
- Ignatius of Antioch: Letter to the Ephesians
- The Rhythms of Saint Ephrem the Syrian on the Nativity
- The Nestorian Monument of Hsi-an Fu in Shen-Hsi, China
- Ambrose of Milan: Veni, redemptor gentium
- Prudentius: Corde natus ex Parentis
- Prudentius: O sola magnarum urbium
- Sedulius: A solis ortus cardine
- Sedulius: Hostis Herodes impie
Chapter 2, The Middle Ages: From Liturgy to Literature
- Bernard of Clairvaux: Laetabundus, exultet fidelis chorus, Alleluia
- A Christmas Trope: Officium Pastorum
- Feast of Fools: Prose of the Ass
- Entrance of the Lord into the Land of Egypt: Doxology
- Anonymous Christmas Sermons
- Ælfric of Eynsham: Anglo-Saxon Homily on Christmas
- Adam of Dryburgh: Christmas Sermon
- The Second Shepherds' Play
- St. Bonaventure: Life of St. Francis of Assisi (1263)
- Sir Thomas Malory: Le Morte d'Arthur
- To bliss God bring us all in sum
- Veni, redemptor gentium
- William Dunbar: On the Nativity of Christ
- Alleluia, alleluia
- Heinrich Suso: In dulci jubilo
- Make we mirth
- John Audelay: In die Natalis domini
- John Audelay: In die sanctorum Innocencium
- John Tauler: A ship comes sailing onwards
- St. Stephen and Herod
- I sing of a maiden
- Lo, how a Rose e'er blooming
- This ender night I saw a sight
- Latin lullaby: Sleep, my son, sleep!
- Jacopone da Todi: The Blessed Virgin Mary
- Clement Marot: Pastoral
- Jolly Wat the Shepherd
Chapter 3, The Renaissance: Visions Individual and Communal
- Lancelot Andrewes: A Sermon Preached … Christmas-Day
- John Donne: Number 11. From a Sermon Preached at Saint Paul's upon Christmas day
- William Shakespeare: Hamlet
- Ben Jonson: The Masque of Christmas
- The Yule Beggar
- Robert Southwell: The Burning Babe
- Robert Southwell: New Heaven, New War
- Robert Southwell: New Prince, New Pomp
- William Alabaster: Incarnatio est maximum donum Dei
- William Alabaster: #37 To the Blessed Virgin
- Aodh Mac Cathmhaoil: The Sacred Child
- John Donne: 2 Annunciation
- John Donne: 3 Nativity
- George Wither: A Christmas Carol
- Robert Herrick: A Christmas Carol
- George Herbert: Anagram
- George Herbert: Christmas
- Ríu ríu chíu
- Huron Carol
- John Milton: On the Morning of Christ's Nativity
- Sidney Godolphin: Hymn
- Richard Crashaw: In the Holy Nativity of Our Lord God
- Richard Crashaw: Satan's Sight of the Nativity
- Henry Vaughan: The Incarnation, and Passion
- Henry Vaughan: Christ's Nativity
- Edward Taylor: Meditation Eleven
- Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz: Christmas Day, 1678
- Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz: Christmas Day, 1680
- Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz: Christmas Day, 1689
- "Where are you coming from, Shepherdess?"
- John Dryden: Vergil's Eclogue IV
Chapter 4, The Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries: The Age of Sentiment
- Søren Kierkegaard: The King and the Maiden
- Mummers' Plays: Alexander, and the King of Egypt
- Anthony Trollope: The Two Generals
- Sarah Orne Jewett: Mrs. Parkins's Christmas Eve
- E.V. Lucas: The Christmas Decorations
- Saki: Reginald's Christmas Revel
- Christopher Smart: Hymn XXXII
- William Blake: A Cradle Song
- Alfred, Lord Tennyson: In Memoriam
- Theophile Gautier: Noel
- Christina Georgina Rossetti: A Christmas Carol
- Gerard Manley Hopkins: The Blessed Virgin
- Gerard Manley Hopkins: The Wreck of the Deutschland
- Rudyard Kipling: Eddi's Service
- G.K. Chesterton: A Christmas Carol
- Jesus, Jesus, rest your head
- The Babe of Bethlehem
Chapter 5, The Twentieth Century: The Age of Anxiety
- Stella Gibbons: Christmas at Cold Comfort Farm
- Betty Smith: A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
- Grace Paley: The Loudest Voice
- Martin Bell: Barrington Bunny
- John Irving: A Prayer for Owen Meany
- Lee Smith: Fair and Tender Ladies
- Thomas Hardy: Christmas: 1924
- Thomas Hardy: The Oxen
- Edwin Arlington Robinson: Karma
- Rainer Maria Rilke: Annunciation to Mary
- Rainer Maria Rilke: Birth of Christ
- James Agee: Christmas 1945
- Lawrence Ferlinghetti: Christ Climbed Down
- Richard Wilbur: "A World without Objects"
- Lucille Clifton: Mary Mary astonished by God