Sicut mel dulce. The sweetness and bitterness of reading the Bible in the Middle Ages
Sicut mel dulce. The sweetness and bitterness of reading the Bible in the Middle Ages

Summary/Abstract: After overviewing the types of primary sources available for tracing pleasure of reading during the Middle Ages (theoretical discourses such as artes poeticae or medical treatises, texts themselves, paratexts such as accessus ad auctores, readers’ responses, and other texts), the study concentrates on biblical exegesis, namely commentaries on two biblical passages, Ezech. 3, 3 and Apoc. 10, 9. They both present an image of eating a book/roll which is sweet in the mouth but turns bitter in the belly. The image seems to have troubled some exegetes and led to much varied explanations. As it is argued, the reason for this is that the image is in a contrast with the usual metaphor of reading as eating, in which the book might not be too sweet (too easily accessible) but makes one feel well, since it provides nourishment.

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