Edited Book
John Wyclif: Selected Latin Works in Translation
Penn S (ed.) (2019) John Wyclif: Selected Latin Works in Translation. Manchester: Manchester University Press. https://manchesteruniversitypress.co.uk/9780719067648/
Dr Stephen Penn
Lecturer
English Studies Room A17 Pathfoot Building University of Stirling Stirling FK9 4LA
Contact details
- Email stephen.penn@stir.ac.uk
- Telephone+44 (0)1786 467498
About me
BA (Birmingham), MPhil (Cambridge), DPhil (York)
I came to Stirling from the University of York, where I completed my DPhil on John Wyclif under the supervision of Prof. Alastair Minnis. My main research interests lie in Wyclif's Latin works, especially as they pertain to biblical exegesis and theology, and in scholastic and earlier medieval theological writing more generally. I have recently developed an interest in medieval sacramental theology and its patristic foundations, and am currently working on a monograph on Wyclif's hermeneutic theory. I also love working with ancient languages, and much of my research is informed by a curiosity about their history, reception and academic study throughout the medieval period.
I have just finished translating a selection of Wyclif's Latin works for Manchester University Press, which appeared in the autumn of 2019. This is the first collection of its kind, and the majority of texts included within it have not previously been translated into English. Find out about it here: https://manchesteruniversitypress.co.uk/9780719067648/.
At Stirling I teach mainly in the areas of Old and Middle English language and literature, and linguistics (especially historical linguistics and the history of the English language). I also teach Latin to postgraduate students.
I would be interested in supervising doctoral research on any medieval literary topic, but especially areas relating to Chaucer, Langland and their contemporaries, and to medieval mysticism. I would also welcome research proposals dealing with literature and theology, philosophy and biblical hermeneutics. I am also interested in supervising research into any aspect of medieval Latin literature, and especially literature of the high and late medieval periods.
Research
Research interests in medieval English and European literature; scholastic hermeneutic theory; medieval biblical exegesis; medieval theology (especially sacramental theology and cosmology); Latin writings of John Wyclif and his contemporaries.
Outputs (16)
Outputs
Book Chapter
Penn S (2019) Philosophy. In: Johnson I (ed.) Geoffrey Chaucer in Context. Literature in Context. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 230-251.
Book Chapter
Matrimonium quid proprie sit: John Wyclif on Marriage, Consent and Consummation
Penn S (2018) Matrimonium quid proprie sit: John Wyclif on Marriage, Consent and Consummation. In: Blazek P (ed.) Sacramentum Magnum. Die Ehe in der mittelalterlichen Theologie. Le Marriage dans la théologie médiévale. Marriage in medieval theology. Archa verbi. Subsidia, 15. Munster: Aschendorff Verlag, pp. 399-411. https://www.aschendorff-buchverlag.de/detailview?no=10225
Book Chapter
The Bible and Biblical Exegesis
Penn S (2015) The Bible and Biblical Exegesis. In: Handbook of Medieval Culture: Fundamental Aspects and Conditions of the European Middle Ages Volume 1. Berlin, Germany: De Gruyter, pp. 134-148. https://www.degruyter.com/
Book Chapter
Penn S (2010) Chronicon Wirziburgense. In: Dunphy G G (ed.) Encyclopedia of the Medieval Chronicle. Leiden: Brill. http://www.brill.com/encyclopedia-medieval-chronicle-2-vols#TOC_1
Book Chapter
Penn S (2010) Liutprand of Cremona. In: Dunphy G G (ed.) Encyclopedia of the Medieval Chronicle. Leiden: Brill. http://www.brill.com/encyclopedia-medieval-chronicle-2-vols
Book Chapter
Penn S (2010) Notker Balbulus. In: Dunphy G G (ed.) Encyclopedia of the Medieval Chronicle. Leiden: Brill. http://www.brill.com/encyclopedia-medieval-chronicle-2-vols
Book Chapter
Penn S (2010) Ratpert of St. Gallen. In: Dunphy G G (ed.) Encyclopedia of the Medieval Chronicle. Leiden: Brill. http://www.brill.com/encyclopedia-medieval-chronicle-2-vols
Book Chapter
Penn S (2010) Regino of Prüm. In: Dunphy G G (ed.) Encyclopedia of the Medieval Chronicle. Leiden: Brill. http://www.brill.com/encyclopedia-medieval-chronicle-2-vols
Book Chapter
Philosophy in Medieval Studies
Penn S (2010) Philosophy in Medieval Studies. In: Classen A (ed.) Handbook of Medieval Studies: Terms - Methods - Trends. Berlin: Walter de Gruyter, pp. 1090-1110. http://www.degruyter.com/view/product/40828
Book Chapter
Penn S (2006) Wyclif and the Sacraments. In: Levy I (ed.) A Companion to John Wyclif: Late Medieval Theologian. Brill's Companions to the Christian Tradition, 4. Leiden: Brill, pp. 241-291. http://www.brill.com/companion-john-wyclif
Book Chapter
Literacy and Literary Production
Penn S (2005) Literacy and Literary Production. In: Ellis S (ed.) Chaucer: An Oxford Guide. Oxford Guides. Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp. 113-129. http://ukcatalogue.oup.com/product/9780199259120.do
Book Chapter
Literary History, Critical History, and the Question of “Medieval” Theory
Penn S (2004) Literary History, Critical History, and the Question of “Medieval” Theory. In: Smallwood P (ed.) Critical Pasts: Writing Criticism, Writing History. Aperçus. Lewisburg: Bucknell University Press, pp. 13-36. http://www.bucknell.edu/script/upress/book.asp?id=1
Book Chapter
Penn S (2004) Latin Verse. In: Murdoch B (ed.) German Literature of the Early Middle Ages. The Camden House History of German Literature, 2. London: Camden House, pp. 87-118. https://www.boydellandbrewer.com/store/viewItem.asp?idProduct=7558
Article
Penn S (2000) Antiquity, Eternity and the Foundations of Authority: Reflections on a Debate between John Wyclif and John Kenningham, OCarm.. Trivium, 32, pp. 107-119.
Book Chapter
Literary Nominalism and Medieval Sign Theory: Problems and Perspectives
Penn S (1997) Literary Nominalism and Medieval Sign Theory: Problems and Perspectives. In: Keiper H, Bode C & Utz R (eds.) Nominalism and Literary Discourse: New Perspectives. Critical Studies, 10. Amsterdam: Rodopi, pp. 157-189. http://www.rodopi.nl/senj.asp?BookId=CRIT+10
Teaching
My main teaching specialism lies in the area of medieval literature, and I convene a period module in that area during the autumn semester. I also teach a module on the history of the English language, again in the autumn semester. Until recently, I also offered an option on Chaucer in the spring, and I hope to revive that module soon.