Description:The Glossa ordinaria on the bible stands as one of the prime achievements of the period in western intellectual history known as the Renaissance of the twelfth century. In spite of the great number of still extant manuscripts very little is known about the circumstances around its composition. This state of affairs is partly explained by the lack of modern critical edition of the Glossa Ordinaria. The present work is the first critical edition of the Glossa ordinaria on the Book of Lamentations, and consists of the forewords, or prothemata, and the first book (of five) of this text, which was compiled early in the twelfth century by the theologian and Ciceronian rhetorician Gilbert the Universal schoolmaster at Auxerre and subsequently Bishop of London.