SOURCE: John A. Alford, "Biblical Imitatio in the Writings of Richard Rolle," in ELH, Vol. 40, No. 1, Spring, 1973, pp. 1-23.

In the following essay, Alford makes an effort to correct what he sees to þe the paucity of true literary studies of Rolle. In his analysis, Alford examines the relationship of Rolle's works to the biblical imitatio—a rhetorical tradition based on study of the Holy Scripture.

Though R. W. Chambers was not the first to appreciate Richard Rolle's prose style, his famous essay on the continuity of English prose had much to do with the subsequent direction of Rolle criticism—if it is accurate to speak of "direction" where there has been so little movement. "Rolle's date, his style and his popularity," said Chambers, "give him a supreme place in the history of English prose. In English or in Latin he was, during the latter half of the...