Fr Burrell's latest doings

After receiving Fr David Burrell, CSC’s (of the University of Notre Dame) annual Christmas e-mail letter, I wrote to him inquiring what he has been writing that touches upon St Thomas. He graciously responded with the following list:

  • "Al-Ghazali, Aquinas, and Created Freedom," in Jeremiah Hackett, William Murnion, Carl Still, eds., Being and Thought in Aquinas (Binghamton NY: Global Academic Publishing, 2004) 17-46.
  • Preface/Avant-propos to Olivier-Thomas Venard, O.P, La langue des choses: fondements theologiques de la metaphysique (Geneve: Ad Solem, 2004) vi-x.
  • "Analogy, Creation, and Theological Language," in Rik Van Nieuwenhove and Joseph Wawrykow, eds., Theology of Thomas Aquinas (Notre Dame IN: University of Notre Dame Press, 2005) 77-98.
  • "Creation in St. Thomas Aquinas’s Super Evangelium," in Michael Dauphinais and Matthew Levering, eds., Reading John with St. Thomas Aquinas (Washington D.C.: Catholic University of America Press, 2005) 115-26.
  • "Can we be Free without a Creator?" in L. Gregory Jones, Reinhard Hutter, C. Rosalee Velloso Ewell, eds., God, Truth, and Witness: Engaging Stanley Hauerwas (Grand Rapids MI: Brazos Press, 2005) 35-52.
  • "The New Aquinas" in Rupert Short, ed., God’s Advocates: Christian Thinkers in Conversation (Grand Rapids MI: Eerdmans, 2005) 126-40.
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Mark Johnson

Mark Johnson is an associate professor of Theology at Marquette University, and founded thomistica.net on Squarespace in November of 2004. He studied with James Weisheipl, Leonard Boyle, Walter Principe, and Lawrence Dewan, at the Pontifical Institute of Mediaeval Studies (Toronto, Canada).

PHDData.org: The Universal Index of Doctoral Dissertations in Progress

Of use both to Ph.D. students and to the professors who advise them, this on-line resource lets you search for dissertations that are currently in process, which could possibly save a student/professor team the hassle and embarassment of duplicating a dissertation this is already "out there," or in the process of being put "out there." The site is PHDData.org.

You can run searches based on language, academic institution, up to five keywords, and more. The is a main category for ‘religion,’ and philosophy comes under the heading of ‘Arts and Humanities.’ Oddly, searches for "Aquinas," "Thomist," and other keywords that would associated with the academic study of Thomas Aquinas, all failed to generate any hits. Oh, well. In time…

French and Spanish versions of the site will be available shortly.

Comment

Mark Johnson

Mark Johnson is an associate professor of Theology at Marquette University, and founded thomistica.net on Squarespace in November of 2004. He studied with James Weisheipl, Leonard Boyle, Walter Principe, and Lawrence Dewan, at the Pontifical Institute of Mediaeval Studies (Toronto, Canada).

Gentium font is updated and is now open-licensed

If you are a user of the Gentium font, you’ll be pleased to know that it has just been updated again (the third time), and is now open-licensed. Here is what they say:

We’re thrilled to announce that we have re-released Gentium under a free/open-source license - the SIL Open Font License (OFL). This will give much greater freedom to everyone using the fonts, and allow for easier inclusion in free, open-source and commercial software packages.

The only changes we’ve made in addition to the licensing change were a couple of bug fixes releated to PostScript glyph names and to the reported italic angle.

All of this can be found at

http://scripts.sil.org/gentium

We know that many of you have been waiting for eons for Bold and Bold Italic, more ancient Greek letters (like the digamma), etc. We have been working on these (very sporadically) over the last couple of years, but they’re not ready yet. We hope to have a greatly improved set of Regular and Italic out mid next year, and then work on completing the additional weights.

In the meantime, if the lack of one letter is hindering you, the OFL now gives you the freedom to change the fonts, and even distribute modified versions - with some conditions. We also warmly welcome your submissions of work to be included in the main Gentium project. See the Status page on the web site for details.

I don’t use this font on my system, although everyone I know of who does biblical Greek does, so you might want to check it out. The price is right…

Comment

Mark Johnson

Mark Johnson is an associate professor of Theology at Marquette University, and founded thomistica.net on Squarespace in November of 2004. He studied with James Weisheipl, Leonard Boyle, Walter Principe, and Lawrence Dewan, at the Pontifical Institute of Mediaeval Studies (Toronto, Canada).

Fr. Joseph Owens, CSSR, dies in Toronto, Canada (Oct. 30, 2005)

owens1988.jpgSome very sad news from Toronto. Fr. Joseph Owens, CSSR, one of the very first students at the Pontifical Institute of Mediaeval Studies in Toronto, Canada, has died, at the age of 97 years old. I was blessed to have Fr Owens for two classes in Toronto, on Aristotle’s De anima and on the Nicomachean Ethics. He would come to class with only one thing: the small Oxford edition of the relevant work of Aristotle, in Greek. Nothing else. He would perch his reading classes on his forehead (never on top of his head; how did those glasses stay put?), and explain some point, citing the book, chapter, and often even the Becker number, of Aristotle’s text. He was gentle and clear, always a role-model of excellent scholarship and even better collegiality.

The good people at Owens’s beloved Pontifical Institute of Mediaeval Studies have posted an obituary article on their web site. Here is the obituary, from the Toronto Globe and Mail (November 2, 2005):

REV. JOSEPH OWENS C.Ss.R. At the Providence Health Centre, Toronto on Sunday, October 30, 2005, in his 98th year and the 77th year of his Religious Life. Father Owens was ordained in 1933. Born in Saint John, New Brunswick on April 17, 1908, son of Louis Owens and Josephine Quinn. Father Joseph is survived by two nieces, Anne (David) Cole, Katherine (Ralph) Furness and by his nephews, Bryson (Jacqueline) Eldridge, William (Trina) Eldridge, Robert Eldridge and Gerard (Susan) Eldridge. He served in parishes in Saskatchewan and British Columbia and did graduate studies in Toronto at the Pontifical Institute of Mediaeval Studies, and taught philosophy to younger members of his Community, until he received his Licentiate in Mediaeval Studies in 1946. Father Owens then continued to study at the Institute while also lecturing in philosophy in Redemptorist houses of study. In 1951 he received his Doctorate in Mediaeval Studies summa cum laude from the Institute and became a professor of philosophy at the Pontifical Institute in 1954. In medieval philosophy he taught and wrote extensively on the philosophy of St. Thomas, especially in the areas of metaphysics (the study of ultimate reality), the philosophy of the human person, the philosophy of knowledge, and ethics. Father Owens wrote nine philosophy books and almost a hundred and fifty articles and forty book reviews. In 1973, having passed the usual retirement age, he continued to publish and teach part-time for another twenty-five years. Friends may call at St. Patrick’s Church, 141 McCaul Street, Toronto, on Thursday, November 3rd from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. Mass of the Thanksgiving will be concelebrated on Thursday evening, November 3rd at 7 o’clock. Funeral Mass will be held at St. Peter ‘s Church, Saint John, New Brunswick on Monday, November 7th followed by interment in Calvary Cemetery. Funeral arrangements entrusted to the Rosar-Morrison Funeral Home & Chapel (416) 924-1408.

I’m sure that there are many who have strong remembrances of Fr Owens. Please leave comments…
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Mark Johnson

Mark Johnson is an associate professor of Theology at Marquette University, and founded thomistica.net on Squarespace in November of 2004. He studied with James Weisheipl, Leonard Boyle, Walter Principe, and Lawrence Dewan, at the Pontifical Institute of Mediaeval Studies (Toronto, Canada).

We've hit 150 subscribers on Thomistica.NET!

This morning I got my 150th request to be on the Thomistica.NET subscriber list. Thanks to everyone who has signed up to get regular updates on the site and, most importantly, the Newsletter. Subscribing to the list is free, of course, and let’s me contact you when some item of importance emerges. Hopefully I’ll be able to get the Newsletter done by the semester’s end. I apologize for being so slow (this fall has been unbelievably busy at school).

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Mark Johnson

Mark Johnson is an associate professor of Theology at Marquette University, and founded thomistica.net on Squarespace in November of 2004. He studied with James Weisheipl, Leonard Boyle, Walter Principe, and Lawrence Dewan, at the Pontifical Institute of Mediaeval Studies (Toronto, Canada).

Société thomiste announces Journée saint Thomas d’Aquin (December 3, 2005)

This just in, from Adriano Oliva, OP, and Ruedi Imbach: The Société thomiste will be holding its annual Journée saint Thomas d’Aquin this year on December 3, 2005, in Paris (Couvent Saint-Jacques, 20 rue des Tanneries, Paris 13).

Here are the presentations to take place:

10:00 — Prof. Fr. Jean-Pierre TORRELL, OP (Fribourg CH): LE COMPENDIUM THEOLOGIAE DE S. THOMAS. DATES – STRUCTURE – CONTENU – PROBLEMES: Le Compendium écrit par Thomas pour son ami Raynald, est une œuvre qui gagne à être connue. Semblable en intention à l’Enchiridion de S. Augustin, il occupe dans l’œuvre de l’Aquinate une place originale et il est assez différent de ses grands ouvrages. Il en reprend pourtant tous les grands thèmes et c’est une remarquable introduction à la pensée du Maître.

11:30 — Fr. Emmanuel PERRIER, OP (Toulouse – Fribourg CH): LA PUISSANCE NOTIONNELLE DANS LA THEOLOGIE TRINITAIRE DE SAINT THOMAS : UNE DOCTRINE DE LA FECONDITE DIVINE ? Parler d’une puissance notionnelle revient à viser la propriété la plus intime de la nature divine, celle dont les actes notionnels – la génération du Fils, la spiration de l’Esprit – sont la manifestation : Dieu est tel que le Père produit de manière immanente un Fils égal à lui et distinct de lui. Telle est la voie empruntée par saint Thomas dans son commentaire des Sentences, que l’on ne peut s’empêcher de rapprocher de la fécondité divine mise en valeur par saint Bonaventure. Cette doctrine, originale dans le paysage médiéval, retrouve les grands traits de l’argumentation que Grégoire de Nysse avait opposée à Eunome au IVe siècle. Or, l’évolution de l’Aquinate jusqu’à la Somme de Théologie est marquée par l’abandon progressif de cette perspective, à laquelle il semblait pourtant très attaché. Dès lors, la question se pose de savoir si une telle évolution résulte d’un renoncement ou d’un approfondissement.

14:15 — HOMMAGE AU FR. ÉDOUARD–HENRI WEBER, OP: Le Fr. É.-H. Wéber a présenté pendant de longues années les publications thomistes lors des journées Saint Thomas. La Société thomiste voudrait rendre hommage au Fr. Wéber qui a également rédigé le “ Bulletin de philosophie médiévale (XIIIe siècle) ” dans la Revue des sciences philosophiques et théologiques. Puisqu’il a toujours aimé la discussion, nous avons choisi de faire intervenir plusieurs personnes qui établiront un dialogue avec lui sur divers sujets de théologie et de philosophie qu’il a abordés dans ses nombreux travaux.

15:45 — PRESENTATION DE QUELQUES LIVRES, par Ruedi IMBACH et Adriano OLIVA.

Cost of the conference: 15 Euros. You can download an MS Word doc or a PDF doc with all this information, and more.

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Mark Johnson

Mark Johnson is an associate professor of Theology at Marquette University, and founded thomistica.net on Squarespace in November of 2004. He studied with James Weisheipl, Leonard Boyle, Walter Principe, and Lawrence Dewan, at the Pontifical Institute of Mediaeval Studies (Toronto, Canada).

Grading students' performance

Who said that it’s only now that universities are taking student assessment seriously? A beloved older Jesuit here at Marquette University gave me his personal assessment-scheme for students, which he claims he has been using since the 1950’s. On a descending scale from 10 to 0, the scale measures the student’s knowledge.

Significat numerus:

10scientiam optimam et praeclarissimam
9scientiam valde superiorem
8scientiam superiorem
7scientiam satis dignam
6scientiam minime dignam
5ignorantiam indignam
4ignorantiam reprehensibilem et intolerabilem
3ignorantiam mirabilem
2ignorantiam incredibilem et vix possibilem
1ignorantiam naturaliter impossibilem
0negationem simplicem

All things old are new again…

Comment

Mark Johnson

Mark Johnson is an associate professor of Theology at Marquette University, and founded thomistica.net on Squarespace in November of 2004. He studied with James Weisheipl, Leonard Boyle, Walter Principe, and Lawrence Dewan, at the Pontifical Institute of Mediaeval Studies (Toronto, Canada).

Doctor Angelicus 5 (2005) is out

There’s something for everyone in David Berger’s wonderful, multi-language journal, Doctor Angelicus. This year’s volume is now available (volume 5 [2005]). You can see the journal’s web site here. Make sure to check out its valuable run-down of the year 2004’s thomistic bibliography. Here is its table of contents:

Dissertationes

  • Jörgen Vijgen, "Die heutige Autorität des hl. Thomas von Aquin im Lichte der Tradition" (pp. 7-54)
  • Leo Elders s.v.d., "The Doctrine of Being of St. Thomas Aquinas" (pp. 55-74)
  • Christian Ferraro v.e., "La conoscenza dell’ens e dell’esse dalla prospettiva del tomismo essenziale" (pp. 75-108)
  • Roman Cardal, "Die Dynamik des intellektuellen Lebens und die Rehabilitation der Metaphysik" (pp. 109-126)
  • Brunero Gherardini, "L’uomo in San Tommaso" (pp. 127-132)
  • Manuel Ocampo Ponce, "Algunas reflexiones sobre la ciencia y la técnica a la luz del pensiamento de Santo Tomás de Aquino" (pp. 133-152)
  • Davide Venturini, "Beatitudo, bonum commune und lex bei Thomas von Aquin" (pp. 153-164)
  • Mario Coccia, "Credit Where Credit is Due: St. Thomas Aquinas versus Peter Lombard on the True Nature of Charity" (pp. 165-178)
  • Uwe Michael Lang, "The Controversies over Chalcedon and the Beginnings of Scholastic Theology: The Case of John Philoponus" (pp. 179-196)
  • Jörgen Vijgen, "The Future of Cornelio Fabro’s Legacy" (pp. 197-204)
  • David Berger, "Thomas Rusters These vom ‘verwechselbaren Gott’ aus thomistischer Perspektive" (pp. 205-220)

Recensiones

  • Thomas Marschler: Jörgen Vijgen (ed.), Indubitanter ad veritatem. Studies offered to Leo J. Elders SVD in Honor of the Golden Jubilee of his Ordination to the Priesthood (pp. 221-223)
  • Jörgen Vijgen: Ralph M. McInerny, Aquinas (pp. 223-224)
  • David Berger: Ludovicus Carbo a Costaciario, Compendium absolutissimum totius Summae Theologiae D. Thomae Aquinatis (pp. 224-227) / John of St. Thomas, Introduction to the Summa Theologiae of St. Thomas Aquinas (pp. 227-231) /Paulus Engelhardt, Thomas von Aquin. Wegweisung in sein Werk (231-233) / Benedikt Ritzler, Freiheit in der Umarmung des ewig Liebenden. Die historische Entwicklung des Personverständnisses bei Jacques Maritain (pp. 233-236)
  • Enrique Alarcón – David Berger – Jörgen Vijgen: "Bibliographia Thomistica 2004" (pp. 237-314)

Happy reading.

1 Comment

Mark Johnson

Mark Johnson is an associate professor of Theology at Marquette University, and founded thomistica.net on Squarespace in November of 2004. He studied with James Weisheipl, Leonard Boyle, Walter Principe, and Lawrence Dewan, at the Pontifical Institute of Mediaeval Studies (Toronto, Canada).

Mark's Christmas wish-list

Just got my latest installment of the "Brepols Publishers - Newsletter for Medieval and Renaissance studies," and just in case you’re wondering what you might get me for Christmas this year, I’ll make it easy for you.

  • G. Murano - Opere diffuse per "exemplar" e pecia. 897 p., 160 x 240 mm, FIDEM, 2005, PB, ISBN 2-503-51922-9, EUR 69, Disponible. Ce volume recense pour la première fois toutes les listes de taxation et des exemplaria découverts jusqu’à nos jours, depuis ceux connus depuis longtemps, provenant des universités de Paris, Bologne, Padoue etc., jusqu’aux moins connus conservés actuellement à Uppsala, Dubrovnik, Olomouc, Autun, Montpellier, Greiswald etc. More info: Click here.
  • C. Sirat - Writing as Handwork. Handwriting, the Writing Hand, and the History of Writing. approx. 250 p., 210 x 270 mm, 2005, BIB 25, PB, ISBN 2-503-52116-9, approx. EUR 65, Publication prévue pour novembre 2005. More info: Click here.
  • A.-F. Moskowitz - The Pulpits of Nicola and Giovanni Pisano. 304 p., + 250 b/w ills + 8 colour ills., 220 x 280 mm, 2005, HB, ISBN 1-872501-49-4, approx. EUR 105, Publication date scheduled for December 2005.
  • O. Weijers - Le travail intellectuel à la Faculté des arts de Paris: textes et maîtres (ca. 1200-1500) VI. Répertoire des noms commençant par L-M-N-O. approx. 200 p., 160 x 240 mm, 2005, SA 13, PB, ISBN 2-503-52038-3, approx. EUR 40, Publication prévue pour novembre 2005. More info: Click here.
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Mark Johnson

Mark Johnson is an associate professor of Theology at Marquette University, and founded thomistica.net on Squarespace in November of 2004. He studied with James Weisheipl, Leonard Boyle, Walter Principe, and Lawrence Dewan, at the Pontifical Institute of Mediaeval Studies (Toronto, Canada).

The Midwest Seminar in Ancient and Medieval Philosophy: Schedule

Sponsored by the Marquette University Department of Philosophy (website), Marquette University (Milwaukee, WI).

Fall 2005 Schedule:

  • September 16-17, 2005: The Third Midwestern Conference in Medieval Philosophy.
  • November 5, 2005, 2-3:30 pm: Aquinas and the Arabs: A Text Seminar. Richard C. Taylor on Thomas Aquinas: In 4 Sent, d.49, q.2, a.1, Resp. See texts. Location: Alumni Memorial Union 131
  • November 10, 2005, 6 pm: Josep Puig Montada, Universidad Complutense de Madrid: Ethics and Politics in Averroes. Location Alumni Memorial Union 254. Also: Friday, November 11, 2005, 2:00 pm: "Necessity, Possibility and Potency in Averroes." Location: Alumni Memorial Union 227
  • December 3, 2005, 1 pm: Roslyn Weiss, Lehigh University, "A Man for All Reasons: Maimonides’ Account of the Ritual Commandments." Location: Alumni Memorial Union 313

Spring 2006 Schedule:

Forthcoming…

Call for Applications

The Marquette University Mid-West Seminar on Ancient and Medieval Philosophy invites applications for the presentation of a paper in Ancient or Medieval Philosophy at a meeting of the Seminar on Thursday, March 30, 2006. (Due to a very active Spring term in the Marquette Philosophy Department, at present it appears that the seminar will have to be scheduled for March 30. 2006.) For the Winter/Spring term there will be one award. The presenter will be reimbursed up to $500 maximum for travel, room and board expenses only. In most cases this amount will cover all expenses for presenters from North America although applications from elsewhere are welcome. Past participants have come from the US, Canada, England, Israel, Italy and Finland. Deadline: December 1, 2005. Decision by December 20.

The presenter, as well as any visiting scholar, is welcome to make use of Marquette University’s Library which houses one of the finest collections of philosophical materials on Ancient and Medieval thought in the Mid-West. Available electronic resources include: Patrologia Latina; CETEDOC; Thesaurus Linguae Graecae; Past Masters; International Medieval Bibliography; Index Thomisticus; Philosophers’ Index; Index Islamicus; Encyclopaedia of Islam; Encyclopaedia Judaica, and many others (see listing).

Marquette University Faculty Participants:

  • Owen Goldin (Ancient)
  • Susanne Foster (Ancient, Ethics)
  • John Jones (Medieval Social Thought, Neoplatonism)
  • James South (Late Medieval & Renaissance)
  • Andrew Tallon (NeoThomism, phenomenology)
  • Richard C. Taylor (Medieval Latin & Arabic)
  • Roland Teske, S.J., (Medieval, Augustine, Philosophy of Religion)
  • David Twetten (Medieval, Aquinas)

and others from Marquette and other regional universities. Recent visiting participants in the seminar have included:

  • Suzanne Stern-Gillet (Bolton Institute)
  • Alfred Ivry (New York University)
  • Thomas Williams (University of Iowa)
  • Eugene Garver (Saint John’s University)
  • Patricia Curd (Purdue University)
  • Cristina D’Ancona (Università di Padova)
  • John Sisko (College of William and Mary)
  • Jeffrey E. Brower (Purdue University)
  • Mary J. Sirridge (Lousiana State University)
  • Richard Tierney (University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee)
  • Kenneth Seeskin (Northwestern University)
  • Ruth Glassner (Hebrew University, Mt. Scopus, Jerusalem)
  • Steven Harvey (Bar Ilan University)
  • Ray Weiss (University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee)
  • Hye-Kyung Kim (University of Wisconsin at Green Bay)
  • Lorraine Pangle (University of Texas at Austin)

Application Procedure


Send a précis of the proposed presentation with cover letter and cv. Applications from advanced graduate students are welcome but must include a letter of support from the student’s dissertation director.  NOTE: E-mail applications are preferred. Submit applications or requests for information to:

Richard C. Taylor
Department of Philosophy, Marquette University
P.O. Box 1881, Milwaukee, WI 53201-1881 USA.
Email: mistertea@mac.com
Alternate email: Richard.Taylor@Marquette.edu
Telephone: (414)-288-5649. Fax: (414) 288-3010

NEH Summer Seminar 2006: The Seven Deadly Sins

Want to learn cool stuff in a cool place, and get paid for it? Read on.

The Seven Deadly Sins as Cultural Constructions in the Middle Ages


An NEH Summer Seminar for College and University Teachers at Darwin College, University of Cambridge (17 July - 18 August 2006 [5 weeks] see web site here.).

This seminar will examine the cultural construction of moral thought in the Middle Ages using the categories of the Seven Deadly Sins, critically review recent scholarship on the sins, and make maximum use of the unique manuscript, research, and human resources available in Cambridge. The seminar will seek to deepen the participants’ appreciation for the ways in which the conception of morality in the Middle Ages was a response to varying cultural factors, and will make the study of the sins available for inclusion in the participants’ regular college instruction. The format of the seminar will combine individual presentations, guest lectures, and excursions to manuscript collections in Cambridge and to illuminations of the sins in St Mary’s Church, Hardwick (Cambridgeshire) and churches in Hessett and Stanningfield (Suffolk).

84186-187429-thumbnail.jpg
The Seven Deadly Sins
The seminar will be directed by Richard G. Newhauser, Professor of English and Medieval Studies, Trinity University (San Antonio) and will feature lectures by the following faculty:

  • Richard Beadle, Department of English, University of Cambridge
  • István Bejczy, Department of History, Katholieke Universiteit, Nijmegen, Holland
  • David Ganz, Department of English and Classics, King’s College University of London
  • Miriam Gill, Department of Art History, University of Leicester
  • Nigel Harris, Department of German Studies, University of Birmingham
  • Sylvia Huot, Department of French, University of Cambridge
  • Ed Peters, Department of History, University of Pennsylvania
  • Siegfried Wenzel (Emer.), Department of English, University of Pennsylvania

This seminar means to attract participants from a wide variety of disciplines in the Humanities and Social Sciences. Participants will receive a stipend of $ 3,600. DEADLINE for applications: March 1, 2006. For information and application materials go to the web site.

Comment

Mark Johnson

Mark Johnson is an associate professor of Theology at Marquette University, and founded thomistica.net on Squarespace in November of 2004. He studied with James Weisheipl, Leonard Boyle, Walter Principe, and Lawrence Dewan, at the Pontifical Institute of Mediaeval Studies (Toronto, Canada).

Holy Grail found

84186-187367-thumbnail.jpg
Joseph’ Goering’s "The Virgin and the Grail"
Well, sort of.

One of the real good guys in medieval studies, Joseph Goering at Toronto, told me a couple of years ago about a project that he had been quietly working on. He thought, he said at the time, that he knew how the legend of the Holy Grail came about. He was working on it, he said, and hoped that he’d finish the project before too lond. Well, the project is done, and the book is published by Yale University Press. Here is the blurb:

Some fifty years before Chretien de Troyes wrote what is probably the first and certainly the most influential story of the Holy Grail, images of the Virgin Mary with a simple but radiant bowl (called a "grail" in local dialect) appeared in churches in the Spanish Pyrenees. In this fascinating book, Joseph Goering explores the links between these sacred images and the origins of one of the West’s most enduring legends.
 

While tracing the early history of the grail, Goering looks back to the Pyrennean religious paintings and argues that they were the original inspiration of the grail legend. He explains how storytellers in northern France could have learned of these paintings and how the enigmatic "grail" in the hands of the Virgin came to form the centrepiece of a story about a knight in King Arthur’s court. Part of the allure of the grail, Goering argues, was that neither Chretien nor his audience knew exactly what it represented or why it was so important. And out of the attempts to answer those questions the literature of the Holy Grail was born.

So if you want something enjoyable to read, by a great historian, you can get the book on Amazon.com.