The Order of Saint Benedict

The Rule of Benedict

An index to texts on-line
and gateway to

RB: Bibliographic Index

"... an epitome of Christianity, a learned and mysterious abridgement of all the doctrines of the Gospel, all the institutions of the Fathers, and all the counsels of perfection" (Bossuet, 1627-1704, Bp. of Meaux).

• Today's reading of the Rule (Even chapters for women; odd for men. Doyle 1948; adapt. 1995).
• The Rule in English arranged by chapter titles.
• The Rule in English arranged for daily reading.
• Select a passage of the Rule by date(s).
  
  

• The Rule of Our Most Holy Father St. Benedict, Patriarch of Monks, from the Old English Edition of 1638. Edited in Latin and English. (London: Washbourne, 1875). PDF version.
• The Rule of St. Benedict by chapters (Boniface Verheyen OSB, Atchison, 1949) or in one HTML file.
• The Rule of St. Benedict (CCEL; London, 1898). Scripture citations linked to ASV text.

• RB: Insights For the Ages by S. Joan Chittister OSB
• Podcasts on the Prologue weekly by Dom Michael Casey OCSO.
• HolyRule, a Yahoo! Group: meditations by Bro. Jerome Leo OSB, St. Mary's Monastery, Petersham, MA.
• Study the Rule of St. Benedict (Prol.-7:70) with illus. commentary by Abbot Phillip Lawrence OSB of Christ in the Desert Abbey.
• Early Feminine Versions of the Rule. Ed. by Frank Henderson et al. (American Benedictine Academy).

Bibliographic and Learning Resources (click for S. Aquinata's Bibliography, etc.)

English translations, commentaries, and study aids

Benedict's Rule: A Translation and Commentary by Terrence G. Kardong, O.S.B. is the first line-by-line exegesis of the entire Rule of Benedict written originally in English. This full commentary -- predominately a literary and historical criticism -- is based on and includes a Latin text of Regula Benedicti (Liturgical Press). Hardcover, 664 pp., 6 x 9, ISBN 0-8146-2325-5, $59.95.

RB 1980 in Latin and English with Notes is a modern, scholarly translation ed. by Timothy Fry, OSB (Liturgical Press, 1981), 672 p., $39.95. The translation by itself is also available in paperback, $2.95.

Saint Benedict's Rule for Monasteries, translated from the Latin by Leonard J. Doyle OblSB, has been adapted for use at the OSB website with the division into sense lines for public reading of the first edition that was republished in 2001 to mark the 75th anniversary of Liturgical Press. Hardcover and paperback editions of Doyle's translation are available.

The Rule of Saint Benedict Library: Primary and Secondary Sources, a CD-ROM from Liturgical Press edited by Scott Rains DMin, includes the Rule in Latin and English translation.