The Central Franconian Rhyming Bible ("Mittelfränkische Reimbibel"): An Early-Twelfth-Century German Verse Homiliary: A Thematic and Exegetical Commentary with the Text and a Translation into English. By David A. Wells. Amsterdamer Publikationen zur Sprache und Literatur, 155. Amsterdam: Rodopi, 2004. $113.

"No one will read this study from beginning to end," writes David A. Wells in the introduction to this volume. And indeed this is not a monograph to be read for its argument, nor really a text or translation intended to encourage reading straight through, but a presentation, with text, translation, and extensive commentary, of the work generally known as the "Mittelfränkische Reimbibel" or "Central Franconian Rhyming Bible" (CFRB). As such, Wells's book belongs in every serious library of German medieval studies and will be invaluable to scholars working on early medieval religious poetry in German.

James Rushing
Rutgers University, Camden