Isidore of Seville (circa 570-636) was the author of the Etymologiae, . the most celebrated and widely circulated encyclopaedia of the western Middle Ages. In addition, Isidore's Synonyma were very successful and became one of the classics of medieval spirituality. Indeed, it was the Synonyma that were to define the so-called 'Isidorian style, ' a rhymed, rhythmic prose that proved influential throughout the Middle Ages.

Finding the Right Words is the first book-length study to deal with the transmission and reception of works by Isidore of Seville...