Written whilst in prison in Rome, the Epistle to the Ephesians has been perceived as St. Paul's most important work, as it is not addressed to a specific church or city, but was intended as a circular, to be taken by Tychicus, and read in all the churches willing to accept this the new word of God. This book addresses the most important elements of the teaching of St. Paul, and specifically the inclusion of the gentiles in what had initially been a church for Jews. It was this teaching which had led to St. Paul's imprisonment, and yet he took the opportunity to spread his message despite the consequences he faced. In St. Paul's Epistle to the Ephesians, Robinson provides a context for the Epistle, establishing a framework in which it can be read and understood. This book also includes a paraphrase of the Epistle, which is of particular value to students who are not familiar with the Greek language. This is a classic and comprehensive commentary on the Ephesians, which is well constructed and easy to follow.

First published in 1926, this book presents a concise examination of the historic context underlying ancient traditions connecting Joseph of Arimathea and King Arthur with the Abbey of Glastonbury. Illustrative figures are included and notes are incorporated throughout. This book will be of value to anyone with an interest in the origins of the legends and traditions surrounding Glastonbury.

Joseph Armitage Robinson (1858 1933) was an internationally regarded scholar of early Christian texts, as well as an influential churchman, theologian, historian and pioneer of Anglican Catholic ecumenical dialogue. While he was Dean of Westminster, he collaborated with the outstanding medievalist and palaeographer M. R. James, then Provost of King's College, Cambridge, on this study, originally published in 1908. It documents the history of the library at Westminster Abbey and its accompanying scriptorium from 1060 to 1660, the original library having been dispersed at the dissolution of the monasteries and its successor destroyed by a fire in 1694. The authors present surprisingly detailed information, compiled from surviving sources, about the buildings, furniture and holdings of the library, its administration, the budget for buying and restoring books, and acquisitions from gifts and legacies. James even succeeds in identifying some manuscripts once owned by Westminster that have survived in other collections.

In this 1911 work, J. Armitage Robinson uses architectural and documentary sources to discuss the history of the abbot's buildings at Westminster Abbey. The medieval monastic remains are extensive, but have been considerably modified over the centuries. The abbey muniments provide much information on the building's history, and Robinson includes many documents, both medieval and post-Reformation, to trace the development of the complex and how it was used. As dean of the abbey, Robinson had unprecedented access, and so was able to work out the architectural history more fully than had been possible in previous studies. As the abbey grew in importance and wealth, so the status of the abbot grew, necessitating grander buildings for entertaining. The medieval abbey must have been a continual building site, to judge by the frequent references to structural work in the accounts. This is a valuable study of an important surviving medieval building.

Gilbert Crispin (c. 1045 1117/18), fourth abbot of Westminster Abbey, was a scion of an important Norman family. Trained at Bec under St Anselm, later archbishop of Canterbury, he was a noted scholar and theologian. Under his rule, Westminster Abbey began to expand physically and grow in importance, making full play of its position as the chosen burial site of Edward the Confessor. The necessity to raise funds for the building work probably led to Crispin's association with the London Jewish community, and this was to inspire his most important theological work, Disputation with a Jew. In this 1911 book, J. Robinson Armitage, then dean of Westminster, mines the abbey archives to write both a biography and a discussion of Crispin's thirty-year administration of Westminster. He also includes the texts of all Crispin's known writings, together with a selection of charters. A significant work on a hitherto neglected Anglo-Norman churchman.

Written whilst in prison in Rome, the Epistle to the Ephesians has been perceived as St. Paul's most important work, as it is not addressed to a specific church or city, but was intended as a circular, to be taken by Tychicus, and read in all the churches willing to accept this the new word of God. This book addresses the most important elements of the teaching of St. Paul, and specifically the inclusion of the gentiles in what had initially been a church for Jews. It was this teaching which had led to St. Paul's imprisonment, and yet he took the opportunity to spread his message despite the consequences he faced. In St. Paul's Epistle to the Ephesians, Robinson provides a context for the Epistle, establishing a framework in which it can be read and understood. This book also includes a paraphrase of the Epistle, which is of particular value to students who are not familiar with the Greek language. This is a classic and comprehensive commentary on the Ephesians, which is well constructed and easy to follow.

The following pages represent the substance of lectures given on several occasions in response to the inquiry, What is the historical truth underlying the ancient traditions which connect Joseph of Arimathea and King Arthur with the Abbey of Glastonbury?

The Dean of Westminster, J. Armitage Robinson (1862-1936), was responsible for the publication of several works about the history of the abbey (his Manuscripts of Westminster Abbey and Gilbert Crispin, Abbot of Westminster are also reissued in this series). This edition of a manuscript history in Latin, written by the monk John Flete (c. 1420-1465) was published in 1909. Robinson's introduction discusses the history of the text, the manuscript sources, the nature of the content (which contains Fleet's transcriptions of charters and other documents) and the reliability of Flete's chronology. The text itself is not translated, but side-notes in English provide an abstract of the narrative, which begins in legendary times with the foundation of the abbey by 'King Lucius' in 184 CE. Flete also describes the appearance of the abbey in his own day, and the ceremonies of national significance which took place in this ancient building.