Medieval theology (Medieval Studies)

Jordan argues that it is Peter Damian who first coined the term sodomia, though he notes that adjectival forms of the word can be found in earlier documents: "The central terms used by medieval Christian theologians to describe what we call 'sexual activity' cannot be translated into modern English. They condense in themselves different and in some ways briefer histories of category formation. Consider the terms luxuria, vitium sodomiticum, and peccatum contra naturam as they figure in Scholastic texts. It might be permissible to transliterate the last two as 'Sodomitic vice' and 'sin (or vice) against nature,' with appropriate warnings. But luxuria, the root term, cannot even be transliterated as 'luxury' without provoking misunderstandings each time" (Jordan, Invention of Sodomy, p. 29). 5. Jordan says it was inevitable that the resultant category would be anything but concrete or discrete: "The essential thing to notice in the processes by which 'Sodomy' was produced is that they first abolish details, qualifications, restrictions in order to enable an excessive simplification of thought. Then they condense a number of these simplifications into a category that looks concrete but that has in fact nothing more concrete about it than the grammatical form of a general noun" (Jordan, Invention of Sodomy, p. 29). 6. One of these diatribes is reproduced in the Prologue to this book; see also my article,

This article re-examines the much-debated question of the indebtedness of the medieval Icelandic scholar-poet-politician Snorri Sturluson to the Christian-Latin tradition. I offer an argument for a relationship between the construction of Snorri’s mythography in the Edda and two figurative traditions stemming from the Old Testament,  most notably codified in the 9th chapter of the Book of Ecclesiastes, and their subsequent reception in the medieval commentary tradition in Latin and Icelandic, the Old Norse liturgy, vernacular saints’ lives, and lives of the Icelandic bishops. My central claim is that two pervasive figures, the bird and the fish—prototypically represented as captured in Ecclesiastes 9:12 and elsewhere in the Christian literary tradition—merit consideration not as “sources” of certain myths of Loki but of Snorri’s representation of them. Previous scholarship, I suggest, has overlooked a Christian background to the Norse gods’ final fishing expedition, which leads to the binding of Loki and his captivity until Ragnarǫk, when Loki is caught in a net of his own invention: a widespread biblical topos concerning the devil and other “evil-doers.” Snorri’s treatment of the “The Matter of Loki” is hence relevant more broadly to long-standing debates concerning the intellectual debt of Snorri’s conception of Norse myth as “mythic history” to the formative influence of Christian eschatology.

The images of the Annunciation of the 14th and 15th centuries often include in their scene a bed with evident prominence, which allows us to conjecture that this piece of furniture contains some symbolism of particular relevance. Given such unusual detail, this article seeks to interpret the possible doctrinal meanings that this bed could provide. In this sense, twelve Annunciations of this period, which include a bed, are analyzed first with a personal interpretation that stands against some inadequate “interpretations” proposed by other modern authors. We will try to justify our interpretations based on an abundant corpus of texts through which many Latin Fathers and theologians see the thalamus concept as two complementary metaphors: a metaphor of God the Son’s incarnation in Mary’s womb, and also a metaphor of Mary’s virgin divine motherhood

Part of "Prophetic Futures," a special issue of "postmedieval: a journal of medieval cultural studies".
ABSTRACT
Pope Benedict XVI seemed an unlikely fellow to declare Hildegard of Bingen a Doctor of the Church in 2012. Yet Joseph Ratzinger's studies as a medievalist disposed him to the symbolist tendencies of Hildegard and her contemporaries in reflecting on the relationship among scripture, history, and the Church. Deeply affected by the abuse of political power and corruption within the Church, both Ratzinger and Hildegard developed prophetic outlooks on the nature of the Church and its mission in the world, centered on the singular light of Christ's Incarnation. We find, across the centuries, a shared embrace of the enigmatic tension between the Church's corrupted institutions and their prophetic renewal. Ironically, Hildegard came to distrust the authority of the papacy and prophesied its ending, even as Benedict would be, as pope, her greatest champion. postmedieval: a journal of medieval cultural studies (2019) 10, 22-35.

The article investigates the doctrine of transubstantiation or the Eucharistic change as formulated by Thomas Aquinas in his Summa theologiae, Question 75, against its double conceptual (Christian religious vs. Aristotelian philosophical), as well as double linguistic (Latin vs. translated Greek), background. It is presented and analyzed as a philosophical-theological theory that can be explicated and assessed with the help of the concept of untranslatable(s), which was recently discovered and brought to the fore by the proponents of the “translational turn” in continental philosophy. It is argued on the basis of careful study of Aquinas’ text that the notion of transubstantiation should be identified as a conceptual untranslatable.
Here the term “untranslatable” means a unique reinterpretation of Aristotelian language of being and change, which results in a conceptual innovation that has some inherent problems as well as creative and promising inventions. The usage of such a concept is justified by the fact that the reconceptualization that Aquinas did to a number of Peripatetic ideas creates a few untranslatable notions, which do not have much meaning outside the peculiarly Thomistic Latin vocabulary. Despite some criticisms they are not necessarily to be regarded as contradictions, but rather as thomistic untranslatables.

The category of exemplarity, which holds a central place in Bonaventure's thought, is in many ways a certain type of solution to the problem of the many and the one. Bonaventure's account of the relationship between the created many and the uncreated original on which they are all based is in many ways like the account that Augustine gives; but he both greatly expands upon the Augustinian account and expands it in directions that prepare for the Christocentrism that will mark the rest of his theological work. This article will explicate Bonaventure's treatment of this issue on the basis of his two most extended conversations, in the first book of his commentary on Lombard's Sentences and in the Disputed Questions on the Knowledge of Christ.

The traditional account of the development of theology in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries is that the emerging “academic” discipline of theology was separated from the Bible and its commentary, that the two existed on parallel but separate courses, and that the one developed in a “systematic” direction whereas the other continued to exist as a separate “practical” or “biblical-moral” school. Focusing largely on texts of an allegedly “theoretical” nature, this view misunderstands or, indeed, entirely overlooks the evidence issuing from lectures on the Bible — postills, glosses, and commentaries — notably the biblical Glossa “ordinaria.” A witness to an alternative understanding, Peter Comestor, master and chancellor of the cathedral school of Paris in the second half
of the twelfth century, shows that theology was created as much from the continued study of the Bible as from any “systematic” treatise. Best known for his Historia scholastica, a combined explanation and rewrite of the Bible focusing on the historical and literal aspects of sacred history, Comestor used the Gloss as a textbook in his lectures on the
Gospels both to elucidate matters of exegesis and to help him deduce doctrinal truth. Through a close reading of Comestor’s lectures on the Gospel of John, this essay reevaluates the teaching of theology at the cathedral school of Paris in the twelfth century and argues that the Bible and its Gloss stood at the heart of this development.

Since the mid-90’s the figure of Peter Lombard and his Book of Sentences has regained the importance in scholarly world and been studied from both historical-theological and historical-philosophical perspectives. But some aspects of his thinking, encapsulated in the written form, which was to become the material basis for the thirteenth- through the fifteenth-century theological projects, remained somewhat insufficiently researched. Therefore this article analyzes the select parts of the Book of Sentences with the purpose of looking at how Peter Lombard handled the issue of God’s knowledge. The article shows that for Peter Lombard God’s knowledge is God’s awareness of everything knowable. It has no causal power which belongs to the divine will. Nevertheless, this knowledge is able to function in two different modes: it can be either a purely cognitive act as awareness alone, or a double cognitive and voluntary act as awareness and simultaneous volition in the form of approbation. Hence, God’s knowledge in general is not causative, but God’s knowledge of the good must be causative because he simultaneously knows and wills what is good. The article reasonably suggests that Lombard’s logic implies the compatibility of God’s (fore)knowledge and voluntary activity, on the one hand, and the contingency of the created order and the rational creatures’ free will, on the other hand. But the details of this conception remain unrevealed as Lombard’s presentation of the problem is to be declared underdeveloped.

This book presents a Thomistic account of sacramental efficacy from a historical and systematic perspective.  The excerpt available here includes the book's introduction, table of contents and some of the front matter.  The book is currently available from The Catholic University of America Press (2017).

It is usually thought that only one being can be all-knowing, all-powerful, and all-loving. Challenging this monotheist conviction, I propose a universe ruled by two deities: ‘day shift God’ oversees the events that occur while the sun is up, whereas ‘night shift God’ oversees the events that occur while the sun is down. I survey objections to this proposal and conclude that the real obstacle is not an argument, but an aesthetic preference.

This article presents a new reading of the polemical strategies and arguments embodied in the “anti-Jewish” tractate by the converted bishop of Burgos, Pablo de Santa María (c.1352–1435), the Scrutinium scripturarum (c.1432). It suggests the Scrutinium reflected a unique polemical dynamic that emerged between converts and Jews following
the mass conversions of 1391 and the early fifteenth century, regarding the spiritual assimilation of converts to their new faith. Grappling with the new challenges faced by converts, the Scrutinium articulated a Christian approach toward rabbinic traditions and Jewish skepticism that differed dramatically from the scholastic–polemical traditions
that were employed at the disputation of Tortosa. Its introduction of rabbinic esotericism provided its Latin-reading audience new historical and theological grounds for the integration of rabbinic authority within Christian scholarship and history. In doing so, it embodied what could be considered a distinct “converso voice,” which challenged the customary religious boundaries between Judaism and Christianity.

Joachim of Fiore (c.1135-1202) remains one of the most fascinating and enigmatic figures of medieval Christianity. In his own time, he was an influential advisor to the mighty and powerful, widely respected for his prophetic exegesis and decoding of the apocalypse. In modern times, many thinkers, from Thomas Müntzer to Friedrich Engels, have hailed him as a prophet of progress and revolution. Even present-day theologians, philosophers and novelists were inspired by Joachim’s vision of a Third Age of the Holy Spirit.
However, at no time was Joachim an uncontroversial figure. Soon after his death, the church authorities became suspicious about the explosive potential of his theology, while more recently historians held him accountable for the fateful progressivism of Western Civilization.
Contributors are: Frances Andrews, Valeria De Fraja, Alfredo Gatto, Peter Gemeinhardt, Sven Grosse, Massimo Iiritano, Bernard McGinn, Matthias Riedl, and Brett Edward Whalen

This article presents the first forensic source criticism of the papal encyclical that launched the Third Crusade, Audita tremendi (1187/1188); it makes four main arguments. First, its core empirical contribution is to demonstrate textual variation across the four issues of the letter. Second, it engages with the debate on whether the crusading movement existed in an institutional form in the twelfth century by challenging the interpretation that the reissue of Audita tremendi and similar papal documents was the result of uninspired "plagiarism". Third, it offers a new reconstruction of the immediate context of the issue of the document and argues that, rather than being the product of a long period of careful composition, it was issued as a hurried response to the arrival of the news from Hattin. Fourth, it reconsiders the role of the encyclical in the call for the Third Crusade and contends that the papacy was focussed not on the promotion of the military expedition but the launch of an immediate liturgical campaign of communal repentance. Additionally, the article prints comparative transcriptions of the four issues as an appendix, three of which are published here for the first time.

Analysis of the Columbanus' monastic rules and the four 'Columbanian' monastic rules written after his death: the Regula Donati, the Regula cuiusdam ad virgines, the Regula cuiusdam patris and the fragment De accedendo ad deum. All four texts express different, and to a certain extent contentious claims on Columbanus' heritage and develop their own distinct monastic program. The Regula cuiusdam patris should be read as a voice of dissent against the path Columbanian monasticism took and might be related to the circle around the monk Agrestius. The Regula cuiusdam ad virgines was most likely written by Jonas of Bobbio, the author of the Vita Columbani. The fragment De accedendo ad deum may have been a lost chapter of the Regula cuiusdam ad virgines. As a reflection on the connection between prayer and ascetic achievements De accedendo can be read as a key text on Columbanian monastic theology.

Durante la segunda mitad del siglo XV y el primer tercio del XVI se atestigua en el contexto hispánico un importante fenómeno de mujeres autoras muy relevante en el campo espiritual. Esta renovación solió entenderse en clave de reforma constituyendo un fenómeno de características diferenciadas que podemos denominar "reformismo femenino". Fijamos la atención en el círculo cortesano femenino de la reina Isabel la Católica para analizar sus comportamientos religiosos en esta clave.

La recherche porte sur les sources antiques et chrétiennes (la seconde partie portera sur les sources arabes et juives), parfois non identifiées, ou citées de façon muette, que Raymond Martin utilise dans son ouvrage. Les deux éditions du Pugio Fidei (XVIIe siècle) n’étant pas indexées, il n’existe aucune étude d’ensemble sur cette question et les études partielles sont très peu nombreuses.
L’analyse de détail (menée systématiquement, en relation avec les bases de données dont on dispose aujourd’hui) montre que la plupart des citations païennes et chrétiennes sont de seconde main et qu’en ce domaine, les emprunts à Thomas d’Aquin, souvent muets et parfois très étendus, sont beaucoup plus nombreux que ne le laissaient entendre les études antérieures. L’étude de ces citations nous informe à la fois sur la « bibliothèque » utilisée par l’auteur du Pugio fidei (en partie reconstituée, au terme de cette démarche), sur sa méthode de travail et sur l’étendue de ses connaissances. Elle intéresse donc l’histoire des bibliothèques (celle du couvent dominicain de Barcelone a disparu, sans véritable inventaire, au début du XIXe siècle), du texte et de son auteur.

o. Introduction 0.1 Scotus made important attempts to formulate an acceptable version of"infinite being'' (ens infinitum), a concept that plays a distinguished role in his metaphysics and natural theology 1 • The intelligibility of the concept, particularly in the analysis of the full compatibility of'being' and 'infinite', is something that he pursued especially in the proof of the existence ofGod 2 • Scotus usually considered these efforts no better than sophisticated persuasions which served to clarify that there is no incompatibility between entity and infinity, that there is no simple convertibility between entity and finity, and finally that the entity compatible with infinity in quantity is a fortiori also compatible with infinity "in the perfection that exists at the same time" 3-i.e., with a certain kind of actual infinity in entity' 1 • In his Quodlibet 5 (1306/1307), the Subtle Doctor seems to achieve a better result. There, in the analysis and construction of the concept of ens infinitum, he * A significant part of the research for this essay was completed during a period of post-doctoral studies at the University of Bonn and the Albertus-Magnus-Institut, Germany, which was made possible by a grant from the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation. I wou.ld like to express my gratitude to these institutions for their invaluable support. '"' Pontiffcia Universidude Cat6lica do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Aleg:re/Bra7.il. '"Infinite being" appea,s in Ordinatio pro!. p. 3 q. 1-3 n. 168, ed. Vat., ..:01. I, Civiias Vaticana 1950, p. 110-112, as the most perfect concept that the human intellect can have of God in the present state, i.e., of the first object of"theology as such'' (theologia in sel. For. this reason, it functions for Scotus as the first. subject of "(lur theology" {theologia nostra).

Gran parte de los estudiosos contemporáneos de Guillermo ele Ockham han hecho pie en su nominalismo para abordar un cúmulo de ideas sobre ontología, filosofía ele la naturaleza, metafísíca, antropología, etc., que se hallan asistemáticamente desperdigadas, sobre todo, eri su comentario a las Sentencias, sus escritos físicos y lógicos y los Quodlibetos r_ No se ha explorado tanto, en cambio, la posibilidad de estudiar transversalmente dichas obras siguiendo el que consideramos uno de sus hilos conductores sustantivos: la noción de causalidad 2. En efecto, a la base de este concepto se halla todo un complejo de ideas ontológicas y gnoseológicas que definen al ockhamismo; a su vez, esta noción reviste consecuencias decisivas respecto de diversos objetos, desde la naturaleza y sus relaciones con Dios, hasta el hombre y la sociedad.

In the paper is discussed Meister Eckhart's theory of transcendentals in relation of Eckhart's language theory and his understanding of subject-predicate relation in a definition. The paper argues that the medieval language theory, inhaerentia-theory and according to this theory the reading of Eckhart's ontological sentences  could be a key for understanding of the dialectics given in the metaphysics of Meister Eckhart.

(from back of the book)

In this study Charles Raith II fills a gap in Reformation-era scholarship by analyzing Calvin’s teaching on works and reward in light of medieval theological developments surrounding the doctrine of merit. While significant analysis has been given to Calvin’s doctrine of justification, its relation to sanctification, the notion of union with Christ, and the role of participation, there is as yet no sustained analysis of how these teachings are shaped by the most hostile and pervasive of his polemics, namely, his confrontation with a merit-based framework for understanding Christian salvation. This volume, however, interprets Calvin’s own theological constructions as contextually determined by the reigning polemics of his day. In sum, the volume (1) analyzes Calvin’s tracts, scriptural commentaries and Institutes to demonstrate the manner of Calvin’s rejection of the doctrine of merit; (2) reviews the scholastic developments surrounding the doctrine of merit from the High to Late Middle Ages as background to Calvin’s thought; (3) highlights Calvin’s principle problems with the doctrine of merit: the competitive-causal schema between divine and human causality, merit as a basis for justification, and good works as “deserving” of reward; and (4) unpacks Calvin’s theology of justification, sanctification, the worth of works, and the role of works in salvation as an alternative to the “opponents” doctrine of merit. The volume concludes by reflecting on the reception of Calvin’s theology of works and reward in later Reformed thought.

This is my contribution to published symposium on the thesis of Dieter Hattrup concerning Bonaventure's *On the Reduction of the Arts to Theology*. Hattrup notoriously has argued that the *Reduction* cannot be a work of Bonaventure's because its theological vision is inconsistent with the Seraphic Doctor's other works.  I am grateful for Hattrup's question, but I aim to defend the consistency of Bonaventure's *Reduction* within his larger oeuvre.  The implications of what might seem like a petty medievalists' squabble over manuscripts and dating are significant for larger questions of faith and reason.  So my article is an appreciative theological refutation, of sorts.

The chapter explores the forms of sacralized mastership characterizing ecclesiastical cultures of learning in northern and western Europe from the ninth to the twelfth centuries. The main focus is on changing contemporary assumptions about the interaction of teachers and students with the sacred sphere, such as forms of divine inspiration, 'natural', God-given talent or learning as a form of asceticism. At the same times, the chapter reflects critically on the label of 'charismatic' teaching, which has been used in several important works to characterize the relevant concepts of teaching.

In his antinomic doctrine of the essence of color and its primacy over the form of objects, Wittgenstein departs, consciously or not, from the phenomenological line of Kant and Husserl and typologically approaches the views of the Byzantine ecclesiastical intellectuals - Procopius of Gaza (6th century) and Maximos Planudes (ca. 1255 - 1305). If for Procopius color, along with hypostasis and form, serves as one of the most important characteristics of physical objects, then for Planudes the existence of color is an analogy of the essence of God and the existence of the Holy Spirit, who, as God, does not tolerate the primacy of anyone or anything else. This comes close to Wittgenstein's doctrine of the logical structure of color and to Kripke's position on color as a rigid designator of objects. We also try to supplement Wittgenstein's ontology of color by considering the problem of color from a set-theoretical point of view, and also note the closeness of Wittgenstein and modern linguistics (Andrey D. Shmelyov) in regard to their teaching about the existence of color on the borderline between logic and experience.

De theologicis complementis no ha tenido el mismo éxito que otras obras cusanas. Sin embargo, constituye un testimonio privilegiado de la función propedéutica que la matemática cusana tiene en relación con los escritos especulativos, sobre todo, los teológicos. Nicolás parte allí, en efecto, de los métodos de solución de la cuadratura del círculo expuestos en De mathematicis complementis y se dirige a una propuesta que adelanta los desarrollos de De visione Dei. En este sentido, los complementos teológicos ofrecen un ejemplo paradigmático de la utilización simbólica de la matemática por parte del Cusano.

L’objet de cette étude est une analyse de la théorie politique des « deux soleils » du XVIe chant du Purgatoire. Cette étude sera menée à partir d’un corpus d’œuvres théologiques franciscaines du XIIIe siècle qui relèvent du milieu intellectuel des Frères Spirituels. Afin de comprendre le rôle que le franciscanisme pourrait avoir joué dans l’élaboration de la théorie sur la séparation des pouvoirs temporel et spirituel, nous nous
pencherons sur les œuvres théologiques et juridiques du théologien franciscain Pierre de Jean Olivi. Le point de départ de cette étude est l’importance de la nouvelle conception de la personne humaine et juridique qui naît au XIIIe siècle lors de la querelle sur la pauvreté évangélique. La réflexion au cœur de ces pages nous permettra de formuler des hypothèses de travail sur la reprise de la part de Dante de l’héritage juridique des théologiens franciscains qui prirent part à cette querelle. Nous essaierons surtout de cerner la place de cet héritage au sein de la "visio" de Dante, et de comprendre si ce projet politique pouvait apparaître, à l’époque où le poète rédigeait le Purgatoire, comme une simple utopie ou comme un dessein politique légitime et parfaitement réalisable.

Translation of the text from Sint-Pieters- en Paulusabdij Dendermonde, ms. 9, 170v-173r, into Czech. The text describes the ritual of exorcism assisted by Hildegard of Bingen. Compared to the edition by Laurence Moulinier-Brogi (2000), we suggest a few corrections in the reconstruction of the original Latin text.

The translation is supplemented with a commentary about the content, context, and origin of the text, where we argue for the dating of its origin in the very late 12th century, perhaps the 1190s.

In the high Middle Ages, a novel concept of religious community overran the occidental world: the Dominican Order. Unlike earlier religious orders who confined monks to the purview of praying the liturgy and living a life of contemplative seclusion, the Dominicans focused on engaging with the broad community beyond the convent walls. The result was a hitherto unseen interpenetration of a religious order into the intellectual and cultural realities surrounding it. This conference aims at stimulating interdisciplinary debate on Dominican culture and Dominican theological thought, seen as two aspects of the same medieval and early modern reality. The conference thus strives to bridge a gap between cultural and intellectual history that often has characterized modern scholarship on the history of the Dominican Order.

These are the proofs of the article, "Reform, Hagiography, and Sanctity: Bonaventure's Sermons on the Saints" in Ordo et Sanctitatis: The Franciscan Spiritual Journey in Theology and Hagiography, eds. Michael F. Cusato, Timothy J. Johnson, and Steven J. McMichael (Brill: Leuven, 2017), 186-206.

This paper aims to provide a critical edition of the first two questions of the Prologue of the redactio posterior of the Commentary on the Sentences by alessandro bonini of Alessandria, Franciscan master, successor of Duns Scotus at the chair of Theology at the University of Paris (1307-1308). In the context of his metatheological reflections, Alessandro presents his thoughts on the possibilities and limits of the human intellect in comparison with Henry of Ghent and duns Scotus. The critical edition is preceded by a brief historical-theoretical introduction that is meant to identify key aspects of both questions.

This chapter examines how the Summa Halensis' analysis of Christ'ssorrow was adopted and modified by later Franciscan theologians.A ccordingt ot he teaching of Jerome, which Peter Lombardmade available to medieval theologians,Christ's sorrow arose from an involuntary reaction to his physical suffering. In order to expand upon Jerome'sa ccount,t he Summa Halensis develops an elaborate map of Christ'ss oul by drawing on psychological principles found in Augustine and John Damascene. 13th century theologians debated whether Christ could experience sorrow over his owns uffering not justa sanatural and instinctual reaction, but also as the result of freelyw illingt hat he not suffer.A no bstacle to asserting this would be anyimplication that Christ did not will by his human willwhat God willed him to will. Richard of Middleton, Matthew of Aquasparta, and Duns Scotus do affirm that Christ in some wayfreelynilled his own suffering, and experiencedsorrow over it because of that.Indifferent ways they employ the account of Christ'ssoul outlined in the Summa Halensis to avoid anyimplication that Christ fell into sin by freely nilling his owns uffering.

Pierre Hadot famously claimed that, between Antiquity and German Idealism, Western philosophy had lost its practical role of guiding the life of the practitioner. Scholars who challenged this view isolated two medieval models. This article argues that the overlooked work Colliget principiorum iuris naturalis, divini et humani philo-sophice doctrinalium by Heymericus de Campo postulates a third model. On the basis of St. Paul's teaching about the "inner man," Heymericus reconsiders the Aristotelian doctrines of abstraction and of being as such in relation to the Neoplatonic model of intellectual progression and interior conversion. In a realist conceptual framework, he holds that only metaphysics reflects the true nature of the human being inasmuch as it presupposes a way of life that assumes both the interaction with and withdrawal from the sensible world. However, Heymericus' theory is not limited to nor conditioned by Christian principles, but by Peripatetic philosophy (understood in the broad, Albertinian tradition).

AURÉLIEN ROBERT hose philosophers who nowadays are still interested in the possibility of forming natural concepts or ideas of substances generally assume that this question originated in early-modern philosophy. 1 These philosophers usually have in mind René Descartes' Second Meditation, in which he asks whether the human mind is able to know the essence of a piece of wax while its properties change, or whether the human mind can distinguish the kind of things that lie behind the hats and coats of passersby. 2 As is well known, several discussions followed Descartes' proposal of his own thesis, according to which our ideas of substances cannot be derived merely from sense perception. As a consequence, the possibility of having clear and distinct ideas of material and spiritual substances became a central topic in seventeenth-and eighteenth-century cognitive psychology.

Je propose un modèle de compréhension de la foi et de ses rapports avec les croyances portant sur des contenus, qui permet d’en garantir la spécificité et de ne pas séparer le domaine de la foi de celui des croyances, notamment à contenu religieux. Pour l'élaborer ce modèle, je suggère une lecture de Thomas d’Aquin et de sa conception de la foi d'après laquelle la foi n’est ni une croyance ou un ensemble de croyances particulières, ni une forme supérieure d’adhésion à certaines croyances, mais au contraire une manière de douter de certaines croyances.

[English below]
Intorno al 1470, Gabriele Biondo lasciò Roma, prendendo le distanze dall’educazione impartitagli dal padre, l’umanista Biondo Flavio, e dalla carriera curiale dei fratelli. Dalle montagne di Modigliana – mentre l’Italia era scossa dalle guerre e dal proliferare di profezie sulla fine dei tempi – Biondo divenne la guida spirituale di una comunità di donne e uomini che vivevano a Firenze, Bologna e Venezia. Il libro ricostruisce per la prima volta la parabola di questa figura enigmatica, la cui opera mistica e apocalittica, pur denunciando Girolamo Savonarola come Anticristo, fu a sua volta processata per eresia. Emerge così, in tutta la sua complessità, il caleidoscopio di esperienze religiose che animarono la penisola italiana tra XV e XVI secolo: esperienze non sempre riconducibili allo scontro tra ortodossia ed eterodossia che pochi anni dopo la morte di Biondo, avvenuta nel 1511, si impose come conseguenza della Riforma.
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In the last decades of the 15th century, Gabriele Biondo left Rome, distancing himself from the education given him by his father, the humanist Biondo Flavio, and from his brothers’ curial career. From the mountains of Modigliana – while Italy was shaken by war and by the proliferation of prophecies about the end of time – Biondo became the spiritual guide of a community of men and women living in Florence, Bologna and Venice. The book reconstructs for the first time the parable of this enigmatic figure, whose mystical and apocalyptic writings, while denouncing Girolamo Savonarola as Antichrist, were in turn tried for heresy. Thus emerges, in all its complexity, the kaleidoscope of religious experiences that animated the Italian peninsula between the 15th and 16th centuries: experiences that cannot always be traced back to the clash between orthodoxy and heterodoxy that a few years after the death of Biondo, in 1511, imposed itself as a consequence of the Reformation.

This paper considers Christian responses to the problem of evil following Ṣalāḥ al-Dīn's conquest of Jerusalem. Among Catholics, Audita Tremendi offered the orthodox response that God was punishing Christian sin. However, the logical conclusion of this view is that the Muslims were agents of God despite being 'evil' for having captured Jerusalem from Christians. Twelfth-century theologians believed that God could use devils in the service of good. In response to 1187, while many Christians portrayed the Muslims as evil, some expressed that they were divine agents. Meanwhile, others murmured that Muslim gods (including, to some, Muḥammad) were superior to Christian ones; that the Christian God was apathetic, violent, or wicked; that the crusade of 1189-92 was against God's will; and that crusaders were murderers. Thought-terminating clichés centring on the divine mysteries permitted the continuance of Christianity in the face of this profound theodical controversy. Accepted for publication in Medieval Encounters.