Medieval theology (Medieval Studies)

On the banks of the River Volkhov in the north Russian city of Veliky Novgorod, the medieval Cathedral of Saint Sophia in Novgorod stands as a gleaming, white testament to early Russian faith. Examination of its walls reveals astounding incised images of saints in standing in holy witness and in ritual procession, the remnants of a corpus of graffiti that recalls the icon both visually and functionally. The visceral nature of the iconic graffito materializes the mediatory power of the icon, inscribing saintly presence along the graffitist’s walk toward and around the altar. Given linguistic and political barriers to information and objects, the art of medieval Slavic lands is woefully understudied, and there has been little published scholarship in English on Slavic graffiti. This study serves as a crucial bridge between the saturated study of the icon and the emerging field of graffitology, incorporating the theological disposition of the former with the poststructuralist approach of the latter. Such a methodology reveals the rich semiotic potential of the scratch as performed and embodied in architectural space. This paper thus opens new avenues for understanding graffiti across Orthodox Christianities while being the first to valorize this distinct iteration in Slavic lands.

Il contributo si concentra sui rapporti fra scienza ottica e predicazione nella Toscana di Dante, con particolare attenzione a libri e autori attivi a Santa Croce a fine Duecento. Si tratta di uno sviluppo ulteriore di ricerche già avviate e presentate in interventi precedenti (per es. a Leuven e Toronto nel 2023).

Fecha de edición: mayo de 2024 Maqueta e imprime: Imprenta Ministerio de Defensa NIPO 083-24-164-2 (edición en línea) Las opiniones emitidas en esta publicación son de exclusiva responsabilidad de los autores de la misma. Los derechos de explotación de esta obra están amparados por la Ley de Propiedad Intelectual. Ninguna de las partes de la misma puede ser reproducida, almacenada ni transmitida en ninguna forma ni por medio alguno, electrónico, mecánico o de grabación, incluido fotocopias, o por cualquier otra forma, sin permiso previo, expreso y por escrito de los titulares del copyright ©. En esta edición se ha utilizado papel procedente de bosques gestionados de forma sostenible y fuentes controladas.. publicaciones.defensa.gob.es cpage.mpr.gob.es

The doctrine of the "inchoatio formae" is an important feature of Albert the Great’s metaphysics and natural philosophy, as modern scholars, starting at least with Bruno Nardi’s pioneering study, have recognised. Nevertheless, the notion of the "inchoatio formae" as employed by Albert is usually understood to refer exclusively to the relationship between matter and substantial forms. On the contrary, in his commentary on Aristotle’s "De sensu et sensato", and specifically in the context of a discussion of the so-called issue of minima sensibilia", i.e., the limits to the persistence of the accidental forms of sensible qualities according to the potential infinite divisibility of the matter with which they are united (cf. "De sensu" 6, 445b3-446a20), Albert talks explicitly of the "inchoatio formarum sensibilium" (possibly a "hapax legomenon" in the entire "corpus" of his writings), therefore applying the notion of the "inchoatio formae" to the accidental forms of sensible qualities themselves. This article reconstructs the precise meaning and the key features of the "inchoatio formarum sensibilium" in the context of Albert’s "De sensu" commentary and of his discussion of "minima sensibilia" and compares it with the notion of the "inchoatio formae" as applied to substantial forms, showing both the important similarities and the crucial differences between them. In this way, it becomes possible not only to better understand the intrinsic richness and complexity of the concept of the "inchoatio formae" in Albert’s writings, but also to do justice to the variety of functions it serves throughout Albert’s metaphysics and natural philosophy.

Keywords: "inchoatio formae"; "inchoatio formarum sensibilium"; Albert the Great; "De sensu et sensato"; "minima sensibilia".

Horaires : Mercredi, 9h30-11h30
Lieu : Maison des sciences de l'homme-Raspail, niveau BS1 (sous-sol), salle 20 : 54 boulevard Raspail, 75014 Paris

En poursuivant nos travaux sur le Commentaire de Pierre Abélard à l'Épître aux Romains, nous allons choisir des dossiers thématiques pour vérifier comment Abélard et d'autres auteurs œuvrant dans un contexte monastique (entre autres, Hervé de Déols, Guillaume de Saint-Thierry) ont abordé ces thèmes. Comment la lecture du texte biblique a-t-elle influencé l'articulation de la pensée philosophique et anthropologique de ces auteurs ? Quelles sources complémentaires, directes ou indirectes, ont été utilisées à cet effet ? Quelle herméneutique nous proposent-ils ?

Towards the end of the 16th century, throughout Italy and Europe news spread of the discovery, in an ancient tomb in Calabria, of the revelation of the mysterious abbot Ubertino of Otranto. The text prophesied the future upheavals of the papacy and the European monarchies, and the catastrophes that threatened Italy. After examining the communication strategies that made plausible the discovery and newsworthy the revelation, this article will show how the text was received by a large number of readers at different times and in different contexts. Between the end of the 16th and the beginning of the 20th century, new meanings were attributed to the prophecy, but the text of the prophecy itself was the result of the rewriting of at least three medieval prophecies. This invites us to reflect on some relevant historiographical problems, such as the possibility of defining belief in prophecies, the stratification of prophetic texts, and their persistence between the Middle Ages and the modern era.

Storia della filosofia medievale Volontà, male, libero arbitrio e determinismo nel dibattito filosofico del secolo XIII e XIV 4 OTTOBRE 2024 9-11 | Aula 9, via Capponi 9 ROBERTO LIMONTA (Università di Salerno) Deus scit a fore. Prescienza e logica proposizionale nelle teorie sui futuri contingenti di Ockham, Chatton, Kilvington Tutti gli interessati sono invitati a partecipare

Author: Alan Myatt
Publisher: CBE International

After decades of discussion, the evangelical debate over the roles of women and men in church and at home shows no sign of resolution. Both sides affirm the final authority of Scripture but arrive at very different conclusions. It is as if each side is looking at the Bible through a different set of lenses. Here I will examine the interpretive lens that leads to a male-female hierarchical reading of biblical texts. I aim to show how theological patriarchy can be said to ground female subordination in a view of the creation order that bears relation to ancient Greek philosophy, and, as such, is incompatible with the biblical doctrine of creation. Therefore, the hierarchical structure of family and church supported by complementarianism replicates an unbiblical worldview that distorts God’s intention for church, home, and society.

Any individual is born and registered with a category called sex and assigned at birth. It categorizes his physiological and organic construction. Unlike sex, Gender is more associated with identity shaped through social and performative acts. In light of Judith Butler’s theory of gender, this research attempts to investigate the way in which gender roles are deconstructed in postmodern plays by Harold Pinter and how the exchange of social roles contributes to the reaction of characters in the play of The Homecoming (1965) and The Birthday Party (1957). Far from being assigned or granted at birth, Judith Butler refers to Gender as a socially constructed identity that a person enacts and learns at the same time. Butler also questions the idea of two existing genders and says that gender is performed, making it flexible and shaped by society. The literary appliance of Butler’s theory on the two plays above and the analysis of the chosen characters demonstrate that the deconstruction of gender roles and their exchange, in Pinter’s literature, are not limited to biological or social roles but expend to the instinct need to dominate or to beg for emotional nurturing. In both cases, the deconstruction of gender roles is only a tool to shape a new form of identity.

This article deals with Benedict Hesse of Cracow's question about dispensation from religious vows preserved in ms Kraków, BJ, 1369, ff. 26v-28v, which is a part of his Commentary on Matthew's Gospel preserved in ms Kraków, BJ, 1366, pp. 245-250 and in ms Citta del Vaticano, BAV, Vat. lat. 14646, ff. 72va-77rb. The question was compiled between the year 1446 and March 7, 1448. Based on Aquinas's thought, Hesse claims that there is no possibility of dispensing a mon grom the three religious vows.

This article aims to highlight the rich doctrinal meanings underlying the textual and iconic designation of the Virgin Mary as the gate of Heaven, a highly brilliant metaphor used by writers and artists to symbolize her saving mediation before her divine Son on behalf of humankind. To
justify our interpretations of this textual and iconic symbol, we will proceed first by analyzing an abundant set of fragments of medieval liturgical hymns, which designate the Virgin Mary as the “gate of Paradise” (porta Paradisi) or “gate of Heaven” (ianua Coeli) and other expressions alluding to her power to facilitate the eternal salvation of the faithful. In a second step, we will analyze ten sculptural and pictorial artworks that represent Mary as the gate of celestial paradise or the mediator before God in favor of believers to facilitate their eternal salvation

This article seeks to shed light on the approach of Saint Bonaventure of Bagnoregio (1217/21–1274) on the highly problematic issue of the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary. In a context of heated debates on the matter, Saint Bonaventure presents a long and complex set of
arguments that we can summarize as follows: Mary was conceived with original sin contaminating her body at first, but she was cleansed of it and sanctified immediately after her conception, at the very moment of the animation of her body, that is, when her soul gave life to her body. Therefore, the author concludes that even though the body of Mary, like that of all human beings except Christ, was conceived with original sin, it was thoroughly cleansed, and her body was sanctified from the very first moment at which it was animated by her holy soul and cleansed of all sin.

The paper examines one specific aspect of Avicenna's (Ibn Sīnā, d. 1037) treatment of desire in his magnum opus of philosophy, namely the desire for God as it is framed in the Ilāhiyyāt (Science of Divine Things) of the Kitāb al-Šifāʾ (Book of Cure/Healing), the account of metaphysics placed at the end of Avicenna famous and influential encyclopedia of philosophy. The perspective of analysis is necessarily "transversal", since the topic of the desire for God is not dealt with ex professo in any specific place of the Ilāhiyyāt, but emerges in various parts of it, characterizing each of its main structural components (epistemology of metaphysics, ontology, cosmology, philosophical theology, eschatology). Thus, the Avicennian doctrine of the desire for God expounded in the Ilāhiyyāt not only provides a multifaceted account of the theme, but also allows to appreciate the multilayered structure of Avicenna's work. Some key texts of these different frameworks evidence a subtle gradation, according to which there is a desire for God that characterizes all things other than God, a desire for God that is specific of the movers of celestial bodies, and a properly human desire for God: each of these desires is designated by specific terminology and falls besides the exclusively divine propension that God has for Himself, which, properly speaking, cannot be considered a desire. In this way, the presence or absence of desire for God determines in Avicenna’s universe the same bifurcation between the non-divine realm of reality, on the one hand, and God Himself, on the other, that elsewhere Avicenna obtains by means of other pairs of concepts, like “relative necessity” vs. “absolute necessity”, or “existence mixed with essence” vs. “pure existence”.

In medieval theological faculties, the custom of lecturing on theology based on Peter Lombard's “Sentences” was born. When a bachelor began commenting on the next book of the “Sentences,” he would deliver a “principium,” a solemn lecture devoted to the first topic of the commented book. This article presents and discusses the principia to the “Sentences” prepared by theologians at the University of Cracow in the 15th century.

The whole text can be uploaded here: https://www.brepolsonline.net/action/showBook?doi=10.1484%2FM.SSENT-EB.5.134529

Аннотация: В древнерусском переводе греческого романа об Александре Македонском, в содержащих его хрониках имеется рассказ о четырех райских реках — Фисоне, Геоне, Тигре и Ефрате. Этот рассказ является развитием библейского повествования, но не восходит к нему непосредственно. И первой трудностью является вопрос о его происхождении. Мнения В.М. Истрина, О.В. Творогова, Е.М. Королевой, В.В. Милькова не дают ответа на этот вопрос. Однако в «Слове якорном» Епифания Кипрского содержится текстуально близкое хронографическому варианту рассуждение о вытекающих из рая реках (58 раздел). Но славяно-русской книжности этот памятник не известен. Поэтому неясно, как рассказ о реках Едема попал во 2-ю редакцию «Александрии хронографической». Его нет в известных греческих, латинских, армянских и эфиопских и в других восточных версиях романа об Александре. Он также отсутствует в 1-й славянской редакции и «Сербской Александрии». Возможно, «Слово якорное» было переведено на славянский язык, но перевод не сохранился. Сохранились только выписки из этого сочинения в виде статьи «Отъ анъкурота» в «Изборнике 1073 г.» и никак не связанный с ними хронографический рассказ «О рѣках». Вторая трудность — это толкование и локализация содержащихся в рассказе географических реалий. И наиболее
сложной в данном отношении является река Фисон, мифическая, в отличие от всех других, которую в древности соотносили с разными регионами. Согласно хронографическому рассказу Фисон протекает через ряд азиатских областей, Ефиопию и вливается в Атлантический океан. Это фантастическое представление, не соответствующее реальной географии, как и то, что реки Едема имеют общий источник. Однако люди далекого прошлого верили в подобную картину мира, полагая, что под земной корой имеется единый океан, питающий все реки вообще. Об этом, в частности, писал Иоанн Златоуст. Интересно, что такое мнение подтверждается современным научным открытием относительно наличия водного океана под земной корой, мантией. Итак, распознавание и трактовка географических, исторических, мифологических обозначений в древнерусских хрониках требует комплексной, с учетом самых разных сфер знания, исследовательской работы.
Ключевые слова: Александрия хронографическая, Библия, Епифаний
Кипрский, Козьма Индикоплов, Иоанн экзарх Болгарский, Иоанн Златоуст, райские реки, топонимы.

Il prossimo numero di DV intende indagare, in piena coerenza con la storia della rivista e la tradizione a cui da sempre si ricollega, il rapporto fra il Medioevo, inteso come oggetto di indagine, ma anche come soggetto di significativi percorsi filosofici, e il pensiero critico.

L’étude de la dimension trinitaire de la béatitude chez Thomas nous permet de surmonter les interprétations intellectualistes en donnant à la charité le rôle qu’elle mérite dans la constitution de la félicité humaine. La marque de l’Esprit Saint dans notre amour de Dieu explique qu’on puisse être amis de chaque personne divine. On fait des considérations de la métaphysique de l’amour et de la théologie de la charité, in via et in patria.

Aspects of the theological conflict between the precursors of the Protestant Reformation and the Catholic Church, center on the issue of transubstantiation. The central point is the analysis of Wycliffe's works, comparing them with Thomistic philosophy.

The aim of my paper is to present and investigate comparatively two medieval theories on human action, those of Alain of Lille and Peter Abelard, both heirs of the Aristotelian conception of action, mediated by Boethius’ interpretations and theoretically pushed by Peter Lombard. Alano elaborates, in De Virtutibus et de Vitiis et de Donis Spiritus Sancti, an ethical theory based on action naturally guided by vices and virtues, studying the latter as the motivation for all action. Abelard, in Ethica. Scito te ipsum, ideally corrects Alain’s approach and emphasises the centrality of the human being, understood as the sole arbiter of all action.

The essay, starting from the critical analysis of specific chronicles and literary texts from the 14th century, seeks to consider experiences of oblivion and desire, particularly focusing on a crisis phenomenon: the spread of the plague in the mid-14th century. It highlights the attempt by various communities to censor the shock and try to forget its most traumatic consequences through a lifestyle marked by excesses (unrestrained desires). At the same time, the plague crisis also opened new possibilities for social and economic advancement for the survivors, leading to the emergence of new expressions of desire. In this context, Boccaccio’s Decameron is a fascinating testimony. It showcases not only the phenomenology of the experience of oblivion typical of a society in crisis but also the ability to imagine and design a new model of collective life: starting from the purification of desire, understood as a bundle of human appetites, the use of reason can enable humans to rise from untamed forces.

Maimonides and Aquinas on Reading the Bible Good evening, dear friends. It is an honor for me to speak here this evening in the framework of the Chair for Jewish-Christian Relations, co-sponsored by the Institute of Jewish Studies at the University of Antwerp and by the Centre Saint-Ignatius in Antwerp. I thank Professor Vivian Liska, Director of the Institute of Jewish Studies at the University of Antwerp, and Professor Luc Braekmans, Academic Director of the University Centre Saint-Ignatius, for inviting me to be this year's incumbent of the Chair in Jewish-Christian Relations. The cooperation between the Institute of Jewish Studies at the University of Antwerp and the University Centre Saint-Ignatius is a paradigm of good Jewish-Christian Relations. My topic this evening is "Maimonides and Aquinas on Reading the Bible." 1 This topic clearly concerns "Jewish-Christian Relations." Indeed, it concerns Jewish-Christian Relations on the highest philosophic level: Rabbi Moses Maimonides, the

This paper presents the programmatic and practical innovations developed by the medieval Latin lexicography team of the "Glossarium Mediae Latinitatis Cataloniae" (GMLC). These innovations refer, on the one hand, to the extension and improvement of the application of the textual database "Corpus Documentale Latinum Cataloniae" (CODOLCAT) and its external and internal consultation services, an indispensable tool for the elaboration of the lexicographical articles of the GMLC itself and for parallel linguistic or historical research; and they also refer, on the other hand, to the digital edition and publication of the glossary itself. The reflection and the decisions taken to offer two complementary lexicographical instruments are the result of working on indissociable and confluent paths.

As a corporeal being, man is part of the material world, he lives and is subject to processes similar to those which prevail in the world of animals and exceeds them only owing to the fact that he possesses a rational soul. Thus, although a body makes animality possible for a man to exist and function, its nature, meaning man’s similarity to animals, is defined mainly by the relationship between the soul and body. Since animals do not have minds, animality understood on the ontological level is something man and animals share in common. St. Augustine describes this as experiencing bodily sensations by the sensual being, which, because of their turning towards material things, lives in the world of bodily sensations and finds their place in it. Therefore, this is irrational delectation in bodily matters. This animality in humans is also considered as a possible lifestyle, which means it is an object of the will’s choice and assumes the form of the process of becoming similar to anima...

Il ruolo delle immagini sensibili Il ruolo delle immagini sensibili nella dottrina della conoscenza profetica di Alberto Magno ANNA RODOLFI Medieval philosophers who wrote about prophecy were influenced by Aristotelian theory of soul. Aristotle stated that understanding owes to imagination the materials of its knowledge, i.e. sensible images or phantasmata. Without images there isn't any thought: does this Aristotelian axiom fit to prophetical knowledge, too? Prophetical knowledge, even if it is supernatural, actually does not take place without sensible images, just like any other natural knowledge. Which function do such images play within prophetical knowledge? In his Quaestio de prophetia, Albert the Great tries to answer this question. His original solution consists in claiming that sensible images do play a positive function in regard to prophecy. Prophetical knowledge, though supernatural as to its origin, does not subvert the natural process of knowledge described by Aristotle.

We analyzed attitudes towards sexuality during the medieval period in Croatia. For that purpose we investigated numerous medical and literary texts, statutes, and specific natural philosophical work entitled "Lucidar". Contrary to medical books, which had a low impact on the broader community, literary texts were important in spreading messages on sexuality, as well as in shaping medieval mentality and creating sexual taboos. Consequently, a specific perspective and culture influenced rules and practices for community protection, as well as various levels of social systems. Within the three large groups of sources, we selected those typical both in their content (ideas) and forms, and representative in shaping attitudes toward sexuality on our territory. The first group of sources (examples from literary genres) were identified as an important vehicle in transferring messages of morality, moral obligation and sexuality in general. Deeply rooted in Christianity they became ...

Imagine an artifact so revered that its journey through history is as storied and complex as the faiths and nations that have guarded it. The Philermosa icon, which is thought to have been created by Saint Apostle Luke, is more than just a work of religious art; it is a cross-cultural emblem of religion, history, and identity. The icon, which has been guarded by the Knights Hospitaller and is now revered in Montenegro 1 , has sparked discussions about where it belongs. Should it be kept in a museum where everyone can view it for educational purposes, or should it stay inside the church's sacred walls, acting as a lighthouse for spiritual pilgrims? I would like to explore the rich history of the Filermosa icon, its spiritual and cultural significance, and the complex discussion surrounding its preservation, rightful place as well as the potential risks of political exploitation on its integrity.

Although the pseudo-Bonaventuran Meditationes Vitae Christi (henceforth MVC) is one of the most popular late medieval texts, the most fundamental questions concerning its original language, the date of its composition and its authorship have not yet been answered satisfactorily. Despite the existence of the critical edition of the Latin text of the MVC, there are no extensive publications about its Italian manuscript tradition or about its thorough philological analysis, particularly in relation to the Latin versions. 1 With the present publication we intend to offer a useful tool for further philological investigation, and we are convinced that a collation like this is essential for any kind of eventual critical edition of the Italian text of the MVC. As we will see below, previous scholarship distinguished several versions or recensions among the many extant Italian manuscripts, based only on approximate criteria, such as the number of chapters. The treatment of the Italian recens...

In his Leviathan, Thomas Hobbes writes of ecclesiastical prelates:. .. from the time that the Bishop of Rome had gotten to be acknowledged for bishop universal, by pretence of succession to St. Peter, their whole hierarchy (or kingdom of darkness) may be compared not unfitly to the kingdom of fairies (that is, to the old wives' fables in England, concerning ghosts and spirits and the feats they play in the night). And if a man consider the original of this great ecclesiastical dominion, he will easily perceive that the Papacy is no other than the ghost of the deceased Roman empire, sitting crowned upon the grave thereof. For so did the Papacy start up on a sudden out of the ruins of that heathen power. 1

The thought of Thomas Aquinas is rightly understood to be hierarchical, but the word hierarchy is understood diversely across time and place, and important readers of Thomas have praised or blamed him for being less hierarchical than his contemporaries. Early modern critique of hierarchy with its political edge often dominates understanding of the notion, but such critique stems from medieval controversies over religious perfection and sacramental life, which in turn echo the monastic polemics of Pseudo-Dionysius, the probable inventor of the term hierarchy. The massive influence of Dionysius made him a contested authority in Thomas's time, and in his battles with secular clergy the Dominican theologian shows himself a more careful interpreter of the pseudo-Areopagite than his contemporaries, who purported to defend hierarchy against the mendicants. This study presents the reading method of Aquinas as a contemplative project, motivated and delineated by the mendicant controversi...

Il tema dell’età dell’oro, assente nel pensiero occidentale a par-
tire da Agostino, ritorna centrale grazie al recupero di un rapporto
più diretto col mondo classico attuato dalla filosofia della Scuola di
Chartres a partire dal xii secolo. Il ritorno di questa figura manifesta
una profonda caratterizzazione insieme etica e politica nel poema
filosofico Anticlaudianus di Alanus ab Insulis. L’età dell’oro indi-
ca qui una rinnovata alleanza fra cielo e terra, divino e umano, che
per Alano manifesta tratti di autentica dialetticità, propria solo alla
metafisica (che lui chiama theologia) e a nessun altro sapere. Oltre
alla figura dell’età dell’oro, anche l’uomo – considerato nella piena
realizzazione del proprio essere – è in sé tale dialettica, così come
l’immagine dipinta, la pictura, e per traslazione l’attività creativa in
genere. Nel caso dell’uomo, tale perfezione nella propria realizzazio-
ne è sia etica – porta a compimento cioè le potenzialità che all’umano
sono proprie – sia politica – porta a compimento cioè la Giustizia
sotto forma di monarchia filosofica metafisicamente fondata. Tali
immagini di perfezione manifestano il possesso attuale, ancorché
parziale, della Totalità, che è il Vero e l’autenticamente Reale. La
particolarità della posizione di Alano è bene dimostrata nel paragone
con l’altro grande poema filosofico del xii secolo, la Cosmographia di
Bernardo Silvestre.

Bartholomew of Jasło's Recommendation of logic: Bartholomew of Jasło was a professor at the University of Prague and the University of Kraków, active about the turn of the 14 th century. He was mostly interested in logic, methodology, and social changes, as equal access to education for everyone, no matter their status. His first, and only up to the present edited, work is the so-called First sermon of the restoration of University. Most of the so far discovered works by Bartholomew are sermons, mostly based on Seneca, Boethius, and others, authors not so popular in his days. The paper introduces to the edition of two redactions just such a sermon: his opening lecture to logic (recommendation of logic).