The school of Chartres

Like many twelfth-century works, Bernardus Silvestris’ "Cosmographia" revolves around the problem of the restoration of the lost cosmical order, and tries to solve it by an innovative usage of the artes, or «techniques». By leaning on the cyclical nature of the cosmos and mirroring it, the artes become capable to renew the world. This in turn implies the existence of triadic analogies (between truth, nature and the techniques, and between God, the world, and man), which are the distinctive mark of cosmic perfection.

La "Cosmographia" di Bernardo Silvestre affronta il problema, centrale nel pensiero del XII secolo, del ristabilimento dell’ordine cosmico perduto, che cerca di risolvere attraverso il potere delle artes, ossia della tecnica: basandosi infatti sulla naturale ciclicità del cosmo, Bernardo riesce a trasformare la semplice capacità innovativa delle tecniche in un vero e proprio rinnovamento cosmico. Questo permette la costruzione di un edificio teorico di triadi analogiche tra loro (verità, natura, tecnica; Dio, mondo, uomo), nel quale consiste e insieme si rispecchia la perfetta armonia del cosmo.

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http://www.pims.ca/publications/new-and-recent-titles/publication/thierry-of-chartres-the-commentary-on-the-de-arithmetica-of-boethius

Unlike the commentaries on Plato's Timaeus and on Boethius's Consolatio phlosophiae, medieval exegesis of Boethius's De arithmetica has seldom been subjected to comprehensive and systematic enquiry. Inhabiting the shifting boundary between philosophy and history of science, the De arithmetica itself has been neglected by most medievalists. Yet, from the Carolingian renaissance onward, when the scholarly curriculum came to be based on the seven liberal arts, Boethius's work soon became a canonical text for the study of arithmetic. Indeed, the growing interest in it during the twelfth century is attested by the large number of surviving commentaries in manuscript.

The commentary on the De arithmetica preserved in Stuttgart, Württembergische Landesbibliothek, Cod. math. 4° 33 and edited here for the first time can be securely attributed to Thierry of Chartres. It belongs to a phase when the Chartrian master's interests were mainly directed toward the liberal arts. We can also discern in Thierry's commentary on the De arithmetica themes and problems developed in his Tractatus de sex dierum operibus and more elaborately in his commentaries on Boethius's Opuscula sacra. Indeed, the discovery of this commentary on the De arithmetica might legitimately be said to clarify not only the more intractable passages in the theological writings but also to illuminate Thierry's philosophical project as a whole. At the heart of that vision is a developing trend in twelfth-century philosophy that places number and proportion at the heart of the physical cosmos. In this profoundly 'mathematical Platonism,' all things are based on number and follow the rule of number; or, to quote Thierry himself, “creatio numerorum, rerum est creatio.”

Book Web site:
https://www.atlantis-scout.de/atlantis-geschichte-hypothesen.htm

The history of Atlantis hypotheses now completely revised:
* Finally all authors from Antiquity!
* Finally a detailed discussion of the authors from Antiquity, doing justice to their statements, with all the secondary literature.
* Additionally many until now unknown authors from Antiquity, who clearly allude to Plato's Atlantis without mentioning this explicitly.
* For the first time many authors from the Middle Ages!
* Many important yet until now unknown authors from the Renaissance until Modernity!

Widely spread misconceptions concerning the history of Atlantis reception are rectified!
* In Antiquity, Plato's Atlantis was not at all considered predominantly as an invention.
* The Middle Ages was not at all silent about Atlantis.
* The establishment of academic Atlantis skepticism did not happen until the 19th century and is based on the fiction of an allegedly matured academic theory.
* The crazy explosion of localization hypotheses did not start until the end of the 19th century, and clearly not with the discovery of America.
* Predominant misconceptions of Atlantis supporters as well as Atlantis skeptics concerning many authors are rectified.
* Many pseudo-scientific speculations are rejected.

Interesting details are clarified:
* At the start and at the end of the Middle Ages, the debate about Plato's Atlantis played an important role in the battle between science and superstition.
* The crazy explosion of localization hypotheses and the establishment of academic Atlantis skepticism are closely interrelated.
* The alleged connection of National Socialism and Atlantis is meticulously analysed and disproved.

With more than 1000 source-indicating footnotes, a bibliography with more than 550 entries, and an index of persons with ca. 750 entries.

Hildegard of Bingen’s relationship with philosophy is paradoxical. On the one hand she states that she was not trained by philosophers, and does not claim to write like them. Also, she sees philosophy as a mere "humana scientia" and considers that philosophical reason is incapable of apprehending God as an indivisible unity. Both in the "Scivias" and the "Liber divinorum operum", however, she implicitly uses philosophical concepts in describing the constitution and workings of the universe by means of a visionary narrative inspired by a "vox de caelo". This paper progressively unravels this paradox, at the same time analysing the Cistercian influence which permeates her view of philosophy and her theory of knowledge. We also reflect on her hypothetical philosophical library, in particular outlining some elements of a further comparative analysis correlating her visionary cosmological narrative with the "fabula" in the School of Chartres, and the "Liber divinorum operum" with the "Timaeus".

Keywords: "magisterio", epistemology, Hildegard of Bingen, cosmology, philosophy, "Timaeus".

Ancient and Medieval Authors: Plato, Bernard of Clairvaux, Hildegard of Bingen, Embrico of Mainz, Guibert of Gembloux, Odo of Soissons, Elisabeth of Schönau, Herrad of Hohenbourg.

***

La relación de Hildegarda de Bingen con la filosofía es paradójica. Por un lado, afirma que no ha sido instruida por filósofos ni pretende escribir como ellos. Además, considera que la filosofía es una mera "humana scientia" y que su particular uso de la racionalidad es incapaz de aprehender a Dios como una unidad indivisible. Por otro lado, en cambio, tanto en el "Scivias" como en el "Liber divinorum operum" la autora se sirve implícitamente de motivos filosóficos al describir, mediante un relato visionario inspirado por la uox de caelo, la constitución y el funcionamiento del universo. El presente artículo va desgranando esta paradoja y, asimismo, reflexiona sobre la huella cisterciense que impregna su concepción de la filosofía y su teoría del conocimiento, sobre su hipotética biblioteca filosófica, y, en particular, señala algunos aspectos en pos de un análisis comparativo entre el relato cosmológicovisionario y la "fabula" en los pensadores de Chartres, y entre el "Liber divinorum operum" y el "Timaeus".

Palabras clave: "magisterio", epistemología, Hildegarda de Bingen, cosmología, filosofía, "Timaeus".

Autores antiguos y medievales: Platón, Bernardo de Claraval, Hildegarda de Bingen, Embrico de Maguncia, Guiberto de Gembloux, Odo de Soissons, Elisabeth de Schönau, Herrada de Hohenbourg.

Title: The idea of Logos and Nature in the School of Chartres. Heuristic functions of the Christian concept of the Logos in the formation of the modern notion of nature. The analysis of texts form the School of Chartres from the perspective of philosophy of science.
Abstract: the book is a detailed analysis of the concepts of Logos and nature and their relationships in the writings of William of Conches and Thierry of Chartres, representatives of the XII century School of Chartres. Basing on the Christian concept of the Logos and its relation to the world the authors from Chartres developed a coherent vision of the autonomy of nature and the related idea of epistemological pluralism. Using the apparatus of modern philosophy of science, I am showing, that both of these categories played an important role in the formation of the modern concept of nature, and thus (indirectly) in the emergence of modern science.

La materia nei commenti al Timeo del secolo XII Due traduzioni latine parziali del Timeo di Platone sono disponibili nel Medioevo: quella effettuata da Cicerone (Tim. 27D-47B, con delle lacune) nel I secolo a.C. e quella di Calcidio (Tim. 17A-53C) da collocare tra il IV e il V secolo della nostra èra. Quest'ultimo scrisse anche un ricco e complesso Commentarius in Timaeum, di ispirazione medio-platonica, il cui piano dettagliato è presentato nel prologo. Ora tale Commentarius non ci è pervenuto integralmente, o meglio, non si sa se Calcidio abbia realmente eseguito l'ambizioso piano iniziale da lui annunciato nel prologo 1 oppure si sia limitato a esporre alcuni passi scelti del Timeo compresi tra 31C e 53C, cioè la porzione -e si tratta di una porzione voluminosa -del Commentarius conosciuta sin dal Medioevo, senza dimenticare che frammenti più o meno lunghi del Timeo sono pure citati, e dunque trasmessi in forma indiretta, da autori come Apuleio, Seneca, Macrobio, Agostino, Nemesio di Emesa e tanti altri 2 . Se la traduzione ciceroniana non sembra aver riscosso molto successo nel Medioevo, nonostante se ne conservino diversi manoscritti, la versione di Calcidio fu oggetto di diversi commenti, redatti tutti prevalentemente nel secolo XII.

This paper focuses on the exegetical proposal of the Tractatus de sex dierum operibus by Thierry of Chartres and it is tasked with analyzing the twofold interpretative framework adopted by the Cancelor: first, the accordance betweenthe narration of Genesis and the heuristic models of physical and cosmological causality; second, the mathematical theology, which revises the work of creation according to an arithmological approach. The study is divided into two parts which follow the structure of the Tractatus. In the first part, I analyse the physical plausibility of Christian cosmogony and subsequently the conception of matter with regard to both William of Conches’ inordinatum and the hermetic locus mundi. In the second part, I examine how the numerical discourse interprets the creatural unfolding and dependence on God, as well as the creation per verbum and the individuality of each created being. My purpose is threefold: first, to test the inner philosophical coherence of the Tractatus; second, to interpret specific theoretical points at the light of Thierry’s commentaries on Boethius’ De Trinitate, and finally, to relate the arithmetical issues of the Tractatus to Thierry's Commentum super Arithmeticam Boethii.

bestreiten. Man darf mit hohen Erwartungen auf die weiteren, dem hohen und späten Mittelalter gewidmeten Bände hoffen. Trier Christoph Cluse Hans-Werner Goetz, Gott und die Welt. Religiöse Vorstellungen des frühen und hohen Mittelalters 1, 2, II: Die materielle Schöpfung: Kosmos und Welt. III: Die Welt als Heilsgeschehen. (Orbis mediaevalis. Vorstellungswelten des Mittelalters 13, 2.) Akademie, Berlin 2012. 320 S. ISBN 978-3-05-005684-5. Nach dem ersten Teilband eines ersten Bandes, in dem der Autor das christliche Gottesbild des lateineuropäischen Früh-und Hochmittelalters abgehandelt hat (siehe die Besprechung in MIÖG 121 , schreibt er seine religiöse Vorstellungsgeschichte zu den kaum weniger großen Themenfeldern "Schöpfung" und "Heilsgeschehen" weiter und zieht hierzu erneut, wenn auch diesmal weniger historiographische und biographische Texte heran. Mit den eben genannten Themenfeldern sind zugleich die beiden Teile des Bandes genannt: Im ersten Abschnitt (S. 9-170) werden religiöse Konzeptionen von der materiellen Schöpfung von Kosmos und Welt vorgestellt, wie sie sich im Naturbegriff (S. 15-38) und in den Elementen (S. 39-57), in den Vorstellungen vom geozentrischen Kosmos als Sphärenmodell (S. 59-74) und vom sichtbaren wie unsichtbaren Himmel (S. 75-88), vom irdischen wie himmlischen Paradies (S. 89-110) und von realer wie imaginierter Hölle (S. 111-131) sowie von der Erde manifestieren (S. 133-167). Ein kurzes Fazit beschließt diesen ersten Abschnitt (S. 168-170). Unter eigentümlicher Aussparung der "personellen" Schöpfung (Engel, Teufel, Dämonen und Menschen), die erst in einem weiteren Teilband behandelt werden soll, wird dann in einem zweiten Abschnitt (S. 171-279) die mit der Schöpfung (opus conditionis nach Hugo von Saint-Victor) begonnene Welt als Heilsgeschehen beschrieben. Erst mit dem Sündenfall und der Vertreibung aus dem Paradies beginnt die (Menschheits-)Geschichte, weil nur diese Inkarnation, Tod und Auferstehung Christi, das sog. opus restaurationis (Hugo von Saint-Victor), notwendig machen (S. 175-211). Nach einem Abschnitt zum Engelfall (S. 176-188) werden dann näher vorgestellt der Sündenfall, seine Folgen für die Menschen und seine Kompensation durch den Opfertod Christi (S. 188-211), ferner das Heilsgeschehen bis dahin und darüber hinaus mit seinen verschiedenen Zeitgliederungen, die Gottes Heilsplan in der Universalgeschichte aufzudecken versuchten (S. 213-243), und schließlich die Heilsmittel und Heilswege samt ihrer Hindernisse auf dieser Welt mit ihrem Geschehen (S. 245-276). Auch hier rundet wieder ein kurzes Fazit den Abschnitt ab (S. 277-279). Be-und erschlossen wird der Band wieder durch Verzeichnisse der Abkürzungen (S. 281f.), der Abbildungen (S. 282f.) und der benutzten Quellen bzw. Literatur (S. 284-294 bzw. 294-313) sowie durch Register der mittelalterlichen Autoren und anonymen Schriften (S. 315-318) bzw. der Personen (S. 318-320).

Medieval conceptions of creaturality may be reduced to two distinct positions. The first, by far hegemonic within medieval history, can be tracked down to Paul (1 Cor, 13, 12) and especially Augustine. It states that creatures mantain a vestigium Dei, which must be actively researched – but this research eventually leads to discard creatures, which are seen as simple tools and not as something that can be sought in itself. Indeed, they are nothing in themselves, being pure outcomes of God’s will. The second position, essentially represented by Bonaventure, considers on the contrary creatures as essentially capable to be perfect theophanic places of God’s self-manifestation. Videre in speculo means to see God in creatures, which in turn leads to the admission of the possibility to reach the state of beatitudo already in this life – though it is a special privilege granted only to extremely selected chosen ones, such as Francis of Assisi.

The myth of creation of the world in the Timaeus is a typical example of dianoia or dianoetic thought as Plato characterized it in the Republic. The article takes into account three Christian texts of the 12th century:  Rupert of Deutz, Thierry of Chartres and  Peter Abelard. It tries to show that this medieval thinkers were well aware of the limits of dianoetical thought  on  creation and tried to overcome them.

Wśród niebywale już obszernej literatury dotyczącej idei inspirujących powstanie nauki w jej nowożytnym kształcie coraz częściej mówi się o poważnej, jeśli nie zasadniczej, roli żydowskiej i chrześcijańskiej koncepcji Stworzenia. Pomijając pewne skrajne rozwiązania, trudno nie dostrzec racji dla takiego postawienia sprawy. Wybierając nawet opcję minimum, że myśl chrześcijańska w żadnym stopniu nie przyczyniła się do ukształtowania nauki nowożytnej, to i tak trzeba by powiedzieć, iż wiara w stworzoność świata uchroniła chrześcijaństwo i wraz z nim całą kulturę europejską przed zatopieniem się we wschodnim mistycyzmie i gnozie już w starożytności. Mistycyzująca pogarda dla świata i materii będącej principium zła doprowadziła w okresie hellenistycznym do upadku nauki greckiej 1. Tymczasem słowa z księgi Genesis: "A widział Bóg, że wszystko było dobre" przypominały stale chrześcijanom, nawet tym, którzy mówili de contemptu mundi, że świat i materia, jakkolwiek dotknięte przez grzech, są ostatecznie dobre, bo stworzone z miłości przez Boga. Co więcej, świat ten został stworzony zgodnie z pewnym planem, zgodnie z mądrością Bożą: według miary, liczby i wagi 2. Zatem piękno i harmonia tego świata są śladem stwarzającego Boga. Posługując się rozumem można ze stworzeń poznać Stwórcę: Jego istnienie i Jego przymioty. * UWAGA: Tekst został zrekonstruowany przy pomocy środków automatycznych; możliwe są więc pewne błędy, których sygnalizacja jest mile widziana ([email protected]). Tekst elektroniczny posiada odrębną numerację stron.

Medieval conceptions of creaturality may be reduced to two distinct positions. The first, by far hegemonic within medieval history, can be tracked down to Paul (1 Cor, 13, 12) and especially Augustine. It states that creatures mantain a vestigium Dei, which must be actively researched – but this research eventually leads to discard creatures, which are seen as simple tools and not as something that can be sought in itself. Indeed, they are nothing in themselves, being pure outcomes of God’s will. The second position, essentially represented by Bonaventure, considers on the contrary creatures as essentially capable to be perfect theophanic places of God’s self-manifestation. Videre in speculo means to see God in creatures, which in turn leads to the admission of the possibility to reach the state of beatitudo already in this life – though it is a special privilege granted only to extremely selected chosen ones, such as Francis of Assisi.