Theological Landmarks in Western Europe
Theological Landmarks in Western Europe
Historians have debated for some time the question of when the “Middle Ages” can be said to have begun. The answers given to this question depend, as might be expected, on matters of definition. The practically simultaneous suppression of the Athenian Platonic Academy and the establishment of the great monastery at Monte Cassino around the year 529 are regarded by many as marking, although not in themselves causing, the transition from late antiquity to the medieval period. For some, the medieval period is regarded as having been initiated through Alaric's (370–410) conquest of Rome in 410, with the resulting gradual shift in the centers of intellectual life from the Mediterranean world to the northern European world of Theodoric and Charlemagne, and later to the abbey and cathedral schools of France and the universities of Paris and Oxford. We may therefore begin our brief survey of the development of western medieval theology by considering the revival of its fortunes under the first Holy Roman Emperor, Charlemagne.
The Rise of Medieval Schools of Theology
Under Charlemagne, a concerted effort was directed toward renewing the life of the mind within the church. A series of imperial decrees established two kinds of theological schools throughout northern Europe: monastic schools (intended primarily for the instruction of those intending to proceed to monastic vocations) and cathedral schools (set up by the bishop for broader educational purposes). Monasteries and cathedrals became seats of learning and would retain this important role as centers of theological research and education until the rise of the universities in the thirteenth century.
The cathedral of Laon, northwest of Paris, became the site of a very significant school of theology under Anselm of Laon (died 1117), attracting scholars of the caliber of Peter Abelard (1079–1142) during its heyday. The Royal Abbey of St. Victor, founded in Paris in the twelfth century, became one of the most important centers of theological education and was of major importance in shaping the theological curriculum at the fledgling University of Paris. Among its twelfth-century luminaries we may note Hugh of St. Victor (c.1096–1141), Peter Lombard (c.1100–60), Andrew of St. Victor (died 1175), and Richard of St. Victor (died 1173).
The great convents of the Middle Ages provided bases from which women writers could exercise a significant influence on the thinking of the church. Hildegard of Bingen (1098–1179), abbess of Rupertsberg, established a reputation as a theological and spiritual writer of considerable originality. She is best known for her Book of Divine Works, written over the period 1163–73.
The rise in importance of these monastic and cathedral schools is associated with another development: the emergence of distinctive styles of theology, linked with specific religious orders. The Middle Ages witnessed the founding of several major new religious orders. In 1098, the Cistercian order was founded at Cîteaux, in the middle of the wild countryside around the River Saône. One of the most noted Cistercian leaders was the great spiritual writer and preacher Bernard of Clairvaux (1090–1153). It is estimated that, by the dawn of the fourteenth century, some six hundred Cistercian monasteries or convents had come into being.
Figure 2.1 The ancient monastery of Fulda, founded in 744.
Source: imagebroker / Alamy.
Two other major orders were founded more than a century later: the Franciscans and Dominicans. The Franciscans were founded by Francis of Assisi (c.1181–1226), who renounced a life of wealth to live a life of prayer and poverty. He was joined by Clare of Assisi, formerly a noblewoman, who founded the order of “Poor Clares.” The Franciscans were often referred to as “Gray Friars” on account of the dark gray habits they wore. The order was distinguished by its emphasis on individual and corporate poverty.
The Dominicans (sometimes referred to as “Black Friars” on account of their black mantle worn over a white habit) were founded by the Spanish priest Dominic de Guzman (1170–1221), with a particular emphasis on education. By the end of the Middle Ages, the Dominicans had established houses in most major European cities and made a significant contribution to the intellectual life of the church.
From the standpoint of the development of theology, it is important to appreciate that distinct schools of theology came to be associated with monastic orders. Not all religious orders regarded academic theology as being of importance. The Cistercians, for example, placed a particular emphasis on spirituality, rather than more academic forms of theology. Three religious orders may be noted as having had a particularly significant impact on the shaping of medieval theology. In each case, a distinctive style of theology developed within the order and distinguished it from the others.
The Founding of the Universities
The restoration of some degree of political stability in France in the late eleventh century encouraged the re-emergence of the University of Paris, which rapidly became recognized as the intellectual center of Europe. A number of theological “schools” were established on the Left Bank of the Seine, and on the Ile de la Cité, in the shadow of the newly built cathedral of Notre Dame de Paris.
One such school was the Collège de Sorbonne, which eventually achieved such fame that “the Sorbonne” came to be a shorthand way of referring to the University of Paris as a whole. Even in the sixteenth century, Paris was widely recognized as a leading center of theological and philosophical study, including among its students such prominent individuals as Erasmus of Rotterdam (1466–1536) and John Calvin (1509–64). Other such centers of study were soon established elsewhere in Europe. A new program of theological development began, concerned with consolidating the intellectual, legal, and spiritual aspects of the life of the Christian church.
The University of Paris soon established itself as a leading center of theological speculation, with such scholars as Peter Abelard, Albert the Great, Thomas Aquinas, and Bonaventure. Initially, the most significant rival to Paris was the University of Oxford, in England. However, the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries witnessed a considerable expansion of the university sector in western Europe, with major new universities being founded in Germany and elsewhere.
A Theological Textbook: The Four Books of the Sentences
Theological education needs educators – and textbooks. The most influential textbook of the medieval period was Peter Lombard's Four Books of the Sentences, which was widely used for four hundred years. At some point around 1140, Peter Lombard began to teach at the University of Paris. One of his primary concerns was to get his students to wrestle with the thorny issues of theology. His contribution was his textbook. This work was basically a collection of quotations from Scripture and the patristic writers, arranged topically.
The task Peter set his students was simple: to construct a theology which was able to reconcile the various quotations he had assembled. The book proved to be of major importance in developing the Augustinian heritage, in that students were obliged to wrestle with the ideas of Augustine and reconcile apparently contradictory texts by devising suitable theological explanations for the inconsistencies (see p. 34).
By 1215 the work was firmly established as the most important textbook of the age. It became obligatory for theologians to study and comment on Lombard's work. The resulting writings, known as “Commentaries on the Sentences,” became one of the most familiar theological genres of the Middle Ages. Outstanding examples include those of Thomas Aquinas, Bonaventure, and Duns Scotus. The work was still used in the sixteenth century, and was even annotated by Martin Luther (1483–1546).
“Cathedrals of the Mind”: Scholasticism
Scholasticism derives its name from the great medieval schools (Latin: scholae) in which the classic questions of theology and philosophy were debated. It is best understood as the medieval theological movement, flourishing in the period 1200–1500, which placed emphasis upon the rational justification of religious belief and the systematic presentation of those beliefs. “Scholasticism” thus does not refer to a specific system of beliefs but to a particular way of doing and organizing theology. The comprehensiveness of scholastic theological systems led the French philosopher and historian of philosophy Étienne Gilson (1884–1978) to draw an analogy with the great cathedrals of the Middle Ages. Scholasticism, he declared, was a “cathedral of the mind,” showing order, complexity, and beauty.
Scholasticism may be argued to have made major contributions in a number of key areas of Christian theology, especially in relation to the discussion of the role of reason and logic in theology. The writings of Thomas Aquinas, Duns Scotus, and William of Ockham – often singled out as the three most influential of all scholastic writers – made highly significant contributions to this area of theology, and have served as landmarks ever since. Pope Leo XIII (1810–1903) gave added weight to Aquinas's status in 1879, through his encyclical letter Aeterni Patris (“Eternal Father”), which endorsed Aquinas as a model for theological education and reflection.
The Italian Renaissance and the Rise of Humanism
The French term “Renaissance” is now universally used to designate the literary and artistic revival which took place primarily in Italy during the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. A central theme of the Italian Renaissance was a return to the cultural glories of ancient Greece and Rome. The Latin slogan ad fontes (“back to the original sources”) was a pithy summary of the movement's aims – to bypass the Middle Ages and engage directly with the thought and culture of the classical age. The classical period was to be both a resource and a norm for the Renaissance. In art and architecture, as in the written and spoken word, antiquity was seen as a cultural resource which could be appropriated by the Renaissance.
The term “humanism” was widely used at the time to refer to this cultural program. Although the term “humanism” later came to designate a worldview which denies the existence or relevance of God, or which is committed to a purely secular outlook, this was certainly not what the word meant at the time of the Renaissance. Most humanists of the period were religious and were concerned with purifying and renewing Christianity, rather than eliminating it. This process of regeneration would take place by returning to the fountainheads of western thought.
The Renaissance had a major influence on Christian theology. The key to the future of the church did not lie in scholastic theology but in a direct engagement with the text of Scripture and the writings of the patristic period. The humanist program was about returning to the wellspring and source of modern western culture in the ancient world, allowing these classical ideas and values to refresh and renew that culture. Christian humanists argued for a return to the simplicities of the New Testament, bypassing the complex theological programs of the Middle Ages. But this renewal of Christian theology would be on the basis of the original Greek text of the New Testament, not the medieval Vulgate Latin translation.
The Vulgate was a Latin translation of the Bible widely used in the Middle Ages. The Renaissance led to a demand for theologians to be competent in Hebrew and Greek, not merely Latin. One of the most significant theological developments associated with the rise of humanism is the increased questioning of the reliability of the Vulgate text. If this translation proved unreliable, in the light of an increased understanding of the Greek and Hebrew languages and an increased recognition of the importance of studying the Bible in those original languages, what of the theological ideas that might be dependent on such faulty translations? We shall return to this point later in this chapter (pp. 36–7).
Having thus far concentrated on western Europe, we must now turn to consider some of the important developments that took place in eastern Europe during this period.