Peter Lombard’s Four Books of the Sentences
Medieval 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 in southern Italy in 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 conquest of Rome in 410 leading to the fall of the western Roman empire in 476. This led to a gradual shift in the centres of intellectual life from the Mediterranean world to the northern European world of the emperors 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 (742–814).
The Carolingian Renaissance
Under Charlemagne, a concerted effort was directed toward renewing the life of the mind within the church. Perhaps the most important figure in this theological renewal was Alcuin (735–804), who had trained at the cathedral school of York before becoming its master. At Charlemagne’s invitation, Alcuin became abbot of the monastery of St. Martin of Tours, which he established as a leading centre of learning. A series of imperial decrees established two kinds of theological schools throughout northern Europe. First, there were the monastic schools, which were intended primarily for the instruction of those intending to proceed to monastic vocations. Second, there were cathedral schools, set up by the bishop and presided over by a magister scholarum or scholasticus. One of the results of the Carolingian renaissance was the recognition of the importance of monasteries and cathedrals as seats of learning. The great monastery of Fulda, founded in Germany in 744, became one of the most significant centres of theological and secular learning in the region. Rabanus Maurus, Walafried Strabo, Servatus Lupus, and Otfried of Weissenburg studied there in the eighth and ninth centuries.
In the end, the Carolingian renaissance faltered, due to growing political instability and economic uncertainties. Yet the institutions identified by Charlemagne as central to the tasks of theological education remained and were able to play a critical role in bringing about the theological renaissance of the twelfth century. We shall consider this development in what follows.
The Rise of Cathedral and Monastic Schools of Theology
The origins of the monastic movement are generally thought to lie in remote hilly areas of Egypt and parts of eastern Syria during the patristic period. Significant numbers of Christians began to make their homes in these regions, in order to get away from the population centers, with all the distractions that these offered. The theme of withdrawal from a sinful and distracting world became of central importance to these communities. While some lone figures insisted on the need for individual isolation, the concept of a communal life in isolation from the world gained the ascendancy.
During the sixth century, the number of monasteries grew considerably. It was during this period that one of the most comprehensive monastic “Rules” – the “Rule of Benedict” – made its appearance. Benedict of Nursia (c.480–c.550) established his monastery at Monte Cassino at some point around 525. The Benedictine community followed a rule that was dominated by the notion of the unconditional following of Christ, sustained by regular corporate and private prayer, and the reading of Scripture. Benedict’s sister, Scholastica, was also active in the monastic movement.
Although the origins of the monasteries is to be traced back to the patristic era, they played a critical role in the development of theology during the medieval period. Most of the great medieval schools of theology are associated with France. One of the most important was linked to the great cathedral of Chartres. Under the leadership of Fulbert (c.960–1028), bishop of Chartres from 1006 until his death in 1028, Chartres became one of the most important centers of theological learning in the eleventh century. The Benedictine Abbey of Bec, or Le Bec, in Normandy provided a base for two of the most important theologians of the eleventh century – Lanfranc (c.1010–1089) and Anselm (c.1033–1109).
The great convents of the Middle Ages provided bases for women writers to exercise a significant influence on the thinking of the church. A good example is provided by Hildegard of Bingen (1098–1179), Abbess of Rupertsberg, near the city of Bingen, who established a reputation as a theological and spiritual writer of considerable originality. She is best known for her Liber Divinorum Operum (“Book of Divine Works”), which was written over the period 1163–1173. Catherine of Siena (1347–1380), remembered for a series of theological writings, often in the form of dialogues, was a Dominican tertiary (that is a layperson who observed a modified version of the Dominican rule).
Not all women theological writers of the Middle Ages were based in convents, however. The English recluse Julian of Norwich (c.1342–c.1415), remembered for her Revelations of Divine Love, appears to have led a solitary life. Mechthild of Magdeburg (c.1210?–c.1282) is widely celebrated as one of the most important women spiritual writers of the thirteenth century. She is best known for her Flowing Light of the Godhead, which includes her visionary experiences, as well as letters of advice and criticism, allegories, reflections, and prayers. Mechthild was a beguine – that is, a woman with a religious vocation who was not bound by vows, did not live in an enclosed community, and did not totally renounce the possibility of marriage.
The great 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 calibre of Peter Abelard during its heyday. The Royal Abbey of St. Victor, founded in Paris in the twelfth century, became one of the most important centres 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, Peter Lombard, Andrew of St. Victor, and Richard of St. Victor.
The rise of importance of these schools is linked with another development, to which we now turn – the emergence of distinctive styles of theology, linked with specific religious orders.
The Religious Orders and Their “Schools of Theology”
The Middle Ages witnessed the founding of several major new religious orders. In 1097, 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). By the dawn of the fourteenth century, it is estimated that some 600 Cistercian monasteries or convents had come into being.
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 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 “Grey Friars,” on account of the dark grey 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, which distinguished it from others.
The importance of these distinctive schools of theology is evident throughout this period and continued into the sixteenth century. It is impossible to understand the development of the theological ideas of Martin Luther (originally an Augustinian friar) or the theological debates at the Council of Trent without having some knowledge of these schools.
However, it is important to appreciate that not all theologians of the Middle Ages fit neatly into the categories of monastic theology. The rise of European universities led to the emergence of a new kind of theologian – the “secular master” who taught theology at universities such as Paris and London. We shall consider the importance of the rise of these universities in the next section.
The Founding of the Universities
The restoration of some degree of political stability in France in the late eleventh century encouraged the reemergence 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 la 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 for theological and philosophical study, including among its students such prominent individuals as Erasmus of Rotterdam and John Calvin. 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 (1079–1142), 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.
Peter Lombard’s Four Books of the Sentences
The medieval period was characterised by its attempts to accumulate biblical and patristic material considered to be relevant to particular issues of theological interpretation and by its attempt to develop hermeneutical methods to resolve the apparent contradictions encountered in this process. These collections of patristic “sentences” appear to have been modelled upon the codifications of the canonists, who initially grouped their collected decretals chronologically and later according to subjects. Prosper of Aquitaine’s Liber sententiarum ex operibus Augustini (“Book of Sentences from the Works of Augustine”) is as an early example of this phenomenon, dating from the first half of the fifth century. These collections of patristic “sentences” were largely drawn from the works of Augustine. As we shall see, the most famous of these became a standard medieval theological textbook.
At some point shortly before 1140, Peter Lombard arrived at the University of Paris to teach in its Faculty of Theology. One of his primary concerns was to get his students to wrestle with the thorny issues of theology. His contribution was a textbook – Sententiarum libri quattuor (“Four Books of the Sentences”) – bringing together quotations from Scripture and the patristic writers, arranged topically. The work has often been styled an “Augustinian breviary,” in that roughly four-fifths of its text is taken up by a thousand citations from Augustine. The task Peter set his students was simple: to construct their own understanding of theology that 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 of the inconsistencies.
Some writers attempted to have this book banned, noting its occasional incautious statements (such as the opinion that Christ did not exist as a person, a view that came to be known as “Christological nihilism”). However, by 1215 the work was firmly established as the most important theological textbook of its 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.