Reason and Belief in the Age of Roscelin and Abelard

by Constant J. Mews

Overview

The previous collection by Constant J. Mews focused on the work and thought of Peter Abelard (1079-1142); the present volume looks more broadly at Abelard's intellectual and religious context in the Latin West, and at his teacher, the controversial nominalist philosopher and theologian, Roscelin of Compiègne. It opens with surveys of educational theory and practice in the 12th-century schools. Mews next explores the widespread movement in the period which sought to explain religious belief in terms accessible to reason, and the background to accusations of heresy made by monks troubled by new attempts to interpret Christian belief, both within and outside a school environment. Five related studies then deal with previously unedited texts by Roscelin of Compiègne and St Anselm that throw new light on the importance of the philosopher and theologian who exercised a major influence on Peter Abelard.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781040250792
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	10/28/2024
Series:	Variorum Collected Studies
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	352
File size:	905 KB

Table of Contents

Contents: Introduction; Orality, literacy and authority in the 12th-century schools; Philosophy and theology 1100-1150: the search for harmony; An excerpt from Guibert of Nogent’s Monodiae (III, 17) as an appendage to the De haeresibus of Augustine; In search of a name and its significance: a 12th-century anecdote about Thierry and Peter Abaelard; La bibliothèque du Paraclet du XIIIe siècle à la Révolution; St Anselm and Roscelin: some new texts and their implications, I. The De incarnatione verbi and the Disputatio inter Christianum et Gentilem; Nominalism and theology before Abaelard: new light on Roscelin of Compiègne; St Anselm, Roscelin and the See of Beauvais; The Trinitarian doctrine of Roscelin of Compiègne and its influence: 12th-century nominalism and theology re-considered; St Anselm and Roscelin of Compiègne: some new texts and their implications, II. A vocalist essay on the Trinity and intellectual debate, c.1080-1120; Index.

Editorial Reviews

'... the whole collection provides nuanced glimpses into various aspects of twelfth-century thought, careful analyses of a range of theological texts, and, cumulatively, a significant reappraisal of early nominalism... a useful resource...' Parergon

From the Publisher