360 66 9MB
English Pages 547 [548] Year 2021
BIBLIOTHECA VICTORINA XXIX
BIBLIOTHECA VICTORINA subsidia ad historiam canonicorum regularium investigandam
edenda curaverunt Patrick Gautier Dalché * Cédric Giraud * Luc Jocqué * Dominique Poirel
XXIX
OMNIUM EXPETENDORUM PRIMA EST SAPIENTIA STUDIES ON VICTORINE THOUGHT AND INFLUENCE
H F
BIBLIOTHECA VICTORINA XXIX
OMNIUM EXPETENDORUM PRIMA EST SAPIENTIA STUDIES ON VICTORINE THOUGHT AND INFLUENCE
Edited by Dominique Poirel and Marcin Jan Janecki in collaboration with Wanda Bajor and Michał Buraczewski
2021
F
The book is a part of the project funded by the Ministry of Education and Science, Republic of Poland, “Regional Initiative of Excellence” in 2019-2022, 028/RID/2018/19, amount of funding: 11 742 500 PLN
© 2021 Brepols Publishers n.v., Turnhout, Belgium All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher.
D/2021/0095/240 ISBN 978-2-503-59650-1 e-ISBN 978-2-503-59654-9 DOI 10.1484/M.BV-EB.5.125575 ISSN 1251-6929 e-ISSN 2565-9294 Printed in the EU on acid-free paper.
Table of contents Abbreviations
9
An international revival of Victorine studies. Introduction to the volume Dominique Poirel11 Un renouveau international des études victorines. Introduction au volume Dominique Poirel21 PART I MAGISTER HUGO John Scottus Eriugena and Hugh of Saint Victor : Readers of the Book of Nature and the Book of Scripture Agnieszka Kijewska33 Causa omnium homo. Ugo di San Vittore e la nuova antropologia : fra monaci e canonici sulle due rive del Reno Marco Rainini63 L’école de Saint-Victor, l’humanisme et la « Renaissance du xiie siècle » : autour du livre I du De vanitate rerum mundanarum d’Hugues de Saint-Victor Cédric Giraud95 Non quaerat extra se, qui haec propter se facta credit. Hugh of SaintVictor’s Pedagogy Ineke van ’t Spijker
115
L’amour selon Hugues de Saint-Victor : la nature comme voie vers le salut Pascaline Mercury127 PART II DISCIPLES Richard’s Trinitarian Argument in De Trinitate : An Analytic Overview Dennis Bray145 Andrew’s in hebreo Interpretations as a Fuller Version of Some Notes in Hugh’s Commentary on the Octateuch, Samuel, and Kings Montse Leyra-Curia167
6
Table of contents
The date of Andrew of Saint Victor’s commentaries on the Prophets, and the curious case of MS Mazarine Frans van Liere
185
Scripture and Liturgy, an Exclusive Means to Understand the Church Andrea Pistoia199 « Speculator castrorum Dei ». Philosophy and Theology in Godfrey of St Victor’s Sermons Antonio Sordillo215 Les sermons in generali capitulo d’Absalon de Saint-Victor : réflexions sur la prédication victorine de la fin du xiie siècle Marguerite Vernet227 Radices et plantationes theologicae facultatis hic Parisius. The Biblical Principia of Pierre Leduc and Henri le Boulangier and the Victorine Tradition during the Great Schism Chris Schabel245 PART III INFLUENCES An English Response to Victorine thought : Odo’s Ysagoge in theologiam Constant J. Mews329 Il pensiero vittorino e le origini della letteratura romanza : il caso dei trovatori Mira Mocan343 Masters, Mystics, & Ministers in the Medieval City Boyd Taylor Coolman357 Der mystische Abstieg von der Kontemplation in die Aktion nach Hugo, Achard und Richard von St. Viktor und dessen franziskanische Rezeption im langen 13. Jahrhundert Jonas Narchi375 La influencia de Ricardo de San Víctor en la noción de persona de Duns Escoto Gloria Silvana Elías
413
Table of contents
7
Saint-Victor et le Carmel : le cas de Thomas de Jésus (1563-1627) Marcin Jan Janecki423 Victorina polonica : présences victorines dans la culture intellectuelle de la Pologne au Moyen Âge et aujourd’hui Wanda Bajor et Marcin Jan Janecki443 Appendice : La philosophie de l’être d’après le Beniamin Maior de Richard de Saint-Victor Mieczysław Gogacz471 ÉPILOGUE Qu’est-ce que Saint-Victor ? Dominique Poirel487 Index codicum
531
Index nominum et operum
534
ABBREVIATIONS CCCM CCSL CSEL PL
Corpus Christianorum, Continuatio Mediaeualis Corpus Christianorum, Series Latina Corpus Scriptorum Ecclesiasticorum Latinorum Patrologia latina, ed. Jacques-Paul Migne
An international revival of Victorine studies Introduction to the volume Dominique Poirel
In France, Belgium, Germany, the United States, Italy, Poland and elsewhere, Victorine studies has experienced a revival for several years now. The Parisian abbey of St Victor, founded at the beginning of the twelfth century by William of Champeaux, showcased first by Hugh of St Victor and then by a host of renowned masters – Richard, Achard, Andrew, Godfrey, Thomas Gallus, to mention only the most significant – has actually never ceased to be honoured by medievalists. Historians of religious life know that the Parisian abbey of Saint-Victor and the European network it formed in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries represent an original contribution to the Gregorian Reformation, a canonical rather than a monastic one, based on the Rule of Saint Augustine, associating a contemplative life of study and prayer with an active life of teaching and pastoral work1. Historians of the schools and of knowledge know that Hugh’s Didascalicon, Richard’s Liber exceptionum, and Godfrey’s Microcosmus and Fons philosophiae promoted – in the face of the Cistercian rejection of worldly curiosities or of the hegemony of logic – the ideal of an encyclopaedic and humanist formation, one which gave a place to all the arts, even the mechanical ones, within a rational and all-encompassing philosophy2 ; that they made remarkable contributions to history, geography, as 1 Jean Châtillon, Le mouvement canonial au Moyen Âge, réforme de l’Église, spiritua lité et culture, études réunies par Patrice Sicard, Paris – Turnhout : Brepols, 1992 (Bibliotheca Victorina, 3). 2 Concerning these texts, see lastly my studies : « Reading and Educating Oneself in the 12th : Hugh of Saint-Victor’s Didascalicon », in A Companion to Twelfth-Century Schools, ed. Cédric Giraud, Leiden – Boston : Brill, 2020, p. 113-140 ; « Tene fontem et totum habes :
Omnium expetendorum prima est sapientia. Studies on Victorine thought and influence, ed. by Wanda Bajor, Michał Buraczewski, Marcin Jan Janecki and Dominique Poirel, BV, 29 (Turnhout, 2021), p. 11–30. © BREPOLSPUBLISHERS DOI 10.1484/M.BV-EB.5.126029
12
Dominique Poirel
well as to grammar and the pronunciation of Latin3 ; and that in the prologue to his Chronicon, Hugh provided a thought-provoking and influential reflection on the art of memory4. Historians of manuscripts and libraries know that St Victor was a major centre for the production and preservation of books in the Middle Ages and beyond, so much so that Rabelais used « la librairie de Sainct Victor fort magnificque » as the burlesque exemplar of the medieval library, and that still in the eighteenth century Michel de Marolles declared : « la [bibliothèque] Victorine est noble, où plusieurs sont fonduës5 ». Historians of biblical exegesis know that Hugh’s and Andrew’s theoretical writings and their commentaries on Scripture, nourished as they were by rabbinical sources, were at the root of a return in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries to a methodical interpretation of Scripture according to the historical sense, which prefigures modern scientific exegesis in certain respects6. Historians of theology know what a debt Peter Lombard, l’unité du Didascalicon de Hugues de Saint-Victor », in Universitas scolarium. Mélanges offerts à Jacques Verger, ed. Cédric Giraud – Martin Morard, Genève : Droz, 2011, p. 293-328 ; and on another hand : Godefroid de Saint-Victor. Œuvres, t. 1 : Microcosmus, ed., translated and with notes by Françoise Gasparri, with the collaboration of Jean Grosfillier and Patrice Sicard, L’Œuvre de Godefroid de Saint-Victor, t. 1 : Le Microcosme (Microcosmus), Turnhout : Brepols, 2020 (Sous la Règle de saint Augustin, 16). 3 See Isabelle Guyot-Bachy, Le Memoriale historiarum de Jean de Saint-Victor. Un histo rien et sa communauté au début du xive siècle, Turnhout : Brepols, 2000 (Bibliotheca Victorina, 12) ; Patrick Gautier Dalché, La « Descriptio mappe mundi » de Hugues de Saint-Victor. Texte inédit avec introduction et commentaire, Paris : Institut d’Études augustiniennes, 1988 ; Luc Jocqué – Dominique Poirel, « De Donat à Saint-Victor : un De accentibus inédit », in La tradition vive, Mélanges d’histoire des textes en l’honneur de Louis Holtz gathered by Pierre L ardet, Turnhout : Brepols, 2003 (Bibliologia, 20), p. 161-192. 4 Mary J. Carruthers, The Book of Memory. A Study of Memory in Medieval Culture, Cambridge : Cambridge University Press, 1990. 5 Patricia Stirnemann, « La production manuscrite de Saint-Victor 1140-1155 », in L’abbaye parisienne de Saint-Victor au Moyen Âge. Communications présentées au XIIIe Colloque d’Humanisme médiéval de Paris (1986-1988), ed. Jean Longère, Paris – Turnhout : Brepols, 1991 (Bibliotheca Victorina, 1), p. 140-141 ; Ead., « Où ont été fabriqués les livres de la Glose ordinaire dans la première moitié du xiie siècle », in Le xiie siècle. Mutations et renouveaux en France dans la première moitié du xiie siècle, Paris : Éditions du Léopard d’Or, 1994, p. 257-301 (Cahiers du Léopard d’Or, 3) ; Ead., « Gilbert de la Porrée et les livres glosés à Laon, à Chartres et à Paris », in Monde médiéval et société chartraine. Actes du colloque [Chartres, 8-10 septembre 1994], Paris : Picard, 1997, p. 83-96. ; Gilbert Ouy, Les manuscrits de l’abbaye de Saint-Victor. Catalogue établi sur la base du répertoire de Claude de Grandrue (1514), 2 vol., Paris – Turnhout : Brepols, 1999 (Bibliotheca Victorina, 10) ; Actes du colloque : La bibliothèque de Saint-Victor et les gens de savoir (xiiexviiie siècles), dir. Isabelle Guyot-Bachy, in Cahiers de recherche médiévale. A Journal of Medieval Studies, t. 17, 2009, p. 209-226 ; Dominique Poirel, « Une bibliothèque médiévale : la ‘librairie fort magnificque’ de Saint-Victor », in L’idée des bibliothèques à l’âge classique, ed. Jean-Marc Châtelain, numéro spécial de la revue Littératures classiques, t. 66, automne 2008, p. 27-38. 6 See Gilbert Dahan, L’exégèse chrétienne de la Bible en Occident médiéval, xiie-xive siècle, Paris : Cerf, 1999 (Patrimoines, christianisme) ; Rainer Berndt, André de Saint-Victor († 1175)
An international revival of Victorine studies
13
Bonaventure, John Gerson, and so many others owed to both Hugh’s and Richard’s theses on the Trinity, the central place of man in the universe, Christology, the sacraments, contemplation, not forgetting the revival of Dionysian studies thanks to the commentaries of Hugh and Thomas, and the constitution of theology into a structured body of knowledge beginning with Hugh’s De sacramentis, perhaps the first true summa of medieval theology7. Historians of spirituality know that in the company of monastic writers – especially Cistercians such as Bernard of Clairvaux, William of Saint-Thierry and Aelred of Rievaulx – the Victorines Hugh, Richard and Thomas Gallus initiated an evangelical, psychological, and affective as much as speculative turning point in the history of religious feeling, and that they also made a very influential theoretical contribution to the discipline of speech and behaviour8. Historians of Romanesque literature know that the principal masters of St Victor, Hugh and Richard in particular, served as a bridge between the two literatures, Latin and the vernacular, the regular and the secular, to promote certain common themes such as the sense of wonder before nature or the joys of amorous ecstasy9. Historians of liturgy, music and poetry know that Adam of St Victor’s proses and sequences can be counted among the
exégète et théologien, Paris – Turnhout : Brepols, 1991 (Bibliotheca Victorina, 2) ; more recently, Montse Leyra-Curia, In Hebreo. The Victorine Exegesis in the Light of Its Northern-French J ewish Sources, Turnhout : Brepols, 2017 (Bibliotheca Victorina, 26). 7 See Grundriss der Geschichte der Philosophie, begründet von Friedriech Ueberweg. Die Philosophie im Mittelalter. Band 3/1-2 : Das 12. Jahrhundert, ed. Laurent Cesalli – Ruedi Imbach – Alain de Libera et al., Basel : Schwabe Verlag, 2021 ; La naissance de la théologie comme science. Colloque organisé à Paris les 23-25 septembre 2019, proceedings in course of publication by Olivier Boulnois – Philippe Hoffmann – Claude Lafleur – Jean-Marc Narbonne, Paris : Les Belles Lettres. On the role of Hugh of St Victor in Dionysian studies, see our book : Des sym boles et des anges. Hugues de Saint-Victor et le réveil dionysien du xiie siècle, Turnhout : Brepols, 2013 (Bibliotheca Victorina, 23) ; and also : Declan Lawell, « Thomas Gallus’s method as Dionysian commentator : a study of the Glose super Angelica Ierarchia (1224), with consideration on the Ex positio librorum beati Dionysii », in Archives d’histoire doctrinale et littéraire du Moyen Âge, t. 76, 2009/1, p. 89-117. 8 On the spiritual anthropology of the Victorines, see Csaba Németh, ‘Quasi aurora con surgens’. The Victorine theological anthropology and its decline, Turnhout : Brepols, 2020 (Bibliotheca Victorina, 27). See also the new edition of Richard’s De contemplatione, with translation, introduction and notes : Richard de Saint-Victor, Œuvres, t. 1 : De contemplatione (Beniamin maior), ed. Jean Grosfillier, Turnhout : Brepols, 2014 (Sous la Règle de saint Augustin, 13) ; Carla Casagrande – Silvana Vecchio, I peccati della Lingua, Disciplina ed etica della parola nella cultura medievale, Roma : Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana, 1987 ; Jean-Claude Schmitt, La raison des gestes dans l’Occident médiéval, Paris : Gallimard, 1990 (Bibliothèque des histoires). 9 Les écoles de pensée du xiie siècle et la littérature romane (oc et oïl), ed. Valérie Fasseur – Jean-René Valette, Turnhout : Brepols, 2016 (Bibliothèque d’histoire culturelle du Moyen Âge, 17).
14
Dominique Poirel
genre’s masterpieces10. Art historians know that Hugh of St Victor, in his writings on the Ark, is the basis of a medieval tradition of « visual exegesis » and that Victorine thought, fertilised by the symbolic theology of Pseudo-Dionysius, is credited with having played an important role, along with Abbot Suger, in the blossoming of the new Gothic architecture beginning with Saint-Denis11. Indeed, all this is known by specialists in any one of these disciplines. At the same time, however, Master Hugh and his disciples are far from enjoying the kind of recognition accorded to figures such as Peter Abelard, Bernard of Clairvaux or Thomas Aquinas in general culture. While the Victorines enjoyed a considerable reputation in their time – as attested to by the large number of manuscripts by Hugh and Richard, whose inventory Patrice Sicard has substantially completed – studies on St Victor, especially on Victorine thought, have for a long time remained the preserve of a small number of fortunate scholars12. We must no doubt blame the rigidity of our modern institutional and disciplinary divisions, which find it difficult to take into consideration what is strictly speaking neither philosophy, nor literature, nor history, but something which decompartmentalises all of these disciplines and a few others too in order to steer its merry course between them. It is all the more comforting to see the acceleration, in recent years, of a movement that began a few decades ago and first manifested itself in the multiplication of series specialising in editions or studies of the Parisian abbey of St Victor. The first of its kind, Bibliotheca Victorina. Subsidia ad historiam canonicorum regularium investigandam, is the very series that hosts this volume. Published by Brepols in Turnhout, it has since its inception in 1992 published no less than twenty-nine volumes, mainly devoted to historical and doctrinal studies on St Victor of Paris and its masters, without counting works dealing more broadly 10 Margot Fassler, Gothic Song. Victorine sequences and Augustinian reform in twelfthcentury Paris, Cambridge : Cambridge University Press, 1993 ; Jean Grosfillier, Les séquences d’Adam de Saint-Victor, Turnhout : Brepols, 2008 (Bibliotheca Victorina, 20). 11 Patrice Sicard, Diagrammes médiévaux et exégèse visuelle. Le Libellus de formatione arche de Hugues de Saint-Victor, Paris – Turnhout : Brepols, 1993 (Bibliotheca Victorina, 4) ; Jean Wirth, L’image à l’époque romane, Paris : Cerf, 1999 (Histoire) ; Id., L’image à l’époque gothique (1140-1280), Paris : Cerf, 2008 (Cerf Histoire) ; L’abbé Suger, le manifeste gothique de SaintDenis et la pensée, ed. Dominique Poirel, Turnhout : Brepols, 2001 (Rencontres médiévales européennes, 1). 12 Patrice Sicard, Iter Victorinum : la tradition manuscrite des œuvres de Hugues et de Richard de Saint-Victor, Turnhout : Brepols, 2015 (Bibliotheca Victorina, 24) ; completes and corrects the two books of Rudolf Goy, Die Überlieferung der Werke Hugos von St Viktor. Ein Beitrag zur Kom munikationsgeschichte des Mittelalters, Stuttgart : Hiersemann, 1976 ; Rudolf Goy, Die Hand schriftliche Überlieferung der Werke Richard von St Viktor im Mittelalter, Turnhout : Brepols, 2005 (Bibliotheca Victorina, 18).
An international revival of Victorine studies
15
with the canonical world both in the Middle Ages and in the modern era13. Its younger sister series from the same publisher launched in 1994, Sous la Règle de saint Augustin, boasts sixteen volumes, new editions and French translations of Victorine texts (especially Hugh, Richard, Godfrey and John of St Victor)14. Also published by Brepols is the series Hugonis de Sancto Victore opera within the Corpus Christianorum, Continuatio Mediaevalis series, in which critical editions of Hugh of St Victor’s work are being prepared in accordance with the most exacting of editorial principles : eight Hugonian works in six volumes have appeared since 200115. Although institutionally independent, through their co-directors these three series or sub-series maintain close links with the Institut de Recherche et d’Histoire des Textes (Paris – Aubervilliers), a C.N.R.S. laboratory specialising in the manuscript history of ancient and medieval works16. On the other side of the Rhine, the Corpus Victorinum, a series produced by the Hugo von Sankt Viktor – Institut in Frankfurt, has published a total of thirteen volumes since 2005, including mimetic transcriptions, known as « Textus historici », and studies or « Instrumenta » of works or subjects concerning the Parisian abbey of St Victor and its authors17. Finally, in the United States, a committee of specialists of St Victor is undertaking the publication in a series of thematic volumes of translations, introductions and annotations in English of the most important texts of the school of St Victor, whether from the perspective of their influence or the particular interest they present : nine volumes have already been published since 201018. In addition to these specialised series, a growing number of international meetings have been organised over the past years. The first volume of the Bibliotheca Victorina collection is itself the result of these « colloques d’humanisme médiéval », founded in Paris by the Dominican Philippe-Martin Hubert († 1976). From 1986, little before the death of Jean Châtillon († 1988) to whom Victorine studies owe so much, a series of such scholarly conferences devoted to « The Parisian Abbey of St Victor in the Middle Ages » took place over a period of two years with the proceedings published by Jean Longère, a specialist in medieval preaching as well as editor of Pierre de Poitiers (the Victorine) and Richard of 13
http://www.brepols.net/Pages/BrowseBySeries.aspx?TreeSeries=SRSA. http://www.brepols.net/Pages/BrowseBySeries.aspx?TreeSeries=BV. 15 See https://www.corpuschristianorum.org/cccm-hugo-de-sancto-victore. 16 On this research centre, see most recently : 80 ans de l’Institut de recherche et d’histoire des textes. Actes de la journée d’étude du 4 mai 2018, ed. François Bougard – Michel Zink, Paris : Académie des inscriptions et belles-lettres, 2019. 17 See https://www.sankt-georgen.de/hugo/publikationen/corpus%20victorinum.php. 18 On the series Victorine Texts in Translation, see http://www.brepols.net/Pages/BrowseBy�Series.aspx?TreeSeries=VTT. 14
16
Dominique Poirel
St Victor19. Twenty years later, an international colloquium of the C.N.R.S. was held in the recently renovated Collège des Bernardins to commemorate the nine hundredth anniversary of the foundation of the abbey of St Victor, a few dozen metres away, on the Montagne Sainte-Geneviève20. Other conferences were held too : in Mainz in 2004 on « The Bible and exegesis in the Abbey of Saint-Victor in Paris » at the instigation of the Hugo von Sankt Viktor-Institut21 ; in Todi in 2010 on « Hugh of St Victor » at the invitation of the Centro Italiano di Studi sul Basso Medioevo, the Accademia Tudertina and the Centro di studi sulla spiritualità medievale22 ; and in Pisa in 2019, on « Victorine culture and medieval literature », at the initiative of the Scuola Normale Superiore of Pisa23. Finally, in September 2020, an international conference was to be held at the John Paul II Catholic University in Lublin on « The Parisian school of Saint Victor in the Middle Ages : an Europe-wide thought ». Although the COVID-19 pandemic prevented the conference from being held as planned, it did not prevent a fruitful exchange of texts and ideas. Indeed, instead of a three-day physical meeting in the same place, the six months that followed were filled with discussions and discoveries, the latter fuelled by a solitude conducive to intellectual work, and the former by the need to compensate for such solitude and to come into contact with other researchers, albeit by means of computer screens. * * * This book is the outcome of this recent fermentation process. Its subject is Victorine thought, considered in terms of some of its most characteristic themes : reflection on nature, man, the Trinity, Victorine humanism, biblical exegesis, preaching, liturgy, the contemplative life, spiritual love… It would have been 19 Jean Longère, L’abbaye parisienne de Saint-Victor au Moyen Âge. Communications présen tées au XIIIe Colloque d’Humanisme médiéval de Paris (1986-1988), Paris – Turnhout : Brepols, 1991 (Bibliotheca Victorina, 1). 20 L’école de Saint-Victor. Influence et rayonnement du Moyen Âge à l’époque moderne. Colloque international du C.N.R.S. pour le neuvième centenaire de la fondation (1108-2008), ed. Dominique Poirel, Turnhout : Brepols, 2002 (Bibliotheca Victorina, 22). 21 Bibel und Exegese in der Abtei Saint-Victor zu Paris. Form und Funktion eines Grundtextes im europäischen Rahmen, ed. Rainer Berndt, Münster i. W. : Aschendorff, 2010 (Corpus Victorinum, Instrumenta, 3). 22 Ugo di San Vittore. Atti del XLVII Convegno storico internazionale, Todi, 10-12 ottobre 2010, Spoleto : Fondazione Centro italiano di studi sull’alto Medioevo, 2011. 23 La cultura dei Vittorini et la letteratura medioevale. Convegno internazionale, 23-25 gen náio 2019, Sala Azzurra, Palazzo della Carovana, Scuola Normale Superiore, Pisa. Proceedings to be published by Corrado Bologna – Carlo Zacchetti, see https://www.sns.it/it/evento/ cultura-dei-vittorini-letteratura-medievale.
An international revival of Victorine studies
17
possible to organise the volume in many different ways. It did not take long, however, for the articles to naturally align under three headings : one on Hugh of St Victor, a second on the other Victorine authors, and the last on their influence beyond St Victor. Despite the inevitable overlaps between these three sections, the structure adopted shows eloquently that although the school of St Victor blossomed at first through the one person who was in many respects and much more so than William of Champeaux the chief source of its intellectual tradition, Master Hugh, the Parisian abbey’s admiration for its origins never stifled its zeal for extending and developing this heritage. Perhaps the whole Victorine genius lies in this : the synthesis proposed by Master Hugh was so flexible and universal that his successors never needed to defend positions in the way that a soldier defends his trench, instead, they were able to set off on an adventure along paths merely cleared by Hugh, in order to survey them more methodically, without betrayal or repetition, while respecting the initial balance between all the fields of reality, knowledge and the interior life. In the first part, devoted to « Master Hugh » († 1141), Agnieszka Kijewska (« John Scottus Eriugena and Hugh of Saint Victor : Readers of the Book of Nature and the Book of Scripture », p. 33-62) compares his thinking with that of his ninth-century predecessor, Eriugena, on the theme of the two books, nature and Scripture, and the multi-layered exegesis required of the reader by both of them in order to access its deeper meaning, namely to make manifest the mystery of God. Marco Rainini (« Causa omnium homo. Ugo di San Vittore e la nuova antropologia : fra monaci e canonici sulle due rive del Reno », p. 63-93) then compares Hugh of St Victor to various Germanic authors of his time such as Honorius Augustodunensis, Rupert of Deutz, Conrad of Hirsau, Hildegard of Bingen, Boton of Prüfening, Werner of Saint-Blaise : all of whom are agreed about not seeing in man a spare angel, according to the old paradigm, but, on the contrary, the centre of the universe and the heart of the divine project of creation. Cédric Giraud (« L’école de Saint-Victor, l’humanisme et la ‘Renaissance du xiie siècle’ : autour du livre I du De vanitate rerum mundanarum d’Hugues de Saint-Victor », p. 95-113), editor of this text, studies how in Hugh’s work the theme of contempt for the world coexists with the « humanism of the twelfth century » and even, paradoxically, participates in it. Leafing through his main works, Ineke van ’t Spijker (« Non quaerat extra se, qui haec propter se facta credit. Hugh of Saint-Victor’s Pedagogy », p. 115-126) shows how, taken all together, they converge towards the same goal : to instruct the reader to know himself and to cure himself of his ills by reconciling interiority and exteriority, knowledge and affectivity. Finally, Pascaline Mercury (« L’amour selon Hugues de Saint-Victor : la nature comme voie vers le salut », p. 127-142) studies the theme of love, which is at the centre of De arrha animae, and the way in which
18
Dominique Poirel
the soul can rely on the natural love it has of itself in order to ascend by stages to divine charity. The second part is devoted to the « disciples », that is to say, to the Victorine authors who deepen, each in his own way, one or other of the original intuitions of Hugh of St Victor. Dennis Bray (« Richard’s Trinitarian Argument in De Trinitate : An Analytic Overview », p. 145-166) shows how Richard’s De Trinitate († 1172/3), often read for its theological propositions, deserves to be formally examined also in the structure of its argumentation. Montse LeyraCuria (« Andrew’s in hebreo Interpretations as a Fuller Version of Some Notes in Hugh’s Commentary on the Octateuch », p. 167-184) then compares the biblical scholar Andrew of St Victor († 1175) with his elder Hugh, both adopting similar exegeses, supported on both sides by recourse to the Hebrew text, to the Hebrew language or to contemporary Jews, and concludes that Andrew had access to richer material (reportatio of Hugh’s lessons ?) than the Notae preserved. Frans van Liere, another Andrew specialist and the editor of many of his works, (« The date of Andrew of Saint Victor’s commentaries on the Prophets, and the curious case of MS Mazarine », p. 185-197), relies on the way his biblical commentaries are distributed between manuscripts to refine their dating and to highlight the high regard in which Andrew holds Jerome. Andrea Pistoia (« Scripture and Liturgy, an Exclusive Means to Understand the Church », p. 199-213) focuses on an anonymous and probably Victorine text, the Speculum Ecclesiae of PseudoHugh, which can be dated to the third quarter of the twelfth century and which is transmitted in about a hundred manuscripts, demonstrating how this treatise on the liturgy as well as exegesis takes up Hugonian themes in order to transmit, like Hugh, a synthetic introduction to what is the heart of the canonical vocation. Antonio Sordillo (« Speculator castrorum Dei ». Philosophy and Theology in Godfrey of St Victor’s Sermons, p. 215-225) devoted his doctoral dissertation to the critical edition of the thirty-two sermons of Godfrey of St Victor († after 1194) and he shows here how his pastoral aims are closely based on an encyclopaedic conception of knowledge inherited from Hugh. Marguerite Vernet (« Les sermons in generali capitulo d’Absalon de Saint-Victor : réflexions sur la prédication victorine de la fin du xiie siècle », p. 227-243) focuses on another Victorine preacher, Absalon, abbot of Springiersbach († c. 1196/1203), and on the doctrine of the Church that he transmits in the fifty-one sermons of his which have been preserved. Finally, Chris Schabel (« Radices et plantationes theologicae faculta tis hic Parisius. The Biblical Principia of Pierre Leduc and Henri le Boulangier and the Victorine Tradition during the Great Schism », p. 245-326) introduces two hitherto unpublished late Victorines, Pierre Leduc, abbot of Saint-Victor († 1400), and Henri le Boulangier, master regent in 1409-1410 († 1419). Their biblical Principia, for which he provides the princeps edition, are full of references to
An international revival of Victorine studies
19
their twelfth-century elders, in a typically Victorine attitude of both pride in their origins and openness to the innovations of the time. Inevitably Hugh, Richard and Achard too, reappear in the third part of this volume, one devoted to the influence of Victorine authors beyond their abbey. Constant J. Mews (« An English Response to Victorine Thought : Odo’s Ysagoge in theologiam », p. 329-341) focuses on the Ysagoge in theologiam that a certain Odo addressed to Gilbert Foliot in the middle of the twelfth century, reconciling the teachings of Hugh of St Victor with those of Peter Abelard. Mira Mocan (« Il pensiero vittorino e le origini della letteratura romanza : il caso dei trovatori », p. 343-356), who has worked on Dante and the presence of Victorine theology in the Divina commedia, tries to understand why Victorine thought was so influential on the courtly lyricism of the troubadours : the valorisation of encyclopaedic knowledge, of the experience of love, of the beauty of creation, and also of the art of writing. Boyd Taylor Coolman (« Masters, Mystics, & Ministers in the Medieval City », p. 357-373) explores the reasons for the creation of a Victorine-Franciscan tradition, one in which exists the constant search for a balance between these three dimensions of Christian life, orthodoxy, orthopathy, and orthopraxy, i.e., the quest for rectitude in doctrinal speculation, in loving contemplation, and in moral action. Jonas Narchi (« Der mystische Abstieg von der Kontemplation in die Aktion nach Hugo, Achard und Richard von St Viktor und dessen franziskanische Rezeption im langen 13. Jahrhundert », p. 375-412) examines how, following their Trinitarian and Christological doctrine, the Victorines Hugh, Achard and Richard transmitted, via Thomas Gallus, to the Franciscans Anthony of Padua, Bonaventure and Rudolf of Biberach, the idea that the contemplative ascent to God must be continued by an active descent to men. Gloria Silvana Elías (« La influencia de Ricardo de San Víctor en la noción de persona de Duns Escoto », p. 413-422) studies how John Duns Scotus takes up the original definition of the person forged by Richard of St Victor and insists on its doubly incommunicable character. Marcin J. Janecki (« Saint-Victor et le Carmel : le cas de Thomas de Jésus (1563-1627) », p. 423-442) shows to what extent this second-generation Discalced Carmelite depends both literally and doctrinally on the Victorine masters in his effort to synthesise the doctrine of St Teresa of Avila and rethink the founding charism of his order. Finally, Wanda Bajor and Marcin J. Janecki (« Victorina polonica : présences victorines dans la culture intellectuelle de la Pologne au Moyen Âge et aujourd’hui », p. 443-470) provide a panoramic overview of the various ways in which Victorine thought has influenced Polish culture : the foundation of a Victorine priory in Wkryujście (Ueckermünde) in Western Pomerania ; the presence of manuscripts of spiritual texts by Hugh and Richard in contemporary Polish collections ; quotations from the Victorines among Kraków scholars of the fourteenth to sixteenth centuries ;
20
Dominique Poirel
the revival of Victorine studies at the Jagiellonian University in Kraków and at the Catholic University of Lublin. Indeed, it was in the latter that the idea for the present volume was born, in order to make manifest the international revival of Victorine studies. In addition, a summary is provided of Mieczysław Gogacz’s dissertation, defended in 1957 at the Catholic University of Lublin on « The philosophy of being in Richard of St Victor’s Beniamin Maior » (p. 471-483). According to the author, in his De contemplatione Richard elaborated a complete theory of contemplation which breaks with the earlier Neoplatonism and allows for a new way of thinking about the relationship between mysticism and metaphysics. A more general study on Saint-Victor is included as an epilogue to the volume (Dominique Poirel, « Qu’est-ce que Saint-Victor ? », p. 487-511), in an attempt to express what defines the Parisian school and abbey. If at first sight it is difficult to formulate what distinguishes Saint-Victor from other similar places, it is precisely because the Parisian abbey endeavours, on various levels, to unite what elsewhere is separate, if not opposed. The institution is a school as well as an abbey ; the Victorine programme combines secular knowledge with sacred science ; and the Victorine way of life reconciles the contemplation of a monk with the pastoral activity of a cleric. This identity in tension, this constant effort to integrate everything and despise nothing (« noli contemnere minima haec » as Hugh wrote several times), may well explain the appeal of the Victorine ideal today. It is in the same spirit that the twenty studies gathered here, bringing together the cultures of many countries (Argentina, Australia, Cyprus, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Romania, Spain, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the United States), have been written in five languages, mainly English and French, but also Italian, German and Spanish. It seemed important to us to preserve the polyphonic character of research on Saint-Victor. Similarly, alongside the works of long-standing specialists, the reader will find those of young researchers, selected for their ability to produce qualitative, first-hand research from the original sources. Reading them provides a positive confirmation that research on Saint-Victor has a bright future ahead of it.
Un renouveau international des études victorines Introduction au volume Dominique Poirel
En France, en Belgique, en Allemagne, aux États-Unis, en Italie, en Pologne et ailleurs, on observe depuis plusieurs années un renouveau international des études victorines. Certes, l’abbaye parisienne de Saint-Victor, fondée au début du xiie siècle par Guillaume de Champeaux, illustrée d’abord par Hugues de Saint-Victor, puis par une pléiade de maîtres réputés – Richard, Achard, André, Godefroid, Thomas Gallus, pour ne citer que les principaux – n’a jamais cessé d’être en honneur auprès des médiévistes. Ainsi, les historiens de la vie religieuse savent que l’abbaye parisienne de Saint-Victor et la fédération européenne qu’elle a formée aux xiie-xiiie siècles représentent une contribution originale à la Réforme grégorienne, non pas monastique mais canoniale, fondée sur la Règle de saint Augustin et associant la vie contemplative, par l’étude et la prière, à la vie active, par l’enseignement et la pastorale1. Les historiens des écoles et du savoir n’ignorent pas que le Didascalicon d’Hugues, le Liber exceptionum de Richard, le Microcosmus et le Fons philosophiae de Godefroid ont promu, face au rejet cistercien des curiosités mondaines ou à l’hyperspécialisation logicienne, l’idéal d’une formation encyclopédique et humaniste, qui accorde leur place à tous les arts, même mécaniques, à l’intérieur d’une philosophie rationnelle et complète2 ; qu’ils ont laissé des contributions remarquables en histoire, en 1
Jean Châtillon, Le mouvement canonial au Moyen Âge, réforme de l’Église, spiritualité et culture, études réunies par Patrice Sicard, Paris – Turnhout : Brepols, 1992 (Bibliotheca Victorina, 3). 2 Sur ces ouvrages, voir en dernier lieu nos articles « Reading and Educating Oneself in the 12th : Hugh of Saint-Victor’s Didascalicon », dans A Companion to Twelfth-Century Schools, éd. Cédric Giraud, Leiden – Boston : Brill, 2020, p. 113-140 ; « Tene fontem et totum habes : l’unité du Didascalicon de Hugues de Saint-Victor », dans Universitas scolarium. Mélanges offerts à Jacques Verger, ed. Cédric Giraud – Martin Morard, Genève : Droz, 2011, p. 293-328 ; et d’autre part, Godefroid de Saint-Victor. Œuvres, t. 1 : Microcosmus, éd., trad. et notes de Françoise
22
Dominique Poirel
géographie, comme en grammaire et sur la prononciation du latin3 ; qu’en prologue à son Chronicon, Hugues a procuré une réflexion suggestive et influente sur l’art de la mémoire4. Les historiens des manuscrits et des bibliothèques savent que Saint-Victor a été un centre majeur pour la production et la conservation de livres au Moyen Âge et au-delà, au point que Rabelais prend « la libraire de Sainct Victor for magnificque » comme type burlesque de bibliothèque médiévale et qu’au xviiie siècle encore Michel de Marolles déclare : « la [bibliothèque] Victorine est noble, où plusieurs sont fonduës5 ». Les historiens de l’exégèse biblique savent qu’Hugues et André, par leur écrits théoriques et leurs commentaires de l’Écriture, nourris de sources rabbiniques, sont à l’origine d’un retour des xiie-xiiie siècles vers une interprétation méthodique de l’Écriture selon le sens historique, qui préfigure à certains égards l’exégèse scientifique moderne6. Les historiens de la théologie Gasparri, avec la collaboration de Jean Grosfillier et Patrice Sicard, L’Œuvre de Godefroid de Saint-Victor, t. 1 : Le Microcosme (Microcosmus), Turnhout : Brepols, 2020 (Sous la Règle de saint Augustin, 16). 3 Voir Isabelle Guyot-Bachy, Le Memoriale historiarum de Jean de Saint-Victor. Un historien et sa communauté au début du xive siècle, Turnhout : Brepols, 2000 (Bibliotheca Victorina, 12) ; Patrick Gautier Dalché, La « Descriptio mappe mundi » de Hugues de Saint-Victor. Texte inédit avec introduction et commentaire, Paris : Institut d’Études augustiniennes, 1988 ; Luc Jocqué – Dominique Poirel, « De Donat à Saint-Victor : un De accentibus inédit », dans La tradition vive, Mélanges d’histoire des textes en l’honneur de Louis Holtz réunis par Pierre L ardet, Turnhout : Brepols, 2003 (Bibliologia, 20), p. 161-192. 4 Mary J. Carruthers, The Book of Memory. A Study of Memory in Medieval Culture, Cambridge : Cambridge University Press, 1990. 5 Patricia Stirnemann, « La production manuscrite de Saint-Victor 1140-1155 », dans L’abbaye parisienne de Saint-Victor au Moyen Âge. Communications présentées au XIIIe Colloque d’Humanisme médiéval de Paris (1986-1988), éd. Jean Longère, Paris – Turnhout : Brepols, 1991 (Bibliotheca Victorina, 1), p. 140-141 ; Ead., « Où ont été fabriqués les livres de la Glose ordinaire dans la première moitié du xiie siècle », dans Le xiie siècle. Mutations et renouveaux en France dans la première moitié du xiie siècle, Paris : Éditions du Léopard d’Or, 1994, p. 257-301 (Cahiers du Léopard d’Or, 3) ; Ead., « Gilbert de la Porrée et les livres glosés à Laon, à Chartres et à Paris », dans Monde médiéval et société chartraine. Actes du colloque [Chartres, 8-10 septembre 1994], Paris : Picard, 1997, p. 83-96. ; Gilbert Ouy, Les manuscrits de l’abbaye de Saint-Victor. Catalogue établi sur la base du répertoire de Claude de Grandrue (1514), 2 tomes, Paris – Turnhout : Brepols, 1999 (Bibliotheca Victorina, 10) ; Actes du colloque : La bibliothèque de Saint-Victor et les gens de savoir (xiie-xviiie siècles), dir. Isabelle Guyot-Bachy, paru dans les Cahiers de recherche médiévale. A Journal of Medieval Studies, t. 17, 2009, p. 209-226 ; Dominique Poirel, « Une bibliothèque médiévale : la ‘librairie fort magnificque’ de Saint-Victor », dans L’idée des bibliothèques à l’âge classique, éd. Jean-Marc Châtelain, numéro spécial de la revue Littératures classiques, t. 66, automne 2008, p. 27-38. 6 Voir Gilbert Dahan, L’exégèse chrétienne de la Bible en Occident médiéval, xiie-xive siècle, Paris : Cerf, 1999 (Patrimoines, christianisme) ; Rainer Berndt, André de Saint-Victor († 1175) exégète et théologien, Paris – Turnhout : Brepols, 1991 (Bibliotheca Victorina, 2) ; plus récemment, Montse Leyra-Curia, In Hebreo. The Victorine Exegesis in the Light of Its Northern-French J ewish Sources, Turnhout : Brepols, 2017 (Bibliotheca Victorina, 26).
Un renouveau international des études victorines
23
savent quelle dette Pierre Lombard, Bonaventure, Jean Gerson et tant d’autres ont contractée envers les thèses d’Hugues et de Richard, sur la Trinité, la place centrale de l’homme dans l’univers, la christologie, les sacrements, la contemplation, sur le réveil des études dionysiennes grâce aux commentaires d’Hugues et Thomas, sur la constitution de la théologie en un savoir structuré à partir du De sacramentis d’Hugues, peut-être la première vraie somme de théologie médiévale7. Les historiens de la spiritualité savent qu’en compagnie d’écrivains monastiques – cisterciens surtout comme Bernard de Clairvaux, Guillaume de Saint-Thierry et Aelred de Rievaulx – les victorins Hugues, Richard et Thomas Gallus sont à l’origine d’un tournant évangélique, psychologique, affectif et non moins spéculatif dans l’histoire du sentiment religieux, et qu’ils ont d’autre part apporté une contribution théorique très influente sur la discipline de la parole et du comportement8. Les historiens de la littérature romane savent que les principaux maîtres de Saint-Victor, Hugues et Richard notamment, ont servi de passerelle entre les deux littératures, la latine et la vernaculaire, la régulière et la séculière, pour promouvoir certains thèmes communs tels que l’émerveillement devant la nature ou les joies de l’extase amoureuse9. Les historiens de la liturgie, de la musique et de la poésie savent que les proses et séquences d’Adam de Saint-Victor comptent parmi les chefs d’œuvre du genre10. Les historiens de l’art savent qu’Hugues de Saint-Victor, dans ses traités 7
Voir Grundriss der Geschichte der Philosophie, begründet von Friedriech Ueberweg. Die Philosophie im Mittelalter. Band 3/1-2 : Das 12. Jahrhundert, éd. Laurent Cesalli – Ruedi Imbach – Alain de Libera et al., Basel : Schwabe Verlag, 2021 ; La naissance de la théologie comme science. Colloque organisé à Paris les 23-25 septembre 2019, actes en cours d’édition par Olivier Boulnois – Philippe Hoffmann – Claude Lafleur – Jean-Marc Narbonne, Paris : Les Belles Lettres. Sur le rôle d’Hugues de Saint-Victor dans les études dionysiennes, voir notre ouvrage Des symboles et des anges. Hugues de Saint-Victor et le réveil dionysien du xiie siècle, Turnhout : Brepols, 2013 (Bibliotheca Victorina, 23) ; Declan Lawell, « Thomas Gallus’s method as Dionysian commentator : a study of the Glose super Angelica Ierarchia (1224), with consideration on the Expositio librorum beati Dionysii », dans Archives d’histoire doctrinale et littéraire du Moyen Âge, t. 76, 2009/1, p. 89-117. 8 Sur l’anthropologie spirituelle des victorins, voir Csaba Németh, ‘Quasi aurora consurgens’. The Victorine theological anthropology and its decline, Turnhout : Brepols, 2020 (Bibliotheca Victorina, 27). Voir aussi l’édition nouvelle du De contemplatione de Richard, accompagnée de traduction, d’introduction et de notes : Richard de Saint-Victor, Œuvres, t. 1 : De contemplatione (Beniamin maior), éd. Jean Grosfillier, Turnhout : Brepols, 2014 (Sous la Règle de saint Augustin, 13) ; Carla Casagrande – Silvana Vecchio, I peccati della Lingua, Disciplina ed etica della parola nella cultura medievale, Roma : Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana, 1987 ; Jean-Claude Schmitt, La raison des gestes dans l’Occident médiéval, Paris : Gallimard, 1990 (Bibliothèque des histoires). 9 Les écoles de pensée du xiie siècle et la littérature romane (oc et oïl), éd. Valérie Fasseur – Jean-René Valette, Turnhout : Brepols, 2016. 10 Margot Fassler, Gothic Song. Victorine sequences and Augustinian reform in twelfthcentury Paris, Cambridge : Cambridge University Press, 1993 ; Jean Grosfillier, Les séquences
24
Dominique Poirel
sur l’arche, est à l’origine d’une tradition médiévale d’« exégèse visuelle » et que d’autre part la pensée victorine, fécondée par la théologie symbolique du pseudo-Denys, est créditée d’avoir joué un rôle, auprès de l’abbé Suger, dans l’éclosion d’une nouvelle architecture gothique à partir de Saint-Denis11. Tout cela, les spécialistes de l’une ou l’autre discipline le savent. Pourtant, il s’en faut de beaucoup que maître Hugues et ses disciples occupent dans la culture générale une place analogue à celle d’un Pierre Abélard, d’un Bernard de Clairvaux ou d’un Thomas d’Aquin. Alors que les victorins ont joui de leur temps d’une réputation considérable – l’atteste entre autres le nombre élevé de manuscrits d’Hugues et de Richard, dont Patrice Sicard a fortement complété le recensement – les études sur Saint-Victor, spécialement sur la pensée victorine, sont longtemps restées la chasse gardée d’un petit nombre d’heureux érudits12. Sans doute faut-il incriminer la raideur de nos modernes découpages institutionnels et disciplinaires, malhabiles à prendre en compte ce qui n’est à proprement parler ni de la philosophie, ni de la littérature, ni de l’histoire prises strictement, mais décloisonne toutes ces disciplines et quelques autres encore pour naviguer allégrement entre elles. Il n’en est que plus réconfortant de voir s’accélérer, depuis quelques années, un mouvement plus lent qui a commencé il y a quelques dizaines d’années et s’est manifesté d’abord par une multiplication de collections spécialisées dans l’édition ou l’étude de l’abbaye parisienne de Saint-Victor. La première du genre, Bibliotheca Victorina. Subsidia ad historiam canonicorum regularium investigandam, est celle qui accueille ce volume. Publiée par Brepols à Turnhout, elle a, depuis sa naissance en 1992, fait paraître 29 volumes, principalement consacrés aux études historiques et doctrinales sur Saint-Victor de Paris et ses maîtres, sans compter des travaux portant plus largement sur le monde canonial au Moyen Âge et dans les Temps modernes13. Sa sœur cadette chez le même éditeur, Sous la Règle de saint Augustin, a depuis 1994 publié 16 volumes, éditions nouvelles et traductions françaises de d’Adam de Saint-Victor, Turnhout : Brepols, 2008 (Bibliotheca Victorina, 20). 11 Patrice Sicard, Diagrammes médiévaux et exégèse visuelle. Le Libellus de formatione arche de Hugues de Saint-Victor, Paris – Turnhout : Brepols, 1993 (Bibliotheca Victorina, 4) ; Jean Wirth, L’image à l’époque romane, Paris : Cerf, 1999 (Histoire) ; Id., L’image à l’époque gothique (1140-1280), Paris : Cerf, 2008 (Cerf Histoire) ; L’abbé Suger, le manifeste gothique de SaintDenis et la pensée, éd. Dominique Poirel, Turnhout : Brepols, 2001 (Rencontres médiévales européennes, 1). 12 Patrice Sicard, Iter Victorinum : la tradition manuscrite des œuvres de Hugues et de Richard de Saint-Victor, Turnhout : Brepols, 2015 (Bibliotheca Victorina, 24) ; complète et corrige les deux ouvrages de Rudolf Goy, Die Überlieferung der Werke Hugos von St. Viktor. Ein Beitrag zur Kommunikationsgeschichte des Mittelalters, Stuttgart : Hiersemann, 1976 ; Rudolf Goy, Die Handschriftliche Überlieferung der Werke Richard von St. Viktor im Mittelalter, Turnhout : Brepols, 2005 (Bibliotheca Victorina, 18). 13 http://www.brepols.net/Pages/BrowseBySeries.aspx?TreeSeries=SRSA.
Un renouveau international des études victorines
25
textes victorins surtout (Hugues, Richard, Godefroid et Jean de Saint-Victor)14. C’est aussi chez l’éditeur Brepols que paraît la série Hugonis de Sancto Victore o pera du Corpus Christianorum, Continuatio Mediaevalis, où se préparent des éditions critiques d’Hugues de Saint-Victor selon les principes ecdotiques les plus exigeants : 8 ouvrages hugoniens en 6 volumes sont parus depuis 200115. Bien qu’indépendantes institutionnellement, ces trois collections ou sous-collection entretiennent par leurs co-directeurs des liens étroits avec l’Institut de Recherche et d’Histoire des Textes (Paris – Aubervilliers), laboratoire du C.N.R.S. spécialisé dans l’histoire manuscrite des œuvres antiques et médiévales16. De l’autre côté du Rhin, le Corpus Victorinum, collection du Hugo von Sankt Viktor – Institut à Francfort, publie chez Aschendorff à Münster des transcriptions mimétiques, dites « Textus historici », et des études ou « Instrumenta » d’œuvres ou de sujets concernant l’abbaye parisienne de Saint-Victor et ses auteurs : en tout 13 volumes depuis 200517. Enfin aux États-Unis un comité de spécialistes de Saint-Victor organise la publication, grâce à une série de volumes thématiques, de traductions, introductions et annotations en langue anglaise des textes les plus importants de l’école de Saint-Victor, par leur influence comme par leur intérêt propre : 9 tomes sont déjà parus depuis 201018. À ces collections spécialisées, il faut ajouter une multiplication de rencontres internationales. Le premier volume de la collection Bibliotheca Victorina est lui-même issu de ces « colloques d’humanisme médiéval », fondés à Paris par le dominicain Philippe-Martin Hubert († 1976). En 1986, soit deux ans avant la mort de Jean Châtillon, à qui les études victorines doivent tant, un cycle de ces conférences savantes avaient été consacrées sur deux années à « L’abbaye parisienne de Saint-Victor au Moyen Âge » : les actes en ont été publiés sous la direction de Jean Longère, spécialiste de la prédication médiévale en même temps qu’éditeur de Pierre de Poitiers victorin et de Richard de Saint-Victor19. Vingtdeux ans plus tard se tenait, dans le Collège des Bernardins récemment rénové, un colloque international du C.N.R.S. commémorant les neuf cents ans de la fondation de l’abbaye de Saint-Victor, à quelques dizaines de mètres de là, sur la 14
http://www.brepols.net/Pages/BrowseBySeries.aspx?TreeSeries=BV. https://www.corpuschristianorum.org/cccm-hugo-de-sancto-victore. 16 Sur ce centre de recherches, voir en dernier lieu : 80 ans de l’Institut de recherche et d’histoire des textes. Actes de la journée d’étude du 4 mai 2018, éd. François Bougard – Michel Zink, Paris : Académie des inscriptions et belles-lettres, 2019. 17 https://www.sankt-georgen.de/hugo/publikationen/corpus%20victorinum.php. 18 Sur la collection Victorine Texts in Translation, voir http://www.brepols.net/Pages/BrowseBySeries.aspx?TreeSeries=VTT. 19 Jean Longère, L’abbaye parisienne de Saint-Victor au Moyen Âge. Communications présentées au XIIIe Colloque d’Humanisme médiéval de Paris (1986-1988), Paris – Turnhout : Brepols, 1991 (Bibliotheca Victorina, 1). 15
Dominique Poirel
26
Montagne Sainte-Geneviève20. D’autres rencontres se sont tenues : à Mayence en 2004 sur « la Bible et l’exégèse dans l’abbaye Saint-Victor de Paris », à l’instigation du Hugo von Sankt Viktor-Institut21 ; à Todi en 2010 sur « Hugues de Saint-Victor », à l’invitation du Centro Italiano di Studi sul Basso Medioevo, de l’Accademia Tudertina et du Centro di studi sulla spiritualità medievale22 ; à Pise en 2019, sur « la culture des victorins et la littérature médiévale », à l’initiative de la Scuola Normale Superiore de Pise23. Enfin, en septembre 2020 devait se tenir à l’Université Catholique Jean-Paul II de Lublin un colloque international sur « L’école parisienne de Saint-Victor au Moyen Âge : une pensée à l’échelle de l’Europe ». La situation sanitaire mondiale n’a pas permis que le colloque se tînt comme prévu ; mais elle n’a pu empêcher l’échange des textes et des idées. Au contraire, à défaut d’une rencontre physique, pendant trois jours et dans le même lieu, les six mois qui ont suivi furent un temps de discussions et de découvertes, accélérées celles-ci par une solitude propice au travail intellectuel, celles-là par le besoin, en compensation, d’entrer en contact avec d’autres chercheurs, fût-ce par écrans interposés. *
* * Le présent livre est le fruit de ce récent bouillonnement. Il a pour sujet la pensée victorine, envisagée dans quelques-uns de ses thèmes les plus caractéristiques : la réflexion sur la nature, l’homme, la Trinité, l’humanisme victorin, l’exégèse biblique, la prédication, la liturgie, la vie contemplative, l’amour spirituel… Bien des manières d’organiser le volume auraient été possibles. Assez vite, cependant, les articles se sont comme d’eux-mêmes groupés en trois ensembles : l’un sur Hugues de Saint-Victor, un deuxième sur les autres auteurs victorins, le dernier sur leur influence hors de Saint-Victor. Bien sûr, entre ces trois parties les chevauchements sont inévitables ; toutefois, le plan retenu manifeste éloquemment que, si l’école 20
L’école de Saint-Victor. Influence et rayonnement du Moyen Âge à l’époque moderne. Colloque international du C.N.R.S. pour le neuvième centenaire de la fondation (1108-2008), éd. Dominique Poirel, Turnhout : Brepols, 2002 (Bibliotheca Victorina, 22). 21 Bibel und Exegese in der Abtei Saint-Victor zu Paris. Form und Funktion eines Grundtextes im europäischen Rahmen, éd. Rainer Berndt, Münster i. W. : Aschendorff, 2010 (Corpus Victorinum, Instrumenta, 3). 22 Ugo di San Vittore. Atti del XLVII Convegno storico internazionale, Todi, 10-12 ottobre 2010, Spoleto : Fondazione Centro italiano di studi sull’alto Medioevo, 2011. 23 La cultura dei Vittorini et la letteratura medioevale. Convegno internazionale, 23-25 gennáio 2019, Sala Azzurra, Palazzo della Carovana, Scuola Normale Superiore, Pisa. Actes en cours d’édition par Corrado Bologna – Carlo Zacchetti, voir https://www.sns.it/it/evento/ cultura-dei-vittorini-letteratura-medievale.
Un renouveau international des études victorines
27
de Saint-Victor se concentre d’abord dans une personne, Maître Hugues, à maint égard l’initiateur véritable, bien plus que Guillaume de Champeaux, de la tradition intellectuelle victorine, pour autant l’admiration des origines n’a jamais étouffé dans l’abbaye parisienne l’ardeur à prolonger et déployer l’héritage des origines. Peut-être même tout le génie victorin est-il là : si souple et universelle était la synthèse proposée par Maître Hugues que ses successeurs n’eurent jamais à défendre des positions, comme le soldat défend sa tranchée, mais à partir au contraire à l’aventure sur des voies qu’Hugues n’avait fait que défricher, pour les arpenter plus méthodiquement, sans trahison ni ressassement, dans le respect de l’équilibre initial entre tous les champs du réel, de la connaissance et de la vie intérieure. Dans la première partie, consacrée à « Maître Hugues » († 1141), Agnieszka Kijewska (« John Scottus Eriugena and Hugh of Saint Victor : Readers of the Book of Nature and the Book of Scripture », p. 33-62) compare sa pensée à celle son prédécesseur du ixe siècle, l’Érigène, sur le thème des deux livres, la nature et l’Écriture, et de l’exégèse à plusieurs niveaux qu’ils requièrent tous deux du lecteur pour que celui-ci accueille leur sens le plus profond, qui est de manifester le mystère de Dieu. Marco Rainini (« Causa omnium homo. Ugo di San Vittore e la nuova antropologia : fra monaci e canonici sulle due rive del Reno », p. 63-93) compare ensuite Hugues de Saint-Victor à divers auteurs germaniques de son temps tels qu’Honorius Augustodunensis, Rupert de Deutz, Conrad de Hirsau, Hildegarde de Bingen, Boton de Prüfening, Werner de Saint-Blaise : tous s’accordent à voir en l’homme, non pas un ange de rechange, selon l’ancien paradigme, mais au contraire le centre de l’univers et le cœur du projet divin de création. Cédric Giraud (« L’école de Saint-Victor, l’humanisme et la ‘Renaissance du xiie siècle’ : autour du livre I du De vanitate rerum mundanarum d’Hugues de Saint-Victor », p. 95-113), éditeur de ce texte, étudie comment le thème du mépris du monde coexiste chez Hugues avec l’« humanisme du xiie siècle » et même, paradoxalement, en participe. Feuilletant ses ouvrages principaux, Ineke van ’t Spijker (« Non quaerat extra se, qui haec propter se facta credit. Hugh of Saint-Victor’s Pedagogy », p. 115-126) montre comment, pris tous ensemble, ils convergent vers un même dessein : instruire le lecteur à se connaître et à se guérir lui-même de ses maux, en réconciliant intériorité et extériorité, connaissance et affectivité. Enfin Pascaline Mercury (« L’amour selon Hugues de Saint-Victor : la nature comme voie vers le salut », p. 127-142) étudie le thème de l’amour, au centre notamment du De arrha animae, et la manière dont l’âme peut s’appuyer sur l’amour naturel qu’elle a d’elle-même pour s’élever par étapes jusqu’à la divine charité. La seconde partie est consacrée aux « disciples », c’est-à-dire aux auteurs victorins qui approfondissent, chacun à sa manière propre, l’une ou l’autre des intuitions originelles d’Hugues de Saint-Victor. Dennis Bray (« Richard’s Trinitarian Argument in De Trinitate : An Analytic Overview », p. 145-166) montre
28
Dominique Poirel
comment le De Trinitate de Richard († 1172/3), souvent lu pour ses propositions théologiques, mérite d’être examiné formellement aussi dans sa structure argumentative. Montse Leyra-Curia (« Andrew’s in hebreo Interpretations as a Fuller Version of Some Notes in Hugh’s Commentary on the Octateuch », p. 167184) compare ensuite le bibliste André de Saint-Victor († 1175) à Hugues son aîné, lorsque tous deux adoptent des exégèses semblables, appuyées de part et d’autre sur un recours au texte hébreu, à la langue hébraïque ou à des juifs et conclut qu’André a eu accès à un matériau (reportatio des leçons d’Hugues ?) plus riche que les Notae conservées. Frans van Liere, autre spécialiste d’André dont il a édité plusieurs ouvrages (« The date of Andrew of Saint Victor’s commentaries on the Prophets, and the curious case of MS Mazarine », p. 185-197), s’appuie sur la façon dont ses commentaires bibliques se répartissent entre manuscrits pour affiner leur datation et mettre en lumière la haute place en laquelle André tient Jérôme. Andrea Pistoia (« Scripture and Liturgy, an Exclusive Means to Understand the Church », p. 199-213) s’intéresse à un texte anonyme et probablement victorin, le Speculum Ecclesiae du pseudo-Hugues, datable du troisième quart du xiie siècle et transmis par une centaine de manuscrits, et montre comment ce traité sur la liturgie, mais aussi sur l’exégèse, reprend à son compte des thèmes hugoniens pour transmettre, comme lui, une introduction synthétique à ce qui forme le cœur de la vocation canoniale. Antonio Sordillo (« Speculator castrorum Dei ». Philosophy and Theology in Godfrey of St Victor’s Sermons, p. 215-225) a consacré sa thèse de doctorat à l’édition critique des 32 sermons de Godefroid de Saint-Victor († après 1194) : il montre comment ses visées pastorales s’appuient étroitement sur une conception encyclopédique du savoir héritée d’Hugues. Marguerite Vernet (« Les sermons in generali capitulo d’Absalon de Saint-Victor : réflexions sur la prédication victorine de la fin du xiie siècle », p. 227-243) s’intéresse à un autre prédicateur victorin, Absalon, abbé de Springiersbach († v. 1196/1203) et à la doctrine sur l’Église qu’il transmet dans les 51 sermons conservés de lui. Enfin, Chris Schabel (« Radices et plantationes theologicae facultatis hic Parisius. The Biblical Principia of Pierre Leduc and Henri le Boulangier and the Victorine Tradition during the Great Schism », p. 245-326) fait connaître deux victorins tardifs, jusqu’alors inédits, Pierre Leduc, abbé de Saint-Victor († 1400) et Henri le Boulangier, maître régent en 1409-1410 († 1419) ; leurs Principia bibliques, dont il procure l’édition princeps, fourmillent de renvois à leurs aînés du xiie siècle, dans une attitude typiquement victorine de fierté des origines et d’ouverture aux innovations du temps. Comme c’est inévitable, Hugues, Richard mais aussi Achard reparaissent dans la troisième partie, consacrée à l’influence que les auteurs victorins ont exercée hors de leur abbaye. Constant J. Mews (« An English Response to Victorine thought : Odo’s Ysagoge in theologiam », p. 329-341) s’intéresse à l’Ysagoge in
Un renouveau international des études victorines
29
theologiam qu’un certain Eudes ou Odon adresse au milieu du xiie siècle à Gilbert Foliot, conciliant les enseignements d’Hugues de Saint-Victor avec ceux de Pierre Abélard. Mira Mocan (« Il pensiero vittorino e le origini della letteratura romanza : il caso dei trovatori », p. 343-356), qui a travaillé sur Dante et la présence de la théologie victorine dans la Divina commedia, cherche à comprendre pourquoi cette pensée fut si apte à influencer la lyrique courtoise des troubadours : valorisation d’un savoir encyclopédique, de l’expérience amoureuse, de la beauté de la création, et aussi de l’art d’écrire. Boyd Taylor Coolman (« Masters, Mystics, & Ministers in the Medieval City », p. 357-373) explore les raisons pour lesquelles s’est créée une tradition victorino-franciscaine, dans la constante recherche d’un équilibre entre ces trois dimensions de la vie chrétienne que sont l’orthodoxie, l’orthopathie et l’orthopraxie, c’est-à-dire la quête d’une rectitude dans la spéculation doctrinale, dans la contemplation amoureuse et dans l’action morale. Jonas Narchi (« Der mystische Abstieg von der Kontemplation in die Aktion nach Hugo, Achard und Richard von St. Viktor und dessen franziskanische Rezeption im langen 13. Jahrhundert », p. 375-412), examine comment, en dépendance de leur doctrine trinitaire et christologique, les victorins Hugues, Achard et Richard ont transmis via Thomas Gallus aux franciscains Antoine de Padoue, Bonaventure et Rudolf de Biberach cette idée que l’ascension contemplative vers Dieu doit se poursuivre par une descente active auprès des hommes. Gloria Silvana Elías (« La influencia de Ricardo de San Víctor en la noción de persona de Duns Escoto », p. 413-422) étudie comment Jean Duns Scot reprend à son compte la définition originale de la personne, forgée par Richard de Saint-Victor, en insistant sur son caractère doublement incommunicable. Marcin J. Janecki (« Saint-Victor et le Carmel : le cas de Thomas de Jésus (1563-1627) », p. 423-442) montre à quel point ce carme déchaux de la seconde génération dépend littéralement et doctrinalement des maîtres victorins dans son effort pour synthétiser la doctrine de sainte Thérèse d’Avila et repenser le charisme fondateur de son ordre. Enfin, Wanda Bajor et Marcin J. Janecki (« Victorina polonica : présences victorines dans la culture intellectuelle de la Pologne au Moyen Âge et aujourd’hui », p. 443470) brossent un tableau panoramique des diverses manières dont la pensée victorine a influencé la culture polonaise : fondation d’un prieuré victorin à Wkryujście (Ueckermünde) en Poméranie occidentale ; manuscrits spirituels d’Hugues et Richard dans les collections polonaises actuelles ; citations des victorins chez les savants cracoviens des xive-xvie siècles ; réveil des études victorines à l’Université Jagellonne de Cracovie et à l’Université catholique de Lublin : c’est dans celle-ci qu’est née l’idée du présent volume, comme manifestation d’un réveil international des études victorines. En complément, un résumé est donné de la thèse de Mieczysław Gogacz, soutenue en 1957 à l’Université catholique de Lublin sur « La philosophie de l’être dans le Beniamin Maior de Richard de Saint-Victor »
30
Dominique Poirel
(p. 471-483) ; pour cet auteur, Richard a construit dans son De contemplatione une théorie complète de la contemplation, qui rompt avec le néoplatonisme antérieur et permet de penser de façon neuve les rapports entre mystique et métaphysique. En guise d’épilogue au volume est jointe une étude plus générale sur Saint-Victor (Dominique Poirel, « Qu’est-ce que Saint-Victor ? », p. 487-511), pour tenter d’exprimer ce qui définit l’école et abbaye parisienne. Si à première vue il est difficile d’exprimer ce qui distingue Saint-Victor d’autres lieux analogues, c’est précisément parce que l’abbaye parisienne s’efforce, à divers niveaux, d’unir ce qui ailleurs est séparé, voire opposé : l’institution est une école en même temps qu’une abbaye ; le programme victorin allie les savoirs profanes à la science sacrée ; et l’état de vie victorin concilie la contemplation du moine à l’action pastorale du clerc. Cette identité en tension, ce constant effort pour tout intégrer et ne rien mépriser pourrait bien expliquer l’attrait de l’idéal victorin aujourd’hui. C’est dans le même esprit que les vingt études ici rassemblées, qui brassent les cultures de pays nombreux (Allemagne, Argentine, Australie, Chypre, Espagne, Etats-Unis, France, Italie, Pays-Bas, Pologne, Roumanie, Royaume-Uni, Suisse) ont été rédigées dans cinq langues : anglais et français principalement, mais aussi italien, allemand et espagnol : il nous semblait important de garder aux recherches sur Saint-Victor leur caractère polyphonique. De même, à côté de travaux de spécialistes de longue date, le lecteur trouvera ceux de jeunes chercheurs, retenus parmi d’autres pour leur aptitude à produire une recherche de qualité et de première main sur les sources originales. Les lire procure l’agréable confirmation que la recherche sur Saint-Victor a de beaux jours devant elle.
PART I Magister Hugo
John Scottus Eriugena and Hugh of Saint Victor : Readers of the Book of Nature and the Book of Scripture Agnieszka Kijewska
When I read Hugh of Saint Victor’s treatise De tribus diebus, including the well-known passage comparing the visible world to the book written with God’s finger, I was captivated. Therefore, I decided to change the subject of my paper and focus on this text, particularly with respect to the metaphors of the book of Scripture and book of Nature that were articulated so uniquely in the thought of John Scottus Eriugena and Hugh of Saint Victor. However, doubts came to me after some time : can anything more be written on the subject after the excellent works by Dominique Poirel or the overview article by Constantin Mews or Wanda Cizewski1 and many other authors ? Can a comparison of Nature to text be interpreted today as cliché, as Poirel suggests2, particularly given the now popular view that the vision of nature presented by modern science seems to be in a fundamental conflict with the view of the world presented in the Bible3 ? I am under an impression that a reading of these two metaphors – the book of the world and the book of Scripture – says something important and interesting about the thought 1
See Dominique Poirel, Livre de la nature et débat trinitaire au xiie siècle, Turnhout : Brepols, 2002 (Bibliotheca Victorina, 14), p. 261-263 (a bibliography of the topic) ; Constant J. Mews, « The World as Text : The Bible and the Book of Nature in the Twelfth-Century Theology », in Scripture and Pluralism. Reading the Bible in the Religiously Plural Worlds in the Middle Ages and Renaissance, ed. Thomas Heffernan – Thomas E. Burman, Boston – Leiden : Brill, 2005, p. 95-122 (especially p. 97-111) ; Wanda Cizewski, « Reading the World as Scripture : Hugh of St Victor’s ‘De tribus diebus’ », in Florilegium, t. 9, 1987, p. 65-88. 2 See Dominique Poirel, « Lire l’univers visible : le sens d’une métaphore chez Hugues de Saint Victor », in Revue des sciences philosophiques et théologiques, t. 95, 2012, p. 365. 3 See Andrew Janiak, « The Book of Nature, the Book of Scripture », in The New Atlantis, t. 44, 2015, p. 95. Omnium expetendorum prima est sapientia. Studies on Victorine thought and influence, ed. by Wanda Bajor, Michał Buraczewski, Marcin Jan Janecki and Dominique Poirel, BV, 29 (Turnhout, 2021), p. 33–62. © BREPOLSPUBLISHERS DOI 10.1484/M.BV-EB.5.126030
Agnieszka Kijewska
34
of medieval authors and about their peculiar, « sign-based » approach to created reality. Therefore, Willemien Otten states : While authority and reason, faith and understanding, and nature and grace are all prominent conceptual pairs for analyzing the theological culture of the Middle Ages, the importance of scripture and nature as a conceptual pair is more crucial. As the paradigmatic embodiment of how medieval thought strove to harmonize form and content, this latter pair underlies all of the former pairs by providing them with their material base4.
Therefore, perhaps it is worth examining these metaphors again to grasp the entire dynamism of this trend of medieval thought that Władysław Stróżewski described as « the metaphysics of sign and referent. » In this context, we might achieve a clearer view of the similarities and differences between authors whose thought we can articulate in this schema. In the text The Structure of Medieval Metaphysics, Stróżewski proposes a threefold typology (not logical division) of medieval metaphysics, distinguishing in it (1) the metaphysics of nature, represented by John Scottus Eriugena ; (2) the metaphysics of being, embodied within the system of Saint Thomas Aquinas and (3) the metaphysics of the sign and referent, which : is interested in the world seen as an object of adjudication, or as a symbol referring to something outside of it. In the first case, being is what you can judge and it is as much that as the way of adjudication allows […]. In the other case, being is what can itself be referred, as a symbol or sign, to another being, in particular to God5.
Hugh of Saint Victor’s and Bonaventure’s philosophy is contained in that current of thought, which starts with Fredegisus of Tours and ends with William Ockham, and all these currents treat the reality as a book which is written by the hand of God, and whose reading runs parallel to the reading of another God’s book – the Bible. Of particular importance here is the proper reading of these signs, and this requires a reader with a suitable attitude. Already at this point, one can clearly see the necessity of learning to read, to put each thing in the broader context of the book of Nature or the book of Scripture. Stróżewski writes : The thing that has meaning, therefore, owes it to something or someone outside of it. The other solution is equivalent to accepting the « sender » of the meaning, the sender who identifies himself with its creator, and at the same time the creator of the 4
See Willemien Otten, « Nature and Scripture : Demise of a Medieval Analogy », in Harvard Theological Review, t. 88/2, 1995, p. 260. 5 Władysław Stróżewski, « Struktura metafizyki średniowiecznej » [The Structure of Medieval Metaphysics], in Historia filozofii średniowiecznej [History of Medieval Philosophy], ed. Jan Legowicz, Warszawa : Państwowe Wydawnictwo Naukowe, 1979, p. 174-175.
John Scottus Eriugena and Hugh of Saint Victor
35
sensible thing itself. Creating is primarily, if not exclusively, giving meaning. Constitution of sense precedes, in fact, creation, for it already occurs in the inner life of the Trinity, where the Father recognizes himself in the Son as his most perfect image, and both unite through love in the Holy Spirit. In this way, cognition precedes, as it were, the created being. To be means to be known by God. To be known by God means to be known through his ideas6.
This « sign » approach to reality can be considered on both the ontological and epistemological level but these aspects inevitably coincide. In the ontological aspect, reality is recognized as a specific system of signs, established in the process of creatio ex nihilo by God the Creator and given to read. On the other hand, in the epistemological aspect, the subject reads these signs and articulates this reading in a specific language. Man, learning to read correctly the book of the world and articulating this reading in his cognition, participates in the creative work of God. This view was reflected in exemplarism formulated, in its classical form, by St Augustine. A new and fresh perspective was brought by the views of John Scottus Eriugena with his dynamic concept of reality as a hierarchy of natures, where human nature holds the central position. For Eriugena, the human reading of the book of the world is, in a sense, about creating all things in the human intellect because this is precisely the character of the human Cogito7. Nevertheless, I believe that his system can be properly read also in terms of the metaphysics of the sign. For Eriugena and Hugh of Saint Victor, the reading of the book of the world (Nature) should be complemented with the reading of the book of Scripture since both books are similar in character : both « texts » have the same Author (« sender ») who can be discovered through reading, and both are addressed to the same reader. What is more, the reading of these two texts is characterised by similar phases and intricacies. In this paper, I would like to focus, in the context of the sign-based structure book of Nature and book of Scripture, primarily on the reader of these books : What reading strategies should one use to grasp the meaning of both of these books most fully8 ? What is the relation between the reading of the book of Nature and the book of Scripture ? What does the reading process say about the man himself ? What is man’s position in relation to both of these books and what is it in relation to the One who is their Author ? 6
Ibid., p. 200. See Agnieszka Kijewska, « Human Mind as manifestation of God’s Mind in Eriugena’s philosophy », in Anuario Filosófico, t. 49/2, 2016, p. 364 f. 8 See Cizewski, « Reading the World », p. 70 ; « Contemplation of creatures is, indeed, comparable to the process of learning to read the scriptures, and requires a similar kind of skill in moving from the literal and external to the interior and spiritual ». 7
36
Agnieszka Kijewska I. Things and signs For this whole sensible world is a kind of book written by the finger of God, that is, created by divine power (virtus), and each creature is a kind of figure, not invented by human determination, but established by the divine will to manifest and in some way signify the invisible wisdom of God. However, just as when an unlettered person sees an open book and notices the shapes but does not recognize the letters, so stupid and carnal people, who are not aware of the things of God, see on the outside the beauty in these visible creatures, but they do not understand its meaning. On the other hand, a spiritual person can discern all things. When he considers externally the beauty of the work, he understands internally how wondrous is the wisdom of the Creator9.
This excerpt from Hugh of St Victor’s De tribus diebus treats the visible reality as a sign-text intended by God so that man reads through it the order of Divine Wisdom. In his works, John Scottus Eriugena similarly introduced the parallelism of the book of Nature and the book of Scripture, evoking the beautiful biblical metaphors. In his Homily on the Prologue of the Gospel of St John, he observed that the eternal Light manifests itself to the world in two ways : through Scripture and creation10, and in the Commentary to the Gospel of St John, he regarded to Scripture and creation as Christ’s sandal in which He leaves an imprint of His feet. John the Baptist, the Predecessor of Jesus, admitted that he was not worthy to untie the straps of that sandal, which means that he did not feel worthy of
9 Hugo de Sancto Victore, De tribus diebus, ed. Dominique Poirel, Turnhout : Brepols, 2002 (CCCM 177), p. 9-10 = PL 176, col. 814B : « Vniuersus enim mundus iste sensilis quasi quidam liber est scriptus digito Dei, hoc est uirtute diuina creatus, et singulae creaturae quasi figurae quaedam sunt, non humano placito inuentae, sed diuino arbitrio institutae ad manifestandam et quasi quodammodo significandam inuisibilem Dei sapientiam. Quemadmodum autem si illiteratus quis apertum librum videat, figuras aspicit, litteras non cognoscit, ita stultus et animalis homo qui non percipit ea quae Dei sunt, in uisibilibus istis creaturis foris uidet speciem, sed non intelligit rationem ; qui autem spiritualis est et omnia diiudicare potest, in eo quidem quod foris considerat pulcritudinem operis, intus concipit quam miranda sit sapientia creatoris ». See Hugh of St Victor, On the Three Days, 4.3, tr. Hugh Feiss, in Trinity and Creation. A Selection of Works of Hugh, Richard and Adam of St Victor, ed. Boyd T. Coolman – Dale M. Coulter, Turnhout : Brepols, 2010 (Victorine Texts in Translation, 1), p. 63-64. 10 Eriugena, Homilia super « In Principio erat Verbum », XI, ed. Édouard Jeauneau, Iohan nis Scotti seu Eriugenae Homilia super « In Principio erat Verbum » et Commentarius in Euange lium Iohannis, Turnhout : Brepols, 2008 (CCCM 166), p. 21 = PL 122, col. 289C : « Dupliciter ergo lux aeterna se ipsum mundo declarat, per scripturam udelicet et creaturam ». See Andrea Cavallini, La penna del pavone. Bibbia ed esegesi in Giovanni Scoto Eriugena, Roma : Editrice Città Nuova, 2016, p. 127-131.
John Scottus Eriugena and Hugh of Saint Victor
37
disentangling the subtleties of Scripture and creation11. In his Periphyseon, Eriugena states : And if Christ at the time of His Transfiguration wore two vestures white as snow, namely the letter of the Divine Oracles and the sensible appearance of visible things, why we should be encouraged diligently to touch the one in order to be worthy to find Him Whose vesture it is, and forbidden to inquire about the other, namely the visible creature, how and by what reason it is woven, I do not clearly see. For even Abraham knew God not through the letters of Scripture, which had not yet been composed, but by the revolutions of the stars12.
The Bible and Nature thus constitute a complex, elaborate sign structure that indeed points at the One who is their Author. Such a sign approach to the created reality, typical of medieval mentality, was also deeply rooted in ancient thought. At its source was both Plato’s Timaeus and Aristotelian rhetorical theory. The attention of Plato and his subsequent commentator Calcidius was centred on the description of the building of the material world by the demiurge – the father and cause of all things. The main task of philosophical reflection was, therefore, to discover and show the Creator of everything, starting from the reflection on the created reality : « but it is evident that things that come to be have their particular maker. Now, the difficulty of finding the craftsman and parent of the universe is matched only by the impossibility of making any utterance worthy of him after having found him13 ». The Aristotelian theory of signs showed how, starting with the perception of signs, to draw conclusions about a thing or event based on association and 11 Eriugena, Commentarius in Euangelium Iohannis, I, ed. Jeauneau, ibid., p. 65 = PL 122, col. 307AB : « Potest etiam per calciamentum Christi uisibilis creatura et sancta scriptura significari ; in his enim uestigia sua ueluti pedes suos infigit […]. Quorum omnium (id est creaturae et litterae) corrigiam (hoc est subtilitatem) soluere indignum se praecursor existimat ». 12 Eriugena, Periphyseon, III, ed. Édouard Jeauneau, Iohannis Scotti seu Eriugenae Periphy seon, t. III, Turnhout : Brepols, 1999 (CCCM 163), p. 149 = PL 122, col. 723C-724A : « Et si duo uestimenta Christi sunt tempore transformationis ipsius candida sicut nix (diuinorum uidelicet eloquiorum littera et uisibilium rerum species sensibilis), cur iubemur unum uestimentum diligenter tangere, ut eum cuius uestimentum est mereamur inuenire, alterum uero (id est creaturam uisibilem) prohibemur inquirere et quomodo et quibus rationibus contextum sit, non satis uideo. Nam et Abraham non per litteras scripturae, quae nondum confecta fuerat, uerum conuersione siderum deum cognouit ». Tr. John J. O’Meara, Periphyseon (division of natures), Montreal – Washington : Dumbarton Oaks, 1987, p. 357. See Deirdre Carabine, John Scottus Eriugena, Oxford : Oxford University Press, 2000, p. 51. 13 See Calcidius, On Plato « Timaeus », ed. and tr. John Magee, Cambridge (Mass.) – London : Harvard University Press, 2016, p. 42-43 (28C) : « at vero ea quae fiunt habere auctorem suum constitit. Igitur opificem genitoremque universitatis tam invenire difficile quam inventum ipossibile digne proferi ».
Agnieszka Kijewska
38
self-evidence14 ; thus, a sign became a tool of inferencing from what is given about what is not immediately available. Thanks to the Latin rhetorical tradition (Cicero, Quintilian), this approach was taken over by Saint Augustine who wrote in De doctrina christiana15 : Now that I am discussing signs, I must say, conversely, that attention should not be paid to the fact that they exist, but rather to the fact that they are signs, or, in other words, that they signify. For a sign is a thing which of itself makes some other thing come to mind, besides the impression that it presents to the senses. So when we see a footprint we think that the animal whose footprint it is has passed by16.
In this excerpt, Augustine indicates what today is called the ontic structure of the sign itself, where one can distinguish formal content, by virtue of which a given thing is a sign, and the material content, which determines what the sign represents17. A symbol, which is a special kind of sign, should have two inalienable characteristics : (1) It is a sign that refers to something ineffable in its essence, something that clearly transcends the ontic structure of the sign ; (2) a peculiar « affinity » occurs between the symbol and what it represents ; this affinity may vary intensity and in its strongest form – in a sacrament – it has the form of the participation of the symbolizer in the symbolized. This relationship between the indicating element – that is, the object that is a sign – and the indicated element is called a symbolic structure18. The excerpt from Hugh’s text quoted above shows that the visible world as a whole constitutes an elaborate sign that he calls a book, and the particular things contained in the world of things are various elements of this book. The sign, 14
Rh 1.2. 14-18 (1357). See Michael Cameron, « Sign », in Augustine through the Ages. An Encyclopedia, ed. Allan D. Fitzgerald, Grand Rapids (Mich.) – Cambridge : Eerdmans, 1999, p. 793-794. 16 Augustinus, De doctrina christiana, II, 1, ed. and tr. Roger P. H. Green, Augustine, On Christian Teaching, Oxford : Clarendon Press, 1995, p. 57. See Willemien Otten, « The Reception of Augustine in the Early Middle Ages », in The Oxford Guide to the Historical Reception of Augustine, ed. Karla Pollmann, t. I, Oxford : Oxford University Press, 2013, p. 27-28. See Franklin T. Harkins, Reading and the work of Restoration. History and Scripture in the Theology of Hugh of St Victor, Toronto : Pontifical Institute of Mediaeval Studies, 2009 (Studies and Texts), p. 150 f. 17 In the analysis of the structure of the symbol, I refer to studies by Władysław Stróżewski, a disciple of Roman Ingarden and continuator of his theory of the work of art. See Władysław Stróżewski, « Symbol i rzeczywistość » [Symbol and reality], in Istnienie i sens [Existence and meaning], Kraków : Wydawnictwo Znak, 1994, p. 442. See Id., « Próba ontologii symbolu » [A draft of an ontology of a symbol], in Studia z teorii poznania i filozofii wartości, ed. Władysław Stróżewski, Wrocław – Warszawa – Kraków – Gdańsk : Zakład Narodowy im. Ossolińskich, 1978, p. 104. 18 See Władysław Stróżewski, « Próba ontologii symbolu », p. 103. See Id., « Symbol i rzeczywistość », p. 442-443. 15
John Scottus Eriugena and Hugh of Saint Victor
39
perceivable with the senses, refers to what it is a symbol of and what is not given directly, and it is the « invisible Divine Wisdom ». This book of the world is « open », but its content is not yet available to every reader. A foolish man, living at the level of his animal nature (animalis), is not capable of reading the world in its sign function and does not seek to read the symbol and thus grasp the intent of the One who is the author of the world. It takes the cognitive acts of a spiritual man to establish the world as a symbol, i.e. a sign that refers to a transcendent reality. A necessary condition for the process of establishing a symbol to begin is to interpret a given object as a symbol, by capturing what was previously called its formal content. Hugh shows how the various elements of the book of the world establish a symbol with an elaborate structure, a symbol that refers to its Source which is not directly given, and even transcends what is given : The good Word and wise Life that made the world is perceived when the world is contemplated. The Word itself cannot be seen, but the Word both made what can be seen and is seen through what He made. From the creation of the world the invisible realities of God are beheld through what is understood of the things which are made. The invisible things of God are three : power, wisdom and kindness […]. From these three proceed all things. In these three all things subsist. By these three all things are governed19.
Thus, the structure of the symbol is multi-layered, and this layer, which is as if « closest » to the symbolized object, is called a distinguished content. In a symbol, the relation of its distinguished content to the symbolized reality is unfinished and open, and it can be read by convention (allegory) or a special discovery or even revelation20. The relation of this distinguished content to the symbolized reality, defined as a symbolic structure, is the essence of a symbol, and also creates its mystery21. This symbolic structure contains a moment of negation, which is twofold. Stróżewski states that the Greeks differentiated between two types of negation : an invalidating one, expressed by the word ou, ouk and a differentiating one, expressed by me. An invalidating negation cancels the distinguished content of a symbol, either in its whole or in part, while the differentiating negation shows that 19
Hugo de Sancto Victore, De tribus diebus, ed. Poirel, p. 3-4 = PL 176, col. 811C : « Verbum bonum et uita sapiens quae mundum fecit contemplato mundo conspicitur. Et Verbum ipsum uideri non potuit, et fecit quod uideri potuit, et uisum est per id quod fecit. Inuisibilia enim ipsius a creatura mundi per ea quae facta sunt intellecta conspiciuntur. Tria sunt inuisibilia Dei : potentia, sapientia, benignitas. Ab his tribus procedunt omnia, in his tribus consistunt omnia, et per haec tria reguntur omnia ». Tr. Feiss, On the Three Days, 1.1-2, p. 61. 20 See Stróżewski, « Symbol i rzeczywistość », p. 442. See Id., « Próba ontologii symbolu », p. 106. 21 Id., « Symbol i rzeczywistość », p. 443.
Agnieszka Kijewska
40
the distinguished content refers to an object that is radically different, does not belong to the same order as a symbol22. This approach to a symbol perfectly corresponds to what Pseudo-Dionysius understood through the related discourses of cataphatic, apophatic and supreme theology. A symbol is something that stands between affirmation and negation, and symbolic theology combines the features of cataphatic theology and apophatic theology23. In his commentary to On the Celestial Hierarchy by Pseudo-Dionysius, Hugh seems to follow this train of thought : « dissimilar » images move our thought further away from what is material and « bring it back » to God24. With reference to Hugh’s De tribus diebus, Poirel mentions the paradoxicality of the description of the created reality and its beauty which also consists of what borders on ugliness and monstrosity, combining it into harmonious oneness25. Next, about those things which are wonderful because of their beauty (pulchritudi nem). We wonder at the shape of certain things, because they are seemly in a certain special way and suitably fit together so that the very disposition of the work seems somehow to suggest the special diligence that its Creator devoted to them. Again we are amazed at other things because they are in some way monstrous or ridiculous. The more their shape is alien to human reason, the more readily it can compel the human mind to amazement26.
This quotation reveals a dialectic nature of symbol’s reference to the symbolized reality. This dialectic reference has the following features : (1) a symbol derives from the richness of a concrete reality and uses its properties ; (2) a symbol exceeds 22
See Stróżewski, « Symbol i rzeczywistość », p. 444. Ibid., p. 450. See Andrew Louth, « Apophatic and Cataphatic Theology », in The Cam bridge Companion to Christian Mysticism, ed. Amy Hollywood – Patricia Z. Beckman, Cambridge : Cambridge University Press, 2012, p. 137 f. 24 Hugo de Sancto Victore, Super Ierarchiam Dionisii, III-ii, ed. Dominique Poirel, Turnhout : Brepols, 2015 (CCCM 178), p. 470 = PL 175, col. 974D-975A : « quia vero et nostrum animum reducunt magis dissimiles similitudines, non estimo quemquam bene sapientium contradicere. Ac si dicat : Non solum ideo ‘dissimiles’ figurationes probabiles sunt, quod supermundalium excellentias ostendunt, sed ideo etiam quod ‘nostrum animum magis’ quam similes figurationes a materialibus et corporalibus ‘reducunt’, neque in se quiescere sinunt ». 25 See Poirel, « Lire l’univers visible », p. 370. 26 Hugo de Sancto Victore, De tribus diebus, ed. Poirel, p. 23-24 = PL 176, col. 820A : « Sequitur de his quae mirabilia sunt propter pulchritudinem. Quarumdam rerum figurationem miramur, quia speciali quodam modo decorae sunt et conuenienter coaptatae, ita ut ipsa dispositio operis quodammodo innuere uideatur specialem sibi adhibitam diligentiam conditoris. Rursus alia iccirco miramur quia monstruosa quodammodo sunt uel ridicula ; quorum quidem plasmato quantum ab humana ratione aliena est, tanto leuius humanum animum in admirationem compellere potest ». Tr. Feiss, On the Three Days, 11.1-2, p. 71. 23
John Scottus Eriugena and Hugh of Saint Victor
41
– through negation – this particular reality towards what is different ; (3) in this process a symbol gains its meaning thanks to participation in the symbolized reality which, due to its transcendence, remains still uncovered in the symbolic relationship. Thus, a symbolic structure leads to the constitution of a specific language that explores and strives to uncover in some measure a transcendent symbolized reality. A symbol has a « cognitively reliable » function, which gives the cognizing subject a privileged access to reality which would otherwise remain hidden27. This dialectic nature of the symbol was perfectly expressed in the passage from Periphyseon where Eriugena shows that, while revealing its Author, the visible world also conceals him and thus, paradoxically, the created things become a manifestation of Divine hiddenness28. The Author of the book of Nature, whose intention is partially manifested in the structure of the book, does not reveal himself fully to the one who undertakes the effort of reading the book : For everything that is understood and sensed is nothing else but the apparition of what is not apparent, the manifestation of the hidden, the affirmation of the negated, the comprehension of the incomprehensible, [the utterance of the unutterable, the access to the inaccessible,] the understanding of the unintelligible, the body of the bodiless, the essence of the super-essential, the form of the formless, the measure of the measureless, the number of the unnumbered, the weight of the weightless, the materialization of spiritual, the visibility of the invisible, the place of that which is in no place, the time of the timeless, the definition of the infinite, the circumscription of the uncircumscribed, and the other things which are both considered and perceived by the intellect alone and cannot be retained within the recesses of the memory and which escape the sharpness of the mind29. 27
See Stróżewski, « Symbol i rzeczywistość », p. 451-452. A similar approach to the symbol in relation to philosophy and ancient literature is presented by Peter Struck in his book Birth of the Symbol. Ancient Readers at the Limits of Their Texts, Princeton : Princeton University Press, 2004. 28 The debate about Divine Hiddenness is an important part of contemporary discussions concerning the philosophy of religion. See Divine Hiddenness. New Essays, ed. Daniel HowardSynder – Paul K. Moser, Cambridge : Cambridge University Press, 2002. 29 Eriugena, Periphyseon, III, ed. Jeauneau, p. 22 = PL 122, col. 633AB : « Omne enim quod intelligitur et sentitur nihil aliud est nisi non apparentis apparitio, occulti manifestatio, negati affirmatio, incomprehensibilis comprehensio, ineffabilis fatus, inaccessibilis accessus, inintelligibilis intellectus, incorporabilis corpus, superessentiali essentia, informis forma, immensurabilis mensura, innumerabilis numerus, carentis pondere pondus, spiritualis incrassatio, inuisibilis uisibilitas, illocalis localitas, carentis tempore temporalitas, infiniti diffinitio, incircumscripti circumscriptio, et caetera quae puro intellectu et cogitantur et perspciuntur et quae memoriae sinibus capi nesciunt et mentis aciem fugiunt ». Tr. O’Meara, Periphyseon, p. 250. See Werner Beierwaltes, « Negati Affirmatio : Welt als Metapher », in Eriugena. Grundzüge seines Denkens, Frankfurt a. Main : Klostermann, 1994, p. 121 f.
42
Agnieszka Kijewska
These remarks beautifully worded by Eriugena are a perfect reflection of the dialectic nature of the symbol formed by the element of differentiating negation : things reveal their Author as a continually present source that, however, remains radically different, hidden. According to Eriugena, the most appropriate name of God is the name of Nothingness which, however, should be understood as the Divine plus quam esse rather than the negation of being30. The Divine Nature thus construed is called Non-Being because of its sublimeness (Nihil per excellentiam) whose primary manifestation is infinity31. It is not surprising, therefore, that Eriugena’s texts also feature descriptions that are an example of invalidating negation, best depicted by the concept creatio ex nihilo32. In Periphyseon, the Disciple (Alumnus) asks the Tutor (Nutritor) what he should understand when hearing that God created everything that exists out of nothing, to which he hears the following answer : Understand that the things that exist have been made from the things that do not exist by the power of the Divine Goodness ; for the things that were not received being. For they were made from nothing because they were not before they came into being. [For the word « Nothing » is taken to mean not some matter, not a certain cause of existing things, not anything that went before or occurred of which the establishment of things was a consequence, not something coessential or coeternal with God, […] ; but it is the name for the total privation of the whole of essence and, to speak more accurately, it is the word for the absence of the whole of essence ; for privation means the removal of possession. But how [perhaps someone may ask] could there be privation before there was possession ? For there was no possession before all things that are received the possession of subsistence33.] 30 See Eriugena, De praedestinatione liber, IX, 4, ed. Ernesto S. Mainoldi, Firenze : SISMEL – Edizioni del Galluzzo, 2003, p. 94 = Goulven Madec, Turnhout : Brepols, 1978 (CCCM 50), p. 58 : « Nec mirum, cum nihil deo contrarium sit, nisi non esse, quoniam ipse solus est qui dixit : Ego sum qui sum, cetera uero quae dicuntur esse nec omnino sunt, quia non sunt quod ipse est, nec omnino non sunt, quia ab ipso sunt qui solus est esse ». 31 See Eriugena, Periphyseon, I, ed. Édouard Jeauneau, Turnhout : Brepols, 1996 (CCCM 161), p. 102 = PL 122, col. 517B : « Fatetur enim deum infinitum esse plusque quam infinitum – infinitas enim infinitorum est – et simplicem et plus quam simplicem ; omnium enim simplicium simplicitas est ». Tr. O’Meara, Periphyseon, p. 251-252. 32 See Paul Rorem, Eriugena’s Commentary on the Dionysian « Celestial Hierarchy », Toronto : Pontifical Institute of Mediaeval Studies, 2005, p. 105-112. 33 Eriugena, Periphyseon, III, ed. Jeauneau, p. 24 = PL 122, col. 634CD : « Intellige ex non existentibus existentia uirtute bonitatis diuinae facta fuisse. Ea enim quae non erant acceperunt esse. De nihilo nanque facta sunt, quia non erant priusquam fierent. [Eo nanque uocabulo, quod est nihilum, non aliqua materies, non causa quaedam existentium, non ulla praecessio seu occasio quam sequeretur eorum quae sunt conditio, non aliquid deo coessntiale et coaeternum […], sed omnino totius essentiae priuationis nomen est, ut uerius dicam, uocabulum est absentiae totius essentiae. Priuatio enim habitudinis est ablatio. Quomodo autem poterat fieri priuatio, priusquam
John Scottus Eriugena and Hugh of Saint Victor
43
Creatio ex nihilo points at the fact that God – Sublime Nothingness – called all things into being from the state of the « absence » (absentia) of being. In Expo sitiones in Ierarchiam coelestem, Eriugena refers to this process as « substantialization », i.e. introduction of things into individual existence from a state in which something did not exist. The entire Holy Trinity is involved in the process. Taking the cue from Dionysius, Eriugena refers to it as Thearchy and observes : Thus this, first of all, is to be posited in praise of the universal goodness that is the super-essential divinity : that, while it substantiated the essences of those things that naturally subsist, it brought them (namely, the essences) into being, that is, into essence34.
Thus, the book of Nature was written with signs that, in their dialectic nature marked with negation, are a reflection of their Creator who, being radically transcendent, is also present in the created reality : « for the Divinity Which is beyond being is the being of all things35. » II. The parallelism of the books When commenting On the Celestial Hierarchy by Dionysius, Eriugena utters significant words on the origin of the book of Scripture, emphasizing that it was not the human spirit that was created for the Scripture, which man would not have needed at all, had he not sinned, but it was Scripture that was created for the human spirit. Thanks to various symbols and sciences included in the Bible, the rational human nature can be restored to the original contemplation of truth as it used to do in the paradisical state36. Thus, the analogy between Holy Scripture fieret habitus ? Nullus enim habitus erat, antequam omnia quae sunt habitudinem subsistentiae acciperent ». Tr. O’Meara, Periphyseon, p. 251-252. 34 See Eriugena, Expositiones in Ierarchiam coelestem, IV, ed. Jeanne Barbet, Iohannis Scoti Eriugenae Expositiones in Ierarchiam coelestem, Turnhout : Brepols, 1975 (CCCM 31), p. 67 = PL 122, col. 371D : « Primum simul omnium illud dicere verum ut bonitate universali superessentialis thearchia eorum que sunt essentias substituens ad esse adduxit ». See Rorem, Eriugena’s Commentary, p. 101. 35 Eriugena, Periphyseon, V, ed. Édouard Jeauneau, Iohannis Scotti seu Eriugenae Periphy seon, Turnhout : Brepols, 2003 (CCCM 165), p. 62 = PL 122, col. 903C : « Esse enim omnium est super esse divinitas ». Tr. O’Meara, Periphyseon, p. 575. See Rorem, Eriugena’s Commentary, p. 114. See S. Gersh, « Omnipresence in Eriugena. Some Reflections on Augustino-Maximian Element in Periphyseon », in Eriugena. Studien zu seinen Quellen. Vortrage des III. Internatio nalen Eriugena-Colloquiums, ed. Werner Beierwaltes, Heidelberg : Winter, 1980, p. 55-56. 36 Eriugena, Expositiones in Ierarchiam coelestem, II, 1, ed. Barbet, p. 24 = PL 122, col. 146D : « Non enim animus humanus propter divinam scripturam factus est, cuius nullo modo indigeret si non peccaret, sed propter animum humanum sancta scriptura in diversis symbolis atque doctrinis contexta, ut per ipsius introductionem rationabilis nostra natura, que prevaricando
44
Agnieszka Kijewska
and Nature is also based on the fact that both books were created for « human use », to help man return to his Creator. The consequence of this is the conviction that both of these realities – Scripture and Nature – have parallel structures and, therefore, the phases of discovering the world are also the phases of biblical exegesis. Here Eriugena modifies his model of division of the sciences by reducing them to four disciplines, corresponding to the four meanings of the Holy Scripture and the four components of material reality, in order to maintain the strict parallelism of the two books. History corresponds to literal exegesis, which seeks to establish the meaning of the historical text as a foundation for further investigation, and therefore the earth is its counterpart in the structure of the world. Ethics is the equivalent of moral exegesis that ethics that stretches « like the waters. » Physics uses the knowledge of nature, including the arts of the quadrivium, to discover the structure and causes that operate in the world, and the air element corresponds to this. Finally, « outside and beyond all is the encircling ethereal and fiery burning of the scorching heaven (empyrii caeli), that is, of the lofty contemplation of the divine nature, which the Greeks call theology37. » Biblical exegesis uses an entire arsenal of means provided by the liberal arts, both the trivium and the quadrivium, and is governed by the rules established in the arts38. Theology, like the art of poetry, uses imaginary stories or allegorical representations to express a deeper lesson, thanks to which a person’s mind is transformed from external sensual perception – as if from an imperfect childhood age – to a perfect knowledge of the spiritual things that characterise the inner man39. Using the whole arsenal of liberated arts, Scripture is acting valde artificial ex contemplatione veritatis lapsa est, iterum in pristinum pure contemplationis reduceretur altitudinem ». 37 Eriugena, Homilia super « In Principio erat Verbum », XIV, ed. Jeauneau, p. 270 = PL 122, col. 291C : « Extra autem omnia et ultra aethereus ille igneusque ardor empyrii caeli, hoc est superae contemplationis diuinae naturae, quam graeci theologiam nominant, circumglobatur ; ultra quam nullus egreditur intellectus ». Tr. O’Meara, in Eriugena, p. 169. See Agnieszka Kijewska, « The Eriugenian Concept of Theology. John the Evangelist as the Model Theologian », in Iohannes Scottus Eriugena. The Bible and Hermeneutics, ed. Gerd van Riel – Carlos Steel – James McEvoy, Leuven : Leuven University Press, 1996, p. 182. 38 See Eriugena, Expositiones in Ierarchiam coelestem, I, 3, ed. Barbet, p. 16 = PL 122, col. 140A : « Nulla enim sacra scriptura est que regulis liberalium careat disciplinarum ». 39 Eriugena, Expositiones in Ierarchiam coelestem, II, 1, ed. Barbet, p. 24 = PL 122, col. 146D : « Ita theologia, ueluti quedam poetria, sanctam scripturam fictis imaginationibus ad consultum nostri animi et reductionem a corporalibus sensibus exterioribus, ueluti ex quadam imperfecta pueritia, in rerum intelligibilium perfectam cognitionem, tanquam in quamdam interioris hominis grandeuitatem conformat. » See Peter Dronke, « Theologia veluti quaedam poetria : quelques observations sur la fonction des images poétiques chez Jean Scot », in Jean Scot Erigène, p. 243252 ; Bernard McGinn, The Growth of Mysticism. From Gregory the Great to the Twelfth Century, London : Crossroad, 1995, p. 93-94.
John Scottus Eriugena and Hugh of Saint Victor
45
iter, trying to present the spiritual reality in an appropriate way, i.e. in accordance with the rules of the arts40. In this function, Scripture was described as Artifex scriptura, sharing this title with its Author, who was named Artifex omnium41. The question arises, however, as to how should one move from one level of biblical interpretation to another, especially as often one and the same passage can be interpreted in many different ways42. Bernard McGinn, analysing the peculiar characteristics of Eriugena’s exegesis, noted that it is firmly rooted in his apophatic theology, hence the « priority of negation in the theological task43. » If patristic exegesis followed the principle that one could move from the level of literal exegesis to that of allegorical exegesis on the grounds that literal exegesis would suggest something unworthy of God44, then in Eriugena’s view, any exegesis should be allegorical. In Periphyseon, the Tutor analyses with the Disciple the possibility of applying ten Aristotelian categories when describing God, and observes : For if the force of any one of the Categories whatsoever is effective in those natures which are created by God and in their motions, yet in that Nature which can neither be spoken of nor understood it is throughout and in every respect ineffective ; and yet, as we have said before, in the same way as almost all that is properly predicated of the nature of created things can be said metaphorically of their Creator45.
In the light of these words, any interpretation of statements about God should read them in a metaphorical sense because in the proper sense nothing can be said about Him, and in this sense, historical exegesis becomes problematic. This picture is further complicated by Eriugena’s peculiar understanding of history in relation to sacred history. When we think about the beginning of sacred history in a biblical interpretation, we refer to the paradisiacal state. To Eriugena, paradise 40
See René Roques, « Valde artificialiter : le sens d’un contresens », in Libre sentiers vers l’érigénisme, Roma : Edizioni dell’Ateneo, 1975, 58-60. 41 See Édouard Jeauneau, « Artifex Scriptura », in Iohannes Scottus Eriugena. The Bible and Hermeneutics, p. 352-356. 42 See Eriugena, Periphyseon, IV, ed. Édouard Jeauneau, Turnhout : Brepols, 2000 (CCCM 164), p. 163 = PL 122, col. 857A : « Videsne quomodo iubet hunc locum sanctae scripturae et proprie et figurate accipi ? ». Tr. O’Meara, Periphyseon, p. 518. 43 See B. McGinn, « The Originality of Eriugena’s Spiritual Exegesis », in Iohannes Scottus Eriugena. The Bible and Hermeneutics, p. 65. 44 See Ian Christopher Levy, Introducing Medieval Biblical Interpretation. The Senses of Scrip ture in Premodern exegesis, Grand Rapids : Baker, 2018, p. 11 f. ; Carlo Ginzburg, « The Letter Kills : on some implications of 2 Corinthians 3:6 », in History and Theory, t. 49, 2010, p. 72 f. 45 Eriugena, Periphyseon, I, ed. Jeauneau, p. 33 = PL 122, col. 463B : « Nam in ipsis naturis a deo conditis motibusque earum kategoriae qualiscunque sit potentia praevalet, in ea uero natura quae nec dici nec intelligi potest per omnia in omnibus deficit. Attamen, ut praediximus, quemadmodum fere omnia quae de natura conditarum rerum proprie praedicantur de conditore rerum per metaphoram significandi gratia dici possunt ». Tr. O’Meara, Periphyseon, p. 51.
Agnieszka Kijewska
46
is not a state that used to exist at the beginning of the history of humankind ; instead, it is a state that will be : to him, protology is in fact eschatology, and Scripture presents the future as something accomplished46. Eriugena’s distinction between misterium (sacramentum) and a symbol should be read in this context. According to Eriugena, misterium is an « allegory of facts and words » (allegoria facti et dicti), while a symbol is an allegory of what has been said (allegoria dicti, non facti). Thus a symbol should be construed as an allegorical, spiritual exegesis underpinned by a specific theological vision with strong eschatological accents, and only this interpretation can be used to read the actual order of events47. Appropriately read, misteria and symbols, are a signpost showing man the way back to paradise, to regaining the purity and fullness of God’s image. Hugh’s On three days contains, as it was shown, a clear comparison of the world to the Book written by God’s finger. This mentions instantly situates the book of Nature in relation to the book of Scripture or, essentially, the book of Law because the inscribed tablets of Testimony brought by Moses from Mount Sinai were the finger of God (Ex. 31, 18). Hugh describes the beauty and diversity of the book of creation with a clear sense of aesthetic delight. The richness of details and elegance of this description were conveyed with « a nearly maniacal tendency to classify48. » This astonishing reading of the visible world becomes enriched with one more level, namely the intertextual reading of the Bible. The text of De tribus diebus begins with a « platform » quotation from the Epistle of St Paul to the Romans (1, 20), constituting a peculiar commentary to this epistle : Invisibilia enim ipsius a creatura mundi per ea quae facta sunt intellecta conspiciuntur49. Thus, to Hugh, the Bible is the second book in the light of which he reads the symbols in the book of Nature or 46
Eriugena, Periphyseon, IV, ed. Jeauneau, p. 96 = PL 122, col. 809BC : « Ac per hoc praefatus magister fortassis non diceret ‘uiuebat’, sed ‘uixit’ uel ‘uixerat’, quanquam si talibus praeteriti perfecti et plus quam perfecti uerbis uteretur, uel si alias usus est, plus quam perfecti uerbis uteretur, uel si alias usus est, plus crediderim praeteritum pro futuro posuisse ». Tr. O’Meara, Periphyseon, p. 462. See McGinn, « The Originality of Eriugena’s Spiritual Exegesis », p. 64. See T. Gregory, « L’eschatologie de Jean Scot », in Jean Scot Erigène et l’histoire de la philosophie, p. 380. 47 See Eriugena, Commentarius in Euangelium Iohannis, VI, ed. Jeauneau, p. 132 = PL 122, col. 344D-345A : « Mysteria itaque proprie sunt quae iuxta allegoriam et facti et dicti traduntur, hoc est secundum res gestas facta sunt, et dicta quia narrantur. […] Altera forma est, quae propire symboli nomen accepit, et allegoria dicti, non autem facti appellatur, quoniam in dictis solummodo spiritualis doctrinae, non autem factis sensibilibus constituitur ». See Bernard McGinn, « The Originality of Eriugena’s Spiritual Exegesis », p. 67. See Jean Pépin, « Mysteria et symbola dans le commentaire de Jean Scot sur l’évangile de Saint Jean », in The Mind of Eriugena, ed. John J. O’Meara – Ludwig Bieler, Dublin : Irish University Press, 1973, p. 16-30. 48 See Poirel, « Lire l’univers visible », p. 367-369. 49 See Id., Livre de la nature et débat trinitaire, p. 236 f.
John Scottus Eriugena and Hugh of Saint Victor
47
– as Antoine Guggenhein writes – these two ways of speaking permeate and interpret each other50. The book of Scripture has a prominent position here, it is a peculiar « dictionary » from which the reader of the book of the world derives terms and expressions facilitating the reading of the intention of the Author of both books. Hugh thus joins the long-standing Judaistic and patristic tradition of debate on the possibility of cognizing God based on the « reading » of His works51 : The immensity of creatures manifests power ; their beauty manifests wisdom ; their utility manifest kindness. The immensity of creatures lies in their number (multitudo) and size (magnitudo). Number is found in the similar, the diverse, and the mixed. Size is found in bulk and extension. Bulk is found in mass and weight ; extension, in length and breadth, depth and height. The beauty of creatures is found in their structure and movement, in their appearance and their quality. Structure is found in composition and order. Order lies in place, time and property. Motion is fourfold : local, natural, biological, and rational52.
Each of these properties of the created reality contains further divisions and classifications, and it should be taken into account that the universe constitutes oneness in multitude. Cosmic beauty is based not only on the richness and diversity of the entities that make up the world, but also on their mutual arrangements and references. The symbolic structure of created reality is therefore a complex intentional object demanding a specific entity – a reader who, through his cognitive acts of reading, understanding and interpretation, processes belonging to the area of « motion rational »53 – construes the text being read as a symbol and refers it to its transcendent source. 50
See Antoine Guggenheim, « Histoire, théologie, théologie de l’accomplissement : Hugues de Saint-Victor et saint Thomas d’Aquin », in L’école de Saint-Victor de Paris, p. 253. 51 See Sławomir Stasiak, List do Rzymian, Częstochowa : Święty Paweł, 2020 (Nowy Komentarz Biblijny, 6), p. 142-144. 52 Hugo de Sancto Victore, De tribus diebus, ed. Poirel, p. 4-5 = PL 176, col. 811D-812A : « Potentiam manifestat creaturarum inmensitas, sapientiam decor, benignitatem utilitas. Inmensitas creaturarum in multitudine et magnitudine ; multitudo in similibus, in diuersis, in permixtis ; magnitudo est in mole et specie. Moles est in massa et pondere ; spacium est in longo et lato, profundo et alto. Decor creaturarum est in situ et motu, in specie et qualitate. Situs est in compositione et ordine. Ordo est in loco et tempore et proprietate. Motus est quadripertitus : localis, naturalis, animalis, rationalis ». Tr. Feiss, On the Three Days, 1.3, p. 61. 53 This is a typically Neoplatonic expression describing the character of cognitive processes. See Eriugena, Periphyseon, II, ed. Édouard Jeauneau, Iohannis Scotti seu Eriugenae Periphyseon, Turnhout : Brepols, 1997 (CCCM 162), p. 63 = PL 122, col. 572CD : « Tres uniuersales motus animae sunt, quorum primus est secundum animum, secundus secundum rationem, teritus secundum sensum. Et primus quidem simplex est et supra ipsius animae naturam et interpretatione caret [hoc est cognitione ipsius circa quod mouetur], ‘per quem circa deum incognitum mota
48
Agnieszka Kijewska
Hugh’s treatise Didascalicon was devoted to the question of the order in which we acquire knowledge. At the very beginning, Hugh states that knowledge is mainly acquired through reading (lectio) and meditation (meditatio54). The reading, particularly of the book of Scripture, should be done in a specific order (ordo legendi) : first one should reconstruct the grammatical meaning of the text, in a process called littera. On this basis, the reader tries to grasp the meaning of the utterance hidden under the surface of the letter, and this process also includes the interpretation of linguistic and figurative expressions and is described as sensus. On the third level, one reaches the full, deeper meaning – sententia – apprehended in the process of lecture and interpretation, i.e. in a specific doctrinal context55. With reference to the biblical text, this order of reading transforms into three levels of exegesis : first comes the level of historical interpretation, explaining the truth of historical description (historia), and only then the allegorical meaning is introduced, showing the meaning of the sacred misteria. Finally, one can achieve the level of tropological sense that indicates what the reader should do and that can also be described as the moral sense56. Wanda Cizewski refers these three levels of interpretation to the reading of the book of the World whose creatures are « figures » to be read and interpreted. « Hugh’s treatise De tribus diebus – she states – might best be described as a ‘reading’, through contemplation, of the world outside the text of scripture, as if that world were a ‘text’ to be investigated on three levels of exegetical meaning57. » The reading of the book of the world requires similar reading strategies as in the case of the Bible or other texts. When contemplating the beauty of created things, nullo modo ex ullo eorum quae sunt ipsum propter sui excellentiam cognoscit’. » Tr. O’Meara, Periphyseon, p. 176. 54 Hugo de S. Victore, Didascalicon, Praef., ed. Charles H. Buttimer, Washington, DC : Catholic University Press, 1939 (Studies in Medieval and Renaissance Latin, 10), p. 2 : « Duae precipue res sunt, quibus quisque ad scientiam instruitur : uidelicet lectio et meditatio, e quibus lectio priorem in doctrina obtinet locum ». 55 See Ian Ch. Levy, Introducing Biblical Interpretation, p. 138-139. See Cizewski, « Reading the World », p. 67. 56 See Hugo de Sancto Victore, ed. Buttimer, Didascalicon, III, viii, p. 58 : « Expositio tria continet, litteram, sensum, sententiam. Littera est congrua ordinatio dictionum, quod etiam constructionem uocamus. Sensus est facilis quedam et aperta significatio, quam littera prima fronte prefert. Sententia est profundior intelligentia, que nisi expositione uel interpretatione non inuenitur. » : Didascalicon, V, ii, p. 95 : « Primo omnium sciendum est, quod diuina scriptura triplicem habet modum intelligendi, id est historiam, allegoriam, tropologiam. Sane non omnia que in diuino reperiuntur eloquio ad hanc intorquenda sunt intrpretationem, ut singula historiam, allegoriam et tropologiam simul continere credantur. » See Levy, Introducing Biblical Interpreta tion, p. 142. See Paul Rorem, Hugh of Saint Victor, Oxford : Oxford University Press, 2009, p. 16. 57 Cizewski, « Reading the World », p. 81-82.
John Scottus Eriugena and Hugh of Saint Victor
49
man should discover in these « letters » a sign of Divine Wisdom whose most perfect likeness is the reader himself : I believe that the first invisible thing to be grasped in contemplation is what is more explicitly and obviously shown in its visible representation (simulacrum). Visible things are said to be representations of the invisible […]. However, every creature more closely declares its Creator more closely it approaches its Creator’s likeness. Hence, that visible representation that contains expressed more perfectly within itself the image of the divine likeness (similitudinis) ought to be the first to show its invisible exemplar58.
III. Reader Who is the reader of the book of Scripture and the book of Nature ? What position does he hold in the created world ? What is his reading activity consist in ? To answer these questions, I will refer to an inspiring take on the anthropology of the Middle Ages, proposed by Marian Kurdziałek in his article59. Kurdziałek attempted to present different medieval visions of man from the perspective of the themes that he described as different types of microcosmic approaches and that had their doctrinal starting point in Plato’s philosophy, in the parallel drawn by him between the structure of the human body and human soul and the structure of the cosmos and the political system. On this basis, Kurdziałek distinguished a psychological theme60, that saw a similarity between the cosmos and the human soul, a cosmological theme that found this analogy in the structure and composition of the human body, a dynamic-organological theme that perceived man as the 58 Hugo de Sancto Victore, De tribus diebus, ed. Poirel, p. 34 = PL 176, col. 823D-824A : « Et credo quod illud inuisibile prius in contemplatione comprehenditur, quod in suo uisibili simulacro expressius et manifestius declaratur. Simulacra autem inuisibilium ipsa uisibilia dicuntur […]. Omnis autem creatura, quanto uicinius similitudini creatoris appropinquat, tanto uicinius creatorem suum declarat. Illud ergo uisibile simulacrum inuisibile exemplar prius ostendere debet, quod diuinae similitudinis imaginem perfectius in se expressam retinet. » Tr. Feiss, On the Three Days, 16.1, p. 76. 59 See Marian Kurdziałek, « Mediaeval Doctrines on man as image of the world », in Roczniki Filozoficzne, t. 62/4, 2014, p. 205-246. 60 Marian Kurdziałek associated the reflections of Godfrey of Saint Victor with this current (ibid., p. 230). See Jan Kiełbasa, « Człowiek jako mikrokosmos w myśli średniowiecznej » [Man as Microcosm in Mediaeval Thought], in Historia filozofii. Meandry kultury, ed. Marcin Karas, Kraków : Zakład Wydawniczy « Nomos », 2014, p. 156-162 ; Godefridus de Sancto Victore, Fons philosophiae I, ed. Pierre Michaud-Quantin, Louvain – Namur : Nauwalaerts – Godenne, 1956 (Analecta Mediaevalia Namurcensia, 8), p. 42 : « Megacosmum uidet hic orbem grandiorem,/ Microcosmusm inspicit mundum breuiorem,/ Inspicit archetipum principaliorem,/ In diuina dirigens uisum clariorem/ Hic ideas ispicit in diuina mente/ Ab eterno genera rerum contente,/ Ad hec exemplaria queque res inuente/ Non in sensibilibus formas collocari,/ Nec his pereuntibus credit has mutari. »
Agnieszka Kijewska
50
oneness of soul and body and referred this oneness to the structure of the cosmos, and the socio-political theme that treated human social institutions with reference to the structure of the cosmos61. A peculiar variety of the dynamic-organological theme was the one which, in a typically Neoplatonic spirit, saw the centre (medi etas) and keystone (adunatio/vinculum) of all creatures in man. Kurdziałek notes : The terms « medietas atque adunatio », « omnium officina », « omnium conclusio » were taken over by Eriugena from Maximus the Confessor (Maximus of Chrysopolis). « Medietas », « in medio », « medius » – these terms were taken in the middle ages either in the sense of the neo-Platonic theory of being, thus in the sense of a central link in the « golden chain of beings », or else in the sense of the biblical formulation on man’s central position in the visible world, this position being the consequence of the world’s being created on account of man and for man. According to the first of these approaches, man constituted an exceptionally important link (« nodus », « vinculum », « copula ») and point of contact (« horizon », « confinium », « limes », « umbilicus ») for spiritual and corporeal beings, eternity and time, heaven and earth62.
This theme was present in a peculiar way in the works of Eriugena who, taking the cue from Gregory of Nyssa, presents the most important features of his anthropology in the spirit of microcosmism. In his Homily on the Prologue of the Gospel of St John, Eriugena observes that the Evangelist uses the term « world » (mundus) in three senses. The first world is the one filled with invisible and intangible substances of pure spirits, the closest ones to Divine light. This world is juxtaposed with the second world, the world of matter, which includes visible and bodily entities, and the third world is that which was established in man. Taking the soul from the higher world and the body from the lower one, man is at the intersection of these two worlds, binding them together, acting as a crucible, a melting pot where all the levels of created reality combine63. This intermediate 61
See Kurdziałek, « Mediaeval Doctrines », p. 207-214. See Ibid., 239-240. 63 Eriugena, Homilia super « In Principio erat Verbum », XIX, p. 34-36 = PL 122, col. 294AB : « Tres tamen mundos oportet nos intelligere. Quorum primus est qui absolute solis inuisibilibus et spiritualibus uirtutum impletur substantiis […]. Secundus qui praefato opponitur e diuerso, quoniam absolute ex uisibilibus et corporalibus constituitur naturis. Et quamuis uniuersitatis infimam obtineat portionem, in eo tamen erat uerbum et per uerbum factus est […]. Tertius mundus est qui, ratione medietatis, et superiorem spiritualium et inferiorem corporalium in se ipso copulat et de duobus unum fecit, et in homine solo intelligitur, in quo omnis creatura adunatur. Corpore enim constat et anima. Corpus de hoc mundo, animam de altero mundo colligens, unum facit ornatum. Et corpus quidem omnem corpoream, anima uero omnem incorpoream possidet naturam […]. Ideoque homo dicitur omnis ; omnis nanque creatura in ipso ueluti in officina quadam conflatur. Hinc et ipse dominus praedicaturus discipulis praecepit : ‘Praedicate euangelium omni creaturae’ ». 62
John Scottus Eriugena and Hugh of Saint Victor
51
position in the work of creation means that man can be called a « workshop » in which all creatures are created. And this is why man is not inappropriately called the workshop of all creatures since in him the universal creature is contained. [For] he has intellect like an angel, reason like a man, sense like an [irrational] animal, life like a plant, and subsists in body and soul : [there is no creature that he is without]. [For] outside these you (will) find no creature64.
In Eriugena’s system, expressions such as « workshop of creation », « keystone », « melting pot », « all creation » (omnis creatura) are not just beautiful but meaningless metaphors. John Scottus believes that man is an active participant of the process of creation because it is in the human intellect that God established all things as objects of human cognition. The Book of Genesis says that Adam gave names to all the things that were created along with him and over which he was to rule. The act of naming assumes that man has a concept of the thing that he names. The concept established in the human mind is the real essence of this thing, while the concept of man himself is in God’s Mind, somewhat participating in God’s incognizability65 : For I understand the substance of the whole man to be nothing else but the concept of him in the Mind of his Artificer, Who knew all things in Himself before they were made ; and the very knowledge is the true and only substance of the things known, since it is in that knowledge that they are most perfectly created and eternally and immutably subsist66.
The perfect human nature thus described, summarized in the most perfect human faculty, i.e. the intellect, is termed as paradise by Eriugena, in accordance with Holy Scripture. Thus paradise is not a place that used to exist at a certain historical moment ; it is a state that human nature is to achieve, and this is the 64
Eriugena, Periphyseon, III, ed. Jeauneau, p. 163 = PL 122, col. 733B : « Ac per hoc, non immerito dicitur homo creaturarum omnium officina, quoniam in ipso uniuersalis creatura continetur. Intelligit quidem ut angelus, ratiocinatur ut homo, sentit ut animal irrationale, uiuit ut germen, corpore animaque subsistit, nullius creaturae expers. Extra haec enim nullam creaturam inuenis ». Tr. O’Meara, Periphyseon, p. 369. 65 See Agnieszka Kijewska, « Eriugena on the ineffability of God », in Der Bildbegriff bei Meister Eckhart und Nikolaus von Kues, ed. Harald Schwaetzer – Marie-Anne Vannier, Münster i. W. : Aschendorff, 2015, p. 167-178. 66 Eriugena, Periphyseon, IV, ed. Jeauneau, p. 40 = PL 122, col. 768B : « Immo uero intelligo non aliam esse substantiam totius hominis nisi suam notionem in mente artificis, qui omnia priusquam fierent in se ipso cognouit, ipsamque cognitionem substantiam esse ueram ac solam eorum quae cognita sunt, quoniam in ipsa perfectissime facta et aeternaliter et immutabiliter subsistunt ». Tr. O’Meara, Periphyseon, p. 413.
Agnieszka Kijewska
52
eschatological dimension of that sacred history. How, then, human nature can regain its lost perfection ? Hugh’s remarks from De tribus diebus are also an excellent illustration of the dynamic-organological microcosmic theme67. According to Hugh, man was created by God so that the Creator could rejoice in him, while the rest of the corporeal creatures are subordinated to man and serve his benefit. Thus man becomes rooted in a kind of centre of the universe, as a connection between the material and spiritual sphere. Hugh observes : Therefore, humankind, as though situated in a kind of middle place, has God above itself and the world below. By the body humankind is connected to the world below, and by the spirit it is lifted up toward God above. It was necessary that the creation of visible things be so arranged that human beings would recognize in them exteriorly what the invisible good they were to seek within was like ; that is, that human beings would see beneath them what they were to desire above them68.
Many authors stress that Hugh’s anthropology is essentially Augustinian : man was created in the image and likeness of God and carries in his soul an imprinted « image of the Trinity » (imago Trinitatis69), that encompasses the following faculties : mens – sapientia – amor70. The image – i.e. the created wisdom – imprinted in the human soul is a dynamic mediator between the material and the intelligible sphere also because the human body itself reflects the order of Divine Wisdom. In Hugh’s text, therefore, one can find traces of the cosmological microcosmic theme, following Kurdziałek’s classification, according to which, also in the aspect of the structure of his body, man participates in the structure of the cosmos, and the human soul is this particular link between its spheres. The lower part of the soul – spirited and appetitive – are what connects man with the
67
See Cizewski, « Reading the World », p. 71. Hugo de Sancto Victore, De tribus diebus, ed. Poirel, p. 31 = PL 176, col. 822 : « Homo ergo, quasi in quodam medio collocatus, habet super se Deum, subter se mundum, et corpore quidem deorsum mundo coniungitur, spiritu autem sursum ad Deum subleuatur. Necesse ergo fuit ut uisibilium conditio ita ordinaretur, quatinus homo in eis foris agnosceret, quale esset inuisibile bonum quod intus querere deberet, hoc est ut subtus se uideret, quid supra se appeteret ». Tr. Feiss, On the Three Days, 14.2, p. 74. 69 See Boyd T. Coolman, The Theology of Hugh of St Victor. An Interpretation, Cambridge : Cambridge University Press, 2010, p. 47. 70 See Hugo, De sacramentis, I, iii, 21, ed. PL 176, col. 225CD : « Vidit enim quod ex ipsa nascitur sapientia quae est in ipsa ; et diligit ipsa sapientiam suam ; et procedit amor ex ipsa […]. Et apparent tria quaedam in uno : mens, sapientia et amor ». See Th. Lesieur, « Raison et rationalité chez Hugues de Saint-Victor », in L’école de Saint-Victor de Paris, p. 397. 68
John Scottus Eriugena and Hugh of Saint Victor
53
material sphere, while the central rational part guides the human spirit towards contemplation71 : What great wisdom of the Creator shines forth in the composition of the human body ! In its upper part, the human body is single, but below it is divided into two, because the principal aspect of the mind (mentis), reason (ratio), which regards invisible things, is uniform, while the aspect of the soul (animae) which turns down toward earthly things is dual, anger and desire. The structure of the human body extends to the side through the arms and is fixed beneath by the legs. This is because the intention to act extends the mind (animum) and the affect of desires focuses it. The outreach of the human body is completed in a fivefold way, outward and sideways by the fingers, and downward by the toes, for whether the mind moves outward by the intention of doing something or is focused downward through affect’s desire, it goes out through the five senses72.
The layout of the human face, which comprises the most important sensory organs, the structure of the human skeletal system and the clothing of the body all serve to ensure that what is fragile and weak is inside and can thus function effectively73. Hugh considers the functioning of created things in terms of movement : local movement, manifested, for example, in the movement of the stars ; natural movement, associated with the processes of vegetation ; animal movement concerning the senses and appetites ; and, finally, rational movement, manifested in the movement of the created wisdom : Next, rational movement, which occurs in deeds and deliberations, will cause you wonder enough, if you wish to examine how indescribable is the wisdom which so educes all the deeds of human beings, all their volitions, and all the thoughts of their hearts according to the judgement of Her will and so tempers and moderates them,
71
See Lesieur, « Raison et rationalité », p. 394-397. Hugo de Sancto Victore, De tribus diebus, ed. Poirel, p. 17-18 = PL 176, col. 817CD : « Ecce, ut exempli causa de multis pauca ponamus, in compositione humani corporis quanta elucet sapientia creatoris ! Sursum est homo uniformis, deorsum bifariam diuisus, quia et uniforme est principale mentis, id est ratio, quae inuisibilia respicit, et gemina est animae qualitas, ira et concupiscentia, quae deorsum ad terrena descendit. Item brachiis in latum extenditur, tibiis deorsum figitur statura humani corporis, quia et intentio operationis animum extendit, et affectus desideriorum figit. Item secundum latitudinem hinc inde per digitos manuum, deorsum per digitos pedum, in quinque finitur humani corporis protensio, quia siue in latum tendatur animus per intentionem operis, siue deorsum figatur per desiderum affectionis, quinque sensus sunt per quos foris exit ». Tr. Feiss, On the Three Days, 7.2, p. 68. 73 See De tribus diebus, p. 20 = PL 176, col. 818B : « Attende quomodo illud quod molle est et infirmum in medio quasi in loco tutiore ponitur, ne uel intrinsecus fulsimento carens concidat, uel extrinsecus munimentum non habens fatiscat ». 72
Agnieszka Kijewska
54
that nothing can happen in the universe which wisdom does not wish to happen either by commanding or permitting it for the adornment of Her works74.
Thus the created reality, in its entire multi-layered and dynamic structure, is a trace – vestigium – of its Creator. This is attested both by the oneness of the entire created universe and its triadic structure that manifests invisibilia Dei. In this world, a special, intermediate place is held by man who is a link between material and intelligible reality. Belonging to the world in the aspect of the material constitution of his body, man « brings » the entire creation towards the Creator in the process of contemplation75. It is the human cognitive activity that lends an appropriate meaning to the entire work of creation because only man can « read » the book of Nature and combine it with the reading of the Bible. In this process of reading, the movement of created wisdom is fully realized ; this wisdom thus becomes the « door and path » of the contemplation of the Creator : Therefore, the first and principal representation of uncreated wisdom is created wisdom, that is, the rational creature, which because in one aspect it is visible and in another invisible, becomes a door and path of contemplation. It is a door insofar as it is visible ; it is a path insofar as it is invisible […]. It is a door because in some fashion it shows invisible things visibly. It is a path because it leads those going from the visible through the invisible to see the one who is Creator equally of the visible and the invisible. One can recognize this in oneself. No one is wise at all who does not see that he exists. Nevertheless, if one begins to pay attention to what one truly is, one will understand that he is none of all the things that are or can be in him. For truly that in us that is capable of reason, although it is, so to speak, infused into and mixed with the flesh, can distinguish itself by its own reason from the substance of the flesh and understand that the latter is foreign to it. Why then does anyone have any doubt at all about the existence of invisible things, when he sees that what is truly human, whose existence no one can doubt, is itself invisible ? Therefore, the door to contemplation opens for one who, under the guidance of reason, enters to know himself76. 74
Hugo de Sancto Victore, De tribus diebus, ed. Poirel, p. 21 = PL 176, col. 819A : « Denique motus rationalis, qui est in factis et consiliis, satis admirationis tibi ingerit, si attendere uolueris quam ineffabilis sit sapientia quae omnia hominum facta, omnes denique uoluntates, omnes cogitationes cordium ita ac suae uoluntatis arbitrium intorquet, ita temperat et moderatur, ut nichil in uniuersitate fieri possit, quod non ipsa ad decorem operum suorum aut precipiendo aut permittendo fieri uelit ». Tr. Feiss, On the Three Days 8.5, p. 70. 75 This matter has a significant Christological aspect : the contemplative return to God is possible thanks to Christ’s Incarnation. 76 Hugo de Sancto Victore, De tribus diebus, ed. Poirel, p. 36-37 = PL 176, col. 824D-825A : « Primum ergo ac principale increatae sapientiae simulacrum est sapientia creata, id est rationalis creatura ; quae quia secundum aliquid uisibilis est, secundum aliquid inuisibilis, ianua contemplationis facta est pariter et uia. Ianua est quia quodammodo inuisibilia visibiliter ostendit ; uia est quia de uisibilibus per inuisibilia euntes usque ad uisibilium pariter et inuisibilium creatorem
John Scottus Eriugena and Hugh of Saint Victor
55
The path of rising towards God proposed by Hugh of Saint Victor is thus typically Augustinian : man begins this journey with astonishment at the beauty of things perceived by the senses, which in turn inspires a return to one’s interior, to something inside us that is an image of Divine Wisdom77. This process, however, assumes the ability to read both the material and the inner reality. To Hugh, as Poirel shows, lectura is broadly understood as the process of comprehension that uses division to reach what is indivisible, that starts from what is known to reach what is hidden, from the specific and literalness (littera) to sense ; reading is both a search for the hidden threads linking all the created things together – a unique book authored by God78. In this process of reading, two reading strategies overlap : reading the book of Nature and book of the Bible ; reading both of these books enriches the symbolic structure of either of them. It should be remembered, however, that every reading process is mediated inside the one who reads. Therefore, Hugh clearly states that the order of cognition always precedes the order of creation in the human mind : Therefore, whoever travels by the way of inquiry from visible things to invisible ones must first lead the gaze of his mind from the corporeal creation to the rational creation and then from the rational creation to consideration of his Creator. However, when he returns from the invisible to the visible, he descends first from the Creator to the rational creation, then from the rational creature to the corporeal creation. In the human mind the order of cognition always precedes the order of creation, because it is we who are outside cannot return from the things within, unless we first have penetrated the interior things with the eye of mind. However, the order of creation always comes again after the order of cognition because, although human weakness is sometimes given tenuous admittance to contemplate interior realities, the ebb and flow of its mutability does not allow it to stay there long79. uidendum perducit. Hoc in semetipso potest agnoscere homo. Nemo enim est sane sapiens qui se esse non uideat. Et tamen homo, si uere id quod ipse est attendere ceperit, omnium quae in se uel uidentur uel uideri possunt nichil se esse intelligit. Illud namque quod in nobis rationis capax est, quamuis, ut ita dicam, infusum et commixtum carni sit, ipsum tamen se a substantia carnis propria ratione secernit, et alienum esse intelligit. Cur ergo homo inuisibilia esse dubitet, qui idipsum quod uere homo est, de cuius existentia nequaquam dubitat, inuisibile esse uidet ? Ianua ergo contemplationis homini aperitur, quando ipse, sua se ratione ducente, ad se cognoscendum ingreditur ». Tr. Feiss, On the Three Days 17.1-2, p. 77. 77 See Lesieur, « Raison et rationalité », p. 400. 78 Poirel, « Lire l’univers visible », p. 374-376. See Id., « Prudens lector. La pratique des livres et de la lecture selon Hugues de Saint-Victor », in Cahiers de recherches médiévales, t. 17, 2009 [en ligne 2012], p. 216 f. See Ciwezski, « Reading the World », p. 67 f. 79 Hugo de Sancto Victore, De tribus diebus, ed. Poirel, p. 61-62 = PL 122, col. 835CD : « Quisquis ergo uia inuestigationis de uisibilibus ad inuisibilia transit, primum a corporea creatura ad rationalem creaturam, deinde a rationali creatura ad considerationem sui creatoris mentis intuitum ducere debet ; reuertens autem de inuisibilibus ad uisibilia, primum a creatore ad rationalem
56
Agnieszka Kijewska
The reading of these books is possible thanks to the appropriate perspective achieved by means of the eye of the body, eye of the mind and eye of contemplation80. IV. Contemplation In Hugh’s view, reason holds a special position in the structure of human existence : it is the contemplation-oriented top of the triad whose two arms, directed towards what is earthly, are anger and covetousness. This faculty thus serves as a kind of medium linking the material and spiritual sphere81. Being created wisdom and image of Uncreated Wisdom, reason can turn towards contemplation, thus becoming an « eye ». The theme of the eye of the soul, or eye of the intellect, was introduced by Plato who made this faculty the subject of contemplation of the Highest Reality. This lesson was passed on in his writings by Boethius, faithful to the Platonic-Neoplatonic tradition in this respect82. In the Book of Sirach (17, 7), however, one can read an important statement on God’s creative activity : …po suit oculum ipsorum super corda illorum/ ostendere illis magnalia operum suorum83. I believe that all these contexts were significant to Hugh’s reading of the function of the « eye ». In his commentary to On the Celestial Hierarchy by Dionysius the Areopagite, Hugh distinguishes three kinds of « eyes » : the eye of the body, the eye of reason, and the eye of contemplation. The eye of the body remains open and gazes at the world and everything that exists in the world. Thus, it enables man to see what is outside him. The eye of reason is bleary, it sees what is inside, while the eye of contemplation is closed and blind because it is oriented towards what is above, the creaturam, deinde a rationali creatura ad corpoream creaturam descendet. Ordo autem cognitionis in mente humana semper precedit ordinem conditionis, quia nos, qui foris sumus, redire ad intimis non possumus, nisi prius oculo mentis intima penetremus. Sequitur autem semper ordo conditionis ordinem cognitionis, quia etsi aliquando humana infirmitas ad interna contemplanda uel tenuiter admissa fuerit, diu ibidem stare hanc suae mutabilitatis fluxus non permittit ». Tr. Feiss, On the Three Days 25.3, p. 90-91. 80 Hugo, Super Ierarchiam Dionisii, III-ii, ed. Poirel, p. 472-473 = PL 178, col. 976A. Allusion to Plato (Rep. 533 CD) as well as Syr. 17, 8. 81 See Hugo de Sancto Victore, De tribus diebus, ed. Poirel, p. 17-18 = PL 176, col. 817C : Lesieur, « Raison et rationalité », p. 386-387. 82 See Boethius, De institutione arithmetica, I, 1, ed. Henricus Oosthout – Johannes Schilling, Turnhout : Brepols, 1999 (CCCM 94A), p. 11 : « Sunt enim quidam gradus certaeque progressionum dimensiones, quibus ascendi progredique possit, ut animi illud oculum, qui, ut ait Plato, mentis oculis corporalibus saluari constitutique sit dignior, quod eo solo lumine uestigari uel inspici ueritas queat, hunc inquam oculum demersum orbatumque corporeis sensibus hae disciplinae rursus illuminent ». 83 See Sirach 17, 7, in Biblia Sacra iuxta Vulgatam versionem, ed. Roger Gryson – Robert Weber – Bonifatius Fischer, Stuttgart : Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft, 1969.
John Scottus Eriugena and Hugh of Saint Victor
57
contemplation of God and Divine things84. However, God is inaccessible to human reason, hence the eye of reason is only able to cognize what is inside man ; in relation to God, it becomes blind and closed because it is not possible to speak adequately about the invisible (invisibilia) based on what is visible (visibilia). The eye of contemplation can only become active through Divine illumination. Hugh states : Therefore, after we have, to the extent that God deigned to grant us, arrived at knowledge of invisible things from visible things, let our mind now return to itself and pay attention to what use can come to it from this knowledge. […] But notice, when we come back from that interior, secret place of divine contemplation, what will we be able to bring with us ? Coming from the region of light, what else except light ? For it is fitting and necessary that if we come from the region of light, we carry with us light to put to flight our darkness. And who will be able to know what we were there, if we do not return enlightened ? […] Look, please ! What is light if not the day, and what is darkness if not the night ? And just as the eye of the body has its day and its night, so also does the eye of the heart have its day and its night. Therefore, there are three days of invisible light by which the course of the spiritual life within is divided85.
Thanks to Divine illumination, the eye of contemplation is activated, and its spiritual fruits are described by Hugh in terms of three days that indicate the threefold form of illumination from the Uncreated Wisdom. Understanding the metaphor of the light and the associated metaphor of the day leads from the six days of the work of creation (creatio) to their interpretation from the perspective of the work of salvation (restauratio86). Thanks to the appropriately chosen 84
Hugo de Sancto Victore, Super Ierarchiam Dionisii, III-ii, ed. Poirel, p. 472-473 = PL 122, col. 976A : « Oculus carnis, oculus rationis, oculus contemplationis. Oculus carnis apertus est, oculus rationis lippus, oculus contemplationis clausus et cecus. Oculo carnis uidetur mundus et ea quae sunt in mundo, oculo rationis animus et ea quae sunt in animo, oculo contemplatonis Deus et ea quae sunt in deo. Oculo carnis uidet homo quae sunt extra se, oculo rationis quae sunt in se, oculo contemplationis quae sunt supra se. » 85 Hugo de Sancto Victore, De tribus diebus, ed. Poirel, p. 62-63 = PL 176, col. 835D-836A : « Postquam igitur nos, quantum Deus largiri dignatus est, de uisibilibus ad inuisibilium cognitionem peruenimus, nunc iam mens nostra ad semetipsam redeat, et quid sibi ex hac cognitione utilitatis prouenire possit attendat. […] Sed ecce, dum de illo intimo diuinae contemplationis secreto reuertimur, quid nobiscum afferre poterimus ? Quid nisi lucem de regione lucis uenientes ? Hoc enim decens et necessarium est ut, si a lucis regione uenimus, ad fugandas nostras tenebras nobiscum lucem apportemus. Et quis scire poterit quod ibi fuimus, si illuminati non redimus ? […] Videte, queso, quid lux sit nisi dies ; et quid tenebrae nisi nox. Et sicut oculus corporis habet diem suam et noctem suam, ita quoque oculus cordis habet diem suam et noctem suam. Tres ergo sunt inuisibilis lucis, quibus interius spiritalis uitae cursus distinguitur ». Tr. Feiss, On the Three Days 26.1-2, p. 91. 86 See Rorem, Hugh of Saint Victor, p. 70 : Boyd T. Coolman, « Pulchrum esse : The Beauty of Scripture, the Beauty of the Soul, and the Art of Exegesis in Hugh of St Victor », in Traditio, t. 58, 2003, p. 175 f.
58
Agnieszka Kijewska
quotations from the Psalms – Anunciate de die in diem salutare eius (95, 2), Hugh combines the metaphor of the day with the Triduum Paschale : death, the laying down in the tomb and resurrection of Christ87. As the days of creation illuminated our intellect with regard to understanding the work of creation, the Triduum Paschale sheds light on our inner man where – in Augustinian fashion – Christ, along with the Holy Trinity, becomes the internal teacher. We have three days internally by which our soul is illuminated. To the first day pertains death ; to the second, burial ; to the third, resurrection. The first day is fear ; the second is truth ; the third is charity. The day of fear is the day of power, the day of the Father. The day of truth is the day of wisdom, the day of the Son. The day of charity is the day of kindness, the day of the Holy Spirit. In fact, the day of the Father and the day of the Son and the day of the Holy Spirit are one day in the Brightness of the Goodhead, but in the enlightening of our minds it is as if the Father had one day, the Son another, and the Holy spirit another88.
Thus, thanks to the contemplation of the book of Nature and the parallel reading of the book of Scripture, man can rise up to a certain vague understanding of God, with the assumption that what can be thought and spoken about God is always « below » what He actually is. In essence, man only considers the letters forming the world « God » – theos. In his commentary to On the Celestial Hierarchy, Hugh puts a question : What can you think about when you say theos ? It reverberates with the words inspic iens – contemplating and reflecting on everything, currens – running or timor – fear89. God’s seeing is His being, hence He is regarded as « contemplating », and 87 See Cizewski, « Reading the World », p. 81 ; Rorem, Hugh of Saint Victor, p. 65. De tri bus diebus, p. 65-66 = PL 122, col. 836D-837A : « “Nuntiate de die in diem salutare eius”. Quid est “salutare eius”, nisi Iesus eius ? Sic enim interpretatur Iesus, hoc est salutaris. Qui ideo salutaris dicitur, quia per eum homo ad salutem reformatur. […] Veritas enim Dei redemptio est generis humani ». 88 Hugo de Sancto Victore, De tribus diebus, ed. Poirel, p. 69 = PL 122, col. 838BC : « Tres ergo dies habemus intrinsecus, quibus illuminatur anima nostra. Ad primum diem mors pertinet, ad secundum sepultura, ad tercium resurrectio. Primus dies est timor, secundus est ueritas, tercius est caritas. Dies timoris est dies potentiae, dies Patris ; dies ueritatis est dies sapientiae, dies Filii ; dies caritatis est dies benignitatis, dies Spiritus Sancti. Dies quidem Patris et dies Filii et dies Spiritus Sancti in claritate diuinitatis unus dies est, sed in nostrae mentis illuminatione, quasi alium diem Pater, alium Filius, atque alium habet Spiritus Sanctus. » Tr. Feiss, On the Three Days 27.3, p. 94. 89 Hugo de Sancto Victore, Super Ierarchiam Dionisii, III-ii, ed. Poirel, p. 473 = PL 122, col. 976C : « Dixisti “Deus”. Et quid est Deus ? Quid cogitas aut quale cogitas cum dicis “Deus” ? Quod enim sonat, hoc est “inspiciens” uel “currens” siue “timor” uel quodlibet aliud estimaueris ut potes de ipso. Ergo, cum dicis “Deus”, “inspicientem” dicis et contemplantem et considerantem omnia. »
John Scottus Eriugena and Hugh of Saint Victor
59
He « runs » through all things because He permeates, comprehends and contains everything. At the end of all the different explications of the etymology of the word theos, Hugh concludes that walking towards God is a great thing a man can do even if he does not reach this goal90. A similar etymology of the word « God » – theos is given by Eriugena who includes it in the dynamic vision of the creation process. God establishes all things by bringing them out of non-being – absence of all essence, and the process of creation mediated by God’s Virtus gnostica is associated with « seeing », i.e. the cognizance of the essence of things. While « seeing » all things, God « runs » through everything, calling (kalein) the creation into being : Of this name [then] an etymology has been taken over from the Greeks : for either it is derived from the verb theoro, that is, ‘I see’ ; or from the verb theo, that is, ‘I run’ ; or – which is more likely [since] the meaning of both is [one and] the same – it is correctly held to be derived from both. For when it is derived from the verb : theoro, theos is interpreted to mean ‘He Who sees’, for He sees in Himself all things that are [while] He looks upon nothing that is outside Himself because outside Him there is nothing. But when theos is derived from the verb theo it is correctly interpreted ‘He Who runs’, for He runs throughout all things and never stays but by His running fills out all things, as it is written : ‘His Word runneth swiftly91.’
This vision of the Absolute « running » through all things and somewhat coming into being in them was undoubtedly what attracted German idealists to Eriugena’s system of thought. However, I think that Eriugena’s Periphyseon is not 90
Hugo de Sancto Victore, Super Ierarchiam Dionisii, III-ii, ed. Poirel, p. 473-474 = PL 178, col. 976C-977A : « Si autem “currentem” intelligis, quia penetrat omnia et apprehendit et continet omne, quod est currere illi ? Hoc stare est. Et hoc quis capiat ? Si uero “timorem” iinterpretaris, et ipsum sub hoc nomine cogitandum asseras cum dicitur “Deus”, quis explicare possit quomodo timor sit Deus ? […] Vide ergo quid dicas cum dicis “Deus”, aut quid cogites cum dicis “Deus”. – Creatorem, inquis, omnium cogito cum dico “Deus”, qui omnia fecit et ipse factus non est. – Ergo cum dicis “Deus”, cogitas quod fecit omnia. Cogitas quod fecit, et non cogitas quod est ipse qui fecit. Nondum adhuc attigisti quod spoponderas, ut cogites et intelligas quod est Deus. […] et tamen de ipso hoc dicis, non ut accedas ad ipsum, sed ut ipsi appropinques. » 91 Eriugena, Periphyseon, I, ed. Jeauneau, p. 18 = PL 122, col. 452BC : « Huius itaque nominis etymologia a graecis assumpta est. Aut enim a uerbo quod est theoro (hoc est uideo) deriuatur, aut ex uerbo theo (hoc est curro), aut – quod probabilius est, quia unus idemque intellectus inest – ab utroque deriuari recte accipitur. Nam cum a uerbo theoro deducitur, theos uidens interpretatur. Ipse enim omnia quae sunt in se ipso uidet, dum nihil extra se ipsum aspiciat quia nihil extra ipsum est. Cum uero a uerbo theo theos deducitur, currens recte intelligitur. Ipse enim in omnia currit et nullo modo stat sed omnia currendo implet, sicut scriptum est : “Velociter currit sermo eius” ». Tr. O’Meara, Periphyseon, p. 38. See Agnieszka Kijewska, « Etymology and Philosophy : God as videns et currens », in Eriugena-Cusanus, ed. Agnieszka Kijewska – Roman Majeran – Harald Schwaetzer, Lublin : Wydawnictwo KUL, 2011, p. 18-124.
Agnieszka Kijewska
60
a phenomenology of the spirit and, therefore, I interpret these statements in the context of the dialectics of Divine transcendence and immanence in relation to the world rather than in the spirit of pantheism. Furthermore, the element that significantly shaped Eriugena’s system and was also significant in idealist systems was the conviction that man, through his cognitive acts, co-establishes reality. Man – construed as the « workshop of creation » – participates in the Divine act of cognition-creation because his intellect is the « place » where the created reality is established and, for this reason, it is termed as paradise. This state of a direct intuitive view of the entire reality was lost by man due to the original sin whose consequences include the loss of this original immediacy of cognition which now has to start with the perception through the senses92. The return to the original paradisiacal state is a universal eschatological return of the entire created reality to the state of its original perfection ; it occurs in man and through man. The possibility of this return was determined by the Incarnation of Christ, His Passion, death and resurrection that, to man, became a model of divinization and return to the heights of Divinity93. This return is universal, i.e. it concerns all people, just like Christ’s work of salvation encompassed all people94. However, it will consist in restoring the goods to which man was entitled by nature and which – described as paradisiacal state – he lost because of sin. Eriugena depicts this type of return with an exegesis of the parable of ten men with leprosy who were healed by Christ. In Eriugena’s view, the entire human nature comprises these ten men, but it is enfolded in that single man who returned to praise God for his cleansing. The entirety of human nature is « brought » to the Creator in this single perfect part, i.e. the intellect. Human intellect thus constitutes the most perfect part of human existence that, in the light of the story from Exodus, can be termed as paradise which, therefore, should not be construed as a historicalgeographical reality.
92
The first and fundamental consequences of the original sin are divisions of human nature, including the first essential division into the sexes. See Avital Wohlman, L’homme, le monde sensible et le péché dans la philosophie de Jean Scot Erigène, Paris : Vrin, 1987, p. 32 f. See Eriugena, Periphyseon, IV ed. Jeauneau, p. 94 = PL 122, col. 808AB. 93 See Eriugena, Commentarius, III, 5, 23-26, p. 86 = PL 122, col. 319D : « Exitus ergo eius a patre humanatio est, et reditus eius ad patrem hominis, quem accepit, deificatio et in altitudinem diuinitatis assumptio ». See Donald F. Duclow, « Dialectics and Christology in Eriugena’s ‘Periphyseon’ », in Dionysius, t. 4, 1980, p. 110. 94 See Eriugena, Periphyseon, V ed. Jeauneau, p. 165-166 = PL 122, col. 979AB : « Qui reditus duobus modis consideratur. Quorum unus est qui totius humanae naturae docet in Christo restaurationem, alter uero qui non solum ipsam restaurationem generaliter perspicit, uerum etiam eorum qui in ipsum deum ascensuri sunt beatitudinem et deificationem. Aliud enim est in paradisum redire, aliud de ligno uitae comedere. »
John Scottus Eriugena and Hugh of Saint Victor
61
The exegesis of the parable of the wise and foolish virgins (Mt 25, 1-13) is an opportunity for Eriugena to present an image of universal return and return of the chosen (reditus specialis). Having taken their lamps, all virgins, wise and foolish, went forth to meet the bridegroom and the bride, i.e. Christ and the Church : The vessels of the prudent virgins are the same as those of the imprudent, for the reason, which is, as it were, the natural receptacle of the Divine Light, is equally distributed throughout the integrity, or virginity, of that incorruptible nature which knows neither increase nor diminution, but it does not in all cases receive the light to an equal degree. And this is not due to any fault of grudgingness or insufficiency in the Light itself, for it is present to all and shines equally upon all, streaming out over all in inexhaustible profusion : it is due to the fact that the power of the eyes which perceive that spiritual light is unequal, so that some enjoy it to a greater, some to a less degree, while others again are completely closed to it95.
All virgins will enter the wedding, that is they will receive the goods specific to their nature, which represents the universal return. However, only the virgins that have a supply of oil of good deeds and clear conscience will receive the supernatural grace of divinization, a synonym of the return of the chosen. The grace of return, represented here by Divine Light, is equally accessible to everyone ; it is the human eye perceiving this light that determines to what extent it will be open to this light. Eriugena devotes much less attention to the kind of return that could be described as mystical return, which is essentially an anticipation or preparation for the return of the chosen. He regards John the Evangelist, who contemplated the mysteries of the Holy Trinity, as a model of such a mystic, a mystic eagle. Talking about the phases of mystical accession, Eriugena mentions faith (fides), action (actio), knowledge (illuminatio) and contemplation (theoria, theologia). The symbol of the former two phases is Saint Peter whose faith helped him recognize the Messiah in Christ, while the latter two phases are symbolized by Saint John the 95 Eriugena, Periphyseon, V, ed. Jeauneau, p. 213 = PL 122, col. 1012AB : « Vasa itaque similia sunt prudentium et imprudentium uirginum, quoniam ratio, quae ueluti naturalis diuini luminis sedes est, uniformiter integritati naturae incorruptibilis, quae in nullo augetur uel minuitur, distributa est, quamuis non uniformiter diuinum lumen accipiat. Nec hoc in culpa ipsius luminis aut inuidia aut inopia constituitur, quoniam omnibus praesens est omnibusque aequaliter profluens. Sed quemadmodum uisu oculorum haec lux non aequaliter percipitur, sed alii plus, alii minus ea fruuntur, alii penitus ab ea secluduntur, ut immundi spiritus, qui ad eam nolunt conuerti. » Tr. O’Meara, Periphyseon, p. 702. See Paul Dietrich – Donald F. Duclow, « Paradise and Eschatology : Symbolism and Exegesis in Periphyseon V », in Jean Scot écrivain, ed. Guy-H. Allard, Montréal – Paris : Bellarmin – Vrin, 1986, p. 41-43.
Agnieszka Kijewska
62
Evangelist who was transfigured into God, thus accomplishing the goal of the return of the chosen, i.e. deification. The mystical bird, who flies fast and looks upon the face of God – I mean John, the ‘theologian’ – rises above every visible and invisible creature, soars over all understanding, and, deified, enters into God who deifies him96.
*
* * Both John Scottus Eriugena and Hugh of Saint Victor regard the book of Scripture and book of Nature as exceptional texts that present invisibilia Dei in a visual and beautiful way. Man, who essentially holds an intermediary position in relation to both of these books, is their keen reader who should make the effort of reading them methodically. It turns out, however, that this is not enough to read the dialectic symbolic structure of the book of the world and the book of Scripture. What is needed, above all, is cooperation with Divine Grace, i.e. Divine illumination. To Eriugena, however, man does not only read the meaning of both of these books, but co-establishes it as well : for all things were established in the human mind as objects of human cognition – understanding and naming things essentially means participating in the creation process. Since the original sin deprived man of this power and immediacy of cognition, man finds support in the reading of the Bible now. Eriugena believes that the literal meaning of Scripture is secondary, dependent on the allegorical meaning because only from the perspective of God’s plan can we read the meaning of historical events. Hugh of Saint Victor believed that the historical meaning is fundamental even though he is much more interested in the work of salvation rather than creation97. To Eriugena, on the other hand, the work of salvation sets the interpretation framework for the work of creation, and eschatology becomes protology ; hence determining a strictly « historical » course of events is impossible. If the story of paradise is the point of reference for « history », the boundaries of paradise are the limits of human intellect to Eriugena. Hugh’s doctrine and, to an even greater extent, the teaching of Eriugena, with his frequent use of paradox, aroused surprise and wonder because at their heart lies the teaching about God who is Nihil per excellentiam, and the book of Scripture and the book of the world are certain, though not quite clear, manifestations of His hiddenness. 96
Eriugena, Homilia super « In Principio erat Verbum », IV, ed. Jeauneau, p. 8-9 = PL 122, col. 285B : « Spirituale igitur petasum, citiuolum, deiuidum (Iohannem dico theologum) omnem uisibilem et inuisibilem creaturam superat, omnem intellectum tranat, et deificatus in deum intrat se deificantem ». Tr. O’Meara, Eriugena, p. 160-161. 97 See P. Rorem, Hugh of Saint Victor, p. 55.
Causa omnium homo. Ugo di San Vittore e la nuova antropologia : fra monaci e canonici sulle due rive del Reno Marco Rainini
I. Il « sottosuolo » Nel suo studio Cur homo ? Le sous-sol d’une controverse au xiie siècle, pubblicato nel 1953 e poi ripreso nel classico La théologie au douzième siècle (1957), Marie-Dominique Chenu metteva in luce un mutamento di prospettiva nell’antropologia teologica degli autori del Medioevo centrale, suggerendo una relazione con i grandi cambiamenti che caratterizzarono l’Occidente in quegli stessi anni1. Il problema riguardava la creazione dell’uomo : la creatura umana è stata voluta da Dio per se stessa, oppure semplicemente per rimpiazzare gli angeli ribelli, che con la loro caduta avevano lasciato un posto vuoto nella città celeste ? Se autorità imponenti, quali Agostino e Gregorio Magno, sembravano indicare quest’ultima risposta, nei primi decenni del XII secolo alcuni autori cominciarono a porre il problema in altri termini2. 1 Marie Dominique Chenu, « Cur homo ? Le sous-sol d’une controverse au xiie siècle », in Mélanges de science religieuse, t. 10, 1953, p. 195-204 ; cf. Id., La théologie au douzième siècle, Paris : Vrin, 1957 (Études de philosophie médiévale, 45), p. 52-61, a cui faccio riferimento di seguito (trad. it. La teologia nel XII secolo, Milano : Jaca Book, 1986). 2 Per Agostino e Gregorio si vedano ora i testi raccolti da Vojtěch Novotný, Cur homo ? A history of the thesis concerning man as a replacement for fallen angels, Praha : Karolinum Press, 2014, p. 16-22 e 32-40. A titolo di esempio : « Ipse est enim, qui in principio condidit mundum, […] qui de mortali progenie merito iuste que damnata tantum populum gratia sua colligit, ut inde suppleat et instauret partem, quae lapsa est angelorum, ac sic illa dilecta et superna ciuitas non fraudetur suorum numero ciuium, quin fortassis et uberiore laetetur », Augustinus Hipponensis, De civitate Dei, XXII, 1, ed. Germain Morin, Turnhout : Brepols, 1955 (CCSL 48), p. 807 ; « Quia enim tanta illic ascensura creditur multitudo hominum, quanta multitudo remansit angelorum, superest ut ipsi quoque homines qui ad caelestem patriam redeunt ex eis agminibus aliquid
Omnium expetendorum prima est sapientia. Studies on Victorine thought and influence, ed. by Wanda Bajor, Michał Buraczewski, Marcin Jan Janecki and Dominique Poirel, BV, 29 (Turnhout, 2021), p. 63–93. © BREPOLSPUBLISHERS DOI 10.1484/M.BV-EB.5.126031
64
Marco Rainini
Gli accenni di Chenu al legame con i mutamenti di quegli anni – per la verità, almeno sul versante della storia delle istituzioni, piuttosto circospetti3 – vennero ripresi con maggior forza dal suo confratello Yves Congar. In una serie di studi a proposito dell’ecclesiologia medievale Congar evidenziava la relazione fra la nuova considerazione della creazione dell’uomo, la nuova spiritualità, e i cambiamenti nelle istituzioni ecclesiastiche4. Conformemente al temperamento (non solo storiografico, per quanto i testimoni narrano…) diverso da quello del confratello, lo studioso domenicano affermava con forza che, per il tema in questione, la « portée ecclésiologique […] est considérable, à plusieurs égards5 ». Le osservazioni del frate Predicatore mostravano uno scenario coerente, che giustificava l’affermazione decisa. Possiamo ora leggere i rilievi di Chenu e Congar alla luce di studi successivi, che ne mostrano la fondatezza, e che d’altro canto illustrano un’incidenza ancora più ampia del tema della creazione dell’uomo – e quindi, del suo posto nel piano divino – nei secoli XI-XII. È disponibile innanzitutto una ricostruzione dello sviluppo del tema « cur homo » ad opera di Voitěch Novotný, molto puntuale in particolare per la sezione relativa al Medioevo centrale6. Per altri versi, Dominique Iogna-Prat ha sottolineato il processo per cui fra il IX e l’XI secolo si passa da « un monachisme régulé et integré » a « un monachisme régulateur et intégrateur7 » : illuc reuertentes imitentur », Gregorius Magnus, Homiliae in evangelia, XXXIV, 11, ed. Raymond Étaix, Turnhout : Brepols, 1999 (CCSL 141), p. 309. 3 Chenu, La théologie au douzième siècle, p. 59-61 ; si vedano anche i riferimenti (più espliciti) in Id., « Moines, clercs, laïcs au carrefour de la vie évangélique (xiie s.) », in Revue d’histoire ecclésiastique, t. 49, 1954, p. 59-89, poi in Id., La théologie au douzième siècle, p. 225-251, in partic. p. 230-232 e 244-251. 4 Si vedano in particolare Yves Congar, « L’Église chez saint Anselme », in Spicilegium Beccense, t. 1 : Congrès international du IXe centenaire de l’arrivée d’Anselme au Bec, Le Bec-Hellouin – Paris : Abbaye Notre-Dame du Bec – Vrin, 1959, p. 371-399 ; Id., « L’ecclésiologie de S. Bernard », in Analecta Sacri Ordinis Cisterciensis, t. 9, 1953, p. 136-190 ; Id., « Église et cité de Dieu chez quelques auteurs cisterciens a l’époque des croisades. En particulier dans le De peregrinante civitate Dei d’Henri d’Albano », in Mélanges offerts à Etienne Gilson, Toronto : Pontifical Institute of Mediaeval Studies, 1959, p. 173-202 ; Id., « Modèle monastique et modèle sacerdotal en Occident de Grégoire VII (1073-1085) à Innocent III (1198) », in Études de civilisation médiévale (ixe-xiie s.). Mélanges Edmond-René Labande, Poitiers : Centre d’Études Supérieures de Civilisation Médiévale, 1974, p. 153-160 – tutti raccolti ora in Id., Études d’ecclésiologie médiévale, London : Variorum Reprints, 1983. 5 Congar, L’Église chez saint Anselme, p. 372. 6 Si tratta del già citato Novotný, Cur homo ?. 7 Dominique Iogna-Prat, « Église monastique et église universelle : le monachisme comme forme de renouvellement ecclésiologique en Occident, v. 800-v. 1000 », in Monachesimi d’Oriente e d’Occidente nell’Alto Medioevo. Atti della LXIV settimana di studio della Fondazione Centro Italiano di Studi sull’Alto Medioevo (Spoleto, 31 marzo-6 aprile 2016), t. II, Spoleto : Fondazione Centro Italiano di Studi sull’Alto Medioevo, 2017 (Settimane di studio della Fondazione
Causa omnium homo. Ugo di San Vittore e la nuova antropologia 65 la vita monastica viene intesa come la vita cristiana, riuscita e compiuta, e i monaci costituiscono il nerbo della compagine ecclesiastico-sociale, assumendo sempre di più posizioni di guida nella cultura e nelle gerarchie. Si tratta della prospettiva che già i due studiosi domenicani avevano delineato, e che essi mettevano in relazione con l’idea dell’uomo come « angelo di rimpiazzo8 ». Se l’uomo deve prendere il posto degli angeli caduti, ciò che meglio lo preparerà a questo sarà una vita angelica, casta e dedicata alla lode di Dio, come quella dei monaci : « dell’umanità si vuole fare un monastero gioioso, attivo, che viva nell’attesa della celeste beatitudine » (Chenu9). Ne consegue « una concezione [della Chiesa] molto monastica », che, lungi dall’essere appannaggio dei circoli benedettini, è di fatto l’ecclesiologia tipica di quegli anni : « a quell’epoca non ve ne è un’altra » – così Congar, a proposito dell’ecclesiologia di Anselmo di Canterbury10. Per mettere a fuoco la portata culturale del cambiamento di paradigma dobbiamo chiamare in causa un’incursione di Ivan Illich negli studi sul Medioevo centrale11. Partendo da alcune considerazioni sul Didascalicon di Ugo di San Vittore, Illich mette in luce i grandi mutamenti nella cultura, e più precisamente nelle modalità di lettura, fra i secoli XI e XII. Si tratta di cambiamenti che costituiscono una linea di demarcazione fra lo studio come « esercizio spirituale » (per utilizzare un’espressione di Pierre Hadot12), volto innanzitutto all’edificazione personale, e lo studio più orientato invece all’acquisizione di conoscenze in ordine alla loro trasmissione. Il primo modello sarebbe caratteristico della cultura monastica, mentre il secondo si attaglierebbe meglio alle scuole dei canonici, e in particolare alle scuole cittadine, delle cattedrali, in cui è maggiormente avvertita la necessità della cura pastorale e in primo luogo della predicazione – e quindi della trasmissione di contenuti13. Centro Italiano di Studi sull’Alto Medioevo, 64), p. 1087-1115, in partic. p. 1090 e 1100-1101 ; cf. anche Id., « Le “baptême” du schéma des trois ordres fonctionnels : l’apport de l’école d’Auxerre dans la seconde moitié du ixe siècle », in Annales. Histoire, Sciences Sociales, t. 41/1, 1986, p. 101-126. 8 Novotný (Cur homo ?, p. 10, n. 3) individua una prima ricorrenza dell’espressione (« ange de remplacement ») in Louis Bouyer, Le sens de la vie monastique, Paris : Cerf, 2008 (orig. 1950), p. 56. Cf. a riguardo i rilievi consonanti di Iogna-Prat, Église monastique, sui monaci nella posizione « entre anges et hommes » (p. 1090) e che « anticipent la condition des anges dans l’au-delà ». 9 Chenu, La théologie au douzième siècle, p. 232 ; trad. it. La teologia nel XII secolo, p. 261. 10 Cf. Congar, L’Église chez saint Anselme, p. 374-377. 11 Ivan Illich, In the Vineyard of the Text. A Commentary to Hugh’s Didascalicon, Chicago – London : University of Chicago Press, 1993 (trad. it. Nella vigna del testo. Per una etologia della lettura, Milano : R. Cortina, 1994). 12 Pierre Hadot, Exercices spirituels et philosophie antique, Paris : Albin Michel, 2002 (1a ed. 1987 ; ed. it. Esercizi spirituali e filosofia antica, Torino : Einaudi, 2005). 13 Cf. in particolare Illich, In the Vineyard of the Text, p. 51-92.
Marco Rainini
66
Che la linea di demarcazione fra le due spiritualità e le due antropologie teologiche passasse fra monaci e canonici lo testimonia – come già aveva osservato Chenu – proprio un autore attivo in quegli anni, Onorio Augustodunense (le sue opere si possono datare fra la fine dell’XI e i primi decenni del XII secolo)14. Nella premessa al suo Liber duodecim questionum Onorio mette in scena il dialogo fra un canonico, che dice di « essere del beato Pietro », e un monaco, che dice invece di essere del beato Michele arcangelo ; ciascuno dei due sostiene che il suo signore è superiore a quello dell’interlocutore15. Di seguito Onorio afferma che « l’uomo non per l’angelo apostata, ma per se stesso è stato creato. E così se nessun angelo fosse caduto, l’uomo avrebbe avuto ugualmente il suo posto nell’universo », per concludere che sì, l’angelo può anche essere più felice, ma l’uomo ha una dignità maggiore16. Il legame fra il mutamento di paradigma teologico e la diversa spiritualità di monaci e canonici è stato evidenziato in modo convincente da Dominique Poirel, che ha introdotto un elemento ulteriore, molto significativo per gli sviluppi 14
Su questo autore, tanto sfuggente alla ricostruzione storiografica quanto prolifico e diffuso nel secolo in cui visse, oltre agli studi raccolti in Valerie I. J. Flint, Honorius Augustodunensis of Regensburg, Aldershot : Variorum, 1995 (Authors of the Middle Ages, 6), a cui si aggiunga almeno Ead., « The Place and Purpose of the Works of Honorius Augustodunensis », in Revue Bénédictine, t. 87, 1977, p. 97-127, e a quelli (non sempre convergenti con le ipotesi della Flint) di Marie-Odile Garrigues, « L’œuvre d’Honorius Augustodunensis : inventaire critique », in Abhandlungen der Braunschweigischen wissenschaftlichen Gesellschaft, t. 38, 1986, p. 7-136 ; t. 39, 1987, p. 123-228 ; t. 40, 1988, p. 129-190, resta ancora importante Joseph Anton Endres, Honorius Augustodunensis. Beitrag zur Geschichte des geistigen Lebens im 12. Jahrhundert, Kempten – München : Kösel, 1906. 15 Honorius Augustodunensis, Liber duodecim quaestionum, ed. PL 172, col. 1177-1186, qui 1177BC. Per quest’opera, come per la maggior parte degli scritti di Onorio, si deve ricorrere ancora ai testi raccolti dal Migne, per cui è preferibile sempre una verifica a fronte dei manoscritti ; il confronto mette in luce infatti veri e propri rovesciamenti di prospettiva nel testo recepito a stampa, per passaggi problematici alla luce della teologia successiva ; cf. il caso riportato anche in Endres, Honorius Augustodunensis, p. 119, a proposito di un passaggio in Honorius Augustodunensis, Expositio in Cantica canticorum, ed. PL 172, col. 347-496, in partic. 433B, riguardo al motivo dell’Incarnazione – che per Onorio in realtà, come appare nei manoscritti più antichi (cf. ad es. München, Bayerische Staatsbibliothek, Clm 4550, f. 63v-64r ; Clm 5118, f. 61v-62r ; Clm 17091, f. 77r ; Clm 18025, f. 56r), non si deve al peccato originale. 16 « Ita homo non pro apostata angelo, sed pro seipso sit conditus ; et ideo si nullus angelus cecidisset, homo tamen suum locum in universitate habuisset » (Honorius Augustodunensis, Liber duodecim quaestionum, Summa XII quaestionum, ed. PL 172, col. 1177BC) : « Absque dubio : homo est dignior, licet angelus sit felicior ; quia homo in Christo est Deus, quod non est angelus ; et angeli adorant supra se hominem Deum, non homines angelum. Angelus est felicior, quia semper in beatitudine mansit ; homo autem dignior, quia in miseria positus, contra vitia et daemones pugnans, virtute beatitudinem promeruit, quam angelus per gratiam Dei non amisit. » (ivi, VII, 1182BC).
Causa omnium homo. Ugo di San Vittore e la nuova antropologia 67 che qui vorrei proporre17. Poirel ha notato che la mutata considerazione della creazione di angeli e uomini, e il suo successo soprattutto nell’ambiente dei canonici regolari, sono da mettere in relazione con la nuova angelologia, assunta e sviluppata grazie alla rinnovata circolazione del corpus areopagiticum, e più in particolare della Gerarchia celeste e dei suoi commentatori. Il testo di Dionigi diviene il nuovo punto di riferimento su questo tema, andando a sostituire le considerazioni che si trovavano in particolare in una delle Homiliae in Evangelia di Gregorio Magno. Angeli e uomini appartengono a ordini diversi, e non è quindi possibile che l’uomo sostituisca l’angelo18. Questa separazione valorizza di fatto l’uomo, come creatura dotata di una vocazione propria. D’altro canto, la gerarchia celeste, degli angeli, diviene modello della gerarchia ecclesiastica, degli uomini. Degli spiriti angelici si sottolinea meno l’assenza dell’elemento corporeo, e più la funzione dell’annuncio, e d’altro canto di purificazione e perfezionamento, che ha il suo corrispettivo nelle funzioni della gerarchia della Chiesa militante, rispettivamente nella predicazione e nell’amministrazione dei sacramenti. In breve, « l’ange n’est plus alors le modèle du moine […] mais l’archétype du clerc19 ». In tutto ciò Poirel evidenzia il ruolo centrale assunto da Ugo di San Vittore. Il giudizio di André Vauchez, per cui le osservanze dei canonici si distinguerebbero da quelle dei monaci « per la loro finalità apostolica e non per quella escatologica », mi sembra indicare in sintesi il problema in gioco, e la sua prospettiva nella diversa spiritualità dei due ordines20. La conoscenza non è più lo strumento elitario di crescita per coloro che, allontanatisi dal ‘mondo’, anticipano su questa terra la vita degli angeli, ma deve essere portata agli uomini, in quanto creature per se stesse volute, là dove di norma vivono e operano – innanzitutto, nelle città, sempre più vive e numerose21. Qui, per altro, passa a mio parere il discrimine più significativo fra una teologia di tenore « monastico » e una di tenore
17
Dominique Poirel, Des symboles et des anges. Hugues de Saint-Victor et le réveil dionysien du xiie siècle, Turnhout : Brepols, 2013 (Bibliotheca Victorina, 23), in partic. p. 337-362 (« L’ange gothique », già pubblicato in L’architecture gothique au service de la liturgie, Actes du colloque organisé à la Fondation Singer-Polignac (Paris) le jeudi 24 octobre 2002, ed. Agnès Bos – Xavier Dectot, Turnhout : Brepols, 2003 (Rencontres médiévales européennes, 3), p. 115-142). 18 Cf. in partic. Poirel, Des symboles et des anges, p. 352-362. 19 Ivi, p. 355. 20 André Vauchez, La spiritualità dell’Occidente medievale, Milano : Vita e pensiero, 1993, p. 96 (ed. or. La spiritualité du Moyen Âge occidental, Paris : Seuil, 1975). 21 Poirel, Des symboles et des anges, p. 346-347. Si veda a riguardo Caroline W. Bynum, « The Spirituality of Regular Canons in the Twelfth Century », in Jesus as Mother. Studies in the Spirituality of the High Middle Ages, Berkeley – Los Angeles – London : University of California Press, 1982, p. 22-58.
Marco Rainini
68
« scolastico » – senza forzare una partizione che, alla prova dei fatti, dietro polemiche aspre mostra convergenze frequenti22. Ancora Ivan Illich evidenzia come sia la stessa organizzazione del libro, e della pagina in particolare, che muta, per obbedire alle rinnovate esigenze di studio, e ai connessi nuovi metodi di lettura : si tratta ora di statim invenire, di trovare in fretta i testi e le relazioni fra di essi23. Si sviluppano quindi « finding devices24 », strutture diagrammatiche, testi organizzati in modo sempre più ordinato e che rendono l’accesso più rapido a chi deve organizzare l’insegnamento – soprattutto in quella forma particolare e popolare che ne è la predicazione. La lettura somiglia sempre meno al quieto, continuo esercizio di meditazione di chi deve acquisire lo sguardo angelico sul mondo, per coglierne i segreti rimandi all’invisibile, ed è sempre più l’accesso immediato a testi ben individuati, per costruire un discorso organizzato e convincente25. Tutto ciò mi sembra mostrare come il cambiamento di paradigma sulla causa della creazione dell’uomo non costituisca un episodio all’interno di un dibattito dottrinale, come tale da confinare fra gli interessi di qualche scolastico26, ma evidenzi un incidenza ben più ampia : se, per Congar, « non si può […] esagerare l’importanza dell’idea ereditata da sant’Agostino e da san Gregorio Magno secondo la quale gli uomini sono chiamati a rimpiazzare gli angeli caduti27 », forse ancora meno si possono esagerare le conseguenze del suo declino. Con ciò – è importante chiarirlo – non si tratta di stabilire la direzione di dipendenza fra il dibattito teologico e la nuova spiritualità da un lato, e lo sviluppo sociale e istituzionale dall’altro, ma di comprendere le interazioni fra aree ed elementi che inevitabilmente comunicano e in qualche misura si condizionano.
22
Per un bilancio su queste categorie, e per una scelta fra i numerosi riferimenti bibliografici a riguardo, rinvio a quanto ho osservato in Marco Rainini, Corrado di Hirsau e il « Dialogus de cruce ». Per la ricostruzione del profilo di un autore monastico del XII secolo, Firenze : SISMEL – Edizioni del Galluzzo, 2014 (Millennio Medievale, 101), p. 343-373, in partic. p. 357-360. 23 Illich, In the Vineyard of the Text, p. 93-114. Sui mutamenti nel modello di lettura in questo periodo, cf. anche Jacqueline Hamesse, « Il modello della lettura nell’età della scolastica », in Storia della lettura nel mondo occidentale, ed. Guglielmo Cavallo – Roger Chartier, Roma – Bari : Laterza, 1995 (Biblioteca universale Laterza, 480), p. 91-115. 24 Richard H. Rouse – Mary A. Rouse, « Statim invenire. Schools, Preachers, and New Attitudes to the Page », in Renaissance and Renewal in the Twelfth Century, ed. Robert L. Benson – Giles Constable – Carol D. Lanham, Oxford : Clarendon Press, 1982, p. 201-225, in partic. 206. 25 Cf. Illich, In the Vineyard of the Text, in partic. p. 105-106. 26 Cf. già in questo senso Chenu, La théologie au douzième siècle, p. 59-60. 27 Congar, L’Église chez saint Anselme, p. 372.
Causa omnium homo. Ugo di San Vittore e la nuova antropologia 69 II. La linea di sviluppo Per Chenu « il teatro della controversia, e dunque i luoghi spirituali nei quali fu posto il problema, si determinano abbastanza facilmente : si tratta degli ambienti influenzati dalla scuola di Laon28 ». Lo studioso richiama inoltre come causa meno prossima i problemi posti da Anselmo di Canterbury con il Cur Deus homo29 – contrariamente a quanto si trova a volte affermato, la posizione di Anselmo a riguardo è ambigua : in alcuni passaggi sembra mettere in discussione la tesi di Agostino e Gregorio Magno, che di norma sembra tuttavia accettare30. La più recente ricostruzione di Voitěch Novotný ripropone lo schema di Chenu : sarebbero le elaborazioni di Laon a indicare la strada, che viene percorsa quindi in Germania da Ruperto di Deutz († 1129) e Onorio Augustodunense (morto probabilmente attorno alla metà del secolo), e in Francia da Ugo di San Vittore31. Quest’ultimo, con la sua influenza sulle scuole di Francia, appare quindi come il nodo da cui la nuova visione dell’uomo nel piano della creazione prende piede e si diffonde nei secoli successivi. La linea di dipendenza e di sviluppo del nuovo modello, da Laon e attraverso Ugo di San Vittore, raggiungerebbe l’autore della Summa sententiarum e Pietro Lombardo, per poi proseguire fino ai maestri attivi nell’ultimo quarto del secolo a Parigi32. Anche a fronte della tenuta della posizione tradizionale presso gli autori cisterciensi33, per cui la creazione dell’uomo continua ad essere una riparazione della caduta degli angeli ribelli, tale lettura sembrerebbe confermare la linea di frattura fra cultura monastica e nuova spiritualità delle scuole dei canonici (di Laon, piuttosto che dei Vittorini, piuttosto che delle cattedrali). In realtà, la contrapposizione, risolta in questi termini, appare riduttiva, e non coglie le radici più profonde del nuovo modello. Va innanzitutto notato che il quadro, in questi termini, non tiene conto delle osservazioni di Poirel a proposito della circolazione dell’opera dello pseudo-Dionigi, e dell’impatto della sua speculazione sugli angeli34. Inoltre, lo stessa contrapposizione fra uno « schieramento monastico » e uno costituito dai canonici mostra elementi critici. Va sottolineato che il problema non è qui rappresentato dalle eccezioni fra i monaci bianchi – se 28
Chenu, La théologie au douzième siècle, p. 53 (cf. trad. it. p. 60). Ibidem. 30 Cf. a riguardo i passi in Anselmus Cantuariensis, Cur Deus homo, I, 16-19, 23 ; II, 16 ; Anselme de Cantorbéry, Pourquoi Dieu s’est fait homme, ed René Roques, Paris : Cerf, 1963 (Sources chrétiennes, 91), p. 282-292, 310, 332, 414-416 ; Anselmo sembra assumere una posizione diversa da quella tradizionale ivi, I, 18, p. 288-292. Cf. anche Novotný, Cur homo ?, p. 53-59. 31 Novotný, Cur homo ?, in partic. p. 116. 32 Ivi, p. 121-129. 33 Ivi, p. 112-114. 34 Vedi supra, note 17-19 e testo corrispondente. 29
70
Marco Rainini
fosse confermata l’attribuzione, ne troveremmo un esempio in un testo di Alchero di Clairvaux († 1169)35. Molto più significativa si rivela in questo senso la presenza di sostenitori della nuova dottrina sulla creazione dell’uomo fra i Benedettini tedeschi : innanzitutto Ruperto di Deutz e lo stesso Onorio Augustodunense – anch’egli con ogni probabilità monaco nero, quale che sia stato il suo percorso biografico precedente36 –, e in seguito Corrado di Hirsau e Ildegarda di Bingen37. Si potrebbe osservare che proprio questi autori, benché monaci, mostrano anche una notevole sensibilità per il problema della predicazione, avvicinandosi così alle istanze della nuova spiritualità. Sia a Ruperto che a Onorio si devono scritti controversistici sulla liceità per i monaci di impegnarsi nella predicazione, proprio nel confronto con i canonici regolari, e con i Premostratensi in particolare38 ; per la stessa Ildegarda è testimoniata una lunga campagna di predicazione itinerante39. A fronte dei rilievi fatti in precedenza, che mettono in relazione la 35 Novotný, Cur homo ?, p. 123-124, che richiama lo scritto, forse di Alchero, De diligendo Deo, 2, ed. PL 40, col. 850, stampato dal Migne fra le opere di Agostino e dato lì come di « Auctor incertus ». 36 Cf. a riguardo Valerie I. J. Flint, « The Career of Honorius Augustodunensis. Some Fresh Evidence », in Revue Bénédictine, t. 82, 1972, p. 63-86 ; Marie-Odile Garrigues, « Honorius était-il bénédictin ? », in Studia monastica, t. 19, 1977, p. 27-46. 37 Rainini, Corrado di Hirsau, p. 207-230 ; Karl Lehmann, « Größe und Elend des Menschen in der Schöpfung nach der heiligen Hildegard von Bingen », in Unversehrt und unverletzt. Hildegards von Bingen Menschenbild und Kirchenverständnis heute, ed. Rainer Berndt, in Verbindung mit Maura Zátonyi, Münster i. W. : Aschendorff, 2015 (Erudiri Sapientia, 12), p. 369383, in partic. 377-379. 38 Rupertus Tuitiensis, Conflictus Roberti coloniensis abbatis cum Norberto, in Rupertus Tuitiensis. Opera apologetica, ed. Maria Ludovica Arduini, Turnhout : Brepols, 2012 (CCCM 28), p. 73-93 : , Quaestio utrum monachis liceat praedicare, in Endres, Honorius Augustodunensis, p. 145-147 ; Honorius Augustodunensis, Quod monachis liceat praedicare, ivi, p. 147-150 ; cf. Garrigues, « L’œuvre d’Honorius », t. 40, 1988, p. 154-159. Si deve assegnare a Onorio più probabilmente che a Ruperto il De vita vere apostolica, edito in in Rupertus Tuitiensis, Opera apologetica, ed. Maria Ludovica Arduini, Turnhout : Brepols, 2012 (CCCM 28), p. 217-321 ; per la furibonda e irrisolata discussione storiografica a riguardo, che oppose Maria Ludovica Arduini e Marie-Odile Garrigues, mi limito qui a indicare gli ultimi contributi : Garrigues, « L’œuvre d’Honorius », t. 40, 1988, p. 159-166 ; Maria Ludovica Arduini, Et repetita iuvent : il problema dell’autore del « De vita vere apostolica », Spoleto : Centro italiano di studi sull’Alto Medioevo, 1989. Per il problema della predicazione nell’intera opera di Onorio Augustodunense si veda Flint, The Place and Purpose. 39 Beverly M. Kienzle, « Hildegard of Bingen and the Public Voices of Woman in Medieval Society », in Unversehrt und unverletzt. Hildegards von Bingen Menschenbild und Kirchenverständnis heute, ed. Rainer Berndt, in Verbindung mit Maura Zátonyi, Münster i. W. : Aschendorff, 2015 (Erudiri Sapientia, 12), p. 309-322, in partic. 319-322 ; Ead., « Crisis and Charismatic authority in Hildegard of Bingen’s Preaching against the Cathars », in Charisma and religious authority. Jewish, Christian and Muslim preaching, 1200-1500, ed. Katherine L. Jansen – Miri Rubin, Turnhout : Brepols, 2010, p. 73-91.
Causa omnium homo. Ugo di San Vittore e la nuova antropologia 71 nuova interpretazione della creazione dell’uomo e la sensibilità dei nuovi soggetti istituzionali per l’impegno apostolico-pastorale, si tratta di un elemento degno di nota. III. Ugo di San Vittore e Laon Elementi più interessanti emergono dal confronto fra i testi. È opportuno allora innanzitutto verificare le vicinanze fra gli scritti della scuola di Laon e quelli di Ugo di San Vittore, in forza delle quali Novotný afferma che lì si deve guardare per individuare la fonte d’ispirazione per la formulazione del problema da parte del Vittorino, e in ultima analisi la sostanza della sua argomentazione40. Va innanzitutto sottolineato che in più occasioni la storiografia ha rimarcato le vicinanze fra Ugo e le raccolte di sentenze che in diverso modo ci riportano le speculazioni dei maestri di Laon41. Il Vittorino doveva avere accesso a questi testi – almeno ad alcuni –, e certamente conosceva la dottrina di questi maestri. L’uso che ne fa appare tuttavia piuttosto libero42. Per la questione del « cur homo? » Novotný chiama in causa un passaggio specifico del De sacramentis, per cui trova un parallelo nelle raccolte di sentenze Divina essentia teste (« Sententie Atrebatenses »), De sententiis divine (« Sententie divine pagine »), Principium et causa (« Sententiae Anselmi »)43. La somiglianza è convincente, e si può certamente 40
Novotný, Cur homo ?, p. 120. Si veda il bilancio in Cédric Giraud, Per verba magistri. Anselme de Laon et son école au xiie siècle, Turnhout : Brepols, 2010 (Bibliothèque d’histoire culturelle du Moyen Âge, 8), p. 454464 ; in particolare, per un caso in cui appare evidente l’uso da parte di Ugo della raccolta Principium et causa (« Sententiae Anselmi »), si veda ivi, p. 463. Cf. inoltre Heinrich Weisweiler, Die Wirksamkeit der Sakramente nach Hugo von St. Viktor, Freiburg i. Br. : Herder, 1932, p. 146154 ; Dominique Poirel, Livre de la nature et débat trinitaire au xiie siècle : le « De tribus diebus » de Hugues de Saint-Victor, Turnhout : Brepols, 2002 (Bibliotheca Victorina, 14), p. 360-366. Per i differenti giudizi della storiografia precedente su questo problema cf. ancora Giraud, Per verba magistri, p. 456 n. 80, che cita le differenti opinioni di Heinrich Weisweiler, Das Schrifttum der Schule Anselms von Laon und Wilhelms von Champeaux in Deutschen Bibliotheken. Ein Beitrag zur Geschichte der Verbreitung der Ältesten scholastischen Schule in Deutschen Landen, Münster i. W. : Aschendorff, 1936 (Beiträge zur Geschichte der Philosophie und Theologie des Mittelalters. Texte und Untersuchungen, 33, 1/2), p. 4 ; Jean Châtillon – Michel Lemoine, « L’École de Saint- Victor », in Contemporary philosophy. A new survey, t. 6, 1990, p. 141-149, in partic. 141, e Odon Lottin, Psychologie et morale aux xiie et xiiie siècles, 6 vol., Louvain – Gembloux, 1942-1960, t. V (1959), Problèmes d’histoire littéraire. L’école d’Anselme de Laon et de Guillaume de Champeaux, p. 183. 42 Giraud, Per verba magistri, p. 464. Per il problema delle relazioni di questi testi con la scuola di Laon cf. ivi, p. 387-388. 43 Novotný, Cur homo ?, p. 120. Sulle tre raccolte si veda Giraud, Per verba magistri, rispettivamente alle p. 341-348 (Divina essentia teste = Sententiae Atrebatenses) ; p. 378-387 (De sententiis divine = Sententie divine pagine) ; 367-378 (Principium et causa = Sententie Anselmi). 41
72
Marco Rainini
pensare che il Vittorino – anche in forza della comprovata familiarità con la speculazione di Laon – per il testo individuato da Novotný si sia ispirato ad esse44. D’altro canto però, il passaggio – piuttosto breve – è relativo a un aspetto limitato del problema, e di per sé non dà ragione della prospettiva molto più ricca, e radicalmente diversa rispetto alla tradizione, in cui Ugo pone la creazione dell’uomo. La sezione individuata da Novotný è volta espressamente a smentire l’opinione di coloro che ritengono l’origine degli uomini condizionata dalla caduta degli angeli : per Ugo l’uomo sarebbe stato creato ugualmente, anche se quegli angeli non si fossero ribellati – sebbene egli concordi sul fatto che, dopo la caduta, agli uomini sia stato destinato il posto che era dei ribelli. Come lo stesso Novotný nota, tuttavia, almeno un altro elemento connota in maniera molto marcata la speculazione di Laon, che lo indica come il vero motivo dell’esistenza della creatura umana. L’uomo esiste affinché si innalzi dal coro delle creature un‘adeguata lode a Dio : « ut eius [scil. Dei] laus esset omnino sufficiens » – questo viene sempre di nuovo sottolineato dai testi ricollegabili a Laon45. Questo elemento non riceve altrettanta attenzione da parte di Ugo : egli pone il problema in termini molti diversi, a partire cioè dal primato dell’uomo nella creazione. Nel primo libro del De sacramentis, dopo aver ricordato come nella 44 « Non enim ut quidam putant conditio hominis ita ad restaurationem angelorum provisa est, quasi homo non fuisset factus, nisi angelus cecidisset ; sed idcirco ad restaurandum et supplendum lapsorum angelorum numerum factus homo dicitur ; quia cum homo postmodum creatus illuc unde illi ceciderunt ductus est, illius societatis numerus qui in cadentibus diminutus fuerat, per hominem reparatur » (Hugo de Sancto Victore, De sacramentis christianae fidei, ed. PL 176, col. 173-618, in partic. I, v, 30, col. 260D) : « Qui homo propter restaurationem predictorum angelorum factus dicitur ; non quin factus esset etsi illi non cecidissent, sed quia in gloriam quam illi perdiderunt homo suscipitur, quasi locum illorum subintrare videtur ; et ideo propter eorum restaurationem factus dicitur » (Divina essentia teste = Sententiae Atrebatenses, in Lottin, Psychologie et morale, t. V, n. 531, 5, p. 411) ; « Unde, cum dicat auctoritas, quod tot ascensuri sunt quot ceciderunt, dicimus, quod non ideo factus est homo principaliter, ut resitueretur numerus angelorum ; consecutus est quidem ille effectus, scilicet restauratio, sed etiamsi angelus non cecidisset, tamen homo fieret » (De sententia divine = Sententie divine pagine, in Anselms von Laon Systematische Sentenzen, ed. Franz Placidus Bliemetzrieder, Münster i. W. : Aschendorff, 1919 [Beiträge zur Geschichte der Philosophie und Theologie des Mittelalters. Texte und Untersuchungen, 18, 2-3], p. 15) : « Hinc homo loco perditorum angelorum factus dicitur, non quin factus esset etiam, si illi non cecidissent, sed cum in gloriam, quam illi perdiderunt, homo suscipitur, quasi locum illorum subintrare uidetur » (Principium et causa = Sententie Anselmi, ivi, p. 55) ; cf. Novotný, Cur homo ?, p. 120. 45 Novotný, Cur homo ?, p. 119 e 62-73 ; la citazione è riportata ivi, p. 63, dalla raccolta Quid de sancta = Sententiae Berolinenses, per cui il riferimento è a Friedrich Stegmüller, « Sententiae Berolinenses. Eine neugefundene Sentenzensammlung aus der Schule des Anselm von Laon », in Recherches de Théologie ancienne et médiévale, t. 11, 1939, p. 33-61, in partic. p. 48.
Causa omnium homo. Ugo di San Vittore e la nuova antropologia 73 parte precedente abbia esposto l’origine e la disposizione del mondo sensibile, il Vittorino afferma di voler ora proseguire in modo conseguente : Ora dunque è conseguente che continuiamo il nostro discorso con la creazione dell’uomo, per il quale il mondo è stato fatto, proseguendo dunque nell’ordine che lo stesso Creatore ha mostrato nel suo operare. Prima di tutto infatti l’Artefice divino ha fatto il mondo, e poi l’uomo, signore e padrone del mondo, affinché l’uomo dominasse per diritto su tutte le altre cose […]. Da ciò appare chiaro che la creazione dell’uomo, sebbene successiva a tutte le cose visibili quanto all’origine nel tempo, certamente è la prima quanto alla causa : perché colui che è stato fatto dopo tutte le cose, per lui tuttavia sono state fatte tutte le cose. […] Se infatti Dio ha fatto tutto in vista dell’uomo, l’uomo è la causa di tutte le cose. E dal punto di vista della causa l’uomo è prima di tutte le cose46.
Si tratta di un testo significativo, anche per la collocazione : come spesso è stato notato, l’organizzazione del De sacramentis è tesa a fornire un‘esposizione sistematica degli argomenti di fede – è fra i primi esempi in questo senso, e diverrà molto presto un modello47 –, e la sezione è posta sotto il titolo « De causa creationis hominis et de causis primordialibus rerum omnium », come indicato fin dai primi manoscritti48. Il mondo è stato fatto per l’uomo, « causa omnium homo est » : questo è dunque il punto di partenza per considerare l’uomo, e il motivo della sua creazione49. Solo molto oltre, e trattando degli angeli, della loro creazione secondo i diversi ordini, Ugo discuterà l’opinione di coloro che ritengono che la « conditio hominis ita ad restaurationem angelorum provisa est » – per confutarla, come già visto50. Si tratterà quindi semplicemente di prendere le distanze da una tradizione 46 « Nunc vero consequens est ut creationem hominis (propter quem mundus ipse factus est) sermone prosequamur eo sane ordine loquendo incedentes quem Creator ipse rerum demonstravit operando. Prius siquidem opifex Deus mundum fecit ; ac deinde hominem possessorem et dominum mundi, ut caeteris omnibus jure conditionis dominaretur homo, ipsi a quo factus fuerat soli voluntaria libertate subjectus. Unde constat creationem hominis, rerum omnium visibilium conditione posteriorem quidem tempore, sed causa priorem fuisse ; quia qui factus est post omnia, propter eum omnia facta sunt. […] Si enim omnia Deus fecit propter hominem, causa omnium homo est ; et causaliter homo prior omnibus est, ipsum vero propter quod homo factus est prius homine est » (Hugo de Sancto Victore, De sacramentis christianae fidei, I, ii, 1, ed. PL 176, col. 205BC). 47 Marcia L. Colish, Peter Lombard, I-II, Leiden : Brill, 1994 (Brill’s Studies in Intellectual History, 41), t. I, p. 33-90, in partic. p. 57-65 per Ugo di San Vittore ; Ead., « Systematic theology and theological renewal in twelfth century », in Journal of Medieval and Renaissance Studies, t. 18, 1988, p. 135-156, in partic. 143-152. 48 Cf. anche l’edizione del De sacramentis christianae fidei a cura di Rainer Berndt, Monas terii Westfalorum : Aschendorff, 2008 (Corpus Victorinum. Textus historici, 1), p. 59. 49 Vedi il testo in nota 46. 50 Vedi il testo in nota 44.
74
Marco Rainini
ritenuta non conforme all’ordine delle cose. Dove invece il problema è messo a tema e chiamato in causa in modo diretto, la causa della creazione dell’uomo è posta in tutt’altra prospettiva : tutt’altra anche rispetto alla posizione espressa nei testi riconducibili a Laon. In ultima analisi, la speculazione di Laon non appare sufficiente a spiegare gli esiti che, riguardo al medesimo tema, troviamo nel Vittorino. Questa impostazione del problema della creazione dell’uomo si ritrova anche in altre sue opere. Ugo si esprime in termini particolarmente netti nel De archa Noe : tutte le opere di Dio sono state fatte propter hominem, sia la creazione – si badi – « del cielo e della terra e di tutte le cose che si legge Dio abbia fatto all’inizio », sia quelle della riparazione51. Lo stesso argomento è ripreso nel De tribus diebus, anche qui in termini molto decisi. « Deus hominem propter se fecit, cuncta alia propter hominem condidit52 ». La questione è presentata in modo non dissimile anche nel Dialogus de sacramentis, nelle sentenze raccolte dal Migne fra i « Miscellanea », e nella reportatio delle Sententiae de divinitate : anche in questi casi è sottolineato il primato dell’uomo su tutta la creazione53. È opportuno fare due precisazioni, relativamente ai testi che abbiamo sin qui considerato. Va innanzitutto notato che anche nelle raccolte di sentenze di Laon è possibile trovare affermazioni che sottolineano il ruolo dell’uomo nell’ordine visibile, conferendogli una posizione di vertice. Si tratta di una specificazione del tema della laus perfecta : la lode di Dio è infatti adeguata solo se vi partecipa anche l’uomo, perché è attraverso di lui che la natura corporalis può dare lode a Dio – senza l’uomo, allora, sarebbe stata creata invano54. Pur in un quadro di tal 51 « Omnia opera Dei propter hominem facta sunt, siue ea que pertinent ad primam conditionem hominis, sive ea que facta sunt ad hominis reparationem. Ad conditionem hominis pertinet creatio mundi, id est celi et terre et omnium que in primordio facta esse leguntur a Deo » (Hugo de Sancto Victore, De archa Noe, IV, 3, in De archa Noe. Libellus de formatione arche, ed. Patrice Sicard, Turnhout : Brepols, 2001 [CCCM 176], p. 92). 52 Hugo de Sancto Victore, De tribus diebus, ed. Dominique Poirel, Turnhout : Brepols, 2002 (CCCM 177), p. 30. 53 « D. Quare nouissime factus est homo ? M. Quia homo uniuersae creaturae preficiendus fuit, congruum erat ut prius mansio eius prepararetur, postmodum ipse ordinatis omnibus quasi possessor et rector introduceretur in orbem terrarum. […] Nunc ergo si placet ad hominem reuertamur, ut causam creationis eius michi admodum desideranti aperias. Quia profecto dignum est ut qui omnia propter ipsum facta iam credimus, etiam cur ipse factus sit non ignoremus. » (Hugo de Sancto Victore, Dialogus de creatione, ed. Cédric Giraud, Turnhout : Brepols, 2015 (CCCM 269), p. 304 e 306-307 = De sacramentis legis naturalis et scriptae, ed. PL 176, col. 17-42, in partic. 20C ; cf. ivi, 21D-22C) ; Miscellanea, I, 35, ed. PL 177, col. 492D ; Sententie de diuinitate, in Ambrogio M. Piazzoni, « Ugo di San Vittore “auctor” delle “Sententiae de divinitate” », in Studi medievali, 3a s., t. 23, 1982, p. 861-955, in partic. 928. 54 Novotný, Cur homo ?, p. 67-69 ; ad esempio : « Homo peccato suo perditus est ; ergo ad gloriam non ducitur, ergo ipse non laudat, consequenter ergo corporea creatura non laudat ; otiose
Causa omnium homo. Ugo di San Vittore e la nuova antropologia 75 genere, tuttavia, il tenore mi sembra molto diverso : non trovo paralleli adeguati delle forti affermazioni di Ugo sulla centralità dell’uomo. Questo tema pare a volte sotteso alle argomentazioni delle raccolte di sentenze, ma non ne è mai il fondamento, sebbene a volte sia accennato. Almeno una volta, tuttavia, nei testi legati a Laon la centralità dell’uomo è affermata in modo esplicito. Troviamo il tema in un inciso di una raccolta messa in luce da Cédric Giraud e conservata in un manoscritto parigino (Bibliothèque nationale de France, NAL 181), per cui « propter hominem enim omnia visibilia facta sunt » : qui, però, la specificazione dei visibilia mostra comunque un indebolimento, rispetto alle affermazioni molto nette del Vittorino55. Quest’ultimo elemento permette una seconda precisazione. Ugo di San Vittore, nei testi che abbiamo considerato, utilizza formule – appunto – molto incisive, nei cui neutri plurali universali non lascia spazio a distinzioni, e che non sempre vengono meglio specificate. Affermazioni per cui all’uomo è soggetta l’universa creatura, o quali « omnia opera Dei propter hominem facta sunt », o per cui Dio ha creato « cuncta alia » per l’uomo, si collocano in una zona ambigua, per cui non si comprende bene se da questa totalità si debba escludere la creatura spirituale, e cioè gli angeli – lasciando quindi aperta la possibilità che anch’essi siano stati fatti per l’uomo56. In altri autori contemporanei, come vedremo presto, questo problema trova una soluzione in riferimento alla natura teandrica di Gesù Cristo, che si vuole prevista da sempre nel piano di Dio : tutto è fatto in vista dell’uomo Gesù Cristo, che ricapitola l’intera creazione ; in lui quindi la natura umana è superiore agli angeli57. Ugo mi sembra assumere una posizione meno avanzata, cercando di mantenere che la creatura razionale – dobbiamo pensare, quale essa sia –, sia stata fatta solo per Dio, e non per servire altre creature58. Certo, tutte igitur facta est. Quod si ita est, ergo nec ipsi angeli plane laudant, cum numerus eorum diminutus sit. Ut autem omnia hec inconuenientia ab ipso quo procedunt fonte suprimamus, hominem perditum ad gloriam duci constituamus, cuius gloriose saluationis ordinem ipso auctore adiuuante uideamus » (Liber pancrisis, in Lottin, Psychologie et morale, t. V, n. 54, p. 50). Sul Liber pancrisis si veda Giraud, Per verba magistri, p. 193-211. 55 « Laudare dicitur quelibet creatura Deum quando incitat hominem ad laudandum. Propter hominem enim omnia visibilia facta sunt » (Cédric Giraud, « Théologie et pédagogie au xiiie siècle : les sentences d’Anselme de Laon et de son école dans le manuscrit Paris, BNF, n.a.l. 181 », in Archives d’histoire doctrinale et littéraire du Moyen Âge, t. 79, 2012, p. 193-287, in partic. 270, n. 153 ; cf. Novotný, Cur homo ?, p. 69, n. 54). 56 Vedi i testi supra, alle note 46 e 51-53. 57 Cf. infra, testo successivo alla nota 66 e seguenti. 58 Cf. anche Hugo de Sancto Victore, De sacramentis, I, ii, 1, ed. PL 176, col. 206C : « In tantum ergo rationalis creaturae conditio caeteris omnibus quae propter ipsam facta sunt excellentior esse probatur ; quod omnium causa ipsa est. Causa vero ejus alia nulla est, nisi ipse a quo ipsa est. Sicut enim ab ipso est, ut aliquid esset ; sic propter ipsum est, ut beate esset ; alterum sumens ab ipso, hoc est quod esset ; alterum in ipso, hoc est quod beate esset ».
Marco Rainini
76
le cose visibili sono state create per l’uomo, affinché conoscesse il Bene sommo, invisibile59 ; tuttavia, in almeno un passaggio del De sacramentis è specificato che « etiam pro angelis » vale quanto affermato poco prima, e cioè che la causa della creazione degli essere razionali è il solo e unico Creatore – o meglio, che essi godano del suo bene60. Vi è tuttavia una sezione, di nuovo nel De sacramentis, in cui mi sembra che in qualche modo venga recuperata una centralità assoluta della creatura umana nel piano della creazione. Certo, afferma Ugo, la creatura razionale in parte è stata creata per restare nella purezza della propria natura, e in parte invece è stata rivestita del corpo ; ma questo la sapienza del Creatore ha fatto, perché apparisse – in figura, potremmo dire – il destino di ogni creatura razionale, e cioè quello di essere congiunta a Dio stesso, infinitamente superiore anche alla sostanza razionale creata : Questo è stato posto a modello dell’unione futura, che dovrà avvenire fra egli [Dio] stesso e lo spirito razionale al momento della sua glorificazione : affinché apparisse che ciò che avveniva per il corpo con lo spirito nella creazione, questo dovrà avvenire poi, per certi versi, quando lo spirito sarà per sua degnazione da lui assunto. Dio ha dato prova della sua potenza, e mostrato la sua grazia, modellando l’uomo in un modo di cui avrebbe mostrato il significato glorificandolo : affinché l’uomo sapesse che, se Dio ha potuto congiungere in unità e amicizia nature così dissimili come corpo e anima, non gli sarà certo impossibile innalzare l’umiltà della natura razionale, sebbene molto inferiore, alla partecipazione della sua gloria61.
59
Cf. Hugo de Sancto Victore, De tribus diebus, p. 31. « Et hoc fortassis diligentius consideratum aliquem movere possit ; propterea causam conditionis rationalium quam in solo rerum auctore constituimus, non solum pro hominibus de quibus sermo propositus erat, verum etiam pro angelis ; quoniam et ipsi sicut ejusdem naturae participes sunt, ita quoque ab eodem fonte originis causam trahunt » (Hugo de Sancto Victore, De sacramentis, I, ii, 1, ed. PL 176, col. 206C). 61 « Verum quia hoc ad felicitatis illius augmentum pertinuit ut gratiam conditoris sui per quem glorificandus erat agnosceret, voluit ipse conditor prius ei in sua conditione ostendere quod postmodum in ipso facturus erat ex dignatione. Creaturam ergo rationalem quam fecerat, jussit partim in sua puritate persistere ; partim eam corporeis indumentis et terrenis mansionibus copulans, luteam materiam fecit ad vitae sensum vegetare. Hoc siquidem pro exemplo futurae societatis quae inter ipsum et spiritum rationalem in glorificationem ejusdem perficienda fuerat proposito ut videlicet ostenderetur quia quod tunc erat in conditione corpus spiritui ; hoc secundum aliquid postmodum futurus erat ex dignatione assumptus spiritus sibi. Comprobavit ergo Deus potentiam suam et gratiam ostendit. Primo fingendo hominem, quam postea exhibiturus erat hominem glorificando. Ut sciret homo quod si potuit Deus tam disparem naturam corporis et animae ad unam foederationem atque amicitiam conjungere, nequaquam ei impossibile futurum, rationalis creaturae humilitatem (licet longe inferiorem) ad suae gloriae participationem sublimare » (Hugo de Sancto Victore, De sacramentis, I, vi, 1, ed. PL 176, col. 263CD) ; cf. Hugo de Sancto Victore, 60
Causa omnium homo. Ugo di San Vittore e la nuova antropologia 77 Nell’uomo è prefigurato il destino della creatura razionale – innanzitutto, dell’uomo stesso, che nonostante la specificazione precedente (« creaturam ergo rationalem […] jussit partim in sua puritate persistere ») pare essere l’oggetto più proprio della considerazione di Ugo. Attraverso la stessa condizione dell’uomo, che è spirito e corpo, Dio ha voluto mostrare ciò per cui tutto ha creato : e cioè, l’unione a Dio dell’uomo (e anche degli angeli…) – dove la specificazione aggiunta fra parentesi vorrebbe riflettere lo stile del pensiero del Vittorino su questo tema. Questa condizione centrale dell’uomo fra corpo e spirito, e fra mondo e Dio, viene sottolineata da Ugo in diverse opere. La troviamo di nuovo nella stessa sezione del De sacramentis considerata in precedenza, a proposito della causa della creazione dell’uomo, e nel De vanitate rerum mundanarum62 ; una formulazione particolarmente efficace, a mio parere, è quella nel De tribus diebus : L’uomo, come posto in mezzo, ha sopra di sé Dio, sotto di sé il mondo ; ed è congiunto con il mondo, verso il basso, dal corpo, e sollevato a Dio, verso l’alto, con lo spirito63.
In medio homo64 : la posizione dell’uomo nelle creazione è centrale, per la sua condizione di creatura spirituale e insieme corporea, ma anche per il fatto di avere sopra di sé Dio e « sotto di sé il mondo » – che è stato creato proprio per lui, come Ugo afferma a più riprese nelle sue opere, in termini molto decisi65. IV. Benedettini fra Reno e Danubio Come già accennato, troviamo in altri autori contemporanei affermazioni che vanno nella stessa direzione : tale prospettiva è presente in particolare nelle opere Dialogus de creatione mundi, ed. Cédric Giraud, Turnhout : Brepols, 2015 [CCCM 269], p. 306308 = De sacramentis legis naturalis et scriptae, ed. PL 176, col. 21D-22C. 62 « Ita positus est in medio homo, ut et ei serviretur et ipse serviret, et acciperet utrinque ipse, et totum sibi vindicaret ; et reflueret totum ad bonum hominis, et quod accepit obsequium et quod impendit. Voluit enim Deus ut ab homine sibi serviretur ; sic tamen ut ea servitute non Deus sed homo ipse serviens juvaretur, et voluit ut mundus serviret homini, et exinde similiter juvaretur homo, et totum hominis esset bonum, quia propter hominem totum hoc factum est » (Hugo de Sancto Victore, De sacramentis christianae fidei, I, ii, 1, ed. PL 176, col. 205D-206B) ; « Deinde considera humanum animum quasi in quodam medio collocatum qui, quadam conditionis suae excellentia, et huic quae deorsum est mutabilitati superemineat et ad illam quae sursum est apud Deum ueram immutabilitatem necdum pertingat » (Hugo de Sancto Victore, De vanitate rerum mundanarum, ed. Cédric Giraud, Turnhout : Brepols, 2015 [CCCM 269], p. 156). 63 « Homo ergo, quasi in quodam medio collocatus, habet super se Deum, subter se mundum, et corpore quidem deorsum mundo coniungitur, spiritu autem sursum ad Deum subleuatur » (Hugo de Sancto Victore, De tribus diebus, p. 31). 64 Vedi il testo del De sacramentis in nota 62. 65 Vedi ad esempio i testi indicati supra, note 46 e 51-53.
Marco Rainini
78
di Ruperto di Deutz e Onorio Augustodunense, entrambi benedettini, attivi fra Reno e Danubio. Il tema della creazione dell’uomo, e della sua centralità nel cosmo, è trattato dai due secondo prospettive non coincidenti, ma che mostrano elementi in comune a mio parere significativi. La particolarità di questi autori, come di altri più tardi della stessa area di cui ci occuperemo fra poco, è quella di mettere in relazione il problema della creazione dell’uomo con quello dell’Incarnazione – seppure con sfumature diverse. Ciò appare molto chiaramente in Ruperto di Deutz († 1129)66. Nei suoi scritti si evidenzia un’evoluzione nella considerazione del problema, che tuttavia trova una formulazione netta almeno a partire dal De gloria et honore filii hominis super Matthaeum (composta fra il 1125-1127), e poi in modo ancora più definito nel De glorificatione Trinitatis (1128-1129)67. Dio ha creato il mondo in vista dell’incarnazione del Verbo68 ; la causa dell’Incarnazione non è dunque il peccato – su questo Ruperto, contrariamente a quanto a volte si è sostenuto, ha affermazioni molto chiare69. In entrambe le opere viene affrontato anche il tema della causa della creazione dell’uomo, rispetto alla creatura angelica. Nel De gloria et honore filli hominis la questione è solo sottesa, anche se è ben presente a Ruperto – come è evidente dall’insistenza con cui anche la creazione degli angeli è fatta dipendere dal vertice del disegno divino, che è la gloria del Figlio dell’uomo70. Nel De glori66
Oltre alla puntuale trattazione di Novotny, Cur homo ? p. 73-82, si veda il classico studio di Mariano Magrassi, Teologia e storia nel pensiero di Ruperto di Deutz, Roma : Pont. Univ. Urbaniana de Propaganda Fide, 1959, p. 256-271 ; inoltre, John H. Van Engen, Rupert of Deutz, Berkeley – Los Angeles – London : University of California Press, 1983, p. 352-363. 67 Per la cronologia degli scritti, oltre agli studi riportati alla nota precedente, cf. in sintesi Van Engen, Rupert of Deutz, p. xix. 68 Cf. Rupertus Tuitiensis, De gloria et honore filii hominis super Mattheum, 13, ed. Rhabanus Maurus Haacke, Turnhout : Brepols, 1979 (CCCM 29), p. 410-418 ; De glorificatione Trinitatis, ed. PL 169, col. 13-202, in partic. 72A-73A. 69 La storiografia mi sembra aver oscillato su questo dato (cf. in particolare i contributi di Rhaban Haacke, « Rupert von Deutz zur Frage “Cur Deus homo ?” », in Corona gratiarum, Miscellanea patristica, historica et liturgica E. Dekkers, O.S.B. XII lustra complenti oblata, t. II, Brugge : Sint-Pietersabdij, 1975, p. 143-159 ; Alessio Magoga, « Linee di cristologia in Ruperto di Deutz », in La Scuola Cattolica, t. 134, 2006, p. 73-104), che in realtà fin dal De gloria e honore filii hominis appare chiaramente : « Hic primum illud quaerere libet utrum iste Filius Dei, de quo hic sermo est, etiam si peccatum, propter quod omnes morimur, non intercessisset, homo fieret, an non. […] Cum ergo de sanctis et electis omnibus dubium non sit, quod nascituri forent omnes usque ad praefinitum numerum secundum propositum Dei […], quod de isto capite et rege omnium electorum angelorum et hominum sentiendum, nisi quod et ipse maxime necessariam causam non habuerit ipsum peccatum, ut homo fieret ex hominibus delicias suae caritatis habiturus cum filiis hominum » (Rupertus Tuitiensis, De gloria et honore filii hominis, 13, p. 415). 70 « Quid ergo hic intelligi uult nomine sacramenti absconditi a saeculis, subiungendo, in Deo qui omnia creauit [Eph 3, 9] ? An forte causam ipsam secretam, propter quam Deus omnia
Causa omnium homo. Ugo di San Vittore e la nuova antropologia 79 ficatione Trinitatis il problema è invece chiamato in causa espressamente : non si può pensare che Dio abbia cambiato idea dopo la caduta degli angeli, e per questo abbia creato l’uomo ; dunque, « non tanto l’uomo per completare il numero degli angeli, quanto piuttosto gli angeli e gli uomini per l’unico uomo Gesù Cristo sono stati fatti71 ». La posizione espressa da Ugo di San Vittore trova un parallelo ancora più vicino in alcune opere di Onorio Augustodunense. Anche questo autore – con ogni probabilità in relazione, almeno indiretta, con Ruperto e la sua opera – sostiene la posizione dell’« Incarnazione incondizionata », come si evince in particolare dal suo commento al Cantico dei Cantici, e in modo ancora più netto nel Libellus octo questionum de angelis et homine72. Quest’ultimo, come appare fin dal titolo, ha una struttura e un tema affine a quello del suo già menzionato Liber duodecim quaestionum, che prendeva le mosse da una supposta discussione fra un monaco « angelico » e un canonico « umano73 ». Le due opere si mostrano particolarmente vicine, e questo consente di pensare che siano state composte in tempi non distanti, forse nei primi anni Trenta del XII secolo74. Proprio all’inizio del « Licreauit ? Non enim frustra uel otiose, talem praesenti loco relationem fecit, dicens in Deo qui omnia creauit, et quae causa est, propter quam Deus omnia creauit, nisi iste Filius hominis ? Religiose dicendum, reuerenter est audiendum, quia propter istum Filium hominis, gloria et honore coronandum, Deus omnia creauit. […] Causa autem, cur haec omnia faceret, abscondita erat in Deo, et idcirco causa ipsa recte dicitur sacramentum, quia hoc erat in Deo absconditum, id est soli Deo cognitum, propter quid et angelos creasset, et fabricam huius mundi conderet » (Rupertus Tuitiensis, De gloria et honore filii hominis, 13, p. 409-410). 71 « Solent plerique arbitrari, quod si omnes angeli perstitissent, nullaque ruina facta fuisset ex eis, non crearetur, neque fuisset causa cur deberet homo creari. Quod si conceditur, cavendum est ne ita pueri simus, ut existimemus Deum nullum ante ruinam angelorum de homine creando habuisse propositum, sed postquam casus ille contigit, tunc demum illi venisse in mentem consilium hujusmodi, scilicet, facere genus nostrum, ob recuperandam multitudinem domus seu familiae suae quae cecidit. Rectius ergo dicitur, quia non homo propter angelos, imo propter hominem quemdam angeli quoque facti sunt, sicut et caetera omnia, testante Apostolo cum dicit : “Decebat enim eum propter quem omnia, et per quem omnia” [Hebr 2, 10] […]. Si enim verum dicit imo quia verum dicit Evangelista : “Quod factum est in ipso, vita erat” [Io 1, 3-4] nihil excipiens, prae miserat enim : Omnia per ipsum facta sunt, et sine ipso factum est nihil [Io 1, 3] ; quanto magis homo iste decorus, ab ipso Verbo in unitatem personae assumendus [angeli], qua antequam angeli fierent, in ipso vita erat ? […] Igitur probabilius hoc dicimus, quod non tam homo propter supplendum angelorum numerum, quam et angeli et homines, propter unum hominem Jesum Christum facti sunt, ut quoniam unus idemque et Deus ex Deo natus erat, et homo nasciturus erat, haberet praeparatam ex utroque latere familiam, hinc angelorum, hinc hominum » (Rupertus Tuitiensis, De glorificatione Trinitatis, ed. PL 169, col. 13-6202, in partic. p. 72A-73A). 72 Novotný, Cur homo ?, p. 83-111. 73 Cf. supra, note 14-16 e testo corrispondente. 74 Non mi sembrano così convincenti le proposte della Garrigues, « L’œuvre d’Honorius », t. 39, 1987, p. 154-156 (dove data il Liber duodecim quaestionum entro il 1116) e 160-164 (anche il Libellus octo quaestionum entro il 1116). Se quest’ultimo dipende in qualche modo da
80
Marco Rainini
bretto delle otto questioni » troviamo un’affermazione che pone il problema in termini molto vicini a quelli del Vittorino : La chiara autorità della Scritture lo proclama, e la ragione penetrante lo prova : se tutti gli angeli fossero rimasti in cielo, comunque l’uomo sarebbe stato creato, con la sua posterità. Infatti questo mondo è stato fatto per l’uomo ; il mondo poi è cielo e terra, e tutto ciò che in esso vi è contenuto ; e mi sembra davvero assurdo credere che se gli angeli fossero rimasti al loro posto, non sarebbe stato creato colui per il quale leggiamo che tutte le cose [universitas] sono state create75.
Come già nel Liber duodecim questionum, anche nel Libellus Onorio sottolinea che né gli uomini sono stati creati per gli angeli caduti, né gli angeli per gli uomini perduti : ciascun genere è stato creato per se stesso76. In un’altra opera, lo Speculum ecclesiae – una raccolta di omelie per l’anno liturgico, impostata come una sorta di manuale per la predicazione – Onorio richiama il tema, già visto in Ugo di San Vittore, dell’uomo « in medio » nella creazione : Carissimi, Dio ha creato tre generi di viventi, gli angeli, gli uomini, gli esseri animati. Gli angeli in cielo, e cioè nel più alto ; le bestie in ciò che sta più in basso, e cioè in terra ; gli uomini li ha posti nel mezzo [in medio], cioè nel paradiso77.
Come già Ugo, Onorio pone l’uomo al centro della creazione, poiché si trova all’orizzonte fra i puri spiriti e la materia, come una sorta di ricapitolazione. Proprio nel Libellus octo quaestionum l’Augustodunense utilizza a più riprese un termine che denuncia una delle sue grandi fonti di ispirazione : il vero motivo
contatti con Ruperto di Deutz, dobbiamo datarlo a partire dai tardi anni Venti – così come le altre opere vicine, Liber duodecim quaestionum ed Expositio super Cantica (Novotný, Cur homo ?, p. 90, 103-111 ; Magrassi, Teologia e storia, p. 275). 75 « Evidens scripturae auctoritas clamat, et perspicax ratio probat : si omnes angeli in coelo permansissent, tamen homo cum omni posteritate sua creatus fuisset. Iste quippe mundus propter hominem est factus ; mundus autem est coelum et terra, et universa quae ambitu continentur ; et valde absurdum credi videtur, ut stantibus angelis is non crearetur, propter quem universitas creata legitur » (Honorius Augustodunensis, Libellus octo quaestionum de angelis et homine, ed. PL 172, col. 1185-1192, in partic. p. 1185BC) ; cf. Liber duodecim quaestionum, ibid. 1178BC. 76 Honorius Augustodunensis, Libellus octo quaestionum, ibid. 1186D-1187A ; Liber duodecim quaestionum, ibid., 1179B-1180C. 77 « Deus creavit tria viventia, angelos, homines, animantia : angelos in coelo id est in summo ; bestias in immo, id est in terra ; homines posuit in medio, id est in paradyso. Sicut ergo homo inferior, ita extitit jumento superior, ut si conditoris sui praeceptum servaret, angelis superius adaequaretur ; si autem contemneret, bestiis inferius assimilaretur » (Honorius Augustodunensis, Speculum Ecclesiae, In conventu populi, ed. PL 172, col. 807-1103, in partic. 1099B). Ringrazio Andrea Scalia per aver attirato la mia attenzione su questo passaggio.
Causa omnium homo. Ugo di San Vittore e la nuova antropologia 81 dell’Incarnazione è che da sempre gli uomini sono stati predestinati alla divinizzazione (« deificatio »)78. Tale termine si ritrova con straordinaria frequenza nelle opere di Giovanni Scoto Eriugena : sebbene non sia esclusivo di questo autore, ricorre raramente altrove, e meno ancora fra gli autori precedenti. È ben noto, del resto, che Onorio conosceva le opere di Giovanni Scoto, e il Periphyseon in particolare, di cui la sua Clavis physice è di fatto un’epitome – l’ultima parte è costituita da una ripresa verbum de verbo del quinto libro dell’Eriugena79. Per inciso, se escludiamo le traduzioni di autori greci, fra i pochissimi latini in cui le basi di dati elettroniche individuano il termine « deificatio » fra X e XII secolo troviamo anche Ugo di San Vittore (tre volte, non a caso nel commento alla Gerarchia celeste, dove di per sè il termine compare)80. V. La radice nascosta Proprio Giovanni Scoto – e proprio nel Periphyseon – è colui che in Occidente ha proposto con forza il tema della centralità e del primato dell’uomo nel piano della creazione, mentre l’autorità di Agostino e Gregorio, che ne facevano un « angelo di rimpiazzo », non era ancora in discussione. Come sotto altri aspetti, anche in questo caso il maestro irlandese elabora una dottrina che appare slegata dal contesto in cui opera – alla metà del IX secolo, nella pur molto vivace epoca di
78
« Causa autem Christi incarnationis fuit praedestinatio humanae deificationis ; ab aeterno quippe a Deo erat praedestinatum, ut homo deificaretur » (Honorius Augustodunensis, Libellus octo quaestionum, ibid., 1187C) ; cf. ibid., 1188B ; 1189A-B. 79 Paolo Lucentini, « Introduzione », in Honorius Augustodunensis, Clavis physicae, ed. Id., Roma : Edizioni di Storia e letteratura, 1974 (Temi e testi, 21), p. v-liv ; Id., Platonismo medievale. Contributi per la storia dell’eriugenismo nel Medioevo, Firenze : La Nuova Italia, 19802, p. 70-75 (cf. Id., « La Clavis physicae di Honorius Augustodunensis e la tradizione eriugeniana nel secolo XII », in Jean Scot Érigène et l’histoire de la philosophie. Colloques internationaux du CNRS (Laon 7-12 juillet 1975), ed. René Roques, Paris : Éditions du C.N.R.S., 1977 (Colloques internationaux du CNRS, 561), p. 406-414 ; Id., Platonismo, ermetismo, eresia nel Medioevo, Louvain-la-Neuve : Fédération Internationale des Instituts d’Études Médiévales, 2007 [Textes et études du Moyen Âge, 41], p. 1-17) ; Stephen Gersh, « Honorius Augustodunensis and Eriugena. Remarks on the Method and content of the Clavis physicae », in Eriugena redivivus. Zur Wirkungsgeschichte seines Denkens im Mittelalter und im Übergang der Neuezeit. Vorträge des V. Internationalen Eriugena-Colloquiums (Werner-Reimers-Stiftung Bad Homburg, 26.30. August 1985), ed. Werner Beierwaltes, Heidelberg : Winter, 1987, p. 162-173 ; Loris Sturlese, Storia della filosofia tedesca nel Medioevo. Dagli inizi alla fine del XII secolo, Firenze : Olschki, 1990 (Studi, 105), p. 91-111. 80 Hugo de Sancto Victore, Super Ierarchiam Dionisii, II-i, ed. Dominique Poirel, Turn hout : Brepols, 2015 (CCCM 178), p. 434 e in VII, p. 585 (due volte).
Marco Rainini
82
Carlo il Calvo –, in larga misura grazie al suo accesso agli autori greci81. Per l’Eriugena nell’uomo si raduna tutta la creazione : In esso (cioè nell’uomo) è stata fatta ogni creatura visibile e invisibile. Per questo è detto officina di ogni cosa, poiché in lui sono contenute tutte le cose che sono dopo Dio. Per questo è solito essere chiamato il centro [medietas], dal momento che gli estremi, che sono fra loro molto distanti, e cioè le cose spirituali e quelle corporali, li ricomprende in sé e li raccoglie in unità, consistendo di anima e di corpo. E perciò la storia sacra lo introduce alla fine della creazione di tutte le cose, indicando così che in esso è contenuta la totalità delle cose create82.
Questo tema – per cui Giovanni Scoto si appoggia anche alla propria traduzione degli Ambigua (XXXVII) di Massimo il Confessore83 – è proposto nel Periphyseon con grande insistenza : in particolare nel libro II, ma spesso anche altrove nella stessa opera84. È lo stesso Eriugena a sottolinearlo, in un passaggio di poco successivo a quello appena riportato, dove la posizione centrale dell’uomo e 81
Cf. R. Le Bourdellès, « Connaissance du grec et méthodes de traduction dans le monde carolingien jusqu’à Scot Érigène », in Jean Scot Érigène et l’histoire de la philosophie. Colloques internationaux du CNRS (Laon 7-12 juillet 1975), ed. René Roques, Paris : Éditions du C.N.R.S., 1977 (Colloques internationaux du CNRS, 561), p. 117-123 ; Marcia Colish, « John the Scot’s Christology and Soteriology in Relation to his Greek Sources », in The Downside Review, t. 100, 1982, p. 138-151. 82 « In quo (uidelicet homine) omnis creatura uisibilis et inuisibilis condita est. Ideoque officina omnium dicitur, quoniam in eo omnia quae post deum sunt continentur. Hinc etiam medietas solet appellari. Extrema siquidem longeque a se distantia (spiritualia scilicet et corporalia) in se comprehendit et in unitatem colligit, corpore et anima consistens. Ideoque in consummatione rerum omnium fabricationis ipsum diuina introduxit historia, significans uniuersitatem factarum rerum in ipso contineri » (Iohannis Scotti seu Eriugenae, Periphyseon, V, ed. Édouard A. Jeauneau, Turnhout : Brepols, 2003 [CCCM 165], p. 49). 83 Cf. ad es. Iohannis Scotti seu Eriugenae, Periphyseon, II, ed. Édouard A. Jeauneau, Turnhout : Brepols, 1997 (CCCM 162), p. 8-11. 84 Oltre ai passaggi indicati nelle note precedenti, e a quello ivi, p. 17, si veda la lunga sezione ivi, p. 155-202 ; inoltre, senza pretesa di completezza : ivi, III, ed. Édouard A. Jeauneau, Turn hout : Brepols, 1999 (CCCM 163), p. 656-659 (dove è espressa chiaramente la centralità della creatura umana, anche a fronte di quella angelica) ; ivi, IV, ed. Édouard A. Jeauneau, Turnhout : Brepols, 2000 (CCCM 164), p. 21, 28-29, 33, 45, 308-347 (cf. in partic. p. 334 : « Nulla igitur creatura uel uisibilis uel inuisibilis conditionem hominis praecedit, non loco, non tempore, non dignitate, non origine, non aeternitate et simpliciter nullo praecessionis modo » ; cf. anche ivi, p. 344) ; V, ed. Édouard A. Jeauneau, Turnhout : Brepols, 2003 (CCCM 165), p. 49, 368. Su questo tema si veda Maïeul Cappuyns, Jean Scot Érigène. Sa vie, son œuvre, sa pensée, Bruxelles : Culture et civilisation, 1964 (rist. anast. dell’originale ; Louvain : Abbaye du Mont César, 1933), p. 357 ; Alois Maria Haas, « Homo-medietas. Sinn und Tragweite von Eriugenas Metapher vom Menschen als einer ‘dritten Welt’ », in Begriff und Metapher. Sprachform des Denkens bei Eriugena. Vorträge des VII. Internationalen Eriugena-Colloquiums (Werner-Reimers-Stiftung, Bad Homburg, 26.29. Juli 1989), ed. Werner Beierwaltes, Heidelberg : Winter, 1990, p. 168-186.
Causa omnium homo. Ugo di San Vittore e la nuova antropologia 83 la ricapitolazione della creazione in esso sono poste in relazione con il ritorno a Dio di ogni cosa : E non meravigliarti se molte di tali cose sono già state trattate negli altri libri del nostro dialogo, e ora le ricapitoliamo, perché questo è ciò che esige il necessario ordine dell’esposizione, e cioè che molte volte ripetiamo e riprendiamo gli stessi argomenti, e li richiamiamo alla memoria con una certa ΑΝΑΚΕΦΑΛΑΙΩCΕΙ85.
L’uomo, creato per ultimo, in realtà detiene il primato sulla creazione ; riunisce in sé realtà tanto distanti quali il corpo e lo spirito ; in virtù di questo, è posto al centro della creazione, e in qualche modo, ricapitolandola, è prima di tutto. Si tratta di elementi molto vicini a quelli che abbiamo già trovato in Ugo di San Vittore, là dove egli parla della causa della creazione dell’uomo86. In particolare, anche il Vittorino sottolineava che « positus est in medio homo ». Al netto di qualche accento – l’Eriugena esplicita maggiormente l’argomento per cui nell’uomo si specchia tutta la creazione – le argomentazioni convergono ; più in generale, i toni forti con cui nelle opere di Ugo viene sottolineata la centralità dell’uomo, e la sua posizione in medio, fra corpo e spirito, richiamano decisamente la speculazione dell’Eriugena87. 85 « Et quod in se ipso particulariter perfecit, generaliter resurrectionis tempore in tota humana natura perfecturus est, hoc est, non solum omnia, quae ipsa post peccatum de hoc mundo materiali attraxerat, conuertet in spiritum, uerum etiam ad aequalitatem caelestis gloriae, quam angeli possident, perducet. Et ne mireris quod de talibus in aliis libris huius nostrae disputationis multa tractata sunt et nunc iterum recapitulantur, quoniam sic ordo et necessitas inueniendarum rerum, quas inquirimus, exigit ut easdem sententias et argumentationes multipliciter repetamus et reuoluamus ac, ueluti quadam ΑΝΑΚΕΦΑΛΑΙΩCΕΙ, in memoriam reuocemus. Hoc autem dico, quoniam in superioribus libris multa de reditu naturae beati Maximi sententias introducentes praegustauimus. Sed nunc plenius tractare debemus » (Iohannis Scotti seu Eriugenae Periphyseon, V, p. 51-52). 86 Cf. supra, nota 46 e seguenti. 87 Si potrebbe trovare una somiglianza anche con quanto esprime Gregorio Magno in due passi, nei Moralia in Iob e in una delle omelie sui vangeli (Gregorius Magnus, Moralia in Iob, VI, 16, 20, ed. Marc Adriaen, Turnhout : Brepols, 1979 [CCSL 143], p. 298 ; Homiliae in Evangelia, XXIX, 2, p. 245-246) ; in entrambi i casi, però, Gregorio tende a sottolineare che l’uomo ha in comune qualcosa con tutte le creatture (« omnis autem creature aliquid habet homo » ; ivi, p. 246), più che indicarne la posizione « in medio » (cf. anche supra note 46, 51-53) ; cf. anche le note di Peter Dronke in Giovanni Scoto, Sulle nature dell’universo, ed. Peter Dronke, trad. Michela Pereira, t. I, Milano : Fondazione Lorenzo Valla – Mondadori, 2012 (Fondazione Lorenzo Valla. Scrittori Greci e latini), p. 211. La ben nota riflessione di Agostino (in Augustini Hipponensis, De doctrina christiana libri quattuor, I, 3, ed. Guillelmus M. Green, Wien : Verlag der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften, 1963 [CSEL 80], p. 9-11) sull’uomo posto fra ciò che « fruendum est » (la Trinità) e ciò che « utendum est » (il mondo), non basta a spiegare la particolare declinazione che Ugo dà al discorso, che è maggiormente attento alla posizione di mezzo fra due nature – quella spirituale e quella materiale –, e che aggiunge il particolare dell’uomo come ultimo arrivato nella creazione, che la ricapitola, come nell’Eriugena.
Marco Rainini
84
Vi sono altri segnali che fanno pensare che il Vittorino abbia trovato un riferimento nell’opera del maestro irlandese. Come abbiamo già notato, nel De sacramentis la sezione deputata a questo tema appare sotto l’indicazione « De causa creationis hominis et de causis primordialibus rerum omnium », che si trova già nei testimoni più antichi e autorevoli88. Il sintagma cause primordiales è in realtà molto indicativo : come è noto, Giovanni Scoto individua nelle « cause primordiali » la seconda delle quattro nature che descrive nel Periphyseon, ossia la natura creata e che crea, che costituisce i modelli esemplari di ciò che la creazione manifesta89. Di per sé, anche solo una prima ricerca nelle basi di dati elettroniche dà responsi significativi per il nostro problema : l’espressione ricorre per larghissima maggioranza nelle opere dell’Eriugena ; fra gli altri autori, il più ricorrente è significativamente Ugo di San Vittore ; l’espressione è presente inoltre, meno di frequente, in Abelardo e Pietro Lombardo ; è da segnalare un certo numero di ricorrenze in Gerhoch di Reichersberg, e una in particolare in Corrado di Hirsau (nello Speculum virginum)90. Non è possibile qui seguire come Ugo assuma questo tema e lo pieghi secondo una sua propria speculazione. Importa però notare almeno che nel De sacramentis, oltre ol termine, ad essere ripreso è il concetto stesso, almeno nelle linee generali91.
88
Cf. l’edizione del De sacramentis di Rainer Berndt (vedi nota 48), p. 17-18, che per la parte in questione fa riferimento al ms. indicato come Institut de recherche et d’histoire des textes, Collections privées, cod. 60 (circa 1140). 89 Per un’introduzione, oltre al classico Cappuyns, Jean Scot Érigène, p. 351-353, mi limito a rinviare a Peter Dronke, « Introduzione », in Giovanni Scoto, Sulle nature dell’universo, ed. Id., trad. Michela Pereira, t. II, Milano : Fondazione Lorenzo Valla – Mondadori, 2013 (Fondazione Lorenzo Valla. Scrittori Greci e latini), p. xviii-xxii. 90 Ricerca effettuata sulla base dati Library of Latin Texts per gli autori a tutto il XII secolo, inserendo la stringa « /3 caus* + primordial* ». Il conteggio totale delle ricorrenze ne segnala 438, in cui però circa 170 circa devono essere sottratte, in quanto vengono conteggiate due diverse edizioni del Periphyseon ; anche in questo modo, tuttavia, delle rimanenti oltre 260 ricorrenze, se ne contano ben 200 nelle opere dell’Eriugena (i tre quarti) e 24 in quelle di Ugo di San Vittore (fra le quali comprendo le Sententiae de divinitate). Sull’attribuzione dello Speculum virginum cf. quanto ho oasservato Rainini, Corrado di Hirsau, p. 8-50. 91 Cf. ad es. « Ponuntur ergo primo loco causae primordiales et invisibiles et increatae creandorum omnium in mente divina. Secundo loco angelica natura invisibilis quidem sed creata. Tertio loco humana visibilis et creata, secundum aliquid invisibilis et secundum aliquid visibilis. Quarto loco creatura corporea in toto visibilis et in toto temporalis. Post primas ergo causas increatas et invisibiles exibit consideratio, et procedet ad angelicam naturam rationalem et invisibilem. Deinde ad humanam visibilem et rationalem, de qua propositum primum fuit ut consummetur. Nam de visibilibus quidem quae postrema sunt idcirco primam propositionem fecimus, ut de his quae patent ad latentium cognitionem humanam mentem commodius duceremus » (Hugo de Sancto Victore, De sacramentis, I, iv, 16, ed. PL 176, col. 246BC) ; cf. ivi, I, ii, 1-2, ed. PL 176, col. 205-207 ; 216C, e nell’elenco iniziale degli argomenti, col. 173 e 175.
Causa omnium homo. Ugo di San Vittore e la nuova antropologia 85 Si tratta di dati che vengono avvalorati dal fatto che Ugo mostra per altri versi di conoscere gli scritti di Giovanni Scoto. Va notato innanzitutto che la versione latina della Gerarchia celeste dello pseudo-Areopagita che il Vittorino commenta è la traduzione del magister irlandese. È però certamente più degno di nota che Ugo mostri di conoscere anche il commento a Dionigi composto dall’Eriugena92. Per il nostro tema, è forse interessante un passaggio nel capitolo III, in cui Giovanni Scoto afferma che la rationalis et intellectualis creatura ha per fine quello di ascendere in Dio e di divenire sua cooperatrice : l’uomo è stato creato dunque affinché divenisse immagine di Dio per natura, e sua somiglianza nella cooperatio, servendo tutte le cose che sono stare create « infra et intra humanam naturam93 ». Ciò che però è maggiormente significativo per il nostro problema è che Ugo mostra di conoscere il Periphyseon, dove la centralità dell’uomo nella creazione, come abbiamo visto, è spesso messa a tema94. La menzione esplicita dell’Irlandese che si trova all’inizio del Didascalicon (« theologus […] nostri temporis, Ioannes Scotus de decem categoriis in Deum ») era stata già stata notata più di un secolo fa da Pierre Mandonnet e poi da Paul Lehmann : agli stessi studiosi si deve l’identificazione del « de decem categoriis in Deum » con il Periphyseon95. Jean Châtillon ha in seguito mostrato altri passaggi in cui il Vittorino sembra riecheggiare testi dello stesso Periphyseon, nel commento alla Gerarchia celeste, a proposito del tema delle teofanie, e poi di quello della divinizzazione96. 92 Heinrich Weisweiler, « Die Ps.-Dionysiuskommentare In Coelestem Hierarchiam des Skotus Eriugena und Hugo von St. Viktor », in Recherches de théologie ancienne et médiévale, t. 19, 1952, p. 26-47 ; Jean Châtillon, « Hugues de Saint-Victor critique de Jean Scot », in Jean Scot Érigène et l’histoire de la philosophie, ed. René Roques, Paris : Éditions du C.N.R.S., 1977 (Colloques internationaux du C.N.R.S., 561), p. 415-431, in partic. 415-417 ; cf. Csaba Németh, « The Victorines and the Areopagite », in L’école de Saint-Victor de Paris. Influence et rayonnement du Moyen Âge à l’époque moderne, ed. Dominique Poirel, Turnhout : Brepols, 2010 (Bibliotheca Victorina, 22), p. 333-383. 93 « Quid enim tam altum et tam perfectum aut quis alius finis rationalis et intellectualis creature sit, nisi in imitationem Dei ascendere ipsius que cooperatricem fieri ? Ad hoc enim conditus est homo ut imitatio, hoc est imago Dei, fieret per naturam et similitudo per cooperationem, hoc est comministrationem omnium que infra et intra humanam naturam facta sunt ; que similitudo diuine cooperationis plus ad gratiam referenda est quam ad nature substitutionem » (Iohannes Scoti Eriugenae, Expositiones in Ierarchiam Coelestem, III, 153, ed. Jeanne Barbet, Turnhout : Brepols, 1975 [CCCM 31], p. 60-61). 94 Châtillon, Hugues de Saint-Victor critique, p. 415-431. 95 Hugo de Sancto Victore, Didascalicon. De studio legendi, III, 2, ed. Charles H. Buttimer, Washington, DC : Catholic University Press, 1939 (Studies in Medieval and Renaissance Latin, 10), p. 49. Cf. Cappuyns, Jean Scot Érigène, p. 71 ; Châtillon, Hugues de Saint-Victor critique, p. 415, che fanno riferimento a Paul Lehmann, « Johannes Scotus über die Kategorien », in Philologische Wochenschrift, t. 41, 1921, p. 670-672 ; Pierre Mandonnet, « Jean Scot Érigène et Jean le Sourd », in Revue thomiste, t. 5, 1897, p. 389-391. 96 Châtillon, Hugues de Saint-Victor critique, p. 429-431.
Marco Rainini
86
VI. Ugo e l’Eriugena in Germania Dominique Poirel ha ipotizzato che la conoscenza da parte di Ugo dell’opera dello pseudo-Areopagita si debba al periodo di formazione che, ancora giovane, egli avrebbe trascorso nella sua terra natale : ossia, nelle terre dell’Impero97. Dopo aver valorizzato le testimonianze a favore di tali origini – per lo più già note e tuttavia molto discusse –, Poirel ha mostrato in modo convincente come Ugo sia giunto a San Vittore in età non così acerba, e già in possesso di una formazione significativa : una formazione che diversi elementi fanno rietenere ottenuta nelle scuole oltre il Reno98. Ciò, per altro, darebbe ragione della disomogeneità che la teologia di San Vittore evidenzia, da un lato rispetto agli interessi del suo stesso fondatore (Guglielmo di Champeaux, divenuto vescovo di Châlons proprio negli anni in cui Ugo giungeva a Parigi), e d’altro canto rispetto anche alla speculazione delle scuole francesi in quegli stessi anni. In Guglielmo, e in genere nelle scuole del Nord della Francia, viene sviluppata la riflessione sul linguaggio, con valenza teologica, a partire dagli studi sul trivium99 ; la teologia vittorina è invece caratterizzata dallo sviluppo dell’esegesi attraverso i metodi dell’allegoria, e dalla lettura della realtà attraverso le categorie simboliche. In particolare quest’ultimo elemento mostra il debito fondamentale di Ugo nei confronti dell’opera dello pseudo-Areopagita e dei suoi commentatori : lo studio e il commento di tali testi costituisce uno degli assi portanti della speculazione del Vittorino, e l’elaborazione del Super Ierarchiam accompagna negli anni tutto il suo percorso di ricerca – « l’opera di tutta una vita » (Poirel)100. L’interesse per gli scritti di Dionigi e dei suoi commentatori, fra i quali certamente l’Eriugena, è un carattere che la storiografia ha individuato in maniera sempre più precisa nelle scuole della Germania, in particolare fra XI e XII secolo. Va innanzitutto rilevata la proporzione significativa di manoscritti delle opere dell’Eriugena – compresa la sua traduzione degli scritti di Dionigi – copiati, conservati o comunque testimoniati fra Reno e Danubio101. Sotto questo profilo
97
Dominique Poirel, « Hugo Saxo. Les origines germaniques de la pensée d’Hugues de Saint-Victor », in Francia. Forschungen zur westeuropäischen Geschichte, t. 33, 2006, p. 163-174. 98 Ibidem ; Poirel, Des symboles et des anges, p. 81-88. 99 Poirel, « Hugo Saxo », p. 170-171 ; Id., Des symboles, p. 84-86. 100 Poirel, Des symboles, p. 51. 101 Cf. i rilievi di Sturlese, Storia della filosofia tedesca, p. 101-102, da confrontare ora con i testimoni del Periphyseon eriugeniano elencati nell’introduzione di Édouard Jeauneau alla nuova edizione ; Iohannis Scotti seu Eriugenae Periphyseon, I, ed. Édouard A. Jeauneau, Turnhout : Brepols, 1996 (CCCM 161), p. xxix-lxvi.
Causa omnium homo. Ugo di San Vittore e la nuova antropologia 87 un ruolo particolare in questo senso è svolto dalla riforma di Hirsau102. Ciò vale a partire dal monastero da cui proveniva il (ri)fondatore di Hirsau, Guglielmo, e cioè Sankt-Emmeram di Regensburg103. Un manoscritto copiato da Otloh di Santk-Emmeram attorno alla metà dell’XI secolo (ora München, Bayerische Staatsbibliothek, Clm 14137), forse da un testimone di Montecassino, riporta la traduzione latina di Giovanni Scoto degli scritti dello pseudo-Areopagita : proprio il testo copiato da Otloh, per altro, è probabilmente alla base della versione testimoniata da numerosi manoscritti tedeschi104. Le note riportate sul manoscritto, dello stesso Otloh, sono ispirate al Periphyseon : dobbiamo allora pensare che l’opera dell’Eriugena fosse accessibile a Otloh, e molto probabilmente nell’armarium di Sankt-Emmeram105. Un caso particolarmente evidente a riguardo è proprio quello di Onorio Augustodunense, del quale abbiamo già sottolineato la conoscenza approfondita del Periphyseon. Chi si celi dietro a questo pseudonimo, resta ad oggi oscuro : i molti tentativi di stabilire le tappe della biografia di questo autore hanno aperto una pista in una palude, nella quale tuttavia il piede raramente raggiunge terreno solido106. È piuttosto probabile che Onorio sia giunto nella Germania meridionale, 102 Oltre a quanto riportato nelle note successive, è in questo senso importante la presenza di un testimone del Periphyseon ad Admont (Bibliothek des Benediktinerstifts 678). Non è da escludere che le indicazioni nel sommario catalogo della biblioteca di Hirsau databile entro il 1165 ai « libri Originis » o ai « libri Iohannis Chrysostomi » si riferiscano in realtà a libri dell’Eriugena ; si veda il catalogo in Catalogi bibliothecarum antiqui, coll. Gustavus Becker, Bonnae : Cohen, 1885, p. 44 ; cf. a riguardo Rainini, Corrado di Hirsau, p. 330-331. Più in generale, su Hirsau e la sua cultura ; Klaus Schreiner, « Hirsau und die Hirsauer Reform. Spiritualität, Lebensform und Sozialprofil einer benedektinischen Erneuerungbewegung im 11. und 12. Jahrhundert », in Hirsau. St. Peter und Paul 1091-1991, t. II, Geschichte, Lebens- und Verfassungsformen eines Reformklosters, ed. Id., Stuttgart : Theiss, 1991 (Forschungen und Berichte der archäologie des Mittelalters in Baden-Württemberg, 10/2), p. 59-84 ; Felix Heinzer, « Klösterliche Netzwerke und kulturelle Identität. Die hirsauer Reform des 11./12. Jahrhunderts als Vorläufer spätmittelalterlicher Ordensstrukturen », in Id., Klosterreform und mittelalterliche Buchkultur im deutschen Südwesten, Leiden – Boston : Brill, 2008 (Mittellateinische Studien und Texte, 39), p. 168-184. 103 Su Guglielmo di Hirsau : Franz J. Worstbrock, « Wilhelm von Hirsau », in Die deutsche Literatur des Mittelalters. Verfasserlexikon, hgg. Burghart Wachinger et al., t. X, Berlin – New York : De Gruyter, 19992, col. 1100-1110. 104 Bernhard Bischoff, « Literarisches und künstlerisches Leben in St. Emmeram (Regensburg) während des frühen und hohen Mittelalters », in Id., Mittelalterliche Studien. Ausgewählte Aufsätze zur Schriftkunde und Literaturgeschichte, t. II, Stuttgart : Hiersemann, 1967, p. 77-115 ; Thierry Lesieur, « Les gloses du manuscript Clm 14137 : Othlon et la pensée dionysienne », in Francia. Forschungen zu westeuropäischen Geschichte, t. 31, 2004, p. 151-163. 105 Lesieur, « Les gloses », p. 105-111 ; Marco Rainini, « From Regensburg to Hirsau and Back. Paths in 11th-12th Century German Theology », in Archa Verbi. Yearbook for the Study of Medieval Theology, t. 13, 2016, p. 9-29, in partic. 15-16. 106 Sul problema dello pseudonimo cf. Marie-Odile Garrigues, « L’anonymat d’Honorius Augustodunensis », in Studia monastica, t. 25, 1983, p. 31-71. Cf. inoltre, per le ipotesi su questo
88
Marco Rainini
e tutto fa pensare proprio a Regensburg, solo dopo aver scritto le prime opere – alcuni elementi fanno ritenere che potesse essere originario delle Isole britanniche. È discusso se si possano cogliere echi dell’Eriugena nel suo primo scritto – l’Elucidarium, un dialogo sui fondamenti della dottrina cristiana destinato a divenire molto popolare (scritto fra 1098 e 1101)107. È invece molto evidente che alcuni temi, passaggi, e intere sezioni verbum de verbo dell’opera di Giovanni Scoto compaiono negli scritti più tardi, e cioè quando Onorio certamente vive in modo stabile nella Germania meridionale108. L’impressione è che proprio qui abbia potuto accostarsi all’opera dell’Irlandese, quanto meno in modo più sistematico e coerente. Lo stesso legame dell’Augustodunense con Regensburg è in questo senso degno di nota : nel territorio della città troviamo – oltre al già menzionato monastero di Sankt-Emmeram, dove era attivo Otloh, che mostra di conoscere il Periphyseon – anche l’abbazia di Prüfening, dove è attivo poco più tardi Boto, che certamente conosce Dionigi e forse lo stesso Eriugena109. Questi rilievi sembrano dunque convergere con l’ipotesi di Poirel, che lega i cambiamenti nell’antropologia teologica del XII al mutato riferimento per la speculazione sugli angeli – con la circolazione della Gerarchia celeste dello pseudo-Areopagita. Potremmo ora aggiungere che, come l’angelologia di Dionigi, anche l’antropologia elaborata dal suo commentatore Giovanni Scoto, in particolare nel Periphyseon, torna dunque a Parigi grazie a Ugo di San Vittore, che conobbe anche questa in Germania. Questo ci permette di fare un altro passo, nella nostra considerazione di Ugo e della sua antropologia. Sia Prüfening che Sankt-Emmeram sono monasteri legati personaggio – oltre a quanto già indicato alle note 14 e 36 –, fra gli altri lavori : Ead., « Qui était Honorius Augustodunensis ? », in Angelicum, t. 50, 1973, p. 20-49 ; Valerie I. J Flint, « Heinricus of Augsburg and Honorius Augustodunensis : Are They the Same Person ? », in Revue Bénédictine, t. 92, 1982, p. 148-158. 107 Cf. Sturlese, Storia della filosofia tedesca, p. 102 (a favore dell’ipotesi) ; e Lucentini, Platonismo medievale, p. 60-62 (per cui invece non si può individuare una dipendenza). Per la datazione dell’opera : Garrigues, « L’œuvre d’Honorius », t. 39, 1987, p. 133 ; Sturlese, Storia della filosofia tedesca, p. 95-98. 108 Lucentini, Platonismo medievale, p. 62-75. 109 Cf. Hans-Georg Schmitz, Kloster Prüfening im 12. Jahrhundert, München : Wöfle, 1975 (Miscellanea Bavarica Monacensia, 49), p. 240-309, oltre al datato ma utile Joseph Anton Endres, « Boto von Prüfening und seine schriftstellerische Thätigkeit », in Neues Archiv der Gesell schaft für ältere deutsche Geschichtskunde, t. 30, 1905, p. 603-646. In particolare, per la conoscenza dello pseudo-Areopagita è importante il suo De domo Dei ; cf. Per Ström, « The Monk’s Place in the House of God : a Monastic Theme in ‘De domo Dei’ of Boto of Prüfening », in In quest of the Kingdom : Ten Papers on Medieval Monastic Spirituality, ed. Alf Härdelin, Stockholm : Almqvist – Wiksell, 1991 (Bibliotheca theologiae praticae, 48), p. 151-175. Per le vicinanze con l’Eriugena potrebbero essere interessanti le tracce che si rilevano nel commento al prologo di Giovanni nel ms. Bayerische Staatsbibliothek, Clm 13097, f. 127v-132v.
Causa omnium homo. Ugo di San Vittore e la nuova antropologia 89 alla riforma di Hirsau. Alla stessa rete monastica – dove dunque già si sviluppava una cultura in cui lo pseudo-Areopagita e l’Eriugena sembrano ricoprire un ruolo non secondario – appartengono autori di poco più tardi, nelle cui opere troviamo la medesima considerazione dell’uomo come medium della creazione, e come causa di ogni cosa creata. Più nel dettaglio, per tali autori possiamo evidenziare una dipendenza proprio da Ugo di San Vittore, che ne testimonia così la diffusione precoce nelle terre dell’impero. È il caso di Corrado di Hirsau (attivo fra i primi anni Trenta e la metà del secolo XII110), che mostra di conoscere molto bene il De sacramentis (composto probabilmente fra 1130 e 1137111), che cita in diverse sue opere. Corrado, per altro, fa riferimento esplicito a quidam magnus vir, quidam probatissimus grammaticus, e alla cuiusdam magni viri sententia, prima di riportare verbum de verbo alcune sezioni dalle opere del Vittorino112. In particolare, un passaggio, che si trova in modo simile in due opere di Corrado – sia nel Dialogus de cruce che nell’Altercatio Synagoge et Ecclesia –, è evidentemente ripreso, seppure con qualche modifica, dal De sacramentis : Corrado vuole affermare che l’uomo è excellentissima creatura, e lo fa utilizzando gli argomenti di Ugo sulla posizione dell’uomo nel creato, fra il mondo materiale e Dio, e sul fatto che « qui [scil. homo] factus est post omnia propter eum facta sunt omnia113 ». In questo senso è interessante che ancora nell’ Altercatio Synagoge et Ecclesia Corrado di Hirsau riprenda il passaggio del Didascalicon in cui Ugo cita il « theologus […] nostri temporis, Ioannes Scotus de decem categoriis in Deum114 ».
110
Cf. Rainini, Corrado di Hirsau, p. 51-76. Damien Van den Eynde, Essai sur la succession et la date des écrits de Hugues de SaintVictor, Romae : Pontificium Athenaeum Antonianum, 1960 (Spicilegium Pontificii Athenaei Antoniani, 13), p. 100-103, e il « Tableau synoptique des séries d’écrits de Hugues », in appendice ; cf. le precisazioni in Patrice Sicard, Diagrammes médiévaux et exégèse visuelle. Le Libellus de formatione arche de Hugues de Saint-Victor, Paris – Turnhout : Brepols, 1993 (Bibliotheca Victorina, 4), p. 133-138, e la presentazione sintetica in Dominique Poirel, Ugo si San Vittore. Storia, scienza, contemplazione, Milano : Jaca Book, 1997 (Eredità medieval, 97/9), p. 41. 112 Rinvio a quanto ho osservato in Rainini, Corrado di Hirsau, p. 312-313. 113 « Licet enim creatis omnibus homo posterior sit conditione, causa tamen prior omnibus probatur fuisse, quia qui factus est post omnia propter eum facta sunt omnia » (Dialogus de cruce, in München, Bayerische Staatsbibliothek, Clm 14159, f. 43v ; cf. Altercatio Synagogae et Ecclesiae, Coloniae : apud Melchiorem Nouesianum, 1537, f. XXIIva) : « Unde constat creationem hominis, rerum omnium visibilium conditione posteriorem quidem tempore, sed causa priorem fuisse ; quia qui factus est post omnia, propter eum omnia facta sunt » (Hugo de Sancto Victore, De sacramentis, I, ii, 1, ed. PL 176, col. 205) ; cf. Rainini, Corrado di Hirsau, p. 215-216 ; sull’attribuzione del Dialogus de cruce a Corrado di Hirsau cf. ivi, p. 5-50. 114 Altercatio Synagogae et Ecclesiae, f. XIra ; cf. supra, nota 95 e testo corrispondente. 111
90
Marco Rainini
Un personaggio di notevole rilevanza, di cui si devono sottolineare i legami con la riforma di Hirsau, è Ildegarda di Bingen († 1179). Sebbene nelle sue opere non sia facile trovare riferimenti inequivocabili agli scritti di Ugo – ma più in generale, a qualsiasi scritto, data probabilmente anche la modalità particolare di apprendimento e rielaborazione della prophetissa115 –, la sua considerazione dell’uomo come causa di tutte le cose presenta convergenze significative con le elaborazioni del Vittorino. Anche in questo caso, e secondo lo stile tipico degli autori di cultura germanica già considerati, a fondare il primato dell’uomo è chiamata in causa la predestinazione in senso assoluto – non condizionata dal peccato originale – dell’Incarnazione, che invece in Ugo non troviamo116. Più in generale, Ildegarda deve con ogni probabilità proprio all’ambiente culturale della riforma di Hirsau l’impronta eriugeniana della sua speculazione117 ; proprio per questo, tuttavia, e sulla scorta di quanto abbiamo potuto verificare nelle opere di Corrado, non è da escludere una mediazione attraverso le rielaborazioni di Ugo di San Vittore, riprese dai predicatori della medesima rete monastica118. Per altri versanti del pensiero di Ugo, gli sono certamente avvicinabili anche altri scritti nel contesto della riforma di Hirsau, e databili nel terzo quarto del secolo : è il caso delle opere del già ricordato Boto di Prüfening119, e dei Libri deflorationum, già attribuiti a Werner di Sankt-Blasien – in cui è evidente l’ampio debito nei confronti degli scritti del Vittorino120. Del resto, i cataloghi di Prüfen115 Rinvio a quanto ho osservato in Marco Rainini, « Ildegarda, l’eredità di Giovanni Scoto e Hirsau. “Homo medietas” e “mediazione” », in Unversehrt und unverletzt. Hildegards von B ingen Menschenbild und Kirchenverständnis heute, ed. Rainer Berndt, in Verbindung mit Maura Z átonyi, Münster i. W. : Aschendorff, 2015 (Erudiri Sapientia, 12), p. 139-165. 116 Marco Rainini, « Sanctissimam humanitatem Filii Dei negant. Ildegarda e gli eretici fra visione e teologia in Germania nel XII secolo », in Rivista di Storia del Cristianesimo, t. 16/2, 2019, p. 333-358, in partic. 347-357. 117 Sull’impronta eriugeniana della speculazione di Ildegarda cf. le osservazioni di Bertha Widmer, Heilsordnung und Zeitgeschehen in der Mystik Hildegards von Bingen, Basel – Stuttgart : Helbing – Lichtenhahn, 1955 (Basler Beiträge zur Geschichtswissenschaft, 52), p. 48-49 nota 134, 55, 92 nota 394, 94 note 404 e 406, 111, 114, 115 nota 77, e il giudizio a riguardo di Peter Dronke, « The Allegorical World-Picture of Hildegard of Bingen : Revaluations and New Problems », in Hildegard of Bingen. The Context of her Thought and Art, ed. Charles Burnett – Peter Dronke, London : Warburg Institute, 1998 (Warburg Institute Colloquia, 4), p. 1-16, in partic. 13. Anche per ulteriore bibliografia sul tema rinvio a Marco Rainini, « Ildegarda, l’eredità di Giovanni Scoto », e Id., « Osservazioni su natura e grazia, caduta e redenzione, fra IX e XII secolo », in Divus Thomas, t. 120/1, 2017, p. 75-103. 118 Sulla possibile mediazione dei monaci di Hirsau rinvio a quanto ho notato in Rainini, « Ildegarda, l’eredità di Giovanni Scoto ». 119 Poirel, Des symboles, p. 257 ; Schmitz, Kloster Prüfening, p. 246-246 ; Endres, Boto von Prüfening, p. 632-633. 120 Palémon Glorieux, « Les Deflorationes de Werner de Saint-Blaise », in Mélanges J. de Ghellinck, t. II, Gembloux : Duculot, 1951, p. 699-721 ; sull’attribuzione cf. ora Hubert
Causa omnium homo. Ugo di San Vittore e la nuova antropologia 91 ing e della stessa Hirsau mettono in luce riferimenti a diverse opere di Ugo già alla metà del secolo121. *
* * Ugo di San Vittore testimonia in modo molto netto una nuova dottrina, che fa dell’uomo il cardine della creazione (visibile), creato per sé stesso, affinché raggiunga la comunione con Dio ; egli stesso, nell’unione della sua duplex substantia122, spirituale e materiale, è segno di questo destino della creatura razionale. Possiamo anzi dire che negli scritti del Vittorino – per la diffusione delle sue opere e per la sua influenza sugli ambienti più decisivi, fin dai decenni successivi e poi almeno nel secolo e mezzo oltre – individuiamo il vero tornante verso questa posizione dottrinale, poi ampiamente condivisa. Gli esiti istituzionali e in modo particolare culturali di questo punto di svolta, per come sono stati sottolineati dalla storiografia, mostrano tutta l’importanza di questo versante della sua speculazione. Il Canonico di San Vittore è testimone di una nuova spiritualità, in via di sviluppo, che si ritrova in particolare negli ambienti delle scuole cittadine e dei canonici regolari, con interessi meno conclusi nella contemplazione, e più volti alla pastorale e alla predicazione.
Houben – Franz Joseph Worstbrock, Werner II. von St. Blasien OSB, in Die deutsche Literatur des Mittelalters. Verfasserlexikon, ed. Burghart Wachinger et al., t. X, Berlin – New York : De Gruyter, 19992, col. 921-924. 121 Il catalogo di Prüfening databile alla metà del XII segnala la presenza di diverse opere : « Hugo de sacramentis. Item Hugo de mundi creatione et de tabernaculo, de operibus trium dierum, et in ecclesiasten libri VIIIIvem in uno volumine » (Mittelalterliche Bibliothekskataloge Deutschlands und der Schweiz, IV/1, Bistümer Passau und Regensburg, bearb. Christine Elisabeth Ineichen-Eder, München : Beck, 1977, p. 420) ; il catalogo dello stesso monastero datato al 1165 indica « Hugo » nel novero degli autori « moderni », e poi elenca un notevole numero di scritti : « Sententię magistri Hugonis in uno volumine. Dydascalicon Hugonis, Hugo de anima Christi, de sacramentis excommunicatorum, Hugo de archa, Hugo de vita claustralium clericorum vel monachorum in uno volumine. Hugo de sacramentis in IIbus voluminibus. Hugo de creatione mundi, de decalogo legis, de operibus trium dierum, de tabernaculo, de candelabro luminis, de vestibus sacerdotis, de sacrificiis et preceptis legis, Hugo super ecclesiasten et de oratione in uno volumine » (ivi, p. 422). Per Hirsau : « Hugo de sacramentis in duobus voluminibus » (Catalogi bibliothecarum antiqui, p. 220). 122 « Fecit itaque Deus hominem ex duplici substantia : corpus secundum materiam de terra sumens ; animam vero sine materia de nihilo fingens » (Hugo de Sancto Victore, De sacramentis, I, vi, 1, ed. PL 176, col. 264C). Cf. su questo tema Christopher P. Evans, « Victorine Christology : A Theology of the Homo Assumptus », in A Companion to the Abbey of Saint Victor in Paris, ed. Hugh Feiss – Juliet Mousseau, Leiden – Boston : Brill, 2018 (Brill’s Companions in the Christian Tradition, 79), p. 298-327, in partic. 303-307.
92
Marco Rainini
Proprio su questo sfondo, è però interessante che Ugo non riceva l’impulso per la sua nuova considerazione dell’uomo dalle elaborazioni della scuola di Laon – come invece si è ritenuto a lungo. La vicinanza per questo tema con gli autori di area germanica a lui contemporanei indica quella che a tutti gli effetti appare la fonte comune di questa nuova antropologia, ossia gli scritti di Giovanni Scoto. Nell’opera dell’Eriugena appare con notevole frequenza il tema dell’uomo come medietas, come centro della creazione, che sembra ricapitolarne le due nature, quella corporea e quella spirituale. Si tratta per altro di un dato che converge con le osservazioni di Poirel sul problema, evidentemente connesso, della nuova considerazione degli angeli, sviluppata sulla base della circolazione della Gerarchia celeste dello pseudo-Areopagita e dei suoi commentatori. Anche in questo caso l’opera di Ugo si evidenzia come uno snodo ; e anche in questo caso l’opera di Dionigi appare di per sé più diffusa a oriente del Reno, prima della sua assunzione da parte del Vittorino. Tutto ciò pare confermare che Ugo abbia trascorso gli anni della sua prima formazione fra Reno e Danubio, là dove la diffusione del corpus areopagiticum e dei suoi commentatori appare, tra la fine dell’XI e i primi decenni del XII secolo, come un dato caratteristico della cultura teologica. Non è certo un caso che lo stesso ambiente – in particolare, la rete dei monasteri della riforma di Hirsau – appaia da subito molto recettivo nei confronti dell’opera del Vittorino : evidentemente, la premessa di questa pronta accoglienza si deve ricercare nella comune cultura teologica, sviluppata in particolare a partire dalla medesima matrice, che vedeva nello pseudo-Dionigi e nell’Eriugena due elementi qualificanti. Ciò darebbe inoltre ragione della particolare fisionomia teologica di Ugo, piuttosto disomogenea rispetto a quella delle scuole parigine dell’epoca123. Tutto ciò ammonisce ancora una volta a non interpretare in modo troppo rigido le pur utili, e spesso verificate, chiavi ermeneutiche della storiografia su questi temi. Se la diversa dottrina sulla posizione dell’uomo nella creazione individua una diversa spiritualità, che a lungo andare avrà esiti culturali e istituzionali di grande portata – come hanno affermato grandi autori quali Marie-Dominique Chenu, Yves Congar, Ivan Illich –, è pur vero che alle sue origini più lontane troviamo un interesse per il maestro irlandese Giovanni Scoto, che accomuna i Benedettini d’area germanica al canonico (poi) parigino Ugo di San Vittore. È dunque nella cultura teologica della sua terra d’origine che egli trova le risorse per la sua speculazione sull’uomo, più che negli scritti dei canonici della vicina Laon. Del resto, che la realtà di questi sviluppi e di queste interferenze resti ancora da esplorare, e che comunque sia più complessa dei confortevoli schemi della 123 Cf. a riguardo le osservazioni di Poirel, « Hugo Saxo », p. 170-171 ; Id., Des symboles, p. 84-86.
Causa omnium homo. Ugo di San Vittore e la nuova antropologia 93 storiografia, lo testimonia il più volte citato Liber duodecim questionum di Onorio Augustodunense – che forse ha costituito un punto di partenza, e certamente un notevole punto di appoggio, per la ricostruzione di Chenu. Nella disputa fra il monaco « di san Michele » arcangelo e il canonico « di san Pietro » apostolo, è quest’ultimo a uscire vittorioso : esito che non ci aspetteremmo, dallo stilo del reclusus Onorio, forse monaco dell’abbazia degli Scoti di Sankt-Jakob di Regensburg, quasi certamente, almeno in quegli anni, monaco di san Benedetto. Resta da chiarire ancora molto, su questo tema tutt’altro che marginale.
L’école de Saint-Victor, l’humanisme et la « Renaissance du xiie siècle » : autour du livre I du De vanitate rerum mundanarum d’Hugues de Saint-Victor Cédric Giraud
À côté des thèmes précis qui caractérisent une culture ou une civilisation à un point donné de son développement, il existe des manières de sentir et des attitudes qui définissent, plus profondément que ne le font des positions doctrinales, la façon dont une époque se représente le monde. Ce rapport au monde, plus difficile à saisir que des thèses, constitue le « je ne sais quoi », le parfum discret ou le motif mélodique caché d’une époque. Cependant, dès lors que le critique cherche à saisir cet air du temps sans recourir, comme je viens de le faire par facilité, à la métaphore, la tâche devient plus difficile car il faut utiliser des concepts généraux (le baroque, le classicisme, le romantisme…), et il y a alors aussi loin du passé à nos reconstitutions que de la fleur vivace des champs à celle, séchée, de l’herbier. Parmi les substantifs abstraits qui servent à déterminer l’esprit d’une époque, celui d’« humanisme » est fréquemment accolé au xiie siècle1. En effet, au nombre des caractères qui définissent le plus souvent dans l’historiographie la « Renaissance du xiie siècle » figure un regard nouveau porté sur le monde et l’homme. Cette étiquette commode n’est certainement pas usurpée : la découverte de la nature s’exprime ainsi par un esprit d’observation dont on trouve les vestiges dans maintes œuvres autobiographiques, historiques et géographiques du xiie siècle, 1
Voir, en dernier lieu, Willemien Otten, From Paradise to Paradigm. A Study of TwefthCentury Humanism, Leiden – Boston : Brill, 2004 ; et Peter Dinzelbacher, Structures and Origins of the Twelfth-Century ‘Renaissance’, Stuttgart : Hiersemann, 2017. Omnium expetendorum prima est sapientia. Studies on Victorine thought and influence, ed. by Wanda Bajor, Michał Buraczewski, Marcin Jan Janecki and Dominique Poirel, BV, 29 (Turnhout, 2021), p. 95–113. © BREPOLSPUBLISHERS DOI 10.1484/M.BV-EB.5.126032
Cédric Giraud
96
en vertu d’une synthèse entre les sources anciennes et un regard chrétien jeté sur le cosmos2. L’intérêt pour la nature apparaît aussi inséparable d’une insistance nouvelle sur l’homme. Placé entre monde sensible et monde intelligible, formé des quatre éléments naturels, l’homme est considéré par les savants du xiie siècle comme un véritable microcosme. À ce titre, l’être humain est appelé à jouer un rôle de premier plan dans un univers qu’il résume par sa nature même. À côté de l’œuvre de Dieu et de l’action de la nature, l’homme peut légitimement agir sur le cours des choses, ce qui fonde un humanisme conscient de lui-même et de ses moyens. Comme de nombreux travaux l’ont abondamment montré, l’école de Saint-Victor apporta une contribution particulière à l’humanisme médiéval3 : depuis le Didascalicon d’Hugues jusqu’au Microcosmus de Godefroid, nombreux sont les textes victorins du xiie siècle à déposer en faveur de l’homme, de sa dignité, de la raison et de la culture classique4. Non contents de défendre la valeur de la nature humaine et sa capacité de perfectionnement, les auteurs victorins ont également fait œuvre de pédagogues en montrant la manière dont l’homme pouvait progresser grâce au savoir. En ce sens, l’intérêt soutenu que les chanoines victorins manifestent pour la pédagogie participe de leur conception optimiste de l’humanité. Tout semble donc militer pour opposer ces maîtres à un quelconque pessimisme et notamment à ce qui paraît en être le marqueur médiéval obligé, c’est-à-dire le thème du contemptus mundi. L’expression, en même temps qu’elle circonscrit un véritable genre littéraire en poésie et en prose, qualifie, au nom des droits supérieurs du Ciel, une attitude faite de pessimisme et de défiance envers toute réalité temporelle, qu’il s’agisse de l’homme ou du monde qu’il habite5. 2
Voir notamment La terre. Connaissance, représentations, mesure au Moyen Âge, dir. Patrick Gautier Dalché, Turnhout : Brepols, 2013, p. 41-65. 3 Voir les pages classiques de Marie-Dominique Chenu sur « la nature et l’homme » dans La théologie au douzième siècle, Paris : Vrin, 1957, p. 19-51, où est faite une large place aux auteurs victorins ; ainsi que C. Stephen Jaeger, « Humanism and ethics at the school of St. Victor in the early twelfth century », dans Mediaeval Studies, t. 55, 1993, p. 51-79. 4 Sur le Didascalicon, voir Hugonis de Sancto Victore Didascalicon De studio legendi. A Critical Text, éd. Charles H. Buttimer, Washington, DC : Catholic University Press, 1939 (Studies in Medieval and Renaissance Latin, 10), et, en dernier lieu, la présentation de Dominique Poirel, « Reading and Educating Oneself in the 12th : Hugh of Saint-Victor’s Didascalicon », dans A Companion to Twelfth-Century Schools, éd. Cédric Giraud, Leiden – Boston : Brill, 2020, p. 113-140. Sur le Microcosmus, voir Godefroid de Saint-Victor. Œuvres, t. 1 : Microcosmus, éd., trad. et notes de Françoise Gasparri, avec la collab. de Jean Grosfillier et Patrice Sicard, L’Œuvre de Godefroid de Saint-Victor, t. 1 : Le Microcosme (Microcosmus), Turnhout : Brepols, 2020 (Sous la Règle de saint Augustin, 16). 5 Voir le dossier sur La notion de mépris du monde dans la tradition spirituelle occidentale paru dans la Revue d’ascétique et de mystique, t. 41, 1965, p. 232-432 et le compte rendu de Robert
L’école de Saint-Victor
97
Or, il se trouve que l’œuvre d’Hugues de Saint-Victor, tenu pour un des parangons de l’humanisme médiéval, n’est pas étrangère au contemptus mundi6. Outre des passages épars dans son œuvre, Hugues aborde ce thème dans un texte resté inachevé, l’In Ecclesiasten7, et dans un ouvrage spirituel de la fin des années 1120 (vers 1128-1129), le De vanitate rerum mundanarum8. Comme l’indique son titre, ce dernier texte propose un enseignement sur la vanité du monde et des affaires humaines, ce qui l’a souvent fait classer parmi les témoins médiévaux du contemptus mundi. En critiquant certaines activités humaines y compris l’enseignement, en dénigrant les pouvoirs de l’homme, Hugues ne se met-il pas en porte-à-faux par rapport à son propre programme éducatif et à son anthropologie censément humaniste ? Une lecture approfondie du livre I du De vanitate doit aider à répondre à ces questions en soulignant à la fois la cohérence de la pensée hugonienne et en enrichissant notre compréhension de la « Renaissance du xiie siècle » et de l’humanisme médiéval. L’enjeu méthodologique consiste également à montrer la manière dont le commentaire précis d’une œuvre peut aider à nuancer les reconstructions historiographiques qui procèdent par « humanisme » et « pessimisme » interposés.
Bultot dans la Revue d’histoire ecclésiastique, t. 61, 1966, p. 512-528 ; et plus récemment, Robert Bultot, « Le conflit entre l’aspiration au bonheur et l’idéologie du contemptus mundi », dans L’Idée de bonheur au Moyen Âge. Actes du colloque d’Amiens de mars 1984, Göppingen : Kummerle, 1990, p. 87-96, Hermann Josef Sieben, « Vanité du monde », dans Dictionnaire de spiritualité, t. 16, Paris : Beauchesne, 1994, col. 257-269 ; et André Vauchez, La spiritualité du Moyen Âge occidental, Paris : Seuil, 1975, rééd. 1994, p. 43-51 (« vie angélique et mépris du monde »). 6 Voir notamment les études classiques de Heinz Robert Schlette, Die Nichtigkeit der Welt. Der philosophische Horizont des Hugos von St. Viktor, München : Kösel, 1961 ; Francesco Lazarri, Il contemptus mundi nella Scuola di S. Vittore, Napoli : Istituto italiano per gli studi storici, 1965 ; et Robert Bultot, « Anthropologie et spiritualité. À propos du Contemptus mundi dans l’École de Saint-Victor », dans Revue des sciences philosophiques et théologiques, t. 51, 1967, p. 2-22. 7 Voir Gilbert Dahan, « … et omnia vanitas. Les commentaires d’Ecclésiaste 1, 2 au xiie et au xiiie siècle », dans Florilegium mediaevale. Études offertes à Jacqueline Hamesse à l’occasion de son éméritat, éd. José Meirinhos – Olga Weijers, Louvain-la-Neuve : Fédération Internationale des Instituts d’Études Médiévales, 2009, p. 129-153. 8 Pour l’édition, voir Hugonis de Sancto Victore De uanitate rerum mundanarum, Dialogus de creatione mundi, éd. Cédric Giraud, Turnhout : Brepols, 2015 (CCCM 269), désormais citée De vanitate suivie de la page et du numéro de ligne. Pour une présentation générale de l’œuvre, voir Cédric Giraud, « Le De vanitate mundi d’Hugues de Saint-Victor et la tradition littéraire du contemptus mundi au xiie siècle », dans Ugo di San Vittore. Atti del XLVII Convegno storico internazionale, Todi, 10-12 ottobre 2010, Spoleto : Fondazione Centro italiano di studi sull’alto Medioevo, 2011, p. 67-92.
98
Cédric Giraud I. Un humaniste face au « monde immonde »
Le livre I a pour fil conducteur une visée démonstrative nette : persuader le lecteur que toute réalité créée est frappée d’instabilité puisqu’elle appartient à un monde sensible voué à la temporalité. L’acception du mot « vanité » que s’emploie à définir le livre I est développée selon une progression en deux temps. Ainsi Hugues, dans la première partie du livre I (p. 137-140), appelle-t-il son lecteur à un décentrement qui constitue la condition d’une prise de conscience, tandis que la seconde partie illustre la vanité du monde grâce à cinq scènes de la vie quotidienne qui sont observées sous un jour nouveau (p. 141-152). Afin de provoquer la surprise et obtenir le changement de point de vue qu’il escompte, Hugues développe une pédagogie de l’admiration, au sens étymologique du terme9. Ainsi un court prologue met-il en scène avec un art consommé l’étonnement que l’auteur cherche à faire partager à son lecteur : O munde immunde, quare dileximus te ? Hic est ergo fructus tuus ? Haec promissio tua ? Haec spes nostra ? Quare speravimus ? Quare credidimus ? Quare cogitare noluimus ? Ecce quomodo decepti sumus, nichil reliqui habemus, inanes remansimus. O munde immunde, quare dileximus te10 ?
Contrairement au reste de l’œuvre, l’ouverture n’est pas rattachée à un énonciateur et se présente comme une pièce autonome construite selon une structure ternaire répétée (une triple interrogation sur les substantifs, trois propositions interrogatives portant sur les verbes, et un triple constat final), le tout encadré par le refrain « Ô monde immonde, pourquoi t’avons-nous aimé11 ? ». La paronomase « monde immonde », qui repose sur l’opposition entre mundare/mundus, est omniprésente dans la littérature latine médiévale, y compris dans les prières liturgiques, et prend sans doute sa source chez Augustin12.
9 Sur cette notion, voir Dominique Poirel, « Mira pulchritudo : de l’étonnement à l’émerveillement selon Hugues de Saint-Victor », dans La Beauté du merveilleux, éd. Aurélia Gaillard et Jean-René Valette, Pessac : Presses universitaires de Bordeaux, 2011, p. 85-109. 10 De vanitate, p. 137, l. 1-5. 11 Sur le style de l’œuvre, je me permets de renvoyer à Cédric Giraud, « Du silence à la parole : le latin spirituel d’Hugues de Saint-Victor dans le De vanitate mundi », dans Archives d’histoire doctrinale et littéraire du Moyen Âge, t. 77, 2010, p. 7-27. 12 « Sunt enim quae male amantur in mundo, et cum male amantur in mundo, amatorem faciunt immundum » (sermon 65A, cité par Pawel Sambor, La participation sacramentelle : une entrée dans la dynamique de la vie divine d’après les Sermons au Peuple de saint Augustin, Münster i. W. : Aschendorff, 2017, p. 194, n. 37).
L’école de Saint-Victor
99
Quant à la forme du vocatif, plus rare, elle a pu être trouvée aussi chez Augustin, par exemple dans le sermon 105, écrit en des temps troublés où il s’agit de donner du courage face à la fin du monde : De ipsis amaritudinibus, de ipsis tribulationibus murmuras, et dicis : ecce pereunt omnia christianis temporibus. Quid strepis ? Non hoc promisit mihi Deus quod ista non peribunt ; non hoc mihi promisit Christus. Aeterna promisit aeternus ; si credidero, ex mortali fiam aeternus. Quid strepis, o munde immunde ? Quid strepis13 ?
Hugues hérite donc d’une acception déjà riche du mot mundus dont il exploite toutes les virtualités dans la suite du livre I. En vertu du sens paulinien (I Cor. 7, 31 : « la figure de ce monde passe ») qu’Augustin renforce encore, ce qui est « mondain » est par excellence ce qui est appelé à disparaître, alors que le chrétien est celui qui se rend éternel en adhérant par la foi aux réalités supra-temporelles. De plus, pour Augustin, le monde per se n’est pas ce qui rend « immonde » mais c’est l’attachement mauvais à ce qui se trouve dans le monde. Sans être le créateur du rapprochement « monde immonde », Hugues paraît le premier à le mettre ainsi en avant en ouverture d’un texte pour mieux retenir l’attention de son lecteur. Toutefois, le maître victorin n’est pas auteur à se satisfaire d’une simple accroche qui aurait pu le conduire du côté de la diatribe ou de l’invective. De fait, il décide pour la suite de recourir à un dialogue intérieur, entre l’Âme (Anima), qui pose des questions, et la Raison (Ratio) qui lui répond. Le discours engagé par les deux personnages sous la forme d’un soliloque est tout à la fois un procédé commode d’exposition qui aide à faire progresser le récit en même temps qu’une nécessité de
13
PL 38, col. 621 (passage souvent repris comme citation, par exemple chez Thomas d’Aquin ou maître Eckart). On trouve l’expression dans des sermons d’un pseudo-Augustin du xie siècle ; voir notamment le sermon 31, éd. PL 40, col. 1290 dont les accents rappellent le début du De vanitate : « Scriptum est, fratres charissimi, quod mundun non diligamus quoniam mundus transit et concupiscentia ejus. O munde immunde qui homines illaqueare non desinis, quiescere non permittis, rapere omnes appetis, occidere omnes quaeris. […] Alloquantur omnes amaratores tui, o munde immunde, quibus aliquando florem serenissimae juventutis praestare voluisti, vitam diuturnam, divitiarum copiam, familiarium abundantiam, pacis amoenitatem, dicant omnes, loquantur cuncti, surgat venerabilis pater Adam cum omnibus filiis suis et uno ore loquantur utrum in hac vita gaudium habuerint sine dolere, pacem sine discordia, quietem sine metu, sanitatem sine infirmitate, lucem sine tenebris, panem sine dolore, risum sine fletu. Nolite igitur fratres mundum diligere quoniam transit et concupiscentia ejus. O munde immunde, fallax et proditor, numquid non periculosior es blandus quam molestus, numquid non magis timendus es dum allicis quam dum spernis, numquid non magis odiendus dum diligere dissimulas quam dum odire te ostendis. O munde immunde in te habitare et non dolere impossibile est, in te sperare et non timere vanum est, in te tua amare et non periclitari impossibile est. »
100
Cédric Giraud
composition littéraire impliquée par le sujet traité : la vanité du monde ne peut apparaître qu’au terme d’un processus de comparaison. Le rapport, fût-il intérieur, de maître à élève suppose une dissymétrie dans la compréhension et donc le dévoilement progressif de la vérité, tout comme la vanité du monde suppose un ordre supérieur d’où l’on puisse l’éprouver, en la qualifiant pour ce qu’elle est. C’est pourquoi la Raison, bonne pédagogue, multiplie les questions car c’est d’elles que provient le processus méditatif qui dévoile la nature, la cause et la raison de chaque réalité14. Il importe donc pour le protagoniste le plus avancé, la Raison, de conduire l’Âme, et à travers elle tout lecteur, à un point de vue nouveau, supérieur à celui de la vision naturelle, sinon l’Âme demeurerait à jamais aveugle aux réalités supérieures. En mettant en cause l’immédiateté du monde qui se présente à nos yeux, Hugues souligne aussi les limites de la vision physique qui est, d’après lui, étroite, faible, paresseuse et émoussée : Sed haec quidem eo ipso quo per corporis instrumentum emicat, multis ac variis modis, nullo etiam foris interveniente obstaculo, in semetipsa caligat. Nam quia angusta est, maxima comprehendere non sufficit, et quia hebes est, minima non discernit ; quia autem pigra est, cum in remotissima extenditur, etiam si nichil intercurrat, sola tamen spatii longinquitate hebetatur ; quia vero perspicax non est, intima quaeque non penetrat, sed ea sola quae in rerum superficie sunt constituta oberrat15.
La Raison personnifie la vision humaine en la qualifiant de pigra et en l’associant au verbe caligare qui prend dès l’Antiquité un sens d’aveuglement moral par les passions. Partant, elle signifie que la vue humaine vaut par synecdoque pour l’état de l’homme après la chute. Le diagnostic posé par Hugues, maître et médecin de l’âme, est ainsi autant physique que moral. De plus, la vision n’est pas seulement limitée spatialement, mais aussi d’un point de vue temporel, toute restreinte qu’elle est à une sorte d’éternel présent. Superficielle et éphémère, la vision physique ne vaut que pour l’hic et nunc.
14
Selon un programme que l’on retrouve ailleurs dans l’œuvre d’Hugues, voir ainsi par exemple : « Meditatio est frequens cogitatio modum et causam et rationem uniuscujusque rei investigans. Modum : quid sit. Causam : quare sit. Rationem : quomodo sit. Tria sunt genera meditationum : unum in creaturis, unum in scripturis, unum in moribus. Primum surgit ex admiratione, secundum ex lectione, tertium ex circumspectione », Hugues de Saint-Victor, De meditatione, dans Six opuscules spirituels, éd. Roger Baron, Paris : Cerf, 1969 (Sources chrétiennes, 155), p. 44, l. 1-7. 15 De vanitate, p. 138, l. 23-31.
L’école de Saint-Victor
101
Hugues appelle, par conséquent, à utiliser un autre organe et fait l’éloge de l’œil du cœur ou œil intérieur qui possède des propriétés (étendue, pénétration, investigation, indépendance) dont est dépourvu le sens de la vue16 : Ratio : Habes alium oculum intus multo clariorem isto, qui preterita, presentia et futura simul respicit, qui suae visionis lumen per cuncta diffundit, qui occulta penetrat, subtilia investigat, luce aliena ad videndum non indigens, sed sua ac propria luce lucens. Quia igitur ea quae tibi demonstratura sum carnis oculus simul comprehendere non potest, ad hanc visionem non carnis sed cordis oculus preparandus est. Constitue autem te quasi in quadam mentis specula et exinde aciem in aream huius mundi cir cumquaque lustrandam dirige ut totus contemplanti coram positus sit mundus, et inde tibi universa demonstrabo quae prius vel non visa ignorasti, vel visa non quomodo oportuit considerasti17.
L’âme, une fois rendue sensible à l’oculus cordis, doit se hausser à un nouveau genre de vision : elle est invitée à transcender les apparences sensibles pour découvrir en son intériorité l’existence de spectacles intérieurs. Non contente de faire ouvrir cet œil intérieur, l’auteur propose à l’Âme de se placer sur un observatoire qui est nommé mentis specula. Cette expression cruciale rattache tout le passage au champ lexical de la speculatio qui mérite attention18. En effet, le vocable de speculatio et ses composés tiennent, dès l’Antiquité, une place importante dans le domaine religieux et désignent celui qui est initié aux plus hauts mystères (speculator), notamment ceux d’Éleusis. De plus, pour interpréter speculatio, certains auteurs font intervenir un rapport avec speculum (miroir), d’où dérive speculariter, afin de désigner une connaissance obtenue par l’intermédiaire des figures et des ressemblances. Il n’est donc pas indifférent que, parmi quatre modes différents
16 L’ouverture de cet œil intérieur correspond à une étape du parcours intellectuel tel qu’il est défini dans le Didascalicon : « In his quatuor partibus philosophiae talis ordo in doctrina servari debet, ut prima ponatur logica, secunda ethica, tertia theorica, quarta mechanica. Primum enim comparanda est eloquentia, deinde, ut ait Socrates, in ethica per studium virtutis oculus cordis mundandus est, ut deinde in theorica ad investigationem veritatis perspicax esse possit. Novissime mechanica sequitur, quae per se omni modo inefficax est, nisi ratione praecedentium fulciatur » (Didascalicon, VI, 14, éd. Charles H. Buttimer, p. 131). Ailleurs (par exemple dans le De sacramentis, I, x, 2, éd. PL 176, col. 329CD), Hugues ajoute un troisième œil (l’oculus Dei) pour désigner la faculté contemplative de l’homme. En passant ici cet œil sous silence, l’auteur confirme le caractère propédeutique de son dialogue. 17 De vanitate, p. 138-139, l. 37-48. 18 Voir Jean Leclercq, Études sur le vocabulaire monastique du Moyen Âge, Roma : Orbis Catholicus – Herder, 1961, p. 84-85 ; le substantif specula signifie « observatoire, lieu de guet », le verbe speculari « épier, scruter avec attention », quand speculator désigne « l’espion » ou « la sentinelle ».
102
Cédric Giraud
de contemplation, le nom de speculatio soit celui que donne Hugues ailleurs à la contemplation des commençants : Quatuor etiam modis eximus per contemplationem. Primus modus est, quando consideramus omnem creaturam quid sit ex se. Et invenimus omnia vanitatem, quia omnis creatura sicut de nichilo ad esse venit, ita etiam cotidiana immutatione indicat, quia quantum in se est ad nichilum tendit19.
Faire l’expérience de la speculatio, c’est donc éprouver le caractère transitoire du monde sensible et passer à un autre plan. En ce sens, l’analyse que propose Hugues de la vue et de la speculatio permet d’interpréter toute la première partie du livre I comme une scène de révélation, voire d’initiation. Cela est d’autant plus frappant si l’on remarque d’Hugues y suit le passage célèbre des Confessions dans lequel Augustin revient en lui-même et découvre l’existence d’une lumière intérieure, immuable et divine20. Au sein du livre VII où Augustin, avant la conversion définitive décrite au livre VIII, montre les points d’accord entre les libri Platonicorum (Plotin et Porphyre) et le prologue de l’évangile de Jean – le Verbe de Dieu (Logos) est la vraie lumière des hommes –, cet épisode fameux constitue une première scène de libération intérieure et de conversion dont Hugues généralise la portée : son lecteur est placé implicitement dans la position d’Augustin découvrant l’usage de la vue intérieure. Outre une tripartition (œil physique, œil de l’âme, lumière divine éclairant les facultés humaines) qui n’est pas étrangère au maître victorin, le passage augustinien comprend également une thèse ontologique fondamentale, dont Hugues fait ici son profit : seul Dieu possède l’être par excellence ; ce qui participe de Dieu n’a et n’est qu’une perfection limitée. En outre, dans le cadre de cet exercice de speculatio, le choix d’un observatoire que la Raison fait adopter à l’Âme rattache tout le passage à la tradition païenne et chrétienne de la « vision cosmique21 » : Anima : Nescio enim quo pacto mirabili subito hoc in me factum sit ut, dum studeo nullis specialiter per cupiditatem inherere, cunctis incipiam per contemplationem 19 De archa Noe, II, 2, éd. Patrice Sicard, Turnhout : Brepols, 2001 (CCCM 176), p. 36, l. 46-50. 20 Voir Augustin, Confessions, VII, X, 16. 21 Sur ce thème et ses origines antiques et patristiques, voir Pierre Courcelle, « La vision cosmique de saint Benoît », dans Revue des Études augustiniennes, t. 13, 1967, p. 97-117 et Id., « La vision cosmique de Boèce et de saint Benoît », dans La consolation de philosophie dans la tradition littéraire, antécédents, Paris : Institut d’Études augustiniennes, 1967, p. 355-372. Voir aussi Pierre Hadot, « La terre vue d’en haut et le voyage cosmique. Le point de vue du poète, du philosophe et de l’historien », dans Frontiers and Space Conquest. The Philosopher’s Touchstone, éd. Jean Schneider et Monique Léger-Orine, Dordrecht – Boston – London : Springer Netherlands, 1988, p. 31-39 ; Peter Dinzelbacher, « Voli celesti e contemplazione del mondo nella letteratura
L’école de Saint-Victor
103
superexcellere. Incipe igitur quia mundum iam universum coram me constitutum aspicio, et, quicquid ex omnibus michi demonstrare volueris, sine mora ac difficultate videbo22.
Depuis le fameux passage du Songe de Scipion de Cicéron, connu du Moyen Âge à travers le commentaire de Macrobe, il est habituel de confronter l’homme au monde en le mettant sous ses yeux et de faire méditer sur l’étroitesse de la terre, thème platonicien et stoïcien par excellence selon lequel le corps avec ses passions et la terre entière sont une prison retenant l’âme à l’étroit. De manière directe ou non, Hugues remploie les motifs cicéroniens que sont la vision zénithale, la petitesse du monde et la brièveté de la gloire humaine23. S’y ajoutent des enrichissements littéraires et doctrinaux que les Pères ont régulièrement apportés au thème : dans l’Ad Donatum, lettre composée en 249 par Cyprien, l’évêque de Carthage cherche à détacher son correspondant du monde en lui en montrant la vanité24 ; dans sa fameuse lettre de 396 à Héliodore, évêque d’Altinum, consacrée à faire l’éloge funèbre de Népotien, neveu du prélat mort prématurément, Jérôme esquisse les scènes de navigation, du riche et du mariage qui sont développées par Hugues dans la suite du livre I25 ; dans le passage des Dialogues où saint Benoît voit monter au ciel l’âme de Germain de Capoue, Grégoire le Grand traite le motif de la tour, métaphore de la vision contemplative qui est identifiée à une estatico-visionaria del Medioevo », dans Cieli e terre nei secoli XI-XII, Orizzonti, percezioni, rapporti. Atti della tredicesima Settimana internazionale di studio Mendola, 22-26 agosto 1995, Milano : Vita e Pensiero, 1998, p. 215-233 (sur les textes hagiographiques) et Patrick Henriet, « Espace et temps dans les visions cosmiques des saints », dans Hagiographie et prophétie (vie-xiiie siècles), éd. Id. – Klaus Herbers – Hans-Christian Lehner, Firenze : SISMEL – Edizioni del Galluzzo, 2017, p. 111-125, qui signale l’existence d’un corpus provisoire d’une quarantaine d’œuvres entre le vie et le xve siècle ; je remercie vivement Patrick Henriet de m’avoir indiqué ces trois dernières références et de m’y avoir donné accès. 22 De vanitate, p. 139, l. 62-65. 23 Voir De vanitate, p. 139-140. 24 Voir Cyprien de Carthage, Lettre à Donat, éd. Wilhelm von Hartel, Wien : Gerold, 1868 (CSEL 3, 1), p. 8 : « Atque ut inlustrius veritate patefacta divini muneris indicia clarescant, lucem tibi ad cognitionem dabo, malorum caligine abstersa operti saeculi tenebras revelabo. Paulisper te crede subduci in montis ardui verticem celsiorem, speculare inde rerum infra te jacentium facies et oculis in diversa porrectis ipse a terrenis contactibus liber fluctuantis mundi turbines intuere ; jam saeculi et ipse misereberis tuique admonitus et plus in Deum gratus maiore laetitia quod evaseris gratuleris. Cerne tu itinera latronibus clausa, maria obsessa praedonibus, cruento horrore castrorum bella ubique divisa. Madet orbis mutuo sanguine, et homicidium cum admittunt singuli, crimen est ; virtus vocatur, cum publice geritur. Impunitatem sceleribus adquirit non innocentiae ratio, sed saevitiae magnitudo ». L’auteur examine une scène urbaine avec les jeux du cirque, le théâtre, l’intérieur d’une maison, le tribunal, un homme public, un riche (dont la description rejoint celle d’Hugues dans la troisième scène du De vanitate). 25 Jérôme, Lettres, éd. Jérôme Labourt, t. 3, LX, 18, Paris : Les Belles-Lettres, 1953, p. 108-109.
104
Cédric Giraud
position élevée26. Si, fidèle à sa manière propre, Hugues dissimule ses emprunts en les fondant habilement dans un récit alerte, il n’en propose pas moins une synthèse aboutie et subtile de cette tradition visionnaire. Placée dans cette mentis specula qui lui offre une vue inédite et choisie du monde entier, l’Âme en admire la beauté, reflet participant de l’excellence divine, et s’enthousiasme pour les œuvres humaines qui lui semblent équivalentes à l’homme même, en quantité, beauté et durée27. Hugues aurait pu s’en tenir là et nous tiendrions une position « humaniste » au sens plénier du terme, propre à illustrer une histoire univoque de l’humanisme médiéval. Cependant, la Raison est amenée à entamer une disputatio qui persuade l’âme de son erreur d’optique et lui prouve en cinq scènes la vanité des ouvrages humains. II. Les cinq scènes du monde ou la vanité démasquée Défilent ainsi cinq tableaux colorés qui présentent, en une succession rapide et volontairement répétitive, l’inanité des activités humaines. La démonstration, qui va crescendo selon la dignité des faits envisagés, est ponctuée par la répétition implacable de la leçon tirée de l’Ecclésiaste : « vanité des vanités, tout n’est que vanité » (Eccl. 1, 2)28. L’invitation au voyage nautique s’achève en naufrage lamentable ; les profits escomptés du commerce attirent les brigands ; la richesse entraîne le malheur ; le mariage et les enfants causent aigreur et soucis ; quant à la science acquise dans les écoles, elle fait courir le pire des périls : tout savoir et ignorer sa fin dernière qui est Dieu. Le but de cette partie est d’administrer la preuve objective de la vanité des activités humaines au moyen de l’expérience. Faut-il alors croire que le maître se plaise à repeindre en gris un monde foncièrement bon ? Comment interpréter cet apparent pessimisme de la part du chantre de l’humanisme médiéval ? Pour répondre à ces questions, il faut se rappeler que Hugues ne donne pas de réponse univoque ou simpliste aux problèmes qu’il aborde, mais qu’il se plaît à distinguer et à ordonner pour enseigner. Selon lui, une chose bien vue est une chose vraie, et cette pédagogie de l’évidence implique une véritable éducation de la 26
Grégoire le Grand, Dialogues, II, 35, éd. Adalbert de Vogüé – Paul Antin, Paris : Cerf, 1979 (Sources chrétiennes, 260), p. 236-243 ; voir aussi Françoise Monfrin, « Voir le monde dans la lumière de Dieu. À propos de Grégoire le Grand, Dialogues II, 35 », dans Les fonctions des saints dans l’Occident médiéval (iiie-xiiie siècle), Roma : École française de Rome, 1991, p. 37-49. 27 De vanitate, p. 140, l. 70-91. 28 La sentence, empruntée au livre de l’Ecclésiaste, n’est pas proposée comme provenant d’une autorité, ainsi que c’est le cas dans le De archa Noe où elle est rapportée à Salomon (II, 13, éd. Patrice Sicard, p. 50-51), mais elle découle ici d’une constatation faite par l’âme et constitue la chute de chacune des cinq scènes.
L’école de Saint-Victor
105
vue : il ne suffit pas de voir pour bien voir, il faut voir correctement et de manière ordonnée29. C’est pourquoi le thème de la vanité ne sert pas à qualifier le monde de manière univoque car Hugues propose des distinctions qu’il faut tenir présentes à l’esprit afin de bien saisir la portée de sa critique. Ainsi, Hugues, sensible aux dangers du dualisme et peu soucieux d’opposer sans nuance le monde supra-lunaire des idées incorruptibles au monde sensible, reconnaît une valeur intrinsèque à ce dernier dans la mesure où Dieu y intervient30. Dieu est aussi bien le créateur du monde que la force providentielle qui continue à agir en son sein, ce qui est une manière de signifier la dignité du monde lui-même. De plus, en examinant les activités humaines, l’Âme est invitée à ne pas confondre la dignité de l’homme avec celle de son œuvre, ce qui est une manière pour Hugues de suggérer que l’homme possède une certaine dignité non pas en fonction de ses actions, mais en tant qu’il participe de Dieu. Par là, l’homme échappe à la mutabilité du créé qu’il dépasse en quantité, en beauté et en durée31. La critique du monde ne porte donc pas sur l’œuvre de Dieu, pas plus qu’elle ne flétrit l’homme qui l’habite : la censure du maître s’exerce sur les œuvres humaines. Hugues appelle ainsi à dépasser l’apparence belle mais superficielle du monde et à tenir compte de tous les aspects du créé. C’est donc au nom même de son « encyclopédisme » que Hugues se montre sévère. Pour juger du monde, il est certes utile de le voir en son entier, ce qui est le principe de la vision cosmique dont on a vu qu’Hugues synthétisait la tradition, mais il est encore meilleur de l’examiner dans sa durée car chaque moment doit être estimé par rapport à l’ensemble du cours de l’histoire humaine32. À ce titre, le choix de placer la scène marine en ouverture des cinq tableaux est significatif car la navigation, image traditionnelle de la vie humaine, permet 29
De plus, tout le passage est saturé par le lexique de la dispute scolaire (« savoir », « considérer », prouver », « disputer », « démontrer ») car la vérité se découvre grâce à l’échange contradictoire des points de vue (voir De vanitate, p. 141). 30 De vanitate, p. 140, l. 71-72. 31 Signalons que ce thème de la dignitas hominis se trouve exprimé dans un contexte proche en De archa Noe, III, 7, éd. Patrice Sicard, p. 63-64, l. 2-18 : « Hic michi occurrit evangelica illa parabola, in qua regnum coelorum thesauro abscondito in agro comparatur [Matth. 13, 44]. Regnum quippe celorum est vita aeterna, vita autem aeterna Christus est, Christus autem sapientia est, sapientia vero thesaurus est. Et hic thesaurus est absconditus in agro cordis humani, ubi factus est homo ad imaginem et similitudinem Creatoris sui. Quoniam ita conditum est cor hominis, ut in eo tanquam in quodam speculo suo divina sapientia reluceret et que in se videri non potuit in sua imagine visibilis appareret ; magna prorsus dignitas hominis portare imaginem Dei et illius in se jugiter vultum aspicere, atque eum semper per contemplationem presentem habere. Sed postquam primus ille parens, vetitum assecutus et interdictum tangens, delectationem suam in terram sparsit, peccati pulvis superjectus cordi humano pretiosum istum thesaurum ab oculis nostris abscondit, et caligo ignorantie oppensa lumen sapientie intercepit ». 32 Sur l’importance de la durée, voir par exemple De vanitate, p. 141, l. 115-116.
106
Cédric Giraud
également de mettre en scène la mer, métaphore du monde, dont les flots menacent l’homme, et d’annoncer en contrepoint le thème du refuge pérenne et de l’arche intérieure qui prend toute son ampleur au livre II33. Hugues commence par instaurer une atmosphère de sérénité toute classique dominée par les poissons34 : Anima : Navigantes video in mari et magnam tranquillitatem maris magnamque serenitatem aeris, ventis quoque secundis leniter spirantibus, optato cursu navigium ferri, viros autem per navem discumbentes ad epulas et canentes in lyris et tibiis et citharis et omni genere dulcis cantilenae auditum mulcentes, ipsis etiam aquis melodia resultantibus pisces maris greges circumducere et exsultantibus alludendo letitiam augere35.
L’effet d’harmonie, renforcé par les répétitions et par les rimes internes en latin, repose également sur la concorde des éléments : les hommes produisent de la musique à laquelle la mer fait écho, et les poissons, en jouant avec les hommes, augmentent la joie de ces derniers. Tranchant sur ce tableau idyllique, la scène pathétique qui suit est rythmée par une série de propositions interrogations et exclamatives qui font écho au début de l’œuvre, mais cette fois-ci c’est l’âme qui reprend à son compte ces questions, manifestant ainsi son changement de point de vue et, partant, la progression du dialogue36 : Anima : O miseri, quid vobis cum mari ? Quare fallaci sereno credidistis ? Quare in dubio securi fuistis ? Quare tranquillitatem equoris suspectam non habuistis ? Quare perfido elemento vitam vestram committere non timuistis ? Quare soliditatem littoris deseruistis ? Quare securum iter in terra non tenuistis ? Quid vobis lucra tanto periculo acquisita37 ? 33 La navigation est présentée de manière favorable dans le Didascalicon : « Navigatio tertia species est mechanicae. Ad hanc pertinet omnis industria vendendi et emendi. Haec invisa littora adit, pacem et familiaritatem cum exteris nationibus componit, et privata bona communia facit », Didascalicon, II, 23, éd. Charles H. Buttimer, p. 41. Ce passage a fait l’objet de nombreux commentaires dans l’historiographie qui y voit une sorte d’éloge du grand commerce international et de la diplomatie. Il faut rappeler que le contexte des années 1120 correspond à la création des États latins en Orient. Et si Hugues dans le De vanitate s’attache plutôt à la valeur poétique de la navigation, il ne méconnait pas ses implications économiques (cf. De vanitate, p. 142, l. 129-130), qu’il développe d’ailleurs dans la scène suivante. 34 Avec des références implicites à Virgile, Énéide, VIII, v. 671-674 ; Géorgiques, IV, v. 430. Tous les éléments rhétoriques et stylistiques rappellent aussi que l’art de la description d’un objet ou d’un spectacle de la nature fait partie de l’enseignement donné dans les écoles et des exercices scolaires pratiqués par les élèves. 35 De vanitate, p. 141, l. 103-109. 36 On a d’ailleurs pu aussi voir dans cette mise en scène des éléments déchaînés une manière de valoriser la puissance de la nature, typique du xiie siècle, voir Francesco Lazzari, Il Contemptus mundi, p. 38-39. 37 De vanitate, p. 142, l. 125-130.
L’école de Saint-Victor
107
Hugues illustre ici le thème de la proportionnalité des peines, présent dès l’Antiquité et repris par les chrétiens à propos des tourments infernaux : l’instrument du plaisir devient celui de la torture, et les poissons qui augmentaient le plaisir humain se transforment en bourreaux. Comme la mer à laquelle il appartient, le poisson symbolise ici la mutabilité du destin humain. Pour décrire ensuite l’activité marchande, Hugues fait appel à l’image du grand commerce dans une scène que la mention des chameaux permet de situer en Orient38 : Anima : Video homines pergentes viam suam, multis et magnis mercibus onustos, camelos innumerabiles onera diversa portantes, plaustra plurima et bigas non paucas in comitatu euntium, omnem speciem pigmentorum atque aromatum ibi video, omnia genera pretiosarum vestium agnosco, ingentes massas metallorum omnium et omnem lapidem pretiosum ibi conspicio, equos et mulos et mancipia, greges armentorum et pecorum absque numero39.
L’épisode, solidaire du premier tableau, relève de la navigation au sens large. Pas plus que la précédente, il ne s’agit d’une scène réaliste, mais d’une présentation stylisée qui rappelle l’élargissement des horizons dans le contexte de la Croisade et signale l’existence de rapports commerciaux, notamment pour les produits de luxe ici cités, entre les chrétiens du xiie siècle et le monde arabo-musulman. La scène, où l’étalage des biens est suivi par leur pillage, prouve par l’expérience ce que le De archa Noe enseigne ex professo sur l’amour du monde : Inter amorem huius mundi et amorem Dei hec est differentia, quod huius mundi amor in principio dulcis esse videtur, sed finem habet amarum, amor vero Dei ab amaritudine incipit, sed ultima eius dulcedine plena sunt40.
Une dernière fois dans le dialogue, Hugues reprend le procédé pathétique de la question rhétorique d’abord adressée à un tiers, en écho à l’ouverture et à la première scène, mais aussi adressées à soi-même, pour rendre plus vivante la délibération intérieure : Anima : Quid, miseri, frustra contenditis ? Quid resistitis ? Quid, in supremo periculo constituti, vitam cum rebus perdere vultis ? Hei michi, iam alios necari, alios spoliari conspicio, alios mortuos cadere, alios vix nudos effugere video. Sed utrum sic cadentes vel sic effugientes magis miseros dicam ignoro. Illi enim moriendo a miseria liberantur, 38 Malgré sa quasi absence en Occident, l’animal est assez présent dans l’imaginaire chrétien car, cité dans la Bible de nombreuses fois, il a souvent exercé la sagacité des exégètes. On le retrouve aussi dans le bestiaire sculpté de l’époque romane et dans la littérature vernaculaire (comme le Roman de Renart). 39 De vanitate, p. 142-143, l. 141-150. 40 De archa Noe, I, 2, éd. Sicard, p. 6, l. 2-5.
108
Cédric Giraud
isti mortem effugiendo ad miseriam reservantur. Quos potius plangam ? Quos magis arguam ? Plangam morientes, et arguam fugientes ? Nonne etiam rectissime et illi de tali morte arguendi, et isti de tali fuga plangendi sunt ? Quia et illos in mortem miseram duxit avaritia, et istos fugientes a morte excipit morte major miseria41.
Il est frappant que ces procédés pathétiques soient ensuite abandonnés dans les trois scènes suivantes où ce type de preuve émotionnelle cède la place à une démonstration, comme c’est le cas avec l’homme riche. Ainsi, en posant la question de la vanité du monde sur le terrain de la vie heureuse, Hugues se situe dans la tradition des dialogues philosophiques antiques et augustiniens42. En effet, l’exemple du riche appartient, au moins depuis Socrate, aux cas d’école qui permettent d’affirmer que la sagesse consiste non dans la possession de biens mais dans le détachement intérieur43. Pour Hugues, il existe bien un paradoxe du riche, au sens cicéronien des Paradoxa Stoicorum : démuni du point de l’intériorité, le riche est pauvre au milieu des richesses alors que le sage, même pauvre, est le seul vrai riche44. D’après le chanoine victorin, la vraie richesse est affaire de disposition intérieure et consiste à se contenter de peu. Cependant, le débat est relancé par l’Âme qui se place sur le terrain de l’expérience : il est préférable d’être riche plutôt que pauvre car manquer est synonyme de malheur45. Il est intéressant de voir que la Raison adopte un point de vue nuancé sans faire l’éloge de la pauvreté ou de la dépossession volontaire, ce qu’on aurait pu attendre d’un religieux comme Hugues qui ne pratique pas la propriété individuelle. L’auteur propose plutôt de mettre en balance les deux formes de malheurs, celui du pauvre et du riche, en recourant, comme Cyprien de Carthage46, à l’examen de l’intériorité : Ratio : Dives enim quanto plura possidet, tanto maiorem sollicitudinem habet. Et cum solus pre omnibus sollicitudinis pondus sustineat, aliis amplius quam sibi prosunt ea quae vel cupide querit vel avare conservat. Hunc sine intermissione suarum estus curarum exagitat. Timet ne parta deficiant quoniam, etsi magna est rerum possessio, non est minor distrahentium multitudo. Timet violentiam potentium, suspectam habet 41
De vanitate, p. 143-144, l. 176-187. Il convient de noter notamment l’emploi du verbe très significatif beatificare (De vanitate, p. 144, l. 201). 43 En mettant en parallèle la possession et le besoin (quelle est la vraie nature de la richesse : avoir beaucoup ou se contenter de peu ?), la Raison se situe dans une tradition socratique et stoïcienne de réflexion sur la richesse. En effet, dans l’Économique de Xénophon, Socrate affirme, à la surprise de son interlocuteur Critobule, qu’il est lui-même « suffisamment riche », alors que Critobule est « tout à fait pauvre » à cause de ses importants besoins. 44 Voir Cicéron, Paradoxa Stoicorum, VI, « Que le sage est seul riche ». 45 De vanitate, p. 145, l. 212-214. 46 Cyprien de Carthage, Lettre à Donat, éd. Hartel, p. 13-14. 42
L’école de Saint-Victor
109
fidem familiarium, semper imminentes pavet insidias exterorum et, quod se scit cum odio omnium possidere, hoc misera quadam et infelici contentione contra omnes nititur defendere, sicque fit ut, dum se studio pravitatis a communi omnium societate separat, cunctis odiosus et ab omnium caritate alienus fiat47.
Les biens de la richesse, même immatériels, ne sont que passagers, et le riche demeure seul contre tous dans une solitude intérieure qui le met au ban de la société. Hugues se veut ici philosophe : la critique de la richesse n’est pas produite au nom d’une louange de la pauvreté ou du renversement des valeurs propres au christianisme, mais comme le résultat d’un constat largement partagé. Par la suite, Hugues, en cherchant une nouvelle fois l’activité qui peut rendre l’homme heureux, reste dans un cadre eudémoniste augustinien : l’homme, loin d’être voué à ressasser la vanité du monde, cherche par nature le bonheur. Est ici notable la progression de l’âme car si précédemment elle faisait dépendre le bonheur des biens extérieurs (commerce, richesses), elle tient compte désormais, en examinant le mariage, des dispositions intérieures que sont la paix et la concorde des esprits. En effet, le mariage possède en premier lieu une fonction sociale, qui est de pacifier la société et de créer un lien entre les êtres humains. Outre ce bien social, le mariage possède, selon Hugues, un double avantage que sont la propagation de l’espèce humaine et la lutte contre la concupiscence : Anima : Hoc societatem commendat, amorem sanctificat, amicitiam servat. Hinc fructus prolis oritur, hinc nostri generis propago dilatatur, hinc mortis dirae necessitati resistitur et damna patrum in filiis reparantur. Nam cur illud commemorem quod in hoc solo carnis concupiscentia, quae alias nec sine magno labore cohiberi, nec sine turpitudine laxari potest, ita honeste atque pudice alterutrum excipitur ut quasi nulla castitatis damna sentiantur ? Nam, etsi ipsa concupiscentia experiri voluptatem suam sinitur, nulla tamen pudicitiae confusio generatur48.
Par rapport au cadre augustinien classique définissant les trois éléments essentiels du mariage (proles, fides, sacramentum)49, Hugues adopte une perspective naturaliste comme c’était déjà le cas pour la richesse et la pauvreté. En effet, dans l’argumentaire augustinien, la reproduction n’obéit à l’impératif de la Genèse (« Croissez et multipliez-vous ») que pour des raisons spirituelles : ordonnée à la vie du ciel, la génération a pour but de faire parvenir au nombre des élus voulus par Dieu avant la chute et, après la chute, de combler les pertes dues aux anges déchus. 47
De vanitate, p. 145, l. 217-227. De vanitate, p. 146-147, l. 257-265. 49 Voir par exemple Augustin, De bono coniugali, éd. Joseph Zycha, Wien : Österreichische Akademie der Wissenschaften, 1900 (CSEL 41). 48
110
Cédric Giraud
Chez Hugues, la reproduction sert à compenser les pertes dues à la condition mortelle de l’homme50. Le maître victorin rejoint plus nettement l’enseignement d’Augustin, en montrant dans le mariage un remède à la concupiscence. Pour lutter contre ce désordre, l’être humain trouve un secours dans le mariage d’après Augustin : une raison d’ordre psychologique, c’est-à-dire la pensée de devenir père ou mère, maintient les époux dans l’usage honnête de la concupiscence en les portant à s’en servir chastement en vue de la génération. En faisant servir les ardeurs de la volupté au bien de la génération, le mariage empêche le crime de fornication et, en obligeant les époux à observer la fidélité mutuelle, il éloigne le danger de l’adultère51. Comme il serait difficile à un magister chrétien de nier les biens du mariage, Hugues en nuance la portée en les mettant, point par point, en balance avec certains maux. À l’instar des scènes précédentes, l’auteur montre qu’une réalité, bonne à un moment donné, finit par se montrer nocive52 : la concorde, au sein du couple, laisse ainsi place à la haine ; la sexualité entraîne une dégradation du corps, selon une conception qui assimile la virginité et la continence sexuelle à une préservation de l’intégrité corporelle ; la reproduction de l’espèce implique la difficulté d’élever des enfants53. Le maître présente donc ici un tableau nuancé de la vie conjugale et familiale, en refusant de lui attribuer une valeur univoquement positive. Comme dans les tableaux précédents, la scène finale sur les écoles propose le résumé stylisé d’une activité, non une description réaliste. Ici, la formation scolaire est évoquée dans son intégralité : elle concerne tous les âges de la vie et embrasse la quasi intégralité des domaines du savoir. Hugues, suivant la progression pédagogique développée dans le Didascalicon, évoque d’abord la « logique », c’est-à-dire les arts du trivium. Le maître insiste sur la grammaire (qui comprend ici l’apprentissage de la lecture et de l’écriture) et lie dans une même phrase rhétorique et dialectique, sans doute parce que le Didascalicon les rapproche comme deux modalités connexes de l’art de la preuve54. La suite porte sur la « théorique », 50
De vanitate, p. 146, l. 258-260. Voir aussi W. Elisabeth Gössmann, « Die Bedeutung der Liebe in der Eheauffassung Hugos von St. Viktor und Wolframs von Eschenbach », dans Münchener theologische Zeitschrift, t. 5, 1954, p. 205-213. 51 Voir De vanitate, p. 147, l. 261-262. 52 De vanitate, p. 147-149, l. 273-312 ; sur les maux du mariage, voir aussi De sacramentis, I, viii, 13, éd. PL 176, col. 316C-318A. 53 Cette connaissance de l’éducation enfantine n’est peut-être pas uniquement un souvenir livresque car, dans les milieux réguliers auxquels Hugues appartient, la pratique de l’oblation des enfants est fréquente. Les manuels et les correspondances monastiques recommandent d’ailleurs de faire preuve de patience envers les enfants et d’éviter les châtiments corporels pour ne pas briser la nature humaine. 54 Voir ainsi le schéma synthétique proposé par Dominique Poirel, « Reading and Educating Oneself », p. 120.
L’école de Saint-Victor
111
soit les arts du quadrivium (arithmétique, musique, géométrie, astronomie) avec la physique : Anima : Alii ad formanda nova elementa atque voces insolitas edendas rudem adhuc linguam inflectere discunt. Alii verborum inflexiones, compositiones et derivationes primum audiendo cognoscere, deinde conferendo adinvicem atque identidem repetendo memoriae commendare satagunt. Alii ceras stilo exarant. Alii figuras variis modis et diversis coloribus in membranis docta manu calamum ducente designant. Alii autem, acriori et ferventiori quodam studio, de magnis ut videtur negotiis disceptationes quasdam ad invicem exerunt et quibusdam verborum innexionibus vicissim fraudare contendunt. Calculantes etiam quosdam ibi video. Alii tensum in ligno nervum percutientes diversorum sonorum melodias proferunt. Alii vero quasdam descriptiones et mensurarum formas explicant. Alii cursus et positiones siderum et celi conversionem quibusdam instrumentis manifeste describunt. Alii de natura herbarum, de complexione hominum, de qualitate rerum omnium et virtute pertractant. Hoc autem sive otium negotiosum, sive negotium otiosum appellandum sit, cunctis humanis actionibus, tuo quoque judicio, preferendum existimo, eo quod nichil transitorium, nichil caducum, sed quod eternum est, sapientiae decus per id mentibus inseritur et radix eius amplius non eradicanda plantatur55.
Pour décrire l’ensemble de ces activités, notons que l’Âme recourt au jeu de mots otium/negotium, fréquent depuis l’Antiquité, avec une référence directe à l’étymologie du mot schola, signifiant à la fois « loisir » et « école »56. Ici, le mot est pris dans son sens profane, loin de l’acception chrétienne et monastique selon laquelle otium désigne le temps consacré à la contemplation et à la vie spirituelle. La Raison cependant repousse cette activité toujours au nom du même argument : l’Âme ne prend en compte qu’une partie de la réalité sans jouer complètement le jeu de la vision cosmique : Ratio : Et ut apertius adhuc agnoscas quam infructuosa, immo quam perniciosa sint studia haec, animos non solum ad cognoscendam veritatem non illuminant, sed ne veritatem quidem ipsam agnoscere possint, prorsus excecant. Rapiunt enim cor hominis, et quodammodo extra semetipsum abducunt ut, dum ad alia quae ad rem non pertinent consideranda trahitur, ad circumspectionem sui minime revertatur. Sic solent aves capi, quibus in tenebris tetrae noctis hinc quod intueantur lumen ostenditur, hinc quo capiantur laqueus preparatur57.
55
De vanitate, p. 149-150, l. 322-344. Voir aussi Riccardo Quinto, « Le scholae del medioevo come comunità di sapienti », dans Studi Medievali, t. 42, 2001, p. 739-763. 57 De vanitate, p. 150, l. 355-363. 56
112
Cédric Giraud
Pour dénoncer les dangers d’une conception superficielle du savoir, la Raison utilise l’image du piège tendu à l’âme, avec l’image platonicienne de l’âme-oiseau, rapidement christianisée, qui assimile l’âme à un oiseau pris au piège et mis en cage58. On pourrait s’étonner qu’Hugues, qu’il est habituel de célébrer comme maître d’une école fameuse et chantre de l’encyclopédisme, condamne ces activités intellectuelles. En fait, il n’y a nulle contradiction car l’apprentissage que vient de décrire l’Âme est incomplet : il lui manque la partie la plus haute de la « théorique », c’est-à-dire la théologie et toute la « pratique » ou morale. Ce qui est soumis à critique est donc une formation déséquilibrée insistant sur la logique et la théorique au détriment de la mise en pratique du bien. La critique de la Raison ne porte donc pas sur la légitimité du savoir ou sur un certain type de connaissances, mais sur le mode de vie des savants et l’ignorance de leur fin dernière. Hugues s’inscrit ainsi dans la tradition du « socratisme chrétien » : le vrai sage commence par se connaître lui-même en vertu du scito te ipsum59. Il est inutile de connaître le monde si l’on ignore sa propre personne et sa destinée immortelle. On retrouve ici, pour conclure le livre I, le thème de la dignité de l’homme qui affleure tout au long de l’œuvre : l’homme en tant que voyageur n’est que de passage et n’est pas réductible à ses actions ; sa dignité excède toutes les réalités créées, même intellectuelles. * * * En commentant le livre I du De vanitate rerum mundanarum, nous avons pu constater que l’enseignement d’Hugues échappe aux classifications schématiques. Le maître porte en effet un regard positif sur le monde et sur l’homme, et s’il émet des critiques, ce sont uniquement les activités humaines qu’il soumet à sa censure. Il est aussi remarquable que son argumentaire ne relève pas d’un a priori ou d’une idéologie qu’il imposerait au réel comme une grille de lecture car il cherche toujours à observer les réalités du monde comme un spectacle ou un donné naturel. C’est pourquoi, pour le maître victorin, la vanité du monde est une constatation et le résultat d’un diagnostic que chacun est appelé à poser grâce à l’observation du monde. Au terme de notre analyse, on peut donc affirmer sans paradoxe que le genre littéraire même du contemptus mundi participe aussi de la redécouverte du monde propre au xiie siècle et donc d’une forme d’humanisme. De plus, le recours 58
Sur les pièges de l’âme, voir Pierre Courcelle, « La colle et le clou de l’âme dans la tradition néo-platonicienne et chrétienne (Phédon 82e ; 83d) », dans Revue belge de philologie et d’histoire, t. 36/1, 1958, p. 72-95. 59 Voir Pierre Courcelle, « Connais-toi toi-même », de Socrate à saint Bernard, Paris : Institut d’Études augustiniennes, 1975, 3 vol.
L’école de Saint-Victor
113
aux sources classiques, aussi bien littéraires que philosophiques, dont nous avons montré la place considérable, mais en partie dissimulée, vient encore renforcer le caractère « renaissant » de cet enseignement. Certes, le De vanitate atteste une « primauté du spirituel », au nom de laquelle Hugues distingue pour mieux ordonner : ce qui est éternel l’emporte sur le transitoire, ce qui demeure prime ce qui est passager. En ce sens, les activités temporelles de l’homme ne sont que vanité dès lors que l’homme porte en lui une part d’éternité. La pensée bien comprise d’Hugues n’implique donc pas forcément de renoncer aux qualificatifs abstraits comme « humanisme » et « pessimisme », mais plutôt de les appliquer au niveau de réalité qui leur correspond, autrement dit il convient de faire ce que Hugues préconise lui-même : distinguer afin de comprendre. Le « pessimisme » hugonien porte sur les activités humaines et il est englobé dans un « humanisme » et un socratisme chrétien plus vaste qui l’orientent. La vanité du monde doit donc conduire à l’examen de soi-même comme l’attestent également de nombreuses œuvres contemporaines de celles du chanoine victorin. Passer du contemptus mundi au scito te ipsum est sans doute ce qui définit le mieux l’esprit du xiie siècle, et tel est le parcours que dessine le livre I du De vanitate rerum mundanarum. Par là, Hugues résume en quelque sorte l’esprit de son temps tout comme il porte en germe des virtualités que les penseurs successifs développeront, chacun selon leur génie propre. C’est sans doute ce double mouvement qui explique le succès européen de l’école victorine en général et de l’œuvre d’Hugues de Saint-Victor en particulier.
Non quaerat extra se, qui haec propter se facta credit. Hugh of Saint-Victor’s Pedagogy Ineke van ’t Spijker
The works of Hugh of Saint-Victor, the famous magister of the school of Saint-Victor, though varied, form an integrated and comprehensive whole. Hugh instructs novices in his De institutione nouitiorum, teaches how to study and to read in his Didascalicon, explains salvation history in his theological summa, the De sacramentis christianae fidei, where at the same time he applies his theories of interpreting Scripture. These and other works help his readers to understand Christian doctrine. They also help to find a focus for the mind in search of a lost stability. As he states in the Prologue of De sacramentis, Hugh presents his summa so « that the mind may have something certain to which it could attach and conform its attention (intentio)1 ». Within a practice of learning and exegesis which uncovers the meaning of the Scriptures whose subject matter consists in salvation history, the need to concentrate and focus is one of the recurring themes in Hugh’s work. He explains the need for such concentration at the beginning of his treatise on the Ark of Noah, where he mentions how during the communal collatio the discussion turned to the reasons for the « instability of the human heart ». Hugh started his answer by giving a very brief résumé of the human predicament after 1
De sacramentis, Prologus, ed. PL 176, col. 183-184 = Rainer Berndt SJ, Hugonis de Sancto Victore De sacramentis Christianae fidei, Münster i. W. : Aschendorff, 2008 (Corpus Victorinum. Textus historici, 1), p. 31, l. 6-8 : « Hanc enim quasi brevem quamdam summam omnium in unam seriem compegi, ut animus aliquid certum haberet [Berndt : hereret], cui intentionem affigere et conformare [Berndt : confirmare] valeret, ne per varia Scripturarum volumina et lectionum divortia sine ordine et directione raperetur. » Omnium expetendorum prima est sapientia. Studies on Victorine thought and influence, ed. by Wanda Bajor, Michał Buraczewski, Marcin Jan Janecki and Dominique Poirel, BV, 29 (Turnhout, 2021), p. 115–126. © BREPOLSPUBLISHERS DOI 10.1484/M.BV-EB.5.126033
116
Ineke van ’t Spijker
the Fall, and its remedy : man had been created to always be present, by contemplation, to the face of the Creator but he was thrown away from the face of the Lord when, struck by the blindness of ignorance because of sin, he fell outside, from the inner light of seeing him, and inclined his mind the more to earthly desires, the more he began to forget the sweetness of higher things, whose taste he had lost already2.
The resulting loss of stability can only be overcome by countering the love of the world and concentrating one’s thoughts and feelings once again on the love of God. In his De archa Noe as well as in other works Hugh presents the reader with an itinerary towards such focus. This ongoing concern with the reader fashioning or rather restoring an inner self concentrated on its original purpose of contemplation is one of the unifying threads underlying Hugh’s work. A turn towards self-knowledge is the start, as Hugh says at the beginning of his Didascalicon, where he explores how one should pursue self-knowledge and Wisdom, so as to regain a recognition of man’s original destination – a knowledge lost by the Fall : For the mind, stupefied by bodily sensations and enticed out of itself by sensuous forms, has forgotten what it was, and, because it does not remember that it was anything different, believes that it is nothing except what is seen. But we are restored through instruction (doctrina), so that we may recognize our nature and learn not to seek outside ourselves what we can find within3. 2
De archa Noe I, 1 ed. Patrice Sicard, Turnhout : Brepols, 2001 (CCCM 176), p. 3, l. 1-5 : « Cum sederem aliquando in conuentu fratrum et, illis interrogantibus meque respondente, multa in medium prolata fuissent, ad hoc tandem deducta sunt uerba ut de humani potissimum cordis instabilitate et inquietudine ammirari omnes simul et suspirare inciperemus » ; p. 4, l. 37-41 : « Sed proiectus est a facie Domini quando, propter peccatum cecitate ignorantie percussus, ab intima contemplationis illius luce foras uenit eoque profundius ad desideria terrena mentem inclinauit, quo magis supernorum dulcedinem, quorum iam gustum perdiderat, obliuisci cepit. » See for an analysis of De archa Noe and its companion volume, the Libellus de formatione arche, Patrice Sicard, Diagrammes médiévaux et exégèse visuelle. Le Libellus de formatione arche de Hugues de Saint-Victor, Paris – Turnhout : Brepols, 1993 (Bibliotheca Victorina, 4) ; Conrad Rudolph, The Mystic Ark. Hugh of Saint-Victor, Art, and Thought in the Twelfth Century, Cambridge : Cambridge University Press, 2014. 3 Didascalicon I, 1, ed. Charles Henry Buttimer, Hugonis de Sancto Victore Didascalicon de studio legendi, Washington, DC : Catholic University Press, 1939 (Studies in Medieval and Renaissance Latin, 10), p. 6, l. 4-9 : « Animus enim, corporeis passionibus consopitus et per sensibiles formas extra semetipsum abductus, oblitus est quid fuerit, et, quia nil aliud fuisse se meminit, nil praeter quod videtur esse credit. Reparamur autem per doctrinam, ut nostram agnoscamus naturam, et ut discamus extra non quaerere quod in nobis possumus invenire. » Tr. by Jerome Taylor, The Didascalicon of Hugh of St Victor. A Medieval Guide to the Arts, New York – London : Columbia University Press, p. 47. See on the Didascalicon Dominique Poirel, « Reading and
Non quaerat extra se, qui haec propter se facta credit
117
In the Didascalicon Hugh provides the student with the right way into this instruction, via the liberal arts, necessary as they provide access to Scripture’s threefold reading of history, allegory, and tropology4. The study of sacred history, and Scripture itself, is like a building, with its foundation in history, on which allegory raises the structure of faith, while a moral reading covers the whole in painting5. The reader is thus to « construct a spiritual building » himself6. Applying this three-fold reading in De sacramentis, Hugh explains how the history of the human race, from Creation and Fall to Incarnation and beyond, contains at the same time the sacramenta of individual man. Thus there is, in Hugh’s presentation, in accordance with the symbolic mentality that Hugh shares with his contemporaries, a divine pedagogy woven into the very texture of the world and its history. Scripture’s main subject, says Hugh, is the opus restaurationis, the work of restoration after the Fall. Yet for the sake of narrative expedience it first briefly sets out the opus conditionis, the creation of the world. Hugh follows this scriptural narrative, and from the beginning he integrates a tropological reading, in which creation and restoration are often implicated and reflected in each other. Hugh suggests that after an initial creation at once of matter in a forma confusionis the creation in six days as told in the biblical narrative points to the further ordering in a forma dispositionis. This staged process points to a pedagogical purpose : God could have chosen a different way, but he chose this modus as it was most appropriate for rational creature : in what happened outwardly this rational creature would acknowledge in itself the difference between what it was and what it was meant to be by conversion to the Creator – the stages of the creation of the external world an example of the distance between being and beautiful being7. The division by Educating Oneself in the 12th Century : Hugh of Saint-Victor’s Didascalicon », in A Companion to Twelfth-Century Schools, ed. Cédric Giraud, Leiden – Boston : Brill, 2020 (Brill’s Companions to the Christian Tradition, 88), p. 113-140. 4 See on the importance of reading Franklin T. Harkins, Reading and the Work of Restoration. History and Scripture in the Theology of Hugh of St Victor, Toronto : Pontifical Institute of Mediaeval Studies, 2009. 5 Didascalicon VI, 3, ed. Buttimer, p. 116, l. 22-25 : « Aedificaturus ergo primum fundamentum historiae pone, deinde per significationem typicam in arcem fidei fabricam mentis erige. Ad extremum vero, per moralitatis gratiam quasi pulcherrimo superducto colore aedifium pinge. » Hugh quotes from Gregory the Great’s Introductory Letter to the Moralia in Iob, Epistola […] fratri Leandro, 3, ed. Marc Adriaen, Turnhout : Brepols, 1979 (CCSL 143), p. 4. Cf. also Didascalicon VI, 4, ed. Buttimer, p. 118, l. 6-8 : « Meministi, ut aestimo, supra me divinam Scripturam aedificio similem dixisse, ubi primum, fundamento posito, structura in altum levatur. » 6 Didascalicon VI, 4, ed. Buttimer p. 119, l. 27-28 : ecce ad lectionem venisti, spirituale fabricaturus aedificium. 7 De sacramentis I, i, 3, ed. PL 176, col. 188C-189B = Berndt, p. 37-38 : « Omnipotens etenim Deus […] illum praecipue modum servare debuit, qui ipsius rationalis creaturae commoditati ac causae magis congruus fuit […]. Eodem modo ipsa rationalis creatura per id quod
118
Ineke van ’t Spijker
the firmament between the waters beneath and above holds a similar lesson for the sake of the reader : « let him not search outside himself, who believes that these things were made for his sake ». In this inner world the earth below is man’s sensual nature, while the heaven above represents « the purity of intelligence ». These two very dissimilar natures, with their contrary and conflicting desires, of bodily appetite and striving for contemplating truth, can only be united by reason, as a sort of firmament mediating between the conflicting desires8. Later, narrating how after the creation of light on the first day the sun is created on the third day, Hugh again says that a sacrament is recommended here, of the need for a primary enlightenment of any soul in sin, who first lies in darkness and must come to see its state of confusion, before it can extricate itself and be able to distinguish between virtues and vices ; only then can the sun of justice start to shine for him9. Even if he had not fallen, the external world contained such lessons for the inner man. Man would have applied himself to the internal and spiritual study of wisdom and divine contemplation (interna et spiritualia studia sapientiae et divinae contemplationis), and he would have cultivated the land, not in labour, but for his delight, and so that the outer man would know from the example of this outer work what had to be done inwardly, « for inwardly there was also a land to be cultivated as well10. » foris fiebat, in se cognosceret, et ab illo esse quod erat, atque ab illo expetendum esse quod futura erat […]. Nam et ipsa rationalis creatura quodam suo modo prius informis facta est, postmodum per conversionem ad Creatorem suum formanda ; et idcirco foris prius ei demonstrata est informis materia, postea formata, ut quanta foret inter esse et pulchrum esse distantia discerneret. » See Lenka Karfíková, « De esse ad pulchrum esse ». Schönheit in der Theologie Hugos von St Viktor, Turnhout : Brepols, 1998 (Bibliotheca Victorina, 8). 8 De sacramentis I, i, 19, ed. PL 176, col. 200CD = Berndt, p. 53 : « Quare autem factum sit ut firmamentum aquas a se divideret […] non quaerat extra se, qui haec propter se facta credit. Nam est illo qui interius fabricatus est mundo, quiddam hujus operis formam et exemplar habens, ubi terra quaedam deorsum posita consistit sensualis natura hominis ; coelum autem sursum puritas intelligentiae, et quasi quodam immortalis vitae motu vegetata ratio. » 9 De sacramentis I, i, 12, ed. PL 176, col. 195CD = Berndt, p. 46-47 : « Ego puto magnum hic aliquod sacramentum commendari ; quia omnis anima quandiu in peccato est, quasi in tenebris est quibusdam et confusione. Sed non potest evadere confusionem suam et ad ordinem justitiae formamque disponi, nisi illuminetur primum videre mala sua, et discernere lucem a tenebris, hoc est virtutes a vitiis […]. Postquam autem ordinata fuerint omnia ejus, et secundum exemplar rationis formamque sapientiae disposita, tunc statim incipiet ei lucere sol justitiae. » 10 De sacramentis I, vi, 21, ed. PL 176, col. 276D-277A = Berndt, p. 154 : « Sic namque exterior homo exercendus erat ab ipso studio exterioris operis, ut forma sumeretur studii interioris ; et in eo quod foris faceret, agnosceret quid sibi intus faciendum esset. Nam et intus similiter quaedam terra erat quae bona quidem creata erat, et tamen si bene excoleretur adhuc melior esse poterat. » Cf. on an on-going pedagogical progress even before the Fall also De sacramentis, I, vi, 33, ed. PL 176, col. 302CD = Berndt, p. 189 : man’s knowledge would have increased per intervalla temporum.
Non quaerat extra se, qui haec propter se facta credit
119
The creation of the human race from one man shows the unity of the human race ; but also signifies man being made in the image of God : just as God is the principle of creation in all things, man would be the principle of generation for all men, and men would recognize that they are one and love each other as one11. Woman’s creation from man’s side confirmed this unity and showed that she was created neither to rule over nor to serve man, neither as domina nor as ancilla, but in a fellowship of love, a consortium dilectionis12. Later Hugh will explain how the sacrament of marriage, the only one instituted before the Fall, not only symbolised the spiritual fellowship between God and the soul, but also the future union of Christ and the Church13. Discussing the Incarnation, Hugh explains how God again could have chosen other ways of restoring fallen mankind, but the manner chosen was more fitting for human weakness, as it could « reform man to the hope of immortalty14 ». In De sacramentis it is Scripture’s salvation-history which teaches man about mankind as well as about the human individual. In De tribus diebus Hugh explains the world itself as a book, its visible features of immensity, beauty, and utility to be interpreted as so many signs of divine power, wisdom and goodness15. The text from Romans 1, 20, « From the creation of the world [God’s] invisible things have been understood and seen through the things made by him » (inuisibilia enim ipsius a creatura mundi per ea quae facta sunt intellecta conspiciuntur), functions within Hugh’s cosmology and pedagogy ; within it we proceed from visible things to the invisible, turning inward in the process16. Again, the world of outer creation 11
De sacramentis I, vi, 34, ed. PL 176, col. 284AB = Berndt, p. 164 : « Creavit ergo Deus primum hominem unum, ut unum esset generis humani principium […] ut in hoc imago Dei in homine appareret, quod sicut Deus omnibus rebus creationis principium exstitit ; ita iste omnibus hominibus principium esset generationis, et omnes homines dum se ab uno et unum esse cognoscerent, omnes se quasi unum amarent. » Cf. Augustine, De ciuitate Dei XII, 22, ed. Bernardus Dombart – Alphonsus Kalb, Turnhout : Brepols, 1955 (CCSL 48), p. 380. 12 De sacramentis I, vi, 35, ed. PL 176, col. 284BC = Berndt, p. 164 : « Quoniam si aliunde fieret, unum profecto principium hominum non esset. Facta est autem de latere viri ut ostenderetur quod in consortium creabatur dilectionis […]. Quia igitur viro nec domina nec ancilla parabatur sed socia […]. » 13 De sacramentis I, ix, 13, ed. PL 176, col. 314CD = Berndt, p. 205-206. 14 De sacramentis I, viii, 10, ed. PL 176, col. 311D = Berndt, p. 201 : « Propter quod veraciter profitemur quod redemptionem generis humani etiam alio modo Deus perficere potuisset si voluisset. Sed quod iste nostrae infirmitati convenientior fuit ut Deus homo fieret, et pro homine mortalitatem hominis assumens ad spem suae immortalitatis hominem reformaret. » 15 De tribus diebus, ed. Dominique Poirel, Turnhout : Brepols, 2002 (CCCM 177), p. 9, l. 94-95 : « Vniuersus enim mundus iste sensilis quasi quidam liber est scriptus digito Dei. » See Dominique Poirel, Livre de la nature et débat trinitaire au xiie siècle. Le De tribus diebus de Hugues de Saint-Victor, Turnhout : Brepols, 2002 (Bibliotheca Victorina, 14). 16 The text is the point of departure in his De tribus diebus, ed. Poirel, p. 3, l. 5-6.
120
Ineke van ’t Spijker
leads to lessons for the inner person. The competent interpreter knows how « to turn the beauty of corporeal things into spiritual use, just as Scripture so earnestly excites us to consider the wonderful things of God, so that from what we see outside we come to acknowledgement of the truth17. » This correspondence between outer and inner, visible and invisible is a pervasive feature of Hugonian pedagogy. In his De institutione nouitiorum Hugh set out the road by which the novice-readers could achieve their purpose, the return to God, and the blessed life, that they evidently have chosen by turning away from the world. They should acquire « the knowledge to live rightly », scientia recte vivendi18, by investigating their behaviour. The novice should strive for a correspondence between outer and inner behaviour. By training the right outer gestures and behaviour, the corresponding inner composure will be achieved, and the other way round19. The correspondence between inner and outer, between invisible and visible, which is at the heart of Hugh’s pedagogy, is related to man’s position in the world : at the connection point of inner and outer, invisible and visible, spiritual and corporeal. This combination is itself a figura of a future participation of man in God’s glory, as Hugh explains in his De vanitate rerum mundanarum, a dialogue between Reason and Soul : God made his works out of love, not necessity […]. So that the glory of God would be complete, he associated all visible and invisible things in one fellowship, for the rational creature which he had created for his glory he partly ordered to persist in purity, partly he coupled it with bodily garments and earthly mansions, and made matter of clay animate to a sense of life […]. Thus God proved his power in fashioning man […]. so that man would know that if God could join such an unequal nature of body and soul into one alliance and friendship, it would not at all be impossible to elevate this humble rational creature, although much inferior, to participate in his glory20. 17 De tribus diebus, ed. Poirel, p. 10, l. 110-114 : « Bonum ergo est assidue contemplari et admirari opera diuina, sed ei qui rerum corporalium pulcritudinem in usum nouit uertere spiritalem. Nam et ideo Scriptura tantopere nos ad consideranda mirabilia Dei excitat, ut per ea quae foris cernimus, intus ad agnitionem ueritatis ueniamus. » 18 De institutione novitiorum, in L’Œuvre de Hugues de Saint-Victor, t. I : De institutione novitiorum. De virtute orandi. De laude caritatis. De arrha animae, ed. Hugh B. Feiss – Patrice Sicard, trad. fr. Dominique Poirel – Henri Rochais – Patrice Sicard, intr., notes et appendices par D. Poirel, Turnhout : Brepols, 1997 (Sous la Règle de saint Augustin, 3), p. 18-114, p. 22, l. 61. 19 De institutione, ed. Feiss – Sicard, p. 48, l. 460-462 : « Sicut enim de inconstantia mentis nascitur inordinata motio corporis, ita quoque, dum corpus per disciplinam stringitur, animus ad constantiam solidatur. » 20 De uanitate rerum mundanarum, ed. Cédric Giraud, Turnhout : Brepols, 2015 (CCCM 269), p. 169, l. 866 : « Caritate non necessitate fecit Deus opera sua » ; p. 170, l. 870-875 :
Non quaerat extra se, qui haec propter se facta credit
121
In his own nature, with its mixture of the physical and the spiritual, the visible and the invisible, man at the same time finds the way to overcome the gap between the two. In De tribus diebus Hugh says that man himself, as the likeness of uncreated wisdom, being at the same time visible and invisible, is both the door, giving access to contemplation, and the way to this end, of contemplation of the Creator of visible and invisible things21. In his Commentary on the Ecclesiast Hugh explains how the work of God is as it were his word, through which he speaks to us, and our eyes are as it were the instruments to perceive these words22. The forms of visible things are as it were the veins through which the invisible beauty manifests itself and flows out to us23. In a famous passage from his Commentary on the Dionysian Hierarchy, Hugh further explains this intricate union of visible and invisible, and its role in the process of man’s inner learning process : For according to the invisible light inborn in itself, our mind, looking at visible things, easily judges that visible forms are images of invisible beauty, and according to its approval and feeling of affection it finds that by some kind likeness they correspond to what it has invisibly inside itself. For what is in the mind is invisible, just as the mind itself is invisible ; and nevertheless that very mind, which itself is invisible, conceives joy and love and affection from the things that are visible. And of these it loves some things as if they were similar, as friend and kindred, and it gives itself to them voluntarily and rejoices in them ; other things, however, it rejects, and hates, and avoids, and it « Vt ergo laus Dei consummata esset, uisibilia et inuisibilia omnia uno commercio sociauit, quia rationalem creaturam quam ad gloriam suam condiderat partim iussit in sua puritate persistere, partim, eam corporeis indumentis et terrenis mansionibus copulans, luteam materiem fecit ad uitae sensum uegetare » ; p. 171, l. 904-910 : « Comprobauit ergo Deus potentiam suam fingendo hominem […] ut sciret homo quia, si potuit Deus tam disparem naturam corporis et animae ad unam federationem atque amicitiam coniungere, nequaquam ei impossibile futurum rationalis creaturae humilitatem, licet longe inferiorem, ad suae gloriae participationem sublimare. » Cf. Dialogus de creatione mundi, ed. Cédric Giraud, Turnhout : Brepols, 2015 (CCCM 269), p. 307-308, l. 205-223 ; De sacramentis I, vi, 1, ed. PL 176, col. 263BD = Berndt, p. 136-137. 21 De tribus diebus 17, ed. Poirel, p. 36, l. 594-603 : « Primum ergo ac principale increatae sapientiae simulacrum est sapientia creata, id est rationalis creatura ; quae, quia secundum aliquid uisibilis est, secundum aliquid inuisibilis, ianua contemplationis facta est pariter et uia […]. Ianua est quia ingredienti ad contemplationem animo primum aditum pandit ; uia est quia currentem in contemplationem animum ad finem perducit […] usque ad uisibilium pariter et inuisibilium creatorem uidendum perducit. » 22 Expositio in Ecclesiasten II, ed. PL 175, col. 142B : « Opus enim Dei quasi verbum illius est, per quod nobis loquitur, et ipsi oculi quasi instrumenta sunt quibus per contemplationem verba Dei percipiuntur. » 23 Expositio in Ecclesiasten II, ed. PL 175, col. 142D : « Nam species rerum visibilium quasi venae tantummodo quaedam sunt, per quas invisibilis pulchritudo se manifestans ad nos usque emanat. »
122
Ineke van ’t Spijker
keeps itself far away from them in its affection and love ; and it judges them alien to itself, and disagreeing, and not having any likeness with itself. And in this way our mind learns from its own nature that the visible has a relation and a likeness to the invisible24.
In yet another register Hugh points to this middle position of man again in De vanitate, when the soul is urged to consider the world of transitory things below, ever fluctuating as in a flood, God above in permanent stability, and the human mind posited in between, superior to what is subject to change, not able to reach the immutability that is with God. If the mind immerses itself in the world below, it will be carried away by infinite distractions and be scattered away from itself. By contrast, by leaving these things behind « in thought and desire », man concentrates his self again, ascending from the distractions25. Here as well as more elaborately in his De archa Noe, Hugh proposes the image of an ark to be represented in the heart, which will be slowly recollecting and concentrating itself, in the middle between the flood, and with God as its steersman26. Ascending towards God, Reason explains, means to enter into oneself and then to transcend oneself27. The process of concentration, countering the dispersion caused by a misdirected love of the opera conditionis, is achieved by representing to itself especially the opera restaurationis. By their variety they renew the human heart, which is yet unable to bear too much stability, but by their paucity they bring it together into one. Thus man, who had fallen away from the contemplation of God through
24
Super Ierarchiam Dionisii II, 1, ed. Dominique Poirel, Turnhout : Brepols, 2015 (CCCM 178), p. 436, l. 666-677 : « Nam secundum inuisibilem lucem insitam sibi noster animus, ad uisibilia respiciens, facile arbitratur uisibiles formas inuisibilis pulchritudinis imagines esse, illi quod inuisibile intus ipse habet amica quadam similitudine respondentes eas secundum approbationem et affectum inueniens. Quod enim in animo est inuisibile est, sicut ipse animus inuisibilis est ; et concipit tamen ipse qui inuisibilis est ex his quae uisibilia sunt gaudium et amorem et affectum. Et diligit ex his quaedam quasi similia et amica et cognata, et prestat se illis uoluntarie et exultat in ipsis ; alia autem aspernatur et odit et refugit, et longe se facit ab illis amore et dilectione, et iudicat peregrina a se esse et disconuenientia et nullam secum habentia similitudinem. Atque in hunc modum noster animus ex propria natura docetur quoniam uisibilia ad inuisibilia cognationem habent et similitudinem. » 25 De uanitate rerum mundanarum II, ed. Giraud, p. 156, l. 515-517 : « Tanto denique amplius quisque animo in unum colligitur, quanto magis ima deserens cogitatione et desiderio sursum eleuatur. » 26 De uanitate rerum mundanarum II, ed. Giraud, p. 157, l. 542-545 : « Video itaque haec tria : in imo quasi diluuium quoddam mundum istum, in medio quasi archam quamdam cor humanum, in supremo qusi gubernatorem Deum. » 27 De uanitate rerum mundanarum II, ed. Giraud, p. 158, l. 581-584 : « Ascendere ad Deum, hoc est intrare ad semetipsum et non solum ad se intrare, sed ineffabili quodam modo in intimis etiam seipsum transire. »
Non quaerat extra se, qui haec propter se facta credit
123
visible things, now, admonished by visible works of God, will become used to resurge again to contemplate Him28. The external world is at the same time distraction to be overcome and, through divine pedagogy, the means to start the process of return, departing from the visible world to teach about the invisible. As Hugh explains in his Commentary on the Ecclesiast : Thus in a wonderful and ineffable manner the Creator in his creation at the same time punishes evil through the destruction of things, and delights nature through beauty, so that man acknowledges both in his punishment what he deserves through guilt, and in his delight what he has lost29.
The world in its mutability inspires contemptus mundi as well as admiration for its maker30. As Hugh’s Commentary explains, the Ecclesiast, by showing the vanity of all earthly things, moves the mind to consider heavenly things. In relating our misery, the words of the Ecclesiast « attracts our affect31 ». If doctrina is important, no less so is the affective element. Indeed, as Hugh states several times, without love no one can be happy or blessed ; without love the human heart cannot 28
De uanitate rerum mundanarum II, ed. Giraud, p. 161-162, l. 656-664 : « Quia igitur homo opera conditionis peruerse amando dispersus fuerat et per opera restaurationis colligendus erat, ipsa quidem restaurationis opera sic facta sunt ut et multa quidem essent, non tamen infinita, quatinus cor hominis uere adhuc stabilitatis impatiens et uarietate reficerent et paucitate in unum congregarent, et sicut prius homo per uisibilia a contemplatione Dei ceciderat, ita nunc per uisibilia Dei opera admonitus ad ipsum iterum contemplandum resurgere consuescat. » Cf. about a similar reason for the variety of sacraments De sacramentis I, ix, 3, ed. PL 176, col. 321BC = Berndt, p. 214. 29 Expositio in Ecclesiasten II, ed. PL 175, col. 140C : « Sic miro et ineffabili modo, Conditor in creatura sua simul et per corruptionem rerum punit malitiam, et per pulchritudinem delectat naturam, ut agnoscat homo in poena sua quod per culpam meruit, et in delectatione quid amisit. » On beauty in Hugh of Saint-Victor see Dominique Poirel, « The Spirituality and Theology of Beauty in Hugh of St Victor », in From Knowledge to Beatitude. St Victor, Twelfth-Century Scholars, and Beyond. Essays in Honor of Grover A. Zinn Jr., ed. E. Ann Matter – Lesley Smith, Notre Dame (IN) : University of Notre Dame Press, 2013, p. 247-280 ; Karfíkova, « De esse ad pulchrum esse ». 30 Expositio in Ecclesiasten II, ed. PL 175, col. 139C : « Unde in una eademque re, et miserum est, quod est ; et mirabile quod factum est, quia in eodem opere et fragilis invenitur materia, et ratio artificis admiranda. Et contemptum quidem mundi suadet natura corruptibilis, sed succumbit mens admiratione in contemplatione rationis. » 31 Expositio in Ecclesiasten II, ed. PL 175, col. 133CD : « Mens enim nostra in auditu malorum suorum quasi de quodam somno pristini temporis evigilans subito agnovit ubi esset […] simul etiam considerare caepit de quanta sublimitate in hoc ipsum miseriae profundum cecidisset, et ad illam quia necdum effectu potuit miro quodam ardoris intimi desiderio suspiravit. Hoc ergo erat quod in illis verbis, quae nostram recitabant miseriam, nostrum traxit affectum. »
124
Ineke van ’t Spijker
exist. « I know that your life is love », « Hugh » says to his soul in De arrha animae32. Yet, these two aspects, the cognitive and the affective, are seen to be complementary rather than contrary. As Hugh says in his De archa Noe : God lives in the human heart through knowledge and love, but it is one mansion. For whoever knows him, loves him, and nobody can love who does not know33. This is another constant and constituent part in Hugh’s work, again showing the unity between his theology, his exegetical practice, and his pedagogy. Hugh explained in his De sacramentis that man’s restoration depends on cognitio veritatis and amor virtutis and this is why Scripture is to be read, after the historical level, at an allegorical and tropological level, to inform (informat) the correct faith as well as the good work, which constitute knowledge of truth and love of virtue34. Emphasising once again in De archa Noe the importance of knowledge and virtue that he said comprises the work of restoration Hugh repeats that knowing erects the structure through the knowledge of faith, whereas love paints the building by virtue with its colour35. In De vanitate, we saw, the soul is urged to leave behind the lower world of transitory things, « in thought and desire ». Thoughts and 32 De arrha animae, in L’Œuvre de Hugues de Saint-Victor, t. I., ed. Feiss – Sicard, p. 226300, at p. 226, l. 25-26 : « Ego scio quod uita tua dilectio est, et scio quod sine dilectione esse non potes », cf. p. 285 n. 19, with a reference to Augustine, Enarrationes in Psalmos 54, 7, ed. Eligius Dekkers – Iohannes Fraipont, Turnhout : Brepols, 1990 (CCSL 39), p. 661 ; De arrha animae, ed. Feiss – Sicard, p. 230, l. 66-67 : « Nemo enim sine amore esse beatus potest » ; Quid vere diligendum sit, ed. Roger Baron, Hugues de Saint-Victor, Six opuscules spirituels, Paris : Cerf, 1969 (Sources chrétiennes, 155), p. 94-99, at p. 94, l. 1-2 : « Vita cordis amor est, et idcirco omnino impossibile est ut sine amore sit cor quod vivere cupit. » 33 De archa Noe I, 3, ed. Sicard, p. 9, l. 2-4 : « Duobus modis Deus cor humanum inhabitat, per cognitionem uidelicet et amorem. Vna tamen mansio est, quia et omnis qui nouit eum diligit, et nemo diligere potest qui non nouit. » Augustine’s views about the connection between love and knowledge resonate here, see e.g. In Johannis Evangelium Tractatus CXXIV, XCVI, 4, ed. Radbodus Willems, Turnhout : Brepols, 1954 (CCSL 36), p. 571, l. 9-12 : « Non enim diligitur quod penitus ignoratur. Sed cum diligitur quod ex quantulacumque parte cognoscitur, ipsa efficitur dilectione ut melius et plenius cognoscatur » ; see also De trinitate XI, ii, 3-5, ed. William J. Mountain – François Glorie, Turnhout : Brepols, 1968 (CCSL 50), p. 336-339. 34 De sacramentis I, i, 6, ed. PL 176, col. 185D = Berndt, p. 34 : « Super haec ante omnia divinum illud est ad quod ducit divina Scriptura sive in allegoria, sive in tropologia : quorum alterum (quod in allegoria est) rectam fidem, alterum (quod in tropologia est) informat bonam operatione : in quibus constat cognitio veritatis et amor virtutis : et haec est vera reparatio hominis. » On the importance of formatio and reformatio in Hugh’s thought see Boyd Taylor Coolman, The Theology of Hugh of St Victor. An Interpretation, Cambridge : Cambridge University Press, 2010. 35 De archa Noe I, 3, ed. Sicard, p. 9, l. 4-7 : « In hoc tamen differre uidetur, quia scientia per cognitionem fidei fabricam erigit, dilectio autem per uirtutem quasi colore superducto edificium pingit. » See for the image of Scripture and its interpretation as a building being erected and painted by knowledge and virtue above, n. 5.
Non quaerat extra se, qui haec propter se facta credit
125
affects reinforce and mutually generate each other, as Hugh explains for example in De verbo Dei : That, as we say, desires bring forth thoughts, can not be unknown to anybody who knows himself, because indeed we turn over in thought that by which we are more affected through love […]. Again, that thoughts generate desires, the Psalmist shows when he says In my meditation my heart will be inflamed (Vulgate Ps. 38, 4), for love will burn in the heart more vehemently of that of which the thought more often occupies the mind36.
In itself all things, created as they are by God, can be thought about in a good way37. In De arrha animae indeed the world is a betrothal-gift to the soul. But the quality of thought depends on the affectus which is at its root : « Where your delight is, there is your thought, and where your thought is, there is the habitation of the inner man38. » In his Commentary on the Ecclesiast Hugh brings together the pairs of cognition and affection, and the visible and invisible : There are two things by which the nature of the rational soul is totally ordered, knowledge and feeling (cognitio et affectus), wisdom and love […] so that by wisdom it will find truth, and by love it will embrace virtue. And so that even the outer things would serve the rational soul for happiness, there are these two instruments of the senses in the human body, that through them the notions of visible things would gain entrance into the soul […]. Thus the essence of things enters through sight and the meaning of sounds through hearing, and both bring forth knowledge (scientia). Again, the form of things entering through sight, and the melody of words through hearing inflame the mind to delight. As often as the sight is affected from the outside through the appearance of things, or hearing is caressed by the sweetnes of sounds, the mind inwardly is awake with marvellous affections, answering to that by which it feels itself touched from the outside. And it happens sometimes that through the sweetness which it draws from the corporeal sense it returns to the recollection of invisible goods, and somehow through similitude, admonished by an inexpressible desire, begins to long
36 De verbo Dei, ed. Roger Baron, Hugues de Saint-Victor, Six opuscules spirituels, Paris : Cerf, 1969 (Sources chrétiennes, 155), p. 60-81, at p. 68, l. 102-112 : « Quod vero desideria cogitationes gignere diximus, nemini qui seipsum cognoscat ignotum esse potest, quia illius profecto saepius in cogitatione volvimus cuius amore plus affecti sumus […]. Rursus quod cogitationes desideria generent, Psalmista ostendit dicens : In meditatione mea ardescet ignis, quia cuius rei cogitatio animo frequenter insederit, illius amor acrior in corde exardescit. » 37 De archa Noe IV, 8, ed. Sicard, p. 109, l. 126-128 : « Ceterum, quantum ad ipsas res pertinet, quia omnis creatura Dei bona est, nulla res est que cogitari non possit sine peccato. » 38 De archa Noe IV, 8, ed. Sicard, p. 105, l. 13-15 : « Vbi est delectatio tua, ibi est et cogitatio tua. Vbi uero est cogitatio, ibi est interioris hominis habitatio. »
126
Ineke van ’t Spijker
for that of which it is aware that it has perceived as it were a shadow and an image in the corporeal affect39.
The connection between thought and affect, between inner and outer, provides for the remedy for man’s predicament. In his extensive commentaries on the Ecclesiast or on Denys’ Hierarchy, in his De sacramentis, in De vanitate or De archa Noe, as well in many other works, Hugh offers the readers material for their thought, to which to attach their attention and their affect, or by which to build an inner house for God in one’s heart, concentrating one’s thoughts and feelings once again, away from the distractions of the world. From the different perspectives of these diverse works Hugh’s pedagogical project is an integral part of his œuvre.
39
Expositio in Ecclesiasten II, ed. PL 175, col. 141BD : « Duo quippe sunt, quibus animae rationalis natura tota disponitur, videlicet cognitio et affectus, id est sapientia et amor […] ut per sapientiam quidem veritatem inveniat, per amorem autem amplectatur virtutem. Ut igitur ob beatitudinem rationali animae etiam exteriora servirent, posita sunt in corpore humano haec duo instrumenta sensuum, ut per ea ad animam notiones visibilium ingrederentur […]. Ergo essentia rerum per visum ad animam ingrediens, et vocum significatio per auditum scientiam parunt. Forma vero rerum per visum intrans, et melodia vocum per auditum ad jucunditatem animum accendunt. Quoties enim foris sive rerum specie visus afficitur, sice auditus vocum dulcedine demulcetur, evigilat animus intus miris affectibus, illi quo exterius tactum se sentit, respondens. Et fit nonnumquam, ut per eam quam sensu corporeo trahit dulcedinem, redeat ad invisibilium bonorum recordationem et quodammodo ex similitudine, admonitus inenarrabili desiderio illud incipiat concupiscere : cujus quasi umbram et imaginem in affectu corporali se sentit percepisse. »
L’amour selon Hugues de Saint-Victor : la nature comme voie vers le salut Pascaline Mercury
Le problème de l’amour, une révolution chrétienne La renaissance culturelle du xiie siècle occidental coïncide avec un renouveau de l’idéal amoureux. L’avènement des « cours d’amour », dont les poètes de la fin’amor sont les rois, manifeste un intérêt de civilisation pour la noblesse du seul sentiment d’amour (qui dure tant que le désir ne s’assouvit pas). Cette éclosion d’un idéal « courtois », qui repose en partie sur l’héritage cicéronien de l’amicitia promouvant un amour totalement désintéressé, en attendant la redécouverte au xiiie siècle de la philia aristotélicienne1, semble remettre en cause l’institution du mariage chrétien2. En montrant qu’un amour purement sentimental est possible entre le chevalier et sa Dame, la fin’amor va à l’encontre de la position paulinienne qui promeut le mariage comme une solution au problème de la concupiscence de la chair3. Le problème de l’amour, à l’aube du xiie siècle, semble se poser dans la distorsion, déjà formalisée par Augustin, entre l’amour de Dieu (l’amour idéal) et l’amour du monde (l’amour de l’autre, également commandé par l’Évangile). Cette apparition d’un amour d’oblation (la relation du chevalier et de sa Dame se greffe sur le paradigme féodal, l’un devant à l’autre totale obéissance), qui tente de fonder
1
Clara Auvray-Assayas – Charles Baladier – Philippe Büttgen – Barbara Cassin, « Aimer, amour, amitié », dans Vocabulaire européen des philosophies, dictionnaire des intradui sibles, éd. Barbara Cassin, Paris : Éditions du Seuil, 2004, p. 41. 2 Anita Guerreau-Jalabert, « Fées et chevalerie. Observations sur le sens social d’un thème dit merveilleux », dans Actes des congrès de la Société des historiens médiévistes de l’enseignement supérieur public, t. 25, 1994, p. 142. 3 I Cor. 7, 8-9 : « À ceux qui ne sont pas mariés et aux veuves, je dis qu’il leur est bon de rester comme moi. Mais s’ils manquent de continence, qu’ils se marient ; car il vaut mieux se marier que de brûler. » Omnium expetendorum prima est sapientia. Studies on Victorine thought and influence, ed. by Wanda Bajor, Michał Buraczewski, Marcin Jan Janecki and Dominique Poirel, BV, 29 (Turnhout, 2021), p. 127–142. © BREPOLSPUBLISHERS DOI 10.1484/M.BV-EB.5.126034
128
Pascaline Mercury
l’idéal du désintéressement dans un cadre passionnel, s’inscrit dans le cadre d’un regain d’intérêt pour la question philosophique de l’amour, au centre de toute vie humaine. Pour les penseurs chrétiens de l’époque, au-delà de la défense du sacrement du mariage voulu par Dieu, l’amour se place à la racine de la religion chrétienne et justifie même son existence : c’est par amour que Dieu nous a créés et est mort sur la croix pour nous sauver, et c’est l’amour que Dieu attend de l’homme. La tâche de la pensée chrétienne est immense, puisqu’il s’agit de fonder l’amour de Dieu sur la nature humaine. Les héritages grecs et latins, païens et chrétiens s’entrecroisent dans l’abîme existentiel posé par la question de l’amour. Cicéron, qui exclut toute dimension divine, prône un amour naturel pur et désintéressé dans l’amitié parfaite4 ; le pseudo-Denys, pour qui le désir (Érôs) est aussi légitime que l’amour oblatif (Agapè) pour nommer un Dieu toujours au-delà de ce qui en est dit et pensé, affirme d’autre part le caractère proprement « extatique » de l’amour, puisqu’il fait sortir ceux qui s’aiment d’eux-mêmes pour n’être plus à eux mais à l’objet aimé5 ; Paul de Tarse fait de la charité fraternelle, gratuite et pure, la « voie la plus excellente » et la plus haute image de l’amour divin6 ; Augustin, qui place l’amour au fondement de l’âme, distingue la charité et la cupidité en opposant l’amour selon ses objets (Dieu ou le monde)7. Qu’est-ce que l’amour parfait, le « bel amour » que tous recherchent comme clé du bonheur ? L’amour pur de l’autre ? L’amour éclairé de soi ? L’amour exclusif de Dieu ? Dans ce contexte, les auteurs du début du xiie siècle se penchent sur la question du sujet amoureux et tentent de réconcilier théorie des passions et sotériologie. Dans la triade entre amour de soi, amour de Dieu et amour du prochain, des penseurs comme Bernard de Clairvaux, Guillaume de Saint-Thierry ou Pierre Abélard tentent d’établir une gradation entre nature et surnature. Bernard, dans son De diligendo Deo, met en scène l’échelle de l’amour, image de la 4
Cicéron, Laelius de amicitia, V, 20, éd. et trad. Robert Combes, De l’amitié, Paris : Les Belles-Lettres, 1983, p. 14. 5 Pseudo-Denys, De divinis nominibus, IV, 13, éd. Beate Regina Suchla et trad. Ysabel de Andia, Les noms divins, Paris : Cerf, 2016 (Sources chrétiennes, 578), p. 475. Hugues est à l’origine d’un réveil en Occident de la pensée du pseudo-Denys, héritier de la patristique grecque et de Proclus, élaborateur d’une proto-théologie fortement influencée par le néo-platonisme, voir Dominique Poirel, Des symboles et des anges. Hugues de Saint-Victor et le réveil dionysien du xiie siècle, Turnhout : Brepols, 2013 (Bibliotheca Victorina, 23). 6 « Amour », dans Vocabulaire de théologie biblique, dir. Xavier Léon-Dufour, Paris : Cerf, 1969, p. 46-56. 7 Augustin, De civitate Dei, XIV, 28, in Œuvres complètes de saint Augustin, II, éd. et trad. Lucien Jerphagnon, Paris : NRF – Gallimard, 2000 (Pléiade, 468), p. 594.
L’amour selon Hugues de Saint-Victor
129
progression de l’âme dans la perfection de son lien à Dieu8. Partisan d’un amour pur lié à l’affect, Bernard réconcilie amour de soi et amour de Dieu dans une union savante entre amour naturel et désir pur de Dieu. Abélard, quant à lui, théorise un amour héroïque d’oblation parfaite, qui sacrifie l’homme au profit de Dieu seul9. Chanoine augustinien du monastère parisien de Saint-Victor, Hugues de Saint-Victor aborde à son tour la question de l’amour : comme souvent, il propose ici une conciliation entre des conceptions en conflit, dans l’équilibre d’une pensée concrète fondée sur les Évangiles. Il ne veut ni renier la nature blessée, ni exacerber sa confiance en elle, ni l’abandonner à mi-chemin du salut ; selon lui, l’amour de l’âme pour Dieu ne contredit pas le mouvement de l’amour naturel, mais l’accomplit tout en le dépassant. Dans un dialogue avec son âme, Hugues conduit pas à pas celle-ci vers un amour unifié et purifié, grâce à la connaissance de sa propre nature. L’éveil de l’âme à l’amour véritable conjugue, dans la psychologie hugonienne, besoin de connaître et besoin d’aimer, dans le processus adolescent de découverte de l’identité : qui suis-je, que dois-je aimer, sont pour l’auteur des questions fondamentalement liées10. Avec cet optimisme serein qui caractérise sa pensée, Hugues nous offre, à travers sa méditation sur l’amour, le témoignage original d’un bel humanisme chrétien. Cette étude se fonde plus particulièrement sur le De arrha animae11, soliloque à la mode augustinienne entre l’âme (anima) et Hugues (Hugo), écrit à Saint-Victor vers la fin de la vie de l’auteur (probablement vers 1139). Conçu comme une maïeutique de l’âme, lieu de l’affect, dont le maître est la partie rationnelle de l’homme, ce dialogue, qui retrace le voyage existentiel de l’âme dans la connaissance d’elle-même, initie l’amour naturel à une voie pédagogique vers la charité.
8
Bernard de Clairvaux, De diligendo Deo, éd. Jean Leclercq – Charles H. Talbot – Henri M. Rochais, Sancti Bernardi Opera, t. III, Roma : Editiones Cistercienses, 1963, p. 119-154 ; trad. Françoise Callerot et Marie-Imelda Huille, L’amour de Dieu, dans Œuvres complètes, t. XXIX, Paris : Cerf, 1993 (Sources chrétiennes, 393), p. 61. 9 Voir Étienne Gilson, Héloïse et Abélard. Études sur le Moyen Âge et l’humanisme, Paris : Vrin, 1938 (Essais d’art et de philosophie). 10 Ritva Palmén, « I need to be individually loved, Lord, let me recognize your gift ! The gifts of love in the Soliloquy of Hugh of Saint-Victor (d. 1141) », dans Speculum, t. 95/1, 2020, p. 171. 11 Hugues de Saint-Victor, De arrha animae, dans L’Œuvre de Hugues de Saint-Victor, t. 1 : De institutione novitiorum, De virtute orandi, De laude caritatis, De arrha animae, éd. Hugh B. Feiss – Patrice Sicard, trad. fr. Dominique Poirel – Henri Rochais – Patrice Sicard, intr., notes et appendices par D. Poirel, Paris : Brepols, 1997 (Sous la règle de saint Augustin, 3).
Pascaline Mercury
130
I. Une physiologie de l’âme : l’amour comme vocation universelle 1. Les exigences de l’amour Même s’il ne les définit pas de manière explicite, Hugues emploie en des sens distincts les termes affectus, amor et dilectio12. Analogue au pondus augustinien, qui entraîne l’âme vers l’objet convoité, l’affectus, au fondement du désir, est la première forme d’amour13. En tant qu’il naît de la racine de l’âme, l’affectus est à peu près l’équivalent de l’appetitus, c’est-à-dire du désir instinctif. Dans le De sacramen tis, Hugues attribue à l’âme deux tendances vitales, l’amour et la crainte, qui entraînent les mouvements de poursuite et de fuite14. Le désir étant l’impulsion qui permet l’élan de l’âme, Hugues définit donc l’amour comme « la vie de l’âme15 » ; siège de l’involontaire, puissance instinctive presque biologique, il s’apparente, en tant que mouvement inné et automatique, à une respiration intérieure : « Il est tout à fait impossible qu’un cœur qui désire vivre soit sans amour16 ». La première thèse de Hugues n’est pas la moins importante : l’âme est une capacité à aimer. Par la suite, ce mouvement originaire se dédouble en mouvements secondaires, le désir et la joie, motivés par l’appétit et la fruition : le désir naît de la course, la jouissance de l’atteinte de l’objet. Le caractère éphémère et incomplet du seul désir, qui laisse l’âme insatisfaite, cristallise la hiérarchie de ces deux formes d’amour ; le désir est le moyen dont la jouissance est la fin : il s’agit d’abord de posséder ce que l’on aime. L’amour hugonien n’est possessif que dans la mesure où il respecte le schéma de l’amour et en déduit, pour l’âme, la nécessité du bonheur : « Si l’esprit humain ne peut être sans amour, il faut nécessairement, ou qu’il s’aime soi-même, ou qu’il aime un objet différent de soi. Mais puisqu’en soi il ne trouve pas le bien parfait, 12
Dans le De arrha animae, on trouve 15 occurrences du mot affectus, 89 d’amor, 159 de dilec tio, 20 d’electio, 10 de caritas. 13 En témoignent nombre d’expressions comme « amantis affectum » ou « quo affectu illum diligere […] debeas » (« l’affection de qui aime », « l’affection dont tu dois l’aimer ») : De arrha animae, éd. et trad. L’Œuvre de Hugues de Saint-Victor, t. 1, p. 234, p. 238. 14 Jacques Dupuy, Théologie de la charité chez les Abélardiens et les Victorins, Mémoire de licence présenté devant la faculté de Théologie de Lille, sous le patronage de M. le Chanoine Ph. Del haye, Lille, 1957, p. 78. 15 De arrha animae, éd. et trad. L’Œuvre de Hugues de Saint-Victor, t. 1, p. 226 : « Ego scio quod vita tua dilectio est » ; le « cœur », dans une tradition augustinienne, est intimement lié à l’âme et Hugues semble les assimiler en ce qui concerne le lieu de l’amour : Hugues de Saint-Victor, Quid vere diligendum sit, éd. et trad. Roger Baron, Hugues de Saint-Victor. Six opuscules spirituels : La méditation. La parole de Dieu. La réalité de l’amour. Ce qu’il faut aimer vraiment. Les cinq sep ténaires. Les sept dons de l’Esprit saint, Paris : Cerf, 1969 (Sources chrétiennes, 155), p. 94 : « Vita cordis amor est ». 16 Ibid., p. 94 : « […] impossibile est ut sine amore sit cor quod vivere cupit. »
L’amour selon Hugues de Saint-Victor
131
s’il s’aimait seul, ce ne serait pas l’amour heureux. Il lui faut donc, s’il désire l’amour heureux, trouver un objet différent de soi à aimer17. » Si l’amour vient de la racine du cœur, le désir est suscité de l’extérieur ; le critère de sélection de l’objet aimé est d’abord cherché dans le sensible. L’âme ne peut aimer que ce qu’elle connaît et voit18 ; le premier feu du désir est allumé par la beauté des objets matériels19. Hugues, adepte d’une théologie admirative, reconnaît au monde une beauté capable de satisfaire les sens ; l’amour du monde, donné par Dieu, est naturel et bon. Toutefois, le désir, infini, ne peut se satisfaire d’une beauté éphémère, l’amour cherchant d’abord une harmonie essentielle20 : le secret de la beauté, qui transcende la matière, réside en un équilibre parfait et immuable de l’être. Seule une beauté infinie est capable de combler l’âme qui, de façon toute égoïste, désire être heureuse. La bienveillance de Hugues à l’égard de la nature éclate ici au grand jour : en acceptant volontiers cet égocentrisme foncier, il reconnaît à l’âme le droit de se soucier de son propre bonheur. Mais par la rigueur logique du maître, il dessine un chemin d’amour qui exige de l’âme un devoir de vérité. L’entreprise de Hugues implique de renoncer aux illusions trop nombreuses concernant l’amour, et en premier lieu à celle qui croit trouver dans l’amour du monde une satisfaction qualitative aussi bien que quantitative : aucun objet n’est assez aimable pour combler l’âme ; d’autre part, l’accumulation de désirs inaboutis ne peut mener à une jouissance infinie, mais à un amour indéfini et vague. Cette distinction des amours selon leur objet permet l’opposition, que Hugues opère dans le De substantia dilectionis, entre deux formes d’amours, entre lesquelles le cœur humain balance : l’amour de Dieu (caritas) et l’amour des biens matériels (cupiditas)21. L’essence du désir et l’exigence du bonheur, inscrits en l’homme comme un besoin, orientent la nature vers l’amour d’un objet stable et éternel 17
Ibid., p. 94 : « Si enim humana mens sine amore esse non potest, aut seipsam, aut certe aliud aliquid a se diligat necesse est. Quia vero in seipsa perfectum bonum non invenit, si se solam diligeret, felix amor non esset. Oportet ergo, si feliciter amare desiderat, aliud aliquid praeter se quod amet inquirat. » 18 De arrha animae, éd. et trad. L’Œuvre de Hugues de Saint-Victor, t. 1, p. 228 : « Sicut amare non possum quod nunquam vidi ». 19 Ibid., p. 228 : « Aspice mundum et omnia que in eo sunt. Multas ibi species pulchras et illecebrosas invenis, quas humanis affectus illiciunt et secundum varias utentium delectationes ad fruendum se desideria accendunt […] ». 20 Ibid., p. 228 : « Multis enim iam experimentis didici fallacem esse et fugacem amorem huius seculi, quem semper, vel cum perit id quod michi elegeram, perdere, vel, cum aliud quod magis placeat supervenerit, cogor commutare. » 21 Hugues de Saint-Victor, De substantia dilectionis, éd. et trad. Roger Baron, dans Hugues de Saint-Victor. Six opuscules spirituels, p. 82 : « Unus fons dilectionis intus saliens duos rivos infundit. Alter est amor mundi : cupiditas ; alter est amor Dei : caritas. Medium quippe est cor hominis, unde fons amoris erumpit ». Sur ce point, Hugues est tributaire d’Augustin et de son De civitate Dei, XIV, 28, trad. Lucien Jerphagnon : « Deux amours ont donc bâti deux cités : celle
132
Pascaline Mercury
(le « souverain bien22 ») qui ne peut être que divin : sitiens Deum, le désir est une faim, et l’âme a soif de Dieu. 2. Amour transformateur et caritas ordinata Héritier de l’amor discretus des Écritures (qui consiste à aimer à proportion de la valeur de l’objet) et du volontarisme augustinien (qui fait du cœur la source de tout acte libre, choisissant le bien ou le mal), Hugues appelle à une conversion du cœur qui passe, non par un choix radical entre le monde et Dieu, mais par une hiérarchisation des amours. Dès lors l’enjeu se situe dans le choix de l’ultime amour, que donne la direction du cœur ; l’amour hugonien est un amour de préférence, électif : « l’amour même est le choix23 ». Toute dilectio est electio, tout amour implique une dimension rationnelle : il s’agit à chaque fois de choisir le meilleur. Partisan d’un amour exclusif, Hugues rejoint peut-être ici un certain amour aristocratique en vogue dans la littérature courtoise de son temps : pour jouir d’un amour unifié, il faut élire un seul objet : « Tu cherches un amour unique : cherche l’amour d’un unique élu24. » Le choix de l’ultime objet d’amour se fait alors selon une recta aestimatio qui recherche dans l’objet aimé son caractère supérieur à l’amant. L’amor singularis hugonien n’est si exigeant que parce que l’amour même, s’il permet la plus haute élévation, peut être responsable de la plus grande chute. La thèse la plus originale de Hugues, reprise après lui par nombre d’auteurs, est celle de l’amour transformateur. Selon lui, l’amour n’est pas seulement médiateur, il est essentiellement assimilateur : « Telle est la force de l’amour que tu es nécessairement tel que ce que tu aimes et que, par l’association même que produit l’affection, tu te transformes en quelque sorte en une ressemblance de ce à quoi tu te lies par le sentiment25. » Comme relation, l’amour exige une commune mesure ; mais, s’il ne s’établit qu’entre des êtres qui se ressemblent, il renforce sans cesse cette ressemblance. Chérir le monde, inférieur à l’homme (qui a été créé pour en être le maître), revient à se souiller et à se complaire, donc à se transformer en plus bas que soi. Mais le mouvement inverse est possible : autant l’âme peut se dégrader de la terre par l’amour de soi jusqu’au mépris de Dieu, celle du ciel par l’amour de Dieu jusqu’au mépris de soi. » 22 Qui vere diligendum sit, éd. et trad. Baron, p. 94 : « summum et verum bonum Deus est ». 23 Hugues de Saint-Victor, De laude caritatis, éd. et trad. L’Œuvre de Hugues de Saint-Victor, t. 1, p. 188 : « Vide quomodo totum tibi est dilectio, ipsa est est electio ». 24 De arrha animae, ibid., p. 232 : « Quaeris unicum, quaere et unice electum. » 25 Ibid., p. 232 : « Ea vis amoris est, ut talem te esse necesse sit, quale illud est quod amas, et cui per affectum coniugeris, in ipsius similitudinem ipsa quodammodo dilectionis societate transformaris. »
L’amour selon Hugues de Saint-Victor
133
par son amour, autant elle peut à l’inverse se diviniser si elle choisit Dieu comme l’objet de son amour ; les deux pôles de cet ultime amour rejoignent la distinction augustinienne de la cupiditas et de la caritas. Fidèle à Augustin, Hugues fait sienne l’injonction de la caritas ordinata26. L’impératif de l’amour élitiste a pourtant ceci de bienveillant qu’il ne condamne aucun objet. Le mal est une distorsion de l’ordre ; « ordonnez la charité27 », cela signifie : que tous les objets d’amour soient soumis à l’amour ultime de Dieu. Dans la pensée augustinienne, l’ordre de la charité distingue l’uti et le frui : certains amours sont nécessaires car utiles, mais la jouissance pure est celle de l’amour supérieur. Selon Hugues, les amours inférieurs se subordonnent au choix de Dieu, et, dans la mesure où il est à la fois souverain bien et créateur, tout est aimé propter Deum28 : l’amour reste un mouvement unifié, la pluralité des amours n’empêchant pas la singularité du but. En dissociant les niveaux d’amour (affectus et dilectio), Hugues montre d’une part que la suggestion de la nature à choisir Dieu ne détermine pas l’âme, qui reste libre : le désir est le point de départ de la liberté. Mais, d’autre part, il démontre par là-même l’unicité de l’amor : sur le plan naturel, le désir infini appelle à l’amour de Dieu, comme sur le plan rationnel l’intelligence accorde à l’amour du meilleur une capacité supérieure à satisfaire le désir. L’humanisme hugonien se mêle ici à une subtile dialectique de l’intérêt : si Hugues prend pour critère la jouissance de l’âme, il la pousse vers un objet dont elle ne peut rien voir ni connaître, qui la détache de l’égoïsme. Il est trop réducteur ici de réduire l’amour hugonien à un « amour physique29 » ; si Hugues insiste sur l’intérêt de l’âme, c’est dans un contexte pédagogique et dans le cadre d’un optimisme fondé sur l’œuvre de la création : la voie de la nature mène à la transcendance. 26
La caritas ordinata est un thème théologique médiéval tiré de la traduction latine selon la Vulgate de Cantique des cantiques 2, 4 : « Ordinavit in me caritatem », qui lie intimement l’ordre et l’amour, et dont s’inspire Augustin dans sa distinction entre caritas et cupiditas. 27 De substantia dilectionis, éd. et trad. Baron, p. 87, p. 91 : « Ordinate caritatem ». 28 Ibid., p. 90 : « Amor namque per desiderium et de Deo et cum Deo et in Deum ordinate currere potest. De Deo currit, quando de ipso accipit, unde eum diligit. Cum Deo currit, quando eius voluntati in nullo contradicit. In Deum currit, quando in ipso requiescere appetit. Haec sunt tria quae ad Deum pertinent. » 29 Pierre Rousselot, Pour l’histoire du problème de l’amour au Moyen Âge, Münster i. W. : C. Baeumker & G. F. von Hertling, 1908 (Beiträge zur Geschichte der Philosophie des Mittel alters, Texte und Untersuchungen, VI/6). Pour Rousselot qui forge ces catégories, l’amour « physique » (qui conçoit l’amour de l’autre comme un prolongement naturel de l’amour de soi) exclut l’amour « extatique » (qui introduit une rupture entre amour de soi et d’autrui, impliquant une distorsion entre l’amant et l’aimé, et le caractère d’étrangers de l’un à l’autre). Aucune de ces catégories ne s’applique à Hugues, qui prône un amour unifié jusque dans l’extase de l’intime, découverte, par l’amour, du Dieu le plus étranger présent en moi.
134
Pascaline Mercury
3. L’âme comme imago Dei La transcendance à laquelle Hugues entraîne l’âme est à l’intérieur d’elle-même. Le chemin de l’amour, qui passe par la connaissance, suit les degrés du visible à l’invisible. Selon Hugues, l’âme possède trois yeux : l’œil de la chair (oculus carnis), l’œil de la raison (oculus rationis) et l’œil de la contemplation (oculus contemplationis)30. La chute de l’homme a causé l’aveuglement de l’œil de la contemplation et l’affaiblissement de l’œil de la raison, et une grande part de la pédagogie hugonienne consiste à soigner les yeux malades en partant de l’œil sain. Dans le souci de « ne pas aimer plus abject que soi31 », Hugues, fidèle à l’humanisme qui le caractérise, fait de l’âme la mesure de l’amour. Il lui suggère alors de se prendre elle-même comme objet d’amour : « Si tu estimes devoir aimer ces objets temporaires et visibles pour un certain charme en leur genre que tu observes en eux, pourquoi ne pas plutôt t’aimer toi-même, toi dont l’apparence l’emporte en charme et en beauté sur toutes les choses visibles32 ? ». L’impasse du narcissisme, qui est aussi celui de l’amour naturel, semble inévitable dans le cadre de l’amour hugonien. Hugues, cependant, évite cet écueil avec une facilité étonnante, commençant par opposer l’amour naturel (qui paraît égoïste) et l’amour narcissique : si l’amour naturel est conforme au désir et à la raison humaines, l’égocentrisme est folie : « Comme s’il n’était pas juste de traiter de fou celui qui, pour repaître son amour, considérerait sans cesse au miroir la ressemblance de son visage33. » La théorie hugonienne ne se fonde pas sur l’amour de soi, qui, s’il en est une étape, ne se réduit pas à une contemplation solipsiste ; unificateur, l’amour est d’abord duel : il y a un sujet et un objet d’amour. Comment l’âme peut-elle alors se prendre pour objet d’amour ? Pour Hugues, l’âme ne se connaît pas en tant que sujet, mais en tant qu’objet. Contrairement à ce qu’affirme Augustin, Hugues considère la connaissance de soi comme médiate : l’âme est invisible à ses propres yeux. De ce fait, il est plus difficile pour elle de s’aimer puisque la beauté qui suscite l’amour lui est cachée, et que la valeur de cette beauté doit se fonder sur un témoignage. L’enjeu de la connaissance de son identité propre est essentiel dans le contexte d’un amour exclusif, l’amour étant à 30
Roger Baron, Science et sagesse chez Hugues de Saint-Victor, Paris : Lethielleux, 1957, p. 13. De arrha animae, éd. et trad. L’Œuvre de Hugues de Saint-Victor, t. 1, p. 232 : « Primum igitur necesse est ut quisquis semetipsum consideret et, cum cognoverit dignitatem suam, ne iniuriam faciat amori suo, abiectora se non amet. » 32 Ibid., p. 230 : « Si tempora ista et visibilia idcirco amari debere existimas, quias illis quemdam sui generis decorem inesse conspicaris, cur teipsam potius non diligis, quae specie tua omnium visibilium decorem et pulchritudinem vincis ? ». 33 Ibid., p. 230-232 : « quasi et illum non rectissime insipientem quisque diceret, qui ad pascendum amorem suum similitudinem vultus sui iugiter in speculo consideraret ». 31
L’amour selon Hugues de Saint-Victor
135
la fois récompense et garantie de la valeur personnelle du soi34. L’amour de soi ne peut alors consister en une préférence égoïste, mais réside dans la satisfaction d’un besoin naturel de reconnaissance. L’introspection qu’implique le passage à l’invisible nécessite alors « un miroir d’un genre spécial35 » grâce auquel l’âme pourra se contempler : c’est le miroir des Écritures. Ce que Hugues propose à l’âme de chérir, c’est ce que l’Écriture révèle de l’âme, sa nature telle qu’elle lui a été donnée dans l’œuvre de la création. Toute la pensée hugonienne de l’amour, tout son humanisme, repose sur cette prémisse : la nature de l’homme est d’être image de Dieu36. C’est à ce titre seulement que l’amour peut s’élever : l’homme peut aimer Dieu parce qu’il lui ressemble. Il n’est capax Dei que parce qu’il est créé comme reflet de la splendeur divine : « L’homme est de la race de Dieu37 ». La Révélation, fondement de la pensée chrétienne, opère ici le renversement de l’amour : il ne s’agit plus d’amour égoïste ou désintéressé, puisque s’aimer soi-même, c’est aimer ce qu’on a reçu de Dieu, et qui lui ressemble. Le glissement de l’amour de soi à l’amour de Dieu est conditionné par la juste connaissance de soi : l’imago Dei est la beauté cachée de l’âme. Parce que l’amour de soi et l’amour de Dieu ne font qu’un, le problème de l’amour que posait Rousselot devient factice dans l’exemple d’un amour intéressé mais non égoïste : dans son être même, l’âme reconnaît qu’elle a été faite pour autrui. Cette vocation qui se traduit aussi dans celle de la personne, concept propre à la pensée chrétienne, rejoint alors l’amour le plus extatique dans le don de soi. L’amour naturel ne peut plus s’assimiler alors à un égoïsme, les frontières du soi étant repoussées, à l’intérieur de l’âme, au-delà d’elle-même ; l’humanisme hugonien n’a de sens que dans le cadre chrétien. II. L’amour salvateur : une relation personnelle 1. Dieu et l’homme : des amours incommensurables Sur le plan ontologique, l’amour humain est responsif. Dans la dialectique du debere et de l’accipere, Dieu est l’amant et l’homme est le bénéficiaire de l’effectus 34 Voir Ritva Palmén, « I need to be individually loved, Lord, let me recognize your gift ! », p. 167-185. L’auteur met en lumière les liens entre amour et introspection : la reconnaissance construit la personnalité. 35 De arrha animae, éd. et trad. L’Œuvre de Hugues de Saint-Victor, t. 1, p. 230 : « quoddam alterius generis speculum afferas ». 36 L’imago Dei, inamissible, se trouve dans l’âme pour les auteurs médiévaux, partie la plus intime de l’être. Cf. sur ce point Robert Javelet, « Psychologie des auteurs spirituels du xiie siècle », dans Revue des sciences religieuses, t. 33/1, 1959, p. 156, ou Roger Baron, Science et sagesse, p. 24. 37 Anders Nygren, Eros et agapê, la notion chrétienne de l’amour et ses transformations (première partie), Paris : Aubier, 1962, 2e éd. [1930] (Les Religions, 2), p. 179.
136
Pascaline Mercury
de l’amour divin, qu’il reçoit sous la forme d’arrhes38. Outre le monde, l’âme a reçu en elle-même des dons qui la lient à Dieu. Elle hérite d’abord de l’être : « C’était un don de sa part que tu sois39 ». Ce don, par sa grandeur, reflète non seulement un amour presque paradoxal (Dieu a aimé avant de le créer un être qu’il a créé à cause de cet amour) mais également élitiste : l’âme a été choisie spécialement par Dieu. L’amour divin est personnel ; il offre à l’âme, après l’être, la vie, c’est-à-dire la capacité de désirer et d’aimer, ainsi que la beauté, pour qu’elle devienne en quelque sorte digne de son amour : « Il nous a donné aussi de vivre, pour que nous l’emportions par l’existence sur ce qui n’est pas, par la beauté sur ce qui est inordonné et disparate, par la vie sur ce qui est inanimé40. » L’amour divin semble alors opposé à l’amour humain ; si l’homme aime les objets pour leurs qualités, Dieu crée dans les objets les mérites de son amour. S’il reste strictement juste, cet amour n’en est pas moins proche de l’irrationnel ; la grandeur divine s’achève dans son propre abaissement : « C’est une des gloires de sa dilection que de chérir une imparfaite41. » L’amour divin est pur par essence, parce qu’il est totalement libre de tout égoïsme ou intérêt. Mais plus encore que les dons de l’opus conditionis, les dons de l’opus restaurationis42 sont les témoignages d’un amour radical, qui va jusqu’au sacrifice de soi. Après avoir élevé l’âme par ses dons, Dieu s’abaisse jusqu’à la créature ; l’amour devient la voie de la charité43, cette voie à double sens qui égalise pour transformer : « Pour te relever jusqu’au rang d’où tu étais déchue, il a daigné descendre là où tu gisais, et pour pouvoir te rendre avec justice ce que tu avais perdu, il a daigné, en personne, souffrir avec compassion ce que tu endurais. […] Il est descendu vers toi, mortelle, il a assumé la mortalité, il a subi la Passion, il a vaincu la mort et réparé l’homme44. » Le don de la grâce est acquis au prix du dépassement de la justice quantitative par l’amour divin : Dieu 38
L’arrhe des fiançailles est un terme juridique désignant le don du fiancé à sa promise comme gage d’amour. Si la promesse de mariage est rompue, l’arrhe n’est pas restituée au fiancé. 39 De arrha animae, éd. et trad. L’Œuvre de Hugues de Saint-Victor, t. 1, p. 252 : « Donum ergo eius erat ut fieres. » 40 Ibid., p. 254 : « […] dedit et vivere, ut precellamus et his, que non sunt, per essentiam, et his, que inordinata aut incomposita sunt, per formam, et que inanimata, per vitam. » 41 Ibid., p. 280 : « Nam et hoc quoque ad laudem dilectionis eius pertinet, quod imperfecam diligere dignantur. » 42 Distinction fondamentale chez Hugues, qui recoupe la distinction augustinienne entre la nature et la grâce : l’œuvre de la création (opus conditionis) établit l’amour, l’œuvre de la restauration (opus restaurationis) le rétablit. 43 De laude caritatis, éd. et trad. L’Œuvre de Hugues de Saint-Victor, t. 1, p. 190 : « Vis scire quia non nisi per caritatem viam iustitie eligis ? » 44 De arrha animae, ibid., p. 258 : « Ut enim te relevaret illuc unde cecideras, ipse descendere dignatus est huc ubi iacebas, et ut tibi iuste redderetur quod perdideras, ipse dignatus est pie pati quod tolerabas. Descendit ad mortalem, suscepit mortalitatem, sustinuit passionem, vicit mortem, restauravit hominem. »
L’amour selon Hugues de Saint-Victor
137
prend sur lui le poids de la dette. Principe de rédemption, l’amour acquiert alors une dimension sotériologique. Dans la folie qu’assume un amour passionnel qui n’est plus rien que lui-même45, Dieu sauve à la fois l’amour, l’homme et la raison entière de la création. Réglé par la justice, l’amour qui unit l’homme à Dieu peut être problématique dans la mesure où la « dette » de l’âme est infinie46. Il devient non seulement logique, mais nécessaire que l’âme rende à Dieu « amour pour amour47 » ; mais, dans le cadre d’un amour responsif et prédestiné, ne risque-t-elle pas de tomber dans l’intérêt ou l’esclavage ? La réponse est donnée par l’amour divin : la justice n’est pas tyrannie lorsqu’elle n’est plus quantitative. L’effet de l’amour n’est pas récompense mais surcroît d’amour, c’est pourquoi le caractère intéressé de l’amour humain, parce qu’il est naturel, n’est pas contradictoire avec la sincérité de son élan : si l’amour est dû, il n’est pas exigé ; s’il est intéressé du point de vue du désir, il est naturel du point de vue de la jouissance. L’amour auquel l’âme est appelée n’est pas un amour infini et inhumain, mais un amour à sa mesure. Parce que l’homme est fait pour Dieu, l’amour qui se donne, même humain, n’est pas annihilation mais accomplissement de soi. L’amour dû est gratuitement donné et, l’affectus appelant l’effectus, le témoignage de l’amour peut atteindre, comme dans le cas des martyrs, des sommets de souffrance48. 2. Exclusivité et société Hugues développe sa pensée de l’amour exclusif entre l’âme et Dieu en filant la métaphore paulinienne du mariage : « Le roi, fils du monarque souverain, est venu en ce monde qu’il avait lui-même créé, se chercher une épouse unique, une épouse qui fût digne de ce mariage royal49 ». Issue de l’exégèse traditionnelle du Cantique des cantiques, l’image du mariage conjugue le désir et la promesse. Audelà de l’assimilation du nom de l’âme à celui de Dieu, le mariage appelle à un choix réciproque. C’est du sens même de cet engagement que résulte l’attente terrestre, 45
De laude caritatis, ibid., p. 196 : « Nescio enim si forte maius sit te Deum dicere, an Deum te superasse. Quod si maius est, etiam hoc libenter et fiducialiter de te dicam : “Deus caritas est, et qui manet in caritate, in Deo manet et Deus in eo”. » 46 De arrha animae, ibid., p. 254 : « Magno debito obligata es anima mea ». 47 Ibid., p. 238 : « Aut dona illius si potes respue, vel, si dona illius respuere non potes, vicissitudinem dilectionis repende. » 48 De laude caritatis, ibid., p. 184 : « Consideremus quot iam martyres per tornamenta ad regnum celorum transierint. […] Bona ista temporalia dimiserunt, bona eterna secuti sunt, per tormenta transierunt. » 49 De arrha animae, ibid., p. 266 : « Rex, summi regis Filius, venit in hunc mundum, quem ipse creaverat, desponsare sibi uxorem electam, uxorem unicam, uxorem nuptiis regalibus dignam. »
138
Pascaline Mercury
la séparation fertile des fiançailles. L’âme, promise à Dieu depuis sa création, dispose de ce temps non seulement pour lui accorder son amour en retour, mais également pour mériter le « oui » du mariage. Le caractère désintéressé de l’amour divin, parce qu’il respecte la justice, n’empêche pas que la loi de l’amour demeure la même : le désir appelle la beauté, le choix appelle la dignité. En effet, soumise à son ignorance et aux tentations terrestres, l’âme « prostitu[e] [s]on amour à des étrangers50 » et perd sa beauté. Image de la vertu, la beauté est l’apanage de la sponsa et non de la meretrix, « femme publique » vendue à ses péchés, qui ne mérite plus l’amour de son fiancé ; l’enjeu de la vie de l’âme est le recouvrement de la beauté qui rendra « une digne fiancée à un tel fiancé51. » Le paradigme du mariage constitue un éloge théologique de l’amour singularis. Hugues fonde sa méditation sur l’unité de l’amour : pour accéder à la jouissance par la possession, l’amour doit consister en une relation personnelle et exclusive52. Deux difficultés apparaissent : l’âme qui se voit aimée par Dieu sait que Dieu aime également les milliers d’âmes qu’il a créées. De même, comment comprendre dans un tel contexte le commandement de l’amour d’autrui ? La réponse hugonienne se fonde sur la caritas ordinata. Du côté de Dieu, l’amour singulier qu’il voue à l’âme se traduit par des « dons personnels53 » ; Dieu aime l’âme pour des dons qu’il a octroyés à elle seule : « ainsi, à Pierre, la primauté parmi les apôtres ; à Paul, l’apostolat des nations ; à Jean, le privilège de l’amour54 ». L’amour divin, n’étant pas quantitatif, permet seul une telle inclusion. Du côté de l’âme, l’amour du prochain se place d’abord sous le signe de l’uti : la présence de l’autre m’est agréable55. Mais l’existence des méchants change l’optique de l’âme : l’autre existe, non tant pour mon bien-être que pour m’aider, par son exemple (dissuasif ou attractif ), à me rapprocher de Dieu. Ainsi la compagnie des bons devient-elle émulation sur la voie du salut : « Tu ne peux avoir de meilleurs compagnons de route que ceux qui l’ont 50
Ibid., p. 256 : « dereliquisti sponsum tuum et cum alienis prostituisti amorem tuum. » Ibid., p. 264 : « digno sponso dignam sponsam reddere. » 52 Ritva Palmén, « I need to be individually loved, Lord, let me recognize your gift ! », p. 172-173. Pour l’auteur, le caractère exclusif de l’amour accentue l’exigence de l’identité : pour être aimée, l’âme doit être « irremplaçable ». A noter que chez Bernard de Clairvaux, exiger de Dieu un amour exclusif est une marque d’orgueil. Tandis que « Hugues », dialoguant avec son « âme », admet provisoirement, sans le condamner, ce désir d’un amour exclusif, comme à titre pédagogique pour la conduire graduellement de cet amour possessif à un amour ouvert au partage. 53 De arrha animae, éd. et trad. L’Œuvre de Hugues de Saint-Victor, t. 1, p. 240 : « Discerne que dona a sponso tuo accepisti : alia enim communiter, alia specialiter, alia singilariter data sunt. » 54 Ibid., p. 250 : « […] sicut Petro principatus in apostolis, Paulo apostolatus in gentibus, Iohanni privilegium amoris. » 55 Ibid., p. 240-242 : « Ecce non sunt creati homines super terram, non sunt bestie, sola divitias mundi possides. Ubi igitur illa grata et utilitas societas humane conversationis ? Ubi solatia, ubi oblectamenta, quibus nunc frueris ? ». 51
L’amour selon Hugues de Saint-Victor
139
déjà parcourue jadis et qui, par une longue expérience de la course et l’habitude de l’effort, ne craignent ni de se tromper, ni de défaillir56. » Finalement, l’amour élitiste devient participatif, l’abandon de tout motif procurant à l’âme un surcroît de bonheur : « Tu serais heureuse même si tu étais seule à goûter cet amour, mais tu es bien plus heureuse de t’en réjouir en compagnie d’un grand nombre d’élus57. » L’amour singulier qui unit l’âme et Dieu dépasse la pure individualité pour constituer une communion des âmes fondée sur l’amour divin. Chaque âme aimant l’autre à cause de Dieu, l’amour chrétien assoit sur ce triptyque (l’âme, Dieu et l’autre) la raison d’être de la société qu’est l’Église. La notion vétéro-testamentaire de peuple élu bascule alors de la lettre à l’esprit ; unie en Dieu dans l’amour, la communauté des croyants s’enrichit d’être plus nombreuse. Chaque âme chérie par Dieu apporte à l’autre une facette différente de la réalité divine : « ce que chacun ne percevrait pas personnellement de cet Un à qui tous se trouvaient attachés, il le posséderait par autrui, par la charité pour le prochain, d’une manière plus pleine et plus parfaite58 ». Cette union des cœurs, Hugues la décrit, comme nombre d’auteurs de son époque, sur le mode du corps mystique du Christ : l’Église est le corps dont le Christ est la tête. Sans la primauté de l’amour divin, la société fondée sur l’amour n’a plus de sens ; mais, pour autant, elle s’adresse à tous les hommes, puisque l’imago Dei est un fait de nature. C’est alors seulement propter Deum qu’il devient possible d’aimer les hommes mauvais, et jusqu’à ses ennemis59. 3. Nature et surnature : une déification ? La voie de la charité résulte du double mouvement d’ascension et de descente, abaissement du parfait, élévation de l’imparfait. Le mariage de l’âme avec Dieu a lieu après la mort ; le temps de la vie terrestre est décrit sous la plume d’Hugues comme l’antichambre de la salle nuptiale. L’enjeu du temps terrestre, dans cette métaphore surprenante, est la mise en beauté de la fiancée qui se pare pour les noces ; la vie est comparée au boudoir d’une femme et l’entreprise terrestre au maquillage et à la parure. L’image prise par Hugues, compréhensible sur le plan naturel, l’est plus encore sur le plan symbolique : la mise en valeur de l’âme fait signe vers la seconde transformation opérée par l’amour et rendue possible par la grâce. Cette 56
De laude caritatis, ibid., p. 188 : « Meliores socios habere non potes in via quam illos qui iam olim cucurrerunt in ea, et per longam currendi experientiam et usum laboris, nec errare timent, nec deficere. » 57 De arrha animae, ibid., p. 246 : « Licet igitur beatum esset isto amore vel solam perfrui, multo beatius est in ipso cum multorum bonorum congratulatione delectari. » 58 De substantia dilectionis, éd. et trad. Baron, p. 88 : « ut quod de illo uno cui omnes inhaerebant quisque in semetipso non caperet, plenius atque perfectius per caritatem proximi in altero possideret ». 59 De arrha animae, éd. et trad. L’Œuvre de Hugues de Saint-Victor, t. 1, p. 244.
140
Pascaline Mercury
transformation, métaphore de l’œuvre du salut, vise à faire de la prostituée une vierge, par le biais des « pigments », « aromates » et bijoux nécessaires au recouvrement de sa beauté60 : ce sont les sacrements, dons de l’opus restaurationis, qui permettent à l’âme d’atteindre à la plénitude de sa nature. L’âme, qui se débarrasse par là de la « souillure » du péché, trouve dans le gynécée des âmes « la fontaine du baptême et le bain de la régénération, […] ensuite le chrême et l’huile, dont l’onction te revêt du Saint-Esprit, […] la nourriture du corps et du sang du Christ61. » Le baptême, la confirmation, l’eucharistie sont autant de purificateurs de l’âme, qui se pare ensuite par les effectus : « Tu te revêts alors du manteau des bonnes œuvres, tu t’embellis du fruit des aumônes et de la parure variée des jeûnes et des oraisons […]. Viennent ensuite les aromates des vertus62 ». La théophanie spirituelle de l’âme, qui restaure en elle l’image divine, provoque une déification au sens large du terme : l’âme ressemble à Dieu parce qu’elle ne vit plus que de son amour. La transformation de l’âme a cependant un sens encore plus profond, et fait signe vers une théorie de l’inhabitation. Le mouvement d’intériorisation hugonien rappelle une conception augustinienne de la transcendance. Entre l’intus et le foris, Hugues appelle à une concentration vers le cœur, compris, dans un contexte biblique, comme le centre de l’identité : c’est la citadelle intérieure, comparable à une « demeure63 ». L’authenticité la plus parfaite de soi, traduite en imago Dei, parle aussi d’une présence. Dieu, qui est l’Amour même64, est non seulement présent par amour, mais aussi par nature dans l’intime de l’âme ; la pensée hugonienne débouche sur une doctrine de l’immanence : « La charité, en revanche, le méchant ne peut la posséder et quiconque la possède n’est plus un étranger pour Dieu, mais “il demeure lui-même en Dieu, et Dieu en lui”65. » Au plus intime de notre subjectivité, Dieu est présent, plus intérieur que notre propre intériorité : « Il y a là, à l’intérieur, quelque chose que mon amour tient embrassé66 ». Le repos du désir que l’âme connaît dans ce cercle le plus intime où, en quelque sorte, elle peut posséder son amant, s’il semble s’apparenter à une véritable jouissance, demeure toutefois très éloigné de la vision béatifique : c’est la prégustation, un avant-goût du bonheur céleste. Mais cet amour, qui s’approfondit à mesure qu’il rejoint sa 60
Ibid., p. 266 : « pigmenta vel unguenta ». Ibid., p. 270 : « fons baptismi hic positus et lavacrum regenationis […]. Deinde crisma et oleum, in cuius unctione Spiritu sancto liniris. […] alimentum corporis et sanguinis Christi ». 62 Ibid., : « Deinde vestimenta bonorum operum induis et fructu elemosinarum cum ieiuniis, cum orationibus […] quasi modam vario ornatu decoraris. Ad ultimum secuntur aromata virtutum ». 63 De laude caritatis, ibid., p. 188 : « In habitaculo cordis ». 64 Ibid., p. 196. 65 Ibid., p. 198 : « caritatem autem malus habere non potest, sed quicumque illa habet, non iam alienus est a Deo, sed ipse in Deo et Deus in eo manet. » 66 De arrha animae, ibid., p. 282 : « et quasi quiddam amplexibus amoris intus teneo ». 61
L’amour selon Hugues de Saint-Victor
141
racine, replie alors le triptyque de l’amour sur lui-même : l’objet que l’âme aimait, d’un amour qui devient un sujet, n’est plus désormais qu’elle-même. À la racine la plus profonde du cœur advient alors une dilatation qui crée l’abîme dans l’espace : reprenant à son compte une théorie de l’immanence, Hugues reconnaît la possibilité de l’embrassement de l’infini par le fini ; en son intériorité, le cœur n’a plus de fond : « Pénètre-nous donc, ô douce et suave charité, dilate notre cœur, distends l’intime de notre âme, élargis l’habitacle de notre cœur afin que Dieu en soit l’hôte et y séjourne67. » Dépossédant l’âme d’elle-même, la charité réalise le paradoxe d’un amour personnel universel, dans cet « en-dessous de soi » où Dieu se dévoile ; intérêt, propriété et désir disparaissent dans le fait même qu’ils se trouvent comblés au-delà de toute mesure. En se perdant en elle-même, l’âme se retrouve alors entière et heureuse. Hugues, humaniste et penseur total À travers la question de l’amour, Hugues réconcilie les plans ontologique et pratique. La voie de la charité unit directement l’homme et Dieu ; si l’amour est d’abord divin et descendant, la voie ascendante est tout aussi certaine. L’amour n’a pas de faux-semblants ; dans le cadre d’une ascension, la connaissance de l’amour emprunte le chemin d’une conversion presque facile : par la reconnaissance de ses besoins et des exigences de l’amour, l’âme est logiquement portée à choisir le divin. L’optimisme hugonien concernant la bonne volonté de l’âme n’équivaut toutefois pas à une détermination : si l’intelligence contraint, la volonté, dotée du libre arbitre68, peut choisir contre l’avis de la connaissance. Si la voie de la nature suggère, seule la volonté détermine par le choix ; c’est pourquoi Hugues insiste autant sur le caractère exclusif et élitiste de l’amour. Étudiant très exactement les arcanes de l’âme et de l’amour, Hugues décrit une sorte de dynamisme interne à la vie de l’âme ; sa méthode, si elle n’est pas celle d’un penseur conceptualiste (il définit très peu ses termes), n’en est pas moins strictement et précisément logique. En tant qu’il fait leur place aux besoins et aux tendances naturelles de l’égo humain (l’homme est ce qu’il est en raison d’un dessein divin), Hugues fait preuve d’un humanisme qui tire sa source d’une certaine conception du péché : la chute n’est pas tant une blessure qu’un désordre. Le péché n’est pas le destin de l’homme, comme si son désir ou 67 De laude caritatis, ibid., p. 200 : « Illabere igitur nobis, o dulcis et suavis caritas. Dilata cor nostrum, expande desiderium, distende mentis nostre sinum, amplifica cordis nostri habitaculum, ut capere possit hospitem et mansorem Deum. » 68 Sur le libre arbitre, comme mouvement spontané et indéterminé de la volonté, voir Odon Lottin, Psychologie et morale aux xiie et xiiie siècles, t. 1, Louvain : Abbaye du Mont César, 1948, p. 15-22.
142
Pascaline Mercury
l’objet de son amour étaient mauvais en soi, mais il vient d’une anarchie, causée par une perte de connaissance, un aveuglement des yeux de l’âme, qui a désorganisé l’amour. Pour autant, l’âme n’a jamais perdu le sceau de Dieu, mais elle l’ignore, et l’homme, ne sachant plus quelle est sa vocation, fait son propre malheur. La question de l’amour, si elle est primordiale dans le cadre d’une pensée chrétienne, constitue moins pour Hugues un problème que la clef de voûte du rapport entre l’homme et Dieu, raison d’être des œuvres de création et de restauration. L’amour est le fil rouge qui unifie les plans naturel, surnaturel et théologique ; empreinte laissée par Dieu en l’homme, il donne un but à sa recherche terrestre, mais signifie aussi Dieu lui-même : Deus est caritas, l’amour est Dieu. Fidèle aux enseignements de l’Église, Hugues revendique une compréhension pneumatique de l’amour trinitaire : l’Esprit saint est cet amour personnel et infini de relation entre le Père et le Fils, qui est offert à l’homme comme un souffle divin. De duel, l’amour devient triple puis se résout finalement en l’Un : sujet, objet et amour même sont contenus et compris dans l’infinité divine. À ce titre, si l’amour est personnel parce qu’il intervient entre des sujets, il n’a de sens qu’universel car il procède de Dieu. La pensée hugonienne peut dérouter le lecteur moderne, habitué à d’autres modes d’argumentation. Elle peut même sembler imprécise ou approximative, par sa manière de jouer avec les mots et les images, ou encore de ne pas se référer aux sources nombreuses dont elle est pourtant intimement imprégnée : classiques de langue latine, Écritures, pseudo-Denys, Augustin et les autres Pères de l’Église. Elle n’en contient pas moins, sur l’amour dans le cas présent, des conceptions tour à tour amples et subtiles, fortement structurées et tout en progression, dans le cadre d’une manuduction admettant provisoirement un amour naturel encore immature pour peu à peu le purifier et l’épanouir en un amour ouvert, généreux et désintéressé. La thèse de l’amour transformateur, alliée à l’exigence du mérite, confère à l’amour une puissance qui intègre le phénomène purement naturel, mais le dépasse : à lui seul, il est une puissance de re-création. La renaissance par l’eau et par l’esprit est rendue possible par cette opportunité formidable qu’offre la nature humaine : ainsi l’instinct et la liberté s’allient-ils parfaitement dans la révélation existentielle de la vocation de l’âme, créée par et pour l’amour. L’amour unificateur est aussi un amour total : il se donne tout entier, mais surtout, parce que l’amour est Dieu, il contient toute réalité ; dans sa théorie de l’amour social, Hugues dépasse toute contradiction en affirmant un amour personnel et partagé, qui n’est ni un panthéisme, ni un utilitarisme, et qui fonde directement sur Dieu une société des cœurs. La position humaniste de Hugues peut alors paraître bien plus radicale dans l’équilibre que celle de ses contemporains : par sa nature, et non seulement par sa volonté, l’homme est destiné à une transformation qui l’élève au rang de Dieu : l’amour naturel n’est plus alors autre chose que la divine charité.
PART II Disciples
Richard’s Trinitarian Argument in De Trinitate : An Analytic Overview Dennis Bray
Richard of St Victor’s De Trinitate is the culmination of the Richardine corpus. Where his earlier works address discrete theological questions, De Trinitate integrates many of his previous findings into a single, sustained case. Indeed, Richard’s Twelve Patriarchs and Mystical Ark can be viewed as a propaedeutic : in them Richard describes the destination and how to get there ; in De Trinitate Richard actually makes the ascent1. De Trinitate’s influence is seen most strongly in the work of St Bonaventure and in Alexander of Hales (and other writers of the Summa Fratis Alexandri)2. These thinkers read the treatise closely and their studied attention yields dividends in areas such as personhood, love, divine being and perfections, and Trinity. Victorine that he was, Richard worked across a variety of disciplines. By focusing on just one, it can be easy to view him through some specific lens, colouring all elements of his work accordingly. In so doing, key aspects of De Trinitate can be misunderstood. Take one example from the twentieth century, Fernand Guimet, who reads Richard primarily as systematic theologian. In his effort to analyse De Trinitate’s big theological conclusions about charity, Guimet mistakes the nature of the supporting arguments : Guimet reads them as biblically-based, 1 Palmén comments : « Benjamin Major supplies the necessary skills and techniques of contemplation, whereas De Trinitate represents their application ». Ritva Palmén, Richard of St Victor’s Theory of Imagination, Leiden : Brill, 2014, p. 71. 2 Richard’s influence on Bonaventure is well documented. For two examples, see Olegario Gonzalez, Misterio Trinitario y Existencia Humana, Madrid : Rialp, 1966, p. 295-363 ; Zachary Hayes OFM, « Bonaventure’s Trinitarian Theology », in A Companion to Bonaventure, ed. by Jay Hammond and others, Leiden : Brill, 2013, p. 189-245. The Summa Halensis shows even denser application of Richard, though scholarship is still sparse on this issue ; for initial steps see Boyd Taylor Coolman, « The Comprehensive Trinitarianism of the Summa Halensis », in The Summa Halensis, ed. Lydia Schumacher, Berlin : De Gruyter, 2020, p. 107-140.
Omnium expetendorum prima est sapientia. Studies on Victorine thought and influence, ed. by Wanda Bajor, Michał Buraczewski, Marcin Jan Janecki and Dominique Poirel, BV, 29 (Turnhout, 2021), p. 145–166. © BREPOLSPUBLISHERS DOI 10.1484/M.BV-EB.5.126035
146
Dennis Bray
inductive arguments, and not deductive proofs grounded only on common experience. According to Guimet, since they employ biblical themes, De Trinitate’s arguments are question-begging : they argue for truths of faith from truths of faith. For Guimet, then, the many arguments that compose the body of De Trinitate are not live considerations that demand careful deliberation. Instead, they are deadon-arrival – interesting only because of their originality3. Reading Richard as systematic dogmatician, mystic, psychologist, or, very recently, philosopher of religion, each captures important aspects of De Trinitate4. To be sure, Richard does seek to ascend to the heights of knowledge and love, to lead the reader on a journey ending in mystical union with the triune God ; he does give ground-breaking introspective analysis to the experience of love ; he does develop arguments that can be employed apologetically. The important point, though, is this : Richard achieves these goals only if his arguments are successful. Richard himself explains, « the consummation and perfection of all good is in knowledge », and thus he exhorts us to « hasten from faith toward knowledge… to understand what we believe5 ». In other words, truth grounds knowledge ; therefore, truth grounds spiritual ascent, psychological illumination, apologetic appeal, and all the rest6. Richard correctly perceives that he has successfully run 3
Fernand Guimet, « Caritas ordinata et amor discretus dans la théologie trinitaire de Richard de Saint-Victor », in Revue du Moyen Âge Latin, t. 4, 1948, p. 225-236. 4 For example, Dumeige reads De Trinitate primarily as a mystical work, though he does advocate a more multi-dimensional understanding of Richard’s mysticism (the concept of mystic, like that scholastic, does not fully describe Richard). Gervais Dumeige, Richard de Saint-Victor et l’idée chrétienne de l’amour, Paris : Presses Universitaires de France, 1952, p. 159 f. Recently, Anglo-American philosophers have looked to Richard as inspiration for their natural theology ; most influential is Richard Swinburne, The Christian God, Oxford : Oxford University Press, 1994, p. 175-180. Some contemporary theologians look to Richard, in part, as inspiration for social trinitarianism ; e.g. Pannenberg, Moltmann, and perhaps Balthasar. Den Bok surveys the issue in these thinkers, Nico Den Bok, Communicating the Most High : A Systematic Study of Person and Trinity in the Theology of Richard of St Victor, Paris : Brepols, 1996 (Bibliotheca Victorina, 7), p. 31-49. 5 Trin. Prologue, ed. Ribaillier, p. 80-81, l. 25-26, 30-32 ; trans. Evans, p. 209. I use Evans’s English translation : Richard of St Victor, « On the Trinity », trans. by Christopher Evans, in Trinity and Creation, ed. by Boyd T. Coolman and Dale M. Coulter, Turnhout : Brepols, 2011 (Victorine Texts in Translation, 1) (hereafter « Trin. »). I draw all Latin from Ribaillier’s Latin critical edition : Richard of Saint-Victor, De Trinitate : Text Critique, trans. by Jean Ribaillier, Paris : Vrin, 1958. When I summarize/outline an argument from De Trinitate but do not quote Richard directly, I will include a parenthetical reference to the book and chapter numbers in the body of the text ; in these instances I will not include a reference to Evans or Ribaillier in the footnotes. 6 Thus I cannot join Salet : « We forgive an author of almost anything, so long as he is suggestive […]. Now, is there an intuition more precious and more suggestive than that which helps us to see and think better of the Trinity as infinite Love, as subsisting Charity ? » Indeed, Salet is
Richard’s Trinitarian Argument in De Trinitate
147
the « race » in De Trinitate if its arguments are sound7. Further, Richard makes clear that De Trinitate’s arguments are the ascent, the means of formation, and the content of his theologizing8. In sum, De Trinitate’s aims are achieved only if its constitutive arguments are sound, and we fully appreciate Richard’s treatise only if we grasp its arguments. Scholars have not yet attempted a comprehensive exposition of each argument composing De Trinitate9. Thus, while there are many summaries of De Trinitate, there is no analytic, step-by-step treatment10. Giving in-depth exposition to each of De Trinitate’s sub-arguments goes beyond the scope of this essay. However, we may take initial steps with a big-picture sketch of the core trinitarian argument. The plan, then, is to go « wide » and only a little « deep ». Indeed, Richard takes pains to help his reader keep track of the big picture. For example, he provides outlines, sections headings, and frequent summaries. My aim in this paper is to provide an overview of De Trinitate’s argumentative project. To do this, I will précis De Trinitate’s central trinitarian argument (hereafter, « The Argument »), and give some exposition at key places of that argument. An overview gives readers a road-map of The Argument’s general direction willing to ignore what he believes to be areas of failure in The Argument because Richard’s « fundamental intuition » is otherwise appealing. Richard de Saint-Victor, La Trinité, trans. by Gaston Salet, Paris : Cerf, 1999 (Sources chrétiennes, 63), p. 32. 7 Richard takes himself to « fail the race » if he does not successfully « prove these issues from reason ». (We must bear in mind, though, that the treatise is written as an act of love, so that Richard considers the endeavor worthwhile even if the arguments fail). Trin. III, 1, ed. Ribaillier, p. 135, l. 22-35 ; trans. Evans, p. 247-248. 8 « Authorities abound in all these issues, but argumentations are not equally abundant ; proofs (experimenta) are lacking in all these assertions and argumentations are rare. Therefore, as I have already said above, I think that I have accomplished something if I am able to assist even to a modest degree studious minds in a study of this kind. » Trin. I, 5, ed. Ribaillier, p. 91, l. 23-27 ; trans. Evans, p. 216 ; cf. I.1-3. 9 The closest to a comprehensive treatment is Schniertshauer’s Consummatio Caritatis. Schniertshauer summarizes and exposits the main moves from all six books of De Trinitate. Even so, Schniertshauer does not focus only on De Trinitate (he begins with an analysis of love in Richard’s Four Degrees of Violent Charity), and his attention is also devoted to historical influences and theological analysis. Martin Schniertshauer, Consummatio Caritatis : Eine Untersuchung zu Richard von St Victors De Trinitate, Mainz : Matthias-Grünewald-Verlag, 1996 (Tübinger Studien zur Theologie und Philosophie, 10). 10 A couple recent examples : Nico Den Bok, Communicating the Most High, Turnhout : Brepols, 1996 (Bibliotheca Victorina, 7), and Pierluigi Cacciapuoti OFM, Deus Existentia Amoris, Turnhout : Brepols, 1998 (Bibliotheca Victorina, 9). Den Bok examines De Trinitate’s trinitarian arguments, but not comprehensively and not in the order which Richard gives them. Instead, he reads Richard’s arguments thematically, under the notion of « person », « individuality », etc. This limits Den Bok to only a few of Richard’s arguments, and shades his reading of the arguments he considers. Cacciapuoti also focuses on just a few arguments, viz., ones he finds representative of the others ; this limits the nuance he can give to his assessment and systematization.
Dennis Bray
148
by outlining the main premises in each argument. The aim with this overview is to give the reader a suitably high vantage from which to pursue more detailed investigation11. The central feature on this map – i.e., the heart of De Trinitate – is the argument for three, and only three, divine persons12. It can be outlined in four stages, in which Richard argues for : Stage One – A single divine substance Stage Two – At least two divine persons Stage Three – At least three divine persons Stage Four – Against four divine persons Let us examine each stage in turn. Stage One – The Divine Substance In Stage One Richard argues : (1) for the necessary existence of a single, a se, substance ; (2) that the single a se substance has supreme charity. The single divine substance Employing a novel cosmological argument, Richard argues that there exists exactly one uncaused substance. We may outline the argument this way (Bk. I.6-10), 1. Every possible thing is either eternal or begins to exist in time. 2. Every possible thing either has its being from itself or from a source other than itself. 3. Therefore, every possible thing is either : (i) from itself and from eternity ; (ii) from eternity but not from itself ; (iii) neither from itself nor from eternity. Premise 1 speaks of an object’s causal explanation (how it comes to be), and premise 2 of its temporal placement (when it comes to be). Richard takes both premises to be indubitable because each exhausts the logical space it considers. For example, premise 1 says that any object – whether actual or possible – either has always existed or must begin to exist (and therefore begins to exist in time) ; there are no other options. Similarly, any possible object is uncaused or caused 11
Part of that investigation will include the genitive-historical influences of De Trinitate, as well as philosophical analysis and critique – both of which I can only mention in passing in this paper due to space. 12 For Hofmann, love and personhood are the « middle- and pivot-point […] of the entire treatise. » Schniertshauer correctly calls book three, and the argument therein, the middlepoint of the treatise. Peter Hofmann, « Analogie und person. Zur Trinitatsspekulation Richards von St.Victor », in Theologie und Philosophie, t. 59, 1984, p. 196 ; Schniertshauer, Consumatio, p. 119. Cf. Trin. I, 5.
Richard’s Trinitarian Argument in De Trinitate
149
to exist from a source other than itself. An uncaused object is said to be « from itself » (a semetipso)13. For Richard, a thing which is from itself is not self-caused, but rather is the explanation of its own being : to be a se just means to exist and to do so necessarily, without any cause whatsoever. Premise 3 combines the options from premises 1 and 2 into three possible categories of being. (The fourth category, viz., that a thing is from itself and came into existence in time, is impossible, since it would have needed to exist before it came into existence). In De Trinitate, Richard devotes his entire discussion to categories (i) and (ii) (i.e. uncreated things), looking at (iii) (i.e., created things) only when it sheds light on the divine substance and persons. Category (i) specifies a substance that is both from eternity and from itself. To argue for such a substance, Richard begins firmly in the common experience of everyday human life, We ought to begin from the kind of realities, about which we can in no way doubt ; and through those truths, which we know through experience, we ought to conclude by reasoning what is necessary for us to think concerning those truths that are above experience14.
Here Richard reminds us of the methodology he employs throughout De Trinitate, in which he ascends from the sensible things of common experience to the invisible, though necessary, divine truths. « Through daily experience », Richard explains, « we are made certain » of the existence of contingent things, things which come into and go out of existence15. We are immersed in a universe of contingent reality, objects which are neither from themselves nor from eternity. Thus, we are certain that category (iii) is veridical. Richard builds on this common-sense datum, arguing from contingent reality (category (iii)) to a se reality (category (i)), summarized in the following six premises (Bk. I.6), 4. There are things which are neither from themselves nor from eternity (« contingent reality »). 5. Contingent reality must be caused. 6. If there was nothing which is both from itself and from eternity (« a se »), then there would be no cause of contingent reality. 7. If there was no cause of contingent reality, then contingent reality would not exist. 8. But contingent reality does exist. 9. Therefore, necessarily, something a se exists. 13
Richard does not use the term « a se ». However, « a semetipso » is unwieldy for our discussion so I will use a se and « from himself ». 14 Trin. I, 7, ed. Ribaillier, p. 92, l. 4-7 ; trans. Evans, p. 217. 15 Trin. I, 7, ed. Ribaillier, p. 92, l. 7-9 ; trans. Evans, p. 217.
150
Dennis Bray
Premise 5 employs a moderate form of the principle of sufficient reason on which any possibly existing thing must be explained either by a cause outside of itself, or by being necessary and uncaused. Spontaneous, uncaused « popping into existence » is impossible on Richard’s metaphysic. Premise 6 reasons that all contingent reality must have an ultimate cause, and the only possible ultimate cause is an uncaused substance. Having argued that category (i) is necessary, Richard next argues that category (ii) is possible. That is, in De Trinitate book one, Richard gives a brief apology for the heart of his project in books three through six16. « It should not seem impossible », Richard tells us, « that there was some being from eternity which is not from itself17. » To support his claim, Richard modifies an ancient argument regarding the concurrence (coevus) of the sun and its rays. In a series of rhetorical questions Richard asks the reader, « What then ? Will it be necessary that that superexcellent nature does not have and cannot have any operation of nature ? Will that nature which gave the fruit of fertility to our nature remain absolutely sterile in itself ? And will that nature which bestowed reproduction to others be sterile and without reproduction18 ? » Stated formally, 10. In created reality a being produces existence by a natural operation. 11. If created reality has natural production, then, possibly, the supreme cause has natural production. This is a textbook example of analogical reasoning, which supposes that the ultimate cause of contingent reality shares at least some characteristics with its creation. What allows Richard to make such a supposition ? He does so because of his metaphysics of participation, on which every effect is contained somehow in its ultimate cause. The Superexcellent Nature (superexellenti natura) created beings like the sun, and the sun naturally and necessarily produces likenesses of itself. That excellence – i.e., the necessary production of a likeness – must somehow be present in the superexcellent nature. Richard waits until book three to explore the nature and necessity of such production, here he merely concludes that « it seems probable, that in that superessential immutability there is some being (aliquod esse) which is not from itself and from eternity19. » 16
Bligh claims that Richard must first argue that the existence of three divine persons is possible before he can successfully argue that their existence is necessary. This claim is doubly erroneous : first because if a proposition is necessary, it is possible, and second, because Richard argues for the possibility of multiple divine persons in book one. John Bligh, « Richard of St Victor’s De Trinitate : Augustinian or Abelardian ? », The Heythrop Journal, t. 1/2, 1960, p. 118-139. 17 Trin. I, 9, ed. Ribaillier, p. 94, l. 3-4 ; trans. Evans, p. 218. 18 Trin. I, 9, ed. Ribaillier, p. 94, l. 16-19 ; trans. Evans, p. 218. 19 Trin. I, 9, ed. Ribaillier, p. 94, l. 19-21 ; trans. Evans, p. 218-219.
Richard’s Trinitarian Argument in De Trinitate
151
Supreme Charity Richard spends the rest of books one and two arguing for various attributes of the ultimate causal substance. The attribute of charity is most relevant to The Argument20. To see how Richard establishes supreme charity, we must briefly look at some of his antecedent reasoning. As the ultimate source of all other being, the supreme substance has supreme power, and indeed is Power Itself. As Power Itself, the supreme substance has the ability to give existence and mode to all other things and, as their cause, it has each perfection that it gives : « If all things are from the power of being, then every essence, all power, and all wisdom come from it. If all power is from the power of being then it is supremely powerful. If all wisdom is from the power of being, then it is supremely wise. Indeed, it is impossible to give something greater than one has21. » The supreme substance, then, has each good property, or « perfection » (perfectione) in a superlatively excellent way22. Further, the supreme substance is identical to its attributes, including : power, wisdom, goodness, and divinity. Lacking no goodness, the supreme substance is supremely happy, a psychological state of contentment and joy that cannot possibly be improved. From this metaphysical foundation Richard may now pursue the question of charity. He reasons, « the fullness and perfection of all goodness lies in the supreme and universally perfect good. Moreover, where the fullness of all goodness is, true and supreme charity cannot be lacking. Indeed, nothing is better than charity, and nothing is more perfect than charity23. » Outlined, 12. Necessarily, God has every perfection supremely. 13. Charity is the greatest perfection. 14. Therefore, necessarily, God has the fullness of charity. So far we have learned that an a se being, i.e. God, necessarily exists, and that God is identical to his perfections. This is the foundation for premise 12. Regarding premise 13, while few would disagree with the claim that charity is a good, Richard makes the stronger claim that charity is the greatest good. He can be so bold because, as he explains later, giving love and having it requited in full measure is 20
For an overview see Angelici’s introductory notes : Richard of Saint Victor : On the Trinity, trans. by Ruben Angelici, Oregon : Cascade, 2011, p. 23-41. 21 Trin. I, 12, ed. Ribaillier, p. 96, l. 10-16 ; trans. Evans, p. 220. 22 Richard’s notion of supremacy (summum) is captured in contemporary jargon by « maximality » : for any attribute X, to be supremely/maximally X is to be the most X possible. Thus, God is not only the most powerful being that exists, but God is also the most powerful being that could possibly exist. 23 Trin. III, 2, ed. Ribaillier, p. 136, l. 4-8 ; trans. Evans, p. 248.
152
Dennis Bray
the most pleasurable experience possible24. Natural theologians have long debated which properties are so good that God must have them (take Gaunilo’s greatest island, for example). Richard sidesteps these debates by showing charity to be not one among many perfections, but the sweetest, most pleasurable, and therefore greatest perfection. If God has any goods, then he certainly has the very best. Regarding the nature of charity, Richard draws from the traditional account by paraphrasing St Gregory : « no one is properly said to have charity on account of a private and exclusive love of oneself25. » While self-love is a necessary, naturally occurring aspect of all other forms of love, the heart of charity is other-love. From Gregory’s definition Richard reasons, « it is necessary that love be directed toward another so that it can be charity. Therefore, charity absolutely cannot exist where a plurality of persons is lacking26. » We can express Richard’s logic in three steps, 15. Other-love is necessary for charity. 16. At least two persons are necessary for other-love. 17. Therefore, at least two persons are necessary for charity. In Stage Two Richard will expand upon the conclusion that there must be a plurality of persons. First, though, he turns to a pressing concern : Why can’t God’s love for a human person satisfy his perfect charity ? Richard responds, But perhaps you say, « Even if there were one person alone in the true divinity, nevertheless he would still be able to have, or he would have, charity toward his creation. » But surely God would not be able to have supreme charity toward a created person. After all, his charity would be disordered, if he were loving supremely someone who should not be loved supremely. However, it is impossible that charity be disordered in the supremely wise goodness. And so, a divine person could not have supreme charity toward a person who would not be worthy of supreme love27.
Richard responds to the hypothetical objection by deploying the notion of caritas ordinata, « ordered charity ». This idea was first worked out by Origen in his exegesis of Song of Songs 2:4b, « he ordered charity to me » (ordinavit in me caritatem). From this brief half-verse Origen develops the following insight, « Charity is said to be disordered in someone, when he either loves what he
24
Cf. Trin. III, 5, ed. Ribaillier, p. 140, l. 12-14 ; trans. Evans, p. 251. Trin. III, 2, ed. Ribaillier, p. 136, l. 8-9 ; trans. Evans, p. 248. Gregory, Hom. in. Evang. I.17, ed. by Raymond Étaix, Turnhout : Brepols, 1999 (CCSL 141), p. 117, lin. 7-8. 26 Trin. III, 2, ed. Ribaillier, p. 136, l. 9-11 ; trans. Evans, p. 248. 27 Trin. III, 2, ed. Ribaillier, p. 136, l. 12-20 ; trans. Evans, p. 248. 25
Richard’s Trinitarian Argument in De Trinitate
153
ought not to, or when he loves what he ought either more or less than is right28. » In short, love is perfectly ordered when its degree and complexity matches the worth of its object. This principle would have a long and influential career in medieval thinking about love, and by the twelfth century thinkers like Richard took the principle to be obviously true. Applied to God, it entails that supreme otherlove (i.e., love maximal in quantity and quality) could not be given to a person who is not supremely perfect. If God’s love must be commensurate with its object, then supreme love cannot be given to a created – and therefore finite – person. We may outline this discussion thus : 18. If God supremely loves someone who is unworthy of supreme love, then God’s charity would be disordered. 19. It is impossible for God’s love to be disordered. 20. Therefore, God could not have supreme charity for a person unworthy of supreme charity. 21. A created person is unworthy of supreme charity. 22. Therefore, God could not have supreme charity for a created person. Having dismissed the possibility of supreme love being shared with a created person, Richard next works to prove that there must be at least two divine persons. Stage Two – Necessity of Two Divine Persons Richard gives three arguments for the necessity of at least two divine persons, using the notions of goodness, happiness, and glory. The argument for plurality from goodness The argument from goodness is brief and I will quote it in full. Moreover, in order for charity to be supreme and supremely perfect, it is necessary that it be so great that no greater love can exist, and that it be so excellent that no better love can exist. As long as someone loves no one else as much as himself, that private love, which he has toward himself, proves that he has not yet apprehended the highest degree of love. But a divine person would surely not have someone whom he could love as worthily as himself, if he absolutely were not having a person of equal dignity. However, a person who was not God would not be of equal dignity to a divine person. Therefore, so that the fullness of charity can occur in true divinity, it is necessary for a 28 Origen, Commentary on the Song of Songs, III.7, ed. Wilhelm Adolph Baehrens, Origenes Werke, VIII, Leipzig : Hinrichs, 1925 (Die Griechischen christlichen Schriftsteller der ersten drei Jahrhunderte, 33), p. 186, lin. 20-22 (my translation).
Dennis Bray
154
divine person not to lack fellowship with a person of equal dignity and, for that reason, a divine person29.
We can outline this terse argument as follows, 23. Necessarily, a divine person has perfect charity. 24. To have perfect charity, a divine person must love another as much as he loves himself. 25. A divine person’s self-love is supreme. 26. Therefore, a divine person must love another person supremely. 27. Only a divine person is worthy of supreme love. 28. Therefore, a divine person must love another divine person. 29. Therefore, there are at least two divine persons. The biggest claims in this argument have already been established in Stage One. For instance, we have seen that a divine person must have charity, that his love is always well-ordered (i.e., always matches the value of its object), and that self-love is naturally had by all persons. We know these data either directly from experience or infer them from experience. For example, we know that our love for another is not as great as it could be (and therefore is not complete or perfect) if it does not reach the degree we love ourselves. Self-love is not only a phenomenon universally experienced by persons, it is also a measure of their charity. As omniscient, a divine person is fully cognizant that his self-love is supreme ; he will therefore ensure that his other-love is also supreme. The arguments for plurality from happiness Next, Richard argues from happiness. Scholars have largely sidelined this argument in their focus on the argument from goodness, which helps explain why no one has yet noticed that Richard gives two discreet sub-arguments from happiness. In the first, Richard urges the reader to « examine his own conscience, and without a doubt… he will discover that just as nothing is better than charity, so nothing is more pleasant than charity30. » Starting from the fact that a divine person is supremely happy (see Stage One), Richard reasons to personal plurality, And so, just as that-than-which-nothing-is-better cannot be lacking in the fullness of true goodness, so that-than-which-nothing-is-more-pleasant cannot be lacking in the fullness of supreme happiness. Moreover, in order for charity to be in the supreme
29 30
Trin. III, 2, ed. Ribaillier, p. 136-137, l. 20-30 ; trans. Evans, p. 248. Trin. III, 3, ed. Ribaillier, p. 138, l. 8-10 ; trans. Evans, p. 249.
Richard’s Trinitarian Argument in De Trinitate
155
good, it is impossible that there can be lacking either someone who communicates charity or someone to whom charity is communicated31.
Outlining this sub-argument, we have, 30. A divine person is supremely happy. 31. Supreme pleasantness (jocunditas) is necessary for supreme happiness. 32. Supreme charity is necessary for supreme pleasantness. 33. At least two divine persons (a giver of love and a receiver) are necessary for supreme charity. 34. Therefore, there are at least two divine persons. As the most pleasing experience possible, love must be present for supreme happiness. Some thinkers object to this reasoning, arguing that even if there were only a single divine person, his perfect goodness would ensure his perfect happiness32. We will examine one response to this objection in the argument for plurality from glory in the next section. For now, let us look at the second sub-argument from happiness. Moreover, your longing to be loved greatly by one whom you love greatly is a property of love, without which it absolutely cannot be love. Therefore, love cannot be pleasant if it is not also mutual. And so, just as pleasant love cannot be lacking in that true and supreme happiness, so a mutual love also cannot be lacking. Moreover, it is absolutely necessary that in mutual love there be one who bestows love and one who requites love. And so, one will be the bestower of love and the other will be the requite of love. Moreover, a true plurality is discovered where two persons are demonstrated to exist. And so, a plurality of persons cannot be lacking in the fullness of true happiness. It is certain, moreover, that the supreme happiness is identical to divinity. Therefore, the communication of a gratuitous love and the return of an owed love demonstrate without a doubt that a plurality of persons cannot be lacking in true divinity33.
Two aspects of this argument stand out. The first is Richard’s use of the term « mutual love » (amor mutuus), which refers to requited love. Second is the observation that a lover desires that his love be requited, and the stronger claim that his love would be defective if he did not have such a desire. Indeed, « Nature herself teaches us this, and so do many experiences » : some aspect of love is missing 31
Trin. III, 3, ed. Ribaillier, p. 138, l. 11-16 ; trans. Evans, p. 249. e.g., Dale Tuggy, « On the Possibility of a Single Perfect Person », in Christian Philosophy of Religion : Essays in Honor of Stephen T. Davis, ed. Colin P. Ruloff, Notre Dame (Indiana) : University of Notre Dame Press, 2015, p. 128-148 (esp. 130-132). 33 Trin. III, 3, ed. Ribaillier, p. 138, l. 16-29 ; trans. Evans, p. 249-250. 32
Dennis Bray
156
if a doting mother does not desire her child’s love, or devoted husband his wife’s. Gathering all these considerations together we have the following outline, 35. Necessarily, a divine person has perfect charity. 36. For his charity to be perfect, a divine person must have other-love equal to his self-love. 37. A divine person’s self-love is supreme. 38. Therefore, a divine person must love another with supreme love. 39. Only a divine person is worthy of supreme love. 40. Therefore, a divine person must love another divine person. 41. Therefore, necessarily, there are at least two divine persons. Note that 38 does not specify that a divine person must love every possible person supremely. As we saw earlier, this is impossible because created persons are not infinitely valuable in the way a divine person is, and so God’s love would be disordered if given supremely to a finite object. This argument only requires that a divine person love another supremely valuable, and therefore divine, person. The argument for plurality from glory The third argument for plurality comes from the notion of glory. Above I mentioned that some thinkers believe that a lone divine person could be perfect. Here Richard assumes the objector’s position (that there is a God who is both monopersonal and infinitely perfect), and identifies one entailment : « Certainly, if we maintain that there is just one person in true divinity, just as there is just one substance alone, then consequently this person will definitely not have someone to whom he can communicate the infinite abundance of his fullness. » From this unobjectionable starting place Richard follows the logic to its end, But, I ask, why is that the case ? Is it because he is not able to have someone to share with, although he wants it ? Or is it because he does not want to have someone with whom to share, although he is able34 ?
Richard develops a dilemma which must be faced by anyone who posits a perfect, uni-personal God. The argument from glory is one of The Argument’s longest, and the following captures the main moves, 42. If there is only one divine person (« DP1 »), then he has no other with whom to share all his perfection. 43. If DP1 has no other with whom to share all his perfection, then either DP1 is unable to share, or is unwilling. 34
Trin. III, 4, ed. Ribaillier, p. 138-139, l. 4-9 ; trans. Evans, p. 250.
Richard’s Trinitarian Argument in De Trinitate
157
44. DP1 is not unable to share all his perfection. 45. DP1 is not unwilling to share all his perfection. 46. Therefore, DP1 is willing and able to share all his perfection. 47. Therefore, DP1 shares all his perfection. 48. DP1 can only share all his perfection with another divine person. 49. Therefore, there are at least two divine persons. The heart of this argument is the dilemma which forces the objector to choose between God’s inability to share, or his unwillingness. In short, a solitary divine person is either weak or greedy. This dilemma has ancient lineage, and Richard’s version is noteworthy because of his novel defense of 45 employing the notion of glory35. After dismissing 44 out of hand, Richard quickly moves on to God’s putative unwillingness to share his supreme perfection. If God « were greedily preferring to retain for himself alone the abundance of his fullness, which he could, if he wanted, communicate to another », then, he would rightly shun the sight of angels and everyone. He would rightly be ashamed to be seen or to be recognized by them, if there were such a grave defect of benevolence in him. But far be it ! Far be it that there is something in his supreme majesty, in which he cannot glory and for which he ought not to be glorified. Otherwise, where will the fullness of glory be36 ?
Here Richard argues that unwillingness to share a good which one can share, if he wanted, is greedy withholding (avare retinere). While it may be excusable, or at least explainable, for limited creatures like humans to withhold some goods which they can share, there is no such excuse for God : as Goodness Itself, a divine person would lose no goodness in sharing. Communicating his fullness costs God nothing, but only denies him and any others supreme joy. A greed like this borders on depravity, and Richard correctly perceives that anyone so acting would feel shame. However, a divine person lacks no glory and so does not experience shame. A divine person, then, would share his love supremely. The previous line of reasoning was negative, arguing what a divine person cannot do. Richard also defends premise 45 (and so 46) with a positive reason, asking « what is more glorious and what is truly more magnificent than to possess nothing that one refuses to communicate37 ? » The implied answer : nothing. Nothing is more glorious than to share all one has. As supremely glorious, a divine person 35
I examine this line of thought in Gregory Nazianzen and survey some of its Christian and Platonic predecessors in Dennis Bray, « Gregory of Nazianzus’ Trinitarian Argument in Oration 23 », in TheoLogica, t. 4/2, 2020, p. 1-23. 36 Trin. III, 4, ed. Ribaillier, p. 139, l. 23-27 ; trans. Evans, p. 250. 37 Trin. III, 4, ed. Ribaillier, p. 139, l. 28-30 ; trans. Evans, p. 250.
Dennis Bray
158
is both able and willing to do so, and therefore « the fullness of glory requires a partaker of glory from not being absent in the highest and supreme exaltation38. » Thus concludes Stage Two of The Argument. Stage Three – Necessity of Three Divine Persons Stage Three advances three arguments for the necessary existence of three divine persons (I will refer to the persons as DP1, DP2, and DP3)39. The argument for three divine persons from goodness Richard begins by observing that the « desire for another to be loved as oneself certainly seems excellent in true charity40. » From this observation he argues, Now, it is necessary for supreme charity to be entirely perfect… In fact in a mutual and very ardent love nothing is rarer and more excellent than your desire for the person, whom you supremely love and who supremely loves you, to love equally another person. And so, the proof of perfected charity is the votive communion of the love that was bestowed to oneself41.
Outlined, 50. Supreme charity is entirely perfect. 51. A person’s desire that his beloved love another, third person, is a perfection of love. 52. Necessarily, divine persons have supreme charity. 53. Therefore, DP1 desires that DP2 love DP3. 54. Therefore, necessarily, there are at least three divine persons. By definition, supreme charity is other-love which cannot possibly be improved. Richard includes this claim to remind us that divine charity, as supreme, lacks no excellent quality (i.e., « perfection » (perfectione)). The key insight of this argument is that a great perfection of charity is a lover’s desire for a third party to be loved42. Though Richard does not support this claim further, we can imagine how he might do so. Consider two lovers (it does not matter whether their love is romantic, familial, friendship, or any other type). Something seems to be going wrong if those two lovers never turned their attention, their activities, 38
Trin. III, 4, ed. Ribaillier, p. 139, l. 32-34 ; trans. Evans, p. 251. Richard does not argue for their identity as Father, Son, and Spirit until book six. 40 Trin. III, 11, ed. Ribaillier, p. 146, l. 16-17 ; trans. Evans, p. 256. 41 Trin. III, 11, ed. Ribaillier, p. 146, l. 10-21 ; trans. Evans, p. 256. 42 This third party, the « co-beloved » (condilectus) is one of Richard’s original termino logical-conceptual contributions to trinitarian theology. 39
Richard’s Trinitarian Argument in De Trinitate
159
or any aspect of their love to other people. Alternatively, something seems to be very right when parents adopt or decide to birth children, when romantic partners pursue external friendships, and when friends welcome others into their circle43. These intuitions help support Richard’s proposal that the greatest love includes the desire for lovers to turn their love outward to others. The argument for three divine persons from happiness Richard next argues from happiness, asking, « If someone contends that there are only those two mutually loved persons in the true divinity, which the above reason discovered, then what reason… will he possibly give for his assertion44 ? » There are only two options for why « each of these persons will lack a partaker of their excellent joy » : because one or both did not « want a partaker of joy », or because one or both could not have a partaker of joy. 55. If there are only two divine persons, then neither has a partaker of his excellent joy. 56. If neither of two divine persons has a partaker of his excellent joy, then either (i) one or both cannot have a partaker, or (ii) one or both does not want a partaker. 57. But both (i) and (ii) are deficiencies (of divine power and goodness, respectively). 58. If a divine person was deficient, then the other person(s) would grieve. 59. But, necessarily, divine persons are supremely happy. 60. Therefore, both divine persons are able and willing to have a partaker of their joy. 61. Therefore, necessarily, there are at least three divine persons. This argument contains some of Richard’s most penetrating insights into the nature of love. On this analysis, when lover S1’s love is requitted by S2, then S1 experiences joy. Looking to divine interpersonal love, we find that this joy is distinct from a person’s love for his beloved. That is, DP1’s joy is a result of his loving and being loved by DP2, and so cannot be part of that love. This assiduous phenomenology of love, when applied to the divine persons, shows that if there were only two, then each would have something they did not share with another, namely, 43 Richard is not claiming that a lover desire that his co-beloved be loved precisely as the beloved. That is, Richard does not argue that a husband desire that his wife love a third person as another husband. We must recall that ordered-love demands that a beloved is loved not only to the proper degree, but also in the proper way. Therefore, the husband desires that his wife love her children (neighbors, co-workers, etc.) precisely as children (neighbors, co-workers, etc.). DP1, then, wants DP2 to love DP3 as DP3. 44 Trin. III, 12, ed. Ribaillier, p. 147, l. 4-6 ; trans. Evans, p. 257.
160
Dennis Bray
the joy resulting from the other’s love. Having unshared joy would be problematic because there are only two reasons a divine person would not share his supreme joy : because he cannot or will not. But as we just saw above, both are tremendous deficiencies. If DP2 is impotent or greedy, then DP1, being omniscient, would know and grieve over the weakness of his beloved. But we know that nothing can be hidden from those who are supremely wise. And so, if they truly and supremely love one another, then how will any one of them be able to see the defect in the other and not grieve ? After all, if one of them sees the defect of the other does not grieve, then where will the fullness of love be45 ?
To complete the proof, Richard points out that divine persons are supremely happy, and so each person would be able and willing to have a co-beloved. The « fullness of happiness », then, « removes every defect of charity, whose perfection…requires the trinity of persons and also shows that a trinity of persons cannot be lacking46. » The argument for three divine persons from glory The argument from glory is The Argument’s shortest, and closely parallels the one from happiness. Richard reminds us that the « inability to experience a fellowship of love is undoubtedly a great defect of charity47. » For this reason, if DP1 and DP2 are unable to have fellowship of love (consortium amoris) with a third (the « co-beloved »), then DP1 and DP2 « would have not only what causes grief in the other but at the same time what also causes shame in himself. » But anything that causes shame is incompatible with supreme glory. Richard concludes, « Just as a cause for grieving cannot belong to supreme happiness, so also a matter of shame cannot belong to the fullness of supreme glory. » Summarized, 62. If a divine person were unable to have a co-beloved, then he would have a cause for shame. 63. If DP1 or DP2 has a cause for shame, then he does not have the fullness of glory. 64. But, necessarily, divine persons do have the fullness of glory. 65. Therefore, DP1 and DP2 are able to have a co-beloved. 66. Therefore, necessarily, there are at least three divine persons. Premise 65 speaks of the ability to have a co-beloved. That ability does not just refer to the power to love a third, but to the power and desire to love a third. If a 45
Trin. III, 12, ed. Ribaillier, p. 148, l. 17-21 ; trans. Evans, p. 258. Trin. III, 12, ed. Ribaillier, p. 148, l. 24-27 ; trans. Evans, p. 258. 47 Trin. III, 13, ed. Ribaillier, p. 148, l. 4-5 ; trans. Evans, p. 258. 46
Richard’s Trinitarian Argument in De Trinitate
161
divine person were missing either the power or will to love a third, then he would be unable to have a co-beloved. Finally, on Richard’s metaphysics, if a divine person is both willing and able to perform some action, then he does so, which explains the move from premise 65 to 66. Finally, we should note that the argument from glory covers no new ground : Richard has already argued for all four of its premises in earlier arguments. Conclusion Richard summarizes his work in the first three stages : If […] we acknowledge that any one person in the true divinity is of a benevolence so great that he desires to have none of those riches or delights that he refuses to share, of a power so great that nothing is impossible for him, and of a happiness so great that nothing is difficult for him, then, consequently, it is necessary to confess that there cannot be lacking a Trinity of divine persons48.
Taking himself to have established solid reasons for believing three persons necessarily exist in divinity, Richard moves to his final stage, arguing that there cannot be four or more. Stage Four – Impossibility of Four Divine Persons Richard gives two arguments against the possibility of four (or more) divine persons : one from the notion of processions, and one from an analysis of charity. Argument against four divine persons from processions The argument from processions is quite long, developed throughout Bk. V.1-15. We may outline the key moves in a six-step argument, 67. There is at least one, and no more than one, divine person who only gives being to other divine persons. 68. There is at least one, and no more than one, divine person who only receives being from other divine persons. 69. There is at least one, and no more than one, divine person who both gives and receives being from other divine persons. 70. If there is a fourth divine person, he would either (i) only give being to other divine persons, (ii) only receive being from other divine persons, or (iii) both give and receive being from other divine persons. 48
Trin. III, 14, ed. Ribaillier, p. 149, l. 4-11 ; trans. Evans, p. 259.
162
Dennis Bray
71. But (i), (ii), and (iii) are impossible for a fourth divine person. 72. Therefore, it is impossible for there to be a fourth divine person. Premise 67 is supported by three sub-arguments (Bk. V.3) : (i) a cosmological argument, (ii) an argument from the Platonic chain of being, and (iii) an argument from a vicious infinite regress. We looked at the cosmological argument in Stage One (premises 4-9), so we will focus on (ii) and (iii). We may outline the chain of being argument : 73. The highest being is that-than-which-nothing-is-greater. 74. That-than-which-nothing-is-greater cannot receive its being from something inferior. 75. Therefore, the highest being exists from itself. As in the cosmological argument, the chain of being argument concludes that the self-existing being must be the causal source of all other existents. Finally, the regress argument : 76. If it is possible for no divine person to exist from himself alone, then it is possible for an infinite number of divine persons to exist. 77. If there were an infinite number of divine persons, then for any person there must be one before him who caused him. 78. If, for any divine person, there is one before him who caused him, then the infinite series of persons would have no beginning. 79. But a series must have a beginning. 80. Therefore, it is impossible for no divine person to exist from himself alone. Having established that there is at least one person from himself, Richard next shows that there is only one such person. Richard argues that all other beings must come from DP1 because he is self-existing. But if all other beings – both actual and possible – come from DP1, then no other being can have the property « only gives being » : only DP1 gives being and does not receive it. This mode of being is incommunicable (incommunicabilis existentia), it cannot be shared with any other person. Giving being to others is DP1’s distinguishing, or « personal », property. Premise 68 continues with the impossibility of an infinite series. If there were no divine person who only receives being, then there would be an infinite number of divine persons, each giving existence to the next one down the line. But Richard rejects the possibility of an actual infinite series. Having argued that there must be at least one person at the end of the causal chain, Richard next applies the principle of maximal unity to argue why there can be only one person who only receives being. If there were several divine persons who only receive being but do not give it, then those persons would not be
Richard’s Trinitarian Argument in De Trinitate
163
« immediately » united with each other. For example, if DP3 and DP4 both receive being but do not give it, then they do not share anything with each other. Without sharing with one another, DP3 and DP4 cannot supremely love one another. But divine persons do love one another supremely ; therefore there cannot be two (or more) persons who only receive being – there can only be one such person. Premise 69 argues for a middle term between the previous two, i.e., a divine person who both receives and gives being. Richard first points out that there are only two divine inter-personal causal relations : giving being, and receiving it. Therefore, there are only three possible modes of being : (i) giving alone, (ii) receiving alone, and (iii) both giving and receiving. We have seen that DP1 only gives and that DP3 only receives. Therefore DP2 must have the last remaining mode, receiving and giving being. To show why there cannot be a fourth person sharing DP2’s mode of being, Richard employs a fascinating aesthetic argument. If there are four (or more) divine persons, then some of them share more in common than others. We can visualize the scenario with the following diagrams : DP1 DP2 DP3
Personal Property Gives being Gives being & Receives being Receives being
DP1 DP2 DP4 DP3
Personal Property Gives being Gives being & Gives being &
Receives being Receives being Receives being
Three divine persons each have exactly one property in common with any other. DP1 and DP3 have in common the property of « having only one property » (in Richard’s words, they « gaze at one another as opposites49. »). However, if there are four persons, then DP2 and DP4 share two properties with each other, while sharing only one with DP1 and DP3. In this scenario, DP2 and DP4 share a closer kinship with one another than with the others. Such a scenario is morally dubious (since each divine person would want to love and relate to each other person supremely) ; it is also mathematically incongruous and, therefore, not supremely beautiful.
49
Trin. V, 14, ed. Ribaillier, p. 211-212, l. 8-11 ; trans. Evans, p. 307.
Dennis Bray
164
Premises 70-72 complete the processions argument. Step 4 iterates the three possible modes of being, which we already saw in 69. 71 explains that any person with one of the three possible modes of being would be identical to one of the first three persons. If DP4 existed, then he would be identical to DP1, DP2, or DP3 – in other words, DP4 would not actually be a distinct person, but be one of the other three. Therefore, as 72 concludes, DP4 is impossible. Argument against four divine persons from charity Richard finishes The Argument with an analysis of love. He considers this to be the « clearer » (evidentiori) and « more thorough » (altiori) argument in Stage Four, averring, « If we bring into consideration the fullness of true love, and if we pay careful attention to the distinction of properties pertaining to the same consideration, then perhaps we will sooner discover what we are seeking50. » What he is seeking is, of course, a reason for believing that the existence of four divine persons is impossible. Over the course of ten chapters Richard develops an argument from the nature of love, summarized this way, 81. There are only three possible modes of other-love : (i) gratuitous, (ii) owed, (iii) both gratuitous and owed. 82. DP1 alone has only gratuitous love. 83. DP3 alone has only owed love. 84. DP2 alone has both gratuitous and owed love. 85. Therefore, it is impossible for there to be a fourth divine person. Premise 81 is the engine of this argument, giving an account of two ways a person may have other-love. In Richard’s words, Love is gratuitous when someone gladly bestows love to a person from whom he did not receive any favors. Love is owed when someone requites nothing but love to the person from whom he freely receives it. And love is a combination of both when by loving in both ways a person freely receives love and freely bestows it51.
Gratuitous (gratuitus) love is given to the beloved not in response to anything the beloved had previously given. Owed (debitus) love is the love requited in response to gratuitous love. Human lovers give and return their love in time, so that gratuitous love always comes temporally prior to owed love. The love between divine persons is not limited by time, and so gratuitous love is « before » owed love only logically, not temporally. That is, DP1 loves DP2 and DP3 first
50
Trin. V, 16, ed. Ribaillier, p. 214, l. 4-9 ; trans. Evans, p. 309-310. Trin. V, 16, ed. Ribaillier, p. 215, l. 20-24 ; trans. Evans, p. 310.
51
Richard’s Trinitarian Argument in De Trinitate
165
– i.e. with gratuitous love – because DP1 does not receive his being from DP2 or DP3. The support for premises 82-84 closely follows the argument from processions. As we saw in Stages One and Two, DP1 only gives being to others, and receives no being in return. But giving being is DP1’s act of love, and so DP1 only loves gratuitously. Similarly, DP3 only receives being from DP1 and DP2 ; DP3 has nothing to give them gratuitously, but can only requite their love. Finally, DP2 loves DP1 for giving him being, which is owed love, and joins DP1 in loving DP3 gratuitously. In sum, « the fullness of a gratuitous love belongs to one person alone [i.e. DP1], the fullness of an owed love belongs to a second person alone [i.e. DP3], and the fullness of both an owed and gratuitous love belongs to a third person alone [i.e. DP2]52. » If there were a DP4, then he would have to love with one of those three modes. However, Richard shuts down this possibility by identifying the divine persons with their mode of loving, Surely each of the three divine persons and their love are not distinct things? Surely, for each of these persons, being is not distinct from loving, nor is loving distinct from being? […] Therefore, for any of the three, their person will be identical to their love […]53.
Employing the notion of divine simplicity, Richard argues that each person is his mode of loving and, like in the processions argument, a fourth divine person would just be identical to one of the first three. * * * In this essay I have sought to give an overview of the core elements of Richard’s argument for the necessity of the Trinity. This overview is more wide than deep : due to space I have forgone detailed attention to historical influence and theological analysis. But even a relatively general analytic introduction to The Argument aids our study of Richard and his De Trinitate. For example, it allows us to follow the logical steps of Richard’s arguments, and illuminates the philosophical seriousness with which Richard crafted and presented them. Indeed, having a road map of De Trinitate’s core arguments would have allowed Guimet, whom I critiqued in the introduction of this paper, to better perceive their deductive nature, and make his evaluations accordingly. Until now we have had no such map ; and yet this essay has only taken initial steps by focusing on books three and five. There is still more work to be done. 52
Trin. V, 20, ed. Ribaillier, p. 218, l. 9-12 ; trans. Evans, p. 312-313. Trin. V, 20, ed. Ribaillier, p. 218, l. 13-19 ; trans. Evans, p. 313.
53
166
Dennis Bray
Careful attention to De Trinitate’s arguments facilitates a balanced appreciation of the work’s many facets (including, but not limited to the mystical, psychological, spiritually formative, theological, and philosophical elements). Further, by attending to the arguments as arguments, they are correctly seen to be living philosophical-theological claims, ones which demand to be considered, debated, refuted, or accepted. It is my belief that De Trinitate’s best days are not behind us, but ahead, and with careful thought we can open its riches to the next generation.
Andrew’s in hebreo interpretations as a fuller version of some notes in Hugh’s commentary on the Octateuch Montse Leyra-Curia
Roughly a quarter of the 300 interpretations in hebreo (referring either to the Hebrew text or language or to Jews) that appear in the commentaries of Hugh (1090/1100-1141) and Andrew of St Victor (d. 1175) on the Heptateuch, Samuel, and Kings had their origin in actual conversations with contemporary Jews. These Jews are likely to have been members of the twelfth-century Northern-French Jewish school of literal or ‘plain meaning’ exegesis (in Hebrew, peshat), whose works have come down to us, namely Rashi (1040-1105), Joseph Qara (c. 1060-1130), Rashbam (1080-1160), Beckhor Shor (mid-to late twelfth century), and Avraham Ibn Ezra (1089-1167). This can be seen from the fact that the Victorines’ interpretations are very similar or identical to their parallels in the commentaries of the Jewish exegetes in either content, exegetical method or literary-rhetorical devices. Many of the in hebreo interpretations shared by the two Victorines are very close to each other in content or in both content and wording. Some of the interpretations that Andrew ascribes to the Hebrew or to the Jews are preserved in Hugh’s Note but without an ascription to the Hebrew. In other cases, Andrew adds in hebreo material which is not present in Hugh. In examples of the latter kind, Andrew’s longer version is closer to the parallel interpretations provided by the Jewish exegetes and appears to add greater meaning to the text.
Omnium expetendorum prima est sapientia. Studies on Victorine thought and influence, ed. by Wanda Bajor, Michał Buraczewski, Marcin Jan Janecki and Dominique Poirel, BV, 29 (Turnhout, 2021), p. 167–184. © BREPOLSPUBLISHERS DOI 10.1484/M.BV-EB.5.126036
Montse Leyra-Curia
168
In this essay, I intend to analyse the interpretations that are common to both Hugh and Andrew in their commentaries on the Heptateuch and the Books of Samuel, identifying where Andrew’s text adds references to the Hebrew or in hebreo material, and discerning whether his additions serve to make Hugh’s text better understood and may in fact have come from Hugh’s original teaching. Thus, I aim to shed light on the relationship between Hugh’s Note and Andrew’s commentaries on the Heptateuch, Samuel, and Kings. Several of the in hebreo interpretations in question are ascribed to the Hebrew or to Jews only by Andrew, even when Hugh transmits the same Jewish material. Two examples appear in Hugh’s and Andrew’s comments on Gen. 4:23 and Exod. 15:5. Hugh’s and Andrew’s second interpretations of Lamech’s words to his wives in Gen. 4:23 read as follows : Hugh
Andrew
[…]. Dicunt enim quidam quod istę duę uxores Lamech male tractabant eum assidue, et hoc sine causa. Vnde ipse iratus aliquando conuenit eas et allocutus est his uerbis : Audite, uxores Lamech, etc. […] Occidi uirum ; aut feci aliquod aliud scelus pro quo sic debeam tractari ? Certe septuplum ultio sumetur de Cain, id est de interfectore Cain magna pęna accipietur, sed multo maior pęna in uos pro me irrogabitur.
Dicit Hebraeus meus, quod supradictae uxores Lamech litigiosae mulieres erant ; et frequenter sine causa cum eo contendentes, conuicia et contumelias multas illi inferebant ; et multis modis male tractando, ad amaritudinem animam eius perducebant. Vnde aliquando sic eas allocutus est : ‘Occidi ego uirum in uulnus meum’ ?, ‘et adolescentem in liuorem meum’ ? Quasi dicere : ‘Occidi ego siue telo siue uirga, aut uirum aut iuuenem, ut sic male me tractetis tanquam homicidam ? Septuplum ultio dabitur de Cain, id est : Grandis ultio sumetur de interfectore Cain, sed multo grandior de uobis, quae me sine causa interficitis.
Andrew’s in hebreo interpretations
169
Hugh
Andrew
[…]. For certain people say that these two wives of Lamech would constantly mistreat him and this without reason. Hence, once he was annoyed [and] assembled them and spoke to them in these terms : ‘Hear, ye wives of Lamech, etc. have I slain a man ; or have I committed any other crime for which I should be treated thus ?’ Certainly, sevenfold vengeance shall be exacted concerning Cain, i.e., severe punishment shall be endured concerning Cain’s killer, but much severer punishment shall be inflicted upon you for my sake1.
My Hebrew man says that Lamech’s aforementioned wives were quarrelsome women ; and by often fighting against him without reason they would attack him with insults and many reproaches. By mistreating him in many ways, they would bring his soul into bitterness. Hence, he talked to them once as follows : ‘Have I slain a man to the wounding of myself ?, and a stripling to my own bruising ?’ as if to say : ‘Have I slain either a man or youth with dart or rod, that you mistreat me so as a murderer ? Sevenfold vengeance shall be given for Cain, i.e., severe vengeance shall be exacted concerning Cain’s killer, but much severer concerning you, who are killing me without reason2’.
Whereas Andrew ascribes the text to hebreus meus (‘my Hebrew man’), Hugh introduces it as Dicunt quidam, by which he probably refers to a contemporary Jew3. Both interpretations, that of Hugh and that of Andrew, are similar to each other. Both texts, in turn, are similar to Bekhor Shor’s parallel comment on Genesis, which he ascribes to Joseph Qara4. It reads : 1
Hugh of St Victor, In Pentateuchon, Paris, BnF, lat. 2092, f. 87v. Andrew of St Victor, Expositio super Heptateuchum, ed. by Charles Lohr – Rainer Berndt, Turnhout : Brepols, 1986 (CCCM 53) : In Gen., l. 1323-1332. 3 Further examples of Hugh’s employment of quidam to refer to the interpretations of a contemporary Jew appear in his comments on Exod. 4:10 and 27:5. 4 Beryl Smalley, The Study of the Bible in the Middle Ages, Oxford : Basil Blackwell, 1952, p. 103-104 ; Marianne Awerbuch, Christlich-jüdische Begegnung im Zeitalter der Frühscholastik, ed. by Helmut Gollwitzer, München : Chr. Kaiser, 1980 (Abhandlungen zum christlichjüdischen Dialog, 8), p. 221 ; Rainer Berndt, « Les interprétations juives dans le Commentaire de l’Heptateuque d’André de Saint-Victor », in Recherches Augustiniennes, t. 24, 1989, 199-240, p. 206-207, no. 21 ; Abraham Berliner, Pletath Soferim, Mainz : Y. Brill, 1872 (German and Hebrew), p. 12 ; for a discussion of the relationship between the Victorines’s text and that of Qara, see : Montse Leyra Curiá, In Hebreo : The Victorine Exegesis of the Bible in the Light of Its Northern-French Jewish Sources, Turnhout : Brepols, 2017 (Bibliotheca Victorina, 26), p. 279-282. 2
170
Montse Leyra-Curia Bekhor Shor
כי למך נשא ראשון שתי נשים והיו מתקוטטות ומתקנאות זו: פ’ ר’ יוסי קרא ז’’ל.ויאמר למך לנשיו שאין שקט בביתי, ‹מה פשעי מכל אדם: והיה אומר להן, והיו עושות קולי קולות, וכעסתה צרתה,בזו או חנקתי תינוקות שאירע לי מה, וכי הרגתי בני אדם,לא באכילה ולא בשתיה ולא בשכיבה ולא בקימה אבל הקב’’ה יפרע מכן כי קין, כי לא אוכל לסבול זאת, ועתה הנני מת בידכן,שלא אירע לאדם מעולם ’.שכן שינקום אותי בשבעים ושבעה- כל,שחטא אמר [הקב’’ה] לנקום בשבעתים And Lamech said to his wifes : This is the interpretation of R. Joseph Qara his memory be blessed : « Lamech was the first to marry two wives, and they would quarrel and exhibit jealousy to each other, each taunting her rival, and they would produce a commotion. He would tell them : “what sin have I of all men committed, so that there is no calm in my house, neither when eating or drinking nor when retiring or rising ? Have I killed men or strangled children so that what has never visited any man has happened to me ? Now I am dying at your hands, since I shall not be able to endure this. However, the Holy One blessed be He will exact retribution from you. For the Holy One blessed be He said that Cain, though he had sinned, would be avenged sevenfold. All the more so, He will avenge me seventy-seven times.” […]5. »
Since communication between the Victorines and the Jewish exegetes was oral, we cannot expect to find the exact same wording in their parallel interpretations. At any rate, Andrew includes two details that also appear in Joseph Qara’s text but are not present in Hugh’s text : firstly, both Andrew and Joseph Qara describe Lamech’s wives as ‘quarrelsome’ ; secondly, they both claim that Lamech’s wives were leading him to bitterness and desperation ; and lastly, both Andrew and Joseph Qara present Lamech as referring to « killing a youth or children » in contrast to Hugh’s « any other crime ». Andrew might have learnt this interpretation from Bekhor Shor, since several interpretations in the latter’s commentary on the Pentateuch are identical in content to the parallel interpretations in Andrew’s commentary6. On the other hand, Hugh’s text is essentially the same as Andrew’s. If Joseph Qara died between 1120 and 1130, as Grossman has suggested, it is very likely that Hugh met Joseph Qara and that he borrowed this interpretation from him7. Hugh and Andrew each offer four in hebreo interpretations in their commentaries on Genesis, Judges, and the First Book of Samuel that are identical to the parallel interpretations of Joseph 5
The Commentaries of Rabbi Joseph Bekhor Shor on the Torah, ed. Yehoshafat Nevo, Jerusalem : Mossad Harav Kook, 1994 (Hebrew), p. 14. 6 Leyra Curiá, In Hebreo, p. 340-343. 7 Avraham Grossman, The Early Sages of France : Their Lives, Leadership and Works, Jerusalem : Magnes Press, 2001, 3rd ed. (Hebrew), p. 258.
Andrew’s in hebreo interpretations
171
Qara on those books. So Andrew might also have met Joseph Qara in person or he may have borrowed this particular interpretation from one of Qara’s students, or from Bekhor Shor. At any rate, the most likely explanation is that Hugh’s original lecture also contained this particular reference to the Hebrew as well as the additional elements present in Andrew’s interpretation. The interpretation, however, was fully preserved only in Andrew’s commentary. Another example of an in hebreo interpretation shared by Hugh and Andrew in which the reference to the Hebrew is absent from Hugh’s commentary and pointed out only by Andrew concerns their comments on Exod. 15:5, which are laid out below : Hugh on Exod 15:5
Andrew on Exod 15:5
Abissi operuerunt eos. Ex nimia lętitia sepe aliter et aliter idem replicatur. The depths have covered them. Out of great joy, the same [idea] is often repeated in a different manner8.
Abyssi. Ex nimia laetitia saepe idem aliter et aliter replicat. Frequentes sunt apud Hebraeos huiusmodi inculcationes et geminationes uerborum. The depths. Out of great joy, [the biblical author] often repeats the same in a different manner. Such repetitions and doubling of words are common among the Hebrews9.
It has been shown that Hugh and Andrew probably gained an awareness of the parallelism in this and other verses in their commentaries from Rashbam10. There is a high probability that Hugh relied on Rashbam for at least five ‒ and Andrew for nine ‒ of the in hebreo interpretations in their respective commentaries on Genesis, Exodus, and Leviticus11. Consequently, Hugh must also have ascribed this interpretation to the Jews in his teaching, though the ascription survives only in Andrew’s commentary. There are a few other interpretations common to both Victorines, in which Andrew adds new in hebreo material that is not present in Hugh’s Note. With these comments, Andrew seems to offer a more complete version of Hugh’s Note than can be found in the manuscripts of Hugh’s Note or the Migne edition. Two examples appear in Andrew’s interpretations of Exod. 3:12 and of 1 Sam. 3:1. First, 8
Hugh, Pent., Paris, BnF, lat. 2092, f. 103v. Andrew, In Exod., l. 853-855. 10 Rainer Berndt, André de Saint-Victor († 1175) : Exégète et théologien, Turnhout : Brepols, 1991 (Biblioteca Victorina, 2), p. 210 ; Id., « Les interprétations juives », p. 216-217, no. 86 ; Leyra Curiá, In Hebreo, p. 327-335. 11 Leyra Curiá, In Hebreo, p. 367. 9
Montse Leyra-Curia
172
Hugh and Andrew provide two interpretations of Exod. 3:12, which are set out separately below : Hugh Habebis signum cum eduxeris. Quomodo posset esse signum quod futurum remotum erat rei quam nuper facturus fuit ?
And you shall have for a sign : when you shall have brought out. How could something that was going to happen in the distant future be a sign of something else that he [Moses] was just now about to do12 ?
Andrew Et hoc habebis signum. Quidam sic exponunt : Hoc habebis signum, quod ego miserim te scilicet, quod – cum eduxeris populum de Aegypto – immolabis Deo super montem istum. Sed quomodo posset, quod longe post futurum erat, esse signum rei, quam nuper facturus erat ? Vel quam certitudinem poterat ei conferre, quod longe post futurum erat, ut praesens negotium fiducialius et securius susciperet ? And this you shall have for a sign. Certain commentators (quidam) expound as follows : This you shall have for a sign that I have sent you, namely, that when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall sacrifice to God upon this mountain. But how could something that was going to happen in the distant future be a sign of something else that he [Moses] was just now about to do ? And what certitude could what was going to happen much later bestow on him to take on the present task more confidently and more securely13 ?
In his first interpretation above, Hugh limits himself to presenting the first half of the verse (though incomplete) in connection with the first two words of the second half : he writes in a highly abbreviated manner. Then, he critiques the meaning of the text that results from this connection. By contrast, Andrew’s text includes the same content as Hugh’s but he writes both halves of the verse in full and explains them. By writing two abbreviated clauses, Hugh assumes that the
12
Hugh, Pent., Paris, BnF, lat. 2092, f. 100v-101r. Andrew refers to Hugh as quidam ; see : Beryl Smalley, « The School of Andrew of St Victor », in Recherches de théologie ancienne et médiévale, t. 11, 1939, p. 145-167 ; p. 147 ; Andrew, In Exod., l. 113-119. 13
Andrew’s in hebreo interpretations
173
pupil listening to him will fill in the gaps. In their second interpretations, Hugh and Andrew divide the text in a different way : Hugh
Andrew
Dicimus itaque habebis signum, hoc scilicet, quod miserim, id est, quod mitto te, sit tibi signum, quod educes filios Israel de Ęgypto. Et hoc scilicet cum eduxeris sit principium alterius narrationis.
Alii dicunt sic : Habebis signum hoc, scilicet quod miserim te, id est : Quod mitto te, sit tibi signum, quod educes filios Israel de Aegypto. Et hoc habebis signum, quod miserim te. Hic finit uersus iste in hebraeo. Et est sensus : Hoc, scilicet quod de rubo uidisti – scilicet quod ardebat et non comburebatur –, et quod ego de medio rubi locutus sum : tecum habebis signum, quod ego miserim te ad educendum populum meum de Aegypto. […] Cum eduxeris. Principium est alterius uersus. Promittit illi angelus, quod – cum eduxerit populum de Aegypto – immolabit Deo super montem Sina. Others say as follows : You shall have for a sign this, namely, that I have sent you ; i.e., may the fact that I am sending you be a sign for you that you shall bring the children of Israel out of Egypt. And this you shall have for a sign, that I have sent you. In the Hebrew, this verse ends here. And this is the meaning : This, namely, what you have seen concerning the bush – i.e. that it kept burning without being consumed – and that I have spoken to you from the midst of the bush : you shall have for a sign that I have sent you in order to bring my people out of Egypt. … When you shall have brought out is the beginning of another verse. The angel promises him that – when he will have brought the people out of Egypt –, he shall sacrifice to God upon mount Sinai15.
Accordingly, we say : You shall have for a sign this, namely that I have sent [you], i.e. may the fact that I am sending you be a sign for you that you shall bring the children of Israel out of Egypt. And thus When you have brought out would be the beginning of another narrative14.
14 15
Hugh, Pent., Paris, BnF, lat. 2092, f. 101r. Andrew, In Exod., l. 120-129.
174
Montse Leyra-Curia
Unlike Andrew’s second interpretation, Hugh’s second interpretation is not ascribed to the Hebrew. Hugh divides the verse differently than he did in his first interpretation : the sign is that I have sent you. According to Hugh, the verse means ‘this, the fact that I am sending you, IS (in itself ) the sign’. Moses had asked for a proof that he was the right person to be sent to Pharaoh. However, the answer given to him according to Hugh (that it is God who is sending him) does not seem to be a proof. Hugh’s comment appears to lack something. Andrew quotes Hugh’s second interpretation, and then, he explains its meaning. According to Andrew, the clause that I have sent you is not an appositive phrase that qualifies the object ‘this’ but rather it points to the bush : in other words, this, ‘the fact that the bush keeps blazing without being consumed’, is the sign. Andrew’s addition of ‘that the bush keeps blazing without being consumed’ does add sense to the text : Moses witnesses a miracle (‘a bush blazing without being consumed’) that assures him that he is indeed the one being sent to Pharaoh. Hugh’s interpretation appears to be merely an abbreviated remark. The second interpretations of both Victorines are very likely borrowed from Rashbam, though Andrew includes an element that appears in Rashi’s parallel comment on the text. Rashbam explains that the bush is the sign. Rashi notes that it keeps blazing without being consumed. Rashbam emphasises that the one speaking from the bush is an angel. Rashbam explicitly critiques the first interpretation that connects the two halves of verse 12 together. Rashi and Rashbam write : Rashbam ] וכי אוציא את בני ישראל...[ ,] מי אנכי כי אלך אל פרעה...[ ] והק’ השיב לו על ראשון ראשון ואמר כי אהיה...[?ממצרים ומה.עמך ואתן חנך בעיני המלך ותלך אל פרעה ולא תירא הלא. וזה לך האות כי אנכי שלחתיך,שאת ירא לפני פרעה אתה רואה בתבערת הסנה כי שלוחו של הק’ אני וזה האות ועל מה שאתה אומר וכי... .לך הוא להיות בטוח שאהיה עמך כלומר באיזה טענה שאומר,אוציא את בני ישראל ממצרים לפרעה ישמע אלי להוציאם? בהוציאך את העם ממצרים אני מצוה לך עכשיו שתעבדו את האלהים על ההר הזה ותקריבו .]...[ ,עולות
Rashi ] השיבו...[ .ויאמר כי אהיה עמך ,על ראשון ראשון ועל אחרון אחרון וזה המראה אשר ראית בסנה,]...[ וכדאי.לך האות כי אנכי שלחתיך כאשר ראית הסנה,אני להציל כך תלך,עושה שליחותי ואיננו אוכל : בשליחותי ואינך נזוק
Andrew’s in hebreo interpretations
175
Rashbam
Rashi
And the Holy One answered [Moses’ two questions] also in order and said : (1) for I will be with you and I will dispose the king favorably towards you ; you will go to Pharaoh and not be afraid. As for your fear [about appearing] before Pharaoh, This [i.e. the bush] is your sign that it is I who sends you – surely you see through the burning of the bush that I am the messenger of the Holy One. This sign is for you so that you will be certain that I will be with you […]. (2) As for that which you said, ‘[who am I] that I should free the israelites from egypt ?’ – i.e. ‘through what claim that I say to Pharaoh will he listen to me and free them ?’ – when you free the people from egypt I command you now that you should worship God at this mountain and offer sacrifices […]16.
and he said, because I will be with thee – He answered his first question first and his last question last : …, and this – i.e. the sight which thou hast witnessed in the bush shall be a sign unto thee, because ‘i’ have sent thee and ‘I’ am competent to save : just as thou hast seen the bush carrying out the mission I laid upon it and it was not consumed, so go thou too on the mission I entrust to thee and thou shalt suffer no harm. And as regards thy question : […]17.
Hugh transmits Rashbam’s interpretation only partially by pointing to the difference between the two possible syntactical divisions, that of the first interpretation and that of the second. Hugh’s explanation, however, does not deal with the bush. The fact that both Hugh and Andrew transmit fourteen interpretations identical to parallel ones in Rashbam’s commentary makes it likely that they both learnt this interpretation from Rashbam as well. It is probable that Hugh’s original lecture also included the reference to the Hebrew and the in hebreo elements added by Andrew. However, only Andrew preserves both the ascription to the Hebrew and the full Jewish explanation.
16
The Torah Commentary of Rashbam, ed. David Rosin, Breslau : Solomon Schottlaender, 1881 (Hebrew), ad loc. ; Martin I. Lockshin, Rashbam’s Commentary on Exodus : An Annotated Translation, Atlanta : Scholars Press, 1997 (Brown Judaic Studies, 310), ad loc. 17 Rashi : the Commentary of Solomon b. Isaac on the Pentateuch, ed. Avraham Berliner, 1866 ; 2nd ed. Frankfurt : J. Kauffmann, 1905 (Hebrew), ad loc.
Montse Leyra-Curia
176
The other interpretation that both Hugh and Andrew borrowed from a contemporary Jew, but that only Andrew has fully preserved both in its content and in the reference to the Hebrew, lies in their second comment on 1 Sam. 3:1. The two Victorines suggest a first interpretation in which they explain that the clause Before the lamp of God was put out means : ‘at night-time’. However, unlike Hugh and his ninth-century source, Pseudo-Jerome, Andrew brings together the clause Eli was not able to see with the clause Before the lamp of the Lord was put out18. Hugh
Andrew
Quod autem dictum est antequam lucerna Dei extingueretur uocatum a Domino Samuel uel sic accipiendum est quasi diceretur ‘nocte uocauit […]’.
Lucernam Domini antequam extingueretur. Lucerna tota nocte ardebat ; cum dilucesseret extinguebatur. Heli, quia cecutiebat et uiciosus et pene obturatus oculis minimum interdiu set nocte nichil uidet, lucernam Domini non poterat uidere antequam extingueretur, id est antequam dies esset. Before the lamp of the Lord was put out. The lamp used to burn all night ; when dawn broke, it was put out. Since Eli saw badly, and, being possessed of faulty vision and half-closed eyes saw little during the day and nothing at night, he was not able to see the lamp of God before it was put out, i.e. before it was day20.
Now, the fact that it is written that before the lamp of God was put out the Lord called Samuel is either to be explained thus – as if it were written ‘He called him at night, […]’19.
18
Pseudo-Jerome, Quaestiones on the Book of Samuel, ed. Avrom Saltman, Leiden : Brill, 1975, p. 74-75, q. 20 ; Hugh, Reg., Paris, BnF, lat. 2092, f. 121v ; Andrew, Reg. I, l. 666-670. 19 Hugh, Reg., Paris, BnF, lat. 2092, f. 121v. 20 Andrew, Reg. I, l. 666-670.
Andrew’s in hebreo interpretations
177
In their second interpretation, which Andrew ascribes to the Hebrew, both Hugh and Andrew explain that the purpose of the clause Before the lamp of God was put out is to give a reason for the subsequent narrative : ‘why Samuel, though he had been called by the Lord, thought it was the priest who had called him’. They write : Hugh
Andrew
uel ideo ut ipse Samuel, qui nondum cum Deo loqui consueuerat, lucerna lucente nullum alium in Templo praeter Heli esse uideret cumque ipsum Heli nequaquam locutum didicisset Dei uocem hanc esse non dubitaret.
Hec littera plana est sicut in Hebreo habetur […]. Sequens autem uersus sic incipit : Lucerna Domini nondum extinguebatur. Deinde subiungitur : Samuel dormiebat in tabernaculo ubi erat arca Domini. Quod est dicere : In tempore quodam dum Heli iaceret in exedra sua et puer Samuel dormiret lucerna que ardebat in templo Domini nondum extincta, nocturno scilicet tempore, uocauit Dominus Samuelem, etc. Non est putandum quod Samuel dormiret in templo quod solis sacerdotibus intrare licebat, […] set in exedra in qua et sacerdos iacebat. Et quia solus Heli in illo thalamo erat cum puero quando uocatus est a Domino, quia neminem alium adesse uidit statim ad Heli cucurrit dicens : Ecce ego, uocasti enim me. Si nichil luminis esset in cubiculo ubi iacebant sacerdos et puer quando uocatus est puer a Domino, […] Set quia ita uicinum et iunctum erat ut quidam putant tabernaculo ut ex lumine quod inibi erat ipsum illuminaretur, ideo accessitus a Domino puer quia neminem preter sacerdotem adesse uidit ab illo se uocari putauit. Vt igitur rationem redderet qua de causa puer uocatus a Domino a sacerdote se uocari putauit premisit Scriptura quod lucerna in tabernaculo Domini nondum extinguebatur.
Montse Leyra-Curia
178
Hugh
Andrew
or in order that Samuel himself, who was not yet accustomed to speak with the Lord, the lamp shining, having seen no one else in the Temple besides Eli, after learning that Eli himself had not spoken, he should not doubt that that voice was God’s21.
The letter is plain the way it is put in the Hebrew. […] The following verse begins as follows : the lamp of the Lord had not yet been put out. Then, is added : Samuel was sleeping ; in the tabernacle, where the ark of the Lord was. Which is to say : once, while Eli lay in his room and the boy Samuel was sleeping, the lamp which was burning in the temple of the Lord not yet having been put out, i.e. at night time, the Lord called Samuel, etc. […]. It ought not to be thought that Samuel slept in the temple, since only the priests were allowed to enter there, […] but he rather [slept] in the hall where also the priest used to lie. And, because Eli alone was with the boy in that chamber when he was called by the Lord [and] because he saw that no one else was at hand, he immediately ran to Eli saying : Here am I : for you called me. Had there not been any light in the bed-chamber, where the priest and the boy were lying when the boy was called by the Lord, […]. However, because [the bed-chamber] was so near and connected to the Tabernacle (as certain people think) that it was itself illuminated by the light therein, for this reason when he was approached by the Lord, because he saw that no one besides the priest was present, the boy thought that he [Eli] had called him. Therefore, the Scripture mentions before that : the lamp in the tabernacle of the Lord had not yet gone out in order to render account on the reason why the boy, though he had been called by the Lord, thought that the priest had called him22.
Hugh’s interpretation is a brief summary of Andrew’s. In turn, Andrew’s interpretation shares several elements with Joseph Qara’s comment on the same text :
21
Hugh, Reg., Paris, BnF, lat. 2092, f. 121v-122r. Andrew, Reg. I, l. 674-699.
22
Andrew’s in hebreo interpretations
179
Joseph Qara שמואל שכב עמו בבית במקום אחר לפי שהיה משרת את ה’ לפני,ויהי ביום ההוא ועלי שכב במקומו , לפיכך עלה בדעתו של שמואל כשקראו הק’ שעלי קורהו אעפ’’י שלא ראה עלי עומד על גביו,…עלי ויקרא ה’ אל שמואל שאילו היה הנר כבה כבר שקרא, לפיכך הוא אומר (ג) ונר אלוהים טרם יכבה,… אלא יהא סבור שיעמוד לפניו,לו הדיבור לא היה קם שמואל והולך אל עלי ואומר לו הנני כי קראת לי אבל נר אלהים לא היה כבה עדיין וכשקראו הק’ ראה שמואל ואין שם איש,]…[ שום אדם וקורא ואל תפרש נר אלהים טרם יכבה בהיכל ה’ אינו כבה כל הלילה,]…[,בבית כי אם עלי ששוכב במקומו : כא) ואמרו רבותינו במסכת יומא (טו:דכת’ יערוך אותו אהרן ובניו מערב ועד בוקר לפני ה’ (שמ’ כז אלא נר אלהים קורא בבית שהיה שמואל,ע’ ב) תן לה מידתה שתהא דולקת והולכת מערב ועד בוקר עומד לבד ואינו מחובר לבהיכל ה’ אשר שם, ושמואל שוכב,משרת שם לפני ה’ ונר אלהים טרם יכבה ושמואל היה, בבית עלי שהיה שמואל משרת שם, אלא כך תפתור ונר אלהים טרם יכבה,ארון האלהים .]…[ שוכב במקומו ושמע הקול מהיכל ה’ אשר שם ארון האלהים ויקרא אל שמואל One day Eli lay down in his [usual] place ; Samuel lay down with him in the house in another place, […] Therefore, when the Holy One called him, Samuel decided that it was Eli who was calling him, in spite of not seeing Eli standing by him. […] Therefore the text says : (v. 3) The lamp of God had not yet gone out, and the Lord called out to Samuel. For had the lamp already gone out when the [Divine] Utterance called him, Samuel would not have risen and gone to Eli and said to him Here I am since you called me. Instead, he would have thought that somebody was standing before him and calling him […]. But in actual fact the lamp of God had not yet been extinguished, and when the Holy One called him, Samuel saw that there was no other man in the house but Eli, who was lying in his place, […] ; rather [the text] calls ‘the lamp of God’ the one in the house in which Samuel was ministering before God, and the lamp of God had not yet gone out ; and the sentence Samuel was lying down stands alone, and it is not connected to the phrase ‘in the Temple of the Lord where the Ark of God was’. Rather you should interpret in the following manner : And the lamp of God had not yet gone out in the house of Eli where Samuel was, and ‘Samuel was lying down in his place and heard the voice from the Temple of the Lord, where the Ark of God was, and it called out to Samuel, […]23.’
Andrew and Joseph Qara interpret the sentence the lamp of the Lord had not yet gone out as an instance of the literary device of ‘anticipation’ : the Scripture intentionally mentions the phrase at the beginning of the passage in order to explain why Samuel mistook the Lord’s voice for that of Eli. Both explain that the light of the lamp enabled Samuel to realise that there was no one in the house except Eli. 23 Rabbi Joseph Qara’s Commentaries on Former Prophets, ed. Simon Eppenstein, Jerusalem : Mossad Harav Kook, 1972 (Hebrew), ad loc.
180
Montse Leyra-Curia
It seems certain that Andrew is relying on Joseph Qara’s interpretation here. Since Hugh’s comment includes essentially the same explanation as Andrew, and he (Hugh) borrowed from other interpretations of Joseph Qara, it is also likely that Hugh learnt the interpretation from Joseph Qara. Andrew, however, preserved Hugh’s original explanation in a more complete way than Hugh’s Note either in the Migne edition or in the manuscripts of Hugh’s Note.
* * * Hugh’s Note on the Octateuch do not consist of a commentary written by Hugh himself but appear instead to be notes from his lectures taken by his students24. This assumption is supported by three facts : (a) First, there are differing versions of several notes in the manuscripts : many verses in Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Samuel, and Kings are commented on twice in a number of manuscripts, each time differently. Smalley calls the notes that are commented on for a second time ‘additional’, whereas Pollitt calls them ‘supplementary’25. A comment on 2 Kings 4:16 is contained in only five of the manuscripts, which points to the possibility of other omissions in some of the manuscripts26. Peter Comestor and Stephen Langton each quote a different interpretation of Hugh, on Gen. 46:21 and Deut. 34:1, respectively, that is not found in any of Hugh’s notes but is discussed by Andrew27. The fact that the note on Deuteronomy quoted by Langton is not found among the notes on that book printed in Migne accords with Smalley’s view that Hugh’s original notes on Numbers and Deuteronomy were lost, and that the notes on Numbers and Deuteronomy present in the manuscripts and the Migne edition belong to a different version of Hugh’s Note28. 24
Smalley, The Study of the Bible, p. 98. Smalley, The Study of the Bible, p. 98 ; Herbert J. Pollitt, « Some Considerations on the Structure and Sources of Hugh of St Victor’s Notes on the Octateuch », in Recherches de théologie ancienne et médiévale, t. 33, 1966, p. 5-38 : 7 ; the additional notes on Genesis correspond in the Migne edition to the Note on Genesis that appear under the title Repetitio quorundam locorum qui aliter habentur in hebraeo. The additional notes on Exodus and Leviticus are inserted among the notes on these books in the Migne edition. 26 Pollitt, « Some Considerations », p. 5, speaks of only two manuscripts : Paris, BnF, lat. 15695, f. 92r (13th) and Cambridge, Trinity College, B. I. 25 [23], f. 66v, but the note also appears in another three : BnF, lat. 2092, f. 140v ; BnF, lat. 7531, f. 275v ; and Valenciennes, 198, f. 107r. 27 Smalley, « The School of Andrew of St Victor », in Recherches de théologie ancienne et médiévale, t. 11, 1939, p. 147, 157. 28 Smalley, The Study, p. 127. 25
Andrew’s in hebreo interpretations
181
A number of manuscripts contain notes only on Genesis, Exodus, and Leviticus, but without the additional notes on these books29. Other manuscripts cover Genesis, Exodus, and Leviticus (without the additional notes on those books), Judges, Samuel, and Kings. Then these manuscripts give the additional notes on Exodus and Leviticus, the notes on Numbers and Deuteronomy, and the additional notes on Genesis30. Other manuscripts give the additional notes on Genesis immediately after the first version of these notes, while the additional notes on Exodus and Leviticus appear immediately after the first version of the notes on Kings and before the notes on Numbers and Deuteronomy31. Ms. Paris, BnF, lat. 2092 (twelfth century) gives the first version of the notes on Genesis, Exodus, and Leviticus without the additional notes on these books, then the additional notes on Exodus and Leviticus, followed by the notes on Numbers and Deuteronomy. Next come the additional notes on Genesis and the notes on Judges and Kings. (b) Second, evidence that Hugh’s students used to take notes on their master’s lectures is provided by the Sententiae de divinitate, which contains notes taken by Hugh’s student Laurentius in one of Hugh’s courses on Theology and subsequently revised by Hugh32. (c) Third, in the prologue to his second commentary on Leviticus, Andrew notes that both Hugh and he ‘had been instructed by Jews in the literal sense of the Pentateuch’. Andrew writes : Andrew Et quoniam magna ex parte huius libri explanationem, quantum ad sententiarum summam spectat, secundum alios, qui ab Hebraeis, sicut et nos, litteralem sensum pentateuchi edocti sunt, nullis penitus mutatis, supra posuimus, nunc litterae, quam illi indiscussam reliquerunt, insistamus.
29
MSS Paris, BnF, lat. 16284 (13th), BnF, lat. 345 (13th), BnF, lat. 13422 (Saint-Germaindes-Prés, 12th), Charleville-Mézières, Bibl. mun. 71 and 166 (both from Signy, 13th), Douai, Bibl. mun. 362 (Marchiennes, 12th), and Douai, Bibl. mun. 365 (Anchin, 12th). 30 MSS Paris, BnF, lat. 15695 (13th) ; Cambridge, Trinity College, B. I. 25 [23] ; Paris, BnF, lat. 7531 ; Valenciennes, Bibl. mun. 198 ; Vaticano, Vat. lat. 13014 ; and Vaticano, Urb. lat. 108. 31 Paris, BnF, lat. 15315 (13th), and BnF, lat. 14507 (15th). 32 Heinrich Weisweiler S. J., « Zur Einflussphäre der “Vorlesungen” Hugos von St Viktor », in Mélanges J. de Ghellinck S. J., t. II, Gembloux : Duculot, 1951, p. 527-581 : 527, n. 2-528, n. 5 ; Van Den Eynde, Essai sur la succession, p. 74-77.
182
Montse Leyra-Curia Andrew
And since we have set forth above without almost no alteration the explanation of this book [sc. Leviticus], as far as the gist is concerned, for the most part according to others, who have been instructed in the literal sense of the Pentateuch by the Jews, like us, now let us deal with the letter which they have left undiscussed33.
The phrase litteralem sensum pentateuchi implies that both Hugh and Andrew were taught several interpretations of more than one book of the Pentateuch in a series of meetings over a certain length of time. Andrew refers to a time prior to the writing of his second commentary on Leviticus, which he had finished along with the other books on the Heptateuch, Samuel, and Kings by 1147/48, before leaving for Wigmore, in England34. The phrase ‘who like us have been instructed in the literal sense of the Pentateuch by the Jews’, suggests that he is not repeating information that he has heard about Hugh but is transmitting a fact he has witnessed. Smalley explains that glosses, sentence books, and summas of the twelfth century show ‘how systematically the works of the masters were copied and developed by their pupils35’. Andrew has incorporated most of Hugh’s notes on Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, and Judges into his commentaries on these books, as well as many of Hugh’s notes on Samuel and Kings ; and he also develops and critiques Hugh’s notes36. In the prologue to his second commentary on Leviticus, he says that he transcribes Hugh’s Note on Leviticus almost without modification. This points to the high probability that Andrew was indeed Hugh’s pupil37.
33
Andrew, Lev. II, l. 503-507 ; English trans. : Smalley, The Study of the Bible, p. 127. Smalley, The Study of the Bible, p. 112 ; Rainer Berndt, « The School of St Victor in Paris », in Hebrew Bible/Old Testament : The History of Its Interpretation, ed. by Magne Saebø, 5 vol., t. I : From the Beginnings to the Middle Ages (Until 1300), Göttingen : Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 1996-2008, t. I/2, 2000, p. 467-495 : 479 ; Andrew of St Victor, Expositio in Ezechielem, ed. Michael A. Signer, Turnhout : Brepols, 1991 (CCCM 53E), intro., p. xi ; Andrew of St Victor’s Commentary on Samuel and Kings, ed. Frans A. Van Liere, Turnhout : Brepols, 2009 (Corpus Christianorum in Translation, 3), intro., p. 9. 35 Smalley, The Study of the Bible, p. 126. 36 Examples of interpretations in which Andrew critiques Hugh’s notes are : Gen. 7:2, 9:5, and Exod. 15:14. 37 Smalley, ibid., p. 112, 126-127 ; Signer, Expositio in Ezechielem, intro., p. ix. 34
Andrew’s in hebreo interpretations
183
Hugh entered Saint Victor and started teaching there around 111538. Van den Eynde dated Hugh’s Note on the Pentateuch, Samuel, and Kings to before 112539. According to Pollitt, however, they may date from different periods of his teaching career40. As a matter of fact, Hugh may have been teaching on the Octateuch and modifying his Note until he died in 1141. Andrew must have written his commentary on the Heptateuch after 1137/38, since he employed as sources for this commentary, in addition to Hugh’s Note on the Octateuch, Hugh’s De sacramentis, written between 1130/1131 and 1137 and the Summa Sententiarum by Odon de Lucques, written between 1137/38 and 114141. Rabbi Joseph Qara, who was born either around 1055 or between 1160-1170 and died between 1120 and 1130, was younger than Rashi and older than Rashbam42. He worked together with Rashi, who died in 1105, and Rashbam at Troyes, and wrote commentaries on most books of the Bible while he was there with them43. It is likely that Hugh learnt some in hebreo interpretations from Joseph Qara. Andrew might have known Joseph Qara as well, or he may have learnt Qara’s interpretations from Rashbam, Bekhor Shor, or a student of Joseph Qara. Rashbam, who was born towards 1075-1080, died sometime after 115844. A. Grossman and S. Japhet suggest that Rashbam wrote his Torah commentary around 1120 or while Joseph Qara was still alive45. M. Lockshin and I. Kislev, how38 Dominique Poirel, Hugues de Saint-Victor, Paris : Cerf, 1998, p. 31 ; Jerome Taylor, The Origin and Early Life of Hugh of St Victor : An Evaluation of the Tradition, Notre Dame (Indiana) : University of Notre Dame, The Mediaeval Institute, 1957 (Texts and Studies in the History of Mediaeval Education, 5), p. 13. 39 Damien Van den Eynde, Essai sur la succession et la date des écrits de Hugues de SaintVictor, Roma : Pontificium Athenaeum Antonianum, 1960 (Spicilegium Pontificii Athenaei Antoniani, 13), p. 40-45, 214. 40 Pollitt, « Some considerations », p. 5. 41 Berndt, André de Saint-Victor, p. 86 ; Poirel, Hugues de Saint-Victor, p. 42 ; Van den Eynde, Essai sur la succession, p. 100-101. 42 Grossman, The Early Sages of France, p. 258 ; Eppenstein, Joseph Qara’s Commentaries on Former Prophets, intro., p. 9. 43 Gershom Brin, Studies in the Biblical Exegesis of R. Joseph Qara, Tel Aviv : University of Tel Aviv, 1990 (Hebrew), p. 11 ; Grossman, The Early Sages of France, p. 260 ; for the Pentateuch, there exist only quotations of interpretations ascribed to him : Grossman, ibid., p. 290-302. 44 David Rosin, The Torah Commentary of Rashbam, intr., p. ix, xii ; Sara Japhet – Robert B. Salters, The Commentary of R. Samuel Ben Meir (Rashbam) on Qohelet, Jerusalem – Leiden : The Hebrew University Magnes Press – Brill, 1985 (Hebrew and English), intro., p. 12. 45 Rashbam’s commentary on Leviticus and Numbers : an annotated translation, ed. and trans. Martin Lockshin, Providence : Brown University, 2001 (Brown Judaic Studies, 330), on Num. 4:10, n. 30, p. 163 ; on Num. 31:49, n. 24 ; Sara Japhet, email on 27 August, 2020 : she argues that in his comment on Gen. 37 : 13, Rashbam refers to Joseph Qara as haberenu, ‘our colleague’, an adjective that refers to living people.
184
Montse Leyra-Curia
ever, argued that Rashbam wrote his Torah commentary after 1139 or after 114446. In any case, Rashbam could have taught Hugh and Andrew before writing his commentary. In his commentary on Numbers, Rashbam records having visited Paris and Loudun47. He also refers to having been in Paris in one of his ‘responses’48. Since Rashbam had halakhic discussions with Rashi, who died at Troyes in 1105, and mentioned Joseph Qara as his colleague, he was likely to have been one of the Jews who conversed with and instructed Hugh and Andrew in the literal sense of the Pentateuch. The comparison between Hugh’s interpretations and Andrew’s above suggests that Hugh’s Note were not written as a full commentary by Hugh himself but are his students’ reportationes (notes), which, in some cases, do not convey the entire content of his original lectures. Several of Andrew’s interpretations, however, reveal a version of Hugh’s notes that includes either the reference to the Hebrew (in the interpretations of Gen. 4:23 or Exod. 15:5), or some in hebreo material (the interpretations of Exod. 3:12 or 1 Sam. 3:2-4) missing from the text of Hugh’s notes in the manuscripts and the printed edition. This leads to two conclusions : either Andrew himself took notes on some of Hugh’s lectures and relied on his own notes (reportationes) for his own commentaries, or he relied on the reportationes of someone else corresponding to the first version of the manuscripts. These interpretations of Andrew have preserved Hugh’s original lectures more fully than Hugh’s manuscripts or the Migne edition. On the other hand, given that Andrew’s interpretations are more closely similar than Hugh’s interpretations to several of Rashbam’s and Joseph Qara’s parallels, we can also conclude that Andrew may have been instructed not only by Rashbam, but also by Joseph Qara or one of the latter’s students who transmitted Qara’s interpretations to him.
46
Martin Lockshin, « The Connection Between Rabbi Samuel ben Meir’s Torah Commentary and Midrash Sekhel Tov », in Proceedings of the Eleventh World Congress of Jewish S tudies, Division A, Jerusalem : World Union of Jewish Studies, 1994, p. 135-142 (Hebrew) ; Itamar Kislev, « Ibn Ezra’s Torah Commentary as a Source for Rashbam in his Torah Commentary », in Tarbiz, t. 79, 2011, p. 413-438 (Hebrew) ; Sara Japhet, email on 27 August 2020. 47 Num. 11:35 ; 30:2-3 ; cf. Rosin, The Torah Commentary of Rashbam, p. xi. 48 Henri Gross, Gallia Judaica : Dictionnaire géographique de la France d’après les sources rabbiniques, Paris : Cerf, 1897 ; repr. Amsterdam : Amsterdam Philo Press, 1969, p. 508-509. The responses (responsa) are letters answering specific halakhic questions.
The date of Andrew of Saint Victor’s commentaries on the Prophets, and the curious case of MS Mazarine 175 Frans van Liere
Of the trio of twelfth-century Victorine scholars often mentioned in one breath, Hugh, Richard, and Andrew, the latter is doubtlessley the more elusive one. His œuvre consists almost exclusively of Old-Testament commentaries that ignore the spiritual meaning and explain the text only according to its literal sense. After his ‘discovery’ by Beryl Smalley in the 1930s1, a comprehensive dissertation by Rainer Berndt in 19922, and the completion of almost all his works in critical editions in the Corpus Christianorum, Continuatio mediaeualis series3, it would seem that we have a rather complete picture of this scholar. However, questions remain. Biographical data for Andrew are still relatively scarce. There is strong circumstantial evidence that he was English ; Smalley based this assumption on John Bale, 1
Beryl Smalley, « Andrew of St Victor, Abbot of Wigmore : A Twelfth Century Hebraist », in Recherches de théologie ancienne et médiévale, t. 10, 1938, p. 358-373 ; Beryl Smalley, « The School of Andrew of Saint Victor », in Recherches de théologie ancienne et médiévale, t. 11, 1939, p. 145-167 ; Beryl Smalley, The Study of the Bible in the Middle Ages, Oxford : Blackwell Publishing, 1952, 3rd edition, 1983. 2 Rainer Berndt, André de Saint-Victor († 1175), exégète et théologien, Paris – Turnhout : Brepols, 1992 (Bibliotheca Victorina, 2). 3 Expositio super Heptateuchum, ed. Charles Lohr – Rainer Berndt, Turnhout : Brepols, 1986 (CCCM 53) ; Expositiones historicae in Libros Salomonis, ed. Rainer Berndt, Turnhout : Brepols, 1991 (CCCM 53B) ; Expositio in Ezechielem, ed. Michael A. Signer, Turnhout : Brepols, 1991 (CCCM 53E) ; Expositio super Danielem, ed. Mark Zier, Turnhout : Brepols, 1991 (CCCM 53F) ; Expositio hystorica in librum Regum, ed. Franciscus A. Van Liere, Turnhout : Brepols, 1996 (CCCM 53A) ; Expositio super Duodecim Prophetas, ed. Franciscus A. Van Liere – Mark A. Zier, Turnhout : Brepols, 2007 (CCCM 53G) ; Expositio super Ysaiam, ed. Franciscus A. Van Liere, Turnhout : Brepols, 2021 (CCCM 53C). Omnium expetendorum prima est sapientia. Studies on Victorine thought and influence, ed. by Wanda Bajor, Michał Buraczewski, Marcin Jan Janecki and Dominique Poirel, BV, 29 (Turnhout, 2021), p. 185–197. © BREPOLSPUBLISHERS DOI 10.1484/M.BV-EB.5.126037
186
Frans van Liere
who calls Andrew « Anglus natione4. » Unbeknownst to Smalley, Bale was likely citing the fourteenth-century Franciscan biblical commentator Nicholas of Lyra, who in his postilla called Andrew « natione Anglicus, civis Parisiensis5. » Since only one manuscript refers to Andrew as « abbas Wigorniensis », it would seem that Nicholas is referring here to a biographical tradition that did not originate in manuscript ascriptions6. The period of Andrew’s abbacy in Wigmore (Herefordshire) is fairly well documented thanks to the Anglo-Norman Chonicle of Wigmore abbey, but it does not tell us much about the period after 1161 until Andrew’s death, in 1175, which is recorded in the obituary of the abbey7. Was he still writing commentaries during that time ? Smalley assumes that he was not, but Mark Zier recently has challenged this assumption8. Looking at the provenance of manuscripts containing Andrew’s work, it seems that he was appreciated on both sides of the English Channel. When were his commentaries written ? In his Preface to all Prophetic commentaries, Andrew himself gives us a clear indication of the order in which he wrote his commentaries : « Just as I formerly (olim) did on the Pentateuch and Joshua and Judges and Kings, thus now (nunc), trusting more in God’s help than my own abilities, I propose to compose a little explanation of the obscure passages in the Prophets9. » According to this, his commentaries can be grouped into three : the commentaries on the Pentateuch, Joshua, Judges, and Samuel and Kings, on which he worked « formerly », and his commentaries on the three Major and twelve Minor Prophets, on which he proposes to work « now ». Not named in this prologue are the commentaries on Daniel and Proverbs/Ecclesiastes, which are assumed to have been written after those on the Prophets. Internal references in his commentaries seem to confirm this order. We find the commentary on the Pentateuch mentioned in his commentary on Kings, and both in his commentaries on Isaiah and Ezechiel, but not vice versa10. Of course this does not yet tell us 4
Smalley, Study of the Bible, p. 117. Andreas de Sancto Victore, Super XII Proph., ed. Van Liere – Zier (CCCM 53G), p. ix, n. 2. 6 Cf. Berndt, André de Saint-Victor, p. 55. 7 Necrologium abbatiae Sancti Victoris Parisiensis, ed. Ursula Vones-Liebenstein – M onika Seifert, Münster i. W. : Aschendorff, 2012 (Corpus Victorinum. Opera ad fidem codicum recollecta, 1), p. 286. 8 Frans Van Liere – Mark Zier, « Littera and Historia : Four Texts on the Intersection between History and Exegesis », in Interpretation of Scripture : Practice, ed. Frans Van Liere – Franklin T. Harkins, Turnhout : Brepols, 2015 (Victorine Texts in Translation, 6), p. 133. 9 Andreas de Sancto Victore, Introitus Andree in Prophetas, ed. Van Liere – Zier (CCCM 53G), p. 5. 10 Andreas de Sancto Victore, In I-IV Reg., ed. Van Liere (CCCM 53A), p. 90 ; Andreas de Sancto Victore, Super XII Proph., ed. Van Liere –Zier (CCCM 53G), p. 96 and 237, Andreas de Sancto Victore, In Ez., ed. Signer (CCCM 53E), p. 179. 5
The date of Andrew of Saint Victor’s commentaries
187
anything about their date of composition. Smalley assumes that the early commentaries on the Heptateuch and Samuel/Kings were written in Paris before he left for his first stint as abbot of Wigmore in 1147/8, while his commentaries on the Prophets were written during his return to Paris in the period 1154/55 to 1161/63. She took the word « olim » to mean « a long time ago », implying that these commentaries were composed before his first period in Wigmore, « after what evidently seemed to him a long time ago11. » Many scholars have repeated this assumption12. In this article I will discuss three pieces of evidence that might help us to establish more firmly the date of composition of Andrew’s commentaries, specifically his commentaries on the Prophets. They are his use of the Glossa ordinaria, the distribution and transmission of his commentaries in the manuscripts known to contain his work, and finally the oldest manuscript of his Isaiah commentary, MS Paris, Bibl. Mazarine 175. After that, I will re-examine a point I have touched on in an earlier publication, namely Andrew’s relationship to the biblical commentaries of Jerome13. Andrew’s commentaries have drawn the attention of modern scholars for their extensive use of Jewish sources14, although this is only one, albeit fascinating, aspect of his unusual commentaries. The emphasis of Andrew’s Jewish sources might, however, obscure two other important sources for Andrew that deserve to be explored in the context of the history of twelfth-century biblical interpretation. The first of these is Jerome (more about him at the end of this article), and the second the Glossa ordinaria. Although it is probably an anachronism to call it that at the time of Andrew’s writing15, Andrew’s reliance on « glossed books
11
Smalley, Study of the Bible, p. 114 ; Andreas de Sancto Victore (CCCM 53G), p. 96, 237. Berndt, André de Saint-Victor, p. 87-88 ; Andreas de Sancto Victore, In I-IV Reg., ed. Van Liere (CCCM 53A), p. ix ; Andreas de Sancto Victore, Super XII Proph., ed. Van Liere – Zier (CCCM 53G), p. xiv. 13 Frans Van Liere, « Andrew of St Victor, Jerome, and the Jews : Biblical Scholarship in the Twelfth-Century Renaissance », in Scripture and Pluralism : Reading the Bible in the Religiously Plural Worlds of the Middle Ages and Renaissance, ed. Thomas J. Heffernan – Thomas E. Burman, Leiden : Brill, 2005 (Studies in the History of Christian Traditions, 123), p. 59-75. 14 Michael A. Signer, « Peshat, Sensus Litteralis, and Sequential Narrative : Jewish Exegesis and the School of St Victor in the Twelfth Century », in The Frank Talmage Memorial Volume, t. 1, ed. Barry Walfish, Haifa – Hanover : Haifa University Press – University Press of New England, 1993, p. 205-216 ; Montse Leyra Curiá, In Hebreo : The Victorine Exegesis of the Bible in the Light of Its Northern-French Jewish Sources, Turnhout : Brepols, 2017 (Bibliotheca Victorina, 26). 15 Lesley Smith, The Glossa ordinaria : the making of a medieval Bible commentary, Leiden : Brill, 2009 (Commentaria. Sacred Texts and their Commentaries : Jewish, Christian, and Islamic, 3), p. 3. 12
188
Frans van Liere
of the Bible » cannot be emphasized enough16. The Glossa ordinaria at the time of writing was a relatively recent scholarly tool, and Andrew seems to have used regularly it to access Bede, Pseudo-Jerome, and Hrabanus. In fact, it would almost seem that the Glossa on these books is Andrew’s most-frequently cited source17. The date of the Glossa ordinaria is thus a good terminus a quo for most of Andrew’s commentaries. The Glosses that Andrew used seem to have been authored by Gilbertus Universalis, who died in 1134. Gilbertus is acknowledged as the glossator for most books of the Old Testament in a Victorine chronicle, written by the end of the twelfth century, and manuscript evidence points to his authorship of the glosses on the Pentateuch, and Minor and Major Prophet. There is also convincing evidence to credit him with the authorship of the glosses to Samuel and Kings18. Andrew’s commentaries thus clearly demonstrate the central role that the abbey of Saint Victor played in what Lesley Smith called the initial « second stage » of dispersion and use of this scholarly instrument, after 1140 or possibly even earlier19. The evidence for the writing order of all his commentaries, as was said, is his preface to all prophetic books (Introitus in Prophetas). The textual transmission of this particular text is puzzling, however. One would expect it to precede collections of his Prophets commentaries, except that there do not seem to have existed manuscripts that contain all commentaries on all Prophetic books, as we will see below. The general preface to the Prophets we find in only two manuscripts. In the one (Bibl. Mazarine 175), containing his Isaiah commentary, it is placed after this commentary, rather than before, as one would expect ; in the other manuscript (Vat. lat. 1053), which seems to have been compiled as a dossier of all of Andrew’s works, we find it as a quire filler added to his Ezechiel commentary. It seems odd that his commentaries on the Prophets were not transmitted as one corpus, as his commentaries on the Pentateuch and Joshua and Judges, or on Samuel and Kings (with appendices20) were. What does the transmission of the Prophetic commentaries tell us about the order and date of writing of these commentaries ? It is to the manuscripts that we must turn for an answer. The following graph shows the distribution of Andrew’s works in those manuscripts that contain more than one work by him. A full chart with the distribution of Andrew’s works in all of the known manuscripts is available in Berndt’s monograph21. 16 Andrew mentions this use of « libros glosatos » alongside « commentarios » in his general preface to the Prophets, Andreas de Sancto Victore, Super XII Proph. (CCCM 53G), p. 5. 17 Andreas de Sancto Victore, In I-IV Reg., ed. Van Liere (CCCM 53A), p. xxi-xxviii. 18 Smith, The Glossa ordinaria : the making of a medieval Bible commentary, p. 29-31. 19 Smith, The Glossa ordinaria : the making of a medieval Bible commentary, p. 145. 20 Andreas de Sancto Victore, In I-IV Reg., ed. Van Liere (CCCM 53A), p. civ-cxiv. 21 Berndt, André de Saint-Victor, p. 80.
The date of Andrew of Saint Victor’s commentaries
C S V D M F P3 L O T
Hep
Sm/ Reg
App
× × × ×
× × × ×
× × × ×
× ×
× ×
× × *
Intr
Isa
×
×
×
× × ×
Ez
Ier
XII × × ×
× ×
×
Dan
×
189
Prov Ecles × × ×
× × ×
× ×
× ×
×
× ×
×
Following Berndt, I use the following sigla : C = Cambridge, Corpus Christi College 30 ; D = Cambridge, Corpus Christi College 217 ; F = Cambridge, Pembroke College 45 ; L = London, Royal 13.C.IV ; O = Oxford, Bodleian, laud lat 105 ; P2 = Paris, BnF, lat. 574, M = Paris, Bibl. Mazarine 175 ; S = Salamanca, Bibl. Universitaria 2061 ; T = Stuttgart, Württembergische Landesbibiothek HB.4.6 ; V = Vatican, Vat. lat. 1053. Another eight manuscripts are extant than contain only single works by Andrew. * = quire loss.
From this chart, it seems evident that his commentary on the Heptateuch, the one on Samuel and Kings, and the one on Proverbs and Ecclesiastes were conceived, and preserved, as units. We do not find commentaries on Joshua, Kings only, or Ecclesiastes only, as stand-alone works. As part of the commentary on Kings, Andrew envisioned a set of excerpts and a treatise on chronology, which sometimes falsely has been identified as a commentary on Macchabeans and sometimes on Chronicles. In our partial edition of it, we have neutrally labelled it « appendix22 ». In the Stuttgart manuscript, it is missing because of quire loss. Only in the London manuscript (L) we find it separate from his Samuel and Kings commentary. By contrast, Andrew’s commentaries on the Prophets form anything but a comprehensive unit in their manuscript transmission, despite the suggestion in his Preface to the Prophets that he conceived it as such. The prophetic commentaries that we find most often grouped together are those on Isaiah, Jeremiah, 22 Andreas de Sancto Victore, In I-IV Reg., ed. Van Liere (CCCM 53A), p. civ-cxiv ; Frans Van Liere, « Josephus at Saint Victor. A First Edition of Andrew of Saint Victor’s Principatum Israelitice Gentis », in Journal of Medieval Latin, t. 26, 2016, p. 1-29.
190
Frans van Liere
and Daniel. This is curious, since the latter was not mentioned as part of the Prophetic commentaries in his Preface to the Prophets. Ezechiel seems to occur in a few manuscripts that do also have other prophetic commentaries, but these manuscript lack Jeremiah. The commentary on the Minor Prophets seems to occur together more often with the commentaries on the Heptateuch, Samuel and Kings, and Proverbs and Ecclesiastes, rather than with the other prophetic commentaries. Turning to the stemmata of the editions of these commentaries, we can see some of these distribution patterns confirmed. Manuscripts C, S and V form one manuscript family in the editions of the Heptateuch, Samuel/Kings, and Proverbs/Ecclesiastes commentaries. In fact, for the latter, it is the only group in which this commentary is contained. However, C lacks any of the commentaries on the Major Prophets. It would seem, then, that the exemplar of this manuscript group must have contained at least the Heptateuch, Samuel/Kings, Twelve Prophets, and Proverbs/Ecclesiastes commentaries. This dossier subsequently was augmented with the commentaries on Ezechiel (which can be found in MSS S and V, but not C), and the Daniel commentary (in V only). Codicological evidence shows that the Isaiah commentary in V was added at yet a later stage, since it is written in a different hand and on a separate quire from the other Andrew commentaries. MS V is the closest we have to a « opera omnia » dossier of Andrew’s works. In the early fourteenth century, it belonged to the Franciscan cardinal Giovanni de Murro, himself a biblical commentator23. S can be traced to the papal court in Avignon24. In the editions of Andrew’s Heptateuch, Samuel/Kings, and Twelve Prophets commentaries, it is apparent that the MSS O and T are part of the same manuscript family. It seems reasonable to assume that they go back to a dossier that contained these commentaries, and although it is, of course, possible we are dealing with an omission in O rather than an addition in T, it seems that T was later augmented with the commentaries on Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Daniel, likely from separate exemplars. In my edition of Andrew’s Isaiah commentary, I have shown that MS T is an apographum, that is, a copy (or a copy of a copy) of MS M. Codicological evidence shows that the copy must have been made some time in the third quarter of the twelfth century25. It would thus seem that the scribe of T, or T’s Vorlage, had access to a variety of different exemplars in order to collect his dossier. While the Heptateuch and Samuel/Kings commentaries clearly belong to
23
Andreas de Sancto Victore, Super Dan., ed. Zier (CCCM 53F), p. x. Andreas de Sancto Victore, In I-IV Reg., ed. Van Liere (CCCM 53A), p. lxxxviii. 25 Andreas de Sancto Victore, Super Is. (CCCM 53C), p. xlvi. 24
The date of Andrew of Saint Victor’s commentaries
191
one unit, T seems to have gathered the other individual prophetic commentaries from different manuscript sources. The major prophetic commentaries were rarely transmitted together as one dossier, and it seems that copyists who were trying to gather all prophetic commentaries in one volume rarely had access to all four. MSS T and F share Isaiah, Jeremiah and Daniel, although the stemmata of the Isaiah and Daniel edition show that they must have had different Vorlagen. MS T also contains the commentary on the Minor Prophets, which we do not find in F. We also find the Twelve Prophets commentary in S and V. Ezechiel, in both latter manuscripts, is not contained in F. The only other manuscript that contains part of the Samuel/Kings commentary and a prophetic commentary is L, but it is a late medieval convolute, which does not tell us much about the earliest transmission of these dossiers. Thus the manuscript evidence suggests that in Andrew’s lifetime, there was not one manuscript available that contained all of his prophetic commentaries together with the Preface to the Prophets. Although Andrew did not mention Daniel in this Preface, his Daniel commentary is often found together with his other commentaries on the Major Prophets. His commentary on the Minor Prophets, in turn, is most often found together with the commentaries on the Heptateuch and Samuel/Kings. This Preface to the Prophets has an odd transmission history in any case. We find it in MSS M and V. In M, we find it together with the Isaiah commentary ; however, T has the Isaiah commentary and is an apographum of M, but it does not contain the Preface. The codicological situation in M may have played a role here. The section that contains the Isaiah commentary in M is clearly divided into two parts, one containing Andrew’s Isaiah commentary (although incomplete ; the text breaks off at chapter 45, but T has a complete copy), the other the Preface, an excerpted Isaiah commentary by Jerome, an excerpt of Bede, and De officiis by Rupert of Deutz. This break may have discouraged the scribe of T (or T’s Vorlage, if it is an indirect apographum) from copying the Preface. Of course this collective assessment of the manuscript tradition of Andrew’s works does not yet give us any indication of the date of composition of these commentaries. Still, it may enable us to reassess the order in which they were written. Why was the Twelve Prophets commentary most often found together with the « earlier » commentaries, rather than the later prophetic commentaries ? And why was there not one « dossier » containing all Prophetic commentaries, if Andrew clearly envisioned his work on the Prophets as one unit ? One possible explanation is that his commentary on the Twelve Prophets was written before rather than after the other prophetic commentaries, and thus was more easily accessible together with his earlier commentaries, while the other prophetic commentaries were still being written. One piece of internal evidence seems to
192
Frans van Liere
confirm this : in his Isaiah commentary, on Is. 2:2-6, Andrew references his commentary on Micah. This chapter we explained in Micah. So as not to repeat ourselves, we now desist from explaining it. If the reader wants an exposition, he may seek it there26.
The reference seems circular : in the referenced place in Micah, he refers to his Isaiah commentary : « If anyone desires a more detailed explanation of the preceding chapter, he should look in Isaiah27. » However, since the passage is explained in Micah and skipped in Isaiah, it would seem that his Micah commentary is earlier in date. Another, very hypothetical, explanation could be that his work on the Prophetic commentaries was not done in one location, so that interruptions in geography and time prevented the collection into one dossier. And indeed, the best recensions of his Isaiah and Ezechiel commentaries are found in manuscripts that contain only this one work by Andrew. That would indeed fit in with what we know about Andrew’s biography, his interrupted abbacy in Wigmore. Of all the manuscripts that contain Andrew’s works, only two can with certainty be dated to Andrew’s own lifetime. One contains his commentary on the Heptateuch28, the other his commentary on Isaiah29. The latter, as Patricia Stirnemann and Cédric Giraud have argued, was of English provenance30. As evidence, they point to the flourished initial with penwork at the beginning of this commentary. They hypothesized that the manuscript was produced in England, and brought to Saint Victor, perhaps even by Andrew himself. We do know that the manuscript was at Saint Victor before at least 1173. As I have shown in my edition of Andrew’s Isaiah commentary, philological evidence suggests that the book was the direct source used by Richard of Saint Victor in his De Emmanuele31. Richard died in 1173, but it is likely that his work was penned a decade before that date : Richard does not address Andrew directly but his students, which seems to indicate that he was writing after Andrew’s departure for Wigmore, in 1161 26
Andreas de Sancto Victore, Super XII Proph. (CCCM 53G, 31) : « Hoc capitulum in Michea exposuimus. Ne igitur acta agamus, nunc illud exponere supersedemus. Inde lector si habere desiderat expositionem requirat. » 27 Andreas de Sancto Victore, Super XII Proph. (CCCM 53G), p. 194-196 : « Precedentis capituli expositionem si quis diligentiorem desiderat, querat in Ysaia. » 28 MS Paris, BnF, lat. 356. 29 MS Paris, Mazarine, 175. 30 Cédric Giraud – Patricia Stirnemann, « Le rayonnement de l’école de Saint-Victor », in L’école de Saint-Victor de Paris : influence et rayonnement du Moyen Âge à l’époque moderne : colloque international du C.N.R.S. pour le neuvième centenaire de la fondation (1108-2008) tenu au Collège des Bernardins à Paris les 24-27 septembre 2008, ed. Dominique Poirel, Turnhout : Brepols, 2010 (Bibliotheca Victorina, 22), p. 660. 31 Andreas de Sancto Victore, Super Is. (CCCM 53C), p. xlvi.
The date of Andrew of Saint Victor’s commentaries
193
or 1163. De Emmanuele includes a long citation of a passage in Andrew’s Isaiah commentary that in M was corrected by an erasure. The original words, included in the apographum T and all other MSS, stated that King Pekah was « ab Asyriis interfectus », but the words inserted after the erasure in M, copied by Richard, said that he was « ab osee filio leha trucidatus32 ». If this manuscript is indeed of English origin, and was present in Paris before 1173 or even 1163, Andrew’s Isaiah commentary is unlikely to have been written after 1154 in Paris. It must have been written either in England, before 1154, or in Paris, before 1148. Circumstantial evidence seems to point to Paris. In his Isaiah commentary, Andrew compares Mount Zion to Mount Saint Geneviève33, which would have made more sense to students who knew the place from their own experience. However, there are convincing arguments to date the Isaiah commentary post 1154, to Andrew’s second period in Paris. In his commentary, Andrew frequently alludes to ideas and interpretations presented in the commentary of Ibn Ezra. In his commentary on Isaiah 53:12, Andrew states about the passage of the so-called suffering servant, that « some of the Jews refer this whole pericope to Isaiah34. » This is indeed the opinion of Ibn Ezra, who discusses in his commentary many possible interpretations of who the suffering servant is : Christ (which he obviously rejects), Jeremiah (the opinion of Saadiah Gaon), the Messiah, or the people of Israel collectively. He concludes by saying, « my opinion is that my servant, mentioned here, is the same as that of 42:1, 49:3, 53:11, the same who says « I gave my back to the smiters » (50:6)35 ». And indeed, in his commentary on 42:1, Ibn Ezra refers this passage more explicitly « to the prophet », that is, Isaiah. Ibn Ezra’s commentary on Isaiah was completed in Italy, in 1145, and after 1148 he seems to have travelled to Northern France (possibly Paris, but certainly Rouen) and possibly even England, where he dwelled between 1153 and 115836. In 1161, he was back in the South of France, where he died shortly afterwards. It seems ironic but likely that Ibn Ezra and Andrew must have crossed the Channel in opposite directions without actually meeting. Of course, it is entirely possible that the references in Andrew’s work are not specifically to Ibn Ezra’s work, but to ideas therein that were commonplace among Andrew’s Jewish sources. However, the reference to « some of the Jews », above, does seem to point to a specific interpretation, rather than a common one. Most Jewish exegetes, including the ones 32
Andreas de Sancto Victore, Super Is. (CCCM 53C), p. 67. Andreas de Sancto Victore, Super Is. (CCCM 53C), p. 86. 34 Andreas de Sancto Victore, Super Is. (CCCM 53C), p. 292. 35 Ibn Ezra, Commentary on Is. 53:12, online at Alhatorah.org, https://mg.alhatorah.org/ Full/Yeshayahu/53.12#e0n6 36 J. L. Fleischer, « R. Abraham Ibn Ezra in France » (Heb.), Mizrah u-maʿarav 4 : (5690 [1930]) : 352-360 ; 5 (5692 [1932]) : 38-46, 217-224, 289-300. 33
194
Frans van Liere
that Andrew must have been familiar with through his contact with Jewish scholars in Paris, interpreted the passages as about the people of Israel in a broad sense, or about the Messiah. Ibn Ezra’s interpretation seems quite unique in voicing the idea that this passage refers to Isaiah himself. The date of composition of Ibn Ezra’s commentary makes it unlikely that Andrew could have been acquainted with this work before 1154, which puts the date for his Isaiah commentary back into the second half of the 1150s. This leaves us with a puzzle. Was MS Mazarine 175 in fact English or was it done by an English scribe residing in Paris ? It seems that, in the end, we know less than we did before. The question of the date of Andrew’s prophetic commentaries is by no means a settled question. His prophetic commentaries may well have been started before 1148 (« olim » does not necessarily indicate a long time), and in the case of the Twelve Prophets commentary, this is even likely. They may have been composed in England, in the period 1148/1154, and finished in Paris after that date. The Isaiah commentary was probably finished before 1161/3, since we have a complete copy extant in Paris by the date Richard of Saint Victor’s De Emmanuele was finished ; this give us a terminus ante quem, but a terminus a quo may be harder to ascertain. More research into Andrew’s use of Ibn Ezra’s commentary is necessary, and perhaps a further comparison of the penwork flourishes of MS M with other mid twelfth-century English and French manuscripts would provide more context for its localization. MS Mazarine’s specific codicological situation does allow us, however, to shed light on another puzzling aspect of Andrew’s commentaries : their relationship to Jerome. As Smalley pointed out, this church father was the chief source of Andrew’s commentaries on the prophets37. His commentaries on the Pentateuch made use of Jerome’s commentaries on these books, although his chief source seems to have been Hugh of Saint Victor’s Notulae. The books of Samuel and Kings were not commented on by Jerome, but a commentary circulated that was ascribed to Jerome, but in fact written in the ninth century by a Christian-Jewish convert. Although there are no indications that Andrew thought this commentary was Jerome’s38, in his work he made liberal use of this commentary, chiefly because of its claim to mediate Jewish exegetical traditions. These commentaries pale, however, compared to the massive volumes that Jerome wrote on the Major and Minor Prophets. Indeed, it made Andrew wonder, in his preface to the Isaiah commentary, if it was indeed worthwhile or even legitimate to add anything to the 37
Smalley, Study of the Bible, p. 127. Contrary to the views of Avrom Saltman, « Pseudo-Jerome in the Commentary of Andrew of St Victor on Samuel », in Harvard Theological Review, t. 67, 1974, p. 195-253, who, however, was not aware that the explicit attributions to Jerome found in Andrew are in fact later interpolations : Andreas de Sancto Victore, In I-IV Reg., ed. Van Liere (CCCM 53A), p. 25. 38
The date of Andrew of Saint Victor’s commentaries
195
work done by this revered church father. It was a catch twenty-two. On the one hand, Andrew did not want to seem to be criticizing Jerome for work done wrong or neglectfully ; on the other hand, he also did not want to seem his comments to be superfluous if he merely repeated what Jerome had already set out to explain39. In an article in 1995, I pointed out that Andrew saw his prophetic commentaries as a supplement to Jerome. I stated there that « his commentaries on the prophets » « were chiefly excerpted from Jerome, often through the Glossa ordinaria40. » I wish to offer a corrigendum here : this is solely true for his commentary on the Twelve Prophets. This work incorporates lengthy excerpts from Jerome, but Andrew also cites Jerome indirectly through the Gloss. It would seem that he had both works, Jerome’s commentary and the Glossa ordinaria available while writing this commentary41. Andrew alludes to the combination of these two sources also in his preface to the Prophets : « I take care of my poverty, which does not always provide ready access to commentaries and glossed books, by gathering what is scattered and diffused throughout these books pertaining to the historical sense and by compiling it, as it were, into one corpus42. » While this method of work seems to describe his approach to the Twelve Prophets rather accurately, it would seem that in the major prophets commentaries, direct excerpts from Jerome are rare, if not non-existent, and the relationship to Jerome is slightly more complicated. Andrew’s commentary on Ezechiel, for instance, survives in two distinct formats. In one version, we have a commentary that consists mainly of Andrew’s interpretations and comments on the biblical text. One manuscript, however (MS Paris, BnF, lat. 14432), from the library of Saint Victor, arguably the codex optimus for this commentary, shows a version where Andrew’s commentary is interlaced with lengthy excerpts from Jerome’s commentary on the same biblical book43. This version is most likely the way Andrew envisioned his commentary. In his prologue to it, using language that very much echoes his general Preface to the Prophets, he says : Putting the historical exposition of the excellent doctor Jerome before ours, as we did in our other works, with God’s help and for the common use of the reader, we gather 39
Andreas de Sancto Victore, Super XII Proph. (CCCM 53G), p. 7. Van Liere, « Andrew of St Victor, Jerome, and the Jews : Biblical Scholarship in the Twelfth-Century Renaissance », in Scripture and Pluralism : Reading the Bible in the Religiously Plural Worlds of the Middle Ages and Renaissance, ed. Thomas J. Hefferman – Thomas E. Burman, Leiden : Brill, 2005, p. 63. 41 Andreas de Sancto Victore, Super XII Proph., ed. Van Liere – Zier, (CCCM 53G), p. xviii. 42 Van Liere, « Andrew of St Victor, Jerome, and the Jews : Biblical Scholarship in the Twelfth-Century Renaissance », p. 5. 43 Andreas de Sancto Victore, In Ez., ed. Signer (CCCM 53E), p. xxxviii-xlviii. 40
196
Frans van Liere
together into one work all that the Lord has willed to inspire and that could be obtained by our own diligence or borrowed from elsewhere44.
The words « putting the historical exposition of the excellent doctor Jerome before ours » (« operibus nostris premittentes ») describes very well the interspersion of Jerome and Andrew’s commentaries in the Paris manuscript, and was thus most likely done by Andrew’s design45. The words very much echo Andrew’s preface to Isaiah : Thus following the venerable Jerome in the finding of truth (albeit with unequal step), for which he himself labored, and where we will labor with all our strength, aptly putting his explanation before ours (for what it’s worth), we leave it to the judgement of the reader if by that labor we have accomplished anything or not46.
But where is Jerome’s commentary on Isaiah, promised by Andrew in his preface (« eiusdem explanationem preponentes ») ? Reading through Andrew’s Isaiah commentary, long excerpts from Jerome seem conspicuously absent, although allusions to it are common. The key to this riddle may well be offered by MS M. After the quires that contain Andrew’s Isaiah commentary, which unfortunately breaks off at chapter 45 with the loss of about one quire, we find Jerome’s commentary on Isaiah, starting on a new quire. However, the similarity in hands indicates that the quires containing Jerome were likely produced by the same scribe as the quires containing Andrew’s commentary. On closer inspection, the text of Jerome’s commentary is not complete, but an excerpt, as was the case with Jerome’s commentary on Ezechiel in the Paris manuscript. The excerpting was likely done by Andrew, and the Mazarine manuscript echoes the design envisioned by Andrew for all his Prophets commentaries : a combination of Jerome excerpts augmented by his own « supercommentary ». Of course, Jerome in MS M follows, rather than precedes Andrew’s commentary. The first text on the new quire is Andrew’s Preface to the Prophets, a text also more likely to precede, rather than follow, Andrew’s Isaiah commentary. The thought that the quires at one point were bound in a different order is compelling, if it 44 Andreas de Sancto Victore, In Ez., ed. Signer (CCCM 53E), p. 1 : « Hystoricam egregii doctoris Ieronimi expositionem nostre qualicumque sicut in ceteris operibus nostris premittentes quod dominus inspirare uoluerit nostreque labor industrie uel a se uel aliunde mutari potuerit, ad communem legentium utilitatem in unum, deo iuuante, conferemus. » Cf. Andreas de Sancto Victore, Super XII Proph. (CCCM 53G), p. 5, l. 71-74. 45 Andreas de Sancto Victore, In Ez., ed. Signer (CCCM 53E), p. xlii-xlv. 46 Andreas de Sancto Victore, Super Is. (CCCM 53C), p. 8-9 « Venerabilem itaque Ieronimum licet inpari pede sequentes, eiusdem explanationem nostre qualicumque non inmerito preponentes, in ueritatis inuentione, cui et ipse, et ubi totis uiribus elaborabimus, lectoris arbitrio relinquentes utrum aliquid uel non laborando profecerimus. »
The date of Andrew of Saint Victor’s commentaries
197
were not for the fact that Jerome’s commentary is followed by other texts on the same quires (an excerpt from Bede, which can likely also be attributed to Andrew, and Rupert of Deutz’s De officiis), and some blank folios47. Whatever the maker’s original design for the codex, it is difficult to reconstruct, but the fact remains that Andrew must have envisioned this Jerome excerpt as an essential part of his commentary. Did Andrew envision a similar design for his Daniel and Jeremiah commentaries as well ? regrettably, the manuscript tradition of these works offers fewer clues ; however, in MS T, Andrew’s Daniel commentary is also paired with a commentary on that same prophet by Jerome. And Andrew’s commentary on Daniel breaks off abruptly at chapter ten, with the words : The rest that follows until the end of the work is so diligently explained by Saint Jerome that it might be superfluous to add anything to it48.
The presence of Jerome’s actual commentary, then, may very well have been part of Andrew’s original design here, too. When Andrew says that he follows Jerome « with unequal step », he is not making a theoretical claim about his method of exegesis ; he is referring to a fundamental feature of his commentaries, one that we miss if we neglect to consider the codicology of his œuvre. Much about Andrew’s life is still puzzling, including the chronology of his works and the exact date and place of their composition. It seems likely that his commentary on the Twelve Prophets was predating those on the Major Prophets, despite Andrew’s own assertion that he would start his work on the Prophets with Isaiah. The exact relation of these commentaries to Andrew’s actual teaching activity is elusive, too, although it seems likely that they did originate in a class room setting. In any case, they illustrate not just the exploration of novel roads of biblical interpretations, as Andrew’s interest in and use of the works of Ibn Ezra and the Glossa ordinaria indicates, but also the deep appreciation that the Victorines held for the Patristic heritage, especially the biblical scholarship of Saint Jerome.
47
See the codicological description in Andreas de Sancto Victore, Super Is. (CCCM 53C), p. xxix-xxxv. 48 Andreas de Sancto Victore, Super Dan., ed. Zier (CCCM 53F), p. 113. « Cetera que usque ad finem operis sequuntur tam diligenter a beato ieronimo exposita sunt ut illis superfluum sit aliquid apponere. »
Scripture and Liturgy, an exclusive means to understand the Church* Andrea Pistoia
It is difficult and at the same time pleasant to imagine what the Abbey of SaintVictor in Paris looked like centuries ago. Difficult because nothing remains of its cloister, its church, or its scriptorium, having been swept away during the Revolution. Pleasant because the role that it played in the social, political and cultural landscape of France and beyond was so influential that, just a few decades after its foundation, it was already one of the most important intellectual centers of western Europe1. Located just outside the Parisian city walls, the Abbey of Saint-Victor and its regular canons paid particular attention to pastoral ministry and related studies. The daily life of these followers of the Regula Sancti Augustini was articulated around two great poles, the urban vocation and the intellectual interest. The Regula organized their routine by alternating manual labour with intellectual and liturgical activities. The Liber Ordinis Sancti Victoris Parisiensis sheds some light onto these habits, rules and customs2. It was a foundational text for the Abbey and placed great emphasis on the liturgical life of the community. The dichotomy Knowledge / Liturgy emerges markedly, encapsulated in the * I wish to thank the Library of the École Française de Rome which, in difficult times, has granted me access to their premises in order to complete the draft of this contribution. 1 For a detailed study of the Abbey of Saint-Victor in Paris during the Middle Ages, see L’Abbaye parisienne de Saint-Victor au Moyen Âge. Communications présentées au XIIIe Colloque d’humanisme médiéval de Paris (1986-1988), ed. Jean Longère, Paris – Turnhout : Brepols, 1991 (Bibliotheca Victorina, 1), in particular p. 23-52 and 97-115 ; Marshall Crossnoe, « Devout, Learned, and Virtuous ; The History and Histories of the Order of Saint-Victor », in A companion to the Abbey of Saint Victor in Paris, ed. Hugh Feiss – Juliet Mousseau, Leiden – Boston, Brill, 2018, p. 1-55. 2 Liber Ordinis Sancti Victoris Parisiensis, ed. Luc Jocqué – Ludo Milis, Turnhout : Brepols, 1984 (CCCM 61). Omnium expetendorum prima est sapientia. Studies on Victorine thought and influence, ed. by Wanda Bajor, Michał Buraczewski, Marcin Jan Janecki and Dominique Poirel, BV, 29 (Turnhout, 2021), p. 199–213. © BREPOLSPUBLISHERS DOI 10.1484/M.BV-EB.5.126038
200
Andrea Pistoia
figure of the armarius3, who was responsible for taking care of the library, the correct functioning of the scriptorium. This access to the books justified his role as regulator and director of the divine office in all its forms, as he would have been able to provide the cantors with a sufficient number of manuscripts for these performances4. The armarius offers an opportunity to reflect on the many facets of the liturgy as a system built around a plurality of languages and performers, and on the extent to which it was the foundation of a monastic community. It marked the hours of night and day through hymns, antiphons and psalms which cyclically reunited the earth with the heavens. It became « familiar5 » through the succession of generations who prayed and lived the cycles of the seasons according to the rhythms established by the Church Fathers. The liturgy is the undisputed beating heart of the Church, around which the regular canons of Saint-Victor gathered, whose exaltation of liturgical solemnity was one of the main aspects of their vocation. As a subject of intellectual study and meditation, the liturgy obtained a special place among the interests of the canons, finding its broadest and most complete theorization in Hugh of Saint-Victor († 1141)6.
3
For a description of the role of the armarius, see Liber ordinis, ibid., p. 78-86. « Armarius omnes ecclesiae libros in custodia sua habet » ; « Omnes scripturae, quae in ecclesia siue intus siue foris fiunt, ad eius officium pertinent, ut ipse scriptoribus pargamena et cetera, quae ad scribendum necessaria sunt » ; « Ad officium armarii pertinet omni tempore facere breuem tabulae, quae in capitulo recitatur de quolibet officio, quod in breui notari solet, siue in matutinas, siue ad missam, siue ad capitulum, siue ad mensam, siue ad collationem » ; « Pertinet cotidie in capitulo officium ecclesiae nunciare ». For a broader historical study on the correspondence between the cantor and the armarius, see Margot Fassler, « The office of Cantor in Early Western Monastic Rules and Customaries : A preliminary Investigation », in Early Music History, t. 5, 1985, p. 29-51, in particular p. 48-51. 4 See Dom Pierre Thomas, « Le chant et les chantres dans les monastères antérieurs au xve siècle », in Mélanges bénédictins publiés à l’occasion du xive centenaire de la mort de saint Benoît, Saint-Wandrille : Éditions de Fontenelle, 1947, p. 407-447, in particular p. 425-427. 5 « familiar liturgy » is an expression used by Margot Fassler in Gothic Song. Victorine sequences and Augustinian reform in twelfth-century Paris, Cambridge : Cambridge University Press, 1993, p. 3. 6 « À Saint-Victor de Paris l’accent fut particulièrement mis sur la prédication : sermon quotidien au chapitre, où les convers laïcs et des moines pouvaient être autorisés à assister ; nombreuses collections de sermons attribués à Hugues, Achard, Richard, puis Godefroid, Gauthier. Les théologiens prêtaient attention à la liturgie, à la théologie pénitentielle », Pascal Montaubin, « Les chanoines réguliers et le service pastoral », in Les chanoines réguliers, émergence et expansion (xie-xiiie siècles). Actes du sixième colloque international du CERCOC, Le Puy-en-Velay, 29 juin1er juillet 2006, ed. Michel Parisse, Saint-Étienne : Presses de l’Université de Saint-Étienne, 2009, p. 141.
Scripture and Liturgy, an exclusive means to understand the Church 201
Scripture and Liturgy Toute la culture chrétienne consiste à saisir les liaisons qui existent entre la Bible et la Liturgie, entre l’Évangile et l’Eschatologie, entre la Mystique et la Liturgie7.
There is a natural kinship between Holy Scripture and Liturgy in the Christian tradition. The tasks reserved for the armarius of the Abbey prove this : liturgical texts, aside from their ritual and practical elements, are often biblical texts in nature. The Holy Scripture restores efficacy and meaning to the things that the liturgy consecrates. Bible and liturgy, culture and rite, theory and practice, are without doubt two sides of the same coin through which the medieval Christian nourished their soul and intellect. Systematic theology did not exist prior to the twelfth century, therefore, all scholastic erudition concentrated on exegesis. As the chosen tool for the understanding, study and contemplation of sacred texts, exegesis contained within itself all the knowledge that had been accumulated during centuries of intellectual investigation. Everything found its source and its fullness in the verbum revealed in the Holy Scriptures. At a time of renewed dynamism within the Church after the crisis caused by the Investiture Contest, the eucharistic controversy promoted by Berengar of Tours and the commodification of sacraments, a special place is reserved for the Speculum Ecclesiae by Pseudo-Hugh of Saint-Victor8. Among the many works, treatises and commentaries on the liturgy composed in the Middle Ages, it often happens to come across copious, technical and highly specialized theses : often focused only on the details of praxis, they do not address the general question about the role of the liturgy in relation to Christian life. The Speculum Ecclesiae responds to this need by marking a turning point in the « literary genre » of ecclesiastica officia thanks to its surprising diffusion and circulation, as well as its essential and effective content : a breath of fresh air within a Church that was always trying to reinvent itself. Its simple structure shows unequivocally how much the liturgy finds its place among various aspects of the monastic life, ranging from the consecration of the Church to sacred clothing, from the exegesis of Scripture to the performance of the office or the Mass. Time, space, symbolism, ecclesiology, pastoral care, the theology of the priesthood : all fields of Christian life were articulated around the liturgy, the profound meaning of which was likely explained to students and novices to show them how the fulfillment of rites strengthened spiritual growth.
7
Jean Daniélou, « Le symbolisme des rites baptismaux », in Dieu Vivant, t. 1, 1945, p. 17. Andrea Pistoia, La liturgie, miroir d’une identité. Édition critique et étude historique et doctrinale du « Speculum Ecclesiae » du Ps.-Hugues de Saint-Victor, unpublished PhD dissertation, EPHE-PSL – I.R.H.T.-C.N.R.S., to be submitted in 2021/2022. 8
202
Andrea Pistoia
In the preface, the Pseudo-Hugh shared a common desire to write about ecclesiastica officia, justifying the title Speculum Ecclesiae9 : I have presented to your mind this so desired book, flowing with the finest nectar like honeycomb and, as I am permitted to speculate about what all the elements mystically represent within the Church, I liked to title it Speculum Ecclesiae10.
From the very first lines, the author invites his reader to reflect, as a mirror does, on the central elements in the life of the Church. He intends above all to offer that nourishment to the soul and spirit, as is conveyed by the metaphor about honey from the Old Testament : one who is full, tramples on virgin honey11. It is an interpretation rather than a description of the liturgy and its gestures, symbols and sacred signs. In the twelfth century the officia divina were not understood as a separate field – a distant turris eburnea – but rather as a crossroads, an intersection of different types of knowledge which tend towards the greater glorification of God and his Church. Despite the fame it gained over the centuries, the Speculum Ecclesiae circulated within the extensive Opera of Hugh of Saint-Victor without attracting much scholarly attention. In the mid-nineteenth century, Jacques-Paul Migne, included it in the Appendix ad opera dogmatica of the Victorine alongside other works of dubious authenticity12. More than a century later, Rudolf Goy – who barely mentions the Speculum in his repertoire on Hugh’s manuscript tradition – dismissed the problem of its authenticity as « freischwebend13 ». Currently, the Speculum Ecclesiae is attributed to the Pseudo-Hugh of SaintVictor and dated around the third quarter of the twelfth century14. 9 « De sacramentis ecclesiasticis ut tractarem, eorumque mysticam dulcedinem uobis exponerem, uestra rogauit dilectio […] », Speculum de mysteriis Ecclesiae, Prologus, ed. PL 177, col. 335A. 10 « Desideratum itaque libellum interno fluentem nectare uelut fauum mellis, uestrae propinaui intelligentiae quem, quia in eo speculari licet quid mystice repraesentent singula in Ecclesia, Speculum Ecclesiae intitulari placuit », ibid. 11 Prov. 27, 7 : « Anima saturata calcabit fauum » 12 Ed. PL 177, col. 335A-380D. On the successive editions of Hugh’s Opera omnia, see JeanLouis Quantin, « La réception d’Hugues et Richard de Saint-Victor au miroir de leurs Opera omnia (xvie-xviie siècles) », in L’école de Saint-Victor de Paris. Influence et rayonnement du Moyen Âge à l’époque moderne, Turnhout : Brepols, 2010 (Bibliotheca Victorina, 22), p. 601-642. 13 Rudolf Goy, Die Überlieferung der Werke Hugos von St Viktor. Ein Beitrag zur Kommunikationsgeschichte des Mittelalters, Stuttgart : Hiersemann, 1976, p. 494. 14 Regarding the debate on the authenticity of the Speculum Ecclesiae and the assumptions of dating, I refer to two fondamental contributions : Damien Van den Eynde, « Deux sources de la Somme théologique de Simon de Tournai », in Antonianum, t. 24, 1949, p. 19-42, in particular p. 41 ; Heinrich Weisweiler, « Zu Einflusssphäre der “Vorlesungen” Hugos von St Viktor », in Mélanges Joseph de Ghellinck, t. 2, Gembloux : Duculot, 1951, p. 527-581. For the most recent list
Scripture and Liturgy, an exclusive means to understand the Church 203
The work is divided into two sections15. The first is practical in nature16 and describes the Church, the rite of dedication, the liturgy of the hours, sacred orders and clothes. The second is more dogmatic and is structured into two chapters : De occultis scripturarum Veteris et Novi Testamenti and De materia divinae Scripturae. In these chapters, the canonical rhythm of medieval expositiones on the liturgy is interrupted to introduce a totally new ecclesiological-theological reflection. In particular, the eighth chapter of the Speculum focuses on the classification of genera veri, the subdivision of the sacred books between the Old and New Testaments and the three/four senses that are useful when approaching the reading and understanding of the Holy Scriptures. The ninth discusses specialiter opus restaurationis : the mystery of the incarnation of Christ and the sacraments related to it. The chapter then presents a series of dichotomies, res/signum, frui/uti, voces/ res, which demonstrate how much the Speculum Ecclesiae is immersed in the theological and sacramental debate of the twelfth century which, through the primary source of Hugh, is in significant dialogue with Augustinian theology. Augustine’s thought emerges with greater force at the end of the treatise when, through some quotations from De Trinitate, the existence of God, and His essence are discussed and justified. This final section must have seemed so foreign to the rest of the work that some manuscripts of the twelfth or thirteenth century, intentionally or not, did not transmit it, abruptly interrupting the Speculum Ecclesiae at the end of the long chapter De celebratione missae, which almost forms a separate treatise due to its size17. If we leave aside the assumption that this section seems « out of place », and we reverse the argument, the question would be : why does the author of the Speculum Ecclesiae decide to include two dogmatic chapters on the meaning of the Sacred Scriptures and on the Trinitarian debate at the end of a treatise on the Church and its rites ? The possible answer could be as follows. This manual was intended for the education and edification of young members of the clergy, in order to give them the tools to understand, with simplicity and clarity, everything that of manuscripts of the Speculum Ecclesiae, see Patrice Sicard, Iter Victorinum : la tradition manuscrite des œuvres de Hugues et de Richard de Saint-Victor, Turnhout : Brepols, 2015 (Bibliotheca Victorina, 24), p. 639-647. 15 This subdivision is proposed in Alain Rauwel, Expositio missae. Essai sur le commentaire du canon de la Messe dans la tradition monastique et scolastique, Thèse de doctorat, Université de Bourgogne, Dijon, 2002, p. 86. See also Damien Van den Eynde, « Deux sources de la Somme théologique de Simon de Tournai », in Antonianum, t. 24, 1949, p. 24. 16 Although this first section is practical, it does not concern the applied rite but an allegorical and symbolic description of rites, objects, buildings and clothes. 17 See, for instance : Amiens, Bibl. mun., 79 ; Cambrai, Bibl. mun., 411 (387) ; Cambridge, Trinity Coll., MS O. 1. 59 ; Oxford, Balliol Coll., MS 228 ; Napoli, Bibl. Naz. Vittorio Emanuele III, VI. G. 33.
204
Andrea Pistoia
constitutes the Church. If they were preparing for the study and ritual practice of the liturgy, they would have possessed the fundamental tools for the understanding and interpretation of Scripture and their allegorical content. How else could they grasp the deeper meaning of the antiphons, canticles, quotations, hymns, and responsories if the tools for learned reflection handed down by the Fathers had not been passed over them ? The Speculum Ecclesiae and the Sententiae de diuinitate In order to strengthen his arguments of this concluding section on de ecclesiasticis officiis, the author decides to draw on a « minor » work by Hugh. Available to the modern reader for less than a century, the work in question is the Sententiae de diuinitate18, whose authorship has been discussed and confirmed for several decades now19. They reflect Hugh’s teaching ; however, it was probably one Laurentius, the author also of the letter that precedes the Sententiae, who wrote them. As we read in the opening epistula, Laurentius arrived in Paris to study at the school of Hugh20. According to the Latin text, his colleagues questioned him two or three times in a similar fashion to the author of the Speculum21, exhorting him to assimilate the teachings of his Master22, making a real reportatio23. Hugh then entrusted Laurentius to transcribe the content of his lessons, granting him 18 Bernhard Bischoff, « Aus der Schule Hugos von St Viktor », in Mittelalterliche Studien. Ausgewählte Aufsätze zur Schriftkunde und Literaturgeschichte, t. 2, Stuttgart ; Hiersemann, 1967, p. 182-187. 19 See the updated edition with a new introduction, Ambrogio M. Piazzoni, « Ugo di San Vittore “auctor” delle “Sententiae de divinitate” », in Studi Medievali, 3a serie, t. 32/2, 1982, p. 861-955. 20 See Emma Mason, « Lawrence (d. 1173), abbot of Westminster », in Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford : Oxford University Press, 2008. For more on Laurentius’ life and career, see Westminster Abbey charters, 1066-c. 1214, ed. Emma Mason – Jennifer Bray – Desmond J. Murphy, London : London Record Society, 1988 (London Record Society Publications, 25), p. 136-144. 21 « De sacramentis ecclesiasticis, ut tractarem, eorumque mysticam dulcedinem uobis exponerem, uestra rogauit dilectio. Cum autem libentius, quia facilius et audentius, logicas quam theologicas, iure consuetudinis, reuoluam sententias : dubitare coepi, an contradicere, an potius scribere mallem ». Speculum de mysteriis Ecclesiae, Prologus, ed. PL 177, col. 335A. 22 « Rogatus, inquam, sum, quatenus ad communem tam mei quam aliorum utilitatem easdem sententias scripto et memorie commendarem ». See Sententiae de divinitate, ed. Ambrogio M. Piazzoni, « Ugo di San Vittore “auctor” », p. 912, l. 16-17. 23 On the term reportatio and its development since Augustine, see Jacqueline Hamesse, « Collatio et reportatio : deux vocables spécifiques de la vie intellectuelle au Moyen âge », in Actes du colloque « Terminologie de la vie intellectuelle au moyen âge », Leyde – La Haye 20-21 septembre 1985, Turnhout : Brepols, 1988, p. 78-87.
Scripture and Liturgy, an exclusive means to understand the Church 205
a meeting semel in septimana24 in which they would verify together the accuracy of the contents of the notes. Hugh and Laurentius are therefore co-authors of the Sententiae de diuinitate. It is, however, difficult to understand to what extent a revised reportatio comes from the teaching author (Hugh) or from the reporting author (Laurentius). The lessons that Hugh delivered at the school of Saint Victor, as well as the core ideas of the Sententiae de diuinitate and his other earlier works, form the foundational elements of the De Sacramentis christianae fidei, the theological masterpiece of the Victorine. Hugh himself gestures towards this idea in the prefatiuncula25. While showing a clear dependence on the De Sacramentis, the last two chapters of the Speculum Ecclesiae extensively draws upon the Sententiae de diuinitate. In an essay from 1951 Heinrich Weisweiler broadly laid out the contacts and influences that the Speculum underwent through Hugh and beyond, focusing on the multiple contacts with the Sententiae de diuinitate26. Hugh elaborated and structured his thought around articulated and organized representations, classifications and diagrams, which brought out his analytical and pedagogical qualities27. One of these, however, seems to have not yet received sufficient scholarly attention : it is the description and subdivision of the genera veri, that is, the different types of reasons that motivate us to seek the truth within human experience. At the end of a short but in-depth survey, this reflection seems to appear only in three works. In the Speculum Ecclesiae the author introduces and lays the foundations for the new dogmatic section at the beginning of the eighth chapter ; in the Sententiae de 24
See Sententiae de divinitate, ed. A. M. Piazzoni, « Ugo di San Vittore “auctor” », p. 912, l. 26-27. 25 « Librum de sacramentis Christianae fidei studio quorumdam scribere compulsus sum; in quo nonnulla quae antea sparsim dictaueram propterea quod iterato eadem stylo exprimere molestum vel superfluum uidebatur, inserui ». Hugo de Sancto Victore, De sacramentis christianae fidei, Praefatiuncula, ed. PL 176, col. 173. For the most comprehensive attempt at dating this work, see Damien Van den Eynde, Essai sur la succession et la date des écrits de Hugues de SaintVictor, Roma : Pontificium Athenaeum Antonianum, 1960 (Spicilegium Pontificii Athenaei Antoniani, 13). But Van den Eynde’s method has been severely criticised, for instance in Dominique Poirel, « Pour dater le De tribus diebus », in Livre de la nature et débat trinitaire au xiie siècle, le De tribus diebus de Hugues de Saint-Victor, Turnhout : Brepols, 2002 (Bibliotheca Victorina, 14), p. 131-154. See also Patrice Sicard, « Problèmes de chronologie », in Diagrammes médiévaux et exégèse visuelle, le Libellus de formatione arche de Hugues de Saint-Victor, Turnhout – Paris : Brepols, 1993 (Bibliotheca Victorina, 4), p. 119-138. 26 Heinrich Weisweiler, « Zu Einflusssphäre der “Vorlesungen” Hugos von St Viktor », p. 527-581. 27 For more information on this fundamental aspect of the thought of Hugh of Saint-Victor, see Patrice Sicard, « Diagrammes victorins et exégèse visuelle » in Diagrammes médiévaux et exégèse visuelle, le Libellus de formatione arche de Hugues de Saint-Victor, Turnhout – Paris : Brepols, 1993 (Bibliotheca Victorina, 4), p. 141-192, mostly p. 143-149.
206
Andrea Pistoia
diuinitate it is found at the beginning of the prologue ; the third and last occurrence appears in one of the short texts gathered in a section « Miscellanea28 » in Migne’s Patrologia Latina29. For the case of the Speculum Ecclesiae and the Sententiae de diuinitate, the placement at the beginning is very significant, because it serves as an indispensable preamble to structure the argument that follows. Speculum Ecclesiae, ed. PL 177 [Col. 0374 A-B]
Sententiae de diuinitate, ed. A. M. Piazzoni, p. 913.
Miscellanea I, 72, ed. PL 177 [Col. 0507 D-0508 C]
Vnde homo qui ueri cognoscendi desiderio carere non potest, crebris mouetur quaestionibus. Sicut enim oculus lumen appetit, ita anima uerum uidere ut bonum proprium desiderat quod cognoscere et amare eam facit felicem. Sed fallitur dum quaerit cognoscere uerum aliquod cuius cognitio non facit beatum, nec adesse beatum conducit. Sunt enim diuersa genera ueri, ut est uerum curiositatis, cupiditatis, et iniquitatis, quorum nullum bonum est. Est autem quoddam genus ueri, ut in cognitione omnium artium
Velle scire uerum bonum est anime et naturaliter omni anime insitum. Sed cum omnis anima rationalis naturaliter hoc appetat, fallitur tamen multotiens in discernendo qualiter uerum debeat appetere. Verum enim non bene appetere, est appetere uerum curiositate uel cupiditate uel iniquitate. Verum curiositatis est, ut si quis tota die discurrens per uicos et plateas inquirat de statu regni, de itinere regis et similibus, cum hec fortasse ad eum nihil attineant nec ei aliquem fructum afferant. Sed ideo tantum hoc facit, ut
Desiderium cognoscendae ueritatis intantum naturale animae est, ut, quantumlibet sit peruersa, illo omnino carere non possit. Quotidianae quaestiones indicant quod scire uerum omnes cupimus. Tota uita hominis in quaestione est. Quandiu uiuitur, quaeritur. Nemo falli uult, etiam si quisque fallere uelit : in hoc uero probat cor humanum nihil magis proprium sibi esse quam uerum ; sed peruersi ibi uerum quaerunt ubi salus non est. Verum quia homines sunt, ubi salus non est, quia peruersi sunt. Verum et non bonum.
28
For a reorganization of the Miscellanea contained in t. 177 of Patrologia Latina, see Ralf M. W. Stammberger, « The Liber Sermonum Hugonis : the discovery of a New Work by Hugh of Saint Victor », in Medieval Sermon Studies, t. 52, 2008, p. 63-71, and Johannes Baptist Schneyer, « Ergänzungen der Sermones und Miscellanea des Hugo von Sankt Viktor aus verschiedenen Handschriften », in Recherches de théologie ancienne et médiévale, t. 31, 1964, p. 260-286. For the exact contents of this collection of sentences at the death of Hugh, see Dominique Poirel, « Une édition victorine : les volumina de l’abbé Gilduin », in Livre de la nature et débat trinitaire au xiie siècle, le De tribus diebus de Hugues de Saint-Victor, Turnhout : Brepols, 2002 (Bibliotheca Victorina, 14), p. 27-96, in particular p. 62-75 and 79-80. See also Patrice Sicard, Iter Victorinum : la tradition manuscrite des œuvres de Hugues et de Richard de Saint-Victor, Turnhout : Brepols, 2015 (Bibliotheca Victorina, 24), p. 287-478 : « Troisième partie : les sentences et miscellanées hugoniennes ». 29 Hugo de Sancto Victore, Miscellanea, I, ed. PL 177, col. 469-590.
Scripture and Liturgy, an exclusive means to understand the Church 207 Speculum Ecclesiae, ed. PL 177 [Col. 0374 A-B]
Sententiae de diuinitate, ed. A. M. Piazzoni, p. 913.
Miscellanea I, 72, ed. PL 177 [Col. 0507 D-0508 C]
liberalium, quod quidem bonum est, nec tamen summum bonum est, quia eius notitia nequaquam facit beatum. Huius autem ueri uere boni cognitionem habendam sacra ministrat Scriptura; quae docet hominem seipsum cognoscere et Creatorem suum. Se cognoscere praecedit et uia est; Creatorem autem perfecte cognoscere, patria est : unum meritum, alterum praemium.
curiositati sue seruiat. Verum cupiditatis est, ut si mercator aliquis uerum inquirat de uenditione mercium uel aliarum rerum uenalium, et hoc facit causa cupiditatis, ut illo merces suas deferat ubi carius uenduntur. Sed hic aliquis fructus sequitur qualiscumque, quia homo hic lucratur aliquid, cum in uero curiositatis nullus omnino sit. Verum iniquitatis est, cum aliquis inquirit uerum de transitu alicuius, ut ei insidietur, scilicet ut eum spoliet uel occidat et sic iniquitatem suam expleat. Si que autem alia huius generis uera sint, fortasse uel his tribus poterunt applicari uel ex his facile perpendi. Verum autem quod bonum est, aut est summum bonum aut bonum non summum. Id autem quod bonum est et non summum est, ut est ueritas, que in philosophia uel in liberalibus artibus continetur, que quidem ueritas et bona est et appetenda est, sed non propter se, immo propter summum bonum, ad quod per illam facilius accedimus. Cognoscere etiam se ipsum uia est ueritatis, per quam ad summum bonum cognoscendum peruenitur.
Propterea non inueniunt uerum bonum. Alius quaerit ad iniquitatem, alius quaerit ad cupiditatem, alius quaerit ad curiositatem. Quaerit alius quomodo laedere possit illum quem odit ; et forte inuenit quod quaerit, et uerum est quod sic laedi potest. Sed uerum hoc ad iniquitatem ducit, non ad bonitatem. Alius quaerit quomodo multiplicare possit pecuniam, augere diuitias, lucra cumulare ; et contingit aliquando ut inueniatur quod quaerit. Et uerum est omnino quia sic fieri potest, et sic agi ; sed uerum hoc, bonum sibi iunctum non habet. Verum quidem bonum est, sed cum uero bonum non est, quia cupiditas bonitas non est. Alium curiositas trahit ad quaerendum uerum. Insectatur rumores, noua captat, secreta scrutatur, ut uitio suo pabulum ministret, et est hic similiter uerum sine socio bono, ut in omnibus his uerum bonum non inueniatur. Alii uerum quaerunt, et amant illud habere, quia uerum est. Et hi recte quidem diriguntur quia uerum quaerunt propter bonum ; sed non perducuntur,
208 Speculum Ecclesiae, ed. PL 177 [Col. 0374 A-B]
Andrea Pistoia Sententiae de diuinitate, ed. A. M. Piazzoni, p. 913.
Miscellanea I, 72, ed. PL 177 [Col. 0507 D-0508 C]
Verum autem quod summum bonum est, tale est ut uidelicet quisque sciat creatorem suum cognoscere, hoc est illud bonum quod appetendum est propter se tantum, et ad hoc debet omnis homo eniti, ut hoc bonum cognoscat et cognitum diligat.
quia non quaerunt propter summum bonum. Tales sunt qui, scrutantur secreta naturae, et desiderio magno feruntur, ut sciant solum quod uerum est in rebus conditis. Et est quidem etiam illic quod iure delectare debeat ; ita tamen si cor hominis per id quod infra diligitur, ad amorem illius, qui summe bonus est, accendatur. Propterea melius est illud quo docetur homo primum semetipsum cognoscere, et quod est ut corrigat, et quod esse debet, ut esse studeat ; postea Creatorem suum ut agnitum quaerat, et inueniens in illo requiescat.
Verum Following the dialectical process that leads from imperfection to perfection, Hugh, like the author of the Speculum Ecclesiae, distinguishes three types of verum : the verum curiositatis, cupiditatis, iniquitatis. These are bad reasons to seek the truth, which, despite originating from the anima rationalis, lead to false satisfaction. In the Miscellanea, and even more so in the Sententiae de diuinitate, these tria genera are given more depth in three metaphorical personae that complete the description : the chatterbox, who likes gossip and seeks information about everything, de statu regni, de itinere regis et similibus30 ; the merchant, who tries to make profit for his own benefit at all costs ; and finally the attacker, who plots for his own ends. Hugh means to say that a man ueri cognoscendi desiderio carere non potest31, that is, that he innately seeks knowledge and truth, looking to use his humanness to 30 See Sententiae de divinitate, ed. Ambrogio M. Piazzoni, « Ugo di San Vittore “auctor” », p. 913, l. 8. 31 Speculum de mysteriis Ecclesiae, VIII, ed. PL 177, col. 374A.
Scripture and Liturgy, an exclusive means to understand the Church 209
enlighten also the mystery. Hence the very meaning of the draft of the Speculum Ecclesiae : to help the reader to investigate the theological truth of the sacramenta and of the mysteria. This search for the summum bonum represents the highest possible way in which the natural desire for knowledge can be satisfied. In addition to the three imperfect types of search for knowledge that always dwell in latent sin, the author of the Speculum Ecclesiae, following Hugonian thought, writes about two true and correct possibilities. The first dwells in the liberal arts, the second in Sacred Scripture, which teaches self-knowledge as a way to understand the full and direct knowledge of God. « The first is a merit, the other a reward32 ». In this context, the study of the trivium and quadrivium is of considerable importance, because it allows to access and acquire the indispensable tools of human knowledge for its highest expression. This is what the study and exegesis of the Holy Scriptures can offer : learning how to know God. Anima rationalis
Genera ueri
bonum
nullum bonum
curiositas
cupiditas
iniquitas
bonum non summum summum bonum
Philosophia (artes liberales)
Sacra Scriptura
Veritas
cognoscere Deum
Therefore, the attention of Ps.-Hugh is concentrated on the last of these degrees and the knowledge of the Holy Scriptures as a means to reach the knowledge of the true good that is God. The Sententiae de diuinitate reflects this same model. 32 « Se cognoscere praecedit et uia est; Creatorem autem perfecte cognoscere, patria est : unum meritum, alterum praemium », Speculum de mysteriis Ecclesiae, VIII, ed. PL 177, col. 374B.
Andrea Pistoia
210
This thought can be found several times in various works by Hugh of SaintVictor, such as the De Scripturis et scriptoribus sacris33, the Didascalicon34, the Sententiae de diuinitate, and the De sacramentis christianae fidei35. The « variant » that seems closest to the treatment of the Speculum Ecclesiae is the one exposed, once again, in the Sententiae de diuinitate. Speculum Ecclesiae, ed. PL 177 [Col. 0375A-B]
Sententiae de diuinitate, ed. A. M. Piazzoni, p. 918, 169-186
Est autem considerandum quod Scriptura sacra caeteris profundior triplicem habet sensum, historialem, allegoricum, moralem; non enim tantum in ea uoces, sed etiam res significare habent. Per uocum significationem, historialem; per rerum autem significationem intelligimus allegoriam et tropologiam. Historia est significatio uocum ad res. Allegoria est quando per factum intelligitur aliud factum. Si uisibile, simplex allegoria est, si inuisibile et coeleste anagoge dicitur. Tropologia est quando perfectum ostenditur aliud faciendum. Historia dicitur a Graeco ἱστορέω, id est uideo, inquiro, quia historiographorum est res gestas secundum primam significationem uocum exponere. Allegoria quasi alieni loquium dicitur, quando non per uoces, sed per rem factam alia res intelligitur, ut per transitum maris Rubri transitus intelligitur per baptismum ad paradisum. Tropologia dicitur conuersiua locutio, dum quod dicitur ad mores aedificandos conuertitur, ut sunt moralia. Anagoge uero dicitur sursum ductio. Vnde anagogicus sensus dicitur qui a uisibilibus ducit ad inuisibilia. Vt lux prima die facta, rem inuisibilem, id est angelicam significat naturam in principio factam.
Notandum est quidem in diuina scriptura triplex sensus habetur : historicus, moralis qui et tropologicus dicitur, et allegoricus, qui quandoque anagogicus appellatur. Est autem historia prima significatio uocis ad res, et dicitur historia a greco quod est ἱστορέω id est ‘uideo’ quia in historia proprie res geste et uisibiles referuntur, licet tamen in diuina pagina quandoque res alique quasi geste referantur que tamen geste non sunt, ut ex his tropologicus sensus uel allegoricus perpendatur. Inter tropologiam uero et allegoriam hoc interest, quod in allegoria per facta intelliguntur alia facta, in tropologia uero intelliguntur per facta facienda, id est ea que a nobis debent fieri ; et dicitur tropologia quasi conuersus sermo ut quod in aliis audimus, in nobismet edificemus. Allegoria uero alia simplex allegoria, alia est illa que dicitur anagoge. Simplex est quando per res uisibiles significantur alie res uisibiles […]. Cum autem per res uisibiles significantur res inuisibiles, hec quidem allegoria dicitur anagoge, quemadmodum si per creationem lucis significata intelligatur bonorum angelorum ad creatorem suum conuersio, et per conuersionem illuminatio […]
33
Hugo de Sancto Victore, De Scripturis et scriptoribus sacris, III, ed. PL 175, col. 12AC. Hugo de Sancto Victore, Didascalicon de studio legendi, V, 2, ed. Charles H. Buttimer, Washington, DC : Catholic University Press, 1939 (Studies in Medieval and Renaissance Latin, 10), p. 95-96 = PL 176, col. 789C-790C. 35 Hugo de Sancto Victore, De sacramentis christianae fidei, I, Prol., 4-6, ed. PL 176, col. 185A-186A. 34
Scripture and Liturgy, an exclusive means to understand the Church 211
At times, biblical commentators of the twelfth century embraced the triple subdivision of the senses taken from Scripture – that is, history, morality or tropology, allegory – and, at other times, that which saw a fourfold subdivision into history, allegory, tropology, and anagoge. We are facing a moment of transition in which the triple sense of the scriptures, which enjoyed an almost hegemonic diffusion until the twelfth century, is progressively eclipsed by that of the four senses which will take its place. This emerges in the Speculum Ecclesiae. The author does not make a clear choice as to which of the two subdivisions he prefers to follow, so much so that in chapter III, while he exposes the characteristics of the liturgy of the hours, speaking of the number of lectiones and responsories, he states : Quaternarius quidem, apud monachos, quadratam stabilitatem et euangelicam in sanctis exprimit, uel quadruplum sensum Scripturarum propter quadrigas Aminadab, id est historialem, allegoricum, tropologicum, anagogicum ut Ierusalem intelligitur ciuitas terrena et Ecclesia et quaelibet fidelis anima, et superna patria36.
And shortly after, in chapter VIII : Est autem considerandum quod Scriptura caeteris profundior habet sensum : triplicem, historialem, allegoricum, moralem37.
Even within the same work, the author offers two different classifications of the meaning of Scripture, both of which are valid and stem from illustrious traditions38. This double and unusual presentation is not very surprising. Hugh himself, who has never ceased to affirm the existence of three senses in the Scriptures, strives to attract the theory of the four senses into the traditional one without modifying it, as will be the case in the De Scripturis et scriptoribus sacris39. He aligned with the former and more widespread theory, but a subdivision of the allegory giving way to the anagogia seems to place him in an intermediate position. Perhaps he was interested in keeping a dialogue with the traditional and the concurrent theory. As has already been mentioned in the description of the genera ueri, the knowledge of the liberal arts also enriches the Speculum’s argument, becoming the tool
36
Speculum de mysteriis Ecclesiae, VIII, ed. PL 177, col. 342B. Ibid., 374D. 38 For an explanation of the influence of Origen, Jerome, Cassian and Augustine on the formulation of these two classifications, see Ceslas Spicq, Esquisse d’une histoire de l’exégèse latine au Moyen âge, Paris : Vrin, 1944, p. 98-99 ; for a broader and more updated overview see Gilbert Dahan, L’exégèse chrétienne de la Bible en Occident médiéval, xiie-xive siècle, Paris : Cerf, 1999 (Patrimoines, christianisme), p. 399, 441. 39 Hugo de Sancto Victore, De Scripturis et scriptoribus sacris, ed. PL 175, col. 11-12. 37
212
Andrea Pistoia
to explain and more deeply understand the mystical meaning of Scripture40. The trivium, which focuses on the expression of thought, serves to explain the voces ; the quadrivium, on the other hand, provides matter for spiritual investigation and the interpretation of the res which, by nature, lead to the Mystery. « As one individual indicates to another what he wants thanks to his voice, so God manifests his will to man through events41 ». The Speculum ecclesiae has come down to us as a fabrica spiritualis, built on the basis of the texts of the Holy Scriptures, whose foundations constitute its allegorical method42. In other words, it means to give voice to the Sacra Pagina, an inexhaustible source of meanings and interpretations. Here the voces fulfil their role as instruments and bearers of meaning, as do the res, which convey the higher meaning of God’s conduct on worldly events. Lastly, the anagoge, the highest of the four directions, draws the eye of the spirit de visibilibus ad invisibilia, meaning that things that are visible to those that are invisible towards the divinity. More concretely, it is « the sense that shows the realities of the heavenly Jerusalem in the realities of the terrestrial Jerusalem43 ». *
* * Hugh and the anonymous author of the Speculum Ecclesiae were probably animated by the same motive to offer the appropriate tools to guide young students towards the discovery of what the Church stood for. They undertake the writing of Summae of doctrine which serve as an introduction to the teaching that dwells in the allegory. Still in this phase of doctrinal reflection in the mid-twelfth century, texts of this kind are placed pedagogically and methodologically between the study of the Bible, the liturgy and their allegorical understanding. Theology not only originates from Scripture, although it is there that it finds its fulfillment and realization. Victorine thought was conceived and structured by Hugh, Richard, Adam, Achard and many others, passing through biblical exegesis and historiography, 40 For a deeper elaboration on this reflection, see the ninth chapter of the Speculum Ecclesiae : « De materia diuinae Scripturae », ed. PL 177, col. 376A-380D. 41 « Sicut enim homo per uoces alteri, sic Deus per creaturas uoluntatem suam indicat », Speculum de mysteriis Ecclesiae, VIII, ed. PL 177, col. 375C. 42 « L’édifice de la pensée chrétienne se construit donc sur la base des textes scripturaires, mais s’élève et se fabrique par la méthode allégorique ». See Marie Dominique Chenu, Théologie symbolique et exégèse scolastique aux xiie-xiiie siècles, in Mélanges Joseph de Ghellinck, t. 2, Gembloux : Duculot, 1951, p. 519. 43 « Ce sera le sens qui fait voir, dans les réalités de la Jérusalem terrestre, les réalités de la Jérusalem céleste », Henri de Lubac, Exégèse médiévale, t. II, Paris : Aubier, 1961, p. 623.
Scripture and Liturgy, an exclusive means to understand the Church 213
Trinitarian theology and the liturgy itself44. In addition to the works of these great masters, there are still others that remain anonymous and often unpublished. The Speculum Ecclesiae is among these : through a careful restoration, first textual and then historical and doctrinal, a new piece of this immense mosaic gradually comes to light after centuries of oblivion. Scripture and the liturgy walked together in the construction of a common identity and were nourished by each other in the codification of the rite as of knowledge. Even through these « minor » texts, which have often lost their authorship due to the universality of their content, the Victorine message and theology have indirectly managed to cross the centuries and geographic borders. Of all this, this modest contribution traces some of its contours.
44 For a concise overview of the most important members of the Victorine School, see Dominique Poirel, « L’école de Saint-Victor au Moyen Âge : bilan d’un demi-siècle historiographique », in Bibliothèque de l’École des chartes, t. 156, 1998, p. 187-207.
« Speculator castrorum Dei » Philosophy and Theology in Godfrey of St Victor’s Sermons Antonio Sordillo
The medieval sermon, so well defined in its structure, in its aims and in the kind of audience to which it is addressed, doesn’t have same prerogatives and purposes of school textbooks or treatises. In the Victorine milieu, then, where homiletic plays a central role in the formation and moral edification of the canons, the literary genre of the sermon takes on particular importance1. In fact, the Victorine preacher assumes in his texts above all the duty to illustrate the correct practice of interpreting the Scriptures to an audience of listeners rather than readers. He prefers the moral aspects of his doctrine to the theoretical ones, because the pulpit from which he preaches involves different but equally capital responsibilities compared to the chair. The preacher is not only the magister who deals with minds of his students, but he is the shepherd who must take care of the souls of his flock. The urgency and the purposes of the ministry of preaching are present in the reflection and writings of Godfrey of St Victor, canon of the third generation of Victorine masters, who in the second half of the twelfth century wrote a corpus of 32 sermons2. In his homilies, Godfrey blends a rigorous application of the liturgy 1 Jean Longère, « La fonction pastorale de Saint-Victor à la fin du xiie et au début du xiiie siècle », in L’abbaye parisienne de Saint-Victor de Paris au Moyen Âge, ed. Id., Paris – Turnhout : Brepols, 1991 (Bibliotheca Victorina, 1), p. 291-313. 2 Of Godfrey’s sermons, the first 19 are contained in the ms. Paris, Bibl. Mazarine, 1002, f. 1r-143v ; others belong to the mss Paris, Bibl. nat. de France, lat. 14881, f. 104r-144v, and Paris, Bibl. nat. de France, lat. 14515, f. 107r-161r. There is also a Sermo communis in some collections of Victorine sermons. Jean Châtillon, « Sermons et prédicateurs victorins de la seconde moitié du xiie siècle », in Archives d’histoire doctrinale et littéraire du Moyen Âge, t. 32, 1965, p. 7-60. My PhD thesis was a study and an edition of the entire corpus of sermons, and it is now in course
Omnium expetendorum prima est sapientia. Studies on Victorine thought and influence, ed. by Wanda Bajor, Michał Buraczewski, Marcin Jan Janecki and Dominique Poirel, BV, 29 (Turnhout, 2021), p. 215–225. © BREPOLSPUBLISHERS DOI 10.1484/M.BV-EB.5.126039
216
Antonio Sordillo
to multiple themes, ranging from Augustinian-style Christian anthropology to the description of the salvific dynamics resulting from original sin, to the positive evaluation of the mechanical and liberal arts, a gift of God to man for the survival in the world3. The sense of speculare in Godfrey’s sermons Godfrey’s dedication to the role of praedicator is manifested, even before his sermons, in one of the two self-portraits that he arranges at the beginning of the libellus sermonum of the ms. Paris, Bibl. Mazarine 10024. In fact, Godfrey painted himself with the black and white habit that identifies his order and not with the white dress of the master of the first self-portrait, placed at the beginning of another work, the Fons philosophiae, a didactic poem on the curriculum studiorum of a Victorine canon of the twelfth century. His figure in black habit stands out between two decorated columns and with the domes of the Temple of Solomon and the Holy Sepulchre, in Jerusalem, in the background. The inscription appears on the cartouche in Godfrey’s hands : « Aspicio cantans aspiciensque cano », an allusion to the musical and liturgical functions that he held inside the abbey or, also, to the texts with musical notation that will be enclosed at the end of the codex5. Godfrey therefore defines himself as the one who alternates vigil with singing in his pastoral activity. If in fact the Victorines conceive singing as one of the highest and most intense forms of oratio, culminating precisely in the exaltation of the jubilus6, it is the verb aspicio that declares the intention of searching with the of publication. Some sermons have already been published in an edition, a transcription or a translation. For a recent bibliography, see : Godefroid de Saint-Victor. Œuvres, t. 1 : Microcosmus, ed., transl. and notes by Françoise Gasparri, with the collab. of Jean Grosfillier and Patrice Sicard, L’Œuvre de Godefroid de Saint-Victor, t. 1 : Le Microcosme (Microcosmus), Turnhout : Brepols, 2020 (Sous la Règle de saint Augustin, 16), p. 41-42. 3 Philippe Delhaye, « Les sermons de Godefroy de Saint-Victor. Leur tradition manuscrite », in Recherches de théologie ancienne et médiévale, t. 21, 1954, p. 194-210 ; Jean Longère, La prédication médiévale, Paris : Institut d’Études augustiniennes, 1983, p. 65-66. 4 Ms. Paris, Bibl. Mazarine 1002, f. IIv. On these self-portraits, see : Cédric Giraud – Patricia Stirnemann, « Le rayonnement de l’école de Saint-Victor. Manuscrits de la Bibliothèque Mazarine », in L’école de Saint-Victor de Paris. Influence et rayonnement du Moyen Âge à l’époque moderne. Actes du Colloque international du C.N.R.S. pour le neuvième centenaire de la fondation (1108-2008), Collège des Bernardins à Paris, 24-27 septembre 2008, ed. Dominique Poirel, Turnhout : Brepols, 2010 (Bibliotheca Victorina, 22), p. 659. 5 An Alleluia, virga Iesse floruit at f. 231v, a Canticum beate Virginis et matris at f. 232r and a Planctus beate Virginis et matris in passione Filii at f. 235r. 6 See e.g. Hugh, De virtute orandi, ed., transl. and notes by Hugh B. Feiss – Dominique Poirel – Patrice Sicard – Henri Rochais, in L’Œuvre de Hugues de Saint-Victor, t. 1,
« Speculator castrorum Dei »
217
gaze, in the manner of a sentinel on a tower on guard. Again, aspicio is, in relation to speculative activity, a profound reflection on something specific7. Godfrey declares in that short scroll the honor of his pastoral mission of vigil and defense against spiritual enemies who want to besiege the fortress of the soul of the believers, but also the fundamental task of prayer and liturgy8. In this illumination, two other writings appear that confirm this reading : a quote from Is. 21, 8 (« Super specula Domini sum stans iugiter per diem et super custodiam meam sum stans totis noctibus ») and a concise and solemn definition of the role that he has a duty to hold : « Speculator castrorum Dei9 ». Godfrey then brings together in his self-portrait, in a precise and rigorous way, many of the themes that he will address in the recitation of his sermons, so that we could consider the self-portrait itself as a real visual index10. The opening of Godfrey’s first sermon, written on the occasion of the first Sunday of Advent, takes up in fact many of the images and headwords anticipated in the portrait. Looking from afar and behold, I see the power of God coming and a cloud covering the whole earth11. Dearest brothers, this first verse (vox) is the responsory to the first lesson Turnhout : Brepols, 1997 (Sous la Règle de saint Augustin, 3), p. 117-171, p. 138, l. 175-176 = PL 176, col. 977A-988A : col. 980D. 7 See Albert Blaise, s.v. « Aspicio », in Dictionnaire latin-français des auteurs chrétiens, Turnhout : Brepols, 19672 (online). 8 The speculator/praedicator’s role seems to allude to : Gregory the Great, Homiliae in Ezechielem, XI, 8, ed. Marc Adriaen, Turnhout : Brepols, 1971 (CCSL 142), p. 171-172 = PL 76, col. 785A-1072C : col. 907B-909C. The image of the preacher as a sentry who preaches the sermo Dei with wisdom and patience on the top of a mountain is also present in some sermons by Maurice de Sully. See Hugh B. Feiss, « Preaching by Word and Example », in From Knowledge to Beatitude. St Victor, Twelfth-Century Scholars, and Beyond. Essays in Honor of Grover A. Zinn Jr., ed. E. Ann Matter – Lesley Smith, Notre Dame (IN) : University of Notre Dame Press, 2013, p. 153-185, esp. p. 179 and 185 (note 68). 9 On the use of the verb aspicio by Hugh in a military context, see e.g. Hugh, Dialogus de creatione mundi, ed. Cédric Giraud, Turnhout : Brepols, 2015 (CCCM 269), p. 295-348, esp. p. 330, l. 760-762 = PL 176, col. 17C-42B, esp. col. 32D. 10 The importance of the message of Godfrey’s self-portrait could be inserted within the pedagogy of the image typical of the St Victor school : more evident in Hugh’s De archa Noe, in which the use and application of drawings and diagrams is functional to the transmission of the word itself, and in the Libellus de formatione archae, a useful manual for the realization of the architecture of the interior ark, this pedagogy of the image provides for a precise ascetic and contemplative program. See Patrice Sicard, Diagrammes médiévaux et exégèse visuelle. Le Libellus de formatione arche de Hugues de Saint-Victor, Paris – Turnhout : Brepols, 1993 (Bibliotheca Victorina, 4) ; Conrad Rudolph, The Mystic Ark. Hugh of Saint Victor, Art, and Thought in the Twelfth Century, Cambridge : Cambridge University Press, 2014. 11 The text recalls the opening of the first sermon of the libellus and the first responsory of the Matins of the first Sunday of Advent.
218
Antonio Sordillo
of the Night Office of this day. Since it is distinguished by a gentle melody repeated with a threefold verse, and finished with a Gloria Patri, it should not be thought that this happens without great mystery. Then, let us ask whose voice this is, and what is the explication (ratio) for the pleasant, prolonged melody. Then, we investigate who is the one looking out, whence and whither he looks, and what he sees. First, then, let us see whose voice this is. This voice is the voice of your watchmen (speculatorum tuorum ; Is. 52, 8), O Sion, i.e. o encampment of God. In fact Sion is interpreted as ‘examination’ (speculatio) and signifies the encampment of God, while Jerusalem is interpreted as ‘vision of peace’ and signifies the city of God. In fact God has His city and also His encampment : the city is the triumphant church (civitatem Ecclesiam triumphantem), the camp is the militant church (castra Ecclesiam militantem), although they often are interchangeable, but wrongly. He has a city from the time when, after the creation of the angels and the fall of the apostate angels because of arrogance (superbiam), the rest of the angels were confirmed through grace in the love of their Creator and were firmly placed in the perpetual and blessed city of God in heaven. He also has an encampment from the time when He chose, from the mass of the human race ruined by the deception of the apostate angel, some by grace, who as avengers of their ancestral and with their own blood would war against the enemies of their race and, when these had been tremendously overwhelmed, would move over finally in triumph to the city of the blessed angels. God already knew then, or rather He has foreseen from eternity, how many of those who, though made of mud, were going to battle mightily against the enemies of their race and were going to do many things gloriously to the confusion of those who though they had nothing of mud, had sinned12.
12 Godfrey, Sermo I in prima dominica adventus Domini, mss Paris, Bibl. Mazarine, 1002, f. 1r ; Paris, Bibl. nat. de France, lat. 14515, f. 107r : « Aspiciens a longe, ecce video potenciam Dei venientem et nebulam totam terram tegentem1. Hec vox prima, fratres karissimi, prime lectioni nocturni officii huius diei responsoria est. Dulci modulatione insignita, triplici versu repetita, et tandem cum Gloria Patri finita, non est putandum sine magno misterio hoc fieri. Querimus ergo cuius sit hec vox, que tam producte et iocunde modulationis ratio. Deinde querimus quis sit iste aspiciens, unde et quo aspiciens et quid aspiciens. Primum ergo videamus cuius sit hec vox. Vox hec est vox speculatorum tuorum [Is. 52, 8], o Syon, id est o castra Dei. Syon enim interpretatur speculatio et significat castra Dei, sicut Ierusalem interpretatur visio pacis et significat civitatem Dei. Habet namque Deus civitatem suam, habet et castra sua : civitatem Ecclesiam triumphantem, castra militantem, quamvis alterum pro altero sepe ponatur, sed abusive. Et civitatem quidem habet ex eo tempore quo, post creationem angelorum apostatis angelis per superbiam precipitatis, reliqui per gratiam in amore creatoris sui confirmati et in perpetuam et beatam civitatem Dei in celestibus fundati sunt. Porro castra habet ex eo tempore quo, de generis humani massa fraude apostate angeli perdita, per gratiam quosdam elegit, qui ultores tam paterni quam sui sanguinis contra generis sui inimicos debellarent, eisque fortiter expugnatis, tandem cum triumpho ad beatorum angelorum civitatem transmigrarent. Sciebat enim iam tunc, immo ab eterno previderat Deus, quam plurimos, licet de lutea materia factos, generis sui inimicos fortiter debellaturos et in confusionem illorum qui, de lutea materia nichil habentes peccaverunt, multa gloriose facturos ».
« Speculator castrorum Dei »
219
The choice of Godfrey’s words is aimed at merging the auditory sphere of the liturgical chant that preceded the sermon (vox prima, dulci modulatione insignita, triplici versu repetita, hec vox, que tam producte et iocunde modulationis ratio…), to that of the visible recalled by the self-portrait (aspicio, video, visio, speculatio…, together with Syon, castra…). Godfrey then distinguishes the historical meaning of the liturgical passage, establishing a dichotomy that will continue throughout the sermon : Syon and Jerusalem, the city of God and his camp, the militans Ecclesia and the triumphans, the inhabitants of the city of God (the whole of the angels who remained in heaven after the fall of Lucifer) and the fighters in the field of God (the speculatores, that is the whole humanity fighting against evil, the saints and God himself ). The idea of earthly combat, which develops in Godfrey’s work also through the constant application of a military metaphor, already shows in this sermon the pastoral duty of the preacher. More generally, Godfrey manifests the responsibility that comes from being part of the unitary body of the Church, understood as an institution and as a mystery. This responsibility involves becoming a guide, pastor of the souls of the believers to be led to Christ, head of the entire ecclesial body, according to a teaching proper to the fathers of the Church and which Hugh of St Victor had already made his own13. The school’s heritage : salvation through the mechanical and liberal arts If Hugh’s ecclesiology is the background to Godfrey’s homiletics, the figure of the master is present in a widespread way and is more evident in his other works as well. For example, Godfrey’s Fons philosophiae bears a very strong debt towards Hugh’s Didascalicon14. Even more, the Microcosmus, treated in three books that interprets the Hexameron in the light of the complexity of the human soul, on the one hand receives the teachings on biblical exegesis by Hugh, on the other it 13
See especially Id., Sermo I de nativitate Domini, ms. Paris, Bibl. Mazarine, 1002, f. 23v : « Quod, ut intelligibilius fiat, preconsiderandum est hominem duobus modis, Christum dici scilicet vel eum quem sibi Filius Dei in unitatem persone univit, qui hodierna die de virgine corporaliter natus est, de quo supra dictum est, vel eum qui per istum significatus est, cuius et is, licet per se quoddam totum sit, alia tamen inspectione pars est quidam, scilicet generalis homo Christus, cuius Christi persona caput est, Ecclesia vero corpus. Singuli autem electorum singula illius corporis menbra. Secundum quem modum universa Ecclesia una Dei sponsa dicitur ». There are many evangelical references to the ecclesial body (e.g. : Eph. 5, 23 ; 4, 15 ; Col. 1, 18 ; I Cor. 11, 3). On Hugh’s ecclesiology, see : Dominique Poirel, Ugo di San Vittore : storia, scienza, contempla zione, Milano : Jaca Book, 1997 (Eredità Medievale, 9), p. 89-90. 14 See Godfrey, Fons philosophiae, ed. Pierre Michaud-Quantin, Namur : Godenne, 1956 (Analecta Mediaevalia Namurcensia, 8).
220
Antonio Sordillo
accomodates and deepens its doctrine and the eschatological and soteriological aspects15. However Godfrey absorbs from Hugh above all his encyclopedism and the reflection concerning the safeguarding of a guarantee of goodness pertinent to the mechanical and liberal arts in virtue of their preparatory value for the attainment of wisdom. Hugh, like Godfrey, legitimizes the profane arts because he puts them into a soteriological framework in which scientiae themselves are considered as instruments : in this way, then, Hugh organizes the Victorine pedagogy into a plan for the salvation of souls which incorporates that pedagogy for an higher purpose16. The two masteries of Hugh and Godfrey are perfectly coherent with each other : the Fons philosophiae receives the Hugh’s pedagogical heritage so that Godfrey merges it with the narration of his biography17, while the Microcosmus deals with the secular sciences by inserting them into the beautiful and complex architecture of human soul. Godfrey protests here against that folk etymology, already pointed out by Hugh, which identifies in the mechanical arts the justification of their confinement to the extreme limits allowed by an almost universal ennobling of every form of human knowledge18 : for Godfrey the arts can be 15 See Id., Microcosmus, ed. Philippe Delhaye, Lille – Gembloux : Facultés Catholiques – Duculot, 1951 (Mémoires et travaux publiés par les professeurs des Facultés Catholiques de Lille, 56) = Godefroid de Saint-Victor. Œuvres, t. 1 : Microcosmus, ed., transl. and notes by Françoise Gasparri, with the collab. of Jean Grosfillier and Patrice Sicard, L’Œuvre de Godefroid de Saint-Victor, t. 1 : Le Microcosme (Microcosmus), Turnhout : Brepols, 2020 (Sous la Règle de saint Augustin, 16). 16 The bibliography on the value of arts in Hugh is very rich. See at least : Pierre Vallin, « Mechanica et Philosophia selon Hugues de Saint-Victor », in Revue d’histoire de la spiritualité, t. 49, 1973, p. 257-288 ; Lucia Miccoli, « Le arti meccaniche nelle classificazioni delle scienze di Ugo di San Vittore e Domenico Gundisalvi », in Annali della Facoltà di Lettere e Filosofia dell’Università di Bari, t. 24, 1981, p. 73-101 ; Elspeth Whitney, Paradise restored : the Mechanical Arts from Antiquity through the Thirteenth Century, Philadelphia : American Philosophical Society, 1990 (Transactions of the American Philosophical Society, 80.1) ; Pascale Duhamel, « Les arguments de l’insertion des arts mécaniques dans le Didascalicon de Hugues de Saint- Victor », in Memini, t. 2, 1998, p. 127-138 ; Franco Alessio, « La riflessione sulle artes mechanicae (secoli XII-XIV) », in Id., Studi di storia della filosofia medievale, a cura di Gianni Francioni, Pisa : ETS, 2002, p. 121-144 ; Franco De Capitani, « Ugo di San Vittore e il problema delle artes mechanicae », in Rivista di Filosofia Neo-Scolastica, t. 92/3-4, 2000, p. 424-460. 17 See Edward A. Synan, « Introduction », in The fountain of philosophy : a translation of the twelfth century, Fons philosophiae of Godfrey of Saint Victor, ed. and trans. Edward A. Synan, Toronto : Pontifical Institute of Mediaeval Studies, 1972, p. 19-30 : p. 20. 18 Hugh, Richard and Godfrey do not include magical and divinatory arts among the disciplines of philosophia. See Hugh, Didascalicon, VI, 15, ed. Charles H. Buttimer, Washington, DC : Catholic University Press, 1939 (Studies in Medieval and Renaissance Latin, 10), p. 132-133 = PL 176, col. 810C-812B ; Richard, Liber exceptionum, I, 25, ed. Jean Châtillon, Paris : Vrin, 1958 (Textes philosophiques du Moyen Âge, 5), p. 112-113 = PL 177, col. 203B-204B. For Godfrey, see below, note 24.
« Speculator castrorum Dei »
221
re-evaluated not for their application for deleterious or utilitarian purposes, but in consideration of their practical use in everyday life19. The theme of the mechanical and liberal arts is also treated by Godfrey in his sermons, where the didactic need of his other works gives way to the aims of homiletics : the Victorine pedagogy of the treatises does not disappear, but nevertheless gives way to exhortation to the reader or auditor to make the most of the preacher’s words. In this sermons there aren’t notions to be learned, but a previous knowledge acquired on school texts is evoked. Philosophy and preaching In his sermons Godfrey questions himself about the status of the mechanical and liberal arts, always within a framework that includes the history of sin. Like for Hugh, for Godfrey arts are the device found by man to survive the miserable postlapsarian condition : thus, the mechanical arts are a physical support to the physical precariousness of mortal man, while liberal arts represent the human effort to perceive the divine light, clear before sin, but which now appears only as a shadow. What, then, should have done the miserable man who found himself among these most cruel enemies ? He began to think about some consoling artifices of his miseries, and found some sciences of false name, that is the mechanical arts, which certainly lent themselves to his consolation, but corrupted his soul, since they usurped the place (surrepserunt) of science from the real name, i.e. of the knowledge of their creator, to whom the human soul was once bound (maritatus), as when a wife is removed from the bridal chamber of her own man, almost violently, in the bridal chamber of o thers. He found, I mean, agriculture and hunting against the pains of hunger and thirst ; against nakedness, cold and heat, wool, leather goods and the blacksmith arts ; against famine and adversity, trading and trade ; against diseases and the imbalances of the body the medicinal arts ; but even against some defects of the soul he found the major sciences, that is the liberal and philosophical arts, but also themselves however (they 19 See Godfrey, Microcosmus, I, 55, ed. Gasparri, p. 140, l. 7-12 : « Et prime quidem, id est mechanice, licet hoc nomen sortite sint propter abusum earum, quoniam plerumque ad voluptatem eis abuntur homines, cum nonnisi ad necessitatem et utilitatem invente sint, rectius tamen et ipse practice dicerentur propter bonum usum earum qui in exteriori actu consistit ». See also : Philippe Delhaye, Le Microcosmus de Godefroy de Saint-Victor. Étude théologique, Lille – Gembloux : Facultés Catholiques – Duculot, 1951, p. 115 : « Fidèle à son point de vue humaniste, Godefroy affirme son estime pour les sciences techniques et proteste contre le jeu de mots classique : Science mechanice seu moeche seu adulterine. Certes, l’homme peut s’en servir pour la volupté et le plaisir, mais cet excès possible ne supprime pas leur valeur. Il suffit de les diriger vers un but honnête, pour l’utilité qu’elles présentent, comme des moyens indispensables à la vie quotidienne ».
222
Antonio Sordillo
are) shadowy, and they commit themselves to the knowledge of the truth, not getting there. Therefore, having found all these as weapons, the miserable man began to fight armed against his pains, if in some way he was ever able to defeat them. But the more he devoted himself to them, the harder they resisted him, and if he believed they were destroyed, they re-emerged. In fact the ruins of the womb, as much as they are repaired, so much they are renewed. Therefore, the miserable man, seeing that he was making little or no improvement and that his enemies, whom he had endeavored to fight, could not be totally overcom, tired from tedium and broken in his soul, began to watch no longer to overcome them once and for all, but to mitigate them day and night20.
After the original sin, the soul experiences the drama of the corruption of the body, finding itself entangled in materiality. Mechanical arts are then defined as misleading sciences, as opposed to cognitio veritatis, the only true but unknowable science in the postlapsarian state. Liberal arts, however, arise from man’s urgent need to get to the knowledge of that truth and for this reason Godfrey considers them hierarchically and axiologically superior to the former. The precarious state of the physical world that the mechanical arts try to preserve is therefore also translated on a epistemological level, but for Godfrey artes, if exercised within the limits of man alone, can only fail or act as a temporary remedy21. The only way to get out of the state of physical and mental misery caused by sin and, therefore, the only way to see the light of God again is in the divine scintillula which is still 20
Godfrey, Sermo in quadragesima, ms. Paris, Bibl. Mazarine, 1002, f. 54rv : « Quid ergo faceret miser inter hos inimicos suos crudelissimos constitutus ? Excogitare cepit quedam artificia suarum miseriarum solatia, et invenit quasdam falsi nominis scientias, artes scilicet mechanicas ; que quidem ei solatia prestiterunt, sed animum ipsius adulteraverunt, quia veri nominis scientia, id est cognitione sui creatoris, cui olim humanus animus maritatus fuerat, velut uxore de proprii viri thoro exclusa quasi violenter in alienum thorum surrepserunt. Invenit, inquam, contra penalitates famis et sitis agriculturas et venationes ; contra nuditatem, frigus et estum lanificas, pelliparias et fabriles artes ; contra egestates et adversitates mercaturas et negotiationes ; contra egritudines et inequalitates corporis medicinales artes ; sed et contra animi defectus quasdam maiores quidem scientias, id est liberales artes et philosophicas, sed et ipsas tamen umbratiles et ad cognitionem veritatis, quam pollicentur, non perducentes. His itaque omnibus inventis, velut quibusdam armis, armatus homo miser penalitates suas obpugnare cepit, si quomodo eas expugnari contingeret. Sed quo magis illis institit, eo durius ille resistebant, et siquando eas extinxisse videbatur, ille reviviscebant. Ventris enim ruine quotiens resarciuntur, tociens renovantur. Videns ergo infelix se parum vel nichil profecisse, et hostes, quibus expugnandis adeo studuerat, funditus exturbari non posse, tedio fatigatus et animo fractus, non iam eis expugnandis semel sed mitigandis die ac nocte cepit invigilare ». 21 Hugh and Richard also consider artes as natural remediation thanks to which the foundation of all human knowledge is possible. See Hugh, Didascalicon, VI, 14, ed. Buttimer, p. 130, l. 17-131, l. 3 = PL 176, col. 809CD ; Richard, Liber exceptionum, I, i, 4, ed. Châtillon, p. 105 = PL 177, col. 195BC.
« Speculator castrorum Dei »
223
present in the human soul and which represents the bond still present, albeit more fleeting, of the rational creature with his own Creator22. Elsewhere, in a sermon for Palm Sunday, Godfrey presents episodes of the flight of the chosen people from Egypt and the end of the Babylonian captivity. Godfrey’s exegesis aims to illustrate slavery among the Egyptians as a symbol of the mechanical arts, which were given to man to provide for his basic needs, such as nourishment and protection from the cold. These disciplines, however, led man to slavery, since his soul was corrupted by darkness, separating itself from the light of the divine wisdom with which it was previously joined as in a marriage. So see which of these regions you are in, and from there set out on the journey back to your homeland. But pay attention how you walk, i.e. that you don’t walk without a road (sine via) or a guide (sine duce). Whoever commits sin walks without a road. In fact, every sin is an impervious place (invium). Whoever walks on a road tends in his actions to pursue a useful end. In fact, what is completely useless is inaccessible. But not every road leads from exile to the homeland. In fact, there are roads that lead to Egypt, there are roads that lead through Egypt and there are still roads that lead out of Egypt. The roads that lead to Egypt are the mechanical arts, which envelop the soul devoted to itself in darkness and secular care and and alter their nature (adulterant) by making them strangers to the light of wisdom, to which they should have been united in lawful marriage. For this reason they are also called ‘mechanice’, i.e. ‘adulterine’. However, there are also ways and not impervious, fort they lead their traveler towards something useful and lead him in an artificial way ; and, although with difficulty, in some way they can be exercised without sin. It is therefore only an occasion, and not a cause, that leads them to Egypt23. 22 Godfrey, Sermo in quadragesima, ms. Paris, Bibl. Mazarine, 1002, f. 54v-55r : « Sicque factum est ut tempus quod totum militie Dei sui debuerat, totum vel militie diaboli vel mitigandis penalitatibus suis cogeretur impendere. Proh dolor, quam miseranda conditio ! Verumtamen, quia seductus ab alio, non irreparabiliter lapsus est homo, non omnino oblitus est creatoris sui, vivente in eo adhuc aliqua rationis scintillula, que nec in eam extingui potuit, sed quandoque inter miserias suas ad requiem, inter tenebras ad nativum lumen suum, licet tenuiter, respexit, ideoque et divine misericordie respectum meruit. » 23 Godfrey, Sermo in dominica in ramis palmarum, ms. Paris, Bibl. Mazarine, 1002, f. 67v : « Vide ergo in qua harum regionum sis, et inde iter move, ad patriam rediturus. Sed cave quomodo ambules, videlicet ne vel sine via vel sine duce ambules. Sine via ambulat qui peccatum facit. Nam omne peccatum invium est. In via ambulat qui ad aliquem utilem finem in actionibus suis tendit. Nam quod omnino inutile est, invium est. Sed non omnis via de exilio in patriam ducit. Nam sunt vie que ducunt in Egyptum, et sunt vie que ducunt per Egyptum, et sunt vie que educunt de Egypto. Vie que ducunt in Egyptum artes mechanice sunt, que animum sibi deditum tenebris et curis involvunt secularibus, et a luce sapientie cui legitime maritari debuerat, alienantes adulterant. Unde et ‘mechanice’, id est adulterine vocantur. Vie tamen sunt et non invia, quia viatorem suum et ad aliquid utile et artificiose ducunt et, licet difficile, aliquo tamen modo sine peccato exerceri possunt. Unde occasione sola, non etiam causa, in Egyptum ducunt ».
224
Antonio Sordillo
Godfrey specifies, however, that mechanical arts do not represent the cause of slavery, but the favorable occasion that has come at a useful moment (occasio). Nevertheless, the viator, i.e. the man who wanders in the desert of his mortal life as well as the chosen people fleeing from the pharaoh, can follow other paths which, according to the Old Testament allegory, are liberal or philosophical arts. In this case, however, liberal arts are falsely called scientiae, because their attempts to search for that divine light that bound the human soul to God before the Fall are worthless. Therefore, if on one side Godfrey recognizes the epistemological and moral limits of mechanical and liberal arts, on the other side he grants them the margin of ennoblement. Philosophy for this reason has legitimacy on Godfrey’s part because it represents the result of the combination and unification of all artes. Of course, the distance between Babylon and Jerusalem is enormous and consequently it can only be bridged with grace : sine Christo, Godfrey adds between the lines, there is no sapientia, therefore not even salvation24. The perimeter within which the exercise of human reason is legitimate is then for Godfrey the same as theorized by Hugh. Philosophy, i.e. the ensemble of theoretical, practical, logical and mechanical arts, assumes meaning and dignity in the vertical structure that leads it towards theological sapientia, which is both pagan metaphysics, totally human, and actual theology, granted to man by the Revelation25. In other words, for Godfrey there are two types of philosophy allowed to 24 Godfrey partially re-evaluates mechanical and liberal arts also in his Sermo in sinodo, but distinguishing them clearly from each other and emphasizing the distance from the scientia divinae legis, the only one that the priest must exercise. See Godfrey, Sermo in sinodo, ms. Paris, Bibl. Mazarine, 1002, f. 32v-33r : « Porro sicut non quelibet aqua quolibet igne decocta sal efficitur, sic non quelibet scientia qualibet virtute decocta sapientia. Quedam enim sunt scientie que vel nullo igne virtutis decoqui possunt, vel, si decoquuntur, sacerdotale tamen sal non fiunt. […] Anime tales sunt et ludicre ille scientie poematum, comediarum, tragediarum, cetereque mimice et scurriles, que ad rem non pertinent. Tales sunt precipue noxie ille scientie magicarum et divinationum, que omnes nulla virtute decoqui possunt, quia vel vitiose vel vitiis proxime sunt, virtus vero vitio inpermixta est. Tales nichilominus sunt et ille que videntur magne scientie, philosophice scilicet et mechanice que, etsi aliquid veritatis vel utilitatis in se habeant, ideoque quibusdam virtutibus decoqui possint – nam et quidam philosophi magnis quibusdam politicis virtutibus decocti leguntur –, non tamen usque ad sal sacerdotale decoqui possunt. Una sola scientia est velut quedam aqua naturaliter in se sapida, que si proportionaliter virtutis igne decoquatur, sal sacerdotale efficitur […]. Hec, inquam, est scientia divine legis que sola, si habeatur et virtutis igne decoquitur, sal sacerdotale efficitur. Necesse est igitur sacerdoti hanc et sic decoctam habere, si tamen vult sal terre (Mt 5, 13), de quo Dominus hic loquitur, esse ». 25 See Dominique Poirel, « Les visages de la philosophie chez Hugues de Saint-Victor », in Regards sur les traditions philosophiques (xiie-xvie siècles), ed. Dragos Calma – Zénon Kaluza, Leuven : Leuven University Press, 2017, [p. 23-68], p. 33 : « Entre la foi chrétienne et la raison philosophique, il n’y a ni concordisme ni incompatibilité, mais il y a étagement et complémentarité. La philosophie, c’est-à-dire l’exercice de la raison humaine, offre un outillage intellectuel
« Speculator castrorum Dei »
225
man : the speculatio of the preacher and the contemplatio of the man of faith26. The humana philosophia can be useful or detrimental, vain if relegated to the saeculum or to the study of elements, but the vera philosophia27, the one that carries to God, is useful, good, even necessary for man and his salvation28.
qui, à lui seul, ne suffit pas à conduire aux vérités les plus hautes de la foi chrétienne, mais y tend spontanément, en raison d’une ordination naturelle de l’homme à sa fin divine. La foi ne se substitue donc pas à la raison, mais elle offre à la raison un cadre favorable, pour qu’elle s’exerce correctement » ; and p. 44 : « La doctrine d’Hugues n’identifie pas la philosophie et la foi chrétienne, elle ne les oppose pas non plus ; mais elle interpose entre l’une et l’autre une distance, qui est aussi un chemin, un itinéraire. La philosophie n’est pas la foi, mais elle peut, elle devrait même, conduire à son seuil ». 26 Godfrey never explicits in his work the difference between speculatio and contemplatio, but there is no doubt that this distinction is at the basis of Victorine teaching. From Godfrey’s words, however, it is clear that speculatio is the reflection (as consideration) from above on the created world (he plays with the meanings of the words specula and speculum) and the intermediate stage between meditatio and contemplatio. Therefore it indicates the movement of the rational soul towards the contemplation of truth, from creation to the Creator. See Dale M. Coulter, Contemplation as ‘Speculation’. A comparison on Boethius, Hugh of St Victor and Richard of St Victor, in From Knowledge to Beatitude, p. 204-228. In the abbey of St Victor this process is accomplished through the virtuous practice of precise spiritual exercises. See Patrice Sicard, Diagrammes médiévaux et exégèse visuelle. Le Libellus de formatione arche de Hugues de Saint-Victor, Paris – Turnhout : Brepols, 1993 (Bibliotheca Victorina, 4), p. 193-253. 27 By vera philosophia we mean the attempt to confront human reason with Revelation. This effort of reason leds medieval authors to reflect on the boundaries of philosophy and, consequently, on the limitation of human reason in comparison with the divine mystery. See : Giu lio D’Onofrio, Vera philosophia. Studies in Late Antique medieval and Renaissance Christian Thought, Turnhout : Brepols, 2008 (Nutrix, 1) ; tr. it. Roma : Città Nuova, 2013 (Institutiones, 1). 28 See Godfrey, Sermo II in prima dominica adventus Domini, ms. Paris, Bibl. Mazarine, 1002, f. 16v : « Est et aliud quoque genus noctis et diei in quo solus perfectus in hac vita vicibus alternis versatur, videlicet actio et contemplatio. Actio, inquam, non que colligit superflua, sed que distribuit etiam necessaria ; non que terrena, sed celestia lucra captat ; non que divinis conquirendis, sed elemosinis distribuendis insudat ; non que viduas et orphanos depauperat, sed sustentat ; non que reos punit, sed liberat ; non que infirmos facit, sed sanat ; non que vivos occidit, sed morientes vivificat ; non denique que malis, sed que bonis operibus vacat. Contemplatio quoque, non que philosophie vana figmenta sompniat, sed que vere fidei archana perlustrat ; non que terrenorum, sed que celorum profunda penetrat ; non que maris, sed que mentis fluctus considerat ; non que terre molem, sed que culpe gravedinem pensat ; non que elementorum, sed que animorum conplexionem commendat ; non que stellarum motus et staciones, sed que beatorum in celo mansiones investigat ; non denique que rerum naturam philosophando explorat, sed que Dei gratia contemplando conciliat ».
Les sermons in generali capitulo d’Absalon de Saint-Victor : réflexions sur la prédication victorine de la fin du xiie siècle Marguerite Vernet
Malgré la vigueur renouvelée des études victorines ces dernières années, nous ne trouvons que peu de travaux sur la prédication des maîtres de Saint-Victor, pourtant un élément essentiel de la vocation de chanoine victorin. Ces études proposent quelques réflexions sur les sermons de l’un ou l’autre des prédicateurs de l’abbaye parisienne1, cependant ce genre littéraire reste peu étudié chez les victorins. Ils font en effet pâle figure à côté des grands traités spirituels et théologiques, des commentaires exégétiques, et de nombreux autres écrits des deuxième et troisième quarts du xiie siècle. Mais après cette période particulièrement prospère intellectuellement, l’historiographie relève, à la fin du xiie siècle, un changement pour l’abbaye parisienne. Cette dernière semble se refermer sur elle-même, notamment à cause de sa production littéraire qui est moins variée et intellectuellement moins aboutie2. Le genre qui s’impose majoritairement à Saint-Victor est alors la prédication, et une prédication adressée à la communauté. Les auteurs sont moins 1
Parmi les quelques études sur la prédication victorine, signalons l’étude de Jean Longère sur « La fonction pastorale de Saint-Victor à la fin du xiie et au début du xiiie siècle », dans L’abbaye parisienne de Saint-Victor au Moyen Âge : communications présentées au XIIIe Colloque d’Humanisme médiéval de Paris, éd. Id., Turnhout : Brepols, 1991 (Bibliotheca Victorina, 1), p. 291-313. Jean Châtillon est aussi l’auteur de plusieurs éditions et commentaires des sermons d’Achard, de Richard et de Gautier. Philippe Delhaye pour sa part s’est tourné vers les sermons de Godefroy. 2 Pour une interprétation plus positive de cette évolution, voir Dominique Poirel, « Dominicains et Victorins à Paris dans la première moitié du xiiie siècle », dans Lector et compilator, Vincent de Beauvais frère prêcheur et son milieu au xiiie siècle, éd. Serge Lusignan – Monique Omnium expetendorum prima est sapientia. Studies on Victorine thought and influence, ed. by Wanda Bajor, Michał Buraczewski, Marcin Jan Janecki and Dominique Poirel, BV, 29 (Turnhout, 2021), p. 227–243. © BREPOLSPUBLISHERS DOI 10.1484/M.BV-EB.5.126040
228
Marguerite Vernet
connus, moins étudiés, considérés comme mineurs. Cependant, si la transformation qui s’opère à Saint-Victor en cette fin de siècle est bien réelle, elle est loin d’être un arrêt brutal de ce qui constitue l’essence même de l’école victorine et de son rayonnement intellectuel. Nous souhaitons interroger ce changement à travers l’étude de quelques sermons victorins de cette époque. Ces textes sont issus d’un corpus de cinquante et un sermons publiés dans la Patrologia Latina3 et attribués à un certain Absalon. Le peu d’études menées jusqu’à présent sur ce prédicateur a donné naissance à un débat historiographique qui remonte au xviiie siècle et n’est à l’heure actuelle toujours pas tranché. L’histoire victorine fait en effet mention de deux Absalon à la même période, le premier abbé de Springiersbach4 à la fin du xiie siècle, et le second abbé de Saint-Victor quelques années après. Le débat oppose ceux qui voient en eux deux personnes distinctes, attribuant le recueil des cinquante et un sermons à l’abbé de Springiersbach, mort en fonction aux alentours de 1196. D’autres voient en eux une seule et même personne qui aurait successivement porté ces deux charges et serait l’auteur de ce même recueil (l’Absalon à la tête de l’abbaye parisienne est mort pour sa part en 1203). Nous avons relevé dans un précédent travail plusieurs arguments en faveur de l’une et de l’autre positions5. Les derniers avis semblent attribuer le corpus de sermons à l’abbé de Springiersbach uniquement6. L’étude que nous avons eu l’occasion de mener pour notre part ne nous a pas permis de trancher avec certitude ce débat mais tend à reconsidérer la thèse de l’unité des deux hommes. Tous cependant s’accordent pour attribuer ce corpus de prédication à Absalon de Springiersbach, qu’il ait été ou non, par la suite, abbé de Saint-Victor. Formé comme magister à Saint-Victor de Paris, il a ensuite été envoyé à Springiersbach pour réformer la communauté de chanoines réguliers. Il semble qu’il ait été à la tête de cette même communauté durant quatre années. Il est l’auteur de deux types d’écrits. Tout d’abord un recueil de distinctiones, le Paulmier-Foucart – Marie-Christine Duchenne, Grâne : Créaphis, 1997 (Rencontres à Royaumont), p. 170-187. 3 Absalon de Saint-Victor, Sermones festivales, éd. PL 211, col. 11A-294D. 4 Abbaye qui entretient un lien ténue de filiation avec Saint-Victor. Voir Ferdinand Pauly, Springiersbach, Trier : Paulinus-Verlag, 1962. 5 Voir Marguerite Vernet, La question de la communauté dans les sermons in generali capitulo d’Absalon de Saint-Victor, Mémoire de master sous la direction de Cécile Caby, Université de Lyon 2 Lumière, 2019, p. 40-45. 6 Voir Dominique Poirel, « L’école de Saint-Victor au Moyen Âge : bilan d’un demi-siècle historiographique », dans Bibliothèque de l’École des chartes, t. 156/1, 1998, p. 187-207, ici p. 201202, reprenant Franz J. Worstbrock dans le Verfasserlexicon, t. 1, Berlin – New York : De Gruyter, 1978, col. 17-19 ; et Michael Embach, « Die “sermones festivales” des Absalom von Springiersbach. Ein Werk der viktorinisch geprägten Predigtliteratur », dans Kurtrierisches Jahrbuch, t. 50, 2010, p. 149-165.
Les sermons in generali capitulo d’Absalon de Saint-Victor 229 Gregorianus abbreviatus, qui s’inspire du Gregorianum7 de Garnier de Saint-Victor († v. 1170). Particulièrement utilisés au service de la prédication, les recueils de distinctions sont un genre qui se développe à partir de la fin du xiie siècle et témoigne de l’importance que prend la prédication dans l’abbaye à cette époque. De fait l’autre production du Victorin est le recueil de sermons évoqué plus haut. À l’intérieur de ce corpus de prédication, nous nous pencherons plus spécifiquement sur quatre sermons qui ont la particularité d’avoir été prêchés à l’occasion de chapitres généraux de l’ordre victorin8. Les sermons prononcés lors de ces assemblées sont particulièrement travaillés et dignes d’intérêt, car ils portent un discours sur la communauté. Ainsi le sermon XXVII9 appréhende la question de la responsabilité du pasteur face à la communauté. Le sermon XXIX10 pour sa part, propose une approche plus sociologique de cette même communauté, avec notamment une description de son organisation, ainsi que des différentes fonctions occupées par les chanoines. Enfin les sermons XXVIII11 et XXX12 sont très semblables, dans le sens où ils utilisent respectivement l’arche d’alliance et le candélabre pour présenter les différentes réalités humaines et spirituelles de la communauté. Ce travail sera l’occasion de mettre en évidence l’importance de l’étude des textes victorins plus tardifs, notamment ceux relevant de la prédication. Nous voulons en effet montrer à travers ces quelques sermons comment à la fin du xiie siècle, malgré le changement réel auquel l’abbaye parisienne fait face, les victorins se présentent comme témoins et vecteurs d’une pensée qui, encore aujourd’hui, imprègne l’Europe. Nous verrons tout d’abord comment le sermon prend part aux réflexions théologiques et plus spécifiquement ecclésiologiques de cette époque et à leurs conséquences sur la vie de l’Église et de la communauté. Le deuxième temps de cette réflexion sera consacré à l’étude de la forme des textes homilétiques pour tenter de comprendre la façon dont les victorins contribuent à la mise en place du nouvel art de prêcher qui trouve son plein essor au xiiie siècle.
7
Florilège constitué à partir de la pensée de saint Grégoire, voir Dominique Poirel, « L’école de Saint-Victor au Moyen Âge », p. 195. 8 Nous avons tenté de produire une synthèse sur le chapitre général victorin dans notre précédente étude : La question de la communauté dans les sermons in generali capitulo d’Absalon de Saint-Victor, à partir des rares éléments à notre disposition. 9 PL 211, col. 157D-162D. 10 PL 211, col. 163A-168A. 11 PL 211, col. 168B-177C. 12 PL 211, col. 177C-182A.
230
Marguerite Vernet I. Le sermo in generali capitulo, discours sur la communauté, discours sur l’Église
En tant que discours sur la communauté, le sermon in generali capitulo est une voie d’accès particulièrement riche et pertinente à la réalité de l’abbaye parisienne et à son appréhension par les hommes de la fin du xiie siècle. C’est en particulier le cas des sermons XXVIII et XXX. L’arche d’alliance et le candélabre représentent l’Église au sens allégorique. Ainsi dans le cas du sermon XXVIII, le Victorin précise qu’à travers l’arche dans son ensemble il faut comprendre l’Église13. Il en est de même pour le chandelier : « L’un d’eux, le candélabre d’or qui est indiqué sur ordre du Seigneur, est retenu pour figurer l’Église14 ». Parallèlement à cette première association, proposée explicitement par le prédicateur, chaque élément de ces deux res bibliques est donné pour une réalité de la communauté victorine, que ce soit les prélats et leurs fonctions, les vertus qui leur sont nécessaires ou bien encore les différents membres de la communauté qui s’organisent sous l’autorité du prélat, les simples chanoines, les maîtres ou ceux qui ont en charge de la gestion matérielle de l’abbaye15. Par là, il assimile donc cette communauté particulière à l’Église universelle. Ainsi, la communauté devient Ecclesia victorina. Ce processus semble être une clé de lecture pour les quatre sermons. En effet, si les deux autres sermons n’emploient pas une allégorie structurante, l’assimilation de l’Église à la communauté reste présente, bien que de façon moins directe. Dans le sermon XXIX, nous trouvons certaines allégories de l’Église associées notamment à la femme hébraïque qui éduque Moïse ou le chanoine dans la vertu : « L’enfant né d’une mère hébraïque est l’homme du cloître, éduqué par l’Église dans une vie nouvelle16 ». Le choix de cette clef de lecture se justifie par la place centrale qu’occupe l’Église dans la pensée victorine. Jean Châtillon a mis en avant ce phénomène, affirmant que l’originalité des victorins sur la question de l’Église n’est pas tant dans le contenu que dans la place que leur théologie ou surtout leur spiritualité lui fait. Il n’y a pour eux de vie spirituelle que dans l’Église et par l’Église. En effet, « plus subordonnés à la hiérarchie ecclésiastique que les moines et moins dégagés des exigences de l’action du ministère apostolique, les chanoines réguliers ont été plus portés à méditer le mystère de l’Église. Leur vie spirituelle est d’avantage axée sur 13
Sermo XXVIII, éd. PL 211, col. 163B : « per arcam Ecclesiam, […] debemus accipere. » Sermo XXX, éd. PL 211, col. 177D : « Ex quibus unum est quod, jubente Domino, in figuram Ecclesiae, candelabrum aureum praecipitur. » 15 Voir ci-dessous, p. 236-240. 16 Sermo XXIX, éd. PL 211, col. 169C : « Puer a matre Hebraea genitus, claustralis est ab ecclesia in novitate vitae institutus. » 14
Les sermons in generali capitulo d’Absalon de Saint-Victor 231 l’idée de communauté et celle d’Église. […] Le moine veut vivre la vie angélique, le chanoine s’inspire plutôt de l’idéal de pauvreté et de communauté qui est celui de la vie apostolique. Il ne faut pas nous étonner dès lors que la spiritualité canoniale soit essentiellement liturgique et ecclésiologique et que, en retour, l’ecclésiologie victorine soit une spiritualité17. » L’assimilation entre la communauté victorine et l’Église universelle relève donc d’une synecdoque dans laquelle la partie désigne le tout. C’est à partir des réalités de la communauté qu’Absalon porte un discours sur l’Église universelle. Les sermons in generali capitulo deviennent un laboratoire pour penser l’Église et ses mystères. En cela les victorins de cette période, par la prédication, participent de ce moment particulier d’élaboration ecclésiologique qui occupe le xiie et les premières années du xiiie siècle. 1. Église victorine, Église terrestre, Église céleste Parmi les développements théologiques du xiie siècle, nous pouvons noter l’apparition d’une nouvelle expression, celle d’Ecclesia militans, que l’on retrouve dans la prédication d’Absalon. Christine Thouzellier explique ce changement par le contexte de la fin du xie siècle. Au terme d’un long processus de spiritualisation de la chevalerie, l’appel à la croisade par Urbain II transforme peu à peu le miles féodal en soldat authentique du Christ. L’armée des croisés prend conscience de son unité d’Ecclesia. Cette expression d’Ecclesia militans est donc née à la suite d’un état de fait18. Elle apparaît pour la première fois dans l’Historia scholastica de Pierre le Mangeur († 1179), puis dans les Allegoriae super tabernaculum Mojsi de Pierre de Poitiers, le De tabernaculo de Pierre de Celle († 1183) et la Summa Abel de Pierre le Chantre († 1195). Elle est utilisée par Godefroy de Saint-Victor dans son sermo in generali capitulo. Absalon à son tour l’emploie à plusieurs reprises dans l’ensemble du corpus des cinquante et un sermons, en particulier dans le sermon XVIII19. Cette terminologie se développe dans le contexte d’une ecclésiologie augustinienne où nous trouvons d’un côté la cité de Dieu et de l’autre la cité du Diable. Dans la première se trouve la cité céleste, où résident les anges et les saints, et la cité terrestre est en pèlerinage vers elle. Avec l’apparition du terme d’Ecclesia militans, c’est cette nature pérégrinante de la cité terrestre qui est questionnée. En effet dans 17 Jean Châtillon, « Une ecclésiologie médiévale : l’idée de l’Église dans la théologie de l’école de Saint-Victor au xiie siècle », dans Le mouvement canonial au Moyen Âge : réforme de l’Église, spiritualité et culture, (Bibliotheca Victorina, 3), Turnhout : Brepols, 1992, p. 294-323, ici p. 323. 18 Christine Thouzellier, « Ecclesia militans », dans Études d’histoire du Droit canonique dédiées à Georges Le Bras, Paris : Sirey, 1965, t. 2, p. 1407-1423, ici p. 1412. 19 Sermo XVIII, éd. PL 211, col. 111C : « Et Ecclesia quidem adhuc militans in terris. »
232
Marguerite Vernet
les premières occurrences, les formules timides de militans, militantium désignent la même réalité que les mots peregrinantium, peregrinamur. Cette notion d’une Église militante continue à pénétrer les esprits20. Dans les quatre sermons qui nous concernent aujourd’hui, nous trouvons une légère évolution dans la conception de l’Église terrestre par rapport à la pensée augustinienne. Le Victorin y aborde à trois reprises la question du combat. Il présente notamment la communauté victorine comme une armée, exercitus rangée en ligne de bataille avec, à sa tête, le prélat : Supposons une armée avec son chef, rangée en ligne de bataille, sur le point d’affronter l’ennemi. Si d’aventure le chef de guerre hésitait, les soldats prennent la fuite. Il en est de même pour les prélats et leurs subordonnés quand ils sont en campagne pour le Seigneur, pour combattre les puissances maléfiques21.
L’ecclésiologie du haut Moyen Âge a eu tendance à mettre l’accent sur la cité céleste et non sur le contingent terrestre. Pour comprendre cette orientation nous pouvons, à la suite de Dominique Poirel, faire le lien entre ecclésiologie et angélologie22. Jusqu’au xiie siècle, le Moyen Âge porte une angélologie grégorienne qui présente les neuf chœurs angéliques comme une imperfection due à la chute de Satan, le dixième. En ce sens l’homme doit s’évertuer à parfaire les chœurs angéliques en occupant cette dixième place et pour cela imiter les anges23. Ainsi l’ensemble du paysage religieux qui est avant tout monastique dans cette période s’évertue à intégrer, déjà sur cette terre, l’Église céleste. On assiste à un réel changement avec le réveil dionysien au xiie siècle. Il est dû à la traduction et au commentaire faits par Hugues de Saint-Victor de la Hiérarchie céleste et leur diffusion dès le xiie siècle. Le pseudo-Denys y présente la hiérarchie céleste composée des neuf chœurs angéliques comme une perfection de trois triades. L’Église de la terre n’a plus à se fuir elle-même pour intégrer l’Église céleste mais elle a une existence propre et un intérêt en elle-même. L’Église céleste se présente là aussi comme un modèle pour sa sœur terrestre, non plus dans l’imitation de la nature des êtres qui la constituent, mais dans l’imitation de son organisation, son fonctionnent, sa hiérarchie. L’Église terrestre fonctionne alors comme une analogie de l’Église céleste24. Yves Congar
20
Christine Thouzellier, « Ecclesia militans », p. 1417. Sermo XXVIII, éd. PL 211, col. 163D-164A : « Ponamus exercitum cum duce suo constitutos in acie, et cum hostibus congressuros, si dux belli forte oberraverit, milites in fugam convertuntur. Ita etiam praelatis et subditis cum steterint in praelio Domini contra spiritales nequitias pugnaturi. » 22 Voir Dominique Poirel, « L’ange gothique » dans L’architecture gothique au service de la liturgie, dir. Agnès Bos – Xavier Dectot, Turnhout : Brepols, 2003, p. 115-144. 23 Ibid., p. 119-128. 24 Ibid., p. 130-135. 21
Les sermons in generali capitulo d’Absalon de Saint-Victor 233 parle d’un phénomène d’absorption de la cité de Dieu augustinienne par l’Église historique et visible25 dans le sens où elle porte aussi son mystère. Nous avons donc deux Églises qui existent en parallèle l’une de l’autre. C’est bien ce modèle que nous retrouvons dans le vocabulaire ecclésiologique du xiie siècle. L’Ecclesia militans que nous avons évoqué plus haut prend toute sa valeur et son sens lorsqu’elle est pensée en opposition ou en parallèle de l’Ecclesia triumphans qui est l’Église céleste26. C’est Pierre le Chantre le premier qui a pensé cette tension et cette correspondance. Elle est reprise par Absalon dans le sermon XLVII27. Cette évolution linguistique a pour conséquence de changer la perspective. En effet, la considération va moins du haut vers le bas comme chez les Pères, que du bas vers le haut. L’Église terrestre prend une consistance, une autonomie par rapport à celle du ciel, bien qu’elle lui demeure toute relative28. Cette réflexion ecclésiologique prend toute son ampleur dans le contexte de réforme de l’Église qui a lieu au xiie siècle. Nous pouvons en effet noter l’importance que prend l’évêque dans la hiérarchie ecclésiale, formant ses prêtres dans le cadre des conciles diocésains et participant aux réflexions conciliaires lors des consultations proposées par le pape. Le prêtre lui aussi voit son statut valorisé et renforcé par rapport au laïc. Toute cette hiérarchie est vue comme une perfection qui porte le mystère de l’Église. Il en est de même pour les communautés religieuses monastiques et canoniales qui se diversifient mais aussi se structurent en abbaye mère et abbayes filles sur le modèle de Cluny ou de Cîteaux, recréant cette hiérarchie, cette Église dans l’Église. Nous retrouvons ce même phénomène à l’intérieur de l’abbaye victorine. Par l’assimilation qu’il propose, Absalon la présente comme une réduction ou plutôt une analogie de l’Église terrestre, elle-même analogie de l’Église céleste. Dans les quatre sermons, le prédicateur oppose à de nombreuses reprises le prelatus aux subditi. Parmi ces derniers il présente les officiales29 qui ont des responsabilités supérieures, les magistri ou viri literati30 et enfin les simplices claustrales31. L’abbaye devient alors une Église victorine dont l’ordo porte cette perfection, imitation de l’Église céleste. 25 Yves Congar, « Église et Cité de Dieu chez quelques auteurs cisterciens à l’époque des croisades ; en particulier dans le De peregrinante civitate Dei d’Henri d’Albano », dans Mélanges offerts à Étienne Gilson de l’Académie française, Paris : Vrin, 1959 (Études de philosophie médiévale), p. 173-202, ici p. 180-181. 26 Christine Thouzellier, « Ecclesia militans », p. 1417. 27 Sermo XLVIII, éd. PL 211, col. 274C : « […] quum in vita praesenti sancta Ecclesia, et sancti Dei in ea militantes sive triumphantes ». 28 Voir Yves Congar, « Église et Cité de Dieu », p. 191. 29 PL 211, col. 174A : « Officiales, qui bona Ecclesiae recipiunt et custodiunt ». 30 PL 211, col. 178A : « literati viri capaces verbi Dei ». 31 PL 211, col. 174A : « Simplices igitur claustrales nihilliterati viri capaces verbi Dei ».
234
Marguerite Vernet
Les sermons se font donc témoins et garants de cette ecclésiologie victorine, issu du réveil dionysien et qui transforme l’ensemble de la pensée de l’Église de la deuxième partie du Moyen Âge. Le prédicateur calque cette conception dans le cadre de la communauté victorine. Cependant l’Église victorine n’est pas fermée sur elle-même. Au contraire, chez Absalon l’assimilation est aussi une ouverture sur l’Église universelle. Les chanoines réguliers, par leur vocation et plus encore par cette nouvelle ecclésiologie, sont tournés vers le siècle à travers une mission pastorale. 2. Les victorins : des clercs au service de la pastorale Le pseudo-Denys et Hugues dans son commentaire de la Hiérarchie céleste font de l’ange le modèle du clerc par sa fonction. Ce dernier agit dans le monde pour accomplir sa mission reçue d’en haut sur ceux qui lui sont hiérarchiquement soumis. Il hérite de l’ange cette triple mission : purification par la confession, illumination par la prédication et perfection par les sacrements32. Cette nouvelle ecclésiologie justifie le grand élan pastoral qui débute au xiie siècle, s’accomplit au xiiie et auquel les victorins prennent une part active. C’est cependant dans la deuxième période de l’histoire victorine, moins glorieuse, que cette mission se réalise plus pleinement. La fin du xiie siècle est parfois envisagée comme un refermement de la communauté sur elle-même. Cependant il est peut-être plus juste d’y voir, à la suite de Jean Longère33, un accomplissement de la vocation canoniale. L’abbaye se tourne justement vers l’extérieur de la communauté. En effet si les productions intellectuelles sont théologiquement moins abouties, il s’agit souvent de théologie pratique. Ainsi nous trouvons chez les victorins au xiiie siècle plusieurs textes de réflexion sur la question de la pénitence et de son administration34. Il est en effet nécessaire de penser la question et de former les chanoines sur ces questions car dès les premières années du xiiie siècle ils occupent la fonction de pénitenciers des étudiants parisiens et plus particulièrement de l’Université35, réalisant ainsi cette vocation pastorale.
32
Voir Dominique Poirel, « L’ange gothique » p. 135. Voir Jean Longère, « La fonction pastorale de Saint-Victor à la fin du xiie et au début du xiiie siècle », dans L’abbaye parisienne de Saint-Victor au Moyen Âge : communications présentées au XIIIe Colloque d’Humanisme médiéval de Paris, dir. Id., Turnhout : Brepols, 1991 (Bibliotheca Victorina, 1), p. 291-313. 34 Parmi ces traités nous pouvons évoquer la Compilation praesens de Pierre de Poitiers ainsi que les Summae de confessione de Robert de Flamesbourg et Ménend. 35 Jacques Verger, « Saint-Victor et l’Université », dans L’école de Saint-Victor de Paris : Influence et rayonnement du Moyen Âge à l’Époque moderne, dir. Dominique Poirel, Turnhout : Brepols, 2011 (Bibliotheca Victorina, 22), p. 139-152. 33
Les sermons in generali capitulo d’Absalon de Saint-Victor 235 Cependant l’outil pastoral par excellence est la prédication, dès le xiie siècle, mais plus encore au xiiie siècle où l’on assiste à une réelle offensive pastorale à l’égard du peuple. Les sermons proposés par Absalon, s’ils sont adressés à la communauté, peuvent tout à fait être utilisés par d’autres prédicateurs comme des modèles pour concevoir d’autres sermons. Mais plus que de simples modèles, les sermons in generali capitulo, pour leur part, peuvent être rapprochés des sermons ad clericos, souvent prêchés à l’occasion de synodes diocésains, qui ont pour objectif de former les pasteurs eux-mêmes à cette fonction. Il s’agit d’une formation morale, théologique mais aussi d’une formation à l’exégèse et à la prédication. C’est ce que fait Absalon lorsque, dans ses sermons, il rappelle le rôle du prélat face à ses subditi, compare ce dernier au chien qui garde le troupeau ou rappelle la façon dont l’Écriture sainte doit être interprétée. Le sermon dont nous gardons la trace aujourd’hui suppose un texte écrit qui, après la première prédication, a pu être lu pour un nouvel auditoire. Ces sermons étaient donc à la disposition des chanoines mais aussi probablement des étudiants parisiens venant fréquenter la bibliothèque de l’abbaye. Cette ouverture sur le siècle par la pastorale peut aussi être illustrée par le cas du manuscrit latin de la Bibl. nat. de France, lat. 14525. Il date du début du xiiie siècle et regroupe des textes de natures diverses, dont de nombreux sermons. La plupart sont d’origine victorine mais d’autres sont issus de la prédication de maîtres parisiens ou d’évêques. Parmi ces sermons se trouve le corpus complet de la prédication d’Absalon. Nous observons dans ce manuscrit un nombre important de sermons dédiés à la formation des clercs, prêchés en chapitres généraux, en synode ou à l’université. Ces prédications, plus particulièrement dédiées à la formation à la pastorale, sont accompagnées d’autres types de textes présents dans le manuscrit. Ainsi la Compilatio praesens de Pierre de Poitiers enseigne les aspects de théologie pratique relatifs à l’administration du sacrement de pénitence. Les constitutions de Latran IV sont un apport plus théorique sur le dogme qui saisit justement cette nouvelle ecclésiologie. Les traités spirituels de Bernard de Clairvaux et d’Hugues de Saint-Victor et les nombreuses sentences contenues dans ce manuscrit forment avant tout le pasteur à la sainteté pour conduire son troupeau par l’exemple. Les victorins, parce qu’ils portent cette nouvelle ecclésiologie dont Absalon s’est fait le témoin, sont partie prenante de ce mouvement pastoral de la fin du xiie et du début du xiiie siècle, dont la prédication est le fer de lance. II. Les victorins, artisans du nouvel art de prêcher Envisager le sermon comme un genre littéraire est chose complexe, car il est d’abord une performance orale, et les traces que nous en avons aujourd’hui, très
236
Marguerite Vernet
inégales, ne nous permettent de saisir qu’une seule dimension de la richesse de ces textes. Cependant le xiie siècle et plus encore le xiiie marquent une réelle mutation dans la prédication, théorisée par Nicole Bériou36. Jean Longère affirme qu’il s’agit avant tout d’un changement quantitatif. L’historien relève une augmentation importante de la prédication à partir de la fin du xie siècle, qui s’explique par diverses causes37. Ce changement quantitatif implique ensuite une réflexion sur la prédication en elle-même de la part des prédicateurs et des théologiens. Cette réflexion est la cause d’un changement radical dans la forme, qui devient l’une des caractéristiques du sermon comme genre littéraire à partir du xiie siècle. Nicole Bériou présente Paris comme un laboratoire de réflexion et d’expérience pour la prédication, par la concentration sur place des principales écoles de théologie. C’est dans cette ville qu’apparaît réellement une nouvelle manière de prêcher, tout entière nourrie des procédés d’exégèse des écoles. Elle parvient à maturité aux alentours de 123038. S’éloignant de la prédication monastique traditionnelle, le xiie siècle propose un nouvel usage du texte biblique sur lequel repose le sermon. En effet, c’est seulement une péricope biblique ou liturgique, appelé thema, qui forme le point de départ du sermon. Elle est ensuite déployée et nourrie tout au long du sermon par divers moyens exégétiques et techniques, proposant un ensemble très construit. Les maîtres victorins prennent une place importante dans cette réflexion et influencent beaucoup la prédication et la forme qu’elle prendra dans son état le plus abouti, dans la première moitié du xiiie siècle, sous l’expression de sermo modernus. C’est ce que nous voulons observer à partir des quatre sermons in generali capitulo d’Absalon. 1. Le sermon XXIX et l’exégèse victorine : une exégèse littérale et spirituelle Le sermon XXIX développe un thema issu du récit de la multiplication des pains de l’Évangile de Jean. « Est puer unus hic qui habet quinque panes hordeaceos, et duos pisces ». Absalon présente chaque élément du thema, l’un après l’autre, en les analysant et en les associant à des réalités de la communauté par une interprétation spirituelle. Ainsi le Victorin présente de prime abord une association de l’enfant aux religieux vivants dans le cloître. Dans cette optique, les qualités nécessaires à l’enfant le sont aussi pour les hommes cloîtrés. Après la question de l’enfance, Absalon propose un développement sur l’unité, car c’est un seul enfant dont il est question ici. L’unité se présente sous trois formes pour le chanoine dans 36
Voir Nicole Bériou, L’avènement des maîtres de la Parole. La prédication à Paris au xiiie siècle, Paris : Institut d’Études augustiniennes, 1998, 2 vol. 37 Jean Longère, La prédication médiévale, Paris : Études Augustiniennes, 1983 (Études Augustiniennes. Série Moyen Âge et Temps Modernes, 9), p. 231. 38 Voir Nicole Bériou, L’avènement des maîtres de la Parole, p. 7-9.
Les sermons in generali capitulo d’Absalon de Saint-Victor 237 le cloître. Absalon analyse ensuite les cinq vœux prononcés par le chanoine, qui sont les cinq pains portés par l’enfant. Enfin les deux poissons que porte l’enfant sont les deux sens spirituels de l’exégèse. Cette structure nous donne d’approcher l’exégèse utilisée par Absalon dans ce sermon. Plus de trente citations bibliques de différents types sont utilisées ici pour éclairer et dilater le sens de cette première péricope. Nous trouvons en effet des citations strictes, avec ou sans lemmes introducteurs, des allusions, des références verbales ou thématiques. Ces nombreuses citations ont des usages variés que nous n’aurons malheureusement pas l’occasion de développer ici. Au niveau de l’interprétation exégétique de ces mêmes citations, Absalon se fait le garant de l’héritage victorin en s’appuyant sur la lettre du texte avant toute interprétation spirituelle39. Dans le cas de ce sermon, prendre en compte le sens littéral, c’est suivre la lettre du verset. C’est en effet l’ordre des mots dans la phrase biblique qui donne au sermon sa structure. Cette nécessité du sens littéral dans l’exégèse, remise à l’honneur par les victorins, s’impose rapidement dans l’exégèse du Moyen Âge, notamment dans la prédication. Le sermon n’est cependant pas un commentaire exégétique complet ; c’est pourquoi le sens littéral est présent mais rapidement évoqué, sans s’y attarder. Il est tout de même à l’origine des différentes interprétations spirituelles. C’est ce que rappelle Absalon en assimilant les deux poissons qu’apporte l’enfant aux deux sens spirituels de l’exégèse, qui sont l’allégorie et la tropologie : Dans ces eaux des Écritures deux poissons sont nourris, c’est-à-dire, le sens allégorique et le sens moral. Ces deux poissons, selon ce que la loi commande, font un saut au-dessus de l’eau, parce qu’ils appellent le lecteur des Écritures à sortir du sens littéral vers des significations plus hautes40.
Dans cette image le sens spirituel des Écriture est bien issu de la lettre. Absalon présente ici deux sens principaux de l’Écriture : le sens littéral et le sens spirituel. Ce dernier se subdivise en deux, l’allégorie et la tropologie. Cette bipartition lettre/esprit est typiquement victorine, opposant l’opus conditionis à l’opus restaurationis. Elle renforce la nécessité de passer par la lettre pour accéder aux divers sens spirituels41. Cette image du saut peut être mise en lien avec la façon dont Gilbert Dahan conceptualise l’exégèse médiévale, en présentant ce passage du 39 Voir Gilbert Dahan, « L’influence des Victorins dans l’exégèse de la Bible jusqu’à la fin du xiiie siècle », dans L’école de Saint-Victor de Paris, dir. Dominique Poirel, p. 153-177. 40 Sermo XXIX, éd. PL 211, col. 177AB : « In his aquis Scripturarum duo pisces nutriuntur, id est, allegoricus et moralis intellectus. Qui duo pisces secundum mandatum legis saltum dant super aquas, quia inspectorem Scripturarum extra literalem sensum ad altiora provocant. » 41 Voir Gilbert Dahan, « L’influence des Victorins », p. 159.
238
Marguerite Vernet
sens littéral au sens spirituel comme un « saut herméneutique » depuis la lettre jusqu’aux différents sens spirituels42. Les interprétations spirituelles proposées dans les sermons d’Absalon sont aussi une matière riche et variée que le Victorin a en grande partie regroupée dans le recueil de distinctions dont il est l’auteur. Nous avons pu en effet, à plusieurs reprises, faire le lien entre le contenu de ces deux écrits. Le recueil de distinctiones, comme les sermons, deviennt alors une collection d’interprétations spirituelles à la disposition des prédicateurs. Pour les nombreux sermons à venir, Absalon se fait ici le garant de l’exégèse victorine à la fois dans sa forme et dans son contenu. 2. Le sermon XXVII et la divisio comme fondement de la prédication Dans le sermon XXVII, qui se construit autour d’un verset du psaume 67 : « lingua canum tuorum ex inimicis ab ipso », le chien est associé au prélat. Ce n’est plus ici chaque mot qui est interprété spirituellement, l’un après l’autre, mais une seule idée sur laquelle est construit l’ensemble du sermon. C’est à partir du chien qu’Absalon dessine les différents comportements qu’un prélat doit adopter face aux différents profils de chanoines auxquels il a affaire. Ainsi, il doit câliner le bon chanoine, aboyer pour faire fuir l’étranger, c’est-à-dire le chanoine pécheur, et mordre le loup, homme mauvais enraciné dans le mal, pour qu’il puisse réintégrer l’Église. Le chien doit aussi monter la garde pendant la nuit, à savoir garder ses chanoines dans le droit chemin par l’exemple et la prédication et les guérir par la langue, soit les relever par la confession. Les sermons d’Absalon sont organisées entièrement à partir d’un thema biblique. Ce dernier est interprété et dilaté par différents outils et techniques qui sont les garants de sa spécificité. Cette dilatatio du thema se fait sous la forme d’un plan, d’une construction nerveuse et ramassée43. Dans le cas de notre sermon, Absalon présente ce plan au début de la prédication par la divisio structurante en cinq éléments, correspondant à cinq interprétations spirituelles des actions du chien : en cela elle peut être qualifiée de macrostructurale. Mais au-delà de cette divisio première, qui structure le sermon dans son entier, nous en relevons de nombreuses autres qui ramifient la structure de base en diverses branches et relèvent de la microstructure. Nous avons affaire pour finir à un discours très construit, en arborescence. Il est fortement comparable à certains traités victorins, en particulier ceux de Hugues, où l’on observe un goût pour les
42 Voir Gilbert Dahan, Lire la Bible au Moyen âge : essais d’herméneutique médiévale, Genève : Droz, 2009, p. 239-240. 43 Ibid., p. 98.
Les sermons in generali capitulo d’Absalon de Saint-Victor 239 arborescences complexes et illimitées44. Cette passion de la mise en ordre chère aux victorins deviendra au xiiie siècle un mode de pensée que l’on retrouve par exemple dans la Somme théologique de saint Thomas d’Aquin, où la matière théologique semble se subdiviser indéfiniment. Cependant chez les victorins, si la question du plan est particulièrement présente, ce n’est pas tant pour structurer les textes mais les réalités elles-mêmes, comme le fait remarquer Dominique Poirel. Ce dernier précise que c’est un trait particulièrement présent chez Hugues mais qui tend à s’estomper rapidement, et cela déjà parmi les victorins. Cependant, dans les sermons en général et particulièrement dans celui qui nous concerne ici, nous trouvons une survivance de ce type de distinctions. En effet, si le premier sermon étudié déployait chaque mot l’un après l’autre, le sermon XXVII pour sa part développe une seule idée, celle du chien comme prélat. C’est à partir de cette dernière qu’Absalon tente de comprendre comment la réalité même de cette assimilation se présente dans la communauté. Il est possible que le sermon soit particulièrement disposé à une telle conception du plan comme structuration de la réalité. Il serait intéressant d’étudier ce phénomène dans les sermons des maîtres du xiiie siècle. Nous observons aussi dans les sermons d’Absalon un autre trait spécifiquement victorin. Il s’agit de la récurrence des divisions ternaires. Nous avons affaire à trois types d’hommes saints45, mais aussi à trois types d’étrangers46. De même, dans la pièce de monnaie trois choses sont à considérer : matière, poids et forme47, et l’encens produit trois odeurs différentes selon la façon dont il est utilisé48, etc. Cette omniprésence des triades est tout d’abord une réalité littéraire. Pascale Bourgain la présente comme l’un des traits caractéristiques du style victorin, hérité de Hugues qui l’a particulièrement favorisé49. Elle est aussi une signification intellectuelle. Dominique Poirel la met en évidence comme la marque de l’influence du pseudo-Denys dans la pensée victorine, image du Dieu trinitaire50.
44
Voir Dominique Poirel, « Machina universitatis : les mutations du texte aux xiiexiii siècles » dans Qu’est-ce que nommer ? L’image légendée entre monde monastique et pensée scolastique, dir. Christian Heck, Turnhout : Brepols, 2010, p. 45-46. 45 PL 211, col. 159A. 46 PL 211, col. 160A. 47 PL 211, col. 162C. 48 PL 211, col. 165D. 49 Pascale Bourgain, « Existe-t-il en littérature un style victorin ? », dans L’école de SaintVictor de Paris, dir. Dominique Poirel, p. 45. 50 Voir Dominique Poirel, « Symbolice et anagogice : l’École de Saint-Victor et la naissance du style gothique » dans L’abbé Suger, le manifeste gothique de Saint-Denis et la pensée, éd. Dominique Poirel, Turnhout : Brepols, 2001 (Rencontres médiévales européennes, 1), p. 141-170, ici p. 152. e
240
Marguerite Vernet
Le sermon victorin de la fin du xiie siècle se fait donc l’héritier de la pensée en arborescence typique des victorins et transmet à son tour cette spécificité aux sermons du xiiie siècle. Il s’agit alors de constructions gigantesques présentées en différentes parties qui se subdivisent à plusieurs niveaux de façon logique et régulière, mais elles sont aussi pleines de richesses et de détails, fastueuses et très imagées. Nicole Bériou utilise en effet l’expression de « cathédrale gothique » pour qualifier le sermo modernus des années 123051. 3. Sermons XXVIII et XXX : L’efficacité de l’image et la performance de la prédication Nous observons plusieurs particularités communes à ces deux sermons. Tout d’abord leurs themata sont issus du chapitre 25 de l’Exode. Le sermon XXVIII présente les instructions pour la construction de l’arche d’alliance. Absalon associe les prélats aux barres qui servent à porter l’arche, les quatre fonctions des prélats aux quatre anneaux d’or, et l’Église ou la communauté à l’arche en elle-même. Il associe aussi aux quatre angles de l’arche les quatre vertus principales. Il s’agit ici de la trame générale, mais chaque élément est subdivisé, glosé et interprété en fonction des autres détails donnés dans la construction. Dans cette arche étaient disposées trois choses : les deux tables de la promesse pour l’édification spirituelle, la pousse d’Aaron, bâton de la discipline, et enfin la manne, nourriture des hommes de Dieu. Dans le sermon XXX, Absalon décrit d’une manière similaire le candélabre d’or. C’est le candélabre en lui-même qui est d’abord présenté, associé à l’Église ou à la communauté victorine dans son ensemble. Puis la tige est associée au Christ, auquel les prélats, que sont les branches, se rattachent. Sur ces mêmes branches, se trouvent différents éléments : les coupelles d’or qui sont les hommes lettrés, les petites sphères qui sont les simples chanoines et enfin les sculptures en forme de lys qui sont la récompense de la vie éternelle. C’est dans chaque cas une seule image biblique qui est développée. Les images tiennent dans ces deux textes une place analogue à celle de la distinction structurelle du sermon XXVII et en sont une forme dérivée. Si jusque-là les sermons pouvaient être considérés comme des « cathédrales gothiques », des chefs d’œuvres architecturaux, c’était uniquement par leur structure littéraire. Il s’agit cependant ici bien plus concrètement de constructions architecturales ou du moins matérielles car l’ensemble des éléments qui composent ces réalités sont décomposés et recomposés sous nos yeux. 51 Voir Nicole Bériou, « De la lecture aux épousailles. Les images dans la communication de la Parole de Dieu au xiiie siècle », dans Cristianesimo nella storia, t. 14/3, 1993, p. 535-568, ici p. 536.
Les sermons in generali capitulo d’Absalon de Saint-Victor 241 Dans ces deux sermons nous observons une autre spécificité de l’exégèse victorine relevée par Gilbert Dahan, il s’agit de l’interprétation des res et plus seulement des voces52. Chez les victorins les mots, voces, sont les verba de l’homme, les choses, res, sont les verba de Dieu. Cela justifie la prééminence sémiologique des deuxièmes sur les premières, car la signification des voces relève d’une convention humaine, alors que la signification des res relève d’une institution divine, leur sens est donc inépuisable53. Le modèle par excellence de l’interprétation des res est le De archa Noe de Hugues. Le Victorin y propose une exégèse complète de l’arche de Noé en y exposant les différents sens littéral et spirituels. Il accompagne cette réflexion d’instructions pour construire en son âme une image de cette arche, qui appuie et soutient son commentaire. Dans le milieu victorin et plus largement parisien au xiie siècle, nous trouvons d’autres exemples de ces exégèses visuelles dont Absalon est l’héritier54. Ces exégèses des res sont souvent présentées sous la forme d’images, qu’elles soient physiques ou mentales. Chez les victorins comme chez Cassien, la vue est centrale car, pour connaître, l’homme a besoin de voir55. Cependant, blessée par le péché, sa vue a été endommagée, morcelée, ne permettant pas d’accéder à la vision des réalités spirituelles. La guérison ou réunification est possible par l’image car cette dernière met en œuvre toutes les instances qui composent l’être humain, elle le touche ainsi en sa totalité. En effet l’imagination fait la jonction entre les fonctions corporelles et spirituelles en l’homme. L’image occupe une position intermédiaire entre le monde des corps et celui des esprits, entre le cosmos et Dieu56. Après cette réunification de l’être, l’image, alors plus spirituelle, permet la contemplation des réalités invisibles. Les images sont synthétiques et en cela totalement adaptées à l’esprit humain. En effet, à travers l’image, le mouvement de l’intelligence est l’inverse de celui qui s’exerce dans la lecture, il va du tout aux parties. Par l’image, la compréhension est immédiate. Elle propose une vision globale de la réalité traitée. Elles donnent d’embrasser la res dans sa totalité, son unité, de faire les liens. C’est la définition 52
Voir Gilbert Dahan, « L’influence des Victorins dans l’exégèse de la Bible jusqu’à la fin du xiiie siècle », dans L’école de Saint-Victor de Paris, dir. Dominique Poirel, p. 162. 53 Patrice Sicard, Diagrammes médiévaux et exégèse visuelle. Le Libellus de formatione arche de Hugues de Saint-Victor, Turnhout : Brepols, 1993 (Bibliotheca Victorina, 4), p. 160. 54 On retrouve ce type d’exégèse à partir de l’arche d’Alliance ou du candélabre chez Richard de Saint-Victor, Pierre de Celles, Pierre de Poitiers, mais aussi Adam de Dryburg, voir Patrice Sicard, « L’urbanisme de la Cité de Dieu : constructions et architectures dans la pensée théologique du xiie siècle », dans L’abbé Suger, le manifeste gothique de Saint-Denis et la pensée, éd. Dominique Poirel, Turnhout : Brepols, 2001 (Rencontres médiévales européennes, 1), p. 109-140. 55 Voir Mary Carruthers, Machina memorialis. Méditation, rhétorique et fabrication des images au Moyen Âge, trad. Fabienne Durand-Bogart, Paris : Gallimard, 2002, p. 83. 56 Patrice Sicard, Diagrammes médiévaux, p. 174.
242
Marguerite Vernet
même de la contemplation proposée par Dominique Poirel : « parvenir à une vision globalisante et hiérarchisée qui fasse place à toutes les réalités et à tous les savoirs57 ». L’image, en réunifiant l’homme et en lui donnant la possibilité de contempler, réapprend à l’homme à être lui-même image de Dieu58. Ainsi l’image a une réelle action sur l’homme, elle est efficace, le disposant pour Dieu. Cette théologie de l’image et l’exégèse visuelle qui l’accompagne en tant que telle n’aura pas une grande longévité au-delà du xiie siècle. Si Absalon dans ses sermons est bien l’héritier de ses confrères aînés victorins, il ne transmet pas cet exercice intellectuel et spirituel aux prédicateurs des générations suivantes. Cependant nous pouvons tenter de faire une analogie entre la conception de l’image portée par les victorins, notamment ce pouvoir qu’elle détient, agissant sur l’âme de celui qui la regarde, et la prédication. Le sermon, comme l’image, permet tout d’abord de faire le lien entre les réalités corporelles, charnelles et les réalités spirituelles par le biais de l’exégèse. Le prédicateur est garant de cette vision qui part de la lettre pour aller vers les interprétations les plus spirituelles. Il permet alors d’accéder aux invisibilia par les visibilia et en cela participe de ce processus de guérison de l’homme. Le sermon, par sa structuration en arborescence, permet aussi de contempler ces réalités spirituelles. Le plan ramassé, que forment les différentes divisiones présentes dans le sermon, est souvent annoncé dès le début du texte. L’auditeur a donc accès à une vision globale, embrassant la réalité dans son ensemble. En cela la prédication porte les mêmes caractéristiques que l’image dans la conception victorine. Comme l’image, elle vise à exercer une réelle efficacité. Le sermon est en effet un discours persuasif. Cet aspect est amplifié par la nature de la prédication qui se présente comme un discours oral, adressé, une exhortation de vive voix. Romano Guardini explique en effet que le sermon a pour mission de créer chez les croyants une attitude, de disposer au sacrement en faisant naître en eux un acte de la foi vivante59. * * * Le sermon victorin de la fin du xiie siècle se présente donc comme l’héritier de la pensée des maîtres de l’abbaye parisienne et l’ancêtre des sermones moderni du xiiie siècle. Il s’agit cependant d’un genre difficile à saisir totalement. Beverly
57
Voir Dominique Poirel, « Machina universitatis », p. 52. Voir Patrice Sicard, Diagrammes médiévaux, p. 219. 59 Romano Guardini, « La prédication mystagogique », dans La maison Dieu, t. 158, 1984, p. 141. 58
Les sermons in generali capitulo d’Absalon de Saint-Victor 243 Kienzle qualifie la prédication de cette époque de genre « fluide60 ». En effet, si le sermon apporte quelques éléments de théologie, il est bien loin de l’approche systématique des traités théologiques. S’il forme les auditeurs à être saints, il reste très différent des traités spirituels. Enfin, s’il propose une interprétation des Écritures dans ses différents sens, il se distingue des commentaires exégétiques par son objectif. Le sermon est avant tout un outil pastoral qui porte une dimension pratique. Plus que les autres genres, la prédication est l’aboutissement d’une pensée victorine centrée sur l’Église et l’action pastorale. C’est ce qui fait l’intérêt des sermons des maîtres de l’abbaye parisienne dès le xiie siècle et justifie leur prise en compte dans les études victorines.
60 The Sermon, dir. Beverly Mayne Kienzle, Turnhout : Brepols, 2000 (Typologie des sources du Moyen Âge occidental, 81-83), p. 147.
Radices et plantationes theologicae facultatis hic Parisius. The Biblical Principia of Pierre Leduc and Henri le Boulangier and the Victorine Tradition during the Great Schism* Chris Schabel
The Faculty of Theology at the medieval University of Paris was dominated by secular theologians, friars from the four main mendicant orders, and Cistercian monks, followed at a distance by Benedictines and Cluniacs. Yet handfuls of canons regular from the Austin and Premonstratensian Canons and from Saint-Victor, the Val-des-Écoliers, Sainte-Geneviève, and Mont-Saint-Éloi, as well as some Servite and Trinitarian friars and assorted other regulars, were made masters of theology at the university1. Few academic writings survive for most of these smaller groups2, which is hardly a surprise, except that one might expect more from the Victorines, who had risen to such heights in the twelfth and early
* This paper was written under the aegis of the ERC consolidator project DEBATE, 771589. I thank Monica Brînzei, William Duba, and Dominique Poirel for their comments and assistance. 1 See the lists of Parisian licentiates in theology according to religious order for the period 1373-1500 in Thomas Sullivan, Parisian Licentiates in Theology, a.d. 1373-1500. A Biographical Register, t. 1 : The Religious Orders, Leiden – Boston : Brill, 2004 (Education and Society in the Middle Ages and Renaissance, 18), p. 385-400, as well as t. 2 : The Secular Clergy, Leiden – Boston : Brill, 2011 (Education and Society in the Middle Ages and Renaissance, 37). 2 See for example Thomas Sullivan, « The Quodlibeta of the Canons Regular and the Monks », in Theological Quodlibeta in the Middle Ages. The Fourteenth Century, ed. Chris Schabel, Leiden : Brill, 2007 (Brill’s Companions to the Christian Tradition, 7), p. 359-400. I am currently working on a study of the Sentences questions of the Servite Lorenzo Opimo of Bologna, Paris 1370-1371, the unique surviving example from that order. Omnium expetendorum prima est sapientia. Studies on Victorine thought and influence, ed. by Wanda Bajor, Michał Buraczewski, Marcin Jan Janecki and Dominique Poirel, BV, 29 (Turnhout, 2021), p. 245–326. © BREPOLSPUBLISHERS DOI 10.1484/M.BV-EB.5.126041
246
Chris Schabel
thirteenth centuries that they could be labelled « the roots and shoots of the Faculty of Theology here at Paris3 ». The great Abbey of Saint-Victor thus continued to participate in the intellectual life of Paris after the city’s schools evolved into the university, in which a Victorine chair of theology was established in 1237, around the time the theology curriculum was developing to include bachelor lectures on the Sentences and magisterial quodlibetal debates4. In the thirteenth century the Victorines were content with outsiders as masters, but in the fourteenth century we have a series of Victorine regent masters, or at least likely candidates, covering practically the entire period of the Avignon papacy and the Great Schism5 : Jean de Saint-Victor, perhaps regent master just prior to Gérard, active early 1310s Gérard de Saint-Victor, regency probably began in 1305-1306 († 1317) Aubert de Mailley, prior and then abbot from 1 December 1329 († 1345) Guillaume de Saint-Lô, Aubert’s successor as abbot in 1345 († 1349) Nicolas Soloe, regent master by 1364-1365 and still active in 1378-1379 Pierre Leduc, abbot from 1383, regency probably began in 1386-1387 († 1400) Nicolas de Morencourt, held positions as prior in order from 1388 to 1414 Henri le Boulangier, regency probably began in 1409-1410 († 1419)
3 Petrus Ducis, Principium IV in Sententias, ed. Chris Schabel, « The Victorine Pierre Leduc’s Collationes, Sermo finalis, and Principia on the Sentences, Paris 1382-1383 », in Archives d’histoire doctrinale et littéraire du Moyen Âge, t. 87, 2020, p. 237-334, at p. 334.28-29 : « Hugo, Richardus, et Adam, doctores huius scholae, qui fuerunt radices et plantationes theologicae facultatis hic Parisius ». 4 Chartularium Universitatis Parisiensis, t. I, ab anno MCC usque ad annum MCCLXXXVI, ed. Heinrich Denifle – Émile Chatelain, Paris : Ex typis fratrum Delalain, 1889, p. 159, no. 111 (letter of Pope Gregory IX, 26 January 1237) ; Marshall E. Crossnoe, « Victorine Education, 1306-1419 », in Medieval Prosopography, t. 22, 2001, p. 165-180 ; Id., « ‘Devout, Learned, and Virtuous’ : The History and Histories of the Order of Saint Victor », in A Companion to the Abbey of Saint Victor at Paris, ed. Hugh Feiss – Juliet Mousseau, Leiden – Boston : Brill, 2018 (Brill’s Companions to the Christian Tradition, 79), p. 1-53. 5 See mainly Crossnoe, « Victorine Education », p. 168-177. It should be noted that most mendicants, monks, and canons regular among the masters before 1373 are not listed as such in any university (or even papal) sources, so the fact that some of the Victorine masters are only identified in Victorine sources need not worry us, despite Crossnoe’s concern (p. 177), especially since these Victorines had posts as prior and/or abbot of the abbey itself and did not require additional patronage. Nicolas de Morencourt is a problem : already a student in theology at Paris in 1385 at the age of around 27 (Chartularium Universitatis Parisiensis, t. III, ab anno MCCCL usque ad annum MCCCLXXXXIIII, ed. Heinrich Denifle – Émile Chatelain, Paris : Ex typis fratrum Delalain, 1894, p. 389), normally he would have become master by c. 1395, but he is not listed in the rather complete catalogues of those licensed after 1373. Perhaps he incepted elsewhere, or by papal fiat, or there is an error in the list ?
Radices et plantationes theologicae facultatis hic Parisius 247 Nevertheless, there are no biblical or Sentences commentaries ascribed to any Victorines active at Paris after 1237 in the great repertoria of Friedrich Stegmüller6, and no true sets of quodlibetal or ordinary questions either. There is a sizeable question on the nature of theology long known to have been ascribed to Gérard de Saint-Victor in Amiens, Bibliothèque municipale 234, which turns out to pertain to the Prologue on the Sentences and, together with the preceding principium or sermon, constitutes the start of Gérard’s Lectura on Lombard from around 13007. Other than that, just about all we had until recently was in the notebook of the Augustinian Pastor of Reggio Emilia from the 1310s, Vat. lat. 1086, which contains very brief summaries of disputational material by Master Gérard as well as a short question by Master Jean de Saint-Victor8. Courtenay’s new discovery of over 100 folios of the writings of the Victorine Pierre Leduc from the 1380s thus increases by several fold the total amount of works in academic theology known to survive from the Collège de Saint-Victor at the University of Paris9. Together with the biblical material that Gilbert Ouy
6 Friedrich Stegmüller, Repertorium commentatiorum in Sententias Petri Lombardi, t. 1, Würzburg : Schöningh, 1947 ; Id., Repertorium biblicum medii aevi, t. 2/5, Madrid : Consejo superior de investigaciones científicas – Instituto Francisco Suárez, 1950-1966. 7 Dominique Poirel, « L’école de Saint-Victor au Moyen Âge : bilan d’un demi-siècle historiographique », in Bibliothèque de l’École des Chartes, t. 156, 1998, p. 187-207, at p. 205, suggested that it was from Gérard’s lost Sentences commentary ; William J. Courtenay, « Gerard of St Victor and Amiens 234 », in Bulletin de philosophie médiévale, t. 51, 2009, p. 55-62, and, published after a long delay, Marshall Crossnoe, « The Philosophical Questions of Gerard of Saint-Victor », in Studies in Later Medieval Intellectual History in Honor of William J. Courtenay, ed. William O. Duba – Russell L. Friedman – Chris Schabel, Leuven : Peeters, 2017 (Recherches de théologie et philosophie médiévales – Bibliotheca, 14), p. 89-111, at p. 90, clarified its nature. The question, « Utrum theologia sit practica, speculativa, aut affectiva », is on part B, f. 40ra-48vb (= f. 282ra-291vb), the principium on f. 37ra-39vb (= f. 280ra-282vb). Although the principium is anonymous, it is in the same hand as the question and together they occupy a quire. I will give further evidence in favor of this identification at the conclusion of this paper. 8 On Gérard de Saint-Victor and his thought, see Courtenay, « Gerard of St Victor and Amiens 234 », and Crossnoe, « The Philosophical Questions of Gerard of Saint-Victor ». The Jean de Saint-Victor in Vat. lat. 1086 may not be identical with the author of the same name who penned the Memoriale historiarum : see Poirel, « L’école de Saint-Victor au Moyen Âge », p. 206, Crossnoe, « The Philosophical Questions of Gerard of Saint-Victor », p. 89 n. 2, and the recent re-examination of the manuscript by William J. Courtenay, « Reflections on Vat. lat. 1086 and Prosper of Reggio Emilia, O.E.S.A. », in Theological Quodlibeta in the Middle Ages. The Fourteenth Century, ed. Schabel, p. 345-375. 9 William J. Courtenay, « Pierre Leduc, Victorine Master of Theology, and the Parisian Sententiarii in 1382 », in Archives d’histoire doctrinale et littéraire du Moyen Âge, t. 87, 2020, p. 87113. Some of the texts are edited in the same volume by Schabel, « The Victorine Pierre Leduc’s Collationes, Sermo finalis, and Principia on the Sentences ».
248
Chris Schabel
attributed to Henri le Boulangier from the early fifteenth century10, as well as an incomplete set of questions on book I of the Sentences from around the same time that could be Victorine11, the biblical and sentential writings from Pierre Leduc suddenly present us with a wide window into Victorine theology and pride at Paris during the Great Schism. After presenting their scholastic works, this paper examines the two Victorines’ attitude toward their Victorine heritage and endeavors to determine whether Victorine pride in the past was in any way an obstacle to independent thought for later members of the abbey, as one could argue was the case for many late-medieval Dominicans following Thomas Aquinas. Editions of the biblical principia or sermons of the two authors are offered in appendices. The Academic Works of Pierre Leduc and Henri le Boulangier Pierre Leduc (Petrus Ducis) was born around 1353 in Roissy, the location of Charles de Gaulle Airport. Pierre lectured on the Sentences at the Victorines in 1382-1383, just before his election as abbot of Saint-Victor in the late summer of 1383. He was licensed in 1386 and called magister in theologia actu regens in late July 1387, so his first year as regent master at the Victorines was likely 1386-1387. He remained active as regent master and abbot until his death in June 140012.
10
Gilbert Ouy, Les manuscrits de l’abbaye de Saint-Victor. Catalogue établi sur la base du répertoire de Claude de Grandrue (1514), 2 vol., Turnhout : Brepols, 1999 (Bibliotheca Victorina, 10), t. 1, p. 288, and t. 2, p. 514-517. 11 In Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France, lat. 14911, f. 1r-107v. See below for details. 12 For his life, see Crossnoe, « Victorine Education », p. 172-173 ; Sullivan, Parisian Licentiates, t. 1, p. 158-159 ; Courtenay, « Pierre Leduc », p. 88-89 and 95-96 ; Rotuli Parisienses. Supplications to the Pope from the University of Paris, t. III : 1378-1394. Part Two, ed. William J. Courtenay and Eric D. Goddard, Leiden : Brill, 2013 (Education and Society in the Middle Ages and Renaissance, 44), p. 578 (1387) ; letter of Pope Clement VII dated 4 November 1383, AAV, Reg. Aven. 237, f. 387v-388v, water damaged : « (Dilecto filio) Petro Ducis, abbati monasterii Sancti Victoris extra muros Parisienses, (Ordinis) Sancti Augustini, salutem etc. Apostolice solicitudinis studium […] [388r] […] Dudum siquidem quondam (Petro [IV] abbate) monasterii Sancti Victoris extra muros Parisienses, Ordinis Sancti (Augustini), dicti monasterii presidente, nos, cupientes eidem monasterio […] Postmodum vero, prefato monasterio per obitum ipsius Petri abbatis, (qui extra) Romanam curiam diem clausit extremum, abbatis regimine destituto, (dilecti filii) conventus dicti monasterii, reservationis et decreti predictorum forsan ignari, (te, canonicum ?) dicti monasterii, bacallarium in theologia, ordinem ipsum expresse pro(fessum) et in sacerdotio constitutum, in eorum et dicti monasterii abbatem, lic(et de facto), per viam compromissi, concorditer elegerunt, tuque […] consentisti. Et deinde, reservatione et decreto predictis ad tu(am deductis) notitiam, electionis huiusmodi negotium proponi fecisti in consis(torio coram) nobis. Nos igitur […] ».
Radices et plantationes theologicae facultatis hic Parisius 249 The library of Saint-Victor once held a volume of 129 folios containing « Sermones fratris Petri Ducis, quondam abbatis Sancti Victoris, tam de tempore quam de sanctis13 », and another of 138 folios that an old catalogue labelled « Questiones lecture abbatis Petri Ducis super primum et secundum Sententiarum », but which the remainder of the entry suggests had a full set of questions on book I and an incomplete set on book IV : in cuius libri foliis sequentibus hec habentur : utrum ab anima creata possit evidenter cognosci aliqua veritas (3) ; an essentia generet vel generetur (47). Tabula questionum et conclusionum in hoc primo libro contentarum (96). 99 : Questiones super quartum : utrum curati vel priores parrochiales possint excommunicare suos parrochianos (132)14.
If they survive, these two manuscripts have not been identified, for although the manuscript that Courtenay identified contains sermons and materials linked to Pierre’s Sentences lectures, Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France, lat. 14800 (= P) corresponds to neither of the lost manuscripts15. Its contents are rather as follows16 : f. 2r-7v (lost) : first principium on Bible f. 8r-22v : an expositio on Ecclesiastes (23r-v : blank) f. 24r-28v : questions and dubia on Ecclesiastes (listed in Courtenay) (29r-v : blank) f. 30r : fragment of second member of principium on Bible (30v : blank) f. 31r-32v : first member and start of second member of principium on Bible f. 33r-36r : second member of principium on Bible (incomplete) f. 36v : new version of end of f. 36r and brief continuation of principium on Bible f. 37r : end of the third principial sermon on the Sentences (37v : blank) f. 38r-40r : notes and dubia on book I of the Sentences (40v : blank) f. 41r-53v : questions and dubia on Matthew or Mark (54r-55v : blank) f. 56r-60v : principial sermons on the Sentences (ed. Schabel) f. 60v : Sermo finalis on the Sentences (ed. Schabel) (61r : blank) f. 61v : titles of principial questions on the Sentences f. 62r-79r (64bis, 78bis) : principial questions on the Sentences (ed. Schabel) (73r-v, 79v : blank) f. 80r-88v : conclusions on book I of the Sentences
13
Ouy, Les manuscrits de l’abbaye de Saint-Victor, t. 2, p. 617, entry OOO 9. Ouy, Les manuscrits de l’abbaye de Saint-Victor, t. 2, p. 95, entry L 22. 15 See also Courtenay, « Pierre Leduc », p. 89. 16 This tabula tweaks the description in Courtenay, « Pierre Leduc », p. 89-90, 96, and 101-106. 14
250
Chris Schabel
f. 89r-102r : conclusions on book IV of the Sentences f. 102v-113r : conclusions on book II of the Sentences f. 113r-121r : conclusions on book III of the Sentences (121v-122v : blank)
The brief conclusions on the Sentences in Paris 14800 appear to be derived from Peter Lombard’s textbook and are of no great interest. It is possible that they correspond to the conclusions mentioned in the table of contents of the lost manuscript formerly in the abbey library, but that manuscript also contained questions and was much longer, with nearly 100 folios for book I as opposed to a mere nine in Paris 14800. All the texts relating to the Sentences, both lost and found, stem from Pierre Leduc’s year as bachelor of the Sentences, 1382-1383. Courtenay rightly surmises that the biblical material is from Pierre’s bachelor period as well, when it was customary to read a book of each testament, in this case in lectures probably given in 1379-1380 and/or 1380-1381, just after the outbreak of the Schism. Courtenay was able to assign the above to Pierre Leduc with certainty via the socii whom Pierre cites and his self-identification as a Victorine named dux. Likewise, I will argue on the basis of self-identification that there is no doubt that some of the material that Ouy attributed to Henri le Boulangier (Henricus Pistoris), apparently because of the handwriting alone, is by the Victorine. Despite claims that Henri was born about 1350 in an unknown place and entered the abbey of SaintVictor around 139017, only the latter piece of information is present in the short biography by the seventeenth-century Victorine historian Jean de Thoulouze. Yet if we are to trust Thoulouze for the date of Henri’s entry into the order, then we should also consider his assertion that Henri was a Parisian : « Henricus Pistoris Gallice ‘Boulenger’ Parisinus circa annum 1390 sub abbate Petro Ducis canonicam vitam apud nos est professus18 ». The estimated date of birth of around 1350 may stem from the proposed dating of a Victorine sermon for Easter in French, attributed to Henri on the basis of the handwriting and dated c. 1390 because of the watermarks19. Accepting the identification of the scribe, the attribution of authorship, and the date of the paper, we should still point out that 1390 is a terminus post quem, especially since the sermon is on a separate quire that could have stayed
17 E.g., Olivier Delsaux, « Un prédicateur au travail. Édition du brouillon autographe d’un sermon inédit du victorin Henri Le Boulangier (ms. Paris, BnF, lat. 14921, f. 100r-103v) », in Neuphilologische Mitteilungen, t. 113, 2012, p. 219-239, at p. 219. 18 Jean de Thoulouze, Antiquitatum regalis abbatiae Sancti Victoris libri duodecim, Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France, lat. 14375, p. 316. 19 Delsaux, « Un prédicateur au travail », p. 220. Delsaux analyzes then prints the sermon on p. 227-236.
Radices et plantationes theologicae facultatis hic Parisius 251 unused for a time. Based on his academic career, we would expect a birthdate of around 1370 instead. Henri le Boulangier was licensed in theology in March 1409 and a note of sale in Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France, lat. 14564, f. 333rb infra, records him as bachelor formatus in theology on 22 October 140520. The two dates taken together make it likely that he read the Sentences in 1404-1405. Remarks in the biblical principium make it clear that this text is from bachelor lectures on the Bible, in which case they likely date to 1401-1402 and/or 1402-1403, when he is first recorded as praebendarius21. It is thus probable that Henri did not even begin his theological studies until the mid-1390s, and that in c. 1390 he was a bachelor or new master of arts, a good time for a young Parisian scholar to join the Victorines, as Thoulouze claimed. Had he been born c. 1350, in 1390 he would have been a forty-year-old arts master, not yet a theological student, joining the Victorines and giving a Victorine-inspired sermon, which is possible, but not likely. In any case, after his theological studies Henri remained active in the abbey and at the university as prior and master respectively, for example representing the university as master and prior of Saint-Victor at the Council of Constance in 1415, and he probably remained in the same capacities until his death on 27 September 141922. According to Ouy, Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France, lat. 7371 (= H), contains the following texts, which he labelled in note 2 as « Œuvre d’Henri Le Boulangier (Henricus Pistoris)23 » : ¶ 12. 125. Pars principii cuiusdam2 in theologia. 131. Pars expositionis cuiusdam2 super Ecclesiasten. 154. Pars principiorum cuiusdam2 in theologia. ¶ 20. 305. Glose super Cantica Canticorum.2
20 Sullivan, Parisian Licentiates, t. 1, p. 289 (although the reference to Henri as bachelor of theology in January 1405 is 1406 new style) ; Ouy, Les manuscrits de l’abbaye de Saint-Victor, t. 1, p. 14, and t. 2, p. 74. 21 Jean de Thoulouze, Annales abbatialis ecclesiae Sancti Victoris Parisiensis, Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France, lat. 14372, f. 363v, 366r, and 366v for « Henricus Pistoris praebendarius » on 20 October and 22 November 1402. 22 For Henri’s life, see Ouy, Les manuscrits de l’abbaye de Saint-Victor, t. 1, p. 13-14, and t. 2, p. 195 ; Crossnoe, « Victorine Education », p. 171-172 ; Sullivan, Parisian Licentiates, t. 1, p. 289-291. 23 Ouy, Les manuscrits de l’abbaye de Saint-Victor, t. 2, p. 515-517.
252
Chris Schabel
Even if we accept Ouy’s identification of the handwriting as Henri’s, this does not necessarily mean that the texts are by Henri, and a closer look appears to undermine his theory. Here is what I see in these sections of the manuscript : f. 125r-129v : a Victorine principium on Ecclesiastes (missing the start) f. 129v-130v : part of a Victorine commentary on Ecclesiastes, missing the start and ending abruptly in the prologue ; folios with text have been cut out before and after f. 130 f. 131r-143v : Nicholas of Lyra’s commentary on Ecclesiastes, ending abruptly at 7:30 : « …per quam nulla rebellio esset in viribus sensitivis » f. 144r-153v : part of a Victorine commentary on Ecclesiastes, beginning at 1:8 and ending abruptly at 3:14 f. 154r-160v : a Victorine principium on Ecclesiastes f. 160v-165v : a Victorine commentary on Ecclesiastes, ending abruptly at 1:7 f. 305r-319r : Nicholas of Lyra’s commentary on the Song of Songs
Of the 55 folios that Ouy assigned to Henri, almost half belong to Nicholas of Lyra. Since it would be odd for a bachelor to lecture on two books of the Old Testament, it makes sense that there is no Victorine commentary on both Ecclesiastes and the Song of Songs here, and indeed the incipit and explicit of the latter match those of Nicholas Lyra. Regarding the material on Ecclesiastes, besides the section by Nicholas of Lyra (albeit with a lot of marginalia), there seem to be two principia and three fragments of commentary. The two principia on Ecclesiastes actually constitute different redactions of the same sermon. This is not rare in this period : the other principia from after 1380 that I have edited also exhibit this phenomenon, since there are a few overlapping fragments of different versions of Pierre Leduc’s own principia on the Bible and on the Sentences, including one that I overlooked in my edition of his principia on the Sentences24, and this phenomenon appears in 24
A version of the end of Pierre’s principium for book III of the Sentences is on P 37r, corresponding to p. 256.10-257.2 of the edition. These are the variants in that fragment (= F) : p. 256.10-11 : ista – divisione] om. F || 14 : Levi – fuit] Christus ut Levi non sit F || 17 : natura] sit add. s.l. F || 18 : ut creatura] talis natura assumpta F (assumpta s.l.) || 20 : sibi sit] tr. F || 21 : distinctione] om. F || 25 : sive] vel a.c. s.l. F || 26 : consequenter] om. F || p. 257.1 : faciat] efficiat F ; qui sine fine vivit et regnat] Dei Filius amen F. The fragment also contains the following alternative lines parallel to those in the edition : p. 256, l. 13 : Pater vel Spiritus si sit operatus || 14 : Cur sicut alius (s.l.) non sit decimatus || 15 : Ex quo sensu Christus sit praedestinatus. Other than that, P 37r also has what appears to be an extra argument against Pierre’s Dominican socius Jean le Gay on the relative superiority of the pope and the Virgin Mary : « Supplico quis status esset eligibilior, aut vivere cum peccato mortali vivere in praelatione, aut vivere in gradu inferiori cum caritatis ardore ? » For other fragments, see P 61v (p. 240-241), P 68v (p. 249 and 253), and P 78v (p. 327).
Radices et plantationes theologicae facultatis hic Parisius 253 the principia on the Sentences by Thomas Wölfel von Wuldersdorf from Vienna in 1433-1435. It is either by coincidence or by tradition that both Pierre and the author responsible for the Victorine biblical commentaries in Paris 7371 chose to lecture on Ecclesiastes, because Pierre’s commentary does not match what we find in Paris 7371. The three fragments on Ecclesiastes in Paris 7371 are not part of a single commentary. The segments on H 129v-130v and on H 160v-165v overlap in coverage and are not identical. Prima facie, the sections on H 160v-165v and then H 144r153v seem to constitute one incomplete commentary going up to Ecclesiastes 3:14, but this is surely not the case. The text ending at the bottom of H 165v does concern 1:7 and the text starting at the top of H 144r does treat 1:8, but there are two problems. First, H 165v has the catch-word eundo, since the text breaks off in the middle of a long quotation from Nicholas of Lyra that continues « Eundo propter hoc ripas suas… », but on the top of H 144r Nicholas is no longer being quoted. Second, even ignoring the eundo, the transition does not work : Consequenter ipse Salomon ostendit mutabilitatem circa elementum aque, dicens : omnia flumina intrant in mare, « quia etsi aliqua flumina aliquando absorbentur a terra, alibi tamen exeunt et usque ad mare currunt. Et mare non redundat [1:7] [end 165v ; start 144r] plus laboraverit [8:17]. Sequitur difficultas ad interpretandum vel docendum, cum dicitur non potest homo eas explicare sermone [1:8], aliis scilicet, et hoc plene et perfecte, quia etiam si \non/ singula…
In the Vulgate, verse 1:7 continues with ad locum unde exeunt flumina revertuntur ut iterum fluant, and verse 1:8 begins with Cunctae res difficiles. As it stands, these phrases are ignored, which is not the practice elsewhere in these fragments. Nor can one hypothesize that a folio or more is missing. When folio H 165r begins, the Victorine is discussing the end of verse 1:3, so folio H 165r-v covers roughly four verses, i.e., all of verses 1:4, 1:5, and 1:6, plus parts of verses 1:3 and 1:7. Likewise, folio H 144v concludes with the end of verse 1:11, sed nec eorum quidem quae postea futura sunt erit recordatio apud eos qui futuri sunt in novissimo, so folio H 144r-v covers more than three complete verses, including 1:9 and 1:10. It is thus highly unlikely that the author’s treatment of the end of verse 1:7 and the start of verse 1:8, less than one complete verse, would have taken up an entire folio. Therefore, it does not appear that these two fragments belong together. If not, then we cannot tell whether the fragment on H 129v-130v or the fragment on H 160v-165v goes with the fragment on H 144r-153v, and it is even possible that these three fragments are from three different texts.
254
Chris Schabel
A possible explanation suggests itself when one looks at common phrases in the overlapping sections of the two commentaries in the Prologue : [129v] Verba Ecclesiastes filii David regis Ierusalem. Iste est secundus liber sapientialis ipsius sapientissimi Salomonis, cuius tempore, qui studium solempne vigebat in Ierusalem, cum circa varietatem et numerum capitum sentencia de felicitate hominis multiplicaretur, quam quidam in diviciis, alii in deliciis, et alii in honoribus mundanis ponebant et aliis multis per laborem humanum acquirendis in vita presenti. [129v] Ipse Salomon, cum esset sapientissimus, ipsos reges et potentes desiderantes audire sapientiam eius, 3ii Regum 4o, insuper et prophetum, de adipiscenda vera felicitate docui. [129v] … turbe sedicio comprimatur, per concionantis rationem ad unam scientiam perductus, ut dicit Gregorius in Moralibus… [129v] Ubi notandum secundum venerabilem Hugonem nostrum ipsum Salomonem iuxta tria eius nomina tres libros edidisse… [start 130r] « in Bethleem positus ». Hec est tertia pars Prologi, ubi insinuat ob cuius favorem opus pretermissum consummavit, dicens « et nunc in Bethleem positus, augustiore videlicet civitate » – quam Roma, supple – « et illius », scilicet Blesille, « memorie et vobis », O Paula et Eustochium, « reddo quod debeo », id est, quod ad petitionem illius inceperam ad vestram perficio…
[161v] … sicut multi antiqui philosophorum, quorum quidam ponebant felicitatem hominis in deliciis, alii in divitiis, et alii in honoribus. Item, alii in aliis diversis bonis, que bona per humanum laborem acquiri possunt in presenti vita…
[161v] … quia omnes reges et potentes terre desiderabant audire sapientiam Salomonis, ut dicitur 3ii Regum 4o, et quia circa felicitatem… [161v] … turbe sedicio comprimatur et tamen multi diversa senciunt, per concionantis rationem ad unam sentenciam perducuntur, ut dicit Gregorius in Dialogo… [161v] … et etiam venerabilis Hugo noster, qui et ab eodem accepit, quod ipse Salomon iuxta tria nomina quibus nominatus est tres libros sapientiales scripsit… [161r] « … in Bethleem positus ». Hec est tertia pars Prologi, in qua beatus Ieronimus insinuat ob cuius favorem opus pretermissum consummavit, dicens « et nunc in Bethleem positus, augustiore videlicet civitate » – quam sit Roma, supple – « reddo quod debeo », id est, opus quod ad petitionem sancte Blesille inceperam ad instantiam vestram perficio…
Radices et plantationes theologicae facultatis hic Parisius 255 [130v] …ut dicit venerabilis Hugo noster. [161v]… In Proemio describitur causa efficiens, scilicet ipse Salomon, a tribus, Prima est naturalis \et apta/, secunda culpabilis \et perversa/, et tertia penalis et primo a sapientie profunditate… misera. Describitur autem causa efficiens huius libri, videlicet ipse Salomon, a tribus, primo a sapientie profunditate [end 130v]
There is much rearranging, but the two commentaries appear to be different redactions by the same author. Whoever compiled the manuscript may have had different quires in Henri’s hand containing various drafts of Henri’s sermons and commentary on Ecclesiastes, together with material by Nicholas of Lyra, and this compiler put them together as best he could. It is even possible that, before this, Henri himself collected what he considered the most useful parts of commentary on Ecclesiastes, some by himself, some by Nicholas. As we will see below, in addition to following similar principia and being written by the same hand, what these two commentaries have in common is that they are both Victorine and both from the fourteenth or early fifteenth century, and yet both differ in style, content, and Victorine approach from Pierre’s commentary. We can thus assume that the accompanying principium in two versions is not Pierre’s missing sermon on Ecclesiastes. Given Ouy’s opinion about the handwriting, and the paucity of other known Victorine bachelors of theology from these decades, his attribution to Henri is already likely. For the same reasons, Ouy’s de facto opinion that the three Victorine fragments of commentary on Ecclesiastes were authored by Henri is also probable. In fact, I will argue on the basis of the thema of the principium on Ecclesiastes that Henri is definitely the author. It remains to consider the incomplete set of questions on I Sentences mentioned above, on folios 1r-107v of Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France, lat. 14911, formerly in the library of the Victorines. Gilbert Ouy determined that the first 9.5 folios of this work are in the hand of Henri le Boulangier, which, as Marshall Crossnoe remarked, « offers the possibility that the commentary is his25 ». 25 Ouy, Les manuscrits de l’abbaye de Saint-Victor, t. 2, p. 102 ; Crossnoe, « Victorine Education », p. 171-172 ; listed in Stegmüller, Repertorium commentariorum in Sententias Petri Lombardi, t. 1, p. 491, no. 1250. The guards are made of three of four pieces of a Victorine charter that seems to date from 29 June 1353. After the Sentences questions, a separate codicological unit in various hands follows on f. 108r-164r (164v-165v blank), dated the last quarter of fourteenth century and hence before Henri’s lectures, containing « Conclusiones elicite ex secundo Sententiarum » on f. 108r-123v, « ex tertio » on f. 124r-137v, and « ex quarto » on f. 138r-164r. These conclusiones do not correspond to those of Pierre Leduc in Paris 14800 and are of little interest, at least prima facie. A third codicological unit on f. 166r-181v from around the same time supposedly contains in the hand of Simon de Plumetot « Conclusiones elicite ex primo Summe Guillermi Altissiodorensis ». The only citation of the manuscript I have found is in Peter Biller, The Measure of
256
Chris Schabel
The fact that the argument « In oppositum » for the very first question is a detailed citation and quotation from Hugh of Saint-Victor’s De sacramentis (f. 1v) further strengthens the work’s Victorine character, and citations of Gregory of Rimini, John of Mirecourt, Hugolino of Orvieto, and John of Ripa firmly establish the questions as originating from Paris after the 1350s. The text breaks off abruptly toward the end of distinction 4 at the end of a quire, but the bachelor had already reached his 41st lecture of the academic year, since the lectiones are clearly marked in the style of the late fourteenth century, as in the case of Peter Plaoul in 1392139326. Pierre Leduc, for example, delivered 122 lectures in the 1382-1383 academic year27, so the author of the questions in Paris 14911 was not leaving himself much time for the remaining 44 distinctions of book I and the other three books. As we shall see, in his authentic writings Pierre Leduc singles out John Duns Scotus, Adam Wodeham, Rimini, Orvieto, and probably Mirecourt for praise and cites William of Ockham and Ripa, so the fact that all of these fourteenth-century figures are also cited in the questions in Paris 14911 suggests that Pierre could be the author. Nevertheless, the contents of Paris 14911 do not correspond to the description of Pierre’s questions on the Sentences in the lost manuscript mentioned above, in which one of the early questions (on f. 3) was « Utrum ab anima creata possit evidenter cognosci aliqua veritas ». This question is not among the questions (or their various articles) in Paris 14911, which are as follows : Q. 1 (Prologue) : Utrum viator insistens scripturis pure philosophantium cum rationis naturalis recto dictamine ad theologicas veritates sine fide lumine valeat pertingere (f. 1r-24v) Multitude. Population in Medieval Thought, Oxford : Oxford University Press, 2000, p. 127 and n. 61, quoting from f. 100rb, which Biller claims is from book II, d. 20, in a « commentary by an early Cistercian master, possibly Guy de l’Aumône (probably mid-1260s) » ; this is an error for Paris, BnF, lat 3424, where the quotation is found on f. 100rb, and the text is definitely by Guy, who lectured between 1245 and 1253, as a bachelor. Patrick Monjou has kindly informed me that Morton W. Bloomfield – Bertrand-Georges Guyot – Donald R. Howard et al., Incipits of Latin Works on the Virtues and Vices, 1100-1500 a.d. Including a Section of Incipits of Works on the Pater Noster, Cambridge, MA : Mediaeval Academy of America, 1979 (The Mediaeval Academy of America Publications, 88), p. 552, includes Paris, BnF, lat. 14911 as a witness of the Compendium theologicae veritatis of Hugo Ripelinus, but since Paris, BnF, lat. 14912, which does contain the latter work, is not listed, the 14911 claim seems to be a misreading of the successive entries in Léopold Delisle, « Inventaire des manuscrits latins de Saint-Victor conservés à la Bibliothèque impériale sous les numéros 14232-15175 », in Bibliothèque de l’École des Chartes, t. 30, 1869, p. 1-79, at p. 38. 26 Palémon Glorieux, « L’année universitaire 1392-1393 à la Sorbonne à travers les notes d’un étudiant », in Revue des sciences religieuses, t. 19, 1939, p. 429-482 ; Jeffery C. Witt, Peter Plaoul’s Lecture Commentary on the Sentences : A Canonical Ordered List of Lectures, in Manuscripta, t. 58, 2014, p. 159-270. 27 Schabel, « The Victorine Pierre Leduc’s Collationes, Sermo finalis, and Principia on the Sentences », p. 239 and 262.
Radices et plantationes theologicae facultatis hic Parisius 257 Q. 2 (d. 1, q. 1) : Utrum solo immenso et incommutabili bono sit licite fruendum (f. 24v-49r) Q. 3 (d. 1, q. 2) : Utrum possibile sit creaturam rationalem intuitive videre divinam essentiam sine persona et unam personam sine alia (f. 49r-66r) Q. 4 (d. 2, q. 1) : Utrum Deum esse sit per rationem naturalem evidenter deducibile seu demonstrabile (f. 66r-82r) Q. 5 (d. 2, q. 2) : Utrum Deum esse unum in essentia et trinum in personis sit a catholicis concedendum (f. 82r-86r ; most of 82v is blank, much of aa. 1-3 are omitted, 83 is skipped in the numbering, and the final a. 4 begins on the top of f. 84r) Q. 6 (d. 4) : Utrum Deus genuerit Deum de sua substantia seu de sua natura (f. 84r107v, ending at the start of the final a. 4)
It is possible that the description of the lost manuscript is in error in ascribing it to Pierre Leduc, but it is more likely that the questions in Paris 14911, if they are indeed Victorine, belong to another Victorine bachelor lecturing at Paris after 1360, perhaps Nicolas Soloe, Nicolas de Morencourt, or, indeed, Henri le Boulangier, who may have adopted Pierre’s doctrinal tendencies. I hope to return to this text in a separate study. The Biblical Principia of Pierre Leduc and Henri le Boulangier As in the other faculties, series of lectures in the Faculty of Theology opened with sermons fittingly called principia28. At Paris, bachelor lectures on the Bible preceded Sentences lectures by a couple of years and constituted the first independent teaching in theology of the advanced students, although under supervision. It was common to take a book of the Old Testament followed by a book of the New Testament, delivering two corresponding principia. There were four principial sermons on the Sentences, one for each book, but here the term principia also applied to questions and debates among the bachelors of the Sentences immediately following their opening sermons. For their term as biblicus, Pierre Leduc and Henri le Boulangier both lectured on Ecclesiastes first, but the quire with Pierre’s first Bible principium is now missing from the manuscript and we know nothing at all about Henri’s lectures on the New 28 On principia in theology, see now William O. Duba, The Forge Of Doctrine. The Academic Year 1330-1331 and the Rise of Scotism at the University of Paris, Turnhout : Brepols, 2017 (Studia Sententiarum, 2), p. 50-117, 221-232 (with editions on p. 299-324 and 361-376) ; Courtenay, « Pierre Leduc » ; Schabel, « The Victorine Pierre Leduc’s Collationes, Sermo finalis, and Principia on the Sentences » ; and William O. Duba and Chris Schabel, The Rise of a New Genre of Scholastic Disputation : Principia on the Sentences, 1315-1350, Turnhout : Brepols, forthcoming (Studia Sententiarum).
Chris Schabel
258
Testament. Thus we can only compare Pierre’s second Bible principium, preceding his lectures on Matthew or Mark (the evidence is ambiguous), and his later principial sermons on the Sentences with Henri’s first Bible principium, preceding his lectures on Ecclesiastes. Nevertheless, biblical principia were often only loosely linked – if at all – to the specific book of the Bible that was to be the subject of the lectures, and this is the case here. Moreover, as Courtenay remarked, it was common to repeat material in one’s principia and there are several indications that Pierre’s second Bible principium is a continuation and partial reiteration of his missing first principium29. For the same reason, Henri’s surviving first principium was surely a prequel to his principium given before whatever book of the New Testament he chose to cover. Thus the two biblical principia of the two Victorines are good comparanda. One of the common characteristics of principial sermons in theology in this period was that the choice of thema and other central elements involved obvious or opaque references to the speaker, for example his name in Latin or the vernacular, or his place of origin. In the case of our Victorines, they opted to identify themselves via their affiliation. In his Biblical principium, Pierre Leduc chose as his thema a quotation from Habakkuk 3:19 that showcased both his name and his abbey : Super excelsa mea deducet me Victor, immediately adding « ut in primo principio sumebatur », indicating that he had chosen the same thema for his now lost sermon before his lectures on Ecclesiastes30. One could go further : the word super beginning his thema could be an allusion to Matthew 16:18, super hanc petram, which Jesus addressed to and meant Petrus, while excelsa mea could have brought to mind Ecclesiam meam in the same verse in the Gospel. The entire six-word thema was a pun on « Petrus Ducis ». Henri le Boulangier was less subtle. The beginning of what I take to be the first redaction of Henri’s sermon on Ecclesiastes is missing, so we have neither the thema nor the early divisions according to the thema, nor even the first main division. On the bottom line of H 128r, at the start of a division and indented, one does finds the same quotation as in Pierre, albeit modified, from Habakkuk 3:19 : « Super excelsa enim et specula deduxit eam Victor, Abacuc 3o », but here Henri was merely collecting quotations that included the word « victor » or « victoria », for example II Ezra 4 : Super omnia vincit veritas. The second main division indicates that the second word of the thema was est : « Quod probat veritatis stabilitas a nullo temerata, quia est », while the third main division leaves no doubt : « Quod probat eius nobilitas populo devulgata, quia victoria, ut tandem pro ipsius veneranda memoria concludi liceat quod Hec est victoria ». Thus Henri’s thema in the first version was the same as that for his second version, from I John 5:4 : « Hec est victoria, primae Iohannis quinto capitulo ». It is probably no coincidence that 29 30
Courtenay, « Pierre Leduc », p. 105-106. Courtenay, « Pierre Leduc », p. 106.
Radices et plantationes theologicae facultatis hic Parisius 259 Henri’s thema playfully consists of the words immediately preceding those in the thema of all four of Pierre’s earlier Sentences sermons, also I John 5:4 : Vicit or Vincit mundum fides nostra. Pierre and Henri thus chose themata identifying them as Victorines, and just as Pierre managed to allude to his name – explicitly noting elsewhere « ego nobilis quia dux » – Henri’s shorter thema Hec est victoria began with the pronoun Hec, recalling « Henricus ». In case the audience missed it, Henri brought up the pronoun frequently in the course of his sermon. Pierre’s second and only surviving biblical principium consists of two members, the second of which is incomplete. The first member, contained on P f. 31r-32v, continues the topic of the lost first principium and focuses on the role of the University of Paris in the war against heresy. In the first principium, Pierre had discussed « three battles and victories of the holy doctors against heretics », and now, in the first part of the first member, Pierre moves on to the fourth victory, introduced by what he calls a « puerilis ymaginatio » comparing heresy to the Hydra, which when one head is severed grows others, although in fact Pierre takes the entire analogy tacitly but verbatim from John Cassian. The first three battles took place in Late Antiquity before Charlemagne’s mythical establishment of the studium of Paris, whereas the fourth was fought in the twelfth century, the subject of the first part of the first member. The second part of the first member moves the scene to the present day, the « last victory of the holy doctors », won by the University of Paris31. Pierre’s second member, on theology, is both incomplete and unpolished. The three-fold division of the second member relates that the divine science is exalted above the other sciences, is governed morally and rejects all vices, and is attacked but its adversaries are laid low by its strong defense. This three-fold division is then expressed again in two three-fold divisions of the thema, for super excelsa, for deducit, and for victor. Only the first of the three parts is accomplished, on theology’s superiority over the other sciences, but it is still longer than the entire first member. Interestingly, Pierre wrote at least two versions of this section. One version, probably the first, is represented by the end of P 32v immediately following the first member and perhaps the fragment on P 30r, which continues the text at the end of P 32v. The other version, probably the second, begins the second member on P 33r and continues until the bottom of P 36r, which seemingly ends the first part of the second member : « Et hoc de primo, in quo dicitur super excelsa ». Yet on the verso of P 36 some of what is on the recto is repeated and improved, and the text continues with some confusing notes that may come from a version of the second part of the second member. Afterwards, two folios have been cut out, which perhaps contained an unsatisfactory version of the rest of the sermon, i.e., the last two parts of the second member. 31
See also Courtenay, « Pierre Leduc », p. 104-105.
260
Chris Schabel
Although Courtenay describes what I call the first part of the second member as being « devoted to praising the role of the liberal arts », in which Pierre « credits masters in the faculty of arts of having a part to play in the battle against heresy32 », Pierre is not quite so positive. One of the main differences between the two versions is that, at the start of the second member, the fragments of what seems to be the first version portray the practitioners of other sciences in a negative light, as glorifying their subject unduly. In one fragment, a quotation from Hugh of Saint-Victor shows by analogy that, just as animals love their offspring no matter how deformed they are, so do these scholars admire their subjects. Another fragment agrees with the second version that every human science has something of the divine, but when the second version continues blandly that « the divine science transcends the other sciences, but so that we see this more clearly » he will present those sciences, the first version is rather harsh : when they hear such praises of divine science from someone, the ears of many listeners perk up. And « hearing these things », they were twisted to and fro « in their hearts, and they gnashed their teeth at him » [Acts 7:54], and « crying out with a loud voice », they even « stopped their ears » [Acts 7:56] in « the likeness of a serpent » and « the deaf asp » [Psalm 57:5], indeed in the likeness of a monkey, preferring the offspring of their own science. Neither the derision of those present nor the aversion of the wise ones had been able to chasten them so that they did not subtly recommend their offspring, that is, their sciences.
This passage was removed in the second version, it appears, perhaps to avoid causing offense. The remainder is intended to show both that the divine science is superior to all the others – which, we are told after the first descriptions, are « but shadows and shades » of theology that « do not deserve to be called anything but its ancillary footservants » – and that it beats each of them at its own game, despite the excessive praise of the non-divine scientists. The second descriptions thus show that, for example, the Bible (or divine science) is a better teacher of grammar than the grammarians, and the logician is told that he will be silenced by the « mystery of the Trinity, the perplexity of future contingents, the insoluble prognostication of divine predestination, and also the inconceivable inquiry of reprobation33 ».
32
See also Courtenay, « Pierre Leduc », p. 104-105. These topics present such conundrums that they appear even in Pierre’s exegesis, for example on chapter 6 of Ecclesiastes, P 15r : « […] scilicet notitiam futurorum contingentium, que non decet te scire. Ideo subditur sed et hec vanitas est, id est, inutile et presumptio Spiritus sancti velle scire futura. Qui futurus est : Hic consequenter probat propositum de notitia vana et supersticiosa, et inducet ad hoc 4 rationes. Prima est quia solius Dei est scire futura, Ysaie 41 […] ideo stultissimum velle talium habere certitudinem […] ». 33
Radices et plantationes theologicae facultatis hic Parisius 261 The sequence and names of these other sciences differ in the second member, an indication of Pierre’s leaving his text unpolished : 1st description 2nd description leader list end list a.c. 36r grammar grammar grammar grammar logic logic logic logic rhetoric rhetoric rhetoric geometry natural phil. natural phil. rhetoric moral phil. moral phil. arithmetic arithmetic geometry astronomy music (p.c.) astronomy arith. + geom. geometry (p.c.) astrology music music astrology music medicine med. + surgery medicine medicine law law law law
end list p.c. 36v grammar logic rhetoric arithmetic music geometry astrology medicine law
Thus both natural philosophy and moral philosophy drop out ; arithmetic, which was combined with geometry at the second stage, gets its own spot in stage three ; surgery makes a brief appearance ; astronomy turns into astrology at stage three ; and stage four confuses the order, only to be corrected at stage five. Unlike Pierre Leduc’s second and sole surviving biblical principium, Henri le Boulangier’s first and only biblical principium comes down to us in complete form, although in two redactions. The first redaction in the manuscript, which also appears to be the first redaction chronologically, is incomplete, probably missing the first folio. The second redaction in the manuscript and seemingly in sequence also adds a section continuing the sermon before beginning the commentary on the book of Ecclesiastes. The first redaction contains frequent modifications in the form of long passages crossed out, interlinear corrections, and extensive marginal additions. Some of these changes affect the second redaction, which also rearranges, removes from, and adds to the first redaction. While Pierre announced two main divisions, Henri divides his principium into three, one for each of the three words of his thema, hec est victoria. The topic is war against the enemies of Jerusalem or Israel, which stands for the faith : the Bible fearlessly goes to war, constantly advances in war, and happily departs from war in glory with victory, having seized the crown. In a possible nod to Pierre, Henri’s second member includes a discussion of the ancillary sciences, after remarking that « the superior wisdom contains much more perfectly the truth of all the inferior sciences, as declares the dux belli of the canons regular Augustine », who is elsewhere called « our special shepherd ». Henri employs the motif of the tribes of Israel, Judah, Zebulun, and Naphtali, in battle against their enemies, to illustrate how, with the
262
Chris Schabel
aid of holy men, Scripture defeats falsity, superstitious pseudo-science, and vice. With faith in God, Judah adduced grammar, logic, and rhetoric to assist Scripture in their war ; putting their hope in strength, Zebulun employed metaphysics, medicine, physics, arithmetic, geometry, perspectiva, and astronomy, in ways prescribed by Vegetius ; with caritas, Naphtali looked to ethics, monastica, economics, politics, laws, and decreta, in accordance with the advice of Seneca. Although it is not emphasized, Henri sees the whole sermon as a giant consequence or syllogism in which the consequent or conclusion is the thema itself, hec est victoria : « Et per consequens pro eiusdem Sacre Scripture veneranda memoria non immerito preassumpsi quod hec est victoria. Consequentiam relinquo notam ». The first member thus begins « Consequentia igitur sic relecta, dico primo in antecedente… », the second « Dixi secundo in antecedente… », and the third constitutes the conclusion : « … merito concluditur pro 3o… », although the entire conclusion is also the thema : « tandem concludi liceat quod hec est victoria ». After the third member, both redactions have a brief gratiarum actio thanking the audience, « because you have added glory to my humility » in the first redaction, but switching « humilitas » to « parvitas » in the second redaction. The added section continues in the consequence/syllogism motif : « Quod est victoria, dico concludendo », especially in the final words, which refer to the consequent, the major, and the conclusion : « Et per consequens, habita maioris precedentis sufficienti memoria, concludi potest quod hec est victoria ». The Victorine Character of the Principia of Pierre Leduc and Henri le Boulangier The edition of Henri le Boulangier’s principium printed below includes the continuation in the second redaction, which is actually the opening of the first lecture on Ecclesiastes. Principia often concluded with brief divisiones textus of the book on which the speaker would lecture that term, but neither Pierre Leduc nor Henri includes this in the sermon proper. In Henri’s first redaction the text moves immediately to a discussion of Jerome’s prologue on Ecclesiastes, but in the second redaction Henri begins with a divisio textus as if adding a second concluding section to his principium given « previously ». The passage is worth quoting in full, because it provides a reference to the audience, the context of a bachelor giving his first theological lecture series, the connection between the Bible and the principium, the limited role of the specific book of the Bible in that principium, and the reason for the thema : Reverend fathers, now that, with God’s support, according to the explanations of the doctors, I am about to lecture on the second sapiential book of the wise Salomon,
Radices et plantationes theologicae facultatis hic Parisius 263 which is called Ecclesiastes – not presumptuously, because it is for the sake of a necessary act and directed at my own training – I take up again the thema chosen previously in memory of the name of our blessed patron Victor for the recommendation of the entirety of Holy Scripture, now especially for the noble part of that same Holy Scripture contained in said Ecclesiastes and for the honor and glory of that same patron of ours Victor, stating that « This is the victory ».
Pierre Leduc packs his Bible and Sentences sermons with references to Christ as « Victor », as the « invictissimus Victor », the « aethereus Victor », or the « Victor potentissimus », as Courtenay notes34. Peter Lombard is described as the « vir victoriosus » or « victoriosus Parisiensis episcopus ». The theologians who defend the faith are « invincibiles » or « invictissimi ». There are repeated references to « victoria », and many forms of the verb « vinco » are scattered throughout the sermons : « vincit », « vicit », « vincere », « vincitur », « vincens », « vicerunt ». Henri too has numerous references to « victoria » in his sermon on Ecclesiastes, the first version of which ends with « Deo autem gratias qui dedit nobis victoriam per Ihesum Christum Dominum nostrum, amen » (H 129v), while the second repeats the thema : « Et per consequens, habita maioris precedentis sufficienti memoria, concludi potest quod Hec est victoria » (H 160v). Whereas Pierre focuses on Christ « Victor », however, Henri makes his sermons more of a recommendatio Sacrae Scripturae, as required, and refers frequently to the Bible as the « Victrix », with repeated uses of the phrases « ipsa invictissima victrix Sacra Scriptura » and calling the students of theology in his audience « huius Victricis studiosi auditores ». When Henri does speak of the « Victor », it is not Pierre’s Christ « Victor », but « Sanctus Victor, patronus noster », or even « gloriosus patronus noster ». Overall, there are over 150 instances of words including « vict » in the two versions of Henri’s sermon, and over 50 occasions where Pierre employs such terms in his principia on the Sentences and over 30 more in just the first division of his principium on the Bible. Pierre and Henri made every effort to identify themselves and their sermons with the Victorines. Their expression of their Victorine identity is not limited to rhetoric, however. What survives of Pierre’s second biblical principium is divided into two topics, as we have seen, the first a history of the Christian battle against heresy culminating in the present University of Paris and the second a discussion of the sciences that are merely ancillary to theology. Aside from quoting from Hugh of Saint-Victor on occasion as a source for his history, Pierre lists two Victorines in his verse 34
Courtenay, « Pierre Leduc », p. 105-106.
264
Chris Schabel
celebration of the great twelfth-century theologians associated with France in one way or another : Anselm of Canterbury most subtle in genius Bernard of Clairvaux most devout in study Lombard the Parisian most constant in the stadium Our Hugh the Saxon most acute in scrutiny Richard the Victorine most strong in this battle
If the reader will not take his word for it concerning the Victorines, then Pierre quotes Vincent of Beauvais’ praise of Hugh and Richard : Hugh was a leader in the seven liberal arts and Richard’s De Trinitate was the best work on the subject, strong enough words that one can understand Pierre’s desire to hide behind Vincent. In other verses, paraphrased here, Pierre associates the five leaders with the errors they defeat in their writings : Anselm, On the Procession of the Holy Spirit, overcomes the Greek Bernard, with his letters, refutes Abelard Lombard, with his Sentences, defeats the condemned Abbot Joachim Hugh, On the sacraments, shatters various errors Richard, On the Trinity, troubles the Porretan
Even after the great period of these « invincible doctors, even the Victorine doctors of this church [of Saint-Victor] », even now, in the late fourteenth century, Pierre begins his verse list of legions fighting against the Antichrist with his own kind : Canons Regular, Conventual Monks, Preachers, Friars Minor, Augustinians, Carmelites, Bernardists, and members of other Colleges. Some of these elements reappear in Pierre Leduc’s principial sermons on the Sentences, as Courtenay remarks, although the overall theme shifts slightly from heresy to battle, even if heresy remains prominent. In the sermon for the second book of the Sentences, Pierre repeats his verse concerning the five champions of the twelfth century, but not the verse about their vanquished opponents or the quotation from Vincent of Beauvais. In the speech for book III Pierre enlists only the first four in support of one of his favorite doctrines, the immaculate conception of the Virgin Mary. In verse Pierre emphasizes that Lombard of Paris attested to her maternity, Bernard of Clairvaux to her chastity, Anselm of Canterbury to the miracle of her holy conception, and « our Hugh the Saxon » to her being without macula, thus giving the Victorine pride of place. In the sermon on the fourth book Hugh is elevated still further, because the subject is the sacraments and the four leading authorities stretch back to antiquity : Ambrose, our Hugh, Peter Lombard, and Cantor, i.e., Petrus. Henri le Boulangier’s biblical principium focuses on the topic of battle and war, but without the stress on heresy, so perhaps Pierre’s sermons on the Sentences were
Radices et plantationes theologicae facultatis hic Parisius 265 Henri’s inspiration, or maybe Henri simply wanted to accommodate his thema of victoria. In addition to his references to the patron Saint Victor himself, Henri further emphasizes his Victorine heritage in personal ways. Henry addresses his audience with the normal « Reverendi patres ac domini » in three crucial places, but at the start he emphasizes his inadequacy before their seniority and elevated intellects, so he only proceeds because he is « compelled by reason of the present act », « complying with the orders of my lord abbot and all the other religious of this church », that is, the Church of Saint-Victor, the abbot being then Geoffroy Pellegay. More frustratingly, not long afterwards Henri mentions what his own « master » dealt with in the past : « de quo pridem solempniter magister et dominus meus prior de Putheolis ». There is no doubt that this person was a Victorine, since the priory of Notre-Dame de Puiseaux, about 80km south of Saint-Victor, was a Victorine foundation. None of the Victorine masters listed above fits this description, so either Henri is using the term « master » in the loose sense of « teacher » or perhaps a secular master joined the Victorine community at a later date and became prior of Notre-Dame de Puiseaux, but whether he taught or gave a sermon at Saint-Victor « pridem » is unclear. In his sermon, Henri quotes no less than eight Victorines from the classic twelfth-century school35. Not surprisingly, Henri has more than a half-dozen references each to « venerabilis Hugo noster » and « venerabilis Richardus noster », citing various works. In addition, Henri cites twice each both « venerabilis Adam noster », « in prosa » and « in suo dyalogo », and « venerabilis quondam frater Gaufridus canonicus huius ecclesie », i.e., Godefroy de Saint-Victor, once « in sermone ». There are two citations of « Galterus quondam prior huius ecclesie », once « in sermone », Gauthier being prior from 1173 to his death around 1180. Henri refers once to « reverendus quondam in Christo pater magister Achardus canonicus huius ecclesie, post episcopus Abricensis, in sermone », perhaps forgetting that Achard served as abbot in 1155-1162 before becoming bishop of Avranches. In contrast, Henri’s four mentions of Abbot Absalon, three times specifying a sermon (including « reverendus quondam pater meus Absalon abbas huius ecclesie in quodam sermone »), reveal that there was (understandable) confusion among the later Victorines between Abbot Absalon (1198-1203), from whose pen nothing has been identified, and the Victorine canon and master Absalon active before become abbot elsewhere by 1193, who authored numerous Sermones festivales. There is no such confusion in Henri’s three citations of Abbot Guérin (1172-1193/95), « abbas quondam noster venerabilis Garinus », once specifying « Guarinus quondam abbas huius ecclesie in quodam sermone ». 35 For concise information on the Victorines whom Henri cites, see Poirel, « L’école de Saint-Victor au Moyen Âge », p. 192-202.
Chris Schabel
266
Finally, beyond these eight, there is one mention of what « expertus Johannes quondam abbas huius ecclesie » stated. By Henri’s time there had been three Abbot Johns of Saint-Victor, in 1203-1229, 1311-1329, and 1349-1360, but none of them seems to fit. The context is not philosophical theology either, so we can exclude the texts by Jean de Saint-Victor in Vat. lat. 1086, and it does not appear to correspond to the Memoriale historiarum of Jean de Saint-Victor either, also from the first half of the fourteenth century. A more likely target is Jean d’Aulnay, canon of Saint-Victor, the author of a number of sermons in Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France, lat. 14961, active in the third quarter of the thirteenth century36. With his 30 or so citations of nine Victorine authors, his choice of thema, and his use of terminology, it would appear that Henri le Boulangier’s primary concern was to emphasize his religious identity. As we have seen, at the end of the added section of his speech, about to begin commenting on Ecclesiastes, Henri reminds his audience of the context and concludes that he spoke « for the honor and glory of that same Victor, our patron, saying that ‘this is the victory’ ». The Biblical Exegesis of Pierre Leduc and Henri le Boulangier To what extent did Victorine pride and loyalty in their principial sermons on the Bible extend to their exegesis ? If Henri le Boulangier’s lectures on a book of the New Testament survive in any form, they have not been identified. For Pierre Leduc, all we have are what are labeled in the colophon on P 41r as dubia on Matthew or Mark, but in the incipit of the text as dubia on Matthew, while the colophon for the earlier second biblical principium on P 31r attaches that to Mark. Either way, these dubia, 221 in all according to Courtenay’s count, are only occasionally linked to the synoptic Gospels, and all but the last two are limited to a paragraph37. There is little in the way of post-patristic citations, with a reference to Bernard, one each to two works of Anselm, a half dozen to Peter Lombard, and seven to the Victorines, six of which are to Hugh and one to Richard, the sole remark establishing Pierre’s identity (P 48r) : « Unde sicut dicit Ricardus noster… ». Nevertheless, the very first and last citations of authorities in the dubia are to Hugh of Saint-Victor. Indeed, as if to finish on a personal note, Pierre concludes with a confirmation from Hugh (P 53v) : Confirmatur per venerabilem Hugonem, De sacramentis, libro 2o, parte 14a, capitulo 6o, ubi ad istud propositum ex intensione sic dicit : « Totum ergo meritum in voluntate est ; quantum vis, tantum mereris ». Ergo similiter est de demerito. Et subdit 36
Poirel, « L’école de Saint-Victor au Moyen Âge », p. 204-205. Courtenay, « Pierre Leduc », p. 106.
37
Radices et plantationes theologicae facultatis hic Parisius 267 Hugo : « In voluntate totum meritum est, nam opus sive sit sive non sit, nichil minus in voluntate est, nisi forte in hoc quia voluntas maior fieret si opus fieret ». Et subdit : « Si forte contingerit tantam esse voluntatem in eo qui non operature quanta est in illo qui opus exercet, ubi voluntas eadem est, meritum dissimile esse non potest ».
Pierre then adds, « Ergo tota conclusio vera », and ends the entire set of dubia four lines later. The two colophons for the commentary on Ecclesiastes in the Pierre Leduc manuscript describe it as « secundum Nicolaum de Lyra », but Courtenay states that it actually follows Bonaventure’s commentary, occasionally attributed to Nicholas of Lyra (c. 1270-1349), even if Pierre’s commentary is different38. In fact Pierre actually cites Bonaventure in the text in chapter 7 (P 16r), but perhaps Pierre was looking at another work of the Franciscan. Pierre also cites Nicholas of Lyra explicitly at least three times (chapter 5, P 14r, twice ; chapter 9, P 19v), but the clearest indication of Pierre’s relative independence is his reference to Pope Benedict XII’s pronouncement on the Beatific Vision (i.e., Benedictus Deus, chapter 7, P 15v) from 1336, which postdates Nicholas’ Postilla, written at Paris in the 1320s. Pierre’s reference to Benedict XII further suggests that he was interested in systematic theology as much as exegesis, and this is borne out by his reference to several works of Aristotle, along with the occasional mention of the likes of Boethius and Seneca, and the odd excursus into such philosophical topics as foreknowledge of future contingents (chapter 6, P 15r). Pierre’s Victorine identity is hardly evident at all, with just three citations of Adam of Saint-Victor in the Prologue (P 8r-v, once as « magister Adam de Sancto Victore » and twice merely as Adam ») and three references to « Hugo » in chapter 1 (P 9v-10r). In contrast, Henri le Boulangier’s commentary on Ecclesiastes is strikingly Victorine. Hugo of Saint-Victor is by far the most cited authority, receiving 41 references in all three fragments, one as « Hugo noster », sixteen as « venerabilis Hugo », and 24 as « venerabilis Hugo noster ». A number of these include direct quotations, sometimes quite long ones, indicated at the end by remarks of the « Hec ille » sort, presumably from Hugh’s popular but incomplete Commentary on Ecclesiastes, going down to 4:8, a surviving copy of which is annotated by Henri himself39. Occasionally Hugh’s authority is placed on the same level as that of Jerome himself, as in chapter 2 : « … prosequitur beatus Ieronimus et venerabilis Hugo noster valde pulchre » (H 151v). Hugh’s treatment is described as « valde pulchra » on three other occasions, but more often Henri comments on how long winded his champion is, as in chapter 1 : « … et cetera valde pulchra, quamquam prolixa, venerabilis Hugo » (H 165r) ; chapter 2 : « Istum textus venerabilis Hugo 38
Courtenay, « Pierre Leduc », p. 101-102. Ouy, Les manuscrits de l’abbaye de Saint-Victor, t. 2, p. 262 : Paris, BnF, lat. 14505.
39
268
Chris Schabel
noster prolixe prosequitur, quem causa brevitatis dimisi » (H 148r), « Et de hoc ponit venerabilis Hugo exemplum de Moyse et Rubo, quod pro nunc dimitto quia prolixum est » (H 150r), « prout per prolixum processum pulchre declarat venerabilis Hugo noster » (H 150v), and « Hanc brevem sententiam prolixe prosequitur Hugo noster, quam dimitto brevitatis causa » (H 150v-151r) ; and the final chapter 3 : « … multe notabiles et fructuose allegorie quas ponunt tam Ieronimus quam etiam venerabilis Hugo noster, quas hic dimitto. Siquis voluerit videre, ostendam ei » (H 153v). This last quotation again ties Hugh to Jerome, concluding in an interesting reflection of the oral nature of the text : « If anybody wants to see [these allegories], I’ll show him ». Aside from Hugh of Saint-Victor, Henri does refer once to « venerabilis Richardus noster » (chapter 1, H 147v), further establishing his Victorine identity. Henri also cites Nicholas of Lyra three times and makes the occasional reference to the works of Aristotle, which, in addition to a dubitatio here and there, is the limit of the philosophical nature of the commentary. Aside from the above and a couple of mentions of Bernard and one to Alcuin (Prologue, H 161v), Henri takes his inspiration, and sometimes his very words, from « our venerable Hugh ». Pride and Independence Victorine pride was a psychological boost for the later-medieval Victorines, not a doctrinal burden. Unlike the Dominicans’ obligation to follow their canonized teaching doctor, the relatively recent Thomas Aquinas, the Victorines had not put their members in a would-be doctrinal straightjacket. Rather the three Victorines from whom we have unabbreviated writings in philosophical theology from the long fourteenth century reflect the evolution of the field in that same era. This pride and flexibility is evident in the main early example of Victorine philosophical theology at the University of Paris, the principial sermon and question on the Prologue of the Sentences by Gérard de Saint-Victor from around 1300 and extant in Amiens 234. In his brief principium in praise of theology, the Bible, the Lombard, and his Sentences, Gérard makes a point of citing Hugh’s Didascalicon and Richard’s De Trinitate once each40. Yet even in a sermon in praise of theology and Scripture there are more frequent references to Aristotle, Avicenna, and Averroes. In Gérard’s long question on the nature of theology that follows, the pagan and the two Muslims, along with Al-Ghazali, provide the main philosophical framework for the entire discussion, although Augustine also plays a role. 40 Amiens, Bibl. mun., 234, f. 38ra : « […] sicut dicit H., Didasc’, libro [8], ca. 6 : ‘Geminus’, inquit, ‘divine lectionis fructus […]’ », and f. 38rb : « […] sicut expresse dicit Ri. libro 1o, ca.o 3o : ‘Ad notitiam’, inquit, ‘eorum de quibus nobis recte dicitur […]’ ».
Radices et plantationes theologicae facultatis hic Parisius 269 The Christian opinions with which Gérard engages are those of recent or living theologians labelled in the margins : the Augustinian Giles of Rome, the Dominican John Quidort (whom Gérard « audivi »), the secular Henry of Ghent (twice), and two others who are harder to identify, « Bertaudus » and « Richardus », whom Courtenay suggested are the late-thirteenth-century theologian Berthaud de Saint-Denis and Richard de Saint-Victor, but it seems more probable that the latter is the Franciscan Richard of Menneville (Mediavilla)41. The question continues with attacks and counter-attacks, with more appearances of Aristotle and the Muslims. It is only in the conclusion to the question, in a rhetorical summing up, that one finds Gérard’s only nod to his Victorine identity42, another reference to Hugh’s Didascalicon, as if to bookend the whole package after the initial reference to the same Victorine work in the principium43. At the University of Paris in 1300, a bachelor of theology lecturing on the Sentences with up to a dozen competing bachelors could not rely on twelfth-century ideas and methods to defeat his adversaries and convince his audience. The influx of translations of the rest of the Philosopher, of his main Commentator, and of Avicenna, and then their full absorption into the new university curriculum and environment, marginalized the twelfth-century Victorines and even Peter Lombard himself. Richard remained important in trinitarian questions, and outside the school Anselm rose to the level of a Church Father, but generally scholastics had to stay with the times. As Marshall Crossnoe has remarked in connection with what remains of Gérard de Saint-Victor’s later quodlibetal questions, it is thus difficult to place Master Gérard in the Victorine tradition, because « Latin academic theology and philosophy in 1315 was very different from what it was in 1125 or 121544 ». By the start of the Great Schism these tendencies toward novelty were if anything even more pronounced, as is evident in the trendy debates recorded in Pierre Leduc’s principial questions. Thus when Pierre dealt with current issues in 41
Courtenay, « Gerard of St Victor and Amiens 234 », p. 60, notes that Gérard cites Henry, Giles, John, Berthaud, and Richard. In the manuscript the references are, in the secundum principale, Amiens 234, f. 41rb : « 1 opinio : Egidius » ; f. 41va : « 2 opinio : Iohannes Par’ » ; f. 42ra : « 3 opinio : Hugo (!) de Gandavo » (« Dicunt enim in Summa sua, q. LVIII, ar. VI […] » « ut magis dicetur et patebit in prima questione sequentis articuli, scilicet LIX […] ») ; in the tertium principale, f. 45vb : « opinio 1 : Henrici » (« dicunt enim in Summa sua, ar. 8, 5, 7 » ; f. 46va : « opinio 2 : Bertaudus » and « Richardus ». 42 Aside from what might be a Victorine-inspired comment in the margin on Amiens 234, f. 45va : « Non enim debet denominari aliquid a fine nisi et remoto, ut quamvis finis omnium bellantium sit victoria, quia tamen \est/ finis proprius ducis et communis omnium aliorum, solus dux belli dicitur victor et nullus aliorum […] ». 43 Amiens 234, f. 48rb : « sicut dicit H. secundo Didascalicon […] ». 44 Crossnoe, « The Philosophical Questions of Gerard of Saint-Victor », p. 107-108.
270
Chris Schabel
philosophical theology, as in his dubia on Ecclesiastes, he was free to quote the Dominican Thomas Aquinas six times (II Sentences and the IIa IIae of the Summa theologiae), the Franciscan Bonaventure four times (although the Compendium, actually a work of Hugh Ripelin of Strasbourg), the secular Henry of Ghent four times (Quodlibeta), and the fourteenth-century Carmelite John Baconthorpe three times (IV Sentences)45. In contrast, Pierre cited his Victorines only at the very beginning and end, mentioning Adam in chapter 1 (P 24r) : « ad hoc dicit magister Adam in prologo super 3 libros Salamonis » and refering the reader to Richard in the last chapter (P 27v). We have seen that Pierre quoted Hugh of Saint-Victor at the start and finish of his dubia on Mark or Mathew, but in addition to two mentions each of canon law and of Aristotle, including one to De caelo (P 41r), Pierre also cites some thirteenth-century university theologians : Alexander of Hales twice (P 49v, 50v) and both Godfrey of Fontaines (P 50v) and Thomas Aquinas (P 49r) once each. More importantly, Pierre does not hesitate to refer to more recent figures : the Carmelites Gerard of Bologna (P 44v, † 1317) on prophecy and grace and Guy Terrena (P 44r) in the context of heresy (probably the Summa de haeresibus, c. 1340), and two stars of the 1340s, Thomas Bradwardine (P 46v : « Doctor Ebroardim ») on perseverantia46 and the Augustinian Gregory of Rimini, who is cited along with Aquinas and « certain new doctors », who must have been active after 1350 (P 49r) : « Oppositum tamen ponunt Doctor Sanctus, Magister Gregorius, et quidam novi doctores. Unde Gregorius contra Magistrum… ». Other vague mentions of « aliqui », « quidam doctores », and specifically « quidam doctor » (P 43v) may thus also refer to other late-medieval theologians. In his principial sermon on the third book of the Sentences, Pierre repeated his list of modern battalions defending Christianity, ranking them again as follows : Canons Regular, Conventual Monks (Collèges de Cluny, de Marmoutiers, etc.), Preachers, Friars Minor, Augustinians, Carmelites, Bernardists, and members of other Colleges47. In the fourth sermon, however, after listing the four old authorities on the sacraments, Ambrose, our Hugh, Peter Lombard, and Peter the Chanter, Pierre now adds in verse the new doctors, the ones with whom a contemporary would be in dialogue : Thomas Aquinas OP, Alexander of Hales OFM, Gregory of Rimini and Hugolino of Orvieto OESA, John Duns Scotus and Adam Wodeham OFM, William of Auxerre, William of Auvergne, and the 45 See for most of these references the summary and analysis of Courtenay, « Pierre Leduc », p. 102-104. 46 Paraphrasing from Thomas Bradwardinus, De causa Dei contra Pelagium et de virtute causa rum II, c. 8, corollarium, ed. London : Ex Officina Nortoniana, Apud I. Billium, 1618, p. 497DE, and c. 12, p. 508B. 47 See also Courtenay, « Pierre Leduc », p. 105.
Radices et plantationes theologicae facultatis hic Parisius 271 Cistercian Monk, most likely John of Mirecourt, a copy of whose questions on book I of the Sentences Pierre ordered to be copied in his student days48. In addition to these nine theologians of the university era, five of them active in the fourteenth century, Pierre concludes with a tenth, who « harmonizes the new [doctors] with the fathers, Brother Peter of Candia », the Greek Franciscan and future Pope Alexander V, who had only just completed his own lectures on the Sentences four years earlier, was licensed during the 1381-1382 academic year, and thus was serving as Minorite regent master in 1382-1383 while Pierre Leduc spoke these words49. Probably these ten theologians inspired Pierre in his Sentences lectures, but in his principial questions his task was to debate his socii on the hottest issues of the day. Thus in 72 dense pages in the critical edition50, while Pierre employs a variant of the word « victor » on average almost once per page, specifically mentioning Christ « Victor » in every question title51, until the end he only cites his Victorine ancestors four times in passing, Hugh twice (I, p. 264.14 ; I, p. 275.11-12) and Richard (I, p. 269.11) and Adam (III, p. 305.12-13) once each. In contrast, Pierre ends his first principium by copying 100 lines from the fourteenth-century Oxford Franciscan William of Ockham’s Ordinatio on book I of the Sentences (I, p. 280282), and elsewhere he cites Ockham’s Summa logicae (IV, p. 332.5), the Sentences questions of the Franciscans John Duns Scotus and Adam Wodeham (I, p. 266.15), alludes to Scotists (I, p. 278.32), and ranges Wodeham and Ockham against Scotus (II, p. 296.18-21). Much of the discussion involves philosophical and theological problems that were not treated in the same way before the fourteenth century, for example because of the decree Benedictus Deus of 1336, Pope Benedict XII’s definition of the Beatific Vision, cited in the second principium (II, p. 286.9). Some issues are even from after the Black Death and the activities of the Franciscan John of Ripa from the 1350s and 1360s, once when Pierre quotes « quidam doctor » (I, p. 265.36-266.7), perhaps a follower of Ripa, and once when Pierre cites « magister Iohannes de Rippa » explicitly (II, p. 288.2).
48 Ouy, Les manuscrits de l’abbaye de Saint-Victor, t. 2, p. 99 (presently part of Paris, BnF, lat. 14570, f. 77-149) ; Courtenay, « Pierre Leduc », p. 107. 49 Sullivan, Parisian Licentiates, t. 1, p. 117-118 ; Courtenay, « Pierre Leduc », p. 107-108, who suggests that Pierre risked « possibly offending other regent masters who were not similarly mentioned and thus honored (among them Pierre d’Ailly and Henry Totting of Oyta) ». Henry Totting of Oyta had already left Paris, however, and in his lifetime Candia was more prominent than d’Ailly : Sullivan, Parisian Licentiates, t. 2, p. 49-53, 525-528. 50 Schabel, « The Victorine Pierre Leduc’s Collationes, Sermo finalis, and Principia on the Sentences », p. 263-334, cited below in parentheses in the text according to principium and page. 51 Courtenay, « Pierre Leduc », p. 107.
272
Chris Schabel
The only time Pierre Leduc reaches back into the thirteenth century it is to quote Aquinas’ Summa theologiae IIa IIae in the third principium (III, p. 300.30301.6), not necessarily as an authority tout court, but in order to use the Dominican teaching doctor against his Dominican socius Jean le Gay, in order to argue against le Gay that it is better to be a simple person with grace, like the Virgin Mary, than a pope without. For this position it was just as important that Pierre cited the recent chancellor of Paris (1370-1380) Master Jean de Chaleur as being in agreement (III, p. 306.36-38). This was in the context of Pierre’s acrimonious debate over Mary’s immaculate conception, a doctrine that only became popular in the fourteenth century, except among the Dominicans, following Aquinas. Pierre’s independence from Aquinas and only real nod to his Victorine doctrinal heritage comes at the conclusion of his fourth and final principium question, ending his exchange with le Gay on the immaculate conception (IV, p. 334.6-31) : It seems to me that he [ Jean le Gay] rather clearly excites a dog that wants to sleep, namely reciting those opinions that we must never mention. So I was moved to express the more common opinion [in favor of the Immaculate Conception]… Although there are [different] opinions on her conception, nevertheless the one that I hold is most pious and grows stronger from day to day, such that against one disbeliever there are one hundred adhering to this truth… This was also the opinion of my venerable doctors and fathers, master Hugh, Richard, and Adam [de Saint-Victor], who were the roots and the shoots of the Faculty of Theology here at Paris, and they preached this opinion 140 years before Thomas [Aquinas] ! So although our voice has resounded in some places louder than in others, it has not abandoned the struggle of our fathers.
In the principial debates of 1382-1383, one could not wage war without the weapons forged in the fourteenth century, although, as Courtenay remarks, with his citations it appears that Pierre « did not see a confrontational divide between a via antiqua and a via moderna52 ». The backlash came as the Schism wore on. When Henri le Boulangier represented the University of Paris at the Council of Constance in 1415, he accompanied Jean Gerson and Pierre d’Ailly, who were kindred spirits. Henri is associated as owner, scribe, or user of many books formerly in the library of Saint-Victor, but the only works in philosophical theology from the university era were questions on the Sentences by Bonaventure, John Duns Scotus, and Durand de Saint-Pourçain53, close to Gerson’s famous recommendation to students of the Collège de Navarre, dated 1400, of Aquinas, Bonaventure, and 52 Courtenay, « Pierre Leduc », p. 108, and p. 108-113 for a summary of the topics in the debates. 53 Ouy, Les manuscrits de l’abbaye de Saint-Victor, t. 2, p. 74 and 80.
Radices et plantationes theologicae facultatis hic Parisius 273 Durand as the doctors who wrote more purely and solidly54. Henri’s very frequent citations of his twelfth-century Victorine forefathers would fit in very well with this conservative trend during the Schism to return to safer doctors. Both Pierre and Henri emphasized the inferiority of the other sciences to theology, however, and what I deem their first versions or redactions both included passages that portrayed these sciences in a negative light. In Henri’s third member there is a long section against silly arguments, curious comments, fantastic images, and fallacious sophistry. Via the traditional simile of shaving the captive women before marriage, Henri recognizes that these sciences are useful in theology, once shorn of what is dead, but they must be controlled. Henri removed this passage in the second redaction, but in the section added to the second redaction between the sermon and the commentary Henri attacks vana curiositas and falsa felicitas, continuing the theme into the expositio itself, although this is part of any approach to Ecclesiastes. Even if Henri was part of a back-to-the-good-old-days movement, this does not mean that it was because of his Victorine identity. The philosophical attitudes of Gérard de Saint-Victor, Pierre Leduc, and Henri le Boulangier were typical of their different contexts. The unusual extent to which Pierre and Henri emphasized their Victorine heritage, as compared to other theologians from the regular clergy, is a reflection of their pride, but not intellectual servitude. Indeed, even if no further discoveries are made, the surviving writings in philosophical theology from four Victorine masters of theology from the long fourteenth century (including Jean) should be considered a success, even if they are preserved in single manuscripts. Over a thousand scholars lectured on the Sentences at the University of Paris from Gérard’s year as Sententiarius to the end of the Great Schism, and probably close to a thousand were made master of theology. Less than ten of them were Victorines, and yet about half of the Victorines left pertinent writings that have survived down to the present day. If the Victorine rate applied to all Parisian theologians, we would have similar works from five hundred Parisian bachelors and masters of theology in this period, but this is far from the case. Perhaps only the Franciscans and Dominicans, with their huge international school network and support for book production, can match the ratio of the Victorines. The latemedieval Victorines may not have reached the heights of their twelfth-century luminaries, and they may not have produced academics as famous as the leading mendicants, seculars, or even monks, but they certainly held their own. 54 Jean Gerson, Œuvres complètes, ed. Palémon Glorieux, t. 2, Paris : Desclée, 1961 p. 33 : « Ad primum juvant, exempli gratia, quaestiones super Sententias et praesertim illorum doctorum qui purius ac solidius conscripserunt, inter quales, meo judicio, dominus Bonaventura et sanctus Thomas et Durandus videtur numerandi ». An older edition of this recommendation with almost the same wording has instead « dominus Altissiodorensis, Bonaventura et Durandus », with Guillaume d’Auxerre rather than Aquinas.
274
Chris Schabel Note on Editions
The editions follow the orthography of the manuscripts, but the following are not noted : the odd abbreviation for ‘quondam’ in Henri ; the same scribe’s tendency to forget horizontal lines representing nasals ; the arbitrary alternation of c/t, which has been standardized for clarity. For the parallel passages in Henri, the right column continues the main, final text, while the left column contains the incomplete preliminary draft, in which marginal and intralinear changes are noted in the text itself to indicate the process of the author’s revisions. The outside marginalia are not always legibile due to water damage, which also affects the lower outside corners of the text. The apparatus fontium is generally keyed to the final text on the right, unless references in the left column are absent in the right. * = lectio incerta ; \words/ = above the line.
Radices et plantationes theologicae facultatis hic Parisius 275
PETRI DUCIS Secundum principium, super Marcum, divine scientie recomendatio Super excelsa mea deducet me victor, Abbacuhc 3o[:19], ut in primo principio sumebatur. 5
Si nunc historica et cronographica scripta reseremus Si post auctentica atque doctorica dicta explicemus Ductore sancto flamine, sub duplici examine presens theuma deducemus:
Primo ex conflictu historico et procinctu victorico studii Parisiorum, quia victor deducet me Secundo ex transitu mirifico et alto situ celico scrutinii theologorum, quia super ex10 celsa.
〈MEMBRUM PRIMUM〉
〈Quarta sanctorum doctorum victoria〉
Pro primo, reverendi, tribus preliis et victoriis sanctorum doctorum contra hereticos 15 habitis et in primo principio expeditis, continuando dicenda iam dictis, accedo nunc ad quartam sub tali puerili ymaginatione: «Tradunt ficta poetarum, desectis quondam Hydre capitibus, numerosius renascentem per sua dampna crevisse, ita ut novo inauditoque miraculo, multiplicato mortibus suis monstro lucri genus esset admissio; scilicet dum quidquid ferrum secantis abscide20 ret, totum id fecunditas prodigiosa geminaret, donec laborans atque estuans cepte illius desectionis industrius appetitor, cassatis totiens opere inefficaci virtutibus, fortitudinem belli armaret arte consilii, et, admotis – ut aiunt – ignibus, multiplicem portentuosi corporis prolem ferventi gladio deseccaret; ac sic, ambustis intrinsecus medullis, cum
17/25 Tradunt – cessaret] Iohannes Cassianus, De incarnatione Christi I, c. 1, PL 50, col. 11-14. Trad. text. : P = Paris, Bibl. nat. de France, lat. 14800, f. 31r-36v 2 Secundum – recomendatio] mg. supra P 3 Abbacuhc] s.l. P; baruch3 exp. P
31r
2276
Chris Schabel
rebelles venas improbe fecunditatis» – falsa mens ensis – «exureret, tandem parturitio
25 monstruosa cessaret».
30
35
40
45
50
Ita etiam et consimiliter hereses et errores «in ecclesiis, illius quam poetarum commenta finxerunt Hydre similitudinem» antiquitus gesserunt in tam admirabilem modum ut heresum et errorum disseminatores adversus catholicos «linguis feralibus» sibilantes insuper et «letale virus» iacientes, desectis etiam scismatum capitibus, numerosius renascerentur. «Sed quia resurgente morbo non debuit cessare» curatio, idcirco omnipotente Domino industrio appetitore disponente, «quod de morte Hydre illius gentilium falsitas finxerat, hoc in ecclesiarum bellis veritas peregit, et ignitus Spiritus sancti gladius ita in extinguendis» heresibus et erroribus omnes «penitus medullas perniciose generacionis exussit, ut tandem prodigiosa fecunditas emorientibus venis» penitus desisteret, ut infra patere poterit. Non sunt hec nova prelia neque bella recentia. Iam enim temporibus Augustini, Ieronimi, et aliorum sanctorum doctorum transierant multa contra hereticos certamina. Novissimis autem diebus, ut aurora Orientis nostri plagam Occidentis suis fulgoribus illustraret: «Omnipotens rerum dispositor ordinatorque regnorum ac temporum, cum illius admirande statue» – de qua Danielis 2°[:34] – «pedes ferreos vel testeos comminuisset Romanis, non minus admirabilis statue caput aureum, per illustrem Carolum Magnum erexit in Francis». Quippe advenientes quiddam peritissimi ad littus Galliarum applicuerunt, quibus solum petentibus loca ad speculandum optima, «animas ingeniosas», «alimenta, et quibus tegantur» ab eodem Carolo minime denegantur. Quibus missis Parisius novam Parisiensis studii vineam radicaverunt ac colere ceperunt. «Fructificavit in doctrina» eorum tam affluenter «ut Franci antiquis Romanis et Atheniensibus equarentur». Et ut verbis venerabilis Hugonis utar, videres hic Parisius magnam scolam discentium ac generale studium catervatim, et vere cerneres «pueros, adolescentes, iuvenes atque senes. Alii ad formanda nova elementa rudem adhuc linguam inflectere discunt. Alii verborum inflexiones, compositiones, et derivationes memorie commendare satagunt. Alii» tabellas et «seras stillo exarant. Alii varias figuras» | vividis «coloribus in mambranis» picturant. Alii argolismi yotas et cifras calculant. Alii «formas mensurarum»
40/48 Omnipotens – equarentur] Notker Balbulus, Gesta Karoli Magni imperatoris, ed. Hans F. Haefele (MGH, Scriptores rerum Germanicarum, n.s. 12), Berlin: Weidmann, 1959, p. 1.2-6. Cf. Vincentius Belvacensis, Speculum historiale XXIV, c. 173, ed. IRHT: http://sourcencyme.irht.cnrs.fr/ encyclopedie/voir/134?citid=cit_id394698233404. 49/58 Et – ille] Hugo de Sancto Victore, De vanitate rerum mundanarum I, ed. Cédric Giraud, Hugonis de Sancto. Victore opera, t. IV: De uanitate rerum mundanarum, Dialogus de creatione mundi, Turnhout: Brepols, 2015 (CCCM 269), p. 149-150.321-357 = ed. Karl Müller, Soliloquium de arrha animae und De vanitate mundi (Kleine Texte für Vorlesungen und Übungen 123), Bonn: A. Marcus und E. Weber, 1913, p. 34.6-25 = PL 176, col. 709D. 45 Carolo] karolo a.c. s.l. P 53 Alii2] alias a.c. s.l. P 54 et] si add. sed del. P
31v
Radices et plantationes theologicae facultatis hic Parisius 2773 55 geometrice explicant. Et ut multos pertranseam, «alii de natura herbarum, de comple-
xione hominum, de qualitate rerum omnium et virtute» disserunt et pertractant, alii de beatis intelligenciis, de velatis celi misteriis, de meritis, penis, et premiis quasi comprehensores conferunt et disputant. Hec ille. Insuper erant in hoc studio Parisiensi homines magni virtute et prudentia, pulcritu60 dinis studium habentes, Ecclesiastici 44o[:6]. Ibi enim uniebantur 4or mundi climata, ibi pax cuncta et concordia, studii fervor et frequentia. Insuper omnia ibi tranquilla erant et quieta, cum ecce repente ipse antiquus serpens vocatus Diabolus et Sathanas, qui seduxit universum orbem, Apocalypsis 12o[:9], qui quondam nobilium philosophie Atheniensium limpidissimum fontem aureum quasi indiscibilibus erroribus turbidaverat, qui 65 etiam fervens floridissimumque Romanicum studium quam pluries doctrinis variis ac peregrinis abduxerat [Hbr 13:9]. Ipse illud idem venenum mortiferum ac letale virus huic studio Parisiensi immiscere disponebat. Quippe effusa est ita indignacio eius et commoti sunt montes – id est, sublimes doctores – ab eo, et colles – id est, simplices – desolati sunt, Naum primo [:5-6]. Misit enim quam pluribus ipsorum operacionem erroris ut crede70 rent verbis mendacibus, 2a Thimotei 2o. Et insurrexerunt tunc temporis homines mali et seductores errantes et alios in errorem mutentes, 2a Thimotei 2o[3:13]. (1) Tunc enim temporis Grecus sic delirat: Qui Spiritum sanctum sencietur ab utroque procedere, doctrinam evangelicam videtur inficere. (2) Quiddam alius sic asseverat: Christus in sua passione exhibuit solum exemplum 75 virtutis et intentivum amoris, nec aliter ipse fuit precium humane redempcionis. (3) Alius sic affirmat: Qui cum tribus divinis personis divinam essentiam audet ponere unam summam entitatem, ipse in divinis videtur inducere quaternitatem. (4) Alius sic dogmatizat: Verum Christi corpus non est sub hostia, sed est solum eius forma vel figura. (5) Alius, non minori astutia de sancte Trinitatis unitate et divinitatis simplicitate non 80 fideliter senciens nec salubriter scribens, asconditos panes discipulis proponit et aquas furtivas degluttit, qui etiam in quodam loco sic disserit: Christus ex tempore factus est persona ex duabus naturis simul composita. Hinc sunt non nulli in expositione Scripture sacre Iudaizantes, alii hominum doctrinas – vel potius zizanias – disseminantes. Quid 85 ultra? Hinc varius error disseminatur, totum Parisiense studium turbatur, ad Romanam curiam appellatur, et oppinionum veritas efflagitatur.
Sed heu et procdolor, ubi tunc erat antiquorum determinacio, Augustini iugis disputacio, Ambrosii audax predicacio, Ieronimi fidei explanacio, Athanasii brevis delucidacio? Ubi etiam Hillarii subtilitas, Gregorii moralitas, Boetii profunditas, aliorumque 90 sanctorum determinata veritas? Sine dubio oscuratum erat aurum, mutatus color optimus, quinymmo dispersi erant lapides sanctuarii, Trenorum 2o[4:1]. O nobilissimum Parisiense studium, ubi tunc? Ubi grex qui datus est tibi, pectus inclitum tuum? Apprehende63 qui] que add. sed del. P 67 indignacio] indignacionis a.c. P 72 sencietur] sencetur a.c. s.l. P
4278
Chris Schabel
runt te isti falsigraphi sicut parturientem mulierem, Levitici 13o[12:1-8]. Erumpe igitur in vocem meroris et tristitie, dicens illud 49o [:21] Ysaie: Quis michi genuit istos, scilicet sic 95 errantes? Ego transmigrata et captiva, ego sterilis et destituta. Quem igitur mittam ad illos? Et quis ibit?, Ysaie 6o[:8]. Ecce multi gemitus mei, Trenorum 1o[:22]. Sed o sacratissima divina scientia, iam cessent merores et gemitus tui, quoniam ecce pro patribus tuis – scilicet pro Augustino et aliis – nati sunt tibi filii, Psalmo 44o[:17]. Quippe consurrexerunt tunc temporis in auxilium divine scientie viri robustissimi, 100 pugnatores optimi, fortissimi robore, 1o Paralipomenon 12o[:8, 30], viri nostri Francigene nacione vel saltem religione, scilicet:
105
(1) Ancelmus Cantuariensis, subtilissimus ingenio (2) Bernardus Clarevallensis, devotissimus in studio (3) Lumbardus Parisiensis, constantissimus in stadio (4) Hugo noster Saxonensis, acutissimus scrutinio (5) Ricardus Victoriensis, fortissimus in hoc praelio.
De quibus ultimis duobus loquitur Vincentius in Speculo 28 libro, capitulo 18 dicens: «Florebat tunc temporis Hugo sancti Victoris Parisiensis canonicus, religione et scientia preclarus et in septem liberalium artium peritia nulli sui temporus secundus». Et capi110 tulo 58: «Florebat et magister Ricardus sancti Victoris Parisiensis canonicus, qui in libris et tractatibus multa sancte Ecclesie utilia reliquit, inter quos eminent De sancta Trinitate | libri sex, in quibus – iudicio meo – cunctos qui ante ipsum de hac materia tractatus multiplices ediderant probabili ratione et quadam sermonis venustate excessit». Isti enim sunt fortis auxiliarii qui ascenderunt castra impiorum, 1o Macabeorum 3o[:15]. 115 Namque ipsi unanimes uno spiritu collaborantes fidei evangelio in nullo territi sunt ab adversariis, Philippenses 1o[:28]. Quinymmo per media castra Philistinorum perrexerunt et hauserunt aquam de cisterna, 1o Paralipomenon XIo[:18]. Qua aqua salutari potati, scripserunt sermones rectissimos ac veritate plenos, Ecclesiastes ultimo [12:10]. Namque: 120
Primus scribit De Spiritus sancti processione a Filio et a Patre, quo primus error tollitur Secundus facit Epistolas cum pluralitate, quo secundus convi〈n〉citur Tertius nectit Sentencias magna gravitate, quo tertius infringitur Quartus agit De sacramentis grate et ornate, quo quartus interimitur Quintus legit de appropriatis et De Trinitate, quo quintus error labitur.
108/109 Florebat – secundus] Vincentius Belvacensis, Speculum historiale XXVIII, c. 18, ed. IRHT: http://sourcencyme.irht.cnrs.fr/encyclopedie/voir/134?citid=cit_id394698286269; closer to XXVII, c. 47, ed. IRHT: http://sourcencyme.irht.cnrs.fr/encyclopedie/voir/134?citid=cit_id394698277413. 110/ 113 Florebat – excessit] Vincentius Belvacensis, Speculum historiale XXVIII, c. 58, ed. IRHT: http://sourcencyme.irht.cnrs.fr/encyclopedie/voir/134?citid=cit_id394698290038. 93 parturientem] parturientes a.c. P 110 58] a.c. P; 68 p.c. P (!)
32r
Radices et plantationes theologicae facultatis hic Parisius 2795 Dederat enim Dominus os et sapientiam cui non poterant resistere omnes adversarii sui,
125 Luce 21o[:15]. Ut enim refulxit sol in istos clipeos aureos, resplenduerunt montes ab eis et
130
135
140
145
150
fortitudo hominum dissipata est, 1o Machabeorum 6o[:39]. Quinymmo vulnerati multi corruerunt: fuit enim bellum Domini, 1o Paralipomenon 5o[:22]. Nec mirum, quoniam si realiter isti vicerunt, scilicet Abraham 5 reges cum suis vernaculis [Gn 14:1-24], Iosue 31m cum suis sociis [Ios 12:1-24], Samson mille viros in maxilla asini [Idc 15:19], Iudith Holofernem in nomine Domini [Idt 13:7-8], Abisay CCC viros [2 Sm 23:18], Bananyas leones duos [2 Sm 23:30], Moyses Egiptium percussorem [Ex 2:11-22], David Philisteum irrisorem [1 Sm 17:1-58], Iudas Apollonium et Nichanorem [1 Mac 3:11, 7:38]; si etiam isti realiter vicerunt, scilicet fortissimus Hector vicit decem et octo reges, duces, sive comites, ymmo in uno bello interemit mille milites, Paris frater eius Pelamidem regem, Antilogum, atque Zillam Agiassem captivavit, ille Troianus Asserillas 8 reges et Hectorem et Troyolum supperavit, potentissimus Grecorum Alexander quasi totum mundum subiugavit; si etiam isti Romani realiter vicerunt, scilicet Romulus Remum, Titus Philippum, Octovianus Anthonium, Iulius Cesar Pompeium – qui Iulius tante strenuitatis fertur fuisse ut quinquaginta vicibus dimicans, una excepta, semper victor extiterit, propterea inter probos nomen accepit; si igitur isti, aliquo divino iuvamine vegetati, vel etiam humana et naturali industria roborati, realiter illos vicerunt: cur non magis invictissimi divine scientie heroes, spiritu sapientie et intellectus repleti, spiritu scientie et fortitudinis eruditi, contra erroneos spiritualiter victores extiterunt? Quis enim istis restitit et pacem habuit, Iob 9o[:4]? Vere nullus. Ab ipsis enim conturbati sunt viri bellatores, apprehensi sunt fortes Babilonis, et emarcuit arcus eorum, Ieremie 51o[:32, 56]. Quippe: Omnis Grecus supperatur ab Ancelmo Cantuariensi Abellardus confutatur a Bernardo Clarevalensi Abbas Ioachim condempnatur pro Lumbardo Parisiensi Error varius conquassatur a Hugone Saxonensi Porretanus tribulatur a Richardo Victoriensi.
Et nunc exultant victores, capta preda, quando dividunt spolia, Ysaie 9o[:3]. Finaliter abierunt in confusionem fabricatores errorum, confusi sunt omnes et erubuerunt, Ysaie 45o[:16]. Exinde pars adversa confunditur, error populi tollitur, veritas elucidatur, divina scientia sublimatur. Quapropter o sacrosancta divina scientia, tam invincibilibus doctoribus seu etiam 155 huius ecclesie doctoribus Victoriensibus sublimata, catedrata, et iam super excelsa deducta, super montem excelsum ascende tu qui evengelizas Syon; exalta in fortitudine vocem tuam qui evangeliza〈s〉 Iherusalem; exalta, decetero noli timete, Ysaie 40[:9]. Dic civita-
127 Paralipomenon] 6 add. sed exp. P 136 Grecorum] gregorum a.c. s.l. P 138 Iulius2] iulianus P 140 probos] novem add. (sed exp.?) P 142 fortitudinis] fortitutudinis P 143 erroneos] vicit add. sed del. P 149 conquassatur] revocat a.c. s.l. P
6280
Chris Schabel
tibus Iude [Is 40:9] quod scriptum est Ieremie 13o : Convertam luctum in gaudium, letifi160 cabor et consolabor, quoniam super excelsa etc. Et hoc de quarta sanctorum doctorum victoria.
〈Ultima sanctorum doctorum victoria〉
185
Et ut brevissime dicamus de victoria et prelio quod secundum sanctos fieri credimus sub Antichristo, motum est rursum aliud bellum, 1o Regum 19o[:8], quoniam, dicente Apostolo, nos sumus in quos fines seculorum devenerunt, 1a Corinthios Xo[:11]. Novissima enim hora est et, ut audistis, Antichristus venit, 1a Iohannis 2o[:18]. Tunc enim revelabitur ille iniquus, cuius est adventus secundum operationem Sathane in omni virtute, 2a Thessalonicenses 2o[:8-9]. Quinymmo datum est illi bellum facere cum sanctis et vincere illos, Apocalypsis 13o[:7]. Et exibunt seductores in mundum non confitentes Christum venisse, 2a Iohannis 2o[1:7]. Exurgent et tunc temporis pseudo-prophete et pseudo-Christi, et dabunt signa et prodigia ad seducendos – si fieri potest – etiam electos, Marci 13o[:22]. Hii sunt qui adorabunt bestiam, dicentes ‘Quis similis bestie?’ et ‘Quis poterit pugnare adversus eam?’, Apocalypsis 13o[:4]. Tunc enim temporis, secundum Augustinum et alios sanctos, ipse Diabolus et Sathanas solutus totis viribus seviet et populos per quatuor terre angulos seducet. Gens quorum non est numerus adversus sanctos pugnabunt. | Hinc virtutes et miracula ab Ecclesia cessabunt, ut iam sancta Ecclesia seu divina scientia possit dicere illud Trenorum 3o[:18]: Periit finis meus, non est michi spes a Domino. Quis igitur stabit aut quis resistet in ira furoris, Naum 1o[:6]? Quid faciemus istis aut quomodo poterimus resistere ante faciem illorum, 1o Macabeorum 3o[:50, 53]. Sed nec istos timeamus, dillectissimi, quoniam adiutorum nostrum in nomine Domini 〈adest〉. Adest enim fortis auxiliarius Christus noster vexifelarius (!) multimode nos aians: Quid timidi estis, modice fidei?, Mathei 8[:26]. Quid tu times, o divina scientia? Ecce ego oravi pro te ut non defficiat fides tua, Luce 22o[:32]. Ego ante te ibo et gloriosos terre humiliabo, Ysaie 45o[:2]. Namque:
190
In tempore illo consurget Michael fortiter preliaturus, Danielis 12o[:1] Hinc Helias veniet constanter predicaturus, Malachie 4o[:5] Enoch iustus exiliet potenter coadiuturus, Apocalypsis 11o[:1-14] Quinymmo Antichristum interficiet Salvator noster venturus, 2a Thessalonicenses 2o[:8].
165
170
175
180
Quapropter o nobilissimi heroes et fortissimi divine scientie tirones, sileo. Rugiens circuiat. Si querat quem devoret, resistite fortes in fide, 1a Petri 5o[:8-9]. Estote ergo fortes in bello et pugnate cum antiquo serpente. Neque timueritis eos, Mathei Xo[:26], quoniam
175 totis] viribus add. sed exp. P 188 exiliet] exaliet P
32v
Radices et plantationes theologicae facultatis hic Parisius 2817 et si forte est vinum et fortior rex, super omnia autem vincit veritas, 2o Esdre 4o[3 Esr 3:12]. 195 Habet enim viros bellicosissimos et electorum milia, 2o Paralipomenon 13o[:3]. Habet et cultores fortissimos et urbes muratas, Numeri 13o[:29]. Si igitur exsurgat adversus nos prelium, si consistant castra istorum infidelium, clamate in gentibus, sanctificate bellum, suscitate robustos: ascendant omnes viri bellatores, Ioel 3o[:9]. Ibi enim contra illos Antichristos videbis ascendere istos, scilicet: 200
205
Regulares canonicos accerrime decertantes salutaribus regulis Conventuales monacos fortissime roborantes virtualibus pabulis Predicatores innclitos altissime resonantes de Scripture vocabulis Fratres Minores succinctos pulcherrime colluctantes lecture propugnaculis Augustinenses accutos interrime penetrantes divini verbi iaculis Carmelitas dealbatos firmissime propugnantes de prophetarum flosculis Bernardistas devotos dulcissime contemplantes orationum notulis Aliosque collegiatos potissime deffansantes argumentorum calculis.
Iste est populus multus et fortis preparatus ad prelium. Super capita montium exilient, sicut fortes current, quasi viri bellatores ascendant murum, in viis suis gradientur, et non 210 declinabunt a semitis suis, Ioel 3o[:5, 7]. Et sequitur: Dominus autem dabit vocem suam ante faciem exercitus sui, quia multa sunt nimis castra eius, et fortiora et facienda verbum eius, ibidem [Ioel 3:11]. Quapropter sacrosancta divina scientia tam invincibilibus et irrefragabilibus victoribus in eternum et ultra constipata, deffensata, sublimata, monarchata, erumpat in vocem 215 iocunditatis et letitie, dicens illud 47o[:9, 7] Isaie: Numquam sedebo vidua, sed in sempiternum ero domina. Et ultimo capitulo [Is 66:13]: Sicut mater consolatur filios suos, ita et vos consolabor, quoniam super excelsa etc. Et hoc de ultima sanctorum doctorum victoria, et per consequens de toto primo principali.
220 32v
〈SECUNDUM MEMBRUM〉
Dixi 2o et principaliter quod thema sumptum potest introduci «ex transitu mirifico» etc. dum dicitur super excelsa. Pro cuius in225 troductione utor tali visione, referente venerabili Hugone : tradit fictio quedam
202 innclitos] conieci, innclatos P 225 visione] asvisione a.c. P
Dixi 2o et principaliter quod thema sumptum potest deduci ex discursu dialectico «de alto situ celico scrutinii theologorum». Pro cuius deductione utor tali ratione: divina scientia Subtiliter situatur et iugiter exaltatur pre aliis scientiis, quia super excelsa
203 succinctos] sunccintos P
204 iaculis] iaculiis a.c. P
33r top 5
Chris Schabel
8282 «Omnes bestias fetus suos Iovi presentasse probandos. Inter 230 quas simia deformem natum secum trahens, risu omnium castigari non potuit quin suum ceteris anteferret. Ingenitum est enim omni animanti amare quod 235 genuit, et amant corda fetus suos adeo ut sepe animus perversus in conspectu summe veritatis tortuosum et risu omnium dignum commendare sensum suum non 240 erubescat.» Hec Hugo.
32v
Moraliter regulatur et segriter moderatur, cunctis reiectis viciis, ideo deducet me Hostiliter impugnatur, sed fortiter roboratur, prostratis adversariis, quia victor Igitur non immerito victorice deducitur et celice statuitur in excelsis soliis. Namque ipsa Subterfugit scrutamina et transilit cacumina oculorum mortalium, quia super excelsa Porrigit moderamina et corrigit peccamina reorum delinquentium, quia deducit Interimit genimina et adimit precamina hereticorum omnium, quia victor. Quodlibet istorum sic probatur: nam sacrosancta divina scientia Cum suppremis agminibus situata celestibus caput altius erigit, quia super excelsa Mortiferis criminibus indignata mortalibus reos rectius dirigit, idcirco deducit Armiferis pugilibus constipata doctoribus errata prius corrigit, quia victor.
〈Divina scientia subtiliter situatur et iugiter exaltatur pre aliis scientiis〉
Que fictio sic inducitur. Cum 245 enim quadam die quiddam legisperitus sapientiam loqueretur inter perfectos, 1a Corinthios 2o[:6], celsitudinem divine scientie irreverberatis luminibus 250 intuens, ipsam aliquantum com-
10
15
20
25
Dixi primo quod «divina scientia subtiliter situatur» etc. 33r Idcirco Salomon considerans ipsam iam super excelsa deduc- 31 tam dicens, Ecclesiastici primo: Fons sapientie verbum Dei in excelsis. Quod confirmat Gregorius 20 Moralium dicens: «Omnem sapientiam atque doctrinam sacra Scriptura sine comparatione excedit». «Nam magna eius altitudo omnium 35 scientiarum mundanarum cacumina transcendit». Huic con-
228/240 Omnes – erubescat] Hugo de Sancto Victore, Miscellanea I, 3, ed. PL 177, col. 481BC. 248 2o] fel add. sed del. P Col. dext. : 34/35 Omnem – excedit] Gregorius Magnus, Moralia in Iob XX, c. 1, n. 1, ed. Marc Adriaen, Turnhout: Brepols, 1979 (CCSL 143A), p. 1003.1-2 = PL 76, col. 135: « Quamuis omnem scientiam atque doctrinam scriptura sacra sine aliqua comparatione transcendat […]». 35/36 Nam – transcendit] Richardus de Sancto Victore, De praeparatione animi ad contemplationem, c. 75, ed. Jean Châtillon and Monique Duchet-Suchaux, trad. Jean Longère, Richard de Saint-Victor, Les douze patriarches ou Beniamin minor. Texte critique et traduction, Paris: Cerf, 1997 (Sources chrétiennes, 419), p. 308.21-24 = PL 196, col. 54. Col. dext. : 18 et adimit] iter. P 33 Gregorius] x add. sed del. P
Radices et plantationes theologicae facultatis hic Parisius 2839 mendabat, tum quia fons sapientie verbum Dei in excelsis, Ecclesiastici 1o[:5], tum etiam quia, secundum Bernardum, sermone 255 45o super Canticis: «Sacra Scriptura transcendit omnia cacumina terrarum, omnes altitudines syderum, omnes legiones angelorum, altissima divinitatis attingens». 260
sonat Bernardus sermone 45o super Canticis dicens: «Sacra Scriptura transcendit omnia cacumina terrarum, omnes altitudines syderum, omnes legiones angelorum, altissima divinitatis attingens». Cuius altitudinem considerans 40 Apostolus cogitur clamare [Rm 11:33]: O altitudo divitiarum sapientie et scientie Dei etc.
Namque: In ymis latitat scientia mecanica vel artificialis In altis palpitat phisica seu naturalis In altioribus disputat scientia methaphisicalis Sed in altissimis habitat nostra scientia divinalis. [end 32v; 33r continues]
30r fragm. 267 270
275
280
Hec est que sola gyrum celi circuivit, profundum maris penetravit, sublimium et superborum colla calcavit [Dt 33:29], in omni populo primatum tenuit [Sir 24:8-10], id est, in omni scientia humanitus adinventa semper divinum habuit. Has et huiusmodi divine scientie laudes ipso referente, multorum audientium arriguerunt aures. Et audientes hec distorquebantur in cordibus suis et stridebant dentibus in eum, Actuum 7o[:54]. Qui etiam exclamantes voce magna continuerunt aures suas [Act 7:56] in similitudinem serpentis et aspidis surde, Psalmo 57o[:5], quinymmo in similitudinem simie, fetus suos divine scientie preferentes. Nec irrisione assistentium nec detestatione sapientium castigari poterant quin fetus suos, id est, suas scientias, subtiliter commendarent. Primo loco aderant gramatici, igitur:
Hec est que sola gyrum celi circuivit, profundum maris penetravit, sublimium et superborum colla calcavit, in omni populo primatum tenuit [Sir 24:8-10], id est, in omni scientia humanitus adinventa divinum habuit. Et hoc sepe dicitur, scilicet quod divina scientia transcendit alias scientias. Sed ut hoc lucidius videamus, scientias humanitus adinventas in medium proferamus.
255/259 Sacra – attingens] Recte Augustinus, In Iohannis Euangelium tractatus 124, tr. I, c. 1, n. 5, ed. Radbod Willems, Turnhout: Brepols, 1954 (CCSL 36), p. 3.5-8 = PL 35, col. 1381: «Transcenderat [Iohannes euangelista] omnia cacumina terrarum, transcenderat omnes campos aeris, transcenderat omnes altitudines siderum, transcenderat omnes choros et legiones angelorum.» 268 id est] iter. P 269 semper] divinum add. sed del. P Col. dext. : 46 primatum] habuit add. sed del. P
33r cont. 45
50
10 284
285
290
295
300
305
310
315
320
Chris Schabel
〈1o〉 Gramatici ipsam gramaticam miris laudibus efferunt. Namque pre ceteris accurrit Donatus [end fragment 30r], gramatice fluminis confodit Mearus, de hinc emeritus surgit Priscianus, hinc Apolonius, hinc Herodianus. Hii magnis laudibus attollunt ipsam gramatum scientiam, tum quia sub formis variis tradit elementa, cunctis scienciis ponit fundamenta, ipsa parvulorum struit rudimenta, et tollit blesorum balbunciamenta. Ipsa nunc alludit in sillabis et pedibus, nunc in metris et accentibus. Diversa vicia excusat per scemata et figuras, nunc per cola, periodos, et comata curvat posituras. Hec arridet orthographie et analogie, glose et prose, nunc differentie et ethimologie. Nonne hec est que regulat metra, mensurat carmina, cuncta decorat dictamina? Sine ipsa ubi essent facta Alexandri et Romuli, Hectoris, Paladis, vel Iulii Cesaris? Ubi gesta Romanorum et prelia antiquorum? Hinc est quod celsitudinem eius attendentes mirantur cur solum 5 vocalibus contenta fuerit, cur litterarum numerus maior senario sillabam non constituit, cur omne ydioma octo speciebus vocum decurrit, cur cachemphaton vittat ne plures vocales simul sint unite, quomodo ex litteris finitis species sillabarum fere resultant infinite. Hec subtilitas huius scientie. | 2o. Accurunt logici ipsam dialecticam miris laudibus exaltantes. Namque primus Parmenides invenit secundam, scilicet logicam in rupe sedendo. Hinc Aristoteles percussit ad undam ipsam constringendo. Cuius Boetius facit aquam mundam ipsam transferendo. Iuvat Porphirius clarescens profundum hanc elucidendo. Hanc mirabiliter extollunt, tum quia scientiarum pandit veritatem, fallaciarum angulositatem tanquam clavis ianue reserat et aperit, secreta sophie arma gerit, et in omni militat arte. Elingues instruit, ornat inceptos, torpentes excitat, armat inermes, falsumque refellit. Nunc enthimematicas nectit rationes libro Thopicorum, nunc sillogisticas figuraciones in libro Priorum, nunc fantasticas disputaciones libro Elencorum, nunc dat veridicas demonstraciones in 〈libro〉 Posteriorum. Hec enim cum Hispano nectit cathegoricas et ypotheticas, cum Porphirio legit Ysagogas, cum Philosopho Periarmenias, nunc Predicamenta vel Cathegorias. Hinc est quod altitudinem eius contemplantes obstupescunt sophismatum perplexitatem, insolubilium oscuritatem, naturas singategorematum, pugnas affirmationum et negationum duobus monosillabis, scilicet ‘est’, ‘non’, totam involui rationem hominum. Unde inviolabilis lex contradictoriarum, numerus decem cathegoriarum, conceptuum varitas, propositionum veritas. 3o. Sed iam perpendatur ipsius Rethorice subtilitas. Primus Demostenes hanc querere curat, quam Aristoteles in artem figurat. Hanc Quintilianus transferre maturat, quam pulchro Tulius colore picturat. Quis est qui nunc ipsam rethoricam satis rethorice exaltet? Nunc cum prosopopeia inducet loquentes montes et arbores seu res insensibiles, cum ethopopeia finget sonos seu voces satis mirabiles, cum energia quasi notivatem recitat antiqua, cum yronia quasi bonitatem approbat iniqua. Hic enim videbis fulgere 284 Gramatici ipsam] iter. P 33r efferunt] efferentes a.c. s.l. P 30r 289 Diversa] ei add. sed del. P 296 vocum] et add. et exp. P 303 veritatem] et* add. sed. exp. P 306 rationes] in add. sed exp. P 315 Rethorice] recthorice P 316 Quintilianus] in ar add. sed del. P
33v
11 Radices et plantationes theologicae facultatis hic Parisius 285
325
330
335
340
345
350
355
Fulgencii mittologias, Ysidori ethimologias, Eberardi loquaces figuras, Esopi morales fabulas, Auxonii cumedas eglogas. Hinc Tulii plures paradoxas, Maronis doctrinales musas, Ianuensis gratas prosodias, Virgilii Bucholicam, Homorii artem poetricam, Oratii Georgicam et Pentheui Theoricam. Hinc est quod non nulli admirantur cathacene et anascene aliorumque scematum excusacionem, colorum et troporum ridentem picturacionem, vive vocis energiam, eloquiique rethorici omnipotenciam. 4o. Quid de naturalis philosophie celsitudine dicemus, cuius ille maximus doctor Tales Milesius inventor creditur? Post ipsam Plinius augere dicitur. Hinc Plato phisice multa perscrutatur, sed Aristoteles summus appellatur. Ipsa siquidem naturalis philosophia nunc cum Aristotele indagabit nebulas, auras, vapores, et impressiones ex superfluo elementorum nascentes. Hinc ventos ex terre marisque visceribus scaturizantes dabitque subsolanum zephirum contrariare, dabit et boreum quandoque austrum supperare. Hinc cum Platone speram gestabit manibus et circulos volventes. Hic cernes 5 paralellos equali spacio adinvicem distantes et duos coluros equinoctialium, tropicorum, et solsticiorum signa precidentes. Quis enim non satis admiretur yridis archum et colores, lune solisque halones, solares palerios, cometes barbatos, stellas volantes, flammas in aere discurrentes, originem ventorum, terre motum, generationem tonitrui et fulminum, varietates mixti, omnium progressiones animalium, vegetaciones plantarum, proprietates lapidum et mineralium. 5 o. Sed sicut philosophiam naturalem, sic non nulli attolunt moralem. | Namque Socrates moralium doctor preceptorum vita verbo corrigit mores aliorum. Post Aristoteles virtutum et morum formam docet et statum libro Ethicorum. Seneca Lucilio commendavit quedam que vix evangelio postponendam credam. Hinc est quod ethici subtilitatem eius attendentes mirantur ex una parte preconia virtutum, ex altera monstra viciorum, avariciam senescendo iuvenescere, superbiam similem horrescere, invidiam fremescere, iram nimis palescere, accidiam tepescere, gulam et luxuriam totum corpus inficere. Non nulli tamen in fine disponunt se corripere et virtutes heroycas perpetuo arripere. 6o. Geometriam quis satis queat exaltare, cuius ille peritissimus Euclides primus actor fuit? Per hanc Heratostenes totum orbem circinnat et circuit. Si enim vis perquirere huiusmodi scientiam, videbis in sabulo varias picturas, in latis lapidibus fantales figuras, angulos, triangulos, atque quadraturas, et per hanc invenies omnium mensuras. Ipsa siquidem pertransiens valles et montana dimetitur quelibet alta, longa, plana. Hec vasorum metitur capacitates, capacitatum novit falsitates, monetarii, aurifabri, pincerne, et lanifici prodit falsas artes, sciens determinare quadrans et omnem figuram et omnis ponderis precisam mensuram. Hinc est quod mirantur geometre indivisibilitatem anguli contingentie et quare angulum non possunt quadrare. 322 Auxonii] Scil. Ausonius 329 multa perscrutatur] post appellatur a.c. P 334 coluros] colulos a.c. P 337 varietates] varietatem a.c. P; a add. sed del. P 338 animalium] natur add. sed del. P 353 dimetitur] dimetr’ P 355 omnem] mensuram add. sed del. P 357 non] non add. sed del. P
34r
12 286
360
365
370
375
380
385
390
395
Chris Schabel
7o. Hinc ab astrologis astronomia iam quasi deducitur super excelsa. Ut enim aiunt, Cham filius Noe hanc principiavit, Abbraham Egipciis ipsam propalavit. Hanc Athlantas Grecos primus informavit, sed rex Tholomeus ipsam consummavit. O quam, inquiunt, est alta astrorum scientia! Ipsa siquidem, per aera discurrens et celi catinam quasi iam pertingens, non cessat investigare quid celi volubilitas, quid poli rotunditas, quid motus spere super duos axes, quid motus celi super suos cardines, quid poli ianue, zone, et facies, quid sint celorum convexa vel concava, polorum climata, regionum emisperia, antipodum emispheria, quid etiam gallacias, zodiacus, circulus lacteus. Hec est que explicat celorum magnitudines et altitudines, orbium divisiones, sperarum laciones, distancias centrorum, differentias ecentricorum et epyciclorum, constellaciones futurorum, varios gyros et cursus astrorum, et mirabiles aspectus eorum. 8o. Musicam quis altisonis vocibus satis exaltet? Ipsa enim nunc in delubris ympnos, in nupciis ymineneos, in funeribus trenos, in conubiis concentus liricos grate iubilabit. Nunc nobilium tragedias, ruralium comedias, nunc amoris elegias laxis fibris personabit. Hinc armonia sonos predulcescet, euphonia sonos plus mitescet, melodia continendi modos delitescet. Ibi enim unisonus voces adequabit, dyapason consonum duplabit, dyapente parem numerum supperabit, dyatessaron imparem numerum post parificabit. Ibi dyptonus et semitonus in notis fauces dilatabunt, semitonium cum dyapente, tritonium cum diapente in sonis voces exaltabunt. Hinc mirantur musici, quia monocordum, cromaticum, et enarmonicum numquam obmutescent, chitara et simphonia et alia musicalia semper iuvenescent. Hinc mirantur musici cur ipsa sex notis contempletur, cur simplex tonus in equalia non dividitur. 9o. Medicinam Apollo pater Esculabii et Ypocras filius Aesclepii miris laudibus efferunt, considerantes speciales actiones medicinarum, naturas rerum singularum, vires herbarum, cursum dierum creticorum. Ibi enim miraberis complexionum distancias, humorum repugnancias, sanitatum armonias, | egretudinum discrasias, syncomatum controversias, cataplasmatum curas varias. Hinc mirantur phisici epidimie originem, morborum radicem, venenorum furiam, nature sagacitatem, morbi importunitatem, cur arte hic morbus curabilis, cur ille incurabilis, cur mors inevitabilis, nec aliquo ingenio vita hominis perpetuabilis. Xo. Finaliter scientiam legum et canonum attollunt alii. Namque leges et statuta dat Iustinianus, quas laudans approbat Theodosianus, antiqua decreta scribit Gracianus, hiis quilibet doctor nunc applicat manus. Ipsa siquidem iura solvunt proplexos casus de rerum divisionibus, munerum distribucionibus, territoriorum mensuracionibus, stannorum fossionibus, edificiorum erectionibus, aquarum conductibus. In ipsis quid maius, quid minus, quid proprinquius, quid ve remotius ad ipsa iura spectat. Hinc est quod hodie mirantur veri iuriste incomprehensibilem varietatem casuum particularium, perplexitatem legum et canonum, maliciam hominum, iniusticiam iudicum, veritatem verti in mendacium, labilitatem iuvenum, mendositatem testium, perpetuitatem testium, 366 magnitudines] magnitudies P 367 ecentricorum] ecentrecorum a.c. P 381 naturas] naaturas P
34v
13 Radices et plantationes theologicae facultatis hic Parisius 287
400
405
410
415
420
425
430
cupiditatem advocatorum, impunitatem delictorum, auctoritatem regum et principum, que tanta est ut quidquid vult legis habeat vigorem. Ecce, reverendi, quam miris laudibus non nulli pretactas scientias efferunt et quasi iam super excelsa deducet. Que scientie sine dubio vix sunt umbre vel tenebre respectu divine scientie, nec merentur dici nisi ipsius ancillares pedisse se, et tamen tantum conati sunt ad ipsarum sublimacionem ut, si fieri posset, plus addicere quam vivere curarunt. Sed supplico, nunc eruant oculos nuticoraces et bubonicos, et actuant oculos aquilares et linceos, ut multo sublimiora contemplantur in divina scientia. Veniant pariter omnes et remaneat nullus ut non sit qui se abscondat a calore eius [Ps 18:7]. 1o. Intret gramaticus et discuciat libros sapientiales et prophetales, si non inveniat ipsum sapientem trium suorum carmina librorum versibus exametris et pentametris aput Hebreos subtiliter componentem. Inveniet et Ysaiam tanto gramaticali ornatu edentem ut omnis textus eloquentie prosa incedat canticum vero exametro et pentametro elego. Discurrat mirabiliter gramaticus ipsum infantem Ieremiam vix a a a loqui, scientem suos threnos quadruplici alphabeto diverso et quasi inaudito metro scriptitantem, quorum duo prima saphico metro leguntur, 3m trimetro variatur, sed 4m sicut primum elegiatur. Insuper videat gramaticus scientiam theologicam, potissimam gramaticam. Per hanc enim docentur loqui infantes, sine qua sunt omnes lingue nutantes, perit Scripturarum elucidacio, perit omnis predicacio. Ibi cernere poteris non prelium Paladis et Hectoris, sed triumphum Christi Ihesu invictissimi Victoris; non gestacula Alexandri et Romuli, sed miracula Petri et Pauli; non tristis Lucrecie, Veneris, et Minerve aliarumque meretricum fraudes, sed sanctissime Virginis Marie et aliarum virginum laudes; non bella Romanorum nec vana philosophorum, sed actus et virtutes apostolorum et aliorum sanctorum. Hic etiam leges agiographa prophetarum, epithaphia patriarchum, et cronographia evangelistarum. Quid dicis, o gramatice? Solve linguam mutam et attende subitam confusionem unius lingue in Ar〈ec〉 in Babilone earumque reunione in Pentecoste absque impositione, unam vocem hominum diversarum idem representare et linguas infantium disertas laudem Dei personare [Sap 10:21]. Quod si forte gramaticus barbarizare non desistat, loquatur asina Balaam et ipsum convincat [Num 22:28]. | 2o. Sed iam in publicum prodeat logicus et divinam scientiam contempletur super suam dyalecticam, considerans Iob acutum logicum confundentem sillogisaciones perplexarum rationum, ut patet ubique libri sui; Philonem subtilem Hebreum connectantem dispositiones fortium argumentorum, Sapientie 8; et Danielem adhuc puerulum falsos senes concludentem sine vi paralogismorum [Dan 13]. Videat insuper Iohannem Batistem viriliter arguentem, Mathei [3:7-11]; Ihesum Christum infantem potenter 422 Arec] Cf. Hieronymus, Commentarii in Isaiam, IV, 10, 5, ed. Marc Adriaen, Turnhout: Brepols, 1963 (CCSL 73), l. 31-33. 404 linceos] luncticeos P 405 abscondat] absconda P 411 threnos] tlrenos a.c. P 413 gramaticus] gramaticam a.c. P 418 et] s.l. P 420 agiographa] patriarcharum add. sed exp. P 429 Danielem] daniele P 430 falsos – paralogismorum] at bottom of paragraph at sign + P
35r
14 288
435
440
445
450
455
460
465
Chris Schabel
interrogantem, Luce 2o[:46-47]; Petrum rudem piscatorem sapienter respondentem, Actuum 4o[:8-12, 20]; et Paulum acutiorem incessanter disputantem, Actuum 9o[:29; 19:8-9]. Actuat igitur logicus aciem oculorum et altiora consideret in divina scientia. Videat affirmationem et negationem unius et eiusdem de duobus terminis simplicibus pro uno et eodem supponentibus simul stare, ut hic: ‘Pater generat, essentia divina non generat’. Videat hic suum fundamentum, scilicet sillogismum expositorium, penitus vacillare, unam rem simplicissimam omnia distincte ac singularissime representare, et quantumcumque diversarum rationum fuerint non aliter preterita, presentia, et futura significare. O logice, si forte adhuc elegisas, ad metam taciturnitatis te ducant ineffabile Trinitatis misterium, perplexitas futurorum contingentium, insolubile divine predestinationis presagium, ac etiam reprobacionis incogitabile scrutinium. 3o. Accedant rethores et considerant vice vocis energiam qua panis in corpus Christi transsubstantiatur, qua tempestas aure tranquilatur, qua unicus matri vidue donatur, qua quatriduanus mortuus suscitatur. O rethor, dic, queso, unde illius eloquii potentia color ve rethoricus quo rudes et quasi ydiote mundum inaudita credere fecerunt et in brevi tempore non previo studio nec ruthmo rethorico, sed in sua simplicitate toti mundo concluserunt. Quod scema lepidus ve tropus quo evangelium omni creature predicatur, in aqua et Spiritu sancto fidelis regnantur, in auditu auris serpentes tolluntur, demonia eiciuntur [Mc 16:15-18]. Insuper et nostra theologia est nobilissima rethorica, per quam vernantis eloquii trabeatus sermo florescit, fulgurantis sententie sydere carmen splendescit, sine ipsa rustica villitate omnis lingua plebescit. Hec stellata et aurea fulget Latinitate melliflua et florigera vernat sermonis amenitate. Quod si rethor adhuc replicare non desinat, surgat indoctus piscator et sibi concludat. 4 o. Accurrant naturales philosophi, et preter naturam, ymmo et super naturam, admirantur uxorem Loth in statuam salis converti, rubum ardentem non comburi, Egiptum terribilibus plagis affligi, in exitu Israel de Egipto Mare Rubrum dividi, in curru igneo Heliam ascendere, Virginem simul et Matrem parere, Petrum super aquas fortiter currere, triduo mortuum Christum resurgere. O philosophe, dic, queso, que natura dedit ut claudi ambulent, ceci videant, leprosi mundentur, mortui resurgant, et preter naturam cuncti languores sanentur? Igitur, philosophe, si famescas, si scitias, sequere Eum Qui aquam in vinum convertit, Qui 5 milia hominum ex quinque panibus saciavit, Qui preter naturam corpus in cibum et sanguinem in potum consecravit. 5o. Compareat moralis ethicus et consideret in quibusdam regnare humilitatem pro superbia, liberalitatem pro avaricia, castitatem pro incontinencia. Quis ethicus non satis miretur peccatricem nominatam virginibus coequatam, fidei persecutorem fidei predicatorem, publicanum et sophistam fieri evangelistam, et primam celi latronem possidere mensionem. Ibi legat moralis Ieronimi instructionem, Augustini confessionem, Hyllarii 439 presentia et futura] paterna et fugtura P 440 elegisas] lege elegisses? 451 carmen] st del. P 453 florigera] florigerai a.c. P 466 fidei2] fide a.c. P exp. P
447 ruthmo] ruthimo P 468 Hyllarii] lo add. sed
15 Radices et plantationes theologicae facultatis hic Parisius 289 constantiam, Ambrosii audaciam, Orosii affluitatem, Gregorii moralitatem, Eucherii
470 sollicitacionem, Paulini provocationem, Nicholai puritatem, nunc Martini sanctitatem,
475
480
485
490
495
500
505
Bernardi devocionem, Ricardi contemplacionem, Anselmi orationem, et Hugonis professionem. Insuper videat ethicus pro vita delicata passionem in martiribus, voluptatum abdicionem in confessoribus, vitam duram et austeram in anachoretis et nemoralibus. Iam caro cum viciis et concupiscenciis crucifigitur. Iam corpus castigatur et in servitutem redigitur. | 6o. Veniat astronomus. Ascendat in montem excelsum seorsum et, erectis in celum luminibus, inquirat et admiretur apertis celi thataractis diluvii inundacionem, tempore Iosue solis stacionem, in horologio Achas per decem lineas solis retrogradacionem, per triennium celum aquam non effundere, ad preces Helye ignem de celo cadere. Dic, rogo, astronome, nisi forte false iudices, unde ortus stelle in Christi apparicione? Unde tenebre palpabiles et solis eclipsis in ipsius passione? Unde ignis visibilis in Spiritus sancti missione? Que enim astrologia ad cultum Dei sicut divina scientia composuit kalendas, ydus, et nonas, horlogium dividens singulas horas, cyclum solarem et lunarem, numerum aureum et decemnovenalem, singulas festivitates mobiles et immobiles, lunaciones bysextilles, litteras tabulares, et indictiones, embolismos, epactas, et dominicales litteras, concurrens et cyclum Romanorum, equinoctium, solsticium, et claves terminorum. 7o. Assint in ista comparatione arismetici simul et geometre, et considerant divinam scientiam altitudinem celi et latitudinem terre dimecientem, arenam maris, pluvie guttas, dies seculi dinumerantem, ambytum celi, profundum abyssi sua virtute penetrantem. Quis ut divina scientia mensus est, pugillo aquas et celos palmo ponderavit? Quis appendit tribus digitis molem terre, montes in pondere et colles in statera libravit? Quis geometra ut Beseleel mensurat ansas, saga, et cortinas, pelles templi iacuntinas, chifos, speras, lilia, Exodi 36o[-37], ut Ezechiel circinnat vestibuli fundamenta et atrii fulcrimenta, vases, et epistilia, Ezechielis 30 [recte 40]? Quis ut angelus dimetitur civitatem, fundum, latum, summitatem per milia stadia, Apocalypsis 21[:16]? Ut Paulus complectitur que sit longitudo, latitudo, sublimitas, et profundum in caritate divina, Ephesos 3o[:17-19]. Sed adhuc sublimiora contempletur. Geometra videat quantitatem sex pedum sub quantitate palme manus contineri, ut est in sacramento corporis Christi, et inter duas lineas eque distantes alias duas perpendiculares aliam maiorem et aliam minorem comprehendi. 8o. Sed iam audient musici, et auscultent divine scientie armonias et melodias, chitaristas et symphonistas. Quis musicus ut Tubal cytarizat et organizat, ut Maria tympanizat, ut Ioab tubicinnat, ut David psalterizat? Hic enim audies symphoniam in omnibus fabrefactis, lyris, systris, et citharis, tympanis, nablis, symbalis mirifice ludencium, 2o Regum 6o[:5]. Audies et euphoniam puerorum Hebreorum Domino occurrentium
474 viciis] et add. sed exp. P 482 Dei] o add. sed exp. P 486 et1] s.l. P Romanorum] t add. sed del. P 494 Ezechielis] x add. sed del. P 505 euphoniam] eulphoniam a.c. P
35v
16 290
510
515
520
525
530
535
Chris Schabel
[Dan 3:52-90], inter turbas populorum Osanna contingentium, Mathei 21o[:9]. Audies et melodiam, novum canticum cantancium, quasi vocem citharedorum in citharis citharizantium, Apocalysis 14o[:2]. Hec nostra theologia nobilissima musica. Sine ipsa, ubi Deo nostro iocunda decoraque laudacio? Ubi tristium consolacio, fantasmatum fugacio? Ubi raptus devocionis, extasis visionis, fugacio omnis meroris? Hec omnia proporcionat, omnes disproporciones elimat, omnia consonanciis ligat, prohibet disparium disponencias. Sic facere dulces concordias. 9o. Appareant iam medici et surgici, et satis admirentur curacionem paraletici, illuminacionem ceci nati, rectificacionem claudi, mundacionem leprosi, eiectionem demonis a corpore furiosi. Ibi enim sine medicine applicacione ydropicus sanatur, sine infectione venenum potatur, sine periclitacione dies cretica non viceatur. Hic medici confitentur Domino et suscitabunt super egros, manus imponent et bene habebunt. Non est opus herbario vel apothecario, non herbarum decoctione, non simplicium commixtione, sed Christus restaurat universa solo suo sermone. Nonne medicinam de terra creavit Altissimus? Hic est quod nos salutat Lucas noster medicus. | 10. Finaliter accedant canoniste et iuriste, et divinam scientiam contemplantur super suam legisticam. Nonne hec precipit facere iustitiam et iudicium reddere cuilibet unicuique quod est suum? Hec est iudex equisima que, secundum Bernardum, gentibus exhibet istos iudices, scilicet «regibus Iohannem, Egipciis Moysem, fornicatoribus Phinees, Helyam ydolatris, Heliseum avaris, Petrum mencientibus, Paulum blasphemantibus, Matheum negociantibus». Quapropter, legislatores, vel pocius legis transgressores, intendite legem et videte divine scientie legislatorem paucitate legum contemptari, varietate particularium non confundi, ex perplexitate legum et canonum sentenciam non differri. Quid ibi prodest subditorum perversitas et iniustitia, ubi etiam corrigitur tyrampnorum crudelitas et iniustitia? Non est ibi opus promotoribus nec procuratoribus, non est opus advocatis nec humanis consiliariis, quoniam ibi loquitur sola conscientie veritas et synderesis. In canonibus et legibus currit prescriptio, sed in divinis legibus nullius temporis prescribit consuetudo, dies citacionis peremptorie, dies diffinitive seu iudicialis sententie. Ibi nulla admittetur excepcio, nulla fundabitur appellacio, quoniam sedis huius iudicis iusticia et iudicium erit preparacio, Psalmo 88o[:15]. O igitur excellentissima scientia divina! O gloriosa domina excelsa supra sydera! Cui predictarum scientiarum comparabo te, vel cui assimilabo te, filia Ierusalem? Cui adequabo te, virgo, filia Syon?, Trenorum 2o[:13]. Multe filie congregaverunt divicias; tu vero
524/526 regibus – negociantibus] Bernardus Claraevallensis, De consideratione IV, c. 12, ed. Jean Leclercq – Charles H. Talbot – Henri M. Rochais, Sancti Bernardi Opera, t. III, Roma: Editiones Cistercienses, 1963, p. 458.3-6. 506 contingentium] contignentium P 509 decoraque] decora que P 511 disproporciones] disporporciones P 522 legisticam] legistam a.c. P; legistriam* p.c. P 530 iniustitia] quis canon vel lex equissima etc. add mg. supra P 536 scientia] lex a.c. s.l. P
36r
17 Radices et plantationes theologicae facultatis hic Parisius 291 supergressa es universas, Proverbiorum ultimo [31:29]. Tu enim supergressa es istas que
540 secuntur, scilicet:
545
550
Prisciani gramaticam cum suis ethimologiis et constructionibus Aristotelis logicam cum suis emphiboliis et sillogisacionibus Tullii rethoricam cum suis tropologiis et narracionibus Boecii arismeticam cum suis numeris et computacionibus Iubaris musicam cum suis armoniis et modulacionibus Euclidis geometriam cum suis comestris et proporcionibus Tholomei astrologiam cum suis planetis et constellacionibus Gallieni medicinam cum suis emphorismis et confectionibus Iustiniani legistriam cum suis iudiciis et causacionibus Omnem scientiam cum suis motivis et conclusionibus.
Quapropter Si gramatica tractat de nomine et verbo temporali, theologia de nomine quod est super omne nomen et de verbo eternali, Iohannis 1o[:1] Si logica docet ex duabus premissis conclusionem inferre, theologia ex duabus perso555 nis tertiam procedere, Athanasius Si rethorica florentes et lepidas dat facundias, hec os mutum aperit et linguas infantium facit disertas, Sapientie Xo[:21] Si arismetica numerum unit et congregat, hec numerum turbarum, quem dinumerare nemo poterat, Apocalypsis 7o[:9] Si musica sonos et melodias concordat, hec angelos iubilantes in secula seculorum pro560 clamat, Apocalypsis 4o[:9] Si geometria magnitudinem terre metitur et mensurat, hec gyrum celi circuit et circinnat, Ecclesiastici 24o[:8] Si astrologia de indiciis et fatis exprimit, hec Christum imperare et in solio Patris 565 regnare conscribit, Luce 22o[:16, 18, 29-30] Si phisica docet herbis sanare apostemata, hec solo Dei sermone restaurat universa, Sapientie 16o[:12] Si pericia legum et canonum docet cum omnibus bene conversari et iuste vivere, hec iudicium et iusticiam facere et unicuique quod suum est docet tribuere, Mathei 5o[:3-12].
545 Iubaris – modulacionibus] The Jubaris line was after the Euclidis line before correction. 546 comestris] lege commensis? 551 Quapropter] quaproter P. The remainder is also on 36v. For the sequence of the following sciences, see the introduction. 552 theologia] hec P 36v 554 conclusionem inferre theologia] 3 concludere hec P 36v 555 Athanasius] in simbolo add. P 36v 556 florentes – dat] format florentes ac ridentes P 36v 556/557 infantium – disertas] etc. P 36r 556 infantium] infentium P 36v (def. 36r) 558 quem] quam P 36r 559 nemo poterat] om. P 36r 562 metitur – circinnat] circuit et circinnat hec gyrum celi metitur et mensurat a.c. P 36v 566 hec] hoc P 36v 568 omnibus] hominibus P 36v 569 iudicium – unicuique] cuilibet P 36v
18 292 570
36r bottom
Chris Schabel
Ut pro finali concordancia dicamus quod divina scientia exaltata est super omnem superbum et excelsum, et super omnem arrogantem, super omnes cedros Libani sublimes et erectas, et super omnes montes excelsos, et super omnes colles elevatos, super omnem turrem excelsam, et super omne quod visu pulchrum est, Ysaie 2o[:16].
Ex quibus omnibus lucide conspicimus, quia exaltatum est nomen eius solius, Psalmo 576 C48o[:13]. Et hoc de primo, in quo dicitur super excelsa. [end]
Ex quibus videamus luce clarius, quia exaltatum est nomen eius solius, in Psalmo. Quapropter ipsa tanquam magistra concludat de seipsa: quasi cedrus exaltata sum in Libano, et quasi cipressus in Monte Syon, quasi palma exaltata sum in Cades, et quasi oliva speciosa in campis, Ecclesiastici 24o[:17-19].
Nunc igitur exaltabor in gentibus et in terra exaltabor [Ps 45:11], quoniam super excelsa mea etc. In quibus verbis, domini mei, videte 3, si placet. Primo videte divinam scientiam 580 etc. super : Super celum transvolare, celi velum penetrare prelata celsitudine, super excelsa Docte clerum gubernare, omne ferum mitigare pregrata rectitudine, quia deducet Forte telum iaculare, grave bellum supperare erroris inita gratitudine, quia victor.
36v bottom 55
back to top 36v
Hoc patet, nam ipsa est 585
Altissima imperatrix, dominatrix possessiva, quia iam super excelsa Gratissima conviatrix et beatrix conductiva, idcirco deducet me Fortissima deffensatrix, impugnatrix invasiva, quia victor. Hec omnia probat ipsius
590
Altitudo incomprehensiva, celsitudo investigavita ab humanis mortalibus, quia su(per excelsa) Promptitudo deliberativa, rectitudo consociativa celibatis sapientibus, quia de(ducet) Fortitudo inexpugnativa, valitudo numquam defectiva Christianis pugilibus, quia (victor).
Pro primo. Ipsa est enim illa turris excelsa, clausa, firmissima, ad quam confugerint 595 omnes principes civitatis iudicum, quo de secundo, Psalmo Co42o[:10] spiritus tuus bonus etc.
571 superbum] sub’bum P 36r et2] s.l. P 36r; om. P 36v 571/572 omnem – super1] om. hom. P 36v 572 et3] s.l. P 36r omnes2] omnem a.c. P 36r 576 C48] c4 a.c. s.l. P
end; next two folios cut out
Radices et plantationes theologicae facultatis hic Parisius 293 HENRICI PISTORIS
〈PRINCIPIUM PRIMUM BIBLICUM, IN ECCLESIASTEN〉
5
10
15
20
25
Hec est victoria, prime Iohannis quinto capitulo [:4]. Reverendi patres ac domini, cum, Scriptura teste, in medio seniorum [Apc 5:6], adolescentem, presertim moribus et scientia trine interrogationi responsurum, etiam in sua causa, nisi necesse fuerit, vix loqui deceat – « inexpertus est enim eorum qui secundum vitam sunt actuum», primi Ethicorum 3o – nimirum si tantillus ego, necdum interrogatus, licet ratione presentis actus compulsus, laudes et crebras victorias invictissime victorie victricisve sacre Scripture, quibus victoriis semper perseverat, quia est sapientum seniorum vestris elevatis intellectibus, hoc pronomine «hec» demonstraturus, contra certitudinem demonstrationis incertus et contra sacre Scripture fortitudinem pavidus, pareo, quippe perspicacia intellectus et constantia notabilis actus omnino expers. Sciens tamen scriptum Proverbiorum XXI[:28] quod vir obediens loquetur victorias, domini mei abbatis ceterorumque omnium huius ecclesie religiosorum mandatis obtemperans, benivolo auditorio a vobis impetrato, ad victricem manum Dei anchoram spei figo, efflagitans quatenus michi secundum suarum assistricem sapientiam mittere dignetur ut mecum sit in gratiarum actionis pro grato auditorio vobis relatione et mecum laboret in alme victricis sacre Scripture quantulatumque recommendatione, pro cuius et sanctissimi Victoris patroni huius ecclesie gloriosa memoria preassumpsi quod hec est victoria. Sed quoniam, teste Ambrosio in libro De officiis, «non est gloriosa victoria nisi ubi prefuerunt laboriosa certamina», devote speculandum quod, prelio magno in celo in celesti Ierusalem commisso, cum Nabugodonosor rex super omnes filios superbie [Iob 41:25], cum turmis Chaldeorum a celesti Ierusalem in inferiores partes terre eiectus, super Babilonem suscepisset tyrannidem, ipse, videns in civitate inferioris Ierusalem, in creature videlicet rationalis corpore et anima, omnia pacifice regi, ut dicit Glosa, videns, inquam, muros corporis sursum erectos, menia quinque sensuum grate ornata, domos et castra singulorum memborum bene situata, videns locutiones et operationes et alios cives singulorum membrorum concordes, videns tandem in templo Domini in anima
6 inexpertus – actuum] Aristoteles, Ethica Nicomachea I, c. 3 : 1095a2-4, Translatio Roberti Grosseteste Lincolniensis sive «Liber Ethicorum», A: Recensio Pura, ed. René Antoine Gauthier, Brugge – Paris – Leiden: Desclée de Brouwer – Brill, 1972 (AL 26.1-3.3), p. 143.16-17; B: Recensio Recognita, ed. René Antoine Gauthier, Brugge – Paris – Leiden: Brill, 1973 (AL 26.1-3.4), p. 377.4-5. 20/21 non – certamina] Ambrosius Mediolanensis, De officiis I, c. 15, n. 58, ed. Maurice Testard, Turnhout: Brepols, 2001 (CCSL 15), p. 21.21. 25 Glosa] not found. Trad. text. : H = Paris, Bibl. nat. de France, lat. 7371, f. 154r-160v and 125r-129v 6 qui] que H 14 omnium] omniumque a.c. H 19 ecclesie] s.l. H 27 situata] situatas H
154r
20 294
Chris Schabel
cogitationes et afflictiones Deo semper intentas, et regem ipsum liberum arbitrium
30 carnalibus et spiritualibus concupiscentiis regaliter presidentem mediante iustitia origi-
35
40
45
50
nali predicta omnia in pace gubernare, disponere, et absque contradictione sic omnibus imperare, ut dicit venerabilis Richardus, indeque concludens similem suo simili tandem applaudente ad celestem Ierusalem unde ceciderat eam assumpturam, invidia commotus, adversus eam inimicitias iuravit et obsidionem maligniter posuit. Sed «quia ei per violentiam nocere non potuit», ut dicit Magister in 2o, «ad fraudem se convertens», per scalam superbie ascendens, menia sensuum, presertim visus et gustus, fructu pulchro ad videndum et dulci ad gustandum occupavit, de quo propheta: Mors, inquit, ascendit per fenestras nostras [Ier 9:21]. Domos et castra membrorum singulorum hostibus implevit, de quo Gaufridus quondam canonicus huius ecclesie in sermone: «In hac», inquit, «terra hostili corporis nostri, tot sunt hostilia castra adversum nos quasi iurata et firmata quot sunt corporis nostri membra. In quibus habitant multitudines hostium semper nos impugnantium | et sepe expugnantium». «Et per principem exercitus sui Nabuzardam, qui ‘princeps coquorum castrimargia’ interpretatur, esu ligni vetiti templum Domini incendens, destruxit muros Ierusalem», prout moralizat venerabilis Adam noster in suo dyalogo. Preterea, gentes eius venerunt in hereditatem Domini, qui polluerunt templum, ibi regem Sedechiam conprehendentes, cuius regis, liberi videlicet arbitrii, occiderunt liberos, turbando memoriam, huius eruerunt oculos, cecando intelligentiam. Et sic vinctum cathenis, voluntatem depravando, adduxerunt in Babiloniam, ut notatur Ieremie 39[:5-7]. Amplius ipsi abeuntes «insidiarum fraudes occultando», ut dicit Gregorius, filiam Babilonis miseram, ignorantiam, errorem sive malitiam, quod idem est, civitati predicte tirannice preposuerunt, quoadusque Pater misericordiarum misit Filium suum, huius civitatis ydoneissimum Reformatorem.
31/32 omnia – imperare] Richardus de Sancto Victore, De statu interioris hominis, ed. PL 196, col. 1126D: «Nihil quod in homine erat eius imperio contradicebat. Omnia gubernabat, omnia disponebat, omnia imperabat». 35/36 quia – convertens] Petrus Lombardus, Sententiae in IV libris distinctae II, d. 21, c. 2, ed. Ignatius Brady, t. 1, pars 2, Grottaferrata, 1971 (Spicilegium Bonaventurianum, 4), p. 433.25-26, but tacitly quoting Hugo de Sancto Victore, De sacramentis christianae fidei I, vii, 2, ed. PL 176, col. 287B. 40/ 42 In – expugnantium] Gaufredus de Sancto Victore, Sermo in sinodo, ed. Antonio Sordillo, forthcoming (Paris, Bibliothèque Mazarine 1002, f. 34v). 42/44 Et – Ierusalem] Adam de Sancto Victore, Dialogus, has not been identified. Cf. Gaufridus de Sancto Victore, Sermo in quadragesima, ed. Antonio Sordillo, forthcoming (Paris, Bibliothèque Mazarine 1002, f. 56v): «Sed et Nabuzardan, princeps cocorum, eius legitur destruxisse muros Ierusalem»; cf. IV Reg 28:8; Ier 52:12. 50 insidiarum – occultando] Beda Venerabilis, In Lucae evangelium expositio III, c. 10, ed. David Hurst, Turnhout: Brepols, 1960 (CCSL 120), p. 223.2230. Not found in Gregorius Magnus. 29 et1] s.l. H 30 presidentem] presedentem a.c. H 32 ut dicit venerabilis Richardus] mg. H 33 eam] s.l. H 36/37 presertim visus et gustus] s.l. P; occupavit add. sed exp. P
154v
21 Radices et plantationes theologicae facultatis hic Parisius 295 «Ad ignorantiam enim nostram illuminandam, errorem destruendum», et ymagi-
55 nem Dei civitatem, videlicet terrene Ierusalem, reformandam, nullus «tam ydoneus
quam ille, qui est lumen mundi, splendor glorie [Hbr 1:3], candor lucis eterne [Sap 7:26]», et «ymago Dei invariabilis», ut dicit reverendus quondam in Christo pater magister Achardus canonicus huius ecclesie, post episcopus Abricensis, in sermone. Qui ydoneissimus Reformator, Victor existens, duxit ex ea predam, Numeri 21[:1]. Ipse enim, 60 videns civitatem desolatam, flevit super illam pluviam voluntariam, et aqua sapientie salutaris alti putei sacratissime victricis sacre Scripture – de quo pridem solempniter magister et dominus meus prior de Putheolis – vicos civitatis a sordibus Caldeorum mundavit. Et tandem ipse, qui Veritas est, veritatem ipsam invictissimam sacram Scripturam eidem civitati iure hereditario preficiens, adversus intrusam filiam Babilonis mi65 seram inauditum bellum concitavit, et predictam victricem invictissimam de victoria assecuravit, dicens sibi suisque: Confidite. Ego vici, Iohannis XVIo[:33]. Propter quod ipsa sacratissima ad emulam suam in civitate antedicta superandam
70
Accessit intrepida signanter promptam se ostendens, quia hec Processit non tepida constanter ad palmam se extendens, quia est Et ideo quiescit in gloria letanter coronam apprehendens, quia victoria. Primum probat eius singularitas oculo demonstrata, quia hec Secundum probat eius stabilitas a nullo temerata, quia est Sed tertium probat eius nobilitas populo divulgata, quia victoria.
Et per consequens pro eiusdem sacre Scripture veneranda memoria non immerito 75 preassumpsi quod hec est victoria. Consequentiam relinquo notam. Scientibus enim legem loquor [Rom 7:1], quibus pauca sufficiunt. Ex minimis enim maiora cogitantibus constat quamque futuram victricem necessario
80
Ad bellum signanter accedere: hec In bello constanter procedere: est Et sic a bello letanter recedere: victoria Exemplo ipsius victoriose Iudith, que post prudentem aggressum ad Holofernem, et constantem progressum ad eius decapitationem, cum post letum recessum signis victorie suos concives letificasset, pro concordantia aiebat: Vivit Dominus Deus noster, quoniam sine pollutione peccati revocavit me gaudentem in victoria, Iudith XIIIo[:20].
55/57 tam – invariabilis] Achardus de Sancto Victore, Sermo I, 3, ed. Jean Châtillon, Sermons inédits, Paris: Vrin, 1970 (Textes philosophiques du Moyen Âge, 17), p. 28. 62 de Putheolis ] Prieuré Notre-Dame de Puiseaux. 65 predictam] eandem a.c. s.l. H
22 296
〈PRIMUM MEMBRUM〉
85
90
95
100
105 A 125r
Chris Schabel
Consequentia igitur sic relicta, dico primo in antecedente quod ipsa sacratissima victrix sacra Scriptura ad emulam suam, ignorantiam, fallaciam, sive malitiam, ab hereditate sua expellendam accessit, ymmo adhuc accedit quotienscumque opus est. «Accessit», inquam, «intrepida signanter promptam se ostendens», quod probat | eius presentia oculo demonstata, quia hec. Ipsa enim est que, in omnibus viis suis ostendens se hilariter, Sapientie VIo[:17], girum celi sola circuit [Sir 24:8], que, causam sue securitatis et singularis ad bellum promptitudinis manifestando, dicens: Dominus protector vite mee, a quo trepidabo? [Ps 26:1], sic inquit: Ego doctrinam quasi antelucanum illumino omnibus, et enarrabo illam usque in longinquum. Penetrabo omnes inferiores partes terre, et inspiciam omnes dormientes, Ecclesiastici XXIIIIo[:44-45]. Ubi nimirum non accederet cui datum est ut nullum timeat, quem autem timeret. Quam Dominus illuminando nutrit cibariis delectabilibus, salvando munit thezauris inexhausibilibus, et, protegendo ne trepidet, induit armis inexpugnabilibus. Hec enim tria quemlibet ad bellum intrepide accedere volentem de victoria assecurant, quia ad hoc sufficiunt et requiruntur, prout innuit devotus Bernardus in sermone dicens: «Triplici nobis opus esse noverimus apparatu ad custodiam castri Domini, munitione videlicet, armis, et alimentis». Nec mirum, cum per oppositum deficientibus stipendiis nullus subveniret, absentibus armis nullus cresceret, et nutribilibus consumptis quisque in via deficeret. «Sepius enim penuria quam pugna consumit exercitum, et ferro sevior fames est»,
ut dicit Vegetius, De re militari. Ne igitur ipsa bellatrix in intrepido accessu in via deficiat, «habet in publico unde parvulos nutriat, et servat in secreto unde mentes 110 sublimium in admiratione suspendat», ut dicit Gregorius in prologo Moralium. Unde ipsa sacra Scriptura nedum cibus est, ubi videlicet in sententiis obscurioribus cum labore quodam velud masticandi attritione in ventrem memo-
ut dicit Vegetius. Ne igitur nostra victrix invictissima sacra Scriptura in intrepido ad bellum accessu in via deficiat, nedum «habet in publico unde parvulos nutriat, servat in secreto unde mentes sublimium in admiratione suspendat», ut dicit
100/102 Triplici – alimentis] Bernardus Claraevallensis, In dedicatione ecclesiae, Sermo tertius, c. 1, Opera omnia V, Sermones II, ed. Leclercq – Talbot – Rochais, Roma: Editiones Cistercienses, 1968, p. 379.5-6 104/105 Sepius – est] Vegetius, Epitoma rei militaris III, c. 3, ed. Karl Lang, Leipzig: Teubner, 1885, p. 68.4-5. 95 Ecclesiastici] s.l. H 98 inexhausibilibus] inhausibilibus a.c. s.l. H Col. dext. : 4/6 habet – suspendat] Gregorius Magnus, Moralia in Iob, Epistola ad Leandrum, n. 4, ed. Marc Adriaen, Turnhout: Brepols, 1979 (CCSL 143), p. 6.175-177. Col. dext. : 5 servat] servans H
155r
B 155r
5
23 Radices et plantationes theologicae facultatis hic Parisius 297 115 rie cum difficultate trahicitur, ymmo et potus est, ubi videlicet in planioribus locis de facili sorbetur, sicut dicit Guarinus quondam abbas huius ecclesie in quodam sermone.
Hec igitur sunt delicie, hec sunt nutrimenta 120 huius gloriose victricis sacre Scripture, quibus «in hac vita nil dulcius sentitur, nil avidius sumitur». «Nichil enim ita mentem ab amore mundi separat, nil sic animum contra temptationes roborat, nichil ita hominem excitat et 125 adiuvit ad omne opus et ad omnem laborem sicut studium sacre Scripture», ut dicit venerabilis Hugo noster in primo De anima. Cuius ipsamet testis est, dicens [Sir 24:27]: Spiritus meus super mel dulcis etc. 130 Quapropter ipse venerabilis Hugo noster eam nedum arche sed et apothece omnium deliciarum comparat in De archa Noe, sic inquiens: «Que est ergo hec archa, de qua tam multa dicuntur et in qua tam multiplices vie 135 scientiarum continentur? Qualis est hec archa?» Et respondet: «Vis scire qualis est? Sustine me, ut de multis pauca tibi dicam. Hec archa similis est apotece omnium deliciarum varietate referte. Nichil in ea quesieris quod
Gregorius in prologo Moralium. Ymmo et ipsamet cibus est, ubi videlicet in sententiis obscurioribus cum labore quodam velud masticandi attritione in ventrem memorie cum difficultate trahicitur, et potus est ubi in planioribus locis de facili sorbetur, prout ad auctoritatem Gregorii addit reverendus quondam pater meus abbas Guarinus. Hee igitur sunt delicie huius gloriosissime victricis sacre Scripture, quibus «in hac vita nichil dulcius sentitur, nil avidius sumitur», quibus animus devotus ad spiritualem pugnam mirabiliter reformatur, dicente venerabili Hugone nostro in primo De anima: «Nichil ita mentem ab amore mundi separat, nichil sic animum contra temptationes roborat, nichil ita hominem excitat et adiuvit ad omne opus bonum et ad omnem laborem sicut studium sacre Scripture».
133/141 Que – videbis] Hugo de Sancto Victore, De archa Noe IV, c. 9, ed. Patrice Sicard, Turnhout: Brepols, 2001 (CCCM 176), p. 115.120-121, 130-134. Col. dext. : 7/14 Ymmo – Guarinus] Recte (?) Garnerius de Sancto Victore, Gregorianum V, c. 16: De dentibus, ed. PL 193, col. 179B: «Dentium nomine interni sensus designantur, sicut per beatum Job dicitur: Quare lacero carnes meas dentibus meis et animam meam porto in manibus meis? [Iob 13:14] Per dentes etenim cibus frangitur, ut glutiatur. Unde non immerito in dentibus internos sensus accipimus, qui singula, quae cogitant, quasi mandunt et comminuunt, atque ad ventrem memoriae transmittunt.» Cf. Gregorius Magnus, Moralia in Iob I, c. 19, n. 27, ed. Marc Adriaen, Turnhout: Brepols, 1979 (CCSL 143), p. 40:8-9: «Cibus est in locis obscurioribus, quia quasi exponendo frangitur et mandendo glutitur.»; ibid., c. 21, n. 29, p. 41.33-35: «Quia ergo sacra eloquia in locis obscurioribus exponendo franguntur, in locis uero apertioribus ita ut inuenta fuerint, potantur […].» 20/25 Nichil – Scripture] Manipulus florum: (Pseudo) Hugo de Sancto Victore, De anima I : http ://web.wlu.ca/history/cnighman/MFuaria/ScripturaBE.pdf = Pseudo Bernardus Claraevallensis, Meditationes de humana conditione, ed. PL 184, col. 498C. Col. dext. : 9 obscurioribus] obscurioibus H
10
15
20
25
24 298
Chris Schabel
140 non invenias, et cum inveneris unum, multa tibi patefacta videbis». Hec ille. Huius apotece dulcedine allectus Iohannes Lemovicensis in 14 epistola Moralis sompnii Pharaonis pre amiratione in gaudio exclamavit: 145 «O», inquiens, «cellam binariam! O aromaticam apotecariam! Que tam dulcia faucibus nostris ministrat eloquia doctrinarum ut non terrestrem eloquentiam, sed celestem redoleant armoniam». «Mirabilia testimonia tua deside150 rabilia super mel et favum, quorum auream sapientiam et argenteam eloquentiam regnis et sedibus arbitramur esse preferendam». Hec ille. [mg. but crossed out.: Ut non immerito pro 155 dictorum concordantia de se dicat: Ego mater {Sir 24:24}, apoteca et conservatrix et nutrix.] [remainder of page crossed out: Que omnia desiderabilia super aurum et lapidem preciosum multum ipsa divina Scriptura omnibus 160 habunde amministrat. Ipsa enim edificat domum, miscet vinum, et ponit mensam, Sapientie {Pvb 9:1-2} {spatium}. Super quam mensam Melchisedech rex Salem offert panem et vinum {Gn 14:18} {spatium}. Panem, 165 inquam, artum, caritate videlicet latum, verbo autem duorum preceptorum {s.l.} abbreviatum, ut dicit abbas quondam noster venerabilis Garinus. Offert et Moyses diversas ferculorum species, mel videlicet de petra, oleumque de saxo 170 durissimo, butirum de armento, et lac de ovibus cum adipe agnorum et arietum filiorum Basan, et hircos cum medulla tritici {Dt 32:13-14}.
145/152 O1 – preferendam] Iohannes Lemovicensis, Somnium morale Pharaonis, Epistola 14, ed. Johannis Lemovicensis Morale somnium Pharaonis ex ms., [Altdorf ], 1690, p. 29, et Epistola 12, p. 25 = Johannis Lemovicensis, abbatis de Zirc 1208-1218 Opera omia, ed. Constantinus Horváth, t. 1, [Zirc]: Vesprem: Egyházmegyei Könyvnyomda, 1932, p. $ (71-126). 168 Garinus] Guarinus de Sancto Victore: not found. Cf. Aelredus Rievallensis, De Iesu puero duedenni, II, ed. Anselm Hoste, Turnhout: Brepols, 1971 (CCCL 1), p. $ (66-69): «uerbum abbreuiatum sed consummans, et consummatum faciens super terram, et legem et prophetas bipartito caritatis praecepto concludens.» 165 verbo] verbum a.c. H
25 Radices et plantationes theologicae facultatis hic Parisius 299
175
125v
180
185
190
195
200
205
Offeruntur etiam super mensam divine Scripture diversa genera carnium. Offert enim Abel agninam, Abraham arietinam, Iosue vaccinam. «Apponuntur etiam pisces de mari, de flumine, et de stangno». Hec et alia multa venerabilis Hugo noster in De claustro anime, cum suis moralitatibus. Que si quisque ex intellectione perlegerit, in semetipso concludere potest ipsam esse nutricem et omnium] | delectabilium conservatricem et eorum largam amministratricem, sicut ipsa de se dicit pro predictorum concordantia: Ego, inquiens, mater, id est, apoteca, conservatrix, et nutrix, pulchre dilectionis et agnitionis et sancte spei. In me gratia omnis vie et veritatis, in me omnis spes vite et virtutis. Transite ad me omnes qui concupiscitis me, et a generationibus meis adimplemini [Sir 24:24-26]. Has autem delicias ipse qui supra Iohannes Lemovicensis in epistola 31 Moralis sompnii Pharaonis [s.l. sed del.: innisus dictis Sapientis loquentis de ea Sapientie 7] copulat divitiis et inexhausibilibus tezauris, secunde videlicet cause intrepidationis, sic dicens [mg: innisus verbis Sapientis Sapientie VIIo]: «Thezaurus delectabilis sapientie et scientie, quem omnes homines per instinctum nature desiderant, omnes mundi divitias transcendit infinite, cuius dulcore amarescunt gustui mel et manna, cuius respectu lapides preciosi vilescunt, cuius comparatione argentum lutescit et aurum obrizum arena fit exigua, cuius splendore tenebrescunt visui sol et luna». [crossed out: Cui concordans sapientissimus Salomon Sapientie 7o{:8-9}: Divitias, inquit,
Quibus quidem deliciis Iohannes Lemovicensis coniungit divitias inexhausibiles que secundo requiruntur ad intrepidum ad bellum accessum, innitendo verbis Salomonis Sapientie VIIo[:7-8]: «Thezaurus», inquiens, 30 «delectabilis sapientie et scientie Dei, quem omnes homines per instinctum nature desiderant, omnes mundi divitias transcendit infinite, cuius dulcore amarescunt gustui mel et manna, cuius respectu lapides preciosi viles35 cunt, cuius comparatione argentum lutescit et aurum obrizum arena fit exigua, cuius splendore tenebrescunt visui sol et luna». Hec ille.
176/179 Apponuntur – moralitatibus] Recte Hugo de Folieto, De claustro animae, c. 8, ed. PL 176, col. 1099B et 1100B. Col. dext. : 30/38 Thezaurus – luna] Richardus de Bury, Philobiblon, c. 1, n. 14, ed. Ernest C. Thomas, The Philobiblion of Richard de Bury, Bishop of Durham, Treasure and Chancellor of Edward III, New York: Printed for the Grolier Club, 1889, p. 8.1-8. John of Limoges’ work circulated with that of Richard de Bury in some manuscripts. Col. dext. : 26 quidem] quidam H deliciis] divitiis a.c. s.l. H
26 300
Chris Schabel
nichil dixi esse in comparatione illius. Nec comparavi illi lapidem preciosum, quoniam omne 210 aurum in comparatione illius arena est exigua, et tanquam lutum estimabitur argentum in conspectu illius. Et sequitur {:14}: Infinitus enim est thezaurus hominibus, quo qui usi sunt, facti sunt participes amicitie Dei.] [See below, 215 right column] [mg: Hic est thezaurus divine sapientie absconditus in agro, hoc est, in scola virtutum, qui non omnibus patet, sed latet, non in profundis terre, sed in occultis sacre Scripture, 220 ut dicit Gal] Hunc thezaurum sacre Scripture sub quaternario gazophilaciorum numero altissimus divitiarum sapientie et scientie Dei investigator Richardus noster super Psalmum 134m distin225 guens dicit: «Thezaurus sacre Scripture, quia magnus est admodum et copiosus, per quatuor distinguitur gazophilacia. Primum in occidentali parte ex sensu fabricatur historico; 2m in plaga septenptrionali erigitur ex sensu morali; 230 3m ex allegoria constructum oritur ab Oriente; 4m vero ex anagogia conficitur in Meridie. In occidentali parte reconditur argentum eloquentie; in septenptrionali varie reservantur immensarum virtutum gemme; in orientali 235 continetur purpura et bissus, ornamenta sacramentorum Ecclesie; in meridiano vero reponitur aurum celestis sapientie». Cuius thezauri nobiles condiciones explicans, Alanus, Anticlaudiani sui libro 8o, sic 240 metrice inquit: «Assistens, fronesis pluit omnia dona Sophie, | Non illas largitur opes
Qui quidem thezaurus non est apertus omnibus, sed est in agro, id est, in scola virtutum, absconditus [I Sm 20:24]. Non enim omnibus patet, sed latet, non in profundis terre, sed in occultis sacre Scripture, ut dicit devotus Galterus quondam prior huius ecclesie in sermone. De cuius thezauri lata continentia loquens secretorum divinorum subtilis investigator | Richardus noster super illud Psalmi 134ti[:7], qui producit ventos de thezauris suis, sic inquit: «Thezaurus sacre Scripture, quia magnus est admodum et copiosus, per quatuor distinguitur gazophilacia. Primum in occidentali parte ex sensu fabricatur historico; secundum in plaga septenptrionali erigitur ex sensu morali; tertium ex allegoria constructum oritur ab Oriente; quartum vero ex anagogia conficitur in Meridie. In occidentali parte reconditur argentum eloquentie; in septenptrionali varie reservantur immensarum virtutum gemme; in orientali continetur purpura et bissus, ornamenta sacramentorum Ecclesie; in meridiano vero reponitur aurum celestis sapientie». Hec ille. Huius thezauri et divitiarum eiusdem nobiles condiciones explicans, Alanus, Anticlaudiani sui libro 8o, metrice sic inquit: «Assistens, fronesis pluit omnia dona Sophie, |
235 sacramentorum] s.l. H Col. dext. : 42/44 Non – Scripture] Gualterus de Sancto Victore, Sermo IV, ed. Jean Châtillon, Turnhout: Brepols, 1975 (CCCM 30), p. 36.122-124. 50/62 Thezaurus – sapientie] Richardus de Sancto Victore, Adnotationes mysticae in Psalmos, 134, ed. PL 196, col. 368D-369A. 66/73 Assistens – habundat] Alanus ab Insulis, Anticlaudianus VII, ed. Robert Bossuat, Paris: Vrin, 1955 (Textes philosophiques du Moyen Âge, 1), p. 163.228-234.
40
45 155v 50
55
60
65
27 Radices et plantationes theologicae facultatis hic Parisius 301 que sepe potentum | Excecant animos et maiestatis honorem | Inclinant, minuunt leges et iura retardant, | Sed potius donant thezaurum 245 mentis et omnes | Divitias animi, quas qui semel accepit, ultra | Non eget, ymmo semel ditatus habundat». [remainder of page crossed out: Quarum 〈rectus〉 amor, possessio nobilis, usus | Utilis, 250 utilior largitio, fructus habundans. | Hec est gaza poli, celi tezaurus, inundans | Gratia que ditat doctos, que prodiga largos | Vult habere possessores et dedignatur avaros. | Clausa perit, diffusa redit; nisi publica fiat, | Labitur, hec 255 multas vires acquirit eundo». Hec ille. Audivistis, igitur, reverendi patres ac domini, ipsam sacram Scripturam esse nutritam delectabilibus et munitam tezauris inexhausibilibus, quibus scilicet tercia causa intrepidatio260 nis, ymmo securi accessus, necdum secure 126r accederet.] | Sed quamvis in aggressu antedicto victualia [mg.: ad confortandum et iocalia ad alliciendum] sint magis necessaria in conflictu, tamen, quia «utilior est lorica ferrea quam 265 stola linea», ut dicit Bernardus in sermone, ne ipsa invictissima victrix divina Scriptura in accessu trepidet, a protectore vite sue [mg.: armis inexpugnabilibus exterius et interius armatur. Nam in animo] spiritu recto inno270 vatur, Spiritu sancto radicatur, et spiritu principali in accessu confirmatur. Que lorica iustitie protecta in corpore, succintis lumbris in veritate, galea salutis munitur in capite et in omnibus
Non illas largitur opes que sepe potentum | Excecant animos et maiestatis honorem | Inclinant, minuunt leges et iura retardant, | Sed 70 potius donat thezaurum mentis et omnes | Divitias animi, quas qui accepit, ultra | Non eget, ymmo semel ditatus habundat». Hec ille. Propter quod Sapiens de ipsa sapientia, sacratissima videlicet victrice sacra Scriptura, 75 loquens, cum premisisset: preposui illam regnis et sedibus, et divitias nichil dixi esse in comparatione illius etc. [Sap 7:8], pro concordantia inferendo concludit: Infinitus enim thezaurus est hominibus, quo, qui usi sunt, participes facti 80 sunt amicitie Dei, Sapientie VIIo[:14]. [See above, left column] Sed quamvis pro belli aggressu in obsidione victualia ad sustentandum et iocalia ad alliciendum milites sint magis necessaria, quia tamen 85 «in conflictu utilior est lorica ferrea quam stola linea», ut dicit Bernardus, ne ipsa invictissima victrix sacra Scriptura in accessu predicto trepidet, insuper a protectore vite sue armis inexpugnabilibus exterius nedum, sed et inte90 rius habituatur. Nam in animo spiritu recto innovatur, Spiritu sancto radicatur, et spiritu principali confirmatur. Que lorica iustitie protecta in corpore, subcincta lumbis baltheo 95 veritatis, galea salutis munitur in capite [Is 59:17; Eph 6:14-17], et in omnibus sumens scutum fidei equitatem inexpugnabilem pro pectore [Sap 5:20], evaginato gladio verbi Dei [Eph 6:17] pertingit ad divisionem corporis et anime [Hbr 4:12]. 100
248/255 Quarum – eundo] Alanus ab Insulis, Anticlaudianus VII, ed. Bossuat, p. 163-164.235-241. 248 rectus] spatium H 259 scilicet] s.l. H 261 Sed quamvis] quamvis enim a.c. mg. H antedicto] s.l. H 264 quia] s.l. H 265 ne] igitur add. sed del. H 271 lorica] iter. s.l. H 271/272 lorica iustitie protecta in corpore] post veritate a.c. H Col. dext. : 86/87 in – linea] Bernardus Claraevallensis, Sermones in nativitate Domini, IV, n. 1, ed. Jean Leclercq – Charles Talbot – Henri M. Rochais, S. Bernardi Opera, t. 4, p. 264.11-12 = ed. PL 183, col. 126D. Col. dext. : 74 Sapiens] s.l. H 83 pro] pre a.c. H 98 evaginato] d add. sed exp. H
28 302
Chris Schabel
sumens scutum fidei inexpugnabilem equitatem 275 pro pectore, evaginato gladio verbi Dei pertingit ad divisionem spiritus et anime. Insuper cornua, id est, arcus cornalis, in manibus eius impetus, videlicet spem cum sagittis acutis in carbonibus desolatoriis [Ps. 119 :4] inimicorum. 280 Quem igitur timeret? A quo trepidaret? In quadro virtutum moralium solidata, habens temperantiam a dextris ne ratione deliciarum lasciviat, fortitudinem a sinistris ne in adversis deficiat, quam sequitur a tergo iustitia ut mise285 ris, et retro positis subveniat, et precedit prudentia ut, mediante illa, agibilia bellica previdendo ordinet. [mg: Ecce arma quibus ipsa divina Scriptura, turris David [Ct 4:4], munitur, Guarino abbate dicente iuxta* finem*]
290
295
300
305
310
Non igitur timet, sed secure accedens, pro predictorum concordantia iocunde seipsam consolatur, dicens: Si consistant adversum me castra, non timebit cor meum. Nam si exurgat adversum me prelium, in hoc ego sperabo, propter arma quibus membra mea proteguntur. Si tribulent me inimici mei, divitiis meis cadentes infirmabuntur. [mg.: Victoriam enim et honorem acquiret qui dat munera, Proverbiorum XXII{:9}]. Si rursum appropient super me nocentes ut edant carnes meas, habeo dulcia fercula quibus salubriter saturabuntur. [mg.: ut dicat: Ego mater {Sir 24:24}, apoteca, conservatrix, et nutrix. pulchre dilectionis, quantum ad virtutum arcum, et agnitionis, quantum ad.] Ipsa enim nedum parvulis, sed et insipientibus loquitur et locuta est: Venite, comedite panem meum, et bibite vinum quod miscui vobis, Sapientie. Quod si inimicis insipientibus tot delectabilia repromittit, quanto magis amicis [mg.: Col. dext. : 123 proteguntur] spacium add. H
Quem, igitur, reverendi patres ac domini, quem timeret? A quo trepidaret? In quadro virtutum moralium solidata, habens temperantiam a dextris ne in prosperis lasciviat, fortitudinem a sinistris ne in adversis deficiat, quam sequitur a tergo iustitia ut miseris, et retro positis subveniat, et precedit auriga virtutum prudentia ut agibilia bellica longe prevideat. De ipsa enim Sapiens Sapientie VIIIo[:7-8]: Sobrietatem, inquit, et prudentiam docet, et iustitiam, et virtutem. Scit preterita et de futuris estimat. Scit versutias sermonum, dispositiones argumentorum; signa et monstra scit antequem fiant, et eventus temporum et seculorum. Non igitur trepidat in suo accessu victrix nostra invictissima sacra Scriptura, sed secure accedens pro dictorum concordantia, iocunde seipsam confortando consolatur, dicens: Si consistant adversum me castra, non timebit cor meum. Nam si exurgat adversum me prelium, in hoc ego sperabo, propter arma quibus membra mea proteguntur [Ps 26:3]. Si tribulent me inimici mei, divitiis meis cadentes infirmabuntur. Victoriam enim et honorem acquiret qui dat munera, Proverbiorum 22o[:9]. Si tandem appropient | super me nocentes ut edant carnes meas [Ps 26:2], habeo dulcia fercula quibus saturabuntur. Ipsa enim etiam insipientibus locuta est: Venite, comedite panem meum, et bibite vinum quod miscui vobis, Proverbiorum IXo[5].
105
110
115
120
125 156r 130
29 Radices et plantationes theologicae facultatis hic Parisius 303
315
320
325
330
335
340
126v
inequa* beatorum*], cum* ea verbo et opere agonizantibus alibi [mg.: eadem repromittit, dicens: Vincenti dabo manna {Apc 2:17}. Ratione cuius eam imitantes pauperes saturabuntur, \Psalmo* 21*{:27}/. Et ideo victrix ipsa dicens? ac?. O vincentes huius alme victricis studiosi imitatores, pulsemus.] [remainder of this box crossed out: quando divitiis et deliciis salutem repromittit, dicens: Nunc igitur, filii, audite me: beati qui custodiunt vias meas {Pvb 8:32}. Ego enim diligentes me diligo, et qui mane vigilant ad me, invenient me. Mecum sunt divitie et gloria, opes superbe et iustitia. Melior est fructus meus auro et lapide precioso, et genimina mea argento electo. In viis iustitie ambulo, in medio semitarum iudicii: ut ditem diligentes me, et thezauros eorum repleam {Pvb 8:17-21}. Ideo beatus qui audit me, qui vigilat ad fores meas cottidie, et observat ad postes hostii mei, qui me invenerit, inveniet vitam et hauriet salutem a Domino, Proverbiorum 8o{:34-35}]. Quapropter, o huius victricis studiosi auditores, pulsemus, ut ammonet Iohannes Damascenus: «Pulsemus», inquit, «in optimum paradisum Scripturarum, qui odoriferus est atque dulcissimus, qui omnimode intellectualium deiferarum et volucrum cantilenis circumsonet aures nostras, qui tangit cor nostrum et contristatum quidem consolatur, iratum autem substernit, letitia eterna». «Lasciviamus, insatiabiliter voluptemur» gaudiose. «Hauriamus ex huius paradisi fonte perhennes et purissimas aquas, salientes in vitam eternam». Gustemus panem suavissimum, verbi scilicet quod procedit de ore |
Ex quo nos concludentes, sapientibus, innocentibus, ipsamque cum studio et labore requientibus longe meliora dona ipsam invic- 135 tissimam victricem sacram Scripturam dare pulsemus, ut ammonet Iohannes Lemovicensis: «Pulsemus», inquit, «in optimum paradisum Scripturarum, qui odoriferus est atque dulcissimus, qui omnimode intellectualium deifera- 140 rum et volucrum cantilenis circumsonet aures nostras, qui tangit cor nostrum et contristatum quidem consolatur, iratum autem substernit, letitia eterna». «Lasciviamus, insatiabiliter voluptemur» gaudiose. «Hauriamus ex huius 145 paradisi fonte perhennes et purissimas aquas,
323 superbe] super + spatium H 330 inveniet] sicut add. sed del. H Col. dext. : 138/145 Pulsemus – voluptemur] Iohannes Damascenus, De fide orthodoxa, c. 90, n. 2, ed. Eligius M. Buytaert, St. Bonaventure, NY: The Franciscan Institute, 1955 (Franciscan Institute Publications, 8), p. 336.24-29. 145/147 Hauriamus – eternam] Iohannes Damascenus, De fide orthodoxa, c. 90, n. 2, ed. Buytaert, p. 337.38-40. Col. dext. : 133 nos] s.l. H 137 Lemovicensis] lege damascenus
Chris Schabel
30 304
Dei, in quo vivit homo, ut sic eius deliciis nutriti, divitiis muniti, et armis protecti – [mg.: quorum promptitudine accedit intrepida, ut dictum est] – a timore inimici ipsius, studiosi 350 auditores, eripi mereamur, ipsa dicente: Qui autem me audiet, absque timore quiescet et habundantia perfruetur terrore malorum sublato, quoniam qui vicerit, id est, huius victricis studiosus auditor fuerit, possidebit hec, 355 Apocalypsis XXI. Et hec de primo.
salientes in vitam eternam». Gustemus panem suavissimum verbi quod procedit de ore Dei, in quo vivit homo [Mt 4.4], ut ratione omnium predictorum mercedem vincentibus repromis- 150 sam consequi mereamur; ut videlicet ratione deliciarum manna absconditum [Apc 2:17] sapientibus et prudentibus seculi parvulis [Mt 11:25] revelatum dividere, masticare, et incorporare valeamus; ratione armorum armis lucis 155 induti a timore inimici eripiamur [Ps 63:2], ipsa sacra Scriptura dicente: Qui me audierit absque terrore requiescet et habundantia perfruetur, terrore malorum sublato [Pvb 1:33]; et ratione divitiarum spiritualium ad pugnam cum ipsa 160 invictissima victrice signari mereamur. Hec enim vincentibus promittuntur, Domino dicente Apocalypsis 3o[:5, 2:17]: Vincenti dabo manna absconditum. Qui vicerit, simul albis vestietur. Et qui vicerit, id est, huius victricis 165 invictissime divitiis se ditaverit, possidebit hec, Apocalypsis 21[:7]. Et hoc de primo.
〈SECUNDUM MEMBRUM〉
Dixi secundo: ipsa veritas sacre Scripture, contra [mg.: filiam Babilonis miseram, igno360 rantiam, errorem, et malitiam] [del.: falsitatem malitie], pro victoria in bello optinenda, «processit non tepida constanter [mg.: ad palmam se extendens] [del.: emulam parvipendens]». Quod probat veritatis stabilitas a nullo teme365 rata, quia est. [remainder of this box crossed out: Ipsa enim sciebat tepiditatem esse nausee promotivam, Domino dicente episcopo Laodicie ex ipsa: Quia tepidus es, incipiam te evomere ex ore meo.
348 promptitudine] se add. sed del. H Col. dext. : 155/156 armis – induti] s.l. H
Dixi secundo in antecedente quod ipsa vic- 170 toria seu victrix invictissima sacra Scriptura, ad emulam suam ignorantiam, errorem, seu malitiam a civitate hereditatis sue expellendam et iure belli devincendam, ad ipsam «processit non tepida constanter ad palmam se exten175 dens». Quod probat ipsius stabilitas a nullo temerata, quia est. De ipsa enim que immortalis est, Sapientie VIIIo[4:1], loquens Psalmista [148:6]: Preceptum, inquit, Dominus posuit
31 Radices et plantationes theologicae facultatis hic Parisius 305 370 Ubi venerabilis Richardus noster: «Electis», inquit, «in fidei stomacho per dilectionis ignem Christo per iustificationem incorporatis, reprobi tepidi caritate quasi crudi evomiantur et evanescunt». Non igitur sic ipsa veritas 375 divine Scripture, que immortalis est in cogitatione, et in amicitia illius dilectio bona, et in operibus manuum illius honestas sine defectione, et in certamine loquele illius sapientia, Sapientie VIIIo{:17-18}. Et de qua David: Preceptum, 380 inquit, posuit quod non preteribit. Sed procedit non tepide, ymmo fervidissimo conamine, ipsa pulchra et decora filia Ierusalem, quia in vestitu caritatis deaurato, circumamicta, ut visum est, virtutum varietate, in Psalmo {44:10}. Proce385 dit, inquam, contra filiam Babilonis miseram, falsitatis errorem, habitu sordidam, et vultu horribilem.] Unde Alanus in De planctu nature: «In facie», inquit – Scripture facie – «divine 390 pulchritudinis divinitas legebatur, nostre mortalitatis aspernata naturam. Vestes vero celestis artificis dexteram loquentes, indefesse rutilationis splendiditatibus inflammate, nullis poterant vetustatis tineis cancellari, que virgineo corpori 395 tanta fuerant connexione iugate ut nulla adinventione dieresis eas a virginali corpore faciat phariseas». Cuius pulchritudinem magnificabat falsitatis sibi contrarie turpitudo, que ex adverso «stabat attentior. Cuius facies tur400 pitudinis nubilata fuligine, nulla in se nature munera fatebatur, sed senectus faciem rugarum vallibus submittens, eam universaliter deturpabat. Capud vero nec crinium vestimento videbatur amictum, nec pepli velamentum
quod non preteribit. Que sciens tepidos a 180 Christi corpore igne caritatis non decoctos sed crudos per reprobationem quasi evomitos evanescere, ut dicit venerabilis Richardus super illud Apocalypsis [3:16]: Quia tepidus es, incipiam te evomere etc., ne ipsa invictissima sacra 185 Scriptura a Christi corpore aliena evanescat, non tepide, ymmo constantissime ad bellum procedit. Procedit, inquam, ipsa pulchra et decora filia Ierusalem contra filiam Babilonis miseram vultu horribilem et habitu sordidam. 190
De quarum sibi adversantium opposita comparatione Alanus in De complanctu nature: «In facie», inquit – Scripture facie – «divine pulchritudinis divinitas legebatur, nostre mortalitatis aspernata naturam. Vestes vero celestis 195 artificis dexteram loquentes, indefesse rutilationis splendiditatibus inflammate, nullis poterant vetustatis tineis cancellari, que virgineo corpori tanta fuerant connexione iugate ut nulla adinventione dyeresis eas a virginali corpore faciat 200 phariseas». Cuius pulchritudinem magnificabat falsitatis sibi contraria turpitudo, que ex adverso «stabat attentior. Cuius facies turpitudinis nubilata fuligine, nulla in se nature munera fatebatur, | sed senectus faciem 156v rugarum vallibus submittens, eam universaliter 206 deturpabat. Capud vero nec crinium ves-
388/389 In facie] insacie H 404 velamentum] velamento H Col. dext. : 180/185 Que – etc.] Richardus de Sancto Victore, In Apocalypsim Ioannis, ed. PL 196, col. 739A: «Incipiam te evomere ex ore meo, quia electi quique in fide quasi cibus in stomacho per naturalem calorem decocti per dilectionem membra Christi fiunt per veram iustificationem, et tepidi sine dilectione crudi evomuntur per reprobationem». 193/211 In – vestimentum] Alanus ab Insulis, De planctu naturae, ed. PL 210, col. 480BC. Col. dext. : 184 es] est H 193 In facie] insacie H
32 306
Chris Schabel
405 excusabat calvitiem, sed panniculorum infinita pluralitas quos filorum iungebat infinitas ei texuerat vestimentum». Hec ille. Que tirannidem exercens in hereditate Dei Ierusalem nominetenus, hoc est, in ymagine 410 Dei, peccatis denigrata et confusa, veritati invictissime victricis sacre Scripture resistens, curribus et equitibus Pharaonis erat vallata.
In cuius comitatu gens absque consilio et sine prudentia, gens gentilis, gens perversa, genera415 tio prava et exasperans, generatio que non direxit cor suum et non est creditus cum Deo spiritus eius, gens peccatrix, plebs iniqua, semen nequam, filii scelerati, principes Sodomorum, populus Gomorre, tabernacula videlicet Ydu420 meorum et Ismaelite, Moab et Agareni, Iebal, Amon, et Amaleth, Philistei cum habitantibus Tirum, [mg.: a few illegible words] etc.
timento videbatur amictum, nec pepli velamentum excusabat calvitiem, sed panniculorum infinita pluralitas quos filorum iungebat infinitas ei texuerat vestimentum». Hec ille. Que quidem falsitas invictissime veritatis sacre Scripture emula et adversaria residens tirannice in arce civitatis Ierusalem, de qua supra, curribus et equitibus Pharaonis erat vallata. Ibi turme Caldeorum tres, quarum Prima angelorum malorum malas immissiones in memoria cantantium. Secunda falsarum scientiarum errores et hereses in intellectu foventium. Tertia mortalium viciorum bonos mores a voluntate excludentium. In prima turma gens absque consilio et sine prudentia [Dt 32:28], gens gentilis, gens perversa, generatio prava et exasperans, generatio que non direxit cor suum [Ps 77:8], gens peccatrix [Tob 13:7], plebs iniqua, semen nequam, filii scelerati, principes Sodomorum, populus Gomorre, tabernacula videlicet Ydumeorum et Ismaelite, Moab et Agareni, Iebal, Amon, Amaleth, Philistei cum habitantibus Tirum [Ps 82:7-8]. Quibus nominibus si interpretationes addantur, ‘inimici veritatis’ aptissime figurantur, ut dicit Glosa ibidem expressa. [See below, left column]
Col. dext. : 235 Glosa – expressa] Augustinus, Enarrationes in Psalmos, 82, n. 7, ed. Eligius Dekkers – Jean Fraipont, Turnhout: Brepols, 1956 (CCSL 39), p. 1142.4: «Figurantur veritatis inimici». Col. dext. : 209 velamentum] velamento H 211 iungebat] om. Alanus infinitas] ex add. sed del. H
210
215
220
225
230
235
33 Radices et plantationes theologicae facultatis hic Parisius 307 [mg. : 2a turma] Quibus signantur mechanice, adultere et meretrices a vero 425 marito, ut dicit venerabilis quondam frater Gaufridus canonicus huius ecclesie. Et meretrices, ciromantia videlicet, nigromantia, 127r pyromantia | ydromantia, kyromantia, geomantia, pedomantia, auruspicium, 430 horuscopium, augurium, sortilegium, maleficium, prestigium, etc. [mg.: quos concomitantur vicia mortalia, voluntatem dampnantes.] [mg. continued: Tertia turma: «Putasne».] [mg. supra: «Putasne cupiditas» etc. in 435 Absalonis sermone Dissipa gentes.]
424 mechanice] s.l. H meretrices] s.l. H
In secunda autem turma sunt artes mechanice animam a vero marito, hoc est, a Deo, qui veritas est, adulterantes, ut dicit Gaufridus quondam canonicus huius ecclesie. Ubi sunt 240 etiam meretrices sub omni ligno frondoso animi humani per ydolatriam prosternentes [Ier 2:20], videlicet cyromantia, nigromantia, pyromantia, ydromantia, kyromantia, geomantia, pedomantia, auruspicium, horusco245 pium, augurium, sortilegium, maleficium, et prestigium. In tertia autem turma cupiditas, superbia, et voluptas gentem innumeram congregarunt. «Putasne», inquit reverendus quondam pater 250 meus Absalon abbas huius ecclesie in quodam sermone, «putasne cupiditas gentem modicam pugnaturam secum adduxit, quam sequebantur violentie et rapine, usure, et ambitiones, latrocinia et furta, et symonie, mendacia, periuria, 255 doli, iniusta iudicia? Nec impari comitatu irruit in omnes vana gloria, sequentibus illam elatione, superbia, arrogantia, insolentia, contentione, contemptu, contumacia, protervitate, indignatione, irreverentia, et maiorum in260 obedientia. Gentem quoque pravam atque perversam traxit secum voluptas, scilicet impudicitiam, inverecundiam, immodestiam, intemperantiam, prodigalitatem, gulositatem,
meretrices] animi add. sed del. H
425 marito] adarito H
426/427 Et
Col. dext. : 237/239 artes – adulterantes] Gaufridus de Sancto Victore, Sermo in quadragesima, ed. Antonio Sordillo, forthcoming (Paris, Bibliothèque Mazarine 1002, f. 54r-v): «Excogitare cepit quedam artificia suarum miseriarum solatia, et invenit quasdam falsi nominis scientias, artes scilicet mechanicas; que quidem ei solatia prestiterunt, sed animum ipsius adulteraverunt, quia veri nominis scientia, id est cognitione sui creatoris, cui olim humanus animus maritatus fuerat [54v], velut uxore de propri viri thoro exclusa, quasi violenter in alienum thorum surrepserunt»; Id., Sermo in dominica in ramis palmarum, ed. Antonio Sordillo (Paris, Bibliothèque Mazarine 1002, f. 67v): «Vie que ducunt in Egyptum artes mechanice sunt, que animum sibi deditum tenebris et curis involvunt secularibus, et a luce sapientie cui legitime maritari debuerat, alienantes adulterant». 243/247 cyromantia – prestigium] Cf. Hugo de Sancto Victore, Didascalicon VI, c. 15, ed. Buttimer, p. 132.19-28 = ed. PL 176, col. 810D-811A. 250/265 Putasne – vaniloquia] Absalon Sprinckirsbacensis, Sermo XII, In Epiphania Domini, ed. PL 211, col. 76D-77A. Col. dext. : 237 sunt] s.l. H 240 sunt] mg. H 246 et] s.l. H 251 meus] abbas add. sed del. H
34 308
440
445
450
455
460
465
Chris Schabel
Que omnes congregati adversus Dominum et adversus christianos eius dixerunt: Quiescere faciamus omnes dies festos Dei a terra. Venite: disperdamus eos de gente. Predictis quippe nominibus, que sunt Moab et Agareni, et aliis, si interpretationes addantur, ‘inimici veritatis’ aptissime figurantur, ut dicit Glosa expressa. [s.l. et mg.: Sed quia non in multitudine exercitus victoria belli, 2i Machabeorum XVo. [See above, right column] Contra has omnes procedit intrepide, ut dictum est, ipsa invictissima victrix sacra Scriptura, [mg.: terribilis ut castra, quia exivit vincens ut hodie vinceret, Apocalypsis VIo[:2] [mg. crossed out: licet non in multitudine exercitus victoria belli, 21 Machabeorum primo]. Cuius econtra vehiculum currus Dei decem milibus multiplex [mg.: angelorum, quibus Deus mandavit ut custodiant eam in omnibus viis. (In) manibus portarent, ne in lapidem offendat pedem, (contra) primam turbam victricem* conturbantem.] [mg.: De quibus dicitur Sapientie* quod misit ancillas ut vocarent ad arcem {Pvb 9:2}, ubi Bernardus: «Giii…» etc. Si diceretur quod ancille etc., sequitur ardi…] Ibi Xm milia letantium in medio iuvencularum timpanistriarum, artium videlicet tam liberalium quam civilium, in timpano quod de corio carnis est, ut dicit Augustinus, carnaliter quasi, hoc est, experientiis rerum sensibilium famulate concinentium, iuxta conclusionem venerabilis nostri Hugonis in prima parte libri sui De sacramentis, probantis, sic concludentis, et 437 christianos] christiani H concludentis] spatium a.c. mg. H
ebrietatem, scurrilitates, et vaniloquia». 265 Hec ille. Que omnes turme, una cum magistra sua Malitia dicente: Evaginabo gladium, interficiet eos manus mea [Ex 15:9], dixerunt, inquam, in corde suo simul: ‘Quiescere faciamus omnes dies 270 festos Dei a terra [Ps 73:8], disperdamus eos de gente, et non memoretur nomen Israel – ipsius nostre victricis invictissime sacre Scripture – ultra’ [Ps 82:5], non attendentes quoniam non in multitudine exercitus victoria belli, 2i Macha- 275 beorum XVo[I 3:19]. Contra quas procedit ipsa victrix invictissima, et sepissime processit eis terribilis ut castrorum acies ordinata [Cant 6:3]. Cuius econtra vehiculum currus Dei decem milibus 280 angelorum bonorum multiplex [Ps 67:18], quibus Deus mandavit ut eam custodiant in omnibus viis suis, in Psalmo [90:11], contra primam turmam. Ibi decem milia letantium in medio iuvencularum timpanistriarum 285 [Ps 67:18, 26], artium videlicet liberalium et scientiarum tam canonicarum quam civilium, in timpano quod de corio carnis mortue | fit, ut 157r dicit Augustinus, carnaliter quasi et experientiis rerum sensibilium famulanter concinentium, 290 iuxta conclusionem quamdam venerabilis Hugonis nostri in prima parte libri sui De sacramentis sic concludentis: «Ex predictis constat quod omnes artes naturales divine scientie famulantur, et inferior sapientia ratione 295 ordinata ad superiorem conducit».
443/444 quia – XVo] s.l. et mg. H
461 Xm] mg. H
468 sic
Col. dext. : 288 in – fit] Augustinus, Enarrationes in Psalmos, 67, n. 34, ed. Dekkers – Fraipont, Turnhout: Brepols, 1956 (CCSL 39), p. 893.12-13: «eo quod tympana fiant corio siccato et extento». 293/ 296 Ex – conducit] Hugo de Sancto Victore, De sacramentis christianae fidei I, Prol., 6, ed. PL 176, col. 185C. Col. dext. : 269 inquam] s.l. H 284 decem] item H 295 ratione] recte Hugo
35 Radices et plantationes theologicae facultatis hic Parisius 309 dicentis: «Ex predictis constat, quia omnes 470 artes naturales divine scientie famulantur, et inferior sapientia recte ordinata ad superiorem conducit». [mg.: conducit, «quoniam que in sententiis philosophorum bene disputata sunt, que per475 tinent ad 〈vite〉 honestatem vel ad morum edificationem, ad utilitatem Ecclesie» sacra Scriptura recte per Spiritum sanctum «convertit», ut dicit Absalon.] Contra secundam turmam, harum quidem 480 invencularum duces, principes Iuda Deum per fidem confitentium, principes Zabulon cum fortitudine sperantium, et principes Neptalim, iuxta nominum interpretationem, in caritate se dilatantium.
Que superior sapientia veritatem omnium inferiorum scientiarum multo perfectius continet, prout declarat dux belli canonicorum regularium Augustinus in prima epistola ad Volusianum, «quia que in sententiis philosophorum bene sunt disputata, que pertinent ad vite honestatem vel morum edificationem, ad Ecclesie utilitatem» sacra Scriptura per Spiritum sanctum «convertit», ut dicit venerandus Absalon quondam abbas huius ecclesie in quodam sermone. Harum autem iuvencularum, artium videlicet tam liberalium quam civilium, duces sunt Principes Iuda, Deum per fidem confitentes Principes Zabulon, cum fortitudine sperantes Et principes Neptalim, in caritate se dilatantes [Ps 67:28] iuxta nominum interpretationem, sine quibus ducibus nec sacre Scripture predicte iuvencule subservirent, dicente devoto Galtero quondam priore huius ecclesie quod «scientia que non habet condimentum divine dilectionis non est sapida, sed insipida, inflans, non edificans».
475 ad1] morum add. sed del. H 479 Contra secundam turmam] s.l. H Col. dext. : 297/298 Que – continet] Augustinus, Epistula 137, ad Volusianum, n. 3, ed. Klaus D. Daur, Turnhout: Brepols, 2009 (CCSL 31B), esp. p. 258.49-61: «Tanta est enim Christianarum profunditas litterarum […]»; n. 12, p. 265-267.234-280; n. 17-18, p. 272.395-401, 407-411: «Hic physica, quoniam omnes omnium naturarum causae in Deo creatore sunt; hic ethica, quoniam vita bona et honesta non aliunde formatur, quam cum ea, quae diligenda sunt, quemadmodum diligenda sunt, diliguntur, hoc est Deus et proximus; hic logica, quoniam veritas lumenque animae rationalis nonnisi Deus est […]. Modus autem ipse dicendi, quo sancta scriptura contexitur […]. Ea quae aperta sunt continet […] ea vero, quae in mysteriis occultat […]». 301/305 quia – convertit] Absalon Sprinckirsbacensis, Sermo VII, In Natali Domini, ed. PL 211, col. 52B. 319/321 scientia – edificans] Galterius de Sancto Victore, Sermo III, n. 3, ed. Châtillon (CCCM 30), p. 29.108-110. Col. dext. : 297 superior sapientia] s.l. H del. H
301 quia] ideo add. sed del. H
320 insipida] non add. sed
300
305
310
315
320
36 310
Chris Schabel
485
Veritatibus enim in scientiis humanitus inventis per horum ducum – videlicet fidei, spei, et caritatis – imperium, «fides saluberrima gignitur, nutritur, defenditur, et roboratur», iuxta dictum Augustini in 14 De 490 Trinitate. Principes, inquam, Iuda Deum congrue, ornate, et vere confitentium, adducunt nutriculas grammaticam, logicam, et rethoricam, imperantes grammatice ut maiorem congrue proponat, rethorice ut 495 minorem ornate apponat, ut logica conclusionem necessariam de bello ineundo concludat.
500
505
510
515
Principes itaque Zabulon, in spe fortiter pugnantium, adducunt dominas methaphisicam, medicinam, phisicam, arismetricam, geometriam, perspectivam, et astronomiam, imperantes [mg.: metaphisice ut exercitus reali existentia considerata, si quid debile reperiatur, per medicinam roboretur; innuentes etiam] phisice ut pugnantes ordinate movendo exerceat: «In omni enim prelio non tam multitudo et virtus indocta quam ars et exercitium solent prestare victoriam», ut dicit Vegetius in De re militari; mandantes etiam arismetrice et geometrie ut certum numerum bellatorum in certo terre spacio proportionent: «Nichil enim magis prodesse constat in pugna quam ut assiduo exercitio milites in acie dispositos ordines servent. Nam etsi constipati perdunt spacia pugnandi et sibi invicem impedimento sunt, et rariores atque interlucentes aditum perrumpendi hostibus prestant». Et ideo lex est apud
Sed per horum ducum – fidei videlicet, spei, et caritatis – imperium, veritatibus in scientiis humanitus inventis «fides saluberrima» in mentibus hominum «gignitur, nutritur, defen- 325 ditur, et roboratur», iuxta dictum beati ducis et specialis pastoris nostri Augustini in 14o De Trinitate. Principes, inquam, Iuda, Deum per fidem confitentes, adducunt ad certamen 330 nostre victricis invictissime sacre Scripture grammaticam, logicam, et rethoricam, imperantes grammatice ut maiorem congrue componat, rethorice ut minorem ornate adiciat, ut logica conclusionem necessariam de belli victoria contra adversatricem falsitatem 335 concludat. Principes itaque Zabulon, cum fortitudine sperantes, adducunt dominas methaphisicam, medicinam, phisicam, arismetricam, geome340 triam, perspectivam, et astronomiam, imperantes metaphisice ut exercitus reali existentia considerata infirmaque per medicinam roborentur; innuentes etiam phisice ut pugnantes ordinate movendo exerceat, scientes quod «in omni prelio non tam multitudo et virtus 345 indocta quam ars et exercitium solent prestare victoriam», ut dicit Vegetius; mandantes etiam predicti duces arismetrice et geometrie ut certum numerum bellantium in certo terre spacio proportionent; previdentes «nichil 350 magis prodesse in pugna quam ut assiduo exercitio milites in acie dispositos ordines servent. Nam etsi constipati perdunt spacia pugnandi et sibi invicem impedimento sunt, et rariores atque interlucentes aditum perrumpendi hosti- 355 bus prestant». Et ideo lex est apud veteres «in
492 nutriculas] s.l. H Col. dext. : 324/326 fides – roboratur] Augustinus, De Trinitate XIV, c. 1, n. 3, ed. William J. Mountain, Turnhout: Brepols, 1968 (CCSL 50A), p. 424.60-61. 344/347 in – victoriam] Vegetius, Epitoma rei militaris I, c. 1, ed. Lang, p. 5.7-9. 350/358 nichil – ordinari] Vegetius, Epitoma rei militaris I, c. 26, ed. Lang, p. 26.11-16, et III, c. 14, p. 97.18-19. H
Col. dext. : 322 per] oppositum add. sed del. H 335 belli] bello a.c. H 342 infirmaque] infirma a.c. s.l.
37 Radices et plantationes theologicae facultatis hic Parisius 311
520
525
127v
531
535
540
545
veteres «in mille passibus mille sexcentos sexaginta pedites ordinari». Vegetius ubi supra. Imperantes insuper predicti duces astronomie ut influxum radii solaris et impedimentum venti prevideat, quibus pugnantes plerumque ceci et constipati vincuntur. «Ordinaturus enim aciem tria hec debet ante prospicere. Nam sol ante faciem eripit visum, ventus contrarius tua flectit ac deprimit, hostium vero adiuvat tela, pulvis autem ad frontem congestus oculos implet et claudit». Vegetius ubi supra. Demum principes Neptalim, in caritate dilatati, adducunt reginas, | videlicet ethicam, monosticam, yconomiam, politicam, legibus et decretis pugnantes a malis retrahentes; supplicantes ethice ut, passionibus intrinsecis sedatis, bonis habitibus corpus proprium regendo, quisque victoriam consequatur. «Bis enim vincit qui seipsum vincit, sicut bis interimitur qui suis armis perit», ut dicit Seneca in Proverbiis. Obsecrantes etiam yconomie et policie ut, legibus et decretis domestice et consulte regulatis, amorem civium custodiant ne inter se divisi ad reginam ipsam invictissimam sacram Scripturam unanimiter pro victoria ordinentur. Sicut enim «parva sunt arma foris, si non est consilium domi», ut dicit Seneca in epistola, sic «incassum contra exteriores inimicos in campo bellum geritur, si intra ipsa urbis menia civis insidians habetur», ut dicit Ambrosius in De officiis.
525 Nam] videlicet add. sed del. H 546 urbis] ubis a.c. s.l. H
mille passibus mille sexcentos sexaginta pedites ordinari». Hec Vegetius. Imperant insuper predicti duces astronomie ut influxum solaris radii, impedimenta ventorum, et agitamenta 360 pulveris precaveat, scientes quod «sol ante faciem eripit visum, ventus contrarius tua flectit ac deprimit, hostium vero adiuvat tela, pulvis autem ad frontem congestus oculos implet et claudit». Vegetius in De re militari. 365 Demum principes Neptalim, in caritate dilatati, adducunt reginas, videlicet ethicam, monosticam, yconomiam, politicam, leges et decreta; ordinantes predicti duces ethicam et monosticam ut passiones sedando corpus humiliter sic spiritui subiciant ut quisque miles prius se victum citius adversarium | suum vincendo sibi subiciat, scientes quod «bis vincit qui seipsum vincit», sicut «bis interimitur qui suis armis perit», ut dicit Seneca in Proverbiis. Statuentes tandem predicta duces caritatis yconomiam et politicam ut, legibus et decretis domi consulte regulatis, amorem civium bellatorum nutriant, ne inter se divisi bellum ipsis invictissime victricis sacre Scripture confundant, scientes quod, sicut «parva arma foris, si deest consilium domi», ut dicit Seneca, sic «incassum contra exteriores inimicos in campo bellum geritur, si intra ipsa urbis menia civis insidians habetur», ut dicit Ambrosius.
531 politicam] poloticam a.c. H
540 divisi] sed add. H
Col. dext. : 361/365 sol – claudit] Vegetius, Epitoma rei militaris III, c. 14, ed. Lang, p. 96.22-97.3. 373/375 bis – perit] Publilius Syrus, Sententiae, 64 et 66 (B 21 et 23), ed. Eduard von Wölfflin, Leipzig: Teubner, 1869, p. 70 = Roandeau A. H. Bickford-Smith, London: Clays & Sons, 1895, p. 5. 381/ 382 parva – domi] Cicero, De officiis I, c. 22, n. 76, ed. Carl F. W. Müller, Leipzig: Teubner, 1882, p. 49.2021. 383/385 incassum – habetur] Gregorius Magnus, Moralia in Iob XXX, c. 18, n. 58, ed. Marc Adriaen, Turnhout: Brepols, 1985 (CCSL 143B), p. 1530.27-29. Col. dext. : 368 politicam] policiam H 377 politicam] policiam H
370 157v 375
380
385
38 312
Chris Schabel
[mg.: Demum, ut dicit Augustinus, contra 550 tertiam opponit humilitatem etc.] Ecce igitur, domini ac patres, quomodo ipsa invictissima regina sacra Scriptura non casu, sed mature, mediantibus principibus antedictis, iuvenculas, dominas, ac reginas ordinat et ordinavit, sciens 555 dictum Senece quod «longa belli preparatio celerem facit victoriam».
Nec mirum, in qua «compendium totius prudentie continetur», ut dicit Petrus Ravennas, subdens: «Nam si res publica regenda est, 560 si prelia committenda sunt, si castra metanda, si machine erigende, si renovandi aggeres, si propugnacula facienda, si iustitie cultus, si reverentia legum, si amicitie servande sunt, libri divini hec omnia erudiunt ad perfectum». 565 In quibus «prudens invenit unde sapientior fiat, ibi bellator reperit unde animi virtute roboretur, indeque princeps accipit quomodo populos sub equalitate disponat», ipsa dicente: Meum est consilium et equitas. Mea est pruden570 tia. Mea est fortitudo. Per me reges regnant, et legum conditores iusta decernunt. Per me princi-
Quas iuvenculas cum suis ducibus sequitur turba magna virtutum, quam dinumerare nemo potest, ex omnibus gentibus sanctorum desideriorum, lignis rectorum consiliorum, et 390 tribubus iustorum operum. Quam turbam bellantium ipsa sacra Scriptura, que scit preterita et de futuris estimat, Sapientie VIIIo[:8], non casu, sed mature ordinat, sciens dictum Senece quod «longa belli preparatio celerem 395 facit victoriam». Opponit enim humilitatem superbie, Dei timorem inani glorie, veram religionem simulationi, subiectionem contemptui, firmam congratulationem invidie, dilectionem odio, firmam stabilitatem dissolute 400 vagationi, misericordiam obdurationi, ciborum parcimoniam ventris ingluviei, cordis munditiam spirituali fornicationi, amorem tandem celestis patrie appetitui presentis miserie, prout dicit ordinator bellorum Civitatis Dei 405 Augustinus. Nec mirum si sacra Scriptura sic omnia disponit suaviter, per quam Salomon [Sap 8:14]: Disponam, inquit, populos et nationes erunt michi subiecte, et in qua «compendium totius 410 prudentie continetur. Nam si res publica regenda est, si prelia committenda, si castra metanda, si machine erigende, si renovandi aggeres, si propugnacula facienda, si iustitie cultus, si reverentia legum, si amicitie servande sunt, 415 libri divini hec omnia erudiunt ad perfectum». In quibus «prudens invenit unde sapientior fiat, ibi bellator reperit unde animi virtute roboretur, indeque princeps accipit quomodo populos sub equalitate disponat», ut dicit 420 Petrus Ravennas in quadam epistola. Per ipsam
556 celerem] scelerem H Col. dext. : 395/396 longa – victoriam] Commonly attributed to Seneca, but of uncertain origin. 396/ 404 Opponit – miserie] Augustinus, e.g., De civitate Dei XIX. 410/416 compendium – perfectum] Petrus Blesensis, Epistola 67, ad Henricum regem Angliae, n. 3, ed. PL 207, col. 211AB. 417/420 prudens – disponat] Cassiodorus, Variae X, Epistula 3, n. 4, ed. Åke Fridh, Turnhout: Brepols, 1973 (CCSL 96), p. 386.27-30. Col. dext. : 387 suis] s add. sed del. H 395 celerem] scelerem H
39 Radices et plantationes theologicae facultatis hic Parisius 313 pes imperant, et potentes decernunt iustitiam, Proverbiorum VIIIo[:14-16]. [mg.: Exivit vincens {Apc 6:2}] Quibus sic ordinatis [mg.: 2i 575 Machabeorum XV{:8}, hortatur suos ut sperent ab omnipotente sibi victoriam affuturam, dicens eya. 2 tumulusque victoris igitur]
Tandem ibi Beniamin adolescentulus in mentis excessu, flatu Spiritus sancti musico 580 instrumento pro tante regine victoria intonante, fluunt aque, hoc est, congrediuntur populi, et turbis carnalium desideriorum falsitatis que preteribant cecum increpantibus ut taceret, turbisque filie Ierusalem sanctorum 585 desideriorum iustorum quibus subsequentibus et ceco secus viam sedente [Mt 20:30] ‘Osanna in excelsis’ conclamantibus. [mg.: «Vocum dissimilium, | Morum dissidentium | Gravis sit collisio», ut dicit Adam in prosa.]
etenim reges regnant et conditores legum iusta decernunt. Per ipsam principes imperant et potentes decernunt iustitiam, Proverbiorum VIIIo[:15-16]. Sicque tandem ipsa invictissima 425 victrix sacra Scriptura «terribilis ut castrorum acies ordinata et castra virorum fortium, et eorum qui possunt ad bella procedere viam veritatis eligunt, et ut pote vim facturi artam illam, et arduam viam que ducit ad vitam cum 430 alacritate apprehendunt, et cum summa festinatione per semitam mandatorum Dei de valle lacrimarum ascendunt de virtute in virtutem, que retro sunt obliti et in anteriora extenti, satagunt semper magis magisque sapere que 435 sursum sunt, non que super terram, donec vix cum multo labore tandem aliquando apprehendentes montis verticem perveniant usque ad civitatem munitam», ut dicit venerabilis Richardus noster super Psalmos. 440 Ibi tandem Beniamin adolescentulo in mentis excessu [Ps 67:28], flatu Spiritus sancti musicante, et pro tante regine victoria tuba salutari intonante, fluunt aque, id est, congrediuntur populi, et in primo quidem congressu turbis 445 carnalium desideriorum que preeunt cecum increpantibus ut taceat [Lc 18:39], turbisque rectorum consiliorum et iustorum operum ceco ‘Osana in excelsis’ clamantibus [Mt 21:9]. «Vocum dissimilium, | Morum dissidentium | 158r Gravis sit collisio», ut dicit venerabilis Adam 451 noster in prosa. «Ascendenti enim a convalle
587/589 Vocum – collisio] Adam de Sancto Victore, Sequentia 26, In susceptione reliquiarum sancti Victoris Massiliensis, stropha 5, ed. Jean Grosfillier, Les séquences d’Adam de Saint-Victor, Turnhout: Brepols, 2008 (Bibliotheca Victorina, 20), p. 358.28-30. 582 carnalium desideriorum] s.l. H (Ihesum* add. s.l. sed del. H) iustorum quibus] s.l. H
584/585 sanctorum desideriorum
Col. dext. : 426/439 terribilis – munitam] Richardus de Sancto Victore, Annotationes mysticae in Psalmos, 28, ed. PL 196, col. 316AB. 452/455 Ascendenti – graduum] Officium sancti Augustini, pars 4, n. 4 (Cantus ID 602540a); cf. Augustinus, Confessiones IX, c. 2, n. 2, ed. Lucas Verheijen, Turnhout: Brepols, 1981 (CCSL 27), p. 134.10-11: «a convalle plorationis ascendentibus et cantantibus canticum graduum». Col. dext. : 427 et castra] s.l. H 429 eligunt et] eligentes a.c. H (eligentes Richardus) 432 Dei] s.l. H 436 donec] tandem add. sed del. H 437 aliquando] aliqua a.c. H 444 intonante] intonanante H
40 314
Chris Schabel
[mg.: Sicque ascendere {indeque del.} a convalle plorationis per Psalmum. Gradus ad pacem multum cupiente. Primum occurrunt labia iniqua et lingua dolosa, ut dicit sepe* Gregorius, cum* bellum* ingerunt*… bellum… 595 cottidianum, cum enim novus Christi miles securus esse credit… Nota in Absalone in…]
590
plorationis», ad iocandam fratrum cohabitationem et Domini in atriis sanctis benedictionem, «et cantanti canticum graduum» 455 primum occurrunt labia iniqua et lingua dolosa [Ps 119:2], ut «cum novus Christi miles» – per sacram Scripturam ad pugnam instructus – securus esse credit, et iam in propositi sui via viriliter animatus incedit, ecce ex adverso impe- 460 tus fortium insurgunt in circuitu eius, undique fugiendi viam obstruunt et tela acutissima iaciunt, que non solum corpori verum etiam animo» bellum ingerunt, ut dicit expertus ipse Absalon quondam abbas huius ecclesie. 465 Contra que tela «assistunt» nostre invictissime victricis «hinc sagittarii, illinc fundibalarii. Iaciuntur itaque ab aliis suspiriorum sagitte ab imo cordis avulse, ab aliis ignite orationis tede accense. Volant preterea undique 470 sagitte potentis acute cum carbonibus desolatoriis [Ps 119 :4]. Hinc isti in funda et lapide [I Sm 17 :50], illinc illi in splendore fulgurantis haste sue [Hab 13 :11] dant crebros ictus in gemitibus enarrabilibus [Rom 8:26], universis rugientibus 475 a gemitu cordis sui [Ps 37:9]. Eriguntur preterea machine meditationum, speculationum, contemplationum, quibus ad murum applicatis, et electorum ex omnibus bellatorum fortium ordinibus intus dispositis, aggrediuntur 480 cominus propugnatores civitatis. Et hiis e machinis, illis e propugnaculis fortiter dimicantibus, vicissim feriunt et feriuntur, utrinque vulnerant et vulnerantur, hiis compunctionis, illis pietatis vulnera suscipientibus. 485 Alii autem ad torquendos lapides balistas erigunt, et ex Scripturarum canone ratas,
591 plorationis] plorationie H Col. dext. : 457/464 cum – animo] Absalon Sprinckirsbacensis, Sermo IV, In Adventu Domini, ed. PL 211, col. 36AB 466/497 assistunt – patefiunt] Richardus de Sancto Victore, Annotationes in Psalmos, 28, ed. PL 196, col. 316B-317A. Col. dext. : 454 in] et a.c. H benedictionem] p add. sed del. H 456 lingua] ligua H 465 quondam] h add. sed del. H 466 tela] s.l. H 466/467 nostre – victricis] s.l. H 475 enarrabilibus] inenarrabilibus Richardus 481 propugnatores] propugnatorium H
41 Radices et plantationes theologicae facultatis hic Parisius 315
Iuxta verba venerabilis Richardi nostri in De statu interioris hominis, fiunt contradictiones, rebelliones, et conflictationes secundum quod 600 iuvencule vetulis contradicunt et econtra adultere puellis resistunt, «et insurgit gens contra gentem et regnum adversus regnum, boni adversus malos et mali adversus bonos, et, quod mirabilius est», iuxta interpretationem nomi605 nis Babel, ‘confuso ordine’ «insurgunt mali adversus malos et dividuntur contra semetipsos. Et facit Dominus concurrere Egiptios adversus Egiptios, ut pugnet vir adversus fratrem suum, et vir contra amicum suum, civitas adver610 sus civitatem, et regnum adversus regnum. Et unusquisque carnem brachii sui vorat: Effraim Manassem et Manasses Effraim; simul ipsi contra Iudam [Is 9:20]».
Unde huius belli invictissima filia Ierusalem 615 sacra Scriptura, considerata imperitia, atten-
irrefragabilis auctoritatum sententias eruunt. Feriuntur itaque in muros ingentes saxorum moles, lapides lapidibus illiduntur, ut ex crebra Scripturarum collatione secretioris scientie secreta patescant. Admovetur preterea ad murum acies, et intercurrente directa ratiocinatione valide argumentationis ictibus murorum tandem firmitas dissolvitur, et crebrescentibus circumquaque revelationum rimis urbis interiora patefiunt». Hec venerabilis Richardus noster super Psalmos. Que omnia videntes Chaldeorum turme, populi videlicet meditantes inania, hereditatem Domini habitantes, conturbantur, commoventur, tremore apprehenduntur. Tunc etenim conturbantur principes Edom, robustos Moab optinet tremor [Ex 15:15]. Et ingrediente victrice invictissima in hereditatem suam Ierusalem, creaturam videlicet rationalem, iuxta dicta venerabilis Richardi nostri in De statu interioris hominis, fiunt contradictiones, rebelliones, et conflictationes, secundum quod iuvencule vetulis contradicunt et econtra adultere puellis resistunt, «et insurgit gens contra gentem, regnum adversus regnum [Lc 21:10], boni motus adversus malos et mali adversos bonos, et, quod nostre victrici iocundius est, insurgunt mali adversus malos et dividuntur contra semetipsos. Et facit Dominus concurrere Egiptios adversus Egiptios, ut pugnet vir adversus fratrem suum, et vir adversus amicum suum, civitas adversus civitatem, et regnum adversus regnum [Is 19:2]». Ubi ipsa victrix invictissima sacra Scriptura percutit fallaciam, sanat creaturam,
611 unusquisque] busisquisque H Col. dext. : 511/520 et – regnum] Richardus de Sancto Victore, De statu interioris hominis, pars I, tract. I, c. 17, ed. Jean Ribaillier, in Archives d’histoire doctrinale et littéraire du Moyen Âge, t. 34, 1967, p. 7-128, at p. 82. Col. dext. : 500/501 hereditatem – habitantes] mg. H 502 Tunc] tue a.c. H 511 insurgit] insurgunt a.c. H
490
495
500
505
510
515
520
42 316
Chris Schabel
dens omne regnum in se divisum quamtotius desolari [Lc 12:25], una cum iuvenculis suis percutit fallaciam, sanata creatura occidit malitiam, vivificat naturam, ut non sit qui de manu 620 eius possit eruere [Dt 32:39]. [mg.: Deus enim pugnavit pro eis et vincit, Iudicum 5 {Idt 5:16}]. 128r Ipsa enim vivens | in eternum, quia est. Procedens intepide ad emulam parvipensam [mg.: cum turbis cogitationum] a regno expellendam 625 evaginato gladio [s.l.: levando ad celum manum] [mg.: menia Ierusalem dissipantium] devorat carnes, inebriat sanguine sagittas, reddit ultionem hostibus, et vicem retribuit eam odientibus. [mg. supra: Hec enim 630 «tristem consolatur» etc., ut dicit Ieronimus.] [mg.: Conculcat geomantiam, exsufflans ydromantiam,* ipse enim semper* omnes* omnium… excedit augures*… sunt autem omnes in quibus non est scientia.]
occidit malitiam, vivificat naturam, que vivens in eternum, quia est levatio ad celum manu [Dt 32:40], id est, auctoritate utriusque 525 Testamenti assumpta, ut dicit Glosa, | 158v Apostolorum preceptis gladium evaginando devorat carnes Ameleth lambentis luctatoris sanguinei peccatorum Prophetarum monitis arcum tendendo 530 inebriat sagittas sanguine Ydumeorum populi Martirum promissis reddit ultionem hostibus qui ex patre Diabolo sunt Moabitis Et confessorum et virginum exemplis retribuit vicem fallaciter humilibus Gebalitis 535 Iuxta dictorum nominum interpretationem. Et hoc quantum ad primam turmam. Deinde conculcat terre geomantiam, suffocat aquis ydromantiam, et incinerat igne pyromantiam. Que ponderans pericula 540 nigromantie, quomodo pluriumque augures, sortilegos, et maleficos vicit, magis nostris temporibus vidimus quam in codicibus legamus. Et hoc quantum ad secundam turmam. 545 Sic tandem frenat avaritiam, elidit superbiam, suffocat ambitionem, trucidat libidinem, pugnans in occulto et vincens in aperto, ut dicit Augustinus. Et hoc quantum ad tertiam turmam. 550 635 [mg. supra: «Aufe〈rens〉 bella, arcum conteEt postremo «auferens bella» a civitate et rit, hominem interius et exterius pacificando, hereditate sua «usque ad fines terre, arcum confringit {arcum del.} arma, versutias inimici conterit, hominem exterius et interius pacificandestruendo, et scuta combussit igni, dura corda» do, confringit arma, versutias inimici
635/639 Auferens – penetrando] Absalon Sprinckirsbacensis, Sermo 12, In Epiphania Domini, ed. PL 211, col. 76C: «Scuta combussit igni, cum dura corda et pene impetrabilia accendit flamma Spiritus sancti». 617 una cum iuvenculis suis] s.l. H Col. dext. : 526 Glosa ] not found. 546/548 Sic – aperto] Augustinus, Sermones ad populum, 9, ed. Cyril Lambot, Turnhout: Brepols, 1961 (CCSL 41), p. 132.468: «Has pugnas facis in occulto et non vinceris in aperto». 551/556 auferens – corda] Absalon Sprinckirsbacensis, Sermo 12, In Epiphania Domini, ed. PL 211, col. 76C Col. dext. : 524/525 manu – est] manum a.c. s.l. H 527 gladium evaginando] tr. a.c. H 529 lambentis luctatoris sanguinei peccatorum] populi a.c. mg. H 539 et] s.l. H
528/
43 Radices et plantationes theologicae facultatis hic Parisius 317 {geram del.} face Spiritus sancti penetrando, ut 640 dicit Absalon in sermone Dissipa gentes.] [mg.: arcum conterit, confringit arma] Sic conturbantur principes Edom [s.l.: sanguine cecarum* cogitationum], robustos Moab [s.l.: experire* Diabolo cogitationes locutioni adinvicem*] 645 optinet tremor. Obriguerunt enim omnes habitatores Chanaan [Ex 15:15] [s.l.: erubiscibilis operationis*]. Nempe cadunt vulnerati de Philisteis [I Sm 17:52] [mg.: cadentibus, videlicet, potenter* ut obiti vixerint* in secula] et, 650 ut scribitur Ieremie quinto, subito cadit Babilon civitas, [mg.: vanitas videlicet vanitatum, ut non immerito \et quod bene/ de ea dicatur quod pugnat contra regem filiorum Ammon et vicit {II Par 27:5}] [mg.: civitas. Sapientiam 655 enim* non vincit malitia, que talis condicio est etc. etc. vincit veritas. Sapientiam enim vincit maliciam] quoniam, 2i Esdre [spatium], Super omnia vincit veritas. [Vincit, inquam del.] [s.l.: Et sic dedit Dominus] [mg.: victoriam populo 660 Israel, Iudicum {? del.} VIIo.] «Talis enim est condicio falsitatis quod etiam nullo sibi obsistente consenescit ac defluit; talis autem 〈est〉 status veritatis quod etiam multis impugnantibus suscitatur et crescit», ut dicit Crisostomus. 665 Unde non immerito triumphum huius belli ascribens veritati huius nobilissime victricis sacre Scripture, ipse Lactencius, Divinarum institutionum libro 3o, prorumpit in hec verba: «Vera», inquiens, «et simplicia sacre Scripture 670 precepta quantum valeant in animis hominum cottidiana experimenta demonstrant». Que
destruendo, et scuta comburit igni [Ps 45:10], 555 dura corda» face Spiritus sancti penetrando, ut dicit devotus Absalon quondam abbas huius ecclesie in sermone. Sicque tandem verificatur dictum Ieremie 6o[51:8]: Quia subito cadit Babilon civitas, vanitas videlicet vanitatum et 560 omnia vanitas [Ecl 1:2]. Quoniam 2i Esdre 3o [3 Esr 3:12]: Super omnia vincit veritas. Et in Psalmo [121:3]: Ierusalem reedificatur ut civitas. Ut de ipsa veritate invictissima sacra Scriptura merito dicatur quod dedit Dominus victoriam, 565 id est, victricem, populo Israel, Iudicum 7o [:23, variant reading], que pugnavit contra regem filiorum Amon – quod interpretatur ‘populus murmurans’ quantum ad ignorantiam, et ‘populus inutilis’ propter 570 fallaciam, et rursum ‘populus iniquus’ quantum ad malitiam – et vicit, 2i Paralipomenon XVIIo[27:5]. Sapientiam autem non vincit malitia sive falsitas, Sapientie VIIo[:30]. Cuius nimirum falsitatis «condicio 575 talis est ut etiam nullo obsistente consenescit ac defluit; talis autem econtra est condicio et status veritatis quod etiam multis impugantibus suscitatur et crescit», ut dicit Crisostomus. 580 Ex quibus omnibus, reverendi patres ac domini, liquet quod ipsa invictissima victrix sacra Scriptura in bello «processit non tepida constanter ad palmam se extendens». Unde non immerito ipsam palmam et triumphum belli ei ascribens Lactantius, Divinarum institu- 585 tionum libro 3o, prorumpit in hec verba: «Vera
661 obsistente] osistente a.c. s.l. H 669 Vera] et add. H Col. dext. : 575/579 condicio – crescit] Iohannes Chrysostomus, De laudibus sancti Pauli apostoli homiliae, 4, ed. PG 50, 496; Manipulus florum: https://manipulus-project.wlu.ca/MFfontes/VeritasX.pdf. 586/608 Vera – expellat] Lactantius, Divinae institutiones III, c. 26, nn. 3-10 et 13, ed. Samuel Brandt – Georg Laubman, Wien – Praha – Leipzig: Österreichische Akademie der Wissenschaften, 1960 (CSEL 19), p. 260.2-16 et 261.6-8. Col. dext. : 556 face] pace H 566 populo] suo add. sed del. H 574/575 Sapientie VIIo] mg. H 575 falsitatis] s.l. H 576 ut] quod add. sed del. H 583 constanter] s.l. H 584 immerito] merito H 585 institutionum] institutionem H 586 Vera] inquiens add. sed del. H
44 318
675
680
685
690
Chris Schabel
«sic totum hominem immutant ut, vetere deposito et expoliato, novum reddant adeo ut non agnoscas eundem». «Da», inquit, «michi hominem iracundum, maledictum, effrenatum: paucissimis Dei verbis tam placidum quam ovem reddam. Da cupidum, avarum, tenacem: iam et liberalem dabo, et pecuniam suam plenis manibus largientem. Da timidum doloris et mortis: iam cruces et ignes contempnet. Da libidinosum, adulterum, lenonem: iam sobrium et castum continentemque videbis. Da crudelem et sanguinem appetentem: iam in veram clementiam furor mutabitur. Da iniustum et insipientem peccatorem: continuo sobrius, equus, et innocens erit. Uno enim labore malitia omnis abolebitur». Et subdit ad propositum: «Tanta enim divine sapientie vis est ut in hominis pectus infusa, matrem delictorum stultitiam uno simul impetu expellat». Hec ille.
[mg.: Exaudito quippe divino sermone, frigus mentis recedit, et animus inardescit, tantoque mens terrenis concupiscentiis effici695 tur aliena quanto in superius desideriis pia quadam anxietate fuerit dilatata, abbas Iohannes. Sic dilatatus, Augustinus in Confessionibus, libro 12, sic inquit: «Domine, inclina».] [mg. crossed out: Ipsa enim est… Unde Ieronimus: 700 «Hec tristem consolatur». Quapropter beatus Augustinus: «Domine» etc. Nec mirum. Que est lex immaculata converten〈d〉o animas. Cuius* qui eam etc. Qui enim vicit etc. Qui stat videlicet* ne cadat.] Ut pro dictorum concor705 dantia dicat ipsa divina Scriptura: In omni gente steti, et in omni populo et gente primatum habui. Unde omnium excellentium et humilium colla propria virtute calcavi, Ecclesiastici XXIIIIo[:9-11].
et simplicia» sacre Scripture «precepta quantum valeant in animis hominum cottidiana experimenta demonstrant». Que «sic totum hominem immutant ut, vetere deposito et 590 exspoliato, novum reddant adeo ut non agnoscas eundem». «Da», inquit, «michi hominem iracundum, maledictum effrenatum: paucissimis Dei verbis tam placidum quam ovem reddam. Da cupidum, avarum, tenacem: 595 iam et liberalem dabo, et peccuniam suam plenis manibus largientem. Da timidum doloris et mortis: iam cruces et ignes contempnet. Da libidinosum, adulterum, lenonem: iam sobrium et castum continentemque videbis. Da 600 crudelem et sanguinem appetentem: iam in veram clementiam furor iste mutabitur. Da iniustum et insipientiem peccatorem: continuo sobrius, equus, et innocens erit. Uno enim 605 labore malitia omnis abolebitur. Tanta enim divine sa|pientie vis est ut in hominis pectus 159r infusa, matrem delictorum stultitiam uno simul impetu expellat». Hec ille. Exaudito quippe divino sermone, frigus mentis et omnis tepiditas recedit, et animus 610 inardescit, tantoque mens terrenis concupiscentiis efficitur aliena quanto in supernis desideriis pia quadam anxietate fuerit dilatata, ut dicit expertus Iohannes quondam abbas huius ecclesie. Qua anxietate dilatatus, qui 615 latum mandatum Dei in verbo abbreviato duorum preceptorum comprehensum novit ipse Augustinus: «Non novi», inquit, «Domine, non novi alia tam casta eloquia que sic persuaderent michi confessionem et lenirent 620 cervicem meam iugo tuo».
Col. dext. : 609/613 Exaudito – dilatata] Iohannes de Sancto Victore: not found. 618/621 Non – tuo] Augustinus, Confessiones XIII, c. 15, n. 17, ed. Verheijen (CCSL 27), p. 251.21-23. Col. dext. : 587 simplicia] verba add. sed del. H 614 expertus] pater meus add. sed del. H
45 Radices et plantationes theologicae facultatis hic Parisius 319 710
Ratione huius igitur victricis intepidum accessum fervide imitare debemus ut, ipsa armis iustitie a dextris et a sinistris protegente, victis mundi vanitatibus, cursu modo eum comprehendere possimus, cui nomen qui est, 715 Exodi 3o. Et hoc de secundo.
Nec mirum, quia sunt eloquia legis immaculate et convertentis animas ad eum, cuius nomen: qui est, Exodi 3o[:14]. Et hoc de secundo.
625
〈TERTIUM MEMBRUM〉
720
725
730
735 128v 740
Quia igitur, reverendi patres ac domini, ipsa invictissima victoria et victrix sacra Scriptura, ut visum est, accessit intrepida signanter promptam se ostendens, et processit non tepida constanter emulam vilipendens, non immerito conclusi pro 3o quod quiescit cum gloria letanter coronam apprehendens, quod probat eius nobilitas populo divulgata, quia victoria, ut tandem pro ipsius veneranda memoria concludi liceat quod hec est victoria. Sicut ipsa cuius nomen divulgatum est propter crebras victorias, 2i Paralipomenon, cum de seipsa premisisset: girum celi circuivi sola, quantum ad primum, et: sublimium colla calcavi virtute propria, quantum ad secundum, conclusit pro isto 3o: in hiis omnibus requiem quesivi et in hereditate Domini morabor [Sir 24:11]. Et sic in Sion firmata sum, et in civitate sanctificata similiter requievi. [spatium] Super excelsa enim et specula deduxit eam victor, Abachuc 3o | In Ierusalem potestas mea. [s.l.: Post victoriam reversus est populus in Ierusalem et per tres menses gaudium huius victorie celebratum est, Iudith XVIo{:22, 24}.]
Quia igitur, reverendi patres ac domini, ipsa invictissima victoria sive victrix sacra Scriptura, ut predictum est, accessit intrepida signanter promptam se ostendens: hec; et processit non tepida ad palmam se extendens: est; merito concluditur pro 3o quod quiescit in gloria letanter coronam apprehendens, quia victoria, ut sic pro gloriosi patroni nostri Victoris et huius sacratissime victricis veneranda memoria tandem concludi liceat quod hec est victoria. Sic enim ipsamet, cuius nomen usque ad introitum Egipti divulgatum est propter crebras victorias, 2i Paralipomenon XXVI[:8], de seipsa, cum premisisset: girum celi circuivi sola [Sir 24:8], quantum ad accessum, et: sublimium colla calcavi virtute propria [24:11], quantum ad processum, conclusit: sic in Sion super specula firmata sum [25:15]. Super excelsa enim deduxit eam victor, Abachuc 3o[:19] et in civitate sanctificata similiter requievi [Sir 24:15]. Hii enim qui victores extiterant reversi sunt in Betuliam, id est, in Domum Dei, Iudicum XVo [Idt (!) 15:8], et in Ierusalem potestas mea [Sir 24:15]. Post victoriam reversus est populus in Ierusalem, Iudith ultimo [16:22], ubi que Dominus Deus eorum noster Victor optinuit, cedunt ipsis in hereditatem, Iudicum XIo[:24].
711 imitare] sequi add. sed del. H 720 signanter] singulariter (s.l.) H 723 quiescit] presidet a.c. s.l. H 728 Sicut ipsa] ipsa enim a.c. s.l. H 735 sanctificata] scilicet ierusalem add. sed del. H Col. dext. : 630 hec] s.l. H 631 est] s.l. H 636 liceat] licet a.c. s.l. H 648 id est in Domum Dei] s.l. H 651 Iudith ultimo] hoc est in domum dei a.c. s.l. H
630
635
640
645
650
46 320
Chris Schabel First version
745
750
755
760
765
770
[A] Ecce presidentiam cum gloria potestatis, qua potestate mittit ancillas suas [mg.: de ancillis vero ante], artes videlicet et scientias veritatem rerum continentes, ut vocent ad arcem et ad menia civitatis, non quidem ut vocent figmentis fabulosis, ut poete nugaces, nec commentis curiosis, ut verbosi procaces, nec etiam argumentis iocosis, ut sophiste fallaces, sed verbis veracibus contra figmenta fabulosa, verbis salubribus contra commenta curiosa, et tandem verbis utilibus contra argumenta iocosa, ne videlicet custodelam arcis hiis inutilibus intentis, iuxta dictum prophete, mors fructuum carnis, de quibus ad Galathos Vo[:19-21], ascendat per fenestras quinque sensuum in domum anime, ut exponit venerabilis Hugo noster in regula. [mg.2 : «Scientia que non habet condimentum divine dilectionis non est sapida, sed insipida, inflans, non edificans», prior Gal(terius).] Quod si obiciat garrulus calumpniator fictam in libro Iudicum rampni electionem, quem Iudicum IXo[:8-15] finguntur ligna silvarum sibi regem prefecisse, et ad ipsum et inter se colloquia habuisse, sacros etiam doctores [crossed out: et precipue Ieronimus in libro De frugi et luxurioso protinus respondet], ut pote Augustinum in libro De civitate Dei et Ieronimum Contra Iovinianum in suis epistolis, dicta gentilium et fabulas poetarum suis scriptis quamplurimum interseruisse, beatus Ieronimus in libro De frugi et luxurioso protinus respondet: «Hoc», inquit, «facere solemus quando philosophos legimus, quando libri seculares ad nostras manus veniunt: si quid in eis utile reperimus, ad nostrum dogma convertimus. Si quid vero superfluum de ydolis, de amore, de cura secularium rerum, hec radimus, hiis calvitium inducimus, et in unguium morem ferro acutissimo desecamus». In Deuteronomio [21:10-14] quippe ad magnum oratorem precipitur admodum «mulieris captive radendum caput et supercilia omnesque pilos, et ungues corporis amputandos, et sic eam habendam esse coniugio. Quid igitur mirum si et ego scientiam secularem propter eloquii venustatem et membrorum pulchritudinem de ancilla atque captiva Israelitam facere cupio? Et si quid in ea mortuum est ydolatrie vel voluptatis et erroris libidinum, vel precido vel rado, et mixtus purissimo corpori vernaculos Domino Sabaoth ex ea genero? Sane labor meus familie Christi utilis est». Hec ille. Hec de verbis veracibus contra figmenta fabulosa. De verbis autem salubribus contra commenta curiosa ad propositum pulchre loquitur instruendo animam suam venerabilis Hugo noster in De [spatium]. Videat qui velit.
749 arcis – intentis] Cf. Ps. 77:57: «quasi arcus inutilis». 749/751 mors – regula] Cf. Pseudo Hugo de Sancto Victore (Lierbertus de Sancto Rufo?), Expositio in Regulam sancti Augustini: «Ascendit mors per fenestras nostras [Ier 9:21]. Mors animae est concupiscentia, domus interior mens nostra est, fenestrae huius domus sunt quinque corporis sensus», ed. PL 176, col. 899C. 759/763 Hoc – desecamus] Hieronymus, Epistula 21, c. 13, n. 6, ed. Isidorus Hilberg, Wien – Leipzig: Tempsky – Freytag, 1910 (CSEL 54), p. 122.18123.3. 764/769 mulieris – est] Hieronymus, Epistula 70, c. 2, n. 5-6, ibid., p. 702.7-15. 745 quidem] quidam H s.l. H
770 salubribus] salubbus a.c. s.l. H
771 ad propositum] mg. H
loquitur]
47 Radices et plantationes theologicae facultatis hic Parisius 321
775
780
785
790
795
800
Sed demum convocat ad arcem et ad menia civitatis Ierusalem, cui presidet ipsa invictissima regina sacra Scriptura, per ancillas suas verbis utilibus contra argumenta iocosa sophistarum fallantium, super quorum compositione se gemens arguit Seneca, scribens ad Lucillium, epistola XLIX: «Demens», inquit, «omnibus viderer merito, si cum saxa in munimentum murorum senes congererent et femine, cum iuventus intra portas armata signum eruptionis expectarent, cum hostilia in portis tela vibrarent et ipsum solum suffossionibus tremeret, sederem otiosus et huiusmodi questiunculas proponens: ‘Quod non perdidisti habes; cornua autem non perdidisti; cornua igitur habes’. Numquid tibi demens videar si istis impendero operam:| et nunc obsideor. Quid agam? Mors me sequitur, vita fugit. Adversus hec me doce aliquid. Effice ut ego mortem non timeam, et vita me non effugiat». «‘Mus sillaba est, mus autem caseum rodit, sillaba igitur caseum rodit’: quod michi ex ista scientia periculum imminet? Quod incommodum? An forte acutior est ista collectio: ‘Mus sillaba est; sillaba autem caseum non rodit; mus igitur caseum non rodit’. O pueriles ineptias! Quid michi lusoria ista componis? Non est iocandi locus. Aperta decent et simplicia bonitatem. An hiis supercilia subduximus? In hiis barbam demisimus? Hoc est quod tristes docemus et pallidi? Si multum esset etatis, parce dispensandum erat ut sufficeret necessariis: nunc que dementia est supervacua discere in tanta temporis egestate?». Hec ille. Huiusmodi, inquam, verba iocosa et inutilia figmenta quantum Scriptura perhorrescat tradit Sapiens, Ecclesiastici VII [37:23], Qui loquitur, inquiens, sophistice, odibilis erit. Docta nimirum a pacifico rege Salomone, vero videlicet et pacifico rege Ierusalem, de quo scriptum est quod quesivit verba utilia et scripsit sermones rectissimos ac veritate plenos, Ecclesiastes XII o[:10]. Quare non immerito super solium David et super sedem eius reginam sedebit [Is 9:7]. Sermones enim utiles, recti, et veritate pleni iudicia sunt animi ratione regulati. Ex habundantia enim cordis, id est, animi, os loquitur [Mt 12:34; Lc 6:45]. Animus autem rectus ratione omnia subicit, in omnibus regnum acquirit, Seneca dicente: «Si vis omnia tibi subicere, te subice rationi; multos reges, si te ratio correxerit». Bene, ut dicit idem Seneca: «Inter homines antiquorum optimus animorumque rector eligebatur». Sedet igitur ipsa invictissima victrix sacra Scriptura velud regina super solium David. In Ierusalem enim, hoc est, in ymagine creata, potestas eius et in plenitudine sanctorum desideriorum, iustorum consiliorum, et iustorum operum detentio eius.
776/783 Demens – effugiat] Seneca, Ad Lucilium epistulae morales, 49, nn. 8-10, ed. Otto Hense, Leipzig: Teubner, 1914, p. 148.25-149.15. 783/790 Mus – egestate] Seneca, Ad Lucilium epistulae morales, 48, nn. 6-8, 12, ed. Hense, p. 144.13-23, 145.2, 146.18-21. 799/800 Si – correxerit] Seneca, Ad Lucilium epistulae morales, 37, n. 4, ed. Hense, p. 116.21-117.1. 800/801 Inter – eligebatur] Manipulus florum: https://cs.uwaterloo.ca/%7earkane/cgi-bin/janus.cgi. 777 congererent] congerent H 778 expectarent] expectaret Seneca 784 scientia] inscientia Seneca 785 est2] sillaba aut add. sed exp. H 791 et] s.l. H perhorrescat] prehorrescat a.c. H 796 reginam] regina H 801/802 velud regina] s.l. H
129r
48 322
Chris Schabel
805
Ut que in primo dicebatur mulier amicta sole propter Domini illuminationem, et de qua in 2o luna sub pedibus eius propter falsitatis confutationem, nunc pro concordantia 3ii sit illa de qua in Apocalypsi dicitur quod in capite 810 eius corona stellarum XIIcim, corona, inquam, XIIcim fructuum spiritus – qui sunt caritas, gaudium, pax, patientia, benignitas, bonitas, longanimitas, mansuetudo, fides, modestia, continentia, castitas – quibus caput animi per 815 sacram Scripturam debite iam coronatur.
Ratione cuius corone nulli legi subiecta – adversus enim predicta non est lex, ibidem – omnibus aliis scientiis humanitus inventis dicere potest: Iudicabo vos et subiciam sceptro meo, 820 Ezechielis 44.
Ut pro horum trium concordantia ipsa victoriosissima victrix sacra Scriptura, que in primo potest dici mulier amicta sole propter Domini illuminationem, cuius in 2o luna sub pedibus propter falsitatis confutationem, pro isto 3o sit eadem mulier in cuius capite corona stellarum duodecim [Apc 12:1] propter regni Ierusalem adeptionem, corona nimirum duodecim fructuum spiritus – qui sunt caritas, gaudium, pax, patientia, benignitas, bonitas, longanimitas, mansuetudo, fides, modestia, continentia, et castitas [Gal 5:22-23] – in capite eius invictissime victorie victricis sacre Scripture, que, secundum Ieronimum, «letum temperat, tristem consolatur, iratum mitigat, pauperem recreat, divitem ut se cognoscat increpat, nec peccatorem despicit, sed remedium penitentie ei ingerit». Per quam «Deus ostenditur, simulacrum irridetur, fides extollitur, perfidia repudiatur, iustitia ingreditur, iniquitas prohibetur, misericordia laudatur, veritas reperitur, patientia predicatur, et vera pax assequenda promittitur». Hec ille. Ratione cuius corone ipsa invictissima victrix sacra Scriptura nulli legi subiacet. Adversus enim predicta non est lex, ad Galathos quinto [:23], ymmo ratione huius corone spiritualis omnia de tantis omnibus aliis artibus, scientiis, et hominum subtilibus quorumcumque inventionibus dicere potest: Iudicabo vos et subiciam sceptro meo, Ezechielis XX [:37]. Ex quibus, reverendi, potest patere 3m, ubi dixi quod victrix invictissima sacra Scriptura «quiescit in gloria letanter coronam apprehendens, quia victoria». |
806 de qua] mg. H 819 Iudicabo] iudicabos H Col. dext. : 667/676 letum – promittitur] Niceta de Remesiana, De psalmodiae bono, c. 5, ed. Andrew E. Burn, Niceta of Remesiana. His Life and Works, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1905, p. 72.12-17, et 6, p. 73.14-20. Col. dext. : 658 propter – confutationem] mg. H 662 qui] que a.c. H 666 invictissime – Scripture] mg. H (+ cuius eius ante invictissime) 673 perfidia] accidia H
655
660
665
670
675
680
685 159v
49 Radices et plantationes theologicae facultatis hic Parisius 323
825
830
835 129v 840
845
Huius regine dominium et preminentiam considerans, venerabilis noster Richardus super Psalmum 82m ad ipsam sic reverenter alloquitur: «O suavissima lux purgate mentis sapientia, cunctarum scientiarum ancillantium regina, que semper astas a dextris Dei in vestitu deaurato circumdata varietate. Nunc ut preco ante regem, ut vox ante verbum, ut iustitia coram Deo, ut lex coram precone, monstrata officiorum varietate, gloria vestiris. Tu quidem lex Domini immaculata convertens animas; tu testimonium eius fidele sapientiam prestans parvulis; tu iustitie Domini recte letificantes corda; tu preceptum Domini lucidum illuminans oculos; tu timor Domini sanctus; ignitum eloquium tuum; medicamentum suave, tu hostium per quod ad perhenne felicitatis gimgnasium habetur | introitus, et totius Trinitatis nuncia diceris, et inter sanctos ponderas merita, promulgas precepta, suades ad optima, et premia regni polliceris». Concupiscentia enim sapientie deducit ad regnum perpetuum, Sapientie VIo. [mg.: Ratione cuius, qui vicerit etc.] [mg.: qui {s.l.: prout ipsi placet} dat dignis victoriam, 2i Machabeorum Xo.]
Si igitur delectamini in sedibus perpetuis et sceptris, o reges populi, diligite sapientiam ut in perpetuum regnetis, Sapientie eodem, ut reg-
Cuius corone pulchritudinem et coronate altitudinem considerans, venerabilis Richardus 690 sic ipsam reverenter alloquitur: «O suavissima lux purgate mentis sapientia, cunctarum scientiarum ancillantium regina, que semper astas a dextris Dei in vestitu deaurato, circumdata virtutum varietate [Ps 44:10]. Nunc ut preco 695 pre iudicem, ut vox 〈ante〉 verbum, ut iustitia coram Deo, ut lex coram precone monstrata, officiorum varietate et gloria vestiris. Tu quidem lex Domini immaculata; tu testimonium eius fidele sapientiam prestans parvulis; tu 700 iustitie Domini recte letificantes corda; tu preceptum Domini lucidum illuminans oculos; tu timor Domini sanctus [Ps 18:8-10]; ignitum eloquium tuum [Ps 118:140]; medicamentum suave, tu hostium per quod ad perhenne felici- 705 tatis gimgnasium habetur introitus, et totius Trinitatis nuncia diceris, et inter sanctos ponderas merita, promulgas precepta, suades ad optima, et premia regni polliceris». Hec ille. Concupiscentia nimirum sapientie deducit ad 710 regnum perpetuum, Sapientie VIo[:21]. Unde qui vicerit, id est, huius regine victorias imitatus fuerit, faciam illum sedere in throno Dei, prout promittitur Apocalypsis 3o[:21], ab eo leone de tribu Iuda qui vicit, de quo dicitur quod exivit 715 vincens ut vinceret [Apc 6:2], qui dat dignis victoriam, 2i Machabeorum Xo[15:21]. Si igitur delectamini in sedibus perpetuis et sceptris, o reges populi, diligite sapientiam ut in 720 perpetuum regnetis, Sapientie VIo[:22], ut
824 purgate] mg. (spatium) H 828 ante regem] regnaris* H 841 regni] s.l. H Col. dext. : 691/709 O – polliceris] Not found, but the passage was already attributed to «Richardus de Sancto Victore, De Sacra Scriptura» by the Carmelite Michael Aiguani († 1400), Lectura super Psalterio, 44, Commentaria in Psalmos Davidicos, e.g., Lyon: J. Rivin et B. Rivière, 1582, p. 301aE. Dedicated to the chapter and Bishop Bartolomeo (appointed 21 August 1392) of Bologna (Uppsala, Univ., C 107, f. 2a), Aiguani’s commentary composed about a decade before Henri’s principium. The first phrase is from Augustinus, De libero arbitrio II, c. 16, n. 43, 168, ed. William M. Green, Turnhout: Brepols, 1970 (CCSL 29), p. 266.56: «O suavissima lux purgatae mentis sapientia!» Col. dext. : 696 pre] preis H 710 nimirum] regni add. sed del. H 714 eo] qui vicit add. sed del. H
Chris Schabel
50 324
850 netis, inquam, cum illo a quo est victoria, Esdre 4o.
regnetis, inquam, cum eo a quo est victoria, 2i Esdre Xo[I Esd 4:59]. Et hoc de tertio.
〈Gratiarum actio〉
Vobis igitur honor credentibus, prima Petri 2o, quia humilitati mee addidistis gloriam, Deo 855 autem gratias, qui dedit nobis victoriam per Ihesum Christum Dominum nostrum [mg.: prime ad Corinthios], amen.
Vobis igitur honor credentibus, prima Pe725 tri 2o[:7], quia parvitati mee addidistis gloriam, Deo autem gratias, qui dedit nobis victoriam per Ihesum Christum Dominum nostrum [I Cor 15:57], amen.
〈Divisio textus seu introitus primae lectionis〉
[B] Reverendi patres, librum secundum sapientalem sapientis Salomonis, qui Eccle860 siastes (dicitur), non presumptuose, quia ratione actus necessarii et ad meimetipsius exercitium, iuxta doctorum expositiones, nunc Deo favente perlecturus, thema pridem ad memoriam nominis beatissimi patroni nostri Victoris pro totius sacre Scripture recommendatione assumptum, nunc specialiter pro eiusdem sacre Scripture nobili parte in dicto Ecclesiaste contenta et eiusdem Victoris patroni nostri honore et gloria reassumo, 865 dicens quod hec est victoria. Hec igitur est victoria, prime Iohannis quinto [:4] capitulo. Pro cuius thematis ad propositum applicatione, tali utar propositione: illa doctrina
870
Que falsa demonstrat ut vincentur Que vera sustentat ut teneantur Si vana conculcat, necessaria consulendo Quod est victoria, dico concludendo. Ista propositio patet, si considerentur condiciones requisite ad hoc quod aliquis corporaliter et spiritualiter vincat et Victoris nomen optineat. Ad quod requiritur
875
Fraudium adversantis evitatio Virium perseverans ostentatio Et forcium necessariorum operatio sicut de corporaliter ad victoriam anhelanti patet ad experientiam. Sed de spiritualiter agonizanti patet per Augustinum, sermone 2o de cathecismo, ubi quemlibet christiane 859/860 qui – dicitur] mg. H 860 et] s.l. H 864 gloria] iterum add. sed del. H mg. H 868 vincentur] vicentur H 874 Fraudium] scripsi cum l. 884, fraudum H Col. dext. : 726 quia] h add. sed del. H
867 doctrina]
51 Radices et plantationes theologicae facultatis hic Parisius 325 militie per baptismum ascribi desiderantem sic alloquitur: «Ad agonem produceris,
880 contra Diabolum viciorum principem demicabis in arena huius mundi, utreque partes,
scilicet Christi et Diaboli, infinita videlicet populi multitudo te exspectat luctantem. Si vis vincere, noli de te presumere, | sed illi assigna victorie gloriam qui tibi donat ut victorie perferas palmam». Et subdit ad propositum: «Vis vincere? Capud prius contere inimici, excludendo a corde tuo suggestiones Diaboli»: ecce fraudium vitationem, 885 quantum ad primum. «Manus tue inveniantur in bono opere»: ecce virium perseverantem aptationem, quantum ad secundum. «Et non nutent vestigia tua frequentando spectacula et deserendo ecclesiam», sed «fige pedes» tuos in fide: ecce necessariorum operationem et vanorum conculcationem, quantum ad tertium. Ex quibus patere potest propositio prelibata, in qua dicebam quod illa doctrina sive 890 Scriptura «que falsa demonstrat» etc. Modo sic est quod per ipsam doctrinam sive Scripturam in Ecclesiaste contentam Falsa felicitas abicitur per claram demonstrationem: hec. Vera stabilitas adicitur per virtuosam operationem: est. Et vana curiositas subicitur per salutis intentionem: victoria. Teste ipsomet Salomone, qui de se tanquam de alio circa finem huius libri loquens pro concordantia dicit: Cumque esset sapientissimus Ecclesiastes, docuit populum, et narravit que fecerat, et investigans composuit parabolas multas. Et subdit ad propositum: Quesivit verba utilia – contra vanam curiositatem – et conscripsit sermones rectissimos – ad stabilendam veritatem – et veritate plenos – contra falsam felicitatem [Ecl 12:9-10]. Que falsa 900 felicitas clare ostenditur a principio libri usque ad capitulum VIIm exclusive. Vera stabilitas virtute acquiritur a septimo inclusive usque ad antepenultimam clausulam totius libri exclusive. Sed vana curiositas vincitur per salutis intentionem a clausula antedicta usque ad finem libri, prout per Dei gratiam patebit in processu libri, secundum divisionem eius prout ipsum dividit magister Nicolaus de Lira. Ratione quorum trium ipse beatus Ieronimus eundem Ecclesiastem iam de Hebraico 905 in Latinum translatum, ad instantiam sancte cuiusdam Blesille, cum adhuc esset Rome, commentari et exponere inceperat. Qua mortua, opus inceptum quasi per quinquennium imperfectum dimisit. Quod et postmodum in Bethleem ad instantiam sanctarum Paule et Eustochium complevit, prout innuit in prologo quem singulariter huic libro et 910 eius commento preposuit, dicens: «Memini me hoc ferme quinquennio, cum adhuc 895
879/887 Ad – pedes] Quodvultdeus Carthaginiensis episcopus (tributa), (Sermo) De cataclysmo, c. 2, nn. 4-7, ed. René Braun, Turnhout: Brepols, 1976 (CCSL 60), p. 410.9-20. 883/884 Capud – inimici] Cf. Gn 3:16. 910/912 Memini – nichilo] Hieronymus, Commentarius in Ecclesiasten, praefatio, ed. Marc Adriaen, Turnhout: Brepols, 1959 (CCSL 72), p. 249.1-4. 881 exspectat] circumspectat a.c. H 895 alio] loquens add. sed del. H Blesille] bleselle a.c. H 910 me] firme add. sed del. H
906 cuiusdam] cuiusdem H
160r
52 326
915
920
925
930
Chris Schabel
Rome essem, et Ecclesiasten sancte Blesille legerem, ut eam ad contemptum huius seculi provocarem et omne quod in mundo cerneret putaret pro nichilo» etc. Ex quibus verbis sancti Ieronimi ad Paulam et Eustochium eius filiam, videlicet sancte Paule, elicere evidenter possunt tria antedicta. Nam in hoc quod dicit «ut eam ad contemptum huius seculi provocarem» tangit primum, quia in nulla re presentis seculi felicitas vera consistere potest, prout per Dei gratiam videbitur in processu usque ad VIIm capitulum exclusive. In hoc etiam quod dicit «et omne quod in mundo cerneret putaret pro nichilo» tangit beatus Ieronimus 3m, quod curiosa et vana sunt pro nichilo reputabilia in comparatione ad felicitatem, cum non conferant plenitudinem et satietatem continenti sicut facit felicitas. Et quia intentio sancti Ieronimi fuit non solum ipsam sanctam Blesillam a malo retrahere, sed et ad bonum provocare, sciens quod sola vitatio mali non sufficit ad beatitudinem consequendam, sed requiritur necessario de lege actio boni, iuxta Psalmistam dicentem [36:27, 33:15]: Declina a malo et fac | bonum; inquire pacem, id est, eternam felicitatem, et persequere eam, ideo in istis duobus simul coniunctis ipse beatus Ieronimus innuit 2m, videlicet adiectionem beate stabilitatis, que attingitur per virtuosam operationem. Et sic tam ex verbis Salomonis quam ex processu littere et prologo beati Ieronimi cuilibet consideranti patere potest quod, per doctrinam sive Scripturam in Ecclesiaste contentam, «falsa felicitas abicitur per claram demonstrationem» etc. Et per consequens, habita maioris precedentis sufficienti memoria, concludi potest quod hec est victoria.
911 sancte] s.l. H 921 et] bo add. sed del. H 922 actio] actioni a.c. H 928 per] s.l. H
160v
PART III Influences
An English Response to Victorine thought : Odo’s Ysagoge in theologiam Constant J. Mews
Within the canon of scholastic theological writings from the twelfth century, the Ysagoge in theologiam, dedicated by a certain Odo to Gilbert Foliot (c. 11101187), is unusual in many ways. Its title, meaning Introduction to Theology, suggests a particular fascination for Greek words. Arthur Landgraf included the Ysagoge alongside the Sententie Parisienses, a record of lectures delivered by Abelard on faith, the sacraments and charity, within a volume which he described as containing theological writings of the school of Abelard1. In fact it is much more original in its perspective, as David Luscombe has argued2. The Ysagoge is unusual for quoting Old Testament passages in Hebrew, as part of its anti-Jewish rhetoric3. At the same time, it is interested in analysing the sciences and the virtues, in ways that parallel presentations, as Michael Evans has noted, in glosses on Martianus Capella4. How can we situate Odo’s Ysagoge in relation to Victorine tradition ? Landgraf noted the Ysagoge’s debt to various influences, in particular of the Summa sententiarum, a condensation of theological teaching, of uncertain authorship that combines theological traditions derived from both Hugh of 1 Arthur Landgraf (ed.), Écrits théologiques de l’école d’Abélard, Louvain : Spicilegium Sacrum Lovaniense, 1934, p. 63-285, with the introductory letter by Odo on p. 287-289. 2 On its author, see David E. Luscombe, « The authorship of the Ysagoge in theologiam », in Archives d’histoire doctrinale et littéraire du Moyen Âge, t. 35, 1968, p. 7-16 ; Id., The School of Peter Abelard, Cambridge : Cambridge University Press, 1969, p. 236-244, esp. 243. 3 Avrom Saltman, « Gilbert Crispin as a source of the anti-Jewish polemic of the Ysagoge in Theologiam », in Confrontation and Coexistence, ed. Pinhas Artzi, Ramat-Gan : Bar-Ilan University Press, 1984 (Bar-Ilan Studies in History, 11), p. 88-99 ; David Luscombe, « The ‘Cur Deus Homo’ and the ‘Ysagoge in theologiam’ », in Cur deus homo. Atti del Congresso anselmiano internazionale Roma, 21-23 maggio 1998, ed. Paul Gilbert – Helmut Kohlenberger – Elmar Salmann, Roma : Pontificio Ateneo S. Anselmo, 1999, p. 73-86. 4 Michael Evans, « The Ysagoge in Theologiam and the Commentaries Attributed to Bernard Silvestris », in Journal of the Warburg and Courtauld Institutes, t. 54, 1991, p. 1-42.
Omnium expetendorum prima est sapientia. Studies on Victorine thought and influence, ed. by Wanda Bajor, Michał Buraczewski, Marcin Jan Janecki and Dominique Poirel, BV, 29 (Turnhout, 2021), p. 329–341. © BREPOLSPUBLISHERS DOI 10.1484/M.BV-EB.5.126042
330
Constant J. Mews
Saint-Victor and Anselm of Laon5. His identification of the impact of various writings, in particular of the De tribus diebus and Didascalicon, needs, however, to be much expanded6. The Ysagoge provides an original attempt to combine Hugh of Saint-Victor’s teaching about scripture as a record of the creation and restoration of humanity with Abelard’s vision of the role of human reason in thinking about both ethics and the nature of the supreme good. The manuscript and authorship of the Ysagoge in theologiam The Ysagoge is preserved complete in only a single manuscript (Cambridge, Trinity College, MS B.14.33, fols 5r-111r), copied in around the mid twelfth century and originally belonging to the Benedictine abbey of Cerne in Dorset7. An early thirteenth-century copy of part of its first book (London, British Library, MS Cotton, Cleopatra C XI, fols 70r-77v), survives from the Cistercian abbey of Dore in Herefordshire. There also exist two summaries of its teaching in its first book on virtues and vices, both in the British Library : Harley 3038, fols 3r-7r, from the Cistercian abbey of Buildwas in Shropshire (1176), and Royal 10.A.xii, fols 117v-123r, from Rochester (late twelfth century)8. In the Cerne MS, there is a separate initial gathering, containing on its first two leaves (fols 3r-4r) a letter of dedication to Gilbert Foliot from ‘his Odo’ (magistro scolarium patri cenobitarum G[ilberto] Folioth suus Odo), which certainly belongs to the Ysagoge9. 5
The Summa sententiarum is edited in PL 176, col. 41-174. While attributed to magister Otho in Rouen, Bibl. Mun. 553 (ex tractatu magistri Othonis iuxta magistrum Anselmum et magistrum Hugonem), cited by Luscombe, The School, p. 199, it is not certain that this is Otto, bishop of Lucca (1138-1144), as claimed by Ferruccio Gastaldelli, « La Summa Sententiarum di Ottone da Lucca. Conclusione di un dibattito secolare », in Salesianum, t. 42, 1980, p. 537-546, and questioned by Marcia L. Colish, « Otto of Lucca, Author of the Summa sententiarum ? », in Discovery and Distinction in the Early Middle Ages : Studies in Honor of John J. Contreni, ed. Cullen J. Chandler – Steven A. Stofferahn, Kalamazoo, Mich. : Western Michigan University, 2013, p. 57-72. 6 In his index, Landgraf (p. 311) identifies only a few passages from Hugh’s De sacramentis and one reference to his De sapientia animae Christi. 7 Although dated to early thirteenth century by Montague Rhodes James, A Descriptive Catalogue of the Manuscripts in the Library of Trinity College, t. 1, Cambridge : Cambridge University Press, 1900, p. 431, the script is described as from the second third of the (according to T. A. M. Bishop) by Luscombe, « The authorship of the Ysagoge », p. 11 and to c. 1150 by Evans, « The Ysagoge in Theologiam », p. 2. It was subsequently given to Belvoir, a priory of St Albans. There may also have been a copy of the Ysagoge at Lanthony, Gloucester, in the fourteenth century. 8 Luscombe discusses these summaries in The School, p. 243-244 and Evans, ‘The Ysagoge in Theologiam », p. 2-3. 9 The doubts of Landgraf, who edited the letter as an appendix (p. 287-289) about its connection to the treatise were rightly rejected by Luscombe (n. 2 above). A poem of Hildebert of
An English Response to Victorine thought
331
Although the greeting to this opening letter identifies Gilbert as both a master of the schools and « father of cenobites », it is not clear to which monastic community this refers. A comment that Odo makes that he is sending « what England transmits to France », implies that Gilbert Foliot was then in France. Evans argued that this could be while Gilbert was still a Cluniac prior at Abbeville, before 1139, when he became abbot of St Peter’s, Gloucester10. This hypothesis requires an unusually early date for the Summa sententiarum, normally assigned to around 1140. Odo’s comment could also refer to Gilbert taking the Ysagoge to the Council of Rheims in 1148, where, following the unexpected death of Robert of Béthune, bishop of Hereford, Gilbert was consecrated bishop in his place by Pope Eugenius III11. The presence of the Ysagoge at Cerne abbey may be related to the fact that in 1144/45, Gilbert was actively supporting a new prior at Cerne in a protracted struggle with its abbot that was only settled at the Council of Rheims12. Odo studied in Paris during the 1130s, when Hugh of Saint-Victor and Abelard were the dominant voices in theology, but that he returned to England by the early 1140s. He may have written the letter to Gilbert Foliot in the hope that he might give publicity to the treatise in France. Paradoxically, however, the Ysagoge was never copied outside England. Nothing is known about its author, who could be the Odo to whom John of Salisbury sent a letter about Jewish festivals c. 1168116913. From his letter, Odo comes across as a scholar keen to display his familiarity with both Greek and Hebrew, but without a wide range of texts on which he could draw. His claim that he is « a reporter of ancient sacred writing rather than a dogmatisten of novelty » illustrates his love of rare Greek words14. He repeats an aphorism, attributed to « the philosopher », about pursuing the paths of the ancients, which Landgraf assigned to Aristotle, but is in fact cited from the sentences of Publilius Syrus15. Lavardin on the three divine persons (PL 171, col. 1411-1414) is copied immediately after a listing of the opening chapters of the first book. 10 Evans, « The Ysagoge in Theologiam », p. 1. 11 John of Salisbury, Historia Pontificalis, ed. Marjorie Chibnall, Oxford : Oxford University Press, 1986, p. 47. 12 Adrian Morey – Christopher N. L. Brooke, « The Cerne Letters of Gilbert Foliot and the Legation of Imar of Tusculum », in English Historical Review, t. 63, 1948, p. 523-527. 13 The Letters of John of Salisbury, ed. William J. Millor – Christopher N. L. Brooke, t. 2, Oxford : Oxford University Press, 1979, p. 546-553. 14 Ed. Landgraf, p. 287 : « non novitatis exhibere dogmatistem, sed veteris agiografie relatorem. » 15 Ed. Landgraf, p. 287-288 : « Ceterum, ut ait philosophus, optimum est maiorum vestigia sequi, si recta precesserit. » Although identified by Landgraf as from Aristotle’s Ethics X, 1181b, it is in fact from Publilius Syrus, Sententie, ed. Friedrich Otto, Berlin – Hildesheim : Olms, 1964, also cited by Hildebert of Lavardin, Moralis philosophiae, ed. PL 171, col. 1023C.
332
Constant J. Mews The structure of the Ysagoge in theologiam
The particular originality of Odo’s Ysagoge lies in its internal organization. The first of its three books begins, not with God as a trinity of divine persons, but with the human person as body and soul, able to grasp God through the gift of reason. The second book picks up on Hugh of Saint-Victor’s theme of the restoration of the soul to God as presented in both the Old Testament, quoted in the original Hebrew, and the New Testament, as well as through the sacraments. Its third book develops Hugh’s argument in the De tribus diebus that the created world is like a book, through which divinity is revealed16. Odo opens the Ysagoge by alluding to Hugh of Saint-Victor’s ‘creative’ interpretation of Dionysius as dividing theologia into three parts : « Every notion of invisible substances which a Greek calls theologia, is divided into three parts because of the triform diversity of its subject matter. For speculation of this discipline considers divine, angelic, and human nature17. » His comment that the foundation of theological teaching rests in human nature, is continued into that of the angels, but is completed in divine nature modifies Hugh of Saint-Victor’s remark that Dionysius deals first with angels, then, humanity and finally God18. In that commentary Hugh relates theologia mundana to the work of creation, that of theologia divina to restoration19. Like Hugh, Odo argues that humanity, after experiencing the fall, must be restored, and that the tools of argument and analysis provide a foundation for this restoration to take place. The Ysagoge’s structure differs markedly from that of treatises like Principium et causa omnium Deus, from the school of Anselm of Laon, which followed the organization of the creed in starting with God as a trinity of persons, before considering creation, sin, redemption, and the sacraments20. Peter Abelard similarly 16
Noted briefly by Dominique Poirel, Livre de la nature et débat trinitaire au xiie siècle, Turnhout : Brepols, 2002 (Bibliotheca Victorina, 14), p. 386 ; see below n. 29. 17 Ysagoge, Prol., ed. Landgraf, p. 3 : « Omnis invisibilium substantiarum nocio, quam theologiam nuncupate grecus, pro triformi subiecte materie diversitate in tres scissa est partes. Divinam namque naturam, angelicam et humanam. Discipline huius rimatur speculatio. » 18 Ysagoge, Prol., ed. Landgraf, p. 4 : « Sit igitur theologice doctrine elementum in natura humana, provectus in angelica, consummatio autem in divina. » Cf. Hugh, Super Ierarchiam Dionisii, ed. Dominique Poirel, Turnhout : Brepols, 2015 (CCCM 178), p. 412 : « Angelicam uero ierarchiam primo demonstrat Theologus ; secundo tractat de humana ; tercio, quasi in fine et consummatione, de diuina et summa. » 19 Hugh, Super Hierarchiam, Prol., ed. Poirel, p. 403. 20 Principium et causa omnium, deus ed. Franz Bliemetzrieder, Anselms von Laon systematische Sentenzen, Münster i. W. : Aschendorff, 1919 (Beiträge zur Geschichte der Philosophie und Theologie des Mittelalters, 18.2-3), p. 47-153 ; see also the sentences edited by Odon Lottin, Psychologie et morale aux xiie et xiiie siècles, t. 5, Problèmes d’histoire littéraire. L’école d’Anselme de Laon et de Guillaume de Champeaux, Gembloux : Duculot, 1959.
An English Response to Victorine thought
333
started his teaching with God as a trinity of persons, but in much more detail than either Anselm of Laon or William of Champeaux. Abelard had introduced the term theologia as a title for his treatise about the Trinity, which he explained as three attributes of the supreme good, namely its power, wisdom, and benignity, perceived by both prophets and philosophers21. Abelard subsequently expanded the scope of his teaching to cover faith, the sacraments and caritas as the foundation of ethical behaviour. In starting his Ysagoge with man, Odo was closer to Hugh than to Abelard. The Ysagoge differs from Hugh, however, in giving more attention to citing patristic testimonies, many of them cited through the Summa sententiarum, the first three tracts of which consider faith in God and Christ, the creation of the angels, and humanity22. A number of these patristic texts had previously been quoted by Abelard, to whose teaching the Summa often seeks to respond23. The debt of the Summa sententiarum to Hugh of Saint-Victor becomes particularly clear in its fourth tract about sacraments in the Old Testament and the precepts of the law, above all to love God and one’s neighbour. The fifth and sixth tracts follow Hugh in his De sacramentis in relating to the sacraments of the Church. The fact that the Ysagoge draws on passages from all six tracts of the Summa sententiarum, but not its seventh tract about marriage (originally a separate treatise by Walter of Mortagne), suggests that Odo knew the Summa before it was expanded in this way24. 21
The earliest recension of Abelard’s treatise is known as Theologia ‘Summi boni’, ed. Eligius Marie Buytaert – Constant J. Mews, Turnhout : Brepols, 1987 (CCCM 13), but may originally have been called simply De trinitate. Abelard first uses Theologia as a title in his Theologia christiana, ed. Eligius Marie Buytaert, Turnhout : Brepols, 1969 (CCCM 12). He introduces the word theologi in TChr 3.75, 3.178, 3.181, 4.133, ed. cit., p. 225, 262, 263, 331, in places where he had previously spoken of diuini, as in Tsum 2.34, 2.110 and 112, ed. Buytaert-Mews, p. 126, 152-153. In the Sententie Parisienses, ed. Landgraf, p. 29, Abelard is reported as referring to discussion of the Trinity as theologia. 22 On the Summa Sententiarum, see Luscombe, The School, p. 198-213, which demonstrates that in many ways, this work refutes arguments of Abelard in favour of those of Hugh of Saint-Victor. 23 A key text of Augustine to Orosius about the Holy Spirit, cited in the Ysagoge, 3, ed. Landgraf, p. 259, had been cited in the Summa Sententiarum I.1.6 (PL 176, col. 53CD), after being quoted by Abelard, TChr 1.27, ed. Buytaert, p. 83 and in the Sententie Petri Abaelardi, 20, ed. David Luscombe, Turnhout : Brepols, 2006 (CCCM 15), p. 13. 24 Landgraf tabulates the passages from the Summa Sententiarum (Tracts 1-6) that he identifies in the Ysagoge on p. 311-312 of his edition. The only reference to what he identifies as from Tract 7.14 (PL 176, col. 154AB) in Ysagoge, p. 200) is mistaken, as the parallel is in fact to Tract 6.15 (ibid., col. 154AB). The treatise on marriage also survives separately, attributed to Walter of Mortagne in various twelfth-century MSS, including Cambridge, University Library, Mm V. 32, f. 94v-112r and Paris, BnF, lat. 3482, f. 86ra-95va.
334
Constant J. Mews
Odo’s decision to consider God’s triune nature in the final rather than opening book of the Ysagoge could have been influenced by his experience of Hugh’s teaching. In the Sententie de divinitate, as recorded by his student, Laurence. Hugh devotes the first book to the creation of the world, the second to the primordial causes underpinning creation, based on divine power, wisdom, and love, and the place of good and evil in the world, but the third book to God himself, manifested through the three divine attributes25. His major theme is God’s revelation through the opus conditionis and the opus restaurationis. The term theologia surfaces only Laurence’s opening letter, not in Hugh’s actual teaching26. In the De sacramentis, Hugh steers away from abstract discussion of God in order to focus on this two-fold process. Thus its first book considers the creation of the universe and of man (I.1-7), the fall (I.8), and the sacraments of the natural law (I.9-12), while the second deals with the incarnation and the Church (II.1-2), its clergy (II.3-5), the sacraments (II.6-11), the virtues (II.12-13), penance and the last things (II.14-18). The central focus Hugh gave to scripture led him to avoid using the term theologia, other than in his Didascalicon, Epitome Dindimi in philosophiam, and Commentary on the Celestial Hierarchy of Dionysius. Odo sought to take Hugh’s thought a step further. By discussing the divine nature in his conclusion rather than opening, Odo was rejecting the sequence of the argument of the Summa sententiarum. He wanted to develop Hugh’s core insight (building on Romans 1:19) that by starting with creation, we can learn about the invisibilia Dei, namely his virtus and divinity. Odo was wanting to improve on the way the Summa sententiarum presented Hugh’s teaching. Odo’s way of structuring theology would not be continued by Peter Lombard, who preferred to retain the doctrinal structure of the Summa sententiarum in his four books of sentences. They began with God, before dealing with the creation of the angels and of humanity, the redemption and finally the sacraments, with a short coda about the last things. The argument of the Ysagoge in theologiam By devoting the first of the three books of the Ysagoge to the human person, Odo was able to begin by talking about the body and its various senses. This 25 Sententiae de diuinitate, ed. Ambrogio M. Piazzoni, « Ugo di San Vittore auctor delle Sententie de Diuinitate », in Studi Medievali, t. 23, 1982, p. 861-955, edition at 912-955. 26 Lawrence, Epistola, ed. Piazzoni, p. 913 : « Si cui uero orationis nostre ariditas displicuerit, attendat, queso, nos potius humili et simplici tam alte tam que subtilis theologie expositioni operam dedisse quam rhetoricis ornamentis parum intelligentie conferentibus et plus aures quam animum reficientibus intendisse. »
An English Response to Victorine thought
335
enabled him to anticipate his larger theme, indebted to Hugh and Augustine, that it is through the soul that we come to know God’s power, wisdom, and will. A key text influencing the Ysagoge is Hugh’s De tribus diebus. This was his first major composition, written, as Poirel has argued, c. 1119/1120, either slightly before or around the same time as Abelard was starting to write about the divine unity and trinity in a treatise subsequently known as the Theologia ‘Summi boni’27. The fact that both Hugh and Abelard identify in God precisely the same triad of divine attributes, namely power, wisdom, and benignity but approached in very different ways, suggests that they might have been responding each in their own way to ideas put forward by William of Champeaux. Hugh focused on finding God through creation, Abelard through thinking about words used of God28. In the De tribus diebus, Hugh argued that that it was through perception of immensity, beauty and utility in creation that we can learn about these same three attributes. In the third book of the Ysagoge Odo gives a central role to Hugh’s argument in this work (not repeated in the De sacramentis) that the universe is like a book, through which God’s power, beauty and goodness are revealed29. He then repeats with only minor adjustments Hugh’s panegyric to immensity in that work, as formulated in his reflection on the impossibility of counting « the stars of heaven, the sand of the sea, the dust of the earth, drops of rain, the wings of birds, shoals of fish, the hairs of animals, the grass of the fields, and the leaves or fruits of trees30. » This debt to the De tribus diebus continues in relation to other topics, such as the four-fold character of movement (local, natural, animal, rational), figures and colours, as well as of the usefulness of creation, a sign of God’s goodness31. This leads Odo to cite a passage from Hugh’s treatise about immensity, beauty and usefulness as signs of divine power, wisdom and love32. This debt is also evident in the opening book of the Ysagoge, in which Odo praises the harmony of the human body 27
Poirel, Livre de la nature, p. 371-372 ; see above n. 19. Poirel provides extensive discussion of the patristic roots of the triad, in particular as offered by Basil and Ambrose, Livre de la nature, p. 345-420, with comment on sentences possibly by William of Champeaux on p. 365-367 ; see also Matthias Perkams, « The origins of the Trinitarian attributes potentia, sapientia, benignitas », in Archa verbi, t. 1, 2004, p. 25-41. 29 Ysagoge, 3, ed. Landgraf, p. 235 : « Mundus namque sensilis liber quidam est habens in se descriptam divinitatem. Creature vero singule quasi litere aliquid circa ipsam divinitatem significantes. Mundi namque immensitas nota est divine potencie, pulcritudo sapiencie, utilitas bonitatis. » Cf. Hugh, De tribus diebus, ed. Poirel, Turnhout : Brepols, 2002 (CCCM 177), p. 4 and 9. Poirel notes some of this debt of the Ysagoge to Hugh in Livre de la nature, p. 386. 30 Ysagoge, 3, ed. Landgraf, p. 235-236 : « Contemplare namque folia et fructus arborum, gramina camporum, pils animalium, squamas piscium, pennas avium, guttas pluvie, pulverem terre, maris arenas, celi stellas. » Odo is quoting De tribus diebus, ed. Poirel, p. 6. 31 Ysagoge, 3, ed. Landgraf, p. 238-241, quoting De tribus diebus, ed. Poirel, p. 20-31. 32 Ysagoge, 3, ed. Landgraf, p. 241-242, drawing on De tribus diebus, ed. Poirel, p. 60. 28
336
Constant J. Mews
and its senses, down to the fingers of the hands and even the nails as protective coverings to the fingers and feet, as ways of glimpsing divine wisdom33. While Odo acknowledges that such comments belong more to natural science than to theology, he is indebted to Hugh for showing how such awareness of the body might serve understanding of theology, about what could not be seen. By drawing on the De tribus diebus in both the opening and closing sections of the Ysagoge, Odo was wanting to rehabilitate an aspect of Hugh’s teaching that had been left out of the De sacramentis and the summary of its teaching provided within the more doctrinally oriented Summa sententiarum. Odo also includes in the first book of the Ysagoge arguments about the relationship between the various disciplines, theoretical and practical, drawn from Hugh’s Didascalicon, composed probably not long after the De tribus diebus c. 1120/2134. He may have been influenced by Hugh’s comments on theologia as investigating the incorporeality of the soul and of spiritual creatures35. Odo also drew on Hugh for his classification of the sciences as embracing wisdom, eloquence, poesis, and mechanica (embracing such practical disciplines as sailing, hunting and agriculture36). The one exception here is poesis, « a science embracing grave and illustrious discourse in metre », although he could have derived this from what Hugh had said in his De grammatica37. As Evans has observed, Odo had a particular predilection for sketching out the relationship between the virtues through diagrams38. He departs from the Summa sententiarum in giving more attention to the cardinal virtues, for which he draws on Cicero’s De inventione and the commentary of Macrobius on the Somnium Scipionis, as also for his account of various manifestations of justice, including religion, piety, innocence, friendship, and
33
Ysagoge, 1, ed. Landgraf, p. 68, drawing on De tribus diebus, ed. Poirel, p. 17-18. Poirel convincingly observes that the discussion of the identity of Dionysius in the Didascalicon, which shares the same view as rejected by Abelard’s critics at Saint-Denis, in « Tene fontem et totum habes : l’unité du Didascalicon de Hugues de Saint-Victor », in Universitas scolarium. Mélanges offerts à Jacques Verger, ed. Cédric Giraud – Martin Morard, Genève : Droz, 2011, p. 293-328, at 307-311. 35 Ysagoge, 1, ed. Landgraf, p. 71, drawing on Didascalicon, 2, ed. Charles H. Buttimer, Hugonis de Sancto Victore Didascalicon De Studio Legendi, Washington, DC : Catholic University Press, 1939 (Studies in Medieval and Renaissance Latin, 10), p. 25. 36 Ysagoge, 1, ed. Landgraf, p. 72-73 ; cf. Didascalicon, 2, ed. Buttimer, p. 37. 37 Ysagoge, 1, ed. Landgraf, p. 72 : « Poesis autem est scientia claudens in metro orationem gravem et illustrem. » Cf. Hugh, De grammatica, 13, ed. Roger Baron, Hugonis de Sancto Victore opera propaedeutica, Notre Dame (Ind.) : University of Notre Dame Press, 1966, p. 147. 38 Evans, p. 9-16, examining glosses edited by Haijo J. Westra, The Commentary on Martianus Capella’s De nuptiis Philologiae et Mercurii attributed to Bernardus Silvestris, Toronto : Pontifical Institute of Mediaeval Studies, 1986. 34
An English Response to Victorine thought
337
concord39. Odo’s discussion of free-will as the power of keeping rectitude of the will is certainly indebted to St Anselm’s reflection on the topic, significant because his writings were largely unknown in Paris, at least to Peter Lombard40. At the same time, Odo relates this to a discussion of sin as contempt for God if driven by the wrong motives, a theme that certainly does reflect the influence of Abelard41. He explains original sin as corruption inherited from Adam, while still recognizing the need for grace to be saved42. Odo devotes the second book of the Ysagoge to the process of humanity’s restoration as outlined in the Old and New Testaments, and continued through the sacraments. Whereas the Summa sententiarum did summarize Hugh’s teaching in this regard, its initial focus on God and Christ tended to down-play the role of scripture. Odo draws on Hugh to emphasise the role of remedies both before the law and through its precepts by citing in the original Hebrew as well as in Latin translation, the ten commandments as well as key Old Testament passages perceived by Christians as being about Christ. Where Odo acquired his Hebrew is not certain. He used the same vocalisation (not without error) as found in thirteenth century Hebrew-Latin MSS in England43. Odo may have benefited from the influence in the west of England of Petrus Alfonsi (active till at least 1126), a Jew from northern Spain who converted to Christianity in 1106, and then settled in the region of Gloucester, becoming friends with both Adelard of Bath and Walcher (d. 1135), prior of Great Malvern Abbey, as well as physician to Henry I44. Odo’s use of Hebrew learning to defend Christianity extends a practice that Petrus Alfonsi had promoted in writing against Jews. In the prologue to the second book of the Ysagoge, Odo chides Christian students for their ignorance of Hebrew, « the mother of all languages, and in it the Law and the Prophets, namely the first foundations of theology were passed on and translated from it by Greeks and Latins45. » This phrase about the Law and the Prophets constituting the first foundations of theology (theologie scilicet prima 39
Ysagoge, 1, ed. Landgraf, p. 76, drawing on Macrobius, In Somnium Scipionis, 1.8.7, ed. James Willis, Leipzig, 1970 p. 38. 40 Ysagoge, 1, ed. Landgraf, p. 93-95 ; cf. St Anselm, De libertate arbitrii, 1, ed. Franciscus Salesius Schmitt, Opera Omnia, t. 1, Edinburgh : Nelson, 1946, p. 207-209. 41 Ysagoge, 1, ed. Landgraf, p. 106-107 ; Luscombe, The School, p. 240. 42 Ysagoge, 1, ed. Landgraf, p. 116-120. 43 Eva De Visscher : Reading the Rabbis : Christian Hebraism in the Works of Herbert of Bosham, Leiden : Brill, 2013, p. 15. 44 John Tolan, Petrus Alfonsi and his Medieval Readers, Gainesville : University Press of Florida, 1993. 45 Ysagoge in theologiam, 2, ed. Landgraf, p. 127 : « Maxime ideo, qui hec est omnium mater linguarum et in eadem Lex et Prophete, theologie scilicet prima fundamenta, fuerunt tradita et ab eadem a grecis et latinis translata. Preterea ea, que catholicorum partem roborant, testimonia,
338
Constant J. Mews
fundamenta), which he says were transmitted more clearly (evidentius) in Hebrew than in Greek or Latin, offers an important insight about the relationship of theologia to scripture in a way that has no explicit precedent. Abelard had introduced his Theologia ‘Scholarium’ as « a kind of summary of sacred learning, as an introduction to scripture46. » In his commentary on the Celestial Hierarchy Hugh had presented Theologia as divine scripture, using poetic expressions to communicate its message, but had not used the phrase provided by Odo47. Hugh of Saint-Victor had certainly given importance to consulting with Jews (Hebraei) in order to gain a better sense of what the Hebrew scriptures were saying and had acknowledged that Hebrew was the mother of all languages, but relied on others to explain what individual words might mean48. The one other Victorine scholar who did go a step further in studying Hebrew was Andrew of Saint-Victor (c. 1110-d. 1175). While we do not know precisely when Andrew came to Saint-Victor, the fact that he had become its prior by 1148 implies that he must have risen to some prominence while Hugh was still alive49. Although Robert of Béthune had already requested that Saint-Victor establish a community in the diocese of Hereford, it was Gilbert Foliot who received Andrew as its leader, sometime after the Council of Rheims in April 1148. This raises the possibility that Andrew was already known to Gilbert Foliot and that he and Odo had been inspired to learn Hebrew through the example of Petrus Alfonsi, before coming to Saint-Victor50. Although the Ysagoge reveals no special expertise in exegesis, Odo shares Andrew’s conviction that studying Hebrew had to provide evidentius in hac lingua incarnationis Verbi misterium atque in unitate divine essentie Personarum trinitatem exprimunt quam apud grecos vel latinos. » 46 Peter Abelard, Theologia ‘Scholarium’, Pref. 1, ed. Buytaert – Mews (CCCM 13), p. 313. 47 Database searches have not revealed use of the phrase fundamenta theologie prior to Odo. 48 Rebecca Moore, Jews and Christians in the Life and Thought of Hugh of St Victor, Atlanta, GA : Scholars Press, 1998, p. 77-79 ; see for example Hugh, De grammatica, 1, ed. Baron, p. 78. See also Montse Leyra-Curiá, In Hebreo : the Victorine exegesis of the Bible in the light of its Northern-French Jewish sources, Turnhout : Brepols, 2017 (Bibliotheca Victorina, 26). 49 Chronicle of Wigmore Abbey, ed. Peter T. Ricketts, in Three Anglo-Norman Chronicles, Manchester : the Anglo-Norman Text Society, 2011, p. 11 : « […] mestre Andrew que fut adonke prior de seinct Victor de Parys, mestre de divinité, et de nobles vertues et plusurs et sobre, si manderent a luy em priantz qu’il deignast a eus venir et prendre la cure de abbé, et estre governour sur eus, et lor choses ordyner com prelat ; le quel Andrew vynt a eus, et fut receu a graunt reverence et abbé benet de l’evesque. » There is an earlier edition and translation by Peter T. Ricketts and John C. Dickinson, « The Anglo-Norman Chronicle of Wigmore Abbey », in Transactions of the Woolhope Naturalists Field Club, Herefordshire, t. 39, 1969, p. 413-446, at 430. See also Rainer Berndt, André de Saint-Victor († 1175), exégète et théologien, Turnhout : Brepols, 1991 (Bibliotheca Victorina, 3). 50 The Wigmore chronicle (ed. Ricketts, p. 10) mentions a number of English canons, including Henry, a personal friend of Gilbert Foliot.
An English Response to Victorine thought
339
a foundation for studying scripture. Unlike Andrew, however, Odo was keen to show how scripture might relate to theologia, a term that Hugh tended to avoid, except within the Didascalicon and commentary on Dionysius, perhaps because of the controversial use of the term by Abelard. Odo’s skill in fusing themes of Hugh and Abelard is particularly evident in his discussion of why man needed to be redeemed, a question that is not considered at any length in the De sacramentis or in the Summa sententiarum except as being part of the process of humanity’s restoration through Christ. Odo is clearly family with Abelard’s theory as presented in his Commentary on the Epistle to the Romans51. Like Abelard, Odo rejects the idea that Christ redeemed man from any legitimate yoke to the devil. Instead, he explains that just as God created man for the sake of his supreme beatitude, so he needed to be restored to that beatitude by one who might expiate sin, but was not a sinner himself. Odo’s argument is closer to that of St Anselm in the Cur deus homo. Unlike St Anselm, however, he resorts to quoting key scriptural texts in both Hebrew and Latin to explain to Jews the meaning of Sheol as the hell from which humanity needs to be redeemed52. Passages from the Summa sententiarum are then brought in to demonstrate consistency with Hugh’s argument that Christ is a man fully assumed by divinity, yet fully exposed to weakness other than sin53. The second book concludes with a discussion of the sacraments, indebted to the summary of Hugh’s teaching within the Summa sententiarum. In the third book of the Ysagoge, Odo shifts his attention to the creation of the angels and the divine nature itself, drawing on Hugh’s teaching in the De tribus diebus about the world as like about book, through which God’s power, wisdom, and goodness are revealed. He thus combines Hugh’s focus in that early work on the harmony and beauty of creation with a more doctrinal discussion of the relationship between the three divine persons. He picks up on Hugh’s theme that God made it possible for the existence of evil to enable the working of good54. Odo reflects on how evil might exist in a world governed by God to the testimony of both prophets and philosophers about God. In this final section, Odo signals his own spin on prophetic testimony by returning to his key text in the Ysagoge, 51
Ysagoge, 2, ed. Landgraf, p. 155-162 ; on p. 160 Odo quotes verbatim a passage in Abelard’s Commentarium in Epistolam Pauli ad Romanos, 2.3, ed. Eligius M. Buytaert, Turnhout : Brepols, 1969 (CCCM 11), p. 286. 52 Ysagoge, 2, ed. Landgraf, p. 160-161 ; see Luscombe, The School, p. 239-240. 53 Ysagoge, 2, ed. Landgraf, p. 168-169 ; cf. Summa sententiarum 1.15-16 (PL 176, col. 70C-74D). 54 Ysagoge, 3, ed. Landgraf, p. 278 : « Sed sane dicitur, quia Deus facit ut malum esse sit bonum. Ipse enim in malo operatur boum. » Cf. Hugh, Sent. de divinitate, 2, ed. Piazzoni, p. 944-946.
340
Constant J. Mews
Genesis 1:26 Faciamus hominem ad imaginem nostrum, quoted in both Hebrew and Latin. This is the first of a series of proof texts perceived as foreshadowing his triune nature. In the closing paragraphs of the Ysagoge Odo shifts his attention to philosophical insight into the Trinity from the Greek, in a way that neatly parallels that of Abelard in his Theologia. He offers, initially in Greek script, followed by transliteration, a line about the good as the cosmic mind that he attributes to Plato, but has no clearly identifiable source55. It seems a conscious move to show that just as he began the Ysagoge by drawing on Hugh’s teaching about God revealing himself through the created world, so he wanted to conclude by picking up on Abelard’s ideas about philosophical reason, without seeking or provide unnecessary controversy. Hugh of Saint-Victor had recalled briefly insights about God and the cosmic mind in his notes on the Pentateuch, but with cautious comments about the anima mundi56. Odo avoided any such polemical note in his concluding remarks that although the gentile philosophers may not have known about the incarnation of the Word, reason had taught them about the triune God, as Paul had taught in Romans 1:19, about God’s invisible strength and divinity being glimpsed through creation57. * * * Odo’s Ysagoge in theologiam is remarkable for the positive way in which it searches out the common ground between the teachings of both Hugh of SaintVictor and Peter Abelard. It does so by radically revising the structure of the argument of the Summa sententiarum, so that his treatise begins with the created world and moves towards reflection on God. In this Odo is fundamentally aligned with Hugh’s insights as formulated in his De tribus diebus and Didascalicon. At the same time, Odo picks up on Abelard’s teaching about the value of pagan teaching about ethics and the supreme good, without adopting his polemical critique of alternative positions. Given the intensity of theological debate between Bernard of Clairvaux and Abelard in the period 1140/41, Odo’s synthesis can be read as 55 Ysagoge, 3, ed. Landgraf, p. 284 : « Hic, quod ab eterno sunt tria, sic astruit : Θωγαθος νωυς κοσμωυκη. Togatos nois cosmoisiche, apaz chaidis epichena usia. » Cf. Sententie magistri Petri Abaelardi 95a, ed. Luscombe, p. 42 : « Hic Deum ueraciter trinum comprehendit, cum summum Patrem togaton, sapientiam, id est Filius, noim, animam mundi, id est Spiritum Sanctum secundum diuersos effectus, noysidicon, id est mentem diuinam, dixerit. » Noysidicon, like cosmoisiche, is not found elsewhere in medieval texts. 56 Hugh, In Pentateuchum, PL 175, col. 31B : « Plato quaedam vestigia Trinitatis ἐν τῷ περὶ τοῦ ἀγγαθοῦ καὶ νοῦ, id est in libro De bono et mente ; sive in Agathone et mente, et de mundana anima dogmatizaverat. » 57 Ysagoge, 3, ed. Landgraf, p. 284-285.
An English Response to Victorine thought
341
a deliberate move to avoid such polarization in the years immediately after the Council of Sens58. In this it echoes the desire of another English teacher in Paris, Robert of Melun, who admired the teachings of both Hugh of Saint-Victor and Peter Abelard and would himself follow Gilbert Foliot as bishop of Hereford (1163-1167). Odo could even have studied under Robert during the late 1130s59. To pursue Robert’s influence in diffusing Victorine traditions in England would, however, be another story60.
58
Key texts in this debate are edited and translated by Rodney M. Thomson – Michael Winterbottom, For and Against Abelard. The Invective of Bernard of Clairvaux and Berengar of Poitiers, Melton : Boydell & Brewer, 2020. 59 John of Salisbury, Metalogicon 2.10, ed. John B. Hall, Turnhout : Brepols, 1991 (CCCM 98), p. 71. 60 Constant J. Mews, « Between the schools of Abelard and Saint-Victor in the mid twelfth century : the witness of Robert of Melun », in L’école de Saint-Victor. Influence et rayonnement du Moyen Âge à l’époque moderne, ed. Dominique Poirel, Turnhout : Brepols, 2010 (Bibliotheca Victorina, 22), p. 121-138.
Il pensiero vittorino e le origini della letteratura romanza : il caso dei trovatori Mira Mocan
L’affinità di linguaggio che unisce i primi poeti d’arte in lingua volgare e i più illustri rappresentanti del pensiero religioso dei secoli XII e XIII, nel tentativo di rappresentare le forme dell’amore – terreno o celeste – su cui si concentrano le loro opere, è una costante degli studi sulla letteratura romanza medievale fin dagli ultimi decenni del XIX secolo1. Espressa talvolta con toni di meraviglia o 1
Sono oramai noti e accertati i contatti intertestuali fra le prime generazioni dei trovatori e alcuni fra i più autorevoli rappresentanti del pensiero religioso del XII secolo. Penso anzitutto agli studi oramai classici di Vossler (Karl Vossler, « Die Kunst der ältesten Trobadors », in Miscellanea di studi in onore di Attilio Hortis, Trieste : Caprin, 1910, p. 419-440) o di Scheludko (Dimitri Scheludko, « Beiträge zur Entstehungsgeschichte der altprovenzalischen Lyrik. Klassisch-lateinische Theorie », in Archivum romanicum, t. 9/3, 1927, p. 273-312), di Guido Errante (Marcabru e le fonti sacre dell’antica lirica romanza, Firenze : Sansoni, 1948) e di Mario Casella (Saggi di letteratura provenzale e catalana, raccolti da Giuseppe E. Sansone, Bari : Adriatica, 1966), ma anche alla lezione magistrale di Leo Spitzer intorno alle presenze cistercensi e agostiniane nella poesia di Guglielmo IX e di Jaufre Rudel (Leo Spitzer, « L’amour lointain de Jaufré Rudel et le sens de la poésie des troubadours », in Id., Romanische Literaturstudien, 1936-1956, Tübingen : Niemeyer, 1959, p. 363-417) ; alle indagini di Aurelio Roncaglia sulla poesia di Marcabru (Aurelio Roncaglia, « Laisat estar lo gazel. Contributo alla discussione sui rapporti fra lo zagial e la ritmica romanza », in Cultura Neolatina, t. 9, 1949, p. 67-99 ; Id., « Precedenti e significato dello stil novo dantesco », in Dante e Bologna nei tempi di Dante, Bologna : Commissione per i testi di lingua, 1967, p. 13-34 ; Id., « Riflessi di posizioni cistercensi nella poesia del XII secolo. Discussione sui fondamenti religiosi del trobar naturau di Marcabruno », in I Cistercensi e il Lazio. Atti delle giornate di studio dell’Istituto di Storia dell’Arte dell’Università di Roma (17-21 maggio 1977), Roma : Multigrafica Editrice, 1978, p. 11-22) ; alle più recenti acquisizioni di Lucia Lazzerini circa la presenza di Bernardo di Chiaravalle e della tradizione salomonica nel corpus di Jaufre Rudel e di Bernart de Ventadorn (« La trasmutazione insensibile. Intertestualità e metamorfismi nella lirica trobadorica dalle origini alla codificazione cortese (I parte) », in Medioevo romanzo, t. 19/2, 1993, p. 153-205, e Ead., « Presenze bibliche nella poesia trobadorica : un’ipotesi sul dittico Omnium expetendorum prima est sapientia. Studies on Victorine thought and influence, ed. by Wanda Bajor, Michał Buraczewski, Marcin Jan Janecki and Dominique Poirel, BV, 29 (Turnhout, 2021), p. 343–356. © BREPOLSPUBLISHERS DOI 10.1484/M.BV-EB.5.126043
344
Mira Mocan
di scetticismo, spesso accompagnata dall’acribìa filologica della ricerca delle fonti, la constatazione sul ruolo fondamentale della cultura teologica in senso lato, e più nello specifico delle Scuole religiose attive nel XII secolo, per il formarsi e il consolidarsi del codice etico, retorico e linguistico della cortesia2 è premessa imprescindibile per la comprensione dell’emergente fenomeno letterario romanzo. Tale premessa rimane centrale anche una volta stabilita la difficoltà di circoscrivere le modalità concrete e la catena di filiazione dei contatti intertestuali o delle analogie interdiscorsive proposte negli studi : se « la similitude du vocabulaire est la première à suggérer l’entrée en relation des différents univers3 », è innegabile che nel « secolo ovidiano » un medesimo linguaggio è strumento comune di autori religiosi e profani impegnati a definire l’esperienza amorosa4. D’altra parte, una volta appurato che « la cortesia ha la sua matrice e il suo emblema nell’amore, il Cristianesimo è […] la religione dell’amore. La distinzione tra amore sacro e amore profano riguarda l’oggetto, non l’intrinseca natura della forza spirituale che ad esso si volge. D’entrambi, una è la radice, […] una la lingua5 ». 2. La rilevanza degli autori vittorini entro questo complesso panorama di interrelazioni culturali, fin dalla stagione inaugurale della lirica provenzale, è stata acquisita attraverso sondaggi puntuali su singoli momenti di contatto testuale. Essa rappresenta un momento centrale nella ricostruzione delle radici della poesia romanza, anche solo in considerazione del fatto che coinvolge più generazioni di trovatori, in dialogo con maestri vittorini spesso loro contemporanei : si possono ricordare il caso di Ugo di San Vittore probabilmente ripreso e citato
marcabruniano dell’estornel », in La scrittura infinita. Bibbia e poesia in età medievale e umanistica, a cura di Francesco Stella, Firenze : SISMEL – Edizioni del Galluzzo, 2001, p. 459-492), o alle riflessioni di Andrea Pulega, Amore cortese e modelli teologici. Guglielmo IX, Chrétien de Troyes, Dante, Milano : Jaca Book, 1995, e di Francesco Zambon, « Introduzione generale. Il problema dell’amore nel pensiero cristiano del XII secolo », in Trattati d’amore cristiani del XII secolo, a cura di Francesco Zambon, Milano : Mondadori – Lorenzo Valla, 2007, t. I, p. ix-xciii, per citare solo qualche fondamentale punto di riferimento. 2 Questa è l’importante prospettiva metodologica che guida gli studi raccolti nel volume Les écoles de pensée du xiie siècle et la littérature romane (oc et oïl), a cura di di Valérie Fasseur e Jean-René Valette, Turnhout : Brepols, 2016. 3 Fasseur – Valette, « Introduction », in Les écoles de pensée, p. 18. 4 Si vedano anche : Geneviève Brunel-Lobrichon, « La formation des troubadours, hommes de savoir », in Église et culture en France méridionale (xiie-xive siècle), Toulouse : Privat, 2000, p. 137-148, e Suzanne Thiolier-Méjean, L’archet et le lutrin. Enseignement et foi dans la poésie médiévale d’Oc, Paris : L’Harmattan, 2008. 5 Roncaglia, « Riflessi di posizioni cistercensi », p. 11-12. Sul tema nel suo complesso rimane fondamentale la riflessione portata avanti da Michel Zink nelle pagine del volume Poésie et conversion au Moyen Âge, Paris : Presses Universitaires de France, 2003.
Il pensiero vittorino e le origini della letteratura romanza 345 da Marcabru6, e il ruolo determinante di Riccardo o di testi pseudo-riccardiani, come la Lettera a Severino sulla carità, per la poetica di Bernart de Ventadorn o di Raimbaut d’Aurenga7. Il quadro complessivo dei rapporti reciproci rimane tuttavia ancora da approfondire, ed è pertanto proposito di questo contributo quello di evidenziare, in via preliminare, alcuni fattori che possono aver favorito una convergenza di linguaggio e di pensiero, al di là dei richiami testuali più o meno diretti che possono essere documentati. In considerazione della già accennata problematicità di simili identificazioni dei contatti testuali diretti, e della necessaria precauzione metodologica da adottare nella loro valutazione8, appare infatti opportuno mettere in luce anzitutto gli elementi di ordine ideologico e concettuale che autorizzano a identificare nella Scuola di San Vittore un ambiente culturale particolarmente rilevante nell’ottica del dialogo fra poesia e teologia nel XII secolo (e oltre), secondo la prospettiva aperta dal recente convegno tenutosi a Pisa, dedicato a La cultura dei Vittorini e la letteratura medievale9. Su alcuni di questi aspetti intendo soffermarmi nel mio con6
Cf. oltre agli studi di Aurelio Roncaglia indicati nella nota 1, Id., « “Trobar clus” : discussione aperta », in Cultura Neolatina, t. 29, 1969, p. 5-55, p. 53 ; Id., « Les troubadours et Virgile », in Lectures médiévales de Virgile. Actes du Colloque organisé par l’École Française de Rome (Rome, 25-28 octobre 1982), Roma : École française de Rome, 1985, p. 265-283, p. 280-283 ; Mira Mocan, « Un cuore così illuminato. Etica e armonia del canto nella poesia dei trovatori (Bernart de Ventadorn, Marcabru, Raimbaut d’Aurenga) », in Dai pochi ai molti. Studi in onore di Roberto Antonelli, a cura di Paolo Canettieri – Arianna Punzi, 2 vol., Roma : Viella, 2014, t. II, p. 1155-1175. 7 Cf. Lucia Lazzerini, « L’“allodetta” e il suo archetipo. La rielaborazione di temi mistici nella lirica trobadorica e nello stil novo », in Sotto il segno di Dante. Scritti in onore di Francesco Mazzoni, a cura di Leonella Coglievina – Domenico De Robertis, indici a cura di Giuseppe Marrani, Firenze : Le Lettere, 1998, p. 165-188, spec. p. 171, 174, 178, 180-181, 183 ; Gaia Gubbini, « La ponha d’amor e la cadena : ferite e catene trobadoriche tra Jaufre Rudel, Raimbaut d’Aurenga e Bertran de Born », in Critica del testo, t. 8/3, 2005, p. 781-801 ; Zambon, Introduzione Generale, p. ix-lxxxix, p. lxxxiv. Per una messa a punto, cf. Corrado Bologna, « Anima mea liquefacta est. Sulla presenza dell’allegorismo vittorino nei trovatori », in Percepta rependere dona. Studi di filologia per Anna Maria Luiselli Fadda, a cura di Corrado Bologna – Mira Mocan – Paolo Vaciago, Firenze : Olschki, 2010, p. 31-52) ; in chiave anche di intreccio con l’opera dantesca si possono poi ricordare le indagini di Michelangelo Picone (Michelangelo Picone, Vita nuova e tradizione romanza, Padova : Liviana, 1973) ; per un’impostazione generale delle affinità fra il De quatuor gradibus violentae charitatis e la lirica trobadorica cf. Manuela Sanson, Introduzione a Riccardo di San Vittore, I quattro gradi della violenta carità, a cura di Manuela Sanson, Parma : Pratiche Editrice, 1993, p. 30-41. 8 Tale problema metodologico è sintetizzato con finezza e rigore da Valérie Fasseur, Écoles de pensée du xiie siècle et littérature en langue d’oc (xiie-xiiie siècles), in Les écoles de pensée, p. 23-47. 9 Convegno internazionale La cultura dei Vittorini e la letteratura medievale, Scuola Normale Superiore di Pisa, 22 gennaio 2019, organizzato da Corrado Bologna, in collaborazione con Carlo Zacchetti. Gli Atti del convegno sono in corso di stampa presso la Edizioni della Normale, Pisa. Nel contributo dal titolo Contatti culturali : i Vittorini e i trovatori, presentato nell’ambito di questo convegno, Marco Bernardi ha proposto una prima disamina dei « dati documentari relativi alla
346
Mira Mocan
tributo, anticipando il fatto che essi convergono, a mio avviso, verso una peculiare attenzione alle forme della « testualità umana nella sua dimensione poetica10 », di capitale importanza per comprendere i diversi « modi di dire l’amore » su cui si concentra l’aetas ovidiana. In altre parole, intendo proporre alcuni spunti di riflessione focalizzati sulla poesia dei trovatori, nel tentativo di evidenziare non tanto i prelievi più o meno diretti in uno o l’altro autore, quanto piuttosto il fatto che le innovazioni ideologiche proposte nell’ambito della Scuola di San Vittore sembrano avere, anche indirettamente, offerto un terreno fecondo di legittimazione alla nascente creazione poetica d’arte in lingua volgare. 3. Non è necessario ricordare nel dettaglio quanto i più autorevoli rappresentanti del pensiero vittorino abbiano contribuito alla svolta « ovidiana » del XII secolo. Come è noto, almeno quattro dei testi che hanno plasmato fortemente il pensiero medievale sull’amore sono riconducibili al magistero vittorino : il De arrha animae di Ugo, il De quatuor gradibus violentae charitatis di Riccardo, la Epistola ad Severinum de caritate e il De amicitia spirituali di Aelredo di Rielvaux (ma a questi sarebbero da aggiungere la maggior parte delle opere di natura spirituale ed esegetica nate nell’ambiente vittorino, nelle quali l’Amore assume sempre un ruolo centrale, che si tratti dell’illustrazione del Cantico dei cantici o della dottrina trinitaria11). Questi trattati collaborano a dar forma quella linea insieme ideologica e spirituale identificata con la formula « mistica affettiva », grazie alla quale la riflessione teologica del Medioevo europeo si traduce anche in una attenta indagine di natura spirituale e psicologica, atta a delineare una fisionomia interiore dell’essere umano quale « soggetto […] amoroso12 ». L’interesse di questa linea di riflessione per la coeva ideologia della fin’amors è evidente, tanto che bisogna considerare le opere vittorine come « un punto di mediazione altissimo e colmo di energie culturali fra l’universo biblico e la sua ricezione trobadorica13 ». diffusione della produzione dei principali autori vittorini, volto a verificare la plausibilità storica di un contatto tra questa e la coeva tradizione lirica trobadorica », segnalando anche alcuni convincenti punti di contatto testuale fra Giraut de Bornelh e Marcabru e alcuni testi di Ugo di San Vittore. 10 Claudio Mésoniat, « Il problema estetico del conflitto fra Bibbia e poesia », in La scrittura infinita, p. 5-14, cit. a p. 11. 11 Cf. Gaston Dumeige, Richard de Saint-Victor et l’idée chrétienne de l’amour, Paris : Presses universitaires de France, 1952 ; Paolo Cacciapuoti, « Deus existentia amoris ». Teologia della carità e teologia della Trinità negli scritti di Riccardo di San Vittore, Turnhout : Brepols, 1998 (Bibliotheca Victorina, 9). 12 Zambon, Introduzione generale, p. lxxxviii. 13 Bologna, « Anima mea liquefacta est », p. 51. Si deve senz’altro concordare con l’A. nell’affermazione che « nella ricerca medievistica e romanistica è sempre più evidente che, se si vuole cogliere appieno il ruolo e il senso dell’universo biblico nella formazione della cultura laica delle prime generazioni trovadoriche, sarà necessario guardare proprio alla linea vittorina, con la sua
Il pensiero vittorino e le origini della letteratura romanza 347 4. Allargando l’orizzonte dell’indagine, è d’altra parte indubbio che l’umanismo insieme enciclopedico e cristiano14 sviluppato dai maestri vittorini, la loro tensione universalistica a conciliare sapere sacro e scienza profana, offre un ambiente particolarmente aperto all’intersezione e alla contaminazione fra ambiti espressivi e culturali apparentemente lontani : tanto che il celebre magister Ugo è « l’un des noms les plus sollicités par les critiques […] quand il s’agit d’exporter les notions théologiques15 » in ambiti diversi. In quest’ottica, quella vittorina può essere considerata una delle linee di pensiero religioso medievale più “compromesse” anche con la dimensione letteraria e con i suoi strumenti specifici sul piano stilistico e retorico. L’attenzione, viva nell’ambiente vittorino, a una dimensione che per brevità definirò in senso lato poetica (senza limitazioni all’ambito amoroso) si collega a vari elementi, ben noti agli studiosi. La rivalutazione ontologica della bellezza del creato, parte del programma spirituale dei maestri di San Vittore, si concretizza in ambito testuale attraverso la peculiare cura della strumentazione stilistica e retorica del testo : questa arriva a una valorizzazione ontologica e teologica della componente estetica della lingua, nell’ambito di uno stile di pensiero che diventa originale « stile di scrittura16 ». La dimensione estetica agisce infatti a vari livelli nel complesso delle opere vittorine : nel ricorso, implicito o esplicito, che fa Ugo di San Vittore alla retorica ciceroniana, nella ricca prosa rimata dello stesso Ugo e ancor più di Riccardo, nella lussureggiante galleria di metafore e similitudini che sostanziano la tropologia vittorina, o nelle caratteristiche strutture ternarie introdotte soprattutto da Ugo, in una perfetta convenientia fra forma e contenuto, per rispecchiare la nuova visione ternaria della natura umana, agostinianamente concepita a somiglianza della divina Trinità. In altre parole, il raffinato dominio della dimensione retorica si esplica entro un orizzonte che supera la pura finalità persuasiva del discorso17, assumendo una funzione specificamente esegetica e teologica, di pari passo a una rivalutazione del specificità culturale e con la sua peculiare accezione di allegorismo, che intride anche la sensibilità laica ». Gli elementi biblici nella poesia cortese sono ora finemente ed esaurientemente analizzati in Gianluca Valenti, La Liturgia del trobar. Assimilazione e riuso di elementi del rito cristiano nelle canzoni occitane medievali, Berlin – Boston, De Gruyter, 2014. 14 Cf. Dominique Poirel, « Aux sources d’une influence : les raisons du rayonnement victorin », in L’école de Saint-Victor de Paris. Influence et rayonnement du Moyen Âge à l’époque moderne, éd. Id., Turnhout : Brepols, 2010 (Bibliotheca Victorina, 22), p. 5-25, cit. a p. 5. 15 Armand Strubel, « Grant senefiance a ». Allégorie et littérature au Moyen Âge, Paris : Champion, 2002, p. 64. 16 Cf. Pascale Bourgain, « Existe-t-il en littérature un style victorin ? », in L’école de SaintVictor de Paris, p. 41-55. 17 Si veda in tal senso anche l’intervento di Pascale Bourgain nell’ambito del convegno La cultura dei Vittorini e la letteratura medievale cit.
348
Mira Mocan
linguaggio umano nella sua capacità di farsi specchio della veritas divina. In questo stesso orizzonte, la centralità dell’esegesi nelle opere vittorine e l’elaborazione del metodo dell’esegesi visuale18, con la rivalutazione della facoltà immaginativa che lo sostanzia, focalizzano l’attenzione sulle forme della testualità e aprono verso un approccio al testo biblico che ha lasciato profonde tracce nella cultura successiva. Soprattutto, per quanto riguarda la connessione fra esegesi e retorica, è da sottolineare come la progressione ermeneutica su tre livelli, fino a una vetta per cui « la maîtrise des effets du langage – en termes techniques : les figures – a bel et bien sa part à jouer dans l’opus restaurationis, au fondement de l’anthropologie victorine19 », generi un progetto unitario di armonia e convergenza fra espressione formale e sostanza concettuale del discorso umano20. Si tratta in ultima analisi della scoperta di una funzione etica annessa alla dimensione retorica del discorso che – in forma e con orizzonti naturalmente diversi – costituisce anche il cuore della poetica dei trovatori, attraversando le formulazioni di « pionieri » dell’espressione cortese come Guglielmo IX d’Aquitania o Jaufre Rudel fino alla raffinata reinterpretazione del principio orazione del labor limae in chiave di evoluzione spirituale da parte del « miglior fabbro » Arnaut Daniel. 5. In questa prospettiva vorrei riportare l’attenzione sul fatto che il ricorso a temi, motivi e lessico riconducibili a opere vittorine da parte dei poeti cortesi è 18 Cf. Patrice Sicard, Diagrammes médievaux et exégèse visuelle. Le Libellus de formatione arche de Hugues de Saint-Victor, Paris – Turnhout : Brepols, 1993 (Bibliotheca Victorina, 4) ; e inoltre : Mary J. Carruthers, The Book of Memory. A Study of Memory in Medieval Culture, Cambridge : Cambridge University Press, 1990, p. 92-96 ; Marco Rainini, Disegni dei tempi. Il « Liber Figurarum » e la teologia figurativa di Gioacchino da Fiore, Roma : Viella, 2006, in part. le p. 3-25 ; Dominique Poirel – Patrice Sicard, « Figure vittorine : Riccardo, Acardo e Tommaso », in Figure del pensiero medievale, t. II : La fioritura della dialettica. X-XII secolo, a cura di Inos Biffi e Costante Marabelli, Milano – Roma : Jaca Book – Città Nuova, 2005, p. 459537 ; Patrice Sicard, Théologies victorines. Études d’histoire doctrinale médiévale et contemporaine, [Paris] : [Les Plans-sur-Bex], 2008 (Parole et silence). 19 Jean-Yves Tilliette, « Y a-t-il une esthétique littéraire victorine ? », in Les écoles de pensée, p. 123-137, cit. a p. 127. 20 Il risultato più alto di tale valorizzazione della dimensione estetica del testo è peraltro riconoscibile nelle sequenze vittorine quale applicazione minuziosa di strategie e figure retoriche tipiche in particolare del discorso poetico e letterario (ripetizione, parallelismo, chiasmo, ossimoro, metafora, iperbato), pensate non solo in armonia con la musica, ma secondo un’esaltazione delle sonorità proprie prodotte dal gioco retorico della lingua, impiegate per generare anche degli effetti di significato, con modalità affini a quella che sarà l’attenzione dei primi poeti in lingua d’oc tanto al « matrimonio » fra musica e parola in poesia, quanto alla produttività semantica della sapiente organizzazione delle rime. Cf. Margot Fassler, Gothic Song, Victorine Sequences and Augustinian Reform in Twelfth-Century Paris, Cambridge : Cambridge University Press, 1993 ; cf. Jean Grosfillier, Les séquences d’Adam de Saint-Victor : étude littéraire, poétique et rhétorique, Turnhout : Brepols, 2008 (Bibliotheca Victorina, 20).
Il pensiero vittorino e le origini della letteratura romanza 349 spesso associato a una importante componente di riflessione metapoetica, con riverberi di amplissima portata. Ne sono testimonianza, ad esempio, due momenti di intersezione fra più voci convergenti intorno alle modalità di espressione adeguate a dar voce all’autentica esperienza amorosa. Nel primo caso mi riferisco a uno snodo notissimo e fondamentale nella riflessione poetica delle Origini : quello che postula la circolarità necessaria fra possesso interiore dell’amore, ispirazione poetica e valore del canto, per cui « la nuova poesia d’Amore […] è dettata dal profondo del cuore da Amore stesso nel suo linguaggio non verbale21 ». L’assunto viene sancito in maniera perentoria forse per la prima volta nel manifesto poetico Chantars no pot gaire valer di Bernart de Ventadorn, ma esso segna l’intera produzione trobadorica e ne connota i momenti di maggiore originalità : si pensi solo all’etica del canto collegata all’esperienza della vera fin’amors in Marcabruno, o ancora al labor limae guidato da Amore invocato da Arnaut Daniel. Tale assunto metapoetico, costituendo un’amplificazione di premesse in senso lato agostiniane (a partire dalla centralità del homo interior quale soggetto del discorso amoroso, alla valorizzazione di una parola scaturita de intimo corde), si inserisce in un terreno fittissimo e secolare di interdiscorsività diffusa. Esso trova però una riformulazione incisiva, di estremo interesse in rapporto alle modalità espressive dei trovatori, nell’incipit della Lettera sulla carità del vittorino Frate Ivo (brano che circolò per secoli quale Prologo al De quatuor gradibus violentae charitatis di Riccardo), decisivo per la ripresa e la rifunzionalizzazione in chiave poetica di temi tipicamente riconducibili al magistero agostiniano : Quomodo enim de amore loquitur homo qui non amat, qui uim non sentit amoris ? De aliis nempe copiosa in libris occurrit materia ; huius uero aut tota intus est, aut nusquam est, quia non ab exterioribus ad interiora suauitatis suae secreta transponit, sed ab interioribus ad exteriore transmittit. Solus proinde de ea digne loquitur qui secundum quod cor dictat interius exterius uerba componit22.
Sono condensati in queste righe alcuni concetti tanto diffusi da assumere la fisionomia di veri e propri topoi, sottoposti a infinite variazioni dagli autori in volgare romanzo del XII e XIII secolo : la necessità di un’esperienza diretta dell’amore quale premessa per poterne parlare ; l’autenticità del dettato poetico
21 Lino Pertile, « Il nodo di Bonagiunta », in Id., La punta del disio. Semantica del desi derio nella « Commedia », Firenze : Cadmo, 2005, p. 85-113, cit. a p. 110. 22 Il testo si legge ora in Ivo, Lettera a Severino sulla carità, in Trattati d’amore cristiani del XII secolo, 2 vol., a cura di Francesco Zambon, Milano : Mondadori – Lorenzo Valla, 2007-2008, t. II, p. 422-467 (cit. alla p. 421), al quale si rinvia anche per la bibliografia (compresa quella relativa alla paternità del testo).
350
Mira Mocan
radicato unicamente nella verità del cuore23 ; la dinamica interno/esterno intorno alla quale è impostato il discorso ; la necessaria « collaborazione » dell’intero soggetto, con tutte le sue facoltà, all’espressione del possesso interiore di Amore. Pur nella difficoltà di suggerire dei prelievi testuali diretti, le modalità espressive sono assai affini alla altrettanto incisiva formulazione di Bernart de Ventadorn : Chantars no pot gaire valer, si d’ins dal cor no mou lo chans ; ni chans no pot dal cor mover, si no i es fin’amors coraus. Per so es mos chantars cabaus qu’en joi d’amor ai et enten la boch’e·ls olhs el cor el sen24.
Si delinea in questo modo una polifonia di voci, fra il sacro e il profano, fra il latino e il volgare, che trovano una sintesi e un superamento nella geniale terzina con cui Dante, nel XXIV canto del Purgatorio, si autodefinisce poeta in quanto scriba Amoris : « I’ mi son un che quando / Amor mi spira, noto e a quel modo / ch’ei ditta dentro vo significando25 ». 6. Il tema dell’ispirazione interiore, « cordiale », del canto, connesso alla potenza trasfigurante dell’emozione amorosa, prende corpo nei trovatori anche attraverso l’impiego di una figura dall’alto valore suggestivo, che riunisce in un unico nodo alcune delle più pervasive « metafore assolute26 » della riflessione occidentale sull’interiorità : quella del cuore illuminato27. L’immagine costituisce un segnale dialogico privilegiato fra i trovatori, per illustrare icasticamente proprio il nodo che lega in modo indissolubile l’eccellenza del canto, il possesso interiore della autentica fin’amors e il percorso interiore di « affinamento » e perfezionamento che ne deriva. 23
Lucia Lazzerini, « La trasmutazione insensibile. Intertestualità e metamorfismi nella lirica trobadorica dalle origini alla codificazione cortese (II) », in Medioevo Romanzo, t. 18, 1993, p. 201-202. 24 Bernart de Ventadorn, Canzoni, a cura di Mario Mancini, Roma : Carocci, 2003, p. 82. 25 Risale al 1933 la celebre individuazione, da parte di Mario Casella, della fonte testuale di questo brano del Purgatorio nell’Epistola ad Severinum de caritate (Mario Casella, Recensione a Fernando Figurelli, Il dolce stil novo, Napoli : R. Ricciardi, 1933), in Studi danteschi, t. 18, 1934, p. 105-126). 26 Nell’accezione stabilita da Hans Blumenberg, Paradigmen zu einer Metaphorologie, Bonn : Bouvier und Co., 1960 ; Id., Die Lesbarkeit der Welt, Frankfurt : Suhrkamp, 1981. 27 Mi sono soffermata più nel dettaglio su questo tema in Mocan, « Un cuore così illuminato ».
Il pensiero vittorino e le origini della letteratura romanza 351 Uno dei primi trovatori a utilizzare il motivo del cuore illuminato dall’Amore quale origine del canto è Marcabru, il quale ne fa, in una delle sue celebri poesie “moralistiche”, un emblema della coincidenza fra joi, purezza della fin’ amors e qualità della creazione poetica : Pus mos coratges s’es clarzitz per selh Joi don ieu suy jauzens, e vey qu’Amor part e cauzis, per qu’ieu n’esper estre manens, ben dey tot mon chan esmerar, qu’om re no mi puesca falsar, que per pauc non es hom desmentitz. Aicel cui fin’ Amors causitz, viu letz, cortes e sapiens […]. Ai fin’ Amors, fons de bontat, c’a[s] tot lo mon illuminat, merce ti clam […]28.
Il componimento, presentando il tipico imbricamento di lessico e di temi sacri e profani, è uno dei più emblematici in ordine alla definizione dell’etica marcabruniana della fin’amor29. Il motivo della luminosità che rischiara il cuore sembra dare figura alla coincidenza quasi sinonimica fra joi, fin’amors e chan tipica dell’ideologia trobadorica30, rappresentando la conquista dell’amore autentico nei termini di una progressiva illuminazione (in connessione con l’articolata retorica dell’opposizione fra claritas e obscuritas31). All’immagine ricorre inoltre, in chiaro dialogo con Marcabru, lo stesso Bernart de Ventadorn, in una delle sue liriche più belle, incentrata sul cuore quale “luogo” o “teatro” interiore delle emozioni. Di fronte alla desolazione invernale di un paesaggio esterno che rovescia il topico l’incipit primaverile, il poeta afferma il possesso di una luminosità interiore che trasfigura il dato naturale. Questa diventa ulteriormente la cifra simbolica di una intensa riflessione 28
Marcabru, Pus mos coratges s’es clarzitz, v. 1-10, 36-38, in Poésies complètes du troubadour Marcabru, a cura di Jean-Marie Lucien Dejeanne, Toulouse : Privat, 1909, p. 196-198. 29 Cf. Roncaglia, « “Trobar clus” », p. 17. 30 Deborah H. Nelson, « Marcabru, Prophet of “Fin’Amors” », in Studies in Philology, t. 79/3 [1982], p. 227-241). 31 Sul tema dell’obscuritas fra tarda antichità e contemporaneità, cf. il volume Obscuritas. Retorica e poetica dell’oscuro. Atti del XXVIII Convegno Interuniversitario di Bressanone (12-15 luglio 2001), a cura di Giosuè Lachin – Francesco Zambon, Trento : Università degli studi di Trento, 2004.
352
Mira Mocan
metapoetica, dove l’eccellenza del canto riflette in modo immediato il possesso della fin’amors : Ara no vei luzir solelh, tan me son escurzit li rai ; e ges per aisso no m esmai, c’una clardatz me solelha d’amor, qu’ins el cor me raya […] eu melhur enans que sordei, per que mos chans no sordeya32.
6. La doppia funzionalizzazione dell’immagine del « cuore illuminato » in chiave tanto di evoluzione interiore, quanto di perfezionamento retorico del canto, pur affiorando a sua volta da un terreno di interdiscorsività diffusa di impressionante complessità33, presenta alcuni collegamenti di rilievo anche con formulazioni centrali nel pensiero vittorino. Con riferimento in particolare a Marcabru, una volta identificato nel suo trobar naturau « una concreta e vigorosa applicazione, sul terreno scottante della poesia volgare (cioè proprio sul terreno degli avversari), di quelle stesse dottrine, rivendicative della dignità d’amore e della morale naturale34 » elaborate nella letteratura religiosa coeva, è interessante segnalare la presenza del motivo del cuore illuminato in un testo Ugo di San Vittore (« un contemporaneo, anzi possiamo dire un coetaneo di Marcabruno35 »), di notevole interesse nel confronto con Pus mos coratges s’es clarzitz. In conclusione del fortunato De arra animae (databile probabilmente all’incirca agli anni 1138114036), l’Anima esprime esultanza – si oserebbe dire quasi una sorta di joi improntato al divino – nel possesso di un amore puro e inesauribile : Quid est illud dulce, quod in eius recordatione aliquando me tangere solet et tam uehementer atque suauiter afficere, ut iam tota quodammodo a memetipsa abalienari et nescio quo abstrahi incipiam? Subito enim innouor et tota immutor, et bene michi 32
In Bernart de Ventadorn, Canzoni, a cura di Mario Mancini, Roma : Carocci, 2003. Che comprende naturalmente anche la dimensione biblica e liturgica. 34 Id., « “Trobar clus” : discussione aperta », p. 53. 35 Ibid. 36 Sulle principali caratteristiche e la « diffusione eccezionale » del trattato fra XII e XIII secolo, testimoniata anche dalla tradizione manoscritta, cf. Dominique Poirel, « Introduction », in L’Œuvre de Hugues de Saint-Victor, t. 1 : De institutione novitiorum, De virtute orandi, De laude caritatis, De arrha anime, texte latin par Hugh B. Feiss – Patrice Sicard ; traduction française par Dominique Poirel, Henri Rochais et Patrice Sicard ; introductions, notes et appendices par D. Poirel, Turnhout : Brepols, 1997 (Sous la Règle de saint Augustin, 3), p. 212-214. Si veda anche Milvia Fioroni, « Introduzione » a Ugo di San Vittore, De arra anime. L’inizio del dono, a cura di Milvia Fioroni, Milano : Glossa, 2000. 33
Il pensiero vittorino e le origini della letteratura romanza 353 esse incipit ultra quam dicere sufficiam. Exhilaratur conscientia, in obliuionem uenit omnis preteritorum dolorum miseria, exultat animus, clarescit intellectus, cor illuminatur, desideria iocundantur, iamque alibi (nescio ubi) me esse uideo et quasi quiddam amplexibus amoris intus teneo, et nescio quid illud sit, et tamen illud semper retinere et nunquam perdere toto adnisu laboro37.
Si osservi non solo “l’illuminazione del cuore” (cor illuminatur) quale risultato della metamorfosi interiore : notevole è l’intensità sensuale del linguaggio che descrive gli effetti della caritas e l’insistenza su un possesso interiore (« quasi quiddam amplexibus amoris intus teneo ») del dono di felicità. Considerata nel contesto più ampio del trattato, la pertinenza del riscontro risalta con maggiore intensità. Ugo tratteggia un percorso di educazione e purificazione dell’anima dal traviamento morale (per cui si è fatta « meretrice » assecondando i falsi piaceri terreni) verso la scoperta dell’autentico amore, e alcuni brani vi presentano un tono raffrontabile a quello marcabruniano : Sed uide quid fecisti, anima mea, dereliquisti sponsum tuum et cum alienis prostituisti amorem tuum. Corrupisti integritatem tuam, fedasti pulchritudinem tuam, dispersisti ornatum tuum. Tam uilis, et tam turpis et tam inmunda facta es, que talis sponsi amplexibus amplius digna non esses. Oblita es ergo sponsi tui, et pro tantis beneficiis condignas gratias non egisti. Meretrix facta es […]38.
Anche Marcabru insiste infatti sull’importanza di discernere fra il vero e il falso (fra Fin’ Amors e Fals’ Amors) : « vey ch’Amors part e cauzis » (v. 3) ; « aicel cui fin’ Amors cauzis » (v. 8), e sulla necessità di « separare la luce dalle tenebre » prima di tutto nella propria interiorità : « mi plus que ls autres reprenh, / que qui autrui vol encolpar / dregs es que si sap[c]ha guardar » (vv. 44-46). Il “rischiararsi” dello spazio interiore coincide dunque con la conquista di una sempre più ampia conoscenza di sé, quale premessa necessaria della felicità. Il motivo appare così strettamente connesso alla linea di quel « socratismo cristiano39 », sviluppato con particolare intensità proprio dalla Scuola di San Vittore, che tanta importanza riveste nella nuova definizione del soggetto durante la « rinascita » del XII secolo. L’accostamento qui proposto fra Pus mos coratges s’es clarzitz e il trattato sul “dono dell’anima” di Ugo di San Vittore costituisce perciò un ulteriore elemento che riconduce l’ispirazione marcabruniana verso l’ambiente vittorino, in quanto spazio privilegiato per la definizione di una nuova linea di « psicologia affettiva » basata sul lavoro esegetico sulle Scritture, e di un 37
De arrha animae, ed. L’Œuvre de Hugues de Saint-Victor, p. 282. Ivi, p. 256. 39 Cf. Étienne Gilson, L’esprit de la philosophie médiévale, Paris : Vrin, 1948 (Études de philosophie médiévale, 33), cap. XI : « La connaissance de soi-même et le socratisme chrétien », p. 214-233. 38
354
Mira Mocan
programma di « educazione dell’anima » che rivaluta fortemente il ruolo della componente affettiva ed emozionale come motore dell’evoluzione spirituale. 7. Il rapporto di ricezione non va però considerato soltanto in modo unilaterale. Una delle prospettive critiche più rilevanti e feconde degli ultimi anni in relazione al complesso rapporto fra cultura poetica e cultura religiosa nel XII secolo è quella che suggerisce, al contrario, la reciprocità di un rapporto bidirezionale, documentando la ricettività del mondo religioso nei confronti della nuova cultura letteraria espressa dalla poesia laica. In tal senso, il mondo vittorino emerge sempre di più quale spazio di mediazione particolarmente vitale, attento ai valori secolari in generale e all’armamentario tipico della poesia, di tradizione classica ma anche profana, in particolare. L’apertura al dialogo con le realtà laiche e con la vita della città nel suo complesso è d’altronde una delle caratteristiche salienti della comunità dei canonici regolari di San Vittore, tanto sul piano intellettuale quanto su quello dell’esercizio quotidiano della fede. Ne dà la migliore testimonianza, come è noto, il programma pedagogico espresso da Ugo nel Didascalicon, dove accanto alla filosofia e alle artes entrano a far parte della formazione intellettuale anche i saperi tecnici e il lavoro manuale40. La stessa dottrina elaborata dai Vittorini contiene inoltre non soltanto degli elementi di ideologia e di dottrina “spendibili” sul piano della nascente cultura volgare, ma persino delle aperture e delle acquisizioni del tutto in sintonia con le principali conquiste della nascente letteratura e civiltà delle corti : poiché « le monde des écoles n’est pas une citadelle fermée au siècle, dans laquelle on vivrait dans la seule compagnie des Anciens et de Pères, mais nos auteurs […] introduisent dans leurs œuvres quelque chose de la réalité et de la mentalité extérieures41 ». Del resto, come ha dimostrato Dominique Poirel, lo stesso Ugo non è estraneo, tanto nella sua prima formazione quanto nelle manifestazioni più alte e mature, ai modi, ai temi e alle istanze fondamentali per la cultura e la letteratura profana del suo tempo. Come appare evidente nelle più autorevoli letture della sua opera, al contrario, egli ne sa assumere e rielaborare i motivi più specifici, talvolta rifunzionalizzandoli in chiave teologica, con risultati di notevole originalità : è quanto può essere affermato dell’esaltazione della bellezza della natura (così intensa anche in altri rappresentanti della Scuola, come ad esempio Riccardo), della gioia dell’unione amorosa, intesa in senso spirituale ma anche erotico. Particolarmente rilevante in tal senso è la recente messa in luce e analisi della dimensione « cortese » entro la quale viene sviluppato il programma del De institutione novitiorum42, nella 40
Poirel, « Aux sources d’une influence », p. 17. Ivi, p. 140. 42 Dominique Poirel, « Nature, amour et courtoisie. Les valeurs séculières d’un chanoine régulier », in Les écoles de pensée, p. 139-155. 41
Il pensiero vittorino e le origini della letteratura romanza 355 quale è espresso quasi un galateo dell’« etica cavalleresca », guidato valori come la « beauté de la nature, la douceur de l’amour et l’élégance des belles manières, qui auront bientôt toute leur place dans la littérature romane43 ». 8. Anche il già citato De arrha animae porta le tracce, a mio avviso, di una simile apertura e ricettività nei confronti del coevo dibattito amoroso in lingua volgare. Lo testimoniano il lessico e l’imagerie retorica, collocabili sullo sfondo di un amplissimo e fecondo terreno interdiscorsivo per cui, come è noto, quasi sempre nella descrizione dell’amore spirituale gli autori religiosi si appropriano del linguaggio della passione profana. Ma sono forse da annoverare entro questo contesto la stessa rappresentazione dell’anima, futura sponsa Christi, nelle vesti di una « damigella » impegnata a vagliare la sua arrha, la « garanzia » di fidanzamento quale « anticipo » della promessa felicità matrimoniale, nonché la complessa, sottostante dialettica del dono, che evoca dinamiche di carattere cavalleresco-cortese familiari a tutti e ben determinanti per la coeva rappresentazione della « metafora feudale » da parte dei poeti laici. L’intero percorso tratteggiato nel dialogo in cui la voce di Ugo porta l’anima, « au fil d’échanges courtois, de l’amour du monde à l’amour d’elle-même, puis de l’amour d’elle-même à l’amour de Dieu, enfin, d’un amour égoïste et immature de Dieu à un amour débordant de reconnaissance et de générosité44 » si snoda lungo coordinate non dissimili dal perfezionamento amoroso che caraterizza la conquista della fin’amors. Inoltre, negli iniziali dubbi e tentennamenti dal parte dell’Anima sembrano affiorare anche echi più puntuali del dibattito portato avanti in sede poetica. Colpisce ad esempio l’impasse descritta dall’anima nell’esordio del trattato, dove emerge con evidenza il tema della visibilità dell’amore (« Sicut amare non possum quod nunquam uidi, sic, de his omnibus que uidentur, nichil adhuc amare non potui45 »), e la sua declinazione nei termini di una « quête » dell’autentico amore : Quomodo potest demonstrari quod uideri non potest ? Quod autem uideri non potest, quomodo potest diligi ? Certe si in rebus temporalibus et que uideri possunt uerus et permanens amor non est, amari autem non potest quod non potest uideri, eterna miseria semper uiuentem sequitur, si semper permanens amor non inuenitur.
Pur nella loro innegabile radice agostiniana, è difficile non cogliere in queste formulazioni la risonanza con uno degli snodi principali dell’ideologia dell’amore cortese (e delle sue propaggini due-trecentesche), secondo l’assioma della 43
Ivi, p. 140. Dominique Poirel, « Les arrhes du fiancé. Fins dernières et vie présente chez Hugues de Saint-Victor († 1141) », in Communio : revue catholique internationale, t. 260, 2018 (Imaginer les fins dernières), p. 33-41, a p. 35. 45 De arrha animae, ed. L’Œuvre de Hugues de Saint-Victor, p. 228. 44
356
Mira Mocan
passio […] procedens ex visione ; nonché con la declinazione negativa di questo assunto nel celebre topos dell’amore ses vezer. Intorno al tema si confrontano, probabilmente qualche decennio prima, i primi aristocratici poeti in lingua d’oc, Jaufre Rudel e Guglielmo IX d’Aquitania : « Nuils hom no·s meravill de mi / s’ieu am so que ja no·m veira, / que·l cor joi d’autr’amor non a / mas de cela qu’ieu anc no vi », afferma il primo, mentre il secondo ribadisce parodicamente : « Anc non la vi et am la fort », dando vita a una contrapposizione fra « amore degli occhi » e « amore del cuore » che attraverserà tutta la poesia romanza delle origini. La riflessione intorno alla necessità che l’oggetto amato « passi per la vista », che ha come corollario i dibattiti in tenzone sulla resposabilità degli occhi o del cuore nel processo dell’innamoramento, percorre infatti l’intera stagione trobadorica, con importanti riprese nella successiva poesia in volgare siciliano (ad esempio nella celebre tenzone fra Jacopo Mostacci, Pier delle Vigne e Giacomo da Lentini), e ancora presente fra i quesiti affrontati dalla canzone filosofica di Guido Cavalcanti, Donna me prega : « s’omo per veder lo po’ mostrare ». Accanto ai prelievi che i primi poeti d’arte in lingua volgare hanno desunto dagli autori vittorini e all’indagine sulle modalità con cui potevano farlo, un altro, fecondo cantiere di indagine pare dunque aprirsi, sul fronte della ricettività del pensiero vittorino verso stimoli provenienti dalla coeva cultura letteraria. La lungimirante apertura del programma pedagogico della Scuola di San Vittore nei confronti di tutte le forme del sapere e dell’esperienza sembrerebbe infatti abbracciare anche le espressioni dell’ideologia cortese, costituendo una luminosa eccezione alla nota diffidenza o addirittura condanna della poesia in età scolastica.
Masters, Mystics, & Ministers in the Medieval City Boyd Taylor Coolman
The modern state and the modern city were both born in the « long twelfth century. » Between 1066-1245/1075-1215, more or less modern forms of government emerged in England, Germany, and France1, while a rapid process of urbanization produced great European cities that still exist today, e.g., Paris, Milan, Bologna, Florence, Venice, and Grenada. Intimately intertwined with urbanization was the creation of the medieval university2 (to which the modern university is heir), in many of these same cities, such as Paris and Bologna, as well as Oxford, 1
For the state, see Joseph Strayer, On the Medieval Origins of the Modern State, Princeton : Princeton University Press, 1970 ; and Norman F. Cantor, Inventing the Middle Ages : The Lives, Works and Ideas of the Great Medievalists of the Tentieth Century, New York : William Morrow, 1991, p. 245-286 : « In their [Haskins and Strayer] view, the most important accomplishment of the twelfth century was the rationalization and centralization of government […] first in England under the Norman Kings, about the same time, with only partial success in Germany, and finally – by the end of the twelfth century and very aggressively, in France. » And : « Like all governments before the late nineteenth century, the new monarchies concentrated on law, taxation, and defense : they did nothing about social service, welfare, or education. » This « role of government in European life changed very little between about 1270 and 1870 : its basic functions were delineated by the royal bureaucrats and lawyers of the thirteenth century », p. 264-265. « More than any previous medieval European government, Anglo-Norman government [under William the Conqueror after 1066] was rational. The origins of the modern state we can with justification say was being born here […] This was the first planned society since the Roman Empire », p. 275. 2 See Cantor, Inventing, p. 267 : « In the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, then, the ablest young men found idealistic, well-paid, and satisfying work in government and law. It was one of those rare periods when young people could advance rapidly to positions of power […] University graduates became much less revolutionary after 1180, and they moved on to spectacular achievements in the establishment of legal systems that exist to this day : they organized the transition from feudal to mercenary armies ; they established long-term systems of taxation […]. They wanted the central government to be strong because they were part of it, and they were largely responsible for the creation of the mystique of monarchy and the development of a significant sense of national identity. » Omnium expetendorum prima est sapientia. Studies on Victorine thought and influence, ed. by Wanda Bajor, Michał Buraczewski, Marcin Jan Janecki and Dominique Poirel, BV, 29 (Turnhout, 2021), p. 357–373. © BREPOLSPUBLISHERS DOI 10.1484/M.BV-EB.5.126044
358
Boyd Taylor Coolman
and Cambridge. The rapid emergence of the university from the cathedral schools reflects an intellectual and educational renaissance in this period that was a function of a concurrent and widespread religious revival. This spawned the creation of new forms of urban religious life in which significant segments of the population, men and women, clergy and laity, pursued Christian discipleship in the context of intentional communities formed in towns and cities expressly for this purpose. Uniting all these elements (urban context, educational zeal, and religious fervor), the shape of this urban Christianity was three-dimensional : teaching and learning, prayer and worship, service and ministry ; it was also tri-locational, carried out concurrently in the school, in the sanctuary, and in the streets (or in the classroom, in the choir, and in the city). Its members can be described as masters, mystics, and ministers. It produced a distinctive theology, spirituality, and practice, which this study seeks to describe. Victorine-Franciscan : A Distinct Tradition of Medieval Theology In his classic account of the nature of Christian theology and its relation to all other fields of study, On the Reduction of the Arts to Theology, the thirteenthcentury Franciscan master, St Bonaventure of Bagnoregio (c. 1217-1274), argues thus regarding the discipline of theology : Hence all Sacred Scripture teaches these three truths3 : namely, the eternal generation and Incarnation of Christ, the pattern of human life, and the union of the soul with God. The first regards faith ; the second, morals ; and the third, the ultimate end of both. The doctors should labor at the study of the first ; the preachers, at the study of the second ; the contemplatives, at the study of the third. The first is taught chiefly by Augustine ; the second, by Gregory ; the third, by Dionysius. Anselm follows Augustine ; Bernard follows Gregory ; Richard (of Saint Victor) follows Dionysius. For Anselm excels in reasoning ; Bernard, in preaching ; Richard, in contemplating ; but Hugh (of Saint Victor) [excels] in all three4. 3 In the preceding paragraph, Bonaventure described the nature of Scripture thus : « Although in its literal sense [Scripture] is one, still, in its spiritual and mystical sense, it is threefold, for in all the books of Sacred Scripture, in addition to the literal meaning which the words outwardly express, there is understood a threefold spiritual meaning : namely, the allegorical, by which we are taught what to believe concerning the Divinity and humanity ; the moral, by which we are taught how to live ; and the anagogical, by which we are taught how to be united to God. » 4 Bonaventure, De reductione artium ad theologiam, in Opera omnia, t. V, Quaracchi : Collegium S. Bonaventurae, 1891, p. 321 : « Unde tota sacra Scriptura haec tria docet, scilicet Christi aeternam generationem et incarnationem, vivendi ordinem et Dei et animae unionem. Primum respicit fidem, secundum mores, tertium finem utriusque. Circa primum insudare debet studium
Masters, Mystics, & Ministers in the Medieval City
359
This highly condensed summary of the nature of the theological enterprise, as Bonaventure conceived of it, provides a useful point of departure for this study. Bonaventure assumes this account of theology to be traditional. Glancing back over the preceding Christian centuries, spanning both his immediate and remote predecessors, he assumes that this has always been the theological understanding of Scripture and its import. The chief practitioners of this theological art are patristic paragons and twelfth-century luminaries ; nearer to his own time, these have acquired apprentices : « doctors » follow Augustine and Anselm in teaching the faith ; « preachers » imitate Gregory and Bernard in studying morals ; « contemplatives » track Dionysius and Richard of St Victor in pursuit of mystical union. Noteworthy in this retrospective is the choice of twelfth-century exemplars. All hale from the first half of the twelfth century, broadly defined ; each represents an innovative and vital fixture of that century’s religious landscape, the Benedictine, the Cistercian, and the Victorine. Though a member of the traditional form of Benedictine monasticism dominant in the West since the sixth century, Anselm of Canterbury represents emergent scholastic theology. Bernard of Clairvaux represents the leading movement of monastic reform in the twelfth century, namely the Cistercians, as well as its most profound and influential tradition of spiritual theology. Richard of St Victor, representing the « canons regular » who sought the reform of the clergy, is emblematic of new currents of mystical theology flowing through that century. Bonaventure’s leap from the ancient fathers to these recent figures reflects his esteem for the twelfth century as a whole – notice the yawning gap of nearly half a millennium separating Gregory the Great from Anselm of Canterbury – and signals his theological priorities. « But Hugh excels in all three ». Striking is the stature that Bonaventure affords Hugh of St Victor (d. 1141), the founder of the so-called « Victorine school », located at the Abbey of St Victor in the center of early twelfth-century Paris, just across the Seine from the Cathedral of Notre Dame. Not only does Hugh stand out among these twelfth-century luminaries ; he also has no patristic counterpart. He alone encompasses and integrates the various sub-disciplines of Bonaventure’s theological enterprise. To position Hugh thus, not merely as the exemplar in one
doctorum, circa secundum studium praedicatorum, circa tertium studium contemplativorum. Primum maxime docet Augustinus, secundum maxime docet Gregorium, tertium vero docet Dionysius ; Anselmus sequitur Augustinum, Bernardus sequitur Gregorium, Richardus sequitur Dionysium, quia Anselmus in ratiocinatione, Bernardus in praedicatione, Richardus in contemplatione. Hugo vero omnia haec. »
360
Boyd Taylor Coolman
aspect, but in an unprecedented way of all, is to put him at the pinnacle of all that Bonaventure esteems – « le modèle du théologien accompli5. » Lastly, while this text is ambiguous, Bonaventure seems to imply that each of these different branches of the one theological enterprise are practiced by distinct groups : doctors, preachers, and contemplatives. Whether by his day such a clearcut division of labor was a fixture of the theological landscape or not, his idealization of Hugh as a single theologian in whom they all were found in an integrated fashion has a whiff of nostalgia about it, as if this disciplinary distinction was becoming an institutional and practical separation. Bonaventure thus situates himself at a critical juncture in the evolution of medieval theology and within a particular theological tradition, deeply rooted in patristic soil and already blossoming in the twelfth century, of which Hugh of St Victor is the paradigmatic practioner. Nearly a century ago, the eminent twentieth-century medievalist, Étienne Gilson, predicted that further study of the period between Hugh and Bonaventure would reveal this crucial VictorineFranciscan axis in the evolution of medieval theology : « Such works testify amply, and they will testify more and more, as they are studied, of the intense vitality manifested by Christian thought towards the end of the twelfth century and the beginning of the thirteenth century. Far from appearing to us as a messy site occupied by teams of anarchic workers… it appears to us as resolutely engaged since the time of Victorines in the way that leads to S Bonaventure6. » More recently, J. G. Bougerol has noted that a distinctive thirteenth-century Franciscan (in contrast to Dominican) interest in the Victorines was already deeply imbedded in Franciscan intellectual culture by Bonaventure’s time7. Bonaventure’s account of theology thus invites scholars to map the contours and plumb the depths of a continuous and coherent « Victorine-Franciscan » (VF) tradition running from Hugh to Bonaventure (and including such figures as Richard of St Victor, Thomas of St Victor (Gallus), Robert Grosseteste, and Alexander of Hales), one that is neatly organized and usefully analyzed around this threefold division. One might even see the nascent Franciscan movement in the 5 Sylvain Piron, « Franciscains et victorins : Tableau d’une reception », in L’école de SaintVictor. Influence et rayonnement du Moyen Âge à la Renaissance. Colloque international du C.N.R.S. pour le neuvième centenaire de la fondation (1108-2008). Actes réunis par Dominique Poirel, Turnhout : Brepols, 2010 (Bibliotheca Victorina, 22), p. 521-545, at 522. 6 Étienne Gilson, La philosophie de saint Bonaventure, Paris : Vrin, 1924 (Études de philosophie médiévale, 4), p. 468. He continues : « Of essentially theological inspiration, it uses, without false shame, the terminology or even the doctrine of Aristotle, but under the express condition that none of its constituent principles will ever come to replace those of Augustine in the edifice built by tradition. » 7 Jacques Guy Bougerol, Introduction to Saint Bonaventure, Paris : Vrin, 1988, p. 94.
Masters, Mystics, & Ministers in the Medieval City
361
early thirteenth century as the Francis-inspired transformation, even sublimation, of the twelfth-century Victorine tradition, which seems to wane precisely as the Franciscan tradition begins to wax8. Comprehensive Ortho As a disciplined program for understanding Scripture, both rightly and comprehensively, theology for Bonaventure encompasses three fundamental concerns and dimensions, namely, as he himself puts it : « what to believe », « how to live », and « how to be united to God. » Without excessive anachronism, these three parts might well be labeled by modern terms of theological art that all share a common prefix : « ortho-doxy », speculative theology/doctrine, « ortho-praxy », practical morality/ethics, and « ortho-pathy », mystical theology9. A simplifying paraphrase might be « right belief », « right practice », and « right experience. » The « rectitude » of « ortho » here connotes something broader and deeper than merely the opposite of heterodox or heretical, i.e., something more capacious than a bright line dividing true or false, right or wrong, correct or crooked. It has rather the sense of « order » (ordo) – properly arranged, rightly structured, well organized, fittingly integrated, and best practiced, all promoting intellectual nourishment, affective maturity, moral development, and, ultimately, human flourishing. This is in fact deeply medieval, part of an oft-noted passion for ordo that mushroomed in the twelfth century and is variously visible in religious, ecclesial, 8 Regarding the relationship between the Victorine and the Franciscan traditions, see this issue of Franciscan Studies, t. 72, 2012, p. 337-410 : Dominique Poirel, « De l’intégration au dépouillement : Thomas de Celano et sa réception de quelques thèmes d’Hugues de SaintVictor », p. 341-366 ; Boyd T. Coolman, « Hugh of St Victor’s Influence on the Halesian Definition of Theology », p. 367-384 ; Paul Rorem, « Bonaventure’s ideal and Hugh of St Victor’s Comprehensive Biblical Theology », p. 385-397 ; Id., « Dionysian Uplifting Anagogy in Bonaventure’s Reductio » ; Dale M. Coulter, « The Victorine Sub-structure of Bonaventure’s Thought », p. 399-410. See also Dominique Poirel, « Circulation des manuscrits, des textes et des idées : la réception des maîtres de Saint-Victor dans l’ordre franciscain », in Entre stabilité et itinérance. Livre et culture des ordres mendiants (xiiie-xve siècle), éd. Nicole Bériou – Martin Morard – Donatella Nebbiai Dalla Guarda, Turnhout : Brepols, 2014 (Bibliologia. Ele menta ad librorum studia pertinentia, 37), p. 289-302. See also the forthcoming proceedings from the conference : La cultura dei Vittorini e la letteratura medievale. Convegno internazionale, Scuola Normale Superiore di Pisa, 23-25 janvier 2019, ed. Corrado Bologna – Carlo Zacchetti, Pisa : Scuola Normale Superiore di Pisa. 9 Perhaps coined first by Wesleyan scholars, e.g., the Methodist theologian, Theodore Runyon, first began using these three terms together and even introduced the term orthopathy in the 1980s while at Emory. Cf. Theodore Runyon, The New Creation : John Wesley’s Theology Today, Nashville, TN : Abingdon Press, 1998.
362
Boyd Taylor Coolman
political, legal, intellectual, educational contexts. Deployed here, « ortho » thus has this fulsome set of semantic hues associated with ordo. If not so barbarous, one could also speak of « ordo-doxy », « ordo-praxis », and « ordo-pathos. » Bonaventure’s theological enterprise may be schematized thus : Ortho-doxy: Trinity/Incarnation faith doctors Augustine/Anselm Ortho-praxis: Order of living morals preachers Gregory/Bernard Ortho-pathos: Union with God experience contemplatives Dionysius/Richard
Three-Dimensional Theology While this study will adopt Bonaventure’s taxonomy, a certain degree of generous latitude in the definition of each term and its semantic field of associations will be allowed. Doxy has a sense broader than a list of ecclesial dogmas ; it pertains to the entire intellectual dimension of the human person as well as to the logical, conceptual, and systematic dimension of Christian faith ; i.e., what faith believes to be true (fides quae), insofar as that is susceptible to speculative conceptualization, symbolic representation, cognition, and intellectual apprehension. It entails the pursuit of an understanding of what is believed (intellectus fidei) and is the realm of doctrine or teachings (doctrina), individually and in their systematic arrangement, coherence, and unity. Anthropologically, it pertains to the intellect, broadly defined, including understanding, reason, imagination, and even sense-perception. Praxis pertains to exterior, voluntary, and embodied acts, i.e., occurring outside the embodied self, that have an ethico-moral and/or religious significance. Generally, it is the sphere of the « active life », of externalized holiness or sanctity, involving « good works » of all kinds. Praxis includes typically « religious » practices of both clergy (e.g., activities associated with priestly and sacramental ministry, such as sacramental celebration, preaching, pastoral care, etc.) and laity (e.g., corporeal and spiritual « works of mercy ») as divided up in the Middle Ages. Anthropologically, praxis pertains to the will (voluntas), the capacity for intentional acts, including free choice or decision (liberum arbitrium). Pathos (and its Latin correlate, affectus), perhaps the most complex notion of the three, governs a wide range of interior states, dispositions/devotions, feelings/ emotions, and experiences. Most fundamentally, it is a religious capacity to be affected by, to be « spiritually sensate » to, and thus to « undergo » and receive, the interior workings of the Holy Spirit (i.e., grace). It pertains to ordinary religious affections or emotions, both positive (e.g., desire, longing, affection, delight, love, trust, etc.) and negative (e.g., contrition, compunction, compassion, guilt,
Masters, Mystics, & Ministers in the Medieval City
363
grief, etc.). But pathos also pertains to more extraordinary religious experiences, mystical consciousness, ecstatic states in relation to union with God, and so correlates with the medieval notion of contemplatio. At the same time, pathos will encompass interior dispositions that are best labeled moral or ethical (e.g., humility, poverty of spirit, compassion, generosity, etc.) and intellectual, and thus includes the moral and intellectual virtues, as defined by Aristotle, namely, as abiding, interior dispositions or inclinations (habitus) toward certain kinds of acts. For example, a desire for intellectual knowledge, a love of truth, a passion for justice, and a disposition toward chastity all fall under this notion of pathos. As suggested by its etymology, pathos is primarily passive and receptive, in contrast to the active voluntarism (voluntas) of praxis ; one cannot choose one’s feelings or desires, at least spontaneously or immediately. In fact, pathos and praxis can be at odds (i.e., one can choose and act against one’s desires and feelings). Yet, despite the passivity of pathos, its dispositions and experiences can in some measure and mode be prepared for ; one can cultivate the conditions for their emergence, especially through the practices of private prayer and contemplation as well as corporate worship and liturgy. This paradigm presents itself as a useful heuristic for an introduction to high medieval theology, even though no overarching claim about « the medieval mind » or a single, monolithic « medieval theology » is proffered. In brief, the form of theology curated in the Victorine-Franciscan tradition, from the time William of Champeaux left the precincts of Notre Dame for the Abbey of Saint-Victor to the death of St Bonaventure (c. 1108-1274), is usefully seen and productively analyzed under these three irreducible, yet intricately related heads : orthodoxy, orthopathy, and orthopraxy. The Tri-Modal V-F Ordering of Christian Discipleship and Ministry For neither the Victorines nor the Franciscans, though, was this triad merely a way of organizing theological reflection on Scripture. Rather, it corresponded to a mode of Christian existence (modus vivendi) in which they both pioneered and participated, though they did not have identical religious rules or modes of life. At a deep level, moreover, both orders are « precipitates » of a widespread religious revival that occurred in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, in which various new forms of living out the full gospel were creatively invented and energetically pursued. This so-called quest for the vita apostolica – the authentic form of discipleship to Jesus Christ, for which the original apostles were the model – is variously visible. The Victorines and Franciscans take their place here among
364
Boyd Taylor Coolman
many others, including the Cistercians, the Praemonstratensians, Carthusians, Waldensians, Humiliati, Dominicans, Augustinians, etc. – and Beguines. Indeed, the early friars coined the phrase « evangelical perfection » in their defense of the Franciscan way of life in response to contemporary detractors10. Though much more will be said below regarding the Victorine and Franciscan modes of life, a brief overview is helpful here. One of the expressions of this revival was a concern with the quality of Christian living among clergy (especially bishops, priests, and deacons). In the eyes of many, including a series of popes, there was a great need for reform among these clergy who served the institutional church outside of monasteries (i.e., « secular », in the world), usually in cathedral churches and their affiliates. Such clergy were called « canons », since they were registered on the list (canon) of clergy at a particular location. This concern for reform of the secular clergy spawned a movement called the « canons regular. » These were reform-minded priests who wished to create « intentional communities » of priests, living together under a rule (regula) of life in pursuit of holiness, like monks did, though remaining « in the world » in their work of priestly ministry. In the early decades of the twelfth century, this reform movement came to the Cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris, the result of which was the formation of a community of canons regular at an abandoned Abbey dedicated to St Victor, just across the Seine from the cathedral. Thus was born the Victorine community, of which the above-noted Hugh is the most famous member and founding teacher. At Saint-Victor, the canons followed a rule of life (ordo vivendi) derived from the writings of St Augustine, which included a regular pattern of (1) rigorous study of the liberal arts and philosophy, theology, and Scripture, (2) personal and corporate prayer and contemplation, along with (3) moral formation and pastoral ministry, all enwrapped within and supported by a common life of liturgical prayer and worship, table-fellowship, spiritual direction and accountability. Here, Bonaventure’s three dimensions of theology correspond to the three central pillars of the Victorine mode of life. In the early decades of the thirteenth century, the Franciscan friars forged a modus vivendi that while novel in certain respects (e.g., a penitential emphasis, a uniquely radical concept of apostolic poverty, and especially mendicancy), rapidly evolved into a form quite similar to that of the Victorines. When one contemporary observed that the friars « go into the cities and villages during the day, giving 10
Neslihan Senoçak, The Poor and the Perfect : the rise of learning in the Franciscan Order, 1209-1310, Ithaca – London : Cornell University Press, 2012, p. 135 : « […] a term that was not employed in theological discourse prior to being used by the Franciscans. » It also seems to have been influenced by Joachite ideas spreading among the order, as the status evangelicae perfectionis was thought to be Joachim’s third status (see note 205).
Masters, Mystics, & Ministers in the Medieval City
365
themselves over to the active life…, while at night they return to their hermitage or solitary places to devote themselves to contemplation », the orthopraxic and orthopathic dimensions are plainly in view11 ; when another noted that « although the friars were striving exceedingly for fervent simplicity and purity of conscience, they were particularly fervent in listening to the scriptures and in scholastic exercises, [so much so that they were going every day to the schools of theology, no matter how distant, with bare feet, not slowing down even in the deep mud and freezing cold12] », orthodoxy is added in. Early on, though (for various complex reasons to be described below), the shape of Franciscan life shifted from heremitical mendicancy to urban ministry, very similar to the Victorines : « The administration of the Franciscan Order of the 1240s adopted an official strategy to create a community of learned and respectable men, living more or less an urban, semimonastic life, and turning away from the early Franciscan tradition of wandering friar-hermits13. » The epicenter for this development was Paris, where the Franciscans arrived in 1219 (the very year that Thomas of St Victor (Gallus), the last of the great medieval Victorines, left Paris for the northern Italian town of Vercelli to start a Victorine community there – a symbolic passing of the Parisian baton14). If Hugh of St Victor is the twelfth-century exemplar of this V-F tradition, St Anthony of Padua is paradigmatic in the early decades of the thirteenth15. Significantly, Anthony had been an Augustinian canon regular in Lisbon before joining the Franciscans after 1220. He was also reputed to have been an intimate friend 11
Jacques de Vitry, Lettres, no. 1, ed. Robert C. B. Huygens, Lettres de Jacques de Vitry (1160/1170-1240), évêque de Saint-Jean-d’Acre, Leiden : Brill, 1960, p. 75-76, trans. in Francis of Assisi : Early Documents, t. 1 : The Saint, ed. Regis J. Armstrong – J. A. Wayne Hellmann – William J. Short, New York : New City Press, 1999, p. 579, cited in Senoçak, The Poor and the Perfect, p. 41. 12 Thomas of Eccleston 27, quoted in Senoçak, The Poor and the Perfect, p. 89. 13 Senoçak, The Poor and the Perfect, p. 82. 14 At first the friars lived at the Benedictine Abbey of Saint-Denis, where the Franciscans had been given a place by the monks ; perhaps at the same time a house on Montagne SainteGeneviève, where the Victorines also had a house (see Marshall E. Crossnoe, « Education and the Care of Souls : Pope Gregory IX, the Order of St Victor, and the University of Paris in 1237 », in Mediaeval Studies, t. 61, 1999, p. 137-172, p. 146) – both locations having an established link to the Victorines. 15 Senoçak, The Poor and the Perfect, p. 112-113 : This was facilitated by Julian of Speyer, who composed a Divine Office for his feast day ( June 13) an account of his life, the so-called Vita secunda (so called because it was based on a prior account, by an anonymous friar from the Paduan convent at the time of Anthony’s canonization, known as the Vita prima or Assidua), both of which became well known to the friars. Julian takes pains to depict Anthony as a loyal follower of Francis and thus an exemplary Franciscan. « Anthony comes across as a friar whose wisdom and erudition were in perfect harmony with the mainstream Franciscan virtues of poverty and humility. »
366
Boyd Taylor Coolman
of the Victorine, Thomas Gallus, with whom was a contemporary and living in Northern Italy – thus forging an even closer symbolic link between the Victorines and the early Franciscans16. Famous for his preaching and holiness of life – the second Franciscan saint, after Francis himself, his canonization proceeded faster than the Poverello’s ! – he was also very well educated17. When he wrote for permission to teach theology to the friars, Francis famously replied : « It pleases me that you teach sacred theology to the friars, provided that you do not extinguish the spirit of prayer and devotion, as it is said in the Rule18 » – linking orthodoxy and orthopathy, even if ambivalently19. Upon his death, the Franciscans began to appropriate Anthony as the model Franciscan, perhaps even more than Francis himself20 ! This « franciscanization » of Anthony21 « carves a new Franciscan role model », in whom theological study [orthodoxy] is « a necessary part of Franciscan life », 16
St Anthony seems to have known and revered Thomas Gallus, cf. Gabriel Théry, « S. Antoine de Padoue et Thomas Gallus », (a) « Formation du thème vercellien », in La vie spirituelle, t. 37, 1933, p. 94-114 ; (b) « Critique du thème vercellien », in La vie spirituelle, t. 37, 1933, p. 163178 ; (c) « L’éloge de S. Antoine de Padoue par Thomas Gallus », in La vie spirituelle, t. 38, 1934, p. 22-51. See also Jean Châtillon, « Saint Antoine de Padoue et les victorins », in Il Santo, t. 22, 1982, p. 171-202, republished in Jean Châtillon, Le mouvement canonial au Moyen Âge : réforme de l’Église, spiritualité et culture. Études réunies par Patrice Sicard, Paris – Turnhout : Brepols, 1992 (Bibliotheca Victorina, 3), p. 255-292. As Piron notes, Anthony had been trained in Lisbon and especially in Coimbra, with regular canons, who read Victorine writers, some of whom might have even studied in Paris with Gallus. Anthony also seems to have spent time studying with the Parisian-trained Gallus in Vercelli, perhaps coinciding with an attempt to found a university there in 1228, which involved attracting the masters and students of Padua (Piron, « Franciscains et victorins », p. 528). 17 Senoçak, The Poor and the Perfect, p. 112 : « He was very well educated and, after taking the Franciscan habit, became famous in a short time mainly through his very effective preaching. His fame was so well established in his own time that his canonization proceeded even more quickly than that of Francis. Anthony died in 1231 and he was canonized by Pope Gregory IX less than year later in 1232. » 18 Caietanus Esser, Opuscula Sancti Patris Francisci Assisiensis, Quaracchi : Collegium S. Bonaventurae, 1978, p. 94-95. 19 The issue of the relationship between authentic fidelity to Francis and scholastic learning is immensely fraught and difficult. But it seems clear that by the mid-thirteenth century, the Franciscans had by and large made their peace with formal learning and theological study, though ambivalence remained : « Paris, Paris, you destroyed the Order of St Francis », « has been interpreted, rather naturally, as a lament over the Order’s involvement with the scholastic world. » (Senoçak, The Poor and the Perfect, p. 100, n. 70). 20 Senoçak, The Poor and the Perfect, p. 142 : « Judging by the written testimonies they left after they became Franciscans, the learned friars indisputably saw learning, but above all teaching as part of the perfection of the apostolic life. The Franciscan vow to follow the apostolic life obliged them to engage in learning and teaching the Gospel […]. In this new identity, Anthony of Padua rather than Francis of Assisi was the Franciscan saint to be imitated. » 21 See Antonio Rigon, Dal libro alla folla : Antonio de Padova e il francescanesimo medievale, Roma : Viella, 2002, p. 57.
Masters, Mystics, & Ministers in the Medieval City
367
since it is both « useful for preaching » [orthopraxis] and « makes one a ‘better’ Christian by strengthening the knowledge of virtue and vice » [orthopathy]22. In Franciscan sermons, Anthony is the ideal brother in whom « efficient preaching [orthopraxis] on account of his learning [orthodoxy] is strongly united to his virtuous life and character based on the primary Franciscan virtues of humility and poverty [orthopathy]23. » He was simultaneously professor, preacher, and pauper. In short, like the Victorines, the Franciscans practiced a form of life involving : (1) rigorous theological study24, (2) cultivation of affective devotion, virtue, and mystical contemplation, and (3) voluntary poverty and active ministry of preaching, teaching (docere verbo et exemplo), and pastoral care25, all buoyed by a distinctively Franciscan form of liturgy and common prayer that arguably stressed the same values26. But it should be noted that, while the V-F tradition was thus a theological framework and way of life developed for clerics, at its deepest level of motivation, it was a way of living out the gospel, an expression of intentional, even radical discipleship – a particular result of the broader medieval quest for the true vita apostolica. For various historical and cultural reasons, in its particular outworking within the High Middle Ages, this version of the quest expressed itself most typically in clerical life, though it should be noted that Francis’ original vision for his fraternity embraced both clerical and lay members (including women and 22 Senoçak, The Poor and the Perfect, p. 112-113. The ideal Franciscan that Anthony is represents is that « of a learned friar embracing voluntary simplicity. » 23 Senoçak, The Poor and the Perfect, p. 114-115. See the sermons of John of Rupella on St Anthony. 24 In Paris, the Franciscans soon acquired their own university chair of theology, when the most famous Parisian master of the day, Alexander of Hales, joined the order in 1236, thus integrating the Franciscan convent into the nascent University of Paris. 25 Senoçak, The Poor and the Perfect, p. 75 : « Haymo of Faversham was the first minister general [1240-1244] who united in himself the three essentials that defined the new Franciscan leadership : priesthood [orthopraxis], university education [orthodoxy], and strict adherence to poverty [orthopathy]. » 26 Senoçak, The Poor and the Perfect, p. 74-75 : « [Haymo of Faversham] set himself the task of composing a new ordinal, one that would be particularly ‘Franciscan.’ […] Haymo’s new ordinal contained three self-sufficient, exclusive orders of service : for the Breviary, for graces at meals, and for the Mass. […] In this new ordinal, Haymo set the feast dates to be celebrated throughout the Order. These were the feast and translation of St Francis [orthopathy], and the feasts of Saint Anthony of Padua [all three], Saint Elizabeth of Hungary [orthopraxis], Saint Dominic [orthopraxis], and Saint Catherine of Alexandria [orthodoxy]. The inclusion of the latter saint was a significant symbolic gesture. The cult of Catherine of Alexandra was associated in Haymo’s day particularly with the University of Paris, as she became the patron saint of the university sometime after 1230. Haymo’s vision of Franciscanism certainly contained a significant element of scholarship and learning. »
368
Boyd Taylor Coolman
married)27 : a « hybrid life » uniting lay and clerics, « two worlds that were increasingly pushed apart by the institutional church and its reforms28. » This is because the V-F model of discipleship presumed and valorized literacy and education29, and even though lay literacy was rapidly expanding at this time, nevertheless most educated people during these centuries were clerics. But as lay literacy increased, the model was increasingly a viable option for lay persons too. So, in principle, the V-F model was (and is) a versatile model of Christian existence, a modus vivendi for any educated « intentional disciple » whether clerical or lay30. Gradually, over the course of the twelfth century « a religious consciousness arose which saw Christianity as a way of life laid down in the Gospels which was binding on all genuine Christians31. » Masters, Mystics, Ministers : Comprehensive Urban Discipleship Modern study of medieval theology often fails to consider where the figures whom they study were physically located, when and with whom they theologized, and what else they were doing before and after they studied. But such things 27
Senoçak, The Poor and the Perfect, p. 38-39 : « Francis later wrote a forma vivendi for Clare and other women who joined her, thereby effectively starting what is known to this day as the Second Order of Franciscans. The Franciscan way of life, with its emphasis on humility, chastity, penance, and voluntary poverty, was also adapted by many married people. They too responded to the magnetic spirit of this movement and asked Francis how they could join his penitential fraternity without abandoning their wives and husbands. Francis was certainly keen on the idea of welcoming every willing and fitting soul on earth to the apostolic life. Once again, he wrote a sort of forma vivendi for the married in 1221, and created what was to become the Third Order of Franciscans. » 28 Senoçak, The Poor and the Perfect, p. 41. 29 Crossnoe, « Education and the Care of Souls », 152 : « The belief behind Animarum lucra querentes also reflects a conviction that was growing in several quarters at the tum of the twelfth century, namely, that priests should be better educated. A number of Parisian masters and prelates whom Stephen Ferruolo has called the Moralists preached against the abominations of an illiterate clergy. The growing number of manuals of pastoral care that appeared during the thirteenth century are another witness to the growing demand for a better educated clergy. » 30 Ferruolo’s Moralists preached from the mid-twelfth century (Peter Lombard) to the midthirteenth century ( Jacques de Vitry), and they « defined the essential role of education not, like the humanists, to be that of preparing men to live good lives but to train them for the pastoral duties of the priesthood and prelacy » (Stephen C. Ferruolo, The Origins of the University. The Schools of Paris and Their Critics, 1100-1215, Stanford : Stanford University Press, 1985, p. 218) – this is a dichotomy that the V-Fs refuse. 31 Saskia Murk-Jansen, Brides in the Desert : The Spirituality of the Beguines, Maryknoll – New York : Orbis, 1998, p. 18.
Masters, Mystics, & Ministers in the Medieval City
369
matter. Attending to them facilitates a greater appreciation of the true nature of the medieval theological enterprise. An important commonality across all three of these forms of life is their urban location. Rather than the isolated obscurity of the desolate hermit, or the enclosed seclusion of the rural monastic community, the V-F’s viewed the urban centers of Europe as the place to live out the full Gospel. They sought not to flee but to embrace the world, indeed, the world of city life, with all the new challenges and opportunities that medieval urban life presented. Increasingly so throughout the twelfth and early thirteenth centuries, « Western Christianity was confronted with the necessity of ‘re-urbanization’, that is, of creating appropriate religious responses, both institutional and spiritual, to answer the needs of a rapidly changing, urbanizing society », which was flourishing due to « the growth of trade and commerce and the gradual transition to a profit economy based on money and banking. » For the religious life of the time this was « the most significant aspect » of a larger demographic and economic expansion occurring in medieval Europe32. A second aspect of location pertains to education. Both the Victorines and the Franciscans are often classified as « scholastic » theologians. This is often thought to mean primarily a method, dialectical and logical, and often associated with literary genera like disputed questions or summae. Sometimes scholars notice (rightly) that a more basic meaning of « scholastic » is the theology of the schools (schola), namely, the cathedral schools that began to flourish in the twelfth century and eventually evolved into the full-fledged universities of the thirteenth. Scholastic theology is often imagined as occurring in a classroom within such institutional precincts, much like classrooms on university campuses today. And, indeed, the Victorines and Franciscans both studied in classrooms, studia (sgl. studium). But crucially these studia were not located physically within a university campus33, but within their respective religious houses or convents34, which were typically located in close proximity to the university itself, and thus within the urban centers, where universities were found. Both the Victorines and the especially the Franciscans intentionally sought out such urban centers of education – e.g., Paris, 32
Bernard McGinn, The Flowering of Mysticism : Men and Women in the New Mysticism (1200-135), New York : Crossroad, 1998, p. 3. 33 Sometimes these religious houses were legally incorporated into the university institution, but even then, they were not « on campus » so to speak, as in most universities today. 34 Senoçak, The Poor and the Perfect, p. 69 : « Among these pre-Narbonne constitutions, we find quite a few that address the educational activities of the Order : the Paris convent was to be visited every year by a special visitator chosen by the minister general, and any insolent students were to be sent away. A stadium is mentioned as part of the convent, like the refectory or dormitory. »
Boyd Taylor Coolman
370
Oxford, Cambridge, Bologna – as the sites for their communities. This fact ought to inform our conception of the whole V-F theological enterprise : this tri-modal approach to theology corresponded to a tri-modal form of Christian living, practiced in a tri-modal location : In the classroom, itself located within the convent, both located within the city – increasingly wide concentric circles. Indeed, these three concentric circles – classroom, convent, city – aptly symbolize, respectively, the three dimensions of whole V-F way of life. 1. ortho-doxy :
classroom / seminary
2. ortho-pathos :
choir / sanctuary
3. ortho-praxis :
city / streets
theory
study
experience contemplation ministry
morals
speculative logic (fides quarens intellectum) (fides quarens experimentum)
mystical
love
ethical
labor (fides quarens sanctitatem)
The Victorine-Franciscan ordines vivendi, in short, are best understood as urban forms of discipleship that were fundamentally three-dimensional : in the classroom, theology was studied and taught within a context of prayer, worship, and service ; in the convent and choir, contemplative prayer and mystical devotion presumed rigorous intellectual formation, even as it anticipated active ministry ; and service and ministry fanned out into the city, propelled by theological study and mystical contemplation, from which the canons/friars returned to convent and classroom. These urban Christians were simultaneously masters, mystics, and ministers. Bread, not Ovens A kind of « optical illusion » often afflicts historians who study the distant past, especially those who study subcultures or institutions that were intensely literary ; i.e., that generated texts. Because what is most readily available for study from these periods are the documents that remain, historians tend to assume, often unconsciously, that texts are what those groups prized most – their highest achievement, the final « product » of all their labors. This tendency is perhaps especially strong in the context of the modern research university, where the production of scholarly texts often is the most highly valued activity. Such a phenomenon may well be at play in the modern study of the « long twelfth century. » As the twelfth-century schools evolved into the universities of the thirteenth, a scholastic subculture gradually came to see the literary production of, say, a beautifully composed account of the spiritual life or a coherently constructed « summa » of all theology, as the final product or goal of what these institutions
Masters, Mystics, & Ministers in the Medieval City
371
were all about, the pinnacle of their activities and their raison d’être35. But there was an alternative scholastic subculture that also emerged in the early twelfth century36 and ran into the early thirteenth century37. It was intimately intertwined with the first, but was animated by a different ordering of priorities38. Here, the overriding goal was not a textual form, but a form of life ; not a literary masterpiece, but a living work of art ; not an exquisitely rendered text, but a beautifully executed existence ; not a comprehensive summa, but a complete life. In this subculture, accordingly, while texts were important, they were not the point. They were rather subordinated to the service of a life. Here, texts were tools, technology for the construction of a modus vivendi, a mode of living. This of course creates interpretive challenges for the historian. For the surviving artifact is not the most important one. It is, however, all that remains and it tempts historians to overestimate its importance in the culture that produced it. It is as if the historian has excavated an ancient village strewn with ovens and so assumed that what its inhabitants prized most were well-constructed ovens, rather than delicious, nourishing bread ; that they were oven-makers instead of bread-bakers. They were both, of course, but the historian must be careful not to confuse tools with what they were used to make. Yet, proper interpretation of the tools yields insight into what they were used to make. If we would study this culture in search of its signature art, of what it lovingly cultivated, patiently crafted, and ambitiously constructed, we must try to look past the textual artifacts in our hands to a more 35
Perhaps not fully consciously or thematized as such, but (and all the more powerfully) implicitly, unconsciously. 36 It is possible that this turn toward the production of external artifacts (in the literal sense of that term – artistic creations), ramps up significantly in the early twelfth century, as part of the larger phenomenon known for the last century as the « twelfth-century renaissance » (Charles H. Haskins, The Renaissance of the Twelfth Century, Cambridge : Harvard University Press, 1927). At nearly the same time, nodding now at Erwin Panofsky’s classic argument, the architectural production of gothic cathedrals and the literary production of ambitious summae-texts ran parallel courses, and seem to flow out of and reflect a deep, common cultural impetus. 37 A crucial transitional moment in medieval Catholic culture : a shift from « production of selves and lives » to production of static, comprehensive externalized « systems » : to documents (summae) and monuments (cathedrae) as ends in themselves. From Hugh’s « build [own] your ark [within] » to the external products of texts and buildings. 38 It may be that the failure to appreciate this alternative tradition distorts our understanding of even widely recognized « school texts ». To give one example, it’s often noted just how wildly popular and influential Peter Lombard’s Sentences were with later scholastics and in the next breadth, it is also noted, with some perplexity and even bemusement, just how boring and unimpressive this text is ; the Sentences are manifestly not a literary masterpiece ! It’s a derivative compilation of other people’s opinions. The Lombard’s own literary voice and positions are often submerged or highly muted. How on earth, we moderns wonder, could such a bad book have been so popular and influential ?
372
Boyd Taylor Coolman
elusive, less apparent (to us) artistic product – what could be called « a complete life39 », a life of gospel perfection. This study assumes that the V-F traditions of thought and life are examples of this particular religious subculture. They were certainly literary and text-generating ; but their deepest orientation was to a modus vivendi. Their goal was well-lived life, in the service of which they constructed the literary ovens of theological texs. Complicating the History of Medieval Theology Over the past century, scholars have come to narrate the history of medieval theology under a framework that distinguished three theological styles or modalities : monastic, scholastic, and vernacular/mystical40. The value of this heuristic is manifold and it has been effective in facilitating the discovery and appreciation of the remarkable diversity and vitality of medieval theology, or better, theologies, beyond the scholastic theology of the universities. But while it illumines much, its tendency to correlate with distinct institutional locations runs the risk of rigidly compartmentalizing these three modes into pigeon-holes, such that in monasteries, monks practice « monastic theology » ; in universities, scholars do « scholastic theology » ; and in no place (or everyplace), mystics do « vernacular theology ». It also lends itself to a reductionism that assumes each mode may essentially be boiled down to a single, overriding value or principle (e.g., rational conceptualization or experiential consciousness). Relatedly, this heuristic often carries subtle, but profoundly essentializing gender assumptions, viz., scholasticism is a masculine practice that reduced the Christian life to a system of logically connected concepts, while the vernacular theology of mystical women broke free of the rationalizing straight jacket to experience the God who cannot be conceptualized. It also plays into simplistic modern biases against institutions, especially ecclesial ones, such that monastic and especially scholastic theology were really just tools for power-hungry ecclesiastics to implement social control, while vernacular theology is essentially a lay resistance movement that finally and heroically, if only briefly, subverted these structures in order to experience the God who is beyond the dominance of concept and system. The more recent discovery and valorization of non-scholastic theological styles has allied, moreover, with modern 39 The same could be said for the signature religious monuments of the period – the cathedrals, constructed in almost perfect parallel with the textual evolution just noted. So, the study of medieval religious culture often and understandably gravitates to its signature monuments and documents. What else can it do ? But in so doing, the historian must never forget that both text and temple were subordinate artifacts. 40 McGinn, Flowering, p. 19-24.
Masters, Mystics, & Ministers in the Medieval City
373
anti-intellectualism, not only to pit monastic and especially vernacular/mystical theologies against scholastic modes, as if they were essentially incompatible modalities, but also to disparage scholasticism as essentially desiccated rationalism, oppressive systematization, and impractical speculation, irrelevant to lived experience, inimical to vital spirituality, and divorced from the reality of divine-human relationship. Related to this is a modern bias toward immediate practical benefits and utilitarian outcomes that reduces the truth of orthodoxy and the value of orthopathy to their pragmatic efficiency for generating orthopraxis ; that is, it doesn’t really matter what you believe or how you feel, as long as it results in desirable social praxis, and in fact the truth of thought and the goodness of feeling can be measured accurately simply on the basis of its pragmatic utility. The argument pursued here, by contrast, largely accepts the above-noted heuristic, but cuts across its grain from a side angle, so to speak. Its fundamental claim is that, at least in the V-F traditions in view here, medieval Christianity was, to borrow a phrase from Pierre Hadot, a three-dimensional « way of life. » That is, it was an ordo vivendi that pursued in a comprehensive, integrated fashion, orthodoxy, orthopathy, and orthopraxis ; or right thought, right feeling, right action.
Der mystische Abstieg von der Kontemplation in die Aktion nach Hugo, Achard und Richard von St. Viktor und dessen franziskanische Rezeption im langen 13. Jahrhundert Jonas Narchi
In der hoch- und spätmittelalterlichen Rezeption der Viktoriner werden diese im Allgemeinen sowie Richard von St. Viktor im Besonderen häufig geradezu zum Synonym bzw. zu herausragenden Exponenten der vita contemplativa erklärt. Um dies zu illustrieren, genügt ein Hinweis auf die berühmte von Bonaventura vorgenommene Zuordnung Richards von St. Viktor zur contemplatio1 sowie auf Dantes Commedia, der zufolge Richard « in der Betrachtung höher als ein Mensch war2 ». Sicherlich auch aufgrund dieser Wahrnehmung, die mit Blick auf das reiche viktorinische Schrifttum zur Kontemplation nicht völlig ungerechtfertigt ist, hat sich die spätere Forschung zur Rezeption der Viktoriner im Kontext der Mystik z.B. auf die komplexe Stufenfolge des kontemplativen Aufstieges bei Richard von St. Viktor konzentriert. Dies gilt auch und besonders für die Erforschung der franziskanischen Viktoriner-Rezeption3, die aufgrund dieser Fokussierung eine 1
Vgl. Bonaventura von Bagnoregio : De reductione artium ad theologiam, in Id. Opera omnia, Bd. 5, Quaracchi : Collegium S. Bonaventurae, 1891, S. 319-325, hier S. 321. 2 Dante Alighieri, Die Göttliche Komödie, übers. v. J. v. Sachsen, Frankfurt/Main, 42011, Das Paradies, Zehnter Gesang, S. 329. 3 Vgl. exemplarisch Jean Châtillon, « Saint Antoine de Padoue et les victorins », in Id., Le mouvement canonial au Moyen Âge. Réforme de l’Église, spiritualité et culture (Bibliotheca Victorina, 3), hrsg. v. Patrice Sicard, Paris : Turnhout : Brepols, 1992, S. 255-292 sowie Dale M. Coulter, « The Victorine Sub-structure of Bonaventure’s Thought », in Franciscan Studies, Bd. 70, 2012, S. 399-410. Dies schmälert im Übrigen in keiner Weise die Verdienste dieser Studien, nur ist z.B. bei der ersteren auffallend, dass Châtillon, der den Gedanken des mystischen Abstiegs bei Achard von St. Viktor in anderen Schriften in aller Deutlichkeit herausarbeitete (siehe unten), Omnium expetendorum prima est sapientia. Studies on Victorine thought and influence, ed. by Wanda Bajor, Michał Buraczewski, Marcin Jan Janecki and Dominique Poirel, BV, 29 (Turnhout, 2021), p. 375–412. © BREPOLSPUBLISHERS DOI 10.1484/M.BV-EB.5.126045
376
Jonas Narchi
überaus interessante viktorinische Nachwirkung auf die franziskanische Mystik eher unbeleuchtet ließ. Als paradigmatisch für die viktorinische Betonung der Kontemplation gelten gemeinhin Werke wie Richards Traktate Beniamin minor und Beniamin maior, in denen eine detaillierte Analyse des stufenweisen Aufstieges zu Gott entwickelt wird, der schließlich in der einenden contemplatio des Dreifaltigen gipfelt. Umso überraschender ist die Lektüre des Traktats De quattuor gradibus violentae caritatis Richards sowie der früher datierbaren Sermones des Viktoriner-Abtes Achard, in denen die mystische Aufstiegsbewegung zwar zunächst in der unio mystica mit Gott zu enden scheint, um dann jedoch plötzlich in einer Bewegung zu gipfeln, die im Folgenden als mystischer Abstieg in die Aktion beschrieben werden soll. Gegenüber anderen Entwürfen einer Beiordnung oder gegenseitigen Ergänzung von vita activa und vita contemplativa4 zeichnet sich dieser Gedanke erstens dadurch aus, dass die Kontemplation hier ihre eigene Vollendung und Umsetzung in der Aktion erfährt : Der in der Beschau zu Gott aufsteigende Mensch gewinnt in der Einung mit diesem eine Erkenntnis bzw. erfährt eine Umformung, die ihn sodann in die tätige Liebe und das Mit-Leiden mit seinem Nächsten hinabsteigen lässt. Zweitens ist dieser Abstieg wesentlich trinitarisch-christologisch geprägt : Der Abstieg in das tätige Leben ist kein Abfallen von den Höhen der Kontemplation, sondern eine Nachahmung und ein Nachvollziehen des göttlichen Abstieges zu den Menschen im Akt der Inkarnation. Zuletzt erkannten Coolman und Feiss, dass es sich bei diesem Gedanken um einen « deeply Victorine5 » Impuls und
ihn beispielsweise bei Antonius von Padua nicht näher analysierte, weil er sich zu sehr auf direkte Viktoriner-Zitate bei Antonius sowie auf dessen Kontemplationsbegriff konzentrierte. 4 Bekanntermaßen gibt es im Mittelalter mindestens so viele Verhältnisbestimmungen von vita activa und vita contemplativa wie es religiöse und semireligiöse Lebensformen gibt, wie schon ein Blick in das Panorama, das Constable zeichnet, offenbart. Vgl. Giles Constable, « The interpretation of Mary and Martha », in Id, Three studies in medieval religious and social thought, Cambridge : Cambridge University Press, 1995, S. 1-141. Eine Verhältnisbestimmung des viktorinischen und später franziskanischen Gedankens des mystischen Abstieges mit anderen zeitgenössischen und späteren Entwürfen bspw. aus dem übrigen regularkanonikalen, dem zisterziensischem oder dem dominikanischen Milieu, würde den Fokus dieser Arbeit überschreiten. Es ist jedoch zu vermuten, dass er durchaus mit anderen regularkanonikalen Modellen der vita apostolica und der imitatio Christi etwa bei den Prämonstratensern in Verbindung stehen dürfte – eine Verbindung, die noch einer genaueren Erforschung harrt. 5 « The impulse to valorize a moment of descent from contemplation of and unity with the Trinity is deeply Victorine. Gallus may well have taken inspiration from Hugh of St. Victor’s […] De tribus diebus. » Boyd Taylor Coolman, Knowledge, Love, and Ecstasy in the Theology of Thomas Gallus, Oxford : Oxford University Press, 2017, S. 200, Anm. 3. Zur (pseudo-)dionysischen Figur des Abstieges im Denken Thomas’ vgl. ebda. S. 199-212. Zum Gedanken des mystischen Abstieges in die Aktion bei Hugo und Thomas Gallus siehe Kapitel 2.1. und 3.1. unten.
Der mystische Abstieg von der Kontemplation
377
geradezu ein « distinctive feature of Victorine theology6 » handelt. An diese Überlegungen sowie an die teilweise unentwickelt gebliebenen Hypothesen Schmidts7 sei im Folgenden angeknüpft. Gegenstand dieser Arbeit ist die viktorinische Denkfigur des mystischen Abstieges von der Kontemplation in die Aktion wie sie ausgehend von ersten Ansätzen bei Hugo, Achard und Richard von St. Viktor entwickelt sowie im langen 13. Jahrhundert durch die Franziskaner Antonius von Padua, Bonaventura von Bagnoregio und Rudolf von Biberach rezipiert und adaptiert wurde. Dabei kann die Intention dieser Arbeit nicht sein, eine ansatzweise vollständige oder erschöpfende Rezeptionsgeschichte dieses viktorinischen Gedankens in den verschiedenen europäischen Milieus im Allgemeinen sowie bei den Franziskanern im Besonderen zu präsentieren, vielmehr soll der Versuch unternommen werden, einen kleinen exemplarischen Ausschnitt dieses Feldes zu erschließen8. 6
« This idea that not only does virtuous activity lead to contemplation, but that contemplation leads to service, after the pattern of the self-emptying Son of God, is a distinctive feature of Victorine theology. » Hugh Feiss, « Eschatology », in The Oxford Handbook of Mystical Theology, hrsg. v. Edward Howells – Mark McIntosh, Oxford : Oxford University Press, 2020, S. 646-666, hier S. 650. Feiss zitiert hier bereits wichtige Passagen aus Achards Sermones und Richards De quattuor gradibus violentae caritatis, geht aber im Rahmen des Artikels, der sich thematisch primär mit der Eschatologie befasst, nicht näher auf diese Denkfigur ein. 7 Margot Schmidt konnte die als Band 3 der Reihe Mystik in Geschichte und Gegenwart geplante Monographie Die Stufen der geistlichen Erfahrung nach Rudolf von Biberach als eine in diesem Kontext weiter angelegte Studie zu Stufenmodellen des mystischen Auf- und Abstieges nicht mehr in Angriff nehmen. Für diese Information dankt der Verf. herzlich Frau Dr Viki Ranff. Wie den nachfolgend zitierten Editionen und Studien Schmidts zu Richard von St. Viktor und Rudolf von Biberach zu entnehmen ist, schien sie jedoch die Absicht gehabt zu haben, Teile der hier nachgezeichneten Rezeptionslinie näher zu rekonstruieren. 8 Eine vollständige(re) Rekonstruktion der verschiedenen Rezeptionslinien des mystischen Abstieges in die Aktion müsste noch einiges darüber hinaus berücksichtigen : Zeitlicher Rezeptionskontext : Wann werden die Inhalte rezipiert? Räumlicher Rezeptionskontext : Wo? Sprachlicher Rezeptionskontext : In welcher Sprache wird rezipiert? Hier ist die volkssprachliche Mystik als ein Komplex zu nennen, in dem die Viktoriner eine sehr große, jedoch vergleichsweise schwierig nachzuweisende Wirkung entfalteten. Rezeptionswege : Über welche Zwischeninstanzen vermittelt werden die Inhalte rezipiert? Rezeptionsmedien : In welcher Gattung wird rezipiert? Rezipientenhaltung : Wie steht der Rezipient zu den rezipierten Inhalten? Neben anknüpfendweiterentwickelnden Haltungen wie denen der Franziskaner, die in diesem Artikel thematisiert werden, seien hier auch explizit ablehnende Haltungen wie z.B. die Richard Rolles genannt : Der englische Mystiker, der besonders eremitisch lebte, strich Richards vierte Stufe der Liebe restlos aus der Stufenfolge und ließ die menschliche Vervollkommnung in der Kontemplation gipfeln. Vgl. Louise Nelstrop, « What Happened to the Fourth Degree of Love? Richard Rolle the Hermit Preacher », in Medieval Mystical Theology, Bd. 23/1, 2014, S. 65-87. Darüber hinaus gibt es noch schwieriger greifbare Rezeptionswege, die denkbar sind : Was wäre mit einer Rezeption, die sich nicht schriftlich, sondern in einer religiösen Lebensform äußert wie bspw. in der vita activa des Trinitarierordens, der seine Regel von den Viktorinern erhält und eine auffallende, spezifisch trinitarisch-christologische Prägung mit einer aktiven Tätigkeit in Gefangenenaustausch,
378
Jonas Narchi
Um auf diese Weise die Bedeutung dieses einzigartigen Zugs der viktorinischen Mystik für die Bildung der europäischen Kultur herauszustellen, soll dieser zunächst ausführlich anhand der Werke Hugos, Achards und Richards in seiner Entstehung und Systematisierung nachvollzogen werden, um ihn in einem zweiten Schritt in exemplarischen Werken der Franziskaner – von Antonius von Padua über Bonaventura bis zu Rudolf von Biberach – nachzuverfolgen. Die Arbeit schließt mit einer Analyse des Traktates De septem itineribus aeternitatis Rudolfs von Biberach, mit dem die Rezeption des mystischen Abstieges in der Lehre vom absteigenden gottförmigen Handeln einen ersten Höhepunkt erreicht. I. Der mystische Abstieg bei den Viktorinern 1. Der dritte Tag bei Hugo von St. Viktor († 1141) Erste Ansätze der Denkform des mystischen Abstieges finden sich bereits im Traktat De tribus diebus Hugos von St. Viktor von ca. 11209, das sich zwar primär mit der durch die geschöpfliche Welt vermittelten Erkenntnis des dreifaltigen Gottes befasst, jedoch mit einer kurzen Verhältnisbestimmung von Kontemplation und Aktion schließt. Wie sich zeigen wird, ist dieser spezifische locus der Denkfigur kein bloßer Zufall ; vielmehr ist das Konzept des mystischen Abstieges bei den Viktorinern von seinen Anfängen an trinitarisch geprägt. In einer komplizierten Auf- und Abstiegsbewegung, die umfassend von Poirel rekonstruiert wurde10 und unter anderem die viel diskutierte Trinitätsanalogie mittels des Ternars potentia – sapientia – benignitas enthält11, steigt Hugo von der körperlichen kreatürlichen über die geistige kreatürliche Welt bis zur Weisheit Gottes auf, um schließlich von Gott ausgehend wiederum die Geschöpfe in einem neuen Licht zu
Gefangenenfreikauf und Hospitalgründungen verbindet? Wie trugen die Viktoriner zu dem bei, was Brodman in diesem Kontext die « Ideology of Charity » genannt hat? Vgl. James William Brodman, Charity & Religion in Medieval Europe, Washington, DC : The Catholic University of America Press, 2009, S. 9 ff. Zu den Trinitariern vgl. ebda. S. 150-162. 9 Mit einer zweiten Überarbeitung des Textes ca. 1130, die jedoch nicht den Teil des Textes betrifft, der hier von Interesse ist. Vgl. Dominique Poirel, Livre de la nature et débat trinitaire au xiie siècle. Le De tribus diebus de Hugues de Saint-Victor, Turnhout : Brepols, 2002 (Bibliotheca Victorina, 14), S. 150-152. 10 Vgl. ebda. S. 249-255. 11 Vgl. ebda. S. 283-420. Neben Poirel sei noch verwiesen auf Philip Reynolds, « The Essence, Power and Presence of God : Fragments of the History of an Idea, From Neopythagoreanism to Peter Abelard », in From Athens to Chartres : Neoplatonism and Medieval Thought : Studies in Honour of Édouard Jeauneau, hrsg. v. Haijo Jan Westra, Leiden – New York – Köln : Brill, 1992, S. 351-380.
Der mystische Abstieg von der Kontemplation
379
sehen12. Diese epistemologische Bewegung findet wiederum ihre direkte Entsprechung in der in drei ‘Tagen’ bzw. Stufen aufsteigenden Haltung, die der Mensch Gott gegenüber einnimmt : Es gibt also drei Tage des unsichtbaren Lichts, durch die der Weg des inneren, geistigen Lebens eingeteilt wird : Der erste Tag ist die Furcht (timor), der zweite die Wahrheit (veritas), der dritte Tag ist die Liebe (caritas). Der erste Tag hat als seine Sonne die Macht (potentia) ; der zweite Tag hat als seine Sonne die Weisheit (sapientia) ; der dritte Tag hat als seine Sonne die Güte (benignitas). Die Macht gehört zum Vater, die Weisheit zum Sohn, die Güte zum Heiligen Geist13.
Die Haltung der Furcht vor Gott, der Erkenntnis seiner Wahrheit sowie schließlich die Liebe stellen hier drei Etappen eines inneren Aufstieges dar, die sich sowohl in der kollektiven Heilsgeschichte als auch in der individuellen Biographie manifestieren14. Im Kontext der Mystik ist vor allem letzteres entscheidend : Jeder einzelne Mensch soll die drei Tage der Seele durchschreiten, deren drei Sonnen Macht, Weisheit und Güte bzw. Vater, Sohn und Heiliger Geist sind. Dabei ist niemand anderes als Jesus Christus das direkte Vorbild dieser Bewegung15, wie Hugo anhand der drei Tage zwischen dessen Tod und Auferstehung illustriert : Denn wir haben gehört und uns gefreut, wie unser Herr Jesus Christus am dritten Tage von den Toten auferstanden ist, uns in sich belebte und auferweckte. Es gebührt sich aber, dass wir ihm seine Wohltat wieder ausgleichen und, so wie wir in ihm auferstanden sind, als er am dritten Tage auferstand, so sollen auch wir […] ihn in uns auferstehen lassen. […] So wie er nun, um in sich und durch sich unser Heil zu erwirken, drei Tage haben wollte, so gab er auch uns drei Tage, um unser Heil in uns durch ihn 12 Poirel bringt diese Bewegung mit einem passenden biblischen Bild zum Ausdruck, das uns noch in ähnlicher Weise bei den Franziskanern begegnen wird : « Puisqu’en méditant sur les réalités invisibles à partir des créatures visibles, on est parvenu à contempler en quelque manière la majesté divine, à l’instar de Moïse qui redescendit illuminé du Sinaï on doit rapporter avec soi quelque chose de la lumière entrevue. » Dominique Poirel, Livre de la nature et débat trinitaire au xiie siècle, S. 323. 13 « Tres ergo dies sunt invisibilis lucis, quibus interius spiritalis vitae cursus distinguitur. Primus dies est timor, secundus est veritas, tercius dies est caritas. Primus dies solem suum habet potentiam ; secundus dies solem suum habet sapientiam ; tercius dies solem suum habet benignitatem. Potentia ad Patrem, sapientia ad Filium, benignitas pertinet ad Spiritum sanctum. » Hugo von St. Viktor, De tribus diebus, hrsg. v. Dominique Poirel, Turnhout : Brepols, 2002 (CCCM 177), S. 63 f. Übers. des Verf. 14 Zur historischen Stufenfolge, die an Augustins Periodisierung der Heilgeschichte gemahnt, vgl. ebda. S. 67 f. 15 Der zeichen- und vorbildhafte Charakter des Wirkens Jesu wird von Hugo wie folgt beschrieben : « Sed quia illud quod in ipso gestum est, non tantum remedium, sed et exemplum fuit et sacramentum, oportuit ut visibiliter foris fieret, quantinus illud quod in nobis invisibiliter fieri debuit significaret. » Ebda. S. 68 f.
380
Jonas Narchi
zu erwirken. […] Innerlich haben wir also drei Tage, durch die unsere Seele erleuchtet wird : Zum ersten Tag gehört der Tod, zum zweiten das Begräbnis, zum dritten die Auferstehung16.
In einem letzten Schritt wird diese seltsame Allegorie des Todes und der Auferstehung dann aufgelöst, indem Hugo sie in drei menschliche Verhaltensweisen zu Gott rückübersetzt : Wenn also die betrachtete Allmacht Gottes unser Herz zu Bewunderung erregt, ist der Tag des Vaters ; wenn allerdings die untersuchte Weisheit Gottes durch die Erkenntnis der Wahrheit unser Herz erleuchtet, ist der Tag des Sohnes ; wenn aber die betrachtete Güte Gottes unser Herz zur Liebe entflammt (ad amorem cor nostrum inflammat), ist der Tag des Heiligen Geistes. […] Am Tag der Macht sterben wir durch die Furcht ; am Tag der Weisheit werden wir durch die Kontemplation der Wahrheit (per contemplationem veritatis) von dem Getöse dieser Welt abgeschieden begraben ; am Tag der Güte auferstehen wir durch die Liebe (per amorem) und durch das Begehren nach ewigen Gütern17.
Mithilfe dieses Interpretationsschlüssels sind die drei Tage der Seele also wie folgt aufzuschlüsseln : Zunächst gerät der Mensch bei der Betrachtung der Allmacht Gottes in Furcht. Er beginnt, sich von der Welt abzuwenden und sich in der Kontemplation der Erkenntnis Gottes bzw. dessen Weisheit zu widmen. Auf diese Weise ‘der Welt abhanden gekommen’ und ‘dem Weltgetümmel gestorben’ findet er in der Kontemplation schließlich Gott und wendet sich im nächsten Schritt der Betrachtung von dessen Güte zu. Diese Betrachtung wiederum entflammt den Menschen selbst zur Liebe. Wird diese hier zwar über die Bestimmung als caritas bzw. amor und das Begehren nach Seelenheil hinaus nicht genauer charakterisiert, so erlaubt die prominente Nennung der Kontemplation am zweiten Tag bereits, den dritten Tag versuchsweise als Umschlag in die Aktion, verstanden als tätige Liebe, zu deuten – auch wenn an dieser Stelle noch nicht deutlich wird, ob diese 16
« Nam, qualiter Dominus noster Iesus Christus tercia die resurgens a mortuis in se nos vivificaverit et suscitaverit, audivimus et gavisi sumus. Sed dignum valde est ut recompensemus ei beneficium suum et, quemadmodum nos in ipso tercia die resurgente resurreximus, ita et nos […] eum in nobis resurgere faciamus. […] Sicut ergo ipse, ut nostram in se et per se salutem operaretur, tres dies habere voluit, ita et nobis, ut nostram in nobis per ipsum salutem operemur, tres dies dedit. […] Tres ergo dies habemus intrinsecus, quibus illuminatur anima nostra. Ad primum diem mors pertinet, ad secundum sepultura, ad tercium resurrectio. » Ebda. S. 68 f. Übers. des Verf. 17 « Quando ergo omnipotentia Dei considerata in admirationem cor nostrum excitat, dies Patri est ; quando vero sapientia Dei inspecta agnitione veritatis cor nostrum illuminat, dies Filii est ; quando autem benignitas Dei attenta ad amorem cor nostrum inflammat, dies Spiritus sancti est. […] In die potentiae per timorem morimur ; in die sapientiae per contemplationem veritatis a strepitu huius mundi sepelimur ; in die benignitatis per amorem et desiderium aeternorum bonorum resurgimus. » Ebda. S. 69 f. Übers. des Verf.
Der mystische Abstieg von der Kontemplation
381
nur als Gottes-, oder auch als Nächstenliebe gedacht wird. Freilich kann man hier noch nicht davon sprechen, dass Hugo die vita activa als eigentliche Vollendung der vita contemplativa ansieht, vielmehr ist Sicard zuzustimmen, der an dieser Stelle eine Beiordnung von Aktion und Kontemplation konstatiert18. Die Denkfigur des mystischen Abstieges scheint in De tribus diebus jedoch schon in nuce enthalten zu sein und wird im Folgenden von Hugos Nachfolgern ausgefaltet und weiterentwickelt werden. 2. Die neunte Transfiguration und die siebte Wüste bei Achard von St. Viktor († 1171) Mit der Renaissance der Forschung zu dem Viktoriner-Abt und späteren Bischof von Avranches Achard von St. Viktor besonders in den letzten Jahrzehnten19 geht nicht nur ein intensiviertes Studium von dessen metaphysischem Hauptwerk De unitate Dei et pluralitate creaturarum20, sondern auch eine Neubeschäftigung mit seinem Predigtwerk21 einher. In der vorliegenden Darstellung verdient Achard – wie sich zeigen wird – einen Ehrenplatz als derjenige Viktoriner, der die Gedankenfigur des mystischen Abstieges noch vor Richard in seiner Reinform formulierte. Ausgehend von der jeweiligen liturgischen Lesung entwickelt Achard von St. Viktor in seinen Sermones aus den 1150er Jahren diverse 18
« N’est-on pas forcé […] de préciser cette affirmation en disant que toutes deux, vie active et vie contemplative, qui ne peuvent jamais s’exercer qu’en allant de pair, s’achèvent pour ainsi dire au même temps? » Patrice Sicard, « Du De archa Noe de Hugues au De arca Moysi de Richard de Saint-Victor : Action, contemplation et sens scripturaires chez deux théoriciens maquettistes », in Vie active et vie contemplative au Moyen Âge et au seuil de la Renaissance, hrsg. v. Christian Trottmann, Roma : École française de Rome, 2009, S. 111-154, hier S. 130. 19 Einen ersten Überblick über die wachsende Literatur kann man mithilfe der umfassenden Achard-Bibliographie gewinnen, die Reibe anlegte. Vgl. Nicole Reibe, « Achard of Saint-Victor. A Bibliography », in Achard de Saint-Victor métaphysicien. Le De unitate Dei et pluralitate creaturarum, hrsg. v. Vincent Carraud – Gilles Olivo – Pasquale Porro, Turnhout : Brepols, 2019, S. 169-174. 20 Vgl. Achard de Saint-Victor métaphysicien. Le De unitate Dei et pluralitate creaturarum, hrsg. v. Vincent Carraud – Gilles Olivo – Pasquale Porro, Turnhout : Brepols, 2019. Das Werk wurde nach seiner Entdeckung Mitte des 20. Jahrhunderts kritisch ediert : Achard von St. Viktor, L’unité de Dieu et la pluralité des créatures. De unitate Dei et pluralitate creaturarum, hrsg. u. übers. v. Emmanuel Martineau, Saint-Lambert-des-Bois : Authentica, 1987. Eine Analyse des philosophischen Trinitätsargumentes Achards im Vergleich zu anderen zeitgenössischen Entwürfen wird der Verf. in der Dissertation an der Universität Heidelberg vornehmen, die derzeit noch in Arbeit ist. 21 Exemplarisch verwiesen sei auf die Übersetzungen, welche die Predigten Achards und anderer Viktoriner in den letzten zehn Jahren in der Reihe der Victorine Texts in Translation erhielten. Eine vollständige englischsprachige Übersetzung der Sermones findet sich bei : Achard von St. Viktor, Works (Cistercian Studies Series, 165), übers. v. Hugh Feiss, Kalamazoo (MI) : Cistercian Publications, 2001.
382
Jonas Narchi
Bilder für diesen Abstieg, von denen im Folgenden die neunte Transfiguration des Menschen in Sermo XII und die siebte Wüste in Sermo XV herausgegriffen seien. Im relativ kurzen Sermo XII22 anlässlich des Fests der Verklärung Christi (Mt 17,1-2) wird dieses biblische Ereignis zum Anlass genommen, eine komplexe Stufenfolge von insgesamt neun ‘Transfigurationen’ Christi und 15 ‘Transfigurationen’ des Menschen zu entfalten. Die Verklärung auf dem Tabor wird damit zu einem allgemeineren Bild der prozessualen Durch- und Umformung in verschiedensten Bedeutungen. So lauten die neun transfigurationes Christi in heilsgeschichtlicher Reihenfolge : Die Annahme der menschlichen Natur in der Inkarnation (1), die Erscheinung in menschlicher Gestalt und das gemeinsame Leben mit den Menschen (2), die Verklärung auf dem Tabor (3), die sakramentale Wandlung in Brot und Wein (4), die Passion und der Kreuzestod (5), die Auferstehung (6), die Erscheinungen des Auferstandenen (7), die Himmelfahrt (8) und schließlich – gewissermaßen paradoxal – das Pfingstereignis (9)23. Eine Sonderstellung nehmen dabei die erste und die letzte Transfiguration dieser Liste ein : Als metaphysischer Abstieg von der göttlichen in die kreatürliche Sphäre, stellt die Kenosis der zweiten trinitarischen Person für Achard die schlechthin größte Umformung dar : Als er [Christus] nämlich aus dem Schoß des Vaters in die Welt kam, da wurde er das erste Mal transfiguriert. Obwohl er in der Gestalt Gottes war, entäußerte er sich selbst und nahm Knechtsgestalt an (Phil 2,7) als der Ewige zeitlich wurde, der Unermessliche klein, der Schöpfer Geschöpf, Gott Mensch […]. So groß der Abstand zwischen Gott und dem Menschen ist, so groß ist diese Transfiguration ; sie ist demnach unermesslich und unendlich24.
Während die erste Transfiguration sich durch ihre Immensität von den anderen abhebt, fällt die neunte und letzte dadurch auf, dass sie strenggenommen keine Transfiguration Christi darstellt. Nicht nur steht das Pfingstereignis viel eher mit dem Wirken des Heiligen Geistes in Verbindung, Achard merkt auch an, dass hier letztlich der Mensch eine Umformung erfährt : Die neunte Transfiguration vollzog sich « in den Seelen und Herzen der Jünger, als der Heilige Geist in Feuerzungen auf sie herabstieg und sie mit Liebe und Zuneigung (caritate et dilectione) 22 Vgl. Achard von St. Viktor, Sermons inédits, hrsg. v. Jean Châtillon, Paris : Vrin, 1970 (Textes philosophiques du Moyen Âge, 17), S. 121-130. 23 Vgl. ebda. S. 124-126. 24 « Quando enim de sinu Patris venit in mundum, tunc primum transfiguratus est ; qui, cum in forma Dei esset, seipsum exinanivit, formam servi accepit, quando eternus factus est temporalis, immensus parvus, creator creatura, Deus homo […]. Quanta distantia est inter Deum et hominem, tanta ista est transfiguratio ; est igitur immensa et infinita. » Ebda. S. 124. Übers. des Verf.
Der mystische Abstieg von der Kontemplation
383
erfüllte. […] Diese ist eher eine Transfiguration der Apostel zu nennen als eine des Herrn selbst25 ». Mit dieser paradoxalen Wendung das die letzte Stufe in dem ab- und aufsteigendem Transfigurationsprozess Gottes die Transfiguration des Menschen ist, leitet Achard zu seiner Distinktion von 15 moralisch-religiösen transfigurationes des Menschen über. Wie sich zeigt, ist weder dieser Nexus, noch die Betonung der caritas bzw. dilectio hier zufällig : vielmehr soll der Mensch nach Achard das Handeln des inkarnierten Gottes nachahmen, um sich immer weiter auf ihn hin umzuformen. Dieses Ziel steht bereits ab der ersten Transfiguration durch Buße vor Augen, in der Achard eine Nachahmung der Passion Christi erkennt26. Für jede der neun Stufen, die den irdischen Weg der Läuterung und der Hinwendung zu Gott detailliert nachzeichnen (die Stufen 10 bis 15 betreffen die Vollendung des Menschen nach dem Tod und können hier ausgeblendet werden), gibt es eine Entsprechung zu einer der neun Transfigurationen Christi, auch wenn diese nicht immer eigens begründet wird27. An entscheidender Stelle in der Predigt jedoch geht Achard ausführlicher auf die Entsprechung zwischen göttlicher und menschlicher Transfiguration ein und führt in diesem Kontext den Gedanken des mystischen Abstieges in die Aktion ein. Nachdem der Mensch auf der fünften Stufe in der Kontemplation den trinitarischen Gott geistig in se ipso schaut und geradezu mit Christus dem Schoß des Vaters
25 « […] in spiritibus et cordibus discipulorum, quando Spiritus sanctus in linguis igneis super eos descendit, replens eos caritate et dilectione. […] Et hec potius dicenda est transfiguratio apostolorum, quam ipsius Domini. » Ebda. S. 126. Übers. des Verf. In diesem Sinne spricht Achard am Ende der Predigt auch schlicht von acht Transfigurationen des Herrn und lässt diese letzte wegfallen. Vgl. ebda. S. 130. 26 Vgl. ebda. S. 126. 27 Die neun Transfigurationen des Menschen sind zusammenfassend : Die Abwendung von der Welt und Buße, korrespondierend mit der Passion Christi (1) ; das Begehen guter Taten um des Guten willen (statt aus Furcht vor Strafe), korrespondierend mit der Auferstehung (2) ; die versteckte Ausbildung der Tugenden und das Lob Gottes gegenüber Nächsten, korrespondierend mit den Erscheinungen des Auferstandenen (3) ; die aufsteigende Meditation der Werke Gottes in Schöpfung und Erlösung des Menschen, korrespondierend mit der Himmelfahrt (4) ; die Kontemplation des dreifaltigen Gottes, korrespondierend mit Pfingsten (5) ; der Abstieg in die Aktion, korrespondierend mit der Inkarnation (6) ; das Mitleiden mit dem Nächsten, korrespondierend mit Christi Annahme der menschlichen Gestalt (7) ; die Wiederaufnahme der Kontemplation, korrespondierend mit der Verklärung auf dem Tabor (8) ; die Perfektion eines heiligenmäßigen Lebens, das sich anderen aufopfert, korrespondierend mit der sakramentalen Wandlung (9). Vgl. ebda. S. 126-128. Die fünf Transfigurationen des Menschen nach dem Tod bezeichnen seine Vollendung in der leiblichen Auferstehung und der visio beatifica. Vgl. ebda. S. 128-130.
384
Jonas Narchi
einwohnt28, wendet er sich in der sechsten und siebten Transfiguration wiederum der Welt zu : Die sechste [Transfiguration] geschieht durch den Abstieg (per descensionem) ; wenn jemand von der Höhe der Kontemplation zu der tätigen Ausübung der Demut (ad humilitatis actionem) herababsteigt, kommt dieser gewissermaßen auch mit Christus aus dem Schoß des Vaters in die Welt. Wer zuvor Israel war, wird zu Jakob, indem er von Rachel zu Lea übergeht und von Maria zu Martha. Diese Transfiguration ist dem Abstieg des Herren in allem ganz ähnlich. Die siebte [Transfiguration] geschieht durch Gleichwerdung (per contemperationem), wenn jemand nach dem Vorbild des Herren mit den Schwachen mit-leidet, sich ihnen gleichmacht und mit Paulus spricht : « Wer ist schwach, und ich werde nicht schwach? » (2. Kor 11, 29)29
In dieser Passage ist der Gedanke des mystischen Abstieges nun beinahe in seiner Reinform ausgesprochen. Der trinitarisch-christologische Aspekt ist bereits deutlich erkennbar : Der Abstieg in die Aktion in der sechsten Transfiguration ist eine direkte Nachahmung der Kenosis Gott-Sohnes in der Menschwerdung. Die contemperatio30 mit dem Nächsten in der siebten Transfiguration wiederum ahmt – fast schon die spätere compassio-Mystik vorwegnehmend – das Leiden Christi mit dem und für den Menschen nach. Durch klassische biblische Topoi wie u.a. Maria und Martha aus Lk 10, 38-42, die traditionell als Repräsentanten der vita contemplativa und der vita activa gelten31, wird zudem die Kontemplation mit dem Aufstieg sowie die Aktion mit dem Abstieg identifiziert und letztere erhält durch die Analogisierung mit der Inkarnation eine eindeutige Aufwertung. Jedoch wird die Aktion an dieser Stelle noch nicht im strengen Sinn als Vollendung der Kontemplation gedacht, denn mit der siebten Transfiguration ist der Prozess der menschlichen Vervollkommnung noch lange nicht abgeschlossen. 28
« Quinta fit per contemplationem, cum quis per meditationem tantum profecerit, ut jam non opera Dei vel Deum in operibus suis contemplatur, sed ipsum in seipso, quantum possibile est, oculo mentis intuetur, et quodammodo cum Christo in sinu Patris commoratur. » Ebda. S. 127. 29 « Sexta [transfiguratio] fit per descensionem, cum quis de altitudine contemplationis descendit ad humilitatis actionem, quodammodo et ipse de sinu Patris cum Christo veniens in mundum. Qui prius erat Israel efficitur Jacob, transiens de Rachel in Liam, de Maria ad Martham. Hec transfiguratio dominice descensioni per omnia est consimilis. Septima [transfiguratio] fit per contemperationem, cum quis, exemplo Domini infirmis compatiens, se illis contemperat, cum Paulo dicens : Quis infirmatur, et ego non infirmor? » Ebda. S. 127 f. Übers. des Verf. 30 Dieser Begriff, der wörtlich so viel wie Vermischung bedeutet, ist schwer zu übersetzen : Auf Christus bezogen bezeichnet er die Vermischung, die Zuwendung zu, das Gleichwerden mit und das Weilen unter den Menschen. Der Mensch ahmt diese Abstiegsbewegung Christi nach, indem er dem Schwachen gleich wird und sich mit diesem identifiziert, weshalb die Übersetzung « Gleichwerdung » gewählt wurde. Feiss setzt « association » an, was insofern passend ist, als dass es die soziale Dimension dieser Tätigkeit betont. Vgl. Achard von St. Viktor, Works, S. 197. 31 Vgl. Giles Constable, « The interpretation of Mary and Martha », passim.
Der mystische Abstieg von der Kontemplation
385
In der achten Transfiguration wendet sich der Mensch, der nicht im Tal des tätigen Lebens verweilen soll, erneut der Kontemplation zu und steigt abermals zu Gott auf, wobei sein Aufstieg eine Nachahmung des Taboraufstieges Christi (und der Jünger Petrus, Jakobus und Johannes) bzw. der Verklärung Christi darstellt32. Die neunte Transfiguration schließlich ist die letzte Verwandlung, die der Mensch vor dem Tod (d.h. der zehnten transfiguratio) zu durchschreiten hat und stellt damit die Vollendung seines irdischen Weges dar. Beinahe kontraintuitiv tritt hier das tätige Element wieder hervor : Die neunte [Transfiguration] geschieht durch das Exempel einer guten Lebensführung (bone conversationis exemplum), wenn jemand von solcher Vollkommenheit ist, dass sein ganzer Lebenswandel den Schwachen Wiederherstellung (recreatio) ist, und er sich als Brot und süßeste Speise für die Stärkung der weniger Vollkommenen darreicht, auf dass diese nicht « verschmachten auf dem Wege » (Mt 15, 32) oder im Kampfe vergehen. Diese Transfiguration stimmt mit jener überein, die sakramental genannt wird33.
An der Spitze des irdischen Vervollkommnungsprozesses steht damit nicht die Kontemplation Gottes in seinem innersten Wesen, sondern die durch dieselbe bewirkte Verwandlung des Menschen gegenüber seinem Nächsten. War auf der sechsten und siebten Stufe die Inkarnation und Passion und auf der achten Stufe die Verklärung auf dem Tabor der konkrete Orientierungspunkt des Menschen im Heilswirken Christi, so ist es auf dieser neunten Stufe dessen Wandlung in Brot und Wein : Will der Mensch diese transfiguratio Christi nachahmen, so muss er seinem leidenden Nächsten durch das Beispiel einer guten Lebensführung Trost, Nahrung und Beistand sein, um ihm darin die Präsenz Gottes zu eröffnen. Der Mensch wird seinem Mitmenschen zum Sakrament.
32
« Octava fit per contemplationis iterationem. Non enim semper morandum est in valle per actionem, sed ascendendum est cum Domino in monte, sed assumpto Petro, Jacobo et Johanne. » Achard von St. Viktor, Sermons inédits, S. 128. Im Nachfolgenden werden noch die drei Jünger Jesu allegorisch ausgedeutet. 33 « Nona [transfiguratio] fit per bone conversationis exemplum, cum quis tante perfectionis est quod tota ejus conversatio infirmorum est recreatio, et se panem et cibum suavissimum ad refectionem minus perfectorum prebet, ne deficiant in via vel succumbant in lucta. Hec transfiguratio illi que dicitur sacramentalis congruit. » Ebda. S. 128. Übers. des Verf. der Begriff recreatio, der zunächst die Erholung im leiblichen Sinne meinen kann – eine Bedeutung die aufgrund der Nahrungsmetaphorik hier noch deutlich mitschwingt –, kann auch in einem geistigeren Sinn als Wiederherstellung, Neugestaltung oder Erbauung verstanden werden. Wohl aus diesem Grund hat sich Feiss feinfühlig für die Übersetzung « re-creation » statt « recreation » entschieden. Vgl. Achard von St. Viktor, Works, S. 197.
386
Jonas Narchi
Ist es in Sermo XII der biblische Bericht über die Verklärung, so ist es im Sermo XV34 der Wüstengang Jesu in Mt 4, 1, dessen sich Achard als Ausgangspunkt einer komplexen Lehre des mystischen Auf- und Abstieges bedient35. Wie im Falle der transfiguratio dient Achard die « Wüste » (desertum) als Bild der prozessualen Durch- und Umformung, wobei dieser prozessuale Charakter in Verben wie deserere und Substantivierungen wie desertio zum Vorschein kommt, die sich in diesem Fall im Deutschen vielleicht am besten mit Analogbildungen wie « wüsten » und « Wüst(en)ung » in Anlehnung an die mittelhochdeutsche Mystik übersetzen lassen36. Dabei überwiegt zu Anfang der Predigt die negative Bedeutung der Wüstung als Abwendung des gefallenen Menschen von Gott37. Durch Gottes eigene Wüstung im kenotischen Akt der Inkarnation jedoch erhält sie sodann eine positive Wendung und Achard gewinnt eine Unterscheidung von insgesamt sieben Wüsten bzw. Wüstungen, die der Mensch zu durchlaufen hat, um sich in Nachahmung des Wüstengangs Christi zu vervollkommnen38. Zugleich bleibt ein gewisser negativer Aspekt der Wüstung stets erhalten, da sie semantisch ‘rückwärts’ gerichtet von dem her zu verstehen ist, was jeweils gewüstet bzw. hinter sich gelassen wird – im Unterschied zur Transfiguration, die semantisch ‘vorwärts’ gerichtet auf das verweist, auf das hin jeweils eine Umformung stattfindet. Dies wird mit einem Blick auf die sieben aufeinanderfolgenden Wüst(ung)en und die sieben Gaben des Heiligen Geistes, die diese jeweils einleiten, deutlich : 34
Vgl. Achard von St. Viktor, Sermons inédits, S. 196-243. Auf die Details dieser Stufenfolge kann im Rahmen dieser Arbeit nicht eingegangen werden, zumal der differenzierten Analyse in Châtillons einschlägiger Monographie wohl nichts hinzuzufügen wäre. Vgl. Jean Châtillon, Théologie, spiritualité et métaphysique dans l’œuvre oratoire d’Achard de Saint-Victor. Études d’histoire doctrinale précédées d’un essai sur la vie et l’œuvre d’Achard, Paris : Vrin, 1969 (Études de philosophie médiévale, 58), S. 233-276, wo das Bild der sieben Wüsten Châtillon dazu dient, die gesamte Mystik Achards zu systematisieren. 36 Vgl. « wüstenung », in Deutsches Wörterbuch von Jacob und Wilhelm Grimm, Lfg. 16, Bd. XIV.2, Leipzig : Hirzel, 1960, Sp. 2463, Z. 71. Eine naheliegende Übersetzung wie « verlassen, hinter sich lassen » o.ä. würde die Assoziation mit dem Bild der Wüste verlieren, während « desertieren » aufgrund der militärischen Spezialbedeutung im Deutschen nicht in Frage kommt. Feiss, der dieses Problem im Englischen nicht hat, übersetzt « to desert ». Vgl. Achard von St. Viktor, Works, S. 298-351, passim. 37 Um als Beleg zugleich ein Beispiel des virtuosen Wortspiels Achards anzuführen : « In hoc desertum ductus est Jesus cum Deus venit ad hominem, desertum et deserentem ; desertum ab ipso et deserentem ipsum ; non autem deserentem quia prius desertum, sed ideo desertum quia prius deserentem, post tamen magis deserentem quia jam desertum. » Achard von St. Viktor, Sermons inédits, S. 200. 38 « A suo Spiritu ductus in desertum nostrum, immo in nos desertum, in quo et nobis [Christus] reliquit exemplum ut sequamur vestigia ejus, nosque post eum et per eum in desertum ducamur, non a carne, sed a spiritu, nec a spiritu quidem nostro vel quolibet alio, sed solum a suo. » Ebda. S. 202. 35
Der mystische Abstieg von der Kontemplation
387
In der « ersten guten Wüste » (primum desertum bonum39) wird die böse Wüstung, die darin bestand, dass der Mensch sich vom Teufel verführt von Gott abwendete, hinter sich gelassen. Man « wüstet das Wüsten Gottes » (deserat deserere Deum40), um sich wieder Gott zuzuwenden. Die entscheidende Triebkraft dieses ersten Schrittes ist noch der « Geist der Gottesfurcht » (spiritus timoris41). Die zweite Wüstung besteht nun darin, nicht nur das Böse bzw. den Bösen hinter sich zu lassen, sondern sich getrieben vom « Geist der Frömmigkeit » (spiritus pietatis42) von der ‘Welt’, d.h. von allen vergänglichen Dingen, abzuwenden. Diese beiden Schritte gemahnen deutlich an den ersten Tag bei Hugo von St. Viktor sowie an die erste Transfiguration des Menschen in Sermo XII. In der dritten Wüste wiederum wendet sich der Mensch getrieben vom « Geist der Erkenntnis » (spiritus scientie43) vom Fleisch im biblischen Sinn des Wortes ab, wobei Achard daran gelegen ist, zu unterstreichen, dass dies nicht gnostisch als Abwendung von jeder Leiblichkeit zu verstehen ist44. Nach diesen drei ersten Wüsten, die Achard in einer Anspielung auf Hugos De tribus diebus, das seinen Zuhörern in St. Viktor gut bekannt gewesen sein dürfte, als eine Dreitagesreise bezeichnet45, wendet sich der Mensch seinem eigenen Geist zu : Er erkennt in sich seine Gottesebenbildlichkeit, aber auch den Widerstand seines Eigenwillens, den er schließlich getrieben vom « Geist der Stärke » (spiritus fortitudinis46) gänzlich wüsten bzw. überwinden muss. Der Mensch nähert sich nun zunehmend der Vervollkommnung an und erreicht in der fünften Wüste schließlich seine Vernunft (ratio), die getrieben durch den « Geist des Rates » (spiritus consilii47) in glaubender Totalhingabe an Gott wiederum aufgegeben werden muss – ein Prozess, der von Achard in zehn Einzelschritte unterteilt wird, die mit zehn gläubig anzunehmenden Glaubensmysterien korrespondieren48.
39
Ebda. S. 203. Ebda. S. 203. 41 Ebda. S. 207. 42 Ebda. S. 208. 43 Ebda. S. 210. 44 Vgl. ebda. S. 209 f. Als Autor des anthropologischen Traktats De discretione animae, spiritus et mentis und als katholischer Theologe am Vorabend der Rückkehr dualistischer Häresien in den Westen muss dies Achard scheinbar ein besonderes Anliegen gewesen sein. 45 Auch wenn die Wüsten nicht 1:1 mit den Tagen Hugos korrespondieren, ist die Anspielung sicherlich gewollt : « post deserta tria, velut trium itinere dierum […] » Ebda. S. 211. 46 Ebda. S. 213. 47 Ebda. S. 216. 48 Vgl. ebda. S. 217-237. Die zehn Mysterien decken dabei eine Reihe Theologumena u.a. der Schöpfungslehre, Christologie, Sakramentenlehre und Prädestinationslehre ab. 40
388
Jonas Narchi
Der vorläufige Gipfel dieser Aufstiegsbewegung ist schließlich die sechste Wüste, in der der Mensch, der alle seine geistigen Vermögen zugunsten Gottes gewüstet hat, getrieben vom « Geist der Einsicht » (spiritus intelligentie49) schließlich auch den Menschen, d.h. sowohl seinen Nächsten, als auch sich selbst, gänzlich wüsten und hinter sich lassen muss : Oh geglückter Tausch (felix commercium)! Der Mensch lässt den Menschen hinter sich und lässt Gott hinein. […]. Aber auf diese Weise sich selbst als Menschen um Gottes willen zu verlassen ist nicht so sehr ein Hinaus- als vielmehr ein Hineingehen. Denn er geht hinaus nicht wie [jemand] aus dem Haus in die Vorhalle, sondern wie aus dem Haus in das Brautgemach (in thalamum). Er geht hinaus nämlich nicht nach außen, sondern nach innen ; nicht nach unten, sondern nach oben ; nicht aus sich heraus in die Welt, sondern aus sich heraus in Gott, auf dass Gott in ihn gelange und er in Gott. Er stirbt für sich, um für Gott zu leben (vgl. Röm 14,8) und so lebt er wahrhaftiger, weil er nicht in sich lebt, der er Schatten ist, sondern in Gott, der Wahrheit ist. Denn er lebt nicht mehr in sich, sondern Christus lebt in ihm, der, wenn er Gottes Willen und Vernunft nachfolgt und in sich aufnimmt, nicht nur sein eigenes Fleisch, sondern auch seinen Willen und seine Vernunft wüstet50.
Diesen zugleich höchsten und innerlichsten Gipfel des menschlichen Weges kann eigentlich kein weiterer Schritt übertreffen : Man ist in der Sprache des Sermo XII vollkommen in Gott transfiguriert, man ist geradezu – wie die Rede vom felix commercium anklingen lässt – im Sinne der Theosis-Lehre gottgleich geworden, nachdem Christus den Menschen gleich geworden ist. Dieser Christus-Bezug wird im folgenden Abschnitt noch deutlicher, wenn Achard die sechste Wüste genauer als Kontemplation der göttlichen Natur Christi bestimmt51. In der sechsten Wüstung ist der Mensch geradezu christoform geworden52.
49
Ebda. S. 239. « Felix commercium ! Homo hominem exit, et Deum introducit. […] Sed sic hominem exire seipsum propter Deum non adeo est exire, quam intrare. Exit enim, non ut a domo in atrium, sed ut a domo in thalamum. Exit quidem non extrorsum sed introrsum, non deorsum sed sursum, non a seipso in mundum sed a se in Deum, ut Deus veniat in ipsum et ipse in Deum. Moritur sibi ut vivat Deo, et sic verius ipse vivat, non in seipso qui umbra est, sed in Deo qui veritas est ; non enim ipse jam vivit in se, sed vivit in eo Christus qui, Dei sequens et in se recipiens voluntatem et rationem, suam deseruit, non modo carnem, sed tam voluntatem quam rationem. » Ebda. S. 237. Übers. des Verf. 51 « Qui ergo per sex predicta transivit deserta, jam velut per gradus sex ad thronum conscendit Salomonis nostri, id est usque ad ipsam divinitatis Christi sublimitatem contemplandam. » Ebda. S. 239. 52 Vgl. ebda. S. 239 f. 50
Der mystische Abstieg von der Kontemplation
389
Statt nun jedoch in dieser Vorwegnahme der visio Dei zu ruhen, treibt gerade diese letzte Angleichung an Christus den Menschen dazu, sich wieder den Geschöpfen zuzuwenden und in einer letzten, siebten Wüstung, wie Christus selbst Gott zu wüsten und sich absteigend den Menschen zuzuwenden. In verschränkter Wüsten- und Hohelied-Metaphorik schildert Achard : Er [der Mensch] kann nicht unbetroffen bleiben vom Mit-Leid (affici compassione), weil er, nachdem er vom Bräutigam in den Weinkeller geführt wurde, berauscht von der Liebe ist (inebriatus est caritate) und deshalb will, dass alle so seien wie er selbst. Er erinnert sich dessen, der – obwohl er frei von allem war – sich allen zum Knecht machte. […] Freilich lieber, weil auch viel angenehmer, würde er sich innen zur Rast legen, in den Armen des Bräutigams, dessen innere Lieblichkeit er erfahren hat. Aber die Liebe Christi, d.h. des Bräutigams, drängt ihn und das Vorbild (exemplum) [Christi] fordert, dass er hinausgehe und dem Bräutigam nachfolge. […] Wer auf gewisse Weise innen mit Gott Gott (cum Deo Deus) war, werde außen in der Gestalt Gottes für die Menschen und mit den Menschen Mensch (cum hominibus et pro hominibus homo), nachdem er für sie wieder die Knechtsgestalt angenommen hat. Wer zuerst den Nächsten um Gottes willen gewüstet hatte, der wüstet nun auch in gewisser Weise Gott um des Nächsten willen. […] In diese siebte Wüste wird er vom siebten Geist, dem Geist der Weisheit (spiritus sapientie), d.h. dem Geist der vollendeten Liebe (caritas perfecta) geführt, denn in dieser Wüste wird er der Weisheit Gottes nachgeformt (conformatur), die gerade dies aber auf viel vortrefflichere Weise vollbrachte und ihm als nachzuahmendes und nachzufolgendes (imitandum vel sequendum) Vorbild (exemplum) hinterließ. Diese Liebe (caritas) ist so vollkommen, dass im Menschen keine vollkommenere gedacht werden kann53.
In dieser rhetorisch geradezu überwältigenden Passage, die hier in Länge wiedergegeben wurde, um die Zentralstellung dieses Gedankens in der Mystik Achards hervorzuheben, ist der mystische Abstieg in die Aktion als Vollendung der Kontemplation in Christusnachfolge in seiner Reinform entwickelt. Hat der Mensch aufsteigend den Teufel, die Welt, sein Fleisch, seinen Willen und 53 « Non potest non affici compassione, quia, introductus a sponso in cellam vinariam, inebriatus est caritate, unde et omnes vellet esse tanquam seipsum. Recordatur illius qui, cum omnium esset liber, omnium se servum fecit. […] Libentius enim, quia et multo suavius, inter amplexus sponsi, internam ejus expertus dulcedinem, intus requiesceret, nisi quia, ut exeat, sponsum sequens, ipsa eum Christi, id est sponsi, urget caritas et provocat exemplum […] Qui intus erat quodammodo cum Deo Deus, in forma Dei, foris fit cum hominibus et pro hominibus homo, reassumpta pro eis forma servi ; qui prius proximum deseruerat propter Deum, nunc et Deum secundum aliquid deserit propter proximum. […] In desertum hoc septimum ducitur a septimo spiritu sapientie, id est caritatis perfecte, quia in hoc conformatur sapientie Dei, que idipsum, sed multo excellentius fecit, ei ad imitandum vel sequendum reliquiens exemplum. Caritas hec adeo est perfecta ut perfectior in homine cogitari nequeat. » Ebda. S. 240 f. Übers. des Verf.
390
Jonas Narchi
selbst seine Vernunft auf Gott hin überstiegen und sich diesem in der Kontemplation seines innersten trinitarischen Wesens angeglichen, so muss er geradezu aus dieser Erkenntnis heraus wieder Mensch werden und die inkarnatorische Abstiegsbewegung des Sohnes nachvollziehen : In der Kontemplation ruhen zu wollen, würde die innere trinitarische Dynamik Gottes verkennen, der wesentlich Liebe und damit Selbstmitteilung ist. War in Sermo XII der Übergang von der Kontemplation in die Aktion noch auf mehrere Stufen verteilt und undeutlich umrissen, so ist er in der siebten Wüste in Sermo XV ungleich deutlicher konzeptualisiert. Von Sermo XII zu Sermo XV erfährt diese Stufenfolge eine Präzisierung sowie durch das Motiv des Wüstengangs eine neue inhaltliche Aufladung, indem der mystische Abstieg in die tätige Liebe nun gegen seine andere Seite hin noch deutlicher als kenotischer Entäußerungs- und Wüstungsakt charakterisiert wird – ein gewissermaßen negativer Zug, der als Charakteristikum Achards gelten kann und den es lohnen würde, in der späteren Mystik eigens weiterzuverfolgen54. Entscheidender für die Rezeption des mystischen Abstieges in die Aktion besonders bei den Franziskanern dürfte jedoch die Weiterentwicklung der Lehre Achards durch seinen viktorinischen Bruder Richard gewesen sein. 3. Die vierte Stufe der Liebe bei Richard von St. Viktor († 1173) Richard von St. Viktor legte in seinen myst(agog)ischen Traktaten – allen voran dem Beniamin minor und dem Beniamin maior – eine umfassende Systematisierung der kontemplativen Gotteserfahrung vor. In noch höherem Maße als Hugo und Achard bedient sich Richard dabei der Hierarchisierung ; man kann sogar sagen, dass « der Aufstieg in Stufen eine Signatur seines Denkens55 » ist. So steigt Richard im Beniamin minor Kapitel für Kapitel durch eine allegorische Exegese alttestamentlicher Figuren von den Tugenden zur Kontemplation auf, der anschließend der Beniamin maior gewidmet ist. Auch in De quattuor gradibus
54 An dieser Stelle sei nur angedeutet, dass die Wüstung Gottes bei Achard strukturell und motivisch dem Konzept der « sinkenden Liebe » (sinkendú minne) bei Mechthild von Magdeburg (prominent in XII, 4 von Das fließende Licht der Gottheit) näher ist als die caritas deficiens Richards von St. Viktor, die Ruh vergleichend hinzuzieht. Vgl. Kurt Ruh, Geschichte der Abendländischen Mystik, Bd. 2 : Frauenmystik und Franziskanische Mystik der Frühzeit, München : Beck, 1993, S. 271. Auf einen entscheidenden Unterschied beider zu Mechthild von Magdeburg sei jedoch hingewiesen : Die Hinwendung zum Nächsten bzw. zum tätigen Leben tritt bei ihr deutlich zurück, weswegen man hier wohl nur schwerlich von einer Rezeption der viktorinisch- regularkanonikalen Figur des Abstieges in die Aktion sprechen kann. 55 Theo Kobusch, Die Philosophie des Hoch- und Spätmittelalters, München : Beck, 2011, S. 79.
Der mystische Abstieg von der Kontemplation
391
violentae caritatis56, ca. 1170 verfasst57, scheint der Aufstieg über mehrere Liebesstufen zunächst Programm zu sein. Mit einer unerwarteten Wendung schlägt dieser jedoch in einem letzten Schritt in einen mystischen Abstieg um, der die vierte Stufe der Liebe konstituiert. Im Folgenden soll der Gedankengang dieses Traktats, der nicht weniger als die « aufregendste Liebeslehre nicht nur des 12. Jahrhunderts, sondern des ganzen Mittelalters58 » genannt wurde, kurz dargestellt werden, wobei der Fokus auf dieser vierten Stufe liegt59. Da es sich bei De quattuor gradibus um die reifste und einflussreichste Darstellung des mystischen Abstieges unter den Schriften der Viktoriner handeln dürfte60, kommt ihr eine besondere Rolle in der Rezeptionsgeschichte zu. In der Sprache des Hohenlieds schildert Richard die Liebe des Menschen (Braut) zu Gott (Bräutigam) als eine verwundende Liebe : Vulnerata caritate ego sum (vgl. Hl 4,9). Er prägt sogar den eigenen Ausdruck der violentia caritatis, um in einer Analyse, die Ruh treffend als « Phänomenologie der Liebe61 » bezeichnet hat, den gewaltsamen und geradezu krankmachenden Charakter der (Gottes-) Liebe62 zu entfalten. 56
Richard von St. Viktor, Les quatre degrés de la violente charité, texte critique avec introduction, traduction et notes, hrsg. v. Gervais Dumeige, Paris : Vrin, 1955 (Textes philosophiques du moyen âge, 3). Im Folgenden zit. nach der zweisprachigen Ausgabe : Richard von St. Viktor, Über die Gewalt der Liebe. Ihre vier Stufen, übers. von Margot Schmidt, München – Paderborn – Wien : Schöningh, 1969. Da es sich im Folgenden um sehr verlässliche Übersetzungen Schmidts handelt, wird darauf verzichtet, die kompletten lateinischen Passagen in den Anm. wiederzugeben. 57 Zur relativen Datierung im Vergleich zu anderen Werken vgl. Pierluigi Cacciapuoti, Deus Existentia Amoris : Teologia della Carità e Teologia della Trinità negli Scritti di Ricardo di San Vittore, Turnhout : Brepols, 1998 (Bibliotheca Victorina, 9), S. 94 f. 58 Kurt Ruh, « Geistliche Liebeslehren des XII. Jahrhunderts », in Beiträge zur Geschichte der deutschen Sprache und Literatur, Bd. 111, 1989, S. 157-178, hier S. 175. 59 Eine ausführlichere Zusammenfassung findet sich sowohl in der Einführung Schmidts als auch bei Kurt Ruh, Geschichte der Abendländischen Mystik, Bd. 1 : Die Grundlegung durch die Kirchenväter und die Mönchstheologie des 12. Jahrhunderts, München : Beck, 1990, S. 387-395. 60 Schmidt urteilt über die Rezeption des Traktats : « Alle späteren Autoren, die über die Stufen der Liebe schreiben, kannten diese Schrift. » Margot Schmidt, « Einführung », in Richard von St. Viktor : Über die Gewalt der Liebe. Ihre vier Stufen, übers. v. Margot Schmidt, München – Paderborn – Wien : Schöningh, 1969, S. 1-16, hier S. 1 f. Sie präzisiert diese Aussage im Laufe des Werkes und gibt einen Überblick, der nur erahnen lässt, wie groß angelegt ihre geplante und leider nie vollendete Studie war : « Die Wirkweite seiner Lehre über die Liebe erstreckt sich u.a. auf Aelred von Rievaulx, auf Bonaventura, auf Rudolf von Biberach, Petrus von Blois, Dionysius den Kartäuser, Robert Ciboule, Antonius von Padua, Franziskus Osuna, Bernardin von Laredo, der wahrscheinlich der Vermittler zu Theresia von Avila war […] » Ebda. S. 15. Mit Antonius von Padua, Bonaventura und Rudolf von Biberach werden im Folgenden nur drei Autoren aus dieser beeindruckenden Rezipientengalerie genauer analysiert. 61 Kurt Ruh, Geschichte der abendländischen Mystik, Bd. 1, S. 387. 62 Zu der sozusagen phänomenologischen Methode Richards, die er in gewisser Weise auch in De Trinitate verwendet, gehört es, Phänomene wie die Liebe zunächst im zwischenmenschlichen
392
Jonas Narchi
Die vier Stufen der Gottesliebe, die der Mensch auf dem Weg zur Vervollkommnung durchlaufen sollte, sind die « verletzende Liebe » (caritas vulnerans63), die « fesselnde Liebe » (caritas ligans64), die « krankmachende Liebe » (caritans languens65) und schließlich die « schwächende Liebe » (caritas deficiens66). Auch wenn diese Metaphorik des Liebesleidens bereits für sich von großem Forschungsinteresse ist und in der Mystik weit nachwirken wird – man denke z.B. an die « verwundete Seele » (gewundete sele67) Mechthilds von Magdeburg, die « liebeskrank » (minnesiech68) nach Gott ist – sei sie im Kontext dieser Arbeit direkt in Richards Lehre vom mystischen Auf- und Abstieg rückübersetzt. So schreibt Richard : Auf der ersten Stufe tritt Gott in die Seele ein, und die Seele kehrt zu sich selbst zurück (redit in seipsum). Auf der zweiten Stufe steigt sie über sich selbst hinaus (ascendit supra seipsum) und wird zu Gott erhoben (elevatur). Auf der dritten Stufe geht die zu Gott erhobene Seele ganz in ihn über (totus transit in ipsum69).
Die hier beschriebene Aufstiegsbewegung ist zugleich eine Reflexionsbewegung : Auf der ersten Stufe erkennt sich der Mensch selbst und findet Gott mit Augustinus gesprochen interior intimo meo. Richard wählt für diese Stufe auch den Begriff der meditatio70. Die Liebe zu Gott ist nun geweckt, jedoch wird dieser noch nicht erkannt. Aus der Liebe folgt nun das Verlangen, den Geliebten zu erkennen. Auf der zweiten Stufe steigt der Mensch daher zur contemplatio71 und sogar gewissermaßen schon zur visio Dei72 auf bzw. wird – wie der Wechsel zur passiven Verbform in der oben zitierten Passage anzeigt – vielmehr von Gott « hochgehoben ». Auf der dritten Stufe schließlich, die Richard als ekstatischen raptus und excessus mentis beschreibt und die damit fast noch über die sechste Wüste Achards hinausgeht, ist der Mensch endgültig transzendiert. Die folgende Bereich zu schildern, um sich danach Gott zuzuwenden. In diesem Sinne stellt der erste Teil des Traktats eine Analyse der zwischenmenschlichen Liebesgewalt in vier Stufen dar und erst im zweiten Teil werden diese auf die Gottesliebe übertragen. Im Folgenden wird direkt an dieser letzteren Stelle angesetzt. 63 Vgl. Richard von St. Viktor, Über die Gewalt der Liebe. Ihre vier Stufen, S. 48-55. 64 Vgl. ebda. S. 55-61. 65 Vgl. ebda. S. 61-67. 66 Vgl. ebda. S. 67-71. 67 Mechthild von Magdeburg, Das fließende Licht der Gottheit, übers. u. hrsg. v. Gisela Vollmann-Profe, Berlin : Berlin Verlag der Weltreligionen, 2010, S. 124 f. 68 Ebda. S. 26 f. 69 Richard von St. Viktor, Über die Gewalt der Liebe. Ihre vier Stufen, S. 48 f. 70 Ebda. S. 48. 71 Ebda. S. 48. 72 Vgl. ebda. S. 58-61.
Der mystische Abstieg von der Kontemplation
393
Passage könnte geradezu den Abschluss der mystischen Aufstiegsbewegung sowie das Ende des Traktates markieren : Die dritte Stufe der Liebe bedeutet, daß der Geist des Menschen in den Abgrund des göttlichen Lichtes (divini luminis abyssum) entrückt wird, so daß der menschliche Geist in diesem Zustand alle äußeren Dinge ganz und gar vergißt, das Bewusstsein seiner selbst verliert und ganz in seinen Gott eingeht. (transeat in Deum suum). […] In diesem Zustand, in dem der Geist von sich selbst entäußert und in jene Schatzkammer des göttlichen Geheimnisses verzückt wird, […] zieht er sich selbst ganz aus, bekleidet sich mit einer geradezu göttlichen Empfindung (divinum quemdam affectum induit), und der geschauten Schönheit gleichgestaltet, geht er über in eine neue Herrlichkeit (in aliam gloriam transit73).
Folgt man Richards Theorie der Kontemplation im Beniamin minor und Beniamin maior oder Stufenmodellen wie denen in seiner Schrift De tribus processionibus74, so erwartet man an dieser Stelle, dass das höchste Ziel der Einung mit Gott erreicht ist. Was sollte auf diese Kontemplation noch folgen – außer die jenseitige visio Dei, deren Vorgeschmack sie ist? In einem letzten, geradezu « antimystischen75 » Schritt, der inhaltlich sowie motivisch durch und durch von Achards Lehre des mystischen Abstieges durchdrungen zu sein scheint, führt Richard in De quattuor gradibus eine vierte Stufe der Liebe ein, die alle vorherigen noch einmal übertrifft : « Auf der dritten Stufe geht die zu Gott erhobene Seele ganz in ihn über. Auf der vierten Stufe geht die Seele um Gottes willen (propter Deum) hinaus und steigt unter sich selbst hinab (descendit76) ». Der Aufstieg zu Gott ist somit zu einem Abstieg geworden – einem Abstieg zu wem jedoch? Ein weiterer Satz, der die AufstiegAbstieg-Metapher in geradezu wörtlicher Übernahme Achards um eine Eingang-Ausgang-Metapher ergänzt, führt Richard aus : « Auf der ersten tritt sie [die Seele] um ihretwillen bei sich selbst ein (ingreditur), auf der vierten tritt sie 73
Ebda. S. 60-63. Die drei Stufen der Selbstheiligung werden hier allegorisch durch den Juden, den Hebräer und den Galiläer sowie im weiteren Verlauf des Traktats durch liturgische Feste / Prozessionen dargestellt. Dabei stellt die vita contemplativa eindeutig den der vita activa übergeordneten Gipfel und Schlusspunkt dieses Prozesses dar : « Hebreum ergo reddit vita activa, Galileum autem vita contemplativa. […] Iudeum facit peccatorum confessio, Hebreum virtutum promotio, Galileum eternorum contemplatio. », Richard von St. Viktor, Sermons et opuscules spirituels inédits, Bd. 1 : L’édit d’Alexandre ou Les trois processions, hrsg. v. Jean Châtillon – William-Joseph Tulloch, übers. v. Joseph Barthélemy, [Brugge] : Desclée de Brouwer, 1951, S. 16. 75 « Es wird sozusagen eine antimystische Position bezogen, aber sie ist nur denkbar als Umschlag der mystischen »Entfremdung«, der abegescheidenheit in der Sprache der späteren Mystik. » Kurt Ruh, « Geistliche Liebeslehren des XII. Jahrhunderts », S. 178. 76 Richard von St. Viktor, Über die Gewalt der Liebe. Ihre vier Stufen, S. 48 f. 74
394
Jonas Narchi
um des Nächsten willen (propter proximum) aus sich selbst heraus (egreditur77). » Plötzlich schlägt die Gottesliebe in die Nächstenliebe, das propter Deum in das propter proximum um. Wie bei Achard ist dieser Abstieg wiederum trinitarischchristologisch begründet : Und während sie [die Seele] auf der dritten Stufe bereits gleichsam ‘in Gottes Gestalt’ war, beginnt sie nichtsdestoweniger auf der vierten Stufe « sich selbst zu entäußern, nimmt Knechtsgestalt an und wird im Gehaben als Mensch erfunden » (Phil 2,6 f.). Auf der dritten Stufe ist die Seele sozusagen in Gott getötet (mortificatur in Deum), auf der vierten wird sie gleichsam in Christus auferweckt78.
Der mit Gott geeinte Mensch vollzieht in der höchsten imitatio Christi selbst dessen kenotischen Abstieg zu den Menschen (möglicherweise bis in den Tod) nach : Zum höchsten Gipfel der Liebe aufgestiegen und auf der vierten Stufe der Liebe angelangt sind jene, die ihr Leben für ihre Freunde geben können und das Wort des Apostels erfüllen : « Seid Nachahmer Gottes als seine vielgeliebten Kinder und wandelt in der Liebe, wie Christus euch geliebt hat und sich selbst für euch an Gott als ein köstlich duftendes Opfer hingegeben hat » (Eph 5, 1 f.)79.
Das Argument, das hier zwischen den Zeilen geführt wird, ist folgendes : Damit der mystische Weg der Einung mit und des Aufstieges zu Gott sein Ziel erreicht, muss er so weit führen, dass man in der Nachahmung Gottes selbst auch wieder zu den Menschen hinabsteigt. Kommt man zu der Erkenntnis, dass Gottes innerstes Wesen die caritas und damit trinitarische Selbstmitteilung ist – eine Erkenntnis, die Richard in seinem De Trinitate ausbuchstabiert80 – so darf man nicht in der Kontemplation der immanenten Trinität verharren, sondern muss in Nachahmung der ökonomischen Trinität selbst ad extra in der Welt tätig werden. Achards Hohelied-Metaphorik weiterspinnend vergleicht Richard diesen Prozess mit dem der sexuellen Vereinigung zweier Liebender, deren Liebe im Kind zusammenschlägt : Auf der ersten Stufe vollzieht sich die Verlobung, auf der zweiten die Hochzeit, auf der dritten die Vereinigung (copula), auf der vierten die Geburt (puerperium). […] Auf der ersten Stufe wird die Liebende häufig besucht, auf der zweiten heimgeführt, auf der
77
Ebda. S. 48 f. Ebda. S. 66-69. 79 Ebda. S. 66 f. 80 Vgl. Richard von St. Viktor, De Trinitate, hrsg. v. Jean Ribaillier, Paris : Vrin, 1958. Für eine deutsche Übertragung vgl. Richard von St. Viktor, Die Dreieinigkeit, übers. v. Hans Urs von Balthasar, Einsiedeln : Johannes-Verlag, 22002. 78
Der mystische Abstieg von der Kontemplation
395
dritten mit dem Geliebten vereinigt (dilecto copulatur), auf der vierten befruchtet (fecundatur)81.
Ist es zu gewagt, in dieser Struktur – der Vereinigung von Mensch und Gott, deren Liebe in der Liebe zum Nächsten zusammenschlägt – eine Reminiszenz der immanenten und ökonomischen Liebesstruktur der Trinität zu erkennen82 ? Dass diese trinitarische Prägung der Denkfigur nicht zufällig ist, sondern auf eine systematische Verknüpfung von Mystik und Trinitätslehre im Denken der Viktoriner hindeutet, wird durch die Beobachtung gestützt, dass jeweils verschiedene Akzentsetzungen in der Trinitätslehre wiederum Akzentverschiebungen in der Lehre vom mystischen Abstieg zu Folge haben : Die Betonung der kreatürlichen Welt sowie die Trias potentia – sapientia – benignitas in der Trinitätslehre Hugos äußert sich in dessen Forderung an den Kontemplativen, sich nach der Einsicht in die göttliche Weisheit gütig der kreatürlichen Welt zuzuwenden. Die Betonung der caritas und der interpersonalen Dimension in Richards Trinitätslehre äußert sich wiederum in dessen Betonung der Nächstenliebe in der Lehre des mystischen Abstieges. In dem Maße, in dem sich die Trinitätslehre Richards im Vergleich zu der Hugos vom « Buch der Natur » löst und sich der menschlichen Interpersonalität als adäquaterem Analogieraum der Dreifaltigkeit zuwendet83, nimmt auch die Betonung der Interpersonalität in der Lehre vom mystischen Abstieg zu84. 81
Richard von St. Viktor, Über die Gewalt der Liebe. Ihre vier Stufen, S. 44 f. Man ziehe vergleichend die Stellung des Heiligen Geistes als condilectus des Vaters und des Sohnes hinzu : « Dieses aber scheint in der wahren Liebe zu sein : zu wollen, daß der andere so geliebt wird, wie man selbst geliebt wird. […] Die Probe für die vollkommene Liebe ist somit der Wunsch, daß die einem zuteilgewordene Liebe weitervermittelt werde. […] Wir hatten oben zwei einander Liebende angenommen ; nun zeigt sich, daß zur Vollendung ihrer Liebe aus der gleichen Überlegung einer als Mitgenosse der beiden zuteilwerdenden Liebe erfordert wird. […] Die Höchstliebenden und die Höchstgeliebten wollen also beide in gemeinsamem Wunsch einen Mitliebend-Mitgeliebten, den sie wunschgemäß in Eintracht gemeinsam besitzen. » Richard von St. Viktor, Die Dreieinigkeit, lib. III, cap. 11, S. 95-97. 83 Diese Unterschiede der philosophischen Trinitätsargumente Hugos und Richards können hier nur angedeutet werden. Sie werden im Rahmen der Dissertation des Verf. ausführlicher entwickelt werden. 84 Schwieriger fällt das Urteil im Falle Achards. Denkbar wäre hier, dass seine Betonung der pluralitas in der Trinitätslehre im Kontext seiner Mystik mit einer Betonung der Hinwendung zur Vielfalt der geschöpflichen Welt einherging. Da kein myst(agog)ischer Traktat Achards erhalten ist, kann diese Vermutung jedoch leider nicht bestätigt werden. Zum Stellenwert der pluralitas im Denken Achards vgl. Jonas Narchi, « The Trinitarian Origin(s) of Plurality in Creatures. Achard of Saint Victor’s De unitate Dei et pluralitate creaturarum in the Light of Trinitarian Ontology », im Erscheinen. Deutlicher scheint die Lehre des mystischen Abstieges bei Achard von seiner Christologie informiert zu sein. Vgl. zu derselben jüngst Nicole Reibe, « Reconsidering the homo assumptus Position », in Achard de Saint-Victor métaphysicien. Le De unitate Dei et 82
396
Jonas Narchi II. Der mystische Abstieg bei den Franziskanern
1. Der Abglanz des Taborlichts bei Antonius von Padua († 1231) Die Beziehung des Antonius von Padua (bzw. Lissabon) zu den Viktorinern, besonders seine persönliche Schülerbeziehung zu Thomas Gallus, ist schon lange bekannt – der genaue Umfang dieser Beziehung ist jedoch trotz der grundlegenden einschlägigen Studie Châtillons noch immer nicht gesichert85. Der junge Fernando Martins de Bulhões, später nach dem Mönchsvater Antonius umbenannt, begann seine Ausbildung an der Kathedralschule von Lissabon und trat 1210 oder 1211 den Regularkanonikern von St. Vincent bei Lissabon bei. Hier könnte erster Kontakt mit den Viktorinern bzw. ihren Lehren erfolgt sein86, wahrscheinlicher ist dieser jedoch ab 1212 oder 1213, da er nun den Regularkanonikern vom Heiligen Kreuz in der Abtei Santa Cruz in Coimbra beitrat. Hier waren nicht nur einige Handschriften wichtiger viktorinischer Traktate vorhanden, sondern es gab auch die Gelegenheit, bei Kanonikern zu lernen, die ihre licentia docendi in Pariser Schulen erworben hatten87. Es ist sehr wahrscheinlich, dass manche von ihnen bei den gleichgesinnten und vorbildlichen Regularkanonikern von St. Viktor lernten – von einem Prior João und einem Bruder Raimondo in Santa Cruz wird gar berichtet, sie hätten bei Achard von St. Viktor gelernt88. Selbst wenn hier keine ununterbrochene Lehrer-Schüler-Filiation nachzuweisen ist, ist ein Einfluss der früheren Viktoriner auf Santa Cruz und Antonius von Padua sehr wahrscheinlich. Ist eine Kenntnis Antonius’ von viktorinischem Gedankengut in Santa Cruz nur zu plausibilisieren, so ist sie in seiner späteren Lebensphase als Franziskaner durch die persönliche Bekanntschaft und Schülerschaft bei Thomas Gallus pluralitate creaturarum, hrsg. v. Vincent Carraud – Gilles Olivo – Pasquale Porro, Turnhout : Brepols, 2019, S. 149-167. 85 Vgl. Jean Châtillon, « Saint Antoine de Padoue et les victorins ». 86 Châtillon weist daraufhin, dass ein erhaltenes Inventar der Bibliothek aus dem 13. Jh. das De institutione novitiorum Hugos aufführt. Vgl. Aires Augusto Nascimento, « Livros e Claustro no séc. XIII em Portugal : O Inventário da Livraria de S. Vicente de Fora, em Lisboa », in Didaskalia, Bd. 15, 1985, S. 229-242, hier 238, 240. 87 Vgl. Jean Châtillon, « Saint Antoine de Padoue et les victorins », S. 256-259. 88 Vgl. ebda. S. 260, Anm. 14. Châtillon hält dies für beinahe unmöglich, da die beiden Kanoniker noch 1228 in wichtigen Funktionen in Santa Cruz nachweisbar sind und dies bedeuten würde, dass sie zu diesem Zeitpunkt schon fast hundertjährig hätten sein müssen, um in jungen Jahren Achards Schüler gewesen zu sein. Wahrscheinlicher ist für Châtillon, dass sie Schüler Thomas’ Gallus waren. Ließe sich ein Aufenthalt von Regularkanonikern von Santa Cruz in St. Viktor ab ca. 1155 mit Sicherheit nachweisen, so wäre auch nicht auszuschließen, dass manche von ihnen die Predigten Achards persönlich anhörten, da diese gemäß der viktorinischen consuetudindes auch für externe Gäste zugänglich waren. Vgl. Jean Longère, « La fonction pastorale de SaintVictor à la fin du xiie et au début du xiiie siècle », in L’abbaye parisienne de Saint-Victor au Moyen Âge, hrsg. v. Id., Paris : Turnhout : Brepols, 1991 (Bibliotheca Victorina, 1), S. 291-313, hier S. 294 f.
Der mystische Abstieg von der Kontemplation
397
in Vercelli eindeutig nachgewiesen89. Bekanntermaßen widmet dieser seinem Schüler Antonius in der Extractio in Hierarchiam ecclesiasticam eine lobende Passage90. Auch wenn nicht restlos zu klären ist, welche Schriften Antonius in diesem Kontext studieren konnte, so vermuten Châtillon und Piron aufgrund der relativ niedrigen Präsenz pseudo-dionysischer Lehren im erhaltenen Œuvre des Antonius und aufgrund der häufig später zu datierenden eigenen Schriften des Thomas Gallus, dass hier primär theologische Werke Richards von St. Viktor zu Verfügung standen91. Es ist daher wahrscheinlich, dass Antonius die Gedankenfigur des mystischen Abstieges nicht nur über die Unterweisung seines Lehrers, sondern auch über viktorinische Schriften kennen lernte92. Antonius setzt in seinen Predigtvorlagen93 hie und da die klassische Unterordnung94 der vita activa unter die vita contemplativa fort, jedoch überwiegt 89
Zu Antonius’ Studien in Vercelli vgl. Jacques Toussaert, Antonius von Padua. Versuch einer kritischen Biographie, Köln : Bachem, 1967, S. 338-348. 90 Er spricht liebevoll vom verstorbenen Antonius « qui misticam theologiam prompte hausit et firmiter retinuit, cum ipse litteris secularibus minus habundaret, sed exemplo Iohannis Baptiste ardebat et ex ardore lucebat », zit. nach Jean Châtillon, « Saint Antoine de Padoue et les victorins », S. 271. 91 Vgl. ebda. S. 276-281 ; sowie : Sylvain Piron, « Franciscains et victorins. Tableau d’une réception », in L’école de Saint-Victor de Paris. Influence et rayonnement du Moyen Âge à l’époque moderne, hrsg. v. Dominique Poirel, Turnhout : Brepols, 2010 (Bibliotheca Victorina, 22), S. 528-545, hier S. 528. Freilich ist eine Rezeption von Werken Hugos und Achards damit ebenso wahrscheinlich. 92 Es sei jedoch trotzdem darauf hingewiesen, dass auch Thomas Gallus den mystischen Abstieg gekannt und zudem mithilfe der pseudo-dionysischen Engelslehre weiterentwickelt zu haben scheint. In seinem späten Sermo aus den 1240er Jahren Qualiter vita prelatorum conformari debet vite angelice legt er ausgehend von den neun Engelshierarchien dar, dass die Vervollkommnung des geistlichen Menschen über neun Stufen erfolge. Diese wiederum werden bezeichnenderweise durch wiederholte Rekombination des trinitarischen Ternars Hugos von St. Viktor gebildet : Von der benignitas sapiens der Angeli über die sapientia benigna der Archangeli und die potentia potens der Virtutes usw. steigt der Mensch bis zur vollendeten benignitas benigna der Seraphim auf, in der er wiederum von karitativer Liebe zu Gott und dem Nächsten entflammt wird. Man könnte in hierarchischer Reihenfolge von einer imitatio Trinitatis durch die Engelshierarchien und einer imitatio angelorum durch den Menschen sprechen. Vgl. Declan Lawell, « Qualiter vita prelatorum conformari debet vite angelice : a sermon (1244-1246?) attributed to Thomas Gallus », in Recherches de théologie et philosophie médiévales, Bd. 75/2, 2008, S. 303-336. Inwieweit Rudolf von Biberach diese Lehre umfassend rezipiert, kann in Kapitel 4.3. unten nur angedeutet werden und verdiente eine eigene Betrachtung. 93 Antonius von Padua, Sermones dominicales et festivi ad fidem codicum recogniti, hrsg. von Beniamino Costa – Leonardo Frasson – Joanne Luisetto, 3 Bde., Padova : Centro studi antoniani, 1979. 94 Exemplarisch sei auf die Predigtvorlage zu Sexagesima verwiesen, in der das biblische Wort von der dreißig-, sechzig- und hundertfachen Frucht (Mk 4, 8) auf die hierarchisch aufsteigenden Lebensformen der verheirateten Laien, der vita activa und der vita contemplativa hin ausgelegt wird. Vgl. ebda. Bd. 1, S. 36 f.
398
Jonas Narchi
insgesamt eine Beiordnung95 der zwei Lebensformen mit der gelegentlichen Betonung ihrer gegenseitigen Ergänzung96. Besonders in Predigtvorlagen, die sich gewissermaßen selbstreferentiell mit dem spezifischen Charisma des Predigers befassen und Zeugnis von Antonius’ sowohl regularkanonikal als auch franziskanisch geprägtem Selbstverständnis geben, wird die Kombination von Kontemplation und Aktion deutlich hervorgehoben. Der Franziskaner bedient sich dafür einer Vielzahl von Bildern : Der Prediger soll mit Petrus auf das Dach des mentis excessus steigen und dort das Gefäß (Apg 10, 11) der Predigt empfangen97 ; wie die Bienen, die zuerst in der Luft fliegen üben und sich dann im Bienenstock ernähren, sollen die Prediger in der Luft der Kontemplation üben und danach sich und die Nächsten mit dem Wort Gottes nähren98 ; wie die Blume des Feldes, die Christus repräsentiert (Hl 2, 1), sollen sie sich auf dem Acker der Welt behaupten, während Eremiten in der Wüste und klausurierte Religiosen im verschlossenen Garten der Weltabgewandtheit blühen99. Besonders geeignet scheinen dabei auch für Antonius Bilder der Überquerung und des Abstieges zu sein. So liest er den Weg Jesu zum Jordan als ein Zugehen auf den Nächsten : « Und er kam in die Gegend am Jordan » (Lk 3, 3). Der, über dem das Wort göttlicher Inspiration steht, der kommt zweifelsohne in die Gegend am Jordan, ‘was als demütiger Abstieg (humilis descensus) zu verstehen ist’ und durch den das Mitleiden (compassio) mit dem Nächsten bezeichnet wird. Der Prälat oder Prediger steigt hinab (descendat) und lässt sich herab (condescendat), um den Nächsten aufzurichten, der darniederliegt100.
Ganz deutlich überwiegen in dieser Passage Begriffe aus dem Wortfeld des descensus ; zusätzlich betont das Präfix con- bzw. com- in condescendere und compassio die soziale und karitative Dimension des barmherzigen Hinabsteigens und Mitleide(n)s. Motivisch nähert sich Antonius bereits hier der viktorinischen Lehre vom Abstieg in die Aktion an. 95
Vgl. exemplarisch ebda. Bd. 1, S. 21, 214 ; Bd. 2, S. 28 f. Vgl. exemplarisch ebda. Bd. 1, S. 258, 390, 501 ; Bd. 3, S. 251. 97 Vgl. ebda. Bd. 1, S. 230. 98 Vgl. ebda. Bd. 2, S. 78. 99 Vgl. ebda. Bd. 2, S. 238. Diese Bilder können auch ins Negative fortgesetzt werden : Von dem perversus praedicator schreibt Antonius, dass dieser zwar durch die Kontemplation Gottes Wesen schaue, dieses Wissen jedoch nur per scientiam und noch nicht per experientiam habe. Erst im Abstieg zur Aktion und zur Belehrung des Nächsten – hier analog zu dem Abstieg Benajas in die Grube eines Löwen (Sam 23, 20) – kann der Erkenntnis- und Angleichungsprozess vollendet werden. Vgl. ebda. Bd. 1, S. 436 f. 100 « Et venit in omnem regionem Iordanis. Super quem fit verbum divinae inspirationis, sine dubio venit in regionem Iordanis, ‘qui interpretatur humilis descensus’, in quo compassio circa proximum designatur. Praelatus vel praedicator descendat et condescendat, ut proximum iacentem erigat. » Ebda., Bd. 2, S. 509. Übers. des Verf. 96
Der mystische Abstieg von der Kontemplation
399
Eine genauere Darstellung der mystischen Stufenfolge bietet Antonius in der ersten Predigtvorlage für den Zweiten Fastensonntag, die ganz im Zeichen der Lesung des neutestamentlichen Transfigurationsberichts (Mt 17, 1-9) steht. Die Aufstiegsbewegung Jesu und der Jünger auf den Tabor sowie deren Präfiguration im Aufstieg Moses’ auf den Sinai liest Antonius wie folgt : Zu diesem [Moses] sprach der Herr : « Steige auf den Berg zu mir » (Ex 24, 12). ‘Der Berg bezeichnet aufgrund seiner Höhe die Erhabenheit eines heiligen Lebens’, zu der der Prediger, nachdem er das Tal der weltlichen Dinge hinter sich gelassen hat, über die Leiter der göttlichen Liebe (per scalam divini amoris) aufsteigen soll, damit er dort den Herrn erreiche101.
Das Bild der Leiter der Liebe, das direkt an die vier Stufen Richards von St. Viktor gemahnt, gibt Antonius den Anlass, noch ein weiteres biblisches Bild hinzuzuziehen : Jakobs Traum von der Himmelsleiter (Gen 28, 10-22) wird als der Prozess gelesen, in dem der Mensch die vergänglichen weltlichen Dinge hinter sich lässt (Schlaf ) und in der Beschau zu Gott aufsteigt (Traum), indem er die göttliche und die menschliche Natur Christi (zwei Holme der Leiter) sowie dessen sechs Tugenden Demut, Armut, Weisheit, Barmherzigkeit, Geduld und Gehorsam (sechs gradus, d.h. Sprossen der Leiter) kontempliert102. Schon die Aufstiegsbewegung hat damit eine distinkt christologische Prägung, insofern die Abstiegsbewegung der Inkarnation und das konkrete Leben Jesu auf Erden umgekehrt den menschlichen Aufstieg zu Gott ermöglichen. Am Gipfel des Berges angelangt, findet der Mensch schließlich « die Verklärung des Herrn, die Kontemplation wahrer Freude103 » und ahmt gar die Transfiguration Christi nach : « Und er wurde vor ihnen verklärt » (Mt 17,2). Drücke dich wie weiches Wachs gegen diese Form, auf dass du die Gestalt Jesu Christi annehmen kannst, die wie folgt war : « Und sein Antlitz schien wider wie die Sonne » (Mt 17,2)…104
101
« Huic dicit Dominus : Ascende ad me in montem. “Mons, propter sui altitudinem, sanctae vitae excellentiam significat”, in qua praedicator, relicta valle temporalium, per scalam divini amoris debet ascendere ; et ibi inveniet Dominum. » Antonius von Padua, Sermones, Bd. 1, S. 86. Übers. des Verf. 102 Vgl. ebda. Bd. 1, S. 89. Es sei auch darauf hingewiesen, dass Antonius in diesem Kontext ebenfalls das Hohelied (Hl 5, 2) zitiert und in diesem Sinn deutet : « Ego, inquit sponsa in Canticis, dormio, idest quiesco ab amore temporalium, et cor meum vigilat in contemplatione caelestium. » Ebda. Bd. 1, S. 89. 103 « transfiguratio Domini, contemplatio veri gaudii ». Ebda. Bd. 1, S. 86. Übers. des Verf. 104 « Et transfiguratus est ante eos. Huic ergo figure te quasi mollem ceram imprime, ut figuram Iesu Christi possis recipere, quae talis fuit : Et resplenduit facies eius sicut sol. » Ebda. Bd. 1, S. 91. Übers. des Verf.
400
Jonas Narchi
Es folgt eine detaillierte allegorische Auslegung des Gesichts-, Geruchs- und Geschmackssinns ausgehend von dem Antlitz Jesu und dem Antlitz der Seele (facies animae), mithilfe derer Antonius das Verhältnis von Glauben (fides), Unterscheidungsgabe (discretio) und Kontemplation (contemplatio) näher bestimmt105. Da der Kontemplationsbegriff Antonius’ und dessen Gemeinsamkeiten und Unterschiede mit demjenigen Richards von St Viktor bereits von Châtillon ausführlich analysiert wurden106, wird auf Details dieser Deutung hier nicht eingegangen. Vielmehr soll darauf hingewiesen werden, dass Antonius keineswegs bei der Kontemplation haltmacht und auch der viktorinische Einfluss sich nicht nur auf diesen Teil der Predigtvorlage beschränkt. Der Franziskaner schließt nämlich im Folgenden eine Betrachtung über das Licht an, in der der viktorinische Umschlag von der Kontemplation in die Aktion ebenfalls wiederholt wird. Auch wenn er weder Achards Predigt zur Verklärung Christi, noch Richards Liebestraktat wörtlich zitiert, so wiederholt sich hier derselbe mystische Abstieg : Gebt also acht, meine Liebsten, und seht wie dienlich, wie heilsam es ist, drei Gefährten zu nehmen und den Berg des Lichts hinaufzusteigen, denn dort ist wahrhaftig die Verklärung von « der Gestalt dieser Welt, die vergeht » (1 Kor 7, 31), in die Gestalt Gottes, die für immer und ewig anhält und von der gesagt wird : « Sein Antlitz schien wider wie die Sonne » (Mt 17,2). Auch das Antlitz unserer Seele scheint wider wie die Sonne, damit was wir im Glauben sehen, im Werk hervorscheine ; damit wir das Gute, das wir innerlich urteilend erfassen, mit der Tugend der Unterscheidung nach außen vollziehen in der Reinheit der Aktion (in actionis puritate) ; und damit was wir von der Kontemplation Gottes kosten (gustamus de Dei contemplatione), mit Hitze in der Liebe zum Nächsten erglühe (ferveat in proximi dilectione). Auf diese Weise wird unser Antlitz widerscheinen wie die Sonne107. 105
Wie der Geruchssinn durch die Nase im Gesicht sozusagen zwischen Gesichts- und Geschmackssinn situiert ist, so vermittelt nach Antonius die Unterscheidungsgabe zwischen dem Glauben und der Kontemplation. Vgl. ebda. Bd. 1, S. 91-95. Mit dieser Metapher eines Antlitzes der Seele, die ein ganzheitliches Verständnis vom Menschen als psychophysische Einheit impliziert, reiht sich Antonius in eine lange mittelalterliche Tradition leiblicher Metaphern für die Seele ein, die am umfassendsten von Baschet herausgearbeitet wurde. Vgl. Jérôme Baschet, Corps et âmes. Une histoire de la personne au Moyen Âge, Paris : Flammarion, 2016. 106 Vgl. Jean Châtillon, « Saint Antoine de Padoue et les victorins », S. 281-292. 107 « Attendite ergo, carissimi, et videte quam utile, quam salubre est tres socios assumere et in montem luminis ascendere, quia ibi vere est transfiguratio de figura huius mundi quae praeterit, in figuram Dei, quae permanet in saeculum saeculi ; de qua dicitur : Facies eius resplenduit ut sol. Resplendeat et facies animae nostrae sicut sol, ut quod videmus fide claresceat in opere ; et bonum, quod discernimus intus, discretionis virtute foris exequamur in actionis puritate ; et quod gustamus de Dei contemplatione calore ferveat in proximi dilectione. Et sic facies nostra resplendebit ut sol. » Bd. 1, S. 96. Übers. des Verf. Die drei Gefährten beziehen sich hier sowohl auf die Jünger Jesu, als auch allegorisch auf die drei Sinne des Antlitzes der Seele.
Der mystische Abstieg von der Kontemplation
401
Ist der Mensch Jesus auf den Tabor gefolgt und in der Kontemplation transfiguriert bzw. Gott gleichgestaltet worden, so muss er in vollendeter imitatio Christi wiederum in das Tal der Nächstenliebe hinabsteigen und ‘abglanzbeladen’ mit dem Taborlicht seinem Nächsten begegnen. Deutlich teilt Antonius mit Achard von St. Viktor das Bild der Transfiguration als Ausgangspunkt seiner Konzeption des mystischen Abstieges sowie mit Richard die deutliche Betonung der karitativen Dimension desselben : Der Genuss der Kontemplation schlägt direkt in die actio bzw. die glühende dilectio des Nächsten um. Gleichzeitig deutet sich jedoch auch ein Unterschied an : Der Gedanke hat hier an Konkretion gewonnen und damit gleichzeitig an spekulativen Dimensionen verloren : An die Stelle eines ausgeklügelten scholastischen Systems auf- und absteigender Transfigurationen, Wüst(ung)en und Liebesstufen tritt die eine biblisch überlieferte Verklärung, die zwar nach wie vor allegorisiert, jedoch detaillierter ausgelegt wird. In diesem Zusammenhang sei noch einmal an die Exegese der Jakobsleiter erinnert, in der neben der Inkarnation besonders die menschliche Natur und Lebensweise Jesu Anlass zur Kontemplation boten. Auf kaum merkliche Weise verändert sich hier das trinitarisch-christologische Moment der Gedankenfigur : Der Fokus rückt von der immanenten Trinität sowie der göttlichen Natur Christi etwas weiter auf die menschliche Natur sowie das irdische Wirken Christi – eine Verschiebung, die sowohl eine allgemeine Zeittendenz108, als auch ein spezifisch franziskanischer Zug zu sein scheint. Châtillon hatte Antonius’ Betonung der affektiven Dimension sowie der Liebe gegenüber Richards intellektualistischer wirkenden Aussagen bemerkt und darin eine sehr gezielte Zitatauswahl und Abgrenzung durch Antonius gesehen109. Bezieht man den weiteren textuellen Kontext, in dem das Richard-Zitat im obigen Beispiel steht, mit ein, so lässt sich diese Beobachtung weiter präzisieren : Auch wenn er sich in Details der Kontemplationslehre von der Position der Viktoriner abhebt, reiht sich der junge Franziskaner in Bezug auf die Betonung des Umschlags der Kontemplation in die Aktion deutlich in ihre Tradition ein. Antonius gebraucht die viktorinische Lehre des mystisches Abstieges zudem gezielt, um das 108 Constable spricht in seiner einschlägigen Studie zur imitatio Christi in diesem Zusammenhang von einem Wandel von einer « Imitation of the Divinity of Christ » zu einer « Imitation of the Humanity of Christ ». Zu letzterer vgl. Giles Constable, « The Ideal of the Imitation of Christ », in Id., Three Studies in Medieval Religious and Social Thought, Cambridge : Cambridge University Press, 1995, S. 143-248, hier S. 182-193. 109 « Il [Antonius] délaissera donc tout ce qui, chez Richard, implique une référence trop directe à une révélation intérieure et, d’une manière plus générale, à la connaissance. Ce sont en revanche les passages de l’œuvre du victorin où il est question de la charité et de l’amour qui retiendront son attention et qu’il inséra dans son propre développement. » Jean Châtillon, « Saint Antoine de Padoue et les victorins », S. 290.
402
Jonas Narchi
spezifische kontemplativ-aktive Charisma des Franziskanerordens im Allgemeinen sowie des Predigtamts im Besonderen zu prägen110. Damit beginnt zu Anfang des 13. Jahrhunderts bereits ein Prozess der Adaption der Gedankenfigur des mystischen Abstiegs auf franziskanische Ideale, der bei Bonaventura von Bagnoregio seinen Höhepunkt finden wird. 2. Die seraphische Liebe des Franziskus bei Bonaventura von Bagnoregio († 1274) Darüber, dass Bonaventura von Bagnoregio die Viktoriner – allen voran Hugo, Richard und Thomas Gallus – rezipierte, besteht kein Zweifel111. Besonders in der Trinitätstheologie und in der Mystik lässt sich eine « Victorine sub-structure112 » des Denkens Bonaventuras ausfindig machen, die sich in besonderer Weise in seiner Theorie der Kontemplation äußert. Sucht man nun in Werken wie dem Itinerarium mentis in Deum, welches mit deutlichen Parallelen zu Richards Beniamin-Traktaten die sechs Stufen des kontemplativen Aufstieges zu Gott entwickelt, nach einem abschließenden Abstieg in die Aktion, so wird man jedoch enttäuscht. Einzig in der Charakterisierung des Heiligen Franziskus von Assisi, der in seiner Stigmatisierung den Gipfel der Kontemplation erringt so wie er zuvor die vita activa vervollkommnete, klingt ein vergleichbarer Gedanke an113. Im Itin110
Châtillon wies bereits darauf hin, dass der eigene biographische Übergang Antonius’ aus der lectio, meditatio und contemplatio in Santa Cruz in die aktive praedicatio als Franziskaner ein Echo eines generellen Umdenkens bei Pariser Denkern Ende des 12. Jh.s sein könnte, von denen er in seinem Beitrag jedoch Petrus Cantor und nicht Richard oder Achard von St. Viktor hervorhebt. Vgl. ebda. S. 264 f. In der Tat kann man bei der Beschäftigung mit der Vita Antonius’ den Eindruck gewinnen, er habe mit seinem Verlassen der Regularkanoniker von Santa Cruz genau jenen Abstieg von der Kontemplation in die Aktion leben und umsetzen wollen, der bei Richard und Achard von St. Viktor als vierte Stufe der Liebe bzw. siebte Wüste der Seele konzeptualisiert wurde. Man könnte in Anlehnung an Achards Wüst(ung)en das Paradoxon formulieren, das Antonius’ Verlassen bzw. Wüsten der Regularkanoniker und Hinwendung zu einem tätig(er) en Leben geradezu die Erfüllung dieser ursprünglich regularkanonikalen Mystik darstellte. Man sollte nicht unterschätzen, dass die Märtyrer, deren Vorbild den jungen Fernando 1220 inspirierte, Coimbra zu verlassen, Minoriten waren, die das Martyrium gerade aufgrund ihrer aktiven Predigttätigkeit erlitten hatten. Zu diesem entscheidenden Wendepunkt im Leben des jungen Antonius vgl. Jacques Toussaert, Antonius von Padua, S. 191-210. 111 Vgl. Grover A. Zinn, « Book and word. The Victorine background of Bonaventure’s use of symbols », in S. Bonaventura 1274-1974, hrsg. v. Jacques Guy Bougerol, Bd. 2, Grottaferrata : Collegium S. Bonaventurae, 1974, S. 143-169 ; Jacques Guy Bougerol, Introduction à saint Bonaventure, Paris : Vrin, 1988, S. 93-109 ; Zachary Hayes, « Bonaventure’s Trinitarian Theology », in A Companion to Bonaventure, hrsg. v. Jay Hammond – J. A. Wayne Hellmann – Jared Goff, Leiden – Boston : Brill, 2014 (Brill’s Companions to the Christian Tradition, 48), S. 189-245. 112 Dale M. Coulter, « The Victorine Sub-structure of Bonaventure’s Thought », S. 399. 113 « Quod etiam ostensum est beato Francisco, cum in excessu contemplationis in monte excelso […] apparuit Seraph sex alarum in cruce confixus, […] ubi in Deum transiit per contemplationis excessum ; et positus est in exemplum perfectae contemplalionis, sicut prius fuerat actionis,
Der mystische Abstieg von der Kontemplation
403
erarium dominiert – um mit McGinn zu sprechen – jedoch noch deutlich der Fokus auf die « vertikale », kontemplative Dimension des Heiligen Franziskus, während dessen « horizontale » Dimension des tätigen Lebens in den Hintergrund rückt114. Mit der Schlüsselfigur des Franziskus ist bereits der entscheidende Hinweis gegeben, wo sich die Gedankenfigur des mystischen Abstieges bei Bonaventura allerdings finden lässt : In der Tat ist diese weniger in den systematischen Werken des doctor seraphicus zu suchen, sondern vielmehr in dessen hagiographischen Schriften über den Ordensgründer und hier speziell in der Schilderung von dessen mystischer Vision und Stigmatisierung115. Als Bonaventura sich im Kapitel XIII seiner sorgfältig durchkomponierten Legenda Maior Sancti Francisci116 der Schilderung der Stigmatisierung des Heiligen nähert, wählt er zwei zentrale biblische Bezugspunkte, um auf diesen Höhepunkt der Vita hinzuleiten : Jakobs Himmelsleiter und die Verklärung Christi auf dem Tabor. Dies allein ist noch nicht bemerkenswert, eignet sich doch besonders letzterer, um Parallelen zwischen Christus und Franziskus als vollendetem imitator Christi aufzuzeigen. Auffällig ist jedoch, wie Bonaventura aus diesen Bezugspunkten ein Modell des kontemplativ auf- und aktiv absteigenden Franziskus zeichnet, das deutliche Parallelen zu den oben zitierten viktorinischen Modellen aufweist : Es war die Gewohnheit des engelgleichen Mannes Franziskus, sich im Guten niemals Ruhe zu gönnen : Wie die Engel des Himmels stieg er vielmehr auf der Jakobsleiter entweder auf zu Gott (ascendebat in Deum) oder er stieg ab zum Mitmenschen (descendebat ad proximum). Er hatte gelernt, die ihm von Gott gegebene Zeit so klug einzuteilen, tanquam alter Iacob et Israel. » Bonaventura von Bagnoregio, Itinerarium mentis in Deum, in Id., Opera omnia, Bd. 5 Quaracchi : Collegium S. Bonaventurae, 1891, S. 295-316, hier S. 312. 114 « Bonaventura [stellte] Franziskus aufgrund seiner Stellung in der Heilsgeschichte als Modell sowohl der Aktion als auch der Kontemplation [vor]. So hat also die Exemplarität des Franziskus eine vertikale wie auch eine horizontale Dimension. » Bernard McGinn, Die Mystik im Abendland, Bd. 3 : Blüte. Männer und Frauen der neuen Mystik (1200-1350), übers. v. Bernardin Schellenberger, Freiburg i. Br. – Basel – Wien : Herder, 1999, S. 180. 115 McGinn wies bereits darauf hin, wie bemerkenswert die Betonung des Zusammenspiels von Aktion und Kontemplation in Bonaventuras Lebensbeschreibung(en) des Heiligen ist, erkannte jedoch nicht die potentielle viktorinische Rezeptionslinie, die hier zugrunde liegen könnte : « Wird in den kurzen Anspielungen auf Franziskus im Wanderweg der Seele in Gott hinein die aufsteigende Rolle des Heiligen betont, so ist am Leben besonders bemerkenswert, daß hier der vertikale wie der horizontale Aspekt nie aus dem Blick geraten. » Ebda. S. 182. 116 Vgl. Bonaventura von Bagnoregio, Legenda Sancti Francisci, in Id., Opera omnia, Bd. 8, Quaracchi : Collegium S. Bonaventurae, 1898, S. 504-564. Eine deutsche Übersetzung findet sich in Bonaventura von Bagnoregio, Legenda Maior – das große Franziskusleben, in FranziskusQuellen. Die Schriften des heiligen Franziskus, Lebensbeschreibungen, Chroniken und Zeugnisse über ihn und seinen Orden, hrsg. v. Dieter Berg – Leonhard Lehmann, Kevelaer : Butzon – Bercker, 2009, S. 690-778. Im Folgenden zitiert unter Angabe der Seitenzahlen der lateinischen Edition sowie der deutschen Übersetzung nach dem Prinzip « Bonaventura, LM, lat. S. X, dt. S. Y ».
404
Jonas Narchi
dass er sich zeitweise abmühte, den Nächsten zu gewinnen, und sich dann entrückt der Ruhe der Beschauung hingab (contemplationis tranquilis excessibus dedicaret). Wenn er darum […] sich dem Nächsten, um sein Heil zu fördern, zugewandt hatte (condescendisset), verließ er die ruhelose Menge bald wieder und suchte die Stille der Einsamkeit117.
Franziskus lebt, wie aus dieser Darstellung ersichtlich wird, das Ideal einer vita mixta, in der sich vita contemplativa und vita activa, Gottes- und Nächstenliebe, nach den Erfordernissen der Situation abwechseln und ergänzen. Aus diesem metaphorischen Bereich des Auf- und Abstieges geht Bonaventura sodann zu der historischen Schilderung des Bergaufstieges des Poverello über, die jedoch wiederum durch ein Bibelzitat von Anfang an biblisch überformt ist : Zwei Jahre, ehe er seinen Geist dem Himmel zurückgab, führte ihn Gottes Vorsehung so nach mannigfachen Mühen « beiseite auf einen hohen Berg » (Mt 17,1), der La Verna heißt. Nach seiner Gewohnheit begann er hier zu Ehren des heiligen Erzengels Michael eine vierzigtägige Fastenzeit. In reichlicherem Maße als sonst erfüllte ihn da die Süße himmlischer Beschauung (supernae contemplationis), noch mächtiger erfasste ihn die Feuersglut himmlischer Sehnsucht […]118.
In der verklärenden Kontemplation von Gott ergriffen, entschließt sich Franziskus sodann, durch wiederholtes Aufschlagen des Evangelienbuches den Willen Gottes zu ergründen. Sein Begleiter schlägt daraufhin bei dreimaligem Öffnen des Buches stets die Passion Christi auf. In diesem Moment geht Franziskus auf, er solle « Christus in seiner Bedrängnis und in seinem schmerzvollen Leiden (afflictionibus et doloribus passionis) gleich gestaltet (conformis esse) werden, ebenso wie er ihn vorher in seinem Handeln nachgeahmt hatte119 ». Auf diese Erkenntnis, er müsse nicht nur das Handeln Christi nachahmen – gemeint ist wohl primär dessen öffentliches Wirken besonders in Armut und Predigt –, sondern sich bis zur Passion Christus angleichen, folgt die berühmte Vision des Seraphischen Christus. Die Schilderung dieser Vision kann hier unmöglich in allen Details analysiert werden, jedoch sei darauf hingewiesen, dass Bonaventura sie auf ähnliche Weise als Gleichwerden mit Christus schildert wie Richard und Achard von St. Viktor ihre jeweils vorletzte Stufe der menschlichen Vervollkommnung : Glühendes Verlangen gleich dem der Seraphim trug ihn zu Gott empor, und inniges Mitleiden gestaltete ihn dem ähnlich (compassiva dulcedine in eum transformaretur), der « aus übergroßer Liebe » (Eph 2,4) den Kreuzestod auf sich nehmen wollte. […] 117
Bonaventura, LM, lat. S. 542, dt. S. 764. Statt der recht allgemein gehaltenen Formulierung « sich zuwenden » könnte man condescendere auch als « mit / zu ihnen hinabsteigen » übersetzen, um in der auf- und absteigenden Metaphorik zu bleiben. 118 Ebda. lat. S. 542, dt. S. 765. 119 Ebda. lat. S. 542, dt. S. 765.
Der mystische Abstieg von der Kontemplation
405
[Die Vision des Seraphischen Christus wird beschrieben.] Bei diesem Anblick war Franziskus sehr bestürzt ; […]. Er war voll Freude über den Blick der Gnade, mit dem er sich von Christus unter der Gestalt des Seraph angesehen sah, doch der Anblick seines Hängens am Kreuz « durchbohrte seine Seele mit dem Schwert » (vgl. Lk 2,35) schmerzlichen Mitleidens (compassivi doloris gladio ipsius animam pertransibat). […] Schließlich verstand er […], die göttliche Vorsehung lasse ihm deswegen diese Erscheinung zuteil werden, damit er schon jetzt wisse, nicht das Martyrium des Leibes, sondern die Glut des Geistes müsse ihn als Freund Christi ganz zum Bild des gekreuzigten Christus umgestalten (in Christi crucifixi similitudinem transformandum). Als sich die Erscheinung seinen Augen entzog, ließ sie in seinem Herzen ein wundersames Feuer zurück und prägte auch seinem Leibe ein nicht minder wundersames Abbild der Wundmale ein120.
Wie in den Transfigurationspredigten Achards und Antonius’ dominiert hier der Gedanke der conformatio bzw. transformatio, bei der der Kontemplierende Christus vollkommen angeglichen bzw. gar in ihn verklärt wird. Auch die compassio, die bei Achard und Richard als entscheidendes Moment aufschien, ist hier geradezu omnipräsent. Der doctor seraphicus hebt sich jedoch auch deutlich von den Viktorinern ab : Zunächst einmal ist auffällig, dass die compassio, die im viktorinischen Modell als barmherziges Mitleiden mit dem Nächsten nach dem Vorbild Christi gedacht wird, hier ein neues Objekt hat : Franziskus leidet zuallererst mit dem Gekreuzigten : Sein Mitleiden betrifft Christus und (zunächst) nicht den Mitmenschen. Desweiteren ist die compassio in der Stufenfolge der menschlichen Vervollkommnung sozusagen eine Stufe zurückverschoben worden und fällt mit der kontemplativen Einung mit Gott zusammen. Dies geht mit einer trinitarisch-christologischen Verschiebung einher, die man wohlmöglich am ehesten mit einer Neufokussierung auf die ökonomische Trinität bzw. besonders auf den Kreuzestod des menschgewordenen Sohnes beschreiben kann : Man wird nicht dem ewigen Sohn im Schoß des Vaters angeglichen, um dann sozusagen in einem zweiten Schritt dessen Inkarnation mitzuvollziehen. Vielmehr ist diese – mit all ihren Folgen bis hin zum Kreuz – immer schon geschehen. Aufgrund dieses Faktums ist die Begegnung mit dem trinitarischen Gott keine Schau der immanenten Trinität – sozusagen getrennt von ihrer Offenbarung ad extra –, sondern eine Begegnung mit dem menschgewordenen und gekreuzigten Sohn. Um einen Vergleich zu der zeitgenössischen Ikonographie der Trinität in der Buchmalerei zu bemühen, könnte man sagen, die Schau des Dreifaltigen ist für Bonaventura keine Vision der Paternitas-Trinität, bei der der Sohn gleichsam als Kind auf dem Schoß des Vaters sitzt, sondern immer schon eine Vision des Gnadenstuhls, bei 120
Ebda. lat. S. 542 f., dt. S. 765 f.
406
Jonas Narchi
dem Gottvater den gekreuzigten Sohn in den Händen hält121. Doch wie steht es nun um den mystischen Abstieg in der Legenda Maior? Bonaventura schildert im Anschluss an die Vision detailliert die Unsicherheit, die Franziskus plagt : Soll er seinen Mitmenschen von dem berichten, was ihm widerfuhr? Mit Achard könnte man fragen, ob es nicht viel lieblicher und angenehmer wäre, in der Kontemplation bei Gott zu ruhen. Allerdings lautet auch hier die Antwort anders : Ein Mitbruder ermahnt den zweifelnden Franziskus : « Bruder, wisse, dass Gott dich nicht nur deinet-, sondern auch deiner Mitmenschen wegen zuweilen göttliche Geheimnisse (sacramenta divina) schauen lässt122. » Und tatsächlich entschließt sich Franziskus, von dem Berg, den er erklommen hat, wieder herabzusteigen : Nachdem die wahre Liebe Christi also den Liebenden in das Bild des Geliebten umgestaltet (vgl. 2 Kor 3,18) (in imaginem transformavit) hatte, vollendete er die vierzig Tage, wie er es vorgehabt hatte, in der Einsamkeit. Als aber das Fest des Erzengels Michael kam, stieg der engelgleiche Mann Franziskus vom Berg herab (descendit de monte). Er trug das Bild des Gekreuzigten (Crucifixi effigiem) an sich, nicht auf steinernen Tafeln oder auf Holz von Künstlerhand gefertigt, sondern vom Finger des lebendigen Gottes den Gliedern seines Leibes eingeprägt (vgl. Ex 31, 18 ; 32, 15). Da es aber gut ist, das Geheimnis des Königs zu wahren, verbarg er […] jene heiligen Wundmale, so gut er konnte. Da aber Gott die Großtaten, die er vollbringt, zu seiner Verherrlichung offenbart, ließ der Herr selbst, der ihm jene Zeichen (signacula) im Verborgenen eingedrückt hatte, durch sie einige Wunder in aller Öffentlichkeit (aperte) geschehen ; dadurch sollte die verborgene und staunenswerte Kraft der Wundmale in leuchtenden Zeichen offenkundig werden123.
Mit dem Schein des Taborlichts bzw. mit dem Abglanz des Sinai beladen und bis in seinen Leib hinein Christus gleichgeworden, vollzieht Franziskus den mystischen Abstieg zu seinen Mitmenschen, um ihnen eine imago des Gekreuzigten zu sein. Was die Viktoriner in der Theorie beschrieben und – ebenso wie später Antonius von Padua – ihren Mitbrüdern in Sermones als Ideal präsentierten, sieht Bonaventura im Leben des Heiligen Franziskus von Assisi erfüllt. Um das, was dem Poverello auf dem Gipfel von La Verna und auf dem Abstieg in das Tal widerfuhr und den jungen Franziskanerorden fundamental prägte, theologisch zu konzeptualisieren und auszudeuten, bedient sich Bonaventura der Gedankenfigur des mystischen Abstieges von der Kontemplation in die Aktion, der er eine eigene, 121
Vgl. François Bœspflug, Der Gott der Maler und Bildhauer. Die Inkarnation des Unsicht baren, übers. v. Annett Röper-Steinhauer, Freiburg i. Br. – Basel – Wien : Herder, 2013, S. 40-66. 122 Bonaventura, LM, lat. S. 543, dt. S. 766. 123 Ebda. lat. S. 543, dt. S. 767.
Der mystische Abstieg von der Kontemplation
407
distinkt franziskanische Prägung verleiht. Die Schwerpunktverschiebung auf das irdische Leben des menschgewordenen Gottes, die sich schon bei Antonius von Padua angedeutet hatte, erreicht ihren Höhepunkt in Bonaventuras Auslegung der Stigmatisierung des Heiligen Franziskus, der Christus bis zum Kreuz hinabsteigend nachfolgt124. 3. Die siebte Straße zu Gott bei Rudolf von Biberach († nach 1326) Als letzte Station des hier nachgezeichneten Weges soll ein franziskanischer Denker an der Schwelle des 13. und 14. Jahrhunderts stehen, der trotz seines weitreichenden Einflusses auf die hoch- und spätmittelalterliche Mystik und darüber hinaus bis in die Neuzeit heute größtenteils in Vergessenheit geraten ist125. In einer Studie über die europaweite Nachwirkung viktorinischen Denkens gebührt Rudolf von Biberach jedoch ein Ehrenplatz, kann er doch als einer der wichtigsten Vermittler desselben in die spätmittelalterliche Mystik hinein gelten. Tatsächlich ist über das Leben Rudolfs von Biberach wenig bekannt : Handschriftliche Notizen bekunden einen Studienaufenthalt in Paris sowie seine Lehrtätigkeit im Studium Generale des Franziskanerordens in Straßburg. In Straßburg scheint Rudolf sich ab ca. 1270 aufgehalten zu haben ; seine letzte urkundliche Erwähnung als Beichtvater des sterbenden Herzogs Leopold von Habsburg fällt in das Jahr 1326126. Als Hauptwerk Rudolfs, das bisher als einziges ediert ist, darf das De septem itineribus aeternitatis127 ca. aus dem Ende des 13. Jahrhunderts gelten, 124
Es wäre eine eigene Untersuchung wert, der Frage nachzugehen, inwiefern bereits Franziskus selbst begann, seine gelebte Mystik auf solche Weise zu konzeptualisieren. Da eine genauere Kenntnis viktorinischer Texte in seinem Fall jedoch nicht einfach nachzuweisen ist, wurde diese Frage hier ausgeblendet. Dennoch sei darauf hingewiesen, dass sich bereits bei Franziskus – in den Worten Zweermans – eine « dramatische Mystik » der tätigen operatio andeutet. Vgl. Theo Zweerman, « Mystik bei Franziskus von Assisi. Unter besonderer Berücksichtigung der “Salutatio Virtutum” », in Mystik in den franziskanischen Orden, hrsg. v. Johannes Baptist Freyer, Kevelaer : Butzon – Bercker, 1993 (Veröffentlichungen der Johannes-Duns-Skotus Akademie, 3), S. 20-46, hier S. 41-45. 125 Für einen Abriss der langen Rezeptionsgeschichte seines Hauptwerkes vgl. Margot Schmidt, « Einleitung », in Rudolf von Biberach, De septem itineribus aeternitatis, Nachdruck der Ausgabe von Peltier 1866, eingel. u. überarb. v. Margot Schmidt, Stuttgart – Bad Cannstatt : Frommann – Holzboog, 1985 (Mystik in Geschichte und Gegenwart, 1), S. IX-XLIV, hier S. XXVII-XL. 126 Vgl. Margot Schmidt, « Einleitung », in Rudolf von Biberach, Sie siben strassen zu got, üners., hrsg. u. eingel. v. Margot Schmidt, Stuttgart – Bad Cannstatt : Frommann – Holzboog (Mystik in Geschichte und Gegenwart, 2), S. XI-XIV, hier S. XIf. 127 Vgl. Rudolf von Biberach, De septem itineribus aeternitatis, Nachdruck der Ausgabe von Peltier 1866, eingel. u. überarb. v. Margot Schmidt, Stuttgart – Bad Cannstatt : Frommann – Holzboog, 1985 (Mystik in Geschichte und Gegenwart, 1). Im Folgenden unter Angabe des Buchs, der Distinctio sowie der Seitenzahlen in der lat. Edition und der Übersetzung Schmidts (Bd. 2
408
Jonas Narchi
das als « erste[s] Handbuch christlicher Mystik128 » oder gar « eine Art summa mystica129 » mystische Texte von über 40 Autoren versammelt und eine siebenstufige geistliche Auf- und Abstiegsbewegung des Menschen skizziert. Unter dem Titel Die siben strassen zu got wurde es bereits um die Mitte des 14. Jahrhunderts ins Mittelhochdeutsche (im hochalemannischen Dialekt) übersetzt und entfaltete von da an seine Wirkung in die volkssprachliche Mystik130. Der Traktat, der bezeichnenderweise lange Zeit Bonaventura zugeschrieben wurde131, systematisiert – wie der Quellenapparat Schmidts eindrücklich illustriert – eine Reihe großer Autoritäten der mystischen Tradition von Augustinus über Pseudo-Dionysius und Gregor den Großen bis zu den Viktorinern, von denen Rudolf am häufigsten Thomas Gallus und Richard von St. Viktor zitiert. Von den sieben Büchern, die jeweils in sieben distinctiones eingeteilt sind, befassen sich die ersten sechs mit dem Aufstieg des Menschen zu Gott. Das siebte Buch beendet das Werk mit einer eigenen Theorie des gottförmigen Handelns, die Schmidt in einer präzisen Studie analysiert hat132. Im Folgenden seien wesentliche Züge dieser Theorie skizziert, um diese in den Kontext der franziskanischen Viktoriner-Rezeption einzuordnen. Der Aufstieg zu Gott beginnt auf dem ersten Weg mit der « richtigen Absicht » (recta intentio133), indem sich der Mensch dazu entschließt, sich von vergänglichen Dingen abzuwenden und sich ganz auf die ewigen Dinge zu richten134. Er entspricht somit dem, was bei Achard von St. Viktor als erste und zweite der Reihe) zitiert nach dem Prinzip : « Rudolf von Biberach, De septem itineribus aeternitatis, I, 4, lat. S. 406, dt. S. 51 ». Die Rechtschreibung wird an die neue angepasst. In Fällen, in denen der mittelhochdeutsche Text und somit die neuhochdeutsche Übersetzung zu sehr vom Original abweicht, werden eigene Übersetzungen vorgeschlagen. 128 Margot Schmidt, « Einleitung », in Rudolf von Biberach, De septem itineribus aeterni tatis, S. X. 129 Margot Schmidt, « ‘Deiformis operatio’. Gottförmiges Wirken als Vollendung der “contemplatio” », in Grundfragen christlicher Mystik, hrsg. v. Margot Schmidt – Helmut Riedlinger, Stuttgart – Bad Cannstatt : F. Frommann Verlag, 1987 (Mystik in Geschichte und Gegenwart, 5), S. 221-234, hier S. 222. 130 Vgl. Margot Schmidt, « Einleitung », in Rudolf von Biberach, Sie siben strassen zu got, S. XI-XIV. 131 Vgl. Margot Schmidt, « Einleitung », in Rudolf von Biberach, De septem itineribus aeternitatis, S. XXIV-XXVI. Diese Zuschreibung könnte nicht nur auf inhaltliche Überschneidungen, sondern auch auf die Ähnlichkeit des Titels zu Bonaventuras Itinerarium mentis in Deum zurückgeführt werden. 132 Vgl. Margot Schmidt, « ‘Deiformis operatio’ ». Der Darstellung ist kaum etwas hinzuzufügen. Lediglich die Einbettung des Gedankens in viktorinische Rezeptionslinien kann hier etwas deutlicher nachvollzogen werden. 133 Rudolf von Biberach, De septem itineribus aeternitatis, I 1, lat. S. 403, dt. S. 40 f. 134 « Primum igitur iter aeternitatis, quod est aeternorum recta intentio, spiritus humanus desiderio aeternorum ab omnibus alleviatus […] » Ebda. I 1, lat. S. 403.
Der mystische Abstieg von der Kontemplation
409
Wüstung gefasst wurde, da die Abwendung vom Bösen hier in der Abwendung von der ‘Welt’ impliziert zu sein scheint. Wie bei seinen viktorinischen Vorgängern folgt nun ein Prozess der Verinnerlichung, den Rudolf als zweiten Weg des « eifrigen Betrachtens » (studiosa meditatio135) der ewigen Dinge benennt : Der Mensch tritt in ein geistiges Zwiegespräch mit Gott und seine Meditation « verausgabt und vervollkommnet sich in solchem Maße, dass sie in die Kontemplation übergeht136 ». Damit erreicht die Darstellung Rudolfs die kontemplative Einung mit Gott, die er auf vier weitere Wege aufteilt und mithilfe von zahlreichen, nicht zuletzt viktorinischen auctoritates, analysiert. Beginnend mit der « klaren Schau » (limpida contemplatio137) als drittem Weg, den Rudolf wiederum u.a. ausgehend von Richards Einteilung der Kontemplation im Beniamin maior systematisiert138, gelangt der Mensch zum vierten Weg der « liebenden Zuneigung » (affectio caritativa139). In diesem Kontext entwickelt Rudolf auch eine kurze Phänomenologie der äußeren und inneren Anzeichen des von Liebe hingerissenen Menschen140 und zitiert freudig aus dem Hohenlied, den Kirchenvätern, dem De quattuor gradibus Richards141 und den Pseudo-DionysiusKommentaren des Thomas Gallus142, den er den Vercellenser nennt. Bräutlich mit Gott vereint, erreicht die Seele nun im fünften Weg die vollkommene Selbsttranszendenz in der « verborgenen Offenbarung der ewigen Dinge » (aeternorum occulta revelatio143) und kann schließlich im sechsten Weg des « erfahrungmäßigen Vorauskostens ewiger Dinge » (aeternorum experimentalis praegustatio144) ein « noch tieferes Erfassen Gottes über alles theoretische Glaubenswissen hinaus145 » erreichen, das gleichsam ein Vorgeschmack der jenseitigen visio beatifica ist. Rudolf führt hier zudem eine originelle Konzeption sakramentaler Mystik 135
Ebda. II 1, lat. S. 409, dt. S. 66 f. « Ecce jam studiosa mentis meditatio in tantum se exercuit et perfecit, quod in contemplationem transivit. » Ebda. II 6, lat. S. 418. Übers. des Verf. Zur besseren Lesbarkeit wurde in der Übersetzung die Zeitform des Präsens gewählt. Diese Stufe stimmt auf bemerkenswerte Weise mit der caritas vulnerans Richards überein, die er ebenfalls als meditatio charakterisiert (siehe oben). 137 Ebda. III 1, lat. S. 419, dt. S. 106 f. 138 Vgl. ebda. III 4, lat. 426-429. 139 Ebda. IV 1, lat. 437.Übers. des Verf. Im Mittelhochdeutschen findet sich « minsamliche hertzunge », was Schmidt mit « übernatürliche Liebe » übersetzt. Ebda. IV 1, dt. S. 174 f. 140 Vgl. ebda. IV 4, lat. S. 444-447. 141 Vgl. ebda. IV 5, lat. S. 447-452. 142 Vgl. ebda. IV 5, lat. S. 452-456. 143 Ebda. V 1, lat. S. 457. Übers. des Verf. Im Mittelhochdeutschen findet sich « verstentliche ofnung ewiger sachen », was Schmidt mit « geistiger Offenbarung ewiger Dinge » übersetzt. Ebda. V 1, dt. S. 260 f. 144 Ebda. VI 1, lat. S. 464, dt. S. 282 f. 145 Margot Schmidt, « ‘Deiformis operatio’ », S. 224. 136
410
Jonas Narchi
ein, die in der Eucharistie den Schlüssel zu dieser Vorerfahrung der himmlischen Gottesschau erkennt146. An diesem Gipfel der Kontemplation angelangt, kann sich der Mensch wiederum fragen, warum er nicht in der unmittelbaren Gotteserfahrung ruhen sollte. Schmidt paraphrasiert die Antwort Rudolfs : « In Fortentwicklung seines Ordensgenerals Bonaventura, der hierin Gedanken Gregors des Großen aufgreift, beantwortet er diese Frage durch den Rhythmus von ascensio und descensio, das heißt, dem Aufstieg zur Schau folgt zwangsläufig der Abstieg147. » Als weiteres Glied dieser Rezeptionskette zwischen Gregor dem Großen und Bonaventura lassen sich hier noch die Viktoriner eintragen, denn der siebte Weg Rudolfs ist an derselben Systemstelle wie etwa die siebte Wüste Achards oder die vierte Liebesstufe Richards zu verorten. Vom Gipfel der Kontemplation muss der Mensch nämlich laut Rudolf zur Vervollkommnung auf den siebten Weg des « gottförmigen148 » bzw. « gottähnlichen Wirkens » (deiformis operatio149) bzw. des « Wirkens ewiger Verdienste » (aeternorum meritoria operatio150) hinabsteigen. Denn – so fragt Rudolf mit Hugo von St. Viktor – was nützte es, Gott in der Kontemplation zu kosten, wenn man davon kein vorbildliches Wirken zurückbrächte151? Wichtigstes Charakteristikum des menschlichen Handelns auf diesem siebten Weg ist auch bei Rudolf, dass dieses « dem göttlichen Handeln gleich gestaltet » (divinae operationis conformis)152 ist, sodass der Mensch als Abbild Gottes handelt : Könnten wir uns nicht in irgendeiner Weise dem göttlichen Vater als seine Kinder im Wirken angleichen (conformiter operari), dann hätte Christus im Evangelium nicht gesagt : « Ihr sollt vollkommen sein, wie euer himmlischer Vater vollkommen ist » (Mt 5,38) Denn so wir im Geiste das Bild Gottes, unseres Vaters, tragen (imaginem Dei Patris nostri habemus) so sollen wir auch Gottes Gleichnis im Handeln aufzeigen (similitudinem tenere in operatione), dass wir seine wahren Kinder sind153.
Auf auffällige Weise betont Rudolf in mehreren distinctiones, dass der Mensch diese conformitas mit Seele und Leib vollziehen muss – eine interessante Betonung der Leiblichkeit, die an Bonaventuras Auslegung der leiblichen Stigmatisierung 146
Vgl. Rudolf von Biberach, De septem itineribus aeternitatis, VI 5, lat. S. 467 f. Margot Schmidt, « ‘Deiformis operatio’ », S. 226. 148 So die Übersetzung in Margot Schmidt, « ‘Deiformis operatio’ ». 149 Rudolf von Biberach, De septem itineribus aeternitatis, VII 1, lat. S. 473, dt. S. 322 f. 150 Ebda. VII 1, lat. S. 473. Übers. des Verf. Im Mittelhochdeutschen findet sich « furdienstlicher wukvnge », was Schmidt mit « verdienstlichem Wirken » übersetzt. Ebda. VII 1, dt. S. 322 f. 151 « Quid nobis prodest, si in Deo cognoscimus majestatis celsitudinem, et nullam nobis inde colligimus utilitatem? Si enim de illo intimo divinae contemplationis secreto revertimur, quid nobiscum afferre poterimus, nisi lumen exemplaris operationis? » Ebda. VII 1, lat. S. 474. 152 Ebda. VII 1, lat. S. 473. Übers. des Verf. 153 Ebda. VII 4, lat. S. 475, dt. S. 329. 147
Der mystische Abstieg von der Kontemplation
411
des christoformen Franziskus erinnert. Das Vorbild, nach dem der Mensch sein tätiges Leben gestalten soll, sind für Rudolf – wie er mit Bernhard von Clairvaux und Thomas Gallus belegen kann – die Engelshierarchien und hier besonders die liebenden Seraphim154, jedoch in noch vollkommenerer Weise Christus selbst. In der siebten und abschließenden distinctio des siebten Buches schließt Rudolf seinen Traktat mit einer Auslegung des Hohenliedes ab, aus der hier nur eine abschließende Passage zitiert sei, die das trinitarisch-christologische Moment der deiformis operatio erkennen lässt : Darum bezeichnen die blühenden Reben (Hl 4,8) die fruchtbaren Kräfte des Geistes und die wohlduftenden Fähigkeiten, die der himmlische Winzer durch Einwohnen und Pflege (inhabitans et excolens) zum Blühen und Duften bringt : zum Blühen durch das Wort der Wahrheit, wohlduftend durch den Geist der Liebe. […] Darum wohnt (inhabitat) die ganze Dreifaltigkeit in diesen Reben. Der Vater stachelt durch heilige Inspirationen die Tätigen (operarios) im Gedächtnis (memoria) an, dass sie arbeiten. Der Sohn erleuchtet die Tätigen mit klaren Wahrheiten in ihrem inneren Verständnis (intelligentia), dass sie verständig arbeiten. Der Heilige Geist bewegt und entzündet dieselben mit heißen aufwallenden Zuneigungen im Willen (voluntas), damit sie vorbildlich wirken. […] Daher ist unser Geist in liebevoller Weise eingeladen, dass er komme, und ist auch auf diese Weise gekräftigt, die besprochenen Wege der Ewigkeit (itinera aeternitatis) beherzt zu gehen, und er wird auch mit der Liebe des Vaters gnadenreich gezogen. Nun begehrt er, dass sich sein Geliebter, der ihn so liebevoll eingeladen hat, ihn auf diesen Wegen (itinerum) als Gefährte, Geleite, Lehrer und sein Vollender begleiten möge, denn er ist « der Weg, die Wahrheit und das Leben ». Er ist der Weg, den wir gehen155.
Schmidt hat darauf hingewiesen, dass in der traditionellen Hoheliedauslegung die süßen Reben und die Düfte, von denen das Hochzeitslied berichtet, meist allegorisch als Früchte der Kontemplation interpretiert wurden – hier jedoch bezeichnen sie die Heiligkeit der äußeren Werke eines Menschen, der ganz gottförmig lebt156. Gottförmig leben bedeutet für Rudolf genauer gesprochen als ein Abbild der Trinität zu leben, in dem alle Seelenkräfte – hier der augustinische Ternar memoria, intelligentia, voluntas – vom dreifaltigen Gott überformt sind. Vergleicht man den siebten Weg des gottförmigen Wirkens im De septem itineribus Rudolfs von Biberach mit der Gedankenfigur des mystischen Abstieges sowohl bei den Viktorinern als auch bei seinen franziskanischen Vorgängern, so fällt auf, dass Rudolf in gewisser Weise wieder näher an die viktorinische Prägung des Gedankens rückt. Gegenüber Bonaventuras Betonung der ökonomischen 154
Vgl. ebda. VII 4, S. 475 f., 479-481. Ebda. VIII 7, S. 481, dt. S. 350-353. 156 Vgl. Margot Schmidt, « ‘Deiformis operatio’ », S. 230. 155
412
Jonas Narchi
Trinität sowie besonders des menschgewordenen und gekreuzigten Sohnes, überwiegt bei Rudolf die Fokussierung auf die immanente Trinität und somit die Perspektive der Transfigurationspredigten Achards von St. Viktor und Antonius’ von Padua sowie besonders die des De quattuor gradibus violentae caritatis Richards. Für die Nachwirkung des Konzepts des mystischen Abstieges noch bedeutender als eigene Schwerpunktsetzungen Rudolfs ist jedoch der Fakt, dass er mit seiner summa mystica den Grundstein für dessen europaweite Nachwirkung legte.
La influencia de Ricardo de San Víctor en la noción de persona de Duns Escoto Gloria Silvana Elías
El filósofo que revoluciona en el medioevo el concepto de persona, en su intento de superar la visión naturalista boeciana, es sin duda alguna Ricardo de San Víctor, quien incorpora la noción de existencia incomunicable en dicha definición. En efecto, Ricardo de San Víctor (1110-1175) da un giro a la definición inicial de Boecio (basada en la categoría de sustancia), e introduce en su obra De Trinitate una definición que busca liberarse de lo estático del enfoque metafísico anterior y otorgar dinamicidad a aquello que quiera nombrarse persona. Un siglo después, Juan Duns Escoto recupera esta definición para llevar adelante su propia reflexión sobre uno de los conceptos más transformadores del pensamiento cristiano. En efecto, la noción de persona, tan cara para la filosofía como para el derecho, halla una importante novedad en los aportes que Ricardo de San Víctor primeramente y luego Juan Duns Escoto, hacen al respecto. Mi propósito es indagar efectivamente en qué aspectos la posición de Ricardo de San Víctor se encuentra presente en las obras escotistas, y sistematizar dicha presencia en este escrito. I. Ricardo de San Víctor y sus aportes revolucionarios Mientras Ricardo escribe, recordemos que Abelardo muere en 1142, habiendo marcado un camino de estudio entre los jóvenes universitarios con su dialéctica y su elocuencia ; Gilberto de la Porrée, quien fallece en 1154, ocupaba la sede de Poitiers y postulaba una distinción real entre la esencia divina y las tres personas de la Trinidad y entre la esencia divina y sus atributos ; Pedro Lombardo, por su parte, está enseñando en París y, en más de una cuestión, Ricardo parece tenerle presente ; San Bernardo muere en 1153. En cuanto a la abadía se refiere, está aún en su esplendor, con la viva influencia de Hugo de San Víctor. La teología trinitaria
Omnium expetendorum prima est sapientia. Studies on Victorine thought and influence, ed. by Wanda Bajor, Michał Buraczewski, Marcin Jan Janecki and Dominique Poirel, BV, 29 (Turnhout, 2021), p. 413–422. © BREPOLSPUBLISHERS DOI 10.1484/M.BV-EB.5.126046
414
Gloria Silvana Elías
de Ricardo de San Víctor se encuentra en su obra De Trinitate, organizada en seis libros. Ricardo anuncia el propósito de su obra : A propósito de mi Dios, he leído que es uno y trino : uno en la substancia, pero trino en las personas. He leído todo esto ; pero no recuerdo haber leído el modo con que ha de probarse todo esto […]. Sobre todos estos puntos abundan autoridades, pero no tanto las exposiciones de pruebas ; sobre todos estos puntos faltan las verificaciones experimentales y se carece de argumentos. Por tanto […], estoy convencido que sacaré algo en conclusión si, en este trabajo, consigo ayudar – al menos un poco – a los espíritus que buscan, aunque no se me conceda poder satisfacerlos1.
Lo que me interesa mostrar a continuación es por qué sostengo que el aporte decisivo en la definición de persona en el medioevo, y desde allí, a toda la posteridad, es el que realiza Ricardo de San Víctor en su obre célebre De Trinitate. De los escritos de Ricardo de San Víctor se pueden extraer dos definiciones del término que acá nos ocupa : « persona divina sit divinae naturae incommunicabilis existentia2 » que hace hincapié en la incomunicabilidad de la existencia ; y « persona sit existens per se solum juxta singularem quemdam rationalis existentiae modum3 », en la que la incomunicabilidad de la existencia es racional y tiene un cierto modo singular. Pero veamos ello con detenimiento. En el De Trinitate, Ricardo de San Víctor postula la brillante comprensión de que – sea lo que fuere la persona – se debe pensar por fuera de las categorías que se aplican a lo físico natural, y elucubrar una dimensión de lo real que sobrepase el mero ámbito dominado por el concepto de sustancia. El estudio de esta obra, con especial atención a su libro cuarto, es importante no sólo desde el punto de vista histórico-genético con relación a la evolución del concepto, sino también como un esfuerzo de formulación ontológico-existencial del concepto de persona que logra en Ricardo alcanzar una profunda innovación. En De Trinitate IV, 6, Ricardo intenta echar luz al misterio de la Santísima Trinidad, estrictamente, al misterio de la trinidad de personas en Dios. Ello supone para el autor, ser capaz de elaborar una definición que pueda dar razones a esta idea de pluralidad de personas en una única sustancia. Ya venía discutiendo esto con la posición boeciana al respecto, pero creía que ella era insuficiente, puesto que no lograba dar cuenta 1
Richardus de Sancto Victore, De Trinitate, I, 4, ed. et trad. Jean Ribaillier, La Trinité. Introduction, traduction et notes, Paris : Vrin, 1958. El libro tiene el siguiente orden : prólogo ; libro I : existencia de una sustancia divina única y perfecta ; libro II : de los atributos divinos. Estos se identifican con la esencia y la esencia divina es suprasustancial ; libro III : Trinidad de personas en Dios. Busca mostrar que en la unidad de naturaleza divina cabe pensar la pluralidad de personas ; libro IV : las personas ; libro V : las procesiones ; libro VI : los nombres de las personas ; conclusiones. 2 De Trinitate, IV, 22, ed. Ribaillier, p. 187, l. 8-9. 3 De Trinitate, IV, 24, ed. Ribaillier, p. 189, l. 4-5.
la influencia de ricardo de san víctor en duns escoto
415
de la complejidad y dinamicidad de la divinidad trinitaria. En una primera aproximación al misterio de lo que sea la persona (divina en principio), Ricardo afirma que « ad nomen autem persone proprietas individualis, singularis, incommunicabilis4 », la persona es una propiedad singular incomunicable. Es decir que la sustancia es un nombre común y no es persona. Como dirá en el capítulo 7, con el nombre de sustancia no se significa « alguien », sino más bien « algo », mientras que con persona se designa alguien y no simplemente algo5. Como podemos ver, la posesión de este ser substancial a través de una propiedad particular, que hace de algo, alguien, eso es lo que se denomina persona en Ricardo, hasta este momento. Es decir, Ricardo indica que, a diferencia de lo que propone Boecio, la racionalidad en tanto propiedad compartida por muchos, es del orden de la sustancia6, y no es incomunicable. No estriba allí el orden de lo personal. Ya unos capítulos antes él menciona que con el nombre propio se intenta significar justamente esa idea de lo que es ser persona, como ese singularísimo así signado7. En el capítulo 11, avanza hacia la propuesta de una consideración doble sobre la cual atender a la pregunta por qué implica la persona, puesto que no es imposible que muchas personas compartan una unidad de sustancia (como es el caso de la Trinidad), pero entonces, ¿ cómo explicar que haya una pluralidad de personas? Dada esta situación compleja filosóficamente abordada, aunque profundamente teológica, Ricardo se atreve a postular que una cosa es la pregunta por el qué es algo, y en este sentido, preguntarse por la cualidad (qualitas) de la cosa ; y otra es discernir sobre el origen (origo) de algo, elemento éste que Boecio omitió indagar. En efecto : « In discernendis itaque personis opus est, ut arbitror, gemina consideratione, ut sciamus videlicet et quale quid sit et unde habeat esse. Una istarum considerationum versatur in discernenda rei qualitate ; alia vero versatur in investiganda rei origine8 ». En relación a la cualidad, la pregunta es por aquello que es propio de – en este caso – la persona ; de modo distinto, la pregunta por el origen busca saber de dónde adquiere su ser, si de sí o de otro. Mientras que la primera indaga por el modo de ser, la segunda indaga por el modo del obtener u « obtinencia »9. Y es 4
De Trinitate, IV, 6, ed. Ribaillier, p. 169, l. 28-32. De Trinitate, IV, 7, ed. Ribaillier, p. 169, l. 2-3 : « Quod non tam aliquis quam aliquid significatur nomine substantie, nec tam aliquid quam aliquis ex denominatione persone. » 6 De Trinitate, IV, 6, ed. Ribaillier, p. 168, l. 22-25 : « Itaque cum intelligentia substantie sub nomine animalis subintelligitur proprietas communis omni animali ; et sub nomine hominis subintelligitur quedam proprietas communis omni homini […]. » 7 Cf. De Trinitate, IV, 3, ed. Ribaillier, p. 165, l. 36-38 : « […] Ieronymus in his verbis non dicit personas proprietates personarum, sed proprietates nominum, hoc est quod proprie significant nomina personarum. » 8 De Trinitate, IV, 11, ed. Ribaillier, p. 173, l. 6-10. 9 Cf. De Trinitate, IV, 11, ed. Ribaillier, p. 173, l. 19-21. 5
416
Gloria Silvana Elías
así que en el cap. 12, Ricardo analizará ya propiamente, en el concepto de existencia, esa doble consideración establecida, con razón a la esencia o con razón a la obtinencia10. El nombre de existencia se extrae del verbo existir, entendido este como actividad que se lleva a cabo. Se compone del verbo « sistere » y el prefijo « ex », dice Ricardo. Sistere, que es sisto, esto es, mantenerse (aquí se ubica la pregunta en razón de su esencia), mientras que el « ex », en tanto de o desde refiere al origen (aquí ubicamos la pregunta por la obtinencia). Pero Ricardo aclara que él no solo está pensando en el sistere, lo que se mantiene, sino más bien en el insistir, insistere, estar en algún sujeto, en lo que inhiere11. Y a propósito de ello, avanza sobre comprender cómo « estar en un sujeto » es propio de una naturaleza creada, mientras que subsistir es propio de lo increado. O, dicho de otra manera, « sistere » puede emplearse ya para nombrar una naturaleza creada como una increada, mientras que « existe » implica que no solo posee un ser sino que lo posee de algo o alguno. Ergo, existencia no es idéntico a sustancia. Ingresando al capítulo 16, y dejando en esta ocasión entre paréntesis los capítulos intermedios que versan sobre la Trinidad de personas divinas puesto que en este trabajo estamos tras el concepto persona estrictamente, Ricardo introduce la distinción entre lo que él denomina una existencia común y aquella existencia que es incomunicable. La primera corresponde a aquello que es compartido entre varios ; la segunda, es atribuible solo a una persona en particular. Es decir, hay un sentido de existencia que puede ser puesta en común, esto es, compartida por muchos, mientras que lo incomunicable se constituye de una proprietas incomunicable ¿ Qué es lo común ?, pues, poseer un ser racional, la substancia animal, racional, etc12. Pero aquella proprietas incomunicable es aquello que sólo puede convenir a una única persona13. Podríamos decir que, en esta clasificación, hablar de existencia común es referirse a esa sustancia común que es la naturaleza racional para quienes son personas. Pero, la diferencia está que en el término existencia, la sustancia refiere a la consideración de una causa original a partir de esa relación de origen. Así, cada persona posee una existencia que comparte, pero también 10
De Trinitate, IV,12, ed. Ribaillier, p. 174, l. 2-4 : « Quod sub nomine existentie possumus utramque considerationem subintelligere, et illam que ad rationem essentie, vel que pertinet ad rationem obtinentie. » 11 De Trinitate, IV, 12, ed. Ribaillier, p. 174, l. 9-16 : « Nomen existentie trahitur a verbo quod est existere. In verbo ‘sistere’ notari potest quod pertinet ad considerationem unam ; similiter per adjunctam ‘ex’ prepositionem notari potest quod pertinet ad aliam. Per id quod dicitur aliquid sistere, primum removentur ea que non tam habent in se esse quam alicui inesse, non tam sistere, ut sic dicam, quam insistere, hoc est alicui subjecto inherere. » 12 De Trinitate, IV, 16, ed. Ribaillier, p. 179, l. 19-21 : « […] natura est existentia que est pluribus communis, et est ibi existentia que omnino est incommunicabilis. » 13 De Trinitate, IV, 16, ed. Ribaillier, p. 178-179, l. 18-19 : « que nonnisi uni alicui persone convenire potest. »
la influencia de ricardo de san víctor en duns escoto
417
propiedades personales que son incomunicables, y que hacen que esta persona sea esta persona. En efecto, ya en el cap. 17 : « Qua ratione in divinitate possint esse incommunicabiles existentie ; et quod tot sint quot persone14 », Ricardo introduce la idea de propiedades personales. Llama propiedades personales a aquellas por las cuales cada uno es distinto o discreto (discretus) de todos los demás. Como bien señala Culletón, pretender, según él, que una proprietas personalis sea comunicable en su contenido es lo mismo que pensar que una persona pueda ser dos, pero si es dos no tendría propiedad particular alguna y no se distinguiría entonces de las demás personas15. Solo se llama persona a alguien que es diferente de todos los demás por su singularísima propiedad personal. Y así, si las personas difieren por sus propiedades personales, así también sus existencias16. En síntesis, es la propiedad personal absolutamente incomunicable, « quod proprietas personalis omnino sit incommunicabilis17 » y consiste justamente en lo que no es común ni puede ser común. Encontramos así en Ricardo que la primera definición que dará entonces de persona, será en el cap. 18 : « Quod quantum ad divina nichil aliud est persona quam incommunicabilis existentia18 », y se referirá estrictamente a la persona divina : « […] quod persona divina sit divine nature incommunicabilis existentia19 ». La persona divina es una incomunicable existentia de la naturaleza divina. Definición contundente sobre la cual no se detiene demasiado en un primer momento. En la versión más extensa, y articulada, unos capítulos más adelante, Ricardo elabora la siguiente definición : « persona sit existens per se solum juxta singularem quemdam rationalis existentie modum20 », la persona es un existente por sí mismo con cierto modo singular de existencia racional. Ya en este punto Ricardo logra elaborar una definición válida para toda persona, sea ella divina, angélica o humana. En suma, la persona es la realidad más determinada, distinta y concreta, « unus aliquis solus, ad omnibus aliis singulari proprietate discretus21 ». Como pudimos ver, entonces, existencia significa al mismo tiempo que algo es y que posee (a partir de su origen) una determinada propiedad. Pero esta propiedad 14
De Trinitate, IV, 17, ed. Ribaillier, p. 180, l. 2-3. Cf. Alfredo Culleton, « Tres aportes al concepto de persona : Boecio (sustancia), Ricardo de San Víctor (existencia), y Escoto (incomunicabilidad) », en Revista Española de Filosofía Medieval, t. 17, 2010, p. 65, que tiene presente De Trinitate IV, 17, ed. Ribaillier, p. 180, l. 2-27. 16 De Trinitate, IV, 17, ed. Ribaillier, p. 180, l. 22-24 : « Sed, sicut est probatum, eadem est differentia personarum et existentiarum. Si igitur proprietatibus incommunicabilibus differunt persone, utique incommunicabilibus differunt et existentie. » 17 De Trinitate, IV, 17, ed. Ribaillier, p. 180, l. 18-19. 18 De Trinitate, IV, 18, ed. Ribaillier, p. 181, l. 2-3. 19 De Trinitate, IV, 22, ed. Ribaillier, p. 187, l. 8-9. 20 De Trinitate, IV, 24, ed. Ribaillier, p. 189, l. 4-5. 21 De Trinitate, IV, 7, ed. Ribaillier, p. 170, l. 33-34. 15
418
Gloria Silvana Elías
es personal, y por tanto es incomunicable ; entonces la existencia también lo es. En conclusión, el ser personal de la persona ricardiana supera la noción ordinaria de sustancia. II. La presencia en Juan Duns Escoto Los lugares en los que Duns Escoto aborda la problemática de la persona son : Ordinatio I, d. 2, 2, q. 1-4 (II, 245-368) ; Ordinatio I, d. 23 : « utrum persona secundum quod dicit aliquid commune patri et filio et spiritui sancto, dicat praecise aliquid secundae intentionis » (V, 349-364) ; d. 25 : « utrum persona in divinis dicat substantiam vel relationem » (V, 371-374) ; d. 26 : « utrum personae constituantur in esse personali per relationes originis » (VI, 1-62) ; d. 28 (107-164) ; Ordinatio III, d. 1 (IX, 1-117) ; Quaestiones Quodlibetales, q. 19 : si la unión de la naturaleza humana al Verbo en Cristo es sólo dependencia de la naturaleza asumida respecto de la persona del Verbo (BAC, 662-701). Pasajes paralelos también encontramos en la Lectura y en Reportata Parisiensia. Su propósito, en sintonía con la época, consistió en poder descifrar el misterio trinitario así como la persona de Cristo. Como señala Isidoro Manzano, la intención del Sutil es poder encontrar una definición unívoca de persona, y es por eso que los aportes de Santo Tomás, por ejemplo, no le satisfacen. Tampoco lo harán los de Enrique de Gante22. En efecto, Escoto discute con Enrique la idea de querer entender la persona como un concepto de segunda intención, y justamente contra él va dirigida la distinctio 23 de Ordinatio I. Para elaborar su posición, Escoto se basará principalmente en la propuesta de Ricardo de San Víctor, el cual se vuelve guía en su desarrollo teórico respecto de lo que sea la persona. Que Ricardo de San Víctor sea citado efectivamente podemos hallarlo, por ejemplo, en Ordinatio I, d. 2, p. 2, q. 4, n. 362, en relación con el misterio de la Trinidad : « Dice Ricardo, en el libro V De la Trinidad 4 : “la persona que no procede de otra es poderosa por esencia ; y por eso tiene en sí todo poder23” », y si bien en el resto de la quaestio 4 no lo vuelve a mencionar, es inevitable hallar la presencia de Ricardo en los siguientes pasajes : « Pues a este respecto se ha de saber que algo se dice comunicable o por identidad, de modo que el ser al 22
Cf. Isidoro Manzano, « Decir la ‘persona’ según Escoto (Un intento de interpretación) », en Revista Española de Filosofía Medieval, t. 14, 2007, p. 11-31. 23 Juan Duns Escoto, Ordinatio, I., d. 2, pars II, q. 4., n. 362 : « Item in solutione : “Richardus V Trinitatis 4 : ‘persona non ab alia est potens per essentiam ; quare habet in se omne posse’. » (Opera omnia, ed. Carl Balić et al., Vatican City : Typis Polyglottis Vaticanis, 1950 sq.) = Juan Duns Escoto, Obras del Doctor Sutil. Dios Uno y Trino. Edición bilingüe, ed. Bernardo Aperribay – Bernardo de Madariago – Isidro de Guerra y Félix Alluntis, introd. Miguel Oromí, Madrid : Editorial Catolica, 1960 (BAC), p. 552.
la influencia de ricardo de san víctor en duns escoto
419
que se comunica sea “aquello mismo” que se le comunica, o por información, de modo que el ser al que se comunica sea “por aquello” pero no “aquello mismo”24 ». En una cita más extensa, leemos : Del primer modo el universal se comunica al singular, y del segundo modo la forma a la materia. De donde se sigue que cualquier naturaleza, cuando es de sí y por su propia razón de naturaleza, es comunicable de ambos modos : pues, en primer lugar, comunicable a varios supuestos, cada uno de los cuales es « la misma » naturaleza, y lo es, además, como forma « por la que » el singular o el supuesto es quiditativamente ser o un sujeto que posee la naturaleza. El supuesto, por el contrario, es incomunicable con la doble incomunicabilidad opuesta25.
Es innegable la presencia de Ricardo aquí. No obstante, en Ordinatio III, d. 1, q. 1, su mención sí se vuelve expresa, puesto que Duns Escoto asume que « persona est incommunicabilis exsistentia26 ». Así, Escoto afirmará que la persona es justamente algo positivo que ultima a la naturaleza espiritual racional27, mas, no debe confundirse con la singularidad28. Notablemente, Escoto asume – a partir de la propuesta de Ricardo – que ni las personas divinas, ni la persona humana, son del ámbito de la esencia. Escoto agregará que la esencia de la persona es estrictamente individual o « haec »29. 24
Ord. I., d. 2, pars II, q. 4, n. 379 : « Ubi sciendum quod communicabile dicitur aliquid vel per identitatem, ita quod illud cui communicatur sit ‘ipsum’, vel per informationem, ita quod illud cui communicatur sit ‘ipso’, non ‘ipsum’. », ed. BAC, p. 559. 25 Ord. I., d. 2, pars II, q. 4, n. 380 : « Primo modo universale communicatur singulari, et secundo modo forma materiae. Natura igitur quaecumque quantum est ex se et de ratione naturae est communicabilis utroque modo, videlicet pluribus suppositis, quorum quodlibet sit ‘ipsum’, – et etiam ut ‘quo’, tamquam forma, quo singulare vel suppositum sit ens quiditative, vel habens naturam ; suppositum autem est incommunicabile duplici incommunicabilitate opposita. », ed. BAC, p. 559. 26 Ord. III, d. 1., pars I, q. 1, n. 36 : « Primo, quia tunc esset aliqua entitas positiva in natura humana, quae esset inassumptibilis a Verbo. – Probatio consequentiae : isti enim ultimae entitati, quam addit persona ultra singulare, repugnaret contradictorie communicari sicut natura communicatur supposito (patet, quia “persona est incommunicabilis exsistentia”), et ita sibi repugnaret contradictorie assumi. Consequens videtur inconveniens : tum quia, secundum Damascenum, “quod est inassumptibile est incurabile”, – tum quia omnis entitas positiva creata est in potentia obedientiali respectu personae divinae. » No sólo es expresa su referencia a Ricardo, sino que retoma la cita del Damasceno, que al respecto, hace Ricardo en De Trin. IV, 21-23. Cf. Ioannis Duns Scoti, Ord. III, d. 1-17. 27 Ord. III, d. 1, pars I, q. 1, n. 33 : « Quid autem sit illud proprium quo natura est personata, duae videntur viae possibiles : una, quod sit persona per aliquid positivum in natura ultimata […]. » 28 Ord. III, d. 1., pars I, q. 1, n. 22 : « Tertius articulus est difficilior, quia ibi oporteret ostendere distinctionem naturae creatae a personalitate creata. » 29 Ord. III, d. 1, pars I, q. 1, n. 34 : « Primum posset poni aliquo modo proportionaliter ei quod dictum est in II libro de individuatione, distinctione 3, quod sicut est aliqua realitas propria
420
Gloria Silvana Elías
En Ordinatio I, d. 23, Escoto postula su definición de persona constituida casi en su totalidad por la definición ricardiana : « Tomo la definición que da Ricardo (De Trinitate, IV, 22), es decir, que la persona es la existencia incomunicable de naturaleza intelectual, cuya definición expone y corrige la definición de Boecio, que dice que la persona es sustancia individual de naturaleza racional ; porque ésta implicaría que el alma es persona, lo cual es falso30 ». Podemos observar cómo esta idea de qué sea lo comunicable en el hombre o en Dios, y qué lo incomunicable, se asienta en las ideas que Ricardo de San Víctor pudo elucubrar al respecto. Tanto en Ordinatio I, d. 23, en lo que sigue a esta definición, como en Ordinatio III, d. 1, q. 1, Escoto avanzará entonces en qué se entiende por comunicabilidad e incomunicabilidad, basándose fundamentalmente en la propuesta ricardiana31. La dependencia de la que habla Escoto es en relación a la comunicabilidad de la naturaleza. Dada la complejidad en que ello es desarrollado en ambos momentos de la Ordinatio, creo que podría comprenderse mejor en pasajes paralelos de Quodlibet 19. En efecto : « Como comunicable » : De un modo, algo puede ser comunicado a otro de manera que este otro sea idéntico a lo que es comunicado ; lo universal se comunica al singular de esta manera. De otro modo, algo puede ser comunicado de manera que aquello a qua natura est ‘haec’, ultra illam qua natura est natura, et haec non est formaliter illa, ita ultra utramque istarum esset realitas aliqua qua esset persona […]. » 30 Ord. I, d. 23, n. 15, ed. Balić, t. V : « Responsio propria : respondeo ad quaestionem quod accipiendo definitionem personae quam ponit Richardus IV De Trinitate cap. 22 quod est “intellectualis naturae incommunicabilis exsistentia”, per quam definitionem exponitur vel corrigitur definitio Boethii dicentis quod persona est “rationalis naturae individua substantia” […] dico quid nihil est in hac definitione Richardi quod significet intentionem secundam, quia ex natura rei – sine opere intellectus – est in Patre natura intellectualis et entitas incommunicabilis ». Sobre la crítica a la definición de Boecio, basándose en Ricardo, también la encontramos en un pasaje similar en Ord. III, d. 1., pars I, q. 1, n. 40 : Contra secundam viam videntur esse multa : Primo, quia ista negatio non posset poni nisi independentia ad personam extrinsecam ; sed si ista sufficeret ad personalitatem propriam, ergo – si sic non dependet ad eam – anima separata esset persona, quod est falsum secundum Richardum IV De Trinitate cap. 23 ». 31 Cf. Ord. III, d. 1, pars I, q. 1, n. 45-46 : « Sed sic distinguendum est inter dependentiam actualem, possibilem et aptitudinalem : et huiusmodi vocando ‘aptitudinalem’ quae semper – quantum est de se – esset in actu (quo modo ‘grave’ semper aptum natum est esse in centro, ubi semper esset, quantum esset de se, nisi esset impeditum) ; et ‘possibilem’ voco absolute illam ubi non est impossibilitas ex repugnantia vel impossibilitate terminorum (et ista possibilitas potest esse quandoque respectu potentiae activae supernaturalis, non tantum naturalis). Licet ergo sola negatio dependentiae ‘actualis’ non sufficiat ad propositum, neque negatio dependentiae tertiae posset poni in natura creata ad Verbum (nulla enim est natura vel entitas creata, cui repugnet contradictorie dependere ad Verbum), tamen negatio dependentiae ‘aptitudinalis’ potest concedi in natura creata personata in se ad Verbum, alioquin violenter quiesceret in natura creata (sicut lapis violenter quiescit sursum). »
la influencia de ricardo de san víctor en duns escoto
421
que es comunicado esté relacionado a él como principio formal de su ser : o como a su forma parcial, que es comunicada a la materia informada y, por lo tanto, al compuesto constituido por ella ; o como a su forma total, como la quididad se comunica al supósito, por ejemplo, la humanidad a Sócrates. En la cuestión, « comunicable » se entiende del tercer modo, es decir, lo que es comunicado es forma total, de suerte que el ser que la tiene se dice ser formalmente tal por ella32.
Y en tanto que algo es comunicable, cabe plantearse qué tipo de dependencia guarda aquello comunicable con quien lo comunica y con quien lo recibe : Algo puede ser razón de dependencia de dos maneras. De un modo, en cuanto le sigue o acompaña necesariamente la dependencia actual. De otro modo, en cuanto no le acompaña necesariamente la dependencia actual, aunque le acompañe necesariamente la aptitud para depender. Y, cuando de hecho hay dependencia actual, es él el fundamento próximo de la dependencia. La dependencia de la criatura respecto de Dios es del primer modo33.
A su vez, la incomunicabilidad de la persona es doble, puesto que se niega ese doble modo de comunicabilidad34. Ut quo y ut quod, la síntesis de la doble incomunicabilidad, es para Escoto lo distintivo de la persona. Pero además, es preciso todavía agregar lo que él llama aptitudo non dependenti, o la incomunicabilidad aptitudinal : La negación de la comunicabilidad o de la dependencia puede entenderse de tres maneras. Como podemos concebir tres dependencias : actual, potencial, aptitudinal, podemos concebir tres negaciones : la negación del acto de depender, de la posibilidad de depender y de la aptitud para depender35.
Dirá el Sutil que la segunda negación no se encuentra en la naturaleza creada personal, puesto que a nadie puede repugnar totalmente el depender de la persona divina ; « toda entidad positiva en la naturaleza creada se halla en potencia obediencial para depender de la persona divina36 », por tanto, es necesario que 32
Juan Duns Escoto, Quaestiones Quodlibetales 19, n. 81, ed. BAC, Madrid : Editorial Catolica, 1968, p. 695-696. 33 Quodl. 19, n. 87, ibid., p. 698-699. 34 Ord. III, d. 1., pars I, q. 1, n. 49 : « Incommunicabile quod pertinet ad rationem personae excludit duplicem communicabilitatem, videlicet communicabile ut ‘quod’ et communicabile ut ‘quo’ ; natura creata est incommunicabilis primo modo, quia singularis singularitate primo modo (singulare enim non est communicabile ut ‘quod’ nisi sit illimitatum, ut essentia divina) ; sed natura creata non est incommunicabilis secundo modo, intelligendo per ‘incommunicabile’ negationem communicationis simpliciter, scilicet negationem communicationis actualis et aptitudinalis, non autem intelligendo repugnantiam formalem utrique communicationi. » 35 Quodl. 19, n. 6, ed. BAC, p. 688. 36 Quodl. 19, n. 66, ed. BAC, p. 689.
Gloria Silvana Elías
422
en la personalidad propia o creada concurran dos negaciones, la primera y la tercera. La tercera es cuasi habitual, y se da necesariamente en la naturaleza a la que conviene, sea que la naturaleza esté personalizada en sí o en una persona ajena ; la primera negación, es decir, la de la dependencia actual, añadida a esta negación de la dependencia aptitudinal, completa la personalidad propia37. En resumen, hay una doble incomunicabilidad de la persona ut quo, tanto actual como aptitudinal ; pero también una doble incomunicabilidad ut quod en lo actual como en lo aptitudinal. En cambio, la naturaleza es comunicable tanto aptitudinal como actual. En efecto, y como bien señala Manzano, para el Sutil toda naturaleza espiritual individual está abierta a una personación. Esto es lo que podemos entender como la potencia obediencial de la naturaleza espiritual individual a ser persona. En suma : « Iste conceptus “incommunicabilis”, quia negat communicationem actualem et aptitudinalem, univocus est Deo et creaturae, personae divinae et creatae38. » * * * Esta investigación ha intentado dejar señalado, entonces, cómo un pensador del siglo XII, que desarrolló sus tesis desde una abadía en el siglo XII, logró ser profundamente decisivo en lo que sería para la posteridad, el concepto de persona, e influir claramente en un filósofo y teólogo del siglo XIII, quien se desempeñó como maestro en las más importantes universidades de la época, posicionando la orden franciscana a la altura de las órdenes religiosas con mayor desarrollo filosófico y teológico del periodo escolástico. La maravilla del Victorino fue poder superar el orden ontológico predicametal de la sustancia, y abrir un nuevo orden de lo real, no reducido a ontológico. Su reemplazo de la noción de sustancia por la de existentia ; el delicado y exquisito análisis que de este término realiza en su obra, y la incorporación del término incommunicabilitas para configurar la definición de persona, hacen que su aporte a la historia del humanismo sea realmente revolucionario. Vimos también cómo el Sutil entiende que en esa definición está la clave para comprender el misterio trinitario, y aún más, está la clave para definir unívocamente la persona. Ese nuevo orden no ontológico pero real, es el orden personal. Y en la noción de persona como existentia, como incommunicabilitas, como singularidad racional y, en el caso estrictamente escotista, como ultima solitudo, se inicia una de las dimensiones de reflexión filosófica más cara para la historia de la filosofía que tengan su origen en el ámbito teológico. 37
Quodl. 19, n. 68, ed. BAC, p. 689. Ord. III, d. 1, pars I, q. 1, n. 50.
38
Saint-Victor et le Carmel : le cas de Thomas de Jésus (1563-1627) Marcin Jan Janecki
Dans le colloque « Existe-t-il une mystique médiévale », organisé à l’Institut Catholique de Paris à l’automne de 2017, Cédric Giraud commençait son intéressante communication sur la spiritualité victorine par une définition de la contemplation donnée par un auteur carme du xviie siècle1. Il s’étonnait de noter une stricte dépendance linguistique et conceptuelle, presque une identité, dans la manière de définir la contemplation, d’aborder sa nature et son développement, chez les victorins et le carme espagnol dans son De contemplatione divina libri sex. L’auteur de ce livre, c’est Thomas de Jésus (1563-1627) et par une heureuse coïncidence ce rapprochement entre lui et les victorins a eu lieu dans un ancien couvent de carmes, celui de la rue Vaugirard à Paris, fondé par lui en 1610. En effet, l’œuvre littéraire du fondateur du Carmel déchaussé en France est parsemée de références nombreuses aux écrits des auteurs de Saint-Victor : surtout Hugues, Richard et Thomas Gallus. Néanmoins, même si cela peut nous surprendre, jusqu’à présent aucune recherche systématique n’a été consacrée aux rapports entre l’école victorine et celle du Carmel, dans le domaine de leur enseignement sur la vie spirituelle. Tandis que les influences et les dépendances entre la tradition spirituelle des victorins et celle des franciscains, les dominicains, les chartreux ou d’autres courants spirituels ont fait l’objet de recherches approfondies et d’études spécialisées, la bibliographie scientifique sur les affinités ou divergences existantes entre les victorins et le Carmel est presque inexistante : on ne dispose
1 Cf. Cédric Giraud, « Les noces d’exégèse et de contemplation : la spiritualité d’Hugues et de Richard de Saint-Victor », dans Existe-t-il une mystique au Moyen Âge ? Actes du colloque international, organisé par l’Institut d’Études Médiévales et tenu à l’Institut Catholique de Paris les 30 novembre et 1er décembre 2017, réunis par Dominique Poirel, Turnhout : Brepols, 2021, p. 57.
Omnium expetendorum prima est sapientia. Studies on Victorine thought and influence, ed. by Wanda Bajor, Michał Buraczewski, Marcin Jan Janecki and Dominique Poirel, BV, 29 (Turnhout, 2021), p. 423–442. © BREPOLSPUBLISHERS DOI 10.1484/M.BV-EB.5.126047
424
Marcin Jan Janecki
que d’articles touchant plutôt quelques aspects marginaux d’un contact possible entre ces deux traditions2. En attendant une étude méticuleuse de ces relations, je voudrais présenter ici un aperçu des points sur lesquels l’influence des conceptions victorines sur l’école carmélitaine est certaine et précise, à travers la vie et l’œuvre de Thomas de Jésus, en me centrant sur le De contemplatione divina déjà mentionné, traité majeur de sa mystologie, et en indiquant quelques autres de ses travaux qui présentent une dette évidente du carme envers les victorins. Auparavant, je présenterai ce contact doctrinal entre Saint-Victor et le Carmel en l’insérant dans le contexte historique du Carmel, sa réforme espagnole et la situation personnelle de Thomas : la connaissance de ces circonstances et conditionnements permettra de mieux saisir les raisons pour lesquelles des victorins ont été lus dans le Carmel et assumés dans la spiritualité carmélitaine. La présente étude se divise en trois parties. La première dépeint brièvement la toile de fond historique sur laquelle est intervenue la rencontre entre Saint-Victor et le Carmel. La seconde décrit la biographie et l’œuvre de Thomas Jésus : l’accent y est mis moins sur son aspect purement factuel que sur les ressemblances et analogies entre son itinéraire intellectuel et spirituel ainsi que le style de vie du carme, et ceux des victorins. La troisième traite des motifs et des circonstances selon lesquelles il en est venu à invoquer l’autorité des victorins et à les utiliser comme des sources majeures de sa pensée, surtout dans le De contemplatione divina. I. Les Victorins et le Carmel sur les chemins de la contemplation Victorins et carmes ont été fondés au xiie siècle, à quelques décennies de distance, dans des contextes géographiques et culturels bien différents. Tandis que les premiers voient le jour entre 1108 et 1113 dans un milieu périurbain, en bordure de Paris, comme une communauté d’abord d’ermites, puis de chanoines, et avec une claire vocation pastorale, les seconds sont d’anciens chevaliers et pèlerins latins en Terre sainte devenus ermites, qui ont peuplé les grottes d’une vallée solitaire en Palestine sous la forme d’une laura orientale, entièrement voués à la vie contemplative. Les ressemblances paraissent donc limitées entre les chanoines réguliers de Saint-Victor, établis sur les pentes de la montagne Sainte-Geneviève près de Paris, et les ermites latins établis sur les pentes du mont Carmel, au pays de la Bible. Toutefois, deux faits les rapprochent au-delà des apparences. Le premier est d’ordre 2 Par exemple, Clément Sclafert, « L’allégorie de la bûche enflammée dans Hugues de Saint-Victor et dans saint Jean de la Croix », dans Revue d’ascétique et de mystique, t. 33, 1957, p. 241-263, 361-386.
Saint-Victor et le Carmel : le cas de Thomas de Jésus (1563-1627) 425 historique et législatif. La règle primitive du Carmel fut donnée aux premiers ermites, vivants déjà depuis quelques décennies sur la sainte montagne, par Alberto dei Avogadri (v. 1150-1214), lui-même un chanoine régulier de Sainte-Croix de Mortara, devenu ensuite évêque de Verceil en 1191, puis patriarche latin de Jérusalem en 12053. C’est certainement à son initiative que la formula vitae carmélitaine se réfère à la Règle de saint Augustin, unique source patristique explicitement citée dans le texte4. Une autre facteur est de nature liturgique : les carmes primitifs ont suivi le rite du Saint-Sépulcre, c’est à dire un office liturgique proprement canonial de provenance française5. Cela lie déjà ces deux communautés dans un aspect fondamental de la vie commune, scandée dans la même forme par la célébration des heures liturgiques et par l’office de la messe. Certes, l’attention à la liturgie distingue les clercs et les chanoines, alors que les ermites recherchent la contemplation pure. C’est pourtant ici que s’effectue, à mon avis, un premier croisement entre les deux ordres. La présence d’une tradition contemplative est en effet bien établie chez les victorins, alors qu’ils ne sont ni des moines ni encore moins des solitaires. Les descriptions si claires et pédagogiques de la contemplation et de ses étapes dans les traités victorins fournissent un thème doctrinal commun. On pressent que rencontres et divergences interviendront dans les diverses manières de tendre vers cet unique but. Il faut pourtant attendre plusieurs siècles pour que des citations littérales mettent en évidence des contacts doctrinaux directs entre les victorins et les carmes. Durant tout le Moyen Âge, on peine à trouver la moindre allusion aux écrits victorins chez les écrivains les plus significatifs du Carmel : Nicolas le Français († v. 1280/1282), John Baconthorpe (v. 1290-1348), Philipe Ribot († 1391) ou Jean Soreth (v. 1394-1471)6. Pourquoi ? 3
Voir Vincenzo Mosca, Alberto Patriarca di Gerusalemme. Tempo, vita, opera, Roma : Edizoni carmelitane, 1996 (Textus et studia historica carmelitana, 20), en part. p. 68-82 sur ses origines ; voir aussi Patrick Mullins, The life of Albert of Jerusalem. A documentary biography, Part 1, Roma : Edizoni carmelitane, 2016 (Textus et studia historica carmelitana, 42), p. 68-82, sur sa vie comme chanoine régulier ; ibid., p. 197-201, sur son épiscopat à Verceil ; Part 2, Roma : Edizoni carmelitane, 2017 (Textus et studia historica carmelitana, 43), p. 312 et suiv. sur son patriarcat de Jérusalem. 4 Cf. Carlo Cicconetti, La regola del Carmelo : origine, natura, significato (2e éd. revue et mise à jour)), Roma : Edizoni carmelitane, 2018 (Textus et studia historica carmelitana, 12), p. 435 et suiv. 5 Cristina Dondi, The Liturgy of the Canons regular of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem. A Study and a Catalogue of the Manuscript Sources, Turnhout : Brepols, 2004, (Bibliotheca Victorina, 16) ; James Boyce, Carmelite Liturgy and Spiritual Identity : The Choir Books of Kraków, Turnhout : Brepols, 2009, (Medieval Church Studies, 16), p. 70-74. 6 Soreth semble pourtant connaître le De meditatione de Hugues. Voir Iohannes Soreth, Expositio paraenetica in Regulam Carmelitarum, éd. Bryan D. Deschamps, Turnhout : Brepols, 2016 (CCCM 259), p. 89-90, l. 51-66, et p. 90-92, l. 174-121
426
Marcin Jan Janecki
Quand les carmes, chassés de leurs déserts et ermitages en Terre Sainte, arrivent en Europe au début du xiiie siècle, il entrent dans une longue période de crise externe et interne. D’une part, leur existence communautaire et canonique sur le sol européen se voit menacée par les décrets du concile de Latran IV, en 1215. De l’autre, le changement d’environnement culturel impose des adaptations et des rapprochements vers les solutions adoptées par les ordres mendiants. Le Carmel, au début de son histoire européenne, établit ses monastères à l’écart des villes et conserve le même style de vie qu’en Palestine, gardant aussi le modèle architectural d’une laure érémitique, comme aux Aygalades près de Marseille, ou à Aylsford en Angleterre. Néanmoins avec le temps les carmes recrutent des novices qui n’ont pas connu la période primitive et son expérience du désert oriental. La communauté entre alors dans une phase de « conventualisation » de sa vie et de sa mentalité, avec un changement important dans son charisme qui petit à petit penche vers une vie mixte, associant la contemplation et l’action apostolique. Des frères dominicains interviennent dans les constitutions carmélitaines et la vie quotidienne des carmes ressemble de plus en plus à celle d’une communauté de mendiants. Finalement ils sont pleinement reconnus comme mendicantes, avec une mission apostolique, et sont intégrés dans le même type de vie que les franciscains, les dominicains et les ermites de saint Augustin. Le Carmel survit donc à la crise, mais entretemps ses membres, qui au début étaient de vrais ermites, se convertissent – non sans résistance, comme Nicolas le Français dans son Ignea sagitta en est l’exemple le plus significatif7 – en des religieux mendiants, tant au niveau canonique que dans la forme concrète de leur vie : ils abandonnent les déserts et acceptent les fondations dans les villes, ils assument la cura animarum avec toutes ses conséquences dont une, non des moins importantes, est la cléricalisation progressive de la communauté (primitivement composée de laïcs dans sa majorité) ainsi que la nécessité d’une formation intellectuelle académique. Entrant dans l’espace urbain et le milieu universitaire, les carmes doivent chercher désormais un équilibre entre la vie contemplative et l’activité apostolique, ce qui ne leur est ni facile ni jamais acquis une fois pour toutes, dès lors qu’ils conservent le souvenir de leurs origines orientales, érémitiques et contemplatives. Cette mémoire se traduit dans l’histoire européenne du Carmel par une série de réformes monastiques visant à faire retour à la source d’Élie, qui coule dans la vallée primitive du Carmel. 7
Cf. Adrianus Staring, « Nicolai prioris generalis ordinis Carmelitarum ‘Ignea Sagitta’ », dans Carmelus, t. 9/2, 1962, p. 237-307 ; Nicolas le Français (Nicolaus Gallicus O.Carm.), Ignea Sagitta, trad. fr. : « La flèche de feu », Bégrolles-en-Mauges : Abbaye de Bellefontaine, 2000 (Flèche de feu, 3) ; Thomas Merton, « The Primitive Carmelite Ideal », dans Disputed Questions, New York : Farrar – Straus & Cudahy, 1960, p. 218-263.
Saint-Victor et le Carmel : le cas de Thomas de Jésus (1563-1627) 427 Une de ces tentatives voit le jour à la Renaissance, dans le cadre de la réforme tridentine. En 1562, Thérèse de Jésus fonde le couvent de San José d’Avila, berceau de la nouvelle réforme ; en 1568, Jean de la Croix, ayant quitté l’université de Salamanque, entre dans le convencito de Duruelo, marquant ainsi le début des carmes déchaux (descalzos). La question des relations entre contemplation et action ne tarde pas à reparaître avec force dans le jeune Carmel déchaussé, dans sa branche masculine de primauté, d’équilibre et de proportion puisque les religieuses carmélites mènent une vie contemplative à l’intérieur de leur clôture. Des conceptions divergentes sur l’identité charismatique du Carmel en Europe et sur la façon d’équilibrer la contemplation et l’action ouvrent dans l’histoire de l’ordre un nouveau chapitre, douloureux et non moins fécond : c’est alors qu’apparaît une personnalité remarquable, qui devait proposer des solutions originales et courageuses, en partie grâce au recours à l’héritage littéraire et doctrinal des auteurs victorins. II. Doctus, contemplativus et apostolicus Thomas de Jésus : une biographie à saveur victorine Qui est Thomas de Jésus8 ? Très peu connu et reconnu, même au sein de sa propre famille religieuse, il a pourtant marqué l’histoire de l’Église de façon 8
On ne dispose pas encore d’une biographie documentée de cet auteur carmélitain. Les sources principales pour la vie de Thomas de Jésus sont encore en grande partie manuscrites : ms. Roma Archivio Generale OCD, Plut. 326 ; Bernardus a S. Onuphrio, De vita, gestis et virtutibus R. P. Thomae a Jesu, Roma : Archivio Generale OCD ; Dionisius a S. Francisco Belga, Historia fundationum belgicarum carmelitarum discalceatorum : Vita P. N. Thomae a Jesu huius nostri deserti fundatoris, f. 117-122 ; et surtout Roma Archivio Generale OCD, Plut. 334-b : Fundaciones. De la fundación del Convento de Bruxellas, Paris, Lovayna, Colonia escrita por el padre fray Thomas de Jhesus, que mandado por la obediencia y aiudado de la gracia del Señor fue fundador de ellos, y por mandado de sus superiores escribio las dichas fundaciones : transcrit sur http://tomaszodjezusa.blogspot. com/p/14_22.html], traduit partiellement en français dans Paulin du Très Saint Sacrément, « Du Saint-Désert aux Missions : La vocation de Thomas de Jésus », dans Études Carmélitaines mystiques et missionnaires, t. 20 [1935], p. 248-265) ; traduction polonaise complète, annotation et commentaire historique par Marcin J. Janecki dans Tomasz od Jezusa, Opis fundacji klasztorów w Brukseli, Paryżu, Lowanium i Kolonii, sporządzony przez o. br. Tomasza od Jezusa, który wsparty łaską Pana był ich założycielem, dans Marian Zawada, Antologia karmelitańska, t. 4, Kraków : Wydawnictwo Karmelitów Bosych, 2018, p. 148-228. Sur les synthèses les plus importantes concernant la vie et l’œuvre de Thomas de Jesus, voir José de Santa Teresa, Reforma de los Descalzos de nuestra Señora del Carmen de la primitiva observancia, t. IV, Madrid : Iulian de Paredes, 1684, p. 675-707 ; Simeón de la Sagrada Familia, « El fundador del Carmen Descalzo de Colonia Padre Tomás de Jesús (1564-1627) », dans Jahrbuch des Kölnischen Geschichtsvereins, t. 36-37, 1962, p. 131156 ; Tommaso di Gesù Pammolli, Il P. Tommaso di Gesù e la sua attività missionaria all’inizio
428
Marcin Jan Janecki
multiforme. Non seulement il est le fondateur d’une nouvelle modalité de vie érémitique au sein du Carmel, après avoir été lui-même un ermite durant quelques années, mais il est encore le fondateur du tout premier institut de missions, dont devait naître la congrégation de propaganda fide pour l’évangélisation des nations ; l’introducteur du Carmel en France, en Belgique et en Allemagne ; le premier postulateur de la cause de canonisation de Thérèse de Jésus ; le premier éditeur des œuvres de Jean de la Croix, qu’il a connu personnellement ; enfin un prolifique écrivain, auteur de traités nombreux sur des sujets divers, avec toutefois une nette prédilection pour la vie contemplative. Dans son itinéraire de vie comme dans son activité littéraire, Thomas réconcilie peu à peu la contemplation avec l’action, dans une harmonieuse articulation qui fait de lui l’un des auteurs les plus importants du Carmel réformé. Sa vie peut se diviser en quatre parties, marquées chacune par un trait prépondérant : la jeunesse et la formation académique ; l’étape contemplative du désert carmélitain ; une longue période d’activité de fondations et de missions ; enfin, ces trois étapes sont couronnés par une synthèse féconde, vécue à Rome dans les dernières années de sa vie. Le cours de cette vie n’est pas sans présenter quelques affinités avec la tradition et l’idéal des victorins, qui aident à comprendre d’où lui vient le besoin de puiser dans leurs œuvres. De l’université à la périphérie contemplative Díaz Sánchez Yañez Dávila y Herrera (ainsi s’appelait le futur carme que nous connaissons aujourd’hui sous le nom de Thomas de Jésus) était avide de s’instruire dès son plus jeune âge9. Étudiant brillant, par la vivacité de son intellect et sa faim des connaissances diverses, orientée vers l’acquisition de la sagesse, le jeune homme fait ses études à Baeza sa ville natale, où une université a été fondé par saint Jean d’Ávila, l’apôtre de l’Andalousie10. Brûlant les étapes du cursus universitaire, il reçoit le degré de bachelier ès arts à quatorze ans et s’adonne alors à l’étude de la théologie. En 1583, il entreprend des études de droit civil et canonique à Salamanque, del secolo XVII, Roma : Procure delle Missioni dei Carmelitani Scalzi, 1936 ; Thomas de Jésus 15641627, Bruxelles : Éditions des chroniques du Carmel, 1939 (Spiritualité carmélitaine, 4) ; Marcin J. Janecki, Płodność pustyni. Sylwetka duchowa Tomasza od Jezusa OCD (1563-1627), Toruń : thèse de l’Université Nicolas Copernic de Toruń, 2013. 9 Pour la première documentation sur ses origines, sa famille et ses études, voir : Marcin J. Janecki, « Tomás de Jesús (Díaz Sánchez D’Ávila ; 1563-1627) y la literatura ascético-mística en el Desierto de las Batuecas », dans Studia z historii i kultury krajów języka hiszpańskiego. Refleksje młodych hispanistów, éd. Marcin Karkut, Lublin : Wydawnictwo Werset, 2020 (Biblioteka Polsko-Iberyjska, 16), p. 54-64. 10 Cf. José de Santa Teresa, Reforma de los Descalzos de nuestra Señora del Carmen de la primitiva observancia, t. IV, Madrid : Iulian de Paredes, 1684, p. 675.
Saint-Victor et le Carmel : le cas de Thomas de Jésus (1563-1627) 429 sans doute en vue d’exercer une carrière civile, comme ses quatre frères devenus recteurs de l’université de Baeza ou avocats dans la chancellerie royale11. Durant un cours de rhétorique, Díaz Sánchez écoute avec son ami Fernando des paroles de Thérèse de Jésus, citées dans sa Vida encore manuscrite par le maître Baltasar de Céspedes. Se procurant le livre, il pleure à sa lecture et se convertit, abandonne quinze jours après ses études in utroque iure pour demander l’habit de carme au couvent de Saint-Lazare, à la périphérie de Salamanque, de l’autre côté du fleuve Tormes. Comme avant lui Guillaume de Champeaux en 1108, le jeune Espagnol passe en 1586 des écoles à la vie religieuse et contemplative. De la chaire de théologie au désert Ayant revêtu l’habit marron des carmes déchaux, Díaz Sánchez reçoit le nom de Thomas de Jésus (en espagnol « Tomás de Jesús »), en souvenir à la fois du Docteur angélique, qu’il vénère depuis sa théologie à Baeza, et de la fondatrice de la réforme thérésienne, Thérèse « de Jésus ». Il commence à Valladolid ses années de formation à la vie religieuse. Plus avancé dans les études que la plupart de ses confrères, après son ordination sacerdotale, il est destiné par ses supérieurs à enseigner la théologie au sein de sa communauté carmélitaine. Il devient lecteur de théologie à Séville, puis à Álcala de Henares, l’antique Complutum des Romains, où se trouve l’université fondée par le cardinal Garcia Cisneros au début du xvie siècle, qui est un centre de renouveau intellectuel et spirituel pour toute Espagne. Notre carme y est à nouveau plongé dans une ambiance universitaire de haute qualité. Comme Guillaume de Champeaux, prié par Hildebert de Lavardin de reprendre ses cours, en dépit de sa conversion à une vie de solitude12, Thomas reprend une activité d’enseignement, à la demande de ses supérieurs, pour partager à ses confrères les trésors de sa sagesse dans le Collège de Saint Cyrille fondé par Jean de la Croix13. C’est pour Thomas un temps intense d’étude de sa propre spiritualité, celle du Carmel primitif, qui l’invite à penser que la récente réforme carmélitaine entreprise par Thérèse et Jean, encore en vie à ce moment, manque d’une partie fondamentale de l’expérience spirituelle. Thomas de Jésus demande donc à Nicolas Doria, vicaire général de l’ordre, de fonder des maisons érémitiques et de les incorporer à la structure du Carmel. Après avoir vaincu des difficultés de toute sorte, le premier 11
Ibid., p. 676-677. Voir PL 171, col. 141-143. 13 Manuel Casado Arboniés – Francisco Javier Casado Arboniés, Historia y proyección en la Nueva España de una institución educativa : el Colegio-convento de Carmelitas Descalzos de la Universidad de Alcalá de Henares (1570-1835), Alcalá de Henares : Fundación Colegio del Rey, 2001. 12
430
Marcin Jan Janecki
« saint désert » voit le jour en août 1592 à Bolarque, au bord du Tage14. Même si Thomas de Jésus n’a pas y résider longuement, il fera de son mieux ensuite pour se retirer au désert le temps venu. L’occasion se présente en 1600, quand il est élu général de l’ordre. Refusant l’élection, il demande au nouveau général des carmes la permission de mener une vie érémitique au désert de Las Batuecas, qu’il avait fondé l’année précédente près de Salamanque. Thomas s’y adonne à une intense activité littéraire, pour former sa communauté à la vie spirituelle. C’est aussi là qu’il travaille à la première édition des œuvres de Jean de la Croix et que, comme première postulateur en la cause de béatification de Thérèse de Jésus, il prépare sa biographie et rassemble la documentation nécessaire, y compris pour défendre la qualité théologique de sa doctrine, en vue d’un examen canonique pour son procès de canonisation. C’est alors qu’apparaît pour la première fois une citation directe d’un auteur victorin dans les écrits du docte carme. Dès ce moment, l’utilisation des sources victorines dans la réflexion et la production littéraire de Thomas ne fait que croître. C’est à cette époque qu’il prépare une somme doctrinale sur la vie contemplative : les victorins lui viennent alors en aide. Il s’agit d’une œuvre encore inédite de Thomas de Jésus, intitulée : La première partie de la vie spirituelle d’oraison et contemplation15. Elle est truffée des écrits des maîtres de Saint-Victor. Du désert à la mission Un nouveau changement, que les biographes de Thomas de Jésus appellent une « conversion missionnaire », ouvre un nouveau chapitre dans la vie de Thomas de Jésus. Une expérience mystique le fait sortir de son désert pour embrasser une activité missionnaire sur les routes de l’Europe, au début du xviie siècle. À l’invitation du pape Paul V, Thomas quitte l’Espagne et arrive à Rome au début du 1608. Il y fonde une congrégation carmélitaine dite Congrégation de saint Paul de procuranda salute : c’est le tout premier institut de mission dans l’histoire de l’Église. Bien que son initiative fondatrice soit bientôt réduite à néant par ses propres confrères carmes, Thomas de Jésus entreprend, à côté d’une action institutionnelle et organisationnelle, une profonde réflexion sur le charisme carmélitain et sur la façon d’articuler la contemplation avec l’activité apostolique. Il élabore deux traités de missiologie, pour lesquels, une fois encore, il puise sa matière dans 14 Voir Diego de Jesus-María, Desierto de Bolarque, yermo de carmelitas descalzos y descripción de los demás desiertos de la Reforma, Madrid : Imprenta Real, 1651. 15 Madrid, BNE, ms. 6533 : Primera parte del Camino espiritual de oración y contemplación. Voir aussi : Simeón de la Sagrada Familia, Contenido doctrinal de la « Primera Parte del Camino Espiritual de oración y contemplación », obra inédita y fundamental del P. Tomás de Jesús OCD, Romae : Thèse de théologie soutenue au Theresianum, 1952.
Saint-Victor et le Carmel : le cas de Thomas de Jésus (1563-1627) 431 la tradition victorine. Grâce à celle-ci, Thomas parvient à clarifier le charisme carmélitain et à trouver une articulation entre la contemplation et l’action, qui se requièrent l’une l’autre. Toujours à la demande du pape Paul V, Thomas part en mission pour introduire le Carmel réformé en France, en Belgique et en Allemagne. En 1610 il fonde le couvent de Saint-Joseph de la rue Vaugirard à Paris et passe en Belgique pour y établir une province carmélitaine exemplaire, reflétant jusque dans son organisation la diversité des charismes du Carmel ainsi que propres conceptions théologiques. Durant ce séjour en Belgique, il fonde en effet de nombreux couvents de frères et de moniales du Carmel réformé et, avec l’aide de l’archiduchesse Isabelle, dote la nouvelle province d’un saint désert, à ses yeux un indispensable lieu de ressourcement, dans les forêts de La Marlagne, près de Namur16. De manière parallèle il établit le séminaire des missions dans la ville universitaire de Louvain, envoie des missionnaires en Angleterre, des carmélites en Pologne, mène des débats théologiques et philosophiques avec les protestants et les auteurs spirituels non orthodoxes. Il écrit au sujet de la vie contemplative en reprenant et en enrichissant ses écrits antérieurs, conçus au désert de Las Batuecas. C’est dans cette période que naissent ses plus importants traités sur la vie contemplative, d’un côté, et apostolique, de l’autre. Sur chacune ou presque de leurs pages reviennent les noms des maîtres de Saint-Victor. Dans ses ouvrages majeures, ceux-ci n’inspirent pas seulement une grande partie de leur doctrine, mais jusqu’à leur structure même : les eaux spirituelles de Saint-Victor et du Carmel s’unissent en un fleuve unique, dans un constant effort pour éclairer les itinéraires spirituels de l’homme vers Dieu. Harmonia oppositorum : une synthèse féconde entre contemplation, action et écriture Après ces années d’une extraordinaire fécondité dans le nord de l’Europe, Thomas de Jésus revient à Rome en 1624 et y passe les trois dernières années de sa vie, partageant son temps entre la prière, la rédaction d’ouvrages théologiques et la gouvernance de l’ordre. Le jour de sa mort, on trouve sur son bureau de nombreux feuillets contenant des traités inachevés. Parmi eux, une énorme quantité de pages est pleine de références victorines. Un examen plus détaillé permettrait de dévoiler l’ampleur de cette influence victorine sur sa pensée et, à travers ses écrits, largement diffusés et très influents dans le Carmel réformé, sur toute la spiritualité carmélitaine d’hier et d’aujourd’hui.
16 Voir Marie Sylvie Dupont-Bouchat, Le Saint désert de Marlagne à Wépion, agréable séjour de toutes les délices : de l’histoire à la tradition, Bruxelles : Crédit communal de Belgique, 1983.
432
Marcin Jan Janecki III. Thomas de Jésus et les victorins : la plume au service d’une mystagogie contemplative
Thomas de Jésus a laissé un vaste corpus, qui se compose de plus de soixante œuvres, en grande partie inédits : traités sur la vie spirituelle, contemplative surtout ; sur l’action évangélisatrice et sa spiritualité ; sans compter diverses œuvres de nature historique, juridique, (auto)biographique, rhétorique, ainsi que des textes pragmatiques, surtout les diverses instructions pratiques pour organiser harmonieusement la vie quotidienne dans les maisons qu’il avait fondées17. Les œuvres de Thomas de Jésus portant la marque d’une influence victorine Dans cet imposant corpus littéraire, nous examinerons ici les principales références victorines dans ses traités consacrés à la vie spirituelle. Thomas est en effet un maître en la vie contemplative, qu’il a pratiquée durant des années dans le climat de recueillement, de solitude et de silence des monastères et des déserts carmélitains et qu’il s’efforce de décrire pour faciliter le progrès spirituel de ses frères. Pour aider le lecteur à s’orienter dans son corpus, on en propose ci-dessous un aperçu schématique. Sur la vie contemplative et la présence des victorins chez Thomas, il faut prendre en compte les ouvrages suivants, rédigés selon moi dans les années 1600-1607 à Las Batuecas : Les traités contenus dans le codex Segovia, Archives conventuelles des carmes déchaux, F-I-2718 : – Tratado de oración : Un modo breve de tener oración19. – Del modo de caminar por la mística Theologia y exercicisio de las virtudes a la union con Dios20. – Apuntamientos para inteligencia de la Mistica Theologia y Union y transformacion en Dios21.
17 Cf. José de Jesus Crucificado, « El P. Tomás de Jesús, escritor místico », dans Ephemerides Carmeliticae, t. 3, 1949, p. 305-349 ; t. 4, 1950, p. 149-206 ; Marcin J. Janecki, « Tomás de Jesús (Díaz Sánchez D’Ávila ; 1563-1627) y la literatura ascético-mística en el Desierto de las Batuecas », dans Studia z historii i kultury krajów języka hiszpańskiego. Refleksje młodych hispanistów, éd. Marcin Karkut, Lublin : Wydawnictwo Werset, 2020 (Biblioteka Polsko-Iberyjska, 16), p. 53-83. Pour la bibliographie actualisée des œuvres manuscrites et publiée de Thomas de Jésus voir Marcin J. Janecki, Corpus operum Thomae a Jesu, http://tomaszodjezusa.blogspot.com/p/sp.html. 18 Archivo Conventual de Carmelitas Descalzos de Segovia (ACOCDS), ms. F-I-27. 19 Segovia, ACOCD, ms. F-I-27, sans numérotation de folio. 20 Segovia, ACOCD, ms. F-I-27, f. 197-221. 21 Segovia, ACOCD, ms. F-I-27, sans foliotation.
Saint-Victor et le Carmel : le cas de Thomas de Jésus (1563-1627) 433 – Libro de los grados de oracion por donde sube un alma a la perfecion de la contemplacion ; sacada de todos los libros que la Santa Madre Theresa de Jesus compuso22. – Tratado e instruccion de cosas spirituales, pertenecientes a los que comienzan a caminar en el camino de la virtud y de algunos avisos que impiden23. – Del vicio de la soberbia, y como se ha de impugnar y rectificar con la humildad de corazón que es conocimiento y desprecio de sí mismo24. – Del amor desordenado de sí y del aborrecimiento propio – Del amor de Dios25. – El modo que han de guardar los que se retiran a la soledad por algún breve tiempo a hacer exercicio espiritual26. – Reglas para examinar y discernir el interior aprovechamiento de un alma. Appartiennent aussi à la période érémitique les œuvres contenues dans les manuscrits aujourd’hui conservés à la Bibliothèque Nationale Espagnole, à Madrid27 : – Primera parte del camino espiritual de oración y contemplación28. – Tratado de la presencia de Dios29. – Tratado de la oración y contemplación dirigido a los Padres Ermitaños del yermo de S. José del monte de la Orden del Carmen de los Descalzos30. – Tratado de la mística Teología31. – Modo breve para saber tener oración32. – Mística Teología que escribió S. Buenaventura y de los caminos de llegamos a Dios por el entendimiento y el afecto33. – De varios nombres grados y efectos de la oración sobrenatural34. 22
Segovia, ACOCD, ms. F-I-27, sans foliotation. Segovia, ACOCD, ms. F-I-27, f. 166-180. 24 Segovia, ACOCD, ms. F-I-27, f. 182-187. 25 Segovia, ACOCD, ms. F-I-27, f. 74-80v. 26 Publié dans les Avisos, y sentencias espirituales, que encaminan a un alma a la más perfecta union co[n] Dios en transformación de amor dividido en tres partes, por […] San Iuan de la Cruz con tres tratados espirituales al fin, de autores de la misma Orden, Sevilla : Francisco de Leesdael, 1702, p. 115-127. 27 Cf. Matías del Niño Jesús, « Índice de Manuscritos Carmelitanos existentes en la Biblioteca Nacional de Madrid », dans Ephemerides Carmelitricae, t. 8/1, 1957, p. 187-255. 28 Madrid, BNE, ms. 6533. 29 Madrid, BNE, ms. 12658, f. 168-173. 30 Madrid, BNE, ms. 6873, f. 4-126. 31 Madrid, BNE, ms. 12658, f. 11-26. 32 Madrid, BNE, ms. 6873, f. 152-179. 33 Madrid, BNE, ms. 6873, f. 128-150. 34 Madrid, BNE, ms. 6873, f. 1-4. 23
434
Marcin Jan Janecki
– Tratado de oración y contemplación35. – Tratado de oración y contemplación36. – Platica de la oración en que se declaran dos modos de caminar a Dios uno por discurso y otro por afecto37. – Platica en que se prosigue la misma materia de oración38. Une enquête dans l’abbaye de Montserrat m’a permis d’ajouter quelques autres titres thomasiens, jusqu’alors inconnus : – Tratado de oración mental, de sus partes y estados : que comúnmente llaman de principiantes aprovechados y perfectos. Donde brevemente se declara que cosa sea oración mental, quales sus partes y grados, y los exercicios proprios y acomodados para los que tratan de oración, según el estado y aprovechamiento de cada uno39. – Tratado de oración y contemplación, donde se trata de los diferentes caminos de contemplación, poniendo reglas y avisos para saber el camino de oración que cada uno ha de elegir40. – Apología en defensa de la verdad y pureza de la doctrina de los libros de la bienaventurada madre Teresa de Jesús. Por un hijo y siervo suyo41. – Suma de modo que se ha de guardar en la visita, así de los prelados, como también de los súbditos42. – Concordia espiritual43. – Suma de la vía unitiva44. Cette première période d’intense activité littéraire de Thomas de Jésus est encore mal connue : ses sources en sont majoritairement inédites. Cependant une lecture même rapide et superficielle suffit pour faire découvrir, dans cette masse immense de folios, la forte présence des écrits de l’école victorine. Ainsi, pour s’en tenir au seul De contemplatione divina libri sex, Richard, Hugues et Thomas Gallus sont abondamment et nommément cités, les deux premiers pour des extraits 35
Madrid, BNE, ms. 12398, f. 32-172. Madrid, BNE, ms. 8273, f. 81-151. 37 Madrid, BNE, ms. 13906, f. 535-547. 38 Madrid, BNE, ms. 13906, f. 548-564. 39 Huesca, Biblioteca del Instituto y Provincia, ms. 2. 40 Montserrat, Archivo de la Abadía (AAM), ms. 234, f. 92r-228r. 41 AAM, ms. 234, f. 92r-228r. Il existe une autre version de ce traité dans l’Archivo General de Carmelitas Descalzos (AGOCD) à Rome. 42 AAM, ms. 234, f. 452r-462r. 43 AAM, ms. 235, f. 165r-174r. Il est fort possible que d’autres écrits mineurs dans ces manuscrits provenant du Désert de Las Batuecas aient Thomas pour auteur, puisqu’ils traitent du thème de la vie et de l’observance érémitiques. Aucun d’eux n’est de la main de Thomas de Jésus. 44 Pamplona, Archivo Conventual de Carmelitas Descalzas, ms. 9, f. 284-297. 36
Saint-Victor et le Carmel : le cas de Thomas de Jésus (1563-1627) 435 souvent d’une ou plusieurs pages45. Encore leur détection exige-t-elle un examen critique à cause des attributions fautives, dans les deux sens. Les voyage de Thomas à travers l’Europe le mettent en contact, notamment à Rome, avec des sources littéraires absentes ou inaccessibles en Espagne. Il en profite pour relire à leur lumière ses travaux antérieurs et pour les réélaborer, à l’occasion d’une traduction en latin de ce qu’il avait d’abord composé en espagnol. À l’aide de ces sources il articule théologiquement ses positions et conceptions sur la question du charisme propre du Carmel et sur l’activité d’évangélisation dans l’Église. Il écrit et publie aussi de nouveaux ouvrages qui font apparaître avec encore plus de force comment la pensée victorine lui est venue en aide dans sa réflexion. Pour s’en rendre compte, il faudrait examiner méticuleusement, sans s’arrêter aux seules références explicites, sa production littéraire imprimée, en particulier les traités suivants : – – – –
De contemplatione divina libri sex46. Divinae orationis sive a Deo infusae methodus, natura et gradus47 Orationis mentalis via brevis et plana48. Instruccion espiritual para los que professan la vida eremitica49. 45
Richard est entre autres cité cité, souvent pour de longs extraits, aux p. 10-12, 14-15, 33, 46, 180, 189, 201-202, 215, 219, 236, 318, 510, 518, sans compter la p. [4] de la Praefatio ad lectorem, pour le De contemplatione (Beniamin maior sive De archa mystica), pour le De duodecim patriarchis (Beniamin minor) et pour un commentaire (apocryphe) au Cantique des cantiques. Pareillement, Hugues est invoqué aux p. 186-188, 214-219, 355, 437, 454, ainsi qu’à la p. [2] de la Praefatio ad lectorem, pour son commentaire à la Hiérarchie céleste et pour un De anima et un De claustro animae apocryphes. Enfin Thomas Gallus (« Vercellensis ») est cité p. [2-3] de la Praefatio ad lectorem, p. 454, pour ses commentaires sur le pseudo-Denys et sur le Cantique des cantiques, et probablement en bien d’autres endroits. 46 De contemplatione divina libri sex. Auctore R. P. E Thoma a Jesu Carmelitarum Excalceatorum in Belgio et Germania Provinciali, Antverpiae : ex officina Plantiniana, 1620, exemplaire coté N-III-28, 29 dans l’Archivo de PP Carmelitas Descalzos (Las Batuecas), dans Opera omnia, t. II, p. 80-195. 47 Divinae orationis sive a Deo infusae methodus, natura et gradua. Libri quatuor : quibus mirabilis Dei in promovendis ad veram pacatam divinamque ac fruitivam unionem animabus, methodus ac via ostenditur : ac praeterea quamplurima divinarum internarumque affectionum ac mysticae theologiae arcana, clariori ac pleniori stylo, ad mentem scripturarum et SS. Patrum, explicantur. Auctore R. P. F. Thoma a Jesu, carmelitarum excalceatorum per Belgium et Germaniam ex-provinciali, Antverpiae : ex officina Plantiniana, 1623, dans Opera omnia, t. II, p. 197-365. 48 Orationis mentalis via brevis et plana. Auctore R. P. F. Thoma a Jesu, carmelitarum discalceatorum per Belgium et Germaniam ex-provinciali, Bruxellae : ex officina Huberti Anthonij, 1623, dans Opera omnia, t. II, p. 45-61. 49 Por el muy reverendo Padre Fray Thomas de Jesus, Difinidor de los Carmelitas Descalços, de la Congregacion de Italia, En Madrid : por los herederos de la viuda de Pedro de Madrigal, que sea en gloria. Ano 1629.
436
Marcin Jan Janecki
– Traité de la contemplation divine50. – Commentaria in quaestiones 171, 172, 173, 174, 175 secundae secundae Divi Thomae Aquinatis51 – Trattato della presenza di Dio52 – De contemplatione acquisita53 – De variis erroribus spiritualium tam hujus quam pristini aevi et de vera theologia mistica54 Il faut prendre aussi en considération les œuvres de la période romaine de Thomas, qui n’ont pas été achevées ou publiés jusqu’à présent : – Roma, Archivio Generale OCD, Plut 387c : Repertorium P. N. Thomae a Jesu in ordine ad libros de contemplatione et oratione – Roma, Archivio Generale OCD, Plut. 387c : Apologia en defensa de la verdad y pureza de la doctrina de los libros de la bienaventurada madre Teresa de Jesus por un hijo y siervo suyo. – Roma, Archivio Generale OCD, Plut. 385e : De virtutibus, libris et vita S. Matris Teresiae – Roma, Archivio Generale OCD, 387a : Suma de las cosas que estan probadas en los procesos de la canonización de S. Teresa – Roma, Archivio Generale OCD, 387d : Scholios sobre los libros de nra. s. Madre – Roma, Archivio Generale OCD, 333d : Examen de espiritus Pourquoi Thomas de Jésus recourt-il à la pensée victorine ? Un examen rapide des autorités invoqués par le carme espagnol comme appui et justification de ses propres thèse philosophiques et théologiques permet, on l’a dit, 50
Traité de la contemplation divine, particulièrement de celle, qui avec la faveur du ciel se peut acquérir par notre travail. Composé par le R.P. Thomas de Jésus définiteur général de l’ordre des Carmes Déchaussés. Et nouvellement mis en lumière par les soins du R. P. Maurice de Saint Matthieu, religieux du même ordre, à Liège : H. Hoyoux, 1675. 51 Commentaria in quaestiones 171, 172, 173, 174, 175, secundae secundae Divi Thomae Aquinatis ; ubi de raptu, extasi, et prophetia, hoc est, de visionibus, locutionibus, ac revelationibus divinis disseritur, dans Opera omnia, t. II, p. 367-453. 52 Trattato della presenza di Dio, composto dal M. R. P. Tommaso di Giesù già Provinciale, e Definitor Generale dei Carmelitani Scalzi. Tradotto dalla lingua Spagnuola nell’Italiana dal P. F. Gio. Chrisostomo di S. Paolo Carmelitano Scalzo della Provincia Romana, In Roma : Nella Stampa del Varese, 1685. 53 De contemplatione acquisita (opus ineditum) et Via brevis et plana orationis mentalis, edidit et annotavit P. Eugenius a Sto. Joseph ejusdem Ordinis, Milano : Tipografia S. Lega Eucaristica, 1922. 54 Voir Jean Orcibal, La rencontre du Carmel thérésien avec les mystiques du Nord, Paris : Presses universitaires de France, 1959 (Bibliothèque de l’École pratique des hautes études), p. 174-177.
Saint-Victor et le Carmel : le cas de Thomas de Jésus (1563-1627) 437 de découvrir une forte présence des auteurs victorins dans ses écrits et dans sa réflexion sur la vie contemplative. En bon théologien, formé dans les meilleures universités de l’Espagne, Thomas de Jésus est familier de la Bible, des Pères de l’Église et de l’héritage de la pensée médiévale : il utilise toutes ces sources pour élaborer sa grande synthèse sur la vie contemplative. Il connaît très bien aussi sa propre tradition spirituelle, celle du Carmel, dans toute ses strates et étapes diachroniques : la Règle primitive du Carmel et ses rédactions successives, l’Ignea sagitta de Nicolas le Français, le Livre des premiers moines de Philippe Ribot, qu’il croit être l’œuvre de Jean, patriarche de Jérusalem, et antérieur à la Règle du Carmel, l’Expositio parenaetica de Jean Soreth. Enfin il est bon connaisseur de tous les écrits encore récents de Mère Thérèse de Jésus et de Jean de la Croix, comme biographe de la première et comme éditeur des œuvres du second. Pourquoi dès lors, au lieu de se contenter de la doctrine propre du Carmel médiéval et des écrits des grands réformateurs, Thomas de Jésus s’est-il tourné vers les écrits des maîtres de Saint-Victor ? À cette question on peut, me semble-t-il, avancer quatre raisons complémentaires : 1. Thomas est l’auteur de la toute première synthèse de spiritualité du Carmel réformé, après la mort de ses fondateurs. Comme procurateur de la cause de Thérèse de Jésus et comme éditeur des œuvres de Jean de la Croix, il a examiné ceux de leurs écrits qui présentaient une forte composante mystique. Or les deux maîtres spirituels de sa famille religieuse parlent librement de Dieu, à partir de leur propre expérience spirituelle, assez loin de la théologie en usage dans les universités. Au moment où Thomas examine leur textes, Thérèse et Jean sont déjà candidats à la béatification : leurs écrits vont être examinés canoniquement par des théologiens universitaires, probablement par ces dominicains avec lesquels ils ont déjà eu maille à partir devant les tribunaux de l’Inquisition espagnole. Les dominicains de Salamanque ont en effet présenté de fortes objections contre le projet de canoniser Thérèse de Jésus55. Quant à Jean de la Croix, la publication de ses écrits, surtout le Cantico espiritual56, a subi un retard de plusieurs décennies, après que Thomas les a préparés pour 55 Thérèse de Jésus est béatifiée en 1614, déclarée par les Cortès patronne de l’Espagne en 1617 canonisée en 1622 par le pape Grégoire XV. Les pièces du double procès sont éditées dans Procesos de beatificación y canonización de Sta. Teresa de Jesús (1934), editados y anotados por el P. Silverio de Santa Teresa, O. C. D., Burgos : Tipografia de El Monte Carmelo, 1934-1935 (Biblioteca Mística Carmelitana, 18-20). Voir aussi Jean-Robert Armogathe, « La fabrique des saints. Causes espagnoles et procédures romaines d’Urbain VIII à Benoît XIV (xviie-xviiie siècles) », dans Mélanges de la Casa de Velázquez, t. 33/2, 2003, p. 15-31. 56 Jean Krynen, Le Cantique spirituel de Saint Jean de la Croix commenté et refondu au xviiie siècle. Un regard sur l’histoire de l’exégèse du Cantique de Jaén, Salamanca : Universidad de Salamanca, 1948 (Acta Salmanticensia, Filosofía y Letras, 3) ; Id., « Du nouveau sur Thomas de
438
Marcin Jan Janecki
l’édition. Il importe donc de justifier leur orthodoxie en mettant en lumière la cohérence de leurs écrits avec toute la tradition spirituelle antérieure : Bible, Pères, auteurs médiévaux, en particulier avec les auteurs victorins : ceux-ci fournissent en somme une garantie d’orthodoxie. 2. Dans sa propre vie intellectuelle et spirituelle Thomas ressent toujours un besoin impérieux de systématisation : il en cherche des modèles dans la Bible et chez les auteurs spirituels. Or les auteurs victorins ont un souci particulier, largement imité après eux, de scander les étapes du progrès spirituel en s’appuyant sur des images bibliques, en particulier des formes architecturales (arche, temple, etc.), qui annoncent par exemple les « châteaux de l’âme » thérésiens. Les figures et images bibliques que commentent Hugues, Richard et Thomas Gallus présentent donc des principes de mise en ordre et de structuration d’un parcours spirituel, depuis les débuts de le vie d’oraison jusqu’aux sommets de l’union à Dieu in caligine, qui rejoint ce souci de jalonner les degrés de la vie spirituelle. Ceci incite Thomas à développer les parallèles entre les traditions victorine et carmélitaine. 3. Thomas est un pédagogue. Il souhaite conduire les autres sur les chemins de vie spirituelle, non seulement les carmes et des carmélites, mais encore les religieux d’autres congrégations ainsi que les laïcs. En vrai mystagogue, il a pratiqué la direction spirituelle tout au long de sa vie, par des rencontres personnelles, mais aussi à travers des livres. Ceux-ci, au fil du temps, s’efforcent de plus en plus de rejoindre des personnes et des états de vie différents. Sa pensée s’universalise. Tandis que ses premiers traités étaient conçus pour les carmes et de préférence pour les ermites, après sa « conversion missionnaire », ils sont retravaillés pour être mis à la disposition de l’Église universelle. Le recours aux victorins rejoint ce souci ecclésial de plus en plus large. 4. Le dernier motif pour Thomas de Jésus de recourir à la lecture des victorins me paraît lié à sa propre recherche d’un équilibre entre les éléments contemplatif et actif dans sa vie personnelle et dans le charisme du Carmel. Vingt-huit ans seulement après la mort de Thérèse de Jésus, en 1600, les carmes déchaux, faute de s’accorder sur la façon d’articuler les composantes du charisme carmélitain renouvelé, se divisent en deux congrégations canoniquement séparées : celle de Saint-Joseph, dans l’Espagne et ses colonies, préfère une vie de stricte observance avec une moindre dimension apostolique ; et celle de Saint-Élie prophète, en Italie, accepte en plus de la vie contemplative conventuelle des missions ad gentes et la fondation de couvents dans le monde entier. Durant trente-deux ans de sa vie religieuse, Thomas de Jésus a fait partie de la première ; puis, en 1608, il passe dans la seconde. Les deux congrégations sont en conflit jusqu’à leur réunification Jésus. L’avènement de la mystique des lumières en Espagne (1601-1607) », dans Mélanges offerts à M. Bataillon par les hispanistes français = Bulletin hispanique, t. 54, 1962, p. 113-135.
Saint-Victor et le Carmel : le cas de Thomas de Jésus (1563-1627) 439 au xixe siècle. Face à cet épineux problème, la façon dont Thomas de Jésus clarifie sa réponse et l’articule théologiquement s’est opérée en grande partie avec l’appui de la pensée victorine, puisque la pensée d’Hugues, Richard et Thomas Gallus peut être interprétée comme un effort pour donner sens à la vocation particulière de chanoine régulier, en synthétisant Marthe et Marie, Lia et Rachel, c’est-à-dire l’activité pastorale du clerc et la vie contemplative du régulier57. Ces quatre motifs ont en commun qu’ils convergent vers le thème de la contemplation. Les principaux points de contact entre Thomas de Jésus et la pensée victorine portent en effet sur la contemplation, sa définition, ses modalités, ses degrés, ses rapports avec l’oraison, la manière dont elle s’articule avec l’action, en particulier l’action missionnaire. Un point serait à creuser davantage : il me semble que l’épineuse quaestio mystica sur la contemplation acquise, présente chez Thomas de Jésus et dont on sait quelle fut sa postérité dans la première moitié du xxe siècle58, pourrait avoir une généalogie victorine et s’être posée au Carme à travers sa lecture des maîtres de Saint-Victor. C’est une question sur laquelle je me propose de revenir plus tard. Comment Thomas de Jésus est-il entré en contact avec les auteurs victorins ? Demandons-nous maintenant : comment Thomas de Jésus est-il entré en contact avec les idées victorines et à quel moment de sa vie ? On peut supposer que le carme a entendu les noms de maîtres de Saint-Victor lors de ses années de formation académique, à Baeza ou à Salamanca. Les œuvres des victorins étaient disponible en Espagne selon leurs éditions imprimées des xve-xvie siècles59. Il faut rappeler cependant que le courant majeur de formation théologique dans l’Espagne de la Réforme catholique tridentine était le thomisme et que les universités espagnoles vivaient au temps de la « seconde scholastique », avec un fort renouveau de la pensée de Thomas d’Aquin60. D’autre part, des communautés de laïcs, consacrés à une vie pieuse d’oraison contemplative, se multiplient 57
Sur cet équilibre victorin entre action et contemplation, voir Jean Châtillon, Le mouvement canonial au Moyen Âge, réforme de l’Église, spiritualité et culture, études réunies par Patrice Sicard, Paris – Turnhout : Brepols, 1992 (Bibliotheca Victorina, 3), et passim dans ce volume. 58 Voir Mauel Belda et Javier Sesé, La « cuestión mística ». Estudio histórico-teológico de una controversia, Pamplona : EUNSA, 1998. 59 Sur l’histoire des éditions imprimées des opera omnia d’Hugues et Richard de Saint-Victor, voir Jean-Louis Quantin, « La réception d’Hugues et Richard de Saint-Victor au miroir de leurs Opera omnia (xvie-xviie siècles) », in L’école de Saint-Victor de Paris. Influence et rayonnement du Moyen Âge à l’époque moderne, Turnhout : Brepols, 2010 (Bibliotheca Victorina, 22), p. 601-642. 60 Sur cette « seconde scolastique espagnole », souvent désignée aussi comme « l’école de Salamanque », voir André Azevedo Alves – José Manuel Moreira, The Salamanca School, New York : Continuum, 2010 ; La Seconda scolastica nella formazione del diritto privato moderno.
440
Marcin Jan Janecki
alors dans la mouvance de la devotio moderna, apparue un siècle avant. Tenus par la hiérarchie pour des groupes dangereux, susceptibles de cultiver des idées hétérodoxes, ces alumbrados suscitent la peur constante de l’Inquisition, qui craint de perdre le contrôle sur les esprits et les livres circulant sur le sol espagnol61. Pourtant, grâce surtout au rattachement d’une partie des Pays-Bas à la Couronne d’Espagne en 150062, les nouveaux courants spirituels et leur littérature spécifique imprègnent les esprits des Espagnols63. C’est probablement à travers les œuvres de la mystique rhéno-flamande (qui a dans une certaine mesure assimilé les conceptions d’Hugues, de Richard et de Thomas Gallus) qu’on peut retrouver les idées qui semblent venir originellement de Saint-Victor chez la mystique d’Avila et le Docteur de la nuit, même si on ne connaît pas bien encore les canaux précis de leur transmission64. Dans le cas de Thomas de Jésus, la situation se présente différemment. C’est durant son noviciat à Valladolid que des horizons s’ouvrent devant le jeune théologien carme pour, d’un côté, affermir sa propre conception du charisme de l’ordre et, de l’autre, apprécier les richesses spirituelles d’autres traditions monastiques. La chose peut paraître banale, mais en effet elle constitue dans la formation et la vie du carme de Baeza un événement herméneutique qui allait avoir des conséquences sur toute sa vie, son activité d’écriture et la vie du Carmel réformé. À l’origine de tout cela se trouve la question du rite du Saint-Sépulcre que nous avons déjà mentionné comme lieu d’une rencontre entre Saint-Victor et le Carmel médiéval. En 1587 les carmes déchaussés décident d’abandonner ce rite au profit de la liturgie romaine, afin de se distinguer des grands carmes, qui ont conservé l’office palestinien jusqu’après Vatican II. Les supérieurs de la province de Saint-Élie de Castille demandent à Thomas de Jésus, alors novice à Valladolid, de faire ce travail d’adaptation des coutumes liturgiques au chœur et dans l’église. Le jeune théologien demande qu’on mette à sa disposition toutes les règles et tous les coutumiers monastiques accessibles. C’est en élaborant le nouvel Ordinario y ceremonial65 Atti dell’incontro di studio. Firenze, 16-19 ottobre 1972, éd. Paolo Grossi, Milano : Giuffrè, 1973 (Per la storia del pensiero giuridico moderno, 1). 61 Álvaro Huerga, Historia de los Alumbrados (1570-1630), 4 vol., Madrid : Fundación Universitaria Española – Seminario Cisneros, 1978-1988 ; Antonio Márquez, Los alumbrados : Orígenes y filosofía (1525-1559), Madrid : Taurus, 1980. 62 Cf. Miguel Angel Echevarría, Flandes y la Monarquía Hispánica 1500-1713, Madrid : Sílex Ediciones, 1998 (Claves Históricas). 63 Cf. Pedro Sáinz Rodríguez, Introducción a la historia de la literatura mística en España, Madrid : Espasa-Calpe, 1984. 64 Roger Baron, « L’influence de Hugues de Saint-Victor », dans Recherches de théologie ancienne et médiévale, t. 22, 1955, p. 56-71. 65 Ordinario y ceremonial de los religiosos primitivos descalços de la orden de la gloriosissima Virgen Maria del Monte Carmelo [Escudo de la Orden], conforme al rezado del breviario y missal
Saint-Victor et le Carmel : le cas de Thomas de Jésus (1563-1627) 441 que Thomas entre en dialogue avec des traditions spirituelles différentes de la sienne. Il prend conscience alors de l’identité propre du Carmel et de sa vocation au désert et à la contemplation, d’où son dessein de fonder les « saint déserts ». Ici plongent les racines de ses deux premières œuvres, publiées alors qu’il était provincial de Vieille Castille en 1599. D’un côté, il démontre l’originalité du Carmel parmi d’autres ordres dans l’Église : tel est l’objet du Livre de l’antiquité et des saints de l’Ordre du Carmel66 ; de l’autre, le désir s’éveille en lui de connaître des traditions plus anciennes. C’est ainsi qu’à mon avis Thomas entre en contact avec le courant de spiritualité de chanoines victorins et la preuve en est qu’en commentant la Règle primitive du Carmel il met ce texte en relation avec d’autres textes législatifs du monachisme chrétien : règle de saint Basile, règle bénédictine et, ce qui nous importe, Règle de saint Augustin67. Ce sont là les toutes première œuvres publiées par le carme, mais – ayant perdu le sommeil à cause de son état de santé – il lit et étudie avidement durant la nuit, ayant toujours un crayon près de son lit, pour retenir et coucher par écrit les choses intéressantes. Ses lectures s’intensifient quand il se retrouve – après des années de service administratif dans son ordre – dans la solitude du saint désert de Las Batuecas. C’est là qu’il conçoit ses principales œuvres sur la vie contemplative. C’est durant ce septem annorum curriculum que le docte fondateur écrit des traités de mystagogie contemplative pour ses frères ermites. Durant ce temps il rédige plusieurs réflexions qu’il juge nécessaires pour une bonne pratique de la vie d’oraison dans ses déserts. Aujourd’hui, nous pouvant faire une liste des manuscrits qui en sont les témoins. Après sa conversion missionnaire et sa sortie d’Espagne, Thomas a emporté une partie de ces manuscrits à Rome ; une autre partie est restée en Espagne et a été copiée dans une modeste quantité. * * * Il y aurait encore beaucoup à dire sur l’influence que les victorins ont exercée sur la littérature carmélitaine de l’époque moderne, par exemple sur l’influence que le victorin Thomas Gallus a pu exercer sur Jean de la Croix, sans parler des influences indirectes qui ont pu s’exercer par l’intermédiaire d’auteurs des xiiie-xve siècles, romano, y costumbres antiguas de la dicha Orden, Madrid : Alonso Gomez, 1590. 66 Libro de la antigüedad, y sanctos de la orden de nuestra Senora del Carmen : y de los especiales privilegios de su cofradia, Salamanca : Andrés Renaut, 1599. 67 Commentaria in regulam primitivam Fratrum Beatae Mariae Virginis de monte Carmeli quae in nova discalceatorum reformatione servatur. Ubi etiam plures aliorum ordinum regulae obiter explanantur, potissimum vero Basilii, Augustini, Benedicti et Francisci, et aliae quae in margine notantur. Authore P. F. Thoma a Jesu Biacensi Provinciali eiusdem Ordinis in Provincia Sancti Eliae Prophetae, Salmanticae : apud Joannem Ferdinandum, 1599.
442
Marcin Jan Janecki
nourris eux-mêmes de la pensée victorine, comme Bonaventure, les mystiques rhéno-flamands, Jean Gerson, Denys le Chartreux et les représentants de la devotio moderna. Toutefois, même la présente enquête doit encore être poursuivie : le temps nous a manqué pour marquer et interpréter toutes les traces d’utilisation d’Hugues, de Richard de Saint-Victor et de Thomas Gallus dans les œuvres de Thomas de Jésus, qui du reste sont pour la plupart inédites : ce sera l’objet d’une enquête ultérieure. Néanmoins, ce qu’on a repéré suffit déjà pour se faire une première idée de cette influence. Favorisée par l’adoption commune, du moins au début de l’histoire de l’ordre des carmes, de la Règle de saint Augustin et de la liturgie des chanoines réguliers du Saint-Sépulcre, elle s’accentue et se concrétise, après le retour de l’ordre en Europe, chez Thomas de Jésus, dont toutes l’existence et l’œuvre sont tendues, comme à Saint-Victor, entre la vie contemplative, les études intellectuelles et le ministère pastoral. Dans les écrits victorins, Thomas de Jésus trouve à la fois une pensée traditionnelle, sur laquelle il peut faire fond pour défendre l’orthodoxie de Thérèse de Jésus comme de Jean de la Croix ; une pensée claire et structurée, qui soutient ses efforts pour décrire de façon articulée les itinéraires contemplatifs de l’âme vers Dieu ; une pensée large et ouverte, qui répond à son souhait d’universalité ecclésiale ; enfin une pensée équilibrée, qui apporte des précédents et des solutions à son effort pour concilier le primat de la contemplation et les besoins de l’action missionnaire. Tout ceci explique que le De contemplatione divina du carme fasse une si grande part aux sources des principaux maîtres de Saint-Victor.
Victorina polonica : présences victorines dans la culture intellectuelle de la Pologne au Moyen Âge et aujourd’hui Wanda Bajor et Marcin Jan Janecki
La culture polonaise comme telle commence à une époque de contacts plus étroits entre la Pologne et l’Europe occidentale et méridionale, qui se concrétisent par l’adoption du christianisme selon le rite latin lors du baptême du prince Mieszko Ier en 966. Dans l’histoire de la civilisation polonaise, cet événement fait date non seulement sur le plan religieux, mais aussi sur les plans politique, social et culturel. Le fait que la Pologne ait reçu son baptême de Rome, et non de Byzance (comme les états slaves voisins), a déterminé de manière décisive le caractère de la culture polonaise. Elle est ainsi entrée définitivement dans l’orbite de la civilisation latine et s’est formée au sein de la culture de l’Europe occidentale comme sa partie intégrale et en relation avec elle. Depuis lors, sur le territoire polonais – avec l’arrivée de savants et de livres, l’établissement de contacts entre la Pologne et l’Occident, mais aussi entre les centres intellectuels1 – une éducation savante a lentement mais sûrement commencé à s’organiser. Comme dans le reste de l’Europe au Moyen Âge, la culture polonaise s’est développée principalement dans les centres monastiques et les écoles liés aux structures ecclésiastiques. Dans le sillage du baptême reçu de la part des Tchèques, c’est également de Prague qu’a été transplanté le modèle universitaire, qui s’est d’abord établi dans le studium generale de Cracovie, fondé en 1364, devenu au xve siècle l’université de Cracovie. La physionomie intellectuelle de la culture polonaise a été façonnée sous l’influence de nombreuses tendances et traditions scientifiques et spirituelles présentes dans la chrétienté européenne. Les premières fondations monastiques de type bénédictin y ont laissé leur empreinte, mais aussi les ordres nouveaux créés 1 Stanisław Wielgus, Z badań nad średniowieczem, Lublin : Wydawnictwo KUL, 1995, p. 51-56.
Omnium expetendorum prima est sapientia. Studies on Victorine thought and influence, ed. by Wanda Bajor, Michał Buraczewski, Marcin Jan Janecki and Dominique Poirel, BV, 29 (Turnhout, 2021), p. 443–470. © BREPOLSPUBLISHERS DOI 10.1484/M.BV-EB.5.126048
444
Wanda Bajor et Marcin Jan Janecki
dans l’atmosphère de vigueur intellectuelle et spirituelle de la réforme grégorienne se sont rapidement implantés sur les terres de l’État des Piastes. Les chartreux, les cisterciens et les ordres mendiants, unis dans un réseau de congrégations d’envergure paneuropéenne et ayant un caractère centralisé, sont devenus des canaux de la circulation des personnes, des livres et des idées. Chacune de ces communautés, ainsi que le clergé diocésain, a contribué à façonner le panorama intellectuel de la Pologne médiévale. Parmi les ordres religieux présents à l’intérieur des frontières dynamiquement changeantes de l’État polonais au cours des siècles, les chanoines de Saint-Victor n’ont jamais été directement impliqués. Néanmoins, au fil des siècles, les écrits et la pensée des victorins se sont révélés être une source d’inspiration précieuse pour de nombreux cercles intellectuels et spirituels de la chrétienté polonaise. C’était le cas au tournant du Moyen Âge et de la Renaissance, ainsi que, étonnamment, au xxe siècle et même aujourd’hui. L’influence des victorins sur la culture polonaise n’a pas encore été examinée de manière approfondie et complète, ni dans son aspect historique, ni en termes doctrinaux. Et même si l’on sait qu’il ne s’est pas fait sentir en Pologne aussi vivement qu’en Europe occidentale et le long de la vallée du Danube, de nombreux témoignages montrent que le rayonnement intellectuel et existentiel de l’idéal victorin était discrètement présent au fil des siècles de l’histoire polonaise, et qu’en certains endroits et à certains moments de l’histoire, il s’est renforcé. Soulignons que, à notre connaissance, le territoire polonais est le champ d’influence le plus oriental de la pensée victorine au Moyen Âge. L’objectif de cette communication est de donner une présentation panoramique de ces influences. Ce texte n’aspire pas à procurer un compte rendu exhaustif de l’impact des idées victorines sur la pensée et la culture polonaises, mais seulement les premiers résultats, encore timides, mais – il nous semble – non moins intéressants, de la recherche dans le contexte des études victorines qui s’intensifient actuellement en Pologne. I. Traces d’une présence discrète et féconde : fondations et manuscrits 1. Fondations en Poméranie occidentale Comme nous l’avons mentionné plus haut, aucune fondation victorine n’a été établie sur le territoire de la Couronne polonaise proprement dite au Moyen Âge. Néanmoins, sur les terres de la Poméranie occidentale, alors sous domination allemande, vers l’an 1260, le premier prieuré ordinis Sancti Victoris Parisiensis a été fondé dans la ville de Wkryujście (Ueckermünde) sur les rives nord-ouest de la
Victorina polonica
445
lagune de Szczecin, aujourd’hui encore dans les frontières allemandes2. Le monastère a été fondé à l’initiative d’Herman, évêque de Kamień Pomorski, sous l’invocation de sainte Marie et de saint Victor3. La fondation a été déplacée plusieurs fois : d’abord à Hägen (ou Gobelenhagen) près de Police (1276), puis à Tatin (Neu-Gobelenhagen) et enfin, en 1331, le duc de Poméranie Barnim III l’a déplacée à Jasienica. Le monastère de Mons Sancte Marie à Jasienz4 dépendait de l’abbaye de Neumünster et a survécu jusqu’à la sécularisation de la Prusse orientale en 1535. L’abbaye disposait d’une bibliothèque richement dotée, dont les collections, après la dissolution du monastère, sont d’abord allées à la paroisse de Wołogoszcz, puis, au xixe siècle, à l’université allemande de Greifen5. Jusqu’à nos jours, les ruines du monastère gothique des victorins de Poméranie se conservent en assez bon état6. Probablement sans lien avec cette fondation, il y a eu des plans pour établir un autre monastère victorin, dans la seconde moitié du xiiie siècle, dans les environs de Choszczno. Comme on peut en juger par les rares documents conservés, ces plans ne se sont pas réalisés7. Bien que les fondations et influences d’autres congrégations médiévales de chanoines en Pologne soient assez bien documentées8, l’enquête sur la présence des victorins reste toujours un sujet de recherche pour les historiens. Même si au plan matériel la congrégation de Saint-Victor ne fut représentée que de façon marginale dans la Pologne médiévale, par leurs œuvres littéraires les victorins ont exercé une certaine influence sur les cercles académiques et monastiques du pays de la Vistule.
2
Marek Derwich, « “Zapomniani wiktoryni”. Uwagi na marginesie nowszych badań », dans Nasza Przeszłość, t. 89, 1998, p. 488-489 ; Martin Schoebel, « Das Chorherrenstift Mariental in Ueckermünde. Ein pommersches Priorat von St. Viktor in Paris », dans Leder is Brot. Beiträge zur norddeutschen Landes- und Archivgeschichte. Festschrift für Andreas Röpcke, éd. Bernd Kasten – Matthias Manke – Johann Peter Wurm : Helms, 2011, p. 29-44. 3 Krystyna Podlaszewska, « Biblioteka klasztoru kanoników regularnych w Jasienicy koło Szczecina na przełomie XV/XVI wieku », dans Acta Universitatis Nicolai Copernici. Nauki Humanistyczno-Społeczne. Bibliologia, t. 306, 1996, p. 46. 4 Marek Derwich, « “Zapomniani wiktoryni”. Uwagi na marginesie nowszych badań », dans Nasza Przeszłość, t. 89, 1998, p. 490. 5 Cf. Krystyna Podlaszewska, « Biblioteka klasztoru kanoników regularnych w Jasienicy koło Szczecina na przełomie XV/XVI wieku », dans Acta Universitatis Nicolai Copernici. Nauki Humanistyczno-Społeczne. Bibliologia, t. 306, 1996, p. 45-70. 6 Cf. Kazimiera Kalita-Skwirzyńska – Andrzej Łazowski – Mirosław Opęchowski, Jasienica, Szczecin : Stowarzyszenie Czas Przestrzeń Tożsamość, 2003 (Seria czas przestrzeń tożsamość). 7 Marek Derwich, « “Zapomniani wiktoryni”. Uwagi na marginesie nowszych badań », dans Nasza Przeszłość, t. 89, 1998, p. 490-491. 8 Voir par ex. Jósef Mudzniuk, « Dzieje kanoników regularnych św. Augustyna na Śląsku », dans Saeculum Christianum, t. 14/2, 2007, p. 55-85.
446
Wanda Bajor et Marcin Jan Janecki
2. Manuscrits victorins en Pologne L’université de Cracovie, dont la bibliothèque conserve de nombreux manuscrits d’œuvres de maîtres de Saint-Victor9, a sans aucun doute joué un rôle clé dans ce processus. Cependant, ce n’est pas le seul endroit qui possède des traces de leur textes sous la forme de manuscrits. On peut également les trouver à la Bibliothèque nationale à Varsovie10, à la Bibliothèque universitaire de Wrocław11, à la Bibliothèque de Kórnik12 ou à la Bibliothèque de l’Académie Polonaise des Sciences à Gdańsk13, et dans plusieurs centres plus petits. Certaines de ces œuvres 9
Zofia Włodek et al., Catalogus codicum manuscriptorum medii aevi latinorum qui in Bibliotheca Jagellonica asservantur, t. 1 : Numeros continens inde ab 8 usque ad 331, Wrocław – Warszawa : Institutum Ossolinianum. Officina editoria Academiae scientiarum Poloniae, 1980 ; Maria Kowalczyk – Mieczysław Markowski et al., t. 2 : Numeros continens inde a 332 usque ad 444, Wrocław – Warszawa : Institutum Ossolinianum. Officina editoria Academiae scientiarum Poloniae, 1982 ; Maria Kowalczyk – Anna Kozłowska et al., t. 3 : Numeros continens inde a 445 usque ad 563, Warszawa : Institutum Ossolinianum. Officina editoria Academiae scientiarum Poloniae, 1984 ; Maria Kowalczyk – Anna Kozłowska et al., t. 5 : Numeros continens inde a 668 usque ad 771, Warszawa : Institutum Ossolinianum. Officina editoria Academiae scientiarum Poloniae, 1993 ; Maria Kowalczyk – Anna Kozłowska et al., t. 7 : Numeros continens inde a 1191 usque ad 1270, Kraków : Institutum Ossolinianum. Officina editoria Academiae scientiarum Poloniae, 2000 ; Maria Kowalczyk – Anna Kozłowska et al., t. 8 : Numeros continens inde a 1271 usque ad 1353, Kraków : Institutum Ossolinianum. Officina editoria Academiae scientiarum Poloniae, 2004 ; Maria Kowalczyk – Anna Kozłowska et al., t. 9 : Numeros continens inde a 1354 usque ad 1430, Kraków : Institutum Ossolinianum. Officina editoria Academiae scientiarum Poloniae, 2008 ; Maria Kowalczyk – Anna Kozłowska et al., t. 10 : Numeros continens inde a 1431 usque ad 1500, Kraków : Institutum Ossolinianum. Officina editoria Academiae scientiarum Poloniae, 2012 ; Anna Kozłowska – Lucyna Nowak et al., t. 11 : Numeros continens inde a 1501 usque ad 1575, Kraków : Institutum Ossolinianum. Officina editoria Academiae scientiarum Poloniae, 2016. 10 Jerzy Kaliszuk – Sławomir Szyller, Inwentarz rękopisów do połowy XVI wieku w zbiorach Biblioteki Narodowej, Warszawa : Biblioteka Narodowa, 2012. 11 Konstanty K. Jażdżewski, Catalogus manu scriptorum codicum medii aevi latinorum signa 180-260 comprehendens, Wrocław : Institutum Ossolinianum. Officina editoria Academiae scientiarum Poloniae, 1982 ; Stanisław Kądzielski – Wojciech Mrozowicz, Catalogus codicum medii aevi manuscriptorum qui in bibliotheca Universitatis Wratislaviensis asservantur signa 60556124 comprehendens (Codices Milichiani, vol. 1), Wrocław : Bibliotheca Universitatis Wratislaviensis, Domus Editoria Universitatis Wratislaviensis, 1998. 12 Voir Jerzy Zathey, Katalog rękopisów średniowiecznych Biblioteki Kórnickiej (Catalogus codicum manuscriptorum medii aevi bibliothecae Cornicensis) Wrocław : Polska Akademia Nauk – Biblioteka Kórnicka, 1963. 13 Helena Dzienis, Katalog Rękopisów Biblioteki Gdańskiej Polskiej Akademii Nauk. Sygnatury MS 5412-MS 5873, Gdańsk : Zakl. Narodowy im. Ossolinskich, 1999 ; MS 5874-MS 6123. Spuścizna Stanisławy Fleszarowej – Muskat. Oprac. Krystyna Świerkosz, Gdańsk : Zakl. Narodowy im. Ossolinskich, 1999 ; Katalog Rękopisów Biblioteki Gdańskiej Polskiej Akademii Nauk. Sygnatury MS 6124-MS 6321. Spuścizna Jerzego Afanasjewa. Oprac. Jan Krzysztof Kordel, Gdańsk : Zakl. Narodowy im. Ossolinskich, 2007.
Victorina polonica
447
sont arrivées en Pologne depuis Prague et les territoires de l’Empire, tandis que d’autres ont été copiées localement. Dans les collections de manuscrits de Pologne – malgré les pertes énormes causées par le pillage et la destruction pendant les guerres et les longues périodes d’occupation politique, depuis l’invasion suédoise au xviie siècle, en passant par la tragique période des partitions (1795-1918), et en terminant par la Seconde Guerre mondiale et le communisme – parmi les fonds médiévaux préservés, on peut trouver un nombre important de manuscrits contenant des œuvres d’auteurs victorins. Il s’agit principalement de textes des deux auteurs les plus éminents de l’école de Saint-Victor : Hugues et Richard, certains en plusieurs exemplaires et d’autres en un seul14. Les œuvres d’Hugues détiennent le plus grand nombre d’exemplaires, rassemblés principalement dans les bibliothèques de Cracovie, Wrocław et Kórnik, sans compter quelques exemplaires ou des exemplaires uniques à Varsovie, Poznań, Gdańsk, Gniezno, Wiślica et Lublin. Sur le plan thématique, ils représentent presque entièrement les enseignements spirituels du maître victorin. Il s’agit des titres suivants : le De archa Noe, qui a survécu en sept exemplaires : un à Gniezno dans la bibliothèque du Séminaire et du Chapitre de la cathédrale15, quatre à Cracovie dans la Bibliothèque Jagellonne16, deux à Wrocław dans la Bibliothèque universitaire17. Un autre texte est le De arrha animae, dont on trouve huit exemplaires dans les collections polonaises : un à la bibliothèque collégiale de Wiślica18 et les autres à la Bibliothèque universitaire de Wrocław19. Six exemplaires du 14
La plupart d’entre eux ont été repérés par Patrice Sicard dans son Iter victorinum, mais dans quelques cas nous complétons ou corrigeons ses données sur la base de descriptions inédites de la Bibliothèque Jagellonne et de la Bibliothèque de l’Université de Wrocław, ainsi que d’autres sources. Voir Patrice Sicard, Iter Victorinum : la tradition manuscrite des œuvres de Hugues et de Richard de Saint-Victor, Turnhout : Brepols, 2015 (Bibliotheca Victorina, 24). 15 Gniezno, Arch. Archid. i Bibl. Kapit. 102 (xiie-xiiie s.), 316 f., f. 114r-140r. 16 BJ 173 (xve s., c. 1450, avant 1460), 276 f., f. 81r-86v, f. 165r-167v [extrait du De archa inséré dans un De vitiis et virtutibus], cf. Włodek, p. 169, 173 ; BJ 1347 (xve s., a. 1446), 193 f., f. 122r-142r, cf. Kowalczyk – Kozłowska, t. 8, p. 360, Sicard, p. 54*-55* ; BJ 1383 (xve s.), 363 f., f. 117v-122r [IV, viii], cf. Kowalczyk – Kozłowska, t. 9, p. 288-289 ; BJ 2129 (xve s.), 197 f., f. 148v-184v, cf. Sicard, p. 55*. 17 Akc. 1948/0714 (olim Legnica 30) (xve s., des Chartreux de Legnica), 459 f., f. 152r-179r ; I F 297, f. 82v-123v cf. Jażdżewski, p. 35, cf. Sicard, p. 61*. 18 Cod. 1420 (xve s.), cf. Piotr Kardyś, « Biblioteka przykolegiacka w Wiślicy XV-XVIII », dans Archiwa, Biblioteki i Muzea Kościelne, t. 82, 2004, p. 85-102. 19 I F 26 (xve s), f. 354v-361r, cf. Jażdżewski, p. 35 ; I F 197 (xive s.), 144 f., f. 71rb-77vb, cf. Jażdżewski, p. 188-189 ; I F 256 (xive s.), f. 164va-168r, cf. Jażdżewski, p. 35 ; I F 310, f. 20va25ra, cf. Jażdżewski, p. 35 ; I Q 43, f. 153v-171r, cf. Jażdżewski, p. 35 ; I Q 111, f. 158v-163v, cf. Jażdżewski, p. 35 ; A 224 T 11, cf. Jażdżewski, p. 35 ; Akc. 1948/0714 (olim Legnica 30) (xve s., des Chartreux de Legnica), 459 f., f. 328r-336v, cf. Jażdżewski, p. 35.
448
Wanda Bajor et Marcin Jan Janecki
De laude caritatis ont survécu dans la collection de la Bibliothèque universitaire de Wrocław20. Le De virtute orandi se trouve en cinq exemplaires à la Bibliothèque Jagellonne de Cracovie21 et neuf dans la Bibliothèque universitaire de Wrocław22. Le commentaire du livre de l’Ecclésiaste (In Ecclesiasten) a été conservé en deux exemplaires : l’un à la Bibliothèque nationale de Varsovie23 et l’autre à la Bibliothèque universitaire de Wrocław24. Ces deux bibliothèques possèdent chacun un exemplaire du commentaire Super Ierarchiam Dionisii25, dont un troisième manuscrit se trouve à la Bibliothèque Jagellonne de Cracovie26. Un nombre relativement important de florilèges des textes d’Hugues a été conservé à la Bibliothèque Jagellonne de Cracovie27 et à la Bibliothèque de l’Académie Polonaise des Sciences à Kórnik28. Le plus grand nombre d’exemplaires dans les collections polonaises 20 I F 155 (fin xive s., des Cisterciens de Heinrichau), 230 f., f. 117r-119r, cf. Jażdżewski, p. 35 ; I F 197 (xive s., des Johannites de Wrocław), 144 f., f. 77v-79v, cf. Jażdżewski, p. 189 ; I O 19, f. 37r-42r, cf. Jażdżewski, p. 35 ; I Q 112, f. 72v-74v, cf. Jażdżewski, p. 35 ; Akc. 1948/0714 (olim Legnica 30) (xve s., des Chartreux de Legnica), 459 f., f. 337r-339v, cf. Jażdżewski, p. 35. 21 BJ 423, f. 108r-v [fragment, Kowalczyk – Markowski, t. 2, p. 272 ; BJ 1208, f. 79v-82v, cf. Kowalczyk – Kozłowska, t 7, p. 75 ; BJ 1223, f. 410-417, cf. Kowalczyk – Kozłowska, t. 7, p. 158 ; BJ 1298, f. 186r-188r (prologue et c. 1), cf. Kowalczyk – Kozłowska, t. 8, p. 151 ; BJ 2039 : f. 212-222, cf. Anna Zajchowska, description du manuscrit, tapuscrit dans le département des manuscrits de la BJ de Cracovie. 22 Cod. 1024 (xiiie s.), f. 68v-73r, cf. Rochais, Bibliographie générale, t. 21/4, no 3447 ; Cod. I F 155 (xive s.), f. 64v-69r ; Cod. I F 310, f. 17r-20v ; Cod. I F 293, f. 252r-255v ; Cod. I F 361, f. 161v-166v ; Cod. I F 631 : 174 f., feuillets non indiqués. 23 Cod. III 8015 (1re m. du xiiie s. d’après Simader – Pippal, 3e quart du xiie s. d’après Spilling, originaire de Rein), 130 f., f. 1v-129r, cf. Simader – Pippal, Spilling, p. 364 ; Kaliszuk – Szyller, p. 114. 24 Cod. 1024 (xiiie s.), f. 1r-58v, cf. Rochais, Bibliographie générale, 21/4, no 3447. 25 Cod. III 8011 (4e quart du xiie s., originaire de Rein), 160 f., f. 2v-159v, cf. Simader – Pippal, Spilling, p. 353 ; Cod. I F 588 (1re m. du xive s.), 202 f., f. 201r-202r (« Explicit tractatus de ierarchia Hugonis de S. Victore ») [fragment] Manuscriptorium (Le Portail du Cerl). 26 BJ 2070, f. 186r-316v [Hugo de Sancto Victore, Super Ierarchiam Dionisii], cf. Kazimierz Wójcik, description du manuscrit, tapuscrit dans le département des manuscrits de la Bibl. Jagellonne à Cracovie. 27 Kraków BJ 189 (xve s.), f. 240v : « Celestis medicus, ut dicit Hugo, nulli spem venie » [citation dans un sermon], cf. Wlodek, p. 208 ; BJ 701 (xve s., c. 1430-1432), 163 f., f. 22v : « Quidquid docetur in canone Scripturae sacre est veritas », cf. Kowalczyk – Kozłowska, t. 5, p. 92 ; BJ 1271 (xve s., a. 1406), 154 f., f. 145r : « Secundum quod dicit Hugo primo libro De anima » [citation dans un sermon], cf. Kowalczyk – Kozłowska, t. 8, p. 13 ; BJ 1303 (xve s., c. 1440), 356 f., f. 7v : « Secundum Hugonem parte tercia primi libri Sacramentorum, quamvis racio humana ad sublimia investiganda intelligendaque sit creata ») [dans l’Expositio psalmi 118 de Nicolaus Coslowsky], cf. Kowalczyk – Kozłowska, t. 8, p. 201 ; BJ 1346 (xive s., a. 1374), 70 f. : « Occupatio est, dicit Hugo de Sancto Victore, distractio » [dans un extrait d’une lettre de Pierre de Ravenne], cf. Kowalczyk – Kozłowska, t. 8, p. 352. 28 Cod. 54 (2e m. du xve s.), 373 f., f. 370r-371v, cf. Zathey, p. 213, Hamesse – Szyller, Repertorium initiorum, t. 2, no 21409 ; Cod. 116 (xve s., a. 1446-1447), 434 f., f. 200r-203v,
Victorina polonica
449
concerne le traité pseudo-hugonien De anima. Sept exemplaires de son Liber I sont conservés à la Bibliothèque universitaire de Wrocław29 et un à la Bibliothèque nationale à Varsovie30. Le Liber III se trouve à la bibliothèque de l’Académie polonaise des sciences à Gdańsk31, à Kórnik32, à Cracovie : aux Archives du Chapitre Archiépiscopal33, à la Bibliothèque Jagellonne34 et à la bibliothèque conventuelle des dominicains35, et deux exemplaires à Poznań aux Archives archidiocésaines36 cf. Zathey, p. 286 ; Cod. 119 (xve-xvie s.), 238 f., f. 206r-214v : « Signa vere penitencie » [extraits de Hugues parmi Isidore, Chrysostome, s. Bernard], f. 219r-221v : « Notandum de bona voluntate » [citation de Hugues, avec Bernard et Jérôme], cf. Zathey, p. 317. 29 Cod. I F 109, f. 323vb-324v [extraits des c. 3 et 4, attribués à s. Bernard], cf. Jażdżewski, p. 186 ; Cod. I F 197 (xive s., des Johannites de Wrocław), 144 f., f. 35v-41r [attribué à s. Bernard], cf. Jażdżewski, p. 186 ; Cod. I O 23, f. 2r-25r [attribué à s. Bernard], cf. Jażdżewski, p. 186 ; Cod. I Q 46, f. 256r-268r [attribué à s. Bernard], cf. Jażdżewski, p. 186 ; Cod. I Q 82, f. 83r-96v [attribué à s. Bernard], cf. Jażdżewski, p. 186 ; Cod. I Q 134, f. 239v-250r [anonyme], cf. Jażdżewski, p. 186 ; Cod. I Q 158, f. 133r-153r [attribué à s. Bernard], cf. Jażdżewski, p. 186. 30 Cod. II 3015, f. 82r-85v, cf. Kaliszuk – Szyller, p. 77 [attribué à s. Bernard], Hamesse – Szyller, Repertorium initiorum, t. 2, no 21397. 31 Mar. F. 133, cf. Bloomfield – Guyot, Incipits of Latins Works, no 1787. 32 Cod. 47, f. 151v, cf. In Principio, no 113727. 33 Cod. 179 (xve s., a. 1420), f. 138r-145r, cf. Römer, Handschriftliche Überlieferung, t. 3, p. 54. 34 BJ 554 (2e m. du xve s.), f. 167v-171v [attribué à s. Augustin, Manuale], cf. Kowalczyk – Kozłowska, t. 5, p. 92, Römer, Handschriftliche Überlieferung, t. 3, p. 54 ; BJ 1212, p. 1-14, [attribué à s. Augustin, Manuale], cf. Kowalczyk – Kozłowska, t. 7, p. 93-94, Römer, Handschriftliche Überlieferung, t. 3, p. 53 ; BJ 1213 (xive s.), p. 380-393, [attribué à s. Augustin, Manuale], cf. Kowalczyk – Kozłowska, t. 7, p. 105, cf. Römer, Handschriftliche Überlieferung, t. 3, p. 54 ; BJ 2291 (xve s.), p. 163-184, cf. Römer, Handschriftliche Überlieferung, t. 3, p. 54 ; BJ 1221 f. 106v-111r [attribué à s. Augustin, Manuale], cf. Kowalczyk – Kozłowska, t. 7, p. 147, Römer, Handschriftliche Überlieferung, t. 3, p. 53 ; BJ 1423, p. 133-140, [attribué à s. Augustin, Manuale], cf. Kowalczyk – Kozłowska, t. 9, p. 492, Römer, Handschriftliche Überlieferung, t. 3, p. 53 ; BJ 1500, f. 63v-68r [attribué à s. Augustin, Manuale], Kowalczyk – Kozłowska, t. 10, p. 361, Römer, Handschriftliche Überlieferung, t. 3, p. 53 ; BJ 1649, f. 81r-84v [attribué à s. Augustin, Manuale], cf. Anna Zajchowska, description du manuscrit, tapuscrit dans le département des manuscrits de la BJ de Cracovie, Römer, Handschriftliche Überlieferung, t. 3, p. 53 ; BJ 2039, p. 133-134 [attribué à s. Augustin, Manuale], Anna Zajchowska, description du manuscrit, tapuscrit dans le département des manuscrits de la BJ de Cracovie ; BJ 2291 (xve s.), p. 163-184, [attribué à Alcherus Claraevallensis], cf. Maria Kowalczyk, description du manuscrit, tapuscrit dans le département des manuscrits de la BJ de Cracovie, Römer, Handschriftliche Überlieferung, t. 3, p. 54 ; BJ 2537, f. 109r-118r [attribué à s. Augustin, Manuale], cf. Lucyna Nowak, description du manuscrit, tapuscrit dans le département des manuscrits de la BJ de Cracovie, Römer, Handschriftliche Überlieferung, t. 3, p. 53 ; Akc. 63/54 : f. 74v-86v [attribué à s. Augustin, Manuale], Lucyna Nowak, description du manuscrit, tapuscrit dans le département des manuscrits de la BJ de Cracovie. 35 Cod. L XV 2 (xve s.), f. 121r-152v, cf. Römer, Handschriftliche Überlieferung, 3, p. 54. 36 Cod. 44 (xve s., a. 1477), f. 100r-108v, cf. Römer, Handschriftliche Überlieferung, 3, p. 54 ; Cod. 91 (xive s.), f. 5r-12v, cf. Römer, Handschriftliche Überlieferung, 3, p. 54.
450
Wanda Bajor et Marcin Jan Janecki
et un à la Bibliothèque universitaire de Wrocław37. Dans la même bibliothèque, on trouve dix-huit exemplaires du Liber IV38. Deux exemplaires du De statu virtutum variabili, sous le nom d’Hugues, se trouvent à la Bibliothèque de l’Académie Polonaise des Sciences à Gdańsk39 et à la Bibliothèque universitaire de Wrocław40. Le commentaire Super Magnificat (souvent attribué à saint Augustin) est conservé à la Bibliothèque universitaire de Wrocław41. De même, le texte pseudépigraphique de l’Expositio super Regulam beati Augustini, attribué à Hugues et donc tenu en haute estime en Pologne, a survécu en plusieurs endroits : à la Bibliothèque Jagellonne42, à la Bibliothèque universitaire de Wrocław43, à la Bibliothèque nationale de Varsovie44,
37
Rehd. 371, f. 29-59, cf. Bloomfield – Guyot, Incipits of Latins Works, nº 1787. Cod. I D 2a, f. 125r-153v, cf. Jażdżewski, p. 188 ; Cod. I F 86, f. 152r-157r, cf. Jażdżewski, p. 188 ; Cod. I F 133, f. 163r-167v, cf. Jażdżewski, p. 188, Cod. I F 135, f. 25v-31r, cf. Jażdżewski, p. 188 ; Cod. I F 197 (xive s., des Johannites de Wrocław), 144 f., f. 52v-56r [attribué à s. Augustin], cf. Jażdżewski, p. 188 ; Cod. I F 279, f. 5r et 52r [fragments des c. 12, 14, 16-17, 20 ; c. 22], cf. Jażdżewski, p. 188 ; Cod. I F 290a, f. 1r-5v, cf. Jażdżewski, p. 188 ; Cod. I F 293, f. 228v-233v, cf. Jażdżewski, p. 188 ; Cod. I F 642, f. 207v-210r [manquent les c. 18-19], cf. Jażdżewski, p. 188 ; Cod. I F 662, f. 269r-v [c. 1-2], cf. Jażdżewski, p. 188 ; Cod. I O 7, f. 124r-134r, cf. Jażdżewski, p. 188 ; Cod. I O 19, f. 27v-36v, cf. Jażdżewski, p. 188 ; Cod. I O 24, f. 76v-83v, cf. Jażdżewski, p. 188 ; Cod. I O 46, f. 140r-162v, cf. Jażdżewski, p. 188 ; Cod. IV F 58, f. 25r-29r, cf. Jażdżewski, p. 188 ; Cod. IV F 81, f. 95r-99r, cf. Jażdżewski, p. 188 ; Cod. Akc. 1948/0714 (olim Legnica 30) (xve s., des Chartreux de Legnica), 459 f., f. 52vb-56ra, cf. Jażdżewski, p. 188 ; Cod. M. 1062, f. 302r-306v, cf. Jażdżewski, p. 188. 39 Cod. Mar. Q. 48 (xive s.), f. 7sq., cf. Rochais, Bibliographie générale, 21/6, no 3627. 40 Cod. 1024 (xiiie s.), f. 59r-68r : « Incipit disciplinale magistri Hugonis de humilitate, obedientia et caritate… Explicit liber magistri Hugonis », cf. Rochais, Bibliographie générale, 21/4, no 3447. 41 Cod. 582/I F 552/, f. 208-216, ibid., p. 95, Stanisław Wielgus, Obca literatura biblijna w średniowiecznej Polsce, Lublin : Wydawnictwo KUL, 1990, p. 95. 42 BJ 1347 (xve s., a. 1446), 193 f., f. 91v-107ra [attribué à Hugues], cf. Kurz [Recensions], p. 475, Kowalczyk – Kozłowska, t. 8, p. 359, Römer, Handschriftliche Überlieferung, 3, p. 63 ; BJ 1943, f. 409-416, cf. Römer, Handschriftliche Überlieferung, 3, p. 63 ; BJ 2264, f. 49r-51v, cf. Römer, Handschriftliche Überlieferung, 3, p. 63; BJ 2333 (xve s., a. 1442), 288 f., f. 162v-190v, cf. Kurz [Recensions], p. 475, Römer, Handschriftliche Überlieferung, 3, p. 63 ; BJ 2372 (xve s.), f. 6r-41r, cf. Kurz [Recensions], p. 475-476, Römer, Handschriftliche Überlieferung, 3, p. 63. 43 Cod. I D 10 (xive-xve s., des chanoines réguliers de Sagan), 153 f., f. 27v-105r, cf. Kurz [Recensions], p. 473, Römer, Handschriftliche Überlieferung, 3, p. 64 ; Cod. I F 273 (xve s., a. 1406), 280 f., f. 102ra-118vb, cf. Kurz [Recensions], p. 473, Römer, Handschriftliche Überlieferung, 3, p. 63 ; Cod. I O 14 (1re m. du xvie s.), 384 f., f. 11r-64r, cf. Kurz [Recensions], p. 473, Römer, Handschriftliche Überlieferung, 3, p. 64. 44 Cod. III 3014, f. 209v-210r (Culpae recollectae per Magistrum Hugonem expositorem Regulae sancti Augustini), Kaliszuk – Szyller, p. 77, Hamesse – Szyller, Repertorium initiorum, t. 2, no 15497. 38
Victorina polonica
451
à la Bibliothèque de l’Académie polonaise des sciences de Kórnik45 et à la Bibliothèque du Séminaire de Lublin46. Les œuvres suivantes d’Hugues ont survécu en un exemplaire unique : à la Bibliothèque universitaire de Wrocław le De Assumptione beatae Mariae47, De sapientia animae Christi48, l’Epistula ad Galterum de Mauritiana49, et des Sentenciae extraites de grands traités ou faisant partie des Miscellanea hugoniens50, ainsi que des œuvres attribuées au maître de Saint-Victor : De claustro animae51, De regimine propriae personae52. Dans la Bibliothèque Jagellonne de Cracovie, nous avons également : le Libellus de formatione archae53, le De fructibus carnis et spiritus54, les Sermones Hugonis55, le De verbo incarnato56, un fragment de Liber de tribus maximis circumstanciis57 ; dans la bibliothèque de l’Académie polonaise des sciences à Gdańsk des traités inauthentiques sont attribués à Hugues : De bestiis58
45 Cod. 88 (xve s., a. 1419), 70 f., f. 12r-69v, cf. Kurz [Recensions], p. 475, Römer, Handschriftliche Überlieferung, 3, p. 63. 46 Cod. sans cote : Regula « cum expositione Hugonis de S. Victore », cf. Kurz [Recensions], p. 477, Römer, Handschriftliche Überlieferung, 3, p. 63. 47 I F 588 (1re m. du xive s.), 202 f., f. non indiqués : De assumpcione beate Marie Virginis, Manuscriptorium (Le Portail du Cerl). 48 Cod. 6092 (Mil. II 40) (xve s., a. 1447), 425 f., f. 323r-325v. 49 Cod. 6092 (Mil. II 40) (xve s., a. 1447), 425 f., f. 320rb : Gualterus de Mauritania : Epistula ad Hugonem ; Hugo de S. Victore : Epistula ad Gualterum de Mauritania [précèdent le De sapientiae animae Christi], Kądzielski – Mrozowicz, p. 135-136. 50 Cod. 6094 : (Mil. II 42) (2e m. du xve s.), f. 130v-131v [I, 3, 17, 49]. 51 Cod. I F 631 : 174 f., f. non indiqués : « Incipit liber claustralis Hugonis de Sancto Victore tam monachorum quam canonicorum. Incipit prologus. Locuturus de hiis », Manuscriptorium (Le Portail du Cerl). 52 Cod. I F 327 (xive s. ?), 150 f., f. non indiqués : « De regimine proprie persone, quod attribuitur Hugonis. Quoniam ut ayt Apostolus 2da ad Chor. 4° Omnia honneste et secundum ordinem », Manuscriptorium (Le Portail du Cerl). 53 BJ 1383 (xve s.), 363 f., f. 122r [extrait du c. IV], Kowalczyk – Kozlowska, t. 9, p. 288289, Sicard, p. 66*. 54 BJ 486 (fin xive s.), 190 f., f. 187r-189r [excerpta ; contient la Descriptio arborum et virtutum : « Ecce quasi duas arbores in figura ponimus »], Kowalczyk – Kozłowska, t. 3, p. 99-100. 55 BJ 701 (xve s., c. 1430-1432), 163 f., f. 162r (Hugo super Ezechielem, omelia 5 : « Per omne quod agimus ad fontem veri luminis redeamus ») [Extrait de sermon], Kowalczyk – Kozłowska, t. 5, p. 93. 56 BJ 1685, f. 661-662 [Collationes seu disputationes tres, collectio I], cf. Jerzy Korolec, description du manuscrit, tapuscrit dans le département des manuscrits de la BJ de Cracovie. 57 BJ 1650, f. 90a-91b, Jerzy Zathey, description du manuscrit, tapuscrit dans le département des manuscrits de la BJ de Cracovie. 58 Cod. 2224 (xve s.), 196 f., f. 1ra-69vb : « Desideriis tui carissime petitionibus satis saepe ipsa demergit », Madre [Raymundi Lulli Opera], p. xii.
452
Wanda Bajor et Marcin Jan Janecki
et De medicina animae59. Dans la bibliothèque de Kórnik : l’authentique Eulogium Sponsi60 ; à la Bibliothèque nationale de Varsovie, le traité attribué au victorin, en réalité de Martin de Braga : Formula honestae vitae61 ; à Pelplin dans la Bibliothèque du Séminaire : l’inauthentique Stimulus amoris62. Dans plusieurs centres de Pologne sont également conservées des œuvres du second des grands maîtres victorins, Richard de Saint-Victor. Il s’agit des œuvres suivantes, généralement transmises en un manuscrit unique : à la Bibliothèque universitaire de Wrocław, l’Expositio Psalmorum (Ps. 2-143)63 ; dans le même manuscrit : le De Emmanuele64 et le De eruditione interioris hominis65. D’autres Adnotationes in quosdam Psalmos66 et le De potestate ligandi et solvendi67 se trouvent à la Bibliothèque Jagellonne de Cracovie68. À Kórnik nous trouvons des fragments et florilèges de textes de Richard69, et le texte des Allegoriae Novi Testamenti (catalogué « pseudo-Hugo de S. Victore ») est conservé à la Bibliothèque universitaire de Wrocław70. Dans cette dernière bibliothèque se trouvent aussi : De exterminatione mali et promotione boni71, De gratia contemplationis72, De mystico somnio regis
59 Cod., Mar. F. 276 (xive-xve s.), f. 159rb-166va [attribué à s. Augustin], cf. Kurz [Recensions], p. 481. 60 Cod. 53 (xve s., a. 1463), 349 f., f. 279r-282r : « cuiusdam Hugonis in tractatu de cura sponse » [extraits ou citations dans l’exorde d’un sermon pour la Pentecôte], cf. Zathey, p. 184. 61 Cod. II 3015, f. 86r-88v : « Petisti a me mi frater », cf. Kaliszuk – Szyller, p. 77, Hamesse – Szyller, Repertorium initiorum, t. 3, no 23716. 62 Cod. 98 (206) (xive-xve s.), 268 f., f. 32r-33v, cf. Seńko, p. 67. 63 Cod. 1314/I Q 471/, f. 99-149, cf. Wielgus, Obca literatura biblijna w średniowiecznej Polsce, p. 95. 64 Cod. 1314 /I Q 471/, f. 1-64, ibid., p. 103. 65 Cod. 1314 /I Q 471, f. 65-78 (Lib. III, cap. 1-20), cf. Wielgus, Obca literatura biblijna w średniowiecznej Polsce, p. 103. 66 BJ 409, f. 265r-274r [attribué à s. Bernard], cf. Kowalczik – Markowski, t. 2, p. 214215 ; Hamesse – Szyller, Repertorium iniorum, t. 1, n° 1987. 67 BJ 1547, f. 205-208, cf. Kozłowska – Nowak, t. 11, p. 260. 68 BJ 409, f. 265r-274r, cf. Hamesse – Szyller, Repertorium initiorum, t. 1, no 1987. 69 Cod. 119 (xve-xvie s.), 238 f., f. 211r : « Item [De poenitentia ?] Richardus de S. Victore. Carnales dicuntur », et f. 219r-221v [De obediencia] (citation de Richard, avec Bernard), cf. Zathey, p. 317, 318. 70 Cod. 115/IF 109/, f. 13-92 ; Cod. 326/IF 308/, f. 54-82 : « Ricardus, Novum Testamentum » ; Cod. 1310/IQ 467/, f. 22, cf. Wielgus, Obca literatura biblijna w średniowiecznej Polsce, p. 95. Il a été établi que l’auteur des livres V-VIII est Gautier de Saint-Victor. 71 Cod. 6094 (Mil. II 42) (2e m. du xve s.), 469 f., f. 347r-368v, cf. Kądzielski – Mrozowicz, p. 140. 72 Cod. 6094 (Mil. II 42) (2e m. du xve s.), 469 f., f. 278r-346v, cf. Kądzielski – Mrozowicz, p. 140.
Victorina polonica
453
Nabuchodonosor73, De statu interioris hominis74, deux exemplaires du De oratione dominica75 et plusieurs miniatures relatives à Richard ou à ses œuvres76 ; à Pelplin, dans la Bibliothèque du Séminaire, héritière des collections de l’abbaye cistercienne et en partie des fonds teutoniques, sont conservées deux œuvres de Richard : De potestate ligandi atque solvendi et De quatuor gradibus violentae caritatis77 ; à la Bibliothèque nationale de Varsovie : De duodecim patriarchis78. La bibliothèque nationale de Varsovie possède un exemplaire d’une œuvre de Thomas Gallus, chanoine de Saint-Victor puis de Verceil, le De septem gradibus contemplationis79, tandis que la Bibliothèque Jagellonne conserve son Extractio Hierarchie celestis80. Deux exemplaires de la séquence De sancta Trinitate d’Adam de Saint-Victor sont conservés à la Bibliothèque Jagellonne de Cracovie81, dont les descriptions n’ont pas encore été publiées. Il convient de noter que tous les lieux susceptibles de détenir des œuvres des victorins n’ont pas été vérifiés à ce jour. Il reste à enquêter sur les bibliothèques des monastères, qui souvent ne disposent pas encore de catalogues et d’études des collections de manuscrits. Il faut notamment considérer les abbayes cisterciennes de Szczyrzyc et de Cracovie-Mogiła, qui étaient fortement liées aux monastères autrichiens. Nous savons également qu’en raison des conditions géopolitiques et de l’histoire mouvementée de la Pologne, de nombreux codices contenant des œuvres victorines ont été détruits ou emportés à l’étranger82.
73
Cod. 6094 (Mil. II 42) (2e m. du xve s.), 469 f., f. 391r-453v, cf. Kądzielski – Mrozowicz, p. 140. 74 Cod. 6094 (Mil. II 42) (2e m. du xve s.), 469 f., f. 368v-391r, cf. Kądzielski – Mrozowicz, p. 140. 75 Cod. IV F 43, f. 165-168, cf. Bloomfield – Guyot, Incipits of Latins Works, nº 8527 ; Cod. IV F 45, f. 139-142, cf. Bloomfield – Guyot, Incipits of Latins Works, nº 8527. 76 Cod. 6094 (Mil. II 42) (2e m. du xve s.), f. 459r-463r [Tabula manu Andreas Rudiger exarata : Tabula rerum alphabetica ad Opera Richardi a Sancto Victore : « Abiles plus sunt pro studio pueri quam senes […] Zelus, sed non secundum scientiam »], Kądzielski – Mrozowicz, p. 141. 77 Cod. 233 (273) (xve s.), 217 f., f. 160r-166r, cf. Seńko, p. 74 ; Cod. 229 (453) (xve s.), 134 f., f. 4v-14r, cf. Seńko, p. 71. 78 Cod. III 3014, f. 198r-206r, cf. Kaliszuk – Szyller, p. 177, Hamesse – Szyller, Repertorium initiorum, t. 1, no 4899. 79 Cod. 12650 (xve s.), f. 101r-105r, cf. Kaliszuk – Szyller, p. 199. 80 BJ 1383 (xve s.), f. 122r-136r. 81 BJ 1691, f. 245ra-245rb, et BJ 1689, f. 480, [Sequentia de Sta Trinitate Adami de Sto Victore cum tractatu Alberti Magni], la description du manuscrit est faite par Zofia Siemiątkowska et conservée dans le département des Manuscrits de la BJ de Cracovie. 82 Por. Iwona Pietrzykiewicz, Biblioteka kanoników regularnych w Krakowie w XV i XVI w., Kraków : Wydawnictwo Naukowe Akademii Pedagogicznej, 2003.
454
Wanda Bajor et Marcin Jan Janecki
Une caractéristique importante des textes victorins présents sur le sol polonais est le sujet presque exclusivement spirituel des traités copiés. Il y a un manque frappant de copies d’œuvres spéculatives, tels que le De sacramentis d’Hugues ou le De Trinitate de Richard. Cela pourrait s’explique à la fois par la période de production de la plupart d’entre eux, dans le climat de la devotio moderna, et par la provenance monastique de ces manuscrits. Certains d’entre eux proviennent de l’ancienne chartreuse de Legnica, de la bibliothèque des Chevaliers de Saint-Jean à Wrocław, de la collection des Basiliens (Commentaire sur l’Ecclésiaste) ou, comme dans le cas des manuscrits de Pelplin, d’anciennes bibliothèques cisterciennes et teutoniques. En ce qui concerne leur datation, la plupart sont des copies du xve siècle, mais quelques manuscrits sont très anciens, notamment ceux de Wrocław, qui peuvent être datés de la deuxième moitié du xiie siècle. Cracovie et Wrocław sont les centres qui bénéficient du plus grand nombre et de la plus grande variété d’œuvres victorines. Alors que cette dernière ville est restée longtemps au sein de l’Empire allemand et s’est enrichie des collections de monastères sécularisés, l’apparition des manuscrits victorins à Cracovie est directement liée aux activités de l’université qui s’y trouve. Un grand nombre de manuscrits y sont arrivés de Prague, avec des professeurs qui formaient le personnel de l’université nouvellement fondée, d’autres d’Allemagne (Leipzig, Erfurt), de Bâle, de Paris, de Bologne ou de Constance, souvent avec des diplômés polonais revenant de ces universités. Il est intéressant de noter que les ressources bibliothécaires de l’Université Jagellonne ne proviennent pas de bibliothèques monastiques expropriées, mais – ce qui est unique au monde – ont été constituées presque entièrement à partir de dons de collections privées de professeurs qui, par testament, ont cédé leurs propres bibliothèques pour l’éducation des générations futures83. C’est dans cette atmosphère académique de la Cracovie médiévale que l’on peut voir l’une des plus importantes manifestations de l’influence du savoir victorin sur l’histoire intellectuelle de la Pologne. 3. L’influence victorine sur l’université de Cracovie Le nombre de copies conservées des écrits victorins dans les ressources de la bibliothèque de l’Université Jagellonne est en soi une indication claire du fait que la communauté universitaire de Cracovie a montré un vif intérêt pour la pensée des victorins. Les preuves de la réception de leurs points de vue, notamment des œuvres d’Hugues et de Richard, se retrouvent notamment dans la pratique exégétique, la prédication et la littérature spirituelle d’éminents érudits cracoviens du 83 Lucyna Nowak, « Drogi recepcji pism Arystotelesa w Uniwersytecie Krakowskim », dans Kolory i struktury średniowiecza, éd. Wojciech Fałkowski, Warszawa : Wydaw. « DiG », 2004, p. 64.
Victorina polonica
455
Moyen Âge, tels que : Mateusz de Cracovie (vers 1354-1410)84, Stanisław de Skarbimierz († 1431)85, Franciszek de Brzeg (1370-1342)86, Jan de Kluczbork (vers 1370vers 1436)87, Mikołaj de Kozłów (1378-1444)88, Benoît Hesse (1389-1456)89, Paweł de Worczyn (vers 1380-vers 1430)90, Piotr de Dzwonów (1370-1342)91, Jan de Słupca (1408-1480)92, Maciej de Łabiszyn († 1452-1456)93, Jan Dąbrówka († 1472)94, Maciej de Sąspów († vers 1473)95, Stanisław de Zawada († 1491)96, ou Michał Sternberg d’Oleśnica († 1527)97. L’orientation pratique et pastorale des écrits des victorins a trouvé une résonance particulière dans les travaux des savants de Cracovie du xve siècle, car leur pensée se caractérise également par une orientation vers les besoins pratiques de la vie dans la dimension personnelle et sociale. Les professeurs de l’université étaient eux-mêmes, dans une large mesure, des chanoines de la basilique-cathédrale et d’autres chapitres de Cracovie, et leurs collèges 84
Voir Stanisław Wielgus, Średniowieczna łacińskojęzyczna biblistyka polska, Lublin : Wydawnictwo KUL, 1992, p. 12-18. 85 Ibid., p. 31-32 : Stanisław de Skarbimierz, co-auteur de la théorie cracovienne sur le droit des gens (ius gentium), se base dans nombre de ses écrits sur les enseignements d’Hugues de Saint-Victor, voir Scripta manent. Textus ad theologiam spectantes in Universitate Cracoviensi saeculo XV conscripti, oprac. Zofia Włodek, Kraków : Wydawnictwo Naukowe Papieskiej Akademii Teologicznej, 2000, p. 113, Juliusz Domański, Początki Humanizmu, Wrocław : Ossolineum, 1982 (Dzieje filozofii średniowiecznej w Polsce, 9), p. 227. 86 Wielgus, Średniowieczna łacińskojęzyczna biblistyka polska, p. 37-39. 87 Cet auteur, dans son ouvrage Principium in Epistulas Beati Pauli, cite à plusieurs reprises les écrits de Hugo et l’appelle « venerabilis » ; il fait également référence plusieurs fois à Richard de Saint-Victor. Cf. Kazimierz Wójcik, Jan z Kluczborka, Lublin : Wydawnictwo KUL, 1995, p. 109, 119, 132 ; le même titre est utilisé par Mateusz de Cracovie dans ses Sermones synodales, citant les vues du maître victorin, cf. Władysław Seńko, Mateusza z Krakowa « De praxi romanae curiae », Wrocław – Warszawa – Kraków : Zakład Narodowy im. Ossolińskich, 1969, p. 127, 161. 88 Wielgus, Średniowieczna łacińskojęzyczna biblistyka polska, p. 51-55. 89 Ibid., p. 65-72. 90 Ibid., p. 57-58 : Dans son Commentaire de l’Éthique à Nicomaque, Paul de Worczyn s’est inspiré des écrits de Hugo, cf. Jerzy Rebeta, Komentarz Pawła z Worczyna do « Etyki nikomachejskiej », Arystotelesa, z 1424 r., Wrocław – Warszawa – Kraków : Zakład Narodowy im. Ossolińskich – Wydawnictwo Polskiej Akademii Nauk, 1970 (Monografie z dziejów nauki i techniki, 61), p. 92, 115, 136, 152, 164. 91 Wielgus, Średniowieczna łacińskojęzyczna biblistyka polska, p. 37-39. 92 Ibid., p. 105-107. 93 Ibid., p. 94-99. 94 Ibid., p. 99-101. 95 Maciej de Łabiszyn, Jan Dąbrówka, Maciej de Sąspów dans leurs Quaestiones in Sententiam Petri Lombardi se réfèrent souvent aux œuvres de Hugues et de Richard de Saint-Victor. Cf. Scripta manent. Textus ad theologiam spectantes in Universitate Cracoviensi saeculo XV conscripti, oprac. Zofia Włodek, Kraków : Wydawnictwo Naukowe Papieskiej Akademii Teologicznej, 2000, p. 24, 38, 81, 100-101. 96 Wielgus, Średniowieczna łacińskojęzyczna biblistyka polska, p. 114-123. 97 Ibid., p. 139-141.
456
Wanda Bajor et Marcin Jan Janecki
étaient situés dans la rue Kanonicza (rue des chanoines), au pied du château royal sur la colline de Wawel. Comme les victorins aux xiie et xiiie siècles, les professeurs de Cracovie étaient très impliqués dans la vie sociale et politique : ils coopéraient avec les autorités royales dans la construction de l’État, en particulier par la formation intellectuelle et morale des futures élites de l’État, ce qui est clairement associé à l’idéal d’Hugues de l’homme d’État chrétien. En outre, ils assuraient la pastorale des étudiants de l’université de Cracovie et poursuivaient les objectifs missionnaires fixés par le roi Władysław Jagiełło comme conséquences de l’Union avec la Lituanie, qui fut baptisée à cette époque98. Pour cette raison, le programme éducatif victorin semblait être en connaturalité et syntonie avec un pragmatisme philosophique, typique du milieu académique polonais, qui met fortement l’accent sur la nécessité de transmettre des connaissances morales, non pas pour le seul plaisir de connaître, mais pour devenir meilleur, non pas pour savoir ce qu’est la vertu, mais pour vivre vertueusement ; le témoignage de vie de ses prédicateurs était ce qui comptait : docere verbo et exemplo. L’idéal était de combiner la vita contemplativa avec la vita activa99. Cette attitude a été couronnée par l’œuvre du savant cracovien Paweł Włodkowic (Paulus Vladimiri) qui, devant l’urgence de défendre son pays et les nations unies par l’Union polono-lituanienne contre les attaques (armées et idéologiques) de l’ordre teutonique, a formulé une nouvelle et très originelle conception des relations entre les nations, le droit des gens (ius gentium)100. Il a lui-même conduit une délégation au concile de Constance en 14151418, représentant le roi de Pologne, et sur la base de présupposés idéologiques, 98
L’Union polono-lituanienne, réalisée par le mariage du roi polonais (!) Hedwige d’Anjou et du prince lituanien Władysław Jagiełło, est liée au baptême de la Lituanie, accompli dans le rite latin par Jagiełło avec ses sujets en 1386. C’était un désastre pour les chevaliers teutoniques qui, sous prétexte de christianiser les tribus païennes, mènent une expansion politique armée et sanglante, tandis que pour la Pologne, c’est l’ouverture à une nouvelle mission culturelle et d’évangélisation. 99 Cela se manifeste chez les savants de Cracovie par la réflexion sur, entre autres, des questions telles que : l’État de droit dans la gouvernance politique, l’idée de justice et de bien commun, l’État et l’autorité (origines, devoirs, menaces, portées et limites), le droit en tant que tel (origines, caractéristiques et types), les droits de l’homme (droit à la vie et à sa protection, à la liberté, à la propriété, à un procès équitable) ; la liberté de conscience et la mission chrétienne ; le travail ; la propriété privée ; l’équité du commerce, l’usure, les dîmes ; la question juive ; la question de la prostitution. Voir Stanisław Wielgus, Z badań na średniowieczem, Lublin : Wydawnictwo KUL, 1995, p. 53-54 ; Magdalena Płotka, Filozofia jako praktyka. Myśl krakowskiego praktycyzmu w XV i XVI wieku, Warszawa : Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Kardynała Stefana Wyszyńskiego w Warszawie, 2016. 100 Vide Stanislaus F. Bełch, Paulus Vladimiri and his doctrine concerning international law and politics, t. I, London – The Hague – Paris : Mouton and Co., 1965 ; Wanda Bajor, « The Cracovian Precursors of Ius Gentium in the Jagiellonian and Contemporary Periods », dans Jagiellonian Ideas towards Challenges of Modern Times, éd. Leszek Korporowcz et al., Kraków : Jagiellonian Library, 2017, p. 99-127.
Victorina polonica
457
tels que l’idée de tolérance religieuse, de liberté de religion (et d’acte de croire) et d’égalité de tous les peuples, il a défendu la position de la Pologne et d’autres nations attaquées sous prétexte de christianisation par les chevaliers teutoniques, en contradiction avec le principe cuius regio, eius religio101. Lui aussi fut professeur à l’université de Cracovie. On sait qu’à l’occasion de sa promotion doctorale en 1411, le recteur de l’université, Stanislas de Skarbimierz, dans son discours Beatus vir qui invenit sapientiam, a fait une référence explicite au concept de sagesse d’Hugues de Saint-Victor, en adressant à Włodkowic les mots suivants : La connaissance de la vérité ne rend pas l’homme parfait, s’il n’y a pas ensuite une disposition durable à la vertu. […] Car celui qui a le mieux appris la vérité, c’est celui qui l’a apprise non seulement en l’entendant, mais aussi en la goûtant et en la mettant en pratique102.
Nous pouvons donc conclure que l’humanisme polonais du xve siècle s’est inspiré de l’héritage de la pensée des victorins. Cela sera probablement confirmé par des recherches approfondies et des éditions de textes des professeurs de Cracovie, encore largement inédits. L’idéal des victorins en tant qu’érudits et prêtres pieux préoccupés par le sort de la communauté ecclésiale a stimulé les mouvements de réforme au sein de l’Église polonaise, également au sein des ordres monastiques, comme l’illustre le renouveau
101
Vide Stanisław Wielgus, The mediaeval Polish Doctrine of the Law of Nations : « Ius Gentium », trad. John M. Grondelski, Lublin : Wydawnictwo KUL, 1998. 102 Stanisław ze Skarbimierza, Sermones sapientiales 3, ed. Bożena Chmielowska, War szawa : ATK, 1979 (Textus et Studia Historiam Theologiae in Polonia Excultae Spectantia, IV/3), p. 234, l. 38-42 et 53-55 : « Verum ad hoc, quod quis praesumatur verisimiliter sapientiam invenisse, necesse est, ut in ipso duo signa refulgeant : scientia et vita virtuosa. Unde Hugo de Sancto Victore in libro De magisterio : “Duo sunt, quae divinam similitudinem rerum parant : speculatio veritatis, quoad scientiam, et exercitium virtutis, quoad virtutem” [cf. Hugues de Saint-Victor, Didascalicon, I, 8, éd. Buttimer, p. 15, l. 11-12 = PL 176, col. 747B]. […] Et Ioannes Os aureum, Super Matthaeum, inquit : “Non perfectum facit cognitio veritatis, nisi sequatur habitus virtutis, ille enim veritatem optime novit, qui eam non audiendo solum, sed gustando et faciendo didicit [cf. Hugues de Saint-Victor, Super Ierarchiam Dionisii, éd. Poirel, p. 592, l. 744…748 = PL 175, col. 1061B].” Et Ioannes Os aureum, super Matthaeum, inquit : “Vera sapientia est, non eloquia Dei scire, sed secundum eloquia Dei vivere” ». Il fit de même en 1420 à l’occasion de la remise du diplôme de bachelier en arts libéraux : « Per disciplinam laudabiliter vivens mores cum scientia componeret […] vitam et mores cum disciplina debita componens sapientiam, quae beatum facit, et fortitudinem est adeptus. Scivit enim, quia philosophus et magister est in artibus, quod etiam antiqui philosophi suos discipulos mores bonos imbuere cum omni diligentia satagebant. » (Ms. BJ 1272, f. 162v, dans Maria Kowalczyk, Krakowskie mowy uniwersyteckie z pierwszej połowy XV wieku, Wrocław : Zakład Narodowy imienia Ossolińskich – Wydawnictwo Polskiej Akademii nauk, 1970, p. 112, note 28).
458
Wanda Bajor et Marcin Jan Janecki
spirituel et la réforme institutionnelle de l’abbaye bénédictine de Sainte-Croix103. Sans aucun doute, la source de connaissance des textes victorins et le centre nerveux de leur transmission était, dans ce cas, l’Université de Cracovie, dont sont sortis de nombreux moines recrutés au xve siècle dans ce monastère. Un autre aspect très intriguant, mais très peu connu, de l’influence victorine en Pologne concerne le contexte de la Renaissance et de la Réforme protestante. Comme l’indique une recherche encore, les acquis théologiques des victorins ont été également utilisés dans le contexte des polémiques interconfessionnelles en Pologne : C’est surtout le concept de personne de Richard qui a joué un rôle particulier. On le voit dans les débats trinitaires menés avec les « Frères polonais de Rakovie », également appelés unitariens, qui, tout en se référant à l’interprétation unitarienne de la définition de la personne faite par Boèce, rejetaient le dogme de la Trinité. Ils s’opposaient au modèle relationnel-existentiel exprimé par Richard dans son De Trinitate. On trouve des références et des analyses polémiques de la définition victorine de la personne dans les œuvres d’Andrzej Frycz Modrzewski (1503-1572)104 ; de Jan Crell (1509-1633)105, d’Andrzej Wiszowaty (1608-1678)106, d’Adam Gosławski de Bebelno (vers 1577-1642)107, et de ses adversaires : Jakob Martini de Wittenberg (1570-1649)108 et le calviniste Bartholomeus Keckermann de Gdańsk (1572-1609)109.
103
Marek Derwich, Benedyktyński klasztor św. Krzyża na Łysej Górze w średniowieczu, Warszawa – Wrocław : Wyd. Naukowe PWN, 1992, p. 491-492, 495. 104 Silvae (De tribus personis et una essentia Dei ; De necessitate conventus habendi ad sedandas religionis controversia ; De Iesu Christo ; De Homousio On Homousiai), Racoviae, 1590. 105 Johannis Crelli Franci, De uno Deo Patre libiri duo, Racoviae, 1631. Ses écrits ont été publiés dans le cadre de l’ouvrage : Bibliotheca Fratrum Polonorum, Amsterdam, 1668-1692). 106 Johannis Crelli Franci, De uno Deo Patre libiri duo, Racoviae, 1631. Ses œuvres rassemblées ont été publiées dans la Bibliotheca Fratrum Polonorum à Amsterdam (1668-1692). 107 Adami Goslavi a Bebelno Disputatio De Persona : In qua Jacobo Martini […], ea in libro secundo de tribus Elohim refellere enitenti, quæ ab auctore contra Bartholomæum Keckermannum […] disputata sunt […], respondetur, Racoviae, 1620 ; Adam Gosławski z Bebelna, Rozprawa o osobie, Warszawa : Wydawnictwo Naukowe Sub Lupa, 2016. 108 De tribus elohim liber … / 1 : Photinianorum novorum et cum primis Georgii Eniedini blasphemiis oppositus, Wittebergae, 1614. 109 Systema systematum clarissimi viri Dn. Bartholomaei Keckermanni omnia huius autoris philosophica uno volumine comprehensa lectori exhibens, idque duobus tomis, quorum prior disciplinas instrumentales sive propedeuticas una cum tractatibus ad eos pertinentibus complectitur, posterior ipsam paediam philosophicam sive scientias et prudentias… continet una cum adiunctis disputationibus et commentationibus, quibus una vel altera systematis alicuius pars et materia ab auctore fuit illustrata, Hanoviae, 1613 ; Danilo Facca, Bartłomiej Keckerman i filozofia, Warszawa : Wydawnictwo Instytutu Filozofii i Socjologii PAN, 2005.
Victorina polonica
459
II. Le réveil des études victorines en Pologne au xxe siècle À la fin du xviiie siècle, la Pologne a cessé d’exister en tant qu’État à la suite des actions militaires des États voisins. Toutes les manifestations de la culture, y compris la religion (ou plus précisément la confession catholique romaine), la langue et l’activité scientifique sont devenues l’objet d’un Kulturkampf programmé et intense. Cet état de fait n’a pas duré moins de cent vingt-trois ans. Ce n’est qu’à la fin de la Grande Guerre en 1918 que les Polonais ont pu récréer et organiser à nouveau leur État avec ses institutions culturelles, y compris le renouvellement des universités détruites par les envahisseurs. C’est également à cette époque, dans l’esprit de l’encyclique Aeterni Patris de Léon XIII, qu’a été fondée l’Université catholique de Lublin (KUL), où les études médiévales se sont épanouies. Comme on pouvait s’y attendre, ce n’est qu’au xxe siècle qu’on connaît en Pologne les premières études victorines approfondies, dont certaines ont trouvé un écho dans le débat paneuropéen. Les victorins apparaissent dans un aspect intéressant des recherches d’un éminent médiéviste de Cracovie, Konstanty Michalski (1879-1947), à savoir dans ses études sur les œuvres de Dante, dans lesquelles il rappelle abondamment la pensée philosophique et théologique d’Hugues et de Richard. Il a également signalé l’un des codex conservés au monastère cistercien de Mogiła, près de Cracovie, dans lequel une section de traités théologiques et religieux-moraux contenait un grand nombre de citations des écrits d’Hugues et de Richard de Saint-Victor110. Stefan Swieżawski (1907-2004), qui a poursuivi ces recherches, dans sa monumentale Histoire de la philosophie du xve siècle111, en huit volumes, et dans son ouvrage Histoire de la philosophie classique européenne112, a souvent fait référence à la pensée des victorins et à son influence sur la pensée européenne. Il souligne que le Didascalicon d’Hugues a été imprimé dès 1475 et remplissait encore le rôle de manuel scolaire au xvie siècle, notamment dans la nouvelle lecture humaniste de l’activité créatrice de l’homme (ars) par rapport à la nature. Il signale aussi l’influence d’Hugues, Richard et Thomas Gallus sur le courant de la mystique affective (spécialement chez Vincent d’Aggsbach), également sur la théologie mystique de
110 Konstanty Michalski, Filozofia wieków średnich, Kraków : Instytut Teologiczny Księży Misjonarzy, 1997 (Studia z dziejów wydziału teologicznego Uniwersytetu Jagiellońskiego, 5), p. 107 ; « Studia Dantejskie », p. 461-566. 111 Vide Stefan Swieżawski, Dzieje filozofii europejskiej XV wieku, t. 1/6, Warszawa : Akademia Teologii Katolickiej, 1983. 112 Vide Stefan Swieżawski, Dzieje europejskiej filozofii klasycznej, Warszawa – Wrocław : Widawnictwo. Naukowe PWN, 2000.
460
Wanda Bajor et Marcin Jan Janecki
Jean Gerson ou Vincent Ferrier. Dans son article Homo platonicus au Moyen Âge113, Swieżawski évalue Hugues de Saint-Victor comme « l’esprit le plus universel du douzième siècle », qui a indirectement préparé le terrain pour les plus grandes synthèses du xiiie siècle. Bien que Hugues ait accepté dans son anthropologie des thèses imprégnées de dualisme spiritualiste, il a – souligne Swieżawski – brisé ce dualisme sur la base de la pensée chrétienne, en affirmant la valeur de tout ce qui existe, y compris la matière et le corps. Il plaçait l’être humain possédant en lui les deux mondes – l’externe (la matière) et l’interne (l’esprit) in medio – anticipant l’idée de la Renaissance sur la position centrale de l’homme comme nœud de l’univers. C’était une manifestation d’optimisme en même temps que l’affirmation de l’unité psychophysique de l’homme114. Ajoutons que Stefan Swieżawski, étant ami très proche de Jacques Maritain et d’Étienne Gilson, partageait avec eux l’idée d’un renouveau de l’humanisme chrétien dans le monde contemporain et a travaillé lui-même à mettre cette idée en pratique dans sa vie personnelle et la société. Il fut du reste l’un des rares laïcs à participer aux débats du Concile Vatican II. Le professeur Swieżawski se consacrait à la recherche de la sagesse et au désir de pratiquer la philosophie dans une attitude de contemplation, dans laquelle l’idéal des victorins lui venait en aide : d’où ses références fréquentes à ces derniers et la promotion de l’étude de leurs œuvres dans le milieu universitaire polonais. Dès avant la Seconde Guerre mondiale, la thèse d’Eugeniusz Kulesza sur la théorie de la contemplation mystique de Richard a joué un rôle important dans ce contexte d’études victorines, et a donné lieu à un débat académique animé115. Dans le contexte de la controverse alors en cours, concernant la quaestio mystica et la contemplatio adquisita, qui préoccupait nombre d’esprits éminents en Europe116, Kulesza a développé une réflexion théologique sur la nature de la contemplation chez Richard de Saint-Victor, le créditant d’avoir écrit le premier traité scientifique sur la contemplation, qui a influencé toutes les approches ultérieures dans ce domaine117. 113
Vide S. Stefan Swieżawski, « Homo platonicus w wiekach średnich ( Jan Szkot Eriugena, Alcher z Clairvaux, Wilhelm z Conches i Hugon ze św. Wiktora jako przedstawiciele platońskiej koncepcji człowieka) », dans Roczniki Filozoficzne, t. 2/3, 1949-1950, p. 251-297. 114 Voir Stefan Swieżawski, « Homo platonicus w wiekach średnich ( Jan Szkot Eriugena, Alcher z Clairvaux, Wilhelm z Conches i Hugon ze św. Wiktora jako przedstawiciele platońskiej koncepcji człowieka) », dans Roczniki Filozoficzne, t. 2/3, 1949-1950, p. 251-297. 115 Eugeniusz Kulesza, La doctrine mystique de Richard de Saint-Victor (Thèse en Théologie), Fribourg, 1925 ; « Kontemplacja mistyczna według Ryszarda od św. Wiktora », dans Collectanea theologica, t. 12, 1931, p. 236-253, 383-405. 116 Javier Sesé – Manuel Belda, La « cuestión mística ». Estudio histórico-teológico de una controversia, Pamplona : EUNSA, 1998. 117 Eugeniusz Kulesza, « Kontemplacja mistyczna według Ryszarda od św. Wiktora », dans Collectanea theologica, t. 12, 1931, p. 237.
Victorina polonica
461
Kulesza a également entamé une polémique avec J. Ebner, qui a publié une étude sur la théorie de la connaissance chez Richard118. Le théologien polonais s’est vivement opposé à la thèse d’Ebner sur le caractère philosophique des affirmations de victorin, les réservant au domaine de la théologie mystique119. Cette thèse fut soutenue à la Faculté de théologie de l’Université de Fribourg. Un quart de siècle plus tard, elle a été critiquée du point de vue philosophique par un autre chercheur polonais, qui a apporté une réponse radicalement différente à la question de l’existence d’une réflexion philosophique dans les œuvres de Richard : elle sera discutée ci-dessous. En revanche, trois autres thèses de doctorat traitant de questions victorines ont été rédigées dans des universités polonaises dans les années d’après-guerre. La première d’entre elles, intitulée La doctrine de l’homme chez Hugues de SaintVictor, a été soutenue en 1951 à la Faculté de théologie de l’Université Jagellonne par le Père Józef Dąbrowski (1912-1968)120. L’auteur rapporte les textes d’Hugues sur l’homme, composé d’un corps et d’une âme, et défini comme une personne121. Il se concentre ensuite sur les pouvoirs spirituels de la raison122 et de la volonté123 ; sur leurs actes et de leurs relations mutuelles. Il n’oublie pas l’importance de la mémoire chez Hugues124 et examine en détail la conception qu’a Hugues de la vie sensorielle et cognitive125. Le dernier chapitre est consacré à la théorie des affections et émotions, parmi lesquelles il énumère les sentiments intellectuels, moraux, religieux, esthétiques, égoïstes et sociaux126. Selon Dąbrowski, Hugues voit l’homme de manière maximaliste, comme le lien entre le monde visible qu’il habite et le monde invisible auquel il est appelé. L’homme a Dieu au-dessus de lui, qui le domine, et le monde des créatures en dessous de lui, sur lequel l’homme étend le pouvoir que Dieu lui a donné. Ce qui est ainsi mis en relief, c’est l’aspect créatif de l’être humain et sa vocation à parfaire sa connaissance et son progrès éthique, qui est la cause de la dignité humaine127.
118
Joseph Ebner, Die Erkenntnislehre Richards von St. Viktor, Münster : Aschendorff, 1917 (Beiträge zur Geschichte der Philosophie des Mittelalters, 19/4). 119 Eugeniusz Kulesza, La doctrine mystique de Richard de Saint-Victor, p. 119-123 ; « Kontemplacja mistyczna », p. 402-404. 120 Józef Dąbrowski, Nauka o człowieku u Hugona ze św. Wiktora (thèse de doctorat non publiée, AUJ WT II 274), Kraków, 1950. 121 Ibid., p. 12-35. 122 Ibid., p. 44-76. 123 Ibid., p. 77-104. 124 Ibid., p. 72-75. 125 Ibid., p. 105-121. 126 Ibid., p. 122-152. 127 Ibid., p. 158-160.
Wanda Bajor et Marcin Jan Janecki
462
1. Études victorines à l’Université catholique de Lublin Presque immédiatement après la guerre, en 1946, la Faculté de philosophie a été créée à l’Université catholique de Lublin. Elle réunissait des personnalités éminentes qui avaient été formées dans la tradition classique, dans les universités d’avant-guerre, et dans une large mesure étaient associées aux penseurs européens. Dans un climat de marxisme omniprésent, les philosophes de l’Université catholique de Lublin ont défendu avec force la conception classique de l’homme, trouvant pour elle un fondement métaphysique. À l’École philosophique de Lublin, à coté des aspects méthodologiques de la recherche, l’approche historiosophique et la connaissance du développement des doctrines philosophiques dans le temps étaient également extrêmement importantes. Dès le début, l’accent a donc été mis sur l’histoire de la philosophie, en particulier sur les périodes antique et médiévale, au cours desquelles se sont forgés les traits fondamentaux de la culture européenne. Les bases des études d’histoire de la philosophie à l’Université catholique de Lublin ont été posées par le professeur S. Swieżawski déjà mentionné, qui était très bien préparé pour assumer cette tâche et possédait une grande érudition. Il a formé une équipe efficace de chercheurs dans le domaine des études médiévales. Tout d’abord, celui qui devait être son successeur dans la chaire, le professeur Marian Kurdziałek (1920-1997)128, qui a largement contribué à l’intérêt pour l’héritage des victorins à Lublin. Il a également été l’élève d’un historien des sciences médiévales de renommée mondiale, Aleksander Birkenmajer (qui a collaboré avec Konstanty Michalski)129. Toutes ces figures partagent une fascination pour la pensée victorine. Kurdziałek a traité en particulier des vues de Godefroid de Saint-Victor dans le contexte de la théorie du microcosme130. Ses conférences sur la philosophie de l’école victorine parisienne, dans le cadre d’un cours sur l’histoire de la philosophie médiévale, résonnaient comme une invitation à découvrir une terre pleine de trésors insolites et incitaient les chercheurs à se pencher sur les œuvres des maîtres victorins. Il avait l’habitude de dire que, si le Moyen Âge nous fascinait par sa sage synthèse englobant toutes les dimensions de la réalité, alors la pensée des victorins apparaît comme son incarnation toute particulière. 128
2018.
Voir Marian Kurdziałek mediewista, éd. Monika Komsta, Lublin : Wydawnictwo KUL,
129
Les deux médiévistes ont été les créateurs du projet de l’Union académique internationale et de la série d’édition Corpus Philosophorum Medii Aevi, avec la première série Aristoteles Latinus, que Konstanty Michalski a présentée en 1928 à la session de l’Union à Bruxelles. Voir Marian Kurdziałek, « Udział ks. Konstantego Michalskiego i Aleksandra Birkenmakera w odkrywaniu filozofii średniowiecznej », dans Studia Philosophiae Christianae, t. 2/1, 1966, p. 94. 130 Marian Kurdziałek, « Średniowieczne doktryny o człowieku jako mikrokosmosie », dans Id., Średniowiecze w poszukiwaniu równowagi między arystotelizmem i platonizmem, Lublin : Wydawnictwo KUL, 1996, p. 271-272.
Victorina polonica
463
Un autre élève du professeur S. Swieżawski, Mieczysław Gogacz, aujourd’hui très âgé, a consacré sa thèse de doctorat à la métaphysique de Richard de Saint- Victor. La thèse, intitulée La philosophie de l’être dans le « Beniamin Maior » de Richard de Saint-Victor, a été présentée pour la soutenance en 1957 à la Faculté de philosophie de l’Université catholique de Lublin et constitue à bien des égards un travail original, principalement parce qu’elle postule l’existence d’une conception métaphysique concrète dans la réflexion spirituelle de Richard131. Il s’agit de la plus grande contribution d’un universitaire polonais aux études victorines jusqu’à ce jour, et il est dommage que ce travail soit presque inconnu des autres chercheurs victorins. L’auteur prend comme point de départ les thèses d’E. Kulesza, qu’il soumet à une critique équitable. En fait, le sujet de recherche n’est que le Beniamin maior, où dans les soi-disant six degrés de contemplation, Gogacz voit des classes particulières d’êtres. Pour lui, « Richard justifie les enjeux de la mystique par la métaphysique, c’est-à-dire de manière ontologique, empirique et objective, contrairement à d’autres auteurs pour qui la contemplation relève essentiellement de l’expérience subjective132 ». D’autre part, l’acte de contemplation est lui-même un acte ontiquement unique, et en tant que tel il n’est pas sujet à gradation, donc on ne devrait pas parler de degrés de contemplation, mais d’entités contemplées. C’est sur cette base que l’on peut se demander sur quelles hypothèses métaphysiques Richard a construit sa théorie de la contemplation. Gogacz, enquêtant sur les sources et la nature de cette conception de la contemplation, arrive dans sa recherche à des résultats surprenants, qui – à notre avis – sont très lourds de conséquences, mais qui n’ont pas été suffisamment pris en compte dans les travaux ultérieurs consacrés à cette question par les chercheurs spécialistes de Richard. Tout d’abord, il démontre l’existence chez ce dernier d’une conception de l’être qui se manifeste dans des groupes d’objets contemplés. Ces objets constituent la totalité de la réalité, et Gogacz révèle les principes qui caractérisent implicitement, selon Richard, la relation de l’être individuel à la totalité. Dans ce contexte, le disciple de Swieżawski postule la théorie de la participation : la trace intelligible de Dieu (spectaculum) qui perdure dans les choses qui sont ontologiquement ancrées en lui permet à l’homme de connaître Dieu par l’amour et la contemplation. En même temps, c’est « l’amour qui rapproche chaque fois le sujet connaissant de l’objet de la connaissance133 ». Le degré d’intelligibilité des choses est en même temps un élément qui hiérarchise la réalité, et le processus cognitif se déroule de manière anagogique, en partant 131
Mieczysław Gogacz, Filozofia bytu w « Beniamin Major ». Ryszarda ze świętego Wiktora, Lublin : Wydawnictwo KUL, 1957. 132 Ibid., p. 33. 133 Ibid.
464
Wanda Bajor et Marcin Jan Janecki
des sensibilia, en passant par les intellegibilia, pour finir par les intellectibilia. L’élément matériel étant indispensable, Gogacz estime que Richard a transcendé les concepts platoniciens et néoplatoniciens dans sa théorie de la contemplation, et même qu’il a « clos l’ère du pseudo-Aréopagite en matière de mystique. Il nous a donné des approches qui plaçaient les problèmes de la mystique dans des positions qui normalisaient de la manière la plus réaliste la relation de l’homme à Dieu134 ». Et c’est là la contribution originale de Richard à la pensée philosophique médiévale : l’élaboration d’une doctrine achevée sur la contemplation, soutenue par une justification métaphysique inconnue avant lui. La théorie de la contemplation de Richard devait être adoptée et développée par saint Thomas d’Aquin135. Une autre étude importante de M. Gogacz dans le contexte des études victorines est l’ouvrage intitulé Aspects philosophiques de la mystique136. L’auteur entreprend une réflexion systématique sur la nature et le processus de l’expérience mystique. Les victorins sont cités à plusieurs reprises dans l’ouvrage comme représentants d’une position qui définit l’expérience mystique comme ayant un caractère essentiellement cognitif, « parce que la connaissance est liée à la prise de conscience de ce que les autorités cognitives rencontrent. D’autre part, une autre activité est l’acceptation, le choix, l’adhésion qui peut être réalisée137 ». Cette connaissance est de nature contemplative, et l’intellect en est le principal récepteur138. Les réflexions de Gogacz sur les relations et les différences entre la philosophie et la mystique sont méthodologiquement bien fondées et très suggestives. Il est cependant dommage que l’auteur n’ait pas développé certaines des intuitions qu’ils contiennent. Elles ont été développées, bien que sous un aspect légèrement différent, par R. E. Rogowski qui, en 1969, à la Faculté de théologie de la KUL, a présenté les résultats de ses recherches sur la connaissance de Dieu chez les victorins, dans une thèse intitulée : Enseignement des théologiens de l’école de Saint-Victor au xiie siècle sur la connaissance de Dieu par la grâce (per gratiam), par la foi139. Le chercheur ne s’est toutefois pas arrêté à la connaissance théologique, mais a également exploré les aspects de la connaissance naturelle de Dieu chez les victorins140. Rogowski 134
Ibid., p. 128. Ibid., p. 144. 136 Mieczysław Gogacz, Filozoficzne aspekty mistyki. Materiały do filozofii mistyki, Warszawa : Akademia Teologii Katolickiej, 1985. 137 Ibid., p. 101-102. 138 Ibid., p. 41. 139 Malheureusement, cet ouvrage n’a pas été publié sous forme imprimée, mais l’auteur a produit une série d’articles basés sur celui-ci, notamment : Roman E. Rogowski, « Poznanie Boga przez wiarę według teologów ze Szkoły św. Wiktora w XII wieku », dans Colloquium Salutis : Wrocławskie studia teologiczne, t. 2, 1970, p. 171-180. 140 Roman E. Rogowski, « Naturalne poznanie Boga według Ryszarda ze Szkoły św. Wiktora », dans Colloquium Salutis : Wrocławskie studia teologiczne, t. 1, 1969, p. 141-163. 135
Victorina polonica
465
était fasciné par l’approche victorine du monde, de l’homme et de Dieu, voyant dans la pensée victorine une grande originalité141. La rencontre de Rogowski avec les opinions des victorins l’a conduit à une réflexion théologique très fructueuse et à une ample activité littéraire. Sur cette base, il a élaboré une doctrine théologique suggestive qui, dans la contexte polonais, est connue sous le nom d’« anthropo-cosmo-theo-logique », car elle constitue une approche cohérente du problème théologique de l’homme dans sa relation au monde crée et à Dieu142. Sans aucun doute, Rogowski est le théologien polonais qui a le plus exploré les inspirations victorines dans son œuvre et, en tant que contemplateur passionné de Dieu dans la beauté de la création et de l’homme, il les a ravivées en reliant la réflexion contemporaine à la dimension pratique de l’existence humaine, en mettant fortement l’accent sur la théo-écologie143. Bien qu’il n’ait pas travaillé à l’Université catholique de Lublin, une place de choix dans les études polonaises sur les victorins est occupée par Władysław Tatarkiewicz (1886-1980), philosophe et esthéticien, historien de la philosophie et de l’art, auteur d’une Histoire de la philosophie en trois volumes, devenue un manuel classique144. Il est également l’auteur d’une célèbre Histoire de l’esthétique145 en trois volumes et de l’ouvrage complémentaire Histoire de six notions146. Ces travaux couvrent toute l’histoire de l’esthétique européenne, de la période antique à la fin du xviie siècle. Le deuxième volume, consacré à l’esthétique médiévale, contient un chapitre : Esthétique des victorins147, qui consiste en une étude doctrinale et en une courte anthologie de sources choisies (uniquement Hugues et Richard de Saint-Victor) d’après le texte latin de la Patrologia Latina accompagné de sa version polonaise. Il faut souligner que pendant longtemps, dans la Pologne de l’après-guerre, ces textes furent les seules traductions disponibles des auteurs de Saint-Victor. Les traductions en langues étrangères de ce précieux manuel d’esthétique, ainsi que les travaux d’E. de Bruyne148, ont contribué à la diffusion de
141
Roman E. Rogowski, « Poznanie Boga przez wiarę według teologów ze Szkoły św. Wiktora w XII wieku », p. 179. 142 Voir Czesław Bartnik, « “Anthropo-Kosmo-Theo-Logia”. Z refleksji nad myślą teologiczną Romana Edwarda Rogowskiego », dans Teologia w Polsce, t. 10/1, 2016, p. 241-247. 143 Roman E. Rogowski, Teoekologia. Mistyka wszystkich rzeczy, Kraków : Oficyna Wydawnicza W Misji, 2002. 144 Władysław Tatarkiewicz, Historia filozofii, t. 1/3, Warszawa : PWN, 2021. Il consacre plusieurs pages aux Victorins. Voir : « Hugon od św. Wikotra i synteza scholastyki i mistyki », t. 1, p. 216-219. 145 Władysław Tatarkiewicz, Historia estetyki, t. 1/3, Warszawa : PWN, 2020-2021. 146 Władysław Tatarkiewicz, Dzieje sześciu pojęć, Warszawa : PWN, 2011. 147 Władysław Tatarkiewicz, Historia estetyki, Warszawa : PWN, t. 2, p. 210-223. 148 Edgar De Bruyne, Études d’esthétique, t. I-II, Brugge : De Tempel, 1946.
466
Wanda Bajor et Marcin Jan Janecki
la science victorine de la beauté dans le monde149. Dans son analyse doctrinale, Tatarkiewicz aborde les questions suivantes : beauté visible et invisible, sources de la beauté sensible, universalité et multiplicité de la beauté, art, théâtralité, genèse et but des arts, niveaux de l’art, beauté sensuelle contre beauté symbolique, esthétique de Richard et contemplation de la beauté. En conclusion, il affirme que l’esthétique victorine (plus précisément celle d’Hugues) présente l’attitude esthétique la plus importante du xiie siècle. Il se composait de deux éléments de caractère totalement différent : analytique et mystique. W. Tatarkiewicz attire l’attention sur l’importance de la partie analytique, qui a donné d’excellents résultats : « il a construit une classification de la beauté, mis en évidence sa nature multiple, réalisé la thèse selon laquelle la beauté peut être contenue dans les données de tous les sens, et en même temps séparé la beauté visible de toute autre beauté, présenté une échelle à plusieurs niveaux d’expériences esthétiques, réalisé une classification des arts, elle a fait la distinction entre les arts principaux et les arts auxiliaires, a montré la source des arts dans les besoins humains, a mis en évidence les multiples objectifs des arts, de la production de choses nécessaires à celles qui sont agréables, a avancé l’idée que la production de choses ayant une belle apparence appartient au niveau le plus élevé des arts, a donné l’expression au pan-esthétisme et au pan-artisme150 ». 2. Actualité de la recherche sur les victorins en Pologne Au sein de l’Université catholique de Lublin, la mémoire des victorins a été cultivée par S. Swieżawski et M. Kurdziałek lors de conférences destinées aux étudiants, mais aussi dans le cadre des activités de l’Institut interfacultaire d’histoire de la culture au Moyen Âge. Dans le cadre des recherches de ce centre, il convient également de mentionner les travaux de S. Wielgus, qui appréciait les victorins surtout dans le domaine des études exégétiques et bibliques151. Les maîtres de l’école de philosophie de Lublin ont transmis à leurs étudiants un précieux dépôt d’admiration pour les idéaux victorins. Ces derniers, à leur tour, l’ont fidèlement transmis à la génération suivante d’étudiants de l’école de Lublin. Aujourd’hui, dans le milieu universitaire polonais, c’est aussi la Faculté de philosophie et le Centre d’histoire culturelle médiévale de l’Université catholique de Lublin qui sont le lieu de recherches intensives dans le domaine du patrimoine victorin. Si, dans l’histoire de la science polonaise, seules trois thèses de doctorat 149
Voir Wanda Bajor, « “Zbawcze piękno” w teorii estetycznej wiktorynów », dans Rocz niki Kulturoznawcze, t. 3, 2012, p. 67-81. 150 Władysław Tatarkiewicz, Historia estetyki, t. 2, Warszawa : PWN, 2021, p. 217. 151 Vide Stanisław Wielgus, Badania nad Biblią w starożytności i w średniowieczu, Lublin : Wydawnictwo KUL, 1990, surtout p. 96-110.
Victorina polonica
467
portant strictement sur les victorins ont été écrites jusqu’à présent, trois autres sont actuellement en préparation à l’Université catholique de Lublin152. En outre, une traduction et une étude du De institutione novitiorum d’Hugues font l’objet d’une thèse de maîtrise en philologie classique, et un autre étudiant a entrepris des recherches sur la relation entre l’exégèse et l’architecture dans les commentaires de Richard de Saint-Victor. Une aide récente pour la recherche menée à l’Université catholique de Lublin sur l’école de Saint-Victor est la présence du professeur Dominique Poirel, professeur invité au département de philosophie de 2020 à 2022, à travers des ateliers méthodologiques, des conférences et des cours invités, mais aussi en partageant volontiers sa passion et son expérience de plusieurs décennies d’exposition aux textes victorins. Les médiévistes de Lublin étaient enthousiastes à l’idée d’organiser une conférence internationale sur la pensée victorine, que nous devions accueillir à l’Université catholique de Lublin du 28 au 30 septembre 2020. Cependant, la situation de pandémie a rendu ces plans impossibles (du moins temporairement). Nous avons donc décidé qu’il valait la peine de profiter de l’intérêt suscité par notre proposition, et nous avons invité les chercheurs à profiter de la copaternité de deux volumes d’études victorines. L’un d’eux est le présent volume qui trouve place dans la Bibliotheca Victorina. Le second volume, en polonais, est probablement la plus grande synthèse à ce jour sur l’école de Saint-Victor en Pologne. Ce volume, qui se compose de travaux de chercheurs spécialistes de l’héritage victorin provenant de plusieurs centres universitaires de Pologne, de France et d’Italie, a été conçu comme une sorte de compendium, afin que le lecteur puisse, dans un premier temps, mais éventuellement de manière approfondie, se familiariser avec l’idéal et l’œuvre des auteurs de l’école de Saint-Victor. Il contient des études sur leurs profils bio-biographiques, des aspects choisis de l’histoire et de la doctrine victorine, ainsi que des traductions de leurs œuvres, dont beaucoup sont traduites en polonais pour la première fois. Ajoutons simplement que, outre le milieu de Lublin, l’intérêt pour la pensée victorine en Pologne est particulièrement vif à la Faculté de philosophie de l’Université Cardinal Wyszyński à Varsovie, où s’intéressent notamment aux victorins Michał Zembrzuski153 et Magdalena Płotka154, et à la Faculté de théologie de 152
La première se concentre sur l’anthropologie et la théorie de la connaissance des victorins, en particulier sur le concept de connaissance contemplative ; le deuxième projet de recherche implique une réflexion philosophique sur le problème de l’unité et la multiplicité dans le contexte de la métaphysique d’Achard de Saint-Victor ; le troisième examine la théorie des vertus d’Hugo de Saint-Victor, en particulier dans ses commentaires bibliques. 153 Michał Zembrzuski, « “O miłości ! Cóż mogę o tobie powiedzieć ?” Hugona ze św. Wiktora pochwała miłości », dans Studia Theologica Varsaviensia, t. 55/1, 2017, p. 159-180. 154 Magdalena Płotka, « Ad altiora vel mirabiliora ducitur. Ryszard ze św. Wiktora o afektywności », dans Wiktoryni. Kultura intelektualna szkoły św. Wiktora, éd. Marcin J.
468
Wanda Bajor et Marcin Jan Janecki
l’Université Nicolaus Copernicus (UMK) de Toruń, où se tient depuis deux ans un séminaire médiéval ouvert consacré à l’idéal sapientiel victorin dans toutes ses manifestations, dans le cadre du Scriptorium Thoruniense, et où est mené un projet de recherche sur l’exégèse victorine, avec un accent particulier sur le Commentaire sur le livre de l’Ecclésiaste d’Hugues et les Questions aux épîtres pauliniennes, sous la direction du professeur Piotr Roszak. Le responsable de ce projet s’est lui-même intéressé de près aux travaux des chanoines de Saint-Victor, appréciant leur contribution à l’herméneutique biblique médiévale155. En outre, dans certains autres centres académiques en Pologne, par exemple à Cracovie156 et à Gdańsk157, on peut observer un intérêt pour Saint-Victor, ce qui est de bon augure pour le développement des études victorines en Pologne. Il est heureux qu’un nombre croissant de traductions de textes des élèves de maître Hugues et d’études spécialisées soient réalisées. Une série de traductions d’autres œuvres de victorins est en préparation, et les chercheurs polonais s’impliquent également davantage dans le travail sur leurs éditions critiques. * * * L’intérêt pour les œuvres des victorins, la copie de leurs manuscrits, les éditions de leurs œuvres et les études s’intensifient à certaines périodes de l’histoire. Elle est marquée sur l’axe de temps par un crescendo et decrescendo particulier, comme une sinusoïde d’amplitude variable, ce qui est en soi un phénomène intéressant et significatif. Il semble qu’elle ne concerne pas seulement les zones périphériques de l’histoire de la civilisation occidentale, comme la fondation de Guillaume de Champeaux au xiie siècle, ou d’autres phénomènes culturels locaux, mais qu’elle exprime dans une certaine mesure la répartition des accents, l’orientation des tendances et les besoins intellectuels et spirituels de la société européenne dans la succession des époques de son histoire. Car les œuvres des victorins ont généralement été reprises dans des périodes de crise culturelle et de « surcharge académique » : chaque fois que dans l’espace européen s’épaississait l’atmosphère du rationalisme à outrance et la conception étroite de la science qu’il dictait, on pouvait ressentir à Janecki – Wanda Bajor, Kęty : Wydawnictwo Marek Derewiecki, 2021, p. 312-327. 155 Por. Piotr Roszak, Odkupiciel i Przyjaciel. U podstaw chrystologii soteriologicznej św. Tomasza z Akwinu w świetle « Super Psalmos », Poznań – Warszawa : Wydawnictwo W Drodze – Instytut Tomistyczny, 2020, p : 22-23, 45-46, 100-101, 115, 117-118, 231. 156 Où, par exemple, au cours de l’année académique 2018/2019, le Prof. Jan Kielbasa a enseigné un séminaire de philosophie : « Réflexion personnaliste médiévale après Boèce. Le rôle et la signification du concept novateur de Richard de Saint-Victor ». 157 Vide : Martyna Koszkało, « Indywiduum a osoba. Rozważania Boecjusza, Ryszarda ze św. Wiktora i Jana Dunsa Szkota » dans Filo-Sofija, t. 13, 2013, p. 73-88.
Victorina polonica
469
nouveau augmenter le besoin inextinguible d’admirations, de transcendance, d’ouverture à la beauté du monde et de l’homme, de sagesse qui ne méprise rien pour que l’homme vive pleinement. Les victorins sensu stricto n’ont jamais établi leur fondation dans les terres polonaises. Ils n’ont influencé la culture polonaise que par leurs œuvres. Et, comme le montre la réflexion ci-dessus, leur influence est considérable, mais non moins discrète. Les manuscrits conservés dans plusieurs villes témoignent du fait que, déjà à l’époque, ils étaient lus avec avidité. Leur influence s’est probablement accrue avec la publication de leurs œuvres sur papier. C’est le milieu de l’université de Cracovie qui a reçu et assimilé plus particulièrement leurs points de vue, et des recherches plus détaillées pourront encore nous surprendre à cet égard. Les savants de Cracovie étaient en effet convaincus de l’idéal de combiner la connaissance avec la sagesse et la pratique de la vie, pour lequel ils trouvaient une justification théorique principalement dans les œuvres d’Hugues. Si au Moyen Âge c’est maître Hugues de Saint-Victor qui a le plus attiré l’attention et s’est converti en source d’inspiration pour les savants polonais, dans les siècles postérieurs c’est la doctrine de son élève Richard qui a suscité de plus en plus d’intérêt au fil du temps. Sa conception et sa définition de la personne résonnent dans les controverses et les débats théologiques parmi les calvinistes et les unitariens polonais (Frères polonais), et l’étendue de son influence doit encore être déterminée avec précision par une étude patiente et une réflexion tranquille. La présence des victorins dans la réflexion philosophique et théologique polonaise des xxe et xxie siècles peut surprendre. Au début du xxe siècle, le regain d’intérêt pour la culture du Moyen Âge, après une longue période de sa dépréciation et d’absence de la réflexion scientifique, a été ravivé principalement grâce à l’encyclique Aeterni Patris de Léon XIII. C’est également la source de force des études médiévales contemporaines en Pologne, où deux principaux centres de recherche médiévale ont été établis : dans le milieu universitaire de Cracovie et à l’Université catholique de Lublin. C’est surtout celle-ci qui a cultivé la mémoire des victorins et nourri ses étudiants de leur admiration du monde et de Dieu. Le rôle principal dans les études victorines a été joué par S. Swieżawski, qui, dans sa vision de l’humanisme, ne pouvait ignorer l’exemple des maîtres de l’école de Saint-Victor. C’est principalement lui qui a incité à entreprendre des recherches plus approfondies et détaillées. Au xxe siècle, en Pologne, elles se sont concentrés principalement sur la question de la nature de l’homme, de sa connaissance et de sa référence à Dieu, et surtout sur la question de la contemplation et l’esthétique. Dans les premières décades du xxie siècle, ces lignes de recherche sur l’héritage victorin non seulement se poursuivent, mais aussi elle se voient enrichies par des études exégétiques, l’étude de la philosophie éthique, ainsi que des nombreuses
470
Wanda Bajor et Marcin Jan Janecki
traductions et des éditions critiques des œuvres victorines. Cela donne seulement de l’espoir pour le progrès futur des études victorines dans le bassin de la Vistule. Les victorins, avec leur extraordinaire sensibilité, leur goût et leur courtoisie presque aristocratiques, peuvent impressionner l’homme contemporain par leur programme éducatif judicieux, prenant tendrement soin de l’homme tout entier avec tous ses besoins. Il semble que leur contribution puisse être utile dans le rôle assigné à la philosophie par l’existentialiste contemporain Gabriel Marcel, à savoir le rôle d’un gardien dont la tâche est de réveiller l’homme de son sommeil spirituel. Au moment où l’Europe unie perd son âme chrétienne, ou peut-être authentiquement humaine, la réponse à ce défi est devenue plus urgente que jamais. L’idéal victorin de sagesse globale a le pouvoir d’inspirer et de stimuler l’action. En tant que tel, il a été le ferment d’un humanisme en Europe et il peut continuer à l’être aujourd’hui.
La philosophie de l’être d’après le Beniamin Maior de Richard de Saint-Victor Mieczysław Gogacz avec un avant-propos de Wanda Bajor et Marcin Jan Janecki
Avant-propos Une étude très intéressante, malheureusement peu connue des spécialistes de la pensée de Richard de Saint-Victor, est la thèse de doctorat de Mieczyslaw Gogacz, soutenue en 1957, intitulée Philosophie de l’être dans le « Benjamin Major » de Richard de Saint-Victor1. La thèse a été rédigée à la Faculté de philosophie de l’Université catholique de Lublin sous la direction du professeur Stefan Swieżawski, qui s’est penché sur l’héritage de Saint-Victor et a beaucoup apprécié leur contribution à la culture intellectuelle européenne. L’originalité de l’étude de M. Gogacz réside dans sa tentative pour prouver plusieurs thèses : premièrement, que l’œuvre de Richard Benjamin major dans sa réflexion spirituelle contient implicitement sa théorie originale et concrète de l’être, consistant en « des principes ontologiques significatifs et nouveaux élaborés par lui, qui lient et ordonnent les êtres comme éléments de la réalité2 ». Deuxièmement, qu’on peut appliquer à la métaphysique de Richard la théorie de la participation : la trace intelligible de Dieu (spectaculum), qui perdure dans les choses ontologiquement ancrées en lui, permet à l’homme de connaître Dieu par l’amour et la contemplation. En même temps, c’est « l’amour qui rapproche chaque fois le sujet connaissant de l’objet de la connaissance ». Troisièmement, « que Richard a rompu avec la tendance 1 Mieczyslaw Gogacz, Filozofia bytu w « Beniamin Major » Ryszarda ze świętego Wiktora, Lublin, 1957. 2 Ibid., p. 4.
Omnium expetendorum prima est sapientia. Studies on Victorine thought and influence, ed. by Wanda Bajor, Michał Buraczewski, Marcin Jan Janecki and Dominique Poirel, BV, 29 (Turnhout, 2021), p. 471–483. © BREPOLSPUBLISHERS DOI 10.1484/M.BV-EB.5.126048
472
Mieczysław Gogacz
platonicienne et pseudo-dionysienne en situant les problèmes de la contemplation sur les positions de la métaphysique et de la mystique qui normalisent de la manière la plus réaliste la relation de l’homme à Dieu3 ». Selon Gogacz, il s’agit d’une métaphysique réaliste fondée sur l’empirisme, mais exprimée dans une terminologie qui peut suggérer divers types d’idéalisme. C’est pourquoi il tente de pénétrer la pensée de Richard afin de déchiffrer et, en quelque sorte, de « décoder » les intuitions contenues dans ses définitions, et de distinguer et qualifier ses points de vue en conséquence. En enquêtant sur les sources et la nature de la conception de la contemplation, Gogacz arrive dans sa recherche à des résultats surprenants, qui semblent être très lourds de conséquences, mais n’ont pas été suffisamment pris en compte dans les travaux ultérieurs consacrés à cette question par les spécialistes de l’œuvre de Richard4. Nous publions ci-dessous le résumé de cette thèse, établi par l’auteur et traduit par lui-même en français.
Wanda Bajor et Marcin Jan Janecki Introduction La dissertation traite de la métaphysique de Richard, découverte dans ses ouvrages théologiques et mystiques, et spécialement le Beniamin Maior. Découvrir une métaphysique ou dans un sens plus large une philosophie de l’être dans l’œuvre de Richard, c’est donner une réponse positive tout d’abord à la question, si Richard est oui ou non un philosophe. Cette réponse qui s’impose en tout premier lieu n’est cependant que la solution d’un problème secondaire. Le problème principal de notre dissertation peut être formulé en thèse suivante : la théorie de la contemplation chez Richard s’appuie sur un système métaphysique ; ce système considéré du point de vue de sa terminologie et de sa structure est néoplatonicien. Son contenu doctrinal cependant révèle une conception nouvelle et indépendante. On arrive à s’en convaincre par l’analyse des idées de Richard, par l’examen de l’origine de ces idées, et par la comparaison avec d’autres systèmes connus par lui. À ce problème principal d’autres questions de moindre importance viennent se rattacher : (a) Quelle est la position de Richard dans le développement des problèmes qu’il a traités ? Quel est son apport personnel à la philosophie médiévale et spécialement à la science du xiie siècle ? 3
Ibid. Voir aussi ci-dessus, Wanda Bajor et Marcin J. Janecki, « Victorina polonica : présences victorines dans la culture intellectuelle de la Pologne au Moyen Âge et aujourd’hui », p. 443-470. 4
La philosophie de l’être d’après le Beniamin Maior
473
(b) Quelles sont les solutions nouvelles apportées par la thèse de cette dissertation à la discussion sur Richard ? Quelles constatations nouvelles apporte-t-elle à l’histoire de la philosophie et dans ce domaine à la science moderne ? Les questions secondaires trouvent leurs réponses dans la solution du problème principal de la dissertation. Ce problème principal est donc à la fois central et c’est lui qui commande plan de l’ensemble du travail. Plan de la dissertation : Introduction Problèmes discutés au sujet de Richard I. Problèmes généraux : (1) Découverte de la conception de la réalité chez Richard a Analyse de la définition de la contemplation b. Arguments en faveur des résultats de l’analyse (2) Structure de la réalité : a. Analyse des choses existantes b. Principes déterminants les relations entre les choses (3) Conception de la structure de la réalité dans ses conditionnements historiques a. Les influences subies par Richard b. Rapports entre les idées maîtresses de Richard et les thèses principales des systèmes philosophiques connus par lui II. Problèmes spéciaux : (1) Les êtres matériels (2) Les êtres composés de matière et d’esprit (3) Les êtres spirituels Conclusion Problèmes discutés au sujet de Richard La présente dissertation sur la philosophie de l’être chez Richard s’attaque aux problèmes qui se sont précisés dans les discussions précédentes à son sujet. On peut les réduire à trois principaux. E. Kulesza dans son travail sur la contemplation mystique chez Richard (1931) réunit ces problèmes et essaie de leur donner une solution. Il discute notamment avec J. Ebner, lequel, selon Kulesza,
474
Mieczysław Gogacz
trahit en beaucoup de points la pensée de Richard. La discussion porte sur le problème aperçu par Kulesza, que (1) Richard dans le Beniamin Maior ne parle pas de degrés de contemplation, mais de différentes espèces d’objets contemplés ; (2) qu’il n’est pas permis de soumettre des textes traitant d’ascèse et de mystique à un examen historique et philosophique ; (3) que Richard ne s’est jamais occupé de philosophie. Les deux derniers problèmes sont résolus du moment que le problème des objets contemplés reçoit une réponse positive. Le problème des objets contemplés constitue par conséquent le problème principal de notre travail. Les réponses éventuelles aux autres questions susdites dépendent de lui. Quant au problème principal, il faut avouer que l’importance de la question des objets contemplés dans la philosophie de Richard n’a pas été suffisamment remarquée. S’il s’agit des positions d’avant 1931, on trouve le problème des degrés de contemplation en plus de J. Ebner, déjà mentionné, par exemple chez R. Pourrat, K. Michalski, F. Hugonin, P. Andres ainsi que Thomas d’Aquin. Après la publication du travail d’E. Kulesza. F. Cayré, J. Kleinz mentionnent les objets contemplés. Mais par exemple pour R. Lenglart, J. A. Robilliard. J. Châtillon, il est indifférent s’ils parlent d’objets contemplés ou de degrés de contemplation. La question de la légitimité d’un examen historique et philosophique des textes ascétiques et mystiques de Richard n’a pas été discutée. Par contre, le problème de Richard philosophe a été traité et résolu : en sens négatif par B. Hauréau, E. Kulesza, en sens affirmatif par exemple par F. Hugonin, Cl. Baeumker, Th. Heitz, G. Grunwald, A. Dempf, J. Bernhart. Beaucoup d’autres travaux du domaine de l’histoire de la philosophie et de la théologie, et spécialement les manuels adoptant une position moyenne. Découverte de la conception de la réalité chez Richard Dans son Beniamin Maior Richard expose sa théorie de la contemplation. Selon lui la contemplation est de deux espèces : (1) c’est une opération de l’intelligence humaine, laquelle s’effectue de cette manière : l’intellect pénètre librement les choses qui lui indiquent Dieu, parce qu’en elles Dieu révèle sa Sagesse (PL 196, 67D ; 193B). (2) c’est une opération de Dieu dans l’homme. L’homme ne fait que la recevoir passivement (PL 196, col. 78CD, col. 78B et 168D-188B). Richard ne développe pas sa pensée sur ce second mode de contemplation. Son attention se concentre uniquement sur la contemplation où l’homme a l’initiative. Il enseigne que dans l’acte de pénétration cognitive des choses l’esprit connaît et admire à la fois. L’admiration est l’œuvre de l’amour. C’est lui en effet qui cherche Dieu en utilisant l’intellect, lequel découvre dans les choses ce qui en elles manifeste
La philosophie de l’être d’après le Beniamin Maior
475
Dieu. L’amour est donc l’élément actif dans l’homme. Cet amour fait que l’intellect humain, qui est passif, entre avec la chose en un contact cognitif et admiratif à la fois. L’intellect perçoit alors que la chose n’est pas encore la plénitude de la Sagesse et de l’Amour qu’il cherche. L’amour fait alors que l’intellect, après cette première constatation, se tourne vers une autre chose pour examiner si cette chose est la plénitude, que l’amour cherche. L’étude d’une telle théorie de la contemplation force à admettre que la théorie est organiquement liée à un système métaphysique, constitué par un ensemble de jugements sur l’être, considéré du point de vue de ses raisons les plus profondes. La relation de l’homme à Dieu, qui est essentielle dans la théorie de la contemplation, ne peut être précisée d’abord et ensuite réalisée que lorsque l’intellect a pénétré par la connaissance tout ce qui est connaissable. Ce rapport de dépendance qui relie le succès de la contemplation à la connaissance des choses, montre, que les thèses sur la contemplation s’appuient sur des thèses ayant pour objet la réalité. Or, pour Richard, la réalité non seulement existe. Il connaît aussi le mode de cette existence. Il sait que toutes les choses indiquent Dieu par leur nature même. Il est donc conscient de leur structure et de la fin pour laquelle elles existent. En distinguant les « sensibilia, intelligibilia, intellectibilia » (PL 196, col. 72D), Richard constate l’existence d’un ordre hiérarchique des choses. En le constatant il doit également se rendre compte quelles sont les raisons de cet ordre, et par cela même connaître les raisons explicatives de la structure de la réalité, prise dans sa totalité aussi bien que dans les êtres particuliers, qui le composent. Les thèses formulées ci-dessus ne sont pas seulement des propositions déduites de la théorie de la contemplation et constituant des thèses explicatives postulées par cette théorie. Les thèses de la métaphysique de Richard ont été établies en partant de l’analyse de la définition de la contemplation et on s’appuyant sur toute la théorie de l’acte de contempler. Car c’est surtout la définition de la contemplation qui signale l’existence des choses ainsi que les rapports entre elles. Et parce que le Beniamin Maior est plutôt une interprétation de la définition, la collation des textes de Richard expliquant sa théorie de la contemplation a permis d’établir qu’une telle théorie de la contemplation n’est compréhensible et justifiée que dans le cas où l’on admet la proposition : les idées de Richard s’appuient sur des thèses de métaphysique. Ces thèses ne sont pas tant formulés explicitement qu’elles sont présupposées par Richard. Mais elles ne le sont pas d’une telle manière qu’il faille spécialement les deviner. L’analyse, en effet, du Beniamin Maior montre que ces thèses sont mêlées aux considérations sur la contemplation des choses dont la connaissance constitue le moyen de parvenir jusqu’à Dieu. La contemplation est un acte de l’intellect (PL 196, col. 91C ; col. 67B ; col. 107D). C’est donc une vue des choses une et subjective. À la lumière de cette constatation les énoncés de Richard sur les degrés de la contemplation doivent
476
Mieczysław Gogacz
nécessairement concerner les objets contemplés. Richard énumère ces objets et les classe en trois groupes (PL 196, c720D). Ce classement en groupes manifeste le principe d’ordre. Or l’affirmation de l’existence des objets contemplés et la constatation de l’existence d’un ordre entre eux est en fait l’affirmation d’une conception de la réalité qui constitue une vraie philosophie de l’être. Structure de la réalité L’esprit qui contemple est tout à la fois l’intellect qui connaît et l’amour qui collabore avec lui. L’amour conditionne l’admiration, essentielle à la contemplation, laquelle est une connaissance admirative5. L’intellect donc et l’amour connaissant successivement les choses : les matérielles d’abord, puis les notionnelles, puis les spirituelles et enfin les divines (PL 196, col. 70D ; col. 136D ; col. 72C ; col. 73D ; col. 94D ; col. 136BC ; col. 139A). Cet ordre de succession des connaissances est obligatoire pour atteindre Dieu (PL 196, col. 89D ; col. 198BC). On voit clairement par là que la position de Richard en philosophie de l’être est le réalisme ontologique et critique. Richard ne discute pas la question de l’existence des choses en dehors du sujet. Ce sont pour lui des substances autonomes, au sens pluraliste, reliées à Dieu par un rapport causal. À l’homme elles se rapportent par la finalité et le sens de leur existence : elles existent afin d’être pour l’homme, ce que Richard appelle du nom de spectaculum, c’est-à-dire qu’elles doivent lui révéler Dieu. Car l’esprit de l’homme n’atteint Dieu par la connaissance qu’en s’appuyant sur ce qui est visible et intelligible comme signe de Dieu. Il remonte ainsi l’échelle des spectacula de plus en plus parfaits, en y découvrant la trace de plus en plus intensifiée de la divine Sagesse. Puisque l’idée de spectaculum s’applique à tous les êtres, aussi bien les matériels que les spirituels, il faut dire qu’il appartient à leur nature de faire connaître Dieu. Ils sont la trace de la Sagesse de Dieu et cette trace peut être connue. La propriété des choses qui fait qu’elles peuvent être saisies par l’intellect comme ce qui lui montre Dieu pourrait être appelée leur intelligibilité. C’est suivant qu’elles sont plus ou moins traces de Dieu que les choses sont réparties en groupes. Elles sont ou bien sensibilia, ou bien intelligibilia, ou bien intellectibilia. Etant donné que la propriété principale des choses est d’être connaissables 5
L’auteur de la thèse a légèrement modifié sa position en cette matière. Il pense que l’admiration, qui caractérise la contemplation, ne se rattache pas à l’amour, mais précisément à la connaissance. La chose ne se passe pas ainsi, comme il fut présenté dans la dissertation, que l’intellect connaît et la volonté ajoute à cette connaissance l’élément d’admiration. Cette manière de voir a été suggérée à l’auteur par des textes comme par ex. col. 145CD. L’auteur pense maintenent que l’admiration se rattache plutôt à la connaissance dont elle est une propriété, tandis que l’amour remplit le rôle actif qui consiste à ne pas permettre à l’intellect de s’arrêter à la chose connue. L’amour fait donc fonction d’intellect agent au sens thomiste. Dans la dissertation on attribue à l’amour, en plus de ce rôle d’ « intellect agent », encore l’admiration.
La philosophie de l’être d’après le Beniamin Maior
477
formellement comme trace de Dieu, il s’ensuit que c’est cette propriété qui constitue le principe intérieur de la hiérarchisation des êtres, et c’est d’après elle qu’ils sont classés dans un des trois groupes mentionnés, suivant le degré de leur aptitude à manifester Dieu à l’homme. Mais la cause active qui fait que l’intellect humain connaissant les choses, en tant que manifestation de Dieu, ne s’arrête pas au groupe inférieur, mais passe au supérieur, la cause de cela c’est l’amour qui de ce fait constitue le principe extérieur de l’ordre des choses. Une telle situation ontologique, où une même propriété de l’être apparaît dans deux êtres selon un degré inégal de perfection s’appelle participation. Dans la conception qui fait des choses les traces intelligibles de Dieu, il faut voir dans cette intelligibilité l’élément participé, et reconnaître que dans le cas de Richard il s’agit en réalité d’une participation sui generis : participation par l’intelligibilité comme principe intérieur d’ordre pour les choses, et participation par l’amour comme principe extérieur d’ordre. Car c’est précisément l’amour qui permet à l’intellect de comparer l’intelligibilité des êtres entre eux et s’orienter que, dans le cheminement de la connaissance vers Dieu, les choses spirituelles lui sont plus proches et les choses matérielles plus éloignées, bien que ce soit par ces dernières que la connaissance doive commencer. On aurait pu appeler autrement la participation par l’intelligibilité, par exemple de manière à souligner le fait que les choses sont des vestiges de Dieu – un spectaculum. Mais alors on perdrait cet accent qui est important chez Richard et qui est lié à la genèse de sa métaphysique. En effet la métaphysique de Richard est en dépendance stricte de la mystique. Chez Richard la conception mystique du rapport de l’homme à Dieu est première. Il en cherche ensuite la justification métaphysique. C’est la mystique qui détermine le domaine, les limites et le choix des problèmes de cette métaphysique. Richard n’établit que les thèses qui lui sont nécessaires pour servir de base à la mystique et pour l’expliquer d’une manière convaincante. Cette façon d’envisager la métaphysique comme par le biais et en fonction de la mystique n’empêche pas cependant Richard d’établir un nombre suffisant de thèses métaphysiques pour former toute une conception de la réalité. Et il faut ajouter ici qu’on ne peut reprocher à Richard l’idéalisme ontologique et critique, comme le fait I. Dąmbska, à moins qu’on ne l’entende dans cette acception spéciale : que la mystique constitue chez lui le point de départ de l’élaboration du réel en conception métaphysique. Pour Richard ce n’est pas la réalité matérielle qui demande à être connue, mais c’est la mystique qui exige une théorie métaphysique qui l’explique. Quant à la réalité, elle n’est pas dépendante dans son existence par rapport au sujet pensant. Il y a donc une réelle dépendance de la métaphysique par rapport à la mystique chez Richard, et c’est uniquement cette subordination sui generis qui à côté de la terminologie pourrait à la rigueur justifier l’accusation d’idéalisme, bien qu’en réalité ce ne soit pas de l’idéalisme, mais seulement une
478
Mieczysław Gogacz
manière spéciale d’arriver à la métaphysique. C’est précisément en raison de cette origine de la métaphysique richardienne, si fortement liée à la mystique, que le terme d’intelligibilité fut appliqué à la participation. Il s’agissait également de montrer que l’objectivation de la réalité est étroitement liée au fait que la chose existante en dehors de nous a été connue. Car c’est alors seulement qu’elle réalise le but de son existence en permettant à l’homme de monter les degrés de la connaissance de Dieu jusqu’aux contacts mystiques. On trouve donc dans le Beniamin Maior une série de propositions qui affirment l’existence des êtres matériels et spirituels comme autant d’objets de connaissance pour l’esprit réceptif, où l’intellect connaît avec l’aide de l’amour. Il y a également des propositions qui déterminent les relations entre les choses elles-mêmes. En rapprochant entre elles diverses propositions de Richard, on arrive à toute une vue de la réalité, où les choses ne sont que pour indiquer Dieu au moyen de leur être même. Et elles ne peuvent remplir ce rôle que lorsqu’elles sont connues. Cette propriété des choses qui consiste à manifester Dieu en se faisant connaître hiérarchise les êtres et les ordonne en vertu de la double participation : par l’intelligibilité et par l’amour. À côté de la conception métaphysique de la réalité, Richard formule évidemment beaucoup de jugements du domaine de l’ascétique, expose une théorie de la contemplation qui est un mélange de mystique et de métaphysique. Cette théorie de la contemplation se distingue cependant et de la métaphysique et de la mystique par ce qu’elle se désintéresse de tout le contexte de la réalité tant naturelle que surnaturelle pour ne s’occuper que de l’itinéraire de l’esprit humain s’élevant à partir des choses corporelles – jusqu’à Dieu. Conditionnement historique C’est un fait généralement reconnu qu’au xiie siècle la philosophie a encore un caractère compilateur et assimilateur. Dans cette situation on peut cependant déjà discerner des ébauches de nouvelles conceptions, voir germer de nouveaux problèmes et même des essais de synthèse. À cette époque la contemplation est une portion de la philosophie, portion qui réunit en elle la mystique et l’ensemble de problèmes que nous appellerions aujourd’hui du nom de métaphysique. Encore un point important, c’est que le néoplatonisme qui règne en maitre incontesté au xiie siècle est moins un système scolaire, exposé et discuté avec une précision scientifique, qu’une attitude d’esprit, une vue de l’univers. Une telle situation crée des conditions favorables aux déviations. Le xiie siècle présente plus d’une déviation de ce genre ou – si l’on veut – plus d’une variation du néoplatonisme. Selon B. Jasinowski, le néoplatonisme pur est caractérisé toujours par la hiérarchie des perfections des êtres et par la conception de la substance en état
La philosophie de l’être d’après le Beniamin Maior
479
de devenir (substance dynamique). Ces deux éléments doivent se trouver dans tout système qui est néoplatonicien. Les modifications apportées à ces éléments causent le changement de système ou bien une variation du néoplatonisme. Richard admet la hiérarchie des êtres, propre au néoplatonisme et en général au schéma de la métaphysique alexandrine : trois groupes d’êtres sensibilia, intelligibilia, intellectibilia – matière, âme, Dieu. Mais il n’admet pas le principe de la substance dynamique. Pour lui aussi c’est le principe de la participation qui réunit les êtres en un tout dans le système métaphysique, mais cette participation chez lui n’est ni dynamique ni émanatiste, ni participation platonicienne aux idées, mais c’est une participation par cet élément manifestatif de Dieu connaissable dans la chose, ainsi que par l’amour qui prend activement part à la connaissance. Ainsi donc le système métaphysique chez Richard est un système nouveau. C’est une sorte de néoplatonisme où l’accent réaliste est essentiel : on accentue en effet très fortement la nécessité pour la connaissance à partir des choses matérielles ainsi que la substantialité des choses qui existent comme pluralité. Cela ne signifie pas cependant qu’on ne puisse établir l’origine des conceptions de Richard, ni qu’on ne puisse déterminer les nombreux systèmes que Richard avait connus et pris en considération dans ses solutions. En premier lieu donc c’est le néoplatonisme qui force la ligne essentielle des influences. Il va de Plotin à Richard par Scot Érigène, Maxime le Confesseur, le Pseudo-Denys. Ce dernier transmit la pensée de Plotin. Maxime le Confesseur avait commenté l’Aréopagite et Scot Érigène fut le traducteur de l’un et de l’autre. Le néoplatonisme pouvait en principe fournir à Richard l’idée de participation. Cette participation était si évidente dans le néoplatonisme, que Richard n’éprouve pas le nécessité de la déclarer explicitement dans son ouvrage sur la contemplation. Le néoplatonisme arrivait jusqu’à Richard par des voies multiples, qui cependant se réunissent en deux courants principaux d’interprétation de Platon transmis au Moyen Âge. Le premier est celui que nous venons de mentionner et qui va par Plotin, le Pseudo-Denys, Maxime le Confesseur et Scot Érigène. Le second vient à travers les Pères d’Orient (l’origénisme est contemporain au système de Plotin), Augustin et Hugues de S. Victor. À côté de ce double courant qui alimente les conceptions surtout métaphysiques de Richard, on peut trouver aussi une ligne d’influences sur ses idées mystiques : Cassien. Ambroise, Anselme, Honorius d’Autun, Bernard de Clairvaux, et sans aucun doute aussi le Pseudo-Denys et Clément d’Alexandrie. Toutefois les conceptions de Richard diffèrent de celles de chacun de ces auteurs. Par rapport à Plotin cette différence est ne fût-ce qu’en ceci, que Richard, suivant ici la suggestion du Pseudo-Denys, ne voit pas de possibilités de vaincre la distance qui sépare l’homme de Dieu que par la voie de l’intellect et de l’amour, jamais par voie ontologique. Richard intégra cette bonne suggestion du Pseudo-Denys dans
480
Mieczysław Gogacz
son propre système à côté de tout le problème des étapes dans l’approche de Dieu par voie de connaissance, position fortement soulignée jadis par Augustin. Augustin fournissait également à Richard des thèses que lui-même avait empruntées au néoplatonisme et qu’il avait modifiées : que tout ce qui existe tend vers Dieu (PL 32 col. 871), et que la chose la plus importante était de connaître uniquement Dieu et soi-même (PL 32 col. 853-872). Richard cependant, contrairement à Augustin, soulignera que cette connaissance de Dieu et de soi doit nécessairement commencer par la connaissance des choses matérielles, et qu’il n’est point d’autre voie. Richard affirme également que l’homme est capable de connaître par lui même toutes les vérités, jusqu’au moment de l’arrivée mystique de Dieu, bien qu’Augustin ait enseigné que Dieu prend part à l’acte de connaissance de l’homme dans le domaine de certaines vérités. Les ressources naturelles de l’esprit humain sont suffisantes, d’après Richard, pour préciser toutes les vérités accessibles à l’intellect à l’état naturel. Et il ne peut y avoir de situation où la volonté-amour aurait la prépondérance dans l’homme. Ce sont les Pères orientaux qui ont appris à Richard que la voie de l’intellect s’unit à la voie de la volonté, la théorie avec la pratique. C’est Origène avant tout qui l’enseignait. Bernard de Clairvaux donna la supériorité à l’amour. Augustin et Hugues tâchaient de suivre la conception d’Origène. Mais c’est Richard qui semble enfin tenir en ceci la direction la plus juste. Car il a non seulement entrepris l’examen d’une domaine que Hugues n’avait fait qu’esquisser, et cela encore plutôt du côté des transformations subies par l’âme qui contemple, il a non seulement souligné contre Platon que la connaissance ne s’effectue pas par voie de réminiscence, mais plutôt par contact réceptif de l’homme avec les choses corporelles, mais il a également le mérite d’avoir écarté le panthéisme et le sentimentalisme, possibles en cette matière, en soulignant d’une part la personnalité de Dieu et son action créatrice, et d’autre part en enseignent la nécessité d’une élaboration rationnelle des données de la foi. Par sa théorie de la contemplation, fortement enracinée dans une métaphysique des êtres réels, et non pas considérés uniquement comme une expérience, il s’est libéré des conceptions de son temps. En s’affranchissant du néoplatonisme, il a terminé en matière de mystique la période du Pseudo-Denys ; car il a fourni des aperçus qui ont situé le problème de la contemplation de telle manière, que la relation de l’homme avec Dieu n’a pas pu trouver avant Thomas d’Aquin d’explication et de norme qui soit plus réaliste. Problèmes spéciaux À côté de sa conception générale de la réalité, que l’on peut appeler en métaphysique générale qui s’étend à tous les êtres, Richard a encore étudié beaucoup
La philosophie de l’être d’après le Beniamin Maior
481
de problèmes spéciaux qui précisent cette conception générale. Par ces problèmes spéciaux une place à part revient à l’analyse de la structure interne des êtres, distribués en quatre catégories : les êtres matériels, l’homme, les anges, Dieu. Dans l’être matériel il faut distinguer d’après Richard la matière, la forme et la nature. Ces trois éléments sont connus par les sens. Toutefois pour une connaissance exhaustive de la nature le concours de l’intelligence est requis. En exprimant ces éléments en termes de la philosophie aristotélicienne et thomiste, on peut dire que la matière dans le système de Richard correspond presque à ce même élément chez Thomas. Il faut cependant remarquer que pour Richard comme pour Hugues, la matière « première » est plutôt connue comme existante antérieurement au composé. La forme remplit dans le système de Richard le rôle de l’étendue de la philosophie aristotélicienne et thomiste. Tandis que la « nature » est l’équivalent de la forme substantielle. L’homme a sa place moyenne entre les animaux et les esprits. Il est à la fois « animalis » et « spiritualis ». Sa propre animalité est pour lui l’objet d’une perception immédiate. Sa spiritualité ne se découvre à lui qu’en relation avec un objet spirituel de connaissance et d’appétition. Ces deux éléments sont irréductibles. L’élément principal c’est l’âme, qui régit le corps par l’esprit. L’esprit qui est intellect et volonté, remplit la substance de l’âme. Le corps d’après Richard est quelque chose d’important, il n’est pas une prison, mais il est appelé « quasi tabernaculum », indispensable habitation de l’âme. Comme tel il est enveloppé dans l’état de sanctification et prend une part active à la contemplation. L’âme dans laquelle l’intellect et la volonté ont une si grande importance, constitue également un « spectaculum ». Elle est un vestige de Dieu. Elle vit éternellement, pénètre le corps, elle est un être individuel et simple. Son activité propre est la connaissance et l’amour, qui se rattachent à l’intellect et à la volonté. Mais à côté de ces puissances propres à l’âme il y a encore des puissances de l’homme qui se compénètrent avec les puissances de l’âme. Ce sont : imaginatio, ratio, intelligentia. À côté de ces problèmes strictement métaphysiques, auxquels il joindra la doctrine sur les anges et sur Dieu, Richard étudie le problème de l’art, traite de la conduite humaine, de la formation de la volonté, de la mystique. Cette dernière est pour lui l’ultime étape qui précède la vision béatifique, c’est l’étape du rapprochement de Dieu par la connaissance et la volition. À cette étape Dieu, trouvé par la connaissance de l’homme à travers ses vestiges dans les créatures, n’est pas seulement l’objet premier de l’esprit et de la volonté, mais il est aussi l’initiateur de notre expérience intime. Dieu communique des connaissances sur lui-même, il donne l’amour et la joie. L’homme ne fait que recevoir. Évidemment, cet état de « transformation de l’esprit », qui est un état passif, résultant d’après Richard, d’une activité intense et de longue durée de l’homme, n’est pas atteint par tous.
482
Mieczysław Gogacz
Chacun a seulement la possibilité d’atteindre l’état passif, où l’action propre de l’homme cède à l’action de Dieu dans l’homme. Quant à l’essence de cette action, on n’en sait pas grand chose car l’esprit est incapable de formuler ces expériences de les transmettre à un autre homme. Elles restent la propriété incommunicable de la personne qui en est gratifiée, inconnues et enveloppées de mystère. La mystique constitue donc, selon Richard, le domaine propre des relations toutes spéciales de Dieu avec l’homme, relation qui consistent en l’amitié surnaturelle de Dieu et de l’âme où – et c’est caractéristique pour notre auteur – la connaissance a le pas sur l’amour. Cette connaissance atteint sa plénitude naturelle quant à son objet, mais quant à son mode elle s’effectue sans participation agissante des facultés cognitives de l’homme : elles demeurent purement réceptives. On voit que la mystique est étroitement liée à la contemplation et à la vie religieuse de l’homme, basée sur une conception théiste et sur la révélation chrétienne. Aucune autre position en cette matière ne peut être appelée du nom de mystique au sens strict. Pour terminer, précisons encore le problème de la mystique chez Richard : Le mystique est une connaissence dans laquelle l’initiative et la part active appartiennent à Dieu. L’objet formel « quo » de la mystique est l’attitude passive de l’esprit. L’objet formel « quod » de la mystique est la somme des connaissances sur Dieu, transmises directement par lui à l’esprit à l’état de pure réceptivité, ou pour être plus précis encore : à l’intellect possible sans passer par l’intellect agent. Il faut ajouter pour comparer et faire ressortir la différence entre la mystique et la contemplation, que la contemplation est une connaissance qui admire (l’intellect librement et avec admiration pénètre les choses, lesquelles lui indiquent et lui manifestent Dieu par ce qu’elles sont). L’objet formel « quo » de la contemplation est la tendance vers Dieu, qui est à la fois volitive et intellectuelle. L’objet formel « quod » de la contemplation est le jugement si les choses atteintes sont déjà ou ne sont pas encore ce bien ultime, auquel l’amour doit s’arrêter. * * * La méthode adoptée dans notre dissertation qui consiste à faire connaître Richard en cherchant à résoudre à sa manière les problèmes qui l’ont troublé, nous prémunit contre des interprétations arbitraires. Elle nous permet d’extraire sa philosophie de l’être qui se trouve mêlée à ses considérations sur la contemplation des êtres comme moyen d’arriver à la contemplation proprement dite de Dieu et à la mystique. Elle permet également d’établir l’existence d’une double définition de la contemplation chez Richard (la seconde définition est la définition de la mystique), ce qui contribue à ordonner et à élucider les matériaux contenus dans le Beniamin Maior et à résoudre les questions controversées qui s’y rapportent. Enfin,
La philosophie de l’être d’après le Beniamin Maior
483
au moyen de l’analyse de la théorie de la contemplation, elle permet de constater l’existence chez Richard de toute une conception de la réalité connaissable. Cette conception est une vraie théorie métaphysique, laquelle, en admettant le principe d’une double participation comme un de ses principes essentiels, fait ipso facto éclater le néoplatonisme. L’authenticité de cette conception est défendue par : (1) la rectitude au point de vue méthodique de l’analyse appliquée à la définition ainsi qu’à la théorie de la contemplation ; (2) les textes de Richard lus de manière à faire apparaître des lacunes dans la structure logique de la théorie de la contemplation ; (3) le comblement de ces lacunes par la théorie métaphysique qui a pu être reconstruite à partir des textes et qui nous fait connaître son système de contemplation. La justesse de cette reconstruction ressort des conditionnements historiques des idées de Richard, ainsi que de leurs conditionnements objectifs : (1) le point de départ empirique dans la connaissance des êtres ; (2) la manière spéciale de comprendre la philosophie, la contemplation et la mystique propre au haut Moyen Âge ; (3) enfin le symbolisme du xiie siècle. Dans ce symbolisme il ne s’agit pas tant d’affirmer que les choses parlent de Dieu par leur être même (car ceci est une thèse qui appartient plutôt au domaine de la contemplation, considérée comme discipline philosophique : symbolisme ontologique). Mais il s’agit d’affirmer que notre connaissance des choses est limitée par le symbole. Nous ne pouvons rien connaître de plus au sujet d’une chose que ce que nous en dira son symbole, par exemple nous ne pouvons rien savoir de plus sur les problèmes de la contemplation que ce qui nous est dit à se sujet par le symbole de la contemplation : l’arche de Moïse (symbolisme méthodique). Cette arche est donc comme un ensemble de problèmes que Dieu veut communiquer à l’homme au sujet de la contemplation. Le symbolisme est donc ici plutôt une question de méthode qu’une question d’ontologie. Si donc on a réussi à justifier la susdite conception de la réalité, on a réalisé un apport positif à la solution des problèmes encore controversés sur Richard. On a trouvé que Richard a donné un nouveau système métaphysique, qui est une modification du néoplatonisme, qu’il a adopté une position empiriste en s’affranchissant par là du platonisme et du néoplatonisme, qu’au sein d’une époque ou régnaient la compilation et l’assimilation, il a donné une synthèse du problème de la contemplation, qui tient compte aussi bien de la nature de l’homme (mettant sur le même plan l’intellect et la volonté non pas comme Bernard et Thomas), que de la surnature. L’apport donc de Richard à la philosophie médiévale est l’élaboration d’une doctrine achevée sur la contemplation, doublée d’une justification métaphysique inconnue avant lui. (Thomas sera le seul à s’appuyer sur une théorie philosophique de l’homme pour expliquer la contemplation. Les autres auteurs donnent le pas à des explications théologiques). La thèse de la dissertation non seulement apporte une solution aux problèmes jusque là discutés, mais du
484
Mieczysław Gogacz
point de vue de l’histoire de la philosophie elle contribue à préciser la situation du néoplatonisme au xiie siècle en matière de contemplation. Elle montre chez Richard l’étroite dépendance de la théorie de la contemplation par rapport à la métaphysique et vice-versa. Elle élargit la science sur les systèmes métaphysiques du Moyen Âge en présentant un système qui donne occasion à des comparaisons enrichissantes. Et l’étude de la pensée de Richard a par elle-même cette valeur pour la science, qu’elle met en valeur des problèmes intéressants et importants d’une métaphysique qui cherche à s’affranchir du néoplatonisme grâce aux suggestions de la mystique, c’est-à-dire grâce au problème du rapport de l’homme avec Dieu, problème qui est dominant dans la culture du xiie siècle. La dissertation assume le labeur d’ordonner et de préciser les frontières entre deux domaines de la philosophie médiévale spécialement au xiie siècle : la métaphysique et la mystique.
Épilogue
Qu’est-ce que Saint-Victor ? Dominique Poirel
Comme leur nom l’indique, Hugues de Saint-Victor, Richard de Saint-Victor, Achard, André, Godefroid et Absalon de Saint-Victor, dont il a été question dans ce volume, ont en commun d’être victorins, c’est-à-dire de se rattacher à Saint-Victor de Paris. Mais qu’est-ce que Saint-Victor ? Trois réponses, également acceptables, pourraient être données à cette question : historique, doctrinale et spirituelle. Pour l’historien, Saint-Victor est à la fois une école et une abbaye. Dans le domaine des idées, Saint-Victor se distingue par son effort pour articuler humanisme encyclopédisme et sagesse chrétienne. Au plan spirituel, les auteurs de Saint-Victor ont cette particularité qu’ils ont une double profession, celle de maîtres et celle de clercs, en l’occurrence de chanoines réguliers. Selon nos trois points de vue, Saint-Victor a donc une identité double, vécue non pas sur le mode de la séparation, mais sur celui de la conciliation, et ce dès qu’est fondée la première communauté victorine. En ce début du xiie siècle, qui voit l’Europe occidentale se couvrir à la fois d’une multitude de centres scolaires et d’une floraison d’ordres religieux nouveaux, Saint-Victor de Paris est au carrefour des deux mouvements et se rattache aussi bien à la Renaissance du xiie siècle qu’à la Réforme grégorienne1. Là est donc l’originalité de Saint-Victor. Dans une période d’effervescence et de mutations accélérées, l’abbaye et école de Saint-Victor se détache par le fait de proposer l’idéal d’une contemplation indissolublement intellectuelle et religieuse. À mi-chemin entre les écoles monastiques du haut Moyen Âge et les universités des xiiie-xve siècles, Saint-Victor de Paris attire l’attention par la haute place qu’on y accorde à tous les savoirs, profanes ou sacrés, théoriques et pratiques, savants ou 1
La bibliographie des études victorines est rassemblée dans Jean Châtillon, « De Guillaume de Champeaux à Thomas Gallus », dans Revue du Moyen Âge latin, t. 8, 1952, p. 139-162, 247-272, à compléter par Dominique Poirel, « L’école de Saint-Victor au Moyen Âge : bilan d’un demi-siècle historiographique », dans Bibliothèque de l’École des Chartes, t. 156, 1998, p. 187207. Les collections suivantes sont d’autre part dédiées à Saint-Victor ou aux auteurs victorins : Bibliotheca Victorina, 1991 sq., Sous la Règle de saint Augustin, 1997 sq., Corpus Victorinum, 2005 sq., Victorine Texts in Translation, 2010 sq. Omnium expetendorum prima est sapientia. Studies on Victorine thought and influence, ed. by Wanda Bajor, Michał Buraczewski, Marcin Jan Janecki and Dominique Poirel, BV, 29 (Turnhout, 2021), p. 487–511. © BREPOLSPUBLISHERS DOI 10.1484/M.BV-EB.5.126049
488
Dominique Poirel
techniques, en sorte qu’on pourrait résumer cet idéal par deux paroles d’Hugues de Saint-Victor : « Ne méprise pas ces petites choses2 », et « Apprends tout, tu verras ensuite que rien n’est inutile3 ». Comment un si vaste idéal s’est-il réalisé dans un temps et un lieu déterminés ? Quelle conception du savoir a-t-il suscitée ? Comment s’est-il concilié avec la destination avant tout religieuse d’un établissement de chanoines réguliers ? Pour répondre à ces questions, on s’attachera d’abord à la communauté des victorins, en décrivant les grandes étapes de son histoire, son cadre de vie et les réseaux à travers lesquels elle exerce une influence sur la société contemporaine. Passant ensuite du « lieu » au « savoir », on exposera le programme pédagogique victorin ; au-delà d’une récapitulation des diverses disciplines enseignées ou pratiquées de quelque manière à Saint-Victor, il s’agira surtout de mettre en lumière la façon dont elles s’articulent entre elles et le foyer vers lequel elles convergent. De cette façon, on sera en mesure de dégager l’« esprit » de Saint-Victor, c’est-à-dire la façon particulière dont un mode de vie et un idéal éducatif se sont historiquement rejoints pour façonner une certaine manière de penser, de pratiquer et d’honorer le savoir. I. École et abbaye : le cadre victorin Saint-Victor de Paris est avant tout une de ces abbayes de chanoines réguliers comme il en naquit tant d’autres aux xie-xiie siècle. Avec le renouveau monastique et le renforcement de la papauté, le renouveau canonial est en effet une des composantes essentielles de la Réforme grégorienne4. Au contraire du moine bénédictin, voué à une existence de solitude et de contemplation, le chanoine régulier est d’abord un clerc, voué comme tel à la célébration des sacrements, mais qui, pour mieux exercer son sacerdoce a choisi la vie en commun et dans la pauvreté suivant la Règle de saint Augustin. Son mode de vie tient donc un souple équilibre entre la vie contemplative et l’action pastorale. À ce statut commun à l’ensemble des chanoines réguliers, s’ajoute chez les victorins une dimension intellectuelle, présente dès les origines de la communauté et qui explique son rayonnement considérable dès le premier siècle de son histoire.
2 Didascalicon, VI, 3, éd. Charles H. Buttimer, Hugonis de Sancto Victore Didascalicon De studio legendi. A Critical Text, Washington, DC : Catholic University Press, 1939 (Studies in Medieval and Renaissance Latin, 10), p. 114. 3 Didascalicon, VI, 3, éd. Buttimer, p. 115. 4 Jean Châtillon, Le mouvement canonial au Moyen Âge, réforme de l’Église, spiritua lité et culture, études réunies par Patrice Sicard, Paris – Turnhout : Brepols, 1992 (Bibliotheca Victorina, 3).
Qu’est-ce que Saint-Victor ?
489
1. Fondation et développement En effet, Saint-Victor est né d’un aller et retour entre l’école et le cloître. Son fondateur, Guillaume de Champeaux, est un des maîtres les plus réputés de son temps. Surtout connu à travers les critiques partiales de son élève Pierre Abélard sur la question des universaux, il apparaît aujourd’hui comme un penseur majeur, non seulement en dialectique, mais aussi en rhétorique et en théologie5. Collaborateur de l’évêque de Paris, il dirige l’école cathédrale quand à partir de 1108, imitant son ancien maître Manégold de Lautenbach, il quitte le monde. Sur une pente encore déserte de la Montagne Sainte-Geneviève, aujourd’hui occupée par l’université de Jussieu, il mène avec quelques étudiants une vie de solitude et de prière dans un ancien ermitage consacré à saint Victor de Marseille. Hildebert de Lavardin, évêque du Mans et fin poète, le persuade de reprendre son enseignement, de sorte que les élèves affluent. Plusieurs, séduits par cette vie mêlant spéculation intellectuelle et contemplation spirituelle, grossissent la communauté naissante. En 1113, Guillaume est élu évêque de Châlons. Il obtint alors que sa fondation soit prise sous la protection du roi Louis VI († 1137) : elle prend alors la forme d’une abbaye de chanoines réguliers6. Au fondateur succèdent les bâtisseurs : Gilduin, Thomas, Adam et Hugues. Gilduin († 1155) est le premier abbé. Ancien étudiant de Guillaume en logique, il s’avère un remarquable organisateur : en trente-deux ans, Saint-Victor devient une communauté nombreuse, prospère et prestigieuse, dotée de vastes bâtiments, appuyée sur une richesse foncière croissante et favorisée par les prélats et les princes. À la puissance matérielle, le prieur Thomas ajoute l’auréole du martyre. Tandis que partisans et adversaires de la Réforme grégorienne s’affrontent dans toute l’Europe, la nouvelle abbaye figure parmi les plus fermes soutiens de l’évêque réformateur Étienne de Senlis, qui compte en retour sur elle pour soumettre à la règle de saint Augustin les chanoines de sa cathédrale. Le conflit culmine en 1133, quand le prieur Thomas est assassiné à Gournay-sur-Marne par des ennemis de l’évêque. L’attentat émeut les esprits en faveur de Saint-Victor, qui reçoit dès lors donation sur donation et recrue sur recrue. L’une d’elles est Adam († v. 1150), préchantre à Notre-Dame, qui enrichit sa nouvelle abbaye d’une poésie liturgique aussi limpide et harmonieuse que précise au plan théologique. 5 Guillaume de Champeaux, Abélard : arts du langage et théologie aux confins des xie-xiie siècles. Textes, maître, débats, éd. Irène Rosier-Catach, Turnhout : Brepols, 2011 (Studia artistarum, 26). 6 Robert-Henri Bautier, « Les origines et les premiers développements de l’abbaye Saint-Victor de Paris », dans Jean Longère, L’abbaye parisienne de Saint-Victor au Moyen Âge. Communications présentées au XIIIe Colloque d’Humanisme médiéval de Paris (1986-1988), Paris – Turnhout : Brepols, 1991 (Bibliotheca Victorina, 1), p. 23-52.
490
Dominique Poirel
Le principal titre de gloire de l’abbaye est l’enseignement d’Hugues († 1141), qui attire des étudiants venus de toute l’Europe tandis que ses écrits sont copiés à des milliers de manuscrits. Né en Saxe, il entre vers 1115 dans l’abbaye parisienne où il ne tarde pas à occuper la chaire de Guillaume, donnant il est vrai une tonalité différente à son enseignement. Moins logicien et plus encyclopédique, plus spirituel aussi, il s’efforce d’intégrer l’ensemble des savoirs en une sagesse totale et unifiée, accueillante aussi bien aux sciences profanes héritées des Anciens qu’aux disciplines sacrées, des sciences bibliques à la vie morale et spirituelle en passant par la théologie spéculative. Sans aller lui-même au bout des nombreuses pistes qu’il ouvre à ses étudiants, Hugues leur procure avant tout le cadre de synthèses ouvertes, équilibrées et suggestives7. Aussi bien les deux générations suivantes paraissent-elles s’être partagé l’exploitation méthodique des champs qu’il avait arpentés. Des années 1140 au début du xiiie siècle, on pourrait ainsi distinguer André († 1175) le bibliste, Achard († 1171) le métaphysicien, Simon († ap. 1173) le poète, Godefroid († ap. 1194) l’humaniste, Gauthier († v. 1180) le censeur, Absalon († v. 1196) le prédicateur, Pierre († ap. 1216) et Robert († av. 1234) les théologiens de la pénitence, Thomas Gallus († 1246) le commentateur du Pseudo-Denys8. Un seul disciple, Richard († 1173), tente d’abord d’embrasser comme Hugues l’ensemble des savoirs, mais il ne tarde pas à se spécialiser à son tour, cette fois dans la vie contemplative et la spéculation trinitaire. Le temps des disciples est aussi celui des crises. Après un débat académique entre André et Richard sur l’exégèse d’Isaïe et de sa prophétie de l’Emmanuel, la prospérité et l’honorabilité de l’abbaye sont mises en péril par l’abbatiat désastreux et malhonnête d’Ernis (1161-1173), contesté de l’intérieur par le prieur Richard. Plus tard encore, on devine un conflit entre Godefroid et le prieur Gauthier, au terme duquel le premier doit quitter l’abbaye. Comme Gauthier est aussi l’auteur d’un pamphlet violent et inachevé contre quatre maîtres emblématiques des nouvelles méthodes théologiques (Abélard, Gilbert, Pierre Lombard et Pierre de Poitiers), son attitude pourrait bien traduire une difficulté, au sein de l’abbaye, à concilier la fidélité aux doctrines d’Hugues d’une part et l’esprit de souplesse et d’ouverture intellectuelle qui l’animent de son vivant. 7
Roger Baron, Science et sagesse chez Hugues de Saint-Victor, Paris : Lethielleux, 1957 ; Patrice Sicard, Hugues de Saint-Victor et son École. Introduction, choix de textes, traduction et commentaires, Turnhout : Brepols, 1991 (Témoins de notre histoire) ; Dominique Poirel, Ugo di San Vittore. Storia, scienza, contemplazione, Milano : Jaka Book, 1997 (Eredità Medievale, 9) ; Id., Hugues de Saint-Victor, Paris : Cerf, 1998 (Initiations au Moyen Âge) ; Paul Rorem, Hugh of Saint Victor, Oxford : Oxford University Press, 2009 (Great Medieval Thinkers). 8 Sur Achard, si injustement méconnu, voir en dernier lieu Iryna Lystopad, Un platonisme original au xiie siècle. Métaphysique pluraliste et théologie trinitaire dans le De unitate et pluralitate creaturarum d’achard de Saint-Victor, Turnhout : Brepols, 2021 (Bibliotheca Victorina, 28).
Qu’est-ce que Saint-Victor ?
491
Cette conciliation est mise à plus rude épreuve encore, à mesure qu’au xiie-xiiie siècle parviennent les traductions nouvelles d’Aristote. On sait qu’en dépit d’interdictions répétées, les écrits du Stagyrite finissent par s’imposer à l’ensemble des théologiens, avec néanmoins des degrés différents dans l’adoption ou l’adaptation de ses thèses principales. Dans ce débat pour ou contre Aristote, il est significatif qu’Hugues et Richard de Saint-Victor fassent souvent figure d’autorités « traditionnelles », que les théologiens conservateurs brandissent contre le péripatétisme innovant des maîtres dominicains surtout. Dans la mesure où les maîtres victorins incarnent un certain apogée de la théologie chrétienne, juste avant la seconde entrée d’Aristote, par cela même ils sont vite jugés dépassés et ne sont le plus souvent cités que de seconde main, à travers des florilèges assemblés selon d’autres problèmes que les leurs. Au xiiie siècle, les maîtres de Saint-Victor sont absents du débat théologique. On peine d’ailleurs à reconstituer leur succession. L’abbaye continue certes à jouir d’une excellente réputation intellectuelle, qui lui vaut en 1237 de voir sa chaire de théologie rattachée à l’université de Paris ; mais cette promotion est en même temps une sécession. La raison mise en avant est le souhait que les étudiants victorins puissent se former sans avoir à courir les rues de Paris. Conservant sans doute un excellent niveau d’études, l’école se tient à part de la fermentation intellectuelle parisienne et forme moins des intellectuels de pointe en théologie que de saints clercs et de savants prédicateurs ; ce qui, après tout, ne correspond pas mal à la vocation propre des chanoines réguliers9. Au début du xive siècle, l’abbé Jean de Palaiseau (1311-1329) pourvoit une part fixe des revenus de l’abbaye à l’entretien d’un maître en théologie et de quatre étudiants, énonce certaines règles touchant l’équilibre entre travail intellectuel et respect de la vie conventuelle et organise dans le monastère un centre d’étude (studium) calqué sur celui des dominicains ou augustins : les étudiants y reçoivent les leçons de maîtres et de bacheliers, s’entraînent chaque semaine à la dispute universitaire et, avec leurs autres confrères, assistent à toutes les occasions de prédication. Dans un cadre de vie resté monastique, les victorins ont totalement assimilé la nouvelle culture scolastique. C’est ce qui transparaît dans les quaestiones conservées en petit nombre de deux maîtres victorins, Gérard et Jean, le premier étant plus connu pour avoir donné 9 Dominique Poirel, « Dominicains et Victorins à Paris dans la première moitié du iiie siècle », dans Lector et compilator, Vincent de Beauvais frère prêcheur et son milieu au xiiie siècle, x éd. Serge Lusignan – Monique Paulmier-Foucart – Marie-Christine Duchenne, Grâne : Créaphis, 1997 (Rencontres à Royaumont), p. 170-187. Voir aussi Jacques Verger, « Saint-Victor et l’université », dans L’école de Saint-Victor de Paris : influence et rayonnement du Moyen Âge à l’Époque moderne, éd. Dominique Poirel, Turnhout : Brepols, 2010 (Bibliotheca Victorina, 22), p. 139-152.
492
Dominique Poirel
son avis de théologien sur le procès des Templiers en 1308. Ce sont là d’honnêtes textes scolastiques, mais qui ressortissent à leur époque bien plus qu’à la tradition victorine : Aristote et les philosophes arabes y sont abondamment cités, Hugues et Richard à peine. Un autre Jean (v. 1351), plus fameux, est l’auteur d’une chronique universelle de la création à l’an 1322, sans doute appuyée sur un travail en équipe. Par ses sources et son projet historiographique, cet « Aide-mémoire des histoires » se rattache à une lignée bien établie de chroniqueurs victorins comptant Hugues, Richard et l’auteur anonyme d’une Chronique abrégée10. On verra que cette continuité dans un genre peu cultivé à l’université éclaire la physionomie intellectuelle et religieuse de l’abbaye. Enfin, des auteurs comme Pierre Leduc et Henri le Boulangier (voir ci-dessus, p. 245-326), témoignent que l’héritage victorin continue de fructifier au tournant du xve siècle. Ainsi récapitulée, l’histoire littéraire de Saint-Victor suscite une question. Pourquoi, après le premier siècle si brillant des Guillaume, des Hugues et des Richard, les siècles suivants paraissent-ils si ternes, jusqu’à ce que l’abbatiat de Jean Bordier (15131543) amorce une renaissance architecturale, religieuse, liturgique et intellectuelle de l’abbaye, dans la fidélité précisément à ces illustres devanciers ? Le départ de Thomas Gallus, en 1218/1219, ne serait-il pas le point de départ d’un déclin victorin ? Poser ainsi la question, c’est oublier qu’à Saint-Victor comme dans toute maison de réguliers, la spéculation intellectuelle, si honorée soit-elle, demeure subordonnée à une destination religieuse ; c’est oublier que les premières générations ne sont pas et ne peuvent pas être représentatives d’une activité intellectuelle ordinaire, précisément parce que c’est la période des origines et que tout est à fonder : traités profanes et sacrés, sommes et aide-mémoire, programmes d’études. Passés les premiers temps, une fois construit l’environnement intellectuel nécessaire à leur activité naturelle, les chanoines victorins peuvent se consacrer à celle-ci, c’està-dire à la prédication, l’administration des sacrements et la théologie pastorale. Bref, pour comprendre l’école, il faut la réinsérer dans son abbaye. 2. La vie à Saint-Victor Entrons donc dans celle-ci, virtuellement du moins, puisque sous la Révolution et l’Empire les bâtiments abbatiaux ont été démolis : seules demeurent des arcades encore visibles au 4 de la rue Linné et au 6 de la rue Cuvier. Il faut donc faire appel à l’imagination – nous sommes bien là dans une tradition victorine – pour reconstituer par l’« œil intérieur » le cadre spatial où se déroulait la journée du chanoine, au milieu d’une communauté hiérarchiquement ordonnée. 10 Isabelle Guyot-Bachy, Le ‘Memoriale historiarum’ de Jean de Saint-Victor. Un historien et sa communauté au début du xive siècle, Paris – Turnhout : Brepols, 2000 (Bibliotheca Victorina, 12).
Qu’est-ce que Saint-Victor ?
493
a. Les lieux Les premières années, Guillaume de Champeaux et ses compagnons durent se contenter d’un oratoire dédié à Saint-Victor, peut-être aussi d’un bâtiment annexe en guise de logement. Autour d’eux des vignes séparées en « clos » et mouillées à leur pied par les eaux marécageuses de la Bièvre couvrent les pentes de la Montagne Sainte-Geneviève. Bientôt, les donations de l’évêque de Paris, puis celle d’Hugues, archidiacre de Halberstadt, entré dans la nouvelle communauté à la suite du fameux Hugues son neveu, enfin les largesses du roi et de la cour à partir de 1133, permettent à l’abbaye de se doter dès le xiie siècle d’un complexe abbatial assez stable jusqu’au début du xvie siècle11. Suivant un plan classique, l’ensemble des bâtiments s’ordonne autour d’un cloître d’environ 30 m. de côté, à plusieurs points de vue le centre véritable de l’abbaye. Lieu de passage entre les divers bâtiments, lieu de transition entre l’architecture et une nature maîtrisée, c’est aussi une sorte de sas entre la parole et le silence, l’étude et la prière, la convivialité et le recueillement. À certaines heures, on s’y rassemble en petits groupes pour répéter les chants de la liturgie, converser sous la direction d’un chanoine plus expérimenté, lire et commenter à quelques-uns le même ouvrage ; obligation est alors faite de tenir un livre. Ce cloître est bordé au nord par l’église abbatiale, sur les autres côtés par des bâtiments réservés aux chanoines : le réfectoire où l’on mange en silence, pendant qu’est lu recto tono un texte édifiant ou une homélie ; le dortoir où l’on vient se changer entre les activités et dormir sur une couche rudimentaire ; la salle du chapitre où la communauté se réunit pour les affaires communes. La bibliothèque a plusieurs fois changé d’emplacement, sans doute pour faire face à une croissance continue du nombre de manuscrits, mais la salle de lecture a longtemps occupé un bâtiment donnant sur le cloître. Selon l’usage, les livres liturgiques sont conservés dans l’église ; ceux destinés à la lecture durant les repas sont déposés dans un bâtiment attenant au réfectoire. À part se tiennent les lieux dévolus à des catégories particulières de membres : noviciat, infirmerie, logement des frères convers, résidence des hôtes. En particulier, les évêques de Paris viennent souvent se retirer à Saint-Victor : ils y ont leur maison, leur chapelle et même une salle épiscopale. On est mal renseigné sur l’emplacement originel des écoles : école claustrale et école des novices. La première, ouverte à des étudiants extérieurs au moins jusqu’au 11 Jean-Pierre Willesme, « L’abbaye Saint-Victor de Paris : L’église et les bâtiments, des origines à la Révolution », dans Jean Longère, L’abbaye parisienne de Saint-Victor au Moyen Âge. Communications présentées au XIIIe Colloque d’Humanisme médiéval de Paris (1986-1988), Paris – Turnhout : Brepols, 1991 (Bibliotheca Victorina, 1), p. 97-115. Voir aussi La bibliothèque de SaintVictor et les gens de savoir, xiie-xviiie siècles, dir. Isabelle Guyot-Bachy, paru dans les Cahiers de recherche médiévale. A Journal of Medieval Studies, t. 17, 2009.
494
Dominique Poirel
milieu du xiie siècle, devait se trouver à l’écart du cloître et des lieux réservés aux chanoines. Dans la seconde, on enseignait aux novices comment s’intégrer dans la communauté : mémorisation et chant des Psaumes, assimilation des rites liturgiques, des coutumes de l’abbaye, du langage des signes pour les temps de silence, pratique des vertus, discipline de l’habillement, de la parole, des gestes et du comportement dans les diverses circonstances de la vie claustrale. b. La journée du victorin À cette répartition des lieux correspond une distribution des temps et des fonctions. Le temps, d’abord, est scandé par la liturgie, fin première de la vocation canoniale. De fait, la journée et même la nuit du victorin sont rythmées par les deux messes (des défunts le matin, grand-messe en milieu de journée) et les huit offices quotidiens : matines, laudes, prime, tierce, sexte, none, vêpres et complies. Dans les espaces de temps intermédiaire, il se consacre le matin au travail manuel, dans les jardins et les ateliers, peut-être aussi dans le scriptorium, local consacré à la copie de manuscrits. Aux temps fixés, il étudie, converse ou médite dans le cloître. À d’autres moments, il rejoint ses confrères dans les lieux assignés : au réfectoire, pour prendre un petit déjeuner vers neuf heures et un déjeuner après la grandmesse ; dans la salle du chapitre, pour distribuer les tâches de la vie commune, régler de façon ritualisée sous l’autorité de l’abbé les litiges et manquements à la règle commune, entendre lectures et prédications et se souvenir des défunts ; enfin au dortoir, pour se changer, faire la sieste en été, dormir après vêpres d’un sommeil coupé par mâtines et laudes. c. Les fonctions dans l’abbaye D’un temps à l’autre, d’un lieu à l’autre, la communauté se déplace en procession, façon de rendre visible son unité et sa hiérarchie. L’abbaye est en effet un monde stratifié, où les différences de statut et de fonction se manifestent par le rang et l’habit12. Les chanoines eux-mêmes, au surplis blanc recouvert d’une chape noire à capuche, se distinguent immédiatement des frères convers, vêtus de gris : voués à des services subalternes, ces religieux laïcs, parfois de haute naissance, ont un dortoir et un réfectoire séparés et communient à part. Certains chanoines sont d’ordinaire absents : affectés par petits groupes à des prieurés extérieurs dépendant de l’abbaye, ces « obédienciers » s’y consacrent au service liturgique et paroissial, parfois à la gestion de domaines assurant les revenus de l’abbaye parisienne. 12
Luc Jocqué, « Les structure de la population claustrale dans l’ordre de Saint-Victor au xiie siècle : un essai d’analyse du Liber ordinis », dans Jean Longère, L’abbaye parisienne de SaintVictor au Moyen Âge. Communications présentées au XIIIe Colloque d’Humanisme médiéval de Paris (1986-1988), Paris – Turnhout : Brepols, 1991 (Bibliotheca Victorina, 1), p. 53-95.
Qu’est-ce que Saint-Victor ?
495
La responsabilité de la communauté est assurée par des officiers claustraux : abbé, prieur et sous-prieur, assistés du chambrier et du sous-chambrier pour la gestion du patrimoine. L’abbé est librement élu par un collège restreint d’anciens, qui le conseille en cas de décisions importantes. D’autres officiers ont la charge du ravitaillement, de l’habillement, de l’infirmerie, des relations avec l’extérieur – aumônes aux pauvres, accueil des étrangers ou service des hôtes – et de la bibliothèque. Celle-ci est administrée par un armarius, qui est en même temps chantre, archiviste et directeur du scriptorium. Il est donc le maître de chant et des cérémonies en même temps que le gardien de l’écrit. C’est lui qui contrôle la communication des manuscrits, à l’extérieur comme à l’intérieur de l’abbaye, et veille à leur bonne conservation et à leur copie, soumise à l’autorisation de l’abbé. L’armarius n’a guère d’initiative dans l’exercice de sa charge : il suit les règles internes de l’abbaye et se soumet pour le reste aux consignes particulières de l’abbé. À ces fonctions, il faut ajouter celle de maître, curieusement absente du coutumier victorin qui ne connaît qu’un maître des novices : sans doute parce qu’elle était une particularité de l’abbaye mère, et qu’il n’y avait pas lieu de l’indiquer dans un document destiné surtout aux abbayes filles. On est mal renseigné sur ce rôle de maître, successivement exercé par Guillaume de Champeaux (jusqu’en 1113), Hugues (jusqu’à sa mort en 1141) puis sans doute André, Achard, Richard et bien d’autres comprenant Thomas Gallus et Gérard : la liste précise reste à établir. En dehors d’Hugues, qui semble avoir été peu mêlé au fonctionnement général de l’abbaye, la plupart des autres maîtres ne tardèrent pas à occuper des fonctions de prieur ou d’abbé, à Saint-Victor ou dans d’autres établissements affiliés. Le recrutement victorin sembla avoir deux sources principales : le monde des écoles, et l’aristocratie : le coutumier recommande en effet de ne regarder ni à la naissance ni aux richesses, mais avant tout aux bonnes mœurs, tout spécialement à la douceur et à la docilité. Pendant un mois au minimum, les aspirants à la vie canoniale sont coupés du monde extérieur et confiés au maître des novices. À son école, ils apprennent tout ce qui leur permettra de s’intégrer harmonieusement à la vie conventuelle : liturgie victorine, coutumes de l’abbaye, discipline du comportement, par exemple quand se lever et quand s’asseoir, comment se comporter à telle heure ou dans tel lieu, quand se taire et quand parler, comment s’adresser aux divers membres de la communauté. Lorsque prend fin le temps de probation, jugés dignes d’être agrégés, les aspirants font solennellement profession au cours d’une messe. Dans son traité Sur la formation des novices, Hugues de Saint-Victor a marqué l’importance qu’il attache à l’harmonie du comportement extérieur et des relations
496
Dominique Poirel
humaines13. La juste mesure dans l’habillement, le geste, la parole et la façon de manger ne reflète pas seulement les dispositions intérieures du novice, d’une certaine façon elle les éduque et les façonne. Le plus petit geste a des répercussions esthétiques, éthiques, politiques et spirituelles : équilibré, il produit de la beauté, traduit et renforce la maîtrise de soi, affermit la concorde entre frères et rapproche l’homme de Dieu. Lieu de sociabilité, l’abbaye de Saint-Victor enseigne les bonnes manières comme moyen de parfaire les bonnes mœurs14. 3. Saint-Victor et ses réseaux Par divers canaux, l’enseignement victorin touche des milieux divers, qui composent autour de l’abbaye des cercles concentriques. En premier lieu, viennent naturellement les chanoines victorins. En 1134, au lendemain de la mort du prieur Thomas, ils n’étaient encore que dix-huit. Peu après, et jusqu’au premier tiers du xive siècle, leurs effectifs semblent avoisiner la cinquantaine. Ce nombre approximatif donne donc quelque idée de la première audience des écrivains et maîtres de l’abbaye : c’est pour leurs confrères en priorité qu’ils écrivent, enseignent ou prêchent. L’œuvre d’Hugues n’est si encyclopédique que parce que, dans les premiers temps de la communauté victorine, il importe de créer à son intention une culture canoniale complète. À ces membres résidents de l’abbaye parisienne, il faut ajouter les obédienciers, qui revenaient régulièrement à Saint-Victor pour les besoins de leur charge, mais aussi pour se retremper dans le climat intellectuel et spirituel de leur maison mère. Par leur intermédiaire, l’enseignement du maître sort des bâtiments claustraux et se diffuse à travers paroisses et prieurés, jusqu’à toucher des auditeurs laïcs. Au-delà de ce premier réseau victorin, surtout implanté dans le bassin de la Seine, il s’en crée un autre aux xiie-xiiie siècles. Tenue pour un établissement exemplaire, l’abbaye de Saint-Victor est bientôt sollicitée d’envoyer quelques-uns de ses membres dans d’autres établissements canoniaux afin de les réformer. Comme Saint-Ruf, Arrouaise et Prémontré, Saint-Victor se trouve ainsi à la tête d’une fédération internationale, qui compte jusqu’à quarante abbayes sous Louis VIII. En France, en Normandie, en Angleterre, en Italie, en Allemagne et jusqu’en Scandinavie, des abbayes de chanoines reçoivent un victorin pour abbé et entrent dans la mouvance de celle de Paris. Un coutumier, le « Livre de l’ordre » (Liber ordi nis), décrit par le menu à leur intention les usages en vigueur dans la communauté 13
Hugh Feiss – Dominique Poirel – Henri Rochais – Patrice Sicard, Hugues de SaintVictor. La formation des novices, La puissance de la prière, Louange de la charité, Les arrhes de l’âme, Turnhout : Brepols, 1996 (Sous la Règle de saint Augustin), p. 7-114. 14 Jean-Claude Schmitt, La raison des gestes dans l’Occident médiéval, Paris : Gallimard, 1990 (Bibliothèque des histoires), passim.
Qu’est-ce que Saint-Victor ?
497
parisienne15. Les liens entre ces différentes abbayes ne furent jamais très stricts ; du reste ils se distendent et disparaissent au xive siècle. Toutefois, cette fédération victorine servit à diffuser, dans une large partie de l’Europe occidentale, les valeurs intellectuelles et spirituelles de l’abbaye mère. Diverses solidarités, religieuses, politiques et idéologiques, élargissent encore la sphère d’influence des maîtres victorins16. Fer de lance de la Réforme grégorienne dans le monde canonial, Saint-Victor est à ce titre l’alliée des nouveaux ordres monastiques, cisterciens, chartreux, prémontrés, voire clunisiens réformés. Ceci favorise les échanges de manuscrits, de textes, de lettres, comme entre Hugues de Saint-Victor et Bernard de Clairvaux. Entre victorins et cisterciens notamment, les relations sont assez étroites, dès lors que le fondateur de Saint-Victor, Guillaume de Champeaux, devenu évêque de Châlons en 1113, ordonne au sacerdoce Bernard de Clairvaux en 1115 et se fait dès lors son mentor spirituel. Par la suite, Hugues de Saint-Victor et Bernard s’écrivent, s’estiment et, probablement, s’adressent leurs ouvrages : cela explique sans doute que les écrits du victorin soient si largement diffusés dans les monastères cisterciens. Malgré des états de vie distincts, qui entraînent un regard différent notamment sur les études séculières, Cîteaux et Saint-Victor se rejoignent dans un combat commun pour la réforme de l’Église. En dehors de l’Église, l’abbaye parisienne trouve un solide appui auprès du roi et des grands. Fondation royale, dotée dès l’origine par Louis VI, Saint-Victor bénéficie plus encore des largesses de ce roi et des princes après l’assassinat du prieur Thomas en 1133, martyr de la Réforme en Île-de-France. Les relations se resserrent alors entre Saint-Victor et la cour : Gilduin devient l’un des familiers du roi Louis VI, des victorins entrent au service de la chancellerie royale et, sous Louis VII, c’est à Saint-Victor que l’abbé Suger, régent du royaume pendant la croisade, fait appel pour réformer les chanoines de Sainte-Geneviève : « parce que », dit-il, « dans notre entourage nous ne connaissons aucune église dont les membres soient plus religieux dans leur statut. » Plus tard, les reines Ingeburge de Danemark et Blanche de Castille sont si proches de Saint-Victor qu’elles sont inscrites au nécrologe de l’abbaye sous le titre de « notre sœur ». Jusqu’à la fin du Moyen Âge et au-delà, le prestige moral de l’abbaye est considérable. Ces divers réseaux de communautés affiliées ou alliées et d’appuis ecclésiastiques ou laïcs renforcent le rayonnement intellectuel de l’abbaye parisienne, qui s’exerce à travers l’enseignement oral et écrit de ses maîtres. Au xiie siècle, l’école est ouverte à des étudiants extérieurs à l’abbaye : Pierre Lombard vers 1139 et sans 15
Liber ordinis Sancti Victoris Parisiensis, éd. Luc Jocqué – Ludo Milis, Turnhout : Brepols, 1984 (Corpus Christianorum, Continuatio Mediaeualis, 61). 16 Sur l’influence victorine, voir L’école de Saint-Victor. Influence et rayonnement du Moyen Âge à l’époque moderne. Colloque international du C.N.R.S. pour le neuvième centenaire de la fondation (1108-2008), éd. Dominique Poirel, Turnhout : Brepols, 2010 (Bibliotheca Victorina, 22).
498
Dominique Poirel
doute Robert de Melun dans le troisième quart du xiie siècle l’ont fréquentée. Une lettre envoyée par un étudiant anglais à un autre témoigne du renom dont Hugues jouit déjà en dehors du royaume : Très fréquemment, je m’en souviens, tu m’as parlé de maître Hugues de Saint-Victor, que tu aimes sans le connaître et vénères même en son absence, pour me demander de le fréquenter entre tous les autres, ou plutôt avant tous les autres, et de suivre très assidûment ses enseignements sur la Parole divine. […] Aussitôt que j’ai pu, je l’ai choisi comme maître principal et singulier, j’ai embrassé son enseignement avec la plus haute diligence, comme étant celui d’un homme dont la vie honorable décore la science et dont la sainteté de l’enseignant illumine une doctrine assaisonnée d’un aimable caractère17.
D’autres témoignages confirment l’attraction que l’école de Saint-Victor exerce sur les étudiants français et étrangers. Le recrutement s’en ressent : Anglais, Allemands, Italiens et Scandinaves font de l’abbaye un établissement international. À la fin du xiie siècle ou au début du xiiie siècle, l’école se referme peu à peu pour devenir une école interne, sans doute en réaction à l’urbanisation de la montagne Sainte-Geneviève et à l’augmentation rapide du nombre des étudiants à Paris. Cette fermeture ne coupe cependant pas l’abbaye parisienne du monde universitaire, puisqu’au xiiie siècle elle se voit confier la pastorale pénitentielle des étudiants parisiens. Au nom de l’abbé de Saint-Victor, un chanoine reçoit alors la fonction de « pénitencier ». Celle-ci fut largement exercée, plusieurs témoignages l’attestent. Dans son Histoire occidentale, Jacques de Vitry raconte même que Saint-Victor est la « piscine probatique » où l’on vient en grand nombre se laver de ses fautes. À défaut d’être restée le lieu par excellence de tous les savoirs, l’abbaye demeure un lieu privilégié où les savoirs sont ordonnés en une sagesse chrétienne, intégrant une éthique et une spiritualité de la connaissance18. Par l’écrit plus encore, les maîtres de Saint-Victor prennent part aux débats de leur temps. On conserve d’eux plusieurs traités composés en réponse à des consultations sur un point de la doctrine chrétienne. Sans quitter leur abbaye, ils établissent, par cette Briefliteratur, des relations intellectuelles avec les théologiens
17 Sententiae de diuinitate, éd. Ambrogio Piazzoni, « Ugo di San Vittore ‘auctor’ delle Sententie de diuinitate », dans Studi Medievali, 3a ser., t. 23, 1982, p. 912. 18 Jean Longère, « La fonction pastorale de Saint-Victor à la fin du xiie siècle et au début du e xiii siècle », dans Jean Longère, L’abbaye parisienne de Saint-Victor au Moyen Âge. Communica tions présentées au XIIIe Colloque d’Humanisme médiéval de Paris (1986-1988), Paris – Turnhout : Brepols, 1991 (Bibliotheca Victorina, 1), p. 291-313.
Qu’est-ce que Saint-Victor ?
499
de leur temps, tels Bernard de Clairvaux et Gautier de Mortagne au xiie siècle19. Il arrive aussi que les chanoines victorins s’expriment sur des questions d’actualité : ainsi Hugues écrit-il à l’archevêque de Séville pour le blâmer d’avoir renié le Christ devant les Sarrasins, fût-ce de bouche seulement. De même l’abbé Ernis et le prieur Richard reprochent-ils à Robert de Melun, devenu évêque de Hereford, de ne pas soutenir fermement Thomas Becket dans son conflit avec le roi d’Angleterre20. À la reconnaissance d’une compétence particulière en matière intellectuelle, se joint une solide autorité morale, qui fonde les maîtres victorins à faire la leçon à des prélats. Au-delà de leurs destinataires immédiats, les écrits d’Hugues et de Richard jouissent très tôt d’une vaste diffusion, en raison certes de leur valeur propre, mais grâce aussi à une politique volontariste de l’abbaye. Ainsi, à la mort d’Hugues en 1141, Gilduin a organisé une sorte d’édition des Opera omnia de son fameux confrère, dont les écrits sont rassemblés, retranscrits au propre, sans doute en deux exemplaires, puis communiqués sur place aux visiteurs de l’abbaye, cahier par cahier semble-t-il, afin de faciliter le travail de copie21. En France, en Angleterre, en Allemagne, divers établissements se soucient d’obtenir un corpus complet des ouvrages du victorin. À leur tour, ils se font le relais de son influence auprès des établissements voisins. II. Humanisme encyclopédique et sagesse chrétienne : le programme victorin Prédication interne et externe, réforme d’autres établissements, enseignement, rédaction et copie massive d’ouvrages, correspondance, pastorale des étudiants : par tous ces moyens, l’abbaye de Saint-Victor diffuse de proche en proche à travers toute l’Europe un certain programme éducatif. Examinons à présent celui-ci : en quoi consiste-t-il ? Quels savoirs sont enseignés, propagés ou encouragés à Saint-Victor ? À lire Hugues, la réponse tient en un mot : tous. Selon sa phrase citée plus haut, tous les savoirs, y compris les arts mécaniques, ont leur place dans le modèle de sagesse chrétienne que décrit le Didascalicon. 19
Ludwig Ott, Untersuchungen zur theologischen Briefliteratur der Frühscholastik unter besonderer Berücksichtigung des Viktorinerkreises, Münster i. W. : Aschendorff, 1935 (Beiträge zur Geschichte der Philosophie und Theologie des Mittelalters, 34). 20 Hugues de Saint-Victor, Epistula ad Iohannem Hispalensem episcopum, éd. PL 176, col. 1014-1018 ; Ernis et Richard de Saint-Victor, Epistula ad Robertum Herefordiensem, éd. PL 196, col. 1225-1226. 21 Dominique Poirel, Livre de la nature et débat trinitaire. Le ‘De tribus diebus’ de Hugues de Saint-Victor, Paris – Turnhout : Brepols, 2002 (Bibliotheca Victorina, 14), p. 27-86.
Dominique Poirel
500
Cette tendance à l’exhaustivité se reflète dans un tableau souvent cité des arts et disciplines profanes : théorique
théologie mathématique physique
pratique
individuelle privée publique
mécanique
tissage armement navigation agriculture chasse médecine théâtre
Philosophie
logique
grammaire art du raisonnement
arithmétique musique géométrie astronomie
art de la démonstration art de la preuve sophistique
dialectique rhétorique
On s’est interrogé sur la réelle complétude de cette division de la philosophie : le droit, pourtant enseigné au même moment à Bologne, n’y est pas mentionné, même si l’on peut reconnaître au droit civil une place dans les parties publique ou domestique de l’éthique et que les sources canoniques sont inclues dans les Écritures divines, objet de la seconde partie du Didascalicon. Surtout, tandis que ce dernier énumère les arts du langage et encourage leur étude, d’autres textes affichent une certaine réserve devant la technicisation logicienne de la théologie et méconnaissent des textes récents, Glosulae in Priscianum, traductions nouvelles d’Aristote ou de textes arabes, qui passionnent alors les maîtres parisiens et chartrains22. 22
Luce Giard, « Hugues de Saint-Victor cartographe du savoir », dans Jean Longère, L’abbaye parisienne de Saint-Victor au Moyen Âge. Communications présentées au XIIIe Colloque d’Humanisme médiéval de Paris (1986-1988), Paris – Turnhout : Brepols, 1991 (Bibliotheca Victorina, 1), p. 253-269.
Qu’est-ce que Saint-Victor ?
501
Au fond, le programme hugonien élargit et rajeunit le programme pédagogique conçu par Alcuin et promu par Charlemagne, dans le prolongement du De doctrina christiana d’Augustin. En ce sens, le Didascalicon réactualise le projet culturel de la Renaissance carolingienne, voire d’une certaine tradition patristique, soucieuse de concilier culture classique et foi chrétienne. Comme Augustin, il articule les savoirs profanes et sacrés en faisant des premiers une propédeutique aux seconds. Son humanisme intégral s’unifie autour de la notion complexe de sagesse, identifiée tantôt à un savoir universel, tantôt à la personne du Christ, tantôt, entre les deux, à l’assimilation des Écritures divines. Cette équivocité n’est pas une hésitation entre plusieurs sens, mais leur intégration dans un mouvement de l’un à l’autre. La lecture des textes sacrés, moyen privilégié de connaître, d’imiter et de rejoindre le Christ, s’appuie sur toutes les disciplines et sciences profanes, qu’en retour elles légitiment et rendent même nécessaires, comme fondations naturelles d’une sagesse chrétienne. Ainsi, les arts du trivium (grammaire, dialectique et rhétorique), sont mis à contribution pour analyser les « mots » de l’Écriture ; ceux du quadrivium (arithmétique, géométrie, astronomie, musique) et la physique sont utiles pour mieux comprendre les « réalités » dont elle parle au moyen de ces mots. L’histoire et la géographie permettent de situer personnages, événements et noms de lieux. Hugues est donc moins un encyclopédiste qu’un exégète, à condition d’entendre ce mot au sens le plus plein : son labeur sur les textes sacrés finalise, englobe et organise la totalité des savoirs hérités des Anciens. Telle est la densité de signification des écrits bibliques, que pour les étudier aussi complètement que possible il est indispensable de s’appuyer sur une culture universelle et illimitée, dans laquelle viennent se fondre tous les héritages profanes ou sacrés. Les Écritures divines ont parmi tous les textes cette particularité que les « réalités » qu’y signifient les mots sont à leur tour signifiantes d’autres réalités, invisibles ou transcendantes, qui se rapportent à l’histoire du salut ou à l’existence du chrétien. Aussi leur étude peut-elle se décomposer en trois niveaux d’interprétation : l’histoire, l’allégorie et la tropologie, qui structurent cette sagesse totale dont le Didascalicon lève la carte et dont chacune des autres œuvres du Victorin explore une région. 1. L’historia Le premier niveau scrute les textes bibliques en faisant provisoirement abstraction de leur caractère sacré. En ce sens, il est tout autant applicable à une œuvre profane. Critique textuelle, linguistique, historique, la palette de traitements appliqués au texte à commenter annonce notre conception moderne d’une exégèse scientifique.
502
Dominique Poirel
Béryl Smalley, Gilbert Dahan et Montse Leyra ont montré la place éminente de l’école de Saint-Victor dans cette investigation première des écrits bibliques23. Non seulement Hugues, par deux fois, a pris fermement position contre des théologiens contemporains qui prétendaient commenter directement la Bible au sens allégorique, court-circuitant ainsi le sens historique, mais ses gloses sur l’Octateuque donnent l’exemple d’une exégèse érudite des huit premiers livres de l’Ancien Testament, qui confronte entre elles les diverses leçons ou traductions d’un même verset et recourt volontiers à des exégèses rabbiniques. Après lui, Richard et surtout André de Saint-Victor poursuivent dans cette voie : le second s’est même spécialisé dans l’analyse selon le sens historique des écrits de l’Ancien Testament. Cette tradition victorine d’érudition biblique est à l’origine d’un mouvement plus large, dont Pierre le Chantre et Étienne Langton sont les meilleurs représentants et qui débouche sur la production d’instruments spécialisés. Au début du xiiie siècle, deux innovations majeures, destinées à faciliter la confrontation des textes, sont étroitement liées au victorin Thomas Gallus : le découpage des chapitres de la Bible ainsi que du corpus aréopagitique en huit sections, désignées chacune par une lettre de l’alphabet, et l’apparition de concordances « réelles », c’est-à-dire thématiques, qui mettent à profit ce système de référencement des textes bibliques ou aréopagitiques pour établir des rapprochements aussi exhaustifs que possible sur une même notion. Pour mieux aborder les textes bibliques, les victorins ont aussi composé divers ouvrages propédeutiques mettant à profit les sciences profanes. Outre une grammaire, Hugues a rédigé une chronique, un traité sur les poids et mesures et un traité singulier de géographie consistant en la description d’une mappemonde : autant de façons complémentaires d’éclairer le texte biblique en définissant et en situant dans un contexte élargi les realia qui s’y lisent. Après lui, Richard est l’auteur d’une sorte d’encyclopédie (Liber exceptionum), qui réunit les notions indispensables à l’intelligence de l’Écriture : philosophie, géographie et histoire notamment. Ici ou là, on voit Hugues faire preuve de solides connaissances géométriques, qu’illustre d’ailleurs son traité sur la Pratique de la géométrie. Commentant les versets de la Genèse qui décrivent l’arche de Noé, il recourt non seulement aux Pères grecs et latins, mais aux enseignements sur l’architecture que professait l’écrivain classique Vitruve. La sagesse victorine semble une sphère virtuellement infinie, dont le centre serait la Bible. Toute lecture, toute connaissance est bonne, car chacune contribue à élucider le texte sacré. 23
Beryl Smalley, The Study of the Bible in the Middle Ages, 3e éd., Oxford : Blackwell, 1983 ; Gilbert Dahan, L’exégèse chrétienne de la Bible en Occident médiéval, xiie-xive siècle, Paris : Cerf, 1999 (Patrimoines, christianisme) ; Montse Leyra-Curia, In Hebreo. The Victorine Exegesis in the Light of Its Northern-French Jewish Sources, Turnhout : Brepols, 2017 (Bibliotheca Victorina, 26).
Qu’est-ce que Saint-Victor ?
503
Cette curiosité universelle n’aurait aucun sens sans les livres nécessaires pour l’appuyer. On a dit plus haut la place faite à la bibliothèque et à l’armarius dans l’organisation de la communauté victorine. Dès le xiie siècle, l’abbaye put s’enorgueillir d’une riche bibliothèque, qui ne cessa de croître au Moyen Âge, jusqu’à sembler à Rabelais le type même de la collection burlesquement universelle. Les manuscrits et les premiers inventaires conservés attestent qu’elle eut très tôt une orientation généraliste, ainsi qu’un plan de classement qui semble inspiré du Didascalicon. Les lectures encouragées demeurent cependant la Bible, ses principaux commentateurs, Pères de l’Église notamment, les passionnaires ou recueils de vies de saint, les Vies des Pères et les homiliaires, tous ouvrages destinés au progrès spirituel et moral ou à la prédication : ces « livres communs » ou « quotidiens » sont laissés à la libre disposition des religieux. Les autres livres sont rangés dans la bibliothèque pour être communiqués sur demande. 2. L’allegoria Mise en ordre et unification sont au cœur du deuxième niveau d’interprétation des textes sacrés, qui est l’allégorie. De celle-ci relèvent certes les nombreux commentaires victorins sur un texte biblique, généralement de l’Ancien Testament, qui s’efforce de lire à travers les faits relatés et les personnages décrits des préfigurations du mystère du Christ et de l’Église. Toutefois, ce qu’Hugues de Saint-Victor entend par allégorie est bien plus large, puisque dans le prologue du De sacramentis lui-même présente sa somme de théologie comme un ouvrage introduisant « à la lecture allégorique » des textes bibliques. Pour acquérir l’intelligence de ceux-ci, sans se perdre dans l’océan des opinions particulières et des interprétations diverses et parfois adverses, il convient de se former au préalable une synthèse doctrinale de la foi chrétienne. En ce sens, la lecture allégorique de la Bible en est une lecture spéculative, qui se concentre sur les mystères et « sacrements » du salut et tâche d’y rapporter tous les événements de l’histoire sainte, tous les éléments de la foi chrétienne, tous les aspects d’une existence selon l’Évangile. Caractéristique est à cet égard le plan de la somme hugonienne, qui se compose de deux grandes parties : l’une avant, l’autre depuis l’Incarnation. De même que l’exégèse allégorique examine en quoi tel saint personnage de l’Ancien ou du Nouveau Testament annonce ou imite la personne du Christ, de même la lecture allégorique des Écritures divines montre que la totalité de l’histoire sainte, de la doctrine et de la vie chrétiennes, au-delà de leur complexité apparente et superficielle, se résout en un centre d’intelligibilité unique, qui est la geste du Verbe incarné, depuis sa conception et sa naissance jusqu’à sa Passion, sa résurrection et enfin sa présence cachée mais efficace à travers les sacrements de l’Église.
504
Dominique Poirel
Le déroulement temporel de l’histoire n’en est pas aboli, mais unifié. La multitude des élus de tous les temps est comparée à une immense armée, qui a pour roi le Christ, pour avant-garde les saints de l’Ancien Testament – voire auparavant du paganisme – et pour arrière-garde les saints de l’ère chrétienne, des apôtres au xiie siècle et au-delà. Une même vision christocentrique inspire les traités hugoniens sur l’arche de Noé24. Déployant indéfiniment la signification allégorique des trois versets de la Genèse qui en définissent les mesures et la forme, Hugues voit dans cette nef biblique le condensé de toute la doctrine chrétienne. Même ses trois dimensions sont chargées de sens : la longueur, c’est l’axe de l’histoire sainte, d’Adam à la fin des temps en passant par cette lignée de pères dans la foi que sont les patriarches, les juges, les rois, les prophètes et, depuis le Christ puis saint Pierre, les pontifes romains ; la largeur, c’est l’axe de l’espace à travers lequel l’Église s’étend progressivement à travers les nations ; la hauteur, c’est le progrès spirituel scandé par les différents livres des Écritures. Au milieu se dresse le Christ, pivot de l’histoire, centre de l’Église et mât de l’arche : c’est en s’accrochant à lui que les hommes échapperont aux flots du déluge, c’est-à-dire à l’instabilité et à la vanité des choses mondaines. 3. La tropologia Le troisième niveau d’intelligence des Écritures relève de la tropologie, c’està-dire d’une assimilation personnelle et vitale du lecteur lui-même à ce qu’il lit, dans le but de convertir ses mœurs et de s’unir à Dieu. Il semble qu’à cette étape la question du savoir ne soit plus ou guère présente : ce registre serait plutôt celui du cœur, de l’affectivité, de la piété. Pourtant, c’est là un aspect majeur de l’école de Saint-Victor : spéculation et spiritualité ne sont jamais disjointes. Les progrès de l’âme dans la vertu, sa maîtrise du corps, ses désirs profonds ou superficiels, son union enfin à Dieu par la vie contemplative sont pour la raison victorine autant de territoires à explorer, à défricher et à baliser pour les rendre accessibles à d’autres. Le traité d’Hugues sur l’union de l’esprit et du corps étudie ainsi le rôle de l’imagination dans le processus d’abstraction à partir du sensible, mais aussi dans le progrès spirituel. Son ouvrage Sur la formation des novices fait de la discipline du comportement extérieur une « science » distincte, qui a ses sources (la raison, l’enseignement du maître, l’exemple des saints dans la littérature hagiographique, la méditation des Écritures, la pratique de l’examen de conscience) et son programme (discipline de l’habillement, du geste, de la parole et du comportement à
24 Patrice Sicard, Diagrammes médiévaux et exégèse visuelle. Le Libellus de formatione arche de Hugues de Saint-Victor, Paris – Turnhout : Brepols, 1993 (Bibliotheca Victorina, 4).
Qu’est-ce que Saint-Victor ?
505
table)25. Pour le reste, l’essentiel de son enseignement moral spirituel est émietté dans une foule d’opuscules, généralement de forme exégétique : à l’évidence, sa doctrine en ce domaine est le fruit d’une fréquentation assidue de l’Écriture, lue précisément au sens tropologique. Il revient à Richard de Saint-Victor de synthétiser et prolonger l’enseignement d’Hugues en passant de la forme du micro-commentaire à celle du traité. Son ouvrage sur Les douze patriarches ou Benjamin mineur examine la collaboration entre la raison et l’affectivité pour préparer l’âme à la contemplation. Le traité Sur la contemplation ou Benjamin majeur décrit les six étapes qui mènent de la contemplation du monde sensible jusqu’à l’union à Dieu. Le traité sur la Trinité, enfin, relève à la fois de la théologie spéculative – il contient une tentative originale pour prouver la trinité de personnes en Dieu – et de la spiritualité, puisqu’il est une application particulière de cette contemplation dont les deux traités précédents ont décrit l’ascension jusqu’à Dieu. Après Richard, Thomas Gallus est le grand docteur victorin de la vie intérieure. Son enseignement se lit principalement dans son exégèse du Cantique des cantiques et du corpus aréopagitique, supposés converger vers la même doctrine spirituelle. Ainsi, l’échelle des neuf chœurs angéliques, que décrit la Hiérarchie céleste du Pseudo-Denys, est-elle interprétée comme reflétant la structure de l’âme et les étapes de son ascension jusqu’à l’union béatifiante avec Dieu, à laquelle renvoient les dialogues amoureux du Cantique des cantiques. Franciscains et chartreux devaient reprendre ces théories à leur compte. III. Clercs et maîtres : l’« esprit » victorin Ayant décrit le cadre de vie de la communauté victorine et les principaux champs du savoir qu’on y cultive, il reste à présenter l’attitude profonde qui les sous-tend et les réunit : c’est ce que faute de mieux on appellera l’« esprit » victorin. Assurément, l’abbaye de Saint-Victor n’est pas la seule communauté canoniale, elle n’est pas non plus le seul lieu où s’acquièrent des savoirs semblables. Ce qui en revanche fait l’originalité du projet victorin, c’est la façon singulière dont un mode de vie et un modèle du savoir s’articulent et se fécondent mutuellement. 1. Conscience canoniale et sens de l’histoire Par leur statut, les victorins sont avant tout des clercs ordonnés à la célébration des sacrements chrétiens, à la prière liturgique et à l’action pastorale. Ceci informe 25 Hugh Feiss – Dominique Poirel – Henri Rochais – Patrice Sicard, Hugues de SaintVictor. La formation des novices, La puissance de la prière, Louange de la charité, Les arrhes de l’âme, Turnhout : Brepols, 1996 (Sous la Règle de saint Augustin, 3), p. 7-125.
506
Dominique Poirel
en profondeur l’enseignement qu’ils dispensent, car d’Hugues à Jean, les victorins se sentent insérés dans une tradition, dans une lignée spirituelle. Fer de lance de la Réforme grégorienne, ils sont aux avant-postes de l’histoire sainte en marche depuis Adam jusqu’à leur époque en passant par le Christ, ses apôtres et leurs successeurs. De là sans doute la place essentielle qu’occupe l’histoire sous toutes ses formes à Saint-Victor. D’Hugues à Jean, on a vu la place importante accordée à l’écriture de l’histoire, le relief original donné à Saint-Victor à l’exégèse historique, le plan « historico-biblique » adopté par Hugues pour sa somme de théologie. Mais il y a plus. À rebours d’un Pierre Abélard, qui applique sa virtuosité dialectique à concilier le sens d’énoncés unanimement admis, Bible, conciles et Pères, mais apparemment contradictoires, les victorins se démarquent par la familiarité avec laquelle ils traitent leurs devanciers les écrivains sacrés, les connaissant intimement mais les citant peu, comme s’ils étaient de plein pied avec eux. Non leurs serviteurs, mais leurs fils, ils les expliquent moins qu’ils ne les prolongent. Ils s’appuient moins sur des « autorités » antérieures qu’ils ne parlent à leur tour avec autorité. La conscience d’être, par le sacerdoce hiérarchique, en lien direct avec la tradition de l’Église, leur donne paradoxalement une plus grande liberté d’interprétation. Pour rejoindre les Pères de l’Église, ils n’ont pas besoin de se cramponner à la lettre des textes, puisqu’ils sont déjà unis à eux par le statut de clercs et de collaborateurs privilégiés de l’évêque. Ces longues listes de personnages sacrés, d’Adam jusqu’au pape contemporain, qui traversent la Chronique et l’arche hugoniennes ne sont pas seulement des jalons chronologiques, elles sont les preuves d’une filiation apostolique et sacramentelle, qui confère aux maîtres victorins une autorité particulière26. Cette conscience cléricale et canoniale se marque de nombreuses façons dans leur œuvre : par la décision de structurer l’exposé de la foi chrétienne autour de la notion de « sacrement » ; par la préférence pour certaines options théologiques, comme l’affirmation alors controversée du rôle majeur du prêtre dans l’absolution des péchés ; enfin par la production massive de sermons et la rédaction d’ouvrages destinés à l’action pastorale, comme les manuels de confesseur. Elle explique sans doute aussi l’intérêt d’Hugues pour la Hiérarchie céleste du pseudo-Denys : car que représente pour lui la structure hiérarchique de l’univers angélique, sinon un modèle épuré de l’organisation ecclésiastique, dans laquelle le clerc est à l’image de l’ange un envoyé, un messager et un intermédiaire entre Dieu et les hommes ? 26
Dominique Poirel, « ‘Alter Augustinus – Der zweite Augustinus’ Hugo von Sankt Viktor und die Väter der Kirche », dans Väter der Kirche, Ekklesiales Denken von den Anfängen bis in die Neuzeit. Festgabe für Hermann Josef Sieben SJ zum 70. Geburtstag, éd. Johannes Arnold – Rainer Berndt – Ralf M. W. Stammberger, Paderborn – München – Wien – Zürich : Schöningh, 2004, p. 643-668.
Qu’est-ce que Saint-Victor ?
507
Entre la théologie monastique d’un Bernard de Clairvaux et la théologie déjà scolastique d’un Pierre Abélard, il y a place pour une tierce façon d’explorer et d’enseigner le mystère chrétien, cette théologie canoniale dont Hugues de Saint-Victor est le meilleur et le plus complet représentant. 2. Une sagesse réflexive Un autre trait distingue l’école de Saint-Victor : c’est l’aspect réflexif de son enseignement. Hugues en particulier ne se soucie pas seulement de pratiquer la lectio divina, la spéculation théologique et la recherche du progrès moral et spirituel ; par un retour sur lui-même il s’efforce en outre de faire la théorie de cette pratique. De là les nombreux « arts » ou traités de la méthode, dont il est l’auteur : art de lire ou Didascalicon, art de méditer ou De meditatione, art de prier ou De uirtute orandi, art de maîtriser son comportement extérieur ou De institutione nouitio rum ; mais aussi art de la mémoire dans la préface du Chronicon, art de l’exégèse dans le De Scripturis et scriptoribus sacris, art de contempler la création dans le De tribus diebus, art d’unifier les désirs du cœur dans le De archa Noe, art d’aimer ou Soliloquium de arrha animae… L’éducation victorine se compose non seulement d’une matière à assimiler, mais d’opérations à maîtriser. Quelles sont ces opérations ? Par deux fois Hugues a décrit les cinq étapes du progrès intérieur : lecture, méditation, prière, action et contemplation27. Le terme de tout apprentissage est donc la contemplation béatifique de Dieu, toujours incomplète ici-bas, mais que les élus recevront en plénitude. Dans cette vision en effet, ils retrouveront toute réalité, toute connaissance et tout désir présents, mais réordonnés, transfigurés et unifiés en un Dieu « tout en tous ». Pour s’approcher de cette ultime étape, le point de départ est la lecture, solitaire ou sous la conduite du maître, aussitôt suivie de la méditation, effort de l’âme pour approfondir et récapituler ce qu’on a lu et en saisir l’unité. De ce primat de la lecture, il ne faudrait pas conclure au caractère livresque de la sagesse hugonienne. Il s’agit moins de réduire toute connaissance à ce que contiennent les livres, que de faire d’une opération intellectuelle le principe de tout progrès intérieur. La lectio victorine n’est pas seulement lecture, mais aussi étude, apprentissage ; c’est l’examen attentif d’une réalité composite et parcellaire pour en recueillir la signification. Ainsi la nature visible est-elle comparée à un livre et son observation à une lecture : comme face à une page, il s’agit de dépasser un regard morcelé sur des objets distincts – les créatures, les lettres – pour parvenir à une vision globale, ordonnée et signifiante de l’ensemble. Le regard que jette 27 Didascalicon, V, 9, éd. Buttimer, p. 109-110 ; De meditatione, éd. Roger Baron, Hugues de Saint-Victor, Six opuscules spirituels, Paris : Cerf, 1969 (Sources chrétiennes, 155), p. 16-19.
Dominique Poirel
508
le victorin sur toutes choses, livres, monde extérieur, vie intérieure, est d’emblée un regard exégétique, qui s’efforce de trouver partout l’unité du sens. Après la lecture et la méditation, la prière et l’action incorporent ce qui a été découvert à une existence chrétienne ouverte à la présence de Dieu et à la transformation du monde. Le savoir, en effet, n’est jamais séparé du désir, dont la prière est la forme la plus haute, ni de l’action, sans laquelle il ne serait qu’une vaine curiosité. Aussi la réflexion d’Hugues sur la méthodologie de l’apprentissage a-t-elle un volet éthique. Dans le Didascalicon, Hugues ne se demande pas seulement « que lire ? », mais aussi « dans quel ordre le lire ? » et « comment le lire ? ». À la troisième interrogation il répond en commentant les vers de Bernard de Chartres : « l’esprit humble, l’ardeur à chercher, la vie calme, l’enquête en silence, la pauvreté, la terre étrangère : ainsi s’ouvre souvent ce que beaucoup lisent d’obscur28. » Au fond, ces circonstances favorables décrivent bien le cadre de la vie communautaire à Saint-Victor, à l’écart du monde pour mieux se vouer à une contemplation indissolublement intellectuelle et spirituelle. L’humilité, commentée la première et le plus longuement, n’est pas seulement requise par l’orientation chrétienne du traité : elle est aussi, simultanément, une vertu épistémologique. Ne dédaigner aucun savoir, ne rougir d’apprendre de personne, ne pas mépriser les autres une fois devenu plus savant : telles sont les conditions du véritable progrès intellectuel. Vouloir paraître sage avant l’heure : tel est le plus sûr moyen de ne jamais le devenir. Reconnaître son ignorance et vouloir la combler exige donc un effort sur soi. On est là fort loin des écoles séculières, comme celle de Pierre Abélard, où l’émulation entre étudiants, voire entre maîtres, est encouragée au moyen de la « dispute scolaire », sorte de tournoi rhétorique ou dialectique, dans lequel chaque orateur cherche à triompher de son adversaire à force d’arguments logiques. À cette conception agonistique de la recherche de la vérité, s’oppose radicalement la paisible humilité promue à Saint-Victor : pour Hugues, la controverse favorise l’orgueil et l’opiniâtreté, elle empêche d’accueillir ou même d’entendre ce qu’il y a de valable dans la position adverse. Quand il lui arrive de prendre part aux débats théologiques de son temps, il le fait sans éclat polémique. Il affirme sa thèse clairement et avec autorité, mais sait y distinguer ce qui, selon lui, s’impose à tous de ce qui ressortit à une position personnelle et discutable : « Il y a une seule chose que pour ma part j’affirme sans hésiter […]. Celui qui ne me croit pas en ce que je crois ceci, ne croit pas bien. Quant au reste, je ne contrains pas mais conseille. Qui me croit là-dessus, croit avec moi ; qui ne me croit pas, qu’il se croie lui-même, jusqu’à ce qu’il parvienne là où il croira avec moi, mais qu’entre-temps chacun s’efforce d’abonder humblement dans 28
Didascalicon, III, 12, éd. Buttimer, p. 61.
Qu’est-ce que Saint-Victor ?
509
son sens, non de préjuger hautainement29. » À la dispute scolastique, s’opposent donc la méditation victorine et le dialogue à l’ombre du cloître, sous l’autorité d’un maître qui guide les débats et contrôle leur déroulement courtois et dépassionné. 3. Universalité et unification Mais ce qui caractérise mieux que tout l’école de Saint-Victor, c’est sans doute son sens de l’universel. Ce que d’autres courants séparent, y est méthodiquement articulé, réconcilié, réuni. Ainsi voit-on les maîtres victorins maintenir l’équilibre entre les arts du langage et les arts du quadrivium ; entre les arts libéraux au complet et la science sacrée ; dans celle-ci, entre l’exégèse historique et l’interprétation spirituelle (allégorique et tropologique) des Écritures. Contre la tendance dominante, au moins parmi les maîtres parisiens, à une spécialisation et une technicisation des disciplines, Saint-Victor maintient fermement leur interdépendance et leur complémentarité. Rien de ce qui est humain ne doit être laissé en dehors de son projet pédagogique, et c’est pourquoi même les arts mécaniques y trouvent place : même eux participent à leur façon d’un sens victorin de l’universel, telle la navigation qui, explique Hugues, « pénètre les lieux secrets du monde, aborde des côtes jamais vues, parcourt des déserts horribles et pratique le commerce de l’humanité avec des nations barbares, dans des langues inconnues. Sa pratique réconcilie les peuples, calme les guerres, affermit la paix et fait tourner les biens privés à l’utilité commune de tous30. » Bien sûr, il n’est pas possible de tout lire et Hugues lui-même ne prône pas une curiosité boulimique, qui accumulerait les connaissances sans les unifier. La sagesse selon Hugues n’est pas une omniscience invertébrée ; toute son œuvre apparaît au contraire comme un effort constant pour montrer à ses étudiants, dans la totalité du savoir ou dans chacune de ses parties, l’essentiel à connaître, le cœur de ce qui est à comprendre, le minimum indispensable auquel tout le reste pourra ensuite, éventuellement, progressivement, se raccorder. La plupart de ses traités consistent donc en des compendia, sortes d’abrégés de ce qu’il faut retenir dans un domaine quelconque du savoir. Le Didascalicon lui-même ne se contente pas de décrire les domaines du savoir à explorer, pour chacun de ces derniers cet « art de lire » qu’il est aussi définit en outre quels sont les auteurs fondamentaux et ce qu’il faut lire en priorité. En théologie, par exemple, il déconseille fortement de tout lire : « Sur l’océan si vaste des livres et les sinuosités si complexes des pensées, qui souvent abasourdissent l’esprit du lecteur par leur nombre et leur obscurité, on aura du mal à recueillir fût-ce une seule chose si on ne reconnaît pas d’abord sommairement, dans chaque genre pour 29 30
De sapientia Christi, éd. PL 176, col. 856CD. Didascalicon, II, 23, éd. Buttimer, p. 41.
510
Dominique Poirel
ainsi dire, un principe certain […] auquel tout puisse se rapporter31. » Dans cette perspective, le Didascalicon encourage l’acquisition d’une culture générale et le précepte « apprends tout » invite non pas à tout lire et tout connaître indistinctement, mais plutôt à ne mépriser aucune branche du savoir : il n’est aucune science, aucune discipline, si humble soit-elle, qui n’apporte à la sagesse sa contribution spécifique. À rebours de certains courants monastiques, qui expriment leur méfiance devant l’appétit de connaître, ou invitent à privilégier certaines études au détriment d’autres, Saint-Victor se signale par son regard positif sur la globalité du savoir. Celui-ci est encouragé, non pas malgré la vocation religieuse du chanoine victorin, mais à cause d’elle précisément. C’est que lire, apprendre et enseigner participent à l’œuvre de rédemption. Par le péché originel, en effet, l’homme a été blessé dans toutes ses dimensions : son corps a été touché par la maladie et la mort, sa capacité de connaître par l’erreur, sa capacité d’aimer par l’égoïsme. L’être humain qui en résulte demeure essentiellement bon, mais il est atrophié dans ses facultés et vicié dans leur mise en œuvre. Il a donc besoin d’être guéri, rééduqué, restauré dans toutes ses dimensions. Comme la technique est bonne en ce qu’elle pallie les faiblesses ce corps mortel, jusqu’à ce qu’il soit restauré dans l’immortalité prévue par Dieu, de même l’application à l’étude et la pratique des vertus sont bonnes, en ce que peu à peu elles recréent en l’âme la sagesse, sorte d’avant-goût de la contemplation des élus32. La science et la raison ne sont donc nullement suspectes, elles sont au contraire ordonnées au salut de l’homme. « Apprends tout » ne résume pas seulement le manifeste hugonien d’un humanisme encyclopédique, c’est aussi une invitation à reformer, par l’ascèse de l’étude, l’image et la ressemblance divines en l’homme. * * * Dans l’histoire du Moyen Âge, Saint-Victor de Paris marque un point d’équilibre fragile entre une ouverture de l’intelligence à tous les savoirs et la volonté d’articuler ceux-ci dans une vision chrétienne de la personne humaine et de ses relations avec Dieu, la nature et les autres hommes. La grandeur de l’idéal victorin est d’avoir dès l’origine fait coïncider ce programme avec un état presque complet des connaissances disponibles dans la première moitié du xiie siècle ; sa misère vient de ce que, la science ne cessant d’augmenter, la multiplication des livres et 31
Didascalicon, VI, 4, éd. Buttimer, p. 120. Didascalicon, I, 5-8, éd. Buttimer, p. 12-16 ; Richard de Saint-Victor, Liber exceptionum, I, 1-5, éd. Jean Châtillon, Richard de Saint-Victor, Liber exceptionum, Paris : Vrin, 1958 (Textes philosophiques du Moyen Âge, 5), p. 104-106. 32
Qu’est-ce que Saint-Victor ?
511
des connaissances, surtout l’entrée d’Aristote et de la littérature gréco-arabe, ont en un siècle rendu ce programme obsolète. Désormais, et de nos jours moins que jamais, il n’est plus possible de « tout apprendre ». Pourtant, à en juger par l’essor contemporain des études victorines, l’idéal pédagogique d’un Hugues continue de fasciner, peut-être parce qu’en antidote à notre ultra-spécialisation, il rappelle que le savoir, si complet soit-il, ne saurait combler l’homme à moins de se structurer en sagesse.
Abstracts PROLOGUE Dominique Poirel, “An international revival of Victorine studies : Introduction to the volume” / « Un renouveau international des études victorines : introduction au volume » For several years now, there has been an international revival of Victorine studies, which is reflected in the multiplication of series specialising in editions or studies of the authors of St Victor and in a succession of international conferences on the abbey and its principal masters. This book summarises this ferment and brings together contributions of specialists from thirteen countries, in Europe, the Americas and Oceania. The critical edition of two unedited Victorine works, the reception of the masters of Saint-Victor in the Spanish Carmel of the seventeenth century and in medieval and contemporary Poland complete a rich panorama of Victorine thought, in which original studies on Hugh of St Victor, his main disciples, and the influence they had on various thinkers, especially Franciscans, cover a multitude of themes ranging from admiration of nature to Trinitarian speculation, humanism, exegesis, preaching, liturgy, contemplation and spiritual love. Depuis plusieurs années, on observe un renouveau international des études victorines, qui se manifeste par la multiplication de collections spécialisées dans l’édition ou l’étude des auteurs de Saint-Victor et par une succession de colloques internationaux sur l’abbaye et ses principaux maîtres. Résumant ce bouillonnement, le présent livre réunit des contributions de spécialistes venus de treize pays, d’Europe, des Amériques et d’Océanie. L’édition critique de deux œuvres victorines inédites, la réception des maîtres de Saint-Victor dans le Carmel espagnol au xviie siècle et dans la Pologne médiévale et contemporaine complètent un riche panorama de la pensée victorine, dans lequel des études originales sur Hugues de Saint-Victor, ses principaux disciples et l’influence qu’ils ont exercée sur divers penseurs, franciscains surtout, aborde une multitude de thèmes allant de l’admiration de la nature à la spéculation trinitaire en passant par l’humanisme, l’exégèse, la prédication, la liturgie, la contemplation et l’amour spirituel.
PART I : MAGISTER HUGO Agnieszka Kijewska, “John Scottus Eriugena and Hugh of Saint Victor : Readers of the Book of Nature and the Book of Scripture” In this paper I follow my conviction that a reading of the two eponymous metaphors – the book of the world and the book of Scripture – says something important and interesting about the thought of medieval authors and about their peculiar, « sign-based » approach
514
Abstracts
to created reality. Hugh of St. Victor in his De tribus diebus treats the visible reality as a sign-text intended by God so that man reads through it the order of Divine Wisdom. In his works, Eriugena similarly introduces the parallelism of the book of Nature and the book of Scripture, evoking the beautiful biblical metaphors. In his Homily on the Prologue of the Gospel of St. John, he observed that the eternal Light manifests itself to the world in two ways : through Scripture and creation. I try to follow the main tenets of this « sign-based » metaphysics, taking the highlighting examples principally from Hugh’s De tribus diebus and from the works of John Scottus. My main concern is with the reader of those two books for against this background I want to emphasize fascinating microcosmic anthropology of both authors.
Marco Rainini, “Causa omnium homo. Hugh of St Victor and the new anthropology: between monks and canons on both banks of the Rhine” / “Causa omnium homo. Ugo di San Vittore e la nuova antropologia : fra monaci e canonici sulle due rive del Reno” The studies of Marie-Dominique Chenu and Yves Congar in the 1950s focused on the importance of the change of perspective in considering man’s creation between eleventh and twelfth century. Before then, man was thought of as a “spare part” for the celestial city: some angels had fallen, and God had replaced them with the creation of man. After this turning point, man was considered the summit of the creation – even more so because of the Incarnation. The ecclesiological – that is, ecclesiastical and social – consequences were deep and wide. Historiography has often insisted on the role the school of Laon, and in general the regular canons, have had in this development. Actually Hugh of St. Victor seems to have played a central role in these changes, in particular due to his studies in the lands east of the Rhine, before he settled in Paris. It was in Germany that the theme of the centrality of man in the creation emerged and spread especially in the network of the Benedictine reform of Hirsau. To be more precise, this kind of speculation was developed there thanks to the spreading in the lands of the Empire of the writings by the pseudo-Areopagite and by his commentator John Scotus Eriugena. Negli anni Cinquanta del secolo scorso gli studi di Marie-Dominique Chenu e Yves Congar in particolare avevano messo in luce l’importanza del mutamento avvenuto fra XI e XII secolo nella considerazione teologica dell’uomo. La creatura umana non viene più considerata semplicemente come un rimpiazzo degli angeli caduti, voluta da Dio per colmarne il vuoto nella Gerusalemme celeste, ma per se stessa, come vertice della creazione – soprattutto, in vista dell’incarnazione. Le conseguenze dal punto di vista ecclesiologico – sociale ed ecclesiastico, dunque – sono di straordinaria portata. La storiografia ha spesso insistito sul ruolo della scuola di Laon, e sul mondo dei canonici regolari in genere, in questo cambiamento di paradigma. In realtà Ugo di San Vittore appare sotto questo profilo uno snodo centrale, soprattutto in virtù della sua formazione nelle terre dell’Impero, prima di arrivare a Parigi: è lì che il Vittorino trova questi temi ben sviluppati, in particolare nella rete della riforma benedettina di Hirsau. Più in profondità, tale speculazione appare nutrita dalla diffusione in area tedesca delle opere dello pseudo-Dionigi e del suo commentatore Giovanni Scoto.
Abstracts
515
Cédric Giraud, « L’école de Saint-Victor, l’humanisme et la « Renaissance du xiie siècle » : autour du livre I du De vanitate rerum mundanarum d’Hugues de Saint-Victor » Le De vanitate rerum mundanarum d’Hugues échappe aux classifications schématiques en portant un regard positif sur le monde et l’homme. Il ne cherche pas imposer au réel un a priori ou une idéologie comme grille de lecture, mais à observer les réalités du monde comme un spectacle ou un donné naturel. Certes, le De vanitate atteste une « primauté du spirituel » : ce qui est éternel l’emporte sur le transitoire. En ce sens, les activités temporelles de l’homme sont vanité dès lors qu’il porte en lui une part d’éternité. Mais la pensée bien comprise d’Hugues n’implique pas de renoncer aux qualificatifs d’« humanisme » et de « pessimisme », mais de les appliquer chacun au niveau de réalité qui lui correspond. Le « pessimisme » hugonien est englobé dans un « humanisme » et un socratisme chrétien plus vastes et qui l’orientent.
Ineke van ’t Spijker, “Non quaerat extra se, qui haec propter se facta credit. Hugh of Saint-Victor’s Pedagogy” Throughout his œuvre Hugh of Saint-Victor showed an ongoing concern with the formation, or fashioning of the reader. In his most theological works, e.g. the De sacramentis, as well as in his clearly didactic treatises like the Didascalicon and the Institutio Novitiorum, or the works on the Ark and the shorter treatises e.g. on meditation, this pedagogical project is an integral part. Hugh situated this process of formation in an encompassing history and cosmology, which on a symbolic level contain the program for the individual reader’s development. This article discusses some of the themes which characterize Hugh’s pedagogical thought: the need for the pursuit of self-knowledge through reading Scripture and Creation; the importance, in this process, of man’s position between outer and inner, visible and invisible, physical and spiritual; and the need to engage the rational as well as the affective faculties.
Pascaline Mercury, « L’amour selon Hugues de Saint-Victor : la nature comme voie vers le salut » Sur l’amour, Hugues de Saint-Victor présente des conceptions amples, subtiles et structurées. En particulier, le De arrha animae est une manuduction qui purifie peu à peu un amour naturel encore immature pour l’épanouir en un amour ouvert, généreux et désintéressé. La thèse de l’amour transformateur intègre le mouvement naturel de l’amour tout en le dépassant : il devient ainsi re-création d’une l’âme, créée par et pour l’amour. Unificateur, l’amour se donne tout entier et, étant Dieu, contient toute réalité. Tendant à une société des cœurs fondée en Dieu, il peut être personnel en même temps que partagé, au-delà de tout panthéisme ou utilitarisme. La position humaniste du victorin se détache ainsi par la radicalité de son équilibre et de son ambition : par sa nature, et non seulement par sa volonté, l’homme est destiné à une transformation qui le divinise : l’amour naturel débouche dans la divine charité.
516
Abstracts PART II : DISCIPLES
Dennis Bray, “Richard’s Trinitarian Argument In De Trinitate : An Analytic Overview” De Trinitate is the culmination of the Richardine corpus. Where many of Richard’s earlier works address discrete theological questions, De Trinitate integrates previous findings into a single, sustained case. The heart of the treatise is Richard’s argument for three, and only three, divine persons. The spiritual, psychological, and intellective aims of De Trinitate are best achieved if its constitutive arguments are sound, and we must grasp its arguments to fully appreciate the treatise. Its clarity and the simplicity of its prose has, unfortunately, led many to consider De Trinitate too superficially. Yet, the treatise develops a serious, subtle progression of arguments – all of which require a serious and sophisticated reading. To help us achieve such a reading, this chapter provides a step-by-step outline of the core trinitarian argument. Accompanying the analytic précis is some exposition and defence at key points along the way.
Montse Leyra-Curia, “Andrew’s in hebreo interpretations as a fuller version of some notes in Hugh’s commentary on the Octateuch” Roughly a quarter of the 300 interpretations in hebreo (referring either to the Hebrew text or language or to Jews) that appear in the commentaries of Hugh and Andrew of St. Victor on the Heptateuch, Samuel, and Kings had their origin in actual conversations with contemporary Jews. In this essay, I intend to analyse the interpretations that are common to both Hugh and Andrew in their commentaries on the Pentateuch and the Books of Samuel, identifying where Andrew’s text adds references to the Hebrew or in hebreo material to Hugh’s notes, and discerning whether his additions serve to make Hugh’s text better understood and may in fact have come from Hugh’s original teaching and have preserved Hugh’s original lectures more fully than Hugh’s manuscripts or the Migne edition. Thus, I aim to shed light on the relationship between Hugh’s Note and Andrew’s commentaries on the Pentateuch, Samuel, and Kings.
Frans van Liere, “The date of Andrew of Saint Victor’s commentaries on the Prophets, and the curious case of Ms Mazarine” This article is a discussion of three pieces of evidence that might help us to establish more firmly the date of composition of Andrew’s commentaries on the Prophets : his use of the Glossa ordinaria, the distribution and transmission of his commentaries in the manuscripts known to contain his work, and the oldest manuscript of his Isaiah commentary, MS Paris, Bibl. Mazarine 175, one of the few manuscripts dating from Andrew’s own lifetime. Although the latter provides some interesting insight into the use of Andrew’s Isaiah commentary by Richard of Saint Victor, exact dates for the composition of his prophetic commentaries remain elusive. The manuscript does, however, offer interesting new insights into Andrew’s use of the biblical commentaries of Jerome.
Abstracts
517
Andrea Pistoia, “Scripture and Liturgy, an exclusive means to understand the Church” Imbued with the thought of Hugh of St. Victor, though inauthentic, the Speculum Ecclesiae gives both an allegorical and theological explanation of the mysteries of the Church, i.e. the liturgy, the Scriptures and the principal mysteries of the Christian faith. This contribution focuses primarily on the comparison between the Speculum Ecclesiae and the Sententiae de divinitate of Hugh of St. Victor. These two texts share a description of the genera veri, which is not found – except for the Miscellanea – in any other Hugh’s work. But also the question of the senses of scripture, which highlights a singular attempt to reconcile a threefold and a fourfold subdivision that would culminate in the anagogic sense, the highest and most spiritual.
Antonio Sordillo, “« Speculator castrorum Dei » Philosophy and Theology in Godfrey of St. Victor’s Sermons” In his sermons Godfrey of St. Victor analyzes the theoretical foundations of the mechanical and liberal arts starting from the teaching of his school. Considering the arts as man’s guaranteed expedient for his survival after original sin, Godfrey clarifies the modalities of a virtuous use of artes in the state of sin, even if he insists on showing the dramatic condition of the human soul linked to a body forced into materiality. By circumscribing the limits of the exercise of human reason, Godfrey distinguishes a philosophy as pagan metaphysics (whose object is grasped by man with the exercise of the sola ratio) and as a process of ascension to true theology (whose subject, otherwise unknown to the man, is granted to him with Revelation): if in the first one there is a risk, a danger of sin, the second is certainly necessary for the man who seeks God.
Marguerite Vernet, « Les sermons in generali capitulo d’Absalon de Saint-Victor : réflexions sur la prédication victorine de la fin du xiie siècle » Réflexion sur la prédication victorine à partir de quatre sermons d’Absalon de Saint-Victor, prononcés lors du chapitre général de l’ordre, dans lesquels domine la question de la communauté. Ces sermons sont témoins et acteurs du changement ecclésiologique opéré dès le xiie siècle et plus encore au xiiie siècle. Assimilant la communauté victorine à l’Église universelle, Absalon utilise l’expression ecclesia militans avec toutes ses implications théologiques : investissement dans la pastorale et centralité des aspects terrestres de l’Église. Le prédicateur donne vie à la communauté en recourant à la forme du discours, avec ses diverses méthodes de dilatatio du thema, aux concordances, similitudes et distinctions et en particulier à une exégèse visuelle et allégorique spécifique à Saint-Victor. Tous ces traits soulignent l’aspect performatif des sermons : ils changent les cœurs et augmentent la foi, transforment l’auditoire et, dans notre cas, animent la communauté au milieu des auditeurs.
518
Abstracts
Chris Schabel, “Radices et plantationes theologicae facultatis hic Parisius The Biblical Principia of Pierre Leduc and Henri le Boulangier and the Victorine Tradition during the Great Schism” Among the Victorines who became regent masters in theology at the University of Paris, Pierre Leduc († 1400) and Henri le Boulangier († 1419) left instructive texts about the permanence of the Victorine heritage during the late Middle Ages. After a presentation of their academic works, the biblical Principia of the two authors are studied and edited for the first time. In these texts, the two future masters show an attitude towards their illustrious twelfth-century predecessors that reconciles pride with a certain independence, in contrast to the Dominican order after the canonization of Thomas Aquinas. In addition to many ancient Victorine authors, they quote the opinions of more recent theologians and deal with theological problems that had not been treated before the fourteenth century. Even their recourse to older theologians, as recommended by Gerson, is in keeping with the contemporary context. Their Victorine pride is not intellectual servitude.
PART III : INFLUENCES Constant J. Mews, “An English Response to Victorine thought : Odo’s Ysagoge in theologiam” While Arthur Landgraf edited the Ysagoge in theologiam, dedicated by a certain Odo to Gilbert Foliot, as a work of the school of Peter Abelard, it might more accurately be described as a work that draws on theological perspectives of both Hugh of Saint-Victor and of Peter Abelard in a most original way. It is perhaps most notable for its presentation of Old Testament texts in Hebrew script with a transliteration into Latin. This study evaluates the relative influences of both Peter Abelard and Hugh of Saint-Victor on this text, as well as of the Summa sententiarum. This study suggests that rather than calling the Ysagoge a product “of the school of Abelard,” we should consider it as a highly original mutation of Victorine thought, developed outside the constraints of any single theological school.
Mira Mocan, “Victorine thought and the origins of Romance literature: the case of the troubadours” / “Il pensiero vittorino e le origini della letteratura romanza : il caso dei trovatori” The intervention briefly reconstructs the documentable dialogue between some of the most illustrious troubadours and the culture of the School of Saint-Victor and proposes a reflection on peculiar aspects of Victorine thinking that may have stimulated the interest of poets in the vernacular. My intervention focuses particularly on the Victorine conception of textuality, since the presence of themes and lexicon referable to Victorine works is often associated with a metapoetic reflection in courtly poetry. For example, this is the case of Bernart de Ventadorn and the epistle on caritas attributed to Ivo di San Vittore, or
Abstracts
519
the topos of luminosity, present in compositions by Marcabru and Bernart de Ventadorn, which can be related to Ugo’s the De arrha animae. This last text seems to have, in turn, taken on some motives belonging to the contemporary courtly culture.
Boyd Taylor Coolman, “Masters, Mystics, & Ministers in the Medieval City” « But Hugh excels in all three. » By this assertion, Bonaventure seems to imply, with a whiff of nostalgia, that three actions, which tend to separate, being practiced by distinct groups : doctors, preachers and contemplatives actually form or should form three complementary components of a single theological enterprise : « what to believe », « how to live » and « how to be united to God ». The effort to articulate them while keeping them together maps the contours of a continuous and coherent « Victorine-Franciscan » (V-F) tradition, running from Hugh to Bonaventure and including Richard of St. Victor, Thomas Gallus, Robert Grosseteste, Alexander of Hales. In this tradition, medieval Christianity was a three-dimensional way of life, an ordo vivendi that pursued in a comprehensive, integrated fashion, orthodoxy, orthopraxis and orthopathy ; or right thought, right action, right feeling.
Jonas Narchi, “The mystical descent from contemplation into action according to Hugh, Achard and Richard of St. Victor and its Franciscan reception in the long thirteenth century” While the Victorines are often perceived as outstanding exponents of the contemplative life, a closer examination of their writings reveals that they conceived a mystical descent into compassionate action as the true culmination of religious life. While Hugh’s De tribus diebus provided first steps towards this concept, it was fully developed in the Sermones of Achard and the more influential De quattuor gradibus violentae caritatis of Richard of St. Victor. This paper retraces the genesis of the concept and its subsequent adaptation by the Franciscans of the long thirteenth century, starting with Anthony of Padua and Bonaventure who employed it to define the charism of their order and ending with Rudolph of Biberach through whom the idea would find its way into late medieval Latin and vernacular mysticism.
Gloria Silvana Elías, “The influence of Richard of St. Victor on Duns Scotus’s notion of person” The philosopher who revolutionized the concept of person in the Middle Ages, in his attempt to overcome the Boethian naturalist vision, is undoubtedly Richard of St. Victor, who incorporates the notion of incommunicable existence in his definition. A century later, Duns Scotus recovers this definition to produce his own reflection on one of the most transformative concepts of Christian thought. My purpose is to effectively investigate in what aspects Richard of St. Victor’s position is present in Scots works, and to systematize this presence in this writing.
520
Abstracts
Marcin Jan Janecki, « Saint-Victor et le Carmel : le cas de Thomas de Jésus (1563-1627) » À deux époques d’un puissant renouveau de l’Église, les victorins et les carmes – deux écoles rarement comparées jusqu’ici – ont pourtant en commun de décrire les chemins de l’homme vers Dieu en se fondant sur l’expérience, dans des écrits qui de part et d’autre ont exercé une autorité durable. En approfondissant les sources historiques et doctrinales du Carmel réformé, et surtout de ses auteurs les moins étudiés, on peut se rendre compte que des dépendances littéraires et des assimilations doctrinales ont existé entre Saint-Victor et l’école carmélitaine. La biographie et l’œuvre littéraire de Thomas de Jésus (1563-1627) manifeste un curieux croisement entre ces deux traditions. Son large corpus littéraire, édité seulement en partie, s’avère un locus privilégié pour détecter des canaux de transmission et de l’ampleur de l’impact des maîtres de Saint-Victor sur les auteurs spirituels du Carmel espagnol. Le présent article n’en donne qu’un tout premier aperçu.
Wanda Bajor et Marcin Jan Janecki, « Victorina polonica : présences victorines dans la culture intellectuelle de la Pologne au Moyen Âge et aujourd’hui » L’influence des victorins sur la culture polonaise est abordée de trois manières. D’abord, dans sa dimension matérielle, en évoquant les fondations de la congrégation de Saint-Victor en Poméranie et en dressant un catalogue actualisé des manuscrits de leurs œuvres conservés dans les collections polonaises. Ensuite, une recherche pionnière porte sur l’influence doctrinale des victorins sur l’université de Cracovie à la fin du Moyen Âge, son rôle dans la réforme monastique polonaise au xve siècle, les recours aux doctrines victorines dans les controverses théologiques nées de la Réforme. Enfin sont décrites les études victorines initiées en Pologne au début du xxe siècle par E. Kulesza et qui fleurissent actuellement, en particulier à l’Université catholique de Lublin. En somme, dès le Moyen Âge les maîtres victorins n’ont cessé de retenir l’attention des milieux intellectuels et spirituels polonais en exerçant hier et aujourd’hui une influence discrète mais efficace sur la culture polonaise.
Mieczysław Gogacz, « La philosophie de l’être d’après le Beniamin Maior de Richard de Saint-Victor », avec un avant-propos de Wanda Bajor et Marcin Jan Janecki En 1957, Mieczyslaw Gogacz soutient à la Faculté de philosophie de l’Université catholique de Lublin une thèse de doctorat intitulée Philosophie de l’être dans le « Benjamin Major » de Richard de Saint-Victor. Selon lui, Richard a élaboré dans cet ouvrage une théorie originale complète de la contemplation, reposant sur une théorie métaphysique neuve, distincte des traditions platonicienne et pseudo-dionysienne. Là où la plupart des commentateurs parlent des « six degrés de la contemplation », il faut voir plutôt six classes particulières d’êtres. Cette philosophie de l’être est donc réaliste, malgré un vocabulaire qui paraîtrait d’abord l’apparenter à l’idéalisme. Les traits originaux de cette
Abstracts
521
théorie métaphysique sont qu’elle prend appui sur une connaissance empirique et objective du réel, propose une articulation inédite de la philosophie, de la contemplation et de la mystique, affirme enfin que notre connaissance des choses se limite à ce que nous en dit le symbole.
ÉPILOGUE Dominique Poirel, « Qu’est-ce que Saint-Victor ? » Malgré leurs différences, les ouvrages victorins ont comme un « air de famille », dont on s’efforce ici de dégager les causes. D’abord, ils ont été produits dans une abbaye particulière, qui les marque de son histoire, de son mode de vie canonial et de son insertion dans un réseau de solidarités religieuses, politiques et idéologiques. Ensuite, chaque ouvrage à sa manière prend place dans un programme victorin, tracé à l’origine par H ugues, dans lequel l’humanisme encyclopédique se prolonge naturellement en une sagesse chrétienne. Fondée dans une triple assimilation des Écritures, celle-ci unit fortement l’érudition biblique, la spéculation théologique et le progrès spirituel. Par là, ces ouvrages présentent un « esprit » victorin, qui se distingue par un sens canonial de l’histoire, une sagesse réflexive et l’effort constant pour embrasser et décloisonner tous les champs du savoir et de la vie.
Contributors Professeure à la Faculté de philosophie de l’Université catholique de Lublin, responsable de la Chaire d’histoire de la philosophie en Pologne, directrice du Centre d’histoire de la culture au Moyen Âge, rédactrice en chef de la série « Acta Mediaevalia » et rédactrice en chef adjointe des « Annales d’Études Culturelles », Wanda Bajor est spécialiste de la culture intellectuelle médiévale, en particulier polonaise à l’époque jagellonne, et dans le champ de l’histoire de la science et de la philosophie médiévales et des formes de leur diffusion (écriture, écoles, universités). Elle mène également des recherches fondamentales en anthropologie (le concept d’intellect/âme), en théorie socio-politique et en esthétique médiévales. Ses principales publications comptent des éditions critiques et des études : « Quaestiones cracovienses in II-III libros ‘De anima’ Aristotelis (editio critica) », dans Studia Antyczne i Mediewistyczne, t. 5, 2007 ; Benedicti Hesse Quaestiones disputatae super tres libros « De anima » Aristotelis (Libri I et II). Editio critica et inquisitio historico-philosophica, Lublin : Wydawnictwo KUL, 2011 ; Critical edition of the « Glossa in Politicam » (Liber III) Pauli de Worczyn, dans Przegląd Tomistyczny, t. 26, 2020, p. 81119 ; « Body-Soul and the Birth and Death of Man : Benedict Hesse’s Opinion in the Mediaeval Discussion », dans Roczniki Filozoficzne, t. 69/2, 2021, p. 39-64. Dennis Bray is associate lecturer at the School of Divinity, St. Mary’s College, University of St Andrews, where he teaches on historical, systematic, and analytic theology. His research focuses on systematic and philosophical issues in trinitarian theology. His current work is on arguments for the Trinity, and he has published on the trinitarian arguments of Gregory Nazianzen, Richard of St. Victor, and Saint Bonaventure. Dennis works in theological aesthetics, and has the forthcoming publication What is Art? (Contours of Christian Philosophy Series, InterVarsity Press, co-authored with David McNutt). Boyd Taylor Coolman is Professor at the Theology Department Faculty of Boston College. An historical theologian of medieval Catholicism, his research interests lie in the twelfth and early thirteenth centuries, with a focus on the Victorine and early Franciscan traditions, on the emergence of scholastic theology, and on medieval mystical theologies. His recent publications include Knowledge, Love, and Ecstasy in Thomas Gallus, Oxford, 2017 ; The Theology of Hugh of St. Victor: An Interpretation, Cambridge University Press, 2010. He is also one of the editors of the serial Victorine Texts in Translation, in which he has published : Trinity and Creation, éd. Boyd Taylor Coolman and Dale M. Coulter, Turnhout : Brepols, 2010. Archiviste paléographe et agrégé d’histoire, Cédric Giraud est professeur ordinaire de langue et littérature latines médiévales à l’université de Genève et directeur d’études cumulant à la Ve section de l’EPHE. Ses recherches portent sur l’histoire culturelle du
524
Contributors
Moyen Âge, notamment l’histoire des textes latins. Parmi ses dernières publications : Écrits spirituels du Moyen Âge, Paris, 2019 (Bibliothèque de la Pléiade, n° 643); (dir.) A Companion to Twelfth-Century Schools, Leiden – Boston, 2020 (Brill’s Companions to the Christian Tradition, 88). Mieczysław Gogacz a enseigné la philosophie à l’Université catholique de Lublin, à l’Académie de théologie catholique et à l’Université Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński de Varsovie, étudiant Platon, Aristote et divers auteurs médiévaux, notamment Thomas d’Aquin. Il s’intéresse à l’ontologie, l’anthropologie, l’éthique, l’esthétique, la pédagogie, la philosophie de la connaissance, de la culture et de la vie religieuse. Parmi ses publications : Człowiek i jego relacje. Materiały do filozofii człowieka, Warszawa : Akademia Teologii Katolickiej, 1985 ; Filozoficzne aspekty mistyki : materiały do filozofii mistyki, Warszawa : Akademia Teologii Katolickiej, 1985 ; Szkice o kulturze, Kraków – Warszawa : Michalineum, 1985 ; Modlitwa i mistyka, Kraków – Warszawa : Michalineum, 1987 ; Elementarz metafizyki, Warszawa : Akademia Teologii Katolickiej, 1987 ; Ku etyce chronienia osób : wokół podstaw etyki, Warszawa : Pallottinum, 1991 ; Wprowadzenie do etyki chronienia osób, Warszawa : Nawo 1995 ; Osoba zadaniem pedagogiki. Wykłady bydgoskie, Warszawa : Nawo, 1997. Chercheur au Centre d’histoire de la culture du Moyen Âge de l’Université catholique de Jean-Paul II de Lublin, Marcin Jan Janecki travaille en littérature patristique syriaque, en philosophie et en exégèse biblique du Moyen Âge latin ainsi qu’en histoire de la spiritualité carmélitaine. Passionné par l’édition critique, la traduction et l’interprétation des textes anciens, il s’est formé dans et collabore actuellement avec plusieurs centres de recherche et universités en Europe. Il a notamment publié : Tomasz od Jezusa. Itinerarium pustyni, Poznań : Wydawnictwo Flos Carmeli, 2016 ; Tomasz z Akwinu, Wykład Listu do Galatów, Toruń : Wydawnictwo UMK, 2021 ; Izaak z Niniwy : Mowy I, Warszawa : Wydawnictwo Naukowe UKSW, 2021 (sous presse). Il prépare en ce moment l’édition critique de l’Epitoma Dindimi in Philosophiam et du Super Ecclesiasten d’Hugues de Saint-Victor, ainsi que la traduction polonaise de plusieurs commentaires bibliques du Docteur angélique. Un ouvrage collectif en polonais consacré à la pensée victorine : Mądrość wiktorynów. Kultura intelektualna szkoły św. Wiktora, Kęty, 2021, sous sa rédaction en collaboration avec W. Bajor et D. Poirel, est sous presse parallèlement au présent volume. Agnieszka Kijewska is Professor of the History of Ancient and Medieval Philosophy in the Institute of Philosophy at the John Paul II Lublin Catholic University (Poland). Her interests cover the medieval Neoplatonic Tradition, mainly St. Augustine, Boethius, Eriugena, the school of Chartres and Nicolas Cusanus. She is the author of some monographs in Polish on Eriugena, Boethius, St. Augustine and many scholarly articles. Agnieszka Kijewska has also translated classical philosophical texts (Boethius’, Eriugena’s and Cusanus’ works) into Polish.
Contributors
525
Latinista y hebraísta, Ph.D. at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem (Israel) and at the Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Montse Leyra Curiá is an Associate Professor at la Universidad San Dámaso (Madrid) and at La Universidad Internacional de la Rioja (Spain). She is a Research fellow in the research Project of el CSIC (Spain): “Ciencia y Religión en el Judaísmo Medieval (I.P. Mariano Gómez) and in the research Project “Recuperación de la estética medieval y diálogo con la estética contemporánea: localización, traducción y estudio de textos de estética medieval.” (IP: Victor Manuel Tirad, supported by O.I.R.I at la Universidad San Dámaso). Her last publications are: In Hebraeo. The Victorine Exegesis of the Bible in the light of its Northern-French Jewish Sources. Bibliotheca Victorina 26. Turnhout: Brepols, 2017; “The References to the Talmud in Andrew of St. Victor’s Biblical Commentaries,” in Studies on the Latin Talmud. Documents (Universitat Autónoma de Barcelona: Bellaterra: Barcelona, 2017), 145-159; and the translation from Hebrew to Spanish of the preface and introduction to the books of Kings by the Jewish exegete Isaac Abravanel (14371508), in Iberia Judaica XII: Asociación Hispana de Estudios Hebraicos (2020), p. 19-100. Diplômée d’un master en Phénoménologie, Métaphysique et Histoire de la philosophie à Sorbonne-Université, Pascaline Mercury a réalisé sous la direction de Jacob Schmutz un mémoire intitulé L’amour chez Hugues de Saint-Victor (Misère et grandeur de l’âme : un optimisme chrétien). Constant J. Mews, who obtained his DPhil from Oxford University (1980), has been Director of the Centre for Studies Religious Studies at Monash University from 1995 until his retirement at the end of 2021. While his principal publications have related to the life and thought of Peter Abelard (The Lost Love Letters of Heloise and Abelard. Perceptions of Dialogue in Twelfth-Century France, 2nd ed., 2008 ; Abelard and Heloise, Oxford, 2005), he has also published widely on their contemporaries, both within the schools and in monastic life, as well as more broadly on the religious and intellectual history of medieval Europe not just in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, but also in early medieval Ireland. Mira Veronica Mocan is Professor of Roman Philology at Università Roma Tre and at Università della Svizzera italiana. Her research focuses on Provençal and Italian literature of 13th-14th centuries, in particular on the influence of Latin philosophical and theological texts on Dante and on artistic creation of the 13th-14th centuries. She has notably published : L’arca della mente : Riccardo di San Vittore nella Commedia di Dante, Firenze, 2012 ; l’« esegesi visiva » della scuola di San Vittore », dans Letteratura et arte, t. 8, 2010, p. 37-54 ; « Il teatro della mente : immaginazione creatrice e immagini dipinte nel medioevo ; La trasparenza e il riflesso : sull’alta fantasia in Dante e nel pensiero medievale, Milano, 2007 ; I pensieri del cuore : Perla semantica del provenzale cossirar, Roma, 2004. Jonas Narchi M.A. studied Philosophy, Medieval Studies and European Art History at Heidelberg University, Germany, and the Université Paris-Sorbonne, Paris IV. He is is
526
Contributors
currently writing his PhD thesis on rational arguments for the Trinity in twelfth century philosophy, particularly Peter Abelard and the Victorines, at Heidelberg University. He is also a researcher at the Heidelberger Akademie der Wissenschaften (Heidelberg Academy of Sciences and Humanities) in the project « Monasteries in the High Middle Ages. Laboratories of Innovation for European Designs of Life and Models of Order » where he is working on a critical edition and translation of the works of Anselm of Havelberg. His main research interests include Medieval Mysticism, Scholasticism, and the history of Monasticism. Andrea Pistoia is a PhD student in the fifth section of the École Pratique des Hautes Études (EPHE-PSL) affiliated with the Institut de Recherche et d’Histoire des Textes (IRHT-CNRS) and in co-sponsorship with Columbia University in the city of New York. The title of the thesis is « Liturgie, miroir d’une identité. Édition critique et étude historique et doctrinale du Speculum Ecclesiae du Pseudo-Hugues de Saint-Victor » (supervisor : Dominique Poirel). Archiviste paléographe, Dominique Poirel est directeur de recherche à l’Institut de Recherche et d’Histoire des Textes (CNRS), directeur de l’Institut d’Études Médiévales à l’Institut Catholique de Paris et professeur invité à l’Université catholique Jean-Paul II de Lublin. Ses recherches portent sur l’histoire de la philosophie et de la théologie au Moyen Âge, en particulier l’école de Saint-Victor aux xiie-xiiie siècles. Il co-dirige l’édition critique des opera omnia d’Hugues de Saint-Victor au Corpus Christianorum. Parmi ses dernières publications : François d’Assise. Commentaire du Notre Père. Un document inconnu du poverello ? Édition bilingue, Paris, 2019 ; Existe-t-il une mystique au Moyen Âge ? Actes du colloque international, éd. Dominique Poirel, Turnhout : Brepols, 2021 ; (en collab. avec Julie Brumberg-Chaumont), Adam of Bockenfield and his circle on Aristotle’s De memoria et reminiscentia, Oxford, 2021 (Auctores Britannici Medii Aevi). Marco Rainini è professore associato di Storia della Chiesa presso l’Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore di Milano. Le sue ricerche riguardano la storia e la teologia medievali, con particolare attenzione alla teologia simbolica del XII secolo. È membro del comitato dei Curatori dell’edizione critica degli Opera Omnia di Gioacchino da Fiore e del comitato scientifico del Centro Internazionale di Studi Gioachimiti. Fra i suoi volumi Disegni dei tempi. Il «Liber Figurarum» e la teologia figurativa di Gioacchino da Fiore, Roma : Viella-Centro Internazionale di Studi Gioachimiti, 2006 (Opere di Gioacchino da Fiore: testi e strumenti, 18); Corrado di Hirsau e il «Dialogus de cruce». Per la ricostruzione del profilo di un autore monastico del XII secolo, Firenze, 2014 (Millennio Medievale, 101); (con Timoty Leonardi) Ordinare il mondo. Diagrammi e simboli nelle pergamene di Vercelli, Milano, 2018 (Dies nova, 3); Ordini e disordini in Gioacchino da Fiore, Atti del 9° Congresso internazionale di studi gioachimiti (San Giovanni in Fiore, 19-21 settembre 2019), Roma, 2021 (Gioacchino da Fiore: testi e strumenti, 29).
Contributors
527
Chris Schabel is professor of medieval history at the University of Cyprus, presently on leave at the Institut de Recherche et d’Histoire des Textes (CNRS). He works on later medieval intellectual history and the Latin East. With Michalis Olympios he is co-editor of the journal Frankokratia and he is a member of the board of the series Mediterranean Nexus. Among his recent publications with Brepols are Philosophical Psychology in Late-Medieval Commentaries on Peter Lombard’s Sentences (ed. with Monica Brînzei, 2020), Famagusta, Vol. II: History and Society (ed. with Gilles Grivaud and Angel Nicolaou-Konnari, 2020), The Cistercian James of Eltville (†1393): Author at Paris and Authority at Vienna (ed. with Monica Brînzei, 2018), and Bullarium Hellenicum. Pope Honorius III’s Letters to Frankish Greece and Constantinople (1216-1227) (with William O. Duba, 2015). Gloria Silvana Elías es Doctora en Filosofía (UNT-Argentina), Posdoctora en Ciencias Sociales y Humanas (UBA-Argentina) e Investigadora del CONICET (Consejo de Ciencia y Técnica-Argentina). Es Profesora Titular de Antropología Filosófica y Profesora Asociada en Historia de la Filosofía Medieval de la Universidad Nacional de Jujuy, Argentina. Su línea de investigación principal es el pensamiento del teólogo Juan Duns Escoto (siglo XIII). Ha publicado : « Reasons for Willing – John Duns Scotus’ Critical Assessment of Aristotle’s Notion of Rational and Non-Rational Powers », en Homo, Natura, Mundus : Human Beings and Their Relationships, ed. R. Hofmeister Pich, A. Storck, A. Culleton, Turnhout : Brepols, 2020 (Rencontres de philosophie médiévale, 22), p. 385400 ; « Duns Escoto : El principio de no contradicción y su relación con el posible en la mente divina » (aprobado para su publicación), en Colección Filosófica, Universidad Panamericana de México, 2018 ; « El concepto de persona en Juan Duns Escoto », en Studium : filosofía y teología, t. 16/31, 2013, p. 75-84. PhD in Medieval Philosophy at the RAMUS doctorate of the University of Salerno and at the EPHE, Antonio Sordillo currently collaborates with the Centro FiTMU of the University of Salerno. He is also editorial adviser for the series Institutiones, Collationes and Traditiones of the Paradigma Medievale editorial project of Città Nuova (Rome). His research concerns the history of philosophy and theology in the eleventh and twelfth centuries, with specific reference to the school of St. Victor. He is currently preparing the critical edition of the unpublished sermons of Godfrey of St. Victor, but his studies also focus on other issues, as confirmed by the following forthcoming studies: La triade dell’essere da Eirico di Auxerre a Egidio Romano, in La triade essentia, virtus e operatio. Storia di una struttura ontologica dal neoplatonismo al Rinascimento, eds. Renato de Filippis and Ernesto Sergio Mainoldi, Turnhout : Brepols, 2021; « Indissolubile vinculum karitatis ». Pier Damiani e Alfano I di Salerno, in Quaderni di Noctua, t. 8/1, 2021. Ineke van ’t Spijker is an affiliated lecturer in the History Faculty of Cambridge University, and a Life Member of Clare Hall. She has published on medieval hagiography,
528
Contributors
biblical exegesis, and ideas of self-fashioning and interiority. Recent publications include « “Impressed by Their Stamp” : Hagiography and the Cultivation of the Self », in Hagiography and the History of Latin Christendom, 500-1500, ed. Samantha Kahn Herrick, Leiden – Boston, 2019 ; « “After the Manner of a Contemplative, According to the Nature of Contemplation” : Richard of Saint-Victor’s De contemplatione », in Victorine Restoration : Essays on Hugh of St Victor, Richard of St Victor, and Thomas Gallus, eds. Robert J. Porwoll – David Allison Orsbon, Turnhout : Brepols, 2021; Homo Interior and Vita Socialis. Patristic Patterns and Twelfth-Century Reflections is in press to appear in the near future in Studia Traditionis Theologiae, Turnhout : Brepols. Frans van Liere is professor of medieval history at Calvin University. He has published extensively on history of the medieval Bible and twelfth-century intellectual history, especially the school of Saint Victor. He is author of An Introduction to the Medieval Bible (Cambridge, 2014), editor and co-editor of three Bible commentaries by Andrew of Saint Victor (on Samuel and Kings, the Minor Prophets, and Isaiah), for the Corpus Christianorum series (Brepols, 1996, 2007, and 2021), and co-editor of three volumes for Victorine Texts in Translation (Brepols, 2012, 2014, and 2021). He is currently working on a monograph on Christian Hebraism, and the critical edition of Andrew’s commentary on Jeremiah. Doctorante à l’École Pratique des Hautes Études sous la direction de Dominique Poirel et édiévaux Cécile Caby, Marguerite Vernet est titulaire d’un master de recherche Mondes M de l’université Lyon 2-Lumières en 2019, sur les sermons d’Absalon de Saint-Victor prononcés lors du chapitre général de l’ordre. Depuis 2021, elle est aussi titulaire du master Humanités Numériques de l’École nationale des chartes, où elle a exploité les potentialités des méthodes numériques pour étudier le manuscrit victorin BnF, lat. 14525, recueil composite principalement constitué de sermons. Dans la thèse qu’elle débute actuellement, « Saint-Victor et la prédication, d’Hugues à Thomas Gallus (xiie-xiiie siècle) : une école de communication religieuse », elle étudie les corpus de sermons victorins de la fondation de l’ordre jusqu’à 1250 pour comprendre, avec le soutien des méthodes numériques quantitatives, la specificité et la richesse de ces textes.
Index
INDEX CODICUM Admont, Bibliothek des Benediktinerstifts 678: 87 n. 102 Amiens, Bibliothèque municipale 79: 203, n. 17 234: 247 et n. 7-8, 268 et n. 40, 269 n. 41-43 Cambrai, Bibliothèque municipale 411 (387): 203 n. 17 Cambridge, Corpus Christi College 30: 189 217: 189 Cambridge, Pembroke College 45: 189 Cambridge, Trinity College MS B. 14. 33: 330 MS O. 1. 59: 203, n. 17 Charleville-Mézières, Bibliothèque municipale 71: 181 n. 29 166: 181 n. 29 Douai, Bibliothèque municipale 362: 181 n. 29 365: 181 n. 29 Gdańsk, Biblioteka Polskiej Akademii Nauk 2224: 452 n. 58 Mar. F. 133: 449, n. 31 Mar. F. 276: 452 n. 59 Mar. Q. 48: 450, n. 39 Huesca, Biblioteca del Instituto y Provincia 2: 434 Kórnik, Biblioteka Polskiej Akademii Nauk 47: 449 n. 32 53: 452 n. 60 54: 449 n. 28 88: 451 n. 45 116: 449 n. 28 119: 449 n. 28
198: 448 n. 27 409: 452 n. 67 423: 448 n. 21 486: 451 n. 54 554: 449 n. 34 701: 448 n. 27, 451 n. 55 1208: 448 n. 21 1212: 449 n. 34 1213: 449 n. 34 1223: 448 n. 21 1272: 457 n. 100 1298: 448 n. 21 1303: 448 n. 27 1346: 449 n. 27 1347: 447 n. 16, 450 n. 42 1383: 447 n. 16 1423: 449 n. 34 1500: 449 n. 34 1547: 452 n. 66 1649: 449 n. 34 1650: 451 n. 57 1685: 451 n. 56 1689: 453 n. 79 1691: 453 n. 79 2039: 448 n. 21 2070: 448 n. 26 2129: 448 n. 16 2291: 449 n. 34 2333: 450 n. 42 2372: 450 n. 42 2537: 449 n. 34 Akc. 63/54: 449 n. 34 Kraków, Biblioteka konwentualna dominikanów Cod. L XV 2: 450 n. 35 London, British Library Cotton, Cleopatra C XI: 330 Harley 3038: 330 Royal 10.A.xii: 330
Kraków, Archiwum Kapituły Archidiecezjalnej Cod. 179: 449 n. 33
Lublin, Biblioteka seminaryjna sans cote (Regula cum expositione Hugonis de S. Victore): 451 n. 46
Kraków, Biblioteka Jagiellońska 173: 447 n. 16
Madrid, Biblioteca Nacional Española 6533: 430 n. 14, 433 n. 26
Index
532 6873: 433 n. 28, 30-32 8273: 433 n. 34 12398: 433 n. 33 12658: 433 n. 27 et 29 13906: 433 n. 35-36 Montserrat, Archivo de la Abadía 234: 434 n. 38 München, Bayerische Staatsbibliothek Clm 4550: 66 n. 15 Clm 5118: 66 n. 15 Clm 13097: 88 n. 109 Clm 14137: 87 n. 104 Clm 14159: 89 n. 113 Clm 17091: 66 n. 15 Clm 18025: 66 n. 15 Napoli, Biblioteca Nazionale Vittorio Emanuele III VI. G. 33: 203 n. 17 Oxford, Balliol College MS 228: 203 n. 17
Pamplona, Archivo Conventual de Carmelitas Descalzas 9: 434 n. 42 Paris, Bibliothèque Mazarine 175: 187-189, 192 n. 29, 194, 196 1002: 215 n. 2, 216 n. 4, 218 n. 12, 219 n. 13, 222 n. 20, 223 n. 22-23, 224 n. 24, 225 n. 28, 294, 307 Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France lat. 345: 181 n. 29 lat. 356: 192 n. 28 lat. 574: 189 lat. 2092: 169 n. 1, 171 n. 8, 172 n. 12, 173 n. 14, 176 n. 18-19, 178 n. 21, 180 n. 26, 181 lat. 3424: 256 n. 25 lat. 3482: 333 n. 24 lat. 7371: 251, 253, 293 lat. 7531: 180 n. 26, 181 n. 30 lat. 13422: 181 n. 29 lat. 14372: 251 n. 21 lat. 14375: 250 n. 18 lat. 14432: 195 lat. 14505: 267 n. 39 lat. 14507: 181 n. 31 lat. 14515: 215 n. 2, 218 n. 12
lat. 14525: 235 lat. 14564: 251 lat. 14570, 271 n. 48 lat. 14800: 249 n. 25, 275 lat. 14881: 215 n. 2 lat. 14911: 248 n. 11, 255, 256 n. 25, 257 lat. 14912: 255 n. 25 lat. 14921: 250 n. 17 lat. 14961: 266 lat. 15315: 181 n. 31 lat. 15695: 180 n. 26, 181 n. 30 lat. 16284: 1801 n. 29 NAL 181: 71 n. 55, 75 Paris, Institut de recherche et d’histoire des textes Collections privées, 60: 84 n. 88 Pelplin, Biblioteka seminaryjna 98 (206): 452 n. 62 233 (273): 453 n. 76 Poznań, Archiwum archidiecezjalne 44: 450 n. 36 Roma, Archivio Generale dei Carmelitani Scalzi 333d: 436 385e: 436 387: 436 387c: 436 387d: 436 Salamanca, Biblioteca Universitaria 2061: 189 Segovia, Archivo Conventual de Carmelitas Descalzos F-I-27: 432 n. 16 Stuttgart, Würtembergische Landesbibliothek HB.4.6: 189 Valenciennes, Bibliothèque municipale 198: 180 n. 26 Vaticano (Città del), Bibliotheca Apostolica Vaticana Vat. lat. 1053: 188, 189 Vat. lat. 1086: 247, 266 Vat. lat. 13014: 181 n. 30 Warszawa, Biblioteka Narodowa 12650: 453 n. 78 II 3015: 449 n. 30, 452 n. 61
index codicum III 3014: 453 n. 77 III 8011: 448 n. 25 III 8015: 448 n. 23 Wiślica, Biblioteka przykolegiacka 1420: 447 n. 18 Wrocław, Biblioteka uniwersytecka 582, voir I F 552 1024: 448 n. 22 et 24, 450 n. 40 1314, voir I Q 471 6092 (Mil. II 40): 451 n. 48-49 6094 (Mil. II 42): 451 n. 50, 452 n. 70-71, 453 n. 72, 73, 75 I D 2a: 450 n. 38 I D 10: 450 n. 43 I F 86: 450 n. 38 I F 293: 450 n. 38 I F 310: 447 n. 19, 448 n. 22 I F 327: 451 n. 52 I F 361: 448 n. 22 I F 552: 450 n. 41 I F 588: 448 n. 25 I F 631: 448 n. 22 I F 642: 450 n. 38
533
I F 662: 450 n. 38 I O 7: 450 n. 38 I O 14: 450 n. 43 I O 19: 450 n. 38 I O 24: 450 n. 38 I O 46: 450 n. 38 I Q 110: 448 n. 22 I Q 111: 447 n. 19 I Q 112: 447 n. 19 I Q 134: 449 n. 29 I Q 158: 449 n. 29 I Q 471 (1314): 452 n. 63-65 IV F 43: 453 n. 74 IV F 45: 453 n. 74 IV F 58: 450 n. 38 IV F 81: 450 n. 38 A 224 T 11: 447 n. 19 Akc. 1948/0714 (olim Legnica 30): 447 n. 17 M 1074: 448 n. 22 M. 1062: 450 n. 38 R 180: 448 n. 22 Rehd. 371: 450 n. 37
INDEX NOMINUM ET OPERUM Le présent index comprend, rangés dans une série alphabétique unique : d’abord, les noms d’auteurs et de personnages anciens : Hugo de Sancto Victore et sous ce nom, le cas échéant, le détail de ses œuvres citées dans le volume ; ensuite, les titres d’œuvres anonymes anciennes : Liber ordinis Sancti Victoris Parisiensis ; enfin, les noms de savants modernes : Châtillon ( Jean). Pour tous ces noms propres, étant donné le caractère multilingue du volume, il n’était pas facile de trouver un principe commun de classement. Le choix retenu – discutable comme l’aurait été tout autre choix – consiste à donner (a) en latin les noms d’auteurs morts avant 1501 qui ont écrit en latin ou en grec : Iohannes Scottus (Eriugena) ; (b) dans leur langue les auteurs médiévaux qui ont écrit dans une langue autre que la latin : Dante Alighieri ; (c) dans leur langue et rangés à leurs nom de famille en petites capitales les noms d’auteurs ou de savants, du xvie siècle à nos jours : Thoulouse ( Jean de) ; (d) dans leur langue et rangés à leur nom de religion en petites capitales les auteurs ou personnages modernes plus connus sous ce nom : Juan de la Cruz ( Juan de Yepes Álvarez). Pour faciliter le repérage d’un nom de personne d’une langue à l’autre, des formes de renvoi ont été introduites (Egidio, v. Aegidius… Giles, Gilles, v. Aegidius). Sous un nom d’auteur, on trouvera, le cas échéant, le détail de ses œuvres citées dans le volume. Absalon Sprinckirsbacensis (vel de Sancto Victore ?): 18, 28, 227, 228, 229, 231, 233, 234, 235, 236, 237, 238, 239, 240, 241, 242, 265, 307, 309, 314, 316, 317, 490 –– Sermo 4, In Adventu Domini: 314 –– Sermo 7, In Natali Domini: 309 –– Sermo 12, In Epiphania Domini: 307, 317 Achardus de Sancto Victore: 11, 19, 21, 28, 200, 212, 227, 265, 375, 376, 377, 381, 382, 383, 384, 385, 386, 387, 388, 389, 390, 394, 395, 396, 401, 402, 404, 405, 406, 408, 412, 466, 487, 490, 495 –– De discretione animae, spiritus et mentis: 387 –– De unitate et pluralitate creaturarum: 381, 395 Adam (primus parens): 51, 99 n. 13, 337, 504, 506 Adam Dryburgensis (sive Scotus): 241 n. 54 Adam Gosławski de Bebelno: 458 –– De sancta Trinitate: 453 –– In susceptione reliquiarum sancti Victoris Massiliensis: 313, 314 Adam de Sancto Victore: 13, 14 n. 10, 23, 36, 212, 246 n. 3, 265, 267, 270, 271, 272, 294, 313, 314, 348, 453, 489 Adam de Wodeham: 256, 270, 271 Adelardus Bathoniensis: 337 Adriaen (Marc): 83 n. 87, 117 n. 5, 217 n. 8 Aegidius Romanus: 269 Aelredus Rievallensis: 23, 346 –– De amicitia spirituali: 346 Al-Ghazālī: 268
Alanus ab Insulis: 300, 301, 305 Albertus (Aubert) de Mailley: 246 Albertus Hierosolymitanus (Alberto dei Avogadri): 425 Albertus Magnus: 453, 536 Alcherus Claraevallensis: 70, 449, 459, 460 Alcuinus: 268, 501 Alexander Halensis: 145, 270, 279, 360, 367 ; v. Summa Halensis (Summa Fratris Alexandri) Allard (Guy-H.): 61 Ambrosius Mediolanensis: 264, 270, 277, 289, 335, 479 Andia (Ysabel de): 128 n. 5 Andreas Frycz Modrzewski: 458 Andreas Rudiger: 453, n. 75 Andreas de Sancto Victore: 11, 12, 18, 28, 33, 40, 167, 169, 170, 171, 172, 73, 174, 175, 176, 177, 178, 179, 180, 181, 182, 183, 184, 185, 186, 187, 188, 189, 190, 191, 192, 193, 194, 195, 196, 197, 338, 495 Andreas Wiszowaty: 458 Andres (P.): 474 Andrzej, v. Andreas Animarum lucra querentes: 368, n. 29 Anselmus Cantuariensis: 64 n. 4-5, 65 n. 10, 68 n. 27, 69 et n. 30, 264, 266, 269, 278, 279, 289, 298, 329 n. 3, 332, 337 n. 40, 339, 358, 359, 362; 479 –– Cur Deus homo: 69, 329, 339
index nominum ET OPERUM Anselmus Laudunensis: 71, 72, 75, 269, 330 n. 5, 332 et n. 20, 333 Antin (Paul): 104 Antonius de Padua: 19, 29, 365-367, 375, 377, 378, 391, 396-399, 400-402, 405, 406, 412 –– Sermones: 406 Antonelli (Roberto): 345 Aristoteles: 267, 268, 270, 331, 360, 363, 454, 455, 490, 491, 500, 511 –– De caelo: 270 Armogathe ( Jean-Robert): 437 Armstrong (Regis J.): 365 Arnaut Daniel: 348, 349 Arnold ( Johannes): 506 Artzi (Pinhas): 329 Athanasius Alexandrinus: 277 Aubert, v. Albertus Augustinus Hipponensis: 11, 35, 38, 43, 63, 83, 98, 99, 102, 109, 110, 119, 124, 127, 128, 129, 131, 133, 134, 142, 203, 204, 211, 248, 261, 268, 276, 277, 278, 280, 282, 283, 288, 306, 308, 309, 310, 312, 314, 316, 318, 320, 323, 324, 333, 335, 358, 359, 360, 362, 364, 392, 408, 426, 441, 449, 450, 451, 452, 479, 489, 501, –– Confessiones: 318 –– De civitate Dei: 63, 128, 312 –– De doctrina christiana: 38 –– De Trinitate: 310 –– Enarrationes in Psalmos: 306, 308 –– Epistula 137 ad Volusianum: 309 –– Regula sancti Augustini, v. infra Regula sancti Augustini –– Sermones ad populum 9: 316 Auvray-Assayas (Clara): 127 n. 1 Averroes: 268 Avicenna: 268, 269 Avraham ibn Ezra: 167, 184 n. 46, 193, 194, 197 Awerbuch (Marianne): 169 n. 4 Azevedo Alves (André): 439 n. 57 Baehrens (Wilhelm A.): 153 n. 28 Baeumker (Klemens): 474 Bajor (Wanda): 19, 29, 443, 456 n. 98, 465 n. 147, 467 n. 152 Baladier (Charles): 127 n. 1 Balthasar (Hans Urs von): 146 n. 4, 394 n. 80 Barbet ( Jeanne): 43 n. 34, 44 n. 38-39, 85, n. 93 Barnim III dux Pomeraniae: 445
535
Baron (Roger): 100 n. 14, 124 n. 32, 125 n. 36, 130 n. 15, 131 n. 21, 132, n. 22, 133 n. 27, 134 n. 30, 135 n. 36, 139 n. 58, 336 n. 37, 338 n. 38, 440 n. 61, 490 n. 70, 507 n. 26 Barthélemy ( Joseph): 393 n. 74 Bartholomeus Bononiensis: 323 Bartnik (Czesław): 465 n. 140 Baschet ( Jérôme): 400, n. 105 Basilius Magnus (sanctus): 335 n. 28, 441 n. 64 Bautier (Robert-Henri): 489 n. 6 Becker (Gustavus): 87 Beckman (Patricia Z.): 40, n. 23 Beda Venerabilis: 188, 191, 197, 294 Beierwaltes (Werner): 41 n. 29, 43 n. 35, 81, n. 79, 82 n. 84 Bekhor Shor: 167, 169, 170, 171, 183 Bełch (Stanislaus F.): 456 n. 98 Belda (Manuel): 460 n. 114 Benedictus Casinensis abbas (sanctus): 102, n. 21 Benedictus XII papa: 267, 271 Benedictus XIV papa: 437, n. 53 Benedictus Hesse: 455 Benson (Robert L.): 68 n. 24 Berengarius Pictaviensis: 341 n. 58 Berengarius Turonensis: 201 Berg (Dieter): 403 n. 116 Bériou (Nicole): 236, 240, 361 n. 8 Berliner (Abraham): 169 n. 4, 175 n. 17 Bernardi (Marco): 345 n. 9 Bernardinus de Laredo: 391 n. 60 Bernardus Carnotensis: 508 Bernardus Claraevallensis: 13, 14, 23, 24, 44, 45, 46, 64, 112, 128, 129, 138, 235, 264, 266, 268, 278, 279, 290, 296, 297, 301, 329, 340, 341, 343, 358, 359, 362, 369, 403, 411, 413, 418, 449, 452, 479, 482, 497, 499, 507 –– De diligendo Deo: 128, 129 –– Super Cantica canticorum: 283 Bernardus de Sancto Onuphrio: 427 n. 7 Bernardus Silvestris: 329 Bernart de Ventadorn: 343 n. 1, 345, 349, 350, 351, 352 n. 32 Berndt (Rainer): 12 n. 6, 16 n. 21 n. 6, 22, 26 n. 21, 70 n. 37 et 39, 73 n. 48, 84 n. 88, 90 n. 115, 115 n. 1, 117-121, 123 n. 28, 124 n. 34, 169 n. 2, 171 n. 10, 182 n. 34, 183 n. 41, 185, 186 n. 6, 187 n. 12, 188 n. 21, 189, 194 n. 38, 338 n. 49, 506 n. 25 Bernhart ( Joseph): 474 Berthaldus de Sancto Dionysio: 269
536
Index
Bertran de Born: 345 n. 7 Bickford-Smith (Roandeau A. H.): 311 Bieler (Lugwig): 46 n. 47 Biffi (Inos): 348 n. 18 Biller (Peter): 255-256 n. 25 Birkenmajer (Aleksander): 462 Bischoff (Bernhard): 87 n. 104, 204 n. 18 Blanche de Castille, reine de France: 497 Bliemetzrieder (Franz Placidus): 72 n. 44, 332 n. 20 Bloomfield (Morton W.): 256 n. 25, 449 n. 31, 450 n. 37, 453 n. 74 Blumenberg (Hans): 350 n. 26 Boethius: 56, 102, 225, 267, 277, 413, 415, 417, 420, 458, 468 n. 115 –– De institutione arithmetica: 56 n. 82 Bologna (Corrado): 16 n. 23, 26 n. 23, 343, 345 n. 7 et 9, 346 n. 13, 357, 361 n. 8 Bonaventura: 19, 23, 29, 34, 145, 267, 270, 272, 273, 303, 304, 358, 359, 360, 361, 362, 363, 364, 375, 377, 378, 391, 402, 403, 404, 405, 406, 407, 408, 410, 411, 441 –– De reductione artium ad theologiam: 358 –– Itinerarium mentis ad Deum: 402, 403, 408 –– Legenda maior sancti Francisci: 403, 406 Bos (Agnès): 67 n. 17, 232 n. 22 Bougerol ( Jacques Guy): 360, 402 n. 111 Bourgain (Pascale): 239, 347 n. 16-17 Bouyer (Louis): 65 n. 8 Boyce ( James): 425 n. 5 Brandt (Samuel): 317 Bray ( Jennifer): 204 n. 20 Brînzei (Monica): 245 Brodman ( James William): 377-378, n. 8 Brunel-Lobrichon (Geneviève): 344 n. 4 Burman (Thomas E.): 33 n. 1, 187 n. 13, 195 n. 40 Burn (Andrew E.): 322 Büttgen (Philippe): 127 n. 1 Buttimer (Charles H.): 48 n. 54 et 56, 85 n. 95, 96 n. 4, 101 n. 16, 106 n. 33, 116 n. 3, 117 n. 5-6, 210 n. 34, 220 n. 18, 222 n. 21, 307, 336 n. 35-36, 457 n. 100, 488 n. 2-3, 507 n. 26, 508 n. 27, 509 n. 29, 510 n. 30-31 Buytaert (Eligius Marie): 333 n. 21 et 23, 338 n. 46, 339 n. 51 Bynum (Caroline W.): 67 n. 21 Bultot (Robert): 96-97, n. 5-6 Boulnois (Olivier): 13 n. 7, 23 n. 7
Bougard (François): 15 n. 16, 25 n. 16 Boto Pruveningensis (Boton von Prüfening): 17, 27, 88, 90 Bray (Dennis): 18, 27, 145, 157 n. 35 Brooke (Christopher N. L.): 331, n. 12-13 Cacciapuoti (Pierluigi): 147 n. 10, 346 n. 11, 391 n. 57 Calcidius: 37 Calma (Dragos): 224 n. 25 Cameron (Michael): 38 n. 15 Canettieri (Paolo): 345 n. 6 Cantor (Norman F.): 357 n. 1 Cappuyns (Maïeul): 82 n. 84, 84 n. 89, 85 n. 95 Carabine (Deirdre): 37 n. 12 Carolus Magnus imperator: 259, 276, 501 Carraud (Vincent): 381, 395 Carruthers (Mary J.): 12, 22, 24, 348 Casado Arboniés (Francisco Javier): 429 Casado Arboniés (Manuel): 429 Casagrande (Carla): 13, 23 Casella (Mario): 343, 350 Cassin (Barbara): 127 Cassiodorus, Variae: 312 Catherina Alexandrina (sancta): 367 n. 26 Cavallini (Andrea): 36 n. 10 Cayré (Fulbert): 474 Cesalli (Laurent): 13, 23 Chalcidius, v. Calcidius Chandler (Cullen J.): 330 n. 5 Chartier (Roger): 68 n. 23 Chatelain (Émile): 246 n. 4-5 Chatelain ( Jean-Marc): 12 n. 5, 22 n. 5 Chatillon ( Jean): 11, 15, 21, 25, 71, 85, 215, 220, 227, 230, 231, 282, 283, 295, 300, 366, 375, 382, 386, 393, 396, 397, 400, 401, 438, 474, 487, 488, 510 Chenu (Marie Dominique): 63, 96, 212 Chibnall (Marjorie): 331 n. 11 Chmielowska (Bożena): 457 n. 100 Chrétien de Troyes: 343-344 n. 1 Chronicle of Wigmore Abbey, v. Wigmore Abbey Chronicles Chronicon abbreviatum: 492 Cicconetti (Carlo): 425 Cicero: 38, 103, 336 –– De inventione: 336 –– De officiis: 311
index nominum ET OPERUM –– Laelius de amicitia: 128 –– Paradoxa Stoicorum: 108 Cisneros (García), cardinal: 429 Cizewski (Wanda): 33 Clemens Alexandrinus: 479 Coglievina (Leonella): 345 Colish (Marcia L.): 82 Combes (Robert): 128 Congar (Yves): 64, 92, 232, 233 Conradus Hirsaugiensis: 17, 27, 89 –– Altercatio Synagoge et Ecclesia: 89 –– Dialogus de cruce: 89 –– Speculum virginum: 84 Constable (Giles): 68 n. 24, 376 n. 4, 384 n. 31, 401 n. 108 Costa (Beniamino): 397 Coulter (Dale M.): 36, 146, 225, 361, 375, 402 Courtenay (William J.): 247, 248, 249, 250, 257, 258, 259, 260, 263, 264, 266, 267, 269, 270, 271, 272 Crell ( Jan): 458 Culleton (Alfredo): 417 Cyprianus Carthaginiensis: 103 Crossnoe (Marshall E.): 199, 246 n. 4-5, 247 n. 7-8, 248 n. 12, 251 n. 22, 255 et n. 25, 269 et n. 49, 364, 365 n. 14, 368 n. 29 Coolman (Boyd Taylor): 19, 29, 36, 52, 57, 124, 145, 146, 357, 361, 376 –– Lettre à Donat: 108 D’onofrio (Giulio): 225 Dąbrowski ( Józef ): 461 Dahan (Gilbert): 12, 22, 97, 211, 237, 238, 241, 502 Dąmbska (Izydora): 477 Danielou ( Jean): 201 Dante Alighieri: 19, 29, 343, 345, 350, 375, 459 –– Divina commedia: 19, 29 David rex Israel: 254, 279, 289, 302, 305 De Bruyne (Edgar): 465 De Capitani (Franco): 220 De Robertis (Domenico): 345 De sententiis divine : 71 De Visscher (Eva): 337 Dectot (Xavier): 67, 232 Dejeanne ( Jean-Marie Lucien): 351 Dekkers (Eligius): 124 Delhaye (Philippe): 130 n. 3, 216 n. 14, 220 n. 15, 221 n. 19, 227 n. 1
537
Delsaux (Olivier): 250 Dempf (Alois): 474 Den Bok (Nico): 146 n. 4, 147 n. 10 Denifle (Heinrich): 246 Derwich (Marek): 445, 457 Díaz Sánchez Yañez Dávila y Herrera, v. Thomás de Jesús Dickinson ( John C.): 338 Diego de Jesús-María: 429 Dinzelbacher (Peter): 95, 102 Dionysius Cartusianus: 391, 441 Dionysius Areopagita (pseudo-): 14, 24, 40, 43, 56, 60, 67, 92, 128, 142, 232, 234, 239, 332, 334, 336, 339, 358, 359, 362, 408, 409, 434, 463, 479, 480, 490, 505, 506 –– De coelesti hierarchia: 40, 42, 56, 58, 92, 126, 334, 338 –– De divinis nominibus: 128 Dionysius a Sancto Francisco Belga: 427 Divina essentia teste: 71 Domański ( Juliusz): 455 Dombart (Bernardus): 119 Dominicus Gundissalinus: 220 Dondi (Cristina): 425 Dronke (Peter): 44, 83 Duba (William O.): 245, 247, 257 Duchenne (Marie-Christine): 227, 491 Duchet-Suchaux (Monique): 282, 283 Duclow (Donald F.): 60 n. 93, 61 n. 95 Duhamel (Pascale): 220 Dumeige (Gervais): 146, 346, 391 Dupuy ( Jacques): 130 Durand-Bogart (Fabienne): 241 Durandus de Sancto Porciano: 272, 273 Dzienis (Helena): 446 Ebner ( Joseph): 460, 473, 474 Ecclesiastes: 10, 12, 186, 189, 190, 249, 252, 253, 254, 255, 257, 258, 260, 261, 262, 263, 266, 267, 269 n. 33, 270, 273, 278, 321, 324, 325 Echevarría (Miguel Ángel): 440 Egidio, v. Aegidius Elias propheta: 176, 178, 179 Elisabeth Hungariae, Thuringiae landgravia (sancta): 367 Embach (Michael): 228 Endres ( Joseph Anton): 88 Eppenstein (Simon): 179 n. 23, 183 n. 42
538
Index
Eriugena, v. Iohannes Scottus (Eriugena) Ernisius de Sancto Victore abbas: 490, 499 Errante (Guido): 343 Esser (Caietanus): 366 Étaix (Raymond): 63 Eugenius III papa: 331 Evans (Christopher P.): 91, 146, 147, 149-163, 164, 165 Evans (Michael): 329, 330, 331, 336 Expositio in Regulam sancti Augustini, v. Liebertus de Sancto Rufo Stephanus Langton: 502 Stephanus Silvanectensis: 489 Facca (Danilo): 458 Falkowski (Wojciech): 454 Fasseur (Valérie): 13, 23, 344, 345 Fassler (Margot): 14, 23, 200, 348 Feiss (Hugh B.): 36, 39, 40, 47, 49, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 91, 120, 124, 129, 199, 216, 217, 246, 352, 376, 377, 381, 384, 385, 386, 495, 505 Fernando Martins de Bulhões, v. Antonius de Padua Ferruolo (Stephen C.): 368 Figurelli (Fernando): 350 Fioroni (Milvia): 352 Fischer (Bonifatius): 56 Fitzgerald (Allan D.): 38 Flint (Valerie I. J): 87 Fraipont (Iohannes): 124 Francioni (Gianni): 220 Franciscus Assisiensis (sanctus): 276, 361, 365-368, 391, 402-407, 411 Franciscus (Franciszek) de Brzeg: 455 Frasson (Leonardo): 397 Freyer ( Johannes Baptist): 407 Friedman (Russell L.): 247 Rabelais (François): 12, 22, 503 Gabriel (Marcel): 470 Gaillard (Aurélia): 98 Galterius de Mauritania: 333, 499 Galterius de Sancto Victore: 200 n. 6, 265, 452, 490 –– Sermo III: 309 Garnerius de Sancto Victore: 229 Garrigues (Marie-Odile): 87, 88 Gasparri (Françoise): 11, 21, 96, 215, 220 Gastaldelli (Ferruccio): 330 Gauthier (René Antoine): 293
Gautier Dalche (Patrick): 12 n. 3, 22 n. 3, 96 n. 2 Geoffroy Pellegay: 265 Gerardus Bononiensis: 270 Gerardus de Sancto Victore: 246, 247, 268, 269, 273, 491, 495 Germanus Capuanus: 103 Gersh (Stephen): 43 n. 35, 81 Ghellinck ( Joseph de): 91, 181, 202, 212 Giacomo da Lentini: 356 Giard (Luce): 500 Gilbert (Paul): 329 Gilbertus Crispinus: 329 n. 3 Gilbertus Foliot: 19, 29, 329, 330, 331, 338, 341 Gilbertus Pictaviensis (Porretanus): 413 Gilbertus Universalis: 188 Gilduinus de Sancto Victore abbas: 205-206 n. 28, 489, 497, 499 Gilles, Giles, v. Aegidius Gilson (Étienne): 64, 129, 233, 353, 360, 460 Ginzburg (Carlo): 45 Giovanni de Murro: 190 Giraud (Cédric): 11, 17, 21, 27, 71, 74, 75, 76, 77, 95, 96, 97, 98, 116, 120, 192, 216, 217, 276, 336, 423 Giraut de Bornelh: 345-346 n. 9 Glorie (François): 124 Glorieux (Palémon): 91, 256, 273 Glossa ordinaria: 187, 188, 195, 197 Glosulae in Priscianum: 500 Goddard (Eric D.): 248 Godefridus de Fontibus (Godefroid de Fontaines): 270 Godefridus de Sancto Victore: 11, 15, 18, 21, 25, 28, 49, 96, 200, 215-225, 231, 265, 462, 487, 490 –– Alleluia, virga Iesse floruit: 216 –– Canticum beate Virginis et matris: 216 n. 5 –– Fons philosophiae: 11, 21, 49, 216, 219, 220 –– Microcosmus: 11, 21, 96, 215, 219, 220, 221 –– Planctus beate Virginis et matris in passione Filii: 216 –– Sermo I in prima dominica Adventus Domini: 218 –– Sermo II in prima dominica Adventus Domini: 225 –– Sermo I de Nativitate Domini: 219 –– Sermo in Quadragesima: 222-223, 294, 307 –– Sermo in dominica in Ramis palmarum: 223, 307
index nominum ET OPERUM Goff ( Jared): 402 Gogacz (Mieczysław): 462-464, 471 Gollwitzer (Helmut): 169 Gonzalez (Olegario): 145 Goy (Rudolf ): 14, 24, 202 Grandrue (Claude de): 12 n. 5, 22 n. 5, 248 n. 10 Green (Guillelmus M.): 83 n. 87 Green (Roger P. H.): 38 Gregorius I (Magnus) papa: 63, 68, 83, 103, 104, 117, 229, 254, 270, 277, 282, 283, 289, 294, 296, 297, 313, 408 Gregorius VII papa: 64 Gregorius IX papa: 246, 365, 366 Gregorius XV papa: 437 Gregorius Ariminensis: 256, 270 Gregorius Nazianzenus: 157 Gregorius Nyssenus: 50 –– Epistola […] fratri Leandro: 117 –– Homiliae in Evangelia: 63, 83 –– Homiliae in Ezechielem: 217 –– Moralia in Iob: 117, 254, 282, 283, 297, 311 Gregory (Tullio): 46 n. 46 Grimm ( Jacob): 386 Grimm (Wilhelm): 386 Grondelski ( John M.): 457 Grosfillier ( Jean): 11, 13, 14, 21, 23, 96, 215, 220, 313, 314, 348 Gross (Henri): 184 Grossman (Avraham): 170, 183 Grunwald (Georg): 474 Gryson (Roger): 56 Guarinus de Sancto Victore: 265 Gubbini (Gaia): 345 Guerreau-Jalabert (Anita): 127 Guggenheim (Antoine): 47 Guido Cavalcanti, Donna me prega: 356 Guido de Elemosina: 255 Guido Terrena: 270 Guillaume IX duc d’Aquitaine: 343, 348, 356 Guillelmus Altissiodorensis: 270 Guillelmus Alvernus: 270 Guillelmus Campellensis: 11, 21, 27, 71 n. 41, 86, 332 n. 20, 332, 333, 335, 363, 429, 468, 487 n. 1, 489, 490, 492, 495, 497 Guillelmus de Conchis: 459, 460 Guillelmus Hirsaugiensis: 87 Guillelmus de Ockham: 256, 271 Guillelmus de Sancto Theodorico: 13, 23, 128 Guimet (Fernand): 145, 146
539
Guyot (Bertrand-Georges): 12, 22, 449, 255, 450, 453 Guyot-Bachy (Isabelle): 12, 22, 492 n. 11 Haacke (Rhabanus Maurus): 78 Haas (Alois Maria): 82 Hadot (Pierre): 65, 102 n. 21, 373 Haefele (Hans F.): 276 Hamesse ( Jacqueline): 68, 97, 204, 449, 451, 452, 453 Hammond ( Jay): 145, 402 Härdelin (Alf ): 88 Harkins (Franklin T.): 38 n. 15, 117 n. 4, 186 n. 8 Hartel (Wilhelm von): 103 Haskins (Charles H.): 371 Hauréau (Barthélemy): 474 Hayes (Zachary): 145, 402 Haymo de Faversham: 367 n. 25-26 Hector: 279 Hedwigis Poloniae regina (sancta): 456 Heffernan (Thomas J.): 33 n. 1, 195 n. 40 Heinzer (Felix): 87 Heitz (Thiébaut.): 474 Heliodorus Altinensis: 103 Hellmann (Wayne J. A.): 365, 402 Heloisa Paraclitensis abbatissa: 129 Henricus de Augsburg: 88 n. 106 Henricus de Castro Marsiaco Albanensis cardinalis: 64, 233 Henricus de Gandavo: 269, 270, 418 Henricus Pistor (le Boulangier): 18, 28, 245, 246, 248, 250, 251, 255, 257, 258, 261, 262, 264, 266, 267, 272, 273 Henricus Totting de Oyta: 271 Henriet (Patrick): 102 Herbers (Klaus): 102 Hermannus Caminensis (Kamień Pomorski) episcopus: 445 Hieremias propheta: 279, 280, 294, 316, 317 Hieronymus (sanctus): 18, 28, 116, 183, 187, 191, 194, 195, 196, 197, 211, 262, 267, 276, 277, 288, 326 –– Commentarius in Ecclesiasten: 325 –– Epistula: 320 Hieronymus (pseudo-): 176, 188, 194 Hilarius Pictaviensis: 277 Hilberg (Isidorus): 320 Hildebertus Cenomanensis episcopus (de Lavardin): 330, 331, 429, 489
540
Index
Hildegardis Bingensis abbatissa: 17, 70 Hoffmann (Philippe): 13 n. 7, 23 n. 7 Hofmann (Peter): 148 n. 12 Hollywood (Amy): 40 n. 23 Honorius Augustodunensis: 17, 27, 66, 479 –– Clavis physice: 81 –– Libellus octo quaestionum de angelis et homine: 79-80 –– Liber duodecim quaestionum: 66, 79 Houben (Hubert): 91 Howard (Donald R.): 255 Howells (Edward): 377 Hubert (Philippe-Martin): 15, 25 Huerga (Álvaro): 439 Hugo de Folieto: 299 Hugo Halberstadiensis archidiaconus: 493 Hugo Ripelin de Argentina: 256 n. 25, 270 Hugo de Sancto Victore: 11-29, 31, 33-36, 38-40, 46-49, 52-59, 62, 63, 65, 67, 69, 71-77, 79-81, 83-86, 88-92, 95-110, 112, 113, 115-117, 119-1142, 167-185, 194, 199-205, 208-212, 216, 217, 219222, 224, 225, 232, 234, 235, 238, 239, 241, 246, 254-256, 260, 263-268, 270-272, 276, 278-281, 294, 297, 307, 308, 320, 330-340, 344-348, 352-355, 358-361, 364, 365, 371, 375-381, 387, 390, 395-397, 402, 410, 413, 423, 424, 434, 438-441, 447-455, 457, 459, 461, 465, 466, 468, 469, 479, 480, 487-492, 495-511 –– Chronicon: 12, 22, 492, 506, 507 –– De archa Noe: 74, 102, 104, 105, 107, 116, 122, 124-126, 145, 217, 241, 297, 381, 447, 507 –– De arrha animae: 17, 27, 120, 124, 125, 129, 130, 131, 132, 134, 135, 136, 137, 138, 139, 140, 276, 346, 352, 353, 355, 447, 507 –– De Assumptione beatae Mariae: 451 –– De creatione mundi: 74 –– De institutione novitiorum: 115, 495 –– De laude caritatis: 132 –– De meditatione: 100, 507 –– De sacramentis christianae fidei: 13, 23, 52, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76, 77, 84, 89, 91, 101, 110, 115, 117, 118, 119, 120, 123, 124, 126, 130, 183, 202, 204, 205, 210, 256, 266, 278, 294, 308, 330, 333, 334, 335, 339, 453, 503 –– De sapientia animae Christi: 330, 451 –– De Scripturis et scriptoribus sacris: 210, 211, 507 –– De tribus diebus: 33, 36, 39, 40, 46, 47, 48, 49, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 71, 74, 76, 77, 119, 120,
121, 205, 330, 332, 335, 336, 339, 340, 376, 378, 379, 381, 387, 499, 507 –– De vanitate rerum mundanarum: 113, 126 –– De verbo Dei: 125 –– De Verbo incarnato: 451 –– De virtute orandi: 120, 129, 216, 352, 448, 507 –– Descriptio mappe mundi: 12, 22 –– Didascalicon: 11, 21, 48, 65, 85, 89, 96, 101, 106, 110, 115, 116, 117, 210, 219, 220, 222, 268, 269, 307, 330, 334, 336, 339, 340, 354, 457, 459, 488, 499, 500, 501, 503, 507, 508, 509, 510 –– Epistula ad Galterium de Mauritiana: 451 –– Epitoma Dindimi in philosophiam: 334 –– Eulogium Sponsi: 452 –– Grammatica: 336, 338, 502 –– Libellus de formatione archae: 14, 24, 74, 89, 116, 205, 217, 225, 241, 348, 451, 504 –– Liber de tribus maximis circumstantiis: 451 –– Miscellanea: 74, 78, 88, 205, 206, 208, 281, 451 –– Notulae in Octateuchum: 156, 167, 168, 171, 180, 182-184, 194, 274, 502 –– Quid vere diligendum sit (= Miscellanea I, 171): 124, 132 –– Sententiae diversae: 451 –– Sententiae de divinitate: 74, 84, 181, 204, 205, 206, 208, 209, 210, 334, 498 –– Sermones: 451 –– Super Ecclesiasten: 123, 267, 454 –– Super Ierarchiam Dionisii: 40, 43, 56, 58, 59, 81, 122, 232, 234, 332, 434, 448, 457, 505, 506 –– Super Magnificat: 450 Hugo de Sancto Victore (pseudo-): 18, 201, 202, 320 –– De anima: 297, 434, 448, 449, 533 –– De bestiis: 452 –– De claustro animae: 299, 434, 451 –– De fructibus carnis et spiritus: 451 –– De medicina animae: 452 –– De regimine propriae personae: 451 –– De statu virtutum variabili: 450 –– Expositio in Regulam sancti Augustini: 320 –– Speculum Ecclesiae: 18, 28, 80, 201-206, 208, 209, 210-213 –– Stimulus amoris: 452 Hugolinus de Urbe Veteri: 256, 270 Hugonin (Flavien): 474 Huille (Imelda): 129 Huygens (Robert C. B.): 365
index nominum ET OPERUM Iacobus de Vitriaco: 365, 368, 498 Iesus Christus: 36, 37, 54 n. 75, 58, 60, 61, 66, 67 n. 21, 75, 79 n. 77, 81 n. 78, 91, 99, 105, 119, 139, 140, 193, 203, 219, 224, 231, 240, 252, 258, 263, 265, 271, 275, 277, 280, 287, 288, 289, 290, 291, 295, 305, 314, 320, 324, 325, 330, 333, 337, 339, 355, 358, 363, 376, 379, 380, 382-386, 388, 389, 394, 399, 400, 401, 403-407, 410, 411, 418, 451, 458 n. 102, 499, 501, 503, 504, 506 Illich (Ivan): 65 Imbach (Ruedi): 13, 23 Ineichen-Eder (Christine Elisabeth): 91 Ingeburgis Francorum regina: 497 Ioachim de Flore: 279 Iogna-Prat (Dominique): 64 Iohannes (sanctus, apostolus): 102 Iohannes de Alneto (Aulnay): 266 Iohannes Baconthorpe: 270, 425 Iohannes Baptista (sanctus): 36 Iohannes Bordier, Sancti Victoris abbas: 492 Iohannes Cassianus: 211, 241, 259, 275, 479 Iohannes de Chaleur, magister: 272 Iohannes Chrysostomus: 87 –– De laudibus sancti Pauli apostoli homiliae: 317 Iohannes Dąbrówka: 455 Iohannes Damascenus: 303, 304 Iohannes Duns Scotus: 19, 29, 256, 270-272, 413, 417-421, 468 –– Lectura: 418 –– Ordinatio: 418, 419, 420 –– Quaestiones Quodlibetales: 418, 420 –– Reportata Parisiensia: 418 Iohannes le Gay: 252, 272 Iohannes Gerson: 13, 23, 272, 273, 441, 459 Iohannes Hispalensis episcopus: 499 Iohannes de Kluczbork: 455 Iohannes de Mirecourt: 256, 271 Iohannes de Palaiseau, Sancti Victoris abbas: 491 Iohannes Quidort: 269 Iohannes de Ripa: 256, 271, 367 Iohannes Sanctae Crucis Conimbringensis prior ( João de S. Cruz de Coimbra): 396 Iohannes de Sancto Victore: 12, 15, 22, 25, 246, 247, 266, 318, 491, 492, 506 Iohannes Saresberiensis: 331, 341 Iohannes Scottus (Eriugena): 17, 27, 81, 82, 83, 84, 85, 459, 460, 479 –– Commentarius in Evangelium Iohannis: 36, 37
541
–– Homilia super « In Principio erat Verbum »: 36, 50 –– Periphyseon: 37 Iohannes de Słupca: 455 Iohannes Soreth: 425, 437 Iohannes Surdus: 85 Iohannes Wesley: 361 n. 9 Iosue: 279, 289, 297 Isabella Clara Eugenia de Habsburgo, archiducissa et regens Belgii: 12, 22, 431 Iudas Macchabaeus: 279 Iudith: 279, 295, 319 Iulius Caesar: 279 Ivo, frater: 349 –– Epistola ad Severinum de caritate: 346, 350 Jacopo Mostacci: 356 Jacques, v. Iacobus Jadwiga, v. Hedwigis James (Montague Rhodes): 330 Jan, v. Iohannes Janecki (Marcin Jan): 19, 29, 423, 427, 428, 432, 443, 467 Janiak (Andrew): 33 n. 3 Japhet (Sara): 183, 184 Jasinowski (Bogumił): 478 Jaufré Rudel: 343, 345, 348, 356 Javelet (Robert): 135 Jazdzewski (Konstanty K.): 446-450 Jean, v. Iohannes Jeauneau (Édouard): 36, 37, 42, 43, 45, 47, 86, 378 Jerphagnon (Lucien): 128 João, John, v. Iohannes Jocque (Luc): 12, 22, 199, 494, 496 José de Jesús Crucificado: 432 José de Santa Teresa: 427, 428 Joseph Qara: 167, 169, 169, 170, 178, 179, 180, 183, 184 Juan, v. Iohannes Juan de Ávila: 428 Juan de la Cruz ( Juan de Yepes Álvarez): 424, 427-430, 433, 437, 441, 442 –– Cantico espiritual: 437 Kadzielski (Stanisław): 446, 451, 452, 453 Kalb (Alphonsus): 119 Kaliszuk ( Jerzy): 446, 449, 451, 452, 453 Kalita-Skwirzyńska (Kazimiera): 445 Kaluza (Zénon): 224
542
Index
Karas (Marcin): 49 Karfíková (Lenka): 117 Karkut (Marcin): 428, 432 Keckermann (Bartholomeus): 458 et n. 107 Kiełbasa ( Jan): 49 n. 60, 468 n. 154 Kienzle (Beverly Mayne): 243 Kijewska (Agnieszka): 17, 27, 33, 35 n. 7, 44 n. 37, 51 n. 65, 59 n. 91 Kislev (Itamar): 183, 184 n. 46 Kleinz ( Joseph): 474 Kobusch (Theo): 390 Kohlenberger (Helmut): 329 Kordel ( Jan Krzysztof ): 446 Korolec ( Jerzy): 451 Korporowcz (Leszek): 456 Koszkało (Martyna): 468 Kowalczyk (Maria): 446, 447, 448, 449, 450, 457, 451 Kozłowska (Anna): 447, 448, 449, 450, 451 Krynen ( Jean): 437 Kulesza (Eugeniusz): 460, 461, 463, 473, 474 Kurdziałek (Marian): 49, 50, 52, 462, 466 Kurz (Rainer): 450-452 Labourt ( Jérôme): 103 Lachin (Giosuè): 351 Lactantius, Divinae institutiones: 317 Lafleur (Claude): 13 n. 7, 23 n. 7 Landgraf (Arthur): 329, 330, 331, 332, 333, 335, 336, 337, 339, 340 Lanham (Carol D.): 68 Lardet (Pierre): 12 n. 3, 22 n. 3 Laubman (Georg): 317 Laurentius Dunelmensis, Westmonasterii abbas: 181, 204, 334 Lawell (Declan): 13, 23, 397 Lazarri (Francesco): 97 Łazowski (Andrzej): 445 Lazzerini (Lucia): 343, 345, 350 Le Bourdelles (René): 82 Leclercq ( Jean): 101 Léger-Orine (Monique): 102 Legowicz ( Jan): 34 Lehmann (Karl): 70 n. 37 Lehmann (Leonhard): 403 n. 116 Lehmann (Paul): 85 et n. 95 Lehner (Hans-Christian): 102 Lemoine (Michel): 71 Lenglart (Marcel): 474
Léo XIII papa: 459, 469 Leon-Dufour (Xavier): 128 Léopold (Delisle): 255 Leopoldus de Habsburgo, dux Austriae et Stiriae: 407 Lesieur (Thierry): 52, 53, 55, 56, 87 Levy (Ian Christopher): 45, 48 Leyra Curiá (Montse): 12, 18, 22, 28, 167, 169, 187, 338, 502 Liber ordinis Sancti Victoris Parisiensis: 199, 200, 494, 496 Libera (Alan de): 13, 23 Lietbertus de Sancto Rufo (incertus) –– Expositio in Regulam sancti Augustini: 320 Lockshin (Martin I.): 175, 183, 184 Laurentius Opimus Bononiensis: 245 Lottin (Odon): 71, 72, 75, 141, 332 Ludovicus VI rex Francorum: 489, 497 Ludovicus VII rex Francorum: 497 Ludovicus VIII rex Francorum: 496 Louth (Andrew): 40 Lubac (Henri de): 212 Lucentini (Paolo): 81, 88 Luisetto ( Joanne): 397 Luscombe (David E.): 329, 330, 333, 337, 339, 340 Lusignan (Serge): 227, 491 Longère ( Jean): 12, 15, 16, 22, 25, 199, 215, 216, 227, 234, 236, 282, 283, 396, 424, 489, 493, 494, 498, 500 Maciej, v. Matthias Macrobius: 103, 336, 337 Matthias de Łabiszyn: 455 Matthias de Sąspów: 455 –– Somnium Scipionis: 103, 336 Magee ( John.): 37 Magoga (Alessio): 78 n. 69 Mainoldi (Ernesto S.): 42 Majeran (Roman): 59 Mancini (Mario): 350, 352 Mandziuk ( Józef ): 445 Manegoldus Lautenbacensis: 489 Manzano (Isidoro): 418, 422 Marabelli (Costante): 348 Marcabru: 343, 345, 349, 351, 352, 353 –– Pus mos coratges s’es clarzitz: 351, 352, 353 Marolles (Michel de): 12, 22 Márquez (Antonio): 439 Marrani (Giuseppe): 345
index nominum ET OPERUM Martianus Capella: 329, 336 Martineau (Emmanuel): 381 Martini de Wittenberg ( Jakob): 458 Martinus Bracarensis, Formula honestae vitae: 452 Mason (Emma): 204 Matías del Niño Jesús: 433 Matter (Ann E.): 123, 217 Matthaeus de Cracovia: 454, 455 Mauritius de Sulliaco: 217 Maximus Confessor (Chrysopolitanus): 50, 82, 479 –– Ambigua: 82 Mazzoni (Francesco): 345 McEvoy ( James): 44 McGinn (Bernard): 44, 45, 46, 369, 372, 403 McIntosh (Mark): 377 Mechthildis Magdeburgensis (sancta): 390, 392 Menandus de Sancto Victore: 234 Mercury (Pasacaline): 17 Merton (Thomas): 426 Mésoniat (Claudio): 346 Mews (Constant J.): 19, 28, 33, 329, 333, 338, 341 Miccoli (Lucia): 220 Michael (sanctus, archangelus): 66 Michael Aiguani, Lectura super Psalterio, Commentaria in Psalmos Davidicos: 323 Michael Sternberg de Oleśnica: 455 Michał, v. Michael Michalski (Konstanty): 459, 462, 474 Michaud-Quantin (Pierre): 49, 219 Mieszko I, princeps Poloniae: 443 Migne ( Jacques-Paul): 66, 70, 74, 171, 180, 184, 202, 206 Mikołaj, v. Nicolaus Milis (Ludo): 199, 496 Millor (William J.): 331 Mocan (Mira): 19, 29, 343, 345 Moises, propheta et hagiographus: 230, 279, 297 Monfrin (Françoise): 104 Monjou (Patrick): 255 n. 25 Montaubin (Pascal): 200 n. 6 Moore (Rebecca): 338 Morard (Martin): 11, 21, 336, 361 Moreira ( José Manuel): 439 Morey (Adrian): 331 Morin (Germain): 63 Mosca (Vincenzo): 425 Moser (Paul K.): 41 Mountain (William J.): 124
543
Mousseau ( Juliet): 91, 199, 246 Mrozowicz (Wojciech): 446, 451-453 Müller (Carl F. W.): 311 Mullins (Patrick): 425 Murk-Jansen (Saskia): 368 Murphy (Desmond J.): 204 Nascimento (Augusto): 396 Nebbiai Dalla Guarda (Donatella): 361 Nelson (Deborah H.): 351 Nelstrop (Louise): 377 Nepotianus, nepos Heliodori Altinensis: 103 Nicetas Remesianensis, De psalmodiae bono: 322 Nicolaus Doria: 429 Nicolaus Gallicus, prior generalis ordinis Carmelitarum: 425, 426, 436 Nicolaus de Kozłów: 455 Nicolaus de Lyra: 186, 252, 253, 255, 267, 268 Nicolaus de Morencourt: 246, 257 Nicolaus Soloe: 246, 257 Notkerus Balbulus: 276 Novotný (Vojtěch): 63-65, 69, 70-72, 74, 75, 78, 79, 89 Nowak (Lucyna): 446, 449, 454 Nygren (Anders): 135 Narbonne ( Jean-Marc): 13, 23 Németh (Csaba): 13, 23 Narchi ( Jonas): 19, 29, 375, 395 O’meara (Tr. John J.): 37, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 48, 51, 59, 61, 62 Olivo (Gilles): 381, 395-396 n. 84 Oosthout (Henricus): 56 n. 82 Opechowski (Mirosław): 445 Origenes Alexandrinus: 87, 152, 211, 479 Odo, auctor libri Ysagoge in theologiam: 19, 29, 329-340 –– In Canticum: 153 Orosius (Paulus): 333 Osuna (Franciscus de): 391 Othlo Sancti Emmerammi Ratisponensis: 87 Ott (Ludwig): 499 Otten (Willemien): 34, 38, 95 Otto (Friedrich): 331 Otto Luccensis episcopus: 183, 330 Ouy (Gilbert): 12, 22, 247, 248, 249, 250, 251, 252, 255, 267, 271, 272 Palmén (Ritva): 129, 145 Pammolli (Tommaso di Gesù): 427
544
Index
Parisse (Michel): 200 Pastor de Reggio Emilia: 247 Paulin du Très Saint Sacrement: 427 Paulmier-Foucart (Monique): 227, 491 Paulus V papa: 430 Paulus de Worczyn, In Ethicam ad Nicomachum: 455 n. 88 Paulus Vladimiri (Paweł Włodkowic): 456 Pauly (Ferdinand): 228 Paweł, v. Paulus Pelamides: 279 Pereira (Michela): 83 Pertile (Lino): 349 Petrus (sanctus, apostolus): 504 Petrus Abaelardus: 14, 19, 24, 29, 84, 128, 264, éè!; 279, 329, 330, 331, 332, 333, 335, 336, 337, 338, 339, 340, 341, 378, 413, 489, 506, 507, 508 –– Commentaria in Epistolam Pauli ad Romanos: 339 –– Theologia: 340 –– Theologia ‘Scholarium’: 338 –– Theologia ‘Summi boni’: 335 –– Epistola 67, ad Henricum regem Angliae: 312 Petrus de Alliaco: 271, 272 Petrus Alphonsi: 337, 338 Petrus Blesensis: 391 Petrus de Candia (Alexander V papa): 271 Petrus Cantor: 231, 233, 270, 402, 502 Petrus Cellensis abbas: 231, 241 Petrus Chrysologus: 312, 449 Petrus Comestor: 231 Petrus Ducis: 18, 28, 245, 246, 247, 248, 249, 250, 252, 255, 256, 257, 258, 259, 260, 261, 262, 263, 264, 266, 267, 269, 270, 271, 272, 273 –– Principia: 18, 28 –– Principium IV in Sententias: 246 Petrus de Dzwonów: 455 Petrus Leduc, v. Petrus Ducis Petrus Lombardus: 12, 23, 69, 73, 247, 250, 263, 264, 266, 268, 269, 270, 334, 337, 368, 371, 413, 490, 497 Petrus Pictaviensis: 15, 25, 231, 234, 235, 241, 490 Petrus Plaoul: 256 Petrus de Vinea: 356 Philippus Ribot: 425, 436 Piasti (Piastowie) (familia regum Poloniae): 444 Piazzoni (Ambrogio M.): 74, 204, 208, 334 Picone (Michelangelo): 345 Pietrzykiewicz (Iwona): 453
Piotr, v. Petrus Pippal (Martina): 448 Piron (Sylvain): 360, 366, 397 Pistoia (Andrea): 18, 28, 199, 201 Plato: 37 Plotinus: 102, 479 Płotka (Magdalena): 456, 467 Podlaszewska (Krystyna): 445 Poirel (Dominique): 11, 12, 14, 16, 20, 21, 22, 24, 26, 30, 33, 36, 39, 40, 46, 47, 49, 52-59, 66, 67, 69, 71, 74, 81, 85, 86, 88, 89, 91, 92, 96, 98, 110, 116, 119, 120-123, 128, 129, 183, 192, 205, 213, 216, 219, 224, 227-229, 232, 234, 237, 239, 241, 242, 245, 247, 265, 266, 332, 335, 336, 341, 347, 348, 352, 354, 355, 360, 361, 378, 379, 397, 423, 457, 467, 487, 490, 491, 495, 497, 499, 505, 506 Pollitt (Herbert J.): 180, 183 Porphyrius: 102 Porro (Pasquale): 381, 395 Potho, v. Boto Principium et causa: 71 Publilius Syrus,: 311, 331 –– Sententiae: 311 Pulega (Andrea): 343 Pulgar y Sandoval (Fernando): 429 Punzi (Arianna): 345 Quantin ( Jean-Louis): 202, 439 Quintilianus: 38 Quodvultdeus Carthaginiensis episcopus, De cataclismo: 325 Radulfus de Biberaco: 19, 29, 377, 378, 391, 397, 407-411 –– De septem itineribus aeternitatis: 378, 407, 408, 410, 411 Raimbaut d’Aurenga: 345 Rainini (Marco): 17, 27, 63, 68, 87, 90, 348 Ranff (Viki): 377 Rashbam: 167, 171, 174, 175, 183, 184 Rashi: 167, 174, 175, 183, 184 Rawel (Alain): 203 Raymundus Lullus: 452 Raymundus Sanctae Crucis Conimbrigensis prior: 396 Rebeta ( Jerzy): 455 Regula Carmeli: 436, 441 Regula sancti Augustini: 11, 13, 15, 21, 23, 24, 96, 120, 199, 215, 216, 220, 352, 425, 441, 442, 488, 505
index nominum ET OPERUM Reibe (Nicole): 381, 395 Remus: 279 Reynolds (Philip): 378 Ribaillier ( Jean): 146, 147, 149, 150-152, 154161, 163-165, 315, 394, 414-417 Richardus de Bury: 299 Richardus de Mediavilla (Menneville, Middleton): 269 Richardus Rollus: 377 Richardus de Sancto Victore: 11, 13-16, 18, 19, 21, 23-25, 27-29, 36, 68, 145-165, 185, 192, 194, 200, 202, 205, 212, 220, 222, 225, 227, 241, 246, 264-266, 268-272, 279, 282, 283, 294, 299, 300, 304, 305, 313-315, 323, 346, 358-360, 362, 375-378, 381, 390-395, 397, 399-402, 404, 405, 408-410, 412, 414, 418, 420, 423, 434, 438441, 447, 452-455, 458-463, 465, 467-469, 471-475, 477-482, 487, 490, 491, 492, 495, 499, 502, 505, 510 –– Adnotationes mysticae in Psalmos: 28, 313, 315, 452 –– Allegoriae Novi Testamenti: 452 –– De contemplatione (Beniamin maior, De archa mystica): 13, 23, 376, 390, 393, 402, 409, 434, 452, 462, 463, 471-483, 505 –– De duodecim patriarchis (Beniamin minor): 282, 376, 390, 393, 402, 434, 453, 505, 522 –– De Emmanuele: 192, 193, 194, 452 –– De eruditione interioris hominis sive De mystico somnio regis Nabuchodonosor: 452, 453 –– De exterminatione mali et promotione boni: 452 –– De oratione dominica: 453 –– De potestate ligandi atque solvendi: 452, 453 –– De quattuor gradibus violentae caritatis: 147, 345, 346, 349, 376, 377, 390, 391, 393, 409, 412, 453 –– De statu interioris hominis: 315 –– De Trinitate: 18, 23, 26, 28, 145, 146, 147, 148, 149, 150, 165, 166, 203, 264, 268, 278, 391, 394, 413, 414, 415, 416, 417, 420, 454, 458, 505 –– Liber exceptionum: 11, 21, 220, 222, 502, 510 Richardus de Sancto Victore (incertus) –– De sacra Scriptura: 323 Ricketts (Peter T.): 338 Riedlinger (Helmut): 408 Rigon (Antonio): 366 Robertus Cybollus (Ciboule): 391 Robertus de Flamesburia (Flamborough): 234, 490
545
Robertus Grosseteste sive Lincolniensis: 360 Robertus Herefordiensis episcopus (Robert de Béthune): 331, 338 Robertus de Meleduno: 341, 498, 499 Robilliard ( J. A.): 474 Rochais (Henri M.): 120, 129, 216, 290, 296, 301, 352, 448, 450, 495, 505 Rogowski (Roman E.): 464, 465 Roman de Renart: 107 Römer (Franz): 449, 450, 451 Romulus: 279 Roncaglia (Aurelio): 343, 344, 345, 351 Roques (René): 45, 69, 81, 82, 85 Rorem (Paul): 42, 43, 48, 57, 58, 62, 361, 490 Rosier-Catach (Irène): 489 Rosin (David): 175, 183, 184 Roszak (Piotr): 468 Rouse (Mary A.): 68 Rouse (Richard H.): 68 Rousselot (Pierre): 133 Rudolph (Conrad): 116, 217 Rudolphus de Biberaco, v. Radulphus de Biberaco Ruh (Kurt): 390, 391, 393 Ruloff (Colin P.): 155 Runyon (Theodore): 361 Rupertus Tuitiensis: 17, 27, 69, 78, 191, 197 –– De gloria et honore filii hominis super Matthaeum: 78 –– De glorificatione Trinitatis: 78 Sáinz Rodríguez (Pedro): 440 Salet (Gaston): 146 Salmann (Elmar): 329 Salomon rex Israel: 104 Salters (Robert B.): 183 Saltman (Avrom): 176, 194, 329 Sambor (Pawel): 98 Samson, iudex in Israel: 279 Samuel ben Meir: 184 n. 46 Sanson (Manuela): 345 Sansone (Giuseppe E.): 343 Schabel (Chris): 18, 28, 245, 246, 247, 249, 256, 257, 271 Scheludko (Dimitri): 343 Schilling ( Johannes): 56 Schlette (Heinz Robert): 97 Schmidt (Margot): 377, 391, 407, 408, 409, 410, 411
546
Index
Schmitt (Franciscus Salesius): 337 Schmitt ( Jean-Claude): 13, 23, 496 Schmitt ( Johannes): 13, 23 Schmitz (Hans-Georg): 88 Schneider ( Jean): 102 Schneyer ( Johannes Baptist): 205 Schniertshauer (Martin): 147, 148 Schreiner (Klaus): 87 Schwaetzer (Harald): 51, 59 Sclafert (Clément): 424 Seifert (Monika): 186 Seneca: 262, 267, 285, 311, 312, 321 –– Ad Lucilium epistulae morales: 321 Seńko (Władysław): 452, 453, 455 Senoçak (Neslihan): 364, 365, 366, 367, 368, 369 Sententiae Anselmi: 71 Sententiae Atrebatenses: 71 Sententiae Parisienses: 329, 333 Sesé ( Javier): 460 Short (William J.): 365 Sicard (Patrice): 11, 14, 21, 24, 74, 89, 96, 102, 105, 116, 120, 129, 202, 205, 215, 216, 217, 220, 225, 241, 242, 297, 348, 352, 366, 375, 381, 438, 447, 488, 490, 495, 504, 505 Sieben (Hermann Josef ): 96 Signer (Michael A.): 182, 185-187, 195, 196 Silvana Elías (Gloria): 19, 29, 413 Silverio de Santa Teresa: 437 Simader (Friedrich): 448 Simeón de la Sagrada Familia: 427, 430 Simon Capra Aurea de Sancto Victore: 490 Simon de Plumetot, Conclusiones elicite ex primo Summe Guillermi Altissiodorensis: 255 Simon Tornacensis: 202, 203 Smalley (Beryl): 169, 172, 180, 182, 185, 186, 187, 194, 502 Smith (Lesley): 123, 187, 188, 217, 439, 440, 441 Sordillo (Antonio): 18, 28, 215, 294, 307 Spicq (Ceslas): 211 Spilling (Herrad): 448 Spitzer (Leo): 343 Stammberger (Ralf M. W.): 205, 506 Stanislaus de Skarbimierz: 455 Stanislaus de Zawada: 455 Staring (Adrianus): 426 Stasiak (Sławomir): 47 n. 51 Stee (Carlos): 44 Stegmüller (Friedrich): 72, 247, 255 Stella (Francesco): 343
Stirnemann (Patricia): 12, 22, 192, 216 Stofferahn (Steven A.): 330 Strayer ( Joseph): 357 Ström (Per): 88 Stróżewski (Władysław): 34, 38-41 Strubel (Armand): 347 Sturlese (Lorys): 81, 86, 88 Suchla (Beate Regina): 128 Sugerius Sancti Dionysii abbas: 14, 24, 239, 241, 497 Sullivan (Thomas): 245, 248, 251, 271 Summa Halensis (Summa fratris Alexandri): 145 Summa sententiarum: 69, 183, 329, 330, 333, 334, 336, 337, 339, 340 Swieżawski (Stefan): 459, 460, 462, 463, 466, 469 Synan (Edward A.): 220 Szyller (Sławomir): 446, 449, 451, 452, 453 Talbot (Charles H.): 129 Tatarkiewicz (Władysław): 465, 466 Taylor ( Jerome): 116, 183 Térèsa de Jésús: 391, 426, 428, 429, 430, 434, 437, 438, 442 Thery (Gabriel): 366 Thiolier-Mejean (Suzanne): 344 Thomas (Ernest C.): 299 Thomas (Pierre): 200 Thomas Aquinas: 14, 24, 34, 47, 99, 239, 248, 268, 270, 272, 273, 418, 429, 439, 464, 474, 480, 482, 483 –– Summa theologiae: 202, 203, 239 Thomas Becket: 499 Thomas Bradwardinus, De causa Dei contra Pelagium et de virtute causarum: 270 Thomas de Celano: 361 Thomas de Eccleston: 365 Thomas Gallus: 11, 13, 19, 21, 23, 29, 360, 365, 366, 376, 396, 397, 402, 408, 409, 411, 423, 434, 438, 440, 441, 453, 459, 487, 490, 492, 495, 502, 505 –– De septem gradibus contemplationis: 453 –– Expositio librorum beati Dionysii: 13, 23 –– Extractio in Hierarchiam ecclesiasticam: 397 –– Glosae super Angelicam Ierarchiam: 13, 23 –– Qualiter vita prelatorum conformari debet vite angelice: 397 Thomas de Jésus: 19, 29, 423, 424, 427, 428, 429, 430, 431, 432, 434, 435, 436, 437, 438, 439, 440, 441
index nominum ET OPERUM –– Commentaria in regulam primitivam Carmeli: 441 –– De contemplatione divina: 423, 424, 434, 435, 442 –– Divinae orationis sive a Deo infusae methodus, natura et gradus: 435 –– Primera parte del Carmino espiritual de oración y contemplación: 430 n. 14 –– Libro de la antigüedad, y sanctos de la orden de nuestra Señora del Carmen: 440 –– Orationis mentalis via brevis et plana: 435 –– Ordinario y ceremonial: 440 Thomas de Sancto Victore, prior: 489, 496, 497 Thomson (Rodney M.): 341 Thoulouse ( Jean de): 491 –– Antiquitatum regalis abbatiae Sancti Victoris libri duodecim: 250 –– Memoriale historiarum: 12, 22, 247, 266, 492 Thouzellier (Christine): 231, 232, 233 Tilliette ( Jean-Yves): 348 Tolan ( John): 337 Toussaert ( Jacques): 397, 402 Trottmann (Christian): 381 Tuggy (Dale): 155 Tulloch (William-Joseph): 393 Urbanus VIII papa: 437 Vaciago (Paolo): 345 Valenti (Gianluca): 346 Valette ( Jean-René): 13, 23, 98, 344 Vallin (Pierre): 220 Van ‘t Spijker (Ineke): 17 Van Den Eynde (Damien): 89, 183, 202, 203, 205 Van Liere (Frans): 18, 28, 182, 185-190, 192, 194, 195 Van Riel (Gerd): 44 Vauchez (André): 67, 97 Vecchio (Silvana): 13, 23 Vegetius, Epitoma rei militaris: 310, 311 Verger ( Jacques): 11, 21, 234, 336 Vernet (Marguerite): 18, 28, 227, 228 Vincentius de Aggsbach: 459 Vincentius Bellovacensis: 227, 264, 276, 278, 491
547
Vincentius Ferrarii: 459 Virgilius Maro: 106 –– Aeneis: 106 –– Georgica: 106 Vitruvius: 502 Vogüé (Adalbert de): 104 Vollmann-Profe (Gisela): 392 Vones-Liebenstein (Ursula): 186 Vossler (Karl): 343 Wachinger (Burghart): 87 Walcerus Malvernensis prior: 337 Walfish (Barry): 187 Walter, v. Galterius Weber (Robert): 56 Weisweiler (Heinrich): 71, 85, 181, 202, 205 Wernerus II Sancto Blasii abbas: 17, 27, 91 –– Libri deflorationum: 91 Westra (Haijo Jan): 378 Whitney (Elspeth): 220 Wielgus (Stanisław): 443, 450, 452, 454, 455, 456, 457, 466 Wigmore Abbey Chronicles: 338 n. 49 Willesme ( Jean-Pierre): 493 William, Wilhelm, v. Guillelmus Willis ( James): 337 Winterbottom (Michael): 341 Wirth ( Jean): 14, 24 Witt ( Jeffery C.): 256 Władysław Jagiełło rex Poloniae: 456 Włodek (Zofia): 446, 455 Wohlman (Avital): 60 Wójcik (Kazimierz): 448, 455, 533 Worstbrock (Franz Joseph): 87, 91, 228 Zacchetti (Carlo): 16, 26, 345, 361 Zajchowska (Anna): 448, 449, 533 Zambon (Francesco): 343, 349, 351 Zathey ( Jerzy): 446, 451 Zembrzuski (Michał): 467 Zier (Mark): 185, 186 Zink (Michel): 15, 25, 344 Zinn (Grover A.): 123, 217, 402 Zweerman (Theo): 407