Eric Leland Saak
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- September 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199646388
- eISBN:
- 9780199949960
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199646388.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Church History, Theology
The term ‘Augustinianism’ has been used by scholars for over a century to refer to trends in medieval philosophy, theology, and politics, which had a major effect on the transformations of European ...
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The term ‘Augustinianism’ has been used by scholars for over a century to refer to trends in medieval philosophy, theology, and politics, which had a major effect on the transformations of European culture and society from the Middle Ages to the onset of modernity. Yet in each of these three disciplines ‘Augustinianism’ means something different, and the lack of clarity only increases when the debates over the relationship between a late medieval Augustinianism and Martin Luther are also considered. Based on historical, philological, and iconographic analysis, this study adopts a hermeneutical approach drawn from philosophical hermeneutics, religious studies, and literary and sociological theory to argue for a historical, as distinct from a philosophical or theological referent for the term ‘Augustinianism’. The central argument of the book is that the interpretation of a late medieval Augustinianism can only be based historically on the newly created image of Augustine discerned in the writings of the Augustinian Hermits in the early fourteenth century, rather than on our own interpretations of Augustine himself. Recognizing the diverse dimensions of this created image is requisite to a historical understanding of Augustine’s late medieval reception and impact. As such, the book sets its sights beyond the later Middle Ages to encompass approaches to interpreting Augustine’s influence in general, for Augustine remains, today as in the later Middle Ages, a created saint.Less
The term ‘Augustinianism’ has been used by scholars for over a century to refer to trends in medieval philosophy, theology, and politics, which had a major effect on the transformations of European culture and society from the Middle Ages to the onset of modernity. Yet in each of these three disciplines ‘Augustinianism’ means something different, and the lack of clarity only increases when the debates over the relationship between a late medieval Augustinianism and Martin Luther are also considered. Based on historical, philological, and iconographic analysis, this study adopts a hermeneutical approach drawn from philosophical hermeneutics, religious studies, and literary and sociological theory to argue for a historical, as distinct from a philosophical or theological referent for the term ‘Augustinianism’. The central argument of the book is that the interpretation of a late medieval Augustinianism can only be based historically on the newly created image of Augustine discerned in the writings of the Augustinian Hermits in the early fourteenth century, rather than on our own interpretations of Augustine himself. Recognizing the diverse dimensions of this created image is requisite to a historical understanding of Augustine’s late medieval reception and impact. As such, the book sets its sights beyond the later Middle Ages to encompass approaches to interpreting Augustine’s influence in general, for Augustine remains, today as in the later Middle Ages, a created saint.
ANDREW JOTISCHKY
- Published in print:
- 2002
- Published Online:
- January 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780198206347
- eISBN:
- 9780191717055
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198206347.003.0008
- Subject:
- History, European Medieval History
This chapter steps aside from the Carmelite historical narrative to examine comparable writing about the past in other religious orders in the Middle Ages. The Augustinian Hermits developed their own ...
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This chapter steps aside from the Carmelite historical narrative to examine comparable writing about the past in other religious orders in the Middle Ages. The Augustinian Hermits developed their own historical traditions for similar reasons and at the same period as the Carmelites, and the main outlines of these are examined. The relationship between Franciscans and the early Church is discussed in the light of Spiritual Franciscan concerns with prophecy, reform, and authenticity in the Church. Finally, the influences of reform monasticism on Dominican history writing are examined.Less
This chapter steps aside from the Carmelite historical narrative to examine comparable writing about the past in other religious orders in the Middle Ages. The Augustinian Hermits developed their own historical traditions for similar reasons and at the same period as the Carmelites, and the main outlines of these are examined. The relationship between Franciscans and the early Church is discussed in the light of Spiritual Franciscan concerns with prophecy, reform, and authenticity in the Church. Finally, the influences of reform monasticism on Dominican history writing are examined.
Eric Saak
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- September 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199646388
- eISBN:
- 9780199949960
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199646388.003.0006
- Subject:
- Religion, Church History, Theology
This chapter details the religious identity of the OESA, based on the imitation of Augustine and following the religio Augustini. It examines how the Hermits sought to embody Augustine as the rule ...
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This chapter details the religious identity of the OESA, based on the imitation of Augustine and following the religio Augustini. It examines how the Hermits sought to embody Augustine as the rule and exemplar of their every action, thus giving evidence of the religionization process in the later Middle Ages. The works of Henry of Friemar and Jordan of Quedlinburg come to the fore, espeically Jordan’s Liber Vitasfratrum, which was intended to serve as a mirror for members of the OESA to determine the extent of their ‘being’ Augustinians. The new appropriation of Augustine evidenced in the 1320s and 1330s served not only as the catalyst for the Augustinian Renaissance, but also as the hermeneutical principle of the religio Augustini, which provided the historical referent for the term ‘Augustinianism’ in the later Middle Ages.Less
This chapter details the religious identity of the OESA, based on the imitation of Augustine and following the religio Augustini. It examines how the Hermits sought to embody Augustine as the rule and exemplar of their every action, thus giving evidence of the religionization process in the later Middle Ages. The works of Henry of Friemar and Jordan of Quedlinburg come to the fore, espeically Jordan’s Liber Vitasfratrum, which was intended to serve as a mirror for members of the OESA to determine the extent of their ‘being’ Augustinians. The new appropriation of Augustine evidenced in the 1320s and 1330s served not only as the catalyst for the Augustinian Renaissance, but also as the hermeneutical principle of the religio Augustini, which provided the historical referent for the term ‘Augustinianism’ in the later Middle Ages.
Eric Saak
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- September 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199646388
- eISBN:
- 9780199949960
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199646388.003.0003
- Subject:
- Religion, Church History, Theology
This chapter analyses the anonymous treatise Initium Ordinis Sancti Augustini, together with the works of Henry of Friemar, Nicolas of Alessandria, and Jordan of Quedlinburg to bring to light the ...
More
This chapter analyses the anonymous treatise Initium Ordinis Sancti Augustini, together with the works of Henry of Friemar, Nicolas of Alessandria, and Jordan of Quedlinburg to bring to light the recreation of Augustine’s biography in the context of the religio-politics of the Order of Hermits of St Augustine (OESA). These four authors were the architects of what can be called the ‘Myth of Augustine’, Augustine as the founding father of the OESA. Such an image of Augustine was needed in the Hermit’s political battles for custody of Augustine’s relics in Pavia, in which the Hermits argued for their priority over the Augustinian Canons as Augustine’s true sons and heirs.Less
This chapter analyses the anonymous treatise Initium Ordinis Sancti Augustini, together with the works of Henry of Friemar, Nicolas of Alessandria, and Jordan of Quedlinburg to bring to light the recreation of Augustine’s biography in the context of the religio-politics of the Order of Hermits of St Augustine (OESA). These four authors were the architects of what can be called the ‘Myth of Augustine’, Augustine as the founding father of the OESA. Such an image of Augustine was needed in the Hermit’s political battles for custody of Augustine’s relics in Pavia, in which the Hermits argued for their priority over the Augustinian Canons as Augustine’s true sons and heirs.
