Richard of Saint Victor (died 1173) was a Medieval Scottish philosopher and theologian and one of the most influential religious thinkers of his time. A canon regular, he was a prominent mystical theologian, and was prior of the famous Augustinian Abbey of Saint Victor in Paris from 1162 until his death in 1173.
Very little is known about the origins and upbringing of Richard of Saint Victor. John of Toulouse wrote a short Vita of Richard in the seventeenth century. [1] He said that Richard came from Scotland. [2] John added that Richard was received into the Abbey of St Victor by Abbot Gilduin (1114–1155) and was a student under Hugh of St Victor, the most influential of all Victorine teachers (implying that Richard entered the community before Hugh's death in 1141). [3] This account of Richard's early life is not accepted by all modern scholars, however, and some have suggested that Richard entered the abbey after Hugh's death in 1141. [4]
All scholarship agrees, however, that Richard was a magister during the 1150s, [5] and was then promoted to subprior in 1159 (as stated by a document found at the abbey). He served under Achard of St. Victor's elected successor Ernisius, who was unworthy of the position. [6] Richard's life was then burdened by the frustrations of working under a man who was ill-suited for his responsibilities. Ernisius wasted the abbey's resources on overly ambitious building projects and persecuted those who attempted to resist him. Richard was allowed to keep his office but his influence was restricted. Things became so unbearable that an appeal was made to the Pope, who then visited Saint Victor in 1162. [7] Through a multitude of transactions, Ernisius was eventually removed from his position and the Pope commended Richard for his continued involvement in the matter. Letters from England written to Richard show that he was in constant touch with English affairs and give evidence of the international character of intellectual life at this time. [8]
He was then promoted to prior in 1162, a position he held until his death on 10 March 1173. [9]
Richard wrote extensively (Migne's Patrologia Latina contains 34 works attributed to him, and this is not Richard's full corpus). [10] There are some problems with establishing the chronology of Richard's works. The earliest ones come before 1153, and the latest were written one or two years before his death. [11] His earlier works are similar to the general teaching and writing of the period. His writing develops from basic exegesis, theology and philosophy to more of a study of purely spiritual questions. In his early writings he relies on the moral interpretations of previous theologians such as Augustine of Hippo, Bede, Pope Gregory I and Hugh. He later became more independent and strayed from Hugh's influence. [12] There is some debate between historians about which of Richard's texts are the most influential and important. Because Richard's work covers many spheres of thought it is somewhat difficult to categorise his work.
The Book of the Twelve Patriarchs, sometimes titled Benjamin Minor, is one of Richard of Saint Victor's great works on contemplation. [13] It is not exactly known when it was written, but it would seem to date before 1162. Richard specifies that this work is not a treatise on contemplation but rather prepares the mind for contemplation. [14]
The Mystical Ark, sometimes called Benjamin Major or The Grace of Contemplation completes this with the study of the mind in relation to prayer. [15] However, in the last chapters of Benjamin Major, written later than the Minor, Richard almost abandons his topic and the discussion of the teaching of mystical theology takes up a good portion of every remaining chapter. He is still attempting to instruct his followers on a text but he has also engaged himself in creating a system of mystical theology.
One of Richard's greatest works was the De Trinitate which was probably written while Richard was prior, between 1162 and 1173. [16] [17] This is known because it incorporates pieces of theological text which editors are now finding in earlier works. [18] De Trinitate is Richard's most independent and original study on dogmatic theology. It stems from the desire to show that dogmatic truths of Christian revelation are ultimately not against reason. Richard's theological approach stems from a profoundly mystical life of prayer, which in the Spirit seeks to involve the mind, in continuation with the Augustinian and Anselmian tradition.
Since this work was not available in any English translation until recently, its diffusion has been limited and its influence has seldom gone beyond 'Book III'. [19] In 2011, the first full English translation of Richard's De Trinitate was published by Ruben Angelici. [20]
Richard wrote a massive handbook of biblical education entitled Liber Exceptionum (Book of Selections/Book of Notes), [21] important scriptural commentaries, and many treatises.
The Four Degrees of Violent Charity, [22] composed about 1170, [23] with its description of how vehement love leads to union with God and more perfect service of neighbour, has been of interest to writers interested in Christian mysticism. [24]
Richard's other treatises are a number of short works which mainly deal with textual difficulties and theological issues. [25] Many of them can be grouped together with larger works. Some of them are correspondence between Richard and his students while others seem to have been written at the request of friends. [26] Although short, they are often interesting because they allow the modern reader to see the mentality of the students and the discussions and issues of the time.
Richard of Saint Victor's Commentary on Ezekiel is of special interest in the field of art history because the explanations laid out by the author are accompanied by illustrations. A number of copies have come down to us, none of which are dated, but they are written in a style attributable to the second half of the twelfth century. [27]
What makes Richard of Saint-Victor stand out from other theologians of his time is that he approaches theological problems as more of a psychologist, contributing to 'a careful analysis of contemplative experiences.' [28]
Bernard of Clairvaux, O. Cist., venerated as Saint Bernard, was an abbot, mystic, co-founder of the Knights Templar, and a major leader in the reformation of the Benedictine Order through the nascent Cistercian Order.
Hildegard of Bingen, also known as Saint Hildegard and the Sibyl of the Rhine, was a German Benedictine abbess and polymath active as a writer, composer, philosopher, mystic, visionary, and as a medical writer and practitioner during the High Middle Ages. She is one of the best-known composers of sacred monophony, as well as the most recorded in modern history. She has been considered by a number of scholars to be the founder of scientific natural history in Germany.
William of Malmesbury was the foremost English historian of the 12th century. He has been ranked among the most talented English historians since Bede. Modern historian C. Warren Hollister described him as "a gifted historical scholar and an omnivorous reader, impressively well versed in the literature of classical, patristic, and earlier medieval times as well as in the writings of his own contemporaries. Indeed William may well have been the most learned man in twelfth-century Western Europe."
Adam of Saint Victor was a prolific poet and composer of Latin hymns and sequences. He has been called "...the most illustrious exponent of the revival of liturgical poetry which the twelfth century affords."
Rabanus Maurus Magnentius, also known as Hrabanus or Rhabanus, was a Frankish Benedictine monk, theologian, poet, encyclopedist and military writer who became archbishop of Mainz in East Francia. He was the author of the encyclopaedia De rerum naturis. He also wrote treatises on education and grammar and commentaries on the Bible. He was one of the most prominent teachers and writers of the Carolingian age, and was called "Praeceptor Germaniae", or "the teacher of Germany". In the most recent edition of the Roman Martyrology, his feast is given as 4 February and he is qualified as a Saint ('sanctus').
Gilbert de la Porrée, also known as Gilbert of Poitiers, Gilbertus Porretanus or Pictaviensis, was a scholastic logician and theologian and Bishop of Poitiers.
Hugh of Saint Victor was a Saxon canon regular and a leading theologian and writer on mystical theology.
Walter of Saint Victor was a mystic philosopher and theologian, and an Augustinian canon of Paris.
Robert of Melun was an English scholastic Christian theologian who taught in France, and later became Bishop of Hereford in England. He studied under Peter Abelard in Paris before teaching there and at Melun, which gave him his surname. His students included John of Salisbury, Roger of Worcester, William of Tyre, and possibly Thomas Becket. Robert was involved in the Council of Reims in 1148, which condemned the teachings of Gilbert de la Porrée. Three of his theological works survive, and show him to have been strictly orthodox.
Adso of Montier-en-Der was abbot of the Benedictine monastery of Montier-en-Der in France, and died on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem. Biographical information on Adso comes mainly from one single source and has come under question, but the traditional biography depicts him as an abbot who enacted important monastic reform, as a scholar, and as a writer of five hagiographies. His best-known work was a biography of Antichrist, titled "De ortu et tempore Antichristi", which combined exegetical and Sibylline lore. This letter became one of the best-known medieval descriptions of Antichrist, copied many times and of great influence on all later apocalyptic tradition, in part because, rather than as an exegesis of apocalyptic texts, he chose to describe Antichrist in the style of a hagiography.
Petrus Comestor, also called Pierre le Mangeur, was a twelfth-century French theological writer and university teacher.
The Abbey of Saint Victor, Paris, also known as Royal Abbey and School of Saint Victor, was an abbey near Paris, France. Its origins are connected to the decision of William of Champeaux, the Archdeacon of Paris, to retire to a small hermitage near Paris in 1108. He took on the life, vocation and observances of the Canons Regular, and his new community followed the Augustinian Rule.
Thomas of Cantimpré was a Flemish Catholic medieval writer, preacher, theologian and a friar belonging to the Dominican Order. He is best known for his encyclopedic work on nature De natura rerum, for the moral text Bonum universale de Apibus and for his hagiographical writings.
William of Saint-Thierry, O. Cist was a twelfth-century Benedictine, theologian and mystic from Liège who became abbot of Saint-Thierry in France, and later joined the Cistercian Order.
Thomas Gallus of Vercelli, sometimes in early twentieth century texts called Thomas of St Victor, Thomas of Vercelli or Thomas Vercellensis, was a French theologian, a member of the School of St Victor. He is known for his commentaries on Pseudo-Dionysius and his ideas on affective theology. His elaborate mystical schemata influenced Bonaventure and The Cloud of Unknowing.
Godfrey of St. Victor was a French monk and theologian, and one of the last major figures of the Victorines. He was a supporter of the study of ancient philosophy and of the Victorine mysticism of Hugh of St. Victor and Richard of St. Victor.
Achard of Saint Victor was a canon regular and abbot of the Abbey of St. Victor, Paris, and later Bishop of Avranches.
On the Trinity is a Latin book written by Augustine of Hippo to discuss the Trinity in context of the Logos. Although not as well known as some of his other works, some scholars have seen it as his masterpiece, of more doctrinal importance even than Confessions or The City of God.
Frowin of Engleberg, in German Frowin von Engelberg was a Swiss German Benedictine abbot. Though never formally beatified, Frowin was styled "Blessed" by some chroniclers. He was the second abbot of the Monastery of Engelberg in present-day Switzerland
This is a bibliography of Hildegard of Bingen's works.
