After the publication of Marcia Colish’s Peter Lombard in 1994, studies on the author of the Book of Sentences have entered a new phase. This article provides an assessment of the state of research in the field and makes suggestions for its further development. In an appreciation and critique of Marcia Colish’s contribution, it argues that Colish’s interpretation, for all its merit, errs on a number of points: the proofs of God’s existence, charity, and the structure of theological ethics are (...) important examples. The second part of the essay considers the potential of research on the tradition of commentaries upon the Sentences. Given the central place that this genre of theological writing occupied in Christian thought between the twelfth and the sixteenth centuries, the Sentences commentaries could serve as a window upon the tradition. It is suggested that study of the literary form of the commentaries will shed much light on changes in the conception of theology which occurred in the period under consideration. (shrink)

Peter Abelard conducted many analyses of Scriptural and Patristic teachings, and achieved an extensive rapprochement between Christian and pagan thought. His public career was ended in 1140 by an ecclesiastical condemnation, but this touched upon the central issues facing the early leaders of the medieval scholastic movement and Abelard's own teachings continued to be controversial. Dr Luscombe considers the influence of Abelard's principal teachings among his contemporaries and successors. his aim is to explain the conflicting estimates of Abelard which were (...) current in the twelfth century and later, and to provide a full account of the writings and varied fortunes of Abelard's disciples. He also examines the manuscript tradition of Abelard's work and that of his followers. The condemnation of 1140 repudiated Abelard's leading doctrines. This led some of Abelard's disciples to partly retreat from the position of their master, whereas some chose to adapt and extend his teachings. (shrink)

Since the mid-90’s the figure of Peter Lombard and his Book of Sentences has regained the importance in scholarly world and been studied from both historical-theological and historical-philosophical perspectives. But some aspects of his thinking, encapsulated in the written form, which was to become the material basis for the thirteenth- through the fifteenth-century theological projects, remained somewhat insufficiently researched. Therefore this article analyzes the select parts of the Book of Sentences with the purpose of looking at how Peter Lombard handled (...) the issue of God’s knowledge. The article shows that for Peter Lombard God’s knowledge is God’s awareness of everything knowable. It has no causal power which belongs to the divine will. Nevertheless, this knowledge is able to function in two different modes: it can be either a purely cognitive act as awareness alone, or a double cognitive and voluntary act as awareness and simultaneous volition in the form of approbation. Hence, God’s knowledge in general is not causative, but God’s knowledge of the good must be causative because he simultaneously knows and wills what is good. The article reasonably suggests that Lombard’s logic implies the compatibility of God’s (fore)knowledge and voluntary activity, on the one hand, and the contingency of the created order and the rational creatures’ free will, on the other hand. But the details of this conception remain unrevealed as Lombard’s presentation of the problem is to be declared underdeveloped. (shrink)

Beatific Enjoyment in Medieval Scholastic Debates traces the reception of Saint Augustine’s concept of beatific enjoyment in Peter Lombard’s Sentences. It identifies the main themes and problems which shaped the discussion of the concept in thirteenth- and fourteenth-century scholastic commentaries. Bringing together theological and scientific approaches to the idea of enjoyment, Severin Kitanov exposes the intricacy of the discourse and develops a new perspective for students and scholars.

Introduction to Medieval Philosophy combines and updates the scholarship of the two highly successful volumes Early Medieval Philosophy (1983) and Late Medieval Philosoph y (1986) in a single, reliable, and comprehensive text on the history of medieval philosophy. John Marenbon discusses the main philosophers and ideas within the social and intellectual contexts of the time, and the most important concepts in medieval philosophy. Straightforward in arrangement, wide in scope, and clear in style, this is the ideal starting point for students (...) beginning the subject. (shrink)

Some scholars argue that Aquinas inconsistently characterizes Christ's human nature as both common and individual. This study shows the consistency of his position by placing it in its historical and metaphysical context. In light of Aquinas' reaction to Peter Lombard's «three theories» of the Incarnation, it is shown that this objection is based on an inaccurate account of how the different ways of understanding the human nature are related to the supposit.

This report recounts the activities in the last year of the SIEPM Project on commentaries on Peter Lombard’s Sentences. A major step was taken in generating a digital workspace for the Project that will facilitate international co-operation as well as provide the collected data to a scholarly public. Two meetings of the members of the Project took place in Basel and Paris, and there were changes in the organization of the team.