Aquinas, Bonaventure, and the Scholastic Culture of Medieval Paris
Preaching, Prologues, and Biblical Commentary

By focusing attention on the importance of preaching, this book should spur a fundamental reconsideration of 'scholastic' culture and education.

Randall B. Smith (Author)

9781108841153, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 4 February 2021

460 pages
26 x 18.3 x 2.9 cm, 1 kg

'Smith escorts us into that medieval invention, the university, where we meet Aquinas, 'logician', and Bonaventure, 'poet'. Their sermo modenus style of preaching organized their inception discourses as masters of theology and prologues to their commentaries on scripture. Aquinas is no longer mere theologian, nor pure philosopher, but the premier Christian philosopher-theologian; and Bonaventure the most sophisticated Christian writer after Augustine. So much for the 'dark ages'.' R. E. Houser, 2019 recipient of the Aquinas Medal for eminence in philosophy, American Catholic Philosophical Association

In this volume, Randall B. Smith provides a revisionist account of the scholastic culture that flourished in Paris during the High Middle Ages. Exploring the educational culture that informed the intellectual and mental habits of Thomas Aquinas and Bonaventure, he offers an in-depth study of the prologues and preaching skills of these two masters. Smith reveal the intricate interrelationships between the three duties of the master: lectio (reading), disputatio (debate), and praedicatio (preaching). He also analyzes each of Aquinas and Bonaventure's prologues from their student days to their final works, revealing both their artistry and their instructional character. Written in an engaging style, this book serves as an invaluable resource that will enable scholars and students to read thirteenth-century sermons, prologues, and biblical commentaries with greater understanding and ease.

I. Preliminaries: 1. Preaching and Principia at the University of Paris
2. The basic elements of the thirteenth century “modern sermon”
3. Principia and Sermo Modernus
II. Thomas Aquinas: The Logician Who Learned to Preach: 4. Rigans montes: Thomas's inception principium
5. Hi est liber: Thomas's Resumptio
6. Thomas's student prologues
7. After inception: early and late prologues
8. I have seen the Lord: Thomas's prototreptic prologue to his commentary on the Gospel of John
9. Aquinas, Sermo Modern-style preaching, and biblical commentary
III. Bonaventure: The Scholastic with the Soul of a Poet: 10. Bonaventure's inception Principium: Omnium artifex
11. Bonaventure's Resumptio: an early attempt to think through the hierarchy of the sciences
12. Searching the depths of the Lombard: the prologue to Bonaventure's Sentences commentary
13. Exalting our understanding: the prologue to Bonaventure's Commentary on the Gospel of John
14. The spirit of the Lord is upon me: the prologue to Bonaventure's Commentary on the Gospel of Luke
15. Bonaventure, Sermo Modernus-style preaching, and biblical commentary
16. A master's praise of scripture: the prologue to Bonaventure's Breviloquium
17. The union of Paris and Assisi: the prologues to Bonaventure's later Collations
18. The Reduction of the Arts to Theology redux: the prologue to the Collations on the Six Days of Creation
19: Summary and concluding remarks.

Subject Areas: History of ideas [JFCX], Christianity [HRC], History of religion [HRAX], Philosophy of religion [HRAB], Medieval history [HBLC1], Early history: c 500 to c 1450/1500 [HBLC]