Early Franciscan Theology
Between Authority and Innovation

Demonstrates the innovativeness of early Franciscan theology, contesting the longstanding view that it simply rehearses the views of earlier authorities.

Lydia Schumacher (Author)

9781108498654, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 4 July 2019

320 pages, 1 b/w illus. 4 tables
23.5 x 15.7 x 1.9 cm, 0.67 kg

'Schumacher's book is a magnificent volume that sheds incredible light on a very specific strand of medieval thought.' Harrison Perkins, Anglican and Episcopal History

Franciscan theology before Bonaventure has long been regarded as a relatively unoriginal attempt to systematize the tradition of Augustine, which prevailed in the West for most of the earlier Middle Ages. In this book, Lydia Schumacher aims to demonstrate the innovative aspects of early Franciscan theology by examining the historical, philosophical, and religious contexts in which it was developed, and by highlighting how thinkers from this period deployed authoritative sources like Augustine as 'proof texts' for their own novel positions. She thereby exposes the continuity between the early and later Franciscan schools, which have normally been perceived as distinct from one another. Schumacher also emphasizes the ethos that inspired the development of medieval Franciscan thinking and distinguishes it from any modern intellectual trends with which it has been associated. Ultimately, Schumacher lays the foundation for future efforts to recover Franciscan theology in the contemporary context on its own terms.

1. Early Franciscan theology: an introduction
2. The Franciscan context
3. The philosophical context
4. Theological vision
5. Theistic proof
6. Divine nature
7. The trinity: context
8. The trinity: doctrine
9. Christology
10. Incarnation
11. Moral theology
12. Conclusion: the promise of early Franciscan theology
Bibliography
Index.

Subject Areas: Christian theology [HRCM], Medieval history [HBLC1]