Victorine Texts in Translation
Spiritual Formation and Mystical Symbolism
A Selection of Works of Hugh and Richard of St Victor, and of Thomas Gallus
Biblical interpretation writings on the contemplative/mystical life and a continuing deep reflection on the nature and meaning of symbols come together in powerful ways in Victorine writers particularly Hugh and Richard as well as the lesser-known writer Thomas Gallus (Thomas of Vercelli) a Victorine canon who became the abbot of a house of regular canons in Vercelli Italy. This volume contains: (1) Hugh’s On the Ark of Noah and A Short Treatise on the Form of the Ark treatises that unfold Hugh’s teaching on stages and fruition of the mystical quest in relation to a complex drawing that incorporates a figure of Christ seated in majesty embracing a map of the world on which is superimposed a diagram of Noah’s Ark representing the 12 stages of the contemplative quest; (2) Richard’s On the Ark of Moses a work that uses the symbolic (allegorical and tropological) interpretation of the Ark of the Covenant and the figures of the Cherubim that accompany the Ark in the Jerusalem Temple to convey Richard’s vivid and compelling teaching on the varieties of contemplative experience as he understood them in twelfth-century Paris; and (3) Thomas Gallus’ Commentary on the Song of Songs which offers a window into a formative period of transition in the western Christian spiritual tradition with Gallus’s commentary on the Song of Songs giving voice to a more “affective” (versus “speculative”) understanding of the mystical quest and experience drawing upon and extending earlier Victorine explorations of the interrelationship of love and knowing in the experience of contemplation. For those interested in the dynamics of the spiritual quest and symbolic understanding in the twelfth and early thirteenth centuries as well as insights that can inform the modern quest for knowledge and love of God these are essential works for any library.
Life at Saint Victor
The Liber Ordinis, the Life of William of Æbelholt, and a selection of works of Hugh, Richard, and Odo of Saint Victor, and other authors
This volume brings together a number of texts that shed light on life in the Abbey of Saint Victor in Paris from its ideals to its daily routine. The Liber ordinis builds a framework and ideal vision for life at the Abbey of Saint Victor. Richard’s De quaestionibus Hugh’s De institutione novitiorum the letters of Odo William of Æbelholt’s Vita and the other documents translated here reflect the spirit of Victorine reform. Its central theme was the vita apostolica with its emphasis on sharing resources and living in a community. By incorporating prayer pastoral care moral discipline and education the Victorines believed their lifestyle would help to reform the greater Christian world that was so in need of restoration to the image in which God had created it. Many of the texts gathered here are translated into English for the first time and are an invaluable resource for the study of the Abbey of Saint Victor twelfth-century church reform and medieval spirituality.
On the Sacraments
A Selection of Works of Hugh and Richard of St Victor, and of Peter of Poitiers
The Canons Regular of St Victor were important contributors to the theology of the sacraments in the twelfth century. This volume introduces and translates much of Hugh’s treatment on the Christian Sacraments as contained in De sacramentis 1.9 and 2.5-9 11-12 and 14 as well as his treatise on the Virginity of the Blessed Virgin two treatises on penance by Richard of St Victor and the penitential of Peter of Poitiers. The historical introductions and annotated translations make this volume suitable for courses on the development of the theology of the sacraments through the twelfth century.
Sermons for the Liturgical Year
A Selection of Works of Hugh, Achard, Richard, Maurice, Walter, and Godfrey of St. Victor, Absalom of Springiersbach, and of Maurice de Sully
The Canons Regular who followed the Rule of St Augustine at St Victor of Paris in the twelfth century bequeathed to subsequent generations a legacy of over 200 carefully crafted sermons for the major feasts of their liturgical year. The sermons that Maurice de Sully bishop of Paris (1160-1196) prepared in Latin and Old French for parish priests drew on the expertise of Richard of St Victor. In this volume are sermons by Hugh Achard Richard Walter and Godfrey of St Victor Maurice de Sully and Absalom of Springiersbach arranged in liturgical order. Most of these sermon appear in English for the first time.
Victorine Christology
The Canons following the Rule of St Augustine at St Victor in Paris were some of the most influential religious writers of the Middle Ages. They combined exegesis and spiritual teaching in a theology that was deeply rooted in tradition but also attuned to current developments in the schools of Paris. The importance of Victorine Christology in this great age of theological speculation is unquestionable. The writings translated in this volume cover the foundational and maturing periods of Victorine Christology during the 1130s to the 1150s when Hugh of St Victor championed the paradigm of the “assumed man” (homo assumptus) and Robert of Melun advanced his Christology into the most comprehensive treatment in the twelfth century.
Interpretation of Scripture: Practice
A Selection of Works of Hugh, Andrew, Richard, and Leonius of St Victor, and of Robert of Melun, Peter Comestor and Maurice of Sully
Thanks to the pathbreaking work of Beryl Smalley more than a half century ago today we recognize the central place of the so-called School of Saint Victor in the history of biblical exegesis. By the mid-twelfth century the abbey had gained a reputation for solid Christian teaching with an emphasis on biblical studies and history. This volume contains commentaries and examples of biblical exegesis by Hugh and Andrew of Saint Victor Sermons by Richard of Saint Victor and Maurice of Sully the Quaestiones in divina pagina by Robert of Melun Richard's invective against judaizers De Emmanuele and a poetic paraphrase of Ruth by Leontius of Saint Victor encompassing the broad range of biblical exegetical practice at the abbey.
The editors of this volume are Frans van Liere (PhD Groningen; Calvin College) editor of Andrew of St Victor’s commentaries on Samuel and Kings (1996; ET 2010) and on the Twelve Prophets (2007 with Mark Zier) (Corpus Christianorum Continuatio Mediaeualis) and author of An Introduction to the Medieval Bible (2014); and Franklin T. Harkins (PhD Notre Dame; Boston College) author of Reading and the Work of Restoration: History and Scripture in the Theology of Hugh of St Victor (2009).
Writings on the Spiritual Life
A Selection of Works of Hugh, Adam, Achard, Richard, Walter, and Godfrey of St Victor
The Canons following the Rule of St Augustine at St Victor in Paris were some of the most influential religious writers of the Middle Ages. They combined exegesis and spiritual teaching in a theology that was deeply rooted in tradition but also attuned to current developments in the schools of Paris. This selection of their writings on the spiritual life is divided into three sections. The first presents three works by Achard and Richard which treat the development of Christian life from the beginnings of conversion to the perfection of love and contemplation. Prayer meditation and the gifts of the Holy Spirit are the subjects of the works by Hugh and Richard included in the second section. The final section presents poetical exegetical and homiletic works honoring Mary by Hugh Adam Richard and Godfrey. This rich and representative sampling of Victorine works is a clear window into a world that still has much to offer modern readers interested in spirituality medieval or modern.
The editor of this volume is Christopher P. Evans (PhD St Louis University; Department of Theology University of St. Thomas Houston TX) the editor of Hildegard of Bingen’s Explanatio symboli sancti Athanasii (2007) Vita sancti Disibodi Vita sancti Ruperti and the Triginta octo questionum solutiones (forthcoming; Corpus Christianorum Continuatio Mediaevalis) and Radulphus Ardens: The Questions on the Sacraments (2010).
Interpretation of Scripture: Theory
A Selection of Works of Hugh, Andrew, Godfrey and Richard of St Victor, and Robert of Melun
Starting from the theory of scriptural interpretation elaborated by Hugh of St Victor the Augustinian Canons of twelfth-century St Victor in Paris were leading theorists and practitioners of scriptural exegesis. This volume contains translations of the exegetical theories elaborated in Hugh of St Victor's (d. 1141) Didascalicon On Sacred Scripture and its Authors The Diligent Examiner and On the Sacraments (prologues); Andrew of St Victor's (d. 1175) prologues to select commentaries; Richard of St Victor's (d. 1173) Book of Notes and Apocalypse commentary; Godfrey of St Victor's Fountain of Philosophy; Robert of Melun's Sentences; and the anonymous Speculum on the Mysteries of the Church.
The editors of this volume are Franklin T. Harkins (PhD Notre Dame; Theology Dept. Fordham University) author of Reading and the Work of Restoration: History and Scripture in the Theology of Hugh of St Victor (2009) and Frans van Liere (PhD Groningen; Dept. of History Calvin College) editor of Andrew of St Victor’s commentaries on Samuel and Kings (1996 ; ET 2010) and on the Twelve Prophets (2007 with Mark Zier) (Corpus Christianorum Continuatio Mediaevalis) and author of a forthcoming book on the Bible in the Middle Ages.
On Love
A Selection of Works of Hugh, Adam, Achard, Richard, and Godfrey of St Victor
The version of the Rule of St Augustine used at the Abbey of St Victor began with the command to love God above all things and one’s neighbor as oneself. Not surprisingly then love was a pervasive theme in the writings produced there many of which are introduced and translated here : (1) five lyrical essays by Hugh of St Victor (d. 1141): ThePraise of Charity; The Betrothal Gift of the Soul; In Praise of the Spouse; On the Substance of Love; What Truly Should Be Loved ?; (2) On the Four Degrees of Violent Love by Richard of St Victor (d. 1173) which traces the likenesses and differences between romantic love and the love of God; (3) Achard of St Victor (d. 1170) Sermon 5 and two of Adam of St Victor’s sequences are examples of how these authors wove love into their writings ; (4) excerpts from the Microcosmus by Godfrey of St Victor (d. ca. 1195) summarize the central place of love in his humanistic theological anthropology.
Hugh Feiss OSB (STD Anselmianum Rome; Monastery of the Ascension) the editor of this volume translated Achard of St Victor Works (2001).
Trinity and Creation
A Selection of Works of Hugh, Richard, and Adam of St Victor
The Trinity and Creation are central themes in the theology of the Augustinian Canons of the Abbey of St Victor during its time of greatest flourishing in the twelfth century. In this volume three of the most important Victorine theological works are introduced and completely translated into English for the first time: On the Three Days by Hugh of St. Victor (d. 1141) a lyrical yet philosophical study of how the power wisdom and goodness of God can be known from the things God has made; Hugh’s Sentences on Divinity lecture notes which show how the divine ideas (“primordial causes”) serve God in creation; and On the Trinity by Richard of St. Victor (d. 1173) one of the enduring classics of Christian theology which analyzes the Trinity in terms of love. Also included are two of Adam of St. Victor’s sequences in praise of the Trinity.
This volume is edited by Boyd Taylor Coolman (PhD Notre Dame University; Theology Dept. Boston College) author of The Theology of Hugh of St. Victor: An Interpretation (2010) and Dale M. Coulter (DPhil Oxford; School of Divinity Regent University) author of Per Visibilia ad Invisibilia: Theological Method in Richard of St. Victor (d. 1173) (2006).