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Neoplatonism in the Cologne Tradition of the Later Middle Ages: Berthold of Moosburg (Ca. 1300–1361) As Case Study

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Neoplatonism in the Cologne Tradition of the Later Middle Ages: Berthold of Moosburg (Ca. 1300–1361) As Case Study HTS Teologiese Studies/Theological Studies ISSN: (Online) 2072-8050, (Print) 0259-9422 Page 1 of 15 Original Research Neoplatonism in the Cologne tradition of the later Middle Ages: Berthold of Moosburg (ca. 1300–1361) as case study Author: The objective of this article is to present an overview, based on the most recent specialist 1 Johann Beukes research, of Neoplatonist developments in the Cologne tradition of the later Middle Ages, Affiliation: with specific reference to a unique Proclian commentary presented by the German Albertist 1Department of Philosophy, Dominican, Berthold of Moosburg (ca. 1300–1361). Situating Berthold in the post-Eckhart Faculty of Humanities, Dominican crisis of the 1340s and 1350s, his rehabilitating initiative of presenting this extensive University of the Free State, (nine-volume) commentary on the Neoplatonist Proclus Lycaeus’ (412–485) Elements of Bloemfontein, South Africa Theology in his Expositio super Elementationem theologicam Procli, the only of its kind from the Corresponding author: Middle Ages, is contextualised with reference to Berthold’s discursive indebtedness to his Johann Beukes, Dominican predecessors, Albert the Great (ca. 1200–1280), Ulrich of Strasbourg (ca. 1220–1277) [email protected] and Dietrich of Freiberg (ca.1250 – ca.1310), as well as two Dutch-Cologne successors, the Dates: Albertist Heymeric of Camp (1395–1460) and the Carthusian Thomist Denys de Leeuwis Received: 29 July 2020 (1402–1471). Berthold’s unique contribution to the philosophical discourse of the Middle Ages Accepted: 20 Nov. 2020 is indicated therein that the Expositio provided a synthesis of the late Medieval version of Published: 19 Mar. 2021 Neoplatonism and contemporaneous German–Dominican theories. By contextualising the How to cite this article: work of his Cologne predecessors and successors in the broad idea-historical landscape of Beukes, J., 2021, antiquity and Neoplatonism, the article argues that Berthold succeeded in linking the ‘Neoplatonism in the Cologne Neoplatonic legacy with Cologne Albertism and provided an impetus for the overall tradition of the later Middle consolidating ability of the Cologne tradition. By juxtaposing Berthold and his Expositio with Ages: Berthold of Moosburg (ca. 1300–1361) as case the more conventional legacies of Ulrich, Dietrich, Heymeric and Denys, this exceptional study’, HTS Teologiese Latin-Western intellectual tradition from Cologne is expanded and enriched with regard to its Studies/Theological Studies notable Neoplatonic contributions to philosophy in the later Middle Ages. 77(4), a6281. https://doi. org/10.4102/hts.v77i4.6281 Contribution: This article contributes to scholarship in Medieval philosophy by presenting an overview of Neoplatonist developments in the Cologne tradition of the later Middle Ages, Copyright: © 2021. The Authors. with specific reference to the Proclian commentary presented by the German Albertist Licensee: AOSIS. This work Dominican, Berthold of Moosburg (ca. 1300–1361). By contextualising the work of Berthold’s is licensed under the Cologne predecessors and successors in the broad idea-historical landscape of antiquity and Creative Commons Neoplatonism, the article indicates that Berthold succeeded in linking the Neoplatonic legacy Attribution License. with Cologne Albertism and provided an impetus for the overall consolidating ability of the Cologne tradition during the later Middle Ages. Keywords: Albert the Great (ca. 1200–1280); Albertism; Berthold of Moosburg (ca. 1300–1361); Denys de Leeuwis (1402–1471); Dietrich of Freiberg (ca.1250–ca.1310); Dominican studium generale Cologne; Expositio super Elementationem theologicam Procli; Heymeric of Camp (1395–1460); Proclus Lycaeus (412–485); Ulrich of Strasbourg (ca. 1220–1277). The Cologne tradition of the later Middle Ages and the legacy of Albert the Great (ca. 1200–1280) The objective of this article is to present an overview, based on the most recent specialist research, of Neoplatonist developments in the Cologne tradition of the later Middle Ages, with specific reference to the unique Proclian commentary presented by the German Albertist Dominican, Berthold of Moosburg (ca. 1300–1361). The article is descriptive-analytical in its presentation of the relevant history of ideas and synthetical in its attempt to coherently integrate the most recent Read online: secondary texts on the relevant philosophical themes. Berthold is pertinently situated in the Scan this QR post-Eckhart Dominican crisis of the 1340s and 1350s, with focus on his rehabilitating initiative of code with your smart phone or presenting an extensive (nine-volume) commentary on the Neoplatonist Proclus Lycaeus’ mobile device (412–485) Elements of Theology (Institutio Theologica) in Expositio super Elementationem theologicam to read online. Procli, the only Proclian commentary from the Middle Ages. Berthold is furthermore contextualised http://www.hts.org.za Open Access Page 2 of 15 Original Research with reference to a discursive indebtedness to his Dominican comprehensive commentaries on the texts of both the Old predecessors, Albert the Great (Albertus Magnus, ca. 1200– and New Testament, supplemented by a considerable 1280), Ulrich of Strasbourg (ca. 1220–1277) and Dietrich of commentary on Peter Lombard’s (1095–1160) Sententiae in Freiberg (ca. 1250–ca.1310), as well as two Dutch-Cologne quatuor IV libris distinctae. These theological commentaries successors, the Albertist Heymeric of Camp (1395–1460) and contained an additional 30 volumes. By the late 1250s, Albert the Carthusian Thomist Denys de Leeuwis (1402–1471). was as an author consequently in control of 70 volumes of academic work. The astonishing scope as such was The ‘Cologne tradition’ (also referred to as the ‘Cologne nevertheless not the most striking feature of his oeuvre; it school’, cf. Führer 1999:69–70) refers to idea-historical was precisely the quality of the academic erudition reflected developments within the Dominican studium generale in therein, which justified its almost immediate prestige. Cologne, established in 1248 in the historic German city (the former Roman Colonia Claudia Ara Agrippinensium) by the The Nicomachus was the first Aristotelian text engaged by Dominican Albert the Great, assisted by his young student Albert, with two independent and non-related systems of from the same mendicant order, Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274). exegesis and commentaries on the text. The remainder of the This tradition incorporated the ongoing development of the 40 volumes followed over the next two decades. Albert studium’s initial interests at the University of Cologne, implemented Aristotle’s division of the philosophical established more than a century later (in 1388, Universitas branches of knowledge or the ‘sciences’ (in the Medieval Coloniensis). The Cologne tradition was, therefore, inevitably sense) without objection nor modification, maintaining the Albertist in its initial orientation within late Medieval distinction between speculative and practical philosophy, the Aristotelianism, in the sense that Albert was interpreted and first being subdivided into natural philosophy, mathematics represented as the most erudite and informed commentator of and metaphysics Albert (1960). Practical philosophy, on the Aristotle in the 13th century. This Albertist positioning, in other hand, was sectioned into ethics (including political terms of Albert’s distinct reception1 of Aristotle, resisted later theory) and logic (as the prerequisite for the study of both developments in Thomism (referring to the influence of speculative and practical philosophy); in other words, first Aquinas), Scotism (the Franciscan trajectory embedded in the logic, then philosophy. Albert’s methodology, as explained in work of John Duns Scotus, ca. 1266–1308) and nominalism (the the first section of his Physica (1987:I:1), is relatively 14th-century critique of realism by probably the most straightforward and applies to the bulk of his output. His influential thinker of that century, the Franciscan William of objective was to present Aristotle’s texts as accessible as Ockham, ca. 1285–1349). possible, as a result of which both the above double-index philosophical disciplines and Aristotle as ‘The Philosopher’ Albert joined the young Dominican order between 1223 and could be presented. The main themes and fundamental 1229, which was established only years before by Dominic motifs in each of the Aristotelian texts are surveyed, explained (1170–1221) in Toulouse before rapidly expanding throughout by extensive footnotes and sidenotes, and illustrated with Europe, sanctioned by several papal bulls since its foundation. examples. Aristotle is thus to a large extent paraphrased, Albert completed his admission to the order with distinction keeping the order and index of the original texts per Latin in Cologne, after which the Dominicans sent him to join the translation intact, albeit with a reformulation of essential Faculty of Theology in Paris for advanced study in 1240. concepts and the simple purpose of legitimising pagan Older than his fellow students (at least 40 at the time), Albert philosophy for use in scholastic discourse. This forthright made swift progress and had the academic world in Paris at method of illuminating Aristotle’s key concepts enabled a his feet in the 1240s, having read and meticulously second element in Albert’s commentaries, namely the commented the full extant Aristotelian corpus, in spite of employment of extensive excursions (indeed
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