DOCSLIB.ORG

Augustine’Simage of the Good Christian Ruler in De Civitate Dei 5.24

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Augustine’Simage of the Good Christian Ruler in De Civitate Dei 5.24 KaiPreuß The Emperor’sTwo Cities: Augustine’sImage of the Good Christian Ruler in De civitate Dei 5.24 When talking about Augustine’simageofthe good Christian ruler,weshould not air- ilyassume thatthe nature of our subject is understood. While the concept of an imageseems to implyadescriptive approach towards reality,the good – if not the Christian – ruler points to anormative perspective on the political phenomenonof the ruler.The imagebecomes the reflection of areality hoped for rather than one at hand. Even so, it is not quiteclear whether it is the ruler thatissupposedtobe good or if it is the Christian – if one should even make such adistinction.Questions like these arise in view of atext widelytaken as Augustine’smost prominent imageof agood Christian ruler,chapter twenty-four in the fifth book of his De civitate Dei. What we can find here is acharacterisation – not quite extensive,but very influen- tial¹ – of what an ideal ruler should be like, what he should do and, of course, what he should refrain from. Because of this, it is sometimes referred to as amirror for princes.Inthe German translation by Wilhelm Thimme, “Fürstenspiegel” has even been chosen as the chapter’sheading.² While this is an anachronistic denotation for antique literatureingeneral,³ there are several reasons to make at least cautious use of the term, particularlywhen it comes to this chapter of Augustine’s De civitate Dei. Although the metaphor of the mirror⁴ is widelyused in Augustine’swritingsand even in his correspondence with political agents,⁵ he himself did not call his descrip- NotablyintheHighMiddle Ages, see Hadot,Pierre: RAC8(1972)555–632, s.v. “Fürstenspiegel”, 618. Cf. Aurelius Augustinus,Vom Gottesstaat (De civitateDei). Vollständige Ausgabeineinem Band. Buch 1–10.Buch 11–22.Trans.byWilhelm Thimme. Introduction and Commentary by Carl Andresen, Munich, 2007.For the expression in general, see Hadot (cf. fn. 1) and Philipp, Michael/Stammen, Theo:Historisches Wörterbuch der Rhetorik 3(1992) 495–507, s.v. “Fürstenspiegel”,aswellas Anton, Hans: LexMa 4(1999) 1040 –1058, s.v. “Fürstenspiegel”.For the term and its use for antiquity, see Schulte,ManuelJ.: SpeculumRegis.Studien zur Fürstenspiegel-Literatur in der griechisch-römi- schen Antike, Münster/Hamburg/London, 2001,9–18. The expression first appears in the twelfth century (Godfrey of Viterbo), cf. Hadot (cf. fn. 1) 556.For want of an alternative,itisused nevertheless by Schulte (cf. fn. 2) whoclaims: “Die Antikekennt die Textgattungdes ‘Fürstenspiegels’ nicht als eigenständige literarische Erscheinung.” (17). On which,see Jónsson,Einar Már:LeMiroir.Naissanced’un genrelittéraire, Paris,1995. ForAu- gustine, see especially107– 123and his assertion on 133: “Saint Augustin fut le dernierécrivainanti- que àdévelopper d’une facon originale le symbolismecatoptrique.” Forhis influenceonlater thought (via Gregory the Great), see ibid., 149f.and Anton(cf. fn. 2),1040f. See also van Geest, Paul: Sed ea quae obscura sund praetermitto(Spec 108). Augustine’sSelection of Scriptural Quota- OpenAccess. ©2021 Kai Preuß, published by De Gruyter. This work is licensed under the Creative CommonsAttribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License. https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110725612-005 88 KaiPreuß tion of avirtuous ruler a “mirror” of anykind. One of the reasons for us to use the term cautiouslyhas to do with the addressee, or rather his absence. Whereas Seneca, who famouslyuses the imageofthe mirror in his De clementia,had youngNeroin mind as the very precise addressee of his admonitions,⁶ Augustine’stext lacks any hint of apossiblerecipient and does not seem to be addressed to anyperson in a ruling position. Being an apologetic compendium, packed with anti-pagan ammuni- tion as wellasrich dogmatic thought especiallyinthe second part,the twenty-two books of De civitateDei aim at Christians and non-Christians alike shaken by the events of August 410, when aGothic Army, led by Alaric, took the city of Rome for the first time in centuries and sacked it for three days.⁷ While pagans claimedthis catastrophe was due to Christianity’ssuppression of the ancient cult thathad pro- tected the Empire since time immemorial, Christians, pampered by the triumphs of the Church under the earlyTheodosian dynasty,wereunsettledastowhy their al- mighty Lordhad forsakenthem in times of need, not even sparinghis most commit- ted devotees,such as sacredvirgins and nuns.⁸ The formerhad to be rejected, the tions in his Speculum as Proofofhis DesiretoEffect aConfrontation, in: Augustinianum LVII, 2(2017) 493–513 with further literature. The imageofthe mirrorcan be found in aletterwritten by Augustine to the comes Bonifatius, where it is clearlyused in the sense of moral admonishment,albeit Augustine seems to denyit (Aug., epist.189.8 (transl. Baxter): “This letter, then, mayrather serveasamirrortoyou, in which youcan behold what manner of man youare,rather than as alesson to youwhatmanner of man youought to be.” (ita ut haec epistula magis tibi sit speculum, ubi, qualis sis,uideas, quam ubi discas, qualis esse debeas). All Latin quotations from Augustine aretakenfromthe latesteditions as avail- able in the CAG(either CSEL or CCSL). Sen., clem. proem. 1.1(transl. Basore): “Ihaveundertaken, NeroCaesar,towriteonthe subject of mercy, in order to serveinawaythe purpose of amirror,and thus reveal youtoyourself as one des- tined to attain to the greatest of all pleasures.” (Scriberedeclementia, NeroCaesar,institui, ut quodam modo speculi vice fungerer et te tibi ostenderem perventurum ad voluptatem maximam omnium). No- tably, it is Seneca himself whoserves as amirror, not his text.The writingitself is merely adisplayof its author’scharacter that is to be imitated, or mirrored, by the recipient.Inthis way, Seneca’smirror is not onlybound to aspecific addressee, but to aspecific author as well. As can be seen in fn. 5, Augustine’scomparable use of the metaphor alludes to the letter,i.e., the text itself. Cf. Aug., civ. proem. and 1.1and Aug.,retract.2.69.1. Forageneral introductionintothe work and its composition,see Brown, Peter: Augustine of Hippo. Abiography(Forty-Fifth Anniversary Edition), Berkeley and Los Angeles, 2000,297– 311;see also Horn, Christoph: Einleitung. In: idem (ed.): Augus- tinus.Decivitatedei (Klassiker auslegen), Berlin, 1997, 1 – 24,van Oort,Johannes:Deciuitatedei (Über die Gottesstadt). In: Drecoll (ed.): Augustin Handbuch, Tübingen, 2007 and O’Daly: The City of God: A Reader’sGuide, Oxford, 1999.That Augustine reacted to morethan contemporary events,was already pointedout by F. EdwardCranz: “The De CivitateDei, though the sack of Rome in 410A.D.was its immediateoccasion, is fundamentallyasolution to the older problem of the relation of Rome and Christianity. Augustine’sansweristhat Roman Empireand Christian ecclesia arenot essentiallycon- nected.” (Cranz, F. Edward: De civitate Dei XV,2,and Augustine’sIdea of the Christian Society.In: Spec, 1950 (25/2),215–225, here220). Cf. Aug., civ. 1.16. The Emperor’sTwo Cities 89 latter reassured. As we will see later, Augustine’sdiscussion of the ruler and his vir- tues must be seen in this context. The emperor Honorius,the most probable imperial addressee, is unlikelytobe among the anticipated readership, although Augustine surelywould not mind him readinghis works.Since Augustine’simageofthe good ruler does not aim at an ac- tual or designated ruler,itlacks one of the main characteristics that distinguish a mirror from amore general discussion about virtue or rulership.⁹ There is little, if any, connection to the contemporary political landscapeinAugustine’spolitical thought. Though this be neglect,yet there is method in’t. Augustine’stext shows aparticulardeviation from another salient feature of mir- rors in antiquity and later times, the mirroringcorrespondence between heavenly and earthlyrulership.¹⁰ This has to do with his focus on the person of the ruler and his personal virtues more thanonanabstract concept of rulership itself. Al- though Augustine’stext mayvery well be entitled amirror for princesout of habit,the examination of the title’sinaccurateness leads right to the heart of the pe- culiarities of Augustine’simageofanideal Christian. In what follows, Iwill argue, that rather than depicting aChristian ideal of rulership, Augustine looks at the ruler from the perspective of his strongly individualised, religiouslygrounded eth- ics.¹¹ If what we find in De civitateDei is to be called amirror,itisamirror for Chris- tians who are rulers, rather than aguide for Christian rulership.Asaconsequence, Augustine’simageofthe Christian ruler sets itself apart from the metaphysical struc- ture of contemporary political theology¹² and presents itself as apredominantlypas- toral document; we shall see, however,that it never disclaims its deeplyingrained premodern view on the relation between politics and religion, making him adisput- able forefather of modern erasecularity.¹³ Schulte (cf. fn. 2).257.See Tornau, Christian: Zwischen Rhetorik und Philosophie. Augustins Argu- mentationstechnik in De civitateDei und ihr bildungsgeschichtlicher Hintergrund, Berlin/New York, 2006,328,with fn. 827: “Die Bezeichnung ‘Fürstenspiegel’ ist wegen des panegyrischen Tonfalls tref- fend, wenn auch etwas irreführend, weil Augustinus hier keine pädagogischen Vorschriften gibt,son- dern nach dem Glück des christlichen Herrschers innerhalb eines authentischenuirtus-felicitas-Zu- sammenhangs fragt.” Schulte (cf. fn. 2) 255f. Similarly, Robert Dodaroplaces emphasis on
Load more

Recommended publications
  • The Reception of Geoffrey of Monmouth's Work in Italy
    Chapter 24 The Reception of Geoffrey of Monmouth’s Work in Italy Fabrizio De Falco The reception of Geoffrey of Monmouth’s work in medieval Italy is an integral part of two fascinating veins of inquiry: the early appearance of the Matter of Britain in Italy and its evolution in various social, political, and cultural con- texts around the Peninsula.1 At the beginning of the 12th century, before the De gestis Britonum was written, an unedited Arthurian legend was carved on Modena Cathedral’s Portale della Pescheria, a stop for pilgrims headed to Rome along the Via Francigena.2 Remaining in the vicinity of Modena, the only con- tinental witness of the First Variant Version of the DGB (Paris, Bibliothèque de l’Arsenal, 982) can be connected to Nonantola Abbey.3 Moving to the kingdom of Sicily, in 1165 the archbishop of Otranto commissioned an enormous mosaic for the cathedral, and Arthur is depicted in one of the various scenes, astride a goat, fighting a large cat.4 To describe Geoffrey of Monmouth’s reception in 1 E.G. Gardener, The Arthurian Legend in Italian Literature, London and New York, 1930; D. Delcorno Branca, “Le storie arturiane in Italia”, in P. Boitani, M. Malatesta, and A. Vàrvaro (eds.), Lo spazio letterario del Medioevo, II. Il Medioevo volgare, III: La ricezione del testo, Rome, 2003, pp. 385–403; G. Allaire and G. Paski (eds.), The Arthur of the Italians: The Arthurian Legend in Medieval Italian Literature and Culture (Arthurian Literature in the Middle Ages, 7), Cardiff, 2014. 2 In this version, Gawain is the protagonist and Arthur is not yet king.
    [Show full text]
  • Uses of the Past in Twelfth-Century Germany: the Case of the Middle High German Kaiserchronik Mark Chinca and Christopher Young
    Uses of the Past in Twelfth-Century Germany: The Case of the Middle High German Kaiserchronik Mark Chinca and Christopher Young Abstract: Despite its broad transmission and its influence on vernacular chronicle writing in the German Middle Ages, the Kaiserchronik has not received the attention from historians that it deserves. This article describes some of the ideological, historical, and literary contexts that shaped the original composition of the chronicle in the middle of the twelfth century: Christian salvation history, the revival of interest in the Roman past, the consolidation of a vernacular literature of knowledge, and the emergence of a practice of writing history as “serious entertainment” by authors such as Geoffrey of Monmouth and Godfrey of Viterbo. Placed in these multiple contexts, which have a European as well as a specifically German dimension, the Kaiserchronik emerges as an important document of the uses of the past in fostering a sense of German identity among secular and ecclesiastical elites in the high Middle Ages. The Kaiserchronik, completed probably in Regensburg ca.1150, is a seminal work.1 Monumental in scale, it comprises over seventeen thousand lines of Middle High German verse and is the first verse chronicle in any European language. Through a grand narrative of the reigns of thirty-six Roman and nineteen German emperors filling a timespan of twelve centuries, it throws the spotlight on ethnicity, religion and cultural identity, and on the relationship between church and empire, as these issues play out on the various stages of Rome, Germany and their territorial outposts in the Mediterranean basin.2 The Kaiserchronik has several claims to uniqueness.
    [Show full text]
  • Cardinal Numbers: Changing Patterns of Malaria and Mortality in Rome
    Journal of Interdisciplinary History, XLIX:3 (Winter, 2019), 397–417. Benjamin Reilly Cardinal Numbers: Changing Patterns of Malaria and Mortality in Rome, 494–1850 For the past two millennia, Rome has probably attracted more foreign visitors from Europe than any other European city. As the seat of an ancient empire, and the theoretical capital of the revived Holy Roman Empire founded by Charlemagne in 800, Rome was for centuries highly coveted by German monarchs seeking the imperial crown, not to mention territory, influence, and revenue south of the Alps. Pilgrims came to Rome in a steady stream from at least the eighth century; after 1300, these streams swelled into rivers during the years of the holy Jubilees. Moreover, as the mother city of the mother church, Rome attracted a parade of litigants, job-seekers, envoys, and diplomats from every corner of Europe, as well as newly elected bishops and archbishops who were encouraged, or required, to have their offices validated by the pope. Rome was also a city of the arts, not just because of the still-standing ves- tiges of antiquity but also because of the Church’s patronage of resident colonies of painters, artists, and scholars, who attracted “Grand Tourists” from the seventeenth to nineteenth centuries. Many roads, and many motives, carried Europeans to Rome.1 Unfortunately, these roads led to a destination rendered dan- gerous by endemic malarial fevers. Rome lies within the northern Benjamin Reilly is Associate Teaching Professor of History, Carnegie Mellon University, Qatar. He is the author of Slavery, Agriculture, and Malaria in the Arabian Peninsula (Athens, 2015); Man and Disaster: Case Studies in Nature, Society, and Catastrophe ( Jefferson, N.C., 2009); Tropical Surge: Ambition and Disaster on the Edge of America, 1831–1935 (Sarasota, 2005).
    [Show full text]
  • The Reception of Geoffrey of Monmouth's Work in Italy
    Chapter 24 The Reception of Geoffrey of Monmouth’s Work in Italy Fabrizio De Falco The reception of Geoffrey of Monmouth’s work in medieval Italy is an integral part of two fascinating veins of inquiry: the early appearance of the Matter of Britain in Italy and its evolution in various social, political, and cultural con- texts around the Peninsula.1 At the beginning of the 12th century, before the De gestis Britonum was written, an unedited Arthurian legend was carved on Modena Cathedral’s Portale della Pescheria, a stop for pilgrims headed to Rome along the Via Francigena.2 Remaining in the vicinity of Modena, the only con- tinental witness of the First Variant Version of the DGB (Paris, Bibliothèque de l’Arsenal, 982) can be connected to Nonantola Abbey.3 Moving to the kingdom of Sicily, in 1165 the archbishop of Otranto commissioned an enormous mosaic for the cathedral, and Arthur is depicted in one of the various scenes, astride a goat, fighting a large cat.4 To describe Geoffrey of Monmouth’s reception in 1 E.G. Gardener, The Arthurian Legend in Italian Literature, London and New York, 1930; D. Delcorno Branca, “Le storie arturiane in Italia”, in P. Boitani, M. Malatesta, and A. Vàrvaro (eds.), Lo spazio letterario del Medioevo, II. Il Medioevo volgare, III: La ricezione del testo, Rome, 2003, pp. 385–403; G. Allaire and G. Paski (eds.), The Arthur of the Italians: The Arthurian Legend in Medieval Italian Literature and Culture (Arthurian Literature in the Middle Ages, 7), Cardiff, 2014. 2 In this version, Gawain is the protagonist and Arthur is not yet king.
    [Show full text]
  • St. Barnabas and the Modern History of the Cypriot Archbishop's Regalia Privileges
    Messiah University Mosaic History Educator Scholarship History 2015 The Donation of Zeno: St. Barnabas and the Modern History of the Cypriot Archbishop'S Regalia Privileges Joseph P. Huffman Messiah University, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://mosaic.messiah.edu/hist_ed Part of the History Commons Permanent URL: https://mosaic.messiah.edu/hist_ed/12 Recommended Citation Huffman, Joseph P., "The Donation of Zeno: St. Barnabas and the Modern History of the Cypriot Archbishop'S Regalia Privileges" (2015). History Educator Scholarship. 12. https://mosaic.messiah.edu/hist_ed/12 Sharpening Intellect | Deepening Christian Faith | Inspiring Action Messiah University is a Christian university of the liberal and applied arts and sciences. Our mission is to educate men and women toward maturity of intellect, character and Christian faith in preparation for lives of service, leadership and reconciliation in church and society. www.Messiah.edu One University Ave. | Mechanicsburg PA 17055 The Donation of Zeno: St Barnabas and the Origins of the Cypriot Archbishops' Regalia Privileges by JOSEPH P. HUFFMAN This article explores medieval and Renaissance evidence for the origins and rneaning of the imperial regalia privileges exercised by the Greek archbishops of Cyprus, said to have been granted by the Ernperor Zeno ( c. 42 to 9- I), along with autocephaly, upon the discovery of the relics of the Apostle Barnabas. Though clairned to have existed ab antiquo, these imperial privileges in fact have their origin in the late sixteenth century and bear the characteristics of western Latin ecclesial and political thought. With the Donation of Constantine as their pm­totype, they bolster the case rnade to the Italians and the French for saving Christian Cyprus frorn the Turks.
    [Show full text]
  • Downloaded from Brill.Com09/27/2021 07:35:00AM Via Free Access 478 De Falco
    Chapter 24 The Reception of Geoffrey of Monmouth’s Work in Italy Fabrizio De Falco The reception of Geoffrey of Monmouth’s work in medieval Italy is an integral part of two fascinating veins of inquiry: the early appearance of the Matter of Britain in Italy and its evolution in various social, political, and cultural con- texts around the Peninsula.1 At the beginning of the 12th century, before the De gestis Britonum was written, an unedited Arthurian legend was carved on Modena Cathedral’s Portale della Pescheria, a stop for pilgrims headed to Rome along the Via Francigena.2 Remaining in the vicinity of Modena, the only con- tinental witness of the First Variant Version of the DGB (Paris, Bibliothèque de l’Arsenal, 982) can be connected to Nonantola Abbey.3 Moving to the kingdom of Sicily, in 1165 the archbishop of Otranto commissioned an enormous mosaic for the cathedral, and Arthur is depicted in one of the various scenes, astride a goat, fighting a large cat.4 To describe Geoffrey of Monmouth’s reception in 1 E.G. Gardener, The Arthurian Legend in Italian Literature, London and New York, 1930; D. Delcorno Branca, “Le storie arturiane in Italia”, in P. Boitani, M. Malatesta, and A. Vàrvaro (eds.), Lo spazio letterario del Medioevo, II. Il Medioevo volgare, III: La ricezione del testo, Rome, 2003, pp. 385–403; G. Allaire and G. Paski (eds.), The Arthur of the Italians: The Arthurian Legend in Medieval Italian Literature and Culture (Arthurian Literature in the Middle Ages, 7), Cardiff, 2014. 2 In this version, Gawain is the protagonist and Arthur is not yet king.
    [Show full text]
  • MEDIEVAL and RENAISSANCE STUDIES Volume 25 (1994)
    VIATOR MEDIEVAL AND RENAISSANCE STUDIES Volume 25 (1994) PUBLISHED UNDER THE AUSPICES OF THE CENTER FOR MEDIEVAL AND RENAISSANCE STUDIES UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, LOS ANGELES UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA PRESS BERKELEY, LOS ANGELES, LONDON 1994 ýý/ "iI 0-ý- THE HISTORICAL IMPORTANCE OF GODFREY OF VITERBO 0 by Loren J. Weber Sad to say, but today there are few courtiers who strive for heaven and think nothing of worldly fame. -Hugo of Trimberg, Renner, I. INTRODUCTION: THE RECEPTION AND UNDERSTANDING OF GODFREY AND His WORKS This study reconsiders the ways in which the scholarly literature has represented the Hohenstaufen chaplain and notary Godfrey of Viterbo (ca. 1125-after 1191) and his writings. 2 In recent articles, a number of scholarshave-rightly, in my view-assessed Godfrey's historical writings favorably, but the present study challenges three related assumptions that are widespread among interested historians today: that Godfrey held a high position in the imperial chancery, that he enjoyed a close personal association with the Hohenstaufen rulers Frederick Barbarossaand Henry VI, and that his works served a political function at the imperial court. I shall contend that modern percep- tions of Godfrey as a highly placed chancery official and as a "court historiographer" The following abbreviations are used below: GF = Gesta Friderici; MGH DD = Monumenta Germa- nise Historica, Diplomara regum et imperatorum Germaniae; SS = Scnptores; Archiv = Archiv der Gesell- schaftj fir ältere deutsche Geschichtskunde (1820-1874); NA = Neues Archiv der Gesellschaftfürältere deutsche Geschichtskunde(1876-1935); MIÖG = Mitteilungen des Instituts für österreichischeGeschichts- forschung (1880- ); DA = Deutsches Archiv für Erforschung des Mittelalters (1937- ). 'Der Renner non Hugo non Trirnberg vv.
    [Show full text]
  • The Last World Emperor and the Angelic Pope: Eschatological Figures As Representative of the Medieval Struggle of “Sacerdotium" and “Imperium”
    Western Michigan University ScholarWorks at WMU Master's Theses Graduate College 8-1990 The Last World Emperor and the Angelic Pope: Eschatological Figures as Representative of the Medieval Struggle of “Sacerdotium" and “Imperium” Christopher Joseph Beiting Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/masters_theses Part of the Medieval Studies Commons, Philosophy Commons, and the Religion Commons Recommended Citation Beiting, Christopher Joseph, "The Last World Emperor and the Angelic Pope: Eschatological Figures as Representative of the Medieval Struggle of “Sacerdotium" and “Imperium”" (1990). Master's Theses. 1064. https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/masters_theses/1064 This Masters Thesis-Open Access is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate College at ScholarWorks at WMU. It has been accepted for inclusion in Master's Theses by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks at WMU. For more information, please contact [email protected]. THE LAST WORLD EMPEROR AND THE ANGELIC POPE: ESCHATOLOGICAL FIGURES AS REPRESENTATIVE OF THE MEDIEVAL STRUGGLE OF "SACERDOTIUM" AND "IMPERIUM” by Christopher Joseph Beiting A Thesis Submitted to the Faculty of The Graduate College in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts The Medieval Institute Western Michigan University Kalamazoo, Michigan August 1990 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. THE LAST WORLD EMPEROR AND THE ANGELIC POPE: ESCHATOLOGICAL FIGURES AS REPRESENTATIVE OF THE MEDIEVAL STRUGGLE OF "SACERDOTIUM" AND "IMFERIUM" Christopher Joseph Beiting, M.A. Western Michigan University, 1990 In adopting the Christian faith, medieval people also obtained a tradition within Christianity, that of esehatology. Because of this tradition, there was a receptiveness among some for prophetic visions of the future, visions of widely varied nature.
    [Show full text]
  • Bad Moon Rising: Coded Critique of Frederick II in the Libro De Alexandre
    Bad Moon Rising: Coded Critique of Frederick II in the Libro de Alexandre Robert K. Fritz La corónica: A Journal of Medieval Hispanic Languages, Literatures, and Cultures, Volume 49, Number 1, Fall 2020, pp. 13-43 (Article) Published by La corónica: A Journal of Medieval Hispanic Languages, Literatures, and Cultures DOI: https://doi.org/10.1353/cor.2020.0027 For additional information about this article https://muse.jhu.edu/article/799623 [ Access provided at 1 Oct 2021 12:34 GMT with no institutional affiliation ] CODED CRITIQUE OF FREDERICK II IN THE LIBRO DE ALEXANDRE BAD MOON RISING: CODED CRITIQUE OF FREDERICK II IN THE LIBRO DE ALEXANDRE Robert K. Fritz MURRAY STATE UNIVERSITY Abstract: This article argues that the Libro de Alexandre was likely composed in 1233 as a critique of Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II, whose Constitutions of Melfi (1231) challenged papal authority on natural philosophical grounds. The article interprets the poem’s recurring sun-moon motif as an allusion to the sun-moon allegory whereby medieval popes asserted that their authority exceeded that of an emperor to the same degree that the size of the sun exceeded that of the moon. Key to this interpretation is an analysis of the eclipse episode in which Aristander erroneously describes the moon as larger than the sun in precise numerical terms that invert the dimensions found in a gloss on the sun- moon allegory by Laurentius Hispanus (died 1248), a canonist who calculated that a pope’s authority was forty-eight times greater than an emperor’s by comparing the sizes of the sun and moon.
    [Show full text]
  • Durham Research Online
    Durham Research Online Deposited in DRO: 12 February 2016 Version of attached le: Published Version Peer-review status of attached le: Peer-reviewed Citation for published item: Scales, Len (2015) 'Purposeful pasts : Godfrey of Viterbo and later medieval imperialist thought.', in Godfrey of Viterbo and his readers : imperial tradition and universal history in late medieval Europe. Farnham: Ashgate, pp. 119-144. Church, faith and culture in the Medieval West. Further information on publisher's website: http://www.ashgate.com/isbn/9781472442680 Publisher's copyright statement: Used by permission of the Publishers from 'Purposeful pasts: Godfrey of Viterbo and later medieval imperialist thought.', in Godfrey of Viterbo and his readers: imperial tradition and universal history in late medieval Europe. ed. Thomas Foerster (Farnham: Ashgate, 2015), pp. 119-144. c Ashgate Publishing 2015 Additional information: Use policy The full-text may be used and/or reproduced, and given to third parties in any format or medium, without prior permission or charge, for personal research or study, educational, or not-for-prot purposes provided that: • a full bibliographic reference is made to the original source • a link is made to the metadata record in DRO • the full-text is not changed in any way The full-text must not be sold in any format or medium without the formal permission of the copyright holders. Please consult the full DRO policy for further details. Durham University Library, Stockton Road, Durham DH1 3LY, United Kingdom Tel : +44 (0)191 334 3042 | Fax : +44 (0)191 334 2971 http://dro.dur.ac.uk Chapter7 Purpose'ful Pasts: Godfrey ofViterbo and Later Medieval Imperialist Thought Len Scales Fra Salimbene of Parma's recollection of the shock which came upon him on learning of the death of Emperor Frederick II has justly become famous: When I heard this, I was horrified and could scarcely believe it.
    [Show full text]
  • Godfrey of Viterbo and His Readers
    PROGRAM SECTION III: GODFREY ’S WORKS IN LATE MEDIEVAL WESTERN EUROPE Chair: Sigbjørn Sønnesyn (Bergen ) G ODFREY 16.00: Thomas Foerster ( Bergen ): Richard of SUNDAY , 14 OCTOBER 2012 Cornwall, Alfonso of Castile and the Pantheon OF VITERBO 16.45: Lidia Negoi ( Bergen ): Godfrey of Viterbo and Arrivals Vincent of Beauvais in Aragon 14.00 Guided tour to the medieval king’s palace Håkonshallen (optional) 18.00: Dinner AND HIS READERS 18.00 Dinner TUESDAY , OCTOBER 16 MONDAY , 15 OCTOBER 2012 SECTION IV: GODFREY ’S WORKS IN LATE MEDIEVAL CENTRAL EUROPE INTRODUCTION Chair: Helen Leslie ( Bergen ) 10.15: Thomas Foerster (Bergen ): Godfrey of Viterbo and his Readers – Introduction 09.00: Len Scales ( Durham ): Godfrey of Viterbo in the late Middle Ages: constructing an imperial past SECTION I: GODFREY OF VITERBO : MEDIEVAL AND MODERN 09.45: Grischa Vercamer ( Warsaw ): Godfrey of Chair: Thomas Foerster (Bergen ) Viterbo and his Reception in Poland during 10.30: Maria Dorninger (Salzburg ): Modern Readers the Middle Ages of Godfrey [title tbc] 10.30: Break 11.15: Jean Dunbabin ( Oxford ): Distinctive elements in 11.00: Václav Ž ůrek ( Prague ): The Emperor Godfrey's political ideas Charles IV - Descendant of Noah: Godfrey of 12.00: Lunch Viterbo and his Czech Readers 11.45: Discussion and concluding Remarks SECTION II: GODFREY OF VITERBO IN THE HOHENSTAUFEN EMPIRE 12.30: End of Conference, Lunch Chair: Lidia Negoi ( Bergen ) Departures 14.00: Kai Hering ( Dresden ): "Historical Writing and Imperial Policy at the Early Hohenstaufen Court: The Case of Godfrey of Viterbo" International Symposium 14.45: Stefan Burkhardt ( Heidelberg ): Godfrey and Centre for Medieval Studies, University of Bergen Imperial Ideas in the Two Italies Bergen, Norway, 15-16 October, 2012 15.30: Break FURTHER INFORMATION GODFREY OF VITERBO AND HIS READERS late medieval Germany also ensured that a strong German interest in Godfrey was maintained, universal though his works were.
    [Show full text]
  • The Roman Curia
    The Roman Curia (until about 1300) Brigide Schwarz The history of the Roman Curia1 that I will write will not be the usual one that deals with papal 'bureaucracy' (avant la lettre, at least for the earlier periods), but rather that of a medieval court that was admittedly sui generis.2 This chapter is organized according to the various phases of papal and I am greatly indebted to Dr. Brigitte Flug, now at the University of Bochum, for her generous help with the translation. 1. A definition of the Roman Curia will be given below. There is no history of the 'curia' that is more than a mere history of the organization of curial bureaucracy. My own article is a first attempt: see Brigide Schwarz, 'Die römische Kurie, Teil Mittelalter', TRE 20 (1990) 343-347. Written from different angles are the articles of Agostino Paravicini Bagliani on the history of the Roman curia from 1054 to 1274 in several chapters of volume 5 of the Histoire du christianisme des origines à nos jours: Apogée de la papauté et expansion de la chrétienté ("1054-1274), ed. A. Vauchez et al. (Paris 1993) sections 1.2.II, 2.1.VI, 2.1.XI, 4.1.IVV; Paravicini Bagliani, Il papato nel secolo XIII: Cent'anni di bibliografia (iSyj-2009) (Millennio medievale 83, Strumenti e studi 23; Florence 2010). Brigide Schwarz, 'Die Erforschung der mittelalterlichen römischen Kurie von Ludwig Quidde bis heute', Friedensnobelpreis und Grundlagenforschung: Ludwig Quidde und die Erschließung der kurialen Registerüberlieferung, ed. Michael Matheus (BDHI124; Berlin-New York 2012) 415-439.
    [Show full text]