The Sacred Cosmos

by Ellard, Peter

• ISBN13: 9781589661400
• ISBN10: 1589661400
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2008-02-15
• Publisher: Univ of Scranton Pr

Summary

William of Conches and Thierry of Chartres are important figures in the twelfth-century intellectual movement known as the School of Chartres. Their teachings are frequently the focus of scholarly debates. In his controversial book, The Sacred Cosmos, theologian Peter Ellard makes a bold contribution to those debates, elucidating the most radical aspects of Chartrian thought, as he pursues key themes in their theology and presents them in relation to earlier sources in classical and late-antique thought, e.g., Boethius. Macrobius, Plato, etc. Those themes include the World Soul, the Chartrian cosmology, and the belief that all creation is equally theophanic and can thus be used as a way to bring one closer to God-awareness. In addition, Ellard skillfully interweaves the architecture of the actual Cathedral of Chartres as proof and example of Chartrian theology. The Sacred Cosmos is a compelling book that will be enjoyed by anyone interested in spirituality, theology, philosophy, or the environment. Book jacket.

Author Biography

Peter Ellard is associate vice president of academic affairs and professor of religious studies at Siena College.
 
 
 

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements	p. xiii
Introduction: The Scope of this Book	p. xv
The Lives and Writings of Two Chartrian Masters	p. xvii
The Life of Thierry of Chartres	p. xvii
The Life of William of Conches	p. xix
The Writings	p. xx
Chapter Outlines	p. xxii
Notes	p. xxiv
The School of Chartres: Context, Sources, and Methods of Interpretation	p. 1
The School of Chartres and Its Historical Context in the First Half of the Twelfth Century	p. 3
Introduction: A Renaissance by Any Other Name	p. 3
The Renaissance of the Twelfth Century: Standing on the Shoulders of Giants	p. 4
The Schools of the Twelfth Century and the School at Chartres	p. 6
The School of Chartres	p. 9
The Love of Learning and the Desire for God	p. 10
Natural Philosophy: The Changing Face of Science in the Twelfth Century	p. 16
Philosophy: The Study of Everything and the Value of Reason	p. 22
Theology: The Study of God	p. 26
Conclusion: The Milieu of the First Half of the Twelfth Century	p. 27
Notes	p. 28
Plato and Chartrian Neoplatonism	p. 33
Introduction: Platonisms of the Twelfth Century	p. 33
Plato and the Timaeus in the Twelfth Century	p. 34
Philosophical and Theological Implications of the Timaeus	p. 36
The Timaeus among the Chartrians	p. 37
Neoplatonic Influences on the School of Chartres	p. 38
Augustine	p. 39
Macrobius	p. 40
Boethius	p. 40
Hermetic Literature	p. 41
Additional Influences	p. 42
Conclusion: Chartrian Christian Neoplatonism	p. 42
Notes	p. 43
Chartrian Methods of Interpretation: Integumentum	p. 45
Introduction: Everything Means Something	p. 45
Integumentum	p. 46
The Senses of Scripture in the Twelfth Century	p. 48
The Interpretation of Scripture within the School of Chartres	p. 49
Reading Christian and Pagan Authors	p. 52
Reading the Cosmos	p. 56
Conclusion: Integument and Theological Truth	p. 58
Notes	p. 58
Summary and Conclusion of Part I	p. 61
Exemplarism: God, Eternal Ideas, and the Cosmos	p. 63
God the Creator in Chartrian Thought	p. 65
Introduction: Theological Speculation in the Early Twelfth Century	p. 65
Chartrian Theology: God as Metaphor	p. 66
God the Creator in Plato's Timaeus	p. 68
Plato's Creator Through Christian Eyes	p. 70
God as the Good: Divine Motivation for Creation	p. 73
The Creating Trinity	p. 75
Conclusion: Cosmological Theology	p. 77
Notes	p. 78
The Archetypal Model: Eternal Exemplar, Mind, Wisdom, and Son of God	p. 83
Introduction: The Debate over Universals	p. 83
The Divine Archetype in Plato and the Neoplatonists	p. 84
The Archetypal Model in the Twelfth Century and among the Chartrians	p. 86
Platonic and Neoplatonic Understanding of the Ideas of the Divine Mind	p. 88
The Ideas in the Twelfth Century	p. 89
The Ideas in the Thought of William and Thierry	p. 91
The Divinity of the Ideas	p. 93
The Unity of the Divine Ideas and the Unity of the Godhead	p. 94
Conclusion: The Eternal Exemplar and Christian Faith	p. 95
Notes	p. 96
The Cosmos: An Orderly Gathering of Creatures Made in the Image of God	p. 101
Introduction: A Theological and Exemplaristic Cosmology	p. 101
The Cosmos as an Image of God: William's Exemplaristic Cosmology	p. 102
The Cosmos as an Image of Divine Wisdom	p. 103
The Divine Ideas and Their Images in the Cosmos	p. 106
Plurality of the Cosmos Grounded in the Unity of God: Thierry's Theology	p. 108
The Enfolding of the Cosmos and the Unfolding of God	p. 110
Conclusion: One Existence with Two Interwoven Parts	p. 112
Notes	p. 112
Summary and Conclusion of Part II	p. 116
The World Soul	p. 117
The Cosmos Animated by Its Anima	p. 119
Introduction: A Fluid Idea	p. 119
The World Soul and the Lens of Integument	p. 119
The World Soul of Plato's Timaeus	p. 120
The Nature of the World Soul in Neoplatonic Thought	p. 122
The Patristic View of the World Soul	p. 124
The Conversation about the World Soul in the Twelfth Century	p. 125
The Cosmological Function of the World Soul in Chartrian Thought	p. 126
Natural Energy of Life, Growth, Sense, and Discernment Inherent in the Cosmos	p. 129
Conclusion: The Spirit of the World	p. 132
Notes	p. 132
The World Soul and the Holy Spirit: Two Metaphors for the Same Reality	p. 137
Introduction: The Divine Woven Naturally in the Cosmos	p. 137
Thierry of Chartres on the Divine Status of the World Soul	p. 138
William of Conches on the World Soul, Divine Love, and the Holy Spirit	p. 140
Conclusion: The Soul of the World	p. 145
Notes	p. 146
The Condemnation of an Idea, and the Aftermath Introduction: Perilous Times	p. 149
The Condemnation	p. 150
The Fate of the World Soul in the Twelfth Century	p. 154
The World Soul as Nature	p. 154
The World Soul as Divine Love	p. 157
Conclusion: What Happened to the World Soul?	p. 158
Notes	p. 159
Summary and Conclusion of Part III	p. 161
Humanity and the Sacred Study of the Sacred Cosmos	p. 163
A Twelfth-Century "Scientific" Understanding of the Cosmos	p. 165
Introduction: The Study of the Natural World in the Early Twelfth Century	p. 165
Natural Science among the Chartrians	p. 166
Chaos	p. 167
The Elements	p. 172
Nature and Its Twelfth-Century Detractors	p. 174
The Dignity of Secondary Causes	p. 175
Nature and the Activity of the Cosmos as an Image of God's Creativity	p. 179
Evolution of Chartrian Natural Science	p. 181
Conclusion: Science as the Basis of Theology	p. 182
Notes	p. 182
Illumination: The Soul's Journey into God Introduction: Science and Spirituality	p. 187
Ecce Homo: The Human as Microcosm	p. 188
The Relationship of the Human Body and Soul	p. 192
Bodily Health, Sin, and the Soul's Abilities	p. 193
The Powers of the Human Soul	p. 195
The Power of Sense	p. 196
The Power of Imagination	p. 198
The Power of Reason	p. 199
The Power of Intellect/Intelligence	p. 200
The Power of Intelligibility	p. 202
Conclusion: The Spiritual Journey	p. 203
Notes	p. 204
The Cosmos: The Path That Leads to God	p. 209
Introduction: The Book of Creation	p. 209
Revelation in the Ongoing Act of Creation	p. 210
The Cosmos Reveals Divine Existence, Causality, and Continuing Presence	p. 212
The Cosmos Reveals the Trinity	p. 215
Conclusion: The Revelation of the Cosmos	p. 220
Notes	p. 220
Summary and Conclusion of Part IV	p. 224
Conclusion	p. 225
Epilogue	p. 231
Notes	p. 236
Appendix	p. 237
Notes	p. 241
Bibliography	p. 243
Index	p. 265
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