The History of Theology II: The Middle Ages

by Giulio D'Onofrio (Editor), Matthew O'Connell (Translator)

2009 Catholic Press Association Award Winner! At last, a thorough, balanced, and readable history of medieval theology for nonspecialist readers! This is that book we so often ask for and so seldom written by a scholar for everyone to read. Giulio D 'Onofrio, a historian of philosophy and theology, uses his deep and broad-ranging knowledge of the thought of the scholars (Christian, Jewish, and Muslim) of the Middle Ages to describe in a thoroughly readable style the development of ideas from the beginnings of what can rightly be called Western culture to the Renaissance and the eve of the Reformation. No longer can medieval theology be regarded as merely Thomas Aquinas and Bonaventure with appendages fore and aft. This book is a page-turner, as readers are continually invited to join scholars and mystics of another age in the perennial pursuit of faith seeking understanding. It is this quest for a synthesis of faith and reason that guided the medieval thinkers and is the unifying thread running through this book. Readers follow as the Roman world of thought gives way to a Christian world whose philosophy builds on that of Greeks and Romans. That early phase in turn yields to the era of the monastic and cathedral schools, where Christian learning was nurtured until the rise of the universities. In that high flowering, the encounter with Jewish and Arabic thought brought a new energy that issued not only in the work of great masters like Thomas and Bonaventure but also in a flowering of mysticism. Along the way, the great controversies of the era sparked new thinking and new learning, as suppressions of thought proved only temporary setbacks and correctives on the way to greater understanding. Matthew O 'Connell's translation is masterful. Readers will be captivated as much by his lucid and readable English as by D 'Onofrio's clear presentation. It is a work of great merit that should be on the shelf, and frequently in the hand, of everyone who is at all curious about how human beings in the past, as in the present, have sought to understand the faith that is in them. Giulio d 'Onofrio teaches the history of medieval philosophy at the University of Salerno, Italy, and also teaches the history of medieval philosophy, Latin, and the exegesis of philosophical texts at the Pontifical Lateran University. He is the editor of Volume III, The Renaissance, in this series.

Genres: Theology, Medieval

560 pages, Hardcover

First published March 15, 2008

Reviews

[Katie · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a difficult book to rate. Two stars seems a bit harsh, but three also seems like I'm recommending it more than I do. But, in times of doubt, I just put my faith in the Goodreads system: my feelings on this one are pretty fairly summed up as "it was okay."

Part of the problem, for me, was the difficulty of categorizing this book. It covers a colossal amount of time in a relatively small number of pages. Paired with the generic title, and it seems like it would be an ideal textbook for an intro class on medieval theology (which is how I was using it). However, I'm not sure it really accomplishes that with much success. It's much too advanced for someone who in unfamiliar with theological terminology and the basics of Aristotelian logic. It's unpleasantly dense in places, and I'm not convinced that it really needed to be. Theological concepts are tough, and I'm not expecting to be spoon fed, but there are places in here where the explanations become needlessly opaque. On the other side, if you are trained in the basics of theological study, I'm not sure that this book will be all that helpful to you, except perhaps as a springboard. Most theologians are given about a page, and even the biggest names in medieval theology rarely get more than ten. I almost wish that this book either decided to be an intro text for beginners, and toned down the specialist language a bit, or expanded the work to give it more room to breathe (and thus become more useful to specialists). As it is, it's stuck uncomfortably in a middle ground.

Beyond all this (which could plausibly just be me whining that the book wasn't what I wanted to be) I think there's one other large problem that would warrant a low grade on its own: this book has a remarkably narrow definition of theology. It essentially traces the evolution of how classical philosophy was mixed in with theological doctrine (and, to a more limited sense, the reaction to this) and ignores all the other aspects of theological life. I'm not sure you can really effectively discuss theological evolution without looking at any other aspects of medieval religious life. It seems like such an artificially limited way of looking at things.

It's also a bummer near the end, when D'Onofrio mentions the importance of female mystics in the late middle ages and then promptly goes on to discuss four men and zero women. Hildegard of Bingen, one of the medieval era's most interesting and unique thinkers, gets a page. Finally, more broadly, there just seems to be very little room in general for people who thought outside the box.

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

This dense survey rewards effort. It condenses three separate volumes in Italian into one book, still well over five hundred pages. It's a lot to take on, and in, but Prof. D'O keeps the pace steadily, modestly, and diligently. Matthew O'Connell's translation is fantastic; I have looked at the Italian. He renders this into clear, flowing English prose, no mean feat given the recondite matter. And a new word for me "thinkability," captures the Scholastics' efforts well. The author does not get into any score-settling with scholars, no preaching to any choir, no digressive rants or pious appeals. While it lacks the apparatus of the Italian trio set, the reasoning fits: a truly committed investigator can seek out the full documentation from that project. The compression of it into this is masterful. Recommended, as in English few such compendia exist. I liked Rik Van Nieuwenhove's more recent textbook on Medieval Theology, but that tends towards a few chapters on big names. D'Onofrio treks chronologically, and doesn't miss anyone in his long march over many centuries exploring this quest.

[Sarah]

I disagree with the description that it's "thoroughly readable" and a "page-turner." Philosophically heavy, light on the exegetical stuff I much prefer...