There is also a brief but useful comment on one medieval view of nature in
Leclerq "Love of Learning",pp.164-165.
One of many areas where some material is available is in Middle English
tracts on spiritual guidance. Many but not all of the tracts dealing with
this theme are free translations or adaptations of earlier Latin works. The
vernacular material quoted and referred to here belongs to the last 150
years of the period.
God creates and sustains - the world, nature, men & women etc. Examples
include the two long expositions of the Paternoster, that edited by Aarts
(eg.pp.23-24) and that in MS Harley 1197,ff.28v-48v(eg.f.30v).The theme
recurs in "Orcherd of Syon"(EETSpp.179-180,322-323,374etc) and finds
profound expression in Julian's vision of the "little thing, the quantitie
of an haselnott"("Showings"ii,c.5).
The first of the three degrees of contemplation(or "siht of že godnesse of
god") in the Victorine tradition expounded,for instance, in "The Mirror of
St Edmund"(Horstman i,244-245) is through creation. A good example of this
in practice is "A lityl instruction"(SJCO173,ff.129v-134v): "Whan ye shal go
too your gardyn and seen the herbes and grene trees, smellynge the flowres
and fruyttes with theyr swetnesse, merueyllynge the grete power of God in
his creatures...". In some tracts this seems fairly conventional, but even
in a passage like this the writer clearly expects a response from his
audience, and tracts like the free translation of passages from Hugh of St
Victor, "De Arca Noe morali" in Royal 18.A.x(ff.1r-7v) or "moor excellent
wey" (free transl. of part of"De Diligendo Deo") in Douce 34(ff.1r-25v)
clearly rejoice and expect other to do so.
The "nature" described is often "tamed",ordered and safe,(perhaps as Adam
was created to??) but not always and it certainly deepens in the best
treatments. There is also a rare piece of advice to recluses against sloth
in Harley 2372,ff.1r-37v(f.5r) on the"operacion and werk(of created
beings)mynistrynge euyr her seruise vnto že behoue of mankynde".
Much more teaching is on renouncing "the world" which is in no way
inconsistent with the above-renouncing the abuses of created world and
nature.
Apology for this late offering, drawn from some material I am preparing.
Haven't had a chance to check references etc.
Peter Jolliffe
-----Original Message-----
From: Claire Sahlin <[log in to unmask]>
To: [log in to unmask] <[log in to unmask]>
Date: 07 October 1998 01:09
Subject: medieval views of the natural world
>What studies could you recommend on medieval
>views of the natural world?
>The chair of the philosophy department at my university
>has written and argues that "people in the Middle Ages did not think
>nature was beautiful" (see his slide show at
>www. phil.unt.edu/show/).
>Any responses?
>
>Claire L. Sahlin,
>Director of Women's Studies
>and Lecturer in Philosophy and Religion Studies
>University of North Texas
>P.O. Box 305189
>Denton, TX 76203-5189
>(940) 565-2098
>
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