Dear Bill,
Thank you very much for your suggestions. I am pleased that caritas won out over
humilitas, at least this time! I'll dig around the WMU library and see if I can
turn any of these articles up--if not, I'll try to get them through
Inter-library loan. I do think that Peter's spirituality is overlooked, even if
it is not as powerfully or personally expressed as the spiritualities of Bernard
and William. One point I think I will take up: that Peter's doctrine of selfless
love was regarded as ridiculous by Bernard and William, as argued by Gilson and
Weingart. Having closely examined William's doctrine of love in his own Romans
commentary, as well as Peter's doctrine in his commentary, I find little in the
latter that the former could not have whole-heartedly supported had he actually
taken the time and made the effort to read it. Gilson and Weingart strongly
overstate their cases.
Thanks again!
Steve Cartwright
Bill East wrote:
> At 22:48 27/06/99 -0400, you wrote:
> >Dear list-members,
> >
> >Does anyone know of any secondary literature on the spirituality of
> >Peter Abelard?
>
> Since I received your note, Humilitas and Caritas have been fighting a
> battle in my soul. Could it be that my own humble efforts would be of
> interest to you? As it happens, within hours of receiving your note I also
> received the offprints of my article "Abelard's Allusive Style" in
> Mittellateinisches Jahrbuch, Band 34, Jahrgang 1999, 1. Halbband, (Stuttgart
> 1999) pp. 41-49. This is about Abelard's Hymnary, which I believe expresses
> much of his spirituality, or as its editor says, "often expresses Abelard's
> personal approach and his views on some subjects, more directly than some of
> his other writings."
>
> Is it also possible that you might find something of interest in an earlier
> article of mine, "This Body of Death: Abelard, Heloise and the Religious
> Life" in Medieval Theology and the Natural Body, Edited by Peter Biller and
> A.J. Minnis, York Medieval Press 1997, pp. 43-59?
>
> I have also just delivered a paper at Carolyn's excellent Downside
> conference. Again I examine Abelard's poetry as an expression of his
> deepest feelings. The paper has of course yet to be published - the
> conference only ended on Friday.
>
> Poetria is not the same as Spiritualitas, but like Spiritualitas it has been
> somewhat neglected by Abelardian scholars who have more to say on, say, his
> Philosophia.
>
> With every good wish,
>
> The Supple Doctor.
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