Life
Very little is known about the origins and upbringing of Richard of Saint Victor. John of Toulouse wrote a short ''Vita'' of Richard in the seventeenth century. He said that Richard came fromWritings
Richard wrote extensively (Migne's ''''The Book of the Twelve Patriarchs'', or ''Benjamin Minor''
''The Book of the Twelve Patriarchs'', sometimes titled ''Benjamin Minor'', is one of Richard of Saint Victor's great works on contemplation. It is not exactly known when it was written, but it would seem to date before 1162. Richard specifies that this work is not a treatise on contemplation but rather prepares the mind for contemplation.''The Mystical Ark'', or ''Benjamin Major''
''The Mystical Ark'', sometimes called ''Benjamin Major'' or ''The Grace of Contemplation'' completes this with the study of the mind in relation to prayer. However, in the last chapters of ''Benjamin Major'', written later than the Minor, Richard almost abandons his topic and the discussion of the teaching of mystical theology takes up a good portion of every remaining chapter. He is still attempting to instruct his followers on a text but he has also engaged himself in creating a system of mystical theology.''De Trinitate''
One of Richard's greatest works was the ''De Trinitate'' which was probably written while Richard was prior, between 1162 and 1173. This is known because it incorporates pieces of theological text which editors are now finding in earlier works. ''De Trinitate'' is Richard's most independent and original study on dogmatic theology. It stems from the desire to show that dogmatic truths of Christian revelation are ultimately not against reason. Richard's theological approach stems from a profoundly mystical life of prayer, which in the Spirit seeks to involve the mind, in continuation with the Augustinian and Anselmian tradition. Owing to the fact that until recently this masterpiece has not been available in any English translation, its diffusion has been limited and its influence has seldom gone beyond 'Book III', condemning serious enquiry to an understanding of Richard's argument that is only partial. Finally, in 2011, through the efforts of Ruben Angelici's scholarship, the first, full translation of Richard's 'De Trinitate' has been released for publication in English and now this scholastic masterpiece is readily available to a wider audience to be appreciated in its entirety.Other Treatises and Works
Richard wrote a massive handbook of biblical education entitled ''Liber Exceptionum'' (''Book of Selections/Book of Notes''), important scriptural commentaries, and many treatises. ''The Four Degrees of Violent Charity'', composed about 1170, with its description of how vehement love leads to union with God and more perfect service of neighbour, has been of interest to writers interested in Christian mysticism. Richard's other treatises are a number of short works which mainly deal with textual difficulties and theological issues. Many of them can be grouped together with larger works. Some of them are correspondence between Richard and his students while others seem to have been written at the request of friends. Although short, they are often interesting because they allow the modern reader to see the mentality of the students and the discussions and issues of the time. Richard of Saint Victor's ''Commentary on Ezekiel'' is of special interest in the field of art history because the explanations laid out by the author are accompanied by illustrations. A number of copies have come down to us, none of which are dated, but they are written in a style attributable to the second half of the twelfth century.Historiographical contributions
What makes Richard of Saint-Victor stand out from other theologians of his time is that he approaches theological problems as more of a psychologist, contributing to 'a careful analysis of contemplative experiences.'Zinn p2Bibliography
Translations
*Franklin T Harkins and Frans van Liere, eds, ''Interpretation of scripture: theory. A selection of works of Hugh, Andrew, Richard and Godfrey of St Victor, and of Robert of Melun'', (Turnhout, Belgium: Brepols, 2012) ncludes translation of selections from ''The book of notes'', and selections from ''On the Apocalypse of John''*Hugh Feiss, ed, ''On love: a selection of works of Hugh, Adam, Achard, Richard and Godfrey of St Victor'', (Turnhout: Brepols, 2011) ncludes A.B. Kraebel's translation of ''On the Four Degrees of Violent Love''*R. Angelici, ''Richard of Saint Victor: On the Trinity. English Translation and Commentary'' (Eugene: Cascade, 2011) *Boyd Taylor Coolman and Dale M Coulter, eds, ''Trinity and creation: a selection of works of Hugh, Richard and Adam of St Victor''. (Turnhout: Brepols, 2010) ncludes translation of Richard of St Victor, ''On the Trinity''*Richard of St Victor, ''Twelve Patriarchs, Mystical Ark, Book Three of the Trinity''.' Translation and introduction by Grover A. Zinn. Paulist Press, Toronto 1979. xviii + 425pp. ranslations & 50page introduction*Richard of St Victor, ''On the Trinity'', Book One, trans. Jonathan Couser. translation of Book One of ''On the Trinity''http://pvspade.com/Logic/docs/StVictor.pdf *Richard of St Victor, ''Selected Writings on Contemplation''. Translated with an introduction and notes byReferences
Further reading
*P. Sicard. ''Iter Victorinum. La tradition manuscrite des œuvres de Hugues et de Richard de Saint-Victor. Répertoire complémentaire et études'' (''Bibliotheca Victorina'' 24), Turnhout: Brepols Publishers, 2015 () *J. Bougerol. 'The Church Fathers and Auctoritates in Scholastic Theology to Bonaventure', in ''The Reception of the Church Fathers in the West'', 1997, pp. 289–335. *W. Cahn, 'Architecture and Exegesis: Richard of St.-Victor's Ezekiel Commentary and Its Illustrations' in ''The Art Bulletin'',76, no.1, pp. 53–68. *O. Davies. 'Later Medieval Mystics', in ''The Medieval Theologians'', 2001, pp. 221–232. *K. Emery. 'Richard of Saint Victor', in ''A Companion to Philosophy in the Middle Ages'', 2003, pp. 588–594. *H. Feiss, 'Heaven in the Theology of Hugh, Achard and Richard of Saint Victor', in ''Imagining Heaven in the Middle Ages'',2000, pp. 145–163. *P. Healy. 'The Mysticism of the School of Saint Victor' in ''Church History'' 1, 1932, pp. 211–221. *Spijker, 'Learning by Experience: Twelfth Century Monastic Ideas' in ''Centres of Learning'', 1995, pp. 197–206.External links
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