William of Saint-Amour was an early figure in thirteenth-century
scholasticism
Scholasticism was a medieval school of philosophy that employed a critical organic method of philosophical analysis predicated upon the Aristotelian 10 Categories. Christian scholasticism emerged within the monastic schools that translate ...
, chiefly notable for his withering attacks on the
friars
A friar is a member of one of the mendicant orders founded in the twelfth or thirteenth century; the term distinguishes the mendicants' itinerant apostolic character, exercised broadly under the jurisdiction of a superior general, from the o ...
.
Biography
William was born in
Saint-Amour, Jura
Saint-Amour () is a town and Communes of France, commune in the Jura (department), Jura Departments of France, department in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté Regions of France, region in eastern France.
Population
See also
*Communes of the Jura de ...
, then part of the
Duchy of Burgundy
The Duchy of Burgundy (; la, Ducatus Burgundiae; french: Duché de Bourgogne, ) emerged in the 9th century as one of the successors of the ancient Kingdom of the Burgundians, which after its conquest in 532 had formed a constituent part of the ...
, in c. 1200. Under the patronage of the
Count of Savoy
The titles of count, then of duke of Savoy are titles of nobility attached to the historical territory of Savoy. Since its creation, in the 11th century, the county was held by the House of Savoy. The County of Savoy was elevated to a duchy at the ...
, he was active at the
University of Paris
, image_name = Coat of arms of the University of Paris.svg
, image_size = 150px
, caption = Coat of Arms
, latin_name = Universitas magistrorum et scholarium Parisiensis
, motto = ''Hic et ubique terrarum'' (Latin)
, mottoeng = Here and a ...
from the 1220s, becoming master of arts in 1228. From a reference in a letter by
Gregory IX
Pope Gregory IX ( la, Gregorius IX; born Ugolino di Conti; c. 1145 or before 1170 – 22 August 1241) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 19 March 1227 until his death in 1241. He is known for issuing the '' Decre ...
, it is evident that he had become a doctor of
Canon law
Canon law (from grc, κανών, , a 'straight measuring rod, ruler') is a set of ordinances and regulations made by ecclesiastical authority (church leadership) for the government of a Christian organization or church and its members. It is th ...
by 1238. By 1250 he had been made master of
theology
Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...
.
The controversy on which his fame rests began in earnest in the 1250s. The gradual encroachment of the newly formed
mendicant orders into the university was the immediate cause of this. The secular clergy had previously enjoyed unrivalled teaching privileges at Paris, but the friars presented a serious challenge to their monopoly, gaining a number of prominent lecturing posts: the career of
Bonaventure
Bonaventure ( ; it, Bonaventura ; la, Bonaventura de Balneoregio; 1221 – 15 July 1274), born Giovanni di Fidanza, was an Italian Catholic Franciscan, bishop, cardinal, scholastic theologian and philosopher.
The seventh Minister G ...
is indicative of the friars' rising stature in academia. The seculars bitterly resented this incursion, and engaged in a prolonged conflict with the friars. According to
Matthew Paris
Matthew Paris, also known as Matthew of Paris ( la, Matthæus Parisiensis, lit=Matthew the Parisian; c. 1200 – 1259), was an English Benedictine monk, chronicler, artist in illuminated manuscripts and cartographer, based at St Albans Abbey ...
' ''Chronica Majora'', this controversy brought the university to a point of near-collapse, 'exposed to danger, owing to the suspension of its lectures and disputations, and the dispersion of many of its scholars...owing to the insults and reproaches of the Preachers and Minors'. Particularly offensive was the friars' desire to increase the number of teaching positions, entirely against established custom. At length the dispute was brought before the
papal curia. William had emerged as the mouthpiece of the secular party, and in 1254 he and five other masters directly petitioned
Innocent IV
Pope Innocent IV ( la, Innocentius IV; – 7 December 1254), born Sinibaldo Fieschi, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 25 June 1243 to his death in 1254.
Fieschi was born in Genoa and studied at the universitie ...
. The pope proved sympathetic to their concerns: Innocent duly limited many of the friars' powers, and reduced the number of chairs they could legitimately occupy at the university. This victory, however, was short-lived. Innocent died in the December of the same year, and was replaced by
Alexander IV. Alexander was cardinal protector of the
Franciscans
, image = FrancescoCoA PioM.svg
, image_size = 200px
, caption = A cross, Christ's arm and Saint Francis's arm, a universal symbol of the Franciscans
, abbreviation = OFM
, predecessor =
, ...
and therefore unlikely to side with the seculars: he promptly overturned the restrictions imposed by his predecessor, allowing the friars to be readmitted to Paris.
Hostilities resumed immediately, and William began to produce some of his most sustained and vitriolic sermons and treatises. As might be expected, his campaign against the regulars was not tolerated for long. In 1255 Pope Alexander ordered an inquiry into William's orthodoxy, resulting in his suspension from all teaching and administrative duties. In 1256 William produced ''De periculis novissimorum temporum'' ("On the Dangers of the Final Days," or "Of the Perils of the Most Recent/Modern Times"), a vicious tirade against the friars, and the culmination of his antifraternal thought. This ridiculed the more extreme eschatological speculations of some friars (e.g.,
Gerard da Burgo Santo Donnino
Gerard of Borgo San Donnino () was an Italian friar of the Order of Friars Minor.
Biography
Gerardo was born at an unknown date in Borgo San Donnino (now Fidenza), then an independent commune, now part of the Province of Parma. He went to Par ...
, author of the ''Introductorius ad Evangelium Aeternum''), who alleged that the fraternal orders would usher in the third and final age of the world, a glorious era of the
Holy Spirit
In Judaism, the Holy Spirit is the divine force, quality, and influence of God over the Universe or over his creatures. In Nicene Christianity, the Holy Spirit or Holy Ghost is the third person of the Trinity. In Islam, the Holy Spirit acts as ...
. ''De Periculis'' implied that the friars would indeed be instrumental in precipitating the end of the world, but only because they would facilitate the coming of the
Antichrist
In Christian eschatology, the Antichrist refers to people prophesied by the Bible to oppose Jesus Christ and substitute themselves in Christ's place before the Second Coming. The term Antichrist (including one plural form) 1 John ; . 2 John . ...
. The treatise attracted written opposition from
Thomas Aquinas
Thomas Aquinas, OP (; it, Tommaso d'Aquino, lit=Thomas of Aquino; 1225 – 7 March 1274) was an Italian Dominican friar and priest who was an influential philosopher, theologian and jurist in the tradition of scholasticism; he is known wi ...
and
Albertus Magnus
Albertus Magnus (c. 1200 – 15 November 1280), also known as Saint Albert the Great or Albert of Cologne, was a German Dominican friar, philosopher, scientist, and bishop. Later canonised as a Catholic saint, he was known during his life ...
, both Dominican friars, and was examined by a curial committee. Thomas Aquinas wrot
Contra Impugnantesto rebut William's charges. In 1257 Alexander ordered William's treatise to be burned: he also excommunicated William, and exiled him from France. Upon Alexander's death in 1266, William returned to Paris, although does not appear to have been reinstated at the university. He died at Burgundy in September 1272.
Works
''De periculis novissimorum temporum''
William's major work had an influence far beyond the compass of his own lifetime. It became the fountainhead of a long polemical tradition. Its most important section consists of thirty-nine 'signa' (or forty-one, in some versions) by which 'false Apostles' may be known. Although it is never openly stated, these 'signs' describe the behaviour of friars. The signs are, in order:
William decorates these imputations with various allusions to the
Benedictine Rule
The ''Rule of Saint Benedict'' ( la, Regula Sancti Benedicti) is a book of precepts written in Latin in 516 by St Benedict of Nursia ( AD 480–550) for monks living communally under the authority of an abbot.
The spirit of Saint Benedict's Ru ...
, the
Pauline epistles
The Pauline epistles, also known as Epistles of Paul or Letters of Paul, are the thirteen books of the New Testament attributed to Paul the Apostle, although the authorship of some is in dispute. Among these epistles are some of the earliest extan ...
and
Acts of the Apostles
The Acts of the Apostles ( grc-koi, Πράξεις Ἀποστόλων, ''Práxeis Apostólōn''; la, Actūs Apostolōrum) is the fifth book of the New Testament; it tells of the founding of the Christian Church and the spread of its messag ...
. The friars are variously likened to ravening wolves (''lupi graves''), stealers into people's homes (''penetrantes domos''), idlers and meddlers (''otiosos et curiosos''), aimless wanderers (''gyrovaguos'') and, most recurrently, false preachers (''pseudo-praedicatores'').
In Penn Szittya's phrase, this set of accusations and themes formed an enduring 'symbolic language', one that persisted among the friars' opponents for the next three centuries. In
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
, William's attacks were reiterated in the Parisian disputes of 1354, when two prominent bishops delivered diatribes against the friars; they also directly stimulated the satires of
Rutebeuf and
Jean de Meun
Jean de Meun (or de Meung, ) () was a French author best known for his continuation of the '' Roman de la Rose''.
Life
He was born Jean Clopinel or Jean Chopinel at Meung-sur-Loire. Tradition asserts that he studied at the University of Paris. He ...
. In
Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
, his arguments formed the backbone of
Richard Fitzralph
Richard FitzRalph (also Fitz Ralph; c. 1300 – 16 December 1360) was a scholastic philosopher, theologian, and Norman Irish Archbishop of Armagh during the 14th century. His thought exerted a significant influence on John Wycliffe's.
Life
F ...
's ''Defensio Curatorum'', a much-copied and widely circulated sermon of 1350. In
Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...
,
Dunbar
Dunbar () is a town on the North Sea coast in East Lothian in the south-east of Scotland, approximately east of Edinburgh and from the English border north of Berwick-upon-Tweed.
Dunbar is a former royal burgh, and gave its name to an ecc ...
and
Robert Henryson
Robert Henryson (Middle Scots: Robert Henrysoun) was a poet who flourished in Scotland in the period c. 1460–1500. Counted among the Scots ''makars'', he lived in the royal burgh of Dunfermline and is a distinctive voice in the Northern Renai ...
drew on William's motifs; in
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
, the Lutheran pamphleteers
Johann Eberlin von Gunzburg and
Heinrich Spelt Heinrich may refer to:
People
* Heinrich (given name), a given name (including a list of people with the name)
* Heinrich (surname), a surname (including a list of people with the name)
*Hetty (given name), a given name (including a list of peo ...
made much use of his ideas. William's work proved especially influential in England, where one of his earliest supporters, a Master Laurence, appears to have been active. The work of
Langland,
John Gower
John Gower (; c. 1330 – October 1408) was an English poet, a contemporary of William Langland and the Pearl Poet, and a personal friend of Geoffrey Chaucer
Geoffrey Chaucer (; – 25 October 1400) was an English poet, author, and civ ...
and
Chaucer
Geoffrey Chaucer (; – 25 October 1400) was an English poet, author, and civil servant best known for '' The Canterbury Tales''. He has been called the "father of English literature", or, alternatively, the "father of English poetry". He w ...
directly echoes ''De Periculis'', while its key ideas were assimilated into
Lollard
Lollardy, also known as Lollardism or the Lollard movement, was a proto-Protestant Christian religious movement that existed from the mid-14th century until the 16th-century English Reformation. It was initially led by John Wycliffe, a Catholic ...
ideology from
Wyclif
John Wycliffe (; also spelled Wyclif, Wickliffe, and other variants; 1328 – 31 December 1384) was an English scholastic philosopher, theologian, biblical translator, reformer, Catholic priest, and a seminary professor at the University of O ...
onwards (see especially
Pierce the Ploughman's Crede). William's ideas even re-emerge in the Protestant writings of
William Tyndale
William Tyndale (; sometimes spelled ''Tynsdale'', ''Tindall'', ''Tindill'', ''Tyndall''; – ) was an English biblical scholar and linguist who became a leading figure in the Protestant Reformation in the years leading up to his executi ...
,
John Bale
John Bale (21 November 1495 – November 1563) was an English churchman, historian and controversialist, and Bishop of Ossory in Ireland. He wrote the oldest known historical verse drama in English (on the subject of King John), and developed ...
and
John Foxe
John Foxe (1516/1517 – 18 April 1587), an English historian and martyrologist, was the author of '' Actes and Monuments'' (otherwise ''Foxe's Book of Martyrs''), telling of Christian martyrs throughout Western history, but particularly the su ...
, whose ''Actes and Monuments'' quotes ''De Periculis'' in its entirety. Although his own struggle against the friars ended in abject failure, William's legacy was thus extremely far-reaching. He powerfully stigmatised one of the dominant factions in the late medieval church, providing generations of critics with an arsenal of ready-made indictments.
References and external links
For a Latin edition and English translation of ''De Periculis'', see: William of Saint-Amour, ''De periculis novissimorum temporum''. Edition, Translation, and Introduction by G. Geltner,
Dallas Medieval Texts and Translations Dallas Medieval Texts and Translations is a book series founded at the University of Dallas and currently co-sponsored by the University of Dallas and Maynooth University in Ireland. The series is published by Peeters, a publishing house based in Le ...
8 (Louvain and Paris: Peeters, 2008).
Jon Robinson of the University of Toronto has made available informal translations of the ''De Periculis'' (not based on the translation), two disputed questions, and one sermon, all on hi
''personal web site''
Critical editions of his three extant sermons and his response to Bonaventure's disputed question ''De mendicitate'' may be found in Andrew G. Traver
''The Opuscula of William of Saint-Amour: The Minor Works of 1255-1256''(Munster: Aschendorff Verlag, 2003)
Critical editions of his two disputed questions may be found in Andrew G. Traver, 'William of Saint-Amour's Two Disputed Questions ''De quantitate eleemosynae'' and ''De valido mendicante'',' ''Archives d’histoire doctrinale et littéraire du moyen âge'' 62 (1995): 295-342.
*James Doyne Dawson, 'William of Saint-Amour and the Apostolic Tradition', ''Mediaeval Studies'' 40 (1978), pp. 223– 38: online a
JSTOR*Geoffrey Dipple, ''Antifraternalism and Anticlericalism in the German Reformation: Johann Eberlin von Gunzburg and the Campaign against the Friars, St Andrews Studies in Reformation History'' (Brookfield: Scolar, 1996),
*Michel-Marie Dufeil, ''Guillaume de Saint-Amour et la polémique universitaire parisienne, 1250-1259'' (Paris: Picard, 1972)
*John Foxe
(London: Iohn Daye, 1583), pp. 317–22
*Matthew Paris, ''English history from the year 1235 to 1273'', trans. by
J. A. Giles
John Allen Giles (1808–1884) was an English historian. He was primarily known as a scholar of Anglo-Saxon language and history. He revised Stevens' translation of the ''Anglo-Saxon Chronicle'' and Bede's ''Ecclesiastical History of the English ...
, 3 vols. (London: Henry G. Bohn, 1852-4), III (1854), p. 149: online a
Stanford University
*Penn R. Szittya, 'The Antifraternal Tradition in Middle English', ''
Speculum'' 52 (1977), pp. 287–313: online a
JSTOR*Penn R. Szittya, ''The Antifraternal Tradition in Medieval Literature'' (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1986),
*Andrew G. Traver, 'The Forging of an Intellectual Defense of Mendicancy in the Medieval University,' in ''The Origin, Development, and Refinement of Medieval Religious Mendicancies'' Ed. Donald Prudlo. (Leiden: Brill, 2011), 157-196.
*Andrew G. Traver, ''The Opuscula of William of Saint-Amour: The Minor Works of 1255-1256'' (Munster: Aschendorff Verlag, 2003),
*Andrew G. Traver, 'The Place of William of Saint-Amour’s ''Collectiones Catholicae'' in the Secular/Mendicant Conflict at Paris,' in ''From Learning to Love: A Tribute Offered to Joseph Goering'' (Toronto, University of Toronto Press, 2016), 209-232.
*William Turner, 'William of Saint-Amour'
ed. by Charles George Herberman and others, 15 vols. (New York: Robert Appleton, 1907–12), XV (1912)
*Arnold Williams, 'Chaucer and the Friars', ''Speculum'' 28 (1953), pp. 499–513: online a
JSTOR
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint-Amour, William Of
1200 births
1272 deaths
People excommunicated by the Catholic Church
People from Jura (department)
13th-century French writers
Scholastic philosophers
French male writers
13th-century Latin writers
13th-century philosophers