''Summa sententiarum'' (transl. ''Summary of Sentences''; written between 1138 and 1141) is a

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with the fall of the West ...

theological Theology is the study of religious belief from a religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of an ...

work consisting of six

treatise A treatise is a Formality, formal and systematic written discourse on some subject concerned with investigating or exposing the main principles of the subject and its conclusions."mwod:treatise, Treatise." Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary. Acc ...

s. Several

codices The codex (: codices ) was the historical ancestor format of the modern book. Technically, the vast majority of modern books use the codex format of a stack of pages bound at one edge, along the side of the text. But the term ''codex'' is now r ...

and the ''

Patrologia Latina The ''Patrologia Latina'' (Latin for ''The Latin Patrology'') is an enormous collection of the writings of the Church Fathers and other ecclesiastical writers published by Jacques Paul Migne between 1841 and 1855, with indices published betwe ...

'' contain the seventh treatise on marriage, authored by Walter of Mortagne. The subjects of the treatises are as follows: # Three theological virtues, the

Trinity The Trinity (, from 'threefold') is the Christian doctrine concerning the nature of God, which defines one God existing in three, , consubstantial divine persons: God the Father, God the Son (Jesus Christ) and God the Holy Spirit, thr ...

and the

incarnation Incarnation literally means ''embodied in flesh'' or ''taking on flesh''. It is the Conception (biology), conception and the embodiment of a deity or spirit in some earthly form or an Anthropomorphism, anthropomorphic form of a god. It is used t ...

; # Creation and condition of

angel An angel is a spiritual (without a physical body), heavenly, or supernatural being, usually humanoid with bird-like wings, often depicted as a messenger or intermediary between God (the transcendent) and humanity (the profane) in variou ...

nature Nature is an inherent character or constitution, particularly of the Ecosphere (planetary), ecosphere or the universe as a whole. In this general sense nature refers to the Scientific law, laws, elements and phenomenon, phenomena of the physic ...

; # Creation and condition of

human nature Human nature comprises the fundamental dispositions and characteristics—including ways of Thought, thinking, feeling, and agency (philosophy), acting—that humans are said to have nature (philosophy), naturally. The term is often used to denote ...

; #

Sacraments A sacrament is a Christian rite which is recognized as being particularly important and significant. There are various views on the existence, number and meaning of such rites. Many Christians consider the sacraments to be a visible symbol of ...

in general and God's commandments; # The sacrament of

Baptism Baptism (from ) is a Christians, Christian sacrament of initiation almost invariably with the use of water. It may be performed by aspersion, sprinkling or affusion, pouring water on the head, or by immersion baptism, immersing in water eit ...

; # Sacraments of

Confirmation In Christian denominations that practice infant baptism, confirmation is seen as the sealing of the covenant (religion), covenant created in baptism. Those being confirmed are known as confirmands. The ceremony typically involves laying on o ...

Eucharist The Eucharist ( ; from , ), also called Holy Communion, the Blessed Sacrament or the Lord's Supper, is a Christianity, Christian Rite (Christianity), rite, considered a sacrament in most churches and an Ordinance (Christianity), ordinance in ...

Penance Penance is any act or a set of actions done out of contrition for sins committed, as well as an alternative name for the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, and Oriental Orthodox sacrament of Reconciliation or Confession. The word ''penance'' derive ...

and

Anointing Anointing is the ritual, ritual act of pouring aromatic oil over a person's head or entire body. By extension, the term is also applied to related acts of sprinkling, dousing, or smearing a person or object with any perfumed oil, milk, butter, ...

Authorship

Numerous manuscripts contain divergent manuscript attributions: "Magister Odo", "Odo episcopus de Luca", "Odo ex dictis magistri Hugonis", "iuxta magistrum Anselmum et magistrum Hugonem", "Magister Hugo". In the past, the authorship of all the treatises was commonly attributed to Hugo of St. Victor. The current consensus is that the attribution was false. Some of scholars still agree, that the author was someone named Hugo, however his identity is disputed. Among the possible authors of the work are Hugh of Mortagne, , , Otto or Odo of Lucca, and Hildebert of Lavardin.

Sources and influences

Sources utilized by the author include Hugo's ''Summa de sacramentis'', Walter of Mortagne's ''Tractatus de Trinitate'', and collections of sentences starting with words "Deus itaque summe" and "Principium et causa omnium" ('' Sententiae Anselmi''). Most of the ''Summa sententiarum'' was incorporated into

Peter Lombard Peter Lombard (also Peter the Lombard, Pierre Lombard or Petrus Lombardus; 1096 – 21/22 August 1160) was an Italian scholasticism, scholastic theologian, Bishop of Paris, and author of ''Sentences, Four Books of Sentences'' which became the s ...

's ''Sentences''. Master Roland of Bononia also used this work.

Bibliography

* Gastaldelli, Ferruccio. “La ‘Summa sententiarum’ di Ottone da Lucca: Conclusione di un dibatto secolare.” ''Salesianum'' 42 (1980): 537-46. * Wielockx, Robert. “La sentence ‘De caritate’ et la discussion scolastique de l’amour.” ''Ephemerides theologicae Lovanienses'' 58 (1982): 50–86, 334–54; 59 (1983): 26–45.

References

{{reflist Medieval Latin literature 1130s books 1140s books 12th-century books in Latin 12th-century Christian texts Scholasticism Christian theology books