Brian K. Reynolds | FuJen University (original) (raw)
Papers by Brian K. Reynolds
Fu Jen Studies Literature Linguistics, Sep 1, 2010
The quasi-liturgical laude, the earliest form of religious lyric in the vernacular, offer preciou... more The quasi-liturgical laude, the earliest form of religious lyric in the vernacular, offer precious insights into Marian devotional practices in the century leading up to the writing of the Commedia and are a useful benchmark in assessing the extent to which Dante Alighieri (1265-1321) reflects contemporary Mariology. The laude are important vernacular precursors of the type of praise prayer adopted by Dante in the Commedia, both in his final salute to Beatrice (Par. 31.79-90) and in Bernard's address to the Virgin (Par. 33.1-39). This article considers a selection of Marian laude, or praise hymns, taken from the twelfth-century Cortona Laudarium, as well as the Bolognese Rayna possentissima and several works by Jacopone da Todi (c. 1228-1306) including his famed Donna del Paradiso in order to assess possible parallels with Dante's treatment of the Virgin in the Commedia. What emerges more than anything else from the analysis is how different Dante is both in style and content to his near contemporaries. Where the laudesi rely heavily on typology he does so sparingly; where Jacopone stresses Mary's profound suffering at the foot of the Cross, Dante stresses Mary's apotheosis; where both vernacular and Latin Marian writings of the time reflect the growing influence of affective piety, the Mary of the Commedia is hieratic and ineffable; where his contemporaries seek a spontaneity and immediateness in their style Dante is studied and aloof.
Claritas Journal of Dialogue and Culture, 2014
Tamkang Review, 2020
At the outset of Paradiso 25, Dante imagines himself returning triumphant as poeta (8) “with alte... more At the outset of Paradiso 25, Dante imagines himself returning triumphant as poeta (8) “with altered fleece, with altered voice” (7) to his beloved Florence after long exile, so as to be crowned with the poet’s laurel
at the font of his baptism. At first glance, this seems a strangely presumptuous and poignantly personal ambition for one who has supposedly risen above all such earthly concerns. But a closer reading will suggest otherwise. Teetering between hubris and humility as he strives to give voice to the unbounded reaches of his vision, Dante may now dare to count himself among the poets of old; indeed, he has surpassed them, for his is a poetry, “to which both Earth and Heaven have set their hands” (1-2). The fleece that Dante seeks to bear back to the world is far greater than the golden treasure sought by Jason (Ovid, Metamorphoses 6.720-7.158). Where Jason’s magnanimous journey has as its end mere earthly glory and leaves in its wake a trail of destruction, Dante’s purpose in ploughing a furrow through the ocean of Heaven, drawing us in his wake (Par. 2.18) is to transhumanise us (Par. 1.70), to open us up to the infinite possibilities of the divine within us. His “altered fleece” is the dew-impregnated fleece of Gideon (Vulgate Bible, Judg. 6.36-40), traditionally interpreted as a type of the Incarnation, because, like the Virgin Mary, the poet wants to “magnify the Lord” (Luke 1.46). His poem, far from being some sort of personal vindication, bears a message of conversion for the world that lives so badly (Purg. 32.103) that it might rediscover the God who “open[ed] the road that runs from Heaven to
earth” (Par. 23.37).
《哲學與文化》557期 (Universitas: Philosophy and Culture, 2020
Although the name of the Virgin Mary is never uttered in Dante’s Inferno, from the very outset of... more Although the name of the Virgin Mary is never uttered in Dante’s Inferno, from the very outset of the poem she is an active, though veiled presence. When the pilgrim poet is struggling to find his way out of the “dark wood” (Inf. 1.2), it is Mary who responds to Dante’s cry for mercy (Inf. 1.65), even before it is uttered, by sending Beatrice to enlist Virgil’s aid in rescuing him from his plight (Inf. 2.52-108). And as Dante descends into the infernal realm, it is Mary’s authority that Virgil invokes when he meets the opposition of the demons (Inf. 3.94-96, Inf. 5.22-24, for instance). It should not surprise us that Dante assigns to Mary the role of principal mediatrix of grace and ultimate recourse against diabolical resistance in his poem. After all, for a Medieval Christian it was natural to turn to the Mother of Mercy whenever one found oneself in need of forgiveness and the grace to overcome evil. She was the inimica diaboli, the one who had defeated Satan, brought the Saviour on earth and reversed the curse of Eve. It was to her that the faithful often turned for protection against Satan’s wiles, and as Mediatrix, it was she who provided a certain route for sinners to return to her Son.
Oxford Handbook to Mary, 2019
This Chapter in the Oxford Handbook to Mary traces the origins of the notion that the Virgin Mary... more This Chapter in the Oxford Handbook to Mary traces the origins of the notion that the Virgin Mary is humble. It begins by examining the notion of humility and lowliness in the Hebrew tradition, noting how this conflicted with the Greco-Roman belief in personal autonomy, suggesting that this may be the primary reason why the Virgin was not, in fact, widely considered to be humble prior to the eighth century. The Chapter then goes on to analyse the various factors that came together in creating the image of the humble Virgin, and argues that, contrary to what has often been the case, her being humble has little to do with submissivity but rather entails a radical choice to fulfil God's plan in herlife, something that requires an unmatched srength of character, especially in a patriarchal society.
Universitas: Monthly Review of Philosophy and Culture, 2013
This article, which is in both Chinese and English versions (Italian original is available separa... more This article, which is in both Chinese and English versions (Italian original is available separately on Academia) deals with some aspects of the treatment of the Virgin Mary in the mystical writings of Chiara Lubich, foundress of the Focolare Movement (Work of Mary), written in a period of particular illumination between 1949 and 1951. I concentrate in particular on how Lubich's insights, while deeply rooted in the tradition, both doctrinally and in her use of typological imagery (much of which is already present in the Patristic and Medieval periods), offers a radical new vision of the Virgin's role in the economy of salvation and of her relevance to humanity in the 21st century.
Nuova Umanità 218 (2015): 68-92, 2015
Nella raccolta di appunti di Chiara Lubich, noti come "Paradiso '49", che descrivono le illuminaz... more Nella raccolta di appunti di Chiara Lubich, noti come "Paradiso '49", che descrivono le illuminazioni mistiche da lei ricevute tra il 1949 e il 1951, poco dopo la nascita del Movimento dei Focolari, c'è una serie di testi su Maria. In questo articolo tratterò una selezione di questi passaggi alla luce di alcuni testi fondamentali dei Padri della Chiesa e di teologi medieva-li. Chiunque conosca il ricchissimo patrimonio mariano del periodo patristi-co e di quello medievale e legga i testi del '49 di Chiara Lubich su Maria si troverà, per certi aspetti, su un terreno familiare, non solo per quanto riguar-da le categorie teologiche fondamentali entro cui lei opera, profondamente radicate nella tradizione, ma perché il linguaggio ricorda molto da vicino le immagini impiegate dai Padri per esaltare la bellezza e la virtù di Maria e per spiegare il suo ruolo nell'economia della salvezza. Tuttavia sarebbe un erro-re pensare che i testi della Lubich semplicemente si riaggancino a un'antica tradizione, che era stata in qualche modo oscurata dall'eccessivo pietismo mariano dell'Europa cattolica post-medievale. Al centro del "Paradiso '49" vi è un profondo cambiamento di paradigma nella comprensione del rap-porto tra Dio e l'umanità, che coinvolge necessariamente Maria. Questo cambiamento implica la comprensione di tutto dal punto di vista della logi-ca trinitaria dell'unità («Che tutti siano uno», Gv 17, 21) e di Gesù abban-donato («Dio mio, Dio mio, perché mi hai abbandonato?», Mt 27, 46), il quale (ri)genera l'unità nella creazione, riportandola al suo télos originario, che è quello di partecipare «alla sempre nuova e infinita dinamicità delle re-lazioni trinitarie» 1 .
Throughout history, the garden has been seen, somewhat paradoxically, both as a place of primal i... more Throughout history, the garden has been seen, somewhat paradoxically, both as a place of primal innocence and as the locus of sensual delight. The very secrecy of the garden, its mystery, has been a source of allure, while the liminal tension between unfettered nature and the taming hand of the gardener has offered rich allegorical pickings. This paper will examine how typological and allegorical readings of the garden in Scripture in a Marian key, particularly Genesis and the Song of Songs, were employed in the Patristic and Medieval periods to arrive at a spiritualised understanding that was nonetheless never entirely divorced from material and sensuous significances.
Some reflections on the Virgin Mary, Creation and Guanyin for a conference on Buddhist-Christian ... more Some reflections on the Virgin Mary, Creation and Guanyin for a conference on Buddhist-Christian Dialogue
In Canto 31 of the Paradiso Dante likens his amazement upon entering the Empyrean and beholding t... more In Canto 31 of the Paradiso Dante likens his amazement upon entering the Empyrean and beholding the heavenly citadel, laid out in the form of a white rose, to the awe that the Barbarians must have felt when they first gazed on the majesty of the great monuments of Rome. He goes on to contrast the just and sane people who dwell in the heavenly realm with himself, who has journeyed from time to eternity, from the human to the divine, from Florence to the city of the saints, thus implying that his native city represents all that is not just, all that does not respect the divine order, all that is barbaric. In fact, this contrasting of the Heavenly Jerusalem with Florence is part of a wider programme in the Commedia in which Dante vividly portrays the corruption, avarice and internecine strife that has brought the once great cities of Italy low, and sets forth his vision for a new civic disposition when Rome will once again rule over a new Christian Empire. This is essentially the same vision that Dante sets forth in his Monarchia where he proposes that the dual roles of Christ as King and High Priest be divided on earth between Pope and Emperor, the latter holding absolute sway in the civic realm and guaranteeing the peace in which citizens can flourish and lead an upright moral life, the former determining all matters spiritual. This paper explores how Dante's complex portrayal of infernal and heavenly cities in the Commedia is the principal vehicle whereby he sets forth his political and ethical vision for a Christian civilisation, just as important in its own way as the spiritual message of the poem.
In these pages, I propose to examine Dante’s understanding of amor as a force that can either des... more In these pages, I propose to examine Dante’s understanding of amor as a force that can either destroy or divinise, depending on whether it is directed to its right end or not. Concentrating on Inferno 5, I shall seek to show how Dante-pilgrim and we the readers are presented with a choice, in the encounter with that quintessentially courtly figure, Francesca da Rimini, between two paths. The first leads to a cupidinous and destructive love that overwhelms the reason and ultimately ends in a death beyond death (the "seconda morte" of sin, Inf. 1.117). The second elevates, and eventually divinises us. However, I shall argue, this does not mean that Dante is simply following the traditional distinction between love in malo, marked by an inability of the rational mind to rein in the concupiscent tendencies of the senses, and an in bono love in which reason learns how to discipline the passions, typified by the courtly distinction between fol’amor (mad love) and fin’amor (refined love). For Dante all love is inherently good (including the sort of desirous love involved in fin’amor) because it comes from God. It is the end to which love is directed, which depends on right use of the faculties of the intellect, particularly the will, that determines whether it is good or bad. But, since the will has been impaired by original sin, we are not capable of directing love to its right end without the aid of divine grace. For Dante, the correct distinction between amor/erôs as a positive, divinising force and a negative dehumanising compulsion is whether we allow it to be infused with grace, for without grace the reason will surely be overwhelmed and lead its victim on the path to perdition.
This article analyses the use of typology in Latin and vernacular Marian hymns and poems in the c... more This article analyses the use of typology in Latin and vernacular Marian hymns and poems in the context of Patristic and Medieval biblical exegesis. It begins with a discussion of contemporary biblical hermeneutics, suggesting that recent synchronic modes of interpretation can be a key to understanding how the Church Fathers read Scripture, before moving on to an examination of the origin, nature and evolution of Marian typological symbolism. The remainder of the paper is dedicated to detailed analysis of types in hymns and poems by Adam of St Victor († 1146), Peire de Corbiac (fl. 13th Cent.) and Thibaut di Champagne (†1253), and in the anonymous laude of Northern Italy. Throughout, my purpose is be to recover the theological intent of the authors as well as reflecting on the literary and cultural elements that may have influenced them, my argument being that without an appreciation of how typological signs invited readers or listeners to open themselves to the transcendent, a full understanding of these texts is not possible.
In this paper I shall present briefly some considerations on the purported relationship between c... more In this paper I shall present briefly some considerations on the purported relationship between courtly fin’amor literature and the cult of the Virgin Mary. Through an analysis of a representative selection of texts (Latin hymns to the Virgin, a selection of Marian writings, Occitan and Italian lyric poems) drawn from the extraordinarily rich corpus produced between the twelfth and fourteenth centuries, I shall endeavour to illustrate something of the nature and extent of the intersection between the secular and religious realms. My principal contention will be that despite undeniable evidence of influence and borrowings in both directions, the value systems underpinning religious and secular literature were fundamentally irreconcilable so that the relationship was always a conflictual and competitive one. Though this is more evident in the sharp contrast between Latin hymns and early Occitan lyric poetry it also holds true, I shall argue, both for the spiritualised poetry of the dolce stil novo and for vernacular texts dedicated to the Virgin which draw on the courtly tradition such as the Northern Italian laude and French motets of the thirteenth century.
Riguarda omai ne la faccia che a Cristo più si somiglia, ché la sua chiarezza sola ti può disporr... more Riguarda omai ne la faccia che a Cristo più si somiglia, ché la sua chiarezza sola ti può disporre a veder Cristo" "Look now upon the face which most resembles Christ for only its clarity can prepare you to see Christ." (Par. XXXII: 85-87, my emphasis, my translation)
In this paper I shall examine Dante’s rewriting of episodes from Ovid’s Metamorphoses that concer... more In this paper I shall examine Dante’s rewriting of episodes from Ovid’s Metamorphoses that concern the infelicitous outcome of relationships between the gods and mortals. I will show how Dante reworks Ovid’s accounts of attempts by the gods to form unions with women (Callisto, Proserpine, Semele), as well instances of excessive encroachment by mortals into the territory of the gods (Arachne, Marsyas, Phaëthon, the Pierides) in order to illustrate the disastrous consequences of pride, whether in the realm of artistic production or personal salvation. I shall suggest that Dante subtly contrasts the negative transformation and fragmentation of human nature that ensues from a skewed sense of self in the Ovidian episodes, with the integration and ‘transhumanisation’ (Par. I, 70) that are the outcome of a relationship with God founded on humility. I shall argue that Dante’s principal vehicle for doing so is a ‘covert’ Marian programme in which he puts forward the Virgin as the paradigm for the integration of human nature with God’s salvific plan. I shall also propose that in claiming to be God’s scribe (Purg. XXIV, 52-4) Dante, is not displaying an excessive sense of self-worth, as many commentators believe, but laying claim to the virtue of humility because, unlike Arachne, the Pierides, and others, he has not set himself up in competition to God, but instead wishes, like Mary, to be an instrument of the Word. Through her quiescent acceptance of God’s will at the Annunciation, Mary represents the nexus in which humanity and God are reconciled because her fiat leads to the hypostatic union of the human and divine natures in the incarnated Christ thus opening the way for the Redemption. Mary herself is the ‘first fruit’ of the restoration of human nature through her bodily Assumption into heaven (Par. XXV, 127-9). Ultimately therefore, she represents the telos of human nature and history – fundamental to Dante’s Weltanschauung – which is the transformation and glorification of God’s creation.
The quasi-liturgical laude, the earliest form of religious lyric in the vernacular, offer preciou... more The quasi-liturgical laude, the earliest form of religious lyric in the vernacular, offer precious insights into Marian devotional practices in the century leading up to the writing of the Commedia and are a useful benchmark in assessing the extent to which Dante Alighieri (1265-1321) reflects contemporary Mariology. The laude are important vernacular precursors of the type of praise prayer adopted by Dante in the Commedia, both in his final salute to Beatrice (Par. 31.79-90) and in Bernard’s address to the Virgin (Par. 33.1-39). This article considers a selection of Marian laude, or praise hymns, taken from the twelfth-century Cortona Laudarium, as well as the Bolognese Rayna possentissima and several works by Jacopone da Todi (c. 1228-1306) including his famed Donna del Paradiso in order to assess possible parallels with Dante’s treatment of the Virgin in the Commedia. What emerges more than anything else from the analysis is how different Dante is both in style and content to his near contemporaries. Where the laudesi rely heavily on typology he does so sparingly; where Jacopone stresses Mary’s profound suffering at the foot of the Cross, Dante stresses Mary’s apotheosis; where both vernacular and Latin Marian writings of the time reflect the growing influence of affective piety, the Mary of the Commedia is hieratic and ineffable, where his contemporaries seek a spontaneity and immediateness in their style Dante is studied and aloof.
In the opening canto of the Inferno, having spent a long, desperate night wandering in the dark w... more In the opening canto of the Inferno, having spent a long, desperate night wandering in the dark wood, Dante catches a brief glimpse of the dawn rising over a mountain. Hope rising briefly in his soul, he attempts to climb upwards out of the wooded valley but is driven back by a leopard, whereupon “the hour of the day and the sweet season”, (43) once again give him a moment of hope, before a further two savage beasts impede his passage and he is forced to take the downward road to Hell, a place which he defines in terms of its utter lack of hope: “Abandon all hope, you who enter” (Inf. 3:9). Having passed through the realm of despair, he eventually emerges onto the shores of Mount Purgatory, where he beholds the sky hued with the, “sweet colour of oriental sapphire” (Purg. 1:13), as hope dawns anew at the beginning of the second cantica. In the third realm of the poem we will encounter two further dawns (Par. 23 and 31), both of which Dante links to these earlier auroral events through a series of subtle intra-texts that all point to the Virgin Mary. Dante’s symbolic, one could even say typological, use of the dawn in these passages is, as I shall argue in the latter part of this paper, just one instance of the importance that he attributes throughout the poem to the Virgin Mary, as source of hope and prophetic sign of the New Creation (see Isa. 65.17; Rev. 21.1), which will only be fully achieved at the end of time, but which we can begin to build already in this fallen world with the help of grace. However, the focus in these pages is not exclusively on Dante’s Commedia,. Rather, it aims to use the lens of the Commedia to explore some key aspects of the Marian tradition and thence to assess how Dante’s treatment of the Virgin fits into this broader context. The paper will suggest that it is only by viewing the Commedia within this broader Marian tradition that one can fully appreciate the importance of the Virgin in the poem as a source of hope, not just for the pilgrim Dante as he seeks to grope his way out of the darkness of sin, but for the whole of humanity, which can look to her glorified presence in Heaven as a prophetic sign of its own telos, which is to rise again as part of the New Creation, fully inserted into the dynamic love of the Trinity.
Books by Brian K. Reynolds
The Oxford Handbook of Mary, 2019
This Chapter, in the Oxford Handbook of Mary, explores the crucial role that typology (sometimes ... more This Chapter, in the Oxford Handbook of Mary, explores the crucial role that typology (sometimes referred to as figuralism) plays in the rise and evolution of the cult of the Virgin beginning in Patristic. It argues that Mary's image is thereby deeply rooted in the Bible, and not so much a result of external factors such as goddess cults. Furthermore, it points out, the foundations of marian doctrine also depend on typological roots.
Fu Jen Studies Literature Linguistics, Sep 1, 2010
The quasi-liturgical laude, the earliest form of religious lyric in the vernacular, offer preciou... more The quasi-liturgical laude, the earliest form of religious lyric in the vernacular, offer precious insights into Marian devotional practices in the century leading up to the writing of the Commedia and are a useful benchmark in assessing the extent to which Dante Alighieri (1265-1321) reflects contemporary Mariology. The laude are important vernacular precursors of the type of praise prayer adopted by Dante in the Commedia, both in his final salute to Beatrice (Par. 31.79-90) and in Bernard's address to the Virgin (Par. 33.1-39). This article considers a selection of Marian laude, or praise hymns, taken from the twelfth-century Cortona Laudarium, as well as the Bolognese Rayna possentissima and several works by Jacopone da Todi (c. 1228-1306) including his famed Donna del Paradiso in order to assess possible parallels with Dante's treatment of the Virgin in the Commedia. What emerges more than anything else from the analysis is how different Dante is both in style and content to his near contemporaries. Where the laudesi rely heavily on typology he does so sparingly; where Jacopone stresses Mary's profound suffering at the foot of the Cross, Dante stresses Mary's apotheosis; where both vernacular and Latin Marian writings of the time reflect the growing influence of affective piety, the Mary of the Commedia is hieratic and ineffable; where his contemporaries seek a spontaneity and immediateness in their style Dante is studied and aloof.
Claritas Journal of Dialogue and Culture, 2014
Tamkang Review, 2020
At the outset of Paradiso 25, Dante imagines himself returning triumphant as poeta (8) “with alte... more At the outset of Paradiso 25, Dante imagines himself returning triumphant as poeta (8) “with altered fleece, with altered voice” (7) to his beloved Florence after long exile, so as to be crowned with the poet’s laurel
at the font of his baptism. At first glance, this seems a strangely presumptuous and poignantly personal ambition for one who has supposedly risen above all such earthly concerns. But a closer reading will suggest otherwise. Teetering between hubris and humility as he strives to give voice to the unbounded reaches of his vision, Dante may now dare to count himself among the poets of old; indeed, he has surpassed them, for his is a poetry, “to which both Earth and Heaven have set their hands” (1-2). The fleece that Dante seeks to bear back to the world is far greater than the golden treasure sought by Jason (Ovid, Metamorphoses 6.720-7.158). Where Jason’s magnanimous journey has as its end mere earthly glory and leaves in its wake a trail of destruction, Dante’s purpose in ploughing a furrow through the ocean of Heaven, drawing us in his wake (Par. 2.18) is to transhumanise us (Par. 1.70), to open us up to the infinite possibilities of the divine within us. His “altered fleece” is the dew-impregnated fleece of Gideon (Vulgate Bible, Judg. 6.36-40), traditionally interpreted as a type of the Incarnation, because, like the Virgin Mary, the poet wants to “magnify the Lord” (Luke 1.46). His poem, far from being some sort of personal vindication, bears a message of conversion for the world that lives so badly (Purg. 32.103) that it might rediscover the God who “open[ed] the road that runs from Heaven to
earth” (Par. 23.37).
《哲學與文化》557期 (Universitas: Philosophy and Culture, 2020
Although the name of the Virgin Mary is never uttered in Dante’s Inferno, from the very outset of... more Although the name of the Virgin Mary is never uttered in Dante’s Inferno, from the very outset of the poem she is an active, though veiled presence. When the pilgrim poet is struggling to find his way out of the “dark wood” (Inf. 1.2), it is Mary who responds to Dante’s cry for mercy (Inf. 1.65), even before it is uttered, by sending Beatrice to enlist Virgil’s aid in rescuing him from his plight (Inf. 2.52-108). And as Dante descends into the infernal realm, it is Mary’s authority that Virgil invokes when he meets the opposition of the demons (Inf. 3.94-96, Inf. 5.22-24, for instance). It should not surprise us that Dante assigns to Mary the role of principal mediatrix of grace and ultimate recourse against diabolical resistance in his poem. After all, for a Medieval Christian it was natural to turn to the Mother of Mercy whenever one found oneself in need of forgiveness and the grace to overcome evil. She was the inimica diaboli, the one who had defeated Satan, brought the Saviour on earth and reversed the curse of Eve. It was to her that the faithful often turned for protection against Satan’s wiles, and as Mediatrix, it was she who provided a certain route for sinners to return to her Son.
Oxford Handbook to Mary, 2019
This Chapter in the Oxford Handbook to Mary traces the origins of the notion that the Virgin Mary... more This Chapter in the Oxford Handbook to Mary traces the origins of the notion that the Virgin Mary is humble. It begins by examining the notion of humility and lowliness in the Hebrew tradition, noting how this conflicted with the Greco-Roman belief in personal autonomy, suggesting that this may be the primary reason why the Virgin was not, in fact, widely considered to be humble prior to the eighth century. The Chapter then goes on to analyse the various factors that came together in creating the image of the humble Virgin, and argues that, contrary to what has often been the case, her being humble has little to do with submissivity but rather entails a radical choice to fulfil God's plan in herlife, something that requires an unmatched srength of character, especially in a patriarchal society.
Universitas: Monthly Review of Philosophy and Culture, 2013
This article, which is in both Chinese and English versions (Italian original is available separa... more This article, which is in both Chinese and English versions (Italian original is available separately on Academia) deals with some aspects of the treatment of the Virgin Mary in the mystical writings of Chiara Lubich, foundress of the Focolare Movement (Work of Mary), written in a period of particular illumination between 1949 and 1951. I concentrate in particular on how Lubich's insights, while deeply rooted in the tradition, both doctrinally and in her use of typological imagery (much of which is already present in the Patristic and Medieval periods), offers a radical new vision of the Virgin's role in the economy of salvation and of her relevance to humanity in the 21st century.
Nuova Umanità 218 (2015): 68-92, 2015
Nella raccolta di appunti di Chiara Lubich, noti come "Paradiso '49", che descrivono le illuminaz... more Nella raccolta di appunti di Chiara Lubich, noti come "Paradiso '49", che descrivono le illuminazioni mistiche da lei ricevute tra il 1949 e il 1951, poco dopo la nascita del Movimento dei Focolari, c'è una serie di testi su Maria. In questo articolo tratterò una selezione di questi passaggi alla luce di alcuni testi fondamentali dei Padri della Chiesa e di teologi medieva-li. Chiunque conosca il ricchissimo patrimonio mariano del periodo patristi-co e di quello medievale e legga i testi del '49 di Chiara Lubich su Maria si troverà, per certi aspetti, su un terreno familiare, non solo per quanto riguar-da le categorie teologiche fondamentali entro cui lei opera, profondamente radicate nella tradizione, ma perché il linguaggio ricorda molto da vicino le immagini impiegate dai Padri per esaltare la bellezza e la virtù di Maria e per spiegare il suo ruolo nell'economia della salvezza. Tuttavia sarebbe un erro-re pensare che i testi della Lubich semplicemente si riaggancino a un'antica tradizione, che era stata in qualche modo oscurata dall'eccessivo pietismo mariano dell'Europa cattolica post-medievale. Al centro del "Paradiso '49" vi è un profondo cambiamento di paradigma nella comprensione del rap-porto tra Dio e l'umanità, che coinvolge necessariamente Maria. Questo cambiamento implica la comprensione di tutto dal punto di vista della logi-ca trinitaria dell'unità («Che tutti siano uno», Gv 17, 21) e di Gesù abban-donato («Dio mio, Dio mio, perché mi hai abbandonato?», Mt 27, 46), il quale (ri)genera l'unità nella creazione, riportandola al suo télos originario, che è quello di partecipare «alla sempre nuova e infinita dinamicità delle re-lazioni trinitarie» 1 .
Throughout history, the garden has been seen, somewhat paradoxically, both as a place of primal i... more Throughout history, the garden has been seen, somewhat paradoxically, both as a place of primal innocence and as the locus of sensual delight. The very secrecy of the garden, its mystery, has been a source of allure, while the liminal tension between unfettered nature and the taming hand of the gardener has offered rich allegorical pickings. This paper will examine how typological and allegorical readings of the garden in Scripture in a Marian key, particularly Genesis and the Song of Songs, were employed in the Patristic and Medieval periods to arrive at a spiritualised understanding that was nonetheless never entirely divorced from material and sensuous significances.
Some reflections on the Virgin Mary, Creation and Guanyin for a conference on Buddhist-Christian ... more Some reflections on the Virgin Mary, Creation and Guanyin for a conference on Buddhist-Christian Dialogue
In Canto 31 of the Paradiso Dante likens his amazement upon entering the Empyrean and beholding t... more In Canto 31 of the Paradiso Dante likens his amazement upon entering the Empyrean and beholding the heavenly citadel, laid out in the form of a white rose, to the awe that the Barbarians must have felt when they first gazed on the majesty of the great monuments of Rome. He goes on to contrast the just and sane people who dwell in the heavenly realm with himself, who has journeyed from time to eternity, from the human to the divine, from Florence to the city of the saints, thus implying that his native city represents all that is not just, all that does not respect the divine order, all that is barbaric. In fact, this contrasting of the Heavenly Jerusalem with Florence is part of a wider programme in the Commedia in which Dante vividly portrays the corruption, avarice and internecine strife that has brought the once great cities of Italy low, and sets forth his vision for a new civic disposition when Rome will once again rule over a new Christian Empire. This is essentially the same vision that Dante sets forth in his Monarchia where he proposes that the dual roles of Christ as King and High Priest be divided on earth between Pope and Emperor, the latter holding absolute sway in the civic realm and guaranteeing the peace in which citizens can flourish and lead an upright moral life, the former determining all matters spiritual. This paper explores how Dante's complex portrayal of infernal and heavenly cities in the Commedia is the principal vehicle whereby he sets forth his political and ethical vision for a Christian civilisation, just as important in its own way as the spiritual message of the poem.
In these pages, I propose to examine Dante’s understanding of amor as a force that can either des... more In these pages, I propose to examine Dante’s understanding of amor as a force that can either destroy or divinise, depending on whether it is directed to its right end or not. Concentrating on Inferno 5, I shall seek to show how Dante-pilgrim and we the readers are presented with a choice, in the encounter with that quintessentially courtly figure, Francesca da Rimini, between two paths. The first leads to a cupidinous and destructive love that overwhelms the reason and ultimately ends in a death beyond death (the "seconda morte" of sin, Inf. 1.117). The second elevates, and eventually divinises us. However, I shall argue, this does not mean that Dante is simply following the traditional distinction between love in malo, marked by an inability of the rational mind to rein in the concupiscent tendencies of the senses, and an in bono love in which reason learns how to discipline the passions, typified by the courtly distinction between fol’amor (mad love) and fin’amor (refined love). For Dante all love is inherently good (including the sort of desirous love involved in fin’amor) because it comes from God. It is the end to which love is directed, which depends on right use of the faculties of the intellect, particularly the will, that determines whether it is good or bad. But, since the will has been impaired by original sin, we are not capable of directing love to its right end without the aid of divine grace. For Dante, the correct distinction between amor/erôs as a positive, divinising force and a negative dehumanising compulsion is whether we allow it to be infused with grace, for without grace the reason will surely be overwhelmed and lead its victim on the path to perdition.
This article analyses the use of typology in Latin and vernacular Marian hymns and poems in the c... more This article analyses the use of typology in Latin and vernacular Marian hymns and poems in the context of Patristic and Medieval biblical exegesis. It begins with a discussion of contemporary biblical hermeneutics, suggesting that recent synchronic modes of interpretation can be a key to understanding how the Church Fathers read Scripture, before moving on to an examination of the origin, nature and evolution of Marian typological symbolism. The remainder of the paper is dedicated to detailed analysis of types in hymns and poems by Adam of St Victor († 1146), Peire de Corbiac (fl. 13th Cent.) and Thibaut di Champagne (†1253), and in the anonymous laude of Northern Italy. Throughout, my purpose is be to recover the theological intent of the authors as well as reflecting on the literary and cultural elements that may have influenced them, my argument being that without an appreciation of how typological signs invited readers or listeners to open themselves to the transcendent, a full understanding of these texts is not possible.
In this paper I shall present briefly some considerations on the purported relationship between c... more In this paper I shall present briefly some considerations on the purported relationship between courtly fin’amor literature and the cult of the Virgin Mary. Through an analysis of a representative selection of texts (Latin hymns to the Virgin, a selection of Marian writings, Occitan and Italian lyric poems) drawn from the extraordinarily rich corpus produced between the twelfth and fourteenth centuries, I shall endeavour to illustrate something of the nature and extent of the intersection between the secular and religious realms. My principal contention will be that despite undeniable evidence of influence and borrowings in both directions, the value systems underpinning religious and secular literature were fundamentally irreconcilable so that the relationship was always a conflictual and competitive one. Though this is more evident in the sharp contrast between Latin hymns and early Occitan lyric poetry it also holds true, I shall argue, both for the spiritualised poetry of the dolce stil novo and for vernacular texts dedicated to the Virgin which draw on the courtly tradition such as the Northern Italian laude and French motets of the thirteenth century.
Riguarda omai ne la faccia che a Cristo più si somiglia, ché la sua chiarezza sola ti può disporr... more Riguarda omai ne la faccia che a Cristo più si somiglia, ché la sua chiarezza sola ti può disporre a veder Cristo" "Look now upon the face which most resembles Christ for only its clarity can prepare you to see Christ." (Par. XXXII: 85-87, my emphasis, my translation)
In this paper I shall examine Dante’s rewriting of episodes from Ovid’s Metamorphoses that concer... more In this paper I shall examine Dante’s rewriting of episodes from Ovid’s Metamorphoses that concern the infelicitous outcome of relationships between the gods and mortals. I will show how Dante reworks Ovid’s accounts of attempts by the gods to form unions with women (Callisto, Proserpine, Semele), as well instances of excessive encroachment by mortals into the territory of the gods (Arachne, Marsyas, Phaëthon, the Pierides) in order to illustrate the disastrous consequences of pride, whether in the realm of artistic production or personal salvation. I shall suggest that Dante subtly contrasts the negative transformation and fragmentation of human nature that ensues from a skewed sense of self in the Ovidian episodes, with the integration and ‘transhumanisation’ (Par. I, 70) that are the outcome of a relationship with God founded on humility. I shall argue that Dante’s principal vehicle for doing so is a ‘covert’ Marian programme in which he puts forward the Virgin as the paradigm for the integration of human nature with God’s salvific plan. I shall also propose that in claiming to be God’s scribe (Purg. XXIV, 52-4) Dante, is not displaying an excessive sense of self-worth, as many commentators believe, but laying claim to the virtue of humility because, unlike Arachne, the Pierides, and others, he has not set himself up in competition to God, but instead wishes, like Mary, to be an instrument of the Word. Through her quiescent acceptance of God’s will at the Annunciation, Mary represents the nexus in which humanity and God are reconciled because her fiat leads to the hypostatic union of the human and divine natures in the incarnated Christ thus opening the way for the Redemption. Mary herself is the ‘first fruit’ of the restoration of human nature through her bodily Assumption into heaven (Par. XXV, 127-9). Ultimately therefore, she represents the telos of human nature and history – fundamental to Dante’s Weltanschauung – which is the transformation and glorification of God’s creation.
The quasi-liturgical laude, the earliest form of religious lyric in the vernacular, offer preciou... more The quasi-liturgical laude, the earliest form of religious lyric in the vernacular, offer precious insights into Marian devotional practices in the century leading up to the writing of the Commedia and are a useful benchmark in assessing the extent to which Dante Alighieri (1265-1321) reflects contemporary Mariology. The laude are important vernacular precursors of the type of praise prayer adopted by Dante in the Commedia, both in his final salute to Beatrice (Par. 31.79-90) and in Bernard’s address to the Virgin (Par. 33.1-39). This article considers a selection of Marian laude, or praise hymns, taken from the twelfth-century Cortona Laudarium, as well as the Bolognese Rayna possentissima and several works by Jacopone da Todi (c. 1228-1306) including his famed Donna del Paradiso in order to assess possible parallels with Dante’s treatment of the Virgin in the Commedia. What emerges more than anything else from the analysis is how different Dante is both in style and content to his near contemporaries. Where the laudesi rely heavily on typology he does so sparingly; where Jacopone stresses Mary’s profound suffering at the foot of the Cross, Dante stresses Mary’s apotheosis; where both vernacular and Latin Marian writings of the time reflect the growing influence of affective piety, the Mary of the Commedia is hieratic and ineffable, where his contemporaries seek a spontaneity and immediateness in their style Dante is studied and aloof.
In the opening canto of the Inferno, having spent a long, desperate night wandering in the dark w... more In the opening canto of the Inferno, having spent a long, desperate night wandering in the dark wood, Dante catches a brief glimpse of the dawn rising over a mountain. Hope rising briefly in his soul, he attempts to climb upwards out of the wooded valley but is driven back by a leopard, whereupon “the hour of the day and the sweet season”, (43) once again give him a moment of hope, before a further two savage beasts impede his passage and he is forced to take the downward road to Hell, a place which he defines in terms of its utter lack of hope: “Abandon all hope, you who enter” (Inf. 3:9). Having passed through the realm of despair, he eventually emerges onto the shores of Mount Purgatory, where he beholds the sky hued with the, “sweet colour of oriental sapphire” (Purg. 1:13), as hope dawns anew at the beginning of the second cantica. In the third realm of the poem we will encounter two further dawns (Par. 23 and 31), both of which Dante links to these earlier auroral events through a series of subtle intra-texts that all point to the Virgin Mary. Dante’s symbolic, one could even say typological, use of the dawn in these passages is, as I shall argue in the latter part of this paper, just one instance of the importance that he attributes throughout the poem to the Virgin Mary, as source of hope and prophetic sign of the New Creation (see Isa. 65.17; Rev. 21.1), which will only be fully achieved at the end of time, but which we can begin to build already in this fallen world with the help of grace. However, the focus in these pages is not exclusively on Dante’s Commedia,. Rather, it aims to use the lens of the Commedia to explore some key aspects of the Marian tradition and thence to assess how Dante’s treatment of the Virgin fits into this broader context. The paper will suggest that it is only by viewing the Commedia within this broader Marian tradition that one can fully appreciate the importance of the Virgin in the poem as a source of hope, not just for the pilgrim Dante as he seeks to grope his way out of the darkness of sin, but for the whole of humanity, which can look to her glorified presence in Heaven as a prophetic sign of its own telos, which is to rise again as part of the New Creation, fully inserted into the dynamic love of the Trinity.
The Oxford Handbook of Mary, 2019
This Chapter, in the Oxford Handbook of Mary, explores the crucial role that typology (sometimes ... more This Chapter, in the Oxford Handbook of Mary, explores the crucial role that typology (sometimes referred to as figuralism) plays in the rise and evolution of the cult of the Virgin beginning in Patristic. It argues that Mary's image is thereby deeply rooted in the Bible, and not so much a result of external factors such as goddess cults. Furthermore, it points out, the foundations of marian doctrine also depend on typological roots.
For Aristotle, humans by nature belong to a social body and it is within this context that they s... more For Aristotle, humans by nature belong to a social body and it is within this context that they strive for self-sufficient virtue (Politics 1252a-1253a). Dante also believes that the individual is part of a whole, but his vision goes beyond that of the polis to embrace all of humanity, which can only be fully in the image and likeness of its Creator (Gen. 1.27) when it is one ("Sed genus humanum maxime Deo assimilatur quando maxime est unum: vera enim ratio unius in solo illo est"; "But the human race most closely resembles God when it is most a unity, since the true measure of unity is in him alone", Monarchia 1.8.3). Such a notion of universal unity is nothing new when it comes to the Church, the ekklesia or Christian community long having held itself to be inherently one and catholic according to the teachings of Christ (John 15.1-13, 17.20-23), and St. Paul (I Cor. 12-20; 27-31) – εἰς μίαν ἁγίαν καθολικὴν καὶ ἀποστολικὴν ἐκκλησίαν (eis mían agían katholikín kaí apostolikín ekklisían, one holy, catholic and apostolic church) – as the fourth-century Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed puts it. However, for the same claim to be made in the realm of politics, that all of humanity is one and should be ruled over by a universal divinely sanctioned monarch, and that the body politic should work in tandem with, though independently from the corpus mysticum – the mystical body of the Church – towards a single end of universal brotherhood, realised in the dual dimensions of earthly and heavenly beatitude, which is Dante's argument in the Monarchia, was something altogether more novel. Envisioning a temporalisation and spacialisation of the transcendent dimension of unity or oneness which exists in God (Mon. 1.2.2),3 Dante sees the Pope and the Emperor as separate yet complementary expressions of the Incarnate Logos (see Mon. 3.16), Christ, the high priest and king,4 in whom and through whom all are children of the one Father (ut omnes unum sint – John 17.21). It will be the argument of this essay that such a vision is essentially Eucharistic, which comes into greater focus if one reads the Monarchia as being in continuity with the Commedia, especially in light of the Ugolino episode of Inferno 32-33, where civic and ecclesial strife, cannibalism and communion, are bound up with an understanding of the Eucharist as the sacrificial and sacramental answer to individual and corporate