Amalric of Bena
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
| Revision as of 12:23, 24 December 2009 Jahsonic (Talk | contribs) ← Previous diff |
Current revision Jahsonic (Talk | contribs) |
||
| Line 1: | Line 1: | ||
| {{Template}} | {{Template}} | ||
| - | :''[[blasphemy]], [[libertinism]], [[anticlericalism]], [[materialism]], [[heresy]], [[profanity]], [[counterculture]], [[freethought]]'' | ||
| - | :''[[Medieval philosophy]], [[Renaissance philosophy]]'' | ||
| - | The espousal of atheistic views was rare in Europe during the [[Early Middle Ages]] and [[Middle Ages]] (see [[Medieval Inquisition]]); metaphysics, religion and theology were the dominant interests. | + | '''Amalric of Bena''' ('''Amaury de Bène''' or '''Amaury de Chartres'''; '''Almaricus, Amalricus, Amauricus'''; died c. 1204-1207) was a [[France|French]] [[theology|theologian]], after whom the [[Amalricians]] are named. |
| + | |||
| - | There were, however, movements within this period that forwarded heterodox conceptions of the Christian God, including differing views of the nature, transcendence, and knowability of God. Individuals and groups such as [[Johannes Scotus Eriugena]], [[David of Dinant]], [[Amalric of Bena]], and the [[Brethren of the Free Spirit]] maintained Christian viewpoints with [[pantheism|pantheistic]] tendencies. [[Nicholas of Cusa]] held to a form of [[fideism]] he called ''[[De Docta Ignorantia|docta ignorantia]]'' ("learned ignorance"), asserting that God is beyond human categorization, and our knowledge of God is limited to conjecture. [[William of Ockham]] inspired anti-metaphysical tendencies with his [[nominalism|nominalistic]] limitation of human knowledge to singular objects, and asserted that the divine [[essence]] could not be intuitively or rationally apprehended by human intellect. Followers of Ockham, such as [[John of Mirecourt]] and [[Nicholas of Autrecourt]] furthered this view. The resulting division between faith and reason influenced later theologians such as [[John Wycliffe]], [[Jan Hus]], and [[Martin Luther]]. | + | ==Biography== |
| + | He was born in the latter part of the 12th century at Bennes, a village between [[Ollé]] and [[Chauffours]] in the [[diocese of Chartres]]. | ||
| + | |||
| + | He taught philosophy and theology at the [[University of Paris]] and enjoyed a great reputation as a subtle [[dialectic]]ian; his lectures developing the [[philosophy of Aristotle]] attracted a large circle of hearers. In 1204 his doctrines were condemned by the university, and, on a personal appeal to [[Pope Innocent III]], the sentence was ratified, Amalric being ordered to return to Paris and recant his errors. | ||
| + | |||
| + | His death was caused, it is said, by grief at the humiliation to which he had been subjected. | ||
| + | In 1209 ten of his followers were burnt before the gates of Paris, and Amalric's own body was exhumed and burnt and the ashes given to the winds. The doctrines of his followers, known as the [[Amalrician]]s, were formally condemned by the [[Fourth Council of the Lateran|fourth Lateran Council]] in 1215. | ||
| + | |||
| + | ==Propositions== | ||
| + | Amalric appears to have derived his philosophical system from [[Johannes Scotus Eriugena|Eriugena]], whose principles he developed in a one-sided and strongly [[pantheist]]ic form. | ||
| + | |||
| + | Three propositions only can with certainty be attributed to him: | ||
| + | |||
| + | #that God is all (''omnia sunt deus'') and thus all things are one because whatever is, is God (''omnia unum, quia quidquid est, est Deus''); | ||
| + | #that every Christian is bound to believe that he is a member of the body of Christ, and that this belief is necessary for salvation; | ||
| + | #that he who remains in love of God can commit no sin. | ||
| + | |||
| + | Because of the first proposition, God himself is thought as invisible and only recognizable in his creation. | ||
| + | |||
| + | These three propositions were further developed by his followers, who maintained that God revealed Himself in a threefold revelation, the first in the Biblical patriarch [[Abraham]], marking the ''epoch of the Father''; the second in [[Jesus Christ]], who began the ''epoch of the Son''; and the third in Amalric and his disciples, who inaugurated the ''era of the [[Holy Spirit|Holy Ghost]].'' | ||
| + | |||
| + | Amalricians taught: | ||
| + | |||
| + | Hell is ignorance, therefore Hell is within all men, "like a bad tooth in a mouth"; | ||
| + | |||
| + | God is identical with all that is, even evil belongs to God and proves God's omnipotence; | ||
| + | |||
| + | A man who knows that God works through everything cannot sin, because every human act is then the act of God; | ||
| + | |||
| + | A man who recognizes the truth that God works through everything is already in Heaven and this is the only resurrection. There is no other life; man's fulfilment is in this life alone. | ||
| + | |||
| + | Due to persecutions, this sect does not appear to have long survived the death of its founder. Not long after the burning of ten of their members (1210), the sect itself lost its importance, while some of the surviving Amalricians became [[Brethren of the Free Spirit]] | ||
| + | |||
| + | Amalric was a believer in [[Apocatastasis]], the belief that all people would eventually be saved. This was one of the counts upon which he was declared a heretic by [[Pope Innocent III]]. | ||
| + | |||
| + | ==See also== | ||
| + | *[[Brethren of the Free Spirit]] | ||
| - | The [[Renaissance]] did much to expand the scope of freethought and skeptical inquiry. Individuals such as [[Leonardo da Vinci]] sought experimentation as a means of explanation, and opposed [[Appeal to authority|arguments from religious authority]]. Other critics of religion and the Church during this time included [[Niccolò Machiavelli]], [[Bonaventure des Périers]], and [[François Rabelais]]. | ||
| {{GFDL}} | {{GFDL}} | ||
Current revision
|
Related e |
|
Featured: |
Amalric of Bena (Amaury de Bène or Amaury de Chartres; Almaricus, Amalricus, Amauricus; died c. 1204-1207) was a French theologian, after whom the Amalricians are named.
Biography
He was born in the latter part of the 12th century at Bennes, a village between Ollé and Chauffours in the diocese of Chartres.
He taught philosophy and theology at the University of Paris and enjoyed a great reputation as a subtle dialectician; his lectures developing the philosophy of Aristotle attracted a large circle of hearers. In 1204 his doctrines were condemned by the university, and, on a personal appeal to Pope Innocent III, the sentence was ratified, Amalric being ordered to return to Paris and recant his errors.
His death was caused, it is said, by grief at the humiliation to which he had been subjected. In 1209 ten of his followers were burnt before the gates of Paris, and Amalric's own body was exhumed and burnt and the ashes given to the winds. The doctrines of his followers, known as the Amalricians, were formally condemned by the fourth Lateran Council in 1215.
Propositions
Amalric appears to have derived his philosophical system from Eriugena, whose principles he developed in a one-sided and strongly pantheistic form.
Three propositions only can with certainty be attributed to him:
- that God is all (omnia sunt deus) and thus all things are one because whatever is, is God (omnia unum, quia quidquid est, est Deus);
- that every Christian is bound to believe that he is a member of the body of Christ, and that this belief is necessary for salvation;
- that he who remains in love of God can commit no sin.
Because of the first proposition, God himself is thought as invisible and only recognizable in his creation.
These three propositions were further developed by his followers, who maintained that God revealed Himself in a threefold revelation, the first in the Biblical patriarch Abraham, marking the epoch of the Father; the second in Jesus Christ, who began the epoch of the Son; and the third in Amalric and his disciples, who inaugurated the era of the Holy Ghost.
Amalricians taught:
Hell is ignorance, therefore Hell is within all men, "like a bad tooth in a mouth";
God is identical with all that is, even evil belongs to God and proves God's omnipotence;
A man who knows that God works through everything cannot sin, because every human act is then the act of God;
A man who recognizes the truth that God works through everything is already in Heaven and this is the only resurrection. There is no other life; man's fulfilment is in this life alone.
Due to persecutions, this sect does not appear to have long survived the death of its founder. Not long after the burning of ten of their members (1210), the sect itself lost its importance, while some of the surviving Amalricians became Brethren of the Free Spirit
Amalric was a believer in Apocatastasis, the belief that all people would eventually be saved. This was one of the counts upon which he was declared a heretic by Pope Innocent III.
See also
