We
know very little about Roscelin (1050-1125), but from what we know, he was not
a very nice man, and not a very great philosopher, although both philosophy and
theology appear on his historical résumé. His sensible, but rather primitive
plunge into tritheism over the question of the Trinity (he looked at the Three
Persons in One as three Angels, and considered the avoidance of speaking about
the Three Gods a matter of linguistic propriety, rather than of substance) is
noteworthy, especially remembering the Trinity
of Andrei Rublev, which practically coincides with Roscelin’s vision.
Ironically, speedily accused of a major heresy, he just as speedily recanted
and was forgiven, after which he went back to his sheep, but in a slightly more
discreet fashion.
Roscelin
is also notable for being the teacher of Pierre Abelard (see my next entry),
but his biggest claim to fame is his recognition by consensus as the first
Scholastic philosopher, for which reason alone he deserves a separate, albeit
necessarily short, entry.
No comments:
Post a Comment