Gerard of Abbeville (1220-1272) was a theologian from the University of Paris. He formally became a theologian in 1257 and from then was known as an opponent of the mendicant orders,[1] particularly in the second stage of the conflict,[2] taking part in a concerted attack that temporarily affected their privileges.[3]

His Contra adversarium perfectionis christianae of c. 1269, in support of William of St Amour, argued that extreme emphasis on poverty contradicted the Aristotelian doctrine of the mean[4] and undermined the basis of pastoral work.[5] It provoked replies from Thomas Aquinas and Bonaventure.[6] From the Franciscan side, Bonaventure wrote Apologia pauperum, and John Peckham wrote his Tractatus pauperis.[7] The Dominican Aquinas wrote his case on the "state of perfection" in De Perfectione Vitae Spiritualis contra Doctrinam Retrahentium a Religione (1270).[8]

On trinitarian theology, however, Gerard was much closer to the emerging Franciscan view.[9] With Aquinas, he was one of the developers of the quodlibet genre of open philosophical discussion, flourishing for about a century from his time.[10] His polemics used a combination of quodlibets and sermons.[11]

He was a major benefactor to the Sorbonne library, leaving it around 300 books and manuscripts;[12] his collection was based on that of Richard de Fournival, outstanding in Europe in his time.[13]

Notes

  1. ^ Lesley M. Smith and Benedicta Ward (editors), Intellectual Life in the Middle Ages: Essays Presented to Margaret Gibson (1992), p. 208; Stephen M. Metzger, Gerard of Abbeville, Secular Master, On Knowledge, Wisdom, and Contemplation Studien und Text zur Geistesgeschichte des Mittelalters (Leiden: Brill, 2017); 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.
  2. ^ "Gerard of Abbeville - New Catholic Encyclopedia | Encyclopedia.com". www.encyclopedia.com. Retrieved 2016-03-09.
  3. ^ James Henderson Burns, The Cambridge History of Medieval Political Thought c. 350-c. 1450 (1988), p. 635.
  4. ^ Virpi Mäkinen, Property Rights in the Late Medieval Discussion on Franciscan Poverty (2001),p. 41.
  5. ^ "GILLEEDS". users.bart.nl.
  6. ^ David Knowles, The Religious Orders in England I (1979 edition), p. 221.
  7. ^ History of the Franciscan Movement (2)
  8. ^ "History of Medieval Philosophy 272". maritain.nd.edu.
  9. ^ Russell L. Friedman, Trinitarian Texts from the Franciscan Trinitarian Tradition, ca. 1265-85, in Cahiers de L'Institut Du Moyen-Âge Grec Et Latin, Volume 73 (2006), p. 22.
  10. ^ André Vauchez, Richard Barrie Dobson, Michael Lapidge, Encyclopedia of the Middle Ages (2001 translation), p. 1207.
  11. ^ Simon Tugwell, Albert & Thomas: Selected Writings (1988), p. 229.
  12. ^ Cornelius O'Boyle, The Art of Medicine: Medical Teaching at the University of Paris, 1250-1400 (1998), p. 161.
  13. ^ Jeremiah Hackett, Roger Bacon and the Sciences: Commemorative Essays (1997), p. 16.

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