Thomas Gallus of Vercelli (ca.1200 – 1246), sometimes in early twentieth century texts called Thomas of St Victor, Thomas of Vercelli or Thomas Vercellensis, was a French theologian, a member of the School of St Victor. He is known for his commentaries on Pseudo-Dionysius and his ideas on affective theology. His elaborate mystical schemata influenced Bonaventure and The Cloud of Unknowing.
Born sometime in the late twelfth century (his country of origin is disputed), Thomas Gallus departed from Paris, where he lectured in the university, and went to Vercelli in the north of Italy, along with three companions, to establish a new monastery there. By 1224/25, he was appointed abbot. This monastery was set up under the initiative of Cardinal Guala Bicchieri, once a papal legate to England and France. Moreover, Bicchieri was a native of Vercelli and wished to establish a monastery and hospital in his home town.
As abbot, Thomas devoted himself not just to the daily administrative tasks of the monastery, but also to composing various commentaries and expositions of the Bible and the writings of the Pseudo-Dionysius. He enjoyed a close relationship with the nascent Franciscan order; indeed, the Franciscans transferred their studium generale from Padua to Vercelli around 1228. He was personally acquainted with St Anthony of Padua. Gallus also knew Robert Grosseteste whom he may have met in 1238 when visiting England to secure a benefice associated with the church of St. Andrew's in Chesterton. Gallus and Grosseteste seem to have exchanged some writings through the agency of Grosseteste's associate, the Franciscan Adam Marsh. When war broke out between the Guelphs of Vercelli and the Ghibellines of the neighbouring town of Ivrea, Gallus was compelled to flee Vercelli in 1243 and take refuge in Ivrea after many grave accusations were made against him by the papal supporters. Some records however suggest that he did manage to return to Vercelli before his death in 1246.
A funerary monument to Gallus can be seen today in the Church of Sant’Andrea in Vercelli.
Gallus wrote extensively between about 1218 and his death.
Thomas Gallus's interpretation of pseudo-Dionysius has in recent years been presented as one of two traditions of interpretation of Dionysius that emerged in the thirteenth century, with a 'speculative Dionysianism' developed by the Dominican Albert the Great, and an 'affective Dionysianism' first given systematic formulation in Gallus's interpretation of pseudo-Dionysius, but with great influence on later vernacular mystical writing.[1] Specifically, this refers to the fact that in the contemporary debate on the relation between love and knowledge in mystical consciousness, Gallus held that affectivity tends to exclude (rather than simply subsume) human knowledge in the highest stages of the mystical itinerary.[2]
Gallus's commentaries on Scripture include:
