Il metodo carolingio: Identita culturale e dibattito teologico nel secolo nono. By ARMANDO BISOGNO.
Richard Matthew Pollard
Scholars seeking a comprehensive overview of Carolingian thought will justiﬁably be excited by the publication Il metodo carolingio. Textbooks medieval philosophy (with eponymous titles already betraying their bias) usually deal with only one ﬁgure, John Scot Eriugena. Descriptions such as ‘After death Boethius three centuries elapsed before another philosopher [Eriugena] outstanding genius and originality arrived on scene’ (A. A. Maurer, Medieval Philosophy [2nd edn., Toronto, 1982], p. 35) are particularly galling for someone interested in whole theology. Conversely, treatments (early) literature often discuss ﬁgures world at length, but descriptions theological debates which they were involved rarely exceed few almost telegraphic sentences (e.g. F. Brunhölzl, Histoire de la littérature latine du Moyen Âge, trans. H. Rochais, vol. I.2 [Turnhout, 1991]; M. L. W. Laistner, Thought Letters Western Europe, AD 500–900 London, 1957]). Article-length overviews theology, other hand, tend to list questions issue adoptionism, iconoclasm, predestination, eucharist) without delving deeply, if all, into details arguments themselves D. Ganz, ‘Theology Organisation Thought’, R. McKitterick [ed.], The New Cambridge History, 2 [Cambridge, 1995], pp. 758–85; J. Marenbon, ‘Carolingian Culture: Emulation Innovation 1994], 171–92). There are, course, innumerable articles monographs intricacies individual debates, texts, authors, there is dearth works that period sympathetic manner, include serious detailed discussion methodologies used scholars. Despite titles, neither Early (2nd 1988) nor Armstrong (ed.), History Later Greek (Cambridge, 1967) offers much theology whole. In this somewhat idiosyncratic still imperfect book, Bisogno now an intends ‘far emergere senza orientamenti preconcetti, esclusivamente dalla lettura delle opere ed esprimendo valutazioni cui compiutezza sarà evidente solo alla ﬁne del percorso, presenza di un autentico operante pensiero ﬁlosoﬁco questi decenni’ (p. 38).
The Journal of Theological Studies