Constant J Mews
Biographic Data
| ID | 1086932 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Constant J Mews |
| GIVEN NAMES | Constant J |
| FAMILY NAME | Mews |
| SIGNATURE | MEWS C J |
| AFFILIATIONS | Institute of Religious Studies |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-8654-4425 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 65 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 20 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 60 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 5 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 1990 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2025 |
| H-INDEX | 3 |
Journeys of the Soul: Platonic and Christian Traditions on Purgation, Metempsychosis and Reincarnation
Christianity has traditionally distanced itself from speaking about reincarnation. Yet claims are sometimes made, especially in esoteric circles, that such ideas were present in various heretical groups in its history, such as the Gnostics in the early Church and the Cathars in the medieval period. This article argues that Platonic and Christian ideas about the journey of the soul have always been in evolution. Metempsychosis as expounded in Pyth…
Implementing the Guidonian Revolution: John of Affligem and the Cause of Reform 1030–1100
An important step in promoting the innovative chant pedagogy of Guido of Arezzo (ca. 991/2–after 1033) was taken by a theorist, traditionally known as “John Cotton,” whom Joseph Smits von Waesberghe identified as John of Affligem. He did so on the grounds that the Fulgentius to whom John addressed his De musica cum tonario was Fulgentius, the first abbot of Affligem (1088–ca. 1122). Yet John’s enthusiasm for the practical aspects of Guidonian tea…
God as Male-Female: Priscillian, Prophecy, and the Witness of Irenaeus and Marius Victorinus
This paper examines a comment by Priscillian (d. c. 385) in his Liber apologeticus that certain people erroneously applied to God the unusual Latin neologism, masculofemina. He contrasts their perspective with scriptural teaching about the Holy Spirit being poured out on both men and women. This raises two questions, namely, how Priscillian's comment relates to accusations he faced of encouraging dangerous intimacy between men and women and the s…
Addressing Injustice in the Medieval Body Politic
Rodney M. Thomson: A Descriptive Catalogue of the Medieval Manuscripts of Pembroke College , Cambridge . Woodbridge, Suffolk: Boydell & Brewer, 2022; pp. xxxiv + 194; 132 plates
Rodney Thomson is the established master of a very particular literary genre, the descriptive catalogue of medieval manuscripts. His latest offering, about well over 300 manuscripts held by Pembroke College, Cambridge (now deposited at Cambridge University Library), continues the tradition. This library is important not just as witness to the medieval library of a college founded in the fourteenth century for the benefit of students graduating to…
From Scripture to Law in Seventh-Century Ireland: The De XII abusivis saeculi and Exegetical Tradition
This paper situates the De XII abusivis saeculi [DDAS] within the evolution of scriptural exegesis in seventh-century Ireland, paying particular attention to the De mirabilibus sacrae scripturae, the anonymous commentary on the catholic Epistles, and Cummian’s Penitential as well as to the Turonensis, an early version of Hibernensis as a legal code
Rethinking Scholastic Communities in Latin Europe: Competition and Theological Method in the Twelfth Century
This paper explores the role of competition between masters and their communities in shaping the dynamism of theological debate in twelfth-century Europe. Whereas scholastic debate in the thirteenth century was heavily influenced by the structures and curriculum of the University of Paris, this was not the case in the twelfth century. While there were celebrated confrontations between individual monks and schoolmen (such as St Anselm against Rosc…
Imagining Heloise as Abbess of the Paraclete
This article argues that traditional presentations of Heloise focus on her image as a heroine of love rather than giving sufficient attention to her status as abbess of the Paraclete. In particular, there has been unjustified neglect of the final dossier in her exchange, known as the Institutiones nostre , written in response to Peter Abelard's Institutio , or Rule for the Paraclete. These observances were formulated to establish uniform practice…
Apostolic Authority and Celtic Liturgies: From the Vita Samsonis to the Ratio de cursus
Little is known for certain about how British and Irish monks understood the role of liturgy in the early middle ages, prior to the imposition of reforms in the time of Charlemagne (768–814). Precious insight can be gained, however, through examining two treatises that might seem at first sight to be very different from each other. One is the Vita Samsonis (VIS), remarkable for its recollection of a saint remembered as travelling initially from s…
The Preface of Gildas, the Book of David, and the British Church in the Sixth Century
This paper examines the connections between the penitential works attributed to Gildas and David and those of the anonymous author of the Poenitentiale Ambrosianum and Cummian. It argues that the penitential attributed to Gildas should be regarded as a genuine work by Gildas and that the Ambrosianum be considered as ‘the book of David’, from which excerpts were made. Attempts by Cummian to combine these two authorial traditions in seventh-century…
The Diffusion of the De spiritu et anima and Cistercian Reflection on the Soul
This article investigates the early manuscript diffusion of the De spiritu et anima, widely circulated in the thirteenth century and beyond as a work of Augustine, but whose authorship has been much disputed. Building on the research of Norpoth (1924) into different versions of DSA, it compares the treatise to the De anima of Isaac of Stella, addressed to Alcher of Clairvaux, arguing that initially it circulated in a Cistercian context, before be…
St Samson of Dol and the Earliest History of Brittany, Cornwall and Wales
Christian–Jewish Exchanges within the Urban Culture of Twelfth-Century France and England
Ancients and moderns in medieval music theory: From Guido of Arezzo to Jacobus
Medieval discourse about both the theory and practice of music featured much debate about the views of moderni and antiqui from when Guido of Arezzo devised a new way of recording pitch in the early eleventh century to the complaints of Jacobus in the early fourteenth century about new forms of measured music in the ars nova. There was also a shift from a Boethian notion that practical music was a manifestation of cosmic music, towards a more Ari…
Poverty and Devotion in Mendicant Cultures 1200-1450
The Historia translationis sacri corporis Thome Aquinatis of Raymundus Hugonis: An Eyewitness Account and its Significance
Catherine of Siena, Florence, and Dominican Renewal: Preaching through Letters
Three Classicizing Poems in a Manuscript of Pistoia (C. 101) from the Early Twelfth Century
Theological Dispute and the Conciliar Process 1050–1150. From Berengar of Tours to Gilbert of Poitiers
John of Salisbury and the Schools of the 12th Century
John's Metalogicon provides particularly important testimony not just about 12th-century schools, but about his own vision of what an ideal education should provide. In this, John of Salisbury is a good representative of one of typical features of the renaissance of 12th century: travel for sake of study. John's choice of Paris and of Peter Abelard as his teacher reflects a new configuration of educational landscape. John of Salisbury is a major …
Mediaeval Commentaries on the Sentences of Peter Lombard, vol. 3
Remembering Last Things and Regulating Behavior in the Early Fourteenth Century: From the De consideratione novissimorum to the Speculum morale
Discourse on last things (novissima) has been a long-standing theme of Christian preaching. Yet preachers have not always mentioned last things as four in number, namely as death, judgment, hell, and heaven. This study explores how the interpretation by Bernard of Clairvaux of the verse of Ecclesiasticus (Ben Sira) 7.40, “In all your works, remember your last things, and you will not sin forever,” as an injunction to recall death, judgment, and h…
Hildegard of Bingen and the Hirsau Reform in Germany 1080–1180
Hildegard of Bingen rarely displays any debts to movements of religious renewal in Germany. At the beginning of Scivias , she describes how she experienced a moment of illumination in the 43rd year of her life, but gives no indication that the monastery where she had been raised as a child was itself the product of any movement in religious reform. At Disibodenberg, Hildegard was profoundly shaped by memories of the cause of religious renewal, in…
Abelard, Heloise, and Discussion of Love in the Twelfth-Century Schools
One consequence of Peter Abelard's account in the Historia calamitatum of his early relationship with Heloise is that he is more often associated with love as sexual passion ( amor ) than with love as either caritas , the spiritual ideal to which all Christians are called, or dilectio , selfless love for a friend. Yet Abelard was fully aware of the complexities of discussion about the relationship between caritas , dilectio and amor taking place …
Wisdom and Justice in the Court of Jeanne of Navarre and Philip IV: Durand of Champagne, the Speculum dominarum , and the De informatione principum
This article examines the Speculum dominarum of Durand of Champagne, Franciscan confessor to Jeanne of Navarre, queen of France from 1285 to her untimely death in 1305. It also considers the De informatione principum, a treatise of which the second recension is explicitly dedicated to her son, the future Louis X. While this work was in the past erroneously attributed both to Giles of Rome and to a Dominican preacher, it in fact reproduces and ela…
Abelard and Heloise
In Abelard and Heloise, a dual intellectual biography of Peter Abelard (1079–1142) and Heloise (d. 1164), I argue that there is a fundamental continuity to the evolution of Abelard’s thought from his early concern with dialectic, to his growing interest in theology in the 1120s and in ethical questions in the 1130s. Heloise was much more than the disciple and lover of Abelard. She emerges as a distinct thinker in her own right, deeply versed in c…
The Council of Sens (1141): Abelard, Bernard, and the Fear of Social Upheaval
Negotiating the Boundaries of Gender in Religious Life: Robert of Arbrissel and Hersende, Abelard and Heloise
This article explores a range of connections between the foundation of Fontevraud by Robert of Arbrissel and Hersende, its first prioress, and of the Paraclete by Abelard and Heloise, arguing that both communities were characterized by uncertainty and controversy about gender roles. It explores Abelard’s support for Robert, against the criticisms of Roscelin, yet distrust of the practice of an abbess having authority over both men and women, as h…
Wisdom and Justice in the Court of Jeanne of Navarre and Philip IV: Durand of Champagne, the Speculum dominarum , and the De informatione principum
This article examines the Speculum dominarum of Durand of Champagne, Franciscan confessor to Jeanne of Navarre, queen of France from 1285 to her untimely death in 1305. It also considers the De informatione principum, a treatise of which the second recension is explicitly dedicated to her son, the future Louis X. While this work was in the past erroneously attributed both to Giles of Rome and to a Dominican preacher, it in fact reproduces and ela…
Gregory the Great, the Rule of Benedict and Roman liturgy: The evolution of a legend
This paper relates the evolution of Gregory the Great’s reputation as creator of the Roman liturgy to the slow process by which the Rule of Benedict acquired authority within monasticism in the seventh and eighth centuries. It argues that Gregory composed the Dialogues to promote ascetic values within the Church, but that this work did not begin to circulate in Spain and then Gaul until the 630s, precisely when Gregory’s known interest in liturgi…
Liturgists and Dance in the Twelfth Century: The Witness of John Beleth and Sicard of Cremona
Dancing is not often associated with Christian liturgy, at least in modern experience. Yet according to theMitralis de Officioof Sicard, bishop of Cremona (1185-1215), composed about 1200, the circular dance (chorea) provides a key metaphor for understanding the liturgy of Easter. Sicard here draws together two earlier discussions of the subject, both from the twelfth century and of enormously wide influence, manifesting a more positive attitude …
Ars musice
Orality, Literacy, and Authority in the Twelfth-Century Schools
Orality, Literacy, and Authority in the Twelfth-Century Schools
Nominalism and Theology before Abaelard: New Light on Roscelin of Compiègne
Shorter Notices
Journal Article SHORTER NOTICES Get access CONSTANT MEWS CONSTANT MEWS Monash University Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar The English Historical Review, Volume CXII, Issue 449, November 1997, Pages 1241–1242, https://doi.org/10.1093/ehr/CXII.449.1241 Published: 01 November 1997
Peter Abelard on Imagery: Theory and Practice with Special Reference to His Hymns. Päivi Hannele Jussila , Peter Abelard
From Scivias to the Liber Divinorum Operum: Hildegard’sApocalyptic Imagination and the Call to Reform
Contrary Things: Exegesis, Dialectic, and the Poetics of Didacticism. Catherine Brown
Interpreting Abelard and Heloise in the Fourteenth and Early Fifteenth Centuries. The Criticisms of Christine de Pizan and Jean Gerson
Historien de la philosophie et de la théologie du Moyen Âge tardif, spécialiste des xive et xve siècles, Zénon Kaluza a profondément marqué les études médiévales des dernières décennies. Ses travaux portent sur plusieurs grands thèmes de l’histoire doctrinale du Moyen Âge, notamment le «platonisme» parisien et pragois, les méthodes et les langages de la philosophie et de la théologie, les contextes institutionnels du savoir et, enfin, la question…
The Council of Sens (1141): Abelard, Bernard, and the Fear of Social Upheaval
Bernhard von Clairvaux: Leben und Werk des berühmten Zisterziensers . Peter Dinzelbacher Studi su San Bernardo e Goffredo di Auxerre . Ferruccio Gastaldelli
Masters of the Sacred Page: Manuscripts of Theology in the Latin West to 1274 . Lesley Smith
Livre de la nature et débat trinitaire au XIIe siècle: Le "De tribus diebus" de Hugues de Saint-Victor . Dominique Poirel
Logica in the Service of Philosophy: William of Champeaux and his Influence
The World as Text: The Bible and the Book of Nature in Twelfth-Century Theology
Scientia" und "Disciplina: Wissenstheorie und Wissenschaftspraxis im 12. Und 13. Jahrhundert . Rainer Berndt , Matthias Lutz-Bachmann , Ralf M. W. Stammberger , Alexander Fidora , Andreas Niederberger
Abelard and Heloise
In Abelard and Heloise, a dual intellectual biography of Peter Abelard (1079–1142) and Heloise (d. 1164), I argue that there is a fundamental continuity to the evolution of Abelard’s thought from his early concern with dialectic, to his growing interest in theology in the 1120s and in ethical questions in the 1130s. Heloise was much more than the disciple and lover of Abelard. She emerges as a distinct thinker in her own right, deeply versed in c…
Negotiating the Boundaries of Gender in Religious Life: Robert of Arbrissel and Hersende, Abelard and Heloise
This article explores a range of connections between the foundation of Fontevraud by Robert of Arbrissel and Hersende, its first prioress, and of the Paraclete by Abelard and Heloise, arguing that both communities were characterized by uncertainty and controversy about gender roles. It explores Abelard’s support for Robert, against the criticisms of Roscelin, yet distrust of the practice of an abbess having authority over both men and women, as h…
Communautés de savoirs: Écoles et collèges à Paris au XIIIe siècle
L'histoire sociale et institutionnelle de l'université de Paris reste encore souvent détachée de l'étude des dynamiques intellectuelles qui se produisirent en son sein. Le concept des « communautés de savoir » permet de combler ce hiatus, en associant étroitement l'histoire des savoirs à leurs conditions concrètes de production et d'enseignement. Ce modèle permet de rendre attentif au maintien, au sein de l'université parisienne, de diverses «éco…
Liturgists and Dance in the Twelfth Century: The Witness of John Beleth and Sicard of Cremona
Dancing is not often associated with Christian liturgy, at least in modern experience. Yet according to theMitralis de Officioof Sicard, bishop of Cremona (1185-1215), composed about 1200, the circular dance (chorea) provides a key metaphor for understanding the liturgy of Easter. Sicard here draws together two earlier discussions of the subject, both from the twelfth century and of enormously wide influence, manifesting a more positive attitude …
William of Malmesbury: Gesta Pontificum Anglorum: Volume I: Text and Translation - Edited by Michael Winterbottomï¿1⁄2William of Malmesbury: Gesta Pontificum Anglorum: Volume II: Introduction and Comm…
Peter Abelard, Heloise and Jewish Biblical Exegesis in the Twelfth Century
This paper revisits the question of the influence of Jewish biblical exegesis on Christian scholars in twelfth-century France, by focusing in particular on Abelard's response to a question of Heloise in her Problemata about questions raised by 1 Samuel ii.35–6 (=1 Regum ii.35–6) concerning ‘the faithful priest’ prophesied as Eli's successor, the meaning of ‘will walk before my anointed’ and the nature of the offering his household should make. Ab…
Communities of Learning: Networks and the Shaping of Intellectual Identity in Europe, 1100-1500
Bernard Of Clairvaux And Peter Abelard
This chapter addresses one aspect of Bernard's life, namely, the relationship between him as abbot of Clairvaux and his ever increasing monastic family. The first of two tables at the end of the chapter is designed to show, first, which houses occur in the correspondence, and when they were founded. The second table arose as it seemed the letters fell into a series of discrete subjects, even though a few letters deal with more than one. This tabl…
Questioning The Music Of The Spheres In Thirteenth-Century Paris: Johannes De Grocheio And Jerome De Moravia OP
This chapter explores the tension between Aristotelian and Boethian perspectives on music at the University of Paris in the later thirteenth century through comparing two, very different treatises: the Ars musice of Johannes de Grocheio, active in Paris in the later thirteenth century, and the Tractatus de musica of the Dominican, Jerome de Moravia. Whereas Jerome draws heavily on the authority of Boethius, Grocheio turns to Aristotle to justify …
Usury and its Critics: From the Middle Ages to Modernity
After barely half a century of experience, Islamic banking has become established as a niche industry across the world, offering new and sophisticated financial products designed to be compliant with Islamic legal principles and common law. This comprehensive book explores the theory, principles and practices underpinning this rapidly expanding sector of banking
Medieval Literature and History (45 works) · History (39 works) · Art (37 works) · Philosophy (33 works) · Reformation and Early Modern Christianity (20 works) · Classics (19 works) · History (19 works) · Literature (16 works) · Philosophy (16 works) · Theology (16 works)