Cathedrals of the Mind: The Rise of Scholasticism
Scholastic theology is widely regarded as a medieval landmark. Early generations of theologians had tended to write theological treatises in response to certain specific questions – such as the nature of the church (a question that dominated the Donatist controversy, 1.5.5), or the nature and operation of divine grace (a major theme in the Pelagian controversy, 1.5.6). Some early Christian writers produced more wide-ranging works, introducing the basic themes of Christian theology, often in the form of commen- taries on the creeds.
Scholastic theology represented a major departure from these earlier approaches to theology. Most patristic works of theology were occasional (responding to specific debates) or pedagogical (aimed at explaining the core ideas and practices of the Christian faith). Scholastic theology offered a systematic approach to theology, based on a rigorous rational foundation, making full use of the disciplines of rhetoric, dialectic, and logic now taught in most academic contexts. The intricacy and comprehensiveness of leading works of scholastic theology led the great medieval scholar Etienne Gilson to describe them as “cathedrals of the mind.”
There was little reason to expect that this kind of development would take place during the Middle Ages. Dialectical approaches to theology were regarded with suspicion at the opening of the twelfth century. Berengar of Tours, for example, was viewed with suspicion, being seen as having reduced the eucharistic mystery to some kind of dia- lectical puzzle. Similar concerns were expressed about Roscelin of Compiègne’s views on the Trinity in the early twelfth century, which critics suggested reduced this theological mystery to little more than a rationalist tritheism.
