Selected
Canons of the Fourth Lateran Council
With this document,
Pope Innocent III and the High Clergy endeavored to specify the duties of
clergy, and to establish the clergy as an order distinct from the laity. How do particular canons accomplish this
task? Note in particular the mandated
reforms, and restrictions on the lives of the clergy. Note: the term cura animarum means “care of souls.”
Aquinas Reason
in Proof of the Existence of God, 1270
Unpack
Aquinas’ arguments concerning whether reason can prove God’s existence, and his
actual proofs in Article III. Do you
find his approach to be convincing?
Note: Aquinas’ formula is to present a dilemma in the form of
conflicting views of a particular question, then provide his own answer, and
finally address in order objections to his solution.
Lualdi 12:2
Hadewijch of Brabant
This
female mystic drew on the language of the courtly love tradition to express her
experience of God. Explore how she does
this, noting in particular her use of gendered images. How does her language of love strike you, as
a modern reader?
Lualdi
12:3 Dante Alighieri
Dante
was a renowned poet in the tradition of love literature, as well as a formidable
epic poet describing the soul’s journey to God. Beatrice, his love, is his object of desire, but also his guide
to the highest form of love, the experience of God in Paradise. How does Dante develop the theme of ascent
to God through love? How do you respond
to his writings?