Demonstrates the innovativeness of early Franciscan theology, contesting the longstanding view that it simply rehearses the views of earlier authorities.

A Reader in Early Franciscan Theology presents for the first time in English key passages from the Summa Halensis, one of the first major installments in the Summa genre for which scholasticism became famous. This systematic work of philosophy and theology was collaboratively authored mostly between 1236-45 by the founding members of the Franciscan school, such as Alexander of Hales and John of La Rochelle, who worked at the recently-founded University of Paris. Modern scholarship has often dismissed this early Franciscan intellectual tradition as unoriginal, merely systematizing the Augustinian tradition in light of the rediscovery of Aristotle, paving the way for truly revolutionary figures like John Duns Scotus. But as the selections in this reader show, it was this earlier generation that initiated this break with past precedent. The compilers of the Summa Halensis first articulated many positions that eventually become closely associated with the Franciscan tradition on issues like the nature of God, the proof for God's existence, free will, the transcendentals, and Christology. This book is essential reading for anyone wishing to understand the ways medieval thinkers employed philosophical concepts in a theological context as well as the evolution of Franciscan thought and its legacy to modernity.

Light and Glory offers an engaging comparison of the teachings of seven thirteenth-century theologians -- three Franciscans and four Dominicans -- on the subject of the transfiguration of Christ.

The legacy of late medieval Franciscan thought is uncontested: for generations, the influence of late-13th and 14th century Franciscans on the development of modern thought has been celebrated by some and loathed by others. However, the legacy of early Franciscan thought, as it developed in the first generation of Franciscan thinkers who worked at the recently-founded University of Paris in the first half of the 13th century, is a virtually foreign concept in the relevant scholarship. The reason for this is that early Franciscans are widely regarded as mere codifiers and perpetrators of the earlier medieval, largely Augustinian, tradition, from which later Franciscans supposedly departed. In this study, leading scholars of both periods in the Franciscan intellectual tradition join forces to highlight the continuity between early and late Franciscan thinkers which is often overlooked by those who emphasize their discrepancies in terms of methodology and sources. At the same time, the contributors seek to paint a more nuanced picture of the tradition’s legacy to Western thought, highlighting aspects of it that were passed down for generations to follow as well as the extremely different contexts and ends for which originally Franciscan ideas came to be employed in later medieval and modern thought.

A Reader in Early Franciscan Theology presents for the first time in English key passages from the Summa Halensis, one of the first major installments in the summa genre for which scholasticism became famous. This systematic work of philosophy and theology was collaboratively written mostly between 1236 and 1245 by the founding members of the Franciscan school, such as Alexander of Hales and John of La Rochelle, who worked at the recently founded University of Paris. Modern scholarship has often dismissed this early Franciscan intellectual tradition as unoriginal, merely systematizing the Augustinian tradition in light of the rediscovery of Aristotle, paving the way for truly revolutionary figures like John Duns Scotus. But as the selections in this reader show, it was this earlier generation that initiated this break with precedent. The compilers of the Summa Halensis first articulated many positions that eventually become closely associated with the Franciscan tradition on issues like the nature of God, the proof for God’s existence, free will, the transcendentals, and Christology. This book is essential reading for anyone wishing to understand the ways in which medieval thinkers employed philosophical concepts in a theological context as well as the evolution of Franciscan thought and its legacy to modernity. A Reader in Early Franciscan Theology is available from the publisher on an open-access basis.

Herausgegeben von Michael Schmaus†, Werner Dettloff, Richard Heinzmann, Ulrich Horst Das Grabmann-Institut ist eine im deutschsprachigen Raum einzigartige Einrichtung zur Erforschung und Lehre der Theologiegeschichte. Es wurde 1953 von Michael Schmaus als Institut zur Erforschung der mittelalterlichen Theologie und Philosophie gegründet, das die Forschungen und die Tradition des Vorgängers von Schmaus auf dem Münchener Lehrstuhl für Dogmatik, Martin Grabmann, fortführen soll. In der Reihe „Veröffentlichungen des Grabmann-Instituts“ werden Editionen und Studien publiziert, die entweder am Grabmann-Institut selbst entstanden sind oder einen wertvollen Beitrag zu dessen Forschungsschwerpunkten beinhalten. Das Schwergewicht der Publikationsreihe liegt auf der mittelalterlichen Theologie, wobei sich der zeitliche Bogen aber von der ausgehenden Antike bis in die Neuzeit spannt. Das historische Interesse verbindet sich mit dem systematischen Blickwinkel. In den Bänden werden Themen der Dogmengeschichte (etwa Sakramententheologie, Christologie) behandelt, sowie herausragende und bisher weniger bekannte Theologen mit ihren Werken und ihrem Einfluss vorgestellt. Gebührende Berücksichtigung finden auch die Gebiete Philosophie und Spiritualität (z.B. ordensspezifische Ausprägungen, Texte der Mystik, der christlichen Dichtung und Liturgie), die wesentlich zur mittelalterlichen Theologie gehören. Zum Martin-Grabmann-Forschungsinstitut für Mittelalterliche Theologie und Philosophie: http://www.kaththeol.uni-muenchen.de/einrichtungen/stud_for_einh/grabmann/index.html