10. Philosophy, Commentary, and Mythic Narrative in Twelfth-Century France

Abstract

In the early twelfth century, urban culture, commercial and professional in outlook, was becoming a counterweight to the traditional dominance of aristocratic wealth and privilege in Europe. Secular learning - the Liberal Arts and the ancient authors whose writings defined their scope and function - was valued as a means to the understanding of Scripture and religious truth, and as enlarging the sphere of mental activity, making the study of man and nature a complement to traditional religious studies. The scholars, whose names have been persistently associated with the cathedral school at Chartres, were known for their wide learning and speculative energy. Their commentaries mark a new stage in the engagement of medieval thinkers with classical antiquity, and they can claim a place also in the history of philosophy and natural science. At no time in the Middle Ages was ancient literature taken more seriously as a source of wisdom. Keywords: Chartres; Liberal Arts; philosophy; Scripture; twelfth-century Renaissance