Composing the mind: doubt and divine inspiration in Otloh of St Emmeram's Book of Temptations

Abstract

In the late 1060s, monastic teacher, author and copyist Otloh St Emmeram (c.1010–c.1070) composed an account of his many temptations, including his doubts about the existence of God and the truth of scripture. These doubts have generally been linked to a renewed interest in secular learning, and especially the techniques of logic or dialectic associated with the rise of early scholasticism. In his Book of Temptations, however, Otloh expressly denied the influence of secular texts, and located his doubts instead within his daily reading of holy scripture. This article identifies a perceived breakdown in the traditional ties of obligation between the monastery and the wider world as leading Otloh to question the value of monastic devotion to divine reading. It examines the state of mind attributed to the doubter, as well as the specific arguments that both precede and reinforce this. It also considers exactly how Otloh presents the experience of divine inspiration, and its fruits in literary composition, as providing satisfactory solutions to doubt not only for himself, but also for his readers.