Personification Allegory and Visions of Light in Richard of St Victor's Teaching on Contemplation

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to discuss two major symbolic representations used by Richard of St Victor (d 1173) in two of his treatises on contemplation, Benjamin minor and Benjamin major. In Benjamin minor the bulk of the discussion is presented in the form of personification allegory, a method as surprising as it is memorable, an indication that Richard wrote with inventive and persuasive power. Analysis of this personification allegory, a form of tropology, forms the first part of this paper. Near the end of Benjamin minor, Richard introduces the disciples' experience of the Transfiguration of Jesus on Mount Tabor as a symbol which represents the fulfillment of asceticism in contemplation. Richard especially associates the light of Jesus' Transfiguration with interior, non-sensuous visionary experiences of light. In Benjamin minor visions of light are given a specific place in the experience of discipline and contemplation; in Benjamin major that place is explored in great detail, especially in relation to contemplation in its several varieties. Discussion of such visionary experiences forms the second part of this paper.