The Litteral Sense of Scripture and the Search for Truth in the Late Middle Ages

Abstract

Scholars of the Middle Ages have demonstrated an increasing awareness of the profound importance of biblical exegesis in the formation of medieval theology, and indeed of medieval society as a whole. This article will examine one specific aspect of medieval biblical exegesis, namely the role of the literal sense in the determination of truth in the Late Middle Ages. In fact, the very concept of the literal sense was expanding in its range and complexity at this time, especially as theologians developed theories of authorship which could equate the literal sense of the text with the intended meaning of the author. In the case of Holy Scripture discerning the literal sense meant contending with both a divine and a human author. It was the Divine Author, however, who ultimately ratified the genuine meaning of the biblical text. And inasmuch as Holy Scripture formed the basis for Church doctrine in the Middle Ages, determining the divinely intended meaning of Scripture was tantamount to arriving at the truth of the Catholic faith itself. This study focuses upon five late medieval theologians: Richard FitzRalph, John Wyclif, Henry Totting de Oyta, Jean Gerson, and Paul of Burgos. Here we will examine the sophisticated methodologies they developed in their effort to bring the literal sense of the biblical text to bear in the determination of true doctrine.