Dissertationsprojekt
Andrea Scalia
The Liber duodecium quaestionum and Libellus octo quaestionum of Honorius Augustodunensis
The dissertation project examines a set of texts by Honorius Augustodunensis, one the most prolific, but also enigmatic authors of the 12th century, whose works have been disseminated and copied in great number like few others in the respective period. The two collections of Quaestiones will be analyzed within the broader intellectual, institutional and social context of southern Germany and Austria in the first half of the 12th century. As for the institutional context, I am looking particularly at the controversy between Benedictine monks and regular canons as part of the innovative differentiation of religious life at the time, as for the social and intellectual context, I am looking at certain developments in Christian theological thought, like the doctrine of "unconditional incarnation", and at the encounter between Christian and Jewish masters in flourishing city communities along the Rhine and Danube rivers. The two works of Honorius are reflecting these movements and show the author's involvement. They will also be critically edited as a contribution for the ongoing exploration of Honorius Augustodunensis by medievalists. The objectives of the dissertation, thus, are twofold: 1) to offer a new, critical text of an important theologian of the 12th century, and 2) to provide a case study for the relationship of social reality, theological reflection, and institutional change.