Thomas Prügl: A lost inaugural lecture of Saint Bonaventure?

Ms. München, Universitätsbibliothek 8°, cod. 3, dating form the late 15th century, contains a text titled Commendacio sive principium Bonaventure in totam sacram scripturam. This article examines the content and the theological ideas of this text and provides a first edition. Despite employing some Bonaventurian ideas, the text cannot be considered an authentic work by St. Bonaventure. It offers an understanding of theology based on Dionysian apophaticism and on a model of mystical ascent in the tradition of Thomas Gallus. The focus, however, is on an intellectual understanding rather than on an affective interpretation of mystical union. In the introduction, the study briefly discusses possible dates of St. Bonaventure's inceptio, proposing that Bonaventure’s admission to the college of masters in Paris is uncertain.

Keywords: Bonaventura da Bagnoregio – principium – Dionysius Areopagita – Thomas Gal­lus – mystical union