Direct links
 

Peter Lombard's Libri Quattuor Sententiarum (Four Books of Sentences)
Book 2 Distinction 7

Introduction:

Solution to the Authorship of the
Mysterious "Angelic" Manuscript Fragment

In early September 2000, the Archives, Rare Books & Special Collections Unit of the University of Newcastle purchased a manuscript fragment dating from the 13th to 15th centuries. The purchase of the fragment was made at an auction sale for the sum of $66.00AUS. It became the University's oldest manuscript, and most treasured 'bargain'.

The small fragment was described as being from a medieval work, inscribed on vellum in two columns, with 18 lines remaining per column. There were also marginalia present in another hand. It has highlighted initials, was of European origin, and was recovered from a binding.

Mystery surrounded the provenance of the manuscript, and the author and title of the work from which it was taken. Upon arrival of the fragment on the 11th October, Dr Rhona Beare of the Dept of Classics (Ancient History), after an initial examination, said that the fragment was from a theological work on angelology and demonology, concerning the nature of angels and whether they can sin. With the assistance of Professor Harold Tarrant, Head Department of Ancient History (Classics), and Emeritus Professor Godfrey Tanner, Dr Beare began a careful analysis of the fragment, and prepared a transcription and translation.

On Monday 23rd October, Mr Gionni di Gravio, Senior Clerk in Archives, Rare Books & Special Collections, after a number of afternoon ‘angelic’ discussions with Dr Beare on the 100 bus to Newcastle, and a weekend at home in his library, successfully sourced the fragment. Working with only a partial transcription of the text, and with a microfiche copy of the Patrologia Latina (without access to an online database version) he was able to locate the fragment's source. It came from a work by the 12th century scholastic theologian Peter Lombard (ca.1100 – ca.1160) entitled Libri Quattuor Sententiarum. The fragment comes from Book 2 [Distinction VII], where Lombard dedicated ten sections of the Sententiae (or sentences) [dist. ii-xi] to the subject of good and evil spirits, a discussion concerning angels, demons, the Fall, grace and sin, the peccability of angels and the relation of demons to the magical arts.

Peter Lombard at work
Peter Lombard at work
[From a manuscript in the Bibliotheque Municipale at Troyes MS900, fol. 1r]

Peter Lombard (c.1100-60), was an Italian theologian and bishop of Paris, whose Libri Quattuor Sententiarum (Four Books of Sentences) became the standard theological work of the Middle Ages. As textbook for two years in the course of theology, the work was essential for a student of the time, (if he could afford one) along with the Bible. The work’s popularity was such that by 1338, the Library of the Sorbonne possessed 50 copies of it and 118 volumes of commentaries upon its contents.

He was born in Novara, Lombardy, into a poor family, and through the patronage of St Bernard, studied in Bologna, Rheims, and Paris, where he was the student of the French philosopher Peter Abelard. Lombard taught theology in the cathedral school of Notre Dame in Paris, from 1136 to 1150. In 1159 he became bishop of Paris, but he died the following year.

Lombard’s style stood in contrast to that of his teacher. His temperament towards his authorities was conservative and harmonising, rather that provocative and questioning as that of Abelard. Lombard sought to reconcile and soften the disagreements, rather than enflame them. By 1205 the Sentences had been glossed by Peter of Poitiers, and by 1215 they were stamped with the approval of the 4th Lateran Council.

The Four Books of Sentences was probably composed between 1147 and 1150, and earned for him the title Magister Sententarium or "Master of the Sentences". It was a compilation of the teachings of the Fathers of the Church and opinions of earlier theologians, and remained the chief theological textbook in European universities up until the 16th century. Many of the greatest western philosophers and theologians, such as Albertus Magnus, Thomas Aquinas, Thomas de Strasbourg, Duns Scotus and Bonaventura lectured and wrote commentaries on it.

This fragment, therefore, comes to us from a very important germinal period in the intellectual history of the West. As the late mythologist Joseph Campbell stated in a radio interview, the period from 1150 to 1250 marked a time of a profound formulation and statement of ideas in the post gothic world. It was the period of the troubadours, the Arthurian legends and the construction of the great cathedrals. Indeed, its importance in the medieval world is comparable to the importance of the Homeric epics to the classical world, and the stock exchange to the modern world.

It is with great pleasure that we welcome this small fragment to the rare book collection of the University and present (to the best of our knowledge) the first ever translation of it and its source from Book 2 Distinction VII. The English translation was prepared by Dr Rhona Beare. The areas of text coinciding with our manuscript are in bold.

Archives Rare Books & Special Collections
October 2000