Mathematical Theologies: Nicholas of Cusa and the Legacy of Thierry of Chartres (Oxford Studies in Historical Theology)

The Writings Of Theologians Thierry Of Chartres (d. 1157) And Nicholas Of Cusa (d. 1464) Represent A Lost History Of Momentous Encounters Between Christianity And Pythagorean Ideas Before The Renaissance. Their Robust Christian Neopythagoreanism Reconceived The Trinity And The Incarnation Within The Framework Of Greek Number Theory, Challenging Our Contemporary Assumptions About The Relation Of Religion And Modern Science. David Albertson Surveys The Slow Formation Of Theologies Of The Divine One From The Old Academy Through Ancient Neoplatonism Into The Middle Ages. Against This Backdrop, Thierry Of Chartres's Writings Stand Out As The First Authentic Retrieval Of Neopythagoreanism Within Western Christianity. By Reading Boethius And Augustine Against The Grain, Thierry Reactivated A Suppressed Potential In Ancient Christian Traditions That Harmonized The Divine Word With Notions Of Divine Number. Despite Achieving Fame During His Lifetime, Thierry's Ideas Remained Well Outside The Medieval Mainstream. Three Centuries Later Nicholas Of Cusa Rediscovered Anonymous Fragments Of Thierry And His Medieval Readers, And Drew On Them Liberally In His Early Works. Yet Tensions Among This Collection Of Sources Forced Cusanus To Reconcile Their Competing Understandings Of Word And Number. Over Several Decades Nicholas Eventually Learned How To Articulate Traditional Christian Doctrines Within A Fully Mathematized Cosmologyanticipating The Situation Of Modern Christian Thought After The Seventeenth Century. Mathematical Theologies Skillfully Guides Readers Through The Newest Scholarship On Pythagoreanism, The School Of Chartres, And Cusanus, While Revising Some Of The Categories That Have Separated Those Fields In The Past.- Introduction: Toward A Genealogy Of Christian Neopythagoreanism -- Pt. 1. The Genesis Of Neopythagoreanism: A Synopsis. Platonic Transformations Of Early Pythagorean Philosophy -- The Neopythagorean Revival: Henology And Mediation -- The Late Antique Preservation Of Neopythagoreanism -- Pt. 2. The Pearl Diver: Thierry Of Chartre's Theology Of The Quadrivium. Thierry's Trinitarian Theology In Context -- The Discovery Of The Fold -- Thierry's Diminished Legacy -- Pt. 3. Bright Nearness: Nicholas Of Cusa's Mathematical Theology. The Accidental Triumph Of De Docta Ignorantia -- Chartrian Theology On Probation In The 1440s -- The Advent Of Theologia Geometrica In The 1450s -- Completing The Circle In The 1460s -- Epilogue. David Albertson. Includes Bibliographical References (pages 407-465) And Index. Cover 1 Mathematical Theologies 2 Series 3 Copyright 5 Contents 8 Acknowledgments 10 Abbreviations 12 Introduction 16 Cusanus Studies and “Modernity” 18 Rethinking the Mathesis Narrative 23 Thierry of Chartres as a Cusan Source 27 Some Notes on Method 32 PART ONE The Genesis of Neopythagoreanism 36 1 Platonic Transformations of Early Pythagorean Philosophy 38 Mathematics as Philosophy in Philolaus and Archytas 42 Mathematics as Mediation in Plato 45 Mediation and First Philosophy in the Early Academy 50 2 The Neopythagorean Revival: Henology and Mediation 55 The Origins of Henology in Eudorus and Moderatus 56 Henology on the Margins of Middle Platonism 60 Mathematical Theology in Nicomachus of Gerasa 65 3 The Late Antique Preservation of Neopythagoreanism 75 Iamblichus, Proclus, and the Legacy of Nicomachus 77 Augustine and the Number without number 83 Boethius and the Fate of the Quadrivium 95 PART TWO The Pearl Diver 106 4 Thierry’s Trinitarian Theology in Context 108 The Status of Mediation in Twelfth-Century Platonism 110 The Problem of Bernard’s Gloss 115 Thierry on Quadrivium and Trinity 122 5 The Discovery of the Fold 134 Attempts at a Universal Theory of Science 136 The Achievement of the Modal Theory 141 Thierry as Neopythagorean Theologian 147 6 Thierry’s Diminished Legacy 155 Confusion about Mediation 160 An Augustinian Censor 164 A Late-Medieval Refutation: Word or Number? 171 PART THREE Bright Nearness 182 7 The Accidental Triumph of De docta ignorantia 184 A Patchwork of Conflicting Sources 190 Experiments in Chartrian Theology 195 The Christological Double Synthesis 205 8 Chartrian Theology on Probation in the 1440s 214 An Agenda for the 1440s in Two Sermons 217 The Neopythagorean Counterexperiment 221 Two Paradigms of Mediation 232 9 The Advent of Theologia ­geometrica in the 1450s 237 The Restoration of Thierry’s Modal Theory 243 A New Foundation for Mathematical Theology 251 The Word as Number and Angle 258 10 Completing the Circle in the 1460s 268 New Impulses in the Late Works 270 Incarnation and Neopythagoreanism 276 Figurae mundi 282 Epilogue 292 Notes 296 Bibliography 422 Index 482 The writings of theologians Thierry of Chartres (d. 1157) and Nicholas of Cusa (d. 1464) represent a lost history of momentous encounters between Christianity and Pythagorean ideas before the Renaissance. Their robust Christian Neopythagoreanism reconceived the Trinity and the Incarnation within the framework of Greek number theory, challenging our contemporary assumptions about the relation of religion and modern science.David Albertson surveys the slow formation of theologies of the divine One from the Old Academy through ancient Neoplatonism into the Middle Ages. Against this backdrop, Thierry of Chartres's writings stand out as the first authentic retrieval of Neopythagoreanism within western Christianity. By reading Boethius and Augustine against the grain, Thierry reactivated a suppressed potential in ancient Christian traditions that harmonized the divine Word with notions of divine Number.Despite achieving fame during his lifetime, Thierry's ideas remained well outside the medieval mainstream. Three centuries later Nicholas of Cusa rediscovered anonymous fragments of Thierry and his medieval readers, and drew on them liberally in his early works. Yet tensions among this collection of sources forced Cusanus to reconcile their competing understandings of Word and Number. Over several decades Nicholas eventually learned how to articulate traditional Christian doctrines within a fully mathematized cosmology-anticipating the situation of modern Christian thought after the seventeenth century.Mathematical Theologies skillfully guides readers through the newest scholarship on Pythagoreanism, the school of Chartres, and Cusanus, while revising some of the categories that have separated those fields in the past. Albertson uncovers the lost history of Christianity's encounters with Pythagorean religious ideas before the Renaissance. The writings of Thierry of Chartres (d. 1157) and Nicholas of Cusa (d. 1464) represent a robust Christian Neopythagoreanism that reconceived the Trinity and the Incarnation within the framework of Greek number theory. These two examples of mathematical theologies challenge contemporary assumptions about the relation of religion and modern science and about the nature of modernity itself