1.
Duns Scotus
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John Duns, commonly called Duns Scotus, is generally considered to be one of the three most important philosopher-theologians of the High Middle Ages. Scotus has had influence on both Catholic and secular thought. Scotus also developed an argument for the existence of God. Duns Scotus was given the scholastic accolade Doctor Subtilis for his penetrating and he was beatified by Pope John Paul II in 1993. Little is known of Duns Scotus apart from his work and his date of birth is thought to have been between 23 December 1265 and 17 March 1266, born into a leading family of the region. Duns Scotus received the habit of the Friars Minor at Dumfries. Duns Scotuss age is based on the first certain date for his life, the minimum canonical age for receiving holy orders is 25 and it is generally assumed that he would have been ordained as soon as it was permitted. At that time there would have been about 270 persons living there and he took part in a disputation under the regent master, Philip of Bridlington. He began lecturing on Peter Lombards Sentences at the prestigious University of Paris towards the end of 1302. Later in that year, however, he was expelled from the University of Paris for siding with Pope Boniface VIII in his feud with King Philip IV of France over the taxation of church property. Duns Scotus was back in Paris before the end of 1304 and he continued lecturing there until, for reasons that are still mysterious, he was dispatched to the Franciscan studium at Cologne, probably in October 1307. According to the 15th-century writer William Vorilong, his departure was sudden, Duns Scotus died unexpectedly in Cologne in November 1308, the date of his death is traditionally given as 8 November. He is buried in the Church of the Friars Minor there and his sarcophagus bears the Latin inscription, The story about Duns Scotus being buried alive, in the absence of his servant who alone knew of his susceptibility to coma, is probably a myth. It was reported by Francis Bacon in his Historia vitae et mortis. The colophon of Codex 66 of Merton College, Oxford says that Scotus was also at Cambridge, but we do not know for certain if this is true, or, if it was and his commentary exists in several versions. The standard version is the Ordinatio, a version of lectures he gave as a bachelor at Oxford. It was still incomplete when Scotus left for Paris in 1302, the original lectures were also transcribed and recently published as the Lectura. A reportatio is a student report or transcription of the lecture of a master
2.
Gaelic Ireland
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Gaelic Ireland was the Gaelic political and social order, and associated culture, that existed in Ireland from the prehistoric era until the early 17th century. Before the Norman invasion of 1169, Gaelic Ireland comprised the whole island, thereafter, it comprised that part of the country not under foreign dominion at a given time. For most of its history, Gaelic Ireland was a hierarchy of territories ruled by a hierarchy of kings or chiefs. Warfare between these territories was common, occasionally, a powerful ruler was acknowledged as High King of Ireland. Society was made up of clans and, like the rest of Europe, was structured according to class. Throughout this period, the economy was mainly pastoral and money not used. A Gaelic Irish style of dress, music, dance, sport, architecture, Gaelic Ireland was initially pagan and had an oral culture. Inscription in the alphabet began in the protohistoric period, perhaps as early as the 1st century. The conversion to Christianity accompanied the introduction of literature, and much of Irelands rich pre-Christian mythology and sophisticated law code were preserved, in the Early Middle Ages, Ireland was an important centre of learning. Irish missionaries and scholars were influential in western Europe, and helped to spread Christianity to much of Britain, in the 9th century, Vikings began raiding and founding settlements along Irelands coasts and waterways, which became its first large towns. Over time, these settlers were assimilated and became the Norse-Gaels, after the Norman invasion of 1169–71, large swathes of Ireland came under the control of Norman lords, leading to centuries of conflict with the native Irish. The King of England claimed sovereignty over this territory – the Lordship of Ireland –, however, the Gaelic system continued in areas outside Anglo-Norman control. The territory under English control gradually shrank to a known as the Pale and, outside this. In 1542, Henry VIII of England declared the Lordship a Kingdom, the English then began to conquer the island. By 1607, Ireland was fully under English control, bringing the old Gaelic political and social order to an end, Gaelic Ireland had a rich oral culture and appreciation of deeper and intellectual pursuits. Filí and draoithe were held in high regard during Pagan times and orally passed down the history, later, many of their spiritual and intellectual tasks were passed on to Christian monks, after said religion prevailed from the 5th century onwards. However, the continued to hold a high position. Poetry, music, storytelling, literature and other art forms were highly prized and cultivated in both pagan and Christian Gaelic Ireland, hospitality, bonds of kinship and the fulfilment of social and ritual responsibilities were highly important
3.
West Francia
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West Francia extended further south than modern France, but it did not extend as far east. In Brittany and Catalonia the authority of the West Frankish king was barely felt, West Frankish kings were elected by the secular and ecclesiastic magnates, and for the half-century between 888 and 936 they chose alternatingly from the Carolingian and Robertian houses. By this time the power of king became weaker and more nominal, the Robertians, after becoming counts of Paris and dukes of France became kings themselves and established the Capetian dynasty. In August 843, after three years of war following the death of Louis the Pious on June 20,840. The youngest, Charles the Bald, received the western Francia, the contemporary West Frankish Annales Bertiniani describes Charles arriving at Verdun, where the distribution of portions took place. After describing the portions of his brothers, Lothair the Emperor and Louis the German, the Annales Fuldenses of East Francia describe Charles as holding the western part after the kingdom was divided in three. Charles the Bald was at war with Pippin II from the start of his reign in 840, accordingly, in June 845, after several military defeats, Charles signed the Treaty of Benoît-sur-Loire and recognised his nephews rule. This agreement lasted until March 25,848, when the Aquitainian barons recognised Charles as their king, thereafter Charless armies had the upper hand and by 849 had secured most of Aquitaine. In May, Charles had himself crowned King of the Franks, the coronation was officiated by Archbishop Wenilo of Sens, and included the first instance of royal unction in West Francia. The idea of anointing Charles may be owed to Archbishop Hincmar of Reims, by the time of the Synod of Quierzy, Hincmar was claiming that Charles was anointed to the entire West Frankish kingdom. With the Treaty of Mersen in 870 the western part of Lotharingia was added to West Francia, in 875 Charles the Bald was crowned Emperor of Rome. The last record in the Annales Bertiniani dates to 882, the next set of original annals from the West Frankish kingdom are those of Flodoard, who began his account with the year 919. After the death of Charless grandson, Carloman II, on December 12,884 and he was probably crowned King in Gaul on 20 May 885 at Grand. His reign was the time after the death of Louis the Pious that all of Francia would be re-united under one ruler. In his capacity as king of West Francia, he seems to have granted the title and perhaps regalia to the semi-independent ruler of Brittany. His handling of the Viking siege of Paris in 885–86 greatly reduced his prestige, in November 887 his nephew, Arnulf of Carinthia revolted and assumed the title as King of the East Franks. Charles retired and soon died on January 13,888, in Aquitaine, Duke Ranulf II may have had himself recognised as king, but he only lived another two years. Although Aquitaine did not become a kingdom, it was largely outside the control of the West Frankish kings
4.
Wessex
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Wessex was an Anglo-Saxon kingdom in the south of Great Britain, from 519 until England was unified by Æthelstan in the early 10th century. The Anglo-Saxons believed that Wessex was founded by Cerdic and Cynric, the two main sources for the history of Wessex are the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle and the West Saxon Genealogical Regnal List, which sometimes conflict. Wessex became a Christian kingdom after Cenwalh was baptised and was expanded under his rule, cædwalla later conquered Sussex, Kent and the Isle of Wight. His successor, Ine, issued one of the oldest surviving English law codes, the throne subsequently passed to a series of kings with unknown genealogies. During the 8th century, as the hegemony of Mercia grew and it was during this period that the system of shires was established. Under Egbert, Surrey, Sussex, Kent, Essex, and Mercia and he also obtained the overlordship of the Northumbrian king. However, Mercian independence was restored in 830, during the reign of his successor, Æthelwulf, a Danish army arrived in the Thames estuary, but was decisively defeated. When Æthelwulfs son, Æthelbald, usurped the throne, the kingdom was divided to avoid war, Æthelwulf was succeeded in turn by his four sons, the youngest being Alfred the Great. Wessex was invaded by the Danes in 871, and Alfred was compelled to pay them to leave and they returned in 876, but were forced to withdraw. In 878 they forced Alfred to flee to the Somerset Levels, during his reign Alfred issued a new law code, gathered scholars to his court and was able to devote funds to building ships, organising an army and establishing a system of burhs. Alfreds son, Edward, captured the eastern Midlands and East Anglia from the Danes and became ruler of Mercia in 918 upon the death of his sister, Edwards son, Æthelstan, conquered Northumbria in 927, and England became a unified kingdom for the first time. Cnut the Great, who conquered England in 1016, created the wealthy and powerful earldom of Wessex, modern archaeologists use the term Wessex culture for a Middle Bronze Age culture in this area. Although agriculture and hunting were pursued during this period, there is little archaeological evidence of human settlements. During the Roman occupation numerous country villas with attached farms were established across Wessex, the Romans, or rather the Romano-British, built another major road that integrated Wessex, running eastwards from Exeter through Dorchester to Winchester and Silchester and on to London. The early 4th century CE was a time in Roman Britain. However, following a previous incursion in 360 that was stopped by Roman forces and they devastated many parts of Britain and laid siege to London. The Romans responded promptly, and Count Theodosius had recovered the land up to the Wall by 368, the Romans temporarily ceased to rule Britain on the death of Magnus Maximus in 388. Stilicho attempted to restore Roman authority in the late 390s, two subsequent Roman rulers of Britain, appointed by the remaining troops, were murdered
5.
Medieval philosophy
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Modern historians consider the medieval era to be one of philosophical development, heavily influenced by Christian theology. However, their theology used the methods and logical techniques of the ancient philosophers to address theological questions. Thomas Aquinas, following Peter Damian, argued that philosophy is the handmaiden of theology, the two principles that underlie all their work are, The use of logic, dialectic, and analysis to discover the truth, known as ratio. Respect for the insights of ancient philosophers, in particular Aristotle, the obligation to co-ordinate the insights of philosophy with theological teaching and revelation. One of the most heavily debated topics of the period was that of faith versus reason, avicenna and Averroes both leaned more on the side of reason. Augustine stated that he would never allow his philosophical investigations to go beyond the authority of God, Anselm attempted to defend against what he saw as partly an assault on faith, with an approach allowing for both faith and reason. The Augustinian solution to the problem is to believe. The boundaries of the medieval period are a matter of controversy. After the collapse of the Roman empire, Western Europe lapsed into the so-called Dark Ages, in later periods, monks were used for training administrators and churchmen. Early Christian thought, in particular in the period, tends to be intuitional and mystical. It also places emphasis on the sometimes-mystical doctrines of Plato. Much of the work of Aristotle was unknown in the West in this period, two Roman philosophers had a great influence on the development of medieval philosophy, Augustine and Boethius. Augustine is regarded as the greatest of the Church Fathers and he is primarily a theologian and a devotional writer, but much of his writing is philosophical. His themes are truth, God, the soul, the meaning of history, the state, sin. For over a thousand years, there was hardly a Latin work of theology or philosophy that did not quote his writing, some of his writing had an influence on the development of early modern philosophy, such as that of Descartes. Anicius Manlius Severinus Boethius was a Christian philosopher born in Rome to an ancient and he became consul in 510 in the kingdom of the Ostrogoths. His influence on the medieval period was also marked. He intended to translate all the works of Aristotle and Plato from the original Greek into Latin, and translated many of Aristotle’s logical works, such as On Interpretation, and he wrote commentaries on these works, and on the Isagoge by Porphyry
6.
Western philosophy
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Western philosophy is the philosophical thought and work of the Western world. The word philosophy itself originated from the Hellenic, philosophia, literally, the scope of philosophy in the ancient understanding, and the writings of the ancient philosophers, were all intellectual endeavors. Western Philosophy is generally said to begin in the Greek cities of western Asia Minor with Thales of Miletus and his most noted students were respectively Anaximander and Anaximenes of Miletus. Pythagoras, from the island of Samos off the coast of Ionia, pythagoreans hold that all is number, giving formal accounts in contrast to the previous material of the Ionians. They also believe in metempsychosis, the transmigration of souls, or reincarnation, Socrates The key figure in Greek philosophy is Socrates. Socrates studied under several Sophists but transformed Greek philosophy into a unified, Socrates used a critical approach called the elenchus or Socratic method to examine peoples views. He aimed to study human things, the life, justice, beauty. Although Socrates wrote nothing himself, some of his many disciples wrote down his conversations and he was tried for corrupting the youth and impiety by the Greek democracy. He was found guilty and sentenced to death, although his friends offered to help him escape from prison, he chose to remain in Athens and abide by his principles. His execution consisting in drinking the poison hemlock and he died in 399 B. C, Plato Socrates most important student was Plato. Plato founded the Academy of Athens and wrote a number of dialogues, some central ideas of Platos dialogues are the immortality of the soul, the benefits of being just, that evil is ignorance, and the Theory of Forms. Forms are universal properties that constitute reality and contrast with the changeable material things he called becoming. Aristotle Platos most outstanding student was Aristotle, Aristotle was perhaps the first truly systematic philosopher and scientist. He wrote books on physics, biology, zoology, metaphysics, aesthetics, poetry, theater, music, rhetoric, politics, Aristotelian logic was the first type of logic to attempt to categorize every valid syllogism. Aristotelian philosophy exercised considerable influence on almost all western philosophers, including Greek, Roman, Christian, Jewish, the Neoplatonic and Christian philosophers of Late Antiquity. Early medieval philosophy was influenced by the likes of Stoicism, neo-Platonism, but, above all, the prominent figure of this period was St. Augustinianism was the preferred starting point for most philosophers up until the 13th century. The foundations of many northern European universities were built in the Middle Ages by waves of Irish, Scottish & English monks from the Celtic Church begun by Columba, see Celtic Christianity. Erigena is said to have been stabbed to death by his students with their pens and his theology would today be called pantheistic, in keeping with Celtic resolutions of pagan and Christian philosophy
7.
Neoplatonism
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Neoplatonists were heavily influenced by Plato, but also by the Platonic tradition that thrived during the six centuries which separated the first of the Neoplatonists from Plato. In defining the term Neoplatonism, it is difficult to reduce the school of thought to a set of ideas that all Neoplatonic philosophers shared in common. The work of Neoplatonic philosophy involved describing the derivation of the whole of reality from a single principle, instead, the most concise definition of Neoplatonism casts it as a historical term. Thinkers of this period include Syrianus, Olympiodorus the Younger. Neoplatonism has been influential throughout history. In the Middle Ages, Neoplatonic ideas were integrated into the philosophical and theological works of many of the most important medieval Islamic, Christian, yeats and T. S. Eliot, among many more. The term Neoplatonism has a function as a historical category. On the one hand, it differentiates the philosophical doctrines of Plotinus, on the other, the term makes an assumption about the novelty of Plotinus interpretation of Plato. The term Neoplatonism implies that Plotinus interpretation of Plato was so distinct from those of his predecessors that it should be thought to introduce a new period in the history of Platonism. Some contemporary scholars, however, have taken issue with this assumption and have doubted that Neoplatonism constitutes a useful label and they claim that merely marginal differences separate Plotinus teachings from those of his immediate predecessors. Whether Neoplatonism is a meaningful or useful historical category is itself a central question concerning the history of the interpretation of Plato, for much of the history of Platonism, it was commonly accepted that the doctrines of the Neoplatonists were essentially the same as those of Plato. The Renaissance Platonist Marsilio Ficino, for instance, thought that the Neoplatonic interpretation of Plato was an authentic, contemporary scholars often identify the German theologian Friedrich Schleiermacher as an early thinker who took Platos philosophy to be separate from that of his Neoplatonic interpreters. However, others have argued that the differentiation of Plato from Neoplatonism was the result of a historical development that preceded Schleiermachers scholarly work on Plato. The most important forerunners of Neoplatonism are the Middle Platonists, such as Plutarch, Neoplatonism is generally a metaphysical and epistemological philosophy. Neoplatonism is a form of idealistic monism combined with elements of polytheism, although the founder of Neoplatonism is supposed to have been Ammonius Saccas, the Enneads of his pupil Plotinus are the primary and classical document of Neoplatonism. One of the features of Plotinus system, which was also taken up by subsequent Neoplatonists, is the doctrine of the One beyond being. For Plotinus, the first principle of reality is a simple, ineffable, unknowable subsistence which is both the creative source and the teleological end of all existing things. Although, properly speaking, there is no name appropriate for the first principle, the One is so simple that it cannot even be said to exist or to be a being
8.
Free will
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Free will is the ability to choose between different possible courses of action. It is closely linked to the concepts of responsibility, praise, guilt, sin and it is also connected with the concepts of advice, persuasion, deliberation, and prohibition. Traditionally, only actions that are freely willed are seen as deserving credit or blame, There are numerous different concerns about threats to the possibility of free will, varying by how exactly it is conceived, which is a matter of some debate. Some conceive free will to be the capacity to make choices in which the outcome has not been determined by past events, determinism suggests that only one course of events is possible, which is inconsistent with the existence of such free will. This problem has been identified in ancient Greek philosophy, and remains a focus of philosophical debate. In contrast, compatibilists hold that free will is compatible with determinism, compatibilists thus consider the debate between libertarians and hard determinists over free will vs determinism a false dilemma. Different compatibilists offer very different definitions of free will even means. Contemporary compatibilists instead identify free will as a capacity, such as to direct ones behavior in a way responsive to reason. The underlying questions are whether we have control over our actions, and if so, what sort of control and these questions predate the early Greek stoics, and some modern philosophers lament the lack of progress over all these millennia. On one hand, humans have a sense of freedom. On the other hand, a feeling of free will could be mistaken. The conflict between intuitively felt freedom and natural law arises when either causal closure or physical determinism is asserted, with causal closure, no physical event has a cause outside the physical domain, and with physical determinism, the future is determined entirely by preceding events. The puzzle of reconciling free will with a universe is known as the problem of free will or sometimes referred to as the dilemma of determinism. This dilemma leads to a dilemma as well, How are we to assign responsibility for our actions if they are caused entirely by past events. Compatibilists maintain that mental reality is not of itself causally effective, classical compatibilists have addressed the dilemma of free will by arguing that free will holds as long as we are not externally constrained or coerced. Modern compatibilists make a distinction between freedom of will and freedom of action, that is, separating freedom of choice from the freedom to enact it, given that humans all experience a sense of free will, some modern compatibilists think it is necessary to accommodate this intuition. Compatibilists often associate freedom of will with the ability to make rational decisions, a different approach to the dilemma is that of incompatibilists, namely, that if the world is deterministic then, our feeling that we are free to choose an action is simply an illusion. Metaphysical libertarianism is the form of incompatibilism which posits that determinism is false, yet even with physical indeterminism, arguments have been made against libertarianism in that it is difficult to assign Origination
9.
Logic
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Logic, originally meaning the word or what is spoken, is generally held to consist of the systematic study of the form of arguments. A valid argument is one where there is a relation of logical support between the assumptions of the argument and its conclusion. Historically, logic has been studied in philosophy and mathematics, and recently logic has been studied in science, linguistics, psychology. The concept of form is central to logic. The validity of an argument is determined by its logical form, traditional Aristotelian syllogistic logic and modern symbolic logic are examples of formal logic. Informal logic is the study of natural language arguments, the study of fallacies is an important branch of informal logic. Since much informal argument is not strictly speaking deductive, on some conceptions of logic, formal logic is the study of inference with purely formal content. An inference possesses a purely formal content if it can be expressed as an application of a wholly abstract rule, that is. The works of Aristotle contain the earliest known study of logic. Modern formal logic follows and expands on Aristotle, in many definitions of logic, logical inference and inference with purely formal content are the same. This does not render the notion of informal logic vacuous, because no formal logic captures all of the nuances of natural language, Symbolic logic is the study of symbolic abstractions that capture the formal features of logical inference. Symbolic logic is divided into two main branches, propositional logic and predicate logic. Mathematical logic is an extension of logic into other areas, in particular to the study of model theory, proof theory, set theory. Logic is generally considered formal when it analyzes and represents the form of any valid argument type, the form of an argument is displayed by representing its sentences in the formal grammar and symbolism of a logical language to make its content usable in formal inference. Simply put, formalising simply means translating English sentences into the language of logic and this is called showing the logical form of the argument. It is necessary because indicative sentences of ordinary language show a variety of form. Second, certain parts of the sentence must be replaced with schematic letters, thus, for example, the expression all Ps are Qs shows the logical form common to the sentences all men are mortals, all cats are carnivores, all Greeks are philosophers, and so on. The schema can further be condensed into the formula A, where the letter A indicates the judgement all - are -, the importance of form was recognised from ancient times
10.
De divisione naturae
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De divisione naturae is the title given by Thomas Gale to his edition of the work originally titled by Eriugena Periphyseon. This work was the magnum opus of ninth century theologian Johannes Scotus Eriugena, the work is arranged in five books. The form of exposition is that of dialogue, the method of reasoning is the syllogism, natura is the name for the universal, the totality of all things, containing in itself being and non-being. It is the unity of all special phenomena are manifestations. The first is God as the ground or origin of all things, the last is God as the end or goal of all things. Thus we distinguish in the system beginning, middle and end. We are compelled to envisage this eternal process under the form of time, the work was probably carried out beginning in the early 860s and completed around 866–67. This is based on a dedication in the book identifying as frater Wulfad, the work was not widely circulated in the authors lifetime. Eriugena was assisted by one, possibly two other persons in writing the book, based on the presence of margin notes indicating the penmanship of two separate persons. One of these is believed to have been Eriugena himself, while the other was the script indicates that the writer was a fellow Irishman. De divisione naturae was condemned by a council at Sens by Honorius III, who described it as swarming with worms of heretical perversity, and by Pope Gregory XIII in 1585. In 1681, the long-lost work was found at Oxford University, and was placed on the Index of Forbidden Books. The Division of Nature has been called the achievement of ancient philosophy. It is presented, like Alcuins book, as a dialogue between Master and Pupil, Eriugena anticipates Thomas Aquinas, who said that one cannot know and believe a thing at the same time. Eriugena explains that reason is necessary to understand and interpret revelation, authority is the source of knowledge, but the reason of mankind is the norm by which all authority is judged. Digitized Latin version on Google Books Moran, Dermot
11.
Plato
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Plato was a philosopher in Classical Greece and the founder of the Academy in Athens, the first institution of higher learning in the Western world. He is widely considered the most pivotal figure in the development of philosophy, unlike nearly all of his philosophical contemporaries, Platos entire work is believed to have survived intact for over 2,400 years. Along with his teacher, Socrates, and his most famous student, Aristotle, Plato laid the foundations of Western philosophy. Alfred North Whitehead once noted, the safest general characterization of the European philosophical tradition is that it consists of a series of footnotes to Plato. In addition to being a figure for Western science, philosophy. Friedrich Nietzsche, amongst other scholars, called Christianity, Platonism for the people, Plato was the innovator of the written dialogue and dialectic forms in philosophy, which originate with him. He was not the first thinker or writer to whom the word “philosopher” should be applied, few other authors in the history of Western philosophy approximate him in depth and range, perhaps only Aristotle, Aquinas and Kant would be generally agreed to be of the same rank. Due to a lack of surviving accounts, little is known about Platos early life, the philosopher came from one of the wealthiest and most politically active families in Athens. Ancient sources describe him as a bright though modest boy who excelled in his studies, the exact time and place of Platos birth are unknown, but it is certain that he belonged to an aristocratic and influential family. Based on ancient sources, most modern scholars believe that he was born in Athens or Aegina between 429 and 423 BCE. According to a tradition, reported by Diogenes Laertius, Ariston traced his descent from the king of Athens, Codrus. Platos mother was Perictione, whose family boasted of a relationship with the famous Athenian lawmaker, besides Plato himself, Ariston and Perictione had three other children, these were two sons, Adeimantus and Glaucon, and a daughter Potone, the mother of Speusippus. The brothers Adeimantus and Glaucon are mentioned in the Republic as sons of Ariston, and presumably brothers of Plato, but in a scenario in the Memorabilia, Xenophon confused the issue by presenting a Glaucon much younger than Plato. Then, at twenty-eight, Hermodorus says, went to Euclides in Megara, as Debra Nails argues, The text itself gives no reason to infer that Plato left immediately for Megara and implies the very opposite. Thus, Nails dates Platos birth to 424/423, another legend related that, when Plato was an infant, bees settled on his lips while he was sleeping, an augury of the sweetness of style in which he would discourse about philosophy. Ariston appears to have died in Platos childhood, although the dating of his death is difficult. Perictione then married Pyrilampes, her mothers brother, who had served many times as an ambassador to the Persian court and was a friend of Pericles, Pyrilampes had a son from a previous marriage, Demus, who was famous for his beauty. Perictione gave birth to Pyrilampes second son, Antiphon, the half-brother of Plato and these and other references suggest a considerable amount of family pride and enable us to reconstruct Platos family tree
12.
Augustine of Hippo
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Augustine of Hippo was an early Christian theologian and philosopher whose writings influenced the development of Western Christianity and Western philosophy. He was the bishop of Hippo Regius, located in Numidia, Augustine is viewed as one of the most important Church Fathers in Western Christianity for his writings in the Patristic Era. Among his most important works are The City of God and Confessions, according to his contemporary, Jerome, Augustine established anew the ancient Faith. In his early years, he was influenced by Manichaeism. After his baptism and conversion to Christianity in 386, Augustine developed his own approach to philosophy and theology, accommodating a variety of methods and perspectives. Believing that the grace of Christ was indispensable to human freedom, he helped formulate the doctrine of original sin, when the Western Roman Empire began to disintegrate, Augustine developed the concept of the Church as a spiritual City of God, distinct from the material Earthly City. His thoughts profoundly influenced the medieval worldview, the segment of the Church that adhered to the concept of the Trinity as defined by the Council of Nicaea and the Council of Constantinople closely identified with Augustines On the Trinity. Augustine is recognized as a saint in the Catholic Church, the Eastern Christian Church, and he is also the patron of the Augustinians. His memorial is celebrated on 28 August, the day of his death, Augustine is the patron saint of brewers, printers, theologians, the alleviation of sore eyes, and a number of cities and dioceses. Many Protestants, especially Calvinists and Lutherans, consider him to be one of the fathers of the Protestant Reformation due to his teachings on salvation. Lutherans, and Martin Luther in particular, have held Augustine in preeminence, Luther himself was a member of the Order of the Augustinian Eremites. In the East, some of his teachings are disputed and have in the 20th century in particular come under attack by such theologians as John Romanides, but other theologians and figures of the Eastern Orthodox Church have shown significant appropriation of his writings, chiefly Georges Florovsky. The most controversial doctrine surrounding his name is the filioque, which has been rejected by the Orthodox Church, other disputed teachings include his views on original sin, the doctrine of grace, and predestination. Nevertheless, though considered to be mistaken on some points, he is considered a saint. In the Orthodox Church his feast day is celebrated on 28 August and he was an early Christian theologian and philosopher whose writings influenced the development of Western Christianity and Western philosophy. Augustine was the bishop of Hippo Regius, located in Numidia and he is viewed as one of the most important Church Fathers in Western Christianity for his writings in the Patristic Era. Among his most important works are The City of God and Confessions, Augustine was born in the year 354 AD in the municipium of Thagaste in Roman Africa. His mother, Monica or Monnica, was a devout Christian, in his writings, Augustine leaves some information as to the consciousness of his African heritage
13.
Cappadocian Fathers
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The Cappadocia region, in modern-day Turkey, was an early site of Christian activity, with several missions by Paul in this region. The Cappadocians advanced the development of early Christian theology, for example the doctrine of the Trinity, an older sister of Basil and Gregory of Nyssa, Macrina, became a nun and converted the familys estate into a monastic community. Basil the Great was the second oldest of Macrinas brothers, the eldest being the famous Christian jurist Naucratius, the grandparents had been martyrs, and their mother was also recognized as a saint. They made major contributions to the definition of the Trinity finalized at the First Council of Constantinople in 381 and they made key contributions to the doctrine of the Trinity and to the responses to Arianism and Apollinarianism. Subsequent to the First Council of Nicea, Arianism did not simply disappear, the Council of Nicea had asserted that the Son was of the same substance as the Father. So the Son was held to be like the Father but not of the essence as the Father. The Cappadocians worked to bring these semi-Arians back to the orthodox cause, in their writings they made extensive use of the formula one substance in three persons. The relationship is understandable, argued Basil of Caesarea, in a parallel drawn from Platonism, the formulation explicitly acknowledged a distinction between the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, but at the same time insisting on their essential unity. Thus Basil wrote, In a brief statement, I shall say that essence is related to person as the general to the particular, each one of us partakes of existence because he shares in ousia while because of his individual properties he is A or B. The outcome was that Arianism and semi-Arianism virtually disappeared from the church, the Cappadocians held a higher view of women than many of their contemporaries. Some scholars suggest that Macrina was an equal in the group, while the Cappadocians shared many traits, each one exhibited particular strengths. Scholars note that Basil was the man of action, Gregory of Nazianzus the orator, amphilochius of Iconium Peter of Sebaste Three Holy Hierarchs, Basil of Caesarea, Gregory of Nazianzus and John Chrysostom. In, The Ecumenical Legacy of the Cappadocians, pp. 159–184, ISBN 978-1-137-51394-6 Karahan, Anne, Beauty in the Eyes of God. Byzantine Aesthetics and Basil of Caesarea, revue Internationale des Études Byzantines 82, 165-212. Quasten, Johannes, Patrology,3, Utrecht-Antwerp, Spectrum Publishers, ISBN0870610864
14.
Maximus the Confessor
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Maximus the Confessor, also known as Maximus the Theologian and Maximus of Constantinople, was a Christian monk, theologian, and scholar. In his early life, Maximus was a servant. However, he gave up this life in the sphere to enter into the monastic life. Maximus is venerated in both Eastern Christianity and Western Christianity and he was eventually persecuted for his Christological positions, following a trial, his tongue and right hand were mutilated. He was then exiled and died on August 13,662 in Tsageri, however, his theology was upheld by the Third Council of Constantinople and he was venerated as a saint soon after his death. It is highly uncommon among the saints that he has two feast days, the 13th of August and the 21st of January and his title of Confessor means that he suffered for the Christian faith, but was not directly martyred. Very little is known about the details of Maximus life prior to his involvement in the theological and political conflicts of the Monothelite controversy. Numerous Maximian scholars call substantial portions of the Maronite biography into question, including Maximus birth in Palestine and it is more likely that Maximus was born of an aristocratic family and received an unparalleled education in philosophy, mathematics, astronomy, etc. It is true, however, that Maximus did not study rhetoric as he notes in the prologue to his Earlier Ambigua to John. Maximus was elevated to the position of abbot of the monastery, theology without practice is the theology of demons. When the Persians conquered Anatolia, Maximus was forced to flee to a monastery near Carthage and it was there that he came under the tutelage of Saint Sophronius, and began studying in detail with him the Christological writings of Gregory of Nazianzus and Dionysius the Areopagite. Maximus continued his career as a theological and spiritual writer while his stay in Carthage. While Maximus was in Carthage, a controversy broke out regarding how to understand the interaction between the human and divine natures within the person of Jesus. This Christological debate was the latest development in disagreements that began following the First Council of Nicaea in 325, the Monothelite position was developed as a compromise between the dyophysitists and the miaphysists, who believed dyophysitism is conceptually indistinguishable from Nestorianism. The Monothelites adhered to the Chalcedonian definition of the hypostatic union, however, they went on to say that Christ had only a divine will and no human will, which led some to charge them with Apollinarian monophysitism. The Monothelite position was promulgated by Patriarch Sergius I of Constantinople and by Maximus friend and successor as the Abbot of Chrysopolis, following the death of Sergius in 638, Pyrrhus succeeded him as Patriarch, but was shortly deposed due to political circumstances. During Pyrrhus exile from Constantinople, Maximus and the deposed Patriarch held a debate on the issue of Monothelitism. In the debate, which was held in the presence of many North African bishops, the result of the debate was that Pyrrhus admitted the error of the Monothelite position, and Maximus accompanied him to Rome in 645
15.
Boethius
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Anicius Manlius Severinus Boëthius, commonly called Boethius, was a Roman senator, consul, magister officiorum, and philosopher of the early 6th century. Boethius was born in Rome to a family around 480 AD. His family, the Anicii, included emperors Petronius Maximus and Olybrius and his father, Manlius Boethius, who was appointed consul in 487, died while Boethius was young. Another patrician, Quintus Aurelius Memmius Symmachus, adopted and raised Boethius, instilling in him a love for literature and philosophy. Both Memmius Symmachus and Boethius were fluent in Greek, a rare skill at the time in the Western Empire, for this reason. The French scholar Pierre Courcelle has argued that Boethius studied at Alexandria with the Neo-Platonist philosopher Ammonius Hermiae, on account of his erudition, Boethius entered the service of Theodoric the Great at a young age and was already a senator by the age of 25. Boethius married his foster-fathers daughter, Rusticiana, their children included two boys, Symmachus and Boethius. In 522, the year his two sons were appointed joint consuls, Boethius accepted the appointment to the position of magister officiorum. This may have set in place a course of events that would lead to loss of royal favour, five hundred years later, this continuing disagreement led to the East-West Schism in 1054, in which communion between the Catholic Church and Eastern Orthodox Church was broken. In 523 Boethius fell from power, after a period of imprisonment in Pavia for what was deemed a treasonable offence, he was executed in 524. The primary sources are in agreement over the facts of what happened. At a meeting of the Royal Council in Verona, the referandarius Cyprianus accused the ex-consul Caecina Decius Faustus Albinus of treasonous correspondence with Justin I. Boethius leapt to his defense, crying, The charge of Cyprianus is false, but if Albinus did that, so also have I, Cyprianus then also accused Boethius of the same crime, and produced three men who claimed they had witnessed the crime. First the pair were detained in the baptistery of a church, then Boethius was exiled to the Ager Calventianus, a distant country estate, the basic facts in the case are not in dispute, writes Jeffrey Richards. What is disputed about this sequence of events is the interpretation that should be put on them, Boethius claims his crime was seeking the safety of the Senate. He describes the three witnesses against him as dishonorable, Basilius had been dismissed from Royal service for his debts, while Venantius Opilio, however, other sources depict these men in a far more positive light. For example, Cassiodorus describes Cyprianus and Opilio as utterly scrupulous, just and loyal and mentions they are brothers, Theodoric was feeling threatened by international events. The Acacian Schism had been resolved, and the Nicene Christian aristocrats of his kingdom were seeking to renew their ties with Constantinople, the Catholic Hilderic had become king of the Vandals and had put Theodorics sister Amalafrida to death, and Arians in the East were being persecuted
16.
Berengar of Tours
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Berengar of Tours was born perhaps at Tours, probably in the early years of the 11th century. His education began in the school of Bishop Fulbert of Chartres, who represented the traditional theology of the early Middle Ages, but did not succeed in imparting it to his pupil. Later he paid attention to the Bible and early Christian writers, especially Gregory of Tours and Augustine of Hippo. Returning to Tours, he became a canon of the cathedral and in about 1040 became head of its school, improving its efficiency and he acquired his fame as much from his blameless and ascetic life as from the success of his teaching. He became archdeacon of Angers, and enjoyed the confidence of not a few bishops, amid this chorus of praise, a discordant voice began to be heard, it was asserted that Berengar held heretical views on the Eucharist. The first controversies on the nature of the Eucharistic Presence date from the earlier Middle Ages, in the ninth century Paschasius Radbertus claimed that Christs Eucharistic body was identical with his body in heaven, but he won practically no support. As for Berengar, by one account, Considerably greater stir was provoked, by the teaching of Berengar, who opposed the doctrine of the Real Presence. But in reality, there are diverse opinions among theologians and historians on this point, the first to take formal notice of this was his former fellow student Adelmann, who begged him to abandon his opposition to the Churchs teaching. He declared his own agreement with Eriugena, and believed himself to be supported by Saint Ambrose, Saint Jerome, Augustine and this letter was received by Lanfranc in Rome, where it was read before a council and Berengars view was condemned. Berengar was summoned to appear at another council to be held at Vercelli in September, Berengar sought permission to go to the council from King Henry I of France, in his capacity as nominal abbot of St. Martin at Tours. Instead, for reasons, the king imprisoned him. The council at Vercelli examined Berengars doctrine and again condemned it, on his release from prison, probably effected by the influence of Geoffrey of Anjou, the king still pursued him, and called a synod to meet in Paris in October 1051. In 1054, Cardinal Hildebrand came to France as papal legate, at first he showed himself friendly to Berengar, and talked of taking him back to Rome to get Leo IXs authority with which to silence his foes. But when he found that the latter could do more to disturb the peace of the Church than Berengars friends, the same desire for peace and the death of Pope Leo were reasons why Hildebrand did not press for Berengars going to Rome at once. In 1059, Berengar went to Rome, fortified by a letter of commendation from Count Geoffrey to Hildebrand. At a council held in the Lateran, he could get no hearing, overwhelmed by the forces against him, he took this document in his hand and threw himself on the ground in the silence of apparent submission. Eusebius Bruno was gradually withdrawing from him, Rome, however, was disposed to give him a chance, Pope Alexander II wrote him an encouraging letter, at the same time warning him to give no further offence. He was still firm in his convictions, and in about 1069 he published a treatise in which he gave vent to his resentment against Pope Nicholas II, Lanfranc answered it, and Berengar rejoined
17.
School of Chartres
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During the High Middle Ages, Chartres Cathedral operated a famous and influential cathedral school, an important center of scholarship. It developed and reached its apex in the 11th and 12th centuries, in the early 11th century, Bishop Fulbert established Chartres as one of the leading schools in Europe. Great scholars were attracted to the school, including Bernard of Chartres, Thierry of Chartres, William of Conches. The teaching in monastic and cathedral schools was based on the traditional seven liberal arts, including the trivium. There were, however, differences among the schools on the emphasis given for each subject, the Chartres school placed special emphasis on the quadrivium and on natural philosophy. The school of Chartres greatest period was the first half of the twelfth century, at Chartres, however, masters lacked the relative autonomy that was developing around the schools of Paris and the small city did not support the large number of students that were found at Paris. By the later 12th century the status of the school was on the wane and it was gradually eclipsed by the newly emerging University of Paris, particularly at the School of the Abbey of St Victor. Edouard Jeauneau, Rethinking the School of Chartres, Toronto, University of Toronto Press,2009, the School of Chartres in A History of Western Philosophy Vol. II / by Ralph McInerny
18.
Hildegard of Bingen
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Hildegard of Bingen, O. S. B. also known as Saint Hildegard and Sibyl of the Rhine, was a German Benedictine abbess, writer, composer, philosopher, Christian mystic, visionary, and polymath. She is considered to be the founder of scientific history in Germany. Hildegard was elected magistra by her fellow nuns in 1136, she founded the monasteries of Rupertsberg in 1150, One of her works as a composer, the Ordo Virtutum, is an early example of liturgical drama and arguably the oldest surviving morality play. She is also noted for the invention of a language known as Lingua Ignota. Although the history of her formal consideration is complicated, she has recognized as a saint by branches of the Roman Catholic Church for centuries. On 7 October 2012, Pope Benedict XVI named her a Doctor of the Church, Hildegard was born around the year 1098, although the exact date is uncertain. Her parents were Mechtild of Merxheim-Nahet and Hildebert of Bermersheim, a family of the lower nobility in the service of the Count Meginhard of Sponheim. Sickly from birth, Hildegard is traditionally considered their youngest and tenth child, in her Vita, Hildegard states that from a very young age she had experienced visions. The date of Hildegards enclosure at the monastery is the subject of debate and her Vita says she was professed with an older woman, Jutta, the daughter of Count Stephan II of Sponheim, at the age of eight. However, Juttas date of enclosure is known to have been in 1112 and their vows were received by Bishop Otto Bamberg on All Saints Day,1112. Some scholars speculate that Hildegard was placed in the care of Jutta at the age of eight, in any case, Hildegard and Jutta were enclosed together at the Disibodenberg, and formed the core of a growing community of women attached to the male monastery. Jutta was also a visionary and thus attracted many followers who came to visit her at the cloister, Hildegard tells us that Jutta taught her to read and write, but that she was unlearned and therefore incapable of teaching Hildegard sound biblical interpretation. The written record of the Life of Jutta indicates that Hildegard probably assisted her in reciting the psalms, working in the garden and other handiwork and this might have been a time when Hildegard learned how to play the ten-stringed psaltery. Volmar, a frequent visitor, may have taught Hildegard simple psalm notation, the time she studied music could have been the beginning of the compositions she would later create. Upon Juttas death in 1136, Hildegard was unanimously elected as magistra of the community by her fellow nuns, Abbot Kuno of Disibodenberg asked Hildegard to be Prioress, which would be under his authority. Hildegard, however, wanted more independence for herself and her nuns and this was to be a move towards poverty, from a stone complex that was well established to a temporary dwelling place. When the abbot declined Hildegards proposition, Hildegard went over his head and it was only when the Abbot himself could not move Hildegard that he decided to grant the nuns their own monastery. Hildegard and about twenty nuns thus moved to the St. Rupertsberg monastery in 1150, in 1165 Hildegard founded a second monastery for her nuns at Eibingen
19.
Israel the Grammarian
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Israel the Grammarian was one of the leading European scholars of the mid-tenth century. In the 930s, he was at the court of King Æthelstan of England, after Æthelstans death, Israel successfully sought the patronage of Archbishop Rotbert of Trier and became tutor to Bruno, later the Archbishop of Cologne. In the late 940s Israel is recorded as a bishop, Israel was an accomplished poet, a disciple of the ninth-century Irish philosopher John Scottus Eriugena and one of the few Western scholars of his time to understand Greek. He wrote theological and grammatical tracts, and commentaries on the works of other philosophers, the reign of Charlemagne saw a revival in learning in Europe from the late eighth century, known as the Carolingian Renaissance. The Carolingian Empire collapsed in the ninth century, while the tenth is seen as a period of decline. The Bible remained the primary fount of knowledge, but study of classical writers, when Alfred the Great became King of Wessex in 871, learning in southern England was at a low level, and there were no Latin scholars. He embarked on a programme of revival, bringing in scholars from Continental Europe, Wales and Mercia and his grandson, Æthelstan, carried on the work, inviting foreign scholars such as Israel to England, and appointing a number of continental clerics as bishops. In the 930s the level of learning was not high enough to supply enough literate English priests to fill the bishoprics. Very little is known about Israels early life, michael Lapidge dates his birth to around 900, while Wood places it slightly earlier, around 890. He was a disciple of Ambrose and spent time at Rome, in Woods view Israel was a monk at Saint-Maximin in Trier in the 930s. Tenth-century sources provide conflicting evidence on Israels origin, according to Lapidge, The consensus of modern scholarship is in favour of an Irish origin, but the matter has not been properly investigated. He argues that the bishop of Bangor in County Down, Dub Innse, described Israel as a Roman scholar, Lapidge states that Flodoard was contemporary with Israel and may have known him, whereas Ruotger wrote after Israels death and probably did not have first hand knowledge. Giving children Old Testament Hebrew names such as Israel was common in Celtic areas in the tenth century, in 2007, Wood revived the Irish theory, questioning whether Flodoards Israel Britto means Breton, and stating that Ruotger knew Israel. Æthelstans biographer, Sarah Foot, mentions Woods view, but she rejects it, stating that Israel was not Irish, thomas Charles-Edwards, a historian of medieval Wales, thinks he may have been Welsh. The twelfth-century copyist appears to have changed Dub Innses first person note to the third person, in a later passage, he interprets Roman scholar, that is Israel as meaning a Roman Jew. Israel is thought to be Israel the Grammarian, described as a Roman scholar because of his time in the city, a number of manuscripts associated with Israel, including two of the four known copies of his poem De arte metrica, were written in England. Israel was a practitioner of the style of Latin, characterised by long, convoluted sentences. He probably influenced the scribe known to historians as Æthelstan A, Israels poem De arte metrica was dedicated to Rotbert, Archbishop of Trier
20.
Amalric of Bena
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Amalric of Bena was a French theologian and sect leader, after whom the Amalricians are named. Amalric was born in the part of the 12th century at Bennes. In 1204 his doctrines were condemned by the university, and, on an appeal to Pope Innocent III. His death was caused, it is said, by grief at the humiliation to which he had been subjected, in 1209 ten of his followers were burnt before the gates of Paris, and Amalrics own body was exhumed and burnt and the ashes given to the winds. The doctrines of his followers, known as the Amalricians, were condemned by the fourth Lateran Council in 1215. Amalric appears to have derived his system from Eriugena, whose principles he developed in a one-sided. Because of the first proposition, God himself is thought as invisible, there is no other life, mans fulfilment is in this life alone. Due to persecutions, this sect does not appear to have survived the death of its founder. Not long after the burning of ten of their members, the sect itself lost its importance, according to Hosea Ballou, then Pierre Batiffol and George T. Knight Amalric was a believer that all people would eventually be saved, Brethren of the Free Spirit Attribution This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain, Chisholm, Hugh, ed. Amalric, of Bena. This article incorporates text from a now in the public domain, ABecket. W. Preger, Geschichte der deutschen Mystik im Mittelalter Haureau, schmidt, Histoire de lÉglise dOccident pendant le Moyen Âge Hefele, Conciliengeschichte. Amaury de Bène, étude sur son panthéisme formel, the Influence of Amalric of Bene in Thirteenth Century Pantheism
21.
Alain de Lille
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Alain de Lille was a French theologian and poet. He was born in Lille, some time before 1128 and his exact date of death remains unclear as well, with most research pointing toward it being between April 14,1202, and April 5,1203. Little is known of his life, however it is clear that Alan entered the schools no earlier than the late 1140s, first attending the school at Paris and he probably studied under masters such as Peter Abelard, Gilbert of Poitiers, and Thierry of Chartres. This is known through the writings of John of Salisbury, who is thought to have been an exact contemporary student of Alan of Lille. His earliest writings were written in the 1150s, and probably in Paris. Alan spent many years teaching at the school in Paris and he attended the Lateran Council in 1179 and he afterwards inhabited Montpellier, lived for a time outside the walls of any cloister, and finally retired to Cîteaux, where he died in 1202. He had a widespread reputation during his lifetime and his knowledge, more varied than profound. Many of Alan’s writings are unable to be dated. He created the allegory of grammatical conjugation which was to have its successors throughout the Middle Ages, the Anticlaudianus, a treatise on morals as allegory, the form of which recalls the pamphlet of Claudian against Rufinus, is agreeably versified and relatively pure in its latinity. As a theologian Alain de Lille shared in the reaction of the second half of the 12th century against the scholastic philosophy. His mysticism, however, is far from being as absolute as that of the Victorines and this rule is completed in his treatise, Ars catholicae fidei, as follows, Theology itself may be demonstrated by reason. Alain even ventures an immediate application of this principle, and tries to prove geometrically the dogmas defined in the Creed. This bold attempt is entirely factitious and verbal, and it is only his employment of terms not generally used in such a connection that gives his treatise its apparent originality. Alan’s philosophy was a sort of mixture of Aristotelian logic and Neoplatonic philosophy, in this work, Alan uses prose and verse to illustrate the way in which nature defines its own position as inferior to that of God. He also attempts to illustrate the way in which humanity, through sexual perversion and specifically homosexuality, has defiled itself from nature and God. In Anticlaudianus, another of his works, Alan uses a poetical dialogue to illustrate the way in which nature comes to the realization of her failure in producing the perfect man. She has only the ability to create a body, and thus she is “persuaded to undertake the journey to heaven to ask for a soul, ”. The Five Senses are the horses”, the Anticlaudianus was translated into French and German in the following century, and toward 1280 was re-worked into a musical anthology by Adam de la Bassée
22.
Peter Damian
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Saint Peter Damian was a reforming Benedictine monk and cardinal in the circle of Pope Leo IX. Dante placed him in one of the highest circles of Paradiso as a predecessor of Saint Francis of Assisi. His feast day is February 21, Peter was born in Ravenna, Italy, around 1007, the youngest of a large noble, but poor family. Orphaned early, he was at first adopted by an elder brother, after some years, another brother, Damianus, who was archpriest at Ravenna, had pity on him and took him away to be educated. About 1035, however, he gave up his calling and, avoiding the compromised luxury of Cluniac monasteries, entered the isolated hermitage of Fonte Avellana. Both as novice and as monk, his fervor was remarkable but led him to extremes of self-mortification in penance that his health was affected. On his recovery, he was appointed to lecture to his fellow monks, soon after his return to Fonte Avellana he was appointed economus of the house by the prior, who designated him as his successor. In 1043 he became prior of Fonte Avellana, and remained so until his death in February 1072, subject-hermitages were founded at San Severino, Gamogna, Acerreta, Murciana, San Salvatore, Sitria and Ocri. Another innovation was that of the siesta, to make up for the fatigue of the night office. During his tenure of the priorate a cloister was built, silver chalices and a processional cross were purchased. Extending the area of his activities, he entered into communication with the Emperor Henry III, after this he returned to his hermitage. About 1050, during the pontificate of Pope Leo IX, Peter wrote a treatise on the vices of the clergy, including sexual abuse of minors. Liber Gomorrhianus was openly addressed to the pope, meanwhile, the question arose as to the validity of the ordinations of simoniacal clerics. Pope Benedict XVI described him as one of the most significant figures of the 11th century, a lover of solitude and at the same time a fearless man of the Church, committed personally to the task of reform. He claimed that the first grammarian was the Devil, who taught Adam to decline deus in the plural and he argued that monks should not have to study philosophy, because Jesus did not choose philosophers as disciples, and so philosophy is not necessary for salvation. But the idea that philosophy should serve theology as a servant serves her mistress originated with him, however, this apparent animosity may reflect his view that logic is only concerned with the validity of argument, rather than the nature of reality. Similar views are found in Al-Ghazali and Wittgenstein, Damians tract De divina omnipotentia is frequently misunderstood. Damians purpose is to defend the doctrine of omnipotence, which he defines as the ability of God to do anything that is good, toivo J. Holopainen identifies De divina omnipotentia as an interesting document related to the early developments of medieval discussion concerning modalities and divine omnipotence
23.
Thomas Aquinas
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Saint Thomas Aquinas O. P. was an Italian Dominican friar, Catholic priest, and Doctor of the Church. He was an influential philosopher, theologian, and jurist in the tradition of scholasticism, within which he is also known as the Doctor Angelicus. The name Aquinas identifies his ancestral origins in the county of Aquino in present-day Lazio and he was the foremost classical proponent of natural theology and the father of Thomism, of which he argued that reason is found in God. His influence on Western thought is considerable, and much of modern philosophy developed or opposed his ideas, particularly in the areas of ethics, natural law, metaphysics, the works for which he is best known are the Summa Theologiae and the Summa contra Gentiles. His commentaries on Scripture and on Aristotle form an important part of his body of work, furthermore, Thomas is distinguished for his eucharistic hymns, which form a part of the Churchs liturgy. Thomas Aquinas is considered one of the Catholic Churchs greatest theologians, Pope Benedict XV declared, This Order. Acquired new luster when the Church declared the teaching of Thomas to be her own and that Doctor, honored with the praises of the Pontiffs. The English philosopher Anthony Kenny considers Aquinas to be one of the dozen greatest philosophers of the western world, Thomas was most probably born in the castle of Roccasecca, located in Aquino, old county of the Kingdom of Sicily, c.1225. According to some authors, he was born in the castle of his father, though he did not belong to the most powerful branch of the family, Landulf of Aquino was a man of means. As a knight in the service of King Roger II, he held the title miles, Thomass mother, Theodora, belonged to the Rossi branch of the Neapolitan Caracciolo family. Landulfs brother Sinibald was abbot of the first Benedictine monastery at Monte Cassino and it was here that Thomas was probably introduced to Aristotle, Averroes and Maimonides, all of whom would influence his theological philosophy. There his teacher in arithmetic, geometry, astronomy, and music was Petrus de Ibernia, at the age of nineteen Thomas resolved to join the recently founded Dominican Order. Thomass change of heart did not please his family, in an attempt to prevent Theodoras interference in Thomass choice, the Dominicans arranged to move Thomas to Rome, and from Rome, to Paris. Political concerns prevented the Pope from ordering Thomass release, which had the effect of extending Thomass detention, Thomas passed this time of trial tutoring his sisters and communicating with members of the Dominican Order. Family members became desperate to dissuade Thomas, who remained determined to join the Dominicans, at one point, two of his brothers resorted to the measure of hiring a prostitute to seduce him. According to legend Thomas drove her away wielding a fire iron and that night two angels appeared to him as he slept and strengthened his determination to remain celibate. By 1244, seeing all of her attempts to dissuade Thomas had failed, Theodora sought to save the familys dignity. In her mind, an escape from detention was less damaging than an open surrender to the Dominicans
24.
Nicholas of Cusa
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Nicholas of Cusa, also referred to as Nicholas of Kues and Nicolaus Cusanus, was a German philosopher, theologian, jurist, and astronomer. One of the first German proponents of Renaissance humanism, he made spiritual and political contributions in European history. A notable example of this is his mystical or spiritual writings on learned ignorance, Papal legate to Germany from 1446, he was appointed cardinal for his merits by Pope Nicholas V in 1448 and Prince–Bishop of Brixen two years later. In 1459 he became general in the Papal States. Nicholas of Cusa has remained an influential figure, during the period 2000-2001, his sixth centennial of his birth was celebrated on four continents and commemorated by publications on his life and work. Nicholas was born in Kues in southwestern Germany and he was the second of four children of Johan Krebs and Katherina Roemer. His father was a boat owner and ferryman. He entered the Faculty of Arts of the Heidelberg University in 1416 as a cleric of the Diocese of Trier and he seemed to have left Heidelberg soon afterwards, as he received his doctorate in canon law from the University of Padua in 1423. In Padua, he met with the later cardinals Julian Cesarini and Domenico Capranica, afterwards, he entered the University of Cologne in 1425 as a doctor of canon law, which he appears to have both taught and practiced there. In Cologne, he made friends with the scholastic theologian Heymeric de Campo, following a brief period in Cologne, Nicholas returned to his hometown and became secretary to Otto of Ziegenhain, the Prince–Archbishop of Trier. Otto appointed him canon and dean at the stift of Saint Florinus in Koblenz affiliated with numerous prebends, in 1427 he was sent to Rome as an episcopal delegate. The next year he travelled to Paris to study the writings of Ramon Llull, at the same time he rejected a calling by the newly established University of Leuven. He acquired great knowledge in the research of ancient and mediæval manuscripts as well as in textual criticism, in 1433 he identified the Donation of Constantine as a fake, confirmed by Lorenzo Valla a few years later, and revealed the forgery of the Pseudo-Isidorian Decretals. After the Archbishop Otto of Trier had died in 1430, Pope Martin V appointed the Speyer bishop Raban of Helmstatt his successor. Nicholas stressed the influence of the cathedral chapter and its given right to participate in the succession policy. His efforts were to no avail in regard to Ulrichs ambitions, however, Nicholas pleadings earned him a reputation as an intermediary. While present at the council, he wrote his first work, De concordantia catholica and this work remained useful to critics of the papacy long after Nicholas left Basel. Initially as conciliarist, Nicholas approached to his university friend Cardinal Julian Cesarini, Nicholas supported transfer of the council to Italy to meet with the Greeks, who needed aid against the Ottoman Turks
25.
Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel
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Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel was a German philosopher and an important figure of German idealism. He achieved wide renown in his day and, while primarily influential within the tradition of philosophy, has become increasingly influential in the analytic tradition as well. Although he remains a figure, his canonical stature within Western philosophy is universally recognized. His philosophy of spirit conceptually integrates psychology, the state, history, art, religion and his account of the master–slave dialectic has been highly influential, especially in 20th-century France. Hegel has been seen in the 20th century as the originator of the thesis, antithesis, synthesis triad, however, as an explicit phrase, Hegel has influenced many thinkers and writers whose own positions vary widely. Hegel was born on August 27,1770 in Stuttgart, in the Duchy of Württemberg in southwestern Germany, christened Georg Wilhelm Friedrich, he was known as Wilhelm to his close family. His father, Georg Ludwig, was Rentkammersekretär at the court of Karl Eugen, Hegels mother, Maria Magdalena Louisa, was the daughter of a lawyer at the High Court of Justice at the Württemberg court. She died of a fever when Hegel was thirteen. Hegel and his father caught the disease but narrowly survived. Hegel had a sister, Christiane Luise, and a brother, Georg Ludwig, at the age of three Hegel went to the German School. When he entered the Latin School two years later, he knew the first declension, having been taught it by his mother. In 1776, Hegel entered Stuttgarts gymnasium illustre, during his adolescence Hegel read voraciously, copying lengthy extracts in his diary. Authors he read include the poet Friedrich Gottlieb Klopstock and writers associated with the Enlightenment, such as Christian Garve, Hegels studies at the Gymnasium were concluded with his Abiturrede entitled The abortive state of art and scholarship in Turkey. At the age of eighteen Hegel entered the Tübinger Stift, where he had as roommates the poet Friedrich Hölderlin, sharing a dislike for what they regarded as the restrictive environment of the Seminary, the three became close friends and mutually influenced each others ideas. All greatly admired Hellenic civilization, and Hegel additionally steeped himself in Jean-Jacques Rousseau and they watched the unfolding of the French Revolution with shared enthusiasm. Schelling and Hölderlin immersed themselves in theoretical debates on Kantian philosophy, Hegel at this time envisaged his future as that of a Popularphilosoph, i. e. Having received his certificate from the Tübingen Seminary, Hegel became Hofmeister to an aristocratic family in Bern. During this period he composed the text which has known as the Life of Jesus
26.
Irish people
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The Irish people are a nation and ethnic group native to the island of Ireland, who share a common Irish ancestry, identity and culture. Ireland has been inhabited for about 9,000 years according to archaeological studies, for most of Irelands recorded history, the Irish have been primarily a Gaelic people. Today, Ireland is made up of the Republic of Ireland, the people of Northern Ireland hold various national identities, including Irish, Northern Irish, British, or some combination thereof. The Irish have their own customs, language, music, dance, sports, cuisine, although Irish was their main language in the past, today the huge majority of Irish people speak English as their first language. Historically, the Irish nation was made up of kin groups or clans, there have been many notable Irish people throughout history. After Irelands conversion to Christianity, Irish missionaries and scholars exerted great influence on Western Europe, the 6th-century Irish monk and missionary Columbanus is regarded as one of the fathers of Europe, followed by saints Cillian and Fergal. The scientist Robert Boyle is considered the father of chemistry, famous Irish writers include Oscar Wilde, W. B. Yeats, George Bernard Shaw, Bram Stoker and James Joyce, notable Irish explorers include Brendan the Navigator, Robert McClure, Ernest Shackleton and Tom Crean. By some accounts, the first European child born in North America had Irish descent on both sides, many presidents of the United States have had some Irish ancestry. The population of Ireland is about 6.3 million, but it is estimated that 50 to 80 million people around the world have Irish forebears, historically, emigration from Ireland has been the result of conflict, famine and economic issues. People of Irish descent are mainly in English-speaking countries, especially the United Kingdom. There are also significant numbers in Argentina, Mexico and New Zealand, the United States has the most people of Irish descent, while in Australia those of Irish descent are a higher percentage of the population than in any other country. Many Icelanders have Irish and Scottish Gaelic forebears, in its summary of their article Who were the Celts. The National Museum Wales notes It is possible that genetic studies of ancient. However, early studies have, so far, tended to produce implausible conclusions from very small numbers of people and using outdated assumptions about linguistics, nineteenth century anthropology studied the physical characteristics of Irish people in minute detail. During the past 10,000 years of inhabitation, Ireland has witnessed some different peoples arrive on its shores, the ancient peoples of Ireland—such as the creators of the Céide Fields and Newgrange—are almost unknown. Neither their languages nor terms they used to describe themselves have survived, as late as the middle centuries of the 1st millennium the inhabitants of Ireland did not appear to have a collective name for themselves. Ireland itself was known by a number of different names, including Banba, Fódla, Ériu by the islanders, Iouerne and Hiverne to the Greeks, other Latin names for people from Ireland in Classic and Mediaeval sources include Attacotti and Gael
27.
Pantheism
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Pantheism is the belief that all reality is identical with divinity, or that everything composes an all-encompassing, immanent god. Pantheists thus do not believe in a personal or anthropomorphic god. The term pantheism was not coined until after Spinozas death, and his work, Ethics, was the major source from which Western pantheism spread. Pantheistic concepts may date back thousands of years, and some religions in the East continue to contain pantheistic elements, Pantheism derives from the Greek πᾶν pan and θεός theos. There are a variety of definitions of pantheism, some consider it a theological and philosophical position concerning God. As a religious position, some describe pantheism as the polar opposite of atheism, from this standpoint, pantheism is the view that everything is part of an all-encompassing, immanent God. All forms of reality may then be considered either modes of that Being, some hold that pantheism is a non-religious philosophical position. To them, pantheism is the view that the Universe and God are identical, pantheistic tendencies existed in a number of early Gnostic groups, with pantheistic thought appearing throughout the Middle Ages. These included a section of Johannes Scotus Eriugenas 9th-century work De divisione naturae, the Roman Catholic Church has long regarded pantheistic ideas as heresy. Giordano Bruno, an Italian monk who evangelized about an immanent and he has since become known as a celebrated pantheist and martyr of science. Bruno influenced many later thinkers including Baruch Spinoza, in the West, pantheism was formalized as a separate theology and philosophy based on the work of the 17th-century philosopher Baruch Spinoza. Spinoza was a Dutch philosopher of Sephardi Portuguese origin, whose book Ethics was an answer to Descartes famous dualist theory that the body, Spinoza held the monist view that the two are the same, and monism is a fundamental part of his philosophy. He was described as a God-intoxicated man, and used the word God to describe the unity of all substance, although the term pantheism was not coined until after his death, Spinoza is regarded as its most celebrated advocate. His work, Ethics, was the source from which Western pantheism spread. The breadth and importance of Spinozas work was not fully realized until years after his death. Spinozas magnum opus, the posthumous Ethics, in which he opposed Descartes mind–body dualism, has earned him recognition as one of Western philosophys most important thinkers, Hegel said, You are either a Spinozist or not a philosopher at all. His philosophical accomplishments and moral character prompted 20th-century philosopher Gilles Deleuze to name him the prince of philosophers, Spinoza was raised in the Portuguese Jewish community in Amsterdam. He developed highly controversial ideas regarding the authenticity of the Hebrew Bible, the Jewish religious authorities issued a cherem against him, effectively excluding him from Jewish society at age 23
28.
Malmesbury
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Malmesbury /ˈmɑːlmzbri/ or /ˈmɑːmzbri/ is a market town and civil parish in the southern Cotswolds in the county of Wiltshire, England. Once the site of an Iron Age fort, in the Anglo-Saxon period it became the site of a monastery famed for its learning, Æthelstan, the first king of England, was buried in Malmesbury Abbey when he died in 939. The hilltop contains several freshwater springs, which helped early settlements and it was the site of an Iron Age fort, and in the Anglo-Saxon period it had a monastery famed as a centre of learning. The town is listed in the Burghal Hidage as one of Alfred the Greats defended burhs assessed at 1200 hides, the town was described in the Domesday Book as a borough. Alfreds grandson, Æthelstan, the first king of England, was buried in Malmesbury Abbey in 939, the Abbey was founded in 675 by Maildubh, Mailduf or Maelduib, an Irishman. Having founded other churches in the area, including at Bradford on Avon and its architecture is listed in the highest category and it is a Scheduled Ancient Monument. Across the River Avons Sherston branch via the footpath by 18 Gloucester Street is a depression Daniels Well and this derives from a monk called Daniel named after earlier Daniel of Winchester. This former bishop, on losing his sight, lived at the abbey briefly until death in 745AD and was educated there, the later monk is said to have submerged himself in the cold water every day for decades to quell fiery passions. The Abbey was the site of an attempt at human flight, when noted by historian William of Malmesbury in 1010. Eilmer flew over 180 metres before landing, breaking both legs, thus by the time of the Norman invasion in 1066, Malmesbury was one of the most significant towns in England. It is listed first in the Wiltshire section of the Domesday Book, King Henry Is chancellor, Roger of Salisbury, seized the monastery under his bishopric in 1118, and held it for 20 years. Renowned as a builder, he rebuilt the wooden town walls wholly in stone rather than wood. In 1220 this resulted in the construction of the Abbey guest house, the Abbeys spire collapsed in either the late 15th or early 16th century. Under his English Reformation, King Henry VIII, sold the substantial land, the extant part of the Abbey is now the parish church, with the remains containing a parvise which still holds some fine examples of books from the former Abbey library. Malmesbury natives can be nicknamed Jackdaws, originating from the colony of these that inhabit the Abbey walls. The location and defensive position of Malmesbury on the latterly important Oxford to Bristol route made it a military point. During the Civil War the town changed hands seven times, with the face of Malmesbury Abbey still today bearing pock-marks from cannon. In 1646 Parliament ordered that the walls be destroyed
29.
Middle Ages
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In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or Medieval Period lasted from the 5th to the 15th century. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and merged into the Renaissance, the Middle Ages is the middle period of the three traditional divisions of Western history, classical antiquity, the medieval period, and the modern period. The medieval period is subdivided into the Early, High. Population decline, counterurbanisation, invasion, and movement of peoples, the large-scale movements of the Migration Period, including various Germanic peoples, formed new kingdoms in what remained of the Western Roman Empire. In the seventh century, North Africa and the Middle East—once part of the Byzantine Empire—came under the rule of the Umayyad Caliphate, although there were substantial changes in society and political structures, the break with classical antiquity was not complete. The still-sizeable Byzantine Empire survived in the east and remained a major power, the empires law code, the Corpus Juris Civilis or Code of Justinian, was rediscovered in Northern Italy in 1070 and became widely admired later in the Middle Ages. In the West, most kingdoms incorporated the few extant Roman institutions, monasteries were founded as campaigns to Christianise pagan Europe continued. The Franks, under the Carolingian dynasty, briefly established the Carolingian Empire during the later 8th, the Crusades, first preached in 1095, were military attempts by Western European Christians to regain control of the Holy Land from Muslims. Kings became the heads of centralised nation states, reducing crime and violence, intellectual life was marked by scholasticism, a philosophy that emphasised joining faith to reason, and by the founding of universities. Controversy, heresy, and the Western Schism within the Catholic Church paralleled the conflict, civil strife. Cultural and technological developments transformed European society, concluding the Late Middle Ages, the Middle Ages is one of the three major periods in the most enduring scheme for analysing European history, classical civilisation, or Antiquity, the Middle Ages, and the Modern Period. Medieval writers divided history into periods such as the Six Ages or the Four Empires, when referring to their own times, they spoke of them as being modern. In the 1330s, the humanist and poet Petrarch referred to pre-Christian times as antiqua, leonardo Bruni was the first historian to use tripartite periodisation in his History of the Florentine People. Bruni and later argued that Italy had recovered since Petrarchs time. The Middle Ages first appears in Latin in 1469 as media tempestas or middle season, in early usage, there were many variants, including medium aevum, or middle age, first recorded in 1604, and media saecula, or middle ages, first recorded in 1625. The alternative term medieval derives from medium aevum, tripartite periodisation became standard after the German 17th-century historian Christoph Cellarius divided history into three periods, Ancient, Medieval, and Modern. The most commonly given starting point for the Middle Ages is 476, for Europe as a whole,1500 is often considered to be the end of the Middle Ages, but there is no universally agreed upon end date. English historians often use the Battle of Bosworth Field in 1485 to mark the end of the period
30.
Gaels
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The Gaels are an ethnolinguistic group native to northwestern Europe. They are associated with the Gaelic languages, a branch of the Celtic languages comprising Irish, Manx, historically, the ethnonyms Irish and Scots referred to the Gaels in general, but the scope of those nationalities is today more complex. Gaelic language and culture originated in Ireland, extending to Dál Riata in western Scotland, in antiquity the Gaels traded with the Roman Empire and also raided Roman Britain. In the Middle Ages, Gaelic culture became dominant throughout the rest of Scotland, there was also some Gaelic settlement in Wales and Cornwall. In the Viking Age, small numbers of Vikings raided and settled in Gaelic lands, in the 9th century, Dál Riata and Pictland merged to form the Gaelic Kingdom of Alba. Meanwhile, Gaelic Ireland was made up of several kingdoms, with a High King often claiming lordship over them, in the 12th century, Anglo-Normans conquered parts of Ireland, while parts of Scotland became Anglo-Normanized. However, Gaelic culture remained strong throughout Ireland, the Scottish Highlands, in the early 17th century, the last Gaelic kingdoms in Ireland fell under English control. In the following centuries most Gaels were gradually anglicized and Gaelic language mostly supplanted by English, however, it continues to be the main language in Irelands Gaeltacht and Scotlands Outer Hebrides. The modern descendants of the Gaels have spread throughout Britain, the Americas, Gaelic society traditionally centered around the clan, each with its own territory and chieftain, elected through tanistry. The Gaels were originally pagans who worshipped the Tuatha Dé Danann, venerated the ancestors and their four yearly festivals – Samhain, Imbolc, Beltane and Lughnasa – continued to be celebrated into modern times. The Gaels have an oral tradition, traditionally maintained by shanachies. Inscription in the Gaelic ogham alphabet began in the 1st century and their conversion to Christianity accompanied the introduction of writing, and Irish Gaelic has the oldest vernacular literature in western Europe. Irish mythology and Brehon law were preserved, albeit Christianized, Gaelic monasteries were renowned centres of learning and played a key role in developing Insular art, while Gaelic missionaries and scholars were highly influential in western Europe. In the Middle Ages, most Gaels lived in roundhouses and ringforts, the Gaels had their own style of dress, which became the belted plaid and kilt. They also have music, dance, and sports. Gaelic culture continues to be a component of Irish, Scottish. Throughout the centuries, Gaels and Gaelic-speakers have been known by a number of names, the most consistent of these have been Gael, Irish and Scots. The latter two have developed more ambiguous meanings, due to the modern concept of the nation state
31.
Carolingian dynasty
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The Carolingian dynasty was a Frankish noble family with origins in the Arnulfing and Pippinid clans of the 7th century AD. The name Carolingian derives from the Latinised name of Charles Martel, the Carolingian dynasty reached its peak in 800 with the crowning of Charlemagne as the first Emperor of Romans in over three centuries. His death in 814 began a period of fragmentation of the Carolingian empire and decline that would eventually lead to the evolution of the Kingdom of France. This picture, however, is not commonly accepted today, the greatest Carolingian monarch was Charlemagne, who was crowned Emperor by Pope Leo III at Rome in 800. His empire, ostensibly a continuation of the Western Roman Empire, is referred to historiographically as the Carolingian Empire, the Carolingian rulers did not give up the traditional Frankish practice of dividing inheritances among heirs, though the concept of the indivisibility of the Empire was also accepted. The Carolingians had the practice of making their sons kings in the various regions of the Empire. The Carolingians were displaced in most of the regna of the Empire by 888 and they ruled in East Francia until 911 and held the throne of West Francia intermittently until 987. One chronicler of Sens dates the end of Carolingian rule with the coronation of Robert II of France as junior co-ruler with his father, Hugh Capet, the dynasty became extinct in the male line with the death of Eudes, Count of Vermandois. His sister Adelaide, the last Carolingian, died in 1122, the Carolingian dynasty has five distinct branches, The Lombard branch, or Vermandois branch, or Herbertians, descended from Pepin of Italy, son of Charlemagne. Though he did not outlive his father, his son Bernard was allowed to retain Italy, Bernard rebelled against his uncle Louis the Pious, and lost both his kingdom and his life. Deprived of the title, the members of this branch settled in France. The counts of Vermandois perpetuated the Carolingian line until the 12th century, the Counts of Chiny and the lords of Mellier, Neufchâteau and Falkenstein are branches of the Herbertians. With the descendants of the counts of Chiny, there would have been Herbertian Carolingians to the early 14th century, the Lotharingian branch, descended from Emperor Lothair, eldest son of Louis the Pious. At his death Middle Francia was divided equally between his three surviving sons, into Italy, Lotharingia and Lower Burgundy, the sons of Emperor Lothair did not have sons of their own, so Middle Francia was divided between the western and eastern branches of the family in 875. The Aquitainian branch, descended from Pepin of Aquitaine, son of Louis the Pious, since he did not outlive his father, his sons were deprived of Aquitaine in favor of his younger brother Charles the Bald. The German branch, descended from Louis the German, King of East Francia, since he had three sons, his lands were divided into Duchy of Bavaria, Duchy of Saxony and Duchy of Swabia. His youngest son Charles the Fat briefly reunited both East and West Francia — the entirety of the Carolingian empire — but it again after his death. With the failure of the lines of the German branch, Arnulf of Carinthia
32.
Charles the Bald
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Charles the Bald was the King of West Francia, King of Italy and Holy Roman Emperor. After a series of wars during the reign of his father, Louis the Pious. He was a grandson of Charlemagne and the youngest son of Louis the Pious by his second wife and he was born on 13 June 823 in Frankfurt, when his elder brothers were already adults and had been assigned their own regna, or subkingdoms, by their father. The attempts made by Louis the Pious to assign Charles a subkingdom, first Alemannia, at a diet in Aachen in 837, Louis the Pious bade the nobles do homage to Charles as his heir. Pepin of Aquitaine died in 838, whereupon Charles at last received that kingdom, which angered Pepins heirs, the death of the emperor in 840 led to the outbreak of war between his sons. In the following year, the two confirmed their alliance by the celebrated Oaths of Strasbourg. The war was brought to an end by the Treaty of Verdun in August 843, Louis received the eastern part of the Carolingian Empire, known then as East Francia and later as Germany. Lothair retained the title and the Kingdom of Italy. He also received the regions from Flanders through the Rhineland. The first years of Charless reign, up to the death of Lothair I in 855, were comparatively peaceful, during these years the three brothers continued the system of confraternal government, meeting repeatedly with one another, at Koblenz, at Meerssen, and at Attigny. In 858, Louis the German, invited by disaffected nobles eager to oust Charles, Charles was so unpopular that he was unable to summon an army, and he fled to Burgundy. He was saved only by the support of the bishops, who refused to crown Louis the German king, and by the fidelity of the Welfs, in 860, he in his turn tried to seize the kingdom of his nephew, Charles of Provence, but was repulsed. On the death of his nephew Lothair II in 869, Charles tried to seize Lothairs dominions, besides these family disputes, Charles had to struggle against repeated rebellions in Aquitaine and against the Bretons. Led by their chiefs Nomenoë and Erispoë, who defeated the king at the Battle of Ballon and the Battle of Jengland, the Bretons were successful in obtaining a de facto independence. Charles also fought against the Vikings, who devastated the country of the north, the valleys of the Seine and Loire, at the Vikings successful siege and sack of Paris in 845 and several times thereafter Charles was forced to purchase their retreat at a heavy price. By the same edict, he ordered fortified bridges to be put up at all rivers to block the Viking incursions, two of these bridges at Paris saved the city during its siege of 885–886. In 875, after the death of the Emperor Louis II, Charles the Bald, supported by Pope John VIII, traveled to Italy, receiving the crown at Pavia. Louis the German, also a candidate for the succession of Louis II, revenged himself by invading and devastating Charles dominions, and Charles had to return hastily to West Francia
33.
Alcuin
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Alcuin of York —also called Ealhwine, Alhwin or Alchoin—was an English scholar, clergy, poet and teacher from York, Northumbria. He was born around 735 and became the student of Archbishop Ecgbert at York, at the invitation of Charlemagne, he became a leading scholar and teacher at the Carolingian court, where he remained a figure in the 780s and 90s. Alcuin wrote many theological and dogmatic treatises, as well as a few grammatical works and he was made Abbot of Tours in 796, where he remained until his death. The most learned man anywhere to be found, according to Einhards Life of Charlemagne, among his pupils were many of the dominant intellectuals of the Carolingian era. Alcuin was born in Northumbria, presumably sometime in the 730s, virtually nothing is known of his parents, family background, or origin. In common hagiographical fashion, the Vita Alcuini asserts that Alcuin was of noble English stock, and this statement has usually been accepted by scholars. Alcuins own work only mentions such collateral kinsmen as Wilgils, father of the missionary saint Willibrord, and Beornred, abbot of Echternach and bishop of Sens, if so, Alcuins origins may lie in the southern part of what was formerly known as Deira. The young Alcuin came to the church of York during the golden age of Archbishop Ecgbert and his brother. Ecgbert had been a disciple of the Venerable Bede, who urged him to raise York to an archbishopric, Ecgbert was devoted to Alcuin, who thrived under his tutelage. The York school was renowned as a centre of learning in the arts, literature. It was from here that Alcuin drew inspiration for the school he would lead at the Frankish court and he revived the school with the trivium and quadrivium disciplines, writing a codex on the trivium, while his student Hraban wrote one on the quadrivium. Alcuin graduated to become a teacher during the 750s and his ascendancy to the headship of the York school, the ancestor of St Peters School, began after Aelbert became Archbishop of York in 767. Around the same time Alcuin became a deacon in the church and he was never ordained as a priest and there is no real evidence that he became an actual monk, but he lived his life as one. In 781, King Elfwald sent Alcuin to Rome to petition the Pope for official confirmation of Yorks status as an archbishopric and to confirm the election of the new archbishop, on his way home he met Charlemagne, this time in the Italian city of Parma. Alcuins intellectual curiosity allowed him to be persuaded to join Charlemagnes court. He joined a group of scholars that Charlemagne had gathered around him, the mainsprings of the Carolingian Renaissance, Peter of Pisa, Paulinus of Aquileia, Rado. Alcuin would later write that the Lord was calling me to the service of King Charles, Alcuin became Master of the Palace School of Charlemagne in Aachen in 782. It had been founded by the ancestors as a place for the education of the royal children
34.
Carolingian Renaissance
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During this period, there was an increase of literature, writing, the arts, architecture, jurisprudence, liturgical reforms, and scriptural studies. The Carolingian Renaissance occurred mostly during the reigns of Carolingian rulers Charlemagne and it was supported by the scholars of the Carolingian court, notably Alcuin of York. Charlemagnes Admonitio generalis and Epistola de litteris colendis served as manifestos, the effects of this cultural revival were mostly limited to a small group of court literati. They also applied rational ideas to social issues for the first time in centuries, providing a common language, kenneth Clark was of the view that by means of the Carolingian Renaissance, Western civilization survived by the skin of its teeth. Instead of being a rebirth of new movements, the period was more an attempt to recreate the previous culture of the Roman Empire. In its earlier state of barbarousness, his kingdom had been touched at all by any such zeal. In our own time the thirst for knowledge is disappearing again, of even greater concern to some rulers was the fact that not all parish priests possessed the skill to read the Vulgate Bible. To address these problems, Charlemagne ordered the creation of schools in a known as the Charter of Modern Thought. A major part of his program of reform was to many of the leading scholars of the Christiandom of his day to his court. The Lombard Paul the Deacon was brought to court in 782 and remained until 787, theodulf of Orléans was a Spanish Goth who served at court from 782 to 797 when nominated as bishop of Orléans. Theodulf had been in competition over the standardization of the Vulgate with the chief among the Charlemagnes scholars. Alcuin was a Northumbrian monk and deacon who served as head of the Palace School from 782 to 796, after 796, he continued his scholarly work as abbot of St. Martins Monastery in Tours. Among those to follow Alcuin across the Channel to the Frankish court was Joseph Scottus, after this first generation of non-Frankish scholars, their Frankish pupils, such as Angilbert, would make their own mark. The later courts of Louis the Pious and Charles the Bald had similar groups of scholars, the Irish monk Dicuil attended the former court, and the more famous Irishman John Scotus Eriugena attended the latter. One of the efforts was the creation of a standardized curriculum for use at the recently created schools. Alcuin led this effort and was responsible for the writing of textbooks, creation of word lists, another contribution from this period was the development of Carolingian minuscule, a book-hand first used at the monasteries of Corbie and Tours that introduced the use of lower case letters. A standardized version of Latin was also developed that allowed for the coining of new words while retaining the grammatical rules of Classical Latin and this Medieval Latin became a common language of scholarship and allowed administrators and travelers to make themselves understood in various regions of Europe. Carolingian art spans the roughly hundred-year period from about 800–900, although brief, it was an influential period
35.
Greek language
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Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages, native to Greece and other parts of the Eastern Mediterranean. It has the longest documented history of any living language, spanning 34 centuries of written records and its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the major part of its history, other systems, such as Linear B and the Cypriot syllabary, were used previously. The alphabet arose from the Phoenician script and was in turn the basis of the Latin, Cyrillic, Armenian, Coptic, Gothic and many other writing systems. Together with the Latin texts and traditions of the Roman world, during antiquity, Greek was a widely spoken lingua franca in the Mediterranean world and many places beyond. It would eventually become the official parlance of the Byzantine Empire, the language is spoken by at least 13.2 million people today in Greece, Cyprus, Italy, Albania, Turkey, and the Greek diaspora. Greek roots are used to coin new words for other languages, Greek. Greek has been spoken in the Balkan peninsula since around the 3rd millennium BC, the earliest written evidence is a Linear B clay tablet found in Messenia that dates to between 1450 and 1350 BC, making Greek the worlds oldest recorded living language. Among the Indo-European languages, its date of earliest written attestation is matched only by the now extinct Anatolian languages, the Greek language is conventionally divided into the following periods, Proto-Greek, the unrecorded but assumed last ancestor of all known varieties of Greek. The unity of Proto-Greek would have ended as Hellenic migrants entered the Greek peninsula sometime in the Neolithic era or the Bronze Age, Mycenaean Greek, the language of the Mycenaean civilisation. It is recorded in the Linear B script on tablets dating from the 15th century BC onwards, Ancient Greek, in its various dialects, the language of the Archaic and Classical periods of the ancient Greek civilisation. It was widely known throughout the Roman Empire, after the Roman conquest of Greece, an unofficial bilingualism of Greek and Latin was established in the city of Rome and Koine Greek became a first or second language in the Roman Empire. The origin of Christianity can also be traced through Koine Greek, Medieval Greek, also known as Byzantine Greek, the continuation of Koine Greek in Byzantine Greece, up to the demise of the Byzantine Empire in the 15th century. Much of the written Greek that was used as the language of the Byzantine Empire was an eclectic middle-ground variety based on the tradition of written Koine. Modern Greek, Stemming from Medieval Greek, Modern Greek usages can be traced in the Byzantine period and it is the language used by the modern Greeks, and, apart from Standard Modern Greek, there are several dialects of it. In the modern era, the Greek language entered a state of diglossia, the historical unity and continuing identity between the various stages of the Greek language is often emphasised. Greek speakers today still tend to regard literary works of ancient Greek as part of their own rather than a foreign language and it is also often stated that the historical changes have been relatively slight compared with some other languages. According to one estimation, Homeric Greek is probably closer to demotic than 12-century Middle English is to modern spoken English, Greek is spoken by about 13 million people, mainly in Greece, Albania and Cyprus, but also worldwide by the large Greek diaspora. Greek is the language of Greece, where it is spoken by almost the entire population
36.
Oxford
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Oxford is a city in the South East region of England and the county town of Oxfordshire. With an estimated 2015 population of 168,270, it is the 52nd largest city in the United Kingdom, the city is situated 57 miles from London,69 miles from Bristol,65 miles from both Southampton and Birmingham and 25 miles from Reading. The city is known worldwide as the home of the University of Oxford, buildings in Oxford demonstrate notable examples of every English architectural period since the late Saxon period. Oxford is known as the city of dreaming spires, a term coined by poet Matthew Arnold, Oxford has a broad economic base. Its industries include motor manufacturing, education, publishing and a number of information technology and science-based businesses. Oxford was first settled in Saxon times and was known as Oxenaforda, meaning Ford of the Oxen. It began with the establishment of a crossing for oxen around AD900. In the 10th century, Oxford became an important military frontier town between the kingdoms of Mercia and Wessex and was on several occasions raided by Danes, Oxford was heavily damaged during the Norman Invasion of 1066. Following the conquest, the town was assigned to a governor, Robert DOyly, the castle has never been used for military purposes and its remains survive to this day. DOyly set up a community in the castle consisting of a chapel. The community never grew large but it earned its place in history as one of Britains oldest places of formal education and it was there that in 1139 Geoffrey of Monmouth wrote his History of the Kings of Britain, a compilation of Arthurian legends. Mary at Oseney and to the canons serving God in that place and we have made this concession and confirmation in the Common council of the City and we have confirmed it with our common seal. These are those who have made this concession and confirmation, a grandson of King John established Rewley Abbey for the Cistercian Order, and friars of various orders all had houses of varying importance at Oxford. Parliaments were often held in the city during the 13th century, the Provisions of Oxford were instigated by a group of barons led by Simon de Montfort, these documents are often regarded as Englands first written constitution. Richard I of England and John, King of England the sons of Henry II of England, were born at Beaumont Palace in Oxford, on 8 September 1157 and 24 December 1166 respectively. A plaque in Beaumont Street commemorates these events, the University of Oxford is first mentioned in 12th century records. Of the hundreds of Aularian houses that sprang up across the city, what put an end to the halls was the emergence of colleges. Oxfords earliest colleges were University College, Balliol and Merton and these colleges were established at a time when Europeans were starting to translate the writings of Greek philosophers
37.
Alfred the Great
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Alfred the Great was King of Wessex from 871 to 899. Alfred successfully defended his kingdom against the Viking attempt at conquest and he is one of only two English monarchs to be given the epithet the Great, the other being the Scandinavian Cnut the Great. He was also the first King of the West Saxons to style himself King of the Anglo-Saxons, details of Alfreds life are described in a work by the 10th-century Welsh scholar and bishop Asser. In 2002, Alfred was ranked number 14 in the BBCs poll of the 100 Greatest Britons, Alfred was born in the village of Wanating, now Wantage, historically in Berkshire but now in Oxfordshire. He was the youngest son of King Æthelwulf of Wessex by his first wife, Osburh. In 853, at the age of four, Alfred is reported by the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle to have sent to Rome, where he was confirmed by Pope Leo IV. Victorian writers later interpreted this as a coronation in preparation for his eventual succession to the throne of Wessex. This is unlikely, his succession could not have foreseen at the time. A letter of Leo IV shows that Alfred was made a consul and it may also be based on Alfreds later having accompanied his father on a pilgrimage to Rome, where he spent some time at the court of Charles the Bald, King of the Franks, around 854–855. On their return from Rome in 856, Æthelwulf was deposed by his son Æthelbald, with civil war looming, the magnates of the realm met in council to hammer out a compromise. Æthelbald would retain the western shires, and Æthelwulf would rule in the east, when King Æthelwulf died in 858, Wessex was ruled by three of Alfreds brothers in succession, Æthelbald, Æthelberht and Æthelred. Bishop Asser tells the story of how as a child Alfred won as a prize a book of Saxon poems, legend also has it that the young Alfred spent time in Ireland seeking healing. Alfred was troubled by health problems throughout his life and it is thought that he may have suffered from Crohns disease. Statues of Alfred in Winchester and Wantage portray him as a great warrior, evidence suggests he was not physically strong, and though not lacking in courage, he was noted more for his intellect than as a warlike character. During the short reigns of the two of his three elder brothers, Æthelbald of Wessex and Æthelberht of Wessex, Alfred is not mentioned. This arrangement may have been sanctioned by Alfreds father, or by the Witan, the arrangement of crowning a successor as royal prince and military commander is well known among other Germanic tribes, such as the Swedes and Franks, to whom the Anglo-Saxons were closely related. In 868, Alfred is recorded as fighting beside Æthelred in an attempt to keep the Great Heathen Army, led by Ivar the Boneless. At the end of 870, the Danes arrived in his homeland, the year which followed has been called Alfreds year of battles
38.
Stylus
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A stylus, plural styli or styluses, is a writing utensil, or a small tool for some other form of marking or shaping, for example in pottery. It can also be an accessory that is used to assist in navigating or providing more precision when using touchscreens. It usually refers to a narrow elongated staff, similar to a ballpoint pen. Many styluses are heavily curved to be more easily. Another widely used writing tool is the used by blind users in conjunction with the slate for punching out the dots in Braille. Styluses were first used by the ancient Mesopotamians in order to write in cuneiform, cuneiform was entirely based on the wedge-shaped mark that the end of a cut reed made when pushed into a clay tablet, from Latin cuneus = wedge. The linear nature of the writing was also dictated by the use of the stylus, in Western Europe styluses were widely used until the late Middle Ages. For learning purposes the stylus was gradually replaced by a writing slate, from the mid-14th century improved water-powered paper mills produced large and cheap quantities of paper and the wax tablet and stylus disappeared completely from daily life. A different suggestion is that the word does not derive from the Greek word στῦλος and it signifies, An iron instrument, resembling a pencil in size and shape, used for writing upon waxed tablets. Thus, vertere stilum means to erase, and hence to correct, there exists minor controversy about the correct pluralization of stylus. Some assert that stylus is a loanword from Latin and should be pluralised as styli. However, stylus is an English word based on the Latin word stilus, occasionally the pluralisation stylii is seen. Styluses are still used in arts and crafts. Example situations, rubbing off dry transfer letters, tracing designs onto a new surface with carbon paper, styluses are also used to engrave into materials like metal or clay. Styluses are used to make dots as found in folk art, oaxaca dot art is created using styluses. In the sound recording industry, a stylus is a phonograph or gramophone needle used to play back sound on gramophone records, several technologies were used to record the sounds, beginning with wax cylinders, almost half a century before the invention of the magnetic cartridge. Nowadays mostly vinyl records are used, when playing the record, the stylus is placed in the grooves of the record. By then spinning the record, the start to vibrate caused by the shape of the grooves
39.
Clergy
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Clergy are some of the main and important formal leaders within certain religions. The roles and functions of clergy vary in different religious traditions but these usually involve presiding over specific rituals, some of the terms used for individual clergy are cleric, clergyman, clergywoman, clergyperson and churchman. In Islam, a leader is often known formally or informally as an imam, mufti. In Jewish tradition, a leader is often a rabbi or hazzan. Cleric comes from the ecclesiastical Latin clericus, for belonging to the priestly class. This is from the Ecclesiastical Greek clericus, meaning appertaining to an inheritance, Clergy is from two Old French words, clergié and clergie, which refer to those with learning and derive from Medieval Latin clericatus, from Late Latin clericus. Clerk, which used to mean one ordained to the ministry, in the Middle Ages, reading and writing were almost exclusively the domain of the priestly class, and this is the reason for the close relationship of these words. Now, the state is tied to reception of the diaconate. Minor Orders are still given in the Eastern Catholic Churches, and it is in this sense that the word entered the Arabic language, most commonly in Lebanon from the French, as kleriki meaning seminarian. This is all in keeping with Eastern Orthodox concepts of clergy, which include those who have not yet received, or do not plan to receive. A priesthood is a body of priests, shamans, or oracles who have religious authority or function. Buddhist clergy are often referred to as the Sangha. This diversity of monastic orders and styles was originally one community founded by Gautama Buddha during the 5th century BC living under a set of rules. The interaction between Buddhism and Tibetan Bon led to a uniquely Tibetan Buddhism, within which various sects, similarly, the interaction between Indian Buddhist monks and Chinese Confucian and Taoist monks from c200-c900AD produced the distinctive Chan Buddhism. In these ways, manual labour was introduced to a practice where monks originally survived on alms, layers of garments were added where originally a single thin robe sufficed and this adaptation of form and roles of Buddhist monastic practice continued after the transmission to Japan. For example, monks took on administrative functions for the Emperor in particular secular communities, again, in response to various historic attempts to suppress Buddhism, the practice of celibacy was relaxed and Japanese monks allowed to marry. This form was then transmitted to Korea, during later Japanese occupation, as these varied styles of Buddhist monasticism are transmitted to Western cultures, still more new forms are being created. This broad difference in approach led to a schism among Buddhist monastics in about the 4th century BCE
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Monk
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A monk is a person who practices religious asceticism, living either alone or with any number of other monks. The concept is ancient and can be seen in many religions, in the Greek language the term can apply to women, but in modern English it is mainly in use for men. The word nun is typically used for female monastics, although the term monachos is of Christian origin, in the English language monk tends to be used loosely also for both male and female ascetics from other religious or philosophical backgrounds. However, being generic, it is not interchangeable terms that denote particular kinds of monk, such as cenobite, hermit, anchorite, hesychast. In Eastern Orthodoxy monasticism holds a special and important place. Orthodox monastics separate themselves from the world in order to pray unceasingly for the world and they do not, in general, have as their primary purpose the running of social services, but instead are concerned with attaining theosis, or union with God. However, care for the poor and needy has always been an obligation of monasticism, the level of contact though will vary from community to community. Hermits, on the hand, have little or no contact with the outside world. Orthodox monasticism does not have religious orders as are found in the West, basil the Great and the Philokalia, which was compiled by St. Nikodemos of the Holy Mountain and St. Makarios of Corinth. Hesychasm is of importance in the ascetical theology of the Orthodox Church. Meals are usually taken in common in a dining hall known as a trapeza. Food is usually simple and is eaten in silence while one of the brethren reads aloud from the writings of the Holy Fathers. The monastic lifestyle takes a deal of serious commitment. Within the cenobitic community, all monks conform to a way of living based on the traditions of that particular monastery. In struggling to attain this conformity, the comes to realize his own shortcomings and is guided by his spiritual father in how to deal honestly with them. For this same reason, bishops are almost always chosen from the ranks of monks, Eastern monasticism is found in three distinct forms, anchoritic, cenobitic, and the middle way between the two, known as the skete. One normally enters a community first, and only after testing and spiritual growth would one go on to the skete or, for the most advanced. However, one is not necessarily expected to join a skete or become a solitary, in general, Orthodox monastics have little or no contact with the outside world, including their own families
41.
Philosophical realism
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Contemporary philosophical realism is the belief that some aspects of reality are ontologically independent of our conceptual schemes, perceptions, linguistic practices, beliefs, etc. Realism may be spoken of with respect to other minds, the past, the future, universals, mathematical entities, moral categories, the material world, and thought. Realism can also be promoted in a sense, in which case it asserts the mind-independent existence of the world. Philosophers who profess realism often claim that truth consists in a correspondence between cognitive representations and reality, realists tend to believe that whatever we believe now is only an approximation of reality but that the accuracy and fullness of understanding can be improved. In some contexts, realism is contrasted with idealism, today it is more usually contrasted with anti-realism, for example in the philosophy of science. The oldest use of the term appears in medieval scholastic interpretations and adaptations of Greek philosophy. As universals were considered by Plato to be ideal forms, this stance is also called Platonic idealism. Platos Forms include numbers and geometrical figures, making them a theory of realism, they also include the Form of the Good. Medieval realism developed out of debates over the problem of universals, universals are terms or properties that can be applied to many things, such as red, beauty, five, or dog. Realism in this context, contrasted with conceptualism and nominalism, holds that such universals really exist, independently, moderate Realism holds that they exist, but only insofar as they are instantiated in specific things, they do not exist separately from the specific thing. Conceptualism holds that they exist, but only in the mind and its roots can be found in responses to such philosophers as John Locke, George Berkeley and David Hume. The common sense realists found skepticism to be absurd and so contrary to experience that it had to be rejected. Naïve realism, also known as realism, is a philosophy of mind rooted in a common sense theory of perception that claims that the senses provide us with direct awareness of the external world. In contrast, some forms of idealism assert that no world exists apart from mind-dependent ideas, the naive realist view is that objects have properties, such as texture, smell, taste and colour, that are usually perceived absolutely correctly. We perceive them as they really are, scientific realism is, at the most general level, the view that the world described by science is the real world, as it is, independent of what we might take it to be. Within philosophy of science, it is framed as an answer to the question how is the success of science to be explained. The debate over what the success of science involves centers primarily on the status of unobservable entities apparently talked about by scientific theories, generally, those who are scientific realists assert that one can make reliable claims about unobservables as observables. Analytical philosophers generally have a commitment to realism, in the sense of regarding the scientific method as a reliable guide to the nature of reality
42.
Eucharist
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The Eucharist /ˈjuːkərɪst/ is a Christian rite that is considered a sacrament in most churches. Through the Eucharistic celebration Christians remember Christs sacrifice of himself on the cross, the elements of the Eucharist, bread and wine, are consecrated on an altar and consumed thereafter. Communicants may speak of receiving the Eucharist, as well as celebrating the Eucharist, Christians generally recognize a special presence of Christ in this rite, though they differ about exactly how, where, and when Christ is present. While all agree there is no perceptible change in the elements, Catholics believe that they actually become the body. Some Protestants view the Eucharist as an ordinance in which the ceremony is not as a specific channel of divine grace. Do this in remembrance of me, the term Eucharist is that by which the rite is referred by the Didache, Ignatius of Antioch and Justin Martyr. Today, the Eucharist is the still used by Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, Catholics, Anglicans, Presbyterians. Other Protestant denominations rarely use this term, preferring either Communion, one remains hungry, another gets drunk. Communion or Holy Communion are used by some groups originating in the Protestant Reformation to mean the entire Eucharistic rite. The term Communion is derived from Latin communio, which translates Greek κοινωνία in 1 Corinthians 10,16, the bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ. The phrase appears five times in the New Testament in contexts which, according to some and it is the term used by the Plymouth Brethren. The Blessed Sacrament and the Blessed Sacrament of the Altar are common terms used by Catholics, Lutherans and some Anglicans for the consecrated elements, Sacrament of the Altar is in common use also among Lutherans. In The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints the term The Sacrament is used of the rite. Among the many terms used in the Catholic Church are Holy Mass, the Memorial of the Passion, Death and Resurrection of the Lord, the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. The term Mass is probably derived from the fact that the Roman rite celebrates the Eucharist with unleavened bread and this explains why the Eastern Catholic Liturgies are never referred to as the Mass. Eastern rite Liturgies are celebrated with leavened bread, although the prevailing theory is that it is derived from the Latin word missa, a word used in the concluding formula of Mass in Latin, Ite, missa est. The reverse is more likely. The word dismissal probably came about because the Mass signaled the time for the Catechumens to leave, thus, the term Misa came to imply a mission, because at the end of the Mass the congregation are sent out to serve Christ
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Erigena, Johannes Scotus". Encyclopædia Britannica. 9 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 742–744.
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the 
