Peter of Blois pursued the life of a twelfth-century intellectual
with vigor and passion tinged with anxiety. After a thorough
education in the arts, theology, and law at some of medieval
Europe's finest schools - including those at Chartres, Paris, and
Bologna - he served in the courts of royalty and archbishops alike.
He attended diplomatic embassies, advised princes, argued legal
cases at the papal court in Rome, and may well have gone on crusade
to the Holy Land. All the while, along with several treatises, he
wrote, compiled, issued, and re-issued a collection of letters to
the intellectual elite of Europe. These letters detail the
spiritual and professional anxieties of an educated professional
always looking for employment and in considerable despair over the
fate of his soul. Peter's dilemma, essentially insoluble, was how
to carve out a place in a rapidly changing intellectual and
political landscape. ""The Clerical Dilemma"" is the first
book-length study of Peter of Blois' life, thought, and writings in
any language. John D. Cotts uses Peter's letters and treatises to
recreate the thought of the twelfth-century literati, illuminating
the ambiguities, contradictions, and fundamental dynamism of that
world. Paying careful attention to the difficult manuscript
tradition of the letter collection, Cotts explores how Peter
brought classical, patristic, monastic, and scholastic traditions
into an uneasy synthesis, and deployed them in letters whose
recipients represent a cross-section of contemporary intellectuals
- from cathedral canons, to prominent scholars, to cardinals and
popes. The book will be of interest to all those interested in the
religious, political, and intellectual history of the twelfth
century, providing new avenues for studying the ways in which
medieval writers composed and revised their texts.
General
Is the information for this product incomplete, wrong or inappropriate?
Let us know about it.
Does this product have an incorrect or missing image?
Send us a new image.
Is this product missing categories?
Add more categories.
Review This Product
No reviews yet - be the first to create one!
Welcome to Loot.co.za!
Sign in / Register |Wishlists & Gift Vouchers |Help | Advanced search
