The Holy Spirit in Twelfth-Century Thoughts: Rupert of Deutz (ca 1075-1129) and Anselm of Havelberg (ca 1095-1158)

Li, T (2016) The Holy Spirit in Twelfth-Century Thoughts: Rupert of Deutz (ca 1075-1129) and Anselm of Havelberg (ca 1095-1158). Doctor of Philosophy thesis, University of Liverpool.

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Abstract

Abstract The twelfth century was a time of rejuvenated interest in the Holy Spirit in western Christendom. Two German theologians, Rupert of Deutz and Anselm of Havelberg, in particular offered new interpretations of the Holy Spirit that have generally been neglected by previous scholarship. Both of them showed a unique interest in salvation history and the renewal of the Church as shaped by the work of the Holy Spirit. This thesis provides a detailed study of the both writers’ works, placing them in a wider historical and theological context. Rupert of Deutz (ca 1075-1129), a Benedictine monk, provided a ground-breaking contribution to the theology of history in the twelfth century through an original conception of the role of the Holy Spirit in Church history. Through a close reading of Rupert’s De operibus Spiritus sancti (1113-1117), this thesis analyses Rupert’s innovative Trinitarian scheme of salvation history, based around the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit. It is also argued that Rupert’s work on salvation history and the Holy Spirit reveals his original (though so far unnoticed) reflections on the changes of the contemporary Church. Anselm of Havelberg (ca 1095-1158), a regular canon, carried on the new direction of salvation history and interpretation of the Holy Spirit as the driving force of the Church as proposed by Rupert. However, in sharp contrast with Rupert, Anselm emphasized the ideas of diversity and development in his major work, Anticimenon (1149). In addition to examining Anselm’s interpretations of the seven seals in the Apocalypse, my work also illuminates how Anselm applied his original understanding of the Holy Spirit’s work within Church history to his debates with the Greeks in terms of Filioque and papal primacy. The thesis closes with a comparison between Rupert and Anselm, in particular focusing on their respective ideas of the Holy Spirit, salvation history and the renewal of the Church. This research not only constitutes the first detailed study on Rupert and Anselm’s understandings of the Holy Spirit in a broad comparative perspective, but also sheds light on important intellectual, theological and ecclesiastical developments in the first half of the twelfth century.

Item Type:	Thesis (Doctor of Philosophy)
Divisions:	Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences > Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences
Depositing User:	Symplectic Admin
Date Deposited:	05 Jan 2017 11:29
Last Modified:	19 Jan 2023 07:29
DOI:	10.17638/03003773
Supervisors:	KEMPF, D HEALE, M
URI:	https://livrepository.liverpool.ac.uk/id/eprint/3003773