John Scottus Eriugena

John Scottus Eriugena (d. 877) was one of a group of Irish scholars who worked in the area of Reims in the 9th century. He first comes to notice when asked by Hincmar of Reims to refute Gottschalk, who argued for ‘a double predestination’ (851). From then until his death he can be linked to Reims itself, Soissons, Laon, and Charles the Bald's palace at Compiègne. Eriugena is a typical teacher of the period: concerned with teaching the arts, exegesis, and the standard theological questions. However, aside from handling these areas with originality, he stands apart from contemporaries in his range of sources, especially Greek sources. Thus he produced in his Periphyseon a Christian presentation of reality that is unlike any other medieval Latin work. Yet despite, or because of, his brilliance, he made little impact on the tradition. When read, he was little understood, and hence was open to suspicions of heresy. The recovery of his thought began only in this century.

Bibliography

Van Riel, G., et al. , Johannes Scottus Eriugena: The Bible and Hermeneutics (1996)

Thomas O'Loughlin