Poesia e Teologia in Giovanni Scoto l’Eriugena (review)

John Scotus Eriugena represents a fundamental step in the development of Western philosophy and culture; his work can be considered as a crucial junction of Hellenic neo-Platonic tradition and medieval Christian philosophy. In despite of his historical role, several aspects of Eriugena’s theoretical system are still not considered by philosophical historiography. Filippo Colnago’s book is a precious and extremely comprehensive hermeneutical instrument that allows readers to understand and explore one of the most hidden but most fascinating aspects of Eriugena’s work: his poetical production.

The book is organized in two parts. The first part represents an extensive and careful clarification of the historical background in which Eriugena’s poetry was conceived. This part can be seen as a sort of large introduction to the second one, in which is developed the main argument of the book: the theological value of Eriugena’s poetry.

Colnago’s essay is structured like a progressive zoom on the main theme of the analysis. The introductory part is composed of three chapters, in which the author explores the historical-cultural background of Carolingian Age, the respective theological-intellectual debate, and finally the profile of Eriugena. The first chapter describes the Carolingian Age as a renaissance cultural period, particularly in the court of Charles the Bald, where Eriugena spent the central part of his life. In the second chapter is a careful exposition of the methodology of theological research in Carolingian Age and a description of the principal theological disputations—the questions of the Eucharist and predestination—that are the fundamental arguments in Eriugena’s most famous works. In the third chapter Eriugena’s biographical and philosophical profile is delineated through an exhaustive study of his life, writings, and main theological themes.

The second and principal part of the book is a close examination of Eriugena’s poetry (his Carmen). The first introductory chapter explores the morphological problems of the transmission and authenticity of the critical available ancient editions of Eriugena’s texts; this examination is a necessary philological clarification of how the codices of what we read as Eriugena’s autographs were transmitted to modernity. In the second chapter the author develops a careful and specific textual analysis of several sections of Eriugena’s Carmen by explaining the main themes and the linguistic questions of his lyrical lines. The third chapter examines the theological aspects of the Carmen and proposes a clever comparison with the same questions in Eriugena’s main works. In the fourth chapter, the author explains the morphological questions of the sources, language, and style of Eriugena’s poetry. Colnago considers the literary, biblical, and patristic sources of Eriugena’s texts and offers an intriguing profile of the peculiar metrical style of Eriugena. In approaching the question of the Latin language of the Carmen, the author also sets forth an intelligent perspective on the “mysterious” question of Eriugena’s perfect knowledge of Greek language.

From a theoretical point of view, the most relevant point of the book is the third chapter of the second part, in which the author develops a deep hermeneutical analysis of Eriugena’s poetry by noting the theological questions disclosed in the poetical lines. The fundamental problems of Trinity, Christology, Creatio ex nihilo, Incarnation, Resurrection, Ascensus of the human soul, and Angelology (essential topics of the entire medieval culture) find in Eriugena’s poetry an extremely interesting moment of philosophical reflection.

According to the neo-Platonic tradition, what is absconditus, or hidden, reveals a deeper truth. Colnago’s book explores a hidden part of Eriugena’s philosophical system, extremely precious for a better understanding of his thought and, in a wider perspective, of the main theological aspects of medieval philosophy. The book also is a useful instrument to reflect on the hermeutical question of the relationship between philosophy and poetry in Western culture.

The merit of the book is twofold. On the one hand...