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  • The Teaching and Impact of the ‘Doctrinale’ of Thomas Netter of Walden (c. 1374–1430) by Kevin J. Alban and O. Carm
  • Patrick J. Horner FSC
The Teaching and Impact of the ‘Doctrinale’ of Thomas Netter of Walden (c. 1374–1430). By Kevin J. Alban, O. Carm. Medieval Church Studies, 7. Turnhout: Brepols, 2010. Pp. xv + 295. $ 70.

This useful recent addition to the valuable Medieval Church Studies series published by Brepols is a contextual and analytical study of Thomas Netter’s Doctrinale, long recognized as one of the most important contemporary orthodox responses to the Wycliffite-Lollard controversies of the late fourteenth and early fifteenth centuries in England and the Hussite movement in fifteenth-century Bohemia. [End Page 398] The author, a fellow Carmelite friar, readily acknowledges that the impetus for Netter’s work, in large part at least, was the effort of Pope Martin V to enforce “the decrees of the Council of Constance against Wyclif and John Hus and [to root] out heresy in England and on the continent in the 1420s.” (p. 5). However, the express purpose of this work is to shift the perspective from one that sees Netter only as an anti-Wycliffite polemicist to one that situates him as a prominent theologian who, in responding to Wycliffite positions, offers an integrated theological statement, consonant with contemporary orthodox thinking, but relying fundamentally on well-established doctrine about the person of Christ and his relationship to his mystical body, the church. In making this argument, the author seeks not just to broaden our understanding and appreciation of Netter’s work, but also to claim that orthodox theology, as well as religious belief and practice, in the early fifteenth century needs to be viewed as more than just single-minded antipathy to heresy. Seen in that light, this book joins the growing number of scholarly voices (Duffy, Gillespie, Ghosh to name a few) seeking a more balanced assessment of the state of Christianity in the later medieval period.

Given the book’s aim, it is hardly surprising that two chapters are devoted to Netter’s broader career and intellectual milieu. The most important information here is Netter’s theological education at Oxford, his involvement in several trials of Lollards (notably John Badby in 1410, John Oldcastle in 1413, William Taylor in 1423, and William White in 1428), his many years at the Carmelite studium generale in London, first as a resident and then as provincial of his order (1414–1430), and finally his role as a public figure, a confessor and confidant of Henry V (whose funeral sermon he preached at Westminster), and tutor to the young Henry VI. He also gained international experience at the Councils of Pisa and Constance, and, as noted above, was chosen by Martin V to write the Doctrinale in an effort to counter heresy. All in all a varied career as a prominent ecclesiastic in religious and political domains both domestic and international. Indeed, the author is at pains to emphasize that such a diverse background inevitably influenced Netter’s views and style, making him much more than a narrowly focused, university-oriented theological disputant.

After the introduction, the book devotes five chapters to a thorough exposition of Netter’s theology of (1) God, Christ, and humanity, (2) the nature and structure of the church, (3) religious life, (4) the sacraments, and (5) prayer, liturgy, and devotional practices. While all five chapters are pertinent to accomplish the book’s goal of presenting Netter’s integrated theology, the heart of the argument is found in the first two chapters, on which the remainder of this review will focus.

In setting out Netter’s theology of the nature of God, the author highlights his differences with Wyclif, whose philosophical realism leads, in Netter’s view, to untenable constraints on the absolute power of God. While the philosophical roots of Wyclif’s theology have received attention, it is refreshing to see an author ground the opposing view in comparable philosophical terms. Calling attention to the underlying philosophical principles, especially those espoused by orthodox writers, serves to remind readers that Wyclif’s more controversial criticisms of Church doctrine and practice were part...

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