Medieval Thought: The Western Intellectual Tradition from Antiquity to the Thirteenth Century (review)

Michael Haren has just given us a second edition of his valuable handbook on medieval thought, the first edition of which appeared in the Macmillan series "New Studies in Medieval History" in 1985. The second edition has now been brought out in North America by the University of Toronto Press and in Great Britain by Macmillan Press. Although the main text of this second edition is essentially a reprint of the first edition, the book also contains some changes. As the author mentions in his Preface to the Second Edition (vii-viii), the epilogue of the first edition has now become a chapter in its own right (which comes down to a name change), while a new epilogue introduces the reader to new scholarship in the field which has appeared since the publication of the first edition (212-237). The bibliographies are those of the first edition, but Haren has added a supplementary bibliography with an update on the latest scholarship (291-305).

When I first read the book in the late 80s, I found it a very useful introduction to the Middle Ages on matters theological and philosophical, and I see no reason now not to maintain that same positive judgment, although I will qualify my positive view with some critical remarks about the revisions. Let me begin, however, by setting out the structure of Haren's book.

Medieval Thought starts out with an introductory chapter on Plato, Aristotle and Neoplatonism, which is indispensable material for medievalists. Since they do not always have a firm philological and philosophical training in this area, Haren renders a service to the field by presenting the issues lucidly, with a special eye for what will become the central problems in the medieval period. Aristotle is thus treated with more detail, which makes sense considering that Haren's forte is the treatment of the scholastic era. In the treatment of Plato the Timaeus and the role of the Ideas receives most attention, whereas his ethics figure less prominently than Aristotle's.

After two more introductory chapters, one on Augustine, Boethius, and Scottus Eriugena (ch. 2), and one on Logic, Theology, and Cosmology in the Central Middle Ages (ch. 3), Haren comes to concentrate on the period of the universities, the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. This period is the period from which he draws the bulk of the material presented in his book. In four consecutive chapters he lays out clearly the intellectual history of the high Middle Ages. Thus he analyzes the earliest rise of the universities, as Aristotle gradually became known in the West through Arabic sources and new Western translations (ch. 4), followed by a treatment of the first phase of the assimilation of Aristotle's thought (ch. 5), the incorporation of Aristotelian material in Christian theology (ch. 6) and the controversies resulting in the condemnations of 1270 and especially 1277 by Étienne Tempier (ch. 7, the former epilogue).

Since the book presents itself as a second edition, it is appropriate to make some comparisons with the first edition. While the introductory chapter is adequate when seen as background for the medieval period, one of the criticisms that it drew in the first edition was that Haren was dismissive of Cicero as a Western thinker. Haren himself alludes to this (212-213). While acknowledging his own shortcomings, he does not make very serious attempts to rectify his earlier mistakes but seems to legitimize them instead by simply saying that Aristotle "compelled address" while Cicero did not (213). While the problem of selection is always a pressing one when writing a handbook, I am a bit surprised at Haren's casual judgment here, especially in light of his wish to update his book. One only needs to think of the wealth of material that has been made available by Stephen Gersh in his Middle Platonism and Neoplatonism. The Latin Tradition. 2 volumes (Notre...