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IMC 2004: Sessions

Session 610: The Culture of Exegesis in the 12th Century, I: The Sense of the Letter - Literal Exegesis and its Implications

Tuesday 13 July 2004, 11.15-12.45

Sponsor:Brill Academic Publishers, Leiden
Organisers:Christine Feld, Clare Hall, University of Cambridge
Ralf M. W. Stammberger, Hugo von Sankt Viktor-Institut, Philosophisch-Theologische Hochschule Sankt Georgen, Frankfurt am Main
Moderator/Chair:Julian Deahl, Brill Academic Publishers, Leiden
Paper 610-bThe Understanding of Literal Exegesis in the Work of Andrew of Saint-Victor
(Language: English)
Christine Feld, Clare Hall, University of Cambridge
Index terms: Biblical Studies, Ecclesiastical History, Hebrew and Jewish Studies, Theology
Paper 610-cThe Understanding of Literal Exegesis in the Work of Herbert of Bosham
(Language: English)
Eva de Visscher, Oriel College, University of Oxford
Index terms: Biblical Studies, Ecclesiastical History, Hebrew and Jewish Studies, Theology
Abstract

Far from being a dated way of doing theology, the 12th century exegetical enterprise explored in two sessions on the culture of exegesis in the 12th century can be seen as part of the scholarly and intellectual culture of the time. Traditional methods of exegesis were increasingly criticised for their lack of a firm basis in the literal sense. The papers in the first session focus on the ways in which some eminent 12th-century authors confronted the problems of making sense of the literal meaning of Scripture, in the context of contemporary developments in education and learning and of the exchange between Christian and Jewish scholars. The debates about the literal sense reveal that within a wider interpretation of the world the literal sense itself had a meaning beyond the surface of the text.