The Thirteenth; Greatest of Centuries by Dr. James Walsh

[Francisco Suárez]

The Thirteenth; Greatest of Centuries by Dr. James Walsh:

http://www3.nd.edu/Departments/Maritain/etext/walsh.htm

(Text format)

[Bonaventure]

This was the apex of Christendom and the Middle Ages. Things fell apart already in the fourteenth century.

[Graham]

I am reading a book called 'Envy of the Angels' which argues that the thirteenth century was one of 'envy', that is, the attempted representation of transcendence in literary and artistic forms, as opposed to the 'real presence' of transcendence during the eleventh and twelfth centuries. The difference could be likened to Weber's distinction between charismatic authority (found in the earlier centuries) and rational/bureaucratic authority (found in the thirteenth). Obviously, according to this argument, it could not be maintained that the thirteenth was the greatest of centuries, even though it is often mistaken for such thanks to its output of literary and artistic monuments. According to this argument, the output is the result of 'envy' or nostalgia for the 'real presence' found in earlier times.