Early Medieval Philosophy 480-1150: An Introduction

Medieval Philosophy #1

by John Marenbon

Compact but singularly well thought out material of a theological, logical, poetic as well as philosophical nature.

Genres: Philosophy, Medieval, Medieval History

216 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1983

Reviews

[Tyler · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this book to understand how philosophy fared during the Dark Ages. The interesting angle Marenbon explores is that scholars of Late Antiquity (the Dark Ages) had a few ancient texts to work with but not all of them. For example, they had Plato's Timaeus but nothing else by him. As a result, Plato's overall philosophy could not be understood. With only a handful of ancient texts at their disposal it was difficult to distinguish Platonism from neo-Platonism, and to separate philosophy from theology as separate pursuits. In the preface Marenbon, as a matter of scholarship, questions the value of trying to impose this distinction anyway, although he does attempt it in the text. I'm glad to report that the author did a good job explaining how this gap in Western philosophy transpired. His book is lucid and easy to read.

[Elizabeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty good for figuring out what texts were available when and who was talking/corresponding with whom. A little hard to read, but then my main interest is not philosophy. Works well when paired with a broader overview like Colish's Medieval Foundations of the Western Intellectual Tradition, which is how I read it.

[Pedro Pascoe · Rating 3 out of 5]

Book 4 of a short reading course recommended by Norman F Cantor.

For a subject as rarified as Medieval Philosophy, it's probably not a good idea, for someone not well versed in the subject, to read in the preface to the second edition about the perceived mistakes the author make within the first edition, and explaining how they should be read, or how they were corrected for the second edition. As if it wasn't going to be difficult enough attempting to make heads or tails of the development of philosophy (or not quite philosophy?) of the Early Middle Ages as it is, without having to refer back to the preface and juggle the two prospects in mind.

I exaggerate slightly for poetic effect. Or do I?

Marenbon takes us on a journey of the development of thought, call it Theology or Philosophy, through the Early Medieval period, and while some of the concepts managed to slip through my mind, like sands through the hourglass, the key players and the development of thought at least remained steadfast through this account, and holds value for that.

The hot take, I guess, is that early Christian thinkers essentially struggled in the wake of Neo-Platonism, desiring the mystical appeal but repelled at the thought that it was 'pagan' and therefore oscillated between accepting or rejecting large swathes of thought depending on how much or little they could justify its similarity to Christian thinking. Square peg, round hole. The re-discovery later on in the narrative of key texts from Aristotle (via Islamic translators) further muddied the waters of the already swampy mind-fields.

Marenbon does take pains to highlight genuine philosophical advances during this period, largely around the logic and grammar, but don't expect me to be able to encapsulate this without at least a subsequent re-reading of this mercifully short treatise on the subject.

All in all I see the value of the book in terms of the context it provides on the subject during the period, or avid students of philosophy, however I would find it difficult to recommend to casual readers otherwise.