Bradwardine and the Pelagians: A Study of his 'De Causa Dei' and it's Opponents

by Gordon Leff

The intellectual history of the fourteenth century is still little known. Apart from the great figures like Ockham and Wyclif we have no detailed knowledge of the leading thinkers or the movements which may be deduced from their work. Dr Leff explains Bradwardnie's system of thought and relates it to the ideas of his contemporaries; these contemporaries are shown to have had their own differences of outlook, and the fourteenth century as a whole is also shown to have differed greatly from the thirteenth.

Genres: Medieval

300 pages, Paperback

First published September 18, 2008

Reviews

[Steve · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bradwardine was born in 1290 , eventually becoming Archbishop of Canterbury. Thomas Bradwardine was the defender of the absolute sovereignty of God, against the contemporary Pelagians , who turn out to be William of Ockham and his followers. The book focuses on Bradwardine’s “De Causa Dei”- a defence of divine sovereignty - and the complex position taken by his opponents, whose voluntarism led them into a mare’s nest or three.