Thesis advisor: Steven F. Brown / Despite several centuries of scholarly activity, one of the most outstanding figures of the twelfth-century renaissance, Honorius Augustodunensis, remains an elusive figure. Almost nothing is known of his life--where he was born, where exactly he lived, or where he died. Yet in his own day, Honorius's considerable literary output was extremely popular, was copied in profusion, and housed in libraries across Europe. Unfortunately, most studies of Honorius's works have consisted of very general surveys that oversimplify his thought and present Honorius himself as a `simplistic' thinker. Based upon a new critical edition of the two surviving recensions of Honorius's dialogue, Inevitabile, this study seeks to redress this problem. After a careful review of the scholarly literature on the text, from 1552 to 1996, several passages from both redactions of the Ineuitabile are carefully analyzed to illustrate both the complexity of Honorius's use of his sources (auctores/auctoritates), and his masterful blending of literary allusion with dialectic, which is the foundation of his theological methodology. Finally, it is shown that the doctrine of predestination in the earliest recension of the Inevitabile, which has traditionally been labelled `Augustinian', is in fact based, in large measure, on the teachings of John Scottus Eriugena. This study seeks to change the way that Honorius's texts are read and interpreted, in the firm conviction that only by engaging with the intricacies of his sources and methodology, can his true achievement be understood and the purpose behind his vast corpus of writings be grasped. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2013. / Submitted to: Boston College. Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: Theology.

Thesis--Zürich. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (p. 4-7).

Thesis--Zürich. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (p. 4-7).

Inaug.-Diss.--Würzburg.

This thesis analyses the idea of the Church adopted by the papacy of Honorius II (1124-1130), a pontificate hitherto overlooked by most historians. The main sources, examined with a particular focus on language and context, are the extant letters produced by the papal chancery, which present the official Roman view. A preliminary calendar of the letters is compiled here for the first time and is intended as a tool for future research. Chronicles and other sources are also used to expand the analysis. The first section explores the papacy's theoretical assertions of primacy over the whole Church and the innovations of the chancery led by Haimeric (1123-1141). It argues that this pontificate added a degree of novelty to ideas already in use (such as the maternal role of the Roman church) but also made new and stronger claims for the papal office. Chapter two considers the consequences of these claims on papal relations with other ecclesiastical institutions and the tools Honorius resorted to when asserting his primacy. It concludes that some of these – especially papal legates – were adapted to the pope's needs or achieved an even more significant role during this papacy, allowing Honorius to exercise a certain pragmatic primacy over the whole Church. Chapter three deals with relations with secular powers. Although this is afflicted by a serious dearth of letters – the silences of Honorius - the chapter demonstrates that it is still possible to recreate some sense of the modus operandi towards secular powers. It argues that the papacy was usually responsive and its actual power quite limited. The last section offers a case study of Honorius's relations with Montecassino. Compared with two almost contemporary cases at Cluny and Farfa, this exposes how the ecclesiology of this papacy worked in detail. It argues that these episodes should be read together as a papal attempt to assert primacy over institutions which had always pursued a policy independent from Rome. The image emerging from this analysis frames Honorius's papacy more effectively, overturning the idea of a transitional and colourless pope. This was a vital pontificate, during which some significant innovations and claims were made. In particular, by adapting the content of each letter to addressee and context, Honorius's chancery, led by Haimeric, played a decisive role in extending the ecclesiology of the papacy.

The Hortus deliciarum (ca. 1170-ca. 1194, destroyed 1870) was an encyclopedic salvation history created for the canonesses at the Augustinian convent of Hohenburg by their abbess Herrad. Despite the strong role of images in the canonesses’ reception of the manuscript, the Hortus illuminations have thus far not merited a critical consideration. In this thesis, I analyze major individual illuminations in the Hortus as well as the manuscript’s entire structure, and I suggest that Herrad designed the Hortus around contemporary apocalyptic ideas, such as those of Joachim of Fiore, while also illustrating the importance of debate and discussion to the body Christian. The overall composition of the Hortus showed the canonesses that God has chosen to share his knowledge with them. In significant individual images, Herrad expressed that they were to exercise this divine knowledge through debate of theological principles. In the Hortus, debate was shown as originating with Christianity’s Jewish desert predecessors, and the canonesses were encouraged to consider themselves as heirs of this intellectual tradition. Debate appeared as endemic to Christianity and essential to the continued life and prosperity of the Church. In stressing the importance of intellectual activity, while also implying that the canonesses were part of the intellectual elect, the Hortus exerted power that transgressed the library walls and affected the ways the Hohenbourg canonesses performed their faith and understood their responsibility as Christians. / text