The Synagogue's Influence in Early Medieval Christian Music

In the beginning of Music in the Medieval World, Albert Seay writes about music's role in early Christianity. Many of the early Christian's liturgical practices were inspired by elements in the Jewish temples and synagogues. On the first page of the book Seay writes, "As Jews, the Apostles had been accustomed to a certain succession of liturgical acts; after their conversion, their major goal was not the construction of a completely new order of services but rather the addition of purely Christian elements to an already existing Jewish framework" (7). Early Christians were influenced by the temples' liturgical arrangement and ritual. But as important as the temple was to the early Christians, the synagogue's influence became paramount. Music in the early synagogue services was important, "for music had long been a traditional way to set apart the religious act and its texts from the every day" (9). This continued to be true in Christian services as well.

As aforementioned, the Church was influenced by the synagogue service's emphasis on liturgical organization. Certain days of the year were more important than others in the Church, just as they had been in the synagogue, and the service was shaped to fit the particular day. And like the synagogue, the Church used psalms, Biblical readings, sermons, and prayers and songs. Many of the melodies used by the early Church were heavily inspired by melodies from the Jewish faith. Other elements of synagogue musical performance-such as responsorial, direct, and antiphonal singing-were incorporated into Christian services. And Christians, like the Jews, limited singing to vocal only, for they both associated instruments with paganism. Christian services, however, did grow to differ from Jewish services in some ways. The biggest difference was the addition of the Eucharist. By the third and fourth Centuries, the Christian service was divided into two parts, the Synaxis, which was open to everybody, and the Eucharist, which was reserved for Christians only. At this time the congregation still took part in psalm singing, singing the Synaxis psalms responsorially and the Eucharist psalms antiphonally. As the Church grew, though, music became more and more reserved for the clergy. Music schools, called schola cantorum, were established.  Popes Leo and Gregory are credited in particular with organizing music in the Church, with Gregory composing many of the chants used later on.

Jacopo da Bologna

I'll be bringing in a short song in the Italian madrigal style written by Jacopo da Bologna around 1350. It is a tune set to the words of Petrarch's Non al suo amante. The poem-turned-lyrics is reproduced below, along with an English translation.

Non al suo amante più Dïana piacque,
quando per tal ventura tutta ignuda
la vide in mezzo de le gelide acque,

ch’a me la pastorella alpestra e cruda
posta a bagnar un leggiadretto velo,
ch’a l’aura il vago e biondo capel chiuda

tal che mi fece or quand’egli arde ’l cielo
tutto tremar d’un amoroso gielo.

2. Translation by Mark Musa (1996):
Diana never pleased her lover more,
when just by chance all of her naked body
he saw bathing within the chilly waters,
than did the simple mountain shepherdess
please me, the while she bathed the pretty veil
that holds her lovely blond hair in the breeze.
So that even now in hot sunlight she makes me
tremble all over with the chill of love.

The Last Cathars from Sean Martin's The Cathars

Last Cathars are thought to hid in the Piedmont, but were eventually exterminated by the Inquisition in the late fourteenth century. The last two major Cathars are Antonio di Galosna (a former Franciscan friar) and Jacob Bech. From the initiation ceremony of di Galosna it seems that at that point the Cathar ceremonies and believes were conflated with those of Waldensians, who were also a persecuted group. The testimony of Bech further exposes the deformation of the original beliefs. For example, the newly initiated would now have been either suffocated, or could choose to fast for three days (without being able to drink cold water as traditionally allowed in the proper endura). In case the initiate survived the fast, he or she would have to return all their possessions to the one who consoled them. This account clearly shows that the end of Catharism, at least in Italy, is marked by the utter distortion of the initial beliefs and calculated use of the religion for personal gain as the most basic tenet of Catharism – that of poverty – is clearly negated. As the religion cannot function without moral leaders, it is not surprising that Catharism in Italy became extinct soon after that.

On the other hand, it seems to have survived in other parts of Europe, as Bech discloses some information about Cathars in Bosnia, a country which had had a long reputation of a country supportive of heretical movements. Already in early thirteenth century the Pope called the rulers of the region to actively suppress the heretical Christian sects. The major trouble, however, was the lack of knowledge of proper Catholic practices among the clergy, even holding such high offices as bishops. The inability of local representatives to even recognize the diversion turned the Pope Gregory IX to the use a military solutions. The campaigns between 1234 and 1246 were hence another Crusade (as named by the pope himself). However, none of these efforts to eradicate the heresy were successful. Moreover, the Bosnian Church (at least partially, if not entirely, Cathar) flourished throughout the fourteenth century. It is only the Ottoman threat that eventually forced a Bosnian king to actively persecute heretics in order to secure alliances with the Western powers. He tried in vain though, as the country was conquered in 1463. The Cathars and other heretics, even though some eventually converted to Islam, are thought to enjoy a long existence under the sultanate with last references to the sect recorded in 1867.

Medieval Heresy in Toulouse

In chapter fifteen of The Perfect Heresy, Stephen O'Shea shares a very disturbing story. In 1234 Toulouse, A wealthy, elderly woman lays on her deathbed. She is a Cathar and hoping to end her life with blessings from a Perfect. Most of her servants set out to find one. They do find one, he comes to the elderly woman's house to provide his blessings, and quietly leaves. But one servant does not search for a Perfect. Instead, he finds a Dominican inquisitor named William Pelhisson and Raymond du Fauga, the Dominican Bishop of Toulouse. The servant tells them that an elderly Cathar woman is near death and that her soul is in danger. The Bishop arrives at her house with a Prior as well as other Dominicans. The elderly woman, in her weakened state, thinks he is a Cathar.The Bishop plays along and pretends to be a Cathar so the woman will admit to her faith. Once she does, he sentences her to execution. Her bed is taken out of the house and into the street. She still lays dying on it. They bring her bed beyond the city gates and to a bonfire, where, " A large crowd assembled, then watched, openmouthed, as a barely conscious woman, with just hours left in her natural life, was thrown into the flames" Afterwards, the Dominicans who committed the execution returned to the refectory, give thanks to God and St.Dominic, and enjoy a meal. Incidentally, the day of the execution, August 5th, 1234, was the first time a feast day was held in honor of St. Dominic.

Unfortunately, the intolerance exemplified in this story has plagued the reputation of the Middle Ages for centuries. The heretical aspect overshadows much of Medieval history. People still associate the term Medieval with the dark and the bloodthirsty. When we think about religion in the Middle Ages (when I say we, I mean modern society) we immediately conjure up the term hypocrisy. These men, like the Dominicans in the Toulouse story, were committing the worst human atrocities in the name of God. That is not to say all religious people during the Middle Ages were committing such atrocities. After studying the Medieval era for months, I know that is not the truth. But it is the intolerant Medieval man who has come to represent the time period. As students and scholars, we need to find out why and how that perception can be expanded to include all fractions of Medieval religious society.

Gafney on Pegg; A Most Holy War

Gafney on Pegg, A Most Holy War

As I read Pegg’s account of the beginning of the Albigensian Crusade, I was struck by his characterization of the murdered Peire de Castelnau as a second Christ figure:

Peire de Castelnau was transformed (by torturous papal prose) into Jesus Christ; his damp death on the Rhone (by a lance, not a sword) became the redemptive crucifixion on Golgotha; his sacrifice a sign to a corrupt generation (Pegg, 6).

Of course, any medieval martyrdom bore a comparison with Jesus’ self-sacrifice. But here, the association has significant implications for the way that Christians in the 11^th century saw themselves as social, political, and spiritual members of a particular and sanctified community. 

Much of the medieval Christian’s sense of himself or herself as a member of the Christian community (which, of course, intersected with and stood in for a variety of other communities) was predicated on the New Testament and the teachings of the early Church fathers. Paul’s letters were particularly instrumental in this process of identification of the self with a greater Christian community; Paul was instructing various prospective or newly converted peoples in what kind of life a Christian was expected to lead. Paul’s letters, however, imagine a community of Christian citizens that was to exist on earth for a very short time. Indeed, in his second letter to Timothy, Paul describes the end times, which he imagined would come within the first century following Jesus’ death. Moreover, Paul’s letters and the gospels in general cast Christians as a chosen people, but as a people who must endure persecution, torment, and suffering. And, the position of the early Christians was often a perilous one; in fact, when the Thessalonian converts endured Roman persecution, they believed that the end of the world had come.  So, a community of Christians, for Paul, was a community of the brave who defied worldly, political, and social norms, and instead cleaved together to form another group that would endure torment until they were redeemed by the second coming of Jesus.

Though Paul’s teachings remained important to medieval Christians, the position of those Christians was entirely different from the position of those Paul addressed in his letters. Instead of being a marginalized group, the Christians had become overwhelmingly powerful in every aspect of life in Western Europe. I believe that this prominence and power, when coupled with the still-relevant teachings of the early Christians, produced a kind of collective guilt in Christian communities, and produced in them the desire to reenact the early days of the Church, in order to imagine themselves to be a persecuted minority standing up for their beliefs. The move to transform Peire de Castelnau into not only a martyr, but rather a Christ figure, fits neatly into this paradigm. The victim is not only a “sign to a corrupt generation,” but also allows those who presume to fight in his cause a standing analogous to that of the early Christians. This move also recasts the enemy as not only non-Christian, but anti-Christian, heretical.

Silvia's response to Weinberg's - Ch. 3 - The Mystical Element

A Short History of Medieval Philosophy
-Julius
R. Weinberg

Chapter III
The Mystical Element in Medieval
Thought: Pseudo-Dionysisu and John Scotus Eriugena

Weinbergsucceeds in chapter III in presenting clearly and succinctly a host of
philosophical notions and resolutions on the nature of God, the Good, and
creation as posited by Pesudo-Dionysius and John Scotus Eriugena. One of the most salient characteristic features of the medieval philosophical and religious tradition was the importance of contemplative mysticism in the life of faith and reason. This chapter situates the origins of this tradition in the Neo-platonic writings of Dionysius the Areopagite, who was a
companion of St. Paul. However, the earliest reference to Dionysius appears in the sixth century. Dionysius’ writings bring together Neoplatonic mysticism and Christian doctrine; the harmonious synthesis profoundly influenced medieval thought and culture.
However, the author notes that Dionysius’ mystical language joins a
pantheistic sensibility to a Christian philosophical view in which God, though distinct and separate from the world, permeates the world or rather the world is a derivation of God. At times this was found to be in conflict with the view of a transcendent God which was the favored orthodox position.

The first fundamental thesis presented is the absolute incomprehensibility of
God. Weinberg quickly moves to explain the various theological approaches to the understanding of the divine and its activity in the world despite God’s incomprehensibility.
The first approach is what is called affirmative theology based on what is
revealed in Scripture about God – good, one, living, omnipotent, etc . The affirmative is tempered by a negative theology which denies such descriptive language of what He is because of
God’s incomprehensibility and His remoteness in nature to anything in the
world. The third way, called symbolic or superlative theology, views God as Super-being, Super-goodness, Super-life and so forth from which all being, goodness, and life derive from;
hence God is “superlatively everything” in the world, of which originates in
God. The world becomes then a symbolic manifestation of God, though falling short as an effect of God and not the cause of its own existence.

Another notion is that the universe as it exists contains a hierarchy of being ranging
from angels and man to the inorganic elements. This corresponds with the ecclesiastical hierarchy of the Sacraments and sacred office from Bishop to laity. There is also the idea that everything proceeds from God who is the Super-substance. From God’s excess of Goodness the whole universe emerges and partakes of the divine. The endless procession ends in the return to its source, the Super-essential God. Thus we find the concept of “divine yearning” in creation and in souls as a desire for union, that is, a return to its source in God, the Super-essence.

John Scotus Eriugena’s work, influenced by Pseudo-Dionysius and the Church Fathers
both Greek and Latin, is the first great synthesis of philosophy and theology
of the early medieval period. In Eriugena, faith and reason emerge as paths to the same end, even though for the Irish theologian, faith precedes reason. (In heaven though, reason will replace faith since it will have been fulfilled.) True philosophy and true religion are not contradictory but the same, since faith and reason flow from the same source in God and the divine Logos is the source of all true authority.

If God is ineffable and incomprehensible in Himself, that is, in His nature, then
how do humans come to know God? According to the philosopher, the Godhead becomes comprehensible by its manifestations in nature and in the symbolic language of Scripture which is a condensation comprehendible to the human mind. The great gift of Divine Wisdom which
descends from God aids in illumination. Since knowledge means the mind knowing its object, the human mind becomes in a certain sense one with it. The knowledge of God which is ultimately fulfilled in the final vision of God in heaven implies union with God and thus man’s deification. Hence “wisdom” is the means of union with God.

There are many other rich concepts in Eriugena’s mystical thought and philosophy
presented in this short chapter. I will only mention the concepts or conceptual system: the division of nature and things as “to be” and “not to be” – distinctions of being and not being - based on hierarchy of being; the meaning of nothing as an attribute of God; beginning and end of creation; effects and causes; God’s revelation of Himself as theophanies or divine appearances; God as the only absolutely real being; the concept of God as “Super-essential”; the “necessity” of God’s nature; the Neo-platonic concepts of Unity, Goodness, and Being; the Logos of God as the medium and instrument of creation and the source of the “primordial causes” as distributed by the Holy Spirit; multiplicity of effects and its order for the mind; God’s causal (hence creative) knowledge; man as microcosm – the summation of creation and all things created in man; essential being of things and its two fold existence – as idea and body; creation in the Divine Mind and illumination by Divine Grace; the principle of plentitude; divine
emanation; the necessary return and the ultimate repose and restoration; authentic knowledge innate and sensible and so forth.

Weinberg introduces these concepts in a clear and manageable form which delights my
mind; I end the chapter with a great desire to further explore medieval philosophy or at least move on to the next chapter in enthusiastic anticipation of more savory ideas about the divine and life.

St. Augustin

St. Augustin was born in Numidia in 354. His father was pagan and his mother was Christian. The first major philosophical work by which he was influenced was now lost work of Cicero, whose basic premise was that wisdom of life can be achieved. After some philosophical struggles with that idea St. Augustin turned to Manicheism but eventually, after arriving in Rome, he was influenced by St. Ambroise. Eventually he became Catholic (387), and after returning to Africa he became a priest and eventually a bishop of Hippo in 395. His main philosophical works were written between 386 and 390. His works written after 395 treat mostly the subject of heresies. He died in 430.

St. Augustin is famous for formulating the main problems of Christian philosophy. The utmost authority for St. Augustin were scriptures and their his teaching was based on their interpretation, which was guided by Platonism and Neoplatonism. St. Augustin saw philosophy as having ethical and religious purpose, but asserted that knowledge of the natural world is valuable only as long as “it helps to understand symbolic sense of Scriptures and reveals vestiges of its Maker” (Weinberg, 1964). The acceptance of the Scriptures is the first step of the investigation. 

St. Augustin also investigated the idea of God. For him God is the only Being that truly is as everything else is mutable, subject to change, and limited. According to his reasoning humans are able to partially grasp God through traces he leaves in His work, for example, he sees in nature and humans indications of the Trinity. This thought greatly influenced Medieval philosophers who for generations argued that the universe and everything it includes are the symbols of its Creator. This view, influenced by Platonic idea of physical world as reflection of ideal forms, ultimately was used to support the allegorical interpretation of Scriptures.

Gafney on Aquinas

Thomas Aquinas, 1224(?)-1274

Thomas Aquinas was simultaneously both philosopher and theologian, in the senses that we use these terms today. His most well-known, and likely his most significant, addition to the development of Christian thought and philosophical thought in the 13th century was his fusion of Aristotelian thought with Christian ideas. Aquinas wrote purely philosophical texts, most of which were commentary on Aristotle. But, his most significant works are those in which he explores Christian doctrine using an Aristotelian lens, as it were, to understand the theology better, and also to express it to others more clearly. His Summa Theologiae comprises a number of carefully crafted proofs which defend various principles inherent to the Christian tradition, such as God's existence, God's limitlessness, and God's oneness. Aquinas is not predominantly interested in using philosophy to prove these truths- they must already exist and be understood to exist without proof. This is Christian faith. I find, however, that in this Aquinas also imitates or embodies the teachings of Aristotle. The Nicomachean Ethics cannot teach one how to be a good person, for example. Rather, they reveal to such a person, already good, more about why goodness is the way it is. Similarly, for Aquinas philosophy cannot prove the truths of the Christian faith or explain all of its mysteries. Rather, philosophy proves a medium for an expression of those truths.

Erigena

Erigena, full name John Scotus Erigena (810 A.D.-877 A.D.) was an Irish born philosopher. He arrived in France to serve in the court of Charles the Bald in 850, and studied Augustine, Origen, Marius Victorinus, and Ambrose among others. He also translated almost all of Pseudo-Dionysius, as well as the works Ambigua by Maximus the Confessor, De hominus opificio by Gregory of Nyssa, and de fede by Epiphanius. His most famous work is De division naturae (the division of nature). In this text, he defines nature as, "the universality or totality of all things that exist, as well as those that do not" (220) He goes on to explain the five ways in which nature can be thought of; 1) through intellect and the senses, that whatever we can discern or sense exists and therefore is in being. Conversely, whatever we cannot discern or sense does not exist and is in nonbeing (thus God is in nonbeing by his definition) 2) being and nonbeing is defined though a hierarchy system from "creator to the least creature" where, in the example given in the book, a person would be in nonbeing compared to a celestial being and a celestial being would be in nonbeing compared to a person 3) something is being or nonbeing through actualization, in which something that is thought of or has potential, but hasn't come to fruition, is a form of nonbeing 4) something's status of being or nonbeing is determined by perception. anything known by intellect is a form of being, but anything only known by senses is a form of nonbeing 5)Lastly, being and nonbeing is determined by one's closeness to God's image. Sinners, because they separate themselves from God through sin, are nonbeing, and redemption is what can make them being. In order to understand Erigena, we cannot take the term nature too literally. According to Popkin, Erigena's concept of being, "denotes all reality, including God and all supernatural entities" (220)

Erigena also classifies nature into four categories. The first category is nature that creates but is not created, with God being the creator of all things. The second category is nature that creates and is created, that is ideas created by God that can go on to create things themselves. The third category is nature that is created but does not create itself, which is essentially the "things themselves" named in the second category. And finally the last category is nature that does not create or is created. Erigena sees the first category of nature as God, the second as creatures, the third as creatures, and the last as God. According to Erignea, God is the beginning, the end, and the channel through which all entities travel through and exist. He writes that God, "contains and comprehends the nature of all sensible things, not in the sense that he contains within himself anything beside himself, but in the sense that he is substantially all that he contains, the substance of all visible things being created in him" (222) God does not come from nature, and is what is referred to as "superwise" By "superwise" Erigena is saying that God has a wisdom that cannot be understood in human terms, and does not fit into an earthly concept of "wise" or "not wise" Often, Erigena uses mystical elements in his writings, and was accused of pantheism. His writing is also influenced by the neoplatonic, especially when using a water fountain as a metaphor to describe the creation of all individual things. He believes that all creatures have an ultimate goal of becoming one with God and thus returning to their most "real" state.
Although De division naturae was read, it did not start a philosophy school of its own. Erigena's neoplatonic influenced philosophies was not like most of Medieval Christian Philosophy, which was more influenced by Aristotle. But his translations were very important in Medieval philosophy in later centuries, and his philosophies had a strong impact on the the mystics.

Printing in Poland: Kasper Straube

Kasper Straube

Kasper Straube is currently thought to be the first to introduce printing to Poland. Straube, like many other early printers in Poland, came from the West, in this case Bavaria. This shows that the technology designed by Gutenberg in Holy Roman Empire started to spread East about twenty years after its invention, and was transmitted mostly by itinerant German printers, who in turn passed the skill to the locals. Straube's printing shop in Cracow was opened during his four-year stay in Cracow (1473 – 1477). In 1477 Straube is thought to leave the city for an unknown destination. Similarly, we do not know if he continued printing in the new location. While in Cracow, however, Straube published four works. The earliest was the Cracovian Calendar (Almanach Cracoviense), followed by treatise on usury by Francis de Platea, Explanatio in Psalterum by John Turrencremata, and St. Augustin's Opuscula. The Cracovian Calendar, considered the earliest Polish incunabula, is a single sheet astronomical calendar written in Latin. In fact all of the texts published by Straube are printed in Latin. This is not surprising as the vernacular literature gained relative popularity only in the sixteenth century. Straube used Gutenbergian printing technique that was the most advanced for the time. This placed Poland in seventh place in Europe among the countries who started using this sophisticated technology.