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Anselm of Canterbury · 1070–1080 · Other
For readers who want Anselm at prayer: meditations and prayers for private reading, written to stir the reader to compunction and love.
FreeOriginal languageModerate
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Anselm of Canterbury · 1076 · Treatise
For readers of philosophy and doctrine who want the reasoned path from goodness to the Trinity, argued without appeal to Scripture; longer and more abstract than the Proslogion, which is the better start.
Read hereFreeOriginal languageHard
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Anselm of Canterbury · 1078 · Treatise
For anyone curious about the ontological argument, or about prayer that thinks: a short address to God, "faith seeking understanding", in which the famous proof stands in chapters 2 to 4.
Read hereFreeOriginal languageDemanding
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Reply to Gaunilo Liber Apologeticus contra Gaunilonem
Anselm of Canterbury · 1078–1079 · Treatise
For readers of the Proslogion who want the first debate over its argument: Gaunilo's 'lost island' objection and Anselm's answer, read together.
Read hereFreeOriginal languageHard
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Anselm of Canterbury · 1094–1098 · Treatise
For readers who want the classic case for why God became man, set out as a dialogue with his pupil Boso; the source of the satisfaction account of the atonement.
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Bernard of Clairvaux · 1115–1153 · Letter
The letters of Bernard of Clairvaux represent nearly four decades of correspondence from one of the twelfth century's most influential monastic leaders. Written between 1115 and his death in 1153, these 544…
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William of St. Thierry · 1120–1135 · Treatise
De contemplando Deo stands as William of St. Thierry's earliest and most foundational work on mystical theology, written during his tenure as abbot of the Benedictine monastery of St. Thierry near Reims.…
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Hugh of St. Victor · 1125–1130 · Treatise
Hugh of St. Victor's Didascalicon emerged from the intellectual ferment of twelfth-century Paris, where the School of St. Victor was becoming a center of learning that sought to integrate classical knowledge with…
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Bernard of Clairvaux · 1127 · Treatise
Bernard of Clairvaux wrote this treatise on the love of God around 1127 at the request of Haimeric, the papal chancellor, who had asked for guidance on why and how God should…
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Peter Abelard · 1132–1138 · Letter
The Letters of Abelard and Heloise comprises eight Latin epistles exchanged between the brilliant twelfth-century philosopher Peter Abelard and his former student and lover Heloise, now abbess of the Paraclete convent. The…
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Peter Abelard · 1132 · Treatise
Peter Abelard's "The Story of My Misfortunes" stands as one of the earliest and most compelling autobiographical works in Western literature, written around 1132 as a letter of consolation to an unnamed…
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Bernard of Clairvaux · 1148 · Other
The Life of Saint Malachy is Bernard of Clairvaux's biographical tribute to Malachy O'Morgair, the Irish archbishop of Armagh who died at Clairvaux in 1148 while returning from a pilgrimage to Rome.…
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Hildegard of Bingen · 1163–1173 · Treatise
Hildegard of Bingen's final and most comprehensive theological work, composed between 1163 and 1173, represents the culmination of her visionary trilogy following the Scivias and the Book of Life's Merits. Written during…
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Francis of Assisi · 1220–1226 · Treatise
The Admonitions comprise a collection of twenty-eight brief spiritual instructions that Francis of Assisi composed for his growing community of friars during the 1220s. Written as the Franciscan order expanded rapidly across…
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Francis of Assisi · 1220–1226 · Letter
This brief letter represents one of the few authentic writings from Francis of Assisi, addressed to Brother Leo, his beloved companion and confessor. Written during Francis's final years between 1220 and 1226,…
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Francis of Assisi · 1221 · Treatise
The Regula non bullata, or "Rule without the Papal Bull," represents Francis of Assisi's original and most expansive vision for the religious community that formed around him in the early thirteenth century.…
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Francis of Assisi · 1224 · Poem
The Canticle of the Creatures emerged from Francis of Assisi in 1224, near the end of his life, as he lay nearly blind and in great physical pain at San Damiano. Written…
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Thomas Aquinas · 1259–1265 · Treatise
The Summa Contra Gentiles emerged from Thomas Aquinas's concern to demonstrate the truth of Christian faith through reason alone, addressing audiences who did not share Christian assumptions about Scripture or Church authority.…
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Thomas Aquinas · 1265–1267 · Treatise
Thomas Aquinas wrote this treatise on kingship around 1265-1267 for the young Hugh II of Cyprus, who had recently become king at age fourteen. The work emerged from the practical need to…
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Thomas Aquinas · 1265–1267 · Treatise
De Potentia emerged from Thomas Aquinas's teaching at the University of Paris during his second regency there, composed between 1265 and 1267 as part of his disputed questions format. These academic exercises…
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Thomas Aquinas · 1265–1273 · Treatise
The Summa Theologica stands as Thomas Aquinas's masterwork of systematic theology, composed between 1265 and 1273 during his mature teaching years in Paris and Naples. Aquinas conceived this comprehensive treatise as a…
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Roger Bacon · 1266–1268 · Treatise
Roger Bacon's Opus Majus stands as a monumental encyclopedia of thirteenth-century learning, written between 1266 and 1268 at the request of Pope Clement IV. The Franciscan friar composed this comprehensive work to…
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Ramon Llull · 1283 · Book
Ramon Llull's "Book of the Lover and the Beloved" stands as one of the most distinctive works of medieval mystical literature, emerging from the Franciscan philosopher's broader missionary concerns in late thirteenth-century…
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Francis of Assisi · 1320–1390 · Other
The Little Flowers of Saint Francis emerged in the fourteenth century as a collection of stories about Francis of Assisi and his early followers, compiled roughly a century after the saint's death.…
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