Chapter 10 - Richard of St. Victor

Summary

Richard of St Victor, originally from Scotland, joined the canons regular at St. Victor at an unknown date. It is unclear whether he arrived before the death of Hugh of St. Victor. Nevertheless, he is deeply influenced by Hugh’s thought. He was elected prior in ad 1162 and fulfilled this function until his death on March 10, ad 1173. He wrote Scriptural commentaries, including the Book of Selections (Liber Exceptionum), sermons, letters, as well as a number of theological (The Trinity) and mystical treatises. Amongst the latter, the treatises The Twelve Patriarchs (also called Benjamin Minor) and The Mystical Ark (or Benjamin Major) have received most scholarly attention. In The Twelve Patriarchs, Richard interprets in a mainly tropological manner the story of Jacob and his wives, their handmaids and their off-spring, so as to illustrate the moral preparation of the soul necessary for contemplation. Although, like Hugh, Richard considers the historical sense important as a foundation, he interprets in his mystical treatises the texts mainly in a spiritual manner. I will examine two aspects of this thought: his views on contemplation and human understanding; and his original theology of the Trinity.

In The Mystical Ark, we find a fairly detailed discussion of contemplation. It is first defined, rather generally, as “the free, more penetrating gaze of the mind, suspended with wonder concerning manifestations of wisdom.” In a penetrating analysis, Richard then goes on to distinguish between six modes of contemplation, effectively covering all degrees of human knowledge. Following Boethius, he distinguishes between three levels of knowing: through the imagination (which is directed at what we can perceive with our senses), through reason (directed at intelligible things (intelligibilia)) and through understanding (directed at intellectible things (intellectibilia)). By the “intelligible” Richard means invisible things which can nevertheless be understood by reason. The “intellectible” refers to invisible things which cannot be understood by human reason (The Mystical Ark I.7). An example of the latter is the mystery of the Trinity, which we will discuss in greater detail below.