Rupert von Deutz - Federzeichnung Codec lat

Rupert of Deutz (; c. 1075/1080 – c. 1129) was an influential

Benedictine The Benedictines, officially the Order of Saint Benedict (, abbreviated as O.S.B. or OSB), are a mainly contemplative monastic order of the Catholic Church for men and for women who follow the Rule of Saint Benedict. Initiated in 529, th ...

theologian,

exegete Exegesis ( ; from the Greek , from , "to lead out") is a critical explanation or interpretation of a text. The term is traditionally applied to the interpretation of Biblical works. In modern usage, exegesis can involve critical interpretation ...

and writer on

liturgical Liturgy is the customary public ritual of worship performed by a religious group. As a religious phenomenon, liturgy represents a communal response to and participation in the sacred through activities reflecting praise, thanksgiving, remembra ...

and musical topics.

Life

Rupert was most likely born in or around

Liège Liège ( ; ; ; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and Municipalities in Belgium, municipality of Wallonia, and the capital of the Liège Province, province of Liège, Belgium. The city is situated in the valley of the Meuse, in the east o ...

in the years 1075-1080, and there, as was the custom, was brought by his family as an oblate to the

abbey of Saint-Laurent in Liège, which already a generation earlier had become a notable centre of learning, including mathematics, hagiography, and poetry. There Rupert eventually made monastic profession and was educated under the capable Abbot, Berengar. In

1092 Year 1092 ( MXCII) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * Summer – Emperor Alexios I Komnenos bribes one of Kilij Arslan's (sultan of the Sultanate of Rum) officials to ...

, in the context of the conflict between the papacy and the Empire, known as the

Investiture Controversy The Investiture Controversy or Investiture Contest (, , ) was a conflict between church and state in medieval Europe, the Church and the state in medieval Europe over the ability to choose and install bishops (investiture), abbots of monasteri ...

, which in Germany encompassed nearly 50 years of civil war (1076-1122), Rupert joined other monks in following their abbot, Berengar, into exile in northern France, from where he returned in 1095. According to differing sources, around 1106 or 1109 he was ordained a priest by the

Bishop of Liège A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of dioceses. The role ...

, Otbert, a powerful figure, and a close supporter of

Emperor Henry IV Henry IV (; 11 November 1050 – 7 August 1106) was Holy Roman Emperor from 1084 to 1105, King of Germany from 1054 to 1105, King of Italy and Burgundy from 1056 to 1105, and Duke of Bavaria from 1052 to 1054. He was the son of Henry III, Holy ...

. While the minor works of Rupert's youth seem to have largely perished, it was from shortly after his priestly ordination, about the year 1110, that he began producing an immense volume of surviving writings, which were widely known to his contemporaries, and though in some quarters they were not without influence, they also won him strong opposition. It was apparently because of this theological opposition that around

1116 Year 1116 ( MCXVI) was a leap year starting on Saturday of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * Autumn – Battle of Philomelion: Emperor Alexios I Komnenos leads an expedition into Anatolia and meets the Selj ...

Rupert underwent another exile (1116-1117), to the Abbey of Michaelsberg, Siegburg, where the Abbot was Cuno. In 1119, partly for the same reasons, there came a third exile, first to Siegburg and then to

Cologne Cologne ( ; ; ) is the largest city of the States of Germany, German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with nearly 1.1 million inhabitants in the city pr ...

, and lastly in 1120

Frederick I Frederick I or Friedrich I may refer to: * Frederick of Utrecht or Frederick I (815/16–834/38), Bishop of Utrecht. * Frederick I, Duke of Upper Lorraine (942–978) * Frederick I, Duke of Swabia (1050–1105) * Frederick I ...

Archbishop of Cologne The Archbishop of Cologne governs the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cologne in western North Rhine-Westphalia. Historically, the archbishop was ''ex officio'' one of the prince-electors of the Holy Roman Empire and ruled the Electorate of Cologne ...

, appointed him abbot of the monastery of St Heribert in Deutz, founded in 1003 but later named for Saint Heribert,

, who had died in

1021 Year 1021 ( MXXI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * November – Emperor Henry II conducts his fourth Italian military campaign. He crosses the Brenner Pass with a 60,000-strong ...

and been buried in the abbey church. Deutz is now a suburb of

Theologian and Musician

At Deutz, Rupert emerged as a prominent

theologian Theology is the study of religious belief from a religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of ...

, and from surviving manuscripts, it would seem that he was a prolific writer, his works taking up four volumes in ''

Patrologia Latina The ''Patrologia Latina'' (Latin for ''The Latin Patrology'') is an enormous collection of the writings of the Church Fathers and other ecclesiastical writers published by Jacques Paul Migne between 1841 and 1855, with indices published betwe ...

'' (vols. 167–170). These works demonstrate among other things his familiarity with the disciplines of the

trivium The trivium is the lower division of the seven liberal arts and comprises grammar, logic, and rhetoric. The trivium is implicit in ("On the Marriage of Philology and Mercury") by Martianus Capella, but the term was not used until the Carolin ...

and

quadrivium From the time of Plato through the Middle Ages, the ''quadrivium'' (plural: quadrivia) was a grouping of four subjects or arts—arithmetic, geometry, music, and astronomy—that formed a second curricular stage following preparatory work in th ...

of medieval education in the liberal arts and his acquaintance with the Scriptures. The main works include: *''De voluntate Dei'' *''De omnipotentia Dei'' *''Commentaria in Canticum canticorum'' *''De divinis Officiis'' *''De Victoria Verbi Dei'' *''De Gloria et Honore Filii Hominis super Mattheum'' *''De Trinitate et operibus eius'', written around 1112–1116. *''De glorificatione Trinitatis et processione Spiritus sancti'', written in 1128. Of these works, the most widely known was his ''De divinis officiis'', which dealt with the liturgy and includes observations on plainchant. Other of his theological writings lead to his entering into controversy with

Anselm of Laon Anselm of Laon (; 1117), properly Ansel ('), was a French theology, theologian and founder of a school of scholars who helped to pioneer biblical hermeneutics. Biography Born of very humble parents at Laon before the middle of the 11th centur ...

and Anselm’s disciple

William of Champeaux Guillaume de Champeaux (18 January 1121 in Châlons-en-Champagne), known in English as William of Champeaux and Latinised to Gulielmus de Campellis, was a French philosopher and theologian. Biography William was born at Champeaux near Melun. A ...

, later to be the master of

Peter Abelard Peter Abelard (12 February 1079 – 21 April 1142) was a medieval French scholastic philosopher, leading logician, theologian, teacher, musician, composer, and poet. This source has a detailed description of his philosophical work. In philos ...

. Other works, such as Rupert’s ''De Trinitate'', also incidentally offer treatments on music, and it is possible that at Liège he studied music under a monk called Heribrand. Rupert himself makes mention of a hymn he wrote to the Holy Spirit. Moreover, it is thought that in his youth he wrote others in honour of St Heribert, as also of St

Mary Magdalene Mary Magdalene (sometimes called Mary of Magdala, or simply the Magdalene or the Madeleine) was a woman who, according to the four canonical gospels, traveled with Jesus as one of his followers and was a witness to crucifixion of Jesus, his cr ...

, St Goar and St Severinus. His writings were later scrutinized in relation with the doctrine of

impanation Impanation (Latin: ''impanatio'', "embodied in bread") is a high medieval theory of the real presence of the body of Jesus Christ in the consecrated bread of the Eucharist that does not imply a change in the substance of either the bread or the ...

, a

Eucharist The Eucharist ( ; from , ), also called Holy Communion, the Blessed Sacrament or the Lord's Supper, is a Christianity, Christian Rite (Christianity), rite, considered a sacrament in most churches and an Ordinance (Christianity), ordinance in ...

heresy Heresy is any belief or theory that is strongly at variance with established beliefs or customs, particularly the accepted beliefs or religious law of a religious organization. A heretic is a proponent of heresy. Heresy in Heresy in Christian ...

from the point of view of the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

because, contrary to the dogma of

transubstantiation Transubstantiation (; Greek language, Greek: μετουσίωσις ''metousiosis'') is, according to the teaching of the Catholic Church, "the change of the whole substance of sacramental bread, bread into the substance of the Body of Christ and ...

wherein the substance (but not the appearances and physical characteristics) of the bread and wine is seen as being wholly converted into the substance of Christ's Body and Blood, united to his divine Person, impanation maintains that Christ directly unites the substance of the bread and wine to his divine person (or sometimes to his human nature), just as he united his own body and blood to his divine Person. They influenced the theology in particular of

Honorius Augustodunensis Honorius Augustodunensis (c. 1080 – c. 1140), commonly known as Honorius of Autun, was a 12th-century Christian theologian. Life Augustodunensis said that he is ''Honorius Augustodunensis ecclesiae presbyter et scholasticus''. "Augustodunensis" ...

and Gerhoch of Reichersberg. Abbot Rupert died in Deutz on March 4, 1129.Maria Lodovica Arduini, 'Contributo alla biografia di Ruperto di Deutz', ''Studi Medioevali'' (IIIª serie) 16 (1975) 537-582.

Notes

References

*Bernard McGinn, ''The Growth of Mysticism'', London, 1994, pp. 328–333 *John H. van Engen, ''Rupert of Deutz'', Los Angeles,1983. * Meinolf Schumacher, "Rupert von Deutz erzählt eine Fabel. Über Inkonsequenzen in der mittelalterlichen Kritik weltlicher Dichtung", in ''Poetica'' 31 (1999), p. 81-99
PDF

Editions of the Latin Text of the Works

* ''De victoria verbi Dei'', Anton Sorg, Augsburg, 1487. * ''R.D.D. Ruperti Abbatis Monasterij S. Heriberti Tuitiensis Ordinis D. Benedicti, Viri longe doctissimi, summiq einter veteres theologi, Opera, Quotquot hactenus haberi potuerunt, auctiora quam antea. Cum Duobus Indicibus: priore rerum et verborum posteriore locorum S. Scripturae,' Mylius, Moguntiae 1631
Digital reproduction
* Jacques Paul Migne (ed.), ''

'', tomes 167-170. * Rhabanus Maurus Haacke (ed.), ''Rupertus Tuitiensis: Liber de divinis officiis'', Turnholti, 1967 (= ''Corpus Christianorum, Continuatio Medievalis'' 7). * Rhabanus Maurus Haacke (ed.), ''Rupertus Tuitiensis: Commentaria in Evangelium sancti Iohannis'', Turnholti, 1969 (= ''Corpus Christianorum, Continuatio Medievalis'' 9). * Rhabanus Maurus Haacke (ed.), ''Rupert Rupert von Deutz, 'De Victoria Verbi Dei' '', Weimar, 1970 (= ''Monumenta Germaniae Historica: Quellen zur Geistesgeschichte des Mittelalters'' 5). * Rhabanus Maurus Haacke (ed.), ''Rupertus Tuitiensis: De sancta Trinitate et operibus eius I'', Turnholti, 1971 (= ''Corpus Christianorum, Continuatio Medievalis'' 21). * Rhabanus Maurus Haacke (ed.), ''Rupertus Tuitiensis: De sancta Trinitate et operibus eius II'', Turnholti, 1972 (= ''Corpus Christianorum, Continuatio Medievalis'' 22). * Rhabanus Maurus Haacke (ed.), ''Rupertus Tuitiensis: De sancta Trinitate et operibus eius III'', Turnholti, 1972 (= ''Corpus Christianorum, Continuatio Medievalis'' 23). * Rhabanus Maurus Haacke (et alii, edd.), ''Rupertus Tuitiensis: De sancta Trinitate et operibus eius; De operibus Spiritus sancti'', Turnholti, 1972 (= ''Corpus Christianorum, Continuatio Medievalis'' 24). * Rhabanus Maurus Haacke (ed.), ''Rupertus Tuitiensis: Commentaria in Canticum canticorum'', Turnholti, 1974 (= ''Corpus Christianorum, Continuatio Medievalis'' 26). * Maria Lodovica Arduini (ed.), ''Rupertus Tuitiensis: Opera apologetica'', Turnholti, 2013 (= ''Corpus Christianorum, Continuatio Medievalis'' 28). * Rhabanus Maurus Haacke (ed.), ''Rupertus Tuitiensis: De gloria et honore Filii hominis. Super Mattheum'', Turnholti, 1979 (= ''Corpus Christianorum, Continuatio Medievalis'' 29). * Alessio Magoga (ed.), ''Rupertus Tuitiensis: Anulus seu dialogus de sacramentis fidei'', Turnhout, 2020 (= ''Corpus Christianorum, Continuatio Medievalis'' 299).

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