L13: Interpretation in Medieval Christianity

Christian biblical interpretation in the medieval period was done by use of commentaries and by liturgical expression, homilies and theological writings. Some of the ritual and literary forms show us overarching themes in biblical interpretation. The most important of these is the conviction that the Bible bears meaning, not simply as a literal witness of the past but as a living voice speaking through time and history with relevance for today.

1. The Bible was a critical part of the patristic period (3^rd to 6^th centuries, within the Greco-Roman culture and Judaism religious values of the time. From the Reformation to the modern period, the bible has held a place of special authority, even as such authority has been controversial.

2. During the Middle Ages, Christians lived in a world shaped in powerful ways by the Bible. Europeans were isolated from other cultures. Islam was viewed as a threat. Jewish persons were considered those who failed to recognize Jesus as Messiah and therefore removed from a central place within the biblical story.

3. In liturgy, Scripture was spoken, heard by the participants in the community. The monks often memorized the Psalter. Other texts of scripture were read to the gathered community who experienced them orally more than in a written form. At Mass, words of prayer and Scripture were also heard as read from a lectionary and explained by way of the homily.

4. Scriptures’ symbols such as sacraments and liturgical seasons followed a biblical story, feasts of saints, and hours of prayer. Places were sacred because of their association with a holy person or event. Pilgrimages, crusades and relics testified to the connection between time, space, and divine power.

5. Medieval cathedrals expressed biblical stories in ornamentation, especially through stained-glass windows and painting.

6. For the literate, reading the bible formed an individual experience. In Monasteries choir monks needed to interpret the Scripture in order to teach or preach.

7. Cathedrals had chapters/organizations that met for instruction and gave instruction through attached schools.

8. The Abbey of Saint Victor in Paris (1113) was a center for mystics and scholars.

9. The Medieval universities of Oxford and Paris arose in the 12^th and 13^th centuries with a focus on a more scientific study of scripture. The Bible was the source book for the “science” of theology. The shift from monastic sacra pagina to Scholasticism began with Thomas Aquinas.

10. A large body of literature formed for the interpretation of Scripture. The governing premise was that Scripture revealed God’s Word to humans.

    1. All Scripture was considered to be divinely inspired, thus God was the ultimate author.

    2. Scripture had authority. The human task was to discover what God said and not challenge what the text said.

    3. If God is the “author” then the Bible must have a consistent and harmonious message.

    4. Old Testament writings found meaning through “fulfillment of prophecy” in the person of Jesus and the formation of the Christian faith.

    5. Moral laws of the Old Testament were kept in the New as confirmed in sections such as the Sermon on the Mount (Matt 5-7). In contrast, ritual laws were translated into Christian sacraments and life.

    6. With God as author, every test within Scripture had meaning on several levels: literal or historical meaning of the basic story; allegorical sense that was often applied to Christ and the Church; tropological sense in terms of the moral life and progress toward God; anagogical sense applied the text to heavenly realities.

Finally during this period biblical interpretation especially in monasteries led to a wise path in spiritual development, but in the universities, Scripture became a tool for controversy against both Jews and Muslims.