Contemporary Love

The Vatican Library is an incredible repository of ancient and Medieval manuscripts, of which only about five percent have been carefully examined so far due to the enormity of the collection and a waning interest in the subjects. The last thirty years have not been kind to the humanity departments of most universities.

Ever wonder what turns and twists the road of our cultural history took during the Middle Ages? Forget the image of shining knights on white horses.

We get a basic idea of what the Middle Ages were like when we remember they're also known as the Dark Ages. Europe, finding itself free of the yolk and influence of ancient Rome, celebrated its freedom by sinking into a centuries long period of isolation and cultural decay. It would take Europe's version of a Holy War to help put it back on track toward civilization.

The Crusades.

In terms of their military and religious objectives, the Crusades were essentially a dismal failure. In terms of subsequent history, they unwittingly contributed to the re-birth of western civilization.

Though unable to find the Holy Grail, the Crusaders returned to Europe with a wealth of ancient Greek and Roman texts that had been preserved by their Islamic foe. It's a little known, or at least a seldom acknowledged fact that most of the texts we now consider the foundation of western civilization survived the decline of ancient Greece and Italy only thanks to Islamic scholars.

Most of the texts that appeared in Europe following the Crusades ended up in the hands of the Catholic church, which is understandable since the Church was the only organization at the time dedicated to any meaningful form of education and scholarship. The Medieval Church eventually undertook a massive effort to preserve the recovered manuscripts by copying them, translating them into Church Latin in the process.

But a serious problem arose. Many of the texts, especially those related to philosophy, were found to contain an abundance of thought that was subtly, or blatantly, in opposition to Church doctrine. Unknowingly, the for-the-most-part illiterate Crusaders and had brought back an intellectual Pandora's Box.

The word came down from the top: no more Aristotle (although a few centuries later more creative men like St. Thomas Aquinas would re-introduce Aristotelean thought as Christian). But for a score of transcribing monks, the horse had already left the barn.

A new form of Medieval manuscript literature arose following the ban on translating ancient works of heresy.

The disputation.

Many Medieval manuscripts followed a certain format. A question, or what could be called a proposition, was posed, various "pros" and "cons" considered, then a conclusion drawn. This format was called a disputatio, a disputation.

My work focused on manuscripts produced by a twelfth century monk known as Richard of Littleton. Fortunately for those interested in early Medieval philosophy, Richard had been infected by the works of Aristotle. To circumvent the ban on "heathen" philosophy, Richard would bury his remarks about ancient Greek thought deep into seemingly acceptable disputations, answering questions such as, "Are Pygmies Human?", and, "Can Oranges Grow in Northern Italy." For additional safety, Richard took his efforts a step further and spent page after page writing as boringly as possible about the question at hand until he figured no supervising priest would read any further. Then, suddenly, Richard would morph the topic into his favorite subject, Aristotle's "Physics". In fact, Richard had a specialty. He spent page after page giving his opinion about the problem raised in the "Physics" as to whether two succeeding moments in time are continuous or contiguous. That's a paradox to pull out at a cocktail party.

The only thing we know about this monk named Richard is that he came from a town named Littleton, and that he loved to think and to express his opinions in writing, despite the risk he ran in doing so. A Medieval guerrilla philosopher. I used to sit in front of the microfilm reader imagining Richard hunched over his manuscript in a cold monastery tower with a slight, subversive smile on his face knowing things aren't always what they seem.

There was a large, room in the university library where we did this work, separated from the rest of the library and rarely visited. The "we" consisted of three people: myself, the professor under whose direction I worked, and another professor engaged in a similar effort with ancient Greek texts. Two seasoned scholars and one would-be who looked like they hadn't seen the light of day since, well, the Middle Ages.

But here too, things weren't exactly the way they seemed. My supervising professor hadn't always been a scholar. In fact, he had been a tool and die maker until exposed to Medieval manuscripts in France while stationed there during World War II. He didn't receive his undergraduate degree until the age of thirty and but for the inspiration of the manuscripts he saw in France, never would have. His son was a professional wrestler.

I had recently finished a ten year stint as a rock musician, having spent the last few years on the road playing in bars that make the club scenes in Star Wars look like a day care center. I cut my hair and put on a coat and tie thanks to the inspiration I received from two professors in undergraduate school.

You just never know where the road will take you.