Peregrinations of the word

the long version

Peregrinations of the Word consists of essays on five medieval philosophers: Augustine, Anselm, Aquinas, Bonaventure, and Duns Scotus. Through each of these essays is an independent study, they have as a common theme the relation between faith and reason as understood in the Middle Ages; for example, the conflict between the hermeneutic of reason and that of revelation in the construction of self, the dialectic of philosophical demonstration and devotional submission required of all discourse about God, and the resources available to medieval theology for resolving the conflict of nominalism and realism. Mackey maintains that medieval philosophy can only be understood in its theological and scriptural milieu. He has argued this point by showing how that milieu enabled these five thinkers to deal with a variety of philosophical issues. He concludes persuasively that religious beliefs and exegetical concerns did not shackle the medieval mind but rather liberated it and empowered it. Peregrinations of the Word will be of interest to philosophers, theologians, and students of religion as well as literary critics and theorists. It is a particularly important work for scholars of medieval studies.