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Heretics and Scholars in the High Middle Ages, 1000-1200

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Fichtenau quotes William of Conches in the introduction: 'They prefer to remain ignorant rather than consult others, and when they know that someone is engaging in research, they shout that he is a heretic.' The charge of heresy was not uncommon in the late Middle Ages, that period of history that was precursor to both the Renaissance and the Reformation. However, as Fichtenau demonstrates, 'the medieval worldview was never as uniform as it might appear from the modern perspective.' In this broad historical period, perhaps the most contentious were the eleventh and twelfth centuries, a period that came after generations of relative stability and entered into crises of faith and innovations in science and technology.

One of the catalysts for this change was the growth of advanced schools, the forerunners of modern universities, where (not without difficulty and the more than occasional charge of heresy) new ideas and ways of thinking were introduced and developed. In Fichtenau's third section, 'The Realm of Reason', he looks at the early Scholastics (who were not immune from the charge of heresy) as well as other ideas that came out of both Platonic and Aristotelian philosophical schools. Fichtenau's first two section develop the religious and heretic ideas: specific heresies such as the Cathars, more general discussion about the genesis and development of heretical systems and communities, religious and philosophical mythological paradigms, and the use of the bible in these different ways.

One important element in all of this discussion, according to Fichtenau, is to remember that many of the elements lifted up for study out of medieval Europe in fact involved a small number of people. 'Catharism, Platonism, and religious spirituality were distinct phenomena. They did not define the twelfth century; indeed they are only associated with relatively small groups of individuals. That these modes of thought could coexist side by side, however, testifies to the unique niche occupied by this century in European history.' The diversity within the seeming uniformity of Christendom would become a permanent feature.

Fichtenau's work is scholarly rigourous, and the translation by Denise Kaiser very readable and engaging. There are extensive notes, a good index, and a useful select bibliography of primary and secondary works. This work both helps introduce and significantly deepens the understanding of a lesser-studied period of history in Western culture, in a fascinating way.