manuscript of the De Civitate Dei
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Week 6. Augustinus: De civitate dei
Readings
| Weekly Activities
Augustine's monumental De civitate dei is a compendium
of knowledge assembled at the close of the Roman Empire, and it can be
said to mark the very beginnings of what would become the learned tradition
of the European Middle Ages.
Augustine's intellectual interests were wide-ranging
and - in many cases - quite bizarre, at least to our modern ways of thinking.
The readings here present Augustine's view of pagan religion and magic;
his speculations on popular legends of monstrous peoples; and his
belief about the resurrection of the body, in particular, the resurrection
of the female body.
In addition, our readings this week will give you a first introduction
to what will become one of the dominant modes of thought in the Middle
Ages: allegory. Allegory is a symbolic way of thinking,
very alien to the modern world, but central to the Middle Ages.
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