Reading Augustine in the Reformation. The Flexibility of Intellectual Authority in Europe, 1500-1620

Augustine of Hippo (354-430 AD) was regarded by sixteenth century Europe as one of the most contested religious and philosophical authorities. He was cast as a characteristically Lutheran, Catholic, or Calvinist thinker, and even as the ideal Erasmian pastor. These wildly contrasting receptions raise crucial questions about the significance of Augustine's thought in the Reformation period. They also show the complex relationship between religious change and the new intellectual culture of Renaissance humanism.
Drawing on a variety of printed and manuscript sources, Arnoud Visser breaks new ground in three ways. He systematically grounds Augustine's theological reception in the history of reading and the material culture of books and manuscripts. He does not confine his examination to particular confessional parties or specific geographic boundaries, but offers a cross-confessional account of Augustine's appropriation in early modern Europe. Finally, he provides crucial insight into the nature of intellectual authority in the early modern period.
Central in this study are the production, circulation and consumption of Augustine's works. Visser examines the impact of the new art of print, the rise of humanist scholarship, and the emerging confessional divisions on Augustine's reception. He shows how editors navigated a wealth of patristic information by using search tools and anthologies. He also explains how individual readers used their copies and how they applied their knowledge in public debates alongside other media of communication. Reading Augustine in the Reformation argues that the emerging confessional pressures did not restrict intellectual life, as has often been claimed, but promoted new scholarship.

Readership: Advanced graduate students and academics in the fields of early modern history, theology, history of Christianity, book history, history of ideas, classics (classical tradition), history of reading.

Arnoud S. Q. Visser, Lecturer in Classics, Lecturer in Early Modern History, University of Leiden, University of Amsterdam

Arnoud Visser received his doctorate at Leiden University and was a Research Fellow at the University of St. Andrews. He is presently a lecturer in Classics at the University of Leiden and in Early Modern History at the University of Amsterdam.

List of Abbreviations
List of Figures
Introduction
Part 1: Production
Chapter 1. The Arrival of the Printing Press
Chapter 2. Humanist Scholarship and Editorial Guidance
Chapter 3. Augustine after Trent
Part 2: Dissemination
Chapter 4. How to Find the Right Argument: Bibliographies and Indexes
Chapter 5. Customizing Authority: Anthologies and Epitomes
Part 3: Consumption
Chapter 6. How Readers Read Their Augustines
Chapter 7. Patristics and Public Debate
Epilogue
Appendix: Opera omnia editions of Augustine 1500-1620
Notes
Bibliography
Index

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