The Discarded Image: An Introduction to Medieval and Renaissance Literature Study Guide & Notes

The Discarded Image: An Introduction to Medieval and Renaissance Literature Plot Summary

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The beliefs of the Medievals might in some respects resemble those of less civilized peoples. What distinguishes them, however, is that while the beliefs of "barbaric" peoples are ultimately derived from their immediate environments, the Medievals were almost obsessed with books, and their beliefs can all be traced to the authority of some author, for better or worse. Many of these writers, like Cicero and Lucan, were not even Christians, though many were such as Boethius and so-called Pseudo-Dionysius.The contributions of these authors can be as simple as descriptions of the physical universe or as abstract as the formulation of natural laws. Apuleius, an ancient Pagan, provided two such natural laws which proved essential to the Medieval understanding of the world. The first is called the principle of plenitude, which states that every region of space is filled with beings. This would greatly inform the Medieval understanding of angels and...
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