HIST-308 Lecture Notes - Lecture 14: High Middle Ages, Christian Mysticism, Desert Fathers
7 Mar 2020
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Despite all the drama surrounding avignon, the babylonian popes are still regarded as legitimate popes. It was a politically awkward era but not an ecclesiastical disaster: ecclesiastical complaints. For some strict christians, the residence of legitimate popes in avignon was troubling. The college of cardinals in the curia must submit to papal authority. The same is even truer of the average bishop. In the hebrew bible, this kind of role was often played by the prophets, who alone can criticize the conduct of kings. From an orthodox point of view, there shouldn"t be: mystical critique. Even if there were few prophets, there were still mystics. From the 12th century onwards, christian mystics played a uniquely influential role in shaping both theology and politics: ancient mysticism. Mystical encounters with the divine had a long history, dating back perhaps to the visions of. Or to the ascetic ecstasies of the desert fathers, such as anthony the great: medieval mysticism.
