Jean Scot Erigène

Jean Scot Erigène , ( Iohannes Scottus ) is an Irish monk of the 9th century born between the years 800 and 815 in Ireland. The date most commonly allowed for its birth is that of year 800. He dies in 876, on the continent, like many Celtic monks from Ireland, “the island of the saints and the scientists” and the Celtic Christianisme.

Of Scot ( Jean ), known as Erigène , Philosopher and Théologien of the 9th century it is impossible to more fix the elements relative at its origins, its youth and the end of its life. Of Irish origin, one cumulates on the continent his nicknames Scotus and the Érigène or, in Latin, Eriugena . The denomination Jean Scot Erigène dissimulates a toponymic redundancy. Indeed, in his country of origin, one named it Hibernia or Scottia or Eriu . Erigène meaning that it is originating in Eriu, whereas Scot indicates that it comes from the ground of the Scots, the Scotia. According to the Irish writer Sean O' Faolain, Erigène means " Jean born of Irlande".

Its life and its work

Erigene gains the continent towards 845. It comes in France, called by Charles the Bald person, and it passes almost all the remainder of its life to the court of this prince who establishes it vice-chancellor of the palatine school, i.e. it probably ensures teaching the school of the palate. He becomes the official philosopher of the grandson of Charlemagne.

With the reign of Charles, the framework of the exempted official studies widens. Jean Scot Erigène exalte religious zeal of the sovereign who, in the middle of his political concern (attacks of the Normands and internal wars), can keep an interest for the studies of the Greek Pères and not to be satisfied with the Latin Pères.

The Irishmen, who are at the court of most Charles the Bald person among the foreign scientists, also touch with the formations patristics and philosophical. The simple desire of Charlemagne to see priests speaking Latin correctly is quickly exceeded by the talent of personalities such as Sedulius, Jean Scot Erigène or Martin Scot. Often going to Laon, where resident of many compatriots, Erigène associates the services of Martin Scot in the translations of the Greek necessary to his studies.

In the court of the grandson of Charlemagne, Erigène takes part out of organizer in the discussion around the Prédestination and teaches the Liberal arts freely there. It is with this cultivated man that one owes the expression of Mechanical arts. This term is used in one of its comments on a work of Martianus Capella. This comment already grants to the mechanical arts a statute almost equal to that of the liberal arts.

Original thinker, knowing Latin, the Greek, some say as Hebrew, nourished reading of the writings of Origène, translator of texts then allotted to Denys Aréopagite, Scot Érigène is more a Philosophe as a Théologien. He is only scientists of the 9th century to being independent of the orthodoxe tradition. He stuck rather to the tradition alexandrine and becomes the emblematic figure of the pantheist metaphysician , singular character stray in one time unable to include/understand it.

The Roman Anastase the Librarian said of Erigène: This barbarian who lives with the borders of the civilized world could translate Denys Aréopagite but, little ensured of the direction, it was held some with the letter.

The abbot Jean Scot has an exceptional culture for his time. He is set on Greek: a passage of the one of its writings implies that he travelled in Greece and in Orient. It translates the Pères of the Church and annotates works of the Pseudo Denys, of Maxime the Confessor like On the images of Gregoire de Nysse. He studies Origène and Saint Augustin. He annotates and comments on Martianus Capella and Boèce. There remains, still today, admitted to have been a translator and brilliant commentator of Denys Aréopagite.

A free thinker

But the merit of the Irish abbot is not reduced to reading and translating authors that only the scholars read, because it knew to extract from it a quintessence which belongs only to him. arts, wrote it, are the bonds of the man with the divine one, and their practice a means of hello for him .

For him, all the human aspirations with the knowledge originate in the question of the faith in the revelation. It is with the reason that falls nevertheless the duty to explain the direction of the revelation. It follows that no contradiction can emerge between faith and true reason. It is necessary to follow the authority of the Fathers of the Church as a long time as this one is in agreement with the revelation; in the event of contradiction, it is the reason which carries it…

This daring Irishman designed the universe under four categories whose starting point was God and whose term led to the Creator. All the beings created reabsorb thus in their creator. The concept of good and evil is abolished, innocent and culprits having to know the same destiny.

In its treaty Of divisione naturae (or Periphyseon ), it makes a compilation and a synthesis of the Latin culture. Highly skilled theologist, it glose the Gospel according to Jean, analyzes the thought of Augustin d' Hippone and takes share with the great theological quarrels on divine nature. He is opposed to Godescalc about predestination. He incurs the lightnings of several councils for the Panthéisme and the implicit Pandéisme which is released from its works. He makes use of logic and the dialectical Platonic one to clarify the dogma and to locate it compared to the opinions of the ancient philosophers. In short, for Erigène, the reason is based on the faith and confirms it.

Towards 865 or 867, it is denounced like Hérétique by the pope Nicolas I {{er}}. Instead of withdrawing itself in a convent, it remains in France, and it is on its land of welcome that it dies towards 876 (perhaps 877).

In 851, Jean Scot Érigène written in Of predestination :

God envisages neither sorrows, nor sins: they are fictions.
the hell does not exist, or then it names the remorse.

Its posterity

It is in Jean Scot Erigène that one in general allots the guiding ideas of the movement of the Free-Spirit () - (14th century). Movement savagely pursued by the Enquiry and whose first papal judgment goes up with 1204.

Its large priestess Marguerite Porète will finish burned alive in Place of Strike to Paris, on June 1st 1310 with its single book the Mirouer of the simple hearts anienties (delivers which takes again many ideas of Érigène).

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