Richard of St Victor

Richard of Saint Victor, C.R.S.A., (died 1173) was a Medieval Scottish philosopher and theologian and one of the most influential religious thinkers of his time. A canon regular, he was a prominent mystical theologian, and was prior of the famous Augustinian Abbey of Saint Victor in Paris from 1162 until his death in 1173.

Very little is known about the origins and upbringing of Richard of Saint Victor. John of Toulouse wrote a short Vita of Richard in the seventeenth century. He said that Richard came from Scotland. John added that Richard was received into the Abbey of St Victor by Abbot Gilduin (1114–1155) and was a student under Hugh of St Victor, the most influential of all Victorine teachers (implying that Richard entered the community before Hugh's death in 1141). This account of Richard's early life is not accepted by all modern scholars, however, and some have suggested that Richard entered the abbey after Hugh's death in 1141.

All scholarship agrees, however, that Richard was a magister during the 1150s, and was then promoted to subprior in 1159 (as stated by a document found at the abbey). He served under Achard of St. Victor's elected successor Ernisius, who was unworthy of the position. Richard's life was then burdened by the frustrations of working under a man who was ill-suited for his responsibilities. Ernisius wasted the abbey's resources on overly ambitious building projects and persecuted those who attempted to resist him. Richard was allowed to keep his office but his influence was restricted. Things became so unbearable that an appeal was made to the Pope, who then visited Saint Victor in 1162. Through a multitude of transactions, Ernisius was eventually removed from his position and the Pope commended Richard for his continued involvement in the matter. Letters from England written to Richard show that he was in constant touch with English affairs and give evidence of the international character of intellectual life at this time.

He was then promoted to prior in 1162, a position he held until his death on 10 March 1173.

Richard wrote extensively (Migne's Patrologia Latina contains 34 works attributed to him, and this is not Richard's full corpus). There are some problems with establishing the chronology of Richard’s works. The earliest ones come before 1153, and the latest were written one or two years before his death. His earlier works are similar to the general teaching and writing of the period. His writing develops from basic exegesis, theology and philosophy to more of a study of purely spiritual questions. In his early writings he relies on the moral interpretations of previous theologians such as Augustine of Hippo, Bede, Pope Gregory I and Hugh. He later became more independent and strayed from Hugh's influence. There is some debate between historians about which of Richard's texts are the most influential and important. Because Richard's work covers many spheres of thought it is somewhat difficult to categorise his work.

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