Was Benedictine monasticism conservative? Evidence from the sermon collection of Jacques de Furnes, abbot of Saint-Berlin (1230-1237)

The failure of papal attempts to impose the governmental structures of the religious orders on Benedictine monasticism in the early thirteenth century has long been considered a consequence of a typically Benedictine independent attitude. More precisely, traditional scholarship adhered to the notion that the Benedictines resisted these initiatives because of their reluctance to give up judicial autonomy in favour of a supra-monastic form of organisation. By looking at a collection of sermons drafted by Jacques de Furnes, abbot of the Flemish abbey of Saint-Bertin, I aim to reconsider the above views. In so doing, I look at, respectively : Jacques’s profile as a preacher ; the response of the community of Saint-Bertin to the papal reforms ; Jacques’s involvement in papal monastic policy ; and finally, his role in the coordination of regional monasticism. As such, this study contributes to revising the current narrative on Benedictine institutional development in the twelfth and early thirteenth centuries.Le monachisme bénédictine était-il conservateur ? Le témoignage de la collection des sermons de Jacques de Furnes, abbé de Saint-Bertin (1230-1237). L’échec des tentatives pontificales d’imposer aux ordres religieux des structures gouvernementales basées sur le monachisme bénédictin au début du XIIIe siècle a longtemps été considéré comme la conséquence d’une attitude d’indépendance typiquement bénédictine. Plus précisément, la recherche traditionnelle a adhéré à l’idée que les bénédictins ont résisté à ces initiatives en raison de leur crainte de devoir renoncer à l’autonomie judiciaire en faveur d’une forme d’organisation supramonastique. Sur la base d’un recueil de sermons rédigés par Jacques de Furnes, abbé de l’abbaye flamande de Saint-Bertin, je cherche à reconsidérer les vues précédentes. Pour ce faire, j’examine successivement le profil de Jacques comme prédicateur, la réponse de la communauté de Saint-Bertin aux réformes pontificales, l’implication de Jacques dans la politique monastique des papes et son rôle dans la coordination du monachisme régional. Cette étude contribue ainsi à la révision du discours actuel sur le développement institutionnel bénédictin au XIIe et au début du XIIIe siècle.Was het benedictijnse kloosterwezen conservatief ? De getuigenis van de prekencollectie van Jacques de Furnes, abt van Sint-Bertijns (1230-1237). Het falen van vroeg dertiende-eeuwse pauselijke pogingen om de bestuurlijke structuren van de religieuze orden aan de Benedictijnen op te leggen, werd lange tijd beschouwd als een gevolg van een typisch benedictijnse particularistische houding. Meer bepaald hielden historici vast aan het idee dat de benedictijnen zich tegen deze initiatieven hadden verzet omdat ze hun juridische autonomie niet wilden opgeven ten gunste van enige vorm van supra-monastieke organisatie. Via de studie van een prekencollectie opgesteld door Jacques de Furnes, abt van de Vlaamse Sint-Bertijnsabdij, tracht ik de bovenstaande opvattingen te herzien. Ik behandel achtereenvolgens respectievelijk : het profiel van Jacques als predikant ; de reactie van de gemeenschap van Sint-Bertijns op de pauselijke maatregelen ; de deelname van Jacques in het pauselijk monastiek beleid en zijn rol in de coördinatie van het regionale religieuze leven. Zodoende draagt deze studie bij tot de herziening van het huidige narratief omtrent de institutionele ontwikkelingen in het twaalfde-eeuwse en vroeg dertiende-eeuwse benedictijnse kloosterwezen.Belaen Johan. Was Benedictine Monasticism Conservative? Evidence from the Sermon Collection of Jacques de Furnes, Abbot of Saint-Bertin (1230-1237). In: Revue belge de philologie et d'histoire, tome 95, fasc. 2, 2017. Histoire Médiévale, Moderne et Contemporaine – Middleleeuwse, Moderne en Hedendaagse Geschiedenis. pp. 219-248

Geochemical variations in the Central Southern Volcanic Zone, Chile (38-43°S): The role of fluids in generating arc magmas

We present new Sr-Nd-Pb-Hf-O isotope data from the volcanic arc (VA, volcanic front and rear arc) in Chile and the backarc (BA) in Argentina of the Central Southern Volcanic Zone in Chile (CSVZ; 38-43°S). Compared to the Transitional (T) SVZ (34.5-38°S; Jacques et al., 2013), the CSVZ VA has erupted greater volumes over shorter time intervals (Völker et al., 2011) and produced more tholeiitic melts. Although the CSVZ VA monogenetic cones are similar to the TSVZ VA samples, the CSVZ VA stratovolcanoes have higher ratios of highly fluid-mobile to less fluid-mobile trace elements (e.g. U/Th, Pb/Ce, Ba/Nb) and lower more- to less-incompatible fluid-immobile element ratios (e.g. La/Yb, La/Sm, Th/Yb, Nb/Yb), consistent with an overall higher fluid flux and greater degree of flux melting beneath the CSVZ stratovolcanoes compared to the CSVZ monogenetic centers and the TSVZ VA. The CSVZ monogenetic centers overlap the TSVZ in Sr and Nd isotopes, but the stratovolcanoes are shifted to higher Sr and/or Nd isotope ratios. The Pb isotopic composition of the CSVZ overlaps the TSVZ, which is clearly dominated by the composition of the trench sediments, but the CSVZ monogenetic samples extend to less radiogenic Pb isotope ratios. δ18Omelt from the CSVZ stratovolcano samples are below the MORB range, whereas the CSVZ monogenetic and the TSVZ samples fall within and slightly above the MORB range. The Nd and Hf isotopic ratios of the CSVZ VA extend to more radiogenic compositions than found in the TSVZ VA, indicating a greater contribution from a more depleted source. These correlations are interpreted to reflect derivation of fluids from hydrothermally altered oceanic crust and/or serpentinized upper mantle of the subducting plate. CSVZ BA basalts largely overlap TSVZ BA basalts, displaying less or no subduction influence compared to the VA, but some CSVZ BA basalts tap more enriched mantle, possibly subcontinental lithosphere, with distinctively lower Nd and Hf and elevated 207Pb/204Pb and 208Pb/204Pb isotope ratios

Jacques Derrida's philosophy of hospitality

In the latest of our occasional series on theorists of hospitality, Kevin O'Gorman explores how the controversial philosopher Jacques Derrida (1930-2004) contributes to our understanding of hospitality. Derrida's meditation on the contradictions within the language of hospitality are identified, along with his attempts to illuminate a variety of contemporary hospitality scenarios

Key pedagogic thinkers: Jacques Lacan

The French psychoanalyst, psychiatrist and teacher Jacques Marie Émile Lacan was born on April 13, 1901 and died on September 9, 1981

Dear Jacques ... Lecoq in the twenty first century

This essay considers Jacques Lecoq's influence almost 20 years after his death. Arguing that Lecoq's pedagogy is largely as relevant today as it was when he was still alive, the author speculates whether Lecoq would have welcomed developments in the use of digital technology within live performance. The essay proposes that much of Lecoq's teaching with its emphasis on play, complicite, invention, imagination and the creative actor remains relevant to contemporary developments in site-specific, immersive and postdramatic theatre. The essay is constructed in the form of a posthumous letter to Jacques Lecoq

The Myth of the Good War: America in the Second World War Revised Edition (Book Review) by Jacques R. Pauwels

Review of The Myth of the Good War: America in the Second World War Revised Edition by Jacques R. Pauwel

Ellul\u27s On Freedom, Love, and Power - Book Review

Review of Jacques Ellul\u27s On Freedom, Love, and Power, originally published in Christian Scholar\u27s Review, 41(2), 2012. http://www.csreview.org

Ecological Disaster & Jacques Ellul’s Theological Vision

This paper will focus Jacques Ellul’s insights onto the manner in which our modern technological society is deeply ingrained in the subordination of both humanity and nature to efficient use. Ellul maintains that our way of life is characterised by structural instrumentalism, which is in turn underpinned by a distorted theological outlook. The paper asserts that these aforementioned factors together form the key drivers that propel us towards environmental desolation. This paper asserts that no adequate fine tuning of our present way of life will be possible to address issues such as climate change. What is needed instead is the comprehensive sociological and theological conversion of our society. This paper will conclude by tentatively exploring ways in which the church might proclaim and embody a prophetic message of repentance and conversion in this and other socio-cultural matters