Bonaventure's 'Journey of the Soul into God': Context and Commentary

By: null Randall Smith

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Synopsis: Saint Bonaventure's Journey of the Soul into God is one of the most important works in the Christian mystical tradition. Highly regarded for it clarity, rational organization, and subtle insights, it is also one of the key theological treatises of the high Middle Ages. In this volume, Randall Smith provides the first comprehensive commentary in English of Bonaventure's classic text. He situates the work within its historical, intellectual, and cultural contexts, showing how a consideration of Bonaventure's sources helps us appreciate his text. Smith also provides an extended analysis not only of the intellectual content of the Journey of the Soul into God, but also its structure and creative use of imagery. Analyzing how Bonaventure employed and adapted the methods of thirteenth century sermo modernus-style of preaching to produce a deftly condensed work, he demonstrates how his text is at once a profound work of mysticism as well as a sophisticated and thoughtful work of medieval theology.