The work presented here shows a fragment conceived within the final thesis of a degree course. In this sense, it shows the predominance of the comparative method, its sources and part of its conclusions. We maintain that natural conditions are decisive for social conceptions. The sources we will recover will be the folk tales Morozko and part of the Kalevala. The elements of each story will be analyzed, taking into account Environmental History and comparative history. The intention of this article is to account for the relationship between natural conditions and social and wonderful values in the Russian folk tale Morozko (compiled by Afanasiev) and in the Kalevala, (compiled by L & ouml;nnrot in Finland). We understand by natural conditions the specificity of the regions that belong to the Arctic Circle. And we understand, among all the social and wonderful values, that the predominant one found in the sources is the conception about death-specifically death caused by cold-. The relationship established between natural conditions and social values will be accompanied by a comparative analysis between the two sources set in their respective regions. As well as some historiographical reflections on the role of Environmental History. We will conclude by stating that the fear of death from cold is conditioned by the natural characteristics given by belonging to the Arctic Circle. This geographical, climatic and geomorphological dimension is what leads us to differentiate, within the final degree project, social and marvelous conceptions from the rest of Europe
This paper examines inequality among men from a social and political perspective, in which the concept of 'trifunctionality' emerges as a key concept. The reflection presented here constitutes a continuation of a fundamental first part (published in issue 27 (2025), pp. 38-64, of this same journal), which dealt with the anthropological-metaphysical and theological doctrine of inequality among men according to Saint Thomas. This reflection now focuses on the Thomistic formulation of trifunctionality from both a social and political perspective. Returning to the conclusion of the first part, it is reaffirmed here that inequalities among men are not primarily natural, but rather moral. Now, in addressing this issue, while the existence of social and political inequalities is revealed, in Thomas' view, these are fundamentally structural, not the result of individual moral merit. Furthermore, the free nature of the formation of society, based on consensus, highlights the possibility of an ever-increasing closeness among people, a consequence of that awareness of fundamental equality among them brought about by social friendship. Such progress, inherent to the dynamism of optimal social development, of a civilizing kind, can never occur outside the framework of hierarchical structures and functions that necessarily imply inequality among men.
In the De Trinitate, Saint Augustine discusses of a trinity within the soul: memory, intellect, and will. These three realities have often been interpreted as if they were all faculties or inner powers. This paper will propose a critical reconsideration of this interpretation, with a focus on the notion of memory. Through textual and conceptual analysis, it will be argued that Augustine's account of memory is closer to a habit than to a faculty in the strict sense. It will also be maintained that understanding memory as a faculty problematically broadens the scope of its nature or domain. In this way, the article seeks to qualify the classical characterization of Augustine's trinity of the soul and to open new avenues for its understanding. It will further be shown that, for Augustine, memory cannot be reduced to a mere mechanism of retention or recall. Rather, conceiving it as a habit allows for a clearer account of its relation to the soul and to that form of self-presence which precedes the actual exercise of self-knowledge. Whereas the latter requires the operation of faculties such as intellect and will, memory appears as a constant background, a stable disposition that safeguards the identity of the subject. In this sense, it will be argued that memory manifests itself in different ways: as a habitual reality, as the intimate repository of fundamental notions, and, in a certain way, as the place where the presence of the divine is inscribed in the human being. Self-knowledge, therefore, will not consist merely in recalling what has been lived, but in actualizing what is already inscribed in human nature.
The "Dagome iudex" document remains a legendary story within medieval literature, while simultaneously reflecting the cultural phenomenon of Ottonian Byzantinism. Progress of the current research in resolving the questions surrounding the "Dagome iudex" has proved challenging, prompting a reconsideration of scientific priorities and the adoption of a textual criticism approach. Textual criticism aims to restore, as far as possible, the original work as written by its author. We have, thus, opted for the Lachmann method (with recensio, examinatio, emendatio), as it allows the correction of original errors through the conscious intervention of intermediate copyists. At this point, it should be noted that the decision to apply the Lachmann method was based on the conditions relating to the written tradition of the specific text. This means the existence of an original and the absence of "contaminatio". At the same time, the juxtaposition of the genealogical stemma of the six manuscripts, divided into two "families" of three manuscripts each, with two lines, illustrates, in the case of the Dagome iudex, the genealogical relationships and dependencies between the variants based on their "common" errors. Therefore, comparing all the variants aims to highlight the specific "common" errors to approximately restore the initial text. The ultimate goal is the reconstruction of the original and its reception as a written, applied literary source outside any aesthetic framework. Additionally, the inter textual features of the Dagome iudex, including its content and historicity, necessitate its classification as an applied literary text ( (Textsorten (Textsorten) and its contextualization in space and time to more accurately and carefully trace the real circumstances of its composition and the historical figures involved in its creation.
The medieval Irish poem known as the Rule of Ciar & aacute;n (composed in the vernacular, spuriously attributed either to Saint Ciar & aacute;n of Saigir [5th century] or Saint Ciar & aacute;n of Clonmacnois [dagger 549]) survives in a single 15th-century manuscript, the work of the prolific scribe Uilliam mac an Leagha (fl. 1460). Based on chronological and metrical analysis, it is postulated that, similar to the Rule of the Grey Monks preserved in the same manuscript, the Rule of Ciar & aacute;n appears to be largely an original work by Mac an Leagha, who, having come across a few fragments of an ancient work attributed to Ciar & aacute;n, interpolated other, metrically and thematically compatible stanzas to augment it. Therefore, an introductory study (with chronological and metrical analysis), diplomatic transcription, restored text, Spanish translation, and linguistic and translation notes of the composite Rule are regarded as necessary, along with a few conclusive remarks. As a finished product, it forms a brief admonition in verse in which the lyrical speaker, an ascetic teacher, advises his interlocutor, an ecclesiastical hierarch, on various spiritual and moral topics (charity and poverty, observance of a sabbatic Sunday, the problems of perjury and vainglory, the treatment of nuns and guests, etc.), while at the same time launching a harsh tirade against the corruption he observes in the churches of his time (wealth, loquacity, gluttony, etc.). Regardless of their interpolated nature, the components of the rule, all authentic to the late old and early middle Irish periods, provide relevant information for understanding spirituality and religious life in pre-Norman Ireland.
This article offers an etymological and conceptual study of the Greek vocabulary that expresses the various forms of love, in order to clarify the nature and structure of friendship within the Christian tradition. Beginning with the Gospel imperative "Make friends" (Lk 16:9), the author explores the anthropological, philosophical, and theological implications of understanding friendship not as a mere voluntary bond or emotional support, but as a constitutive dimension of Christian life. To this end, the study examines the classical classification of the "four loves" and draws on P & aacute;vel Florensky's analysis of the Greek verbs epsilon rho omega sigma, phi iota lambda epsilon iota nu, sigma tau epsilon rho gamma epsilon iota nu, and alpha gamma alpha pi alpha nu, highlighting the affective, volitional, spiritual, and rational nuances each one conveys. The article shows how patristic and medieval authors received and reinterpreted these categories, investing terms such as eros, philia, and agape with rich spiritual meaning. Friendship emerges as a loving relationship that integrates, to varying degrees, desire, affection, kinship, and rational appreciation of the other, and whose ultimate foundation lies in divine love. The study also considers the potential dangers and distortions of each form of love-idolatry, possessiveness, elitism, emotional stagnation-which necessitate a careful discernment of which type best expresses Christian friendship. The conclusion synthesizes this trajectory by affirming that friendship, understood as philia, is complemented and perfected by spiritually purified eros and, above all, by agape, which elevates the human bond to its fullness. The article thus proposes an integral understanding of friendship as a complex reality in which affection, freedom, reason, and grace converge.
Thomas Aquinas' conception of inequality among men is explored here, stressing the importance of its metaphysical-theological implications, including, of course, the consideration of the state of original innocence. Georges Duby's The Three Orders. Feudal Society Imagined has served as the initial motivation for the research, since there is no mention there of Aquinas' position on the matter. The implications that this whole question of equality/inequality among men present in relation to the question of serfdom reveal in a special way the bridge that exists between the metaphysical-anthropological considerations and the social theory of Aquinas himself. The paper argues that, although Thomas considers a series of inequalities among men-both natural and moral-, at the same time, there can be no doubt about his affirmation of a fundamental equality among them. The identical basis of human perfection for all lies in the ontological equality attributable to all members of that species. In this regard, the argument proceeds to a metaphysical analysis of the concepts of aequalitas, similitudo, identitas and unitas, in their relation to humanitas, concluding that among men it must be said that there is a fundamental equality, not likeness. It is established that there are two ways-one positive and the other negative-to show this equality. Regarding the first way, the question of the imago Dei appears as something communis omnibus hominibus. . As for the negative manifestation of equality, there is the question of servitude, whose examination in Thomas Aquinas is closely linked to the teaching of two Fathers of the Church, Augustine , Gregory the Great. In conclusion, it is established that for Aquinas there are no people innately superior to others , that, consequently, to judge that some have de iure certain authority over others, the moral merit of the subjects must be taken into account.
The thought concerning the action of teaching by the human teacher in Thomas Aquinas and Augustine of Hippo has been extensively studied. However, when compared, both thinkers are often presented as offering two distinct ways of understanding this action. On the one hand, the Augustinian approach-strongly influenced by Platonism-denies the causality of the human teacher and grounds all teaching activity in the illumination of the Inner Teacher. On the other hand, the Thomistic approach-clearly influenced by Aristotelianism-while not denying the role of inner illumination, attributes to the human teacher an external efficient causality in the generation of knowledge in the student. As a result, the two are frequently contrasted or regarded as fundamentally different ways of exercising the teaching office. This paper seeks to examine how, despite their differences, Thomas Aquinas appropriated and integrated significant aspects of Augustinian thought in shaping his own vision of the teacher. This vision, while original, is deeply rooted in the Christian tradition and is especially evident in his work De Veritate, particularly in the section known as De Magistro, though it is presented with greater clarity in the Summa Theologiae, due to the order in which the question is addressed there. Thus, this study aims to determine whether Aquinas's reception of Augustinian thought is merely incidental or whether it involves a deeper assimilation that enables him to present a fuller and more authentic understanding of the figure of the teacher-one that would not be possible without the Augustinian contribution.
This article aims to contextualise Meister Eckhart's work within the intellectual history of the late Middle Ages, serving as an introduction to this author's thought. To this end, it traces the direct influences that may have shaped Eckhart's thought and to what extent he continues or reinterprets them, examining both classical philosophers and notable authors from the Rhenish-Flemish region. Additionally, the article seeks to establish how the names attributed to him as mystical and metaphysical can be appropriate and in which of their meanings. In this sense, it argues that both aspects are fundamental to his intellectual contributions during a time when such disciplines were becoming increasingly distinct, often leading authors to focus on one at the expense of the other. This distinction sets Eckhart apart from the later currents that emerged in the area in question. In the context of Rhenish mysticism, Eckhart's thought can be considered its pinnacle, as he formulates a metaphysical system that underpins his mystical vision, which is primarily how he is recognised today. This research is conducted through a bibliographic analysis of key works on Eckhart, aiming to integrate recent studies by specialists who critique classical authors on the subject, as well as examining the most reputable works by historians of the late Middle Ages.
The Erotopa & iacute;gnia are a collection of popular poems on amorous themes, composed anonymously as Byzantine society was nearing its end. The text was transmitted in a single manuscript. Given the material conditions of its transmission as well as the nature of its content, the collection of poems raises a series of methodological problems that require elucidation through a holistic and integral hermeneutic perspective, combining concepts from philology (and its related disciplines), literary theory, discursive grammar, and cultural studies. To account for textual precedents and posterity, this paper proposes citing the intertextual relationships between the Erotopa & iacute;gnia, the Byzantine novel, epigrammar, and popular Greek poems. This discursive emergence places the collection of poems straddling two eras, establishing it as a key testimony for investigating the states of language and the unique elements of verbal creation reflected in it. In terms of strictly ecdotical terms, the transmission of the text of the Erotopa & iacute;gnia reveals a series of problems that require appropriate and timely methodological and philological treatment. The development and results of this research could contribute to promoting and disseminating the reading and study of the Erotopa & iacute;gnia, which will lead to a deeper understanding of the medieval Greek world. At the end of the article, the Greek text is presented, based on the lessons of the Codex Unicus, compared with the Hesseling & Pernot edition, and the translation of the first 41 verses of the collection.
The contemporary ethical landscape reveals a crisis of credibility regarding the foundations of the normative order, along with a weakening of the traditional values that guided life. Relativism takes center stage, and the validity of moral judgments is restricted to the private sphere of subjective conscience, thereby closing in on the possibility of objectively grounding ethics. Against this backdrop, the main objective of this work is to revive a traditional ethical vision, such as that of Thomas Aquinas, but giving it a novel twist. This novel twist proposes reviving the theme of natural law as the objective foundation of ethics, based on a path of innate knowledge of the good, characterized by a constitutive synergy between the different human capacities: intellectual, volitional, and affective. The innate knowledge that human beings experience with the good is a type of knowledge of an intellectual nature that inherently carries with it the affectivity that accompanies the will in every act. This type of knowledge will be explained through a chain of connaturalities, ranging from the virtues of synderesis and prudence to the voluntas ut natura and the accompanying voluntas ut ratio. Re-evaluating all these themes of Thomas Aquinas's Unitary anthropology is vitally important, as they show that within human nature there is an intrinsic dynamism, grounded in the inception of natural law. Through this chain of connaturalities, we will attempt to re-evaluate, on the one hand, humankind's capacity to intellectually know this law, and, on the other, the power of their will and the impetus of their affectivity to follow it accurately. Finally, we will be able to demonstrate that moral experience is a synthesis of nature and freedom, where affectivity and inclinations always accompany intelligence and will in the pursuit of one's own human goods.
The thought of Thomas Aquinas is marked by a profound reworking of Aristotelian legacy within a Christian framework, aiming to harmonize reason and faith in the context of 13th-century scholasticism. This article seeks, as its general objective, to analyze the notion of aristocracy in Aquinas's work, based on his appropriation and reinterpretation of Aristotle's political philosophy. In particular, it examines how Aquinas adopts the key elements of Aristotelian aristocracy-virtue and wisdom as the foundations of good governance-and integrates them into his political theology by presenting them as reflections of divine grace. As a specific objective, the article explores how this reinterpretation is articulated through Aquinas's theory of the common good and natural law, allowing him to expand Aristotle's political horizon and adapt it to the hierarchical and moral structure of the Christian order. Using a historical-conceptual methodology inspired by Michel Foucault's archaeology of knowledge and Elias Palti's reflections on political languages, this study moves beyond a linear and progressive narrative of ideas to focus instead on the epistemic frameworks that shape Aquinas's understanding of power, justice, and governance. The article also examines Aquinas's distinction between aristocracy and oligarchy, where the former is understood as a regime oriented toward the common good and the latter as its corrupt version driven by private interest. Within this framework, the moral and intellectual formation of the ruler becomes essential to achieving a just society-structured hierarchically but not unequal in dignity. All of this is situated in the context of the late Middle Ages, marked by intense conflicts between Church and State and by growing tensions between royal authority and the nobility, which gives Aquinas's political vision both a normative dimension and a critical reflection of his time's social and institutional challenges.
