Reform, Representation and Theology in Nicholas of Cusa and His Age

This book provides a series of perspectives on the fifteenth-century Church, in particular on the work and thought of Nicholas of Cusa. Following essays on the legacy of Conciliarism and ecumenicity, the book focuses first on the Council of Basel and the contributions of Giuliano Cesarini, Aeneas Sylvius Piccolomini (the future Pope Pius II), and Nicholas of Cusa, and then on Cusanus''s activities in the next decades. The essays examine topics such as the enigmatic aspects of Cusanus''s participation in the council, and his mystical theology, revealing a man of faith in search of certainty beyond the established paths of philosophical reflection.

While most works on Nicholas of Cusa concentrate either on his early career as author of the monumental ''Catholic Concordance'' or on his later career as writer of remarkable philosophical/theological works such as ''On Learned Ignorance'' and ''The Vision of God'', the essays included here attempt to address the whole Cusanus, sharing common contexts, issues and themes. Following chapters on the legacy of conciliarism and ecumenicity, the story begins with the Council of Basel for which Cusanus wrote ''The Catholic Concordance'', but from which he broke away, raising issues of private conscience as well as the balance between papal authority and representative councils in the pursuit of reform. The story then turns to the ''matrix'' between Constantinople and a new council in Ferrara when Cusanus received a ship-board gift from the ''Father of Lights'' and began to write his great philosophical/theological treatises. When taken together the essays in this book not only form a cohesive whole, they also enlighten aspects often left in the shade, such as the enigmatic aspects of Cusanus'' participation in the council, and his mystical theology that reveals a man of faith in search of certainty beyond the well-trod paths of philosophical reflection.