Denis the Carthusian
Encyclopedia
Denis the Carthusian also known as Denys van Leeuwen or Denis Ryckel, was a Roman Catholic theologian and mystic
.
province of Limburg
which was formerly comprised in the county of Hesbaye
. His birthplace was Rijkel, a small village a few miles from Sint-Truiden
, whence ancient writers have often surnamed him 'Ryckel' or 'à Ryckel'.
He first attended school at Sint-Truiden
. In 1415 he went to another school at Zwolle
(Overijssel
), which was then of great repute and attracted many students from various parts of Germany
. He there entered upon the study of philosophy and became acquainted with the principles and practice of religious life, which the rector, John Cele, himself taught. Shortly after the rector's death (1417) Denis returned home, and at the age of 18 entered the University of Cologne
to study philosophy and theology. Having earned his Master of Arts degree, he entered the Carthusian
monastery at Roermond
(Dutch Limburg) in 1423.
To refute Islam he wrote two treatises: "Contra perfidiam Mahometi", at the request of Cardinal Nicholas of Cusa
. The latter, named papal legate
by Nicholas V to reform the Church in Germany and to preach a crusade against the Turks, took Denys with him during a part, if not the whole, of his progress (January 1451 - March 1452), and received from his tongue and his pen valuable assistance, especially in the work of reforming monasteries and of rooting out magical and superstitious practices.
He was for some time (about 1459) procurator of his monastery, and in July, 1466, was appointed to superintend the building of a monastery at 's-Hertogenbosch. A three-year struggle against the difficulties of the new foundation broke down his health, already impaired by work and privations, and he was obliged to return to Roermond in 1469. His treatise "De Meditatione" bears the date of the same year and was the last he wrote.
Posterity has surnamed him Doctor ecstaticus. While still a novice he had ecstasies which lasted two or three hours, and later on they lasted sometimes seven hours and more. During his ecstasies many things were revealed to him which he made known only when it could profit others, and the same may be said of what he learnt from the souls in purgatory
, who appeared to him very frequently. In physical austerities, he was assisted by a strong constitution, for he was a man of athletic build and had, as he said, "an iron head and a brazen stomach".
During the last two years of his life he suffered intensely and with heroic patience from paralysis, the stone, and other infirmities. He had been a monk for forty-eight years when he died at the age of sixty-nine.
Upon his remains being disinterred one hundred and thirty-seven years after, day for day (12 March 1608), his skull emitted a sweet perfume and the fingers he had most used in writing, i.e. the thumb and forefinger of the right hand, were found in a perfect state of preservation. Although the cause of his beatification has never yet been introduced, St. Francis de Sales
, St. Alphonsus Liguori
, and other writers style him "Blessed"; his life is in the Acta Sanctorum
of the Bollandists (12 March), and his name is to be found in many martyrologies.
and then went on to comment the whole of the Old and the New Testament.
He commented also the works of Boethius, Peter Lombard
, John Climacus
, as well as those of, or attributed to, Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite
, and translated Cassian into easier Latin. After seeing one of his commentaries Pope Eugene IV
exclaimed: "Let Mother Church rejoice to have such a son!"
He wrote theological treatises, such as his "Summa Fidei Orthodoxæ"; "Compendium Theologicum", "De Lumine Christianæ Theoriæ", "De Laudibus B. V. Mariæ", and "De Præconio B. V. Mariæ" (in both of which treatises he upholds the doctrine of the Immaculate Conception), "De quatuor Novissimus", etc.; philosophical treatises, such as his "Compendium philosophicum", "De venustate mundi et pulchritudine Dei" (a most remarkable æsthetic dissertation), "De ente et essentiâ", etc.; a great many treatises relating to morals, asceticism, church discipline, liturgy, etc.; sermons and homilies for all the Sundays and festivals of the year, etc.
His writings, taken as a whole, show him to be a compiler rather than an original thinker. He had a decided dislike for metaphysical subtleties of no positive use. As an expounder of Scripture, he generally does no more than reproduce or recapitulate what other commentators had said before him.
As a theologian and a philosopher he belongs to no particular school. Although an admirer of Aristotle
and Aquinas, he is neither an Aristotelian nor a Thomist in the usual sense of the words, but seems inclined rather to the Christian Platonism of Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite, St. Augustine
, and St. Bonaventure. As a mystical writer he is akin to Hugh
and Richard of St Victor, St. Bonaventure, and the writers of the Windesheim School
, and in his treatises may be found summed up the doctrine of the Fathers of the Church, especially of Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite, and of Meister Eckart, Henry Suso
, John of Ruysbroeck, and other writers of the German and Flemish Schools.
He has been called the last of the Schoolmen. He is so in the sense that he is the last important Scholastic writer, and that his works may be considered to form a vast encyclopedia, a complete summary of the Scholastic teaching of the Middle Ages; this is their primary characteristic and their chief merit.
He was consulted as an oracle by men of different social standing, from bishops and princes downwards; they flocked to his cell, and letters came to him from all parts of the Netherlands and Germany. The topic of such correspondence was often the grievous state of the Church in Europe, i. e. the evils ensuing from relaxed morals and discipline and from the invasion of Islam
. Soon after the fall of Constantinople
(1453), impressed by revelations God made to him concerning the terrific woes threatening Christendom, he wrote a letter to all the princes of Europe, urging them to amend their lives, to cease their dissensions, and to join in war against their common enemy, the Turks. A general council
being in his eyes the only means of procuring serious reform, he exhorted all prelate
s and others to unite their efforts to bring it about.
He wrote also a series of treatises, laying down rules of Christian living for churchmen and for laymen of every rank and profession. "De doctrinâ et regulis vitæ Christianæ", the most important of these treatises, was written at the request, and for the use, of the Franciscan preacher John Brugman
. These and others which he wrote of a similar import, inveighing against the vices and abuses of the time, insisting on the need of a general reform, and showing how it was to be effected, give an insight into the customs, the state of society, and ecclesiastical life of that period.
Mysticism
Mysticism is the knowledge of, and especially the personal experience of, states of consciousness, i.e. levels of being, beyond normal human perception, including experience and even communion with a supreme being.-Classical origins:...
.
Life
Denis was born in 1402 in that part of the BelgianBelgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
province of Limburg
Limburg (Belgium)
Limburg is the easternmost province of modern Flanders, which is one of the three main political and cultural sub-divisions of modern Belgium. It is located west of the river Meuse . It borders on the Dutch provinces of North Brabant and Limburg and the Belgian provinces of Liège, Flemish Brabant...
which was formerly comprised in the county of Hesbaye
Hesbaye
Hesbaye or Haspengouw , is a region spanning the south of the Belgian province of Limburg, the east of the Belgian provinces of Flemish Brabant and Walloon Brabant, and the northwestern part of the province of Liège.The Limburgish portion contains the cities of Tongeren, Sint-Truiden, Bilzen and...
. His birthplace was Rijkel, a small village a few miles from Sint-Truiden
Sint-Truiden
Sint-Truiden is a city and municipality located in the province of Limburg, Flemish Region, Belgium, near the towns of Hasselt and Tongeren. The municipality includes the old communes of Aalst, Brustem, Duras, Engelmanshoven, Gelinden, Gorsem, Groot-Gelmen, Halmaal, Kerkom-bij-Sint-Truiden,...
, whence ancient writers have often surnamed him 'Ryckel' or 'à Ryckel'.
He first attended school at Sint-Truiden
Sint-Truiden
Sint-Truiden is a city and municipality located in the province of Limburg, Flemish Region, Belgium, near the towns of Hasselt and Tongeren. The municipality includes the old communes of Aalst, Brustem, Duras, Engelmanshoven, Gelinden, Gorsem, Groot-Gelmen, Halmaal, Kerkom-bij-Sint-Truiden,...
. In 1415 he went to another school at Zwolle
Zwolle
Zwolle is a municipality and the capital city of the province of Overijssel, Netherlands, 120 kilometers northeast of Amsterdam. Zwolle has about 120,000 citizens.-History:...
(Overijssel
Overijssel
Overijssel is a province of the Netherlands in the central eastern part of the country. The region has a NUTS classification of NL21. The province's name means "Lands across river IJssel". The capital city of Overijssel is Zwolle and the largest city is Enschede...
), which was then of great repute and attracted many students from various parts of Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
. He there entered upon the study of philosophy and became acquainted with the principles and practice of religious life, which the rector, John Cele, himself taught. Shortly after the rector's death (1417) Denis returned home, and at the age of 18 entered the University of Cologne
University of Cologne
The University of Cologne is one of the oldest universities in Europe and, with over 44,000 students, one of the largest universities in Germany. The university is part of the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, an association of Germany's leading research universities...
to study philosophy and theology. Having earned his Master of Arts degree, he entered the Carthusian
Carthusian
The Carthusian Order, also called the Order of St. Bruno, is a Roman Catholic religious order of enclosed monastics. The order was founded by Saint Bruno of Cologne in 1084 and includes both monks and nuns...
monastery at Roermond
Roermond
Roermond is a city, a municipality, and a diocese in the southeastern part of the Netherlands.The city of Roermond is a historically important town, on the lower Roer at the east bank of the Meuse river. It received city rights in 1231...
(Dutch Limburg) in 1423.
To refute Islam he wrote two treatises: "Contra perfidiam Mahometi", at the request of Cardinal Nicholas of Cusa
Nicholas of Cusa
Nicholas of Kues , also referred to as Nicolaus Cusanus and Nicholas of Cusa, was a cardinal of the Catholic Church from Germany , a philosopher, theologian, jurist, mathematician, and an astronomer. He is widely considered one of the great geniuses and polymaths of the 15th century...
. The latter, named papal legate
Papal legate
A papal legate – from the Latin, authentic Roman title Legatus – is a personal representative of the pope to foreign nations, or to some part of the Catholic Church. He is empowered on matters of Catholic Faith and for the settlement of ecclesiastical matters....
by Nicholas V to reform the Church in Germany and to preach a crusade against the Turks, took Denys with him during a part, if not the whole, of his progress (January 1451 - March 1452), and received from his tongue and his pen valuable assistance, especially in the work of reforming monasteries and of rooting out magical and superstitious practices.
He was for some time (about 1459) procurator of his monastery, and in July, 1466, was appointed to superintend the building of a monastery at 's-Hertogenbosch. A three-year struggle against the difficulties of the new foundation broke down his health, already impaired by work and privations, and he was obliged to return to Roermond in 1469. His treatise "De Meditatione" bears the date of the same year and was the last he wrote.
Posterity has surnamed him Doctor ecstaticus. While still a novice he had ecstasies which lasted two or three hours, and later on they lasted sometimes seven hours and more. During his ecstasies many things were revealed to him which he made known only when it could profit others, and the same may be said of what he learnt from the souls in purgatory
Purgatory
Purgatory is the condition or process of purification or temporary punishment in which, it is believed, the souls of those who die in a state of grace are made ready for Heaven...
, who appeared to him very frequently. In physical austerities, he was assisted by a strong constitution, for he was a man of athletic build and had, as he said, "an iron head and a brazen stomach".
During the last two years of his life he suffered intensely and with heroic patience from paralysis, the stone, and other infirmities. He had been a monk for forty-eight years when he died at the age of sixty-nine.
Upon his remains being disinterred one hundred and thirty-seven years after, day for day (12 March 1608), his skull emitted a sweet perfume and the fingers he had most used in writing, i.e. the thumb and forefinger of the right hand, were found in a perfect state of preservation. Although the cause of his beatification has never yet been introduced, St. Francis de Sales
Francis de Sales
Francis de Sales was Bishop of Geneva and is a Roman Catholic saint. He worked to convert Protestants back to Catholicism, and was an accomplished preacher...
, St. Alphonsus Liguori
Alphonsus Liguori
Saint Alphonsus Maria de Liguori was an Italian Catholic bishop, spiritual writer, scholastic philosopher and theologian, and founder of the Redemptorists, an influential religious congregation...
, and other writers style him "Blessed"; his life is in the Acta Sanctorum
Acta Sanctorum
Acta Sanctorum is an encyclopedic text in 68 folio volumes of documents examining the lives of Christian saints, in essence a critical hagiography, which is organised according to each saint's feast day. It begins with two January volumes, published in 1643, and ended with the Propylaeum to...
of the Bollandists (12 March), and his name is to be found in many martyrologies.
Works
His works make up twenty-five folio volumes. He took not more than three hours' sleep a night, and that he was known to spend sometimes whole nights in prayer and study. He began (1434) by commenting the PsalmsPsalms
The Book of Psalms , commonly referred to simply as Psalms, is a book of the Hebrew Bible and the Christian Bible...
and then went on to comment the whole of the Old and the New Testament.
He commented also the works of Boethius, Peter Lombard
Peter Lombard
Peter Lombard was a scholastic theologian and bishop and author of Four Books of Sentences, which became the standard textbook of theology, for which he is also known as Magister Sententiarum-Biography:Peter Lombard was born in Lumellogno , in...
, John Climacus
John Climacus
Saint John Climacus , also known as John of the Ladder, John Scholasticus and John Sinaites, was a 7th century Christian monk at the monastery on Mount Sinai. He is revered as a saint by the Roman Catholic, Oriental Orthodox, Eastern Orthodox and Eastern Catholic churches.We have almost no...
, as well as those of, or attributed to, Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite
Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite
Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite, also known as Pseudo-Denys, was a Christian theologian and philosopher of the late 5th to early 6th century, the author of the Corpus Areopagiticum . The author is identified as "Dionysos" in the corpus, which later incorrectly came to be attributed to Dionysius...
, and translated Cassian into easier Latin. After seeing one of his commentaries Pope Eugene IV
Pope Eugene IV
Pope Eugene IV , born Gabriele Condulmer, was pope from March 3, 1431, to his death.-Biography:He was born in Venice to a rich merchant family, a Correr on his mother's side. Condulmer entered the Order of Saint Augustine at the monastery of St. George in his native city...
exclaimed: "Let Mother Church rejoice to have such a son!"
He wrote theological treatises, such as his "Summa Fidei Orthodoxæ"; "Compendium Theologicum", "De Lumine Christianæ Theoriæ", "De Laudibus B. V. Mariæ", and "De Præconio B. V. Mariæ" (in both of which treatises he upholds the doctrine of the Immaculate Conception), "De quatuor Novissimus", etc.; philosophical treatises, such as his "Compendium philosophicum", "De venustate mundi et pulchritudine Dei" (a most remarkable æsthetic dissertation), "De ente et essentiâ", etc.; a great many treatises relating to morals, asceticism, church discipline, liturgy, etc.; sermons and homilies for all the Sundays and festivals of the year, etc.
His writings, taken as a whole, show him to be a compiler rather than an original thinker. He had a decided dislike for metaphysical subtleties of no positive use. As an expounder of Scripture, he generally does no more than reproduce or recapitulate what other commentators had said before him.
As a theologian and a philosopher he belongs to no particular school. Although an admirer of Aristotle
Aristotle
Aristotle was a Greek philosopher and polymath, a student of Plato and teacher of Alexander the Great. His writings cover many subjects, including physics, metaphysics, poetry, theater, music, logic, rhetoric, linguistics, politics, government, ethics, biology, and zoology...
and Aquinas, he is neither an Aristotelian nor a Thomist in the usual sense of the words, but seems inclined rather to the Christian Platonism of Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite, St. Augustine
Augustine of Hippo
Augustine of Hippo , also known as Augustine, St. Augustine, St. Austin, St. Augoustinos, Blessed Augustine, or St. Augustine the Blessed, was Bishop of Hippo Regius . He was a Latin-speaking philosopher and theologian who lived in the Roman Africa Province...
, and St. Bonaventure. As a mystical writer he is akin to Hugh
Hugh of St Victor
Hugh of Saint Victor was born perhaps in France, or more probably in Saxony. His origins and early life are rather obscure. He studied and taught at the Augustinian Abbey of Saint Victor in Paris after which he is named. His writings include works of theology, mysticism, philosophy and the arts...
and Richard of St Victor, St. Bonaventure, and the writers of the Windesheim School
Congregation of Windesheim
The Congregation of Windesheim was a branch of the Augustinians. It took its name from an Augustinian monastery about four miles south of Zwolle on the IJssel, in the Netherlands....
, and in his treatises may be found summed up the doctrine of the Fathers of the Church, especially of Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite, and of Meister Eckart, Henry Suso
Henry Suso
Henry Suso was a German mystic, born at Überlingen on Lake Constance on March 21, c. 1300; he died at Ulm, January 25, 1366; declared Blessed in 1831 by Gregory XVI, who assigned his feast in the Dominican Order to March 2...
, John of Ruysbroeck, and other writers of the German and Flemish Schools.
He has been called the last of the Schoolmen. He is so in the sense that he is the last important Scholastic writer, and that his works may be considered to form a vast encyclopedia, a complete summary of the Scholastic teaching of the Middle Ages; this is their primary characteristic and their chief merit.
He was consulted as an oracle by men of different social standing, from bishops and princes downwards; they flocked to his cell, and letters came to him from all parts of the Netherlands and Germany. The topic of such correspondence was often the grievous state of the Church in Europe, i. e. the evils ensuing from relaxed morals and discipline and from the invasion of Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
. Soon after the fall of Constantinople
Fall of Constantinople
The Fall of Constantinople was the capture of the capital of the Byzantine Empire, which occurred after a siege by the Ottoman Empire, under the command of Ottoman Sultan Mehmed II, against the defending army commanded by Byzantine Emperor Constantine XI...
(1453), impressed by revelations God made to him concerning the terrific woes threatening Christendom, he wrote a letter to all the princes of Europe, urging them to amend their lives, to cease their dissensions, and to join in war against their common enemy, the Turks. A general council
General council
General council may refer to:In education:* General Council , an advisory body to each of the ancient universities of Scotland...
being in his eyes the only means of procuring serious reform, he exhorted all prelate
Prelate
A prelate is a high-ranking member of the clergy who is an ordinary or who ranks in precedence with ordinaries. The word derives from the Latin prælatus, the past participle of præferre, which means "carry before", "be set above or over" or "prefer"; hence, a prelate is one set over others.-Related...
s and others to unite their efforts to bring it about.
He wrote also a series of treatises, laying down rules of Christian living for churchmen and for laymen of every rank and profession. "De doctrinâ et regulis vitæ Christianæ", the most important of these treatises, was written at the request, and for the use, of the Franciscan preacher John Brugman
John Brugman
John Brugman was a fifteenth century Franciscan preacher from Flanders.-Biography:He was born at Kempen in the archdiocese of Cologne, towards the end of the preceding century; died at Nijmegen, Netherlands, 19 September 1473....
. These and others which he wrote of a similar import, inveighing against the vices and abuses of the time, insisting on the need of a general reform, and showing how it was to be effected, give an insight into the customs, the state of society, and ecclesiastical life of that period.
Editions
- Commentary of Petrus Lombardus, 4 vols., Cologne 1534, Venice 1584
- Commentary of Dionysius Areopagite, Cologne 1536, 1556
- Opera omnia, ed. M. Leone, 42 vols., Montreuil-sur-mer, Tournai, Parkminster 1896-1935.