The Trinity and Creation are central themes in the theology of the Augustinian Canons of the Abbey of St. Victor during the twelfth century, when it flourished. In this volume, for the first time three of the most important Victorine theological works are introduced in complete English translations. On the Three Days, by Hugh of St. Victor (d. 1141), is a lyrical yet philosophical study of how the power, wisdom, and goodness of God can be known from the things God has made. Hugh’s lecture notes, Sentences on Divinity, show how divine ideas ( primordial causes ) serve God in creation. One of the enduring classics of Christian theology, On the Trinity, by Richard of St. Victor (d. 1173), analyzes the Trinity in terms of love. This volume also includes two of Adam of St. Victor’s sequences in praise of the Trinity.
The enormous productivity of the twelfth century canons of Paris’s Abbey of Saint Victor had a tremendous influence on the great scholastic masters of the thirteenth century like Thomas Aquinas and Bonaventure. Their contemplative spirituality, transmitted via the Low Countries, would also shape the Devotio Moderna and beyond. How fortunate, then, that New City Press will provide an English language series of translations of Victorine biblical exegesis, speculative theology, liturgical works, and mystical texts. Like the householder of the Gospel, the Victorines brought forth old things and new. We are the beneficiaries of those present day scholars who make these nova et vetera available to a wide audience in fresh reliable translation. Lawrence S. Cunningham John A. O'Brien Professor of Theology, The University of Notre Dame