Medieval Exegesis

Henri de Lubac's monumental four-volume study emerged from his conviction that modern biblical scholarship had lost touch with the rich interpretive tradition of medieval Christianity. Writing in the decades following World War II, when historical-critical methods dominated Catholic biblical studies, de Lubac sought to rehabilitate medieval exegesis as a sophisticated theological enterprise rather than dismiss it as primitive literalism or fanciful allegory.

The work systematically explores how medieval theologians understood Scripture to operate on multiple levels of meaning, traditionally identified as the literal, allegorical, moral, and anagogical senses. De Lubac demonstrates that this fourfold method was not mechanical application of arbitrary interpretive rules, but a coherent theological vision grounded in the conviction that Christ is the key to all Scripture. He traces this interpretive tradition from the Church Fathers through the scholastic period, showing how figures like Augustine, Gregory the Great, and Thomas Aquinas developed increasingly nuanced approaches to biblical meaning. Rather than seeing medieval exegesis as historically naive, de Lubac argues that it possessed a theological depth that purely historical methods cannot access, recognizing Scripture's spiritual dynamism and its capacity to generate meaning across time and circumstance.

De Lubac's rehabilitation of medieval biblical interpretation proved influential in the ressourcement movement that shaped the Second Vatican Council, helping to restore patristic and medieval sources to Catholic theology. The work challenged the assumption that newer critical methods necessarily represent progress over traditional approaches, arguing instead for the enduring value of spiritual interpretation alongside historical analysis. Scholars of medieval theology and biblical interpretation continue to engage with de Lubac's thesis about the theological sophistication of pre-modern exegesis.

Who should read this: Medieval historians, biblical scholars, and theologians interested in the development of Christian hermeneutics will find this essential, though its dense scholarly apparatus and presupposition of extensive knowledge of medieval Latin theology makes it unsuitable for general readers seeking accessible spiritual reading.