Exsilium hominum ignorantia est. Honorius Augustodunensis and knowledge in the twelfth century

Abstract

During the twelfth century, Honorius Augustodunensis wrote a number of encyclopaedic works. In Imago mundi (circa 1110) he presents the system of the cosmos based on the traditional authorities of the early Middle Ages. By contrast, in De animae exsilio etpatria (circa 1140), he proposes an updated educational curriculum for his time, influenced greatly by the arrival of the Greco-Arab knowledge in Europe. An analysis of these works reveals the evolution of Honorius' thinking, with two particular points of interest emerging: 1) that Honorius, rather than reacting to the twelfth century Renaissance, in fact contributed to it through his divulgation works, and 2) that new knowledge was already beginning to spread across the Holy Roman Empire during the first half of the century.