Nicholas of Cusa on Christ and the Church—Essays in Memory of Chandler McCuskey Brooks for the American Cusanus Society

This volume contains studies on Nicholas of Cusa and his times. The first section is concerned with Cusanus' context, beginning with a historiographic essay by Francis Oakley on the impact of Brian Tierney's Foundations of the Conciliar Theory. Among the topics addressed are the long-term continuation of the Council of Basel (1431-1449) and the issues of ecclesiastical income which it addressed. The second part is concerned with Cusanus' thought on the Church, both in his conciliarist and papalist phases. Included is the first translation into English of Nicholas' Reformation generalis. Attention also is paid to Cusacus' reforming efforts and the relationship of his thought on these issues to his earliest speculative writings. The third part is concerned with Nicholas' ideas on Christ and mystical experience. Particular attention is paid to the De visione dei, including its relationship to Renaissance art. The volume concludes with wide-ranging essays on the larger significance of Cusanus' speculative thought. An update of Thomas M. Izbicki's bibliography of Cusanus scholarship in English is included.

Gerald Christianson, Ph.D. (1972) in Church History, University of Chicago, is Professor of Church History at Gettysburg Lutheran Seminary and co-editor with Thomas M. Izbicki of Nicholas of Cusa in Search of God and Wisdom, (Brill, 1991) and Humanity and Divinity in Renaissance and Reformation (Brill, 1993).