Editing John of Salisbury

{{short description|12th-century English philosopher}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2019}}
{{Infobox Christian leader
| image       = Policraticon_de_Jean_de_Salisbury_-_BSG_Ms1145_f3r_(Jean_de_Salisbury_enseignant).jpeg
| name        = John of Salisbury
| caption     = John of Salisbury teaching philosophy
| title       = [[Bishop of Chartres]] 
| diocese     = [[Diocese of Chartres|Chartres]]
| appointed   = 1176
| birth_date  = late 1110s
| birth_place = [[Salisbury]], England
| death_date  = 25 October 1180
| death_place = [[Chartres]], France
| occupation  = {{Hlist | author | philosopher | educationalist | diplomat}}
}}
'''John of Salisbury''' (late 1110s – 25 October 1180), who described himself as '''Johannes Parvus''' ("John the Little"),<ref name="McCormick 1889 44">{{cite book|last=McCormick |first=Stephen J. |author-link=S. J. McCormick |title=The Pope and Ireland.|url=https://archive.org/details/popeirelandconta00mccoiala |publisher=A. Waldteufel|location=San Francisco|year=1889|pages=[https://archive.org/details/popeirelandconta00mccoiala/page/44 44]}}</ref> was an English author, philosopher, educationalist, diplomat and [[bishop of Chartres]].  The historian [[Hans Liebeschuetz]] described him as one of the most notable figures of the "[[Renaissance of the 12th century|medieval Renaissance]]" of the [[12th century]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Liebeschuetz |first=Hans |title=Medieval Humanism in the life and writings of John of Salisbury |date=1950 |publisher=The Warburg Institute, University of London |location=London |publication-date=1950 |pages=1 |language=English}}</ref>

==Early life and education==
Born at [[Salisbury]], England, he was of [[Anglo-Saxon]] rather than of [[Normans|Norman]] extraction, and therefore apparently a [[Cleric|clerk]] from a modest background, whose career depended upon his education. Beyond that, and that he applied to himself the cognomen of ''Parvus'', meaning "short" or "small", few details are known regarding his early life. From his own statements it is gathered that he crossed to France about 1136, and began regular studies in [[Paris]] under [[Peter Abelard]],<ref name="Guilfoy">Guilfoy, Kevin, [http://plato.stanford.edu/archives/spr2015/entries/john-salisbury/ "John of Salisbury"], The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy  (Spring 2015 Edition), Edward N. Zalta (ed.).</ref> who had for a brief period re-opened his famous school there on [[Montagne Sainte-Geneviève]].{{sfn|Chisholm|1911|p=449}}

His vivid accounts of teachers and students provide some of the most valuable insights into the early days of the [[University of Paris]].<ref>Cantor 1992:324.</ref> When Abelard withdrew from Paris, John studied under Master [[Alberic of Paris|Alberic]] and [[Robert of Melun]]. In 1137, John went to [[Chartres]], where he studied grammar under [[William of Conches]], and rhetoric, logic and the classics under [[Richard l'Evêque]], a disciple of [[Bernard of Chartres]].<ref name="Pike">[http://www.constitution.org/salisbury/policrat123.htm John of Salisbury. ''Frivolities of Courtiers and Footprints of Philosophers'', (Joseph B. Pike, trans.), University of Minnesota, 1938]</ref> Bernard's teaching was distinguished partly by its pronounced [[Neoplatonism|Platonic]] tendency, and partly by the stress laid upon literary study of the greater Latin writers. The influence of the latter feature is noticeable in all of John of Salisbury's works.{{sfn|Chisholm|1911|p=449}}

Around 1140 John returned to Paris to study theology under [[Gilbert de la Porrée]], then under [[Robert Pullus]] and Simon of Poissy, supporting himself as a tutor to young noblemen. In 1148, he resided at the Abbey of Moutiers-la-Celle in the [[diocese of Troyes]], with his friend [[Peter of Celle]]. He was present at the [[Council of Rheims (1148)|Council of Reims]] in 1148, presided over by [[Pope Eugene III]].{{sfn|Chisholm|1911|pp=449–450}} It is conjectured that while there, he was introduced by St. [[Bernard of Clairvaux]] to [[Theobald of Bec|Theobald]], whose secretary he became.<ref name="Guilfoy"/>

==Secretary to the Archbishop of Canterbury==
John of Salisbury was secretary to Archbishop Theobald for seven years. While at Canterbury he became acquainted with [[Thomas Becket]], one of the significant potent influences in John's life. During this period he went on many missions to the Papal See; it was probably on one of these that he made the acquaintance of Nicholas Breakspear, who in 1154 became Pope [[Adrian IV]]. The following year John visited him, remaining at [[Benevento]] with him for several months. He was at the court of Rome at least twice afterward.<ref name="Pike"/>

During this time John composed his greatest works, published almost certainly in 1159, the ''[[Policraticus|Policraticus, sive de nugis curialium et de vestigiis philosophorum]]'' and the ''Metalogicon'', writings invaluable as storehouses of information regarding the matter and form of scholastic education, and remarkable for their cultivated style and humanist tendency.{{sfn|Chisholm|1911|p=450}} The ''Policraticus'' also sheds light on the decadence of the 12th-century court manners and the lax morals of royalty. The idea of contemporaries "[[standing on the shoulders of giants]]" of Antiquity, attributed by him to [[Bernard of Chartres]], first appears in written form in the ''Metalogicon''. The ''Metalogicon'' consists of four books starting with defending the ''[[trivium]]'' and extending further to comments on other areas of logic. John defends the ''trivium'' by stating socialization is a critical part of human nature and well-being, while in the past Cornificius and his followers argued verbal arts should not be included in logic as they are nearly "useless".<ref name=":2">{{Cite book |last=Bloch |first=David |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/786442692 |title=John of Salisbury on Aristotelian science |date=2012 |publisher=Brepols |isbn=978-2-503-54099-3 |location=Turnhout |oclc=786442692}}</ref><ref name=":3">{{Cite journal |last=FitzGerald |first=Brian D. |date=2010 |title=Medieval theories of education: Hugh of St Victor and John of Salisbury |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/25753519 |journal=Oxford Review of Education |volume=36 |issue=5 |pages=575–588 |doi=10.1080/03054985.2010.514436 |jstor=25753519 |s2cid=144217226 |issn=0305-4985}}</ref> After the death of Theobald in 1161, John continued as secretary to his successor, Thomas Becket, and took an active part in the long [[Becket controversy|disputes]] between that [[Primate (bishop)|primate]] and his sovereign, [[Henry II of England|Henry II]], who looked upon John as a papal agent.<ref>[[Norman F. Cantor]], 1993. ''The Civilization of the Middle Ages'', 324–326.</ref>

John's letters throw light on the constitutional struggle then agitating England.{{sfn|Chisholm|1911|p=450}} In 1163, John fell into disfavor with the king for reasons that remain obscure, and withdrew to France. The next six years he spent with his friend Peter of La Celle, now Abbot of St. Remigius at [[Reims]]. Here he wrote "Historia Pontificalis".<ref name="Coffey">[http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/08478b.htm Coffey, Peter. "John of Salisbury." The Catholic Encyclopedia] Vol. 8. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1910. 20 Jul. 2015</ref> In 1170, he led the delegation charged with preparing for Becket's return to England,<ref name="Guilfoy"/> and was in Canterbury at the time of Becket's assassination. In 1174, John became treasurer of [[Exeter]] cathedral.

==Bishop of Chartres==
In 1176, he was made [[bishop of Chartres]], where he passed the remainder of his life. In 1179, he took an active part in the [[Third Council of the Lateran]]. He died at or near Chartres on 25 October 1180.<ref name="McCormick 1889 44"/>

==Scholarship and influences==
It is important to note that many of John's works were not valued during his time. Many of these works survived only because they were copied into manuscripts that contained more popular works. It is still being disputed whether certain works were authored by John of Salisbury.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Linder |first=Amnon |date=1977 |title=The Knowledge of John of Salisbury in the Late Middle Ages |journal=Studi Medievali |volume=3 |issue=2 |pages=315–355}}</ref> John's writings are excellent at clarifying the literary and scientific position of [[Renaissance of the 12th century|12th-century Western Europe]]. Though he was well versed in the new logic and dialectical rhetoric of the university, John's views also imply a cultivated intelligence well versed in practical affairs, opposing to the extremes of both [[nominalism]] and [[Philosophical realism|realism]] a practical [[common sense]]. His doctrine draws on the literary skepticism of [[Cicero]], for whom he had unbounded admiration and on whose style he based his own.{{sfn|Chisholm|1911|p=450}} His view that the end of education was moral, rather than merely intellectual, became one of the prime educational doctrines of Western civilization. This moral vision of education shares more in common with the tradition of monastic education which preceded his own [[Scholasticism|Scholastic]] age, and with the vision of education which re-emerges in the worldview of [[Renaissance humanism]].<ref>Cantor 1993:325f.</ref>

Of Greek writers he appears to have known nothing at first hand, and very little in translations, but he was one of the best Latinists of his age. The ''[[Timaeus (dialogue)|Timaeus]]'' of [[Plato]] in the Latin version of [[Chalcidius]] was known to him as to his contemporaries and predecessors, and probably he had access to translations of the ''[[Phaedo]]'' and ''[[Meno]]''. Of [[Aristotle]] he possessed the whole of the ''[[Organon]]'' in Latin; he is, indeed, the first of the medieval writers of note to whom the whole was known.{{sfn|Chisholm|1911|p=450}}

He first coined the term ''[[Theatrum Mundi|theatrum mundi]]'', a notion that influences the theater several centuries later. In several chapters of the third book of his ''[[Policraticus]]'', he meditates on the fact that "the life of man on earth is a comedy, where each forgetting his own plays another's role".<ref>John Gillies, ''Shakespeare and the Geography of Difference'', Volume 4 of Cambridge Studies in Renaissance Literature and Culture, Cambridge University Press, 1994. {{ISBN|9780521458535}}. [https://books.google.com/books?id=HoKybxnJLVMC&pg=PA76 Pages 76-77].</ref>

=== Philosophical views ===
John of Salisbury was a follower of the Ciceronian perspective. Followers of this perspective believed that things could be definitively proven, but still left open to be challenged. John emphasized this belief in both the ''Policraticus'' and the ''Metalogicon''. Following the worldview of Cicero, John of Salisbury dissociated himself from the extreme skepticism some of his fellow academics held. John instead held the view of moderate skepticism. In this worldview, there are three bases for which knowledge can be based in certainty. These bases are: Faith, reason, and the senses. This structure allowed for philosophers to think and discuss without having to question the existence of God or question other structures which were to not be questioned in their time.<ref name=":0">{{Citation |last1=Bollermann |first1=Karen |title=John of Salisbury |date=2022 |url=https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/sum2022/entries/john-salisbury/ |encyclopedia=The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy |editor-last=Zalta |editor-first=Edward N. |edition=Summer 2022 |publisher=Metaphysics Research Lab, Stanford University |access-date=2022-11-11 |last2=Nederman |first2=Cary}}</ref>

John of Salisbury's belief of moderate skepticism carried over into his other views of life. John detested the philosophy of [[Epicureanism]], deeming it to be the opposite of moderation. John found some values in the teaching of [[Epicurus]], but his criticisms were more directed to the followers of Epicureanism. He believed that Epicureans didn't correctly follow Epicurus's original philosophy and used it to indulge in unbridled hedonism. John argued that this form of Epicureanism would not allow its followers to achieve true happiness. John of Salisbury also criticized Epicureans who did not identify themselves as such. This pertained to individuals who were overly hedonistic and only ever served their own needs. Having not had wide access to ancient philosophers who challenged Epicurus's ideas, it is most likely that John of Salisbury came to his conclusions based on his own life experiences and observations.<ref name=":0" /> Similarly to the Epicureans, John also detested the philosophies of Cornificius and his followers. However, he detested their philosophies because they attempted to reject the ''[[trivium]]''.<ref name=":2" />

However, John viewed the presence of any philosophical thought in humans as critical, despite his criticisms of certain philosophies. John believed that the capacity for logic was a natural dividing line between humans and lesser-sentient creatures.<ref name=":2" /> He stated that philosophy was essential to human health and mental well-being, while humans lacking philosophical thought were akin to feral creatures incapable of rationalization.<ref name=":33">{{Cite book |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/820167664 |title=Logic and language in the Middle Ages : a volume in honour of Sten Ebbesen |date=2013 |others=Sten Ebbesen, Jakob L. Fink, Heine Hansen, Ana María Mora-Márquez |isbn=978-90-04-24213-5 |location=Leiden |oclc=820167664}}</ref> This is also why John argued so strongly for the ''trivium'', viewing socialization as an important aspect of sharing and enhancing philosophical thought—also contributing to well-being.<ref name=":3" />

=== Medical views ===
[[File:Metalogicon.jpg|left|thumb|238x238px|A page from the Metalogicon]]
John of Salisbury was fairly vocal about his criticisms of the medical system during his time, writing about it in both the ''[[Policraticus]]'' and the ''Metalogicon.'' He expressed his belief that medical science should have more balance between theory and practice;<ref name=":1">{{Cite journal |last1=Shogimen |first1=Takashi |last2=Nederman |first2=Cary J. |date=2011-01-01 |title=The Best Medicine? Medical Education, Practice, and Metaphor in John of Salisbury's Policraticus and Metalogicon |url=https://www.brepolsonline.net/doi/10.1484/J.VIATOR.1.102004 |journal=Viator |volume=42 |issue=1 |pages=55–73 |doi=10.1484/J.VIATOR.1.102004 |issn=0083-5897}}</ref><ref name=":33" /> and his concern that the medical system had become corrupt. John of Salisbury believed medical science was important; however, he criticized the physicians practicing medicine for being seemingly more focused on personal gain than helping patients. Physicians who relied too much on inquiry began speculating about how the soul relates to health, which John believed impractical because it could not be tested and trespassed on religious belief. John believed, as a result, that theoretical physicians often ignored natural, tangible causes of illness in the body. On the other hand, he stated practical physicians chose to ignore their potential faults and chance for inquiry; making the claim that there is nothing they could have done better or differently if their patient succumbed to their illness.<ref name=":1" /> John argued instead that there should be an equal balance between seeking out new truths and practicing or pursuing those new truths.<ref name=":33" /> Due to the progressing division between the two types of physicians, John of Salisbury also argued they had begun diversifying the medical language used to a point where it was becoming more confusing than beneficial to clients. John posed the argument that physicians should focus more on a balance of both inquiry and practice while using a set of steps for treatment he coined as the "regularum compendium": find the source of the illness, focus on healing the illness, and then perform aftercare to restore the health of the patient and prevent future illnesses from surfacing in the first place.<ref name=":1" />

==Fictional portrayals==
John was portrayed by actor [[Alex G. Hunter]] in the 1924 silent film ''[[Becket (1924 film)|Becket]]'', based on the [[Becket (Tennyson play)|play of the same title]] by [[Alfred Lord Tennyson]].

==Works==
{{refbegin|30em}}
'''Latin text'''
* {{cite book|last1=John of Salisbury |author-link=John of Salisbury|title=Policraticus: sive de nugis curialium et vestigiis philosophorum, libri octo accedit huic editioni ejusdem metalogicus|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Od4TAAAAQAAJ|year=1639|orig-year=1159|publisher=ex officina Ioannis Maire|location=[[Lugduni Batavorum]]|language=la|ref=haev}}
* ''Metalogicon'', edited by J.B. Hall & Katharine S.B. Keats-Rohan, Corpus Christianorum Continuatio Mediaevalis (CCCM 98), Turnhout, Brepols 1991.

'''Latin text and English translations'''
*''Anselm & Becket. Two Canterbury Saints' Lives by John of Salisbury'', Ronald E. Pepin (transl.) Turnhout, 2009, Brepols Publishers,{{ISBN|978-0-88844-298-7}}
* ''The Letters of John of Salisbury'', 2 vols., ed. and trans. W. J. Millor and H. E. Butler (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1979–86)
* ''Historia Pontificalis'', ed. and trans. [[Marjorie Chibnall]] (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1986)
* ''John of Salisbury's'' Entheticus maior ''and'' minor, ed. and trans. Jan van Laarhoven [Studien und Texte zur Geistesgeschichte des Mittelalters 17] (Leiden: Brill, 1987)

'''English translations'''
* {{cite book |last1=John of Salisbury |author-link=John of Salisbury|editor1-last=Nederman |editor1-first=Cary J |title=Policraticus, sive de nugis curialium et de vestigiis philosophorum|trans-title=Policraticus: Of the frivolities of courtiers and the footprints of philosophers |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VjIYTHRXa9wC|date=1990|orig-year=1159 |publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]] |isbn=0-521-36399-3|ref=none}} ([https://archive.org/details/JohnOfSalisburyPolicraticusJohnOfSalisbury/page/n5 full text] on [[Internet Archive]]) ''somewhat abridged''
* {{cite book|last=John of Salisbury|author-link=John of Salisbury|author-mask=1|editor1-last=Pike |editor1-first=Joseph B|title=Frivolities of courtiers and footprints of philosophers: being a translation of the first, second, and third books and selections from the seventh and eighth books of the Policraticus of John of Salisbury|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=E306AAAAMAAJ|year=1938|orig-year=1159|publisher=[[University of Minnesota Press|The University of Minnesota Press]]|location=Minneapolis|ref=none}} ([https://web.archive.org/web/20180516214317/https://www.fd.unl.pt/docentes_docs/ma/amh_ma_446_salisbury%20policraticus%20.pdf full text] on [[Internet Archive]])
* ''The statesman’s book of John of Salisbury; being the fourth, fifth, and sixth books, and selections from the seventh and eighth books, of the Policraticus'', trans. John Dickinson (New York: Knopf, 1927)
* ''The'' Metalogicon'', A Twelfth-Century Defense of the Verbal and Logical Arts of the Trivium'', trans. Daniel McGarry (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1955)
* ''Metalogicon'', translated by J.B. Hall, Corpus Christianorum in Translation (CCT 12), Turnhout, Brepols, 2013.

'''Studies'''
* ''A Companion to John of Salisbury'', ed. Christophe Grellard and Frédérique Lachaud, Leiden, Brill, Brill's Companions to the Christian Tradition, 57, 2014 (copyright 2015), 480 p. ({{ISBN|9789004265103}})
* Michael Wilks (ed.), ''The World of John of Salisbury'', Oxford, Blackwell, 1997.
* John D. Hosler, ''John of Salisbury: Military Authority of the Twelfth-Century Renaissance'', Leiden, Brill, 2013, 240 p. ({{ISBN|9789004226630}})

'''English excerpts of John's political theory'''
*[http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/salisbury-poli4.html Policraticus, IV, selections]
*[http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/salisbury-poli6-24.html Policraticus, VI, 24]
{{refend}}

== References ==
{{Reflist|30em}}

== Sources ==
'''Attribution'''
{{refbegin|30em}}
*{{EB1911|wstitle = John of Salisbury|volume=15|pages=449–450}}
*{{cite DNB|wstitle = John of Salisbury|volume=29|first= Reginald |last=Lane-Poole|ref=none}}
*{{cite CE1913|wstitle = John of Salisbury|volume=8|first=Peter |last=Coffey|ref=none}}
*{{cite ODNB|first=David|last= Luscombe|title = Salisbury, John of (late 1110s–1180)|id=14849|ref=none}}
{{refend}}

== External links ==
{{wikiquote|John of Salisbury}}
*{{cite SEP |url-id=john-salisbury |title=John of Salisbury |last=Bollermann |first=Karen |last2=Nederman |first2=Cary |ref=none}}

{{Social and political philosophy}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Salisbury, John Of}}
[[Category:1120s births]]
[[Category:1180 deaths]]
[[Category:Scholastic philosophers]]
[[Category:12th-century French Roman Catholic bishops]]
[[Category:Bishops of Chartres]]
[[Category:People from Salisbury]]
[[Category:12th-century writers in Latin]]
[[Category:12th-century English clergy]]
[[Category:People educated at Salisbury Cathedral School]]
[[Category:12th-century English philosophers]]
[[Category:12th-century English writers]]