Moral Law

Among the major themes discussed by early scholastic theologians, moral law is of crucial significance. This topic is discussed in some form in virtually every theological work written between the mid twelfth and mid thirteenth centuries and thus engaged the intellectual attention of a wide range of masters, from Peter Lombard to the authors of the Summa Halensis. This contribution aims to examine the diverse positions regarding moral law that emerged in early scholastic thought, from two main perspectives. On the one hand, moral law will be considered insofar as it is founded in Scripture and linked to a biblical conception of human nature. On the other hand, the chapter will demonstrate how the emergence of new anthropological models increasingly linked the moral law to the rational nature of the human being. After recounting the early discussions on moral law from the beginning of the twelfth century, this contribution will examine how early scholastic theologians described the relationship between the moral law and the Bible. In this regard, the chapter will highlight the central role of Praepositinus of Cremona, who reshaped the concept of the moral law and laid the foundation for subsequent developments. These arose from the exchanges between Parisian theologians, who considered moral law in the light of a new conception of the human being and the rational nature. With respect to this debate, the work of John de La Rochelle and the Summa Halensis mark the point of maturation of a fully fledged theological system of moral laws