Gravi de pugna
Gravi de pugna is a
Ideology
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"You are concerned with whether you will prevail in battle: I don't wish you to doubt... when you are fighting God will look down from heaven, and discern which side is just and give that side the victory"
Gravi de pugna, translated by David A. Lenihan.[1]
Gravi de pugna is best known for its simple assertion that God will assure that the morally superior side will win military battles,[2][3] and conversely, that victory itself validates that the use of force was appropriate.[4][a] Udo Heyn claims this was a Germanic notion,[4][b] and Phillip Wynn reports that it had long been believed in pagan antiquity by the time of this letter.[5] This understanding was, in fact, utterly rejected by Augustine.[5] Kelly DeVries regards the theology of Gravi de pugna as shallow and considers it to raise problems of theodicy and legitimacy as soon as the first Christian army loses.[6]
Gravi also urges prayer for victory before battle, which was also rejected by Augustine, who found such prayers inappropriate.[5]
History
Gravi de pugna was written in the fifth century.[4]
The letter was widely accepted as authentic from its introduction through the medieval era,
The work lost influence with the
Published editions
- Migne, Jacques Paul (ed.). "Epistle 13 (b)". Patrologia Latina. Vol. 33. col. 1098.
Dilectissimo et spectabili viro Bonifacio, Augustinus episcopus. Gravi de pugna conquereris: dubites nolo, utile tibi tuisque dabo consilium: arripe manibus arma; oratio aures pulset Auctoris: quia quando pugnatur, Deus apertis cœlis prospectat, et partem quam inspicit justam, ibi dat palmam.
See also
Notes
- ^ This is a form of the just-world hypothesis.
- ^ See Trial by combat § Origins, which also ascribes Germanic origins to that practice.
Citations
- ^ Lenihan 1988, p. 58-59.
- ^ a b Lenihan 1988.
- ^ a b Russell 1977.
- ^ a b c Heyn 1997, p. 19.
- ^ a b c Wynn 2013, p. 302.
- ^ a b DeVries 1999, p. 87.
- ^ a b Cowdrey 2003, p. 178.
- ^ Russell 1977, p. 29,37,38.
- ^ Chan 2016, p. 17.
- ^ Russell 1977, p. 27.
- ^ Lenihan 1996, p. 76-77.
- ^ Cowdrey 2014, pp. 23–24.
- ^ Lenihan 1988, p. 37-38.
- ^ Lenihan 1988, p. 59.
- ^ Lenihan 1988, p. 38.
References
- Chan, David (2016). "The Moral Problem of War". Beyond Just War: A Virtue Ethics Approach. Palgrave Macmillan UK. pp. 8–29. ISBN 978-1-349-99986-6.
- Cowdrey, H.E.J. (2003). "Christianity and the morality of warfare during the first century of crusading". In Bull, M.G.; Housley, N.; Edbury, P.W.; Phillips, J.P. (eds.). The Experience of Crusading. The Experience of Crusading. Vol. 1. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-81168-2.
- Cowdrey, H. E. J. (2014). "New Dimensions of Reform. War as a Path to Salvation". Jerusalem the Golden. Outremer. Vol. 3. Turnhout: Brepols Publishers. pp. 11–24. S2CID 163912796.
- DeVries, Kelly (1999). "God and defeat in medieval warfare: Some preliminary thoughts". In Kagay, D.J.; Villalon, L.J.A. (eds.). The Circle of War in the Middle Ages: Essays on Medieval Military and Naval History. Warfare in history. Boydell Press. p. 87-100. ISBN 978-0-85115-645-3. Retrieved 13 September 2017.
- Heyn, Udo (1997). Peacemaking in medieval Europe: A historical & bibliographical guide. Guides to historical issues. Regina Books. ISBN 978-0-941690-71-3.
- Lenihan, David A. (1988). "The Just War Theory in the Work of Saint Augustine". Augustinian Studies. 19: 37–70. .
- Lenihan, David A. (1996). "The Influence of Augustine's Just War: The Early Middle Ages". Augustinian Studies. 27 (1): 55–93. .
- Russell, Frederick H. (1977) [1975]. The Just War in the Middle Ages. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p. 26,28-29,37-38,56. ISBN 978-0-521-29276-4.
- Wynn, Phillip (2013). "The Medieval Construction of Augustine as an Authority on War and Military Service". Augustine on War and Military Service. Fortress Press. ISBN 978-1-4514-6473-3. Retrieved 13 September 2017.
Further reading
- Bronisch, Alexander Pierre (2015). "On the Use and Definition of the Term "Holy War": The Visigothic and Asturian-Leonese Examples". Journal of Religion and Violence. 3 (1): 35–72. .
- France, John; DeVries, Kelly (2008). Warfare in the Dark Ages. The international library of essays on military history. Ashgate. ISBN 978-0-7546-2557-5.
- Markus, R. A. (1983). "Saint Augustine's Views on the 'Just War'". Studies in Church History. 20. Cambridge University Press (CUP): 1–13. ISBN 0-631-13406-9.
- Newman, Timothy John (2013). God Wills It? A Comparison of Greek and Latin Theologies of Warfare during the Medieval Period (PDF) (Thesis). University of Canterbury. Retrieved 13 September 2017.
- Verkamp, Bernard J. (2006). The Moral Treatment of Returning Warriors in Early Medieval and Modern Times. University of Scranton Press. ISBN 978-1-58966-129-5.