Tractatus contra Graecos - Critical Edition and Reception

The Council of Ferrara-Florence (14381445) is the last remarkable, though ultimately unsuccessful attempt in the Middle Ages to restore church unity between the Latin West and the Greek East. Apart from the aggressive measures which deepened the schism between East and West, there were also frequent parallel endeavours to heal this fracture. One milestone of such an effort was the lifetime achievement of an anonymous Dominican from the year 1252, who dedicated himself to an in-depth study of Greek language and culture as well as relevant literature and theology. Based on this knowledge, he was capable to write a theological treatise against the Greeks (Tractatus contra Graecos) in Constantinople, which became a bestseller in controversial literature between Latins and Greeks. Up to the 15th century, it greatly influenced theology and the Latin church and affected how Latin authors perceived the Greek church. The actual value and impact of this text is contradicted by the fact that it is known today only based on a highly erroneous print of 1616, which partly renders the treatise unintelligible and, in places, incomprehensible. This is why the requested project will provide a reliable critical edition of the Latin Tractatus contra Graecos (including a German translation) based on the 30 manuscripts that are known thus far and that are available in libraries in Central and Southern (or Southeast) Europe. Doing so will also lead to a reconstruction of the text as it was used as a handout and source of information on late medieval councils (especially Basel and Ferrara-Florence) by leading Latin theologians. Moreover, the paths of transmission (i.e., its reception and its revisions) will be traced back, ranging from the time it was written in mid-13th-century Constantinople up to the ecclesiopolitically and ecumenically highly relevant union council of Ferrara-Florence in the mid-15th century: In which way did the anonymous author of the Tractatus contra Graecos influence the theological discussions, topics and ideas of church unity, which dominated Latin-Greek relations over centuries? Which image of the Greek church did it convey to its Latin readership and which solutions did it suggest to reach a unity between the two sides? Both, the critical edition of this Dominican key work and the research into its history of reception, contribute to a better understanding of the relationship between Rome and Byzantium in the Middle ages and thus to a better understanding of the Catholic and Orthodox churches, as they are known today.

The 13th century represents a central epoch for the history of the relations between the Eastern and Western Churches. The conquest of Constantinople by the Crusaders in 1204 and the subsequent establishment of a so-called Latin Empire (1204-1261) is considered today as a significant event on the fault line between the Latin West and the Greek East - both in research and regarding the cultures of remembrance of the churches. Against the background of their missionary order, the newly founded Mendicant Order played an important role in the theological controversy with the Byzantines. As a milestone in this controversy, the present critical edition presents the dossier of an anonymous Dominican active in Constantinople under the title "Tractatus contra Graecos" (1252). This work, which was widespread especially around the (union) councils of the 15th century, represents, on the Latin side, the first systematic treatment of those four points of conflict that became standard to constitute the agenda of the East-West debates (Filioque, leavened/unleavened bread, purgatory and Roman primacy). In addition, the treatise in the form of an appendix offers a rich treasure trove of patristic and contemporary sources, some of which are unique testimonies. Against this background, the "Tractatus contra Graecos" is a valuable document not only for the history of the relations between Eastern and Western theology, but also contributes to shed further light on the history and theology of the Dominican order in the still young peripheral province of "Graecia".