Braulio VÁZQUEZ CAMPOS

Original title: Manera de alegría: los juegos del Rey Sabio

Published in Games from Antiquity to Baroque

Keywords: Alfonso X the Wise, Astrology, Astronomy, Backgammon, Chess, Dice, Game, Middle Ages, Philosophy, Political thought, Worldview.

The «Book of Games» is one of the most luxurious works to have emerged from the scriptorium in the service of King Alfonso X the Wise, but it is also one of the most content rich. It constitutes the foremost evidence of the board games played in the Castilian court in the 13th century, especially chess, backgammon, and dice. Its pages not only encompass explanations of the mechanics and strategy of these recreational activities, but also display an entire world view through allegories, metaphors, philosophical discussions, and political interpretations. This paper endeavours to dissect each of these aspects.

Eirini ARTEMI

Original title: Greek Fathers of the 4th-5th centuries and the secular education. Their acceptance in Greek thinking while rejecting pagan cults

Published in

Keywords: Christian Philosophy, Christian Theology, Pagan cults, Philosophy, Secular Education.

The Fathers were neither implacable enemies of Greek thought nor did they hate the works of the ancient Greek poets and writers. Great Basilius did not hesitate to show ancient people as examples of virtue who were referred to in the works of secular literature. He like others emphasized, however, that not everything within ancient literature is acceptable but that one should only keep what is useful for Christianity! The rest constituted sinister men’s acts and should therefore be avoided. No one must imitate their actions. Cyril of Alexandria did not reject the ancient Greek thought as philosophy but as theology. The motive was obvious. The contrast between Christian theology and Greek philosophy existed only when the latter was presented as theology. It was a feud between a presupposed common area which each claimed for herself. The rejection of the Greek “false worship as totally useless” took place as a theological crisis. When the Fathers condemned the “Greek and avid ... malice” and exercised “control of the Greek fraud” they essentially failed on Greek philosophy, while targeting ancient Greek religiosity. Hence, Greek Fathers honoured Greek thinking, Greek language and used both in their writings but tried to avoid ideas of Greek pagan practice and cult and fought against these with all their powers.

Jorge Maíz Chacón

Published in Ramon Llull (1232-1316): the cooperation among different cultures and the inter-religious dialogue

Keywords: Cavalry, Philosophy, Ramon Llull, Thought.

In this work, we analyze the influence of Ramón Llull's thought in the society of the moment. The Llibre de l’Ordre de Cavalleria is a good example. This shapes and subordinates the interpretation on the part of the medieval horsemen.

Cicero Cunha BEZERRA

Original title: Michel de Certeau e Teresa de Ávila: em torno da literalidade da experiência mística

Published in Mystic and Millenarianism in Middle Ages

Keywords: Literature, Michel de Certeau, Mystical, Philosophy, Teresa de Avila.

How to think of a mystical experience? Is there any belief in a ‘negative tradition’ that constitutes a literary corpus which can propitiate a specific reading or at least a more restrict one about what we call mystical? Michel de Certeau has already defined it in such way that allow us to penetrate it through literature, specially concerning to narratives writing by women during XVI and XVII centuries. This paper analyses the literary aspects expressed on a mystical experience, based on Michel de Certeau´s works La fable mystique and Mystique au XVII Siecle: le problem du language mystique, and Teresa de Àvila´s poesías líricas and exclamaciones.