Hugh of St. Victor's De Tribus Diebus on Beauty, Image, and the Divine
Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: The paper examines Hugh of St. Victor’s De Tribus Diebus as one of the earliest medieval attempts at a theology of beauty. In this treatise, Hugh reframes the image not as a deceptive imitation but as a medium of divine revelation. Created beauty is portrayed as a trace of the Creator, guiding the soul toward contemplation and union with God. Against (radically) dualistic tendencies that entirely dismissed the physical world and its beauty, Hugh affirms its philosophico-theological significance, situating it within a Christocentric framework in which the visible world participates in divine Wisdom. By comparing Hugh’s vision with Jean-Jacques Wunenburger’s philosophy of images, the study highlights a continuity across time: both affirm the key value of images; not merely as objects to behold, but as channels through which humans perceive, engage with, and are drawn toward the transcendent source of reality and meaning. Keywords: beauty; Hugh of St. Victor; J.-J. Wunenburger
DOI: 10.17863/cam.123542
Author: Messeri, Marina
Language: English
Subfield: Philosophy
Field: Arts and Humanities
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7107976795
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