EBOOK Creating Augustine:Interpreting Augustine and Augustinianism in the Later Middle Ages

The term 'Augustinianism' has been used by scholars for over a century to refer to        trends in medieval philosophy, theology, and politics, which had a major effect on        the transformations of European culture and society from the Middle Ages to the        onset of modernity. Yet in each of these three disciplines 'Augustinianism' means        something different, and the lack of clarity only increases when the debates over        the relationship between a late medieval Augustinianism and Martin Lutherare        considered as well. Based on historical, philological, and iconographic analysis,        this study adopts a hermeneutical approach drawn from philosophical hermeneutics,        religious studies, and literary and sociological theory to argue for a historical,        as distinct from a philosophical or theologicalreferent for the term        'Augustinianism'.The interpretation of Augustine and of a late medieval        Augustinianism can only be based historically on the newly created image of        Augustine discerned in the writings of the Augustinian Hermits in the early        fourteenth century. Recognising the diverse dimensions of this created image is        requisite to a historical understanding of Augustine's late medieval reception and        impact. Understanding Augustine as a 'created' saint has implications for a wider        understanding of Augustine's influencestretching on beyond the later Middle Ages up        until the present day.