Marcin Janecki

This book tackles the necessary task of contrasting the medieval perspective on the aesthetic with our current perspective, so distant from each other! Some thirty prestigious scholars, philosophers, philologists, theologians, art experts, from various countries and languages imbibe the various medieval traditions and thinkers in an attempt to illuminate their conception of the aesthetic with the aim of enriching our present-day outlook. The book is structured in three thematic areas. The first section is a sort of prolegomena to the question of beauty in the Middle Ages. A second section studies and analyses the various currents of thought in medieval aesthetics, not only in terms of their mutual interrelationship, but also in terms of their connection with classical thought. Finally, a third part analyses the reception and evaluation of medieval aesthetics by contemporary culture, as well as its influence on the latter. The work arises from the conviction that dialogue between the present and the past, and particularly the medieval past, is fundamental in the task of resolving the many ruptures that corrode our culture. Harmony, beauty, as is evident in the contributions that weave the fabric of this work, springs magically - or rather, divinely - from the mysterious and unfathomable - and always novel - interweaving of differences, between the present and the past, the medieval and the contemporary, between theology, philosophy, philology, art..., between different cultures and countries. This work is an example of this, illuminating our times from the extraordinary experience lived by these people who preceded us and who have contributed - although often ignored - to the shaping of the best of our civilisation.