The interconnections of crusade politics and conciliar hermeneutics in John of Segovia’s treatise Replica magne continencie for the Burgundian bishop Jean Germain of 1455

• Applicants: Professor Dr. Ulli Roth; Professor Dr. Karlheinz Ruhstorfer
• Subject Area: Roman Catholic Theology
• Term: since 2026
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 581563999

In 1453, the Western Christian world was shocked by the fall of Constantinople. While a lot of theologians and leaders of the Latin church focused on a military answer to the threat of Islam, some theologians of the Council of Basel developed non-violent ideas and conceptions how to face Islam. Among those scholars, John of Segovia (d. 1458), a fellow of Nicolas of Cusa (d. 1464), is one of the most important. He clearly saw the necessity of an adequate theological and intellectual and not military answer to Islam. He wrote several major works on this subject in form of letters or treatises. With these texts he tried to influence the political and religious power centres of Western Europe as for example the Vatican with De gladio divini spiritus (1453), written for cardinal Juan Cervantes, or the long Epistula ad Nicolaum Cusanum (1454), sent to this German cardinal, bishop of Brixen and papal legate for the German Empire. Another voluminous letter is the Replica magne continencie (1455). This text was meant for the political centre of the crusade idea in Europe, i.e. the Burgundian court with Jean Germain (d. 1461) as one of its most important councillors. In addition to historical, political, and biblical-theological arguments, Trinitarian theological speculations and conciliar historical arguments, supported by a wide variety of references to real or possible experiences, play a very important role here. This intertwining of crusade politics and conciliar hermeneutics in the argumentation strategy should be examined with regard to Segovia's overall goal of persuading European decision-makers to reconsider their approach to opponents of other faiths. The premises made in this context, the dependence on the addressee, but also the internal logic of his via pacis et doctrinae will be explored against the concrete backdrop of the crusade idea and crusade politics and theology of the addressee Jean Germain.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants
• International Connection: Italy
• Cooperation Partner: Dr. Davide Scotto