Chaos and Order in the Renaissance Worldview The Chain of Being Chaos and Order in the Renaissance Worldview The Chain of Being: Chaos and Order in the Renaissance Worldview Adapted from a presentation by Dr. L. K. Wheeler

In the Beginning... The Bible explained the importance of everything in the universe The universe was designed by a benevolent deity Originally, there was perfection and lack of change The Bible shows a perfect order of everything down to the smallest particle on earth In the Beginning Cosmology – the stars they saw at night

The Design? A Chain from Highest . . . . The Creator is the highest link in chain, but also outside it Purely spiritual beings (angels, etc.) below the creator Beings of both spirit and physical body (humans) below angelic beings. Then animate creatures with only physical bodies and five senses, but lacking reason (non- human mammals, fowl, fish, insects) Chain from highest to lowest.

Then animals with fewer than five senses or inanimate bodies (oysters, barnacles, mollusks) Then plant life, which is both inanimate and lacking in sensory organs (trees, shrubs, bushes, vegetables) Finally, minerals and inanimate objects Everything had a place in the hierarchy, and all was well as long as each creature behaved according to its station, or link in the Chain Chain from highest to lowest. . . .Down to the Lowest

Four Bodily Humors From Latin Humoris: “liquid” Choler (or Yellow Bile) liquid in the body that caused irritability and anger Tears (or Black Bile) liquid in the body that caused melancholy, sadness, and depression) Blood (corresponded to excitement, energy, sexual arousal, happiness, desire for activity) Phlegm (corresponded to lethargy, boredom, inaction, fatigue, sleepiness) In the Beginning

So what went wrong? Where does sin come into play? For medieval and Renaissance Christians, the universe was created by a benevolent deity So how did one explain the existence of unpleasant evil within a world that was thought to have been created as an ordered paradise? In the Beginning

Remember, all of creation was bound together Whatever affected one thing affected other things in the Chain of Being This was called a “Correspondence” When the humors are balanced proportionately in the human body, mankind is healthy, and experiences no negative or inappropriate emotions When unbalanced, it was another story In the Beginning

Unbalance Leads to Disease ...And to Civil Disorder

...And to Disorder in Nature Animals attacking people, eating their own young, stealing grain or crops, all these were signs of the fallen nature of the earth, and corresponded to breaks in the Chain of Being and disorder within the microcosm.

...And to disorder in the heavenly constellations Meteors, falling stars, eclipses, violent storms, etc.

Enter Sin and Disorder “Now the serpent was more subtle than any of the beasts of the earth which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman: Why hath God commanded you, that you should not eat of every tree of paradise?” (Gen 3:1) In the Beginning Demonic trickery leads humanity to rebel against its place in nature as paragon in divine creation.

Mutability Old Age Death Erosion Disease Rain, Wind, and Weather “God commanded us that we should not eat the fruit; and that we should not touch it, lest perhaps we die.” (Gen 3:3) Old Age Death Erosion Disease Rain, Wind, and Weather Rust and Decay In the Beginning

So how did the Great Chain Work? The Chain had a few pieces missing due to human rebellion But enough pieces remain for it to function The trick is for each creature to know its duty and its place in the Chain, and act accordingly In the Beginning

God Hierarchy The Supreme Primate King of Angels (Rex Angelorum) In the Beginning

Angelic Beings Organized in strict hierarchy of seven choires (or nine, depending upon source). “There are nine orders of angels, to wit, angels, archangels, virtues, powers, principalities, dominations, Ophanim, Cherubim, and Seraphim.” --St. Gregory, Summa Theologica In the Beginning

The King and Nobility Right to rule given by God, and could only be removed by Him. Believed superior in his virtue, wisdom, grace, and strength. In the Beginning

Humanity of Various Ranks Ancient medieval model of Three Estates: Knights and royalty, those who fight and rule, protecting the physical health of God’s flock The Clergy, the priests who pray and tend to the spiritual needs of God’s flock. Those who work, the farmers and serfs who feed God’s flock. In the Beginning

If those who protect the kingdom do their job, the people will be safe If those who work the fields do their job, all will be fed If those who tend to the soul do their job, all will have their spiritual needs met Refusing to keep one’s place damages the Body Politic (society as a whole) Even the lowest serf slaving away in a field had some dignity and authority over other creatures.... In the Beginning

Noble Beasts The animals had a ranking, too The highest animals were knows as the primates Among the beasts, the primate was either the lion or the elephant In the Beginning

Next: Fish, Flesh, and Fowl Then: Plants The oak was primate among plants, with trees ranking above shrubs, which ranked above bushes, which ranked above grains, which ranked above grasses, and so on. Finally: Mineral World In the Beginning Even rocks had rankings. Diamonds were the mineral primate, with other gems below them Everything, even stones and dirt, had an important place, even if just supporting those who walked upon them.

This ideology was evident even in early medieval society in Western Europe The least educated person knew about this Chain of Being You were reminded constantly of your “place,” and the responsibilities you had Everyone was in their place in the Chain because God ordained it…you didn’t move up or down in the Chain In the Beginning

Ethical, Political and Literary Ramifications? You must know your place and not wish to be higher than you were born You were also to be responsible for the place you were born into; it was a sin not to do what you were assigned by your rank You were to be a balanced being – physical and spiritual needs were equal Any writer or educated person of the day knew all of the symbolism involved in this Chain of Being In the Beginning

Pride Becomes the Worst Sin Pride is always an act of disobedience to legitimate authority, hence an act against the will of God, and also against the very structure of the universe – Lucifer’s pride caused the fall of man It is cosmological vandalism In the Beginning

Regicide: The Worst Act of Pride “ Regicide = Killing the King The King is God’s deputy on earth, and is himself parallel in authority to God. Just as God is king of Angels and all creation, the king is ruler of his countrymen, and deserves similar awe. The unlawful death of kings always causes disruption in the heavens (stars fall from the sky, freakish storms blow across the country) and disruption in the world of nature (famines, plagues, unnatural activity among the animals, etc.) In the Beginning

Killing the King is attacking an emblem of Godhead Killing the King is attacking an emblem of Godhead. It is worse than even killing a priest. He has two bodies, and injuring the head of the state is a blow to the entire people. In the Beginning