Vito Guida
University of London, School of Advanced Study - The Warburg Institute, Graduate Student
- The Open University, Classics & Humanities, Undergraduateadd
- I am a PhD student in Cultural and Intellectual History at the Warburg Institute, University of London (supervised by... moreI am a PhD student in Cultural and Intellectual History at the Warburg Institute, University of London (supervised by Dr Guido Giglioni and Professor Alastair Hamilton). The focus of my research has been on the Philosophy and Theology of the medieval and early modern period. My expertise includes the interaction of cultural phenomena and intellectual ideas; the development of theology within the Franciscan and Dominican areas; the correlation between Reform and Counter-reformation; the relationship between ecclesiastical institutions and laity. Furthermore, my studies also concentrate on the tension existing between the notions of free-will and predestination; the role of eschatology in the social structures; and the conflict between dystopia and utopia in religious texts; the conflict between reason and faith and the ensuing debate between cataphatic and apophatic theologies.edit
The Warburg Insititute hosts its Second postgraduate symposium on Thursday 16 November 2017. This conference focuses on the role that individuals including philosophers, patrons and artists played in the cultural development of the Early... more
The Warburg Insititute hosts its Second postgraduate symposium on Thursday 16 November 2017. This conference focuses on the role that individuals including philosophers, patrons and artists played in the cultural development of the Early Modern Period.
Research Interests:
Examining three distinct periods in Giovanni Dominici's life, the author investigates the shift from a definition of sainthood centred on exceptionalism to one that integrates moral duties and civic obligations. At the same time, the... more
Examining three distinct periods in Giovanni Dominici's life, the author investigates the shift from a definition of sainthood centred on exceptionalism to one that integrates moral duties and civic obligations. At the same time, the article explores how Dominici adapted the theme of death according to the pastoral needs of his male and female audiences and whether they were lay or members of the clergy and religious orders. As the definition of piety underwent significant transformations in the Church broadly, and the importance of living saintly (vita sancta) grew, Dominici's pastoral message changed accordingly. Consequently, death was no longer perceived as the necessary confirmation of one's sainthood. Although not exclusively, these changes were especially evident when Dominici explored women's way of achieving salvation. While a penitential life continued to be recommended, the definition of sainthood oscillated between social responsibilities and personal perfection, care towards others and self-amelioration, charitable duties and private contemplation.
Research Interests:
The “messianic secret” in the New Testament refers to instances where Christ instructed his followers to keep silent about his identity. While contemporary studies on the messianic secret have predominantly employed the historico-critical... more
The “messianic secret” in the New Testament refers to instances where Christ instructed his followers to keep silent about his identity. While contemporary studies on the messianic secret have predominantly employed the historico-critical method, the Early Modern Period witnessed diverse interpretations that focused on edification and moralization. These interpretations emphasized the concealed Messiah’s identity, the act of revelation, and the duty to transmit the divine message as inseparable aspects of the Christian faith. The primary objective of this study is to explore the development of messianic secret interpretations in the first half of the sixteenth century. The study aims to address key questions such as: How were Jesus’s injunctions to silence interpreted? How did these interpretations shape biblical readings, preaching practices, and the evangelical mission? Did they impact the definition of the Church? Through a comparative analysis, this study examines the interpreta...
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This paper investigates how the secular priest Gabriele Biondo employed the symbol of Lucifer in his writings to express the conflict between reason and faith. Biondo distinguishes between two forms of truth. In the first sense, truth can... more
This paper investigates how the secular priest Gabriele Biondo employed the symbol of Lucifer in his writings to express the conflict between reason and faith. Biondo distinguishes between two forms of truth. In the first sense, truth can be understood as the uncovering of the actual reality presented before the senses. In this sense truth coincides with faith. In the second sense, truth pertains exclusively to the intellectual capabilities of created beings and, therefore, is closely associated with fantasy and imagination. According to Biondo, even though God revealed himself to Lucifer through the Son, Lucifer understood the Person of the Son as a combination of unresolvable contradictions. These dilemmas originated when Lucifer was confronted with the mystery of the dual nature of Christ. The impossibility of reconciling his rational arguments and presuppositions about divinity with the evidence of the facts led Lucifer to abandon his faith in a Trinitarian God and to replace the Christian God with a rational and logical notion of God. This logical God can be equated to self-love. Three main consequences depend on this choice: desperation, isolation, and annihilation.
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This article analyses the relationship between the secular priest Gabriele Biondo and his female followers. It begins with an overview of the phenomenon of spiritual direction in early modern Italy, emphasizing the demand for rules and an... more
This article analyses the relationship between the secular priest Gabriele Biondo and his female followers. It begins with an overview of the phenomenon of spiritual direction in early modern Italy, emphasizing the demand for rules and an understanding of the discretio spirituum as the prerogative of knowledgeable theologians. After a summary examination of the diverse women who constituted Biondo’s heterogeneous community, it explores the basis of Biondo’s spiritual direction in a model of reciprocity. Finally, the article considers the two principles that shaped Biondo’s soteriological narrative : spiritual spogliamento (disrobing), and adoption.
Research Interests:
This paper investigates how the secular priest Gabriele Biondo employed the symbol of Lucifer in his writings to express the conflict between reason and faith. Biondo distinguishes between two forms of truth. In the first sense, truth can... more
This paper investigates how the secular priest Gabriele Biondo employed the symbol of Lucifer in his writings to express the conflict between reason and faith. Biondo distinguishes between two forms of truth. In the first sense, truth can be understood as the uncovering of the actual reality presented before the senses. In this sense truth coincides with faith. In the second sense, truth pertains exclusively to the intellectual capabilities of created beings and, therefore, is closely associated with fantasy and imagination. According to Biondo, even though God revealed himself to Lucifer through the Son, Lucifer understood the Person of the Son as a combination of unresolvable contradictions. These dilemmas originated when Lucifer was confronted with the mystery of the dual nature of Christ. The impossibility of reconciling his rational arguments and presuppositions about divinity with the evidence of the facts led Lucifer to abandon his faith in a Trinitarian God and to replace the Christian God with a rational and logical notion of God. This logical God can be equated to self-love. Three main consequences depend on this choice: desperation, isolation, and annihilation.
Research Interests:
Research Interests: Renaissance Studies, Renaissance Humanism, Christian Mysticism, Mysticism, Franciscan Studies, and 13 moreSpirituality & Mysticism, Church History, Franciscan Spirituality, Heresy and Inquisition, Spiritual Franciscans, Medieval Mysticism, History of the Roman Curia, Mystical Theology, Heresy and Orthodoxy, Medieval heresy, Rinascimento, 15th Century Florence, and 15th Century
The book examines the life and the writings of Gabriele Biondo, a secular priest who lived in the little town of Modigliana between the second half of the fifteenth century and the first decades of the sixteenth century. Through a careful... more
The book examines the life and the writings of Gabriele Biondo, a secular priest who lived in the little town of Modigliana between the second half of the fifteenth century and the first decades of the sixteenth century. Through a careful examination of his writings and the sources he used, this book allows the reader to obtain a more precise understanding of Biondo, his background, his life, his movements, the difficulties that he encountered (mainly with the ecclesiastical authorities and the other members of the clergy, but also with civic leaders), and the main events of his life. Additionally, Biondo was the leader of a minor following formed by nuns, secular women, and laymen. Therefore, this book illustrates Biondo’s pastoral activity, the ideas and principles that supported his actions, and the objectives he was pursuing. Given these various objectives, this book is of interest to those scholars and academics interested in the religious tensions that swept through Europe in the years immediately preceding the Protestant Reformation and who, consequently, seek to investigate Biondo’s personal and complex answer to these tensions.