ONORIO, called of AUTUN (Honorius Augustudanensis). — Theologian of the 12th century. The author, who describes himself as solitarius, scholasticus, presbyter, took care to eliminate every trace that might lead to the discovery of his person and his true name (nomen meum colui silentio contegi); in any case, the setting of his activity was not France (Autun, in Burgundy), but Germany, and not in the region of Mainz (as Dieterich believed), but, in all probability, in Regensburg (as Endres demonstrated), in the religious and scholarly milieu dominated by the figure of Christian, «abbas Scotorum» of St. James (1133–53), to whom O. dedicated some of his writings.
His rich production (PL 172) embraces all theological subjects, with frequent digressions into the fields of philosophy and the natural sciences. In addition to several exegetical writings (a literal explanation of the Mosaic cosmogony, the psalms, and the Song of Songs, with brief allegorical explanations) and works on liturgy (allegorical explanations of the rites), the following may be recalled:
1. Dogmatic theology
Elucidarium, sive dialogus de summa totius christianae religionis (cols. 1109–76): a youthful work in which all theological questions, from the Trinity to the resurrection of the flesh, are treated in rudimentary fashion: a kind of dialogued catechism that enjoyed wide circulation and was translated into French, Provençal, Italian, etc.; Sigillum Sanctae Mariae (cols. 495–513): explanations of the biblical texts used in the feast of the Assumption and application of the Song of Songs to Mary; Inevitabile seu de libero arbitrio (cols. 1191–1223): the text reproduced by Migne is the later version of the same treatise, in which O. moderates his Augustinian-inspired predestinarianism; Eucharisticon, de Corpore Domini (cols. 1249–58): a personal work in which O.’s Eucharistic faith vibrates; against Berengar of Tours, he forcefully affirms Transubstantiation and the effects of Communion. He denies the validity of consecration performed by heretics (col. 1253); Cognitio vitae, de Deo et aeterna vita (among the works of St. Augustine: PL 40, 1003–32): a work incomplete in the present edition, but the author’s best conceived and composed work, in which he treats the principal theological questions in synthetic form; Quaestiones octo de angelo et homine (PL. 172, 1185–92): it formulates the question: « Utrum Christus incarnaretur, si homo in paradiso perstitisset », to which O. gives an affirmative answer (prescotism); De animae exilio et patria (cols. 1242–46): dealing with ignorance (exile) and wisdom (homeland), while emphasizing the importance of philosophy for theological study; De libero arbitrio (cols. 1223–30): a moderate position, along the lines of St. Anselm.2. Moral and political questions. — Offendiculum, seu de incontinentia sacerdotum (ed. J. Dieterich, in MGH, Libelli de lite, III, Hannover 1897, pp. 29–80): an invective against priests living in concubinage, whose Mass is considered invalid because they are regarded as « extra Ecclesiam » by reason of the excommunication incurred by them after the First Lateran Council (1123); Summa gloria, de Apostolico et Augusto (PL. 172, 1257–70): O., a strenuous defender of the Papacy, advocates its superiority over the Emperor, even in temporadibus; Scola coeli minor (cols. 1239–42): on the various degrees of charity; Liber duodecim quaestionum (cols. 1177–86): an essay in medieval angelology; on col. 1.182, a solemn affirmation of the primacy of the Roman pontiff; Utrum monachis liceat praedicare (ed. Endres, Honorius A., op. cit. in bibliography, p. 147 ff.): he is shown to be a fervent supporter of the monks’ external apostolate; De vita claustrali (PL. 172, 1247–48): a short work in harmony with the preceding one.
3. History. — Summa totius seu de omnimoda historia (cols. 187–96): a general chronicle, of which Migne published a small portion (taking it from MGH, Script., X); De luminaribus Ecclesiae (cols. 197–234): a De viris illustribus compiled from St. Jerome, Gennadius, St. Isidore, and Sigebert of Gembloux, concluding with a list of O.’s works and the ingenuous phrase: « qui post hunc scripturus sit, posteritas videbit » (col. 234); Liber de haeresibus (cols. 233–40): a heresiology inspired by Isidore of Seville.
4. Liturgy. — Gemma animae, de divinis officiis (cols. 541–738): a symbolic explanation of the entire liturgy; Sacramentarium, de sacramentis (cols. 737–814): an explanation of the rites (sacrament) of the Mass.
5. Natural sciences. — Imago mundi, de dispositione orbis (cols. 115–88): a kind of speculum mundi (a genre that became fashionable shortly afterward), divided into three parts: globus mundi (a compendium of geography and astronomy); tempus in quo volvitur (a study of time and the calendar); id quod volvitur (events, history divided into three periods); Clavis physicae, de natura rerum (unpublished): an adaptation of Scoto Eriugena’s De divisione naturae; De solis effectibus (cols. 101–16): a short treatise on astronomy.
The innate curiosity that drove O. to raise the most thorny problems of philosophy and theology was not matched by an equal critical sense or power of reasoning with which to resolve them. Dominated by the restless fervor of the age, he gave himself over to a chaotic and feverish activity, through which he composed bold but unsound syntheses; consequently, one should not be surprised that alongside solutions echoing the finest theological tradition, there appear modes of thought that are sometimes naïve and often disconcerting (concerning the nature of God as substantia omnium, predestination, the fate of the Eucharistic body eaten by sinners, the origin of evil, the cosmic dissolution of the glorified body of Christ and of the future resurrected bodies).