Rupert of Deutz
Biographical Details:
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Biography:
Rupert of Deutz was likely born between 1075 and 1080 in or near Liège, a prominent intellectual center in medieval Europe. As a child, he was brought as an oblate to the Benedictine abbey of Saint-Laurent in Liège, where he was educated in a vibrant scholarly environment that included the study of mathematics, hagiography, and poetry. In 1092, during the height of the Investiture Controversy, Rupert joined his fellow monks in following their abbot, Berengar, into exile in northern France. The Investiture Controversy, a struggle between the papacy and the Holy Roman Empire over the right to appoint bishops, led to nearly fifty years of civil war in Germany (1076–1122). This dispute deeply impacted Rupert’s life, as it forced him into exile until he returned in 1095. The conflict represented a broader clash over the authority of secular rulers versus ecclesiastical leaders, and Rupert’s experience of exile shaped his theological reflections on church authority.
Around 1106 or 1109, Rupert was ordained a priest by Otbert, the Bishop of Liège, who was a powerful ally of Emperor Henry IV. Otbert’s connection to the imperial side of the Investiture Controversy meant that Rupert was closely associated with figures who were at the heart of the political and ecclesiastical tensions of the time. Despite the turmoil, Rupert became a prolific theological writer, producing numerous works. His major writings include De voluntate Dei, De omnipotentia Dei, Commentaria in Canticum canticorum, De divinis Officiis, De Victoria Verbi Dei, De Gloria et Honore Filii Hominis super Mattheum, De Trinitate et operibus eius (written between 1112–1116), and De glorificatione Trinitatis et processione Spiritus sancti (written in 1128). Of these, De divinis Officiis was his most famous work, offering an extensive treatise on the liturgy.
Rupert also made significant contributions to Marian theology, particularly by emphasizing the Virgin Mary’s role in the divine economy of salvation. His writings portrayed Mary as a central figure in God’s plan, underscoring her purity and unique participation in the Incarnation of Christ.
Rupert died around 1129 or 1130. He is venerated as a holy figure within certain Catholic circles, and his remains are believed to be kept at the abbey where he spent much of his life.
Extant Writings:
- De voluntate Dei
- De omnipotentia Dei
- De divinis Officiis
- De Victoria Verbi Dei
- De Gloria et Honore Filii Hominis super Mattheum
- De Trinitate et operibus eius
- De glorificatione Trinitatis et processione Spiritus sancti
Quotes and Excerpts:
On Mother Mary:
“Because [on Calvary| the Blessed Virgin truly suffered the pangs of a woman in childbirth, and because in her Son’s Passion she gave birth to the salvation of us all, she is clearly the Mother of us all. Therefore (Jesus’) statement about this disciple, “Woman, behold your Son” (for he was very rightly concerned for his Mother), and likewise to the disciple, “Behold your mother”, could have been said correctly about any other disciple had he been present.” – In Joannem 13; PL 169, 790AB; CCM 9, 744
“In the hour of his Passion, the Lord correctly compared his apostles to a woman in labor, saying, “When a woman gives birth, she feels sadness, because her hour has come; but when she has given birth to a child, she no longer remembers her suffering because of her joy, that a man has been born into the world. And so you feel sadness now, but I will see you again, and your heart will rejoice” (Jn 16:21-22). If this is true, then did not this Son correctly consider this Mother, this woman standing next to his Cross (cf. Jn 19:25), to be even more like a woman in labor? But why do I say “like” a woman in labor, seeing that she is truly a woman and truly a mother and truly felt birth pangs in that hour when she gave birth? For this woman did not feel pain when her Child was born to her, in the sense that she did not give birth in sorrow as other mothers do, but now she does feel pain and is tortured and saddened, because her hour has come; that is, the hour for which she conceived by the Holy Spirit, for which she became pregnant, for which the days were fulfilled for her to give birth, for which God became man entirely in her womb. But when this hour has passed, when the sword has finished piercing her laboring soul, then she will “no longer remember her suffering because of her joy, that a man has been born into the world”, because the new man will have been declared, who will renew the whole human race and acquire everlasting rule over the whole world. When I say “born”, I mean made immortal and impassible and the firstborn of the dead, who has passed beyond the narrow restrictions of this life and now lives in the wide freedom of the eternal homeland. Just so, because [on Calvary] the Blessed Virgin truly suffered the pangs of a woman in childbirth, and because in her Son’s Passion she gave birth to the salvation of us all, she is clearly the Mother of us all.” –Rupert of Deutz, In Joannem 13; PL 169, 789D; CCM 9, 744