Biceps monstrum - En undersøkelse av Peter Damians argumentasjon i offentlig debatt

Abstract

To av de store debattene i det ellevte århundret handlet om presteekteskap (nikolaitisme) og kjøp og salg av geistlige embeter (simoni). Blant de mest sentrale premissleverandørene i disse debattene var Peter Damian, en munk og senere kardinal. Han kjempet mot presteekteskap og forsvarte gyldigheten av embetet og sakramentsforvaltningen til simonister. Siden det er gjort lite om selve argumentasjonen til Damian er hensikten med denne oppgaven å gjøre nærmere rede for hvordan Damian argumenterte, både med tanke på en diakronisk utvikling og hvordan han argumenterte avhengig av publikum han henvendte seg til. Ikke bare argumentasjonen, men også det offentlige rammeverket for disse debattene er også sentralt i denne oppgaven.

The debates about clerical marriage and simony were two of the most important public debates during the eleventh century. The monk, and later cardinal bishop, Peter Damian (1007-1072) was among the central participants. He was a supporter of clerical celibacy, and he claimed that the validity of the sacraments did not depend on the worthiness of the cleric. Despite his important role in these debates, his argumentation has not been studied in detail. The purpose of this master thesis is therefore to discuss the development of Damian's argumentation in these debates in a public framework. The public framework for this master thesis is based on a discussion and critique of Jürgen Habermas' representative and bourgeois public sphere, and an examination of the letters of Damian. The argumentation Damian used is categorized as either theoretical or practical. Theoretical argumentation is understood as biblical and patristic statements about theology etc. Practical argumentation is characterized as a narrative way of presenting arguments, like history and stories. The argumentation is further distinguished either demonstrative where he postulated statements of popes, councils etc. or argumentative, where he discussed them. How Damian used authorities in the argumentation and how he presented his arguments to different audiences are among the central subjects for this study. Although there were several similarities between the debates, the argumentation Damian used in the simony debate was richer in diversity, in what kind of argumentation that he used, and how he used it.