Brian Matz - Prosper's Legacy in the Ninth-Century Predestination Controversy

This short communication will argue Prosper’s texts were the lens through which the combatants in the ninth-century predestination controversy read the works of Augustine. Prosper’s literature was widely known (though not necessarily widely read) in the ninth-century, and his works were cited nearly one hundred times. It seemed every ninth-century writer was compelled to demonstrate their facility with and understanding of Prosper’s texts. Particularly noteworthy is the fact that, just as with Augustine’s texts, both sides of the ninth-century debate were convinced Prosper supported their position. His texts were a subject of much debate and interpretation to the extent they were understood to be an authoritative extension of Augustine’s own ideas. Still, having said that, the ninth-century writers apparently knew very little about Prosper’s historical context, nor were they particularly interested in trying to understand the arguments of the semi-pelagians against whom he wrote. Prosper, like Augustine, lived on in the minds of those engaged in theological debate in the ninth-century, and we benefit from understanding how his literature continued to inspire the ideas of these theologians centuries after his death.