Image, theophany and panentheism as a manifesta¬tion and symbol in the origin of gothic

Abstract

The issue of imagery is inserted into the medieval philosophical and theological debate as an inherently controversial topic. After all, the debate over imagery inevitably crosses questions about the corporeal and the material, raising complex points such as: what is the degree of separation between the divine and the world? Are they opposed or the same? How can modes of illustrating and symbolizing this Principle be conceived within this process? Are images tools of support or harmful deviations from the body? In light of these questions, this article seeks to illustrate how imagery can be applied as a tool for intellectual reflection by breaking the dualism between the sensible and the intellectual, taking the world not as a source of deviation, but as a manifestation of the Principle. To think about this relationship, we present the case study of the Basilica of St. Denis, considered the birthplace of Gothic architecture. From the works of Dionysius the Areopagite (read through the interpretation of John Scotus Eriugena) Suger, the abbot of St. Denis, finds a philosophical theory that allows him to articulate imagery as a tool for elevation while at the same time protecting himself from the risk of the pantheistic heresy by associating divine nature with earthly beauty. With this, we will show how the articulation of imagery can be placed in a work based on the operation of the symbolic as an act of theophany and the philosophical/theological resistance that such a movement encounters.