Richard of St. Victor (d. 1173) - Icon Profile | Alexandria
Richard of St. Victor (c. 1110–1173) was a Scottish-born theologian and mystic associated with the Victorine school in Paris, one of the most intellectually dynamic centers of 12th-century Europe. As a canon and later prior of the Abbey of St. Victor, he helped transform it into a crucible of spiritual and philosophical innovation.
Beginning his career under the influence of Hugh of St. Victor, Richard advanced a more emotionally intimate and psychologically analytical approach to mystical theology. His writings fuse Platonic ascent with emerging scholastic rigor, bridging contemplation and logic. Prominent among his works are De Trinitate, which attempted a rational demonstration of the Trinity, and Benjamin Major and Benjamin Minor, treatises on stages of spiritual ascent.
Richard’s synthesis of mystical experience with intellectual discipline shaped later medieval thought, especially within Franciscan and Dominican traditions. He was admired by Bonaventure, cited by Thomas Aquinas, and subtly shaped the theological underpinnings of Dante’s Paradiso.
Though overshadowed by more systematizing scholastics, Richard’s legacy lies in his articulation of how divine love, logically understood, compels both inward contemplation and communal harmony—a vision that would echo across mysticism, metaphysics, and ecclesial ethics.