The Medieval Mind of C. S. Lewis: How Great Books Shaped a Great Mind

by Jason M. Baxter

Publisher:

IVP Academic

, 2022

Overview

C. S. Lewis had one of the great minds of the twentieth century.

Many readers know Lewis as an author of fiction and fantasy literature, including the Chronicles of Narnia and the Space Trilogy. Others know him for his books in apologetics, including Mere Christianity and The Problem of Pain. But few know him for his scholarly work as a professor of medieval and Renaissance literature.

What shaped the mind of this great thinker? Jason Baxter argues that Lewis was deeply formed not only by the words of Scripture and his love of ancient mythology, but also by medieval literature. For this undeniably modern Christian, authors like Dante and Boethius provided a worldview that was relevant to the challenges of the contemporary world.

Here, readers will encounter an unknown figure to guide them in their own journey: C. S. Lewis the medievalist.

Key Features

• Explores how Lewis was deeply formed by the words of Scripture, ancient mythology, and medieval literature
• Examines how the medievals thought and felt and interacted with the spiritual and natural world around them

Contents

• Introduction: The Last Dinosaur and the Surprising Modernity of the Middle Ages
• The Lost Cathedral: The Medieval Cosmos
• Breathing Narnian Air: Lewis’s Medieval Apprenticeship
• From Symphony to Machine: New Learning and New Ignorance
• Evil Enchantment: Psychology and Pedagogy in Flatland
• Dante, Counter Spells, and the Weight of Glory
• How to Pray to a Medieval God: C. S. Lewis and Mysticism
• Deep Conversion and Unveiling: When the “It” Becomes a “You”
• Modern Science and Medieval Myth
• Conclusion: Nostalgia for the Future

Praise for the Print Edition

Without the rich spiritual and literary legacy of the Middle Ages, C. S. Lewis would not have matured into the great apologist, essayist, and fiction writer that he became. Dante scholar Jason Baxter is just the right person to open up that legacy for modern readers and trace how deeply Lewis was shaped not only by the medieval worldview but by the way the medievals thought and felt and interacted with the spiritual and natural world around them.

—Louis Markos, professor in English and scholar in residence at Houston Baptist University, author of On the Shoulders of Hobbits: The Road to Virtue with Tolkien and Lewis

Following closely on his well-received works on Dante and on Christian mysticism, Jason Baxter here opens a window onto the bookshelves and study habits of C. S. Lewis, finding rightly that medieval authors have much more profoundly shaped his imagination and theology than most contemporary criticism has noticed. This well-written volume will be of interest both to seasoned scholars and undergraduate students; for the latter it will prove an invaluable introduction to a rich body of great Christian writing.

—David Lyle Jeffrey, distinguished senior fellow at Baylor Institute for Studies in Religion

As the author of A Beginner’s Guide to Dante’s Divine Comedy, Jason M. Baxter is uniquely qualified to guide us through the medieval mind of C. S. Lewis. Those wishing to delve deeper into the ancient roots of Lewis’s inspiration and imagination need look no further. Professor Baxter, like Virgil, is a trustworthy guide.

—Joseph Pearce, author of Further Up and Further In: Understanding Narnia and Tolkien: Man and Myth

Product Details

• Title: The Medieval Mind of C. S. Lewis: How Great Books Shaped a Great Mind
• Author: Jason M. Baxter
• Publisher: IVP Academic
• Print Publication Date: 2022
• Logos Release Date: 2022
• Pages: 166
• Era: era:contemporary
• Language: English
• Resources: 1
• Format: Digital › Logos Reader Edition
• Subjects: Lewis, C. S. (Clive Staples), 1898-1963 › Criticism and interpretation; Literature, Medieval › Influence
• ISBNs: 9781514001653, 9781514001646, 1514001659, 1514001640
• Resource ID: LLS:MDVLMNDCSGRTMND
• Resource Type: Monograph
• Metadata Last Updated: 2022-09-30T01:29:42Z

About Jason M. Baxter

Jason M. Baxter (PhD, University of Notre Dame), an expert in medieval Catholic thought, is associate professor of fine arts and humanities at Wyoming Catholic College in Lander, Wyoming, where he worked with the Distance Learning Program to produce an eighteen-part introduction to the Divine Comedy. He also codirected the college's Rome Immersion Experience, designed to introduce students to the highlights of Roman art, architecture, history, and culture. He speaks at universities across the country and has written several books, including A Beginner's Guide to Dante's "Divine Comedy."