Joachim of Fiore : His early conception of the holy trinity three trinitarian Figurae of the Calabrian abbot reconsidered

Abstract

The study explores the succession, literary context and meaning of three Trinitarian figures emanating from Joachim of Fiore: the water basin with three streams of water flowing from it (i.e. the first of the so-called “anti-Lombard-figures”), the ten-stringed psaltery and the Alpha and Omega. At the same time it seeks to reveal the first stage of Joachim’s reflection on Trinity and to determine its duration and character. According to Harold Lee the water basin corresponds in significance with the later Alpha and Omega and like this depicts Joachim’s division of the history of salvation into three statusand two tempora. This thesis is not convincing. The water basin appears to have no historical meaning at all. It is, together with the psaltery figure, characteristic for an arly period in Joachim’s meditation on the mystery of the Trinity, when he immersed himself in the inmost life of the Triune God. Later on Joachim came wholly absorbed by the working of the Trinity in history. The Alpha and Omega figure marks Joachim’s gradual transition to this second stage of thought.