Many people know Lewis as a fiction writer and as an apologist, but fewer know him as a medievalist. Dr. Jason Baxter unpacks what that means and why it’s important.
S5E55: “The Medieval Mind of C.S. Lewis”, After Hours with Dr. Jason M. Baxter (Download)
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Show Notes
Introduction
Quote-of-the-week
If a live dinosaur dragged its slow length into the laboratory, would we not all look back as we fled?… Speaking not only for myself but for all other Old Western men whom you may meet, I would say, use your specimens while you can. There are not going to be many more dinosaurs.
C.S. Lewis, De Descriptione Temporum
Biographical Information
Dr. Jason Baxter has taught at Wyoming Catholic College for eleven years. His primary research interests include medieval and Renaissance ideas of beauty, the long-lived legacy of Platonic thought and the poetry of Dante.
He is also interested in medieval mysticism, humanism, the relationship between the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, and, increasingly, the relationship between science and the arts.
He has written five books, including: An Introduction to Christian Mysticism, A Beginner’s Guide to Dante’s Divine Comedy, Falling Inward: Humanities in the Age of Technology, and the book which we’ll be talking about today, The Medieval mind of C.S. Lewis: How Great Books Shaped a Great Mind.
Biographical Information for Dr. Jason Baxter
Chit-Chat
- Last season I read Chris Armstrong’s book, Medieval Wisdom for Modern Christians, and loved it so much that I sent a copy to Matt for Christmas and booked him an interview with Chris to talk about it! (S4E37). Today we will be covering some similar concepts.
Beverage and Toast
- David was drinking Buchanan’s Deluxe
Discussion
1. “Background”
- Can you please tell us about your background, your history with Lewis, and explain how you came to write a book about him?
2. “Voted Best Cover (by my wife)”
- My wife loves the cover!
3. “Audiobook”
- The Medieval mind of C.S. Lewis: How Great Books Shaped a Great Mind has a beautiful cover and Simon Vance does the audiobook!
4. “Lewis #1, #2, and #3”
- You begin your book by quoting Lewis’ friend Owen Barfield who said that there was a “third Lewis”. To provide some context for our listeners, who were the first two Lewises and who is this third Lewis?
5. “Why does the Medieval world matter?”
- How is the medieval world relevant?
- What are some of the key elements of the medieval world which shaped Lewis?
6. “British Boethius
- In your book you describe Lewis as wanting to be a “British Boetheius”. What did you mean by that?
7. “What is a Mystic and was Lewis one?”
- First of all, what does it mean to be a mystic and was Lewis one?
- This season we read The Four Loves and you mention in your book that Lewis seems to ever-so-briefly tease us with mysticism at the very end of the book when he’s speaking about charity. What do you make of those final paragraphs?
8. “From Hell to Heaven with Dante”
- My co-hosts and I were recently brainstorming ideas for next season and one of our most popular ideas was to have a “Lewis’ Bookshelf” series, where we’d talk about the books which shaped Lewis. One of those people was Dante Alighieri…
- You speak about Dante a lot in your book and even have another book devoted to him. For those who don’t know who he is, who was he, and why was he important to Lewis?
- There’s one scene in The Divine Comedy which you connect to both The Great Divorce and Till We Have Faces. Would you mind explaining the connections you make there?
My lowered eyes caught sight of the clear stream,
Purgatorio, Canto 30
but when I saw myself reflected there,
such shame weighed on my brow, my eyes drew back
9. “How did Lewis #3 help the other two?”
- In this interview, we’ve been talking about the third Lewis, the Medievalist. At the beginning we mentioned the other two. So, for my last question, how do you think that Lewis, the Medievalist, contributed to the other two Lewises, the children’s novelist and Christian writer?
Oh wow! So much insight imparted so painlessly! At times it was hard to breathe for the glory if the insights! Listen once and revel in it. Listen again and dig in!
We’ll be having Dr. Baxter on the show again next season 🙂