| De corpore et sanguine Domini, was a mid-ninth century treatise on the Eucharist by Ratramnus, a monk and master of the monastic school at Corbie, Picardy. This treatise was originally written as a response to Charles the Bald's two questions about whether in the Eucharist the faithful received the body of Christ in truth or in figure and whether this body was the same body born of Mary, crucified, and risen (i.e., "historical" body). In the first half of his treatise, Ratramnus distinguished between the figure and the truth of the Eucharist by applying traditional scriptural exegetical methods to sacramental theology. In the second half of his treatise, Ratramnus explained the differences between the spiritual body of Christ in the Eucharist and the historical body of Christ that was glorified in heaven. For Ratramnus, since the invisible, impalpable body of Christ in the Eucharist was different from the visible, palpable body of Christ that was born, crucified, and now glorified in heaven; these two bodies could not be the same.;Ratramnus still believed that the Eucharist was the true body of Christ, so he had to redefine "body" and "true" as it applied to the body of Christ in the Eucharist. This led Ratramnus to propose that the true historical body of Christ retained its normal human characteristics in heaven and only the true spiritual body of Christ was received in the sacrament concealed under the figures of the material elements of bread and wine. What is lacking in Ratramnus's construction is any explanation of how these two different bodies were united in or related to the one person of Christ. Ratramnus ultimately separated Christ into two bodies rather than predicate different modes of presence or characteristics to the one body of Christ, as did most of his contemporaries. Ratramnus's Christology was therefore foundational for his Eucharistic theology, which contributed to the development of sacramental theology in the middle ages. |
