Benedict Hesse of Kraków

The chapter examines Benedict Hesse of Kraków as one of the most important representatives of fifteenth-century Polish scholasticism. His work is characterised by extensive use of biblical exegesis, patristic tradition, and scholastic argumentation. Particular attention is given to ecclesiological issues connected with Hussitism, the moral condition of the clergy, and the relationship between papal and conciliar authority. Hesse also addressed anthropological and Mariological questions, defending the harmony of nature and grace and the value of theology as systematic knowledge. His consistent conciliar position demonstrates the close involvement of the Kraków academic milieu in the major ecclesiological controversies of the late Middle Ages.