James Ginther

James Ginther is Professor of Medieval Theology, Regis St Michael’s Faculty of Theology, University of St Michael’s College. He researches and teaches in western medieval theology and church history, ca 1100-1400.  Over the course of his career, he has taught at Leeds University (UK), Saint Louis University (USA), and the University of St Michael’s College (Toronto).  He has had the good fortune to have been a member of a centre for medieval studies at every institution, which has allowed him to foster a deep commitment to interdisciplinarity. In addition to traditional print scholarship and text editing, Ginther has been actively involved in digital humanities for over twenty-five years.  His research has included monographs and articles on Robert Grosseteste, Anselm of Canterbury, Hildegard of Bingen, and the reception of John Damascene.  He is currently completing an edition and translation of Stephen Langton’s Super Genesim. In 2025, he was awarded a SSHRC Insight grant to re-edit Burgundio of Pisa’s translation of Damascene’s De fide orthodoxa. 

Courses Taught In Medieval Studies:

• Historical Theology: Theories and Practices
• Anselm the Theologian
• The Medieval Theology of Creation
• The Later Mediaeval Tradition (undergraduate at St Michael’s College)

Books and Edited Collections

• Robert Grosseteste and his Intellectual Milieu: New Editions and Studies. Ed. J. Flood, J.R. Ginther and J.W. Goering. Papers in Mediaeval Studies, 24. Toronto: PIMS, 2013.
• Westminster Handbook to Medieval Theology.  Louisville: Westminster/John Knox Press, 2009.
• Essays in Medieval Philosophy and Theology in Memory of Walter H. Principe, csb: Fortresses and Launching Pads. Ed. J.R. Ginther and C.N. Still. Aldershot: Ashgate Press, 2005.
• Master of the Sacred Page: A Study of the Theology of Robert Grosseteste, ca 1229/30-1235. Aldershot: Ashgate Press, 2004.

Articles and Essays:

• "The Latin Reception of John of Damascus." In The Brill Companion to John of Damascus. Ed. Ken Parry.  Leiden: Brill, forthcoming in 2026
• "Anselm the Fool: Meditation and the Joy of Unbelief in the Proslogion." Traditio 80 (2025), forthcoming.
•  "Hildegard as Hagiographer: Two Saints' Lives and Monastic Reform in Twelfth-century Germany." Revue Bénédictine, 133 (2023), 164-190. 
• “The Theology of Hildegard of Bingen.” In The Cambridge Companion to Hildegard of Bingen. Ed. J. Bain. pp. 85-104 Cambridge: University of Cambridge Press, forthcoming in 2021.
• “Between Plena Caritas and Plenitudo Legis: The Ecclesiology of the Norman Anonymous.” Haskins Society Journal 23 (2011), 141-162.
• “Natural Philosophy and Theology at Oxford in the Early Thirteenth Century. An Edition and Study of Robert Grosseteste’s Inception Sermon.” Medieval Sermon Studies 44 (2000), 108-134.
• “The Theology of Hildegard of Bingen.” In The Cambridge Companion to Hildegard of Bingen. Ed. J. Bain. Cambridge: University of Cambridge Press, forthcoming in 2021.
• “The Church Fathers in Medieval Scholasticism.” In The Wiley-Blackwell Companion to Patristics. Ed. K Parry. London: Wiley-Blackwell, 2015.
• “Robert Grosseteste’s Theology of Pastoral Care.” In Pastoral Care in the Late Middle Ages. Ed. R.J. Stansbury, pp. 95-122. Leiden: Brill, 2010.
• “The Church in Medieval Theology.” In The Routledge Companion to the Christian Church. Ed. G. Mannion and L. Mudge, pp. 48-62. London: Routledge, 2007.
• “The Scholastic Psalms Commentary as a Textbook for Theology: the Case of Thomas Aquinas.”  In Omnia Disce: Medieval Studies in Memory of Leonard E. Boyle, OP. Ed. A.J. Duggan,  J. Greatrex and B. Bolton, pp. 211-229. Aldershot: Ashgate, 2005.
• “There is a Text in this Classroom: The Bible and Theology in the Medieval University.” In Essays in Medieval Philosophy and Theology in Memory of Walter H. Principe, csb: Fortresses and Launching Pads. Ed. J.R. Ginther and C.N. Still, pp. 31-51. Aldershot: Ashgate Press, 2005.

Digital Projects:

• The Electronic Norman Anonymous.  An integrated edition of text and manuscript page images.  Ed. J.R. Ginther and T. O’Sullivan. St Louis: Center for Digital Theology, Saint Louis University, 2010. [Currently being re-built]
• T-PEN: Transcription for Paleographical and Editorial Notation. 
• Francis and Clare of Assisi: Early Documents, Electronic Edition. Ed. J. Benson, J.R. Ginther and J.M Hammond. St Louis: Institute of Digital Theology, 2009.
• The Electronic Grosseteste: A Web-Site for Advanced Research in Medieval Intellectual Culture. [Currently being re-built]