After the Fall: Riccoldo DA Montecroce and Nicholas of Cusa on Religious Diversity

Abstract

Two very different churchmen, Riccoldo da Montecroce and Nicholas of Cusa, though separated by time and place, were affected by a similar catastrophe: the fall of a Christian capital to Muslim forces. Both responded by seeking heaven's help to end interreligious strife, but Riccoldo wrote letters full of questions to the church triumphant, while Nicholas envisioned a celestial interfaith council that solved the problem. Their disparate responses exemplify the diversity of medieval perspectives on religious plurality.