SOURCE: Ozment, Steven E. “The University and the Church: Patterns of Reform in Jean Gerson.” Medievalia et Humanistica 1 (1970): 111-26.

In the following essay, Ozment argues that Gerson's programs for reform of the University of Paris and the Church are part of a consistent strain of his thought.

This essay will explore the relationship between Jean Gerson's program for theological reform within the University of Paris and his program for the unification and reform of the Church. The former program culminates in the development of a mystical theology as the more effective way to salutary knowledge of God. The latter culminates in the enactment of the via concilii as the only effective route to the settlement of the Great Schism and as doctrina which can assure reform in head and members. Are Gerson's efforts against errant theological “heads,” specifically the speculation of the more extravagant followers of Duns Scotus...