Great Chain of Being

The hierarchical structure of all matter and living beings. A classical and medieval Christian concept, the Great Chain of Being was believed to be ordained by God.

The concept of the Great Chain of Being or “scala naturae” gives every existing thing a place in the hierarchical structure made by God. It was used not only in the classical Christian period, but also in the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. The Great Chain of Being differentiates and orders the things according to their propotion of “spirit” and “matter”. Creatures with more “spirit” have a higher position, than things containing more “matter”. The Great Chain of Being devides all beings in groups, which are also structured hierarchically within themselves:

God, as omnipotent and omnipresent creator of all other beings, is at the top of the ladder and consists only of “spirit”.

Angels consist also only of “spirit” and are beyond the limitations of time. They possess language, emotions and feelings, but unlike God lack the omnipotence and omnipresence. The group of angels had several subdivisions during the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, creating three, seven, nine or even ten different groups of angels, but most common was the devision made by Ps. Dionysius (~500 A.D) and St. Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274) with nine groups of angels and their hierarchy: Seraphim, Cherubim, Thrones, Dominations, Principalities, Powers, Virtues, Archangels, Angels.

Man combine “spirit” and “matter”, because they are spiritual beings with passion and reason, but also have a body and are bounded to the limitations of time. They have a special role in the chain of being, because of this duality between “spirit” and “matter”. Especially in the Renaissance the human being was seen as a “microcosm” reflecting the “macrocosm”, namely the structure of the world and its constituent parts: the four elements. The “humours” of the body “black bile”(earth), “yellow bile”(fire), “plegm” (water) and “blood”(air), resembled the four elements on earth. This shows also the correspondence between the different groups of the chain of being. In addition to that the concept of the chain of beings was not only used by humans to differentiate from other forms of beings, but also to create an order within themselves. Kings and Queens for example were directly positioned after the group of angels at the top of the groups of man (in other perspectives only adjusted to the Pope or on the same level with him). Other mighty people like Archbishops, Dukes and Bishops succeeded, while common people were seen in lower positions of the group of man. The chain therefore provided a rationale for the authority of the rulers.

Animals lack the spiritual competence of human but are animated beings with limited intelligence. They are also classified in several subdivisions, according to their living spaces or their skills. For example animals like mussels are at the bottom of the chain, because they can not move on their own, whereas the lion and the elephant are considered as intelligent, powerful animals and therefore on the top of the animal group.

Plants are living beings, which can grow and reproduce, but cannot move on their own and have no intelligence. Trees build the top of this group, while fungi are at its bottom.

Minerals are the lowest beings, because they cannot grow and reproduce like plants and have no “spirit” but consist only of “matter”. They are devided into gems, metals and other forms of minerals like marble, sand etc.

Although the Chain of Being devides the different beings into groups, the concept of continuity is of high importance in the ideas of the Middle Ages. This means that there are no huge bounds between the groups for example between animals and plants, because the lowest animals are those, which are already close to the status of plants, according to their abilities to interact and to move etc. Furthermore the concept of correspondence shows the relation of all groups to eachother, showing that everything is part of God’s creation and therefore belongs together and cannot be separated completely, but only ordered.

Sources:

http://academic.brooklyn.cuny.edu/english/melani/cs6/ren.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_chain_of_being

Lovejoy, Arthur O.: The Great Chain of Being. A Study of the history of an idea, Cambridge: Harvard UP, 1961.