9th–11th centuries

The eucharistic controversies of the 9th–11th centuries: Radbertus and Ratramnus, Berengar and Lanfranc

In his treatise On the Body and Blood of the Lord Paschasius Radbertus taught that after consecration the elements are the very flesh and blood of Christ, born of the Virgin Mary, visible only to the eyes of faith. Answering a question of Charles the Bald, Ratramnus of Corbie replied that Christ is present "in figure," not "in truth," and that this is not the body that hung on the cross: the presence is spiritual, yet real. Lane describes the dispute as a clash between the tradition of "symbols" (Augustine) and the tradition of "conversion" (Ambrose). In the 11th century Berengar of Tours held that the bread and wine remain and that the body of Christ is in heaven; Lanfranc defended a genuine transformation of the gifts. Berengar was condemned in Rome in 1059 and forced to sign recantations in 1059 and 1079; the realistic interpretation became dominant.