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Words live and die: such is the case for the word "hierarchy," rejected today by the social sciences which now prefer more technical terms, whereas it was in very common use in the Middle Ages, from the eighth century onward thanks to the Pseudo-Denys. It was still very frequent in the fourteenth century and was used in the Songe du Viel Pelerin by Philippe de Mézières. Using a framework of analysis inspired by the Pseudo-Denys is more useful than ever to elaborate a global conception of society. Reducere per media ad unum was the Pseudo-Denys’ postulate. This new framework was particularly useful in the late Middle Ages in a context of reformation and crusade. Of course, the three hierarchies were somewhat disrupted in it: In fact, the three hierarchies became four. This change was perfectly intentional. The additional hierarchy resulting from the splitting of the studium or from an addition to it was brought about by the increasing part played by judicial institutions. The ultimate aim of returning to unity was, thanks to the Pseudo-Denys and to moral alchemy, the quest for the "elixir" and the "philosopher’s stone" epitomized in one phrase: "Christ’s honor", which became the honor of all mankind bound to one common destiny. This is how, through a dream, the use of the Pseudo-Denys, inspired by the prevailing nominalism and by mystical pragmatism, allows us to make a keen analysis of the transformations of mediaeval rationality.
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