This collection of new essays locates Boethius' Consolatio Philosophiae in the medieval context of Latin learning and vernacular translations. The first part is devoted to the Latin commentary tradition, while the other parts explore the vernacular traditions.

The commentary of the Italian physician and philosopher Pietro d'Abano on Bartholomew of Messina's Latin translation of Pseudo-Aristotle's 'Problemata Physica', published in 1310, constitutes an important historical source. In a section of the corpus Aristotelicum that was not part of the standard curriculum at the medieval university, the commentary of Pietro d'Abano investigates the complex relationship between text, translation, and commentary. The eight articles in this volume provide valuable insights into the manner in which Pietro d'Abano deals with the problems (...) of a translated text. They emphasize the idiosyncrasy of his approach in comparison to his contemporaries and successors, the particularities of his commentary in light of the habitual exegetical practices applied in the teaching of curricular texts, as well as the influence of philosophical traditions outside the strict framework of the medieval arts faculty. (shrink)

This collection of essays delineates the history of the rather disparate intellectual tradition usually labeled as "Platonic" or "Neoplatonic". In chronological order, the book covers the most eminent philosophic schools of thought within that tradition. The most important terms of the Platonic tradition are studied together with a discussion of their semantic implications, the philosophical and theological claims associated with the terms, the sources that furnish the terms, and the intellectual traditions aligned with or opposed to them. The contributors thereby (...) provide a vivid intellectual map of the Middle Ages and the Early Modern period. Contributions are written in English or German. (shrink)

The German philosophical culture of the Middle Ages is inextricable linked to the thought of Albert the Great. This volume brings together 14 papers, which deal with Albert's influence from the points of view of mysticism, philosophy, and the history of universities.

This article provides a historico-philosophical profile of late-medieval nominalism. It shows how nominalism placed limitations on the use of logic and natural reason in academic theology. In the first part, the historical meaning and use of the notions ‘moderni’ and ‘nominales’ are explored. In the second part, the methodology of the ‘moderni’ and ‘nominales’ is investigated, showing how nominalist understanding of logic and natural reason led to a separation of philosophy and theology. Three examples are discussed, taken from commentaries on (...) the Sentences. As these examples show, according to a number of ‘moderni’ and ‘nominales’ , logic and natural reason are not able to exclude all ambiguities and heresies from theological discourse. Thus logic loses its privileged function in theology as arbiter of true reasoning, clearing the way for the rules of traditional and ordinary speech, the ‘vulgus modus loquendi’. Only when logic and reason deal with the natural aspects of creation, do they remain authoritative. When applied to the divine, however, they may easily lead to heresy and error. (shrink)

This volume explores the different aspects of the thinking of Marsilius of Inghen . It is devoted to the background of his philosophy and theology, to the significance of his many writings, and to the impact of his thought.

Late medieval thinking is characterized by the emergence of antagonistic schools of thought such as Albertism, Thomism and Scotism. These schools share the explicit appeal to the authority of a school leader and the support of characteristic philosophical doctrines and methods. Initially, in the period between 1277 and 1330, they were rooted in and developed out of the debates between the religious orders . Later, in the fifteenth century, the educational structure of the universities was the decisive factor in their (...) growth, especially the existence of the bursae. This essay explores characteristics of late medieval schools of thought, their emergence, development and significance. It also treats different philosophical approaches in logic and physics apparent in two examination compendia of the University of Cologne, the Promptuarium argumentorum and the Reparationes librorum totius naturalis philosophiae . As these treatises reveal, already in the first years of their university education students had to study and repeat the different arguments of the different schools. This contributed to the consolidation of the schools as they became an active part of the educational system able to dominate the intellectual climate well into the early modern period. (shrink)

The present collection deals with philosophical thinking at the medieval university from the threefold perspective of Institution and Career, Organizational Forms and Literary Genres, and School Formation and School Conflict.