Franciscan Studies

2l6FRANCISCAN STUDIES himself, that is, the passages used by Fr. Magrini, namely the Prologue q. 4 of the Ordinatio and Book III, Dist. 24, and the texts which are neglected by the author: Book I, Dist. 11, q. 1, and Quodlibet, questions 6, 7 and 14. This reviewer has the impression, perhaps wrongly, that the very erudition of the work is a reason why the author failed to explain adequately the central problem. The different interpretations given to Saint Thomas' solution of the question, for instance, and the ideas on the same problem of later Scotists do not make for a better understanding of Scotus' ideas. Perhaps a look at the writings of AureoU, Francis Mayronis and Peter Thomae would have been more ad rem. The prolix style of the author toned down, and interesting but useless information on related topics omitted, the book could have been cut down to half its actual size without losing any of its real value. Fr. Magrini, however, does make a notable contribution, chiefly in so far as he studied some unpublished works written during the period which separates Scotus from the predecessors he criticizes, for instance, the writings of James of Metz and WiUiam of Goudin, critics of Henry of Ghent. Still even here, Fr. Magrini could have shown more clearly whether or not Duns Scotus was aware of their criticism of the Ghentian Doctor. E. M. Buytaert, O. F. M. Franciscan Institute Der Christenspiegel des Dietrich Kolde von Münster, edit, by Clemens Drees (Franziskanische Forschungen, ?. 9), Werl, Westfalen, 1954; VII—95*—379 pp. This is the first volume of the Franziskanische Forschungen published since the war. The first part of the book, pp. 1*—95*, is subdivided into an Introduction, pp. 1*—14*, and a study on the Mirror of the Christian, pp. 15*—95*· In the Introduction Dr. Drees describes the life of Dietrich and discusses the problem of the variations of the name of the author. Dietrich was born at Münster around 1435. He became an Augustinian of the Cologne Province, Stationed at Louvain, which belonged to that Province, Dietrich wrote what Dr. Drees calls the "Precursor" (Vorläufer) of the Mirror. The booklet was written in the Louvain dialect and published in 1470 with a dedication to "the pious burgesses of Louvain". WhUe stiU an Augustinian, he wrote his Mirror. He became a Franciscan sometime between 1476—1479, probably at Bodendaal near Brussels, according to Drees. As a consequence, all the editions of the Mirror were made after Dietrich became a Franciscan (of the Cologne Province), though some of the incunabula still call him an Augustinian. During the years 1488—1489 Dietrich became famous by way of his heroism when a severe pestilence struck the city of Brussels. During the nineties he was in Cologne and vicinity. From 1502 tiU 1515, the year of his death, he was superior at Bodendaal, Antwerp and Louvain. EspeciaUy in Brussels and Louvain he was an ardent promoter of the Observance among the Friars, the Poor Clares and the Third Order Regular. Book Reviews217 Though Dr. Drees makes some new contributions to our knowledge of the life of Dietrich, he does not lay claim to any notable originaUty in this part of his work. Neither are various interesting problems solved. Dietrich's changing from the Augustinian to the Franciscan Order, for example, remains obscure. Dr. Drees' study on the Mirror, pp. 15*—95*, enumerates the various editions of the work and one manuscript, discusses the relationship between the editions (and the codex), pp. 44*—90*, and lists the rules followed in editing the texts, pp. 91*—95*. It appears that the "Precursor" was edited once, the Mirror more than thirty five times (most of these editions are incunabula or post-incunabula), and was re-written in High German once (by Ch. Moufang, Mainz, 1881). This latter edition is rightly omitted by Dr. Drees. A re-edition of the "Precursor " is given pp. 1—27, hardly a difficult task as there exists only one old edition: that of 1470, probably printed at Louvain. The main problem of the editor concerned the publishing of the Mirror. He did not deem it advisable to...