The Intercultural Roots of Early Scholasticism

23-24 January 2020, London

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Confirmed Speakers: 

Alexander Fidora (Barcelona)

Charles Burnett (Warburg)

Nicola Polloni (Berlin)

Dag Hasse (Würzburg)

Lesley Smith (Oxford)

Faith Wallis (McGill)

Anna-Katharina Strohschneider (KCL)

John Marenbon (Cambridge)

Riccardo Saccenti (KCL/Bergamo)

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The late twelfth and early thirteenth centuries represent a dynamic period in Western intellectual history. These were years, before Aristotle’s works were fully digested, during which philosophical works written in Greek, Hebrew, and Arabic were becoming available in Latin for the first time, skewing understanding of Aristotle considerably and introducing themes into Latin thought in their own right. This moreover is the period during which the the Franciscan intellectual tradition was borne, not least in the collaboratively authored Summa Halensis, which represents an initial synthesis of that tradition. The proposed workshop seeks to better understand the phenomenon of the confluence of Greek, Hebrew, and Arabic sources that influenced Franciscan thinking and indeed Franciscan interpretations of thinkers like Aristotle and Augustine by investigating more closely those sources and phenomenon of their transmission into Latin. In this connection, papers will be offered on various aspects of the Greek/Arabic/Hebrew tradition that had an influence on early scholastic thought, including that of Franciscans, particularly in the late twelfth and first half of the thirteenth century. 

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Thirteenth-Century English Franciscan Thought

28-30 May 2020, London

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The European Research Council funded project ‘Authority and Innovation in Early Franciscan Thought (c. 1220-45) focuses on first-generation thinkers at the University of Paris, particularly Alexander of Hales and John of La Rochelle, devoting special attention to the co-authored Summa Halensis. As part of the effort to situate the early Franciscan intellectual tradition at Paris in a wider context, a conference will be held on 13th century English Franciscan thought, especially in the first half of the century. Papers will cover thinkers and themes from within this tradition, insofar as comparisons and contrasts and synergies can be highlighted in relation to the early school at Paris. Some of the thinkers to be covered include: 

 

Richard Rufus of Cornwall

Adam Marsh

Thomas of York

John Peckham

Richard of Middleton

Adam of Buckfield

Roger Bacon

John of Wales 

Roger Marston

William of Ware 

Robert Grosseteste 

Duns Scotus

William of Ockham

 

Confirmed Speakers:

Sophie Delmas

Jeremiah Hackett

Rega Wood

Neil Lewis

Giles Gasper

Mark Thakkar

Nicola Polloni

Lydia Schumacher

Fiorella Retucci 

Cecelia Panti

Sigbjorn Sonnesyn

Martin Pickavé