Richard Rufus ( la, Ricardus Rufus, "Richard the Red"; ) was a Cornish

Franciscan The Franciscans are a group of related Mendicant orders, mendicant Christianity, Christian Catholic religious order, religious orders within the Catholic Church. Founded in 1209 by Italian Catholic friar Francis of Assisi, these orders include t ...

scholastic philosopher Scholasticism was a medieval school of philosophy that employed a Organon, critical organic method of philosophical analysis predicated upon the Aristotelianism, Aristotelian categories (Aristotle), 10 Categories. Christian scholasticism eme ...

and

theologian Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

Life

Richard Rufus who studied at

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

and at

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

starting from the 1220s. He became a Franciscan around 1230. Rufus was one of the first medieval philosophers to write on

Aristotle Aristotle (; grc-gre, Ἀριστοτέλης ''Aristotélēs'', ; 384–322 BC) was a Greek philosopher and polymath during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. Taught by Plato, he was the founder of the Peripatetic school of phil ...

and his commentaries are the earliest known among those which have survived. He also wrote influential commentaries on

Peter Lombard Peter Lombard (also Peter the Lombard, Pierre Lombard or Petrus Lombardus; 1096, Novara – 21/22 July 1160, Paris), was a scholastic theologian, Bishop of Paris, and author of '' Four Books of Sentences'' which became the standard textbook of ...

's ''Sentences''. Rufus was influenced by

Robert Grosseteste Robert Grosseteste, ', ', or ') or the gallicised Robert Grosstête ( ; la, Robertus Grossetesta or '). Also known as Robert of Lincoln ( la, Robertus Lincolniensis, ', &c.) or Rupert of Lincoln ( la, Rubertus Lincolniensis, &c.). ( ; la, Rob ...

Alexander of Hales Alexander of Hales (also Halensis, Alensis, Halesius, Alesius ; 21 August 1245), also called ''Doctor Irrefragibilis'' (by Pope Alexander IV in the ''Bull De Fontibus Paradisi'') and ''Theologorum Monarcha'', was a Franciscan friar, theologian a ...

Richard Fishacre Richard Fishacre (or Fitzacre) (c. 1200–1248) was an English Dominican Order, Dominican theologian, the first to hold the Dominican chair at the University of Oxford. He taught at Oxford and authored the first commentary on the Four Books of Se ...

, and Johannes Philoponus, and in turn influenced

Bonaventure Bonaventure ( ; it, Bonaventura ; la, Bonaventura de Balneoregio; 1221 – 15 July 1274), born Giovanni di Fidanza, was an Italian Catholic Franciscan, bishop, cardinal, scholastic theologian and philosopher. The seventh Minister G ...

and Franciscus Meyronnes.

Roger Bacon Roger Bacon (; la, Rogerus or ', also '' Rogerus''; ), also known by the scholastic accolade ''Doctor Mirabilis'', was a medieval English philosopher and Franciscan friar who placed considerable emphasis on the study of nature through empiri ...

was a fervent critic of Rufus, claiming that his fame was greatest with the ignorant multitude; on the other hand,

Thomas of Eccleston Thomas of Eccleston was a thirteenth-century English Franciscan chronicler. He is known for ''De Adventu Fratrum Minorum in Angliam''. It runs from 1224, when Franciscan friars first came to England, under Agnellus of Pisa, to about 1258. He style ...

praised him as an excellent lecturer.

Adam de Marisco Adam Marsh (Adam de Marisco; c. 120018 November 1259) was an English Franciscan, scholar and theologian. Marsh became, after Robert Grosseteste, "...the most eminent master of England." Biography He was born about 1200 in the diocese of Bath, a ...

describes him in a letter to Grosseteste as "a man lacking in command of the English tongue, yet of most honest conversation and unblemished reputation, learned in human and divine literature." The reason given for his lack of proficiency with English is that he was primarily a Cornish speaker.

Works

* Peter Raedts, ''Richard Rufus of Cornwall and the Tradition of Oxford Theology.'' Oxford historical monographs (Oxford University 1984, PhD). * Richard Rufus of Cornwall, ''In Aristotelis De Generatione et corruptione'', edited by Rega Wood and Neil Lewis, 'Auctores Britannici Medii Aevi', New York: Oxford University Press, 2004. * Richard Rufus of Cornwall, ''In Physicam Aristotelis'', edited by Rega Wood, 'Auctores Britannici Medii Aevi', New York: Oxford University Press, 2011.

External links

The Richard Rufus of Cornwall Project
1260 deaths 13th-century philosophers British philosophers Scholastic philosophers Medieval Cornish people Writers from Cornwall Cornish-speaking people Year of birth unknown 13th-century Latin writers {{England-philosopher-stub