Godfrey of Fontaines (born sometime before 1250, died 29 October 1306 or 1309), in Latin Godefridus de Fontibus, was a scholastic

philosopher A philosopher is a person who practices or investigates philosophy. The term ''philosopher'' comes from the grc, φιλόσοφος, , translit=philosophos, meaning 'lover of wisdom'. The coining of the term has been attributed to the Greek th ...

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 ...

, designated by the title Doctor Venerandus. He made contributions to a diverse range of subjects ranging from moral philosophy to epistemology. However, he is best known today for his work on

metaphysics Metaphysics is the branch of philosophy that studies the fundamental nature of reality, the first principles of being, identity and change, space and time, causality, necessity, and possibility. It includes questions about the nature of conscio ...

Early biography

Godfrey was born sometime before 1250 in the principality of

Liège Liège ( , , ; wa, Lîdje ; nl, Luik ; german: Lüttich ) is a major city and municipality of Wallonia and the capital of the Belgian province of Liège. The city is situated in the valley of the Meuse, in the east of Belgium, not far from b ...

in present-day Belgium. He was likely born at Fontaines-les-Hozémont, a château owned by his noble family.

Formation

Godfrey was a student at the

University of Paris , image_name = Coat of arms of the University of Paris.svg , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of Arms , latin_name = Universitas magistrorum et scholarium Parisiensis , motto = ''Hic et ubique terrarum'' (Latin) , mottoeng = Here and a ...

by at least 1277, but more probably as early as 1270, as he was likely there during the second regency of

Thomas Aquinas Thomas Aquinas, OP (; it, Tommaso d'Aquino, lit=Thomas of Aquino; 1225 – 7 March 1274) was an Italian Dominican friar and priest who was an influential philosopher, theologian and jurist in the tradition of scholasticism; he is known wi ...

(1269-1272) who had returned to Paris from the Santa Sabina ''studium provinciale''. Aquinas' teaching was perhaps the strongest influence on Godfrey's own thought, though he differed on issues such as the

principle of individuation The principle of individuation is a criterion that individuates or numerically distinguishes the members of the kind for which it is given, that is by which we can supposedly determine, regarding any kind of thing, when we have more than one of them ...

, and the distinction between essence and existence in material things. A notebook from his student years has been dated around 1271 to 1274 demonstrating his familiarity with views proposed by

Siger of Brabant Siger of Brabant (''Sigerus'', ''Sighier'', ''Sigieri'' or ''Sygerius de Brabantia''; c. 1240 – before 10 November 1284) was a 13th-century philosopher from the southern Low Countries who was an important proponent of Averroism. Life E ...

and

Boethius of Dacia Boetius de Dacia, OP (also spelled Boethius de Dacia) was a 13th-century Danish philosopher. Name The rendering of his name ''Danske Bo'' (" Bo the Dane") into Medieval Latin as ''Boetius de Dacia'' stems from the fact that the toponym '' Dan ...

, leading representatives of the radical Aristotelian movement in the Arts faculty at the time.

Career

He was a "Magister", or Master of Theology at the University of Paris by at least 1285 because that is when he gave his first Quodlibet, which means he had earned his Magister regens in Theology by this time and because one would have to be at least thirty-five for this honor; this offers the reasoning that his year of birth is 1250 or earlier. He was Magister regens from 1285 to 1299 and then again in 1303 to 1304. Godfrey was held in high esteem during his life, and held a number of ecclesiastical offices, including Canon of Liège, Canon of Tournai, Provost of St. Severin in Cologne (1287–1295), and possibly Canon of Paris. In 1300 he was chosen to be the Bishop of Tournai, but he chose not to take the position due to a contested election. Godfrey left Paris between his final Quodlibet in 1298-1299 and 1303/1304 yet returned before he died on 29 October 1306 or 1309. He had compiled a large library during his lifetime, which he donated to the

Sorbonne Sorbonne may refer to: * Sorbonne (building), historic building in Paris, which housed the University of Paris and is now shared among multiple universities. *the University of Paris (c. 1150 – 1970) *one of its components or linked institution, ...

upon his death; a portion of which is still intact.

Writings

The most significant of Godfrey's writings are transcriptions of Quodlibets, of which he participated in fifteen during his tenure at the University of Paris. These were week-long sessions held before Christmas and Easter in which participating Masters were required to answer questions chosen by their students. This was taxing to the Master, who would have to argue a thoughtful and researched answer on an incredibly diverse range of subjects. Many Masters chose not to engage in the Quodlibets. Godfrey of Fontaines completed at least fifteen Quodlibetal sessions. Hence, Godfrey discussed a very wide range of issues. These and other writings show him to have been not merely a distinguished theologian and philosopher, but also a canonist, jurist, moralist, and conversationalist, who took an active part in the various

ecclesiastical {{Short pages monitor Sometime in the 14th century, Godfrey, though well known in his own time, fell out of favour into near-total obscurity. Thomas Aquinas sparked plenty of controversy and discussion in philosophy and theology in the last quarter century of the 13th century. Many significant writers lived during this period, but for the most part, until the 20th century only Thomas Aquinas and

Duns Scotus John Duns Scotus ( – 8 November 1308), commonly called Duns Scotus ( ; ; "Duns the Scot"), was a Scottish Catholic priest and Franciscan friar, university professor, philosopher, and theologian. He is one of the four most important ...

received any recognition. Godfrey may have been just as significant in his own time as these two, yet for some reason his works were only edited and published as of the early 20th century. This may have more to do with his political affiliation than anything else. Religious Scholars of this time became well known in the long run based mainly on how well promoted they were by the mendicant orders. Thomas Aquinas was promoted by the

Dominican order The Order of Preachers ( la, Ordo Praedicatorum) abbreviated OP, also known as the Dominicans, is a Catholic mendicant order of Pontifical Right for men founded in Toulouse, France, by the Spanish priest, saint and mystic Dominic of Cal ...

, and Duns Scotus was promoted by the

Franciscan order , image = FrancescoCoA PioM.svg , image_size = 200px , caption = A cross, Christ's arm and Saint Francis's arm, a universal symbol of the Franciscans , abbreviation = OFM , predecessor = , ...

. Despite this, Godfrey of Fontaines' writings had, by the 1960s, regained much popularity.

References

Sources