William of Auvergne (1180/90–1249) was a French theologian and philosopher who served as

Bishop of Paris The Archdiocese of Paris (Latin: ''Archidioecesis Parisiensis''; French: ''Archidiocèse de Paris'') is a Latin Church ecclesiastical jurisdiction or archdiocese of the Catholic Church in France. It is one of twenty-three archdioceses in France ...

from 1228 until his death. He was one of the first western European philosophers to engage with and comment extensively upon Aristotelian and

Islamic Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God (or '' Allah'') as it was revealed to Muhammad, the mai ...

philosophy. He is also known as Guillaume d'Auvergne, Guilielmus Alvernus, or William of Paris.

Early life

Very little is known of William's early life. He was born in

Aurillac Aurillac (; oc, Orlhac ) is the prefecture of the Cantal department, in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of France. The inhabitants of the commune are known as ''Aurillacois'' or ''Aurillacoises''. Geography Aurillac is at above sea leve ...

and the likely date range for his birth is reckoned from the fact that a professor of Theology normally needed to be at least 35 years old. If that holds good, then William could have been born as early as 1180 or as late as 1190. He went to Paris to study and earned a master's degree in

Theology 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 ...

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 ...

. 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 ...

, he was made a professor first in the faculty of arts and then in 1220 in that of theology. His theology was systematically Aristotelian, although not uncritically so, and he was the first theologian to attempt to reconcile

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 ...

with

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

doctrine Doctrine (from la, doctrina, meaning "teaching, instruction") is a codification of beliefs or a body of teachings or instructions, taught principles or positions, as the essence of teachings in a given branch of knowledge or in a belief system ...

, and especially with the teachings of

Augustine of Hippo Augustine of Hippo ( , ; la, Aurelius Augustinus Hipponensis; 13 November 354 – 28 August 430), also known as Saint Augustine, was a theologian and philosopher of Berber origin and the bishop of Hippo Regius in Numidia, Roman North Af ...

. The Aristotelian texts which were then available in Western Europe were few in number and mostly

Arab The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Western Asia, ...

translations. William sought to rescue Aristotle from the

Arabia The Arabian Peninsula, (; ar, شِبْهُ الْجَزِيرَةِ الْعَرَبِيَّة, , "Arabian Peninsula" or , , "Island of the Arabs") or Arabia, is a peninsula of Western Asia, situated northeast of Africa on the Arabian Plate. ...

ns and worked to refute certain doctrines, such as the eternality of the world and the

heresy Heresy is any belief or theory that is strongly at variance with established beliefs or customs, in particular the accepted beliefs of a church or religious organization. The term is usually used in reference to violations of important religi ...

Catharism Catharism (; from the grc, καθαροί, katharoi, "the pure ones") was a Christian dualist or Gnostic movement between the 12th and 14th centuries which thrived in Southern Europe, particularly in northern Italy and southern France. Follow ...

. His major work is the Magisterium Divinale, which has been translated as "Teaching on God in the Mode of Wisdom".

Career

By 1223, William was a

canon Canon or Canons may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Canon (fiction), the conceptual material accepted as official in a fictional universe by its fan base * Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture ** Western ca ...

at the Notre Dame

cathedral A cathedral is a church that contains the '' cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denomination ...

. Upon the death of the bishop of Paris,

Bartholomaeus Bartholomeus or Bartholomaeus or Barthelomaeus is a masculine Latin given name, the Latin equivalent of Bartholomew. The German cognate is Bartholomäus. Notable people with the name include: * Bartholomeus Amadeus degli Amidei (died 1266), Ita ...

(20 October 1227), the canons elected Nicolas as the next bishop. William was dissatisfied with this outcome and went to Rome to ask the Pope to intervene. Whilst in Rome he made such a strong impression on

Pope Gregory IX Pope Gregory IX ( la, Gregorius IX; born Ugolino di Conti; c. 1145 or before 1170 – 22 August 1241) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 19 March 1227 until his death in 1241. He is known for issuing the '' Decre ...

that the pope chose William in 1228 to be the next bishop of Paris. As

bishop of Paris The Archdiocese of Paris (Latin: ''Archidioecesis Parisiensis''; French: ''Archidiocèse de Paris'') is a Latin Church ecclesiastical jurisdiction or archdiocese of the Catholic Church in France. It is one of twenty-three archdioceses in France ...

William was a strong supporter of the university although his episcopacy was not without controversy in the eyes of the university. Following a heavy-handed use of royal force, which led to several students being killed in Paris, university staff turned to William expecting him to defend them. His failure to do so led to a university strike with many prominent masters and students leaving to go to other cities where they then founded new schools and universities. With the academic staff on strike William decided to appoint

Roland of Cremona Roland of Cremona (around 1178–1259) was a Dominican theologian and an early scholastic philosopher. He was the first Dominican regent master at Paris, France (1229–1230).''The Early Scholastics'', ''The Problem Of The Soul In The Thirteenth Ce ...

OP to a master's chair in theology, thus beginning a long and distinguished tradition in which Dominican and Franciscan masters taught at the university. Whilst William was a strong advocate for the use of reason and academic study in theology, he also maintained that academic theology was at the service of the church and must conform to doctrinal requirements. As a result of this in January 1241 he published a list of 10 theological propositions which he condemned and ordered should not be taught at the university.Medieval Sourcebook, University of Paris condemnation of errors 1241
accessed on 23 August 2010 During his episcopate he also took action against

prostitution Prostitution is the business or practice of engaging in Sex work, sexual activity in exchange for payment. The definition of "sexual activity" varies, and is often defined as an activity requiring physical contact (e.g., sexual intercourse, n ...

in the city. In 1248, he served on the

Regency A regent (from Latin : ruling, governing) is a person appointed to govern a state '' pro tempore'' (Latin: 'for the time being') because the monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge the powers and duties of the monarchy ...

council during

Louis IX Louis IX (25 April 1214 – 25 August 1270), commonly known as Saint Louis or Louis the Saint, was King of France from 1226 to 1270, and the most illustrious of the Direct Capetians. He was crowned in Reims at the age of 12, following the d ...

's absence on the Seventh Crusade.

Works

*''Teaching on God in the mode of Wisdom (Magisterium Divinale et Sapientiale)'' (consisting of the following seven works) **''Why God became Man (Cur Deus Homo)'' **''On the Soul (de anima)'' **''On Faith and Laws (de fide et legibus)'' **''On the Virtues (de virtutibus)'' **''On the Sacraments (de sacramentis)'' **''On the Trinity (de trinitate)'' **''On the World (de universo)'' *''The Faces of the World (de faciebus mundi)'' *''The Art of Preaching (de arte praedicandi)'' *''On Good and Evil (de bono et malo)'' *''On the cloister of the Soul (de claustro animae)'' *''On Granting Benefices (de collatione et singularitate beneficiorum)'' *''On Grace and Free judgement (de gratia et libero arbitrio)'' *''On the praises of patience (de laudibus patientiae)'' *''On the Mass (de missa)'' *''On the passion of the Lord (de passione Domini)'' *''A New Tract on Penance (de paenitentia novus tractatus)'' *''Commentary on Ecclesiastes (In Ecclesiasten)'' *''Commentary on Proverbs (In Proverbia)'' *''Divine Rhetoric (Rhetorica divina)''

Translations

*''Selected spiritual writings: Why God became man; On grace; On faith'', translated by Roland J Teske, Medieval Sources in Translation 50, (Toronto: Pontifical Institute of Mediaeval Studies, 2011) *''The providence of God regarding the universe: part three of the first principal part of The universe of creatures'', translated by Roland J. Teske, (Milwaukee: Marquette University Press, 2007) *''The soul'', translated by Roland J Teske, Medieval philosophical texts in translation, (Milwaukee: Marquette University Press, 2000) *''On the virtues: part one of On the virtues and vices'', translated by Roland J Teske, (Milwaukee: Marquette University Press, 2009) *''The universe of creatures'', selections translated by Roland J. Teske, (Milwaukee: Marquette University Press, 1998) *''The immortality of the soul = De immortalitate animae'', translated by Roland J. Teske, (Milwaukee: Marquette University Press, 1991) *''The Trinity, or, The first principle = De Trinitate, seu De primo principio'', translated by Roland J. Teske and Francis C. Wade, (Milwaukee: Marquette University Press, 1989) *''Rhetorica divina, seu ars oratoria eloquentiae divinae'', Latin text and translation by Roland J. Teske, ( Dallas Medieval Texts and Translations 17, Leuven, Peeters, 2013)

Notes

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Auvergne, William Of 1249 deaths 1190 births Bishops of Paris 13th-century philosophers Scholastic philosophers 13th-century French Roman Catholic bishops 13th-century French writers 13th-century Latin writers