William Of Conches
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William of Conches (c. 1090/1091 – c. 1155/1170s) was a French 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 ...
who sought to expand the bounds of
Christian humanism Christian humanism regards humanist principles like universal human dignity, individualism, individual freedom, and the importance of happiness as essential and principal or even exclusive components of the teachings of Jesus. Proponents of the te ...
by studying secular works of the classics and fostering empirical science. He was a prominent member of the
School of Chartres During the High Middle Ages, the Chartres Cathedral established the cathedral School of Chartres, an important center of French scholarship located in Chartres. It developed and reached its apex during the transitional period of the 11th and 12th ...
.
John of Salisbury John of Salisbury (late 1110s – 25 October 1180), who described himself as Johannes Parvus ("John the Little"), was an English author, philosopher, educationalist, diplomat and bishop of Chartres. Early life and education Born at Salisbury, E ...
, a
bishop of Chartres The oldest known list of bishops of Chartres is found in an 11th-century manuscript of Trinity Abbey, Vendôme. It includes 57 names from Adventus (Saint Aventin) to Aguiertus (Agobert) who died in 1060. The most well-known list is included in the ...
and former student of William's, refers to William as the most talented grammarian after
Bernard of Chartres Bernard of Chartres ( la, Bernardus Carnotensis; died after 1124) was a twelfth-century French Neo-Platonist philosopher, scholar, and administrator. Life The date and place of his birth are unknown. He was believed to have been the elder bro ...
.


Life

He was born in Conches,
Normandy Normandy (; french: link=no, Normandie ; nrf, Normaundie, Nouormandie ; from Old French , plural of ''Normant'', originally from the word for "northman" in several Scandinavian languages) is a geographical and cultural region in Northwestern ...
. His teaching activity extended from c. 1120 to 1154, and about the year 1145 he became the tutor of Henry Plantagenet. It is possible, but uncertain, that he was teaching at
Chartres Chartres () is the prefecture of the Eure-et-Loir department in the Centre-Val de Loire region in France. It is located about southwest of Paris. At the 2019 census, there were 170,763 inhabitants in the metropolitan area of Chartres (as d ...
before that. Warned by a friend of the danger implied in his Platonic realism as he applied it to theology, he took up the study of
Islamic philosophy Islamic philosophy is philosophy that emerges from the Islamic tradition. Two terms traditionally used in the Islamic world are sometimes translated as philosophy—falsafa (literally: "philosophy"), which refers to philosophy as well as logic, ...
and
physical science Physical science is a branch of natural science that studies non-living systems, in contrast to life science. It in turn has many branches, each referred to as a "physical science", together called the "physical sciences". Definition Physi ...
. When and where he died is a matter of uncertainty. William devoted much attention to
cosmology Cosmology () is a branch of physics and metaphysics dealing with the nature of the universe. The term ''cosmology'' was first used in English in 1656 in Thomas Blount (lexicographer), Thomas Blount's ''Glossographia'', and in 1731 taken up in ...
and
psychology Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Psychology includes the study of conscious and unconscious phenomena, including feelings and thoughts. It is an academic discipline of immense scope, crossing the boundaries betwe ...
. Having been a student of Bernard of Chartres, he shows the characteristic
Humanism Humanism is a philosophical stance that emphasizes the individual and social potential and agency of human beings. It considers human beings the starting point for serious moral and philosophical inquiry. The meaning of the term "humani ...
, tendency towards Platonism, and taste for natural science which distinguish the "Chartrains". He is one of the first of the medieval Christian philosophers to take advantage of Islamic physical and physiological lore, to which he had access in the translations by
Constantine the African Constantine the African ( la, Constantinus Africanus; died before 1098/1099, Monte Cassino) was a physician who lived in the 11th century. The first part of his life was spent in Ifriqiya and the rest in Italy. He first arrived in Italy in the c ...
.
William of St. Thierry William of Saint-Thierry, O. Cist (French: ''Guillaume de Saint-Thierry''; Latin: ''Guillelmus S. Theodorici''; 1075/80/85–1148) was a twelfth-century Benedictine, theologian and mystic from Liège who became abbot of Saint-Thierry in France, ...
, who had encouraged
Bernard of Clairvaux Bernard of Clairvaux, O. Cist. ( la, Bernardus Claraevallensis; 109020 August 1153), venerated as Saint Bernard, was an abbot, mystic, co-founder of the Knights Templars, and a major leader in the reformation of the Benedictine Order through ...
to prosecute
Abelard Peter Abelard (; french: link=no, Pierre Abélard; la, Petrus Abaelardus or ''Abailardus''; 21 April 1142) was a medieval French scholastic philosopher, leading logician, theologian, poet, composer and musician. This source has a detailed desc ...
, in another letter to Bernard attacked William's ''De philosophia mundi'' for having a
modalist Modalistic Monarchianism, also known as Modalism or Oneness Christology, is a Christian theology upholding the oneness of God as well as the divinity of Jesus; as a form of Monarchianism, it stands in contrast with Trinitarianism. Modalistic Monarc ...
view of the
Holy Trinity The Christian doctrine of the Trinity (, from 'threefold') is the central dogma concerning the nature of God in most Christian churches, which defines one God existing in three coequal, coeternal, consubstantial divine persons: God the F ...
. William in consequence revised some controversial parts in the ''Dragmaticon''.


Works

There is a good deal of discussion regarding the authorship of the works ascribed to William. It seems probable, however, that he wrote the encyclopedic ''De philosophia mundi'' (or ''Philosophia'') and the related dialogue ''Dragmaticon'', as well as glosses on
Plato Plato ( ; grc-gre, Πλάτων ; 428/427 or 424/423 – 348/347 BC) was a Greek philosopher born in Athens during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. He founded the Platonist school of thought and the Academy, the first institution ...
's ''
Timaeus Timaeus (or Timaios) is a Greek name. It may refer to: * ''Timaeus'' (dialogue), a Socratic dialogue by Plato *Timaeus of Locri, 5th-century BC Pythagorean philosopher, appearing in Plato's dialogue *Timaeus (historian) (c. 345 BC-c. 250 BC), Greek ...
'', on
Boethius Anicius Manlius Severinus Boethius, commonly known as Boethius (; Latin: ''Boetius''; 480 – 524 AD), was a Roman senator, consul, ''magister officiorum'', historian, and philosopher of the Early Middle Ages. He was a central figure in the tr ...
's ''
Consolation of Philosophy ''On the Consolation of Philosophy'' ('' la, De consolatione philosophiae'')'','' often titled as ''The Consolation of Philosophy'' or simply the ''Consolation,'' is a philosophical work by the Roman statesman Boethius. Written in 523 while he ...
'', on
Priscian Priscianus Caesariensis (), commonly known as Priscian ( or ), was a Latin grammarian and the author of the ''Institutes of Grammar'', which was the standard textbook for the study of Latin during the Middle Ages. It also provided the raw materia ...
's ''Institutiones grammaticae'', and on
Macrobius Macrobius Ambrosius Theodosius, usually referred to as Macrobius (fl. AD 400), was a Roman provincial who lived during the early fifth century, during late antiquity, the period of time corresponding to the Later Roman Empire, and when Latin was ...
's ''Commentary on the
Dream of Scipio A dream is a succession of images, ideas, emotions, and sensations that usually occur involuntarily in the mind during certain stages of sleep. Humans spend about two hours dreaming per night, and each dream lasts around 5 to 20 minutes, althou ...
''. He was probably also the author of a lost treatise '' Magna de naturis philosophia''. A work on
ethics Ethics or moral philosophy is a branch of philosophy that "involves systematizing, defending, and recommending concepts of right and wrong behavior".''Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy'' The field of ethics, along with aesthetics, concerns m ...
, the '' Moralium dogma philosophorum'', was attributed to him in the 1920s, but his authorship is now rejected by most scholars.


''De philosophia mundi''

The ''De philosophia mundi'' is divided into four books, covering
physics Physics is the natural science that studies matter, its fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge which r ...
,
astronomy Astronomy () is a natural science that studies astronomical object, celestial objects and phenomena. It uses mathematics, physics, and chemistry in order to explain their origin and chronology of the Universe, evolution. Objects of interest ...
,
geography Geography (from Greek: , ''geographia''. Combination of Greek words ‘Geo’ (The Earth) and ‘Graphien’ (to describe), literally "earth description") is a field of science devoted to the study of the lands, features, inhabitants, and ...
,
meteorology Meteorology is a branch of the atmospheric sciences (which include atmospheric chemistry and physics) with a major focus on weather forecasting. The study of meteorology dates back millennia, though significant progress in meteorology did not ...
and
medicine Medicine is the science and practice of caring for a patient, managing the diagnosis, prognosis, prevention, treatment, palliation of their injury or disease, and promoting their health. Medicine encompasses a variety of health care pract ...
. William explains the world as composed of elements (''elementa''), which he defines as "the simplest and minimum part of any body—simple in quality, minimum in quantity". He identifies the elements with the traditional four elements (fire, air, water, earth) but (following Constantine the African) not as they are perceived, since as such they are neither simple in quality nor minimum in quantity: earth, for example, contains something hot, something cold, something dry and something wet at the same time. Pure elements are not to be perceived, says William, but to be grasped by reason, through an abstract division of the sensible bodies. Each of these pure elements has two of the four basic qualities: earth is cold and dry, water is cold and humid, air is hot and humid and fire is hot and dry. The perceivable elements, called ''elementata'',"Si ergo illis digna velimus imponere nomina, particulas praedictas dicamus «elementa», ista quae videntur «elementata»" (''Ibidem''). are made of pure elements: the sensible earth especially of pure earth, the sensible water especially of pure water, and so on. The discussion of meteorology includes a description of air becoming less dense and colder as the altitude increases, and William attempts to explain the circulation of the air in connection with the circulation of the oceans. The discussion of medicine deals chiefly with procreation and childbirth. This work influenced Jean de Meung, the author of the second part of the ''
Roman de la Rose ''Le Roman de la Rose'' (''The Romance of the Rose'') is a medieval poem written in Old French and presented as an allegorical dream vision. As poetry, ''The Romance of the Rose'' is a notable instance of courtly literature, purporting to provid ...
''.


Editions and translations

*''De philosophia mundi'' is edited under the name of
Bede Bede ( ; ang, Bǣda , ; 672/326 May 735), also known as Saint Bede, The Venerable Bede, and Bede the Venerable ( la, Beda Venerabilis), was an English monk at the monastery of St Peter and its companion monastery of St Paul in the Kingdom o ...
in ''
Patrologia Latina The ''Patrologia Latina'' (Latin for ''The Latin Patrology'') is an enormous collection of the writings of the Church Fathers and other ecclesiastical writers published by Jacques-Paul Migne between 1841 and 1855, with indices published between ...
'', vol. 90, and under the name of
Honorius Augustodunensis Honorius Augustodunensis (c. 1080 – c. 1140), commonly known as Honorius of Autun, was a very popular 12th-century Christian theologian who wrote prolifically on many subjects. He wrote in a non-scholastic manner, with a lively style, and his wor ...
in vol. 172. * Gregor Maurach, ed., ''Philosophia Mundi; Wilhelm von Conches: Ausgabe des 1. Buchs von Wilhelm von Conches Philosophia''. Pretoria:
University of South Africa The University of South Africa (UNISA), known colloquially as Unisa, is the largest university system in South Africa by enrollment. It attracts a third of all higher education students in South Africa. Through various colleges and affiliates, U ...
, 1974. * Marco Albertazzi, ed., ''Philosophia''. Lavis: La Finestra, 2010. * Édouard Jeauneau, ed., ''Glosae super Platonem''. Paris: Vrin, 1965. * Édouard Jeauneau, ed., ''Glosae super Platonem'', Corpus Christianorum Continuatio Mediaevalis 203. Turnhout: Brepols, 2006 (new revised edition) * Lodi Nauta, ed., ''Guillelmi de Conchis Glosae super Boetium'', Corpus Christianorum Continuatio Mediaevalis 158. Turnhout: Brepols, 1999. (hardback); (paperback) * Bradford Wilson, ed. ''Glosae in Iuvenalem'' Paris: Vrin, 1980. * Helen Rodnite Lemay, ed., ''Glosae super Macrobium'' (
State University of New York at Stony Brook Stony Brook University (SBU), officially the State University of New York at Stony Brook, is a public research university in Stony Brook, New York. Along with the University at Buffalo, it is one of the State University of New York system's ...
, forthcoming) * Irene Caiazzo, ed., ''Glosae super Priscianum'' (CNRS, Paris, forthcoming) * Italo Ronca, ed., ''Guillelmi de Conchis Dragmaticon'',
Corpus Christianorum The Corpus Christianorum (CC) is a major publishing undertaking of the Belgian publisher Brepols Publishers devoted to patristic and medieval Latin texts. The principal series are the ''Series Graeca'' (CCSG), ''Series Latina'' (CCSL), and the ''Co ...
Continuatio Mediaevalis 152. Turnhout: Brepols, 1997. (hardback); (paperback) * William of Conches, ''A Dialogue on Natural Philosophy (Dragmaticon Philosophiae)'', translation with an introduction by Italo Ronca and Matthew Curr, Notre Dame, Ind.: University of Notre Dame Press, 1997


See also

*
Renaissance of the 12th century The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass ideas ...


Notes


Further reading

*Peter Ellard, ''The Sacred Cosmos: Theological, Philosophical, and Scientific Conversations in the Twelfth Century School of Chartres'', University of Scranton Press, 2007


External links


Etexts of ''De philosophia mundi'' and ''Moralium dogma philosophorum''
at
The Latin Library The Latin Library is a website that collects public domain Latin texts. It is run by William L. Carey, adjunct professor of Latin and Roman Law at George Mason University. The texts have been drawn from different sources, are not intended for rese ...

Facsimile of ljs384, a late-12th-century manuscript of ''De philosophia mundi''
{{DEFAULTSORT:William Of Conches Scholastic philosophers 1150s deaths 12th-century French writers 12th-century French philosophers Year of birth uncertain Year of death unknown 1090s births French male writers Christian humanists 12th-century astronomers Medieval French astronomers 12th-century Latin writers Commentators on Plato