A History of Twelfth-Century Western Philosophy

This is the first comprehensive study of the philosophical achievements of twelfth-century Western Europe. It is the collaboration of fifteen scholars whose detailed survey makes accessible the intellectual preoccupations of the period, with all texts cited in English translation throughout. After a discussion of the cultural context of twelfth-century speculation, and some of the main streams of thought - Platonic, Stoic, and Arabic - that quickened it, comes a characterisation of the new problems and perspectives of the period, in scientific inquiry, speculative grammar, and logic. This is followed by a closer examination of the distinctive features of some of the most innovative thinkers of the time, from Anselm and Abelard to the School of Chartres. A final section shows the impact of newly recovered works of Aristotle in the twelfth-century West.

Preface; Contributors; List of abbreviations; Introduction Peter Dronke; Part I. Background: 1. Philosophy, cosmology, and the twelfth-century Renaissance Winthrop Wetherbee; 2. The platonic inheritance Tullio Gregory; 3. The Stoic inheritance Michael Lapidge; 4. The Arabic inheritance Jean Jolivet; Part II. New Perspectives: 5. Scientific speculations Charles Burnett; 6. Speculative grammar Karin Margareta Fredborg; 7. Logic (i): from the late eleventh century ot the time of Abelard Martin M. Tweedale; 8. Logic (ii): the later twelfth century Klaus Jacobi; Part III. Innovators: 9. Anselm of Canterbury Stephen Gersh; 10. Peter Abelard D. E. Luscombe; 11. William of Conches Dorothy Elford; 12. Gilbert of Poitiers a note on the Porretani John Marenbon; 13. Thierry of Chartres Peter Dronke; 14. Hermann of Carinthia Charles Burnett; Part IV. The Entry of the ‘New’ Aristotle: 15. Aristotelian thought in Salerno Danielle Jacquart; 16. David of Dinant and the beginnings of Aristoteliansim in Paris Enzo Maccagnolo; Bio-biographies; General bibliography; Index of manuscripts; General index.