You are here

Bridging Discourse: Connections Between Institutional and Lay Natural Philosophical Texts in Medieval England

Download pdf | Full Screen View

Date Issued:
2015
Abstract/Description:
Translations of works containing Arabic and ancient Greek knowledge of the philosophical and mechanical underpinnings of the natural world(-)a field of study called natural philosophy(-)were disseminated throughout twelfth-century England. During the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, institutional (ecclesiastical/university) scholars received and further developed this natural philosophical knowledge by reconciling it with Christian authoritative sources (the Bible and works by the Church Fathers). The subsequent discourse that developed demonstrated ambivalence towards natural philosophical knowledge; institutional scholars expressed both acceptance and anxiety regarding the theory and practice of alchemy, astrology/astronomy, and humoral/astrological medicine. While the institutional development and discourse surrounding natural philosophical thought is well-represented within medieval scholarship, an examination of the transmission and reception of this institutional discourse by broader sectors of English medieval society is needed. Examining fourteenth- and fifteenth-century Middle English public writings, texts, and copies of Latin works provides an important avenue of analysis when exploring the transmission and reception of institutional natural philosophical discourse to the laity. By comparing the similarities of discourse evident between the institutional and lay texts and the textual approaches the Middle English writers employed to incorporate this discourse, these works demonstrate that the spheres of institutional and lay knowledge traditionally separated by medieval historians overlapped as the clerics and laity began sharing a similar understanding of the philosophical underpinnings of the natural world.
Title: Bridging Discourse: Connections Between Institutional and Lay Natural Philosophical Texts in Medieval England.
46 views
13 downloads
Name(s): Lorden, Alayne, Author
Larson, Peter, Committee Chair
Zhang, Hong, Committee Member
Crepeau, Richard, Committee Member
University of Central Florida, Degree Grantor
Type of Resource: text
Date Issued: 2015
Publisher: University of Central Florida
Language(s): English
Abstract/Description: Translations of works containing Arabic and ancient Greek knowledge of the philosophical and mechanical underpinnings of the natural world(-)a field of study called natural philosophy(-)were disseminated throughout twelfth-century England. During the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, institutional (ecclesiastical/university) scholars received and further developed this natural philosophical knowledge by reconciling it with Christian authoritative sources (the Bible and works by the Church Fathers). The subsequent discourse that developed demonstrated ambivalence towards natural philosophical knowledge; institutional scholars expressed both acceptance and anxiety regarding the theory and practice of alchemy, astrology/astronomy, and humoral/astrological medicine. While the institutional development and discourse surrounding natural philosophical thought is well-represented within medieval scholarship, an examination of the transmission and reception of this institutional discourse by broader sectors of English medieval society is needed. Examining fourteenth- and fifteenth-century Middle English public writings, texts, and copies of Latin works provides an important avenue of analysis when exploring the transmission and reception of institutional natural philosophical discourse to the laity. By comparing the similarities of discourse evident between the institutional and lay texts and the textual approaches the Middle English writers employed to incorporate this discourse, these works demonstrate that the spheres of institutional and lay knowledge traditionally separated by medieval historians overlapped as the clerics and laity began sharing a similar understanding of the philosophical underpinnings of the natural world.
Identifier: CFE0005830 (IID), ucf:50916 (fedora)
Note(s): 2015-08-01
M.A.
Arts and Humanities, History
Masters
This record was generated from author submitted information.
Subject(s): natural philosophy -- medieval alchemy -- medieval astrology -- medieval astronomy -- Geoffrey Chaucer -- John Gower -- Robert Grosseteste -- Roger Bacon -- Thomas Aquinas -- Gilbertus Anglicus -- Canterbury Tales -- Treatise on the Astrolabe -- Aristotelian natural philosophy -- medieval English medicine -- medieval discourse
Persistent Link to This Record: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0005830
Restrictions on Access: public 2015-08-15
Host Institution: UCF

In Collections