Summary:
The overall theme of this codex is the soul: three of the four
texts discuss this subject directly, while the fourth covers a
closely related subject. The first tekst (ff. 1r-22r) is the Summa
de anima; one of the main writings by Franciscan theologian Jean de
la Rochelle (Johannes de Rupella, d. 1245), a student of Alexander
of Hales. This summa, a medieval genre aiming at synthesizing all
knowledge regarding a particular subject, discusses the nature of
the soul and made use not only of Christian texts, but also of the
newly translated works of Aristotle and Plato. In this text La
Rochelle discusses the soul from an Aristotelian perspective and
divides it into a higher part, being spiritual, and a lower part,
being corporeal. The second text (ff. 23r-70r) is the Commentum de
anima of the Islamic scholar Averroes (1126-1198), in the Latin
translation of Michael Scot. As one of Averroes' so-called long
commentaries, this text contains the full Aristotelian text of De
anima accompanied by a line-by-line analysis. Unlike his shorter
commentaries, the longer ones contain more much original thought.
Aristotle's De anima has also been commented on in a series of
Quaestiones (ff. 71r-111r) by the French philosopher Nicholas
d'Oresme (d. 1382), which follows here as the third text. The final
text in the codex (ff. 112r-117v) is Thomas Aquinas' De esse et
essentia, a treatise in which the soul features heavily. The origin
of the texts differ. The first and last text were written in the
thirteenth century; the centre two in the fourteenth. As a result,
each text is also a separate textual unit, both in script and
further embellishments. In general, all texts have been written in
two columns per page. The script is a textualis, with the exception
of the third text, which is a cursiva. Titles were originally not
present; they are either found in the explicits or have been added
by later hands. The degree of decoration varies. Averroes' and
Aquinas' texts have been decorated throughout; the former in red
ink and with lombards, the latter in red and blue and with penwork
initials. Of La Rochelle's Summa, only the first recto contains
initials, in red ink. In Oresme's text, they are fully absent:
spaces for initials are nonetheless present. The binding is
medieval and consists of full leather over wooden boards. The
fenestra has survived and is attached to the back board. The codex
was originally owned by the Ter Doest abbey, and found its way into
the collection of Ten Duinen. The cross-shaped stamp of the latter
abbey is found on the first and final leaves. [Summary by Dr. Mark
Vermeer] Title:
Summa Iohannis de rupella de anima. Commentum auerroys super de
anima cum textu. Item questiones super eundem librum et liber esse
et de essentia [fenestratitel] Note:
Op f. 117v, onder de laatste tekstkolom, staat een vermelding van
een mogelijke prijs of betaling: 'VIII s[olidi]' Topic general subdivision:
Wijsbegeerte
Godsdienst Material:
Perkament Extent:
117 ff. + i. Dimensions:
242 x 180 mm Decoration and binding:
Middeleeuwse band Script:
gotische textualisgotische semi-textualisgotische cursiva
recentior Provenance:
Cisterciënzerabdij Ter Doest (S.O.Cist.)
Cisterciënzerabdij Ten Duinen (S.O.Cist.)
