Authors

Question 0

Albertus Magnus

Answer 0

13th century Dominican friar Key figure in revival of Aristotle’s natural history Authority on physics, chemistry, geography, astronomy, botany, zoology, physiology and mineralogy Work influenced by Arabic scholars such as Avicenna and Averroes

Aimed to comment on all of Aristotle’s works

Question 0

Al-Biruni

Answer 0

10th-11th centuries Moslem scholar Author of around 150 texts, 22 survive Cover astronomy, physics, medicine, ethnography and geography

Question 0

Alexander Neckham

Answer 0

12th-13th centuries Augustinian canon, abbot of Cirencester De Naturis Rerum most extensive work- provided commentary on Book of Ecclesiastes in 5 books, 2 dedicated to natural world

Question 1

Abelard of Bath

Answer 1

Early 12th century Influenced by contact with Arabic scholars Author on astrology, cosmology, natural philosophy. Works include Quaestiones Naturales which sought to combine Platonic and Aristotelian ideas.

Question 2

Aristotle

Answer 2

4th century BC Athenian student of Plato Author of Libri Naturales, one of most important texts in medieval period Formative ideas for Moslem, and after translation, European scholars Works condemned by church in 1270 and 1277, banned from university of Paris

Question 3

Augustine of Hippo

Answer 3

4th-5th century Bishop, saint and early church father Tried to reconcile Neoplatonic conception of creation of cosmos with biblical narrative in Genesis, in De Genesi ad Litteram

Question 3

Bartholomew the Englishman

Answer 3

13th century Franciscan friar, studied in England, France, saxony Encyclopaedia De Proprietatibus Rerum in 19 books, compiled c. 1245 Drew on patristic, Neoplatonic, newly translated Aristotelian works. Paris textbook by 1284

Wrote to educate young friars in his order

Question 4

Bede

Answer 4

7th-8th century Monk, historian, scientist De Natura Rerum, De Temporibus, De Temporum Rationale Empirical observation of timing of tides and moon phase using network of correspondents around England Astronomical observation and mathematical calculation to establish timing of Easter

Wrote for his community

Question 4

Boethius

Answer 4

5th-6th century Member of royal court of Ostrogoth King Theodoric Consolatio Philosophiae written when facing execution Archetype for later Neoplatonic writers- Bernard Silvestris and Alan of Lille

Question 5

Calcidius

Answer 5

4th century Translator of Plato Timaeus Most comprehensive work of Natural philosophy until rediscovery of Aristotle

Question 6

Constantine the African

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11th century Benedictine monk Translated Arabic-Latin works of Hippocrates and Galen

Question 6

Frederick II

Answer 6

12th-13th century Holy Roman Emperor, great patron and promoter of translation movement De Arte Venandi Cum Avibus- careful firsthand observation of bird behaviour

Question 7

Gerard of Cremona

Answer 7

12th century Lombard scholar Translator Arabic-Latin: Ptolemy’s Almagest, Aristotle Libri Naturales, Galen medical works, Avicenna al-Qanun fi’ al-Tibb

Question 8

Gershon ben Shlomah of Arles

Answer 8

13th century Rabbi, author of Sha’ar ha-Shamayim: one of most important Judaic encyclopaedias of MA Drew from Arabic authorities and Aristotle

Question 9

Hildegard Von Bingen

Answer 9

12th century German Benedictine abbess Physica- short encyclopaedia on natural science Causae et Curae- cosmologico medical manual

Question 9

Hippocrates

Answer 9

5th-4th century BC The father of medicine First to suggest that ill health came from imbalance in 4 humours Ideas built on by Galen and adopted by Arab and Christian scholars

Question 10

Ibn Rushd (Averroes)

Answer 10

12th century Spanish Moslem philosopher Commentaries on Avicenna and Galen, but notably Aristotle, reviving Greek philosophy in West Strong opponent of Neoplatonism

Question 11

Ibn Sina (Avicenna)

Answer 11

10th-11th century Moslem philosopher and physician whose al-Qanun fi’l-Tibb became the standard medical textbook in both the Latin West and Islamic world until EM period Described as ‘Aristotelian Neoplatonism’

Question 12

John Scotus Eriugena

Answer 12

9th century Irish scholar, head of palace school of Charles the Bald Greatest achievement Periphyseon/De Divisione Naturae, condemned in 13th century as heretical

Question 13

Konrad of Megenburg

Answer 13

14th century Bavarian scholar author of first natural history in German Das Buch der Natur Based on Cantimpré’s De Natura Rerum but revised and restructured with original contributions

Question 14

Marbode

Answer 14

11th-12th century Bishop of Rennes Liber de Lapidibus- popular versified lapidary

Question 15

Physiologus

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C. 2nd-4th century Anonymous Greek, probably Alexandria Second only to bible in influence on Christian thought Used animals for allegory and moralising Formed model for later bestiaries

Question 18

Plato

Answer 18

5th-4th century Athenian philosopher, author of Timaeus Presents systematic account of creation and components of universe 53 chapters translated by Calcidius in 4th century Remained unchallenged until recovery of Aristotle, 12th & 13th century Traces of Timaeus can be found in many medieval works

Question 20

Dioscorides

Answer 20

1st century De Materia Medica- medical treatise on plants, formed basis of medieval herbal tradition

Question 20

Galen

Answer 20

2nd-3rd century? Roman physician Works translated to Arabic by 9th century, formed basis of Islamic medicine Key to establishment of medical school at Salerno

Question 21

Pliny the Elder

Answer 21

1st century Civil servant Naturalis Historia- 37 books, geography, ethnography, physiology, zoology, botany, pharmacology, mineralogy Widely consulted in MA- classical learning passed through it into medieval world

Question 23

Ptolemy

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1st-2nd century Astronomer, astrologer and geographer Algamest- basis for all later medieval astronomy Tetrabiblos also influential

Question 24

Isidore of Seville

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6th-7th century Bishop of Seville Best known for Etymologiae- encyclopaedia in 22 books, covering cosmology, physiology, zoology, botany, agriculture and mineralogy Though Isidore much classical learning transmitted to Latin West Less known De Natura Rerum, explanation of natural phenomena reworked by Bede later

Question 25

Rabanus Maurus

Answer 25

8th-9th century Abbot of Fulda, Archbishop of Mainz De Rerum Naturis/De Universo- 840s in 22 books. Anatomy, animals, time, waters, oceans, rivers, flooding, regions, physical geography, geology agriculture

Question 26

Robert Grosseteste

Answer 26

12th-13th century Bishop of Lincoln, taught at Oxford Original work- planets, sound, tide, optics Commented on Aristotle

Question 28

Roger Bacon

Answer 28

13th century Franciscan friar, scientist, philosopher Opus Maius- mathematics, optics, astronomy Pioneer of experimental science Scathing about Albertus Magnus and reliance of scholars on ancient authorities

Question 30

Solinus

Answer 30

3rd-4th century Collectanea Rerum Memorabilium/De Mirabilibus Mundi- reworking of Pliny Naturalis Historia Brevity and focus on fabulous creatures ensured popularity in MA

Question 33

Theophrastus

Answer 33

4th-3rd century BC Two botanical treatises- Historia Plantarum, dealing with reproduction, habitat, size etc. and De Causis Plantarum, dealing with taxonomy and practicalities of growing Influential after translation, borrowed by medieval scholars

Question 34

Thomas Aquinas

Answer 34

13th century Dominican friar, student of Albertus Magnus Advocate and disseminator of Aristotelian natural philosophy through commentaries on Physica, Meteorologica, De Generatione et Corruptione and De Caleo Used Aristotelian natural philosophy to inform on theology, not vice versa

Question 35

Thomas of Cantimpré

Answer 35

13th century Augustinian canon, later Dominican friar Liber de Natura Rerum- encyclopaedia in 20 books of all aspects of nature Drawn upon by Albertus Magnus, Bartholomeus and Vincent of Beauvais

Question 36

Vincent of Beauvais

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12th-13th century Dominican friar, author of Speculum Maius- most comprehensive account of 13th c natural philosophy - 30 books, over 3,700 chapters

Question 37

William of Conches

Answer 37

11th-12th century French scholar, part of School of Chartres- glosses of Plato Timaeus and Boethius Consolatio Philosophiae Major work De Philosophia Mundie, revised as Dragmaticon- physics, astronomy, geography, meteorology, medicine in 4 books

Wrote dialogues- classical form of writing

Question 38

William of Moerbeke

Answer 38

13th century Flemish Dominican Greatest 13th century translator of Greek-Latin Over 50 translations inc. Aristotle

Question 39

Dominicans

Answer 39

Great advocates of learning and scholarship- the Order was founded for two purposes: preaching and the salvation of souls. They believed that you could not preach what you did not understand, and so study became a very important part of their lives. Matthew Paris was sent by Saint Dominic to found a school near the University of Paris, the first of many Dominican schools. The Dominican Order was, along with the Franciscan Order, a mendicant order. Its monks lived in voluntary poverty as a symbol of their piety.

Question 40

Carthusians

Answer 40

Closed-order. Monks live in isolation and are only allowed to speak once a week. They have very little contact with the outside world, spending most of the time doing individual meditation or prayer in their room.

Question 41

Cistercian

Answer 41

The cistercian order was founded as a reaction to the increasing wealth of many Benedictine monasteries. The cistercians were more sincere about their self-imposed poverty and even their architecture was simpler.

Question 42

Augustinian

Answer 42

The Augustinian Order laid less emphasis on poverty. Their main goals were to educate and heal society. The canons represented a clerical adaptatin of monastic life. Following St. Augustine, they aimed to lead a more dedicated way of lige, and were pastoral workers in the community who had taken religious vows.