The journal, Medieval Philosophy and Theology, is on-line only

The journal, Medieval Philosophy and Theology, which began in 1991 at Notre Dame University but has since moved to Cornell University, has changed from being a printed journal to an on-line only journal. Here is the journal's general description of itself:

Medieval Philosophy and Theology is a semi-annual, peer-reviewed journal devoted to the publication of original articles in all areas of medieval philosophy, including logic and natural science, and in medieval theology, including Christian, Jewish, and Islamic. Coverage extends from the Patristic period through the Neo-Scholasticism of the seventeenth century.

…[b]eginning with volume 12 the journal will be publishing new issues exclusively [on-line], exclusively in digital format. All back issues of the journal are also accessible…in digital format.

The finely-wrought website has a search feature, and currently sports all the articles from volumes 1–6 in PDF format, with the hope that volumes 7–11 will be available soon.

Update on 2007-01-19 12:57 by Mark Johnson

The search feature on the site is very good. A quick search of the term “Aquinas” in the title-field yielded 12 hits of articles on Aquinas. I also found out, somewhat to my surprize, that full-text searches are possible, too. This surprized me because the PDF formats of many of the articles are the image-version of the format (the larger version), which is basically a graphic file of an already-printed document. Someone has been working very hard, here.

New English translation of the Summa theologiae in progress

Dr. Alfred J. Freddoso of Notre Dame, whose personal website is already a source of seemingly infinite learning, has embarked upon a new English translation of the Summa theologiae, which he hopes to publish with St. Augustine's Press before too, too long. In the interim he has taken to placing PDF versions of individual questions on-line as soon as he has them in "penultimate draft" form. As of this writing he has most of the Prima pars done, and chunks of the Prima secundae. Check it out, and don't forget his helpful commentaries, too.

The Virtual Basilica of Saint Francis of Assisi

This just in, from James Ginther at Saint Louis University:

Theologians Use Video Game Technology to Create Virtual Tour of 13th Century Basilica

Users can fly around structure and see famed frescoes up close

St Louis, MO (9 January 2007) – The Institute of Digital Theology, a non-profit foundation located in St Louis, Missouri and affiliated with Saint Louis University, announced today the release of the CD-ROM, "The Virtual Basilica of Saint Francis of Assisi ."

This new computer software allows users to explore on their own computer this medieval Italian church. The Basilica contains frescoes from the workshops of the early Italian Renaissance painters, Giotto and Cimabue. As a three-dimensional model, the Virtual Basilica permits users to walk and even fly freely about the building.

The Institute has combined gaming technology and digital photography to produce an innovative product. "Most virtual tours of historic buildings combine static, 360-degree panoramas and two dimensional images," noted Dr Jay Hammond, the Institute's President and Co-Director. "We have moved beyond this and have taken advantage of the 3D environment that game engines create." The model is based on laser-accurate measurements of the building and over 4,000 digital images that were taken prior to the disastrous earthquake of 1997. "The result," said Hammond, "is an electronic version of the Basilica before some of its artwork was irreparably damaged."

"We also chose a game engine to build the model," added Dr James Ginther, Vice-President and Co-Director, "because it would ensure the Virtual Basilica would run on the average PC and not on expensive computers that only universities can afford." The Institute's mission, Ginther continued, is to connect preservation of the past with the widest possible access today.

The CD-ROM also has maps and guides for the artwork so that the virtual visitor can learn about the artists, what the pictures depict and their written sources. It also reveals how each fresco fits into the larger narratives of the building. "Church wall paintings and frescoes were meant to tell a story," said Hammond, "and the Virtual Basilica can help the modern observer to understand once again the stories the Basilica of St Francis."

Built in the thirteenth century, the Basilica has stood over 700 years as a monument to the life and work of St Francis, the founder of the Franciscan order. The main set of frescoes tells the story of Francis' conversion to a life of poverty and simplicity and how he became an inspiration for the reform of European Christianity. That message has shaped his order of "lesser brothers" who have continued to teach his message to all Christians. In the last few decades, the Basilica has also become a place for an inter-religious prayer service three times.

With the upper level of the basilica complete, the Institute will create similar virtual tours of the lower church, crypt and exterior gardens. In June, a design team will break virtual ground on another major project: a virtual tour of York Minster in York, England, the largest Gothic church in northern Europe

As the Institute is a non-profit foundation, all proceeds from the sales of the CD-ROM will support academic research in the Franciscan Tradition and advancements in digital media, such as electronic texts and databases as well as virtual modeling of historic sites.

The software is designed for Windows 2000/NT/XP. It is available for purchase the Institute's web-site, www.digitaltheology.org and on Amazon.

The Institute of Digital Theology is a non-profit foundation, affiliated with Saint Louis University. Its mission is to support research and teaching in Theological Studies and related Humanities disciplines through the creation of multimedia projects, web-based databases and other electronic resources.  Housed in the University's Department of Theological Studies, the Institute focuses primarily on the preservation of historical artifacts and texts that have significant religious or theological meaning.

Contact:
Institute of Digital Theology
Room HU 124
3800 Lindell Blvd
St Louis, MO 63108

Email: publicity@digitaltheology.org
Web: http://www.digitaltheology.org

Now, let's see them do the same thing for Santa Sabina in Rome or San Domenico in Naples!

Update on Ave Maria conference “Sacraments in Aquinas”

Last February I posted about an upcoming conference at Ave Maria University, in Naples, Florida, to take place in February, 2007. A change in the dates for the conference resulted in a little shuffling of the speakers, so here is the full line-up for the conference (to take place February 1-3, 2007: see more at the Ave Maria website):

Avery Cardinal Dulles, SJ
Fordham University, Keynote Address
Reinhard Hütter
Duke University Divinity School, Closing Address

• Sr. Thomas Augustine Becker, OP, Sisters of Mary, Mother of the Eucharist
• Bernhard Blankenhorn, OP, Dominican School of Philosophy and Theology
• John Boyle, University of St. Thomas (MN)
• Romanus Cessario, OP, St. John's Seminary
• Michael Dauphinais, Ave Maria University
• Barry David, Ave Maria University
• Benoît-Dominique de La Soujeole, OP, University of Fribourg
• Gilles Emery, OP, University of Fribourg
• Thomas Hibbs, Baylor University
• Mark Johnson, Marquette University
• Joseph Koterski, SJ, Fordham University
• Peter Kwasniewski, International Theological Institute
• Matthew L. Lamb, Ave Maria University
• Michael Lang, London Oratory
• Matthew Levering, Ave Maria University
• Steven Long, Ave Maria University
• Bruce Marshall, Perkins School of Theology, Southern Methodist University
• Robert Miner, Baylor University
• Sébastian Perdrix OP, Dominican House of Studies, Washington, DC
• Lauren Pristas, Caldwell College
• Richard Schenk, OP, Dominican School of Philosophy and Theology
• Mary Catherine Sommers, Center for Thomistic Studies
• Michael Waldstein, International Theological Institute, Gaming, Austria
• Thomas Weinandy, OFM Cap, United States Conference of Catholic Bishops

Matthew Levering has a nice interview about the conference in PDF format, and the precise schedule and titles of papers is also in PDF format. See you there?

Thomas and the Mendicant Controversies: a new printing of English translations

A somewhat self-serving post. Over on my personal web site I have a post about a forthcoming book that contains hard-to-find English translations of Thomas’s three works devoted to the mendicant controversies at the University of Paris (from 1256-1271). I did not do the translations, but did write a general overview of the controversies and short introductions to each work (i.e., Contra impugnantes dei cultum et religionem [1256], De perfectione spiritualis vitae [1269-1270], and Contra doctrinam retrahentium a religione, [1271-1272]).

Abbey Library of St. Gall, Switzerland online

Just a reminder for any medievalist-types that the magnificent Abbey Library of St. Gall, in Switzerland, is a fabulous place for on-line study. Their website leads almost all others that I've seen in terms of the quality of the images and the wealth of information available. Here is (from the Library) a list of features:

• Free access: www.cesg.unifr.ch
• High resolution digital images: over 52,000 facsimile pages
• Regularly updated: now 131 complete manuscripts
• Manuscript descriptions and many search options
• Accessible in German, French, English and Italian

Keep up your paleography!

Biblical Thomistic links

There is a whole batch of neat links about Aquinas, favoring his connection with biblical material, to be found on the St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology web site. See it here. You can also see some translations of sermons that are otherwise hard to find (such as the ones on the Pater and the Ave).

Fr Farrell’s Companion to the Summa on-line

I must be the last person on the planet to know this, but Fr Walter Farrell, OP’s, famous Companion to the Summa, is on-line for all to consult. You can use the thing as a handy on-line book, or simply download it for use on your own computer. It covers all the matter from the Summa theologiae in a conversational yet authoritative way.

Obiter dictum: Fr Farrell (1902-1951) is buried in All Saints Cemetery in Des Plaines, Illinois, next to the graves of Humbert Kane, OP, Raymond “Jude” Nogar, OP, and my beloved James A. Weisheipl, OP.

Intellect et imagination dans la philosophie médiéval: a new book from Brepols

The people at Brepols Publishing have produced the acta of the SIEPM conference held in Porto in 2002 (which reminds me; I've got to get my application into the SIEPM!). Here is the blurb from that Brepols sent out as an e-mail:

Le XI^ème Congrès International de Philosophie Médiévale de la Société Internationale pour l'Étude de la Philosophie Médiévale (S.I.E.P.M..) s'est déroulé à Porto (Portugal), du 26 au 30 août 2002, sous le thème général: Intellect et Imagination dans la Philosophie Médiévale. A partir des héritages platonicien, aristotélicien, stoïcien, ou néo-platonicien (dans leurs variantes grecques, latines, arabes, juives), la conceptualisation et la problématisation de l'imagination et de l'intellect, ou même des facultés de l'âme en général, apparaissaient comme une ouverture possible pour aborder les principaux points de la pensée médiévale. Les Actes du congrès montrent que « imagination » et « intellect » sont porteurs d'une richesse philosophique extraordinaire dans l'économie de la philosophie médiévale et de la constitution de ses spécificités historiques. Dans sa signification la plus large, la théorisation de ces deux facultés de l'âme permet de dédoubler le débat en au moins six grands domaines: — la relation avec le sensible, où la fantaisie/l'imagination joue le rôle de médiation dans la perception du monde et dans la constitution de la connaissance ; — la réflexion sur l'acte de connaître et la découverte de soi en tant que sujet de pensée ; — la position dans la nature, dans le cosmos, et dans le temps de celui qui pense et qui connaît par les sens externes, internes et par l'intellect ; — la recherche d'un fondement pour la connaissance et l'action, par la possibilité du dépassement de la distante proximité du transcendant, de l'absolu, de la vérité et du bien ; — la réalisation de la félicité en tant qu'objectif ultime, de même que la découverte d'une tendance au dépassement actif ou mystique de toutes les limites naturelles et des facultés de l'âme ; — la constitution de théories de l'image, sensible ou intellectuelle, et de ses fonctions. Les 3 volumes d'Actes incluent les 16 leçons plénières et 112 communications, ainsi que les index correspondants (manuscrits ; noms anciens et médiévaux ; noms modernes ; auteurs).

The full, multi-lingual title , and other information for the book, is as follows: Intellect et imagination dans la philosophie médiévale - Intellect and Imagination in Medieval Philosophy - Intelecto e imaginaçao na filosofia medieval, edité par Cândida Pacheco et José Francisco Meirinhos (Turnhout: Brepols, 2006), 3 vols., xliv + 2009 p., 160 x 240 mm, 2006, RPM 11, ISBN 978-2-503-51818-3, EUR 130.

Journée saint Thomas d’Aquin (2 décembre 2006)

Just in from Adriano Oliva and Ruedi Imbach, the (delayed) announcement of the “Journée thomiste” in Paris, on December 2, 2006. Here’s what will take place:

• Accueil
• Dr. Valérie CORDONIER (Fribourg CH), « Piscis stupefactor ». La physique de Simplicius et d’Averroès chez Thomas d’Aquin
• Prof. Walter SENNER, OP (Rome), Verité chez s. Thomas d’Aquin: pas seulement un concept logique
• Prof. Ruedi IMBACH (Paris), Thomas d’Aquin citant Averroès: quelques observations
• Présentation de quelques livres, par Ruedi IMBACH et Adriano OLIVA, OP

More information about the day’s events and costs can be found in the PDF Fr Oliva sent along.

A new "Documenti e studi," with emphasis on ethics

One of the best journals in medieval philosophy is Documenti e studi, published by SISMEL, and described by it as “…an International Journal on the Philosophical Tradition from Late Antiquity to the Late Middle Ages of the «Società Internazionale per lo Studio del Medioevo Latino» and of the «Società per l’Edizione dei Testi Antichi e Medievali». The latest issue of this journal—an annual—is now appearing, and is chock full of useful studies on medieval ethical theory, by highly-regarded specialists in the area:

• J. Celano, The Understanding of Beatitude, the Perfection of the Soul in the Early Latin Commentaries on Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics
• M. J. Tracey, An Early 13th-Century Commentary on the Nicomachean Ethics I, 4-10: The Lectio cum Questionibus of an Arts-Master at Paris in MS Napoli, Biblioteca Nazionale VIII G 8, ff.4ra-9vb
• T. Hoffmann, Voluntariness, Choice, and Will in the Ethics Commentaries of Albert the Great and Thomas Aquinas
• S. Vecchio, Il discorso sulle passioni nei commenti all’Etica Nicomachea: da Alberto Magno a Tommaso d’Aquino
• M. W. F. Stone, Equity and Moderation: The Reception and Uses of Aristotle’s Doctrine of in the epieikeia in the Thirteenth-Century Ethics
• I. Costa, Il problema dell’omonimia del bene in alcuni commenti scolastici all’Etica Nicomachea
• L. Bianchi, Boèce de Dacie et l’Ethique à Nicomaque
• S. Gentili, L’Etica volgarizzata da Taddeo Alderotti (m. 1295). Saggio di commento
• V. Mäkinen, The Influence of the Commentaries on Aristotle’s Nichomachean Ethics and Politics on the Discussion on Property Rights
• P. Falzone, Ignoranza, desiderio, giudizio. L’Etica Nicomachea nella struttura argomentativa di Monarchia III 3
• G. Fioravanti, Etica e biologia in un anonimo trattato di eugenetica. Edizione del Libellus de ingenio bone nativitatis (ca. 1314)
• L. Cova, Felicità e beatitudine nella Sententia libri Ethicorum di Guido Vernani da Rimini
• T. Holopainen, The Will and Akratic Action in William Ockham and John Duns Scotus
• D. A. Lines, Pagan and Christian Ethics: Girolamo Savonarola and Ludovico Valenza on Moral Philosophy
• S. Müller, Wiener Ethikkommentare des 15. Jahrhunderts
• G. Alliney, Per un confronto fra le redazioni del Commento alle Sentenze di Francesco della Marchia: la versione ‘maggiore’ di In Sent., I, d. 1, q. 6
• L. O. Nielsen - C. Trifogli, Questions on the Beatific Vision by Thomas Wylton and Sibert de Beka

Can’t wait for this one to show up in the Library!

Christendom College seeks generalist in Classics

From Steve Synder (a bud from Toronto; Steve did his work with James A. Weisheipl, OP):

Christendom College, Front Royal, VA, has an opening for a full-time position teaching in our Department of Classical and Early Christian Studies, to begin August, 2007. We are looking for a generalist in Classics willing to teach Greek and Latin on all undergraduate levels. A commitment to Latin and Greek composition, as well as an interest in the teaching of spoken Latin is desired. Christendom College is a wonderful place for a dedicated teacher, with bright and eager students participating in a demanding program in Greek and Latin.  

Here is a PDF version and an MS Word version of the posting.