From Manuscript to Print: the Evolution of the Medieval Book

 

Quodlibeta
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During the era of scholasticism, which began ca. 1100, philosophy became the handmaiden of theology. A common exercise in the schools was the quodlibetal disputation, in which a master would be given a theological question that he had to answer using philosophical arguments. "Quodlibet" is Latin for "anything at all," indicating that the theologian had to be prepared for a no-holds-barred battle of wits. The debates were recorded by scribes and published in collections. This manuscript contains the collection of quodlibetal disputations by the late 13th-century theologian and bishop, James of Viterbo.

Purchased in 1893 for A.D. White.

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James of Viterbo. Quodlibeta. France (?), 14th century.
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