Durandus of St. Pourcain (a S. Porciano) and his Commentary on the Sentences: Critical Edition and Study

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Of the Sentence Commentaries of the early 14th century, the one of the Dominican theologian Durandus of St. Pourçain is outstanding regarding its originality and its importance for the philosophical medieval studies. The Sentence Commentary of Durandus, which is available in three versions, provides an extraordinary insight into the philosophical and theological debates at the turn from the 13th to the 14th century between the priorities of university, studia of the oders and papal court. Within these debates, the Sentences of Petrus Lombardus is the preferred medium of the philosophical and theological discussion. At the same time, the Sentence Commentary of Durandus is a principal document for the evaluation of the disputes within the Dominican Order in the first quarter of the 14th century, especially concerning the doctrine of Thomas Aquinas. It constituted the starting point for one of the most powerful intellectual controversies of the late Middle Ages and the basis for a censorship procedure against its author. Within the context of the Durandus project (sponsored by the German Research Foundation since January 2006) the redactions A and B, which probably came into being between 1307/08 and 1310/11 in Paris, are being edited. Simultaneously, an electronic version of the third redaction C, which is available as an early Venetian printing from 1571 and which was of great importance for the reception of Durandus, is being made. The Durandus project fills a gap in the research of the early 14th century, which already Joseph Koch drew attention to in his groundbreaking study more than eighty years ago (Koch 1927). On the one hand, it provides information about the results obtained so far and furthermore it explains the work that still needs to be done. In the timeframe of the proposal, the focus lies on the completion of the second book, which makes it possible to exemplarily study the various conditions and problems of the Durandian Sentence Commentary. Furthermore the first book will be in the center of the forthcoming research period. We suspect that the thesis of Joseph Koch that the manuscripts of this book represent the first version has to be modified. These works also include a profound analysis of the transmission history and systematic doctrinal studies as well as the further expansion of the Durandus portal.