Critical Edition of Robert Cowton´s Sentences Commentary, Book IV

Project aims The objective of the project is to elaborate a critical edition of book IV of the Sentences commentary by Robert Cowton OFM (ca. 1275 ca. 1340). Unprinted manuscripts have been the only available sources until now. The edition will be according to the standards of modern critical editions. International co-operation The project shall be realized in co-operation with the Committee for the Publication of Unprinted Texts from the Intellectual World of the Middle Ages at the Bavarian Academy of Sciences and Humanities in Munich, which will also bear the costs of publication. It is a follow-up project to the critical edition of book III, distinctions 23-40 (virtue ethics), which has equally been funded by the FWF and which is soon to be completed. Book IV of Cowton`s commentary shall be published as a separate volume in the series of the Committee. The members of the aforesaid Committee are working on the editions of books I and II, while Prof. DDr. Gerhard Leibold and Dr. habil. Hans Kraml, Innsbruck University, are editing the first part of book III (distinctions 1-22). The proposed project will thus complete the entire critical edition of Robert Cowton`s Sentences Commentary, making his entire extant works available for research. Motivation and benefits Cowton`s wrote his Sentences commentary at Oxford at the time of nascent Scotism in England. Already in 1954, O. Lottin insistently advocated for it to be edited. Cowton took part in the discussions and influenced further developments, for example in Ockham and Wodeham, and was criticised by Oxford Thomist Thomas Sutton. Later in the 14th century, an abbreviatio of his commentary even became a standard textbook in England. Innovative potential Until way into the 20th century, the main focus of interest used to be on some few central medieval thinkers. More recently, researchers have started to widen their perspective to include the intellectual environment of these personalities in order to get a clearer picture of how ideas evolved and spread. Those who have taken the trouble to work with Cowton`s unedited manuscripts so far are unanimous in considering him an interesting author in his own right; moreover, at Oxford he was in constant exchange with some of the most prominent figures of his time. Early 14th century Oxford was a pivotal place and time for philosophical and theological developments, of which the repercussions can be identified many decades and centuries on. Co-ordination and management The project coordinators will be Prof. DDr. Gerhard Leibold in conjunction with Dr. habil. Hans Kraml. The project will be carried out by Mag. Sylvia Eibl, who has experience in critical text editing and palaeography. A detailed implementation timeline is given in the full description of the proposal.