Alfred of Shareshill was a leading gure in the English intellectual culture of the 12th century. He is the author of two translations, one treatise and three commentaries. One of these works is a commentary on the Avicennian De mineralibus and represents the last part of the more extensive commentary on Aristotle’s Meteorologica, as evidenced in the manuscript Oxford, Bodleian Library, Selden supra 24 (ff. 113r-114v). The glosses that constitute this commentary were identified by James K. Otte in 1993, but they still remain unedited. For the first time, this contribution offers an edition of the Alfredian glosses on De mineralibus, which represent, together with the commented text (De mineralibus), an important step in the scientific study of mineralogy in the Middle Ages. The main subject of the commentary is, in fact, the generation of minerals through the process of solidi cation, which in turn is due to the effects of heat and cold. The analysis is carried out in a highly technical and complex language. With the edition of the glosses on the De mineralibus, Alfred of Shareshill’s entire legacy is now available to the public.
The Commentary of Alfred of Shareshill on the Pseudo-Aristotelian De mineralibus
Elisa Rubino
2017-01-01
Abstract
Alfred of Shareshill was a leading gure in the English intellectual culture of the 12th century. He is the author of two translations, one treatise and three commentaries. One of these works is a commentary on the Avicennian De mineralibus and represents the last part of the more extensive commentary on Aristotle’s Meteorologica, as evidenced in the manuscript Oxford, Bodleian Library, Selden supra 24 (ff. 113r-114v). The glosses that constitute this commentary were identified by James K. Otte in 1993, but they still remain unedited. For the first time, this contribution offers an edition of the Alfredian glosses on De mineralibus, which represent, together with the commented text (De mineralibus), an important step in the scientific study of mineralogy in the Middle Ages. The main subject of the commentary is, in fact, the generation of minerals through the process of solidi cation, which in turn is due to the effects of heat and cold. The analysis is carried out in a highly technical and complex language. With the edition of the glosses on the De mineralibus, Alfred of Shareshill’s entire legacy is now available to the public.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
