«UT SOL DE STELLA»: SCIENTIFIC METAPHORS IN JOHN PECHAM’S THEOLOGICAL WRITINGS

Following the exegetical method pioneered by Robert Grosseteste and his successors at Oxford, the Franciscan master John Pecham extensively integrates scientific knowledge – particularly optics – into his theological works and sermons to illuminate and clarify divine mysteries. By employing scientific metaphors, allegories, symbols, and parallels, Pecham develops a cohesive Christian system of knowledge that harmoniously unites scientific understanding with theological investigation. This paper explores three examples of Pecham's application of this method. The first two are drawn from his Commentary on Book I of the Sentences, an unpublished work. The first example highlights the correlation between the rainbow and the Incarnation of Christ, while the second examines the association between the theory of vision and the formal cause of theology in the debate over theology's epistemological status. The third example comes from Pecham’s Tractatus de perspectiva, specifically its opening chapter, where he composes a prayer to the Virgin Mary. In this prayer, Pecham attributes planetary qualities to the Virgin, with particular emphasis on her relationship with the Sun.