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The overall theme of this codex is the soul: three of the four texts discuss this subject directly, while the fourth covers a closely related subject. The first tekst (ff. 1r-22r) is the Summa de anima; one of the main writings by Franciscan theologian Jean de la Rochelle (Johannes de Rupella, d. 1245), a student of Alexander of Hales. This summa, a medieval genre aiming at synthesizing all knowledge regarding a particular subject, discusses the nature of the soul and made use not only of Christian texts, but also of the newly translated works of Aristotle and Plato. In this text La Rochelle discusses the soul from an Aristotelian perspective and divides it into a higher part, being spiritual, and a lower part, being corporeal. The second text (ff. 23r-70r) is the Commentum de anima of the Islamic scholar Averroes (1126-1198), in the Latin translation of Michael Scot. As one of Averroes' so-called long commentaries, this text contains the full Aristotelian text of De anima accompanied by a line-by-line analysis. Unlike his shorter commentaries, the longer ones contain more much original thought. Aristotle's De anima has also been commented on in a series of Quaestiones (ff. 71r-111r) by the French philosopher Nicholas d'Oresme (d. 1382), which follows here as the third text. The final text in the codex (ff. 112r-117v) is Thomas Aquinas' De esse et essentia, a treatise in which the soul features heavily. The origin of the texts differ. The first and last text were written in the thirteenth century; the centre two in the fourteenth. As a result, each text is also a separate textual unit, both in script and further embellishments. In general, all texts have been written in two columns per page. The script is a textualis, with the exception of the third text, which is a cursiva. Titles were originally not present; they are either found in the explicits or have been added by later hands. The degree of decoration varies. Averroes' and Aquinas' texts have been decorated throughout; the former in red ink and with lombards, the latter in red and blue and with penwork initials. Of La Rochelle's Summa, only the first recto contains initials, in red ink. In Oresme's text, they are fully absent: spaces for initials are nonetheless present. The binding is medieval and consists of full leather over wooden boards. The fenestra has survived and is attached to the back board. The codex was originally owned by the Ter Doest abbey, and found its way into the collection of Ten Duinen. The cross-shaped stamp of the latter abbey is found on the first and final leaves. [Summary by Dr. Mark Vermeer] |
