Godfrey of St Victor

Godfrey of St. Victor (c.1130-1194) was a French monk and theologian, and one of the last major figures of the Victorines. He was a supporter of the study of ancient philosophy. [ [http://maritain.nd.edu/jmc/etext/hwp213.htm A History of Western Philosophy 2.13 ] ]

Life

He had initially taught at the University of Paris, before coming to the St. Victor's Abbey, Paris, an Augustinian establishment of canons regular. The cultural differences between the university teachers and the Victorines were widening, and Godfrey felt compelled to leave, shortly after 1173. [Stephen C. Ferruolo, "The Origins of the University: The Schools of Paris and Their Critics, 1100-1215" (1985), p. 43; R. N. Swanson, "The Twelfth-Century Renaissance" (1999), p. 19.]

Works

*"Fons Philosophiae"
*"Microcosmus"
*"Preconium Augustini"

In his "Microcosmus" he compare sensuality, imagination, reason and intelligence to the respective four classical elements, earth, water, air and fire [Gillian Rosemary Evans, "Getting It Wrong: The Medieval Epistemology of Error" (1998), p. 39.] . His "Fons Philosophiae" gives a high status to Seneca the Younger as moral philosopher [Hugh White, " [http://books.google.com/books?id=JONxjx-CyPEC&pg=PA79&vq=Godfrey&source=gbs_search_r&cad=1_1&sig=ACfU3U0VNW1wA9ReyfYyGII7UXJJrj5LEw Nature, Sex, and Goodness in a Medieval Literary Tradition] " (2000), p.79 note.] .

The "Preconium Augustini" is a poem on Augustine of Hippo of about 500 lines. [Allan Fitzgerald, John C. Cavadini, "Augustine Through the Ages: An Encyclopedia" (1999), p. 868.]

Notes