Guglielmo di Conches e il Dragmaticon Philosophiae

This dissertation about William of Conches and the Dragmaticon Philosophiae is divided into two sections. The aim of the first section is to reconstruct the life and the literary works of one of the most important teachers of Chartres of the twelfth century. The aim of the second section is to analyse his most important work, written between 1146 and 1149, after undergoing a noteworthy process of rethinking, reorganization and enlargement of his youthful work, called Philosophia, which had been bitterly attacked by the cistercian monk William of Saint-Thierry, who denounced its serious theological errors in 1140 or 1141. The enquiry about the life of William of Conches, to which the first chapter is dedicated, has produced some interesting results, which seem to open new areas of research, especially regarding the philosopher’s place of birth (which may not well be Conches, but Saint-Martin du Tilleul) and the last phase of his life, which could have ended in England at the court of Henry II (to whom William was tutor during the writing of the Dragmaticon), or in Paris as magister scholae. The enquiry about the literary works of William of Conches, to which the second chapter is dedicated, deals with a detailed presentation of the historiographical debate, that has so far led to the identification of the works currently attributed to the philosopher. .. [edited by Author]