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1 Theophilus Presbyter
[br]fl. late eleventh/early twelfth century[br]German author of the most detailed medieval treatise relating to technology.[br]The little that is known of Theophilus is what can be inferred from his great work, De diversis artibus. He was a Benedictine monk and priest living in north-west Germany, probably near an important art centre. He was an educated man, conversant with scholastic philosophy and at the same time a skilled, practising craftsman. Even his identity is obscure: Theophilus is a pseudonym, possibly for Roger of Helmarshausen, for the little that is known of both is in agreement.Evidence in De diversis suggests that it was probably composed during 1110 to 1140. White (see Further Reading) goes on to suggest late 1122 or early 1123, on the grounds that Theophilus only learned of St Bernard of Clairvaulx's diatribe against lavish church ornamentation during the writing of the work, for it is only in the preface to Book 3 that Theophilus seeks to justify his craft. St Bernard's Apologia can be dated late 1122. No other medieval work on art combines the comprehensive range, orderly presentation and attention to detail as does De diversis. It has been described as an encyclopedia of medieval skills and crafts. It also offers the best and often the only description of medieval technology, including the first direct reference to papermaking in the West, the earliest medieval account of bell-founding and the most complete account of organ building. Many metallurgical techniques are described in detail, such as the making of a crucible furnace and bloomery hearth.The treatise is divided into three books, the first on the materials and art of painting, the second on glassmaking, including stained glass, glass vessels and the blown-cylinder method for flat glass, and the final and longest book on metalwork, including working in iron, copper, gold and silver for church use, such as chalices and censers. The main texts are no mere compilations, but reveal the firsthand knowledge that can only be gained by a skilled craftsman. The prefaces to each book present perhaps the only medieval expression of an artist's ideals and how he sees his art in relation to the general scheme of things. For Theophilus, his art is a gift from God and every skill an act of praise and piety. Theophilus is thus an indispensable source for medieval crafts and technology, but there are indications that the work was also well known at the time of its composition and afterwards.[br]BibliographyThe Wolfenbuttel and Vienna manuscripts of De diversis are the earliest, both dating from the first half of the twelfth century, while the British Library copy, in an early thirteenth-century hand, is the most complete. Two incomplete copies from the thirteenth century held at Cambridge and Leipzig offer help in arriving at a definitive edition.There are several references to De diversis in sixteenth-century printed works, such as Cornelius Agrippa (1530) and Josias Simmler (1585). The earliest printed edition ofDe diversis was prepared by G.H.Lessing in 1781 with the title, much used since, Diversarium artium schedula.There are two good recent editions: Theophilus: De diversis artibus. The Various Arts, 1964, trans. with introd. by C.R.Dodwell, London: Thomas Nelson, and On Diverse Arts. The Treatise of Theophilus, 1963, trans. with introd. and notes by J.G.Harthorne and C.S.Smith, Chicago University Press.Further ReadingLynn White, 1962, "Theophilus redivivus", Technology and Culture 5:224–33 (a comparative review of Theophilus (op. cit.) and On Diverse Arts (op. cit.)).LRD
См. также в других словарях:
diversis diebus et vicibus — At divers days and times … Ballentine's law dictionary
De Diversis De Quartigianis — (izg. de divèrzis de kvartigiánis), Filip (prva pol. 15. st. nakon 1452) DEFINICIJA jedan od prvih propagatora humanizma u Dubrovniku … Hrvatski jezični portal
bigamus seu trigamus, etc., est qui diversis temporibus et successive duas seu tres uxores habuit — /bigamas syuw trigamas est kway davarsas temporabas et saksesayviy d(y)uwas syuw trez akscriyz haeb(y)uwat/ A bigamus or trigamus, etc., is one who at different times and successively has married two or three wives … Black's law dictionary
de diversis regulis juris antiqui — /diy davarsas regyalas juras aentaykway/ Of divers rules of the ancient law. A celebrated title of the Digests, and the last in that collection. It consists of two hundred and eleven rules or maxims … Black's law dictionary
eadem causa diversis rationibus coram judicibus ecclesiasticis et secularibus ventilatur — /iyeydam koza davarsas raeshiyownabas koram juwdisabas akliyziyaestasas et sekyalerabas ventaleytar/ The same cause is argued upon different principles before ecclesiastical and secular judges … Black's law dictionary
homo potest esse habilis et inhabilis diversis temporibus — /howmow powtast esiy hxbalas et inhaebalas davarsas temporabas/ A man may be capable and incapable at different times … Black's law dictionary
bigamus seu trigamus, etc., est qui diversis temporibus et successive duas seu tres uxores habuit — /bigamas syuw trigamas est kway davarsas temporabas et saksesayviy d(y)uwas syuw trez akscriyz haeb(y)uwat/ A bigamus or trigamus, etc., is one who at different times and successively has married two or three wives … Black's law dictionary
de diversis regulis juris antiqui — /diy davarsas regyalas juras aentaykway/ Of divers rules of the ancient law. A celebrated title of the Digests, and the last in that collection. It consists of two hundred and eleven rules or maxims … Black's law dictionary
eadem causa diversis rationibus coram judicibus ecclesiasticis et secularibus ventilatur — /iyeydam koza davarsas raeshiyownabas koram juwdisabas akliyziyaestasas et sekyalerabas ventaleytar/ The same cause is argued upon different principles before ecclesiastical and secular judges … Black's law dictionary
homo potest esse habilis et inhabilis diversis temporibus — /howmow powtast esiy hxbalas et inhaebalas davarsas temporabas/ A man may be capable and incapable at different times … Black's law dictionary
quando duo jura concurrunt in una persona, aequum est ac si essent in diversis — /kwondow d(y)iiwow jura kankarant in yuwna parsowna, iykwam est aek say esant in davarsas/ When two rights concur in one person, it is the same as if they were in two separate persons … Black's law dictionary
