William of Auvergne, Bishop of Paris

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

William of Auvergne was the Bishop of Paris from 1228 to his death in 1249. He was a Scholastic philosopher at the University of Paris before being raised to the episcopate.

He was born in Aurillac in the last years of the twelfth century. He went to Paris to study there and was made a professor first in the faculty of arts and then that of theology in 1220. His theology was systematically Aristotelian and he is the first of the theologians of the thirteenth century to reconcile Aristotle with Christian doctrine, especially Augustine. The Aristotelian writings then available in Western Europe were few in number and mostly Arab translations. William sought to rescue Aristotle from the Arabians and spent time refuting doctrines such as the eternality of the world and the Cathar heresy.

As bishop, William was a strong supporter of the university school. He also took action against prostitution in the city. In 1248, he served on the regency council during Louis IX's absence on the Seventh Crusade.

[edit] Works

• De virtutibus
• De moribus
• De sacramentis
• De trinitate
• De universo
• De anima
• De immortalitate animae

[edit] Sources

This article incorporates text from the public-domain Catholic Encyclopedia of 1913.

• Jordan, William Chester. Europe in the High Middle Ages. Penguin Books, 2001.

This article is part of the Medieval Philosophers series

Augustine of Hippo | Boëthius | John Scotus Eriugena | Rhazes | Roscelin | Avicenna | Algazel | Anselm of Canterbury | Bernard of Chartres | Peter Abélard | Gilbert de la Porrée | Hugh of St. Victor | Richard of St. Victor | Maimonides | Alexander of Hales | Averroës | Alain de Lille | Robert Grosseteste | Albertus Magnus | Roger Bacon | Bonaventure | Thomas Aquinas | Ramon Llull | Godfrey of Fontaines | Henry of Ghent | Giles of Rome | John Duns Scotus | William of Ockham | Jean Buridan | Nicole Oresme | George Gemistos Plethon | Johannes Bessarion | Francisco de Vitoria