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SEBASTIAN, Harry Francis, 1920-
WILLIAM OF WHETELEY'S (FL. 1309-1316)
CCM4ENTARY ON THE PSEUlXTBOETHIUS' TRACTATE
DE DISCIPLINA SCOLARIIJM AND MEDIEVAL GRAMMAR
snm r^E D D C A T ioT T :-----------------
Columbia U niversity, Ph.D., 1970
Language and Literature, classical
University Microfilms, A XEROX Company , Ann Arbor, Michigan
© 1973
HARRY FRANCIS SEBASTIAN
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
WILLIAM OF WHETEE£T'S (FT. 1309-1316) COMMENTAHT
OH THE PSEUDO BOETHIUS • TRACTATE DE HESCIPUNA
SCOLAHIUM AND MEDIEVAL GRAMMAR SCHOOL EDUCATION
BT
HARRT FRANCIS SEBASTIAN
Submitted in partial fulfillm ent of the requirements
for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, in the Faculty
of Philosophy, Colmbla University
ABSTRACT
WILLIAM OF VHSHZT'S (FL. 1309-1316) CCMMENTAHT
ON THE PSEUDO BOETHIUS'TRACTATE BE IXCSCIPXIKA
SCOLARUM AND MEDIEVAL GRAMMAR SCMJL"IUUlrAT16»J
HARRT FRANCIS SEBASTIAN
From various references In his works, William of Wheteley is known
to have taught In the Stanford granmar school in 1309 and In the Lincoln
grwnmar school In 1316. His statement that he had spent fifteen years at
the university of Paris in his youth, an allusion which suggests that the
village of Wheteley In Nottinghamshire was his native place, and his claim
ing kinship with Ellas of Wheteley, an official of the Wardrobe during the
first decade of the fourteenth century comprise the only additional facts
of his biography. It is possible that this granmar school master is the
same person as the William of Wheteley whose activities as a cleric of the
Great Wardrobe may be traced in writs of the early years of the century.
Because very little is known in detail about the curricula* of
the medieval grammar school, Wheteley1 s ccaanentaries provide valuable ex-
anples of what was taught in two Ehglish grammar schools early In the
fourteenth century. His cosmientary on the text of Pseudo Boethius1 De
Discipline Scolarim together with its quaestiones. which form an integral
part of his lectio of De Discipline, preserves an almost verbatim account
of what he taught at Stamford In 1309. Similarly his commentary and
quaestiones on Boethius' Hi COnablations Philosophies record what he
taught at Lincoln in 1316; and from a reference in the latter commentary
we learn that he had presented his lectio of Da Disoiplina to his stu
dents at Lincoln before he began his lectio of De Consolations. Three
manuscripts containing his cowentary on De Discipline are known: MS.
Scoter College 28, MS. Pembroke College (Cambridge) 1&>, and MS. Mo Clean
169 of the FitsviUlam Miseum of Cpabridge University.
Although it is probable that Be KLecipllna was written by a was
ter of arts at Paris during tbs third decade of the thirteenth century for
use in his school, the tractate, which purports to have been written by
A. M. S. Boethius to provide guidance for the youth who aspired to become
a teacher of grmnmar, dialectic, and the other liberal arts, was not In
cluded in the curriculum of the faculty of arts which was established by
the Parisian statutes of 1202 and 1200. The survival of more than two
hundred manuscripts containing De Biaciplina, forty-five printings of the
text before 1000, and numerous printings in the early sixteenth century
show that its popularity did not depend upon a place in the ourriculm
of the faculty of arts. However, the appearance of ES Discipline in
numerous manuscripts containing other works regularly taught in medieval
grammar schools indicates that the work at times found a place in the cur
riculum of those grammar schools whose teachers had received the education
in philosophia naturalis offered as a regular part of the currlculm of
the faculty of arte*
A comparison of Wheteley*e coonentaxy on De EiscipH"* with the
remains of the original commentary, which can be partially reconstructed
from a group of glossed texts frequently occuring in gramnar school books,
indicates that both the compilers of these glossed texts and Wheteley
made use of the work to serve the same purpose in their schools* The con
tents of this "Canon Gloss" and of Wheteley* s commentary show that the
foxmal lectio ordinarla with its attendant quaestiopes which had developed
In the universities during the thirteenth century had also cane into use
in grmsnar schools by the end of the century. R. W. Hunt's recent publi
cation of exoerpts from the writings of thirteenth and fourteenth century
gramsar school masters showed that the formal quaestio form was regularly
used in the teaching of grmamar; Wheteley’a ccaswntaries on De Disciplina
and De Ccnaolatlone show the sane rigorous use of the lectio and quaegtlo
by a naster who used these texts to provide his grammar school students
with an introduction to Aristotelian philosophia naturalis.
Wheteley's occasional use of French and fiigliah words within his
paraphrase of the text of Da Disciplina reminds the modem reader that al
though the nodus procedendi employed in the lectio of the text made no
concession to boys who had only recently mastered the conjugations and
declensions of the Latin language, the teacher had to be sure that all
the boys could at least learn the literal meanings of the words contained
in the day’s lectio. In his effort to clarify the meanings of unfsniliar
words, Wheteley made extensive use of the lexicographical resources avail
able to the medieval graamarlan. & made use of etymological information
from Isidore, Hugutio, and Petrus Helias, of the lexicon of Papias, and
of the collections of synonyms and homonyms of John of Garland.
This study includes a transcription from MS. Exeter College 28
of the first thirteen quaesticnea from the cementary on Es Disciplina.
English summaries of these quaeationes are provided.
1
M a t r i M a a a A t q u e
P i a e M e m o r i a e
P a t r i a Me i
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
In the course of the researches that hare led through many by
paths to the completion of this dissertation, the writer has been as
sisted by the kindness and generosity of scholars in the United States,
the British Isles, and Europe. It is a great pleasure to acknowledge my
indebtedness to them. Without the manifold assistance and encouragement
which I received over the years from Processors W, T. H. Jackson and Paul
0. K risteller, this twice refocused study ot the writings of William of
Wheteley certainly would have been abandoned, professor E. T. Bilk of
Tale University kindly lent me photostats of parts of MS. New College
26U and also a typescript of the first four books of his edition of Nich
olas Trevet's commentary on Da Consolaticne Philosophise. The late M.
Jean Pore her, formerly Conservateur of the Department of Manuscripts of
the BibliothSque Nationals, allowed me to make use of his unpublished
edition of De Disciplina Scolarium. professor Ruth J. Dean, formerly of
Mount Holyoke College, sent me notices of manuscripts containing De Dla-
clpHu* which she had noted in her searches for Trevet manuscripts In Eu
ropean libraries. Dr. Charles Exnatlnger of the Vatican Film Library of
the Pius H I Memorial Library of Saint Louis University and Professor Ju
lian Plante, Curator of the Monastic Manuscript Library of Saint John's
University, Coliegeville, Minnesota, provided me with information concern
ing manuscripts available on microfilm In their collections.
Acknowledgement is gratefully made to many libraries for permis
sion to have microfilm copies made of manuscripts in their collections:
the Warden and Fellows of Mow Collage, Oxford; the Rector and Fellow of
Beater College, Oxford; the Mae ter and Fellows of Pembroke College, Cma-
brldge; the Harden and Fellows of Oonville and Cains College, Cambridge;
the Master and Fellows of Trinity College, Cambridge; the Librarian of
the Cambridge University Library; the Keeper of Western Manuscripts of
the Bodleian Library, Oxford; the Keeper of Marmscripts of the British
Museum; the Conserve tour of the Department of Manusoripts of the Biblio-
thdque Nationals; the Conservateur of the Bibliothdque Mazarine; the Con-
serrateur of the Bibliothdque Municipals of Douai; the Conservateur of
the Blbliothlque of Bruges; the Director of the Department of Manusoripts
of the Blbliotheoa Nationals Mercians; the Librarian of the Stiftssblb-
liothek of Zeits.
Many thanks for kind assistance are due to Miss Aims McCabe and
Miss Carol Leaxmont of the Circulation Department and to Mr. Eugene
Sheahy, Mrs. Rita Xeckelsaen, and other members of the Reference Depart
ment of Butler Library.
u
IlfTBODOCTION
"Infandum, regina, lube* renovare dolorm. . •
Although the writer began hie investigation of the works of
William of Wheteley in 1952, Professor R* S. Loomis returned to Co-
when
luaibia University with photostats of Wheteley* s commentary on two hymns
In honor of St. Hugh of Lincoln, which, is contained in MS. New College
261*, the present study of Wheteley*s coenentaoy on Ds Disciplina was be
gun in the sinner of 1965* after an Qigllsh investigator sent a series
of queries to the w riter for Information about the life and works of
Wheteley. The investigator announced her intention to submit a thesis
in October of that year which would include—Inter alia—an edition of
sections of Wheteley*s commentary on Boethius* Da Consoletione Philoso
phies. particularly Wheteley *s cements on those metre of De Console-
tlone devoted to mythology and also to the celebrated recapitulation of
Plato's Tinaeua contained in Meter 9 of Book Three, a ll of which famed
an important part of the stucty which the w riter had carried on during ten
previous simmiers and whatever time could be taken from a dally teaching
schedule. He had arranged a schedule of half-time teaching for the aca-
dmio year 1965-6 la the hope of writing up the results of his study of
Whetelqy's ccasaentary and qwaestlcnee on He Consolations during that year.
In view of the stated intention of the Itaglish Investigator to present
an edition of texts which had famed an Important part of the w riter's pro-
Description:From various references in his works, William of Wheteley is known to have taught in the Stanford grammar school in 1309 and in the Lincoln grammar school in 1316. His statement that he had spent fifteen years at the university of Paris in his youth, an allusion which suggests that the village of Wh
