Heinrich von Harclay

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Heinrich von Harclay ( English Henry Harclay , also Henricus de Harclay ; Hercle or Herceley ) (* around 1270, † June 25, 1317 in Avignon ) was an English scholastic and university teacher.

Origin and studies

Heinrich von Harclay was probably born around 1270 as the younger son of the knight Sir Michael Harclay and his wife Joan. Andrew Harclay , who later became the Earl of Carlisle, was his brother. Henry was chosen as a likely younger son for a spiritual career and studied at Oxford , where he graduated with a master's degree in 1296 . On December 25, 1296 he received the office of Rector of Dacre from Bishop John de Halton of Carlisle . A year later, probably on December 21, 1297, he was ordained a priest. He then studied theology at the University of Paris . Before 1308 he graduated from Paris as a baccalaureus . Before 1312 he returned to Oxford and became Chancellor of Oxford University . On December 11, 1312 he was confirmed in this office by the Bishop of Lincoln.

Oxford University Registrar

Even before he became chancellor, he was drawn into the conflict at Oxford over the privileges that the Dominicans claimed from the university. In this academic dispute, Harclay sided with the university and did not hesitate to use all the means at his disposal. After the Dominican Hugh Sutton had announced a public dispute for February 17, 1312, contrary to custom, Harclay announced a separate dispute for the same day, which meant that Sutton's event had only a few listeners. As chancellor he traveled to the papal court in Avignon in 1313 to represent the university's position in the dispute with the Dominicans.

As Chancellor, Harclay was extremely active and concerned with the interests of the university. In view of the dispute with the Dominicans, he saw the need to collect the numerous statutes and rules of the university, for which he probably commissioned Registrum A , a collection of the rules in book form. This collection of rules enabled him to restrict the privileges of the Dominicans. For this purpose, on July 7, 1313, the students were banned from carrying weapons to avoid the constant quarrels between students from the north , north of England and Scotland against students from the south , south of England, Wales and Ireland. to defuse. Every university professor also had to take an oath that he would not endanger the peace in the university. In order to reduce the high food prices in Oxford, he reached maximum prices for basic foodstuffs ordered by the king. On May 20, 1315, Harclay received from the king a renewed confirmation of numerous rights that King Henry III. the college in the 13th century. When the dispute with the Dominicans flared up again, Harclay traveled again to Avignon in 1317, where he died.

Activity as a university professor and work as a scholastic

Already in Paris around 1300, Harclay wrote a commentary on the sentences of Petrus Lombardus . He was influenced by Johannes Duns Scotus , who was teaching at the University of Paris around this time. In his commentary, Harclay took up many of Duns Scotus 'arguments, but already showed his own critical approaches, which may have influenced Duns Scotus' last work, the Ordinatio .

As Chancellor of Oxford University, Harclay defended church doctrine. On February 14, 1314, a meeting of university teachers chaired by him condemned eight dissenting teachings as heresy. He himself preached on holidays and had a number of arguments. In his 29 Quaestiones ordinariae , which he wrote between 1313 and 1317, he proved to be an independent and critical thinker. He now contradicted the teaching of Duns Scotus and is thus considered the first opponent of his teaching among the secular clerics at Oxford University. He was also critical of numerous other theological and philosophical questions of his time, including divine predestination , the ontological status of divine ideas, the eternity of the world, the immortality of the soul and numerous other questions. Harclay himself did not write his own view of the world, but was considered an independent and critical thinker and thus an anti- Thomist, so to speak . He questioned numerous views that were common doctrine of his day. For this he was attacked by other scholastics such as William of Alnwick († 1333), Adam Wodeham († 1358) and Thomas Wilton . Still, Harclay was respected and recognized as a creative and expressive philosopher. His views influenced numerous medieval philosophers, including the immediate predecessor of William von Ockham .

Because of his position towards Duns Scotus, Harclay has experienced an extremely controversial characterization in the history of philosophy. While scientific books were written for his early sentence commentary and the Quaestiones ordinariae, his work on relationships, the Fundamenta Arcelini , has so far remained unedited.

Works

  • Henry of Harclay: Ordinary questions . Edited by Mark Gerald Henninger and Raymond Edwards. Oxford University Press, Oxford 2008. ISBN 978-0-19-726379-2

literature

  • Hermann Köstler: Knowledge of God in Heinrich von Harclay's commentary on sentences. Innsbruck 1977
  • Dietrich Zilleßen : Basics and presentation of the philosophical doctrine of God in the quaestions of Heinrich von Harclay . Gouder and Hansen, Cologne 1965
  • Franz Pelster: Heinrich von Harclay. Chancellor of Oxford and his quests ... Miscellanea Francesco Erhle, Rome 1924

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Heinrich von Harclay
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Henry de Harclay; Henricus de Harclay; Henry de Hercle; Henry de Herceley
BRIEF DESCRIPTION English scholastic and university professor
DATE OF BIRTH around 1270
DATE OF DEATH June 25, 1317
Place of death Avignon