Štěpán of Palecz's (d. 1423) Opera logicalia and the Reception of English Logic in Late Medieval Bohemia

The project focuses on the examination of late medieval logic and philosophy in Bohemia during the late middle ages. Since 1348 the University of Prague has been one of the most prominent intellectual centers of the Holy Roman Empire, deeply soaked with the tradition of Parisian nominalism and, since the 1380s, also a significant locus of John Wyclif's realism in Central Europe. The roots of both traditions have been only partially studied, and some of their interactions remain largely unexplored.

This research, being at the convergence of several disciplines (medieval philosophy, logic, late medieval paleography, and medieval history or history of universities), will provide the first systematic investigation of the five unique extant logical treatises compiled by the Czech Realist Štěpán of Palecz (d. 1423) sometimes in the early 1390s. In these texts, the impact of Parisian nominalism, as well as the heritage of English logic and John Wyclif's works are reflected. Palecz's following extant works concerning his Prague parva logicalia lessons from the early 1390s (the preserved collection was entitled Opera logicalia) will be analyzed:

Stephanus de Palecz, Disputata confusionum, Praha, NK ČR, X.H.9, ff. 76r-92r
Stephanus de Palecz, De suppositionibus, Praha, NK ČR, X.H.9, ff. 92v-95r
Stephanus de Palecz, Notabilia confusionum, Praha, NK ČR, X.H.9, ff. 95r-97v
Stephanus de Palecz, Notabilia consequentiarum, Praha, NK ČR, X.H.9, ff. 98r-101r
Stephanus de Palecz, Notabilia in Richardi Billinghami Tractatum de propositionibus, NK ČR, X.H.9, ff. 101r-108v
Stephanus de Palecz, Collecta obligationibus, Praha, NK ČR, X.H.9, ff. 109r-111v

The aim of the research project is to change the paradigm and perception of the issue of how treatises by John Wyclif (d. 1384) were transmitted into the Central European region. The attention will also be drawn to a wider process of transmission of other English sources to Bohemia, and to the impact of the tradition of English logic on Bohemia. Treatises compiled by Richard Billingham, Richard Brinkley, and Richard Ferrybridge will be especially focused on.