——. The Fountain of Philosophy: A Translation of the Twelfth-Century Fons philosophiae of
Godfrey of Saint Victor, trans. Edward A.Synan. Toronto: Pontifical Institute of Mediaeval
Studies, 1972.
——. Godefroy de Saint-Victor: Microcosmus. Texte, ed. Philippe Delhaye. Lille: Facultés
Catholiques, 1951.
Bonnard, Fourier. Histoire de l’abbaye royale et de l’ordre des chanoines réguliers de Saint-Victor
de Paris. 2 vols. Paris: Savaète, 1907.
Delhaye, Philippe. Le Microcosmus de Godefroy de Saint-Victor: étude théologique. Lille: Facultés
Catholiques, 1951.
——. “Les sermons de Godefroy de Saint-Victor: leur tradition manuscrite.” Recherches de
théologie ancienne et médiévale 21 (1954):194–210.
GODFREY OF FONTAINES
(d. 1304). Born near Liège, Godfrey studied at Paris under Henry of Ghent and was a
regent master in theology there from 1285 to 1295. He was also canon of Liège, Tournai,
and Paris and provost of Saint-Séverin of Cologne. Although elected bishop of Tournai in
1300, he renounced his claims to the episcopate. Both Godfrey and Henry of Ghent
actively engaged in the debate between the secular clergy and the mendicant orders,
opposing the privileges of the latter. Highly critical of the Augustinian school, Godfrey is
generally regarded as an Aristotelian and a Thomist. Although open to Aristotelian
thought, he was an independent thinker and differed with Aquinas on a number of issues.
Unlike Aquinas, for instance, Godfrey denied the real distinction between essence and
existence. No single work sets forth completely either his theology or philosophy; his
writings address such subjects as existence, the discord between the mendicants and the
secular clergy, and the condemnation by Étienne Tempier, bishop of Paris, in 1277 of 219
theses of the Aristotelian school. Thus, Godfrey’s system of thought is integrated with
and emerges from his observations on controversial issues of the late 13th century. His
major works are his fifteen Quodlibeta, composed during his regency and considered a
masterpiece in quodlibetical literature.
E.Kay Harris
[See also: ÉTIENNE TEMPIER; HENRY OF GHENT]
Godfrey of Fontaines. Quodlibeta. In Les philosophes belges, ed. Maurice de Wulf, A.Pelzer, Jean
Hoffmans, and Odon Lottin. 5 vols. Louvain: Institut Supérieur de Philosophie, 1904–37.
Wippel, John F. The Metaphysical Thought of Godfrey of Fontaines: A Study in Late Thirteenth-
Century Philosophy. Washington, D.C.: Catholic University of America Press, 1981.
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