Gonsalvus Hispanus (; 1255 – 1313) was a Spanish

Franciscan The Franciscans are a group of related organizations in the Catholic Church, founded or inspired by the Italian saint Francis of Assisi. They include three independent Religious institute, religious orders for men (the Order of Friars Minor bei ...

theologian and

scholastic philosopher Scholasticism was a medieval European philosophical movement or methodology that was the predominant education in Europe from about 1100 to 1700. It is known for employing logically precise analyses and reconciling classical philosophy and C ...

, who became

Minister General of the Order of Friars Minor Minister general is the term used for the head or superior general of the different branches of the Order of Friars Minor. It is a term exclusive to the order and comes directly from its founder, St. Francis of Assisi. Terminology Francis chose ...

. He was born at

Lugo Lugo (, ) is a city in northwestern Spain in the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Galicia (Spain), Galicia. It is the capital of the Lugo (province), province of Lugo. The municipality had a population of 100,060 in 2024, ...

. He taught at the

University of Paris The University of Paris (), known Metonymy, metonymically as the Sorbonne (), was the leading university in Paris, France, from 1150 to 1970, except for 1793–1806 during the French Revolution. Emerging around 1150 as a corporation associated wit ...

, where he carried out a disputation with

Meister Eckhart Eckhart von Hochheim ( – ), commonly known as Meister Eckhart (), Master Eckhart or Eckehart, claimed original name Johannes Eckhart,

in 1303. He was expelled from Paris as a papal supporter, in the dispute with

Philip IV of France Philip IV (April–June 1268 – 29 November 1314), called Philip the Fair (), was King of France from 1285 to 1314. Jure uxoris, By virtue of his marriage with Joan I of Navarre, he was also King of Navarre and Count of Champagne as Philip&n ...

. He came across the younger

Duns Scotus John Duns Scotus ( ; , "Duns the Scot"; – 8 November 1308) was a Scottish Catholic priest and Franciscan friar, university professor, philosopher and theologian. He is considered one of the four most important Christian philosopher-t ...

and supported him, appointing him

regent master Regent master (''Magister regens'') was a title conferred in the medieval universities upon a student who had acquired a master's degree. The degree meant simply the right to teach, the ''Licentia docendi'', a right which could be granted, in the ...

of the Franciscans there in 1304.

Dispute with Meister Eckhart

The origin of Gonsalvus's dispute with Eckhart has to do with the relative superiority of the will to that of the intellect in knowing God. Gonsalvus held that the will was superior since, through it, God is known as he actually is whereas the intellect only knows the image of God in the mind. Eckhart believed that the intellect was superior to the will in this regard since through it, God can be known without any of the human qualities with which the will invests its image of him. (Maurer's introduction)

Notes

External links

Bibliography of the works of Gonsalvus
1250s births 1313 deaths Spanish Friars Minor Scholastic philosophers 14th-century Spanish Roman Catholic priests Ministers General of the Order of Friars Minor {{scholastic-philosopher-stub