Duns Scotus

Lore & Background

Little is known of Duns Scotus apart from his work. His date of birth is believed to have been sometime between 23 December 1265 and 17 March 1266. He was born into a leading family of the region. The reputed site of his birth, in front of the Pavilion Lodge, near the North Lodge of Duns Castle in Scotland, is now marked by a cairn erected in 1966 by the Franciscan friars of the United Kingdom to mark the 700th anniversary of his birth. He received the religious habit of the Order of Friars Minor at Dumfries, where his uncle, Elias Duns, was guardian. His ordination to the priesthood occurred at St Andrew's, Northampton, England, on 17 March 1291. That his contemporaries called him Johannes Duns suggests he came from Duns, in Berwickshire, Scotland. Duns Scotus appears to have been in Oxford by 1300, and began lecturing on Peter Lombard's Sentences at the University of Paris towards the end of 1302. He was expelled from the University of Paris for siding with Pope Boniface VIII in his feud with King Philip IV of France over the taxation of church property. He was back in Paris before the end of 1304, continuing lectures until he was dispatched to the Franciscan studium at Cologne, probably in October 1307. According to the 15th-century writer William Vorilong, his departure was sudden and unexpected. He died unexpectedly in Cologne in November 1308; the date of his death is traditionally given as 8 November. He is buried in the Church of the Friars Minor there.

Reader's Guide

Duns Scotus's great work is his commentary on the Sentences of Peter Lombard, which contains nearly all the philosophical views and arguments for which he is well known, including the univocity of being, the formal distinction, haecceity, his critique of illuminationism, and his renowned argument for the existence of God. The standard version is the Ordinatio (also known as the Opus oxoniense), a revised version of lectures he gave as a bachelor at Oxford. Two other versions are the Lectura and the Reportatio parisiensis. He also wrote purely philosophical and logical works at an early stage, including commentaries on Aristotle's Organon and Metaphysics. The intellectual tradition derived from his work is called Scotism. He was given the scholastic accolade Doctor Subtilis ('the subtle doctor') for his penetrating and subtle manner of thought. He was beatified by Pope John Paul II in 1993. His doctrines—univocity of being, formal distinction, and haecceity—have had considerable influence on both Catholic and secular thought.

Did You Know?

• Duns Scotus was beatified by Pope John Paul II in 1993.
• His sarcophagus in Cologne bears a Latin poem: 'Scotia me genuit. Anglia me suscepit. Gallia me docuit. Colonia me tenet.'
• The story of Duns Scotus being buried alive is probably a myth; the first known attestation dates from around 1400.
• He was given the scholastic accolade Doctor Subtilis ('the subtle doctor') for his penetrating and subtle manner of thought.
• The colophon of Codex 66 of Merton College, Oxford, says that Scotus was also at Cambridge.