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GENERAL INTRODUCTION TO THE SERIES Since last century, when Pierre Duhem and Anneliese Maier published their groundbreaking studies of medieval natural philosophy, Francis of Marchia, an Italian Franciscan who read the Sentences at Paris in 1319-1320, has been best known for several original and highly interesting scientific views. Recent scholarship has not only confirmed Duhem’s and Maier’s observations, but has also highlighted other areas of Marchia’s thought that show his creativity and deserve more study, such as his philosophical theology, political philosophy , philosophy of mind, and metaphysics. That Marchia’s works enjoyed a sizeable medieval readership is witnessed by some twenty-five manuscripts containing his Sentences commentary in whole or in part. Moreover, a lively discussion of certain of his views can be traced in the second quarter of the fourteenth century, and his impact can be seen even on such major thinkers as William of Ockham and Gregory of Rimini. Thus, Francis of Marchia’s importance as a thinker and as an influence on later discussion cannot be doubted. Nevertheless, because his works are for the most part unprinted, modern scholars have been hampered in their efforts to reconstruct Marchia’s thought, let alone its reception. The goal of the series Francisci de Marchia Opera philosophica et theologica is to improve this situation. The series is dedicated to publishing in critical edition most of the currently unprinted works of the Italian Franciscan, and will eventually make available at least the Scriptum (or longer) version of Marchia ’s commentary on I Sentences; both versions of Marchia’s commentary on II Sentences; Marchia’s commentaries on III and IV Sentences; and a volume of Marchia’s Philosophical and Theological Quaestiones. Each volume in the series, in addition to the critically edited text and the apparatus criticus and fontium, will include an introduction discussing the nature and the transmission of the text in question, as well as the major doctrinal points Marchia makes there. The present volume contains the first twelve of the forty-nine quaestiones found in the longer version of Marchia’s commentary on II Sentences, a version also known as the Reportatio IIA. Over the next two years the remaining quaestiones of that version of Marchia’s II Sentences will appear in two volumes, as will the shorter version of Marchia’s II Sentences (called the Reportatio IIB) in one volume. Since the present volume is the first to appear in the series, it opens with a comprehensive introduction written by Tiziana Suarez-Nani and William Duba. Including a summary and reconsideration of the evidence currently at our disposal concerning Marchia’s life and known works, the introduction will serve as a point of departure for future studies on Marchia – studies, which in their turn will allow us to nuance some of the views presented here and answer some of the remaining questions. Russell L. Friedman Leuven August 28, 2008 ...

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