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I. Francis of Marchia’s Life As common for many medieval thinkers, few biographical details survive for Francis of Marchia (Franciscus de Marchia, Franciscus de Esculo, Franciscus Rubeus de Pignano, Francesco d’Ascoli) before his lectures on the Sentences .1 Born around 1290, Francis hailed from the Italian village of Appignano del Tronto, now belonging to the province of Ascoli Piceno in the region of the Marches, where most likely he entered the Franciscan Order. University studies probably brought him to Paris around 1310. During the academic year 1319-1320, he most likely lectured on the Sentences of Peter Lombard. Support for the 1319-1320 dating of Francis’ lectures comes from a piece of evidence internal to his work: the explicit from the Reportatio on the first book as contained in a manuscript of the National Library of Naples (BN VII. C. 27, f. 126va) states that Francis of Marchia read the Sentences at Paris in 1320.2 Further support comes from the works of the Franciscan theologians Francis criticizes and from those who criticize him. One of Francis’ most important interlocutors, Peter Auriol, read the Sentences at Paris in the period 1316-1318, and was regent master in 1318-1320. Francis often considers Auriol’s positions and further uses Auriol’s Sentences commentary as a source for other opinions.3 Moreover, Francis seems to react to a position on 1 The following studies have traced Francis’ life: A. Teetaert, “Pignano, François de”, Dictionnaire de théologie catholique, v. 12, Paris 1935, cols. 2104-2109; N. Schneider , Die Kosmologie des Franciscus de Marchia, Leiden 1991, pp. 11-34; N. Mariani (ed.), Francisci de Esculo OFM Improbatio contra libellum Domini Ioannis qui incipit “Quia vir reprobus”, Grottaferrata 1993, pp. 3-34; P. Vian, “Francesco della Marca”, Dizionario biografico degli Italiani, v. 49, Rome 1997, pp. 793-797; C. Schabel, “Francis of Marchia”, The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Fall 2007 edition): ; R. Friedman and C. Schabel, “Introduction”, Francis of Marchia, Theologian and Philosopher, Vivarium 44 (2006), pp. 3-14; W. Duba, “Francesco d’Appignano tra Parigi e Avignone”, in: D. Priori (ed.), Atti del IV° Convegno Internazionale su Francesco di Appignano, Appignano del Tronto 2008 (forthcoming). 2 R. Friedman and C. Schabel, “Francis of Marchia’s Commentary on the Sentences : Question List and State of Research”, Medieval Studies 63 (2001), pp. 31-106; the explicit appears in that article on p. 85: “Explicit Lectura Fratris Francisci de Marchia super primum, secundum Reportationem factam sub eo tempore, quo legit Sententias Parisius, anno domini MCCCXX.” 3 R. Friedman, “Francesco d’Appignano on the Eternity of the World and the Actual Infinite”, in: D. Priori (ed.), Atti del I° Convegno Internazionale su Francesco d’Appignano, Appignano del Tronto 2002, pp. 83-99; C. Schabel, Theology at Paris 1316-1345: Peter Auriol and the Problem of Divine Foreknowledge and Future Contingents , Aldershot 2000; C. Schabel, “Parisian Commentaries from Peter Auriol to Gregory of Rimini and the Problem of Predestination”, in: G.R. Evans (ed.), Mediaeval Commentaries on the Sentences of Peter Lombard, Leiden 2002, pp. 221-265; T. SuarezNani , “Linguaggio, conoscenza e libertà. Note in margine alle questioni 26 e 27 del commento di Francesco de Marchia al II° libro delle Sentenze”, Freiburger Zeitschrift für Philosophie und Theologie 50 (2003), pp. 354-375; T. Suarez-Nani, “Un modello XIV INTRODUCTION the status of the accident of quantity analogous to that held by William of Ockham in his Sentences commentary, dating from 1317-1319.4 More clearly, Francis criticizes Landulph Caracciolo, who read the Sentences at Paris in 1318-1319.5 Finally Francis Meyronnes, who read the Sentences at Paris in 1320-1321, criticizes the theory of projectile motion formulated by Marchia in his commentary on the fourth book of the Sentences.6 All these elements taken together allow us to place Francis of Marchia’s lectures on the Sentences in 1319-1320. Some time after reading the Sentences, Francis probably reworked his lectures for distribution in written form, perhaps finishing in 1323: the explicit of the commentary on the fourth book of the Sentences as contained in the Chigi ms. (Vatican City, BAV, Chigi B VII 113) says that it was made in 1323.7 For the period from 1321 to 1328, we have very little information on Francis’ movements, and what we have is not certain: there is no explicit indication that Francis was at Paris after 1321, nor anything that places him at Avignon before 1328.8 N. Schneider cites a note...

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