HET:John of Salisbury

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John of Salisbury, c.1120-1180.

Also known as Johannes Partus, or John Little. English Scholastic philosopher and theologian, studied in Paris under Peter Abelard. Went on to serve as secretary to the Archbishop of Canterbury, and went into exile with Thomas a Becket. He became Bishop of Chartres in 1176.

His Metalogicon is a treatise on education, in particular of how to incorporate Aristotle's corpus (as it was then known) in school curricula. But John's principal claim to fame is his Policraticus, a political treatise describing a kingdom by analogy to the parts of a human body. It is significant for being one of the rare writings by theologians of the Middle Ages to even give a passing notice to economic matters - in Salisbury's case, when discussing the public treasury.

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Major Works of John of Salisbury

Metalogicon
Policraticus (1639 ed.; 1848 ed., 1, 2)
Joannis Saresberiensis Opera Omnia, J.A. Giles, editor, 1848: v.1, v. 2, v. 3, v. 4, v.5

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Resources on John of Salibury

John of Salibury and the Classics by A.C. Krey, 1907
"John of Salisbury" in Leslie Stephen & Stephen Lee, editor, 1885-1901 Dictionary of National Biography [1908-09 ed]
John of Salibury at Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy, Stanford
John of Salisbury at Catholic Encylc.
John of Salibury at Wiki

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