The general complaisance of mediaeval scholars towards science was shattered in the 11th Century. Conflicts with the forces of Islam in the Holy Land and Spain brought Europeans face to face with four centuries of Moslem learning. Christian sailors found the astrolabe more effective than the human eye for charting a ship's course by the stars. Arabic numerals proved less cumbersome to use than Roman numerals and were soon adopted by merchants for calculating investments and by churchmen in determining the date of Easter. Most revolutionary of all to Christian thinkers were the Arabic translations of and commentaries on Aristotle, who soon became known as "the prince of philosophers". His observations of physical as well as spiritual phenomena provided meat for active minds.

Subscribe Today

• Did you enjoy our article?
• Read more in British Heritage magazine
• Subscribe online and save nearly 40%!!!
 

While the works of Aristotle were being assimilated by university scholars, Roger Bacon was gaining reputation as a lecturer. He chose to centre his discourses on the new science and must have demonstrated admirable command of his subject as well as eloquence in his delivery. In 1241 he was invited to Paris to present a lecture series on the Aristotelian corpus.

The invitation from Paris brought Bacon to a cross-roads in his academic career. He had to decide whether to continue teaching philosophy with his master's degree, or to persevere towards a doctor of divinity. There was no better place to do either than Paris. Many an Englishman had gone there to study theology and returned to England, a distinguished expert in the field, to fill a bishopric. On the other hand, a number of English scholars with an interest in science had likewise studied and lectured there.

Bacon's inclination was heavily weighted against the study of theology. The baccalaureat program in Divinity required eight years of study beyond what he had already completed, plus an additional eight to earn the title of Doctor. He was now nearly 30 years old and could not picture himself attending lectures on elementary theology surrounded by boys who lacked half his years in age and all his years in philosophical training. One thing further influenced his final decision: he loved Aristotelian philosophy and desired to become a renowned "authority,' whose opinions would shape the European awareness of the subject. A lectureship in Paris with the Faculty of Arts seemed an opportunity to realise this all-important goal. Shortly thereafter Paris became his place of residence.

Bacon's appointment as magister regens lasted from 1241 to 1250. During those years he gained recognition as a teacher who argued according to "sense and Aristotle". This was no more than he expected, for he considered himself a good teacher. He discovered, however, that he had much to learn from his students. His Spanish-born pupils laughed at him during a lecture when he mistakenly referred to a Spanish word as Arabic. This embarrassment convinced him that there was merit in the study of languages. He set out to master the four languages which he felt most essential to the study of philosophy: Greek, Arabic, Hebrew and Chaldean. In his spare time he began a Greek grammar, "the first book of the volume on the grammar of languages other than Latin". His writings also included a text for his students, the Quaestiones, in the form of a disputation between a teacher and his students.

In addition to his academic duties, Bacon found time to audit lectures at the Faculty of Theology. Several times he amused himself by confounding a lecturer with some obscure philosophical point. He attempted to prove himself more learned than the doctors by designing problems of geometry that their theology could not solve. These intellectual gymnastics earned him little love from the theologians of Paris.

In one thing only was Bacon disappointed: he did not become a respected authority on Aristotle. His decision to devote himself to secular philosophy rather than to theology had guaranteed that he would not achieve the renown of Albertus Magnus or Thomas Aquinas, his fellow Paris scholars. His only hope of scholastic greatness seemed to lie in further study and reading. He threw himself more deeply into the "new" learning in search of a way to legitimise science by demonstrating its value to theology and so secure his reputation. When his friends invited him to join them in a goliardic romp through the streets of Paris, or to an evening of drinking at the local inn, he declined. They could only shake their heads and marvel at his determination to work himself to death.

Help HistoryNet by bookmarking to