Natura, Artes und Virtutes. Alanus ab Insulis in der spätmittelalterlichen ‚Intellectual History‘

Abstract

This paper aims to find and pinpoint traces that Alanus ab Insulis and his works De planctu Naturae and Anticlaudianus left within the late medieval intellec- tual world. One of the main points of focus is the intellectual environment of the imperial residence and university city Prague between the middle of the 14th and the early 15th century. The texts dealt with in the article are written by representative figures such as the head of the imperial chancery Johann von Neumarkt, the poet Heinrich von Mügeln and reform theologist Hieronymus of Prague, a proponent of the Hussite movement. Methodologically, this inquiry is based on the approach taken in Quentin Skinner and John Pocock’s Intellectual History, in which the communicative and contextual character of historic textuality are emphasised.