WHERE WAS BORN?

FRANCISCANS OF THE I MMACULATE, IN ASSOCIATION WITH A DAY WITH MARY

From an article by Charles Balic, OFM, written in 1966 to commemorate Ave Maria! the seventh centenary of the birth of blessed John Duns Scotus

A disputed question...

Under the above head- leading to a kind of birthplace of the Subtle ing, The Berwickshire mathematical certainty. Doctor, John Duns Sco- News of Tuesday 12 Often we must be con- tus. April, 1966, printed a tent with arguments letter to the editor in which afford moral cer- which it was stated that titude or give such a we are still uncertain degree of probability as about the exact birth‑- to exclude any other place of the great Brit- hypothesis. Now it ish philosopher and seems to me quite cer- theologian, John Duns tain that the documents Blessed John Duns Scotus, hold- ing a scroll with a paraphrase Scotus... and the historical argu- of his doctrine about how the It is not necessary to ments which we pos- Immaculate Conception ties in with the absolute primacy of point out that in the sess lead us with cer- Christ: “Christ preserved the field of history one can- tainty to the conclusion Blessed Virgin from every stain of sin; otherwise He would not not always expect to that the town of Duns have been Perfect Redeemer.” have obvious evidence in Scotland was the

“There is as much discussion about his birthplace as about Homer's” Questions about Scotus… An Irishman, or an Englishman perhaps? WHERE WAS BLESSED JOHN DUNS SCOTUS Two monographs on tioned the attempts to tus, qui les repousse et BORN? Duns Scotus appeared make our Doctor either les met hors de com- COULD “SCOTUS” APPLY at the end of the second an Irishman or an En- bat”; and the other wri- EQUALLY TO PRESENT- decade of this century, glishman. The former ter supports him: DAY IRELAND?

one by Père Alexandre wrote: “Ceux qui veu- “Giacché risulta da un WHAT’S THE SIGNIFI- Bertoni, O.F.M., and lent faire du Subtil lato che i coevi fanno CANCE OF “DUNS”? the other by Padre Egi- Docteur un anglais, ont del nostro Giovanni WAS SCOTUS A FELLOW dio Maria Giusto, contre eux le terrible Duns Scoto uno Scozze- OF OXFORD UNIVERSITY? O.F.M., and both men- argument du nom Sco- se, e che dall'altro lato

WHERE WAS DUNS SCOTUS BORN?

il suo nome Scotus significa per i contemporanei co- me per noi Scozzese, ogni critico imparziale dovrà perentoriamente risolvere la controversia in favore della Scozia.”

John, son of Scotland! Ever since the four- book of the Sentences, the same poem is found teenth century the voice by Master John Dinus in a more extensive of the manuscripts says (!) of Scotland,” and form in the very ancient clearly that Duns Scotus afterwards: “Summa of codex B. I. of Canter- belongs to Scotland. It questions on the second bury Cathedral Library, suffices to glance at the book .of the Sentences, where Scotus is called description of the codi- edited by the Reverend plainly “John, son of ces in the first volume Master John of Scot- Scotland.” The immed- of the Vatican edition of land.” In the Cesena iate followers of Scotus the works of Scotus. codex, in the lament for also affirm in their writ- Thus, for example, in the death of Scotus, we ings that the Subtle the Padua codex we read: “Mourn, 0 Scot- Doctor is “a Scot by read at the beginning: land, for thy uncommon nationality.” “Summa about the first glory has perished,” and

“MOURN, 0 SCOTLAND, FOR THY UNCOMMON GLORY HAS PERISHED!”

Page 2 From an article by Charles Balic, OFM, written in 1966

An objection answered... Whatever the names lish.” Duns Scotus him- in that country, and not may have meant in ear- self clearly distin- elsewhere. lier centuries, we find guishes Scotland from that at the time of our Ireland when he writes: Doctor the names Scot- “The seas flow more land and Ireland were rapidly the nearer they quite distinct in mean- are to the ocean, like the ing. This appears from northern seas, especially various documents, the sea between Norway among which is the fa- and Scotland, and be- mous scroll of the year tween Ireland and 1303 in which we read Spain.” Since the term “THE SEAS FLOW the names of the Fran- Scotia minor, at the MORE RAPIDLY ciscans who refused to time of Duns Scotus, no sign the petition of King longer distinguished THE NEARER THEY Philip the Fair against Scotland from Ireland ARE TO THE Pope Boniface VIII. In (Scotia maior), but Sco- OCEAN, LIKE THE this document, side by tia simply meant what NORTHERN SEAS, side with our Doctor, we call Scotland today, ESPECIALLY THE who is named “Friar and since the earliest John, Scot,” we find documents agree that SEA BETWEEN “Friar Richard, Irish,” John was born “in Sco- NORWAY AND “Friar Odo, Irish,” and tia,” it follows that we SCOTLAND, AND “Friar Thomas, Eng- must seek his birthplace BETWEEN IRELAND AND SPAIN”

If Scottish, where in Scotland? Writing in 1921, and town of Duns, not far at St. Mary's College, arguing from the fact from Berwick”, which Blairs, and thus orien- that “if the Subtle Doc- had been destroyed in tated opinion in favour tor had been born in Ire- 1545. This opinion pre- of the birth of Scotus in land and not in Scot- vailed until, in 1929 and the estate of Littledean, land, he could in no 1931, the Franciscan at Maxton, in the county The town centre in Duns wise have been called Fathers Longpré and of Roxburghshire. But Scotus,” Father Giusto Callebaut drew attention even before Rev- suggested that the birth- to the writings of Mari- erend Henry Docherty place was “the little anus Brockie preserved published his study

Page 3 WHERE WAS DUNS SCOTUS BORN?

entitled The Brockie tus, compiled about who writes: “Additions Forgeries, Brockie's 1325 and based on the to the second book of evidence was not alto- text corrected by Scotus Master John of Duns, gether convincing. Only in his own hand. Here the Subtle Doctor, once before his time had we find the first book extracted by Master it been asserted that on the Sentences “of William of Alnwick....” John was “from Little- Friar John of Duns, a Numerous other codices Blessed John Duns Scotus: “The Subtle Doctor” dean,” whereas it was Scot, of the Order of of the fourteenth stated constantly from Friars Minor.” In the century make our the first half of the four- Vatican manuscript Doctor a native of teenth century that he (cod. lat. 876) of the Duns…, to say nothing was a native of Duns. fourteenth century, after of the many codices of Among the more impor- the significant lines: the fifteenth century tant sources the first “Ioannes hic Scotorum, which not only assert place belongs to codex in scholis profecit plainly that our Doctor 137 of the Municipal Anglorum, in Ordine was “Scottish by Library of Assisi, a Minorum, fuit doctor nationality,” but also “ADDITIONS manuscript which pre- Parisiorum,” we meet a that he is called John TO THE serves the mediaeval valuable witness in the Scotus, “also known as critical edition of the person of John's own John of Duns.” … SECOND BOOK Ordinatio of Duns Sco- companion or secretary, OF MASTER JOHN OF DUNS, THE SUBTLE DOCTOR, EXTRACTED BY MASTER WILLIAM OF John Dunensis? Perhaps not... ALNWICK.” In the face of these place names. Thus Luke Dempster is very early and unequivocal Wadding asserts that annoyed with the Irish testimonies there seems Scotus was born in Dun, who assert that “Duns is no reason to engage in an ancient city in the a contracted form of speculation and to pro- north of Ireland, and Dunensis, but do not pose hypotheses about that Duns is only a con- produce any codex other possible places tracted form of the ad- where that contraction where Duns Scotus jective Dunensis or can be found.” might have been born, Dunius. Similarly whether in Ireland or in Father Bertoni affirms England, on the plea that John was born at that the Celtic particle “Downs, in the province dun appears in their of Ulster….” Thomas

Page 4 From an article by Charles Balic, OFM, written in 1966

IOANNES HIC SCOTORUM, IN SCHOLIS PROFECIT ANGLORUM, IN ORDINE MINORUM,

FUIT DOCTOR Blessed John and other saints of the Franciscan PARISIORUM Order, gathered around Our Lady

John of Dunstan, a fellow of Merton College, Oxford? There is no confirma- in the county of North- tion of the late evidence umberland, (a parish) offered by the codices belonging to Merton of the Bodleian and of College in Oxford, and Balliol College, written he was formerly a fel- by Reynbold of Zieren- low of the same Col- berg in 1451 and 1460, lege.” Furthermore, namely that John Duns there is no evidence was born “in a little vil- whatever that Scotus lage called Dunstan, in was ever a fellow of the parish of Emyldon, Merton.

The 59 varieties of “Duns”!

The fact remains that in “Douns” used in the These variations, how- all the earlier docu- same manuscript; and in ever, are not contrac- ments the Subtle Doctor the fifteenth century tions of Dunstan or is said to be “of Duns,” codex 525 of the Biblio- Dun, but simply differ- of “Dinis,” “Dons,” thèque de l’Arsenal of ent ways of writing the “Dunz,” or “Duncz.” In Paris we read: “John of same word, Duns, as one fourteenth century Downs, Scottish by na- always happened with manuscript preserved at tionality.” the names of persons or Oxford we find the two places. names “Dons” and

Page 5 Blessed John Duns Scotus: "Most distinguished representative of the Franciscan School" - Pope Paul VI

FRANCISCANS OF THE I MMACULATE, IN ASSOCIATION WITH A DAY WITH MARY

Thomas Dempster proved himself a stout defender of the Scottish origin of Duns Scotus: “There is as much discussion about his birthplace,” he said, “as about Homer's”. Wadding enlarged on this: “The Irish, the English, and the Scots dispute about his fatherland; for the glory of so great a man makes each of these provinces eager to claim him as their own, just as the Greek cities of old fought bitterly about the birthplace of Homer.” After all his efforts to prove Duns Scotus to be an Irishman, the celebrated historian concluded that the matter was far from certain, and he ends with the naïve plea that Scotus belongs to Ireland because neither the English nor the Scots have exerted themselves or made such sacrifices for his glory: “If reward is due to merit, and recompense to labour, then Scotus can be awarded to nobody but to the Irish.” ...

Duns Scotus: “The Perfecter of St. ” - Paul VI United in honouring a great saint...

I cherish the hope that “Scotland has the three countries his cradle, which for centuries con- the World his fame, tested the claim to be the Rhine his burial, Scotus' native land will Heaven has his soul, come together on the the figure of this great seventeenth of Septem- man breathes here.” ber [1966] in Duns, around the monument to be erected in his hon- our, with the inscrip- tion:

“Scotia habet cunas, famam Orbis, funera Rhenus, Symposium Secretariat Caelum animam, 15 Carlton Crescent hic magni spirat Surrey SM3 9TS imago viri.” England UK Visit the Symposium Phone: 020 8641 6418 E-mail: site on airmaria.com [email protected]