The Worldview and Thought of Tolomeo Fiadoni (Ptolemy of Lucca)

Description

Tolomeo Fiadoni (1236-1327) was one of the most important political theorists and historians of the Middle Ages. He was central to developing a theory for the practices of Northern Italian republicanism and was hostile to kingship, portraying it as despotic and inappropriate for virtuous and freedom-loving people. He was the first writer to compare Aristotle’s examples of Greek mixed constitutions - Sparta, Crete, and Carthage - with the Roman Republic, the ancient Hebrew polity, the Church, and medieval communes, yet he remained a staunch defender of the absolute secular and spiritual monarchy of the pope. Blythe explores various tensions in Tolomeo’s work that are often overlooked in scholarly treatments of him, and which derive from cultural preconceptions and the diverse influences on him: Aristotle, Augustine, apologists for papal power, his life in the Dominican Order, his educational experience with Thomas Aquinas, and his social position as a member of Northern Italy’s ruling class. These factors exerted contradictory influences on Tolomeo and led him to a sometimes unsuccessful intellectual struggle for consistency. This book is the first full-length study of Tolomeo’s thought and it gives full consideration not only to the political writings for which he is most known, but also to his historical and exegetical works. It is the companion to The Life and Works of Tolomeo Fiadoni (Ptolemy of Lucca). Front Matter ("Contents", "Acknowledgements", "Preface"), p. i Abstract | PDF (519 KB) Free Access 1: The Natural, the Supernatural, and the Stars, p. 1 https://doi.org/10.1484/M.DISPUT-EB.4.00142 Citation | PDF (486 KB) 2: Human Origins, Nature, and the First Governments, p. 17 https://doi.org/10.1484/M.DISPUT-EB.4.00143 Citation | PDF (496 KB) 3: Women, Gender, and the Family, p. 35 https://doi.org/10.1484/M.DISPUT-EB.4.00144 Citation | PDF (609 KB) 4: God’s Plan for History, p. 73 https://doi.org/10.1484/M.DISPUT-EB.4.00145 Citation | PDF (531 KB) 5: Empire and Papacy, p. 97 https://doi.org/10.1484/M.DISPUT-EB.4.00146 Citation | PDF (539 KB) 6: Varieties of Government, p. 125 https://doi.org/10.1484/M.DISPUT-EB.4.00147 Citation | PDF (559 KB) 7: The City, the Citizen, and the Polity as Organism, p. 155 https://doi.org/10.1484/M.DISPUT-EB.4.00148 Citation | PDF (529 KB) 8: The Roman Republic, Northern Italy, and the Best Polity, p. 179 https://doi.org/10.1484/M.DISPUT-EB.4.00149 Citation | PDF (542 KB) 9: City Governments and Civic Humanism, p. 207 https://doi.org/10.1484/M.DISPUT-EB.4.00150 Citation | PDF (505 KB) 10: Conclusions and Legacy, p. 227 https://doi.org/10.1484/M.DISPUT-EB.4.00151 Citation | PDF (488 KB) Back Matter ("Bibliography", "Citation Index to the Works of Tolomeo Fiadoni", "General Index"), p. 243 Citation | PDF (587 KB)