ALBERTUS MAGNUS, ALBERT OF COLOGNE (?I 206-I 280), scholastic philosopher called doctor universalis. Albert was born of the family of the counts of Bollstxdt, at Lauingen, in Suabia. In 1223 he joined the Dominican order, and after teaching in turn at Cologne, Hildesheim, Freiburg, Ratisbon, Strasbourg, and again at Cologne, was sent to Paris from 1245-48, and there acquired great fame. (Roger Bacon, who was by no means friendly towards Albert, speaks of him as "the most noted of Christian scholars.") When he returned to Cologne in 1248 to organize the stadium generale, Thomas Aquinas, who had been under his direction at Paris, went with him. From 1254-57 he was provincial of the German province, during which time he defended the Mendicants against the University of Paris and its spokesman, William of St. Amour. From 2260-62 he held the bishopric of Ratisbon. From that date to 127o, when he returned to Cologne as a lector, he seems to have been travelling about preaching a crusade in Germany and Bohemia, and undertaking various other ecclesiastical missions in Wurzburg and Strasbourg. In 1277 he returned to Paris to defend the doctrines of Aquinas against the condemnations of Bishop Tempier. Albert's works, which were mostly completed before 1256, were published in 21 folio volumes by Jammy at Lyons in 1651, and reprinted in 36 volumes by Borguet (Paris, 1890). They include paraphrases of all of Aristotle's works, a commentary on the Sentences of Pete'. Lombard, an incomplete Summa T1ieologiae, a treatise against Averroes, and the curious De Causis et Processu Universitatis a work of Neoplatonic colouring.
Albert has a remarkable affinity with the early Franciscan philosophers of Oxford; thus, his love of experimental science, and his knowledge of geography, astronomy, medicine, zoology and botany, are strongly reminiscent of Grosseteste and Bacon, while his interweaving of Aristotelian, Arabian, Jewish, Neo platonic and Augustinian elements bears a close resemblance to the system of Thomas of York. However, as far as his Dominican successors are concerned, Albert's chief influence seems to lie in his successful propagation of an esteem for Aristotle. Hence his project of "adapting Aristotle to the use of the Latin races" was fulfilled in spite of the intense distrust of Aristotle that had been aroused by the Paris condemnations of his works on natural science and metaphysics in 12 10, I 215, '23 and '245.
See J. Sighart, Albertus Magnus, sein Leben und seine Wissenschaft (1876) ; Paget Toynbee, "Some Obligations of Dante to Albertus Magnus" in Romania (1895) ; E. Michael, Geschichte d. deutschen Volkes vom 13 Jahrh. (1993) v. iii. P. 445 seq. (for Albert's scientific interests) ; A. Schneider, Die Psychologie Alberts d. Gr. (1906) ; C. Baeumker, Witelo 0998) (for Albert's Neoplatonism) H. Lauer, Die Moraltheologie Alberts d. Gr. 09'0 ; P. Mandonnet, diger de Brabant (19II) ; L. Gaul, Alberts des Grossen Verhiiltnis zu Plato (1913) ; G. von Hertling, Albertus Magnus, Beitrage zu seiner Wiirdigung (1914) •