Pointing to inclinations : Albertus Magnus' physiognomy as a scientific and theological nexus

Abstract

This dissertation explores the physiognomy of Albertus Magnus, which is contained within his commentary on De animalibus, the three works on animals by Aristotle. This physiognomy provides an opportunity to demonstrate the medieval intellectual world view that the body and soul were connected, both theologically and medically. Albertus Magnus and his physiognomy also exemplify the reintroduction of physiognomy into Latin Christendom in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries through deep textual connections in physiognomy, medicine, and theories of the soul to the classical Mediterranean through the intermediary of the Islamic world. Physiognomies like that of Albertus Magnus also contribute to ideas of what constitutes a medieval scientia by building upon past scholarship on astrology, hagiography, and other aspects of the premodern world that have largely been rejected until recent decades.