Gilson, Simon A.

About the author: Simon Gilson is a graduate of the University of Leeds and received his doctorate from the University of Cambridge. He is at present lecturer in Italian at the University of Warwick. His current research interests center on the relationsh

MEDIEVAL OPTICS AND THEORIES OF LIGHT IN THE WORKS OF DANTE

2000 0-7734-7808-6
This study investigates Dante’s knowledge of several traditions of the extensive medieval literature on light and optics and examines how he assimilates and reworks related imagery, themes, and motifs in his writing. “Gilson’s account demonstrates the extent to which in Dante’s mind art and science are closely akin. Equally, he provides a valuable survey of the debates which were current in Dante’s time in the field of optics (as well as revealing the deficiencies of most recent studies of the issue). The book is written with great clarity and considerable subtlety in the analysis of Dante’s text. It draws together material from a wide range of medieval sources and is likely to be of interest as much to the student of medieval philosophy as to readers of the Commedia.” – Dr. R. Kirkpatrick