Franziska van Buren, An Introduction to the Metaphysical Thought of John Peckham: Text and Translations of Selected Quodlibetal Questions and the Summa de Esse et Essentia.. Medieval Philosophical Texts in Translation, 54. Milwaukee, WI: Marquette University Press, 2023, xiv, 123 pp.

Teaching medieval philosophy can no longer rely on students’ solid knowledge of Latin. Concomitantly, we just have to accept the fact that the body of relevant texts is enormous, so any help in making a useful selection can only be welcomed. Franziska van Buren turns her attention to the significant, but probably not so well-known thirteenth-century Franciscan cleric, John Peckham (ca. 1240–1290) who was a student under Bonaventure (ca. 1221–1270) and assumed such major position as provincial minister of the Franciscans (1274–1279) and Archbishop of Canterbury (1279–1292). Famous Thomas Becket (1162–1170) was one of his predecessors, and he followed him to some extent in the Church’s struggle against the English king, Edward I.