Liminal Spaces between Oxford and Cologne: John Dymsdale’s Quaestiones super Metaphysicam on Prime and Proximate Matter

Abstract

The paper investigates theories of prime and proximate matter in the work of John Dymsdale, a thirteenth-century Master of Arts at Oxford. In his Quaestiones super Metaphysicam, Dymsdale addresses three main problems: (1) whether there exists in matter a kind of diminished form (forma diminuta) that subsequently becomes the substantial form of a thing; (2) whether prime matter is numerically one in all material entities; and (3) whether proximate matter adds some real feature to prime matter. The study further examines the textual relationship between John Dymsdale and John Picard of Lichtenberg, a German Dominican theologian. Through a synoptic comparison of their works, it demonstrates that Picard borrowed extensively – and often verbatim – from Dymsdale’s Quaestiones. This finding challenges the perceived isolation of German medieval philosophy by revealing a significant Oxonian influence on the Dominican Studium generale in Cologne. The paper concludes by presenting a new critical edition of three of Dymsdale’s Quaestiones.