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Document Details : Title: Through the Lens of Faith Subtitle: Preaching Optics in Dante's Tuscany Author(s): GALLI, Francesca Journal: Recherches de Théologie et Philosophie Médiévales Volume: 92 Issue: 1 Date: 2025 Pages: 163-190 DOI: 10.2143/RTPM.92.1.3294378 Abstract : Medieval preaching played a crucial role in popularising and disseminating optical science, and a few authors and works have received considerable attention from scholars (primarily Peter of Limoges). Nevertheless, a comprehensive examination of the presence and uses of optics in medieval sermons is still lacking. This article explores homilies and treatises ‒ some only available in outdated pre-20th-century editions, others still unpublished – by mendicant friars active in Tuscany in Dante’s day (1270-1320). Through an in-depth analysis of these texts, we gain insight into how optical knowledge was shaped and adapted through preaching practices, in a context particularly relevant to the art and literature of the time. The references and content used by these friars ‒ occasionally highlighting figures and objects of significance in the history of science ‒ provide a foundation for exploring the broader implications of the science of light and vision, particularly its influence on contemporary conceptions and representations of both tangible and otherworldly realities. This case study may also serve as a model for investigating other milieux. |
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