A Latin translation? The reception of Avicenna in Albert the Great's ‘De praedicamentis’

This paper presents an analysis of some quotations of Avicenna in Albert the Great’s De praedicamentis. Many of these quotations have been thought by Mario Grignaschi to prove a direct knowledge, on Albert’s part, of the Avicennan Categories (the Maqūlāt of his Kitāb al-Šifāʾ), a Latin translation of which is neither extant nor attested : Grignaschi presented these conclusions in a 1972 article on the Latin circulation of Arabic logical works, where he also hypothesized Albert’s use of other sources apparently unknown to the Latins (al-Fārābī’s Greater commentaries on the Organon, the logical sections of Avicenna’s Šifāʾ posterior to the paraphrase of the Isagoge). Jules Janssens challenged these conclusions in a recent contribution (2013), arguing that Albert did not necessarily have access to versions of the concerned Arabic texts. The present research is thus aimed at reprising Grignaschi’s dossier and Janssens’ reassessment, in particular as regards Albert’s De praedicamentis and its relation with Avicenna’s Maqūlāt : though Janssens’ conclusions are substantially confirmed, further elements of discussion are given concerning Albert’s sources, his use of the quotations and his understanding of Avicenna’s philosophy.