Aspects of Fatherhood in Thirteenth-Century Encyclopedias

Abstract

This article examines the treatment of fatherhood in works by influential mendicant encyclopedists writing between 1240 and 1260: Liber de Natura Rerum by Thomas of Cantimpré, De Proprietatibus Rerum by Bartholomaeus Anglicus, and Speculum Maius by Vincent of Beauvais. The study examines sections on anatomy, the ages of man, family relations, and the theology of marriage. The article argues that the anatomical concept of heat functioned as a metaphor for masculinity, strength, and intelligence, and linked together such aspects of fatherhood as the father’s formative role in conception and the responsibility to instill virtue in and provide for the child, as well as broader concepts of household management and political government.