Nicholas of Cusa as a Reader of Plato and Aristotle: Critical Edition and Study of Nicholas’ Marginalia

• Applicant: Professor Dr. Mario Meliadò
• Subject Area: History of Philosophy
• Term: since 2022
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 503202801

The research project explores systematically for the first time the whole corpus of Platonic and Aristotelian manuscripts which Nicholas of Cusa possessed and read. The aim of the project is to produce a critical edition of all of Nicholas’ glosses and marginal notes to the Latin translations of Plato and Aristotle. In addition, it is proposed to carry out two comprehensive studies investigating Nicholas of Cusa’s reading practices in the broader framework of the Renaissance reception of Plato and Aristotle. The edition of Nicholas of Cusa’s marginalia on Platonic and Aristotelian works will offer an essential new tool for interpreting Nicholas’ writings and intellectual development, providing insight into his reading practices. The project will also scrutinize, from an innovative perspective, Nicholas of Cusa’s relations to the intellectual currents of his time and to competing 15th-century models of appropriation of ancient philosophy. To this end, the project examines the context and doctrinal point of view from which Nicholas of Cusa read and interpreted the philosophical authorities that were considered touchstones in the milieu of the Italian humanists (Plato) and at European universities (Aristotle) respectively.This project will thus enable a new reconstruction of Nicholas of Cusa’s reading chronology and understanding of the sources. Furthermore, the interpretative approaches evidenced by Nicholas of Cusa’s glosses will be placed in relation to the use of Platonic and Aristotelian works as testified in Nicholas’ own writings. At the same time, by studying the specific genre of the marginalia, the project seeks to exemplarily examine Nicholas of Cusa’s contexts and methods as a reader and writer, as well as to elicit the personal and intellectual network through which he came into contact with texts and ideas that deeply influenced his philosophy.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants