The reception of Alberto Magno's De vegetabilibus in Enrico of Herford's Catena aurea entium

Abstract

This study focuses on Book VII of the Catena aurea entium (ansae 1-2) by the Dominican friar Henry of Herford, which constitutes a distinctive case of the reception of Albert the Great’s De vegetabilibus. Henry’s work represents a very significant case of the dissemination and reworking of doctrinal contents derived from Albert’s work, especially those pertaining to the philosophy of nature. The case of Book VII of the Catena aurea entium is even more significant in so far as it represents a moment of fundamental syncretism within the Dominican botanical culture: Albert’s solid theoretical apparatus is in fact enriched by notions and excerpta taken from new medical sources circulating in the 14th century, most notably Averroes’ Colliget.