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Richard of Middleton

Norman Franciscan, theologian, and philosopher

Correspondence, annotated notebooks and portrait silhouettes prepared for research
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Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionFeb 1, 2025
Entity authorityQ446656 ↗
Source-derived summary

Richard of Middleton (Medieval Latin: Richardus de Mediavilla; c. 1249 – c. 1308) was a member of the Franciscan Order, a theologian, and scholastic philosopher.

Life

Richard's origins are unclear: he was either Norman French (from Menneville or Moyenneville) or English (from Middleton or Middletown). As a Bachelor of the Sentences of Peter Lombard at the University of Paris in 1283, he played a part in the Franciscan commission examining Peter Olivi. He was regent master of the Franciscan studium in Paris from 1284 to 1287, and, on 20 September 1295 in Metz, he was elected Franciscan minister provincial of France. He was also subsequently tutor to Louis of Toulouse, son of Charles II of Anjou. He died sometime between 1300 and 1308.

Theology and philosophy

His extant theological output is mainly contained in his two commentaries on the Sentences of Peter Lombard, which he edited between 1285 and 1295, three sets of quodlibetal disputations and some 45 disputed questions. His work is heavily influenced by his predecessors at Paris, including Bonaventure, Henry of Ghent and Thomas Aquinas.

Editorial summary

This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Richard of Middleton” as norman Franciscan, theologian, and philosopher. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.

Editorial reviewA productive starting point for separating a subject’s documented career from later reputation and commemoration. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—1249, 1308, 1283, 1284—that can be checked directly. The linked authority record independently contributes the date 1249-01-01. The account is most persuasive where Richard, Middleton and Norman can be independently traced.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

The subject matters to the people & ideas register because the source frames it as norman Franciscan, theologian, and philosopher. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.

Evidence profile

The entry’s evidential value lies in the named roles, institutions and publications that can be tested against primary documentation. The source revision retrieved here is dated Feb 1, 2025. The linked authority identifier is Q446656. VIAF identifies the subject as 64802885. The Library of Congress control number is n85101153. 3 of 3 selected statements include explicit references; 1 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1249, 1308, 1283 and 1284.

Critical limits

Public reputation and documentary evidence do not always develop together; absence from a summary is not evidence of historical absence. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Read biographical claims against dates, named institutions and the cited references. Distinguish a subject’s later reputation from evidence produced during their lifetime.

Best used for
  • Establishing names and roles
  • Building a first chronology
  • Locating cited institutions
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Personal papers, civil or court records, institutional files and the scholarship cited by the source.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “Richard of Middleton”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow Richard of Middleton primary sources, Richard of Middleton archive and Richard research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Richard of Middleton”?
  2. Which primary records establish identity, chronology and institutional ties?
  3. How has the subject’s reputation changed across later accounts?
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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from “Richard of Middleton” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.