Siger of Brabant
Illustration — Dante and Beatrice in Paradise. Depicted with red cloak, top right (MS Thott 411.2, 15th century). Siger of Brabant (Sigerus, Sighier, Sigieri or Sygerius de Brabantia; c.
Also recorded as Zeger van Brabant
Siger of Brabant
- Born
- 1235. · Duchy of Brabant.
- Died
- 1284. · Orvieto.
- Nationality
- Holy Roman Empire.
- Occupation
- philosopher, writer and theologian.
- Fields
- philosophy, ontology and logic.
- Education
- University of Paris.
- Known for
- Quaestiones in Metaphysicam, Super VI° Metaphysicae, Quaestiones in Physicam, Quaestiones de anima intellectiva, Quaestiones logicales, Quaestiones morales, Quaestiones naturales and De aeternitate mundi.
- Languages
- medieval Latin and Latin.
VALÉORINE Encyclopedia
VALÉORINE documentary reading
Documentary summary
Illustration — Dante and Beatrice in Paradise. Depicted with red cloak, top right (MS Thott 411.2, 15th century). Siger of Brabant (Sigerus, Sighier, Sigieri or Sygerius de Brabantia; c.
Admitted source layer · organised and presented by VALÉORINE
Note VALÉORINE
Siger of Brabant (1235–1284) was a philosopher, theologian and writer, a national of the Holy Roman Empire. The philosopher was born in Duchy of Brabant and died in Orvieto.
Siger of Brabant was educated at University of Paris. Activity centred on logic, ontology and philosophy.
Among the works are De aeternitate mundi, Impossibilia, Quaestiones de anima intellectiva and Quaestiones in Metaphysicam, among others. Languages used include Latin and medieval Latin.
Composed from admitted, traceable facts · 26 September 2026
VALÉORINE
Reference Check
Propose documentary evidence for Siger of Brabant. A contribution is never written directly as fact: identity, source, rights and evidence gates still decide.
Sign in to contribute
World of VALÉORINE
Documentary connections
Only confirmed graph relationships appear here. Images are shown only when their identity and reuse rights both pass the documentary gate.
Documentary evidence
Evidence Panel
not yet certified
- Identity
- resolved
- Independent source families
- 0
- Admitted assertions
- 0
- Open conflicts
- 0
Authority files
wikidata · Q355903 · wikipedia · Siger of Brabant
In this article
Early life
Early life
1240 – before 10 November 1284) was a 13th-century philosopher from the southern Low Countries who was an important proponent of Averroism.
Siger of Brabant studied at University of Paris. Godfrey of Fontaines is recorded as having studied under Siger of Brabant. The recorded working language is medieval Latin and Latin. The field of work recorded is philosophy, ontology and logic. Aristotle and Averroes are recorded as an influence. Works named in the authority record are Quaestiones in Metaphysicam, Super VI° Metaphysicae, Quaestiones in Physicam, Quaestiones de anima intellectiva, Quaestiones logicales and Quaestiones morales.
Little is known about many of the details of his life. In 1266, he was attached to the Faculty of Arts in the University of Paris at the time when a riot erupted between the French and Picard "nations" of students—a series of loosely organized fraternities. The papal legate threatened Siger with execution as the ringleader of the Picard attack on the French, but no further action was taken.
Works
Works
In the ten years following the riot, he wrote the six works which are ascribed to him and were published under his name by Pierre Mandonnet in 1899. The titles of these treatises are: • De anima intellectiva (1270) • Quaestiones logicales • Quaestiones naturales • De aeternitate mundi • Quaestio utrum haec sit vera: Homo est animal nullo homine existente • Impossibilia
Rectorship
Rectorship
In 1271, he was once more involved in a party struggle. The minority among the "nations" chose him as rector in opposition to the elected candidate, Aubri de Rheims. For three years the strife continued, and was probably based on the opposition between the Averroists, Siger and Pierre Dubois, and the more orthodox schoolmen. The matter was settled by the Papal Legate, Simon de Brion, afterwards Pope Martin IV. Siger retired from Paris to Liège.
Time in Liège
Time in Liège
Siger was accused of teaching "double truth"—that is, saying one thing could be true through reason, and that the opposite could be true through faith. Because Siger was a scholastic, he probably did not teach double truths but tried to find reconciliations between faith and reason. In 1277, a general condemnation of Aristotelianism included a special clause directed against Boetius of Dacia and Siger of Brabant. Again Siger and Bernier de Nivelles were summoned to appear on a charge of heresy, especially in connection with the Impossibilia, where the existence of God is discussed. It appears, however, that Siger and Boetius fled to Italy and, according to John Peckham, archbishop of Canterbury, then perished miserably.
Death
Death
The manner of Siger's death, which occurred at Orvieto, is not known. A Brabantine chronicle says that he was stabbed by a seemingly-insane secretary (a clerico suo quasi dementi). The secretary is said to have used a pen as the murder weapon and Siger's critics claimed that, since he had done so much damage with his pen, he had deserved that kind of death. Dante, in the Paradiso (x.134–6), says that Siger found "death slow in coming", and some have concluded that this indicates death by suicide. A 13th-century sonnet by one Durante (xcii.9–14) says that Siger was executed at Orvieto: a ghiado il fe' morire a gran dolore, Nella corte di Roma ad Orbivieto. The date of this may have been 1283–1284, when Pope Martin IV was in residence at Orvieto. Siger's fellow radicals were lying low in the face of the Condemnations of 1277 and there was no investigation into his murder. In politics Siger held that good laws were better than good rulers, and criticised papal infallibility in temporal affairs. The importance of Siger in philosophy lies in his acceptance of Averroism in its entirety, which drew upon him the opposition of Albertus Magnus and Aquinas. In December 1270, Averroism was condemned by ecclesiastical authority, and during his whole life Siger was exposed to persecution both from the Church and from purely philosophic opponents.
Work and production
Work and production
Works recorded as notable number 8: Quaestiones in Metaphysicam, Super VI° Metaphysicae, Quaestiones in Physicam, Quaestiones de anima intellectiva, Quaestiones logicales, Quaestiones morales, Quaestiones naturales and De aeternitate mundi.
Life and career
Dated record
Life and career
The full dated record · 2 entries
1235
Siger of Brabant born at Duchy of Brabant.
1284
Siger of Brabant died at Orvieto.
Places
Named by the record
Places
Only places the record itself states, plotted where the house gazetteer settles their coordinates. Nothing is inferred from a name or a nationality.
Duchy of Brabant.
Birth place
Orvieto.
Death place
Cultural references
Cultural references
In Dante Alighieri's The Divine Comedy, Siger of Brabant is found in the Fourth Sphere of Paradise, together with Albertus Magnus and Thomas Aquinas, for being a positive example of Prudence, Justice, Temperance, and Fortitude (Paradiso, x.97-99, 133-8),
References ==== Sources
References ==== Sources
• On the Eternity of the World, trans. Lottie H.Kendzierski (Marquette UP, 1964) [mainly translations from Thomas Aquinas, but the book includes selections from Siger of Brabant] • Hissette, R. (1977) Enquête sur les 219 articles condamnés à Paris le 7 mars, 1277, Louvain: Publications Universitaires, Paris: Vander-Oyez. • Mandonnet, P. (1908–11) Siger de Brabant et l’averroïsme latin au XIIIe siècle, Les Philosophes Belges VI–VII, Louvain: Institut supérieur de philosophie, 2 vols. • Rubenstein, Richard E. Aristotle's Children: How Christians, Muslims, and Jews Rediscovered Ancient Wisdom and Illuminated the Middle Ages. New York: Harcourt, 2003. • Van Steenberghen, F. (1977) Maître Siger de Brabant, Louvain: Publications universitaires, Paris: Vander-Oyez. • Tony Dodd: The life and thought of Siger of Brabant, thirteenth-century Parisian philosopher: an examination of his views on the relationship of philosophy and theology. E. Mellen Press, Lewiston 1998, • A. W. DeAnnuntis, Master Siger's Dream, What Books Press, Los Angeles 2010, *
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
Bibliography printed in the source article · 7
- On the Eternity of the World, trans. Lottie H.Kendzierski (Marquette UP, 1964) [mainly translations from Thomas Aquinas, but the book includes selections from Siger of Brabant]
- Hissette, R. (1977) , Louvain: Publications Universitaires, Paris: Vander-Oyez.
- Mandonnet, P. (1908–11) , , 2 vols.
- Rubenstein, Richard E. Aristotle's Children: How Christians, Muslims, and Jews Rediscovered Ancient Wisdom and Illuminated the Middle Ages. New York: Harcourt, 2003.
- Van Steenberghen, F. (1977) , Louvain: Publications universitaires, Paris: Vander-Oyez.
- Tony Dodd: The life and thought of Siger of Brabant, thirteenth-century Parisian philosopher: an examination of his views on the relationship of philosophy and theology. E. Mellen Press, Lewiston 1998,
- A. W. DeAnnuntis, Master Siger's Dream, What Books Press, Los Angeles 2010,
References
Citations
References
Each reference names the institution holding it, so a reader may go to the document itself.
reference work
Partially resolvedreference work
Partially resolved
Further particulars
Held on the record
Further particulars
Open the remaining particulars
Siger of Brabant studied at University of Paris. His recorded influences include Aristotle and Averroes. Each of those relationships is stated by the authority record rather than inferred from style. Identity and origins. The authorities additionally record the heading Zeger van Brabant. His recorded languages were medieval Latin and Latin. His recorded confession was Catholic Church.
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 14 August 2026.
Elsewhere in Books
38,988 published records in this field, each with its sources named.
- Sieur DuboisAuthor
- Sigbjørn HølmebakkAuthor
- Sigbjørn ObstfelderAuthor
- Sigbjørn SkådenAuthor
- Sigfrid SiwertzAuthor
- Sigfús DaðasonAuthor
- Sighvatr SturlusonAuthor
- Sigismondo BoldoniAuthor
Best supported in this field
For owners
Own a work by Siger of Brabant?
A specialist will read what you send and tell you what the house can establish, what it cannot, and whether the object is suited to sale. There is no charge and no obligation. The object stays with you throughout; nothing is shipped to us unless it is arranged in writing beforehand.