Blessed Duns Scotus
by Justus van Gent

John Duns Scotus (John Duns the Scot, 1265-1308) was one of the ablest minds of the Middle Ages. He defended orthodox Catholic thought and promoted the Immaculate Conception of Mary. He was called Doctor Subtilis ("the Subtle Doctor") because his thoughts were so deep and refined. Even today you will find a quick review of his work to be mind-bending. He is the equal to Aquinas, or nearly so, in his contributions to Catholic philosophy.

Because Scotus contradicted the new ideas of the early Renaissance, he was later derided in schools by the opponents of medieval Catholic thought, which is called Scholasticism. The word "dunce" was derived from his name and used to mock poor students. It took centuries for the enemies of Scholasticism to eradicate it from the universities; in part because it was hard to find something to replace it.

A Catholic professor who shepherded me into the Catholic faith said that Scotus worked hard to give grief to the early Renaissance, and I have rooted for the Middle Ages ever since. Sometimes the Middle Ages, which were a thousand years of faithful Christian living, are called the Dark Ages. What's so dark about being devoted to God? The intellectualism of the Middle Ages was high, in no small part because of Scotus. His influence is felt even to this day.

Justus van Gent (c.1410-1480) displays in Scotus's facial expression some of the nimbleness of his mind. The look is distant, as though gazing on some far-off idea, his lips quivering in the joy of discerning it, and the hand gestures are like some kind of illustrating schema of his thought.

Scotus was beatified in 1993 by Pope St. John Paul II. Feast Day

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