William of Conches

Tonsured William of Conches (Magister Wilhelmus, "Master William") teaching the Duke of Normandy that "A thing existing in itself is said to be a substance" (Res extans per se substancia dicitur esse) in a medieval copy of the Dragmaticon (Beck MS 12, c. 1230)

William of Conches (Latin: Gulielmus de Conchis; French: Guillaume de Conches; c. 1090 – c. 1154), historically sometimes anglicized as William Shelley,[1] was a medieval Norman-French scholastic philosopher who sought to expand the bounds of Christian humanism by studying secular works of classical literature and fostering empirical science. He was a prominent Chartrain (member of the School of Chartres). John of Salisbury, a bishop of Chartres and former student of William's, refers to William as the most talented grammarian of the time, after his former teacher Bernard of Chartres.

  1. ^ DNB (1900).