The Theories of Relations in Medieval Commentaries on the Categories (mid-13th to mid-14th Century)

The medievals were interested in the theories of relations mainly because of their theological implications, and these implications were taken into account not only by theologians but also by some 13th- and 14th-century Parisian Masters of Arts. Nonetheless, modern attempts to sketch an outline of the development of theories have not paid due attention to the many extant commentaries on the Categories, and in particular not to those from the second half of 13th century. Filling this gap is the first aim of this paper, but I also wish to point to another field of medieval thought where the theory of relations had strong implications: the field of semantic or more broadly semiotic theories.