Albert the Great on Aristotelian Political Vocabulary. Three Examples from the Commentarium in octo libros Politicorum Aristotelis

The analysis and study of Albert the great’s Commentarium in octo libros Politicorum Aristotelis appear problematic for various reasons. A modern critical edition of the text is lacking; due to its style, it is difficult to distinguish Albert’s opinion from Aristotle’s position, and the frequent erroneous explanations by the Dominican theologian demand caution. This paper intends to suggest a methodological strategy to overcome these obstacles: by exploring Albert’s assimilation and transformation of some keywords of Aristotle’s political vocabulary (cives, crimatistica, murus), we are able to observe the metamorphosis of Aristotle’s political thought in Albert’s reflection. Insights achieved from such examination allow us to determine whether there is such an Albertinian model of society and, if so, which are its distinctive characteristics.