William of Ockham

c. 1287 – c. 1347

William of Ockham (c. 1287-1347) was an English Franciscan friar and scholastic philosopher regarded as one of the major figures of medieval thought. He is best known for the methodological principle of parsimony called Ockham's razor and for his nominalist philosophy. After clashing with Pope John XXII over apostolic poverty, he spent his final years under the protection of Emperor Louis IV in Munich.

Comparing
Compare

Lived at the same time

Well-documented people whose lives overlapped with William of Ockham.

Life events

Born in Ockham, Surrey, England
c. 1287

William was born in the small village of Ockham in Surrey, from which he takes his name.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
Birth ✓
Joined the Franciscan Order as a youth
c. 1300

William entered the Order of Friars Minor at an early age and received his early education in a Franciscan convent, likely in London.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
Education ✓
Studied theology at the University of Oxford
c. 1309 – c. 1321

William studied theology at Oxford and lectured on Peter Lombard's Sentences, but left without obtaining the degree of master of theology, earning the nickname Venerabilis Inceptor.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
Education ✓
Wrote the Summa Logicae
c. 1323

William composed his major treatise on logic, a foundational text of nominalist philosophy.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
Achievement ✓
Summoned to the papal court at Avignon
1324

William was called to Avignon to answer charges of heresy arising from his Oxford teaching, and a commission examined his writings while he remained there.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
Other ✓
Fled Avignon with Michael of Cesena and was excommunicated
26 May 1328

After concluding that Pope John XXII's position on apostolic poverty was heretical, William fled Avignon with the Franciscan minister general Michael of Cesena and was excommunicated by the pope.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
Relocation ✓
Took refuge at the court of Emperor Louis IV in Munich
c. 1330

William settled in Munich under the protection of Holy Roman Emperor Louis IV, where he wrote extensively on political theory and the limits of papal power.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
Relocation ✓
Died in Munich
c. 1347

William died in the Franciscan convent in Munich, traditionally on 9 or 10 April 1347, possibly a victim of the Black Death according to some accounts.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
Death ✓