RICHARD OF MIDDLETON. - Franciscan philosopher and theologian, known as *doctor solidus*, born c. 1249, died c. 1307-1308. Biographical details are scarce and uncertain; he is believed to have been of English origin, though the identification of Middelavilla with Middleton in England is still debated, in comparison with Menneville and Moyneville in France.
He studied at Oxford; around 1278-80 he is found in Paris. In 1283-85 he was part of the commission established to examine COLIVI (v.). In September 1284 he obtained the license to teach, which he held until June 1287. He was magister et socius of St. Louis of Toulouse in Naples (cf. *Analecta franciscana*, 7 [1951], p. 14). On 20 September 1295 he was elected superior of the Paris province. It is unlikely that he returned to England.
R.'s authentic works include: the commentary on the *Sentences* (Book I separately, Venice 1479; all 4 books together, in two volumes, ibid. 1507-1509), composed in 1282-84 but written in 1295; 45 *disputed questions* (*quaestiones disputatae*), to which R. often refers in his other writings, probably composed in 1284 (except for the XIII in *De humanae cognitionis ratione*, Quaracchi 1883, pp. 221-245; for titles cf. E. Hocedez, *Les quaestiones disputatae de R. de M.*, in *Recherches de science religieuse*, 6 [1916], pp. 500-13); three *Quodlibets* (Venice 1507), held respectively in 1285, 1286, and 1287; *Quaestio de privilegio papae Martini IV* (Quaracchi 1925): a lengthy defense of the privilege granted to the Mendicant Orders to hear confessions without prior approval from bishops and parish priests; *Quaestio de gradu formarum* (ed. R. Zavalloni, Louvain 1951, in the series *Philosophies médiévales*); and four sermons, delivered c. 1281 and 1283.
Traditionalist in relation to the Franciscan school, he often asserted his independence, aligning himself with Thomist positions or simply admitting them as probable. He gave particular emphasis to the sciences and canon law. In theology, R. remained faithful to St. Bonaventure on various points: theology is a practical science, grace and charity are not really distinct; the will is the foundation of supernatural virtues; the composition of matter and form in angels and their multiplication within the same species; the duality of filiation in Christ, etc. He leaned toward Thomism without fully accepting it, rejecting seminal reasons, the sin of angels in the first instant, the possibility of the Incarnation of the Word without sin, and likewise the impeccability of Christ, etc.
In philosophy, he showed greater independence from Thomism and Aristotelianism, though generally remaining within the tradition of St. Bonaventure. He adopted original positions and gave particular value to experience, often directing his studies toward nature. In ontology, he was a moderate realist on the question of universals; he denied the univocity of being in God and in creatures, and opposed the possibility of eternal creation. In psychology, he admitted the plurality of forms; the principle of individuation is given by the incommunicability of essence rather than by *materia signata quantitate*; he attributed primacy to the will over the intellect, admitting as the source of freedom the self-determination of the volitive act.
It may be said that R., more analytical than systematic, was a Bonaventurian open to Thomism with frequent personal insights, even in physics, where he is considered a precursor. He exerted great influence later, even outside the strictly scientific field, as in St. Bernardino of Siena. Today he is studied with renewed sympathy.