A Quaestio on Friendship Ascribed to Matthias of Knín, with some Notes and Questions on the Academic and Intellectual Life at the Prague Faculty of Arts at the Turn of the Fifteenth Century

A little-known master from the Faculty of Arts of Charles University, Matthias of Knin actually took part in a series of events that were of considerable relevance for the academic and intellectual life in Prague at the turn of the fifteenth century. Among the few extant works ascribed to him is the quaestio 'Utrum, si amicus et veritas dissenciant, veritas sit amico preferenda' that is published in the appendix to this article. After sketching Matthias's intellectual biography, the article presents the manuscript transmission of the quaestio and its structure, and raises a number of questions about academic practices and intellectual life at the Prague Faculty of Arts at the turn of the fifteenth century. Since the quaestio significantly depends on John Buridan's commentary on the Ethica Nicomachea, a throughout analysis of textual correspondences has been carried out.