Georgius of Brussels

GEORGIUS BRUXELENSIS (Brussels, c. 1450–1510).
“Expositio super octo libros physicorum Aristotelis.” Incunabulum, 1490.
With handwritten annotations.
Two folios are missing. It shows signs of wear due to age, restorations, tears, and some reinforced folios.
Printers: André Bocard and Félix Baligault, prior to 1495/1499
Measurements: 25 x 18 x 7 cm.
A rare incunabulum edition of Georgius Bruxellensis’s commentary on the eight books of Aristotle’s *Physics*, a work closely linked to the intellectual milieu of the University of Paris and to the tradition of scholastic natural philosophy.
Georgius Bruxellensis, active in the last quarter of the 15th century, made significant contributions as a commentator on Aristotle. His *Expositio super octo libros Physicorum Aristotelis* bears witness to the intense reception of Aristotelian philosophy in European universities, where *Physics* occupied a central position in the study of nature, motion, change, space, and time. The work should not be understood simply as a reproduction of the Aristotelian text: it is an academic commentary, designed to accompany and explain the complex conceptual structure of Aristotle’s natural philosophy. The edition is also linked to the work of Master Thomas Bricot, who revised and expanded the text, a fact that situates the volume within the context of Parisian university education in the late 15th century.
The presence of handwritten annotations in this copy is particularly evocative. In philosophical and academic texts from this period, marginal notes serve as a direct record of how the work was used and read. Far from being a mere accessory, these handwritten annotations may preserve the testimony of former readers, students, or professors and reflect the way in which Aristotelian texts were studied, commented on, and discussed.