Jean Buridan - Apocryphal Stories and Anecdotes About Personal Life

Apocryphal Stories and Anecdotes About Personal Life

Apocryphal stories abound about his reputed amorous affairs and adventures which are enough to show that he enjoyed a reputation as a glamorous and mysterious figure in Paris life. In particular, a rumour held that he was sentenced to be thrown in a sack into the River Seine, but was ultimately saved through the ingenuity of a student. François Villon alludes to this in his famous poem Ballade des Dames du Temps Jadis. Buridan also seems to have had an unusual facility for attracting academic funding which suggests that he was indeed a charismatic figure.

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