Sign Theory: Some Scholastic Encounters with ‘The Fifteen Signs before the Day of Judgement’

Abstract

The traditional medieval ‘Fifteen Signs Before the Day of Judgement’ have recently become a subject of renewed scholarly interest. Nevertheless, more work has been done on vernacular versions than Latin ones and little attention has been paid to analytical or critical stances taken regarding the ‘Signs’. This article proposes to accomplish this, first by treating approaches taken by two Scholastic authors: Hugo of Novocastro and Guiral Ot. Then it looks at various Scholastic expressions of doubt.