INTERNATIONAL
ALBERTUS MAGNUS
SOCIETY
MISSION
The International Albertus Magnus Society is a not-for-profit organization, whose purpose is to promote the study, understanding and dissemination of the thought of Albertus Magnus (d. 1280), either in itself or in its relation to his predecessors, contemporaries or successors.
To this end, the society aims to facilitate communication and collaboration among those studying, researching and teaching in the field; to provide a gateway to Albert’s works and to past and current research; to organize scholarly meetings; to support the publication of contemporary scholarship; and to seek opportunities to work with other learned societies or institutions with compatible interests.
History
The International Albertus Magnus Society was created in 2014 with guidance from Henryk Anzulewicz (Albertus-Magnus-Institut), under its founding president Irven Resnick (University of Tennessee, Chattanooga). A mailing list was created, a newsletter was developed and sessions on Albert were organized at the International Medieval Congress on Mediaeval Studies at Kalamazoo (USA) and at the International Medieval Congress in Leeds (UK). The Society then migrated to Boston College under Franklin Harkins until, in 2020, a small group of Albert scholars, once again under the impetus provided by Henryk Anzulewicz, met to establish IAMS on a more permanent foundation. Under President Bruno Tremblay (St. Jerome’s University), the Society acquired a legal status in Canada as a not-for-profit organization, a Board of Directors was constituted, and bylaws were drafted. Its first Annual Members meeting was held virtually in June 2022.
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[Portion of “La scuola del beato Alberto Magno” (Museo di San Marco, Firenze), by Fra Angelico or one of his students (ca. 1440-50). CC By 4.0 Deed. Photograph by Mr. Carlo Finocchietti. Used with permission.]
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About the Seal
The Society’s logo is an artistic rendition by Ann DeCerbo of the seal that Albert used between 1252 and 1260, arguably the most fruitful period of his academic life. The seal depicts an angel blowing a trumpet and holding a book, likely in reference to the tasks of preaching and teaching, essential duties of a Dominican, with a possible allusion to apocalyptic themes. The text surrounding the angel reads as “+ S. FR . ALB'TI DE LAVGĪG . ORD . PRED.”, i.e. “SIGILLUM FRATRIS ALBERTI DE LAUGINGEN ORDINIS PRAEDICATORUM” [Seal of Brother Albert of Lauingen, of the Order of Preachers].
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The Society’s logo is based on this seal, which is found on the Kleiner Schied, the peace agreement negotiated by Albert and Hugh of Saint Cher between Cologne and Archbishop Konrad von Hochstaden (d. 1261) and preserved in the city’s archives. Thank you to the Rheinisches Bildarchiv Köln, for providing the original photograph of the seal (seen on the left) and the permission to utilize it, and to Henryk Anzulewicz, for kindly suggesting its use.
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[Photograph of Albert’s seal furnished by the Rheinisches Bildarchiv ]
Homage
The red, dark green and greenish grey or beige used in the design of the website will be familiar to all contemporary students of Albert the Great. They were chosen to pay homage to the work of the Albertus-Magnus-Institut, in Bonn, and its ongoing critical edition of Albert’s complete works.
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[Photograph by Bruno Tremblay. Used with permission.]
Officers
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Bruno Tremblay
President (2020-2025) -
Irven Resnick
Vice-President (2022-2025) -
Martin Tracey
Newsletter Editor (2022-2025) -
Bruno Tremblay
Secretary (2022-2025)
Directors
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Julie Casteigt
Université de Toulouse, France (2022-2024) -
Franklin Harkins
Boston College, USA (2022-2023; 2023-2026) -
Paul Hellmeier
Dominikaner an St. Kajetan, Deutschland (2022-2024) -
Irven Resnick
University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, USA (2022-2025) -
Mercedes Rubio
Universidad Villanueva, España (2023-2026) -
Joerg Tellkamp
Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana-Iztapalapa, México (2022-2024) -
Martin Tracey
Benedictine University, USA (2022-2025) -
Bruno Tremblay
St. Jerome’s University, Canada (2022-2025) -
David Twetten
Marquette University, USA (2022-2023; 2023-2026)
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Past Presidents
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Irven Resnick (2014-2018)
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Franklin Harkins (2018-2020)
Past Director
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Markus Fuehrer†
Augsburg University, USA (2022-2023)
[Portion of the “Sermon of St Albertus Magnus,” by Friedrich Walther, ca. 1430–95, oil on wood. The banner inscription reads: “Furcht got wan die stund seyns urteils ist zukunfftig apock / xiiii”(Fear God . . . for the hour of his judgement is come; Revelation 14:7). From Wikimedia Commons. CC0 1.0 Deed. Public Domain.]