O spominu in spominski podobi v srednjem veku

The paper discusses the attitude of mediaeval authors toward memory within theoretical approaches and also in practical use, which were especially valuable in scholastic practice, with the training of memory an important discipline. The authors of antiquity heavily influenced the perception of memory, remembrance and organizing the information (especially Aristotle), and since Patristic era their concepts were incorporated in theological texts (Gregory the Great, Isidore of Sevilla). During the later Middle Ages under the influence of Arab texts more attention was dedicated to the medical aspects of functioning of brains and intellectual capabilities (Avicenna), as seen in anatomical treatises and influencing the development of mnemonic patterns and visual expressions of qualities that are interrelated. Being a specific result of mnemonic practice, where important segments of text are accentuated with visual symbols, thus helping the reader in finding the relevant part in a vast scientific work, the paper sets at the centre an encyclopaedia of canon law. Subject headings in this extensive encyclopaedia are enhanced with realistic images, being actually pictorial s and therefore painted key-words, while the attention to important passages is drawn with pointing-signs in the forms of imaginative details (Monaldus Iustinopolitanus: Summa de iure canonico, Ljubljana, National and University Library, Ms 33). We are thus able to speak of creation, expressing the concept of individually composed mnemonic system, supported with pictorial aids.