Physiognomy, the history of racial classifications, and the interplay between natural philosophy, medicine, and ethics The idea of the body as a mirror of the soul has fascinated mankind throughout history. Being able to see through an individual, and drawing conclusions on their character solely based on a selection of external features, is the subject of physiognomy, and has a long tradition running well into recent times. However, the pre-modern, especially medieval background of this discipline has remained underexplored. The selected case studies in this volume each contribute to a better understanding of the history of physiognomy from antiquity to the Renaissance, and offer discussions on unedited treatises and on the application, development, and reception of this field of knowledge, as well as on visual sources inspired by physiognomic theory. The idea of the body as a mirror of the soul has fascinated mankind throughout history. Being able to see through an individual, and drawing conclusions on their character solely based on a selection of external features, is the subject of physiognomy, and has a long tradition running well into recent times. However, the pre-modern, especially medieval background of this discipline has remained underexplored. The selected case studies in this volume each contribute to a better understanding of the history of physiognomy from antiquity to the Renaissance, and offer discussions on unedited treatises and on the application, development, and reception of this field of knowledge, as well as on visual sources inspired by physiognomic theory. Illustrations Acknowledgements Lisa Devriese Physiognomy from Antiquity to the Renaissance : an Introduction Maria Michela Sassi The Beginnings of Physiognomy in Ancient Greece Maria Fernanda Ferrini Oἰνωποί/Aἰγωποί: Manuscript Tradition and Conjecture Enikő Békés The Physiognomy of Apostle Paul: Between Texts and Images Steven J. Williams Some Observations on the Scholarly Reception of Physiognomy in the Thirteenth and Early Fourteenth Century: Success, and the Limits of Success Lisa Devriese First Medieval Attestations of the Physiognomonica Oleg Voskoboynikov Michael Scotus’ Physiognomy: Notes on Text and Context Joël Biard and Christophe Grellard La place des Questiones circa librum de physionomia dans le système philosophique de Jean Buridan Gabriella Zuccolin Towards a Critical Edition of Michele Savonarola’s Speculum Physionomie Joseph Ziegler and Luís Campos Ribeiro Astral Physiognomy in the Fifteenth Century : the Case of the Illuminated Opening Folio of Rolandus Scriptoris’ Reductorium Phisonomie Notes on Contributors Index codicum manu scriptorum Index nominum