Die Syncategoremata des Wilhem von Sherwood

"Modern linguistics usually differentiates between content or syncategorematic words and function or categorematic words. This differentiation is however not rooted in the Modern Period, but is one of the achievements of the Middle Ages. Classifying words as operators and with respect to their function in sentences can be traced back to the middle of the 12th century. Their most productive form can be seen in the treatises on syncategorematic words that became popular in the 13th century. In conjunction with the doctrine of the properties of terms these comprise the second major topic in medieval logic proper. Arguably, the most important treatise of that kind is William of Sherwood's Syncategoremata. This study provides a commentary on Sherwood's treatise and surveys the history and assessment of syncategorematic words."--BOOK JACKET.