Part of the Third Work (Opus Tertium)

PREFATORY NOTE.

An explanation is owed to the members of the Society This likely refers to the British Society of Franciscan Studies, which published scholarly works on the history of the Franciscan order. to explain why another volume on Roger Bacon Roger Bacon: A 13th-century English friar and philosopher who is often called "Doctor Mirabilis" for his early focus on the scientific method. was substituted for the promised volume regarding the Franciscans in Ireland. Father Fitzmaurice, O.F.M.: An abbreviation for the Order of Friars Minor, the formal name of the Franciscan religious order. who is responsible for the volume on Ireland, has been appointed guardian Guardian: The title for the head or superior of a Franciscan friary. of the Franciscan Convent at Waterford. Because of this new role, he has had neither the time nor the research materials to continue his historical studies. It was necessary, therefore, to issue a different publication this year. The discovery of a previously unknown fragment of writing by Roger Bacon, combined with the approaching 700th anniversary of his birth (1214 to 1914), suggested this volume. We intend to celebrate this anniversary in a way that honors the greatest defender of experimental science in the Middle Ages.

A. G. L. These are the initials of Andrew George Little, a prominent historian and chairman of the British Society of Franciscan Studies.