| − | '''Martin of Dacia''' (Martinus Dacus, Martinus de Dacia, Martin de Dacie, 1220-1304) was a Danish scholar, master of arts and theology at the [[University of Paris]] around 1250–88, and the author of ''Modi significandi'', an influential treatise on grammar. He studied and taught arts and theology at the University untilhis appointment as Chancellor of King Erik VI Menved of Denmark in 1287–8. After sixteen years ofservice to the king, he died on August 10, 1304 at Paris(Roos 1952, pp. 47–71). Martin representsa relatively early stage in thesystematization of a scientific approach to the study of grammararound the 'modes of signifying' (''modi significandi'') subsequentlyrefined by [[Boethius of Dacia]], [[Radulphus Brito]], [[Siger of Courtrai]],and [[Thomas of Erfurt]]. | + | '''Martin of Dacia''' (Martinus Dacus, Martinus de Dacia, Martin de Dacie, 1220-1304) was a Danish scholar, master of arts and theology at the [[University of Paris]] who flourished around 1250–88. He was the author of ''The Modes of Signifying'' (''Modi significandi''), an influential treatise on grammar. He studied and taught arts and theology at the University until he was appointed as the Chancellor of King Erik VI Menved of Denmark in 1287–8. After sixteen years in the service of the king, he died on August 10, 1304 at Paris<ref>Roos 1952, pp. 47–71</ref>. Martin's work represents an early stage in the development of a scientific approach to the study of grammar, subsequently developed by [[Boethius of Dacia]], [[Radulphus Brito]], [[Siger of Courtrai]], [[Thomas of Erfurt]], now known as the 'modists'.   | 
| − | The first step to turn grammar into a demonstrative science was to identify the object or set of objects composingits genus. Martin identifies the 'modes of signifying' of traditional grammarians as the genus of scientificgrammar; and as a result, he tries to explain the rules of grammar, andto distinguish grammar from other sciences(especially from logic), in terms of modes of signifying.The definition of the modes of signifying [[Aristotle]]'s correlation among things, affections of the soul, and words outlined in [[On Interpretation|Peri Hermeneias]] (1, 16a4–8). [from Blackwell online] | + | The first step was to identify the object or set of objects composing the genus of grammar.   |