Dunces?

While cogitating on my readership I came upon a gentleman called John Duns Scotus of whom you will have knowledge I'm positive.  He was named after his birthplace, 'Dunse,' now called 'Duns' and found ion the Scottish borders not far from Berwick on Tweed.  It was common then to call people by their place of origin as you know hence the name.
Duns Scotus lived from 1265 - 1308, an interesting time in Scots History with the English barbarian Edward I attempting to steal the land for his imperialist grandeur and failing and one reason for this was that great man Sir William Wallace, patriot and Knight!  
John had an uncle who was guardian of the Friars Minor at Dumfries and he joined there, at that time a good place for clever kids to make use of their brains.  Mind you entering a monastery before puberty does not appeal to me as a good idea, especially in those far off days.  On the other hand clever people did reach powerful positions and Duns Scotus did have a good brain.
Educated by the Franciscans at Oxford by 1291 the political background meant little to him and by 1300 he was disputing and lecturing.  His brain took him to Paris where it failed to prevent him taking sides wth the Pope when he and the French King fell out, Duns was out also after this.  
He returned a couple of years alter and was suddenly called away by his order to Cologne in 1307  where he died and was buried there a year later.  A mere 43 years of life, life was short in those days.
On his tomb it reads 'Scotland brought me forth. England sustained me. France taught me. Cologne holds me,' in Latin as you appreciate.

 Along with Thomas Aquinas and William of Ockham, he was one of the leading Scholastic philosopher-theologians of the High Middle Ages. Duns Scotus wrote treatises on theology, grammar, logic and metaphysics which were widely influential throughout Western Europe, earning Duns the papal accolade Doctor Subtilis (Subtle Teacher). Duns remains highly esteemed in the Roman Catholic Church, and was beatified by Pope John Paul II in 1993. However, with the advent of the Renaissance and the New Learning, and then the Protestant Reformation, many of Duns's theories and methods (which were considered hair-splitting) were challenged or rejected by Humanist and Protestant scholars, who used the term "Dunsman" or "Dunce" in a pejorative sense to denote those who foolishly clung on to outmoded doctrine. (The form "Dunce" reflects the medieval pronunciation of "Duns".) Gradually "dunsman" or "dunce" was used more widely for anyone stupid or dull-witted.
Wiki

In short our man was an intellectual philosopher who studied Greek authors and followed Roman teaching more than scripture.  Thus it is no wonder his influence faded after the Reformation.  Scripture became the centre of the Christians life not philosophical ramblings no matter how intellectual or stimulating.  
Quite how the word 'Dunce' ought to have brought my readership to my mind is unclear at this moment...