Thomas from Erfurt was one particular important member of a team off later on gothic philosophers known as the speculative grammarians otherwise Modistae (Modists), pursuing the central lay they assigned to new modi significandi (methods regarding signifying) away from a keyword inside their analyses of individual commentary. The idea you to a word, once it’s been imposed so you’re able to signify, offers involved every one of its syntactical modes, otherwise you can easily combinations along with other terms and conditions, was actually doing just like the 12th century. Exactly what the Modistae performed were to posit brand new sources of your modi significandi with respect to parallel concepts of modi intelligendi (modes from skills) and you can modi essendi (settings to be). Thomas of Erfurt’s De modis significandi turned the standard Modist textbook on fourteenth century, though it has actually because enjoyed even greater magnificence later on using the misidentification due to the fact a-work from Duns Scotus.