 The classical source for medieval writers of dialogue should have been Plato; but Western writers had no direct access to Plato’s dialogues, with the exception of the first half of the Timaeus. The number and diversity of dialogues from the medieval period is, hence, surprising, with instances among the works of writers from Augustine to Ockham and Nicolas of Cusa, and across different religious traditions. Though it has been argued that dialogue as a philosophical form dies off in late antiquity, especially in the Christian tradition, this is clearly false in the medieval period (Goldhill 2008, 5–8). Not only are philosophical dialogues plentiful but, perhaps because they were not overwhelmed by Plato as a model, medieval dialogue writers came up with many variations on the form. While a good number use real or realistically-described characters, there are also many where the participants are allegorical figures, like Boethius’s Lady Philosophy in the Consolatio or “Reason” in Augustine’s Soliloquies. While some instances of this form, for example Boethius’s commentary in dialogue form on Porphyry’s Isagoge, simply make use of the form as a vehicle for straightforward exposition, others make the dialogue form intrinsic to the argument. And while the standard form of a philosophical dialogue is between a teacher and student figure, a number of medieval dialogues ignore this convention. Abelard’s Dialogue between a Philosopher, a Jew, and a Christian (Collationes), for example, traces a dispute between three equal partners, none of whom is the “teacher” whom the others more or less meekly follow. Abelard’s dialogue is essentially a dispute without a master to resolve it. Even if, as many scholars think, the dialogue is unfinished and Abelard meant to add a resolution of the dialogue in the form of a final adjudication by someone playing the role of master, it is noteworthy that, unlike in most philosophical dialogues, the magisterial point of view is absent until the end rather than being the one that directs the discussion. 