  Philosophers in the early thirteenth century faced the task of how to understand this definition. Although it is obvious from Lombard’s formulation that both intellect and will have something to do with liberum arbitrium, their exact relationship is unclear. The phrase “liberum arbitrium” itself contributes to the uncertainty (on this issue, see Korolec 1982, McCluskey 2001). The first part of the phrase, “liberum,” is uncontroversial; it simply means “free.” Difficulties arise with respect to the notion of “arbitrium.” This notion has both cognitive and appetitive connotations, for it can have meanings as diverse as “judgment,” “decision,” “wish,” or “inclination.” It can also refer to a power or ability to make judgments or decisions or to the very agent who makes these judgments or decisions. Thus, the term covers a lot of territory, territory that has to do with both cognitive and appetitive capabilities. Accordingly, it is natural to connect liberum arbitrium with both intellect and will. In writing treatises on liberum arbitrium, thirteenth-century philosophers sought to sort out the connections between intellect and will on the one hand and the production and freedom of human action on the other. Some of these philosophers argued that free action results from the interaction of intellect and will, while others argued that although the intellect is an important precondition for an action’s being free, the will is the true instrument that brings about a free action. Still others argued that liberum arbitrium is a separate faculty altogether although it is closely linked with and interacts with the intellect and will in the production of a free action. The practice of writing treatises on liberum arbitrium began to die off toward the later decades of the thirteenth century when philosophers started examining the topic of voluntas libera (free will) instead (see Kent 1995, Lottin 1957).