Any assessment of the historical and theoretical relations (whether of dependence, re-elaboration, or something else) between "phenomenology" and
"medieval philosophy" necessarily rests upon how loose and broad (or strict and narrow) our understanding of these two labels is. Moreover, it also depends upon whether we confine our comparative examination to specific and circumscribed topics
(and relevant configurations) or whether we try to consider the overall idea of philosophy that would underlie both approaches, and would therefore shape the work of the specific figures investigated as well.