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Arnaldus de Villa Nova | |
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| Born | c.1240 unknown |
| Died | c.1311 |
Arnaldus de Villa Nova (also called Arnau de Vilanova, Arnaldus Villanovanus, Arnaud de Ville-Neuve or Arnaldo de Villanueva, c. 1240–1311) was aphysician and a religious reformer.
He is credited with translating a number of medical texts fromArabic, including works byIbn Sina Avicenna, Abu-l-Salt, andGalen.[1]
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Arnaldus' place and date of birth are debated: some historians believe he was born inVilleneuve-lès-Maguelone, a village nearMontpellier; others are doubtful, because there are also towns of the same name inAragon such asVillanueva de Jiloca, in theKingdom of Valencia, inCatalonia, inLanguedoc, or in theProvence. Regardless, he is known in Catalonia, Valencia, andBalearic Islands by the name "Arnau de Vilanova," and it is certain that he wrote most of his works inCatalan (Confessió de Barcelona,Raonament d'Avinyó). Whatever the reality, Arnaldus had a great reputation as a doctor, theologian and alchemist.[2]
He studied medicine in Montpellier until 1260. He traveled through France, Catalonia, andItaly, as part doctor, part ambassador. He lived at the court ofAragon and was the personal doctor of theKing ofAragon from 1281. At the death ofPeter III of Aragon in 1285, he leftBarcelona for Montpellier where he taught at the School of Medicine.[2][3]
He was the master of the school of medicine ofParis between 1291 and 1299. His fame as a doctor was immense: among his patients were three popes and three kings. He was the first physician that usedalcohol as an antiseptic.
Influenced byJoachim of Fiore, he claimed that in 1378 the world would end and theAntichrist would come (De adventu Antichristi, 1288). He was condemned by theUniversity of Paris in 1299, accused of heresy, and imprisoned for his ideas of church reform.[3] He was saved through the intervention ofBoniface VIII, whom Arnaldus had cured of a painful illness.[4] He was once again imprisoned in Paris around 1304, under popeBenedict XI. TheSorbonne ordered his philosophical works to be burned.
He became an ambassador forJames II, king of Aragon andSicily. He sought refuge from theInquisition at the court ofFrederick III in Sicily, and was later called toAvignon as a doctor for popeClement V.[2] He is certainly behind thepapal bull of 8 September 1309, which required of medical students knowledge of some fifteen Greco-Arabic treatises, including ones byGalen andAvicenna.
In 1311 he was summoned toAvignon byPope Clement V, but he died on the voyage off the coast ofGenoa.[5] The inquisitor ofTarragona condemned him, and fifteen of his propositions were censured.[2] Arnaldus also bequeathed several of his books to theCarthusianmonastery of Scala Dei to which he had already dedicated one of his books.[6]
Arnaldus was also thought to be analchemist: the door to his house inMontpellier, France, had carved depictions of a roaring lion and dragon biting its own tail (anOuroboros), both alchemical symbols, and several renowned alchemists recognized him as anadept. He was also known as anastrologer.
Many alchemical writings, includingRosarius Philosophorum,Novum Lumen, orFlos Florum, are also ascribed to him, but they are not authentic.[7] Collected editions of them were published atLyon in 1504 and 1532 (with a biography bySymphorianus Campegius), atBasel in 1585, and at Lyon in 1686.[3] He is also the reputed author of important medical works, such asSpeculum medicinae andRegimen sanitatis ad regem Aragonum, but many others, such asBreviarium Practicae, were falsely attributed to him. In addition, he wrote many theological works for the reformation ofChristianity in Latin and inCatalan, some of them including apocalyptical prophecies.
He is the author of a short treatise calledDe Vinis which is concerned with the medicinal use of wine and the way spoiled wine could be improved.[8]
A list of writings is given by J. Ferguson in hisBibliotheca Chemica (1906). See also U. Chevalier,Repertoire des sources hist., &c., Bio-bibliographie (Paris, 1903).[3]
This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Arnaldus de Villa Nova".Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 2 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 625.
