Jean de Roquetaillade | |
|---|---|
 Manuscript from 1350 by de Roquetaillade | |
| Born | ca. 1310 |
| Died | between 1366 and 1370 |
| Nationality | Auvergnat |
| Other names | Johannes de Rupescissa |
| Occupation(s) | Franciscan,alchemist |
Jean de Roquetaillade, also known asJohn of Rupescissa,[1] (ca. 1310 – between 1366 and 1370) was a FrenchFranciscanalchemist[2] andeschatologist.[3]
After studying philosophy for five years atToulouse, he entered the Franciscan monastery atAurillac, where he continued his studies for five years longer.
His experiments in distillation led to the discovery of what he termedaqua vitæ, or usuallyquinta essentia, and commended as apanacea for all disease. His work as an alchemist forms the subject-matter ofDe consideratione quintæ essentiæ (Basle, 1561) andDe extractione quintæ essentiæ; likewiseLibellus de conficiendo vero lapide philosophico ad sublevandam inopiam papæ et cleri in tempore tribulationis (Strasburg, 1659).
His prophecies and violent denunciation of ecclesiastical abuses brought him into disfavour with his superiors, resulting in his imprisonment in the local Franciscan convents. During a transfer from one convent to another, he was able to reach Avignon and present an appeal beforePope Clement VI in 1349. While there he wrote in 1349 hisVisiones seu revelationes, and in 1356Vade Mecum in tribulatione[4] andLiber Ostensor. His other works include commentaries on theOraculum Cyrilli, the recently discoveredSexdequiloquium and many other lost treatises and commentaries on various prophecies.
He died between 1366 and 1370, probably atAvignon.
(1) editio princeps in: Edward Brown,Fasciculus rerum expetendarum ac fugiendarum II, London, 1690,
(2) modern editions (the authors edit different versions as the authentic text of Rupescissa: Tealdi takes for it the version of the family α, according to Kaup the secondaryVersio plena expolita; Kaup holds for authentic theVersio plena, according to Tealdi the secondary version of the family δ; the only double review so far (cf. Julia E. Wannenmacher in Journal of Ecclesiastical History 70.1 (2019), 165–166) recommends Kaup for textual work and, as an essential complement to his factual commentary, Tealdi):
a) Giovanni di Rupescissa.Vade mecum in tribulatione, critical edition by Elena Tealdi, historical introduction by Robert E. Lerner and Gian Luca Potestà, Milan: Vita e Pensiero. Dies Nova, 2015,
b) John of Rupescissa'sVade mecum in tribulacione. A Late Medieval Eschatological Manual for the Forthcoming Thirteen Years of Horror and Hardship. Edited by Matthias Kaup, London/New York: Routledge. Church, Faith and Culture in the Medieval West, 2016.
This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "John of Roquetaillade (de Rupescissa)".Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
