Arnaldus de Villanova (1240 - 1311) is a prominent figure of medieval alchemy, literature and medicine. He comes from Spain, studies at Montpelier and gains influence in France, becoming physician to royals and Popes. His alchemical writings hold time-honored truths.
Arnaldus de Villanova or Villa Nova, a celebrated physician, alchemist, and writer, is born in the Spanish Kingdom of Aragon. He's influenced by both theological and empirical approaches to understanding the natural world.
Arnaldus is known to practice alchemy. The door to his house in Montpellier, France, has carvings of a roaring lion and a dragon biting its own tail, or Ouroboros, both alchemical symbols.
Beyond the alchemy symbols, several renowned alchemists recognize him as an adept. He's also an astrologer as doctors are expected to know the arts of astrology. Physicians determine the type and timing for treatment depending on the position of celestial bodies.
The medieval period brings growth of academia and universities, and renewed interest in classical texts. Translations of Arabic works on science, philosophy, and medicine are especially influential. Many are Arabic translations of Greek texts.
This era fosters the rise of scholasticism, which aims to reconcile faith and reason. Villanova thrives amidst this intellectual revolution despite the social and political turbulence characteristic of medieval Europe.
Arnaldus pursues medical studies in Montpellier until 1260, and then takes journeys through France, Catalonia, and Italy as both doctor and ambassador. He's highly esteemed as a physician, theologian, and alchemist.
At the Spanish court, from 1281 he's personal physician to Peter III, King of Aragon. When Peter dies in 1285, Arnaldus becomes a professor at the School of Medicine in Montpelier.
From 1291 to 1299, he's head of the school of medicine in Paris.
As a doctor his renown is extraordinary, with three popes and three kings among his patients. Notably he's the first physician to use alcohol as an antiseptic. His patients call him a worker of miracles.
Arnaldus de Villanova's alchemy is partly a quest to understand the mystical forces of the natural world. His writings on alchemical processes and the pursuit of the Philosopher's Stone are required reading for young aspiring alchemists and old jaded ones alike.
His presence is peppered throughout the alchemical and historical literature of medieval Europe due his prolific writings and commentaries on the works of others. Arnaldus writes on such topics as astrology, medicine, and moral philosophy.
He makes his texts available to both scholars and the general populace. He's widely read and translated into other languages. His poetry and literature seeks to illuminate moral truths and guide readers in their personal and spiritual development.
The problem is in defining his authentic writings from the host of works written by others and published in his name. It's a common practice for those who wish to sell books and causes headaches in attributing literature. Even falsely ascribed literature is worth a read, though.
The work attributed to him in "De Alchemia," a collection of texts from different alchemical writers, is found to be written by another person now referred to as Pseudo-Arnaldus of Villa Nova. "Pseudo" writers occupy a crowded niche by the middle ages.
Through his experiments and writings, Villanova has a crucial role in legitimizing alchemy as a scholarly pursuit. His work influences high-profile thinkers such as Paracelsus and Isaac Newton.
His treatises often address practical issues such as health and wellness, grounding scientific exploration in everyday concerns. This approach makes his works relevant to the elite and broader public.
Paracelsus later takes it to heart and presents his lectures is German instead of Latin to everyone can understand them. In 16th century Italy, Lady Isabella Cortese achieves resounding success with her Book of Secrets by writing in the vernacular.
But no one expects the Spanish Inquisition.
Influenced by Christian theologian Joachim of Fiore, Arnaldus predicts the end of the world in 1378 and arrival of the Antichrist (De adventu Antichristi 1288). In 1299 he's condemned by the University of Paris for heresy and imprisoned due to his ideas of church reform.
His salvation comes thanks to Boniface VIII, as Arnaldus healed him once of a severe illness. Yet he finds himself imprisoned again in Paris c. 1304 during the papacy of Benedict XI. His philosophical writings are burned by authorities.
He becomes ambassador for James II, king of Aragon and Sicily and seeks refuge from the Inquisition at the court of Frederick III in Sicily. He's later called to Avignon as a doctor for pope Clement V.
He strongly influences the papal bull of 8 September 1309, requiring medical students to know fifteen Greco-Arabic treatises, including by Galen and Avicenna. In 1311 he's summoned to Avignon by Pope Clement V, but dies off the coast of Genoa.
The Inquisitor of Tarragona, Spain condemns him, and has many of his propositions censured. Arnaldus bequeaths several of his books to the Carthusian monastery of Scala Dei, which saves much of his writing after his death.
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