The magicians and astrologers who frequented the courts of Burgundy and France during the reign of Charles VI to render their dubious services to king and nobles, induced friar Laurens Pignon OP to write a treatise called 'Contre les devineurs' (1411) which he dedicated to John the Fearless, duke of Burgundy. This book presents a critical edition of the treatise and tries to reconstruct its historical and intellectual context by examining the role of magic and astrology at court. By means of theological and philosophical arguments which he derives from Aquinas, Pignon demonstrates the dangers and deficiencies of divination. In three appendices editions of supplementary documents are supplied: a confession of a court-magician, two divinatory texts and a fictional prognostication on the house of Burgundy
Author(s): Jan R. Veenstra
Series: Brill's Studies in Intellectual History, 83
Publisher: Brill
Year: 1998
Language: English
Pages: 448
City: Leiden
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
ABBREVIATIONS
INTRODUCTION
CHAPTER ONE. THE TREATISE AND ITS AUTHOR
1.1 The Prologues of 'Contre les devineurs'
1.2 Divination and Magic: The Themes of 'Contre les devineurs'
1.3 The Rise of Magic and Astrology: The Contexts of 'Contre les devineurs'
1.4 Life and Works of Laurens Pignon, OP (ca. 1368-1449)
1.5 The 'Chronica compendiosa' and the War of 1411
1.6 The King and the Evil Spirit
CHAPTER TWO. THE PACT WITH THE ENEMY
2.1 Motives for Murder
2.2 The Devil's Advocate
2.3 'Epistola ex tenebris infernalibus'
2.4 The Magic Court
2.4.1 The Case of the Apostate Monk and the Tower of Montjay
2.4.2 The Case of the Two Augustinian Monks
2.4.3 Doctor and Sorcerer: The Cases of Jehan de Bar and Arnaud Guillaume
2.4.4 July 1403:The Case of Poinson and Briquet
2.4.5 Two Secular Trials: The Cases of Margot de la Barre (1390) and Jeanne de Brigue (1391)
2.4.6 Magic and Calumny: The Case of Valentina, Visconti
2.4.7 The Case of the Shroud of Christ
2.5 The 'Bal des Ardents' and the Dangers of Pagan Ritual
2.6 Conclusion
CHAPTER THREE. HISTORY AND DIVINATION
3.1 Simon de Phares:The First Historian of Astrology
3.2 History Between Sacred and Secular
3.2.1 Re-reading the Signs
3.2.2 The Eschaton
3.3 Signs from Heaven
3.4 Astrology,Burgundy and History
3.5 Astrology and the Court of Burgundy
3.6 Conclusion
CHAPTER FOUR. A CRITIQUE OF SUPERSTITION
4.1 Censure of Superstition
4.1.1 Censure and Lay-Instruction in France around 1400
4.1.2 The Limits of Lawfulness and Possibility
4.1.3 From Pastoral to Inquisitorial Censure
4.2 Classifying Superstition: Magic or Astrology
4.3 Demons
4.3.1 Dualism
4.3.2 Naturalisation of the Demonic
4.3.3 Demonic Illumination
4.4 Dreams
4.5 Stars, Causes and Free Will
4.5.1 Stellar and Divine Determinism: Augustine, Boethius, and Aquinas
4.5.2 Pignonon Causality in CLD
4.5.3 Pignonon Causality in CDE
4.6 Conclusion
RECAPITULATION
INTRODUCTION TO THE MANUSCRIPT
1. Codicological Observations
2.The Edition
2.1 Treatment of the Text
2.2 Structure
3. History of the Manuscript
4. Pignon as Translator
CONTRE LES DIVINEURS
APPENDIX ONE: THE CONFESSION OF MASTER JEHAN DE BAR
1. Introduction
2. Text
APPENDIX TWO: PROGNOSTICATION ON THE LIFE OF JOHN, DUKE OF BURGUNDY, AND HIS HEIRS BY MASTER ALOFRESIN
1. Introduction
2. Text
APPENDIX THREE: THE TWELVE SIGNS OF THE ZODIAC AND A GAME OF NUMEROLOGICAL DIVINATION
1. Introduction
2. 'Les 12 signes dou firmament'
3. The Text of 'Les 12 signes dou firmament'
4. A Numerological Game
GLOSSARY
BIBLIOGRAPHY
INDEX OF NAMES IN CLD
INDEX OF NAMES
INDEX OF SUBJECTS AND TITLES
