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THE LIFE AND LEGEND
OF MICHAEL SCOT

EprvgurcH: Printed by T. and A. CoNSTABLE
FOR

DAVID DOUGLAS

LONDON . . . . » SIMPKIN, MARSHALL, HAMILTON, KENT AND CO., LTD.
CAMBRIDGE. . . .« MACMILLAN AND BOWES

GLASGOW . . . « JAMES MACLEHOSE AND SONS

An Enquiry into
The Life and Legend of
Michael Scot

e>

ar
By Rey. J’ WOOD BROWN, M.A.

tit

AUTHOR OF ‘AN ITALIAN CAMPAIGN,’ ‘THE COVENANTERS
OF THE MERSE,” ETC.

* Michael next ordered that Eildon Hill, which was then a uniform
cone, should be divided into three.’—Lay of Last Minstrel, note.

ER8376
25.3 A9

EDINBURGH: DAVID DOUGLAS
1897

(AWl rights reserved}

D. D. D.
ALMAE MATRI SUAE
- EDINBURGENSI
HAUD IMMEMOR

AUCTOR

PREFACE

AFTER some considerable time spent in making
collections for the work which is now submitted to
the public, I became aware that a biography of
Michael Scot was in existence which had been
composed as early as the close of the sixteenth
century. This is the work of Bernardino Baldi
of Urbino, who was born in 1553. He studied
medicine at Padua, but soon turned his attention
to mathematics, especially to the historical de-
velopments of that science. Taking holy orders,
he became Abbot of Guastalla in 1586, and in the
quiet of that cloister found time to produce his
work ‘De le vite de Matematici’ of which the
biography of Scot forms a part. He died in
1617.

This discovery led me at first to think that my
original plan might with some advantage be
modified. Baldi had evidently enjoyed great
advantages in writing his life of Scot. His time
lay nearer to that of Scot by three hundred years
than our own does. He was a native of Italy,
where so large a part of Scot’s life was passed.
He had studied at Padua, the last of the great
schools in which Averroés, whom Scot first in-
troduced to the Latins, still held intellectual sway.

viii THE LIFE AND LEGEND OF MICHAEL SCOT

All this seemed to indicate him as one who was
exceptionally situated and suited for the work of
collecting such accounts of Michael Scot as still
survived in the south when he lived and wrote.
The purpose he had in view was also such as
promised a serious biography, not entirely, nor even
chiefly, occupied with the recitation of traditional
tales, but devoted to a solid account of the philo-
sopher’s scientific fame in what was certainly one
of the most considerable branches of science which
he followed. It occurred to me therefore that an
edition of Baldi’s life of Scot, which has never yet
been printed, might give scope for annotations and
digressions embodying all the additional material
I had in hand or might still collect, and that a
work on this plan would perhaps best answer the
end in view.

A serious difficulty, however, here presented
itself, and in the end proved insuperable, as I was
quite unable to gain access to the work of Baldi.
It seems to exist in no more than two manuscripts,
both of them belonging to a private library in
Rome, that of the late Prince Baldassare Bon-
compagni, who had acquired them from the Albani
collection. The Boncompagni library has been now
for some time under strict seal, pending certain
legal proceedings, and all my endeavours to get
even a sight of the manuscripts were in vain. In
these circumstances I fell back upon a printed
volume, the Cronica de Matematici overo Epitome
dell’ Istoria delle vite loro, which is an abbreviated

PREFACE ix

form of Baldi’s work and was published at Urbino
in 1707. The account of Michael Scot which it
gives is not such as to increase my regret that I
cannot present this biography to the reader in its
most complete form. Thus it runs: ‘Michele
Scoto, that is Michael the Scot, was a Judicial
Astrologer, in which profession he served the
Emperor Frederick 1. He wrote a most learned
treatise by way of questions upon the Sphere of
John de Sacrobosco which is still in common use.
Some say he was a Magician, and tell how he used
to cause fetch on occasion, by magic art, from the
kitchen of great Princes whatever he needed for his
table. He died from the blow of a stone falling on
his head, having already foreseen that such would be
the manner of his end.’ Now Scot’s additions to the
Sphere of Sacrobosco are among the more common
of his printed works, while the tales of his feasts
at Bologna, and of his sudden death, are repeated
almost ad nauseam by almost every early writer
who has undertaken to illustrate the text of Dante.
So far as we can tell, therefore, Baldi would seem to
have made no independent research on his own
account regarding Scot’s life and literary labours,
but to have depended entirely upon very obvious
and commonplace printed authorities. To crown
all, he assigns 1240 as the florwit of Michael Scot,
a date at least five years posterior to that of
his death! On the whole then there is little cause
to regret that his work on this subject is not more
fully accessible.

ee THE LIFE AND LEGEND OF MICHAEL SCOT

My study of the life and times of Scot thus
resumed its natural tendency towards an in-
dependent form, there being no text known to me
that could in any way supply the want of an
original biography. It is for the reader to judge
how far the boldness of such an attempt has been
justified by its success. The difficulties of the
task have certainly been increased by the want of
any previous collections that could be called satis-
factory. Boece, Dempster, and Naudé yield little
in the way of precise and instructive detail; their
accounts of Scot fall to be classed with that of
Baldi as partly incorrect and partly commonplace.
Schmuzer alone seems by the title of his work’
to promise something more original. Unfortunately
my attempts to obtain it have been defeated by the
great rarity of the volume, which is not to be found
in any of the libraries to which I have access.

This failure in the department of biography
already formed has obliged me to a more exact and
extensive study of original manuscript sources for
the life of Scot than I might otherwise have thought
necessary, and has proved thus perhaps rather of
advantage. It is inevitable indeed that a work of
this kind, undertaken several ages too late, should
be comparatively barren in those dates and intimate
details which are so satisfactory to our curiosity
when we can fall upon them. In the absence of
these, however, our attention is naturally fixed,
and not, as it seems to me, unprofitably, on what

1 De Michaele Scoto Veneficii injuste damnato, Lipsiae, 1739.

PREFACE x1

is after all of higher or more enduring importance.
The mind is free to take a wider range, and in
place of losing itself in the lesser facts of an
individual life, studies thé intellectual move-
ments and gauges the progress of what was
certainly a remarkable epoch in philosophy, science,
and literature. The almost exact reproduction in
Spain during the thirteenth century of the Alex-
andrian school of thought and science ‘and even
superstition; the part played by the Arab race
in this curious transference, and the close relation
it holds to our modern intellectual life—if the
volume now published be found to throw light
on subjects so little understood, yet so worthy of
study, I shall feel more than rewarded for the pains
and care spent in its preparation.

In the course of researches among the libraries
of Scotland and Italy, of England and France, of
Spain and Germany, I have received much kindness
from the learned men who direct these institutions.
I therefore gladly avail myself of this opportunity to
express my thanks in general to all those who have
so kindly come to my help, and in particular to
Signor Comm. G. Biagi, and Signor Prof. E.
Rostagno of the Laurentian Library; to Signore
L. Licini of the Riccardian Library ; to the Rev.
Padre Ehrle of the Vatican Library; to Signor
Cay. Giorgi, and the Conte Passerini of the Casa-
natense ; to Signor Prof. Menghini of the Vittorio
Emanuele Library, Rome; and to Signor Comm.
Cugnoni of the Chigi Library. I am also much

xii THE LIFE AND LEGEND OF MICHAEL SCOT

indebted to the kindness of Professor R. Foerster
of Breslau; of Mr. W. M. Lindsay, Fellow of
Jesus College, Oxford, and the Rev. R. Langton
Douglas of New College, who have furnished me
with valuable notes from the libraries of that uni-
versity, and, not least of all, to the interest taken
in my work by Mr. Charles Godfrey Leland, who
has been good enough to read it in manuscript,
and to favour me with curious material and valu-
able suggestions.

If the result of my studies should prove some-
what disappointing to the reader, I can but plead
the excuse with which Pliny furnishes me, it is
one having peculiar application to such a task as is
here attempted : ‘ Res ardua,’ he says, ‘ vetustis novi-
tatem dare, novis auctoritatem, obsoletis nitorem,
obscuris lucem, fastiditis gratiam, dubiis fidem,
omnibus vero naturam, et naturae suae omnia.’

17 ViA MONTEBELLO,
FLORENCE, November 17th, 1896.

CONTENTS

CHAPTER I

PAGE

State of Scotland in the twelfth century—Necessity of foreign
travel to scholars bred there—Michael Scot: his Nation
and Birthplace.—The account given by Boece, how far it is
to be believed—The date of Scot’s birth and nature of his
first studies—Scot at Paris: his growing fame, and the
degrees he won in that school—Probability that further
study at Bologna formed the introduction to his life in the
south,. . ; : 2 : ; : ; ; : 1

CHAPTER II

The position held by Scot at the Court of Sicily—His service
under the Clerk Register, who seems to have been the same
as Philip of Tripoli—Scot appointed tutor to Frederick 11,
—Advantages of such a position—He teaches the Prince
mathematics and acts as Court Astrologer—Publication of
the Astronomia and Liber Introductorius — Frederick’s
marriage—Scot produces the Physionomia and presents it
on this occasion—Account of this the most popular of his
books, and of the sources from which it was derived—Scot
quits Sicily for Spain, . ‘ . : ; ; ; ? 18

CHAPTER IIl

An important moment—The history of the Arabs in their in-
fluence on the intellectual life of Europe—The school of Toledo
—Scot fixes his residence in that city—The name and fame
of Aristotle—Scot engages in translating Arabic versions of
the works of Aristotle on Natural History—The De Ani-
malibus and its connection with the Physionomia—The
Abbreviatio Avicennae and its relation to former versions of

xiv

THE LIFE AND LEGEND OF MICHAEL SCOT

the Toledo school—The date when Scot finished this work.
—Frederick’s interest in these books—The De partibus
animalium—Did Scot know Greek?—How the Arabian
Natural History contrasts with the modern—Toledo, .

CHAPTER IV

Alchemy: its history, both primitive and derivative—The

Gnostics influence it, and it passes by way of the Syrians to
the Arabs—Disputes divide their schools in the twelfth
century regarding the reality of this art—Spain the scene of
this activity and the place where alchemy began to become
known among the Latins—The time when the work of
translation commenced, and the course it followed—Scot’s
position in the history of this art, and an examination of his
chemical works : the spurious De natura solis et lunae, the
Magisteriwm, the Liber Luminis Lwminum, and the De
Alchimia,

CHAPTER V

Connection between alchemy and astronomy—Scot’s interest

in the latter science—Toledo a favourable place for such
study—Progress made by the Moors in astronomy—Scot
translates Alpetrongi—Relation of this author to those who
had preceded him : to Albategni; to Al Khowaresmi and to
Alfargan—The fresh contributions made by Alpetrongi to a
theory of the heavenly motions—His solution of the pro-
blems of recession and solstitial change—The date of Scot’s
version of the Sphere, and its possible coincidence with that
of the great astronomical congress at Toledo,

CHAPTER VI

Averroés of Cordova and the fame he enjoyed among the Latins

—His works condemned by the Church—Frederick 1.
likely to have been, attracted by this philosophy—Michael
Scot at Cordova—Constitution of a new College at Toledo
under imperial patronage for the purpose of translating the
works of Averroés into Latin—Correspondence between
this and the similar enterprise of a hundred years before—

PAGE

42

65

96

CONTENTS Xv

PAGE
Andrew the Jew interprets for Scot—Defence of this
literary method—Versions of the De Coelo et Mundo, the
De anima, the Parva Naturalia and others—The Quaestiones
Nicolai Peripatetict: with a summary of this important
treatise—Works found in the Venice manuscript—The
Nova Ethica—Michael Scot shines as a translator from
the Greek—Comparison between him and Bacon in regard

to this, : ie ee ‘ ‘ ‘ = aan . 106

CHAPTER VII

Scot returns from Spain to the Imperial Court—Dante’s reference
to this and to the costume worn by the philosopher—Pro-
bability that he is represented in the fresco at S. Maria
Novella. The Latin Averroés suppressed and Scot resumes
his post as Imperial Astrologer—He publishes on this
subject—Remarks on Scot by Mirandola, Salimbene, and
Bacon—He comments on the Sphere of Sacrobosco—A
legend of Naples and its interpretation—Testimony of
Leonardo Pisano—Scot’s medical studies and skill—He
composes a treatise in that science—Two prescriptions, and
some account of the plagues then prevalent, : : <a) ee

CHAPTER VIII

Scot on the way to ecclesiastical preferment—Honorius 111. exerts
himself to obtain a benefice for the philosopher—He refuses
the Archbishopric of Cashel—A similar case of conscience in
the same age.—Gregory Ix. applies again to Canterbury but
without result—Effect of these disappointments on Scot.—
His prophecies in verse and prose—The Cervilerium—His
mental state at this time; and an attempt to estimate his
real character—The publication of Scot’s version of Averroés
now possible—Frederick 11. indites a circular letter to the
Universities—Scot travels through Italy, France, and Eng-
land to the borders of Scotland—His death—The Emperor
permits a copy of the Abbreviatio Avicennae to be made as
a tribute to Scot’s memory, . : : ‘ . : ween | y:

CHAPTER IX

The legendary fame of Scot—Nature of the magic then studied in
Spain—Reasons for thinking that Scot’s fame as a magician

,

yet

YY

Xvl

THE LIFE AND LEGEND OF MICHAEL SCOT

is mostly mythical—Origin of the story in his connection with
the Emperor, and from the place and nature of his Spanish
studies—Probability that he composed a work on algebra,
which was afterwards mistaken for something magical—His
association with the Arthurian legend in its southern develop-
ment confirms his character as a magician, and may have
suggested several details in the stories that are told con-
cerning him, ‘ < : ; ; : : : :

CHAPTER X

How Dante used the legend of Michael Scot—The nature of

subjective magic or glamour—Stories told by those who
commented on the Divine Comedy—Boccaccio’s reference
to Scot, and sundry tales of court and camp—tThe fifteenth
century produces spurious magical works under Scot’s name—
Folengo introduces him into the Baldus.—Dempster and the
Scottish tales—The tasks of Scot’s familiar spirit.—His
embassy to Paris—Story of the witch of Falsehope—The Book
of Might—Two stories of Scot as told by an old woman
of Florence in the present year of grace—Conclusion, .

APPENDIX, .
InDEX, : wae ‘ ; Ree 5 : : ; ;

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

Frontispiece, A Magician, from the 8. Maria Novella Fresco—

Photogravure by Alinari, Florence

Vignette on Title—The Eildons, from an engraving kindly lent

by Messrs. A. and C. Black, London

Facsimile of colophon to Scot’s Abbreviatio Avicennae (Fondo

Vaticano 4428, p. 158 recto),

PAGE

179

206
231
277

to face page 55

CHAPTER I

BIRTHPLACE AND EARLY STUDIES OF MICHAEL SCOT

Iy the Borders of Scotland it is well known that
any piece of hill pasture, if it be fenced in but for a
little from the constant cropping of the sheep, will
soon show springing shoots of forest trees indi-
genous to the soil, whose roots remain wherever
the plough has not passed too deeply. Centuries
ago, when nature had her way and was unrestrained,
the whole south-eastern part of the country was
covered with dense forests and filled with forest-
dwellers; the wild creatures that form the prey of
the snare and the quarry of the chase. In the deep
valleys, and by the streams of Tweed and Teviot,
and many another river of that well-watered land,
stood the great ranks and masses of the oak and
beech as captains and patriarchs of the forest,
mingled with the humbler whitethorn which made a
dense undergrowth wherever the sun could reach.
On the heights grew the sombre firs; their gnarled
and ruddy branches crowned with masses of bluish-
green foliage, while the alders followed the water-
courses, and, aided by the shelter of these secret
valleys, all but reached the last summits of the hills,
which alone, in many a varied slope and peak and
swelling breast, rose eminent and commanding over
these dark and almost unbroken woodlands.
A

2 THE LIFE AND LEGEND OF MICHAEL SCOT

Such was south-eastern Scotland in the twelfth
century: a country fitted to be the home of men
of action rather than of thought; men whose joy
should lie in the chase and the conflict with nature
as yet unsubdued, who could track the savage
creatures of the forest to their dens, and clear the
land where it pleased them, and build, and dwell,
and beget children in their own likeness, till by the
labours of generations that country should become
pastoral, peaceful, and fit for fertile tillage as we
see it now.

Already, at the early time of which we speak,
something of this work had been begun. There
were gaps in the high forest where it lay well to
the sun: little clearings marked by the ridge and
furrow of a rude agriculture. Here and there a
baron’s lonely tower raised its grey horn on high,
sheltering a troop of men-at-arms who made it
their business to guard the land in war, and in
peace to rid it of the savage forest-creatures that
hindered the hind and herd in their labour and
their hope. In the main valleys more than one
great monastery was rising, or already built, by the
waters of Tweed and Teviot. The inmates of these
religious houses took their share in the whole duty
of peaceful Scottish men by following trades at
home or superintending the labours of an army of
hinds who broke in and made profitable the wide
abbey lands scattered here and there over many a
lowland county. All was energy, action, and pro-
gress: a form of life which left but little room for
the enterprises of the mind, the conflicts and con-
quests which can alone be known and won in the
world of thought within.

BIRTHPLACE AND EARLY STUDIES 3

These conditions we know to have reared and
trained generations of men well fitted to follow
the pursuits of hardy and active life, yet they
cannot have been so constraining as to hinder
the birth of some at least who possessed an alto-
gether different temper of mind and body. The
lowland Scots were even then of a mixed race:
the ancestry which tends more than any other to
the production of life-eddies, where thought rather
than activity naturally forms and dwells, while the
current of the main stream sweeps past in its
ordinary course. Grant the appearance of such
natures here and there in these early times, and it
is easy to see much in the only life then possible
that was fit to foster their natural tendencies.
The deep woodlands were not only scenes of labour
where sturdy arms found constant employment,
they were homes of mystery in which the young
imagination loved to dwell; peopling them with
half-human shapes more graceful than their
stateliest trees, and half-brutal monsters more
terrible than the fiercest wolf or bear. The
distant sun and stars were more than a heavenly
horologe set to mark the hours for labour or vigil,
they were an unexplored scene of wonder which
patient and brooding thought alone could reach and
interpret. The trivial flight and annual return of
birds, tracing like the wild geese a mysterious wedge
against the sky of winter, gave more than a signal
for the chase, which was all that ordinary men saw
init. To these finer natures it brought the awaken-
ing which those know who have learned to ask the
mighty questions—Why ? Whence? and Whither ?
demands which will not be denied till they have

4 THE LIFE AND LEGEND OF MICHAEL SCOT

touched the heights and fathomed the depths of
human life itself. Our life is a bird, said one in
these early ages, which flies by night, and, entering
lighted hall at one end, swiftly passeth out at the
other. So come we, who knoweth whence, and so pass
we, who knoweth whither? From the darkness we
come and to the darkness we go, and the brief light
that 1s meanwhile ours cannot make the mystery
plain. |

But though the nature of this primitive life in
early Scottish days could not hinder the appearance
of men of thought, and even helped their develop-
‘ ment as soon as they began to show the movements
of active intellect, yet on the other hand Scotland
had not reached that culture which affords such
natures their due and full opportunity. Centuries
were yet to pass before the foundation of St.
Andrews as the first Scottish university. The
grammar-schools of the country’ were but a step to
the studies of some foreign seat of learning. The
churchmen who filled considerable positions at
home were either Italians, or had at least been
trained abroad, so that everything in those days
pointed to that path of foreign study which has
since been trodden by so many generations of
Scottish students. The bright example of Scotus
Erigena, who had reached such a high place in
France under Charles the Bald, was an incitement
to the northern world of letters. Young men of
parts and promise naturally sought their oppor-
tunity to go abroad in the hope of finding like

1 Some account of Scottish grammar-schools in the twelfth century
will be found in Sir James Dalrymple’s Collections, pp. 226, 255
(Advocates’ Library, Edinburgh) ; also in Chalmers’s Caledonia, vol. i,
p- 76,

BIRTHPLACE AND EARLY STUDIES 5

honourable employment, or, better still, of return-
ing crowned with the honours of the schools to
occupy some distinguished ecclesiastical position in
their native country.

This then was the age, and these were the
prevailing conditions, under which Michael Scot
was born. To the necessary and common impulse
of Scottish scholars we are to trace the disposition
of the great lines on which his life ran its remarkable
and distinguished course. He is certainly one of
the most notable, as he is among the earliest,
examples of the student Scot abroad.

There can be little doubt regarding the nation
where he had his birth. Disregarding for a moment
_ the varying accounts of those who lived centuries
after the age of Scot himself, let us make a com-
mencement with one whose testimony is of the very
highest value, being that of a contemporary. Roger
Bacon, the famous scientist of the thirteenth cen-
tury, introduces the name of Michael Scot in the
following manner: ‘Unde, cum per Gerardum
Cremonensem, et Michaelem Scotum, et Aluredum
Anglicum, et Heremannum (Alemannum), et Wil-
lielmum Flemingum, data sit nobis copia trans-
lationum de omni scientia.’’ In this passage the
distinctive appellation of each author is plainly
derived from that of his native country. That
Bacon believed Michael to be of Scottish descent is
therefore certain, and his opinion is all the more
valuable since he was an Englishman, and not likely
therefore to have confused the two nations of Great
Britain as a foreigner might haply have done. To

1 Compendium Studii, vol. i. p. 471, ed. Master of the Rolls. London,
Longmans, 1859.

6 THE LIFE AND LEGEND OF MICHAEL SCOT

the same purpose is the testimony of Guido Bonatti,
the astrologer, who also belonged to the age of
Bacon and Scot. ‘ Illi autem,’ he says,’ ‘ qui fuerunt
in tempore meo, sicut fuit Hugo ab Alugant, Bene-
guardinus Davidbam, Joannes Papiensis, Dominicus
Hispanus, Michael Scotus, Stephanus Francigena,
Girardus de Sabloneta Cremonensis, et multi alii.’
Here also the significance of Scotus, as indicating
nationality, is one that hardly admits of question.
It was in all probability on these or similar
authorities that Dempster relied when he said of
Michael:” ‘The name Scot, however, is not a
family one, but national,’ though he seems to have
pressed the matter rather too far, it being plainly
possible that Scotus might combine in itself both
significations. In Scotland it might indicate that
Michael belonged to the clan of Scott, as indeed has
been generally supposed, while as employed by men
of other nations, it might declare what they believed
to have been this scholar’s native land.

At this point, however, a new difficulty suggests
itself. It is well known that the lowland Scots
were emigrants from the north of Ireland, and that
in early times Scotus was used as a racial rather
than a local designation. May not Michael have
been an Irishman? Such is the question actually
put by a recent writer,* and certainly it deserves a
serious answer. We may commence by remarking
that even on this understanding of it the name is
an indefinite one as regards locality, and might
therefore have been applied to one born in Scotland

1 Boncompagni Vita di Gherardo Cremonense, Roma, 1851, and the
De Astronomia Tractatus x. of Guido Bonatti, printed at Bale, 1550.

2 Historia Ecclesiastica, xii. 494.

3 In the last edition of Chambers’s Encyclopedia, sub nomine.

BIRTHPLACE AND EARLY STUDIES 7

just as well as if he had first seen the light in the
sister isle. So certainly is this the case that when
we recall the name of John Scotus we find it was
customary to add the appellative Hrigena to deter-
mine his birthplace. At that time the separation
of race was much less marked than it had become
in Michael’s day, and it seems certain therefore
that if Michael Scotus was thought a sufficient
designation of the man by Bacon and Bonatti, they
must have used it in the sense of indicating that he
came of that part of the common stock which had
crossed the sea and made their home in Scotland.
But to find a conclusive answer to this difficulty we
need only anticipate a little the course of our
narrative by mentioning here a highly curious fact
which will occupy our attention in its proper place.
When Michael Scot was offered high ecclesiastical
preferment in Ireland he declined it on the ground
that he was ignorant of the vernacular tongue of
that country." This seems to supply anything that
may have been wanting in the other arguments we
have advanced, and the effect of the whole should
be to assure our conviction that there need be now
no further attempt made to deny Scotland the
honour of having been the native land of so dis-
tinguished a scholar.

Nor are we altogether without the means of
coming to what seems at least a probable conclusion
regarding the very district of the Scottish lowlands
where Michael Scot was born. Leland the antiquary
tells us that he was informed on good authority
that Scot came from the territory of Durham.’
Taken literally this statement would make him an

? See infra, ch, vii. ? Leland’s work was published in 1549.

8 THE LIFE AND LEGEND OF MICHAEL SCOT

Englishman, but no one would think of quoting it
as of sufficient value to disprove the testimony of
Bacon and Bonatti who both believed Michael to
have been born in Scotland. If, however, there
should offer itself any way in which both these
apparently contending opinions can be reconciled,
we are surely bound to accept such an explanation
of the difficulty, and in fact the solution we are
about to propose not only meets the conditions of
the problem, but will be found to narrow very
considerably the limits of country within which the
birthplace of Scot is to be looked for.

The See of Durham in that age, and for long
afterwards, had a wide sphere of influence, extending
over much of the south-eastern part of the Scottish
Borders. Many deeds relating to this region of
Scotland must be sought in the archives that belong
to the English Cathedral. To be born in the
territory of Durham then, as Leland says Scot had
been, was not necessarily to be a native of England,
and the anonymous Florentine commentator on
Dante uses a remarkable expression which seems to
confirm this solution as far as Scot is concerned.
‘This Michael,’ he says, ‘was of the Province of
Scotland’;' and his words seem to point to that
part of the Scottish lowlands adjacent to the See
of Durham and in a sense its province, as subject to
its influence, just as Provence, the analogous part
of France, had its name from the similar relation
it bore to Rome. The most likely opinion there-
fore that can now be formed on the subject leads
us to believe that Scot was born somewhere in the

1 Comento alla Divina Commedia, Inf., canto xx. Bologna, Fanfani,
1866-74.

BIRTHPLACE AND EARLY STUDIES 9

valley of the Tweed; if we understand that geo-
graphical expression in the wide sense which makes
it equivalent to the whole of the south-eastern
borders of Scotland.

Nor is this so contrary as might at first appear
to the tradition which makes Scot a descendant of
the family of Balwearie in Fife. Hector Boéce,
Principal of Marischal College, Aberdeen, who first
gave currency to the story,’ could hardly have
meant to imply that Michael was actually born at
Balwearie. It is to be presumed that he understood
Scotus to have been a family name; and the Scotts,
who became of Balwearie by marriage with the
heiress of that estate, did not enter into possession
of it till long after the close of the twelfth century.°
To call Michael a son of Balwearie in the genealogical
sense, however, is in perfect agreement with the
conclusion regarding his origin which we have
just reached ; for the original home of the Scotts
who afterwards held that famous property as their
chef leu, lay by the upper streams of Tweed in the
very district which every probability has already
indicated to us as that of Michael’s birthplace. In
1265 we find an entry of money paid by the Crown
‘to Michael Scot and Richard Rufus who have
occupied the waste lands at Stuth,’ near Peebles.’
Identification is here out of the question, as Michael
the scholar, of whom we write, was by this time
long in his grave, but the entry we have quoted
shows that a family of this surname, who still used
the Christian name of Michael, was flourishing in

* The Scotorum Historia of Boéce in which this statement appears
was published at Paris in 1526.

® Between 1260 and 1280. See Cartulary of Dunfermline.

3 Exchequer Rolls.

10 THE LIFE AND LEGEND OF MICHAEL SCOT

this part of Scotland during the second half of the
thirteenth century.

It is to be remarked, too, that the Scottish tales
of wonder relating to Michael Scot have a local
colour that accords well with the other signs
we have noticed. The hill which the sorcerer’s
familiar spirit cleaves in sunder is the triple peak of
Eildon ; the water which he curbs is that of ‘weed ;
from Oakwood he rides forth to try the witch of
Falsehope, and in Oakwood tower may still be seen
the Jingler’s room: a curious anachronism, for
Oakwood is a buildimg much more recent than the
days of Michael Scot, yet one which fixes for us in
a picturesque and memorable way the district of
country where, according to the greatest number of
converging probabilities, this remarkable man was
born.

As to the date of his birth, it is difficult to be
very precise. The probability that he died sud-
denly, and before he had completed the measure of
an ordinary lifetime, prevents us from founding our
calculations upon the date of his decease, which can
be pretty accurately determined. A more certain
argument may be derived from the fact that Scot had
finished his youthful studies, made some figure in the
world, and entered on the great occupation of his life
as an author, as early as the year 1210." Assuming
then that thirty was the least age he could well
have attained at the period in question, the year
1180 would be indicated as that of his birth, or rather
as the latest date to which it can with probability be
referred; 1175 being in every way a more likely
approximation to the actual time of this event.

1 See infra, p. 55.

BIRTHPLACE AND EARLY STUDIES ll

It is unfortunate that we find ourselves in the
same position with regard to the interesting ques-
tion of Scot’s early education, having only the
suggestions derived from probable conjecture to
offer on this subject also. Du Boulay indeed, in
his account of the University of Paris,’ pretends
to supply a pretty complete account of the schools
which Scot attended, but, as he adds that this
was the usual course of study in those days, we
find reason to think that he may have been guided
in his assertions, rather by the probabilities of the
case, than by any exact evidence. Nor is it likely
that any more satisfactory assurance can now be
had on this point: the time being too remote and
the want of early material for Scot’s biography
defeating in this respect all the care and attention
that can now be given to the subject.

We know, however, that there was a somewhat
famous grammar-school at Roxburgh in the twelfth
century,” and considering the rarity of such an
opportunity at so early a period, and the proximity
of this place to the district in which Scot was born,
we may venture to fancy that here he may have
learned his rudiments, thus laying the foundation of
those deeper studies, which he afterwards carried
to such a height.

With regard to Durham, the matter may be con-
sidered to stand on firmer ground. The name of
Michael Scot, as we have already seen, has for many
ages been associated with this ancient Cathedral

* Bulaeus Historia Univ. Paris., vol. iii. pp. 701, 702.

* Sir James Dalrymple’s Collections, pp. 226, 255. There was also a
school at Dryburgh, where Sibbald says Sacrobosco studied, but had
Scot entered here he would hardly have been distinguished in later
years as a man in close relation with another order—the Cistercian.

12 THE LIFE AND LEGEND OF MICHAEL SCOT

city by the Wear. If the question of his birthplace .
be regarded as now determined in favour of Scot-
land, no reason remains for this association so con-
vincing as that which would derive it from the fact
that he pursued his education there. The Cathedral
School of Durham was a famous one, which no
doubt exerted a strong attraction upon studious
youths throughout the whole of that province. In
Scot’s case the advantages it offered may well have
seemed a desirable step to further advances; his
means, as one of a family already distinguished from
the common people, allowing him to plan a complete
course of study, and his ambition prompting him to
follow it.

The common tradition asserts that when he left
Durham, Scot proceeded to Oxford. This is not
unlikely, considering the fame of that University,
and the number of students drawn from all parts of
the land who assembled there.’ The only matters,
however, which offer themselves in support of this
bare conjecture are not, it must be said, very con-
vincing. Roger Bacon shows great familiarity with
Scot, and Bacon was an Oxford scholar, though his
studies at that University were not begun till long
after the time when Scot could possibly have been
a student there. It is quite possible, however, that
the interest shown by Bacon in Scot’s labours and
high reputation—not by any means of a kindly sort
—may have been awakened by traditions that were
still current in the Schools of Oxford when the

1 Not excepting the north. ‘Morebatur eo tempore (c. 1180)
apud Oxenfordiam studiorum causa clericus quidam Stephanus nomine
de Eboracensi regione oriundus,’ Acta Sanctorwm, Oct. 29, p.579. At
the exodus in 1209, no less than three thousand students are said to
have left Oxford.

BIRTHPLACE AND EARLY STUDIES 13

younger student came there. Near the end of his
life, Scot visited in a public capacity the chief
Universities of Europe, and brought them philoso-
phic treasures that were highly thought of by the
learned. It seems most probable, from the terms
in which Bacon speaks of this journey,’ that it may
have included a visit to Oxford. This might of
course be matter of mere duty and policy, but one
cannot help observing how well it agrees with the
tradition that these schools were already familiar to
Scot. As a recognised alumnus of Oxford, he would
be highly acceptable there, being one whose Euro-
pean fame shed no small lustre upon the scene of
his early studies.

As to Paris, the next stage in Scot’s educational
progress, the historian of that University becomes
much more convincing when he claims for Lutetia
the honour of having contributed in a special sense
to the formation of this scholar’s mind. For here
tradition has preserved one of those sobriquets
which are almost invariably authentic. Scot, it
seems, gained here the name of Michael the Mathe-
matician, and this corresponds, not only with what
is known concerning the character of his studies, but
also with the nature of the course for which Paris
was then famous. There is another circumstance
which seems to point strongly in the same direction.
Every one must have noticed how invariably the
name of Scot is honoured by the prefix of Master.
This is the case not only in his printed works, but
also in popular tradition, as may be seen in the
Michaclie Soot, i, annis 1280 teatacis appar, defereslbrorum

Aristotelis partes aliquas,’ ete. See infra, ch. viii.
* See Anderson, Scottish Nation, sub nomine.

14 THE LIFE AND LEGEND OF MICHAEL SCOT

well-known rhyme :—‘ Maister Michael Scot’s man,”!
A Florence manuscript, to which we shall presently
refer more fully, throws some light upon the mean-
ing of this title, by describing Scot as that scholar,
‘who among the rest is known as the chief Master.’?
It is matter of common knowledge, that this degree
had special reference to the studies of the Triviwm
and Quadrivium, being the scholastic crown reserved
for those who had made satisfactory progress in the
liberal arts. Scot then, according to the testimony
of early times, was the supreme Master in this
department of knowledge. But it is also certain
that Paris was then recognised as the chief school
of the Trunwm and Quadrivium, just as Bologna had
a like reputation for Law, and Salerno for Medicine.*
Weare therefore warranted to conclude that Michael
Scot could never have been saluted in European
schools as ‘Supreme Master,’ had he not studied
long in the French capital, and carried off the highly
esteemed honours of Paris.

Another branch of study which tradition says
Scot followed with success at Paris was that of
theology. Du Boulay declares, indeed, that he
reached the dignity of doctor in that faculty, and
there is some reason to think that this may actually
have been the case. There can be no doubt that
an ecclesiastical career then offered the surest road
to wealth and fame in the case of all who aspired to
literary honours. That Scot took holy orders‘ seems
very probable. He may well have done so even
before he came to Paris, for Bacon makes it one of

1 Lay of the Last Minstrel, Note Y. See infra, ch. x.
2 See infra, p. 18. 3 Romance of Elinando,
4 He probably joined the Cistercian Order,

BIRTHPLACE AND EARLY STUDIES 15

his reproaches against the corruption of the times,
that men were ordained far too readily, and before
they had reached the canonical age : from their tenth
to their twentieth year, he says.’ It is difficult to
verify Dempster’s assertion that Scot’s renown as
a theologian is referred to by Baconthorpe the
famous Carmelite of the following century.’ This
author was commonly known as the Princeps
Averroistarum, If he really mentions Michael, and
does not mean Duns Scotus, as there is some reason
to suspect, his praise may have been given quite
as much on the ground of profane as of religious
philosophy. On the other hand we find abounding
and unmistakable references to Scripture, the
Liturgy, and ascetic counsels in the writings of
Scot, from which it may safely be concluded that
he had not merely embraced the ecclesiastical
profession as a means of livelihood or of advance-
ment, but had seriously devoted himself to sacred
studies. It is true that we cannot point to any
instance in which he receives the title of doctor,
but this omission may be explained without
seriously shaking our belief in the tradition that
Scot gained this honour at Lutetia. During the
twelfth century the Bishop of Paris forbade the
doctors of theology to profess that faculty in any
other University.* Scot may well, therefore, have
been one of those philosophical divines who taught
entre les deux ponts, as the same statute com-
manded they should, though in other lands and
during his after-life, he came to be known simply

* Compendium Studii, p. 425.

® In the printed edition of Dempster, the reference is ‘lib. 3 senten-

tiarum, quaest. iii.” but I have not been able to verify it.
* Hist. Litt. de la France, vol. ix. p. 65.

16. THE LIFE AND LEGEND OF MICHAEL SCOT

as the ‘Great Master’: the brightest of all those
choice spirits of the schools on which Paris set
her stamp.

At this point we may surely hazard a further
conjecture. Bacon tells us that in those days it
was the study of law, ecclesiastical and civil, rather
than of theology, which opened the way to honour
and preferment in the Church. Now Paris was
not more eminently and distinctly the seat of arts
than Bologna was the school of laws.* May not
Michael Scot have passed from the French to the
Italian University? Such a conjecture would be
worth little were it not for the support which
it undoubtedly receives from credible tradition.
Boccaccio in one of his tales* mentions Michael
Scot, and tells how he used to live in Bologna.
Many of the commentators on the Divine Comedy
of Dante dwell on the theme, and enrich it with
superstitious wonders.* It would be difficult to
find a period in the scholayr’s life which suits better
with such a residence than that we are now
considering. On all accounts it seems likely
that he left Paris for Bologna, and found in the
latter city a highly favourable opening, which led |
directly to the honours and successes of his after-
life.

He was now to leave the schools and enter a
wider sphere, not without the promise of high and
enduring fame. A child of the mist and the hill,
he had come from the deep woods and wild outland
life of the Scottish Border to what was already no
inconsiderable position. He knew Paris, not, need

1 Opus Majus, p. 84. . 2 Elinando.
4 Decamerone, viii. 9, * See infra, chap. x,

BIRTHPLACE AND EARLY STUDIES 17

it be said, the gay capital of modern days, but Paris
of the closing years of the twelfth century, Lutetia
Parisiorum: her low-browed houses of wood and
mud; her winding streets, noisome even by day,
and by night still darker and more perilous ; her vast
Latin Quarter, then far more preponderant than
now—a true cosmopolis, where fur-clad barbarians
from the home of the north wind sharpened wits
with the Latin races haply trained in southern
schools by some keen-browed Moor or Jew. And
Paris knew him, watched his course, applauded
his success, crowned his fame by that coveted
title of Master, which he shared with many others,
but which the world of letters made peculiarly his
own by creating for him a singular and individual
propriety in it. From Paris we may follow him
in fancy to Bologna, yet it is not hard to believe
he must have left half his heart behind, enchained
in that remarkable devotion which Lutetia could
so well inspire in her children.’ Bologna might
be, as we have represented it, the gate to a new
Eden, that of Scot’s Italian and Spanish life, yet
how could he enter it without casting many a
longing glance behind to the Paradise he had
quitted for ever when he left the banks of the
Seine ?

ils opine ds Senis 1151, saoe svi) hen joined tn ik umnn artowvogunt
lines in praise of the Parisian schools, where the writer compares them to

Paradise. There is no reason to suppose Scot wrote these verses, but
they fully support the statement made in the text.

CHAPTER II
SCOT AT THE COURT OF SICILY

Aut tradition assures us that the chief occupation
of Scot’s life was found at the Court of Frederick 11.,
King of Sicily, and afterwards Emperor of Ger-
many: a Prince deservedly famous, not only for
his own talent, but for the protection and en-
couragement he afforded to men of learning. A
manuscript in the Laurentian Library,’ hitherto
unnoticed in this connection, seems to throw some
light upon the time and manner of this employ-
ment: points that have always been very obscure.
The volume is a collection of Occulta, and at p. 256
we find the following title, ‘An Experiment of
Michael Scot the magician.’ What follows is of
no serious importance: such as it has we shall
consider in speaking of the Master’s legendary
fame. The concluding words, however, are of great
interest, especially when we observe that this part
of the manuscript, though written between 1450
and 1500, is said* to have been copied ‘from a
very ancient book.’ The colophon runs thus:
‘Here endeth the necromantic experiment of the
most illustrious doctor, Master*® Michael Scot, who
among other scholars is known as the supreme

1 Pl. Ixxxix. sup. cod. 38. See Appendix, No. 1.
2 See p. 244 of the ms. 3 Domini Magistri.

SCOT AT THE COURT OF SICILY 19

Master; who was of Scotland, and servant to his
most distinguished chief Don Philip,’ the King
"of Sicily’s clerk ;? which experiment he contrived ®
when he lay sick in the city of Cordova. Finis.’

Taking the persons here named in the order of
their rank, we notice first the great Emperor
Frederick u., the patron of Michael Scot. It is
worth remark that he is styled simply ‘ King of
Sicily,’ a title which belongs to the time previous
to 1215, when he obtained the Imperial crown.
This is a touch which seems to give high originality
and value to the colophon. We may feel sure that
it was not composed by the fifteenth century scribe,
who would certainly have described Frederick in
the usual style as Emperor and Lord of the World.
He must have copied it, and everything leads one
to suppose that he was right in describing the
source from which he drew as ‘ very ancient.’

Next comes Don Philip, whom we have rightly
described as the clerk of Sicily, for the word coronatus
in its medieval use is derived from corona in the sense
of the priestly tonsure, so that Philippus coronatus
is equivalent to Philippus clericus.* Of this dis-
tinguished man we find many traces in the historical
documents of the period.* Two deeds passed the
seals of Sicily in the year 1200 when the King,
then a boy of five years old, was living under the
care of his widowed mother the Queen Constantia.
These are countersigned by the royal notary, who
is described as ‘ Philippus de Salerno, notarius et
fidelis noster scriba.’ His name is found in the

1 Philipo. 2 Coronato. 3 Destinavit sibi.
* See Ducange, sub voce.

® Huillard-Bréholles, Hist. Dip. Frid. II., vol. i. pp. 44, 68, 242,
255.

20 THE LIFE AND LEGEND OF MICHAEL SCOT

same way, apparently for the last time, in 1213.
This date, and the particular designation of Philip
the Notary as ‘ of Salerno,’ connect themselves very
naturally with the title of a manuscript belonging
to the De Rossi collection.’ It is as follows: ‘The
Book of the Inspections of Urine according to the
opinion of the Masters, Peter of Berenico, Con-
stantine Damascenus, and Julius of Salerno; which
was composed by command of the Emperor
Frederick, Anno Domini 1212, in the month of.
February, and was revised by Master Philip of
Tripoli and Master Gerard of Cremona at the
orders of the King of Spain,’ etc. The person
designed as Philip of Salerno was very likely to be
put in charge of the revision of a medical treatise,
and as he disappears from his duties as notary for
some time after 1213 we may suppose that it was
then he passed into the service of the King of Spain.
This conjecture agrees also with the mention of
Cordova in the Florence manuscript, and with other
peculiarities it displays, such as the spelling of the
name Philippus like Felipe, and the way in which
the title Dominus is repeated, just as Don might
be in the style of a Spaniard. There is, in short,
every reason to conclude that Philip of Salerno and
Philip of Tripoli were one and the same person.
We may add that Philip was the author of the first
complete version in Latin of the book called Secreta
Secretorum, the preface of which describes him as a
clericus of the See of Tripoli. As will presently
appear, Michael Scot drew largely from this work
in composing one of his own ;” another proof that
in confronting with each other these three names—
1 No. 354. 2 See infra, p. 37.

SCOT AT THE COURT OF SICILY 21

Philippus coronatus or clericus; Philippus de
Salerno, and Philippus Tripolitanus—and in con-
cluding that they belong to one and the same
person, we have a reasonable amount of evidence
in our favour. —

From what has just been said it is plain that
three distinct periods must have composed the life
of Philip so far as we know it: the first when he
served as an ecclesiastic in Tripoli of Syria or its
neighbourhood ; the second when he came westward,
and, not without a certain literary reputation, held
the post of Clerk Register in Sicily ; the last when
Frederick sent him, in the height of his powers and
the fulness of his fame, to that neighbouring
country of Spain, then so full of attraction for every
scholar. In which of these periods then was it that
Michael Scot first came into those relations with
Philip of which the Florentine manuscript speaks ?
The time of his residence in Spain, likely as it might
seem on other accounts, would appear to be ruled
out by the fact that it was too late for Philip to
be then described as servant of the King of Sicily.
Nor did he hold this office, so far as we can tell,
until he had left Tripoli for the West. We must
pronounce then for the Sicilian period, and precisely
therefore for the years between 1200 and 1213.
This conclusion, however, does not hinder us from
supposing that the relation then first formally
begun between Michael and Philip continued to
bind them, in what may have been a friendly co-
operation, during the time spent by both in Spain.

The period thus determined was that of the
King’s boyhood, and this opens up another line of
argument which may be trusted not only to confirm

22 THE LIFE AND LEGEND OF MICHAEL SCOT

the results we have reached, but to afford a more
exact view of Scot’s occupation in Sicily. Several
of his works are dedicated to Frederick, from which
it is natural to conclude that his employment
was one which brought him closely in contact
with the person of the King. When we examine
their contents we are struck by the tone which Scot
permits himself to use in addressing his royal
master. There is familiarity when we should expect
flattery, and the desire to impart instruction in-
stead of the wish to display obsequiousness. Scot
appears in fact as one careless to recommend him-
self for a position at Court, certain rather of one
which must have been already his own. What can
this position have been ?

A tradition preserved by one of the commen-
taries on Dante’ informs us that Michael Scot was
employed as the Emperor’s tutor, and this explana-
tion is one which we need feel no hesitation in
adopting, as it clears up in a very convincing way
all the difficulties of the case. His talents, already
proved and crowned in Paris and Bologna, may well
have commended him for such a position. The
dedication of his books to Frederick, and the
familiar style in which he addresses the young prince,
are precisely what might be expected from the pen
of a court schoolmaster engaged in compiling
manuals in uswm Delphini.” Nay the very title of
‘Master’ which Scot had won at Paris probably
owed its chief confirmation and continued employ-
ment to the nature of his new charge. Since the
fifth century there had prevailed in Spain the habit

1 L/Anonimo Fiorentino, Comento alla Diwina Commedia. Bologna,
Fanfani, 1866-74. }
2 See especially the preface to the Phystonomia,

SCOT AT THE COURT OF SICILY 23

of committing children of position to the course of
an ecclesiastical education. They were trained by
some discreet and grave person called the magister
discuplinae, deputed by the Bishop to this office.
Such would seem to have been the manner of
Frederick’s studies. His guardian was the Pope;
he lived at Palermo under charge of the Canons of
that Cathedral,? and no doubt the ecclesiastical
character of Michael Scot combined with his
acknowledged talents to point him out as a suitable
person to fill so important a charge. It was his
first piece of preferment, and we may conceive that
he drew salary for his services under some title
given him in the royal registry. This would explain
his connection with Philip, the chief notary, on
which the Florentine manuscript insists. Such
fictitious employments have always been a part of
court fashion, and that they were common in Sicily
at the time of which we write may be seen from
the case of Werner and Philip de Bollanden, who,
though in reality most trusted and confidential
advisers of the Crown, were known at Court as the
chief butler and baker, titles which they were proud
to transmit to their descendants.°

It was at Palermo, then, that Michael Scot
must have passed the opening years of the thirteenth
century ; now more than ever ‘ Master,’ since he was
engaged in a work which carried with it no light
responsibility : the early education of a royal youth
destined to play the first part on the European
stage. The situation was one not without advan-

? Smith’s Dictionary of Christian Antiquities, sub voce ‘ Magister.’

* From August 1200 to January 1208. See Amari, Storia dei
Musulmani di Sicilia.

3 See the Hist. Dip. Frid., passim.

24 THE LIFE AND LEGEND OF MICHAEL SCOT

tages of an uncommon kind for a scholar like Scot,
eager to acquire knowledge in every department.
Sicily was still, especially in its more remote and
mountainous parts about Entella, Giato, and Platani,
the refuge of a considerable Moorish population,
whose language was therefore familiar in the island,
and was heard even at Court ; being, we are assured,
one of those in which Frederick received instruc-
tion.’ There can be little doubt that Scot availed
himself of this opportunity, and laid a good founda-
tion for his later work on Arabic texts by acquiring,
in the years of his residence at Palermo, at least the
vernacular language of the Moors.

The same may be said regarding the Greek
tongue: a branch of study much neglected even by
the learned of those times. We shall presently
produce evidence which goes to show that Michael
Scot worked upon Greek as well as Arabic texts,’
and it was in all probability to his situation in
Sicily that he owed the acquisition of what was
then a very rare accomplishment. Bacon, who
deplores the ignorance of Greek which prevailed in
his days, recommends those who would learn this
important language to go to Italy, where, he says,
especially in the south, both clergy and people are
still in many places purely Greek.’ The reference
to Magna Grecia is obvious, and to Sicily, whose
Greek colonies preserved, even to Frederick’s time
and beyond it, their nationality and language. So
much was this the case, that it was thought neces-
sary to make the study of Greek as well as of Arabic
part of Frederick’s education. We can hardly err

1 Amari. 2 See infra, pp. 26, 59, and ch. vi.
3 Compendium Studit, p. 434.

SCOT AT THE COURT OF SICILY 25

in supposing that Scot profited by this as well as
by the other opportunity.

In point of general culture too a residence at
Palermo offered many and varied advantages. Rare
manuscripts abounded, some lately brought to the
island, like that of the Secreta Secretorum, the
prize of Philip the Clerk, which he carried with
him when he came from Tripoli to Sicily, and
treasured there, calling it his ‘precious pearl’ ;*
others forming part of collections that had for some
time been established in the capital. As early as
the year 1143, George of Antioch, the Sicilian
Admiral, had founded the Church of St. Maria della
Martorana in Palermo, and had enriched it with a
valuable library, no doubt brought in great part
from the East.* A better opportunity for literary
studies could hardly have been desired than that
which the Prince’s Master now enjoyed.

The society and surroundings in which Michael
Scot now found himself were such as must have
communicated a powerful impulse to the mind.
The Court was grave rather than gay, as had
befitted the circumstances of a royal widow, and
now of an orphan still under canonical protection
and busied in serious study, but this allowed the
wit and wisdom of learned men free scope, and thus
invited and encouraged their residence. Already,
probably, had begun that concourse and competition
of talents; for which the Court of Frederick was
afterwards so remarkable. Amid delicious gardens
at evening, or by day in the cool shade of court-
yards: those patios which the Moors had built so
well and adorned with such fair arabesques, all that

1 See the preface to the Secreta. 2 Amari. See infra, p. 83.

26 THE LIFE AND LEGEND OF MICHAEL SCOT

was rarest in learning and brightest in wit, held
daily disputation, while the delicate fountains played
and Monte Pellegrino looked down on the curving
beauties of the bay and shore. A strange contrast
truly to the arcades of Bologna, now heaped with
winter snow and now baked by summer sun ; to the
squalor of medizval Paris, and much more to the
green hillsides and moist forest-clad vales of southern
Scotland. Here at last the spirit of Michael Scot
underwent a powerful and determining influence
which left its mark on all his subsequent life.

As royal tutor, his peculiar duty would seem to
have been that of instructing the young Prince in
the different branches of mathematics. This; we
should naturally have conjectured from the fact
that Scot’s fame as yet rested entirely upon the
honours he had gained at Paris, and precisely in
this department of learning; for ‘Michael the
Mathematician’ was not likely to have been called
to Palermo with any other. purpose. We have
direct evidence of it however in an early work
which came from the Master’s pen, and one which
would seem to have been designed for the use of
his illustrious pupil. This was the Astronomia, or
Inber Particularis, and in the Oxford copy,’ the
colophon of that treatise runs thus: ‘ Here endeth
the book of Michael Scot, astrologer to the Lord

1 Bibl. Bodl. mss. Canon Misc. 555 ; cod. memb. in 4to ff. 97, saec.
xiv. ineunt., with a portrait of Michael Scot in one of the initials. The
preface opens thus:—‘Cum ars astronomie sit grandis sermonibus
philosophorum.’ The book begins :—‘ Cronica Grece Latine dicitur series
ut temporis temporum sicut dominorum,’ and closes thus :—‘ De exposi-
tione fundamenti terrae volentes hic finere secundum librum quem
incepimus in nomine Dei, Cui ex parte nostra sit semper grandis laus et
gloria, benedictio et triumphus in omnibus per infinita saecula saecu-
lorum Amen.’ Other mss. of the Astronomia are found at Milan, Bibl.
Ambros. L, 92, swp. cum figuris ; and at Munich, see Halm and Meyer’s
Catalogue, vol. ii. part i. p. 156, No. 1242, saec, xviii.

SCOT AT THE COURT OF SICILY 27

Frederick, Emperor of Rome, and ever August;
which book he composed in simple style’ at the
desire of the aforesaid Emperor. And this he
did, not so much considering his own reputation, as
desiring to be serviceable and useful to young
scholars, who, of their great love for wisdom, desire
to learn in the Quadrivium the Art of Astronomy.’
The preface says that this was the second book
which Scot composed for Frederick.

The science of Astronomy was so closely joined
in those times with the art of Astrology, that it is
difficult to draw a clear distinction between them
as they were then understood. The one was but
the practical application of the other, and in
common use their names were often confused and
used interchangeably. We are not surprised then
to find the title of Imperial Astrologer given to
Michael Scot in the colophon to his Astronomia ; he
was sure to be employed in this way, and the fact
will help us to determine with probability what
was the first book he wrote for the Emperor, that
to which the Inber Particularis was a sequel. For
there is actually extant under Scot’s name an astro-
logical treatise bearing the significant name of the
Inber Introductorius.? This title agrees exceedingly
well with the position we are now inclined to give
it, and an examination of the preface confirms our

Suen us soe. poy in fol. saec. xv. 218 leaves ; Bibl. Nat. Paris,
Nouy. acq. 1401 ; the Escorial has another ms. of this work on paper, in
writing of the fourteenth century. The Liber Introductortus commences
thus : ‘Quicumque vult esse bonus astrologus’—an expression which
betrays the churchman in Scot. It closes with these words: ‘finitur
tractatus de notitia pronosticorum.’ Extracts from the Liber Introduc-
torius are found in the ms. Fondo Vaticano 4087, p. 38, ro. and vo., Ms.

in fol. chart. saec. xvi., and in the Bibl. del Seminario Vescovile, Padua,
Ms. 48, in fol. chart, saec. xiv. ; also Bibl. Ambros, Milan, ms. I. 90.

28 THE LIFE AND LEGEND OF MICHAEL SCOT

conjecture in a high degree. It commences thus:
‘Here beginneth the preface of the Liber Intro-
ductorius which was put forth by Michael Scot,
Astrologer to the ever August Frederick, Emperor
of the Romans, at whose desire he composed it con-
cerning astrology,’ in a simple style® for the sake
of young scholars and those of weaker capacity, and
this in the days of our Lord Pope Innocent ty.’®
One cannot help noticing the close correspondence
between this and the colophon of the Astronomia.
The two treatises were the complement each of the
other. They must have been composed about the
same time, and were doubtless meant to serve as
text-books to guide the studies of Frederick’s youth.
That this royal pupil should have been led through
astrology to the higher and more enduring wonders
of astronomy need cause no surprise, for such a
course was quite in accordance with the intellectual
habits of the age. It may be doubted indeed
whether the men of those times would have shown
such perseverance in the observations and discoveries
proper to a pure science of the heavens, had it
not been for the practicable and profitable interest
which its application in astrology furnished. Astro-
nomy, such as it then was, formed the last and
highest study in the Quadrivium.* It was here that
Scot had carried off honours at Paris, and now in
his Liber Introductorius and Astronomia, we see

1 The Paris ms. reads ‘in Astronomia,’ a good example of the con-
fusion mentioned above. 2 « Leviter.’

3 This is a mistake common to both the mss. Innocent rv. did not
begin to reign till 1243, when Scot was long in his grave. Innocent 111,
who was Pope from 1198-1216, is the person meant. He was guardian
to Frederick 11. during his minority.

* According to the line: ‘Lingua, Tropus, Ratio, Numerus, Tonus,
Angulus, Astra,’ in which the Trivium and Quadrivium were succinctly
and memorably expressed.

SCOT AT THE COURT OF SICILY 29

him imparting the ripe fruits of that diligence to his
royal charge, whose education, so far as regarded
formal study, was thereby brought to a close.

In the year 1209, when Frederick was but
fourteen years of age, the quiet study and seclusion
in which he still lived with those who taught him
was brought to an abrupt and, one must think,
premature conclusion. The boy was married, and
to a lady ten years his senior, Constance, daughter
of the King of Aragon, and already widow of the
King of Hungary. It is not hard to see that such
a union must have been purely a matter of arrange-
ment. The Prince of Palermo, undergrown and
delicate as he was,’ promised to be, as King of
Sicily and possibly Emperor, the noblest husband of
his time. Pope Innocent 11., his guardian, foresaw
this, and chose a daughter of Spain as most fit to
occupy the proud position of Frederick’s wife, queen,
and perhaps empress. Had the wishes of Rome
prevailed at the Court of Aragon from the first,
this marriage would have taken place even earlier
than it did. The delay seems to have been owing,
not to any reluctance on the part of the bride’s
parents, but solely to the doubt which of two sisters,
elder or younger, widow or maid, should accept the
coveted honour.

It was in spring, the loveliest season of the year
in that climate, that the fleet of Spain, sent to bear
the bride and her suite, rose slowly over the sea
rim and dropped anchor in the Bay of Palermo.
Constantia came with many in her company, the
flower of Catalan and Provengal chivalry, led by her
brother, Count Alfonso. The Bishop of Mazara,

* His mother was nearly fifty years old at his birth.

30 THE LIFE AND LEGEND OF MICHAEL SCOT

too, was among them, bearing a commission to
represent the Pope in these negotiations and
festivities. And now the stately Moorish palace,
with its courtyard, its fountains, and its gardens,
became once more a scene of gaiety, as—in the great
hall of forty pillars, beneath a roof such as Arabian
artists alone could frame, carved like a snow cave,
or stained with rich and lovely colour like a mass of
jewels set in gold—the officers of the royal household
passed solemnly on to offer homage before their
Prince and his bride. In the six great apartments of
state the frescoed forms of Christian art: Patriarchs
in their histories, Moses and David in their exploits,
and the last wild charge of Barbarossa’s Crusade,’
looked down upon a moving throng of nobles and
commons who came to present their congratulations,
while the plaintive music of lute, of pipe, and tabor,
sighed upon the air, and skilful dancers swam before
the delighted guests in all the fascination of the
voluptuous East.

What part could Michael Soak: the grave ecclesi-
astic, and now doubly the ‘ Master’ as Frederick’s
trusted tutor, play in the gay scene of his pupil’s
marriage? For many ages it has been the custom
among Italian scholars, the attached dependants of a
noble house, to offer on such occasions their homage
to bride and bridegroom in the form of a learned
treatise ; any bookseller’s list of Nozze is enough to
show that the habit exists even at the present day.
This then was what Scot did; for there is every reason
to think that the Physionomia, which he composed
and dedicated to Frederick, was produced and
presented at the time of the royal marriage. No
date suits this publication so well as 1209, and

1 See the description of this palace in the poem by Peter of Eboli,

SCOT AT THE COURT OF SICILY 31

nothing but the urgent desire of Court and people
that the marriage should prove fruitful can explain,
one might add excuse, some passages of almost
fescennine licence which it contains.. We seem to
find in the advice of the preface that Frederick should
study man, encouraging the learned to dispute in
his presence what may well have been the last
word of a master who saw his pupil passing to scenes
of larger and more active life at an unusually early
age, and before he could be fully trusted to take his
due place in the great world of European politics.
The Physionomia, however, is too important a
work to be dismissed in a paragraph. Both the
subject itself, and the sources from which Scot
drew, deserve longer consideration. The science of
physiognomy, as its name imports, was derived
from the Greeks. Achinas, a contemporary of the
Hippocratic school, and Philemon, who is mentioned
in the introduction to Scot’s treatise, seem to have
been the earliest writers in this department of
philosophy. It was a spiritual medicine,’ and
formed part of the singular doctrine of signatures,
teaching as it did that the inward dispositions of
the soul might be read in visible characters upon
the bodily frame. The Alexandrian school made a
speciality of physiognomy. In Egypt it attained a
further development, and various writings in Greek
which expounded the system passed current during
the early centuries of our era under the names of

1 Zurita says that Sancia, the Queen Dowager of Aragon, claimed
the crown of Sicily for her son Fernando, in case there were no heir of
Frederick 11. by Constance.

2 See on this whole subject three most learned and satisfactory
works by Prof. R. Foerster of Breslau—De Arist. quae feruntur
physiognomonicis recensendis, Kiliae, 1882; De trans. lat. physiogno-
monicorum, Kiliae, 1884 ; and especially his Scriptores Graeci Physio-
gnomonict, Teubner, 1894.

32 THE LIFE AND LEGEND OF MICHAEL SCOT

Aristotle and Polemon. ‘Through the common
channel of the Syriac schools and language it
reached the Arabs, and in the ninth century had
the fortune to be taken up warmly by Rases and
his followers, who made it a characteristic part of
their medical system. From this source then Scot
drew largely ; chapters xxiv.—xxv. in Book m1. of his
Physiononua correspond closely with the De Medicina
ad Regem Al Mansorem’ of Rases.”

Among ancient texts on physiognomy, however,
perhaps the most famous was the Sirr-el-asra, or
Secreta Secretorum, which was ascribed to Aristotle.
Its origin, like that of other pseudo-Aristotelic
writings, seems to have been Egyptian. When
the conquests of Alexander the Great had opened
the way for a new relation between East and
West, Egypt, and especially its capital, Alexan-
dria, became the focus of a new philosophic influence.
The sect of the Essenes, transported hither, had
given rise to the school of the Therapeutae, where
Greek theories developed in a startling direction
under the power of Oriental speculation. The Thera-
peutae were sun-worshippers, and eager students
of ancient and occult writings, as Josephus’ tells us
the Essenes had been. We find in the Abraxas
gems, of which so large a number has been pre-
served, an enduring memorial of these people and
their system of thought.’

1 A Physionomia ascribed to Al Mansour himself was commented
on by Jacopo da Samminiato. It is preserved in the Bibl. Naz of
Florence, Ms. xx. 55. 2 See Book 11. chap. xxvi. et seq.

3 B. J. u. 8. §6. See also the Church Histories of Neander (i. 61,
83) and Kurtz (i. 65).

4 The word ’ASpdéas read numerically gives the total of 365=the
number of days in which the sun completes his circle through the twelve
signs. In this way it is equivalent to Mithras. These gems often bear

the figure of a cock=the sun-bird, not without reference to Aisculapius.
They were worn to recover or preserve health,

SCOT AT THE COURT OF SICILY 33

The preface to the Svrr-el-asrar affords several
matters which agree admirably with what we know
of the Therapeutae. The precious volume was the
prize of a scholar on his travels, who found it in
the possession of an aged recluse dwelling in the
penetralia of a sun-temple built by Aisculapius.*
All this is characteristic enough, and when we
examine the substance of the treatise it appears
distinctly Therapeutic. Much of it is devoted to
bodily disease, to the regimen of the health, and to
that science of physiognomy which professed to
reveal, as in a spiritual diagnosis, the infirmities of
the soul. The ascription of the work to Aristotle,
Alexander’s tutor, seems quite in accordance with
this theory; in short, there is no reason to doubt
that it first appeared in Egypt, where it probably
formed one of the most cherished texts of the
Therapeutae.

The preface to the Sirr-el-asrar throws light
not only upon the origin of the treatise but also
upon its subsequent fortunes. It is said to have
been rendered from the Greek into Chaldee or
Syriac,’ and thence into Arabic, the usual channel

1 This reminds one of the somewhat similar introduction to the
alchemy of Crates, which speaks of a youth called Rissoures, the scion
of a family of adepts, who made love to a maid-servant of Ephestelios,
chief diviner in the Temple of Serapis at Alexandria, thus inducing her
to steal the book and fly with him. The tradition of discovery is
common to both legends, but the Crates has a colour of worldly passion
and the Sirr-el-Asrar a shade of ascetic practice which agrees admirably
with what we know of the Therapeutae. Crates is probably Democritus.
The Arabic version was due to Khalid ben Yezid, and bears the title of
Kenz el Konowz, or treasure of treasures. It is found in ms. 440 of
Leyden. In a later chapter we shall recur to this subject with the view
of showing that alchemy as well as physiognomy owed much to the
Therapeutic philosophy.

2 The printed copy—in fol. Venice, Bernardinus de Vitalibus, s. a.
but probably 1501—reads ‘romanam,’ which would be neo-Greek or
Romaic,

C

34 THE LIFE AND LEGEND OF MICHAEL SCOT

by which the remains of ancient learning have
reached the modern world. The translator's name
is given as Johannes filius Bitricii, but this can
hardly have been the well-known Ibn-el-Bitriq,
the freedman of Mamoun. To this latter author
indeed, the Fihrist, composed in 987, ascribes the
Arabic version of Aristotle’s De Calo et Mundo,
and of Plato’s Tumaeus, so that his literary
faculty would seem to accord very well with
the task of translating the Sirr-el-asrar. But
Foerster has observed’ that we find no trace of
this book in Arabian literature before the eleventh
century. Now the famous Ibn-el-Bitriq lived in the
ninth, as appears from several considerations. His
works were revised by Honain ibn Ishaq (878),
and, if we believe in the authenticity of the Hl
Hawi, where he is mentioned by name, then he
must have belonged to an age at least as early
as that of Rases who wrote it. In these perplexing
circumstances, Foerster gives up the attempt to
determine who may have been the translator of
the Sirr-el-asrar, contenting himself with the con-
jecture that some unknown scholar had assumed
the name of El Bitriq to give importance to the
production of his pen. We may be excused,
however, if we direct attention to two manuscripts
of the British Museum’ which do not seem to
have been noticed by those who have devoted
attention to this obscure subject. One of these,
which is written in a hand of the thirteenth
century, informs us that the man who transcribed

1 See on this whole subject the excellent remarks of Foerster in his
treatise De Aristotelis quae feruntur Secretis Secretorwm, Kiliae, 1888,
pp. 22-25.

2 Wright’s Cat. of the Syriac MSS,, Nos. 250 and 366.

SCOT AT THE COURT OF SICILY 35

it was a certain Said Ibn Butrus ibn Mansur, a
Maronite priest of Lebanon in the diocese of
Tripolis, a prisoner for twelve years in the place
where the royal standards were kept (at Cairo),
who was released from that confinement in the
time of al Malik an Nazir. The other—a mere
fragment—contains a notice of the priest Yahya,
or Yuhanna, ibn Butrus, who died in the year
1217 a.p. It is not unlikely that some confusion
might arise between the names Patrick and Peter,
often used interchangeably. ‘ Filius Patricii’ then
may have been no assumed designation, but the
equivalent of Ibn Butrus, the real name of this priest
of Tripoli, who was perhaps the translator of the
Sirr-el-asrar at the close of the twelfth century.
Those chapters of the Sirr-el-asrar which relate
to regimen were translated into Latin by Johannes
Hispalensis. Jourdain identifies this author with
John Avendeath, who worked for the Archbishop
of Toledo between the years 1130 and 1150. But
Foerster shows that caution is needed here.*? The
Latin version was dedicated to Tarasia, Queen of
Spain. A queen of this name certainly lived con-
temporaneously with John Avendeath, but she
was Queen of Portugal. Another Tarasia, however,
was Queen of Leon from 1176 to 1180. We may
observe that this latter epoch agrees well enough
with the lifetime of Ibn Butrus, who died in 1217,
and we find trace of another Johannes Hispanus,
who was a monk of Mount Tabor in 1175. Such
a man, who from his situation in Syria could
scarcely have been ignorant of Arabic, and whose
nationality agrees so well with a dedication to

* Recherches, pp. 117, 118, 2 Op. cit, pp. 26, 27.

36 THE LIFE AND LEGEND OF MICHAEL SCOT

the Queen of Spain, and who was a contemporary
of Tarasia of Leon, may well have translated the
Surr-el-asrar into Latin. That part of the book
thus made public in the West appeared under
the following title: ‘De conservatione corporis
humani, ad Alexandrum.’ It is found in several
manuscripts of the Laurentian Library in Florence.'

Soon afterwards, and probably in the opening
years of the thirteenth century, the whole book
was published in a Latin version by the same
Philippus Clericus, with whom we have already
become acquainted. We may recall the fact that
he belonged to the diocese of Tripoli, as Ibn
Butrus also did, and as Johannes Hispanus was
also a monk of Syria, these three scholars are seen
to be joined by a link of locality highly increasing
the probability that they actually co-operated in
the publication of this hitherto unknown text.
In his preface, Philip speaks of the Arabic manu-
script as a precious pearl, discovered while he
was still in Syria. This leads us to think that
his work in translating it was done after he had
left the East, and possibly in the course of his
voyage westward. We know that the Hebrew
version of Aristotle's Meteora was produced in
similar circumstances. Samuel ben Juda ben
Tibbun says he completed that translation in the
year 1210, while the ship that bore him from
Alexandria to Spain was passing between the
isles of Lampadusa and Pantellaria.* However
this may be, Philip of Tripoli dedicated his version
of the Sirr-el-asrar, which he called the Secreta

1 Viz., P. xiii. sin. cod. 6; P. xxx, cod. 29; and P. Ixxxix. sup.
cod. 76. There is also one at Paris, Fonds de Sorbonne, 955.
2 See the ms, of the Laurentian Library, p. lxxxviii. cod. 24,

SCOT AT THE COURT OF SICILY 37

Secretorum, to the Bishop under whom he had
hitherto lived and laboured: ‘Guidoni vere de
Valentia, civitatis Tripolis glorioso pontifici’: a
name and title little understood by the copyists,
who have subjected them to strange corruptions."

It is highly in favour of our identifying, as
we have already done, Philip of Tripoli, the
translator of the Secreta, with Philip of Salerno,
the Clerk Register of Sicily, that we find Michael
Scot, who stood in an undoubtedly close relation
to the Clerk Register, showing an intimate acquaint-
ance with the Secreta Secretorum. Foerster has
given us a careful and exact account of several
passages in different parts of the Physionomia of
Scot, which have their correspondences in the
works of Philip, so that it is beyond question that
the Latin version of the Secreta was one of the
sources from which Scot drew. Before leaving
this part of the subject, we may notice that trans-
lations of Philip’s version into the vernacular
languages of Italy, France, and England were
made at an early date, both in prose and verse.”

1 By transposition ‘G. de Valentia vere civitatis,’ etc. (Bibl. Naz.
Flor. xxv. 10, 632); by corruption ‘vere de violentia’ (Barberini ms.),
or ‘grosso pontifici’ (Fondo Vaticano, 5047). This bishop has not yet
been identified.

2 mss. of the Secreta Secretorwm are found in Florence, Bibl. Naz.,
xxv. 10, 632, chart. saec. xv. ; Bibl. Laur. (S. Crucis) xv. sin. 9; Rome,
Fondo Vaticano, 5047 ; Oxford, Bibl. Bod. Can. Misc., 562 ; Troyes and
St. Omer, v. Cat. mss. des Depart., vol. ii. pp. 517, 518, and iii. 295 ;
Berne, v. Sinner’s Cat., vol. iii. p. 525. Itis interesting to note that the title
of this last Ms. is Physionomia, just as the Physionomia of Scot is called
De Secretis in the editions of 1584 and 1598. This confirms the relation
between his work and that of Philippus Clericus. mss. of the Italian
version of the Secreta Secretorum are found at Florence, Bibl. Riccard.,
Q. I. xxii. 1297; R. I. xx. 2224; L. I. xxxiv. 108. The first of these
is dated 1450. In the Bibl. Naz., Florence, there is another, and a
similar one of the Physionomia Aristotelis. In the Chigi Library of

Rome there is a Ms., chart. saec. xvil., with the curious title : ‘ Migel
franzas, auctor obscurioris nominis, ad Phystonomiam Aristotelis Com-

38 THE LIFE AND LEGEND OF MICHAEL SCOT

The English version of the Secreta came from the
hand of the poet Lydgate.

Another treatise of the same school, to which
Scot was also indebted, is to be found in the Physvo-
noma ascribed, like the Secreta, to Aristotle. The
Latin version of this apocryphal work was made, it
is said, directly from a Greek original, by Bartholo-
mew of Messina. This author wrote for Manfred
of Sicily, and at a time which excludes the
notion that Scot could have seen or employed his
work. Yet several passages in the preface to
Book wu. of Scot’s Physionomia have evidently
been borrowed from that of the Pseudo-Aristotle.
As no Arabic version of the treatise is known to
exist, the fact of this correspondence is one of
the proofs on which we may rely in support of
the conclusion that Scot must have known and
used the Greek language in his studies.

The last two chapters of Book 1. in the Physio-
noma of Scot show plainly that he had the
Arabic version of Aristotle's History of Animals
before him as he wrote. We shall recur to this
matter when we come to deal with the versions
which Scot made expressly from these books.
Meanwhile let us guard against the impression
naturally arising from our analysis of the Physio-
nomia, that it was a mere compilation. Many
parts of the work show no correspondence with any
other treatise on the subject that is known to us,
and these must be held as the results of the author's

mentarium,.’ It is numbered E. vi. 205, and consists of 326 pages. The
Secreta Seeretorum with the De Mineralibus was printed at Venice
(21501), by Bernardinus de Vitalibus, and a new version by G. Manente,
comprehending the Morals and the Physionomia as well as the Secreta,
issued from the same place in 1538. It was printed in 4to by Tacuino
da Trino.

SCOT AT THE COURT OF SICILY 39

own observations. The arrangement of the whole
is certainly original, nor can we better conclude our
study of the Physionomia, than by giving a compre-
hensive view of its contents in their order. The
work is divided into three books, each having its
own introduction. The first expounds the mysteries
of generation and birth, and reaches, as we have
already remarked, even beyond humanity to a con-
siderable part of the animal world so much studied
by the Arabians. The second expounds the signs
of the different complexions, as these become visible
in any part of the body, or are discovered by
dreams. The third examines the human frame
member by member, explaining what signs of the
inward nature may be read in each. The whole
forms a very complete and interesting compendium
of the art of physiognomy as then understood, and
must have seemed not unworthy of the author, nor
unsuitable as an offering to the young prince, who
by marriage was about to enter on the great world
of affairs, where knowledge of men would henceforth
be all-important to his success and happiness. The
book attained a wide popularity in manuscript, and
the invention of printing contributed to increase its
circulation in Europe :’ no less than eighteen editions

1 uss. of the Physionomia : Oxford, Bibl. Bod. mss. Canon, Mise. 555
(with the Liber Particularis) saec. xiv. ; Milan, Bibl. Ambros. L 92 sup.
(with the Liber Particularis) ; Padua, Bibl. Anton. xxiii. 616, chart. saec.
xvii; Vatican, Fondo della Regina 1151 perhaps saec. xvi. Printed
editions: 1477 perhaps double; 1485 Louvain and Leipsic; 1499 s. 1.
and five or six others of this century in 4to, s. ]. et a; 1508 Cologne,
Venice, and Paris, the last in 8vo ; 1514 Venice 8vo; 1515s. 1; 1519
Venice 8vo ; 1584 Lyons 24mo along with the Abbreviatio Avicennae
and the De animalibus ad Caesarem under the general title of De
Secretis Naturae ; 1598 Lyons, De Secretis Naturae cum tractatu De
Secretis Mulierwm Alberti Magni ; 1615 Frankfort 8vo; 1655 and 1660
Amsterdam 12mo. Editions of the Italian version appeared at Venice
In 1533, 8vo, and 1537. During the sixteenth century an edition of the
Latin text in 8vo appeared from the press of Pietro Gaudoul without date.

40 THE LIFE AND LEGEND OF MICHAEL SCOT

are said to have been printed between 1477 and
1660." |

In the copy preserved at Milan, the Physionomia
is placed immediately after the Astronomia, or
LInber Particularis. A similar arrangement is found
in the Oxford manuscript. This fact is certainly in
favour of the view we have adopted, and would seem
to fix very plainly the date and relation of these
works. They stand beside the Liber Introduc-
torvus, and, together with it, form the only remains
we have of Scot’s first literary activity, being publi-
cations that were called out in the course of his
scholastic duty to the King of Sicily. The Lnber
Introductorius opens this series. It is closely
related by the nature of its subject-matter to the
Astronomia, or Inber Particularis, while the Physio-
nomia forms a fitting close to the others with which
it is thus associated. In this last treatise Michael
Scot sought to fulfil his charge by sending forth
his pupil to the great world, not wholly unprovided
with a guide to what is far more abstruse and incal-
culable than any celestial theorem, the mystery of
human character and action.

In presenting the Physionomia to Frederick,
Scot took what proved a long farewell of the Court ;
for many years passed before he saw the Emperor
again. The great concourse of the Queen’s train,
together with the assembly of Frederick’s subjects
at Palermo, bred a pestilence under the dangerous
heats of spring. A sudden horror fell on the
masques and revels of these bright days, with the
death of the Queen’s brother, Count Alfonso of

! Histoire Lnttéraire de la France. The list given above will show
that this statement rather falls short of the truth than exceeds it.

SCOT AT THE COURT OF SICILY 41

Provence, and several others, so that soon the fair
gardens and pleasant palace were emptied and
deserted as a place where only the plague might
dare to linger. The King and Queen, with five
hundred Spanish knights and a great Sicilian fol-
lowing, passed eastward ; to Cefalt first, and then
on to Messina and Catania, as if they could not
put too great a distance between themselves and
the infected spot. Meanwhile Michael Scot, whose
occupation in Palermo, and indeed about the King,
was now gone, set sail in the opposite direction and
sought the coast of Spain. Whether the idea of
this voyage was his own, was the result of a royal
commission, or had been suggested by some of the
learned who came with Queen Constantia from her
native land, it is now impossible to say. It was in
any case a fortunate venture, which did much, not
only for Scot’s personal fame, but for the general
advantage in letters and in arts.

CHAPTER III

SCOT AT TOLEDO

In following the course which Michael Scot held in
his voyage to Spain, we approach what was beyond
all doubt the most important epoch in the life of
that scholar. Hitherto we have seen him as the
student preparing at Paris or Bologna for a brilliant
future, or as the tutor of a youthful monarch, essay-
ing some literary ventures, which justified the
position he held in Sicily, and recommended him
for future employment. But the moment was now
come which put him at last in possession of an
opportunity suitable to his training and talents.
We are to see how he won in Spain his greatest
reputation in connection with the most important
literary enterprise of the age, and one which is
indeed not the least remarkable of all time.

The part which the Arabs took in the intel-
lectual awakening of Europe is a familiar theme of
early medieval history. That wonderful people,
drawn from what was then an unknown land of the
East, and acted on by the mighty sense of religion
and nationality which Mohammed was able to
communicate, fell like a flood upon the weak remains
of older civilisations, and made huge inroads upon
the Christian Empire of the East. Having reached

this point in their career of conquest they became
42

SCOT AT TOLEDO 43

in their turn the conquered, not under force of arms
indeed, but as subdued by the still vital intel-
lectual power possessed by those whom they had in
a material sense overcome. In their new seat by
the streams of the Euphrates they learned from
their Syrian subjects, now become their teachers,
the treasures of Greek philosophy which had been
translated into the Aramaic tongue. Led captive
as by a spell, the Caliphs of the Abassid line, espe-
cially Al Mansour, Al Rachid, and Al Mamoun, ©
encouraged with civil honours and rewards the
labours of these learned men. Happy indeed was
the Syrian who brought to life another relic of the
mighty dead, or who gave to such works a new
immortality by rendering them into the Arabic
language.

Meanwhile the progress of the Ommiad arms,
compelled to seek new conquests by the defeat they
had sustained in the East from the victorious
Abbassides, was carrying the Moors west and ever
westward along the northern provinces of Africa.
Egypt and Tripoli and Tunis successively fell before
their victorious march ; Algiers and Morocco shared
the same fate, and at last, crossing the Straits of
Gibraltar, the Moors overran Spain, making a new
Arabia of that western peninsula, which in position
and physical features bore so great a likeness to
the ancient cradle of their race.

It is true indeed that long ere the period of
which we write the Moorish power in the West had
received a severe check, and had, for at least a
century, entered on its period of decay. The battle
of Tours, fought in 732, had driven the infidels
from France. The Christian kingdoms of Spain

44 THE LIFE AND LEGEND OF MICHAEL SCOT

itself had rallied their courage and their forces,
and, in a scene of chivalry, which inspired many a
tale and song, had freed at least the northern
provinces of that country from the alien power.
But weapons of war, as we have already seen in
the case of the Arabs themselves, are not the only
means of conquest. The surest title of the Moors
to glory lies in the prevailing intellectual influence
they were able to exert over that Christendom
which, in a political sense, they had failed to
subdue and dispossess. The scene we have just
witnessed in the East was now repeated in Spain,
but was repeated in an exactly opposite sense.
The mental impulse received from the remains of
Greek literature at Bagdad now became in its
turn the motive power which not only sufficed to
carry these forgotten treasures westward in the
course of Moorish conquest, but succeeded, through
that nation, in rousing the Latin races to a sense of
their excellence, and a generous ambition to become
possessed of all the culture and discipline they were
capable of yielding.

The chief centre of this influence, as it was the
chief scene of contact between the two races,
naturally lay in Spain. During the ages of Moorish
dominion the Christians of this country had lived
in peace and prosperity under the generous pro-
tection of their foreign rulers. To a considerable.
extent indeed the Moors and Spaniards amalga-
mated by intermarriage. The language of the
conquerors was familiarly employed by their
Spanish subjects, and these frequented in numbers
the famous schools of science and literature estab-
lished by the Moors at Cordova, and in other cities

SCOT AT TOLEDO 45

of the kingdom. Proof of all this remains in the
public acts of the Castiles, which continued to be
written in Arabic as late as the fourteenth century,
and were signed by Christian prelates in the same
characters ;’ in the present language of Spain which
retains so many words of eastern origin ; but, above
all, in the profound influence, now chiefly engaging
our attention, which has left its mark upon almost
every branch of our modern science, literature, and
art.

This result was largely owing to a singular
enterprise of the twelfth century with which the
learned researches of Jourdain have made us familiar.*
Scholars from other lands, such as Constantine,
Gerbert, afterwards Pope Sylvester u., Adelard of
Bath, Hermann, and Alfred and Daniel de Morlay,
had indeed visited Spain during that age and the one
which preceded it, and had, as individuals, made
a number of translations from the Arabic, among
which were various works in medicine and mathe-
matics, as well as the first version of the Koran.
But in the earlier half of the twelfth century, and
precisely between the years 1130 and 1150, this
desultory work was reduced to a system by the
establishment of a regular school of translation in
Toledo. The credit of this foundation, which did
so much for medieval science and letters, belongs
to Don Raymon, Archbishop of Toledo and Primate
of Spain. This enlightened and liberal churchman
was by origin a French monk, born at Agen, whom
Bernard, a previous Primate, had brought south-
ward in his train, as he returned from a journey

1 See Ticknor’s History of Spanish Literature, p. 395.

2 Recherches sur Page et Vorigine des trad. latines d’Aristote, Paris,
1843, chap. iii. passim.

46 THE LIFE AND LEGEND OF MICHAEL SCOT

beyond the Pyrenees. Don Raymon associated with
himself his Archdeacon, Dominicus Gundisalvus, and
a converted Jew commonly known as Johannes
Hispalensis or John of Seville, whom Jourdain has
identified with Johannes Avendeath: this latter
being in all probability his proper name. These
formed the heads of the Toledo school in its earliest
period, and the enterprise was continued throughout
the latter half of the century by other scholars, of
whom Gherardus Cremonensis the elder was probably
the chief. Versions of the voluminous works of Avi-
cenna, as well as of several treatises by Algazel and
Alpharabius, and of a number of medical writings,
were the highly prized contribution of the Toledo
school to the growing library of foreign authors
now accessible in the Latin language.

It is probable that when Michael Scot left Sicily
he did so with the purpose of joining this important
enterprise. His movements naturally suggest such
an idea, as he proceeded to Toledo, still the centre
of these studies, and won, during the years of his
residence there, the name by which he is best
known in the world of letters, that of the chief
exponent of the Arabo-Aristotelic philosophy in the
West.

The name and fame of Aristotle, never quite for-
gotten even in the darkest age,’ and now known and
extolled among Moorish scholars, formed indeed the
ground of that immense reputation which Arabian
philosophy enjoyed in Europe. The Latin schools
had long been familiar with the logical writings of
Aristotle, but the modern spirit, soon to show

1 The bones of Aristotle were said to lie in the Mosque of Palermo,
where they were highly reverenced. See Charles III. of Naples, by
St. Clair Baddeley, London, 1894, p. 122,

SCOT AT TOLEDO 47

itself as it were precociously in Bacon and Albertus
Magnus, was already awake, and under its influence
men had begun to demand more than the mere
training of the mind in abstract reasoning. Even
the application of dialectics to evolve or support
systems of doctrine drawn from Holy Scripture
could not content this new curiosity. Men were
becoming alive to the larger book of nature which
lay open around them, and, confounded at first by
the complexity of unnumbered facts in sea and sky,
in earth and air, they began to long for help from
the great master of philosophy which might guide
their first trembling footsteps in so strange and
untrodden a realm of knowledge. Nor was the hope
of such aid denied them. There was stilla tradition
concerning the lost works of Aristotle on physics.
The Moors, it was found, boasted their possession,
and even claimed to have enriched these priceless
pages by comments which were still more precious
than the original text itself.

The mere hope that it might be so was enough
to beget a new crusade, when western scholars vied
with each other in their efforts to recover these lost
treasures and restore to the schools of Europe the
impulse and guidance so eagerly desired. Such
had, in fact, been the aim of Archbishop Raymon
and the successive translators of the Toledan school.
The important place they assigned to Avicenna
among those whose works they rendered into Latin
was due to the fact that this author had come to be
regarded in the early part of the twelfth century as
the chief exponent of Aristotle, whose spirit he had
inherited, and on whose works he had founded his

Own.

48 THE LIFE AND LEGEND OF MICHAEL SCOT

- The part of the Aristotelic writings to which

Michael Scot first turned his attention would seem
to have been the history of animals. This, in the
Greek text, consisted of three distinct treatises :
first the De Historiis Animalium in ten books ; next
the De Partibus Animaliwm in four books; and
lastly, the De Generatione Animaliwm in five books.
The Arabian scholars, however, who paid great
attention to this part of natural philosophy and
made many curious observations in it, were accus-
tomed to group these three treatises under the
general title De Animalibus, and to number their
books or chapters consecutively from one to nine-
teen, probably for convenience in referring to them.
As Scot’s work consisted of a translation from
Arabic texts it naturally followed the form which
had been sanctioned by the use and wont of the
eastern commentators.

At least two versions of the De Animalibus ap-
peared from the pen of Scot. These have some-
times been confounded with each other, but are
really quite distinct, representing the labours of
two different Arabian commentators on the text of
Aristotle. We may best commence by examining
that of which least is known, the De Animalibus ad
Caesarem, as it is commonly called, and this the
rather that there is good reason to suppose it repre-
sents the first Arabian work on Natural History
which came into Scot’s hands.

Nothing is known certainly regarding the author
of this commentary. Jourdain and Steinschneider
conclude with reason that the text must have been
an Arabic and not a Hebrew one, as Camus? and

1 Notices et extraits des Mss., vol. vi. p. 412.

SCOT AT TOLEDO 49

Wiistenfeld! contend. No one, however, has hither-
to ventured any suggestion throwing light on the
personality of the writer. The colophon to the
copy of Scot’s version in the Bibliotheca Angelica of
Rome contains the word Alphagiri, which would
seem to stand for the proper name Al Faquir.
But in all probability, as we shall presently show,
this may be merely the name of the Spanish Jew
who aided Michael Scot in the work of translation.

The expression ‘secundum extractionem Michaelis
Scoti,’ which is used in the same colophon, would
seem to indicate that this version, voluminous as it
is, was no more than a compend of the original.
The title of the manuscript too: ‘ Incipit flos primi
libri Aristotelis de Animalibus’ agrees curiously with
this, and with the word Abbreviatio (Avicennae),
used to describe Scot’s second version of the De
Animalibus of which we are presently to speak. Are
we then to suppose that in each case the translator
exercised his faculty of selection, and that the form
of these compends was due, not to Avicenna, nor to
the unknown author of the text called in Scot’s
version the De Animalibus ad Caesarem, but to
Scot himself? The expressions just cited would
seem to open the way for such a conclusion.

The contents of the De Animalibus ad Caesarem
may be inferred from the Prologue which is as
follows: ‘In Nomine Domini Nostri Jesu Christi
Omnipotentis Misericordis et Pii, translatio trac-
tatus primi libri quem composuit Aristoteles in
cognitione naturalium animalium, agrestium et
marinorum, et in illo est conjunctionis animalium
modus et modus generationis illorum cum coitu,

* Die Uebersetz. Arabischer Werke, Gottingen, 1877, p. 99.
D

50 THE LIFE AND LEGEND OF MICHAEL SCOT

cum partitione membrorum interiorum et apparen-
tium, et cum meditatione comparationum eorum, et
actionum eorum, et juvamentorum et nocumentorum
eorum, et qualiter venantur, et in quibus locis sunt,
et quomodo moventur de loco ad locum propter dis-
positionem presentis aetatis, aestatis et hiemis, et
unde est vita cuiuslibet eorum, scilicet modorum
avium, et luporum, et piscium maris et qui ambulant
in eo. It seems tolerably certain that the sub-
stance of this prologue came from the Arabic
original, which must have commenced with the
ascription of praise to God so commonly employed
by Mohammedans: ‘ Bi-smilléhi-r—rahhméni—r—
rahheém’ (In the Name of God, the Compas-
sionate; the Merciful). The clumsiness of the
Latin, which here, as in the body of the work, seems
to labour heavily in the track of a foreign text,’ adds
force to this assumption. The hand of Scot is seen,
however, where the name of our Saviour has been
substituted for that of Allah, and also in the closing
words, which ring with a strong reminiscence of the
eighth Psalm. The churchman betrays himself here
as in not a few other places which might be quoted
from his different writings.

By far the most interesting matter, however,
which offers itself for our consideration here, lies in
the comparison we are now to make between this
book and a former work of Scot, the De Physionomia.
_ This comparison, which has never before been at-
tempted, will throw light on both these texts, but
has a special value as it affords the means of dating,

1 See Lane’s Modern Egyptians, vol. i. p. 197 note. f
2 We should remember, however, the Emperor’s instructions to his

translators: ‘verborum fideliter servata virginitate.’ See his circular
of 1230 to the Universities.—Jourdain, Recherches, p. 133.

SCOT AT TOLEDO 51

at least approximately, the composition of Scot’s
version of the De Animalibus ad Caesarem.

We have already remarked that the last two
chapters of the first book of the Physionomia sug-
gest that in compiling them the author had before
him an Arabic treatise on Natural History. A
natural conjecture leads us further to suppose that
this may have been the original from which he
translated the De Animalibus ad Caesarem, and
this idea becomes a certainty when we pursue the
comparison a little more closely. Take for example
this curious passage from the Physionomia (Book 1.
chap. ii.): ‘Incipiunt pili paulatim oriri in pectine
unitas quorum dicitur femur... item sibi vox
mutatur.’ Its obscurity disappears when we confront
it with the corresponding words in the De Animalibus
ad Caesarem, and thus discover what was no doubt
the original source from which Scot derived it:
‘Incipiunt pili oriri in pectore Kameon alkaratoki,
et in isto tempore mutatur vox eius.’* There is no
need to extend the comparison any further than
this significant passage. Doubt may arise regarding
the depth and accuracy of Scot’s knowledge of the
Arabic tongue, the nature of the text that lay
before him, or the reason he may have had for
retaining foreign words in the one version which he
translated in the other; but surely this may be
regarded as now clearly established, that some part
of the first book of the Phystonomia was derived by
compilation from the same text which appeared in
a Latin dress as the De Animalibus ad Caesarem,
and that this source was an Arabic one.

This point settled, it becomes possible to establish

* De Animalibus ad Caesarem, chap. ix.

52 THE LIFE AND LEGEND OF MICHAEL SCOT

another. One of the copies of the De Animalibus
ad Caesarem* has the following colophon: ‘Com-
pletus est liber Aristotelis de animalibus, trans-
latus a magistro michaele in tollecto de arabico in
latinum.’ Now if the version was made in Toledo,
it was probably posterior in date to the Physionomia.
This indeed is no more than might have been as-
serted on the ground of common likelihood ; for,
when a compilation and a complete version of one
of the sources from which it was derived are both
found passing under the name of the same author,
it is but natural to suppose that the first was made
before the other, and that in the interval the author
had conceived the idea of producing in a fuller form
a work he had already partially published.
Resuming then the results we have reached, it
appears that Scot had met with this Arabic com-
mentary on the Natural History of Aristotle while
he was still in Sicily, and had made extracts from
it for his Phystonomia. Coming to Spain he pro-
bably carried the manuscript with him, and as his
version of the De Animalibus ad Caesarem seems to
have been the first complete translation he made
from the Arabic, and to have been published shortly
after he came to the Castiles, he may possibly have
begun work upon it even before his arrival there.
On every account, there being no positive evidence
to the contrary, we may conjecture that the De
Animalibus ad Caesarem, like the Physionomia,
belongs to the year 1209. If the latter work
appeared at Palermo in time for the royal marriage,
which took place in spring, the former may well

1 Bibl. Laur. Pl. xiii. sin, cod. 9 in fol perg. This ms. was written
in 1266.

SCOT AT TOLEDO 53

have been completed and published towards the end
of the same year, when Scot had no doubt been
already some time settled in Toledo.

The second form in which Michael Scot produced
his work upon the Natural History of Aristotle was
that of a version called the Abbreviatio Avicennae.
The full title as it appears in the printed copy’ is:
* Avicenna de Animalibus per Magistrum Michaelem
Scotum de Arabico in Latinum translatus.’ Like
the De Animalibus ad Caesarem it consists of
nineteen books, thus comprehending the three
Aristotelic treatises in one work.

The name of Jbn Sina or Avicenna, the author
of the Arabic original, is significant, as it enables
us to connect in a remarkable way the present
labours of Scot’s pen with those which had in a
past age proceeded from the school of translators at
Toledo, and to place the Abbreviatio in its true
relation with the system of versions which had been
published there nearly a century before. We have
already remarked that Don Raymon directed the
attention of his translators to Avicenna as the best
representative, both of Aristotle himself and of the
Arabian wisdom which had gathered about his
writings. A manuscript of great interest preserved
in the library of the Vatican® shows what the
labours of Gundisalvus, Avendeath, and their co-
adjutors had been, and how far they had proceeded
in the task of making this author accessible to
Latin students. From it we learn that the Logic,
the Physics, the De Calo et Mundo, the Meta-

_} Fifteenth Century s. 1. et a. in fol. pp. 54. There are also Venice
editions of 1493 and 1509.
_ Fondo Vaticano 4428 in fol. perg. saec. xiii. See a complete
inventory of this ms. in Appendix 11.

54 THE LIFE AND LEGEND OF MICHAEL SCOT

physics; the De Anima, called also Inber sextus de
Naturalibus; and the De generatione Lapidum of
Avicenna, had come from the school of Toledo
during the twelfth century in a Latin dress. The
last-named treatise was apparently a comment on
the Meteora of Aristotle, and the whole belonged to
that Kitab Alchefad, which was called by the Latins
the Assephae, Asschiphe or Liber Sufficientiae. This
collection was said to form but the first and most
common of the three bodies of philosophy composed
by Avicenna. It represented the teaching of
Aristotle and the Peripatetics, while the second
expounded the system of Avicenna himself, and
the third contained the more esoteric and occult
doctrines of natural philosophy.’ Of these the
first alone had reached the Western schools.

It is plain then that until Michael Scot took the
work in hand Toledo had not completed the Latin
version of Avicenna by translating that part of the
Alchefaé which concerned the Natural History of
Animals. The Abbreviatio Avicennae thus came to
supply the defect and to crown the labours of the
ancient college of translators. This place of honour
is actually given to it in the Vatican manuscript
just referred to, where it follows the De generatione
Lapidum, and forms the fitting close of that re-
markable series and volume. Thus, while the De
Animalibus ad Caesarem connects itself with the
Physiononua, and with Scot’s past life in Sicily, the
Abbreviatio Avicennae joins him closely and in a
very remarkable way with the whole tradition of
the Toledo school, of which, by this translation, he
at once became not the least distinguished member.

1 See Roger Bacon, Opus Majus, p. 37.

SCOT AT TOLEDO 55

The authority of this manuscript, now perhaps
for the first time appealed to, is sufficient not only
to determine the relation of Scot’s work to that of
the earlier Toledan school, but even, by a most
fortunate circumstance, enables us to feel sure of
the exact date when the translation of the Abbreviatio
was made. For the colophon to the Vatican manu-
script, brief as it is, contains in one line a fact of
the utmost interest and importance to all students
of the life of Scot. It is as follows: ‘ Explicit
anno Domini m°c’c°x.’* The researches of Jourdain
had the merit of making public two colophons from
the manuscripts of Paris, containing the date of
another and later work of Scot,” but since the days
of that savant no further addition of this valuable
kind has been made to our knowledge of the
philosopher’s life. The date just cited from the
Vatican copy of the Abbreviatio shows, however,
that further inquiry in this direction need not be
abandoned as useless. We now know accurately
the time when this version was completed, and find
the date to be such as accords exactly with our idea
that Scot must have quitted Sicily soon after the
marriage of Frederick; for the year 1210 may be
taken as a fixed point determining the time when
he first became definitely connected with the Toledo
school. It will be remembered that we anticipated
this result of research so far as to use it in our
attempt to conjecture the date of Scot’s birth.*

Like the De Animalibus ad Caesarem, the Ab-
breviatio Avicennae bears a dedication to Frederick
conceived in the following terms: ‘O Frederick,

1 P. 158 recto, the last line of the third column.
2 Recherches, p. 133. 3 See ante, p. 10.

56 THE LIFE AND LEGEND OF MICHAEL SCOT

Lord of the World and Emperor, receive with
devotion this book of Michael Scot, that it may be
a grace unto thy head and a chain about thy neck,’*
It will always be matter of doubt whether in this
address Scot appealed to a taste for natural history
already formed in his pupil before he left Palermo,
or whether the interest subsequently shown by this
monarch in studying the habits of animals was
awakened by the perusal of these two volumes. In
any case they must have done not a little to guide
both his interest and his researches. The chroniclers
tellus of Frederick’s elephant, which was sent to
Cremona, of the cameleopard, the camels and
dromedaries, the lions, leopards, panthers, and rare
birds which the royal menagerie contained, and of
a white bear which, being very uncommon, formed
one of the gifts presented by the Emperor on an
important occasion. We hear too that Frederick,
not content with gathering such rarities under his
own observation, entered upon more than one curious
experiment in this branch of science. Desiring to
learn the origin of language he had some children
brought up, so Salimbene tells us, beyond hearing
of any spoken tongue. In the course of another
inquiry he caused the surgeon’s knife to be ruth-
lessly employed upon living men that he might lay
bare the secrets and study the process of digestion.
If these experiments do not present the moral
character of the Emperor in a very attractive light,
they may at least serve to show how keenly he was
interested in the study of nature.

This interest indeed went so far as to lead

1 There is an evident reference to Prov. i. 9 in these words which
accords well with Scot’s usual style.

SCOT AT TOLEDO 57

Frederick to join the number of royal authors by
publishing a work on falconry. In it he ranges
over all the species of birds then known, and insists
on certain rarities, such as a white cockatoo, which
had been sent to him by the Sultan from Cairo.
He thus appears in his own pages, not merely as a
keen sportsman, but as one who took no narrow
interest in natural history. Clearly the dedica-
tion of the De Animalibus and the Abbreviatio
Avicennae was no empty compliment as it flowed
from the pen of Scot. He had directed his first
labours from Toledo to one who could highly ap-
preciate them, and to these works must be ascribed,
in no small measure, the growth of the Emperor’s
interest in a subject then very novel and little
understood.

As regards the Abbreviatio Avicennae indeed,
we have actual evidence of the esteem in which
Frederick held it. The book remained treasured in
the Imperial closet at Melfi for more than twenty
years, and, when at last the Emperor consented to
its publication, so important was the moment
deemed, that a regular writ passed the seals giving
warrant for its transcription.2 Master Henry of
Colonia® was the person selected by favour of
Frederick for this work, and, as most of the manu-
scripts of the Abbreviatio now extant have a
colophon referring in detail to this transaction, we
may assume that Henry’s copy, made from that

belonging to the Emperor, was the source from
_ which all others have been derived.
His, Dip, Pde TE ng a geben 1896 in Sa,

| * Can this have been Cologna, a village about four miles north of
) Salerno ?

58 THE LIFE AND LEGEND OF MICHAEL SCOT

This Imperial original would seem to be more
nearly represented by the Vatican copy’ than by
any other which remains in the libraries of Europe.
From it we discover that the Arabic names with
which the Abbreviatio abounds were given in Latin
in the margin of the original manuscript, which
Scot sent to the Emperor.? These hard words and
their explanations were afterwards gathered in a
glossary, and inscribed at the end of the treatise ; an
improvement which was probably due to Henry of
Colonia. The glossary has, however, been quite
neglected by later copyists, nor does it appear in
the printed edition of the Abbreviatio Avicennae.
The completeness with which it is found in the
Vatican manuscript shows the close relation which
that copy holds to the one first made by the
Emperor's permission. The Chigi manuscript’®
seems to be the only other in which the glossary is
to be found. It therefore ranks beside that of the
Vatican, but is inferior to it as it presents the
glossary in a less complete form.

The originality of the Vatican text perhaps
appears also in the curious triplet with which it
closes: ‘Liber iste inceptus est et expletus cum
adiutorio Jesu Christi qui vivit, ete.

Frenata penna, finito nunc Avicenna

Libro Caesario, gloria summa Deo
Dextera scriptoris careat gravitate doloris.’ *

Several other copies of the Abbreviatio have the
first two lines, but this alone contains the third.

1 Fondo Vaticano 4428.

2 The words are : ‘Ex libro animalium Aristotelis Domini Impera-
toris in margine’ (p. 158 recto) : see facsimile at p. 55.

° Bibl. Chisiana E viii. 251, at p. 41 bottom margin.

4 P. 158, recto col. 1.

SCOT AT TOLEDO 59

In the Chigi manuscript, the place of these verses
is occupied by a curious feat of language :—

latinum arabicum sclauonicum teutonicum arabicum
Felix el melic dober Friderich salemelich.'

To whatever period it belongs, the writer's purpose
was doubtless to recall to the mind the four nations
over which Frederick u. ruled, and the splendid
kingdoms of Sicily, Germany, and Jerusalem which
he gathered in one under his imperial power.

In the Laurentian Library there is a valuable
manuscript, written during the summer and autumn
of 1266, for the monks of Santa Croce.* It con-
tains the De Animalibus ad Caesarem ; the Abbre-
viatio Avicennae, and, as a third and concluding
article, an independent version of the uber de
Partibus Animalium, corresponding, as has been
said, to books xi.-xiv. of the other versions which the
volume contains. Bandini, in the printed catalogue
of the library, asserts that this third translation,
unlike the two which precede it, was made from
the Greek. This is probably correct, as it was only
the Greek text which treated these four chapters of
the Natural History as a distinct work. He further
ascribes the version to Michael Scot, relying no
doubt on the general composition of the volume,
for this particular translation does not seem to con-
tain any direct evidence of authorship. Thus the

2 p. 164.

? Pl. xiii. sin. cod. 9. Other mss. of the Abbreviatio Avicennae are
these: Fondo Vaticano 7096; Fondo Regina di Svezia 1151; Bibl.
Burgensis 8557 in 8vo memb. saec. xiii. vel xiv. ; Bibl. Pommersfeld,
saec. xiv. ; Paris, Anc. Fonds 6443 ; Venice, Bibl. St. Marc. 171 memb.
saec. xiv. (the same library has another ms. in 4to memb. saec. xiv., see
the Catalogue by Valentinelli, vol. v. p. 58). Bologna, Bibl. Univ. 1340
in fol. chart. saec. xiv. doubtful ; Oxford, Bodl. mss. Canon. Misc. 562
Saec. xiv. et xv.; Merton Coll. ms. 277 saec. xiv.; All Souls ms. 72
saec, xiv.

60 THE LIFE AND LEGEND OF MICHAEL SCOT

doubt expressed by Jourdain in this matter’ is not
without reason, though the balance of probability
would seem to incline in favour of Bandini’s opinion ;
for such a volume can scarcely be assumed to have
been a mere miscellany without clear evidence that
the contents come from more than one author.
Taking it for granted then that the De Partibus
Ammalium came from Scot’s pen, then this is the
third form in which his labours on the Natural
History of Aristotle appeared.

In any case, however, his chief merit in this
department of study belonged to Michael Scot as
the exponent of the Arabian naturalists. It is
difficult for any one who has not read the books in
question to form an adequate idea of their contents,
and still more of their style; even from the most
careful description. We are made to feel that the
task of the translator must have been a very diffi-
cult one. There is a concentration combined with
great wealth of detail, and withal a constant nimble
transition from one subject to another, seemingly
remote, under the suggestion of some subtle connec-
tion, which result in a style almost baffling to one
who sought to reproduce it in his comparatively
slow and clumsy Latin.

No greater contrast could be imagined than that
which separates such works from those which are the
production of our modern writers on the same sub-
ject. Nor does this difference depend, as one might
suppose, on the fact that a wider field of observa-
tion is open to us, and more adequate collections of
facts are at our disposal. Rather is it the case that
between ancients and moderns, between the eastern

1 Recherches, p. 133,

SCOT AT TOLEDO 61

and western world, there is an entirely different
understanding of the whole subject. A different
principle of arrangement is at work, and results in
the wide diversity of manner which strikes us as
soon as we open the De Animalibus or the Abbre-
viatio. We find ourselves in the presence of a
system of ideas, more or less abstract, which a
wealth of facts derived from keen and wide obser-
vation of the world of nature is employed to illus-
trate. There is a finer division than with us.
The unit in these works is not the species nor even
the individual, but some single part or passion.
This the author follows through all he knew of the
multitudinous maze of nature, comparing and dis-
cerning and recording with a bizarrerie which comes
to resemble nothing so much as the fantastic dance
of form and colour in a kaleidoscope.

‘Birds,’ says Avicenna,’ ‘ have a way of life that
is peculiar to themselves. Those that are long-
necked drink by the mouth, then lift their head till
the water runs down their neck. The reason of this
is that their neck is long and narrow, so that they
cannot satisfy their thirst by putting beak in water
and straightway drinking. There is, however, a
great difference between different birds in their
way of drinking, and the mountain hog loveth roots
to which his tusk helpeth, wherewith he turneth up
the ground and breaketh out the roots. Six days
or thereabout are proper for his fattening, wherein
he drinketh not for three, and there are some who
feed their hogs and yet will not water them for
perchance seven daysonend. And in their fatten-

1 P. 13, recto et verso, in the undated fifteenth century edition of the
Abbreviatio.

62 THE LIFE AND LEGEND OF MICHAEL SCOT

ing all animals are helped by moderate and gentle
exercise, save the hog, who fatteneth lying in the
mud, and that mightily, for thereby his pores are
shut upon him so that he loseth nothing by evapora-
tion, And the hog will fight with the wolf,
and that is his nature, and cows fatten on every
windy thing, such as vetches, beans, and barley,
and if their horns be anointed with soft wax,
straightway, even while still upon the living animal,
they become soft, and if the horns of ox or cow be
anointed with marrow, oil, or pitch, this easeth
them of the pain in their feet after a journey.’

In another place* he continues: ‘Some animals
have teeth which serve them not save for fighting,
and not for the mastication of their food. Such are
the hog and the elephant, for the elephant’s tusks
are of use to him in this matter as we have said.
And there are animals which make no use of their
teeth save for eating or fighting, nay, I believe
that every animal having teeth will fight with
them upon occasion, and some there are whose
teeth are sharp and stand well apart, so that they
are therewith furnished to tear prey: such is the
lion. And those animals that have need to crop
their food, as grass and the like, from the ground,
have level and regular teeth, and not long tusks
or canines, which would hinder them from cropping;
and since in some kinds the males are more apt
to anger than the females, tusks have been given
them that they may defend the females, because
these are weaker in themselves and of a worse
complexion, and this is true in a general way of
all animals, even in those kinds that eat no flesh,

1 Ibid. pp. 33 verso, 34 recto.

SCOT AT TOLEDO 63

and need not their tusks for eating, but only for
defence, such as boars, and this is the reason why
they have the strength of which we have just
spoken. It is the same with the camel, and so
we pass to speak of this general truth as it
appears with regard to all other means of defence.
Hence hath the stag his horn and not the hind ;
the ram and not the ewe; the he-goat and not
his female, and fish which eat not flesh have no
need of teeth that are sharp.’

' The city where these strange writings were
deciphered and translated into Latin, being itself
so strange and remote from the ways of modern
‘life, had a certain poetic fitness as the scene
where Michael Scot undertook his labours upon
the Arabian authors. No passage of all their
texts was more bizarre and tortuous than the
mass of intricate lanes which formed then, as
they form to-day, the thoroughfares of com-
munication in Toledo. No hidden jewel of know-
ledge and observation could surprise and reward
the translator in the midst of his tedious labours
with a flash of sudden light and glory more
unexpectedly delicious than that felt by the
traveller, when, after long wandering in that maze
and labyrinth, he finds a wider air; a stronger
light beats before him, beckoning, and in a moment
he stands in the full sunshine of the plaza mayor,
with space to see and light to show the wonders
of mind and hand, and all the toil of past ages
in the fabric of the great cathedral.

Such as it now stands, the Cathedral of Toledo
had not yet begun to rise above ground when
Michael Scot had his residence there, but enough

7

64 THE LIFE AND LEGEND OF MICHAEL SCOT

of the ancient city remains to show what Toledo
must have been like in these early days. The
splendid and commanding site, swept about by
the waves of the Tagus; the famous bridge of
Alcantara; the steep slope of approach crowned
by ancient fortifications ; and above all the massed
and massive houses of the old town, so closely
crowded together as hardly to give room for
streets that should rather be called lanes; all
this, beneath the unchanging sky of the south,
recalls sufficiently what must have been the sur-
roundings of Scot’s life during ten laborious years.
Even yet, where white-wash peels and stucco fails,
strange records of that forgotten past reveal them-
selves in the walls and on the house fronts:
sculptured stones of every age; bas-reliefs, ara-
besques ; windows in the delicate Moorish manner
of twin arches, and a central shaft with carved
cornices, long built up and forgotten till accident
has revealed them.

Here then, perhaps in some house still standing,
the scholar come from Sicily made his home.
The quiet courtyard is forgotten; the azulejos
have disappeared from walls and pavement; the
rich wood-work of the ceilings, still bearing dim
traces of colour and gold, looks down on the life
of another age; even the curious cedar book-chest
has crumbled to dust, for all its delicate defence
of ironwork spreading away like a spider’s web
from hinges and from lock. But the name and
the fame endure, and the years which Michael
Scot spent in Toledo have left a deep mark upon
that and every succeeding age.

CHAPTER IV
THE ALCHEMICAL STUDIES OF SCOT

THE Moorish schools of Spain were famous, not
only for their researches in natural history, but
also for the interest they took in chemistry, then
called alchemy : a name which sufficiently indicates
the nation which chiefly pursued these studies,
and the language that recorded their progress.
The practical turn taken by alchemy, as the founda-
tion of a scientific materia medica in minerals, is
shown by the writings of Rases. This author,
who belonged to the ninth and tenth centuries
(860-940), produced a considerable work on medi-
cine in which he devoted special attention to the
diseases of children. Under his name appeared
several alchemical writings, either his own or the
productions of the school which followed his teach-
ing and borrowed his name.

Michael Scot, as we know, had become familiar
with the works of Rases while still in Sicily, and
thought so highly of the De Medicina as to borrow
thence for his treatise on physiognomy no fewer
than thirty-one chapters relating to that subject.’
Tt is a natural conjecture then which leads us to
find in his acquaintance with this author's writ-
ings the starting-point of Scot’s interest both in

1 See ante, p. 32.
E

66 THE LIFE AND LEGEND OF MICHAEL SCOT

medicine and in alchemy. Leaving for the present
what may hereafter be said of his name and fame as
a physician, let us examine the origin and nature of
his work as a student of the Arabian chemistry.
We have reached what would seem to be the
proper moment for such an inquiry. ‘The treatises
of Michael Scot on this subject are not dated
indeed, but their form shows them to belong to the
epoch of his work as a translator. They were
therefore probably produced during the period of
his residence at Toledo, and as there is a long
interval, otherwise unaccounted for, between 1210,
when the Abbreviatio Avicenna appeared, and the
date of his next publication some seven years
later, this blank cannot be better filled than
by supposing that it was during these years he
found time for the study of alchemy, and for the
translation or composition of the writings in that
branch of science which still bear his name,

In this, as in almost all his other studies,
Michael Scot sat at the feet of Eastern masters.
But the Arabians themselves had derived their
chemical science, at least in its first principles and
primitive processes, from still older peoples. If we
are to understand the progress of human thought in
this science we must trace it from the beginning,
following again that beaten track of tradition by
which not physiognomy and alchemy alone, but
almost all the secrets of early times, have reached
the modern world.

Primitive chemistry was closely connected with
the still older art of metallurgy, out of which it
arose by a natural process of development. Those
who worked with ores soon discovered the secret of

THE ALCHEMICAL STUDIES OF SCOT 67

alloys, whereby a considerable quantity of baser
metal, such as copper, lead or tin, could be added
to gold or silver, so as greatly to increase the bulk
of the whole without injuring either its appearance
or usefulness. The problem of the crown set before
Archimedes, and happily solved by that philosopher
in the bath, shows how dexterously alloys were
used by the Greeks, and what subtle means were
necessary for their detection.

M. Berthelot has reminded us’ that the trans-
mission of receipts for such processes from early
times to our own has been naturally and inevitably
secured by the unbroken continuity of practice in
the arts which gave them birth, and that they thus
passed safely from generation to generation, and
even spread from the tribes that originated them to
other and distant peoples. He cites in support of
this observation a papyrus of the third century,
preserved at Leyden, which, he says, contains what
are substantially the same directions as those of the
chief medieval authorities in such matters: the
Mappae Clavicula and the Compositiones ad Tin-
genda.” These receipts are not unnaturally en-
titled ‘How to make Gold,’ and it is curious to
find in them the veritable starting-point of the

1 La Chimie au Moyen Age, Paris, 1893. One cannot praise too
ighly the interest and value of this monumental work. Iam greatly
ebted to it for many of the facts and conclusions here repeated.
2 The M Clavicula (Key to Painting) belongs to the tenth
tury ; the Compositiones ad Tingenda is of the age of Charlemagne.
ms. of the eighth century (not the ninth as Berthelot says) is extant
Lucca (Bibl. Capit. Can. I. L.). Muratori bas printed it in his
jAntiquitates Italicae, ii. 364-87. It contains receipts for the colours
| in making tesserae for mosaic, for dyeing skins, cloth, bone, horn
wood ; for making parchment ; for various processes such as gold
silver beating and drawing, and the gilding of iron; for chryso-
phy and the gilding of leather ; ‘quomodo eramen in colore auri
}tansmutetur,’ ‘operatio Cinnaberim,’ a perfume for the hands called
ulakin, and for certain amalgams of gold and silver called glutina.

68 THE LIFE AND LEGEND OF MICHAEL SCOT

dreams which made so many a furnace smoke, and
so many a crucible glow during the course of
centuries,*in the vain hope of effecting an actual
transmutation of substance.

Thus it was that in the first ages, long before
authentic record, in the dimness of early Egyptian
history, or of that still more ancient Pelasgic civili-
sation from which the pyramid-builders learned so
much, the germs of this science may already be
perceived. Only one source of genuine gold seems
then to have been known: the mines of Ophir. This
circumstance, by making the supplies of precious
metal small and uncertain, mightily encouraged the
art which taught men to counterfeit its appearance
in a colourable way. How this was done may be
judged of by the receipts themselves. The Mappae
Clavicula, for instance, has the following: ‘To
make gold. Silver, one pound; copper, half-a-—
pound ; gold, a pound; melt, etc.’ Here indeed a
considerable proportion of the precious metal itself
was required, but there are other receipts which
dispense with any such admixture. It is said, fo
example, that. one hundred parts of copper an
seventeen of zinc joined in a state of fusion wit
divers small proportions of magnesia, sal ammoniac
quicklime, and tartar, yield an alloy which is fin
in grain and malleable, which may be polished an
used in damascening just as if it were the pur
gold that it has all the appearance of being. Sue
then were the receipts which formed the hereditary
riches of the mighty clan of the Smiths. It is eas
to see how the famous ‘powder of projection,’
much sought in later times, was, in fact, but th
transfiguration of one of these formulae.

THE ALCHEMICAL STUDIES OF SCOT 69

When, during the early centuries of the
Christian era, the traditions of Greece found a new
home in lower Egypt, and especially in Alexandria,
they were profoundly influenced by the still more
ancient philosophy of the East. We have already
remarked this in the case of another science, that of
physiognomy, but the same influence may also be
traced in the modification it brought to the notions
of primitive chemistry. The Chaldeans and
Persians had long believed that the heavens in-
fluenced the earth, and were capable of producing
strange effects in the lower spheres of being.’ Their
wise men considered that an individual connection
could be established between the stars and the
elements, the planets and the metals. It was in
contact with this new doctrine and under its in-
fluence that there arose the hope, soon hardening
into a settled belief, that the rules of art might be
sufficient to effect an actual transmutation of the
baser into the nobler metals, of copper into gold,
and of tin or lead into silver.

This opinion must have been immensely
heightened, and its authority reinforced, by the
secrecy with which the receipts for alloying
metals were guarded. These were handed down
orally from father to son; were not committed to
writing till a comparatively late period, and even
then remained for the most part the cherished
treasures of temple guilds. On the well-known
principle of the proverb, ‘Omne ignotum pro mag-
nifico’ this secrecy tended to confirm the impres-
sion that, however much had been communicated,

*See Chwolson, Die Ssabier wnd der Ssabismus. The Egyptians
extended this correspondence to the members of the human body.

70 THE LIFE AND LEGEND OF MICHAEL SCOT

more remained untold, to await discovery by the
patient and undaunted chemist. The Therapeutze
or Essenes were among the earliest representa-
tives of this new tendency, as appears from the
testimony of Josephus,’ who describes them as not
only devoted to ancient writings, but eager to in-
vestigate the properties of minerals. The chief
object of their inquiries, the maintenance of health
by medicines thus derived from the vegetable and
mineral kingdoms, is not only an early instance of the
connection between chemistry and pharmacy, but is
remarkable as the probable starting-point of the
search for the elixir of life: that other and nobler
dream which so much of the enthusiastic energy
of the medizval alchemists was spent to realise.

_ The point of connection between these specula-
tions of Eastern philosophy and the practice of the
primitive chemistry may with probability be sought
in the fire which of necessity played so large a part
in the operations of the metal-worker. Fire bore a
highly sacred character in the philosophy and re-
ligion of the East. This element, it soon came to be
thought by those whom Eastern speculation in-
fluenced, might be trusted not only to melt, to
calcine and to sublime in the vulgar way, but to
form the long-sought link of sympathy between the
stars of heaven, themselves compact of fire, and the
elements of earth, as these were subjected to its
piercing and transforming power. In its due em-
ployment the suspected connection between the
higher and lower worlds would become an accom-

1 Srovddfovow éxrémws wept Ta Tov Tadady ovyypdppara, padiora
ra mpos apedeccay Yuyns cal copatos éxdéyovres. "EvOev abrois mpods
Oecpdmecav mabey pita te ddreEnrnpror kat ALOdy ididrynres evepevvavTat.

—Bell. Jud., ii. 8. § 6.

THE ALCHEMICAL STUDIES OF SCOT 71

plished fact. Thus, under the power of the planets,
in some favourable hour and fortunate conjunction,
the mighty work would be done: the philosopher's
stone discovered, the metals transmuted, and the
elixir of life produced.
It is highly curious to find this idea presented in
a novel and perhaps an exaggerated form by a writer
of the sixteenth century. This was Fra Evangelista
Quattrami of Gubbio, semplicista, or master of the
still-room, to the Cardinal d’Este. He wrote a
book entitled, The true declaration of all the
metaphors, similitudes, and riddles of the ancient
Alchemical Philosophers, as well among the Chal-
deans and Arabians as the Greeks and Latins.’
According to this work, the potable gold ; the elixir
of life; the quintessence, and the philosopher’s
stone were nothing but fantastic names for the fire
itself which was used in distillation and other
chemical operations. In this the Frate may possibly
have touched the true sense of Al Kindi at least,
who, in his commentary on the Meteora,’ speaks of
fire as if it were the all in all of the alchemist.
While the primitive chemical practice followed
the progress of the arts which it served, the new
theory of alchemy, with the ever-growing tradition
of fantastic experiments arising out of it, found
different and less direct channels in its descent from
ancient to modern times. It has been customary
to speak of the Arabs as if that nation had been the
chief means of transmitting the knowledge of Greek
doctrine to our medieval scholars, but we now
1 Roma, Vincentio Accolti, 1587. My copy is the one presented by
the author to the great Aldrovandus of Bologna, with whom he seems to

have been on intimate terms.
3 See the Paris ms. 6514, pp. 133-35.

72 THE LIFE AND LEGEND OF MICHAEL SCOT

know that there was a previous link in the chain of
intellectual succession. This was supplied by the
care and industry of the Syrian subjects of the early
Caliphs, nor did their learned men play a less im-
portant part in the history of chemistry than in
that of the other sciences. Sergius of Resaina, a
scholar of the fifth century, was, it is said, the first
Syrian who attempted to translate the Greek
chemists, several of whom mention him by name.
The chief development of this work belongs, how-
ever, to the ninth and tenth centuries, and its glory
must ever remain with the great school of Bagdad.
Chemical treatises composed by Democritus and
Zosimus* were there and then rendered into Syriac,
as may be seen by the manuscripts still preserved
in the British Museum and at Cambridge.

It was not long before the Arabs themselves
began to feel powerfully the intellectual impulse
thus communicated to them in the heart of a
country which they had made their own. Khaled
ben Yezid ibn Moauia, who died in the year 708, is
said by their historians to have been the first of that
nation who devoted his attention to chemistry. In
his case the filiation of doctrine would seem very
plain, as he was the pupil of a Syrian monk named
Mariannos. Djabar, the Geber of Western writers,
followed in the same line of study, and from the
ninth century there was a regular school of Arabian
chemists whose labours may be studied in the
manuscript collections of Paris and Leyden.

' In the eleventh century appeared a curious phe-
nomenon, in the shape of a dispute among the
Arabians of that day regarding the truth of the

1 Of Pannopolis, a chemist of the fourth century.

THE ALCHEMICAL STUDIES OF SCOT 73

tradition which pronounced the transmutation of
metals possible. The unwearied but still unavailing
experiments which had now been carried on through
several ages, produced at last their inevitable effect
in the shape of philosophic doubt, eagerly urged on
the one part and as eagerly repelled on the other.
The chemical school was now divided according to
these opposite opinions, and each party in their
writings sought to give weight to what they taught
by borrowing in support of their arguments the
names of the mighty dead. In this conflict it was
left to the followers of Rases to sustain the affirma-
tive and to assert the possibility of transmutation.
These were the apologists for the past, and the
advocates, in the name of their great master, of
that hope which had inspired previous research and
borne fruit in so many important discoveries.

The defence of the new doubt belonged on the
other hand to the school of Al Kindi. This chemist
lived and died during the ninth century. He was
probably the earliest Arabian commentator on
Aristotle, and seems to have paid special attention
to the Meteora of that author. The treatise De
Mineralibus, so often appended to the Meteora as
a supplement, is ascribed to Al Kindi in the Paris
manuscript. It represents the alchemy of the
time.

Between these two contending parties stood the
school of Avicenna, which now occupied an inter-
mediate position and doubted of the doubt. That
this had not always been the opinion of Avicenna
himself is plain, however, from a passage which
occurs in his Sermo de generatione lapidum, where

1 6514,

74 THE LIFE AND LEGEND OF MICHAEL SCOT

the author unhesitatingly pronounces against the
theory of transmutation. ‘Those of the chemical
craft,’ he says, ‘know well that no change can be
effected in the different species of things, though
they can produce the appearance of them: tinging
that which is ruddy with yellow till it looks like
gold, and that which is white with colour at their
pleasure till the same effect is in great measure pro-
duced. Nay, they can also remove the impurity
from lead, so that it looks like silver, though it be
lead still, and can endue it with such strange
qualities as to deceive men’s senses, and this by the
use of salt and sal ammoniac.’* Avicenna was
evidently well acquainted with the secrets of art
and held them at their proper value. Had his
followers in the eleventh century done the same
they would have supported the school of Al Kindi
instead of taking a less definite position.

This view of the later Arabian schools and their
differences is forced upon us by the fact, that works
are extant under the names of Rases, Al Kindi, and
Avicenna, which evidently belong to the eleventh
century, the period when they first appeared, and
could not therefore have been written by authors
who lived at an earlier date. They are plainly the
production of later chemists who followed more or
less intelligently the doctrine of these great masters
inalchemy. The artifice involved in this ascription
of authorship is one which has always been common
in Eastern literature.

We have a direct interest in observing that
Spain was the country where these developments

1 Fondo Vaticano, 4428, p. 114. This treatise is the same as the De
mineralibus published along with the De Secretis at Venice (? 1501) by
Bernardinus de Vitalibus.

j

— er: igh s2

THE ALCHEMICAL STUDIES OF SCOT 75

of the later Arabian chemistry arose, contended and
flourished. Spain, therefore, during the eleventh
and twelfth centuries, became, by the attraction
she offered to European scholars, the country where
these theories first reached the Latin races, and
began to find an entrance among them. M.
Berthelot indeed, by a happy citation, has enabled
us to fix, almost with certainty, the very moment
of this important event. Robert Castrensis, the
author alluded to, remarks: ‘Your Latin world
has not as yet learned the doctrine of Alchemy.’
These words are taken from the preface to this
author’s version of the Liber de Compositione
Alchimiae, and a colophon informs us that the
translation was completed on the 11th of February
1182. We may add that the same year, corrected,
however, in one copy to 1183, was the date of
another of these versions of the Arabian chemistry :
that of the treatise called Interrogationes Regis
Kalid, et responsiones Morieni.. Here then we
stand on the threshold of a new age, and find our-
selves in presence of an intellectual movement
which was certainly of the greatest importance,
since in it we may trace the origin of our modern
chemistry. The knowledge of what had already
been gained by Greek and Arabian alchemists was
the first step to independent research among the
Latins. The closing years of the twelfth century
saw that knowledge at last beginning to unfold
itself in a form intelligible to the Western schools.
As in Bagdad during the ninth century, the

1 Speciale ms. No. vi. See the work by Sac. I. Carini, Sulle Scienze
Oceulte nel Medio Evo, Palermo, 1872. ‘Kalid Rex’ was Khaled ben
Yezid ibn Moauia, and ‘ Morienus’ was Mar Jannos, his Syrian master.

76 THE LIFE AND LEGEND OF MICHAEL SCOT

palmy .period of Syrian studies, so in Spain three
hundred years later, the work was in its commence-
ment essentially one of interpretation, and the
first age of these labours was distinguished by the
number of versions which were then produced.
From 1182, through the whole of the following
century, students laboured in the translation of
Moorish books on chemistry. Only towards the
close of this period did a tendency become apparent
which led in the direction of improvement and
innovation. The seed already sown had begun to
bear fruit. The material thus derived from Eastern
sources was now treated with a new freedom, enriched
by the results of original experiment, and edited
in forms which betray the influence of scholastic
philosophy. The criticism, however, which would
determine the precise point when this change
began to be operative, and the extent to which
it proceeded, attempts what is perhaps an im-
possible and certainly a difficult task. For it
is a remarkable fact that no Arabic texts —
have been preserved to us which can be regarded
as the originals from which these earlier Latin
versions were made. This want is probably due
to the widespread destruction which overtook the —
Moorish libraries of Spain.t That such originals
did at one time exist, however, is made certain
by the correspondence which the Latin translations —
show with those which have come down to us in —
another language, the Hebrew. The labours of
these Latin translators during a hundred years
may be found in the manifold collections of chemical —

1 Gayangos, i. 8. Eighty thousand books are said to have been
burned in the squares of Granada alone.

THE ALCHEMIGAL STUDIES OF SCOT 77

treatises, containing some forty or fifty articles
apiece, which were arranged and copied out at
the beginning of the fourteenth century. These
volumes became, after the invention of printing,
the chief quarry whence were composed the Ars
Aurifera; the Theatrum Chemicum of Zetzner, and
the Bibliotheca of Manget.

We are now in a position to understand; not
only the nature and progress of the work in which
Michael Scot took part, but the exact development
which alchemy had reached in his day, and there-
fore the relation which his chemical publications
bore to the general direction of study in this
department of science. The time and-care which
our survey of the field has demanded need not
be thought ill spent. It has prepared the way for
a more intelligent appreciation of Scot’s labours as
a chemist, and has furnished us with the means
of coming to a true judgment regarding their
authenticity and value.

To put the matter to the proof: we may begin
by dismissing altogether from consideration a
treatise which has long been attributed to Scot,
and still appears in the most recent list of his
works: the Quaestio curiosa de natura Solis et
Inmae. It has probably received more attention
than it deserves since it appeared under Scot’s
name in the Theatrum Chemicum.' The subject

1 Tn the editions of 1622 and 1659, Argentorati. It has been stated
that the Quaestio Curiosa is a chapter taken from the Liber Intro-
ductorius of Michael Scot. The alternative title of that work, Judicia

ionum would seem to favour this idea, and may in fact have
suggested it. But an examination of the Liber Introductorius (ms. Bodl.
266), which I have caused to be made, proves that the statement referred
to is without foundation. It was advanced in a paper read before the
Scottish Society of Antiquaries by Mr. John Small, and printed in their
Proceedings, vol. xi. p. 179.

78 THE LIFE AND LEGEND OF MICHAEL SCOT

of this treatise is indeed an alchemical one; for
the sun and moon of which it speaks are not these
heavenly bodies themselves, but, by an allegorical
use common in the Middle Ages, and derived from
the Eastern theories of sympathy already mentioned,
stand for the nobler metals of gold and silver.
A brief examination, however, shows that Scot
could not have been the author. The very style
suggests this conclusion ; for it is distinctly schol-
astic, and proper therefore to a later age than
that which aimed at the direct and simple repro-
duction of Eastern texts. It is satisfactory to find
that this criticism, hardly convincing per se, is
fully borne out by what occurs in the substance
of the work itself. The author quotes from the
De Mineralibus of Albertus. Now Albertus Magnus,
by common testimony, produced this treatise after
the year 1240, and we may anticipate what is
afterwards to be told of Michael Scot’s death
so far as to say here that. he had then been
long in his grave. The De Natura Solis et
Lune then must be ascribed to some other and
later alchemist, who lived in the end of the
thirteenth or the beginning of the fourteenth
century. A more careful examination of the
treatise than has been necessary for our purpose
might succeed in fixing its date with greater pre-
cision, and might possibly throw some light upon
the person of its true author. |
Another work ascribed to the pen of Michael
Scot, and one which seems likely to be authentic,
is that contained in the Speciale Manuscript. This
volume is one of those collections of alchemical
tracts made in the fourteenth century to which

f
>

THE ALCHEMICAL STUDIES OF SCOT 79

we have already alluded. It belonged to the
library of the Speciale family in Palermo, and has
been made the subject of an interesting monograph
by Carini.’ No. 44 of this manuscript is entitled
Liber Magistri Miccaelis Scotti in quo continetur
Magisterium. The term Magisterium, or supreme
secret of art, would seem to carry with it a certain
reference to Aristotle, ‘Il Maestro di color che
sanno, as Dante calls him.* Curious as the appear-
ance of such a name in connection with alchemy
may seem to us, it is certain that Aristotle held
a high place in the chemical traditions of the
Middle Ages. The Meteora afforded a text which
lent itself readily to large commentaries by the
Arabian chemists. The tract De Mineralibus,
which we noticed when speaking of Al Kindi, was
one of these commentaries, and it is easy to see how
it became confused with the text which it illustrated
so as in time to be considered the work of Aristotle
himself. This, we may believe, was the ground on
which so many alchemical works were afterwards
published under the same mighty name.* An in-
resting example appears in the Speciale collection
itself which contains the following title: Liber
fecti Magisterii Aristotelis qui incipit cum studii
olertis indigere.* The treatise Cum studii is also
ound in the Paris manuscript,’ where it is ascribed

Rases. To the school of Rases then we are

1 See the note to p. 75 supra. 2 Inf. iv. 131.

3 In the Theatrum of Zetzner there is a tract : ‘ Aristoteles de per- —

ecto Magisterio,’ and the Bibl. Naz. of Florence has a ms., ‘De Tribus

erbis, ascribed to the same author.

* Sic pro indagine, y. cod. xvi. 142 of the Bibl. Naz. Florence, where
treatise is given to Alfidius, i.e. Al Kindi. In it occur the significant

Te. = a a (alchimia) de illa parte physice quae Metheora nuncupatur.’

0. 6514.

80 THE LIFE AND LEGEND OF MICHAEL SCOT

inclined to attribute the works on the Magrstervum,
_and among the rest therefore, this treatise in the
“Speciale Manuscript, which bears the name of
Michael Scot, seemingly because he translated it
from the Arabic. This conclusion is confirmed
when we notice the character of some of the chapter —
headings as given by Carini ; for example: ‘ Qualiter
Venus mutatur in Solem’; and again, ‘Transfor-
matio Mercuri in Lunam.’ These show beyond all
doubt that the doctrine which Michael Scot pub-
lished by means of this version was that held by
the school of Rases.

A curious question here offers itself for our con-
sideration. In the times of Robert Castrensis
alchemy was as yet unknown to the Latins.
Michael Scot, as we shall presently see, described it
in one of his works as meeting with but a poor —
reception at its first introduction among them.’
How then did it come to pass that in a few years
the theory of Rases became so popular in the West, ©
and continued for so many ages to direct the pro-—
gress of chemical study among the European nations —
with enduring power? We find the explanation of —
this sudden change in the fact that human thought ~
has always been subject to the tyranny of ruling
ideas. In our own day the place of direction is
filled by a doctrine of development which is eagerly
made use of in every department of knowledge. In
those earlier ages the same place seems to have
been held by a doctrine of transformation.
idea ruled the thoughts of men like an obsession, in —
whatever direction they turned their minds. We
see it in their superstitions, suggesting the wi

1 ¢Penitus denegatam,’ see infra, p. 89.

THE ALCHEMICAL STUDIES OF SCOT 81

tales of were-wolves and of other animal forms
assumed at will by wizard and witch. We find it
in religion, infusing a new meaning into the hyper-
bolical language of still earlier times, till, under this
direction, there came to be fastened upon the
Church a full-formed doctrine of . Transubstantia-
tion.’ It is the operation of the same idea then
that we are to remark also in the scientific sphere.
As soon as the first shock of their surprise was
over, the Latins greedily embraced a theory of
chemical change which related itself so naturally to
the prevailing habit of their minds, and which
promised to show as operative in the mineral
kingdom a law already conceived to hold good in
the world of organic life. :

The Riccardian Library of Florence possesses
another of those volumes to which we have already
referred : a collection of alchemical treatises formed
in the end of the thirteenth or beginning of the
fourteenth century.” Among these appears one
called the Liber Luminis LIuminum. It is said to
have been translated by Michael Scot, and, as there
is no reason to doubt this ascription, we have now
the means of determining with some fulness and
accuracy the lines on which the philosopher pro-
ceeded in his chemical researches.

The book opens with a preface somewhat scho-
lastic,* and one which, on this ground as well as on
others, is probably to be ascribed to Scot himself.

1 It is remarkable in this connection that ‘Transubstantiation’
was finally imposed on the faithful by the Lateran council of 1215.
The term had not been previously used in theology. This was the very
epoch of Michael Scot and of the introduction of alchemy in the West.

2 us. Rice. L. iii. 13. 119, p. 35vo.
3 ‘Tn quo talia continentur, Intencio, Causa Intencionis et Utilitas,’

F

82 THE LIFE AND LEGEND OF MICHAEL SCOT

In this part of the work he informs us that he took
as his basis in the following compilation a text called
the Secreta Naturae. To it he added material
derived from other sources, which seemed necessary
in order to complete the doctrine of chemistry con-
tained in the Secreta. In this way he endeavoured
to present his readers with a full and practical body
of Alchemy according to the Foner of the school
to which he belonged.

In the study of a composite work, such as the
Inber Luminis is thus declared to be, our first
problem is-naturally to determine and separate the
original text from the additions which have been
made to it. Which then are those parts of the
Inber Luminis that represent the Secreta Naturae ?
Very fortunately the volume where the Liber —
LIuminis is found contains another treatise that
throws considerable light on the matter. This is_
the Liber Dedali Philosophi. The correspondences —
between that book and the Jnber Luminis are so
many, close, and verbal, that it is evident both have
borrowed from the same source. This source can ~
hardly have been other than the Secreta Naturae,
so that a comparison of these two books such as is
attempted in the Appendix! should go far to deter-
mine what that hitherto unknown text was.

The question of the chemical doctrine contained ~
in the Secreta is an interesting one, and we shail —
return to it, but meanwhile, let us observe that the —
Liber Luminis contains hints which seem to carry —
us further still, and throw some light upon the ~
source from which the Secreta was itself derived
One of the authors quoted is a certain ‘ Archelans!_

1 See Appendix, No. 111.

THE ALCHEMICAL STUDIES OF SCOT 83

Now there was a veritable chemist of this name who
lived during the fifth century. This author wrote a
treatise on his art in Greek verse. In later times
his name seems to have become common property,
as did so many others distinguished in alchemy, and
to have been freely used by some who wrote long
after his day. Thus the Riccardian manuscript
itself contains no less than three books ascribed to
this author: the Liber Archelai Philosophi de arte
alchimiae,’ called also in the margin Practica
Galieni in Secretis secretorum ;* the Summula, ‘quam
ego Archilaus transtuli de libro secretorum’;* and
finally the Mappa Archilei nobilis philosophi.*

The fact that these titles mention the Secreta is
enough to show us that in following up the alchemy
of the Pseudo-Archelaus, we are on the right track.
As we proceed the traces become still more interest-
ing and significant. The Summula offers the follow-
ing curious passage: ‘Et hoc feci amore Dei et
cuidam compatri meo, qui pauper sint [sic] et
infortunatus, et postea fortunatus fortuna bona et
amore Imperatoris Emanuelis et Frederici.’°

The name Emanuel is found in other alchemical
writings. The De Perfecto Magisterio, for example,

1 Pp. 192vo-195vo.

* The Paris ms. 6514 has these words : ‘ Magister Galienus scriptor
qui utitur in Episcopatu est alkimista et scit albificare eramen ita quod
est album ut argentum commune.’

3 Pp. 190ro.-192vo. * Pp. 185vo0-190ro.

® Manuel Comnenus reigned as Emperor of the East from 1143 to
1180, while Frederick 1. was Emperor of the West from 1152 to 1190.
This would seem to indicate the twelfth century as the time when these
works of the Pseudo Archelaus were produced. It is curious to notice
that Manuel was the Emperor who suffered defeat by sea at the hands of
George of Antioch the Sicilian admiral (Gibbon, chap. lvi.) This brave
seaman was the same who founded the library of the Martorana in Palermo
(see above, p. 25), and enriched it with the literary spoils of his con-

quests. It is highly probable that it was in this way the scholars of Sicily
became acquainted with the Byzantine alchemy.

84 THE LIFE AND LEGEND OF MICHAEL SCOT

which has been reprinted by Zetzner, embodies
another work, the Jaber duodecim aquarum which
is expressly said to be taken from the ‘ Liber
Emanuelis.’ Pursuing the matter further still, we
come to the Liber Aristotelis which commences,
‘Cum de sublimiori atque precipuo.’ The author of
this treatise, we find, claims not only the Lzber
duodecim aquarum (‘quae qualiter se habeant in
libro quem XII. aquarum vocabulo descripsimus,
prudens lector intelligere poterit’), but also, it
would seem, the very one of which we are in search
(‘in libro secretorum a nobis dictum est’). Every-
thing inclines us to the belief that we here touch
the source from which the main part of the Liber
Iuminis was drawn, and this conclusion is not a
little strengthened when we observe that the
treatise ‘Cum de sublimiori’ is called the Lumen
Iuminum in the Riccardian copy.’

The Secreta, however, was not the only source
from which the Inber Luminis and the Liber Dedali
were drawn, and the assertion of the preface that
the former was composed of extracts from many
different philosophers is fully borne out when we
examine the substance of the books themselves. A
strain of Greek influence is to be traced, for example,

in the names of Archelaus, Dedalus, Plato, and —
Hermes, as well as in the use of ciatus as an equi-
valent for the word ‘cup, and this reminds us —
strongly of the Swmmula with its reference to the —

Emperor Manuel. It is not impossible that Scot

may have borrowed much from the Byzantine
chemists of the twelfth century. With this notion —
agrees the passage of the Inber Dedali where

1 ms. Rice. L. iii. 13. 119. pp. 19vo.-29ro.

i

THE ALCHEMICAL STUDIES OF SCOT 85

Saracens are spoken of as foreigners. On the other
hand, much had evidently been taken from Arabic
sources, as is plain from the names given to several
of the vessels used in alchemy, such as the alembic
and aludel. Indeed, Unay and Melchia, who are
quoted in the Jaber Luminis, must have been Moors,
for the corresponding passage of the Inber Dedali
describes them as from ‘ Lamacha of the Saracens.’
Both these texts agree in showing such familiarity
with the process of refining sulphur that one is led
to suppose the Secreta, their common original, may
have been composed in Sicily. The Liber Luminis
says of one of the alums that it is ‘ brought from
Spain :’ an expression agreeing well with the notion
of a Sicilian author, who would naturally speak of
Spain as a foreign land.

Leaving, however, these questions of origin and
derivation, let us come to that of the chemical
doctrine taught in the book which Michael Scot
compiled, or at least translated. The title of the
Liber Luminis Luminum is a significant one, and
has a real relation to the contents of the work
itself. To discover the sense which it must be held

* Titles resembling this are not uncommon in the literature of
alchemy. Thus the Paris ms. 6514 has two treatises, both called Zwmen
Luwminum and both ascribed to Rases. The latter of these, the Liber
Lumen Luminwm et perfecti Magisterii, is that which has been printed
by Zetzner in the Theatrum Chemicum, under the name of Aristotle.
It contains, as we have already observed, the Liber XII. aquarum and
other material derived from the Liber Emanuelis. The former treatise
bearing the name of the Liber Lumen Luminwm in the Paris ms.
(pp. 113-120) is remarkable on account of the words with which it closes :
“explicit liber autoris invidiosi,’ which Berthelot notes, but does not

ttempt te explain. The Mappa of the Pseudo-Archelaus mentions the
“Liber invidiosus’ (‘quia liber iste invidiosus est ab omnibus homini-
us’), but what may be the true reading of the matter is found in the

Dyabesi or book of the distillation of the land-tortoise (ams. Rice.
4ro.) where these words occur : ‘Omnia ista pondera fuerunt occulta a

osophis, et dederunt nobis alia pondera . . . quia fuerunt invidiosi,’

i. unwilling to make public the secrets of their art. In later days the
tle Lwmen Luminum is found in use by Raymond Lull and his school.

86 THE LIFE AND LEGEND OF MICHAEL SCOT

to bear we have only to turn to the passage in

which, speaking of alum, the author says: ‘sicut

illuminat pannos, ita illuminat martem ut recipiat

formam lunae. Ut enim lana illuminatur ita et

metalla illuminantur.’’ A distinction is clearly —
present in the writer's mind between the substance _
and the form of the metals. He probably held
that there existed but one common metallic sub-
stance, which assumed the appearance of iron,
gold, or silver, according to the form which it had
received. His employment of the title Inber
Inuminis Luminum was meant to indicate that
the purpose of his book was that of teaching the
student how metals might best be purified and
improved. Their inferiority, when of the baser
kind, he conceived as an impurity, manifesting itself
in the imperfect forms of lead, iron, tin, and copper.
He believed that this being removed or changed by
art, they might be made to shine with the lustre
and indeed possess the only distinctive quality of
gold and silver. That we have rightly read the
meaning of this title seems plain from a curious
spelling which may be noticed in the Jaber Dedali.
‘Tlluminantur’ there appears as ‘ aluminantur.”
The chemistry taught in these books did in fact pre-
scribe the use of alum as a great means of purifying
and refining the metals.

The preface of the Liber Luminis closes with

brief summary of the chapters which compose the
work itself. The first of these deals with th
different salts used in this chemistry : common salt
rock salt; alkali; sal ammoniac; nitre and others.
The second treats in like manner of the various

1 Liber Iuminis Luminum, ii. 1.

:
-_
é

THE ALCHEMICAL STUDIES OF SCOT 87

kinds of alum, the third describes the vitriols, and
the fourth the powders or spirits, by which we are to
understand those minerals which are capable of
being sublimed or made volatile, such as sulphur,
arsenic, and mercury. Two supplementary chapters,
the one on the preparation of the salts, alums, and
vitriols, and the other on that of the remaining
class of chemicals, complete the whole book. This
supplement seems genuinely such, as it is not men-
tioned in the general contents, as these appear in
the preface. Perhaps we do not err if we sup-
pose it to have embodied the result of Scot’s own
experiments in alchemy.

It is indeed the practical nature of the alchemical
doctrine taught in the Jaber Luminis which strikes
us most strongly when we read this book. A large
part of it is taken up with exact descriptions of the
minerals, according to their various forms and the
countries from which they were derived. The rest
consists of receipts for their employment in refining
metals. Whatever we may think of the validity
and use of these processes, we cannot fail to notice
that they are described in a perfectly straightforward
and simple style. Here are none of the mysteries,
the riddles and ridiculous allegories so common in
chemical works written at a later time. The truth
of the matter may probably be that, in following
the doctrine here set forth, Michael Scot and the
alchemists of his time did obtain results which were
then so surprising, as to excuse a certain exaggera-
tion in those who described them. Tests that could
touch and reveal the real nature of the metals under
any change of outward appearance were not then so
well known as now. Copper that had been made to

88 THE LIFE AND LEGEND OF MICHAEL SCOT

shine like gold, or to assume the appearance of
silver, was practically gold or silver to those who had
no means of discovering that the real nature of the
metal itself remained unchanged. Thus then are to
be understood the assertions of the Liber Lwminis
regarding transmutation. They are plainly made
in all good faith, and depend on the doctrine already
mentioned, which held that the differences between
the metals were an affair of the superficial form
rather than of the underlying substance. To
change the appearance of one metal to that of
another, was therefore to effect a real transmuta-
tion: the only one conceivable by the philosophers
of that time. When the Liber Luminis speaks of
giving copper ‘a good colour, or preparing iron to
‘receive the appearance (formam) of silver, these
expressions reveal with frank sincerity the concep-
tions of this alchemy and the results it endeavoured
to obtain.

One other alchemical work attributed to the pen
of Michael Scot remains to be noticed; the De
Alchimia, contained in a manuscript of Corpus
Christi College, Oxford.’ Tanner in his Bibliotheca
has noticed this work in the following terms;
‘Chymica quaedam ex interpretatione Michaelis
Scoti dedicata Theophilo regi Scotorum. Corpus
Christi ms. 125. In eodem codice ms. fol. est haee
nota “Explicit tractatus magistri Michaelis Scoti
de aelchali,” huius vero tractatus, a priore diversi,
hoc tantum fol. extat.’ This account is erroneous
in several particulars. ‘Scotorum’ should be
‘Saracenorum,’ and ‘de aelchali’ is a misreading of
‘de alkimia,’ as a glance at the manuscript informs _

1 Corpus Christi ms. exxv. pp. 116-119. »
=

THE ALCHEMICAL STUDIES OF SCOT 89

us. Nor is it the case that we have here to deal
with two distinct works. The last leaf, to which
Tanner more particularly refers (fol. 119, old
numeration), shows a hand of the fourteenth century,
and forms the only remainder of the original. The
rest of the manuscript (fol. 116-118) has been
supplied by a scribe of the fifteenth century, but
the whole is perfectly continuous, as appears plainly
when we notice that the first words of the original
(fol. 119 recto), ‘et cum siccatus,’ have also been
written by the later scribe at the bottom of page
118 verso.

In spite of the highly suspicious dedication,
‘Theophilo Regi Saracenorum,’ several reasons
incline us to regard the De Alchimia as, in sub-
stance at least, a genuine work of Michael Scot.
To begin with, it clearly belongs to a very early
period ; for, in the opening words of his preface,
the author describes alchemy as a science, noble
indeed, but as yet neglected and contemned by the
tins (‘apud Latinos penitus denegatam’). In
he same sentence we find him referring to the

ta naturae, just as Scot does in the Lnber
minis, and declaring his purpose to furnish the
orld with a commentary on it in the work he now
ttempts (‘secreta naturae intelligentibus revelare’).
n the opening paragraph of the book itself he

ms to refer plainly to the Liber Luminis as a
ork written by him (‘ notitia de salibus vel salium
rout in aliquo libro a me translato dixi’). Nor
hould we overlook the distinctly ecclesiastical tone
hich is to be observed in the De Alchimia. Part
f the preface is conceived almost in the form of a
rayer, commencing thus: ‘ Creator omnium rerum

90 THE LIFE AND LEGEND OF MICHAEL SCOT

Deus qui cuncta ex nihilo condidit,’ and in at least
one passage, a well-known text of Scripture is re-
produced (‘et haec est res quae erigit de stercore
pauperem et ipsum regibus equiparat’). This style
is a noticeable characteristic of all the works of
Michael Scot.

On the other hand, the De Alchimia shows
several doubtful features which, on the supposition
that it came from Scot’s pen, can only have been
due to some interference with the text at a subse-
quent time. Such is the dedication to Theophilus, —
King of the Saracens, which we have already
noticed, and the latter part of the preface shows a
turgid passage (‘hic est puteus Salomonis et
fimi acervus, et hic est fons in quo latet anguis
cuius venenum omnia corpora interficit,’ etc.) that
strongly recalls the fancies of the later alchemy.

The body of the work, however, is no doubt
genuine, and offers matters of considerable interest.
The first of these is perhaps the distinction drawn
here between the greater and the lesser mystery
(magisterium) of alchemy. The former, it seems,
was the transmutation of Venus into the Sun;
that is, of copper into gold. The latter compre-
hended the fixation of mercury and its transmuta
tion into the Moon, or silver.

We soon notice too that the author addresses
himself not, as one would at first expect, to ‘Theo
philus,’ but to a certain Brother Elias (‘tibi Fratri”
Helya’)—another proof, if any were needed, that
the dedication to the apocryphal King of the
Saracens was due to some other and later hand. —
‘Brother Elias,’ however, was far from being a
merely imaginary personage. He was an Italian, ~

THE ALCHEMICAL STUDIES OF SCOT 91

born (for accounts vary) either at Bivillo near
Assisi, Cellullae or Ursaria near Cortona, or in Pied-
mont. In 1211 he joined the Order of St. Francis,
shen just formed, thus becoming one of its earliest
members. His history as a Franciscan was rather
wn eventful one. On the death of St. Francis
n 1226 he succeeded the Founder as General of
she Order, but was deposed by the Pope in 1230
mn some suspicion that he favoured schism among
is brethren. The Order re-elected him in 1236,
put he was finally removed from office by Gregory
three years later, and profited by the occasion
fo join himself openly to the party of the Emperor.
For this he suffered excommunication in 1244, and
was not restored to the privileges of the Church till
1253, when he lay on his death-bed at Cortona.
[here is no doubt that he had the reputation of

ing skill in alchemy. as a treatise is extant
called the Lnber Fratris Eliae de Alchimia.’ This
renown would not tend to his honour in religion.
+ seems indeed to invest with a cruel and pointed
meaning the words used by the Pope on the
ion of his first deposition.” He is said to have
n sent in early days on an embassy to the
peror of the East. Perhaps this may have been
he occasion when he first acquired a taste for those
hemical studies which that nation still pursued.
ichael Scot addresses him in the De Alchimia as a
upil (‘ Et ego, Magister Michael Scotus, sum opera-
us super solem, et docui te, Fr. Elia, operari et tu

? In us. Ricc. L. iii. 13, 119, No. 37.

2 See on the whole subject the Annales Minorum of Wadding,
specially vol. i. p. 109. In vol. ii. p. 242, we find the reproof addressed
y the Pope to Fra Elias. The words referred to above are these -
mutari color optimus auri ex quo caput (i.e. Franciscus) erat compactum.’

92 THE LIFE AND LEGEND OF MICHAEL SCOT

mihi saepius retulisti te instabiliter multis viabus
operasse ’), while at the same confessing that he was
not above learning some of the secrets of art from
the well-known Franciscan. This relation between
two such distinguished men has not hitherto been
noticed, and is certainly a curious point in the
history of the times.

The De Alchimua presents several features which
distinguish it from the Liber Luminis. One of
these is an early passage which refers to the corre-
spondence between the metals and the planets, and
explains that when the latter are named we must
understand that the ‘former are intended. Near
the end of the treatise a description of the materia
chenuca occurs, but it would seem as if this had
been written to supplement that given in the Liber
Luminis, for it deals, not with salts, alums, vitriols,
or volatile substances, but with the different
varieties of what the author calls ‘gummae,’ which,
however, are mineral substances ;' and with ‘ tuchia’
in all its various kinds.

Many words and phrases, however, might be
cited to show how the strain of doctrine observable
in the LInber Lwmins is continued with scarcely
any change in the De Alchima. We have
hardly read a line in the first receipt before we meet
with the expression ‘sanguinem hominis rufi’ re-
calling the ‘sanguinem hominis rubei’ of the Inber
Iuminis. The ‘pulvis bufonis’ indeed is here re-
placed by another ingredient derived from the ©
animal kingdom, the ‘sanguis bubonis’; but, read- —
ing a little further, we find the familiar ‘ urina taxi’ —

1 For example, ‘ quaedam gumma quae invenitur in alumine de pluma, _
et ista gumma est rubea, et gumma quae invenitur in alumine rubeo —
et ista. gumma est preciosa et bona valde.’ The word becomes intelligible —
when read as ‘gemma.’

THE ALCHEMICAL STUDIES OF SCOT 93

vain recommended as an almost universal solvent
nd detergent. Evidently both works proceeded
om one and the same alchemical school. The
vumber of Arabian chemists’ cited in the De
4ichimia seems to show that if these books came
rom a Greek source it was not that of ancient times,
ut some Byzantine school that had borrowed much
om Eastern alchemists.

To give a substantial idea of the De Alchimia
st us translate one of the formulae which it
tains: ‘Medibibaz the Saracen of Africa used
9 change lead into gold [in the following manner].
ake lead and melt it thrice with caustic (‘com-
urenti’), red arsenic, sublimate of vitriol, sugar of
lum, and with that red tuchia of India which is
sund on the shore of the Red Sea, and let the
rhole be again and again quenched in the juice
the Portulaca marina, the wild cucumber, a
dlution of sal ammoniac, and the urine of a young
adger. Let all these ingredients then, when well
ixed, be set on the fire, with the addition of some
ommon salt, and well boiled until they be reduced
> one-third of their original bulk, when you must
roceed to distil them with care. Then take the
archasite of gold, prepared talc, roots of coral,
yme carcha-root, which is an herb very like the
Wortulaca marina; alum of cumae something red
Yad saltish, Roman alum and vitriol, and let the
tter be made red; sugar of alum, Cyprus earth,
‘ome of the red Barbary earth, for that gives a good
jlour; Cumaean earth of the red sort, African
1 Such as ‘ Yader saracenus,’ ‘ Arbaranus,’ ‘Theodosius saracenus,’
Medibibaz,’ and ‘Magister Jacobus Judaeus.’ The name of the place

alaph’ which is probably Aleppo, and of the herb ‘carcha’ point in
e same direction.

94 THE LIFE AND LEGEND OF MICHAEL SCOT

tuchia, which is a stone of variegated colours and
being melted with copper changeth it into gold;
Cumaean salt which is. . .; pure red arsenic, the
blood of a ruddy man, red tartar, guima, of Barbary,
which is red and worketh wonders in this art ; salt
of Sardinia which islike... Let all these be beaten
together in a brazen mortar, then sifted finely and
made into a paste with the above water. Dry this
paste, and again rub it fine on the marble slab.
Then take the lead you have prepared as directed
above, and melt it together with the powder, adding
some red alum and some more of the various salts.
This alum is found about Aleppo (‘ Alapia’), and in
Armenia, and will give your metal a good colour.
When you have so done you shall see the lead
changed into the finest gold, as good as what comes
from Arabia. This have I, Michael Scot, often put
to the proof and ever found it to be true.’ |
If such a receipt is valuable as indicating the
chemical practice of those days, it is no less inter-_
esting as it throws light upon the life and occupa-_
tions of Scot. He must have set up a complete :
chemical laboratory at Toledo, with crucibles for
the melting of metals, and alembics for the dis j
tillation of the substances which his art required
him to mix with them. His situation was one ve
favourable to these pursuits, not only because Spait
was one of those countries where the doctrine
alchemy made its greatest progress, and attrac el
most powerfully the concourse of foreign adept
but also from the facility with which the necessary
materia chemica could there be procured. Tf
sierras of that country were full of mineral wealth”
of all kinds, especially quicksilver, which was om a

THE ALCHEMICAL STUDIES OF SCOT 95

of the substances most frequently chosen to become
the subject of the transmuter’s art. In the Alpu-
jarras, a mountainous district lying under the soft
imate of Granada, grew plenty of these rare herbs
ployed in alchemy, as they were also in the
edicine of the Arabians. Ibn Beithar of Malaga
escribes them in his botanical thesaurus, and
t is said that after the Moors had lost that fair
om their herbalists, even as late as our
wn times, made yearly journeys from Africa to
ther in these hills the plants which ancient
ience taught them to value highly. But the
ys of the ‘ultimo sospiro del Moro’ were yet in
he far future, and meanwhile Michael Scot in his
boratory at Toledo could easily command all these
reasures for the purposes of experiment. Nor was
t in vain that he fanned his fires, and watched the
etals melt and the menstruum distil in the process
f the lesser or greater mystery. Ifhe never saw
enus blush into the true substance of Sol, or
ercury, the fickle and obstinate, congeal into
veritable Luna, his chemical practice, and the re-
ords in which he has embodied it, mark none the
true and significant a moment in the history
f scientific progress.

CHAPTER V

THE ASTRONOMICAL WRITINGS OF SCOT

THE alchemy of the thirteenth century, to the pro-
gress of which Michael Scot contributed not a little,
bore a close relation to the opinions then entertained
in another branch of science: that ofastronomy. We
have already noticed how chemistry, as practised in
Egypt, was largely influenced by Eastern theories
regarding the stars and their power over earthly
elements. That this connection and sympathy was
still a matter of common belief at the time Scot
wrote is not only probable but can readily be
established by direct evidence. The treatise ‘Cum
studii solertis indagine,’ already referred to,’ has a
curious passage which bears directly on the point ir
question. We find in the preface the following
remarkable statement: ‘For the art of alchemy
belongs to the deeper and more hidden physics, 2
in particular to that division thereof which . . . is
called the lower astronomy.’ It is plain then tha
no chemist could in those days be considered fully
competent for the task he undertook unless to
knowledge of the customary theories and processe
of his art he added some acquaintance with
mysteries of the heavenly spheres as well.

To Michael Scot, even before he came

1 Bibl. Naz. Flor, ms. xvi. 142, see supra, p. 79.

THE ASTRONOMICAL WRITINGS OF SCOT 97

Toledo, the science of astronomy was already a
beaten path. His progress in mathematical studies
naturally led him to this, the highest sphere in
which they could be exercised. At the court of
Frederick he had made many an observation and
ast many a horoscope. In the Jnber Introductorius
and Liber Particularis he had produced two
manuals expounding in a popular way the twin
sciences of astrology and astronomy; publications
which no doubt reproduced pretty exactly the
eaching he had given to the Emperor.

In Spain he not only kept up his interest in
shis subject but lost no opportunity of improving
is past acquirements. He was constantly on the
watch for new astronomical works. He read them,
not only as a student eager to extend his know-
edge, but as a translator anxious to find the oppor-
unity of adding to the resources of other scholars
y the production of some important book in a
uatin dress.

As a resident in Toledo, Scot found himself
ery favourably situated for such studies. That
Vity was now indeed to become what may be called
he classic ground of Moorish astronomy. A
Wpanish author would have us believe that there
resently assembled there an incredible number of
stronomers drawn, not only from all parts of Spain,
t from France as well, and especially from Paris.
he king himself is said to have presided over this
mgress. The works of Ptolemy, with the com-
entaries of Montafan and Algazel, were trans-
‘ited into Latin for the use of those scholars who
id not understand Arabic. Discussions were held
. the Alcazar of Galiana upon the various theories

98 THE LIFE AND LEGEND OF MICHAEL SCOT

of the heavenly bodies and their movements.
These labours, which commenced in 1218, and are 1
said to have lasted till 1262, resulted in a more
exact series of observations than had hitherto been
made. They were published, and became generally
known as the Tables of Toledo." ;

It was in such a direction indeed that the line
of true progress lay. As alchemy rose into a real
chemistry rather by the practice of the laboratory
than by the theory of the schools, so it was with
regard to astronomy. The scheme of Ptolemy with
its various modifications necessarily held the field,
imperfect and erroneous as it was, till wider and more
exact observations, such as those for which the wise
king of Castile thus provided had, in the course
of after ages, furnished adequate ground for the
magical and illuminative speculations of Copernicus,
Galileo, and Newton.

Favourable, however, as Scot’s situation
Toledo undoubtedly was, much of what we are con-
sidering lay beyond his reach, being yet in the
womb of the future. The Moorish astronomers, an¢
he doubtless with them, felt far from satisfiec
with the Ptolemaic system as expounded in th
Almagest. While no one as yet ventured t
interfere with its fundamental conception of th
earth as the centre of the universe, every fresl
observation, by bringing into view more of th
delicacy and subtlety of the heavenly movements
made additions and modifications of that theor
constantly necessary. Hence arose a series
Arabian works on the sphere, each superseding tha
which had preceded it, and reflecting the last result

1 Romanus de Higuera, a very doubtful authority.

THE ASTRONOMICAL WRITINGS OF SCOT 99

obtained with the astrolabe. Such a line of pro-
could not but lead to the time when the
Ptolemaic theory no longer lent itself by any
modification to the full explanation of ascertained
facts. Then and then only arose the new astronomy
of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, which is
thus seen to be vitally connected, even in its highest
reach and most splendid developments with the
now forgotten theories of the Moorish schools.
Considering then the epoch at which he lived,
and the incomplete material which existed in his
days for a true science of the heavens, Michael Scot
did all that could be reasonably expected of him.
He sat at the feet of those who were then the best
uthorities on this subject. He used his oppor-
ities at Toledo to make the last and most subtle
heories of the Moors intelligible to those less
ortunate scholars whose attention these must
therwise have escaped.

His services to astronomy appeared in the Latin
ersion which he made from a treatise on the Sphere
ately composed by Alpetrongi. This author's
e is said to have been, in its Arabic form, Nur-
-din el Patrugi. Munk, in his Mélanges, tells us
t the latter designation was derived from a

llage called Petroches lying a little to the north
f Cordova.* The Latins corrupted the name in
ifferent ways, so that among them it became
venalpetrandi, Alpetrongi, or Alpetragius. The
onomer who bore it flourished about the year
190, and is said to have been a renegade, and a

1 This village gave name to another Moorish writer, Abu Gafar
ed ben Abd-el-Rahman ben Mohammed, also surnamed el Bitraugi.
e died in 1147 and his fame survives as that of the author of an
ceyclopedia of science.

100 THE LIFE AND LEGEND OF MICHAEL SCOT

scholar of the celebrated Ibn Tofail, the author of -
the curious Sufic romance called Hay Ibn Yokhdan.
In the preface to his book on the Sphere Alpe-—
trongi begs to be excused if he has ventured to
differ from the tradition of the ancients in his
theory of the heavenly movements, and especially
from Ptolemy the great master of this science,
His apology reminds us that it may be well to
examine more exactly than we have yet done the
various advances which had been made up to this’
time by the Arabian astronomy. j
As early as the ninth century the mathe-
maticians of that nation had simplified the problems”
of the circle by discovering the way of measure-
ment by sine and tangent instead of by the chord.
This improvement is ascribed to Albategni who lived
between the years 877 and 929. Calculation we
soon made still easier by the invention of algebra.
The year 820 is given as the age of Mohammed ben
Moussa, surnamed Al Khowaresmi, who had the
honour of this important discovery. From the
surname of this mathematician the Latins after-
wards formed by corruption their common noun
Algorisma or Algorithmus, from which our word
arithmetic is derived.
These improved methods of calculation were
soon applied to astronomy. Al Mamun, whose reign
commenced in the year 813, summoned an assembh
of scholars learned in that science. They met in the
great Babylonian plain, having chosen that place as
suitable for their observations, and measured the de- —
clination of the ecliptic, which they determined to be
23° 33”, About the same time the secular motion 0
the heavens began to attract attention. Albategn

THE ASTRONOMICAL WRITINGS OF SCOT 101

corrected the observations of Ptolemy here, and
showed that the retrograde movement amounted to
one degree, not in a century as the Greek philosopher
had said, but in a shorter period which is variously
stated as sixty-six or seventy years. Alfargan re-
peated this calculation, and amended that relating
to the declination of the ecliptic, which he computed
at 23° 35”.

This was the progress and these the data which
led the Moorish astronomers to abandon the earlier
and simpler theories of the sphere as inconsistent
with ascertained facts. They were aware of
motions among the heavenly bodies not to be
explained by the mere supposition that round the
earth as a centre moved the concentric spheres
on the axes of their poles. It is true that
even Ptolemy himself had felt something of this
ifficulty and had endeavoured to meet it by a
theory of eccentrics and epicycles. As knowledge
increased, however, this primitive explanation was
elt to be cumbrous and unsatisfactory. Aboasar’
d Azarchel gained fame by boldly striking out in
ew paths, and later Moorish astronomers eagerly
ollowed the lead thus given them, each adding
me modification of his own.

Thus then we return to the preface of Alpetrongi
repared to understand his position when he
eclares himself obliged to depart from previous
itions. He proceeds to avow himself a scholar
)>f Azarchel, but when we examine his work we find
t the theory he proposes differs considerably
ven from that taught by his immediate master.

? For the unfavourable judgment of Mirandola on this astronomer,
infra, p. 143.

102 THE LIFE AND LEGEND OF MICHAEL SCOT

It was one which, through the labours of Michael —
Scot, as translator of Alpetrongi, exercised no small —
influence on the study of astronomy among the
Latins, and we may well spend a moment in con-
sidering the chief features which it presents.

One of the most important problems which —
called for solution at the hands of the Moorish —
astronomers was that of the recession of the ©
heavenly bodies, by which, when observed at —
sufficient intervals of time, they were seen to fall —
short of the positions they might have been ~
expected to reach. This recession, as we have —
remarked already, had been very accurately studied, —
and computed as exactly as the methods of the —
time allowed; but a reason for so remarkable a —
phenomenon was yet to seek. Alpetrongi boldly —
declared that the eastward motion was apparent —
only and not real. He explained that the source —
of power lay in the primum mobile or ninth sphere;
that lying outside the sphere of the fixed stars.
From hence the force producing circular motion
was derived to the eighth, and so to the inferior
spheres; each handing on a part of the impulse
to that which lay beneath it. In the course of
transmission, however, the prime force became
gradually exhausted. Thus, said Alpetrongi, it—
happens that each sphere moves rather more
slowly than the one above it, and so the apparent
recession is accounted for in a way which shows it
to be relative only and not absolute.

Another matter which exercised the minds of
those who studied the heavens was the difference
of elevation which the heavenly bodies showed
according to the seasons of summer and winter,

THE ASTRONOMICAL WRITINGS OF SCOT 103

The sun, for example, at noonday of the summer
solstice stood, they saw, at his highest point in the
heavens, while he sank to his lowest on the shortest
day of winter. Between these extremes he held
gradually every intermediate position, and as he was
meanwhile supposed to be moving in a circular path
round the earth, his course came to be conceived of
as a spiral alternately rising and declinmg. How
was this spiral motion to be explained ?

Each sphere, said Alpetrongi, has its own
poles, which differ from those of the primum mobile,
and thus each, while following the motion of the
ninth sphere, accomplishes at the same time
another revolution about its own proper poles.
From the combination of these two movements
arises one of the nature of a spiral which fully
accounts for the seeming deviations of the heavenly
bodies to north or south.’

Such were the contributions of this philosopher
to the astronomy of his time. They were the fruit,
he assures us, of patient study of the ancients, and
specially of Aristotle and his commentators. He
offered them to his age as a distinct improvement
on the cumbrous theories of Ptolemy, and as an
advance even upon that of Azarchel, whom, in
the main, he acknowledges as his master in science.
Antiquated and childish as his explanations may
seem to us, we cannot help feeling that he had at
least grasped firmly some of the chief problems of
the sky. He stood in the line of that inquiry
and patient progress which have issued in the mar-
vellous discoveries of later times.

Scot’s version of the Sphere of Alpetrongi has

1 See the excellent account in Munk.

104 THE LIFE AND LEGEND OF MICHAEL SCOT

reached us accompanied by the date of its com-
position ; a distinction which belongs to only one —
other among his translations, that of the Abbreviatio —
Avicennae. M. Jourdain had the merit of being
the first who drew attention to this fortunate
circumstance,’ and he did so by quoting the colo-
phons of two manuscripts of the Sphere discovered
by him in the Paris library. One of these closes”
thus: ‘ Praised be Jesus Christ who liveth for ever
throughout alltime: onthe eighteenthday of August,
being Friday, at the third hour, cwm aboleolente,*
in the year one thousand two hundred and fifty-
five. The other gives the date thus: ‘The year of
the Incarnation of Christ twelve hundred and
seventeen.’ These two epochs coincide exactly, as
the apparent difference arises from the date being
expressed in the first manuscript according to the
era of Spain. It is therefore doubly certain that
Scot’s version of the Sphere of Alpetrongi was made
in the year 1217.”
In completing this enantio Michael Scotll
anticipated by one year only the great astrono- {
mical congress which the King of Castile presently
caused to assemble at Toledo. It may very possibly —
therefore have been one of the versions prepared —
with a view to this great occasion and designed for —

the use of the Latin astronomers who might come—

1 Recherches, p. 133.

2 These are Ancien Fonds 7399 and Fonds de Sorbonne 1820.

3 * Qui vivit in aeternum per tempora.’

4 There is a copy in the Barberini library (ix. 25 in fol. chart. saec.
xv.) which reads ‘cum abuteo lefiite.’ Another at Paris, mss. lat. 1665
(olim Sorbonicus) has ‘ce. Abuteo Levite.’ It would be rash to conjec-
ture the sense of this curious phrase. It is evidently a sign of time,
and perhaps astrological

5 The Barberini ms. (ix. 25) gives 1221 as the date of the version,
but the consensus of the other copies shows this to be a mis
Almost all the Mss. mention that the work was done at Toledo.

THE ASTRONOMICAL WRITINGS OF SCOT 105

ere. Certain it is that the author was not less
ortunate in this than in his previous literary
entures. The text was well chosen, the time of
ublication opportune, and the Sphere of Alpetrongi
it came from Scot’s hand had a wide circulation

d influenced profoundly the astronomical beliefs
f the day.’

1 See the references made to this work of Scot by Albertus Magnus
d Vincent of Beauvais.

CHAPTER VI

SCOT TRANSLATES AVERROES

WE have already noticed how the commentaries 6
Avicenna on Aristotle had been translated inte
Latin at Toledo during the twelfth century, anc
how Michael Scot had completed that work by his
version of the books relating to Natural History
Since the beginning of the thirteenth century, how
ever, another Arabian author of the first rank hac
become the object of much curiosity in Europe.
This was the famous Averroés of Cordova, whosé
history might fill a volume, so full was it of romanti
adventure and literary interest.1 He was but latel
dead, having closed a long and laborious life on th
10th of December 1198, at Morocco, where his bod:
was first laid to rest in the cemetery outside th
gate of Tagazout. Born at Cordova in 1126,
name was closely associated with that of his natiyv
city, so that after three months had elapsed h
corpse was brought thither from Africa, and give
honourable and final burial in the tomb of his fathe:
at the cemetery of Ibn Abbas.

Two reasons combined to raise the fame ¢
Averroés among the Latins, and to inspire thei
with a high curiosity regarding his works. He wi

1 For the life and opinions of Averroés, see the excellent monogr
Averroés et ? Averroisme, which Renan published at Paris in 1866
have drawn largely upon it in compusing this chapter.

106

SCOT TRANSLATES AVERROES 107

<nown to have devoted his life to the study and
sxxposition of Aristotle ; then, as for many ages, the
dol of the Christian schools. His philosophy was
‘urther understood to embody the strangest and
nost daring speculations regarding the origin of the
niverse and the nature of the soul. For these he
ad suffered severely at the hands of the Moslem
rthodox. They had proscribed his works and com-
elled him to leave his employment and pass the
aost precious years of his life in exile.
These common impressions regarding Averroés
vere in the main correct. His labours had appeared
a three forms; a paraphrase, and a lesser and
eater commentary on the books of Aristotle, and
he philosophy which these writings contained was
ndoubtedly Manichean, if not in a measure Pan-
heistic. Like that of all the Arabian philosophers,
whose teaching Averroés gave its final and most
haracteristic form, this doctrine was really Greek :
ne Aristotelic scheme of the universe as it had been
mnceived anew by Porphyry of Alexandria. At
ne foundation lay a mighty Duality: that of the
opposing powers of Good and Evil. With the
otion of exalting Him above the possibility of
ame, God, the Centre of the Universe, about
hom all revolves, was declared to be the Absolute
ad unconditional Being; while over against Him
as set Matter, also eternal, from which, in its
ubborn resistance to the Divine Will, all evil had
isen. Any direct action of Deity upon matter
uld not be thought of; so the interval between
em was conceived of as occupied by several
manations proceeding from God, among which we
ay notice those of the Divine Wisdom and the

108 THE LIFE AND LEGEND OF MICHAEL SCOT

Divine Power. This Wisdom was said to be imper-
sonal; one common to all intelligent creatures;
the Light that lighteneth every man that cometh
into the world. This Power was regarded as
supreme, seated high above the spheres, and,
through the Primum Mobile, entering into touch
with matter and deriving its force downward from
one heavenly circle to another till it reaches earth
itself. 3

which received much attention from Averroés. His
ideas on this subject will be seen when we come t
speak of the important digression he wrote unde
the title of Quaestiones Nicolai Peripatetici.. In
every man he perceived the existence of a passive
intellect or reason, in relation to which the othe
Heavenly Intelligence, or Divine Wisdom, presentet
itself to him as the Active Reason: that in whos
motions Thought was always accompanied by Power
The one was Impersonal and Eternal, the othe
individual and perishable, yet Averroés taught tha
a close relation subsisted between them, and a cor
sequent sympathy and attraction, in which th
passive intelligence strove to unite itself with th
active and thus achieve eternity and immortality.

This union was known as the t#tzsal : the suprem
object of the wise man’s desire, and in connectio
with it emerged for the first time a distinction be
tween Averroés and his predecessors. Ibn Badj
with whom he held the closest relation, had pre

1 See infra, p. 128. Nicolas Damascenus was born B.c. 64.
2 This was purely Alexandrian doctrine: ‘ensefiaron Plotim
Porfirio y Iamblico, que, en la union extatica, el alma y Dios se haet
uno, quedando el alma como aniquilada por el golpe intuitivo, Pelay
Heterodoxos Espaiioles, vol. ii. p. 522.

SCOT TRANSLATES AVERROES 109

»osed a course of moral discipline as the best way
of attaining the zftisal: the same ascetic practice
rhich Ibn Tofail so remarkably illustrated and com-
peed in his mystical romance Hay Ibn Yokhdan.
ali on the other hand, who was the sceptic of
h ese schools, boldly declared that the zttisal was
nly to be reached by an intellectual and spiritual
onfusion attained in the zzkr, or whirling dance of
he Dervishes. It was left then for Averroés to
ndicate once more the validity of human reason,
nd this he did by proclaiming that science, rightly
nderstood, was the true way of entering into in-
allectual communion with the Deity. All, however,
oreed in teaching that the soul of man was but
n individual and temporary manifestation of the
Mivine, from which it had proceeded, and into
hich it would again be absorbed.
It is plain that the way to this consummation
posed by Averroés had much in common with
ne ancient theories of the Alexandrian Gnosis.
he Albigenses and other sects of the time,
pecially that called the Brotherhood of the Holy
host, had already done much to familiarise the
Jest with these essentially Eastern speculations.
taste for such flights of the mind had been
rmed, and, as soon as it became known that a
»w teacher had arisen to advocate a theory of this
nd among the Moors, Christianity too was alive
ith curiosity to know what the doctrine of A verroés

In these circumstances the anathema of the
qurch proved powerless to restrain so strong an
pulse of the human spirit. The Council of Paris
1209 had sounded the first note of warning and

110 THE LIFE AND LEGEND OF MICHAEL SCOT

of censure. In 1215 Robert de Courcon published
a statute in that university by which the name
Mauritius Hispanus, understood by Renan to mea
Averroés, was associated with those of David ¢
Dinant and Almaric of Bena the French Pantheist
of the day, and all men were warned to have nothin
to do with their writings under pain of censure. h
spite of these enactments five years had not passet
since the date of the latter proclamation, before the
commentaries of Averroés were rendered into Lati
and the secrets of his remarkable philosophy lai
open to the scholastic world.

The credit of this bold and successful enter
prise belongs, it would be hard to say in what
proportions, to the Emperor Frederick m1. and t
Michael Scot his faithful servant. Frederick ha
indeed every reason to feel an interest in the work
of Averroés. His mind was naturally keen and of
a speculative cast. He showed little inclination t
subject his curiosity to the restraints of custom ¢
ecclesiastical authority, and was thus at least ¢
likely as any of the wise and noble of his day t
indulge his passion for what promised to be bot
original and curious. We are to remember alt
that he stood in close relation with the pec
religious opinions already noticed, which were the
so prevalent both in south-eastern France and th
adjoining parts of Spain. His brother-in-law, wl
died so suddenly at Palermo, was Count
Provence, and, whatever place the unfortune
Alphonso may have held with regard to the here
so common in his dominions, we may feel sure th
among the host of Provengal knights who form
his train when he came to Sicily there mu

SCOT TRANSLATES AVERROES 111

ave been some at least who were adherents of
he Albigensian party. No religious opinion ever
ade so striking a progress among the wealthy and
oble as this, and none was ever commended in a
vay more fit to win the sympathy and interest of a
-outhful monarch inclined to letters and gallantry.
“he doctrine of the Albigenses was in fact a late
evival of the Gnosis of Alexandria. It flattered
he pride of those who desired distinction even in
heir religion. Its representatives and advocates
ere no repulsive monks or sour ascetics but men
f birth and breeding, who excelled in manly
xercises, and were famous for their success in the
ourts of love and in the gay saber. It would not
ave been wonderful if Frederick himself had
ecome an Albigensian. He is known to have
ught a taste for Provencal poetry if nothing
ore, and it is certain that he remained, to the
ose of his life, and even beyond it, a grateful
ad sympathetic figure among those who, after the
eat persecution, still represented Albigensian
octrine.* Something of this may have been due
the influence of his wife Constantia, whose father,
on Pedro of Aragon, had fallen gallantly in 1213
ider the walls of Murel, during an expedition in
hich he led the Spanish chivalry to aid the
} Albertus Stadensis speaks of a heretical sect which appeared at
He in 1248. They abused the clergy, the monastic orders and the
pe, but their preachers exhorted them to pray for the Emperor
sderick and his son Conrad, qui perfecti et justt sunt. Among the
bigenses and Cathari generally the word perfecti was used in a
hnical sense to indicate those who had been received into complete
owship as opposed to the credentes who were still on probation. As
plied therefore to the Emperor and his son it would seem to indicate
east certain leanings to these opinions on Frederick’s part. This might
ain the action he certainly took in trying to detach the Sicilian

zy from the see of Rome and to set up a national or imperial church
which he pretended to the earthly headship.

ba

Ou **

that the chronicler could not in any case hay

112. THE LIFE AND LEGEND OF MICHAEL SCOT

Counts of Toulouse and Foix the champions of the
Albigensian party. }

The probability that the Emperor had early fel
an interest in Averroés is confirmed by a curious
statement of Gilles de Rome,’ who tells us that the
sons of the Moorish philosopher received a cordia
welcome from Frederick and lived in honour at his
Court, Renan indeed finds reason to doubt thi
truth of this statement,’ yet we may remembei

ventured upon it unless the Emperor’s sympath:
for Averroés had been matter of common know:
ledge. 4
As to Michael Scot we may feel sure that he
was every whit as eager as his master could be t
honour the philosopher’s memory and to gain
nearer acquaintance with his writings. The manu
script in the Laurentian library to which we have
already referred® speaks, it will be remembered, of
visit paid by Scot to the city of Cordova. It is ne
difficult to determine with a high degree of pri
bability the reason that may have led him thithe
Had he lived three hundred years earlier indee
the fame of Cordova as a centre of learning migh
well have proved a sufficient attraction to accout
for this journey. In the tenth century that cit
shone as the seat of a great Jewish school: one ¢
those lately transferred to Spain from the easter
cities of Pombeditha and Sura. The Caliph Hakiz
under whose protection this change took plac
gave royal encouragement to the learned men w
came to Cordova. Thousands of students assemble

1 Opera, p. 102.
2 Averroés, pp. 28, 254, 291. 3 See ante, p. 18,

SCOT TRANSLATES AVERROES 113

in the great Mosque, and Hakim collected for their use
ificent library which was said to contain four
undred thousand volumes. Al Mansour, however,
ho succeeded to Hakim’s throne, fell under the
uence of orthodox scruples. He burnt much
f the great library, and the rest perished at the
rous sack of Cordova in the following century.

e ruin of the Rabbinical academies was com-
leted a little later by the cruel edict of Abd-el-
umen, who expelled the Jews from his realm.
e most famous teachers of Cordova and Lucena
en betook themselves to Castile. Alphonso vu. re-
ived them kindly and gave them liberty to settle
his capital. These events took place before 1150,
d from that date the ancient schools which had”
iven such fame to Cordova and Lucena became
e of the chief attractions of Toledo.

The sole glory which Cordova still retained in
e days when Scot visited it was the memory of
parted greatness, and of Averroés, whose fame
ust yet have endured as a living tradition in the
ace of his birth and burial. We may therefore
lieve that it was as a pilgrim to the shrine of that
ustrious name that the traveller came hither.
he wandered amid the countless columns of the
eat Mosque, or stayed his steps by the tomb of
n Abbas, he must have found a melancholy
ure in recalling the mighty past, when these
es were crowded with eager students and when,
Il later, the last scion of the Cordovan schools had
peared in the person of the Master whose writ-
were now the object of so much curiosity. It
quite possible that something of a practical
ose may have combined with these sentiments

H

114 THE LIFE AND LEGEND OF MICHAEL SCOT:

to determine the direction of Scot’s journey,
Twenty years had not passed, we must rememb or,
since the body of Averroés was laid in its
resting-place. What if those who directed anc
composed the solemn funeral procession from
Morocco to Cordova had brought with them the
books which the philosopher was engaged in com.
pleting at the time of his death? The hope of <
great literary discovery could hardly have bee
absent from the mind of Michael Scot as he travelled
southward to seek the white walls of the Mooris
city.’

There is no reason to think that the ator of
the spell framed by Scot at Cordova was liters
and historically true ; it seems to belong rather t¢
the department of his legendary fame as a necro
mancer. Yet, read as a parable, this conjuration i
not without interest and perhaps importance. It
professes to compel the appearance of spirits from
the nether deep, and to command an answer t
any question the sage or student might choose t
ask. A slight effort of fancy will find here thi
picturesque representation of Scot's mental am
physical state while at Cordova, and especially unde
the stress of the illness from which we are assures
he then suffered.2. What wonder if, in the verti
of fever, he felt prisoned with swimming brain i
magic circles; or is it strange that one so inten
upon the doctrine of the departed Averroés shoul
in the height of his delirium, have planned to for

1 This inquiry was afterwards interpreted to Scot’s disadvant
and in a way that heightened his necromantic fame. See infra, ch.

2 See Appendix, No. 1. Averroés had maintained in opposit
to Galen that the best of all climates was that of the fifth te
region: that in which Cordova was situated.—Colliget, ii. 22. Mich
Scot can hardly have shared this opinion.

SCOT TRANSLATES AVERROES 115

e grave itself, and summon the dead philosopher
tell the secret of his lost works? Something of
he Greek Sewdrys, something terrible, superhuman
ost, we discover in a spirit so fully roused and
etermined, and if we have read rightly the mind
f Scot, no wonder that he and the Emperor were
y at one in regard to what they had todo. We
ve no means of knowing which of the two first
mceived the idea of translating the works of
verroés : as master and servant they fairly share
e fame of that great enterprise. It was one
hich demanded, not only means, talent, and
wearied labour, but high courage as well, con-
idering the suspect character of that philosophy
nd the censures under which it already lay. In
he event indeed this proved to be a matter
ighly creditable to those who promoted it, but
me which carried serious and far-reaching con-
uences both for Michael Scot and for the
mperor himself in the ecclesiastical and_ political
here.

When Scot returned to Toledo it was not with
e purpose of attempting single-handed a task for
hich not only time, but the co-operation of several
holars, was evidently necessary. There is reason
think that the Emperor’s commission conveyed
me instruction to this effect; for, as a matter of
we know that at least two other hands were
iated with Scot in the translation of Averroés.

One of these was Gerard of Cremona, not of
urse the Cremonese who died in 1187, but the
unger scholar of the same name, perhaps a son
nephew of the elder. He is distinguished as
Wherardus de Sabloneta Cremonensis. The Victorine

_

~ and 1223 there existed a college of translators i

excellent work there a century before. In the new

later schools of Toledo is even more close and exat

116 THE LIFE AND LEGEND OF MICHAEL SCOT

manuscript’ supplies evidence that he contributed to
the work in which Michael Scot was now engaged. —

It is not impossible that Philip of Tripoli may
have joined in the new enterprise. His name does
not indeed appear in any of the manuscripts which
contain the Latin Averroés, but we have seen that
he was certainly in Spain about this time and ever
at work with Gerard of Cremona.* His intimate
relation to Michael Scot is also beyond question,
and, upon the whole, it seems reasonable to suppose
that the Emperor may have engaged him to help in
the work now going forward. |

However this may have been as regards the
exact details of time and persons, we may regard it
as a matter now for the first time brought to light
and established, that in the years between 121)

Toledo just such as that which had done so muck

school Frederick 11. held the honourable place
patron, as Archbishop Raymon had done in hi
day, while Michael Scot and Gerard of Cremoni
aided each other in completing the version 0
Averroés as Dominicus Gundisalvus had lent hi
help to form that of Avicenna. This view of th
matter should be found very interesting, not only —
in itself, but with regard to the conclusions arrivet
at by Jourdain, whose discoveries in the literary
history of the twelfth century it so remarkab)
repeats and extends to the following age.

This correspondence between the earlier ar

than we have yet observed. It appears also in
1 St. Victor, 171. 2 De Rossi ms. 354. See ante, p. 20.

SCOT TRANSLATES AVERROES 117

fact that a Jewish interpreter was attached to each,
and rendered important service as a member of the
college. Under Don Raymon this place was held
by Johannes Avendeath, or Johannes Hispalensis
as he is commonly called, who worked along with
he Archdeacon. ‘ You have then,’ says Avendeath,
addressing the Archbishop, ‘the book which has
been translated from the Arabic according to your
commands: I reading it word by word into the
vernacular (Spanish), and Dominic the Archdeacon
endering my words one by one into Latin.’”! The
same division of labour seems to have been followed
a the new school which Frederick promoted. The
mperor drew the attention of these learned men to
Averroés, and signified his desire that a version of
his author should be prepared like that which had
een made from Avicenna. Michael Scot and Gerard -
f Cremona were responsible, the former probably in
special sense, both for the general conduct of the
indertaking, and, in particular, for the accuracy of
he Latin. Now these scholars also, like their
sredecessors, availed themselves of the help of a
ewish interpreter. This was one Andrew Alpha-
us, who seems to have taken the same part that
Avendeath had formerly done, by translating the
Arabic of Averroés into current Spanish, which Scot
nd his coadjutor then rendered into Latin.

Such at least appear to be the suggestions
vhich offer themselves naturally to one who per-
ses the colophon to the copy of the De Animalibus
d Caesarem preserved in the Bibliotheca Angelica

1 | See preface to the De Anima of Avicenna, Mss. Fondo Vaticano
428, p. 78vo, and 2089, p. 307ro. Jourdain has reprinted this
eface in his Recherches, p. 449, from the mss. Fonds de Sorbonne
793 and Ancien Fonds 6443,

118 THE LIFE AND LEGEND OF MICHAEL SCOT

of Rome. Thus it runs: ‘Here endeth the book
of Aristotle concerning animals, according to the
abbreviation of Michael Scot Alphagirus.’ The
form of expression is curious, but may be exactly
matched from the versions produced by the earlier
Toledan translators: that is, if we are to believe
Bartolocci. This author, in the first volume of his
Bibliotheca Rabbinica, mentions a manuscript of the
Fondo Urbinate in the Vatican which, he says, con-
tains the four books of Avicenna on Physics
translated by ‘Johannes Gundisalvi.’ This name
has evidently, like that of ‘Scoti Alphagiri,’ been
formed by composition from those of the two
translators, Johannes Avendeath and Dominicus
Gundisalwi who aided each other in the work." |
As to the personality of Alphagirus, the only
ground of conjecture seems to be that supplied by
Romanus de Higuera, who, speaking of the learned —
men assembled in 1218 at Toledo for the astrono- —
mical congress, mentions that one of them was —
‘el Conhesso Alfaquir’ of Toledo.’ The place, the
date, and the similarity of name, are all in favour
of our supposing these two to be one and the same
person. Nay further, as Alfaquir was of Toledo,
and did not need to be summoned thither in 1218,
there is no reason why he should not, as the
‘ Alphagirus’ of 1209, have assisted Michael Scot if
producing the De Animalibus for Frederick. 3
It is from a remark made by Roger Bacon thai
we know the first name of the Toledan interpreté

1 Bibl. Rabb. i. p. 7. ‘Eiusdem Avicennae Physicorum lib.
Magistro Johanne Gunsalui et Salomone interpretibus, No. 449,’ ié
the Fondo Urbinate. a

2 Bibl. Espatiola, ii. pp. 643-4. ‘Conhesso’ may be a mistake f
converso. There is reason to think that Andrew had embraced th
Christian faith.

SCOT TRANSLATES AVERROES 119

o have been Andrew, and that he was a Jew.
acon gives us this information in no kindly spirit,
but in order to lead up to the bitter conclusion
hat Scot’s work was not original, but borrowed
om one whose labours and just fame he had
appropriated. ‘Michael Scot,’ he says, ‘was igno-
ant of languages and science alike. Almost all
hat has appeared in his name was taken from a
ertain Jew called Andrew.’

A sufficient answer to this serious accusation
may be found in what we already know of the
iterary fashions of the day, and, in particular, of
he traditional methods of work pursued by the
Toledan translators. It was precisely thus that
the Archdeacon Gundisalvus had used the aid of
Avendeath. A little later too, we find the same
system adopted in the translation of the Koran
oromoted by Peter the Venerable. That ecclesiastic
hus expresses himself in sending a copy of his book
<0 St. Bernard: ‘I had it translated by one skilled
n both tongues; Master Peter of Toledo; but since
@ was not as much at home in the Latin, and did
not know it as well as the Arabic, I appointed one
0 help him. . . Brother Peter our Notary.’ To
is Koran Peter the Venerable joined a Summa
Brevis of the Christian controversy with the Mo-
ammedans. This work also came from the pen of
aster Peter, and with regard to it he makes the

* *Michael Scotus, ignarus quidem et verborum et rerum, fere
omnia quae sub nomine ejus prodierunt, ab Andrea quodam Judaeo
mutuatus est..—Opus Majus. In his Compendium Studi, a much later
work, Bacon repeats the accusation in a milder form : ‘ Michael Scotus
scripsit sibi translationes multas. Sed certum est quod Andreas quidam
Judaeus plus laboravit in his.’ It has been conjectured that Andrew
was a convert to Christianity, v. Renan, who cites the preface to Jebb’s
dition of the Opus Tertiwm of Bacon. It is curious at any rate that
he Name given him was that of Scotland’s patron saint.

120 THE LIFE AND LEGEND OF MICHAEL SCOT

following remarks: ‘By giving elegance and order
to what had been rudely and confusedly stated by
him (i.e. by Master Peter) he (ae. Brother Peter
the Notary) has completed an epistle, or rather a
short treatise, which, as I believe, will be very use
ful to many.’?

This correspondence throws a clear light upon
the case of Michael Scot in regard to the charge of
plagiarism. Like Master Peter, he was familiar with
both the Latin and the Arabic language. His weak
point, however, we may suppose to have made itsel
felt with regard to the latter, which he probably
knew better in its colloquial than its literary
form, and this must have been the reason why
he availed himself of the aid of a Spanish: Jew
to secure the accuracy of his work. Such col.
laboration seems to have produced nearly all the
previous versions which came from Toledo, and it”
is obvious that the honour due to the various con-
tributors who combined in forming these trans
lations can only be determined by those who have
it in their power to make a careful and unprejudiced
valuation of their individual labours in each case.
We may gravely doubt whether this was wha
Bacon did before he sat down to pen his she
censure on Michael Scot. Certainly such a
estimate is now out of the question. We can only
affirm the undoubted fact that the critic was wrong
when he said Scot did not know Arabic. The
contrary appears, not only from the probability w
have already drawn from his Sicilian residence, bw
by actual testimony of a very honourable kind

1 Bibl. Max. Vett. Patrum, Lugduni, 1677, vol. xxii. p. 1030.
* The letter, namely, of Pope Gregory 1x.

SCOT TRANSLATES AVERROES 121

or must we forget to notice that the openness
ith which this copartnery was carried on affords a
roof that no deceit could have been thought of in
he matter. Considering the past history of the
oledan School, it must have been taken for
ted that every version which came from thence
der the name of a Christian scholar owed some-
hing to the care of his Moorish scribe.

Even had we not been able to make such an
ppeal to the use and wont of the times in vindi-
tion of Scot’s method of work, might not a little
onsideration of what was natural and inevitable
such a task have served to explain what Bacon
und so objectionable? The scholars from distant
ds who came to Toledo could not, as a rule,
ord to spend much time there, and were anxious

use every moment of their stay to the best
vantage. They naturally therefore secured on
eir arrival the services of a Jew or Moor for the
urpose of learning Arabic. Needing a knowledge
that tongue not so much in its colloquial as its
verary dialect, they must have been engaged from
e first in the study of a text rather than in con-
rsing with their teachers. What then could
ve been more suitable than that these scholars
ould begin by attacking the very books of which
ey desired to furnish a Latin version? This
od had the merit of gaining two objects at
ce. The students learned to read Arabic, follow-
the text as it was translated to them by the
terpreter. Writing in Latin from his vernacular,
d polishing as they wrote, they engaged from
e day of their arrival in the very work of trans-
tion which had brought them to Spain. It is

122 THE LIFE AND LEGEND OF MICHAEL SCOT

plain too that any modification of this methoc
which the case of Michael Scot might demand would
depend on the knowledge of Arabic he already
possessed. It must therefore have been such as le
him more and not less credit in the result of his
labours than that which commonly belonged to the
Christian translators in Toledo. ;

The whole matter of these versions, and of the
fame belonging to Michael Scot in connection with
them, seems to receive some further light wher
we compare the Toledan practice with that whiel
distinguished the most famous schools of painting
It would surely be a strange freak of criticism
which should deny to any of the great masters his
well-earned fame because of the ground on whiel
it was raised, or the numerous scholars whom 1
attracted to his studio. Yet we know well wha
this relation between the master and his school
implied in the palmy days of pictorial art. There
were apprentices who stretched canvas, mixet
colours, and pricked and pounced designs. Ther
were pupils, to whom, according to their talent
and proficiency, varied parts of the executio
were assigned. To the master alone belonge
the oversight and responsibility of the whol
Giving a general design, were it only in a sketeé
from his hand, he watched the progress of th
work with jealous eye, and caught the decisiv
moment to interpose by executing with his ow
pencil such parts of the painting as might give
distinctive character, a cachet, to the whole.
till he was satisfied that the desired effect had be
secured might the picture leave his studio, and wl
shall say that he did wrong to sign his name

SCOT TRANSLATES AVERROES 123

orks produced in sucha way? Thus, at any rate,
ave the highest reputations in the world of art
n into their deserved and enduring fame.
Now, as it is certain that the Toledan School
ursued similar methods in their literary labours,
ight requires that. the reputation of its members
hould be judged by the same canons of criticism
hich we apply without hesitation to pictorial art.
own day unhesitatingly gave Scot the chief
redit in the version of Averroés without inquiring
curiously what parts had been executed by
e Cremonese, or other scholars, and what share
longed to Andrew the Jew. It may make us
e more ready to accept this verdict and adopt it
our own when we remember the intellectual
ualities of the Emperor for whom this work was
one. It is certainly out of the question to suppose
hat a reputation in letters, such as Michael Scot
ndoubtedly enjoyed at the court of Frederick 11,
ould have been gained by any but legitimate and
onourable means.

Coming to an examination then of the various
ersions which came from the new Toledan School,
e find that two of them expressly bear to have
n the work of Scot himself. The first of these
the treatise commencing ‘Maxima cognitio
turae et scientiae. It is the commentary of
verroés on the De Coelo et Mundo of Aristotle,’ and
t has prefaced it by an introduction conceived
follows: ‘To thee, Stephen de Pruvino, I,
ichael Scot, specially commend this work, which
have rendered into Latin from the sayings of

* Paris, Fonds de Sorbonne 924, 950; St. Victor, 171; Navarre,
; Venice, St. Mark, vi. 54; Fondo Vaticano, 2184, 2089, p. Gro.

124 THE LIFE AND LEGEND OF MICHAEL SCOT

Aristotle. And should Aristotle have delive od
somewhat in an incomplete form concerning the
fabric of the world in this book, thou mayest have
what is wanting to complete it from that of
Alpetragius which I have likewise rendered inte
Latin ; and, indeed, it is one with which thou art
well acquainted.’ As we know when the version
of Alpetrongi on the Sphere was produced, this
fortunate reference to that previous work enable
us to determine, at least approximately, that of
the De Coelo et Mundo, and hence of these transla-
tions of Averroés in general. The year 1217 is the
first limit, before which they cannot have appeared
and 1223 is the last; for by that time Michael Scot
had already left Spain. Between these two date:
then, and probably nearer the former than the
latter, must his labours and those of his coadjutor
have been devoted to this important work. .

Stephanus de Provino has been happily identi-
fied by M. Bourquelot with: a somewhat notabl
ecclesiastic of the Church of Nétre Dame du Va
de Provins, whose name occurs in various document
dated between the years 1211 and 1233. Rena
conjectures that he may be the same as a certail
Etienne de Rheims, who, it seems, was born ¢é
Provins.’ Perhaps he’ is the Stephanus Francigem
of Guido Bonatti.? Scot’s friendship with him, t
which the dedication of the De Coelo et Mundi
bears witness, was probably begun in their studer
days at Paris. |

1 See ‘Proviniana’ in the Feuille de Provins for 7 Février 188
also the Hist. Litt. de la France, xvii. 232; the Bibl. Imp. Co
Suite du Reg. Princ. Campan, ITT. 50ro. and 1990. ; ; and the let
of Gregory 1x., anni v. 9 Maii (1231 or 1232), anni vii. kal. Pe
and 3 kal. Martii in the collection of Laporte du Theil.

* See ante, p. 6.

SCOT TRANSLATES AVERROES 125

The second version bearing the name of Scot is
t which commences with the words: ‘ Intendit
subtilitatem demonstrare;’ being the com-
entary of Averroés on the De Anima of Aristotle.’
the Victorine manuscript this treatise offers a
urious title: ‘Here beginneth the Commentaty of
he Book of Aristotle the Philosopher concerning
he Soul, which Averroés commented on in Greek,
d Michael Scot translated into Latin.’
In the same manuscript the version of Averroés’s
mmentary on the various books which compose
e Parva Naturalia of Aristotle is ascribed to
erard of Cremona. Renan observes that this
ription does not occur in any other copy, and
upposes it to have been a mistake. He seems
uenced in this conclusion by the fact that
rard of Cremona died in 1187. It is curious to
nd such an eminent scholar forgetful of the
xistence of a younger Cremonese; and he is not
one in this error, for it has been repeated even
f late years. Yet in 1851 Prince Baldassare
ncompagni had distinguished well between the
der and younger Gerard of Cremona in an ex-
ent monograph on the subject. Even had this
ork not been published, the learned world had
y reason enough to suspect the truth. In a
ell-known passage of his Compendium Studii,s
1 Paris, Sorbonne, 932, 943 ; St. Victor, 171 ; Ancien Fonds, 6504 ;
enice, St. Mark, vi. 54.
2 Vita di Gherardo Cremonense, Roma, 1851. The distinction
tween the elder and younger Gerard had been noticed by Flavio
iondo (1388-1463) ; by Zaccharia Lilio (obiit c. 1522) and by Giulio
roldo in the sixteenth century. I have found the same accuracy in the
asorgimento @ Italia of the Abate Saverio Bettinelli, which appeared
Bassano in 1786 (vol. i. p. 81). Only foreigners, therefore, seem to

ve overlooked it.
3 Compendium Studii, p. 471.

126 THE LIFE AND LEGEND OF MICHAEL SCOT 4

Roger Bacon speaks of Gerard of Cremona as_
contemporary of Michael Scot, Alured of England, —
Wilham the Fleming, and Herman the German
adding that those who were still young had never
_ theless known Gerard, who was the eldest of this
company of scholars. Now the Compendium Studi
is commonly assigned to the year 1292, but ey
if we carry this passage back to 1267, when h
most of Bacon’s works were written, it still appear
evidently impossible that any one still youngla i
that year could have seen a man who died it
1187. Boncompagni, as we have said, explains th
difficulty by acquainting us with the young €
Gerard, called de Sabloneta Cremonensis. He wai
undoubtedly a contemporary of Michael Scot, :
the De Rossi manuscript, already referred to,’ show
that he was in Spain about this time. There is
therefore no reason to distrust the testimony of the
Victorine codex when it gives Gerard the honour
of having translated Averroés on the Parva Natu
ralia. Tn accomplishing this work he vindicat
his right to the place we have already ventured t
assign him as a member of the Toledan College. —
The manuscript collections where the De Coelo
Mundo, the De Anima, and the Parva Nature :
of Averroés are found in a Latin dress, contain a ]
versions of several other commentaries by the se
author: those concerning the De Generatialll
Corruptione, the four books of the Meteora, the L
Substantia Orbis, and the Physica and Metaphysk
of Aristotle.” We may safely ascribe them to #
Toledo College. They were translated either |

' No. 354; see ante, pp. 20, 116.
2 See the list of mss. a ready given, p. 123.

) SCOT TRANSLATES AVERROES 127

ichael Seot, Gerard of Cremona, or some other
holar who worked under these masters.

Renan, relying on the authority of Haureau,’

as shown good reason to believe that at least the
mmentaries on the Physica and Metaphysica in
eir Latin versions came from the pen of Scot.
bertus Magnus, in a passage of high censure,
livers himself in the followmg terms: ‘Vile
inions are to be found in the book called
tones Nicolai Peripatetici. I have been wont
say that the author of it was not Nicholas but
ichael Scot, who in very deed knew not natural
ilosophy, nor rightly understood the books of
istotle.’” The doctrine thus condemned is un-
ubtedly that of Averroés on the Physica and
etaphysica. A manuscript of the Paris library has
treatise commencing thus: ‘ Haec sunt extracta
libro Nicolai Peripatetici,’ and it seems that a
se correspondence exists between this and a
rtain digression in the commentary by Averroés
the twelfth book of the Metaphysics. This
eression, says Renan, often occurs in the manu-
ipts as a separate treatise called ‘Sermo de
estionibus quas accepimus a Nicolao et nos
mus in his secundum nostrum posse.’ These
rds have been omitted from the printed editions
the Commentaries of Averroés, and thus the
ntity of this treatise with the book censured by
bertus Magnus was not recognised till Haureau
vered it.
The only result then of this sharp criticism is to
ure us that the versions of the Physica and
physica must also be reckoned to the credit
1 De la Philosophie Scolastique, i. 470. 2 Opera, ii. 140,

128 THE LIFE AND LEGEND OF MICHAEL SCOT

of Michael Scot. For undoubtedly the opinions t¢
which Albert took such exception were those of
Averroés, and not of the translator. But if so
then what becomes of the censure passed upor
Scot? The truth is that if he was more origina
than Bacon gave him credit for, on the other hand
he escapes the force of Albert’s blame by proving
to have been less original than the latter critic ha
supposed. His was indeed a hard case. He could
not form versions from the Arabic but either hi
was accused of plagiarism or else held up to the
indignation of Christianity as if he had been thi
author of the opinions he rendered into Latin
This steady determination to find fault overreaches
itself We begin to discover in it the bitter frui
of some odium philosophicum, and of that envy
which even a just reputation seldom fails to excite.
Some curiosity may be felt with regard to th
doctrine contained in the Quaestiones Nicolai Peri
pateticit which gave ground for such adverse opinions
M. Renan’s résumé of this treatise is clear
sufficient,’ and we may reproduce it here, as it w
afford a useful supplement to the account alread)
given of the philosophy of Averroés. ‘As to th
origin of the different kinds of being,’ says Averroé
‘there are two exactly opposite opinions, as well
others occupying an intermediate position. Th
one explains the world by a theory of developmen
the other by creation. Those who hold the form
say that generation is nothing but the outcome an
in a sense the multiplication of being; the Agen
according to this hypothesis, doing no more thi
extricate being from being and make a distineti

AL

1 Averroés, p. 108.

SCOT TRANSLATES AVERROES 129

yetween them,’ so that the Agent, thus conceived,
as the function of a mere motive power. As to
hose who hold the hypothesis of creation, they say
hat the Agent produces being without having any
scourse to pre-existent matter. This is the view
aken by our Motecallemin, and by the followers of
e Christian religion: for example, by Johannes
istianus (Philopon), who asserts that the possi-
ility of creation lies in the Agent alone.’

*‘ The intermediate views may be reduced to two
nly, though the first of these admits several
bdivisions which show considerable differences.
these opinions agree in affirming that generation is
oly a change of substance; that all generation
aplies a subject ; and that everything begets in its
wn likeness, The first opinion asserts, however,
nat the part of the Agent is to create form, and to
apress it upon already existent matter. Some of
10se who hold this view, as Ibn Sina,? make an
atire separation between matter in generation and
ne Agent, calling the latter the source of form,
hile others, among whom we may notice Themistius
ad perhaps Alfarabi, maintain that the Agent is
some cases conjoined with matter, as when fire
oduces fire, or man begets man; and in others
ate from it, as in the generation of creeping
s and plants, ze. those not produced from
ed,* which all owe their being to causes that are
like themselves.’

‘The third theory is that of Aristotle, who
Ids that the Agent produces at once both form
1 See Metaphysica, xii. 334.

2 Avicenna. See Destruction of Destruction, iii. 350.

% The doctrine of spontaneous generation, common among the
abian Philosophers, and specially taught by Ibn Tofail.

I

130 THE LIFE AND LEGEND OF MICHAEL SCOT

and substance, by impressing motion on matter, and
begetting a change therein which rouses its latent
powers to action. In this way of thinking the
function of the Agent is only to make active that
which already existed potentially, and to realise
union between matter and form. Thus all creatior
is reduced to motion of which heat is the principle
This heat, shed abroad in the waters and in th
earth, begets both the animals and the plants
which are not produced by seed. Nature puts fortl
all these both orderly and with perfection, just a
if guided by a controlling mind; though natur
itself has no intelligence. The proportions and
productive power which the elements owe to the
motion of the sun and stars are what Plato
by the name of Ideas. According to Aristotle thi
Agent cannot create forms, for in that case some
thing would be produced from nothing. .

‘It is, in fact, the notion that forms could b
created which has led some philosophers to suppos
that forms have a substantive existence of the
own, and that there is a separate source of thes
The same error has infected all the three religion
of our day,’ leading their divines to assert thé
nothing can produce something. Starting fror
this principle our theologians have supposed tl
existence of one Agent producing without inte
mediary all kinds of creatures; an Agent whos
action proceeds by an infinity of opposite and coi
tradictory acts done simultaneously. In this wa
of thinking it is not fire that burns, nor water
moistens; all proceeds by a direct act of t

1 This is a notable saying which may well have given rise to
legend of a book De Tribus Impostoribus. It was certainly one 0
foeda dicta blamed by Albertus Magnus.

SCOT TRANSLATES AVERROES 131

eator. Nay more, when a man throws a stone,
these teachers attribute the consequent motion not
o the man but to the universal Agent, and thus
deny any true human activity.

‘There is even a more astounding corollary of
is doctrine; for if God can cause that which is
aot to enter into being, He can also reduce being
o nothing; destruction, like generation, is God’s
work, and Death itself has been created by
im. But in our way of thinking destruction is
ike generation. Each created thing contains in
self its own corruption, which is present with it
potentially. In order to destroy, just as to create,
is only necessary for the Agent to call this
potentiality into activity. We must in short
aaintain as co-ordinate principles both the Agent
nd these potential powers. Were one of the
wo wanting, nothing could exist at all, or else
being would reduce itself to action; either of
vhich consequences is as absurd as the other.’ ,
We cannot wonder that Albertus Magnus, and

ll who held the Christian faith, were alarmed by
octrine of this kind and fiercely opposed it. The
hodox beliefs of Christians, Jews, and Mo-
ammedans alike were declared false by this bold
iter, whom several expressions which we have
bodied in the above summary show clearly to
ave been Averroés, and not Michael Scot. In one
assage indeed we seem to discover what may
ave suggested the widely spread fable that
rederick m., or Scot, or some other of their
mmpany and party, had produced an atheistic
ork called De Tribus Impostoribus. The im-
tation was a false one, yet most natural were

132 THE LIFE AND LEGEND OF MICHAEL SCOT

the feelings of prejudice which the publication of
this philosophy aroused against the great Emperor
and Michael Scot who had acted as his agent in the
matter.

Pursuing our investigation of the works whicl
came from the Toledan College we discover that thes:
were not confined to the books of Aristotle alread:
noticed, but that the translators took a wider rangi
in their labours. The Venice manuscript of Aver
roés,' besides the De Coelo et Mundo, the De Anima
the Meteora, the De Substantia Orbis, the D
Generatione et Corruptione, and the Parva Natura
lia, contains several other treatises that desery:
attention. Two of these were compositions ¢
Averroés; the one a commentary on the book ¢
Proclus, De Causis, then commonly ascribed t
Aristotle,? and the other an independent work, a
it would seem, bearing the following title
‘Qualiter intellectus naturalis conjungitur Intel
ligentiae abstractae,’ in short a treatise on the ttisa
The volume also contains the Latin version of
book by the Rabbi Moses Maimonides, entitle
‘De Deo Benedicto, quod non est Corpus, ni
Virtus in Corpore.’* Maimonides, like Averroé
was a native of Cordova, and hence no doubt aro:
the interest that was felt in his works by
Toledan translators.

That the Venice manuscript is to be understoo

1 St. Mark, vi. 54 memb. saec. xiv. The De Substantia Orbis is sé
to have been completed by Averroés in Morocco in 1178.
2 Also Fondo Vaticano, 2089, p. 1, with commentary by Alfarabiut
3 This title recalls a passage in the De Anima of Averroés as rep
duced by Pendasius: ‘Si intellectus esset numeratus ad numer
individuorum, esset aliquod hoc (7.¢. aliquod particulare) determinat
corpus aut virtus in corpore. Si hoc esset, esset quid intellect
potentia.’

SCOT TRANSLATES AVERROES 133

as a collection of the versions which came from that
school appears plainly in the dedication to Stephen
of Provins. This is generally prefixed to the De
oelo et Mundo, thus forming an introduction to
the versions which follow; but here it has been
placed at the end of the volume, occurring im-
ediately after the short article De Vita Aristotelis
rhich closes the whole series. "We may see in this
act a certain probability that some at least of these
udditional versions may have been the work of
Michael Scot himself. Nor will the five years which
1e spent at Toledo appear too scant a space of time
or the production of the whole body of the Latin
Averroés and something more, when we remember
he ample and able assistance he enjoyed in the
brosecution of his labours as a translator.

There is one other version of which we must
peak before leaving the subject which has engaged
ur attention so long. The library of St. Omer
ontains a manuscript collection of the works of
Aristotle in Latin which was written during the
irteenth century.’ The fly-leaf at the commence-
nent of this volume shows the same handwriting
s the other pages, and has proved upon examina-
ton to be the last relic of a work which has un-
brtunately perished. What that work was may be
sen from the closing words, which are as follows:
Here end the Nova Ethica of Aristotle, which
aster Michael Scot translated from the Greek
guage into the Latin.’ This colophon opens a
ious question. Are we to consider that the
ribe wrote Greek when he should rather have said
rabic? It was by a mistake of such a kind that

1 No. 620. See Cat. Gen. des Bibl. des Dep. vol. iii. Paris, 1855.

134 THE LIFE AND LEGEND OF MICHAEL SCOT

the writer of the Victorine manuscript asserted
that Averroés had commented on the De Anima in —
Greek.’ Taking it in this way the version of the
Nova Hthica would fall into line with the others
which Scot and Gerard of Cremona composed at
Toledo. But it deserves notice that none of the
manuscript collections usually considered to contain
the work of that school comprises among its con-
tents the Nova Hthica. We know, further, that ¢
Latin version of the Ethics with the commentary
of Averroés was made from the Arabic by Herman-
nus Alemannus.” This work was completed on the
third of June 1240, and we can hardly suppose
that it would have been entered on if Michael Scot ~
had already accomplished the same task but twenty
years earlier. These facts and considerations make
it very unlikely that the St. Omer fragment
presents a version of the Arabic text.

Assuming then the literal truth of this inter.
esting colophon, we are confirmed in the conclusio:
to which an examination of the De Partibus Ani
malium in the Florence manuscript has alread}
inclined our minds.’ Michael Scot, it must now be
held, did not confine his studies altogether to th
Arabian authors, but undertook to form trans
lations directly from the Greek. These two version
and especially that of the Nova Hthica, open w
a new and striking view of the scholar’s literar
activity. When Aquinas moved Pope Urban ©
order a new translation of Aristotle from the origina
William of Moerbeka and those others who present

1 See ante, p. 125.
2 Colophon to cod. Ixxix. 18 of the Laurentian Library.
3 See ante, p. 59.

SCOT TRANSLATES AVERROES 135

ntered upon this work were tilling no virgin soil,
ut a familiar field in which the plough of Scot at
sast had left deep furrows. Even the renowned
rostéte, Bishop of Lincoln, who executed a version
f the Ethica from the Greek about 1250, was but
lowing in the path which this earlier master
ad opened up. Michael Scot here takes rank with
oéthius and Jacobus de Venetiis, who were among
1e first to seek these pure and original sources of
istotelic doctrine. He appears as one who not
aly completed the knowledge of his time with
sgard to the Arabian philosophy by translating
verroés, but who gave some help at least to lay
ae foundation of a more exact acquaintance with
ae works of Aristotle by opening a direct way to
ne Greek text. We may even see a sign of this
arkable position in the place of honour given,
sthaps accidentally, to Scot’s version of the Nova
thica at the opening of the St. Omer manuscript.
e stands between two ages, and lays a hand of
»wer upon each.
It is hardly necessary to add that in this he
ines all the more brightly when compared with
s great detractor. Roger Bacon, secure in the
sciousness of his commanding abilities, attacks
th a rare self-confidence, not Michael Scot alone,
t all the scholars of his time. Not four of them,
says, know Hebrew, Greek, and Arabic.’ Those
a9 pretend to translate from these tongues are
norant even of Latin, not to speak of the sciences
sated of in the books which they pretend to
nder intelligible. Busy in penning these diatribes,
icon does not seem to have reflected that the best
? Opus Tertium, Master of the Rolls ed. p. 91.

136 THE LIFE AND LEGEND OF MICHAEL SCOT

way of reproving the imperfections of which he
complained would have been to shame these scholar:
to some purpose by producing better versions or
his own account. But the truth of the matter lie
here, that Bacon was no linguist. This appear:
plainly from the tale he tells against himself in th
Compendium Studii; how a hard word in Aristotle
had baffled him till one day there came some out
landish students to hear him lecture, who laughec
at his perplexity, telling him it was good Spanisl
for the plant called Henbane.’ ‘ Hine illae lachry
mae’ then, and a plague on Michael Scot and al
his tribe, who know Spanish so well they will no
put a plain Latin word for the puzzled professo
to understand. No wonder that to Scot rather thai
to Bacon, for all his genius, that age owed the chief
part of the first translation of Aristotle and a goo
beginning of the second. .

1 Compendium Studit, p. 467. The De Plantis is found at p. 88
us. Fondo Vaticano 4087.

CHAPTER VII

SCOT AGAIN AT COURT

return of Michael Scot from Spain to the Im-
rial Court was doubtless a striking moment, not
y in the life of the philosopher himself, but in
e history of letters. He then appeared fresh from a
t enterprise, and bringing with him the proofs of
success in the form of the Latin Averroés. We
ot doubt that his reception was worthy of the
ion and of one who had served his master so
thfully.

Frederick was now returned to his dominions in
e south. He had established his imperial rights
Germany at the cost of a campaign in which the
etensions of Otho were successfully overcome,
d, on his return homeward in 1220, he had
ived the crown once more in Rome at the hands
the supreme ecclesiastical authority. His pro-
was indeed a continual scene of triumph.
ived at Palermo, the court gave itself up to
ing and gaiety of every kind.

Two ancient romantic authorities' choose with
tic instinct this moment, and these gay and
uptuous surroundings, as the mise en scéne amid
ich they show us Scot again appearing to resume
amely the novel called JJ Paradiso degli Alberti (Bologna,

offsky, 1867, vol. ii. pp. 180-217), and No. xx. of the Cento
Antiche (Testo Borghiniano).

138 THE LIFE AND LEGEND OF MICHAEL SCOT)
the place he had quitted more than ten years before.
It is quite possible that there may be a measure of —
historic truth here, as well as the art which can seize
or create an occasion, and which loves to contrast the
triumph of arms with the more peaceful honours of
literary fame. Frederick, we must remember, in a
sort represented both. He was Maecenas as well as
Caesar. In welcoming Michael Scot and doing him
honour at these imperial banquets he was but crown-
ing the success of an enterprise in which his own
name and interest were deeply engaged.
Traces of the impression made by this highly
significant incident have been preserved in the arts
of poetry and painting as well as in that of prose
romance. Dante, who wrote his Divine Comedy less
than a century later than the time of Scot, has
given the philosopher a place in his poem, deserib-
ing him as: ,

‘Quel!’ altro, che ne’ fianchi é cost poco,
Michele Scotto fu.’

The commentators, with great reason, refer the
epithet ‘poco’ to the manner of Scot’s dress. :
would seem that the Spaniards of those days differet
from the other European nations in their habit. t.
They wore a close girdle about the waist, like the
hhezum of the East ; and indeed they had probabl}
taken the fashion from long familiarity with thei
Moorish masters and neighbours.? Scot must have
adopted such a dress while at Toledo, and thus
when he returned to Palermo, the singularity of hi
appearance struck the eyes of the court at one
The impression proved a remarkably enduring one
since, even in Dante’s day, it still persisted, offerin;

1 Inferno, xx. 115, 116.
? The faja still worn in Spain is a direct survival of this custom.

SCOT AGAIN AT COURT 139

If, as we have seen, to the poet as a picturesque
eans of presenting the famous scholar to the world,
+ without a hidden reference to what was cer-
inly one of the crowning moments of his life.
We may suspect indeed that the fashion of Scot’s
was more than simply Spanish ; for the mode
Aragon at least must surely have been too familiar
Frederick’s court to excite so much attention.
e philosopher had lived long in close company
ith the Moors of Toledo and Cordova. What he
re was probably no mere fragment of Eastern
ion but the complete costume of an Arabian sage.
e flowing robes, the close-girt waist, the pointed
p, were not unknown in Sicily where there was
a considerable Moorish population, yet they
t have sat strangely enough upon Scot when
ce he declared himself for what he was: the
verend ecclesiastic, the Master of Paris, the native
the far north.
There is a fresco on the south wall’ of the Spanish
pel in the cloisters of Santa Maria Novella of
orence which contains a figure answering nearly
this conjecture regarding Scot’s appearance. It
that of a man in the prime of life, slight and dark,
th a short brown beard trimmed to a point. He
a long close-fitting robe of a reddish colour,
iceably narrow at the waist, with a falling girdle.
his head is a tall red pointed cap from which the
lets of his dark hair escape on each side. He
ds amongtheconverts of the Dominican preachers
bends towards the spectator with an intense
ression and action as he tears the leaves out of a

to ecclesiastical reckoning; the direction of the altar
g taken as eastward. The frontispiece reproduces part of this fresco.

140 THE LIFE AND LEGEND OF MICHAEL SCOT

heretical book* that rests on his knee. It would b
too much to assert that the figure we have described
was meant as a portrait of Michael Scot, yet con
sidering the place he holds in the Divine Comedy, i
is not impossible that such an idea may have crosse
the artist’s mind and left these traces in his wor
Certainly no better pictorial illustration can t
found, at once of Dante’s lines, and of the somewhs
equivocal reputation which began to haunt Scot fro:
the time of his return to court. There was indee
a singular fitness in the Moslem dress considered :
the daily wear of one who, though a Christian an
a Churchman, had just done more than any livin
scholar to introduce the Moorish science and philo
sophy in the West. His choice of such a fashi
is evidence that Michael Scot possessed a reat
adaptability to his circumstances, and even a vein 0
aesthetic and dramatic instinct which we might not”
otherwise have suspected. But it is not to be for
gotten that his versions of Averroés were alrea
condemned by the Church, and that the very manr
of Scot’s appearance when he broughtthem from Sp:
must have heightened the suspicions of heresy whi
began to attach themselves to the translator of th
forbidden works. The only hope for such a man ¥
that he might be induced to tear his book and tu
to less dangerous pursuits. This is exactly the ic
which the painter of the Spanish Chapel has expressed.
and in a form which accords so remarkably with t
picturesque description of Michael Scot by Dante.
1 See infra, chap. ix. a
2 The fact that Averroés himself is painted on the opposite wall hole
in his hand the Great Commentary seems highly to increase the proba:
that the figure here described was meant for Michael Scot, the recogn

interpreter of that forbidden philosophy. Averroés occupies a sin
position in Orgagna’s fresco in the Campo Santo of Pisa.

SCOT AGAIN AT COURT 141

If the philosopher did not actually take such
xtreme measures with the creatures of his brain
nd pen, the versions he brought to Sicily were at
sast suppressed in the meantime, being concealed
1 the imperial closet till a more suitable oppor-
nity should occur for their publication. This
one, their author devoted himself to pursuits less
kely to attract unfavourable notice than those in
hich he had been lately engaged.
The place and duty which most naturally offered
nemselves to Scot were those of the Court
strologer. We have seen him occupied in this
ay already, before he left Palermo for Spain, and
aere seems no reason to doubt the tradition which
ys that such was indeed the standing occupation
his life, and one which he resumed at once on his
‘turn. To this application of celestial science the
pinion of the times attached no sinister interpreta-
on, and Scot, finding himself the object of suspicion
2 account of his late studies and achievements,
st have fallen. back with a sense of security,
range as it may seem, upon the casting of horo-
opes and the forming of presages founded on the
ght of birds and the motion of animals.’
It is therefore in all likelihood to this period
his life that we are to ascribe several works on
ology and kindred subjects which bear the
me of Scot. They may have come from his pen
7 way of supplement to the doctrine which he
d expounded so many years before in the Jnber

Scot reckoned twelve signs in augury answering to the twelve
estial houses. Six came from the right hand; Fernova, fervetus,
nfert, amponenth, scimasarnova, scimasarvetus; and six from the
: Confernova, confervetus, viaram, harenan, scassarnova, scassarvetus.
2 the Physionomia, chap. lvi.

1

142 THE LIFE AND LEGEND OF MICHAEL SCOT

Introductorius.. Such are the Astrologia of the
Munich Library,’ and a curious volume preserveé
in the Hof-Bibliothek of Vienna with the follow
ing title: ‘ Michaelis Scoti Capitulum de iis qua
generaliter significantur in partibus duodecim Caeli
sive Domibus.* The De Presagius Stellarum e
Elementaribus, and the Notitia convinctionis Mun
terrestris cum Coelesti, cited by the writer on Sec
in the Encyclopedia Britannica, belong apparentl
to the same class.

We shall probably commit no error in assumin
that the astrological views of Scot at this peric
were substantially the same as those embodied i
his earlier writings on that subject.* In after age
they were severely censured by Pico della Mirai

1 Unless indeed these, or some of them, should prove to be me
detached fragments of the Liber Introductorius itself, like those |
Milan, Padua, and Rome. See ante, p. 27.

2 No. 1091. Itis perhaps the same as the Astrologorum Dogme
which appears in the lists of Bale and Pitz. -

3 No. 3124. Incipit: ‘Primum signum duodecim signoru
Explicit : ‘principio motus earum.”

4 As a characteristic specimen, we may take the chapter of
Tiber Introductorius on the moon as it is given in the Roman
(Fondo Vaticano 4087, p. 38ro.). It commences thus: ‘Luna tei
vicinior est omnibus planetis.” Some passages are curious, as wh
Scot says that the moon has her light from the sun and he aga
receives his ‘a summo coelo in quo Trinitas residet.? The heath
he adds, used to call the moon Diana, and the sister of the si
whom they named Apollo. Her proper figure is that of a virgin wit
torch in either hand whereof the flames are triple to signify the Trini
that ‘true light which lighteneth every man that cometh into the wo:
(S. John i. 9). ‘Virgil saith of her “ tria Virginis ora Dianae,” that
heavenly, earthly, and infernal. Her power causes hunters to pri
more by night than by day, and the owl and night-hawk sleep all ¢
that they may follow their prey by night. Such creatures of the nig
are hated by the rest and hate them in return. The wolf hates
sheep, and birds the owl. This last is of use in fowling when they
a night-hawk. Builders, too, know that wood must be felled in
wane of the moon or it will warp.’ It ends thus: ‘Explicit Liber qu
edidit micael scotus de signis et ymaginibus celi, qui scriptum (sic)
exemplatum fuit per me baltasaram condam (quondam) Dom
Dominici in mecexx de mense Aprilis Deo gratias Amen.’

SCOT AGAIN AT COURT 143

ola, who says of Scot’s doctrine concerning the
images: ‘ These invisible forms can be dis-
red neither by the senses nor by right reason,
d there is no agreement regarding them by their
ventors, who were not the Chaldeans or Indians
t only the Arabs.’ . . . ‘Michael Scot mentions
these (images) as tings most effectual, and with
agree many astrologers, both Arabian and Latin.
had heard somewhat of this doctrine, and thought
first that it was meant merely as a convenient
eans of mapping out the sky, and not that these
es actually existed in the heavens.

rom the Greeks astrology passed to the ivabe
d was taught with ever-growing assurance. .. .’
-boasar, a grammarian and historical writer, took
science from the Greeks, corrupting it with
untless trifling fables, and made thereof an
rology much worse than that of Ptolemy... .’
those days the study of mathematics, like that
philosophy i in general, made great progress in
under King Alphonso, a keen student in the
culus, especially as applied to the movements of
heavenly bodies. He had also a taste for the
in arts of the Diviner, having learned no better ;
1 to please him in this many of the most im-
t treatises of that kind, both Greek and
bic, have been handed down to our own day,
efly by the labours of Johannes Hispalensis and
chael Scot, the latter of whom was an author
no weight and full of superstition. Albertus
us at first was somewhat carried away with
doctrine, for it came with the power of
elty to his inexperienced youth, but I rather
that his opinions suffered change in later

i et ee een ee ee

144. THE LIFE AND LEGEND OF MICHAEL SCOT

life.’ Mirandola belonged to another age than
that of Scot, when purer conceptions of astronomica
science were already beginning to prevail, but th
very opinions he condemned held a real relation t
that progress. They encouraged in early times, a
may be seen in the case of Alphonso himself,
study of the heavenly motions without which 1
true advance could have been made. |

A story told by the chronicler Salimbene ma
if rightly understood, show us that Michael Sec
too, for all his astrological dreams, was a cley
calculator and thus stood well in the line on whie
true advance in astronomy was even then procee
ing. The Emperor asked him one day to determi
the distance of the coelum, which probably meat
the height of the roof, in a certain hall of tl
palace where they happened to be standing togethe
The calculation having been made and the resu
given, Frederick took occasion to send Scot on
distant journey, and, while he was away, the pr
portions of the room were slightly but sufficient
altered. On his return the Emperor led him whe
they had been before and asked that he shou
repeat his solution of the problem. Scot unhesit
ingly affirmed that a change had taken plac
either the floor was higher or the coelum lower tk
before: an answer which made all men marvel
his skill? Greek science had taught the a
measuring inacessible distances by means of angu
observations, and this art was well understood

1 Opera Omnia, Bale, 1527. In Astrologiam, lib. viii. chap. vi.
lib. xii. chap. vii.
2In No. 1 of the Cento Novelle Antiche Frederick answers
ambassadors of Prester John by saying that the best thing in the
‘si é misura.’ This may possibly refer to his passion for mathemati

SCOT AGAIN AT COURT 145

e Arabs. The Optica of Ptolemy were already
anslated into Latin from an Arabic version by
igenio, admiral to King Robert of Sicily during
= twelfth century,’ and mathematical instruments
sre known in that kingdom whereby angles could
taken and measured with some nicety. Scot
st have possessed such an astrolabe and the
to use it with great delicacy, if we have
hily read the terms of the problem he solved so
hesitatingly. There is no cause for wonder
2n in the fact that, where pure and legitimate
onomy was concerned, this philosopher, who
1 won fame in his student days as the mathe-
tician of Paris, who was now widely known as
> translator of Alpetrongi, and who as a keen
erver and ready calculator was well qualified for
zinal research, should have taken a high place in
ase studies on his own account, and should have
ne to be acknowledged as a master in them.
en Bacon, who blamed Michael Scot so bitterly
‘Wen language or philosophy were in question,
cS in a different way here, calling him a
table inquirer into matter, motion, and the
rse of the constellations.’

This well-earned celebrity may have been owing
il™jmo small degree to a mathematical and astro-
vical work produced by the philosopher after his
mn to court. Sacrobosco, the famous English
monomer, had just risen into notice by his
tise on the Sphere. This book was not indeed
7 remarkable in itself, but it obtained an extra-

ary currency during the Middle Ages, and after

Mss. of this work are in Paris, Ancien Fonds, 7310; Milan,
osiana, T. 100; Florence, Bibl. Naz. xi. D. 64, I. ii. ” 35, and
» Fondo Vaticano, 2975.

K

146 THE LIFE AND LEGEND OF MICHAEL SCOT

the invention of printing as well as before it:
popularity chiefly due, we may believe, to i
suggestiveness, which caused many of the learne
to enrich the Sphere of Sacrobosco with their ow
notes and observations. One of the first to do s
was Michael Scot. His commentary on the wor
of Holywood contains several subtle inquiries an
determinations regarding the source of heat, tk
sphericity of the heavenly bodies, and other matter
which have been repeated by Libri with the remaz
that their author must have been far in advance |
his times.”

We may notice here a curious legend of Napk
to which Sir Walter Scott has drawn attention |
the account he gives of his great namesake.’ _
would seem to suggest that this age, perhaps |
means of Michael Scot, was acquainted with phil
sophical instruments rarer if not more useful tha
the astrolabe. The romance of Vergilius tells ho
that hero founded ‘in the middes of the see a fa
towne, with great landes belongynge to it;...a
called it Napells. And the fandacyon of it was
egges, and in that towne of Napells he made a to
with iii corners, and in the toppe he set an a
upon an yron yarde, and no man culd pull ay
that apell without he brake it; and thoroughe t
yren set he a bolte, and in that bolte set he a
And he henge the apell by the stauke upon a che
and so hangeth it-still. And when the egge st
so shoulde the towne of Napells quake; and when
egge brake, then shulde the towne sinke.’
reference here is of course to the Castel del

1 See Narducci’s Catalogue of the Boncompagni mss., Rome, 18¢
2 Histoire des Sciences Mathématiques.
3 Lay of the Last Minstrel, Author’s Edition, Note 3 I.

SCOT AGAIN AT COURT 147

Waples, a fortress which we know to have been
uilt, or at least strengthened, by Frederick u.
‘What if the rest of the legend embalm, like a fly
i amber, the tradition, strangely altered, of some
strument set up there to measure the force of
e earthquakes so prevalent in that part of Italy ?
Such a notion is not the pure matter of conjec-
2 it may at first sight seem to be. Frederick was
relation with those who might well have put him
possession of this among other secrets. When
e Tartars stormed the Vulture’s Nest, as it was
lled, in the Syrian castle of Alamout, they found
observatory well supplied with instruments of
ecision, and that of all kinds.! Now this place
s the last refuge of the Assassins, that strange
who owned obedience to the Old Man of the
ountain. Frederick u. when in the East paid
ese people a visit,” and again at Melfi, in his own
minions, he received their ambassadors and enter-
ned them at a great banquet.* Considering then
> Emperor’s well-known curiosity in all matters
physical science, we may feel sure he would
fit by any improvements or discoveries the ob- -
vers at Alamout could communicate. If the
trivance set up at Naples was really a sezsmo-
fer, this would furnish a curious comment on
con's statement that Michael Scot excelled in
estigating the movements of matter.*
Passing to what rests on more certain evidence,
find Scot’s fame in those days attested by one

Lenormant, Quest. Hist. vol. ii. pp. 144, 145.
Cento Novelle Antiche, No. C.

22 July 1232. See ‘Ann. Colon. Max.’ in Pertz, Scriptores Rei ~
aniwae, Xvii. 843.

*Physicoram motuum.’ The passage will be found in the De
UPitate Linguarum,

148 THE LIFE AND LEGEND OF MICHAEL SCOT

of his most distinguished contemporaries, and th:
in a way which makes him appear as an honoure
master in the science of algebra, then lately intr
duced from the Moorish schools. This improvemet
and testimony were both of them due to a certai
Leonardo of the Bonacci family of Pisa, who wa
perhaps, the first to bring the new method of ca
culation to the knowledge of his countrymen. H
father had been overseer of the customs at Bougi
in Barbary,’ on behalf of the Pisan merchants wh
traded thither. Observing the superior way «
reckoning used by the Moors in that country, h
sent home for his son that the boy might be traine
in this admirable way of counting. Leonardo per
fected his art in after years by travel and study i
Egypt, Syria, and Greece, as well as in Sicily an
Provence. The ripe fruit of this knowledge sai
the light in 1222, when he published for th
first time his famous Liber Abbaci. It consisted ¢
fifteen chapters, in which the author declared tl
secret of the Indian numerals as well as the funds
mental processes of algebra.”

This brief account of one who must ever hold
honourable place in the history of mathematic:
science may enable us to value at its true wo
the praise which Leonardo bestowed on Micha
Scot. It seems that the first edition of the
Abbaci was not entirely satisfactory. Scot wr
a letter to the author which possibly contain

1 This city was founded in 1067-68 by En-Nacer ben Alennas
Hammad, who made it his capital.

2 mss. of the Liber Abbact are to be found in Florence, Bibl. |
i. 2616, iii. 25, and xi. 21. The first of these has been exactly repri
by Boncompagni at Rome, 1857. Other mss, are in the Boncom
library, see Narducci’s Catalogue, Nos. 176 and 255. The most
portant work on the whole subject is ‘Della Vita e delle
Leonardo Pisano,’ by Boncompagni, Rome, 1852.

SCOT AGAIN AT COURT 149

trictures on the work, and asked that a copy of
he emended edition should be sent him. Pisano
eplied by dedicating the book to his correspondent.
jt appeared in 1228, and contained a prefatory
stter, in which the author addresses Scot in the
‘Jighest terms of respect, calling him by that title
f Supreme Master which he had won at Paris,
Jnd submitting the Inber Abbaci, even in this its
2§nal form, to his further emendation. This lau-
Jari a laudato must have been most grateful to
ne philosopher, and it enables us to see the stand-
he had among the mathematicians of his time.
ne would almost be disposed to infer, from the
espect Pisano paid him, that Scot himself had
‘‘}mposed or translated some lost work on algebra.
wo another connection we shall find reason to think
nat this conjecture may be well founded.*
Besides the practice of astrology and his deeper
searches in astronomy and mathematics, Michael
ot devoted himself to another profession, that of
edicine. This was then a science very imperfectly
derstood, yet here too, in the years that followed
s return to court, Scot made a name for himself
a physician, and contributed something to the
lvancement of human knowledge in one of its most
nportant branches. The healing art in Europe had
uly just begun to emerge from that primitive state
which savage peoples still possess it ; overlaid by
arms and incantations; the peculiar department
the wise woman, the sorcerer, and the priest.
mong the Latin races the lady of the castle and
e bella donna of the village still cared for rich
d poor in their various accidents and sicknesses,

2 See infra, chap. ix.

150 THE LIFE AND LEGEND OF MICHAEL SCOT

as indeed they continued to do for several ages
more. Only crowned heads, the wealthiest of the
nobility, or the rich merchants of the cities, begar
to require and employ the services of regula
physicians. These were generally Jews, sometime:
Moors ;* and thus fashion and experience alike begar
to make popular among our ancestors the superio.
claims of science in medicine. Such science had un.
doubtedly survived from the days and in the work:
of Hippocrates, Galen, and Celsus, and was now
preserved in the theory and practice of the Arabiar
schools.

This point once reached, a further advance soor
became inevitable. Attention had been called t
a deeper source of medical knowledge than that
generally possessed in the West. Learned men
whose tastes led them this way, naturally sought
to inform their minds by procuring translations o
the Arabic works on medicine. The just fame o
Salerno, a medical school which had been foundec
in the closing years of the eleventh century b
Robert Guiscard, depended on the intelligent zea
with which this plan of research was then pursued.
The kingdom of Sicily indeed occupies as importa
a place in the progress of the healing art as Spa
itself does with regard to the history of philosoph
and of science in general.

Frederick 11., as might have been expected,
much to encourage and regulate these useful studie

1 The University Library of Genoa has an interesting as. (F. vii. I
written in Arabic by an African hand. It belonged, A. H. 48
Judah ben Jaygh ben Israel, servant of Abu Abdallah Algani Bill
a Moor of Malaga. It contains medical works by Johannes ben Me
Rases, Alkindi, Geber, and others. j

2 For an account of the school of Salerno, see Sprengel, Versuch ev
pragmatischen Geschichte der Artzneykunde; Carmoly, Histovre
Médecins Juifs, Bruxelles, 1844; and De Renai, Collectio Salernita
Naples, 1852,

SCOT AGAIN AT COURT 151

se have already noticed the bent of his mind to-
emrds comparative physiology, and the daring ex-
mpriments he carried out, in corpore vilt et vivo.
wie of the first literary and scientific works which
<& commanded, or at least accepted when it was
G@dicated to him, was a compilation from three
wacient authors upon a medical subject.’ He was
en but eighteen years of age. As time went on
i interest in this science continued, and became
sige motive to a liberal and enlightened policy. He
“yarded medicine as a matter of national import-
e, and strove by wise laws to make the practice
@ that profession as intelligent and useful as pos-
le. He protected the faculty at Salerno and
ated that of Naples. None might lecture else-
ere in the Sicilies, and every physician in the
1gdom must hold testimonials from one or other
these schools, as well as a government licence
practise. The course preliminary to qualifica-
consisted of three years in arts and five in
dicine and surgery. As a guide to the professors,
» doctrine of Hippocrates and Galen was declared
mal in the schools; yet, lest this should become
rely formal and traditional, directions were given
t the students should have practice in anatomy.
arding the related trade of the apothecary, the
s denounced the adulteration of drugs. Physicians
@ht not claim a greater fee than half a taren of
aid per diem, which gave the patient a right to
visited thrice in the day. The poor were to be
mended free of charge. We have thought it right
‘tbe particular in these details, as they throw
Hit on the times, and on Scot’s own practice as

1 The De Urinis. See ante, p. 20.

wen te

cu

= &. ,.. e- SS . ce. Fi...

152 THE LIFE AND LEGEND OF MICHAEL SCOT

a physician. Considering indeed the place he he
about the Emperor’s person, and the high estimatic
in which his master held him, it seems not at <
improbable that his may have been the hand whi
drew these wise enactments, or his at least tl
suggestion which commended them to Frederic
They must in any case have been the rules und
which he carried on his work as a doctor of medicin

This branch of Michael Scot’s activity relat
itself easily and naturally to what we already kno
of his acquirements and familiarity with the Arabi
authors. It was from the De Medicina of Ras
that he borrowed so much material for his Physi
noma. The Abbreviatio Avicennae too, which |
translated for Frederick in 1210, was in no smé
part a treatise on comparative anatomy and physi
logy, nor is it likely that he can have missed rea
ing the famous canon of the same author, in whi
Avicenna expounds a complete body of practic
medicine. We need not wonder then to find tha
on Scot's return to court, his work on Averro
done, he added the practice of physic to his duti
as Imperial Astrologer. This new profession m
have offered itself to him as another means
securing a general forgetfulness of the questi
able direction in which his philosophical stu
had lately carried him.

He seems in fact to have won almost as mu
fame in medicine as he had made for himself in
study of mathematics. Lesley says ‘ he gained mt
praise as a philosopher, astronomer, and physic¢i
Dempster speaks of his ‘singular skill,’
him ‘one of the first physicians for learni

1 Historia Ecclesiastica, xii. 495. Dempster professed at Pisa
Bologna between the years 1616 and 1625.

SCOT AGAIN AT COURT 153

adding that Camperius’ had the highest
inion of him. An anonymous writer, De claris
octrina Scotis, is even more precise, telling us
t Scot was noted for the cures he effected in
cult cases, and that he excelled in the treatment
leprosy, gout, and dropsy.*

Some slight remains of this skill are to be found
the libraries of Europe; for Michael Scot was
writer on the science of his art as well as a
tising physician. The chief of these relics is
considerable work on the urine. This subject
been widely, if not deeply, studied by the more
cient medical authorities, whose investigations
pear in the Ketab Albaul of Al Kairouani,* and in
book to which we have already more than once
ferred: the De Urinis compiled for Frederick in
12.*. The same title belongs to one of the treatises
Avicenna, which has been reprinted in the pre-
nt century.”

The De Urinis of Michael Scot seems now
tant in the form of an Italian translation alone.
e exact title is as follows: ‘ Della notitia e pro-
osticatione dell’orine, secondo Michele Scoto, cosi
’ sani, come delli infermi,’ or, more briefly, ‘ El
ttato de le urine secondo Michaele Scoto.’® The

wa SS. Ee he

* This was Symphorien Champier, physician to Henry 11. of France.

® See the Sibbald Collections, Advocates’ Library, Edinburgh.

% See D’Herbelot. This author was a Jew.

* See ante, pp. 20,151. Further investigation might show that it
Michael Scot himself who undertook this work for the Emperor.
that case it would probably be the original from which the two
ian versions mentioned above were made. Nor is it unlikely he
uld have devoted himself to medicine as early as 1212 considering
oo" of the work by Avicenna on which we know he was engaged
® In Ideler’s Physici et Medici Graecit Minores, Berlin, 1842, vol. ii.

® Florence, Bibl. Naz. xv. 27, cod. chart. saec. xv.; Naples, Bibl.
cod. chart. saec. xv. from the Minieri Riccio collection.

154. THE LIFE AND LEGEND OF MICHAEL SCOT

author enumerates no less than nineteen division
of his subject, which he seems to have studied ver
exactly. This work long remained an authority
the medical schools, as appears, not only from the tw
translations we have noticed, but also in the fact tha
large use was made of it in a later collection whic!
commences thus: ‘In the name of the Lord, Amer
These are certain recipes taken from the book c
Master Michael Scot, Physician to the Empero
Frederick, and from the works of other Doctors.’*
There has also come down to us a prescription calles
Pillulae Magistri Michaelis Scot. It enumerate
about a dozen ingredients and the scribe has adde

1 Vatican, Fondo della Regina di Svezia, 1159, p. 149. This treatis
closes thus: ‘et istud sufficit tempore presenti facto urinarum. Fini
urinarum Magistri Michaelis Scocti. Incipit Practica Magistri R. d
Parma Medecinarum.’

2 British Museum, add. mss. 24,068. This is a volume in 8y
containing a medical collection. It belonged in 1422 to Heinric
Zenner and afterwards to Magister Wenceslaus Brock. No. 22, at fo
97vo, is as follows: ‘Pillulae Magistri Michaelis Scoti, quae fer
competunt omnibus egritudinibus, et non possit scribi earum bonita:
unde nolo eas amplius laudare etc. Recipe Aloe epatice optimum
uncias iii, brionie, mirobolonorum indorum, reb. belliricorum, em
blicorum, citrinorum, masticiis, dyagridii, azari, rosarum, Reubarbai
an unciami. Confice cum succo caulium vel absynthii. Dosis sit vi
vel v. Et iste competunt convenienti et ydonea dieta observata. E
valent iste pillulae contra omnem dolorem capitis, ex quacumque caus:
vel ex quocumque humore procedat, purgant mire omnes humore;
Leticiam generant, mentem acuunt, visum reddunt et reparan
auditum restituunt, Juventutem conservant, Scotomiam et vertiginer
reparant, canes (? canities) retardant, memoriam conservant, Emigranear
depen oculos illuminant, aciem reparant, et in puerilem eta
reducunt. Et si aliquis humorum est impedimenti in gingivis
dentibus, medifica[n]t et in soliditatem conservant, arterias de flema
purgant, Epiglotum et uvam (?uvulam) cum voce clarificant, appetival
virtutem confortant, Stomachum epar et splenem coadjuvant. Soni
aurium et surditatem tollunt, causas febrium omnino extingunt
auferunt, ascarides vermes necant, omnibus etatibus et temporibus
masculino quam feminino sexui conveniunt.’ In the Lauren
Library, xii. 27. p. 48, I find a similar prescription which may have
given either by Michael Scot or Master Volmar who succeeded him
court physician. It isasfollows : ‘PulvisDomini Fred. Imperatoris,
contra omnium humorum exceptionem et precipue contra fleuma’
et melanconicum, ex quibus diuturnae infirmitates capitis et stoma
habent [?] provenire. Valet quippe contra defectum visus et sto:

SCOT AGAIN AT COURT 155

extravagant commendation of its healing powers.
Mineral medicines were evidently not in fashion in
“Bose days; for the recipe speaks only of simples
rived from herbs of different kinds. It is to be
“@served that this agrees exactly with the practice
Ҥ Salerno, as the Materia Medica of that school
“ws chiefly drawn from the botany of Dioscorides
srwards expounded by Ibn Beithar of Malaga,
e great Moorish authority on the healing virtues
plants. There is no reason then to doubt the
ith of the title which ascribes the prescription
these pills to Michael Scot. It is in any case
urious relic of early medical practice.
It is possible that the great plague which fell

ilitatem cibaria sumpta digeri et membris incorporari facit, valet contra
machi ventositatem Scotomiam ante oculos inducentem, restaurat
moriam quocumque humore perditum, verum(?) dolorem ex frigi-
@ provenientem mitigat. Recipe: Carium, petrosillini anisi,
ati, sexmontani, Bethonice, Cymini, calamite, pulegii, ysopi, spice-
di, piperis, sal gemme, rute, centrumgalli, herbae regiae, heufragie,
ani, mastici, croci, mirabolanorum, omnium, et plus de citrinis, an. 5
bt utaris omni sop x indifferenter. Addenda sunt ista; Cynamomi,
inati, maiorane, folii balsamite, mzimi, (?) cardamomi, galenge, re-
tie, an. 5 1. pulverizza, et utaris indifferenter.’ The ms. is in a hand
ne thirteenth century. The Myrobalans, long discarded from the
macopeeia, were the dried fruits of various species of Phyllanthus
Terminalia which grow in India. They are still used in native
>tice, especially in the preparation of the Bit laban, a remedy in
imatic gout prepared by calcining these seeds with the fossil muriate
oda. See Asiatic Researches, xi. pp. 174, 181, 192. The bellirica
emblica are other species of the same plant, the Terminalia. See
hin’s Historia Plantarum, 1613. The Dyagridium or Dacridium
n alternative name for scammony. Azarum, the same as asarum, the
tolochia. Maratum or Marathrum an old name for fennel. Reb. is
pably the Robes of the early chemical authors=a vinegar, here
egnated with the active principle of the fruits prescribed. Cyminum
min. Calamita=mint. Pulegium=pennyroyal, another of the
is. Salgemma=rock-salt. We shall become familiar with this
n in perusing the Liber Luminis of Michael Scot. Centrumgallus,
ding to Du Cange, the common garden cockscomb. Herbia regia,
Ocymum citrinum or citron basil. Olibanum, frankincense.
@engha, the root of a species of Alpinia. Regulitia, liquorice. I have
greatly helped in identifying several of these forgotten simples
mphe kindness of Mr, J. M. Shaw, sub-librarian to the Royal College
a hysicians, Edinburgh.

a as.3 nm. eo eM

156 THE LIFE AND LEGEND OF MICHAEL SCOT

upon Palermo at the time of Frederick’s marria;
may have been, in part at least, the occasion -
that interest which both the Emperor and h
astrologer took in the healing art. These epidemic
which in several of their most fatal forms are no
only known by tradition, were the dreaded scour;
of the Middle Ages ; their prevalence being no dow!
due to the rude and insanitary habits of life whic
were then universal. We read of another infectio
sickness which attacked Frederick and his crusade
when they were on the point of sailing from Brindi
in 1227. The season was one of terrible heat, |
great indeed that one chronicle says the rays of tl
sun melted solid metal! Lying in the confineme
of their galleys on an unhealthy coast the troo
suffered severely. At last rain fell, but immed
ately poisonous damps arose from the steaming so
and the plague began to show itself. Two bisho
and the Landgrave of Thuringia were among tl
victims of the pestilence,.and very many of t
crusaders died. Frederick himself ran considerab
risk of his life. Against the advice of his physici<
he had exposed himself to the sun in the course
his journey to Brindisi. After three days with tl
fleet he was obliged to return on account of tl
state of his health, when he at once went to tl
waters at Pozzuoli, which proved a successful cur
Michael Scot must have entered into these affai
with a large concern and responsibility for
master’s health, and we shall think much of #
importance and consequence he enjoyed at this tin
when we remember that the chief object of his
as a physician was the life of one on whom inte
that were more than European then depended.

CHAPTER VIII

THE LAST DAYS OF MICHAEL SCOT

B various occupations in which Michael Scot
@zaged upon his return to court were not without
ir due and, as we believe, designed effect. The
art he had taken in producing the Latin Averroés

s soon forgotten when it appeared that no
mediate publication of these proscribed works
jms intended by the Emperor. Scot now stood
4iidly before the world in no suspicious character ;
@tinguished only by his great learning and the
d@elity with which he discharged his offices of
agrologer and physician about the Imperial person.
This rehabilitation of his fame opened the way
arther honours and emoluments which Frederick
%@n began to seek on his servant’s behalf. Scot
mi never quite lost character as a churchman, and
@ member of a great religious Order, though his
s§dies had carried him far from the somewhat
ow and beaten track of an ordinary ecclesias-
education. Like Philip of Tripoli, he was pro-
ly in holy orders, and even held a benefice, while,
we see from the dedication of his De Coelo et
ndo to Stephen of Provins, he was careful, even
ne wildest heats of his work on Averroés, to keep
igouch with those who held high positions in the
h. Soon after his return from Spain a resolute

158 THE LIFE AND LEGEND OF MICHAEL SCOT

and repeated attempt was made to secure for hin
some ecclesiastical preferment. .

Honorius 11. then sat in the Chair of St. Pete
In 1223 a dispensation was granted by the Curig
allowing Michael Scot to hold a plurality. A
the same time the Pope wrote to Stephen Langtor
the Primate of England, desiring that Scot shoule
be preferred to the first suitable place which migh
fall vacant in that country.1. Honorius was ther
at peace with the Emperor, and we may believe
that it was in consequence of some strong represen
tation made by Frederick that he took such «
interest in the fortunes of this Imperial protégé.

The application to Canterbury was entirely i
accordance with the habits of the time ; for Englan
was then the constant resource of the Popes whe
they wished to confer a favour on any of theit
clergy. Many and deep were the complaints whic
this practice awakened among the priesthood «
the north. A like abuse of influence appeared i
Scotland as well. Theiner reports the case of :
clerk named Peter, the son of Count George ¢
Cabaliaca, on whose behalf the Pope wrote i
1259 to the Canons of St. Andrews, desiring thai
he might be reinstated in his benefice of China
chim (Kennoway in Fife) which he had forfeite
as an adherent of the Empire.’ It is only fai
however, to notice that there were instances ¢
the contrary practice. In 1218, for example, o1
Matthew, a Scot, was recommended by Hone
rius to the University of Paris for the degree |

1 Year viii, of his Pontificate, namely Jan. 16, 1223. See ti
interesting article by Milman in the Miscellany of the Philobiblo
Society, vol. i. 1854. He refers to the papers of Mr. W. R. Hamilte
in the British Museum, and especially to vol. ii. pp. 214, 228, 246.

2 Monumenta, sub anno 1259, Feb. 12.

THE LAST DAYS OF MICHAEL SCOT 159

Joctor, that he might teach there in the faculty of
Divinity.

It may seem remarkable that the Pope did
ot address his application in Scot’s favour to
t. Andrews rather than to Canterbury. We are
9 recollect, however, that in 1223, the relations
etween Scotland and the See of Rome were
ill somewhat strained. The North had not
et forgotten what took place in 1217, when
ualo came thither as Legate to lay the Inter-
Fict upon Scotland. Churches were closed by this
severe sentence; the sacraments forbidden; even
nat of extreme unction denied to the people;
he dead were buried without service, and all
arriages were celebrated in the churchyards.
Vhen the interdict was removed in the following
ear, the duty of proclaiming that remission was
atrusted to the Prior of Durham and the Dean
f York, who made a solemn progress in the
<ingdom to announce the Pope’s clemency. We
nay feel sure that these events were not for-
otten in five years by a proud and independent
ation like the people of Scotland, and Honorius
aust be thought to have judged rightly in sup-
osing his application on Scot’s account had a
etter chance of being effected by the English
han by the Scottish Primate. Nothing indeed
vas overlooked that might give force to the
scommendation. The Pope accompanied his re-
uest with a generous testimony to the scholar’s
bility, saying that he was distinguished, even
mong learned men, for his remarkable gifts and
nowledge.’ Thus everything seemed to promise

1 * Quod inter literatos vigeat dono scientiae singulari.’

160 THE LIFE AND LEGEND OF MICHAEL SCOT

that Michael Scot would soon enjoy a rich English
living; the Hl dorado of the foreign clergy in
those easy days of sinecures secured by dispen-
sations of plurality and non-residence.

Meanwhile, however, a much more favourable
occasion offered itself to the Pope for securing
the interests of Frederick’s protégé, and one which
dispensed with any concurrence of the English
Primate in the matter. In the same year which
witnessed his application to Stephen Langton a
vacancy occurred in the Archbishopric of Cashel.
The chapter of that see proposed a candidate of
their own to Honorius, probably the Bishop of
Cork, but the Pope saw his opportunity and named
Michael Scot for the vacant benefice. The obedi-
ent Chapter at once proceeded to elect him. The
consequence being to their apprehension a foregone
conclusion, the Curia issued another dispensation
permitting this favourite of fortune to hold the
Archbishopric along with all his other benefices.”
So nearly did Scot come to the possession of a
high place in the Church, and an office which would
surely have altered his fame in the ages that were
to come.

But those who thus took into their hands the
shaping of the future for Michael Scot were soon
to learn that the man they had to deal with was
of another nature than their own; a very Scot
in his scruples and the conscientiousness with which
he gave effect to them. Incredible as it must
then have seemed, remarkable as it would be even
in our own day, Michael Scot refused Cashel,’ and

! Theiner, Monwmenta, p. 23, ad annwm viii. Hon. 111. 2.¢e, 1223.
? Declinature noted June 20, 1223.

THE LAST DAYS OF MICHAEL SCOT 161

this for a reason which showed how high was the
conception he had formed of the pastoral office.
His nolo episcopari proceeded on the ground that
he was ignorant of the Irish language. He would
not, it seems, be a chief pastor without the power
teach and feed the flock committed to his
are. He would not consent to be intruded upon a
people to whom he must have proved unacceptable,
nor would he, in the too common fashion of the
day, commit his duties in Ireland to a suffragan,
while enjoying ample revenues and a lordly title
taly.
It is somewhat Satelit to find a principle
not unheard of in the Scotland of our own century
so clearly grasped and so conscientiously followed
by this non-intrusionist countryman of ours six
hundred years ago. Yet Michael Scot did not
stand alone in his sacrifice even in these slack
imes, as may be seen by the case of his name-
sake, John Scot, who was Bishop of Dunkeld during
he pontificate of Clement 11.’ This earlier Pre-
late ruled a vast diocese which included the country
of Argyll as well as the more eastern parts of
sentral Scotland. His conscience became uneasy
ander the responsibility, and, unwilling to continue
he spiritual overseer of those whom from his
Wgnorance of their language he could not edify,
ne wrote to the Pope, desiring that Argyll might
e disjoined from Dunkeld, and that Ewaldus his
Whaplain, who knew Erse, might have charge of

he new diocese as its Bishop. This was actually
Jone in 1200, and the good Bishop died in great
eace two years later. ‘How can I give a com-
? Milman’s Church History, vol. iv. p. 17.

L

162 THE LIFE AND LEGEND OF MICHAEL SCOT

fortable account to the Judge of the world
the last day,’ so he had written to Clement, ‘i i
I pretend to teach those who cannot understanc¢
me? The revenues suffice for two Bishops,
we are content with a competency, and are
not prodigal of the patrimony of Christ. It is
better to lessen the charge and increase the
number of labourers in the Lord’s Vineyard. Ir
some such terms must Michael Scot too have
declined Cashel. His case, as well as that of
Dunkeld, is enough to show that ecclesiastica
corruption, though widespread, was not, even i
those days, universal. May no Cervantes of the
Church ever arise in Scotland to laugh such
sacred chivalry away !

The disappointment he nevertheless felt on this
occasion may probably have encouraged Scot it
his attachment to the court and to his new duties”
there as astrologer and physician, in which, as we
have seen, he rose to such acknowledged eminence
Frederick did not, however, lose sight of his pur
pose to procure him preferment. The first appli
cation to Canterbury having met with no re
sponse it was renewed four years later in 1227, bj
Gregory Ix., who in that year succeeded Honoriu
in the Chair of St. Peter. This new Pontiff wa
destined to become the Emperor’s most bitter an
relentless foe, but as yet he remained on good
terms with Frederick and inclined to show hi
favour. He seems to have made no difficulty ii
taking up the case of Michael Scot, and eve
added on his own account a eulogy meant 6
forward the scholar’s claim; representing him 4
a distinguished student, not only in Latin letter

THE LAST DAYS OF MICHAEL SCOT 163

but also of the Hebrew and Arabic languages.’
So far as can be seen, however, the attempt of
1227 shared the fate of that which had been
made in 1223. Canterbury gave no signs of aequi-
escence, and Michael Scot, for all his distinction,
remained without the preferment which his friends
so constantly sought to obtain for him.

There is reason to think that from this time a
change took place in the spirit of the philosopher.
The natural chagrin he must have felt as it became
plain that no position he could accept would be
offered to him in the Church affected deeply his
fine and sensitive nature. He soon passed into
a brooding and despondent mood, which remained
unaffected by all the praise and fame paid by the
learned world as a tribute to his remarkable talents
and achievements. It is in this change of temper
to a morbid depression that we are to find the
occasion and inspiring spirit of those strange pro-
phetical verses which bear his name and which
differ so widely from all the other productions of
his pen.

Such compositions were indeed far from being
uncommon in Italy. The reputed prophecies of
the Erythrean Sibyl were extant in the form of
an epistle supposed to be addressed to the Greeks
under the walls of Troy. This curious composition
is said to have been rendered into the Greek
language from the Syriac by a certain Doxopatros.
His version was one of those volumes which had
reached Sicily from the library of Manuel Com-

1 ‘Nec contentus littera tantum erudire Latina, ut in ea melius
formaretur, Hebraice et Arabice insudavit laudabiliter et profecit, et sic
doctus in singulis grata diversorum varietate nitescit,,—Hamilton mss,
in British Museum, vol, iii, p. 57.

164. THE LIFE AND LEGEND OF MICHAEL SCOT

nenus Emperor of Constantinople, and was then
translated into Latin during the twelth century ~
by Eugenio, admiral to King Roger. A series of
poets from Giovacchino di Fiora’ to Jacopone da
Todi* then chose the prophetic lyre and made
it resound with dark sayings and predictions of
misfortune and ruin. Especially worthy of study
in this connection are the verses ascribed to Merlin,
which declare the fate of many Italian cities.* That
Michael Scot gave his talents to this kind of com-—
position rests on evidence as convincing as any
which establishes the other events of his life.
Pipini the chronicler says that ‘he was reputed
to have the gift of prophecy, for he published ~
verses in which he foretold the ruin of certain
Italian cities as well as other circumstances.’* An
earlier, indeed a contemporary, authority, Henry
Abrincensis, in a poem presented to Frederick m
in 1235 or the early months of the following year, —
speaks of Michael Scot as ‘another Apollo, ‘a
prophet of truth’ possessed of ‘hidden secrets’ and
the author of ‘certain predictions regarding thee,
O Caesar.’ ° 4
Quotations from the prophecies of Scot were
made by Villani.° The lines referring to Florence
may still be read in a manuscript of the Riccardian
1 He was a Calabrian abbot, who died in 1202,
2 This author died in 1306. .
3 See Muratori ‘Rerum Italicarum Scriptores,’ viii. (1726) ad caleem
Mem. Potest. Reg.
4 Muratori, Op. cit. ix. 669 B.
5 ‘Quaedam de Te presagia, Cesar,

A Michaele Scoto me percepisse recordor.
Qui fuit astrorum scrutator, qui fuit Augur,

Qui fuit Ariolus, et qui fuit alter Apollo.’
Poem of Henri d’Avranches in ‘ Forschungen zur Deutschen Geschichte,’

xviii. (1878), p. 486.
6 Vol, x. p, 105. See also the same vol., pp. 101 and 148,

THE LAST DAYS OF MICHAEL SCOT 165

Library in that city,’ and in another, preserved in
Padua,’ we find the following title: ‘Here begin
certain prophecies of Michael Scot, the most illus-
trious astrologer of Lord Frederick the Emperor,
which declare somewhat of the future, to wit, of
certain Italian cities. This shows that verses,
bearmg to have been composed by Scot, were
current at an early date, though the scribe of
the Paduan manuscript has forgotten to fulfil the
promise he makes in his title, for that which
follows it is not the poetry of Scot but only a dull
treatise on Latin prosody.

It is to Salimbene that we owe the preservation
of these verses in their most complete form. He
must have taken much interest in them, as he is
careful to give, not only the original Latin, but
an Italian translation as well. From his pages
then we shall borrow the text of these curious lines.*
According to Salimbene they are these :

‘Regis vexilla timens, fugiet velamina Brixa,
Et suos non poterit filios, propriosque, tueri.
Brixia stans fortis secundi certamine Regis,
Post Mediolani sternentur moenia gryphi.
Mediolanum territum cruore fervido necis,
Resuscitabit viso cruore mortis.

In numeris errantes erunt atque silvestres.
Deinde Vercellus veniunt Novaria Laudum.
Affuerit dies, quod aegra Papia erit,

Vastata curabitur moesta dolore flendo.

Munera quae meruit diu parata vicinis,

Pavida mandatis parebit Placentia Regis.
Oppressa resiliet, passa damnosa strage,

Cum fuerit unita in firmitate manebit.

Placentia patebit grave pondus sanguine mixtum.
Parma parens viret, totisque frondibus uret

' L. ii. xvii. 338, p. 183vo.
* Bibl. Univ. No. 1557, p. 43. This us. is of the fifteenth century.
3 *Chronica F. Salimbene,’ Parma 1857, pp. 176-177.

166 THE LIFE AND LEGEND OF MICHAEL SCOT

Serpens in obliquo tumido, exitque draconi.
Parma, Regi parens, tumida percutiet illum
Vipera Draconem, Florumque virescet amoenum.
Tu ipsa Cremona patieris flammae dolorem

In fine praedito,conscia tanti mali,

Et Regis partes insimul mala verba tenebunt.
Paduae magnatum plorabunt filii necem

Duram et horrendam, datam catuloque Veronae.
Marchia succumbet, gravi servitute coacta

Ob viam Antenoris quamque secuti erunt.
Languida resurget, catulo moriente, Verona.
Mantua, vae tibi, tanto dolore plena, -

Cur ne vatillas nam tui pars ruet?

Ferraria fallax, fides falsa nil tibi prodiat,

Subire te cunctis cum tua facta ruent

Peregre missura quos tua mala parant

Faventia iniet tecum, videns tentoria pacem
Corruet in festem ducto velamine pacis.

Bononia renuens ipsam vastabitur agmine circa
Sed dabit immensum, purgato agmine, censum.
Mutina fremescet sibi certando sub lima

Quae dico tepescet tandem trahetur ad ima.
Pergami deorsum excelsa moenia cadent

Rursus, et amoris ascendet stimulus arcem.
Trivisii duae partes offerent non signa salutis
Gaudia fugantes vexilla praebenda ruinae.

Roma diu titubans, longis terroribus acta

Corruet, et mundi desinet esse caput.

Fata monent, stellaeque docent, aviumque volatus,
Quod Fridericus malleus orbis erit.

Vivet Draco magnus cum immenso turbine mundi.
Fata silent, stellaeque tacent, aviumque volatus
Quod Petri navis desinet esse caput.

Reviviscet Mater: malleabit caput Draconis.

Non diu stolida florebit Florentia florum.

Corruet in feudum dissimulando vivet.

Venecia aperiet venas, percutiet undique Regem.
Infra millenos ducenos sexque decennos

Erunt sedata immensa turbina mundi ’
Morietur Gripho, aufugient undique pennae.’

It would be difficult to determine how much of
the original composition of Scot these verses pre-
serve, and how much they owe to later hands. We
cannot be mistaken, however, in remarking their

THE LAST DAYS OF MICHAEL SCOT 167

uniform tone of melancholy and apprehension, with
the burden of its constantly recurring ‘corruet,’ or
in taking this as a true index to the state of the
author’s mind.

Pipini records two other prophecies of Michael
Scot which serve to confirm this observation in a
high degree. The astrologer, he says, forecast the
manner of the Emperor’s death, which was to take
place ad portas ferreas, at certain gates of iron, in
a town named after Flora. This prediction was
generally understood of Florence ; the rather perhaps
that the church of Santo Stefano there was called ad
portam ferream ; and Frederick accordingly avoided
coming to that city.” During his last campaign in
1250, however, he fell sick at the town of Fiorentino
or Firenzola in Apulia, and lay in a chamber of the
castle. His bed stood against a wall recently built
to fill up the ancient gateway of the tower, while
within the wall there still remained the iron staples
on which the gate had been hung. Uneasy at the
progress of his disease, and hearing something of
- these particulars, the Emperor fell into deep thought
and then exclaimed, ‘ This is the place where I shall
make an end, as it was toldme. The will of God be
done; for here I shall die,’ and soon afterwards he
breathed his last.

The other prediction which the chronicler attri-
butes to Scot relates to the occasion of his own death.
This, he said, would take place by the blow of a

1 Muratori, Op. cit. ix. 660 B.

? Similar deceitful prophecies are not uncommon in medizval story
Walter Map in the De Nugis Curialiwm tells how Silvester m. was
assured by his familiar spirit that he would not die till he had said Mass
at Jerusalem. The prediction was fulfilled, however, when the Pope did

so at the altar called ‘in Gerusalemme’ in one of the Roman Churches,
and soon thereafter expired.

168 THE LIFE AND LEGEND OF MICHAEL SCOT

stone falling on his head. His calculations were
so exact as even to furnish him with the precise
weight of this instrument of fate. Being in church
one day, with head uncovered at the sacring of the
Mass, a stone, agreeing in all particulars with his
prediction, was shaken from the tower by the
motion of the bellrope and wounded Scot to death.

There is much in these tales which lies ape
- from the course of a sober biography; belonging
rather to that legendary and mystic fame of the
philosopher which we shall immediately procera °
consider. Something, however, in which all thes
prophecies agree deserves our attention here, all
that is their sombre and menacing character. ‘ Rui-
nam predixit,’ says Pipini, referring to Scot’s verses
on the Italian cities, and his thoughts, whether
engaged with Frederick’s fate or his own, seem at
this time to have followed the same dark
ominous course. Death and destruction now filled ©
all his mind, much as if he had been a Highlander
gifted with the fatal power of the Tasch: a seer to
whom all things looked darkly, and all men wore a
shroud, longer or shorter, to mark the time and the
manner of their end. d

With Michael Scot’s account of his own fate
Pipini j Goss another curious matter, that of the cervi-
lerium.' This was a plate or cap of steel meant .
be worn under the ordinary covering of the head as
an additional defence, and the chronicle says that
Scot invented and wore it that he might be safe
from the danger he foresaw. Taking this together

and

1 Muratori, Op. cit. ix. pp. 128 B, 670; and xiv. p. 1095. Other
forms of this word are cerebreriwm, celeberiwm or cerobotariwm. It s
of course derived from cerebrum, and the English equivalent would I

brainpiece.

THE LAST DAYS OF MICHAEL SCOT 169

with the prophecies, both general and personal, we
can find no better explanation than that which bids
us see in the whole what indicates a case of ecstatic
melancholy such as would seem to be the sad heritage
of not a few finer natures sprung of the stock from
which Michael Scot descended. We hear the same
sad note in the strange jingle he wove so long before
in the preface of his Physionomia: ‘Nos ibimus
ibitis, ibunt. Omnia pereunt, praeter amare Deum,’
and one would fain hope that in his frequent fits of
depression Scot may have indeed found rest in what
he thus declares to be the only abiding portion of
the soul. The wild account of his illness at Cordova,
and of the dreams which then visited him is not to
be neglected in this connection. Perhaps the cloud
then first fell which in after-years returned upon
him with such redoubled gloom. Thus the traits of
Scot’s youth fit well the picture we are now con-
strained to form, and the whole gives promise that
here at last we may have touched upon the man
himself as he was, physically, mentally, and spiri-
tually. A slight worn body spent with arduous
study, like a sheath which the sword has almost
broken through ; a soul possessed with the sense of
Divine things, yet sad, and subject to strange illu-
sions; a conscience morbidly awake and painfully
scrupulous; a mind to which almost every branch
of knowledge was familiar, and not incapable of
striking out here and there in a path of its own: if
these be not Michael Scot, scholar in the court and
courtier in the schools, then it may safely be said
that no indications exist which can ever reveal to
us this striking personality as he lived and moved
in the world.

170 THE LIFE AND LEGEND OF MICHAEL SCOT

We seem to see in hima Pascal of the thirteenth
century ; and this all the more that Michael Scot —
_ resembled that great genius not only in the mystical
and superstitious side of his nature but in his devo-
tion to mathematical science. How piquant is the
contrast between this mighty and gifted child of the
mist and the northern hills and those sunny southern
lands of grape and fig, of white cliff, marble column
and laughing summer sea, where most of his life was
spent. No wonder that those among whom Michae b
Scot lived found him somewhat of a mystery at al
times, and, especially in these later days of his”
burdened spirit, took him for a Mage, weaving his
dark sayings into regular prophecies. The Latin —
races have never been famous for their power to com-
prehend the northern character. How much less”
was it likely they should in the case of one who
seems to have presented every feature of that racial
type in its extremest form? In our own day this
incapacity takes the way of accusing as madness all
that it cannot fathom of Celtic or Teutonic ways.
In the times of Scot the same impatience found a
more modest expression. He was incomprehensible,
therefore he must be inspired ; gifted with the Pram
phet’s divine and incommunicable fire.

We may take it for granted that much of Michael
Scot’s dissatisfaction and depression upon his dis-
appointment in seeking ecclesiastical preferment—
arose from the feeling that he had made a great
sacrifice in vain. The best years of his life, and the
most strenuous labours of his mind, had been give
to his version of Averroés not without the hope tha t
he was here laying the foundation ofa great literary
and philosophic fame. Moved by a prudence, whieh

THE LAST DAYS OF MICHAEL SCOT 171

was not altogether selfish since it concerned the
Emperor’s reputation and policy quite as much as
his own, he had submitted to necessity, and saw his
translation suppressed for the sake of avoiding
offence. The sacrifice was great and doubtless
keenly felt, and when in spite of this policy he found
himself still without the position he had confidently
hoped for, with what bitterness must the reawaken-
ing of his literary ambition have been attended.
Near ten years had been lost since his return from
Spain, and still Scot’s Averroés slept, unknown to
the schools, in the honourable but unprofitable
seclusion of the Imperial closet. With the death of
these hopes of preferment, however, all reason forthis
unfortunate reserve came to an end so far as Scot
was concerned. As soon as he had once made up
his mind to think no more of a great ecclesiastical
career he was free to urge his master with all
insistence to carry out their long-cherished plan,
and secure undying fame for both by publish-
ing the new Aristotle in the Universities of
Europe.

Nor was there anything in the policy of the time
which made Frederick unwilling to further a project
which he had all along designed. From the moment
of his elevation to the See of Rome Gregory rx. had
displayed a firm and unbending temper towards the
Emperor. Frederick felt the first instances of his
harshness in 1227, when, returning sick and feeble
from the baths of Pozzuoli, he found himself excom-
municated because he had not sailed to Palestine
with the Crusade. This severe sentence was
renewed in 1228. Frederick reached the Holy
Land that year, but only to meet a mutinous spirit,

172 THE LIFE AND LEGEND OF MICHAEL SCOT

encouraged among the Crusaders there by the Pope’s ©
orders. On his return in 1229 the sharp edge of
discipline was again drawn against him, and we
need not wonder if such repeated severity at last
convinced the Emperor that there was no hope of
living at peace with Rome, nor any reason to study —
further accommodations with one who seemed deter-
mined to be his enemy. The moment had now come
when restraints, long submitted to for the sake of
policy, being removed, Frederick might well bethink
him of his former plans so long held in reserve, and
take measures to carry out his purpose of enrich-
ing the learned world with the prohibited books
of Averroés. ‘a

This plan not only promised to fulfil a long’
cherished desire and mortify an implacable foe, it
must also have presented itself in the light of a
welcome concession made to a deserving servant 0 i &
the Crown. Michael Scot had laboured long to
form the works in question. His interest, as well
as every other reason, now demanded that they
should lie no longer concealed. The fame he was
certain to gain by this publication would be the
best consolation, perhaps the only one now possible,
for his disappointments in the ecclesiastical career.
To employ him actively in the matter may well have
appeared not only just, considering his previous
interest in it, but the best cure for a spirit sadly
disordered and depressed. We need not wonder
that Frederick at last fully formed his resolution,
or that he chose Michael Scot as the means of
carrying out a publication that-was now definitely
determined on.

An imperial circular announced to the learned

THE LAST DAYS OF MICHAEL SCOT 173

the nature and origin of these new versions.’ This
letter was designed to secure for them such general
interest and attention as was due to works of the
first importance. Opening with the avowal of his
devotion to the cause of letters, a confession which
he supported by quoting from the Metaphysica,
Frederick touched upon the manifold cares of state
which the conduct of his affairs in the Empire in-
volved. He added that he had never allowed these to
occupy his whole attention, but had still devoted part
of his time to the pursuits of learning. His mind,
he said, had been particularly attracted to the works
of Aristotle with the commentaries of the Arabian
philosophers, especially those concerning mathema-
tics, and the books called Sermoniales. Finding
that they were inaccessible to Latin scholars, owing
to their obscurity and the foreign tongues in which
they were written, he had commissioned learned
men to translate these works, desiring them to
preserve in their versions the exact style as well as
sense of the original. The treasures thus procured
-he would not keep in obscurity, but designed to
publish them for the general good. He addressed
himself to the most famous schools of Christendom
as the proper means of obtaining the diffusion of
this wisdom among those who were able to profit
by it.

Which then were the universities intended by
the Emperor? That of Naples certainly in the first
place, for it was his own creation.? Bologna, also,
we may believe, judging by the estimation in which
we know him to have held that still more ancient

* See the Epistolarium of Petrus de Vineis. Jourdain reprints thi

letter with a French translation in his Recherches, pp. 156-162.
2 In 1224.

174. THE LIFE AND LEGEND OF MICHAEL SCOT

seat of learning. Copies of Frederick’s letter are
indeed extant, which actually bear the address, ‘To —
the Masters and Scholars of Bologna.’ Nor can
we think that he forgot Paris, the great centre of
European culture. At least one text has preserved
this the most natural of all directions:—‘To the
Doctors of the Quadrivium at Paris.’? Thus far
then the course of Scot’s journey on this important
business is plain. In it he but reversed the pro-
gress he had made in early years, revisiting in the
contrary order the scenes of his former studies. His
own remarkable fame, the widespread curiosity con-
cerning the books he brought, and his official char-
acter as Frederick’s Ambassador of Letters, must —
have secured him everywhere a cordial and distin-
guished reception. 4
There is reason to think that his travels did
not end when he had reached Paris. Tradition says
he crossed the Channel and visited both England —
and Scotland, where his medical skill was highly
appreciated. It is indeed to an English author that
we owe the knowledge of this journey performed
by Michael Scot. The words of Roger Bacon are
of capital importance here, not only telling us of |
Scot’s travels, but showing the nature of the work
he carried with him in that progress, and the en.
thusiasm with which these books were receive d
‘In the days of Michael Scot,’ he says, ‘who, about —
the year 1230, made his appearance with ce =
books of Aristotle and commentaries of learned mer
concerning physics and mathematics, the Aristo:
telian philosophy became celebrated in the Latin n

1 Frederick sought at Bologna for scholars to fill the chairs in apln
2 Martenne, ‘ Vett. scriptt. et Monumenta,’ ii, 1220,

THE LAST DAYS OF MICHAEL SCOT 175

Schools’? At the time of which he speaks, Bacon,
born in 1214, may probably have been at Oxford
pursuing his studies. It is not necessary to dwell
upon the support which this brings to the tradition
of Scot’s visit to England. We may take it as al-
most certain that Oxford was one of the univer-
sities where he appeared and was made welcome.

_ The tradition that he thereafter pursued his
journey to Scotland rests rather upon arguments
see from the probability ofthe case than from
direct evidence. Scot had been a lifetime absent
from his native land, and, finding himself so near it,
a strong impulse must have urged him to revisit
the scenes of his boyhood. Nor is it easy to ac-
count for the fact that his fame, though he spent
so much of his time abroad, attained, and yet re-
tains, such a currency in the North, except upon
the supposition that he did actually yield to this
attraction and thus once more made himself a fami-
liar figure in the land of his birth.

One matter of great interest is at least certain.
scot’s death occurred just at this time, when he
was in the very height of his fame and influence,
and probably while he was still in the North. The
account, so often repeated and reprinted, which
makes him live almost to the close of the century
need not occupy our attention more than a moment.
Already incredible from the time when Jourdain
discovered that Scot’s version of Alpetrongi had
been produced in 1217, such a notion becomes more
than ever impossible since we have been able to

* Opus Majus, pp. 36, 37, ed. Jebbi. ‘Tempore Michaelis Scoti, qui,
annis 1230 transactis, apparuit, deferens librorum Aristotelis partes ali-
quas de naturalibus et mathematicis, cum _expositoribus sapientibus,

magnificata est Aristotelis philosophia apud Latinos.’

176 THE LIFE AND LEGEND OF MICHAEL SCOT

carry the time of his mature literary activity back
to the year 1210. Vincent of Beauvais, writing
about 1245, talks of ‘old Michael Scot’ in such a
way as to suggest that he had by that time been
long in his grave. But the convincing evidence,
though hitherto little noticed, is to be found in the
poem of Henry d’Avranches, from which we haye
already quoted some lines in another connectio a
This author remarks regarding Michael Scot :

‘Thus he who questioned fate, to fate himself submitted,’

which shows that the time of his death must have
been earlier than ee the date when Abrincensi
composed his poem.’
The question is thus reduced to the narrow
limit of five years ; since Bacon says Scot was alive
and busy in his great mission in 1230. With in
this period he must have passed away, and probably —
his death happened nearer the earlier than the
later date ; considering the tone in which Henry
d’Avranches speaks of the departed sage. He me ay
well therefore have died while on the borders of
Scotland. This idea agrees curiously with the fact
that Italy has no tradition of his burial-place, while
on the other hand northern story points to =
tomb in Melrose Abbey, Glenluce, Holme Coltra
or some other of the great Cistercian foundatiGall 0:
that country. Satchells, who visited Burgh-under- :
Bowness in 1629, found a guide named Lana 7
Scot, who took him to the parish church, where he
saw the great scholar’s tomb, and found it still the
' ©Veridicus Vates Michael, haec pauca locutus, |
Plura locuturus obmutuit, et, sua mundo
Non paciens archana plebescere, jussit

Eius ut in tenues prodiret hanelitus auras.

Sic acusator fatorum fata subivit.’ Op. cit. verse 80 et seq.

b
:

THE LAST DAYS OF MICHAEL SCOT 177

object of mysterious awe to the people there. The
resting-place of Michael Scot will never now be
accurately known, but there is every reason to
suppose that it lies not far from that of his birth,
in the sweet Borderland, amid the green hills and
flowing streams of immemorial story.

Here then we leave the life that has been the
subject of our study, and not without the tribute of
a certain envy paid to so happy a fate as that of
Michael Scot. Like another and far greater man,
whose sepulchre also was not known among his
people, Scot died in the fulness of his powers and
fame, while yet his sight was not dim, nor his

natural force abated. He was denied indeed the
entry to those broad kingdoms ef knowledge which
later times enjoy, but we may truly think of him as
one who stood in his own day upon a height from
which something of that fair.land of promise could
at least be divined, and manfully did his part in
leading the progress of the human mind onward
to those more perfect attainments now within the
reach of every patient scholar.

We may recollect in closing this inquiry that
the Abbreviatio Avicennae was published in 1232 at
Melfi. This treatise, though it came in the Latin
version from the hand of Scot, did not fall within
the scope of the publication made so widely in
1230; since the Emperor’s object at that time was
to acquaint the world with the commentaries of
Averroés. The manner in which the Abbreviatio
saw the light was somewhat remarkable. Henry of
Colonia was the scholar selected by Frederick for

} ‘History of the Rt. Hon. Name of Scot, in Lay of the Last
Minstrel, Note W.

M

178 THE LIFE AND LEGEND OF MICHAEL SCOT

the work of transcribing it from the imperial copy. —
A regular diploma passed the seals authorising him
to do this work, and from that writ we find that he
completed it at Melfi, on the vigil of St. Laurence
in the house of Master Volmar the imperial physi-
cian.1 We may surely see in these facts a further
likelihood that by this time Scot was already dead. —
Another holds his place as court-physician, another
wields his pen, or at least furnishes the copy from
which the world at large first came to know one
of his most important and characteristic works.
May we not take it then, that in ordering this
diploma to be drawn, Frederick desired to show
his concern at hearing he had lost so faithful and
able a servant, and his anxiety that no time should
elapse before the publication of his remaining works ?
Thus regarded, the Abbreviatio was a wreath laid on —
the grave; a tribute to the translator’s memory,
while in itself it was a seal set to the fame of Michael
Scot as in his day the chief exponent of the mighty
Aristotle, and one who by these labours succeeded
in directing for many ages the course of study in
the European Schools. 4

1The diploma is dated at Melfi on the 9th of August 1232. The
colophon to the copy then made of the Abbreviatio Avicennae is as
follows: ‘Completus est liber Avicenne de animalibus, scriptus
Magistrum Henricum Coloniensem, ad exemplar magnifici Impera
nostri Domini Frederici, apud Meffiam civitatem Apulie, ubi Dom
Imperator eidem Magistro hunc librum premissum commodavit, ¢
Domini mccxxxil, in Vigilia Beati Laurentii, in domo Magistri Vol

medici Imperatoris.’ See Huillard-Bréholles, Hist. Diplom. Frid. th,
vol. iv. part i. pp. 381-2. Bi

CHAPTER IX
THE LEGEND OF MICHAEL SCOT

HiTHERTO we have taken little notice of the fame
oy which Michael Scot is most widely known in
iterature ; preferring to speak first of the authentic
acts and real employments of his life, so far as
these can now be ascertained. It would be im-
proper, however, to close our investigation without
g some account of that darker reputation
hich has so long represented him to the world
a magician and dealer in forbidden lore. If we
ve deferred so long the consideration of this
atter, the reason may be found in the fact that
there seems to be no truth in such stories. They
live only im legend, and in the literature of
romance, and must therefore be held apart by a
frm line from the domain of sober historical in-
quiry.

This conclusion, be it observed, is not based
upon the prevailing opinion of the present day that
ch arts are impossible, nor has it thence been
hed by way of the inference that because magic
impossible, therefore Michael Scot cannot have
eddled in it. Such was not at all the view held
the thirteenth century. Then scholars as well
the unlearned, and clergy as well as laity, be-
ieved firmly in the possibility, nay, the reality, of

180 THE LIFE AND LEGEND OF MICHAEL SCOT

what they regarded as an unwarrantable interfe:
ence with the order of nature. This belief make
it a fair subject of discussion in regard to any on
of that age whether or not he may have practise
forbidden arts. The question in Scot’s case is
highly curious one, and, without further apology
we now proceed to examine it in detail. >
The most famous schools of magic in those di
were fixed by popular tradition in the Spanish citi
of Toledo and Salamanca, especially the form e
Magic, indeed, was generally spoken of as :
scientia Toletana. The Morgante Maggiore of Pi
may furnish us with a fair example of the comm
belief :* :
‘Per quel ch’io udi gia dir, sendo in Tolleta
Dove ogni negromante si racozza.’

and again :
‘Questa citta di Tolleta solea
Tenere studio di Nigromanzia.
Quivi di magica arte si legea
Pubblicamente, e di Piromancia
E molti Geomanti sempre avea a
E esperimenti assai di Idromanzia.’ ‘
Caesar Von Heisterbach, the anecdote-monger
the century, relates more than one diverting
of necromantic prodigies, the scene of which he le
at Toledo. The most remarkable of these s a
tells BOW some Germans came thither to le:
magic.” Their teacher in this art called up certs
spirits, who appeared first as armed men, and #1
in the form of lovely maids. One of the studer
was thereby allured and carried off. The oth

1 See this poem, canto xxv. oct. 42 and 259. Consult also So
Magia Antica, and Storia det Processi di Stregheria, and Con
Marburg. ;

2 Illustrium Miraculorum, v. 4. See also i. 33 for another t
the same kind.

THE LEGEND OF MICHAEL SCOT 181

drew their swords and threatened the master with
death, until, overcome by fear, he used his power
to secure their companion’s return.
From the favourite locality of these legends we
may infer that the magic then in vogue was that
of the Arabs, which, especially in Spain, had now
begun to supplant the ancient and primitive Euro-
pean superstitions. This magic was not a mere
ritual of spells, such as that of the Chaldean monu-
ments, but rather a complete theurgy, like the
magic of Egypt ; the corruption of an ancient and
elaborate religious system.’ The Arabian mage
pretended to bow the superior powers which other
men could only worship, and boldly bade them do
will. It is hardly necessary to say that such
system did not originally belong to the Arabs,
ho had been, until the days of Mohammed, a rude
and savage people. They learned it in Syria and
gypt, where the theories of Porphyry and lamb-
lichus still held sway.? In their hands this magic
became enriched with many new conceits, such as
the nimble fancy of these children of the East
knew well how to interweave with all that they
touched. The stars, they held, were the centres
of supreme influence, but had certain correspond-
ances with earthly things; with herbs, with stones,
and even with sounds. These were in a sort the
ofispring of heaven, for plants of power were pre-
tious things put forth by the sun and moon; the
minerals were condensed and congealed by the
same heavenly agency in a planetary hour, and
earthly voices, even the cries of dumb animals,

? See Lenormant, La Magie Chaldéenne.
* See Wright’s Cat. of the Syriac mss. in the British Museum.
[amblicus occurs in cod. decxxix.

182 THE LIFE AND LEGEND OF MICHAEL SCOT

were but the far echo of the music heard in heaven,
the music of the spheres. q
So far, indeed, this was but common doctrine,
shared by all the science of the time, and enna y
expounded in every astrological system. The magic
founded upon it began with the notion that this clo
correspondence between heaven and earth might 4
carry an influence able to react in an upward, con-
trary, and unnatural direction. Plants and precio 18
stones, rightly employed, might prove able to bind
the stellar powers on which all depended. Names
and forms of conjuration might control the superior
spirits which the stars represented. Hence arose
a whole system of magical practice, in which, from
the circle of the sorcerer—a symbol representing
on earth the motion of the upper spheres—the
vapour of mingled herbs and minerals rose ie
heaven above the glowing brazier, accompanied by
recited spells. It is curious to notice that when,
after several ages, this essentially Eastern anc
theurgic necromancy* gave place to the witcheraf
of the North, with its dark demonolatry, the essen
tial idea of the Arabian magicians still survived.
Its influence may be traced in the importance
always attached in popular belief to the reversal
of natural practice, as a means of securing supe or
natural power and effect. Hence the bizarre de
which crowd the witch trials of the sixteenth and
seventeenth centuries: how hags walked be o
wards, or withershins, that is, against the course 0
the sun, or changed a prayer into a spell by mutter
ing it in a contrary sense.

1 I use this word in the general sense then given to it, which s¢ —e
to indicate how little the Greek language was understood in those days.

=
a /

7 ie

THE LEGEND OF MICHAEL SCOT 183

The Arabian magic as understood in Spain
during the thirteenth century is very fully ex-
pounded in a curious work called Picatriz.’ This
book explains that the fundamental idea of the art
was reaction leading up to transformation or magi-
cal change, adding that this reaction may be seen
in three different regions of being; first among the
elemental spirits themselves, next between these
and matter, and, last, the reaction of one kind of
matter upon another, as in alchemy. The second
of these kinds of reaction admits the influence of
earthly things upon the heavenly spirits, and is
the foundation of that kind of magic which the
Picatrix proceeds to expound, in details which are
often much more curious than edifying. This book
has special value as showing the intimate relation
between magic and the ordinary studies of those
times. Aristotle is often quoted in it,’ and the posi-
tion of necromancy with regard to other branches
of science is clearly defined. It is not hard to see

that, when thus understood, this art must have
allied itself closely with astronomy and astrology
-on the one hand, and with alchemy on the other.
In the account given by Bacon of Avicenna’s philo-
sophy, he says that the third great division of that
author’s works, and one which had never appeared
in Latin, was that devoted to the most hidden parts
2 Said to be written by Norbar the Arab, who compiled it from
many sources in the twelfth century. It consists of four books:
I. De Coelo, 11. De figuris Coeli, 111. De proprietatibus Planetarum,
Iv. De proprietatibus Spirituum; and was translated into Latin by
command of Alfonso x. (1252-84). Two mss. of this version exist in
the Bib. Naz. of Florence, xx. 20 and 21. Arpenius gives some account
of it in his ‘De prodigiosis Naturae,’ Hamburg, 1717, p. 106. It is to
be hoped it may never be translated into any modern language.

? As the author of the De Coelo et Mundo, the treatise most nearly
bordering on this magical doctrine.

184 THE LIFE AND LEGEND OF MICHAEL SCOT

of natural philosophy.’ The science of those days —
left an acknowledged place for the occult and the
mysterious among its doctrines. This place was
filled by magic, a study forbidden indeed by the
Church, but generally recognised as occupying ¢
real though secret department among the other
sciences and arts. The tradition we so often meet
with that masters of necromancy actually taught
the art of magic in Toledo, Salamanca, and perhaps”
Padua, seems but a reflection in later times of what
was then the genuine belief of European scholars.
There is thus no reason why Michael Scot sho
not have devoted himself to what was the subje
of actual and serious study during the times i
which he lived, and especially so in the coun
where his chief literary labours were carried on.
Were we to follow the mere likelihood of the case, —
his interest in astronomy and alchemy would lead
us to think it very possible he might have studie
an art that was so closely connected with these.
But to change such a possibility into a certainty,
or even a probability, something more convincing
than any a priori argument must be found. If no
actual proof of Scot’s magical practice be forthcoming —
we must be content to leave the matter where we —
found it; in the realm of dim and unsubstantial
tradition.’ as
1 *TIn quo exposuit secretiora Naturae.’—Opus Majus, p. 37. x
2 That the Arabian magic was familiar to Scot, there can, however, b
no manner of doubt. Take, for instance, the following passage from the ~
Liber Introductorius (Ms. Bodl. 266, p. 113): ‘ Puteus, qui alio nomine —
sacrarius, havigantibus per contrarium eo quod sequitur caudam scorpio!
inter astra, et dicitur poetice quod Dii prius fecerunt in eo con[jun
nem et sacrificium, cum esset locus secretus intrinsecus, et locus plenus
spiritibus multe sapientie, a quorum astuciis pauci evadunt, et ipsi sunt
fortiores ceteris ad opera conjuratorum de omni dum con{junctio] ne —

removentur obedientes vate (?) et[iam] ante pyromancie. TIllos libenti s
convocant contra ceteros, et sibi reperiunt in agendo valentiores, set if

Be Se oe et

THE LEGEND OF MICHAEL SCOT 185

The true criterion here must doubtless be sought
the evidence furnished by contemporaries re-
yarding the fact alleged. In the case of Michael
Scot such evidence is forthcoming, but we may say
at once that it proves upon examination to yield
distinctly negative result. His fame in those
days was such that he is mentioned by several im-
portant writers of his own age, such as Bacon,
Albertus Magnus, and Vincent of Beauvais. None
of these has a word to say of Scot’s reputation as
a necromancer. Some may urge that an argument
rom silence is unsatisfactory ; but does it not gain
eat force from the consideration that two of these
witnesses are decidedly hostile to Scot? Bacon,
especially, seems to have lost no opportunity of
blackening his character. To these men Michael
Scot was a sciolist, a mere pretender to knowledge,
ignorant even of Latin; the very charlatan of the
schools. He was a plagiarist too; one who passed
off the work of another man as his own; nay, darker
han all, he was a heretic, or so Albert would make
him ; a philosopher who interpreted and exceeded
the forbidden doctrines of Averroés. Is it not
certain that, if Scot had really practised magic in
spite of the prohibitions of the Church, we should

sunt multis penis ignis afflicti, et ex hac de causa nigromantici requirunt
studiose Puteum intueri, sive stellas Sacrarii, ut eorum auxilio plenius
operentur optata. Et dicitur a multis quod de illo exeunt lapides et
sagipte tonitruale, opere spirituum inferorum. Cum non sit ymago celi,
habet stellas pervisibiles quatuor, dispositio quarum sic certificatur : in
superfitie flammarum exeuntium sunt duo, et duo parum sub ore puthealis,
et hec est forma in celo aspectus sui.’ Over against this we find the ap-
plication, as follows: Natus in hoc signo erit gratiosus habere experi-
menta et scire incantationes, constringere spiritus et mirabilia facere, et
mulieres convincere artis ingeniosus erit, quietus, sagax, et plus pauper
quam dives, et uti metallis, et alchemesta, et nigromanticus et erit homo
quietus, ingeniosus, sagax, secretus, debilis, pauidus, timidus, etc.’ The
superstition of which Mirandola accuses Scot is very evident here, but it
is no less plain that the author’s purpose was astrological and not magical.

186 THE LIFE AND LEGEND OF MICHAEL SCOT

have heard of this charge from these active and
bitter detractors? Our conclusion from their silence _

These tales, we must hold, were not current in the
lifetime of Michael Scot, nor for many years after.
They had no foundation in fact, but were the fancies —
of the following generation, and thus passed into
the settled tradition which has ever since per-
sistently associated itself with the philosopher's —
name. ¥
But this conclusion raises another question.
How did such a tradition arise, and what were the —
points of attachment to which these stories clung? —
The ground for the legend of Michael Scot would
seem to have been prepared by the close connection
between him and his master the Emperor Frederick _
1. Every student of those times knows well the —
storm of invective and the weight of calumny which —
fell upon that great monarch as the consequence of
his feuds with the See of Rome. He was officially —
declared to be no Christian but the mystic Beast —
of the Apocalypse, vomiting blasphemies. He was
accused of having produced the apocryphal work —
De Tribus Impostoribus.. His private life became
the subject of grave scandal and repeated censure.
Men were taught to believe that he revelled in a
harem of Saracen beauties, and was addicted to
infamous immorality, as well as to forbidden arts.
These accusations were current, not only im
Frederick’s own lifetime, but long afterwards. They
may be studied at large in the Papal Epistolaries,’
and a striking example of their current popular
form is found in the following barbarous lines which

1 See especially the circular letter of Gregory rx., anno 1239.

THE LEGEND OF MICHAEL SCOT 187

we borrow from an obscure author! who used his
pen in the service of the Guelfs :

‘ Amisit Astrologos, et Magos, et Vates,
Beelzebub et Ashtaroth proprios Penates,
Tenebrarum consulens per suos Potestates
Spreverat Ecclesiam, et mundi Magnates.’

When we remember that Michael Scot was the man
whom Frederick loved to consult and employ, we
understand what effect this depreciation of the
master’s fame must have had on that of his servant.
If the Emperor made Beelzebub and Ashtaroth his
gods, Scot must soon have been recognised as the
go-between in this infernal business.

Such an impression would naturally be heightened
by the recollection of the years which had been
spent by Michael Scot at Toledo and Cordova. We
have already noticed the dark reputation which
attached to the former of these places. It is only
needful here to add that Scot’s ecclesiastical char-
acter would by no means hinder the unfavourable
inference that must have been drawn from his
lengthened residence in the chief seat of magical
_ study. St. Giles before his conversion, and Gerbert,
_ afterwards Pope Sylvester m., were commonly re-
ported to have learned the black art at Toledo. As
to Cordova, the Picatrix mentions the discovery of
a magic book in the Church there,? which shows
that the supernatural fame of Toledo attached itself
also to this city.

It is far from improbable that the nature of
Scot’s studies in these places may have inclined
men to believe in the stories told of him as a

1 Albert Beham, Regist. Epistol. p. 128.

® Book iv. chap. ix. ‘De imaginibus quae virtutes faciunt mirabiles,
et fuerunt inventae in libro qui fuit inventus in Ecclesia de Cordib.’

188 THE LIFE AND LEGEND OF MICHAEL SCOT

necromancer. He spent his time upon Arabic
texts, and, with the fanatical clergy, not to speak
of the common people whom they taught, the Moors
and all their works were accursed. No one could
meddle much with them save at the cost of such
accusations of diabolic dealing. Nor was it merely
the language but also the very subject of Scot’s
studies that was suspicious. Since the days of the
Alexandrian school there had grown up round the
name of Aristotle a strange legend which represented
him as a magician; none other than the great
sorcerer Nectanebus of Egypt, the true father, by
an infamous sleight, of Alexander of Macedon.’
Nectanebus, so the tale ran, was King of Egypt,
and learned in all the magic arts of that mysterious
land. When war threatened he would fill a vessel
with water and float upon it enchanted ships of
clay. Thus could he divine the success or failure
of his country’s arms. One day, however, as he
was busy in this spell, the old gods appeared to
guide the craft he had designed as models of the
hostile fleet. Nectanebus gave up all for lost,
shaved his head, and in the disguise of a philo-
sopher, fled to Pella in Macedonia, where he lived
by practising the arts of an astrologer and prophet.
Olympias consulted him to know whether she might
hope to give an heir to her husband Philip, then
absent from his capital. Nectanebus bade her

1 Nectanebus, sometimes spelt Neptanebus, is perhaps the ‘Naptium’
of the Picatrix (iii. 8). See also on this curious subject the Pancrates
of Lucian, the verses of Adalberone or Ascelin (A.D. 1006) in the Reewetl
des Hist. des Gaules (Bouquet x. 67), the English romance of Alisawndre
(Early English Text Soc. 1867) and the Alexander of Juan Lorenzo
Segura de Astorga. In this last poem, which belongs to the thirteenth
century, the hero’s arms are said to have been forged by the fairies.
There is an article on ‘ Nectanebo’ by D. G. Hogarth in the Eng. Hist.
Review, Jan. 1896. The same mystic fame attached itself to Pythagoras.

THE LEGEND OF MICHAEL SCOT 189

expect the honour of a visit from Jupiter Ammon
himself, and, dressing in the horns and hieratic
robe proper to the character he assumed, became, by
her whom he seduced, the father of Alexander the
Great. The child was born amid thunder and
lightning, and was soon committed to the care of
Nectanebus who became his tutor: a clear point
of connection with Aristotle, who really filled that
ofice. One day tutor and pupil walked on the
edge of a cliff, when the philosopher uttered a
prophecy to the effect that Alexander was fated to
kill his own father. The boy, who fancied that
Philip was meant, took the words so ill that he
flung his tutor over the rock, and thus instantly
fulfilled the prediction. This tale can be traced
from its appearance in the Pseudo-Callisthenes
through the series of Byzantine chroniclers—
Syncellus, Glycas, John Malala, and the author of
the Chronicon Pascale—to the later romances
where it is repeated and amplified. The whole
Middle Age believed it. Not till the fourteenth
century did a doubt of its truth appear,’ and that
- it was current in the west of Europe at the time
of which we write appears plainly in the preface to
the Secreta Secretorum, which has the following
significant remark, ‘which Alexander is said to
have had two horns.” The real meaning of the
legend probably lay in a patriotic desire to vindi-
cate for Egypt, though subdued by Alexander, the
honour of having originated the Greek philosophy.®

1 In the poem of Albéric de Besangon.

2 St. Chrysostom (a.p. 398) speaks of the custom of using brass coins
of Alexander as amulets.

3 It is a curious fact that under the historic Nekhtneb (362-45 B.c.)
the Greek philosophers Eudoxus and Chrysippus spent eleven years in
Egypt to learn the astronomical secrets of the priests.

190 THE LIFE AND LEGEND OF MICHAEL SCOT

The thirteenth century, however, knew nothing
of such explanations; cherishing the tale rather on
account of the wild mystery which it breathes. No
wonder then if the labours of Michael Scot as an
exponent of Aristotle gave some force to the popular
idea that he dealt in forbidden arts.

Need we point out that the same may be said
of his fame as a Master in astrology and alchemy ?
We have seen how close was the relation in which
these sciences stood to the magic of the day. As
to mathematics, for which Scot was so renowned,
it is to be observed that the kind of divination
called Geomancy, which was performed by casting
figures in a box filled with sand, was remarkably like
the method of working sums which is still practised
among the Moors." We may add that the facility
with which difficult problems could be solved by the
new methods of calculation borrowed from that people
must have seemed little less than supernatural to
those as yet unacquainted with the secrets of algebra.

It seems probable indeed that at least one
starting-point of Michael Scot’s legendary and
romantic fame may be looked for in the very quarter
to which we have just begun to direct our attention.
There is in the author’s possession a manuscript
which promises to throw some light on the obscurity
of this matter.” It consists of sixteen quarto pages

1 A Geomancy, said to be the work of Scot, is preserved in the
Munich Library, No. 489 in 4to, saec. xvi. See the Thousand Nights for
instances of the prevalence of this art.

2 This ms. reached me from Germany. It is unbound and contained
in an envelope made from the leaf of an old choir-book covered with
manuscript musie. This cover is secured by three large seals bearing the
arms of Dunkelsphuhl, to which family it seems to have belonged. The
preface is dated at Prague. It is possible the ms. may have had something

to do with the magical studies of Dr. John Dee, who spent some time in
Prague at the beginning of the seventeenth century. See Appendix Iv.

THE LEGEND OF MICHAEL SCOT 191

written on parchment in a hand of the seventeenth
century, and contains a short preface, followed by
two distinct works. One of these professes to be
an Arabic original, and the other a version of the
same in Latin, said to come from the pen of Michael
Scot. The title of the work deserves special atten-
tion. It is as follows: ‘ Almuchabola Absegalim
Alkakib Albaon; 7.e. Compendium Magia Innaturalis
Nigrae.’ Now, although the so-called Aralic of the
manuscript quite defies the best efforts of scholarship
to decipher it, this word almuchabola is perfectly
authentic, familiar even, being the common term in
that language for what we call algebra.’

This then seems to afford an actual example of
the way in which the Moorish science of numbers
might be mistaken for something magical. When
we examine the manuscript more closely the
suggestion which its title affords becomes still
stronger. Here and there, amid the strange
characters of an unknown tongue,’ are designs of a
curious kind; parallelograms enclosed in bounding
lines of red, and containing erratic figures also in
- red, that show luridly against the black background
with which the outlines are filled. The Latin
version explains that these are the signs of the
demons whom the accompanying spells have power

1 Leonardo Pisano uses this word in the Liber Abbaci. See
p. 187vo of the Florence ms. Bibl. Naz. i 2616, where the following
passage occurs : ‘Secundum modum algebrae et almuchabalae, scilicet
ad proportionem et restaurationem.’ In an ancient list of works by
Gerard of Cremona (?the younger) found in the Vatican (No. 2392) we
have this title: ‘Liber alcoarismi de iebra et almucabula tractatus.
See Boncompagni’s Life of Gerard, Rome 1851. Works on almuchabola
are found also under the names of Al Deinouri, Al Sarakhsi, Al
Khouaresmi, Khamel Schagia ben Aslam, and Al Thoussi. See

D’Herbelot.
2 They show a distinct likeness to the Magreb or West African

writing.

192. THE LIFE AND LEGEND OF MICHAEL SCOT

to summon or dismiss. No one, however, who
compares them with the graphic statements of
mathematical problems in the margin of the Liber
Abbaci can fail to be struck with the resemblance.!
The one book seems, in regard of these figures, but
a degenerate copy of the other, made by some
scribe who did not understand the matter he had
in hand, and who darkened the ground of his
designs to heighten the fancied terrors of the
subject.

It would not be easy to miss the meaning of
this mistake. Michael Scot had probably written
or translated a treatise on algebra. We may
remember how well such a conjecture agrees with
the tone of Pisano’s dedicatory letter to him, in
which he submitted the Lwber Abbaci to Scot's
revision, and acknowledged him as a supreme
master in this branch of science. It is difficult to
account for this fame save by supposing the exist-
ence of an unknown work by Michael Scot on the
veritable Almuchabola, of which this pretended
treatise on magic is all that now survives. The
mistake that gave it so corrupted a form could
hardly have been made as late as the seventeenth
century, when such things were well understood.
The manuscript, though dating from that time, is
probably only a copy of one much older. The
preface, indeed, mentions the year 1255 as the
epoch of translation, and, although Michael Scot
had then lain more than twenty years in his grave,
this date would suit well as the birth-hour of a
legend which, though certainly later than Scot’s

1 This resemblance should be studied in the remarkably beautiful
ms. of the Liber Abbaci, numbered xi. 21 in the Bibl. Naz. Florence.

THE LEGEND OF MICHAEL SCOT 193

own day, had yet made considerable progress in
the popular mind before the close of the century.
This explanation of the matter receives some in-
direct support from a remark of Bacon’s. ‘It is to
be noticed,’ he says, ‘that many books are taken
for magical works which are in reality nothing of
the kind, but contain true and worthy wisdom.’’
He adds that there are several ways of concealing
one’s doctrine from the vulgar, such as the use of
Hebrew, Syriac, and Arabic characters, and the Ars
Notoria or shorthand. There is much reason to
think it was in this very way that Michael Scot had
suffered. A mistake like that indicated by Bacon
was probably the real origin of his mysterious
reputation as a magician.

As soon as the mistake had once been made,
and the notion of Scot’s magical powers had fairly
taken possession of the popular mind, it was greatly
reinforced by the association of his name and
memory with the still living and adaptable Arthurian
legend. Alain de l’Isle, who lived as late as 1202,
says that the tales proper to this romantic cycle
were so heartily believed in Brittany that any one
casting doubt upon Arthur's return would have
been stoned by the people.? From the Trouvéres
the legend passed to the Troubadours of the south
of France. When the Normans established them-
selves in Sicily, these latter poets, represented, it
is said, by Pietro Vidal, and Rambaldo di Vaqueiras,
carried to this new home of their race the materia
poetica which had so long engaged the best talents
of France. The religious war which desolated Pro-
vence in the beginning of the thirteenth century

+ Epistola de Secretis, ed. Master of the Rolls, Longmans, 1859,
pp. 53], 544. 2 Explanatio in Prophetias Merlini, iii. 26.
N

194 THE LIFE AND LEGEND OF MICHAEL SCOT

completed the dispersion of the Troubadours.
Many found a refuge in Italy and Sicily. They
communicated an emotional impulse which led to
the formation of the Italian language as a means of
literary expression. ‘Through them the inheritance
of the Arthurian tales was secured to the people of
the South, who soon began to localise the chief
incidents of this romantic cycle in the island of
Sicily,’ |

Gervase of Tilbury tells us that near the town
of Catania lies the burning mountain of Etna, called
by the people Mongibello, and famed among them
as the abode of King Arthur, who, they said, had
lately been seen there. The matter fell out thus.
The Bishop of Catania’s palfrey escaped one day
from his groom, and was lost. The man sought his
charge everywhere, and at last ventured to enter an
opening he perceived in the hollow part of the hill.
Here he found a narrow winding path which led
to a pleasant land within Etna, and to a palace, the
home of Arthur. He entered the palace and found
the King lying on a royal couch, Arthur bade him
welcome, listened to his story, and called for the
steed to be brought that the Bishop might have
his own again. He further told his visitor that,
having been wounded in battle with Modred and
Childeric king of Saxony, he had come to this
retreat that he might heal him of his mortal sick-
ness, Gervase adds that Arthur, not content with
restoring the horse, paid tithe to the Bishop as
one of the dwellers in his diocese, ‘which was a
wonder to all that heard it.’’

1 See the interesting work by Graf, Miti, Leggendi ¢ Superstizxiont
del Medio Evo, Torino, Loescher, 1893. °
2 «Otia Imperialia’ in Leibnitz Scriptores RerumBrunsvicensium,i.921.

THE LEGEND OF MICHAEL SCOT 195

Caesar von Heisterbach has the same tale in
his collection, but repeats it with some variations.
In his pages the pleasant land of Avalon, with its
peaceful palace, becomes a dark abode of fire,
answering more nearly to the actual phenomena
of the mountain. Arthur hence issues a dread
summons to the owner of the palfrey, who in this
tale is a Canon of Palermo, bidding him appear in
that infernal region within a fortnight. The church-
man obeys by dying at the time appointed.* The
terror which enters into this form of the story is
even heightened by Stephen of Bourbon when he
comes to repeat it.” On the other hand the easy,
pleasant, semi-pagan tone observed in Gervase of
Tilbury lives again in the French romance of
Florian and Florete.* Here we see the kingdom
within Etna before Arthur came thither, and find
it a land of faery, where the King’s sister Morgana
holds her flowery court. The Fata Morgana, as
she is called, is still remembered on these southern
coasts. When the mirage appears in the Straits of
Messina, and houses and castles are seen hanging
in thin air, the people call them by the name of that
mysterious princess. They think that the sides of
Etna have become transparent, and that what they

1 Illustrium Miraculorwm, xii. 12. The next tale, in chap. xiii,
relates how some men, wandering by chance on Etna, heard a voice
ery from under the hill ‘Prepare the fires.” This was heard by thema
second time, and then the cry was ‘Prepare a great fire,’ upon which
other voices asked for whom this should be done, and the answer came
back that it was for the Duke of Thuringia, a friend and trusty servant
of these lower powers. This the hearers made faith of in a writing
given to the Emperor Frederick, and it presently appeared that Bertolph
of Thuringia, a noted tyrant, heretic and persecutor of the Church, had
died at the very day and hour when these voices were heard on Etna.

Ene Anecdotes Historiques, by Lecoy de la Marche, Paris, 1877,
Pp.
fa romance was published by the Roxburghe Club, London,

196 THE LIFE AND LEGEND OF MICHAEL SCOT

behold is the realm of faery with the Fata Morgana’s
palace in the midst.

These legends show that Avalon, first dreamed
of in the far North, had by this time been carried
southward to find a new locality under Etna, and
that already the mystic king, who dwelt with his
court in the land of shadows till he should again
return to earth, had taken a firm hold of the
southern fancy. It was but a step more then, and
one very easily taken, when men began to see in
the Princes of the Hohenstaufen, and the chief
figures of their court, the heirs of this legend in
some of its most important features. Frederick
Barbarossa, for example, was commonly said to pass
the ages between death and life in a hollow hill.
The Germans identified this abode with the Kyff-
hauser, and expected the Emperor's return in the
spirit of the tales told of Wodan, Frau Holda, and
Frau Venus, in their national mythology.’ It was
even reported that a bold shepherd armed with the
mysterious key-flower had forced the secret, enter-
ing these recesses of the hill and beholding Barba-
rossa as in life, with his red beard growing through
the marble table at which he sat asleep. The
romantic heritage next fell upon Barbarossa’s grand-
son Frederick 11. It was long before the adherents of
the Empire who had staked so much upon their
great champion’s bold defiance of the Papacy could
bring themselves to believe that he was really dead.
In 1250 his corpse was carried in solemn procession
from Fiorentino, where he died, to Palermo, the
place appointed for his burial. There he soon lay
in the ancient sarcophagus brought from Cefalt ;

1 See Grimm’s Deutsche Mythologie.

THE LEGEND OF MICHAEL SCOT 197

his robe embroidered about the hem with Cufic
characters, and the sceptre and apple of empire in
his powerless hands ;’ but still the Ghibellines could
not give up the hope that one day he would wake
again, and lead them to the victory they looked
for.

This expectation was much strengthened by a
prophecy then current under the name of the Abbot
Joachim. ‘There cometh an Eagle, at whose
appearing the Lion shall be destroyed: yea a young
Eagle who shall make his nest in the den of the
Lion. Of the race of the Eagle shall arise another
Eagle called Frederick. He shall reign indeed, and
shall stretch his wings till they touch the ends of
the earth. In his days shall the chief Pontiff and
his clergy be despoiled and dispersed.’* On the
other side a Guelf poet, whose name we do not
know, associated Frederick u. with Arthur in the
following lines :

‘Cominatur impius, dolens de jacturis ~

Cum suo Britonibus Arturo venturis.*
The collection called the Cento Novelle Antiche
‘reflects this myth very plainly ; for, in the strange
tales then told of Frederick and his court, we seem
to see these personages already transported to a
kind of fairyland, where the laws of earthly life no
longer hold good. The scene is unmistakably laid
in the Avalon of Arthur and amid his shadowy
court.

1 The sarcophagus was opened in 1781 and all was found as described
above. The body of the great Emperor was in good preservation and
) with it were remains of Peter 11. of Aragon, and Duke William, son of
| Frederick mi. of Aragon.
| ? German prophecies of the same kind are given by Grimm,

op. crt.
3 See Pertz Scriptores Rerum Germanicarum, xviii. 796.

198 THE LIFE AND LEGEND OF MICHAEL SCOT

One of the most striking incidents which marked
the long funeral procession of Frederick m1. through —
the southern provinces of Italy was furnished by
the grief of a faithful band of Saracens, who, with
dishevelled hair and cries of sorrow, accompanied
the body of their great benefactor to its last resting-
place. It is probable indeed that these people, of
whom Frederick had not afew both in Sicily and
in various colonies on the mainland, may have
joined very heartily with their Christian neighbours
in giving currency to the latest application of the
Arthurian legend. In all essential features it must —
already have been familiar to them as a form of
myth long known in the East. Even the romance —
of Nectanebus already noticed had a certain his-
torical basis. In the fourth century before Christ —
a king called Nekhtneb reigned in Egypt. He was
defeated by the Persians, and fied into a distant
province of Ethiopia. Thus the ancient national
dynasty of the Pharaohs came to an end, but the ©
people long refused to believe that their king was
dead. They consulted an oracle, which told them
he would return, as a young man, to conquer the
enemies of his country. This prophecy was en-
graved on the base of the royal statue and served —
long to sustain the national hope. The same
dreams appeared in connection with the much more
recent Mohammedan power. The Shi’ah and Sun-
nee sects of Islam held firmly to the idea that the
twelfth Imam was not really dead, but would return
to earth. This mysterious person was HI Mohdy,
the last incarnation of the Deity, as they supposed.
He was said to dwell in a cave near Bagdad, whence ~
he would one day reappear to oppose Hd Dejal, the

THE LEGEND OF MICHAEL SCOT 199

oslem Antichrist, in a time of great trouble, when
e would overthrow him and his ally the earth-beast
in final conflict near Aleppo. Mohammed himself
said to have retreated with Abu Bekr to a cave,
here they lay concealed behind a spider’s web, as
he Scottish tale says Bruce did before his decisive
ppearance and victory. The influence of these myths
may be seen even during the lifetime of Frederick
., When the extravagant hopes of his followers led
them to use language regarding the Emperor which
was applicable only to the Deity. We may see in
this an anticipation by hyperbole of the apotheosis
granted him by the Ghibellines after his death.’

As for Michael Scot himself, it was a very
natural progress of the popular imagination which
made him play Merlin to the Emperor’s Arthur.
That this place in the growing legend was actually
his, seems probable from the fact that, in the
romance of Maugis (or Merlin) and Vivien,? the
hero is made to study his art in Toledo, where Scot
had notoriously been. Mysterious caves, the refuge
of slumbering heroes, were spoken of as existing
both near that city and Salamanca. It may be
that we here touch on the origin of Scot’s legendary
connection with the Eildon Hills in his own border-
land. That the Scottish Avalon lay beneath these
there can be little doubt. Sir Walter Scott repeats
a traditional tale which reminds us unmistakably
of those given by Gervase of Tilbury and Caesar
von Heisterbach. A countryman of Roxburghshire
had sold a horse to an old man of the hills. Pay-

_ 3 For example, he is called : Dei ‘codperator, et Vicarius constitutus
in terris’ ; ‘ the cornerstone of the Church,’ etc. See Huillard-Bréholles
Vie et correspondance de Pierre de la Vigne, Paris, Plon, 1864.

2 See also another romance called L’ Histoire de Maugis d’ Aygremont.

200 THE LIFE AND LEGEND OF MICHAEL SCOT

ment was appointed to be made at midnight, on
Hildon, at a place called the Lucken Howe. When
the coin, which was of ancient and forgotten
mintage, had been duly handed over, the old man
invited the other to view his dwelling. They
passed within the hill, where the stranger was
surprised to see ranks of steeds ready caparisoned :
a silent cavalier in armour standing by the side of
each. ‘These will wake for Shirramuir,’ said his
guide. In the cave hung a sword anda horn,
‘The sound of this horn,’ the old man told him,
‘will break the spell of their slumber.’ The
countryman caught it to his lips and blew a blast.
The horses neighed, pawed the ground, and shook
their trappings, while the knights stirred, and the
place rang again with the sound of their arms. He
dropped the horn in fear, and heard a voice which
said : ‘Woe to him who does not unsheathe the
sword ere he has blown the horn.’ He was then
carried back again to the hillside, and could never
more discover the entrance to that subterranean
realm." | |
An English form of the same tale has been pre-
served, and is worth notice as containing what
may possibly be a reference to Michael Scot's
prediction regarding Frederick’s death ‘at the iron
gates.’ The story says that ‘in the neighbourhood
of Macclesfield, on Monk’s Heath, is a small inn
known by the designation of ‘The Iron Gates,
the sign representing a pair of ponderous gates of
that metal opening at the bidding of a figure
enveloped in a cowl, before whom kneels another,
_more resembling a modern yeoman than one of the
1 See also Leyden’s Scenes of Infancy, pt. ii. .

:

THE LEGEND OF MICHAEL SCOT 201

twelfth or thirteenth century, to which period this
legend is attributed. Behind this person is a white
horse rearing, and in the background a view of
Alderley Edge. The story is thus told of the
tradition to which the sign relates :

_ *A farmer from Mobberly was riding on a white
horse over the heath which skirts Alderley Edge.
f the good qualities of his steed he was justly
roud, and while stooping down to adjust its mane
reviously to his offering it for sale at Macclesfield,
e was surprised by the sudden starting of the
imal. On looking up he perceived a figure of
ore than common height, enveloped in a cowl, and
xtending a staff of black wood across his path.
The figure addressed him in a commanding voice:
told him that he would seek in vain to dispose of
his steed for whom a nobler destiny was in store,
and bade him meet him when the sun was set,
with his horse, at the same place. The farmer,
resolving to put the truth of this prediction to the
test, hastened on to Macclesfield fair, but no pur-
chaser could be obtained for his horse. In vain he
reduced: his price to half; many admired, but no
one was willing to be the possessor of so promising
a steed. Summoning, therefore, all his courage, he
determined to brave the worst, and at sunset
reached the appointed place. The monk was
punctual to his appointment. “ Follow me,” said he,
and led the way by the Golden Stone, Stormy Point
to Saddle Bole. On their arrival at this last-
named spot, the neigh of horses seemed to arise
from beneath their feet. The stranger waved his
wand, the earth opened and disclosed a pair of
ponderous iron gates. Terrified at this, the horse

202 THE LIFE AND LEGEND OF MICHAEL SCOT

plunged and threw his rider, who, kneeling at the
feet of his fearful companion, prayed earnestly for
mercy. The monk bade him fear nothing, but
enter the cavern, on each side of which were horses
resembling his own in size and colour. Near these
lay soldiers accoutred in ancient armour, and in the
chasms of the rock were arms and piles of gold and
silver. From one of these the enchanter took the
price of the horse in ancient coin, and on the farmer
asking the meaning of these subterranean armies,
exclaimed: “These are caverned warriors pre-
served by the good genius of England, until that
eventful day when, distracted by intestine broils,
England shall be thrice won and lost between sun-
rise and sunset. Then we, awakening from our
sleep, shall rise to turn the fate of Britain. This
shall be when George, the son of George, shall reign.
When the forests of Delamare shall wave their arms
over the slaughtered sons of Albion. Then shall the
eagle drink the blood of princes from the headless
cross (query, corse ?). Now haste thee home, for it is
not in thy time these things shall be. A Cestrian
shall speak it and be believed.” The farmer left the
cavern, the iron gates closed, and though often
sought for, the place has never again been found.”
Arthur, the King of Faery, has dropped out of
these legends in the course of their transmission to
modern times, but in another story, told of the
Eildon Hills, his sister, the Fata Morgana, still lives
and reigns; for she is no doubt the Faery Queen
with whom Thomas Rhymer spent so many years
underground ere he returned with the gift of pro-

1 Timbs’s Abbeys, Castles, and Ancient Halls of England and Wales:
London, Warne, vol. iii. p. 126.

THE LEGEND OF MICHAEL SCOT 203

hetic truth. In the Scottish legend, which makes
ichael Scot have much to do in forming these
ills to their present shape, we seem to see him
upying his natural place in the myth as that
erlin whose art composed and maintained the
agic kingdom of Avalon, where Arthur sleeps
ith Morgana till the hour of his return.

The fertile fancy of these ages ran to the forma-
ion of other points of likeness. Merlin had his
ivien, who betrayed him to his loss of life and
wer by a spell of his own composing. So Michael
as said to have loved a beautiful woman, who,
elilah-like, left him no peace till he told her the
ison which alone had power over his charmed
life : the broth of a breme sow, of which accordingly
he died, taking it confidently from his false leman’s
hand.? Michael too, like Merlin, had his Book of
Might; for the same fancy which materialised
Frederick’s heretical tendencies, and made them
objective in the supposed work De Tribus Impos-
toribus, soon did the like by those diabolical arts
in which Scot was said to have excelled. It is
possible that some reference to this may have been
intended in the book which is held by the magician
in the S. Maria Novella fresco. The plan of these
paintings in the Spanish chapel at Florence was
drawn out with great care by Fra Jacopo Passa-
vanti, a learned monk of that convent. He has
left a series of Lenten sermons, collected and en-
larged by himself, and published under the title of
Lo Specchio di vera Penitenza.2 The last two
chapters of this work are devoted to the reproof of

1 Lay of the Last Minstrel, Note Y.
2 I quote from the edition of Florence, 1580.

204 THE LIFE AND LEGEND OF MICHAEL SCOT

magical arts; a subject which the author would
seem to have studied closely. He may have been
influenced in this direction by S. Augustine’s
De Civitate Dei, which he translated into Italian,
More than one passage of the Specchio may be
cited as illustrating the frescoes of the Spanish
Chapel. He tells us, for example, that the devil
is said to be able to teach science to his
disciples in an incredibly short space of time, how-
ever rude and ignorant they may be. For this
purpose he has given them a book called the Ars
Notoria,' the same which is so severely condemned
by Aquinas. Now, as Aquinas, with open book of
heavenly doctrine, is figured in the chief position
on the opposite (north) wall of the chapel, it is no
unreasonable conjecture which finds in the magi-
‘cian’s book on the south wall a pictorial representa-
tion of the Ars Notoria as it was conceived by
Passavanti. Elsewhere in the volume he again
returns to the subject of magical works.” Zoroaster,
he says, first learned the art from demons, and caused
it to be written on two columns, one of marble to
survive the floods, and one of terra-cotta to resist
the fire. This diabolic teaching, thus preserved,
flourished among the Egyptians, Chaldeans,
Persians, Indians, and other Oriental nations who
remained its chief exponents, ‘though perchance,’
adds Passavanti, ‘it may be more studied among
ourselves than we are ready to believe.’* This

: P. 343. See ante, pp. 140, 192, and Renan’s Averroés, p. 314. _

, i‘ nee leave this interesting though obscure author without
noticing the undoubted reference he makes in his Specchio to the Gipsies.
‘Certain people,” he says (p. 351), ‘have a superstition regarding

lucky and unlucky days, which have been pointed out to them by those
who call themselves Egyptians.’ We have hitherto supposed that 1422

: THE LEGEND OF MICHAEL SCOT 205

passage may serve to show why the artist of the
Spanish Chapel was directed to draw his Magus in
e fashion of the East, and helps us to understand
fe prejudice which Michael Scot s outlandish cos-
ume must have raised against him. It is in any case
certain that the stories of his supernatural power
became both memorable in substance and rich in
etails by association with the tales of Arthur.
the time when Gipsies first appeared in the West. That year is
ited by Muratori in his Dissertazioni as the date of a document which
peaks of the coming of Andrew, who called himself Duke of Egypt, and

his tribe. Passavanti, however, wrote about 1350, so that the epoch
f migration must be carried back at least a century.

CHAPTER X

THE LEGEND OF MICHAEL SCOT—-CONCLUSION

THE attachment of Michael Scot to his master, th :
Emperor Frederick 11, may be conceived as acting
in a double sense to procure him his mysterious
fame. With the Guelfs, who bitterly opposed thai
great monarch and his followers, it of course becam e
a reason for believing him to have practised he
blackest of arts. With the Ghibellines, on the —
other hand, who formed the imperial party, and
saw a very Arthur in their famous leader, it served
to confirm his character as a Mage and man of
mysterious might. :
Commencing then with one of the first, ai
certainly the most famous of the authors who have
spoken of Scot in this romantic and legend F
style, the observation just made will enable us 1
understand without much difficulty the sense 0
Dante’s reference to the magician. The ot
represents himself as reaching the fourth divis
of the eighth infernal circle, when Virgil d . ws
his attention to one of those who suffer there an
Says : >
‘Michele Scotto, fi, che veramente
Delle magiche frode seppe il giuoco.’ ! 7
Dante was a Ghibelline, and must therefore be
supposed to have known well the tradition of com:

1 Inferno, xx. 116, 117. 4 ae

|
tn :

THE LEGEND OF MICHAEL SCOT—CONCLUSION 207

aanding supernatural power woven by his party

bout the name of Scot. There is, however, a strong
lement of contempt and reproof in his lines, and
his must be explained by a point of view which
peculiar to himself. The Commedia, and
specially the Inferno, where this passage occurs, is
iothing if not a retrospect of the past. In it
te calls up the mighty dead and subjects them
review ; his principle of judgment being largely,
ut by no means solely, drawn from political con-
iderations. Even more decidedly was it moral,
d thus, while in not a few instances he displays
e working of party-spirit, in others he permits
imself to part altogether with the current Ghibel-
e views.
_ His reference to Michael Scot, then, is un-
oubtedly a case of the latter kind. As a seer
hose attention was fixed on the past he was
aturally impatient of those who pretended to
old the future. Scot, as the author of pro-
hetical verses, seemed to Dante a fair object for
ensure, as one who had degraded the sacred art
£ the bard to serve the purpose of a charlatan.
e placed him with Amphiareus, with Teiresias
d the other diviners, who, because they sought
o pry into the future, appeared to the poet with
heir heads turned backward in punishment of
heir presumption. An additional proof that this
as in fact the reason for Dante’s harsh dealing
ith Scot may be seen in the Dittamondo of Fazio
egli Uberti. This poem, composed towards the
nd of the fourteenth century, was modelled on the
wine Comedy, and expressly formed to expound
t. Here are the lines which correspond in the

208 THE LIFE AND LEGEND OF MICHAEL SCOT

Dittamondo to those of Dante relating to Michael
Scot :

‘In questo tempo che m’odi contare
Michele Scotto fi, che per sua arte
Sapeva Simon Mago contraffare,
E se tu leggerai nelle sue carte
Le profezie ch’ei fece, troverai
Vere venire dove sono sparte.’ :

|

‘<=
i

ay
*

4

Here the reader will observe that the prophetical —

writings of Scot are distinctly mentioned, and we

are not left, as by Dante, to infer, merely from the ~

company in which we find him, the view that was
taken by the poet of his character and fame.

It was to reinforce this unfavourable judgment
based on other grounds that Dante adopted the

legend already popular regarding Scot’s magical —
studies. In doing so he gave the matter a turn

which widely separated his version of the tale from
the prevailing Ghibelline stories, told no doubt
with bated breath, but told on the whole to Scot's
credit. In thus dealing with the legend Dante
made use of a distinction well known to the Arabs,
and now becoming familiar also in the West: that,
namely, which divided the art of magic into the
real and the illusory; called by Eastern magicians
Er Robohhdnee and Hs Seénuya.' The former was
noble magic, and acted in power upon high spirits,
subduing them to the magician’s will; being either
white or black according to the purpose that was
sought by their aid. The latter, on the other hand,
produced no real effects whatever on material things,
but moved altogether in the sphere of mind, At
its highest it gave a mastery, which was perhaps

1 Lane’s Modern Egyptians, 1837, vol. i. p. 360. For a tract on Bs
Seemiya, by the Shaik Ali Al Tarabulsio (of Tripoli), who composed it
in 1219, see Asseman, Cat. Bibl. Pal. Med. p. 362.

THE LEGEND OF MICHAEL SCOT—CONCLUSIO? 219

hypnotic, over the senses of those whom the ma ,vent
sought to delude. At its lowest it was the . ,aply
the juggler and his apes, cheating eye and «,/ the
tricks like those which have survived to fon,:hen
modern conjuring entertainments.’ Here the,,, aael,
ratus of the higher magic was still used, but_,tng ;
to be degraded and distorted from its or, tand
purpose. The circle now served to secur,,.2nd
mage, not from the assaults of supernatural b,,2d-
but from the indiscreet approach of too cig,sPTe-
spectators. The brazier with its cloud of .,;imal
and stupifying smoke served to affect the s f™P
of the subject ; the strange sound of recited ,,) ells
to impress his imagination; the magic 1, the
to fix his attention, till he became the wi,’ to
captive and obedient to his every suggestion. ;4and
as the art of glamour, as it used to be c, od.
hich, in one sphere, seemed to change a ru. aich
nd cobweb-hung hall into a bower of delighy, sttch
other, made visions of distant places and f, Wood
imes appear in mirrors or crystals ; in yet anc };!2'§
rovided the philtres which provoked love, « itch
igatures which restrained it, and even dealt ir; | in
ursed spell of envoutement which promise, 7 his
procure for jealousy and hatred all their w'* ae
i -t he
Such then were the magiche frode of v fesed
ante accuses Scot, and it is easy to see thai .* he
ing of the verse lies just here; in the unreal; his
ttributes to this magician’s art, much as ix,; 2°
t had called him in plain prose, ‘no mage, aigh
common juggler.’ Resenting Scot’s pose i eS
* See the De Secretis of Bacon for a curious account of “hy "
is practised in his day. 1
oO

208 ‘THE LIFE AND LEGEND OF MICHAEL SCOT

Dittanet, and persuaded of the futility of such
Scot: 18 in comparison with the splendid and en-—
z certainties of his own art, Dante used that
vith cruel force to convey a similar accusation
ling the romantic fame of the philosopher,
ag him up to the world as no mighty master of ©
srious power, but, in this too, a mere impostor.
Here he anonymous Florentine, in his comment on +
writin)jyine Comedy, softens the matter a little, and z
are NOe same time imports into it a confusion of —
compa-ht very difficult to unravel, when he says:
taken art of magic may be employed in two ways; _
Itither magicians compose by cunning certain
based 5, all compact of air, which yet appear sub- —
legenGal, or else they show things having the ap- |
studience of reality but not in truth real, and in
which these ways of working was Michael a great
the Por.’ There is an attempt here to vindicate for
with a higher place than that of the mere charlatan, —
credithe commentator’s distinction is one not readily —
made ,arly to be apprehended, and we may greatly
and n. if it ever entered his author’s mind. a
namelhe hint thus given was speedily acted upon.
real a, it, no doubt, we owe the numerous tales re- —
ir Eng Michael Scot of which Benvenuto da Imola —
noble he anonymous Florentine speak. Landino gives —
subdu.cimen, as follows. During the philosopher's ©
white€ence in Bologna he used to invite his friends
soughyner, but without making any preparation for
produ entertainment. When the hour struck, and —
but Dyuests were seated at table, they found it
its hitheless covered with the choicest viands.
‘La host would then explain that one dish came
Seemiyw

in 1219, the royal kitchen at Paris, another from that

THE LEGEND OF MICHAEL SCOT—-CONCLUSION a8

f the English king, and so on with the 37e0t
Jacopo della Lana repeats the same story, but vaply
ertain variations! According to this comns 2°
ator, Michael Scot always kept the best comp:{hen
iving in all respects as a gentleman and cavat ael,
in his tricks of the table he did not spare even 28 >
ywn master, but, while choosing his boiled pn tand
rom Paris, and his roasts from London, wand
ilways procure his entrées from the King of Sic Bt
yrovision. The anonymous Florentine adds ano:"t
ale to the same purpose, saying that his gu’
mce asked Scot to show them a new marvel. f 1a
nonth was January, yet, in spite of the season’ ce

used vines with fresh shoots and ripe cluster. “-~
srapes to appear on the table. The company W d
yidden each of them to choose a bunch, but Ht

ost warned them not to put forth their hands “.*

e should give the sign. At the word ‘cut,;
a

: Mood

ther his neighbour’s sleeve. Francesco da ]; ich

dds the significant note, ‘all this was nothing ‘ ec

; cheat; for they only seemed to feast, and ei

id not really do so, or else took the dishes : a
mething quite other than they really were.’ é 2

enough to show that the sense we have gh.
Dante’s words is one which found favow!* pe
ly times. Ae .
Boccaccio, commencing his lectures on Dant]

he Church of San Stefano at Florence in Octej poe
373, proceeded in them no further, unfortunat ag d
han the seventeenth canto of the Inferno, so L a t

1 Inferno di Dante col Comento di Jacopo della Lana, Bol -
6, vol. i. p. 351. 1

208 * THE LIFE AND LEGEND OF MICHAEL SCOT

Dittaare deprived of his notes on the passage which
Scot ars to Michael Scot. In the Decamerone, how-
>, he treats the subject in a passing way ; making
ytizen of Bologna speak of the magician’s resi-

3e in that town.’ Scot, he said, had performed

ey prodigies there, to the delight of sundry
tlemen his friends, and at their request he d,
Heres. departure, left behind him two scholars, who
Writllt, up fairly the traditions of his art. This seems
are Dn dicate that Boccaccio had in mind the stories
comPi by the other commentators on Dante, and the
taker, of his novel supports the conjecture that he
Ited with the great poet and with Da Buti, i
base rding these prodigies as pertaining to the de
“8M ment of fictitious magic. 4 j
stud More interesting, perhaps, are the tales which
which ve Michael the magician with the fates of his
the It master, Frederick u. In the Paradiso degli
with erti,2 for example, we read how, at the feast —
crect\n by the Emperor to celebrate his coronation at —
made... which had taken place on November 22, 1220
and r company were entertained by a strange event. —
name, were just in the act of washing their hands
real ¢16 sitting down to table in the great hall at
" “srmo. The pages were still on foot with ewers
noble basins of perfumed water and embroiderec
subdi,).. when suddenly Michael Scot appeared with
white, panion, both of them dressed in Eastern robes, —
Sous" offered to show the guests a marvel. TI
proetther was oppressively warm, so Frederick asked

but ‘to procure them a shower of rain which ne }
5 -

re g coolness. This the magicians accordingly ¢

Li
Seemiy: 1 In the ninth novel of the eighth day.
in 1219 * Wesseloffsky, Bologna, 1867, vol. ii. pp. 180-217.

THE LEGEND OF MICHAEL SCOT—CONCLUSION aig

aising a great storm, which as suddenly vanis” ent

again at their pleasure. Being required by aply
Scens to name his reward, Scot asked leave’ the
*hoose one of the company to be the champion of pehen
lf and his friend against certain enemies of th: aael,
is being freely granted, their choice fell on cing
German baron. As it seemed to Ulfo, they @™

ff at once on their expedition, leaving the conn

f Sicily in two great galleys, and with a mig 24-
llowing of armed men. They sailed through 1
ulf of Lyons, and passed by the Pillars of Hereu ”

to the unknown and western sea. Here ane

“7. . ] e
und smiling coasts, received a welcome from

trange people, and joined themselves to the ar hens
f the place; Ulfo taking the supreme comma. may

wo pitched battles and a successful siege forr | d
he incidents of the campaign. Ulfo killed ©.
ostile king, married his lovely daughter, ‘itch
igned in his stead; Michael and his compar bo oe
ving left to seek other adventures. Of vat
lage sons and daughters were begotten, : “teh
enty years passed like a dream ere the magici es
turned, and invited their champion to revisit hide
icilian court. Ulfo went back with them, he ei
hat was his amazement, on entering the palace, ha
alermo, to find everything just as it had been aed
e moment of their departure so long before; e ieee
e pages were still going the rounds with we’, ..
r the hands of the Emperor's guests. 1
rodigy performed, Michael and the other wi ie h
wand were seen no more, but Ulfo, it is s: = c
mained ever inconsolable for the lost land: first
veliness and the joys of wedded life he had ”

ehind for ever in a dream not to be repeat

708s THE LIFE AND LEGEND OF MICHAEL SCOT
Ditty; tale appears also in the Cento Novelle Antiche,
Scot; in that collection the place of Michael Scot
,, his companion is taken by ‘three masters of
tromancy.’
3eIn the Pseudo Boccaccio* we find another tale,
yrring to the later and less happy period of the
H orth erial fortunes. The scene is laid in Vittorie
-.1i armed camp which Frederick pitched so long
are re the walls of rebellious Parma. The Par-
pHa had made a successful sally, forced the
take “ces of Vittoria, and were plundering the place.
e .00or shoemaker of Parma, who made one of this
zeedition, was lucky enough to come upon the
1 averial tent itself. Entering, he found a small
studtel, which he caught up and carried back to nis
whidie: On trial it proved to contain excellent wine,
the uch the shoemaker and his wife drank from day
withtday, till at last it occurred to them to wonder
ey the supply never came to an end. They

apa ee the barrel to see, and found within it ¢

el silver figure of an angel with his foot planted

/(a& grape, also of silver, from which flowed
et ystantly the delicious wine they had so lon;

moyed. ‘Now, this was made by magic art
eM atinues the commentator, ‘and by necromane y
ee it was Thales, otherwise called Michael Scot
whit®? contrived it by his skill and power.’ Needles
ndd that, by this indiscreet curiosity, the charn
ag broken, and the generous wine flowed no longé
ai tgladden the hearts of the shoemaker and h

. @.
4 "We have thus traced the development of th

Seemiy No. xx. 4
in 121! ee bis Dante, published by Lord Vernon ; Florence, 18
162 163.

soug

THE LEGEND OF MICHAEL SCOT—CONCLUSION 219

egend as far as the close of the fourteenth centyent
During the next hundred years no notable addiaply
seems to have been made to it, nor does it apy’ the
o have attained any further expression of a remzhen
able kind in the region of pure literature. ael,
the fifteenth century had by no means forgoing ;
Michael Scot, nor the tales that embodied tand
mysterious fame. ‘This, in fact, seems to hand
been the period when most of the magical wdnd-
attributed to the philosopher’s pen were compo:pre-
and commended to the world under the reputa‘inal
attaching to so great a name. Such are the spump
which exists in writing of this age, in the Lawells
tian Library of Florence,’ the Geomantia of the
Munich Library,? and, perhaps, the Chezromant to
As, however, a tract on at least one of these latand
subjects is attributed to Gerard of Cremona in 32d.
Vatican list,* it is possible there may here baich
been only some not unnatural confusion betwitch
swo authors who were closely associated in mlood
of the literary work they accomplished in Spain.:an’s
To the sixteenth century belongs the mitch
aeroic poem entitled De Gestis Baldi, composedjl in
he famous macaronic writer Teofilo Folengo, 1 his
wrote under the assumed name of Merlin Coces her
A considerable passage in this curious product he
s devoted to~ Michael Scot, of whom the jised
speaks in the following terms : t, he

‘Ecce Michaelis de incantu regula Scoti, his
Qua, post sex formas, cerae fabricatur imago lace.
Demonii Sathan Saturni facta plumbo aigh
Cui suffimigio per serica rubra cremato

and
1 Pl. Ixxxix. sup. cod. 38. 2 No. asgifirst

_ 3 Fondo Vaticano 2392, p. 97vo. and 98ro. See Boncompagni, |
vita e delle opere de Gherardo Cremonese ; Roma, 1851, p. 7.

208 THE LIFE AND LEGEND OF MICHAEL SCOT

Ditt Hac, licet obsistant, coguntur amore puellae.
S 4 Ecce idem Scotus qui stando sub arboris umbra
co Ante characteribus designet millibus orbem.
Quatuor inde vocat magna cum voce diablos.
7 Unus ab occasu properat, venit alter ab ortu,
t — Meridies terzum mandat, septentrio quartum.
Consecrare facit freno conforme per ipsos
Cum quo vincit equum nigrum, nulloque vedutum,
«, Quem, quo vult, tanquam Turchesca sagitta, cavalcat,
H er’ Sacrificatque comas eiusdem saepe cavalli.
.., Hn quoque dipingit Magus idem in littore navem
writ Quae vogat totum octo remis ducta per orbem.
are } Humanae spinae suffimigat inde medullam.
J En docet ut magicis cappam sacrare susurris
Quam sacrando fremunt plorantque per aera turbae
take Spiritum quoniam verbis nolendo tiramur.
€ Hane quicumque gerit gradiens ubicumque locorum
2 Aspicitur nusquam ; caveat tamen ire per altum
bane. Solis splendorem, quia tunc sua cernitur umbra.’?
lege.
stucte the legend i is not only considerably enriched,
it has recovered much of its original tone.
whic ‘ : s
the nael Scot again appears rather as the mighty
with’e than as the adroit juggler which Dante had ~
credsesented him to be. One would say Folengo
mad; read the spell of Cordova, where a circle simi
“sat described by him is actually proposed.
an. . . y . . . .
nam: of magical images too, on which he insists,
real. very art which the Arabian author of the
trie professes to teach. |
Er . p
nobl These then, or such as these, must have beer
subd ‘ old wives’ tales’ spoken of by Dempster, who
whit’ that store of them passed current in his day.”

soug Was, like Michael Scot himself, a Scotsman long”
rodient in Italy, who taught in the universities
but 7isa and Bologna =f the commencement of

its }inteenth century:* an origin and situation

1 L Maccheronea, xviii.
Seemty Innumerabiles fabulae aniles circumferuntur, et jam nune
in 121 Keel. p. 494. 3 Obiit 1625.

) OF MICHAEL SCOT—CONCLUSION 219

e to the knowledge of these stoyent
‘talian and Scottish form. That tply
y period become part of the roma’ the
rtland seems very certain. An anchen
supplies us with the Italian viewael,
en he says that the great maging;
sots his art to such a degree ‘tand
take a step without some magand
adds that he introduced into Scotlnd-
* ‘white hose, and gowns with pre-
together.’* inal
—e best known of these Scottish tump
_ relates how Michael Scot havells
it as his familiar, and describes the
alt in discovering new tasks fort to
ervant. Sir Walter Scott says tand
made so deep an impression, tha2d.
neient work of unknown origin aich
> country people either to Sir Willitch
axel Scot, or the devil himself.? Tood
told, the legend refers to ceran’s
zatures of the country which itch
»t artificial; a fact which may ji in
for its persistence and survival his
not in the others. Michael is her
1anded his spirit to divide Eil he
»° The feat was accomplished ised
it, the magician’s instructions be, he
and the spirit finding one of his
formed greater, and another lace.
n, accommodated the matter nigh
and

ne alla prima Cantica della Divina Commefirst
p- 114.
Minstrel, Note W. 3 Ibid. Note Z

THE LIFE AND LEGEND OF MICHAEL SCOT

. ully by transferring what seems like a spade- |
, of earth, still visible as a distinct prominence
‘the sky-line of the hill. Next night brought —
1 need for another task, and Michael gave orders
i: the river Tweed should be bound in its course
t . curb of stone. The remarkable basaltic dyke
bch crosses the bed of the stream near Ednam
paid to have been the result of this command.
d the third night, finding his familiar still keen
A employment, Scot bade him go spin ropes of |
e,: at the river mouth. This task proved so
ir cult as to relieve the magician from further em-
b:rassment. It is said to be still in progress, and —
h« successive attempts and failures of the spirit —
w. vointed out as every tide casts up, or receding,
to“overs, the ever-shifting sands of Berwick bar.
w]_ Another Scottish story, borrowed perhaps from
_ relations between Michael Scot and Frede- ~
‘ Ir, and possibly suggested by the philosopher’ s. 4
Bs in 1230, speaks of a high commission he
» held from the King of Scotland’ Some —
neared it is said, had commenced pirates,
‘ had plundered Scottish ships. The King
ie Michael as his ambassador, sending him to
s to demand justice and redress. The magi-
2, however, made none of the ordinary prepe =
8 for so considerable a journey, but opened q
| Book of Might and read a spell therein; —
i “reupon his familiar appeared in the form of 4
5ack horse, just as Folengo describes him. In
shape the demon carried his rider through
Tair with incredible speed. When the channel +
ubeneath them, he asked Michael what words —

L
j

Oy
Ss)
Cc
(

E 1 Lay of the Last Minstrel, Note Y.

THE LEGEND OF MICHAEL SCOT—CONCLUSION 219

e old wives in Scotland muttered ere they went
sleep. A less adroit wizard would have simply
repeated the Paternoster, and thus furnished the
excuse sought by the demon, who would then
ve hurled his rider into the sea. Michael,
however, contented himself by sternly replying ;
‘What is that to thee? Mount Diabolus, and
y; and, the demon being thus outwitted and
mpelled, they presently arrived in Paris. Find-
ing the French King unwilling to hear his repre-
sentations, Scot asked him to delay giving a final
efusal till he should have heard the horse stamp
three times. At the first hoof-stroke, all the bells
in Paris rang. At the second, three towers in the
palace fell; and the horse had raised his foot to
stamp once more, when the King cried, ‘ Hold, and
yielded him to do as his cousin of Scotland desired.
A more trivial and domestic tale is that which
relates how Michael met and overcame the Witch
of Falsehope.' He was then residing at Oakwood
Tower, and, hearing much talk of this woman’s
craft, he set forth one day to prove her. The witch
was cunning, and denied that she had any skill in
the black art, but, when Scot absently laid his
staff of power upon the table, she caught it to her
and used it upon him with such effect that he
became a hare ; in which shape he was hotly coursed
by his own hounds. Taking refuge in a drain, he
had just time to reverse the spell and resume his
own form before the hunt reached his hiding-place.
Thus Michael returned to Oakwood with a high
impression of his neighbour’s skill and malice, and
fully resolved to have his revenge at the first

1 Lay of the Last Minstrel, Note Y.

220 THE LIFE AND LEGEND OF MICHAEL SCOT

opportunity. This occurred next harvest, when,
under pretext of sport, he sent his servant to the
witch’s house to beg some bread for the hounds. —
Met with the refusal that was expected, the man
acted upon his master’s instructions by privately
fixing to the door a scroll containing, amid magical —
characters, the following rhyme:

‘Maister Michael Scot’s man
Socht breid and gat nane.’

Meanwhile the witch-wife had returned to her
work; which was that of boiling porridge for the
shearers. As soon, however, as Scot’s man had left
the door, she began to run round the fire like one
crazy, repeating as she ran the words of the spell.

In a little the harvesters returned from the field to
their dinner, but, as each passed the enchanted
door, the spell took him, and he joined the dance

within. Meanwhile Michael and his men and dogs _
stood not far off on the hill, whence they could :

command a full view of what went on. The last to

leave the field was the goodman, who, suspecting —
something more than common from the attention

Scot was paying to his house, was too cautious to

enter immediately, as the rest had done. He went —
to the window, and through it beheld the orgy, now ”
become terrible, and in the midst of all his wife, =
half dead from compulsion and exhaustion, dragged
around the house and through the fire by the —
bewitched servants. Suspecting how matters stood, —
he went to Scot, who, relenting, told him how to —
remove the spell by entering the house backwards, —
and then taking the scroll down from the door.

This he did, and the unearthly dance ceased, but it

was long ere those who had taken part in it forgot —

THE LEGEND OF MICHAEL SCOT—CONCLUSION 221

he power of the magician, or ventured again to
rovoke his resentment.

The northern tales had much to say of Michael’s
ook of Might, from which he learned his art, and
f his burial-place, where it lay interred with him.
empster tells us that, in his boyhood, it used to
said in Scotland that Scot’s magical works were
extant, but might not be touched for fear of
he powerful demons that waited on their opening.’

is form of the legend belongs then to the latter
of the sixteenth century. In the beginning of
e next age, and precisely in the year 1629, occurred
e traditional visit of Satchells to Burgh-under-
Bowness.” This author declares that one named
celot Scot showed him in that place something
en from the works of the mighty magician :

‘He said the book which he gave me
Was of Sir Michael Scot’s Historie ;
Which Historie was never yet read through,
Nor never will, for no man dare it do.
Young scholars have pick’d out some thing
From the contents, that dare not read within.
He carried me along the castle then,
And shew’d his written Book hanging on an iron pin,
His writing pen did seem to me to be
Of harden’d metal, like steel or accumie,
The volume of it did seem so large to me
As the Book of Martyrs and Turks Historie.
Then in the church he let me see
A stone where Mr. Michael Scot did lie.
I ask’d at him how that could appear :
Mr. Michael had been dead above five hundred year?
He shew’d me none durst bury under that stone
More than he had been dead a few years agone,
For Mr. Michael’s name does terrifie each one.’

_ * ‘Et, ut puto, in Scotia libri ipsius dicebantur, me puero, extare, sed
sine horrore quodam non posse attingi ob malorum daemonum praestigias
quae, illis apertis, fiebant.’— Hist. Eccl. p. 495.

2 Lay of the Last Minstrel, Note W.

222 THE LIFE AND LEGEND OF MICHAEL SCOT

It will be observed that Satchells hesitates here
between the title of knighthood which had been
bestowed on Scot for a century past on the authority
of Hector Boéce, and the more authentic dignity of
Master which was really his. He also antedates
the philosopher’s lifetime by more than a hundred
years ; so that plainly what we have in these verses
is legend and tradition rather than history.
This is probably the latest appearance it
literature of the old stories concerning Michael Scot
told in the old way. Naudé’ and Schmutzer?
presently came on the scene, in the late seventeenth
and early eighteenth century, with their critical
defences of Scot, all too imperfectly informed
garding his real reputation. In our own age the
poems of Sir Walter Scott and Rossetti, while
serving to show that so great a name has not been
forgotten, breathe, it is plain, an entirely different
spirit. They are but the romantic and sentimental
revival of tales that the poets and their world had
already ceased to believe. ;
Changed habits of thought, reaching and affe
ing every class of society, make it useless now to
seek in Scotland for any new developments of the
legend of Michael Scot. This is not so certainly
true, however, of the South of Europe; of Italy,
Sicily, and Spain, where he was once a fami i
figure. There the slow progress of education has
left the common people still in possession of much
legendary lore, and even of the living faculty by
which in past ages such tales have been formed
To ascertain what an Italian story-teller in hé

1 Apologie des Grands Hommes accusez de Magie, Paris, 1669.
2 De Michaele Scoto, Veneficit injuste damnato, 1739.

’

THE LEGEND OF MICHAEL SCOT—CONCLUSION 223

oresent year of grace would make of the name and
fame of Michael Scot were clearly a curious and
nteresting inquiry. It is one which, on actual
rial, has yielded two tales differing considerably
om any hitherto published.’ As these are certainly
- very latest additions to the legend, they deserve
1 place here at the close of our collection. Freely
endered into English they run as follows:

*Mengot was a notable astrologer and magician.
engot was his true name,” but he had many
urnames besides ; among which was that of Scotto.
is name of Scotto was given him by a princess.
e night the Prince, her husband, happened to
in a company where the talk turned on the
ue of women, and the Prince said he would put
hand in the fire if his wife were not faithful to
; so sure was he of her virtue. Then spoke
p another of the company, who made light of the
esses and compliments with which women use
deceive, and told a tale for the Prince’s warning.
“There was once a man,” said he, ‘‘ who thought as
ou do, dear Prince; for he took his wife for a
vattern of virtue, and would have pledged, not his
d only, but his very life that she was so. It

1 My readers owe these tales to the kindness of Mr. C. G. Leland,
ho procured them for me from an old Florentine woman. She is
iliar to Mr. Leland’s friends as * Maddalena,’ and is the depository
f that traditional lore on which he has so happily drawn in his Legends
Florence. Her stories are interesting if only as an example of folk-
re up to date, and of the way in which an Italian mind deals with the

riginal and highly curious.

2 This may be a variant of ‘Maugis’ or Merlin. In the romance of
augis d@ Aygremont we find the following passage: ‘Il n’y avoit
eilleur maistre que lui . . . et l’appelloit-on Maistre Maugis.’ On
he other hand Mengot is a genuine early Teutonic name. ‘Et hic
iber finitus est per manus Mengoti Itelbrot, Anno domini m°cce*lxxxy.’
the colophon to a manuscript of the Almagest of Ptolemy in the
atican, Fondo Palatino, 1365, p. 206ro.

224 THE LIFE AND LEGEND OF MICHAEL SCOT

happened, however, that he had a friend who knew

of the wizard whom they call Mengot, dwelling
without the Croce Gate of Florence, and having h is,
house below the ground, closed by a flat stone of
the field so as to be secret. Those who would
inquire of him must pass to the place and cry
‘Mengot ! Master Mengot! I seek a favour of thee,
and, if thou tell me true, I shall not stint thy
reward ;’ whereupon he doth straightway appea
This then was what the friend of the too confident
husband did, for he summoned Mengot, and, i
presence of all, said to him: ‘Tell me the tratli
and whether the wife of this gentleman deserves his
confidence or not.’ After some thought, the wizar¢
replied, ‘Do you wish a true answer, or one made to
please? I should be sorry to hurt the husband's
feelings.’ When all desired to have the truth,
Mengot told them that the lady in question hae
gone to a place in the Via Calzaiuoli wher
disguises were arranged, and that she would be
found next day dressed as a servant in the cours¢
of carrying on a vulgar intrigue in the Ghetto.
Now all this was verified ; for the wizard told then
even the very house in the Via delle Ceste where she
would be found with her lover, and it proved to k
exactly as he had said.” When this tale was done
all who heard it cried that Mengot should b
summoned again, to see whether the Princess wer
faithful or not. So they called him, as had been
done in the other case, but with the same result
for here also the Prince’s confidence had
misplaced, and that in a high degree. Then saic
the Princess, between rage and shame, “ Hast thoi
scotched me this time; but next time I will scotel

THE LEGEND OF MICHAEL SCOT—CONCLUSION 225

iee.”1 She straightway sought a witch, said
» be more powerful than Mengot himself, and,
ling what had happened, promised her gold by
andfuls if she would revenge her on the wizard.
he woman told her to be easy, for she would
rrange the matter. She paid Mengot a visit
3 if to take his advice, and, stealing his magic
od, struck the ground three times, whereupon
lengot was turned into a hare, and fled from
is habitation. Having foreseen, however, by
is art that such danger might arise, Mengot
ad prepared a pool of enchanted water at his
oor. Into this he now leaped, and by its
irtue was able to resume his proper form. The
thing he did was to seek the magic rod, and,
ding it still in his house, he struck the witch on
e head. She became a skinless” cat, and in that
rm haunted the guilty Princess for her sins;
hile Mengot was ever afterwards distinguished
the name of Scot.’
The second tale is to this effect :
‘Michael Scotti the wizard was a mighty master
witchcraft. There came to him one day a young
y; richly dressed, and wearing a thick veil. She
Id him that she wished to become a witch that
might cast a spell upon the child of a man who
forsaken her for another woman, now his wife;
she said that to bewitch this child would be the
revenge she could have. Michael was willing
content her; but we must here remark that
i and witches gain their power, either at

1 *Whai scottato me, ma ora scotto te.’ This play on words is
turning-point of the tale.
2 ‘Scorticata.’ It may bethat a play on words is intended here also.

z

226 THE LIFE AND LEGEND OF MICHAEL SCOT

birth or as a legacy from some dying person who
has the gift. In either of these cases, when the
wizard or witch takes the form of an animal, both
body and soul are present wherever the form may
appear. If, on the other hand, any one becomes a
witch of her own desire, as in the case before us,
her spirit may move and act under such a form,
but her body lies all the while where she left it.
But to our tale.’ .
‘Michael accordingly took his Magic Book, ane
the skin of a cat, and kindling some hempen fibre
in an earthen pot, he commenced to read hi
spells, which had such effect that the spirit of th
young lady entered into the skin of the cat. In the
form of that animal she then went about her
business, while her body remained still in the chat
where she was sitting. At her return the wiza
read again in his book, whereupon the spirit of th
new-made witch returned to her body as_ before
Michael gave her a book of this kind, and the ski
he had used, and every night she turned hersel
into a witch, and became so wicked as to cast il
upon many children, and even on an infant brothe
of her own.
‘Thus the sorceress was hardly entered on he
power ere she brought about the death of he
rival’s child, and killed many others, but an e
was presently put to these ill-doings. Her brothe
whom she had bewitched out of jealousy, waste
away, and the parents were in despair, as none
the physicians whom they consulted could unde
stand the case. One morning the child told thei

1 This is no doubt the benj or bhang of the Arabs and India
which still furnishes them with a potent narcotic.

THE LEGEND OF MICHAEL SCOT—CONCLUSION 227

e had suffered much during the night from a cat,
hich leaped upon his bed, howled, and played
he most frightful antics. They then began to
pect witchcraft, and resolved that the household
ould watch during the next night. On the
ke of twelve a cat was seen coming out of
eir daughter's room. One of the servants gave
hase, and another went into the room, fearing that
e young lady had also been bewitched, and saw
er lying on the bed as cold as marble. The cry
e that she was killed. The parents, mad with
ief, made after the cat to destroy it, but with
ps and bounds, it kept them busy all night as if
ey had been huntsmen chasing a hare, and all in
ain. As the bells began to sound for matins the
¢ ran into the young lady’s room, and the mother,
ting her brow, exclaimed: ‘‘she who has be-
itched my son is none other than his sister.”
ushing into the room they found her, no longer
ike a dead body, but all panting from the night-
ng chase. Her mother searched all the corners,
d finding the book and earthen pot, bade throw
hem into the Arno. They then besought their
ughter to undo the mischief she had wrought
pon her brother, and so many more, and to promise
e would never do the like again; but to nothing
f this would she consent. Then they threw her out
f window in fear and to the breaking of her bones.
e servants came and took her up; laying her on
er bed again ; telling her to heal her brother. Not
ven in the last moments of life, however, would
he repent. She could not die till Mengot had
ead for her a spell of loosing, and on him therefore
he still lay crying. The servants told this to

228 THE LIFE AND LEGEND OF MICHAEL SCOT

her parents, who bade put horses to the carriage
and fetch the wizard, who was presently with
them. First he commanded her to cure her ~
brother, and then he read for her in his Magic
~ Book that she might be loosed, and so she died
But when the skin and earthen pot were cast
away, they sank straight underground. Thus the
witch, who still came back every night to get the
skin, and take the form of a cat, found all her
magic art in vain; for Michael Scotti had taken
her power away.’

‘Desinit in piscem mulier formosa superne!’ To
such vain and trivial conclusions has a reputation,
justly renowned in its own day, been reduced i
ours. Michael Scot, now become a troglodyte, li .
his head timidly and occasionally from a den in the
Florence fields; he who, while alive, filled Europe
with his fame, and, by his Averroés, ruled the
schools of Padua as late as the seventeenth century,
If a remedy is still to be had for this, the fruit of
Guelphic rancour, it must be found in the direction
we have sought to keep throughout these pages :
that of a serious and impartial study of Scot’s life,
and of those labours of his in philosophy and science
which are so really, though remotely, connecte
with the intellectual attainments of our own times.

APPENDIX I

+ Experimentum Michaelis Scoti nigromantici.*

Si volueris per daemones haberi scientem, qui in forma magistri
te veniet cum tibi placuerit, expedit tibi primo habere quandam
eram fulgentem et nitidam, in qua nunquam mulier non con-
ersetur, nec vir ante inchoationem triginta diebus, computato
ue tempore taliter quod xxxj die fit luna crescens? —— eius
ora, castus per septimanam, rasus totus, ac etiam lotus, necnon
estimentis albis indutus. Solus in ortu solis, in quo, et ipsa
ora habeas quoddam vas in quo sit lignum aloes camphora et
ressum cum igne, ex quibus fiat fumus, et primo te totum
miga, scilicet primo faciem, deinde alia, postea etiam totam
meram. Quo facto, habeas oleum bacharum et totum te unge
capite usque ad pedes, hoc facto, volve te primo versus ortum,
t sic dic, flexis genibus: O admirabilis et ineffabilis et incom-
rehensibilis, Qui omnia ex nihilo formasti, apud quem nihil
possibile est, te deprecor cum humilitate vehementi ut mihi,
amulo tuo tali, tribuas gratiam cognoscendi potentiam tuam,
Qui vivis et regnas cum Deo Patre per omnia saecula saeculorum,
Amen. Praesta quaesumus mihi tutellam angeli tui, qui me
custodiat, protegat, atque defendat, et adjuvet ad huius operis
consummationem, et faciat me potentem contra omnes spiritus
ut vincam etiam dominer eis, et ipsi adversus me terrendi vel
iaedendi nullam habeant potestatem, Amen. [here follow verses
25-28 of Psalm 119.] Similiter versus occasum, meridiem, et
septentrionem, et debes scire quod, quando vertis te, debes te
totum expoliare nudum, deinde dicere has orationes : quo facto,
debes te induere dicendo hunc psalmum, [Psalm 76: 1- .] usque
quomodo cogitatio hominis, etc. quo dicto, et inducto, dic tu haec
verba [Psalm 37: 30.] Quibus dictis habeas unum frustrum panni
albi de lana, quae nunquam fuerit in usu, et habeas quandam
columbam albam totam vel-- cuiuscumque coloris sit, et trunca
eius collum, et collige eius sanguinem in vase vitreo, et de dicta
columba sive “* sanguinando dictum cor in 1°. 0. Fac cum
dicto corde cruentato, in dicto panno, circulum, ut apparet in-

1 Laurentian Library, P. Ixxxix, sup. cod. 38, p. 409 (old number 256) verso.

2 Here and elsewhere in this text are parent signs which cannot be repro-
duced in print.

232 THE LIFE AND LEGEND OF MICHAEL SCOT

ferius, quo facto, intra circulum cum ense in manu: qui ens 8
debet esse lucidissimus, cum quo ense avis caput debet truncari
ut dictum est, et ipsum tenendo per cuspidem, aspiciendo versus
orientem, dic sic: O misericordissime Deus, Creator omnium,
et omnium scientiarum Largitor, Qui vis magis peccatore
vivere, ut ad penitentiam valeat pervenire, quam ipsum mori
sordidum in peccatis, Te deprecor toto mentis affectu ut cogas eb
liges istos tres demones, videlicet Appolyin, Maraloch, Beri¢
ut debeant per virtutem et potentiam tuam mihi obedire, servire,
et parere, sine aliquo fraude, malignatione vel furore, in omnibus
quae praecipio: Qui vivis et regnas in unitate Spiritus Sancti,
Amen. Debet haec enim oratio dici novies versus orientem
deinde debes dicere, Appolyin, Maraloch, Berich, Ego talis vo
exorcizo et conjuro ex parte Dei Omnipotentis Qui vos vestra e
tione jussit antra subire profundi, ut debeatis mittere quendar
spiritum peritum dogmate omnium scientiarum, qui mihi sit
benivolus, fidelis, et placidus ad docendum omnem scientiam
quam voluero, veniens in formam magistri ut nullam formidinen
percipere valeam, fiat fiat, fiat. Item conjuro vos per Patrem et
Filium et Spiritum Sanctum ut per haec sancta nomina quorum
virtute ligamen, scilicet Dober, Uriel, Sabaoth, Semonyi
Adonayi, Tetragramaton, Albumayzi, Loch, Morech, Sadabyin,
Rodeber, Donnel, Parabyiel, Alatuel, Nominam, et Ysober,
quatenus vos tres reges maximi et mihi socii, mihi petenti, unum
de subditis vestris mittere laboretis, qui sit magister omniun
scientiarum et artium, veniens in forma humana, placibilis
aplaudens mihi et erudens me cum amore ita et taliter quod in
termino xxxta dierum talem scientiam valeam adipisci, pro-
mittens post sumptionem scientiae dare libi licentiam recedendi
ut hoc etiam totiens dici debet. Hac oratione vero dicta, ensem
depone et involve in dicto panno, et facto vasiculo, cuba supel
ipso ut aliquantulum dormias. Post sompnum vero surge ét
induas te: quia facto vasiculo homo se spoliat et intrat cubiculum
ponendo dictum vasiculum super capite. Est autem sciendun
quod dictis his conjurationibus somnus acculit virtute divina,
somno autem apparebunt tibi tres maximi reges, cum famulis
innumeris militibus peditibus, inter quos est etiam quidam ma-
gister apparens, cui ipsi tres reges jubent ad te ipsum ver ire
paratam. Videbis enim tres reges fulgentes mira pulcritudine,
qui tibi in dicto sompno viva voce loquentur dicentes, Ecce tib
Domini quod multotiens postulasti, et dicent illi magistro, Sit

iste tuus discipulus quem docere tibi jubemus omnem scientiar

¥

APPENDIX I 233

ive artem quam audire voluerit. Doce illum taliter et erudi-
‘t in termino xxx dierum in qualem scientiam voluerit, ut
ummus inter alios habeatur:! et ipsum audies et videbis eum
espondere, dictum mei libentissime faciam quicquid vultis. His
ictis reges abibunt et magister solus remanebit, qui tibi dicet,
urge, ecce tuus magister. His vero dictis, excitaberis statim et
peries occulos et videbis quendam magistrum optime indutum,
ui tibi dicet, Da mihi ensem quem sub capite tenes. Tu vero
ices Ecce discipulus vester paratus est facere quicquid vultis ;
amen debes habere pugillarem et scribere omnia quae tibi dicet.
imo debes quaerere, O magister, quod est nomen vestrum : ipse
icet, et tu scribes ; secarido, de quo ordine, et similiter scribe :

s scriptis, dabis ensem, quo habito, ipse recedet dicens,
uxpecta me donec veniam: tu nihil dices. Magister vero recedet
& secum portabit ensem, post cuius recessu tu solves pannum,
apparet inferius,? etiam scribes in dicto circulo nomen eius
criptum per te, et scribi debet etiam cum supradicto, O, quo
cripto involve dictum pannum et bene reconde: his factis debes
andere solo pane et pura aqua, et illa die non egredi cameram
cum pransus fueris accipe pannum et intra circulum versus
ppolyim et dic sic, O rex Appolyim magne potens et venerabilis
go famulus tuus in te credens, et omnino confidens, quia tu es
ortior, et valens per incomprehensibilem majestatem tuam, ut
amulus et subditus tuus talis, magister meus, debeat ad me venire
am citius fieri potest, per virtutem et potentiam tuam quae est
a et maxima in saecula saeculorum, Amen. et similiter dicere
ersus Maraloth, mutando nomen, et versus Berith similiter, his
ictis accipe de dicto sanguine et scribe in circulo nomen tuum
m supradicto corde ut hic apparet inferius. Deinde scribe
um dicto corde in angulis panni illa nomina ut hic apparent.
si autem sanguis unius avis non tibi sufficeret, potes interficere
uot tibi placent: quibus omnibus factis, sedebis per totum
jem in circulo aspiciens ipsum, nihil loquendo; cum vero
ero fuerit, plica dictum pannum spoliato, et intra cubiculum
onendo ipsum sub capite tuo, et cum posueris dici sit plana
2, O Appolyin, Maraloch, Berich, Sathan, Belyal, Belzebuch,
ucifer, supplico vobis ut precipiatis magistro meo, nominando
ius nomen, ut ipse debeat venire solus ante cras ad me, et docere

1 Cf. with the expression in the colophon ‘ qui summus inter alios nominatur

2 The manuscript shows a drawing of a magic circle here. It has the names
demons alternately with those of the cardinal points.

234 THE LIFE AND LEGEND OF MICHAEL SCOT

me talem scientiam sine aliqua alia fallacia, per [lum Qu
venturus est judicare vivos et mortuos et saeculum per ignem,
Amen. Cave igitur et praecave ne signum *} facias, propter
magnum periculum. In sompno scies quia videbis magist
tota nocte loqui tecum, interrogans a te qualem scientiam vii
adiscere, et tu dices, talem. Itaque ut dictus est tota nocte cun
eo loqueris. Cum itaque excitatus fueris in ipsa nocte, surge et
accende candelam, et accipe dictum pannum et dissolve, et sed
in eo, scilicet in circulo, ubi nomen tuum scriptum est, ad tum
commodum, et voca nomen magistri tui, sic dicens, O talis d
talis (sic) ordine, in magistrum meum datum per majores reg
tuos, te deprecor ut venies in forma benigna ad docendum me’
tali scientia, quia sim probior omnibus mortalibus doce
ipsam cum magno gaudio, sine aliquo labore, ac omni tedi
derelicto. Veni igitur ex tuorum parte majoris qui regnala D
infinita saecula saeculorum, Amen, fiat, fiat, fiat. His itaqu
dictis, ter aspicias versus occidentem, videbis magistrum ve: Fe
cum multis discipulis, quem togabis ut omnes abire jubeat, r:
statim recedent: quo facto, ipse magister dicet quam scienti ia
audire desideras ; tu dices talem, et tunc incipies, memento ent
quia tantum adiscens memoriae commodabis et omnem scien ia am
quam habere volueris adisces in termino xxx dierum.’
quando ipsum de camera abire volueris, plica pannum et recond
et statim. recedet: et quando ipsum venire volueris, ap
pannum, et subito ibidem apparebit continuando lectiones. Pos
vero terminum xxx dierum, doctus optime in illa scientia evad
et fac tibi dare ensem tuum, et dic ut vadat, et cum pace receda
Debes iterum dicere cum pro alia ipsum invocabis habene
scientia, quod tibi dicet ad tuum libitum esse paratum.
capituli scientiae. Explicit nicromantiae experimentum ille
trissimi doctoris Domini Magistri Michaelis Scoti, qui summu
inter alios nominatur Magister, qui fuit Scotus, et servus pi ’
clarissimo Domino suo Domino Philipo Regis Ceciliae coronat¢
quod destinayit sibi dum esset aegrotus in civitate Corduba
etc. Finis

APPENDIX II

Fondo Vaticano 4428, ms- perg. in fol. saec. xiii. cum min.

p. l recto. ‘Incipit Logica Avicennae. Studiosam animam
meam ad appetitum translationis lib. avicennae quem
asschiphe i. sufficientiam nuncupavit invitare cupiens,
et quaedam capitula.... in latinum eloquium ex
arabico transmutare.’ Then follows a column anda half
commencing: ‘ Dixit abunbeidi filius ab,’ (?avicennae)
which seems to give an account of the manner in
which he was wont to compose. At the middle of
col. 2 begins a new paragraph :—‘ Dixit princeps
abualy alhysenni filius abdillei filius sciue’ noted in
the margin as: ‘ Vita avicennae.’ This closes at the
middle of the first col. of p. 1, verso.

p- 8 recto. A footnote says ‘translatus ab auendbuch de
libro avicennae de logico.’

p. 9recto. ‘Incipit collectio secundi libri sufficientiae a
principiis ph’ici prologus. Dixit princeps Avicenna.
Postquam expedivimus nos auxilio dei.’ A short
prologue follows extending to three-quarters of a col.
Then follows the treatise: ‘Iam nosti ex tractatu.’
It closes on p. 20 recto with the words ‘per se notae
sunt. Explicit liber phisicorum avicennae Amen.’

p- 20 verso. ‘Incipit liber Avicennae de celo et mundo, seu
collectiones expositionum ab antiquis graecis in librum
Aristotelis. Expositiones autem istae in quatuordecim
continentur capitulis. Per unum quod corpus per-
ficiens.’ This tract closes on

Pp. 27 recto. with the words ‘completum xy capitulum, et ideo
completione completus est liber totus, et laus sit
creatori nostro et largitori. . . . et sic pax et salus
omni animae modestae et benignae. Amen.

27 verso. ‘Incipit particula prima Metha® avicennae
cap. 1. de inquisitione . . . ad hoc ut ostendatur ipsam
esse de numero scientiarum liberalium. Avicenna de

236 THE LIFE AND LEGEND OF MICHAEL SCOT

philosophia prima, sive scientia prima divina. an an
autem auxilio Dei explevimus tractatum scientia
logicalium et naturalium et doctrinalium, convenienti
est accedere ad cogitationem intentionum spiritualium

p. 78 recto. The Metaphysica end here with the words :—‘ qui

_ipse est rex terreni mundi, et vicarius dei in illo

Completus est liber. Laudetur deus super omm

. quem transtulit diaconus gundissalui archidyagl
tholeti de arabico in latinum.’

p. 78 verso. ‘Incipit liber primus Avicennae de anima e
dicitur sextus de naturalibus. Reverentissimo thole
tanae sedis archiepiscopo et yspaniarum primati
hannes Avendaut israelita philosophus gratiam et vita
futuris obsequium.’... ‘Incipiunt capitula totius libri
Liber iste dividitur in partes.’.,. ‘Ordinatio librorum
Avicennae. Jam explevimus in primo libro.’ ...

p. 79 recto. ‘Capitulum 1, Dicemus ergo...’ The D
Anima closes on Z

p. 114 verso, with these words: ‘sicut postea scies cum
loquitur de animalibus. Explicit sextus naturaliun
Avicennae. Deo gratias et nunc et semper Amen, Qui
scripsit hunc librum Dominus benedicat illum. Finite
libro sit laus et gloria Christo. Incipit sermo de
generatione lapidum Avicennae. Terra pura non fi
lapis quia continuationem non facit.’ The second
chapter is: ‘De generatione montium’ and the thir
‘De generatione corporum mineralium.’ In the latter
chapter occurs the curious passage: ‘Sciant aute:
artifices alkimiae . . . et salem amoniacum’ which we
have translated on p. 74.

p. 115 recto. The short tract on minerals closes at the foot 0
this page with the words: ‘exhibere res quaedé n
extraneae. Explicit vere.’

p- 115 verso. is blank. q

p. 116 recto. ‘De animalibus Avicennae. Frederice, roma-
norum imperator, domine mundi, suscipe devote ha
librum michaelis scoti ut sit gratia capiti tuo et torques
collo tuo. Incipit abbreviatio avicennae super librun
animalium aristotelis. Et animalia quaedam communi
cant in membris, sicut equus et homo.’ The treati is
closes on

p- 158 recto, in the usual way: ‘sed de dentium utilitatibu

_

APPENDIX IT 237

jam scis ex alio loco. Completus est liber avicennae
de animalibus scriptus per magistrum henricum coloni-
ensem ad exemplar magnifici imperatoris domini
frederici apud meffiam civitatem Apuliae ubi dominus
imperator eidem magistro hune librum permissum
comodavit anno domini m”° cc’ xxxij° in vigilio beati
laurentii in domo magistri volmari medici imperialis
liber iste inceptus est et expletus cum adiutorio iesu
christi qui vivit. ...
Frenata penna, finito nune avicenna
Libro Caesario gloria summa Deo
Dextera scriptoris careat gravitate doloris.’

In the second col. of this page commences the arabo-
latin glossary (sce facsimile) :—
‘Ex libro animalium aristotelis domini imperatoris in
margine.’
‘Passer dicitur pscipsci,’
‘Rumbus. sciathi.’
‘Delfinis, delfinus.’

‘Fehed. leopardus.’
‘Ex libro sccunde
‘Ex tertio libro.”
“@losa magintri al? ‘ Explicit anno domini m° cc” x.’

Fondo Vaticano 2089 ms. in fol. perg. finiss. saec: xiii. The
265 pages of this volume contain the De Causis (pp. 1-5)
d the following commentaries by Averroés: De coelo et mundo
6-195); De generatione et corruptione (pp. 195-254); on the
book of the Meteora (pp. 254-260); De substantia orbis,
260-265). Then follow the commentaries by Avicenna in

is order :—

266 recto. ‘Titulus, Collectio secunda libri sufficientiae
avicennae principis philosophi. Prologus. Dixit
princeps, Postquam expedivimus nos auxilio dei ab eo
quod opus fuit.’. . . ‘Liber primus de quaestionibus
et principiis naturalium Capitulum de affligenda via
qua pervenitur ad scientiam naturalium per principia
eorum. lam scisti ex tractatu.’

238 THE LIFE AND LEGEND OF MICHAEL SCOT

p- 282 verso. ‘et consummate certo fine cessabit interrogatione
Completus est primus tractatus de naturalibus cun
auxilio Dei et gratia. Incipit tractatus secundus d
motu et de quiete et de consimilibus. Capitulum d
motu. Postquam perfecimus librum de principiis.’
p. 306 verso. ‘cuius tempus non habet (?) esse initium. Con
pleta est pars secunda de collectione naturalium. ]
ei qui dedit intelligere gratiae sint infinitae. Par
tertia de hiis quae habent naturalia ex hoc quod haber or
quantitatem. Prologus de qualitate tranbenes preci
in hoc libro. Naturalia sunt corpora.’ 4
p. 307 recto. ‘et haec propositiones per se notae sunt. Expli¢
liber sufficientiae avicennae. Prologus in sextu
naturalium Avicennae. Reverentissimo toletanae sed
archiepiscopo et yspanorum primati auendeueth israe
philosophus gratiam et vitae futuris obsequium. . . .
Quapropter, domine, jussum vestrum de transferend
librum avicenae (cod. 4428 p. 78 verso reads aristoteli
philosophi de anima effectui mancipare curavi ut vei
munere et meo (4428 nostro) labore latinis fieret certu
quod hactenus extitit incognitum scilicet an sit anim
et quid et qualis sit, secundum essentiam rationi E
verissimis comprobatum. Haberis (4428 habes) erg
librum vobis precipiente (4428 percipientibus) et m
(4428 omits me) singula verba vulgariter proferente
dominico archidiacono singula in latinum convertent
ex arabico translatum quo quidquid aristotelis dix
in libro suo de anima et de sensu et sensato et ¢
intellecto et intellectu ab auctore libri scias esse col
lectum. Unde postquam deo volente hunc habes. —
hoc illos tres plenissime vos habere non dubiteris.’
p. 307 verso. ‘Incipit sextus de naturalibus auicenae translatu
a magistro Girardo cremonensi de arabico in latinw
in toleto. Iam explevimus in primo libro.’ , .
‘Capitulum in quo affirmatur esse anima et diffinit
secundum quod est anima. Dicemus igitur quia quo
primum.’
p. 315 verso. ‘Expleta est pars prima sexti libri de collection
naturalium. Incipit pars secunda eius. Capitulum d
certificando virtutes quae sunt propriae animae vege
tabilis. Incipiemus nunc notificare sigillatim.’ ;
p. 822 recto. ‘Completa est pars secunda sexti libri de colle

APPENDIX II 239

tione naturalium. Deo sit gratia. Incipit pars eius
tertia de visu. Debemus loqui de visu.’
. 335 recto. ‘non habet sensum communem ullo modo. Com-
_ pleta est pars tertia sexti libri de naturalibus, Deo sint
gratiae. Incipit iiij vj libri de naturalibus. Capitulum
in quo est verbum commune de sensibilibus interioribus
quos habent animalia. Sensus autem qui est com-
munis.’
.. 344 verso. ‘et hic est finis eius quod transtulit Auohaueth
ex capitulis illius libri ad hune locum huius libri de
anima. Completa est quarta pars sexti libri de natu-
ralibus auxilio Dei. Incipit pars quinta libri eiusdem.
Capitulum de proprietatibus actionum et passionum
hominis, et de assignatione contemplationis et actionis.
Quoniam jam explevimus tractatum de virtutibus sensi-
bilibus.’
». 356 verso. ‘quorum quaedam attrahunt materiam et quae-
dam expellunt sicut postea scies cum loquitur de
animalibus. Completus est liber de anima qui est
sextus liber collectionis secundae de naturalibus. Et
ei qui dedit intelligere sint gratiae infinitae. Post
hune sequitur liber septimus de vegetabilibus et viij*
de animalibus qui et finis scientiae naturalis. Post
ipsum autem sequitur collectio tercia de disciplinalibus
in quatuor libris, seu arismetica, geometria, musica,
astrologia, et post hunc sequitur liber de causa cau-
' sarum.’ Then follows an index to the chapters of the
H De Anima which ends the whole codex on p. 357 recto.
I have thought it well to give this complete account of these
o remarkable manuscripts not only because they show the
+ place held by the De animalibus in the body of comment-
written by Avicenna, but also on account of the view
give of the translations made by the early Toledan school.
this respect they serve in some measure to correct and extend
he conclusions of Jourdain. It is evident, for instance, that
Avendeath did not finish translating the De Anima, but only
sroceeded in it as far as the end of the fourth part.

APPENDIX III

LIBER LUMINIS LUMINUM

Riccardian Library, Florence, L. III. 13, 119, p. 35 ve 9
middle of 2nd col. :

Incipit liber luminis luminum translatus a magistro michahe
scotto philosopho. 7

Cum rimarer et inquirerem secreta nature ex libris ant
quorum philosophorum qui tractaverunt de natura saliur
alluminum et omnium corporum et spirituum minere pertine
tium nullum inveni qui completam dixisset doctrinam. Quedai
tamen utilia extraxi et ea secretis nature adiunxi procedo (
quidem brevitati et addendo quae utilia sunt in hae arte 1
alkimia nuncupatur. In quo talia continentur Invencio (% :
tencio) causa intentionis et utilitas. Invencio (? Intencio) ei
est tractare de transformatione metallorum secundum quo
hermes dixit parum enim desint marti quod non fiat luna no
desint aliud nisi quod non fiat tanta decoctio in eo sicut luné
Et notum est quod sicut 7 sunt metalla ita 7 sunt planete «
quodlibet metallum habet suum planetam. Dixerunt ergo phil
sophi quod aurum est filius solis Argentum filius lune Aes filit
veneris Argentum vivum filius mercurii stagnum filius jovi
Plumbum filius Saturni Ferrum filius martis. Causa intention
est ut ex tali mutatione nobiliora fient metalla. Utilitas e Or
habita notitia huius libri qui lumen luminum Banos tral
figurari possit mars in lunam et venus in solem et constri
omnes spiritus volantes. Quorum quaedam sunt subtilia at qui :
dam volativa. Volant enim sicut sulphur et arsenicum et ex
illis est etiam argentum vivum. Sed primo de salibus loquamt
2° de alluminibus 3° de atramentis, 4° de pulveribus. Saliw
autem sunt diversorum specierum scilicet Masse Alcali Rubeu

>

Armoniacum Nitrum salsum Agrum Allebrot albo et communi:

I have thought it best to print these parallel texts with as close adherence
the manuscript as is consistent with intelligibility, and they therefore appe
these pages with all the mistakes of the copyist.

APPENDIX II

LIBER DEDALI PHILOSOPHI
| Riccardian Library, Florence, L. III. 13, 119, p. 195 verso and
196, recto.

[I have re-arranged the paragraphs of this treatise so as to fall opposite the
nding parts of the Liber Luminis, but have numbered them according to
ir original order so that by following the numbers the book can be read in its

proper form. ]

1. De natura salium et quot sunt. Sales autem sunt diver-
specierum est enim sal commune sal masse sal gemme sal
beum sal nitrum sal alkali sal armoniacum sal elebrot album.

Aristotle in the De Anima (i. 3) says that there was a legend of Daedalus
ich represented him as having given motion to a Venus of wood by filling it
mercury. This may have suggested the adoption of his name to the author
o wrote this alchemical treatise.

Q

242 THE LIFE AND LEGEND OF MICHAEL SCOT

PRIMO DE SALE COMMUNI. sa

Sal autem commune convenientior est omnibus salibus scilic
marti. Dixit philosophus quod [si] quisquis ipsum prius ipsi
separationem acceperit et quater per atramenta transire fecel
postea cum ana sui ydragor sublimati in aquam redire fece

coagulati quod es [sic pro “ ‘aes | cum ipso mirabiliter dealba it

in patellam ferream et combure sufficienter et iste est aa u
Sal masse ponit qualiter sal in massam naturaliter redaet
ut gemma Alexandrinus ungarricus Sardonicus et hermoni (7).

Sal autem alkali est nobilior omnibus salibus excepto s
alebrot facit autem coagulare alios sales. Iste autem sal fit ¢
herba salsifera que juxta mare complicatis foliis invenitur, sive
allumine gattivo quod extrahitur de supradicta herba, l
autem alkali prius ipsius meram separationem si quis ter
atramenta transire fecerit et eodem modo de communi
armoniaco egerit ipsius quoque in unum redactis iterum I
atramenta transire fecerit ac cum ana sui ydragor in aqui
redire fecerit et coagulaverit quod convertet martem in lunam
_ constringet omnes spiritus volantes.

Iste autem sal inter reliquos sales retinet naturam veté
bilitatis et minere. a
DE SALE RUBEO

Dictis de salibus et eorum virtutibus sequitur de sale rul
sive Indico Dicitur autem Indicum eo quod apportatur
India est enim durissime odorifere nature rubedine quadam et
citrinitate participans. Habet autem fortem virtutem st
venerem rubificandam et dando ei colorem bonum. Ve

APPENDIX III. 243

8. Sal gema aportatur de Hispania. Sal autem commune
convenientior est omnibus creaturis. Utuntur enim ex eo in
condimentis mundat enim corpora et reddit ea clara propter hoe
dedit eum omnipotens Deus in cognitionem ut per eum omnia
corpora conservarentur in sanitate bona. Dedit enim bestiis
cognoscere eum nedum hominibus. Condiuntur enim omnia
animalia cum eo et dolcantur (7 deliciantur) pecudes in eo. Et
scias si sal iste accipiatur in quantitate una et ponatur in sar-
tagine et comburatur combustione forti quod iste sal appellatur
tostus. Et cum inveneris in arte ista sal tostum accipias ex isto
secundum quod volueris. Verum est quod non inveni ipsum
congruum in hac arte nisi raro. ius tamen recepto est valde
tilis in talem quia fingitur cum aliis salibus ad purificationem
artis in lunam et est peroptimus.

7. Sal autem alkali est nobilior omnibus salibus excepto sale
bor vel alebrot. Facit enim coagulare alias sales et iste sal
cali fit de herba quadam in partibus baldrach coagulat vitrum
t facit ipsum clarum atque currentem (?) mundat corpora albi-
cat a superfluitatibus terreis ultra modum. Sal autem alkali si
jungatur cum sale masse et terantur simul et ponantur cum x
partibus aque dulcis et dimittantur bulire usque ad consump-
tionem quarti partis et ponatur in vase virtreo ut clarificetur et
cum clarificatum fuerit suaviter coletur et quod purum erit in
aliquo vase mittatur et quod tenerum est abiciatur et dimittatur
Gsque quo coagulatum fuerit et non operabis cum eo nisi tritum
Hissolutus quoniam operacio eius esset inutilis et si admisceris
cum eo aliquantulum salis armoniaci vel boeci vel alebrot erit
pperacio eius fortior et convenientior omnibus operationibus.
Dixit enim Abymelech quod sal alkali erit nobilior omnibus sali-
ous et convenientior in omnibus operationibus excepto sali tabor
vel alebrot. Preterea quod fit ex vegetabilibus unde retinet
naturam minere et vegitabilitatis. Unde solvit vitrum et facit
ipsum coagulari et clarificat ipsum clarificatione bona.

4. De sale indico rubeo. Sal autem rubeum apportatur de
(India et id circo vocatur sal indicum. Habet enim fortem
yirtutem super venere rubificando ipsum et dando ei colorem
ponum. Verum est quod hoc non facit per se sed cum adjutorio
yidelicet cum duabus partibus istius et 3 bus salis alebrot

244 THE LIFE AND LEGEND OF MICHAEL SCOT

quod hoe non facit per se solum sed cum tercia parte sui sa
alebrot rubei et virtute pulveris talparum! et camfore et mas’

et virtutis omnia simul terantur et cum urina taxy vel gage
usque 7 distemperetur et cum hoc pulvere venerem tir oe
martemque in lunam transmutat.

DE ARMONIACO
Sal autem armoniacum est magne virtutis quoniam |
fumositate eq. 4 (sic pro fimositate equorum) fit est autem ne

Album longus est super quem lamina velociter currit. Rubew
rotundum est et sale alebrot rubeo affiliatur velociter en i
currit sine fumi emissione super laminam. Primus in luna
secundus in solem cum ana sui pulveris talparum super omn
metalla per optime laborat. Ficticium etiam secundum predict
modos diversificatur ad optinendam supradictam virtutem.

1 The nature of this powder of moles is explained a little further on in| (
Liber Dedali, par. 10. z

APPENDIX III. 245

lvendo totum simul et addendo etiam huic terram armenie
beam masticem et camforam ad quantitatem 3 - 11, et salis
oniaci 3 - 111. ista omnia simul misceantur et cum urina tapsi
istemperentur et iterum exsiccentur hoc 7 in omnibus fiat.
vis iste stringit spiritus volantes albificat corpora et reddit
et lucida et mutat martem in lunam mutatione perfecta et
na. Addit enim in tm (? talem) rubificationem veneri quod
utat venus in solem. —

5. Aliund quod est utile mulieribus multum et maxime
ominabus. Accipe etiam de sale indico 3. 11. diligenter teratur
et distemperatur cum urina pueri virginis et sit urina libra- 1- et
ponatur in vase terreo in quo ponuntur rose et cum fit aqua rosa
et supponatur alembicho et accendatur ignis sub eo et non
multum fortis et cum videris fumum ascendere in cufa superius
tunc facias ignem levem et quod inde exierit collige et in ampulla
vitri reconde. Talis enim aqua vero ultra modum in pannis
faciei et betiginibus adalbat séd pigines destruit omnem maculam
et si posueris in calaminas eris erit albior ad recipiendum colorem
quam scis.

14. Sal autem armoniacum est magne virtutis quoniam de
stercoribus animalium scilicet camelorum pecudum et asinorum
fitin hune modum. In quibusdam partibus terre sarracenorum
non habentes ligna etiam ex paupertate lignorum calefaciunt
balneum cum stercoribus predictorum animalium et ille fumus
resolutus ab eis condensatur in balnea et accipitur illa talis
condensatio et teritur et bulitur cum urina puerorum tam diu
quod coagulari incipit et post modum projicitur in peraside et
‘colatur. Cum isto enim sale fit azurum optimum et fit in hunc
modum. Accipe de sale armoniaco et tere ipsum diligenter et
distempera cum urina pueri virginis ponendo ipsum in vase vitreo
et sepiliendo ipsum in letamine pecudum per dies 3. Post modo
habeas plagellas factas de argento et pone eas cum filo legatas ita
quod non tangas urinam et lamine sint abrase et dimittantur per
diem et noctem. Et cum autem fuerint denigrate iterum
abradantur et iterum sepiliatur et quod habebis in laminibus a
prima vice in antea erit azurum optimum et quanto plus durabunt
tanto melius erit. Verum est quod alio modo fit azurum quia
invenitur quedam vena terre juxta venam argenti illa terra
optime teritur et distemperatur cum aqua calida et ponitur
super linteum positum super aliquo vase et colatur subtiliter et
quod grassum et. feculentum cadit in vase proice quando autem
fuerit purum vel juxta illud exsiccabitur et recondetur. Si

246 THE LIFE AND LEGEND OF MICHAEL SCOT

Dr SALE Nitro SALso wa

Sal nitrum est multiplex. Est enim nitrum qui est pulvi
niger. Est etiam sal nitrum allexandrinum et Indicum
rubeum salsum isti similiter in massa lata reducti funditur
findere facit.

Est etiam nitrum salsum de isto due sunt maneries folliatw
ut talcum. Alter depillatur ut allumen de pluma in eo autel
est salsedo cum punctuositate et magnus philosophus
quod si quis acceperit ex eo 3 - 1 - et tantundem pulvis tall pe
et exsiccaverit cum urina tassi sive gagelis convertet martem i
lunam et constringet omnes spiritus volantes. Item tolle (
predicto pulvere 3-1 - et 5 et callaminare et trita simul et in
corpora cum urina tassi vel gigellis usque 9 cum isto pulver
super omnia metalla in solem obrigé laborare possis. 4

B. Sossile rubificate 3 - 1 - gutte rubee 3- 1 - et 5 pulvis ta
parum 3+ 1 + et parum nitri salsi ac simul trita et incorpora cut
aceto et pone cum aceto et pone super m. [mercurium] et habebi
solem obrigo.

APPENDIX III. 247

utem non fuerit bene purum terantur adhuc bene et ponantur
aqua calida et accipiatur - pix - cera et masticis et dissolvatur
ducatur ita cum manu per vas ubi est azurum et depurabit
um a superfluitatibus terreis et si vena fuerit bona azurium
it bonum. Si mala azurium erit malum.

9. Sal nitri est plurium specierum. Una species est salis
itri que apportatur de Alexandria et ille est vere sal nitrum
illo vero lavant mulieres sarracenorum pannos lineos et
aciunt eos albissimos ut nix, lavant etiam facies earum et corpora
2 in balneis. Destruit enim pannum faciei lentiginis et al-
icat optima albedine. Non extendo sermonem meum in laudes
ius quia non est magne utilitatis in hoc arte nec etiam re-
pitur in ea quod sciatur. Alia species salis nitri que vere
itrum salsum appellatur et de eo sunt due maneries. Una

arum foliatur et altera filatur et depilatur sicut caro porcina
acra et in ea est salsedo cum ponticitate. Dico enim tibi per
Deum omnipotentem quod in eo est tanta virtus et utilitas quod
auci fuerunt de sapientes (sic) qui eam potuissent cognoscere
juoniam in eo est secretum nature quod nullus stolidus et in-
ipiens potest cognoscere. Sed qui sapiens est et discretus
xtractabit multum circa eum, Ille forte inveniet de quo cor
um gaudebit. Dixit enim hermes filius Gelbeo cum exaltatus
nerit sal nitrum salsum et acrum si in vinctum fuerit cum
ale alcali erit operacio eius nobilior et magis utilis. Et
lixit magnus philosophus qui multum doctus fuit in talibus
juod si acceperis ex eo aliquem quantitatem et triveris eum
ortiter et postea miscueris cum eo urinam tapsi et exsiccaveris
psum et tuttueris eum fortiter usque septies et accipies tantum
le pulvere cullaxe i. [e.] illius animalis que talpa vocatur quan-
um fuit pulvis salis nitri convertetur mars in lunam et venus
n solem et constringet omnes spiritus volantes. Constringitur
nim argentum vivum cum isto et non cum alio Deus scit et
ovit.

10. Pulvis autem culaxe debet fieri secundum hune modum.
\ccipiantur enim ex eis 4 vel 6 secundum quod poteris invenire
juia sub terra morantur et pones eas in testa terrea et luta ipsam
uto sapientie ita quod fumus non exeat aliquo modo pone eam
n furno bene calido et dimitte a mano usque ad sero vel a sero
isque ad mane postea extrahe et pulveriza subtiliter et reconde
+ cum opus fuerit operare cum ea. et scias firmiter quod pulvis
ste valet plus quam aurum et est utilis et multum conveniens
nultis operacionibus et habeas eum valde carum quia pauci

248 THE LIFE AND LEGEND OF MICHAEL SCOT

DE SALE AGRO *

De sale agro in quo est virtus magna quam pauci sciunt
sapientes constringunt cum eo m. mundant cum eo corpora
et albificant ea sufficienti albedine et reddit ea clara et lucid
Et iste a quibusdam philosophis alibrot appellatur licet in y
tate non sit idem et diversus quod sit frigidus et siccus quam
videatur hoc esse contra naturam et de proprietate eius |
constringere m. et omnes spiritus volantes et quanto ma
studueris in eo tunc invenies eius albedinem ultra quam aliq
possit excogitare quia cum eo albificantur corpora et non |
alio deus novit. Et dixit magnus philosophus cum morieba
filio suo O fili mi secretum tuum habeas in corde tuo nee dic
alicui nec filio tuo nisi cum amplius non poteris retinere.

Desiderio desideraverunt philosophi sapientes scire veritat
huius salis. Sed pauci eam sciverunt et qui eam noverunt n
dixerunt in libris suis veritatem eius secundum quod videru
Illinant enim martem et clarificat a superfluitatibus terreis
facit quod mars transmutatur in lunam hoc modo & ex eo lik
1. gutte rubee que inveniuntur in allumine de pluma 1 - 1. puly
talparum 1. 1. sal armoniaci alkali arborum separatorum 3 «
trita omnia simul nonies et impastina et exsicca cum uri
illuminata.

Postea soliati suttus et supras es in pecia madescam
et cola et cave ne.

APPENDIX III. 249

erunt de sapientibus qui bene cognoscerent virtutem eius nisi
nus philosophus qui dixit in libris suis et est in eo id quod
deest et ego temptavi et operacionem elus inveni maximam
sfficaciam in eo. Sed ponebam in duplo de pulvere nitri salsi.

2. Et postea est sal acrum et in eo est virtus maxima quam
auci sciunt invenitur enim in hispania et sapientes constringunt
m eo mercurium. Clarificat enim corpora, munda et albificat ea
albedine sufficienti. Mutat enim martem in lunam et defendit
eum a superaciis et a superfluitatibus terreis et dat ei colorem
bonum et clarum. Et iste a quibusdam philosophis sal alebrot
yocatur et de quod scit et sint (?) generalius videatur hocesse
contra naturam et de proprietate eius est retinere omnes spiritus
yolantes et quanto magis studueris in eo tanto magis inveneris
eius altitudinem ultra quod possit excogitari quia cum eo alu-
minantur (sic) vel albificantur corpora et non cum alio Deus novit.
Et dixit magnus philosophus cum moriebatur O fili mi secretum
suum habeas in sinu tuo nec dicas filio tuo nisi cum eum amplius
mon poteris retinere quoniam in eo invenies secreta nature quam
desiderio desideraverunt sapientes sed pauci intraverunt in eum
et qui intraverunt operationem eius non dixerunt in suis libris
secundum (?scilicet) quod viderant.

11. Aliud ad preparacionem martis. <Accipe de sale aleali 3- x.
et de sale armoniaco 3: 2. et tere subtiliter et distempera cum
furina zazel et cum casus ad libram 1. pone in aliquo vase terreo
'vitreato et luta cum luto sapientie et pone in furno mediocriter
calido et dimitte a mane usque ad sero vel converso. postea
extrahe de vase illo si coagulatum fuerit. Si non iterum ponatur
fin furno super vase optime lutato et cum coagulatum fuerit teras
ipsum et misce cum 3 libris aque dulcis et dimitte residere in
vase vitreo et quod clarum fuerit repone ipsam aquam (1) et
quod feculentum fuerit ti eum ejice. Postea accipe laminas
factas ex marte factas tot quot possunt submergi in aqua ista et
dimitte ibi per ix dies. Decimo autem die pone ad ignem et
dimitte bulire per magnum tempus. Et ipsis laminibus extractis
et exsiccatis in igne debes accipere pannum lineum novum et
balneare ipsum aliquantulum et stringe intra manus et debes
ponere laminas in panno isto p’ns pulvere supradicto asperso et
ponendo laminas et spargendo pulverem usque ad finem et in-
volvendo eas in tali panno. Accipe fortiter exstringendo et
pone ipsum pannum cum laminibus in vase qui dicitur alludel
ponendo ipsum in fornace et super sufflando cum manticello ac
bonum ignem faciendo donec sit solutum. Et caveas quod non

250 THE LIFE AND LEGEND OF MICHAEL SCOT

discooperias ante quam fundatur quoniam perderis opus tuum
Sed quum liquatum fuerit deice super ipsum parum ydre

resolutum in aqua et coagula vel parum lapidis alcotar preparati
sed melius est ydragon cum parum de predicto sale balneato
cum aqua et deice in aqua et habebis bonam lunam.

R. sal atincar libra 1. gutte rubee et pulvis talparum ana 1. 1
ydragor 3 - 1 - trita simul et impastrina cum urina soliata sel
postea fac redire in aquam et coagula. De isto pulvere
posueris super m. bulliendo pulverem cum aqua dulci habebis di
m. nobilem lunam.

DE SALE ALEBROT !
Sal allebrot album sali acro assimilatur in colore et longitudini
fixionis autem et unctuositatis est fb’e locoque ipsius poni potes
Separatio autem eius ut asserant sapientes secundum hun
modum. RK ex eol. i. vel gutte albe vel azuree que inveniuntu
in allumine de pluma 3 - 1 - sanguis hominis rubei ; - 3 - talel
mortificati 3 - 1 - et 5 et parum sulphuris albi omnia simul trita ¢
inpastina cum sanguine et sale et desicca ad solem. Et cut
volueris operare utere eo spargendo super m. igne super accens
retinebit enim eum nec sinet volare et quantitas m. 1. 5, et nc
_ plus et non moveatur ab igne usque ad magnum tempus poste
in aquam proiciatur poterit enim optime malleari. Item «
1 A double chloride of ammonium and mercury, represented by the form’
QNHCl. H,Ols, H30.

APPENDIX III. 251

scooperiatur donec bene dissolutum fuerit quia amitteres ope-
sionem tuam. Eciam non peneteas in prolongacione ignis
oniam si ignis prolongatur aliquantulum magis ultra quam tibi
leatur erit operacio tua multum melior. Sed ex abreviatione
ssit operacio tua destrui et in idem revertens quod prius
erat. Stude autem inquantum potes ut videas sine discoper-
me magno ignis nec is quod est cruciolo albé (?albescere)
Jeatur. Sed discooperiendo plane et si dissolutum fuerit
sum prioce in aqua ut refrigescat. Et cum frigidum fuerit
ipies in manu tua. Dico enim in veritate quod tu gaudebis
eo quia habebis lunam pretiosissimam in omni operacione.
12. Alia operacio que fit cum pulvere isto, Accipe m. et pone
sum in luteollo in quo artifices infundunt argentum ad quan-
atem quam vis et super pone de pulvere supradicto super m.
m tribus q° teis aq. miscendo cum digito leviter et pone ad
nem in furnello et suprapone carbones accensos in luteollo et
t ignis mediocriter nec nimis magnus nec nimis parvus et non
scooperiatur usque ad magnum tempus et postmodo proiciatur
aqua et habebis quod utile est et habebis ilud bonum quod
anes sapientes desideraverunt.
13. Alind similiter de pulvere isto adhuc expertum. Accipe
1. de supradicto pulvere et pone 3 - 5. ematicis in 3 - 5. talei
erabilis et diligenter teras et accipe 3 - x. veneris et pone in
nno lineo faciendo laminas de venere et spargendo pulverem
per pannum et super laminas et sit pannus madefactus et
ingendo totum simul et ponendo ipsum in luteollo in igne et
operiendo ipsum carbonibus faciendo ignem nec nimis fortem
xc nimis levem usque quo dissolutum fuerit et cum fuerit
ssolutum proice ipsum in aquam. MHabebis enim nobilem
eracionem ad quam pauci devenerunt.
3. Operacio allebrot ut asserunt sapientes est secundum hunc
odum. Accipe ex eo secundum quantitatem quam vis s. 5- 5-
tere diligenter postea habeas sanguinem alicuius hominis
bei ad quantitatem 5 - 3 - et comisce cum eo et degutta. Aut
cipe 3- 5- de taleo parum sulfuris albi et tere omnia diligenter
incorpora cum sanguine et sale et dimitte siccari in furno vel
1 solem, et cum exsiccatum fuerit teratur id totum in mortario
pideo subtiliter et cum opus fuerit utere eo spargendo super
igne super accenso et sufflando cum manticello retinebit enim
im et non sinet eum volare. Sit quantitas m. librae 5 et non
us et non removeatur ab igne usque ad magnum tempus postea
aqua proiiciatur poterit hec enim optime malleari. Accipe

252 THE LIFE AND LEGEND OF MICHAEL SCOT ”

v. buffones! et pone eos in aliquo vase unde non valeant ext
postea accipe suci affodillorum vel ermodatilorum et eleboris al
extracti cum aceto quia aliter non poterit extrahi 1 - 2 - et por
in vase ubi sunt buffones et dimitte eos bibere per 9 dies y
quousque bene sint inflati tune eos pone infra (sic) duas scutel
ad comburendum et cave ne spitare (sic) possint ne fumus ex
tunc pulverisa et B de dicto pulvere 3 - 1 - salis alebrot 3- 1- et
salis armoniaci et salis alkali ana 3- 5 - omnia simul trita et
pastina et deinde exsicca usque nonies cum urina tassi veél
gagellis cum pulvere isto poteris facere mirabilia pulvis is
constringit m. et mutat ipsum in lunam purissimam et perfects
clarificat martem et mundificat eum a superfluitatibus terreis
feculentis et facit quod mars transmutatur in lunam mutatic
perfecta. Si acceperis de pulvere isto 3- 1 - et 1 eris et miscu
cum eo secundum quod docet in igne ubi fuerit spiritus gaut
bis super operationem eius quoniam exaltavit illum super omt
sales. Loco autem ipsius potest poni sal acrum. Item
afronitrum. Item et salsedo muidorum (?) dummodo {
atramenta transeant. Item et salacrum dummodo per atramet
transeat ter. Dum vero sales héb’ ad hoc separatos ad mer
Sal alkali Semen communis. Armoniacum allms jam simul
in aquam redire et duplum aquam quam spiritus deice et sup
marmor pone et congela et ista est p’a (? pura) ceraton propter qu
vos omnes erratis credentes vos habere secundam nec prim
habetis. Postea pone inter duas scutellas vel in vase vitreo qu
melius est et claude os eius et dicoque per dimedium diem t
extrahe et ablue salem et invenies ipsum in speciem ceruse sed
fixe sh’e (? sublimate) non timensignem. Separatur enim hoe
calcinationem ut ubicumque spiritus calcinatus intromiseris s
dubio ex m. bonum opus habebis. Dealbat enim spiritus. Caleit
martem ad modum mercurii nec ultra vestigia albedinis amit
excepto sub experimento veneris. Sed si in aquam reduxeris
postmodo teraveris sub experimento noveris. Sed si in aqu
reduxeris et postmodo teraveris sub experimento perfectissi
durabit. Incalcinatio eorum in sole unde potest fieri ut Arché
laus docuit. Ac tum unde potest fieri in aqua atramenti nm
ficati ac per se in aqua solutiones calcinationes melius est in
vitreo quam in alio. _

1 The use of matters derived from the animal kingdom, carbonised toads
moles, may be illustrated from the Liber Dyabesi (Ricc. ms. 1. iii. 18, 119, }
recto) which treats of what had been ‘ab omni Latinitate intemptatum’ viz.
distillation of a white land-tortoise (v. p. 7 verso). Pliny remarks that go
blood sharpens and hardens iron tools and polishes steel better than any file.

APPENDIX III. 253

rem bufones tenentes venenum et fiant vive et ponantur in
quo vase unde non valeant exire. Postea accipe anfodillos
centes et eleborum album in bona quantitate extrahe inde
cum cum eis quantum pones (sic), pone succum in vase illo
quo sunt rane et dimitte eas bibere per ix dies. Tune accipe
s et pone in olla rudi et luta eam luto sapientie et pone ipsam
furno ita ut animalia comburantur combustione sufficienti et
rahe inde ea et tere diligenter et cum opus fuerit de illo pul-
re accipe 3 - 1 - de sale alebrot 3 - 1 - de sale alcali 3 - 5 - de sale
moniaco tantundem et teras diligenter permiscendo cum ea
inam tassi et iterum exsicca et tere et hoc nonies fiat et de illo
ilvere poteris facere mirabilia. Pulvis iste constringit m.
utat jovem in lunam et albificat martem clarificat eum et dat
colorem bonum et clarum et mundat eum a superfluitatibus

eis et facit quod mars transmutatur in lunam. Mirabilis
tim in suo effectu. Si vero accipies de pulvere isto ad quan-
atem 5 - 1 - et miscueris cum ere secundum quod docet et in
sne fuerit. Sapientia et sit quantitas eris 3 - viiij. gaudebis.
al rubeum gummum rubeum terram armenie gerssam vel
ssam et pulverem bufonis equaliter et operati sunt valde
suis operibus. Habuerunt enim talem scientiam quam pauci
overunt et benedixit eam Deus omnipotens qui causa prima
uit omnium rerum. Dico tibi firmiter quod cum istis rebus
ia necessaria possunt acquiri. Idcirco tacuerunt onés et
erterunt se ad salem armoniacum nec dixerunt de eo quicquam

254 THE LIFE AND LEGEND OF MICHAEL SCOT

Explicit prima pars et Incipit secunda de alluminibus

primo de allumine Jammeno. ™
Allumen Jammeni triplex vocatur. Jammenum de plu

Scagloli. Aportatur autem de Spania. eS

as

Est autem frigide nature et sicce hoc bonitatis in se con’
ut si jungatur cum re rubea facit ruborem acquirere in eas
alba albedine augmentare facit in ipsa. Sicut illuminat par
ita illuminat martem ut recipiat formam lune ut enim |.
illuminatur ita et metalla illuminantur.t Et quante ma
mars fuerit illuminatus et depuratus a superfluitalibus a (7
feculenciis terreis tanto efficiatur ex eo melior operatis.
inatur autem sic. Accipe urinam puerilem et per 7 d
vase vitreo esse permitte vase obturato postea per alios 7
in vase transmuta distillando per filtrum semper sel’ poten
ipsum usque ad terciam sui partem et dispuma et distille
filtrum bis vel ter postea pondera ipsum si est libra 1,
11-et 5 salis armoniaci separati ab atramento et 3-8 - a 1
jammeni et bulli insimul et permitte requiescere Jacana
modo accipiendo et feculentum abjiciendo et in ista
calefactum et intus extinctum et per alios 9 dies in
stare permitte et est optime illuminatus. Omnia
metalla in hac aqua taliter illuminare possis et abiliora erunt
recipienda colorem. Dixerunt enim vnay et melchia phils
quod ubi mars fuerit taliter illuminatus non convertetur p orfe
in lunam. Consentiendum est eis quia philosophi fuerunt.
enim quod talis illuminatio metallorum valet et utilis est on
creature Dei.

DE ALLUMINE RUBEO :
Allumen rubeum apportatur de buzea (?Bugia) depilla
autem ut allumen de pluma. Istud autem a quibusdam ph

1 This passage is highly significant, ‘and furnishes a key to the title of
treatise. oe

APPENDIX III. 255

16. Racio autem alluminum est secundum hune modum. Est
nim allumen salsum et alumen de rocha et alumen de bolkar
t alumen jameni et alumen scaiole et alumen de pluma. Sed
ota quod alumen de pluma jameni sissi idem sunt secundum
uod ego credo quia inveni in libris philosophi quod eadem est
irtus jameni cum virtute de pluma et sissi et est eius virtus
nodo albatione et retinet colorem cum conjungitur. Si vero
onjungitur cum re alba facit ipsam albam et si conjungitur cum
e rubea facit rubedinem acquiri in ea. Sed quidam dicunt quod
int idem in genere sed diversi in specie. Et quod alia est species
uminis jameni alia scissi et alia de pluma. Dicotamen tibi in
eritate quod una et eadem est operatio etsi diversificantur in
mnibus. Et scias ipsum esse frigidum et siccum tamen nec dis-
olyitur ab igne nisi misceretur cum rebus humidis et cum illis
issolvitur et sicut illuminat pannos ita illuminat martem ut
ecipiat forma lune. Et quanto magis mars fuerit illuminatus et
agis depuratus a superfluitatibus terreis et feculentis tanto
fficitur ex eo melior operatio. Illuminat autem secundum quod
go dixi tibi multociens faciendo laminas ex marte et accipiendo
tiam alumen de pluma ad quantitatem quam vis scilicet si mars
erit 3: ix: aluminis debes accipere 3 - 2 - et tere subtiliter et
isce cum 3 - 1 - salis armoniaci tritisubtiliter et debes ponere libra
, urina (sic) pueri virginis secundum quod ego dixi tibi multocies
t bulire omnia simul in vase vitreato. Postea dimitte residere
t cola quod clarum est accipe et quod feculentum proice et pone
aminas illas in aqua illa et dimitte ita stare per 8 dies postmodo
}xtrahi eas et exsicca et operare cum (sic) sicut scis et habebis
nobilem operacionem si bene scivisti ea que processerunt. Non
abeas hoc vile quia istud est secretum maximum et non oblivis-
aris pannum faii et pulverem ex nitro salso acro. liter enim
ion valeat operatio tua.

6. Dixerunt cuidam (sic) philosophi quod aqua ista ‘preparat
artem ut recipiat formam lune et consentiendum est eis. Scito
snimvero quod preparatio eius est optima ad recipiendum formam
bonam que est utilis omni creature.

256 THE LIFE AND LEGEND OF MICHAEL SCOT

sophis allebrot rubeum appellatur eius proprietas est cum ana si
auripigmenti sublimatum rubei m. in solem transmutare. Quida:
autem de philosophis scilicet Seno et Rogiel accipebant de is’
allumine rubeo et ja. et gut. et de roco sal armoniaci semi
amborum arsenicorum sulphuris Tartari talci Cinabrii omniun
ana ponebant super m. et ex ipso extrahebunt lunam pretiosam

DE ALLUMINE ET MAROCCO

Allumen de maroc est pulvis subrufus acetositatem parva:
in se continens est autem mundificative et depurative nature.

DE ALLUMINE ZUCHARINO 4

Allumen zucharinum est albissime nature acetositatem mo

dacem in se continens locoque alluminis jameni post
(? potest poni)

DE ROCCO ,

Allumen de rocco est in massa redactus acetositatem subtiler

in se continens cum isto et pinguedine colcotar et melle sophist

catur borax. %

APPENDIX III. 257

17. Alumen autem de rocha non durat in igne sed siccatur et
it sicut borax de petra ex isto sophisticatur borax cum pin-
edine calchatam et melle. Unde cum ponitur super ignem
hinditur alumen sicut et illud. De isto autem alumine nichil
d nos quoniam nullam facit utilitatem in arte ista et idcirco
on curamus multum de eo loqui.

18. Aliud experimentum quod extractum fuit de libris quo-
dam philosophorum. MHabeatur pro maximo secreto scilicet
aninan camescia ! qui summi fuerunt in arte alchimie et fuerunt
e lamacha sarracenorum qui dixerunt ita nisi mars fuerit
xpoliatus a superfiuitatibus suis non convertetur -perfecte in
Purgatur enim cum aqua virginum et aluminum secun-
m quod tu scivisti superius si tu intellexisti quod narratum
st. Sed concordati sunt isti philosophi in hoc cum dixerunt.
; i quis acceperit 3 - 3- de nitro salso et adiunxeris ; - 2- de sale
kali et 3- 1- de sale armoniaco ista simul terantur et cum urina
veri virginis distemperantur ad quantitatem 3 + Vilii et de urina
alis qui tapsus dicitur 3 - viiij. et ponatur totum in vase
treato et sit vas lutatum luto sapientie circumcirca ita quod
amus non possit inde exire et accendatur ignis levis sub
o et dimittantur bulire valde plane a mane usque ad terciam
el a tercia usque ad nonam, Postea accipiatur et ponatur

1 These are names of philosophers probably the same as the ‘ynay et melchia’
= the Luminis Luminum, the rather that the phrase ‘non convertitur perfecte
i lunam’ occurs in both passages. I do not know how to explain the fact
nat two paragraphs of the Liber Dedali correspond so closely with one in the
ber Luminis.

258 THE LIFE AND LEGEND OF MICHAEL SCOT

APPENDIX III. 259

n letamine pecudum et dimittatur ix dies. Postea accipiatur
t discooperiatur. Si coagulatum fuerit bene erit sin autem
on fuerit adhuc coagulatum in vase lutato reverteris adhuc in
2tamine pecudum et dimittatur ibi per 6 dies erit coagulatum si
Deus voluerit. Tunc accipies vas et extrahes totum id de vase
t teras illum diligenter trituratione bona. Postmodo accipe de
mlvere isto 3- 1- et talem camphore et 3 - 1- lapidis armenie et
am terre rubee et tantundem de alumine jameni et terantur
mnia ista simul et cum opus fuerit accipe de pulvere isto. 1- de
aminibus sublimatis 3 - ix- accipiendo pannum lineum grossum et
alneando ipsum cum aqua parum exprimendo ipsum et supra
spergendo istam pulverem. Postea spargendo eodem modo
yulverem supradictum super laminas preparatas ponendo iterum
aminas et pulverem desuper usque ad complementum. Et scire
lebes quod in fine debes plus ponere pulverem et stringendo
stas laminas in panno isto fortiter ponendo eas in luteolo et
postea in igne faciendo ignem circumcirca et sufflando fortiter
m manticello donee bene dissolutum {fuerit. Tempore autem
lissolutionis potest esse in duabus horis si bene meditaberis et in
isu habueris omnia bene habeantur usu. Et scias quod tu debes

agis ponere modum in dissolutione quam in alio quia per te
psum debes dissolvere et videre quantum tempus habes dis-
olutionis et secundum quod tu videris in hora secundum hoc
poteris comprehendere dissolutionem eius cum pulvere et ali-
juantulum plus ut non decipiaris quia si aliquantulum plus fuerit
n igne quam tibi videatur erit operatio tua melior. Sed si non-
lum esset dissolutum tu discoperiens amitteres tuam operationem.
- 19. Aliud secretum in quo concordati sunt omnes sapientes
yui aliquid cognoverunt de arte ista.1 Et est secundum hunc
nodum, Accipe libra 1- sanguinis alicujus hominis rubei et san-
yuinem xi talparum et sex bufones ranam magnam habentem
yenenum et accipe libra- ll. succi anfodillorum et libra- 1- succi
slebori albi extracti cum aceto quia aliter extrahi non potest.
sta ponantur omnia in una olla. Postmodo habeatur alia olla
n duplo maior ea vel in triplo ita quod parva possit stare in ea
st distet ab alia per x digitos et plus et ponatur parva bene
utata cum rebus supradictis in olla magna et ponantur carbones
inter ollam magnam et parvam et accendatur ignis cireumcirca
et dimittantur ita semper faciendo ignem per dies duos postea
extrahe ab olla et discoperi eam et videbis pulverem nigrum.

1 There is probably a reference here to the disputes which divided the different
alchemical schools.

260 THE LIFE AND LEGEND OF MICHAEL SCOT

DE ALLUMINE RoMANO
Allumen romanum borbaci (? boraci) assimilatur aceto
minimam in se continens de minera atramenti sive all
Jameni extrahitur cuius proprietas est per se solvere v
ana sui sulphuris albificati m. ad naturam lune transformar
_ Explicit secunda pars. Incipit tertia,

Dr ATRAMENTIS
Ratio autem atramentorum est secundum hune m
Atramentorum autem sunt multe species Colcotar C.
vitriolum nigrum capernum viridis Cuperose.!

1 The doctrine of the vitriols is here substantially the same as in the gre
work of Ibn Beithar of Malaga. ;

APPENDIX III. 261

‘ostea accipe pellem ericii et comburatur fortiter et tere omnia
ituratione forte videbis quasi argentum et miscebis talem de
alio pulvere cum isto et habebis urinam tapsi et distemperabis
am ea istem pulverem ponendo ipsum ad solem per 3 dies et
otidem noctes ad rorem et miscendo ipsum semper quousque
desiccatum fuerit. Postea accipe de sale nitro acro quartam
partem et terciam de sale alcali et tantundem de sale allap et
alluminis de pluma tantundem omnia terantur simul et usui
serventur. Dico enim tibi et juro quod si tu scis legere librum
stum et intelligere accipere sublimare mundificare constringere
ignem facere et componere res secundum quod debent componi
in veritate tu habebis lunam perfectam et solem perfectum ita
quod cor tuum gaudebit in ea. Sed huic arti necessarium est
studium vehemens ut scias et sic forte poteris scire artem istam.
Ego quidem multum studui in ea atque sudavi afiqua invenirem
artem istam et id quod volebam et non potui pervenire ad hoc
nisi cum magno studio et labore exercitando artem usque quod
inveni in ea que volui. Et ita dico tibi fili h’mé ut non sis
piger in probacione huius artis quia tibi dico veritatem. Si tu
probaveris artem istam invenies in ea omne bonum quod erit
tile omnibus hominibus.

15. Racio alluminum et de diversis ipsorum generibus. Racio
autem alluminis et atramentorum secundum hune modum. Atra-
mentorum vero x sunt species scilicet Colcotar Calcandis

ificantur enim corpora ex eo mundificantur a superfiuitatibus
erreis ut meliorem recipiant formam et nobiliorem. Et fit
secundum hune modum. Accipe Caleatar libra 1- et dissolve
Lo cum urina pueri virginis. Et quare dico cum urina pueri
‘ginis quia est magis mundificata et penetrativa est et inveni
quod maximus philosophus laudavit multum in suis opera-
ionibus et debet esse ad quantitatem trium librarum et facias
eam bulire in vase vitreato usque ad consumationem tertie
is. Postea dimitte residere et quod clarum fuerit collige

262 THE LIFE AND LEGEND OF MICHAEL SCOT

Ex colcotar et calcadis secundum Platonem extrahunt
lapides rubei vel trahentes ad rubedinem qui loco salis in
possunt poni.

Vitriolum nigrum apportatur de Francia et idcirco dicitu
terra francigena cum isto mulieres vulvam constringunt 1
virgines appareant non est autem magne utilitatis in ista art
Est autem utilis ad sublimandum ydragor cum vis facere sa
naticum. Cipernum est crocei coloris mollitiem in se continel
requiritur autem multum in arte ista secundum Arche
Viride dicitur vitriolum romanum loco etiam caperni
poni sed nobilior est eo ut Hermes philosophus testatur in lib
alluminum.! Atramentum nunquam pro alio ponitur. Se
cuperosum est album subazurii coloris fitque de superfiuitat
martis cum de minera extrahitur que quidem etiam locoallumit
romani recipiunt licet in veritate non sit idem. Explicit tert
pars.

INCIPIT QUARTA DE SPIRITIBUS

Sunt quidam spiritus qui ad ignem in fumum convertunt

et converti faciunt alias res, Sulphur et Arsenicum et ex i
est argentum vivum. De sulphure flavo. De sulphure ;
De sulphure rubeo. De sulphure albo. De arsenico croe
De arsenico rubeo. Sulphuris quatuor sunt species scilic
croceum flavum rubeum et album. Croceum est magis ¢

1 There is a well-known tract De aluminibus et salibus ascribed to Ra:
the Paris ms. (6514 p. 128); it also occurs in the Speciale ms,

APPENDIX III. 263

t quod feculentum et terreum proice. In ista enim aqua
pponantur lamine martis et dimittatur usque ad ix dies postea
xtrahe et operentur et fit cum eis luna secundum modum in
e quo modo tu pluries intellexisti. Calcandis utitur in
eneris et non est eius utilitas multum in hac arte. Sed
veniuntur in eo lapides rubei qui valent multum in operatione
chimie mutando corpora planetarum. Secundum quod enim
udivisti in libris cuiusdam philosophi ex calcadis vel calcatar
xtrahuntur lapides rubei vel tendentes ad rubedinem qui valent
ultum ad mutacionem metallorum naturalium transformando
secundum quod oportet et dando eicolorem optimum. Et ego
redo quod isti lapides sint de specie alluminis et si hoc esset
on esset mirum si poterint perficere solem et dare ei colorem
mum. Unde sicut luna illuminatur ita metalla illuminari
t. Verum est quod ista scientia scribi non potest nisi
maximo studio et labore. Sed in quo tu magis debes
tudere est in igne et sublimationibus pulveribus et mundificare
etalla secundum quod tu scivisti et intexisti superius.

CAPITULUM DE SPIRITIBUS VOLANTIBUS

20. Sunt autem quidam spiritus qui recedunt ab igne et in
fumum convertuntur et faciunt convertere alias res sicut est
sulphur arsenicum ex illis est argentum vivum. Sulphuris tres
sunt species. Est enim sulphur croceum flavum et est album.
Flavum autem est sicut extrahitur de vena et tunc non est
purum. Purificatur enim sic quia ponitur tritum in patella
ferrea et dissolvitur ab igne et cum dissolutum est tollatur et
iterum ponatur in patella super ignem ut eo dissoluto ponitur in

264 THE LIFE AND LEGEND OF MICHAEL SCOT

puratum et istud dicitur cannellatum quoniam in canellis
terreis ad hee factis deicitur. Rubeum aportatur de India e
valet a quibusdam sal indicum dicitur licet in veritate non si
cuius proprietas est venerem cum ana sui ydragor sublimati in
obrizo solem transmutare. 4

Album portatur de hyspania de insula quadam que
appellatur.! Recipitur etiam pro nitro salso sed non equi
peratur ei quoniam ille funditur et fundere facit. Istud vere
fugit ab igne. Arsenici tres sunt species scilicet croceur
rubeum et album. Croceum cum teritur lucens apparet wu
aurum foliatum quasi ut talcum. Rubeum non ita folliatw
immo est in massam reductum minorem in se ignitatem continen:
quam primum. Album est aliquantulum crocei subalbique
coloris et minoris igneitatis est quam reliqua duo. Istud de
Turciae partibus apportatur reliqua vero duo de Armenia
Explicit quarta pars.

INCIPIT QUINTA DE PREPARATIONE ALLUMINUM

In preparatione allumini sufficit ut solvatur in aqua vel in
urina distillata et coletur per pannum et coaguletur.
In atramentis sufficit ut fundatur in ciato (? seyatho) super
carbones et buliat quousque humiditas evaporet. Preparatio
boracis est ut in testa super ignem modicum ponatur nam
statim inflatur et siccatur cumque stringi ceperit tollatur nam
infrigidata faciliter pulverisatur. Tune pulverizata a massa
cum modica porcine (? portione) asungia (? axungiae) donec sit
sicut terra et teratur et amassetur cum ea media pars salis petrae
et hoc totum sicut terra amassetur et erit tibi cerotum pretiosum
corpora et spiritus terans. Sic autem boracis partem 1 - salis
petrae partem 1 - ceruse partem 1 - ana de tribus addideris et

1 This phrase is found in the De aluminibus et salibus of Rases (Paris ms,
6514 p. 128) who calls the place ‘Elebla,’ Vincent of Beauvais ascribes t
saying to Geber.

APPENDIX III. 265

tanellis factis de ferre (sic) et istud sulfur dicitur canelatum et
ast valde purum a superfiuitatibus. Operatur autem aliquid de
>o in arte al- chimie sed illud est valde purum. Verum est quia
reparat artem (? martem) et dat ei colorem lune. Quidam autem

bee extinguunt eas in sulfure bene trito miscendo fortiter
aliquo ligno. Postmodo accipiunt laminas illas et ponunt
igne et dimittunt purificari et cum volunt operari accipiunt
componunt eas secundum quod scis et intellexisti superius.
quidam ponunt etiam de eo parum cum pulvere supradicto
do apponunt martem in panno et bene accidit eis quia
sapienter agunt.
Album enim sulfur invenitur in hispania et portatur de
sula que heble appellatur. Accipitur etiam pro nitro salso
sed non equiparatur ei quoniam igne fugit sicut spiritus, ille
Jautem stat et non solvitur ab igne sed funditur et tu audisti
atis de eo in superioribus. Nec loquar de eo tibi amplius.
Arsenici autem due sunt species. Una est crocei coloris et alia
est rubei coloris. Croceum autem multum valet quia mulieres
utuntur eo faciendo depilatorium et preparando facies earum a
ilis. Quidam de sophistis accipiunt 5 - 1- auri limati, libra 1-
ipigmenti et terent ipsum fortiter et balneant ipsum cum
ina et ponunt totum simul in sacculo corei et stringunt ipsum
ot dimittunt ita stare usque ad mensem et videtur aurum. De
rubeo arsenico fit realgar. Ista sufficiant. Et sic est finis huius
libri. Explicit liber dedali in arte alchimie.

266 THE LIFE AND LEGEND OF MICHAEL SCOT

miscueris ea fortiter cum eius oleo vel simpliciter capillorum ye
ovorum donec sit sicut massa cere et massam illam bene siccaver' s.
Pro certo scias quod ceroneum istud ferrum et cristallum e
quocumque volueris lapides calces ignis huius violentia remollit
et resolvit in resolutione liquida omnia ingrediens et penetrans
et ignea virtute dissolvens. Ceraton fit de oleis vel aquis
rectificatis - 6 - per alembich. Fit autem spiritum ut aggerentu
utrumque partes in eis ex multis fiat unum scilicet corpus fat
dissolubile hoc autem ex ceratione olei vel aque. Quia spiritus
corpore vel corpus spiritibus ingredi non potest nisi oleo ye
aqua duce videlicet cum quo ceratur. Ut enim temperatura
ferrum affirmat sic cerato spiritus in corpore nec sine ceration
potest aliquod corpus plene rectificare. Agnoscitur autem res
cerata hiis signis. Res cerata sine ulla fumi emissione velociter
super laminam currit ignitam quod incerata minime agit. F
autem ceracio cum oleo vel aqua rectificata hoc modo. K rem
quam cirari debet et pone in vase argenteo aureo vel stagneo ei
desuper pone de oleo preparata (sic) donec fundatur ut sagimen,
Dum ita videris velociter ab igne remove et infrigidari permitte.
Eo infrigidato prova ipsum super laminam et sic resolvitur super
ipsam sicut cera ceratum est et si non reduc eam ad crucibulum ~
et fac sicut predixi donec sic contingat. 4
QUOMODO MEDICINE DEBENT SOLVI
Solutio cuiuslibet rei fit super lapidem vel in viscere (?) sul
fimo seu in aqua tepida fumi resolvis melius aprobo fit ea de ca
resolutio ut spiritus vel res in lapidibus possit coagulari nam
spiritibus crudis nisi sint in lapidem constricti volueris operari
non augmentum sed decrementum volueris incurrere nisi fo te
essent incalcinati vel cerati hanc scientiam (?) firmiter teneas.
R calcis testarum ovorum libre 5 - arsenici sublimati 3 a ;
Ag’ omnia fac redire in aquam cum alembich et super “ad mor
productam confice quousque in similitudinem lactis redigas
laminas eris x in hac aqua extingue vel intringa et cola sic e sim L
ipsum durum et album in speciem meron te invenisse letaberis.
M. cum sossile et nitro salso ana in aqua resolutis ac congas
es ad naturam lune reduxi.! & vitrioli romani libra 1 - salis n
libra 1- salis armoniaci 3 - 3 - hec omnia comisce in unum terend:
et pone in curcubita cum alembico et quod distillaverit serva et
pone cum m., crudo ita quod in 3 aque fundatur super mediam

co

1 The use of the first person singular here agrees with the notion that in thi
part of the Liber Luminis we have the record of the author’s own experimen
See ante, p. 87.

268 THE LIFE AND LEGEND OF MICHAEL SCOT

libram m. in una ampulla et pone in cineribus bene clausam
da lentum ignem per unam diem et postea invenies m. in aqui
purissimam. RB m. congelatum cum odore saturni partes 3 «
allumine jameno partes 2 de corticibus ovorum 3 - 1 - et tere y
diem 1- et inbibe cum aceto fortissimo et ita fac 7 vicibus
solve et solvetur in aquam clarissimam et optimam pro layan¢
dissolvens etiam omnia corpora calcinata in aquam. rn
ergo alu (minis) 3-3 - ydragor sublimati et 3 sossile separ:
accipi (sic) et in aqua reduxi totamque in lapidem congela ri
cum isto es ad naturam lune reduxi. Ydragor et piron ai
sublimatis fac redire in aquam et coagula confectio ista ex stag
lunam procreat. Pastor Saturnus dominus est yndorum et omn
voluntas populorum in illo est sicut ergo mollificatur crt
cerusam veneris et tantundem salis armoniaci et fac in visce
redire aquam similiter in hac aqua Saturnum 7 - extingue et
enim de facili colatur et purum in speciem aneron te invenis
letaberis. Recipe sulphurem vivum et ipsum cum leni ig
funde et extingue in lixivio facto de calce viva et cineribus. a

APPENDIX IV

Text in the author’s possession.—Ms. in 4to perg. saec. x ;
vel. xvii., red, black, and green ink. .

Interpretacio et Instruccio pro Discipulis seu Amatoribus Ar
Magice pro iis scilicet ad quorum manus post obitum 1
libellus iste fortuito aliquando perventurus est. i

Parvi licet Compendii libellus iste sit, magni tamen momen
esse eundem experieris. Nam scias velim, Curiose Lector, op
hoc in Arabica lingua conscriptum esse cuius ego per mult
quidem annos possessor virtutis in eiusdem ob linguae inscicia
ignarus semper permanseram; donec tandem auxilio Rab
cuiusdam extraneam hanc linguam optime callentis ad genuinu
verborum sensum, rerumque contentarum noticiam pervenisser
Quae autem exinde expertus et adeptus sum et tu experil
adipiscique poteris si vir constans et intrepidus sis mor
prescripto processeris. Ast cum spiritibus astutissimis et hum '
generi infensissimis tibi agendum est: Quare cum previa s

o>
ie

mentis deliberacione et cautela maxima procedas necesse éi
Quod si vero rem rite tractaveris grandia et mirabilia perpetrat
poteris. Reliqua te opus ipsum satis docebit. Unum hoe w
matim te enixe adhortamus ut libellum istum optime od
ne in manus curiose juventutis seu ignorancium homint
incidat. Siquidem per eius lecturam, nisi more prescripto fi
funestissime tragedie orirentur. Quare ipse autor in prim
pagina admonet ut in silencio legatur. Nemo igitur quiscumg
sit absque circulo clara et alto voce insertas Spirituum citacione
legere presumat nisi miserrimum sui detrimentum et interitu
preceps ruere velit. Quapropter quicquid agis prudenter ag 2
et respice Finem. Vale. Michael Scotus Prage in Boh 2
pridie Id. Febr. Anno mecly.

Sequitur interpretacio tocius operis.

Aspice Inspice pervolve alta sed

legere voce omnino cave.

Almuchabola Absegalim Alkakib Albaon 4. Compendi

APPENDIX IV. 271

agie Innaturalis Nigre, continens Citaciones et Vincula diver-
rum Spirituum.

Primum et maxime necessarium requisitum in experimentis
agicis Composicio Circuli est. Nam sine eo nemo a malis
iritibus tutus foret. Quare Magister ex pelle caprina i.e.
arta virginea faciat Circulum in latitudine novem pedum ad
em cum sanguine Columbe scribi debent nomina que videntur
figura pag. iij. (this refers to the other quire containing the
abie original which alone has illustrations). Quodsi vero
am forcius munire cupis poteris pro lubitu addere plura ex
actissimis Dei Nominibus Hebraicis v.g. Elohim Adonai
baoth Agla Jehovah, item nomina iiij Evangelistarum et iiij
changelorum et adhuc alia que ex rituali Ecclesiastico sive
is libris sat colligas. Secundo habeatur baculus qui abscindatur
rilo in quem inscindi et cum sanguine columbe inscribi debent
rba et nomina in figura pag. iij indicata. Tereio fiat Mitra
riter ex pelle capre Alba posterior Nigra et scribantur m. ad
um cum sanguine columbe nomina que habet figura pag. iiij.
arto Magister habeat habitum nigrum longum usque ad pedes
per habitum vero Scapulare sive pentaculum factum ex ante
ta charta virginea et iterum cum sanguine columbe scribantur

illud nomina, uti monstrat figura pag. iv. Proinde omnia
¢ predicta requisita debent preparari in novilunio in diebus
rcurii et Veneris horisque hisce Planetis propriis. Que
tem sint hore Planetarum ex libris Astrologorum satis aliunde
tet. Quinto formetur Sigillum sive titulus characteristicus
us Spiritus quem citare intendis: debet autem scribi cum
iguine corvi nigerini ad pellem capre nigre factam et
pendatur ad baculum quoque abscissum corilo erigaturque
margines circuli uti docet figura pag. v. Sexto Magister
e debet esse solus sive si velint esse plures sit numerus
nper impar. Septimo requiritur locus securus absitus et
itudinarius quod si in domo fiat operacio habeat cubile aptum
sus Orientem et relinquatur sive porta sive fenestra aperta ;
> sint plures in domo persone quam que ad operacionem
rtinent ; quare semper melius et securius est ut experimenta
nt sub celo, in eremis, silvis, pratisque desertis nullorumque
minum conspectui et auditu obnoxiis. Octavo experimenta
nt in diebus Mercurii sive Veneris sive in prima hora noctis
e in sexta post solis occasum ; de die autem debent fieri in
issimis horis Planetarum Veneris seu Mercurii. Nono
gister ante Operacionem bene deliberet quale negocium

272 THE-LIFE AND LEGEND OF MICHAEL SCOT

tractare velit cum spiritibus ne medio experimenti fiat confusio
seu perturbacio. Magistrum itaque oportet esse virum grayem
animosum, qui in lingua et pronunciacione non paciatur defectum.
Socii omnes nee verbum loquantur sed solus Magister cum
spiritibus tractare audeat. Hiis omnibus denique bene pre-
paratis et ordinatis Magister adhibeat fumigia ex sequentibus
speciebus :
B.: Semen papaveris nigri

Herba Cicuta

Coriandrum

Apium et crocus et hec in equali pondere.

Decimo si Magister rem habet quam Spiritus adimplere
resisterent, accipiat baculum et cum eo feriat eorum Sigilla, sed
si nimium pertinaces forent, appropinquet ea ad carbones cum
quibus fumigatum est, faciat quasi assare et successive ardescere
velit et statim eos obedientes habebit.

Circulum cum Sociis ingressurus dicat :

Harim Kasistacos Enet miram Baal Alisa mamutai arista
Kappi Megiarath Sagistya Suratbakar.

Sequuntur Citaciones Nomina et Sigilla Spirituum qui per
hoc opus advocari et citari possunt.

Sigillum primi Principis vid. pag. viij.

CITACIO PRIMI ALMUCHABZAR

Asib Hecon Anthios Rarapafta Kylim Almuchabzar alge
Zorionoso Amilech Amias Segir Almetubele Halimasten Rara-
pafta Kylim O Almuchabzar horet Kylim.

CITACIO SECUNDA PRIMI PRINCIPIS

Aritepas Oulyri Hecon asib alperiga O Almuchabzar! Rabet
Almetubele Syrath alecla icarim alderez Aldemel met cadir
Measdi Algir aleclar Ryia sothus Alchantum ioradio EHalusi
Amilkamar Alenzod :

CITACIO TERCIA ALMUCHABZAR

Albantum alenzod Almuchabzar! Hecon asip Amileamar
alperiga algir filastaros aleclar Syrath asyngarum berumistas
legistas Ruppa sastaraya aronthas Baracasti hemla Omisyrath
abdilbak Amilkamar alcubel taris Algir alasaff megastar Magin
horet Karapatta Kylim O! Almuchabzar.

Quam primum apparent Spiritus in forma humana visibili
Magister eos interroget utrum isti sint qui ab eo fuerunt citati?
et si spiritus hoc iureiurandocum iureiurando (sic) cum imposicione
manuum super baculum [qui ex circulo iis porrigi debet] confirm-

APPENDIX IV. 273

averint; salutet eos et sistat modo subsequenti in fine pag.
xy. et pag. xxxv. Hunc Principem vero modo sequenti :

Alkumkazar medidosta Asaristatos falusi algir abdilbak=
karis helotim latintos O Almuchabzar! milasarintha iubarath
mimas Amka Solit karytos Faribai aliasi miron kylim arastaton
tyrantus Almuchabzar.

His dictis Spiritus ipsum interrogabunt quare fuerint vocati ?
ete. Magister illis negocium proponat et si adimpleverint
dimittat illos prout sequitur in fine pag. xv. et pag. xxx istum
vero specialiter sic :

Sarmistaros labyratha Asanta bartha Megimaia karapatta
horet kylim O Almuchabzar !

SIGILLUM ACHUNCHAB vid. pag. xi.

Citacio.

Asip hecon anthios karapatta kylim Achunchab Perificanthus
alasaff haram astarladip Megastar hagiasesta parit hemla pantus-
tata amagarim kalip kisolastar aleclar elgir altemel alperiga Horet
kylim O Achunchab!

SIGILLUM AGHIZIKKE vid. pag. xii.

Citacio.

Hamagit hecon asip Kampatta kylim Aghizikke sisalmaz
alenzod alcubel algir sarmistaros alasat Abdilbak Guscharasch
heam diadrasas dalasai Betaran herik iulem Megastar Helib istam
horet kylim O Aghizikke!

SIGILLUM BALTUZARAZ vid. pag. xiii.

Citacio.

Megaras Galim asip hecon kylim Baltuzaraz negyrus haleai
amith aresatos gimastas permasai alar aluhazi Hacub salataya
almetubeli algir Abilbak mirastatos Alenzod medagasti O Baltu-
zaras kylim horet.

Sequuntur alia adhuc sigilla aliquorum Spirituum qui per sub-
sequentem coniuracionem advocantur. Sigilla vide pag. xiiij.
Nomina eorum numeres secundum ordinem sigillorum a manu
dextra ad sinistram suntque sequentia :

KAPULIPH, SUHUB ; GALHABARI ET ALMISCHAK.

Citacio.

Mabgatusta berenata sarmistaros gorisgatba Helotim latintos
aciton Axagiatum amka iaribai artas gilgarkipka Selingarasch
alberalabon gimistas Kateraptas amogiorith miagastos Diadrasi
Radistar dalasa hagaigia Belzop hecon asip Karapatta kylim O
Suhub Galhabari O Almischak Kapuliph antios guschorasch

8

* ats

hae i.
274. THE LIFE AND LEGEND OF MICHAEL scor af

Alcubel alenzod algir Rabet almetubele Abdilbak mbna
algir megastar ioradip faluli zorionoso alget_kapkar imat
baim eralim fiascar albirastos perifiantus Berapkukaga
Abdilbaim erasin Zakarip Aresatos Talmasten es
horet kylim. _
INSTICIO SIVE CONSISTENCIA SPIRITUUM. a
Harim kelit Amogar Bail namutai ae Me
agualim Segirit beranabtar Cesastus megarustat amé
gastaton ioratkar Karistacao Alim Miron arinatertal
kylim. ;
VALEDICCIO SPIRITUUM.
Bedarit labyratha Asonta barda Meles kalas —
Bemtsstaras Bedarit Enet elmisistar Almiranthus. ff
Quando Magister cum Sociis egreditur circulo di
sequentia verba vide pag. xvi.
Begarsten alengip Harim Gantalsa stai Beoakyat Din
Mecarkayrup Hermagastus aganton Badaky ass 3
toras Argint.

FINIS.

APPENDIX V

Regesta Vaticana, Tom. xii., fol. 136 vo., epist. 170.

. . .. archiepiscopo Cantuariensi sancte Romane ecclesie
cardinali. De provisione dilecti filii magistri Michaelis Scoti,
cuius eminentis sciencie titulus de ipso testimonium perhibet,
quod inter litteratos alios dono vigeat sciencie singulari patris
intimo cogitantes affectu, pro eo tibi, quod inter ceteros per
orbem sciencia preditos eminenti litteratura et profundioris pre-
rogativa doctrine coruscas, fiducialiter affectione plena dirigimus
scripta nostra, firmam spem fiduciamque tenentes, quod probos
clericos diligas et delecteris in illis ac per hoc ad providendum
tante sciencie clerico promptus et facilis inveniri debeas per te
(137ro.) ipsum. Quocirca fraternitati tue per apostolica scripta
mandamus, quatinus tam liberaliter quam libenter predicto
magistro infra provinciam tuam auctoritate nostra provideas in
beneficio quod recipiente congruat et deceat providentem, ita
quod ex hoc devocionem et diligenciam tuam in Domino com-
mendare possimus et nes illud habeamus acceptum qui nollemus
omnino quod dictus magister, qui maioribus dignus esset, gracie
nostre, que reputatur ei debitum, frustraretur effectu, contra-
dictores autem per censuras ecclesiasticas appellacione remota
compescas. Dat. Lateran. xvii Kal. februar. anno octavo.

This extract, which has not hitherto been fully printed in
any of the authorities (Pressutti, Regesta Honorii Pape III. vol. ii.
pp. 194, 258; Bliss, Calendar of Entries in the Papal Registers,
vol. i. pp. 94, 97) has reached me from the Vatican just before
going to press. I owe it to the kindness of Monsignor Ehrle,
the Prefect of the Bibliotheca Apostolica, and am glad to repro-
duce it here, not only because of the light it throws on the
events mentioned in Chapter viii., but as a testimony to the
opinion then held of Scot’s attainments in science. Incidentally
too, it places beyond question the fact mentioned on p. 14,
namely, that he was in holy orders. With regard to the title

276 THE LIFE AND LEGEND OF MICHAEL SCOT

of ‘Master,’ here repeated, I may add that this would
have been equivalent among the Regulars to that of
among the secular clergy ; so that there is a further pro
that Scot belonged to one of the monastic orders. Shot
one still doubt that the ‘M. Scotus’ whom Honorius n
Cashel is the same person as Michael Scot, this ex
help to resolve the matter. Honorius evidently held
in the highest esteem, and it will be difficult to fin
M. Scotus so likely to have been preferred by him in
same year.

INDEX

Abbreviatio Avicennae, 53-59, 66,
152, 177, 178.

Abd-el-Mumen, 112.

Aboasar, 101, 143.

Abraxas gems, 132.

Abrincensis, Henry, 164, 176.

Achinas, 31.

Alain de l’Isle, 195.

Alamout, Castle of, 147.

Albategni, 100.

Albertus Magnus, 78, 127, 143, 185.

Albigenses, 109, 111.

Albigensian Crusade, 111, 112, 193.

Alchemy, 65-95.

—— Disputes concerning, 73, 259.

Alexander the Great, 32, 33.

—— Legend of, 187-189.

Alexandria, 32, 69.

Alfarabi, 129.

Al Faquir, 49, 118.

Alfargan, 101. :

Algebra and Magic, 100, 190-192.

Al Khowaresmi, 100.

Al Kindi, 71, 73, 74, 79.

Almagest, 98.

Al Mamun, 100.

Al Mansour, 112.

Almuchabola, 190, 192, 270.

Alpetrongi, 99-105, 124.

Alphagirus or Al Faquir, 49, 118.

Alphonso of Castile, 112, 143.

Ambassador, Scot as an, 169-175,
218.

Andrew, Scot’s interpreter, 119.

Anonymous Florentine, The, 8, 210,
211.

Apologie des Grands Hommes, 222.

Aquinas, 8. Thomas, 204.

Arabic known to Scot, 24.

Arabs, their influence, 42-45.

* Archelaus,’ Alchemy of, 82, 83

Archimedes, 67.

Aristotle, 33, 46, 47, 107, 129.

—— Legend of, 187-189.

Ars Aurifera, 77.

Ars Notoria, 192, 195, 204.

Arthurian Legend, The, 195-205.

Assephae, Liber, 54, 235, 237.

Astrologia of Scot, 141.

Astrologorum Dogmata of Scot, 142.

Astrology and Magic, 184, 189.

Astrology taught by Scot, 141, 142.

Astronomia of Scot, 26, 27, 28, 40.

Astronomy of the Arabs, 96-105.

Avalon, 194-205.

Avendeath, John, 35, 46, 53, 117-
119, 235-239.

Averroés, vii, 106-110, 140, 185.

Avicenna, 46, 47, 53, 54, 73, 74, 106.
129, 183, 235-239.

Azarchel, 101, 103.

Bacon, Rocer, 5, 12, 13, 14, 16,
118, 126, 135, 136, 145, 174, 175,
183, 185, 192, 195.

Baconthorpe, John, 15.

Baldi, Bernardino, vii-ix.

Balwearie, Scotts of, 9.

Bartholomew of Messina, 38.

Benefice sought for Scot, 157-163.

Benvenuto da Imola, 210.

Berwick, Bar of, 218.

Bibliotheca of Manget, 77.

Birth of Scot, when, 10 ; where, 7-10.

Boccaccio, 16, 211, 212.

Boece, Hector, 222.

Bologna, 16, 173, 174, 210.

Bonacci, Leonardo, 148, 149.

Bonatti, Guido, 6, 124.

Book of Might, Scot’s, 203, 218, 221.

Burgh-under-Bowness, 221.

Byzantine Alchemy, 83.

278

CamPERiIvs, 153.

Canterbury, Archbishop of, 158.

Capitulum of Scot, 142.

Cashel, Archbishopric, 160, 161.

Castrensis, Robert, 75, 80.

Catskin, the bewitched, 225-227.

Cento Novelle Antiche, 197, 214.

Cervilerium, The, 168.

Character of Scot, 168, 169.

Cheiromantia, The, 215.

Circular Letter of Frederick 11., 173.

Compositiones ad Tingenda, 67.

' Constantia, Queen, 19.

—— Empress, 29, 111.

Cordova, 106, 112-114, 132.

—— Magic at, 19, 114, 115, 169,
215, 216, 231-234.

Courcon, Robert de, 110.

Crates or Democritus, The Alchemy
of, 33.

Cronica dei Matematici, viii, ix.

Crusades, 30, 156, 171, 172.

Da Bott, FRANcEsco, 211.

Dante and his Commentators, ix,
16, 138, 206-211.

D’Avranches, Henry, 164, 176.

De Alchimia of Scot, 88-94.

De Aluminibus, 262, 264.

De Anima, 125, 236.

De Animalibus Avicennae, 236, 237.

De Animalibus ad Caesarem, 48-53,
Lig:

Death of Scot, 175-178.

Decamerone, 212.

De Causis, 132, 237.

De Coelo et Mundo, 123, 235, 237.

De Deo Benedicto, 132.

Dee, Dr. John, 190.

De Generatione, 126, 237.

De Generatione Lapidum, 236.

De Gestis Baldi, 215, 216.

De Mineralibus, 73, 78, 79.

Democritus, 72.

Dempster, 6, 15, 152, 153, 216, 217,
221.

De Partibus Animalium, 59, 60,
134.

De Presagiis of Scot, 142.

De Secretis, of Bacon, 209.

THE LIFE AND LEGEND OF MICHAEL SCOT

| Despondency of Scot, 163-170. —

De Substantia Orbis, 126, 237.
De Tribus Impostoribus, 180, 1
186, 203. %
De Urinis, 20, 153.
Dioscorides, 155.
Ditiamondo, The, 207, 208.
Doxopatros, 163.
Dress of Scot, 138-140.
Dryburgh School, 11.
Dunkeld, See of, 161, 162.
Durham, 8, 11, 12.

EpvucaTIon oF Scor, 11-16.
Eildon Hills, The, 10, 199, 20
Elias, Fra, 90-92.
El Mohdy, 198, 199. ™*
Emanuel, Alchemy of, 83-85. ;
—— Comnenus, 163.
Erythrean Sibyl, the, 163.
Es-Seémiya, 208-209.
Essenes, 32.

Etienne de Rheims, 124.
Etna haunted, 194, 195.
Eugenio, Admiral, 145, 164.

FA.sEHOPE, WITCH oF, 219-2

Familiar Spirit, Scot’s, 217,

Fata Morgana, The, 195, 202, 2

Fazio degli Uberti, 207.

Florentine tales of Scot, 222-5

Florian and Florete, 195.

Folengo, Teofilo, 215, 218.

Frederick 1., 30, 196.

—— 11, 18, 19, 20, 22, 29, | i
110-112, 116, 131, 137, 138, 14
147, 150, 151, 167, 171- 174, If
196-198, 212, 214, 218.

Fresco at Florence, 139, 140,

GALIENUS, 83.

Gazzali, 109.

Geber, 72, 264.

Geomancy, 190.

Geomantia, The, 215.

George of Antioch, 25, 83. ;

Gerard of Cremona, 20, 46,
238.

— Sabloneta, 115, 125, 126. —

Gervase of Tilbury, 194, 195.

INDEX

Giovacchino di Fiora, 164.

Gipsies, The, 204, 205.

Glamour, what, 208, 209.

Grammar Schools of Scotland, 4, 11.

Grave of Scot, where, 177.

Greek, Scot’s knowledge of, 24, 38,
133-135.

Gregory 1x., 162, 163, 171, 172.

Gundisalvus, Dominicus, 46, 53,
117-119, 236, 238.

Guy, Bishop of Tripoli, 37.

Hakim, Carreg, 112.

Heisterbach, Cesar von, 180, 195.

Hemp used in Magic, 225.

Henry of Colonia, 57, 177.

Hermannus Alemannus, 5, 134.

Hispalensis, Johannes, 34, 36, 143.

Hispanus, Johannes, 35, 36.

History of Animals, Aristotle’s, 38,
43-63.

Tpen-Bapsa, 108.
Ibn-Beithar, 95, 155, 260.
Ibn-el-Bitriq, 34-36.
Ibn-Moauia, 72-75.
Ibn-Tofail, 100, 109.
Images, Magic of, 216.
Ittisal, The, 108, 109, 132.

JACOPO DELLA Lana, 211.
Jacopone da Todi, 164.
Joachim, Abbot, 197.
Josephus, 32, 70.

Krras Atcuerd, Tue, 54, 235.
Kytfhauser, The, 196.

LanpIno, 210.

Legend of Scot, 179-227.

Leonardo Pisano, 190, 192.

Lesley, 152.

Liber Abbaci, 148, 149, 190, 192.

Liber Dedali, 82, 84-86, 241-265.

Liber duodecim Aquarum, 84-85.

Liber Dyabesi, 85, 252.

Liber Introductorius, of Scot, 27, 28,
40, 77, 97, 141, 142, 184.

Liber Invidiosus, 85.

Liber Lumen Luminum, 85.

279

Liber Luminis Luminum, of Scot,
81-89, 240-268.

Inber Particularis, of Scot, 27, 28,
40, 97.

Logica, The, 235.

Lucken Howe, The, 200.

Lydgate’s version of the Secreta, 38.

MADDALENA’S TALES, 223-227.

Magic, Arabian, 181-184.

— Book ascribed to Scot, 191,
192, 270-274.

—— not impossible, 179.

—— power, how obtained, 224, 225.

—— Schools of, 180, 184.

—— Scot familiar with, 184.

—— Tales of, 180.

Magician, Was Scot a, 184.

"| —— Why Scot called a, 185-193.

Magisterium, what, 90.

Magisterium of Scot, 79, 80.

Magna Grecia, 24.

Maimonides, 132.

Manuel Comnenus, 83.

Mappae Clavicula, 67, 68.

Mar Iannos, 72, 75.

Martorana, Library of the, 25, 83.

Master, Scot’s title of, 14, 19, 22,
23, 233. [{(*

Mathematician, Michael the, 13, 26.

Mathematics, Scot’s studies in, 26.

Maugis, 223.

Maugis and Vivien, 199.

Mauritius Hispanus, 110.

Medicine, 66, 149-156.

Mengot, Master, 223-227.

Merlin, 164, 199, 223.

Merlin Coccaio, 215.

Metaphysica, The, 126, 127, 235.

| Meteora, The, 36, 71, 73, 79, 126,

237.
Mirandola, Pico della, 142, 143.
Mohammed, 199.
Monk’s Heath, tale of, 200-202.
Moorish Libraries, 76.
Morgana, The Fata, 195, 202, 203.

Naptes, A LEGEND or, 146, 147.
Nationality of Scot, 5, 7.
Natural History, The Arabian, 60-63.

280

Naudé, x, 222.

Nectanebus, 187-189, 198.
Nicolas Peripateticus, 108.
Notitia Convinctionis of Scot, 142.
Nova Ethica, 133

Oaxkwoop Tower, 10, 219.

Old Man of the Mountain, 147.
Optica of Ptolemy, 145.
Oxford, 12, 175.

PALERMO, 23, 25, 29, 30, 40, 41.

Paradiso degli Alberti, 212.

Paris, 13-15, 17, 174.

— Council of, 109.

— Tale of, 218, 219.

Parma, Tale of, 214.

Parva Naturalia, The, 125.

Pascal compared with Scot, 169.

Passavanti, Fra Jacopo, 203, 204.

Patronage, Abuse of, 158.

Pendasius, 132.

Peter the Notary, 119.

of Toledo, 119.

—— the Venerable, 119.

Philemon or Polemon, 31.

Philip of Salerno, 37.

—— of Tripoli, 36, 37, 116, 157.

Philippus Clericus, 19, 21, 36.

Philopon, Johannes, 129.

Physica, The, 126, 127.

Physionomia of Aristotle, 38.

— of Scot, 30-40, 51, 52.

Picatrix, The, 183, 187, 216.

Pillulae of Scot, 154, 155.

Plague, The, 40, 41, 156.

Plato, 130.

Pliny, 252.

Porphyry, 107.

Proclus, 132.

Prophecies of Scot, 163-168.

‘Province of Scotland,’ what, 8.

Pseudo Boccaccio, The, 214.

Ptolemy, 97-99, 101, 103, 143, 145.

Publication of Scot’s Works, 169-
175, 177, 178.

Pulvis Dom. Fred., 154, 155.

QuADRIVvIUM, THE, 28.
Quattrami, Fra Evangelista, 71.

THE LIFE AND LEGEND OF MICHAEL SCOT

Quaestio Curiosa, The, des

Rasgs, 32, 65, 73, 74, 79,
262, 264.

Raymon, Archbishop of Toled
46, 53, 117.

Rossetti, 222.

Roxburgh School, 11.

SacrRozosco, JOHANNES, 11 D.
Salerno, Philip of, 19, 20, 21 4
—— School of, 150.
Salimbene, his tale, 144.
Saracens, The, 30, 198.
Satchells, 176, 221, 222.
Schmutzer, x, 222.
Scot, Bishop of Dunkeld, 161, 16:
Scotland dislikes Rome, 159.
—— in the twelfth century, 1-5.
—— Magic in, 217.
Scott, Sir Walter, 222. J
Scottish Grammar Schools, 4, 11
Scotus Erigena, 4, 7.
Secreta Nature, 82-84, 89.
Secreta Secretorum, 20, 25, 37.
Seismometer, a, 147.
Sergius of Resaina, 72.
Sicily, Arthurian, 194.
—— Court.of, 18, 40, 137.
—— Languages spoken ms
- 194,
Signatures, Doctrine of, 31.
Sirr-el-asrar, The, 32-38.
Spain, Scot visits, 41. :
Specchio di Penitenza, 203, 20
Sphera, 98, 99. aes
—— of Sacrobosco, ix, 145.
Stephen of Bourbon, 195.
-—— of Provins, 123, 124.

Suppression of Scot’s Ae
157.

TARASIA, QUEEN oF SPAIN,
‘Thales,’ Scot called, 214.
Theatrum Chemicum, 77, 7m
Themistius, 129.
Theological studies and style
Scot, 14, 15, 50, 56, 89.

Therapeutz, The, 32, 33, 70.

Thuringia, Bertolph of, 195.

Tibbun, Samuel, 36.

Toledo, 63, 64.

— Schools of, 35, 45, 46, 54, 106,
115-123.

—— Astronomy at, 97, 98, 104.

—— Magic at, 187.

[ransformation a ruling idea, 80,
81,

[ripoli, Bishop of, 37.

— Philip of, 20, 21, 36, 37.

froubadours, The, 195, 196.

sol

Trouvéres, The, 195.
Tweed, The River, 218.

Urine, WoRKES ON THE, 20, 153.
Vergilius, RoMANCE OF, 146.
Vincent of Beauvais, 176, 185, 264.
Vivien, 203.

Volmar, Master, 178.
WirtcuHorart, 182.

Zosimvus, 72.

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