Albertus Magnus
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Albertus Magnus “Albertus” redirects here. For others with the same given began to study under Albertus.[3] name, see Albertus (given name). For the typeface, see Albertus (typeface). Albertus Magnus, O.P. (before 1200 – November 15, 1280), also known as Albert the Great and Albert of Cologne, is a Catholic saint. He was a German Dominican friar and a Catholic bishop. He was known during his lifetime as doctor universalis and doctor exper- tus and, late in his life, the term magnus was appended to his name.[1] Scholars such as James A. Weisheipl and Joachim R. Söder have referred to him as the great- est German philosopher and theologian of the Middle Ages.[2] The Catholic Church honours him as a Doctor of the Church, one of only 35 so honoured. 1 Biography Bust of Albertus Magnus by Vincenzo Onofri, c. 1493 Albertus was the first to comment on virtually all of the Albert was eldest son of the Count of Bollstädt.[3] It writings of Aristotle, thus making them accessible to seems likely that Albertus was born sometime before wider academic debate. The study of Aristotle brought 1200, given well-attested evidence that he was aged over him to study and comment on the teachings of Mus- 80 on his death in 1280; more than one source says that lim academics, notably Avicenna and Averroes, and this Albert was 87 on his death, which has led 1193 to be would bring him into the heart of academic debate. commonly given as the date of Albertus’s birth.[4] Alber- In 1254 Albertus was made provincial of the Dominican tus was probably born in Lauingen in Bavaria, since he [3] called himself 'Albert of Lauingen', but this might sim- Order, and fulfilled the duties of the office with great ply be a family name.[4] care and efficiency. During his tenure he publicly de- fended the Dominicans against attacks by the secular and Albertus was probably educated principally at the regular faculty of the University of Paris, commented on University of Padua, where he received instruction in St. John, and answered what he perceived as errors of the Aristotle’s writings. A late account by Rudolph de No- Islamic philosopher Averroes. vamagia refers to Albertus’ encounter with the Blessed Virgin Mary, who convinced him to enter Holy Or- In 1259 Albert took part in the General Chapter of [5] the Dominicans at Valenciennes together with Thomas ders. In 1223 (or 1229) he became a member of [8] [9] the Dominican Order, against the wishes of his fam- Aquinas, masters Bonushomo Britto, Florentius, and Peter (later Pope Innocent V) establishing a ratio studio- ily, and studied theology at Bologna and elsewhere. Se- [10] lected to fill the position of lecturer at Cologne, Germany, rum or program of studies for the Dominicans that fea- where the Dominicans had a house, he taught for sev- tured the study of philosophy as an innovation for those eral years there, and at Regensburg, Freiburg, Strasbourg, not sufficiently trained to study theology. This innova- and Hildesheim. During his first tenure as lecturer at tion initiated the tradition of Dominican scholastic phi- Cologne, Albert wrote his Summa de bono after discus- losophy put into practice, for example, in 1265 at the Or- sion with Philip the Chancellor concerning the transcen- der’s studium provinciale at the convent of Santa Sabina [6] in Rome, out of which would develop the Pontifical Uni- dental properties of being. In 1245, Albert became [11] master of theology under Gueric of Saint-Quentin, the versity of Saint Thomas Aquinas, Angelicum first German Dominican to achieve this distinction. Fol- In 1260 Pope Alexander IV made him Bishop of Regens- lowing this huge turn of events, Albert was able to teach burg, an office from which he resigned after three years. theology at the University of Paris as a full-time profes- During the exercise of his duties he enhanced his repu- sor, holding the seat of the Chair of Theology at the Col- tation for humility by refusing to ride a horse, in accord lege of St. James.[6][7] During this time Thomas Aquinas with the dictates of the Order, instead traversing his huge 1 2 2 WRITINGS diocese on foot. This earned him the affectionate sobri- quet “boots the bishop” from his parishioners. After his time as Bishop, he spent the remainder of his life partly in retirement in the various houses of his order and of- ten preaching throughout southern Germany. In 1270 he preached the eighth Crusade in Austria. After this, he was especially known for acting as a mediator between conflicting parties. In Cologne he is not only known for being the founder of Germany’s oldest university there, but also for “the big verdict” (der Große Schied) of 1258, which brought an end to the conflict between the citizens of Cologne and the Archbishop. Among the last of his labors was the defense of the orthodoxy of his former pupil, Thomas Aquinas, whose death in 1274 grieved Al- bertus (the story that he travelled to Paris in person to defend the teachings of Aquinas can not be confirmed). Albertus Magnus monument at the University of Cologne. geography, astronomy, astrology, mineralogy, alchemy, zoology, physiology, phrenology, justice, law, friendship, Roman sarcophagus containing the relics of Albertus Magnus in and love. He digested, interpreted, and systematized the the crypt of St. Andrew’s Church, Cologne, Germany whole of Aristotle’s works, gleaned from the Latin trans- lations and notes of the Arabian commentators, in accor- After suffering a collapse of health in 1278, he died dance with Church doctrine. Most modern knowledge of on November 15, 1280, in the Dominican convent in Aristotle was preserved and presented by Albertus.[3] Cologne, Germany. Since November 15, 1954, his relics Albertus’ activity, however, was more philosophical are in a Roman sarcophagus in the crypt of the Domini- than theological (see Scholasticism). The philosophi- can St. Andreas Church in Cologne.[12] cal works, occupying the first six and the last of the Albertus is frequently mentioned by Dante, who made his twenty-one volumes, are generally divided according to doctrine of free will the basis of his ethical system. In the Aristotelian scheme of the sciences, and consist of his Divine Comedy, Dante places Albertus with his pupil interpretations and condensations of Aristotle’s relative Thomas Aquinas among the great lovers of wisdom (Spir- works, with supplementary discussions upon contempo- iti Sapienti) in the Heaven of the Sun. Albertus is also rary topics, and occasional divergences from the opinions mentioned, along with Agrippa and Paracelsus, in Mary of the master. Shelley's Frankenstein, in which his writings influence a His principal theological works are a commentary in young Victor Frankenstein. three volumes on the Books of the Sentences of Peter Albertus was beatified in 1622. He was canonized and Lombard (Magister Sententiarum), and the Summa The- proclaimed a Doctor of the Church on December 16, ologiae in two volumes. The latter is in substance a more 1931 by Pope Pius XI and the patron saint of natural sci- didactic repetition of the former. entists in 1941. St. Albert’s feast day is November 15. Albertus’s knowledge of physical science was consider- According to Joan Carroll Cruz, his body is incorrupt.[13] able and for the age remarkably accurate. His industry in every department was great, and though we find in his system many gaps which are characteristic of scholastic 2 Writings philosophy, his protracted study of Aristotle gave him a great power of systematic thought and exposition. An Albertus’ writings collected in 1899 went to thirty-eight exception to this general tendency is his Latin treatise volumes. These displayed his prolific habits and encyclo- “De falconibus” (later inserted in the larger work, De pedic knowledge of topics such as logic, theology, botany, Animalibus, as book 23, chapter 40), in which he dis- 3 plays impressive actual knowledge of a) the differences he did record that he witnessed the creation of gold by between the birds of prey and the other kinds of birds; “transmutation.”[20] Given that Thomas Aquinas died six b) the different kinds of falcons; c) the way of preparing years before Albertus Magnus’ death, this legend as stated them for the hunt; and d) the cures for sick and wounded is unlikely. [14] falcons. His scholarly legacy justifies his contempo- In his Little Book of Alchemy Albertus said that alchemic raries’ bestowing upon him the honourable surname Doc- gold and iron lack the properties of natural gold and iron, tor Universalis. alchemical iron not being magnetic and alchemical gold In De Mineralibus Albert claims, “The aim of natural phi- turning to powder after several ignitions. losophy (science) is not to simply to accept the statements of others, but to investigate the causes that are at work in nature.” Aristotelianism greatly influences Albert’s view 4 Astrology on nature and philosophy.[3] Another example of his rea- son to formally search for the causes is in his treaties on plants, he begins with the principle, experiment is the only safe guide in such investigations. His studies of Aris- totle and theology show their colors in nearly all of his works and volumes. Albert placed emphasis on experiment as well as investi- gation, but he respected authority and tradition so much that many of his investigations or experiments were un- published. Albert would often keep silent about many is- sues such as astronomy, physics and such because he felt that his theories were too advanced for the time he was living in.[3] 3 Alchemy In the centuries since his death, many stories arose about Albertus as an alchemist and magician.