Magic and Divination at the Courts of Burgundy and France: Text and Context of Laurens Pignon's Contre les Devineurs (1411)BRILL, 1997 M12 1 - 446 pages The magicians and astrologers who frequented the courts of Burgundy and France during the reign of Charles VI to render their dubious services to king and nobles, induced friar Laurens Pignon OP to write a treatise called Contre les devineurs (1411) which he dedicated to John the Fearless, duke of Burgundy. This book presents a critical edition of the treatise and tries to reconstruct its historical and intellectual context by examining the role of magic and astrology at court. By means of theological and philosophical arguments which he derives from Aquinas, Pignon demonstrates the dangers and deficiencies of divination. In three appendices editions of supplementary documents are supplied: a confession of a court-magician, two divinatory texts and a fictional prognostication on the house of Burgundy. |
Contents
INTRODUCTION | 1 |
CHAPTER ONE THE TREATISE AND ITS AUTHOR | 7 |
CHAPTER TWO THE PACT WITH THE ENEMY | 43 |
CHAPTER THREE HISTORY AND DIVINATION | 97 |
CHAPTER FOUR A CRITIQUE OF SUPERSTITION | 137 |
RECAPITULATION | 201 |
LAURENS PIGNONCONTRE LES DEVINEURS | 205 |
INTRODUCTIONTO THE MANUSCRIPT BRUXELLES BIBLIOTHÈQUE ROYALE MS 11216 | 207 |
APPENDICES | 341 |
APPENDIX TWO PROGNOSTICATION ON THE LIFE OF JOHNDUKE OF BURGUNDY AND HIS HEIRS BY MASTER ALOFRESIN | 357 |
APPENDIX THREE THE TWELVE SIGNS OF THE ZODIAC AND A GAME OF NUMEROLOGICAL DIVINATION | 373 |
GLOSSARY | 403 |
| 409 | |
| 419 | |
| 421 | |
| 429 | |
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Common terms and phrases
adont advenir appert Aquinas astrology aucunefois aucunne Augustine autres bien Boin fait Burgundian c'est capitre cause celestial ceste chapter Charles Charles VI choses cognoissance Contre les devineurs coses cours du ciel cozes deable demons Dieu dire disent divinatory doit Doutrepont dreams duke of Burgundy duke of Orléans entendement erreurs estoit estre faire fifteenth century font France gens HMES homme horoscope idolatry influence Item Jean Petit Jehan de Bar John of Salisbury John the Fearless jugier king Livre Louis d'Orléans lune magic and divination maniere matière medieval Monk n'est nature naturele Nicole Oresme Oresme Orléans ovrages paraphrased Paris pechié personne Philippe de Mézières Pignon pluseurs premier prognostications puelent puet puissance qu'il quar raison Recueil regart savoir selonc sera seront signs Simon de Phares sorcery superstitio superstition telz temps Thomas Thorndike tout treatise v.trans vaint volenté