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| Albertus Magnus (born Albert, Count von Bollstädt, but known as Albert the Great) |
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[b. Lauingen (Germany), 1193, d. Cologne (Germany), November 15, 1280]
Albertus Magnus was a widely traveled German university professor and bishop who promoted Aristotle and alchemy, both with a touch of skepticism, however. In astronomy, he recognized that the Milky Way was composed of stars; in geology, he listed minerals and discussed fossils; and in botany, he collected and recorded data on plants from his extensive travels throughout Europe.
| German Literature Companion: Albertus Magnus |
Albertus Magnus (Lauingen, 1200-80, Cologne), by birth a Graf von Bollstädt, became a Dominican monk in 1223 and taught at various schools of the Order, becoming a doctor in Paris and later teaching in Cologne. He was made Provincial of his Order in 1254, and was bishop of Regensburg from 1260 to 1262. Albertus was a scholar of immense knowledge and tireless industry; his paraphrase of the works of Aristotle furthered the Aristotelian philosophy of the Middle Ages. His exceptional expertise in the natural sciences led to imputations of magic. His writings are entirely in Latin. St Thomas Aquinas was his pupil, and in later life Albertus defended Aquinas's reputation. Beatified in 1622, Albertus was canonized in 1931. He is sometimes termed Albrecht von Köln.
| Columbia Encyclopedia: Saint Albertus Magnus |
Bibliography
See D. H. Madden, A Chapter of Medieval History (1969); F. J. Kovach and R. W. Shahan, Albert the Great (1980).
Dictionary:
Al·ber·tus Mag·nus (ăl-bûr'təs măg'nəs)  , Saint (Originally Albert, Count von Bollstadt.) 1206?-1280. |
| Occultism & Parapsychology Encyclopedia: Albertus Magnus |
Scholar, philosopher, and scientist traditionally believed to have been an alchemist. No fewer than 21 folio volumes are attributed to him, though it is highly improbable that all of them are really his. In several cases the ascription rests on slender evidence, but those that are incontestably written by him are numerous enough to label him a prolific writer. Tradition holds that he was the inventor of the pistol and the cannon, though the truth of this claim cannot be proven. This does indicate, however, that his scientific skill was recognized by a few of the men of his own time.
Born in Swabia, Germany, he entered the Dominican order in 1223, taught in Paris and Cologne, and became the teacher of Thomas Aquinas. The term Magnus, which is usually applied to him, is not the result of his reputation but is the Latin equivalent of his family name, de Groot. As with many other men destined to become famous, he was distinctly stupid as a boy, but from the outset he showed a predilection for religion. One night the Blessed Virgin appeared to him, which caused his intellect to metamorphose, acquiring extraordinary vitality. Albertus therefore decided that he must show his gratitude to the Madonna by entering the priesthood, and eventually he won eminence in the clerical profession. In 1260 he became bishop of Ratisbon. His books include Summa de Creaturis and Summa Theologiae.
Albertus was repeatedly charged by some of his contemporaries with holding communications with the devil and practicing the craft of magic. He was said to have invited some friends to his house at Cologne, among them William, count of Holland, and when the guests arrived they were amazed to find that, although the season was midwinter and the ground was covered with snow, they were expected to have a meal outside in the garden. Their host urged them to be seated, assuring them that all would be well. Though doubtful, they took their places, and had only begun to eat and drink when their annoyance vanished, for the snow around them melted away and the sun shone brightly.
The alchemist Michael Maier (author of Museum Chimicum), declared that Albertus had succeeded in evolving the philosophers' stone and passed it to his pupil Thomas Aquinas, who subsequently destroyed it, believing it to be diabolical. The alleged discoverer himself says nothing on this subject, but, in his De Rebus Metallicis et Mineralibus, he tells how he had personally tested some gold that had been manufactured by an alchemist, and it resisted many searching fusions. Whether this story is true or not, Albertus was certainly an able scientist, and it is clear that his learning ultimately gained wide recognition, for a collected edition of his vast writings was issued at Leyden as late as 1653.
Albertus died in 1280, was beatified in 1622, and canonized by Pius XI in 1932. There is no firm evidence that Albertus was author of the ever popular occult work ascribed to him under the title Albertus Magnus … Egyptian Secrets; or, White and Black Art for Man and Beast.
Sources:
Albertus Magnus. The Book of Secrets of Albertus Magnus: Also, A Book of the Marvels of the World. Edited by M. R. Best and F. H. Brightman. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1973. Federmann, Reinhard. The Royal Art of Alchemy. New York: Chilton, 1969.
Kovech, F. J., and R. W. Shahan, eds. Albert the Great: Commemorative Essays. Norman Okla.: University of Oklahoma Press, 1980.
Sighart, J. Albert the Great. London: Washbourne, 1876.
| Quotes By: Saint Albertus Magnus |
Quotes:
"He took over anger to intimidate subordinates, and in time anger took over him."
| Wikipedia: Albertus Magnus |
| Saint Albertus Magnus | |
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| Bishop, Confessor, and Doctor of the Church | |
| Born | ca. 1193/1206, Lauingen, Bavaria |
| Died | November 15, 1280, Cologne, Holy Roman Empire |
| Venerated in | Roman Catholic Church |
| Beatified | 1622, Rome |
| Canonized | 1931, Rome by Pope Pius XI |
| Major shrine | St. Andreas in Cologne |
| Feast | November 15 |
| Patronage | Cincinnati, Ohio; medical technicians; natural sciences; philosophers; scientists; students; World Youth Day |
Saint Albertus Magnus, O.P. (1193/1206 – November 15, 1280), also known as Saint Albert the Great and Albert of Cologne, was a Dominican friar and bishop who achieved fame for his comprehensive knowledge of and advocacy for the peaceful coexistence of science and religion. He is considered to be the greatest German philosopher and theologian of the Middle Ages. He was the first among medieval scholars to apply Aristotle's philosophy to Christian thought. The Roman Catholic Church honors him as a Doctor of the Church, one of only 33 persons with that honor.
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He was born sometime between 1193 and 1206, to the Count of Bollstädt in Lauingen in Bavaria.[1] Contemporaries such as Roger Bacon applied the term "Magnus" to Albertus during his own lifetime, referring to his immense reputation as a scholar and philosopher.
Albertus was educated principally at Padua, where he received instruction in Aristotle's writings. A late account by Rudolph de Novamagia refers to Albertus' encounter with the Blessed Virgin Mary, who convinced him to enter Holy Orders. In 1223 (or 1221) he became a member of the Dominican Order, against the wishes of his family, and studied theology at Bologna and elsewhere. Selected to fill the position of lecturer at Cologne, Germany, where the Dominicans had a house, he taught for several years there, at Regensburg, Freiburg, Strasbourg and Hildesheim. In 1245 he went to Paris, received his doctorate and taught for some time as a master of theology with great success. During this time Thomas Aquinas began to study under Albertus.
In 1254 Albertus was made provincial of the Dominican Order, and fulfilled the arduous duties of the office with great care and efficiency. During his tenure he publicly defended the Dominicans against attacks by the secular and regular faculty of the University of Paris, commented on St John, and answered what he perceived as errors of the Arabian philosopher Averroes.
In 1260 Pope Alexander IV made him Bishop of Regensburg, which office he resigned after three years. During the exercise of his duties he enhanced his reputation for humility by refusing to ride a horse--in accord with the dictates of the Dominican order--instead walking back and forth across his huge diocese. This earned him the affectionate sobriquet, "boots the bishop," from his parishioners. After his stint as bishop, he spent the remainder of his life partly in retirement in the various houses of his order, yet often preaching throughout southern Germany. In 1270 he preached the eighth Crusade in Austria. Among the last of his labours was the defence of the orthodoxy of his former pupil, Thomas Aquinas, whose death in 1274 grieved Albertus. After suffering a collapse of health in 1278, he died on November 15, 1280, in Cologne, Germany. His tomb is in the crypt of the Dominican church of St. Andreas in Cologne, and his relics at the Cologne Cathedral.
Albertus is frequently mentioned by Dante, who made his doctrine of free will the basis of his ethical system. In his Divine Comedy, Dante places Albertus with his pupil Thomas Aquinas among the great lovers of wisdom (Spiriti Sapienti) in the Heaven of the Sun. Albertus is also mentioned, along with Agrippa and Paracelsus, in Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, where his writings serve as an influence to a young Victor Frankenstein.
Albertus was beatified in 1622. He was canonized and proclaimed a Doctor of the Church in 1931 by Pope Pius XI. St Albert's feast day is celebrated on November 15.
Albertus' writings collected in 1899 went to thirty-eight volumes. These displayed his prolific habits and literally encyclopedic knowledge of topics such as logic, theology, botany, geography, astronomy, astrology, mineralogy, chemistry, zoology, physiology, phrenology and others; all of which were the result of logic and observation. He was perhaps the most well-read author of his time. He digested, interpreted and systematized the whole of Aristotle's works, gleaned from the Latin translations and notes of the Arabian commentators, in accordance with Church doctrine. Most modern knowledge of Aristotle was preserved and presented by Albertus.
Albertus' activity, however, was more philosophical than theological (see Scholasticism). The philosophical works, occupying the first six and the last of the twenty-one volumes, are generally divided according to the Aristotelian scheme of the sciences, and consist of interpretations and condensations of Aristotle's relative works, with supplementary discussions upon contemporary topics, and occasional divergences from the opinions of the master.
His principal theological works are a commentary in three volumes on the Books of the Sentences of Peter Lombard (Magister Sententiarum), and the Summa Theologiae in two volumes. The latter is in substance a more didactic repetition of the former.
Albertus's knowledge of physical science was considerable 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 philosophy, his protracted study of Aristotle gave him a great power of systematic thought and exposition. His scholarly legacy justifies his contemporaries' bestowing upon him the honourable surname Doctor Universalis. It must, however, be admitted that much of his knowledge was ill digested; it even appears that he regarded Plato and Speusippus as Stoics.[citation needed]
In the centuries since his death, many stories arose about Albertus as an alchemist and magician. On the subject of alchemy and chemistry, he wrote treatises on Alchemy; Metals and Materials; the Secrets of Chemistry; the Origin of Metals; the Origins of Compounds, and a Concordance which is a collection of Observations on the philosopher's stone; and other alchemy-chemistry topics, collected under the name of Theatrum Chemicum.[2] He is credited with the discovery of the element arsenic[3]. He did believe that stones had occult properties, as he related in his work De mineralibus. However, there is scant evidence that he personally performed alchemical experiments. Much of the modern confusion results from the fact that later works, particularly the alchemical work known as the Secreta Alberti or the Experimenta Alberti, were falsely attributed to Albertus by their authors in order to increase the prestige of the text through association.[citation needed]
According to legend, Albertus Magnus is said to have discovered the philosopher's stone and passed it to his pupil Thomas Aquinas, shortly before his death. Magnus does not confirm he discovered the stone in his writings, but he did record that he witnessed the creation of gold by "transmutation."[4] Given that Thomas Aquinas died six years before Albertus Magnus' death, this legend as stated is unlikely.
However, it is true that Albertus was deeply interested in astrology, as has been articulated by scholars such as Paola Zambelli.[5] While today we would view this as evidence of superstition, in the high Middle Ages--and well into the early modern period--few intellectuals, if any, questioned the basic assumptions of astrology: humans live within a web of celestial influences that affect our bodies, and thereby motivate us to behave in certain ways. Within this worldview, it was logical to believe that astrology could be used to predict the probable future of a human being. Albertus made this a central component of his philosophical system, arguing that an understanding of the celestial influences affecting us could help us to live our lives more in accord with Christian precepts. The most comprehensive statement of his astrological beliefs is to be found in a work he authored around 1260, now known as the Speculum astronomiae. However, details of these beliefs can be found in almost everything he wrote, from his early Summa de bono to his last work, the Summa theologiae.
Albertus is known for his enlightening commentary on the musical practice of his times. Most of his written musical observations are found in his commentary on Aristotle's Poetics. He rejected the idea of "music of the spheres" as ridiculous: movement of astronomical bodies, he supposed, is incapable of generating sound. He also wrote extensively on proportions in music, and on the three different subjective levels on which plainchant could work on the human soul: purging of the impure; illumination leading to contemplation; and nourishing perfection through contemplation. Of particular interest to 20th century music theorists is the attention he paid to silence as an integral part of music.
The iconography of the tympanum and archivolts of the late-13th century portal of Strasbourg Cathedral was inspired by the writings of Albertus Magnus.[6] Albertus is recorded as having made a mechanical automaton in the form of a brass head that would answer questions put to it. Such a feat was also attributed to Roger Bacon.[7]
In The Concept of Anxiety Søren Kierkegaard wrote that Albert Magnus, "arrogantly boasted of his speculation before the deity and suddenly became stupid." Kierkegaard cites G. O. Marbach who he quotes as saying "Albertus repente ex asino factus philosophus et ex philosopho asinus" [Albert was suddenly transformed from an ass into a philosopher and from a philosopher into an ass].[8]
The typeface Albertus is named in his memory.
In Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, Albertus Magnus is referred to as one of Victor Frankenstein's chosen readings. He is also referred to in Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Birth-mark and Herman Melville's The Bell Tower.
In 1968, he was cited by William F. Buckley as one of several historical figures whose best qualities would be emulated by the ideal President.
In Terry Pratchett's Discworld novels, the character of Alberto Mallich (founder of the Unseen University and later Death's manservant Albert) is a sly nod to Albertus Magnus in his more legendary and esoteric guise.
Walter M. Miller, Jr.'s novel A Canticle for Leibowitz centers around a monastic order called the Albertian Order of Leibowitz, named by its founder after Albertus Magnus and dedicated to preserving scientific knowledge lost after a nuclear war.
"Natural science does not consist in ratifying what others have said, but in seeking the causes of phenomena."
"A daemonibus doctuture, de daemonibus doctet, et ad daemones ducit" ("It is taught by the demons, It teaches about demons and it leads to demons.")
A number of schools are named after Albert, including Albertus Magnus High School, in Bardonia, New York, the Albertus-Magnus-Gymnasium in Regensburg, and Albertus Magnus College in New Haven, Connecticut. The main science building at Providence College is named in honor of Albertus Magnus. In Managua, Nicaragua, the Albertus Magnus International Institute, a business and economic development research center, was founded in 2004. The Academy for Science and Design in New Hampshire honored Magnus by naming one of its four houses Magnus House.
Kennedy, D.J. (1913). "St. Albertus Magnus". Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company. http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Catholic_Encyclopedia_(1913)/St._Albertus_Magnus. Retrieved 2007-02-28.
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Kennedy, D.J. (1913). "St. Albertus Magnus". Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company. http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Catholic_Encyclopedia_(1913)/St._Albertus_Magnus.
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