Giles Antonini,
O.E.S.A., commonly referred to as Giles of Viterbo ( la, Ægidius Viterbensis, it, Egidio da Viterbo), was a 16th-century Italian
Augustinian Augustinian may refer to:
*Augustinians, members of religious orders following the Rule of St Augustine
*Augustinianism, the teachings of Augustine of Hippo and his intellectual heirs
*Someone who follows Augustine of Hippo
* Canons Regular of Sain ...
friar
A friar is a member of one of the mendicant orders founded in the twelfth or thirteenth century; the term distinguishes the mendicants' itinerant apostolic character, exercised broadly under the jurisdiction of a superior general, from the ...
,
bishop
A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution.
In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is c ...
of
Viterbo
Viterbo (; Viterbese: ; lat-med, Viterbium) is a city and ''comune'' in the Lazio region of central Italy, the capital of the province of Viterbo.
It conquered and absorbed the neighboring town of Ferento (see Ferentium) in its early history ...
and
cardinal, a reforming
theologian
Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...
,
orator
An orator, or oratist, is a public speaker, especially one who is eloquent or skilled.
Etymology
Recorded in English c. 1374, with a meaning of "one who pleads or argues for a cause", from Anglo-French ''oratour'', Old French ''orateur'' (14th ...
,
humanist
Humanism is a philosophical stance that emphasizes the individual and social potential and agency of human beings. It considers human beings the starting point for serious moral and philosophical inquiry.
The meaning of the term "human ...
and
poet
A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems ( oral or wri ...
. He was born in Viterbo and died in
Rome
, established_title = Founded
, established_date = 753 BC
, founder = King Romulus (legendary)
, image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg
, map_caption ...
.
Life
He was born to humble parents and his given name is not known; his father was Lorenzo Antonini, of
Canepina
Canepina is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Viterbo in the Italian region Latium, located about northwest of Rome and about southeast of Viterbo
Viterbo (; Viterbese: ; lat-med, Viterbium) is a city and ''comune'' in the Lazio ...
, near Viterbo, and his mother, Maria del Testa. He entered the
Order of St. Augustine
The Order of Saint Augustine, ( la, Ordo Fratrum Sancti Augustini) abbreviated OSA, is a religious mendicant order of the Catholic Church. It was founded in 1244 by bringing together several eremitical groups in the Tuscany region who were fo ...
in June 1488 at which time he was given the name Giles. After a course of studies at priories of the Order in
Ameria,
Padua
Padua ( ; it, Padova ; vec, Pàdova) is a city and ''comune'' in Veneto, northern Italy. Padua is on the river Bacchiglione, west of Venice. It is the capital of the province of Padua. It is also the economic and communications hub of the ...
,
Istria,
Florence
Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany Regions of Italy, region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilan ...
and
Rome
, established_title = Founded
, established_date = 753 BC
, founder = King Romulus (legendary)
, image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg
, map_caption ...
, where he studied philosophy. He was later made a
doctor of theology. In 1506 became
Vicar General
A vicar general (previously, archdeacon) is the principal deputy of the bishop of a diocese for the exercise of administrative authority and possesses the title of local ordinary. As vicar of the bishop, the vicar general exercises the bishop' ...
of his Order. Upon the death of the
Prior General, and, under the patronage of
Pope Julius II
Pope Julius II ( la, Iulius II; it, Giulio II; born Giuliano della Rovere; 5 December 144321 February 1513) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 1503 to his death in February 1513. Nicknamed the Warrior Pope or th ...
, he was confirmed by election as his successor at three successive
General Chapter
A chapter ( la, capitulum or ') is one of several bodies of clergy in Roman Catholic, Old Catholic, Anglican, and Nordic Lutheran churches or their gatherings.
Name
The name derives from the habit of convening monks or canons for the re ...
s of the Order: in 1507, 1511 and 1515.
Antonini was a noted preacher, presiding at several papal services at the order of
Pope Alexander VI. He also traveled widely, due to his responsibilities as head of the Order. This allowed to be in touch with the leading intellectual figures of the period, with many of whom he formed working collaborations. One friend,
Giovanni Pontano
Giovanni Pontano (1426–1503), later known as Giovanni Gioviano ( la, Ioannes Iovianus Pontanus), was a humanist and poet from Cerreto di Spoleto, in central Italy. He was the leading figure of the Accademia Pontaniana after the death of Antonio ...
, dedicated a work to him, entitled ''Ægidius''.
Antonini is famous in ecclesiastical history for the boldness and earnestness of the discourse which he delivered at the opening of the
Fifth Lateran Council
The Fifth Council of the Lateran, held between 1512 and 1517, was the eighteenth ecumenical council of the Catholic Church and was the last council before the Protestant Reformation and the Council of Trent. It was convoked by Pope Julius II to ...
, held in 1512, at the
Lateran Palace
The Lateran Palace ( la, Palatium Lateranense), formally the Apostolic Palace of the Lateran ( la, Palatium Apostolicum Lateranense), is an ancient palace of the Roman Empire and later the main papal residence in southeast Rome.
Located on St. ...
.
Following this service to his Order, Antonini was elevated to the rank of
cardinal by
Pope Leo X
Pope Leo X ( it, Leone X; born Giovanni di Lorenzo de' Medici, 11 December 14751 December 1521) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 9 March 1513 to his death in December 1521.
Born into the prominent political an ...
in the
consistory
Consistory is the anglicized form of the consistorium, a council of the closest advisors of the Roman emperors. It can also refer to:
*A papal consistory, a formal meeting of the Sacred College of Cardinals of the Roman Catholic Church
* Consistor ...
of 1 July 1517, and given the
titular church
In the Catholic Church, a titular church is a church in Rome that is assigned to a member of the clergy who is created a cardinal. These are Catholic churches in the city, within the jurisdiction of the Diocese of Rome, that serve as honorary des ...
of
San Bartolomeo all'Isola
The Basilica of St. Bartholomew on the Island ( it, Basilica di San Bartolomeo all'Isola , la, Basilica S. Bartholomaei in Insula) is a titular minor basilica, located in Rome, Italy. It was founded in 998 by Otto III, Holy Roman Emperor and co ...
, which he immediately had changed to the Church of
San Matteo in Via Merulana. He resigned the office of Prior General in February 1519. Pope Leo confided to him several
sees in succession, employed him as
legate
Legate may refer to:
*Legatus, a higher ranking general officer of the Roman army drawn from among the senatorial class
:*Legatus Augusti pro praetore, a provincial governor in the Roman Imperial period
*A member of a legation
*A representative, ...
on important missions, notably to
Charles of Spain, soon to become Holy Roman Emperor Charles V. In 1523 Pope Leo gave him the title of
Latin Patriarch of Constantinople.
Antonini's zeal for the genuine reformation of conditions in the Catholic Church prompted him to present
Pope Adrian VI
Pope Adrian VI ( la, Hadrianus VI; it, Adriano VI; nl, Adrianus/Adriaan VI), born Adriaan Florensz Boeyens (2 March 1459 – 14 September 1523), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 9 January 1522 until his d ...
with a ''Promemoria''. He was universally esteemed as a learned and virtuous member of the great pontifical senate and many deemed him destined to succeed
Pope Clement VII
Pope Clement VII ( la, Clemens VII; it, Clemente VII; born Giulio de' Medici; 26 May 1478 – 25 September 1534) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 19 November 1523 to his death on 25 September 1534. Deemed "the ...
.
When the riotous soldiers of Charles V
sacked Rome in 1527, Antonini's extensive library was destroyed. He spent the next year living in exile in Padua. In 1530 he requested the transfer of his titular church to that of the Church of
San Marcello al Corso
San Marcello al Corso, a church in Rome, Italy, is a titular church whose cardinal-protector normally holds the (intermediary) rank of cardinal-priest.
The church, dedicated to Pope Marcellus I (d. AD 309), is located just inset from Via de ...
.
Antonini died in Rome and was buried in the
Basilica of Sant'Agostino
it, Basilica di Sant'Agostino in Campo Marzio
, image = Sant Agostino Fassade.jpg
, caption = Façade from the Piazza di Sant’Agostino
, coordinates =
, image_size=270
, mapframe-frame-width=270
, m ...
.
Christian cabalist
Antonini knew
Marsilio Ficino from a visit to Florence, and he was familiar with
Pico della Mirandola's interpretations of the
Kabbalah
Kabbalah ( he, קַבָּלָה ''Qabbālā'', literally "reception, tradition") is an esoteric method, discipline and school of thought in Jewish mysticism. A traditional Kabbalist is called a Mekubbal ( ''Məqūbbāl'' "receiver"). The defin ...
, which he was to surpass in the depth of his understanding; his interest in the
Talmud
The Talmud (; he, , Talmūḏ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law ('' halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the ce ...
led him into correspondence with
Johannes Reuchlin
Johann Reuchlin (; sometimes called Johannes; 29 January 1455 – 30 June 1522) was a German Catholic humanist and a scholar of Greek and Hebrew, whose work also took him to modern-day Austria, Switzerland, and Italy and France. Most of Reuchlin ...
.
In Jewish history, Antonini is coupled with the
grammarian Elias Levita
Elia Levita (13 February 146928 January 1549) ( he, אליהו בן אשר הלוי אשכנזי), also known as Elijah Levita, Elias Levita, Élie Lévita, Elia Levita Ashkenazi, Eliahu Levita, Eliyahu haBahur ("Elijah the Bachelor"), Elye Bok ...
, who honed his knowledge of Hebrew and Aramaic. When the turmoil of war drove Levita from
Padua
Padua ( ; it, Padova ; vec, Pàdova) is a city and ''comune'' in Veneto, northern Italy. Padua is on the river Bacchiglione, west of Venice. It is the capital of the province of Padua. It is also the economic and communications hub of the ...
to Rome, he was welcomed at the palace of the bishop, where, with his family, he lived and was supported for more than ten years. It was there that Levita's career as the foremost tutor of Christian notables in Hebrew lore commenced. The first edition of Levita's ''Baḥur'' (Rome, 1518) is dedicated to Aegidius. Aegidius introduced Levita to classical scholarship and the Greek language, thus enabling him to utilize Greek in his Hebrew lexicographic labors – a debt acknowledged by Levita, who, in 1521, dedicated his ''Concordance'' to the cardinal.
Antonini's main motive was to penetrate the mysteries of the
Cabala. Ægidius belonged to the group of sixteenth century
Christian cabalist
Christian Kabbalah arose during the Renaissance due to Christian scholars' interest in the mysticism of Jewish Kabbalah, which they interpreted according to Christian theology. It is often transliterated as Cabala (also ''Cabbala'') to disting ...
s, among whom
Johann Reuchlin
Johann Reuchlin (; sometimes called Johannes; 29 January 1455 – 30 June 1522) was a German Catholic humanist and a scholar of Greek and Hebrew, whose work also took him to modern-day Austria, Switzerland, and Italy and France. Most of Reuchlin' ...
and
Pico della Mirandola also were prominent, who believed that
Jewish mysticism, and particularly the ''
Zohar'', contained incontrovertible testimony to the truth of the Christian religion. In the course of Reuchlin's conflict with the obscurantists (1507–1521), in which the preservation of the Jewish books was at issue, the cardinal wrote (1516) to his friend: "While we labor on thy behalf, we defend not thee, but the law; not the ''
Talmud
The Talmud (; he, , Talmūḏ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law ('' halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the ce ...
'', but the Church."
Antonini also engaged another Jewish scholar,
Baruch di Benevento, to translate for him the ''Zohar'' (the mystic Book of Splendor). The scholar last named may also have been partly responsible for the numerous cabalistic translations and treatises which appeared under the name of Ægidius. The cardinal was a collector of Hebrew manuscripts, of which many are still to be seen at the Munich Library, bearing both faint traces of his signature and brief Latin annotations.
In the
Biblioteca Angelica
The Biblioteca Angelica ( en, Angelica Library) is a public library located in Rome, Italy. In front of the ''Piazza Sant'Agostino'' square, adjacent to the church of Sant'Agostino, not far from Piazza Navona.
The library holds about over 130,0 ...
at Rome an old Hebrew manuscript is extant, which was given to Antonini by
Pope Leo X
Pope Leo X ( it, Leone X; born Giovanni di Lorenzo de' Medici, 11 December 14751 December 1521) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 9 March 1513 to his death in December 1521.
Born into the prominent political an ...
. The richly illuminated manuscript (Ms. Or 72), produced in the 14th century, contains Biblical texts in Hebrew, grammatical and rabbinic works. The
British Museum
The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...
contains a copy of ''
Makiri'' and the ''
Midrash
''Midrash'' (;["midrash"]
''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''. he, מִדְרָשׁ; ...
'' on the
minor Prophets
The Minor Prophets or Twelve Prophets ( he, שנים עשר, ''Shneim Asar''; arc, תרי עשר, ''Trei Asar'', "Twelve") ( grc, δωδεκαπρόφητον, "the Twelve Prophets"), occasionally Book of the Twelve, is a collection of propheti ...
, written for the cardinal at
Tivoli, in the year 1514, by
Johanan ben Jacob Sarkuse. The study of Jewish literature led the cardinal to a friendly interest in the Jews themselves, which he manifested both in his energetic encouragement of Reuchlin in the struggle referred to above and in a vain attempt which he made in the year 1531, in conjunction with the cardinal
Geronimo de Ghinucci, to prevent the issue of the papal edict authorizing the introduction of the
Inquisition
The Inquisition was a group of institutions within the Catholic Church whose aim was to combat heresy, conducting trials of suspected heretics. Studies of the records have found that the overwhelming majority of sentences consisted of penances, ...
against the
Maranos
Marranos were Spanish and Portuguese Jews living in the Iberian Peninsula who converted or were Forced conversion#Spanish Inquisition, forced to convert to Christianity during the Middle Ages, but continued to Crypto-Judaism, practice Judaism i ...
.
Works
Antonini was a profound student of the
Scriptures
Religious texts, including scripture, are texts which various religions consider to be of central importance to their religious tradition. They differ from literature by being a compilation or discussion of beliefs, mythologies, ritual pra ...
and a good scholar in
Greek
Greek may refer to:
Greece
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group.
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family.
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
as well as
Hebrew
Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...
.
Giovanni Pontano
Giovanni Pontano (1426–1503), later known as Giovanni Gioviano ( la, Ioannes Iovianus Pontanus), was a humanist and poet from Cerreto di Spoleto, in central Italy. He was the leading figure of the Accademia Pontaniana after the death of Antonio ...
dedicated to him one of his ''Dialoghi''.
The writings commonly attributed to Antonini are numerous. Most of them are to be found in manuscript form in the
Bibliothèque Nationale
A library is a collection of materials, books or media that are accessible for use and not just for display purposes. A library provides physical (hard copies) or digital access (soft copies) materials, and may be a physical location or a vi ...
,
Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...
, but their authenticity is still to be established. Aside from minor works on the Hebrew language, the majority by far are of a cabalistic nature. There is scarcely a classic of Jewish medieval mysticism that he has not translated, annotated, or commented upon. Among these works may be mentioned the ''
Zohar''.
Only a few of Antonini's writings have been printed in the third volume of the ''Collectio Novissima'' of
Martène. When urged by
Pope Clement VII
Pope Clement VII ( la, Clemens VII; it, Clemente VII; born Giulio de' Medici; 26 May 1478 – 25 September 1534) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 19 November 1523 to his death on 25 September 1534. Deemed "the ...
to publish his works, he is said, by the Augustinian historian, Friar Tomás de Herrera, O.E.S.A., to have replied that he feared to contradict famous and holy men by his exposition of Scripture. The Pope replied that human respect should not deter him; it was quite permissible to preach and write what was contrary to the opinions of others, provided one did not depart from the truth and from the common tradition of the Church.
Antonini's major original work is an historical treatise: ''Historia viginti sæculorum per totidem psalmos conscripta''. It deals in a philosophico-historical way with the history of the world before and after the birth of Christ, is valuable for the history of its own time, and offers a certain analogy with
Bossuet Bossuet is a French surname. Notable people with the surname include:
* Jacques-Bénigne Bossuet (1627–1704), French bishop and theologian, uncle of Louis
* Louis Bossuet Louis Bossuet (22 February 1663 – 15 January 1742) was a French parle ...
's famous ''Discours sur l'histoire universelle''.
The six books of Antonini's important correspondence (1497–1523) concerning the affairs of his Order, much of which is addressed to Friar Gabriel of Venice, his successor as Prior General, are preserved in Rome in the
Biblioteca Angelica
The Biblioteca Angelica ( en, Angelica Library) is a public library located in Rome, Italy. In front of the ''Piazza Sant'Agostino'' square, adjacent to the church of Sant'Agostino, not far from Piazza Navona.
The library holds about over 130,0 ...
. Cardinal
Joseph Hergenröther
Joseph Hergenröther (15 September 1824 – 3 October 1890) was a German Church historian and canonist, and the first Cardinal-Prefect of the Vatican Archive.
Biography
Born in Würzburg, he was the second son of Johann Jacob Hergenröth ...
, a leading
Church historian
Church Historian and Recorder (usually shortened to Church Historian) is a priesthood calling in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The role of the Church Historian and Recorder is to keep an accurate and comprehensive record of th ...
of the 19th century, praised particularly the circular letter in which Antonini made known (27 February 1519), his resignation of the office of Prior General of the Augustinian friars.
[Lämmer, ''Zur Kirchengeschichte des XVI. und XVII. Jahrhunderts', Freiburg, 1863, 64-67]
Other of Antonini's known works are a commentary on the first book of the ''
Sentences
''The Four Books of Sentences'' (''Libri Quattuor Sententiarum'') is a book of theology written by Peter Lombard in the 12th century. It is a systematic compilation of theology, written around 1150; it derives its name from the '' sententiae'' ...
'' of
Peter Lombard
Peter Lombard (also Peter the Lombard, Pierre Lombard or Petrus Lombardus; 1096, Novara – 21/22 July 1160, Paris), was a scholastic theologian, Bishop of Paris, and author of '' Four Books of Sentences'' which became the standard textbook of ...
, three ''Eclogae Sacrae'', a dictionary of Hebrew roots, a ''Libellus de ecclesiae incremento'', a ''Liber dialogorum'', and an ''Informatio pro sedis apostolicae auctoritate contra
Lutheranam sectam''.
Notes
References
*
*
*Signorelli, Giuseppe, ''Il cardinal Egidio da Viterbo: Agostino, umanista e riformatore (1469-1532)'' (Florence, 1929).
*John W. O'Malley, S.J., ''Giles of Viterbo on Church and Reform: A Study in Renaissance Thought''. Leiden: Brill, 1968.
External links
bta.itPaper on Giles of Rome
{{DEFAULTSORT:Giles of Viterbo
1470 births
1532 deaths
People from Viterbo
Augustinian friars
Italian poets
Italian male poets
Italian Renaissance humanists
16th-century Italian cardinals
Augustinian bishops
Augustinian cardinals
Bishops in Lazio
Christian Hebraists
Christian Kabbalists
16th-century Italian Roman Catholic bishops
Burials at Sant'Agostino, Rome
Latin Patriarchs of Constantinople