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Leo Allatius (
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 ...
: Λέων Αλλάτιος, ''Leon Allatios'', Λιωνής Αλάτζης, ''Lionis Allatzis'';
Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...
: ''Leone Allacci, Allacio'';
Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
: ''Leo Allatius, Allacius''; c. 1586 – January 19, 1669) was a
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 ...
scholar A scholar is a person who pursues academic and intellectual activities, particularly academics who apply their intellectualism into expertise in an area of study. A scholar can also be an academic, who works as a professor, teacher, or researche ...
,
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 ...
, and keeper of the
Vatican library The Vatican Apostolic Library ( la, Bibliotheca Apostolica Vaticana, it, Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana), more commonly known as the Vatican Library or informally as the Vat, is the library of the Holy See, located in Vatican City. Formally es ...
.


Biography

Leo Allatius was a
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 ...
, born on the island of
Chios Chios (; el, Χίος, Chíos , traditionally known as Scio in English) is the fifth largest Greek island, situated in the northern Aegean Sea. The island is separated from Turkey by the Chios Strait. Chios is notable for its exports of mastic ...
(then part of the
Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...
and known as ''Sakız'') in 1586. His father was Niccolas Allatzes (from Orthodox religion) and his mother was Sebaste Neurides, both of
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 ...
extraction (Allatius soon converted himself to Catholicism from Greek Orthodoxy). He was taken by his maternal uncle Michael Nauridis to Italy to be educated at the age of nine, first in
Calabria , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...
and then 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 ...
where he was admitted into the Greek college. A graduate of the
Pontifical Greek College of Saint Athanasius The Pontifical Greek College of St. Athanasius ( it, Pontificio Collegio Greco di Sant’Atanasio, el, Ποντιφίκιο Ελληνικό Κολλέγιο Αγίου Αθανασίου) is a Pontifical College in Rome that observes the Byzant ...
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 ...
, he spent his career in Rome as teacher of Greek at the Greek college, devoting himself to the study of classics and theology. He found a patron in
Pope Gregory XV Pope Gregory XV ( la, Gregorius XV; it, Gregorio XV; 9 January 15548 July 1623), born Alessandro Ludovisi, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 9 February 1621 to his death in July 1623. Biography Early life Al ...
. In 1622, after the capture of
Heidelberg Heidelberg (; Palatine German language, Palatine German: ''Heidlberg'') is a city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the river Neckar in south-west Germany. As of the 2016 census, its population was 159,914 ...
by
Tilly Tilly may refer to: Places France * Tilly, Eure, in the Eure ''département'' * Tilly, Indre, in the Indre ''département'' * Tilly, Yvelines, in the Yvelines ''département'' Elsewhere * Tilly, Belgium, a village in the municipality of Viller ...
, when the
Protestant Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...
Elector of Bavaria The following is a list of rulers during the history of Bavaria. Bavaria was ruled by several dukes and kings, partitioned and reunited, under several dynasties. Since 1949, Bavaria has been a democratic state in the Federal Republic of Germa ...
Frederick V Frederick V or Friedrich V may refer to: *Frederick V, Duke of Swabia (1164–1170) *Frederick V, Count of Zollern (d.1289) *Frederick V, Burgrave of Nuremberg (c. 1333–1398), German noble *Frederick V of Austria (1415–1493), or Frederick III, ...
was supplanted by a Catholic one, the victorious elector Maximilian of Bavaria presented the Palatinate library composed of 196 cases containing about 3500 manuscripts to Pope Gregory. Allatius supervised its transport by a caravan of 200 mules across the Alps to Rome, where it was incorporated in the Vatican library. All but 39 of the Heidelberg manuscripts, which had been sent to
Paris Paris () is the capital and 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), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
in 1797 and were returned to Heidelberg at the Peace of Paris in 1815, and a gift from
Pope Pius VII Pope Pius VII ( it, Pio VII; born Barnaba Niccolò Maria Luigi Chiaramonti; 14 August 1742 – 20 August 1823), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 14 March 1800 to his death in August 1823. Chiaramonti was also a m ...
of 852 others in 1816, remain in the Vatican Library to this day. Allatius was "passed over" for the position of Vatican librarian and instead became librarian to Cardinal
Lelio Biscia Lelio Biscia (15 June 1575 – 19 November 1638) was an Italian Catholic cardinal. Early life Biscia was born on 15 June 1575 in Rome, the second son of Bernardino Biscia and Vittoria Scapucci. Biscia's father was a minor noble and a consistori ...
who had an extensive private library. On the Cardinal's death, Allatius became librarian to Cardinal Francesco Barberini.
Pope Alexander VII Pope Alexander VII ( it, Alessandro VII; 13 February 159922 May 1667), born Fabio Chigi, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 7 April 1655 to his death in May 1667. He began his career as a vice- papal legate, an ...
appointed him custodian of the
Vatican Library The Vatican Apostolic Library ( la, Bibliotheca Apostolica Vaticana, it, Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana), more commonly known as the Vatican Library or informally as the Vat, is the library of the Holy See, located in Vatican City. Formally es ...
in 1661, a post he held until his death. His cultural background, embracing the Greek and Roman worlds, afforded him a unique view of the age-old question of union to heal the Great Schism. Better than any western scholar of his day he knew the religious, historical and artistic traditions of the Orthodox world, struggling under Ottoman domination. More passionately than any other 17th century theologian, he believed that familiarity with these traditions would enable the two churches to bridge their theological and ecclesiastical divide. Thus in 1651, when he published the first printed edition of the works of
George Acropolites George Akropolites ( Latinized as Acropolites or Acropolita; el, , ''Georgios Akropolites''; 1217 or 1220 – 1282) was a Byzantine Greek historian and statesman born at Constantinople. Life In his sixteenth year he was sent by his father, the ...
, the 13th century emissary of the
Byzantine Emperor This is a list of the Byzantine emperors from the foundation of Constantinople in 330 AD, which marks the conventional start of the Eastern Roman Empire, to its fall to the Ottoman Empire in 1453 AD. Only the emperors who were recognized as le ...
who acknowledged the supremacy of the Roman pontiff and thus had become something of a celebrity, at least in the West, the Latin essay that formed the preface to this volume, ''De Georgiis eorumque Scriptis'', gained fame itself as a learned plea for the commonalities between the two churches. Allatius was a natural apologist for the Eastern communions in
Eastern Europe Eastern Europe is a subregion of the Europe, European continent. As a largely ambiguous term, it has a wide range of geopolitical, geographical, ethnic, cultural, and socio-economic connotations. The vast majority of the region is covered by Russ ...
, convinced as he was in himself that in the acts of union neither reasons of faith nor of doctrine were fundamental to the succession of the bishops, only a transfer of jurisdictions, and he seems really to have believed that the "Latin faith" and the "Greek faith" were identical and that under "Roman obedience" they could still be Orthodox. So he argued in his contribution to the mid-17th century
Uniate The Eastern Catholic Churches or Oriental Catholic Churches, also called the Eastern-Rite Catholic Churches, Eastern Rite Catholicism, or simply the Eastern Churches, are 23 Eastern Christian autonomous (''sui iuris'') particular churches of th ...
pamphlet ''De Ecclesiae occidentalis atque orientalis perpetua consensione libri tres'' ("The Western and Eastern Churches in perpetual Agreement, in Three Books") (1648). Such notions led to the final stipulations that the Eastern Churches were not to be merged with the Catholic Church but would retain their own hierarchical independence and traditional rituals. Allatius was trained as a
physician A physician (American English), medical practitioner (Commonwealth English), medical doctor, or simply doctor, is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through th ...
. In 1645 he included the first methodical discussion of
vampire A vampire is a mythical creature that subsists by feeding on the Vitalism, vital essence (generally in the form of blood) of the living. In European folklore, vampires are undead, undead creatures that often visited loved ones and caused mi ...
s, in ''De Graecorum hodie quorundam opinationibus'' ("On certain modern opinions among the Greeks"). In his later years he collected Greek and Syrian manuscripts to add to the late
Pope Gregory XV Pope Gregory XV ( la, Gregorius XV; it, Gregorio XV; 9 January 15548 July 1623), born Alessandro Ludovisi, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 9 February 1621 to his death in July 1623. Biography Early life Al ...
's Eastern Library at the Vatican. A member of the
Accademia degli Incogniti The Accademia degli Incogniti (Academy of the Unknowns), also called the Loredanian Academy, was a learned society of freethinking intellectuals, mainly noblemen, that significantly influenced the cultural and political life of mid-17th century Veni ...
, he knew many of the figures who wrote Venetian operas. His ''Drammaturgia'' (
1666 This is the first year to be designated as an ''Annus mirabilis'', in John Dryden's 1667 poem so titled, celebrating England's failure to be beaten either by the Dutch or by fire. It is the only year to contain each Roman numeral once in de ...
), a catalogue of Italian musical dramas produced up to that year, is indispensable for the early history of opera. A new edition, carried down to 1755, appeared at Venice in that year. His works are listed by
Johann Albert Fabricius Johann Albert Fabricius (11 November 1668 – 30 April 1736) was a German classical scholar and bibliographer. Biography Fabricius was born at Leipzig, son of Werner Fabricius, director of music in the church of St. Paul at Leipzig, who was the ...
, in ''Bibliotheca Graeca'' (xi. 437), where they are divided into four classes: *editions, translations and commentaries on ancient authors *works relating to the dogmas and institutions of the Greek and Roman Churches *historical works *miscellaneous works. His manuscripts (about 150 volumes) and his voluminous scholarly correspondence are held in the
Biblioteca Vallicelliana The Biblioteca Vallicelliana is a library in Rome, Italy. The library is located in the Oratorio dei Filippini complex built by Francesco Borromini in Piazza della Chiesa Nuova. The library holds about 130,000 volumes of manuscripts, incunabula ...
(referred to by some sources as the "Library of the
Oratorians An Oratorian is a member of one of the following religious orders: * Oratory of Saint Philip Neri (Roman Catholic), who use the postnominal letters C.O. * Oratory of Jesus (Roman Catholic) * Oratory of the Good Shepherd (Anglican) * Teologisk Orator ...
") in Rome. The number of his unpublished writings is very large; the majority of them are included in the manuscripts of the Vallicellian Library. Allatius 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 ...
on 18 (or 19) January 1669.


In popular culture

Outside scholarly circles Allatius is perhaps best known today for his ''De Praeputio Domini Nostri Jesu Christi Diatriba'' (''Discourse on the Foreskin of Our Lord Jesus Christ''), a minor essay mentioned in Fabricius's ''Bibliotheca Graeca'' (xiv. 17) as an unpublished work. According to an unconfirmed nineteenth-century source, its thesis—which to many modern readers appears unintentionally humorous—is that the
rings of Saturn The rings of Saturn are the most extensive ring system of any planet in the Solar System. They consist of countless small particles, ranging in size from micrometers to meters, that orbit around Saturn. The ring particles are made almost entirel ...
(then-recently observed by telescope) are the prepuce of Jesus.


Selected works

* (1629) ''S.P.N. Eustathii Archiepiscopi Antiocheni et martyris in Hexahemeron commentarius, ac de Engastrimytho dissertatio adversus Origenem; item
Origen Origen of Alexandria, ''Ōrigénēs''; Origen's Greek name ''Ōrigénēs'' () probably means "child of Horus" (from , "Horus", and , "born"). ( 185 – 253), also known as Origen Adamantius, was an Early Christianity, early Christian scholar, ...
is de eadem Engastrimytho an videlicet anima ipsa Samuelis fuerit vere evocata incantationibus Pythonissae (de qua I. Reg. cap. 28)''. Lyon: Laurent Durand, 1629 * (1634) , Rome * (1640) . Lyon: Laurent Durand * (1645) ''De Graecorum hodie quorundam opinationibus'' :Complete title : ''De templis Graecorum recentioribus, ad Ioannem Morinum; de narthece ecclesiae veteris, ad Gasparem de Simeonibus; nec non de Graecorum hodie quorundam opinationibus, ad Paullum Zacchiam. Leo Allatius'', Cologne: Iodocum Kalcovium & Socios * (1648) , Cologne:The book may instead have been published in Amsterdam. Kalckhoven :Complete title : ''Leonis Allatii De ecclesiae occidentalis atque orientalis perpetua consensione libri tres, ejusdem dissertationes De dominicis et hebdomadibus Graecorum, et De missa praesanctificatorum, cum Bartholdi Nihusii ad hanc annotationibus de communione orientali'' * (1655) . Rome * (1666) ''Drammaturgia''. Rome, 1666 *
Expanded edition to 1755 by Ioanne Cardoni
Venice: Giambattista Pasquali, 1755 * (1882) ''Relazione sul trasporto della
Biblioteca Palatina The Biblioteca Palatina or Palatina Library was established in 1761 in the city of Parma by Philip Bourbon, Duke of Parma. It is one of the cultural institutions located in the Palazzo della Pilotta complex in the center of Parma. The Palatina ...
da Heidelberg a Roma'' pubblicati per la prima volta da Giovanni Beltrani. Florence: Bencini, 1882


See also

*
Byzantine scholars in Renaissance The migration waves of Byzantine Greek scholars and émigrés in the period following the end of the Byzantine Empire in 1453 is considered by many scholars key to the revival of Greek studies that led to the development of the Renaissance ...


References

;Attribution * *


Bibliography

*
Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians ''The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'' is an encyclopedic dictionary of music and musicians. Along with the German-language ''Die Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart'', it is one of the largest reference works on the history and theo ...
, second edition * Frazee, Charles A., "Leon Allatios: a Greek scholar of the seventeenth century" in ''Modern Greek Studies Yearbook'' vol. 1 (1985) * Gradić Stjepan, "Leonis Allatii vita" in
Angelo Mai Angelo Mai (''Latin'' Angelus Maius; 7 March 17828 September 1854) was an Italian Cardinal and philologist. He won a European reputation for publishing for the first time a series of previously unknown ancient texts. These he was able to discove ...
(ed.),
Novae Bibliotheca Patrum
' Vol. 6 Part 2, Chapter 2. Rome: 1853 (Incomplete biography) * Hartnup, Karen, ''On the beliefs of the Greeks: Leo Allatios and popular orthodoxy'
Excerpts
* Jacono, Carmela, ''Bibliografica di Leone Allacci (1588–1669): in appendice una nota biografica e una notizia sull' Epistolario Allacciano'', 1962 (Bibliography and biographical notice) * Lämmer, Hugo,
De Leonis Allatii codicibus qui Romae in Bibliotheca Vallicellana asservantur schediasma
', Herder: 1864. * Legrand, Émile,
Bibliographie hellénique du XVIIe siècle
', vol. 3, Paris, 1895, pp. 435–471 (List of works) * Mazzi, Curzio, ''Leone Allacci e la Palatina di Heidelberg'', Bologne, 1893 (His share in the foundation of the Vatican Library) * Petit, L.,
Dictionnaire de théologie catholique
' (ed. Vacant, Alfred), vol. 1, Paris: 1900, cols. 830–833 (Theological aspect) * Petit, L.,
Dictionnaire d'archéologie chrétienne et de liturgie
' (ed. Cabrol, Fernand), vol. 1, Paris: 1924, p. 1220-1226. *


External links



on the website of the School of Classical Studies {{DEFAULTSORT:Allatius, Leo 1580s births 1669 deaths Writers from Chios Prefects of the Vatican Library Greek librarians Greek theologians Greek Eastern Catholics Converts to Eastern Catholicism from Eastern Orthodoxy Former Greek Orthodox Christians Greek Renaissance humanists Greeks from the Ottoman Empire Emigrants from the Ottoman Empire to Italy 17th-century Greek writers Greek–Latin translators 17th-century Greek scientists 17th-century Greek educators 17th-century Greek physicians Pontifical Greek College of Saint Athanasius alumni