Peter of Ravenna (c. 1448–1508) was an Italian jurist. He is now best known for his memorization techniques, published in a 1491 work ''Phoenix'' (''Fenix'') on the

art of memory The art of memory (Latin: ''ars memoriae'') is any of a number of loosely associated mnemonic principles and techniques used to organize memory impressions, improve recall, and assist in the combination and 'invention' of ideas. An alternative ...

, a work that received an early form of

copyright A copyright is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the exclusive right to copy, distribute, adapt, display, and perform a creative work, usually for a limited time. The creative work may be in a literary, artistic, educatio ...

Petrus Ravennas – Compendium, 1507 – BEIC 13852105

Life

He was a student of Alessandro Tartagni and then at

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 ...

. He became

Doctor of canon and civil law A doctor of both laws, from the Latin ''doctor utriusque juris'', or ''juris utriusque doctor'', or ''doctor juris utriusque'' ("doctor of both laws") (abbreviations include: JUD, IUD, DUJ, JUDr., DUI, DJU, Dr.iur.utr., Dr.jur.utr., DIU, UJD a ...

in 1472, and left Italy for Germany in 1497. He was then brought by

Bogislaw X, Duke of Pomerania Bogislaw X of Pomerania, ''the Great'', (3 June 1454 – 5 October 1523) was Duke of Pomerania from 1474 until his death in 1523. Biography Bogislaw was born in Rügenwalde (now Darłowo, Poland). His parents were Eric II, Duke of Pomerania ...

to the

University of Greifswald The University of Greifswald (; german: Universität Greifswald), formerly also known as “Ernst-Moritz-Arndt University of Greifswald“, is a public research university located in Greifswald, Germany, in the state of Mecklenburg-Western Pom ...

. He was appointed professor of canon and civil law at the

University of Cologne The University of Cologne (german: Universität zu Köln) is a university in Cologne, Germany. It was established in the year 1388 and is one of the most prestigious and research intensive universities in Germany. It was the sixth university to ...

in 1506. He was attacked by

Jacob van Hoogstraaten Jacob van Hoogstratenalso Hochstraten, Hoogstratten (c. 1460 – 24 January 1527) was a Flemish Dominican theologian and controversialist. Education, professor Van Hoogstraten was born in Hoogstraten, Burgundian Netherlands (now in Belgium ...

, in a legal controversy over the bodies of hanged criminals. The controversy, in 1507, was with the Cologne theological faculty, as a matter of demarcation. Peter repeated his views in a new edition of his canon law textbook. Hoogstraaten persisted, when Peter moved in 1508 to Mainz. He died soon afterwards. He also held a controversial opinion on

divorce Divorce (also known as dissolution of marriage) is the process of terminating a marriage or marital union. Divorce usually entails the canceling or reorganizing of the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage, thus dissolving the ...

, believing that it was within the powers of the Pope.

The ''Phoenix''

It was published in Latin under the title ''Phoenix seu artificiosa memoria'', in 1491 at Venice. It ran to many further editions and translations, as one of the most popular of the memory treatises. It remained influential for over two centuries. According to

Frances Yates Dame Frances Amelia Yates (28 November 1899 – 29 September 1981) was an English historian of the Renaissance, who wrote books on esoteric history. After attaining an MA in French at University College London, she began to publish her resear ...

, it was quickly adopted by

Gregor Reisch Gregor Reisch (c. 1467 - 9 May 1525) was a German Carthusian monk and humanist scholar. He is best known for his compilation ''Margarita Philosophica'', one of the earliest printed encyclopedias of general knowledge. Life Reisch was born at Balin ...

, and mentioned a little later by

Johannes Romberch Johann Host von Romberch (born on a farm at Romberg or Romberch in Westphalia c. 1480, died at the close of 1532 or the beginning of 1533) was a German Dominican, and writer. He was one of the seven Dominicans who distinguished themselves in ...

. It was also a major influence on Giordano Bruno. The book offers a great deal of self-promotion by the author, who claims in it to have had a prodigious memory when young, able to memorise the whole civil law code at age ten. He had testimonials from

Eleanor of Naples Eleanor of Naples (Leonora or Eleonora of Aragon; 22 June 1450 – 11 October 1493) was Duchess of Ferrara by marriage to Ercole I d'Este. She was the first duchess of Ferrara, and mother of many famous Renaissance figures. She was a well known p ...

and Bonifacio del Monferrato. His actual system has been analysed as based on alphabetical keys, and what amounts to a topical concordance.

Robert Copland Robert Copland (fl. 1508–1547), English printer and author, is said to have been a servant of William Caxton, and certainly worked for Wynkyn de Worde. The first book to which his name is affixed as a printer is ''The Boke of Justices of Peace' ...

published a popular English translation, ''An Art of Memory That Otherwise Is Called the Phoenix'', around 1548. This in turn influenced the ''Art of Rhetorique'' (1553) of Thomas Wilson. The ''Phoenix'' was still in print in the seventeenth century in England, and was referred to by

Robert Burton Robert Burton (8 February 1577 – 25 January 1640) was an English author and fellow of Oxford University, who wrote the encyclopedic tome ''The Anatomy of Melancholy''. Born in 1577 to a comfortably well-off family of the landed gentry, Burt ...

in his ''

Anatomy of Melancholy ''The Anatomy of Melancholy'' (full title: ''The Anatomy of Melancholy, What it is: With all the Kinds, Causes, Symptomes, Prognostickes, and Several Cures of it. In Three Maine Partitions with their several Sections, Members, and Subsections. Ph ...

''.

Works

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Notes

{{Authority control 1448 births 1508 deaths 15th-century Italian jurists Canon law jurists Italian Renaissance humanists Academic staff of the University of Pisa 16th-century Italian jurists