Valerianus Magnus or Valeriano Magni (October 11, 1586 – July 20, 1661) was an Italian Capuchin, missionary preacher in

Central Europe Central Europe is an area of Europe between Western Europe and Eastern Europe, based on a common historical, social and cultural identity. The Thirty Years' War (1618–1648) between Catholicism and Protestantism significantly shaped the area' ...

philosopher A philosopher is a person who practices or investigates philosophy. The term ''philosopher'' comes from the grc, φιλόσοφος, , translit=philosophos, meaning 'lover of wisdom'. The coining of the term has been attributed to the Greek th ...

polemic Polemic () is contentious rhetoric intended to support a specific position by forthright claims and to undermine the opposing position. The practice of such argumentation is called ''polemics'', which are seen in arguments on controversial topics ...

ist and author.

Biography

He was born at

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...

, presumably of the noble family of de Magni. He received the Capuchin habit at

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...

. He was also provincial superior there, as in 1626 was appointed Apostolic missionary for

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia a ...

and

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

. He was greatly respected by

Holy Roman Emperor The Holy Roman Emperor, originally and officially the Emperor of the Romans ( la, Imperator Romanorum, german: Kaiser der Römer) during the Middle Ages, and also known as the Roman-German Emperor since the early modern period ( la, Imperat ...

s Ferdinand II and Ferdinand III, as well as by King

Władysław IV Vasa Władysław IV Vasa; lt, Vladislovas Vaza; sv, Vladislav IV av Polen; rus, Владислав IV Ваза, r=Vladislav IV Vaza; la, Ladislaus IV Vasa or Ladislaus IV of Poland (9 June 1595 – 20 May 1648) was King of Poland, Grand Duke of ...

, who employed him on diplomatic missions. In July 1647 he performed a vacuum experiment (so-called

Torricelli's experiment Torricelli's experiment was invented in Pisa in 1643 by the Italian scientist Evangelista Torricelli (1608-1647). The purpose of his experiment is to prove that the source of vacuum comes from atmospheric pressure. Context For much of human hist ...

) before a distinguished audience at the Royal Castle in

Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...

. The conversion of the

Calvinist Calvinism (also called the Reformed Tradition, Reformed Protestantism, Reformed Christianity, or simply Reformed) is a major branch of Protestantism that follows the theological tradition and forms of Christian practice set down by John Ca ...

theologian

Bartholomaeus Nigrinus Bartholomaeus Schwartz ( latinised to Bartholomaeus Nigrinus) (1595–1646) was a German protestant theologian, pastor of the St. Peter and St. Paul's Church in Danzig (Gdańsk), Royal Prussia (now Poland). Biography Bartholomaeus Schwartz was ...

, who was appointed confidential secretary to Władysław IV, was certainly a result of his influence, and it strengthened the Catholic party in

Landgrave Landgrave (german: Landgraf, nl, landgraaf, sv, lantgreve, french: landgrave; la, comes magnus, ', ', ', ', ') was a noble title used in the Holy Roman Empire, and later on in its former territories. The German titles of ', ' ("margrave"), a ...

Ernst of Hesse, who had been converted at Vienna on 6 January 1652, and who knew Father Valerianus, summoned Capuchins to St. Goar on the Rhine, and was present at the religious disputation between Valerianus and Peter Haberkorn of

Giessen Giessen, spelled Gießen in German (), is a town in the German state (''Bundesland'') of Hesse, capital of both the district of Giessen and the administrative region of Giessen. The population is approximately 90,000, with roughly 37,000 univers ...

Burg Rheinfels Rheinfels Castle (german: Burg Rheinfels) is a castle ruin located above the left (west) bank of the Rhine in Sankt Goar, Germany. It was started in 1245 by Count Diether V of Katzenelnbogen. After expansions, it was the largest fortress in the Mi ...

in 1651. The

Jesuit , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...

Johann Rosenthal having attacked certain assertions of Valerianus' at this debate, the latter was drawn into the sharp literary controversy between Capuchins and Jesuits, which extended even to

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 the appearance of his pamphlet ''Contra imposturas Jesuitarum'' in 1659, he was cited to appear at Rome. As he did not obey the summons he was arrested at Vienna in 1661 at the instance of the

nuncio An apostolic nuncio ( la, nuntius apostolicus; also known as a papal nuncio or simply as a nuncio) is an ecclesiastical diplomat, serving as an envoy or a permanent diplomatic representative of the Holy See to a state or to an international or ...

, but was liberated at the urgent request of Ferdinand III. He was apparently on his way to Rome when in the same year death overtook him at

Salzburg Salzburg (, ; literally "Salt-Castle"; bar, Soizbuag, label=Bavarian language, Austro-Bavarian) is the List of cities and towns in Austria, fourth-largest city in Austria. In 2020, it had a population of 156,872. The town is on the site of the ...

Selected works

* ''Judicium de catholicorum et acatholicorum regula credendi'', 1628, 1641. * ''De luce mentium'', 1642. * ''Organum theologicum'', 1643. * ''Methodus convincendi et revocandi haereticos'', 1643. * ''Echo Absurditatum Ulrici de Neufeld Blesa'', 1646. *
Demonstratio ocularis, loci sine locato: corporis successiue moti in vacuo...
', 1648 * * ''Principia et specimen philosophiae'', 1652. * ''Acta disputationis habitae Rheinfelsae apud S. Goarem'', 1652. * ''Epistola de quaestione utrum Primatus Rom. Pontificis ...'', 1653. * ''Commentarius de homine infami personato sub titulis Iocosi Severi Medii'', 1654. * ''Concussio fundamentorum ecclesiae catholicae, iactata ab Herm. Conringi ...'', 1654. * ''Conringiana concussio Sanctissimi in Christo papae catholici retorta ...'', 1654. * ''Epistola ... de responsione H. Conringii'', 1654. * ''Epistola Valeriani Magni Fratris Capucini ...'', 1654. * ''Opus philosophicum'', 1660 * ''Apologia contra imposturas Jesuitarum'', 1661. * ''Christiana et catholica defensio adversus Societatem Jesu'', 1661.

Notes

Sources

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Magnus, Valerianus Magni, Valeriano Magni, Valeriano Magni, Valeriano Magni, Valeriano Capuchins Nobility from Milan Italian diplomats 17th-century Italian philosophers 17th-century Italian scientists 17th-century Italian Roman Catholic theologians