''Lo Crestià'' () was an

encyclopaedia An encyclopedia is a reference work or compendium providing summaries of knowledge, either general or special, in a particular field or discipline. Encyclopedias are divided into articles or entries that are arranged alphabetically by artic ...

written in Catalan, that was sponsored by the king

Peter IV of Aragon Peter IV (Catalan: ''Pere IV d'Aragó;'' Aragonese; ''Pero IV d'Aragón;'' 5 September 1319 – 6 January 1387), called the Ceremonious (Catalan: ''El Cerimoniós''; Aragonese: ''el Ceremonioso''), was from 1336 until his death the king of ...

and written by

Francesc Eiximenis Francesc Eiximenis (; – 1409) was a Franciscan Catalan people, Catalan writer who lived in the 14th-century Crown of Aragon. He was possibly one of the more successful medieval Catalan writers since his works were widely read, copied, publishe ...

Lo Crestià
. Article in the website of the Writers Association in Catalan Language (

Associació d'Escriptors en Llengua Catalana The Associació d'Escriptors en Llengua Catalana (, "Association of Writers in the Catalan Language", or "Association of Catalan-Language Writers"), also known by the acronym and initialism, acronym AELC, is a professional organisation of authors, p ...

). between 1379 and 1392. The first book and the half of the twelfth one (''Dotzè'' in Catalan) were printed by the

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

printer Lambert Palmart in

Valencia Valencia ( , ), formally València (), is the capital of the Province of Valencia, province and Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, the same name in Spain. It is located on the banks of the Turia (r ...

in 1483 and 1484. According to Curt Wittlin the name should be ''Lo Cristià''. Originally it should have consisted of thirteen books, that would have explained "in short all the foundations of Christianism" in order to encourage the study of

theology Theology is the study of religious belief from a Religion, religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an Discipline (academia), academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itse ...

among the laymen. Nowadays it can be considered as an encyclopaedia of mediaeval life. ''Lo Crestià'' is a universal work, that marks an important stage in the western history of literature: it is the last mediaeval ''

Summa Theologica The ''Summa Theologiae'' or ''Summa Theologica'' (), often referred to simply as the ''Summa'', is the best-known work of Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274), a scholastic theologian and Doctor of the Church. It is a compendium of all of the main t ...

'', and it is also one of the first works of didactic and theological literature in Europe, that is not written in

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

General project

The general project of this work, which appears in chapter 4 of the introduction ''Lo Crestià'', is the following: * The first book a general and apologetic introduction to Christianism. * The second book

temptation Temptation is a desire to engage in short-term urges for enjoyment that threatens long-term goals.Webb, J.R. (Sep 2014). Incorporating Spirituality into Psychology of temptation: Conceptualization, measurement, and clinical implications. Sp ...

. * The third book

evil Evil, as a concept, is usually defined as profoundly immoral behavior, and it is related to acts that cause unnecessary pain and suffering to others. Evil is commonly seen as the opposite, or sometimes absence, of good. It can be an extreme ...

and the different kinds of

sins In religious context, sin is a transgression against divine law or a law of the deities. Each culture has its own interpretation of what it means to commit a sin. While sins are generally considered actions, any thought, word, or act considere ...

. * The fourth book the man's freedom to do good or evil, and the help that God gives him in order to do good. * The fifth book the three

theological virtues Theological virtues are virtues associated in Christian theology and philosophy with salvation resulting from the grace of God. Virtues are traits or qualities which dispose one to conduct oneself in a morally good manner. Traditionally the theolo ...

Faith Faith is confidence or trust in a person, thing, or concept. In the context of religion, faith is " belief in God or in the doctrines or teachings of religion". According to the Merriam-Webster's Dictionary, faith has multiple definitions, inc ...

hope Hope is an optimistic state of mind that is based on an expectation of positive outcomes with respect to events and circumstances in one's own life, or the world at large. As a verb, Merriam-Webster defines ''hope'' as "to expect with confid ...

and

love Love is a feeling of strong attraction and emotional attachment (psychology), attachment to a person, animal, or thing. It is expressed in many forms, encompassing a range of strong and positive emotional and mental states, from the most su ...

. * The sixth book four

cardinal virtues The cardinal virtues are four virtues of mind and character in classical philosophy. They are prudence, Justice (virtue), justice, Courage, fortitude, and Temperance (virtue), temperance. They form a Virtue ethics, virtue theory of ethics. The t ...

Prudence Prudence (, contracted from meaning "seeing ahead, sagacity") is the ability to govern and discipline oneself by the use of reason. It is classically considered to be a virtue, and in particular one of the four cardinal virtues (which are, ...

justice In its broadest sense, justice is the idea that individuals should be treated fairly. According to the ''Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy'', the most plausible candidate for a core definition comes from the ''Institutes (Justinian), Inst ...

, temperance and

courage Courage (also called bravery, valour ( British and Commonwealth English), or valor (American English)) is the choice and willingness to confront agony, pain, danger, uncertainty, or intimidation. Valor is courage or bravery, especially in ...

. * The seventh book the

ten commandments The Ten Commandments (), or the Decalogue (from Latin , from Ancient Greek , ), are religious and ethical directives, structured as a covenant document, that, according to the Hebrew Bible, were given by YHWH to Moses. The text of the Ten ...

. * The eighth book the order of things and creatures according to medieval mentality. * The ninth book the

incarnation Incarnation literally means ''embodied in flesh'' or ''taking on flesh''. It is the Conception (biology), conception and the embodiment of a deity or spirit in some earthly form or an Anthropomorphism, anthropomorphic form of a god. It is used t ...

. * The tenth book the

sacraments A sacrament is a Christian rite which is recognized as being particularly important and significant. There are various views on the existence, number and meaning of such rites. Many Christians consider the sacraments to be a visible symbol of ...

. * The eleventh book the different kinds of

clergy Clergy are formal leaders within established religions. Their roles and functions vary in different religious traditions, but usually involve presiding over specific rituals and teaching their religion's doctrines and practices. Some of the ter ...

. * The twelfth book the government of the community. * The thirteenth book

Eschatology Eschatology (; ) concerns expectations of the end of Contemporary era, present age, human history, or the world itself. The end of the world or end times is predicted by several world religions (both Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic and non-Abrah ...

and the end of the world, and the reward or punishment that people will then receive, according to medieval mentality. From the original project, only four books were written: the first three, which are devoted to matters of morality and theology, and the twelfth, which deals with

politics Politics () is the set of activities that are associated with decision-making, making decisions in social group, groups, or other forms of power (social and political), power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of Social sta ...

, the ideal government of the "republic", princes and their subjects. Nevertheless, most of the matters of the rest of the books of ''Lo Crestià'' that were not finally written are scattered through other Eiximenis' works.

Volumes

First volume

The first volume, or ''Primer del Crestià'' was written between 1379 and 1381. It is a general introduction to the Christian religion, which includes an apology against

Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

and

Judaism Judaism () is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic, Monotheism, monotheistic, ethnic religion that comprises the collective spiritual, cultural, and legal traditions of the Jews, Jewish people. Religious Jews regard Judaism as their means of o ...

. It is divided into four parts, which have a different lengths. It has three hundred and seventy-six chapters, together with five more, which are a kind of general introduction to all ''Lo Crestià'', and so it has three hundred and eighty-one chapters in total. The interest of Peter IV in this book was so great, that he gave orders to keep Eiximenis going out of his convent "until he has not finished the job".Introduction to ''Lo Crestià''
Biblioteca Valenciana Digital (

Generalitat Valenciana The Generalitat Valenciana is the generic name covering the different self-government institutions under which the Spanish autonomous community of Valencia is politically organized. It consists of seven institutions including the ''Corts Valen ...

Second volume

The second volume, or ''Segon del Crestià'' was written between 1382 and 1383. It deals with the problem of temptation. It consists of two hundred and forty chapters.

Third volume

The third volume, or ''Terç del Crestià'' was written in 1384. It is divided into twelve treatises, each with a different length, and has one thousand and sixty chapters. It deals with the concepts of evil and sin, and it shows with a great deal of detail the

seven deadly sins The seven deadly sins (also known as the capital vices or cardinal sins) function as a grouping of major vices within the teachings of Christianity. In the standard list, the seven deadly sins according to the Catholic Church are pride, greed ...

and the sins of the tongue, thus enlarging some matters that appear in the second volume. This volume includes the part ''How to use properly of the food and the drinks'' (''Com usar bé de beure e menjar'') that, even though it does not include recipes, can be used as a guide in order to know all about that time's

gastronomy Gastronomy is the study of the relationship between Human food, food and culture, the art of preparing and serving rich or delicate and appetizing food, the cooking styles of particular regions, and the science of good eating. One who is well ver ...

, such as the service at the table, the protocol and the moral rules that were used when having a meal around a tableFrancesc Eiximenis. Història de la nostra gastronomia
Article of Juan A. Fernández that was published on page 18 of ''Sóller'', on 29 May 2010

Twelfth volume

The twelfth volume, or ''Dotzè del Crestià'' was written between 1385 and 1392. It is divided into eight parts, and has a total of nine hundred and seven chapters. It deals with the foundations of government in cities and communities.

Digital editions of ''Lo Crestià''

Manuscripts

First half (chapters 1–523) of the ''Terç del Crestià'' (BNC, ms. 457).

Incunabula An incunable or incunabulum (: incunables or incunabula, respectively) is a book, pamphlet, or broadside (printing), broadside that was printed in the earliest stages of printing in Europe, up to the year 1500. The specific date is essentiall ...

''Primer del Crestià'' (Valencia, Lambert Palmart, 1483).

First half (chapters 1–473) of the ''Dotzè del Crestià'' (Valencia, Lambert Palmart, 1484).

''Lo Crestià'' inside the complete works on line

Francesc Eiximenis' complete works (in Catalan and Latin)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lo Crestia Encyclopedias in Spanish Catalan-language encyclopedias Medieval Catalan literature Medieval European encyclopedias Francesc Eiximenis Incunabula 1390s books