Hieronymus Scottus

Hieronymus Scottus (also Hieronimi Scotti , Girolamo Scoto , Jeronimo Scotto and the like) (* probably before 1540 , † after 1602 ) was an Italian adventurer . He is not to be confused with the composer and printer of the same name who lived in Venice from 1505 to 1572 .

Field of activity

Scottus was an adventurer, who as a magician , alchemist and probably also in questionable, secret diplomatic missions toured the courts of Europe, but also the rich trading cities, making him one of the most notorious men of his time.

His spectacular magical demonstrations, some of which have been handed down, which were viewed as supernatural, were a sensation everywhere. Scottus in Frankfurt a. M. have once presented an "extract", possibly on a barrel as handed down by Faust . Another time he made Adam and Eve "appear". He was also able to set up “magical meals” without any preparation, after which everyone, as before, had an empty stomach. Like many of Scottus' tricks, this can only have been achieved through hypnosis of everyone present. But he also conjured gold coins out of bread, read thoughts ( mental magic ) and in particular performed card tricks, which he apparently loved to do best and what he was particularly famous for. If necessary, Scottus also worked as an alchemist and had the reputation of being able to produce the philosopher's stone , i.e. to master the art of gold production.

Life

Scottus was probably a member of the old, if not all that well-known and widespread, Count family Scotto from Piacenza (Duchy of Parma, Italy ).

Due to his activity in the fraudulent alchemical sector in particular, he led a very unsteady and so far only partially comprehensible life.

First working at Italian courts and in the rich cities there, Scottus probably sought out the royal courts and rich trading cities in the German Empire as a new main field of activity from 1569. In that year he can be proven at the court of Archduke Ferdinand II , the regent of Tyrol , where he read his thoughts in a spectacular way.

In 1575 he enjoyed such high esteem as an alchemist in Nuremberg that the city council had him painted three times in oil in order to keep the honored person in mind even after his departure from different places.

The following year Scottus stayed in England at Queen Elizabeth's court . Not only showing her card tricks, he also chatted with her about Venetian politics. After his departure he then visited the ambassador of the republic in France and reported to him the alleged statements made by Elizabeth; these were reported immediately. Scottus was intriguing politically at the highest level; whether by order or on its own initiative is an open question.

In 1579 he was a guest of the archbishop and thus elector of Cologne , Gebhard I. Truchseß von Waldburg. He is said to have seduced him by means of a magic mirror to want to meet Agnes von Mansfeld , who is widely known for her beauty ; the later union contributed to the overthrow of the church prince.

In the spring of 1580, the Italian stayed temporarily in the prince-bishop's residence city of Würzburg . Scottus traveled from Franconia to Prague to the imperial court there.

In the same year, however, he also appeared in Königsberg at the court of the Prussian duke. In front of this he allegedly made a medal from bread (see pictures!), Which was then cast in metal. Scotto is said to have worn this from alchemical gold he had extracted.

Scottus can be traced back to 1584 in Danzig , where he was a guest of the mayor. The local city council honored him, for what is unclear, in an unusual way, by having a painting made of him and hanging it up in the council library. Since he got into the smell of necromancy, the magician finally had to leave the Hanseatic city.

In 1590 Scottus appeared at the court of the margrave in Ansbach . He was so enthusiastic about his arts that he gave him the honor of dining with him "in red", that is, on golden dishes.

Both gentlemen then apparently traveled to the imperial residence city of Prague in August . Scottus appeared in a generally sensational form, not only accompanied by 20 excellently armed riders and with three carriages, but the one in which he was sitting shone with a symbolic golden color. As a count and famous man, Scottus was naturally invited to the court of Rudolf II, who was very interested in alchemy . He is said to have shown him in a magic mirror that the King of Spain was supposedly busy writing a letter to the Emperor. Such a trick is of course only possible with hypnosis. Allegedly, the very irritated Rudolph II generously rewarded the performance with 1000 thalers. For whatever reason he once gave Scotto's servant four horses and the Margrave of Ansbach's attendant six horses. In September the Emperor also ordered the Hungarian Chamber to pay Scottus 31,105 florins , a considerable sum owed by the imperial court to several Italian nobles. Since the background to this is unknown, it can only be assumed that he had brought the promissory notes into his possession. It is not entirely clear whether Scottus finally received the sum in December after several instructions from the court chancellery.

Towards the end of 1592, Duke Johann Casimir von Sachsen-Coburg , who must have met Scottus at the episcopal court in Bamberg , invited him to his home. In Coburg , Scottus seduced the Duke's wife, Anna of Saxony (1567–1613), with strange behavior, certainly hypnosis . Later he arranged a relationship between her and the courtier Ulrich von Lichtenstein, also under strange circumstances. Before its discovery, Scottus left the country in September 1593 with part of Anna's jewelry (worth 10,000 guilders!). The affair had terrible consequences for the Duchess and Lichtenstein.

Although Scottus was subsequently wanted in the Holy Roman Empire by an imperial decree, he not only stayed temporarily in Poland , but apparently also for longer in northern Germany, where the Hamburg Senate delayed an extradition and thus let him escape. Since his stay in the empire was becoming too dangerous for him, Scottus evidently left it and went to other countries. Ultimately, he can be traced back to 1602 at court in England , where he performed card tricks for Queen Elizabeth.

Pictorial representations

• Medal that is said to have been made in 1580 based on a design by Antonio Abondio . On the obverse it shows the portrait of Scottus and on the lapel a hand surrounded by a palm and laurel frond crushing a bundle of snakes (certainly symbolizing its enemies!).
• Portrait engraving with the inscription: Vera effigies illustriss [imi] comitis Hieronimi Scotti Piacentini [True portrait of the high born Count Hieronymus Scotto from Piacenza], as inscription and the production information: Dominicus Costodis ad Viuum delineauit Aug [ustae] Vindelicor [um] a [nn] o 92 ex [culpsit] [Dominicus Custos drew it from life and engraved it in Augsburg in 1592].

Award

• Subsequent admission to the Society of American Magi Hall of Fame and Magic Museum.

literature

• Johann Adolph von Schultes: Saxony-Coburg-Saalfeldische Landesgeschichte ... Coburg 1818, p. 105 ff.
• JE Hitzig, W. Häring (W. Alexis), A. Vollert: The Duchess Anna of Saxony-Koburg. In: The New Pitaval, Part Twenty-ninth, Episode Three, Part Five. Leipzig 1871, pp. 43-52.
• Carl Kiesewetter: Faust in history and tradition. Leipzig 1893, p. 528 ff.
• Hermann Wank: The story of suffering of Duchess Anna of Saxony ... Coburg 1898, p. 7 ff.
• Arthur Bechtold: Archives for medal and plaque art. 1923/24, pp. 103-119.
• Hans-Joachim Böttcher : "The time of my life was little and bad" - Anna von Sachsen 1567–1613. Dresden 2016.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ web2.ph.utexas.edu
2. ↑ fuggerzeitung.univie.ac.at  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
3. ↑ documenta.rudolphina.org
4. ↑ bayern-lese.de
5. ↑ geniimagazine.com
6. ↑ documenta.rudolphina.org
7. ↑ geniimagazine.com