Lo Crestià

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Page by Terç del Crestià based on the 1792 manuscript of the National Library of Madrid.

Lo Crestià (in German "Das Christianliche") was an encyclopedia in Catalan , which was sponsored by King Peter IV of Aragon . It was written by Francesc Eiximenis between 1379 and 1392 . The first volume and the first half of the Dotzè (twelfth volume) were published by the German printer Lambert Palmart in Valencia in 1483 and 1484.

history

It was to be called Lo Cristià after Curt Wittlin . In the beginning it should consist of thirteen volumes. These volumes were to contain "all the foundations of Christianity as a whole " in order to encourage the study of theology among lay people. Nowadays it can be said to be an encyclopedia of medieval life. Lo Crestià is considered a universal work that marks an important stage in the history of Western literature: it is the last important medieval Summa Theologica , and it is also one of the first works of European didactic and theological literature that is no longer in Latin but written in an indigenous Catalan language .

Project

The project of this work is presented in section 4 of the introduction for the whole of Lo Crestià :

  • The first book should have been a general and apologethical introduction to Christianity .
  • The second book should be related to temptation .
  • The third book should be related to evil and the various types of sin.
  • The fourth book should be related to man's freedom to do good or bad. It is also about God's help to man to do good instead of bad.
  • The fifth book should refer to the three theological virtues : faith, hope, and love.
  • The sixth book should relate to the four cardinal virtues : wisdom, righteousness, valor, and temperance.
  • The seventh book should be related to the ten commandments .
  • The eighth book should be related to the order of things and living beings according to the medieval worldview.
  • The ninth book should be related to God's incarnation .
  • The tenth book should be related to the seven sacraments .
  • The eleventh book should be related to the different types of clergy .
  • The twelfth book should be related to the government of society.
  • The thirteenth book should be related to eschatology and the end times . It is also about the prices or punishments that according to the medieval worldview you will get at the end of the world.

From the thirteen volumes planned at the beginning, only four were written: The first three volumes deal with topics of theology and morality. The twelfth volume is about the government of the republic. Nonetheless, the majority of the subjects of Lo Crestià's unwritten books are scattered through other works by Eiximenis.

Volumes

First volume

The first volume (or Primer del Crestià ) was written between 1379 and 1381. This is a general introduction to the Christian religion , which is also apologetic against Islam and Judaism . That is divided into four parts. This contains three hundred and seventy-six sections plus five introductory sections from the entire Lo Crestià section. Therefore, it has three hundred and eighty-one sections in total. King Peter IV of Aragon had a great interest in seeing this work finished quickly. Therefore, he ordered that Eiximenis did not have to have permission to go outside his monastery, "fins que la dita obra haja perfecció" (until this work becomes completely perfect).

Second volume

The second volume (or Segon del Crestià ) was written between 1382 and 1383. It is about temptation and has two hundred and forty sections and an analysis of the problem of temptations.

Third volume

The third volume (or Terç del Crestià ) was written in 1384. It contains a total of one thousand and sixty sections and is divided into twelve parts. Here the concepts of evil and sin are explored. There is a very detailed presentation of the seven deadly sins and the sins of the tongue. Some topics of the second volume are expanded here. This volume contains the part Com usar bé de beure e menjar (How to make good use of food and drink). Although this part does not contain any recipes, it is very useful to know the gastronomy of the time. For example, it relates to the service, protocol and moral rules of the moment of eating.

Twelfth volume

The twelfth volume (or Dotzè del Crestià ) was written between 1385 and 1392 . This tract contains a total of nine hundred seven sections, which are divided into eight parts. It explains the basics of city and town government.

Digital editions from Lo Crestià

Manuscripts

  • [1] First half (sections 1–523) from Terç del Crestià (BNC, ms. 457).

Incunabula

  • [2] Primer del Crestià (Valencia, Lambert Palmart, 1483).
  • [3] First half (sections 1-473) from Dotzè del Crestià (Valencia, Lambert Palmart, 1484).

Lo Crestià on all digitized works

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Lo Crestià ( Memento of the original from October 26, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. . Article from the website of the Associació d'Escriptors en Llengua Catalana (Society of Writers in Catalan); in Catalan. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.escriptors.cat
  2. ^ Curt Wittlin. “Era Cristià Lo Crestià de Francesc Eiximenis? Història d'un error de Paleografia ”. Caplletra , spring 48, 2010. 163-77 (in Catalan)
  3. ↑ Eiximenis, Francesc. Lo Crestià . Barcelona. Ed. 62 / La Caixa. 1983. p. 41. Selected by Albert Hauf . (in Catalan)
  4. ↑ Introduction for Lo Crestià (in Catalan) . Biblioteca Valenciana Digital ( Valencian Digital Library).
  5. ↑ Lo Crestià . (Article in the Great Catalan Encyclopedia ). (in Catalan)
  6. ↑ Francesc Eiximenis. Història de la nostra gastronomia (PDF; 100 kB) Article by Juan A. Fernández, published on p. 18 by Sóller on May 29, 2010 (in Catalan)