Lodewijk Heyligen

Lodewijk Heyligen (also: Ludovicus Sanctus / Santus de Beeringhen, Lodewijk Heiligen, Heyliger van Beeringhen, Ludwig van Kempen and Louis van Campen) (* 1304 in Beringen (Belgium) ; † 1361 in Avignon ) was a Flemish Benedictine monk and music theorist in the service of Cardinal Giovanni Colonna , where he became one of the closest friends of Francesco Petrarch . His Latinized name Ludovicus Sanctus (Saint Louis) is a literal translation of his name from Flemish.

Life

Little is known about Lodewijk Heyligen's early years. Due to his name (Ludwig van Kempen, Louis van Campen), it is assumed that he was born in Beringen in the Belgian province of Limburg , which at that time belonged to the Aartsdiakonaat Kempenland (Archdiakonie Kempen), part of the Principality of Liège . After training at the Latin College in Beringen, he studied music at the school of the Saint-Laurent Abbey in Liège. After joining the Benedictine order, he traveled to the papal court in Avignon, where he entered the service of Cardinal Giovanni Colonna, to whom he was first cantor , then secretary. In 1342 Lodewijk Heyligen was appointed cantor at the Sint-Donaaskathedraal in Bruges . In a letter to the Bruges Cathedral Chapter of April 27, 1348, the content of which has been passed down in part, he describes the horrors of the Black Death that plagued Europe at that time. He traces the origin of the epidemic to disastrous events in India and the arrival of merchant ships on the Orient in Genoa and Marseilles . The letter reports that half of Avignon's population died of the plague and that 11,000 victims were buried in a new cemetery.After the death of Giovanni Colonna (he was one of the plague victims in 1348), Lodewijk Heyligen in Avignon stayed where he died in 1361.

Music theorist

Lodwijk Heyligen is believed to be the author of two treatises previously ascribed to Ludwig von Toulouse (1274–1297): De musicae commendacione (lost) and Sentencia in musica sonora subiecti (preserved). The second treatise is structured as a scholastic investigation into the nature of music, to which he refers as musica sonora . He comes to the conclusion that the essence of music can be found primarily in a relationship between number and tone, secondly in the relationships of tones to one another, and finally - based on the first two categories - in the determination of properties, Moods and modulations.

Friend of Petrarch

It was not until 1904 that documents from the Vatican Library made it clear with certainty that Lodwijk Heyligen was the person Petrarch called Socrates in his writings . Their relationship dates back to 1330 when Petrarch visited Giacomo Colonna, his former fellow student at the University of Bologna and today's Bishop of Lombez . Here he met Giacomo's brother, Cardinal Giovanni Colonna, in whose service he entered. Petrarca and Heyligen were of the same age and became close friends. Petrarch wrote about 20 letters to Lodewijk, which have survived. Petrarca points out in these letters that Lodewijk is the only one of his good friends who does not come from Italy, but from Campine (Kempen), but continues that Socrates himself is almost an Italian because of his temperament and especially his friendship with Petrarca be. Petrarca refers to Lodewijk Heyligen as a very learned man who is also distinguished by his musical talent. Petrarch praises him for his upscale character and his loyal friendship. It is possible that Lodewijk Heyligen at Petrarch sparked a desire to visit the southern Netherlands (now Belgium) and that the trip was taken by the two friends together.

In his letters to Lodewijk Heyligen, Petrarch often reveals his feelings. Conversely, none of Heyligen's letters to Petrarch have survived - although Heyligen's letter learned of the death of his unreachable lover Laura .

At Lodewijk Heyligen's instigation, Petrarch published a collection of his letters entitled Epistolae de rebus familiaribus , which he dedicated to his friend. Heyligen's death in 1361 hit Petrarch deeply: a note in his Virgil Code reveals his grief over the news of the death of his friend: Amisi comitem ac solatium meae vitae (I have lost my comrade and the consolation of my life). Petrarch also commemorates his friend in his poem Trionfo d'amore , where he recognizes Socrates and Lelio (the literary nickname Stefano Romanos, a mutual friend of Petrarch and Heyligen) in the midst of a crowd

Italian:		German:
Poco era fuor de la comune strada, quando Socrate e Lelio vidi in prima: con lor più lunga via conven ch'io vada. O qual coppia d'amici! che né 'n rima Poria né' n prosa assai ornar, né 'n versi! Se, come dee, virtu nuda si stima. Con questi duo cercai monti diversi, Andando tutti e tre semper ad un giogo; A questi le mie piaghe tutte apersi, Da costor non mi può tempo nè luogo Divider mai (sì come spero, e bramo) Infin al cener del funereo rogo. Con costor colsi 'l glorioso ramo Onde forse anzi tempo ornai le tempie In memoria di quella, ch'i' tant 'amo.		Not far from the road I found common Lalius and Socrates, and as a companion I had to find myself for a long way with them. What a pair of friends! singing and verse never sufficiently honored , not speech unbound Where naked virtue is thought of for worth. With these two, bound to a yoke, I once climbed many a mountain and I faithfully teach them all my wounds. Time and place cannot separate me from them Ever (this is my hope, my desire) Until my limbs burn on the pile of wood. With them I pluck the wreath of honors, with which I may have wrapped myself too soon, To honor the memories of my loved ones.

Remarks

1. ^ ^{A b} Andries Welkenhuysen, La Peste en Avignon (1348) Décrite par un témoin oculaire, Louis Sanctus de Beringen. (édition critique, traduction, éléments de commentaire). In: R. Lievens, et al., Eds. Pascua mediaevalia: Studies voor Prof. Dr. JM de Smet. 1983. Louvain: Universitaire Pers, pp. 452-492.
2. ^ Henri Cochin. Sur le socrate de Pétrarque. Le musicien flamand Ludovicus sanctus de Beeringhen. In: Mélanges d'archéologie et d'histoire, Volume 37, 1918. pp. 3-32. on-line
3. ↑ Francesco Petrarca, Italian poems over. and with erl. Notes accompanied by Karl Förster , Volume 2, 1819, pp. 266–269.