Juan de Segovia and the Fight for Peace

Anne Marie Wolf

Description

Juan de Segovia (d. 1458), theologian, translator of the Qur'ān, and lifelong advocate for the forging of peaceful relations between Christians and Muslims, was one of Europe's leading intellectuals. Today, however, few scholars are familiar with this important fifteenth-century figure. In this well-documented study, Anne Marie Wolf presents a clear, chronological narrative that follows the thought and career of Segovia, who taught at the University of Salamanca, represented the university at the Council of Basel (1431–1449), and spent his final years arguing vigorously that Europe should eschew war with the ascendant Ottoman Turks and instead strive to convert them peacefully to Christianity.

What could make a prominent thinker, especially one who moved in circles of power, depart so markedly from the dominant views of his day and advance arguments that he knew would subject him to criticism and even ridicule? Although some historians have suggested that the multifaith heritage of his native Spain accounts for his unconventional belief that peaceful dialogue with Muslims was possible, Wolf argues that other aspects of his life and thought were equally important. For example, his experiences at the Council of Basel, where his defense of conciliarism in the face of opposition contributed to his ability to defend an unpopular position and where his insistence on conversion through peaceful means was bolstered by discussions about the proper way to deal with the Hussites, refined his arguments that peaceful conversion was prefereable to war. Ultimately Wolf demonstrates that Segovia's thought on Islam and the proper Christian stance toward the Muslim world was consistent with his approach to other endeavors and with cultural and intellectual movements at play throughout his career.

Sujets

• Religion
• Christianisme
• Christian Theology
• Islamic Studies
• medieval
• HISTORY
• Histoire
• John of Segovia
• Catholic Church
• Council of Florence
• Spain
• Ottoman Turks
• Muslim
• Hussite
• Christianity
• Spain (groupe)
• Islam
• Jan Hus
• Europe

Informations

• Publié par: University of Notre Dame Press
• Date de parution: 30 mai 2014
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9780268096700
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 2 Mo

Extrait

HISTORY, LANGUAGES, AND CULTURES OF THE SPANISH AND PORTUGUESE WORLDS
This interdisciplinary series promotes scholarship in studies on Iberian cultures and contacts from the premodern and early modern periods.
S ERIES E DITOR
Sabine MacCormack (1941–2012)
Theodore M. Hesburgh Professor of Arts and Letters, Departments of Classics and History, University of Notre Dame
S ERIES B OARD
J. N. Hillgarth, emeritus, Pontifical Institute of Mediaeval Studies
Peggy K. Liss, Independent Scholar David Nirenberg, University of Chicago
Adeline Rucquoi, École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales
R ECENT T ITLES IN THE S ERIES
Missionary Tropics: The Catholic Frontier in India (16th–17th Centuries) (2005)
Ines G. Županov
Jews, Christian Society, and Royal Power in Medieval Barcelona (2006)
Elka Klein
How the Incas Built Their Heartland: State Formation and Innovation of Imperial Strategies in the Sacred Valley, Peru (2006)
R. Alan Covey
Pastoral Quechua: The History of Christian Translation in Colonial Peru, 1550–1650 (2007)
Alan Durston
Contested Territory: Mapping Peru in the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries (2009)
Heidi V. Scott
Death and Conversion in the Andes: Lima and Cuzco, 1532–1670 (2010)
Gabriela Ramos
An Early Modern Dialogue with Islam: Antonio de Sosa’s Topography of Algiers (1612) (2011)
Edited with an Introduction by María Antonia Garcés, translated by Diana de Armas Wilson
Juan de Segovia and the Fight for Peace (2014)
Anne Marie Wolf
Juan de Segovia and the Fight for Peace
Christians and Muslims in the Fifteenth Century
ANNE MARIE WOLF
University of Notre Dame Press
Notre Dame, Indiana
Copyright © 2014 by University of Notre Dame
Notre Dame, Indiana 46556 www.undpress.nd.edu -->
All Rights Reserved
E-ISBN 978-0-268-09670-0 Manufactured in the United States of America Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Wolf, Anne Marie. Juan de Segovia and the fight for peace : Christians and Muslims in the fifteenth century / Anne Marie Wolf. pages cm. — (History, languages, and cultures of the Spanish and Portuguese world) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-0-268-04425-1 (pbk. : alk. paper) — ISBN 0-268-04425-2 (pbk. : alk. paper) 1. Segovia, Juan de, 1393–1458. 2. Christian biography. 3. Church history—Middle Ages, 600–1500. 4. Christianity and other religions—Islam—History—To 1500. 5. Islam—Relations—Christianity—History—To 1500. I. Title. BR1725.S4265W65 2014 282.092—dc23 2014001705 ∞ The paper in this book meets the guidelines for permanence and durability of the Committee on Production Guidelines for Book Longevity of the Council on Library Resources . -->
This e-Book was converted from the original source file by a third-party vendor. Readers who notice any formatting, textual, or readability issues are encouraged to contact the publisher at [e-mail]
Contents
Abbreviations
Acknowledgments
Introduction
Chapter One. The Years at the University of Salamanca
Chapter Two. Contact, Conversations, and Conversion: Early Thought on Islam
Chapter Three. The Basel Years
Chapter Four. Converting Fellow Christians
Chapter Five. Converting Muslims
Epilogue
Appendix 1: Excerpt from Juan de Segovia, Repetitio de fide catholica
Appendix 2: Excerpt from Juan de Segovia, De mittendo gladio divini Spiritus in corda sarracenorum
Appendix 3: Excerpt from Juan de Segovia, Letter to Nicholas of Cusa, December 2, 1454
Notes
Bibliography Index -->
Abbreviations
AGS
Archivo General de Simancas (Spain)
ASV
Archivio Segreto Vaticano
BAV
Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana
BN
Biblioteca Nacional (Madrid)
BSC
Biblioteca de Santa Cruz (Valladolid, Spain)
Bulario
Bulario de la Universidad de Salamanca (1219–1549) . Vols. 1–3. Edited by Vicente Beltrán de Heredia. Salamanca: Universidad de Salamanca, 1966.
BUS
Biblioteca Universitaria de Salamanca (Spain)
Cartulario
Cartulario de la Universidad de Salamanca (1218–1600) . 6 vols. Edited by Vicente Beltrán de Heredia. Salamanca: Universidad de Salamanca, 1970.
MC
Monumenta Conciliorum Generalium , s. XV (Vienna, 1857–96).
RAH
Real Academia de Historia (Madrid)
Reg. Avin.
Registra Avinionensia: registers of papal letters from the Avignon popes, in the Archivio Segreto Vaticano
Reg. Vat.
Registra Vaticana: registers of papal letters in the Archivio Segreto Vaticano
Vat. Lat.
Codex Vaticanus latinus (in Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana)
Acknowledgments
C ompleting this project has put me in a reflective mode, awed at the way life’s disparate threads meet. Although this endeavor began as a dissertation at the University of Minnesota, my interest in Spain had its roots in my superb Spanish classes at the Academy of the Holy Cross in Kensington, Maryland, with Victoria Thompson, a proud native of Burgos who told us (jokingly . . . I think) that Spanish was the language of God and that proper use of the imperfect subjunctive was simply not optional. The college year in Sevilla transformed a high school interest into a lifelong one, thanks to all the many sevillanos whose spirit keeps their city so enchanting. The interest in Christian-Muslim dialogue in the Middle Ages I owe to an independent study in medieval philosophy and theology that David Burrell for some reason generously agreed to direct during my senior year at the University of Notre Dame. David has been a cheerleader for me in many ways since and has enthusiastically supported this project, even spending a certain long afternoon over cookies and tea and some tortured Latin helping me unravel the meaning and significance of some of Juan de Segovia’s comments on Islamic theology. And of course, my parents, Michael and Kathleen Wolf, made possible, through their priorities and sacrifices, the educational opportunities that put Mrs. Thompson, Sevilla, and David in my path.
At the University of Minnesota, I was even luckier than I then knew to be a student of William Phillips and Carla Rahn Phillips, whose wise guidance and solid support I still value and call upon, and whose circles were blessedly free of the drama that I later learned can plague one’s graduate school years. The university also supported my work through a fellowship for my first year, a Graduate School Dissertation Fellowship, a Humanities Institute Fellowship, and summer grants for archive forays.
The taxpayers of the United States and Spain funded a Fulbright grant to me for a dissertation research year, during which the congenial Árabe department of the Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas in Madrid graciously gave me desk space and library access. Special thanks to Mercedes García Arenal, Manuela Marín, and Cristina de la Puente for their interest, support, and good cheer. José María Soto Rábanos, downstairs with the medievalistas, became almost a third advisor through his generous leads, questions, and encouragement. My thanks to Adeline Rucquoi for her helpful suggestions early on and for introducing me to the Consejo crowd. Ana Echevarría offered leads and ánimo. Fellow becarias Ana Carballeira Debasa and Elisa Mesa provided a social component to the research day and remain good friends.
Klaus Reinhardt took an early interest in this project and provided a very welcome transcription of Juan de Segovia’s 1426 repetitio . Tom Burman has encouraged my studies since early grad school years, read chapters, and helped with Qur’ānic citations from Latin manuscripts. And then some. Jesse Mann and I exchanged e-mails for years about Juan de Segovia matters before meeting in person. His comments on this manuscript improved it significantly.
Frank Mantello went far beyond the normal in his passionate preparations for our Latin and paleography classes over two summers I spent at Notre Dame’s Medieval Institute and in his availability to students for help. His teaching made it possible for me to work with the manuscripts that are the foundation of this book, and his student Damon Smith later provided invaluable assistance ironing out many confusing sentences. Obviously, any errors here remain mine.
The following people helped me to keep body and soul together over these research and writing years: Janet Wheelock in Minneapolis and beyond, Mary Louise Gude from South Bend years on, Allegra Grawer for our frequent walks in Retiro, Norah Martin and Anissa Rogers during the UP years, Julie Lawrence and Tonya Garreaud in Portland, and Deb Salata and Anne Huebel from Minnesota years and since.
Finally, this project benefited from funding provided by the following sources not already mentioned: Saint Louis University’s Mellon grant program to work at the Vatican Microfilm Library, the Butine fund at the University of Portland, and the Programa de Cooperación Cultural. My thanks to all.
I NTRODUCTION
A t the end of a research year in Spain in 2000–2001, which produced the bulk of the research for this book, I spent some time in the archives in Rome and then Turin. While in Turin, I discovered that a trip to Chambery’s archive was also in order. This put me a short drive from Aiton, about thirty kilometers, and I could not resist a trip to see the village in the French Alps where Juan de Segovia had written so copiously in response to the dire news from Constantinople in 1453 and where he received a Muslim scholar to help him translate the Qur’ān. Aiton cannot have expanded much since then. It consists of two parts, a lower Aiton, at the valley level not far from two parallel highways and the high-speed rail line rushing passengers through numerous tunnels on their way to Italy, and upper Aiton, which is high up a mountain. Each has only a few buildings. The priory, in Benedictine hands by the time Segovia was there, stood in upper Aiton. The 1451 bull of Nicholas V that arranged for Juan de Segovia to live there noted that there were only two monks there at the time. 1 In July of 2001, a structure on the site was in deteriorated condition an