Edinburgh : Printed by T. and A. Constable FOR DAVID DOUGLAS An Enquiry into The Life and Legend of Michael Scot By Rev. J. WOOD BROWN, M.A. AUTHOR OF ‘AN ITALIAN CAMPAIGN,’ ‘THE COVENANTERS OF THE MERSE,’ ETC. ‘Michael next ordered that Eildon Hill, which was then a uniform cone, should be divided into three.’— Lay of Last Minstrel, note. EDINBURGH: DAVID DOUGLAS 1897 [ All rights reserved ] D. D. D. ALMAE MATRI SUAE EDINBURGENSI HAUD IMMEMOR AUCTOR...

After some considerable time spent in making collections for the work which is now submitted to the public, I became aware that a biography of Michael Scot was in existence which had been composed as early as the close of the sixteenth century. This is the work of Bernardino Baldi of Urbino, who was born in 1553. He studied medicine at Padua, but soon turned his attention to mathematics, especially to the historical developments of that science. Taking holy orders, he became Abbot of Guastalla i

In the Borders of Scotland it is well known that any piece of hill pasture, if it be fenced in but for a little from the constant cropping of the sheep, will soon show springing shoots of forest trees indigenous to the soil, whose roots remain wherever the plough has not passed too deeply. Centuries ago, when nature had her way and was unrestrained, the whole south-eastern part of the country was covered with dense forests and filled with forest-dwellers; the wild creatures that form the prey of

All tradition assures us that the chief occupation of Scot’s life was found at the Court of Frederick II. , King of Sicily, and afterwards Emperor of Germany: a Prince deservedly famous, not only for his own talent, but for the protection and encouragement he afforded to men of learning. A manuscript in the Laurentian Library, [31] hitherto unnoticed in this connection, seems to throw some light upon the time and manner of this employment: points that have always been very obscure. The volume is

In following the course which Michael Scot held in his voyage to Spain, we approach what was beyond all doubt the most important epoch in the life of that scholar. Hitherto we have seen him as the student preparing at Paris or Bologna for a brilliant future, or as the tutor of a youthful monarch, essaying some literary ventures, which justified the position he held in Sicily, and recommended him for future employment. But the moment was now come which put him at last in possession of an opportun

The Moorish schools of Spain were famous, not only for their researches in natural history, but also for the interest they took in chemistry, then called alchemy: a name which sufficiently indicates the nation which chiefly pursued these studies, and the language that recorded their progress. The practical turn taken by alchemy, as the foundation of a scientific materia medica in minerals, is shown by the writings of Rases. This author, who belonged to the ninth and tenth centuries (860-940), pr

The alchemy of the thirteenth century, to the progress of which Michael Scot contributed not a little, bore a close relation to the opinions then entertained in another branch of science: that of astronomy. We have already noticed how chemistry, as practised in Egypt, was largely influenced by Eastern theories regarding the stars and their power over earthly elements. That this connection and sympathy was still a matter of common belief at the time Scot wrote is not only probable but can readily

We have already noticed how the commentaries of Avicenna on Aristotle had been translated into Latin at Toledo during the twelfth century, and how Michael Scot had completed that work by his version of the books relating to Natural History. Since the beginning of the thirteenth century, however, another Arabian author of the first rank had become the object of much curiosity in Europe. This was the famous Averroës of Cordova, whose history might fill a volume, so full was it of romantic adventur

The return of Michael Scot from Spain to the Imperial Court was doubtless a striking moment, not only in the life of the philosopher himself, but in the history of letters. He then appeared fresh from a great enterprise, and bringing with him the proofs of its success in the form of the Latin Averroës. We cannot doubt that his reception was worthy of the occasion and of one who had served his master so faithfully. Frederick was now returned to his dominions in the south. He had established his i

The various occupations in which Michael Scot engaged upon his return to court were not without their due and, as we believe, designed effect. The part he had taken in producing the Latin Averroës was soon forgotten when it appeared that no immediate publication of these proscribed works was intended by the Emperor. Scot now stood boldly before the world in no suspicious character; distinguished only by his great learning and the fidelity with which he discharged his offices of astrologer and ph

Hitherto we have taken little notice of the fame by which Michael Scot is most widely known in literature; preferring to speak first of the authentic facts and real employments of his life, so far as these can now be ascertained. It would be improper, however, to close our investigation without taking some account of that darker reputation which has so long represented him to the world as a magician and dealer in forbidden lore. If we have deferred so long the consideration of this matter, the r

The attachment of Michael Scot to his master, the Emperor Frederick II. , may be conceived as acting in a double sense to procure him his mysterious fame. With the Guelfs, who bitterly opposed that great monarch and his followers, it of course became a reason for believing him to have practised the blackest of arts. With the Ghibellines, on the other hand, who formed the imperial party, and saw a very Arthur in their famous leader, it served to confirm his character as a Mage and man of mysterio

✠ Experimentum Michaelis Scoti nigromantici. [326] Si volueris per daemones haberi scientem, qui in forma magistri ad te veniet cum tibi placuerit, expedit tibi primo habere quandam cameram fulgentem et nitidam, in qua nunquam mulier non conversetur, nec vir ante inchoationem triginta diebus, computato itaque tempore taliter quod xxxj die fit luna crescens [327] –o– ☿ eius hora, castus per septimanam, rasus totus, ac etiam lotus, necnon vestimentis albis indutus. Solus in ortu solis, in quo, et

Fondo Vaticano 4428, ms. perg. in fol. saec. xiii. cum min. p. 1 recto. ‘Incipit Logica Avicennae. Studiosam animam meam ad appetitum translationis lib. avicennae quem asschiphe i. sufficientiam nuncupavit invitare cupiens, et quaedam capitula … in latinum eloquium ex arabico transmutare.’ Then follows a column and a half commencing: ‘Dixit abunbeidi filius ab,’ (? avicennae) which seems to give an account of the manner in which he was wont to compose. At the middle of col. 2 begins a new paragr

I have thought it best to print these parallel texts with as close adherence to the manuscript as is consistent with intelligibility, and they therefore appear in these pages with all the mistakes of the copyist. [I have re-arranged the paragraphs of this treatise so as to fall opposite the corresponding parts of the Liber Luminis, but have numbered them according to their original order so that by following the numbers the book can be read in its own proper form.] Riccardian Library, Florence,

Text in the author’s possession.—Ms. in 4to perg. saec. xvi. vel. xvii., red, black, and green ink. Interpretacio et Instruccio pro Discipulis seu Amatoribus Artis Magice pro iis scilicet ad quorum manus post obitum meum libellus iste fortuito aliquando perventurus est. Parvi licet Compendii libellus iste sit, magni tamen momenti esse eundem experieris. Nam scias velim, Curiose Lector, opus hoc in Arabica lingua conscriptum esse cuius ego per multos quidem annos possessor virtutis in eiusdem ob

Regesta Vaticana, Tom. xii., fol. 136 vo., epist. 170. … archiepiscopo Cantuariensi sancte Romane ecclesie cardinali. De provisione dilecti filii magistri Michaelis Scoti, cuius eminentis sciencie titulus de ipso testimonium perhibet, quod inter litteratos alios dono vigeat sciencie singulari patris intimo cogitantes affectu, pro eo tibi, quod inter ceteros per orbem sciencia preditos eminenti litteratura et profundioris prerogativa doctrine coruscas, fiducialiter affectione plena dirigimus scri

Page 55, line 11. For ‘mºcºcºx,’ read ‘mºccºx.’ Page 81, note 1. For ‘The term had not been previously used in theology,’ read ‘The term seems not to have been previously used in pure theology.’ ARCHITECTURAL, ARCHÆOLOGICAL AND HISTORICAL WORKS RECENTLY PUBLISHED By DAVID DOUGLAS Five Volumes Royal 8vo, 42s. net each volume, with about 500 Illustrations in each volume. THE CASTELLATED AND DOMESTIC ARCHITECTURE OF SCOTLAND FROM THE TWELFTH TO THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY BY DAVID MACGIBBON and THOMAS R