Pseudo-Bonaventura
Encyclopedia
The Pseudo-Bonaventura, or Pseudo-Bonaventure is the name given to the authors of a number of medieval devotional works which were believed at the time to be the work of Saint Bonaventure: "It would almost seem as if 'Bonaventura' came to be regarded as a convenient label for a certain type of text, rather than an assertion of authorship". Since it is clear a number of actual authors are involved, the term "Pseudo-Bonaventuran" is often used. Many works now have other attributions of authorship which are generally accepted, but the most famous, the Meditationes de Vita Christi, remains usually described only as a work of the Pseudo-Bonaventura.
The most popular and important of these works, was the Meditationes de Vita Christi ("Meditations on the Life of Christ", or The Mirror of the Blessed Life of Jesus Christ
), which appears to date from around 1300; like Bonaventure, the author was probably a Franciscan
, and the work is addressed to a Poor Clare. Over two hundred manuscript
copies survive, including seventeen illuminated ones, and the popularity of the work increased further with early printed editions. A Venetian edition of 1497 is the only known Italian blockbook.
The work's detailed evocations of moments from the Gospels influenced art, and it has been shown to be the source of aspects of the iconography
of the fresco
cycle of the Life of Christ
in the Scrovegni Chapel by Giotto. It has also been credited with inspiring the great increase in depictions of the Veil of Veronica
from the late 14th century.
Meditationes de Vita Christi
- For the book by Ludolph of SaxonyLudolph of SaxonyLudolph of Saxony , also known as Ludolphus de Saxonia and Ludolph the Carthusian, was a German Roman Catholic theologian of the fourteenth century.His principle work, Vita Christi was written in 1374...
see Vita ChristiVita ChristiThe Vita Christi, i.e. Life of Christ is the principal work of Ludolph of Saxony, completed in 1374.The book is not just a biography of Jesus, but a history, a commentary borrowed from the Church Fathers, a series of dogmatic and moral dissertations, of spiritual instructions, meditations, and...
The most popular and important of these works, was the Meditationes de Vita Christi ("Meditations on the Life of Christ", or The Mirror of the Blessed Life of Jesus Christ
The Mirror of the Blessed Life of Jesus Christ
The Mirror of the Blessed Life of Jesus Christ is an adaptation/translation of Pseudo-Bonaventura's Meditationes Vitae Christi into English by Nicholas Love, OCart, the Carthusian prior of Mount Grace Priory, written ca...
), which appears to date from around 1300; like Bonaventure, the author was probably a Franciscan
Franciscan
Most Franciscans are members of Roman Catholic religious orders founded by Saint Francis of Assisi. Besides Roman Catholic communities, there are also Old Catholic, Anglican, Lutheran, ecumenical and Non-denominational Franciscan communities....
, and the work is addressed to a Poor Clare. Over two hundred manuscript
Manuscript
A manuscript or handwrite is written information that has been manually created by someone or some people, such as a hand-written letter, as opposed to being printed or reproduced some other way...
copies survive, including seventeen illuminated ones, and the popularity of the work increased further with early printed editions. A Venetian edition of 1497 is the only known Italian blockbook.
The work's detailed evocations of moments from the Gospels influenced art, and it has been shown to be the source of aspects of the iconography
Iconography
Iconography is the branch of art history which studies the identification, description, and the interpretation of the content of images. The word iconography literally means "image writing", and comes from the Greek "image" and "to write". A secondary meaning is the painting of icons in the...
of the fresco
Fresco
Fresco is any of several related mural painting types, executed on plaster on walls or ceilings. The word fresco comes from the Greek word affresca which derives from the Latin word for "fresh". Frescoes first developed in the ancient world and continued to be popular through the Renaissance...
cycle of the Life of Christ
Life of Christ
The Life of Christ as a narrative cycle in Christian art comprises a number of different subjects, which were often grouped in series or cycles of works in a variety of media, narrating the life of Jesus on earth, as distinguished from the many other subjects in art showing the eternal life of...
in the Scrovegni Chapel by Giotto. It has also been credited with inspiring the great increase in depictions of the Veil of Veronica
Veil of Veronica
The Veil of Veronica, or Sudarium , often called simply "The Veronica" and known in Italian as the Volto Santo or Holy Face is a Catholic relic, which, according to legend, bears the likeness of the Face of Jesus not made by human hand The Veil of Veronica, or Sudarium (Latin for sweat-cloth),...
from the late 14th century.
Other works
- Stimulus Amoris, of which the Instructio sacerdotis ad se preparandum ad celebrandum missam ("Instructions for priests preparing to celebrate MassMassMass can be defined as a quantitive measure of the resistance an object has to change in its velocity.In physics, mass commonly refers to any of the following three properties of matter, which have been shown experimentally to be equivalent:...
") is part. - Biblia pauperumBiblia pauperumThe Biblia pauperum was a tradition of picture Bibles beginning in the later Middle Ages. They sought to portray the historical books of the Bible visually. Unlike a simple "illustrated Bible", where the pictures are subordinated to the text, these Bibles placed the illustration in the centre,...
("Poor Man's Bible" - a title only given in the 20th century) a short typologicalTypology (theology)Typology in Christian theology and Biblical exegesis is a doctrine or theory concerning the relationship between the Old and New Testaments...
version of the Bible, also extremely popular, and often illustrated. There were different versions of this, the original perhaps by the DominicanDominican OrderThe Order of Preachers , after the 15th century more commonly known as the Dominican Order or Dominicans, is a Catholic religious order founded by Saint Dominic and approved by Pope Honorius III on 22 December 1216 in France...
Nicholas of Hanapis. - Speculum Beatæ Mariæ Virginis by Conrad of SaxonyConrad of SaxonyConrad of Saxony, also called Conradus Saxo, Conrad of Brunswick or Conradus Holyinger, was a Friar Minor and ascetical writer.-Biography:Date and place of birth uncertain. Holyinger is perhaps his family name...
- Speculum Disciplinæ, Epistola ad Quendam Novitium and Centiloquium, all probably by Bonanventura's secretary, Bernard of BesseBernard of BesseBernard of Besse was a French Friar Minor and chronicler.He was a native of Aquitaine, with date of birth uncertain; he belonged to the custody of Cahors and was secretary to St. Bonaventure. He took up the pen after the Seraphic Doctor, he tells us, to gather the ears the latter had dropped from...
- Legend of Saint Clare
- Theologia Mystica, probably by Henry Balme.
- Philomena, a poem now attributed to John PeckhamJohn PeckhamJohn Peckham was Archbishop of Canterbury in the years 1279–1292. He was a native of Sussex who was educated at Lewes Priory and became a Franciscan friar about 1250. He studied at Paris under Bonaventure, where he later taught theology. From his teaching, he came into conflict with Thomas...
, Archbishop of CanterburyArchbishop of CanterburyThe Archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and principal leader of the Church of England, the symbolic head of the worldwide Anglican Communion, and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury. In his role as head of the Anglican Communion, the archbishop leads the third largest group...
from 1279-1292.
Further reading
- Lawrence F. Hundersmarck: The Use of Imagination, Emotion, and the Will in a Medieval Classic: The Meditaciones Vite Christi. In: Logos 6,2 (2003), S. 46-62
- Sarah McNamer: Further evidence for the date of the Pseudo-Bonaventuran Meditationes vitæ Christi. In: Franciscan Studies, Bd. 10, Jg. 28 (1990), S. 235-261