Jump to content

Andreas Pannonius

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
For the 13th-century historian, see Andrew of Hungary (historian).
O.Cart. Andreas Pannonius
Miniature depicting Andreas Pannonius (Libellus de virtutibus Matthiae Corvino dedicatus, 1467)
Miniature depicting Andreas Pannonius (Libellus de virtutibus Matthiae Corvino dedicatus, 1467)
Bornc. 1420
Hungary
Diedafter 1472
Rome (?), Papal States
Occupation
  • Theologian
  • friar
LanguageLatin
EducationUniversity of Padua
Period1450s–1471
Notable worksExpositio super Cantica canticorum Salomonis, Libellus de virtutibus Matthiae Corvino dedicatus, Libellus de virtutibus Herculi Estensi dedicatus

Andreas Pannonius or Andreas Ungarus (Hungarian: Magyarországi András; c. 1420 – after 1472) was a 15th-century Hungarian Carthusian friar and theological writer. He is the first author of medieval Hungarian theological literature who also created something noteworthy for international theological literature.

Among his works, a commentary on the Song of Songs (Canticle of Canticles) and two mirrors for princes dedicated to Matthias Corvinus and Ercole I d'Este were preserved. His writings are considered to form a transition from medieval Scholasticism to Renaissance humanism.

Biography

[edit]

Early life

[edit]

Andreas Pannonius was born around 1420 in the Kingdom of Hungary. His parentage is unknown. Based on sporadic Hungarian phrases and sentences in his Latin works, he was of Hungarian ethnicity.[1] Historian Vilmos Fraknói considered that he was born into a wealthy noble family.[2]

In his youth, Andreas entered military service and was a soldier in the army John Hunyadi for five years. He was present when Matthias, Hunyadi's son and the future king of Hungary, was baptized in Kolozsvár (present-day Cluj-Napoca, Romania) sometime after February 1443. Andreas participated in the Battle of Varna in November 1444.[1] It can be concluded from his works that he may have belonged to Hunyadi's closest entourage. Based on personal experience, he recalled the governor's family relationships, judicial practice, night prayers, and military activities.[3]

In Italy

[edit]

He left Hungary for unknown reasons, perhaps on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. Prior to his journey to Jerusalem, he joined the Order of Carthusians in Venice in 1445.[2] He chose the Carthusians despite of his former contact with the Franciscans in Hunyadi's army. Andreas praised them for their dignified asceticism, their "sublime contemplation of divine dignity and meditation on heavenly things".[4] It is conceivable that the cataclysm of the Battle of Varna had a great impact on him, causing his life to completely change.[5]

Andreas lived in the St. Andrew charterhouse (Sant'Andrea del Lido) in Venice for the next decade and a half, until 1459.[6] After finishing the Scuola di Rialto, it is possible that he studied theology at the University of Padua sometime during this period, as evidenced by his Thomist qualification. Within the walls of the Carthusian charterhouse, he had access to numerous theological, scholastic, and humanist manuscripts and codices, which he was then able to utilize in his later works. In Padua, he got acquainted with fellow Hungarian cleric Stephen Várdai, who studied there from 1447 to 1450.[7] As a confessor and teacher, Andreas came into contact with the patrician families of Venice. According to his own statement, many of them joined the Carthusians under his influence,[6][8] including a wealthy merchant Giorgio Calordano. He maintained a friendly relationship with Candiano Bollani, a Venetian statesman and diplomat, and also a lay theologian. When Bollani compiled his Hexaemeron commentary in the 1460s, he sent and dedicated it to Andreas, who lived in Ferrara by then.[9]

The courtyard of the Certosa di Bologna (now a cemetery)

Andreas was transferred by his order to the Saint Jerome charterhouse of Bologna in 1459. Here he continued to write his theological works. So far, he was done with various speeches, a treatise on the Holy Spirit, and commentaries to the Sentences written by Peter Lombard, the Book of Psalms and the Song of Songs.[10][11] This list was preserved by the necrology of the Certosa di Bologna under the year 1460, 1464 or 1469, which previously suggested that Andreas died there.[12][13] In Bologna, Andreas got acquainted physician Geronimo Ranuzzi and his lord Angelo Capranica, who was governor of the city and cardinal-protector of the Carthusians at the Holy See. Capranica was advocate to launch a new crusade against the Ottoman Turks, as well as Andreas. It is possible he also met Galeotto Marzio, then a professor of the University of Bologna. He developed the closest relationship with legal scholar Bornio da Sala. In 1459, Bornio was asked to deliver a welcome speech on the occasion of the arrival of Pope Pius II in Bologna. Instead of this, Bornio pronounced an invective against corruption and depravity addressed to his fellow city inhabitants. The legal scholar dedicated his work Contra impietatem Iudeorum to Andreas, whom he also asked to provide professional, theological proofreading of the dissertation ("censor et iudex") citing his "strict lifestyle, moral holiness", in addition to his literary and theological knowledge "outshining everyone else".[14][15]

By 1464, Andreas already resided in the Ferrara Charterhouse, which was consecrated a few years ago.[16] In that year, Francesco Ariosti, a court scientist of Duke Borso d'Este visited him in his cell which was filled with manuscript collections. He described Andreas as a "man who is among the foremost in knowledge, perfectly trained in the scriptures", who was also "a unique and admirable example of monastic discipline". In the spring of 1465, Andreas stayed in the Florence Charterhouse, when a Hungarian diplomatic mission led by Janus Pannonius arrived the city to negotiate to gain financial support for a campaign against the Ottoman Empire. Shortly after, he was installed as prior of the Certosa di Bologna, succeeding Giovanni Montefortino.[17]

Vicar and prior

[edit]
The Ferrara Charterhouse, where Andreas served as vicar (1466–69) then prior (1469–70)

In May 1466, he was again transferred to Ferrara to become vicar of the local charterhouse, serving under newly appointed prior Montefortino. When Andreas compiled his speculum regum to Matthias Corvinus, he dedicated his work as vicar of Ferrara in September 1467.[17] In that time, the Carthusians was actively patroned by Borso d'Este. During his stay in Ferrara, Andreas maintained contact with the local Hungarian students who attended the the university – for instance, Benedict Lővei, Ladislaus Geréb de Vingárt, Sigismund Pálóci and Nicholas Perényi.[5] In his aforementioned work, Andreas called Ferrara as a "second Athens", where Greek eloquence flourishes alongside Latin. Academics of the university, such as Michele Savonarola, Tommaso dai Liuti, the young Giorgio Benigno Salviati and Giovanni Gatti influenced Andreas' specula. In addition to other parts of the charterhouse, Andreas' cell was also decorated with frescoes by famous painters, including Bongiovanni da Geminiano.[18]

Following the death of Montefortino, Andreas was elected prior of the Ferrara Charterhouse in 1469, with the consent of their patron Borso d'Este. However, by that time, Andreas was embroiled into conflict with the Carthusian leadership. According to the accusations, he brought the order into disrepute and reported certain leaders to the cardinal-protector Angelo Capranica, while revealing the secrets of the order to outsiders. Therefore, the chapter did not acknowledge Andreas' election. As early as 1467, internal conflicts were plaguing the operation of the Ferrara Charterhouse, there were even imprisonments.[19] In 1468, the Grande Chartreuse nominated their candidate to the position but the monks went against the central will and elected Montefortino again.[20] In the same year, the Grande Chartreuse called upon Andreas to obey. Therefore, Andreas' election as prior in 1469 was part of a resistance by some monks. In early 1470, the Grande Chartreuse dismissed him and appointed Joannes Nicolai instead.[19]

In November 1470, Borso d'Este intervened with the cardinal-protector on behalf of Andreas.[21] In his letter, the duke wrote that he had agreed with the election of Andreas because of his "virtues", but he was dismissed by grand prior Jean Zeewen de Roosendael "to the astonishment of himself [Borso] and the monastery". Borso petitioned to Angelo Capranica to deliver all documents which proves the innocence of Andreas, who wishes to personally clear himself before the Grande Chartreuse. In the same time, Andreas sent a letter to his old friend Geronimo Ranuzzi (Capranica's confidant), in which he writes, he struggles to reinstate his position of prior due to only obedience and Borso's insistence. Andreas expresses that he does not want the duke – to whom he owed a lot – to have his honor and reputation tarnished because of him, so he is fighting for the truth to be revealed.[19][22]

Later life

[edit]
The Certosa di Pavia, where Andreas lived in "exile"

Andreas traveled to the Grande Chartreuse and successfully cleared himself of the charges in 1471. However, Borso d'Este died soon, in August of that year. In order to resolve the conflict, Andreas was transferred to the Certosa di Pavia (Santa Maria delle Grazie) with immediate effect (he did not even have the opportunity to return to Ferrara after his journey to the Chartreuse Mountains). Effectively, Andreas and his partisans were removed from Ferrara. Andreas was also forbidden from attending Borso's funeral.[16][19] Andreas wrote his speculum regum to the new ruler Ercole I d'Este during his "exile" in Pavia. The portrait of Ercole on the cover was painted by Guglielmo Giraldi in Ferrara. The newly crowned Pope Sixtus IV (Francesco della Rovere) became Andreas' new parton – maybe they have known each other since Bologna, and both were committed believers in the dogma of the Immaculate Conception. In early 1472, the pope intervened with the Grande Chartreuse to allow Andreas to return Ferrara. This is the last information about Andreas' life.[23]

Since his commentary on the Song of Songs was discovered in a library of the Santo Stefano del Bosco monastery near Vibo Valentia in Calabria, it is possible he moved to Southern Italy after Pavia.[5] In contrast, an early 16th-century redaction of the primary Carthusian chronicle (a manuscript from the library of Grenoble) mentions the life and activity of Andreas (as the only friar beside Werner Rolevinck, who was not a general prior of the order). The text emphasizes Andreas' immersion in contemplation and theological expertise. The compilator also mentions that Andreas "died in Rome during the time of Pope Paul, in the penultimate year of his papacy [i.e. 1470]". Although the date is certainly incorrect, it is possible that Andreas left the Carthusian order at the end of his life and sought protection and patronage in the entourage of Pope Sixtus.[23]

Works

[edit]

Expositio super Cantica canticorum

[edit]

Lost works

[edit]
  1. De ordinibus ecclesiasticis libellus – its title appears in a list of books compiled at the turn of the 16–17th centuries in the Vatican Library. The work was a commentary of the Corpus Dionysiacum. The author is referred to as "Andreas Cartusianus".[24]
  2. Super quartum Sententiarum – a commentary on Peter Lombard's Sentences. This work is listed by the necrology (annals) of the Certosa di Bologna and the manuscript from Grenoble.[25] Andreas later reused some of its parts in his speculum regum dedicated to Matthias Corvinus.[24]
  3. Paraphrasis in psalterium – a commentary on the Book of Psalms. This work is listed by the necrology of the Certosa di Bologna and the manuscript from Grenoble.[26]
  4. Tractatus de spiritu sancto – a treatise on the Holy Spirit. This work is listed by the necrology of the Certosa di Bologna and the manuscript from Grenoble. It is possible that Andreas utilized its text regarding the narration of the Trinity in his commentary on the Song of Songs.[27] Andreas perhaps analyzed Filioque, a major theme of the Council of Florence, based on Augustine of Hippo's De Trinitate.[26]
  5. Varii sermones – also called Sermones quamplures, the existence of these written sermons is mentioned by the necrology of the Certosa di Bologna and the manuscript from Grenoble.[26]
  6. Res gestae virtutesque praeclarae divi Borsii Ducis – an encomiastic account of the reign of his patron Borso d'Este, it was written during his stay in Ferrara sometime between 1466 and 1470. Andreas himself mentioned this work in speculum regum dedicated to Ercole I d'Este. According to his own words, he was unable to finish the work due to his forced departure, but he hopes that if his fate is resolved by the duke's grace, he will be able to finish it.[28]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b Bene 2023, p. 21.
  2. ^ a b Fraknói 1886, pp. viii–x.
  3. ^ Pásztor 1961, p. 109.
  4. ^ Bene 2023, p. 22.
  5. ^ a b c Haraszti Szabó & Kelényi 2019, p. 137.
  6. ^ a b Bíró 2024, p. 71.
  7. ^ Bene 2023, pp. 24–25.
  8. ^ Fraknói 1886, p. xvii.
  9. ^ Bene 2023, pp. 26–27.
  10. ^ Révész 1935, p. 79.
  11. ^ Bene 2023, p. 28.
  12. ^ Dám 1956, pp. 107–108.
  13. ^ Pásztor 1961, p. 110.
  14. ^ Révész 1935, p. 81.
  15. ^ Bene 2023, pp. 32–34.
  16. ^ a b Bíró 2024, p. 72.
  17. ^ a b Bene 2023, p. 35.
  18. ^ Bene 2023, pp. 40–41.
  19. ^ a b c d Bene 2023, pp. 42–44.
  20. ^ Dám 1956, p. 106.
  21. ^ Dám 1956, p. 102.
  22. ^ Dám 1956, pp. 102–103.
  23. ^ a b Bene 2023, pp. 45–47.
  24. ^ a b Bene 2023, p. 49.
  25. ^ Révész 1935, p. 80.
  26. ^ a b c Bene 2023, p. 50.
  27. ^ Horváth 1942, p. 259.
  28. ^ Bene 2023, p. 51.

Sources

[edit]
  • Bene, Sándor (2023). Egy reneszánsz magyar író: Andreas Pannonius [A Hungarian Renaissance Author: Andreas Pannonius] (in Hungarian). Károli Gáspár Református Egyetem – L'Harmattan Kiadó. ISBN 978-963-646-101-0.
  • Bíró, Csilla (2024). "Andreas Pannonius és az Énekek énekéhez írt kommentárja [Andreas Pannonius and His Commentary on the Song of Songs]". In Bíró, Csilla; Klima, Gyula; Nagy, József (eds.). Magyar keresztény gondolkodók az Árpád-kortól napjainkig (in Hungarian). Magyarságkutató Intézet. pp. 65–90. ISBN 978-615-6117-75-5.
  • Haraszti Szabó, Péter; Kelényi, Borbála (2019). Magyarországi diákok francia, angol, itáliai és német egyetemeken a középkorban, 1100–1526 [Students from Hungary at the Universities of France, England, Italy and Germany in the Middle Ages 1100–1526] (in Hungarian). ELTE Egyetemi Könyvtár és Levéltár; MTA ELTE Egyetemtörténeti Kutatócsoport. ISBN 978-963-489-098-0.
  • Horváth, János, Jr. (1942). "Andreas Pannonius Cantica canticorum kommentárjának forrásai [Sources of Andreas Pannounius' Commentary on Cantica canticorum]". Egyetemes Philologiai Közlöny (in Hungarian). 66: 257–287.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  • Huszti, József (1939). "Andreae Pannonii Expositio super Cantica canticorum". Magyar Könyvszemle (in Hungarian). 63 (2): 97–104. ISSN 0025-0171.
  • Pásztor, Edit (1961). "ANDREA Pannonio". Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani (in Italian). Vol. 3. pp. 109–110. ISBN 9788812000326. {{cite news}}: ISBN / Date incompatibility (help)
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Andreas_Pannonius&oldid=1294610891"