De Origine, Progressu et Laudibus Ordinis Fratrum Carmelitarum

On the praises of the order of the Carmelite brothers, by the reverend father lord Johannes Trithemius, abbot of Sponheim. Two books.

To the venerable and devout father lord Johannes Lapicida of Cologne, prior of the Carmelites in Kreuznach: Brother Rutgerus Sycamber, regular of Heyn.

First of all, I would wish perpetual health to abound for you. Since recently I had looked through a certain most elegant book of lord Johannes Trithemius, a man very celebrated in this age, I learned likewise that he, impelled by your frequent exhortations, had undertaken so salutary a task. Not only this, but I also understood that you are devoting effort to have it printed. I do indeed rejoice with you and congratulate your diligence, by which, as a true lover of the brothers, you are trying to make your order illustrious and to furnish it. Moreover, you make all the fathers of your order, provided they are not ungrateful, beholden and indebted to you. Let others praise whatever ornaments of virtues they will in you; I place this ardent love and devout inclination toward the fathers of your order before all your virtues. For just as it is the deed of a most wicked crime if anyone befouls and disgraces his religion by words or deeds, so it belongs to most magnificent worthiness and goodness if someone, so far as he can, makes his order illustrious and adorns it. Because I have understood most truly that you are doing this, I could not fail to rejoice with you. Let one man praise here the goodness of your eloquence, others your devotion, another your gravity; I shall always commend the diligence with which you desire to exalt your order. Not indeed for the reason that I think the remaining virtues are of little weight, but because I judge them to be overshadowed in comparison with this one. I know indeed that very many ornaments of virtues have been bestowed on you by the highest God; if I wished to pursue them one by one, and indeed the wish is in my desire, I would compose not a letter but a long volume. For who could worthily write with how much glory of talent you shine, with how much learning, and that divine, you are resplendent, and finally with how much courtesy and affability you are adorned? I pass over your illustrious and honorable manners; I leave aside your eloquence full of wit; I am silent about your most ardent charity toward the brothers. For no one would easily write down the virtues that adorn you. This one thing I cannot sufficiently admire: that you burn with so great a love, that you glow with so great a desire, that you not only incite

and you have taken pains to compel our Trithemius to write on the praises of the Carmelites; indeed, you have also taken care, with the greatest vigilance, that it be printed. Nor indeed is this unjust. For that book shines with such splendor, blooms with such charm, is strengthened by such gravity and truth, that anyone who thinks it unworthy is mad. The whole work proceeds clause by clause; and if you examine it diligently and keenly, you will find its prose discourse [unclear] in certain feet. In those feet, I say, so that no one may gnaw at us with his tooth, which the most acute [unclear] prescribes as to be observed by an orator. For it is not enough for a most diligent man to delight his readers with truth and the majesty of things, unless he has also moved those same readers by elegance of diction and a most eloquent and [unclear] style. And this indeed justly. For to commit one’s thoughts to writing, and neither to order them nor to make them, by a certain pleasantness and sweetness, soothe one’s hearers, belongs to a man who abuses both leisure and letters. Therefore let rude and unlearned men at last cease to speak ill, who mock what they cannot grasp. For they object to the poetic and oratorical faculty in an eloquent man, just as if the ancient doctors had not used the same style and manner of speaking. Nor indeed do they themselves know what poetry is or what rhetoric is; since answer has been made by me to them in other places, to refute them here would seem both too long and superfluous. But we shall not abandon our undertaking, on account of which we have all good men as friends. This indeed, among many others, the most reverend lord Johannes Lathomus, prior of Crutzen, especially attests by words and deeds. Him, because he is worthy of true praise and does not seek human praises but strives toward the prize above, it is not fitting for us to praise. These things, venerable father, I have written briefly to your charity, knowing that you are not delighted by fleeting praises, since you are wholly turned within. Always revolving in your mind that saying of Persius: Do not seek yourself outside yourself. For the rest, I pray from my heart that, mindful of the purpose conceived and inspired by God, you may pursue your intention, and that you may bring your mind to believe that I love your paternity. If you do this, as you ought to do, you will always find mutual charity. For nothing has ever been more pleasant to me than to be loved by those whom I could rightly and justly love in return. For to displease the wicked is the highest praise. Farewell, honored father. Written very hastily on the Ides of November, in the year of salvation 1493.

Here follows the table of chapters.

On the beginning of the order. Chapter 1.

How Elijah, prophet of the Lord, was the founder of the order of Carmelites. Chapter 2.

On the way of life of the sons of the prophets and of others before the birth of Christ on Mount Carmel. Chapter 3.

When and how the rule was given to the brothers dwelling on Mount Carmel. Chapter 4.

On the confirmation and approbation of the order of Carmelites. Chapter 5.

On the change of the brothers’ outer habit. Chapter 6.

Why the Carmelite brothers are called the brothers of Blessed Mary ever Virgin of Mount Carmel. Chapter 7.

On the migration of the brothers into Europe. Chapter 8.

On the manifold persecution of this most holy order and its victory against its rivals. Chapter 9.

On the first progress of the order of brothers in Europe, and on the multiplication of convents. Chapter 10.

How useful and fruitful the Carmelite order is in the Church. Chapter 11.

On the saints and canonized persons from this order. Chapter 12.

Letter of Lord Johannes Trithemius, abbot of Sponheim, on the work set below, concerning the praises of the order of the Carmelite friars.

To the reverend father in Christ, Lord Johannes Virici of Neuss, provincial throughout Lower Germany of the order of the friars of Blessed Mary ever Virgin of Mount Carmel, and to the other fathers gathered capitularly in the convent at Cologne: Johannes of Trittenheim, abbot of Sponheim, greeting and charity.

Report has it that the kings of the ancient Parthians greeted no one without gifts. I too, most religious fathers, have the desire to greet your company, but gifts worthy of the duty are lacking, by which the sincerity of my love toward you might be declared. What, then, am I to do? Is the bond of charity broken because of poverty of gift? Far from it. Shall I therefore greet you empty-handed? By no means. What, then, shall I bring? Gifts. What gifts, as a poor and needy man? Gifts of charity. Not gold, not silver, not precious stones, but words and letters by which the order of piety may be nourished. Recently, therefore, moved by the prayers and urging of the religious fathers Johannes Lapicida of Cologne, prior of Kreuznach, and Jacobus de Cuba, lector, I wrote in praise of the Carmelite order a brief little work, which I send to you as a small gift for examination. And although it was truly embarrassing enough for me to have wished to praise the excellence of so great an order before men most learned in every branch of learning and doctrine, since I know there are many among you, most eloquent men, who could do this better than I, nevertheless I preferred to be judged unskilled in speech rather than fruitless in charity. For although our little work is far inferior to the praises of so great an order, it will nevertheless be able to bring some usefulness, since he who wished to be a praiser of your religion has incurred no suspicion of his own praise. For I believe that you ought to receive the praises and honor of your most excellent religion from outsiders rather than from your own.

Receive now, therefore, best fathers, the little work sent from my smallness; in it weigh not what I have done, but how much I wished to do for the honor of the Carmelite order. But if you judge anything worthy of correction, correct it as you please, or, if it seems good, entrust it to me to be corrected. Various occupations of household affairs did not allow me to apply the file of every kind of elegance, nor to arrange each point according to my training. If there is error anywhere, negligence, not will, furnished the cause. But you, venerable fathers, will readily accept the apology, if you weigh my love toward you and the solicitude of pastoral care. I shall count it among the greatest delights if I come to know that my affection toward the order has not displeased you. I desire you always to be well in the Lord and mindful of me. Given very hastily from the monastery of Sponheim, the ninth day before the Kalends of May, in the year of the Lord 1492.

Here begins the preface of Lord Johannes Trithemius, abbot of Sponheim, of the order of the divine father Benedict, to the book on the praises of the sacred order of the Carmelite friars.

At the prayers and urging of certain fathers of the order of the friars of Blessed Mary ever Virgin of Mount Carmel, I undertook the work set below. In it I determined to describe briefly the praises of that most sacred religion, so far as the cares of household affairs and the very slight powers of my talent allowed, and I chose to show more compendiously how it has advanced from the beginning of its foundation down to this day; [unclear], lest the dignity of so excellent an order be obscured by my slowness, and there happen to me what is wont to happen to unskilled orators, who by their lack of skill are accustomed to disfigure splendid matters. Indeed, when I seem somewhere to have written too sparingly, I should not be thought to have failed in subject matter, but in words. For the excellence of the Carmelite order is very great, and seems to far exceed not only my fluency and eloquence, but even that of Demosthenes. There are various orders in the Church of God; nevertheless, to this one before all the rest so much is granted, that it is adorned with the title of the most blessed Mother of God and Virgin. Since, therefore, small talents do not suffice for praising the greatest matters, what wonder if I seem to fall short in celebrating a most splendid order? I have indeed satisfied my urging friends, although I have been able to do less than I wished. Still love of the Carmelite order flourishes in my breast; still the material for praising it overflows; but before the excellence of the matter words fail. The institution of this order has deserved great praise, which the Queen of Heaven distinguished by her own name. O truly blessed union, which, fortified by the protection of so great a Mother, stands firm forever. Under the protection of the Mother of God the Carmelite order rests, and for that reason it will never fear any adversities. Rejoice, glory of Carmel, [unclear] sower

because of the honor of the Mother; the Lady of the world, the Virgin Mary, guards you as the pupil of her eye; the citizens of the heavenly fatherland honor, love, and praise you, zealously venerating in you the name and honor of their empress. The upright also love you, mindful of your beauty. No one truly loves you unless he is good; no one hates your institution unless he is perverse. How beautiful are your steps in the shoes of the Gospel of peace; how lovely your face; how elegant your form, how comely your appearance. Blessed are your worshippers, who walk in the paths of truth, who, despising worldly things, keep your precepts with devout sincerity. Greater are you, O sacred religion of Carmel, than to be proclaimed adequately by my words. I cannot be silent from your praises, since what weakness denies in strength, charity supplies.

Now therefore, you friends, importunate demanders of the present work, receive from the hand of a lover of you and of the Carmelite order the gift long desired, and diligently beseech almighty God for my errors. You have from me the little work requested, in which I have satisfied your petitions, but by no means my own will. For we wish more for the honor of your order than we can do. Then I address you, brothers serving under the protecting mantle of the Virgin; I beseech and pray you that, if our devotion toward your order seems praiseworthy to you, you intercede with the Lord for our faults, and render the Mother of God, patroness of your religion, favorable and propitious to us. This, I say, do, so that the reward of our work may be brotherly love and the prayer of unity.

Here begins the first book of lord Johannes Trithemius, abbot of Spanheim, on the praises of the order of Carmelites.

On the beginning of the order. Chapter 1.

Intending, with the Lord’s help, to treat of the order of the brothers of the most blessed Mother of God and Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel, let us take the beginning of our discourse from him who holds the primacy of that same religion. For then the knowledge of this most sacred order can be pleasing to the reader, if the eminence of the one who instituted it is not hidden from him. Indeed, individual orders have their teachers and chiefs, founders and governors of life under a rule. Some had Basil as the chief of their order; others Augustine; others Pachomius; we Benedict; the Preachers had Saint Dominic; the Friars Minor Francis. But Elijah, the greatest prophet, is said to have been the institutor of this most sacred order; the sons of the prophets are remembered from the Old Testament as its chiefs; its propagator was the holy prophet Elisha; and the most sacred Mother of God, the Virgin Mary, marked it with her own name and defended it from the envy of rivals.

Let him who glories glory in the Lord. Let each man desire, as far as he can, to imitate the chiefs of his own order; let each follow his own institutors in morals, not in frivolous speeches. Let no one in the Church of God contend over the excellence of his own order; let no one provoke another through zeal for rivalry; let no one disparage another; let no one corrupt another’s reputation by the evil of elation. It is foolish to seek glory from another’s holiness, and to expect reward from another’s virtue rather than from one’s own. There are some who envy the pursuits of good men, who gnaw at and tear the sacred order of the Carmelites with an impious tooth, who are greatly indignant at the prerogative of the Virgin’s title, judging the Carmelites as though unworthy to be called brothers of the most blessed Mother of God and Mother. Others, ignorant of the antiquity of this most sacred religion, deny that prophets of that highest God were its founders and chiefs, as though among the ancients there were no

there was a religion, which in later generations is derived together with the name of the order. And, with the Virgin Mary’s favor, the speeches of these men must first be blocked; and only then should the discourse be continued to the praise of the order. For unless the false opinions of fools are struck down at the beginning, they will always prepare ambushes for us like certain brigands.

Now then, foolish self-praiser, what do you object against us? What do you lay against the holy order? What do you have against this religious life by which you can be moved? Bring it forth, so that we may hear. Do you think that you are justly indignant against the Carmelite brothers, the servants of the mother of God? What is it that displeases you in their order? Its kind or its form? Its name or its virtue? Its life or its merit?

If its kind, hear Scripture. For we are also the offspring of God. “You,” says the chief apostle, “are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people of acquisition, that you may announce the virtues of him who called you out of darkness into his admirable light.” It is God’s planting; take care that you do not speak harshly against the saints. God chose the order of the Carmelites for his own honor and that of his mother; if this displeases you, you attack the ordering of the Almighty.

If its form displeases you, hear what the Lord says: “The beauty of the field is with me.” This is the field which the Lord has blessed, in which the lilies of virtues and the flowers of piety grow. No blessed man can curse this field, so holy, so fruitful, and so beloved of God. If the name, splendid with the Virgin’s trophy, displeases you, you are the more foolish for quarreling about a word while setting aside the majesty of the things. The Carmelites possess a blessed name; whoever curses it will be subject to curses.

If the virtue of the brothers moves you to rivalry, you are envious, because you are tormented by another’s goodness. Indeed, whoever hates virtue in his neighbor does injury to God, who bestows merits and rewards. But if the life of the Carmelites displeases you, say whose: that of some, or of all? You are rash if by one sentence you condemn so many brothers, from whose holy way of life you yourself still stand far removed. For to those of us who read the histories of the ancients it is clear that many most holy men have shone in this order. Nor is there any doubt that today very many devout brothers are found who most gloriously adorn that order with their virtues.

But if the weakness of some brothers scandalizes you, you are impious, for you spread the fault of a few over all, and you show that you yourself lie far from the perfection of the saints, while you bear others’ defects impatiently. But I know why you are moved against the holy order of the Carmelites. There are two things in it that displease you: one is that the brothers call themselves brothers of blessed Mary ever virgin; the other is that they proclaim Elijah and the sons of the prophets as the founders and princes of their order. These are the heads of the opposing party; these are the foundations of another’s disturbance.

But, O foolish presumption of the human condition, which cannot stand tranquil in consideration of its own humility, but always strives, through the zeal of depraved rivalry, to surpass one equal to itself. Why do you envy the Carmelite brothers the title of their order, which the queen of heaven conferred upon them? For truly, if the lady of the world wished to show herself a sister to the Carmelites, who can contradict her? Is she not permitted to do what she wishes? Or is your eye wicked because she is good? Do not be troubled; do not be angry; do not gnash your teeth. No one can prevent the queen of heaven from calling her Carmelites her brothers and sons.

I do not speak frivolous things, nor false ones, since the supreme Roman pontiffs, the successors of Peter, have been accustomed to call the Carmelites nothing other than brothers of the Mother of God. Turn over the acts of general councils and the apostolic bulls, and you will never find the Carmelites called apart from the honor of the Marian title. Does this seem little to you, and do you ask greater testimonies from me? There is no greater testimony than the Church of God, since whatever she has approved will no longer need the testimony of another.

But if the excellence of this title also delights you, why are you indignant against the holy brothers? Take it up, display it, preach it: they, unharmed, will by no means forbid you. Nevertheless, know that whatever is taken up is not thought to be one’s own. Do the works of a sister, and you will be a brother. For the most holy mother of God, the Virgin Mary,

[unclear] is mother: she utterly spurns no devout person. Do therefore as you please: only the brethren of the Carmelite order have earned this title of the Virgin’s patronage by the authority of the universal Church; they will never lose it through any rivalry. But why they are called brethren of blessed Mary ever virgin, we shall treat in its place in due course. Now we must answer the calumniator’s second proposition, in which he imprudently assails the Carmelite brethren concerning the succession of Elijah and the prophets.

How Elijah, prophet of the Lord, was founder of the order of the Carmelites. Chapter 2.

Elijah, the eminent prophet of the Lord, is rightly and in Catholic fashion called the founder of the Carmelite religious life, if his deeds are examined without malice from the books of Kings. For he himself is read to have been the first to inhabit Mount Carmel, from which the Carmelite brethren are named. It is shown by a threefold reason that Elijah is held to be the chief of this observance: namely from the place, from the habit, and from the manner of life. Since, therefore, the name of the order is taken from the place, Elijah is rightly remembered as chief of the Carmelites, because Mount Carmel, of which he was an inhabitant, gave this order its name. I am not speaking empty things, but bringing forward matters proved by the testimonies of the Scriptures, when I say that Elijah the prophet inhabited that same place long before the birth of Christ, the place which gave the Carmelite brethren the name and beginning of their religious life. Finally, if the testimony of the ancients is to be believed, after Elijah’s rapture and the death of Elisha, the sons of the prophets, inhabiting Mount Carmel through succession of generation, never allowed it to be empty of distinguished worshippers. Citations of testimonies on these matters are not necessary for learned men, and are superfluous for the unlearned. For it is foolish to spend time on citations, since the things that are said [unclear] of evasion; I call the persons set forth below as witnesses for one who doubts. That most holy patriarch of Jerusalem, John.

who flourished in the times of Pope Adrian I. What else does he express in his book on the beginning and progress of this order, except that Elijah was its founder? Cyril the Greek, bishop of Alexandria, William of Sanvico, Sibertus de Beka, Philip Ribot, John Baconthorpe, men most learned and most upright: what else do they write about this order, except that it took its beginning from Elijah? If you pretend not to give credence to us in the things we write about this order, have recourse to the writings of the aforesaid fathers; and you will not be able to accuse us of falsehood.

The name of the place therefore agrees, so that Elijah is the founder of the Carmelite order. Hence the brothers of this sacred religion are not to be blamed because they affirm Elijah and the sons of the prophets to be the founders and princes of their order. As regards the matter of the habit, the order of Carmel has agreed with Elijah in a beautiful transfiguration. We read that he was clothed with a mantle; when it touched the Jordan, the river stood amazed and gave itself to be trodden underfoot for passage. So Elisha, so the sons of the prophets, became imitators of Elijah, who remained like him not only in place but also in habit. But if you think to bring an accusation against us concerning the color, although it is a poor argument that disputes about unseen colors, we call you to the histories of the ancients, in which the Carmelite brothers in the primitive Church are read to have been clothed, like Elijah, in striped garments. Nor let the change of color offend you, since it is not of the substance of the order. For the habit can be changed while the integrity of the order remains. Thus also the Cistercians, changing their gray habit, assumed a black one, while the former religion nevertheless continued.

With respect to manner of life, however, Elijah was the founder of the order of Carmel, for he preceded them on Mount Carmel in holy conduct. What did Elijah do that the Carmelite brothers, as far as they are able, do not imitate? He inhabited the wilderness; he loved the vast places of solitude; he was free for God alone and for himself. But the Carmelite brothers from the beginning of their institution led a solitary life on Mount Carmel, choosing to be free for God alone through the secrecy of contemplation, until at last, in almost the most recent times, driven from the wilderness by the persecution of the Saracens, they were placed in cities by command of the Apostolic See. Hence also in antiquity they were called hermits of Mount Carmel. Moreover, just as Elijah announced the will of God, reproved tyrants, and slew the impious, so the Carmelite brothers, as far as pertains to them, preach the word of God to all, reprove tyrants, and, through admonitions of salvation, kill by the power of God the impious movements of carnal desires in themselves and in others.

Elijah, a virgin in mind and body, is found to have been defiled by no stain of bodily intercourse, but shone forth with such purity before God and men that he has deserved to defer death now for 2,430 years. The Carmelite brothers, instructed by the example of their holy prince, bind themselves by the vow of religion to perpetual chastity; they neither marry nor are given in marriage; they build up the Church of God by life and doctrine; with vices driven out as far as human frailty permits, they plant virtues in themselves and in others. And although it is not possible for them to imitate Elijah in all things, nevertheless, if equality of manner of life is considered with a just balance, Elijah is proved to have been the first and best Carmelite.

What, now, will wicked rivalry object against us, that you should deny that Elijah was a Carmelite? If you say that Elijah was not prince and founder of the order of Carmel for this reason, because he did not profess their rule, we do not consider it very important. For what if he did not have a rule, since he existed before the rule? Good, you say. If he existed before the rule, how was he the founder of the order of Carmel? For he could not be founder of the order if he did not give the rule. But the conclusion is not true, and the contrary custom of many invalidates it. Blessed Dominic instituted the Order of Preachers, and yet he did not give the Rule of Augustine, but accepted it. So the Cistercian order, so the Carthusian, so almost innumerable others, had one set of men as the princes of their institution and another set as the givers of the rule. But lest you plead that Elijah preceded the rule of the Carmelites and therefore could not have been the founder of the order, know that in the Church of God there were formerly many orders without a fixed rule, which in the course of time took up a rule.

For many years the order of Saint Jerome flourished in the Church of Christ; yet it did not receive the rule of Jerome until Brother Lupus of Oliveto, a Spaniard, general of the same order, at last under Pope Martin V compiled a new rule from various sayings of that same father. Finally, we have known many orders to exist under the titles of certain saints, concerning whose rule we have found nothing. But enough about these matters.

The greatest proof of the institution of Elijah is the testimony of antiquity, celebrated in many writings of the ancients. For the Carmelite brothers existed before the rule, because, by the example of Elijah and the prophets, they were themselves a rule of living for themselves. Read the life of Elijah and of the sons of the prophets, and you will find that before the rule they lived regularly. Nor does it matter if you say that other religious also do those things which we have said the Carmelites do by the example of Elijah; for although the others follow Elijah in their conduct as far as they can, nevertheless the Carmelites alone imitate him not only in conduct, but also in habit and in the name of the place. We read in the histories that Sabacha, the father of Elijah, before Elijah was yet born, saw in dreams men clothed in white greeting him; by them we rightly understand the Carmelite brothers, whom we know to be white in habit and way of life. These greet Sabacha, the father of Elijah, because, adhering to his examples, they show themselves as though his brothers, while by their white conduct they preserve Sabacha, which is interpreted “little net.” But what else is understood by Sabacha, the father of Elijah, than the little net of the holy Carmelite religion, in which many who are to be saved are caught? Indeed, from the time of Elijah and Elisha, prophets of God, down to the birth of Christ, many inhabited Carmel out of love of solitude, as is clearly shown from the histories of the ancients. For after the passion of the Lord, when the apostles were preaching the faith, among the many who were then converted, the hermits of Mount Carmel too were converted; and thereafter, as the number of the faithful increased, they built on the slope of Mount Carmel a [unclear] in honor of the mother of God and virgin Mary.

Nor should you wonder if I have said that there were monks in Israel even before the birth of Christ, who inhabited Mount Carmel and the deserts of solitude, since indeed even among the gentiles, in our Belgian Gaul, monastic life was celebrated; its professors antiquity called Druids. Some of these dwelt in cities and little villages; some inhabited mountains and forests; all philosophized concerning knowledge of natural things. They were in the greatest authority among the people, at whose nod all things were done. Their life was withdrawn and most continent, so much so that no one presumed to say anything adverse about them. They had the power of excommunicating the rebellious and again absolving the obedient. They also enjoyed every kind of immunity. But, that I may not speak at length about what the way of life of these men was, Caesar set it out in the Commentaries. For apart from the faith and the knowledge of the one God, in their conduct they showed themselves to be monks. If the Druids, gentiles before the birth of Christ, lived a solitary and monastic life, what wonder is it if there were faithful hermits of Carmel from Judea? Finally, if you desire to know deeper things about the monks who flourished in Judea before the birth of Christ, read the histories of Philo of Alexandria and Josephus of Jerusalem, Jews, and you will find what sort they were at that time.

Chapter 3.

On the way of life of the sons of the prophets and of other hermits before the birth [of Christ]. Chapter 3. [Eginus?], in the histories of the ancients, says that Samuel was the first to establish a company of prophets, which they also called a troop. Then, after Elijah had been carried through the air, his double spirit rested in Elisha, who himself also, with the sons of the prophets, inhabited Mount Carmel at fixed times, and took the greatest care to live according to the standard of Elijah.

Of these, indeed, many are listed by name by the fathers; concerning them we not imprudently suspend our own judgment, content with the testimony of the same men. Hence Jerome says concerning the institution of monks: “Our prince is Elijah; our leader, Elisha and the sons of the prophets, who, dwelling in the fields and in solitude, built dwellings for themselves beside the streams of the Jordan.” Note: On the institution of monks [unclear]

These were men of many virtues, greatest in charity, highest in devotion and integrity; suspended in contemplation of God, they despised the world with its pleasures. Of them the Apostle truly says: “They went about in sheepskins and in goatskins, needy, distressed, afflicted, of whom the world was not worthy; wandering in deserts, on mountains, in caves and in caverns of the earth; who through faith conquered kingdoms, worked righteousness, obtained promises.” These are the brave and prudent men who laid the foundations of the monastic way of life, who after Elijah, inhabiting Mount Carmel,

...in habit and manner of life they showed themselves worthy of God. From these the order of Carmelites took its beginning and its name. For they themselves observed the manner of life of the Carmelite order in the time of the Law; from them our Carmelites, under grace, received both name and order. In all these things nothing differs except the time; deservedly it is called one order of Carmelites and hermits under the Law and under grace, since it is joined together by faith in and worship of the one God. Nor, however, does the title of Elias belong to the other orders; although their manner of life may accord with it, nevertheless the name of the place does not agree. Therefore the Carmelite order is the most ancient of all orders in the Church of God; from it the other orders received the beginning and form of their institution. Indeed, as far as concerns the authority of the ancient writings, Elias and his disciples were the founders of the monastic profession; leaving the cities, they built for themselves little huts in the desert around the streams of the Jordan. Under grace, John the Baptist was the first of this profession, for from his tender years he inhabited the solitude of the desert. And do not think that the holy prophets of the Lord were ignorant of the greatness of the good of solitude, since he was not the least of them who said: “It is good for a man when the yoke of the Lord is borne from his youth; he will sit solitary and keep silence, because he will raise himself above himself.” Those most holy men, enlightened by the divine spirit, knew the usefulness of the solitary life; and therefore before the giving of the Law they devoted themselves in works to that which the Carmelites, later established under a rule, imitate as far as they can.

And although Elias did not give the Carmelites a written rule, nevertheless by the example of his holy manner of life he was for them a norm of living; to them after himself he granted both place and habit.

When and in what manner the rule was given to the brothers dwelling on Mount Carmel. Chapter 4.

The holy fathers of old who dwelt on Mount Carmel near the spring of Elias before the birth of Christ are not read to have had a written rule; rather they themselves had been a norm and rule for themselves, living harmoniously according to the example of Elias. Then, after the Passion of the Lord, when the Christian faith had multiplied throughout Judea, those who on Mount Carmel were leading the eremitic life in imitation of Elias began to live according to the Gospel of Christ, as it is written in the Acts of the Apostles: “They were persevering unanimously in prayer, and they had one heart and one soul; nor did anyone among them have anything of his own, but all things were common to them.” This is the apostolic life, which the Carmelite brothers in the primitive Church observed with the greatest zeal, having the evangelical rule concerning these things written in their hearts. But in the course of time, when men gradually began to withdraw from the apostolic life and each to possess something of his own, the zealous inhabitants of Mount Carmel, fearing that their own holy manner of life too might fail through the passage of time, began to think about a remedy for the future. They therefore sought a rule not for themselves, but for posterity, knowing that their order would henceforth not be sufficiently secure unless it were confirmed by a rule. And truly, if today the Carmelites did not have an approved rule, I do not know whether they would survive. For the rule alone is what commends the order of those who have gone before to posterity. In time of peace the expenses of war must be prepared, lest adversity find men unprepared. For if the brothers of Mount Carmel had not received a rule in time of peace, where could they have remained when at last they were driven from Judea by the Saracens? Therefore in the year of the Lord 1122, under Heinrich and Pope Calixtus II, bro

Brocardus, prior of Mount Carmel, obtained a rule from Albert, patriarch of Jerusalem, which he commended to his posterity to be observed. Nor are the Carmelite brothers to be thought to have lived irregularly up to that time, since from holy conduct they changed custom into a rule. For a rule is not necessary for the perfect, but for the weak.

On the Confirmation and Approval of the Order of the Carmelites, Chapter 5.

But the perverse man does not cease to tear good men with an envious tooth, since, by otherwise giving proof of himself, he cannot acquire fame unless he lies in wait for another’s reputation. For the more the pursuits of good men increase, the more also does the envy of the wicked increase, destined to rage. Indeed, although antiquity itself approved the sacred order of the Carmelites, although from the beginning it was exalted by the holiness of many brothers, nevertheless the persecution of the wicked against it by no means ceased. Therefore the unjust detractors said to the holy brothers: “Your order is not established in the Church of God, since the holy apostolic see has not approved it.” From this scandals arose; from this seditions arose among the people, while perverse men strove utterly to destroy the holy order. O foolish abuse among men, that what the Gospel of Christ approves they should think to need human confirmation. Tell me, detractor of good men: have you read bulls approving the ancient orders? What pope confirmed the old orders of Pachomius, Basil, Augustine, and Benedict? Nowhere will you find these orders confirmed by letters from the beginning. Indeed, those whom the holiness of many approves, whom long antiquity confirms, who but a mindless and stupid man would infringe upon them? If holy antiquity confirms the aforesaid orders, the order of the Carmelite brothers, which is most ancient, has need of no one’s confirmation. For it long preceded the Roman pontiffs, since it took its beginning from Elijah the prophet. I have said these things not because the order of the Carmelites lacks apostolic protection, but so that I might show that its rivals are moved by hatred, not by any principle of integrity.

For after the brothers of this religious way of life came into Europe, driven out of Palestine, many supreme pontiffs confirmed that order; among them Alexander, the third pope of that name, was one. After him Innocent did the same, and Honorius III, following in the footsteps of both, with many privileges added, approved anew both the order and the rule. But enough has been said about these matters, since, although the privileges of the Carmelite order are not entirely unknown to us, nevertheless it is not our purpose to bring them to light. I would wish this to suffice for its rivals: that this order has always been approved from the beginning, and will henceforth remain stable.

On the Change of the Brothers’ Outer Habit.

Chapter 6.

As we have already said above, the Carmelite brothers imitate their founders not only in morals, but also, according to their ability, in habit. Sacred history shows that Elijah was clothed in a mantle: with it, when the Lord passed by, he covered his face, and, striking the Jordan with it, made it passable on foot. Finally, when he called Elisha, he is read to have cast his mantle over him; with it he also endowed the same man when he himself was carried through the air. The mantle, however, if faith is to be given to the writings of the ancients, was round, covering the whole body from the neck down to the middle of the shins, narrow above and broad below, and open in the front. The color of that habit is said to have been white, by which the inner cleanliness and purity of the brothers is signified. They hand down that Elijah was clothed in such a mantle, that Elisha and the sons of the prophets went about in such a habit. But if anyone should contend that this description of Elijah’s habit is apocryphal, he will do us no injury by this, since we write not our own opinion, but that of the preceding fathers. For a cloak does not make an order, but the observance of piety. Indeed, that ancient monks, even of one order, were at times not [unclear] in the color of their habit, the holy father Benedict indicates in his rule, who [unclear] monks

he forbade objections to be raised over the color of garments. I have said these things not because I deny that Elijah’s habit was white, but so that I may cut off from those who hesitate an occasion for murmuring against the order. But after many years, when the Holy Land had fallen into the hands of the infidels, the brothers were compelled to change their habit, the Saracens pressing this, who thought that only their own satraps were permitted to wear white clothing. Therefore, by a public edict of the king, the brothers of Mount Carmel were compelled to lay aside the white habit and to take up any other. Thus, necessarily abandoning the former habit, they assumed striped copes, which were striped in two colors in seven parts; of these the first, around the opening in front, was white on either side; the next was white on both sides; and the last, in the middle of the back, was black. At length, when after not a few years, as the malice of the infidels increased, the brothers were compelled to withdraw from the Holy Land, they were again compelled to change the habit. For, coming by divine ordinance into Europe, lest they make people laugh by their foreign habit, they resumed the old habit, which they use in the order down to the present day. Finally, lest this change should seem frivolous to anyone, it is immediately found to have been approved by the authority of the supreme pontiffs.

Chapter 7. Why the Carmelite brothers are called brothers of Blessed Mary ever Virgin of Mount Carmel.

But now we must ask why, all the many holy new and ancient orders being passed over, the order of Carmelites alone is adorned with the title of the blessed Mother of God, although she was not its foundress, nor subject to it by any necessary likeness of profession. What, then, was the reason that the Carmelite brothers were called from the beginning brothers of Blessed Mary ever Virgin? Was it done by some chance accident, or by some empty presumption? Far from it. For, as we have learned from reading the ancients, we know especially that this title befits the Carmelites, whom we do not doubt to have held the Mother of God always in the greatest honor and reverence from the beginning of their institution.

Chapter 8.

For not long after the Lord’s Passion, as the Christian faith was increasing throughout Judea, the brothers of Mount Carmel built a chapel on the side of that same mountain in honor of the Mother of God, and they chose her as advocate and patroness of their order; and thereafter they were called her brothers. Therefore, just as they are called Carmelites from Carmel, so from the chapel which they built they are called, down to the present day, brothers of the most blessed Mother of God and Virgin.

And this is indeed a worthy designation for the Carmelites: that those who always venerate the Mother of God with special love should also be more renowned by her title. For just as the most blessed Virgin Mary first of all opened for us the entrance to paradise, so the religion of the Carmelites gave beginning and form to the other orders.

Nor do I doubt that Mary, parent of God, pursues this order with special favor, since she recognizes it as near to her in place, and first in time to have arisen in service to herself and her Son. The Carmelite brothers are indeed worthy to be distinguished by the title of the most holy Virgin, because from the beginning of their institution they were made close to her in their own manner through humility and innocence, and singularly devoted in service to her kinship. Read and turn over all the histories of past time, and nowhere will you find that the order of the Carmelite brothers stirred up schism or scandal in the church of God, or disturbed the faithful people by any novelty, or was ever suspected of any heresy. For it has always served the Lord in humility and tranquillity, and has always remained content with its own innocence. Therefore, the one who was always devoted to the most blessed Mother of God in humility and purity and holy morals was suitably elevated under her title. The habit itself, too, indicates this by its cleanness and purity, for it shows that the Carmelite brothers ought above all to observe continence and chastity. And although the first place itself, which gave the order its name, is now desolate, nevertheless the name of Carmel remains with the brothers, together with the patronage of the Mother of God. Now, therefore, let enough have been said and proved concerning the author and place of the Carmelite order; and I would wish everyone to be persuaded that its cultivators are brothers of Blessed Mary ever

of the Virgin of Mount Carmel, deservedly both to be and openly to be proclaimed.

On the migration of the brothers into Europe. Chapter VIII.

When, because of the sins of the people, the Holy Land had been brought into the hands of the faithless Saracen race in the six hundred and thirty-ninth year after the Lord’s Passion, the Carmelite brothers, who for a long time had also lived in the cities in increasing numbers, were so greatly afflicted by the unbelievers that they were compelled to return to the hermitage of Mount Carmel. For they could no longer remain in the cities, since the Saracens afflicted them so much that they left them no quiet time for serving God, and utterly denied them the necessities of life.

And so the brothers remained on Mount Carmel, leading a solitary life in no small poverty, until, after many years had passed, the Holy Land was again recovered by the Christians, and the journey to it was made peaceful for pilgrims. This recovery of the Holy Land was accomplished through Duke Godfrey in the year of the Lord 1099. Then, after a few years, when pilgrims were streaming in from every side, and especially from the regions of Europe, the number of brothers on Mount Carmel was greatly multiplied, so much that by their multitude they filled the mountains and the cities. O, if then you had seen the beauty of the Carmelite order in its majesty, you would have cried out that there had never been another like it. It was a delightful sight to see innumerable brothers dwelling around Mount Carmel in cells and caves of the rocks, all of one mind, serving the most high God by day and night as devoutly as possible, and despising the world with its pleasures for the love of Christ. Among them at that time religion was at its height, and the perfection of the regular life was at its height, since the brothers, while remaining in the flesh, had strongly conquered the flesh itself with its vices. Religion flourished in peace, which a little before, disturbed by the incursions of the faithless, was thought to be failing. From all Europe pilgrim brothers came, and humbly submitted their necks to monastic disciplines on Mount Carmel.

But this tranquillity in the Holy Land did not last long. For when John, king of Jerusalem, had died, the Holy Land could not have its accustomed subsidies from the apostolic see, because the emperor Frederick, through his rebellion, was opposing the supreme pontiff, until it was again captured by the Saracens. Now thereafter the Carmelite brothers were afflicted by the unbelievers with such great tribulation that they no longer seemed safe anywhere in Judea. Therefore, in the year of the Lord 1238, when a council of the whole order had been gathered together on Mount Carmel, many, with the prior’s permission and the counsel of the brothers, left Palestine and, with their rule, their ordinal, and their statutes, returned to Europe, whence they had come. Some therefore came to Cyprus, others to France and England, and some to Germany, each to the place where he thought he could find a place for preserving the order. But very many remained on Mount Carmel, who nevertheless were themselves expelled by the Saracens shortly afterward.

O pitiable calamity of a most holy order, which once rejoiced in almost countless sons, and now, under the pressure of necessity, is deserted by its brothers. What man, unless he be stony, would not be softened by this desolation of Carmel, when the religious life not only of one mountain but of many monasteries throughout all Judea was destroyed? But how could the place of Elijah and of the Carmelites remain safe, when that whole land is trampled by the nations, which our Lord, the king of heaven, sanctified by his bodily presence? And so, when the Carmelites came into Europe, by the authority of the supreme pontiff places were appointed for them to live in different regions; and they at once, though with difficulty, established several convents. Great compassion for Christ’s brothers held men, and those whom they grieved to see expelled from their seats they supported with generous munificence. From this time, therefore, the order of brothers was greatly multiplied throughout all Europe, and by its manner of life and teaching brought forth great fruits in the Church of God, and continues to bring them forth to this day.

On the manifold persecution of this most holy order and its victory over its rivals. Chapter ix.

As the order therefore grew throughout Europe, and the number of the brothers was multiplied, the devil, envying the zeal of the good, did not cease to persecute the brothers; and what he could not do by himself, he arranged through wicked men. He therefore stirred up against them priests, rectors of churches, who tried to bring them under their own power and to subject them, like peasants, to parochial laws. This presumption became so strong that the Carmelites were publicly forbidden to bury their dead in their convents unless they had first paid the parochial rights of the churches. Moreover the envious priests forbade anyone to aid the poverty of the brothers, as though they had moved not for the edification but for the destruction of the faithful.

The afflicted brothers complained to the bishops of the dioceses, but in vain. For all sought their own interests; all were thinking of destroying the order utterly, keeping before their eyes their own advantages, not those of the commonwealth. What now were your brothers to do, virgin lady of the world? Where were they to turn, troubled on every side? Whom were they to call upon as advocate of their calamities, when they saw that among Christians, with each seeking his own, they were held in hatred? Desolate by men, they called upon you, mother of mercy, placing all their hope in you. Nor was it in vain. For how, since you are a spring of loving-kindness, could you have forgotten your brothers, your own bowels?

You therefore called one of them, whom the rest followed as leader, and directed him to the apostolic see, promising good confidence concerning the matter. Nor was the promise empty, but certain. You directed the way of your apostle; you went before him with blessings; you forewarned the vicar of your Son what he should do. O holy and truly worthy reconciliation, which received its origin not from men but from the ordinance of God. When the supreme pontiff heard the needs of the brothers, he restrained their rivals and detractors by apostolic majesty, and provided abundantly for the future tranquillity of the order.

What do you say now, twisted serpent, who hoped that you could destroy the holy order of Carmel? Where is your presumption, by which you tried to overthrow the religion consecrated to the mother of God? You have been confounded, and all your counsellors have been humbled in their iniquities by the power of God. Behold, the holy order has prevailed against all its adversaries and has been strengthened; and, having become one of the four rivers of paradise, it waters the whole earth with the water of learning, while you, with your dogs, pay the punishments owed.

Nor is this rivalry of the perverse a new thing, since from the beginning of the world the wicked have always persecuted the good, so that the elect may be proved through many tribulations. But while the good, afflicted by the adversity of the impious, make progress, the wicked always fall into the worst evils. But you, ornament of Carmel, do not fail; do not cease from the purpose of your most holy institution, so that you may be able to reach without hindrance the rewards prepared for you. If a mother can forget her beloved son, the queen of heaven will be able to abandon you. But even if a mother should forget the fruit of her womb, nevertheless the Virgin Mary will not forget you, but will guard her beloved brothers and make them sharers in her joys.

This, however, is necessarily required of you: that the brothers whom you cherish in your lap with your name and habit you keep immaculate in life and conduct. For it profits nothing to be marked with the name of the parent of God if the conduct of life is stained by contrary morals. Therefore, so that you may truly shine under the title of queen of the heavens, direct your professed members before all else to observe the three substantial things of religion, without the keeping of which monastic profession does not save but condemns. The Lord is with you as long as you have been with him. But if you despise the paths of your first institution, if you give entrance to vices, you will be subject to many evils and troubles. You will be a laughingstock to all the people; and you who now shine in glory will be confounded under reproach and disgrace. Beware therefore that you do not transgress your first institution, nor, neglecting the worship of God, walk after vanity.

On the first advance of the order of the friars in Europe, and on the multiplication of convents.

Chapter 10.

In the Gospel the Lord speaks: “Unless a grain of wheat, falling into the earth, has died, it remains alone. But if it has died, it will bring forth much fruit.” This saying fits the Carmelite friars beautifully, for it shows them to be the grain and seed of God. For indeed this grain of Carmelite stock fell into the earth when it was expelled from Judaea. It became dead, however, when, worn down by many tribulations, it lamented the hardship of its migration. But it brought forth much fruit when, breaking forth through the [uprightness?] of examples, it was multiplied among various convents in Europe. Truly the religion of the Carmelites bears much fruit: it devotes itself wholly to the service of God; it devoutly embraces the paths of the virtues; by its examples many are converted to righteousness.

Truly the Carmelite order is a dead grain: falling in Judaea, it perished; but multiplied in Europe, it rose again. The Lord enlarged it by hammer and anvil, because, while it is expelled from Palestine fewer in number, it is enlarged as it grows in Europe.

Nor do we believe that this was done without the ordering of divine providence, since the few friars expelled from Carmel and afflicted for a time in the land of pilgrimage produced, in the course of time, a very great number of friars in the order. This is the change wrought by the right hand of the Most High; this is the providence of the highest governor, who knows how to draw good things out of evils and to change the calamity of a few into the greatest joy. For just as iron is stretched by the hammer, so the order of the Carmelite friars was stretched and multiplied by the iron of tribulation.

If it had been able to remain in its first little nest, it would not today have been multiplied so greatly in the church of the faithful. For after their happy arrival in Europe, and after their impious persecutors had been overcome by apostolic authority, they were gradually multiplied very greatly. For seeing that the way of life of the friars was most holy, nobles and the faithful bestowed many benefactions on them and erected a great many monasteries for them at their own expense. Hence it came about that the Carmelite friars, who had lost a few monasteries in the Holy Land, received many more in Europe. And just as the apostles, expelled from Judaea while preaching the faith of Christ, converted a multitude of nations, so the Carmelite friars, having lost the bounds of one province, received all Europe as a place of dwelling. Therefore the desolation of one mountain was the building up of many regions. Carmel, then, shall by no means hereafter bewail itself as deserted, since it is now known to have been spread through the whole world. And when the number of friars had been multiplied throughout Europe and many convents had been erected in different places, the Roman pontiffs, perceiving that their life was praiseworthy, raised their order by many privileges; and, exempting it entirely from the jurisdiction of ordinaries, they joined it to the other mendicant orders. And although it is older than all the orders, nevertheless in Europe it seemed to have been renewed as though through its own mortification. But now it has recovered from all its tribulation; made strong in war, it has overcome and confounded all its adversaries. There is nothing that may harm it any further; there is no one who may presume henceforth to touch with his teeth what has been strengthened by the very great power of God. Rejoice, happy one, triumphing over the enticements of the world, taking hold of the highest rewards of the kingdom, you who preserve the name of your origin and imitate your founders.

How useful and fruitful the order of the Carmelites is in the Church.

Chapter 11.

How beautiful are your steps in shoes, daughter of a prince, how beautiful and comely

[unclear]: O beautiful religious order of Carmel. You are the garden of spices which the right hand of God planted on Mount Carmel; its flowers give forth a most sweet fragrance, since you have brought forth learned and most holy men. You had Elijah, prince of the prophets; you are the school of seers, the norm of discipline, and the herald of monastic unity. Under the Law you preach grace; under grace, piety. Truly these are the camps of God, in which the apostolic life long preceded the apostles themselves. And so the steps of this order have been most beautiful from the beginning, when the brothers, loving God, advanced from virtue to virtue. O ancient glory of Carmel; O truly holy, beautiful, and beloved way of life, which conquers the devil, overcomes the flesh, and despises the world and vices. For the holy life of the Carmelite brothers, if it walks according to the purity of its institution, builds up the Church, instructs the ignorant, calls sinners to repentance, attacks the adversaries of Christ, and chastises offenders. What is more beautiful than this religious order? What order is more useful, in which charity commands, humility obeys, good zeal keeps watch, voluntary poverty reigns, continence fights, and chastity triumphs? A religious order is best preserved when foresight counsels, justice corrects, mercy raises up, kindness instructs, and wisdom guards. O how good and how pleasant it is for brothers so to dwell together in one, who serve God in humility, keep the rights of brotherly charity, flee the world and vices, cultivate virtues, love humility, and withdraw from all evils. These are the men who catch the falling Church upon their shoulders, and both by word and by example instruct faithful peoples in Christian righteousness. Those who show themselves such in the order are worthy to be called brothers of the Blessed Virgin Mary. But as for those who pursue the vanities of this world, who, having despised regular observance, are given over to vices and pleasures, I would not call them brothers of the Blessed Virgin Mary, but the foulest slaves of the devil. For what is more disgraceful, or more damnable, than to live disorderly under a holy order? He who is a slave of vices has no fellowship in the honor of the Mother of God.

Therefore, Carmelite brothers, you must take great care not to lose by evil conduct the dignity of the name which you receive from the Queen of Heaven. For what will it profit you to be called brothers of the Blessed Virgin Mary, if you have been workers of iniquity? Indeed, unless you live religiously according to your rule and first institution, you usurp this title to damnation rather than to glory. Therefore, my brothers, take care to repel every iniquity from yourselves; take care to labor at good conduct, so that by holy exercises you may be able to come to her whom you call the sister of your order. For unless you live in common, without private property, chastely and religiously, you will not reach the Queen of Heaven. If you take care to live thus, you are useful in the Church of God. Indeed, just as we describe good Carmelites, living religiously according to the rule, as worthy of every praise, so we determine that the bad, and those deformed in morals, must be kept far away from this volume. For we intend to praise none but the good. We believe, however, that from the beginning many good and holy men have shone in this order, and still shine today; and therefore we warn the reader not to wish to despise the whole order because of the deformity of a few, for in it there are many good men whom it is certain that he does not know. Let the reader think no one among the Carmelites is to be despised, since he who today is seen to lie in deformity will perhaps tomorrow march first in the battle-line of regular observance.

On the saints and canonized persons from this order. Chapter XII.

We believe that no one who reads the histories of the ancients is ignorant what abundant fruits and what sweet fragrances this field of the Carmelite order has brought forth in the Church of God. For, to pass over for the time being those who shone on Mount Carmel under the Law, there were under grace so many holy brothers in this order that they cannot be counted at all. Indeed, if someone were to count the stars of heaven, and

will be able to number the saints of the order. But perhaps some rival of this order may say to me: “Why do you commend the Carmelites so greatly for their multitude of saints, when you are not unaware that no memorial of them is kept in the Roman Church? Show me how many saints from the order of Carmelites you have found in the calendar.” Whoever says such things shows himself to be either envious or wholly ignorant of the deeds that have been done. For what of the fact that the Church venerates few of the saints from the order of Carmelite brothers? Are they therefore to be judged few because the calendar has not received many? Indeed, fifteen thousand saints from it are recorded by their proper names. The ancient orders were not accustomed to boast vainly of the multitude of their saints, since each one strove rather to love holiness in himself than to exalt it in another for the display of his own religion. For the followers of the ancient orders preferred to be holy rather than to be called holy. Hence they did not greatly concern themselves to exalt their most holy brothers to the applause of the crowd, nor were they accustomed to run about soliciting kings and princes for their canonization, nor to weary the supreme pontiffs with importunate prayers. They believed it enough for themselves if their brothers had been placed with the saints in heaven, and therefore they did not concern themselves to have them canonized on earth. But the order of Carmelite brothers is most ancient, and in this matter it has never abandoned the paths of antiquity. For it had saints both many and most excellent, but according to the custom of antiquity it received few into the calendar, since it was always content with its former humility. As to the fact that the Roman Church venerates few of the saints of this order, we believe this happened because, since the greatest part of them had shone forth in Judea before the migration of the order, their holiness was unknown to the Roman Church. Nor was it necessary at that time to run to the Apostolic See for the canonization of saints, since in his own diocese any bishop could proclaim a saint by the testimony of miracles. But after the brothers migrated into Europe, and after various orders had multiplied in the Church, Roman authority decreed that no one should be held as a saint unless thereafter he had been canonized with the consent of the supreme pontiff. Yet a very great number of saints preceded this decree, whom antiquity, led by miracles, canonized. What pope canonized the apostles and the ancient saints? Are they not venerated in the Church of God by antiquity alone, content with their own holiness? And the order of Carmelite brothers had many saints beyond the sea, of whom in Europe there was anciently no memory. Finally, after the coming of the order into Europe they had several saints; if we wished to describe the names of them all, we would be forced to extend this volume to an immense size. We know, however, that the Carmelite brothers were not accustomed to set forth their saints for the admiration of the people, and therefore it was not our purpose to review each one by name. Finally, if anyone desires to know by name the most holy men who shone in this order, let him read the histories and chronicles of the said order, and especially that one which Brother Johannes, of the Mechelen convent, called Oudenwatter, composed with much labor and named the Tripartite Fascicle of the Carmelite Order. In that work he will indeed find so many most holy men of this order that among the other orders it has had few like them. He also set forth the beginning of the order and its progress in a clearly readable manner, and he described by name all the priors general from the first down to Pontius, who now presides over the order. But we, whom concern for household affairs compels to shorten our discourse, make an end here, and to the best of our ability undertake the arranging of a second volume on the praise of the Carmelites, in which we shall make mention of the illustrious and learned men in it who wrote various works for the benefit of the Church, so far as we are able to know them.

Here ends the first book.

Here begins the second book of Lord Johannes Trithemius, abbot of Sponheim: On the Illustrious Men of the Order of Carmelites.

After, with the help of our Lord Jesus Christ, we have completed the first small work of our intention, in praise of the order of the Carmelite brothers, it is pleasing now to begin the second, in which, with the Virgin Mary favoring us, we shall have discourse concerning the illustrious men who at various times shone in it. A twofold cause has impelled us to undertake that province, one of which concerns the brothers, the other the detractors. For we believe that it contributes not a little to the edification of the younger men if we take care to recall to their knowledge the men distinguished for learning who preceded them in the order. For by this means the most learned men receive among posterity the worthy immortal memory due to their labors, and the lesser brothers of the same order are stirred to love of the Scriptures. The second cause of this catalogue is the rivalry of detractors, who despise the Carmelite order as unfruitful, since they believe that few ecclesiastical writers and doctors flourished in it. But we, grieving that injury is done through the ignorance of slanderers to so holy and most sacred an order, have arranged, with what brevity we could, a catalogue of the learned men who wrote various things in it, in which we have set out all the writers, as many as came to our knowledge. And although many most learned men of this order, flourishing in Palestine before the transmigration, wrote many things, nevertheless, since their works are unknown to us, we have marked down a few out of many. Therefore, passing over those who shone in Judea from the beginning, we have resolved to mention only those whom we know to have given in Europe the clear splendor of their learning. Yet we could not mention all those who flourished after the transmigration, because we are ignorant of their works and times. We leave that province to the cultivators of the same order, so that where we have failed through weakness, they themselves may strive to amend our defect. Now therefore let us take the beginning of the proposed work.

Cyril, a monk of the Carmelite order, afterward bishop of Alexandria, Greek by nation, originally from Constantinople, a holy and most learned man, a distinguished philosopher and an unsurpassable rhetorician, shone with countless miracles and was illuminated with the spirit of prophecy. In the time of the emperor Theodosius and Pope Celestine I, he composed many things against Nestorius and, presiding at the Council of Ephesus, refuted him. He wrote in Greek many excellent volumes, of which few are found among the Latins. He first mingled Aristotelian philosophy with the Holy Scriptures and shattered all the errors of heretics with very strong arguments, as is found in the acts of the third synod of Ephesus. Among other things he wrote against Julian the Apostate, two books. Likewise against Nestorius, one book. On the incarnation of the Lord, several homilies. Many letters to various persons, one book. Several sentences in the synod of Ephesus. All these we saw among the Greeks and read in part, but nowhere among the Latins. He flourished under the great emperor Theodosius and Pope Celestine I, in the year of the Lord 430.

John, the forty-fourth patriarch of the church of Jerusalem after blessed James, comes to be placed first in the order of our narrative. For he was a man of upright and most holy conduct, who is said to have shone, living and dead, with countless miracles. Pope Adrian I, on account of his exceptional learning and the excellence of his life, took him from the monastery of Mount Carmel and raised him to be patriarch of the aforesaid city. Since he was very skilled in the divine Scriptures, he produced certain excellent works, by which he revealed his talent to posterity. Of these there survives a distinguished volume, On the Beginning and Progress of the Carmelite Order, one book. He also wrote certain hortatory letters to the brothers. And certain other things. He flourished

in the times of Pope Adrian I, in the year of our Lord Jesus Christ 770.

Cyril, another priest of Mount Carmel, the third prior general in this order, a learned and devout man, and illumined by the spirit of prophecy, wrote some small works of his ability. Among these are reported several letters to various persons, and certain revelations addressed to Abbot Joachim; also the Angelic Table, which he is said to have received from the hands of an angel. He is said to have written some other things, which have not come to my knowledge. He flourished in the times of Emperor Henry VI and Pope Innocent III, in the year of the Lord 1200. Those err who think these two Cyrils are one, since neither the time nor the order of deeds agrees for them. For it is certain that the first flourished under Theodosius at the Council of Ephesus, and this one under Henry VI, as we have said.

Nicolaus Gallicus, the seventh prior general of the whole order, a learned and devout man and singularly beloved by God, after he had governed the order energetically for some years, resigned his office and returned to the hermitage of monastic life. Among other things he wrote a distinguished volume which he entitled The Fiery Arrow, in which with many groans he deplores the lamentable state of his order. He flourished in the year of the Lord 1270.

Albertus of Trapani, provincial prior of Sicily, a man zealous and most learned in the divine Scriptures, and also devout in life and conduct, and, while still living, shining with miracles, is said to have written many useful things for the edification of the brethren; these, however, have not come into our hands. He died in the city of Messina in the year of the Lord 1292, in the fifth indiction, on the seventh [before the Ides?] of August, glorious in signs.

William of Samuco, a singular ornament of the Carmelite order, a most learned man and distinguished professor of sacred theology, a Gaul by nation, wrote beautiful and suitable volumes for the edification of simple brethren. Of these the following are reported: On the Sentences, four books; Chronicle on the Multiplication of His Order, one book; Declarations of His Rule, one book; Decretals of Religious, one book. He is also said to have written some other things, which however have not come to my knowledge. He flourished in the times of Emperor Rudolf, in 1280.

Gerardus of Bologna, the eleventh prior general of the whole order, a doctor of sacred Scripture at Paris, subtle in intellect, and a most celebrated lover and ruler of his order, wrote many excellent volumes, by which he commended his memory to posterity: On the Sentences, four books; many and various quodlibets, one book; also Questions, one book; various sermons, two books. He began a notable Summa of Theology, which, overtaken by death, he could not finish. At length he died at Avignon and was buried, in the year of the Lord 1317, in the fifteenth indiction, and in the thirty-first year of his generalate.

Sibertus de Beka, a German by nation, a man most learned in the divine Scriptures, a doctor celebrated by the opinion and praise of all, and a most devout cultivator of his order, wrote certain excellent small works for the edification of the brethren. Of these the following are reported: On the Sentences, seven books; On the Censures of the New Law, one book; Considerations on the Rule of His Order, one book. He corrected the Ordinal of the Lord’s Sepulchre, which was decreed to be observed throughout the whole order. He also published some other things, which have not come to my knowledge. He flourished under Emperor Henry VII, in the year of the Lord 1310.

Guido Perpinianus, a Catalan by nation, the twelfth prior general, then bishop of Majorca and afterward bishop of Elne, a man most learned in the divine Scriptures, acute in intellect, profound in knowledge, scholastic in speech, who was held in honor and reverence by Pope John XXII, wrote many excellent volumes, by which he commended his name to posterity. Of these the following are reported: addressed to Pope John XXII, a distinguished work in three parts, On the Perfection of the Catholic Life, three books; On the Sentences, seven books; Six Quodlibets, one book; various ordinary disputed questions, one book.

On the Concordance of the Evangelists, one book. A Correctory of the Decree, three books. On Heresies, to the cardinal of Albano, one book. On the books of the Physics, eight books. Questions on the Soul, one book. He also composed many other things which have not come to my knowledge. He flourished in the year of the Lord 1320, and died on 21 August, buried at Avignon.

John of Alier, of Toulouse, thirteenth prior general of the whole order, a man learned in the divine Scriptures, distinguished in talent, knowledge, and eloquence, also outstanding in life and conduct, and a notable preserver of regular discipline, wrote a distinguished volume on the Sentences, four books; a notable Ecclesiastical Reading, one book; and certain other things which I have not yet found. He flourished in the year of the Lord 1330, and lies buried in his own convent at Toulouse.

[Petrus?] de Casa, of the province of Aquitaine, after the resignation of John of Alier the fourteenth prior general of the whole order; then bishop of Vaison, and finally patriarch of Jerusalem; a man most learned in the divine Scriptures, devout in life and conduct, left certain splendid volumes of his talent, among which these are reported: On the Sentences, seven books; Sermons for the season and on the saints, two books; also a notable Reading on the book of the Politics; and certain other things which are hidden from us. He flourished in the year of the Lord 1330. He died on the day before the Nones of August, radiant with miracles.

John Walsigram, prior provincial of England, a very learned man in the divine Scriptures, an acute philosopher, and doctor of sacred theology of Paris, wrote notably on the Sentences, seven books; Various Questions and quodlibets. He also composed some other things which have not come to my knowledge. He flourished under Pope Benedict XII, in the year of the Lord 1340.

Simon of Speyer, a Teuton by nation, prior provincial of all Germany, doctor of Paris, a man learned in the divine Scriptures and not ignorant of secular letters, outstanding in talent and distinguished in eloquence, wrote on the Sentences, seven books; also various Sermons; and certain lectures on the divine volumes. In addition he is said to have written some other things, but they have not come into our hands. He died under Pope Benedict XII, in the year of the Lord 1340, in the eighth indiction, on the eighth day before the Ides of January, buried at Cologne in his own convent.

Peter Raymond de Graffa, a Gaul by nation, of the convent of Tarsac in the province of Narbonne, fifteenth prior general, a learned and devout man, wrote many splendid volumes, by which he commended his memory to posterity. Of these the following are extant: On the Sentences, eight books. He also gathered the various statutes of his order into one volume, and divided the same collections into sixty rubrics. But he also composed certain other things which have not come to our knowledge. He died in the year of the Lord 1357, in the tenth indiction, under Pope Innocent VI, buried at Montpellier, in the sixteenth year of his office as general.

John Baconthorpe, an Englishman by nation, prior provincial of England, doctor of Paris, a man most learned in every respect, a very celebrated philosopher, jurist, and theologian, subtle in talent and distinguished in eloquence, wrote many splendid little works, among which the following are reported: On the Sentences, seven books; On the Gospel of Matthew, one book; On the Gospel of Mark, one book; On the Gospel of Luke, one book; On the Gospel of John, one book; On the Epistles of Paul, fourteen books; On the Acts of the Apostles, one book; Various Disputed Questions, one book; Mirror of His Order, one book; Defense of His Order, one book; On Aristotle’s Metaphysics, in two volumes, twelve books; On the Soul, seven books; also On the books of the Ethics, one book. In addition he composed many other things which have not come to my knowledge. He also produced various explanations on the books of blessed Augustine On the Trinity and The City of God, and on Anselm’s Why God Became Man and On the Incarnation of the Word; in all of these he magnificently exercised his talent. He flourished in the times of Emperor Charles IV and Pope Clement VI, in the year of the Lord 1345.

Aulus of Perugia, a man studious and learned in the divine Scriptures, and also excellently trained in secular letters, subtle in intellect, scholastic in speech, published certain little works of great authority, by which he commended his name to posterity. Of these there is extant an outstanding volume on the Sentences, eight books; also Various Questions, one book; and certain other things. He flourished at Paris under Pope Clement VI, in the year of the Lord 1343.

John Balistarii, a Catalan, the sixteenth prior general of the whole order, a man most learned in the divine Scriptures and an acute investigator of secular philosophy, excellent in intellect and distinguished in eloquence, wrote certain very notable volumes, by which he destined his name for posterity. Of these the following are extant: On the Sentences, seven books; Constitutions of His Order, one book; On the Last Times, to the pope, one book; and certain other things. He died in the year of the Lord 1377, in the twelfth indiction, on the seventh day before the Kalends of October, and was buried in the convent of Majorca.

Peter Rimi of Perpignan, a Catalan by homeland, a very learned man, doctor of sacred Scripture, profound in intellect and distinguished in eloquence, wrote an outstanding volume on the Sentences, eight books; also On the Whole Psalter, one book. In addition he composed various and elegant sermons, which have not come into our hands.

Berenus of Boyo, a Breton by nation, a man most skilled in the divine Scriptures and not ignorant of secular philosophy, subtle in intellect, scholastic in speech, an interpreter of the sacred letters and a profound Parisian doctor, is said to have fashioned several very notable volumes, by which he commended his memory to posterity. Of these there is extant an outstanding work on the Sentences, seven books; Various Questions; and other things which are hidden from us.

John de Regno, a Gaul by nation, of the convent of Toulouse, a learned doctor in the holy Scriptures, subtle in intellect and ready in eloquence, wrote on the Sentences, eight books; On the Gospel of Matthew, one book; Sermons on the Season and on the Saints, two books; also a Lenten Book, one book; and certain other things.

Peter Thomas, bishop of Pax and afterward patriarch of Constantinople, a man studious and learned in the divine Scriptures, most holy in life and conduct, since indeed he shone with many miracles both while alive and after death. He is said to have written several very notable little works, by which he usefully exercised his intellect. Of these the following are reported: On the Sentences, seven books; On the Most Pure Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, one book; also Various Sermons, one book; and certain letters to various persons. In 1366, in the third indiction, on the eighth day before the Ides of January, distinguished by miracles.

Osbert, an Englishman by nation, a man most learned in the divine Scriptures and excellently trained in secular philosophy, of acute and forceful intellect, of scholastic eloquence, ready and subtle in debating and resolving questions of the Scriptures, wrote a most elegant volume on the Sentences, four books; Various Disputed Questions, one book; also diverse Sermons, one book. In addition he is said to have written several other things, which we do not know.

Thilmannus, of the convent of Aachen, a German by nation, prior provincial of Lower Germany, an outstanding professor of sacred letters, excellent in intellect and distinguished in eloquence, an excellent declaimer of sermons, wrote on the Sentences, four books; On the Gospel of Matthew, a notable lecture, which he read publicly at Cologne in the convent, one book; also various sermons; and certain other things. He flourished in the year of the Lord 1370.

Heinrich Dolendorp, a German by nation, before Thilmannus prior provincial of Lower Germany, a learned and erudite man and a very celebrated declaimer, excellent in intellect and scholastic in eloquence, a most keen debater of questions, wrote a notable work on the Sentences, seven books; also various and useful sermons; and certain other things. He died and was buried in the convent of Cologne, in the year of the Lord 1356.

In the third indiction, on the fourth day before the Ides of February.

Philip Riboti, provincial prior of Catalonia, a man devoted to and learned in the divine Scriptures, ready in intellect, clear in speech, and a careful moderator of regular discipline. Among other monuments of his talent he wrote a distinguished work on the origin and progress of his order, which he entitled On the Special Deeds of the Carmelite Brothers, in ten books. He is also said to have composed some other works, which have not come into our hands.

Robert of Monstrolo, a Gaul by nationality, a man devoted to and learned in the divine Scriptures, subtle in intellect and clear in speech, once an ornament of the University of Paris. He wrote on the Sentences, in three books; a notable lecture on the epistles of Paul, in fourteen books; various questions, in one book; sermons also on the season and on the saints, in two books. He is also said to have written some other works, which I have not yet seen.

John Fust, lector of the convent of Kreuznach and afterward prior of Strasbourg, German by nationality, born from the county of Sponheim: a man devoted to and learned in the divine Scriptures, subtle in intellect and clear in speech, a very celebrated preacher of sermons. Among other things he wrote elegant sermons on the season, in two books; also on the saints, in two books; sermons for Lent, in two books; and other things which are hidden from us.

John of Hildesheim, born from the city of Saxony, lector of the convent there, devoted to and learned in the divine Scriptures, and not ignorant of secular letters also; a distinguished philosopher and poet, practiced in verse and prose, a very famous preacher of sermons to the people. He wrote little works not to be despised in reading, of which the following are reported: to Florentius, bishop of Munster in Westphalia, on the translation of the Three Kings into the city of Cologne, in one book; also a pleasant and useful chronicle, in one book; a defense of his order, in one book; On the Fountain of Life, in one book; Against the One Painting Shameful Things, in one book; a metrical work on monsters in the church, in one book; letters to various persons, in one book; sermons on the season and on the saints, in two books. He also published some other works, which have not yet come to my knowledge. He flourished under Emperor Charles IV, in the year of the Lord 1370, and composed various epigrams in verse.

John Golein, a Norman by nationality, prior of Rouen: a man devoted to and learned in the divine Scriptures, and sufficiently learned in secular letters; subtle in intellect and clear in speech. He wrote little works of authority not to be spurned, by which he transmitted his name with glory to the knowledge of posterity. Of these there survive: on the Sentences, in four books; on the office of the Mass, in one book; also various questions; and, as is reported, certain other works.

John Taceffale, English by nationality, of the Norwich convent, a learned man and greatly erudite in the holy Scriptures as well as in law and philosophy, ready in intellect and fit for preaching sermons to the people. He wrote on the Sentences, in three books; a notable lecture on the Apocalypse, in one book; also various sermons to the people. He published some other works besides, which have not come to my knowledge. Finally sent to Rome, he died there.

Ronald of Bissalis, [galtetienẜ]: a man devoted to and learned in the divine Scriptures and clear in speech, not ignorant of rhetoric; profound in intellect and [unclear] ... notable, in one book; also various sermons to the people. He published some other works besides, which have not come to my knowledge. Finally sent to Rome, he died there.

John Horuby, English by nationality, a copious and learned doctor in the holy Scriptures, subtle in intellect and a very acute disputant of questions. He is said to have composed some splendid little works, by which the vein of his abundant talent made him known also to posterity. Of these there survives a work defending the antiquity of his order, in one book; also various sermons; and certain other works. He flourished in the university of Cantha[unclear].

[unclear]brigen[sis]. In the year of the Lord 1373, where he composed various works.

Franciscus Martini, a Catalan by nation, of the convent of Barcelona, was a man zealous and learned in the divine Scriptures. In delivering sermons to the people he was of excellent talent. He is said to have written several little works, in which his profound knowledge is shown. Of these the following are extant: On the conception of blessed Mary, ever virgin, one book; A compendium in honor of his order, seven books; and certain other things. He died in the aforesaid convent in the year of the Lord 1380.

Franciscus de Bachone, of the convent of Gerona, a man learned in the divine Scriptures and not ignorant of secular philosophy, subtle in intellect and an acute disputant, wrote a distinguished volume on the Sentences, three books; also a certain Summa for preachers, one book. He is also said to have composed many other things, which have not come into our hands.

Johannes Deciminetho, lector of the convent of Metz, a Frenchman by nation, a man zealous and very learned in the divine writings, outstanding in talent and clear in eloquence, an eminent declaimer of popular sermons, wrote The Mirror of the Institution of His Order, one book; Sermons on the Temporal Cycle, one book; also Sermons on the Saints, one book; Sermons through Lent, one book. He is also said to have composed several other things, but they have not yet come to my notice.

Johannes Nobleth, a Frenchman by nation, of the convent of Paris, a man zealous and learned in the divine Scriptures and excellently trained in secular letters, a notable philosopher and physician, wrote certain very distinguished little works of his talent, by which he transmitted his name with glory to posterity. Of their number the following are reported: a distinguished work which he entitled Centilogium, one book; On the Gospel of John, one book. He is also said to have compiled commentaries and lectures on many other books of the Bible, which have not come to my notice.

Nicolaus Dorhm, an Englishman by nation, a doctor of Oxford, learned in the holy writings and subtly trained in Aristotelian philosophy, acute in intellect and forceful, a notable disputant in scholastic questions, wrote On the Sentences, three books; also Determinations of Various Questions, one book; a Table of the Originals. Besides these, he is said to have written many things, which have not come to me.

Johannes Marre, an Englishman by nation, a doctor of Oxford, zealous and learned in the holy Scriptures, subtle and forceful in intellect, wrote, among other little works of his exercise, Determinations against the Wycliffite Heretics, one book. He is also said to have written many other things, but they have not yet come to my notice.

Johannes de Gluel, a German by nation, prior of the convent of Cologne, a man learned in the divine Scriptures and not ignorant of secular philosophy, clear in intellect, devout in life and conduct, wrote Sermons on the Temporal Cycle, one book; also Sermons on the Saints, one book; Sermons through Lent, one book. He also published several other things, which have not come to my notice. He flourished in his convent of Cologne, where he was also buried.

Walterus Disse, an Englishman by nation, a man very learned in the divine Scriptures and a most celebrated declaimer of popular sermons, subtle in intellect and practiced in eloquence, wrote little works of no contemptible reading, of which the following are reported: Against the Lollards, one book; On the Schism, one book; On Certain Psalms, one book; Sermons on the Temporal Cycle, one book; also Sermons on the Saints, one book; and certain other things which have not come to my notice. He was the nuncio and legate of Pope Boniface IX in the kingdoms of England, Spain, Portugal, Navarre, Aragon, and in the regions of Gascony, preaching the cross against heretics and schismatics. He flourished under the emperor Wenceslaus, in the year of the Lord 1390, and was buried in the convent of Norwich.

Philippus de Ferrarla, a Sicilian by nation, bishop, as some maintain, of Patti, a most celebrated doctor of sacred theology, clear in intellect and profound in knowledge, an eminent declaimer of sermons, wrote very

notable sermons on the season, one book; likewise sermons on the saints, one book; and certain other things. He flourished in the kingdom of Sicily, preaching before the king and others, not without profit to all.

Richard Lavinham, English by nation, doctor of sacred letters at Oxford, a subtle man and of vigorous talent, an acute disputant of questions and an outstanding declaimer of sermons, wrote certain excellent little works by which he commended his memory to posterity. Of these the following are extant: Determinations against the Lollards, one book; likewise notable determinations on behalf of the book of the Revelations of Saint Bridget, which he read publicly in the schools of Oxford and London, one book. He also began a distinguished work on the foundation of his order, which, prevented by death, he did not complete. He also composed some things in logic and physics, which have not come into our hands.

Richard Maidescon, English by nation, doctor of sacred Scripture of the Oxford school, excellent in talent and renowned for eloquence, an outstanding declaimer of sermons, is said to have forged certain excellent little works by which he made his name known to posterity. Of these there is extant: Against the Lollards, one book; sermons on the season, one book; likewise sermons on the saints, one book; and various questions. In addition he composed several other things, which have not come to my knowledge.

William Talisfordie, English by nation, doctor of holy Scriptures of the Cambridge school, an educated and studious man, subtle in talent, devout in life and conduct, an outstanding declaimer of sermons, wrote very notable sermons on the season, one book; likewise sermons on the saints, one book. He also composed various readings of the Scriptures, which he read in the aforesaid school.

Thomas Lombe, English by nation, a most celebrated doctor of sacred letters of the Oxford school, a man renowned for wisdom and learning, subtle in talent and an acute disputant of scholastic questions, wrote against the Lollards and Wycliffites, one book; On the Incarnation of the Word, one book. He is said also to have written other little works, which I have not yet seen.

Nicholas Ritzonis, of the convent of Catania, Sicilian by nation, and provincial prior of Sicily, doctor of theology of the Bologna school, of excellent talent in declaiming sermons to the people, wrote, while he was still devoting himself to letters at Bologna, elegant sermons on the season, one book; likewise sermons on the saints, one book. He is said in addition to have composed two Lenten works, the reading of which is judged useful for preachers. He also published several other things, which have not come to my knowledge.

John Campscon, English by nation, a man studious and learned in the divine Scriptures, and not ignorant of secular philosophy, excellent in talent and renowned for eloquence, a most excellent declaimer of popular sermons, wrote for the benefit of readers sermons on the season, one book; likewise sermons on the saints, one book. The rest that he composed have not come to my knowledge.

John Schonhoven, German by nation, prior of the convent of Mechelen, a man studious in the divine Scriptures and learned by long practice, subtle in talent and ready in eloquence, of excellent talent in declaiming sermons to the people, wrote a notable work in two volumes according to alphabetical order, which he entitled Polipodion, very suitable for preachers of the word of God, two books. He also published various sermons on the season and on the saints, and certain other things.

Blasius Andernarij, French by nation, a man studious and learned in the holy Scriptures and not ignorant of the secrets of letters, wrote several excellent volumes by which he made known to posterity also the sharpness of his talent. Of these there is extant a celebrated work on the Sentences, four books; likewise various questions disputed in the schools. But the rest that he composed have by no means come to our knowledge.

Henry of Andernach, German by nation, of the diocese of Cologne, a man both in the divine Scriptures

as in secular sciences, studious and learned. Ready in intellect and an acute disputant, he wrote a distinguished volume on the Sentences, eight books; Sermons for the season, one book; also Sermons on the saints, one book; Questions of philosophy. But he also composed certain other works, which have not come to me.

Stephen the Englishman, doctor of Oxford and provincial prior of England, a man learned in the divine Scriptures and not ignorant of secular philosophy, outstanding in intellect and distinguished in eloquence, adorned no less by life than by learning, wrote Against the Lollards, one book; notable Sermons, both for the season and on the saints, through the cycle of the year, two books; also various Questions, one book; a Repertory of his arguments, one book. He also published certain notable lectures on books of the Bible, along with many other things that are unknown to me.

Arnold of Austria, German by nation, of the convent of Vienna, and doctor of the university of the same city, very learned in the divine Scriptures and notably taught in secular philosophy; subtle in intellect and an outstanding disputant of scholastic questions. He is said to have written some excellent little works, by which he commended his memory to posterity. Of these there is extant a distinguished volume on the Sentences, four books; also sermons and various questions. He flourished in the aforesaid university of Vienna, where he also publicly read his said lecture on the book of the Sentences.

Johannes Brammart, German by nation, of the convent of Aachen, provincial prior of Lower Germany, doctor of Paris, studious and learned in the divine Scriptures; subtle in intellect and composed in eloquence, devout in life and conduct, wrote a distinguished work on the Sentences, containing four books, which he completed at Paris in the year of the Lord 1380, in the third indiction. It begins thus: “The word of the Lord upon John.” Also sermons and various questions. He died in the convent of Cologne and was buried there, in the year of the Lord 1407, in the fifteenth indiction.

Michael of Bologna, Italian by nation, prior general, a man studious and learned in the divine Scriptures and not ignorant of secular letters, distinguished in intellect and eloquent in speech, wrote many excellent little works, by which he commended his memory to posterity. Of these the following are reported: On the Sentences, three books; also Questions on the Sentences, one book; Table of the Sentences, one book; on the whole Psalter, a large work, one book; On the Gospel of Matthew, one book; On the Gospel of Luke, one book; Table of the Moralia of Pope Gregory on Job, one book; Table on the Decretum, one book; On the Most Pure Conception of Blessed Mary Ever-Virgin, one book; Various Sermons, one book; a notable Lenten collection, one book. He also wrote commentaries on many books of Aristotle; also on Valerius Maximus. In philosophy, in canon law, and in oratory likewise he wrote various works. And many other things that have not come to me. He died at Bologna, buried before the high altar of his convent, in the year of the Lord 1416, on the Kalends of December.

Johannes Grossi, by homeland a Toulousain, prior general of the order, a distinguished doctor of the divine Scriptures and fully trained in secular [letters?], wrote some little works, of which the following are reported: a little work on the institution and progress of his order, which he entitled Viridarium, three books; also sermons and various questions on the Scriptures. He died under Pope Martin V, in the year of the Lord 1424, in the second indiction.

Thomas Walden, English by nation, provincial prior of England, a man studious and very learned in the divine Scriptures, and excellently taught in secular philosophy, an assailant, wrote a distinguished work against the Wycliffites, which he entitled the Doctrinale of the Church, one book. He also made commentaries on many books of Aristotle, which are held in esteem by many. Other works besides have not come to me. He died, not without a reputation for holiness, buried at Rouen, in the year of the Lord 1430.

In the eighth indiction, on the third day before the Nones of November.

John Bernega, English by nation, a doctor most learned in the divine Scriptures and exceptionally well taught in secular letters, of excellent talent in delivering sermons to the people and in disputing questions of the Scriptures, wrote a distinguished work on the Sentences, in three books, and certain other things. He flourished under Pope Eugenius IV, in the year of the Lord 1430.

Michael Herbrant of Düren, German by nation, prior of the convent of Kreuznach, a man zealous and learned in the holy Scriptures and renowned for experience in many matters, outstanding in talent and an excellent preacher of the word of God, wrote certain little works not to be despised in reading, by which he made his name known to posterity. Of these there survive many notable sermons, one book; also many and varied conferences delivered in chapters and synods, one book. The rest that he composed have not come to my knowledge. He flourished under Rupert the Bavarian, king of the Romans, in the year of the Lord 1410.

John Gauwer, German by nation, lector of the convent of Mainz, zealous and learned in the divine Scriptures, wrote certain distinguished little works, of which I have found the following: On the Sentences, four books; On Exodus, one book; One Gospel from the Four, one book; Sermons on the season, one book; also Sermons on the saints, one book; a Lenten book, one book. The other things he composed have not come to my knowledge. He flourished under Emperor Sigismund in the year of the Lord 1430, and was buried in his convent at Mainz.

Jacob of Reggio, Italian by nation, a man most learned in the divine Scriptures and magnificently imbued with secular letters, skilled in the three principal languages, Hebrew, Greek, and Latin, renowned in talent and eloquent in speech, excelling in verse and prose, wrote notable sermons for Lent, one book. He is also said to have written many things in verse, but they have not come to my knowledge. He flourished under Emperor Frederick III, in the year of the Lord 1460.

John Soreth, Norman by nation, prior general of the whole order, a man learned and trained in the divine Scriptures, subtle in talent, composed in speech, devout and most holy in life and conduct, the greatest and most fervent reformer of his order, for whose establishment he very patiently endured many hard labors, wrote certain distinguished volumes by which he made the vein of his talent known also to his posterity. Of these the following are preserved: On the Sentences, seven books; Various Sermons, one book. On the rule of his order he published a twofold commentary, two books. He also compiled the constitutions of the same order. He died at Angers under Emperor Frederick III and Pope Sixtus IV, in the year of the Lord 1471, in the fourth indiction, on the eighth day before the Kalends of August, shining daily with many miracles.

Oswin Hex, from Brabant by homeland, of the convent of Vlissingen, bishop of Hierapolis, vicar in pontificals of the bishop of Utrecht, a man exceptionally learned in the divine Scriptures, subtle in talent and renowned in eloquence, very learned in delivering sermons to the people, wrote On the Ten Commandments, one book; Directory of a Troubled Conscience, one book; Sermons on the season, one book; Sermons on the saints, one book; and certain other things. He died under Emperor Frederick III, in the year of the Lord 1475, in the seventh indiction, on the Kalends of April.

John Beets, German by nation, of the convent of Tienen, a very celebrated doctor of sacred letters and much learned in secular philosophy, subtle in talent and renowned in eloquence, an acute disputant, and an excellent preacher of the word, venerable no less for his conduct than for his learning, wrote for the edification of the brethren certain distinguished volumes, among which the following are preserved: On Paul’s Epistle to the Romans, one book; Preceptorium of the Divine Law, ten books; On the Sacrament of the Altar, one book; Sermons on the season, one book; also Sermons on the saints, one book; Various Disputed Questions, one book; and certain other things. He died in the year of the Lord 1486.

on the sixteenth day before the Kalends of August.

[Walterus Hont?], English by nation, a man very learned in the divine Scriptures and not ignorant of secular letters, subtle in intellect, profound in knowledge, continuous in his study and practice of reading, is said to have written some excellent little works, by which he commended the memory of himself to posterity. Of these there survives a distinguished work on the Sentences, three books; On the Poverty of Christ, one book. He is said to have composed many other things besides, which have not come to my knowledge. He flourished under Pope Sixtus IV, in the year of the Lord 1480. And I do not know whether he is still alive.

Aulus Biscontus, once confessor of Pope Nicholas V, a man exercised and learned in the divine Scriptures by constant study, subtle in intellect and clear in speech, is said to have written many little works on various subjects, by which he made his name known to posterity. I, however, up to this day have been able to find none of them. He flourished in the year of the Lord 1440.

Johannes de Dufeldorp, German by nation, of the convent of Mainz and prior of Strasbourg, a man devoted to the divine Scriptures and a very learned doctor, ready in intellect and clear in speech, eloquent and very capable in delivering sermons to the people, devout in life and conduct, and an outstanding guardian and lover of regular discipline, wrote On the Observance of Feast Days, one book; An Itinerary of the Holy Land, which he visited in person, one book; various sermons on the season and on the saints, two books; and many other things. He died in his own convent of Strasbourg and was buried there, in the year of the Lord 1114, in the twelfth indiction.

Johannes Consobrinus, by homeland Portuguese, a man most learned in the divine Scriptures and not ignorant of secular letters, a very celebrated theologian, philosopher, and jurist, subtle in intellect and clear in speech, an outstanding declaimer of sermons, who did many things bravely against heretics for love of Christ, wrote, at the request of the provost of the royal college of St Mary of [Amhten?] in England, a distinguished tripartite work on contracts and exchanges, which he entitled On Commutative Justice, seven books; various sermons also; and certain other things. He abridged the Conflatus of Franciscus Maronis in a pleasing compendium. He flourished in the year of the Lord 1475, and under Pope Sixtus IV; at Lisbon he underwent death, not without suspicion that poison had been drunk.

Johannes de Arundine, German by nation, of the convent of Bruges, bishop of Us [unclear], a man learned in the divine Scriptures and excellently taught in secular philosophy, a very celebrated declaimer of sermons, subtle in intellect, clear in speech and conduct, wrote many excellent little works, by which he made his name widely known. Of these the following are reported: a notable lecture on the Book of Wisdom, one book; on Paul’s Epistle to the Romans, one book; sermons on the season, one book; sermons on the saints, one book. He is said to have written many other things also, which have not come to my knowledge. He is still living in the city of Utrecht, being the bishop’s vicar there in pontifical matters.

Baptista of Ferrara, a man learned in the divine Scriptures and excellently taught in secular letters, outstanding in verse and prose, skilled in both languages, of excellent talent in delivering sermons to the people, wrote many well-instructed volumes, by which he made his name known far and wide: a most lucid work of histories from the nativity of Christ down to our own times, which he entitled Florida; a chronicle also of his order, one book; On the Fall of the Roman Empire, one book; The Life of Mechtilde, two books; a chronicle of the Ferrarese, one book; various sermons, three books. He composed many epigrams in different kinds of meter. He translated from Greek into Latin several sermons of blessed John Chrysostom, and many other things unknown to us. He is living to this day at Ferrara, and is writing various works.

Johannes Wiric of Nussia, a German by nation, of the convent of Cologne, provincial prior of Lower Germany, a man zealous and learned in the divine Scriptures and excellently instructed in secular philosophy, ready in intellect and clear in speech, a famous preacher of the divine word, is reported by those who knew him to have written on the Sentences, eight books; various sermons and conferences, which in their time will come forth into the light. He is still living in his convent at Cologne, composing various works.

Johannes Placentinus, a man most learned in every respect, a theologian and very celebrated rhetorician, ready in intellect and eloquent in speech, most skilled in the Greek and Latin languages, since he translated many things elegantly, is reported to have written several little works by which he consecrated his name to immortality. Of these I have seen only: a Greek Vocabulary, a work truly useful and necessary, one book. There is also another smaller volume of his, where Latin is set before Greek, one book. To Ludovicus Donatus, bishop of Bergamo, he translated the Psalter from Greek word for word with the greatest exactness; no one can praise this work worthily enough. In it he first set down the Greek translation in Greek letters, and appended his own in Latin letters. He composed many elegant letters to various persons. He is also said to have written many other things, which have not come to my knowledge. He flourished under Pope Innocent VIII, and I believe that he is still living.

Johannes Scandeberius, bishop of Erford in England, a man very learned in the divine Scriptures and not ignorant of secular letters, subtle in intellect and clear in speech, devout also in life and conduct, is reported to have written many distinguished little works by which he made his name known far and wide. But I do not remember that any of them has come to my knowledge. He flourished in England under Pope Sixtus IV, in the year of the Lord 1480. I do not know whether he is still living.

Baptista Mantuanus, a man very learned in the divine Scriptures and, in the knowledge of secular letters, second to none in this age; an eminent doctor of sacred theology, priest, orator, and very celebrated poet; subtle in intellect, eloquent in speech, distinguished in life and conduct, skilled in both languages, namely Greek and Latin; one who equals Virgil in verse and Cicero in prose, not to say surpasses them. He wrote many excellent volumes in both kinds of style, by which he acquired for his name celebrated fame throughout the whole Christian world. Among these the following are reported: Dialogue on the Blessed Life, to his father, one book; Suburbanus, in verse, on bucolic matters, one book; On the Praises of Saint Mary, Parthenices, three books; On Saint Katherine the Martyr, one book; On the Life of Saint Albert of his order, in Sapphic verse, one book; On the Calamity of These Times, or On the Capital Sins, in heroic verse, a most elegant work, one book; Panegyric of Robert, one book; Dream concerning the same, one book; To Falcon, a varied work of epigrams, which he entitled Falcon, one book; Consolation on Death, one book; On Contempt of Death, one book; Against Poets Writing Shameful Things, one book; To Pope Innocent VIII, On the Capture of Granada, four books; On Patience, one book; On the Origin and Diversity of Religious Orders, one book; Apology for Brother Peter, two books; Introduction to the Subtle Scotus, one book; elegant and various Orations, one book. He wrote almost innumerable letters to various persons. He also published countless and most elegant poems of various kinds, which in their time will come forth into the light. Indeed he is so ready and elegant a versifier that he has never had his equal, if you direct your mind to the majesty of his poetry and to his knowledge of all philosophy and learning. He lives to this day in Italy, the unique glory of the Carmelite order, the prince of learned men, and he is composing many works to be published day by day.

Arnoldus Bostius, a German by nation, of the convent of Ghent in Flanders, a man most zealous in the divine Scriptures and very learned, and excellently instructed in secular letters; ready in intellect and clear in speech; an eminent theologian, philosopher, and poet; practiced in verse and prose; devout in life and conduct, and a chief lover and guardian of regular discipline, wrote certain distinguished little works in verse and prose, by which his name

he became known. Of these the following are reported: a prose volume, mixed with verses inserted, which he entitled On the Patronage of the Mother of God, of the Carmelite Order, one book; On the Illustrious Men of His Order, one book; On the Illustrious Men of the Carthusians, one book; On the Most Pure Conception of the Mother of God and Virgin Mary, against Vincentius of Novo Castro, one book; On the Four Last Things, one book. He also published various sermons, and many letters both to me and to others, the number of which is uncertain. He also published several poems on various subjects. He composed some other works as well, which have not come to our knowledge. He is still living at Ghent, composing various works and stirring many to the study of letters.

Johannes de Aqua Veteri, German by nation, Brabantine by homeland, of the convent of Mechelen, a man zealous in the divine Scriptures and skilled by long practice, of excellent talent in delivering sermons to the people, and a zealous and devout lover of his order, wrote, at the urgent request and for the edification of many brothers, a commendable work on the beginning, progress, and state of his order, which he entitled A Three-Part Bundle of the Times of the Order of the Brothers of Blessed Mary Ever Virgin of Mount Carmel, three books. In the first of these he proves that Elijah and the prophets were the founders of his order; in the second he enumerates the saints and canonized persons from the same order; in the third he sets out, according to the times, the successions of the priors general of his whole order. But the other works which he is said to have composed have not come to my knowledge. He is still living in the convent of Aachen, and strongly perseveres in the study he has begun, in the year of the Lord in which we wrote these things, 1492, indiction 10.

Apology of the author for the fact that not all the doctors and writers of this order who wrote have been inserted here.

From these most learned men, therefore, of whom we have made mention, reader, you can recognize how great you ought to judge the fruits of Carmel to be. But we have extracted a few from many, whose talents and writings we have known. Nor do we doubt that there remain several most learned men of this order, who, flourishing at various times, magnificently adorned it by their talents and writings, but whose memory has not reached us. For the Carmelite religion is older than all orders, and that very great antiquity has easily brought the bright lights of its own into oblivion. Therefore, whoever desires to know more fruitful shoots of Mount Carmel should read the deeds and histories of the same order, and he will be able to find most learned men of whom there has been no mention in this catalogue. For, having obtained neither the time nor the leisure to search out the others who are lacking, we have therefore arranged these in order, so that we might provide the reader with an occasion for investigating the rest. Finally, to you, brothers, cultivators of the Carmelite order, we turn our mind; to your charities we offer the present gift, and, in return for our devoted love, we earnestly beseech you to pray to God for us.

Elegiac Poem of Lord Johannes Tritemius, Abbot, Addressing His Carmelite Book.

Go now, dear book; present yourself to the venerable fathers, in whose praise you have been created and are present. Do not fear to see men learned and honorable in morals, and renowned with a devout mind. There is no reason for you to be afraid: the men are friendly and sweet and gentle; you may approach them boldly. Among such men above all, remember to carry my greeting, and do not hesitate; I promise you will be welcome. If anyone is pricked by the goads of envy, pay no heed. If anyone seeks to gnaw you with his tooth, flee. Always in adversities the patient man wins glorious trophies; the impatient man carries off shameful reproaches. The impious and depraved man speaks evils shut up in his heart; such things, my book, I beg you not to fear.

For the fathers of the gracious order will indeed defend you, whom Mary, the Virgin, mother of the Lord, cherishes. Carmel, the famous mountain, gave to these fathers an apt name by its religion. O holy mountain, now you duly behold your followers, and the sacred order endures steadfast continually. Whoever there shall be [unclear] who venerates you with honor, cherish him, grateful, with special love. If anyone looks upon you with a bitter, harsh face, indignant, flee of your own accord from his hands. The press calls you, easily to be printed, so that, sweet one, you may be able to be useful to men. Yet observe that you are not changed, nor ever fall out of agreement with my pen and my meanings. As my reward I ask your fathers for prayers poured out to the Lord, that he may purge every sin.

Of Johannes Empolidis, canon of Saint Peter of Dumentum, on the book of lord Johannes Trithemius, abbot of Sponheim, On the Praise of the Order of Carmelites.

In the present volume are praised the lights of the sacred order, which the gracious mother holds and cherishes. Carmel the mountain gave these fathers their name; thence flows all the glory of the Carmelites. Famous antiquity of this order, and holy life, brought distinguished titles to the brothers. The Trithemian pen adorns them, brothers, with worthy praises, and does not allow them to be in gloomy places. For the increase of the praise of so bright a religion, with wondrous talent he gathers all things ancient, and urges the new to advance along the path of the old. Nor does he spare the venerable ancient customs of the fathers, but strikes such men sharply with the sword of the word. Thus he approves the noble by their merits or gracious deeds, so that by his writings he may call the frail to better things.

Thus is the custom of experienced teachers of the young: that the rest of the company may learn by the praise of one. With this ready spirit, reader, receive my poem, and read the approved beginnings of the famous volume.

Poem of Rutgerus Venrai, a Sicambrian regular in Heyna, on the book of lord Johannes Trithemius, abbot, On the Praise of the Order of Carmelites.

The poets of old were accustomed to praise the gods in verses, and with the lyre resounding and sounding again. But what thing not blameworthy, not vain, not wicked, did they, anxious in their talents, not compose? Turn over the books, reader, and the great volumes of the ancient bards: you will find many frivolous things sung. Look at Virgil: you will often see there warlike, spirited goddesses, Juno and Venus. The famous book of Homer relates many invented things; nothing is sincere, nothing weighty, and nothing pious. The excellent Plautus, and also sharp Terence, approve decorous things with unchaste games. Let Pamphilus fall silent; let Maximianus yield; and let Naso cease to play with unequal meters. These [unclear] the fire [unclear] halls with modulated songs, and do not allow young men to be of chaste morals. Our Trithemius, not following vain trifles, strives to raise men with excellent praise: not just any men, but men distinguished by gracious morals, by various arts, and by weighty uprightness, and deservedly called fellow-brothers of the gracious Virgin, who stood out in their life and merits. For their ancient religion the fathers deserved surpassing praise before all [unclear]. Now bright knowledge has joined itself with ancient morals, and wages war with uprightness. Not that it overcomes it; rather it is overcome by it: what was ancient remains unviolated.

For one may see not a few of this order no less skilled in art than upright in goodness. Seeing these things, lord Trithemius, the renowned abbot, has, behold, published two distinguished books. He touched upon the excellent fathers, the praises of the gracious order, and the old and new customs. Carmelite, now give thanks to your poet; for he has made you shine forth from the shadows.

A Sapphic Poem by the Same on the Same Subject.

Behold, those to whom Carmel is shown to have given the name, and the mother of the Lord, in this book receive the praises of an ancient religious order.

A distinguished man, the abbot of Sponheim, Johannes, published it with a fair pen, skilled in Latin, Hebrew, and Greek letters.

The brothers and masters of the duly consecrated order, bright in morals, fair in uprightness, shining with the light of doctrine, he approves as a glittering choir.

Therefore the venerable abbot commends the brothers of Mary with great praises, so that, mindful of their ancient honor, they may avoid shameful things.

He has resolved that the frail should always be rebuked more sparingly, the modest more strongly and justly approved, as this little book bears witness.

I judge that the fathers of this sacred order will readily be grateful to him, now shining out from black decay and blind shadows.

Printed at Mainz.

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