Page:Catholic Encyclopedia, volume 15.djvu/490

 VILLEFRANCHE

430

VILLEHARDOXTIN

there were not a few towns of this name at that period in Spain, France, and Italy. Some identify it with Villanueva in Catalonia, Diocese of Valencia, others with Villeneuve-Loubet in the arrondissement of Grasse, France. He died while on his way to visit the sick pontiff, Clement V. Well versed in the classical languages, Hebrew, and Arabic, he also understood all that was then known of the natural sciences, espe- cially medicine and pharmacology. At Barcelona he had John Casamila as teacher, thought highly of Galen, and among the Arabs cared only for Rhazes. He taught medicine, botany, and alchemy at Bar- celona, Montpellier, and Paris. His life was a wan- dering one; besides the cities just mentioned, he lived for considerable periods of time at Lyons, Avignon, Rome, Florence, Bologna, Naples, and Palermo. He was considered superior to all other phj-sicians and alchemists, so that he was frequently summoned by popes and princes. Thus he was at times at the papal Court during the reigns of Innocent V, Boniface VIII, Benedict XI, and Clement V. He was also the per- sonal physician of Pedro III and James II of Aragon, Robert of Naples, and Frederick II of Sicily. He was repeatedly obliged to go from place to place because the Inquisition in Spain and Paris sentenced him to banishment on account of his fantastic writings, which were at times heretical. Owing to the large number of writings still extant bearing his name, some evidently .spurious, others doubtful, it is not easy to judge Villanovanus. His reputation in alchemy was excelled only by that of Raymond Lully, who was re- garded as his pupil. Modern criticism has assigned to an earlier age many chemical discoveries that were formerly ascribed to Villanovanus, as acids, alcohol, distillation etc. Yet a number of his works were very important in placing medicine and pharmacology on a scientific basis; besides an independent judgment they show ripe experience and great humanity. Although a layman he -nTote much on theology. His alche- mistic and astrological bent led him into erroneous opinions regarding the Church, the Mass, Antichrist, the end of the world, and the person of Christ. The first complete edition of his works was issued at Lyons in 1.504, reissued at the same place in 1.520 and 1.532 (folio). The most complete edition is that of Taurellus (Basle, 1585), with a biography of Arnaldus. For the individual works see, in particular, Hiiser, op. cit. in bibUography below. Several of them were repeatedly reprinted before 1500.

HoEFER, Histoire de la chimie (Paris, 1842); Haser, Geschichte der Medicin (Jena. 1875); von Meyer. Geschichte der Chemie (Leipzig, 1905): Hergenrother-Kirsch, Handbuch der allge- meinen Kirchengeschichte (2 vols., Freibxjrg, 1904).

Joseph Rompbi,.

Villefranche, Jacques-Melchior, publicist, b. at Couzon-sur-SAone, 17 Dec, 1829; d. at Bourg, 10 May, 1904. After excellent classical studies at the lesser seminary of Largentiere, he entered the telegraphic service, in which capacity in 1855, during the Crimean War, he directed the telegraphic bureau of Varna, the first landing-place of the Franco-Russian troops. In 1870 as telegraphic director at Versailles he was attached to the service of telegraphic communi- cations of the army of Le Mans. In 1875 he left the telegraphic service, and assumed the editorship of the "Journal de I'Ain", in which he defended the cause of religious liberty. His campaigns against the laws of scholastic secularization were widely noted. His activity as a writer was verv gre.at. His "Fables" (1851) and his "Fabuliste Chri'ti(>n" (1875) were welcomed in many houses of education. A number of historical and judicial romances from his pen have long been read, especially "Cineas, ou Rome sous Neron" (18t)9), which wa.s translated into .several foreign languages. But his most lasting works are historical: "Pius IX, son histoire, .sa vie, son siecle" (1874), reprinted nineteen times; "Vie de Dom Marie-

Augustin, Marquis de Ladouze, fondateur de la Trappe de Notre Dame des Dombes" (1876); "Vie de I'abbe Olivieri, fondateur de I'oeuvre du rachat des jeunes ncgresses" (1877); "Histoire des Martyrs de Gorcum, du Japon et autres canonises par Pie IX" (1882); "Vie de Dom Bosco" (1887); "Vie du Pere Che\Tier, fondateur du Prado a Lyon" (1894); and "Histou-e de Napoleon III" (2 vols., 1896). Men- tion should also be made of the controversial pamphlet published in 1891 and entitled "Le Concordat, qu'on i'observe loyalement ou qu'on le denonce"; it should always be consulted for the rehgious history of the republic. In this pamphlet Villefranche struck at the policy which, according to a captious formula, was in favour of the strict application of the Concordat, and which, in fact, resulted in despoihng the Church of certain of its rights on the pretext that they were not expUcitly contained in the concordatory text. Georges Got.'^u.

Villehardouin, Geoffroi de, Marechal de Cham- pagne, warrior, and first historian in the French language, b. about 1150; d. at Messinople, 1213. As early as 1191 he was Marechal of Champagne. His hfe is known only by the occurrence of his name in some charters and by very meagre details in his history. In 1199, with other knights of Champagne, he took the cross at the tourney of Ecry-sur-Aisne. Thibaud III, Count of Champagne, named him as one of the embassy sent by the crusading barons to Venice. After the death of Thibaud III he assisted in electing Boniface de Montferrat as leader of the Crusade (1201). He returned to Venice in 1202 and was engaged in preventing the Crusaders from embarking from other ports. He is silent concerning his share in the intrigues which resulted in changing the direction of the Crusade, but this share must have been very important, for he always participated in the deliberations of the principal leaders and was asso- ciated in all their undertakings. At Zara he laboured to restrain the dissidents who wanted to fulfil their vow and set sail for Palestine. At the first siege of Constantinople he was in the fifth battle with Mat- thieu de Montmorency. He was one of the agents sent to replace Isaac Angelus on the throne. He was also in the embassy commissioned to request Alexis IV to observe the treaty concluded by him. In 1204, after the foundation of the Latin Empire, he became Marechal of "Romanic", and undertook to .settle the quarrel between the Emperor Baldwin and Boni- face de Montferrat. He took part in the expedition against the Bulgars (1205) and, after the defeat of the Crusaders at Adrianople (April, 1205) and the disappearance of the emperor, he rallied the army and valiantly directed its retreat. Under Henry II he took part in a naval battle against Theodore Lascaris and received from the emperor the fief of Messinople (Mosynopolis, near the ancient Abdera). After the death of Boniface de Montferrat (1207) Villehardouin seems to have played no further part.

His account of the Conquest of Constantinople, "dictated" by him after 1207, is a narration of all the events in which the author took part and of which he was a witness. He begins with the preaching of the Crusade by Foulque de Neuilly, and ends suddenly with the death of Boniface de ^lontferrat. A con- tinuation, imder the name of Henri de Valenciennes, which relates portions of the reign of Emperor Henry, was added by copyists. Villehardouin's book is of inestimable value because it is one of the oldest books compo.sed in French prose. Besides, the author is one of the earliest representatives of the cla.ss of his- torical memoirs which characterize ail the literatures of Europe. Owing to its literary qualit ies of sobriety, exactness, and clearness, it furthermore gives most reliable information regarding the sentiments of the Western knights who were drawn to the Orient and