Page:Catholic Encyclopedia, volume 16.djvu/18

 ALBORNOZ

ANASTASIUS

later, in 1855, he published "El final de Norma", a work written when he was only seventeen years old. As a volunteer he went in 1859 to the African war, where he wrote the most interesting and probably the most lasting of all his writings, "Diario de un testigo de la guerra de Africa" (1860). Some parts of this work, as "La bataUa de Castillejos" and ''La toma de Tetudn", have not been surpassed for vivid- ness of description and grace of narrative by any Spanish writer. Similar to this work are Alarc6n's historical sketches "Historietas nacionales", which perhaps will have a more lasting fame than his novels. "El sombrero de tres picos" (Madrid, 1874; tr. M. Springer, New York, 1899) is the novel that car- ried its author's name througliout Europe. The following year he pubUshed "El Escdndalo", the pubUcation of which created as much of a sensation as Coloma's "Pequeneces". Better and more worthy of being known is the fantastic novel he wTote in the latter part of his life "El niiio de la Bola" (Madrid, 1880; tr. M. J. Serrano, New York, 1892). _ His poetical quaUties are revealed in "Poeslas serias y humoristicas" and "Comedias escogidas" (1886), and particularly in the play "El hijo prodigo". He was all his hfe a practical Catholic.

Plummer, ContempoTary Spain as shown in her Novelists (New York. 1899); Springer, The Three Crowned Hat (New York, 1899), 3-15; Blanco GARcfi, Hiatoria dela literatura espatlola en el Siglo XIX. II (Madrid, 1891), 454; Valbdena. La ciencia cristiana, XIII (Madrid, 1880), 551; Nocedal, Discursos de recepcidn en la Real Academia (Madrid, 1877); Fitzmaubice- Kelly, History of Spanish lAterature (New York, 1910).

W. Furlong.

Albomoz, Gil Alv.4rez Carillo de. See Gil de Albornoz, Alvarez Cabillo, Vol. vi, p. 558.

Alvarus Pelagius (Alvaro Pelato), celebrated writer, b. in Spain about 1280; d. at Seville, 25 Jan., 1352. Alvarus studied canon law at Bologna, but in 1304 resigned his benefices, and entered the Francis- can Order. He is said to have been a pupil of Duns Scotus and to have been tutor to the cliildren of Don Pedro, Regent of Portugal. Certain it is that he be- came penitentiary to Pope John XXII at Avignon, that he enjoyed much favour with this pontiff, and was employed by him to refute the claims of the anti- pope Pietro Rainalducci of Corbario. In 1233 Alva- rus became titular Bishop of Coron in Achaia, and two years later was appointed to the See of Sylves in Portugal. He also served as Apostohc nuncio in Portugal, but was not created cardinal, as some writers have asserted. He was buried in the Monastery of St. Clare at Seville.

Alvarus is chiefly remarkable for his work "De planctu ecclesia? hbri duo". This work, begun at Avignon in 1330, completed in 1332, corrected in 1335 and again in 1340 at Compostella, is notable not only for its extreme defence of ecclesiastical rights but still more, perhaps, for the freedom and force with which the autlior assails and rebukes the eccle- siastical abuses of liis time. Alvarus has been re- proached by St. Antoninus and others with having too far favoured the error of the Fraticelli about poverty, but, as Sbaralea shows, it is not difficult to justify him against this charge. On the then agitated question of poverty in the Franciscan Order lie wrote with less passion and with more weiglit tlian Ubertino da Ca,sale, although lie addressed al- most th(! same reproaches as the latter to the relaxed friars within the order. The "De planctu" was first publi.slied at Ulm in 1474. This edition is very rare, and is not free from error. Later editions ap- peared at Venice (1.500) and at Lyons (1517). Be- sides the "De planctu", Wadding attriljuted to Al- varus the following: "Collyrium adver.sus hsrescs"; "Speculum regum" (one hook); "Super sentcnt. libros 4"; "Apologia contra Marsilium Patav. et Gulicl. Ocham"; and other unedited works.

Arthtjr, Martyrologium franciscanum,2S9; Wadding, Annales minorum ad ann. IMS. LiS'J. atui IS^fl; Idem, Script, ord. min. (19(IS). It; SuvKvin, ,s ,,.,,/,„,. ../,,m (edit., 1908), Pt. I, .■fl-:J2; .■<,:■■ ul„,n ,„,.,,',, , , i - .:xT[ER (189S), p. clxi; Ren*, //in/. ■/'..'/'" )'^. N. Francois (1909), 94;

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Paschal Robinson.

Anastasius Bibliothecarius, librarian of the Roman Church, b. about 810; d. 879. He was a nephew of Bishop Arsenius of Orta, who executed important commissions as papal legate. Anastasius learned Greek from Greek monks, and obtained an unusual education for his era, so that he appears to be the most learned ecclesiastic of Rome in the barbaric period of the ninth century. During the reign of Nicholas I (855-67) Anastasius was abbot of the monastery of the Virgin Mary on the farther side of the Tiber (in Trastevere), and he was employed by the pope in various matters. He was also active as an author, and translated Greek works into Latin, one of these being the biography of St. John the Almsgiver, which he dedicated to Nicholas I. The successor of Nicholas, Adrian II (867-72), ap- pointed Anastasius Ubrarian of the Roman Church, an important office which gave him much influence at the papal Court. In 869 he was sent by Emperor Louis II as envoy to Constantinople, with two men of higli rank in the Frankish Empire, to negotiate a marriage between the oldest son of the Byzantine emperor and the daugliter of the emperor in the West. When the envoys arrived at Constantinople the Eighth (Ecumenical Council was still in session, and Anastasius, who attended the last session (F'ebruary, 870), zealously defended the papal cause and was of much service to the papal legates. On their way home the papal legates were robbed, and the "Acts" of the coimcil were carried off. However, they had given most of the declarations of obedience of the Greek bishops to Anastasius, who also had a copy of the "Acts", and was thus able to bring these documents to the pope. At the pope's order he translated the "Acts" into Latin. The succeeding pope, John VIII (872-82), also esteemed Anastasius, confirmed him in the office of librarian, entrusted im- portant affairs to him, and encouraged him to further literary work. Anastasius was in correspondence with the deposed Byzantine patriarch, Photius, and sought to mediate between the patriarch and the pope and also to assuage the controversy over the Holy Ghost by assuming that the Latins understood the procession (processio) of the Holy Ghost from the Son in the sense of transmission (missio).

If a passage in the annals of Hincmar of Reims is genuine (Mon. Germ. Hist.: Script ores, I, 447) and Hincmar has not confused two men, then the librarian Anastasius is identical with the Roman presbyter Anastasius who in 874 became titidar priest of St. Marcellus, and in 848 fled from Rome, and resided in various cities. On account of his flight he was excommunicated by a Roman synod in 850, and, as he did not return, was anathematized and deposed by another synod in 853. After the death of Leo IV in 855 this Anastasius was elected as antipope by the imperial party, but the rightfully elected pope, Benedict III, gained the supremacy, .ind acted kindly towards the usurjier. During the pontifi- cate of Adrian II Anastasius became invohed in serious difficulties, in 868 a near relative of his named Eleutherius forcibly carried off the daughter of the pope, and soon after killed both her and her mother. The murderer was executed and .'\n.astasius, who was regarded as the instigator of the mvinler, was punished by excommunication and dcpo.sition. He lived at the imperial Court, and sought by th(- inter- vention of the em])eror to exculiiato liiiiisclf before the pope. Hergennither (Photius, II, 230-;-240) main- tains, with good reason, that the hbrarian and the presbyter Anastasius (the antipope) were one and