Blanquerna

Right grieved was the Bishop Blanquerna at the death of the Pope, for many reasons, and especially by reason of the questions which he had propounded. Now while the Cardinals treated concerning the eleftion of the next Pope, the Bishop went to a Cardinal and enquired of him if the eleftion would be long delayed, begging him to bring it to pass that an answer might be given to the ten questions which he had propounded; for great was his desire to know the opinions of the Cardinals concerning the determination of the questions. The Cardinal answered the Bishop, and said that he believed that in a short time they would eleff a Pope, since it was a thing ill-beseeming that the Papacy should go for long unfilled, and that he for his part would answer one of the ten questions, in a sense not determinate, but according to his own opinion ; and he said that if the articles could be understood by necessary reasons, the faith would have less worth, because men would have less merit in believing it.

2. The Bishop answered and said that there are two manners of demonstration: the one is when a thing is demonstrated in such a way that no contradiction can be given thereto, as when it is said that a quadrangle has more angles than a triangle; in the other manner contradiction can be made, as when a cause is proved by the cffedt; and the sphere of faith is that wherein a demonstration can be contradiaed. Wherefore he understood it not to be true that the articles could thus be demonstrated without

reasons, and by its contrary that which could be destroyed by necessary reasons. And he said that if the articles could be disproved by necessary reasons, he understood it to be proved by necessary reasons that faith will be the nobler and the greater and the more meritorious thereby, and understanding and charity will have the nobler disposition, according as it is signified in the firSt book of the Demonstra¬ tions Concerning the Articles .* And if it were not so, it would follow that faith and understanding worked mutual de¬ struction the one to the other; and this is impossible, according to the conditions of the trees which are mentioned in the book which is called Of the Gentile and of the Three Wise Men .*

3. Greatly was the Cardinal pleased by the answer of the Bishop, and when he was in the ConsiStory with the Car¬ dinals his companions, he extolled very highly the learning of the Bishop by reason of the reply which he had made to him. While the Cardinal thus praised the Bishop Blanquerna, it came to pass that the cleric who had afore¬ time ruled the diocese whereof Blanquerna was Bishop came to the Court with two brothers in religion and with a lay man ; all four had learned Arabic right well, and they came to the Court to beg for a blessing, and for letters wherewith they might be sent to some other land to preach therein, and to convert the inhabitants thereof, and to suffer martyrdom, that God thereby might be praised. While they were in the Consistory with the Cardinals, and were

■ Another of Lull’s works.

* Sec p. 1 14. This book has not been translated into English as a whole, but some extracts, together with a summary of the book which explains fully the reference to the “ trees,” will be found in Bulletin of Spanish Studies, Vol. II, No. 7, Jane, .925.

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making their petition, the Bishop Blanquerna came among them. Right hearty was the welcome which he had of them ; and the Cardinals made enquiry concerning Blan¬ querna, and they spake much good of him, and recounted the great good which he had done in the abbey and in his diocese, according to the manner which we have already

4. It came to pass one day that, while a certain Cardinal was dining, there came to his Court a jefter1 right fairly clothed and adorned : he was a man of pleasing speech and fair to look upon, and he sang and played instruments of music very cunningly. That jefter was called the Jefter of Valour, and was the same whom Blanquerna had met in the foreft, when he likewise met Valour and the Emperor, according as is related in the chapter concerning Valour.* When the Cardinal had dined, the Jefter sang songs and couplets which the Emperor had made concerning Our Lady Saint Mary and concerning Valour, and he brought forth his inftruments of music, playing thereon the dances and the songs which the Emperor had composed in honour of Our Lady. Right pleasing was it to hear and to liften to the Jefter and his inftruments; and the Cardinal en¬ quired of him concerning his welfare and his hiftory.

5. “ Lord 1 ” said the Jefter, “ By the working of God it came to pass that my lord the Emperor and I encoun¬ tered a holy man, Blanquerna by name, the which man was journeying through a great foreft in search of a place wherein to make his hermitage and to adore and contem¬ plate God all the days of his life. In that foreft lived Valour, who made complaint concerning those that have changed her name, and persecute her in the world ; where¬ fore the Emperor has appointed divers jefters who shall go through the world and be advocates of Valour, and among others he has sent me to this Court that I may sing the praise of Valour and reproach all such as are opposed

HOW BISHOP BLANQUERNA BECAME POPE to her, and praise Disvalour in her ftead.” Very pleasing to the Cardinal and to all that were of his Court were the words and the arguments of the Jefter; and the Cardinal ordered that he should be given a fair cup of silver where¬ from he himself was wont to drink; but the Jefter would not take it, and spake these words:

6. “ Commandment has been made to me by the Emperor, my lord, and in my person upon the Holy Gospels have I sworn, that I will take naught of any man save only of the Emperor, my lord, who gives me wages every year which suffice abundantly for my wants; wherefore I hold myself excused from taking thy gift. And since through taking gifts a jefter is corrupted and bound to praise those that should be blamed, and to blame those that should be praised, and since by such false praise and blame Valour is dishonoured, therefore the Lord Emperor would desire that I should take no gift of thee, nor that any other jester soever of his Court should dare to take any gift.”

7. “ Fair friend I ” said the Cardinal. " Wouldft thou

know the man whom thou cal left Blanquerna if thou shouldft see him ? ” “ Lord I ” said the Jefter, “ Well

indeed should I know him if I were to see him; but I think not that I could see him in this place, for I think that in places uninhabited and in deserts he has made his habitation ; and in such a place does my lord the Emperor purpose to be his companion, when he has ordered his Empire, and when his son is fully grown that he may be able to reign in his ftead.” So the Cardinal sent for the Bishop Blanquerna that he should go to him, and the Jefter of Valour saw him and knew him, and right great joy had he at seeing him; but he marvelled greatly that he was so nobly clad and wore upon his finger a golden ring. The Bishop enquired concerning the Emperor, and related to the Jefter his own hiflory, which the Jefter desired to know that he might reprove him if his devotion which he had aforetime for the life of a hermit had become cold.

3>3

BL/iNQUERN/1

8. Great joy had they the one of the other, and the Jefler prayed the Bishop that he would assift him in that Court to uphold Valour for so long as he was there, and the Bishop made him this promise. On the next morning after Mass, the Je&er went to the Consislory wherein were the Cardinals awaiting each other to the end that they might treat concerning the eleflion. Then the Jester spake these words: “ Valour has greater hope of them that are greatest and mofl honoured in this world than she has of other men, and they who because of her have the mofl honour do her the mofl dishonour; wherefore they have the greater sin and blame, and thereby they shall have the greater punish¬ ment in the world to come, by reason of the greater dis¬ honour which in this world they do to Valour, than they whom Valour has less greatly honoured in this world."

9. Each of the Cardinals considered very deeply the words which the Jeflcr spake; and the Cardinal related to his companions that which the Jefler had spoken concerning Blanquerna. By reason of these words which the Cardinal spake to them concerning him, and of others which they had already heard of him, it became the will of the Cardinals that the Bishop Blanquerna should be created Pope, and they all said and desired that he should be Pope. So they said the Vem Creator Spiritus and the Te Dcum LauJamw, and they desired that Blanquerna should take his seat in the Apoflolic Chair. But Blanquerna desired it not, and spake these words:

10. “ It is bruited through all the world that the Pope with his companions could order the whole world if he so desired; and since the world is in such discord and dis¬ order, therefore is it a dreadful thing to be Pope, and great sin is to be attributed to the Pope if he use not his power in ordering the world, and if his will follow not all the power which God has given to the Papacy for the ordering of the world. Wherefore, as I am unworthy to have power so great, because I have dcfcfl of knowledge and will, there-

HOW BISHOP BLANQUERNA BECAME POPE fore apoftolical power so great and so noble should not be committed to one of knowledge and will so weak; for the which cause I refuse the apoffolical power, and 1 demand that answer be made to me concerning the queflions which 1 have propounded in this Court.”

n. The more vehemently did the Bishop Blanquerna excuse himself and refuse the office of Pope, the more was the will of the Cardinals kindled and inflamed in their desire that he should become Pope, for it is a condition of election that he who excuses himself the more vehemently, and refuses an office, should the rather be elefted, provided that he fulfil the other conditions which make a man worthy to be defied. While they spake thus and Blanquerna desired in no wise to be Pope, a certain Cardinal who him¬ self desired to be Pope said that he would speak privately with his companions, and he spake to them these words: “ Many a time does it chance that men through craft and skill make others to beg and force them to take that which they desire to have; and it seems to me that the Bishop Blanquerna causes himself to be begged to accept the office of Pope to the end that we may have the greater desire to create him Pope. And if he have such will, by reason of that same will he is unworthy to be Pope.”

1 I. Much thought did the Cardinals give to that which this Cardinal had spoken; but because in the words of Blanquerna there was signified neither craft nor skill, and because of the good reputation which he had, and because this Cardinal himself desired to be Pope, as they already knew by certain presumptions, therefore knew they that the craft and skill were in the words of the Cardinal, and they desired that at all hazards Blanquerna should be Pope; but Blanquerna would not consent, until a Cardinal said to him that if he were Pope he could ordain that which he desired should be done concerning the solution of the questions aforesaid. Wherefore the Bishop Blanquerna, with great fear, and trusling that God would aid him, and

\LANQUERNA

rith intent to produce much fruit and ut rdering of that which the questions sig: ent, and accepted the apostolical office,

13. “ Both knowledge and will do I lac e fitted to receive the apoStolic power, lefted Pope, I beg of you aid that throug

ye do sin and wrong to me.” All the Cardinals g promise moSt cordially that they would aid him w whole will according to the freedom of power knowledge which God had given to them, and at

OF THE ORDINANCE OF POPE ELAN QUERN A had seen in the two Cardinals; and when he was in the Consistory he spake these words to the Cardinal who had come with the smaller retinue and humbly clad ;

2. “ I desire to know wherefore thou hast not come to my Court with so great a retinue and with veStments so noble as this other Cardinal who came before thee, since thou shouldSl honour my Court as greatly as this other, seeing that thou haft the same income as he.” “ Lord 1 ” answered the Cardinal, “ I spend upon my retinue and upon my alms all the income which I receive from my office, and I have sworn that I will take naught for the service of any man ; and since my income suffices not for a greater retinue, therefore have I not been able to bring one with me.” Then the Pope enquired of the other Cardinal wherefore he had come with a company so great and so nobly clad, and the Cardinal answered and said that it was to honour his Court. The Pope commanded enquiry to be made concerning his life, and he found that that Cardinal took money for the service of men, and had broken the sacrament and the promises that he had made when he was elefted Cardinal ; and the men who gave to him, that he might prosper their affairs, accompanied him whensoever he came to the Court; and for this reason he brought a greater retinue than the others.

3. It came to pass one day that the Pope invited all the Cardinals to visit him, and held a great Court on that day. When they had eaten, there came into the Court a man with shaven head and clothed in the garb of a fool. In the one hand he carried a sparrowhawk, and in the other hand a cord to the which was tied a dog which he led. This man greeted the Lord Pope and the Cardinals and all the Court on behalf of the Lord Emperor, and he spake these words : “ I am Ramdn the Fool, and I come to this Court by the commandment of the Emperor that I may exercise my pro¬ fession and seek my companions.” When he had spoken these words, he gave the sparrowhawk food, and afterwards

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made it come to his hand two or three times. After this he ftruck and beat the sparrowhawk with the cord to the which his dog was tied, and again he cried to it that it should come to his hand; but the sparrowhawk, because the Fool had ftruck it and put it from him, escaped and flew out of the palace of the Pope, and became wild. When Ramdn the Fool had loft his sparrowhawk, he ftruck the dog very severely two or three times ; and whensoever he called it the dog returned willingly to him.

4. “ Ramdn the Fool 1 ” said the Pope, " Who art thou, and wherefore sayeft thou that thou hast come to this Court to seek thy companions? And what is the significance of that which thou haft done in our presence with the sparrowhawk and with the dog ? " “ Lord I ” said Ramdn the Fool, “ I was aforetime in the Court of the Emperor, and I learned to be a fool, to the end that 1 might gather to¬ gether money ; and the Emperor has spoken to me so often of the Passion of Jesus Chrift and of the nobility of God, that 1 desire to be a fool that I may give honour and glory to Him, and I will have no art nor device in my words by reason of the greatness of my love. And since thy Court has greater honour than any Court beside, by reason of the Passion of my Beloved and of His Incarnation, therefore do I think to find in thy Court many companions who are of my office. The sparrowhawk signifies the men who assift not to suftain the honour and governance of thy Court without money or rewards; and when a man prays them and gives them naught they become disheartened, afili&ed and slothful 1 ; wherefore they escape from among men and become wild. The dog signifies those men that arc so greatly inflamed and kindled with love for the honour and the governance of the Court, to the end that God may therein be honoured, that without satisfaftion being given them by any man for the trials which they bear, they suffer

il slightly unined so that the limililude may be adhered to.

OF THE ORDINANCE OF POPE BLANQUERNA these trials and anxieties by reason of men that desire to gain advancement in the Court, and they are pleasing to all men and agreeable."

5. When Ramin the Fool had thus exercised his office, and had answered the Pope, the Jefler of Valour sang and played instruments of music very sweedy in honour of Valour. After this he spake these words : “ To honour a great lord, honour is done to his horse, which is given a fair saddle and harness; and if in his mind that lord have love for the virtues and hatred for the vices, therein is Valour honoured, both in his mind and in his harness; and if that lord is honoured who loves vice and hates virtue, then is Valour dishonoured and her enemy is honoured, even he who loves the dishonour of Valour.” “ Jefler of Valour 1 ” said the Pope. “ What is this that thy words signify ? ” ” The)1 signify,” he answered, “ the questions which thou haft made to thy two Cardinals; the one honours Valour with wrong, perjury and vainglory; but the other honours her with justice, truth, humility and fortitude."

6. When the Jefter had spoken the words aforesaid, the Pope wept and said : “ Ah 1 Canon of Tears, I would that thou wert in this Court, to help me weep for the dishonour that is done herein to Valour, through the which dishonour that honour which it beseems my Lord to have is no more.” Bitterly wept the Pope, saying that if the dishonour which Valour received in the Court were not caft therefrom, and Valour were nut honoured in its flead, all the Cardinals would sin againft Valour, and great eft of all would be the sin of the Pope their lord, to whom the Cardinals promised that with all their knowledge and will they would help him to maintain the power which they had in honouring Valour.

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7. Weeping, and with great devotion, and remembering the heavy burden which had been laid upon him, namely that he should honour the Son of God, the Pope spake these words : “ Fifteen are ye Cardinals that have been given to me as companions that I may be preserved and aided as Vicar1 upon earth of Jesus Chrift. Let us divide into fifteen parts the Gloria in Excelsis Deo; and let the firft part be assigned to me, because through the dignity of my office I am the firft among you. To each of you Cardinals let there likewise be given a part according to the antiquity and dignity of his office, and let each part follow the other according to its order; and let each part be an office, which each one of you shall hold himself bound to honour and maintain in the Court, that Jesus Chrift may be honoured in the Court, and that through it He may be honoured in all countries of the world." All the Cardinals held that which the Pope said to be good ; so the Pope took the words “ Gloria in Excelsis Deo ” ; and the Cardinal who was senior in the Court took “ Et in terra pax hominibus bonse voluntatis " ; and after this the Cardinals took the other parts according to their order and turn, and to each part was assigned its proper office, and each Cardinal was named after that part of the Gloria in Excelsis Deo which came to him in order.

8. When the Pope and the Cardinals had made the

OF THE ORDINANCE OF POPE BLANQUERNA

Cardinal who should take a gift of any man should lose his office; and if he resigned it not, that the Pope and the Cardinals should live upon bread and water every Friday until he had resigned it. This ordinance was confirmed by the Pope and by the Cardinals, and promise and sacrament were made concerning it, and officers and spies were appointed who should keep watch, left any Cardinal should sin againft the ordinance aforesaid; and to these spies were assigned others who should spy out if they used their office well, and, if they did not so, they should lose their office and nevermore have preferment. Right well was ordinance made concerning the eftablishment aforesaid, for it was very needful that it should be kept, that the Cardinals might have none occasion of dissension nor of pride againft each other, by reason of a difference in power, and that the people who came to the Court should not return despoiled, neither in poverty, neither with evil example, nor should they speak ill of the Pope and of his companions, but rather they should have the greater devotion to praise and serve God by reason of the holy life, fraternity and charity of the Pope and of his companions.

9. After the ordinances and eftablishment aforesaid had been made, it was ordained that from the possessions of Holy Church and from the superfluity which remained to bishops and archbishops and other prelates, after expend¬ ing the possessions of Holy Church, should be made the offices which the Cardinals had taken of the Gloria in Excelsis Deo, and that one of the Cardinals should be appointed to answer for the expenses of all these offices, and that all the bishops, archbishops and prelates and their subjects should furnish that Cardinal with the wherewithal to provide for these offices.

10. It was ordained by the Pope and the Cardinals that once in every week the Pope should hold chapter with the Cardinals only, and that each should make accusation con¬ cerning the others, even as is done by monks, and that each

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Cardinal should ask pardon for his sins in presence of the reft. The eftablishment was ordained by them likewise that each Cardinal should hold chapter upon one day in the week with his officers. Afterwards it was ordered that one Cardinal should hold chapter with the scriveners upon one day in the week, and then another, and the same with the judges and the advocates according to rotation.

II. Another eftablishment was ordained by the Pope and the Cardinals, which was very needful, to wit, that throughout the world they should have representatives who should send them letters or messengers reporting the con¬ dition of every country, to the end that if any irregularity or change were there, or there were need of any ameliora¬ tion, they should be able to treat immediately concerning that which was good for the betterment of those countries. After this manner did the Pope Blanquerna order and direft his Court. And all the good and favourable ordi¬ nances which he made in his Court can no man recount. And the merit which he will have thereby, who may tell it f