Riccoldo da Monte di Croce
Encyclopedia
Dominican Order
The Order of Preachers , after the 15th century more commonly known as the Dominican Order or Dominicans, is a Catholic religious order founded by Saint Dominic and approved by Pope Honorius III on 22 December 1216 in France...
monk, travel writer, missionary, and Christian apologist.
Life
Born in FlorenceFlorence
Florence is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany and of the province of Florence. It is the most populous city in Tuscany, with approximately 370,000 inhabitants, expanding to over 1.5 million in the metropolitan area....
, his family named originated from a small castle just above Pontassieve
Pontassieve
Pontassieve is a comune in the Province of Florence in the Italian region Tuscany, located about 14 km east of Florence, nearby Fiesole, at the confluence of the Arno and Sieve rivers.-History:...
. After studying in various major European schools, he became a Dominican in 1267, entering the house of Santa Maria Novella; was a professor in several convents of Tuscany
Tuscany
Tuscany is a region in Italy. It has an area of about 23,000 square kilometres and a population of about 3.75 million inhabitants. The regional capital is Florence ....
, including St Catherine in Pisa
Pisa
Pisa is a city in Tuscany, Central Italy, on the right bank of the mouth of the River Arno on the Tyrrhenian Sea. It is the capital city of the Province of Pisa...
(1272–99); departed for Acre
Acre, Israel
Acre , is a city in the Western Galilee region of northern Israel at the northern extremity of Haifa Bay. Acre is one of the oldest continuously inhabited sites in the country....
(Antiochia Ptolemais) with a papal commission to preach in 1286 or 1287 and made a pilgrimage to the Holy Land
Holy Land
The Holy Land is a term which in Judaism refers to the Kingdom of Israel as defined in the Tanakh. For Jews, the Land's identifiction of being Holy is defined in Judaism by its differentiation from other lands by virtue of the practice of Judaism often possible only in the Land of Israel...
(1288); and then travelled for many years as a missionary in western Asia. He arrived in Mossul in 1289, equipped with a Papal bull
Papal bull
A Papal bull is a particular type of letters patent or charter issued by a Pope of the Catholic Church. It is named after the bulla that was appended to the end in order to authenticate it....
. He failed to convince the Nestorian Christian mayor of the city to convert to Catholicism. He was a missionary to the court of the Mongol Il-Khan ruler Arghun
Arghun
Arghun Khan aka Argon was the fourth ruler of the Mongol empire's Ilkhanate, from 1284 to 1291. He was the son of Abaqa Khan, and like his father, was a devout Buddhist...
, of whom he wrote that he was "a man given to the worst of villainy, but for all that a friend of the Christians".
Moving to Baghdad
Baghdad
Baghdad is the capital of Iraq, as well as the coterminous Baghdad Governorate. The population of Baghdad in 2011 is approximately 7,216,040...
, Riccoldo entered in conflict with the local Nestorian Christians, preaching against them in their own cathedral
Cathedral
A cathedral is a Christian church that contains the seat of a bishop...
. He was allowed nonetheless by Mongol authorities to build his own church, with the interdiction to preach in public. Riccoldo brought the matter to the Nestorian patriarch Mar Yaballaha, who agreed with him that the doctrine of Nestorius
Nestorius
Nestorius was Archbishop of Constantinople from 10 April 428 to 22 June 431.Drawing on his studies at the School of Antioch, his teachings, which included a rejection of the long-used title of Theotokos for the Virgin Mary, brought him into conflict with other prominent churchmen of the time,...
, namely the duality of Christ (thus achieving a theoretical fusion of the Latin Church
Latin Church
The Latin Church is the largest particular church within the Catholic Church. It is a particular church not on the level of the local particular churches known as dioceses or eparchies, but on the level of autonomous ritual churches, of which there are 23, the remaining 22 of which are Eastern...
and the Church of the East) was heretical. Mar Yaballaha was however disavowed by his own followers.
He returned to Florence before 1302, and was chosen to high offices in his order. He died in Florence on 31 October 1320.
Travels and Liber Peregrinacionis
His Liber Peregrinacionis or Itinerarius (written about 1288-91) was intended as a guide-book for missionaries, and is a description of the Oriental countries he visited.In 1288 or 1289 he began to keep a record of his experiences in the Levant
Levant
The Levant or ) is the geographic region and culture zone of the "eastern Mediterranean littoral between Anatolia and Egypt" . The Levant includes most of modern Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Israel, the Palestinian territories, and sometimes parts of Turkey and Iraq, and corresponds roughly to the...
; this record he probably reduced to final book form in Baghdad
Baghdad
Baghdad is the capital of Iraq, as well as the coterminous Baghdad Governorate. The population of Baghdad in 2011 is approximately 7,216,040...
. Entering Syria
Syria
Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....
at Acre, he crossed Galilee
Galilee
Galilee , is a large region in northern Israel which overlaps with much of the administrative North District of the country. Traditionally divided into Upper Galilee , Lower Galilee , and Western Galilee , extending from Dan to the north, at the base of Mount Hermon, along Mount Lebanon to the...
to the Sea of Tiberias; thence returning to Acre he seems to have travelled down the coast to Jaffa
Jaffa
Jaffa is an ancient port city believed to be one of the oldest in the world. Jaffa was incorporated with Tel Aviv creating the city of Tel Aviv-Yafo, Israel. Jaffa is famous for its association with the biblical story of the prophet Jonah.-Etymology:...
, and so up to Jerusalem. After visiting the Jordan River and the Dead Sea
Dead Sea
The Dead Sea , also called the Salt Sea, is a salt lake bordering Jordan to the east and Israel and the West Bank to the west. Its surface and shores are below sea level, the lowest elevation on the Earth's surface. The Dead Sea is deep, the deepest hypersaline lake in the world...
he left Palestine
Palestine
Palestine is a conventional name, among others, used to describe the geographic region between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River, and various adjoining lands....
by the coast road, retracing his steps to Acre and passing on by Tripoli
Tripoli
Tripoli is the capital and largest city in Libya. It is also known as Western Tripoli , to distinguish it from Tripoli, Lebanon. It is affectionately called The Mermaid of the Mediterranean , describing its turquoise waters and its whitewashed buildings. Tripoli is a Greek name that means "Three...
and Tortosa
Tortosa
-External links:* *** * * *...
into Cilicia
Cilicia
In antiquity, Cilicia was the south coastal region of Asia Minor, south of the central Anatolian plateau. It existed as a political entity from Hittite times into the Byzantine empire...
. From the Cilician port of Lajazzo (now Yumurtalik
Yumurtalik
Yumurtalık is a small city and a district in Adana Province of Turkey. It is a Mediterranean port at a distance of about from Adana center. Yumurtalık's population does not exceed 5,000 in winter, but in summer, it rises to 30 to 40,000 people since many inhabitants of Adana have holiday homes here...
in Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
) he started on the great high road to Tabriz
Tabriz
Tabriz is the fourth largest city and one of the historical capitals of Iran and the capital of East Azerbaijan Province. Situated at an altitude of 1,350 meters at the junction of the Quri River and Aji River, it was the second largest city in Iran until the late 1960s, one of its former...
in north Persia. Crossing the Taurus
Taurus Mountains
Taurus Mountains are a mountain complex in southern Turkey, dividing the Mediterranean coastal region of southern Turkey from the central Anatolian Plateau. The system extends along a curve from Lake Eğirdir in the west to the upper reaches of the Euphrates and Tigris rivers in the east...
he travelled on by Sivas of Cappadocia
Cappadocia
Cappadocia is a historical region in Central Anatolia, largely in Nevşehir Province.In the time of Herodotus, the Cappadocians were reported as occupying the whole region from Mount Taurus to the vicinity of the Euxine...
to Erzerum, the neighborhood of Ararat
Ararat plain
The Ararat plain is one of the largest of the Armenian Plateau, stretches west of the Sevan basin, at the foothills of the Gegham mountains. In the north the plain borders on Mount Aragats, and in the south, on Mount Ararat...
and Tabriz. In and near Tabriz he preached for several months, after which he proceeded to Baghdad via Mosul
Mosul
Mosul , is a city in northern Iraq and the capital of the Ninawa Governorate, some northwest of Baghdad. The original city stands on the west bank of the Tigris River, opposite the ancient Assyrian city of Nineveh on the east bank, but the metropolitan area has now grown to encompass substantial...
and Tikrit
Tikrit
Tikrit is a town in Iraq, located 140 km northwest of Baghdad on the Tigris river . The town, with an estimated population in 2002 of about 260,000 is the administrative center of the Salah ad Din Governorate.-Ancient times:...
. In Baghdad he stayed several years.
As a traveller and observer his merits are conspicuous. His account of the Tatars
Tatars
Tatars are a Turkic speaking ethnic group , numbering roughly 7 million.The majority of Tatars live in the Russian Federation, with a population of around 5.5 million, about 2 million of which in the republic of Tatarstan.Significant minority populations are found in Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan,...
and his sketch of Islamic religion and manners are especially noteworthy. In spite of strong prejudice, he shows remarkable breadth of view and appreciation of merit in systems the most hostile to his own.
On the Fall of Acre
The Epistolæ de Perditione Acconis are five letters in the form of lamentations over the fall of AcreSiege of Acre (1291)
The Siege of Acre took place in 1291 and resulted in the loss of the Crusader-controlled city of Acre to the Muslims. It is considered one of the most important battles of the time period. Although the crusading movement continued for several more centuries, the capture of the city marked the end...
(written about 1292, published in Paris, 1884).
Apologetic writings against Islam and Judaism
During his stay in Baghdad, Riccoldo studied the Qur'anQur'an
The Quran , also transliterated Qur'an, Koran, Alcoran, Qur’ān, Coran, Kuran, and al-Qur’ān, is the central religious text of Islam, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God . It is regarded widely as the finest piece of literature in the Arabic language...
and other works of Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
ic theology, for controversial purposes, arguing with Nestorian Christians, and writing. In 1300-1301 Riccoldo again appeared in Florence. About 1300 in Florence he wrote Contra legem Sarracenorum and Ad nationes orientales.
Riccoldo's best known work of this kind was the Contra Legem Sarracenorum, written in Baghdad, which has in previous centuries been very popular among Christians as a polemical source against Islam, and has been often edited (first published in Seville, 1500, under the title Confutatio Alcorani, "Confutation of the Koran"). This work was translated into German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
(Verlegung des Alcoran) by Martin Luther
Martin Luther
Martin Luther was a German priest, professor of theology and iconic figure of the Protestant Reformation. He strongly disputed the claim that freedom from God's punishment for sin could be purchased with money. He confronted indulgence salesman Johann Tetzel with his Ninety-Five Theses in 1517...
in 1542. There are translations into English by Thomas C. Pfotenhauer (Islam in the Crucible: Can it pass the test?, Lutheran News, Inc., 2002), and Londini Ensis, under the title, "Refutation of the Koran" (Createspace 2010).
Much of this work's contents derive from those sections of the Liber Peregrinacionis devoted to Muslim beliefs and related topics. One of Riccoldo's major sources, extensively quoted in his own work, is the anonymous Liber denudationis siue ostensionis aut patefaciens. Despite Riccoldo's hostility towards Islam, his work shows specific knowledge of the Qur'an and overcomes one important prejudicial error common to other Medieval criticisms of Islam: the view of Muhammad as introducer of a Christological heresy
Christian heresy
Christian heresy refers to non-orthodox practices and beliefs that were deemed to be heretical by one or more of the Christian churches. In Western Christianity, the term "heresy" most commonly refers to those beliefs which were declared to be anathema by the Catholic Church prior to the schism of...
.
The Christianæ Fidei Confessio facta Sarracenis (printed in Basle, 1543) is attributed to Riccoldo, and was probably written about the same time as the above mentioned works. Other works are: Contra errores Judæorum (Against the Errors of the Jews); Libellus contra nationes orientales (MSS. at Florence and Paris); Contra Sarracenos et Alcoranum (MS. at Paris); De variis religionibus (MS. at Turin; compare the final chapter of the Liber Peregrinacionis, "De variis religionibus terre sancte"). Very probably the last three works were written after his return to Europe. Riccoldo is also known to have written two theological works—a defence of the doctrines of Thomas Aquinas
Thomas Aquinas
Thomas Aquinas, O.P. , also Thomas of Aquin or Aquino, was an Italian Dominican priest of the Catholic Church, and an immensely influential philosopher and theologian in the tradition of scholasticism, known as Doctor Angelicus, Doctor Communis, or Doctor Universalis...
(in collaboration with John of Pistoia, about 1285) and a commentary on the Libri sententiarum (before 1288). Riccoldo began a translation of the Quran about 1290, but it is not known whether this work was completed.
External links
- Riccoldi Florentini Libelli ad nationes orientales (web edition)
- Epistolae V commentatoriae de perditione Acconis, ed. Reinhold RöhrichtReinhold RöhrichtGustav Reinhold Röhricht was a German historian of the crusades.-Biography:He was born in Bunzlau in Silesia , the third son of a miller. He studied at the Gymnasium in Sagan from 1852 to 1862, and then attended the Berlin Theological School, where he obtained his licentiate in 1866...
, in Archives de l'Orient latin, vol. 2 (1884), pp. 258–296 = Google PDF pp. 765–792 - Liber Peregrinacionis, ed. J.C.M. Laurent, Leipzig, 1864 (in Peregrinatores Medii Aevi Quattuor, pp. 101ff. = Google PDF pp. 116 ff.)
- Confutatio alcorani (Bartolomeus Picernus' retranslation into Latin from the Greek of Demetrios Kydones), Basel, 1507, Bayerische Staatsbibliothek copy
- Ed Emery, "Riccoldo of Monte Croce", Research Notes on Dante Alighieri
- Emilio Panella, Riccoldo di Pennino da Monte di Croce