Pierre d'Ailly

Pierre d' Ailly (* 1350/51 in Compiegne; † August 9, 1420 in Avignon, Latin Petrus de Alliaco, German Peter of Ailly, Peter of Ailly ) was a French theologian and cardinal from 1411 ( titular church of San Crisogono ).

Life

Peter of Ailly studied at the Collège de Navarre in Paris, and was there from 1384 to 1389 Grand Master, as he also John Gerson taught. In 1389 he was confessor of Charles VI. , 1389-1395 Chancellor of the University of Paris. In 1395 he became bishop of Le Puy -en -Velay, 1397 from Cambrai. In the conflicts of the Western Schism he sat down for the Avignon Antipope Benedict XIII. one, however, called for the resignation of both popes. At the Council of Constance (1414-1418) he supported John Gerson. The initiative of the two theologians contributed to the termination of the schism after the Council at.

On June 7, 1415, and also at the Council, he participated in the interrogation of Jan Hus. Since Hus took the realism in universals, Ailly deduced from that Hus also denied transubstantiation and consubstantiation which should have taught. Hus denied this, but was burned as a heretic because of this conclusion and numerous witness statements. This resulted in the following years to a suppression of realism and the rise of nominalism in the universities.

1418 Peter of Ailly withdrew to Avignon and wrote primarily mystical and ascetical works.

His works are characterized by the spirit of nominalism and mainly influenced by William of Ockham, Henry of Long Stone, John Gerson and Roger Bacon. Its astronomical and geographical book Imago mundi (1410 ), which is compiled from various ancient and medieval writings, was one of the sources of Christopher Columbus for his idea to look across the Atlantic a sea route to India.

The lunar crater Aliacensis is named after him.

Works

• Destructiones modorum significandi ( before 1400, Thomas Maulfelt attributed )
• Tractatus de materia Concilii generalis (ca. 1403 )
• Tractatus vel capita agendorum in concilio generalized de reformatione ecclesiae (ca. 1409 )
• De Ecclesia, Conciliis generalis et summi Ponitificis auctoritate ( 1416 )
• Imago mundi
• Quaestiones for Sphaera mundi of Johannes de Sacrobosco, printed Paris 1468
• Meditations super septem psalmos poenitentiales, [ Cologne ]: [ Arnold ter horns ], [ 1472 ] ( digitized )
• Tractatus et sermones. Fratres vitae communis, Brussels 9 VI. 1481 - 1483 ( digitized )
• Quaestiones super libros Sentences cum quibusdam in fine adjunctis ( printed Strasbourg 1490 )
• Tractatus et sermones ( printed Strasbourg 1490 )
• Concordantiae astronomiae cum theologia necnon historicae veritatis narratione ( printed Augsburg 1490 )
• De quattuor gradibus Scalae spiritualis
• Super libros metheororum: de impressionibus aeris ( printed without locality 1504)