The Llibre dels àngels (; ) is a literary work that was written by

Francesc Eiximenis Francesc Eiximenis (; – 1409) was a Franciscan Catalan people, Catalan writer who lived in the 14th-century Crown of Aragon. He was possibly one of the more successful medieval Catalan writers since his works were widely read, copied, publishe ...

in 1392 in

Valencia Valencia ( , ), formally València (), is the capital of the Province of Valencia, province and Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, the same name in Spain. It is located on the banks of the Turia (r ...

Catalan Catalan may refer to: Catalonia From, or related to Catalonia: * Catalan language, a Romance language * Catalans, an ethnic group formed by the people from, or with origins in, Northern or southern Catalonia Places * 13178 Catalan, asteroid #13 ...

. It was dedicated to Pere d'Artés, who was a kind of

Chancellor of the Exchequer The chancellor of the exchequer, often abbreviated to chancellor, is a senior minister of the Crown within the Government of the United Kingdom, and the head of HM Treasury, His Majesty's Treasury. As one of the four Great Offices of State, t ...

of the

Crown of Aragon The Crown of Aragon (, ) ;, ; ; . was a composite monarchy ruled by one king, originated by the dynastic union of the Kingdom of Aragon and the County of Barcelona (later Principality of Catalonia) and ended as a consequence of the War of the Sp ...

, and who was a close friend of him. It has two hundred and one chapters, and it is divided into five treatises.

General information

This book is a real treatise about

angelology An angel is a spiritual (without a physical body), heavenly, or supernatural being, usually humanoid with bird-like wings, often depicted as a messenger or intermediary between God (the transcendent) and humanity (the profane) in various ...

, but with several political thoughts. It was maybe the most successful Eiximenis' book, since it was translated into

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

(it is the only Eiximenis' book that was translated into that language), into

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

, into

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

, and even into

Flemish Flemish may refer to: * Flemish, adjective for Flanders, Belgium * Flemish region, one of the three regions of Belgium *Flemish Community, one of the three constitutionally defined language communities of Belgium * Flemish dialects, a Dutch dialec ...

(maybe it was the only Medieval Catalan book that was translated into that language). Furthermore, one of the French

incunable An incunable or incunabulum (: incunables or incunabula, respectively) is a book, pamphlet, or broadside that was printed in the earliest stages of printing in Europe, up to the year 1500. The specific date is essentially arbitrary, but the ...

editions was the first printed book in the

Swiss Swiss most commonly refers to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland * Swiss people Swiss may also refer to: Places * Swiss, Missouri * Swiss, North Carolina * Swiss, West Virginia * Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses * Swiss Café, an old café located ...

city of

Geneva Geneva ( , ; ) ; ; . is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland and the most populous in French-speaking Romandy. Situated in the southwest of the country, where the Rhône exits Lake Geneva, it is the ca ...

. We could say that this matter should have been treated in Eiximenis' ''Huitè'' (eighth volume) of his encyclopedic project

Lo Crestià ''Lo Crestià'' () was an encyclopaedia written in Catalan, that was sponsored by the king Peter IV of Aragon and written by Francesc Eiximenis

. This book should have dealt with the order of things and creatures according to medieval mentality. This order appears in what he calls "strata", and he considers that angels are one of these strata, according to the

theological Theology is the study of religious belief from a religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of an ...

Medieval mentality. It appears in the famous

Peter Lombard Peter Lombard (also Peter the Lombard, Pierre Lombard or Petrus Lombardus; 1096 – 21/22 August 1160) was an Italian scholasticism, scholastic theologian, Bishop of Paris, and author of ''Sentences, Four Books of Sentences'' which became the s ...

Four Books of Sentences The ''Sentences'' (. ) is a compendium of Christian theology written by Peter Lombard around 1150. It was the most important religious textbook of the Middle Ages. Background The sentence genre emerged from works like Prosper of Aquitaine's ' ...

''Quattuor libri sententiarum''. The second book deals with angels. Eiximenis confirms that in the 43rd chapter of his ''Segon del Crestià'' (Second volume of

Lo Crestià ''Lo Crestià'' () was an encyclopaedia written in Catalan, that was sponsored by the king Peter IV of Aragon and written by Francesc Eiximenis

Influence on the city and Kingdom of Valencia

Without exaggerating, it can be said that this book had a decisive influence in the spread of the cult and devotion of angels in the city of

and the

Kingdom of Valencia The Kingdom of Valencia (; ; ), located in the eastern shore of the Iberian Peninsula, was one of the component realms of the Crown of Aragon. The Kingdom of Valencia was formally created in 1238 when the Moorish taifa of Valencia was taken in ...

. The same year that the ''Llibre dels àngels'' was written (1392), the ''Consell General de València'' (General Council of Valencia. It was the city government authority) agreed on 9 August to decorate the ''Sala del Consell'' (Council Hall) with several figures, and one of these was the guardian angel. This cult and devotion was progressing and spreading years later. So in 1411 a service for the guardian angel of Valencia was composed, and it appears in some breviaries of those years. In 1446 in the

Cathedral of Valencia Valencia Cathedral, at greater length the Metropolitan Cathedral–Basilica of the Assumption of Our Lady of Valencia (, ), also known as St Mary's Cathedral, is a Catholic church in Valencia, Spain. The cathedral was consecrated in 1238 by ...

the yearly festivity of the guardian angel began to be celebrated, according to a certain ritual.Ivars, Andreu, OFM. "El Llibre dels àngels de Fr. Francisco Eximénez y algunas versiones castellanas del mismo". AIA, XIX. 1923, p. 116.

Digital editions of the ''Llibre dels Àngels''

Manuscripts

Edition in the ''Biblioteca Virtual Joan Lluís Vives'' (Virtual Library Joan Lluís Vives) of the Ms. 86 from the

University of Barcelona The University of Barcelona (official name in ; UB), formerly also known as Central University of Barcelona (), is a public research university located in the city of Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. It was established in 1450. With 76,000 students, ...

's Reserve Books.

Incunabula

Edition in the ''Memòria Digital de Catalunya'' (Digital Memory of Catalonia) of the Joan Rosembach's incunabulum edition (

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

, 21 June 1494).

Edition in the ''Biblioteca Digital Hispánica'' (Hispanic Digital Library) of the incunabulum edition of the translation into Spanish that was printed by Fadrique de Basilea (

Burgos Burgos () is a city in Spain located in the autonomous community of Castile and León. It is the capital and most populous municipality of the province of Burgos. Burgos is situated in the north of the Iberian Peninsula, on the confluence of th ...

, 15 October 1490).

Edition in the ''Gallica'' (digitalized documents and books from the

Bibliothèque nationale de France The (; BnF) is the national library of France, located in Paris on two main sites, ''Richelieu'' and ''François-Mitterrand''. It is the national repository of all that is published in France. Some of its extensive collections, including bo ...

) of the incunabulum edition of the translation into French that was printed in

by Adam Steinschaber on 24 March 1478.

Edition in the Virtual Library of the

University of Liège The University of Liège (), or ULiège, is a major public university of the French Community of Belgium founded in 1817 and based in Liège, Wallonia, Belgium. Its official language is French (language), French. History The university was foun ...

of the incunabulum edition of the translation into French that was printed in

Lyon Lyon (Franco-Provençal: ''Liyon'') is a city in France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of the French Alps, southeast of Paris, north of Marseille, southwest of Geneva, Switzerland, north ...

by Guillaume Le Roy on 20 May 1486.

Old editions

Edition in the ''Biblioteca Virtual Joan Lluís Vives'' (Virtual Library Joan Lluís Vives) of the translation into Spanish that was printed by Miguel de Eguía in

Alcalá de Henares Alcalá de Henares () is a Spanish municipality of the Community of Madrid. Housing is primarily located on the right (north) bank of the Henares River, Henares. , it has a population of 193,751, making it the region's third-most populated Municip ...

on 28 January 1527.

Modern editions

''De Sant Miquel arcàngel'', edition of the fifth treatise of the ''Llibre dels Àngels'' by

Curt Wittlin Curt Wittlin (13 April 1941 – 23 September 2019) was a Swiss philologist and an expert of medieval Catalan language and literature. Biography Wittlin studied romance philology in Basel with Germà Colon, and later in Paris, Florence and Barce ...

(Barcelona. Curial Edicions Catalanes. 1983. 177 pp). * ''Edició crítica del 'Libre dels àngels' (1392) de Francesc Eiximenis. Catàleg de mss., índexs d'autors, bíblic i temàtic''. Doctoral thesis of Sergi Gascón Urís (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. 1992, 931 pp.; microfiche ed., UAB 1993)

The ''Llibre dels Àngels'' inside Eiximenis' complete works

Francesc Eiximenis' complete works (in Catalan and in Latin)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Llibre dels angels Medieval Catalan literature Catalan-language works Incunabula Francesc Eiximenis