Pascalis Romanus (or Paschal the Roman) was a 12th-century

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deity, deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in parti ...

, medical expert, and dream theorist, noted especially for his

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 ...

translations of

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

texts on

theology Theology is the study of religious belief from a Religion, religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an Discipline (academia), academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itse ...

, oneirocritics, and related subjects. An Italian working in

Constantinople Constantinople (#Names of Constantinople, see other names) was a historical city located on the Bosporus that served as the capital of the Roman Empire, Roman, Byzantine Empire, Byzantine, Latin Empire, Latin, and Ottoman Empire, Ottoman empire ...

, he served as a Latin interpreter for Emperor

Manuel I Komnenos Manuel I Komnenos (; 28 November 1118 – 24 September 1180), Latinized as Comnenus, also called Porphyrogenitus (; " born in the purple"), was a Byzantine emperor of the 12th century who reigned over a crucial turning point in the history o ...

Oneirocriticism

Pascalis compiled the ''Liber thesauri occulti'', a Latin book on dream interpretation, in 1165 but appears not to have completed it himself. The second book and the first part of the third were translated or adapted from the ''Oneirocriticon'' of Achmet and the classical treatise of Artemidoros. His are the earliest known Latin translations of excerpts from Artemidoros. In the first part of the work, Pascalis also draws on

Aristotle Aristotle (; 384–322 BC) was an Ancient Greek philosophy, Ancient Greek philosopher and polymath. His writings cover a broad range of subjects spanning the natural sciences, philosophy, linguistics, economics, politics, psychology, a ...

, quoting from what he refers to as the '' liber de naturis animalium''. Pascalis works within the dream classification system of

Macrobius Macrobius Ambrosius Theodosius, usually referred to as Macrobius (fl. AD 400), was a Roman provincial who lived during the early fifth century, during late antiquity, the period of time corresponding to the Later Roman Empire, and when Latin was ...

: *''somnium'', a dream requiring interpretation *''visio'', a vision that comes true *''oraculum'', a prophetic dream mediated by authority *''insomnium'', a false or misleading dream caused by bodily disturbance *''visum'', a nightmare with supernatural contact Elaborating on the three "true" types, Pascalis distinguishes each by the degree to which the soul achieves liberty from the body and by literary mode. In the ''somnium'', the soul perceives the future allegorically; in the ''visio'',

historically History is the systematic study of the past, focusing primarily on the human past. As an academic discipline, it analyses and interprets evidence to construct narratives about what happened and explain why it happened. Some theorists categ ...

; and in the ''oraculum'', prophetically. The future can sometimes be revealed directly, but often dreams rely on integument, allegory, and

figure Figure may refer to: General *A shape, drawing, depiction, or geometric configuration *Figure (wood), wood appearance *Figure (music), distinguished from musical motif * Noise figure, in telecommunication * Dance figure, an elementary dance patt ...

. Pascalis quotes the Solomon of the occult tradition as saying: What Solomon means, Pascalis goes on to explain, is not that we should avoid the interpretation of dreams, but rather that we should recognize that ''littera occidit, spiritus autem vivificat'' ("the letter kills, but the spirit brings to life" ). Reason allows us to investigate the truth that is symbolized. Steven Kruger has discussed the dream theory of Pascalis in the context of medical discourse, or "

somatization Somatization is the generation of somatic symptoms due to psychological distress, often coinciding with a tendency to seek medical help for them. The term ''somatization'' was introduced by Wilhelm Stekel in 1924. Somatization is a worldwide ph ...

," resulting from the introduction of new medical and scientific texts to Europe. While the ''Liber thesauri occulti'' draws on the tradition of

humors Humorism, the humoral theory, or humoralism, was a system of medicine detailing a supposed makeup and workings of the human body, adopted by Ancient Greek and Roman physicians and philosophers. Humorism began to fall out of favor in the 17th c ...

, Pascalis goes beyond the connection Macrobius makes between ''insomnium'' and hunger or thirst to offer an elaborate

psychosomatics ''Psychosomatics'' is a peer review, peer-reviewed medical journal that focuses on psychosomatic medicine. It was established in 1960, during William S. Kroger's tenure as head of the Academy of Psychosomatic Medicine. It is published by Elsevier o ...

. Where Macrobius had explained the ''visum'' in terms of an ''

incubus An Incubus () is a demon, male demon in human form in folklore that seeks to have Sexuality in Christian demonology, sexual intercourse with sleeping women; the corresponding spirit in female form is called a succubus. Parallels exist in many c ...

'', Pascalis offers a complex medical explanation involving blood circulation, the bodily position of the sleeper, and humoral disposition.

Other translations

In 1169, Pascalis translated the ''

Cyranides The ''Cyranides'' (; also ''Kyranides'' or ''Kiranides'') is a compilation of ancient Greek works on magic and medicine first put together in the 4th century. Latin and Arabic translations also exist. It has been described as a " farrago" and a ...

'', a Hermetic magico-medical compilation. In his preface, he summarized his method: Other Latin translations from Greek by Pascalis include the ''Ystoria Beate Virginis Marie'' by the 8th–9th-century priest and monk Epiphanios and the ''Disputatio contra Judaeos'' attributed (with difficulties of chronology) to Anastasios of Sinai.Mavroudi pp. 84–85, note 14
online
with additional citations.

Editions

* Collin-Roset, S. "Le ''Liber thesauri occulti'' de Pascalis Romanus (Un traité d'interprétation des songes du XIIe siècle)". ''Archives d'histoire doctrinale et littéraire du Moyen Age'' 30 (1963) 111–198.

Selected bibliography

*''The Occult Sciences in Byzantium''. Edited by Paul Magdalino and Maria Mavroudi. Geneva: La Pomme d'or, 2006. Limited previe
online
* Thomas Ricklin, ''Der Traum der Philosophie im 12. Jahrhundert. Traumtheorien zwischen Constantinus Africanus and Aristoteles''. Leiden/Boston/Cologne 1998, esp. pp. 247–270.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pascalis Romanus Oneirologists 12th-century Byzantine writers 12th-century writers in Latin Italian medical writers Officials of Manuel I Komnenos Interpreters 12th-century translators 12th-century Italian physicians 12th-century Italian writers 12th-century Byzantine scientists