Peter of Ravenna (c. 1448–1508) was an Italian jurist. He is now best known for his memorization techniques, published in a 1491 work ''Phoenix'' (''Fenix'') on the

art of memory The art of memory () is any of a number of loosely associated mnemonic principles and techniques used to organize memory impressions, improve recall, and assist in the combination and 'invention' of ideas. An alternative term is "Ars Memorativa ...

, a work that received an early form of

copyright A copyright is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the exclusive legal right to copy, distribute, adapt, display, and perform a creative work, usually for a limited time. The creative work may be in a literary, artistic, ...

Life

He was a student of Alessandro Tartagni and then at

Padua Padua ( ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) in Veneto, northern Italy, and the capital of the province of Padua. The city lies on the banks of the river Bacchiglione, west of Venice and southeast of Vicenza, and has a population of 20 ...

. He became Doctor of canon and civil law in 1472, and left Italy for Germany in 1497. He was then brought by Bogislaw X, Duke of Pomerania to the

University of Greifswald The University of Greifswald (; ), formerly known as Ernst-Moritz-Arndt University of Greifswald, is a public research university located in Greifswald, Germany, in the state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. Founded in 1456, it is one of th ...

. He was appointed professor of canon and civil law at the

University of Cologne The University of Cologne () is a university in Cologne, Germany. It was established in 1388. It closed in 1798 before being re-established in 1919. It is now one of the largest universities in Germany with around 45,187 students. The Universit ...

in 1506. He was attacked by Jacob van Hoogstraaten, in a legal controversy over the bodies of hanged criminals. The controversy, in 1507, was with the Cologne theological faculty, as a matter of demarcation. Peter repeated his views in a new edition of his canon law textbook. Hoogstraaten persisted, when Peter moved in 1508 to Mainz. He died soon afterwards. He also held a controversial opinion on

divorce Divorce (also known as dissolution of marriage) is the process of terminating a marriage or marital union. Divorce usually entails the canceling or reorganising of the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage, thus dissolving the M ...

, believing that it was within the powers of the Pope.

The ''Phoenix''

It was published in Latin under the title ''Phoenix seu artificiosa memoria'', in 1491 at Venice. It ran to many further editions and translations, as one of the most popular of the memory treatises. It remained influential for over two centuries. According to Frances Yates, it was quickly adopted by Gregor Reisch, and mentioned a little later by Johannes Romberch. It was also a major influence on

Giordano Bruno Giordano Bruno ( , ; ; born Filippo Bruno; January or February 1548 – 17 February 1600) was an Italian philosopher, poet, alchemist, astrologer, cosmological theorist, and esotericist. He is known for his cosmological theories, which concep ...

. The book offers a great deal of self-promotion by the author, who claims in it to have had a prodigious memory when young, able to memorise the whole civil law code at age ten. He had testimonials from Eleanor of Naples and Bonifacio del Monferrato. His actual system has been analysed as based on alphabetical keys, and what amounts to a topical concordance.

Robert Copland Robert Copland (fl. 1508–1547) was an English printer and author. He is said to have been a servant of William Caxton, and certainly worked for Wynkyn de Worde. The first book to which his name is affixed as a printer is ''The Boke of Justices ...

published a popular English translation, ''An Art of Memory That Otherwise Is Called the Phoenix'', around 1548. This in turn influenced the ''Art of Rhetorique'' (1553) of Thomas Wilson. The ''Phoenix'' was still in print in the seventeenth century in England, and was referred to by Robert Burton in his '' Anatomy of Melancholy''.

Works

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Notes

{{Authority control 1448 births 1508 deaths 15th-century Italian jurists Canon law jurists Italian Renaissance humanists Academic staff of the University of Pisa 16th-century Italian jurists