The Art of Memory in Late Medieval Central Europe

Lucie Doležalová, Farkas Gábor Kiss, Rafał Wójcik
THE ART OF MEMORY

IN LATE MEDIEVAL CENTRAL EUROPE
(CZECH LANDS, HUNGARY, POLAND)
Edited by
Farkas Gábor Kiss
Lucie Doležalová, Farkas Gábor Kiss, Rafał Wójcik
THE ART OF MEMORY

IN LATE MEDIEVAL
CENTRAL EUROPE
(CZECH LANDS, HUNGARY,
POLAND)
Edited by
Farkas Gábor Kiss
Budapest-Paris, 2016
© Lucie Doležalová, Farkas Gábor Kiss, Rafał Wójcik, 2016
© L’Harmattan, 2016
ISBN 978-2-343-08252-3
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Acknowledgements
The authors would like to express their gratitude for the longstanding support
of numerous individuals and institutions: Nicole Bériou (EHESS, Paris); Greti
Dinkova-Bruun (Pontifical Institute of Mediaeval Studies, Toronto); Christine
Glassner and Maria Theisen (Institut für Mittelalterforschung, Vienna), Angelika
Kemper (University of Klagenfurt); Stephen G. Nichols (Johns Hopkins Univer-
sity); Susanne Rischpler (Würzburg); Kimberly Rivers (University of Wisconsin-
Oshkosh); and Sabine Seelbach (University of Klagenfurt) have all helped us to
tackle problems in both scientific and practical areas. We have also been helped by
many institutions, including the Center for Theoretical Study (Prague), the Center
for Medieval Studies (Bergen) and the Institut de Recherche et d’Histoire des
Textes (Paris). Our particular gratitude goes to the holding libraries of our primary
sources. We would also like to thank the following institutions for their generous
support: two Charles University Research Development Programs undertaken at
the Faculty of Humanities (“University Centre for the Study of Ancient and Me-
dieval Intellectual Traditions” and “Phenomenology and Semiotics”, PRVOUK 18)
(for L. Doležalová), the OTKA Hungarian Research Fund (PD 104316, for F. G.
Kiss); the Lise Meitner Foundation (for R. Wójcik); the International Visegrád 5
Fund; and the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation (the project Innovative Scholarship
for Digitized Medieval Manuscripts, for all three authors). The publication of this
book was made possible by a “Lendület” grant from the Hungarian Academy of
Sciences.
Abbreviations
BJ: Biblioteka Jagiellońska (Jagiellonian Library), Cracow

BSB: Bayerische Staatsbibliothek, Munich
CCCM: Corpus Christianorum, Continuatio Mediaevalis (Turnhout, Brepols)
CCSL: Corpus Christianorum, Series Latina (Turnhout, Brepols)
CSEL: Corpus Scriptorum Ecclesiasticorum Latinorum (Vienna-Salzburg)
f., ff.: folio, folios
GW: Gesamtkatalog der Wiegendrucke (http://www.gesamtkatalogderwiegend-
rucke.de/)
Kap.: Archiv Pražského hradu, fond Knihovna metropolitní kapituly u sv. Víta
(Library of the Metropolitan Chapter), Prague
KNM: Knihovna Národního muzea (Library of the National Museum), Prague
MZK: Moravská zemská knihovna (Moravian Library), Brno
NK: Národni Knihovna (National Library), Prague
OSZK: Országos Széchényi Könyvtár (National Széchényi Library), Budapest
ÖNB: Österreichische Nationalbibliothek, Vienna
PL: Patrologia Latina, ed. Jacques-Paul Migne (1841–1865)
6
PSB: Polski Słownik Biograficzny (Polish Dictionary of Biography), ed. Władysław
Konopczyński et al., 50 Vols. (Warsaw-Cracow: PAN-PAU, 1935–) (http://
ipsb.nina.gov.pl)
SB: Staatsbibliothek (State Library)
SS: Słownik staropolski
UL: University Library
VD16: Verzeichnis der im deutschen Sprachbereich erschienenen Drucke des 16. Jahr-
hunderts (vd16.de) (Scientific Library)
VK: Vědecká knihovna, Olomouc
Contents
Introduction (Farkas Gábor Kiss) 9
Artes memoriae and the memory culture in fifteenth-century

Bohemia and Moravia (Lucie Doležalová) 27
1. Artes memoriae 28
1.1. The transmission of foreign treatises 28
1.2. Artes memoriae of Czech origin 30
1.2.1. The Hussite Anonymous: Memory as a search
for similarities and differences 31
1.2.2. Mattheus Beran: Memory as a play with words 37
1.3. Other artes memoriae (fragments, parts of larger works,
treatises of doubtful Czech provenance) 45
2. Improving memory by medical means and lifestyle 48 7
2.1. Treatises of foreign provenance circulating in the Czech Lands 48
2.2. Treatises of Czech provenance 50
2.2.1. Martinus Pragensis: “The art of memory is useful only
for a few” 50
2.2.2. A reworking of Martinus? (inc. Optimus ille…) 55
2.2.3. De modulo studendi: “Avoid the art of memory!” 56
2.3. Other memory advice 58
3. The contexts of artes memoriae in the Czech lands 60
4. Conclusion 64
The art of memory in Poland in the Late Middle Ages (1400–1530)

(Rafał Wójcik) 65
1. The beginnings of the art of memory in Poland: Treatises of foreign origin 65
1.1. Foreign teachers at Cracow University: Jacobus Publicius 69
1.2. Conrad Celtis 73
1.3. Thomas Murner 76
1.4. Johannes Cusanus 80
2. The Observants 80
2.1. Stanisław Korzybski and Antoni of Radomsko 82
2.2. Populus meus captivus ductus est… by Paulinus of Skalbmierz 85
2.3. Opusculum de arte memorativa by Jan Szklarek 89
Contents
2.4. Modus reponendi sermones per artem memorativam 102

2.5. The influence of the Observants’ ars memorativa on different
branches of medieval culture in Poland 103
The art of memory in Hungary at the turn of the fifteenth

and sixteenth centuries (Farkas Gábor Kiss) 109
1.1. The earliest art of memory in Hungary (Francesc Eiximenis) 109
1.2. Biblical mnemonics (Peter of Rosenheim and other mnemonic verses) 113
1.3. Ars et modus vitae contemplativae, 1473 116
1.4. Meditation and the art of memory (inc. Nota hanc figuram/
Pro aliquali intelligentia) 120
2.1. Itinerant humanists in Hungary (Jacobus Publicius, Conrad Celtis) 130
2.2. The popularity of the ars memorativa of Celtis in Hungary
(Valentinus de Monteviridi/Grünberg) 138
2.3. Johannes Cusanus: Thirty years of teaching artificial memory
in Europe 143
3.1. Related scholarly subjects in the Jagiellonian age 145
4.1. Preaching and the art of memory in Hungary 147
4.2. Memory aids for preachers 148
4.3. Alphabetical divisions as mnemonic tools in late medieval sermons:
8 Lessons from Pelbartus of Temesvár 156
Arts of memory from East Central Europe: Editions of the Latin texts 165
1. An Anonymous Hussite art of memory
(inc. Nam secundum commentatores), c. 1416–1418 (LD) 167
2. Mattheus Beran: Ars avitaromem, 1431 (LD) 181
3. Paulerinus: an excerpt from Liber viginti arcium, c. 1460 (LD) 219
4. [Magister Hainricus:] Ars memorandi, 1447–1473 (FGK) 221
5. Paulinus of Skalbmierz (†1498): Populus meus captivus ductus est
(RW-FGK) 227
6. [Jan Szklarek:] Opusculum de arte memorativa, 1504 (RW) 247
7. Valentinus de Monteviridi: Praxis artis memorativae, 1504 (FGK) 273
8. Michael de Arce Draconis: Memorandi tractatus, 1505 (FGK) 285
9. Anonymous Observant: Modus reponendi sermones, 1507 (RW) 297
10. [Henricus Vibicetus – Johannes Cusanus:] Tractatulus artificiose
memorie, 1500–1519 (FGK-RW) 303
Index of Names 337
Index of Manuscripts and Early Prints 347

Introduction:
the late medieval art of memory
in East Central Europe
The art of memory, or ars memorativa, was transmitted as a unified system of rules
that aided the orator to perform his speeches by heart at public fora. According to
legend, the roots of the theory go back to the turn of the fifth and sixth centuries
BC, although the first texts to describe it in detail date from Roman times: the
Rhetorica ad Herennium (3, 28–40) from the first century BC, probably written
by Cornificius but attributed to Cicero up until the end of the fifteenth century;
Cicero’s work On the Orator (De oratore, 2, 86–90, 350–360); and the Institutio
oratoria of Quintilian (11, 2, 11–51). The practice of the art is explained in great-
est detail in the Rhetorica ad Herennium, thus most treatises on the subject in the
fourteenth and fifteenth centuries are based on this work.1 Memory may be natural
or artificial. Natural memory has to be aided by artificial techniques, but both
have fundamentally the same structure. We have to conceive of places (loci) in
our minds, which generally have an architectonic shape: houses, palaces or cities. 9
The best way to imagine a place is to recall an existing place that is otherwise well
known to us. In this mental place, or map, we have to locate images (imagines) that
can be associated somehow (metaphorically or metonymically) with the subjects
we wish to memorize. When we want to recall these subjects, we need only walk
past these places and scan (and decode) the images we located there one by one,
in a well-preserved order.
The places (which we might also call “backgrounds”) must be imagined as
a stable structure that we can use and reuse several times. These backgrounds may
remain unchanged for several occasions: one has merely to delete the images from
the places, as if erasing the writing from a wax tablet, and attach new images to
them. After establishing the fi xed background, one must set up images that ef-
ficiently represent the subject to be remembered:
And we shall do so if we establish likenesses as striking as possible; if we set up

images that are not many or vague, but doing something; if we assign to them
exceptional beauty or singular ugliness; if we dress some of them with crowns
1
On ancient mnemotechnics, see Harry Caplan, “Memoria: Treasure-House of Eloquence,” in Of
Eloquence: Studies in Ancient and Medieval Rhetoric (Cornell: Ithaca, 1970), 196–246; and Herwig Blum,
Die antike Mnemotechnik (Hildesheim: Olms, 1969).
Introduction: the late medieval art of memory in East Central Europe
or purple cloaks, for example, so that the likeness may be more distinct to us;
or if we somehow disfigure them, as by introducing one stained with blood or
soiled with mud or smeared with red paint, so that its form is more striking, or
by assigning certain comic effects to our images, for that, too, will ensure our
remembering them more readily. (Rhetorica ad Herennium, 3, 22, 37)
Unlike the places (or backgrounds), images (imagines) have to be reinvented each
time, and they must not seem familiar, conventional, or typical. They stick in our
mind because of the evocative power of their abnormal, exceptional, unique fea-
tures, and are therefore called “active images” (imagines agentes). A famous example
from the Rhetorica ad Herennium is that of a man who is accused of poisoning
someone for his inheritance, which is also testified to by witnesses. The imago agens
for this situation should be a sick man, the defendant next to him, with a cup in
his right hand and a wax tablet in his left. We should also place the testicles of
a ram on his ring finger. Two polysemic puns aid the memory in this case: the
double meaning of the Latin testis (both witness and testicle), which also refers
to the inheritance, as Roman purses were often made from the scrotum of a ram.
It is important to note that the ancient art of memory was aimed at memoria
rerum — that is, how to recall subjects from memory and how to give speeches
from a thread of ideas. It was not intended primarily for memoria verborum, the
10 word-by-word memorizing of texts. The art of memory was considered rather as
an element of composition, a process of recreating and retelling an existing chain
of ideas. Special rules also existed for the exact memorization of strange or foreign
words and verses in medieval treatises, although this practice was generally char-
acterized as exceptional and infrequent.2
A very important aspect of the art is order: the images associated with the parts
of the speech or the elements of the text to be remembered have to be organized in
a manner that excludes the possibility of confusion. Several methods exist for this
purpose: one can put the images in a place, or places, that one knows thoroughly
so as not to mix up the sequence of elements (familiar palaces or houses, or even
a street leading from the main square of the town to its outskirts, or to the cem-
etery, to quote some medieval examples). Another method is to create an artificial,
2
The art of memory is often associated with oral poetry or the oral performance of vernacular poetry
in scholarly literature. See e.g. Jody Enders, “Music, Delivery, and the Rhetoric of Memory in Guillaume
de Machaut’s Remède de Fortune,” Publications of the Modern Language Association 107 (1992): 450–464.
Attempts have been made to read the illustration cycles of troubadour manuscripts as memory images:
Sylvia Huot, “Visualization and Memory: The Illustration of Troubadour Lyric in a Thirteenth-Century
Manuscript,” Gesta 31 (1992): 3–14. However, there is no reference in ancient or medieval arts of
memory to applying artificial memory to memorize poems, and the memorative functions of rhymes or
other structural elements in poetry (e.g. refrains or recurring phrases) are not mentioned in the treatises
known to us.
imaginary palace, or system of places, which can be completely arbitrary but must
be carefully memorized (such as a system of places in which each place contains
one animal and four craftsmen). A method that became very popular in the later
Middle Ages creates this palace of places and images from the alphabet: each letter
of the Latin alphabet includes five subcategories that can be used as images with
the aid of attributes referring to the memorized object.
All our sources from Antiquity mention only the first method, based on houses
and palaces that contain active images. From the sources known in the Middle
Ages, the De Oratore of Cicero (2, 86–88, 350–360) and the Marriage of Philol-
ogy and Mercury of Martian Capella (5, 538–539) mention the art of memory
only perfunctorily, or with attention to a certain aspect, such as order, while the
Institutio oratoria of Quintilian, which gives a detailed but unfavorable account
of the technique (11, 2, 11–26), remained rather unpopular throughout the Mid-
dle Ages and was rediscovered in its entirety only in 1416 by Poggio Bracciolini.3
There exists only one source, the Rhetorica ad Herennium, which offered a lengthy,
detailed and conveniently accessible description of the technique to readers in the
High and Late Middle Ages.4
Evidently, with the decay of Roman oratorical culture, the focus of the art
of memory shifted from delivering speeches to remembering what one had been
told or what one had read (especially authorities), and the art of memory became
an important tool for meditation. Hugh of St. Victor (1096–1141) exerted the 11
greatest influence in this direction. One of his major works, the De tribus maximis
circumstantiis, begins with the statement that memory is a treasure-house where
one should keep one’s knowledge, after which he outlines the Herennian tradi-
tion of the art of memory. It is in his work that memory, and along with it the art
of memory, becomes a tool for self-perfection leading to a moral change in
humanity, since the source of morality is knowledge coming from Divine Wis-
dom. The mind must perfectly mirror a physical book in which knowledge is
contained — and vice versa, the appearance of the book and the shape of the
page must be a mirror image of the order created in the mind with the aid of
3
Remigio Sabbadini, Le scoperte dei codici greci e latini nei secoli XIV e XV (Florence: Sansoni,
1905), Vol. 2, 247–248; Leighton Reynolds and Nigel G. Wilson, Scribes and Scholars: A Guide to the
Transmission of Greek and Latin Literature (Oxford: Clarendon, 1991), 137; Michael Winterbottom,
“Fifteenth-Century Manuscripts of Quintilian,” Classical Quarterly II, 17 (1967): 339–369; F.
Murru, “Poggio Bracciolini e la riscoperta dell’Institutio oratoria del Quintiliano,” Critica storica 20
(1983): 621–626; Alessandro Daneloni, Poliziano e il testo dell’Institutio oratoria (Messina: Centro
interdipartimentale di studi umanistici, 2001), 66–83.
4
On the medieval tradition of the arts of memory, see Carruthers and Ziolkowski, eds., Medieval
Craft of Memory, 18–19; and Mary Carruthers, “Rhetorical memoria in Commentary and Practice,” in
The Rhetoric of Cicero in its Medieval and Early Renaissance Commentary Tradition, ed. Virginia Cox,
John O. Ward (Leiden: Brill, 2006), 212.
memory.5 The tradition of Hugh’s meditative works had an important influence on

later medieval treatises on the art of memory. For the rhetorician Boncompagno da
Signa (c. 1170 to after 1240) of Bologna, any creature of the universe could serve
as a structural memory aid, be it an architectural form, a building, a painting or
a sculpture, as it is through the memorative function of the created world that God
reminds us to remember him, and helps us in remembering.6
Compared to the arts of memory from the fifteenth century, the few surviv-
ing treatises on the subject from the fourteenth century, such as the De memoria
artificiali adquirenda by Thomas Bradwardine (c. 1290–1349),7 and the chapter
on memorization in the Art of Preaching by Francesc Eiximenis (c. 1340–c. 1409),8
rather attest to the general lack of interest in the art of memory in this century.
Bradwardine’s is the first representative of the technical type of treatise that be-
came typical in the fifteenth century. Unlike the works of Hugh of St. Victor, the
theoretical, philosophical, and theological references are limited in most treatises,
and they focus instead on the technicalities of memorizing. Bradwardine’s tract
survives in only three fifteenth-century copies,9 and it seems never to have left
England. Similarly, the Art of Preaching by Francesc Eiximenis survives in only
three copies, two of which are in East Central Europe, written in the second half
of the fifteenth century and connected to the University of Cracow.10
The art of memory in Latin reached its heyday in the first decades of the
12 fifteenth century, when a number of tracts suddenly appeared in Italy, and the
fashion seems to have spread rapidly all over the continent, with the Council of
5
Grover A. Zinn, Jr., “Hugh of Saint Victor and the Art of Memory,” Viator 5 (1974): 211–234;
Mary Carruthers, Book of Memory, 46–79. On his Noah’s Ark see Hugo de Sancto Victore, “Libellus
de formatione arche,” in: id., De archa Noe pro archa sapientie cum archa Ecclesie et archa matris gratie.
Libellus de formatione arche, ed. Patrice Sicard, CCCM 176 (Turnhout: Brepols, 2004), 119–162; and
Patrice Sicard, Diagrammes médiévaux et exégèse visuelle. Le libellus de formatione arche de Hugues de
Saint Victor (Turnhout: Brepols, 1993).
6
Boncompagno da Signa, “Rhetorica novissima,” in: Bibliotheca Iuridica Medii Aevi, Scripta anecdota
antiquissimorum glossatorum, ed. Augusto Gaudenzi (Bologna: A. Gandolphi, 1892), Vol. 2, 247–297,
here at p. 277; and Mary Carruthers, “Boncompagno at the Cutting Edge of Rhetoric: Rhetorical
Memory and the Craft of Memory,” Journal of Medieval Latin 6 (1996): 44–64.
7
Mary Carruthers, “Thomas Bradwardine: ‘De Memoria Artificiali Adquirenda’,” Journal of Medieval
Latin 2 (1992): 25–43.
8
Kimberly Rivers, “Memory and Medieval Preaching: Mnemonic Advice in the ‘Ars praedicandi’ of
Francesc Eiximenis,” Viator 30 (1999): 253–284; and Rivers, Preaching the Memory of Virtue and Vice:
Memory, Images and Preaching in the Late Middle Ages (Turnhout: Brepols, 2010).
9
Although several authors have doubted the attribution of the treatise (cf. Heimann-Seelbach, Ars und
scientia, 159–160), no valid argument has yet been raised against his authorship. Indeed, the contents
of the treatise itself closely resemble the later fifteenth-century arts of memory, although the reference
to the Battle of Berwick (1333) suggests a contemporary, early fourteenth-century author, even if it was
not Thomas Bradwardine.
10
One of them is from Hungary, see below, p. 109. See P. Martí de Barcelona, “L’Ars praedicandi de
Francesc Eiximenis,” in: Homenatge a Antoni Rubió i Lluch (Barcelona: s.t., 1936), Vol. 2, 301–340.
Constance, and especially the Council of Basel, apparently playing a not negligi-
ble role. The vogue lasted until the early days of the Protestant Reformation, and
the Congestorium artificiosae memoriae (1520) of the Dominican Johann Host of
Romberch establishes a convenient end date to this period of mnemonics.11 Romb-
erch’s Congestorium gathered and amplified the contents of the most important ear-
lier arts of memory on the one hand, and, on the other hand, served as inspiration
for Lodovico Dolce’s 1562 Dialogo nel quale si ragione di accrescere e conservar la
memoria (Dialogue on how we can improve and conserve our memory), a treatise
that introduced a more hermetic, more combinatory period in the history of the
art of memory along with Camillo’s L’ idea del teatro.12
Most of the treatises from the fifteenth century focus on placing and recollect-
ing memories in the mind, but deal less with their inventive usage. The concept
of inventive recollection, as opposed to the informative recalling of data,13 has
far less relevance in these texts. The use of mnemonic devices is not aimed at the
composition of a new series of pre-memorized ideas or expressions, but rather serves
the oral performance of a set of ideas, laws, or definitions. Nevertheless, there are
important exceptions to this tendency: some treatises give a detailed account of
the techniques for creating a new sermon from a memorized series of citations of
authorities,14 while other treatises try to aid artificial meditation by offering a table
of moral subjects that can be internalized and meditated on according to any crea-
tive order.15 Furthermore, the influence of the mnemonic-combinatory teaching 13
of Raymond Lull is also present in this period,16 although to a much lesser extent
than it was in the encyclopedic approaches to the art of memory around the turn
of the seventeenth century.17
The period between the emergence of artes memorativae in around 1400 and
their hermetic, combinatory reorientation after 1520 is marked by an important
change: the introduction of printing to Europe by Johannes Gutenberg. The print-
ing press altered the landscape of the art of memory: the first half of this period was
characterized by the widespread circulation of anonymous manuscript treatises, in
11
The treatise of Romberch was written in 1513 and fi rst printed in 1520 (Venice: Georgius de
Rusconibus), but it became widely available only with the 1533 Venice edition by Melchior Sassa.
12
On L’ idea del teatro, see Lina Bolzoni, Il teatro della memoria. Studi su Giulio Camillo (Padova:
Liviana, 1984); for his biography see Ronnie H. Terpening, Lodovico Dolce: Renaissance Man of Letters
(Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1997), 145–149.
13
Developed by Carruthers, Book of Memory, 234.
14
See, for example, the Nota hanc figuram… a treatise described later on pp. 120–130.
15
Such as the Memoria fecunda treatise: Pack, “An Ars”.
16
Heimann-Seelbach, Ars und scientia, 166–170. See Raimundus Lullus, Ars generalis ultima, ed.
Aloisius Madre, CCCM 75 (Turnhout: Brepols, 1986); and Raimundus Lullus, Ars brevis, ed. and
transl. Alexander Fidora (Hamburg: Meiner, 1999).
17
On these, see Rossi, Logic; and Howard Hotson, Johann Heinrich Alsted 1588–1638, Between
Renaissance, Reformation and Universal Reform (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 2000).
which the mnemonic tables varied from manuscript to manuscript according to

the needs of the copyist, while chapters were lost and added during the different
phases of the transmission of the text. Scribes often expropriated earlier authors,
as we will see in the case of Matthaeus de Verona and Matouš Beran. After 1475,
a number of itinerant humanists published short treatises on the subject, an oc-
currence that largely coincides with the Europe-wide availability of the printing
press (1470).18 The first printed arts of memory appeared around this date.19 They
were quickly followed by a number of treatises by new, and often barely known
authors (such as Henricus Vibicetus, Christian Umhauser, Johannes Cusanus,
or — to quote a Polish example — Jan Szklarek), who generally published their
works in university cities (Paris, Cologne, Bologna, Basel, Leipzig, Erfurt, Ingol-
stadt, Vienna, Cracow). These texts are not more original than their manuscript
precedents, but they often contain important illustrative material (woodcuts or
tables) that the scribes of the manuscripts usually failed to copy.
Despite the similarity in mnemonic techniques, each text is worth examination
because of the fascinating variety of associative methods that are suggested in these
books. Through the mirror of these creative associations, the average cleric and
university student seems to be much more of an original thinker, with a more vivid
imagination than one would commonly suppose. As is well known, the author of
the Rhetorica ad Herennium suggests that one should create humorous, horrible
14 or atrocious associations, and his late medieval followers interpreted the notion of
humor widely and boldly. The humanistic commentary on the Ad Herennium by
Francesco Maturanzio suggests remembering a clown, a fool, or a monkey playing
the violin.20 Such ridiculous or cruel images could be developed into small and
rather daring scenes. A probably early version of the Memoria fecunda treatise cre-
ates an entire sequence of cruel imagination: “Andrew should hold an amphora,
18
Cf. the important article by Paul Needham, “Prints in the Early Printing Shops,” in The Woodcut
in 15th Century Europe, ed. Peter Parshall (Washington, D.C.: National Gallery of Art, 2009), 39–91.
19
The Quemadmodum intellectus scientiis illuminatur… was published in the Ars et modus vitae
contemplativae (Nürnberg: Creussner, 1473), and the first version of the art of memory by Jacobus
Publicius was probably printed in Toulouse around 1475–76. The latter ( Jacobi Publitii in art memorie
prologus incipit feliciter) survives in a unique copy in Paris (Bibl. Mazarine, Inc. 618). Unfortunately,
it bears neither printer’s mark nor date. Its types are very similar to the Iacobii Publicii epistolarum
institutiones incipiunt feliciter (London, British Library IA 42476), which is also dated in Toulouse
in c. 1475. The first “Blockbuch” editions of the Ars memorandi notabilis per figuras ewangelistarum
are dated to around 1465–1470. See Susanne Rischpler, “Gedruckt und gezeichnet. Das Blockbuch
‘Ars memorandi’ und seine handschriftlichen Zeugen,” in Blockbücher des 15. Jahrhunderts. Eine
Experimentierphase im frühen Buchdruck. Beiträge der Fachtagung in der Bayerischen Staatsbibliothek
München am 16. und 17. Februar 2012, ed. Bettina Wagner (Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz, 2013), 215–254.
See also Rafał Wójcik, “Masters, Pupils, Friends and Th ieves: A Fashion of ars memorativa in the
Environment of Early German Humanists,” Daphnis 41 (2012): 399–418.
20
M. T. Cicero, Rhetoricorum libri cum tribus commentis, ed. Franciscus Maturantius Perusinus
(Venice: Philippus Pincius, 1496), f. 82r (Budapest UL, Inc. 575).
as if he desperately wanted to drink, but he puts the bottle to his mouth clumsily
and knocks out several teeth, hurting his tongue and his gums at the same time.
He then spits out blood along with teeth and bits of his tongue, dripping blood
on himself. This makes him angry and he throws the amphora at the wall, but
it bounces back and pierces his stomach.”21 Christian Umhauser, the author of
a German treatise from around 1500, proposes that to memorize a medicine we
should imagine a well-known doctor, dressed in wonderful clothes, who holds an
ampule of urine in his hand that he pours over an old lady.22 Haec est pulchra imago
(This is a beautiful image!), as the author comments. Giovanni Michele Alberto
Carrara, an Italian humanist from Bergamo from the second half of the fifteenth
century, advises, quoting Avicenna, that we should set up images of pretty girls
whose names start with the same letter as the thing to be remembered. His example
of amusing or moving images is that if we want to memorize something connected
to Antonius we must imagine one of our friends named Anthony whose head is
being chewed by an ass with rabies, and who, with blood spurting out, is asking
desperately for help.23
It seems undeniable that the later Middle Ages, and especially the early fif-
teenth century, experienced an unprecedented growth in the popularity of treatises
on the art of memory. The reason for this sudden increase in the number of copied
manuscripts has been the subject of scholarly debate. Frances A. Yates attempted
to explain the sudden flourishing of this type of literature by the change that 15
occurred in the notion of memory in the Summa theologiae of Thomas Aquinas.
21
“Andreas capiat amforam volens vehementer bibere et eam cum tanta importunitate in os suum
trudat ut plures dentes evellat linguamque cum dentina crudeliter vulneret, quo facto expuat sanguinem
cum dentibus et partibus linguae ita ut seipsum turpiter maculet, et sic iratus proiciat anforam contra
murum, que resiliens intret ventrem suum.” Berlin, SB, ms. germ. qu. 1522, f. 282v. Th is manuscript
contains a probably early variant of the Memoria fecunda treatise, which significantly differs from the
version published by Pack, “An Ars”.
22
“Imago (ut antea dixi) est similitudo et figura et significatio rei, quam volumus locis tradere. Verbi
gratia, si vellem commemorare medicinam, ad locum constituo medicum mihi cognitum mirabili veste
indutum urinale in manu habens et urina vetulam respergens. Hec est pulchra imago. In ordine regula:
Imagines debent esse rarae, mirabiles, inusitatae, ridiculae, quia natura usitata re non exsuscitatur et
debemus eis attribuere egregiam pulchritudinem aut unicam turpitudinem si aliquas exornabimus
aut corona aut veste, tunc cruentam aut steno oblitas inducamus.” Munich, BSB, clm. 4417f, f. 3r–v.
Interestingly, this quotation does not appear in the printed, significantly altered edition of the text,
cp. Christian Umhauser, Ars memoratiua S. Thome, Ciceronis, Qunitiliani, Petri Rauenne (Nürnberg:
Ambrosius Hueber, 1501), f. 2r.
23
Giovanni Michele Alberto Carrara, De omnibus ingeniis augendae memoriae (Bologna: Plato de
Benedictis, 1491), f. a5r: “Ut risum moveat figura, aut misericordiam aut admirationem, haec enim
facit etiam puellas recordari, ut inquit Avicenna sexto naturalium particula quarta. Facile enim
invenitur quaesita figura quae affectum animae commoverit. Exemplum hoc est: in ore asini rabidi
caput Antonii constituam morsibus fere ossa confringi, cruorem effluere, illum auxilia petere, et passis
palmis vociferare. Fieri non poterit, ut cum voluero, non videam hunc oculis mentis meae, et reddere
Antonium nesciam repetenti.”
When Aquinas outlined the system of virtues in the Summa theologiae on the
basis of Aristotle’s ethics, he complemented the traditional elements of the virtue
of Prudence with memory, which he borrowed from Cicero’s rhetorical work De
inventione.24 Thus, according to Yates, memory, which was previously regarded
as a subject of rhetoric, now gained importance and was considered as a part of
ethics, which stood higher in the hierarchy of sciences.
However, according to our present knowledge it is only in the fifteenth century
that these kinds of treatises proliferated and became present in almost every area
of Europe. Important treatises on the subject survive from the previous two and
a half centuries between Thomas Aquinas and the fifteenth century, but they are
scarce compared to the fifty-six treatises that Sabine Heimann-Seelbach found
while investigating only the tradition of the art of memory in the fifteenth century.
These treatises survive in more than two hundred and fifty manuscripts and at
least fifteen incunabulum prints in total.25 Moreover, a completely new genre, the
pictorial mnemonic Bible, appeared both in manuscript and in print in numerous
copies.26
Another idea put forward by Yates27 and recently taken up by Sabine Heimann-
Seelbach28, concerns the possible influence of Greek scholars who arrived in Italy
from Byzantium in around 1400. According to ancient accounts, artificial memory
aids had been invented by the Greek Simonides, thus it would have been no
16 surprise if the Byzantine Greeks had reintroduced them to Italy. The Rhetorica
ad Herennium explicitly mentions the Greek arts of memory in Antiquity, and
differentiates them from the Latin practice:
I know that most of the Greeks who have written on the memory have taken
the course of listing images that correspond to a great many words, so that
persons who wished to learn these images by heart would have them ready
without expending effort on a search for them. I disapprove of their method
on several grounds. First, among the innumerable multitude of words it is
24
Frances Yates, The Art of Memory (London: Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1966), 73–76, 82–83. On
the importance of the commentary of Marius Victorinus on the De inventione in these changes, see
Carruthers (cf. note 4), “Rhetorical memoria,” 215–217.
25
To this number should be added the number of copies of the Rhetorica ad Herennium, which made
available the same mnemonic teachings. In this case, of course, the evidence is ambiguous, as the
copyists and owners of that treatise were not necessarily interested in the art of memory. See also The
Rhetoric of Cicero in its Medieval and Early Renaissance, ed. Virginia Cox and John Ward (Leiden: Brill,
2006).
26
Rischpler, Biblia Sacra.
27
Frances Yates, “Ludovico da Pirano’s Memory Treatise,” in Cultural Aspects of the Italian Renaissance.
Essays in Honour of P. O. Kristeller, ed. Cecil H. Clough (Manchester/New York: Manchester University
Press/Zambelli, 1976), 111–122.
28
Heimann-Seelbach, Ars und scientia, 417–433.
ridiculous to collect images for a thousand. How meagre is the value these can
have, when out of the infinite store of words we shall need to remember now
one, and now another? Secondly, why do we wish to rob anybody of his initia-
tive, so that, to save him from making any search himself, we deliver to him
everything searched out and ready? Then again, one person is more struck by
one likeness, and another more by another. Often in fact when we declare that
some one form resembles another, we fail to receive universal assent, because
things seem different to different persons. The same is true with respect to im-
ages: one that is well defined to us appears relatively inconspicuous to others.29
Obviously, this negative approach to the Greek art of memory did not encourage
the acceptance of Hellenic wisdom in this field. Furthermore, we do not know
of a single Byzantine art of memory that would have transmitted the method
of places and images that became so popular in the Latin West in the fifteenth
century.30 Even more disturbing is the fact that the treatise attributed to Thomas
Bradwardine probably, and the Art of Preaching of Francesc Eiximenis certainly,
antedate the possible arrival of Greek scholars in Italy.31
The sudden popularity of these types of texts from the beginning of the fif-
teenth century onwards cannot possibly be explained by only one factor. Around
the year 1400 the number of students studying at universities grew significantly.
Higher-level studies became widespread in Germany, where several new universities 17
were founded throughout the century (Heidelberg 1386, Cologne 1388, Erfurt
1392, Leipzig 1409, Rostock 1419, Greifswald 1456, Freiburg im Breisgau 1457,
Ingolstadt 1472, Mainz 1477, Tübingen 1477, Frankfurt an der Oder 1506). The
Central European universities that were founded in the middle of the fourteenth
century (Prague 1348, Cracow 1364, Vienna 1365) — despite the initial backlash
— had to be re-founded at the turn of the century because of growing demand
(Vienna 1384, Cracow 1400), and even Prague, which came under Hussite influ-
ence from 1409, reached a wider public than before in the early fifteenth century.32
These institutions educated the target audience for the ars memorativa. As Johann
Romberch wrote in 1520, it was an art most necessary for “all the theologians,
preachers, confessors, lawyers, judges, procurators, advocates, notaries, physicians,
philosophers, students of the liberal arts, moreover merchants, messengers, and
29
Ad C. Herennium: De ratione dicendi (Rhetorica ad Herennium), transl. Harry Caplan (Cambridge,
Mass.: Loeb, 1954), 235.
30
As Herwig Blum notes, we do not know of any such word lists as those quoted in the Rhetorica ad
Herennium. Id., Die antike Mnemotechnik (Olms: Hildesheim, 1969), 122.
31
In his recension of the book of Sabine Heimann-Seelbach, Frank Fürbeth also sees the theory of
Greek origin as weak: Arbitrium 21 (2003): 295–300.
32
For details, see Rainer C. Schwinges, Deutsche Universitätsbesucher im 14. und 15. Jahrhundert.
Studien zur Sozialgeschichte des Alten Reiches (Stuttgart: Franz Steiner, 1986).
couriers.”33 The spread of university education necessitated the massive reproduc-

tion of books, excerpts, miscellanies, and other forms of epitomized knowledge —
including the art of memory. At the same time, these new educational institutions
provided a larger public for the art of memory and facilitated the circulation of
such treatises in university circles, a fact that is mirrored in the number of treatises
edited or copied at universities.
As far as we know, the art of memory never became an official part of any
university curricula, and it was taught privatim, among other minor but useful sub-
jects as ars epistolandi (letter writing), algorismus (counting with Arabic numbers in
the decimal system), and arbor consanguinitatis et affinitatis (the degrees of family
relations for legal purposes). The larger student body present at the universities now
proved to be a sufficient audience for traveling teachers of these subjects, who spent
one or two semesters teaching in one place (and in certain cases studying other
subjects at the same time), then traveled further around Europe. This was the case
with Jacobus Publicius, Conrad Celtis, Thomas Murner and Johannes Cusanus in
the second half of the fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries. Many of the treatises
on the art of memory in the fifteenth century are connected to university environ-
ments, or directly to teachers at universities in both Western Europe (the Memoria
fecunda treatise, written in Bologna in 1425;34 the Artificiosa memoria secundum
Parisienses;35 the different forms of the ars memorativa of Jacobus Publicius;36 the
18 treatise of Henricus Vibicetus at the University of Cologne from 1500;37 or the
short treatise of Pedro Ciruelo on the art of memory from Alcalá in the early
sixteenth century38) and East Central Europe (Matouš Beran at the University
of Erfurt, Martinus Pragensis at the University of Prague, Stanisław Korzybski,
Antoni of Radomsko, Conrad Celtis, Jan Szklarek, Thomas Murner, and Cusanus
in Cracow — the last also taught in Vienna, among other universities).
The sudden shift to mass education at universities changed the forms of schol-
arly discourse as well, and professors began to write shorter, more specialized
treatises instead of the longer, more comprehensive works. Daniel Hobbins calls
33
See the title page of the Congestorium artificiose memorie, 1520 (Venice: Georgius de Rusconibus), 1r:
“opus omnibus theologis, predicatoribus et confessoribus, iuristis, iudicibus, procuratoribus, advocatis
et notariis, medicis, philosophis, artium liberalium professoribus, insuper mercatoribus, nunciis et
tabellariis pernecessarium.”
34
Pack, “An Ars”.
35
36
The final form can be read in English translation in Carruthers and Ziolkowski, eds., Medieval Craft
of Memory, 226–254.
37
Heimann-Seelbach, Ars und scientia, 61–64; and the introduction to Johannes Cusanus below,
pp. 303–310.
38
Cirilo Flórez Miguel, “Pedro Ciruelo y el arte renacentista de la memoria,” in: Homenaje a Pedro
Sainz Rodriguez (Madrid: Fundacion Universitaria Española, 1986), Vol. 1, 283–294.
this new type of scholarly treatise “the late medieval tract.”39 Treatises on the
art of memory ranked lower in academic prestige than treatises on theology or
the subjects taught at the faculty of arts: its professors remained external lec-
turers (professores extranei) throughout their careers and their teaching was only
occasionally recorded in university acts. These texts were therefore presumably
considered as study aids rather than serious scholarship. The popularity of such
condensed forms of educational texts nevertheless helped the circulation of the
ars memorativa.
“Cellula quae meminit est cellula deliciarum” — “a little cell that remembers is
a chamber of pleasure”, wrote Geoffrey of Vinsauf in his popular treatise on poetics,
the Poetria nova, and his advice was often followed in monasteries and convents.40
Several manuscripts on the art of memory reveal monastic origins, especially in
Central and East Central Europe. The number of treatises and copies coming from
the Franciscan environment hints at another important factor behind the spread of
the art of memory. A new style of preaching emerged among the Franciscans, and
especially among the Observants, introduced by Saint Bernardino of Siena, who
made extensive use of rhetorical tools to influence his audience.41 These included
the alphabetical segmentation of the text and the use of lively metaphorical images
and symbol-like mnemonic structures, which resembled the techniques of the art
of memory. Saint Bernardino of Siena refers to the art of memory several times
in his vernacular preaching,42 and he even explains its rules to his public twice, 19
39
Daniel Hobbins, “The Schoolman as Public Intellectual: Jean Gerson and the Late Medieval Tract,”
American Historical Review 108 (2003): 1308–1337.
40
Leonard Huntpichler, writing in Vienna in the 1450s, cited this sentence from Geoffrey of Vinsauf in
his Rethorica written for Central European Dominicans. See ms. Wrocław, University Library I. Q. 475,
11v: “Absque memoria in nulla scientia aliquis potest esse peritus, sed propterea rhetorice applicatur quia
maxime est necessaria oratori, plurimum enim ad persuadendum proficiet. […] sed studeat frequenter,
animo tamen leto, nam cellula quae meminit est cellula deliciarum, delicias non tedia querit. Distingat
quoque, partes accipiat eorum que voluit memorie commendare. Sunt autem a magistris tradite regule
memorandi per loca et imagines quibus ea quae memoranda sunt convenienter locentur. Sed quaedam
aliis, alia vero aliis placent. […] Poterit autem quibus eligere signa sua aut in manu aut in presente pariete,
aut in libro per que ad reminiscendum sua memoria moveatur. Super omnia autem valet assiduitas…”
On the attitude of Geoff rey of Vinsauf to the art of memory, see Mieczysław Mejor, “Ars Versificandi
and Ars Memorativa: Geoff rey of Vinsauf on the Art of Memory,” in Culture of Memory, ed. Wójcik,
79–86.
41
Cf. Carlo Delcorno, “L’Osservanza francescana e il rinnovamento della predicazione,” in: I frati
osservanti e la società in Italia nel secolo XV. Atti del XL convegno internazionale in occasione del 550o
anniversario della fondazione del Monte di pietà di Perugia, (Spoleto: Centro Italiano di Studi sul Medio
Evo, 2013), 3–54 and Carolyn Muessig, “Bernardino da Siena and Observant Preaching as a Vehicle of
Religious Transformation,” in: A Companion to Observant Reform in the Late Middle Ages and Beyond,
ed. James D. Mixson, Bert Roest, (Leiden: Brill, 2015), 203.
42
Carlo Delcorno, “L’«ars praedicandi» di Bernardino da Siena,” Lettere italiane 32 (1980):
453–454.
in order to prepare them better for confession. On another occasion he relates the
example of a rich but unlettered peasant, who studied the twenty sentences of the
Lord’s Prayer by attaching the image of his twenty debtors to each sentence. “This
is almost the art of memory,” says Saint Bernardino. His affective and emotional
style of preaching created a school among Observant Franciscans (John Capist-
rano, Roberto Caracciolo da Lecce, Jacopo delle Marche), which quickly spread to
Central Europe, as the Italian preachers sent out to preach against heretic move-
ments, Jews, and Turks reached Hungary and Poland. A parallel might easily be
drawn between the tendency of the Franciscans to preach with the “imaginative”
(that is, using gripping images) and the creative imaging techniques of the art of
memory. Almost all the treatises on the art of memory surviving from Poland can
be connected to Observant preachers: Stanisław Korzybski, who taught the subject
at the University of Cracow in 1470; Paulinus of Skalbmierz (†1498); Jan Szklarek
(who published his Opusculum de arte memorativa in 1504 but started to teach
in 1474); and the Modus reponendi sermones, an anonymous treatise from around
1507. We know of another treatise by Antoni of Radomsko that did not survive.
The Franciscan use of images and other mnemonic devices as tools of persuasion
and discipline coincides with the practice of the art of memory, as seen in the case
of Johannes Sintram in the first half of the fifteenth century,43 and Johann Geiler
von Kaysersberg at the turn of the sixteenth century.44
20 Another important factor in the fifteenth-century popularity of the art of mem-
ory was its applicability to meditative and devotional practice. The stress of the
ars memorativa on the spatial visualization of mental structures closely resembles
the use of visual patterns in devotion. Its imaginative techniques — for example
the creation of places (loci) in existing sacral spaces (churches, cemeteries, cities,
or pilgrim routes), or the use of symbolic images (such as the bull or the eagle for
the Gospels) — recall the widespread use of such elements in meditative treatises
from Hugh of St. Victor onwards. The meditative techniques developed by Wessel
Gansfort and Jean Mombaer, representatives of the Modern Devotion movement
in the second half of the fifteenth century, bear close resemblance to the image-
43
Kimberly Rivers, “Writing the Memory of the Virtues and Vices in Johannes Sintram’s (d. 1450)
Preaching Aids,” in: The Making of Memory in the Middle Ages, ed. Lucie Doležalová (Leiden: Brill,
2010), 31–48.
44
Johann Geiler von Kaysersberg, Des hochgelerten doctor Keiserspergs Alphabet in XXIII Predigen
so er gethon und die geordnet hat an einem baum. XXIII. est uff zesteigen zu ewigem leben gut gelesen und
dauon man wol gebessert mag warden (Strasbourg, Joannes Grieninger, 1518). Used copy: Hungarian
National Library, Ant. 548. On him, see Herbert Kraume, “Johannes Geiler von Kaysersberg,” in
Verfasserlexikon, Vol. 2, 1141–1152. Geiler often used mnemotechnical images in his preaching both
for ecclesiastical teaching and for entertainment.
based ordering methods of the art of memory.45 Moreover, the circulation of trea-
tises on ars memorativa was often connected to monastic reform movements, as has
been demonstrated in the case of the Melk Reform.46 Peter of Rosenheim, a central
figure in the Melk Benedictine reform movement, was personally responsible for
a mnemonic summary of the Bible. Benedictines in the Salzburg Archabbey were
active in applying the art of memory to their meditative practice.47
Due to these factors, the popularity of the art of memory cannot easily be con-
nected to the spread of humanism. The ars memorativa, used by university students
to mug up on the Decretals and advocated by Franciscan friars to spread the word
of God, could not elicit a unanimously positive response in humanistic circles.
Under the guise of Thomas Klorbius, a fictional theologian of the early sixteenth
century, the art of memory was ironically exposed as an important element of late
medieval scholastic culture and parodied along with the typical targets of human-
ist mockery (scholasticism, Scotism, rudimentary knowledge of grammar) in the
second part of the Letters of Obscure Men (1517):
You have recently mentioned in a letter our theologian as being well lettered,
and a Doctor of long standing, and a profound Scotist, and deeply versed in
the Book of Sentences. You also averred that he had conned by rote the whole
book of the Holy Doctor Of Entity and Essence, and that he knew The Fortress
of Faith like his paternoster, and that by memorative art he had impressed the 21
Formalities of Scotus upon his mind like so much wax; and finally, you alleged
that he was ‘a member of ten universities.’48
Ulrich von Hutten, the most probable candidate for the authorship of the second
part of the Letters of Obscure Men, considered the art of memory as a characteristic
45
Th is is especially true of the Rosetum exercitiorum spiritualium et sacrarum meditationum of Jean
Mombaer (Johannes Mauburnus), first published in 1494, in which he discusses meditative practices
bound to imagined sacral spaces such as churches. See Pierre Debongnie, Jean Mombaer de Bruxelles,
abbé de Livry. Ses écrits et ses réformes (Louvain-Toulouse: Uystpruyst, 1927); and Sara Ritchey, “Wessel
Gansfort, John Mombaer, and Medieval Technologies of the Self: Affective Meditation in a Fifteenth-
Century Emotional Community,” Fifteenth-Century Studies 38 (2013): 153–166.
46
For mnemonic manuscripts of monastic (esp. Benedictine) provenance, see Susanne Rischpler,
“Spätmittelalterliche Mnemotechnik im Kontext von Konzil und Melker Reform,” in Wissenspaläste.
Räume des Wissens in der Vormoderne, ed. Gesine Mierke and Christoph Fasbender (Würzburg:
Königshausen&Neumann, 2013), 10–41.
47
See Kiss, “Performing,” 421–422.
48
Epistolae obscurorum virorum: the Latin text with an English rendering, ed. Francis Stokes (London:
Chatto&Windus, 1925), 426. “Vos nuper scripsistis in uno dictamine de uno Magistro nostro, quod est
valde doctus, et est Doctor multorum annorum, et est profundus Scotista: et est valde cursivus in libris
sententiarum: etiam scit mentetenus totum librum Doctoris sancti de ente et essentia, et Fortalitium
fidei est ei sicut pater noster, et per artem memorativam impressit sibi formalitates Scoti, sicut ceram,
et ultimo scribitis, quod est membrum decem Universitatum.”
accessory of scholastic learning, and a parallel can easily be drawn between his
attitude and Erasmus’s rejection of this technique.49 Although the art of memory
was ridiculed by the most famous humanists of the second decade of the sixteenth
century, it was a popular subject that even the “German arch-humanist” Conrad
Celtis had deigned worthy of attention a few decades earlier. Although we do
not find any prominent Italian humanists among the authors of the treatises,
a number of important philologists, including Marcantonio Sabellico, professor
at the University of Padua, attested to the usefulness of the art of memory in their
writings. After general praise of memory, Sabellico says that memory can indeed
be improved by artificial techniques.50 It was accepted even more warmly by court
humanists if a member of a princely family indulged in the art: in the Artificialis
memoriae regulae of Jacopus de Ragona, the author mentions in his dedication to
his humanist patron, Gianfrancesco Gonzaga, Duke of Mantua (c. 1395–1444),
that they had spent several days practicing the art of memory.51 In a similar tone,
the renowned humanist author Angelo Camillo Decembrio recounts how court
intellectuals celebrated the Duke of Ferrara, Leonello d’Este (†1450), for having
studied mnemonics with Tommaso Morroni di Rieti (Thomas Reatinus).52 Un-
fortunately, we do not know Tommaso Morroni’s teaching on the art of memory,
but he must have won over the duke as he was knighted for his services, earning
him the envy of several humanists, including Poggio Bracciolini.53 All these cases
22 demonstrate an ambiguous attitude towards the art of memory on the part of the
humanists: on the one hand it seems that no significant humanist scholar wrote
49
See, e.g., Rossi, Logic, 2–6.
50
“Est hec thesaurus disciplinarum omnium artiumque studio et labore quesitarum custos fidelissima.
aliquid certe vidit sapiens poeta qui Musarum memoriam dixit matrem nec minus, qui Lethen, que
huic contraria est, apud inferos statuit. constat id bonum nature beneficio, auget tamen et excolitur
arte” (Exempla, lib. 10, cap. 9). Later on, Sabellicus quotes the example of Antonio da Ravenna who
could state several thousand things in the correct order, but it was through an artificial technique: “sed
hec artificij sunt, non nature.” See Marcus Antonius Sabellicus, Exempla Sabellici (Lipsiae: Wolfgang
Monacensis, 1513), f. 113r.
51
“Iussu tuo princeps Illustrissime artificialis memoriae regulas quo ordine illas superioribus diebus
simul exercuimus, hunc in libellum reduxi, tuoque nomini dicaui.” London, British Library, ms. Add.
10.438, 2r (dated “tertio Nonas Septembris 1434”). Interestingly, other copies contain a different dating,
cf. Heimann-Seelbach, Ars und scientia, 25.
52
Angelo Camillo Decembrio, De Politia Litteraria, ed. Norbert Witten (Leipzig: KG Saur, 2002),
157 (Bk. 1, ch. 3, 24). Tommaso Morroni’s knowledge of the art of memory is mentioned several times
in this dialogue, although without any specific details (cf. ibid., 145, 171). For further details about
the life of this interesting figure see Arnaldo Segarizzi, “Per Tommaso Morroni,” Rassegna bibliografica
della letteratura italiana 6 (1898): 325–327; and Bice Boralevi, “Di alcuni scritti inediti di Tommaso
Morroni da Rieti,” Bolletino del R. Deputazione di Storia Patria, per l’Umbria 17 (1911): 535–614 (esp.
598–599), according to which Morroni could extemporize on any subject in poetry or prose.
53
Th is affair actually prompted Poggio Bracciolini to write his treatise on “true nobility.” Cf. Ernst
Walser, Poggius Florentinus, Leben und Werke (Berlin-Leipzig: Teubner, 1914), 191–194.
on this subject,54 and that they were rather suspicious of its non-natural, mechani-
cal approach to language and knowledge; on the other hand, they were tolerant
towards the success of an art already known in Antiquity, especially when it was
supported by a wealthy patron.
On a wider note, medial changes that increase the accessibility of privileged
cultural goods generally trigger an instinct for collection in the communities in
which they occur. All the factors mentioned above — universities, preaching,
monastic devotion — (coupled with the humanists’ tacit support for the art) may
be sufficient to explain the growing fashion among fifteenth-century intellectuals
of using imaginative techniques to memorize massive amounts of facts and cita-
tions. Nevertheless, on a more abstract level we might also add to these the impact
of the medial changes that occurred in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. As
the sheer quantity of knowledge that was accessible to an individual grew with the
triumph of paper manuscripts (from the thirteenth century) and with the invention
of the printing press (from the mid-fifteenth century), so the need to systemize,
digest, and appropriate this freshly acquired material increased. In fact, a paral-
lel can be drawn between the popularity of mnemonic arts in the fifteenth and
sixteenth centuries and the late medieval and Early Modern expansion of “com-
monplace reading,” which was a similar effort to cope with the extensive fields of
knowledge that had suddenly become accessible to far wider circles than before.55
As the art of memory provided a tool for memorizing hundreds of legal decrees 23
(e.g. the card play of Thomas Murner) or theological statements (e.g. the Nota hanc
figuram treatise),56 so personal miscellanies and collections of commonplaces were
created and organized to bring order to the disorderly heap of knowledge. We
might interpret the overwhelming success of the art of memory in the fifteenth
century as a symptom of dealing with a “post-scarcity economy of knowledge”:
as scholarly knowledge became more accessible than ever before, readers became
more avid collectors of scholarly content. An obvious present-day parallel here is
the advent of the Internet era, which has prompted many of us to collect a previ-
54
Conrad Celtis’ exception rather proves the rule: Conrad Celtis published his treatise early, at the
start of his career (1492), and the text probably reflects his extracurricular teaching at the University of
Cracow, while he was studying for a degree there. George of Trebizond’s Rhetoricorum libri V contains
a detailed account of the art of memory with a very theoretical outlook. See Luis Merino-Jerez, “Retórica
y Artes memoriae: la memoria en los Rhetoricorum libri quinque de Jorge de Trebisonda,” in Pectora
mulcet. Estudios de Retórica y Oratoria latinas, eds. Trinidad Arcos-Pereira et al., (Logroño : Instituto de
Estudios Riojanos), 2009, 983–993. His categorizations resemble the theories of imposition exposed by
Leonardo Giustiniani (impositio, transumptio, gestus, etc.) and Lodovico da Pirano (aliud in toto simile,
aliud in toto dissimile, aliud partim simile).
55
On commonplace reading and collecting in the Early Modern era, see Ann M. Blair, Too Much to
Know. Managing Scholarly Information before the Modern Age (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press,
2010).
56
See below, pp. 76–80 and 120–130.
ously unimaginable quantity of books, films, music and other cultural goods in
digital format.57 Mnemonic Bibles and memorized collections of citations provided
their users with a readily applicable treasure trove of useful information, just as
encyclopedias and commonplace collections did, with the significant difference
of not having been written, but rather inculcated. Furthermore, these mnemonic
practices contributed to the classification and segmentation of the available schol-
arly knowledge, a role that similarly has its parallel in modern scientific research.58
The history of the art of memory has been the focus of continuous scholarly
research since at least the early nineteenth century. Johann Christoph Frh. von
Aretin was the first to devote an entire book to the history of this technique in
1810.59 As an enlightened aristocrat, his main interest in the subject centered on the
pedagogical use of the art of memory among the wider population. Nevertheless,
von Aretin had a deep interest in history, and during the time of the seculariza-
tion of the Bavarian monasteries (1802–1803) he was in charge of the transfer of
monastic book collections to the court library in Munich. He thus had first-hand
acquaintance with the fifteenth-century manuscript material on mnemonics pre-
cisely in Bavaria, where the late medieval art of memory probably had the greatest
influence in all Europe, and he described some of the unpublished texts he found
in his monograph.
After von Aretin’s initial advances in this field, the manuscript material re-
24 mained largely untouched by researchers until the fundamental work of Ludwig
Volkmann, who was the first to call attention to the rich pictorial material con-
nected to the art of memory.60 However, the subject proved too literary for art
historians and too pictorial for literary scholars, thus it remained a neglected field
until the early 1960s when two scholars, Paolo Rossi and Frances Yates, almost
simultaneously called attention to its importance to the history of ideas and philos-
ophy.61 While Paolo Rossi focused more on the combinatorial aspects of artificial
memory and its influence as a language of signs on the rhetoric and philosophy
57
On the collecting passions triggered by the Internet era, see Collecting and the Internet: Essays on the
Pursuit of Old Passions through New Technologies, ed. Susan Koppelman and Alison Franks (Jefferson,
NC: McFarland and Co., 2008).
58
Geoff rey Bowker called attention to the classificatory role of archiving and recording: “What is
stored in the archive is not facts, but disaggregated classifications that can at will be reassembled to
take the form of facts about the world.” Geoff rey C. Bowker, Memory Practices in the Sciences (MIT
Press, 2005), 18. Lucie Doležalová has called attention to the mnemonic and cognitive role of order
in her “Ordnen des Gedächtnisses: das Verzeichnis als Raum des Wissens in der Vormoderne,” in
Wissenspaläste. Räume des Wissens in der Vormoderne, ed. Gesine Mierke and Christoph Fasbender
(Würzburg: Königshausen&Neumann, 2013), 42–77.
59
Systematische Anleitung zur Theorie und Praxis der Mnemonik (Sulzbach: Seidel, 1810).
60
Volkmann, “Ars Memorativa”. In addition to his work on the art of memory, Volkmann founded the
systematic study of Renaissance hieroglyphics and emblematics (Bilderschriften der Renaissance, 1923).
61
See Rossi, Logic and Yates, Art of memory.
of the thinkers who applied it, Frances Yates concentrated on the concept of the
hermetic recreation of the universe in the sixteenth-century art of memory. Their
research refers only in passing to the manuscript tradition of the fifteenth-century
arts of memory that were diff used in monastic and university circles, and despite
the enormous influence their work had on Renaissance scholarship, the evolution
of the ars memorativa in fifteenth-century Europe remained untouched for a long
time.
Memory again became a fashionable interpretative concept of human history
in the early 1990s. Within the general framework of cultural memory (Jan Ass-
mann) or commemorative places (les lieux de mémoire, Pierre Nora), the concept
of historical memory has been applied to a great many different fields, from an-
thropology to archeology.62 The art of memory as a technique became a central
notion in interpreting the medieval procedures of reading and meditation in The
Book of Memory by Mary Carruthers (1990), who called attention to the inventive,
creative element in the medieval ars memorativa. Lina Bolzoni63 systematically
applied the theoretical concept of places and images in interpreting late medieval
and Renaissance pictorial representations as palaces of memory according to the
terminology of the art of memory.64
The field of manuscript artes memorativae from the fifteenth century never-
theless remained unexplored, despite some earlier, scattered efforts.65 Sabine Hei-
mann-Seelbach was the first to survey the immense amount of codex material sur- 25
viving from this age (more than 200 manuscripts, with important textual variants
in almost each of them) and to attempt to clarify the complicated ramifications of
the textual tradition of these treatises, which often contain very similar theoretical
material but can be very different in their actual form and structure.66 Her work
concentrates on two larger geographical areas of Europe — Italy and Germany
(including Austria) — where the art of memory was probably the most influential
throughout the fifteenth century. France is represented by far fewer manuscripts
than any of these, partly because of the early presence of printed arts of memory
there (already from 1475–76), and partly because of the difficulties involved in
looking for short, anonymous texts in French catalogs of manuscripts. England
seems to have remained relatively untouched by the wave of artificial memory in
62
See David C. Berliner, “The Abuses of Memory: Reflections on the Memory Boom in Anthropology,”
Anthropological Quarterly 78 (2005): 197–211.
63
La stanza della memoria (Turin: Einaudi 1995); La rete delle immagini. Predicazione in volgare dalle
origini a Bernardino da Siena (Turin: Einaudi, 2002).
64
Th is approach has been criticized by Peter Parshall, “The Art of Memory and the Passion,” Art Bul-
letin 81 (1999): 456–472, esp. 460–462, who claims that this parallel is undermined by the uniqueness
and personal appropriation that ancient rhetoric required from mnemonic images.
65
Especially by Pack, “An Ars”.
66
Heimann-Seelbach, Ars und scientia.
the fifteenth century, while Spain is still a terra incognita in this respect.67 Never-
theless, the fashion of the art of memory appears to have been so strong in monastic
communities and at universities, and the circulation of texts so international, that
a fresh study of local sources would most likely yield further manuscript treatises
in all of these countries. We therefore decided to look for remnants of the art of
memory in the Czech Republic, Hungary, and Poland. When Rafał Wójcik pre-
pared his doctoral dissertation on the printed treatise of Jan Szklarek (1504),68 he
encountered a number of unedited treatises from Poland that had close connec-
tions to the Czech Republic and Hungary as well, and he suggested that research
should be extended in these directions. Indeed, the libraries and archives of these
three countries offered an unexpected wealth of material from the fifteenth and
early sixteenth centuries on artificial memory and memorization in general, which
is published in the following pages.
Farkas Gábor Kiss
26
67
Spanish scholarship seems to focus on the 16th century: Luis Merino-Jerez, Retórica y artes de
memoria en el Humanismo renacentista (Jorge de Trebisonda, Pedro de Ravenna y El Brocense), (Cáceres:
Universidad de Extremadura, 2007).
68
Wójcik, Opusculum.
Lucie Doležalová
Artes memoriae and the memory culture

in fifteenth-century Bohemia and Moravia 1
At the end of the fifteenth century and the beginning of the sixteenth century,
some countries (including Poland, as discussed in the chapter of R. Wójcik) had
a clear memory culture, with a number of teachers providing instruction in mne-
monics, and with the art of memory functioning not only as a theory but also as
a much practiced art. This cannot be said of the Czech lands. It is possible that
there is a lack of evidence of a memory culture in the area due to the specific devel-
opments that took place in the fifteenth century — namely the Hussite movement,
a turbulent era of insecurity and violence. During this period most institutions
of intellectual and cultural discourse disappeared: after 1409 Prague University
lost its international renown and became a local school;2 the most distinguished
monasteries were demolished; and the majority of the Catholic intellectual elite
went into exile. On the other hand, in terms of written culture the whole of the
fifteenth century is very rich in both Latin and vernacular texts. Most of these 27
texts, however, pertain to the religious controversy of the time. Almost every au-
thor in this period takes a clear stand on one of the disputing sides and defends
it, by means of a poem, satire, tract, or letter. Thus unlike in Poland, it seems that
there was neither much possibility nor much interest in gathering sufficient number
of scholars and students to create a discourse on a theoretical topic (including the
art of memory) that was not directly related to contemporary concerns.
Another possibility that is apparently supported by the manuscript evidence
is that memory, perhaps in the light of Aristotle’s De memoria et reminiscentia,
was not seen as an inherent part of the creativity of the intellect, but rather as
a passive force that could be improved by means of a healthy lifestyle, dietetics,
and frequent meditation. Indeed, there are many more treatises originating in the
1
An earlier version of this study was published as “Fugere artem memorativam? The Art of Memory
in Late Medieval Bohemia (A Preliminary Survey),” Studia mediaevalia Bohemica 2:2 (2010): 221–260
[published in September 2011]. The research that led to this study was supported by two Charles Uni-
versity Research Development Programs: “University Centre for the Study of Ancient and Medieval
Intellectual Traditions” and “Phenomenology and Semiotics” (PRVOUK 18), both undertaken at the
Faculty of Humanities. I am grateful to Farkas Gábor Kiss, Rafał Wójcik, and Michal Dragoun for
their help.
2
Cf. František Šmahel, Die Hussitische Revolution II, MGH Schriften 43/II (Hannover: Hansche
Buchhandlung, 2002), 803–838; Ferdinand Seibt, “Johannes Hus und der Abzug der deutschen
Studenten aus Prag 1409,” Archiv für Kulturgeschichte 39 (1957): 63–80.
Artes memoriae and the memory culture in fifteenth-century Bohemia and Moravia
Czech lands that deal with memory from a medical perspective than there are
artes memoriae proper.
At the same time, however, this lack may be in appearance only: the culture
of memory in the Czech lands is still a largely unexplored topic: many of the texts
remain unedited and are badly or inaccurately cataloged, thus much is still waiting
to be discovered. The present study, merely a preliminary step in researching the
field, offers evidence that is not so scarce after all. And although it raises many
more questions than it answers, it hopefully also shows that the subject is worthy
of further exploration.
1. Artes memoriae
1.1. The transmission of foreign treatises
Besides the Rhetorica ad Herennium,3 several art of memory treatises of foreign

provenance were known and copied in the Czech lands, many of them not long
after they were composed. To my knowledge there are two Czech copies of the
treatise Memoria fecunda, originally written in Bologna in 14254 (Olomouc, VK,
M I 271 from 14445 and Olomouc, VK, M I 3096) and four copies of the treatise
28 Attendentes nonnulli — Memoria artificiosa secundum Parisienses, originally written
between 1445 and 14507 (three in one redaction: Olomouc, VK, M I 156 from
the mid-fifteenth century;8 Olomouc, VK, M I 301;9 Olomouc, VK, M I 309;10
3
The surviving manuscripts include:
Prague, NK, III E 30 (from the first half of the thirteenth century, Italy), the manuscript has been
digitized and is freely accessible through www.manuscriptorium.com. Hereafter such manuscripts are
noted by M in the brackets after their shelfmark.
Prague, NK, VIII C 13 (1400–1420, Bohemia, M)
Prague, NK, VIII H 3 (second half of the fifteenth century, Bohemia?, M)
Prague, NK, IV E 10 (Y. I. 1. n. 123.) (twelfth to thirteenth century, together with Candelabrum
(= Summa dictaminum)).
4
Cf. Heimann-Seelbach, Ars und scientia, 28–34. The text was edited by Pack, “An Ars”.
5
Ff. 2v–15r (dating on fol. 15r: Explicit tractatus perutilis de arte memorandi finitus in vigilia beate Marie
Magdalene quasi hora decima octava anno Domini millesimo quadringentesimo quadragesimo quarto [July
21, 1444]).
6
Ff. 121r–140 v (this manuscript thus includes both excerpts from Attendentes nonnulli and the full
Memoria fecunda treatise).
7
Cf. Heimann-Seelbach, Ars und scientia, 46–50.
8
Ff. 259r–267v, previously owned by Cistercians in Brno.
9
Ff. 121r–126r (2/2 fifteenth century).
10
Ff. 141r–142v — a fragment, excerpt (mid-fifteenth century, Carthusians in Královo Pole [Königsfeld]
near Brno). For more details on these three manuscripts, see Sabine Seelbach, “Wissensorganisation
contra Gebrauchsfunktion? Zum Erkenntniswert von Überlieferungsgeschichte am Beispiel der
Memoria-Handschriften der Staatsbibliothek Olmütz,” in Culture of Memory, ed. Wójcik, 11–26.
Lucie Doležalová
and one in another redaction: Prague, NK, adlig. 44.G.4711). There is also a Ger-
man translation and adaptation of Johannes Ulrich Rosenheymer of Strasbourg’s
treatise from 1430 by Johannes Hartlieb (inc. Dye empsig pegir) in the manuscript
Prague, NK, XI C 5.12 There is a still overlooked manuscript copy of the art of
memory by Girardus de Cruce, originally written in 1462. This is a brief treatise
summarizing the main points of the art and including mnemonic verses at the end
of each chapter.13 There is an overlooked manuscript of ars memorativa by Magister
Hainricus, originally written in 1447, in a copy from 1461 made by Johannes de
Fredelant.14 There are also three copies of a text closely linked to the art of memory
and meditation (inc. Nota hanc figuram…/ Pro aliquali intelligentia…).15
In addition, there are anonymous treatises deriving directly from foreign
ones. For example, on ff. 25r–27r, ms. Olomouc, VK, M I 24 includes a fragment
of an anonymous art of memory that is derived from the well-known treatise
by Conrad Celtis.16 Finally, there are several manuscript fragments still to be
identified, and other texts on rhetoric, studying, or preaching that have not yet
been explored but that may turn out to be relevant for our context. Another
11
Ff. 25r–30r, inc. Hic dicturi sumus de arte mirifica. Although Seelbach is aware of this redaction,
she does not note this manuscript (nor does she note three other manuscripts of the same text with the
same incipit: Lambach, Stiftsbibliothek 426a, ff. 1r–8v; Melk, Stiftsbibliothek, 1819 (nunc 1681) and
Vatican, BAV, Pal. Lat. 884, fol. 8). The same treatise also precedes the art of memory by Martinus of 29
Prague in the ms. Vienna, ÖNB, cod. 5254, on which see below.
12
Ff. 121r –130 v (the codex was owned by the Rosenberg/Rožmberk family in Třeboň, but its
previous whereabouts are not known). Cf. Heimann-Seelbach, Ars und scientia, 92, 326, who notes
ten manuscripts of the German text, including this one. Th is treatise is preceded by a Latin text on the
same topic, Regulae artis memoratiue, on which see below.
13
Ms. Prague, NK, I D 12, ff. 17r–18r, inc. Ars commoda nature confirmat et auget inquit Tullius in libro
rhetorice sue…; cf. Seelbach Ars und scientia, 78–80 (2.16 Ars commoda), where fifteen manuscripts are
noted, although not this one. Girardus was a doctor of medicine in Paris in 1458. Ed. Rossi, Logic, 214–220.
14
Ms. Prague, NK, I G 11a, fol. 27v–29v and 31r–41r, cf. Seelbach, Ars und scientia, 50–54, no. 2.2, inc.
Quemadmodum intellectus (eight manuscripts noted but not this one); the text edited on pp. 260–265
is based on ms. Munich, BSB, clm. 4749.
15
They are:
Prague, NK, I G 11a, ff. 17v–27v
Olomouc, VK, M I 156, ff. 267v–275v
Křivoklát, Castle library, 156 (I e 13), ff. 76v–87v.
The last is probably not of Czech provenance. The text is discussed in detail by Farkas Gábor Kiss on
p. 120 below, as well as in his study “Memory Machine,” in Making of Memory, ed. Doležalová, 49–78.
16
Inc. Vellem generosissimi adolescentes ea vobis imbuenda esse, que michi dicendo incumbent. Sed intelligat
quis hanc preceptionis racionem ad exercitacionem commodari, expl.: sed memoria naturalis perficitur arte
et memoria est frugalior. For a discussion of this text, see Seelbach, “Wissensorganisation,” 21–23. The
codex is a miscellany from the second half of the fifteenth century, previously owned by the Jesuits in
Brno. Among other things, it includes a calendar with computistic and astronomic tables, mnemonic
verses on the computus, some German texts, and also the Czech Alphabet by Jan Hus. See Miroslav
Boháček and František Čáda, Beschreibung der mittelalterlichen Handschriften der Wissenschaftlichen
Staatsbibliothek von Olmütz (Cologne: Böhlau, 1994), 10–13.
task still to be carried out is a careful survey of surviving incunabula and early
prints.17
Even this preliminary survey shows that the art of memory was known in the
area. The codices that include treatises on memory come from various contexts
(different monastic orders as well as the university environment), which suggests
that the art was not restricted to a particular channel of transmission. In addition,
as discussed below, the treatises do not appear in isolation: a number of the codices
in which a foreign treatise has been copied also include an art of memory treatise
of Czech provenance as well as other texts linked to the culture of memory. It can
therefore be observed that there was an active reception of the art.
1.2. Artes memoriae of Czech origin
As far as the memory treatises of original Czech provenance are concerned, each
has some features that may be considered characteristic of the specific context of
origin. Thus the first relevant ars memoriae is an anonymous fragmentary trea-
tise expounding the basic rules of the art, which survives, to my knowledge, in
a unique manuscript. This otherwise not particularly noteworthy piece of writing
is evidently of Czech origin, as the incomplete list of suggested mnemonic places
30 clearly connects it to the Hussite environment. On the whole, the list is rather
apocalyptic in nature and items such as the burning of monks, violated graves,
snatched vessels and dug lands, but also Wyclif’s books, or Zizka (i.e. Jan Žižka,
one of the most important Hussite leaders).
The second known ars memoriae by a Czech author was actually written in
Erfurt. The man who claims to be its author in the preface, Mattheus (Matouš)
Beran, a canon of the Augustinian canonry in Roudnice, was probably originally
a doctor, who, together with many Catholics, went into exile during the Hussite
wars. The treatise, written in 1431 (as he states himself in the colophon), seems
to be one of his attempts to make a living abroad. Another aspect of his treatise
revealed by a closer analysis can also be seen as characteristic of the region: the
treatise was not actually his. Mattheus Beran appropriated a treatise written in
1420 (and revised in 1423) by Mattheus de Verona.
The close link to the German environment is apparent in the following two trea-
tises: a fragmentary list probably by Wenzel Faber de Budweis (České Budějovice)
(1455–1518); and the anonymous regulae that survive in two manuscripts probably of
German origin. Both are included here not because I wish to claim their Czech prov-
enance, but primarily because they have been overlooked until now. Finally, there is
17
There survive, for example, four copies of Jacobus Publicius: Artes orandi, epistolandi, memorandi;
one copy of Matheolus Perusinus, De memoria augenda seu ars memorativa (Rome: Stephanus Planck,
c. 1490), and one exemplar of Jan Szklarek’s memory treatise (Cracow, 1504).
Lucie Doležalová
a brief treatment of the art in a famous encyclopedia by Paulerinus (Pavel Žídek),

suggesting that more is to be found within larger treatises on more general topics.
While these treatises themselves rarely offer new approaches, they do reveal
some specific particularities. In addition, they provide information on the cultural
context in fifteenth-century Bohemia. Although there does not seem to have been
a circle or a school, the art of memory was applied by both Catholics and Hussites
as a useful tool. Surviving evidence shows clearly that the art of memory in the
Czech lands appealed to both sides in the dispute.
As the following chapter will show, it is probably more correct to see these artes
memoriae proper in the broader context of the culture of memory in the Czech
lands, which would include medical advice, rhetoric, or practical mnemonics, and
to concentrate on both the verbal and pictorial aspects of the art.
1.2.1. The Hussite Anonymous: Memory as a search

for similarities and differences
The first identified ars memoriae of Bohemian provenance is a fragment of an anony-
mous treatise (inc. Nam secundum commentatores in libro de memoria et reminiscen-
cia) included in a codex currently kept in Prague, NK, VIII E 3, on folios 136v–142r,
with an addition on folio 175v. The codex is a miscellany copied in Bohemia in the
fifteenth century (certainly after 1415)18 primarily containing a number of sermons 31
by the important Hussite theologian Jakoubek of Stříbro (Jacobellus de Misa),19 but
also several works by Jan Hus and brief anonymous theological notes. The treatise
18
For a description of the codex, see Josef Truhlář, Catalogus codicum manu scriptorum latinorum, qui
in C. R. bibliotheca publica atque Universitatis Pragensis asservantur, Vol. 1 (Prague: Sumptibus Regiae
Soc. Scientiarum Bohemicae, 1905), no. 1528, 561–562.
19
Among scholars, the group is called Postilla de tempore et de sanctis super Mt 24 et Iob, inc.: Praeterita
septimana habuimus ex evangelio, and covers ff. 1r–35v, 40v–41v, 42r–67r and 68r–134r. It is also transmitted
in Prague, Kap., O 29, ff. 258r–314v, and a fragment of it appears in Tábor, Mus. R 1066 (olim H 2262),
p. 108. In our manuscript it is followed by Jakoubek’s Sermo habitus in Betlehem in memoriam novorum
martyrum M. Iohannis Hus et M Hieronymi on ff. 134r–135v and 165r–168v, inc. Beati qui persecucionem
paciuntur… Mt 5[:10]. Dominus noster Iesus Cristus…, dated to 1417 (Spunar) and also transmitted in
Prague, NK, VIII G 13, ff. 171r–180v, and edited in V. Novotný, Fontes rerum bohemicarum 8, p. 231. See
Pavel Spunar, Repertorium auctorum Bohemorum provectum idearum post Universitatem Pragensem conditam
illustrans, Vol. 1, Studia Copernicana 25 (Wrocław: Ossolineum, 1985), no. 649, pp. 239–240 and no. 645,
p. 238; František M. Bartoš, Literární činnost M. Jakoubka ze Stříbra (Literary activity of Master Jacobellus
de Misa) (Prague: Česká akademie věd a umění, 1925), no. 96, p. 62 and no. 56, p. 45; J. Kadlec, “Die
Bibel im mittelalterlichen Böhmen,” Archives d’ histoire doctrinale et littéraire du Moyen Age 31 (1964):
105; František M. Bartoš, “Betlémské kázání Jakoubka ze Stříbra z let 1415–1416” (Bethlehem sermons
of Jacobellus de Misa from 1415–1416), Theologická příloha Křesťanské revue 20 (1953): 53, 114, and 118;
František M. Bartoš, “Dvě studie o husitských postilách,” (Two studies on Hussite postillae), Rozpravy
ČSAV, řada společenskovědní 65: 4 (1955): 12; Václav Flajšhans, Literární činnost mistra Jana Husi, 1900,
p. 18. For more information on the author, see Jakoubek ze Stříbra – Texty a jejich působení (Jakoubek
of Stříbro: Texts and their influence), ed. Pavel Soukup and Ota Halama (Prague: Filosofia, 2006).
does not seem to correspond to the contents of the codex so obviously: it contains
nothing else concerning rhetoric. One possible link is the practical use of the art of
memory for preaching purposes, although this aspect is not made explicit anywhere.
The study of the treatise is complicated by the fact that the handwriting is
apparently hasty and is difficult to read. The text seems to have been copied from
a barely legible model: the scribe makes many mistakes and leaves blank spaces,
and some of the sentences do not make sense. The extant folios of the treatise do
not form a coherent text. On fol. 140r, the text ends three-quarters of the way down
the page and the rest of the page is void. The end of the text is missing: it is inter-
rupted after the eleventh series of five mnemonic places on folio 142r. The addition
on folio 175v belongs to the same text but is not a direct continuation.20 Thus, at
least in the form in which it survives, the text is so condensed and confusing that
it seems impenetrable to anyone not already familiar with the art.
The entire treatise begins with a brief, one-paragraph treatment of natural
memory and includes a reference to the four humors and to Galen’s argument
that humidity is better than dryness, but also to Aristotle’s De memoria et remi-
niscentia. In the more detailed treatment of artificial memory that follows (inc.
Nunc de artificiosa memoria et pertinentibus, beginning at the bottom of fol. 136v),
the anonymous author always presents a term, then quotes its definition from Ad
Herennium (referred to as Tulius since the treatise was ascribed to Marcus Tullius
32 Cicero throughout the Middle Ages), before finally offering his own definition,
which, as he takes care to point out, is superior. He says, for example:
[artificiosam memoriam] iam Tulius constare dixit ex locis et ymaginibus dicens:

“Constat igitur memoria artificiosa ex locis et ymaginibus” [Rhet. ad Her. 3,16].
Et quia hec diffinicio est iuvenibus abstracta, ideo planius et completius Ego eam sic
diffiniam: “ars memoratiua est notio, qua quis scit in determinato spatio loca cum
figuris eorum decenter designare et super ea ymaginationes quarumlibet rerum vel
vocum vel memorabilium applicare et per hec eas memoriter retinere.” Ista diffinitio
videtur omnia principalia arti huic neccessaria in se includere, super qua pendebit
declaratio tocius huius materie.21
Tullius has already said that [artificial memory] consists of places and images,
saying: “So the artificial memory consists of places and images.” And because
this definition is [too] abstract for youths, I would define it more clearly and
completely thus: “the art of memory is a conception, by which one is able to
design places fittingly in a determined space with their figures, and apply to
them images of any object, word, or anything to be remembered, and thus be
20
It opens with ista sunt loca centena, thus it does indeed seem to be the case that the remaining part
of the list of mnemonic places was originally included.
21
See below, pp. 168.
Lucie Doležalová
able to keep them in memory.” This definition seems to include all the essentials
necessary for this art, on which the exposition of this whole subject depends.
The author here seems to be concerned with making the art understandable and
useful to young people. He also defends the art of memory, however difficult it
may seem when approaching it for the first time, and stresses the importance of
frequent exercise, without which the art is useless.22 He then compares learning
the art of memory to learning to read. When children learn to read, he says, it
is also very difficult for them to connect letters into syllables, but once this art is
practiced and learnt properly, it becomes automatic and easy:
…accipe commune exemplum in pueris, qui in puero literas difficulter appre-

hendunt, tarde et grauiter sillabas componunt, difficulter et laboriose dicciones
proferunt, et cum gravitate et labore legunt. Postquam vero exercicio habilitati
fuerint, omnem scripturam celerime quasi insensibiliter componunt et legunt. Fac
idem tu in hac arte et provet tibi similiter.23
…take a common example of boys who first understand letters with difficulty,
compose syllables slowly and heavily, create sentences with difficulty and ef-
fort, and read with heaviness and toil. But when they become accustomed to
it through exercise, they compose and read all that is written quickly and as if 33
automatically. Do the same in this art and it will work for you in a similar way.
This whole discussion may be seen as the author’s anticipation of criticism about
the art of memory being too demanding and requiring too much investment —
a point that was manifestly made in late medieval Bohemia (see below) and thus
certainly not unexpected from his audience.
As noted above, the most peculiar feature of this treatise is the list of suggested
mnemonic places. Firstly, it illustrates in practice one of the basic rules of ars me-
moriae — namely, that every person should fashion the places according to their
own needs, since what helps the memory of one person might be an impediment
to another.24 The suggested mnemonic places are bound to the very specific Czech
22
…circa hanc aplicationem practicam est advertendum, quod interea necessaria ad habendam artem istam
perfecto et prompte ad memorandum facile singula opus est cottidiana vel crebra exercitatione et practisatione,
quousque non introducatur vera exercitacio, ita ut ubicumque audias aliquem vel aliquas plures materias
utiles, loquentes in mensa vel in collatione, vel eciam per se confingendo tibi plures materias. Tu eas aplica
locis tuis prius dispositis, etc. Proventum tue artis ubique capias et videbis eff ectiue, quod ea, que erant tibi
[lacuna] inexperto contra sensum grauia vel difficilia vel tediosa, quod ipsa erunt tibi multum levia, multum
facilia, ymo et iocunda. Quod si hec non feceris, nihil in arte proficies et artem quasi inutilem parvipendes.
23
See below, p. 176.
24
Nam ut saepe, formam si quam similem cuipiam dixerimus esse, non omnes habemus adsensores, quod
alii videtur aliud, item fit <in> imaginibus, ut, quae nobis diligenter notata sit, ea parum videatur insignis
aliis. Quare sibi quemque suo commodo convenit imagines conparare (Rhet. ad Her. 3, 23).
context of the time, especially at the end of the ninth to the eleventh quinarius,
as seen here (see Pl. 1a):
Nonus quinarius Ninth group of five

Sacerdos barbatus bearded priest
Sacramentum in falanga sacrament on a pole
Due triture two flails
Anglicus ruff us teotunicus English red-haired Teuton
Libri Wikleff 25 Wyclif’s books
Decimus26 Tenth [group of five]
Ignis Zizke fire of Žižka
Zizka27 Žižka
Balista ballista (a siege weapon for hurling stones)
Exercitus army
Undecimus Eleventh [group of five]
Grex herd
Monachi comburuntur monks are burned
Sepulcra violantur sepulchers are violated
Vasa dirapiuntur vessels are snatched
34 Terre fodiuntur lands are dug
The eleventh quinarius succeeds in bringing quite a vivid picture of violence to

mind, thus it may be argued that the whole is rather anti-Hussite. Even so, the
Hussites tended to boast about their success in the war. In addition, the imagery
presented here could also be interpreted as apocalyptic — and apocalyptic themes
and visions were very frequent in the writings of the Hussites, who were expecting
the End Times to appear soon.28
Another important aspect of this treatise is the author’s discussion of the strate-
gies for connecting the images to the places. Each place (as seen above) is a person,
an object or an activity, thus the task requires combining the place and the mne-
monic image — a task that the author says can always be achieved, because it is al-
ways possible to find a feature in which two things either agree or differ (as he says:
25
Th is was the typical Central European orthography of the name of John Wyclif (1324–1384).
26
Note that there are only four places mentioned here.
27
Jan Žižka of Trocnov (d. 1424), the most famous leader of the Hussite troops.
28
The Revelation of John was the most frequently read book of the New Testament among the Hussites.
Apocalyptic imagery was especially developed by the Taborites. Cf. e.g. Gian Luca Potestà, “Radical
Apocalyptic Movements in the Late Middle Ages,” in The Continuum History of Apocalypticism, ed. B.
McGinn, J. J. Collins, S. J. Stein (New York: Continuum, 2003), esp. 311–314; Pavlína Cermanová,
Čechy na konci věků. Apokalyptické myšlení a vize husitské doby [Bohemia at the end of the ages.
Apocalyptic thinking and visions of the Hussite period] (Prague: Argo, 2013).
Lucie Doležalová
iuxta illud sophisma commune et unde: omnia, que conueniunt, diff erunt 29). From
the theoretical nature of this discussion on similarities and dissimilarities among
objects30 we can infer that the author of the treatise had certainly studied logic.
Finally, the author gives examples of finding the concordance or contrast be-
tween things, stressing that it is a fundamental part of the art of memory, even
though he does not find it sufficiently underlined in any other treatise on the topic:
Quod si non poteris subito invenire loci et rei locande convenientiam et rei pro-
prietatem seu aliquam pertinentiam, tunc vertere debes cognicionem ad loci et
rei locande contrarietatem et impertinentiam, in que scilicet sibi repugnant, sicut
si haberes in loco catum at pronunciaretur unus auis vel coruus, aplica minorem
auem vel coruos quasi a cato manducarentur. Similiter si in loco habes lupum et
pronunciaretur ouis uel porcus, cicius ibi invenies disconuenientiam, quam conven-
ientiam. Ergo aplica ymaginem loco per disconuenientiam. Et ista comouebit te
ad memoriam unius [lacuna duorum vocabulorum] et hec ratio planius apparebit
quando ista practice declarabuntur inferius et hanc rationem dico fundamentalem
huius artis, licet eam non invenerim in Tulio, nec in aliis artis huius tractatoribus.31
If you cannot quickly find accordance and a common aspect or some pertinence
between the place and the object to be placed [there], you must turn your atten-
tion to the contrast and lack of connection between the place and the object to 35
be placed [there], as if they were fighting with each other. If you had a cat in the
place and it should be pronounced [i.e. stand for] a bird or a raven, put a small
bird or a raven as if they were being eaten by the cat. In a similar way, if you have
a wolf in the place and it is pronounced a sheep or a pig, you will more quickly
invent a discordance than an agreement, and thus you should put the image into
that place using a discordance. And these things will move you to the memory
of one [lacuna], and this reasoning will become clearer when these practices will
be discussed below. And I say that this reasoning is essential to this art, although
I have not found it in Tullius or in other authors of treatises on this art.
29
See below, p. 174.
30
Subaudi: conveniunt quomodo etiam morales theologi sentiunt, qui hominem vel aliam rem infinitis
nominibus aliarum [lacuna] apellant propter aliquam convenientiam, simile faciunt poete, ut patet
in Meta. [lacuna] per totum modo eciam quo loquitur Lucanus de deo dicens: Iupiter est quodcumque
vides [Lucanus, Pharsalia, 9, 580] quodlibet enim visibile habet, similitudinem cum deo, quia omnis
eff ectus gerit similitudinem sue cause, similiter eciam dicit scriptura, quia deus est anima in omnibus,
quando ergo aliqua res pronunciatur vel memoranda parum statim [lacuna] ingenium ad eius proprietatem
condicionem actum vel [lacuna], per quam conveniet cum loco vel nota loci et aplica eam subtiliter
proprietate vel condicione illi loco et statim per proprietatem loci tangens rem locatam nam locus propter
convenientiam suam aliqualem ad rem locatam comovebit et quasi excitabit tuam memoriam. See below,
p. 174. Furthermore, the example of asinus and brunellus at the end of the treatise suggests a logical
training, too. See below, p. 179.
31
See below, p. 175.
An example of the combinations is then provided in the addition to the text on

fol. 175v, which is separate from the rest and offers an example of how to “fill” the
first room (the one concerned with divine things, according to the author) of five
places with images:
First place Ihesus sedens in cathedra + image avis vel agnus; libum panis:
the bird or the lamb should sit in Jesus’ lap, or Jesus should be blessing or
breaking bread
Second place angelus adorans + image thuribulum:
incense in the hand of the angel who is spreading it in front of the Lord
Third place Ewangelia aperta in pulpito + image asinus; clericus; rusticus vel laicus:
the ass turning the pages of the Gospels or carrying the book; a brown
ass; the cleric reading the open Gospels; the layman or peasant shutting
his mouth with his finger, or turning his eyes away and announcing “I am
a layman, I cannot read”
Fourth place panis sacramentalis + image vetula:
the old woman opening her mouth for the sacramental bread, and joining
her hands as if adoring the sacrament
Fifth place mensa Beel aurea + image panis, vel caseus, vel pisum:
bread or cheese or peas lying on the table
36
It seems quite clear, however, that this example is not based on a real sermon or
a speech to be memorized. It is far more likely to be merely a hypothetical instance,
especially since there are several possible images provided as examples on more
occasions, and, in addition, the individual suggested images fit suspiciously well
in the places concerned.
I believe that the preceding theoretical discussion, not encountered in any other
memory treatise, at least partly reflects the specificity of its Czech origin. Living
at a time of theological debates and arguments, the author must have witnessed
a search for accordance and contrasts, and the repeated appropriation of the same
notions and arguments by opposing sides for their own purposes.32 Viewing what he
says in the context of the art of memory, we can discern his concern for the multi-
facetedness (and thus perhaps even the unreliability) of language in denoting reality.
32
Th is is similar to the context of literature, where one often fi nds the same notions applied by
different parties to mean opposite things. Typical in this sense are the literary types altercatio, conflictus,
disputatio or dialogus (in Czech hádání, svár, or spor). These texts are very similar to each other as
far as their structure and contents are concerned. They differ only in always assigning the negative
role to the opposing party. Cf., e.g., Hans Walther, Das Streitgedicht in der lateinischen Literatur des
Mittelalters (Munich: O. Beck, 1920); Jiří Daňhelka, ed., Husitské skladby Budyšínského rukopisu
[Hussite compositions of the Budyšín manuscript] (Prague: Orbis, 1952); Josef Hrabák, ed., Staročeské
satiry Hradeckého rukopisu a Smilovy školy [Old Czech satires of the Hradec manuscript and Smil’s
school] (Prague: Nakladatelství Československé Akademie věd, 1962).
Lucie Doležalová
1.2.2. Mattheus Beran: Memory as a play with words33

The first known Czech author of a memory treatise is Mattheus (Matouš) Beran,34
a canon at the Augustinian canonry in Roudnice nad Labem.35 There is little ac-
curate information about him: after the canonry was attacked by the Hussites in
May 1421, there is a reference to him in Erfurt in 1430 as one of the five canons
electing a new provost, Matěj Vrabec.36 It is certain that he subsequently returned
33
Th is chapter is partly based on my earlier article “Matouš Beran and the Art of Memory in Late
Medieval Bohemia,” in Culture of Memory, ed. Wójcik, 95–103.
34
For more information, see Pavel Spunar, “Matheus Beran – Matouš Beran,” Repertorium auctorum
Bohemorum provectum idearum post universitatem Pragensem conditam illustrans (Wrocław: PAN,
1985), Vol. 1, 187–190; František M. Bartoš, “Matouš Beran, roudnický augustinián a spisovatel,”
[Matouš Beran, Augustinian of Roudnice and writer] Časopis Národního musea 101 (1027): 13–15;
Jaroslav Kadlec, “Literární činnost roudnických augustiniánských kanovníků,” [Literary activity of the
Augustine canons of Roudnice], Facta probant homines. Sborník příspěvků k životnímu jubileu prof. Dr.
Zdeňky Hledíkové, ed. Ivan Hlaváček and Jan Hrdina (Prague: Scriptorium, 1998), 221–224, esp. 224.
In another study, Kadlec mistakes Mattheus Beran with Václav (Wenceslas) Beran from Prague and
speaks about his career at the Charles University. See Jaroslav Kadlec, “Dva příspěvky z pozůstalosti:
Mistr Matouš Beran,” [Master Matheus Beran], Studie o rukopisech 41 (2011): 243–245. Beran was
sometimes confused with Sulco (Sulko) de Hosstka and with Petrus Mathie de Bernaw (who studied
in Paris, Vienna, and Erfurt, and was in Erfurt in 1418–1423 as doctor medicinalis). See František M.
Bartoš, “Proslulý lékař Karlovy university věku Husova,” [The famous doctor at the Prague University in 37
the time of Jan Hus], Jihočeský sborník historický 13 (1940): 37–38; František Šmahel, appendix to “Mistři
a studenti pražské lékařské fakulty do roku 1416,” entitled “Mistři, licenciáti, bakaláři a studenti pražské
lékařské fakulty do počátku husitské revoluce,” [Masters, licentiates, bachelors and students of the
medical faculty in Prague until the Hussite revolution], Acta Universitatis Carolinae 20:2 (1980), no. 85.
35
The Roudnice (Rudnicz, Raudnitz) monastery, founded in 1333 by Bishop of Prague Jan IV of
Dražice, was the first monastery of Augustinian canons founded in the Czech lands. See Michal Dragoun,
Lucie Doležalová, and Adéla Ebersonová, eds., Ubi est finis huius libri deus scit. Středověká knihovna
augustiniánských kanovníků v Roudnici nad Labem [The medieval library of the Augustinian canons in
Roudnice nad Labem] (Prague: Scriptorium, 2015). See also Jaroslav Kadlec, “Raudnitz-Roudnice,” in
Die Stifte der Augustiner-Chorherren in Böhmen-Mähren und Ungarn, ed. F. Röhrig (Klosterneuburg
and Vienna: Mayer, 1994), 177–202; Jaroslav Kadlec, “Začátky kláštera augustiniánských kanovníků
v Roudnici” (The beginnings of the monastery of Augustinian canons in Roudnice), Studie o rukopisech
20 (1981): 65–83, German summary on pp. 84–86); Franz Machilek, “Die Augustiner-Chorherren in
Böhmen und Mähren,” Archiv für Kirchengeschichte von Böhmen – Mähren – Schlesien 4 (1976): 107–144.
Roudnice became an important cultural center. Some scholars speak of “the reform of Roudnice” as the
Czech alternative to devotio moderna. See Jiří Spěváček, “Devotio moderna, Čechy a roudnická reforma
(K úsilí o změnu mentalit v období rostoucí krize morálních hodnot),” [Devotio moderna, Bohemia and
the reform of Roudnice: On efforts to change mentalities in a period of growing crisis in moral values],
Mediaevalia Historica Bohemica 4 (1995): 171–194, German summary on pp. 195–197); others, most
notably Pavel Spunar, rejects this. See Pavel Spunar, “Česká devotio moderna – fi kce a skutečnost,”
[Czech devotio moderna – fiction and reality], Listy filologické 127 (2004): 356–370. The most recent
critical evaluation of scholarly approaches to the topic is found in Pavel Soukup, Reformní kazatelství
a Jakoubek ze Stříbra (Prague: Academia, 2011), 15–43.
36
Kadlec, Katoličtí exulanti doby husitské [Exiled Catholics of the Hussite period] (Prague: Zvon, 1990),
43; the confirmation of the election is dated January 16, 1431.
from exile: in July 1445 he was confirmed provost in Rokycany. It is not, however,
certain that he was indeed there.37 As the necrologium of Roudnice states, he
died on May 29, 1461.38 His death is also reported in a fragment of the Roudnice
necrologium preserved in ms. Třeboň, Státní oblastní archiv, fond Velkostatek
Třeboň, registratura IA 3K  28e, fol. 2r, where additional information is included:
Beran left all the money he received in exile to the Roudnice canonry for the salva-
tion of his soul, and the souls of his parents and friends.39
Further information is provided in his autograph codices. On the basis of
the colophon in Prague, NK, I F 35, we know that Beran was in Erfurt (in domo
pauperum) in 1431,40 and based on the note in Prague, Kap., N LIII (fol. 7r)
we know that he was still there in 1437, very ill and wishing to return to Roudnice:
Nota quod ego frater M. Ber[an] sum confessus super graciam Basilien. Feria
Va 1437 in vigilia Omnium Sanctorum [31. 10. 1437] in maxima infirmitate
mea. Penitenciam agere volo Deo me adiuvante, quando ero domi in monasterio
Rudnicensi, amen.
I, brother M. Ber[an], have confessed according to the grace of the Council

of Basel on Thursday of the year 1437, on the vigil of All Saints Day, in great
infirmity. I wish to repent, with God’s help, when I am at home in the Roud-
38 nice monastery. Amen.
On the margin of this text is the note factum est (“it was done”) — another
piece of evidence that Beran’s wish was realized. On the basis of the formula-
tion in ms. Prague, Kap., N LIII, where Beran calls himself membrum quoddam
inutile medicine alme universitatis Erfordiensis (“a certain useless member of the
medical university in Erfurt”) it is supposed that he taught medicine in Erfurt,
but this is not confirmed by other sources.41 Similarly, Benedek Láng, for example,
37
Kadlec (cf. note 36), Katoličtí exulanti, 44; he was confirmed by Šimon of Nymburk on July 3, 1445;
cf. František Palacký, ed., Archiv český, čili Staré písemné památky české a moravské, [Czech archive, or
old Czech and Moravian written documents] Vol. 3 (Prague: Bursík a Kohout, 1844), no. 466, p. 532.
38
Prague, NK, XIX B 3, fol. 89r: Anno domini Mo CCCC o LXIo obiit frater Mattheus senior dictus Beran.
Cf. also Kadlec (cf. note 36), Katoličtí exulanti, 44.
39
It reads: Anno domini M CCCC LXI (the superscript number above the crossed out ut supra) obiit
dominus Matheus Beran in die Corporis Christi, qui multis annis fuit in exilio et ibi summam pecunie quam
aquisivit, donavit huic monasterio pro remedio anime sue ac parentum et amicorum suorum. Cf. also Kadlec
(cf. note 36), Katoličtí exulanti, 44.
40
Fol. 485r.
41
Cf. Erich Kleineidam, Universitas studii Erff ordensis: Überblick über die Geschichte der Universität
im Mittelalter 1392–1521, Vol. 1: 1392–1460 (Leipzig: St Benno Verlag, 1964), 324–334.
Lucie Doležalová
states that Beran studied in Paris, Vienna, and Erfurt but does not refer to any
evidence.42
All other information — Beran’s interests, tastes and knowledge — must be
searched for in the contents of his manuscripts: a collection of sermons called
Confundarius minor from 1417 (Prague, KNM, XVI E 11);43 the miscellany Con-
fundarius maior, completed in 1431 in Erfurt (Prague, NK, I F 35);44 and another,
mostly medical, miscellany, completed in 1437 (Prague, Kap., N LIII).45 It is dif-
ficult to say whether Beran’s writing would have appeared differently if there had
been no wars and he had not left for Erfurt. It seems that both Prague, NK, I F
35 and Prague, Kap., N LIII result primarily from his attempts to make a living
in exile. These codices fit readily among other encyclopedic compilations created
in the late medieval university context.
Beran’s works are mostly revised selections from other authors.46 He does not
conceal this fact: he describes his medical treatises in these terms,47 as well as his
Confundarius minor, which he says he collected from a number of volumes.48 It
would not therefore be surprising to read that the ars memorativa included in his
42
Benedek Láng, Unlocked Books: Manuscripts of Learned Magic in the Medieval Libraries of Central
Europe, (University Park, PA: Pennsylvania University Press, 2010), 325.
43
For the manuscript description, see Michal Dragoun, “Soupis roudnických a sadských rukopisů,”
(Catalog of the manuscripts of Roudnice and Sadská) in Ubi est finis, 478–479. Beran says in the exp- 39
licit: Anno Domini 1417 hoc opus super ewangelia de tempore per anni circulum scriptum est per manus
Fr. Mathei dicti Beran (f. 393v). For the contextualization of this compendium within preaching in late
medieval Bohemia, see Pavel Soukup, “Die Predigt als Mittel religiöser Erneuerung: Böhmen um 1400,”
in Böhmen und das Deutsche Reich. Ideen- und Kulturtransfer im Vergleich (13.–16. Jahrhundert), ed. Eva
Schlotheuber and Hubertus Seibert (Munich: Oldenbourg, 2009), 235–264.
44
It was finished on May 12, 1431, in Erfurt. On fol. 485r its explicit reads: …per me fratrem M. Beran
exulem canonicum regularium de Rudnicz manu mea propria…anno domini 1431 sabbato post ascensionem
domini in Erfordia in domo pauperum (cf. Dragoun, “Soupis,” 498–502). Earlier catalog entry: Josef
Truhlář, Catalogus codicum manu scriptorum latinorum qui in C. R. Bibliotheca publica atque universitatis
Pragensis asservantur, Vol. 1 (Prague: Česká akademie věd a umění, 1905), 110–111, no. 267.
45
Description: Dragoun (cf. note 43), “Soupis,” 349–354; cf. also Antonín Podlaha, Soupis rukopisů
knihovny metropolitní kapituly pražské II (Prague: Česká akademie věd a umění, 1922), 437–440, no. 1577).
46
See the studies in Dragoun, Doležalová, Ebersonová, eds. (cf. note 35), Ubi est finis: Dana Stehlíková,
“Herbář Matouše Berana,” 141–146; Hana Šedinová, “Spis De animalibus v rukopise Národní knihovny
I F 35 a jeho informační zdroje,” 147–155; Hana Šedinová, “Lapidář Matouše Berana v rukopise Národní
knihovny I F 35,” 156–164; Barbora Kocánová, “Prenosticaciones temporum ve sborníku Matouše Berana
(Národní knihovna I F 35),” 165–176; Hana Florianová, “Tractatus de urinis Matouše Berana v kodexu
Národní knihovny I F 35,” 177–184.
47
Istum libellum nostrum ex diversorum doctorum dictis et scriptis collectum de morbis humani corporis
et remediis tractantem non apothecaries sed coquina respicientem; ideo ipsum Pulmentarium intitulamus
(Prague, Kap, N LIII, fol. 109r).
48
Prague, KNM, XVI E 11, fol. 393v: hoc opus… scriptum …non tantum pro ewangeliorum exposicione,
sed pro predicacionis occasione, ut quicunque eo usus fuerit, devote deum pro Beran oret, quia cum maximo
labore ipsum ex multis voluminibus non sicud voluit sed sicut scivit et potuit, collegit et in hanc formam
redegit, et ideo hunc libellum confundarium nominavit, amen.
Confundarius maior, and explicitly referred to as a supplement to it,49 is not his

own work but was rather found and appropriated by him. However, Beran states
at the beginning:
Ego frater M. Beran conspiciens ex una parte scolares quam plures a sciencia, quam
omnes homines natura scire desiderant, ammoueri tum propter memorie delicate
labilitatem, tum propter ignoranciam collocandi in memoria, que memorie sunt
digna et collocata retinendi. Et ex alia parte huiusmodi defectus ne dum a me sed
etiam ab aliis volentibus proficere cupiens separare et aliqualiter pro meo posse
deo me adiuvante hoc compendium quod insignatur de arte Idnaromem in quo
precipue de tribus tractatur scilicet locis, ymaginibus et rebus memorabilibus. Et
quamquam multi multa opuscula circa hanc materiam condiderint, tamen hoc
videtur lucidius atque expedicius. Si autem aliqui reperiantur hoc minus benedic-
tum, peto veniam a lectore pariter et correctionem. Amen.
I, brother Beran, observing, on the one hand, that many scholars turn away
from science, which all people desire to know by nature, sometimes because of
the slipperiness of delicate memory, other times because of not knowing how to
place the things worthy of remembering in one’s memory, or how to keep the
things placed there. On the other hand, desiring to separate [i.e. eliminate] the
40 defect of this type, not from myself but from others wishing to advance, and
somehow, according to my capacity, with God helping me [I produced] this
compendium which is entitled On the Art of Gnirbmemer,50 in which mainly
three subjects are treated, namely places, images, and memorable things. And
although many have produced many opuscles on this subject, this one never-
theless seems clearer and more convenient. But if some find it less praiseworthy,
I ask the reader for pardon and, in the same way, for correction. Amen.51
Although he speaks of a compendium, Beran obviously claims a different type of

authorship here than in his previous works.52 Nevertheless, his treatise does not
seem particularly original in either its content, which features all the common-
places; or in the way it is organized. After the above-cited opening on fol. 477r,
which is followed by several brief paragraphs (a definition of the art, a definition
49
Prague NK, I F 35, fol. 485r (the end of the art of memory): Et hec breviter collecta sufficiant pro
nostro Confundario supplendo…
50
Spelling words backwards is a frequent mnemonic strategy, which I believe might be connected to
the idea that to “know” something means to truly grasp it, to know it from beginning to end and from
end to beginning, from left to right, from right to left, etc.
51
Prague, NK, I F 35, fol. 477r.
52
On the medieval notion of authorship, its various types and levels, see, e.g., Michel Zimmermann,
ed., Auctor et auctoritas: invention et conformisme dans l’ écriture médiévale: actes du colloque tenu à
l’Université de Versailles-Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines, 14–16 juin 1999 (Paris: École des chartes, 2001).
Lucie Doležalová
of place with its divisions, and the seven conditions of places), we are surprised to
see a second title on fol. 478r: Incipit tractatus artis evitaromem,53 after which the
treatise continues with specific sub-chapters formed by examples of items to be
memorized. The list seems rather incoherent: verses, grammatical cases, biblical
books, history, sermons, texts, glosses, authors, distinctions, arguments, quanti-
ties of syllables, the games of dice, cards, and chess. And even this structure is
disjointed: after the first two paragraphs the examples are interrupted by several
more theoretical chapters on how to form the images. These are: “On images
in comparison to place,” “On images in comparison to images,” “On images in
comparison to the memorable things,” “On places with respect to remembering,”
“On places with respect to images,” “On the comparison of the locators to places,”
“On the comparison of the places to the memorable things,” “On perfect and
imperfect images,” “On a fourfold way of forming images,” and “On the way of
making images by addition and subtraction.” These, however scientific they may
sound, give an impression of being quite random. The list of the 100 suggested
memory places, for example, divided into groups of five (another commonplace
in late medieval memory treatises), is placed within the chapter “On images in
comparison to the memorable things.”
Throughout the memory treatise Beran seems much occupied with the pos-
sibility of confusion.54 On many occasions he urges his readers to be very careful
and conscientious in following the set rules in order to avoid mistakes and lapses of 41
memory.55 At the same time, confusions exist in Beran’s own treatise. For example,
he suggests that the genitive singular should be memorized by the image of an iron
knee (no doubt simply on the basis of the same beginning: genitivus and genu fer-
reum), but he then suggests the same image for remembering the Book of Genesis
(which, again, begins with gen).56 Among the imagines doctorum, Beran proposes
that Saint Augustine should hold a vault (curvaturam), and that Saint Gregory
53
I.e., memorative written backwards.
54
Th is is not, in fact, so unusual. Alastair Minnis, for example, states: “Worries about the fragility
and fallibility of human recollection were expressed with remarkable frequency, memoria being seen as
engaged in mortal combat with the forces of oblivion” (Alastair Minnis, “Medieval Imagination and
Memory,” The Cambridge History of Literary Criticism II. The Middle Ages, eds. Alastair Minnis and Ian
Johnson [Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2005], 265).
55
He says: et hoc totum exigitur ne memoria confundatur secundum modum moventem memoriam in confuso
(fol. 477v), omnia similia memoria non distinguitur et sic confunditur (fol. 478r), ut memoria non erret (fol. 478v),
ne memoria erret (fol. 479r), ne pro inordinacione rerum memoria paciatur defectum (fol. 479v), ne memoria
turbetur (fol. 479v), ne memoria vacillet (fol. 480r), sic enim memoria confunditur et vacillaret (fol. 480v), ex
hoc possit memoria confundi (fol. 483r). For these, and all other citations from Beran, see below p. ???.
56
He says: Sit ergo imago nominativi singularis nabula, genitivi genu ferreum, dativi decanta, accusativi arcus
argentee, vocativi vocate, ablativi abacus (fol. 478r), and: Genesis genu ferreum, ymago Exodi flagellum percuciens,
ymago Numeri saccus plenus nummis ad numerandum, ymago Levitici duo dyaconi cantantes, ymago Deuteronomii
uter plenus lacte caprino, Iosue iesia id est ecclesia parva sculpta in lapide, Esdre sint ostree, Proverbiorum
pratum viride, Ecclesiastes una hasta plena oculis, Ecclesiasticus una cos ad acuendum novacula (fol. 482r).
should wear a golden necklace (aurea torques).57 Later on, however, when he gives
advice on how to remember a quotation from Augustine (inc. Quanto deum quis
plus diliget), he says that one should attach a golden necklace to the neck or the
head of the image in order to signify that the quotation is from Augustine (torquem
auream: here the au- beginning can suggest Augustinus).58
As the above examples illustrate, the relationship between the suggested images
and the items to be remembered is not always evident. It is characteristic that while
Mattheus Beran and other authors of artes memoriae provide guidelines on how to
encode — that is, to create memory images — no one is concerned about how to
“decode,” or understand them. The words to be remembered usually begin with the
same letters, or agree in one or more syllables, with the names of the images they are
to be remembered by. The problem is, of course, that one has to be able to name the
image by the correct name when revisiting the place in one’s mind. Beran usually uses
the relevant name of the image, and thus the connection is clear. For example, Thomas
Aquinas should have a beam from a ship upon his neck — that is, themonem navis: the
beam, themo, should doubtless remind one of Thomas, while the ship is on water, aqua,
which should recall Aquinas. Likewise, Saint Ambrose should have a rosary of amber
(Ambrosius – ambra) around his neck.59 On other occasions, however, the relationship
is a little more complex — Saint Bernard, for example, should wear a cap (birretum),
a word that agrees with Bernard in terms of only two letters.60 In some instances, the
42 reasons for selecting a particular image remain obscure.61 Bede should appear with
a sack of grain over his shoulder (cum sacco frumenti in scapulo), etc.62 Based on the
previous examples, and the explanation of the method for creating the images, it is
clear that the words Beran uses in these examples are not necessarily the words one
should use to name the images in order to retrieve the link to the respective saints.
It seems that the idea behind the whole art of memory is to make the mind work
and to sharpen the intellect: the suggested image is never based on what is simple
and straightforward. John Chrysostom, for example, who is “of golden mouth,”
should not be remembered as a man with a golden mouth, but rather as a man
with a hood of grey cloth (habens capucium de griseo panno — the link is surely
the similarity between Chryso- and griseo).63 These mental exercises, however, lead
57
Sit ymago sancti Augustini habens curuaturam in manu… Sancti Gregorii unus cum aurea torqua in
collo (fol. 482r). The reason for this link is not clear.
58
…et ad collum vel ad caput ymaginis ponam torquem auream per quod innuitur quod originale est beati
Augustini (fol. 483v).
59
Sit ymago sancti Thome de Aquino habens themonem navis ad collum, sancti Ambrosii unus habens
cordam ad collum cum pater noster de ambra (fol. 482r).
60
Sancti Bernhardi unus cum birreto in capite (fol. 482r).
61
The connected words often call to mind Rabelais: “comme qui pain interpretoit pierre, poisson
serpent, oeuf scorpion” (as one who interprets bread as a stone, a fi sh as a serpent, and an egg as
a scorpion), (Gargantua et Pantagruel, introduction to Book 4 – a witty variation on Luke 11:11–12).
62
Ymago Bede unus cum sacco frumenti in scapulo (fol. 482r).
63
[Sit ymago] sancti Iohannis Cristosomi unus habens capucium ad collum de griseo panno (fol. 482r).
Lucie Doležalová
exactly to what Beran dreads so much: the possibility of committing a mistake, the
danger of becoming confused.
Beran gives sufficient warnings about possible misremembering. There is, how-
ever, another possible danger involved in such a practice of memory: theoretically,
images might not only be misinterpreted, but even overlooked as memory images.
Replacing something with something else that is on one’s mind may bring about
this particular type of confusion, in which the mind, when revisiting the place
during the act of recollection, does not even recognize an object as standing for
something (that is, does not realize its function as a memory image) and interprets
it simply as being what it is. This is surely one important reason for the continual
emphasis on the memory images being striking and unusual. Obviously, this
confusion does not occur when the context is clearly that of artificial memory:
when going through a house built in one’s mind specifically for the purposes of
artificial memory, the person recalling the information will, of course, interpret
every encountered image as a memory image.
However unlikely it seems in the context of a memory treatise, I have identi-
fied a completely overlooked example of wordplay of exactly this type in Beran’s
art of memory: ms. Sankt Paul im Lavanttal 137/4 contains an art of memory
treatise that begins:
Conspiciens ex una parte scolares quam plures a sciencia, quam omnes homines 43
natura scire desiderant ammoueri … Ego frater Mattheus de Verona ordinis prae-
dicatorum…
Observing, on the one hand, that many scholars turn away from science, which
all people desire to know by nature… I, brother Mattheus de Verona of the
Dominican order…64
With one minor change in word order, this is exactly the same beginning as Be-
ran’s, the only difference being the change in name (Beran for de Verona).
Mattheus de Verona is a well-documented individual,65 and his treatise on
memory, written in 1420 and revised in 1423, survives in nine manuscripts.66 Thus
64
On fol. 132r, my translation.
65
He was active at the University of Padova. In 1415 he became prior of the Dominican convent in
Verona, and on January 31, 1419, he received his baccalaureatus. In 1421–1422 he was teaching the
Sententiae, and in 1422 he became magister theologiae (see Heimann-Seelbach, Ars und scientia, 34–38;
Kaeppeli and Panella, Scriptores, no. 2984).
66
Cf. Heimann-Seelbach, Ars und scientia, 35. The edition is currently being prepared by Angelika
Kemper, who kindly made it available to me. However, since it is based on only two manuscripts,
Munich, BSB, clm. 14260, ff. 77r–85r, and Sankt Paul im Lavanttal, Stiftbibliothek, Cod. 137/4, fol.
132r–140r (inc.: Nota quod scientia memorandi prima), a full comparison between Mattheus Beran and
Mattheus de Verona cannot be carried out.
Verona in the St. Paul manuscript is clearly not a misinterpretation of Beran, but
rather the other way round: Mattheus Beran, perhaps charmed by the similarity
between his name and the name of the author of the treatise he copied, used a play
on words — a strategy with which he was familiar, thanks to the contents of the
treatise — and created an ‘image’ of the very same kind as the other memory im-
ages that appear in the text, by changing some of the letters of the original. This
one, however, remained unnoticed and was not interpreted as a memory image
precisely because the context in which it was placed did not suggest in any way
that Beran should be interpreted as a substitute for something else. The purpose
of this particular wordplay, however, was probably not to create a memory aid but
rather to distort reality.
Beran’s treatise is indeed a copy of Mattheus de Verona’s earlier work in the
medieval sense: although Beran followed his model, he changed the order of para-
graphs, omitted parts, summarized longer passages, added some little words, etc.
All in all, it is difficult to see Beran’s improvement on his model: Beran’s version
seems to be substantially more confused and disorganized.
Nevertheless, a detailed comparison of the two versions is useful, especially
since Mattheus de Verona often uses the names of the mnemonic images, making
explicit the links to the words to be memorized. For example, while Beran has the
obscure and possibly corrupt [imago] Origenis unus cum portatico ad collum (the im-
44 age of Origenes should be one with gate fee[?] on his neck),67 Mattheus de Verona
suggests: unus cum uno organo paruo (a man with a small organ — pipe, or any mu-
sical instrument), which has a clear similarity (Origenes and organum).68 Mattheus
de Verona also spells the “cap” associated with Saint Bernard as berretum (common
in Italy) rather than birretum, thus his associated words have a greater similarity.69
On only a few occasions does Beran appear to add observations or suggestions
of his own. The only longer instance appears after the list of the 100 memory
places, for which Beran proposes a simpler strategy: one could learn only one abe-
cedary sentence of nine words, then, by putting different colors in the tenth place
ten times, one will get a set of 100 places with far less effort.70 However, since not
all the manuscripts of Mattheus de Verona’s treatise have been consulted so far,
67
On fol. 482r.
68
Munich, BSB, clm. 14260, ff. 81r–v.
69
Th is fact suggests the importance of the vernacular in the art of memory, a topic that has not so far
received sufficient attention.
70
It reads:
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9.
Abbas Bernardus cupit dare ecclesiam fratribus gratis hodie Ierosolimis.
Ista ergo sunt 9 loca per numerum aphabeti descripta et secundum suum ordinem figurarum representativa.
demum adorna decimum locum 10 albi, 20 viridem, 30 rubeum, 40 fl aveum, 50 nigrum, 60 glaucum, 70
griseum, 80 ferreum, 90 argenteum, 100 aureum (f. 481r).
Lucie Doležalová
future research may reveal that what now seems to be Beran’s original contribution
was in fact copied from elsewhere.
The fact remains that this art of memory was written by Mattheus de Verona.
It has been misinterpreted as having been authored by Beran only because of the
overlooked wordplay in an unexpected place. On the one hand, one is obliged
to draw the frequently repeated conclusion: the culture and literature of Central
and Eastern Europe largely depended on Italian and Western models during
both the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. On the other hand, Mattheus Beran
could be presented as a unique creator of mnemonic wordplays, and it could be
claimed that he goes even further by inventing a new purpose for them. If, how-
ever, we concentrate on the content rather than disputes about its originality, we
are presented here with another instance of the close (and, starting with Plato’s
Gorgias, much elaborated) relationship between rhetoric and the distortion of
the truth.
1.3. Other artes memoriae (fragments, parts of larger works,

treatises of doubtful Czech provenance)
A number of other texts on the art of memory appear in manuscripts of Czech

provenance as parts of larger units, fragments, or notes. Although many more are 45
certainly waiting to be discovered, and although the present discussion should
therefore be understood as a preliminary one, they do reveal certain patterns.
Arts of memory can indeed be found within larger treatises on rhetoric, gram-
mar and the nature of study, or in encyclopedias. This is the case of a brief treat-
ment of the art of memory included on ff. 129v–130r of the important encyclopedia
Liber viginti arcium from the 1460s, written by Pavel Žídek (c. 1413–1471), also
known as Paulus, Paulus de Praga, and Paulerinus),71 which is preserved in Cra-
cow in the Jagiellonian Library as ms. 257 (the so-called Codex Tvardovii). Since
the text has still not been fully edited, only the relevant portion appears in the
71
Paulerinus was a fascinating personality. He was of Jewish origin but was kidnapped as a child and
brought up as a Calixtine. During his studies in Vienna, however, he converted to Catholicism. He also
studied in Padova and Bologna and became a doctor of law and medicine. After his return to Prague he
often got into conflicts with the Calixtines and therefore stayed in Plzeň (Pilsen), Cracow, and Wrocław
for some time. His most important work in Czech is the three-volume Jiřího správovna (George’s tool for
administration), completed in 1471 and dedicated to King George of Poděbrady (the manuscripts are
kept in the Prague Chapter Library and in the National Library). It was edited by Zdeněk V. Tobolka,
M. Pavla Žídka Spravovna (Prague: AV ČR,1908). For more information on Pavel Žídek’s life and
works, see, e.g., Pavel Spunar, “Pavel Žídek,” Slovník latinských spisovatelů [Lexicon of Latin authors]
(Prague: Odeon, 1984), 444–445.
appendix.72 Here Paulerinus refers to his lost magnum Vinculatorium, where, as

he says, he devoted more space to the subject of artificial memory. Indeed, within
the few paragraphs he only mentions the place system, gives an example of filling
two “tristegas,” and finally lists nine aids to memory.
A set of rules of the art of memory is preserved in Moravský zemský archiv
(Moravian archive), fond G 11, ms. 964. The booklet is an anonymous textbook
of rhetoric written ca. 1418 probably in Čáslav, containing, among other, a curi-
ous praise of the city of Jihlava (Iglau) in both prose and verse.73 The ten rules,
regulae de arte memorandi, are found on ff. 57v-62v. The treatise is clearly linked
to the Czech environment because, among the suggestions for picturing various
adjectives, it features saint Procopius beating people for not observing his feast, as
well as the carbuncle by the tomb of Wenceslas.74
In ms. Prague, NK, adlig. 44.G.47, the already mentioned redaction of the
Attendentes nonnulli treatise (inc. Hic dicturi sumus de arte mirifica, on ff. 25r–30r)
is followed by a fragment of an art of memory (on ff. 31r–32v, end missing), which
has gone unnoticed to date. Seelbach notes a single manuscript of this version
of the art of memory (Bamberg, Staatsbibliothek, ms. Class. 52 [ff. 129r–137r])
originating from a Franciscan monastery in Bamberg and dated (according to
46 72
Parts of the encyclopedia were recently edited by Alena Hadravová. In particular, she edited ff.
185ra–190rb, an exposition on the 223 different occupations of artisans, together with the Old Czech
glosses and translations of the Latin terms (Alena Hadravová, ed., Paulerinus – Liber viginti arcium
[ff. 185ra –190rb], Clavis monumentorum litterarum [Regnum Bohemiae] 3, Fontes 2 [Prague: Koniash
Latin Press, 1997]), as well as the portion on natural history (Alena Hadravová, ed., Kniha dvacatera
umění mistra Pavla Žídka, část přírodovědná [The book of twenty arts of Master Pavel Žídek, section
on natural sciences] [Prague: Academia, 2008]). Other parts of the encyclopedia are currently being
edited. For more information, see also Alena Hadravová and Petr Hadrava, “Astronomy in Paulerinus’s
Fifteenth Century Encyclopaedia Liber Viginti Arcium,” Journal for the History of Astronomy 38:3
(2007): 305–324.
73
Cf. Wilhelm Wattenbach, “Candela rhetoricae: eine Anleitung zum Briefstil aus Iglau,” Archiv für
Kunde österreichischer Geschichtsquellen 30 (1864): 181-202; František Hoff mann, “Candela rhetoricae:
Fikce a skutečnost v předhusitské příručce rétoriky” (Candela rhetoricae: Fiction and reality in a pre-
Hussite textbook on rhetoric) Studie o rukopisech 21 (1982): 73-111. Wattenbach suggests the author
might have been Urbanus de Pochyech, but Hoff mann rejects the idea.
74
F. 60 v: Idolum iracundum ut sanctus Procopius quam plures percuciens propter fraccionem sui festi. F.
61r: luminosum, ut tabernaculum (crossed out) carbunculus tumbam santi Wenceslai illustrans. Another
curious example the author uses reads: Nudum ut balneator, coopertum ut merda Naythardi sub pileo
(“Naked as bath keeper, covered as Neithard’s shit under the hat,” f. 61r). It recalls a popular story in
which Neidhart (originally a 13th-century minnesang author Neidhart von Reuenthal who became
a popular trickster figure by the 15th century) covers the first violet of the spring with his hat in order
to show it to the Duchess of Bavaria (or, in different versions, of Austria). While he is away, a peasant
steals the flower and uses the hat to cover feces instead. Cf. Gertrud Blaschitz, ed., Neidhartrezeption
in Wort und Bild (Krems: Medium Aevum Quotidianum, 2000); Victor Renard Cook, “The Neidhart
Plays: A Social and Theatrical Analysis,” dissertation, University of Florida 1969. Edition of this text
and comparison to other sets of memory rules are currently prepared by the author.
Lucie Doležalová
the watermarks) 1503. In this manuscript, the art of memory is complete.75 Our
manuscript, consisting of 32 folios attached to an incunabulum of Historia Bo-
hemica by Aeneas Silvius Piccolomini, was, however, written in 1488–1489. It
was first owned, and perhaps even copied, by Wenzel Faber de Budweis (České
Budějovice in Southern Bohemia) and then by the Dominican monastery in the
same city. Wenzel (Wenceslaus) Faber was an astrologer who was also active at the
University of Leipzig.76 He collected a number of books, both manuscripts and
printed, during his lifetime.77
This memory treatise is dependent on the Attendentes nonnulli tract, including
a condensed explanation of the basic rules of the art, as well as a rather enigmatic
list of the mnemonic places. It opens with a mnemonic alphabet following the
system introduced by Conrad Celtis, but provides the five keywords for every
letter in German. While the author was thus certainly a speaker of German, the
Bamberg copy of the treatise also includes a reference to the execution of Jan Hus
(1415) — a possible link to the Czech environment. The authorship of Wenzel
Faber is clearly far from certain, but it remains a possibility.
The previously mentioned ms. Prague, NK, XI C 5, containing the treatise by
Johannes Hartlieb, also contains a thus far unnoticed art of memory on ff. 119r–
121r, consisting primarily of a list of rules (regulae) of the art.78 A slightly different
version of the same text also appears in New Haven, Yale University, Beinecke
library, ms. 306 of ff. 65r–70r,79 but it is most probably of German origin.80 47
It is very clear that a closer inspection of the surviving manuscripts will reveal
more texts relevant to the culture of the art of memory in the Czech lands dur-
75
Heimann-Seelbach, Ars und scientia, 58–60. (2.6 Alphabetum valens arti memorie.)
76
The Leipzig link also appears in the later Bamberg manuscript, which, among other texts, includes
Ars scribendi [epistolas] ex Jacobi Barini et Nicolaj Perotti tradicionibus collecta. Jacobus Barinus died in
Leipzig in 1497.
77
For more information on him and further bibliographical information, see Don C. Skemer, “Wenzel
Faber von Budweis (c.1455/1460–1518): An astrologer and his library in the early age of printing,”
Gutenberg-Jahrbuch 82 (2007): 241–277. Skemer lists 40 extant books of Faber’s library, this one
mentioned on p. 274, although no description of the manuscript additions is included. The book is
also mentioned in Karel Pletzer, “Středověký astronom Dr Václav Fabri z Budějovic,” [The medieval
astronomer Dr Václav Fabri of Budějovice], Jihočeský sborník historický 37 (1968): 76–86, on p. 85, note 23.
78
ff. 119r –121r; inc.: Nota quod nobilissima ars memoratiua consistit in duobus videlicet in locis et
ymaginibus. Item de quantitate locorum quatuor regule. Item prima regula. Item denotandum quod de
quantitate locorum sunt quatuor regule. Sequitur prima regula est ista etc. Prima regula quod loca non
debent esse nimis parua. Racio quia secundum hoc contingeret aliquociens que quantitas loci non congeriet
quantitati imaginis collocande ut si quis pro loco compareret sibi paruam fenestram et postea opportent ipsum
in illa fenestra unum magnum equum per ymaginem collocare etc. Secunda regula. Secunda regula loca
non debent esse nimis magna, sicut enim videmus medio sensibili quod si res parua in loco magno et spatiosa
collocetur non potest faciliter reperiri eo quod sensus…
79
Inc. Item in consequenti tractatulo ponuntur utiles et bone regule de locis et imaginibus ad prescriptam
artem pertinentibus. This entire manuscript is of interest, as it contains several texts on the art of memory.
80
An edition of the text is currently being prepared by the author.
ing the fifteenth century, whether full-scale artes memoriae treatises, notes within
rhetorical tracts, or brief considerations of the topic.
2. Improving memory by medical means and lifestyle

Arts of memory proper are far from the only treatises on memory written in the
area at that time. We also find advice on improving one’s memory in medical
tracts, as well as in general treatments of the correct methods of studying. The
longest relevant treatise dates from 1450 and was probably authored by the well-
known scholar Martin of Prague (Martinus Pragensis de Lancicia, i.e. Łęczyca in
Poland), a dean at the Faculty of Arts and later rector of Prague University. It is
not a typical memory tract: Martin was a doctor, too, and his text is based on the
idea that a healthy mind is found in a healthy body. His text therefore abounds in
advice on how to keep one’s body healthy using the theory of the four humors. Its
Czech origins are clear: Martin regretfully notes the decline of Prague University
and admonishes his students that the fewer they are in number the more they must
study in order to be prepared for when times improve again. This treatise, which
survives in six manuscripts, seems to have influenced another neglected tract that
gives advice on studying, including advice on memory, and which survives in three
48 manuscripts. Finally, the curious, also not yet edited, treatise De modulo studendi
speaks of the art of memory with strong explicit reservations.
Nevertheless, the frequent positioning of medical and general “common-sense”
advice together with artes memoriae in the manuscripts suggests that the two ways
of improving one’s memory were not seen in opposition to one another, but rather
as complementary. Typically in the Late Middle Ages, authors and scribes would
try to gather as much material as possible on a particular problem or subject, even-
tually leaving it up to the readers to select the most useful parts for themselves.
2.1. Treatises of foreign provenance circulating in the Czech Lands
The search for medieval medical treatises on improving memory and increasing
the efficiency of study by lifestyle changes is made difficult by the lack of general
scholarly surveys. Nor do such texts form an easily definable group, like the artes
memoriae. For example, there are several Czech copies of Pseudo-Boëthius’s De
disciplina scholarium, which seems to be only loosely linked to our topic, yet it has
been appropriated in ways that make it relevant.81
81
See below p. 56.
Lucie Doležalová
There are also Czech copies of other brief texts of foreign provenance. For
example, a letter by Thomas Aquinas on studying is included in ms. Prague, NK,
V F 17 (ff. 155r–v); and Hugh of St. Victor’s De meditando seu meditandi artificio
opusculum aureum can be found in ms. Prague, NK, V D 23 (ff. 195v–197r).
One text of note in this context, although of a very different nature, is a com-
mentary on Aristotle’s De memoria et reminiscentia by the French scholar Johannes
Versor (died c. 1485). The commentary appears among his Parva naturalia, and,
together with other Aristotelian commentaries by Versor, it became surprisingly
popular in the Czech lands in the 1450s:82 it survives in eleven manuscripts of
Czech origin.83 Curiously, one of them (Prague, NK, V E 12) was copied in 1455
by Stanislaus de Gnezna (i.e. Gniezno), who also copied a treatise by Martinus Pra-
gensis (discussed below) in the same year. Crux de Telcz also copied one (Prague,
NK, I E 38, in 1459), as well as part of the art of memory by Mattheus Beran. The
text is a philosophical treatise structured in the form of a scholastic disputation;
it does not directly concern the art of memory at all. Even so, by discussing the
subject of memory, it may have inspired further interest in it. In addition, Versor
lists four reasons for having a good memory and makes a number of observations
that also appear elsewhere in the context of improving one’s memory.84
49
82
František Šmahel, “Paris und Prag um 1450: Johannes Versor und seine böhmischen Schüler,” Studia
Źródłoznawcze 25 (1980): 65–77. Cf. also Charles H. Lohr, “Medieval Latin Aristotle Commentaries
IV,” Traditio 27 (1971): 251–351, esp. 296–297.
83
They are:
Prague, NK, I E 38, ff. 351r–355r (M, sabbato post Iacobi a. 1459 in collegio regis Wenceslai per Crucem
de Telcz)
Prague, NK, IV G 18, ff. 311v–315r (M, from 1453)
Prague, NK, V E 8, within ff. 157r–182v; from December 19, 1453
Prague, NK, V E 9; within ff. 249 v–279r; from October 1, 1459 in collegio Regine
Prague, NK, V E 12, ff. 90r–93v (M, from March 6, 1455, copied by Stanislaus de Gnezna)
Prague, NK, X G 16, within ff. 247v–269 v; from July 15, 1456, and June 23, 1457
Prague, KNM, X E 5 [parva naturalia ff. 296r–328r?]; from March 20, 1459
Prague, Kap., L XXXVII, within ff. 231v–252r; (July 24, 1450, per Hilarium de Litomericz et Wenceslaum
de Krzizanow)
Prague, Kap., M LXXV [parva naturalia ff. 351r–378r] from 1452 and 1453
Sankt Florian, Stiftsbibliothek, XI 626, within ff. 205v–222r[?] (from 1451 and 1452, in collegio Reczkonis)
Schlägl, Stiftsbibliothek, Cpl. 119; within ff. 259 v–281r[?] (from 1452 and 1453, ex libris Johannis
Rabstein).
84
Possunt considerari quatuor cause bone memorie: Prima est frequens meditatio circa memorabile. Secunda
est fortis meditatio circa idem obiectum, nam quandoque ex una forti attentione circa aliquod fit melior
memoria quam ex multis considerationibus. Tertia est admiratio de obiecto memorali. Quarta est delectatio
vel tristicia illata ex obiecto memorabili.
2.2. Treatises of Czech provenance

2.2.1. Martinus Pragensis: “The art of memory is useful only for a few”
The treatise De modo artificioso studendi et memorandi et intelligendi, ascribed to
Martinus of Prague or Martin of Łęczyca, has previously been noted by scholars
in both the context of the art of memory,85 and in the context of the history of
medicine,86 where it may be more apposite. It seems to have been popular, as it
survives in six manuscripts.
Martinus was born in 1405 in Łęczyca (Lancicia) in Poland. He studied at
Charles University in Prague, probably from 1427, and in 1431 he received his
baccalaureatus. Since he did not become magister artium until 1443, scholars as-
sume that he must have taught at a school in the meantime.87 In 1445 he became
the dean of the Faculty of Arts, and in 1455 rector of Charles University.88 Because
no trace of him exists after 1463 in the Czech lands, all of the Czech secondary
sources suppose that he died in 1463 or 1464, during the plague in Prague.89 Pol-
ish scholars, however, locate him back in Poland. From 1474 he was connected
with Poznan as medicus capituli Posnaniensis, and did not in fact die until 1483.90
85
See, for example, Hajdu, Das mnemotechnische Schrifttum, 112–114; or Heimann-Seelbach, Ars und
50 scientia, 165 and 171.
86
Milada Říhová, “Rukopisná svědectví o nejstarším období pražské lékařské fakulty” (Manuscript
sources on the oldest period of the Faculty of Medicine in Prague), in História medicíny, farmácie
a veterinárnej medicíny v kontexte vývoja európskej vedy 20. storočia (Bratislava: Lékarská fakulta
Univerzity Komenského, 2000), 180–182. In addition, there is an unpublished MA thesis, Aleš Beran,
Traktát Magistra Martina O umění studovat, chápat a dobře si pamatovat: Edice středověkého traktátu
s úvodem, překladem a komentářem (1.–5. kapitola) [The treatise of Master Martinus on the art of
studying, understanding and remembering well: Edition of a medieval treatise with introduction,
translation and notes (Chapters 1–5)] (Prague: Department of Greek and Latin Studies, Philosophical
Faculty of Charles University, 2004).
87
He supposedly delivered a lecture on his version of the computus at Nazareth College in Prague —
see explicit of the text in ms. Prague, NK, X E 19: Explicit computus phylosophicus… declaratus anno
eodem [1432] per Martinum de Lancicia in Nazareth. He is also reported to have taught at Tyn School.
See Truhlář, Catalogus (cf. note 13), no. 966.
88
See Liber decanorum facultatis philosophicae Pragensis ab anno Christi 1367 usque ad annum 1585,
pars II, (Prague: Gerzabek, 1832), 10, 119, 24, 26.
89
See, e.g., Biographisches Lexikon zur Geschichte der Böhmische Länder, Vol. II, ed. Heribert Sturm
(Munich: Oldenbourg Wissenschaftsverlag, 1979), 585; Quido Vetter, “Šest století matematického
a astronomického učení na univerzitě Karlově v Praze” [600 years of mathematical and astronomical
teaching at Charles University in Prague], Věstník Královské České společnosti nauk 14 (1952): 1–38, esp.
5.
90
See, e.g., Henryk Barycz, “Dziejowe związki Polski z Uniwersytetem Karola w Pradze,” [Polish
historical connections to Charles University in Prague], Przegląd Zachodni 1948: 29–30; or Henryk
Barycz, Z dziejów polskich wędrówek naukowych za granicę (Wrocław: Ossolineum, 1974), 26–28. The
Czech article by František M. Bartoš is based on Barycz: “Polský husita mezi rektory Karlovy university,”
[A Polish Hussite among rectors of Charles University], Jihočeský sborník historický 33 (1954): 28–29.
Lucie Doležalová
Martinus was primarily a mathematician and a doctor.91 As early as 1430 he

wrote, among other things, Computus de sphaera materiali, which was accom-
panied by his Computus philosophicus in the 1432 manuscript.92 He later wrote
an astrological commentary on the year 1455, which he dedicated to Ulrich of
Rosenberg, an important Catholic nobleman from Southern Bohemia (Magnifico
domino Ulrico generosa stirpe de Rosmberg prognosticatio anni currentis 1455).93 He
also wrote a commentary on Aristotle’s Porphyrii Isagoge (Disputata super Porphyrio)
and his Categories (Disputata super libro Praedicamentorum).94 His dedication to
Ulrich surely indicates that Martinus was a Catholic. However, his relationship
with the Hussites seems to have been quite friendly, since he remained at Prague
University even after 1458, when it was once again divided according to the Four
Articles of Prague. No clear evidence on this point survives.95
The memory treatise, written in around 1450 and surviving in six manuscripts,96
is not ascribed to him with absolute certainty. Three of the manuscripts transmit it
91
Mikulka claims Martinus was the greatest Polish personality active at Prague University: Jaromir
Mikulka, “Polacy w Czechach i ich rola w rozwoju husytyzmu,” [The Poles in Bohemia and their role in
the development of the Hussite movement], Odrodzenie i Reformacja w Polsce 11 (1966): 5–27, esp. 10.
92
Th is work is fully extant in ms. Prague, NK, X E 19, and covers the first 74 folios. According to the
explicit, it was copied by Stanislaus de Gniezno (Explicit compertatum [!] Martini de Lancicia super textum
sphaerae materialis anno dom. 1430, scriptum eodem anno per manus Stanislai de Gnezna completumque 51
feria sexta in capite quadragesimae). An excerpt from the text can be found in ms. Prague, NK, XI E 3, fol.
139r (inc.: eclipsari nisi in novilunio, in passione autem domini, expl.: ignorancia ergo virtutis planetarum
causat magnum errorem in iudiciis circa res naturales. Explicit comportatum Martini de Lancicia super
textum spere materialis. Anno domini Mo CCCCo XXXo scriptum eodem anno per manus Stanislai de
Gnezna completumque feria sexta in capite quadragesime. Eodem anno Taborite vastaverunt Marchiam,
Surbiam, Mysnam, Durniam, Fotlanciam, singulasque regiones Germanorum circumiacentes regno Boemie
versus occidentem et septemtrionem; the codex is a miscellany including a number of texts by Jan Hus,
John Wyclif, Jacobellus of Stříbro, etc. Parts of it are written in Czech.) Martinus’ computus is based
on a computus by Johannes de Sacrobosco, with a number of additions by Martinus, who might have
been inspired by his master, Peter called Bradáč from Dvakačovice. See Vetter, “Šest století,” (cf. note
89) 5.
93
Extant in ms. Prague, NK, I G 6. See also Jiří Bečka, Islám a české země (Islam and the Czech Lands)
(Olomouc: Votobia, 1998), 76, where the author claims that Martinus is dependent on Farghani in this
work.
94
These are extant in ms. Prague, NK, V H 14, ff. 90 v–218v, inc.: Utrum de predicamentis possit esse
sciencia. Quod sic patet…. See Charles H. Lohr, “Medieval Latin Aristotle Commentaries. Authors:
Johannes de Kanthi – Myngodus,” Traditio 27 (1971): 251–351, esp. 337, nr. 1 and nr. 2; Jerzy Korolec,
Repertorium commentariorum mediee aevi in Aristotelem Latinorum quae in Bibliotheca olim Universitatis
Pragensis nunc Státní knihovna ČSR vocata (Wrocław: Zakład Narodowy im. Ossolińskich, 1977).
95
The ambiguity of religious contacts in the second half of the fifteenth century is a recurring issue
in the Czech lands.
96
The extant manuscripts are: Vienna, ÖNB, cod. 4342 (1450s–1460s, Czech origin), ff. 272r–287r;
cod. 5254, ff. 290r–300r, Prague, NK, XIV F 18, ff. 2r–12v, I F 11, ff. 144v–152v, I D 12, ff. 17r–18r
and 202r–204v, Prague, Kap., inc. I 77, part 11; for details, see below. Hajdu knew of only the two
manuscripts in Vienna (Hajdu, Das mnemotechnische Schrifttum, 112).
as anonymous, and only one mentions Magister Martinus. Only the manuscript at-
tached to incunabulum I 77 from the Metropolitan Chapter Library of the Prague
Castle Archive in Prague and ms. Vienna, ÖNB, cod. 5254 make the attribution
to Martinus de Lancicia explicit (Explicit istud compendium de modo studendi intel-
ligendi et memorandi editum per honorandum ac reverendum magistrum Martinum
medicum de Lancicia [Lanotia in the Vienese ms.]), but these are neither the oldest
nor the best of the surviving manuscripts and it is thus possible that the copyists
simply chose to ascribe the treatise written by a certain Martinus to one particular
famous Martinus. The contents of other works by Martinus de Lancicia should be
researched and compared to this treatise more thoroughly in order to confirm or
disprove this hypothesis — a task that goes beyond the scope of the present study.
The author provides rules and advice for improving one’s memory and study-
ing in an efficient way, but they have little to do with classical artificial memory
techniques as such. Martinus reveals himself to be a doctor: he sees memory as
a bodily function, and his points are aimed primarily at improving one’s health.
He is also a teacher: his text is clearly organized, offers practical and immediately
applicable advice, and is strongly appellative. In Polish scholarship, it is consid-
ered to be the first Polish psychological-pedagogical treatise.97 Even so, like his
contemporaries Martinus quotes a number of authorities, and many of the points
he makes can also be found elsewhere. It is thus a task for future scholarship to
52 evaluate his actual creative contribution.98
After a prologue that survives only in a fragment and only in one manuscript
(the authorship of which is questionable99), the first chapter, De organo anime,
explains that just as a worker uses various instruments that he needs to keep in
good working order, the soul’s instrument is the body and we must concentrate
on keeping the body in good working order if we want to improve our memory.
Using the theory of the four humors, Martinus gives a number of dietary and
common-sense guidelines (getting enough sleep, sufficient liquids, etc.). He com-
bines general advice with the specifics of his own regimen (introduced by ego
autem…) for maintaining good health. The second chapter, De varietate corporum
ad quorum diuersitatem sequitur diuersitas animorum, discusses the various types
97
See Henryk Barycz, Polski słownik biograficzny (Polish biographical dictionary) (Cracow: Polska
Akademia Nauk, 1935), volume 567–568; or Wanda Bobrowska-Nowak, Początki polskiej psychologii
(The beginnings of Polish psychology) (Wrocław: Ossolineum, 1973).
98
Hajdu says that similar ideas appear in a French ars memoriae in ms. Paris, Bibliothèque Sainte
Geneviève 2521 (XV, ff. 96r –99r), presented as de libro m. Stephani de Nouvent (see Hajdu, Das
mnemotechnische Schrifttum, 114). However, I did not find any close similarity between this and the
treatise of Martinus Pragensis. In that particular manuscript, the treatise is followed by a Latin art of
memory by Girardus de Cruce (from 1462) (see Seelbach, Ars und scientia, 78–81).
99
The same prologue is also found in Battista Guarino’s de ordine docendi ac studendi (...).
Lucie Doležalová
of people and their disposition for studying. From the third chapter onwards, the
treatise is structured very clearly:
III. De impedimentis
1. cursus et motus frequens corporis de uno loco ad alium
2. indigestio
3. multorum librorum inordinata inspectio
4. longa lectio usque ad fastidium
5. spernere audire doctos et magistros
6. exercitacionis omissio
7. inbui paucis scienciis
IV. De preceptis seruandis in studio et lectione

1. cum multa percurreris, unum excipe
2. in omni sciencia habenda sunt aliqua, que semper sunt prompta
3. principia scientiarum primum sunt discenda
4. tres modos intelligere et usitare argumentationes
5. diffiniciones terminorum cuiuslibet sciencie maxime sunt studende
6. propositiones universales scienciarum maxime sunt studende
7. in studio ordinato unicuique arti attribuendum est, quod suum est et
unaqueque sciencia explicanda est suis propriis nocionibus 53
8. ordo servetur (grammatica, rhetorica, quadrivium, philosophia naturalis,
metaphysica, theologia)
V. De canonibus lecta et audita memorandi

1. exaracio paucorum in libro manuali
2. quolibet die memorie est aliqiud commendandum
3. frequens rei meditacio
4. locali memorie sese accomodare et frequenter inmorari
5. ordinem serva, partire orationem in multas minutas partes
6. quicquid sit memorie firmiter commendandum sit breve et cum delectatione
suscipiatur
7. qui prius scita oblitus fuerit et eadem voluerit reminisci, consideret circum-
stantias loci et temporis
VI. Propositiones et aff orismos de modo intelligendi

1. Intellectus maxime intelligit ea que habent inter se ordinem
2. Non omnibus rebus uniformiter intellectus est accomodatus ut ea
intelligat
3. Intellectus frequenter exercitandus est circa res memoratas
4. Intellectus invalescit sicut quod ignoras legeris lente distincte cum pausis
5. Quidditates rerum maxime sunt cognoscibiles cause et transcendencia
6. Intellectus fortificatur secundum tempora

7. Intellectus acuitur per commensuracionem ciborum
VII. De adiectis quibusdam que perficiunt intellectum legentis et audientis

1. studentibus aptissima est corporis temperancia in cibis et potibus
2. nocentissimum genus omnium studiorum est preceps et festinata lectio
3. iudicium rectum in lectione conservare
4. quolibet die aliquid memorie est commendandum
5. ponere et facere racionem studiorum et lectionum in fine
6. quicumque voluerit comprehendere scientiam debet perscrutari de dif-
ficilibus questionibus
7. finis in quolibet studio est ponendus
It is apparent that even without the technique of the art of memory, many of the
concerns, such as the importance of order and exercise, are the same.
In conclusion, we encounter a personal and local touch: Martinus adds a note
on the currently pitiful state of Prague University, admonishing the students not
to give up studying but rather to study even harder in order to be prepared for
better times to come.
54 Quantum hec nostra gloriosissima uniuersitas minuatur, in quibus deficiat studiis,

quibus sit calamitatibus subiecta, res ipsa clamat et predicat vos igitur: o adoles-
centes, quorum vires aptissime sunt, meis nunc monimentis roborati studiorum
precepta suscipite, ut quod numerus nostre beate minorauit societatis, adaugeantur
paucorum multa preciosa ingenia.
How is that most glorious university of ours diminished, what studies it lacks,
to what disasters it is subject! The thing itself cries out and admonishes you
thus: O, youths, whose talents are most appropriate, now strengthened by my
instructions, follow my orders, so that when the number of our blessed society
has diminished, [at least] the many precious talents of the few will be increased.
Although only a brief note, it clearly shows the struggle to ensure continuity in
education.
While a number of Martinus’s pieces of advice and citations from the authori-
ties appear in various arts of memory proper, he mentions artificial memory as
such only in passing when explaining the importance of memoria localis (in V.4),
which, he says, is threefold, the art of memory belonging to the first type (secun-
dum imagines et similitudines inconsuetas).100 Martinus does not recommend it very
100
The other two are the locus created by reading repeatedly from the same book, and the locus of liber
manualis.
Lucie Doležalová
heartily, however, saying: Et de tali loco agitur in scientia de memoria artificiali,

que sicut multis est inutilis, sic paucis prodest (“And this type of place is the subject
of artificial memory, which, just as it is useless for many, is also useful for few”).
The six surviving manuscripts of Martinus’s treatise — by far the most we
have of one text on memory from the Czech lands — suggest that it was this text
that his contemporaries found especially useful. At the same time, however, this
does not support the idea that the art of memory itself was popular. Not only is it
mentioned here only in passing, but, in addition, ms. Vienna, ÖNB, cod. 4342,
rather than memoria artificialis in the above-quoted clause, has memoria Aristotelis
— a mistake that is most likely due to the fact that its scribe, Johannes Bohemus,
was not familiar with the term memoria artificialis.
2.2.2. A reworking of Martinus? (inc. Optimus ille…)

In addition to the copies of Martinus’s treatise, I was able to identify a text linked
to it that is transmitted in three manuscripts — Prague, NK, X H 12 (M), I E 39,
and Brno, MZK, Mk 66 (M). The text, inc. Optimus ille discipulorum instructor,
does not have a title in either of the copies. Prague, NK, X H 12, which contains
the text on ff. 64v–68r, is a miscellany written in 1472 and 1474 in Čáslav. In the
Brno manuscript, part of this text directly precedes and is connected to Parvulus
philosophiae naturalis (ff. 100v–136r)101 and has been understood as an inherent 55
part of it.102 In ms. Prague, NK, I E 39, this text (ff. 164r–168r) opens a rather
disorganized section containing various advice and excerpts (extending to fol. 223r)
in a miscellaneous codex from the last quarter of the fifteenth century.
The anonymous author is not interested in medical issues. The first half of the
treatise is, with the exception of one sentence,103 very different from Martinus and
includes extensive quotations from classical authors. The second part seems to
be an appropriation of Martinus’s Chapters III, IV, and V. Although the general
101
Although once ascribed to Petrus de Dresda (also known as Petr z Drážďan, Petrus Gerticz de
Dresden, or Petrus Hereticus, who was burnt at the stake in 1421), the text, Parvulus Philosophiae
(or Philosophia pauperum), is now generally ascribed to Albert von Orlamünde and was edited by
Bernhard Geyer, Die Albert dem Grossen zugeschriebene Summa naturalium (Philosophia pauperum)
(Münster: Aschendorff, 1938). See also Charles H. Lohr, “Medieval Aristotle Commentaries: Authors
A–F,” Traditio 23 (1967): 345–348; Martin Grabmann, “Die Philosophia pauperum und ihr Verfasser
Albert von Orlamünde,” Beiträge zur Geschichte der Philosophie und Theologie des Mittelalters 20: 2 (1918):
29–31.
102
The text itself, inc. Natura est principium et causa movendi et quiescendi, was dated to 1474. It is also
transmitted, for example, in ms. Graz, UL, 966, ff. 125r–136r, or Prague, NK, 1412 (MLVI), ff. 1r–88v.
It was published in 1513 by Johannes (Jan) Haller in Cracow, and in 1516 by Johannes Singrenius in
Vienna, but without the initial part on the art of studying.
103
This sentence is the clause that opens Martinus’s treatise: magnam cuiuslibet artis vim comparat artifex
cum suorum instrumentorum melioramenta inprimis coaptat.
keywords are the same, the reasoning and quotes used are usually different. In
addition, the anonymous author states that he took the advice of Ps.-Boëthius’s
De disciplina scholarium,104 a text which he quotes abundantly even though its aim
and scope are in fact quite different. This anonymous work, written c. 1230–1240
in Paris and also known as Speculum scholarium, seems to have been quite popular
in the Czech lands.105 One copy directly precedes the memory treatise of Martinus
Pragensis in ms. Prague, NK, I D 12.106 It is therefore very likely that the author
used this text, together with that of Martinus, when compiling his advice. In any
case, the art of memory is not mentioned in this text at all.107
2.2.3. De modulo studendi: “Avoid the art of memory!”

Finally, a very curious anonymous treatise, De modulo studendi (inc. Ad laudem
Ihesu regis sublimissimi), is preserved in ms. Olomouc VK, M I 357, on ff. 38r–
85r.108 The miscellaneous codex from the second half of the fifteenth century was
previously owned by the Carthusians in Dolany (Dolein) near Olomouc.109 The
second part of the treatise is introduced as de memoria artificialiter acquirenda, al-
though here we do not learn anything about the art of memory. Instead, the author
first provides medical advice, offering a recipe for unguentum memorie, pulmentum
pro memoria, etc. He proceeds by counselling his readers on the benefits of frequent
56 meditation and devout attention at mass; but he also provides a variety of other
words of wisdom — for example keeping a mirror in one’s room for clearer sight,
having a nicely decorated room so that nothing in it is annoying, or being a bonus
104
Its author was clearly not Boëthius; see Pseudo-Boèce, De disciplina scolarium: édition critique,
introduction et notes, ed. Olga Weijers (Leiden: Brill, 1976); cf. also Pierre Riché, “Sources pédagogiques
et traités d’éducation,” in Les entrées dans la vie: initiations et apprentissages, Annales de l’Est 34 (1982):
15–29.
105
Surviving copies include:
Prague, NK, I G 40 (from 1383)
Prague, NK, III E 15, ff. 22r–34v (13th–14th c.)
Prague, NK, III G 22, ff. 75r–7v (end 14th c., with a commentary)
Prague, NK, IV F 14, ff. 32r–40r (13th)
Prague, NK, VIII H 22, ff. 94r–122r (anepigr.)
Prague, NK, X F 17, ff. 1r–33v (1411–1412)
Prague, NK, X F 25 (from 1407)
Prague, NK, XI C 1, ff. 193r–200r (copied in 1478 in Soběslav, notes by Crux de Telcz)
Prague, Kap., 1655 (O LXXI), ff. 147r–v (15th c.)
Zámek Kynžvart 20-H-11 (14139) (from 1491)
There are also several incunabula preserved in Czech libraries.
106
Ff. 196r–201r; here as De modo progrediendi in discendo et docendo, copied in 1462 by Wenceslaus de
Chrudim.
107
An edition of this text is currently being prepared by the author.
108
Folios 83 and 84 are exchanged.
109
For the description of the codex, see Boháček and Čáda (cf. note 16), Beschreibung, 302–304.
Lucie Doležalová
latinista and writing clearly. The author also includes two stories from Caesarius
of Heisterbach, a paragraph on ars notoria, nigromancia, etc. The entirety is a very
detailed and multifaceted text on efficient study.110
The author of the text devotes one paragraph to the art of memory, but, rather
than praising it he dissuades his students from using it, arguing that it is too de-
manding and difficult:
De arte memorativa
Sana persuasione admoneo te fugere artem memoratiuam in omnibus ea fruendo.
Nam licet non sit supersticiosa, tamen continue utendo ipsa ut communiter fiunt
vesani, quia maximo labore caput est in ea oneratum. Nam fiunt ibi maxime var-
ieque discursiones, quare caput confestim confunditur ad vertiginem etc. Sed bene
in aliquibus ea fungi potes, ut in sermonibus, habendo aliquos articulos, illos per
cameras ponas, aut per membra digitorum, in quolibet unum articulum ponendo,
prius tamen declaracionem addiscendo et ceteris ut patet in tractatibus eiusdem.
Ut autem intelligas quid magnus labor est in ea, nam requiritur habere cameram,
secundo angulos, tercio ymagines varias, quarto ad quamlibet ymaginem applicare
ymaginatiue significationes terminorum et ceteris. Post si necessarium fuerit, ex-
igitur diuersa tegumenta diuersorum colorum super applicationes priores ponere.
Ecce an per talem laborem caput faciliter non commouetur et ceteris. Laudabile
verumtamen est ea uti in certis paucis materiis ut quando accidit necessario aliquid 57
memorie commendare.111
On the art of memory

I admonish you with a sound conviction: avoid using the art of memory for
everything. Even though it is not superstitious, those who use it continuously
become commonly mad, as it will burden the head because of the extensive
effort; there are great and various discussions as to why the head is suddenly
confused by dizziness, etc. But you can use it well in some things, such as
sermons, when you have several subjects and place them into rooms; or use
the members of your fingers, putting a subject in each one, but first learning
the speech, etc., as is clear from the treatises on it. But in order to understand
what great effort lies in it: first you have to have a room; second, corners; third,
various images; fourth, to apply to every image the meanings of the terms in
110
An edition of this text, currently being prepared by Jan Odstrčilík, will allow a more detailed
analysis. It was not considered neccessary here, since the actual relevance of the text to the art of memory
is limited. For a basic description and a number of intriguing observations on this unique text, see Jan
Odstrčilík, “Poučení o správném způsobu studia ve středověkém traktátu De modulo studendi (VK
Olomouc, M I 357)” [Advice on the correct way of studying in the medieval treatise De modulo studendi
(Olomouc, VK, M I 357)], AUC Historia Universitatis Carolinae Pragensis 53:2 (2013): 23–39.
111
fol. 79r.
an imaginative way, etc. Afterwards, if necessary, various coverings of diverse

colors must be put over the earlier placements. How wouldn’t one’s head be
shaken easily from such effort? Etc. Nevertheless, it is praiseworthy to use it [i.e.
the art of memory] in a few specific issues, such as when it becomes necessary
to store something in the memory.
It is not therefore a complete rejection of the art, but rather an expression of res-
ervation (much like the typical reaction to the technique today). As a whole, the
treatise supports the idea that the medical and meditational-practical approach to
improving the memory may have been seen as an alternative to the art of memory
proper.
2.3. Other memory advice
We encounter a number of other texts that provide advice on improving one’s

memory in several other contexts. For example, ms. Prague, NK, V E 28 (M)
contains practical mnemonic aids for remembering canon law, as well as a brief
discussion of its contents, also aimed at facilitating one’s memory of it. Then, on
fol. 9v, we find a note listing eleven pieces of advice for the efficient study of canon
58 law, some of which (e.g. the third: “Do not study so much that you would have
pain or be depressed, so that you have a joyful mind”) are generally applicable and
recall those already discussed here.112
We quite frequently find medical advice on improving one’s memory, either
within larger medical treatises or independently. For example, the Carthusians
of Olomouc owned two manuscripts containing recipes for memory aids: in ms.
Olomouc, VK, M I 359, a miscellaneous codex from the second half of the fif-
teenth century,113 we find on ff. 83v–84r the text: canon super varia pro memoria
deperdita seu corrupta naturaliter seu artificialiter revocanda et recuperanda data per
magistrum Cristannum licenciatum de artibus et baccalarium in medicinis. This brief
text, perhaps authored by Cristiannus de Prachaticz (Křišťan z Prachatic, before
112
The whole note reads: Nota: diligens istos casus modus studendi quia in iuri canonico requiruntur.
Primus modus est deum pre oculis habere, quia dicitur: ‘primum querite regnum dei’ [Lc 12,31]. Et alibi:
‘ inicium sapiencie timor domini’ [Ecclesiasticus 1,16]. Secundus modus est facultatem quam queris in corde
geras quia pluribus intentus minor est ad sigla spiritus. Tercius est: non studeas ad dolorem uel usque ad
accidiam ut sit tibi animus letus. Quartus est: causam capituli ad totam et ad quemlibet eius partem referas
videas si pertineat ad titulum. Quintus est: attende capitulum, quare sit statutum. Sextus est contraria soluere.
Septimus est: causam solucionis diligenter attende, unde procedunt. Septimus est similia elicere et investigare.
Nonus est: non generale, sed speciale ad memoriam reducas, et ipse commenda, quia memoria non prodit,
nisi quam sepius non respexit. Decimus est: non textum, sed commentum disce. Undecimus est ubi et quare
sub tali titulo sunt collocate tales Decretis.
113
Cf. Boháček and Čáda (cf. note 16), Beschreibung, 307–309.
Lucie Doležalová
1370–1439), itself contains a recipe for an ointment and a powder, followed by

other dietetic and lifestyle guidelines.114 In addition, ms. Olomouc, VK, M I 406
(M),115 from the late fifteenth to early sixteenth centuries, includes two detailed
recipes on ff. 134v–135r.116
As noted in several places above, the present survey should be seen as only pre-
liminary. A detailed scrutiny of the manuscripts, their dating and their intercon-
nections, as well as of the editions of the texts, needs to be carried out before any
conclusions can be drawn. The sources from the Czech lands that have been iden-
tified to date do not lead us to suppose that the art of memory was a widespread
and much-used rhetorical technique in the region. The currently available evidence
is indeed rather isolated and does not allow for generalizations: the anonymous
treatise in Prague, NK, VIII E 3 (M) is a mere fragment that is difficult to con-
textualize; Mattheus Beran largely copied his treatise; and the work by Martinus
of Prague, although the most popular of these, is not really an art of memory.
Nevertheless, it is clear what was produced in the region was not simply de-
rived from and dependent on accepted models. Perhaps precisely because the art
of memory did not become too diff used, it did not become a set type of rhetorical
tract. The authors approach it with clear and critical minds, bringing up questions
and problems that do not appear in the comparable treatises from Western Europe
or Italy. The Hussite author, exploring the possibilities of replacing notions to be
remembered by images, draws the ad absurdum conclusion that anything can be 59
substituted by anything else. Mattheus Beran suggests an easier way of creating
100 mnemonic places — by remembering only nine words and a different color
in every tenth place. Martinus Pragensis does not seem to be interested in the art
of memory as such, but, disappointed by the contemporary state of Prague Uni-
versity and strongly hoping for a brighter future, sees the training of the memory
as another way of ensuring the continuity of education.
Advice for improving one’s memory in line with Martinus’s views seems to have
been more widely diff used in the area than the art of memory proper. With rising
numbers of university students and an increasing amount of available knowledge
and information, more authors were concerned with the problem of studying as
efficiently as possible. This issue may or may not be linked to the art of memory,
but in any case merits further exploration.
114
Among them: solicitudo visorum uel auditorum frequens recordacio memoriam comfortat et corroborrat.
Gaudium temperatum et honesta delectatio non solum memoriam sed et intellectiuam et certas virtutes
corporis augmentat. Wersus: si tibi deficiant medici, media tibi fiant hec tria: mens leta, requies moderata,
dieta (fol. 84r).
115
Cf. Boháček and Čáda (cf. note 16), Beschreibung, 313–322.
116
Inc. Incipit tractatulus subtilis de reformacione obtuse memorie cuiusdam magistri parisiensis.
3. The contexts of artes memoriae in the Czech lands

As far as the concrete context of the Czech lands is concerned, we lack direct evi-
dence of the practical use of the art of memory. The present chapter surveys the
manuscript contexts of art of memory treatises, since an exploration of the texts
surrounding these tracts may suggest the ways in which they were perceived and
the contexts they were assigned.117
It has already been observed that there is quite frequently more than one art
of memory treatise copied in a codex. This is the case in ms. Prague, NK, I G 11a
(M),118 for example, and ms. Olomouc, VK, I 271 discussed below.119 We also find
a combination of the art of memory with medical and other advice on improv-
ing the memory (e.g. in ms. Sankt Paul im Lavanttal 137/4, including the art of
memory by Mattheus de Verona).120
Although the art was originally part of rhetoric, the manuscripts containing the
art of memory do not contain rhetorical treatises as often as might be expected.121
At least in the Czech context, it seems that the link to rhetoric was weakened,
if not lost. In any case, rhetoric as such was not blossoming in this area in the
fifteenth century, especially as the Hussites spoke openly against stylistic embel-
lishments. At the same time, however, the topic of rhetoric in Bohemia during
the fifteenth century remains for the most part unexplored,122 thus there may be
60 more to discover.
117
For the importance of the material context of a text, see, e.g., Siegfried Wenzel and Stephen G.
Nichols, eds. The Whole Book: Cultural Perspecitves on Medieval Miscellany (Ann Arbor: University of Mi-
chigan Press, 1997); or Lucie Doležalová and Kimberly Rivers, eds., Medieval Manuscript Miscellanies:
Composition, Authorship, Use (Krems: Medium Aevum Quotidianum, 2013).
118
It includes both a fragment of the treatise by Mattheus Beran and the tract Nota hanc figuram.
119
The same is true of New Haven, Yale University, Beinecke library, cod. 306 and Sankt Paul im
Lavanttal, Stiftsbibliothek, 137/4 (which are, however, probably not of Czech provenance).
120
For collections of texts of the same type within one codex, see the argument in Siegfried Wenzel,
“The Appearance of Artes praedicandi in Medieval Manuscripts,” in Medieval Manuscript Miscellanies,
ed. Doležalová-Rivers, 102–111.
121
An ars dictandi appears in ms. Olomouc, VK, M I 357 (on ff. 94v–128r, inc.: Circa materiam dictandi,
with German and Latin examples), preceded by De modulo studendi, and rhetorical notes appear together
with Martinus’s treatise in Prague, NK, I D 12, and in Vienna, ÖNB, cod. 5254.
122
There is no specific study on the topic apart from the works of Josef Tříška: Pražská rétorika [Prague
Rhetoric] (Prague: Charles University, 1987); “Prague Rhetoric and the Epistolare dictamen (1278) of
Henricus de Isernia,” Rhetorica 3:3 (1985): 183–200; “O rétorice a stylu naší středověké literatury,”
[On rhetoric and the style of our medieval literature], Slovo a slovesnost 25 (1964): 260–270; Rétorický
styl a pražská univerzitní literatura ve středověku [Rhetorical style and Prague University literature in
the Middle Ages] (Prague: Charles University, 1975); K rétorice a k universitní literatuře [On rhetoric
and university literature] (Prague: Charles University, 1972). Not much information is found in Jiří
Kraus, “European Contexts of Czech and Slavic Rhetoric in the Renaissance,” in Renaissance-Rhetorik.
Renaissance Rhetoric. Papers Presented at an International Colloquium held on June 27–29, 1990,
Universität Essen, ed. Heinrich F. Plett (Berlin: Walter de Gruyter, 1993), 106–117.
Lucie Doležalová
The connection between the art of memory, practical mnemonics and preach-
ing is far stronger. We find memory treatises most frequently in miscellanies with
all kinds of useful and practically applicable texts. In many cases they seem to have
been designed for preachers: they include sermons, exempla, artes praedicandi, ex-
positions of the Decalogue, Credo and Pater noster,123 summae confessorum,124 advice
on confession, texts on virtues and vices, moral treatises, etc. The subject of the
composition and use of miscellanies in the later Middle Ages, when they emerge as
individualized selections compiled for practical purposes, deserves a more detailed
discussion elsewhere. Here it is sufficient to say that the art of memory was deemed
to fit into the context of practical knowledge that was to be at hand.
The link between the theory and practice of mnemonics is another subject that
needs further elaboration at the theoretical level. Questions such as the degree to
which practical mnemonic devices follow the rules established in artes memoriae,
or the extent to which artes memoriae use or respond to existing memory practices,
have not yet been addressed or discussed in detail. However, the fact that the
theory and practice of memory were not two strictly divided fields is clear from
the surviving codices, in which art of memory treatises are very often accompanied
by practical mnemonic verses.
In both the codices containing Mattheus Beran’s Ars memorativa, we also
find the Summarium Biblie, a biblical mnemonic aid that was very popular in the
fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. It comprises 212 verses, in which each chapter 61
of the bible is summarized in only one or two words.125 The text is therefore in-
comprehensible without accompanying notes. These two manuscripts each feature
a different version of the Summarium, as far as both their layout and their content
are concerned.126 In the Czech lands, there are at least thirty more surviving me-
dieval copies of this text, and several more manuscripts now kept elsewhere are
also of Bohemian origin. The codices are all from the fifteenth century and come
from various environments, both Catholic and Calixtine.
123
The explanation of these basic texts was an everyday task of preachers. Cf., e.g., Jaroslav V. Polc
and Zdeňka Hledíková, Pražské synody a koncily předhusitské doby [Prague synods and councils in the
pre-Hussite period] (Prague: Karolinum, 2002), 110, 166, 265, 266.
124
Cf. Jiří Kejř, Summae confessorum a jiná díla pro foro interno v rukopisech českých a moravských
knihoven [Summae confessorum and other works pro foro interno in manuscripts in Bohemian and
Moravian libraries] (Prague: Archiv Akademie věd ČR, 2003).
125
Cf. Lucie Doležalová, Obscurity and Memory in Late Medieval Manuscript Culture: The Case of the
‘Summarium Biblie’ (Krems: Institut für Realienkunde des Mittelalters und der frühen Neuzeit, 2012).
126
In ms. Prague, NK, I F 35 the text is copied on ff. 448r–458v in two columns with one keyword per
line, always followed by an explanatory gloss in a smaller script. In ms Prague, NK, I G 11a, ff. 7v–15v,
the layout of the Summarium Biblie respects the verses, the keywords are divided by vertical red lines,
and the glosses in smaller superscript. Some of the keywords differ, as do some of the glosses. Th is in
itself is a common feature of the transmission of this text. Here, it suggests its “active reception” in the
Bohemian context — that is, it suggests that even more manuscripts were originally in existence, and
that the text was actively read, interpreted and transformed.
The degree to which this example of practical mnemonics follows the theoreti-
cal rules of the art of memory is difficult to discern, primarily because the text of
the Summarium Biblie itself is far from settled and no critical editions have yet
been published. In any case, due to its substantially condensed form and very clear
organization, it certainly follows the basic rules. The individual keywords of the
Summarium are selected in a number of different ways.127 Sometimes it is a word
that is often repeated in the chapter in question; at other times it is the first word
of a famous quotation from the chapter (even a conjunction or interjection); and
at yet other times it is a word that does not even appear in the chapter but that is
capable of reminding someone of its content (or so it seemed to the author). The
keywords are often striking and surprising. Some might be interpreted as having
been created in line with the technique of mixing letters, so frequently used by
Mattheus Beran, although these might also be merely copying mistakes.128
The copy of Summarium Biblie in Mattheus Beran’s Confundarius maior —
that is, codex Prague, NK, I F 35 — is further accompanied by shorter biblical
mnemonic verses and devices copied in the top and bottom margins. In fact,
this whole codex is a very interesting miscellany and could easily be considered
as “practical mnemonics”: most of the texts included are brief and dense with
important information to be kept in mind.129 However, this clearly forms a much
looser relationship with the art of memory.
62 The connection between the theory and practice of mnemonics also appears
in codices containing foreign artes memoriae copied in the Czech lands. MS Olo-
mouc, VK, M I 156, is a miscellany written by various hands.130 The same scribe
who copied the memory treatise Secundum Parisienses also copied two artes prae-
dicandi in it.131 Ms Olomouc, VK, M I 24132 contains both a fragment of an art of
memory treatise dependent on Conrad Celtis; and mnemonic verses on the com-
putus accompanied by a commentary.133 The best example, however, is Olomouc,
127
The ordered keyword structure that forms a verse (thus further facilitating memorization) is a usual
mnemonic strategy, also found in cisioiani and many other verses — for example there are verses that
summarize canon law in the same way. Prokop, scribe of the New Town of Prague, also used this
technique in his verses for remembering the components of various types of letters. In addition, Martinus
Pragensis uses it in his computus for the signs of zodiac: Est lib, ari; scor, taur; sa, ge; cap, can; a, le; pis, vir.
128
I have addressed this problem in the article “On Mistake and Meaning: Scinderationes fonorum in
medieval artes memoriae, mnemonic verses, and manuscripts,” Language and History 52 (2009): 25–39.
129
Th is miscellaneous codex is also described by Benedek Láng, who says: “… it was not so frequent
in the Middle Ages that a manuscript contained such a coherently chosen selection of texts, forming
a well-structured unity.” See Láng (cf. note 42), Unlocked Books, 206.
130
For a description of the codex, see Boháček and Čáda (cf. note 16), Beschreibung, 60–65.
131
Cf. Seelbach, “Wissensorganisation,” 14–15.
132
133
Inc. Nonaginta unum tollas milleque trecenta/ quidquid superfuerit pro solis ciclo teneto; cf. Thorndike-
Kibre 923, Walther, Carmina, 12225 (from BSB, clm. 5387 and ÖNB, cod. 3502, this manuscript not
noted). The text in this manuscript is dated 1491.
Lucie Doležalová
VK, M I 271 (M),134 a manuscript from the Carthusian monastery in Dolany

(Dollein) near Olomouc,135 which contains a copy of the well-known mnemonic
treatise Memoria fecunda, preceded by an alphabetical version of the 100 mne-
monic places.136 (Pl. 1b) Primarily, it includes Summula de Summa Raymundi,137
and, in addition to several other texts,138 features a portion concerned with rhetoric
together with a striking number of mnemonic verses.139 Many of them deal with
grammar (such as how to remember the gender of Latin nouns). Others use back-
wards spelling, etc. There is even a mnemonic verse about how to choose a good
cheese.140 The words used in the poem can easily be interpreted in line with the
guidelines of the theoreticians of memory on how to create mnemonic images.
However, the miscellaneous codex consists of thirteen originally independent parts
and was copied by ten different scribes. It cannot therefore be argued that a com-
bination of the theory and practice of memory lay behind its origins, although it
was certainly manifest in its reception.
134
135
For more on this monastery (but primarily from an archeological point of view), see Jakub Vrána,
Kartuziánský klášter v Dolanech u Olomouce [The Carthusian monastery in Dolany near Olomouc]
(Olomouc: Archeologické centrum, 2007). 63
136
Th is text, with the title Tabula nominum ordine alphabeti, covers a single folio, fol. 2r, and is
incomplete, ending with the 55th place. Every group of five places includes two alternatives — the
upper line usually consists of proper names, the lower line of objects. The places begin with a new letter
of the alphabet and the second (or third) letters are vowels (a, e, i, o, u). Inc.: Alanus, Alexinus, Albinus,
Anthonius, Augustinus/ alabrum, alvearium, aquifuga, ascopa, augustea/ baptista, benedictus, biligrinus,
botus, bubalais[?]/Baptisterium, belzebub, bipennis, botrus, bubo… lampertus, leo, -, -, ludovicus / lagena,
lectus, liber, lorica, lucerna. Although it is not explicitly linked to the art of memory, these are clearly
the suggested mnemonic places.
137
On ff. 93v–235v, the text is ascribed to Adam Theutunicus[!]. Th is text, sometimes also called
Compendium iuris, was clearly compiled for mnemonic purposes.
138
A note by Iohannes Guallensis, De generibus vini, Breviloquium de quatuor virtutibus seu de virtutibus
antiquorum, is present, along with hymns and orations, a German fragment of the statutes of Jihlava
(Iglau), Ius regale montanorum (a silver mining reform issued by Wenceslas II in 1300), and a German
translation of Capitula Narbonensia from 1415.
139
Th is part of the codex opens with a text that links it to rhetoric: ff. 239r–250 v also feature excerpts
from Viaticus by Magister Dybinus made by a certain Petrus Pyrnis de Mysna (hec predicta de simplici
informacionis modo solummodo sunt conscripta per Petrum Pyrnis de Mysna, presbiterum et baccalareum
in artibus et de eodem Viatico huc inserta), immediately followed by Versus de arte dictandi (inc. Nota
quinque sunt partes epistule. Qui dictare putat, in prima arte salutat…). Ff. 251r–v contain twenty-one brief
proverbs, mnemonic verses and poems. In the next passage, ff. 252r–254v feature several model letters,
followed again by mnemonic verses (on ff. 257r–258v)
140
It reads: Nota versus ad cognoscendum bonum caseum: Non cingnus, Argus, non Magdalena, Matusel /
Non Abacuc, Lazarus, caseus iste bonus (fol. 257v). It is accompanied by interlinear explanatory glosses:
cingnus i. e. albus, Argus i. e. oculatus, Magdalena i. e. flens, Matusel i. e. antiquus, Abacuk i. e. lenis, Lazarus
i. e. fetidus (cf. Jean-Pierre Rothschild, Bibliographie annuelle du Moyen Age tardif 6 (1996): n° 4205).
4. Conclusion
In what ways is the memory culture of the fifteenth-century Czech lands specific
and different from that of the rest of Europe? As noted above, the destabilizing
effect of the Hussite movement on society as a whole did not favor the continu-
ous and coherent development of any art. In addition, Hussites spoke out openly
against rhetoric. At the same time, however, they introduced a rhetoric of their
own and included a much larger public in their religious discourse than ever
before. Although there seems to be no design behind it, the anonymous Hussite
memory treatise proves that they found the art of memory useful. Similarly, while
the Hussites spoke explicitly against icons and images,141 they developed their
own intricate and sophisticated visual propaganda, which can easily be linked to
the art of memory as far as its strategies for creating an impact on spectators are
concerned.142
For the Hussites, the subject of memory in general was most frequently brought
up in a very different context — that of the memory of Christ. This memory was
seen as crucial for everyone, since it directed one’s life towards the path of virtue
rather than vice. Furthermore, this memory was recalled and exercised in a physi-
cal way: through frequent communion. Stressing the importance of communion
as a way of reminding oneself of Christ’s passion, and thus of correct behavior,
64 was a significant aspect of the Hussite movement (shared with devotio moderna).143
Just as Proust’s memories are triggered by the madeleines, this is a type of physi-
cally activated reminiscence and can also be approached in connection with the
art of memory.
141
There is another possible link to the art of memory in a treatise against icons (De imaginibus)
by Nicholaus de Dresda. Nicholaus criticises the creation of physical images but stresses that one
should depict them in one’s heart (Jana Nechutová, ed., “Nicholaus de Dresda: De imaginibus,” in
Sborník prací filosofické fakulty brněnské university. Řada E-archeologicko-klasická 15 (1970): 211–240;
cf. also František M. Bartoš, Husitství a cizina [Hussitism and foreign lands] (Prague: Čin, 1931),
p. 152, no. 21.
142
Cf. Karel Hruza, ed., Propaganda, Kommunikation und Öff entlichkeit (11.–16. Jahrhundert),
Forschungen zur Geschichte des Mittelalters 6 (Vienna: Verlag der Österreichischen Akademie der
Wissenschaften, 2002), Herman Haupt, “Hussitische Propaganda im Deutschland,” Historisches
Taschenbuch, 6th series, 7 (1888): 233–304.
143
Cf. Zdenka Hledíková, “O ‘devotio moderna’ trochu jinak,” [On devotio moderna in a different way],
in Querite primum regnum Dei. Sborník příspěvků k poctě Jany Nechutové, eds. Helena Krmíčková, Anna
Pumprová, Dana Růžičková and Libor Švanda (Brno: Matice moravská, 2006), 403–415.
Rafał Wójcik
The art of memory in Poland

in the Late Middle Ages (1400–1530)
Although references to different kinds of mnemonic aids can be found in Polish

oral and literary traditions since the formation of country (966),1 the present study
focuses on the short period between 1400 and 1530 and explores a particular kind
of memory technique — the ars memorativa —and the role it has played in Polish
culture. The selected period comes at the end of what is generally referred to as
the Late Middle Ages in Poland. However, the dates are not intended to imply the
strict limits of this age, since many traces of the Renaissance Humanism appear
after 1450, especially in Cracow and the university environment, while several
elements of medieval culture survive well into the sixteenth century.
1. The beginnings of the art of memory in Poland:

Treatises of foreign origin 65
The foundation of the University of Cracow represents a turning point in the his-
tory of the art of memory, and in literary culture in general in Poland. From the
formation of the Polish state up until the year 1364 — and in fact up until the
re-foundation of the university by Queen Jadwiga (1374–1399) in 1399 — the
reading public was limited to a small circle of the court and ecclesiastical elite.
The growth in the number of people interested in books led to an increase in the
quantity of books both brought from abroad and written locally after 1400.2 Other
kinds of mnemonic aids apart from the classical ars memorativa also became popu-
lar, especially among more educated readers. Jan Długosz recounts a story about
bishop of Cracow Tomasz Strzempiński (1398–1460, professor at the University of
Cracow and deputy chancellor), which testifies to the fact that mnemonic verses
were known and popular among Polish clergymen. The bishop had an excellent
1
Kazimierz Moszyński, Kultura ludowa Słowian [Folk culture of the Slavs], Vol. 2: Kultura duchowa
[Spiritual culture], part 1 (Warsaw: Książka i Wiedza, 1967); Łucja Okulicz-Kozaryn, Dzieje Prusów [The
History of Old Prussians] (Wrocław: FnRNP, 1997); Witold Wojtowicz, Memoria und Mnemotechnik in der
„Chronica Polonorum” vom Bischof Vincentius (c. 1150–1223), in Culture of Memory, ed. Wójcik, 129–138.
2
Edward Potkowski, Książka i pismo w średniowieczu. Studia z dziejów kultury piśmiennej i
komunikacji społecznej [The book and writing in the Middle Ages. Studies on writing culture and
social communication] (Pułtusk: Akademia Humanistyczna im. Aleksandra Gieysztora, 2006).
memory and was able to remember everything, even after hearing it only once. He
was even able to recite the entire versified list of the chapters of the Bible composed
by Peter of Melk (better known as Peter of Rosenheim) without omitting a single
line.3 Mnemonic aids were also applied in the first attempt at the codification of
the Polish alphabet.4 It is quite certain that ecclesiastics and clerks often used mne-
monic verses, although there has been little research in this field in Poland to date.5
Mnemonic treatises were chiefly read by two circles: friars of mendicant orders
— that is, Franciscans and Dominicans in particular; and university students and
their teachers. The rise of the university in Cracow resulted in increased interest in
the art of memory, as illustrated by the content of surviving manuscripts in the Jag-
iellonian Library. Many of these manuscripts contain classical works on memory
and recollection, or mnemonic verses facilitating the memorization of the Gospels,
the names of Old and New Testament figures and saints, legal decrees and medical
symptoms, or cisioiani (aide-memoires for saints’ days and church feasts). Mne-
monics also feature in student manuals used at the University of Cracow. Latin
grammar was taught with the aid of the Doctrinale by Alexander de Villa Dei up
to the beginning of the sixteenth century. Although the Doctrinale, together with
works by Priscian and Donatus, was considered to be a relic of medieval teaching
methods from the second half of the fifteenth century, the baccalaureate exam
relying on the second part of this manual was abolished only in 1530.
66 Several foreign treatises were also read in Poland, and it is very probable that
lectures on these works had an influence on Polish Observant authors, who began
to write their own mnemonic aids and treatises. Mnemonic works by the follow-
ing authors will be presented below: Jacobus Publicius, Conrad Celtis, Thomas
Murner, Johannes Cusanus, and Polish Observants such as Jan Szklarek, Paulinus
of Skalbmierz, and an anonymous author.
One of the earliest, most important, and most popular treatises, known as Ars
memorativa (inc. Memoria fecunda deus pater eternus…),6 written in Bologna probably
3
Jan Długosz, Annales seu Cronicae Incliti Regni Poloniae. Liber XII (1445–1461) (Cracoviae: Polska
Akademia Umiejętności, 2003), 348: Vicesima secunda Septembris Thomas Cracoviensis episcopus, in quo
memorie naturalis tanta erat tenacitas, ut que semel in pectus comendata descenderant, in promptu haberet.
Quapropter Bibliam metricam a fratre Petro de Mellico compositam, cursu velocissimo, ita ut nullo unquam
tempore in eius serie falleretur, reddebat […] moritur […]
4
Rafał Wójcik and Wiesław Wydra, “Jakub Parkoszowic’s Polish Mnemonic Verse about Polish
Ortography from the 15th Century,” in Culture of Memory, ed. Wójcik, 119–128.
5
On the different points of view on mnemonic verses and the relationships between poems, the
Bible and memory, see, e.g., Lucie Doležalová, “Biblia quasi in saculo: Summarium Biblie and other
medieval Bible mnemonics,” Medium Aevum Quotidianum 56 (2007): 5–35; Greti Dinkova-Bruun,
“Biblical Versification and Memory in the Later Middle Ages,” in Culture of Memory, ed. Wójcik,
53–64; Alexandru Cizek, “Antike Memoria-Lehre und mittellateinische versus differentials,” in Culture
of Memory, ed. Wójcik, 43–52.
6
See the edition in Pack, “An Ars”. On the origins of this treatise, cf. Kiss, “Performing,” 444–445.
Rafał Wójcik
before 1425 by an anonymous author, was probably read and distributed throughout
Poland. There are two sources indicating that the work was read by Polish friars and
clergymen. The first is a codex held by Wrocław University Library (Cod. Mil. IV,
83); and the second is a manuscript in Salzburg (Archabbey of St Peter, b.VI.22).
Mieczysław Markowski has proven the connection of the De rhetorica and De arte
dictaminis cum dictamino found in this manuscript to the Polish bishop Stanisław
Ciołek, and following Markowski, Teresa Michałowska supposed that this mne-
monic treatise has Polish origins, too. Nevertheless, in the light of the widespread
manuscript transmission of the Memoria fecunda, the latter idea seems improbable.7
One of the most popular mnemonic treatises, known as the anonymous De
memoria artificiali secundum Parisienses (inc. Attendentes nonnulli philosophie pro-
fessores veritatis studio…), written between 1445 and 1450, has survived in three
codices held in Wrocław University library (mss: Cod. IV O 9, Cod. I O 19, Cod.
I Q 27).8 The manuscripts came to Wrocław from the Augustinian monastery in
Żagań. The treatise is of particular interest for research on the art memory in Cen-
tral Europe because of its connections to the treatise by Magister Hainricus (inc.
Quemadmodum intellectus scienciis illuminatur…9); and to another very popular
work, the above-mentioned Memoria fecunda. The relationships between these
treatises have been studied by Sabine Heimann-Seelbach.10 What is important for
us is that the presence of these treatises in Central Europe shows that Italian works
had a strong influence in this area. This can easily be explained, since scholars 67
from Poland travelled to Italy in particular, to study at the famous universities in
Padua and Bologna. The art of memory was widely known and practiced there,
as demonstrated by the treatise by Girardus de Cruce (inc. Ars commoda nature
confirmat et auget…),11 which was written around 1455.12 It has survived in many
manuscripts throughout Europe and is also known from the codex held in the
library of the National Museum in Cracow (Oddział Zbiory Czartoryskich, Ms.
1464). This fifteenth-century manuscript also contains Cicero’s Laelius sive de
amicitia, Seneca’s De forma er honestate vitae, Horace’s Epistolae, Virgil’s Georgica,
7
Cf. Mieczysław Markowski, “Krakowskie piśmiennictwo retoryczne w świetle piętnastowiecznych
źródeł,” [Rhetorical literature in Cracow in the light of fifteenth-century sources], Biuletyn Biblioteki
Jagiellońskiej 37 (1987), nr 1–2, 5–71 (on the codex and Bishop Ciołek’s authorship esp. 40–45); Teresa
Michałowska, Średniowieczna teoria literatury w Polsce. Rekonesans [The medieval theory of literature
in Poland] (Wrocław: Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Wrocławskiego, 2007), 196–197.
8
Aretin, Mnemonik, 143–151; Volkmann, “Ars Memorativa,” 160; Hajdu, Das mnemotechnische
Schrifttum, 90; Heimann-Seelbach, Ars und scientia, 46–50.
9
Cf. the edition in this volume, pp. 223–226; see also: Heimann-Seelbach, Ars und scientia, 50–54,
who noted different incipits.
10
Ibid., 53–54.
11
The edition in Rossi, Logic, 214–220; see also: Hajdu, Das mnemotechnische Schrifttum, 110; and
12
Erlangen, UL 554.
Ovid’s De ponto, and a Tractatus de scientia cum commentario (inc. In sigulis autem
scientiis invenitur generata…) and versified poetica (inc. Papa stupor mundi…).
Several rhetorical treatises written in Poland contain shorter chapters on the art
of memory, or memoria artificialis in particular. Teresa Michałowska13 has noted
manuscripts from the Jagiellonian Library, such as cod. BJ 680 (c. 1435–1442),
containing De vi eloquentiae and De compositionis armonia and ascribed to Jan
Stolle of Głogów. In the latter, we find a short text concerning memoria artificialis
(ff. 75v–76v). There is an anonymous Ars dictaminis with a short chapter on artifi-
cial memory (ff. 371r–v) in another codex (cod. BJ 1961), in which we also find the
anonymous fragment De modo artificialiter memorandi secundum Tullium (29r–
31v), copied after 1476. The latter demonstrates short forms of the rules for using
mnemonic places and images according to the Rhetorica ad Herennium.
Although these treatises clearly demonstrate that the art of memory was known,
studied, and used in Poland in the Late Middle Ages, another codex also deserves
discussion, as it attests to the strong relationship between the art of memory and
meditation. It will be useful to remember this work later as well, as we will also
consider the kinship between ars memorativa, meditation, and art among Ob-
servants in Poland. One very interesting testimony to the use of mnemonic rules
in meditation is a fragment of an anonymous treatise from codex BJ 471 (copied
before 1445 by Jakub of Lipowa Głowa).14 The manuscript contains Distinctiones
68 sacrae by the Cistercian Garnerius de Langres; Ars praedicandi by the Franciscan
Alfons Dalpran; Ars sermocinandi by the Augustinian Thomas de Tuderto; Modus
sermocinandi by the Franciscan Francesc Eiximenis; and an anonymous treatise
without beginning or end, tractatus de meditatione, with the title: Pro informacione
et declaracione supradictorum 12.15 After a short prologue, the consideration of
meditation begins according to a scheme connected to the art of memory. The
treatise is divided into two parts. The first discusses loci, the second imagines,
referred to as the 12 rerum memorandarum. Among the places (loci), the example
of a house containing twelve rooms is given, which is easy to remember, although
other places, such as paradisus (f. 225v), infernum (f. 256r) and iardinum (f. 255r)
are also presented. Examples of some of the things to be remembered are virtutes,
vitia, the four elements, the spheres and objects in space. As Farkas Gábor Kiss
has demonstrated, this text is a modified version of the Nota hanc imaginem/Pro
aliquali intelligentia treatise, surviving in another copy also in Erlangen (Erlangen
UL, Cod. 445, 144r–162v).16 It is worth adding that the relatively famous treatise
by Mattheolus Perusinus, De memoria augenda, was also printed in Cracow in
13
Michałowska (cf. note 7), Średniowieczna teoria, 198–199.
14
Catalogus codicum manuscriptorum medii aevi Latinorum qui in Bibliotheca Jagellonica Cracoviae
asservantur, Vol. III., ed. Maria Kowalczyk et al., (Wrocław: Ossolineum, 1984), 3, 61–64; Wójcik,
Opusculum, 58–59; Michałowska (cf. note 7), Średniowieczna teoria, 197–198.
15
Cf. Kiss, “Memory machine,” in Making of Memory, ed. Doležalová, 49–78.
16
Kiss, “Performing,” 429–430.
Rafał Wójcik
1530. The book was dedicated by the printer, Florian Ungler, to Jan Wiewiórka,
secretary to the bishop of Vilnius.17Among the above-mentioned treatises and
chapters on the art of memory, other works connected to the topic were of course
also read by scholars, clergymen, and friars, especially De memoria et reminiscentia
by Aristotle, which can be found in several codices of the Jagiellonian Library and
in other Polish libraries.18 However, the most important indication of the presence
of the art of memory in Poland in this period are the lectures given by local and
foreign teachers at the University of Cracow, and the mnemonic treatises composed
in the monasteries of the Polish Observants.
1.1. Foreign teachers at the University of Cracow: Jacobus Publicius
The first foreign teacher of the art of memory to lecture in Poland was Jacobus Pub-
licius, one of the first itinerant humanists in Europe and the author of handbooks
on epistolography and rhetoric.19 Significantly, Publicius is known as the author of
17
F. A1v: S.M.C. Venerabili ac Ornatissimo Domino Joanni Uiewiorka Cracouiano arcium Magistro et
Illustrissimi ac Reuerendissimi domini Episcopi Uuilenensis Secretario amico sellectissimo. S.P.D. Audiui
aliquando ex ore tuo, Carissime Magister Joannes, cum vnam altissimam incoleremus arcem, te velle habere in
arte memorativa aliquem auctorem, qui docte aliquid hac de re diff ereret, perciperetque. Non quod illa diuina 69
indigeas arte. Quantum enim ingenio memoriaque valeas, declarauit illa tua prompta acutaque responsio,
cum vna mecum falces Magisterij susciperes, in qua te ipsum superasti magnamque de te patribus nostris
praestitisti expectationem. Ob quas animi corporisque tui doctes tu iuuenis (gratior est enim pulcro veniens
corpore virtus) antiquissimi Socratis nomen tibi demeruisti. Reperi itaque meos inter codicillos libellum
Mathaei Perusini natione Itali et ob id tibi credo pergratissimi. Quid enim Itala possint ingenia, in quod
semel incubuerint, tu probe nosti, qui tribus annis continuis Romae obuersatus es, cum olim Reuerendissimo
Domino Erasmo Uitelio Plocensi Episcopo apud quem eras a secretis et a tabellis. Est etiam Perusinus auctor
noster, ex celebri illo Perusio, cui subiacet amenus subseruitque lacus. Et quales quantosque urbs perusium
produxerit viros perducitque. Tu probe nosti cum ex alijs scriptoribus, tum ex doctissimo Thoma campano,
qui brachium bellicossisimum illumque fortissimum virum ex perusio scripsit oriundum. Mitto itaque tibi,
Carissime Magister Joannes, Matheolum, philosopho philosophum, oratori oratorem, theologo theologum.
Eos enim omnes Matheollus acutissime in hoc citat opusculo, quod tu oro. Pro nostra amicitia obseruantiaque
grato suscipe animo amplectereque libellum tibi dedicatum atque iterum in gimnasio nostro publicatum.
Meque comendatum habe, qui tibi cupio ex animo salutem felicitatemque Cracoviae, die Sabbati Octobris
vigesima secunda hora fere noctis tertia. Anno M.D.xxx.
18
Cf. Wójcik, Opusculum, 57–58; e.g. BJ 503, BJ 504, BJ 506, BJ 511, BJ 512, BJ 554 (Czech
provenance) or BJ 711 (Czech provenance), BJ 737, BJ 715 (it contains two mnemonic poems: Carmi-
na ad Evangelia memoria servanda (f. 28r) and Carmen ad nomina librorum Veteris et Novi Testamenti
memoria servanda (f. 28r).
19
On Publicius, see Aretin, Mnemonik, 130–132; Hajdu, Das mnemotechnische Schrifttum, 109–110;
Yates, Art of Memory, 110–112; Agostino Sottili, Giacomo Publicio, „Hispanus”, e la diff usione dell’
Umanesimo in Germania. (Barcelona: Univ. Autónoma de Barcelona, 1985). On Publicius’ treatise
and its influence on German scholars: Heimann-Seelbach, Ars und scientia, 116–132; Carruthers and
Ziolkowski, eds., Medieval Craft of Memory, 226–231 (English translation of the treatise: ibid., 231–254,
transl. by Henry Bayerle). On his stay in Hungary, see pp. 130–133.
a handbook on rhetoric containing the first long general art of memory to be print-
ed.20 Carruthers mentions that he was a physician by profession, which explains his
interest in the medical aspects of memory training. Although he identified himself
as being “of Florence,” he was in fact from Spain. He had contacts with the courts
of Valencia, Salamanca, and Toulouse. He subsequently wandered through almost
the entire continent in the course of several years. He was an active participant in
the humanist environments in Germany and Burgundy. Publicius stayed in Leuven
(1464), Erfurt (1466/1467), Leipzig (1467), Vienna, and Cologne (1468), Cracow
(winter semester 1469/1470), Basel (1470/1471) and Reims (1473/1474). His time
in Germany, and his activities at German universities, are considered a significant
contribution to the origins of humanism in Germany.21 Publicius lectured there
on Cicero, Terentius, Sallustius, and Petrarch, among other subjects. He stayed
in Poland for only a few months,22 but there are many indications that he played
a significant role not only in spreading the classical art of memory among Polish
scholars, but also in sowing the seeds of early humanistic ideas in the country.23 He
was doubtless one of the first scholars to lecture on the classical authors mentioned
above, and he provided his own commentary on their works.
As mentioned above, Publicius was one of the first itinerant humanists to write
a treatise on the art of letter writing,24 to which he added the chapter De arte memo-
rativa. This mnemonic work was first published as a separate booklet in Toulouse
70 in 1475/1476, then added to the Oratoriae artis epitomata in Venice in 1482 (by the
German printer Erhard Ratdolt). After 1489, it was also circulated as part of the Ars
memoriae of Baldouinus Sabaudiensis (Baldwin of Savoy), especially in France.25
Opinions on his treatise differ. The work has sometimes been criticized for its
lack of clarity and difficult style and for its ignorance of classical texts (Ad Heren-
nium, Cicero and Quintilian),26 as well as for Publicius’ over-adherence to clas-
20
Carruthers and Ziolkowski, eds., Medieval Craft of Memory, 226.
21
Ludwig Bertalot, Studien zum italienischen und deutschen Humanismus, ed. Paul Oskar Kristeller,
Vol. 1 (Rome: Ed.di Storia e Letteratura, 1975), 231–242.
22
See the article by Henryk Barycz on Jan of Oświęcim, in PSB 10, 467–468; see also: Dzieje
Uniwersytetu Jagiellońskiego w latach 1364–1764 [The history of the Jagiellonian University from 1364
to 1764], ed. Kazimierz Lepszy (Cracow: Jagiellonian University, 1964), Vol. 1, 181.
23
Dzieje Uniwersytetu… (cf. note 22), 181; Barycz (cf. note 22), Jan z Oświęcimia, in PSB 10, 467.
24
Ars conficiendi epistolas. Known editions: [Deventer, Rich. Pafraet, 1488/9]; [Deventer, Iac. de Breda,
ca 1490]; [Leipzig, Conr. Kachelofen, ca 1490]; Leipzig, Melch. Lotter, 1497.
25
Jacobus Publicius, Artes orandi, epistolandi, memorandi. Venezia, Erh. Ratdolt, 20 XI 1482 and later
editions from 1485, 1490 and 1491 (GW M36431, M36435, M36428, M36429). Earlier editions are
recorded from Toulouse, Paris and Cologne with uncertain dates: Jacobus Publicius, Ars memorativa
(GW M36443, GW M36442, GW M36437). Cf. Carruthers and Ziolkowski, eds., Medieval Craft of
Memory, 226; Hajdu, Das mnemotechnische Schrifttum, 110. For a French edition, see, e.g., Baldovinus
Sobodiensis, Incipit ars memoriae venerabilis Baldovini Sobodiensis. with Ars memorativa J. Publici,.
(Lyon, s.n.: 1495?) (GW 3208).
26
Aretin, Mnemonik, 132.
Rafał Wójcik
sical advice.27 These opinions are contradictory: one cannot both follow classical
advice and be ignorant of classical texts. Yates claims that the origin of Publicius’
treatise was Italian and that it reveals the influence of classical texts. However,
he also argues that Publicius’ ars memorativa is a continuation of medieval trends
in mnemonic techniques since the thirteenth century, especially those connected
to a mystical line of thought developed by Boncompagno.28 Despite his lack of
clarity, Publicius’ work was very popular at the turn of the sixteenth century, as
testified by many copies in print and in manuscript codices throughout Europe.29
There is also proof of an interest in Publicius’ art and its presence in Poland.
One of the strongest indications is found in a codex held in the library of the Osso-
lineum in Wrocław.30 Valentinus de Monteviridi (Walenty z Zielonej Góry, Valen-
tinus of Grünberg),31 the copyist of the manuscript, studied at Cracow University.
He received his baccalaureatus in 1478,32 and became magister artium in 1493.33 He
was known later as an Augustinian monk and a canonicus in the Hungarian town
of Vác (in Polish: Wacz; in German: Waitzen).34 It was here that the mnemonic
treatise and colophon were written: Wacie in profesto trinitatis (f. 168r–171r), which
adjoins to Publicius’ mnemonic work (f. 174r–200r)35 and to imagines agentes and
to images of playing cards (see Pl. 10-12.) used in the art of memory as well.36
Publicius’ treatise is divided into a prologue and four principal parts.37 In
the prologue, which praises knowledge and the arts, Publicius positions memory
alongside two other powers of the soul: intellect (intellectus) and will (voluntas), 71
and following Cicero (De oratore 1.9.1), he calls it Mnemosyne, the mother of
27
Hajdu, Das mnemotechnische Schrifttum, 110.
28
Yates, Art of Memory, 119.
29
On the details, list of codices, and Publicius’ influence on younger authors, see Heimann-Seelbach,
Ars und scientia, 117–132.
30
Biblioteka Zakładu Narodowego im. Ossolińskich we Wrocławiu (Ossolineum), Ms 734/I, paper
codex, ff 209, in quarto, written by different hands in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries.
31
See the study by Kiss in this volume, pp. 138–143.
32
Księga promocji wydziału sztuk Uniwersytetu Krakowskiego z XV wieku [The Liber promotionum of
the Faculty of Arts of the University of Cracow from the 15th century], ed. Antoni Ga̧siorowski et al.,
(Cracow: Polska Akademia Umiejętności, 2000), 70 (1478/28: Walentinus de Grunemberk).
33
Księga promocji (cf. note 32), 90 (1493/2: Valentinus de Grymberg).
34
Die deutsche Literatur des Mittelalters. Verfasserlexikon. Hrsg. von K. Langosch, Bd. 4, (Berlin: de
Gruyter, 1953), 668.
35
See: Katalog rękopisów Biblioteki Zakładu Nar. im. Ossolińskich [Catalog of manuscripts of the
Ossolineum Library], ed. Wojciech Kętrzyński, Vol. 3 (Lwów: Zakład Narodowy im. Ossolińskich,
1898), 231–232.
36
Cf. treatise by Thomas Murner Chartiludium logicae (Leipzig 1509), which is considered below.
37
On the treatise’s description, see Heimann-Seelbach, Ars und scientia, 118–121; Carruthers and
Ziolkowski, eds., Medieval Craft of Memory, 228–230. I am describing here the contents of the first,
1482 edition of the treatise, which had been re-elaborated substantially in the 1485 edition by Publicius,
and which is described by Henry Bayerle and Mary Carruthers in Carruthers and Ziolkowski, eds.,
Medieval Craft of Memory, 226–231.
knowledge and the arts. Although he considers memory an important element

of eloquence, he emphasizes its ethical consequences. As Mary Carruthers puts it:
“he extols the power of memory in Neoplatonic terms, by illustrating how artifi-
cial memory can help free the soul from the confines of the ‘fleeting and fragile
body’,”38 thus he confers upon it an ethical meaning. Again following Cicero,
he recalls the legend of Simonides and his invention of mnemonic places. Obvi-
ously, Publicius considers himself as a successor to this tradition. He differentiates
between memory and reminiscence, attributing two abstract meanings to them:
memoria is habitus, and reminiscentia is actus. Significantly, he avoids referring
to scholastic authorities and positions himself entirely in the classical tradition.
Following the Rhetorica ad Herennium, Publicius divides memory into natural
and artificial and advises that memory weakened by sickness or old age can be
strengthened by pharmaceutical aids and exercises.
In the first chapter, Publicius, following Quintilian, demonstrates that order is
the basis of every art. He divides it into the order of things and the order of words.
The collection of comparable or contrary subjects (similia or contraria), the tem-
poral order of events (e.g. in the history of Rome’s foundation), and the coupling
of finite and infinite or virtuous and vicious all reveal the presence of an inherent
order. He takes as his examples descriptions of nature. The order of things can be
perceived in three ways: from the point of view of continuity (continuitas) — that
72 is, the ordering of a text from weightier subjects to lighter ones, or vice versa; ac-
cording to parts of speech; and according to the order of places. The last of these
refers to the collocation of subject matter into an imagined place, and to the order
of the images. Publicius develops his argument by listing the rules and the artificial
methods by which one can create mnemonic signs. He emphasizes the importance
of working with distinct, discernible symbols. In discussing the segmentation of
subjects, he reminds his reader of the traditional role of the number five. He points
out that the hand is useful for counting, and also adds geometric figures as aids.
Publicius later argues that each text should be read through carefully twice in order
to be memorized, that it should then be segmented, and that finally each part of
the text should be located in its proper, imagined place. It is very probable that this
exercise was to be reinforced by mouthing the words silently while reading. The
chapter ends with a list of pieces of wisdom in relation to dreams, temperature,
and food, based on various authorities.
The second chapter contains considerations of different combinations of letters
with various forms and shapes, and turning wheels. The letters of the alphabet are
the main signs used in Publicius’ mnemonic system. To preserve order, Publicius
uses a tabular containing a combination of the signs. The wheels, the directions
of which imply different letter combinations, are useful in the process of creating
38
Rafał Wójcik
signs (e.g. East means that B is the consonant following the vowel; West means
C). As the wheel turns, the combinations of letters create different combinations
of figures and meanings together with the letters anchored around the wheel it-
self — a process that is similar to the functioning of Raymond Lull’s Ars Magna.
Publicius also mentions that there are many possibilities for creating new signs
because of the different alphabets that can be applied, such as Greek or Hebrew.
The third chapter deals with creating mnemonic images, and its ideas are
largely derived from the Rhetorica ad Herennium. Publicius mentions that poetic
descriptions can be of help in the invention of new mnemonic signs: hunger, for
example, can be memorized using the imaginative descriptions found in Ovid’s
Metamorphoses and Virgil’s Aeneid. Mnemonic symbols can be invented using
etymologies (Phillip: admirer of horses), metonymical relations, onomatopoeia
(grus gruit), typical images associated with famous cities or countries (e.g. a bow
might be connected to England, which was famous for its archery), and other at-
tributes typical of their owner (e.g. blackness might be suggested by a Moor, a king
by a crown, St. Peter by keys). Similarly, antonyms (young/old), body language,
the senses, symbolic representations (days of the week presented by the respective
alchemic signs), abstract phrases and properties (justice: a sword), or the Evange-
lists (St. Mark: a lion) might also provide a source for the invention of new signs.
In the fourth chapter, Publicius presents the issue of epithets relating to persons
and things, and deals with the process of memorizing texts. In addition to giving 73
general advice, he also discusses memorizing syllogisms. As mentioned by Hei-
mann-Seelbach, his summary indicates that the treatise was composed as a lecture.
1.2. Conrad Celtis
The promising young scholar Conrad Celtis39 arrived in Cracow in around 1489.
He was no doubt attracted to the university by its international reputation in the
fields of astronomy and astrology, as during this period it numbered such pres-
39
On Celtis, see Conradi Celtis quae Vindobonae prelo subicienda curavit opuscula, ed. Kurt Adel
(Lipsiae: Teubner, 1966) and Hans Rupprich, Der Briefwechsel des Konrad Celtis (Munich: Fink, 1934).
On Celtis in Poland: Tadeusz Sinko, “Celtis Konrad,” in PSB, Vol. 3 (Cracow: Polska Akademia
Umiejetności, 1935), 226–227; Stanisław Koźmian, Konrad Celtis (Poznań: PNP, 1869); Antonina
Jelicz, Konrad Celtis na tle współczesnego renesansu w Polsce (Conrad Celtis on the background of the early
Renaissance in Poland) (Warsaw: Państwowe Wydawnictwo Naukowe, 1956); Jerzy Ziomek, Renesans
(Renaissance), 5th ed. (Warsaw: Państwowe Wydawnictwo Naukowe, 1997), 79–81 and 470; Franz
Josef Worstbrock, “Die Brieflehre des Konrad Celtis. Textgeschichte und Autorschaft,” in Philologie als
Kulturwissenschaft. Festschrift Karl Stackmann, ed. Ludger Grenzmann et al. (Göttingen: Vendenhoeck
u. Ruprecht, 1987), 242–270; Robert Jörg, “Celtis, Konrad,” in Verfasserlexikon Humanismus, Vol. 1,
375–427. On Celtis’ treatise and its influence in Germany, see: Heimann-Seelbach, Ars und scientia,
133–140.
tigious astronomers and astrologers among its professors as Wojciech (Albert) of

Brudzewo, to whom he addressed an ode (I, 17: Ad Adalbertum Brutum astrono-
mum). Although Celtis had earlier studied at German universities, he had not
yet obtained any academic titles. Nor did he receive any in Poland, as he left the
country in 1491 and there is no evidence of a promotion in the Liber promotionum
of the Jagiellonian University.
Conrad Celtis was enrolled at the university in the summer semester of 1489
under rector Stanisław of Kobylin, and was listed as Conradus Celtis Protacius
Johannis de Herbipoli in the Album studiosorum, paying the full registration fee.40
Celtis gave lectures as an external professor at the Hungarian Bursa41 (where he
taught the art of letter writing and rhetoric). Barycz and Morawski, historians of
the Jagiellonian University, do not mention Celtis teaching the art of memory.
However, the subject appears in the intimatio (public call) for his lectures in Vi-
enna, which was written one or two years later:
Si quis rhetoricen Ciceronis utramque requiret

Qui Latiae linguae dicitur esse parens,
Si quis epistolium vult vera scribere et arte
Et memorativae qui petit artis opus,
Hic, cras octavam dum malleus insonat horam,
74 Conradi Celtis candida tecta petat.42
A similar intimatio was published at the University of Cracow in 1489,43 thus

it is possible that he was already teaching not only ars epistolandi but also ars
memorativa in Cracow. The outstanding masters of the university were among his
circle. With them he founded the first humanistic society in Poland — Sodalitas
Vistulana.44 This society’s founding members were Wojciech of Brudzewo (Al-
bertus de Brudzewo), Jan Bär (Joannes Ursinus), Zygmunt Gossinger (Sigismun-
dus Fusilius), Wawrzyniec Rabe (Laurentius Corvinus), and Jan Sommerfeld the
Older, also known as Joannes Aesticampianus. Sommerfeld’s library contained
such works as the Rhetorica ad Herennium, Rhetoricorum libri by George of Trape-
zunt, Commentaria in Platonem by Marsilio Ficino, and Phoenix seu de artificiosa
40
Album studiosorum Universitatis Cracoviensis (Cracow: Typis Universitatis, 1887), Vol. 1, 291.
41
Cf. below p. 134.
42
Kazimierz Morawski, Historia Uniwersytetu Jagellońskiego: wieki średnie i odrodzenie [The history
of the University of Cracow: the Middle Ages and Renaissance], (Cracow, Drukarnia Uniwersytetu
Jagiellońskiego, 1900), Vol. 2, 188–189.
43
Ibid., 189.
44
On the Sodalitas’ environment see: Ryszard Gansiniec, Wkład czołowych przedstawicieli ziemi śląskiej
w kształtowanie się myśli poznawczej i literatury polskiej [Contribution of the prominent representatives
from Silesia to the history of ideas and Polish literature], in Odrodzenie w Polsce [The Renaissance in
Poland], Vol. 2 (Warsaw: Państwowy Instytut Wydawniczy, 1956).
Rafał Wójcik
memoria by Petrus de Ravenna. After Celtis’ departure, Sommerfeld continued

a long correspondence with him. It is very probable that Celtis, if we recall his self-
advertisement, sent his work (printed in 1492 in Ingolstadt) to Cracow: Epitoma
in utramque Ciceronis rhetoricam cum arte memorativa nova et modo epistolandi
utilissimo.45 The book also contains an alphabetum memorativum.46
It is not clear exactly why Celtis left Poland so suddenly. He left a large num-
ber of his possessions in Cracow, including his library.47 After his departure, the
university returned to scholastic methods, and a humanist revival followed only
after several years. In the following years Celtis composed poetry and founded
humanistic societies (Sodalitas Rhenana {Celtica}, Sodalitas Baltica {Codanea}).
From 1492 he taught rhetoric and poetics in Ingolstadt and Vienna. From 1497 he
lectured in Vienna as a professor of rhetoric, philosophy, geography, and history.
There he founded the first European college for poets and astrologists (Collegium
poetarum et mathematicorum). He died in Vienna in 1508 and was buried in St.
Stephan’s Cathedral.
Celtis’ treatment of rhetoric reflects a new tendency that first appeared in the
fifteenth century together with the Rhetoricorum libri V of George of Trapezunt.
In opposition to medieval rhetoric, as expounded by Publicius, who detached the
art of memory from other parts of rhetoric, the new method saw the five parts of
classical rhetoric united in a single art.48 Celtis did not treat the memory sepa-
rately, but located it as the fifth and last element of rhetoric, among the duties of 75
the orator (officia oratoris). On the other hand, the inclusion of the art of memory
into general rhetorics appears to be inconsistent with his lecture announcement
(intimatio), where ars memorativa is presented as a separate subject. Celtis included
his study of the art of memory after the chapter De pronunciacione in Epitoma in
utramque Ciceronis rhetoricam. Celtis’ method consisted in “learning from the
walls”: five places should be imagined on a wall, along with the images of letters.
The letters should be formed as tools that must be directed up or down, and the
direction signifies the meaning. Since the system should be clear and consistent,
the letters should be placed in alphabetical order. One might take five vowels
signified by the following words: A – abbas, E – eques, I – institor, O – officialis,
U – usurarius.The consonants are signified in another way. Each is represented by
five professions. The use depends on the vowels and the syllables formed with them:
B, for example, could be Ba – balneator, Be – begutta, Bi – bibulus, Bo – bossequus,
45
Epitoma in Ciceronis Rhetoricas etc. [Ingolstadt: Typis Celtis, post 28 III 1492].
46
On Celtis’ treatise, see Aretin, Mnemonik, 143–146; Hajdu, Das mnemotechnische Schrifttum, 150–
116; Heimann-Seelbach, Ars und scientia, 133–140.
47
Koźmian, Celtis (cf. note 39), 15.
48
Joachim Knape, Die Stellung der „memoria” in der frühneuzeitlichen Rhetoriktheorie. [In:] Ars
memorativa. Zur kulturgeistlichen Bedeutung der Gedächtniskunst 1400–1750, eds. Jörg Jochen Berns
and Wolfgang Neuber, (Tübingen: Niemeyer, 1993), 275.
Bu – buccinator. The same should be done with the other consonants. In the case
of problematic letters, such as K, X, and Y, Celtis distorted the words, for example
writing xurdus instead of surdus, etc.49
The advice concerning mnemotechnics fills only two and a half pages in Celtis’
treatise. When remembering things, one should pay attention to properties (such
as form and color), place, etymology etc. A table at the end contains the following
description: sequuntur elementa seu characteres memorativae artis secundum loca et
imagines, non sine industria in latinas literas inventae. It is characteristic of Celtis’
treatise to turn away from architectural images and use the mnemonic alphabet.
This was not an innovation: similar tables had already appeared in the anonymous
Memoria fecunda from 1425, which both Publicius and Celtis probably knew in
some version. It is worth mentioning that Jodocus Weczdorff, and Gregor Reisch
in his Margarita philosophica, also based their ideas on Celtis’ treatise.50 Judging
from the reappearance of his text in Valentinus de Monteviridi’s manuscript,51 it
seems that Celtis’ stay in Poland was quite significant not only in relationship to
humanism, but also to the spread of the art of memory among Cracow’s scholars.
1.3. Thomas Murner

76 Thomas Murner was born in Oberehenheim near Strasbourg on December 24,
1475.52 In 1490 he joined the Franciscans, and four years later took holy orders. He
spent two years at the University of Freiburg in Breisgau (1495–1497), where Jakob
Locher Philomusus provided him with a humanist education. Murner later moved
to Paris, returning to Strasbourg as a magister artium in 1499. He took an interest
in astronomy and mathematics during his stay in France, and this motivated him
to go to Cracow in order to expand his knowledge in this area. The University of
Cracow was renowned for its teaching of astrology, astronomy, and mathematics
in this period, and scholars from all over Europe went there to study.53 In 1499,
49
Aretin, Mnemonik, 145. See also below, p. 281.
50
51
See the chapter on Hungary, pp. 138–143.
52
Gustav Bauch, Deutsche Scholaren in Krakau in der Zeit der Renaissance. 1460 bis 1520 (Breslau:
Marcus in Komm., 1901), 57.
53
Aleksander Birkenmajer, “Uniwersytet Krakowski jako międzynarodowy ośrodek studiów ast-
ronomicznych na przełomie XV i XVI stulecia” [Cracow University as the international place of
astronomical studies at the turn of the fi fteenth and sixteenth centuries], in Odrodzenie w Polsce.
Historia nauki, [The Renaissance in Poland. The history of science], Vol. 2, part 2, ed. Bogdan
Suchodolski (Warsaw: Państwowy Instytut Wydawniczy 1956), 363–373; see also: Jadwiga Dianni,
Studium matematyki na Uniwersytecie Jagiellońskim do połowy XIX w. [The study of mathematics at
the Jagiellonian University up to the mid-nineteenth century] (Cracow: Państwowe Wydawnictwo
Naukowe, 1963).
Rafał Wójcik
Murner joined the university in the autumn semester as Frater Thomas Murner
ordinis sancti Francisci de Argentina.54 He received a baccalaureatus in theology
and again set off to wander through Europe. After a second sojourn in Poland
(1506–1507, see below) Murner returned to Germany and devoted himself to op-
posing the Reformation. Murner wrote many satires on contemporary customs as
well as works attacking Luther (Narrenbeschwörung, Strasbourg 1512; Die Schelmen-
zunft, Frankfurt 1512; Die Gäuchmatt, 1517; Von dem grossen lutherischen Narren,
wie ihm Doctor M. beschworen hat, Strasbourg 1522). After 1522, Murner published
almost exclusively theological writings. He died in Leipzig before August 23, 1537.
When Murner returned to Poland in 1506 he worked as a teacher. His par-
ticular field was the teaching of logic, according to the Parva logicalia by Petrus
Hispanus. To make his lectures more interesting, Murner decided to diversify
his teaching by the introduction of special cards.55 As noted by Bauch, he may
have taken this idea from the French scholar56 Jacobus Faber Stapulensis (Jacques
Lefèvre d’Étaples). Murner was thus making a reference to the tradition of mne-
monic imaging so popular at the end of the century, and he came to the conclusion
that it was time to combine the pleasant with the useful. Students loved to play
cards and dice, although such games were strongly condemned by the university’s
authorities and by the clergy.57 While logic might appear boring, cards were associ-
ated with pleasure. Murner decided to combine the two by assigning a card featur-
ing a mnemonic image to each logical operation from the treatise.58 Alongside the 77
picture on the cards, there were numbers referring to the section of the handbook
where a given issue was treated. Having drawn a card featuring an image of the
Moon, for example, the student had to say what he knew on the subject of expositio;
if he drew a card featuring a heart, he had to recite all he knew on the subject of
suppositio, and so on. The idea was met with such approbation that Murner was
awarded twenty-four ducats and admitted to the circle of academic professors in
Cracow, at least according to a note that he printed. In 1507, Murner published
54
Album studiosorum (cf. note 40) 2, 55.
55
Detlef Hoff mann, Die Welt der Spielkarte. Eine Kulturgeschichte. (Munich: Callwey, 1972), 38–43.
56
Bauch, Deutsche Scholaren (cf. note 52), 58.
57
On dice and their role in medieval culture, see Walter Tauber, Das Würfenspiel im Mittelalter und in
der frühen Neuzeit. Eine kultur- und sprachgeschichtliche Darstellung (Frankfurt am Main: Bern, 1987),
especially the chapter “Das Würfenspiel in der mittelalterlichen Gesellchaft,” 19–34.
58
Ludwig Sieber, “Thomas Murner und sein juristiches Kartenspiel,” in Beiträge zur vaterländischen
Geschichte. Herausgegeben von der historischen Gesellschaft in Basel, Vol. 10 (Basel: H. Georg’s
Buchhandlung, 1875), 273–316; Manuel Stoffers and Pieter Th ijs, “A Question of Mentality: The
Changed Appreciation of Thomas Murner’s Logical Card Game (c. 1500),” in Memory and Oblivion.
Proceedings of the XXIXth International Congress of the History of Art held in Amsterdam, 1–7 September,
1996, eds. Wessel Reinink and Jeroen Stumper (Dordrecht: Kluwer, 1999), 276–293 and now the
comprehensive article on his works by Franz Josef Worstbrock, “Thomas Murner,” in: Verfasserlexikon
Humanismus, Vol. 2., col. 299–368 (esp. 321–324).
a short book known as Chartiludium logicae at the printing house of Jan Haller.
Regrettably, no copy of the book has been preserved.59 The first known edition
was published in Strasbourg in 1509.60 A fascinating testimony, ascribed to John of
Głogów (Iohannes Glogoviensis, 1445–1507), was published in every edition of the
Chartiludium,61 stating that Thomas Murner had lectured on logica memorativa at
Cracow University. The book must have been popular, as it was reprinted in 1518
(Chartiludium institute summarie doctore doctore T. Murnero memorante et ludente).
The Chartiludium was still being published at the beginning of the seventeenth
century in Brussels (1609) and Paris (1629). The 1509 edition is richly illustrated,
containing fifty-one woodcuts illustrating the cards, one woodcut of typus logicae,
two illustrations of mnemonic diagrams, and sixteen images of the signa tractatum.
Despite Murner’s presentation of himself as a successful and innovative teacher of
logic, Morawski, a historian of the University of Cracow, notes that Murner had
earlier been accused of lese majesty in Strassbourg (1502), as he had used a similar
method for his teaching on imperial constitutions,62 and that this same accusation
had also been leveled against him in Cracow.
The relationship between the Chartiludium and the Margarita philosophica by
Gregor Reisch would deserve a separate study.63 For the printing of the Charti-
59
The book is quoted by Estreicher (Estr. 22, 636–637), who quoted Georg Wolfgang Panzer, Annales
78 typographici ab artis inventae origine ab anno 1501 ad annum 1536 continuati, Vol. 6 (Norimbergae:
Zeh, 1798), 451: Editio prima eaque rarissima. Herdegenio, qui editionem Argentoratensem anni 1509
itidem rarissimam, singulari schediasmate A 1739 descripsit, aliisque plane ignota. Panzer in turn quoted
Ianociana 1, 186: Thomas Murner Ord. Minorum. Gemanus natione, patria Argentoratensis fuit. Venit
ille, saeculo XVI exoriente, Cracoviam. Obtentoque sacrarum litterarum Baccalaurei honore, et acceptis in
annum XXIV fl orenis Hungaricis, Petri Hispani textum logicum, insolito auditorum accursu applausuque
explicuit. Electo at inaugurato Sigismundo rege, patriam suam repetiit: prius publicato illo volumine, cuius
inscriptio haec est: Uenerabilis patris Thome Murner Alemanni, e ciuitate Argentinen. alme uniuersitatis
Cracouien. sacrae theologiae baccalarii, Chartiludium logices, seu Logica poetica uel memoratiua, cum
iocundo pictasmatis exercitamento, pro communi omnium Studentum utilitate. impressum Cracouiae
impensis optimi et famatissimi viri domini Iohannis Haller ciuis Cracouien. anno uerbi incarnationis,
M.CCCCC. VII. decimo tertio ante Kalendas Martii. Forma 4. Cf. Feliks Jaroński, O filozofii [About
philosophy]. Vol. 3 (Cracow: Drukarnia Akademicka, 1812), 59 (ed. 1508, Strasbourg) and 63 (ed. 1507,
Cracow); Feliks Bentkowski, O naydawnieyszych książkach drukowanych w Polszcze, a w szczególności
o tych, które Jan Haller w Krakowie wydał [On the oldest books printed in Poland, especially on those
edited in Cracow by Joannes Haller] (Warsaw: Drukarnia XX. Piiarów, 1812), 57 (who quoted both
Ianociana and Panzer). Estreicher warned that no one had seen this edition and he doubted if it existed at
all. However, the authors of Polonia Typographica described this book as missing, rather than as spurious.
60
Thomas Murner, Logica memorativa. Chartiludium logice, sive totius dialectice memoria: et novus Petri
Hyspani textus emendatus. Cum iucundo pictasmatis exercitio. (Argentinae: J. Gruninger, 1509). (VD16 J
661)
61
Ff. N5 –N5v.
62
Morawski, Historia (cf. note 42), 164.
63
Gregor Reisch’s Margarita philosophica was a very popular encyclopedic handbook. Among its many
editions we can quote the following: Heidelberg 1496; Freiburg im Breisgau 1503; Strasbourg 1505,
1508, 1512, 1515; Basel 1508, 1517, 1535, 1583; Venice 1599 (Italian translation).
Rafał Wójcik
ludium, the same woodcut was used that had earlier been used in the Margarita
(f. E7v). However, the part of the illustration depicting “Typus logice” was cut
from the left side. The woodcut was probably damaged during the preparation
of Reisch’s book: the trace of a crack can be seen on the illustration in this place,
which was later cut from Murner’s Chartiludium. A second identical woodcut ap-
pears on f. F7v of the Margarita philosophica. There are further mnemonic images in
the Margarita philosophica that demonstrate the affinity between this encyclopedic
work and the art of memory: Justinian and the exposition of laws (f. I1), Typus
arithmetice (f. K6), Typus musices (f. M4v), Typus geometrie (f. O1), a man pierced by
spears (f. O4), Typus astronomie (f. P7v) and the mnemonic image of Hell, which
may be related to the representations by Dante and Romberch. The chapter on the
art of memory by Peter of Ravenna is on ff. I8v–K 3.
Perhaps because of the popularity of the Chartiludium, Murner also published
Ludus studenetium Friburgensium (Frankfurt a. M., 1511),64 which contains the
text of the Prophetia mirabilis by Matthias Hanbucellus at the end. There is also
an introduction by magister artium Vitus Geyszfelh (Vitus Hagenoius), who, in
addition to praising Murner’s teaching method, also mentions his Chartiludium
(ff. a 2r–a 2v). Similar to the Franciscan’s more famous work, the Ludus contains
mnemonic aids and tips for students. Of particular interest is the method for
learning syllables. The image on fol. a3v is very similar to the manus Guidonica,65
but rather than musical notes we find consonants at the joints,66 while the vowels 79
are located at the tips of the fingers. Apart from the mnemonic hand, Murner
does not use the idea of card playing here, instead suggesting a board for dice and
a chessboard. The chessboard is particularly interesting because the Franciscan
here located a combination of connections between vowels and consonants. Each
vowel appears three times (three a’s, three e’s, three i’s, etc.), and a very similar use
of vowels can be found in Jan Szklarek’s Opusculum de arte memorativa (see be-
low). Murner’s method differs from that of Szklarek, although they are apparently
closely related. Murner also published a mnemonic table (f. b2v; tabela casuum) for
use in memorizing Latin grammatical cases.67 There is also a wheel (ff. b3v–b4r)
similar to both Raymond Lull’s invention and to the later mnemonic diagrams
by Giordano Bruno, which was considered helpful for learning Latin grammar.
Murner’s invention gained many followers, especially in the seventeenth cen-
tury when European schools were flooded with various sets of cards for teaching
64
Thomas Murner, Ludus studentum Friburgenium cum Prophetia mirabilis in fine Mathias Hanbucellus.
(Francophordie: [s.n.], 1511) (VD16 M 7039)
65
On the mnemonic aspect of manus Guidonica cf.: Carol Berger, “The Hand and the Art of Memory,”
Musica Disciplina 35 (1981): 87–120.
66
However not all: a, b, c, d, e, f, g, i, l, m, n, o, p, q, r, s, t, u, v.
67
Cf. Valentinus de Monteviridi’s imagines agentes, see pp. 141–142.
purposes, as the trend of pictorial teaching revived.68 Stefano della Bella’s etchings
featuring four different “games” were used by the six-year-old King Louis XIV to
study the history of the monarchy in France, famous queens, geography, and the
Metamorphoses. Genealogy and heraldry were taught in a similar way, and, in the
eighteenth century, cards made by Daniel Chodowiecki were used to teach the
alphabet.69
1.4. Johannes Cusanus
Johannes Cusanus (Kusanus), also known as Johannes Enclen de Cusa,70 was one
of the many itinerant humanistic teachers who arrived in Cracow in the course
of their travels in Europe. Cusanus was one of the last, as Cracow University’s
golden age was nearing its end at around this time. He appeared in Cracow in
1529 and was listed as a teacher at the university: Johannes Kusanus Petri Henklen
de Kusan d. Triverensis, magister Coloniensis…, Lector artificiose memorie in decem
novem Universitatibus et septem regnis.71 He had therefore spent twenty-seven years
wandering through Europe, visiting many universities.72 He focused not only on
the art of memory, but also on arbor consanguinitatis, as verified by a book printed
in Cracow by Maciej Szarffenberger in 1529.73
80
2. The Observants
Lectures on the art of memory were also given by local, Polish professors. Surpris-
ingly, all the known teachers of mnemonics of Polish origin at the turn of the
fifteenth and sixteenth centuries were closely associated with the Observant branch
of the Franciscan Order.
68
Hoff mann, Spielkarte (cf. note 55), 38–43.
69
Chodowiecki illustrated many books, e.g. pedagogical manuals for young people by Johann Bernard
Basedow. See: PSB 3, 373–375.
70
On Cusanus, see especially the introduction to the edition of his treatise in this volume.
71
See Henryk Barycz, Historia Uniwersytetu Jagiellońskiego w epoce humanizmu [The history of
Jagiellonian University in the period of humanism], (Cracow: Nakładem Uniwersytetu Jagiellońskiego,
1935), 62.
72
Estr., 14, 474; an error occurs here: vigesimo should be vigesimoseptimo.
73
Joannes Cusanus, Textus lecture quatuor arborum, consanguinitatis, affinitatis, cognationis spiritualis,
ac legalis: a Joanne Cusano ex diuersis harum arborum scriptoribus nouiter, clare et compendiose congestus.
Cracoviae, per Matthiam Szarffenbergk, impensis Marci Szarffenbergk, 1529. Earlier, Cusanus had used
another printing house that was connected to Poland and Cracow: Vietor’s officina in Vienna. Cusanus
printed Algorithmus linealis proiectilium there, for example, in 1514. See below, p. 305.
Rafał Wójcik
The first congregation of Observants was founded in Cracow in 1453 during

a visit from St John of Capistrano — the most famous Italian preacher and re-
former of the Franciscan Order.74 Capistrano’s sermons were received with religious
rapture by the Polish people. Within half a century the Observants had built
twenty-five convents, and more than 700 friars had joined their congregations.
They owed their popularity to their rigorous rules, their strict poverty, the intense
activity of their preachers, and their passionate sermons. In the early days, espe-
cially, many prominent figures emerged among the Observants (who were known
as Bernardines in Poland). Among them, Szymon of Lipnica and Jan of Dukla
were canonized, and Władysław of Gielniów was beatified. Even some professors
at Cracow University followed the rules of the Observants.
A number of Observant congregations included professors, and the most impor-
tant theorists of the classical art of memory in Poland emerged from the Observant
Order. This was primarily because the Observants were a preaching order, thus an
interest in the art of memory was both natural and expected. Secondly, there were
at least three lecturers from the University of Cracow in the Observant branch of
the Franciscan Order who dealt directly with ars memorativa. It is also significant
that Władysław of Gielniów, one of the most famous and distinguished Polish po-
ets of the Late Middle Ages, composed mnemonic poems, abecedarian poems, and
acrostics. The versified catalogs of popes, emperors and Polish kings were composed
in this environment.75 The connections between the art of memory and other arts 81
cultivated among the Observants will be briefly discussed at the end of this study.
74
On the history of the Observant Franciscans in Poland and its role in Polish culture in the Late
Middle Ages, see Norbert Golichowski, Przed nową epoką. Materiały do historii OO. Bernardynów w
Polsce [Before the new age. Sources for the history of the Observants in Poland] (Cracow: Redakcja
Glosu św. Antoniego z Padwy, 1899); Kamil Kantak, Bernardyni polscy [Polish Observants], Vol. 1–2
(Lwów: Nakładem Prowincji Polskiej OO. Bernardynów, 1933); Kamil Kantak, “Z poezji bernardyń-
skiej w. XV i XVI” [On Observant poetry in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries], Pamiętnik Literacki,
Ann. 28 (1931), 414–423; Klasztory bernardyńskie w Polsce w jej granicach historycznych [Observant
friaries in Poland in its historical borders], ed. H. E. Wyczawski (Kalwaria Zebrzydowska: Wydawnictwo
Bernardynów Calvarianum, 1985); Małgorzata Maciszewska, Klasztor bernardyński w społeczeństwie
polskim 1453–1530 [Observant friaries in Polish society 1453–1530] (Warsaw: DiG, 2001); Alicja Szulc,
Homo religiosus późnego średniowiecza. Bernardyński model religijności masowej [Homo religiosus of the
Late Middle Ages. The Observant pattern of mass religiosity] (Poznań: Wydawnictwo Naukowe UAM,
2007); Wiesław Wydra, Władysław z Gielniowa. Z dziejów średniowiecznej poezji polskiej [Władysław
of Gielniów. On the history of medieval Polish poetry] (Poznań: Bestseller, 1992).
75
See Wiesław Wydra, Z pogranicza poezji, historii i mnemotechniki. Wierszowane katalogi papieży,
cesarzy i królów polskich w Kodeksie Kuropatnickiego [From the borders of poetry, history and mnemonics.
The versified catalogs of popes, emperors and Polish kings in the Kuropatnicki Codex], in Pogranicza
i konteksty literatury polskiego średniowiecza [The borders and contexts of the literature of the Polish
Middle Ages], ed. Teresa Michałowska (Wrocław: Ossolineum, 1989), 191–201; Rafał Wójcik, “On
Five Versified Mnemonic Catalogues of Popes, Emperors, and Polish Kings from the Turn of the 15th
and 16th Century,” in The Charm of a List: From the Sumerians to Computerised Data Processing, ed. Lucie
Doležalová (Newcastle upon Tyne: Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2009), 127–138.
2.1. Stanisław Korzybski (Stanislaus de Korzyb)

and Antoni of Radomsko (Antonius de Radomsko)
The first Polish lecturer in mnemonics at the university that we know by name was
Stanisław Korzybski, also known as Stanisław of Korzyb (Stanislaus de Corzep,
Corzip). He was born in Korzyb in Masovia in around 1435 and joined the Uni-
versity of Cracow in the summer semester of 1456.76 He received his baccalaurea-
tus in 1459, when Klemens of Górka was acting dean.77 Stanisław obtained the
degree of magister artium nine years later, in 1468, but he was then already frater
de observancia minus.78 He held an important office at the university and was also
dean in 1483.79
Stanisław Korzybski might have attended Jacobus Publicius’ lectures during
the latter’s stay in Cracow, for he himself taught mnemonics at around the same
time. It is possible that he began to teach ars memorativa after Publicius’ depar-
ture, because a note on Korzybski’s lectures was written in the period after the
Spaniard had already left Poland. In October 1470, a dispute arose between Ko-
rzybski and a student, Albert of Koło, regarding a claim that the student had not
paid his fees for attending lectures on ars memorativa.80 The decision was in favor
of Korzybski, and thanks to the legal records we can establish with certainty that
Korzybski gave lectures on mnemonics in Cracow. The Acta rectoralia mentions
82 him another three times, but only as a witness in different cases.81 Nothing more
is known about his other activities in relation to the art of memory. Korzybski
was a guardian at the monastery in Bydgoszcz in around 1483.82 A distinguished
Polish Observant historiographer, Jan of Komorowo (c. 1465–1563), author of
Memoriale ordinis fratrum minorum and an Observant guardian and provincial,
described Korzybski as an excellent preacher who, moreover, was willing to share
with other clergy his expertise and experience in catechizing brothers and lay-
76
77
Księga promocji (cf. note 32), 48.
78
Księga promocji (cf. note 32), 57.
79
Księga promocji (cf. note 32), 143
80
Wisłocki, Acta rectoralia, Vol. 1, 52–53 (casus 240): In causa vertente inter Venerabilem mgrum
Stanislaum de Corzip ab vna, et Honorabilem dnum Albertum de Kolo, baccalarium in decretis, occasione
vnius fertonis racione laboris „Artis memoratiue”, per prefatum mgrum Stanislaum ipsi dno Alberto impensi,
vt debetur ex pacto, communiter cum alys, qui intrant suum auditorium, inito, dicimus, pronunciamus et
per hanc nostram interlocutoriam decernimus, vt prefatus dnus Albertus de Kolo, bacc. Iuris, prefati mgri
Stanislai preposicioni infra hinc et Sabbatum proxime venturum debite et peremptorie respondeat, sub pena
obediencie et prestiti iuramenti ac pena vnius fertonis, per ipsum dnum Albertum, bacc. Si contraff ecerit,
ipso facto incurrenda. Lecta lata. [Sic!].
81
Wisłocki, Acta rectoralia, Vol. 1, 53–54 (casus 244 and 245) and 87 (casus 398).
82
Golichowski, Przed nową epoką (cf. note 74), 273.
Rafał Wójcik
men.83 In addition to lecturing at Cracow University, he also taught friars (see,

e.g., Sententiae).84 Stanisław Korzybski died in Cracow on March 20, 1491.85 His
name is mentioned among the obituary notices of Innocenty of Kościan (Inno-
centius de Koscian);86 and an Observant passional mentions him on November 11.
Of the lecturers in mnemonics in medieval Cracow, Antoni of Radomsko (also
known by the secular name Marcin) is the most controversial.87 He joined the Uni-
versity of Cracow’s Faculty of Art in 145488 and obtained a bachelor’s degree in 1458.89
He then studied in Paris, leaving the city as magister artium. When Antoni returned
to Poland he first became a canon regular and subsequently joined the Observant
branch of the Franciscan Order in around 1480. We can assume that he lectured on
the art of memory at Cracow University, and it is possible that he became familiar
with that art in France while studying there. In 1485–1486, as a theologian alongside
Zbigniew Oleśnicki, bishop of Cracow, he participated in synods and preached.90
83
Jan z Komorowa, Memoriale Ordinis Fratrum Minorum a Fratre Joanne de Komorowo, ed. Xaverius
Liske and Antonius Lorkiewicz (Lwów: nakładem własnym, 1886), 261–262 (Monumenta Poloniae
Historica, 5.): Eodem anno pater Stanisalus de Corzep, magister arcium universitatis Cracoviensis, vir
doctissimus devotissimusque et predicator clarissimus, hic fratribus Cracovie clarissime quatuor libros
sentenciarum legit et librum decretalium clare intelligendum edidit in loco Opatoviensi et predicatores
famosos elegantesque reliquit, libenter enim et graciose tezaurum sciencie aliis communicabat, quem ipse dono
acceperat. Quamvis igitur tam excellentis fuerit litterature, tamen de sapiencia nichil presumens, humiliter
monendo fratres eciam laycos, rogo, inquit, cum me audieritis in aliquo sermonantem errare, post sermonem 83
me emendate et in quo excesserim, dicite. Hic iam senex factus, continue volebatservire ad mensam, sed
a prelatis prohibitus, unam diem per septimanam ad serviendum, scilicet feriam sextam peciit sibi concedi,
in qua usque ad finem vite sue graciosum et exemplare exhibuit obsequium; hic denique in cerimoniis divini
officii, quam et alias, erat venustus et conpositus, quasi enim continue stans aut incedens, supra pectus suum
manus conponebat. Vir igitur admirandus in abstinencia, vigiliis et oracione, pure simplicitatis, caritate
fraterna fervidus ceterarumque virtutum specimen et exemplum existens, ita ut ab omnibus sibi notis sanctus
diceretur, infirmitate correptus, diem clausit extremum.
84
Antoni Karbowiak, Dzieje wychowania i szkół w Polsce [The history of pedagogy and schools in
Poland], Vol. 2: Okres przejściowy od 1433 do 1510 roku [The transitional period from 1433 to 1510],
(Lwów: Zakład narodowy im. Ossolińskich, 1923), 128.
85
Jan z Komorowa, Memoriale (cf. note 83), 261. The Cracow obituary notice gives 1499. See also
Golichowski, Przed nową epoką (cf. note 74), 153 and 364.
86
Cathalogus fratrum mortuorum ordinis minorum de Observantia Beati Francisci in provincia Polona…
1604, Archiwum Prowincji OO. Bernardynów in Cracow, sign. W-20, 11: Venerabilis Pater Stanislaus de
Korzyk [!] magister artium, vir doctissimus, et deuotissimus, praedicatorque clarissimus. Hic legit fratribus Libros
Quattuor Sententiarum in loco Cracowiensi, et libros Decretalium in loco Opathowiensi. Et quamuis esset in
doctrina tam excellens, tamen pro humilitate sua, ferij sextis ad mensam fratribus serwiebat, vit admirandus
in abstinentia, vigilij et orationibus purae simplicitatis, vt etiam ab omnibus notis sibi secutus diceretur.
87
See, for example, the so-called Nowy Korbut (vol. 3, 147–148), an important Polish bibliographical
and biographical handbook, which mixes up Antoni of Radomsko with Jan Szklarek.
88
89
Hieronim E. Wyczawski, Słownik polskich pisarzy Franciszkańskich: Bernardyni i Franciszkanie Śląscy,
Franciszkanie Konwentualni, Klaryski oraz zgromadzenia III Reguły, [Dictionary of Polish Franciscan
Writers], (Warsaw: Archiwum Prowincji OO. Bernardynów, 1981), 31–32.
90
Jan z Komorowa, Memoriale (cf. note 83), 257.
Jan of Komorowo writes that Antoni of Radomsko was a graduate of the Uni-
versity of Paris, where he obtained his master’s degree, and that he was a man with
admirable knowledge who worked on the art of memory at the university and
whose lectures gained the “admiration of masters.”91
Jan Daniel Janocki, following Lukas Wadding, wondered if Antonius Radunszic
had been the author of the treatise Opusculum de arte memorativa, published in
Kasper Hochfeder’s printing house.92 It is worth mentioning here that Antoni, like
Stanisław Korzybski, was famous for his sermons — continue predicabat ferventer
et devote — which immediately suggests that the Observants, considered as excel-
lent orators, also took an interest in mnemonics.93 Antoni of Radomsko died in
Cracow on the day of Feast of the Stigmata of St. Francis (September 17, 1487)94
and was laid to rest in a tomb in the Observant church in Stradom (Cracow).95
91
Jan z Komorowa, Memoriale (cf. note 83), 256–257: Isto tempore pater Anthonius de Radomskye
Cracovie moritur ipso die stigmatum s. Francisci [scil. 27 IX 1487]. Hic erat magister arcium Parisiensis,
mire et excelentissime sciencie, hic artem memoratiwam in universitate Cracoviensi multiplicavit, quam
eciam brevi stillo conposuit et de anima mentetenus cum admiracione magistrorum legebat. Hic primum
sancti Augustini canonicorum regularium ingressus erat, tandem ad ordinem nostrum suscipitur. Qui
dum legeret tabulam feria sexta primum ad mensam fratrum, Deo permittente vel disponente, propter
acquirendam humilitatem legere tabulam ignorabat, quam in terram proyciens, tentacione victus, de religione
84 exire volebat, dicens, se iam sensum et doctrinam perdidisse, sed Deus omnipotens cum tentacione fecit
proventum, quia post professionem sacram factam humiliter sacerdos eff ectus, continue predicabat ferventer
et devote. Hic eciam per unum annum ex consensu capituli et obediencia coactus, cum reverendissimo domino
Sbigneo, archiepiscopo Gneznensi, equitabat et in diversis convencionibus et sinodis cum edificacione magna
predicabat. Hic tandem ad extrema perductus Cracovie, iam oleo sancto inunctus, fratre Iohanne, dicto
Puer, viro devoto et contemplativo, crucifixum sibi porigente, dixit: Frater, non est necesse, quia hic est, hic
est, cordis locum ostendendo et addidit, dicens, ex quo enim, frater carissime, religionem sanctam intravi,
passionem domini nostri Ihesu Cristi nullo die meditandam pretermisi, sed tamen supplico, da michi hunc
crucifixum et sic clamando et ingeminando: Ihesus, Ihesus, spiritum innocentem Deo reddidit.
92
On the question of authorship, see below and Wójcik, Opusculum, 97–106.
93
94
The dating of Antoni’s death is also questionable. Topographia specialis (Topographia specialis feliciter
incipit Provinciae Polonae anno Virginei Partus 1597, Archiwum Prowincji OO. Bernardynów w
Krakowie, sign. M-2) states that Antoni died in 1484, and then cites the note copied from Komorowski.
However, we read in the obituary of Innocentius of Kościan (cf. note 86, p. 10): Venerabilis Pater
Stanislaus de Korzyk [!] magister artium, vir doctissimus, et deuotissimus, praedicatorque clarissimus. Hic le-
git fratribus Libros Quattuor Sententiarum in loco Cracowiensi, et libros Decretalium in loco Opathowiensi.
Et quamuis esset in doctrina tam excellens, tamen pro humilitate sua, ferij sextis ad mensam fratribus
serwiebat, vir admirandus in abstinentia, vigilijs et orationibus purae simplicitatis, vt etiam ab omnibus
notis sibi secutus diceretur. Golichowski gives two different dates: May 1, 1484, and October 17, 1487. See
Golichowski, Przed nową epoką (cf. note 74), 364. There is also an inscription on an image of Antoni,
who is holding a book: Venerabilis s<ervi> D<omini> Antonii de Radomsko Conf. Praedicatoris celeberrimi,
in bello et peste patroni, intra parietes Ecclesiae Cracov<iensis> sepulti a<nno> D<omini> 1484.
95
Piotr Hiacynt Pruszcz, Klejnoty stołecznego miasta Krakowa albo kościoły i co w nich jest widzenia
godnego i znacznego krótko opisane [The jewels of the capital city Cracow or the churches and what is
memorable and famous in them briefly described] (Cracow: Drukarnia Akademicka, 1745), 123.
Rafał Wójcik
2.2. Populus meus captivus ductus est… by Paulinus of Skalbmierz
The mnemonic treatise ascribed to Paulinus of Skalbmierz and preserved in ms.

1122 in the library of the Polish Academy of Sciences in Kórnik (see Pl. 5-9.), also
had its origins with the Observants and is earlier than Szklarek’s Opusculum de arte
memorativa.96 The treatise begins with a quotation from Isaiah 5:13: Populus meus
captivus ductus est, quia non habuit scientiam et nobiles eorum interierunt fame. It
has survived in the so-called Codex of Paweł of Łomża, which dates from the end
of the fifteenth century. The ascription of the treatise is verified by a note on folio
17v.97 Jerzy Zathey has claimed that in the Polish catalogs and obituary notices
of Observants who lived and died at this time, only one friar is mentioned whose
name fits with these initials.98 His name is Paulinus of Skalbmierz (Paulinus de
Scarbimiria).99 Of Paulinus, however, very little is known. He died in Cracow on
August 5, 1498. The only surviving testimony concerning him says that he was
confessor plenus meritis et sanctitate.100 The Observants who studied mnemonics at
this time were also almost always working preachers, as were Stanisław Korzybski
and Antoni of Radomsko. It may be that Paulinus was such a man as well.
The Kórnik treatise merits attention for several reasons. Firstly, it is another
important testimony to the fact that Polish Observants were interested in the art
of memory in the latter half of the fifteenth century and the beginning of the six-
teenth century. Secondly, there are many Polish words in the treatise. This not only 85
indicates that it was a native Polish product, but also reveals its intended audience
— without doubt Polish friars preaching to Poles. Thirdly, this is one of the treatises
in which we find images of imagines agentes alongside the more usual illustrations
of mnemonic alphabets and numbers. Most treatises contain rules for creating
imaginative imagines agentes, but these rules were illustrated only infrequently.101
96
On Paulinus of Skalbmierz, and for a description of the codex, see the biographical note before
the edition in this volume, p. 227. Th is part of the study concerning Paulinus’ treatise is a slightly
longer and revised version of the article: Rafał Wójcik, “Populus meus captivus ductus est: On the Polish
Franciscan’s Mnemonic Treatise from the Fiteenth Century,” in Strategies of Remembrance: From Pindar
to Hölderlin, ed. Lucie Doležalová (Newcastle upon Tyne: Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2009),
175–184
97
Paulinus of Skalbmierz, Inc. Populus meus captivus ductus est, Kórnik Library, ms. 1122, f. 17v:
[…] in presenti igitur opusculo quem suscincte et compendiose prosequi intendo ad laudem dei […] dei
oculta capiendum, utilitatem que studentium rudi stilo inexpers tiro, pauper minorum frater P. d<e> S.
plano tamen et reali eloquio atque modo facillimo artem memorie artificialis benivoliter discentibus tradere
conabor.
98
The Polish origin of the manuscript is certain. The codex contains many Polish words and glosses.
99
Jerzy Zathey, Katalog rękopisów średniowiecznych Biblioteki Kórnickiej [Catalog of the medieval
manuscripts of the Kórnik Library], (Wrocław: Zakład Narodowy im. Ossolińskich, 1963), 305–319,
513.
100
Golichowski, Przed nową epoką, (cf. note 74) Vol. 2, 368.
101
The majority of the illustrated treatises were discussed by Volkmann, “Ars memorativa”.
The treatise is preceded by an introduction, which fills the first folio and a half
(f. 17r –17v). The opening quotation from Isaiah forms the starting point from
which the author briefly and generally considers the meaning of science and knowl-
edge in human development, especially that of the human spirit. Paulinus says that
the art of memory assists the reading and consideration of Scripture, and makes
memorizing it easier. Observants were required to read and learn the works of the
Doctors of the Church, juridical books, sentences, and Thomas Aquinas’ Summa
theologiae. Paulinus, like many other authorities on mnemonics, distinguishes
natural from artificial memory (f. 17r).
The main portion of the treatise is divided into four parts. Three are expressed
in the form of notes, dealing separately with the fundamental principles of the
art of memory. These principles are called canones (canon primus, canon secundus,
etc.).102 The first described is the modus regendi (f. 17v–18v). The modus regendi
contains seventeen principles (canones), which discuss general and commonly
known subjects connected with memorizing, the imagining of memory loci, and
mnemonic images and effigies. The author goes on to tell how the practitioner of
the ars memoriae should then consider the arrangement of his mnemonic places,
focusing on only one question and imagining them according to a clear and orderly
scheme. He should also take heed for the health of the body, especially the head,
and observe frugality in eating and drinking. Alongside the other, lesser princi-
86 ples, Paulinus recommends that everyone should invent and imagine a mnemonic
alphabet for his own use.
The modus agendi is the next, separate part of the treatise (f. 19r–21v). Its most
important prescriptions concern the principles of imagining the above-mentioned
mnemonic alphabet. Together with the six general principles of such an alphabet,
this part also contains exemplary illustrations of each letter, which are termed
real letters (litterae reales) by Paulinus. The difference between the two Observant
treatises (the treatise of Paulinus and Jan Szklarek’s Opusculum de arte memora-
tiva) is that here there is no evident arrangement, even though it contains all the
letters. For example, in Szklarek’s treatise every vowel has three different images,
while each consonant has only one image. Szklarek’s principles made it possible
to locate the letters on the imago agens in a well-founded order.103 There is no such
order in the Kórnik treatise. The letter A has seven exemplary illustrations (one of
them, a candlestick, is in four different positions), the letter B has two, C also two,
D three, E one, F three, G three, I three, L three, M two, N two, O four, P two,
Q one, R two, S two, T two, X one, U (or V ) one, and Y one. There is no clear rule
102
In the Opusculum de arte memorativa (1504), such words were usually used in similar enumerations:
verbum, regula, modus, doctrina and the specific word cautela, which in context means a “mnemonic
protection.”
103
Wójcik, Opusculum, 117–119 and 155–166.
Rafał Wójcik
for the arrangement, and the illustrations drawn in the codex are only examples of
how the practitioner of the art of memory might imagine the mnemonic alphabet.
There are several Polish words in this part of the treatise. The illustrations of
the mnemonic letters were preceded by an enumeration of the images, which re-
flects the associations of each concrete letter. Some of these are written in Polish.
Paulinus and Szklarek employed the same term (littera personalis) to refer to the
personal mnemonic letters, which are the images of different characters beginning
with the concrete letter (for example A for Andreas, B for Bartholomaeus, etc.).
After the images of the mnemonic alphabet, the principles of the division and
formation of the memory loci follow. They are similar to the rules found in other
treatises on the art of memory in the same period. According to Paulinus, mne-
monic places can be divided into three types: loci generales, loci speciales and loci
singulares, each of which can be used as an aid for memorizing a different category
of knowledge. Loci generales, such as cities, castles or monasteries, help to memorize
whole books (libros totales): according to Paulinus, they are useful for clerks work-
ing in offices (cancellarii). Loci speciales, such as baths, common rooms, or porches,
can be used as an aid to remember sentences or separate distinctions (primarily
distinctions in the Decretum Gratiani, or other juridical books). Loci singulares
include places such as the corners of rooms or chambers, unmarked or marked by
mnemonic persons. They can be used as an aid for memorizing sentences (such as
those from Thomas Aquinas’ Summa theologiae). 87
The third part of the treatise (f. 22r–26v) discusses the imagining of mnemonic
ciphers and the use and adaptation of the above-mentioned principles. Here Pauli-
nus also considers the concrete use of the collocation of real letters (litterae reales)
and personal letters (litterae personales) in mnemonic places and on imagines agen-
tes. On folios 23r–v we find illustrations of mnemonic ciphers, which are preceded
by an enumeration of the images reflected in each concrete cipher. This part of
the treatise contains many Polish words with their Latin translation. Reading on,
we find three remarkable illustrations (f. 24r, 24v, 25r) showing imagines agentes
or exemplary mnemonic images of the kind one might imagine in the course of
memorizing facts or texts (such as sermons). Folio 25r also contains notes on the
principles of forming and using loci speciales. The author advises the use of special
marks for every fifth place up to a hundred. This is especially useful when trying to
memorize extensive information, such as the one hundred and one distinctions of
the Decretum Gratiani. It should be mentioned, though, that in contrast to the later
manual of Jan Szklarek or the Enchiridion evangelistarum, Paulinus of Skalbmierz
does not use the mnemonic term vigena (a unit of twenty components, which, for
Szklarek, contains twenty personal letters, while in the Enchiridion it contains
twenty images reflecting the following chapters of the Gospel).104 I agree with other
104
Wójcik, Opusculum, 109 and 118–121.
researchers on the art of memory that this procedure of dividing information for
memorization into fives is connected to the human hand and various methods of
counting on fingers and toes. Of course, we could also try to determine the sym-
bolic or numerological meaning (for example, the five wounds of Christ), but such
readings ought to be treated with caution, for medieval mnemonic treatises were
not mystical texts but systems designed for practical use. In the Kórnik treatise, on
folios 26r–26v, we find an exemplary list of images grouped in fives. The common
feature of every unit is the letter of the alphabet that begins every word, thus we
have five words beginning with A, five words beginning with B, etc., right up to
the letter U. The treatise ends on folio 26v, after which (f. 27r–27v) comes a list of
sermons contained in the codex, a list that is not pertinent to the art of memory.
Finally, a copyist has appended certain excerpts from Paulinus’ treatise, adding
some illustrations of mnemonic letters mentioned in the text.
When writing his treatise, Paulinus of Skalbmierz gathered various principles
and rules from other mnemonic systems. His Observant successor Jan Szklarek
followed a similar course in creating his manual on the art of memory, published
in Cracow in 1504. The Kórnik treatise is similar to the Italian work Conspiciens
ex una parte by Mattheus de Verona, and to a group of treatises that Heimann-
Seelbach calls “the logical-cateogorical school”, in which we can see the influence
of Mattheus’ work.105 These treatises are all characterized by the fact that they
88 borrow their principles from the Rhetorica ad Herennium. They differentiate be-
tween natural and artificial memory; recommend certain exercises; insist on the
creation of memory loci; and divide the material to be memorized into groups of
five, with every tenth place specially distinguished. They also recommend the use
of imagines agentes, and so on. There is no doubt that Paulinus knew the work of
the Spanish humanist Jacobus Publicius. All illustrations of the mnemonic let-
ters in the Kórnik treatise were redrawn from woodcuts in his book Artes orandi,
epistolandi, memorandi.
The Kórnik treatise assumes a different audience than later mnemonic treatises
written in Poland in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. Almost all of these later
works were intended for students at Cracow University. Here I refer first to works
by Jacobus Publicius, Conrad Celtis, Thomas Murner, and Johannes Cusanus. Jan
Szklarek’s Opusculum de arte memorativa was intended both for friars studying
at the Observant friary school in Cracow, and for scholars at Cracow University.
Paulinus’ treatise is in this context a very interesting testimony of the Observants’
interest in mnemonics and mnemonic treatises, which extended its practical use
in preaching. It also reflects the extraordinary activity of Franciscan Observants
during the first phase of the order’s existence in Poland.
105
Heimann-Seelbach, Ars und scientia, 17–45, 97–115.
Rafał Wójcik
It must, however, be emphasized that Paulinus’ treatise is hardly unconven-

tional when compared with other fifteenth-century mnemonic treatises. It con-
tains all of the most important principles and rules found in other treatises of the
period. It is nevertheless an invaluable testimony of the intensive interest in the
art of memory in medieval Poland, and especially in the Observant milieu. The
illustrations reflecting imagines agentes are also fascinating, helping us to under-
stand how mnemonic images were formed. Like the beautiful woodcuts ascribed
to Petrus de Rosenheim in Rationarium evangelistarum, its illustrations give us
an opportunity to see and study the art in practice.106 The manuscript in which
the treatise is found is very interesting in itself because of the many sermons it
contains, suggesting that the intended readers were friars preparing sermons and
preaching. The Kórnik treatise is also very valuable for Polish culture because of
the rare Polish words it contains.107
2.3. Opusculum de arte memorativa by Jan Szklarek
The most important work on the art of memory among medieval mnemonic trea-
tises written in Poland is Opusculum de arte memorativa by the Observant Francis-
can friar Jan Szklarek in 1503 and published in Kasper Hochfeder’s printing house
in Cracow in 1504.108 Szklarek’s short introduction to the Opusculum explains 89
its origins.109 Firstly, Szklarek says that he wrote it at the instigation of his prior,
who was probably Łukasz of Rydzyna (an Observant provincial in 1503–1504),
or Stanisław of Słapy, Szklarek’s friend, who took the office of provincial in 1502.
Secondly, Szklarek uses the traditional topos of differentiating between natural
and artificial knowledge: ars memorativa certainly belongs to the latter. Thirdly,
he says that he was motivated by his students and fellow friars, who requested such
a treatise.110 The fourth motivation is the fact that he had lectured on ars memora-
tiva at Cracow University in around 1476. We can assume that these lectures were
popular and earned quite a reputation, as he was asked to repeat them as much
as twenty years later. The above-mentioned reasons suggest that the Opusculum
was intended as an educational aid. The fact the treatise was published by Kasper
106
Rationarium euangelistarum, omnia in se euangelia, prosa, versu, ymaginibusque quam mirifice
complectens ([Pforzheim: Thomas Anshelm], 1505).
107
Michał Muszyński, “Glosy, zapiski i niektóre teksty polskie w starych drukach i rękopisach Biblioteki
Kórnickiej do roku 1550,” [Glosses, notes and some Polish texts in the old books and manuscripts of
the Kórnik Library up to 1550], Part 2, Pamiętnik Biblioteki Kórnickiej 9–10 (1968), 204–205.
108
See Szklarek’s profi le before the text of the Opusculum de arte memorativa in this volume.
109
Szklarek, Opusculum, f. a1v–a2.
110
Opusculum, f. a2.
Hochfeder, who published for Cracow University, provides further evidence of the
pedagogic goal of the Opusculum.111
Szklarek’s reference to his students’ requests indicates that the Observants
related to Cracow University did not obey the rules of their order, which forbade
lecturing at the university. Observants were supposed to break off their connec-
tions with the university environment. Jan of Stobnica was an exception, having
joined the order in 1507 as a dean he then lectured in Cracow until 1515.112 The
reference in the Opusculum to the prior’s instigation shows that Szklarek similarly
disobeyed this rule. The reason for his ignoring the rule was probably his convic-
tion that someone who knew the art of memory would be able to study more easily,
live more devoutly, and preach the Gospel more successfully.113
As a handbook, the style of the Opusculum is simple: Szklarek did not want
to entertain the reader, but simply to present the mnemonic rules in a clear way.
As he himself says: “Et pronunciavi eam verbis planis, plus attendens fructum quam
verborum ornatum, plus utilitatem quam curiositatem preseferens.”114 However, with
its mnemonic images and use of Polish words, the treatise is a fascinating example
of an art of memory that has been adapted to the needs of a particular vernacular
audience.115
Instead of summarizing the contents of the treatise in detail, we will focus
on its terminology and main concepts. Szklarek describes the keywords of his
90 treatise right at the beginning: loca, litterae reales, characteres personales, imagines
and ydola. They are the most important terms used in the Opusculum and they
should be known by a memorista — that is, a man who studies the art of memory.
Similar to other treatises, memory is here divided into two categories: memoria
naturalis, which is not discussed by Szklarek (as this is a subject to be treated
by physicians); and memoria artificialis. Publicius likewise wrote that memory
111
Polonia typographica saeculi sedecimi, ed. Alodia Kawecka-Gryczowa, part 1: Kaspar Hochfeder
1503–1505, ed. K. Piekarski, M. Blońska, (Wrocław: Ossolineum, 1968), 20.
112
Maciszewska, Klasztor (cf. note 74), 145.
113
Szklarek, Opusculum, f. a1v.
114
Szklarek, Opusculum, f. a1v.
115
The following are the Polish words: znamÿa, pÿathno (f. a 3v), Szipÿen (f. b1v), oſaka (f. b2), iucha (f. b4),
ſpi (f. b4v), oſzamkam, Copie, proch, funda, procza, Szipÿen, pre (f. b6), obraz, ockno (f. b6v), maczuga
(f. b8), grzeblo, rogoza (f. c1). See: Helena Friedberg, Rodzina Vitreatorów (Zasańskich) i jej związki z
Uniwersytetem Krakowskim na przełomie XV i XVI w., [The Vitreator family and their relations to the
University of Cracow in the late 15th and 16th centuries] Biuletyn Biblioteki Jagiellońskiej 18 (1966), 23;
see also: Wiesław Wydra, Wojciech Ryszard Rzepka, Niesamoistne drukowane teksty polskie sprzed roku
1521 i ich znaczenie dla historii drukarstwa i języka polskiego [Unindependently printed Polish texts
before 1521 and their importance for the history of printing and the Polish language], in Dawna książka
i kultura. Materiały międzynarodowej sesji naukowej z okazji pięćsetlecia sztuki drukarskiej w Polsce [Old
books and culture. The proceedings of the international conference on the 500th anniversary of the
art of printing in Poland], ed. S. Grzeszczuk and Alodia Kawecka-Gryczowa (Wrocław: Ossolineum,
1975), 265, 269, 282.
Rafał Wójcik
weakened by disease or old age can be helped by medicine and exercises, such as
the art of memory. Szklarek follows this line of thought; however, at the end of
Opusculum he adds a medical excerpt from Arnaldus de Villa Nova on medical aids
to enhance memory. Among the terms typically used by Szklarek, “spacious place”
(locus spaciosus) deserves particular attention. It is divided into a “general place”
(locus generalis), meaning the central mnemonic image, and a “particular place”
(locus particularis), for images that were subordinated to the main one. The visual
modes of memorizing (modus speciosus) are divided into five parts: virtual parch-
ment leaves (membranae virtuales); individual mnemonic letters (litterae personales),
which refer to the mnemonic alphabet, known since antiquity; real or fictitious
images; special rules; and mnemonic lockboxes (cautelae). Furthermore, Szklarek
divided the functions of the mnemonic letters into littera personalis, character,
diff erentiator, custos and artifex. Similar to the enumerated terms, the figurae vel
formae ideales are also characteristic in the art of memory.
The “singular safety deposit boxes” or “lockboxes” (cautelae singulares) are par-
ticularly important mnemonic aids in Szklarek’s treatise.116 The author provides
twelve categories: one for the paragraphs of the Decretals, one for the Liber Sextus,
one for the Constitutiones Clementinae, one for the Causae, another for the seven
distinctions in the treatise De penitentia, another for the five distinctions in the
treatise De consecratione, one for the sermons (following an example of a sermon
about St. Stanislaus), one for the distinctions in the Sententiae of Peter Lombard, 91
one for the Quaestiones of the Doctors of the Church, one for the numbers and
one for the names of the Doctors of the Church, and finally one for the names of
the Evangelists.
The use of the term vigena is also very characteristic of Szklarek’s treatise.
Vigena refers to a mnemonic unit containing twenty elements — in this case
a mnemonic order of persons, which are in fact the letters of the alphabet. Since
there are twenty letters in Szklarek’s alphabet, they constitute one vigena from
beginning to end. Vigenas can be multiplied — for example, we might imagine
five vigenae to remember the one hundred and one distinctions of the Decretals.
This unit was used in the Rationarium Evangelistarum as well, where the author
made use of vigena to memorize the chapters of the Gospels.117 However, the order
in the Rationarium is not provided by the letters of the alphabet, but by images
representing the chapters of the Gospels, and by particular distichs that contain
key events from each chapter.
116
The Vocabulary of Medieval Latin in Poland (Słownik łaciny średniowiecznej w Polsce, Vol. 2,
274) interprets this occurrence of the word “cautela” as a “mnemonic gimmick or trick” (sztuczka
mnemotechniczna). However, cautelae in the Opusculum could be rather interpreted as safety deposit
boxes or lockboxes.
117
Rationarium Euangelistarum ([Pforzheim, Thomas Anselm], 1505), a 2v, a6v, b4v, c1v.
Apart from the regularity and repetition of the material, order is one of the
most important rules in mnemonic treatises, and Szklarek did not omit this aspect,
either. The principle of ordering seems to have become an obsession sometimes, as
we can observe in Szklarek’s handbook for novices, the Summula aurea brevissima
de profectu novitiorum.118 In addition to ordering according to the alphabet, he
divides every question into sections and subsections. What is characteristic in this
treatise is the importance of the number five in these divisions.119 Even if he cites
more than five rules, they are usually multiples of five: when presenting rules on
how the mnemonic place should be formed, he quotes ten rules; there are fifteen
ways of multiplying the mnemonic places; and when Szklarek presents twelve mne-
monic “lockboxes”, the sections and subsections inside are grouped into fives. It
seems that his inclination for this type of division can be retraced to three sources:
it was characteristic of other, earlier treatises (Rhetorica ad Herennium, Publicius);
furthermore, Szklarek’s mnemonic alphabet contains five vowels — a, e, i, o, u —
which are important for forming and remembering the syllables. The final reason
for the orders of five may be the use of the human hand as a mnemonic tool. This
specific aid was also used in medieval schools, both in counting (Quintilian, the
Venerable Bede) and in teaching chants (the Guidonian hand).120
The chapter dealing with the formation of the places (loci) is similar to those
in other mnemonic treatises. When selecting the loci, some categories of places
92 are better than others. There are places such as a city, a monastery, or some well-
known building, which are superior to others that are inside those main places
— for example a workshop in a city, a room in a monastery, or an altar or a corner
in a church. Next, even within these particular places, we can imagine things that
have a function there, such as a table in the room, or a sarcophagus in the corner
of the church. Szklarek presents fifteen model places with their characteristic fea-
tures. In order to keep the structure based on the number five, one should imagine
quadratic forms and place the corresponding images into the corners. In this way
one would get four places, or five by placing an object in the middle.
The rules for study described by Szklarek are perhaps the most interesting
and unique parts of his treatise. In the first rule, Szklarek compares the outline
of a mnemonic place to a parchment leaf. Just as the parchment should be well
bound, decorated, and lined, so should the places be set out with care and well
118
Th is text is known to have survived in two manuscripts: Poznań Society of the Friends of Science,
and ms. 29 in the University Library of Vilnius.
119
The relationship between the art of memory and the division of knowledge has been excellently
explained and demonstrated by Kimberly Rivers, “Memory, Division, and the Organisation of
Knowledge in the Middle Ages,” in Pre-modern Encyclopaedic Texts. Proceedings of the Second COMERS
Congress, Groningen, 1–4 July 1996, ed. Peter Binkley (Leiden: Brill, 1997), 147–158.
120
Carol Berger, “The Hand and the Art of Memory,” Musica Disiplina 35 (1981): 87–120.
Rafał Wójcik
planned. The second rule refers to the formation of “individual letter forms” (lit-
terae personales). It is important not to confuse these letters with the mnemonic al-
phabet, which he called litterae reales, or “real letters.” To understand the meaning
of “personal” or “individual” letters, we must remember the metaphor of writing
known from Antiquity. Mnemonic places are compared to a wax tablet, thus they
must be immutable and constant like the tablet itself, whereas the images located
in those places are analogous to the letters that are “written” on the tablets, thus
they can be considered individual, or personal. There are five rules for creating
these individual letters. First, the selected person representing the letter should be
well known to us — an Adam for A, Bartholomew for B, etc. Second, the selected
person should be related to the subject in order to be more easily remembered.
Thirdly, it should be possible to distinguish this person by specific attributes in
order to use the person as a diff erentiator, a special sign informing us where we
are in the imagined mnemonic place. The fourth rule is to set a custos, or guard,
in a place. This person cannot leave the mnemonic place into which he has been
placed. Guards should be ordered alphabetically (Andreas, Bartholomaeus, Celine,
Dorothea, Erasmus, Franciscus, etc.). The alphabetical order plays an important
role when preaching from memory, since the memorista travels through his im-
agined building from beginning to end. If one moved from Dorothea directly to
Franciscus, Erasmus, in his role as guard of the place, would call attention to the
omission. The fifth rule, the introduction of an artifex (craftsman), is related to 93
the activity of the figure. There are five possible actions: standing, sitting, bending
down, lying prostrate and lying on one’s back. The importance of this for forming
syllables from the mnemonic alphabet will be discussed later.
The third method relates to the creation of the images and is comparable to
the rules of other mnemonic treatises. The images should be striking, moving and
relevant, and must not in any way be featureless or mundane, like the common
man in the street. We can more easily remember those things that move us, amuse
us, horrify us, or give us pleasure. Szklarek does not emphasize this argument,
perhaps because it is so obvious that any reader would already have been aware
of the fact. Five examples are given: terrible (Herod), pleasant (a friend), mixed
(partly frightening and partly pleasant: St. Catherine), unusual (an armed woman),
and characteristic (a broken leg or shaven head). We have five additional places in
the case of human images: the right and left hand, the right and left leg, and the
head. Similar uses for an image can be found in the Rationarium Evangelistarum
(images of an angel, lion, ox and eagle representing the four Evangelists), or in
the treatise of Paulinus of Skalbmierz. Quite suddenly Szklarek shifts subjects
here and presents fifteen ways of multiplying the characteristic places: a man, an
animal, a tree, a fish, a square, a circle, a semicircle, a sky, ground, a ladder and
a stepladder, a table, stairs, a cart, and an altar. The advantage of these is that they
multiply the places, because the places themselves contain additional places within
them, as seen in the five or six places on the human image.
The fourth method comprises five rules for remembering, the first four of which
are divided into five subsections, while the fifth rule discusses the formation of real
letters (litterae reales). The first rule is processio, a name that probably originates
from the meaning “to follow slowly forward” from one place to another. As we
have seen above, the guards located in the places ensure that the memorista does
not omit anyone, and can recite (improvise) whole speeches or sermons by heart.
Szklarek also calls this rule regula originis when presenting the mnemonic lock-
boxes (cautelae), taking the name from the syllable at the beginning of each phrase.
The regula processionis relates to memorizing different phrases. Szklarek dis-
cusses five difficulties that might disturb the memorista, such as remembering
a small thing that can simply be put into the concrete mnemonic place, such as an
amphora or a stick. Another difficulty appears if the remembered thing is too large
to locate in a single mnemonic place — for example a city. According to Szklarek,
in cases such as these, instead of the image of the city (civitas) we should put some-
thing that begins with the same syllable, like a stork (ciconia). The third example
discusses the imagining of a concrete event. If the event was amusing, a laughing
man should be placed there. We should use a similar method for invisible beings,
like angels or the soul (the fourth example). Instead of an angel (angelus) or a soul
(anima), we could use anise (anisium), and our natural memory will find the right
end for the phrase. These methods are called beginnings (inchoandum) by Szklarek,
94 because they relate to the syllable which begins the concrete word of the phrase.
The second method for connecting with the regula processionis is a division
(dividendum). This should be used for words that are too difficult or too long,
such as zophista (so-phi-sta). We should remember separate phrases for each syl-
lable, such as sona, filis, statera. The third method is invention (confingendum),
for which Szklarek lists onomatopoeias. The fourth method is assimilation (sim-
ilandum), and here the author uses similarities in sound between two words that
are not otherewise connected, such as salus (health, salvation) and palus (a marsh).
The fifth method is association (coniungendum), and relates to the meaning of the
phrase. Instead of a whole phrase, only something relating to it should be used:
instead of the cobbler we can insert an awl. In this case the cobbler (sutor) and the
awl (subula) also begin with the same syllable. This method probably originates
in the rhetorical figure pars pro toto.
The next rule is extraction (extractio) — that is, the “extraction” of the property
or the attribute from the thing that should be remembered. Szklarek promises
here ten pieces of advice, but he fails to present them. The distinctive attribute can
be a feature of a thing, a place or a personal letter. The word suave (sweet) is
given as an example. For this we should imagine a person sewing and eating
a grape, representing a combination of two methods: regula originis, because the
word suave relates to the act of sewing (suat) in its first syllable, and in addition
extractio, because the property of the grape — sweetness — has an effect on the
memorista.
Rafał Wójcik
The third rule (coniunctio) refers to acronyms, when a new, otherwise meaning-
less word is formed out of the first letters of the words. Saligia, Szklarek’s example,
is a well-known medieval Latin acronym for the seven deadly sins.121 There are also
words, such as those counted by Szklarek in the third point, that stand for numbers
and that were used in astronomy and astrology to remember temporal distances.
The fourth and fifth points contain well-known verses for memorizing distinc-
tions (Corrige peccatum lachrimabile plange reatum) or the Bible and the Sententiae.
The fourth rule, position (positio), emphasizes order while memorizing the
sequences of words. This rule is illustrated by the example of an illiterate person
being sent to the marketplace to buy different types of products. Szklarek says that
even an illiterate person can remember them in the proper order, proving that the
use of order as a mnemonic aid was vital even for the illiterate.
The fifth rule discusses the formation of the “real alphabet” (alphabetum reale).
In contrast to other authors (e.g. Jacobus Publicius), Szklarek presents only one
alphabet, in which the letters take the form of different objects. It is important
not to confuse the alphabetum reale with the personal letters (litterae personales)
discussed above, as both alphabets are employed simultaneously.
Only one image is required to remember a consonant, while three images are
needed for each vowel. There are five vowels in Szklarek’s alphabet (a, e, i, o, u)
and each vowel that begins a syllable must form fourteen syllables, because there
are fourteen consonants (b, c, d, f, g, l, m, n, p, q, r, s, t, x). However, consonants 95
at the beginning of the syllable form only five syllables, as in the following:
a) the letter a: ab, ac, ad, af, ag, al, am, an, ap, aq, ar, as, at, ax;
b) the letter b: ba, be, bi, bo, bu.
There are five positions for each letter (standing upright, upside down, facing
left, facing right, and in front of), and the position determines the syllable that
is created accordingly. Since there are five positions and fourteen consonants, we
need three different images for each vowel to create the syllables that begin with
a vowel. In other words, we have three things for a: a compass, a stepladder, and
a candlestick. Each of them joins with five consonants: a in the form of a compass
means ab, ac, ad, af, and ag in its five different positions; a in the form of a stepladder
can mean al, am, an, ap, and aq; and a as a candlestick can mean ar, as, at, and ax.
Another method for forming the syllables is to imagine the personal letters in
five different activities: standing, sitting, bending down, lying prostrate and ly-
ing on one’s back. According to the same logic as in the case of forming the real
alphabet, we need only one person for a consonant and three persons for each of
the vowels. For example, a person called Berald — meaning b — can create dif-
ferent syllables depending on the activity he performs: by standing he means ba;
by sitting, be; by bending down, bi; by lying prostrate, bo; and by lying on his
121
Cf. footnotes on the mnemonic verses in the edition of the Opusculum in this volume.
back, bu. If the syllable begins with a vowel, we should follow the same method,
remembering that we need three personal letters for each vowel, such as in Eras-
mus, Elena and Elisabeth for e, each of them joining another set of 5 consonants,
depending on the activity.
The obscure act of joining letters in syllables and attaching importance to them
becomes clear if we recall that in Szklarek’s period people were taught to read
letter by letter (Buchstabiermethode).122 The popularity of this method has been
connected with the invention of printing, because one had to recognize each letter
separately in order to read a book.
The fifth method gives advice on creating mnemonic “safety deposit boxes”
or “lockboxes” (cautelae). Whereas the previous rules are universal and can be ap-
plied to any field of knowledge, the cautelae relate exclusively to memorize certain
subjects, such as memorizing canon law (1st–6th cautelae); preparing and memoriz-
ing sermons (7th cautela); memorizing works on theology, such as the Sententiae
or Quaestiones (7th–9th cautelae); memorizing the numbers of books, chapters and
treatises (10th cautela); and remembering the names of the Doctors of the Church
and the Evangelists (11th–12th cautelae). This part of the treatise proves that the
Opusculum was a practical handbook, especially for scholars studying theology
and canon law. Szklarek presents mnemonic aids that are helpful for studying the
most important works of canon law: the Decretalia, Liber Sextus and Clementinae,
96 and the three parts of the Decretum Gratiani (Causae, Tractatus de poenitentia and
Tractatus de consecratione, generally known as the Corpus iuris canonici).123 Szklarek
deals with every part of the Decretum and gives advice for remembering each one.
When he says that “getting to practical matters, we will take a thorough look at
the lockboxes” (procedendo ad praxim videbimus cum diligentia aliquas cautelas),124
his words suggest that he was explaining the use of these mnemonic lockboxes in
practice.
The seventh lockbox is of vital importance to the author and the audience of
the Opusculum, as it deals with memorizing sermons and stories, which would be
122
Ingeborg Willke, ABC-Bücher in Schweden. Ihre Entwicklung im 19. Jahrhundert und ihre Beziehungen
zu Deutschland (Stockholm: Svenska Bokförlaget Bonniers, 1965), 17–20. Willke also writes about
later methods of teaching: die Lautiermethode, die Interjektionsmethode, die Wortmethode, die Schreib-
Lese-Methode or die Normalwörtermethode. Th is issue has been well researched in: L.F. Göbelbecker,
Entwicklungsgeschichte des ersten Leseunterrichts von 1477 bis 1932 (Kempten 1933; following: ibidem,
17, footnote 1). Unfortunately I could not acces this book. Die Buchstabiermethod was only in use until
the nineteenth century (e.g. in Saxonia, it has fallen it fallen into disuse by as early as 1785).
123
See Adam Vetulani, Dekret Gracjana i pierwsi dekretyści w świetle nowego źródła [The Decretum
Gratiani and the first decree commentators in the light of the new source] (Wrocław: Zakład Narodowy
im. Ossolińskich, 1955); Adam Vetulani, “Corpus Iuris Canonici,” in Encyklopedia katolicka, [Catholic
encyclopaedia] Vol. 3, ed. by Romuald Łukaszyk et al., (Lublin: Katolicki Uniwersytet Lubelski, 1979),
597–600.
124
Szklarek, Opusculum, b3.
Rafał Wójcik
useful in the daily practice of preaching among Observant Franciscans. Szklarek

illustrates his method with the example of a sermon on St. Stanislaus.125 According
to Szklarek, one need only remember eight words strictly connected to the most
important points of St. Stanislaus’ martyrdom in order to memorize the entire
story: 1) the act of killing; 2) that the murdered person was a saint, the bishop
of Cracow; 3) that the deed was done by Boleslaus, king of Poland; 4) that the
place of the tragedy was the church on the Skałka in Cracow; 5) brutality, since
Stanislaus was hacked to pieces; 6) that the benefit for later generations was the
fact that Stanislaus became the patron of Poland; 7) that although Poland lost an
excellent person, it happened for the common good; and 8) that Stanislaus was
a martyr. This type of division facilitates the memorization of the lives of the saints.
However, preaching should follow a different structure. Normally, a sermon is
divided into fewer than eight segments. Szklarek’s model sermon on St Stanislaus
contains the following divisions:
I subiectum viciosum
II obiectum graciosum
III respectum copiosum
IV profectum preciosum
V defectum lacrimosum
Each division was subdivided into a further five subsections by Szklarek. Thus the 97
vicious subject of the deed, Boleslaus, had the following attributes:
I proud
II bellicose
III severe
IV mad
V scandalous
Proceeding according to the same pattern, one only needs to remember twenty-five
words (5 × 5) in order to memorize the entire sermon. After preparing the material
for the sermon, one should use the mnemonic images and put particular elements
into the mnemonic places. Szklarek’s central place here is the interior of All Saints’
Church in Cracow. Thus Adam remains in the first place (ambona), holding a cro-
sier (sistrum) before him. The figurative letter S, represented by the crosier, in such
a position creates the vowel u, thus forming the syllable su, which reminds us of
125
Rafał Wójcik, “O mnemotechnicznym przygotowaniu kazania o św. Stanisławie w Opusculum
de arte memorativa Jana Szklarka,” [On the mnemonic preparation of the sermon on St. Stanisalus
in Opusculum de arte memorativa by Jan Szklarek], in Mediewistyka literacka w Polsce, ed. Teresa
Michałowska (Warsaw: Instytut Badań Literackich, 2004), 140–157. On the cult of St Stanislaus in
late medieval Poland, see Stanislava Kuzmová, Preaching Saint Stanislaus: Medieval Sermons on St.
Stanislaus of Cracow, His Image and Cult (Warsaw: DiG, 2013).
subiectum viciosum according to the rule of the origin (regula originis). If it proves
difficult to remember the other word, one can simply put a sacerdotal fillet (vitta)
on Adam’s head. In the ensuing mnemonic places (baptisterium, Christ on the pic-
ture, Dorothy, etc.), one should proceed in a similar manner. On the other hand,
the rhyming character of the divisions themselves must have aided the preacher
in remembering these items: subiectum viciosum, obiectum graciosum, respectum
copiosum, profectum preciosum, defectum lacrimosum. Similarly, the attributes of
Boleslaus (animosus, bellicosus, rigorosus, furiosus, scandalosus) and Stanislaus (locus,
genus, virtus, doctus, sanctus) follow the same grammatical and phonetic pattern,
as do the causes of the crime (propter + accusative): commotionem, correctionem,
excessionem, confusionem, conditionem. This “lockbox” of sermons, together with
that various Polish words appearing in the treatise, prove without doubt that the
Opusculum was addressed to Polish students and friars.
The eighth mnemonic lock described by Szklarek concerns the Sententiae of
Peter Lombard (d. 1164).126 In this work, he had compiled the theological thoughts
of the Fathers of the Church, Augustine and Cassiodorus, as well as the ideas of
Abelard and Hugo of St. Victor. The Sententiae engendered many commentaries
by the most important medieval authors, including Albert the Great, Thomas
Aquinas and Bonaventure. In Poland, a commentary was written by Wojciech
(Albertus) of Brudzewo, and Michał of Wrocław (Michael Vratislaviensis) added
98 an introduction to the printed edition (1521).127 The mnemonic verse Res tres vesti-
gium gemit natura volendo, mentioned by Szklarek, helped to determine the subject
matter for each of the concrete distinctions (e.g. the word res gives a clue to the
first distinction, which discusses the relationship between things and signs). The
rules of memorization are the same as for the Decretales and Causae, but here he
includes the possibility of memorizing the commentaries to the Sententiae, too.
The distinctions should be held in the main mnemonic place, and the questions
on the distinctions composed by Bonaventure, Thomas Aquinas, or Alexander of
Hales, should be placed in particular places, marked with a number correspond-
ing to the number of the distinction. However, Szklarek does not recommend the
memorization of the Sententiae in detail, especially by young students, as such
a task is quite difficult even for an experienced memorista.
The ninth lockbox, briefly explained by Szklarek, refers to questions (quaes-
tiones), by which he might mean the quaestio disputata, which was a formal
exercise in which a thesis chosen by the teacher was recited and the students
raised objections to it, or the practice of commenting through questions (per
126
Peter Lombard, Magistri Petri Lombardi Parisiensis episcopi Sententiae in IV libris distinctae, ed.
Ignatius Brady, Spicilegium Bonaventurianum, 4–5, (Grottaferrata: Ad Claras Aquas, 1971–1981).
127
Michał of Wrocław (Vratislaviensis), Epithoma conclusionum theologicalium: pro introductione
in quatuor libros sententiarum magistri Petri Lombardi… (Cracow: Jan Haller, [1521]). See: Estr. 33,
357.
Rafał Wójcik
modum quaestionis).128 The rules of memorization are the same as those for the
Sententiae.
The tenth lockbox discusses the memorization of numbers. The main task is to
aid in remembering the number of a concrete causa, chapter or quaestio. Numbers
can be remembered in four ways, according to Szklarek. Firstly, following the
model of real alphabet (alphabetum reale), one can create a series of real numbers
using objects as symbols that resemble the form of a given number (1 is symbolized
by a cane; 2 by the neck of a swan, etc.) Bigger numbers can be formed by placing
two different real numbers close to each other (e.g. a cane and a swan give 12). The
second method is to arrange the letters from the real alphabet as numbers. In this
case, numbers are symbolized by letters, as in the case presented by Szklarek: the
image of a ladle (sypień) stands for 15, because the letter P suggested by the spoon
is the fifteenth letter of the alphabet. The third method involves using personal
letters and is similar to the previous method. A number is indicated by the image
of a person, representing a letter of the alphabet: Peter will be 15, because P is the
fifteenth letter of the alphabet. Szklarek here employs the term vigena (group of
twenty). If Peter is in the first vigena he stands for 15; if he is in the second, he
stands for 35 (the first vigena, i.e. 20 numbers + the next 15 of the second vigena),
etc. According to Szklarek, this method is particularly helpful for remembering
the Decretum, because it includes many distinctions, titles, and questions. The
fourth way of memorizing deals with remembering a large amount of numbers, 99
such as designating a quotation by the number of the book, chapter and verse,
as in the case of the Bible. Szklarek uses the example of the section De casu et
fortuna (2, 3, 9) from the Decretum. The methods mentioned above can also be
combined: a personal number can be employed to denote which book is referred to
(e.g. Bartholomew signifies the second book, because B is the second letter of the
alphabet). This Bartholomew should be imagined in one of the possible actions,
such as bending down, which would signify the number of the treatise — that is,
three (bending is action number 3). If we want to remember the number of the
chapter as well, we must place the figurative number, such as a club (for number 9)
into the hand of Bartholomew, who is bending down, to give us the ninth chapter.
In this way we know that the reference is to De casu et fortuna, which is found in
the second book, third treatise and ninth chapter of the Decretum Gratiani.
The eleventh and twelfth lockboxes, although separately treated by Szklarek,
discuss the same issue — that is, remembering the names of the Doctors of the
Church (11th lockbox) and the Evangelists (12th lockbox). The names can be col-
located in the memory in two ways. The first, and easier, recommends collocating
128
On the medieval quaestio, see Olga Weijers, La ‘ disputatio’ à la Faculté des arts de Paris (1200–1350
environ) (Turnhout: Brepols, 1995). On the history of this practice, see Brian Lawn, The Rise and Decline
of Scholastic Quaestio Disputata, with Special Emphasis on its Use in the Teaching of Medicine and Science
(Leiden: Brill, 1993).
Augustine with a known man called by this name. We should do the same with the
Evangelists (e.g. someone known as Matthew Evangelist). If we have no acquaint-
ances with such names we can use another method — the rule of the origin (regula
originis). We can then collocate a goose (auca) for the author of the Confessions, as
the first syllable hints at the name Augustine. It should be emphasized that both
the lockboxes of numbers and the lockboxes of names are only supplements to the
methods for remembering the contents of legal texts and the Sententiae.
The Opusculum de arte memorativa also contains an excerpt from the medical
works of Arnaldus de Villa Nova. Arnaldus was born in Villanueva in Catalonia
in around 1250, and his life coincided with the period of activity of another
great Catalonian, Ramon Llull. Arnaldus was a professor in Barcelona, Paris,
and Montpellier, and one of the most important physicians and alchemists in the
Middle Ages. He introduced an empirical trend in his lectures in Montpellier, an
important scholastic center on a par with Paris. Arnaldus was also an innovator
in obstetrics and reintroduced an awareness of the differing positions of the foetus
that had previously been known in Antiquity. He presented a synthesis of contem-
porary medicine in his Breviarium practicae a capite usque ad plantam pedis, a work
that seems quite original and takes a common-sense approach. Arnaldus promoted
the use of simple and natural medicines and was against remedies that contained
a large amount of medications that often neutralized each other. Although his
100 approach was by and large based on logic, he did recommend the use of amulets.
In addition to investigating nature, Arnaldus attacked the clergy for their abuses
and was thus often persecuted and accused of consorting with demons. He finally
found a protector in Pope Clemens V. He died in 1311 during a voyage to Avignon.
Arnaldus translated many medical works from Arabic into Latin and wrote
some treatises of his own. The collection Doctrina aphorismorum, which includes
recipes for remedies to improve one’s memory, was quite popular in the Middle
Ages. Apart from aphorisms, Arnaldus wrote the short treatise De bonitate memo-
riae.129 Both sources were available in Poland in the fifteenth century and authors
of artes memoriae also found them useful, including Matthaeolus Perusinus in De
memoria augenda.130 Szklarek also drew on them, explaining that he had shown
the recipes to men of medicine for their review before including them in his
treatise. In fact, the Observant altered only the selection of herbs in the recipes,
129
See in the Basel edition (1585): Arnaldus de Villa Nova, Opera omnia. Cum Nicolai Tavrelli medici
et philosophi in quosdam libros annotationibus: indice item copiosissimo. (Basileae: ex Officina Pernea per
Conradum Waldkirch, 1585). Aphorismi: 243–244, De bonitate memoriae: 837–838. The authenticity
of the De bonitate memoriae has been questioned: Arnaldus de Villa Nova, Opera medica omnia, Vol.
VI/2: Commentum in quasdam parabolas et alias aphorismorum series: Aphorismi particulares, Aphorismi
de memoria, Aphorismi extravagantes, ed. Juan A. Paniagua and Pedro Gil-Sotres (Barcelona: Universitat
de Barcelona, 1993), 374.
130
Carruthers, Book of Memory, 50.
Rafał Wójcik
which may have been due to their availability in Poland. He also divided the Ar-
naldus’s remarks by issue, in order to consider them step by step. In addition to the
above-mentioned works of Arnaldus, Szklarek relied on two other treatises. One
concerned the preparation of water and wine, while the other provides informa-
tion as to what helps and what ails the head, thus also pertaining to memory.131
The descriptions of the recommended medicines and herbs should be of interest
to those researching the art of memory, as the issue of pharmaceutical methods
for reinforcing the memory has not yet been considered in studies on the art of
memory. The part of the Opusculum containing Arnaldus’ recipes differs from the
main part, not only in terms of content, but also with respect to the composition
of the printed text, as it contains many abbreviations typical of medieval manu-
scripts. Szklarek also omitted the part about washing the legs, which, according
to him, was done brevitatis causa.132 It is possible that his contract with the printer
specified a concrete number of pages.
In sum, the Opusculum de arte memorativa is not a mystical text like that of
Llull or Bruno, but rather a typical late medieval treatise on the art of memory with
many details on the process of memorization. The only spiritual element in the
treatise is the reference to praising God. While Szklarek deals only with memory,
and does not include it within a wider framework of rhetoric, some humanistic
details can also be found in the Opusculum, such as the invocation to the Muse
Polyhymnia, the captatio benevolentiae, and the rhetoric at the beginning and end. 101
The text itself was probably written during Szklarek’s studies (1468–1474), which
coincided with the first wave of humanism at Cracow University. His coopera-
tion with Kasper Hochfeder, who printed for the university, seems to prove that
he maintained his contacts with the university. His quotations and mnemonic
aids in the Computus chirometralis provide an insight into his interest in other
fields of science beyond theology, thanks to his brother, Leonard of Dobczyce,
a well-known professor and astrologist at Cracow University.133 The presence of
vernacular examples can be connected to his practice of preaching, as Observant
Franciscans prayed in Polish for the laymen.134
With the exception of Arnaldus de Villa Nova there are no clear references to
sources. We can draw conclusions only on the basis of the content of the treatise.
131
De vinis. Fragment considering vinum ad memoriam reparandam: 592 of the Basel edition; De aquis
medicinalibus, ibid., 603–612; De conferentibus et nocentibus principalibus membris nostri corporis, ibid.,
613. The authorship of the first two is discussed by Lluís Cifuentes i Comamala, La ciència en català
a l’Edat Mitjana i el Renaixement [Science in Catalan from the Middle Ages to the Renaissance], 2nd rev.
ed., (Barcelona: Universitat de Barcelona, 2006), 243 and the authorship of the last piece was called into
question: Arnaldus de Villa Nova, Opera medica omnia, Vol. X/1, Regimen sanitatis ad regem Aragonum,
intr. P. Gil-Sotres et al., (Barcelona, Universitat de Barcelona, 1996), 69–70, 525–526.
132
F. c3.
133
See Friedberg, Rodzina Vitreatorów (cf. note 115).
134
Ianociana 2, 79.
With some reservations, the Opusculum can be connected with the anonymous
Ad Herennium, as are all other artes memoriae. Szklarek includes all of the typical
recommendations for the art of memory: the order, planning, and forming of the
mnemonic places, the creation of imagines agentes, and the memorization of words,
and he distinguishes between natural and artificial memory. Szklarek most likely
knew of several mnemonic treatises and methods. It is certain that he read Pub-
licius’ work, and he may have met Celtis and Murner in person. However, their arts
of memory differ from that of Szklarek. Perhaps he also knew the treatises of his
fellow Observants, although the texts of Stanisław Korzybski and Antoni of Ra-
domsko have not survived. It seems certain that the Opusculum de arte memorativa
was composed as a manual for Observant friars and students at Cracow University.
It was not copied directly from a single source, but rather adapted to a specific
Polish environment, as demonstrated by the use of Polish words, or, for example,
by the sermon on St. Stanislaus. The Opusculum was popular and thoroughly read
by scholars. Almost every copy that has survived contains marginal notes, some
written thirty or forty years after the date of publication. We also know of two
variant editions of the book, attesting to the fact that it was re-printed.
2.4. Modus reponendi sermones per artem memorativam

102
The last known Observant treatise, the Modus reponendi sermones per artem memo-
rativam, is the shortest treatise and very concisely explains the rules of the art
memory to be followed by Observant preachers during the preparation of their
sermons. It survives in the ms. 119 of the Kórnik Library135 of the Polish Academy
of Sciences, in the so-called Codex of Theophilus of Bydgoszcz (Theophilus de
Bidgostia), dating from around 1507.136 The manuscript copied by this Observant
friar is written in Latin with Polish glosses, with a small Gothic and humanistic
minuscule in various hands, the first of which is Theophilus of Bydgoszcz’s own. It
consists of 238 paper leaves, and just like the codex of Paweł of Łomża, in which
Paulinus’ treatise is preserved, it is small in format (155 x 100 mm).
It seems that, for the most part, the Modus is simply an excerpt from Szklarek’s
Opusculum. However, several rules or examples have been taken from another
source. Dependence on Szklarek’s treatise can easily be proven by the terms used
by the author of this excerpt (e.g. membrum divisionis; subdivisiones; the use of simi-
lar examples for the mnemonic places, such as a cemetery located near a church;
or the method of multiplication, although there are fewer examples than in the
135
I am grateful to Dr. Alicja Szulc, who drew my attention to this treatise.
136
For a description of the codex, see: Zathey, Katalog (cf. note 99), 305–319; mentioned in this treatise:
312. The codex was written around 1507: Kamil Kantak, Bernardyni polscy, Vol. 1 (1453–1572) (Lwów:
Nakładem Prowincji Polskiej OO. Bernardynów, 1933), 289–293.
Rafał Wójcik
Opusculum). The Modus reponendi sermones is entirely conventional and its most
interesting feature is the context within the codex,137 which witnesses to the fact
that Observant friars used ars memorativa while composing their sermons. On the
other hand, it should be emphasized that the Modus reponendi sermones also sur-
vived in another copy, kept in the Russian National Library in St. Petersburg (ms.
Lat. Q III 86) together with other mnemonic texts: Circa artem tria principaliter
attendas and Opusculum pulcrum.138
2.5. The influence of the Observants’ ars memorativa on different

branches of medieval culture in Poland
The case of the Polish Observants is unique not only because of their interest in
the classical forms of the art of memory and its adaptations for use by Franciscan
preachers, but also because of the extraordinary influence of ars memorativa on
the different areas of cultural and religious activity among the Observants, such
as songs, versified catalogs of the emperors, popes and Polish kings, the image of
the Corona Beatissime Virginis Marie from Wrocław, and other images housed in
Observant churches that aided meditation.
Just as in other theoretical mnemonic texts, the alphabet plays an important
part in the arrangement of mnemonic places in the works of Szklarek and Pauli- 103
nus.139 The alphabet and acrostics were similarly used by the Observant Władysław
of Gielniów, the most prominent Polish poet of the Late Middle Ages. The fact
that so many of his works — for example the Iesus Cristus Maria Ladislaus —
include typical acrostics, has been instrumental in identifying Władysław as the
author of the poems. He was also fond of the form of the abecedary and wrote
a versified commentary to the Song of Songs, most likely aimed at students of
the school attached to the priory in Cracow.140 Because of the poetic form guided
by the alphabetical order of the series of poems on popes, emperors and kings,
Wiesław Wydra initially attributed the authorship of this series to Władysław of
137
See the introduction to the edition of Modus reponendi sermones in this volume.
138
These texts have not been examined yet. Cf. Paul Oskar Kristeller, Iter Italicum, cum aliis itineribus,
(London-Leiden: Warburg Institute-Brill, 1990), Vol. 5., 187 and p. 301 below.
139
On the versified catalogs see Rafał Wójcik, “The Circle of Franciscan Art of Memory in Poland.
On Five Versified, Mnemonic Catalogues of Popes, Emperors and Polish Kings from the Turn of the
15th and 16th Century,” in The Charm of the List: From the Sumerians to Computerised Data Processing,
ed. Lucie Doležalová (Newcastle upon Tyne: Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2009), 127–138; a short
part of this chapter is adapted from this article.
140
Rafał Wójcik, “Władysława z Gielniowa komentarz do „Pieśni nad pieśniami” (Władysław of
Gielniów’s commentary on the Song of Songs), in “Cantando cum citharista”. W pięćsetlecie śmierci
Władysława z Gielniowa (Cantando cum citharista. For the 500th anniversary of the death of Władysław
of Gielniów) ed. R. Mazurkiewicz (Warsaw: Instytut Badań Literackich PAN, 2006), 79–92.
Gielniów.141 Later, however, he withdrew this assumption, suggesting that they

had not been composed by him, although they had originated within the circle
of his followers.142 It is worth noting here that a versified rosary with the incipit
Angelus ad Virginem missus dum intravit…, which originated within the circle of
the Observants, also contains a form of abecedary structure. Abecedary lists were
often employed not only in Observant Franciscan poetry, but also in prayers. Ga-
briel Luśnia, for example, a Franciscan custos in Bydgoszcz (c. 1510–1571), would
begin the daily routine of the community “Reminiscaris, Benedicta, with a rosary
of twelve stars in alphabetical order listing the names of the Blessed Virgin Mary,
and also a grand rosary with similar names and prayers.”143 Abecedary forms seem
to have been widespread among the Observants, which explains their popularity
in mnemonic treatises, too.
All these parallels seem to suggest a close connection between alphabetical
or acrostic poems and the popularity of the art of memory in Observant circles.
Alphabetical order, which is so important to the art, is also a characteristic of
the literary versified works of Władysław of Gielniów and the friars around him.
Importantly, Władysław was a pupil of Jan Szklarek, who is sometimes considered
the poet’s spiritual master. Obviously, one of the subjects that Szklarek may have
taught was the art of memory. The connections between the art of memory and the
Observants’ alphabetical poems and texts clearly seems to be more than accidental.
104 The connection between Observant Franciscan spirituality and the art of
memory is further corroborated by the Corona Beatissime Virginis Marie, a large
(5 × 3.4 m) image painted in distemper on wood in the Observant Franciscan
church in Wrocław (currently held in the National Museum in Warsaw). The Vir-
gin Mary and Child are surrounded by eight friars (four on her right and four on
her left) holding rosaries and banderoles with the texts of the Pater Noster and the
Ave Maria. Two angels hold a large crown above Mary’s head, painted with forty-
nine medallions in seven rows and filled with figurative scenes. 144 The images are
provided with titles on the upper part of the medallions in the following order:145
1. Annunciatio, Visitatio, Nativitas Christi, Magorum adoratio, Presentatio, In-
ventio Christi, Assumptio Marie
2. Circumcisio, Sudoris sanguinosi eff usio, Flagellatio, Coronatio, Vestium extinc-
tio, Crucifixio, Lateris apercio
141
Wydra, Z pogranicza poezji (cf. note 75), 199–201.
142
Wiesław Wydra, Władysław z Gielniowa (cf. note 74), 90–96.
143
Kamil Kantak, Bernardyni polscy, Vol. 1: 1453–1572 (Lwów: Nakładem Prowincji Polskiej OO.
Bernardynów, 1933), 84.
144
Katarzyna Zalewska, Modlitwa i obraz. Średniowieczna ikonografia różańcowa (Prayer and the image.
The medieval iconography of the rosary) (Warsaw: Wydawnictwa Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego, 1999),
75–104.
145
Zalewska, Modlitwa (cf. note 144), 75.
Rafał Wójcik
3. Angelorum, Apostolorum, Martirum, Pontificorum, Virginum, Viduarum,

Omnium Sanctorum
4. Superbia, Invidia, Ira, Accidia, Luxuria, Gula, Avaritia
5. Humilitas, Caritas proximi, Pacientia, Caritas Dei, Castitas, Temperantia,
Paupertas
6. Timor domini, Pyetas, Sciencia, Fortitudo, Consilium, Intellectus, Sapiencia
7. Clericorum, Secularium, Religiosorum, Necessitatorum, Peccatorum, Defunc-
torum
Above the crown there is a white banner with the inscription: Prima stella, Secunda
stella, Tertia stella, Quarta stella, Quinta stella, Sexta stella, Septima stella.
Although there were several kinds of rosaries with different numbers of prayers,
the most popular among Observant Franciscans was the one with sixty-three Ave
Marias. The legend reads that St. Bernardine prayed this rosary before the image of
Mary on the Porta Camollia in Siena.146 The song Kto chce Pannie Maryjej służyć…
(Who wants to serve the Virgin Mary…) from the fifteenth century encourages the
praying of the corona (i.e. the rosary) composed of sixty-three Zdrowaś Maria
(Ave Marias), because that is how many years the Virgin Mary lived on Earth
(bo tyle lat Panna miała, póki na tym świecie z ludźmi mieszkała). The fact that St.
Bernardine himself prayed the corona was a good reason for all believers to do the
same. This poem was undeniably written in the environment of the Observant 105
Franciscans. The connections between the corona Mariae and ars memorativa have
not yet been explored in depth, and it is not possible to investigate them properly
in the present study. However, it seems that there are too many similarities to
allow such connections to be disregarded: the order of places in the cases of ars
memorativa and the corona; the Bernardines, who used both the art of memory
and the corona prayer in Siena; Jan Szklarek and his influence on the Franciscans
at the turn of the sixteenth century; the poetic circle of Władysław of Gielniów;
and the extraordinary popularity of ars memorativa among Observant Franciscans
at this time. The connections between the art of memory and meditation (as the
corona is obviously a type of meditation) have already been considered,147 but to my
knowledge the question of the corona Mariae and its dependence on ars memorativa
has not yet been investigated in detail.
“Talking images,” as Marek Prejs calls the danse macabre and other kinds of
religious imagery in Observant Franciscan churches in the seventeenth and early
146
Stephan Beissel, Geschichte der Verehrung Marias in Deutschland im 16. und 17. Jahrhundert.
(Freiburg im Br.: Herder, 1910), 40; Zalewska, Modlitwa (cf. note 144), 78.
147
On the relationship between the art of memory and meditation before 1200, see especially: Mary
Carruthers, The Craft of Thought: Meditation, Rhetoric and the Making of Images, 400–1200. (Cam-
bridge: CUP, 2006); on the relationship between the art of memory, meditation and preaching in
Central Europe, see Kiss, “Memory Machine”.
eighteenth centuries,148 also had a long tradition in Poland and were still in use at
a time when the classical art of memory had less significance and was only part of
rhetoric teaching in schools. These talking images — pictures combining picto-
rial and textual elements — were very popular in Observant Franciscan circles
right up until the twentieth century. The most important, as a testimony of the
oral and mnemonic tradition, are the images in the Church of St Anna in Cracow
(second half of the seventeenth century); the church in the village of Święta Anna
near Częstochowa; the church in Kalwaria Zebrzydowska (eighteenth century);
the Observant Franciscan church in the Czerniaków district of Warsaw; and the
church in Kalwaria Pacławska (from the twentieth century).149 All these pictures
contain two fields: a part of the image and a part of the text provide a mutual
commentary. Their purpose seems obvious — to engage the viewer in meditation
on life, death, and God; and to encourage consideration of the dance of death,
where the terrible images should move the souls of sinners. A further indication of
the influence of the art of memory is that Jan Szklarek’s method was used not only
in the educational practices of the Observants and in their preaching, but also in
the composition of Szklarek’s Summula aurea brevissima, a manual for Observant
novices and their superiors. In summary, among Polish Observants the art of
memory played a significant role not only in its classical form, but also as a source
of inspiration for other kinds of activities, such as writing poetry, reciting prayers
106 — especially the corona Mariae — teaching novices, and preaching and instructing
through sermons composed according to the art and images in the churches, all of
which we can now analyze in terms of the relationships between image and text,
orality and literacy that have been present right up until the twentieth century.
In sum, on the one hand, one could say that the classical art of memory at
Cracow University depended strictly on the Western mnemonic treatises and lec-
tures given by foreign teachers. On the other hand, however, a unique and fas-
cinating aspect of Polish memory culture is that it was chiefly connected to the
Observant Order from the beginning of its presence in Poland until the Baroque
period. The Polish Observants created and modernized the art of memory; it was
vivid and was often used during preaching and learning, during the composition
148
Marek Prejs, Oralność i mnemonika. Późny barok w kulturze polskiej [Orality and mnemonics: The
Late Baroque in Polish culture] (Warsaw: Wydawnictwa Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego, 2009), 35–88
(part 1: Oralizacja sztuk plastycznych [The oralization of the visual arts]).
149
Prejs, Oralność (cf. note 148), 39–51. Prejs does not connect the cited images to the earlier art of
memory in the Franciscan Order. It seems that he either does not know of the long tradition of ars
memorativa in this convent, or simply does not remark on it. Prejs’ book is unique because it is the
first attempt (among Polish researchers) to connect the late images and emblemata to the oral and
mnemonic tradition. For some critical remarks cf. Rafał Wójcik, “Uwagi na marginesie książki Marka
Prejsa Oralność i mnemonika. Późny barok w kulturze polskiej (Warsaw: Wydawnictwa Uniwersytetu
Warszawskiego, 2009)” [Notes on the margins of Marek Prejs’s book Orality and mnemonics], Termi-
nus. Półrocznik Poświęcony Tradycji Antycznej w Kulturze Polskiej 1 (13) (2011): 127–142.
Rafał Wójcik
of poems, and while creating pictures for the congregation. This aspect of the
ars memorativa in Poland deserves particular emphasis. It is also worth adding
that the tradition of the art of memory and its various influences can also be
identified later, in Jan Amos Comenius’s new pedagogy and Johann Buno’s art of
memory, as well as in nineteenth-century mnemonic systems known throughout
Europe, such as those created by Antoni Jaźwiński, Józef Bem, Napoleon Feliks
Żaba, Stanisław Zarański, Aleksander Zdanowicz, Wincenty Dawid, Władysław
Iżycki and Bartłomiej “Major” Beniowski.150 There are many aspects of “mnemonic
culture” in Poland that have still not been widely examined, such as mnemonic
verses, mnemonic poems, popular mnemotechnics, or the relationships between
ars memorativa and art or literature in medieval Poland.
107
150
See Piotr Molenda, Méthode mnémonique polonaise. Antoni Jaźwiński (1789–1870) i jego sztuka
pamięci, (Poznań, Wydawnictwo “Poznańskie Studia Polonistyczne”, 2013).
Farkas Gábor Kiss
The art of memory in Hungary at the turn

of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries
1.1. The earliest art of memory in Hungary

(Francesc Eiximenis)
Compared to Bohemia and Poland, Hungary can boast of far fewer historical
sources surviving from the Middle Ages. Defeat at the battle of Mohács in 1526
to the army of Suleyman II marked a turning point in the fate of the medieval
manuscripts of the Kingdom of Hungary. The documents that survived the Ot-
toman occupation were further decimated by the ongoing hostility between the
Reformed Churches and Catholicism, on the one hand, and on the other by the
Christian liberation campaign that swept through the country at the end of the
seventeenth century. The most important losses must have occurred in the central
and southern (probably the most developed) areas of the country, where Ottoman
religious institutions occupied the places of medieval monasteries and churches, 109
and the waves of the Reformation abandoned the remnants of medieval literacy.
This explains why the few remaining documents on the art of memory originate
in the northern part of the country (partly from present-day Slovakia), or survived
in libraries further abroad.
The earliest treatise on the art of memory in medieval Hungary survives in
a manuscript in the ELTE University Library of Budapest (cod. lat. 73.), which
contains the Modus predicandi of the Catalan preacher Francesc Eiximenis (featur-
ing an extensive ars memorativa) and a commented version of the Roseum memori-
ale of Peter of Rosenheim, a mnemonic summary of the Bible. The manuscript is
traditionally referred to as the “codex of János Aranyasi Gellértfi” in Hungarian
scholarship, based on the remarks of the scribe, Johannes Gerhardi de Araniasch,
who was a schoolmaster in Csütörtökhely (Spišský Štvrtok/Donnersmarkt, Slo-
vakia) in 1462, and who was active in several places (Levoča/Lőcse/Leutschau,
Spišská Nová Ves/Igló/Zipser Neudorf, Slovakia) in the Spiš region until at least
The art of memory in Hungary at the turn of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries
1473.1 However, only portions of the manuscript were copied by him (e.g., a treatise
on pestilence),2 while other texts were written by other scribes, even during the activ-
ity of Johannes Gerhardi (e.g. Thomas lector canonicus et vicarius in Scepus in 1470,
187r) or following it (the statutes of the synod of Esztergom from 1483; f. 82r–108v).
The manuscript in its present form was already bound before 1507 (cf. the remark
on the inside of the cover: Liber domini Johannis plebani Gilnitzensis obiit 1507, nunc
vero domini Christofori in leubitz plebani, pro nunc autem Thome de monte georgii 1515
in Capitulo Scepusiensi), although it might have been formed from several fascicles
between 1483 and 1507. It also seems plausible, based on the numerous local ec-
clesiastical dignitaries mentioned in the manuscript, that the book was part of the
library of the “Fraternity of twenty-four parish priests,” which was formed among
the parishes of the Spiš region and which had a common library in Levoča/Lőcse.3
The Modus predicandi contained in cod. lat. 73 belongs to the group of texts
written not by Johannes Gerhardi, but by another scribe. However, it was surely
used in the same context of the parish priests of Spiš. Historically, this region
had strong connections to the neighboring University of Cracow, which lay at
a distance of just 150 kilometers. The manuscript contains a note that mentions
Johannes (Jan) Dąbrówka (c. 1400–1472), who was rector of the University of
Cracow several times between 1446 and 1471.4 It is little surprise that, of the three
known manuscripts of the Modus predicandi, another survives in Cracow (Bibl.
110
1
The first description of the manuscript: János Csontosi, “Aranyasi Gellértfi János codexe 1462–1473-
ból” [The ms. of János Aranyasi Gellértfi from 1462–1473], Magyar Könyvszemle 4 (1879): 69–83. For
a modern description, see Péter Tóth, Catalogus codicum latinorum medii aevi Bibliothecae Universitatis
Budapestinensis (Budapest: Digital edition, 2008). (http://www.manuscripta-mediaevalia.de/hs/
kataloge/Budapest.pdf, accessed on 7.8.2014.) There has been some confusion concerning the arts of
preaching contained in this manuscript, as the fifteenth-century scribe misunderstood a quotation of
Eiximenis (“Doctor eciam quidam nostri temporis dans formam predicandi…”) and added a break
in the middle of the text “Nunc sequitur alia forma predicandi cuius eximii doctoris”. Th is mistake
was followed by earlier catalogs: Ladislaus Mezey, Codices Latini medii aevi Bibliothecae Universitatis
Budapestinensis (Budapest: Akadémiai, 1961), 124–129; Július Sopko, Stredoveké latinské kódexy
slovenskej proveniencie v Mad’arsku a v Rumunsku, [Medieval Latin manuscripts of Slovakian provenance
in Hungary and Romania] (Martin: Matica Slovenská, 1982), 108–109.
2
See Ottó Gecser, “Perceptions of Pestilence in the Times of King Matthias: The Plague Tract
Compiled by János Gellértfi of Aranyas,” in Mathias rex: 1458–2008. Hungary at the Dawn of the
Renaissance (Budapest: ELTE, 2013), 1–16. http://renaissance.elte.hu/?page_id=369, accessed on
10.10.2014.
3
József Hradszky, A XXIV királyi magyar plébános testvérülete és a reformáció a Szepességben [The
fraternity of the 24 Hungarian royal parish priests and the Reformation in Spiš] (Miskolc: Private
edition, 1895), 119–122.
4
Wisłocki, Acta rectoralia, Vol. 1., 250; Marian Zwiercan, Komentarz Jana z Dąbrówki do Kroniki
Mistrza Wincentego zwanego Kadłubkiem [The commentary of Jan of Dąbrówka to the Chronicle of
Vincent Kadłubek] (Wrocław: Zakład Narodowy im. Ossolińskich, 1969); Zdzisław Pietrzyk, Poczet
rektorów Uniwersytetu Jagiellońskiego 1400–2000 [The rectors of the University of Cracow, 1400–2000]
(Cracow: Jagellonia, 2000), 73–74.
Farkas Gábor Kiss
Jag. 471, ff. 466–487).5 Both the manuscript in Cracow and the one in Budapest
are miscellanies targeted towards friars and priests, who preach often and thus
may have to rely on the aid of an ars praedicandi.
Francesc Eiximenis describes the technique of the art of memory within his
treatise on the art of preaching.6 After presenting an Aristotelian type of accessus
to the entire genre of preaching, and discussing its causa finalis (the glory of God),
its causa efficiens (the preacher and his moral character), and its causa formalis (the
rhetoric of the preaching), Eiximenis arrives at the causa materialis, which concerns
the order of the sermon.7 Order in the text is maintained by the divisions of the
material and by memory, as preaching is an oral activity that has to be performed
to the public by heart. Eiximenis considers the Ciceronian method of memorizing
to be too complicated, thus it is not followed by modern scholars (ideo modum istum
non approbant moderni huius temporis).8 The central notion in his art of memory is
order, and the association of images is of only minor importance: indeed, he hardly
uses the classical terminology of creating images and places. He starts by drawing
a line between the memorization of names and things: a single symbolic object suf-
fices to keep in mind stories and events (res, as, e.g., the passion of Christ), while it
is more difficult to recall the proper names of several figures (e.g., the apostles). He
suggests ordering the figures to be remembered along a line or a road, with each
of the apostles symbolically present along the road in the form of their traditional
attributes (e.g. Peter by a rock: petra) or by puns on their names (a lamb, agnus, 111
signifying Andrew; or two figures kissing to mean peace, pax, for Paul). The order
of the memorized elements can be maintained by creating a fixed matrix (ordo loco-
rum tibi notissimus), which can be used later for all the various sequences that are to
be memorized. Eiximenis had witnessed how an acquaintance of his remembered
the number of things and the position of an object in a series by placing it on an
imaginary line between the Earth and the sky: Earth meant number one, the Sun
5
Catalogus codicum manuscriptorum medii aevi Latinorum qui in Bibliotheca Jagellonica Cracoviae
asservantur, ed. Maria Kowalczyk et al., (Wrocław: Ossolineum, 1984), Vol. 3., 61–64 and Wójcik,
Opusculum, 58–59.
6
Edited by P. Martí de Barcelona, “L’Ars praedicandi de Francesc Eiximenis,” in Homenatge a Antoni
Rubió i Lluch (Barcelona: Atenas A.G., 1936), Vol. 2, 301–340, relying on all three known manuscripts.
An English translation of this part of the treatise can be found in Carruthers and Ziolkowski, eds.,
Medieval Craft of Memory, 189–204. Kimberly Rivers analyzed this part of the treatise in detail in
Rivers, Preaching the Memory, 161–179. On the life and works of Eiximenis, see Francesc Eiximenis,
Psalterium alias Laudatorium Papae Benedicto XIII dedicatum. Three cycles of contemplative prayers by
a Valencian Franciscan, ed. Curt J. Wittlin (Toronto: Pontifical Institute of Mediaeval Studies, 1988),
1–15; and Francesc Eiximenis, An Anthology, intr., sel. Xavier Renedo, David Guixeras, trans. Robert
D. Hughes (Barcelona-Woodbridge: Barcino/Tamesis, 2008).
7
Thus the entire treatise by Eiximenis is an explanation of the concept of preaching in a fourfold
Aristotelian system of accessus: see Alastair J. Minnis, Medieval Th eory of Authorship (Aldershot:
Wildwood House, 1988), 28–29.
8
Martí, “L’Ars praedicandi,” (cf. note 6), 329.
and the Moon two, the three elements (air, fire, water) three, etc.9 A virtual map
might also help to retain the order of things in the memory: if the elements of a ser-
mon are attached to an imaginary route from Rome to Santiago de Compostela,
the cities (Florence, Genoa, Avignon, Barcelona, Zaragoza, Toledo) between the
two ends of the journey imprint a fixed order in our memory.10 Indeed, not only
geographical space but the entire cosmos can be used as a place of memory, with
the well-memorized scheme of the heavenly spheres and the Earth in the center,
and associations can be created with each and every constitutive element of a given
space. Church altars offer a particularly good basis for connecting abstract notions
to the cult of saints or the Virgin Mary (e.g. the altar of St John might hint at
meditation, an image of the Virgin Mary on an altar might evoke purity); while the
human body can easily symbolize the various strata of society (feet = peasants, legs =
burghers, arms = nobles, tongue = lawyers, eyes = scholars, head = king), following
the ancient tradition of an organic analogy of the body politic.
In the tradition of Hugh of St Victor, Eiximenis mentions the use of a book as
a palace of memory. The situation of the sentences and phrases, especially if marked
with a sign, on a manuscript page leaves a strong imprint on the memory that can
later be used to recall thoughts or entire sentences.11 Eiximenis asks those who tran-
scribe his treatises and sermons to follow his custom and copy the marginal lines and
other remarks that he leaves on the pages. The written page of a book was continu-
112 ously used as a locus throughout the entire later Middle Ages: numerous marginal
lines and nota bene signs bear witness to the custom in manuscripts and early prints.
Martin Luther had a similar attachment to his personal copy of the Psalter, and
when somebody wanted to give him a new copy rather than his old, dilapidated
book, he justified his preference for the worn Psalter saying: “The power of the places
of memory is immense, and I have already stirred up my memory places in the new
translation of the Bible — so a new Psalter would disturb my memory places.”12
9
Similar mnemonic aids to preaching can be found in the arts of memory from the time of Alain
de Lille, at least. His art of preaching starts with the image of Jacob’s ladder, where the first step is
confession, etc. PL 210, col. 109–198, here 111. On the manuscript tradition of this Ars praedicandi,
see Alain de Lille, Textes inédits, ed. Marie-Thérèse d’Alverny (Paris: Vrin, 1965), 109–118. See also
John B. Friedman, “Les images mnémotechniques dans le manuscrite de l’époque gothique,” in Jeux
de memoire. Aspects de la mnémotechnie médiévale, ed. Bruno Roy, Paul Zumthor (Montréal-Paris: Vrin,
1985), 169–184, here 172.
10
The idea of a pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela as a mnemonic route reoccurs in an anonymous
fifteenth-century art of memory (inc. Nunc igitur ut ait Tullius due sunt memorie): Heimann-Seelbach,
Ars und scientia, 99–101.
11
Martí, “L’Ars praedicandi,” (cf. note 6) 30.
12
Martin Luther, Tischreden, Bd. 4., D. Martin Luthers Werke. Kritische Gesamtausgabe, WA TR
4 (Weimar: Böhlau, 1917), Vol. 4, 323. n. 4401/4481. “Cum quidam eius Psalterium vetustum et
dilaceratum eriperet, et novum retaliare vellet, noluit, seque huic assuetum dixit: Nam localis memoria
multum valet, et ego – dixit – meam memoriam localem in bibliae translatione nova corrupi, ita ut
illam localem memoriam turbaverim.”
Farkas Gábor Kiss
1.2. Biblical mnemonics (Peter of Rosenheim and other

mnemonic verses)
Besides the Modus predicandi of Eiximenis, the manuscript also contains a text
on biblical mnemonic techniques. The Roseum memoriale of Peter of Rosenheim
(Petrus de Rosenheim, 1380–1433),13 prior of Melk and reformer of the Ben-
edictine monasteries in Bavaria, partially survives in cod. lat. 73. It contains the
mnemonic verses of Peter of Rosenheim on the New Testament, from the Gospel
of Matthew to the Book of Revelations, with an extensive commentary (293r–
355v). The connection between this manuscript and Cracow are further enhanced
by the inclusion of a mnemonic poem by Rosenheim: as the contemporary Polish
historian Jan Długosz noted, Tomasz Strzempiński, bishop of Cracow, memorized
the entire work of Peter of Rosenheim by heart at around this time.14
In the Roseum memoriale, a rhyming couplet (distich) summarizes the content
of each chapter of the Bible, but in a subtle manner: the first letter of the hexa-
metric line of the distich defines the number of the chapter in the given book of
the Bible on the basis of the letter’s position in the alphabet. Peter of Rosenheim
reckons with an alphabet of twenty letters. Thus, if the number of chapters exceeds
twenty, the starting letter of the second word in the same line will be S (for secun-
dus); if it is over forty it will be T (for tertius), and if is over sixty, it will change to
Q (for quartus). Often, the third word of the hexameter contains a capital letter 113
(index volumnalis), which hints at the book of the Bible to which that particular
distich belongs, in order to avoid confusion between the same chapters in different
books of the Bible. These capital letters, which are followed by commas, hint at
proper names or the starting letters of keywords. However, these capital letters and
13
On Peter of Rosenheim, see Franz Xaver Thoma, “Petrus von Rosenheim OSB, Ein Beitrag zur
Melker Reformbewegung,” Studien und Mitteilungen zu der Geschichte des Benediktiner-ordens und seiner
Zweige 45 [NF. 14] (1927): 94–223; Hellmut Rosenfeld, “Peter von Rosenheim,” in Verfasserlexikon,
Vol. 7, col. 518–521; Meta Niederkorn-Bruck, “Die Melker Reform im Spiegelbild der Visitationen,”
Mitteilungen des Österreichisches Instituts für Geschichtsforschung, Ergänzungsband 30 (1994): 61–62,
161–174 (on the monastic culture in Melk); and Sabine Tiedje, “The Roseum memoriale divinorum
Eloquiorum Petri de Rosenheim: A Bible Summary from the Fifteenth Century,” in Retelling the Bible:
Literary, Historical, and Social Contexts, ed. Lucie Doležalová and Tamás Visi (Frankfurt am Main:
Peter Lang, 2011), 335–353. The distichs of Peter of Rosenheim on the Gospels were later reused by
Georg Simler in the pictorial editions of the Rationarium evangelistarum from 1502 onwards. See Thoma,
“Petrus von Rosenheim,” 204–208; Blockbücher des Mittelalters. Bilderfolgen als Lektüre (Mainz: Guten-
berg Gesellschaft, 1991), 174–176; and Jean Michel Massing, “From Manuscript to Engravings. Late
Medieval Mnemonic Bibles,” in Ars memorativa. Zur kulturgeschichtlichen Bedeutung der Gedächtniskunst
1400–1750, ed. Jörg Jochen Berns, Wolfgang Neuber (Tübingen: Niemeyer, 1993), 106–108.
14
The incipit of the commentary is Quoniam ordine beatus Matheus inter evangelistas computatur. The
handwriting is not that of Johannes Gerhardi de Araniasch. On Strzempiński and Rosenheim, see above,
p. 65.
commas, which give a certain vertical coherence to the poem, tend to disappear
from later manuscript copies and printed editions of the work.15
The Roseum memoriale (or, in its later editions, the Mnemosinon Bibliorum
Memoriale) was widely diff used both in manuscript and printed versions in the
fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. Another manuscript version of it can be found
among the codices of the medieval library of the Pressburg Chapter (Pozsony/
Bratislava, SK).16 The manuscript of the Capitulum Posoniense certainly originates
in Hungary. Besides the biblical mnemonics of Peter of Rosenheim (again with
marginal notes), it contains the Chronicon Posoniense and some letters of King Mat-
thias. It was written around 1466–1467. The New Testament part of the mnemonic
poem by Peter of Rosenheim was published twice in Hungary during the sixteenth
century, on both occasions by Johann Honter, a printer and educator in the city
of Braşov (Brassó, Kronstadt, Romania). Honter followed the earlier sixteenth-
century editions of the poem, appended to many printed New Testaments, thus
the question remains whether his students and readers were aware of the meaning
of the capital letters within the lines of the poem (which he copied carefully from
his source), as he omitted the explanation to the poem, and the commas, too.17
15
The detailed and indispensable instructions on the usage of the poem (Canones LX ) by Conradus
Monoreus can be found in Petrus a Rosenheim, Mnemosinon Bibliorum Memoriale, a Conrado Boio
114 Monoreo editum (Viennae Austriae: Ioannes Singrenius, 1524), f. o1r–p2r. (used copy: OSZK, Ant.
7249)
16
Slovenský národný archív, Kapitulská knižnica, ms. 84. Július Sopko, Stredoveké latinské kódexy v
slovenských knižniciach [Medieval Latin manuscripts in Slovakian libraries] (Martin: Matica Slovenska,
1981), n. 86; Csapodi Csaba, Csapodiné Gárdonyi Klára, Bibliotheca Hungarica (Budapest: MTA, 1993),
Vol. 2, 155–156 (n. 2413.); Juraj Šedivý, Mittelalterliche Schriftkultur im Pressburger Kollegiatkapitel
(Bratislava: Chronos, 2007), 109–110. The Summarium Biblicum, a similar mnemonic aid for the
Bible, attributed to Alexander de Villa Dei, was copied after the text of the Bible by Johannes Mayer
in Kremnitz (Körmöcbánya, Kremnica, Slovakia) in 1478, and is now in OSZK, cod. lat. 376. On the
Summarium, see Lucie Doležalová, “The Summarium Biblicum: A Biblical Tool Both Popular and
Obscure,” in: Form and Function in the Late Medieval Bible, ed. Eyal Poleg and Laura Light, (Leiden:
Brill, 2013), 163–184. Printed copies of the Roseum memoriale can be found in the University Library of
Bratislava (c. 1483); see Imrich Kotvan, Inkunábuly na Slovensku [Incunable prints in Slovakia] (Martin:
Matica Slovenská, 1979), n. 956, from the library of the Franciscans of Bratislava/Pozsony/Pressburg,
and in the library of the bishopric of Nitra (Nürnberg: Creussner, 1493; Inc. 12). Both libraries trace
their origins back to the sixteenth century. The three surviving copies in Hungarian libraries (Cologne,
c. 1483: Hungarian National Library Inc. 790; Nürnberg: Creussner, 1493: Budapest, Central Seminary
Ic 31; Eger Libr. of the Archbishopric G2 V. 141) are of diverse origins. The Ars dicendi, edited in
Cologne by Johann Koelhoff in 1484 (Liber novus Rhetorice vocatus ars dicendi sive perorandi, GW
2563) contains a long chapter on the art of memory (f. J5r–K4r) and survives in Kežmarok (Késmárk/
Käsemarkt, Slovakia), Lyceálna knižnica, Inc. 5.
17
Disticha Novi Testamenti materiam et ordinem capitulorum cuiusque libri per literas initiales indicantia,
(Braşov: Honter, 1541) (Régi Magyarországi Nyomtatványok [Old Hungarian prints] 45); id., ibid.,
1545, (Régi Magyarországi Nyomtatványok [Old Hungarian prints] 60). The first edition survives in
a unique copy in Sighişoara (Segesvár, Schäßburg, Romania), the second in five copies in Transylvania
and Hungary.
Farkas Gábor Kiss
The popularity of sophisticated mnemonic verses remained unchallenged dur-

ing the sixteenth century, especially outside Italy, where the Doctrinale, the well-
known Latin metric grammar of Alexander de Villa Dei, retained its prominent
place in education far longer than it did south of the Alps. Valentine Eck, a Ger-
man humanist from Lindau (Bavaria), after studying in Leipzig and Cracow,
became a schoolmaster in the town of Bardejov (Bartfeld, Bártfa, Slovakia), and
for the sake of his students published several schoolbooks in Cracow that were
used in his classes in both Cracow (from 1515) and Bardejov (from 1517). In his
De arte uersificandi opusculum, a textbook on the most important poetic meters,
first published in Cracow in 1515,18 he elaborated several mnemonic poems to
help students memorize the length of vowels and syllables. For example, he sum-
marized the unpoetic rules on the length of vowels in a six-line poem in honor of
the Virgin Mary:
Aspice moestorum lachrymas sanctissima nympha

Et da nos superos tangere virgo lares.
Iucundam facias regni nos visere sedem,
Imperium magni laetificare dei.
O dea, mundanam gentem seruato benigne,
Ut cernat trini gaudia vera dei.19
115
Thus, the vowel a is usually long before the consonants m, l, s, n; the vowel e is long
before d, n, s, t, v, l, etc. This poem is followed by another on the length of vowels
inside words.20 The popularity of such verses for memorizing the rules of gram-
mar remained unchallenged until at least the first half of the twentieth century
in Hungary, as well as in other European countries, and the presence of similar
18
See Jacqueline Glomski, Patronage and Humanist Literature in the Age of the Jagiellons. Court and
Career in the Writings of Rudolf Agricola Junior, Valentin Eck and Leonard Cox, (Toronto: University of
Toronto Press, 2007), 203.
19
“Behold, holy nymph, the tears of the grieving / and let us reach our heavenly fatherland. / Let us
see the delightful see of the kingdom / and make happy the empire of the great God. / O, Goddess, take
care benignly of the people of the world / so that they would recognise the true joys of the threefold
God.”
20
Valentinus Eckius, De versificationis arte opusculum (Cracow: Vietor, 1515), 16r. Two later editions
(1521, 1539) witness that Valentine Eck was continuously using his textbook in education. For an
analysis, see Daniel Škoviera, “Das humanistische Lehrbuch De versificationis arte opusculum von
Valentinus Ecchius Lindaviensis,” Graecolatina et Orientalia 17–18 (1985–86): 52. On late medieval ver-
sus memoriales, see Dorothea Klein, “Zur Praxis des Lateinunterrichts: Versus memoriales in lateinisch-
deutschen Vokabularen des späten Mittelalters,” in Latein und Volkssprache im deutschen Mittelalter
1100–1500. Regensburger Colloquium. 1988, eds. Nikolaus Henkel and Nigel F. Palmer (Tübingen:
Niemeyer, 1992), 337–350.
metric mnemonic verses, such as the cisioianus, has been attested in Hungarian
translation, as well, from at least the 1460s.21
1.3. Ars et modus vitae contemplativae, 1473
As pointed out in the introduction, the fifteenth century witnessed an unprec-

edented renewal of interest in classical mnemonics. The first treatise resulting from
the mnemonic fashion of the fifteenth century, and connected to Hungary, can
be found in an art of preaching, just as in the case of Francesc Eiximenis. (Pl. 2.).
Gedeon Borsa has discovered that a 1473 incunabulum in the Széchényi Hungar-
ian National Library (Ars et modus vitae contemplativae, Inc. 1243.; GW 2672)
contains an unusual table with the names of animals and trades together with
notes in Hungarian on folios 15r–17r.22 The provenance of the volume was care-
fully reconstructed by Borsa from the manuscript notes in the book: it belonged
to a certain friar Gallus (9v: “frater Gallus de Liptowia”, probably a Franciscan)
in Slovenská Ľupča (Slowakisch Liptsch/Zólyomlipcse, Slovakia) in 1551, before
being incorporated into the library of the Franciscans of Gyöngyös, whence it
arrived to the Hungarian National Library. The inner front cover contains a six-
teenth century annotation, too, which can be connected to the tradition of the
116 pictorial letters:
Dimidium sperae speram cum principe romae

Postulat a te totius conditor orbis. (Walther, Carmina, 4504)
(The half of a sphere, a sphere, and the beginning/prince of Rome – this is what
the creator of the world asks from you.)
21
The critical edition of the two surviving versions of the late medieval Hungarian cisioianus can
be found in Középkori magyar verseink (Medieval Hungarian poetry), ed. Cyrill Horváth (Budapest:
MTA, 1921), 459–468 (Régi magyar költők tára I2.) The later tradition of the cisioianus in Hungary
is treated in detail by Gedeon Borsa, “A magyar csízió kialakulásának története,” [The evolution of
the Hungarian cisioianus], Az Országos Széchenyi Könyvtár Évkönyve 12 (1974–75): 265–347; and id.,
“A csízió kiadástörténete,” [Editions of the cisioianus], Az Országos Széchenyi Könyvtár Évkönyve 13
(1976–77): 307–378.
22
Gedeon Borsa, “Egy 1500 körüli latin-magyar szójegyzék,” [A Latin-Hungarian wordlist from
around 1500], Magyar Nyelv 50 (1954): 201–202. See also Andor Tarnai, “A magyar nyelvet írni kezdik”
Irodalmi gondolkodás a középkori Magyarországon [“Hungarian starts to be written” Literary thinking
in medieval Hungary], (Budapest: Akadémiai, 1984), 159; and István Mészáros, “Középkori hazai
iskoláskönyvek,” [Medieval schoolbooks in Hungary], Magyar könyvszemle 102 (1986): 129. The latter
suggests that the volume was used in school education, although the character of the texts contained in
this book indicates rather a practical handbook of preaching, which is also supported by the Franciscan
provenance of the volume. The other surviving copy of the book in present-day Hungary (Esztergom,
Library of the Archbishopric, S. l. a. I. 30) contains a few contemporary Slavonic notes, thus conceivably
it also originates from northern Hungary, or from the neighboring regions.
Farkas Gábor Kiss
This solution of this riddle is the word COR (heart), as it consists of a half-circle,
a circle, and the first letter of the word Rome. On the basis of the script it can be
stated with certainty that the Hungarian words must have been written in the
volume earlier, perhaps around 1500. The treatise itself appears between an art
of contemplation (Ars et modus vitae contemplativae, see below) and an art of
preaching. The presence of this Ciceronian art of memory in this context clearly
suggests that the text was primarily intended to aid preachers in spoken perfor-
mance and meditation.
Essentially, this art of memory closely follows the system of loci and imagines
expounded by the Rhetorica ad Herennium, and can be identified with a treatise
attributed to Magister Hainricus, which may have been written in around 1447.
Sabine Heimann-Seelbach calls this treatise a node between the earlier Italian
and later German treatises of ars memorativa because of its methodology.23 After
the usual differentiation between the natural and artificial memory, the author
attributes a quotation to St. Thomas Aquinas, according to which the memory is
nothing other than a book, and there exist several kinds of books:
Therefore it is obvious that our help for memory is nothing other than a book.
Furthermore, regarding this subject we should note that the “book” is mani-
fold. One type is the book of the laymen, as the writing (scriptura) on the walls
by which they recognize and remember their sins.24 Another sort is the book of 117
images, as the images in churches representing the sufferings of the martyrs.25
A further type, which is better than the previous two, is the book of the clerics,
in which they describe stories and the things that happened, which otherwise
cannot be remembered because of the instability of our natural memory. And
23
Heimann-Seelbach, Ars und scientia, 50–54, 254–269. See the edition of the text below, pp.
221–226.
24
The meaning of the word debita is unclear here. It probably occurs in the sense of the Lord’s
Prayer: dimitte nobis debita nostra (forgive us our trespasses), thus should be understood as “sins,” not as
“debts.” Unfortunately, the fifteenth-century German translation cannot help us at this point, because
it combines the first and the second types of books under one heading, but it seems to support the
spiritual, and not the financial interpretation of debita (“das erst ist der layen púch, da sy ynnen lesen als
das gemál in der kirchen, da sy bey erkennen vnd mercken ettliche geschick”; see Heimann-Seelbach,
Ars und scientia, 271). The text of the incunabulum (especially this introduction) is rather different from
the version that Heimann-Seelbach edited from the supposedly earliest manuscript version in Munich
BSB, clm. 4749 (Heimann-Seelbach, Ars und scientia, 260–265.), but the contents are essentially the
same. Interestingly, the text of the German translation in the same manuscript (published ibid.) seems
to bear a closer resemblance to the version of the incunabulum than to the Latin version in the same
manuscript.
25
The difference between the first two types of books might be rather in their moral and historic
character: while the first might refer to moralizing allegories, the second explicitly refers to the lives of
the saints and martyrs.
a different sort of book is the book of imagination, constructed in the mind:

this is called ars memorandi.26
This fourfold distinction in terms of the nature of the book has its parallel in
a well-known late medieval categorization of the uses of images, which is often
quoted from the Commentary on the Sentences of Aquinas: “Know that there were
three reasons for the institution of images in churches. First, for the instruction of
the ignorant, because they are instructed by them as if by some books. Second, so
that the mystery of the incarnation and the examples of the saints may be the more
active in our memory through being represented daily to our eyes. Third, to excite
feelings of devotion, these being aroused more effectively by things seen than by
things heard.”27 The first two uses of images (images for simple people and images
of the incarnation and the examples of the saints) directly influence the first two
types of books in this art of memory — the liber laycorum (“the writing on the
wall, by which they recognize and remember their sins”) and the liber pictorum
(“representing the sufferings of the martyrs”). However, the third and fourth types
are added by the anonymous author: the third type, the book of the clerics, stresses
the insufficiency of natural memory (because of which we need the artificial ars
memorativa), and the fourth defines the mental book (liber mentalis) as a new and
separate genre. Each kind of book has a specific form and matter: in the case of
118 the art of memory, the places (loci) serve as matter, and the images provide them
with form. Depending on the purpose of our memorization, we should proceed
26
Vnde patet quod adiutorium memorie nichil aliud est quam liber. Pro quo ulterius notandum quod liber
est multiplex: quidam est liber laycorum sicut scriptura in parietibus per quam ipsi deueniunt in cognicionem
seu memoriam debitorum. Alius est liber pictorum sicut sunt ymagines in ecclesys representantes passiones
martirum. Alius est liber clericorum qui est melior predictis in quo inscribuntur acta et historie, que ex
labilitate naturalis memorie retineri non possunt. Alius est liber ymaginacionis in mente constructus: qui
ars memorandi vocatur, (“Ars memorativa notabilis perrara…,” in Ars vitae contemplativae (Nürnberg:
Creussner, 1473), 12r).
27
Thomas Aquinas, Super libros sententiarum, 3, dist. 9, quaest. 1, art. 2. sol. 2 ad 3um. “Item scire te
volo quod triplex fuit ratio institutionis imaginum in ecclesia. Prima ad instructionem rudium, qui eis
quasi quibusdam libris edoceri videntur. Secunda ut incarnationis mysterium et sanctorum exempla
magis in memoria nostra essent dum quotidie oculis nostris repraesentantur. Tertia, ad excitandum
devotionis effectum, qui ex visis efficacius excitatur quam ex auditis.” The same threefold division
is often quoted from later sources, e.g. Joannes Balbus, Catholicon, s.v. Imago. The Catholicon was
known and used in Hungary: see Vienna, ÖNB, cod. 2295, copied by “Thomas decretorum doctor
archidiaconus Nitriensis et canonicus Strigoniensis” in 1433. Cf. Michael Baxandall, Painting and
Experience in Fifteenth Century Italy (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1988), 41, 161–162; See David
Freedberg, The Power of Images: Studies in the History and Theory of Response (Chicago: University of
Chicago Press, 1989), 162; Lawrence Duggan, “Was Art Really the Book of the Illiterate?” Word and
Image 5 (1989): 227–251, here 232–234. For the occurrence of the division in other authors of the High
and Late Middle Ages (Philipp the Chancellor, Durandus), see Gábor Endrődi, “The Chancellor’s Three
Reasons for Paintings in Churches,” in Bonum et Pulchrum. Essays in Art History in Honour of Ernő
Marosi on His Seventieth Birthday, ed. Livia Varga et al. (Budapest: Argumentum, 2010), 137–150.
Farkas Gábor Kiss
with different methods. Foreign names should be memorized by the image of

familiar people bearing a similar name; and accidental attributes of things should
be associated with other things that have the same attribute (e.g. the color white
with a swan or milk). If we want to memorize a longer story, it should be divided
into smaller articles and members, while foreign names and difficult words should
be written into our mind by syllable, or letter by letter.
The treatise ends with a table interspersed with notes in Hungarian. Ten rooms
with five images in each have to be imagined according to this figure: four crafts-
men surround an animal in the middle of each one. Thus the basic structuring
of this memory palace follows the suggestion in the Rhetorica ad Herennium,
that one should create groups of five or ten images (3, 32). There is no closer link
between the animals and craftsmen, and they are not ordered alphabetically. The
ten places, each containing five images, might have served as a fi xed matrix of the
memory, which the unknown Hungarian memorizer tried to master by writing
the appropriate vernacular word for each of the figures.28 He omitted only those
words whose meaning he probably did not know (dimicator, componator), or which
apparently had no Hungarian equivalent in this age (histrio, lictor, mango).
The use of the table is explained in the text: “First, concerning the places, if
you wish to imagine places, take an existing building with a lot of rooms; for ex-
ample a dormitory in a monastery, in the order in which the rooms are, as it will
be easier to memorize this way. Then mark the four corners and the door in each 119
room and put an image in each of them, for example a craftsman in the corners
and an animal at the door. They will then always be in groups of five, thus the
counting and the order will be much easier.”29 Similarly, the parts of a monastery
are suggested as places in a treatise from Mondsee (before 1440, Vienna, ÖNB,
cod. 3011), although according to this text not only the monks’ cells but also the
gate, stairway, kitchen, hall, cistern, chapel, cloister, ambulatory, etc. could be
populated by images (porticus, scalae, coquina, sala, claustrum, fornax, cisterna,
hortus, capella, oratorium, camera, ambulatorium).30
28
In manuscript versions of the treatise, even the rooms are noted as “1a camera”, “2a camera” etc. (e.g.
Prague, NK, I G 11a, 29r), and the names of the animals are explained as guards of the places (custodes
locorum).
29
“Quantum ergo ad primum de locis, si ergo loca sumere velis, accipe unum domum realem cum
variis cameris, et si fieri potest accipe dormitorium in uno claustro et ratione illius quia cellae sunt in
una riga, et sic ordo facilius erit. Tunc in qualibet camera seu cella nota quatuor angulos cum una ianua,
quibus sumptis imprime cuilibet angulo unam ymaginem aut artificem iuxta tuum placitum, semper
in ianuam unam feram, et tunc fere designabunt quinarios, tunc numerus et ordo facilius erunt.”
30
Roger A. Pack, “A Medieval Explicator of Classical Mnemonics,” in Studies in Latin Literature and
Roman History, ed. Carl Deroux (Brussels: Latomus, 1980), Vol. 2, 515–530, here 522.
1.4. Meditation and the art of memory

(inc. Nota hanc figuram/ Pro aliquali intelligentia)
The incunabulum that contains this art of memory, with notes in Hungarian, is
generally referred to as Ars et modus vitae contemplativae.31 As not only the treatise
on the art of memory can be associated with memorizing in this book, but in fact
the entire incunabulum print functions as an elaborate mnemonic repertory, I will
discuss its contents and its origins in this subchapter.32 Although the book has no
colophon, it can be safely attributed to the press of Friedrich Creussner in Nürnberg
in 1473, and it is often mentioned in the histories of Blockbücher, as it contains four
woodcut leaves that mix figures and letters on the same page.33 Moreover, it is one of
the few incunabula that can be considered as a mélange between a Blockbuch and an
incunabulum, although the woodcuts and the printed text do not appear within the
same quire.34 The volume contains three texts altogether: it starts with four wood-
cut leaves that survive in only three extant copies, followed by a strange mixture of
meditative methodology and authoritative quotations (inc. Hanc figuram ceterarum
omnium vtilissimam, 4r–14v) that seem to offer an explanation of the preceding fig-
ures.35 This is followed by the art of memory discussed above (15r–17r) and the art
of preaching here attributed to Thomas Aquinas (17v–27v, inc. Communicaturus meis
desiderantibus).36 The volume ends with a two-leaf arbor praedicandi, a tree of preach-
120 ing (28v–29r), which demonstrates the rhetorical possibilities of organizing a sermon
in a tree-form structure. From these three texts, only the second, the Ars memorativa
ad omnes facultates, seems to be related to the art of memory. However, a closer look
clearly shows that the first, meditative treatise (inc. Hanc figuram ceterarum omnium
utilissimam) with the four image pages is in fact a practical application of the ars
memorativa. Besides, as we will see, not only the two Hungarian incunabula,37 but
also numerous manuscript copies and incunabula demonstrate the popularity of this
image-based meditative treatise in Central Europe. It is therefore worth looking at
the history of the creation of this text from a wider, regional perspective, too.
31
ISTC ia01140000, GW 2672.
32
For a detailed account of the entire textual tradition of this treatise, see Kiss, “Performing”.
33
Lamberto Donati, “Uno sconosciuto Defensorium virginitatis Mariae stampato da Federico Creussner
intorno al 1470,” in Studi e ricerche sulla storia della stampa del Quattrocento, ed. Giuseppe Bottai (Milan:
Ulrico Hoepli, 1942), 71–130, especially 113–114.
34
Paul Needham, “Prints in the Early Printing Shops,” in The woodcut in 15th century Europe, ed. Peter
Parshall (Washington, D.C.: National Gallery of Art, 2009), 39–91, esp. 74–75.
35
One of the few surviving intact copies (Munich, BSB) can be consulted at http://daten.digitale-
sammlungen.de/~db/0002/bsb00026400/image_1 (accessed on 26.8.2014.)
36
See Harry Caplan, Mediaeval artes praedicandi, A Hand-list (Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1934),
8–9, n. 27; Harry Caplan, Mediaeval artes praedicandi. A supplementary handlist (Ithaca, Cornell Uni-
versity Press, 1936), 5–6, n. 27.
37
Budapest, OSZK, Inc. 1243 and Esztergom, Metropolitan Library, S. l. a. I. 30. A further, not
annotated copy was found on the territory of the Kingdom of Hungary: Imrich Kotvan, Inkunábuly
na Slovensku [Incunable prints in Slovakia] (Martin: Matica Slovenská, 1979), 72, n. 103.
Farkas Gábor Kiss
In order to fully understand how to utilize these figures and work with them,
we have to examine the textual tradition of both the image and the explanatory
text following it. Our task is not made any easier by the fact that the treatise does
not have a proper incipit, as it begins with three image leaves and a reference to
them in the text incipit (Hanc figuram). Besides the incunabulum, several fifteenth-
century manuscripts transmit this treatise, and these copies fall into three groups:
1. Those that transmit both the image and the text, giving the possible titles: Re-
cordatio theologiae composita a doctoribus universitatis Parisiensis (Dresden, UL,
App. 2302); Recordatio theologiae (Wernigerode, Stolbergische Bibliothek,
Za 1, now lost; Vatican, Pal. Lat. 870), Figura contemplativae vitae (Prague,
National and University Library ms. I. G. 11a; see Pl. 3.), Recordatio theolo-
giae—Ludus sacrae paginae, inc. Nota hanc figuram composuerunt… or Deus
in se (the subscription of the first image) (Erlangen, UL cod. 554; Křivoklát,
cod. 156; see Pl. 4.), Pro intellectu sequentis figure (Wrocław, UL, IV. O. 9.).
2. Those that contain only the image, as for example in Munich, Staatsbiblio-
thek clm 19668, or a very simple sketch resembling the original figure (Melk,
Stiftsbibliothek 769, 134v; Melk, 1835, p. 186, p. 559). One manuscript be-
longing to this group bears the title Speculum aeternae salvationis (Munich,
Staatsbibliothek cgm 1586). Another one calls it Speculum animae sive salutis
(Melk 1835, p. 186, also the ms. Melk 1771, 96v, without figures), while oth-
ers do not have a title at all (New Haven, Beinecke 306, 71v–72r). Also, the 121
separated woodcuts of the incunabulum edition belong here typologically,
as, for example, those in the McGuire Collection, New York.38 Most copies
of the incunabulum edition lack the images, and intact copies are extremely
rare. Presumably, most of these woodcut leaves were separated from the prints
by their fifteenth-century owners (and not by nineteenth- or twentieth-cen-
tury antiquarians, as was often the case), as they were truly able to aid them
in preaching, meditation, and other mental activities. This interpretation is
perhaps supported by the first two leaves that survive pasted onto a frame in
the Österreichische Nationalbibliothek.39 A similar case is the manuscript
Munich, Staatsbibliothek cgm. 1586, a miscellany prepared from various
38
Wilhelm Ludwig Schreiber, Holzschnitte, Schrotblätter und Teigdrucke der Sammlung James C.
McGuire in New York II, Einblattdrucke des 15. Jahrhunderts 72 (Strasbourg: J. H. Ed. Heitz, 1930),
9–10; (Einblattdrucke des 15. Jahrhunderts, ed. Paul Heitz, Vol. 72).
39
Friedrich von Bartsch, Die Kupferstichsammlung der K. K. Hofbibliothek in Wien, Vienna, Braumüller,
1854, 255–256. n. 2490. A colored but faded copy, probably identical to the one quoted by Blockbücher
des Mittelalters. Bilderfolgen als Lektüre, Mainz, Gutenberg Gesellschaft, 1991, 392 (Ink. 2. D. 40).
The fragmentary German translation of this text similarly concentrates on the images, and not on the
texts: see Stefan Matter, “Die Vermittlung theologischen Wissens im Umfeld von Stephan Fridolins
‘Schatzbehalter’. Zugleich ein Beitrag zur Rezeption des Traktats ‘Ars et modus contemplativae vitae’,”
in Diagramm und Text. Diagrammatische Strukturen und die Dynamisierung von Wissen und Erfahrung.
Überstorfer Colloquium 2012, ed. Eckart Conrad Lutz et al. (Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz 2014), 209–240.
German inscriptions also appear on the images of Wrocław, ms. IV. O. 9., 19r–20r.
separate leaves in 1510 by Conrad Sartori, abbot of the Tegernsee monas-

tery in Bavaria. Here the image occupies only two leaves of the manuscript
(13va–14rb), while the rest of the manuscript is not connected to our treatise.
In this case, the image was surely detached from the treatise before 1510.40
3. Those that contain only the text, or a part of it, but not the meditative im-
age itself.41 At least fifteen manuscripts contain only the text, having the
incipit Pro aliquali intelligentia praesentis figurae est sciendum or Pro intellectu
sequentis figure. The title varies: Flos artis praedicatoriae, Tractatus de modo
praedicandi, De operibus Dei memorandis et praedicandis, or Recordatio theo-
logiae. In some cases, the illustrations seem to have been there once, but to
have been torn out later.42 A telling sign of the early detachment of the images
from the treatise is the fact that five out of the surviving six copies of the
incunabulum in Austrian libraries are mutilated, and the sixth may also be.43
Quite often the text is contained in manuscripts that also include either artes praed-
icandi (those attributed to Thomas Aquinas or to Henricus de Hassia/von Langen-
stein44), or contemporary treatises on mnemotechnics (either the Ars memorandi
secundum modum Parisiensem or the Ars memorativa of Magister Hainricus45), or
both (as is the case with the incunabulum edition of 1473, Nürnberg, Creussner,
where our treatise is followed by the ars memorativa of Magister Hainricus, and the
122 ars praedicandi attributed to Thomas Aquinas). The presence of these texts together
with our treatise in the same manuscripts is not accidental.
40
A similar leaf cut out of the incunabulum edition was inserted into clm 23873 of the BSB, Munich.
See Ferdinand Geldner, “Ein unbeachtetes xylographisches Fragment von GW 2672 und Probleme um
den Inkunabeldrucker Friedrich Creussner,” Gutenberg Jahrbuch, 56 (1981): 143–147.
41
A shortlist of the known unillustrated copies: Basel, UL, A VII 8; Colmar, Bibl. mun., CPC 5 (cod. 277);
Köln, Stadtarchiv, GB 4o 230; Linz, Oberösterreichische Landesbibliothek, Adligat zu Ink-160, 1r-29v (kinf
information of Dr. Rudolf Lindpointner); Lüneburg, Ratsbücherei, Theol. 2o 88; Mainz, Stadtbibliothek,
Hs. I 183; Munich, BSB, clm. 3564; clm. 3590; clm. 4369; clm. 13410; clm. 28505; Olomouc, VK,
M I 156; Salzburg, St Peter, b VI 16; Vienna, ÖNB, cod. 13855; Wrocław, UL, I. O. 19.; I. O. 69.
42
E.g. in Wrocław, UL, I. O. 69, the remains of the missing leaves between fol. 118v and 119r are still
visible.
43
On the basis of Inkunabelzensus Österreich (http://aleph.onb.ac.at/F?func=fi le&fi le_name=login&
local_base=INK, accessed on 10.10.2014) five — mostly monastic — libraries own copies without the
images (Klagenfurt Mensalbibliothek, Klosterneuburg Aug. Chorherrenstift, Vienna ÖNB, Stams
Zisterzienser, Wien Dominikaner), while the sixth in St. Paul im Lavanttal could not be verified. Some
further copies that I have seen also lack the images (London, BL, IB 7581). Both copies in Hungary are
mutilated, just like the ones in Poland (Gdańsk, Poznań).
44
E.g. Erlangen, UL, 554; Dresden, UL, App. 2302; Colmar, Bibl. mun. CPC 5 (cod. 277); Köln,
Stadtarchiv GB 4o 230; Munich, BSB, clm. 4369; clm. 13410; Salzburg, St. Peter, ms. b VI 16; Vienna,
ÖNB, cod. 13855; Wrocław, UL, IV. O. 9.; cf. Thomas-Marie Charland, Artes praedicandi (Paris: Vrin,
1936), 43–44.
45
In Erlangen, UL, 554; Prague, NK, I G 11a; Colmar, Bibl. mun., CPC 5 (cod. 277); New Haven,
Yale University, Beinecke Manuscript Library, ms. 306; Olomouc, VK, M I 156; Salzburg, St. Peter,
b. VI 16.; Wrocław, UL, IV. O. 9., I. O. 19., I. O. 69. Cf. Heimann-Seelbach, Ars und scientia, 46–54.
Farkas Gábor Kiss
The rich theoretical literature that had emerged by the second half of the fif-
teenth century covered various facets of memory retrieval processes. The practice
of recalling subjective memories (with a performative or encyclopedic purpose)
was described by the ars memorativa; the method of influencing (with a moral
tendency) the public remembrance of an audience was treated extensively by the
artes praedicandi; while the daily exercise of recollecting one’s pious memories was
theorized by the artes meditandi. In these treatises, the suggested objects of one’s
contemplation might differ (real or fantastic places, houses, images of passion or
devotion, etc.), but the process of “seeing” and mentally “reading” the memorized
matter is structurally the same. The touchpoints of these techniques can be high-
lighted by examining the actual functioning of the images in our anonymous, and
essentially titleless, treatise Nota hanc figuram….
The twelve images on the title page of the treatise are grouped according to
two principles. On the one hand, they are distributed according to the six possible
uses of the texts, which can be achieved with the aid of the images and the texts
that belong to them: recordatio theologiae, ludus sacrae paginae, promptitudo prae-
dicandi, artificium contemplandi, temptationes superandi, rememoratio futurorum.
The exact meaning of these uses is explained only at the end of the treatise: we can
remember the whole of theology with its help (naturally an exaggerated claim); we
can play a game with the Holy Scriptures; it might help us in improvised preach-
ing, in creating subjects for our contemplation, in overcoming temptations, and 123
in meditating on the things to come. From this point of view, the six possible uses
are not directly related to the images that come under their columns.
The twelve-image cycle is also arranged in a three by four distribution. The
first four images refer to salvation history (God, Creation, Fall, Redemption);
the second four to the conditions of our present, earthly life (Virtue, Vice, Exile,
Time); while the last four images are identical to the Four Last Things — that
is, they refer to one’s fate in the afterlife (Death, Judgment, Heaven, Hell). Each
image, while depicting a central concept in the middle of the field, features four
additional subsidiary concepts in the corners, and these subsidiary concepts are
generally closely related to the subject of the central image: the Godhead (Deitas),
which is symbolized by the Sun (Sol) has Power (Potentia), Perfection (Perfectio),
Goodness (Bonitas) and Wisdom (Sapientia); Vice (Vitium) is surrounded by Ava-
rice, Luxury, Pride, and “Deordination” (dissoluteness, depravity). The treatise
following the introductory table explains the actual content of these corners with
the aid of quotations. Each subject is highlighted by several quotations from the
Bible, the Church Fathers, or other medieval authorities. Looking at the fourfold
division in the corners of the images, one might expect a perfectly harmonious
system of four by four quotations from the authorities, although the anonymous
author is not consistent in this: he often attaches to each of the concepts four,
but sometimes fewer and sometimes more, quotations (sometimes even six). One
example is sufficient to illustrate the functioning of the image, and of the texts
connected to it. Structurally, the ideal case is probably Vice (Vitium). It has four
subdivisions: Pride, Avarice, and Lust (the three most important capital sins46),
followed by a summarizing fourth member, deordinatio, which is in fact a gen-
eral definition of sin according to St Thomas Aquinas (“deordination” is turning
against the order of God, Summa Theologiae,1a 2ae q. 72. art. 5). Naturally, we
should consider these four with abhorrence and hate: we should detest all of them,
and this is illustrated by four citations in each case. In connection with Avarice,
for example, the anonymous author twice quotes from the Epistles of Paul, once
from the Wisdom of Solomon, and once from Matthew.
An overall structure is also apparent in this set of meditative subjects: the series
starts with the Godhead or the Sun, which is identified with Power (Potentia) in
the heading of the description. Creation, the second member, is derived from the
perfection of God according to the chapter heading (“Perfect because it shines in
its creation and in its perfect order”), and the third and fourth members (Revocatio
— turning away from sins; and Redemptio — the redemption of humankind) are
derived from the third quality of the Godhead/Sun — that is, Goodness (Bonitas).
The first four elements in the table are thus directly derived from the qualities
belonging to the first image. The fifth and sixth members, Vitium and Virtus,
logically follow from the third and fourth subjects (Revocation and Redemption),
and the divisions of Virtue precisely mirror those of Vice: Pride is counterpoised
by Humility, Avarice by Generosity, Lust by Chastity, and Deordination by “Or-
124 dination” (the following of the divine order). The seventh member of the series,
Exile, is connected to the previous two by the first article of Vice: according to
the anonymous author, to avoid falling into the sin of Pride (Superbia) one should
always meditate on one’s exile in earthly life (which is fourfold). The mention
of Adam gives an opportunity to introduce Time (Tempus), which contains the
Augustinian threefold division of human history into the periods of the law of
Nature (lex naturae, up until Moses), the law of Scripture (lex scripturae, up to the
coming of Christ), and the law of Grace (lex gratiae, after the coming of Christ),
and, above these, to ensure the fourfold structure, the topic of free will. Up to this
point, the treatise had followed a logical structure, although its logic was obvi-
ously improvised. The final four subjects, by contrast, belong to a literary tradi-
tion that existed at the end of the fourteenth century — the doctrine of the Four
Last Things.47 According to the logic of the treatise, we should meditate on these
46
For the triad of pride, avarice and lust, cf. 1 John 2:16: “For all that is in the world, the lust of the
flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.”
47
At the same time, a parallel can be found between the sequence of these elements and the overall
structure of the Sententiae of Petrus Lombardus, where the first book is dedicated to questions concerning
God, the Trinity and the attributes of God, the second book deals with the Creation and sins, the third
with incarnation and redemption, and the fourth with the seven sacraments and eschatology. In fact,
there are extant pictorial mnemonic versions of the Sententiae from the fifteenth century: see Volkmann,
“Ars memorativa,” 132–134; and Susanne Rischpler, “Le coeur voyant. Mémoriser les Sentences de Pierre
Lombard,” in Medieval Memory: Image and Text, ed. Frank Willaert (Turnhout: Brepols, 2004), 3–40.
Farkas Gábor Kiss
subjects because of the opportunity we are given to use free will; thus the topic of
tempus should be logically followed by the subject of Death.48
The occurrence of the motif of the Four Last Th ing leads us to the ques-
tion of dating and authorship. Both the provenance of the manuscripts (mostly
from monasteries of Carthusians, Augustinian canons regular, Cistercians and
Benedictines)49 and the character of these self-perfecting activities (meditation,
preaching) bear witness to the monastic origins of the treatise and the images.
All the manuscripts are anonymous, all of them are written on paper, and prob-
ably none of them is earlier than 1450. The appearance in the work of the topos
of the Four Last Things might offer a terminus post quem, as it first appears in the
Cordiale, a long meditational treatise that enjoyed enormous popularity in the
fifteenth century. The Cordiale was often attributed to Thomas à Kempis, Jean
Gerson, and Geert Groote, although it can be stated with relative confidence
that its author was Gerard van Vliederhoven, an otherwise little known figure.
He was closely linked to the Windesheim monastery and wrote his treatise while
procurator of the Utrecht house of the Augustinian canons — that is, between
1380 and 1396.50 The argument of the Cordiale — in contrast to other intimate
and deeply personal works of the devotio moderna, such as, for example, the De
imitatione Christi of Thomas à Kempis — is quite similar to our text. It is a com-
pilation of scriptural and other authoritative texts (mostly the Church Fathers
and Bernard of Clairvaux) concerning the Four Last Things, and, after a wealth 125
of quotations, a collection of exempla is appended with the aim of enhancing the
willingness towards virtue of those who are still reluctant to believe in the anni-
hilating power of corporeal death. However, only a few quotations can be found
in parallel between the two texts, thus it cannot be claimed that the anonymous
author has used excerpts from the large number of (around 700) citations in
Gerard’s work.
However, precisely in the chapter on Death, one important citation can be
identified from a certain doctor (doctor quidam): “Strive now to live in such wise
that in the hour of death thou mayest rather rejoice than fear. Learn now to die to
48
“God granted (humankind) free will in all these matters, so that Virtue would not recede, and
that He would have the possibility of redeeming us. But because man is tempted in time, and easily
falls into sin, four remedies were posited for our sake — that is, the last things that wait for us, which
strongly keep us back from sins.” (“[Deus] In his omnibus permisit liberum arbitrium, ut haberet virtus
locum et deus occasionem nos remunerandi. Sed quia homo in tempore temptatur, et iugiter labitur
in facinora, apposita sunt nobis quatuor remedia scilicet nostra novissima, quae nos multum retrahunt
a peccatis.”)
49
All the known manuscripts are of Central European origin (especially southern Germany, Austria,
Bohemia).
50
Richard F. M. Byrn, “Gerard van Vliederhoven, Late medieval eschatology, Gerard van Vliederhoven’s
Cordiale de IV novissimis,” Proceedings of the Leeds Philosophical and Literary Society: Literary and
Historical Section 17/2 (1979): 55–65.
the world, so shalt thou begin to live with Christ.”51 This doctor quidam is actually
Thomas à Kempis in his De imitatione Christi. This proves two things simultane-
ously: first, that our treatise was written after 1418, the publication date of De
imitatione Christi; and second, that the reference to an anonymous doctor quidam
might suggest that at the time of writing the identity of the author of the De imi-
tatione Christi was still unclear, as its authorship was not widely known until 1438.
Given the close relationship between preaching, meditation and the artes mem-
orativae in this period, it is not surprising that an art of memory should be closely
connected to our treatise. In the penultimate paragraph of the treatise on the art
of memory (Memoria fecunda…) in Vienna, Österreichische Nationalbibliothek
cod. 4444, an interesting passage can be found that is missing from some other
variants of the treatise:
And if you want to imagine a house with twelve rooms, as the one we men-
tioned above, together with its equipment (imponenda), let us make a suitable
and useful example for it — how to remember essentially the contents of the
Holy Scriptures. This is a devout kind of contemplation indeed, therefore we
might give the following title to it: “Twelve Things to Remember for Every
Christian Each Day.” These twelve things should stand in the middle of the
rooms, written with red ink, and four other items should stand around them
126 in the four corners of each room, which will explain the main element. Thus,
if there are five items in each room, there will be altogether sixty elements in
one house with twelve rooms. The soul flies across these twelve rooms with
its two wings — that is, by intellect and by emotion, contemplating the good
deeds of God with love, and his own sins with fear.52
This short introduction is followed in the Viennese codex by a schematic drawing

consisting of three squares, each divided into four smaller squares, which are sup-
51
“Stude nunc taliter vivere, ut in hora mortis valeas potius gaudere quam timere. Disce nunc mori
mundo, ut possis vivere Christo.” Cf. Thomas à Kempis, De imitatione Christi, 1, 23, 6 (slightly modified
translation of William Benham).
52
“Et pro fi guracione domus suprascripte duodecim cellarum una cum imponendis ponemus
tale dignum et utile nobis exemplum semper memorandum tocius Sacre Scripture substantialiter
contentivum – ac etiam est devotissima contemplacio, unde et merito titulo ipsam prenotamus tali:
‘Duodecim memoranda cuilibet Christiano cottidie’: sunt ista que stant in medio sue celle rubeo
descripta, et quattuor unumquodque istorum duodecim declarancia stant in giro secundum quattuor
angulos cuiuslibet celle, et sic, existentibus in qualibet cella quinque rebus, secundum duodecies
quinque in toto sunt sexaginta in una domo duodecim cellarum. Per ista duodecim anima volat cum
duabus suis alis, scilicet intellectu et effectu [corr.: affectu], considerando beneficia Dei cum amore et
propria maleficia cum timore.” Pack, “An Ars,” 265–266. Unfortunately, no critical edition of this very
popular art of memory exists. In the other manuscript versions of the same text that I have seen, this
passage does not appear.
Farkas Gábor Kiss
posed to represent the twelve rooms. Five elements are written into each room, and
these items are very closely related to those that appear in the treatise Pro aliquali
intelligentia, with the exception of the middle section, where instead of the notions
of Virtus, Vitium, Tempus, and Exilium contained in our treatise, we find Angelus,
Tempus, Maleficia, and Exilium, with different subordinate items. The close rela-
tionship between this version of the Memoria fecunda and our treatise is further
corroborated by the suggested illustrations that are noted in minuscule letters next
to the central elements in the rooms in the Viennese manuscript:
Square 1:
Creation: figured in a circle Redemption: Christ on the Cross
God: the figure is Trinity, fountain, Sun Revocation: as the father recalls the son
Square 2:
Angel: of all things Time: a clock in a cloud
Wrong deeds: (uninterpretable, torn?)53 Exile: (uninterpretable)
Square 3:
Last Judgment: Christ enthroned Paradise: (missing)
Death: souls Hell: see […]54
127
These pictorial suggestions are identical to the actual drawings in the treatise in
four cases out of twelve.55 Obviously, this version of the Memoria fecunda treatise
must be considered as a predecessor of the Nota hanc figuram treatise.56
As mentioned earlier, those manuscripts that contain the image also contain
an introductory remark that the figura was allegedly composed by doctors at
the University of Paris (doctores alme universitatis parisiensis). A possibility is
offered by an ars memorativa that is also connected to the “doctors of Paris” in
general. The treatise On artificial memory according to the Paris masters (De me-
moria artificiali secundum Parisienses, inc. Attendentes nonnulli philosophie profes-
53
Cf. Italian stracciato, torn.
54
Square 1: creacio: figuratus circulo redempcio: christus in cruce
deus: figura trinitas fons sol revocacio: patris filii
Square 2: angelus: rerum omnium tempus: in nube horologium
maleficia: straczato [!] exilium: sardine [?] servato
Square 3: iudicium: christus in trono paradisus: –
mors: anime infernus: vide[…]
Vienna, ÖNB, cod. 4444, 327r; Pack omits these in his edition.
55
Deus: figura trinitas fons sol; redempcio: christus in cruce; tempus: in nube horologium; iudicium: christus
in trono are identical to what we see now in the illustrated copies of the treatise.
56
Furthermore, the Memoria fecunda treatise has common roots with the Alphabetum Trinitatis, which
can be traced back to Bologna, 1408. See Kiss, “Performing,”445.
sores…),57 which sometimes also features in the same manuscripts as our treatise
(e.g. Colmar Bibl. mun. CPC 5 – cod. 277, Erlangen UL ms. 554, Salzburg St
Peter ms. b. VI. 16, Olomouc VK ms. M I 156, Wrocław UL ms. IV O 9), is an
important parallel. This art of memory states in its prologue that it is intended as
an explanation of a work that was composed by the doctors of Paris. As the human
intellect is not keen enough to understand that work alone, the ars memorativa
aims to help the users of the other work. Aretin, the author of the first scholarly
book on the history of European mnemonics, already realized the connection
between the mnemonic treatise “according to the Paris masters,” which claims to
be the explanation of another treatise, and the incunabulum edition of the Nota
hanc figuram composuerunt / Pro aliquali intelligentia in the Ars vitae contemplativae
(1473), the first sentence of which refers to the Paris doctors (Nota hanc figuram
composuerunt doctores almae universitatis Parisiensis).58 Nevertheless, he thought
that the opusculum that this short treatise intends to explain was not our medi-
tational treatise, but the ars memorativa (inc. Quemadmodum intellectus scientiis
illuminatur) that follows it in the 1473 Nürnberg edition. However, this is unlikely,
as both mnemotechnical treatises contain almost the same standard methodology
of loci et imagines based on the Ad Herennium, and it is difficult to understand how
one of them would explain the other. I think it is rather our treatise to which both
the explanatory artes memorativae belong — one of them referring specifically to
128 a work composed by the “Paris doctors,” and the other simply following it in the
1473 incunabulum edition.
This treatise, containing the meditative images and the florilegium, was not
formerly connected to these mnemonic treatises, since without the image (which
is the way it most often survives in the incunabulum copies) it rather looks like an
uninteresting collection of commonplaces organized without any logic. However,
to prove this hypothesis we have to understand that the image is really mnemonic
and that its members, and the accompanying citations, were supposed to be memo-
rized with the aid of the late medieval ars memorativa. The first indication that
this figura is a mnemonic image is its structure: according to the Ad Herennium,
almost all late medieval artes memorativae suggested that a locus should have five
imagines (a practice that can be linked back to the number of the fingers). An excel-
lent illustration of a similar structure is the ars memorativa attributed to Magister
Hainricus,59 which follows our treatise in the incunabulum edition. In both its
manuscript and printed forms, the similarity in structure is clearly visible: accord-
ing to this art of memory, these are not simply loci, but camerae, rooms imagined
inside a monastery, and we should locate the central object (an animal) as a symbol
57
58
Aretin, Mnemonik, 162–165.
59
Inc. Quemadmodum intellectus scientiis… On this ars memoriae in general, see Heimann-Seelbach,
Ars und scientia, 254–269. For an edition, see below pp. 223–226.
Farkas Gábor Kiss
on the door of the room, and the four images (craftsmen: a tailor, painter, etc.) in
the corners of the room. The structure of the rooms in this meditational treatise
is strikingly similar to that suggested in this ars memorativa — the only differ-
ence being that the meditational treatise has twelve rooms, while the mnemonic
treatise contains only ten. Artificial aids survive for “mechanical and mnemonic
meditation” from as early as the fourteenth century, in both Latin and French,
but these texts do not use the pattern of rooms and houses; rather, they attach the
subjects that are considered worthy of contemplation to the fingers of the left and
the right hands (for meditations during the night, arousing the fear of God; and
for meditations during the daytime, arousing the love of God respectively), using
another typical medieval memory aid — the mnemonic hand.60
The second proof of its active purpose as a mnemonic image is in the section
containing the suggestions for its use. As I mentioned above, the image itself states
that it is good for “Remembering theology,” the “Play of Holy Scripture,” the
“Readiness for preaching,” as an “Artificial object of contemplation,” for “Over-
coming temptations,” and “Meditating (Rememoratio) on the things to come.”
The treatise ends with a section that explains how to use it for each purpose.
Unfortunately, these suggestions are generic, concerned only with justifying their
titles and not describing the method. (This is probably why it needed to be fol-
lowed by an ars memorativa). “The first article is the remembering of theology, as
it speaks about God and the qualities of God,” for which we should be grateful to 129
Him. The second section, Creation, is also related to theology, and therefore it is
appropriate to remember it. The series continues up to the twelfth member, and
in each case the outcome is that each element can be interpreted in terms of theol-
ogy — but within the context of this meditational treatise, recordatio is probably
more important than theology itself.
The second strategy, the ludus sacrae paginae, is equally interesting. We can dis-
card the interpretation that this expression means “School of the Holy Scripture,”
as the description of this method of image use clearly refers to play:
It is called so, because worldly and secular men are playing with worldly and
secular things, e.g. playing the lute, and other worldly things, which the people
can play, i.e. to find pleasure. Thus, in a similar tone, play and pleasure is the
meditation on these Scriptures for spiritual or devout men, because with their
help one can attain greater devotion and more efficient intellectual capacities,
that otherwise cannot be reached by other diff use and not collected writings
— I mean meditation on God with His qualities and benefices that are brought
down on us by Him.
60
Geneviève Hasenohr, “Méditation méthodique et mnémonique: un témoignage figuré ancien (XIIIe–
XIVe s.),” in Clio et son regard. Mélanges d’ histoire, d’ histoire de l’art et d’archéologie off erts à Jacques
Stiennon, ed. Rita Lejeune and Joseph Deckers (Liège: Pierre Mardaga, 1982), 365–382.
The anonymous author continues to stress the applicability of the term ludus on
each subject, even going as far as to say: “And for us it is almost like a play to
meditate on the capital sins, from which all other sins derive, so that one could
avoid them and defend himself against them” (Etiam est nobis tamquam ludus
praemeditare vitia principalia ex quibus omnia alia sequuntur…). The enumera-
tion of meditative subjects ends with the summarizing sentence: “And all these
are play and pleasure to man, so that he can meditate on what ways he might get
closer to devotion.” To conceive of private devotion as pleasure, and thus as play
or a game, has parallels in the age: the fourteenth-century Ludus scacchorum of
Jacobus de Cessolis was an important step in this direction, although his game
of chess served rather as a moral lesson than as a tool for meditation. Instead, we
have the almost contemporary Dialogue on the sphere game (Dialogus de ludo globi)
of Nicolaus Cusanus, written in 1461–62.61 According to the rules of Cusanus’
game, a concave metal ball had to be thrown towards the center of ten concentric
circles, and the ball’s haphazard and unpredictable movements can be interpreted
as a symbol of our difficult ascendance towards God.
2.1. Itinerant humanists in Hungary (Jacobus Publicius, Conrad Celtis)

130 The educational infrastructure in the Hungarian Kingdom in this period was
based primarily on parish and cathedral schools, city schools and the studia gen-
eralia of the Dominicans and Franciscans. There was no stable university, despite
the efforts of the bishop of Pécs (Pécs/Universitas Quinqueecclesiensis, 1367),
Emperor Sigismund (Óbuda, 1410) and John Vitéz, archbishop of Esztergom (the
Academia Istropolitana in Pozsony/Bratislava, 1465). Very little is known about the
scholarly activities pursued at these institutions, and probably they did not survive
long enough to receive international fame or attract a larger foreign student body.
Although there was clearly an intention to keep students from Hungary within
the borders of the country, and to rival the neighboring universities of Vienna and
Cracow,62 these latter two institutions proved to be sufficient for clergy and laymen
wishing to continue their studies.
Lacking a university, the country was obviously less attractive to the itinerant
humanists who spread the art of memory around Europe. Nevertheless, due to
61
See Marc Föcking, ‘“Serio ludere.’ Epistemologie, Spiel und Dialog in Nicolaus Cusanus’ De ludo
globi,” in Spielwelten: Performanz und Inszenierung in der Renaissance, ed. Klaus W. Hempfer, Helmut
Pfeiffer (Stuttgart: Franz Steiner, 2002), 1–18.
62
Rivalry with Vienna may be the reason behind choosing Bratislava (Pozsony/Pressburg, Slovakia)
as the location of the university of King Matthias. See also Isnard W. Frank, “Das Gutachten eines
Wiener Dominikaners für die Universität Pressburg aus dem Jahre 1467,” Zeitschrift für Ostforschung,
16 (1967): 418–439.
Farkas Gábor Kiss
the courtly patronage of John Vitéz, archbishop of Esztergom (c. 1408–1472) and
of King Matthias (1443–1490), several humanists visited the courts of Esztergom
and Buda. They included Jacobus Publicius, author of the most important art of
memory in the second half of the fifteenth century. In the dedication of his sump-
tuously illustrated panegyric work, the Panagericon domus Lavallensis, written in
praise of Pierre de Laval, archbishop of Reims, between 1473 (Pierre’s nomination
to the see of Reims) and his death in 1493, he mentions that:
When I returned from Portugal, Illustrious Duke, I decided that I would com-
memorate in writing the excellent virtues of men, both from our nation and from
foreign lands, and I have written shortly about two immense and cruel wars that
the invincible King Matthias of Hungary fought then at the same time. One of
them he fought against John [?], the emperor of Turks, the other against Georg [of
Podiebrad], the perfidious king of Bohemia. Soon after, I delineated the far-famed
life and excellent virtues of the most holy archbishop of Esztergom, together with
a description of the region of Apollonie [Poland?], so that full knowledge of this
region would be more widely available.63
This dedication to Pierre de Laval, duke of Reims, contains several details
that are difficult to interpret (e.g. the mention of John, the Turkish emperor; and
the relationship between the archbishop of Esztergom and Poland), although
these might be due to transcription errors in the dedication copy surviving in
Paris, Bibl. Nat. ms. Lat. 7809. Pierre de Laval became the archbishop of Reims 131
in 1473, thus the events related here by Publicius may have happened before this
date.64 His visit to Hungary must surely have preceded the death of archbishop
John Vitéz (1472), and probably also that of Georg Podiebrad, king of Bohemia
63
“Cum e Lusitania decedens illustrissime dux statuerim nostrorum atque externorum hominum
egregiam virtutem literarum memoria commendare, duo maxima atque aspera bella ab uno inuictissimo
pannonie rege mathia eadem tempestate gesta brevi perscripsi. Quorum alterum aduersum iohannem
theucrorum maximum, alterum uero contra georgium perfidum boemorum regem gestum est.
Nec tamen longe post sapientissimi atque sanctissimi strigoniensis archiepiscopi praeclaram uitam
optimosque mores una cum apollonie (Polonie?) regionis situ conscriptos nostris relinquere curaui. Vt
plena eius regionis notitia omnia magis magisque in aperto forent.” Edited from Paris, Bibl. nat., ms.
Lat. 7809, 2v–3r in Robert Gaguin, Epistole et orationes, ed. Louis Thuasne (Paris, Bouillon, 1904),
Vol. 2, 260; and Ludwig Bertalot, “Humanistische Vorlesungsankündigungen im Deutschland im
15. Jh.,” in Studien zum italienischen und deutschen Humanismus, ed. Paul Oskar Kristeller (Rome:
Edizioni di Storia e Letteratura, 1975), vol. 1, 218–249, here 242–243 n. 6. (Storia e letteratura 129)
(originally published in 1915). See also Csaba Csapodi, The Corvinian Library: History and stock (Buda-
pest: Akadémiai, 1973), 338–339 and Ágnes Ritoókné Szalay, “Jacobus Publicius ‘Florentinus’ és művei
Mátyás király és Vitéz János viselt dolgairól,” [Jacobus Publicius and his works on King Matthias and
John Vitéz], in: Humanista történetírás és neolatin irodalom [Humanist historiography and Neo-Latin
literature], ed. Enikő Békés et al., (Budapest: MTA BTK ITI, 2015), 17–24.
64
Publicius may have returned to Paris later, in the 1490s (before 1493), when the aging Robert Gaguin
offered him accommodation in the convent of the Trinitarians (Mathurins) and wrote a poem to him
(‘Gaguinus Jacobo Publio poete’). See Gaguin, Epistole (cf. note 63), 259–261.
(1471; otherwise a work about a war against him would have had far less impact),
although it must have followed the war of King Matthias against Bohemia in
1468–69. From the surviving manuscripts of his lectures at various universities
around Europe, it is known that he taught in Leipzig in 1467, from where he went
on to teach in Cologne (June 1468), and shortly afterwards, still in the summer
semester of 1468, to Vienna. He reappears in Cracow under the rectorate of
Stanislaus Florianus de Szadek (Stanisław z Szadka, before 1444–1475) in 1469,
and in the winter semester of 1470–71 we find him already in Basel.65 Apparently,
he may have passed through the court of King Matthias between his teaching in
Vienna and Cracow, in 1468–69, just after the war against Bohemia (summer of
1468), writing a piece of war propaganda for King Matthias. He had been lectur-
ing on humanist texts well before his Hungarian journey (“studia humanitatis”
and the epistles of Jerome in 1467 in Leipzig, and probably Terence, as well),66
and according to the manuscript version of his art of memory in British Library
ms. Add. 28805, he might have been already teaching the art in 1460.67 Although
65
Agostino Sottili, Giacomo Publicio, “Hispanus” e la diff usione dell’Umanesimo in Germania (Barcelo-
na: Universidad Autonóma de Barcelona, 1985), 31. Unfortunately, Sottili does not take into account
the Hungarian journey of Publicius, although it is already mentioned by Bertalot.
66
See Bertalot, “Humanistische Vorlesungsankündigungen,” (cf. note 63) 242–243 and Sottili,
132 Publicius (cf. note 65). The ms. Munich, BSB, clm. 3603 contains lecture notes by Publicius on the art of
memory (97r–106v) and it might originate from 1467. Cf. Die Handschriften aus Augsburger Bibliotheken,
Bd. 1. Stadtbibliothek, Clm 3501–3661, ed. Erwin Rauner (Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz, 2007), 499.
67
Volkmann, “Ars memorativa,” 145–146; Heimann-Seelbach, Ars und scientia, 116, n. 5. Thomas
Swalwell, the only identifiable owner of the volume from the fifteenth century (7r: “Liber domini Thome
Swalwelt dunelmensis monachi”), is surely not the scribe of the entire volume, as he became a monk
in Durham in only around 1483. Cf. A. J. Piper, “Dr Thomas Swalwell, monk of Durham, Archivist
and Bibliophile (d. 1539),” in Books and Collectors 1200–1700. Essays presented to Andrew Watson, ed.
James P. Carley, Colin G. C. Tite (The British Library, 1997), 71–100, esp. 71. Thus he may have been
born only in around 1465. The other owners mentioned in the volume (Wylliam Whitfeld, 119r; Tho-
mas Whitfeld, 123v; Edmund Hummer, 124r) seem to belong to the sixteenth century. Emil J. Polak
notes only the Ars epistolandi (42r–50 v, which can be safely attributed to Publicius by the dedication to
Cyrillus Cesar) and the salutation forms (180 v–184v) from this manuscript. See Emil J. Polak, Medieval
and Renaissance Letter Treatises and Form Letters. A Census of Manuscripts Found in Part of Western
Europe, Japan and the United States (Leiden: Brill, 1994), 311. The text on ff. 7r–28v (inc. Socraticum
Eucratem) is the Suprascriptiones epistolarum of Publicius. Also, the art of memory on leaves 133r–179 v
(inc. Haud ab re fore arbitror) is from Publicius, but it remains questionable whether the other texts,
especially the Instituta oratoria (inc. Instituta oratoria haurire avidus nobiliores normas explanare satagens)
belong to him. Th is is the text to which the dating 1460 refers (“Explicit opusculum rethorice precepcionis
editum anno 1460”, f. 132r). The texts of Publicius and the Instituta oratoria are written by different
scribes, and neither of them is Swalwell. The unidentified Instituta oratoria may be related to the art
of memory attributed to Thomas Bradwardine, as it mentions the etymology of Berwick (129 v), which
likewise appears in Bradwardine’s text. Cf. Mary Carruthers, “Thomas Bradwardine: ‘De Memoria
Artificiali Adquirenda’ (an edition, with introduction and commentary, of the Latin text in Cambridge,
Fitzwilliam Museum MS McClean 169 and collations from British Library MS Harley 4166),” The
Journal of Medieval Latin 2 (1992): 25–43.
Farkas Gábor Kiss
the first printed evidence of his mnemotechnics teaching appears only in around
1475–76, if we can trust the dating of the earliest printed edition of his separately
printed Ars memorativa,68 we might reasonably suppose that Jacobus Publicius
was already dealing with the art of memory during his visit to Hungary, perhaps
in around the years 1468–69.69
Using letters and puns as a mnemonic aid always remained closely associated
with the function of letters as symbols. The extension of the symbolic meaning
of the alphabet from the phonetic to the semantic level, and its usage as a field
(or house) of memory with a predefined order, were always readily available to
practitioners of mnemonics. By the end of the fifteenth century, the Ciceronian
method of the art of memory, based on images and places, had been so widely
popularized by various treatises that critics emerged who tried to gain a fol-
lowing with their own doctrines of memory. One of the most interesting new
treatises is contained in the Epitoma in utramque Ciceronis rhetoricam of Conrad
Celtis, where the alphabet plays a prominent role in memorization.70 As is well
known, the first published books of Celtis were practical handbooks for teaching
poetry and rhetoric at university level. In 1486, he published the Ars versificandi
et carminum in Leipzig, which was a compilation for teaching metrics based
on earlier such works by Jacobus Wimpheling, Niccolò Perotti and Leonigo
da Ognibene, and, to a lesser extent, on the Doctrinale of Alexander de Villa
Dei and anonymous medieval texts.71 When Celtis moved to the University of 133
Cracow in 1489, he gave lectures at the Hungarian Bursa (in aula Hungarorum)
on the art of letter writing. He did not hesitate to confess in his address to
the students (intimatio) that the little work he had written again comprised ex-
cerpts from other authors (“tractatulum ex variis illustrium scriptorum monimentis
68
Jacobus Publicius, Ars memorativa (Toulouse: Henricus Turner? 1475–76?). Used copy: Paris, Bibl.
Mazarine Inc. 618.
69
The surviving copies of his work in Hungarian libraries bear no signs of earlier ownership. However,
the copy in the Scientific Library in Košice (Kassa/Kaschau, Slovakia; SVK Inc. 128) may be of Viennese
or even Hungarian origin, as it contains the Prognosticon of Joseph Grünpeck (Vienna, 1496) in the
same miscellany, besides the 1490 Augsburg edition of the Artes orandi, epistolandi, memorandi. Kotvan,
Inkunábuly (cf. note 16), 313–314, n. 997. Furthermore, a copy was found among the books of “dominus
Clemens” in 1533 in Banská Bystrica (Besztercebánya/Neusohl, Slovakia), which he left to the rectorate
of the St Elisabeth hospital in 1545. See A bányavárosok olvasmányai 1533–1750 [The readings of the
mining towns], ed. Viliam Čičaj, Katalin Keveházi, István Monok and Noémi Viskolcz, Budapest-
Szeged: OSZK-Scriptum, 2003), 5.
70
See also Heimann-Seelbach, Ars und scientia, 133–135. On Celtis in general, see Jörg Robert, “Celtis,
Konrad,” in: Verfasserlexikon Humanismus, Vol. 1., 375–427.
71
Franz Josef Worstbrock, “Die ‘Ars versificandi et carminum’ des Konrad Celtis, Ein Lehrbuch eines
deutschen Humanisten,” in: Studien zum städtischen Bildungswesen des späten Mittelalters und der frühen
Neuzeit, ed. Bernd Moeller, Hans Patze, Karl Stackmann (Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 1983),
462–498, here 470–474.
conflatum”).72 However, he did not confess that this compilation on letter writ-
ing had not been prepared by himself, but by Flavius Guillelmus Ramundus, an
Italian humanist from Agrigento, who was teaching almost the same material in
Heidelberg in 1485.73 Although the Cracovian intimatio mentions the art of let-
ter writing as the only subject, we can assume that Celtis had already taught the
art of memory there on the basis of a manuscript version of his teaching material
in Cracow, which was discovered in Berlin Staatsbibliothek ms. fol. lat. 910 by
Franz Josef Worstbrock.74 The possibility that the entire booklet had already been
conceived in Cracow is reinforced by the poem To the Hungarian college — On the
monstruous signs that preceded the death of King Matthias (Ad coetum Hungarorum
de monstris quae praecessarunt mortem Mathiae regis),75 which is attached to the end
of the volume containing the art of memory, printed in Ingolstadt in 1492. King
Matthias died on April 6, 1490, when Celtis was probably still in Cracow, and such
a poem would be held in greater esteem if delivered soon after the tragic event. He
was teaching in Cracow at the Hungarian coetus according to the announcement
(intimatio) of his course, which explains why he might have chosen this topic for
a poem. Thus the coetus mentioned in the title of the poem refers to the Hungarian
Bursa in Cracow, and not to the one in Vienna, nor to a humanistic sodality in Bu-
134
72
Jan Nepomucen Fijałek, “Studya do dziejów uniwersytetu krakowskiego i jego wydziału teologcznego
w XV wieku,” [Studies on the history of the University of Cracow and its Faculty of Theology in the 15th
century] Rozprawy Akademii Umiejętności, Wydział filologiczny, s. 2, 14 (1899): 1–182, here 24. Cf. also
Lewis W. Spitz, Conrad Celtis. The German Arch-Humanist (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press,
1957), 124; Franz J. Worstbrock, “Die Brieflehre des Konrad Celtis. Textgeschichte und Autorschaft,”
in Philologie als Kulturwissenschaft. Festschrift Karl Stackmann, ed. L. Grenzmann et al. (Göttingen:
Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 1987), 242–269, here 254.
73
Worstbrock, “Brieflehre,” (cf. note 72), 257.
74
The volume is described in Agostino Sottili, “Codici del Petrarca nella Germania occidentale VII,”
Italia medievale e umanistica, 18 (1975): 30. See Worstbrock, “Brieflehre,” (cf. note 72) 251–252.
75
Ad coetum Hungarorum de monstris quae praecessarunt mortem Mathiae regis (published later in
a different version as Ad sodalitatem litterariam Vngarorum de situ Budae et de monstris…, Od. II, 2).
Th ree other poems in the 1492 volume are also directed to Cracovian personalities, to the poet Crispus
Clogomura (perhaps Johannes Glogoviensis? — cf. Antonina Jelicz, Konrad Celtis na tle wczesnego
renesansu w Polsce (Warsaw: Panstwowe Wydawnictwo Naukowe), 1956, 54 —, to the mayor Georgius
Morinus (Morsteyn), and Mirica, i.e. Jan Heydecke, notary of Cracow. Cf. Tibor Klaniczay, A ma-
gyarországi akadémiai mozgalom előtörténete (The prehistory of the academic movement in Hungary)
(Budapest: Balassi, 1993), 48. However, Klaniczay’s suggestion that coetus referred to the sodalitas of
Celtis already in the earlier 1492 version of the poem seems mistaken to me. Rather, Celtis revised the
poem that he had originally written for the Hungarian Bursa, the location of his lectures in Cracow,
after 1497, in order to please the members of the sodalitas Danubiana when he later started to organize
the sodalitates, his wide-reaching literary networks.
Farkas Gábor Kiss
da.76 He must have returned to these Cracovian lectures in Ingolstadt in 1491/92,

first as a private professor, and then in the summer semester of 1492 as a substitute
teacher of poetry and rhetoric. He then published his Epitoma, which includes the
summary of the two Ciceronian rhetorics (i.e. the Rhetorica ad Herennium and the
De inventione), a modus epistolandi utilissimus, and the ars memorativa.
While both the handbook on rhetoric and the treatise on letter writing are
merely excerpts from and compilations of earlier works, the ars memorativa of
Celtis was apparently unprecedented. In this relatively short (two-page) treatise he
derides the work of earlier memory teachers, referring to it as inane:
They have transmitted this art with long and complicated rules about the useless
invention of places and images, discussing in detail in which places and in what
order the images should be located. They stated that one has to take a lot of care
to keep the order of the places, which can be in the sky, various regions, cities,
villages, houses, columns, dark or light rooms, or wide or narrow ones, and
also pay attention that every fifth place should be marked with an imaginary
sign or character to avoid any confusion in the order. I will keep silent about
their endless doctrines on how to invent, find, and collect images so that they
should resemble a thing or a word, and how we should invent an image that is
wonderful, incredible, brutal, cruel, new, rare, unheard of, miserable, dirty and
obscene, because these types of images last longer in the memory. Others have 135
imagined arms and instruments that would express the forms of letters and
similar things that attract the attention of novices, but actually they are not use-
ful at all — while their only intention is to make this art more complicated.”77
76
Th is also explains why there is no resentment in the poem against King Matthias, whose reign in
Vienna was deeply deplored by the Austrian inhabitants of the city. See, e.g., the diary of the Viennese
doctor Johannes Tichtel, in which the death of the tyrannic Matthias is celebrated as a divine reward for
the penitence of the people: “Sed quia populi princeps est ad populi bonitatem, itaque, cum universus
populus mundatus fuisset in quadragesima, abstulit in die palmarum regem Mathiam, cuius corpus
et anima quo pervenerit, nescitur. Quapropter dedit populo deus omnipotens sua gracia iustissimum,
castissimum strenuissimum, bellicosissimum Maximilianum…” Johannes Tichtel, Tagebuch von
1477–1495, ed. Th. G. von Karajan, in Fontes rerum Austriacarum, Abt. I., Scriptores, 1 (Vienna:
Staatsdruckerei, 1855), 53.
77
“hanc [artem] plerique tradidere magnis et difficillimis preceptis inani quadam locorum
imaginumque inuentione quibus locis et quo ordine numeroue ille collocande forent varie diff useque
disserentes. in locorum enim ratione seruanda esse que in celo in regionibus vrbibus villis edibus
intercolumnijs cubilibus obscuris et lucis capacibus angustis vel amplis multum intendere debere vtque
ex ordine quintum quemque locum imaginato signo vel caractere numerum distinguente: ne ordinis
perturbatio fieret docuerant. Transeo infinitam quandam preceptionem de inueniendis comparandis
colligandisque imaginibus veluti cuique rei vocique similem inueniremus imaginem miram incredibilem
trucem crudelem nouam raram inauditam flebilem, sordidam et obscenam illa memorie plurimum
conferre dixerunt. Alii pro singulis elementis confingendis vt difficilior ars foret: arma instrumentaque
effi nxerant que figuras litterarum et formas exprimerent et infi nita talia que admirationem magis
nouiciis quam precium opere persoluunt.” Conrad Celtis, Epitoma in vtramque Ciceronis rhetoricam…
([Ingolstadt]: [Johann Kachelofen], 1492), 13v. (GW 6463; used copy: Budapest, UL, Inc. 444.)
Celtis’ criticism rails against the entire tradition of the fifteenth-century art of
memory, and in particular against the teachings of Jacobus Publicius,78 whose
Oratoriae artis epitomata he quotes both in his summary of Ciceronian rhetoric
and the treatise on letter writing, and whose title (Epitomata) he imitates (Epitoma).
This critical relationship is made all the more clear when Celtis says that “they
[the bad teachers] distribute these letters to the West and East, or to the South,
as if it belonged to the art.”79 Publicius, the itinerant Spanish humanist, devoted
a long chapter to the art of memory in the 1482 edition of his book, which became
even longer as a result of additions in the second edition in 1485. His doctrine,
that the most important initial letters of a speech should be memorized by instru-
ments and objects that resemble these letters, was successful, and reappeared not
only in his own treatise, which was republished twice in Germany,80 but also in
other contemporary treatises, such as in the work of Jan Szklarek.81 In the second
part of his memory treatise he describes a movable memory table, in which each
letter is ordered towards East, West, South, or North — a system that must have
particularly provoked Celtis’ scorn.82
Instead of Publicius’ method, Celtis advises his readers to memorize things
with the aid of the alphabet, since by “keeping the natural order” of the letters
(servata earundem naturali ordine), the elements or members of our material can
be easily retained in the memory. According to Celtis, under each letter of the
136 alphabet one should memorize five words that begin with the same letter, and
these could be the images that belong to the locus — that is, the letter itself.
As mentioned above, such lists of mnemonic associations were already popular
in Antiquity, as recounted in the Rhetorica ad Herennium.83 A similar practice
can already be found in the Memoria fecunda treatise, one of the earliest and
most popular mnemonic texts (written in Bologna in 1425), which suggests that
students of the art of memory should remember a hexametric poem by heart, in
which each line represents a chamber (as a locus), and the words should be located
78
Jacobus Publicius, Oratoriae artis Epitomata (Venice: Erhard Ratdolt, 1482) (GW M36431); ibid.,
1485 (GW M36435).
79
“Eas autem litteras tamquam ex arte nunc in ortum et occasum, nunc in meridiem disparciunt,”
Celtis, Epitoma (cf. note 77), f. 13v.
80
Augsburg: Ratdolt, 1490; Reutlingen: Michael Greyff, 1492–93. See Heimann-Seelbach, Ars und
scientia, 117.
81
See Wójcik, Opusculum, and above pp. 89–102.
82
Jacobus Publicius, Oratoriae artis Epitomata, (Venice: Erhard Ratdolt, 1485), H4r. The practical
advantage of this system is not clear: see Heimann-Seelbach, Ars und scientia, 119–120.
83
Ad C. Herennium. De ratione dicendi, ed. and trans. Harry Caplan (Cambridge, MA: Harvard
University Press, 1954), 221–223. “Scio plerosque Graecos, qui de memoria scripserunt, fecisse ut
multorum verborum imagines conscriberent, uti quid edscere vellent paratas haberent, ne quid in
quaerendo consumerent operae.” Cf. also note 32 above.
Farkas Gábor Kiss
in the chambers reserved for each letter.84 Unlike the earlier anonymous treatise,
Celtis did not order the words into a hexameter, but instead used the five vowels
as the organizing principle of the structure: for each consonant there are five
words starting with the same consonant, but the second letter must be a vowel in
alphabetical order: a, e, i, o, u. Thus the letter B has five images — b-a-lneator,
b-e-gutta, b-i-bulus, b-o-ssequus, b-u-ccinator — followed by the letter C, which
also has five words according to the same pattern, etc. The only exception is the
letter A, which appears in the list — unlike the other vowels — and which has
five words beginning with the five vowels: a – abbas (abbot), e – eques (knight), i –
institor (peddler), o – officialis (ecclesiastical judge), and u – usurarius (usurer). If we
memorize this alphabet, which consists of 20 letters,85 together with the five words
attached to each letter, we thus have a mnemonic palace containing exactly one
hundred places, which can be filled with any material, and the alphabetical order
of the images (i.e. the words) should lessen the likelihood of mistakes. The other
novelty in this treatise is that the practioner has to attach fi xed meanings to each
image (or word): the image of the abbot should always recall religious matters, the
knight should remind us of justice, the peddlar of cheating (“as the peddlar mainly
deals with cheating”), litigation should be associated with the ecclesiastical judge,
and financial problems with the usurer.86 Celtis offers only two further examples
of these associations — we should think of the b-a-lneator, a bather, if we want to
memorize dirty people; and a b-e-gutta, a beguine, if we are thinking of supersti- 137
tion — as everybody should find these fi xed associations for themselves. Although
the vowels, which make the first five places, do not retain this signification in their
compound forms (in b-a, c-a, etc), in some instances we can identify the social
stereotypes of Celtis’ age in the images: the second image for the letter Y should
be Jesus (Y-e-sus), where E could easily stand for justice; while the fifth image for
the same letter is a Jew, y-u-deus¸ where the vowel u might remind us of usury.
However, an important question remains unanswered in Celtis’ treatise: How
exactly are we supposed to memorize longer texts and create a series of loci? If we keep
the images in alphabetical order, our speech can follow only the strict line of thought
given by the words and their associated meanings. On the other hand, if we build up
a memory place using the associated meanings of the words, we lose the alphabetical
order, which is supposed to help us in remembering the sequence of the elements.
This problem may be the reason why all later authors who copied the treatise of Celtis
abandoned the associated meanings of the words and concentrated on the alphabeti-
84
Pack, “An Ars,” 234: “Asperges, agnus, anulus, alembicus, arcus, / Bombix, bacile…” etc. Thus, the
“equipment” in the first chamber (letter A) is an aspersorium, a lamb, a ring, an alembic and a bow.
85
The list excludes all the vowels, with the exception of A (“because it naturally appears on the top
of the list”), and I, listed as Y, “because it seems to be a consonant” (in Celtis’ treatise in the version of
Valentinus de Monteviridi, see below, p. 275.).
86
Celtis, Epitoma (cf. note 77), f. 14r–v.
cal order of the images. In the Ars memorandi noua secretissima, published in 1500 or
1501,87 Jodocus Weczdorff de Triptis (Weimar) inserted an alphabetical list of words,
similar to that of Celtis, but simply suggested that it could be used as a memory
house, without giving any role to one’s individual associations. Furthermore, the
alphabetical table of Celtis was included in the famous Margarita philosophica nova of
Gregor Reisch, which was probably the most popular handbook for artes scholars in
the first two decades of the sixteenth century. The compiler of the Margarita also sim-
plifies Celtis’ system: the thematic connection between the signifier and the signified,
between the memory image and the thing to be memorized, disappears. Instead of
the connotative association we find a double alphabetical order here, which includes
the five vowels as well.88 Thus the subject we would like to remember must be con-
nected with the image, which begins with the same two initial letters — for example
the word ‘ facultas’ should be remembered by ‘ faber,’ while Celtis’ bather (balnea-
tor) (which was a reminder of dirty people) here refers to words starting with ba-.89
2.2. The popularity of the ars memorativa of Celtis in Hungary

(Valentinus de Monteviridi/Grünberg)
At least one more testimony to the popularity of Celtis’ treatise survives in manu-
138 script 734/I in the Ossolineum Library in Wrocław,90 which contains a four-folio
treatise on the art of memory (168r-171v), copied in Vác (German: Waitzen), Hun-
gary, in 1504, according to the explicit (“1504 Wacie in profesto trinitatis”, see the
edition of the text below, pp. 221–226.). The copyist and owner of the manuscript
was a certain Valentinus Werner de Monteviridi (Grünberg, now Zielona Góra in
Silesia), who copied three memory treatises and several memory images and cards in
this manuscript in the period between 1478 and 1505, mostly in Cracow. According
to the register of the University of Cracow, Valentinus gained his baccalaureatus in
87
(s.l.: s.t., s.a.), 2r. VD16 ZV 15509: Reutlingen: Michael Greiff, 1500; but also recorded as Stras-
bourg: Johann Grüninger, 1500. See Heimann-Seelbach, Ars und scientia, 135–138.
88
Gregor Reisch, Margarita philosophica (Strasbourg: Johannes Grüninger, 1508), f. Q3v–Q4v. Georgius
Sibutus also suggests in his Ars memorativa that such series of words (he mentions barbitonsor-bellator-
bibulus-bovicida-bursarius as an example) could be used as memory places (Cologne: Quentell, 1505,
f. A3r.) On Reisch’s Margarita and his working methods, see now Felix Heinzer, “Gregor Reisch und
seine ‘Margarita philosophica’,” in Die Kartause St. Johannisberg in Freiburg im Breisgau. Historische und
baugeschichtliche Untersuchungen, ed. Heinz Krieg et al. (Freiburg im Breisgau: Stadtarchiv, 2014), 113–125.
89
For a detailed comparison of the two treatises see John J. Bateman, “The Art of Rhetoric in Gregor
Reisch’s Margarita Philosophica and Conrad Celtes’ Epitome of the Two Rhetorics of Cicero,” Illinois
Classical Studies 8 (1983): 137–154.
90
Heimann-Seelbach mentions the text of Jacobus Publicius’ art in this manuscript (Ars und scientia,
117.), but Rafał Wójcik was the first to call attention to the other mnemonic treatise in the same volume.
Wójcik, Opusculum, 65–66.
Farkas Gábor Kiss
1478, and received a master’s degree in 1493.91 The manuscript offers further details
about his life: he copied the various texts it contains at the University of Cracow in
1478, 1493–94 and 1505.92 He was earlier identified with an Augustinian monk,
Bruder Valentin, who prepared astrological prognostica near Wrocław at the end of
the fifteenth century, although recent secondary literature has called attention to
the fact that he began to refer to himself as a bachelor of arts only from 1496/97 on-
wards, thus cannot be identical to our Valentinus de Monteviridi, who had already
become a magister artium in 1493.93 Valentinus de Monteviridi is otherwise known
from only one source — an astrological Practica published in 1502, in which he
claims to be a canon of Vác (canonicus Vaciensis).94 He must therefore have spent at
least some time in Vác between 1502 (the date of publication of the Practica) and
1504 (the copying of the memory treatise), and was a canon of the bishopric under
Bishop Nicholas Báthory. Nicholas Báthory (around 1435–1506) was among the
prominent humanists of the second half of the reign of King Matthias. He studied
under Galeotto Marzio in Bologna between 1464 and 1469, and was in contact
with several Italian humanists, including Marsilio Ficino, Battista Guarino, and
Sebastiano Salvini.95 After being made bishop of Vác, he founded a gymnasium
91
Wójcik, Opusculum, 65.
92
Katalog rękopisów Biblioteki Zakładu Nar. Im. Ossolińskich, ed. W. Kętrzyński (Lwów: Nakladem
Zakladu Nar. im Ossoliń skich, 1898), Vol. 3, 231–232. The contents of the manuscript: f. 1r –31v: 139
Liber de causis, 31v–60r: Liber sapientis David Iudaeorum rabi. (copied in Cracow, 1505); 62r–79r:
Memoriale rerum naturalium difficilium (=Liber Alexandri de intelligentiis; in studio Cracoviensi,
1493); 81r –95r: Tractatus de esse et essentia per Iohannem de Nova domo compilatus (in studio
Cracoviensi, 1494); 98r–110r: Libri duo de intellectu et intelligibili; 111r–132r: Liber de esse et essentia
(“In bursa philosophorum studii Cracoviensis sub anno Domini 1478”); 135r–142r: Conclusio qua ipse
Bohetius suas concludit hebdomadas (1502); 143r–164r: De angelis; 168r–171r: De memoria artificiali;
174r–200r: Iacobi Publicii Florentini ars memoriae; 200 v–207r: De arte iuvandi memoriam, De literis
et numeris, Chartae lusoriae, Modi et tempora verborum.
93
Ld. Die deutsche Literatur des Mittelalters. Verfasserlexikon. ed. Karl Langosch (Berlin: de Gruyter,
1953), Vol. 4, 668; and Francis B. Brévart, F. J. Worstbrock, “Bruder Valentin OESA,” Verfasserlexikon,
Vol. 10, col. 155–156.
94
Unfortunately, the volume is irretrievable, and it does not appear in the catalog of German books
published in the sixteenth century (VD16). However, according to a reference of Karl Sudhoff in
Deutsche medizinische Inkunabeln. Bibliographisch-literarische Untersuchungen (Leipzig: Barth, 1908),
259, he received the description of the volume from Konrad Häbler (the founder of the Gesamtkatalog
der Wiegendrücke) and Valentinus called himself there “magister Valentinus, canonicus Vaciensis,”
“Valentinus de Viridi Monte,” and claimed to have practiced (probably astrology) in Buda, as well.
95
See Farkas Gábor Kiss, “Franciscus Pescennius Niger Báthory Miklós váci püspök udvarában és
a Scholasticum Orosianae Iuventutis Dramma,” [Fr. Pesc. Niger in the court of Nicholas Báthory, bishop
of Vác, and his Scholasticum Orosianae Iuventutis Dramma], Magyar könyvszemle 129 (2013): 265–281;
Dennis A. Rhodes, “Battista Guarini and a book at Oxford,” Journal of the Warburg and Courtauld
Institutes 37 (1974): 349–353; and the studies contained in Báthory Miklós váci püspök (1474–1506)
emlékezete (The memory of Nicholas Báthory, bishop of Vác), ed. Alice Horváth (Vác: Cathedral Mu-
seum, 2007). He was praised for his knowledge both by Antonio Bonfini (Rerum Ungaricarum decades,
ed. I. Fógel et al. [Leipzig: Teubner, 1936], Vol. 1, 9), and Galeotto Marzio (De egregie, sapienter, iocose
dictis et factis regis Matthiae, ed. Ladislaus Juhász [Leipzig: Teubner, 1934], 34–35; cap. 31).
illustre there, to which he invited Italian professors (Francesco Negro Pescennio, and
a certain Bernardino d’Udine). Francesco Negro Pescennio was invited to teach as
a canon at the school of Nicholas Báthory probably in 1503 or 1504,96 thus precisely
when Valentinus de Monteviridi was made a canon in Vác. It is probable that he
also copied the short treatise De arte iuvandi memoriam at the end of the manuscript
(200r) in Hungary, as he uses a Hungarian word (bor – wine) as an example of bor-
rowing a memory image from a foreign language.97
The text copied in Vác in 1504 is a modified version of the memory treatise
of Conrad Celtis. Valentinus omits the name of the author of the treatise and
inserts a short introductory paragraph at the beginning: people generally desire to
improve their natural abilities and circumstances; peasants irrigate their land for
better production; and we build houses so that rain will not fall on us. In a similar
manner, memory can be improved artificially. This idea appears in a very similar
form in the second paragraph of the popular ‘Memoria fecunda’ treatise on the
art of memory:98
[N]emini dubium est naturam arte iuuari, ad quod credendum quotidiana

edocemur experientia: propter enim vitae commoditatem varia artificia homi-
nibus adinventa sunt: ob id enim (vt mille innumerabilibus99 obmittantur
exempla) agricola arte terram sulcat seminat et ipsam irrigat, vt fecundior
140 cum fenore ager sibi fructum afferet, arte praeterea extruuntur aedificia vt
mortale genus ab imbribus et celi calamitatibus esset securum. Codices insuper
exarantur, vt quae a memoria nostra labili decurrunt, per eos in praesentias
scientias nobis comminiscentibus devenirent, pariformiter hoc in spiritualibus
reperitur, vt per quasdam ymagines loca et per inscripciones memoria potest
secundaria100 natura ipsam noster animus firmius inscripta per id in memoria
potest retinere: quare naturam arte posse iuuari manifestum est.
[U]t ergo propositum multis ambagibus exclusis prosequimur, id sciat in
primis memorari volens memoriam ipsam fore bipartitam in naturalem videlicet
et artificialem.101
96
See Judith Rice Henderson, “Francesco Negro of Venice,” in Contemporaries of Erasmus, ed. Peter
G. Bietenholz et al. (Toronto: Toronto University Press, 1987), Vol. 3, 10–11.
97
“Habita nonnumquam diccione latina, quae non significat rem aliquam ponderosam visibilem,
capimus imaginem eius auxilio alterius linguae ut por diccione latina cum nihil significat apud latinos
ponam tamen pro imagine id quod in alia lingua significat, hoc est vinum. Nam por est lingua ungarica
et significat vinum.” Wrocław, Ossol., ms. 734/I, f. 201r and below p. 282.
98
On this treatise cf. Heimann-Seelbach, Ars und scientia, 28–34 and Kiss, “Performing”.
99
Read innumerabilia.
100
Read perhaps fecundari a.
101
Italics mark the beginning of Celtis’ text.
Farkas Gábor Kiss
Sapientum tradit auctoritas – et ad experiendum nos cottidiana cogit neces-

sitas, quod ars adiuvat naturam in corporalibus et spiritualibus, propter enim
commoditatem vite corporalis tam varia artificia manualia sunt inventa, et ubi
deficit natura, supplet artificium.[…] Nam primo, propter cibum contra famem
agricola terram sulcat arte, seminat et runkat, plantat et rigat, ut terra fructum
afferat, incrementum tamen Deo dante. […] Tercio, pro tegumento nature
nostre a sole et a pluvia, arte fiunt edificia et ad hominum usum varium varia
instrumenta. […] Quinto, per scriptores libri manuales, tamquam quedam
memorialia, nostre memorie labili, que natura non valet, arte coaptantur.102
(Memoria fecunda, Bologna, 1425)
The introduction is followed by the text of Celtis’ treatise with a few modifications,
and Valentinus attaches a sentence and a poem at the end as well.103 It seems that
Valentinus tried to put the theories of Celtis into practice, as he linked his own
associations to each word in Celtis’ alphabet, up to the letter M, and even changed
the meaning of the seven elements that were defined by Celtis. An abbot meant
religio for Celtis, while for him it is chastity (castitas); the just knight (eques) of
Celtis means robbery (rapacitas) to him; the ecclesiastical judge (officialis) recalls
a citation (citacio) instead of a process (lis). The bather becomes a pallid (pallidus)
person rather than meaning dirty people; and the superstitious beguine is associ-
ated here with quarrelling (rixa). As Celtis said, “it helps the memory a great deal, 141
if someone knows the things of the world,”104 and Valentinus follows this advice
when he refills Celtis’ table with meanings of his own. He writes the associations
that he has invented next to each word, and in minute letters repeats it above the
words themselves, which suggests that he tried to memorize them in practice.
The strange words in Celtis’ list are annotated, although often the signification of
some words remains unclear (e.g., the spurious word kinglios is annotated: “prudens
cancellarius hinc”).
The other thing that makes Valentinus de Monteviridi’s manuscript interest-
ing to us is his copy of the memory treatise of Jacobus Publicius, and the images
that follow it. The treatise itself is annotated in the margins, and the annotator
sometimes contradicts Publicius concerning the history of the art of memory
(Simonides or Metrodorus). On folios 205v–206r, six images (Pl. 11.) illustrate
how to remember nouns that are in cases (e.g., the sign of the genitive is a man on
bended knees holding a baby in a basket above his head; the dative is a man of-
102
Pack, “An Ars,” 229. Th is introduction is also transmitted in the treatise ‘Attendentes nonnulli
philosophie professores’ (Heimann-Seelbach, Ars und scientia, 40).
103
“Ingenuo sermone loqui versuque canoro // ludere et articulis increpuisse lyram // Nemo sine assiduo
(si quid mihi creditis uersu) // Nemo sine assiduo scire labore putet.” (169 v)
104
“Multo autem pro re consequenda adiumento nobis erit si humanarum rerum experienciam
habuerimus,” Celtis, Epitoma (cf. note 77), 14v.
fering money; the accusative is holding a goose – auca, etc.). The following folios,
206v–207r (see Pl. 12.) contain images of a nude male and female, illustrating how
to remember the exact form of a conjugated verb in the active (male) and passive
(female) voice. The conjugation of the active voice is to be memorized by the body
parts of a naked man, who is stabbing his own leg with a sword. This image is
a good example of the mechanization of the need for surprise in mnemonic im-
ages, as the shocking, striking element of the image is not connected in any way
with the significations that are attributed to the body parts. Stabbing oneself
with a sword is a typical “surprise” element in fifteenth- and sixteenth-century
mnemotechnics. One can find the same motif in the anonymous pictorial Gospel
(Figurae Evangeliorum, c. 1470), for example in the second image of the Gospel of
Mark,105 and in the Logica memorativa of Thomas Murner (1509).106 In the image
in the Figurae Evangeliorum, an immense needle pierces through the left leg of
a lion (=Marc), referring to the tenth chapter of this Gospel and the parable of the
camel and the rich man and the eye of the needle. Thus the act of piercing through
the leg is directly connected to the topic to be memorized, and the painful image is
simply an aid to the memory. The image I quoted from Thomas Murner’s treatise
contains a definition of the notion of quality, which has four modes (modi). The
third of these modes is the passibilis qualitas — that is, passion. The sword piercing
through the leg is a reasonable association in Murner’s image, as the act of piercing
142 is directly connected to passion and passive quality (“transfixo gladio passionem
vel passibilem qualitatem [intelligas]”). In comparison with these two parallels, the
element seems to be a previously unconventional, but now conventionalized, tool
to draw attention to the image in the case of the picture painted by Valentinus of
Monteviridi.
The closest analogue to this nude couple can be found in the work of Jacobus
Publicius: a similar woodcut appears for the first time in the 1485 edition of his
Oratoriae artis epitomata.107 However, Publicius does not explain the meaning of
105
Memorabiles Evangelistarum Figurae (Pforzheim: Thomas Anshelm, 1502). Modern edition:
106
Thomas Murner, Logica memorativa. Chartiludium logice (Strasbourg: Schürer, 1509), f. f2v–f3v.
An early Artis memorandi precepta (Lübeck: Lukas Brandis, c. 1478) already suggests that we should
memorize verbs in the passive voice with painful things (“delectabile et mirabile activum, fl ebile
passivum”, f. 3r). On Murner’s work see Detlef Hoff mann, “Die mnemonische Kartenspiele Thomas
Murners,” in Seelenmaschinen. Gattungstraditionen, Funktionen und Maschinen, eds. Jörg Jochen Berns
and Wolfgang Neuber, (Vienna: Böhlau, 2000), 585–604; Massimiliano Rossi, “Res logicas… sensibus
ipsis palpandas prebui”: immagini della memoria, didattica e gioco nel Chartiludium logice (Strasburgo
1509) di Thomas Murner,” Annali della Scuola Normale Superiore di Pisa (lett. e fi los.) ser. 3, 20 (1990):
831–877 and Rafał Wójcik, “Masters, Pupils, Friends and Thieves: A Fashion of ars memorativa in the
Environment of Early German Humanists,” Daphnis 41 (2012): 399–418.
107
Publicius, Epitomata (cf. note 82), 1485, H1v. For a reproduction, see http://diglib.hab.de/
inkunabeln/79-quod-6/start.htm?image=00114 (accessed on 15.10.2015.)
Farkas Gábor Kiss
the image at all, an omission that is not restricted to this picture alone in his book.
The absence of any explanation for these enigmatic images heightened the value
of the professor’s lectures, and at the same time preserved the arcane character of
the ars.108 Similar anthropomorphic imagines were created by Johannes Romberch
von Host in his Congestorium artificiosae memoriae, published for the first time
in 1520. He associated the declination of nouns with different body parts: if we
want to remember the word “smith” in the nominative, we should mark the figure
with a blister on his head; if we want to remember the word in the accusative, we
should add a blister on the chest; if the word is in the vocative, the blister should
be on the belly, etc. The singular forms should be on the naked figure, while the
plurals should be on a clothed figure.109
2.3. Johannes Cusanus: Thirty years of teaching artificial memory

in Europe
Celtis’ art of memory continued to influence the memory culture in Central Eu-
rope well after his death. Perhaps the most interesting testimony is a treatise by
Johannes Enclen de Cusa (Cusanus), the Tractatulus artificiose memorie, which first
appeared in Frankfurt a. d. Oder in 1510 and was later reprinted in Vienna at the
press of Vietor and Singrenius, in 1514.110 (For an edition and a discussion of its 143
relationship to earlier texts, see Appendix 2.) The author was one of the itinerant
scholars who followed the path of Jacobus Publicius and earned their living in
the university towns of Northern Europe by transmitting the techniques of arti-
ficial memory to students. In 1529 in Cracow, probably already at the end of his
career when he appeared in the list of university professors as a “lector artificiose
memorie,”111 he states that he had been teaching in seven countries, at nineteen
different universities. Preliminary research into his career shows that he taught the
108
Explanations appear only in manuscript versions of the treatise, e.g. in Augsburg, SB, Cod. II. 1. 2o
94, f. 167v. For a reproduction, see Barbara Kuhn, Gedächtniskunst im Unterricht (Munich: Iudicium,
1993), 55–59.
109
Johann Host von Romberch, Congestorium artificiosae memoriae (Venice: Georgius de Rusconibus,
1520), f. G2r–G3r. According to Romberch, Petrus Ravennas used nudity as a sign of the singular,
although this idea does not occur in those editions of the Phoenix of Petrus that are known to me.
110
Th is rare booklet and its author are missing from most biographical lexicons, and only the Viennese
edition of the booklet appears in VD 16 (ZV 4213). The only copy of the 1510 Frankdurt a. d. Oder
edition (by Johannes Hanaw) is in Uppsala University Library, Ink. 31:230 (1), cataloged as Johannes
Cusinus. An annotated copy of the 1514 Vienna edition: Budapest, OSZK, Ant. 10008. A third edition,
not mentioned in VD16, was printed in Leipzig in 1519 by the printing press of J. Thanner, at the expense
of Johannes Cusanus (several copies: The Hague, Konink. Bibl. 225 J 26; Oxford, Bodleian, Douce N
243, etc. – the Oxford copy is annotated). For a fuller catalog, see below, pp. 306–310.
111
Wójcik, Opusculum, 80. His entire name appears there as “Johannes Kusanus Petri Henklen de
Kusan d. Triverensis, magister Coloniensis”.
art in Cologne (1501), Zwolle (1502), Erfurt (1505), Frankfurt a.d. Oder (1510),
Vienna (1514), Leipzig (1519), Lübeck (1523–27), Copenhagen (1524), and Cracow
(1529). The volume was published together with the paratexts of Hermann von
dem Busche, Hermann Trebelius, and Eberhard Verberius Dantiscus (Eberhard
Ferber from Gdańsk, a student of Cusanus) and was used as a teaching aid on
his course, as can be seen from the marginal notes accompanying the text in the
Budapest copy of the 1514 Vienna edition. Indeed, he may have arrived even earlier
in Vienna, perhaps in 1512, when the Geography of Pomponius Mela was published
at the Singrenius Press by Johannes Camers, a prominent professor at the universi-
ty.112 In the dedication of this edition of Pomponius Mela, directed by Camers at
Theobald von Offenburg, the Viennese professor praised the index compiled for
the volume as being of great use to all those who do not have an excellent memory.
He illustrated this argument by citing a number of ancient historical figures who
had an excellent memory113 — a list that closely resembles that published earlier
by Cusanus among the paratexts of his 1510 edition.114
Being a teacher of mathematics, Cusanus imagines a more abstract, almost
geometrical scheme for his memory houses, in which he merges Publicius’ method
with Celtis’ alphabet: the images should be contained in three types of houses
(see p. 315). The bigger houses may contain five medium-sized houses (in the four
corners and in the middle), while each of the medium-sized houses may contain
144 five smaller houses, and these smaller houses contain the images.115 He also men-
112
Pomponii Melae Geographiae libri tres. Hermolai Barbari in eundem integrae castigationes. Index
in Pomponio contentorum copiosissimus (Vienna: Singrenius-Vietor, 1512).
113
“Difficile est / ne dicam impossibile humano ingenio / scripta tantorum nobilium autorum / ut
expedit / retinere memoria, qua (teste Plynio) nec aliud est aeque fragile in homine / morborum, et casus
iniurias, atque etiam metus sentiens. Paucorum in hanc usque diem uideo memoriam commendari.
Mirantur Cyrum Persarum regem / quod cunctis in exercitu suo, quem habuit copiosum militibus /
nomina reddiderit. Lucius quoque Scipio ob hoc ipsum miraculo habitus / quod Romanorum militum
omnium nomina memoria retinebat. Mithridatis memoria cunctis admirationi est / quod duarum et
viginti gentium rex / totidem linguis absque interprete iura dixerit. Mitto Carneadem, et post eum paucos:
qui a parente deo, id memoriae donum / sunt consecuti. Celebrant miris laudibus Simonidem, ac Sceptium
Metrodorum / quod ab eis memoriae ars: facta sit et inuenta. Eget siquidem ob suam imbecillitatem
natura / plurimis uariarum artium adminiculis. Iuuatur praeterea hominum memoria: quom ea quae
in autoribus dispersa leguntur / compendio quodam / ad ordinem rediguntur.” Mela, Geographia (cf.
note 112), 1v. Dated to “pridie Nonas Septembris 1512” (Sept 4, 1512).
114
Cusanus printed on the first folio a quotation from Cicero (“Vidi ego summos homines et diuina
prope memoria Athenis Carneadem, in Asia, quem viuere hodie aiunt Sceptium Metrodorum, quorum
uterque tanquam litteris in cera, sic se aiebat imaginibus in his locis, quos haberet que meminisse vellet
prescribere”; Cicero, de oratore 2, 88) and two epigrams by Hermann Buschius and Eberhard Verberius,
which mention Simonides, Metrodorus, Aristotle, and Carneades as exemplary masters of memory. See
Johannes Cusanus, Tractatulus artificiose memorie (Frankfurt a. d. Oder: s.t., 1510), 1r–1v.
115
The differentiation between greater, medium-sized and smaller places (loci maximi, maiores,
minores) appears in earlier treatises of the fifteenth century (cf. Heimann-Seelbach, Ars und scientia,
125.)
Farkas Gábor Kiss
tions the possibility of imagining triangular houses, with three corner elements
and one in the middle, and he also supports the use of a tree with branches forking
in seven directions, an idea that he may have conceived during his teaching of the
Arbor consanguinitatis. The 1510 edition of the Tractatulus contains woodcuts of the
symbolic letters and numbers invented by Publicius.116 Although Celtis rejected the
use of such figurative letters, and instead propagated his own alphabetic-associative
system in its place, Cusanus copied both methods in his treatise. However, he only
copies the words of Celtis’ mnemonic alphabet, not the associative method itself.
The first five of Celtis’ elements (in the work of Cusanus: abbas, eques, illuminator,
organista, usurarius) are no longer associative topoi, but only the scheme of a ready-
made mental book (liber mentalis).
3.1. Related scholarly subjects in the Jagiellonian age
Valentinus de Monteviridi is the only practitioner of the art of memory in late

medieval Hungary whom we know by name. It is worth making a short digres-
sion here to mention a technique related to the art of memory that also enjoyed
a wave of popularity at the end of the Middle Ages, and which, similarly to ars
memorativa, served the recollection of an abstract concept by using physical objects
as signs. As is well known, the Venerable Bede described a method of finger count- 145
ing in his Tractatus de computo, vel loquela per gestum digitorum at the beginning
of the eighth century, in which the various positions of the fingers of both hands
represent numbers from 1 to 9,999, with the purpose of assisting in the calcula-
tion of the calendar dates of the feasts (computus). His system contributed to the
invention of the Guidonian hand — the system formulated by Guido d’Arezzo in
the twelfth century to represent musical notes — although we know little about
the later medieval fate of Bede’s hand signs.
Using hand symbols for numbers must already have been a widespread practice
among accountants and monastic communities in Central Europe in the mid-
fifteenth century. In a letter by Johannes Tröster, a German humanist and educator
of King Ladislas V (Postumus) of Hungary, addressed to Enea Silvio Piccolomini
and requesting Piccolomini’s help in furthering his career, Tröster uses the example
of numerical hand signs in a comparison with the constantly changing status of
courtiers at the royal court: “I say, as the digits of mathematicians might mean
116
The design is different from that of Publicius or Jan Szklarek. See Uppsala University Library, Ink.
31:230 (1), B3r–C7v. The symbolic letters and numbers may have been inserted into the later editions as
well, e.g. in the Watkinson Library copy (BF370.C87 1514) of the 1514 Vienna edition (Trinity College,
Hartford, US; kind information of Dr. Jeffrey Kaimowitz). For a detailed discussion of the history of
Cusanus’ Tractatulus, see the introduction to the edition of the text, p. 303–310.
sometimes tens of thousands, but only one or two at another time, in the same
manner the friends of kings might have immense influence sometimes, and the
tiniest at other times.”117
Augustinus Moravus, who later became secretary and court humanist of King
Wladislas II, explained the use of these hand signs in a letter dated 1493, while
he was still studying in Padua.118 In the first part of the letter he praises the
humanistic education of the king and compares him to Alexander the Great,
Scipio Africanus, Julius Caesar, and the Emperor Augustus because of his cultural
interests and poetic inclinations, and he refers to King Matthias as an example
of a ruler who devoted his time to the patronage of poets during warfare, and
who dedicated his wealth to building an exceptional library. He goes on to quote
all the sources on ancient numerical hand signs (Pliny the Elder, Apuleius, St
Jerome), and describes their usage quoting Bede’s treatise word by word. Accord-
ing to Moravus, the signs had already been greatly welcomed by Paolo Barrocci,
bishop of Padua, thus he entertained the hope that King Wladislas II would also
be receptive to these ancient rules in his leisure time (otiis tuis litterariis). We
have no information as to whether King Wladislas II actually attained mastery
of the numerical hand signs, although the letter of Augustinus Moravus certainly
acquired a certain fame in Hungarian and Czech humanistic circles, as Joannes
Dubravius, a Czech humanist and protégé of Augustinus Moravus, outlines the
146 same system in his commentary on The marriage of Philology and Mercury by
Martianus Capella, published in 1516 in Vienna.119 The place (Padua) and date
(1493) of Augustinus’ original letter suggests that it was not Augustinus Moravus
himself who reconstructed the gestures of the hands and fingers as described by
Bede, since the figure that we find in the letter as an appendix appears in a similar
117
“inquam ergo quemadmodum computatorum digitis nunc decios millenarios nunc unarios queunt
ponere, eodem quoque regum amicos posse quandoque totum quandoque minimum.” Der Briefwechsel
des Eneas Silvius Piccolomini, ed. Rudolf Wolkan (Vienna: Holder, 1918), Vol. 3/1, 373–380 (Vienna,
Dec 14, 1453).
118
The letter survives in a copy made by the Transylvanian Georg Reicherstorff er, secretary to
King Ferdinand I, prepared in 1530 (Munich, BSB, clm. 24106), and it was edited by Karl
Wotke, Augustinus Olomucensis (Augustinus Käsenbrot von Wssehrd), Zeitschrift des Vereins für die
Geschichte des Mährens und Schlesiens, 2 (1898): 66–71, though he seems to have overlooked the vers-
ion published by Joannes Dubravius. On Reicherstorffer, see Bernhard Capesius, “Der Hermannstädter
Humanist Georg Reicherstorffer,” Forschungen zur Volks- und Landeskunde (Sibiu, Romania) 10/1
(1967): 35–62.
119
Martianus Foelix Capella, De nuptiis Mercurii et Philologiae, cum adnotationibus Ioannis Dubravii,
Vienna, Hieronymus Vietor, 1516, L5v: “Augustinus Morauus, uir profecto in omni genere studiorum
clarissimus, nec nostri tantum quantum omnium litteras sectantium amantissimus, non indignam
putauit, de qua scriberet, ad Principem nostrum Wladislaum Boemiae Regem semper Augustum
proposita etiam simili quadam tabella.”
Farkas Gábor Kiss
form in the Summa de arithmetica, the famous mathematical work of Luca Pacioli,
published in Venice in 1494.120
4.1. Preaching and the art of memory in Hungary
All the genuine arts of memory surviving from late medieval Hungary can be
connected to ecclesiastical circles, and especially to preaching. References to such
texts in medieval library catalogs indicate the same public, as in the case of Geor-
gius Petri, parish priest of Bardejov (Bartfeld, Bártfa, Slovakia), who owned an
unspecified ars memorativa that he bequeathed to the library of the St. Aegidius
parish church.121 While numerous studies have examined the surviving treatises
on the art of memory from the Late Middle Ages, we still know relatively little
about their practical use. This is partly due to the inherently paradoxical nature of
the topic — the fact that the created imagines agentes, the practical results of this
art, were supposed to be preserved in the mind, not written down, thus we can
know very little about how a preacher or a lawyer used his memory in practice in
the fifteenth century. Fifteenth-century treatises on ars memorativa often men-
tion the memorization of legal handbooks (Decretalia), textbooks of logic (Petrus
Hispanus’ Parva logicalia), legends, and eccelsiastical oratory.122 In particular,
147
120
Luca Pacioli, Summa de arithmetica geometria proportioni proportionalita, (Venice: P. de Paganinis,
1494), 36v (distinctio 2, tractatus 4). I have no information about personal contacts between Luca
Pacioli and Augustinus Moravus, but it is certain that Luca Pacioli was in Padua in 1493–94, preparing
his Summa de arithmetica, and he is thought to have taught at the University of Padua at that time.
Thus the similarities between Augustinus’ letter and Pacioli’s work mutually corroborate the hypothesis
that Pacioli held a public lecture in Padua, and that his student Augustinus quickly published the
material discussed in the class in his letter to the king. See Paul F. Grendler, The Universities of the Ita-
lian Renaissance (Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2004), 426–427; Antonio Favaro,
“I lettori di matematiche nella Università di Padova dal principio del secolo XIV alla fi ne del XVI,”
Memorie e documenti per la Storia dell’Università di Padova 1 (1922): 1–70, here 46; and Antonio
Favaro, Galileo Galilei e lo studio di Padova: ricerche e scoperte, insegnamento, scolari (Padua: Antenore,
1968), 95–96.
121
Many of the books in his will are connected to preaching. See Jenő Ábel, A bártfai Szent-Egyed
templom könyvtárának története [History of the library of the St Giles church in Bartfeld] (Budapest:
MTA, 1885), 64, 76.
122
In the introduction to his Ars et doctrina studendi et docendi (1453), the Spanish Juan Alfonso de
Benavente says that the artificial memory is particularly suitable for remembering the paragraphs of
laws and speeches, and he introduces an example showing the memorization of the chapters of the
Decretalia. See Georg Eickhoff, “Die universitäre Praxis der Gedächtniskunst bei Juan Alfonso de
Benavente,” in: Ars memorativa. Zur kulturgeschichtlichen Bedeutung der Gedächtniskunst 1400–1750,
ed. Jörg Jochen Berns, Wolfgang Neuber, (Tübingen, Niemeyer, 1993), 121–122. Georg Sibutus in
his Ars memorativa (Cologne: Quentel, 1505; VD16 S 6261) suggests already in his extensive title that
lawyers and preachers are his target audience: Ars memorativa concionatoribus et iurisperitis multum
utilis et fructifer.
a number of examples refer to ecclesiastical sermons, and in the following pages

I will examine the possibility of finding traces of the actual usage of this late me-
dieval technique in surviving sermon collections, especially in those of Pelbartus
of Temesvár.
An ecclesiastical preacher had to rely heavily on memory — whether natural
or artificial — and an account from a much later period can be illuminating in
this respect: the brother of Ferenc Kazinczy, one of the most significant writers at
the end of the eighteenth century in Hungary, copied a story from his schooldays
on their common manuscript collection of anecdotes sometime between 1781
and 1795. “Somebody dies in Patak, and both Babarék and Csizi [names of two
fictional priests – F.G.K.] are requested to make a funeral speech by the relatives.
The day before the funeral, Babarék comes into the town of Patak and finds ac-
commodation in the house of Csizi. Babarék realizes that the sermon that Csizi
planned for the day after is lying on the table. They start to drink, and while Csizi
goes out a few times, Babarék quickly scans the entire sermon, remembers the
biblical text, the exordium, the partition, etc. On the following day the funeral
starts and Babarék is the first preacher. He says the first prayer, then tells the bibli-
cal text; Csizi gets frightened. He blames himself that he didn’t ask Babarék what
his text would be and quickly tries to look for a parallel text. But Babarék says the
exordium in the same manner, then the partition and the application, as if he were
148 reading Csizi’s work. Csizi — still frightened — gives an extemporized sermon,
and it is as good as any other.”123
In this eighteenth-century anecdote, the most noteworthy figure is not the
cleverly extemporizing Csizi, who easily overcame his difficulties, but Babarék,
the thief. He was able to memorize the biblical sentence, the beginning and the
partition of the sermon, as he had no doubt had to do on other occasions, when-
ever he prepared for the divine service. We do not know what method Babarék
used, but three hundred years earlier, in the late fifteenth century, there existed
a specialized literature on the subject of memorizing sermons with their divisions
and distinctions.
4.2. Memory aids for preachers
As early as the beginning of the fourteenth century, the Dominican preacher Bar-
tolomeo da San Concordio (c. 1262–1347) included in his collection of exempla
those elements of the classical art of memory that might prove useful to a preacher
in everyday church practice, and even translated these rules into Italian in his
123
Dénes Szentimrey-Vén, “Kazinczy Ferenc: Anekdotonok,” Széphalom Évkönyv (Sátoraljaújhely) 10
(1999): 237.
Farkas Gábor Kiss
Ammaestramenti degli Antichi. However, he approached the problem from the

perspective of the listener, and his rules were directed towards the audience. He
was concerned with how a preacher could grasp the attention of his congregation,
and how he could make them remember the lessons they heard in the sermon, for
example with the aid of exempla, images, analogues, or similes.124 (The question
of how to capture listeners’ attention traditionally formed part of ars praedicandi
treatises.) He paid less attention to the memory of the preacher, only recounting
the basic rules of ancient mnemotechnics, although his survey of the subjetct sug-
gests that the doctrine of loci and imagines was already known and practiced at
the beginning of the fourteenth century.
As is well known, most sermons from the turn of the twelfth and thirteenth
centuries onwards were conceived with the aid of a new exegetical tool — distinc-
tions and divisions. Distinctiones were used to define the various parallel figurative
meanings of the scriptural text of the sermon, while further divisions helped the
preacher in subdividing the different aspects of his interpretations into separate,
often numbered units.125 Creating the outline of divisions and headings, and then
finding appropriate citations from patristic, canonical, theological, or philosophi-
cal sources, was probably the most laborious part of the writing process. The divi-
sion was often quite mechanical, and the various questions that the sermon writer
might use when approaching the text were neatly ordered in a mnemonic poem at
the beginning of the fourteenth century: 149
Ad, quare, per, propter, notat, in, similat, que gerundi

Ad quos ne de quot locus impedit atque processus
Accidit adverbium circumstat que relative
Participans variis ablatiue genitiui
Ostendit, mouet, ut, hystori, cum quia contra
Pertinet, effectus, conclusio, questio, statque
Comparat, adveniunt, argucio, littera, signa
124
Cesare Vasoli, “Arte della memoria e predicazione,” Medioevo e rinascimento 3 (1989): 301–322. For
a detailed survey of the presence of mnemotechnical practices in artes praedicandi, see Kimberly Rivers,
“Memory and Medieval Preaching: Mnemonic Advice in the Ars praedicandi of Francesc Eiximenis,”
Viator 30 (1999): 257–262. However, all the earlier artes praedicandi (from the thirteenth and fourteenth
centuries) explicitly refuse the practice of memoria artificialis, except for Francesc Eiximenis. Instead,
they emphasize the importance of daily exercise and diligence.
125
In general, see Richard H. Rouse and Mary A. Rouse, “Biblical Distinctiones in the Th irteenth
Century,” Archives d’ histoire doctrinale et littéraire du Moyen Âge 41 (1974): 27–37; and id., “Statim
invenire. Schools, preachers, and new attitudes to the page,” in Renaissance and Renewal in the Twelfth
Century, ed. Robert L. Benson and Giles Constable (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1982),
201–25.
Interpres, causa, postillat, atque lucratur

Acquirit causa postil[lat] diffinit et inter.126
Distinctions can be imagined in the form of a tree (arbor), and popular preaching
aids gave suggestions on how to plan a tree-like structure for a sermon (e.g. the
Modus formandi arborem of Henry of Hesse).127 The scheme of the sermon served
as the basis of the actual Latin or vernacular oration, and this was the thread that
the preacher had to follow when delivering the sermon. Not surprisingly, some
mnemotechnical treatises propose that the memorizer should remember his speech
by imagining a tree with diverging branches (e.g. Johannes Cusanus, mentioned
above).
Several examples indicate that the art of memory was in practical use among
preachers in the fifteenth century. There are extant arts of memory written by
monastic authors, such as Francesc Eiximenis, and even by monk theologians such
as the Regulae memoriae artificialis by the Franciscan Lodovico da Pirano from the
first half of the fifteenth century.128 At the beginning of the fifteenth century ap-
pear treatises on the art of memory that seem to be targeted especially at preachers,
and that try to help them in their daily work. We find mnemonic advice aimed at
preachers in the lectures of Petrus de Urbe Veteri (Pietro d’Orvieto), delivered in
150
126
Iacobus Fusignano, Libellus artis praedicacionis compositus a fratre Iacobo Fusingam ord. fratr.
praed. (Cologne: Unckel, 1476), f. 3r. “In praedictis versibus continentur dictiones per quas potest fieri
divisio a themate in materiam sermonis ac etiam per easdem dictiones potest praedicator multiplicare
materiam et eandem dilatare in quolibet principali in quacunque parte sermonis quamvis quodcumque
thema non faciliter poterit diuidi per quamlibet dictionem tamen raro assignatur thema quando illud
posset diuidi per multas vias in predictis contentas si intellectus predicantis ab altissimo magistro qui
est spiritus veritatis illustretur et doctus efficiatur.” (OSZK, Inc. 510). Fusignano was perhaps the
fi rst author who compared the structure of sermons to a tree. Cf. Dorothea Roth, Die mittelalterliche
Predigttheorie und das Manuale Curatorum des Johann Ulrich Surgant (Basel-Stuttgart: Helbing &
Lichtenhahn, 1956), 101. On him, see Thomas Kaeppelli, Giacomo da Fusignano O.P., Archivum
Fratrum Praedicatorum 15 (1945): 134–142. He wrote this work in around 1315, and Simon Alcock
wrote an entire commentary on this poem in the first half of the fifteenth century. See Charland, Artes
praedicandi (cf. note 44), 83–84.
127
Ps.-Thomas Aquinas and Henricus de Hassia, Tractatus solennis de arte et vero modo predicandi ex
diuersis sacrorum doctorum scripturis … Una cum tractatulo eximii doctoris Heinrici de Hassia de arte
predicandi (Leipzig: Konrad Kachelofen, c. 1487–1495), f. B5r–B6r (used copy: Budapest University
Library, Inc. 848). A sermon has to be divided into a root, trunk, and branches, where the root is the
thema, the trunk is the prothema/praelocutio, then the following main branches (rami principales) are the
division of the theme (divisio thematis), and smaller branches are further divisions (secundariae diuisiones/
subdiuisiones/subdistinctiones). The most popular is the tripartite division (Thema in tres partes, quelibet
partium in tria membra, etc.). See also Charland, Artes praedicandi, (cf. note 44) 43–44.
128
Frances Yates, “Ludovico da Pirano’s Memory Treatise,” in Cultural Aspects of the Italian Renaissance.
Essays in Honour of P. O. Kristeller, ed. Cecil H. Clough (Manchester/New York: Manchester University
Press/Zambelli, 1976), 112–113. On earlier examples, see Rivers, Preaching the Memory.
Farkas Gábor Kiss
1418 in Bologna.129 In the chapter on memorizing sermons the author suggests that
the material should be divided into sections, and that these should be placed in our
minds in alphabetical order. “If you want to remember a sermon or something else,
e.g. if you want to learn and recite something, first you have to take into account
as many places as you have in your mind, e.g. a, b, c, d, so that you can promptly
tell and pronounce them. Then you have to examine more closely the sermon, or
whatever you want to learn by heart, and divide your sermon into places.”130 Each
important sentence should be preceded by a summarizing image that recalls the
entire meaning of the phrase, but the method suggested by Petrus de Urbe Veteri
(one should imagine a person standing upside down, holding a piece of paper on
which the sentence is written in gold letters) seems less sophisticated than later
solutions for creating a vivid, striking image.
The often mentioned Memoria fecunda (1425) states in its introduction that
artificial memory can be very useful in almost every field of intellectual life (as
we have seen, this is the part of the treatise used as an excerpt by Valentinus de
Monteviridi). The anonymous author then examines the question of whether it can
be turned only to good use, or also to bad. He states that parading the capacity
of our memory is surely an evil thing to do, but that we can entirely memorize
sermons, Gospels, and psalms with the aid of this method, thus it serves a virtuous
purpose.131 He gives several examples of good use after describing the theoretical
rules of the art. Firstly, he describes how to memorize the life of Saint Marina in 151
the chapter de historiis locandis: the life of the saint should be divided into twelve
parts and each section should be labeled with a summarizing (summaria) sentence.
For example: 1. Marina enters the monastery with her father; 2. The dying father
forbids her from telling anybody that she is actually female; 3. She often brings
wood to the monastery on a cart; 4. A young girl accuses Marina of rape; 5. She
takes on herself the sin of rape; 6. She is expelled from the monastery and lives
as a beggar at the monastery gates for three years, etc., up to twelve sentences. In
this way we only have to memorize twelve moments from her legend rather than
her entire life, meaning that we should associate with the name of the saint the
image of a virgin girl whom we know, and we should imagine this familiar girl in
the various situations of the saint’s life. According to a witty remark by Jacques
129
Ed. in Villelmus Zappacosta, “Artis memoriae artificialis libellus ex quodam saeculi XV Codice
Ms.,” Latinitas 20 (1972): 290–302. Th is edition (from Vat. Lat. 5347), judged unsatisfactory by
Heimann-Seelbach, calls upon a certain “pater” at the beginning, while the ms. Parma, Palat. 746
mentions his lectures in Bologna. See Heimann-Seelbach, Ars und scientia, 18–20.
130
“Si vero vis recordari unius sermonis vel alterius rei, ut puta si velles aliquid addiscere menti et
recitare, presupponere debes quot loca sunt in mente tua, sicut habes a b c d, etc. ut scias ea promere et
manifestare, nuntiare seu pronuntiare. Postea debes accipere sermonem tuum vel aliquid quidquid vis
in mente addiscere et totum sermonem tuum in locis dividere et ponere.” Zappacosta, “Artis memoriae,”
(cf. note 129), 296.
131
Pack, “An Ars,” 254–255.
Berlioz, we here encounter a medieval method of data compression (zipping): he

calculated that the original legend was reduced to a third (34 percent) of its original
length by the anonymous writer.132 The author of the Memoria fecunda treatise
then produces a twelve-line mnemonic poem containing forty-eight events from
Christ’s life, and gives advice on how to memorize an entire sermon:
A sermon, be it Latin or vernacular,133 should be placed according to its key

sentences or its main parts in a similar manner, split into several longer or shorter
portions, and divided into more or fewer places according to your needs. But do
not forget that the general division of the sermon must be placed in one single
spot, although it may be multiplied: e.g. on a step of a staircase running upwards,
as is required by the elements of the major or minor division; or in the order of
tables, or as you like. But always put a bench to the ninth element as a sign of dis-
tinction.134 Similarly, a quotation from an authority, whether long or short, has to
be memorized in one spot. If you cite the same author several times, do as we sug-
gested previously for things mentioned several times: starting from the ground,135
write the number of book and chapter to the head of the author, but leave his
hands free: this will remind you that the authority cannot be questioned. E.g.,
if you cite the seventh chapter of the thirteenth book of Augustine’s De trinitate,
imagine a friend whose name is Augustine with a tripod on his right shoulder,
152 with paper on his head, and with a vessel on his left shoulder or on his side.136 Re-
member, also, that you have to amplify each part of the sermon, as it is required
by the subject itself, either rebuking the sins of the audience, or praising the
virtues for them, or threatening them with the punishment of Hell, or seducing
them with the glory of Paradise, using similar methods to describe the subject.137
The anonymous author demonstrates his method with the memorization of a ser-
mon, which can be divided into twenty-seven parts and must be placed in twenty-
132
Jacques Berlioz, “La mémoire du prédicateur. Recherches sur la mémorisation des récits exemplaires
(XIIIe–XVe siècles),” in Temps, mémoire, tradition au Moyen Âge, Actes du XIIIe Congrès de la Société des
historiens médiévistes de l’enseignement superieur public (Aix-en-Provence: Université de Provence, 1983),
157–183, here 170–177; and Pack, “An Ars,” 255–256.
133
“sive litteralis, sive vulgaris” For the use of “litteralis” in the meaning of Latin language, see Lucia
Lazzerini, “’Per latinos grossos…’ Studio sui sermoni mescidati,” Studi di filologia italiana, 29 (1971):
220 (the opposite of literaliter is maternaliter in the example quoted by her).
134
In a previous section of the treatise, the author explained how tables and benches can be used for
memorization: three people may sit on one bench, and there are two benches around a table.
135
“per ordinem terre”: the images of the remembered objects are first put on the ground, and then
piled on top of one another towards the sky.
136
The tripod (tripede) refers to the Holy Trinity, while the paper (carte) and the vessel (bacile, with
the meaning basin, according to Du Cange, or perhaps to be corrected to barile, barrel) equal 13 and
7 respectively, according to the numerological system described earlier in the treatise.
137
Pack, “An Ars,” 256–257.
Farkas Gábor Kiss
seven loci. All of the twenty-seven key sentences belong to one of the three groups
of authoritative citations (auctoritas), rational arguments (ratio), or examples (ex-
emplum) defined by Thomas Waleys as the key elements of sermons in his De
modo componendi sermones.138 The memorization process thus focuses on biblical
quotations, authoritative citations, examples, and, most importantly, their order.
The author of the treatise does not specify the method to be used for memoriza-
tion, but later he cites a few examples of images that evoke quotations. In order to
remember a verse from Ecclesiasticus (2, 1: “Son, when thou comest to the service
of God, stand in justice and in fear, and prepare thy soul for temptation”, in Latin:
“Fili, accedens ad servitutem Dei sta in justitia et timore, et præpara animam tuam
ad tentationem”) one must imagine a lady, who — while standing among rabbits
(fear) and saying aloud this sentence — struggles against a scorpion climbing on
her breast (symbolising temptations) and wears a thread (“fi lum” in Latin, an
association with “fili”, son) hanging from her head. Similarly, the proverb from
Ecclesiastes, “A threefold cord is not easily broken” (Eccl. 4, 12), should be re-
membered by imagining a man who tries to tear off a cord bound around his neck.
These suggestions from the Memoria fecunda treatise had a significant impact
on later teachers of artificial memory. At the beginning of the sixteenth century,
the Tractatulus artificiosae memoriae of Johannes Cusanus (see above) adopts, word
for word, the methods for remembering the legend of Saint Marina in twelve parts,
and describes the strategy of memorizing sermons in a similar, though substantially 153
abbreviated, manner: “If you want to prepare a sermon, put the words of the bibli-
cal pericope (thema) at the starting point of a group of five; then divide what you
want to say, locating each division at the top of a group of five in due order. Hence,
you will have sufficient place to locate all the authorities, and to further divide
each member.”139 Thus Cusanus memorizes hierarchical, pyramid-like structures
of divisions, just as it was conceived in the Memoria fecunda treatise, although
unlike this predecessor he prefers fivefold to threefold divisions.
There were also other, less abstract methodologies for memorizing sermons.
After 1487, a Carthusian brother summarized the system of the art of memory,
which he applied during his ecclesiastical life. A considerable part of this treatise
deals with the memorization of sermons. The thema, or biblical pericope of the
sermons, must be envisaged in our mind as being written in capital letters on the
doors of several rooms. Each room will then contain several images, which must be
138
Pack, “An Ars,” 257–259. On the work of Waleys, see Charland, Artes praedicandi (cf. note 44),
324–404.
139
“Volens facere sermonem, locet primo verba thematis ad principium quinarii. Deductionem vero
siue declarationem eiusdem et allegationes ad loca eiusdem quinarii: quo facto diuidat intentionem
suam et quodlibet membrum diuisionis istius locet ad principium vnius quinarii secundum ordinem
et sic patebunt loca pro autoritatibus adducendis: et pro quolibet membro subdiuidendo.” See Johannes
Cusanus, Tractatulus artificiose memorie, (Vienna: Singrenius, 1514), B1v–B2r and below p. 329.
located around an altar in the room, and the practitioner of the art of memory may
recall these images by simply walking around each altar in each room. Neverthe-
less, one must take care not to confuse the order of the images: “Put the known
and unknown images in an order, either alphabetically or according to similarities
and associations, until you completely grasp the essence of the story.”140
We find a similarly practical introduction to the art of memory for the use of
preachers in the Opusculum de arte memorativa of the Polish Observant Franciscan
Jan Szklarek of Dobczyce.141 In the preface to his work, published in Cracow, he
admits to having used the techniques of artificial memorization continuously for
twenty-two years since his youth, and claims to have become familiar with them as
a young lawyer even before joining the Franciscan Order in 1476.142 He agreed to
the request of his Franciscan brethren to share his knowledge of the ars memorativa
with an audience gathered in the Observant church of Cracow, including doc-
tors, masters, and students. Szklarek was primarily a practitioner of memorization
using loci, and the methods he describes are, to a large extent, the same as those
proposed by Jacobus Publicius. The symbolic representation of letters and numbers
as work tools and objects stays close to the descriptions by Publicius. Nevertheless,
unlike Publicius he speaks in detail about his own specialized area of interest in
the art — the memorization of sermons — a field that is entirely omitted by the
Spanish humanist. As an example, he cites a sermon on the martyrdom of Saint
154 Stanislaus. According to Szklarek, the story should be divided into five parts:
1. The “vicious subject” (subiectum viciosum), that is, King Boleslaus, who had the
saint killed; 2. The “gracious object” (obiectum graciosum), that is, the victim, Saint
Stanislaus himself; 3. The copious respect (respectum copiosum) that he garnered by
his martyrdom; 4. The precious gain (profectum preciosum) he received by his death;
5. The lamentable loss (defectum lacrimosum) suffered by Cracow and the king. The
“vicious subject,” the first element in this series, can be further divided according
to the qualities of the character of King Boleslaus (fierce, bellicose, strict, furious,
scandalous). Similarly, the second division, the character of Saint Stanislaus, can
140
“Cum praeparaveris altare tuum, attente attende ad ea que dixerit predicator et per imagines cognitas
vel incognitas ordinate disponas sive per alphabetum sive per similitudinem sive per fantasiam, donec
capias totius hystoriae substanciam ad integram satisfactionem.” Roger A. Pack, “Artes memorativae in
a Venetian manuscript,” Archives d’ histoire doctrinale et littéraire du Moyen Âge 50 (1983), 277. This treatise
is unique in the sense that its advice is not targeted at the preachers of sermons, but at their audience.
141
On the identification of the author, see Wójcik, Opusculum, 97–105. I used the copy OSZK Ant.
4722: Opusculum de arte Memoratiua longe vtilissimum in quo studiosus lector tam artificialibus preceptis
quam naturalibus medicinalibusque documentis memoriam suam adeo fouere discet vt quecunque vel audita
vel lecta illi commendauerit tanquam in cella penaria diutissime conseruaturus sit, (Cracow: [Kaspar
Hochfeder], 1504.)
142
Wójcik, Opusculum, 132–134. For a detailed discussion of his system and this passage, see above
pp. 89–102. On the cult of St Stanislaus in late medieval Poland, see Stanislava Kuzmova, Preaching
Saint Stanislaus: Medieval Sermons on St. Stanislaus of Cracow, His Image and Cult (Warsaw: DiG, 2013).
Farkas Gábor Kiss
be divided into elements according to his origins, nobility, virtues, erudition, and
sanctity, and each of the remaining three divisions can be subdivided into smaller
elements. All these subdivisions and divisions can be memorized by symbolically
representing them using the imaginative techniques of the art of memory:
In the first place, I put Adam around a pulpit, with a sistrum,143 which we call
oszamka in the vernacular. This will mean su, which is the first word of the
element “subiectum viciosum.”144 If this is not enough for its memorization,
let us put beside it the other word [viciosum], as wine [vinum] in his hand, or
as a ribbon [vitta] on his head. The second element has to be the following:
a world globe or an orb has to be hung around a baptismal font (baptisterium)
in the first position. We should locate the second word similarly, following
the rules of word beginnings, by putting grains (grana) in the water of the
baptismal font.145 The respectus, the third element of the major division, has to
be depicted by a seated Richardus or Ribaldus looking up at Christ. Copiosus,
the second part of the term, has to be imagined by wounding the side of Christ
with a spear, which we call kopia in Polish, or by the blood flowing copiously
from the wound. I put profectus preciosus, the fourth member of the division to
the fourth place by imagining a Dura or a Dorothy with a lot of dust around
it, which we call proch, funda, or proca in Polish. Thus, according to the rules
of word beginnings, we get the pro. Or we can locate a figurative letter to the 155
fourth position, a ladle, which we call szipyen in the vernacular, and let Dorothy
or Daniel hold it towards a cathedra.146 We have to locate the second word in
the following manner: while holding the ladle, this person should wipe his face,
because he feels hot, which we call pre in the vernacular. The fifth element, the
lamentable loss (defectus lachrimosus), should be located by putting a spade in
the fifth place in the second position, looking upwards.147 And for the second
word: a man is crying (lachrimatur) with devotion during confession.148
143
The sistrum is the image of S in the figurative alphabet described by Szklarek. The word itself refers
to a rattle-like medieval musical instrument, but its image in Szklarek’s book depicts a boat-hook, and
the corresponding Polish word means boat-hook as well. See below, p. 260.
144
If an object is imagined as lying below another object, it means that its starting consonant is followed
by the letter U. Thus a sistrum below a pulpit means SU.
145
The meaning of the orb (machina mundi) and the spera materialis is the letter O in the figurative
alphabet. The orb in its first position (standing) means OB, referring to OBiectum, while the GRains
in the baptismal font refer to graciousness (graciosum).
146
The ladle (nimbus) is the letter P of the figurative alphabet. Although this meaning of the word
nimbus is not attested in dictionaries, the image clearly shows a ladle, and the corresponding Polish
word means the same.
147
The spade (fossorium) refers to the letter D in the figurative alphabet. In its first position, downwards,
it would mean DA; in its second position, upwards, it means DE, thus it refers to DEfectus.
148
Szklarek, Opusculum, b6r. See below, p. 267.
Thus each division of the sermon may be recalled by the alliterations of its first
syllable or by using the figurative alphabet, and the order of the elements is defined
by the alphabetical order of the main actors or objects in the scenes: Adam-baptis-
terium-Christus-Dorothea-fossorium. Besides, Szklarek mentions the possibility of
memorizing a sermon by using a traditional, geographical row of places: we may
associate the five divisions with the All Saints’ Church, its cemetery, the street, the
Franciscan cloister, and its cemetery. In this manner, the order of the elements is
safeguarded by this route within Cracow, and not by the alphabetical organization
of the elements.149
4.3. Alphabetical divisions as mnemonic tools in late medieval

sermons: Lessons from Pelbartus of Temesvár
By its very nature, mnemonic practice is alien to writing. The process of memo-
rization is primarily a mental process, and its output is in the first place oral. The
preacher who may have created these mental images for himself in order to memo-
rize a sermon did not necessarily have to put them into writing. The few surviving
mental images of sermons — such as the drawings of Paulinus of Skalbmierz, ana-
lyzed by Rafał Wójcik (see p. 88) — are rare exceptions, and even in these cases we
156 lack the complementary evidence of a corresponding written sermon. Obviously, if
a preacher intended to record a text in whatever form, he had to write it down as
a model sermon or as a scheme of divisions. In rare cases, as in the manuscript of
Paulinus of Skalbmierz, we find the mental image of the memorized sermon but
can only guess what the applied symbols meant for the actual performance, and
we are not able to translate these mnemonic places into words. It is therefore dif-
ficult to estimate the true depth of the influence of mnemonic treatises on actual
preaching practice in the later Middle Ages. In the last section of this study I would
like to examine a possible trace of the art of memory in late medieval sermons:
the widespread use of alphabetical distinctions and divisions. As a case in point,
I will discuss the alphabetical segmentation techniques in the sermons of the
most popular Hungarian late medieval preacher Pelbartus of Temesvár.
Pelbartus of Temesvár, who, like many famous contemporary preachers, be-
longed to the Observant branch of the Franciscan Order, studied in Cracow in
149
As mentioned above, Francesc Eiximenis similarly suggested a concrete route in his art of memory,
but his choice was a pilgrimage from Rome to Santiago de Compostela, using the stations in between
(Florence, Genoa, Avignon, Barcelona, Zaragoza, Toledo) as mnemonic places. Rivers, “Memory and
Medieval Preaching” (cf. note 124), 270.
Farkas Gábor Kiss
1458 and 1463.150 Although we cannot prove any direct contact between him and
the authors of mnemonic tracts in late-fifteenth-century Cracow, we can safely as-
sume that such texts were easily available to him, and that many of his contempo-
rary Observants in Poland — such as Jan Szklarek, mentioned above — fruitfully
used the technique of artificial memory. Throughout his sermons he often employs
structural elements that might aid the preacher during performance, as they provide
a coercive structure to the entire text. One of the most common tools of this kind
is the list of the seven capital/deadly sins, which had a widely known and easily
memorizable order in the Middle Ages — the saligia. This abbreviation of the start-
ing letters of the capital sins (superbia, avaritia, luxuria, invidia, gula, ira, accidia)
became so popular, that even a verb, saligiare, was created from it, with the meaning
of “committing deadly sins.” In many cases Pelbartus uses the capital sins as the
catchwords of his divisions, and he creates the structural segmentation within a ser-
mon, or within a part of it, by applying the seven deadly sins to the given theological
problem and combining these vices with the actual subject of the sermon. In these
cases, the preacher who used his sermons as model sermons might have memorized
these divisions easily because of the inherent structuring provided by the deadly
sins, and especially by the saligia order, and the audience might have more readily
remembered the spiritual message of the preaching with the aid of this acronym.151
157
150
Despite his European circulation and popularity, there is very little secondary literature about him in
languages other than Hungarian, and a modern monograph about him – updating Áron Szilády, Temes-
vári Pelbárt élete és munkái (Budapest: MTA, 1879) – is still missing. The fundamental study about his
compilation methods is that of Ildikó Bárczi, Ars compilandi (Budapest: Universitas, 2008). See also her
minor studies in Western European languages: Ildikó Bárczi, Nóra Sápi, “Inventio exemplorum: antike
und mittelalterliche Erzählstoffe in gedruckten lateinischen Predigtsammlungen des Spätmittelalters,”
in Fortunatus, Melusine, Genovefa: internationale Erzählstoff e in der deutschen und ungarischen Literatur
der Frühen Neuzeit, ed. Dieter Breuer et al. (Bern: Peter Lang, 2010), 17–34; Ildikó Bárczi, “Citations
classiques dans la littérature de prédications en Hongrie,” in L’eredità classica in Italia e in Ungheria dal
Rinascimento al Neoclassicismo, ed. Péter Sárközy, Vanessa Martore (Budapest: Balassi, 2004), 123–132.
The earlier literature is obsolete: A. Teetaert, “Pelbart Ladislai de Temesvar,” Dictionnaire de Théologie
Catholique 12 (1933): 715–717; Erich Wegerich, “Bio-bibliographische Notizen über Franziskanerlehrer
des 15. Jahrhunderts. 12. Pelbart von Temeswar OFM de Obs.,” Franziskanische Studien 29 (1942):
190–193; Gabriel Adriányi, “Pelbárt von Temesvár,” in Biographisch-Bibliographisches Kirchenlexikon,
Vol. 7, 1994, 174–178. Bert Roest calls him “one of the most impressive late medieval authors from the
Polish [!] vicariate.” See Bert Roest, Franciscan Literature of Religious Instruction before the Council of
Trent (Leiden: Brill, 2004), 98–99.
151
The following sermons contain distinctions in the saligia order in the summer part of the De sanctis
sermons: sermon 12 (the virtues of St John the Evangelist against the capital sins); 33, 76, 78 (the
remedies for the seven deadly sins); 84 (in a slightly mistaken order); 105 (instead of gula we fi nd
“revelator secretorum”); 107 (the seven wounds of Christ warn us against the seven deadly sins). A partial
list of the capital sins can be found in the distinctions of the following sermons (indicating the order):
41 (sal), 43 (sal), 114 (sal), 47 (sali), 53 (sal), 54 (asl), 58 (sali), 60 (sal), 64 (las), 67 (aals), 74 (alg), 76
(sl), 113 (salg). I have compiled this list using the digital edition of the De sanctis sermons of Pelbartus
of Temesvár prepared by Ildikó Bárczi and her team. (http://sermones.elte.hu).
The saligia order is mentioned by Jan Szklarek as a useful tool for memorization,
too, along with other widely used and easily memorable abbreviations, such as that
of the five senses (vagot – visus, auditus, gustus, odoratus, tactus), as they facilitate
the remembrance of the divine message.152
In several other cases, Pelbartus himself seems to have invented acronyms in
order to facilitate the memorization of his preaching. In the third sermon for the
first Sunday following Epiphany, he summarized the eleven rules of enduring
marriage (salubris observatio matrimonii) with the keyword MATRIMONIUM
(marriage). This acronym might be of help not only to the preacher, but also to
his congretation, in memorizing the rules:
Prima littera est M designans primam regulam que est maritalis consensus et
coniunctio. Secunda a designat secundam regulam que est amoris affectio. Ter-
cia t significat terciam que est timoris dei tentio. Quarta r significat quartam
que est recti finis intentio. Quinta i significat quintam que est interdicti iuris
cautio. Sexta m significat sextam que est mundicie coniugalis zelatio. Septima o
significat septimam regulam que est obedientie obtemperatio. Octava n significat
octavam que est natorum salubris educatio. Nona i significat nonam que est iura-
menti impletio. Decima u significat que est viciosi usus vitatio. Ultima additur
finalis littera m et significat ultimam regulam que est mortis solius dissolutio.153
158
The sermon thereafter analyzes each of these eleven distinctions. Obviously, the
preacher could easily memorize these elements, which make up the first of three
divisions, or roughly one-third of the sermon. He uses a similar mnemotechnical
solution in the sermons written for the ninth Sunday after Pentecost,154 where he
152
“Primus modus, quando componimus dictionem ex litteris, quarum quelibet significat dictionem,
sicut patebit de saligia, vagot, et cetera.” Wójcik, Opusculum, 150 and below, p. 257.
153
“The first letter is the M, which marks the first rule: which is marital consensus and tie. A, the second
letter refers to the second rule, that is loving aff ection. T, the third letter is the third rule: turn towards
God with fear. The fourth letter is R, meaning the intention of the right purpose. The fifth is I: avoid
things interdicted by law. The sixth is M: remain eagerly clean in marriage. The seventh is O, which means
abiding by obedience. The eighth is the healthy education of the newborn. The ninth is I: always implement
your promises. The tenth is U: avoid vices. The last letter is M, and this means the last rule, which is: only
death may part.” Pelbartus de Themeswar, Sermones Pomerii fratris Pelbarti de Themeswar diui ordinis
sancti Francisci de tempore, Hagenau, Henricus Gran, 1498, f. c8v. (Pars hiem., sermo 26. De eadem
dominica /=Dominica I. post octa. Epipha./, sermo iii. scilicet de debitis regulis servandis in sacramento
matrimonii.) Bernardino da Siena uses a similar technique in one of his Latin sermons on Saint Dominic:
he associates the virtues of Saint Dominic to each of the letters of the name DOMINICUS (discretus,
obediens, misericors, iustus, nobilis et nitidus, ilaris, contemplativus, umilis, sobrius). See Carlo Delcorno,
“L’«ars praedicandi» di Bernardino da Siena,” Lettere italiane 32 (1980): 469–470.
154
Pelbartus de Themeswar, Sermones de tempore (cf. note 153), f. A5v. (Pars aestivalis, sermo 24,
Dominica IX. post Penthecosten, sermo I. de fletu Christi et de templi honore applicando de animae
hominis divinali inhabitatione).
Farkas Gábor Kiss
allocates the subdivisions of the sermon to the parts of the human head, from
which he reads out an entire word HOMO DEI:
An example is offered here by the human body itself, in which God carved
these five rules, just as he imprinted them into man’s soul. First, we see that the
shape of the human face resembles the form of the letter H with the linearily
descending nose and the silhouette of the cheeks. Beside, we find the [two]
Os in the eyes, and the overarching eyebrows give the inscription HOMO, if
you take into account both sides of the face. The left is formed like a D, and
the right ear like an E. The line under the nose is like an I, and there you have
the word DEI. Why would God give the gift of the tongue and speech to
mankind, if not in order to praise him – as Saint Chrysostom says about the
praise of God. This is the reason why we find an impression of this sentence
in the human face: Man of God, praise God! And what else do the ten digits
on our hands and feet refer to, if not to keep the Ten Commandments of God
in all our acts and steps.155
Similarly to Szklarek, who used the resemblance between work tools and letters to
memorize a word, Pelbartus finds readable elements in the human face. His inven-
tion is not original: he may have taken it over from earlier Franciscan preachers,
and the idea that the word OMO can be decoded from the shapes of the human 159
face is hinted at by Dante, as well.156 The HOMO DEI was a divine message that
held multiple lessons for mankind. Not only was it a visible sign of God’s creation,
but it could give further prompting to look for traces of the divine language in
nature, thus reconstituting the ancient correspondence of words and things. The
readability of the created world presupposed the uniformity of seeing and reading,
and reinforced the moral lessons that are transmitted from God to mankind in the
Holy Scripture. The alleged correspondence between the morality of the Scripture
155
“Exemplum habemus in ipso corpore humano in quo videtur deus has quinque regulas descripsisse
et etiam in anima impressisse. Primo namque videmus quod facies hominis est sic formata quod nasus
linealiter descendens cum linea gene orbitante facit literam h. oculus iuxta eam o. et superprotensum
supercilium per modum titelli facit ’homo’ et hoc quod utramque partem faciei. Auris sinistra formata
est quasi D auris autem dextra quasi E. Linea sub naso quasi I et sic resultat hec dictio ’dei’. Sed et lingua
et loquela quare data est homini nisi ad laudandum deum, ut dicit Chrysostumus de laude dei. Et sic
potest quod hec oratio est impressa homini, homo dei lauda deum, manus denique decem digitorum
similiter et pedes quid aliud indicant nisi observantiam decem praeceptorum dei in omnibus operibus
gressibusque.”
156
Dante, Purg. 23, 31–33. The modern commentaries of the Divine Commedy quote a Middle High
German sermon of Berthold von Regensburg, a Franciscan from the thirteenth century (+1272), as
a parallel to this place. All the contemporary commentaries on Dante correctly interpret the somewhat
cryptic lines of the Purgatorio, thus we may surmise that this idea was widely known. For the
commentaries, see http://dante.dartmouth.edu, accessed on 10.10.2014. Cf. Reinhold Köhler, “OMO
im Menschenangesicht, eine Parallele,” in id., Kleinere Schriften (Berlin: Felber, 1900), Vol. 2, 12.
and the works of nature also explains why the associations between words and
things in the art of memory, which the modern reader might find rather arbitrary,
were so readily acceptable to the contemporary users of mnemonics: the possibil-
ity of inventing and discovering such correspondences was indeed a proof of the
predestined morality of the world.
However, Pelbartus’ favorite method for creating divisions is alphabetical.
When he uses this technique he generally calls attention to it by saying that he
will proceed according to the alphabet (secundum alphabetum), or simply by in-
serting the word ABC (alphabetum or ABC). If we examine the summer part of
the De sanctis sermons, we find that of the altogether 124 sermons, Pelbartus
calls attention to the alphabetical structure of the text at least sixteen times in
fourteen different sermons.157 Moreover, these alphabetical distinctions remain
unmentioned in many cases. In the same corpus, one can find a further fourteen
groups of alphabetical distinctions in eleven different sermons.158 Thus, there are
altogether thirty alphabetic distinctions in a corpus of 124 sermons, which means
that one out of four sermons contains one.
An examination of Sermon 117 of the collection will show how he actually
produces such distinctions. This sermon, applicable to any confessor of the faith,
comprises three major divisions, and the second member discusses the question
of how we can prove that human services are dearer to God than angelic ones:
160
157
Pomerium de sanctis, pars aestivalis, Sermon 4: Why must a Christian praise the Holy Trinity? (five
distinctions), the six secrets of the Trinity (six distinctions); Sermon 25: Why does Christ love human
purity? (four distinctions); Sermon 27: Why did God and Christ send the Apostles? (six distinctions);
Sermon 37: Why can’t we be sure that we cannot lose the divine grace? (three distinctions); ibid.: The
common traits of Paradise and Saint Anne (five distinctions); Sermon 47: The ten sufferings of the
martyrdom of Saint Lawrence; Sermon 53: How can we please God with our services? (six distinctions);
Sermon 61: 12 fruits of the Holy Cross; Sermon 64: Why did Jesus accept the penance of Matthew (six
distinctions); Sermon 67: The fruits of angelic defense (twelve distinctions); Sermon 86: The seven uses of
funeral rites; Sermon 87: The elements of the funeral rites (eight distinctions); Sermon 93: The excellences
of sanctity (eight distinctions, c twice); Sermon 104; Sermon 109: Ten rules of the evangelical doctrine.
158
There may be even more alphabetical distinctions in this corpus, but the typesetting of the
incunabulum prints does not call attention to their presence, hence it is not easy to find them. The
examples I have found are Sermon 103 (eight distinctions); 111 (four); 112 (four, starting from B to E);
115 (eight); 116 (eight); 117 (two lists: six and seven distinctions); 118 (two lists of eight distinctions); 119
(two lists of three and six distinctions); 120 (three distinctions); 121 (seven distinctions); 122 (five). A few
further examples from the Pomerium de tempore: pars hiemalis, Sermon 12 in Pelbartus de Themeswar,
Sermones de tempore (cf. note 153), c3v–c4r: animosa scrupulorum amotio, benigna praeceptorum
declaratio, cordis ad gratiam praeparatio, divinae scripturae indagatio, exorationis deprecatio, fidei
adhibitio sapientum, humilis praelatorum oboeditio); Sermon 14 in Pelbartus de Themeswar, Sermones
de tempore (cf. note 153), f. c6v; pars quadragesimalis; Sermon 7 in Pelbartus de Themeswar, Sermones
de tempore (cf. note 153), f. m1v, m2v; Sermon 11 in Pelbartus de Themeswar, Sermones de tempore (cf.
note 153), f. m7v–m8r; f. m8r–m8v; pars aestivalis, Sermon 68 in Pelbartus de Themeswar, Sermones de
tempore (cf. note 153), f. H8v, with seven distinctions; Sermon 69 in Pelbartus de Themeswar, Sermones
de tempore (cf. note 153), f. I2r, with four distinctions.
Farkas Gábor Kiss
Primum signum administrationis, quia omnes angelos voluit Deus ut essent

administratorii nostrorum servitiorum ad salutem nostram. […] Secundum
signum beneficae provocationis, quia Deus omnes creaturas mundi nobis
subiecit, ut pro tanto beneficio Deo serviremus. […] Tertium signum carnis
nostrae assumptionis […] Quartum signum debitoriae obligationis, quia Deus
ut hominem obligaret debitorie ad sibi serviendum, proprio suo sanguine et
morte eum redemit, quod non fecit angelis. […] Quintum signum excitationis,
quia per omnes creaturas voluit nos Deus exemplariter excitare ad serviendum
Deo, et etiam angelos in hoc servire voluit, ut nos ad serviendum Deo exci-
tarent […] Sextum signum felicioris remunerationis. Nam celerius, largius et
felicius remunerat homines pro suo servitio ipse Deus, quam remuneraverit
angelos, cum enim angeli ab initio mundi usque in finem serviunt Deo, hom-
ines vero brevi tempore suae vitae, alii X, alii XL, alii LX annis, et tamen pro
hoc brevi servitio ita homines remunerat, sicut angelos.159
As we can see, the argument is not coercive in a theological sense; rather, the twelve
distinctions are described in order to amplify the material. Obviously, one cannot
claim for sure that these alphabetical schemes were written with an underlying
mnemonic purpose in mind, but it is difficult to find any other reasonable cause for
their existence. They could not assist the author in the invention of the divisions, as
more often than not it was a word of minor significance, and not the key subject, 161
which was incorporated into the scheme. The regularly recurring alphabetical
catchwords (administratio-amor, beneficus, carus-caritas, etc.) could not add any
substantial content to the message of the preaching; their role in the meaning is
rather ornamental. Nevertheless, if a preacher used a mnemonic system similar to
that of Szklarek, such an artificial ordering of the elements of the sermon could
facilitate its memorization. According to Szklarek’s advice, the central figures of
the images (Adam-baptisterium-Christus-Dorothea, etc.) represent the order of the
distinctions. If the alphabetical elements are predisposed in a sermon, the preacher
will have to memorize only the catchwords of the divisions, without taking care
about their order.
The alphabetical listing of distinctions is not a new phenomenon in the Late
Middle Ages. Collections of commonplaces and distinctions, organized according
to subject in alphabetical order, have existed since the thirteenth century, at least.
Such collections cited a number of scriptural verses or authorities in connection
with these subjects, and the preacher could easily retrieve the fitting quotation
for his sermon from such encyclopedias. Nevertheless, these collections were not
159
The opinion of Pelbartus might be traced back to Bonaventure: II Sent. d. 16., a. 2., q. 1. See Hisako
Nagakura, “Le problème du langage dans la théologie de l’image de Dieu chez Saint Bonaventure et
Saint Thomas,” in Sprache und Erkenntnis im Mittelalter, ed Jan P. Beckmann, Ludger Honnefelder et
al. (Berlin: de Gruyter, 1981), Vol. 2, 952–960.
alphabetized within a lemma, unlike the structure of Pelbartus’ divisions.160 We

find a closer parallel to sermon distinctions in works such as the Alphabetum
divini amoris, a meditational treatise often attributed to Jean Gerson or Thomas
à Kempis. In this work, the author distinguishes fifteen different kinds of medita-
tions, which are all derived from the Church Fathers or theologian saints (Anselm,
Augustine, Benedict, Bernard of Clairvaux, Dionysius Areopagita, Gregory the
Great, etc.), and within these fifteen methodologies he offers the reader several
subjects for meditation in alphabetical order.161 As in the case of Pelbartus’ ser-
mons, it is generally not the most important subject word that is distinguished
alphabetically, but the first word of the phrase. These structural elements usually
belong to the same family of words that we have met in the works of Pelbartus:
for A, we find amicitia or amor; for B bene- or bonus; for C carus or caritas; for D
a word connected to divinus. Another similar collection of alphabetical distinc-
tions can be found in the Alphabetum monachi religiosum, a short text attributed to
Thomas à Kempis, which describes the moral rules required of a monk attending
the school of God. As the author says, each of these alphabetical commandments
(Ama nesciri, Benivolus esto, Custodi cor tuum, etc.) should be written in the heart
of the believer, “as they are written in the Book of Life, and take a look at them on
each day, and learn the good morals.”162 The utility of alphabetical memorization is
explicitly emphasized in the preaching of Johann Geiler von Kaisersberg, a popu-
162 lar preacher of Strasbourg and a contemporary of Pelbartus. In his posthumously
published Alphabet in 23 sermons, in the form of a tree, by which one can climb up
to the eternal life (Strasbourg, 1518), he implores readers to take as an example the
figure of Zacchaeus in the Gospels, who climbed up a tree to see Christ passing
through Jericho on his way to Jerusalem (Luke 19:1–10). Nevertheless, unlike Zac-
chaeus, the reader does not have to climb a real fig tree but an allegorical tree of
160
See R. E. Kaske, Arthur Groos, Michael W. Twomey, Medieval Christian Literary Imagery: A Guide
to Interpretation (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1988), 33–38. Furthermore, on the alphabetical
lists of divisions see Richard H. Rouse, Mary A. Rouse, “Statim invenire: School, Preachers and New
Attitudes to the Page,” in Renaissance and Renewal in the 12th century, ed. Robert L. Benson, Giles
Constable (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1991 [1982]), 201–225; Christina von Nolcken, “Some
alphabetical compendia and how preachers used them,” Viator 12 (1981): 271–288; and Marianne G.
Briscoe and Barbara H. Jaye, Artes praedicandi and Artes orandi, (Turnhout: Brepols, 1992), 18–19.
161
Alphabetum divini amoris de elevatione mentis in deum (Memmingen: Albertus Kunnen, 1489). ELTE
University Library Inc. 348 (with numerous annotations). The first step toward God, the via inchoative,
is characterized by the following alphabetically listed members: alteratio et instabilitas mundi, bellum
propriae carnis, cotidiana fragilitas, divina severitas, exitus dubius huius vitae, futurum iudicium stb.
The author of this immensely popular meditational work is unknown. See Dennis D. Martin, Fifteenth-
Century Carthusian Reform: the World of Nicholas Kempf (Leiden: Brill, 1992), 306–307 (n. 79.).
162
Thomas Hemerken à Kempis, Opera omnia, ed. Michael Joseph Pohl (Freiburg im Breisgau: Herder,
1904), Vol. 3, 317–322. “Scribe novelle monache alphabetum istud in corde tuo quasi in libro vitae, et
per singulos dies chartulam tuam inspice, et bonos mores assuesce. Pauca sunt verba, sed magna habent
mysteria, et perfectorum opera. Ornant exterius, et quietant interius.” (p. 322).
Farkas Gábor Kiss
virtues. Although the sermons themselves are written in German, the title words,
which provide the order of the preaching, are in Latin and in alphabetical order
(attendere, bonum et fidelem eligere virum, componere et ordinare vitam suam, etc.)163
In many cases it seems that Pelbartus himself is responsible for the preparation
of these rather arbitrary alphabetical listings. In the sermon on the second Sunday
of Easter, the Franciscan preacher enumerates the proofs of the bodily resurrection
of Christ: “The first sign of bodily life is the aspiration or attraction of breathing,”
he says, followed by several other signs of the resurrection (bona oculorum visio,
caloris naturalis cooperatio, debita sensuum discretio, vitae coram omnibus exer-
citatio). It is clear that there is some attempt at alliteration in the words referring
to the letter A (aspiratio, anhelitus, attractio) and that they have little doctrinal
foundation. We may arrive at a similar conclusion if we investigate the origins of
some of his alphabetical distinctions: for example, in the sermon written for the
ninth Sunday after Pentecost in the De tempore part of the Pomerium dealing with
the norms of Christian-Jewish relations. How should the Jews be treated according
to canon law? To answer this question, Pelbartus lists the anti-Judaic prohibitions
of the doctors of law in alphabetical order:
Pro quo notandum secundum Raymundum aliosque doctos canonistas, pluri-

ma sunt ab ecclesia prohibita christianis erga iudeos et econverso. Primum est
azima iudeorum comedere. […] Secundum est balneari in balneis cum eisdem 163
[…]. Tercium est comedere bibere et ad conuiuia sua recipere. […] Quartum
est domo eadem cohabitando deseruire. […] Quintum est exennia et dona vel
munuscula a iudeis data retinere. […] Sextum est fenera usure adsoluendum
iudicare et cogere uel sententiare aut huiusmodi statuta facere. […] Septimum
est gratia medendi iudeos aduocare.164
We find two source references in these discussions, one referring to Raymundus de

Pennaforti, and another to Angelus de Clavasio. However, in the Summa angelica
of Angelus de Clavasio we find only a portion of these prohibitions, and their order
is completely different.165 We can retrieve the two missing prohibitions from the
163
Johann Geiler von Kaysersberg, Des hochgelerten doctor Keiserspergs Alphabet in XXIII Predigen
so er gethon und die geordnet hat an einem baum. XXIII. est uff zesteigen zu ewigem leben gut gelesen und
dauon man wol gebessert mag werden, (Strasbourg: Joannes Grieninger, 1518). (OSZK, Ant. 548.) On
Johannes Geiler von Kaisersberg, see Verfasserlexikon, 2. ed., Vol. 2, 1980, 1141–1152.
164
Pelbartus de Themeswar, Sermones de tempore (cf. note 153), f. B2r. (Pars aestivalis, sermo 27,
Dominica IX. post Penthecosten, sermo IV. de iudicio dei contra Iudeos.)
165
Cf. Angelus de Clavasio, Summa angelica de casibus conscientiae (Venice: P. de Paganinis, 1499), f.
239 v–240r. We find prohibitions 2, 3, 4, 6 and 7 in the Summa angelica, but they appear under numbers
3, 1, 12, 13, 2 in the work of Angelus de Clavasio.
Summa of Antoninus Florentinus,166 but the Medieval Latin word exennia (gift)
appears only in the collection of Pelbartus, probably adduced by the alphabetical
constraint of the listing.
On the basis of these examples, we may reasonably suppose that Pelbartus
was looking for synonyms, so that every prohibition could be included within his
well-organized distinctions and be better memorized by the aid of their inherent
order. It remains unclear whether the preacher had recourse to the aid of the art of
memory when preaching the sermon, and this may well be a question that we can
never resolve due to the occasional and transient character of live performances.
Nevertheless, the constraints that Pelbartus placed on his borrowed lists by order-
ing them alphabetically make it more than probable that the artificial reorganiza-
tion of the elements had a mnemonic function. The contemporary ars memorativa,
written specifically for preachers, could make good use of alphabetical lists, as this
technique offered ready-made tools with which such items could be memorized
easily with mental images.
164
166
Antoninus Florentinus, Summa theologica, pars 3. cap. 3. tit. 12 (Nürnberg: Koberger, 1486–87),
Vol. 3, f. 515r–v (used copy: Budapest University Library, Inc. 218). The prohibition on the eating
of unleavened bread (azima) is second in the row here, and the gifts are treated in the penultimate
chapter. Antoninus Florentinus (Antonino Pierozzi) often used such alphabetical sequences, thus it
seems possible that Pelbartus found inspiration for his alphabetical divisions in the works of the famous
Dominican preacher. Some of his alphabetical listings of attributes found acceptance in humanistic
literature, as well, for example the vices of women (de diversis vitiis mulierum per alphabetum: avidum
animal, bestiale baratrum, concupiscentia carnis, damnosum duellum, estuans estus, falsa fides,
garrularum guttur, Herinis armata, invidiosus ignis, calumniarum chaos, lepida lues, monstruosum
mendacium, naufragii nutrix, opifex odii, prima peccatrix, quietis quassatio, ruina regnorum, silva
superbiae, truculenta tyrannis, vanitas vanitatum, xantia xersis, idolorum imago, zelus zelotypus —
Antoninus Florentinus, Summa theologica, p. 1., tit. 1. [Venice: Leonardus Wild, 1480–81], f. D4r) were
quoted by Jacob Wimpheling, the renowned German humanist, as the qualities of a whore (meretrix):
“Retrahat te diuus Anthoninus et alii doctissimi qui meretricis conditiones sub alphabeto distinxerunt:”
followed by these words: Auida, Bestialis, Concupiscens, Damnosa, Estuans, Falsa, Garrula, Herinis,
Inuida, Kalumniatrix, Loquax/lasciua/libidinosa, Mendax, Naufragium adolescentiae, Odii plena,
Peccatrix, Quietis turbatrix, Rixosa, Superba, Truculenta, Vana/venefica/violenta. Jacob Wimpheling,
De integritate libellus cum epistolis praestantissimorum virorum hunc libellum approbantium et
confirmantium, (Strasbourg: Johann Knoblauch, 1511), C1v (used copy: Budapest University Library,
Ant. 0239). Antoninus Florentinus was otherwise widely considered as a practitioner of the art of
memory (Heimann-Seelbach, Ars und scientia, 64, and below, p. 286.), an aspect of his work that has
not been investigated fully yet. Cf. Peter F. Howard, Beyond the Written Word: Preaching and Theology
in the Florence of Archbishop Antoninus, 1427–1459 (Florence: Olschki, 1995), 164–170 and Antonino
Pierozzi OP (1389–1459). La figura e l’opera di un santo arcivescovo nell’Europa del Quattrocento, ed.
Luciano Cinelli and Maria Pia Paoli (Florence: Nerbini, 2013) (= Memorie dominicane, 43, 2012).
Arts of memory from East Central Europe
Editorial Principles
Most of the following texts have been edited from a single extant source for the first time.
In these cases, we have carefully preserved the orthography of the sole ’base’ manuscript
or early print. All abbreviations have been solved, while doubtful readings are marked
with [?]. Mattheus Beran’s Ars avitaromem (n. 2.) survives in two copies, and it has been
collated to further two related manuscripts. There, we have unified the use of u/v, i/j,
and c/t. All other spelling variants (e.g., cartha, ymago, ymaginari) reflect the practice
of the scribe of ms. F (our most important source) in the main text, and that of the
individual scribes among the variants. Punctuation has been modernized everywhere.
Abbreviations in the critical apparatus

om. omitted 165
add. added
inc. incipit
expl. explicit
explevit completed
interlin. interlinear note
in marg. on the margin
supra written above another word
< > deleted by the editor
[ ] added by the editor
1. An Anonymous Hussite art of memory
(inc. Nam secundum commentatores) (c. 1416–1418)
This fragment of a memory treatise survives in a sole copy kept in the National Library
in Prague under the shelfmark VIII.E.3. It is a miscellany from soon after 1415 (prob-
ably 1416–1418), clearly linked to a Hussite environment. It contains several works,
mostly sermons, by Jacobellus of Mies (Jakubek ze Stříbro), who might perhaps be also
the author of this art of memory. The memory treatise is included on folios 136v–142r,
with an addition on folio 175v. Its source seems to have been a manuscript which was
difficult to read, hence, there are frequent lacunae and scribal mistakes in the text, and
many of the sentences are incoherent. Its author was familiar with Ad Herennium to
which he frequently refers, and he seems to have studied philosophy, too. The most curi-
ous part of the treatise is the list of the suggested mnemonic places, which nicely reflects
the Hussite context. The text is especially valuable for the early date within the Central
European history of the art of memory. For a more detailed analysis, see pages 31–36.
167
[f. 136v] Nam secundum commentatores in libro De memoria et reminiscencia ad hoc
quod virtus bene receptiua sit, requiritur dominium humiditatis super siccum in com-
plexione secundum Aristotelem.1 Humidum enim temperatum bene et faciliter recipit
impressiones, ut manifestum est in aëre et aqua, quamuis non bene retinet, sed siccum
dure reciptum [!] bene retinet et conseruat. Consequenter memoria naturalis debilis et
mala, habet causas omnimode supradictis contrarias, quasdam quidem intrinsecas, alias
ab extrinseca. Intrinsece cause sunt mala dispositio celule, mala complexio in qualita-
tibus cerebris [!] et inequalitas seu superabundancia alicuius uel aliquorum humorum,
verbi gracia, dominium frigidi uel humidi uel calidi uel sicci in ipso ventriculo cerebri,
frigidum enim immobilitat spiritus et mortificat, sicut calidum temperatum agilitat et
viuificat, humidum vero predominans calorem naturalem suffocat et extinguit et ideo
Galienus primo De interioribus dicit frigidum est in confusione anime in primo gradu et
humidum in secundo.2 Intellige de humiditate abundanti, et idem intellige de calore ex-
cedente uel siccitate. Et patet, quod utraque qualitas scilicet frigiditas et humiditas, cum
predominatur, oprimi[t] cerebrum et spiritus confundit et debilitat, et in[d]e virtutem
memoratiuam ebetat et sopit, sicut experigencia docet in ebriosis crapulosis utentibus
multis humidis et frigidis, ut piscibus, fructibus, multo ocio et sompno, et cum hoc
1
Cf. Averroës, Compendia librorum Aristotelis qui Parva Naturalia vocantur, ed. Aemilia Ledyard
Shields and Henricus Blumberg (Cambridge, MA: Mediaeval Academy of America, 1949), 70–71.
2
Galenus, De interioribus, part. 1; Galenus Latinus. Burgundio of Pisa’s Translation of Galen’s De
interioribus, ed. Richard J. Durling (Berlin: De Gruyter, 1992), 3.
acruminibus,3 ut cepis, porcis, aleis multis, lacticiniis,4 carnis [!] porcinis et similibus
quorum vapores ad ventriculum memorie ascendentes conturbant et conculcant spiritum
animalem et resoluunt virtutem eius et comiscent species sensibilium ibidem repositas,
ex quibus neccessario causatur oblivio. Simile faciunt res calide vel sicce ferventer vel
intemperate sumpte, quorum accio consumere habet spiritus et alios humores et ex
hiis causis senes fiunt male memorie, quia in eis predominantur frigiditas et humidi-
tas accidentalis, propter quod non possunt fortiter apprehendere. Similiter parvuli et
alii flegmatici, quia non habent fortem apprehensivam propter multam humiditatem,
cuius certa causa capere species et male retinere. Sed homines medie etatis, ut iuuenes
temperati et adolescentes fiunt, ut communiter capacioris et tenacioris memorie, prop-
ter tempus mediocris consistentie in qualitatibus supradictis. Et tantum sit dictum de
memoria naturali bona et mala etc.
Nunc de artificiosa memoria et pertinentibus aduertendum est dicendum et quia,
ut dictum est supra, similes sunt sibi cause, quod ars imitatur naturam,5 ideo similes
causas habent et cause, que dicte sunt, de bona memoria naturali consimiles sunt in bona
memoria artifi[f. 137r]ciali. Primo igitur videndum est, quid est memoria artificiosa, ex
quibus constat, et que sunt, et quot, que requiruntur ad eam. Quantum ad primum, ars
memorativa seu memoria artificiosa secundum Tulium, ubi supra, est ea, quam confir-
mat inductio, id est raciocinatio et racio preceptionis, id est institutionis, et doctrine
a preceptore date. Et est sensus, quod artificiosam memoriam facit discursus rationis seu
ymaginacionis, quia tota ars ita pendet ab ymaginacione et a doctrina preceptoris, seu
168 doctrina et magistri et iam Tulius constare dixit ex locis et ymaginibus dicens: Constat
igitur memoria artificiosa ex locis et ymaginibus.6 Et quia hec diffinicio est iuvenibus
abstracta, ideo planius et completius Ego eam sic diffiniam: “ars memoratiua est notio,
qua quis scit in determinato spatio loca cum figuris eorum decenter designare et super
ea ymaginationes quarumlibet rerum uel vocum vel memorabilium applicare et per
hec eas memoriter retinere.” Ista diffinitio videtur omnia principalia arti huic necces-
saria in se includere, super qua pendebit declaratio tocius huius materie. Primo namque
requiritur ad ipsam determinatum spatium, modo quo secundum Tulium requiritur
carta uel tabula uel paries ad scribendum. Et tale spatium potest esse duplex, videlicet
reale uel ymaginarium, et utrumque debet esse protensum et quanto plus fieri potest
directum, sed minus apte fit circulare uel quadratum. Debet autem habere latitudinem
per ymaginacionem, quasi sit positum inter duas lineas rectas eque distantes quantum est
possibile, non nimis artam uel nimis latam. Non artam dico, in qua memoria artaretur,
nec latam, in qua diff underetur, sed mediocrem in modum duorum uel aliquod [!] cubi-
torum, ut quantum plus fieri potest. Habeat rectitudinem et devitet obliquitatem, nam
et visionem corporalem iuuat ordo rerum recte positus et perturbat obliquus. Vel sursum
et deorsum alternatum universale autem spatium potest eligi et determinari in loco
noto reali, uel ymaginato, ut in campo uel in via longa et bene nota uel circum urbem
3
Cf. Du Cange 1, 62.
4
ESŁŚP, s.v. lacticinium (alimenta ex lacte).
5
Arist. Phys. II, 2.
6
Rhet. ad. Her. 3, 29, 2 (om. ex).
1. An Anonymous Hussite art of memory (inc. Nam secundum commentatores) (c. 1416–1418)
uel in ipsa urbe uel in castro uel in templo uel in plateis urbium. Inde magis competit
eligere tale spatium in edificio aliquo familiari et ad recordandum facili et bene noto,
ut in domo magna uel in templo spatioso uel in castro. Hoc ualde diligenter attento, ne
illud spatium habeat uniformitatem in suis partibus, sicut est murus, una pictura uel
rei applicatione distinctus, uel sicut est unum estuarium,7 in quo partes omnes spacii
habent conformitatem tabularum. Cuius racio quia talis conformitas partium in spatio
confundit intellectum et intuitum interiorem, sed distinctio per adiecta signa adiuvat et
distinguit, unde Macrobius in libro Saturnalium dicit: distincta melius servantur in ani-
mo.8 Dixi eciam, quia tale spatium potest esse ymaginarium, quia homo bone industrie
potest sibi fingere urbem unam magnam uel campum unum quantumlibet spaciosum
[f. 137v] uel viam longam et in ista loca distinguere dicente Tulio, quod qui non est
multum ydoneus loca sibi realia comparare, ipse sibi potest constituere per ymagina-
cionem, quantos valet. Cogitatio enim quamuis regionem potest amplecti et in ea situm
loci cuiusdam ad suum arbitrium fabricare et architectare, <l>licebit ergo nosmetipsos nobis
cogitacione nostra regionem constituere et ydoneorum locorum commodissimam distinctionem
comparare.9 Hec Tulius. Ego autem dico, quod realia spatia magis adiuvant memoriam
quam ymaginaria propter sensuum notitiam et rerum experigentiam et tantum circu-
muencione spacii, quod est quale10 materiale locorum.
[S]ecundo requiritur, quod in eodem spatio formetur per intellectum locorum posi-
cio et eorum debita dispositio et ordinatio et unius cuiusque loci per aliquam ymaginem
affi xam designatio. Circa ista igitur primo videndum est, quid est locus in proposito,
secundo quis numerus competens locorum, tercio quomodo formantur loca in spatio 169
supradicto. Quantum ad primum, locus in proposito est certa pars spacii cum nota uel
ymagine aliqua domestica per intellectum sibi affi xa uel impressa loci a loco distinctiua.
Et de hiis locis Tulius exemplificat dicens: L<l>ocos appellamus eos, qui breuiter, perfecte,
insigniter aut a natura,11 aut manu sumpta12 absoluti, ut eos facile naturali memoria com-
prehenderet et [amplecti queamus],13 ut sunt14 edes, intercollumpnium, angulus, fornix15 et
alia, que hiis similia sunt,16 videlicet domus, camere, anguli camerarum, sedes, lapides,
ligna, arbores, etc. Numerus vero locorum competens arti huic potest esse usque ad lx
uel centum loca, que facile possunt memorari eciam memoria naturali, sicut tangit Tulius
dicens, ut eas facile naturali memoria comprehendere queamus. Ulterior enim numerus
7
I.e. room with a hearth, bathroom.
8
Ambrosius Theodosius Macrobius, Saturnalia, ed. Iacobus Willis, 2nd ed., (Stuttgart-Leipzig:
Teubner, 1994), 2. (I, 6).
9
Rhet. ad. Her. 3, 32, 2 (not precisely).
10
instead of quasi?
11
Rhet. ad. Her.: insignite natura
12
Rhet. ad. Her.: sunt
13
Lacuna left empty for two words, that the scribe might not have been able to read in the text that
he copied. Supplemented from Rhet. ad. Her.
14
Rhet. ad. Her.: om. sunt
15
Rhet. ad. Her.: angulum, fornicem. There is a note above fornix; perhaps obloh = “vault” in Old
Czech.
16
Rhet. ad. Her. 3, 29, 2.
confunderet et gravaret memoriam, et minor quandoque non sufficeret. Si vero quis loca
sibi predisposuerit plura et memorare poterit, non repugnet huic arti et hoc est, quod
dicit Tulius: Oportet igitur, si volumus multa meminisse, multos nobis locos comparare, ut
in17 multis locis multas ymagines collocare possimus.18 Hec ille. Circa formam vero locorum
oportet, ut modus detur ipsa designandi per certas notas siue per obiecta visibilia et realia
uel ymaginaria, sed magis competunt realia actualiter sensuum ymmitativa,19 quia per
talia fit maior impressio et fi xior locorum memoria. Si vero desunt realia, possunt poni
ymaginaria obiecta siue intercise siue eciam continue, ut oportunitas exegerit. Ita tamen
ut tales note in locis uel obiecta sint manifesta domestica et familiaria locum a loco
distinguentia, sicut forme rerum distinguunt materias indistinctas. Eciam tales note
locorum vel obiecta eorum debent esse, quantum potest fieri notabilia seu spectabilia
eciam delectabilia vel mirabilia vel for[m]idolosa et tristia et sic aliqua passione notabili
affecta, quia talia firmius imprimuntur et multum iuvant ad memoriam artificialem,
[f. 138r] sicut dictum est de memoria naturali. Cuius racio est, quia parua vilia et com-
munia non ita fortiter movent, nec ita memoriam suscitant aut hominis intellectum,
sicut predicta. Ulterius aduertendum circa istam formam locorum, quod tales note locis
impresse debent esse fi xe permanentes et perpetue, de quibus dicit Tulius, ut perpetuo
nobis herere possunt, alie vero ymagines sunt, que in predictis locis sunt collocande et
locis applicande. Iste sunt adventicie et dellibiles [!], quatenus placet et quousque placet,
sicut litere in cera uel in tabula descripte, de quibus inferius in loco suo dicemus. Eciam
circa istam formam locorum potest currere duplex modus, unus ponendi loca sine nouis
170 ymaginibus et20 notis et designationibus, sed ut sunt a natura formata uel ab artificio.
Et huius assercionis videtur esse Tulius, ut patet in eius diffinicione et exemplis, quibus
exemplificat dicens, ut edes, intercolupnium, angulus, fornix, etc., ut supra. Ego autem
dico, quod pro utiliori memoria locorum est, ut per intellectum addatur certa nota figura
uel ymago illi loco, que sit magis distinctiua loci a loco et quasi eius determinatiua siue
tales note seu figure occurrant, quas ponit Tulius, siue alie conformes, animate siue in-
animate [lacuna!] ita tamen, ut sint permanentes et immobiles modo supradicto. Cuius
racio [lacuna!] Nam si contingat ponere loca in campo uel in via uel circa flumina uel in
domo uel in alio spatio, ubi partes spatii conveniunt difficulter, occurret, ut tales note uel
ymagines locorum <locorum> distincte inveniantur, que arti seruiant. Quod si inveniun-
tur, tunc inordinate ponuntur uel intercise, longius uel propius sursum uel deorsum uel
oblique, quod non competit huic arti. Potest tamen uti hac via uel alia secundum quod
melius convenit tue industrie et tantum dictum sit de formacione locorum.
[T]ertio requiritur, quod talia loca si[n]t debite posita et disposita quantum ad tria,
videlicet quantum ad ordinem eorum et ad quantitatem et ad qualitatem ipsorum et
primo de dispositione locorum quantum ad ordinem dicit Tulius: Item putamus oportere
ex ordine hos locos habere, ne quando perturbacione ordinis impediamur, ut quoto21 quoque
17
Rhet. ad. Her.: uti
18
Rhet. ad. Her. 3, 30, 3.
19
Perhaps inuitativa.
20
et underlined.
21
ut quoto] ut setius, quoto Rhet. ad. Her.
loco22 ymaginibus commoniti dicere possimus id, quod locis mandauimus23 quare placet et ex
ordine locos comparare et eos24 egregio co[lacuna: meditari25] oportebit, ut perpetuo nobis
herere possint.26 Hec ille. Et postquam ad hanc artem spectat loca debite ordinare, cuius
racio quia confusio eius impedit <a> memoriam [lacuna] et facit vagam aprehensionem
et debilem impressionem. Sicut si unus locus ponatur sursum, alius deorsum, vel unus
prope, alius longe, confundit memoriam quemadmodum si res in cera uel [lacuna]
scriberentur distorte et inconfuse [!] uel indistincte uel una litera sursum alia deorsum,
non possent facile legi oculo corporali, sic ea, que quis concipit sine ordine et distinctione
propter confusionem non potest [facile legi oculo mentali].
[f. 138v][hic lacuna quinque vel sex vocabulorum] Est igitur [hic lacuna trium vo-
cabulorum] vi quantum ad spatium et quantum ad numerum. Quantum ad spatium,
ut sit distancia inter locum et locum ad minus quinque passuum uel citra, quibus sic
ordinatis et in memoria fi xis opus est, ut scias omnem quinarium locorum signando
eum sursum per aliquod speciale signaculum, et ita scies, quis locus est quintus et quis
decimus, quis vicesimus uel supra uel infra. S [lacuna] eciam modo recto, modo retro-
grado processiue[?] numerare et recitare quod totum in una die facere poteris, si huic rei
attentum te reddideris, et in tali ordine: primum quinarium vocabis primam cameram et
secundum secundam et sic de aliis usque finem, et ita in centum locis habebis xx cameras
memorie bene comendatas, per ista enim poteris statim pronunciare, quod est decimum,
duodecimum uel octodecimum uel quodcumque aliud usque ad finem. Et tantum de
dispositione locorum quantum ad ordinem [lacuna] eorundem [lacuna]
[Q]uarto requiritur, quod talia loca cum suis designacionibus sint debite disposita 171
non solum quantum ad ordinem, ut dictum est, sed quantum ad qualitatem et quan-
titatem ipsorum locorum. Quantum ad qualitatem sunt, qualia debent esse loca? Quia
non debent esse nimis lucida siue splendida, nec nimis obscura et tenebrosa. Cuius racio,
nam sicut visus corporalis non potest bene intueri ea, que sunt nimis clara et splendida
propter luciditatem, nec ea, que sunt nimis obscura propter tenebrositatem, sic est de
memoria, qua si homo concipit locum cum nimia claritate, ymaginationes hominum
diffunduntur, ut non bene possit concipere ymaginem rei memorande ibidem depositam.
Sicut si in die uel in sole uel in igne poneret quis candelam, locus confundit ymaginem,
similiter in tenebris loca non irradiantur, nec aspectum admittunt ad videndum, et
perit racio. Item loca huiusmodi non debent esse tumultuosa uel quelibet in naturis suis
mobilia seu variabilia. Cuius racio, quia in talibus locis fieri contingit, quod cum homo
vult reducere ad memoriam ymagines ibi collocatas, ocurrunt sibi res alie pro aliis, quas
solitus est videre in loco tumultuoso uel aliter variato, propter quas impeditur concipere
res ibi collocatas. Et ex eadem causa non debent esse loca nimis a te frequentata, quia
contingeret te videre in eis multas permutaciones et alteraciones rerum aliarum ab illis
notis et designacionibus in illis locis positis et idcirco quamuis requiruntur esse loca
22
libebit, vel ab lubebit add. Rhet. ad. Her. [perhaps the scribe’s eye jumped from libebit to lubebit!]
23
mandauimus] mandaverimus Rhet. ad. Her.
24
et eos] locos, quos sumpserimus Rhet. ad. Her.
25
lacuna in the text, supplemented from Rhet. ad. Her.
26
Rhet. ad. Her. 3, 30, 3–31, 1.
bene nota et manifesta, tamen cum hoc expedit, ut sint raro frequentata propter causam
predictam. Item requiritur, quod non sint loca omnino similia, sicut sunt celle mona-
chorum uel dormitoria lectorum multorum uel estuaria uel parietes totaliter albi uel
totaliter nigri sed magis, quod sint loca dissimilia ad minus per notas uel designaciones
locis affi xas [f. 139r] variata. Cuius racio, quia ubi sunt loca nimis similia, fit confusio
et perturbacio ymaginandi et homo similiter concipit unum pro altero, sicut si homo
videat simul multa oua uel poma uel panes uel pannos, et postea modico aspectu non
potest discernere unum ab altero, et sequitur confusio predicta.
[Q]uoad quantitatem requiritur, quod loca sint, quantum potest fieri, bene propor-
cionata, sic quod unus locus non excedat multum alterum in magnitudine uel in pa-
ruitate, nam talis dissimilitudo perturbat mentis intuitum eo, quod maior intencio
esset ad locum maiorem et minor ad minorem, maiora enim facilius videntur quam
minora. Item quod loca non debent esse nimis ampla et spatiosa, nec nimis parua.
Racio primi, quia sicut visus hominis non potest cito comprehendere ea, que sunt parua
in locis nimis amplis aut magnis, sic eciam est de intuitu mentali, quod in loco nimis
spacioso non potest ymagines velociter repellere. Verbi gratia: si poneretur pulex in hor[r]
eo uel unus denarius in magna domo, non posset cito ita reperiri, ac si poneretur in
loco minori. Racio autem, quare non debent esse nimis parua, quia aliter sepe con-
tingeret, quod locus minor non posset capere rem locandam maiorem, eo quod quan-
titas loci non competeret quantitati ymaginis collocande, ut si quis haberet locum
fenestram27 paruam, quam posset ymagine cerui uel cornuti cameli collocare, propter
172 quod debent formari loca mediocris quantitatis bene competentia rebus locandis, sicut
tactum est de partibus spatii, ne in magnis parua tardius inveniant[ur] et in paruis magna
locare nequeas. Circa locis videndum est, quod loca proxima seu vicina non sunt multum
convenientia, sicut ignis, flamma, lux, candela, lucerna, radius, uel splendor, quia ymago
in vicina posita propter proprietatem aliquam luminosam confunderet memoriam a loco
sequenti habente eandem proprietatem. Etiam racione spatii videndum est, quod non
est bonum capere loca in medio curie, templi, castri uel camere, sed magis in terminis et
in extremitatibus istarum medietatum, cuius racio, quia medium nimis participat cum
omnibus extremis, quapropter si homo capiat loca in tali medio, cum illud non sit bene
distinctum ab extremis, eo quod eius ista equaliter et indistincte respiciat, continget ibi
facile hesitacio et intellectus confusio in pronunciando et memorando.
[P]ositis locis et bene ordinatis quinto restat scire, que sint ymagines locis apli-
cande. Pro quo sciendum, quod ymagines in proposito secundum Tulium vocantur
forme quedam et note et simulacra eius rei, quam meminisse volumus, hoc est, vocantur
rerum similitudines intellectu concepte et a rebus recepte, que habent se in anima ad res
ipsas, quem ad modum habent se ymagines reales picte uel sculpte ad ipsas res, quarum
sunt ymagines de quibus dicit Tulius: [f. 139 v] Quoniam ergo rerum similes ymagines
esse oportet ex omnibus rebus et verbis notas28 nobis similitudines eligere debemus.29 Et
27
fenestre in ms.
28
et verbis notas] nosmet Rhet. ad. Her.
29
Rhet. ad. Her. 3, 33, 1.
subdit: Duplices igitur similitudines esse debent, une rerum, altere verborum,30 hoc est,
quod que sunt ymagines reales et que verbales. Reales dicuntur que ex suis condicioni-
bus et circumstanciis propriis eliciuntur a rebus et ipsas res representare dinoscuntur.
Unde Tulius: Rerum similitudines exprimuntur cum summatim ipsorum negotiorum yma-
gines comparamus verborum similitudines constituuntur cum unius cuiusque nominis et
vocabuli memoria ymagine notatur.31 Sicut autem res possunt esse varie, ut alie rerum
simplicium, ut est homo, alie rerum plurium, ut negotiorum et sanctorum plures res uel
facta inculcantium, ita oportet elicere artibus varias ymagines <earum> seu conceptus
earum. Similiter quemadmodum sunt varie voces seu vocabula, ut alie simplices, alie
complexe uel composite, sic oportet eciam elicere varias ymagines earum. Quedam enim
voces sunt simplices vel complexe, ut homo uel lapis. Quedam complexe ex pluribus
nominibus, ut homo albus, sapiens, literatus. Alie sunt voces ex proposicionibus pau-
cioribus, alie ex pluribus, ut sunt silogismi et argumentationes uel alie longe narrationes
et utrique sunt duplices uel note, quarum cognoscuntur significata, ut sunt vulgares et
latine. Alie ygnote quorum non percipiuntur significata, ut sunt ebraice, grece, interiec-
ciones, proposiciones et alie voces barbare, alie eciam sunt ex eis vere, alique ficte. Et
circa simil<ar>ium vocum harum memoriam dum pronunciatur speciali industria est
utendum, unde Tulius: Cum verborum similitudines exprimere volemus plus negotii<s>32
suscipiemus quam rerum et magis ingenium nostrum exercebimus,33 id est maiori industria
uti debemus. Quoniam si vocum non significatiuarum ymagines exprimere volumus
plus laboris et exercicii impendemus. simplicium enim ymagines rerum uel vocum no-
bis cogitatarum facilius memoramur, plurimum difficilius et maxime nobis ignotarum 173
et supra hoc difficilius orationum complexarum paucarum uel plurimum simul nobis
pronunciatarum, que omnia lucide declarabuntur in practica artis huius in fine ipsius.
[S]exta pro agnoscenda locatione et aplicatione ymaginis ipsis locis et pronunciacione
debita facienda, que est quasi effectualis practica exercitacio et fructus totius artis huius,
septem notabilia sunt proponenda. Primum, quod ponit Tulius dicens: Quemadmodum
igitur qui literas sciunt id est viri literati possunt id quod dictum est34 scribere, et recitare
quod scripserunt, ita 35 qui inmodica 36 didicerunt possunt ea que didicerant37 in locis collo-
care et ex hiis memoriter pronunciare. Loci enim38 aut carte simillimi sunt, ymagines literis,
dispositio et collocatio ymaginum scripture, pronunciatio lectioni.39 Hec ille. Ex quibus
liquido apparet quomodo Tulius exemplo hoc familiari docet egregie uniuersitatem huius
artis. In quo scilicet consistit, quia in locis debite positis et ordinatis et in ymaginibus
30
Rhet. ad. Her. 3, 33, 1.
31
Rhet. ad. Her. 3, 33, 1.
32
negotii Rhet. ad. Her.
33
Rhet. ad. Her. 3, 34, 2.
34
Dictum est] dictatur, eis Rhet. ad. Her.
35
Ita] item Rhet. ad. Her.
36
Inmodica[?] ] mnemonica Rhet. ad. Her.
37
ea que didicerant] quod audierunt Rhet. ad. Her.
38
loci enim] nam loci cerae Rhet. ad. Her.
39
Rhet. ad. Her. 3, 30, 2.
debite locis applicatis, loca comparat tabulis cereis uel [f. 140r] carte, seu pergameno
oleo tincto, uel tabule oleo tincte, in quibus quouis quis vult scribit uel delet ymagines
scriptura [lacuna unius vocabuli]. Si ymagines comparat scripture delebil[i] [lacuna unius
vocabuli] in eis uel quousque pocius permanende, quod etiam apparet in pariete uel in
lignea tabula, in qua presupponitur spatium partibus indistinctum. Deinde ex spatio fit
locus dum ei figura quedam seu nota quasi litera propter partium distinctionem imprimi-
tur, deinde ei ymago cuiuscumque rei quasi dictio scripta uel propositio applicatur. Et ita
dispositio et collocacio ymaginum scripture assimilatur, memoria visioni et pronunciatio
leccioni comparatur et hoc vult Tulius in verbis premissis. Et ut hec euidentius appare-
ant, simile utcumque faciunt vulgares, qui pro sua arte memorandi usuali conscribunt
in pariete debita sua et signa varia sibi per intellectum concepta, ut circulum pro grosso
uel pro sexagena et crucem pro decem et sex cruces pro sexagena, et sic de aliis. In qui-
bus sunt signa cum parte parietis, sunt loca, ymago grossi uel sexagene mentaliter per
hoc notata sunt ymagines, visio illorum est memoria et pronunciatio est quasi lectio. Et
identidem respicit, licet grosse et imperite faciunt sibi artem memoratiuam per multa
signa huiusmodi sicut et litterati de quibus supra dicebat Tulius […]40
[f. 140v] per actum uel aliam proprietatem occurrentem. Eciam si ponerentur pri-
mum tempus ociose, non sic fortiter aduerterentur aut curarentur, ut patet in experigen-
cia. Nam si homo stat ociosus nihil agens, non ita visus diutine ab alio memoratur, sed si
aliquem actum notabilem ab aliquo exercet [!], ut bene predicat, salit uel aliud operatur,
propter actum suum attentius apprehenditur et diucius memoratur.
174 Tertia circa artem locandi et applicandi ymaginis loci est sciendum et quasi proprio
fundamento et radice huius scientie habendum, quod cum quolibet res habet aliquod
convenientie uel disconvenientie cum aliquo c[lacuna quinque vocabulorum] uel propri-
etate certa uel pluribus iuxta illud sophisma commune et unde: omnia, que conveniunt,
diff erunt. Subaudi: conveniunt quomodo etiam morales theologi sentiunt, qui hominem
uel aliam rem infinitis nominibus aliarum [lacuna] apellant propter aliquam conveni-
entiam, simile faciunt poete, ut patet in Meta[morphoseon] [lacuna] per totum modo
eciam quo loquitur Lucanus de deo dicens Iupiter est quodcumque vides,41 quodlibet enim
visibile, habet similitudinem cum deo, quia omnis eff ectus gerit similitudinem sue cause,42
similiter eciam dicit Scriptura, quia deus est anima in omnibus, quando ergo aliqua res
pronunciatur uel memoranda ponitur statim [lacuna] ingenium ad eius proprietatem
condicionem actum uel [lacuna], per quam conveniet cum loco uel nota loci, et aplica
eam subtiliter proprietate uel condicione illi loco, et statim per proprietatem loci tan-
gens rem locatam, nam locus propter convenientiam suam aliqualem ad rem locatam
comouebit et quasi excitabit tuam memoriam.
Quod si non poteris subito invenire loci et rei locande convenientiam et rei propri-
etatem seu aliquam pertinentiam, tunc vertere debes cognicionem ad loci et rei locande
contrarietatem et impertinentiam, in que scilicet sibi repugnant, sicut si haberes in loco
catum at pronunciaretur unus auis vel coruus, aplica minorem auem vel coruos quasi
40
Rest of the page void.
41
Lucanus, Pharsalia 9, 580.
42
Cf. John Buridan, Quaestiones de Anima, I, 6.
a cato manducarentur. Similiter si in loco habes lupum et pronunciaretur ouis uel por-
cus, cicius ibi inuenies disconuenientiam, quam convenientiam. Ergo aplica ymaginem
loco per disconuenientiam. Et ista comouebit te ad memoriam unius [lacuna duorum
vocabulorum] et hec ratio planius apparebit quando ista practice declarabuntur inferius
et hanc rationem dico fundamentalem huius artis, licet eam non invenerim in Tulio,
nec in aliis artis huius tractatoribus.
Et ex hiis quarto est sciendum, quod tales ymagines memorando, [f. 141r] quantum
fieri potest, debent esse magis proprie [lacuna quinque vocabulorum] nam si volumus
habere memoriam horum nominum bene, pocius non sufficit locare pro ymagine eius
quemlibet [lacuna quinque vocabulorum] uel aliquem magne auctoritatis virum, cuius
vita magnis rebus et sanctitate cum hoc nomine est insignita: hec enim et ymago propria
sancti Petri. Ulterius quinto: volunt aliqui, quod tales ymagines debent esse delectabiles
et universales, tristes, periculose aut aliqua mirabili passione, que mouerent animam
affecte, sed certe hoc non oportet universaliter fieri, quia nunc earum dat alias ymagi-
nes quinque viles [lacuna] ad memorandum nunc homines dant iuxta sua placita res
communes, paruas et viles et domesticas, quas oportet memorari, sed tales ymagines,
ut supradictum est, magis competunt locis et notis eorum. Potest tamen ad unam rem
paruam et domesticam aliquod speciale uel universale per intellectum applicare, ut ursus
volans cum alis uel lupus ambulans ut homo, etc. Ex omni re parua et usitata potest
facere mirabilem [lacuna] et facilem memoriam.
<Sexto circa istam artem locandi et aplicandi ymagines locis est sciendum, quod
licet prime note in locis debent esse fi xe permanentes et immobiles.> Sexto circa istam 175
aplicandi practicam primo requiritur bona et debita impressiua ymaginis ad locum, et
cum hoc mora aliqua in imprimendo, quia festinacio induceret obliuionem maxime
minus expertis, et illam moram facias circa quintum locum et percurras mente pro-
nunciata saltem semel, uel circa, si placet, circa locum decimum, et post ea facies plura
pronunciare. Valde enim hoc valet pro impressione, sic enim dicunt philosophi, quod
in hac arte aliqua inventa sunt, ut servant ordini, aliqua impressione loco, ordini et
ymagini <impressione> [!].
Septimo et ultimo circa hanc aplicationem practicam est advertendum, quod interea
necessaria ad habendam artem istam perfecto et prompte ad memorandum facile singula
opus est cottidiana uel crebra exercitatione et practisatione, quousque non introducatur
vera exercitacio, ita ut ubicumque audias aliquem uel aliquas plures materias utiles,
loquentes in mensa uel in collatione, uel eciam per se confingendo tibi plures materias,
tu eas aplica locis tuis prius dispositis, etc. Perventum43 tue artis ubique capias et videbis
effectiue, quod ea, que erant tibi inexperto <tibi> contra sensum grauia uel difficilia
uel tediosa, quod ipsa erunt tibi multum leuia, multum facilia, ymo et iocunda. Quod
si hec non feceris, nihil in arte proficies et artem quasi inutilem paruipendes. De tali
exercitacione require supra, et ad hoc est Vegetius dicens: Nihil est, quod assidua cogitacio
non reddat facilem.44 Quod si [?]etc. [lacuna] [f. 141v] philosopho in capitulo de memoria
43
Read: proventum.
44
Vegetius, Epitoma rei militaris, I, 19: Nec hoc credatur esse difficile, si usus accesserit; nihil enim est,
quod non assidua meditatio facillimum reddat.
dicto, et ut hoc solicicius [!] facias, accipe commune exemplum in pueris, qui in puero
literas difficulter apprehendunt, tarde et grauiter sillabas componunt, difficulter et la-
boriose dicciones proferunt, et cum grauitate et labore legunt. Postquam vero exercicio
habilitati fuerint, omnem scripturam celerime quasi insensibiliter componunt et legunt.
Fac idem tu in hac arte, et provet tibi similiter. Et hic racio quare supra Tulius comparat
spatium tabule ceree uel carte45 non dum scripte loca litteris ymagines scripture pronun-
ciationem lectionis et tantum de aplicatione practice, etc.
Et quia secundum <secundum> Gamfredum in Poetria: Servire debent exempla doc-
trine46 et auctor Rudium dicit: Rebus et exemplis est informatio vera.47 Iam pro subtili
huius artis complecione et eorum, que dicta sunt, occulari [!] delucidatione preponenda
sunt loca, si placet centena per xx cameras quinariorum distinctas et ista uel [lacuna]
horum exemplo in spatio magis aptiori ab vnoquoque quinariorum situanda et numer-
anda, et si placet propter lapsum memorie scripture commemorande. Ita tamen ut sint,
quantum potest fieri, magis domestica usualia seu familiaria, pluribus facile conveni-
entia et aplicabilia, et a se, quantum fieri potest, non multum dissimilia uel diuersa,
semper aliqua nota curiositate uel nouitate [lacuna]. Cuius racio quia ex hoc erunt magis
memorabilia plurimum capatia, quibus positis aplicabuntur exempla, videlicet ymagines
rerum, quarumlibet memorandarum modo, quo scripture aplicantur cere uel tabule
sicut supra sepe tactum est.
Prima
176 Ihesus sedens in cathedra
Angelus adorans
Ewangelia aperta in pulpito
Panis sacramentalis
Mensa Beel aurea48
Secunda
L<l>auatorium lapideum monachorum
Sacerdos celebrat
Cantarus argenteus
Candelabrum mirabile
Canis magnus latrans [f. 142r]
Tertia
Curia magna
Piscina murata
45
Rhet. ad Her. 30, 2: nam loci cerae aut cartae simillimi sunt.
46
Geoff rey of Vinsauf, Poetria nova, 272: “Serviat exemplum doctrinae”. Cf. Ernest Gallo, The Poetria
nova and its sources in early rhetorical doctrine, (The Hague: Mouton, 1971), 28.
47
Cf. Quinque claves sapientiae – Incerti auctoris Rudium doctrina. Bonvicini de Ripa: Vita scolastica, ed.
Anežka Vidmanová-Schmidtová (Leipzig: Teubner, 1969), though this verse could not be identified in it.
48
Cf. Dn 14,12
Aratrum
Ortus
Camera
Quarta
Episcopus in insigniis
L<l>ittere bullate
Thronus preciosus
Missale in pulpito
Clericus ministrans
Quinta
Equus ruff us
Armatus vir
Tria uexilla cum velis preciosis
Duo acriter duellantes
Bombarda aurea
Sexta
Mercator super institas49
Cummulus florenorum
Duo vasa pretiosa 177
Duo scamina
Currus
Septimus quinarius, septima camera

Peplum beate virginis
Ioppa rasi Procopii
Ocree Golie
Pellitium scompellinum [?]
Cummulus lane magnus
<Rusticus yoppatus>
Octavus quinarius
Rusticus
Lectulus
Puluinar
Sedes pincernarum
Olla magna
49
Du Cange 4, 383 (merchant’s table or booth).
Nonus quinarius
Sacerdos barbatus
Sacramentum in falanga50
Due triture51
Anglicus ruff us teotunicus
Libri Wikleff
Decimus
Ignis Zizke
Zizka
Balista
Exercitus
[fifth image missing]
Undecimus
Grex
Monachi comburuntur
Sepulcra violantur
Vasa diripiuntur
Terre fodiuntur
178 Duodecimus
[missing]
[f. 175v] Ista sunt loca centena per cameras quinariorum xx distincta, que uel alia similia
et tibi placentia dens in mente recipe, et ea in certo spacio locare et ordinare modo, quo
supra dictum est, fi xeque et permanenter in memoria tenere, que si studiosus fueris,
potes in media die uel cicius plene condiscere, et ea tamquam ceram vel tabulam addens
ymagines rerum memorandarum et eis aplicandarum perpetuo in mente conservare
hoc notabiliter adiecto, quod sicut in hac tabula locorum, ita in alia qualibet ponatur
similitudo, in aliquo locorum, licet non in toto, cuius racio quia tunc unus locus vel cam-
era manebit [lacuna] non tamen debet poni magna similitudo locorum, ne unus locus
confundat memoriam alterius, verbi gratia, ut sol, lux, candela, lucerna vel episcopus et
infula, nam que deberent uni aplicari, aplicarentur duobus vel tribus propter magnam
similitudinem et proprietatem locorum. Et ita eadem qualitas locorum confunderet
memoriam ad alterum locum propter eandem proprietatem. In hac autem tabula posite
sunt tot camere aliqualiter convenientes, ut prima competit dominis, alia ecclesiasticis,
et alia domesticis et ceteris. Tu autem dispone tua loca, si placet conformiter vel si placet
difformiter.
[U]t autem experimentis discas in hiis locis, quascumque materiales ymagines volu-
eris locare et locis eas aplicare, accipe quamcumque vis ymaginem rei memorande et
50
ESŁŚP, s.v. phalanga (pole, rod).
51
Du Cange 8, 189 (flail).
sit prima auis vel agnus aplicando eam in primo loco, ad primum locum ponas auem
in sinu domini Ihesu, et hac proprietate, quam habet auis vel agnus cum domino Iesu.
Si autem nominas panem, quia panis est res inanimata et Iesus animata non multum
habentia proprietatis,52 igitur aplicando ad primum locum panem, ponam libum panis
ante Iesum manu benedicentem eum vel frangentem, et sic per actum illum proprium
Ihesu memorabor subito illius ymaginis panis. Et ita ad secundum locum, si pronun-
cias thuribulum, ponam eum [!] in manu angeli quasi thurificantis ante dominum, et
ita memorabor thuribuli. Similiter quoad tertium locum, si nominas asinum, aplicabo
asinum quasi vertentem ewangelia uel portantem librum et memorabor asinum, vel
ponam brunellum53 [lacuna quinque vocabulorum]. Si vero nominas clericum, ponam
clericum quasi in aperto ewangelio legentem [lacuna] et memorabor clerici. Si autem
nominas rusticum vel laycum aplicabo [lacuna] os digito obstruentem vel oculos a li-
bro avertentem, qui dicit: laycus sum, nescio litteras, et ita memorabor layci vel rustici.
Et ita ad quartum locum, si nominas <panem caseum> vetulam, aplicabo eam quasi
plectentem[?] et os aperientem ad panem sacramentalem vel manus iungentem et quasi
adorantem sacramentum. Quoad quintum locum, si nominas panem vel caseum vel
pisum, ponam ipsos per ingenium super mensam et per convenientiam eorum ad men-
sam facile rememorabor eorum. Et ita habeam primam cameram iam locatam, et poteris
statim pronunciare directe vel retrograde. Si tamen locorum prius bene memor fieris, et
conformiter de omnibus locis factis et cameris usque ad finem […].
179
52
An adjective (communis?) is missing here.
53
The example of the ass (asinus) and the brown ass (brunellus) often appeared in logical questions.
See e.g., the Sophismata of Albertus of Saxony: Michael J. Fitzgerald, Albert of Saxony’s Twenty-Five
Disputed Questions. A Critical Edition of his Quaestiones Circa Logicam (Leiden: Brill, 2002) 362–368.
2. Mattheus Beran: Ars avitaromem (1431)
Mattheus Beran, an Augustinian canon from Roudnice, claimed to have written this
treatise in 1431 while in exile in Erfurt. Although it turns out that Beran basically
copied, re-arranged, and shortened an already existing treatise written in 1420–1421
by Mattheus de Verona, the text is included in our anthology, because it is unavailable
otherwise (a critical edition of the treatise by Mattheus de Verona is being prepared
by Angelika Kemper). For a detailed analysis of this text and more information on its
author, see pp. 37–45. The present edition is based on the sole fully extant manuscript,
Prague, NK, I F 35, a miscellany in which the treatise is copied at the very end in Be-
ran’s own hand. It is collated to the fragment surviving in a miscellaneous ms. Prague,
NK, I G 11a, written by Ulricus Crux de Telcz (Oldřich Kříž z Telče) from the second
half of the 15th century, where it follows an excerpt from another mnemonic treatise
accompanying an image which is manifestly a mnemonic one.1
The full comparison to the original version by Mattheus de Verona could not been 181
carried out, since his treatise is not available in a critical edition yet. From the extant
manuscripts of Mattheus de Verona, two have been consulted (M and V), although only
V was fully compared to Beran. They differ from each other in many aspects, and it is
secure that none of them served as a direct model to Beran. The variants of V and some
of the variants of M are noted in the apparatus and allow the reader to see the ways in
which Beran might have manipulated Verona’s text. The sections marked in bold do
not appear in M, V, nor in ms. Sankt Paul im Lavantal 137/4 (ff. 132r–140r), which was
also scanned at these passages.
Manuscript sigla:
F = Prague, NK, I F 35, ff. 477r–485r (the foliation marked in the main text follows
this ms.)
G = Prague, NK, I G 11a, ff. 29v–30r
M = Mattheus de Verona in Munich, BSB, clm. 14260, ff. 77r–85r
V = Mattheus de Verona in Vatican, Vat. lat. 6293, ff. 199v–213v
1
For a detailed analysis of the image and the text, see Kiss, “Memory Machine”.
[F, f. 477r] Ars avitaromem2 fratris M. Beran3

Ego frater M. Beran Conspiciens ex una parte scolares quam plures a sciencia, quam
omnes homines natura4 scire desiderant, ammoveri tum propter memorie delicate la-
bilitatem, tum propter ignoranciam collocandi in memoria, que memorie sunt digna
et collocata retinendi. Et ex alia parte huiusmodi defectus ne dum a me sed eciam
ab aliis volentibus proficere cupiens separare5 et aliquantum pro meo posse deo me
adiuvante hoc compendium quod insignitur de arte Idnaromem6 in quo precipue de
tribus tractatur scilicet7 locis, ymaginibus et rebus8 memorabilibus. Et quamquam multi
multa opuscula circa hanc9 materiam condiderint, tamen hoc videtur10 lucidius atque
expedicius. Si autem aliquod reperiatur11 hic minus benedictum, peto veniam a lectore
pariter et correccionem.12 Amen.
Dif f inicio a r tis 13

Memoria articifialis est sciencia anime recolendi immemorata et memorata retinendi ex
locis et ymaginibus decenter preparatis ad hominis profeccionem,14 et laudem subtiliter
adinventa. Natura namque facit hominem habilem,15 ars facilem, usus vero potentem ut
inquit Albertus Magnus in primo capitulo suorum sumularum.16
Dif f inicio loci cu m d ivisionibu s su is

Partes huius artis17 substanciales sunt due, scilicet locus et ymago. Et primo videndum
est de loco, scilicet absolute et respective. Primo absolute locus secundum Philosophum
182 est ultima superficies corporis continentis immobilis.18 Et hic est duplex, scilicet generalis
et particularis sive singularis. Et19 uterque istorum adhuc est duplex, scilicet naturalis et
2
memorativa supra F
3
Fratris M. Beran – in red ink; the whole is omitted in M and V; V: Incipit prohemium super artem
memorandi fratris Mathie de Verona ordinis predicatorum.
4
om. G
5
V: Ego frater Mattheus de Verona ordinis predicatorum baccalarius minimus ad dei laudem et beate
virginis et beati dominici patris nostri scolariumque profectum ex mee armariolo ignorancie [h]ausi.
6
memorandi explevit G; memorandi M, V
7
scilicet de locis M
8
rebus om. V
9
circa hanc] hanc circa V
10
videtur om. V
11
aliquod reperiatur] reperiatur aliquod V
12
correctorem G
13
diffinicio artis] explicit prohemium, sequitur diffinicio artis memorandi V
14
perfectum G
15
hominem habilem] abilem V
16
sumularum] universalium V
17
sunt due, scilicet accidentales et essenciales sive substanciales add. M
18
Arist. Phys. 4, 4 (212 a, 20–21).
19
et om. V
artificialis. Exemplum de naturali generali ut vallis, mons, campana,20 et sic de aliis.21

Artificialis generalis est ut civitas, vicus, palacium, domus. Naturalis particularis ut
arbor, leo, bos, capra. Artificialis particularis ut studium, ostium, caminus22.23
De cond icionibu s locor u m que su nt septem 24

Unus locus significantis25 non debet esse maior novem cubitis nec minor tribus, quia sicud
fantasia nimium dilatatur in magnis sic eciam26 nimium confunditur in parvis. Et eadem
racione quod dictum est de magnitudine, de distancia intelligatur.27 Numerus et ordo
locorum debet esse talis quod accipiantur 100 vel 1000 vel 10000 vel quotquot28 fuerint
tibi necessaria ad res locandas hoc ordine videlicet quod accipiantur debet quinquies in
quinque secundum numerum sensuum, qui omnes deserviunt huic arti et maxime visus
usque ad [xxv] et de xxv29 usque ad 100 . Et si30 fuerit opportunum verbi gracia,31 si esset ibi
unum pratum debes ymaginari ipsum esse undique clausum asseribus vel muro et sic intel-
ligas de aliis locis indeterminatis vel32 habeas unam domum, palacium, monasterium,33 in
quo sint 20 loca distincta, scilicet34 una coquina, unum cenaculum, unum refectorium,
sic35 usque ad 20. Et si non essent ibi tota36 loca generalia,37 debes ea significare.38 Deinde
imaginaris39 ipsum pratum uel domum esse quadrum [f. 477v] id est40 per quadrum dis-
tinctum41 asseribus42 vel alia43 materia si comodius fuerit. Deinde ymaginare in quolibet
20
campania V 183
21
et sic de aliis] conventus V
22
particularis artificialis ut hostium, caminus, fenestra M
23
artificialis… caminus] particularis artificialis ut hostium, caminus, studium, fenestra et sic de
aliis V
24
que sunt septem om. V; Sequitur condicio prima quarum septem sunt M
25
singularis V
26
eciam om. V
27
quod add. M
28
quot V
29
[f. 200r V]
30
sic quousque M
31
exemplum in marg. F
32
si esset… uel om. V; included in M
33
vel conuentum add. V
34
distincta, scilicet] generalia ut una vel due vel tres camere vel plures V
35
scilicet G; refectorium sic] capitulum, una rasura et sic de allis V
36
tot V
37
fabricata add. V
38
fi ngere V; Verbi gracia si esset ibi unum pratum debes imaginari ipsum esse undique clausum
asseribus uel muro et sic intelligas de aliis locis eciam de panenatis[?] add. V
39
imaginaris om. G
40
et G
41
per quadrum distinctum] distinctum per quadrum V
42
corr. from asseribuslibus F
43
aG
loco sive quadro hec44 loca singularia ut sunt45 tabule vel unus bancus, unus pulpitus,46
una capsa47, una arbor, sicud tibi ostendunt signa vel note posite48 in singulo quadro, ut
patebit postea in figura locorum inferius descripta.49 Et sic habitis 20 locis generalibus50
in una domo, et in singulo eorum hec51 singularia resultabunt 100, in quibus omnibus
debent servari condiciones de locis superiores et omnes que inferius notabuntur, et hoc
totum exigitur, ne memoria confundatur secundum52 modum moventem memoriam
in confuso, ideo in 10 vel 20 locis, de omnibus habebis materiam seriatim positam et
ordinatam53 ut patebit in figura. Quinta condicio est, quod locus sit mediocriter clarus,
quia fantasia in nimia luce reverberatur et obfuscatur in parva et tenebrosa.54 Sexta est55
ut sit mediocriter usitatus saltem memoranti,56 quia in57 nimia frequentacione et replecione
loci fantasia impeditur et in solitario non deflectetur.58 Septima condicio est quinti loci et
cuiuslibet notoria habitudo, id est noticia, scilicet59 de quinto in quintum usque ad 25 et
sic usque ad 100. Verbi gracia, in primo quinto pone60 ad61 suspensum quod significet62
tibi quinque vel materialiter,63 ut manus, vel ad placitum, ut capellus. Et ut hoc64 comodius
facias, sint iste note cuiuslibet quinti in primo quinto suspense65 ibi sub talares albos,66
in 7o virides, in 8o rubeos, in 9o celestinos, in 10o nigros, in 11o indumentum album, in
12 viride, in 13 rubeum, in 14 celestinum, in 15 nigrum, in 16 manum ceream, in 17
manum ligneam, in 18 manum ferream, in 19 manum argenteam, in 20 manum auream.67
44
quinque V
45
ut sunt] uel quinque V
184 46
unus bancus, unus pulpitus] una banca uel unum pulpitum, unus caminus V
47
cassa V
48
note posite] notis posita V
49
ut patebit… descripta] sequentis figure M, V
50
generalibus om. V
51
quinque V
52
hunc add. V
53
om. G; secundum… ordinatam] secundum hunc modum in decem domibus habebis mille loca
seriatim posita et ordinata M, V
54
in … tenebrosa om. G
55
fin. G
56
memoratim V
57
in om. V
58
delectatur M, V
59
notoria habitudo, id est noticia, scilicet] nota rota et V
60
ponas V
61
aliquid M, V
62
significat V
63
naturaliter V
64
hoc om. V
65
suspende V
66
sub talares albos] supra soctilares[?] virides in 2o rubeos, in 3o celestinos, in 4o albos, in 5o nigros, in
6 caligas uirides V
o
67
in 7o virides…auream] in 7o rubeas, in 8o celestinas, in 9o albos, in 10 nigras, in 11o indumentum
viride, in 12 rubeum, in 13 celestinum, in 14 album, in 15 nigrum, in 16 manus cerea, in 17 lignea, in
18 ferrea, in 19 argentea, in 20 aurea V
Et hoc totum sit,68 ut loca bene distinguantur.69 Et ne fantasia in locorum multiplicacione

confundatur et hec eadem signa debes ponere70 in aliis quintis aliorum 100 locorum,
ut postea patebit infra quintorum per loca 100 infra posita cum suis vocabulis.71
Et hoc dico, quia minus72 fatigavere in adinveniendo alia memorabilia quam ista cuilibet
sapienti copiose sufficiunt.73
Sequ itu r prima f ig u ra quad rator u m in quator [!] pa r tes d istincta
185
[f. 478r]
Incipit Tractatus Artis Evitaromem74
De versibu s ad iscend is 75
Carmina qui quondam studio florente peregi,
Flebilis heu mestus 76 cogor inire modos.77
68
fit V
69
de quinque in quinque et quotus in ordine sit locus inde sciatur M, V
70
signa debes ponere] figura debet poni V
71
ut postea… vocabulis] et sic deinceps M, V
72
nimis V
73
memorabilia… sufficiunt] quinque et ista sufficiunt V.
74
Th is sudden second beginning, and change of the topic into specific examples rather than
continuation of the theoretical discourse appears only in Beran’s text. Mattheus Verona continues with
Iste autem sunt note – see below, p. 190.
75
Th is part comes up much later in V (f. 205r) and M (f. 80 v), and is included within the chapter De
ymaginibus litterarum as: Exemplum. Si uis memorari… Then again towards the end of the treatise (V f.
210 v, M f. 84r) there is a longer treatment of the same subject.
76
mestos V
77
Boëth. Cons. metr. 1,1.
Exemplum:78 ponas in manu alicuius79 dextra capidem80 et in81 sinistra cistam

plenam82 fusis et scias83 ad minus quod primus versus incipit ab84 C et secundus ab
F. Per quod faciliter85 poteris memorari amborum versuum86 etc. recordando caput
et cistam cum fusis. Nam prius est Carmina et secundus Flebilis. 87
De 88 voc abu lis memora nd is

Si haberes89 loca parata pro nominibus90 incipientibus ab a, et ponas arcum ad primum
locum et91 significabit, quod iste92 locus et sequentes sunt pro nominibus93 incipientibus
ab a. Et si erunt 10 vocabula in quibus postea94 ponatur C, et ponas exemplum,95 qui
habeat unam capidem plenam castaneis, et96 significabit quod vocabula incipiencia
ab C97 sunt 10, nam per arcum positum ad primum locum significatur98 quod omnia
vocabula incipiunt99 ab a, per capidem100 quod sequitur C post A et per castaneas quod
sunt 10.
De y ma ginibu s c a suu m
Nota quod volentibus scire casus et numerum diccionum, quos101 memorie tradunt,102
convenit habere ymagines casuum et primo in numero singulari. Sit ergo ymago nomi-
186
78
et V
79
alicuius om. V
80
lapidem V; [f. 205v V]
81
manu add. V
82
plenam om. V
83
et scias] scies V
84
aV
85
facilius V
86
amborum versuum] ambobus versibus V
87
etc… flebilis om. V
88
de] exemplum de M, V
89
habebis V
90
vocabulis V
91
et om. V
92
quod iste] ille V
93
vocabulis V
94
postea] post a V
95
unum V
96
et om. V
97
AV
98
significabitur V
99
incipiencia V
100
capina[?] V. On capis, see Du Cange 2, 129.
101
quam V
102
tradunt] vis tradere V
nativi singularis nabula103, genitivi genu ferreum104, dativi decanta105, accusativi arcus
argentee,106 vocativi vocate107, ablativi abacus108. Ymagines casuum pluralium sunt109 iste:
nominativi ale110, genitivi biretum111, dativi candelabrum, accusativi digitale, vocativi
eliud112, ablativi fascia.
De y ma ginibu s de compa racione ad locu m

Nota quod ymagines diverse debent esse113 in diversis locis, quando enim omnia sint
similia, memoria non distinguitur114 et sic confunditur, et eciam similitudo faceret,
ne ymagines commode possunt plura representare. Debet ergo recolens ponere yma-
gines facientes diversa secundum diversitatem locorum115, ut si velit quis116 memorari
grammaticam habeat primum locum, quod est cartha, pre oculis et ponat ibi unum
gramaticum sibi notum verberantem discipulum acriter aput unam portam, que sit ibi
secundum ymaginacionem117. Si autem118 velit recordari partes grammatice suspendat
ad secundum locum, qui est linea, duas sportas119 ad unum funem debilem, qui cito
frangitur et sporte cadant super aliquem hominem declivum et curvum, ita quod sit
coactus clamare: heu me deus. Si autem velit rememorari partes declinabiles, ponat ad
tercium locum quod est fernyz, id est vernix, unum hominem gybbosum declinantem
se ad colligendum lapides, ut percuciat unum Indum, qui molestat eum. Si autem velit
reminisci partes indeclinabiles, ponat ad quartum locum, qui est atramentum, unum
hominem Indum,120 ut porrigat crucem osculandam alicui et ex hoc habebit indeclina-
biles. [f. 478v] Et sicut diversificantur loca, sunt eciam et ymagines et loca, que erant
eciam diversificata ex nominibus rerum positarum in eis, a quibus intitulantur. Nota 187
eciam, quod ymagines, quamvis possint esse tante, quantus est locus, tamen melius
103
id est sonagli add. V
104
genu ferreum] glandes V
105
decanta] dentes in una corda V
106
arcus argentee] arcus magne argentee in una corda M, V
107
varote V
108
abacus] abluta petra et balneata V
109
sint V
110
ale] alee in una cordo uel sacculo V
111
breviarium V
112
ebur V
113
diverse debent esse] debent esse diverse M, V
114
distinguit V
115
locatorum V
116
quid om. V
117
imaginem V
118
autem om. V
119
portas V
120
declinantem se add. M
est, ut sint minores parum vel multum secundum exigenciam rei memorande et omnes
condiciones locorum conveniunt eciam ymaginibus.121
De y ma ginibu s in compa racione ad y ma gines 122

Nota, quod ymagines debent esse ligate ad invicem, ut memoria non erret in memo-
rando, que quidam ligacio potest fieri dupliciter, vel ponendo aliquod de ymagine123
sequenti ad precedentem vel attirendo124 aliquod de ymagine125 precedenti et ponendo126
ad sequentem, ut exemplum127 est in capitulo superiori et in capitulo de comparacione
locorum ad invicem. Primus modus deservit, quando recitamus ordinem antrogrado et
secundus, quando deservit128 ordine retrogrado, et ideo primus modus ligandi est melior
et quasi sufficiens ad utrumque.
De y ma ginibu s in compa racione ad memorabi lia 129

Et notandum, quod ymago130 est duplex, scilicet rerum et vocabulorum. Ymago131 rei
est illa, que facta est132 principaliter, ut habeamus de re significata memoriam non con-
siderata diccione vel oracione, ita133 principaliter et talis ymago134 attenditur maxime135
in oracione, in qua magis querimus memoriam sentencie, quam verbi ad verbum. In
simplici autem136 diccione vix vel numquam137 habemus memoriam re[i]138, quando ha-
121
ad unum funem… ymaginibus] vel auctoritatis de quibus omnibus est pratica, dum per ordinem
188 qualiter scilicet unumquemque est tradendum memoria pro hanc arte que recte dici potest thesaurus
uel depositum cunctorum memorabilium uerissime et ordinatissime minor comparabilis est et tunc erit
finis. [the reading of M is close to Beran here but different afterwards: Explicit tractatus de ymaginibus
et locis. Sciencia memorandi… – followed by an extra folio here what is not in V: Nota quod sciencia
memorandi prima sui divisione dividitur… ad propositum artis huius; in V begins f. 206r: De mod is
memor a nd i quoa d si mpl ic i a i g not a : Si vis memorari singularia ignota… et unum magnum
volumem in imauellana[?] [f. 206v V] sicut enim virtualiter tota… conditiones locorum conueniunt
in immaginibus V [and then continued by Beran: De i ma g i n is i n c ompa rat ione ad i ma g i ne s
and De ymaginibus in comparacione ad memorabilia, which are not in M at all]
122
this chapter om. M
123
imaginacione V
124
accipiendo V
125
imaginacione V
126
et ponendo om. V
127
exemplatum V
128
deservit om. V
129
this chapter om. M
130
et notandum, quod ymago] nota quod imaginacio V
131
imaginacio V
132
facta est] est facta V
133
ita om. V
134
imaginacio V
135
maxime om. V
136
enim V
137
vel numquam] umquam V
138
re[i] ] uel re V
beamus139 eciam de diccione, nam una140 res haberet141 plura vocabula significancia ipsam
rem142, quia tunc per ymaginem143 rei144 possemus errare in accione145 per idem vocabu-
lum. Verbi gracia: ensis, spata, sica, framea eandem rem significant modo, si ponerem ad
locum unum, tunc tali re in manu non haberem propter hoc certam recordacionem, sub
quo vocabulo posuissem talem rem in loco. Ymago146 vocabuli est una147, que est formata
de148 vocabulo in toto similis vel in parte, ut vocabuli memoria habeatur. Multa exempla
ad propositum sunt posita149 in superioribus capitulis et ideo hic exemplum non datur. Si
tu ergo vis150 habere memoriam vocabulorum, forma ymagines de vocabulis, vel impone
rem aliquomodo ad significandum tale vocabulum, ut151 in satans152 significet Ysaac. Si
de re153 memoriam vis habere, fac154 ymaginem iuxta rei sentenciam.
Et nota quod precedens figura abecedarii huic condependet presenti pro eadem
significacione et ymaginacione cum sequenti155
189
139
habemus V
140
nam una] nisi illa V
141
eciam add. V
142
rem om. V
143
imaginacionem V
144
re V
145
accipiendo V
146
[f. 207r V]
147
illa V
148
ex V
149
ad propositum sunt posita] sunt posita ad propositum V
150
ergo vis] vis ergo V
151
quod add. V
152
sacris V, sanctos M
153
de re om. V
154
forma V
155
sequenti om. V; end of the insertion of V: E xpl icit t rac t at u s de y ma g i n ibu s et locis. De
pa r t ibu s hu iu s a r t is; both M and V have one chapter (Nota quod sciencia memorandi prima divisione
sui dividitur in duas partes scilicet in scienciam memorandi simplicia et recolendi complexa… et tunc aut
erit testus vel res vel gradus qualitatum personarum aut scripta aut questiones aut originabilia siue dicta
notabilia sanctorum vel philosophorum et in istis bonum est habere imagines doctorum et librorum quorum
quedam ponuntur hic gracia exepli nec enarandum si divisio non est ita scientifica data, cum ista faciant ad
propositum huius artis); then continue with De y ma g i n ibu s quor u nd a m doc tor u m et l ibror u m
rec olendor u m – in Beran further below, p. 205.
Iste autem sunt note cuiuslibet loci156 infra scripte157 super aliquam tabulam
ponende,158 quarum quelibet debet esse visibilis, bene159 ymaginabilis et manu ductibi-
lis. Nam160 talis nota sive res deservit ad multa, primo ad notandum locum, ubi ponitur.
Et161 si ibi ponitur162 cartha, vocabitur cartha. Si vocatur caulis, vocatur caulis,163 et sic de
aliis. Secundo deservit ad representandum164 quemlibet numerum, scilicet figurarum et
modorum in argumentis, numerum peccuniarum in debitis, ponderum in mercanciis, et
ad multa alia, que omnia patebunt in huius artis practica.165 [f. 479r] Nota eciam166 quod
nulla istarum rerum167 debet esse aliqua de illis, que ponuntur in quintis locorum et sic
intellige alibi, ubi res accomodatur168 ad significandum vel menses vel dies vel horas, ut
patebit infra. Et hoc fit ideo169 ne memoria erret accipiendo unum pro reliquo170. Nota
eciam171 quod iste res sive note ponuntur ad placitum, secundum quod occurrunt, tamen
ingeniosius172 est eas accipere secundum quod se aliquomodo sequuntur173 de 5 in 5174
secundum ordinem scilicet locorum et numerum servatum. Verbi gracia ut primo loco
ponetur175 cartha, 2o linea176, 3o pixis fernicaria177, 4o vitriollum attramentarium,178 5o
pixis calamorum179, id est pennale,180 et sic de 5 in 5 usque ad 100 et non ultra, quia ista
sufficiunt. Posses tamen181 invenire 200182 vocabula peregrina et eorum nomina imponere
156
singularis add. V
190 157
posite V; [f. 200 v V]
158
super… ponende] ponende super discum uel aliquid aliud ibi positum V
159
visibilis, bene] bene visibilis V
160
quia V
161
ut V
162
ponatur V
163
si… caulis] si caulis, caulis V
164
presentandum V
165
que… practica] ut patebit in practica huius artis V
166
eciam om. V
167
rerum om. V
168
accomodabitur V
169
ideo om. V
170
alio V
171
insuper V
172
ingenioso V
173
consecuntur[?] V
174
nota add. V
175
ut… ponetur] ut in primo ponatur V
176
riga V
177
vernixis V
178
vitriollum attramentarium] attramentum V
179
pixis calamorum] penne uel calami V
180
id est pennale om. V
181
posses tamen] tamen posses V
182
centum V
aliis rebus 100 et locis183 ponendo eorum ymagines in locis suis et sic potes procedere
quousque volueris.184 Sequitur tibi exemplum notarum per loca positarum.185
1 cartha 26 pectines186 6us
2 linea Primus quinarius 27 speculum187 pro muliere se ornante
3 ferniz188 Quo convenit scribere189 28 capilli
4 attrimentum 190
29 peplum191
5 pennale192 30 pater noster193
6 tostus ab igne194 31 follis195

7 carbo 2us 32 scopa 7us
8 pallea196 pro se calefacente197 33 iucus198 pro fabro199
9 nuclee 200
34 forceps201
10 castanee 35 martellus202
11 cultellus 3us 36 ocree203

12 panis pro comedente204 37 calcaria 205 8us
13 scutella 38 gladius206 pro equitate207
183
aliis… locis] aliis centum locis V
184
suis… volueris] sic usque quo volueris 191
185
sequitur… positarum] posses et multis aliis modis operari circa notas locorum. Ne igitur labores
nimis in reperiendo talia sint iste centum res sive note que dant nomina suis locis et quarum quelibet
signi sunt numerum loci in quo ponitur, et si res forent parue, possunt poni in magna quantitate V
186
speculum M, V
187
pectines M, V
188
vernix V
189
que conveniunt scribere locis in primo loco V
190
atramentum V
191
capucium V
192
penne V
193
pater noster] corde de pater noster V; [f. 201r]
194
tostus ab igne] testus V
195
folles MV
196
mollitre[?] V
197
pro calefacientibus V
198
iricus[?] V
199
pro manescalco[?] V
200
paletra[?] V
201
fer equi M, V
202
pes equi M, V
203
calcaria M, V
204
pro rustico edenti M, V
205
stivale V
206
spata M, V
207
pro equitanti M, V
14 caseus208 39 cirotece209
15 vinum210 40 capellus211
16 pulli 41 panthones212
17 ferina 213 4us 42 clavi 9us
18 capones214 pro convivio215 43 sera pro ostio
19 ficus216 44 clavis217
20 pomerancie218 45 vectis219
21 panniculi 5us 46 caules

22 fascie220 pro barbario221 47 olla 222 10us
23 cos ad acuendum 48 patella 223 pro coquina 224
24 rasorium 49 craticula 225
25 forpex 50 caldar[?]226
[f. 479v]
51 asseres 76 rethe
52 securis227 undecimus quinarius 77 hamus228 16us
53 dolabrum229 pro carpentario230 78 barsa 231 pro piscatore
192
208
alleum M, V
209
bolce[?] V
210
caseus M, V
211
capello dipaglire[?] V
212
auelli ferrei magni V
213
vina M, V
214
lardones M, V
215
pro lectatore M, V
216
incisoria M, V
217
catarnone V
218
pomarancea V
219
claues V
220
baccili V
221
barbino[?] V
222
conca V; concha M
223
lebes M, V
224
pro caulibus coquinalis V; pro coquendis M
225
catena V; cathena M
226
ligna M, V
227
ascia M, V
228
pisces V
229
dolabra M, V
230
pro lignario M, V
231
risca V
54 serra 232 79 pisces233

55 cerebella 234 80 cysta 235
56 mortarium 81 fronum236
57 pilus237 12us 82 sella 17us
58 bilances238 pro apothecario239 83 staphilia pro equo
59 scatule 84 capistrum240
60 pondus241 85 habena
61 lana 86 escula
62 scartharie242 13us 87 pira 18us
63 pectines ferrei243 pro lanario 88 nuces pro penestica 244
64 fusa 245 89 tortia[?]
65 piselli246 90 melones
66 piper 91 syrupus
67 cera 14us 92 clistere 19us
68 crocus pro institore247 93 urinale pro infirmo248
69 muscatum 94 zuccarum
70 zinsiber 95 manus christi
71 funis 96 sompnus
193
72 tela 15us 97 vigilia 20us
73 chassca pro venditore249 98 requies pro sano250
74 bursa 99 aër
75 vagina 100 cibus et potus
232
[sarra F]
233
plumbum V
234
terebella V
235
cancrum V
236
fustis V
237
pillum V
238
bilancies V
239
pro aromatario V
240
cusinellum M, V
241
vaselli V
242
pectini ferrei V
243
falde V
244
pro re venditrirum[?] 86 uva, 87 poma, 88 trulli[?] 89 cocomere 90 popone V
245
piselli V
246
scarcie[?] V
247
pro mercario[?] 66: barrette, 67: tela, 68: tasca bolce[?], 69: vagina, 70: bursa V
248
pro magistro[?] vegetum[?]: 91 bordicello, 92 lerchir[?], 93 done[?], 94 fundus, 95 tenagli V
249
pro illo quantitis mascaris: 71 veste lacerate, 72 cauda bouina, 73 barba de ipsa, 74 mascara, 75
cornua V
250
pro infirmo: 96 brache, 97 cristere, 98 virinali [read: vrinale], 99 zuccarum, 100 manus christi V
Sequuntur canones251
De locis respective ad recordacionem
Nota, quod debes scire ista loca omnia bene menti quo ad 252 substanciam, numerum,
ordinem et nomina rerum in eis positarum, quod non sit tibi maior difficultas in eis
procedere ordine retrogrado quam antrogrado253, ymmo debent tam bene sciri254, quod
nullus sit labor incipere a quacumque quinario volueris.255 Item ordinem quem servasti
scilicet256 signando257 loca sive fi xis258 ascendendo sive259 descendendo, sive anteriorando
sive posteriorando, sive dextrando sive sinistrando. Eundem eciam debes servare260 in
discendo261 et locando, ne titubes propter oracionis262 varietatem. Primus ergo locus
semper263 debet esse primus, secundus debet esse secundus et sic de aliis.264 Et si primus
sit sinister, primus cuiuslibet quinti sit eciam265 sinister, et sic deinceps usque in finem.266
[f. 480r]
De locis respective ad y ma gines. Notabi le 267

Nota, quod loca debent esse immobilia et ymagines mobiles. Sunt enim loca sicut cera
et ymagines sicud litterarum figure. Nam sicud 268 cera manet et litterarum figure269
delentur ex ea 270, sic loca debent esse firma et ymagines rerum possunt amoveri et alie
ymagines271 de imo272 poni. Item non debent esse plura locata in uno loco273 quam in
alio et per consequens nec plures ymagines, ne pro inordinacione274 rerum275 memoria
194
251
Written in red ink; om. V
252
ista… ad] ita bene mente loca quod V
253
[f. 201v antro-grado]
254
debent… sciri] debes tam bene scire V
255
a… volueris] a quocumque loco V
256
scilicet om. V
257
figendo[?] V
258
fi xeris V
259
vel V
260
eundem… servare] servare debet V
261
adiscendo V
262
ordinis V
263
semper om. V
264
secundus… aliis] secundus secundus, tercius et tercius V
265
eciam om. V
266
usque in finem om. V
267
notabile om. V
268
nam sicud] uelud enim V
269
litterarum figure] litterae V
270
ex ea om. V
271
alie ymagines] alia V
272
novo V
273
uno loco] loco uno magis V
274
pro inordinacione] ex ordinacione V
275
rerum om. V
paciatur defectum. Si ergo locaveris276 tantum unum in primo loco, loca eciam277 unum
in secundo, et sic deinceps. Si duo, loca duo278. Si tria, loca tria 279, et sic per consequens, si
hoc, hoc, si illud, illud.280 Nec281 materia locandorum te urgebit282 ad maius vel minus283
in ultimo loco sicud in primo,284 sed nec285 transeas numerum quinnarium in locando in
omni286 loco. Si ergo locaveris tantum unum per locum, omnis fere locus erit tibi bonus
secundum exigenciam locandorum. Verbi gracia:287 una fenestra, unus angulus, una
scala, etc.288 Sed si vis locare plura, tunc debet esse in unoquoque loco unus discus vel289
tabula longitudinis septem cubitorum et latitudinis trium vel circa cum banchis. Et si vis
locare duo per locum, potes ponere unum in uno capite disci vel tabule,290 alterum291 in
alio versus sequentem292 locum et sic procedes293 usque in finem. Si autem294 vis locare
tria, potes ponere primum locandum in primo loco295 disci vel tabule296, secundum in
medio, et297 tercium in fine versus sequentem locum. Si vero298 vis locare quattuor, potes
ponere primum in primo, secundum in medio299 in parte longiori a te, tercium in alia
parte versus te, et quartum in fine. Sed si vis locare300 quinque, tunc301 pone primum
in primo angulo tabule, secundum in secundo versus te, tercium in medio, quartum in
tercio angulo, et quintum in quarto angulo302 versus te. Isti enim ordines sunt servandi,
276
locaveris om. V
277
eciam om. V 195
278
duo om. V
279
loca tria] si quatuor, si quinque quinque V
280
et sic… illud om. V
281
ne V
282
cogeret V
283
maius uel minus] minus uel maius V
284
sicud in primo om. V
285
non V
286
eodem V
287
verbi gracia] scilicet V
288
etc.] et sic de aliis V
289
una add. V
290
vel tabule om. V
291
alium V
292
secundum V
293
et sic procedes] sic V
294
autem om. V
295
loco om. V
296
vel tabule om. V
297
et om. V
298
vero om. V
299
in medio] ad medium V
300
sed… locare] si autem locare vis V
301
tunc om. V
302
angulo om. V
ut fantasia solida maneret ordine locandi303 fi xo manente. Et hec patent omnia 304 in
figuris infrascriptis per suas differencias evidenter oculo intuenti sic.305
Posset eciam quis306 locare per ascensum sic307 ponendo ymagines, scilicet alphabeti
litteras308 et eciam loca secundum sub309 et supra. Sed tunc loca sic ordinata non debent
excedere numerum ternarium ne memoria turbetur310 in ascensu vel descensu. Et possunt
figure locorum311 formari, ut patet infra descriptis312.
Loca per descensum313 Loca per ascensum314

a abc ab c f d
b de c b de c
196 c f d a abc ab
[note by the dice: tesser315] [f. 480v]
De compa racione loc ator u m ad locu m 316

Nota,317 quod loca debent esse numerata ad invicem usque ad viginti quinque et hoc
per318 ymagines in locis positas. Et319 viginti quinto loco debet esse aliquid per quod
303
locandi om. V
304
patent omnia] omnia patent V
305
figuris… sic] sequentibus figuris V
306
posset eciam quis] posses eciam V
307
sic] et descensum add. V
308
scilicet alphabeti litteras om. V
309
secundum sub] sub se V
310
nimium add. V
311
possunt figure locorum] potes V
312
infra descriptis] in sequentibus figuris V
313
om. V
314
om. V
315
om. V
316
locatorum ad locum] locorum ad locatum V
317
Considerandum M
318
et hoc per] per V; [f. 202r V]
319
in add. V
recorderis primum locum aliorum320 viginti quinque seorsum a primis positorum. Verbi
gracia: si ultima ymago primi loci sit321 daga,322 secundi vero323 loci sit sanguis, tunc
numerabitur primus locus cum secundo. Si scilicet324 imaginemur325 illam dagam fore326
cruentatam. Si in tercio loco sint rane, in quarto columbi, in quinto vulpes, tunc iunge-
tur327 secundus cum tercio, si ymaginemur, quod ille sanguis sit in una fiala cum una
rana intus cantante. Et tunc iungetur tercius328 cum quarto, si rane [!] ymaginemur329
esse in330 concha, ubi bibat columbus. Sed tunc331 iungetur quartus cum332 quinto, si
ymagineris columbum333 esse in cysta clausum, quo334 vulpes querit335 intrare, et sic
de singulis intellige336 per ordinem usque ad finem337. Talis autem numeracio338 fit, ne
memoria vacillet, dum currit de loco ad locum et de ymagine ad ymaginem memorando
locata per loca sua 339.
De compa racione 340 locor u m ad memorabi lia

Nota, quod alia loca paranda sunt341 pro grammatica discenda 342, alia pro originalibus
sanctorum, alia pro artibus, alia pro musica,343 et sic de aliis. Non enim debet misceri
una materia recolendorum cum alia 344, sic enim memoria confunderetur et345 vacillaret
in tali mixtura 346 et debitus ordo decideret. Si ergo vis discere347 grammaticam, debes
320
aliquorum V
321
est V
322
et prima add. V 197
323
vero om. V
324
scilicet om. V
325
imaginem[?] V
326
esse V
327
noteris [?] V
328
Et tunc iungetur tercius] tercio notatur V
329
cogitentis [?] V
330
una add. V
331
tunc om. V
332
cum om. V
333
ymagineris columbum] cogites columbos V
334
clausum, quo] clausa quam V
335
querant V
336
de singulis intellige] intelligas de aliis V
337
usque ad finem om. V
338
autem numeracio] variacio [?] V
339
locata per loca sua] locatam V
340
comparatione] comemoratione V
341
paranda sunt] sunt paranda V
342
addiscenda V
343
alia pro artibus, alia pro musica om. M, V
344
altera V
345
confunderetur et om. V
346
mistura V
347
addiscere V
accipere348 unam domum vel duas vel tres vel quattuor et in349 qualibet earum habebis350
100 loca. Para 351, ut dictum est in figura 352 supra.353 Ita quod quelibet domus vocetur
suo nomine proprio ab illa arte denominata. Verbi gracia: prima vocatur scola gra-
maticalis et in ea sunt camere multe, scilicet camera dictandi, camera versificandi,
camera declinandi, camera construendi, camera scribendi. Secunda domus vocatur
collegium omnium sanctorum, ubi theologia locatur, in qua sunt multa lectoria. In
primo leguntur libri summarum, in secundo novum testamentum, in tercio biblia.
Tercia domus est collegium seu universitas artistarum, in quo sunt multa lectoria
Aristotelis, Platonis, Socratis, Porphyrii. Quarta domus est scola musicorum, in
qua sunt multe camere. Prima pro cantu simplici, alie pro mensura mutetorum [!]
et runibulorum[?] et sic de aliis, prout facilius possit memorie contineri.
A l iu s modu s faci l is pro a r te prac t ic a nd i si ne ma g no labore 354

Si autem cupis alio modo <modo> 100 loca cum suis notis sine rebus a quibus
denominantur singulare cognoscere sine magno labore et in ista arte operari fac
unum n…gnum[?] super primum scabellum, quod ymaginaris esse in primo loco,
quem invenisti ita, quod istud sit ibi sculptum vel factum de materia rei, a qua
denominatur locus, quem accipis pro numero. Quo facto pone ibi rem bene de-
ducibilem, a qua denominabitur locus, sic scilicet quod servet primum. Verbi gracia
[f. 481r]
198
348
recipere V
349
et in om. V
350
ad minus centum [!] add. V
351
parata V
352
in figura om. V
353
From here V different: Ita quod prima domus sit pro Orthografia, secunda pro prosodia, 3a pro
ethimologia, 4a pro diafantastica[?]. Et iste domus intitulabuntur pro gramatica et unaqueque pro se
vocabitur nomen illius rei que locatur in ea. Et sic intellige de aliis. Explicit tractatus huius artis de
locis. Diffinicio ymaginis…
Imago
secundum Thomam est similitudo rei secundum speciem expressa de illa. ponitur similitudo loco
generalis quia omnis imago est similitudo et non econuerso dicitur expressa de illa quia ouum quamuis
sit simile alteri ouo, non tamen est imaginatio eius nisi esset ligneum uel alterius materie. Dicitur autem
secundum speciem quia quamquam pediculus nascatur ex homine et sit similis secundum genus non
tamen extimabo quia non est similis ei secundum speciem. Sed nota quod in hac arte non capitur ita
stricte imago sed accipitur pro quelibet similitudine representata add. V [M close; continues with De
i ma g i ne per fec t a – see Beran, p. 199.]
354
Written in red ink.
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9.
Abbas Bernardus cupit dare ecclesiam fratribus gratis hodie Ierosolimis
Ista ergo sunt 9 loca per numerum aphabeti descripta et secundum suum ordinem
figurarum representativa. Demum adorna decimum locum 10 album 20 viridem 30
rubeum 40 flaveum 50 nigrum 60 glaucum 70 griseum 80 ferreum 90 argenteum
100 aureum,scilicet harum figurarum primum superius positarum panno albo,
vicesimum viridi, trigesimum rubeo, quadragesimum flaveo, quinquagesimum
nigro, sexagesimum glauco, septuagesimum griseo, octagesimum ferreo, nonagesi-
mum argenteo, centesimum aureo. Et de hiis isdem materiis fac figuras ponendas
in decimis, ita quod prima in suo loco posita servat 10, secunda 20, tercia 30, etc.
Ceteras vero figuras colaterales, scilicet 11, 12, 13, 14 potes formando ponere, 199
quales volueris ad significandum materias in debitis locis ordinatas in scabellis 10
diversis superius descriptis et vario colore coopertis secundum differencias suas ad
significandam rem per numerum et suas ymagines in aliquas similitudines repre-
sentativas.
De y ma gine per fecta et imper fecta 355

Nota, quod356 ymago est duplex, scilicet perfecta et imperfecta. Perfecta est ista 357, que
est in toto similis suo significato358 sicud filius dei est perfectissima ymago359 patris et
Petrus est perfecta ymago360 sui patris.361 Et hec perfecta similitudo bene potest intelligi
tripliciter:362 primo voce et re, sicut si pro Petro a 363 poneretur alius Petrus b.364 Tunc
Petrus esset homo et ymago Petri re et nomine et memorie recolende.365 Secundo potest
355
et imperfecta om. M, V
356
nota quod om. V
357
illa V
358
suo significato om. M, V
359
perfectissima ymago] imago perfectissima V
360
perfecta ymago] imago [f. 202v V] perfecta V
361
petrus [!] V
362
Et hec… tripliciter] nota enim quod esse in toto simile potest intelligi dupliciter V
363
a om. M, V
364
alius Petrus b] in loco idem petrus vel alius V
365
esset… recolende] positus ad locum ymaginarie esset immaginanto[?] petri recolendi M, V
intelligi366 voce tantum, ut si ponatur rana in lacu367 pro recordacione solius vocis ibi
ranarum cantancium.368 Et hoc modo capitur369 in hac arte ymago.370 Tercio modo
potest intelligi re et non voce, ut si Iohannes filius Petri ponetur ad locum patris pro
sola recordacione patris.371
Imperfecta autem ymago est ista,372 que est partim similis et partim dissimilis373
quantum ad denominacionem rei.374 Verbi gracia: si ponatur Ethiops niger, qui solum
habet dentes albos pro loco Petri albi et tunc solos dentes Ethiopis inspicientes record-
aremus Petri albi.375 Et hec est similitudo ymaginum in rebus. In voce autem vel in
scripto ymago partim similis vel partim dissimilis intenditur, scilicet magis et minus,
aliquando in uno et aliquando in pluribus. Una aliquando est similitudo in una silaba
prima, aliquando in secunda, aliquando in tercia, aliquando in duabus et aliquando in
tribus et aliquando in littera tantum. Exemplum Roma remus, caput capa, honorabilis
honorancia, columbus coluber, cera cerastes.376
De quad r uplici modo forma nd i y ma gines

Nota, quod ymagines possunt377 formari quattuor modis. Primo per transposicionem,378
ut si ponetur379 pro deo homo tenens ymaginem mundi in manu sua,380 pro mansuetu-
dine agnus, pro fortitudine leo, et381 pro luxuria porcus, et sic una res potest sumi pro
multis ymaginibus in diversis locis secundum diversas proprietates eius. Secundo382
200
366
potest intelligi] modo V
367
loco V
368
ibi ranarum cantancium om. V
369
dicitur V
370
ymago] immaginacio esse in toto similis ut plurimum V
371
tercio… patris] certo modo re et non voce ut si fi lius Petri qui esset simillimus patri poneretur ad
locum pro recordacione patris qui tamen fi lius vocaretur Martinus. De y ma g i ne i nper fec t a M, V
372
imperfecta… ista] imago imperfecta est illa V
373
uel in toto similis add. V, uel in toto dissimilis add. M
374
rei] tamen est ibi aliqua similitudo a qua res non est apta denominari talis M, V
375
verbi… albi] Exemplum: ut si ponatur in loco tuo Ethiops qui habet dentes albos pro recordacione
albi M, V
376
et hec… cerastes] nota quod in imagine partim simili et partim dissimili [??] dicitur[?] aliquando
solum modo in uno, aliquando in pluribus. unde aliquando est similitudo in prima sillaba, aliquando in
secunda, aliquando in tercia et sic de aliis. Quando in duabus, in tridum in tribus, aliquando in littera
tantum ut patet in istis exemplis: roma et ramus, caput et capo, columbus et lumbus, cera et cerealis,
honorabilis et honora et sic est eciam ex parte rei M, V; cera et cerealis om. V
377
Possunt autem ymagines formari M
378
transumpcionem V
379
ponatur V
380
sua om. V
381
et om. V
382
alio V
modo potest formari ymago383 per gestus,384 [f. 481v] ut si ponatur homo385 portans
lagenam386 ad latus, vel bibens ex ea 387 pro Yoseph, et388 mulier baiolans puerum pro
Maria,389 et homo deridens alios pro fatuo.390 Tercio391 modo possunt392 formari ymagi-
nes393 per scripturam, ut si scribens ponatur pro notario vel si littera scripta magna in
epithaphio ponatur in ligno, lapide vel ere pro eo, cui est facta, vel pro eo, a quo
est facta. Quarto modo potest ymago formari per loquelam, ut si ponatur pro ocia
unus asuetus dicere oci, pro hodie odi, quod cum sit unus theutonicus, et pro furca
asuefactus semper dicere „vade ad furcam”, et sic de aliis.394 Ad hoc autem prodest
scire et notare omne linguagium,395 quia potes396 ponere unum dicentem unam rem pro
illa re in loco suo,397 quam vis memorari.
De modo faciend i y ma gines per add icionem

Nota, quod ymagines rerum possunt aliquando partim esse similes ex parte diccionis et
aliquando sunt in toto similes et hoc quattuor modis:398 primo per addicionem, ut Allex-
ander et Abraham sunt dicciones similes in prima silaba. Sed tunc Alexander efficietur399
ymago400 vel similitudo huius diccionis401 Abraham, si ponatur in capite rei significate
per Allexandrum bracha402. Sic enim habebis Alexander bracha403. Secundo404 per sub-
383
ymago om. V
384
gestum V 201
385
homo om. V
386
barilotum M ; barilothum V
387
ex ea] cum eo V
388
et om. V
389
baiolans… Maria] lactans fi lium pro Beata virgine M, V
390
et homo… fatuo] et homo retro inclinans caput ad pedes pro Matat, et homo masticans uitra pro
fato M, V
391
alio V
392
potest V
393
ymagines om. V
394
vel si… de aliis] si eciam scriptura facta in carta litteris magnis lapide, ligno uel metallo ponatur pro
eo a quo uel cuius nomine facta est. Quarto modo potest formari per loquelas ut si ponatur pro Ozia
unus assuetus ozi pro hodie, pro zo quod est sicut unus theuthonicus, et pro furto unus qui sepe dicit
vade ad fures per accentum et rithmos et sic de aliis V [M very close]
395
[f. 203r V]
396
potest V
397
tuo V
398
rerum… modis] parum similes ex parte dictionis possunt fieri magis et aliquando in toto similes
quatuor modis V
399
efficitur V
400
imaginacio V
401
huius diccionis] magis similis huic diccioni V
402
braca V
403
alexandrum braca V
404
modo V
traccionem de Allexander405 de406 prima diccione remanet “a” et per subtraccionem de

“cha”, a secunda diccione remanet407 “bra”, ex quibus “a” et “bra” componitur abram
in accione. Quomodo autem fit408 talis subtraccio, patebit in suo loco postea409. Tercio
modo410 copa411 et Iacobus sic se habent, quod prima silaba prime diccionis est similis
secunde silabe secunde diccionis. Sed efficietur prima diccio412 magis similis secunde, si
rei significate per secundam ponatur copa plena vino ad os. Sic enim totum erit Iacobus.
Copa enim413 per subtraccionem de cobus a prima diccione et de a a secunda per com-
posicionem414 restauratum415 fiet Iacob, quo memorari volebas. Quarto modo416 cere et
cereale conveniunt in primis silabis, sed secunda efficietur417 in toto418 similis secunde,
si rei significate per cera419 posite in loco tuo adduntur due ale. Sic enim fiet420 cereale
et sic de aliis intellige.421
De modo f a ciend i y m a g i ne s per subt r a c cionem se c u ndu m pl a cit u m 422

Nota, quod subtraccio fit dupliciter, scilicet423 ad placitum et secundum rem. Ad placi-
tum subtraccio est, quando aliquis ab aliquo vult intelligere aliquem subtractum424,
quod tamen non removetur ab eo secundum rem, ut cum volo, quod Allexander cum
bracha in capite representet mihi solum Abraham. Et sic intelligatur425 omnia alia, ut426
Iacobus bibens de427 copa.428 Et quod dico de substraccione429 ad placitum, hec eciam
202
405
alexandro V
406
aV
407
manet V
408
fiet V
409
postea om. V
410
tertio modo] item V
411
coppam V
412
sed… diccio] pre [?] V
413
modo V
414
recomposicionem V
415
[?] V
416
quarto modo] item V
417
secunda efficietur] prima efficitur V
418
totum V
419
cera] [?] uel cera V
420
habebis V
421
de aliis intellige] intellige de aliis per addicionem fiendis V
422
rem [!] V
423
scilicet om. V
424
aliquis… subtractum] quis vult ab aliquo aliquid intelligi subtractu V
425
subtrahi add. V
426
ut] sic et V
427
cum V
428
significabit Iacobus et sic de aliis add. V
429
de subtraccione] subtraccionem V
idem430 intellige de addicione et sic per addicionem et subtraccionem ad placitum: tina

pro tigna, lucerna pro oleo.431 Et ut planius432 loquar433, aliquando est ymago materie434
ad placitum representans absque subtraccione et addicione, ut cum ponitur tuba pro
bello et fumus pro igne, lapis pro termino, gladius cruentus pro homicidio; vel cum
ponitur effectus pro causa, ut libra pro iusticia, virga pro disciplina; vel causa pro
effectu, ut dum quis suspenditur pro furto, et sic de consimilibus.435 [f. 482r]
De formacione y ma ginis per subtraccionem secu ndu m rem

Nota, quod subtraccio secundum rem est quando a re posita in loco vel ymagine per
fantasiam removemus aliquam,436 per cuius remocionem hoc idem intelligimus remov-
eri437 a diccione vel oracione, quam volumus memorari. Ut si subtrahatur principium
rei,438 intelligatur subtrahi principium diccionis, si medium medium, si finis finis, et
hoc subtractum potest esse naturale vel artificiale. Sed si sit res, a qua non possit proprie
subtrahi, tunc subtraccio talis est439 per apposicionem. Et si res est fluibilis, ponatur440
in vase, et si minuta,441 ponatur442 in magna quantitate in sacco vel aliter. Et tunc, si
203
430
hec eciam idem om. V
431
tina… oleo] zuccha potest significare zuglio, lucerna[?] luglio, ave augosto et sic de aliis V [M close]
432
[?] V
433
loquitur V
434
est ymago] imago est V
435
et fumus… consimilibus] lapis pro termino, cultellus cruentatus pro homicido uel martirio.
Aliquando est materie naturalis ut vero ponitur causa pro suo effectu uel effectus proprius pro causa
ut cum ponitur fumus palee pro igne, uel ignis pro fumo, uel cum ponitur spata uel equilibrum pro
iusticia et sic de allis V [M close]; [f. 203v V]
436
aliquod V
437
remouens V
438
rei] ita V
439
talis est] erit V
440
ponetur V
441
menuata V
442
ponetur V
transponatur443 principium vasis, in quo res ponitur vel vesciatur vel frangatur, tunc444
intelligatur removeri a diccione significate rem illam per fracturam.445
443
circumponatur V
444
tunc om. V
445
per fracturam om. M, V; there is a shift in Mattheus Verona, it follows: principium et sic intelligo de
medio et fine et ut rem magis durescat, pono extra primo in his a quibus potest fieri subtraccio. Verbi
gracia si de hoc nomine canis, vis habere solum modo ’can’, cogita rem significatam esse excoriatam totam
posterius, quasi mediam. Si habere vis ’is’ vel ’nis’, tantum cogite canem excoriatum m[?]rius usque ad
mediam et parum minus excoriatum significabit ’is’. Et sic imagineris talem canem comedere mel in
scutella vel vase, pro tale addicione significabit ’is’ mel et si ad placitum intelligas a inter m et l representabit
ismael quod est nomen ebreum. Si de hoc nomine Antonius vis habere, cogita ipsum Antonium esse totum
mundum preter caput. Si vis habere ’anto’, cogita ipsum esse totum mundum ab umbilico usque in finem.
Si vis habere ’antoni’, pensa ipsum esse indutum tibiis et pedibus nudus. Et si imagineris talem cum asta in
manu, erit ’antoniasta’, et si ad placitum muta a in e in fine, erit Antoniaster. Isto modo Alexander nudus
cum anteriori medietate brache in capite representat abra in actio[?] abraa. Et Iacobus nudus preter caput
bibens cum coppa inferius uel superius modicum fracta significabit Iacob et sic de aliis add. V; then:
De format ione i ma g inu m per subt rac t ionem secu ndu m apposit ionem
Si vis habere… musca, formica, piper et sic de reliquis secundum numerum sillabarum nominum suorum.
De format ione i ma g inu m per t ra nsposit ionem
Nota quod transposicio est triplex: quedam est litterarum tantum, quedam est litterarum et sillabarum
simul et quelibet istarum est duplex quedam est unius littere uel sillabe, quedam plurimum. Sed que est
plurium est vitanda nisi materia cogeret uel ingenii ad opposicionem. Exemplum primi in una littera, ut
204 parum si ponatur p ubi est [f. 204r] a et e qua fiet [aprum]. Exemplum in pluribus ut acam si ponatur p
ubi est primum a et z ubi est secundum fiet caza et sic aprum quod est positum per transposicionem prime
littere ad secundam ad placitum poterit esse imaginario de parum, et caza per transposicionem duarum
litterarum de archam. Exemplum de sillaba una ut pastu si ponatur stu ubi est pa et econuerso fiet stupa,
sic ex casa fiet saca. Exemplum in pluribus ut cappellum si ponatur spe ubi est sca et ca ubi est lum, et lum
ubi est spe, fiet spelunca. Exemplum de una littera et una sillaba ut roma si ponatur m ubi est a, et r ubi
est o, et prima sillaba ubi est secunda, fiet amor. In pluribus ut escalum si ponatur e ubi est sc, fiet spe, et
si pre posteris a fiet la et um fiet mu, et sic ex hiis fiet stellamu et si ponatur ultima littera ante primam,
tunc omnes erunt transposite, et fiet muscela, que est quoddam aliud. Sed quando fiunt ymagines rerum
per hunc modum si sit aliquid ex parte rei per quod significatur transposicio quod est valde difficile in
multis erit transposicio secundum rem, quando vero non fit aliquid ex parte rei utens transpositione, sed
solum velis applacitum quod res significata per diccionem transposita fit imago illius a qua transponitur.
Tunc transposicio erit secundum placitum ut cum volumus quod caza significet acaz. Est ergo duplex
transposicio scilicet secundum rem et secundum placitum ut patet ex premissis.
De formacione i ma g inu m per mut acionem
Nota quod mutacio est conversio littere in litteram, vel sillabe in sillabam in eadem diccione, et hec est
triplex, prima quedam est unius littere tantum ut roma rama, cano cana, quedam est plurimum, ut homo
humus et uro ora. Secunda est unius sillabe, ut usta asta, vel plurimum ut isti asti. Tercia est litterarum
et sillabarum, ut vivis anas et sic significata per diccionem mutatam potest esse imago diccionis a qua
mutatur ut rama de roma, cana de cano, et sic de aliis et hoc dupliciter secundum rem aut secundum
placitum ut supra.
De i ma g inibu s in c ompa racione ad rec ord a ntem
Nota quod ymagines debent esse res visibiles aut in toto aut in parte et bene tangibiles et palpabiles
et magne. Memoria enim in paruis non formatur sed confunditur, et si res sit parva, cuius nomem vis
reminisci, pone illam in magna quantitate, ut si vis memorari formicam, imple unam magnam [f. 204v]
fialam formicis […] primus ab altare vel altaribus est imago predicti versus, scilicet ‘arma virumque cano’
quam ponas in libro imaginum, et sic de aliis.
De i ma g inibu s mensiu m et d ier u m
De y ma ginibu s quor u nda m doctor u m et libror u m recolend is

Sit ymago sancti Augustini habens curvaturam in manu.446 Sit ymago sancti <sancti>
Thome de Aquino447 habens448 themonem navis ad collum;449 Sancti450 Ieronimi unus
homo451 gerens ad collum marsubium plenum florenis;452 Sancti453 Ambrosii unus habens454
cordam ad collum cum pater noster de ambra;455 Sancti456 Iohannis Crisostomi unus
Nota eciam quod volenti recordari de debitis mercanciis, argumentis […] Imagines mensium possunt
formari multipliciter secundum [f. 205r] regulas datas superius, scilicet ab effectu vel festo currente in
tali mense, ut quod marcius vocaretur piscis propter quadragesimam, vel cappa nigra propter festum
sancti Thome de Aquino, et sic de reliquis. Sed ad presens formantur ymagines eorum similes in principio
diccionis, et sic ponantur iuxta vulgare, quia hoc est facilius et memorabilius.
Centura pro zenaro
Fenum pro febraro…
Denarius pro decembre.
Possunt transformari pro locucione per hunc modum ut patet:
Jaculum pro Januario
Fabe pro februario…
Denarius pro decembre.
Iste sunt ymagines dierum hebdomade:
Dominica sint due manice de panno
Dies lune sit luna lignea…
Dies sabati sapo.
Bonum est scire et habere ymagines litterarum quia poterunt ad multa iuvare memorandem, ut patebit
in practica huius artis et maxime ad discendum versus et nomina secundum alphabetum ordinata. Sint 205
ergo iste ymagines litterarum.
De i ma g inibu s lit tera r u m
A arcus
B balista
C coppa
D donola
E edera
F fusus
G galea
H horologium […]
Y ydria
Z zileb
Ad mensurandum constitutio. Debes eciam scire ualde bene quota sit unaqueque littera secundum
alphabetum, sicut E quinta, K decima, P quintadecima, U uigesima et sic de aliis. Exemplum De versibus
ad isc end is [= the second beginning of Beran – see p. 185] add. V [M not so close]
446
sit… in manu om. M, V
447
unus frater eiusdem ordinis add. M, V
448
unum add. V; [f. 207v V]
449
navis ad collum] navis parvum ad collum vel alibi M, V; nam themo dicit Thomas add. V
450
sancti] sit ymago beati V
451
homo om. V
452
floris] numis V; Sit ymago beati Augusti unus habens auream torquam ad collum add. M, V
453
sancti] sit ymago sancti V
454
unam add. V
455
ad collum cum pater noster de ambra] de pater noster de ambra ad collum V
456
habens457 capucium ad collum de griseo panno;458 Sancti459 Blasii460 unus cum basia461 de
stanno462 ad collum; Sancti Anthonii unus cum parcello;463 Sancti464 Bernhardi unus cum
birreto in capite albo465; ymago Bede unus cum sacco frumenti in scapulo;466 Origenis unus
cum portativo467 ad collum; Sancti Gregorii unus cum <cum> aurea torqua in collo.468
Sequ it u r de libris memora nd is 469

Sit ymago Genesis genu ferreum, ymago Exodi flagellum percuciens,470 ymago Numeri
saccus471 plenus nummis ad numerandum, ymago Levitici duo dyaconi cantantes,
ymago472 Deuteronomii uter plenus lacte caprino, 473 Iosue iesia, id est ecclesia474 parva
sculpta in lapide, Esdre sint ostree475, Proverbiorum pratum viride depictum in tabula,476
Ecclesiastes una hasta plena oculis,477 Ecclesiastici una cos ad acuendum novacula. Et sic
per singulos libros pone talia exempla diversa, per que facilius possis materias librorum
memorie commendare. Item hoc est summe necessarium ad memoriter retinendum, ut
scias, quot sunt libri in Byblia, quot in loica, quot in philosophia, quot in medicis, quot
in iure, quot in legibus, et sic de singulis.478
457
unum add. V
458
ad collum de griseo panno] de griso cum scamine circum circa M, V
459
460
Basilii V
461
uel pratello add. M, V
462
stagnio V
206 463
sancti… parcello om. M, V
464
sancti] sit imago sancti V
465
cum… albo] cum burnero[?] albo in capite et cum pedibus de nervo. Sit V
466
cum… scapulo] cum ad collum [?] phyala. Sit imago V [M close]
467
cum portativo] cum uno organo parvo M, V
468
sancti… in collo om. M, V
469
sequitur… memorandis om. M, V
470
ymago Exodi flagellum percuciens om. M, V
471
sacculus V
472
ymago… ymago om. M, V
473
lacte caprino] nummis M, V
474
ocula V
475
Esdre sint ostree] hesdre hostree V
476
viride… tabula] viridem sculptum in ligno parvo V
477
plena oculis] oculis pictis plena que dicit tibi oculi hascem et si ad medium uel finem ligetur una
cos acta [M: apta] ad acuendum M, V
478
Ecclesiastici… singulis] tunc erit ymago ecclesiasticus nam dicet[?] oculi astacos et sic faciliter
per regulas de ymaginibus poteris reperiri omnes ymagines librorum autenticorum doctorum et
philosophorum allegacione dignorum que si habebis mente multum proderunt in memorando originalia
et auctoritates. Et si addiscas ymagines librorum per ordinem scies quot libri sunt in biblia, et quot in
logica, et quot in naturali philosophia, et ordinem eorum et sic de alijs V [M close; follows a theoretical
discourse omitted by Beran: De memorabilibus in quibus diuiditur hec ars and De ambasciatis
memora ndis in V (f. 207v–208v; Ita ergo sunt memorabilia… continebitis tota ambasiata); in M this
as well but much more insterted between these two chapters: De modis memora ndi ad simplicia
ig not a , De si mpl icibu s pa r t is rec olend is, De ludo t a x i l lor u m, De ludo c a r tel la r u m,
De ludo schachorum, De ludo tabella rum, De itinere, De monstra stipenda riorum, De
ca sibus et numeris diccionum recolendis, De modo, tempore, et persona verbi – some of
it used later by Beran, see p. 216.]
De historiis memora nd is 479

Si enim480 cupis recordari historiam alicuius sancti vel alicuius481 belli,482 nota bene puncta
tocius historie, sive sint 10 sive 20 vel plura, et disce bene,483 que continentur in primo
puncto, demum484 que in secundo et tercio, et sic de aliis.485 Postea pone486 vocabulum in
primo puncto, per quod possit melius memorari omnia in eodem puncto posita,487 cuius
ymaginem ponas ad primum locum, et sic fac488 per ordinem quousque tu habebis totam
historiam et facies nova loca dividendo per 5, ut supra factum per ymagines tibi
historiam representantes quousque totam materiam historie consumabis.489 [f. 482v]
De pred ic acionibu s recolend is

Si vis memorari unam predicacionem, divide eam490 per partes, scilicet in salutacionem,
introduccionem et membra thematis divisiva sive sentencia491 duo vel tria, etc.492 Deinde
incipe a salutacione493 et divide eam494 in partes vel clausulas diminutas tres vel quat-
tuor.495 Quo facto intellige causam et materiam et repete ipsam bis vel ter et cuncta
memorie trade. Illa iam scita disce secundam eodem modo et sic fac usque ad finem.
Postea pone ymaginem prime particule in primo loco, secunde in secundo, et sic
de singulis et sic illis in suis locis habitis pone ymagines in mente tua per ordinem,
207
479
Interruption, this on f. 83rb in M.
480
enim om. V
481
alicuius] tyrannis uel V
482
uel alterius gesti add. M; uel alterius add. V
483
ea add. M, V
484
deinde M, V
485
et tertio, et sic de aliis] usque ad quintum M, V
486
accipe M, V
487
contenta M, V
488
fac om. M, V
489
et facies… consumabis] potes eciam de primis sillabis uocabulorum per que recoluntur omnia
contenta in primis quinque punctis fingere vnum uocabulum et ex uocabulo ystoriam quam ponas
ad primum locum et sic per ordinem operare quousque tota hystoria sit completa cum suis miraculis
et portentis V [M close; follows in V, omitted by Beran: D e p ond e r ibu s s iu e me rc a nc i i s
memor a nd i s , D e debit i s memor a nd i s , D e si mpl ic ibu s not i s re c olend i s , D e c a sibu s
e t nu me r i s d e c l i n at ionu m re c ole nd i s , D e qu a nt it at ibu s si l l a b a r u m re c ole nd i s u e l
memora nd is V (f. 208v–209 v; expl.: et sic debes operari per ordinem in omnibus ); the last chapter
included by Beran later on, p. 215.]
490
eam] ipsam primo M, V
491
sint M, V
492
vel plura M, V
493
ad salutationem V
494
ipsam M, V
495
tres uel quattuor] duas, 3, 4, 5, vel si fuerit oportunum M, V
ac si in titulo ipsas oculis inspiceres et legeres, et sic de facili poteris multa subtilia
faciliter memorie tue commendare.496
De sermonibu s lit tera libu s memora nd is

Si vis497 memorie commendare litteralem predicacionem,498 age per hunc modum: divide
ipsam totam predicacionem499 in suas partes principales, scilicet in salutacionem, intro-
duccionem et membra dividencia et subdividencia, si aliqua500 ibi sunt, vel si procedis501
per modum oracionis, distingue sermonem in exordium, narracionem, peticionem et
conclusionem, et hoc idem intellige de epistola, si tot partes principales sunt in ea502,
quo503 facto redi ad primam partem, quam divides in partes504 magnas505 vel parvas,
secundum quod eas melius poteris memorie commendare506. Hoc iam habito iterum507
regradere ad primam particulam, quam addisces bene mentaliter508. Quod ut facilius
agere possis509, serva istos gradus in adiscendo: lege particulam, construe, rumina, intel-
lige ymaginare ipsum, in fantasia mentis oculis ipsum conspice, puncta eam510 ligna, ubi
punctanda est. Primo disce unam particulam eius intra te mentaliter sine voce.511 Nota
a qua littera alphabeti incipit pars eius puncti512 et punctacio513 sequens et precedens et
consequens et in qua parte vel columpna libri vel carthe posita est. Secundo rumina
496
causam… commendare] primam et intellectam memorie trade recitandam eam quater vel
quinquies si est necessarium. Quo peracto disce secundam, et sic per ordinem usque ad 5 sic tot sunt
208 ibi. Post hec pone ymagines prime particule in primo loco, secunde in secundo, vel ex primis sillabis
illarum clausularum fi nge vocabulum et ex vocabulo ystoriam, cuius ymaginem pones ad primum
locum. Deinde videas si scis retinere clausulas contentas sub sillabis vocabuli ficti. Quo facto vade
ad introduccionem et ad membra diuidencia et hoc [f. 210r V] idem operare per ordinem, quousque
habebis totam predicacionem. Si autem es assuetus predicare, sufficit tibi puncta predicacionis notare
et ex principiis vocabulorum, per que puncta recoluntur fingere dicciones, ut supra. V [M close; and
addition in the end in M: Potes eciam fingere hystoriam ex diccionibus integris absque vocabulis fictis.
Et hoc intellige vbicumque dictum est de ipsis dicetur.]
497
cupis V
498
commendare litteralem predicacionem] tradere sermonem literalem M, V
499
totam predicationem om. M, V
500
aliqua om. M, V
501
procedes V
502
eis M, V
503
hoc M, V
504
vel clausulas M
505
redi… magnas] et locutus partibus principalibus ad loca generalia seriatim rede ad primam partem
quam divides in partes et clausulas magnas V
506
memorie commendare] memorari M, V
507
iam habito iterum] peracto M, V
508
mentis M, V
509
conas[?] V
510
rumina… eam] intellige mentis oculis eam perspice punctum, tamen V
511
primo… voce om. V
512
eius puncti om. V
513
et punctacio] sive punctacio quedam V
eam recoligendo per materias principales in mente. Tercio vocem eleva deambu-
lando pro recreacionem demisso capite et oculis attonitis propter obiecta in as-
pectum oculorum memoriam impediencia. Quarto vocifera eam, recitata bis vel ter
vel quociens fuerit opportunum, super digitos manus, ac si ad hoc esses obligatus non
neccessarie, sed gratis, et hoc fac sine tedio tam diu quousque tibi fuerit menti bene
recommendata. Et sicud hoc dictum est de clausula sermonis, hoc idem fac de textu
quolibet vel ceteris quibuslibet addiscendis. Et dum clausulam unam vel duas vel
tres memorie commendaveris, ut sunt necessarie sermoni, tunc poteris eas omnes
similiter ruminare sic gradiendo lento pede, quibus memorie traditis pone ymaginem
prime partis ad primum locum, secunde ad secundum, et sic de aliis. Vel si sint plures
particule sermonis quam quinque loca, tunc forma unum vocabulum ex primis
silabis clausularum principalium et quibuslibet litteram pones in loco suo primam
in primo, secundam in secundo, et sic de aliis, et sic faciliter materias principales
et membra divisionis sermonis poteris memorie commendare. Ita tamen quod non
misceas [f. 483r] exordium cum narracione, nec narracionem cum peticione, etc.,
quia ex hoc possit memoria confundi confusis partibus principalibus. Hinc diligenter
nota, quod si plures particule incipiantur ab eadem diccione vel littera vel addiccione
non significativa, ut ab vel et, nisi esset prima in principali particula, non esset ab ea
formandum vocabulum totum ex talibus silabis, ne memoria tedium pateretur et con-
fundetur propter nimiam similitudinem diccionum, vel propter significativa earum.514
209
514
secundo rumina… earum] Et primo adisce particulam in ea sine uoce, secundo murmura eam, tertio
vocem eleva. Infera[?] recita eam quinquies vel decies super digitos manus, ac si ad hec esses obligatus,
quousque ipsa bene menti fuerit sigillata, vel recita ipsam plus vel minus secundum quod erit facilior
vel difficilior ad recolendum et quod dictum est hic de particula discenda, intellige in textu inscripto
in questionibus originalibus sive auctoritatibus adiscendis memorata. Prima veni ad secundam et fac
illud idem. Deinde potes recitare ambas in simul si fuerit oportunum et si lento pede, id est usque ad
quintam inclusum si tot fuerint. Quibus memorie traditis pone ymaginem prime partis ad primum
locum, secunde ad secundum et sic per ordinem vel si non vis occupare tot loca, forma vocabulum fictum
ex primis sillabis vocabulorum in particulis contentorum per que melius et tenacius recoluntur, et ex
vocabulo forma istoriam cum ymagine, ponas ad primum locum tuum, cum virgulis inservis ad ea, que
reseranda sunt, quod fiendum est in omnibus aliis similibus quando scribuntur. Quo facto potes videre,
si scis particulas in sillabis vocabuli ficti contentas, et sic procede per ordinem quousque habebis totum
sermonem, ita tamen quod non misceas exordium cum narracione, et sic de aliis partibus principalibus,
ex hoc enim posset memoria aliqualiter confundi. Nota hic duo alia: quod si plures particule inciperent
ab eadem diccione vel a diccione non significativa ut ’ab’ vel ’et’, nihil esset primum in particulis, non
esset formandum uocabulum totum ex talibus sillabis, ne memoria tedium pateretur et confunderetur.
[V f. 210v] vel propter nimiam similitudinem diccionum uel propter non significativa earum. Secundum
quod prodest quandoque accipere unam literam uel due uel tres de sequenti sillaba, nisi sequetur vocalis,
quia tunc hoc fieri non posset et prodest eciam dimittere aliquam literam interdum de precedenti. Ex
hic enim sequitur maior narracio in sillabis, facilior inuentio imaginis. V [M quite close but the last two
sentences omitted; in M, V then add.: De versibu s ad isc end is, De s ylogism is et a rg u ment is
rec olend is (f. 210 v–211r; De a rg u ment is is included by Beran later, p. 214.)]
De textibu s memora nd is 515

Si vis516 scire et memorari unum textum in theologia vel517 grammatica, logica vel philoso-
phia, hoc potest esse dupliciter: quia vel tu vis scire primo partes dividentes librum per
se et tunc518 sic operare: primo divide ipsum in libros parciales519 secundum divisionem
subiecti vel alio modo, sicud melius poteris.520 Quo facto pone ymaginem primi libri ad
primum locum, secundi ad secundum, et sic per ordinem, vel forma unum vocabulum521 ex
principiis librorum, vel parcium dividencium subiectum, et pone ymagines vocabulorum
ad sua loca per ordinem. Secundo revertere ad522 primum523 librum et subdivide ipsum
per capitula, et fac ut prius in aliis locis subsequentibus et precedentibus supra in quarto
canone524. Verbi gracia: si vis scire textum loice, divide ipsum in libros parciales, qui sunt
universalia predicamenta, sex principia, liber525 pery ermeneias, priorum, posteriorum526,
thopicorum, elencorum,527 deinde pone ymaginem universalium ad primum locum predic-
amenti, secundo predicamentorum528 ad secundum, et sic de aliis529 per ordinem, ut dictum
est. Vel eciam posses530 dividere per subiectum, ut si subiectum loyce est ens racionis, tunc
aut pertinet ad primam operacionem intellectus, sicud531 patet in tribus primis532 libris,
aut ad secundam, ut patet in quarto, aut ad terciam, ut patet in reliquis. Prima operacio
intellectus est simplicium intelligencia, secunda composicio vel divisio, tercia discursus,
quos locabis, ut dictum est. Et sic procede per ordinem usque ad finem. Deinde533 rede ad
tractatum ultimum, quem divides534 in duo, scilicet in universalia et proprietates eorum,
postea535 universalia in genus, speciem, differenciam, proprietatem et accidens, que omnia
locabis per ordinem in suis locis, ut dictum est, et sic habebis intellectum et scienciam
210 atque memoriam. Vel si vis solum textum non prepositis divisionibus memorari, tunc536
515
De te x t u rec olendo i n qu ac u mque f aci l it ate V
516
cupis V
517
theologia vel om. M, V
518
vel philosophia… tunc] phylosophia vel alia sciencia V
519
particiales[!] V
520
sicud melius poteris] bene et subtiliter M, V
521
unum vocabulum] vocabulum unum vel plura si fuerint necessaria M, V
522
secundum vel add. V
523
[f. 21v V]
524
et precedentibus supra in quarto canone] primos M, V
525
liber om. V
526
posteriorum om. M, V
527
et posteriorum add. M, V
528
secundo predicamentorum om. M, V
529
de aliis om. M, V
530
vel eciam posses] posses eciam M, V
531
ut M, V
532
tribus primis] primis tribus V
533
usque ad finem. Deinde] nimis enim longum esset hic velle omnia exemplificare. tertio M, V
534
divide V
535
deinde M, V
536
in suis locis… tunc] ut dictum est quarto divisio libro et capitulis libri et locatis divisionibus per
imagines V [M closer to Beran]
incipe a primo capitulo et deinde ipsum in clausulas vel partes minutas divide et illas disce
signando dicciones, vel litteras clausularum principales et ponendo eas per loca sua,
per iuncturas digittorum numerabis, et sic eciam de versibus facere potes, ut dictum
est in canone precedenti, et talis modus est ad omnem scienciam discendi generalis.537
De g losis recolend is 538

Si vis recolere glosas, fac et539 operare sicud habetur540 in capitulo de originalibus canone
sequenti,541 nam glose quasi quedam542 originalia esse videntur, nisi quod ponuntur pro
brevi declaracione passus longi alicuius 543textus.544 Et si vis recolere alicuius545 aliquo
scripto, exposicione, vel pustilla,546 hec est547 dupliciter:548 aut vis totum recolere, tunc
fac549 sicud dictum est supra550 de textu, aut vis recolere auctores. Hec omnia habebis in
originalibus.551 [f. 483v] 552
De origina libu s vel auctoritatibu s recolend is 553

Si cupis memorari de554 originalibus vel auctoritatibus multis, sic agere potes. Divide
primo originale in clausulas. Si est minus prolixum, demum eas disce et loca, ut dictum
est in555 sermone litterali, et pone auctorem ad locum originalem primum,556 ubi ponitur
537
signando… generalis] et loca ut dictum est in capitulo de sermone litterali et sic procede usque in
finem, quia sic subtilius et tenacius plus disces per mensem, quam alter per annum M, V
538
De g rad ibu s rer u m nat u ra l iu m quo ad qu a l it ate s rec olend is (Si cupis memorie tradere
gradus rerum naturalium… in tercia cavilla dextre columpne argentee et sic de aliis). De script is, 211
e xposit ion ibu s, post i l l is et c om ment is memora nd is (Si cupis memorari aliquo scripto… in
capitulo de originalibus) add. V [the latter included by Beran in the following chapter on glosses [!]; M
close, shorter titles]
539
fac et om. M, V
540
habebitur V
541
canone sequenti om. M, V
542
quedam om. V
543
longi alicuius] alterius V
544
order change: what follows is entitled D e s c r ipt i s r e c ole nd i s in M and D e s c r ipt i s ,
e xposit ion ibu s, post i l l is et c om ment is memora nd is in V and comes earlier.
545
et si vis recolere alicuius] si cupis memorari M, V
546
vel commento add. M, V
547
potest esse M, V
548
nam add. M, V
549
totum recolere, tunc fac] memorari totum et sic ages M, V
550
supra om. M, V
551
recolere… originalibus] habere ibi auctoritates ibi contentas et tunc ages sicut dicetur in capitulo de
originalibus M, V
552
De operibu s sa nc t i T home de Aqu i no et u nu sc u mque [?]ciu s doc toris proc edent is
per que st ione s d iscu ssione s t it u los etc . memora nd is add. V [in M entitled: De que st ionibu s
d i f f i n icion ibu s et t it u l is rec olend is; comes later in Beran, p. 213.]
553
memorandis V
554
cupis memorari de] memorari cupis M, V
555
capitulo add. V
556
ad locum originalem primum] originalis ad locum M, V
ymago originalis, ut sciatur, cuius est. Verbi gracia: si volo recolere, ut retinerem557 origi-
nale beati Augustini: Quanto deum quis plus558 diliget, tanto559 felicior et beacior efficitur.560
In tantum561 enim nos ipse562 amavit, ut pro nobis mori dignatus sit.563 Et manus eius, que
plurima signa faciebant, clavis pro nostra redempcione confixe564 sunt. Et ori mellifluo, quo
salutaris doctrina profluxit, fel pro cibo565 impii porrexerunt.566 Istud originale567 dividen-
dum568 in quattuor clausulas, ut patet in paragraphis. Quo facto discam primam, secun-
dam, terciam et quartam, ut dictum est superius569. Demum possum formare ymaginem
prime clausule570 et ponere ad primum locum et ad collum vel ad caput571 ymaginis
ponam torquem auream, per quam innuitur, quod originale est beati Augustini. Deinde
formabo ymaginem secunde et ceteris, et sic procedam, ut supra dictum est de textibus
usque ad finem. Vel aliter formabo ymaginem, vel572 vocabulum573 de principiis clau-
sularum. Quale est hoc:574 quant. int. mam. or. Cuius historia est hec: quantus intingit
manus orbi, ut eius ymago poni ad locum debeat suum, etc.575 Nota eciam, quod utile
est discere originalia pertinencia ad caritatem per se, pertinencia ad spem per se, et sic
de aliis, ut ponitur in manipulo florum vel alibi. Sic enim576 miscebitur [!] una materia
cum alia et memoria manet magis libera et homo cicius discit, in memoria recondit.577
557
ut retinerem] et retinere hoc M, V
558
plus om. V
559
[f. 213r V]
560
efficietur V
212 561
tantis V
562
ipse om. M, V
563
est V
564
fi xe V
565
cibi V
566
Paulinus Aquilensis [Pseudo-Augustinus], Liber exhortationis vulgo de salutaribus documentis, chapter
21: Quanto quisque eum plus amat, tanto felicior et beatior efficietur. In tantum enim nos amavit, ut etiam
pro nobis mori dignatus sit : et manus eius, quae virtutes plurimas faciebant, clavis pro nostra redemptione
affixi sunt. Et ore mellifluo, quo salutaria doctrina profluxit, fel pro cibo impii porrexerunt.
567
istud originale om. M, V
568
dividam M, V
569
prius M, V
570
clausule om. M, V
571
ad caput] in capite M, V
572
ceteris, et sic procedam, ut supra dictum est de textibus usque ad finem. Vel aliter formabo ymaginem,
vel] sic usque ad quartum. Potest eciam formari M, V
573
tale add. M, V
574
scilicet add. V
575
locum debeat suum, etc.] collum ut docebit viva uoce M, V
576
non add. M, V
577
et homo… recondit om. M, V; after this, there is in M: De c edu l is por t a nd is (V: De c edu la
por t a nd a i n m a nu i n qu a scr ipt a si nt memor abi l ia), De t r ibu s qu ater n i s nec e s sa r i i s
cu i libet volent i bene habere pract ic a m hu iu s a r t is, and then the end, expl. M: ad inveniendum
et adquirendum. Et sic est finis huius tractatus; expl. V: Et sic est finis totius artis memorandi fratris
Mathei de Uerona ordinis predicatorum. Ad laudem…. et beate Lucie. Deo gracias. Amen; in Beran
these are omitted altogether, what comes now are chapters that appeared earlier in M, V.
De questionibus, distinccionibu s et titu lis recolend is 578

Si desideras bene et scientifice recolere totam primam partem sancti Thome vel primam
secunde vel primam sentenciarum vel questiones de anima vel alium aliquem579 librum,
in quo proceditur per questiones, distincciones vel titulos, age per hunc modum: primo
habeas loca parata pro distinccione tocius libri. Secundo loca pro questionibus et articulis
quoad necessarium580. Tercio loca pro particulis581 articulorum memorandorum582 ita,
quod ista loca sint distincta et ordinata per se, ut dictum est. Tunc locabis in primis locis
vocabula distinccionis libri ficta, secundo in secundis locis ponas583 vocabula questionum
et articulorum584 in manu vel ore585 vel ubi fuerit commodosius [!]586 et in lateribus loci
erunt ymagines vocabulorum fictorum ex primis sillabis articulorum eiusdem questionis.
Et sic fiet eciam in aliis. Tercio locatis distinccionibus, questionibus et articulis libri veni ad
primum articulum et divide ipsum in partes diminutas et eas disce et loca in terciis locis per
ordinem, ut dictum est de particulis sermonis litteralis ita tamen, quod primus articulus
ponatur in primo loco istorum terciorum, secundus in secundo, et sic de aliis. Verbi gracia:
si volo locare primam partem sancti Thome, primo distinguam eam in duo, sicud doctor
sanctus, scilicet in sacram theologiam et deum, qui587 est eius subiectum. Et ex primis
silabis parcium588 dividencium formabo589 vocabulum bissilabuum590, scilicet sacr, de, et
ex vocabulo historiam, que est sacer deus,591 cuius ymaginem ponam ad primum locum,
et sic procedam quousque totus [f. 484r] liber est distinctus. Secundo veniam ad primam
questionem, que est de sacra theologia, in qua sunt 10 articuli et ponam in principio primi
loci unum sacerdotem paratum comedere592 castanneas, et hec erit ymago questionis cum
numero articulorum. Deinde formabo vocabulum de primis silabis quinque593 primorum 213
articulorum et ex vocabulo historiam594, cuius ymaginem ponam in medio vel a latere
eiusdem loci. Postea formabo aliud vocabulum de aliis quinque et ex vocabulo historiam
cuius ymaginem ponam in fine vel in alio latere loci. Et sunt ista vocabula decem:595 nec,
578
order change: this chapter came earlier in M, V; title in V: De op er ibu s s a nc t i T home de
Aqu i no et c u iu sc u mque doc toris proc edent is per que st ione s d isc u ssione s t it u los etc .
memora nd is
579
alium aliquem] aliquem alium M, V
580
quoad necessarium] questionum M, V
581
pro particulis] de particulis V
582
memorandis M, V
583
posiciones V
584
Ita quod in uno loco erit ymago questionis in principio loci cum numero articulorum add. M, V
585
[f. 212v V]
586
comodius V
587
et deum, qui] id quod est [!] V
588
pertinet V
589
formando V
590
dissillabum V
591
sacerdos V
592
comedentem M, V
593
silabis quinque] quinque silabis M, V
594
eius add. V
595
Et sunt ista vocabula decem] hec sunt uocabula V
sci, un, prat, dig, sap, sub, arg, ment, sen. Et hec est historia596 vocabulorum: necat scienciam
unam pratus dignior sapiencia subigit argentum mente sensata et sic procedam per ordinem
usque in finem. Tercio veniam ad primum articulum597 et ipsum598 discam et locabo,599
ut dictum est. Potes tamen divisionem libri et locacionem questionum et articulorum
per se et aliter vel tercio modo operari.600 Verbi gracia: si aliter intendis locare ipsam
primam partem vel alium similem librum, debes in principio cuiuslibet questionis
ponere ymaginem questionis cum numero articulorum et in numero cuiuslibet ar-
ticuli ymaginem eius ita, quod ymago articuli ponitur ad collum vel ad caput alicuius
hominis. Argumentum in contrarium ad dextram vel ad brachium, auctoritas vel
racio pro conclusione uno loco, actus ymago articuli corpus questionis loco pare[?]
pacientis, responsiones argumenta in oppositum in manu dextra vel sinistra vel in
ambabus ita tamen, quod locatur una questione cum omnibus articulis suis. Non
ponas aliam in eisdem locis propriis. Verbi gracia: si vis locare primam partem sancti
Thome, tunc debes incipere a prima questione isto modo: quod ante primum pro-
prium[?] tuum ponas sacram scripturam cum numeris articulorum, deinde hinc inde
ymagines articulorum, deinde sequencia, que sunt necessaria, usque ad finem, etc.601
De a rg u mentis recolend is 602

Si recolere cupis silogismos tibi factos vel per te603 lectos, hoc potest esse dupliciter, uno
modo quod primus numerus significet figuram et secundus modum.604 Verbi gracia: si
argumentum est in prima figura et in primo silogismo605 et medium sint carnes, pone
214 cum carnibus cultellos, qui significent606 in quo numero sunt due figure abachi, et prima
figura significat argumenti607 [!] et secunda modum, sed si sumpta per hunc modum,
13 primam figuram et secundum modum significat, et secundum sed aliam figuram,
et secundum modum 14608 terciam figuram et primum modum et sic de aliis. Secundo
modo sic quod cartha significet primum modum et primam figuram, linea secundam
596
est historia] sunt ystorie M, V
597
primum articulum] particulum V
598
proprium V
599
notabo V
600
potes… operari om. V [inc. in M]
601
Verbi gracia… etc. nowhere in M, V
602
Order change: this chapter earlier on in M, V; De s ylog ism is et a rg u ment is rec olend is V
603
tibi factos uel per te] factos tibi V
604
hoc potest… modum] sic age: fac ut in quolibet sit unus uel una tibi bene uel in parte notus et semper
ad pedes uel a medio infra pone imaginem figuram et modi quo ad numerum itaque primus numerus
significet figuram et secundus modum et a medio supra pone imaginem medii V
605
silogismo om. V
606
cum carnibus cultellos qui significent] ad pedem illius que est in loco cultera que significati uero V
607
figura significat argumenti] significat figuram argumenti M, V
608
sed si sumpta… modum 14] secundum sit sumpta, deinde pone in mane vel [?] carnes et sic habebis
eciam medium per hunc modum potes eciam hoc idem facere per res minerales in dextra et leva positas
22 primam figuram et secundum modum, 22 secundum figuram et secundum modum, 3 V [M is close
to Beran]
prime.609 Si recordare affectas alias species argumentacionis, que non sunt siloismi,610
fac quod manus611 dextra illius, qui est in loco, significet universalem affirmativam, leva
universalem negativam, pes dexter particularem affirmativam, pes sinister particularem
negativam. Vel quod primus locellus significet universalem affirmativam, secundus uni-
versalem negativam, tercius particularem affirmativam, quartus particularem negativam.
Si ergo conclusio est universalis affirmativa, pone ymaginem medii vel minoris seu
maioris612 extremitatis in dextra illius, qui est in loco et sic per ordinem. Et melius est
adhuc accipere ymaginem medii cum aliqua extremitatum, ut patet per diversa exem-
pla modo scolastico causa informacionis deducendo.613
De qua ntitatibu s si laba ru m 614 memora nd is 615

Nota, quod tibi616 volenti recolere quanta est unaqueque silaba,617 per hanc artem scire
et agere debes. Pone lucernarium ad quemlibet locum tuum et infunde lucernam, fac 5
foramina transeuncia a leva in dextram et tria in anteriori parte, [f. 484v] a summo usque
deorsum distans unum ab altero circa unum cubitum, et tunc, si diccio est monosilaba,
pone in inferiori foramine ad levam unam cavillam uno cubito longam non transe-
untem ad dextram. Et si silaba est longa, relinque cavillam vacuam. Si vero est brevis,
appende ibi ollam, que significat silabam brevem. Si autem est diccio dissilaba, fac, ut
cavilla sit bicubitura, leva dextraque se diff undens per unum cubitum, et tunc, si ambe
silabe sunt producte, maneat cavilla utriusque vacua, ut scribens, si ambe sunt breves,
in utraque ponatur olla. Si autem prima silaba est longa et secunda brevis, leva maneat
vacua et in dextra sit olla. Si vero econtrario, econtrario fiet et sic intellige de aliis. Ita 215
quod leva primi foraminis significat primam silabam, secundi terciam, tercii quintam,
quarti septimam, quinti nonam. Et dextra primi foraminis significat secundam silabam,
secundii quartam, tercii sextam, quarti octavam, quinti decimam. Et foramen inferius
a parte anteriori significat undecimam silabam, medium duodecimam et supremum
tredecimam. Nec caville in fusco posite debent excedere numerum silabarum in diccione
positarum. Verbi gracia: si vis recordari, quod Zacharias habet omnes longas, pone ad
locum unum tibi notum, qui vocetur hoc nomine vel unum habentem unum panem de
zuccaro in capite, qui ex hoc vocetur sic et in duobus primis foraminibus lucernarii ibi
positi pone duas cavillas vacuas transeuntes a leva in dextram, que stabunt per quatuor.
Si vis memorari in amabamus, quod prima et ultima sunt correpte et medie producte,
pone unum tibi notum ad locum, qui habeat hamos ad labia, bruniam ad barbam, qui
609
secundo… prime om. V
610
similes [!] V
611
minus [!] V
612
minoris seu maioris] maioris seu minoris M, V
613
ut patet… deducendo] extra dimitto ne sim nimis honerosus M, V
614
recolendis uel add. V
615
order change: this chapter occurs earlier on in M, V; this whole chapter has different contents in V
(f. 209 v); while M stays close to Beran
616
tibi om. V
617
diccionis add. M, V
ex hoc vocatur amabamus et in duobus primis foraminibus lucernarii ibi positi pone duas
cavillas transeuntes a leva in dextra et in leva pone ollam et in dextra secunde pone sic
ollam et sic de aliis, fac consequenter et habebis.618
De ludo ta x i l lor u m memora ndo 619

Si cupis memorari de taxillis hoc potest esse tripliciter: primo vel quo ad connotacionem
proieccionis vel proieccionis et punctorum cuiuslibet silabe vel omnium silabarum.
Primo modo propria proieccione vide primum pro secunda, secundum et sic usque ad
centum. Si ulterius vis procedere, vertere ad primum locum et pone ibi secundo [!] et
notetur, quod bis fuisti ibi etc. Secundo modo propria proieccione vide primum locum
et pone ibi ymaginem cum numero punctorum taxilli et sic usque in finem. Tercio modo
si primo proiecit quattuor, pone ibi ymaginem620 pro quattuor, scilicet in primo loco.
Si secundus proicit quinque in secundo loco, pone ymaginem de novem. Si tercius sex,
pone in tercio loco ymaginem de quindecem, et sic ordinate procedendo.
De ludo c a r tel la r u m
Si delectaris reminisci621 carthellis scilicet eius forme et figure fiunt prima, secunda,
tercia et ceteris, tunc primo oportet te habere ymaginem carthellarum. Sic ergo ymago
regis baculi [f. 485r] baculus cum corona, militis baculus cum equo, subditi baculus cum
sabris, unius baculi baculus unus, duorum duo et sic usque ad 10 inclusive. Ymago
spate sit spata cum corona. Sicud primus ymago denarii sit denarius cum corona et eciam
216 sicud primus ymago regis cupe sit cupa cum corona, ut prius. Si ergo prima cartha est
ymago regis cupe, pone in primo loco regem bibentem cum cupa. Si secunda est unus
denarius, pone in secundo loco unum numerantem denarios super carthas, que signifi-
cant unum, et sic deinceps.
De memora ndo 622 ludo sc achor u m

Si afficis recordari scachis hoc potest esse quadrupliciter. Primo solum quod scachum
ludens proiecerit nota utrum allophilum623 vel militem. Secundo quem et quos. Tercio
in quo vel quanto quadro, quarto quo ad albos et nigros vel unius coloris tantum. Si
qui alii modi sunt mihi non videntur memorabiles. Primo ergo nota ymagines, ymago
rochi sit rota, militis sit miles vel equus, pedilis, id est pop, sint duo pedes sursum
extenti, regis sit corona aurea, regine corona argentea,624 allopili [!] sit <sit> canis vel
vulpis. 625 Et pro albis ista sint alba et pro nigris sint nigra. Campus eciam sit bipartitus
618
fac… habebis om. M
619
order change: this chapter appears earlier in M and is not present in V.
620
cum numero punctorum taxilli et sic usque in finem 3o modo si primo proiecit 4or pone ibi ymaginem
add. M
621
si delectaris reminisci] qui vult memorari de M
622
memorando om. M
623
pedonem M
624
regis… argentea] regis rex vel corona aurea, regine vel regina vel corona argentea M
625
pedone pedes lignei M
octogenaliter, niger et albus vel eciam sit eiusdem coloris sicud et scachi. Si ergo
vis memorari primo modo, sic operare. Si primo proiecit pedonam, id est pop, pone in
primo loco ymaginem pedone. Si secundo idem pone in secundo. Si tercio militem pone
in tercio, equum et sic ultra usque in finem. Si secundo modo, potes per primum
modum computando loca, ubi posuisti pedones et milites et regem, etc. Sed melius
fit, si ponatur numerus proieccionum ad pedonem, rochum et militem, etc. Si tercio
modo, necesse est te scire primo sicud ave maria numerum et ordinem quadrorum in
scacherio, sic quod primum quadrum est, ubi ponatur rochus, in manu sinistra, se-
cundum, ubi stat miles, penes ipsum ex eadem parte, et sic usque in finem prime line,
deinde recipiendo usque per totum. Quo facto vide in quanto quadro proicit primum
scachum et pone ymaginem illius scachi in primo loco cum numero illius quadri et sic
pone secundum in secundo, tercium in tercio, et sic de aliis. Si quattuor vis memorari
tam nigris, quam albis, loca tam nigros, quam albos secundum ordinem proieccionis.
Si albis, tantum albos, si nigris, tantum nigros.626
Et hec breviter collecta sufficiant pro nostro Confundario supplendo per me fra-
trem M. Beran exulem canonicum regularium de Rudnicz627 manu mea propria
scriptis per multa annorum tempora per diversas terras et loca per varia et mira
exemplaria ad laudem et gloriam dei omnipotentis et omnium sanctorum et utili-
tatem omnium christianorum anno domini 1431 sabbato post ascensionem domini
in Erfordia in domo pauperum.628
217
626
In M followed by chapters om. in Beran: D e ludo t a b e l l a r u m, D e it i nere , D e mon s t r a
st ipend a rior u m, De c a sibu s et nu meris d ic cionu m rec olend is, De modo, tempore, et
persona verbi.
627
Rudnicz erased, later added F
628
written in red ink: anno domini 1431 sabbato post ascensionem domini in Erfordia in domo pauperum.
3. Paulerinus: an excerpt from Liber viginti arcium (c. 1460)
Paulerinus, Paulus de Praga, or Pavel Žídek (1413–1471) wrote his Liber viginti artium
in 1460’s in Plzeň (Pilsen). The sole extant manuscript of his unique encyclopedia is
kept the so-called Codex Tvardovii in Cracow, Jagellonian Library, ms. 257. For details
see pages 45–46.
[f. 129v] Ars memorandi est sciencia, qua quarta species completur rethorice valens
in arte oratoria aut sermocinandi, et dicitur, quod eadem velocitate contrario ordine
recitari poterit memoratum sit quod1 recto ordine reminiscitur. Circa ordinem artem
memorandi artificialem posui multa in magno Vinculatorio.2 Hic autem paucissima
ponam breuitatis et cognicionis tantum causa<tur>.
Naturalis memoria est quasi potencia anime sensatorum preteritorum et absencium
receptiua et diuturne conseruatiua. Reminiscencia est recordacio eorum, que per memo-
riam reseruata erant ex representacio[ne] depositarum formarum racione, cuius fit rei
219
quasi oblite representacio faciliter. Memorabiles res sunt quartuplices: primo sensitiue,
secundo que ordinem habent, tercio que bene incorporate sunt, quarto que locis aut
sensibilibus rebus signata sunt.
Artificialis memoria est facilis reminiscencia eorum, que in naturali memoria rese-
ruata sunt propter baptisata loca aut figuras signatas aut aliquod horum quod faciliter
reducit potenciam reminiscitiuam ad reminiscendum quasi ex visu quintupliciter. Hec
fit primo alphabeto signando circa loca, secundo ydola habendo signata per decem
tristegas,3 tercio habendo paniculum in manu, nodos denodando aut innodando, quar-
to cum signacione ordinis numeralis scilicet primo, secundo, tercio, quarto si materia sit
ordinata ita, quod ex alio quintum trahi poterit. Qualiter autem fit per tristegas, ponam
tibi hec breuiter, sed in De anima lacius.
Idolum est forma nota aut simulacrum cuiuscumque disposicionis nata inmutare po-
tenciam intellectiuam secundum signacionem, ut representet memoratiue id, quoque[!]4
sua forma representat ad formandi reminiscenciam de re, que prius conseruata erat in
cellula recordatiua. Possunt autem ydola formari varia quedam terminalia, alia vero
non terminalia que deportarent simulacrum rei memorate ad secundam recordacionem
eiusdem ex sensu exteriori uel quasi ex sensu.
1
Read perhaps: quod memoratum sit, si recto ordine…
2
A lost encyclopedia written by Paulerinus.
3
Cf. Du Cange 8, 188; Peter Stotz, Handbuch zur lateinischen Sprache des Mittelalters (Munich: C.H.
Beck, 2004), Vol. 5, 1016.
4
instead of quod.
Tristega est locus seu camera aliquota diuersicliniis5 et diuersicliniorum ydiolis

condistincta, in cuius primo loco signantur primo narrata, altero secundo narrata, tercio
tercio narrata aut narranda, quarta quarta narranda, quinto quinto, et sic consequenter
usque decadem. Potes autem talia mille loca habere et ydolis variatis condistinguere,
ut tibi placet, et primam materiam signare hoc ydolo, alteram alio, et sic consequenter
usque tocius materie consumacionem. Et ego posuissem tibi hic multas tristegas, sed
lectoribus comitto ista discucienda.
Tristega prima est locus seu camera decem locis condistincta, in quo primo circa
materiam terminalem ponitur dyabolus, in secundo latro cum cambuca, in tertia tor-
tor cum gladio, et in quarta pungnantes cum gladiis, in quinta criniciem se trahentes,
in sexta nudus homo stridens dentibus, in septima ursus lacerans hominem, in octaua
lupus vorans ouem, in nona galli pungnantes, in decima homo minas incuciens. Si vero
minor fuerit materia, et eo melius et leuius reminiscere.
Secunda tristega est intersticium benignarum materierum decem locis condistinc-
tum, in quorum primo ponitur deus, secundo angellus, tercio conuiue, quarte [!] se
amplectentes, quinto citarista, sexto auceps cum reciaculis, septimo vir cum muliere
loquens, octauo et cetera, ut tibi placet, ita potens [!] designare hac tristegas in tua
camera. Si vero fuerit materia iuxta mixtim[!], potes hec designare et sic usque centum.
Sermo magistralis, qui fit ad doctos scilicet ad magistros uel doctores, hic potest
diuidi in tres magnas pausas, quarum prima signatur ordine alphabeti scilicet prima
minor clausula per a, secunda per b, tercia per c etc. conueniter. Et dum loqueris memo-
220 riter tene te circa quam litteram versaris, et in qua pause, et sic tute poteris procedere.
Similiter fac circa alias duas, similiter in omni oratoria arte. [f. 130r]
Iuuatur artificialis memoria per nouem: primo per naturalem memoriam, sine qua
ista nequaquam completur, sed multum iuuatur. Secundo si id, quod debet memorari,
habet debitum ordinem, tercio exercitacio longo tempore materiei pronunciande, quarto
debita rei apprehensione, quinto raritas materiei, sexto firma impressio, septimo pau-
citas materiei, octauo diligens ydolorum distinctio et consignacio. De naturali autem
memoria dicam quarto dogmate in De anima et tantum sit de illo, et plus omni valet
mens recollecta circa unum.
5
I.e. diversiclinium. Du Cange 3, 148.
4. [Magister Hainricus:] Ars memorandi (1447–1473)
The name of Magister Hainricus, the alleged author of this text, appears in only a single
Munich manuscript of the treatise. As this codex can be dated relatively safely to 1447,1
it seems to be one of the earliest copies of the text, if not the earliest. We might therefore
accept the authorship of a certain “Master Henry,” even if we do not know anything
more concrete about him.
The Ars memorandi attributed to Magister Hainricus is a short but philologically
very problematic text. There are ten different sources (including nine manuscripts and
an incunabulum print) for this text, which contain altogether six versions of this art of
memory in Latin, and there is also a vernacular German translation.2 Thus almost every
second manuscript version seems to have been significantly modified and personalized
1
“Magistri Hainrici tractatus de memoria.” Munich, BSB, clm. 4749, 129r. The preceding German
art of memory by Johannes Hartlieb, written in the same hand, is dated to Freising, 1447. Cf. 221
Heimann-Seelbach, Ars und scientia, 50; Sabine Heimann-Seelbach, “Pragmalinguistische Aspekte
deutscher Fachprosa-Übersetzungen: Nicolaus Italicus, Magister Hainricus, Johannes Hartlieb,”
in Sprachgeschichte als Textsortengeschichte. Festschrift zum 65. Geburtstag von Gotthard Lerchner, ed.
Irmhild Barz (Frankfurt am Main: Peter Lang, 2000), 93–111; and Bernhard Dietrich Haage, “Magister
Hainricus,” in: Verfasserlexikon, Vol. 3, cols. 931–32.
2
The manuscript and printed versions (with their incipits and provenance, if known): I. Munich,
BSB, clm. 4749, 129r–131v (Quemadmodum intellectus scientiis illuminatur, around 1447); Ars et modus
vitae contemplativae, Nürnberg: Creussner, 1473, 15r–17r (Quemadmodum intellectus…); Prague, NK, I
G 11a, 27v–30r (Quemadmodum intellectus scientiis illuminatur, c. 1490, Ulrich Crux de Telcz, copied
from the incunable edition). II. Bamberg class. 48, 98v–100r (Ex naturali instinctu omnis homo, after
1482?, Bamberg). III. Bamberg class. 48, 100r–102v (Iam altera ars memorativa. Omnes defectus, after
1482?, Bamberg); Erlangen, UL, Ms. 554, 100r–102v (Omnes defectus corporis qui anime arte repelluntur,
et eadem natura iuvatur, around 1455). IV. Göttingen UL, 8° Theol. 121, 30r–31v (Quia natura humana
multipliciter serva et ancilla…); Mainz, StB, Ms. 556, 22r (Quia natura humana multipliciter serva et
ancilla…); Wolfenbüttel, 418 Novi, 44v (Quia natura humana multipliciter serva et ancilla…; Vienna,
15th c.). V. Sankt Gallen, ms. 764, 581–585 (Ars memorandi nihil; 15th c., Gallus Kemli). VI. Würzburg,
UL, M. ch. f. 54. f. 243r–246r (Sicut scientiis iuvatur intellectus, around 1455). Cf. Sabine Heimann-
Seelbach, „Konzeptualisierungen von Mnemotechnik im Mittelalter,” in: Kunst und Erinnerung.
Memoriale Konzepte in der Erzählliteratur des Mittelalters, ed. Ulrich Ernst, Klaus Ridder (Ordo 8.)
(Cologne: Böhlau, 2003), 20 (note 72) and Heimann-Seelbach, Ars und scientia, 50–54. The second
printed edition, cited by von Aretin as “Ars memorativa notabilis perrara ad omnes facultates utilissima.
Memingen per Albertum Kume (correctly: Kunne) de Inderstat, 1482” seems to be a phantom, probably
invented on the basis of a copy bound together with a book printed in Memmingen, e.g., Werner
Rolewinck, Fasciculus temporum (Memmingen: Kunne, 1482). For such a copy, see Aretin, Mnemonik,
166–167.
by the copyists. In fact, the distance between the version published in the present vol-
ume (Quemadmodum intellectus…) and some of the other versions (e.g. Omnes defectus
corporis) is so significant that it is difficult to find two identical sentences in the two vari-
ants. Nevertheless, the overall structure of the treatise seems to follow the same pattern:
the text begins with a theoretical discussion of artificial memory and its resemblance
to writings in books, and goes on to offer practical advice on how to memorize various
subjects (sermons, articles, orations, etc.) in a more or less detailed fashion. Furthermore,
this text is distinguished by being the first independent art of memory to appear in
print,3 preceding the works of Jacobus Publicius and Matheolus Perusinus, who began
to publish their treatises in around 1474–75.
Although this art of memory relies heavily on the Rhetorica ad Herennium, the
theoretical considerations in its introduction seem to be unique. The author of the text
elaborated on the timeworn comparison between memory and writing, and claimed
that the art of memory is virtually nothing other than a book of imagination (liber
ymaginacionis): “The book is manifold: there is the book of laymen, as the writing on the
walls, by which they recognize their own sins. Another type is the book of paintings, as
the images in the churches are, which represent the passions of the martyrs. Yet another
type is the book of clerics, which is better than the previous two — in which events and
stories are noted down, which cannot be retained by memory. Yet another type is the
book of imagination constructed in the mind, which is called ars memorandi.”4 The
origins of this categorization might be traced back to earlier, medieval definitions of the
222 function of paintings in churches.5
Another distinctive feature of the incunabulum version of this art of memory is
the memory table placed towards the end of the treatise, which includes a mnemonic
palace consisting of ten rooms (camere), each containing images of four craftsmen and
one animal. The use of this table is explained in the last paragraph of the treatise, which
seems to be completely independent from the version Omnes defectus corporis (Erlangen
UL, ms. 554, 100r–102v), which we used for comparison.
Of all the versions of this art, the incunabulum print seems to have been the most
influential in East Central Europe. From among the eighteen known copies of this book,
five are still located in East Central Europe in libraries in Hungary, Poland, and Slovakia,
3
Ars et modus vitae contemplativae (Nürnberg: Creussner, 1473). See under n. I. in note 2. The
Rhetorica ad Herennium and Quintilian’s Institutiones oratoriae had already been published earlier: Mar-
cus Tullius Cicero, Rhetoricorum veterum liber, ed. Omnibonus Leonicenus (Venice: Nicolaus Jenson,
1470); Marcus Fabius Quintilianus, Institutiones oratorie, ed. Johannes Antonius Campana (Rome:
[Johannes Philippus de Lignamine], 1470).
4
“liber est multiplex: quidam est liber laycorum, sicut scriptura in parietibus, per quam ipsi
deueniunt in cognicionem seu memoriam debitorum. Alius est liber pictorum sicut sunt ymagines in
ecclesiis representantes passiones martirum. Alius est liber clericorum qui est melior predictis, in quo
inscribuntur acta et historie, que ex labilitate naturalis memorie retineri non possunt. Alius est liber
ymaginacionis in mente constructus, qui ars memorandi vocatur.” See below p. 224.
5
See above, p. 118.
and six more are to be found in Austria.6 The copy held by the Hungarian National
Library7 contains a contemporary Hungarian translation of the memory table inserted
at the end of the treatise, probably dating from around 1500.8 Ulrich Crux de Telcz an
Augustinian canon of Třeboň, copied it in 1491 from this print into his miscellany.9
Another copy of the incunabulum print, now housed at the Metropolitan Library of the
Archbishopric of Esztergom, contains some Slovak notes, too, proving its local origins.10
For all these reasons, we are editing the text from the incunabulum print, together with
the Hungarian manuscript notes appended to the memory table in the treatise.
[12r] Ars memoratiua notabilis perrara ad omnes facultates vtilissima in intellectu facilis
et memorie adiutorium commendabile vt patet in eius facili declaratione
Quemadmodum intellectus scyencijs illuminatur et voluntas virtutibus decoratur, ita
memoria libro adiuuatur. Nam, ut dicit Tul[l]ius, quod memoria artifitiosa est velud im-
mensus liber viri egregij in quo plurima scribuntur. Vnde patet quod adiutorium memorie
naturalis nichil aliud est quam liber. Cum ergo intentio nostra est pertractare de adiuto-
rio memorie, quod ars memorandi vocatur. Tunc prenotandum est quod secundum Tul[l]
ium et alios philosophos memoria duplex est: scilicet naturalis et artifitiosa. Naturalis
est quedam vis anime sine multa concitatione preteritorum recordatiua. Et illam habet
omnis homo secundum suam complexionem. Sed artifitiosa memoria est, que constat
ex locis et ymaginibus, et est velud immensus liber etc. Vnde patet quod adiutorium
memorie nichil aliud est quam liber. Pro quo ulterius notandum, quod liber est multi-
plex: quidam est liber laycorum, sicut scriptura in parietibus, per quam ipsi deueniunt 223
6
See the bibliographic entry in the Incunabula Short Title Catalogue, ia01140000 (http://www.bl.uk/
catalogues/istc/index.html, accessed on 6.6.2015.) and GW 2672. Furthermore, the copy of the Library
of Congress (US) was purchased from the Melk Abbey.
7
Budapest, OSZK, Inc. 1243. Bound together with the Fasciculus temporum of Werner Rolewinck
(Venice: Walch, 1479) at least from 1762 (on the spine: “1762. Conv. Gyöngy. Ord. Min.”). The empty
leaf between the two volumes includes a 16th century pen trial with the fragment of a letter blaming
the lack of fasting in Hungary addressed to a secular lord, a certain “magnificus dominus” (“Vngari
situti [!] vos estis nusquam deus permisisset hic vngaria sed peiores sunt quam pagani quia ipsi ieiunant
nostri autem Christiani nolunt ieiunare sed secundum corpus ambulant.”).
8
See above, p. 116.
9
Currently preserved in Prague, NK, ms. I G 11a. See above, p. 121.
10
Esztergom, Metropolitan Library, S. l. a. I. 30. The Ars et modus vitae contemplativae is bound together
with four almost contemporary volumes: 1. Jean Gerson, Conclusiones de diversis materiis moralibus seu
De regulis mandatorum, [Nürnberg]: [Sensenschmidt], [c. 1470, non post 1471]; 2. Jean Gerson: De
trahendis parvulis ad Christum, Nürnberg: [Johann Sensenschmidt, c. 1470.] 3. Vocabularius latino-
germanicus, Augsburg: Zainer, c. 1473; 4. Ars et modus vitae contemplativae, Nürnberg: Creussner, 1473;
5. Pharetra doctorum et philosophorum [Nürnberg]: Friedrich Creussner, [1473/74(?)].) in a fifteenth- or
early sixteenth-century binding. While the Ars et modus part of the volume contains only a few notes
in Latin, the covers and the fifth part contain a number of notes in Slovak. On the inside front cover
we find “mulier zena paries stena,” and in the Pharetra doctorum: “1539 feria sexta Bistriciensi Ciuitate
administrata hac sententia in[…] sunt suspensi”; “”Leta bozyego (bozyego) 1 | 539”, “Amen Rćemez
(=Rčemež) thoż spelećne A weriacz temu srdećne zeť te buoh | Da bez pochibi po” ). We would like to
thank Katalin Mechler and Wiesław Wydra for their help.
in cognicionem seu memoriam debitorum.11 Alius est liber pictorum sicut sunt ymagines
in ecclesiis representantes passiones martirum. Alius est liber clericorum qui est melior
predictis, in quo inscribuntur acta et historie, que ex labilitate naturalis memorie retineri
non possunt. Alius est liber ymaginacionis in mente constructus, qui ars memorandi
vocatur. Et sicut ad quemlibet librum, duo requiruntur, scilicet materia et forma: materia
ut subiectum, in quo scribitur et forma, sicut littere. Sic etiam ad librum nostrum qui
Ars memorandi vocatur quo requiruntur scilicet loca et ymagines. Loca habent rationem
materie, in qua scribitur, sicut est papirus. Et ymagines sortiuntur rationem forme, seu
litterarum, que inscribuntur. Vnde patet secundum Tul[l]ium et omnes autores, quod Ars
memorandi nichil aliud est [12v] quam liber ymaginarius in mente hominis compilatus.
Quare primo dicendum est de materia huius libri, que dicuntur loca.
Si quis velit sibi loca sumere, accipiat sibi domum notam cum variis intersticiis
et cameris in certo ordine locatis. In quarum qualibet camerarum locis notare debet
quatuor angulos et unam ianuam, et in quolibet angulo notare unum signum quod
vocatur differenciator loci, et per illud unus locus differt ab alio. Et in introitu camere
debet procedere a sinistris capiendo loca et differenciatores locorum. Ita quod in primo
angulo a sinistris notabit primum signum, deinde in secundo angulo secundum signum
iuxta ordinem, et sic de aliis. Sic etiam operandum est in aliis cameris, sed ex quo ianue
camerarum sunt similes, tunc notanda sunt certa signa et differentie in ianuis, per que
una differat ab alia. Et hic caute respiciendum est, ut ordo camerarum et ordo locorum
bene seruetur. Nam si quis in ordine dubitaret, in memorabilium collatione penitus
224 confunderetur. Qua re summopere prenotandum est ordo et tantum de locis.
Si quis ymagines substantiarum visibilium vellet ponere, ponat eandem substantiam,
de qua memoriam velit habere, ad differenciatorem loci cum mirabili eiusdem substantie
accione ridiculosa, rara, inusitata, lucrosa aut dampnosa, quia quantum mirabilior sit
talis impositio, tanto melior erit memoria. Nam facta rara et inusitata melius impri-
muntur memorie.
Si vis ponere ymagines propriorum nominum
Tunc pone aliquem sanctum de tali nomine, vel aliquem tibi notum, vel aliquem
deformem, aut virum insignem, aut aliquem in honore vel potestate existentem ad dif-
ferenciatorem loci, et hoc semper mirabiliter, sicut prius patuit.
Si vis memorari accidentia
Ex quo talia propriam cognitionem non habent, sed cogni-[13r]cio eorum dependet
a substantiis, in quibus per excellentiam reperiuntur, pone ergo eiusdem substantias pro
suis accidentibus, vel pone effectum, vel causam, vel instrumentum, vel aliquod aliud,
quod aliqualem dependentiam causalitatis importat, vt pro albo pone lac, cignum, vel
niuem, pro rubeo rosam, vel sanguinem etc.
Si vis memorari propositiones vel articulos
Tunc pone res illarum propositionum vel articulorum ad differentiatorem loci, et hoc sic
si comodose12 fieri potest, quod exerceant eundem actum, quem actum significant exercere.
11
For the interpretation of debitorum, cf. „et dimitte nobis debita nostra” (Mt 6, 12 and Lc 11, 4).
12
„advantageously”. Cf. Du Cange 2, 459.
Si vis memorari collationes sermones historias vel arengas

Tunc divide hos sermones in certos articulos totam sententiam sermonis includentes,
deinde pone quemlibet articulum per se ad locum vel differentiatorem loci mirabiliter,
ridiculose, sicut prius, et sic de aliis.
Si vis recitare orationem in propria forma verborum
Tunc ymaginem cuiuslibet dictionis pone ad locum sive ad differentiatorem loci
cum sua actione ridiculosa, et hoc est valde facile et maxime utilitatis, ut bene patebit
practicanti.
Si vis memorari dictiones ignotas
Ex quo tales dictiones nichil in intellectu nostro representant, tunc difficulter pos-
sumus nobis fabricare ymagines. Quare conueniens est vt ille dictiones diuidantur sibil-
latim, et tunc unicuique sillabe capere debemus dictionem nobis rem notam represen-
tantem, incipientemque ab eadem sillaba, et eandem ponere ad differenciatorem loci. Et
sic consequenter operandum est de aliis sillabis, semper ponendo unam dictionem nobis
notam, incipientem ab eadem sillaba vt prius.
Sequitur figura huius artis memorie in hunc modum:[13v]
Sartor: zabho Pictor: kephiro Faber: kowazh Cocus: zakaz
Simeus: maywm Thaurus: bicha
Pincerna: kolcharh Stultus: bolond Pistor: kenerzutho Sequester
Rusticus: parantz13 Lusor: hyazo14 Sutor: vargha Lapicida: komies 225
Lupus: farkas Asinus: zamar

Cantrifusor: Scriptor: yroh, Auceps: madaraz Piscator: halazo
kannagarthiwo
Pannifex: Tinctor Pellifex: zuzh Pileator:
pozthowetho15 zuveggartho
Ursus: medve Leo: voroznal
Ollifex: fazezgartho16 Cerdo: thimar Currifex: zekergartho Doleator:
hordogartho
Carnifex: hoherh Venator: vadaz Balneator: feredus Lictor
Cervus: haruas17 Equus: lo
Vitreator: vüeggartho Textor: takasz Componator Mango
13
Scribal mistake for „parasth” (paraszt).
14
I.e., játszó (player).
15
Borsa’s reading: poztometho (posztóvető). See Gedeon Borsa, „Egy 1500 körüli latin-magyar szó-
jegyzék,” [A Latin-Hungarian wordlist from around 1500], Magyar Nyelv 50 (1954): 201–202.
16
I.e., fazékgyártó (potter).
17
Read szarvas (deer). A marginal note by the annotator: “[H]esiodus [qui] querit lucrum [ne]cesse
faceret sumptum”.
Laqueator: kotelgarto Molitor Dimicator Histrio

Canis: ebebh Cattus: mazka
Rasor: barbelh Tubicinator: Joculator: Preco: vweltho18
trombitas pakokalo19
[14r] Cicero in tercio Rethorice duplicem ponit memoriam, scilicet naturalem et artifi-
cialem: memoria naturalis est illa, que inest nobis a natura, artificialis est, que est ficta
per artem, scilicet per ymagines et loca. Sunt ergo septem notanda circa illam artem:
Primo loca, secundo ymagines, tertio dictiones simplices, quarto accidentia, quinto
propria nomina, sexto articuli, septimo dictiones ignote. Quantum ergo ad primum de
locis, si ergo loca sumere velis, accipe unum domum realem cum variis cameris, et si fieri
potest accipe dormitorium in uno claustro et ratione illius quia cella sunt in una riga, et
sic ordo facilius erit. Tunc in qualibet camera seu cella nota quatuor angulos cum una
ianua, quibus sumptis imprime cuilibet angulo unam ymaginem aut artificem iuxta
tuum placitum, semper in ianuam unam feram, et tunc fere designabunt quinarios, tunc
numerus et ordo facilius erunt. Quo facto proba te ut numerum illarum ymaginum valde
statim studeas recitare, et etiam quottum unum sit in ordine, et si multas cameras accipis,
eo plus potes ymaginare. Si ergo dictionem simplicem ymaginare volueris, tunc pone
ut ipsa res imaginanda agat unam mirabilem actionem in ipsam ymaginem vel ymago
in ipsam rem. Si autem accidentia memorare volueris, tunc pone eorum similitudines,
226 ut pro rubedine cruorem, pro albedine niuem, pro fortitudine leonem. Si autem propria
nomina volueris, tunc accipe unum tibi notum qui hoc nomine vocatur et pone aut
signum illius ut pro Petro clavem. Si autem articulos memorare volueris, pone precise
articulos sicut dictiones et aliquando etiam potest fieri, vt una dictio representabit vnum
totum articulum. Si autem vis dictiones ignotas ponere, tunc diuide tales dictiones in
sillabas et pro qualibet sillaba accipe unam dictionem incipientem a tali sillaba ut pro
hoc lora pone hominem loycum et radicem etc.
18
Borsa’s reading: vueltho (üveltő).
19
On the ancient Hungarian word ’pakocsa, pakocsál’ (to mock): A magyar nyelv történeti-etimológiai
szótára [Historical etymological dictionary of the Hungarian language], ed. Loránd Benkő et al., (Bu-
dapest: Akadémiai, 1984), Vol. 3., 63–64. Th is word occurs in the Wordlist of Schlägl (1405) under the
heading „jocus: pakcha. iocosus: pakchos, pacochás: ioculator”. See also Emília Úrhegyi, „Pakocsa,”
[Mocking], Magyar Nyelv 54 (1958): 197–200.
5. Paulinus of Skalbmierz: Populus meus captivus ductus
est (before 1498)
The mnemonic treatise ascribed to Paulinus of Skalbmierz (†1498) is a witness to the

mnemonic interests of Observant Franciscans. The treatise, beginning with a quotation
from Isaiah (Is 5:13: Populus meus captivus ductus est, quia non habuit scientiam et nobiles
eorum interierunt fame) survived in the so-called Codex of Paweł of Łomża, and it can
be dated to the end of the fifteenth century.1 The manuscript, which was copied by the
Observant friar Paweł of Łomża,2 is now kept at the Kórnik Library of the Polish Acad-
emy of Sciences (ms. 1122; see Pl. 5-9.). It is written in Latin and Polish with a small
Gothic minuscule by various hands, the first of which is the Paweł of Łomża’s own. It
contains 268 paper folios and 2 parchment folios and it is rather small in format (155 x
110 mm). The manuscript most likely derives from the library of the Observant convent
in Kościan in Wielkopolska (Polonia Maior), from where it was taken to the Kórnik
Library. It contains many sermons, dispositions of preaching, works of Benedict Hesse
(Tractatus de reempcionibus), Caesarius of Heisterbach (Dialogus miraculorum), Saint Bo-
naventura, Saint Thomas, Saint Augustine and bishop Callistus. It also contains works 227
entitled Peregrinacio Terre Sancte Jarusalem, Titulus litterarum and Privilegia ad Missas
et Alia Divina Officia Fratrum Minorum Observancie. The contents of the manuscript
show that it was compiled chiefly as an aid to the Observant preachers. The mnemonic
treatise is accompanied by marginal notes is on the ff. 17r–26v, 28v, and 29r. The text is
attributed to Paulinus of Skalbmierz on the basis of a note (“P. de S.”) on f. 17v.3 Jerzy
Zathey has claimed that in the Polish catalogues and obituary notices of Franciscans
who lived and died at this time, only one friar is mentioned whose name fits with these
initials, and his name was Paulinus de Scarbimiria (Paulin of Skalbmierz). Zathey’s
identification is very probably correct.4 For more on this author, see above pp. 85–89.
1
For a precise description of the codex, see: Jerzy Zathey, Katalog rękopisów średniowiecznych Biblioteki
Kórnickiej [Catalogue of the Medieval Manuscripts of the Kórnik Library] (Wrocław: Zakład Narodowy
im. Ossolińskich, 1963), 511–524.
2
The compiler of the ms. was not Paweł of Łomża, but a monk of the same name who lived in the
monastery in Vilnius, died in Kościan on 24th July 1591. The date of the friar’s death and the dating of the
manuscript cannot be reconciled. See: Słownik polskich pisarzy franciszkańskich (bernardyni i franciszkanie
śląscy, franciszkanie konwentualni, klaryski oraz zgromadzenia III reguły) [Dictionary of the Polish Franciscan
Writers (Observants and Silesian Franciscans, Conventual Franciscans, the Minoresses and Third Order
Regular)], ed. by H. E. Wyczawski (Warszawa: Archiwum Prowincji OO. Bernardynów, 1981), 369.
3
Ms 1122, f. 17v: “[…] in presenti igitur opusculo quem suscincte et compendiose prosequi intendo
ad laudem dei […] dei oculta capiendum, utilitatem que studencium rudi stilo inexpers tiro, pauper
minorum frater P. d<e> S. plano tamen et reali eloquio atque modo facillimo artem memorie artificialis
benivoliter discentibus tradere conabor.”
4
Zathey, Katalog (cf. note 1), 513.
[17r (old numbering: p. 33)] Populus meus captivus ductus est quia non habuit scienciam
et nobiles eorum interierunt fame. Isa. V.5 et habentur verba in Canone X. q. 3. Ca. ve qui di-
citis.6 Multi homines sunt tam nobilium quam ignobilium sectantes studia vana et inutilia
quorum veritatis cognicio vertitur ad peccandum iuxta id Ieremias ix.7 docuerit lingwam
suam loqui mendacium et tale studium est viciosum. Et S. Thomas 2a 2e q. clxvii. ar. 1.8
quia student propter malum [!] finem prout inde superbiant, ut liberius peccent, ut curiositatem
exerceant de quibus Augustinus in libro de moribus ecclesie:9 Sunt qui desertis virtutibus et
nescientes quid sit deus et quanta sit maiestas magnum aliquid se agere putant. Et Hieronymus
in Epistola ad Damasum et ponitur 37 dis. ‘sacerdotes’10: Sacerdotes demissis ewangeliis et
propheciis videmus comoedias legere et amatoria bucolicorum verba versuum cantare. Et tales
graviter a deo punientur ut patet in Sancto Hieronymo de quo Rabanus in libro de ecclesi-
asticis pressuris, ponitur 37 dis. ‘legimus’,11 inquit legimus de beato Ieronimo qui cum libros
legeret Ciceronis ab angelo correptus est. Quidam autem ut laucius vitam ducant, studere
et discere sacram scripturam postponunt putantes se ignorancia apud deum excusandos,
quod nequaquam fiat, sed ut ait Apostolus in I Cor. xiiii12: ignorans a deo ignorabitur.
Vero Augustinus in libro questionum: quia non omnis ignorans est immunis a peccato.13
Et talis ignorancia estc adultis periculosa et maxime sacerdotibus14. Nam ut probatur 38
dis. ‘ignorancia’15 est mater cunctorum errorum et nutrix viciorum et tanto periculosior est
5
Isa. 5, 13.
6
Decretum Gratiani, Causa X, questio 3, cap. 59. (Vae qui dicitis)
228 7
Jer. 9, 5.
8
Thomas Aquinas, STh 2a2ae q. 167, art. 1. „prout aliquis tendit suo studio in cognitionem veritatis
prout per accidens coniungitur et malum; sicut illi qui student ad scientiam veritatis ut exinde superbiant.
Unde Augustinus dicit, Sunt qui desertis virtutibus et nescientes quid sit Deus, et quanta maiestas semper
eodem modo manentis naturae, magnum aliquid se agere putant, si universam istam corporis molem, quam
mundum nuncupamus, curiosissime intensissimeque perquirant. Unde etiam tanta superbia gignitur, ut in
ipso caelo, de quo saepe disputant, sibimet habitare videantur. Similiter etiam illi qui student addiscere
aliquid ad peccandum, vitiosum studium habent, secundum illud Jer. Docuerunt linguam suam loqui
mendacium, ut inique agerent laboraverunt.”
9
Aurelius Augustinus, De moribus ecclesiae et de moribus Manichaeorum libri duo, ed. Johannes Baptist
Bauer (Vienna: Hölder-Pichler-Tempsky, 1992), 43 (CSEL 90). (C. 21, 38; PL 32, 1327).
10
Eusebius Hieronymus, Epistularum pars I: Epistulae I-LXX, ed. Isidorus Hilberg (Vienna-Leipzig:
Tempsky-Freytag), 123 (CSEL 54). (Ep. 21, 13; PL 22, 386) The passage is quoted by Thomas Aquinas,
STh 2a2ae 167, art. 1.; Decretum Gratiani D. 37, c. 2.
11
Decretum Gratiani D. 37, c. 7.
12
1 Cor 14:38.
13
Decretum Gratiani D. 37, c. 16. (“Non omnis ignorans est immunis a pena”). Cf. Pseudo-Augustinus
[Ambrosiaster], Questiones veteris et novi testamenti CXXVII, ed. Alexander Souter (Vienna-Leipzig:
Tempsky-Freytag), 1908, 177 (CSEL 50). The Questiones veteris et novi testamenti CXXVII was long
attributed to Augustine.
14
Cf. Thomas Aquinas, STh 2a2ae 156 a. 3. ad 1. “Et talis ignorantia quanto est maior, tanto peccatum
est gravius, quia ostenditur inclinatio appetitus esse maior. Ignorantia autem tam incontinentis
quam intemperati provenit ex eo quod appetitus est in aliquid inclinatus, sive per passionem, sicut
in incontinente; sive per habitum, sicut in intemperato. Maior autem ignorantia causatur ex hoc in
intemperato quam in incontinente.”
15
5. Paulinus of Skalbmierz: Populus meus captivus ductus est (before 1498)
in sacerdotibus qui aliis ducatum prebere debent. Unde et Dominus Math. xv.16 ait Si cecus
ceco ducatum prebet etc. Et hoc est quod dicunt verba thematis ‘Populus meus captivus
ductus est’ etc. Hec autem ignorancia generatur interdum ex memorie oblivione que est
labilis et fragilis ad obliviscendum. Quare in bonum remedium cum dei auxilio et genitri-
cis dei Marie adiutorio succurrendum quantum potero duxi studentibus artem memorie
artificialis, que memoria artificialis et naturalis sunt alterutrum correlancia. Artificialis
namque habet se ut servus qui domino ad nutum atque libitum omnia administrat, et in
omnibus licitis adiuvat. Naturalis vero memoria habet se sicut dominus qui servo utitur ad
suam voluntatem. Ita eciam naturalis memoria artificiali utitur ut dominus servo quam si
retinere [17v (p. 34)] vult quis, debet eam in exercicium et consuetudinem ducere. Primo
quia ut inquit Philosophus in libro de memoria et reminiscencia: Consuetudo est altera
natura.17 Et per exercicium difficultas quelibet tollitur ut ait Hieronymus li. 1. de monte
ad fratres c. XIX. Exercicium in omni labore vires subministrat.18 In quibus omnibus debet
sequi successive motus, ut Philosophus inquit. In presenti igitur opusculo quo succincte
et compendiose prosequi intendo ad laudem domini honoremque virginis Marie licet
indignus et incompos racionis ad domini occulta capienda utilitatemque studencium rudi
stilo inexpers tiro, pauper minorum fratrum P. de S. plano tamen et reali eloquio atque
modo facillimo artem memorie artificialis benevoliter discentibus tradere conabor. In qua
consideranda sunt duo, scilicet modus regendi, secundo modus agendi.
Primo discens artem memorie debet tenere modum in victu ut sit moderatus et
temperatus in cibo et potu, quia secundum Gregorium 31. Moralium,19 Hebetudo mentis
oritur ex gula, cecitas mentis ex luxuria.20 Unde et Anaxagoras dicit quod oportet intellectum 229
esse immixtum ad hoc quod imperet, et agens oportet quod dominetur super materiam.21
Unde et Daniel 1. dicitur quod pueris continentibus dedit deus scienciam et non inconti-
nentibus et luxuriosis et ebriis.22 Ideo poeta ait:
16
Mt 15:14.
17
Arist. De mem. et rem. cap. 2. (452a, 27–28): “tamquam enim natura iam consuetudo est”.
18
Guillaume de St Th ierry, Lettre aux frères du Mont-Dieu: lettre d’or, ed. Jean Déchanet, (Paris:
Cerf, 1975), 214 (SC 223). (PL 184, 323). The work is sometimes attributed to St Bernard or Guigo
Carthusiensis.
19
Cf. Greg. Mor. in Iob 31, 45: “De uentris ingluuie, inepta laetitia, scurrilitas, immunditia,
multiloquium, hebetudo sensus circa intellegentiam propagantur. De luxuria, caecitas mentis,
inconsideratio, inconstantia, praecipitatio, amor sui, odium dei, affectus praesentis saeculi, horror autem
vel desperatio futuri generatur.”
20
Gregory, as quoted by Thomas Aquinas, STh 2a 2ae 15, 2, 3.
21
Cf. Thomas Aquinas, STh 2a 2ae 15, 3. “Respondeo dicendum quod perfectio intellectualis operationis
in homine consistit in quadam abstractione a sensibilium phantasmatibus. Et ideo quanto intellectus
hominis magis fuerit liber ab huiusmodi phantasmatibus, tanto potius considerare intelligibilia poterit
et ordinare omnia sensibilia, sicut et Anaxagoras dixit quod oportet intellectum esse immixtum ad hoc
quod imperet, et agens oportet quod dominetur super materiam ad hoc quod possit eam movere.”
22
Thomas Aquinas, STh 2a 2ae 15, 3. “Unde dicitur Dan. I, quod pueris his, scilicet abstinentibus et
continentibus, dedit Deus scientiam et disciplinam in omni libro et sapientia.” Cf. Dan. 1, 17.
Si vis discere tria te consulo vere

Sis humilis castus parvoque cibamine pastus;23
scilicet ut non aguntur natura. Primo secundum Philosophum in libro de memoria et
reminiscencia, quia bibentes multum non habent bonam memoriam, ex eo quod humidi-
tates ascendentes cerebrum quasi fumi quidam impediunt memoriam. Et ita efficitur
homo tenacis memorie et dicioris.
Secundus canon sive modus regendi se in tali arte memoristarum est ut discens sive
studens abstineat a cibis grossis et corruptis ut sunt panis muscidus, carnes putride et
fumigate, pepones, aliam [!] et cepe et huiusmodi, quia ex talium usu complexio hominis
ingrossatur et intellectus cum memoria obscuratur.
Tercius canon regendi se in tali arte memoristarum ut materiam cui immittitur legat
et relegat atque intelligat et postremo memorie commendet iuxta illud quod Philosophus
ait: oportet primo intellexisse et post ea meminisse.
Quartus canon regendi se in arte memoristarum est ut studens in ea habeat loca
significancia, notoria, distincta et plana, ut non implicent aliquam contrarietatem. [18r
(p. 35)] Nam secundum Philosophum 4o Physicorum locus debet esse equalis locato etc.24
Quintus canon regendi se in arte memoristarum est ut studens in ea sit sanus in
capite et maxime in parte posteri capitis a morbo vel a vulnere, quia ut inquit Aver-
roes Commentario super librum de memoria et reminiscencia in principio: lesi in occipite
leduntur in memoria.25 Unde secundum Thomam Sanctum: Sex sunt que corrumpunt
memoriam, que in his metris continentur:
230 Ebrietas, frenesis, studium discontinuatum,
Occipitis vulnus, nimius langwor quoque somnus.
Hec corrumpunt partem vere philosophie.26
Sextus canon se regendi in arte memoristarum est ut studens et ea utens in locis
signatis et bene distinctis habeat quosdam caracteres vel signa que proprie dicuntur loca
in respectu illius loci in quo situantur et reponuntur.
Septimus canon se regendi in arte memoristarum est ut discens et utens ea habeat
loca parata et bene consueta ad exercitacionem in quibus materiam reponet. Iuxta illud
metrum: Primum loca quere, in eis dicta repone.
23
Cf. Walther, Proverbia, 29197: “Si studuisse velis, tria cauta mente tenebis: // Sis humilis, castus
parvoque cibamine pastus” and Proverbia, 24966 (“Qui vult studere…”), 24418 (“Si vis studere…”).
24
Arist. Physica 4, 4 (211 a, 1–2).
25
Averrois Paraphrasis in Arist. De memoria et reminiscentia, in Aristoteles, Opera omnia cum Averrois
commentariis, Vol. VI, Ad animalium cognitionem attinentes, Venice, Giunti, 1562, pars II, 22r (A).
26
Cf. Jakob Werner, Lateinische Sprichwörter und Sinnsprüche des Mittelalters (Heidlberg: Winter,
1912), 51: ‘Frequens ebrietas…’, which might go back to a corrupt version. The first line sounds ‘Ebrietas
phrenesis…’ in München clm 28126, 240 v and cgm 367, 257v. The same verse in a different form occurs
in a copy of Grammatica clarissimi Poete et Oratoris Nicolai Perotti cum varijs additamentis (Cologne:
Quentell, 1503), 2v.(Library of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Inc. 174., used and annotated in
Hungary): „Illa corrumpunt memoriam // Ebrietas: morbus: studium non continuatum / Occipitis lesio
frenesis nimiusque somnus / Et frigus infestum: calor: fumigosus cibus / Hec artem sepe corrumpunt
philozophie.”
Octavus canon se regendi in arte memoristarum est ut utens locis et arte tali non
locet loca per complexum, nec ea variet bis in eisdem materiam reponendo iuxta id, quod
dicit Philosophus 4o Physicorum: locus non alteratur.27
Nonus canon se regendi in arte memoristarum est ut utens locis vel idolis in locis
positis habeat locum vel idolum ridiculosum ut vetulam stramine coronatam et huius-
modi, vel histrionem vel ioculatorem.
Decimus canon se regendi in arte memoristarum est ut utens locis vel idolis habeat
loca vel idola miraculosa et rara, id est aliquid miraculum in locis vel idolis ponendo ut
aliquem suscitantem mortuum vel Lazarum quia huiusmodi cicius memorie imprimun-
tur et tenacius retinentur.
Undecimus canon se regendi in arte memoristarum est ut utens arte hac in locis
acquisitis reponat aliquos caracteres delectabiles vel idola delectabilia. Primo quia ut
ait Philosophus V. et X. Ethicorum, delectacio fit in instanti,28 sic memoria hominis
vehemencius memoratur illud in quo delectatur. Et quod frequenter meditetur illud et
in illis habituetur in quibus scienciis cupit proficienciam secundum Philosophum in
libro de memoria et reminiscencia: Memoria confirmatur per frequentes29 meditando,
scilicet habituando. [18v (p. 36)]
[D]uodecimus canon se regendi in arte memoristarum est ut studens et exercitans
se locet aliquid signum vel idolum in loco creato, turpe et abhominabile et iniuriosum
ut simeam30 vel huiusmodi. Quia memoria iniuriarum est tenax et homo aliquid turpe
forcius memoratur. Versus: Ridiculum, mirum, delectans, turpe locantes.
[T]erciusdecimus canon regendi se in arte memoristarum est ut utens et studens 231
artem hanc sciat abecedarium reale quod depingitur in similitudinem litterarum alpha-
beti in magna quantitate recipiendo cuilibet littere alicuius rei similitudinem realem.
[Q]uartusdecimus canon regendi se in arte memoristarum est ut utens et studens
sciat fundamentum artis grammatice et scienciarum liberalium, si ut profectus esse31 in
pronunciacione latinitatis et terminorum exposicionis, videlicet ut sciat, qui sunt termini
prime imposicionis, et qui secunde imposicionis, ne surripiatur in verbo.32
[Q]uintusdecimus canon regendi se in arte memoristarum est ut utens hac arte sit
primus discipulus antequam existat magister. Unde dicit Glossa super ca. Ecci. V. Sicut
peccat qui scit et non vult proximum docere, sic qui nescit et vult magister esse.33 Ideo Boecius
in libro de Disciplina scolarium ponitur lxj. dis. ’Miserum’ Miserum est fieri magistrum
27
Cf. Arist. Physica 4, 4 (212 a, 20–21) : Locus est terminus corporis continentis immobilis primum.
28
Arist. Eth. 10, 4, 1175a.
29
Read ‘frequenter’.
30
Monkeys often occur as funny or spectacular images in late medieval mnemonic treatises.
31
Read: “sic ut profectus esset”.
32
Cf. the Occamist Albrecht of Saxony, „Termini primae impositionis sunt termini vocales vel scripti,
qui sunt signa aliquorum non ea ratione qua illa ulterius sunt signa aliorum.” „Secundae impositionis
sunt termini vocales vel scripti ad placitum instituti significativi aliquorum, quae ulterius sunt signa,
et ea ratione, qua illa ulterius sunt signa aliorum.” Carl Prantl, Geschichte der Logik im Abendlande,
(Leipzig: Hirzel, 1870), IV, 63.
33
Glossa ordinaria (interl.) super Eccli. 5, 14 (Si est tibi intellectus). See Bibliorum sacrorum cum glossa
ordinaria, (Venice: s.t., 1603), Vol. 3, col. 2002.
qui numquam fuit discipulus.34 Nec noscat se quisque magistrum, qui nondum didicit esse
discipulus35 ut probatur lix. dis. ’Ordinatos’.
[S]extusdecimus canon regendi se in arte memoristarum est ut utens et studens hanc
artem sciat divisionem abecedarii sive alphabeti, videlicet quot sunt vocales et que littere
sunt consonantes et que mute ex eis. Vocales enim sunt quinque, videlicet a, e, i, o, u.
Semivocales vero sunt septem, scilicet f, l, m, n, r, [s], x. Mute sunt novem, scilicet b, c,
d, <f>, g, [h], k, p, q, t. Liquide autem sunt due, scilicet l, r. Alie vero littere vocantur
consonantes preter quinque vocales. Diptongi sunt <sunt> quatuor, scilicet ae, oe, au, eu.
[S]eptimusdecimus canon ut quilibet utens et studens in hac arte sciat applicare
realem vocalem littere mute vel consonantis36 reali apte congrue et realiter. [19r (p. 37)]
Secundus tractatus est modus agendi in hac arte memorie sive processus in exercicio
qui est triplex, scilicet simplex, mixtus et compositus. Et cui quevis illorum modorum
sive processuum placuerit vel facilior videbitur, illum tenere poterit, et eo uti. Et ideo
primus modus erit per litteras reales, que littere sunt duplices, scilicet reales et personales.
Reales dicuntur quia realem signant rem et diccionem ut sarra, arta, vel circulare vel
scala vel candelabrum signant illam litteram A cum re. Similiter barbiton ex adiunc-
cione ad rem et de aliis ut infra patebit. Personales vero littere sunt que ymaginantur
sive formantur cum personis, ut Abraham, Abacuk, Gwardianus, Urbanus, que sunt
significative in diversis actibus ut infra patebit. De litteris igitur primo realibus nota
aliquas ad informandum atque ymaginandum canones.
[P]rimus canon de formacione litterarum realium est ut in loco quis litteram realem
232 formet et ymaginet sic: A, que signatur per candelabrum sive circulare, caput candelabri
debet vertere usque celum sursum et radicem deorsum, ut patebit in ymaginacionibus
litterarum realium et hoc adiungendo vocalem mute ut patet in hac diccione: AB.
[Secu]ndus canon de formacione litterarum realium est ut quis formando A et adi-
ungendo eam secunde mute, videlicet C, formet candelabrum capite deorsum et radice
sursum ut patet in hac syllaba AC huius diccionis’accedens’.
[T]ercius canon de formacione litterarum realium est ut formans quis A cum tercia
muta formet candelabrum, verticem ipsius ad meridiem, et radicem ad orientem et fiet
cum littera muta D, ut patet in hac syllaba AD huius diccionis ’adeo’.
[Q]uartus canon de formacione litterarum realium est ut formans quis A cum quarta
muta, videlicet F, vertet candelabrum ad septentrionem ut patet in hac syllaba AFF huius
diccionis ’affirmacio’. Et sic de aliis litteris realibus indicabit et formando ymaginabitur.
Versus:
Prima petit celum, C centrum, meridiemque [19v (p. 38)]
Diem D, septem FFque trionem
Deinde per alciora S, longumque per per 37
Crux T distinguit L M N cornua variabit
34
Decretum Gratiani D. 61, c. 4. The reference to the Disciplina scholarium is mistaken.
35
36
Read: “consonanti”.
37
scribal error for ‘P’
Complices identidem media diversa ac varia finges

Agricolas, enses, hiberaque tela.38
[Q]uintus canon ut formans quis huiusmodi litteras reales formet eas late, grosse, et
distincte, passim et spaciose inter se collocando.
Sextus canon ut quis formans huiusmodi litteras formet eas recto ordine unaque
post aliam collocando et non variando sursum, unaque alteram deorsum quia tunc
talis memoria impeditur a retinendo, nisi quis esset iam expertus ut patet in processu.
A circulare39
B ignile40, luthnÿa41
C tuba, babatum42
D urna, fossorium
E rot<h>a, cancer supra capite
F spata,43 clawa, sarra44 ligata
G sporta,45 vel bazarÿa fistule46
H hamus
I columna, piscis, turris
K kathus47
L cracza,48 securis
M corona, tripes49
N porta, screpa,50 suspendium51
O lapis molaris vel nola52
P curvatura,53 vexillum 233
Q aneta54
R forpices [!]
38
On f. 28v, the same verse appears in the form: Argolicos enses hiberaque tela. See below, p. 245.
39
Cf. also below, p. 234. Unlike the images at the end of the manuscript, this list seems to be partly
independent from Jacobus Publicius’s art of memory.
40
ESŁŚP, s.v. ignile (ogniwo in Polish, i.e. the B-shaped steel part of a flint).
41
Lute, cf. Du Cange 5, 157, s.v. lutana.
42
Horseshoe; ESŁŚP, s.v. babatum; Lexicon Latinitatis Medii Aevi Hungariae (LLMAeH), Vol. 1, 317.
43
Sword; Du Cange 7, 543, s.v. spatha.
44
Read ’serra’, saw. Serra ligata: bow saw. Cf. Du Cange 7, 312, s.v. serra.
45
Basket, cf. Du Cange 7, 563, s.v. sporta.
46
On the basis of the list at the end of the manuscript, where the items are identical to Jacobus
Publicius’s pictorial alphabet, ’bazarÿa fistule’ must be a bagpipe.
47
Read ‘cathus’, ‘cattus’ (cat).
48
Perhaps ’crata’, cf. ESŁŚP, s.v. crata (grille). On the basis of the list at the end of the manuscript,
where the items are identical to Jacobus Publicius’s pictorial alphabet, ’cracza’ should be a scythe.
49
Du Cange 8, 186, s.v. tripes.
50
Read ’scropha’: Du Cange 7, 372 (sow, a siege engine)
51
Du Cange, 7, 681, s.v. suspendium (gallows).
52
ESŁŚP, s.v. nola (bell).
53
ESŁŚP, s.v. curvatura (curved crosier).
54
Duck, cf. ESŁŚP, s.v. aneta; Du Cange 1, 247; LLMAeH, 1, 167.
S tuba ductilis,55 farcimen in cusina56

T mal[l]eus, terebellum57
V tortular58 [!]
X crux transversa
Z navis cum masth59
Y etc.
Et nota regulam doctrinalem et generalem que est talis: unusquisque volens locos
vel loca comparare speciales vel singulares, procedat in accipiendis locis a parte sinis-
tra versus dextram sub debita distancia unius loci ab alio secundum lineam rectam et
non circularem, quia processus circularis reprobatur et prohibetur a Philosopho primo
Physicorum.
[20r–21v (p. 39–42): images of letters, see Pl. 5.]
[20v, at letter D:]
Unde secundum sentenciam Awicenne de naturalium libro 4, capite ultimo: Multum
dispositus ad tristiciam ex modica causa fortiter tristatur.60 [21v (p. 42)]
Et nota quod triplex est divisio locorum. Nam quidam loci sunt generales, quidam
speciales, quidam singulares. Generales ut sunt civitates, castra, curie et his similes que
loca sunt utilia ad reponendum libros totales in qualibet facultate. Et presertim in iure
canonico, ubi ars memorativa affert suam utilitatem, quia domini canoniste et legiste
plurimis utuntur allegacionibus et quotacionibus capitulorum que in ymaginibus facil-
lime comparari possunt. Speciales vero loci sunt pallacia, stube, camere, balnea et similia
234 edificia, que utiles sunt pro reponendis pluribus sentenciis unius capituli aut plurimorum
capitulorum unius distinccionis vel questionis. Singulares autem sunt anguli nudi vel
caracteribus consignati. Et valent quoad summas sentenciarum notandas ad tenendum
perpetuo. Differencialiter ad reponendum aliqua pro certo tempore. [22r (p. 43)]
Expedito succincte ac compendiose primo processu sive modo agendi in arte memo-
rie artificialis qui dicitur simplex, nunc accedendum est ad secundarium, qui dicitur
modus sive processus mixtus. Et merito, nam litteris realibus permiscuntur idola, car-
acteres tenencia locis suis coaptata atque formata et vim memorativam tribuencia. Qui
modus sive processus quantum ad localis distancie comprehensionem atque habitum
aggregatum est brevior et compendiosior, studentibus tam ad sentencias, prolacionem
scripturarum, quam [ad] membrorum divisionem atque particionem quottarum est
primo salubrior ac facilior paucitatem locorum semper principali modo obtinens. Ad
55
I.e., trombone.
56
I.e., sausage on a cushion. ‘Cusina’ is a form of the word cussinus, coxinus (cushion). Cf. ESŁŚP, s.v.
cussinus; Du Cange 2, 603, s.v. coxinus. See also the image on 21v.
57
Auger drill or bung hole borer. Cf. Bartal Antal, Glossarium mediae et infimae latinitatis regni Hun-
gariae, (Budapest: MTA, 1901), 659.
58
Read ‘torculare’, wine press. Du Cange 8, 126, s.v. torculare.
59
Mast in Polish (maszt).
60
Cf. Avicenna, Liber canonis. De medicinis cordialibus. Et Cantica, ed. Benedictus Rinius (Venice:
apud Iuntas, 1555), 558v (558 F 8). (Libellus de medicinis cordialibus, tract. 1, cap. 5).
cuius evidenciorem tradicionem luculencioremque intelligenciam sunt considerandi

canones proficientes ad capiendum <proficientes>.
Primus canon. In secundo processu artis memorie sequitur qui dicitur mixtus, quod
volentes in hac arte proficere principaliter processum ac modum principalem sciencie
debent et eum memorie tenaciter commendare, ne oblito principali obliviscatur, et id
quod sequitur ex eo.
Secundus canon est: utens tali modo et processu memorie habeat loca recta ordine
sita in quibus locata reponet, formet et disponet tam litteris realibus quam personalibus.
Tercius canon quod in tali processu littera personalis in sua accione prima vel se-
cunda vel tercia vel quarta vel quinta litteris realibus permisceatur, in qua caracteres
reponere et collocare potest.
Quartus canon quod in tali processu littera personalis sive idolum cum suis carac-
teribus non permisceatur litteris realibus in quinto loco sequenti post eam immediate,
sed mediate et interlineatim.
Quintus canon quod in tali processu idolum sive littera personalis ponatur constan-
ter post quintum locum pro loco sexto. Et ita semper utatur in hoc processu idolis in
recto tramite. [22v (p. 44)]
Sextus canon quod cum perventum fuerit ad idolum in sexto loco situm litterisque
realibus permixtum, reponantur ibi caracteres in manibus, pedibus et capite tantum,
quantum idolum illud sive littera personalis capere potest.
Septimus canon quod terminando loca in idolo sive personali littera permixta litteris
realibus procedat item continuando loca alia quinque ordine recto et tramite usque ad 235
sextum locum exclusive, in quo utetur alia littera personali.
Octavus canon est quod in tali processu sive modo agendo non uno et eodem idolo
sive littera personali quis utatur in eodem actu ut in primo, sed mutato idolo debet
mutari et sua accio sive passio in tali loco sita alia et alia.
Nonus canon est littere reales et personales perfecte sciantur et intelligantur, quia
taliter promptitudo et facilior discursus in intellectu causantur in exercicium proceden-
tibus.
Decimus canon est quod huiusmodi littere reales vel personales dum quid quis tenaci
memoria retinere wult, servantur intacte et inviolate scilicet quod post reposicionem
sentenciarum vel capitulorum novi vel veteris testamenti in eisdem locis aliquid aliud
non reponatur ne varietas rei impediat stabilem et firmam memorie reposicionem.
Undecimus canon quod in quottacionibus serventur specialia loca et sentencie ido-
lorum cum signacionibus litterarum realium huiusmodi quottacionibus deserviencium
ut patet infra declarantibus.
Duodecimus canon est in processu quottarum quod memoriste non procedunt ultra
quantum ad numerum vicesimum in cuius numeri signacione ponitur littera realis V,
que significat numerum vicesimum. Alii autem procedunt usque ad XXI litteram que
est titellus et signat locum vicesimum primum.
Tercius decimus canon est in processu quotarum [!] quod qui wult ultra numerum
procedere per addicionem consonancium potest procedere, ut patet in corona gemina
vel straminea, que significant lilium etc. [23r (p. 45)]
Quartus decimus canon est in processu quottarum quod quotte signentur in [loc]is
coaptatis litteris realibus ad numerum centum adaptatis.
V[..] pa[..]bt[..]61 in processu quottarum numeri versus:
Laszka 62 1 corulus63
Kaczÿ nos 64
2 nasus anete vel ciconie
Swÿnÿ ogon 3 cauda scrophe
kÿelbodzeÿ65 4 farcimen
koszorz 5 traps66
kÿanka 6 vermis
Grokpha 67 7 tignum
Cathena 8 catena
vÿthka 68 9 resthis69
Nola70 10 oculus
[Images of pictorial numbers follow on the bottom of 23r and the top of 23v]
[23v (p. 46)]
11 manutergium dupl[ic]atum
12 biga
13 palus cum […]71
14 balista vexillum
15 […]
16 curvatura
236 17 vecte cum ffarra
18 calicem cum baculo
19 [empty]
Quintusdecimus canon est in processu quottacionum a numero digitto [!] qui est
notatus supra. Si procedatur ad quintum articulum, tunc ante quintam litteram numer-
um digittum designantem debet preponi corulus, sive kolumna [!], que addita cifre vel
numero digitto [!] faciet numerum articulum usque ad vicesimum numerum exclusive
ut patet supernis in numero articulo.
Sextusdecimus canon est in processu quottacionum a numero vicessimo usque ad
centum in locis ad hec specialiter deputatis debet preponi numerus digittus articulo cum
61
The ink from the other side of the folio has created a lacuna in the paper.
62
I.e., laska (rod).
63
I.e., corylus (common hazel).
64
Duck nose.
65
I.e., kiełbodziej (a tool for fi lling sausages); SS, 3, 275.
66
I.e., trabs, corrected from graps.
67
I.e., krokwa/krokiew (rafter, roof beam; cantherius); SS, 3, 388.
68
I.e., witka (withe; a tough supple twig, especially of willow, used for binding – here in the shape of
9); SS, 10, 240.
69
I.e., restis (thin rope).
70
I.e., bell, the symbol of the letter O.
71
The thick ink of the pictorial numbers has created a lacuna in the paper here and below.
oculo vel nola vel circulo, qui significabit numerum compositum, ut sic: 20, 30, 40, 50,
60, 70 etc. Et hec faciet litteris realibus etc.
Decimusseptimus canon est quod in numero composito columna vel manutherium
vel corulus preponatur numero articulo, qui causabit numerum compositum ut sic 11,
12, 13, 14, 15, etc., 21, 22, 23, etc. et ista formabit litteris realibus in suis locis aptis.
[f. 24r (p. 47) figure of Christ – see Pl. 6.]
Statim. Abraham Abacuk
Inpendium, i.e. sedulus, intentus vel eciam studium vel expensa dicitur.
Iudicium Suspendium, i.e. elevacio intencionis ad deum
Scilicet: Officium Scilicet: Stipendium, i.e. lucrum precium fructus laboris
Vicium Excidium, i.e. ruina destruccio
Supplicium Studium, i.e. vehemens applicacio animi ad
aliquod peragendum summa voluntate. Unde studere i.e. operam dare vacare, dis-
cere, invigilare.
Ieremie 26. Bonas facite vias vestras et studia vestra per vias,72 secundum Greg.
xxi Moralium intelliguntur acciones. Unde Iob 3.1. Nonne ipse considerat vias meas
et cunctos gressus meos divinatur, i.e. profectus meritorum novit gressuum suorum.73
Disciplina
Doctrina
Cantilena
Corona 237
Pena
Carrena, i.e. publica premia
Versus: Sunt fastidia tedia, sed fastigia celsa.74
Fastidium, i.e. superbia vel tedium
Scilicet: Fastigium, i.e. summitas, altitudo, honor, culmen
Vestigium, i.e. signum
Refugium, i.e. auxilium
Privilegium, i.e. privata lex vel honor summus
Crather aureus, tuba lumen
[f. 24v (p. 48) figure of a seating Devil: for a reproduction, see Pl. 7. ]
Augustinus in sermone de conuersione Sancti Pauli de mercede v ait: opus cum fine
merces sine fine, nam operarius deficeret in via, nisi attenderet, quid accepturus esset.75
72
Jr 26:13.
73
Job 31:4.
74
Cf. Die Vokabulare von Fritsche Closener und Jakob Twinger von Königshofen: überlieferungsgeschichtliche
Ausgabe, ed. Klaus Kirchert et al., (Tübingen: Niemeyer, 1995), Vol. 1, 538. Similar verses occur in many
collections of versus diff erentiales. See Pierluigi Licciardello, “Guglielmo Gallico umanista aretino del
secolo XV. Con edizione del Liber Sancti Donati e delle Diff erentiae,” Studi medievali 45 (2004), 1034.
75
Aug. Sermo 189, 5, PL 39; 2100. This sermon is a compilation from two other sermons of Augustinus.
Cf. Aug., Enarrationes in psalmos, 36, serm. 2., 16 (PL 36, 372), but there the text reads “deficeret in
vinea”, instead of via.
Ideo Iaco. primo: omne gaudium, id est premium et perfeccionem existimate, id est
intelligite, fratres mei, ut cum intententaciones varias, etc.76 Et Gregorius consideracio
premii minuit vim flagelli.77
Quibus gloria et gaudium accidentale quottidie crescit ad finem mundi, habetur in
hoc versu:78
Ordo docet templa li calx, crux ex puer hospi
[ordo:] sanctorum quemquis instituit sanctus Franciscus
[docet:] doctores predicatores virtute
[templa:] quod edificaret oratoria
[li:] libros, missalia, originalia [?]
[calx:] calices, campane, ampule, pelle
[crux:] crucifi xi in strata vel templo
[ex:] noui modi vestimentorum exempla bona, sic ut luceat lux viam
[puer:] circa pueros inserantur [?] scolares
[hospi:] qui hospitalia edificavit
Elizeus Elias [top of the head]
Tribulum [right hand]
Pigmentum [right foot]
Purpura [left foot]79
Preconium, id est laudis animaduersio
Patrocinium, id est defensio
238 Scilicet, Suffragium, id est auxilium obsequium subdium80 et proprie dicitur ora-
cio sanctorum ad deum
Refugium, id est tutela, securitas, adiutorium
Exterminium, id est desolacio, eieccio vel exilium
Statura, id est status hominis
Iactura, id est damnum sciencium vel hominum laudacio
Structura, id est edificia, posessiones
Cultura, id est ornacio, veneracio, dileccio, habitacio
Mensura, id est iudicium, vigor, seueritas, mensura vindicta, potestas summa, decus
Figura, est filius dei ad Ebreos I, qui cum sit splendor.81
Sensus misticus omnia in figura contemplat ille
76
Jm 1,2.
77
Th is sentence was ascribed to Gregory, cf. Johannes Bromiardus, Summa praedicantium omni
eruditione refertissima. Vol. 2. (Venetiis: apud Dominicum Nicolinum, 1586), f. 242v. Also ascribed to
Augustine. Cf. Walther Proverbia nr 8324, 8341b, 30205; Johannes von Paltz, Werke 3. Opuscula. Ed.
by Christoph Burger. Vol. 3. (Spätmittelalter und Reformation, vol. 4). (Berlin: de Gruyter, 1989), 391
(and footnote 13).
78
Th is verse is otherwise not known.
79
Written in red ink.
80
I.e. subsidium.
81
Hb 1:3: “qui, cum sit splendor gloriae et figura substantiae eius et portet omnia verbo virtutis suae,
purgatione peccatorum facta, consedit ad dexteram maiestatis in excelsis.”
Qualitas membrorum in corpore vel Christo

Protraccio littere vel vicium cum racione excusabile locucione vel quodam
modo
Meritum, id est lucrum vel precium
Scilicet, Delictum vel detrimentum
Tormentum
Documentum
Incrementum emolumentum
Perlamentum, id est colloquium vel querimonia vel conuocaciones domi-
norum
[f. 25r (p. 49) figure of a kneeling Devil, for a reproduction, see Pl. 8.]
Affectus, id est finis vel intencio, unde Ambrosius dicit: aff ectus tuus nomen operi tuo
imponit,82 scilicet in bonis operibus, tantum et non in malis vel affectus dicitur affeccio
vel laceratus, maceratus, tormentizatus.
Beneficium
Scilicet, Exercicium
Precium, id est premium
Exicium, id est supplicium
Pantheon [head of the devil], tormentum [on the top of the page]83
Affectus
Scilicet, Effectus, id est finis rei aut quid a causa efficitur, ut dies est effectus solis, 239
simili medicina est effectiua sanitatis
Intellectus, quasi intus lectus. Et capitur intellectus improprie pro intel-
ligencia
siue pro intelligibilitate solius dei unde Plato dicit intellectus solius dei est et
admodum paucorum hominum.84 Et Psalmista: intelectus bonus omnibus
facientibus,85 cum reliquis, dicitur illud Iacobi 4: scienti bonum facere et non
facienti peccatum.86
Defectus, id est destruccio
id est delinquere vel defectum pati
id est deficere vel deesse
82
Ambrosius Mediolanensis, De officiis, ed. Maurice Testard, (Turnhout: Brepols, 2000), 53 (CCSL
15). Book 1, ch. 147: “Adfectus tuus nomen imponit operi tuo”. (PL 16, 66.)
83
Both written in red ink.
84
Guillaume de Conches, Glosae super Platonem: texte critique, ed. Édouard Jeauneau, (Paris: Vrin,
1965), 102; in the Glosae super Platonis Timaeum 34: “quia, ut ait Plato, intellectus solius dei est et
admodum paucorum hominum.” Cf. Plat., Tim. 51E, and Plato Latinus, ed. R. Klibansky, Vol. 4.
Timaeus, a Calcidio translatus commentarioque instructus, ed. Jan Hendrik Waszink, 2nd ed., (London-
Leiden: Warburg-Brill, 1975), 50: “Intellectus vero Dei proprius et paucorum admodum lectorum
hominum.”
85
Ps 110:10: “Initium sapientiae timor Domini, intellectus bonus omnibus facientibus ea; laudatio
eius manet in saeculum saeculi.”
86
Jm 4,17: “Scienti igitur bonum facere et non facienti, peccatum est illi!”
Habitus, id est abilitas ad actum vel status vel voluntas vel appetitus,
siue passio huiusmodi
Scilicet, Actus, id est operacio vel opus
Profectus, id est itus vel utilitas
Situs, id est repausacio vel posicio vel ordinacio vel humor vel modus
vel
natura vel vetustas et longitudo temporis vel negligencia, que ex ve-
tustate
sequitur
Reatus, id est obligacio vel culpa vel pena
Et locus est superficies corporis continentis 4 Phisicorum ca. 1 et 387
Tempus
Fructus
Conuersio confessio
Scilicet, Extensio, id est extra tensio, explanacio vel defensio, sicut protensio
est proteccio
Intensio, id est auccio
Animaduersio, id est punicio vel pena
[f. 25v (p. 50)]
Et nota quod accepcio locorum generalium facillis est, cum ubique nobis occurrat,
ideo declaracione non indiget. Speciales autem loci accipiuntur ymaginarie intrando
240 aliquam civitatem aut realiter dum est in presencia civitatis vel monasterii ubi loca vel
locos wult comparare procedendo a parte sinistra usque dextram. Ita quod edificii in
parte sinistra valve aut porte debet primo pro loco speciali assumi vel recipi. Et secundum
edificium pro secundo et ita deinceps continenter procedendo usque ad locum quintum
inclusive. Et consignando semper locum quintum, decimum, quintumdecimum, XX,
usque ad centum procedendo et consignando continenter de quinto in quintum aliquo
signo reali. Videlicet quintum locum manu aurea, decimum cruce, quintumdecimum
manu argentea, vicessimum duplici cruce, vicessimum quintum pede aurea, tricessimum
cucula monachorum, tricesimum quintum pede argenteo, quadragessimum quadrato,
quadragessimum quintum manu Sancti Christophori, quinquagessimum signo Imperi-
ali, vel falce cum lapide molari, quinquagessimum quintum pede Sancti Christophori,
sexagessimum cucurbita cum lapide molari, sexagessimum quintum manu lignea, sep-
tuagessimum tigno cum lapide molari, septuagessimum quintum pede lign[e]o, octages-
simum cathena cum lapide molari, octagessimum quintum rastro aureo, nonagessimum
cambucca [!] cum lapide molari, nonagessimum quintum rastro ligneo, centessimum
falanga cum duobus lapidibus molaribus. Nam lapis molaris propter rotunditatem cifre
correspondet.
Singulares autem loci determinantur per angulos edificiorum ita quod in quatuor
angulis quatuor loca et in medio quintus, que pro sermonibus reponendis et diccionibus
sunt utiles, dum modo carecteribus [!] formabuntur seu carecterezabuntur [!]. Caracteres
87
Arist. Phys. 4, 1–3 (212a).
autem debent ordinari et poni in locis bene agentis ita quod aliquis eis volens uti, accipiat
duodecim pallacia, stubas, cameras vel ec<c>lesiam spaciosam in loco nativo, locando in
prima stuba primum quinarium, secundum in secunda, et consequenter procedendo, qui
carecteres [!] angulis aplicati [!] locos singulares carecterezatos [!] constituunt effectus,
qui ex litteris inicialibus suorum nominum et distincte secundum ordinem alphabeti,
ut signando primum locum ab A reinchoante nomen suum eciam ab A, secundum a B,
tercium a C, usque ad Y inclusive. Tamen propter maiorem certitudinem locus quintus
poterit signari modo immediate posito. Et hic est modus communis locos formandi.
Melius tamen fore arbitror loca singularia formari et distingui simulacrum significativis
et certas sentencias representantes,88 quia et rem perpetuo memorandam demonstrant
et [f. 26r, (p. 51)] ad usque quottidianos utilia erunt. Quibus aliquis volens uti recipiat
duas domos in villa vel civitate cognita ad maximum, aut tres ecclesias spaciosas sive
duas, et distingwat in locos singulares centum, signando semper locum de quinto in
quintum modo superius dicto. Sic eciam in qualibet camera sive stuba aut [h]ortulo si
necesse fuerit, quinque collocet.
Verba de A:
Azinus [!] in presepio
Aper silvestris cum libro
Ymago Virginis gloriose
Ymago angeli
Andreas tenens nomen Ihesu Christi scriptum aureis litteris <sc>
Capitulum II de B 241
Bartholomeus in corona aurea
Basilius cum scutella aureis plena
Bernardus in scapulis puerum baiulans
Bos infantes iugulans
Bernardinus gallum in manu portans X
Capitulum tercium de C
Corvus crocitans
Corvus cinctus zona aurea
Canis se in fonte lavans
Capra securim gestans
Columbale argenteum XV
Capitulum quartum de D
David cum sporta lapidum
Damma arborem ascendens
Daniel in cathedra ornata predicans
Dyabolus rethe portans
Dominicus cum naso preciso XX
Capitulum quintum de E
Equus cum capsa argentea
88
Read: representantibus.
Episcopus sal in manu levans

Edus89 cum lucerna
Equa alba occisa
Erasmus maxillam percuciens vel offerens XXV
Capitulum sextum de FF
Faber tubicinans
Fabianus orans
Felix cum velo Remigii
Fons auro plenus
Filomena librum ore tenens XXX
Capitulum VII de G
Gallea90 pipere repleta
Gradus aureus vel ex margaritis
Glis luccum91 vorans
Georgius portam auream tenens
Gregorius lupum excorians XXXV
Capitulum 8 de H
Hircus leprosum benedicens
Henricus armatus
Hedvigis in lecto scribtitans
Hamus in pisce
242 Herinacius in dolio immersus XL
Capitulum IX de I
Iacobus paraliticus in lecto
Ieronimus pecuniam numerans
Iohannes medicus
Idria sanguine plena
Ignacius cum palma XLV
Capitulum X de K
Kathedra92 aurea
Kathus cum reliquiis
Kapa monachi
Kavea passeribus plena
Kalix vino plenus LX93
Capitulum XI de L [f. 26v, (p. 52)]
Lupus in vinculis
Laurencius in veste muliebri
Lepores tripudiantes
89
I.e., haedus.
90
I.e., galea (helmet).
91
I.e., lucius (pike). Cf. ESŁŚP, s.v. luccus.
92
The letter K simply replaces C in the following words.
93
Scribal error for L.
Leo minas incuciens

Leonardus cathenam in collo gerens LXV
Capitulum XII de M
Mensa spicis plena
Manus sancti Christoferi
Mathias demonia eiciens
Matheus grandem piscem tenens
Mutus domum purgans LXX
Capitulum XIII de N
Navicula cum tritico
Nisus florem in rostro tenens
Nicolaus olera rigans
Navis piscibus plena
Nicolai sancti ymago cum nardo LXXV
Capitulum XIIII de O
Olla magna super quam caput Iohannis Baptiste
Ordeaci quinque panes
Organista stans nudis pedibus
Ortulus94 insignitus
Otto in veste imperiali LXXX
Capitulum XV de P
Pelvis argentea cum vino 243
Pulli in camera micas colligentes
Panis Lithwanus
Palus argenteus
Paulus rasus LXXXV
Capitulum XVI de Q
Quirinus cum signo
Quercus rubro aspersa vel sanguine
Quincianus armatus
Quintilianus cum libro causarum
Quadratus plunbeus [!] XC
Capitulum XVII de R
Rethe candidum
Rasor cum forpice
Raphael grana gluciens
Richardus cum hamo
Resurreccionis domini signum XCV
Capitulum XVIII de S
Scala argentea
Salomon cum lapide molari in collo
94
I.e., hortulus.
Samuel ovem portans

Samson cum mandibula azini
Scropha canem virga corrigens C
Capitulum XIX de T
Thaurus libellum tenens
Thomas castratus
Thabule lapide
Thimotheus episcopus docens
Titus in tunica sericea CV
Capitulum XX de V Vitus puer
Valentinus cum gladio
Vacca cum flagello
Ursus cum calice
Vulpes corizans
Et de his sanctus Thomas in quadam epistola ad fratrem studentem ait: Examina
teipsum, cum legis, et quantum tenere poteris, tantum lege, si vis memoriter tenere. Nam nec
legere multum prodest, nec intellegere. Si enim legimus multa, q[u]e tenere non possumus,
sive illa intelligamus, sive non, illorum non memorabimur, cum tenere et memorari idem
sunt.95 Et Seneca ait, ut cibus superfluus non nutrit, sed stomachum quodammodo fastidio
afficit, reliquum vero corpus aggravat atque infirmat. Ita multa rerum copia simul ingesta
memorie et facille [!] in presenti labitur et in futurum imbecilliorem vim reddit.96 Et ideo
244 poeta: Sumpta parum prodest, si evomitur esca.97 Sic leccio perit, quam oblivio tollit.
[f. 28r]
Haud ab re fore arbitror si preter maiorum consuetudinem que plurimis facilis que
plurimis seculis […] artis adminiculis indigens est. ut quod98
A sarra arta vel circulare vel scala99
B luthnya ignile
C babatum tuba
D caput bubali cum circulo in naso, urna
E cancer sine capite vel rotha vel sarra ligata
95
Cf. Hugo de Sancto Victore, Didascalicon: De studio legendi, ed. Charles Henry Buttimer (Washing-
ton, DC: Catholic University of America, 1939, 61 (book 3, ch. 12 de memoria).
96
Pier Paolo Vergerio, “De ingenuis moribus et liberalibus adulescentiae studiis liber,” in Humanist
educational treatises, ed. Craig W. Kallendorf (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2002), 60.
(Ch. 50.)
97
Cf. Geoff rey of Winchester, Epigrammata, 207, l. 5 (Intermittere philosophiam omittere est): “Sumpta
parum, prodest, quae mox emittitur esca.” Anglo-Latin Satirical Poets and Epigrammatists of the Twelfth
Century, ed. Thomas Wright, (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1872), Vol. 2., 137.
98
A later hand (not that of the scribe) has copied here the first ten lines of the art of memory from the
Artis oratorie epitomata, which proves the acquaintance of a reader of the manuscript with the treatise
of Jacobus Publicius.
99
The scribe of the treatise has copied here some of the items from the mnemonic list, probably as
a memory drill. Cf. above p. 233. The images here exactly correspond to the pictorial alphabet of Jacobus
Publicius. Cf. Jacobus Publicius, Artis oratorie epitomata (Venice: Erhard Ratdolt, 1482), H4v–H7v.
F spata vel clawa [illustration] talis

G serpens convolutus cum capite vel bazarÿa fistule
[I] columna vel piscis vel turris
L cracza vel securis
M corona vel tripes vel porta
N suspendium vel bubo100
O lapis molaris vel nola
P curvatura vel vexillum [f. 28v]
R forpices sartorice vel cleszcze
S farcimen in cusino vel tuba ductilis
T mal[l]eus vel terrebellum [!]
V homo habens pedes sursum vel <vel> torcular
X [illustration] vel navis cum masth
Diem D, septem FFque trionem
Deinde per alciora S, longumque per per101
Crux T distinguit L M N cornua variabit
Complices identidem media diversa ac varia finges
Argolicos enses, hiberaque tela.102
Gregorius Nazanzenus refert de Aristotele quod in Grecia circa Nigri pontem consid-
erans aque fluxum et refluxum, et non intelligens ex indignacione dixit aque: quia non
possum te comprehendere, tu me comprehendas. Et precipitans se in aqua submersus
est. Quidam magister Parisius post mortem apparuit discipulo cuidam in cappa, que 245
erat minutissimis litteris repleta, quod discipulus admirans quesivit quid esset hoc […]
bonis malisque accipiendum est.103
100
Male sex organs (cf. the pl. 9). ESŁŚP, s.v. bubo.
101
scribal error for ‘P’
102
On f. 19 v, the same verses appear. See above, p. 233.
103
Various notes, not connected to the art of memory.
6. [Jan Szklarek]: Opusculum de arte memorativa (1504)
Jan Szklarek (also known as Jan z Dobczyc, Ioannes de Dobczyce, Jan Vitreatoris,
Ioannes Vitreatoris, Jan Zasański, Jan of Trzemeśnia, or Jan of Cracow, c. 1450–1515)1
is the author of the first printed treatise on the art of memory in Poland. The earliest
information about Szklarek is from 1468, when he was registered in the Album studi-
osorum of the University of Cracow as Joannes Mathie de Trzemesznya,2 so he might
have been born around 1450. His father, Maciej a Glazier3 had eight children, and Jan
was the oldest. One of his brothers was Leonard (Leonardus de Dobczyce), who became
a professor, and one of the most famous astronomers at the University of Cracow at the
turn of the 15th and 16th century. Szklarek was awarded the baccalaureatus in 1471,4
and, he became a magister artium in 1474.5 Afterwards he started to hold lectures at the
University of Cracow, and c. 1476 he entered the Observant branch of the Franciscan
order (Ordo Fratrum Minorum Regulae Observantiae). There are traces which suggest
that Szklarek had been a secular priest before.6 Soon he was moved to the convent of 247
Poznań, and he became the master of novices in 1480. This would mean that he also
was a vicar of the Franciscan house Poznań, since the vicar regularly acted as the master
of novices in this period.7 The manual Summula aurea brevissima de profectu noviciorum
was written around that time for the novices. He was elected “discretus provinciae”, the
representative of the province at the General Chapter in September 1486.8 He might have
been a guardian (guardianus) of the convent of Poznań before, because as a provincial
1
See Wójcik, Opusculum, 87–88 and 97–105; Kamil Kantak, “Sylwetki bernardynów poznańskich.
Jan Szklarek,” [Silhouettes of Observants from Poznań], Kronika Miasta Poznania 6 (1928); Helena
Friedberg, “Rodzina Vitreatorów (Zasańskich) i jej związki z Uniwersytetem Krakowskim na przełomie
XV i XVI w.,” [The Vitreator family and their relations to the University of Cracow in the late 15th and
16th centuries], Biuletyn Biblioteki Jagiellońskiej, vol. 18 (1966), Nr 1, 19–37; eadem, “Jan Vitreatoris z
Trzemeśni”, PSB 10, 485–487.
2
AS 1, 193.
3
Mentioned in Mikołaj of Szadek, Iudicium astrologicum anni 1525 (Cracow: Florian Ungler, 1525
and Hier. Vietor, 1525), following: Friedberg, “Rodzina Vitreatorów” (cf. note 1), 19.
4
Statuta nec non liber promotionum philosophorum ordinis in Universitate Studiorum Jagiellonica
1402–1849. Ed. by Jan Muczkowski (Cracow: typis Universitatis, 1849), 71.
5
Ibid., 75–76.
6
Lucas Wadding, Annales Minorum seu trium ordinum a s. Francisco institutorum (Quaracchi: Frati
Editori, 1933), Vol. 15, 561.
7
Kantak, „Sylwetki,” (cf. note 1) 316–317.
8
See: Friedberg, “Jan Vitreatoris,” (cf. note 1) 485–487.
he demonstrated a deep knowledge of the archives in Poznań, and it is known that the
guardians (guardiani) used to deal with the archives.9
There is no evidence about Szklarek’s life in the period between the provincial chap-
ter kept in Warsaw in 1487 and the provincial chapter in Cracow (October 1493), when
he was elected provincial.10 He performed this function till June 1496.11 Similar to
Antoni of Radomsko and Stanisław Korzybski, Szklarek was a lector of the province of
Małopolska (provincia Poloniae Minoris) for a while.12 He was again elected vicarius pro-
vinciae in 1499. He resigned from this post at the provincial chapter in Kobylin in 1502.
Jan Szklarek was a theologian and an expert of canon law, and he had a major role
in the disputes about the rebaptism of Ruthenians. Szklarek opted for the resolutions of
the Council of Florence, which opposed second baptism, and he maintained his point of
view.13 By order of Giacomo da Mantova, the secretarius generalis of the Observant Fran-
ciscans, Szklarek went to Wrocław in 1503 to negotiate some debated questions with the
Czech province.14 He was certainly in Cracow between 1503 and 1504, as the Opusculum
de arte memorativa was written in the Observant house in Stradom (Cracow) in 1503, and
it was printed in Caspar Hochfeder’s printing house in 1504.15 He spent the end of his
life in the convent of Poznań, as the first lector of speculative theology at the College of
Theology in Poznań, which had been founded in 1509.16 He appeared as a plenipotenti-
ary in an action of treasure of Helen (1476-1513), the dowager after the king Alexander
Jagiellon (1461-1506).17 It is the last case with the mention that Jan Szklarek participated
in. He died on 18th October 1515, when pestilence ravaged the city, and he was buried in
248 the church of St. Mary Magdalene (the church burnt down in the 18th century).
Jan Szklarek was an excellent preacher, and he preached both in Latin and Polish,18
but unfortunately no written sermon collection could be ascribed to him yet. Three of
his treatises survive today: the Summula aurea brevissima de profectu noviciorum, the De
calicibus, and the Opusculum. The Summula is a manual for novices, which he wrote
9
Kantak, “Sylwetki,” (cf. note 1) 317. See also Kamil Kantak, “Kronika bernardynów poznańskich,”
[Chronicle of the Observants in Poznań] Kronika Miasta Poznania 3 (1925): 203 (with a list of guardians
and superiors of the Poznań house).
10
Jan z Komorowa, Memoriale Ordinis Fratrum Minorum a Fratre Joanne de Komorowo, ed. Xaverius
Liske and Antonius Lorkiewicz (Lwów: nakładem własnym, 1886), 263.
11
12
Norbert Golichowski, Przed nową epoką. Materiały do historii OO. Bernardynów w Polsce [Before the
new age. Sources for the history of the Observants in Poland] (Cracow: Redakcja Glosu św. Antoniego
z Padwy, 1899), 201–202.
13
Jan Garbacik, “Aleksander Jagiellończyk,“ PSB 9, 359–362.
14
15
Szklarek, Opusculum, f. c1v.
16
Kronika poznańska o. Jana Kamieńskiego, transl. Pius Turbański, in: Kroniki Bernardynów poznańskich
[Chronicles of the Observants in Poznań], (Poznań: Wydawnictwo Miejskie, 2002), 99; Czesław
Bogdalski, Bernardyni w Polsce 1453–1530 [Observants in Poland, 1453–1530] (Cracow: sumptibus
Provinciae, 1933), Vol. 1., 353.
17
Jan z Komorowa, Memoriale (cf. note 10), 308–310.
18
Ianociana 2, 79: ab anno MCCCCLXXXI usque ad annum MDIII, in templo coenobii Cracoviensis,
diebus dominicis festisque, de rebus divinis, conciones ad populum Polonico sermone habuit.
while he was a master of novices in Poznań.19 As a provincial of the Polish Observant

province, he published a short treatise De calicibus, in which he discussed the use of
precious chalices and ostensories.20 He displayed an excellent knowledge of Canon law
in this text, which we have already seen also in the case of rebaptism of Ruthenians,
and a short mnemonic verse of five lines comprised the most important rules which
should lead a life of the friars.21 However, the most important work written by Szklarek
is Opusculum de arte memorativa, printed in quarto (ff. 20, a-b8, c4)22 as an anonymous
work in the printing house of Kasper Hochfeder in Cracow in 1504.23 Because of its 44
woodcuts, it is considered as the earliest extensively illustrated book printed in Poland.
Woodcuts appear on leaves a7r-b2v (mnemonic alphabet) and b7r-b8v (mnemonic numbers).
There are two variants of this print, marked as A and B. They differ from each other in
the woodcut depicting the scythe (f. a8r), as the blade of the scythe is turned upwards in
variant A, and downwards in variant B. The name of the wood engraver is not known.
[a1r]
Opusculum de arte memorativa longe utilissimum, in quo studiosus lector tam
artificialibus preceptis, quam naturalibus medicinalibusque documentis24 memoriam
suam adeo fovere discet, ut quecunque vel audita vel lecta illi commendaverit tamquam
in cella penaria diutissime conservaturus sit.
Ad turbam scholasticam et litterarie supellectilis amatricem.
Accipias leta prestantem fronte libellum,
Unde sinu pleno grandia dona feres.
Nam mandare docet memori te plurima menti, 249
Nature largas deinde ministrat opes,
Ergo age, si dura est tibi mens aut lubrica multum,
Que prehendisse potest vel tenuisse nihil.
Huc ades, ut tristi capias medicamina morbo,
Munera ne desint grata Polymnie.25
Impressum Cracoviae MDIIII
19
Known from two manuscripts, see: Friedberg, “Rodzina Vitreatorów”, 23.
20
Kantak, „Sylwetki bernardynów”, 326–327.
21
These verses survived on the first folio recto of incunabulum Anima fidelis (Lyon: Ioannes de Vingle,
19 I 1497/98); preserved in Biblioteka i Archiwum Prowincji OO. Bernardynów in Cracow (shelfmark:
Ink. XV-26); see Kamil Kantak, “Z poezji bernardyńskiej w. XV i XVI,” [From Observant poetry in
the 15th and 16th century], Pamiętnik Literacki 28 (1931): 417.
22
Known copies: Cracow, BJ, Cim. 4068, Cim. 5454; Warsaw, Biblioteka Narodowa, BN.XVI.
Qu.270 (variant A), BN.XVI.Qu.887; Wrocław, Biblioteka Ossolińskich, XVI.Qu.3407 (variant A);
Cracow, Muzeum Narodowe, Oddział Czapskich, XVI.821; Biblioteka Kórnicka, Cim. Qu.2006; Bu-
dapest, OSZK, Ant. 4722., Harvard Library, Houghton Collection, *ZPC D6518 504o, and London,
BL, Cnp. 407. Two copies of the book are noted in the libraries of the Seminary in Włocławek and
Płock. The variant B can be found in Würzburg, UL, I.t.q. 245.
23
Polonia typographica saeculi sedecimi, ed. Alodia Kawecka-Gryczowa, part 1: Kaspar Hochfeder
1503–1505, ed. K. Piekarski, M. Blońska, (Wrocław: Ossolineum, 1968), 28.
24
Szklarek refers here to an excerpt from Arnold de Villa Nova’s work, which has been added to the
end of the Opusculum.
25
Polyhymnia, the Muse of sacred poetry was identified with Mnemosyne because of her great memory.
[a1v] Artem memorativam, que procedit per loca, litteras reales, personales caracteres,
imagines et ydola, instigatus prelati26 obedientia ac fratrum ordinis instantia legi in loco
nostro sancti Bernardini Cracoviensi, in ecclesia, ubi aderant aliqui doctores, magistri
plurimi et multitudo studentium. Et hoc quanto brevius, quanto levius et simplicius
potui, quod etiam profecerant et pueri, quamvis tempus breve habui propter capitulum
instans ordinis, ad quod iturus eram.27 Et pronunciavi eam verbis planis, plus attendens
fructum quam verborum ornatum, plus utilitatem quam curiositatem preseferens. Cuius
fructum ego expertus sum a vigintiduobus annis, quotidianis more ordinis occupatus
sermonibus ad populum, quolibet festo bis. Et alij in me experti sunt. Et hec causa fuit
tercia qua permotus fueram legere hanc artem publice, instigatio et ardens desiderium
Universitatis Cracoviensis plurimorum studentium. Quarta sciverant nonnulli, quia
etiam publice eam28 resumpsi in Collegio Iuristarum, antequam ingressus fueram or-
dinem Sancti Francisci de observancia, circa annum Domini millesimum quadringen-
tesimum septuagesimum sextum. De hac igitur arte, si quis proficiet, Deum laudet, si
aliqua minus bene posita sunt, pie castiget et pro me Deum exoret.
[a2r] [T]ransite ad me omnes. Ecclesiasticus XXIIII.29 Et canitur in misse principio de
nostra Domina in hac Visitationis octava.30 Anno salutis 1503. Que verba possunt dicere
primo eterna sapientia, id est donum sapientie, qua nihil utilius. Sapientiae VII. Quia
omnium bonorum mater est, qua, qui usi sunt, participes facti sunt amicitie Dei.31 Secun-
do, divina clementia, a qua omne datum optimum et omne donum perfectum. Jacobus I.32
Tercio, Virgo Maria, quia de ipsa canuntur hec verba, que dicit hodie, in me omnis gratia.
250 Ad quam dicamus illud pulcrum verbum: Festina miseris misereri Virgo Beata. Nam te,
si recolis miseri fecere beatam. Ergo bea homines, quorum te causa beavit.33 Quarto, hec
verba possunt dicere Memoria: Transiste ad me, etc., quia sum utilis, delectabilis omni-
bus studiosis, prout patebit. Quinto, possunt ea dicere inopia et insufficientia eius hodie
Transite ad me omnes, qui vultis aliquid scire de memoria artificiali, de qua non avaricia
vel vana gloria ductus aliqua dicere proposui, sed paterna obedientia, quia prelatus ius-
sit. Materna etiam benivolentia propter universitatem, que nunc lectore caret.34 Fraterna
quoque instantia fratrum, videlicet ordinis. Item extrema indigentia, quia studentium,
26
Łukasz of Rydzyna (Observant provincial in Poland in 1503–1504) or Stanisław of Słapy, Szklarek’s
friend, who took up this office after Szklarek in 1502.
27
Th is refers to the chapter of 1502. Moreover, by order of Giacopo da Mantova, Szklarek had to
negotiate with the Czech province in Wrocław.
28
Misprinted as publiceaem.
29
Sir 24:26: Transite ad me, omnes qui concupiscitis me, et a generationis meis implemini.
30
Visitationis octave felt on the 9th August (a holiday Visitationis Mariae felt on the 2nd July).
31
Sap 7:14: Infinitus enim thesaurus est hominibus; quo qui usi sunt, participes facti sunt amicitiae Dei,
propter disciplinae dona commendati.
32
Jac 1:17: Omne datum optimum, et omne donum perfectum desursum est, descendens a Patre luminum,
apud quem non est transmutatio, nec vicissitudinis obumbratio.
33
Cf. Albertus Magnus, De laudibus B. Mariae virginis libri XII, in: Opera omnia Alberti Magni, ed.
Augustus and Aemilius Borgnet, (Paris: Ludovicus Vives, 1898), 238 (IV, 23).
34
Perhaps Szklarek refers to the period between Celtis’s departure (1491) and the second arrival of
Thomas Murner (1506).
qui sitiebant eam. Superna insuper confidentia, quia Deus adiuvabit et premiabit. In qua
non magister vester esse volo sed condiscipulus et fidelis socius, quam rogo non emendet
nisi doctior et benivolus corrector. Naturalem phisicis relinquam, excepto hoc, quod eam
destruit: intemperantia, violentia in discendo, negligentia, indecentia ordinis, quando
nihil ordinate discit vel secundum eam nihil ordinate ponit, impotentia seu infirmitas
spiritualis, vero que fit per ferventiam, id est per devotas orations, eucharistiam, id est
missas speciales, obedientiam, quia rectificatur anima per eam, sicut infecta est per
inobientiam, et devotis datur et eisdem relinquitur. Nunc redeamus ad artificialem, de
qua possumus dicere hec verba que ponuntur secunde Petri primo: memoriam facia-
tis35 cuius hodie facimus octavam, ubi textus ponit: Administret scientiam, scilicet prius
memorista quid enim recordabitur scientia carens, ergo est una regula necessaria. Qui
multa vult scire, multa recolere, multa discat. Idem ibidem: Administret virtutem, id est
discat scientiam et memoriam scilicet, ut bonus sit, quia et sibi et alijs bonus erit. Qui
vero ut solum doceat propter vanam gloriam discit, nec sibi nec alijs fructum generabit.
Hec ex tractatu De imitatione Christi.36 Talibus non libenter hanc artem dicerem, quia
eos ad damnationem magis promoverem, malis enim omnia cooperantur ad malum sicut
bonis in bonum. Nos vero memoriam faciamus discendo, scribendo, scientias reponendo,
docendo, predicando. Ad laudem Dei Omnipotentis et eius gloriose Matris, ad nostrum
et aliorum profectum et perbenigne gaudium. Amen.
[a2v] Prosequendo igitur propositum memoriam faciamus considerando quinque. Et
circa quodlibet quinque, et erit finis.
1 Fructum preciosum; 251
2 Stilum copiosum;
3 Nodum tediosum;
4 Locum spaciosum;
5 Modum speciosum.
Circa primum, id est fructum preciosum, quinque verba notabimus, quia hanc artem
habens:
1 Breviori tempore recipit;
2 Pauciori opere imprimit;
3 Memorabilia Clariori sidere inspicit;
4 Tuciori iter procedit, id est itinere;
5 Fortiori robore recolit.
35
2Ptr 1:15: Dabo autem operam et frequenter habere vos post obitum meum, ut horum memoriam faciatis.
36
These words were taken in fact not from Thomas a Kempis’ treatise, but from Guillelmus Wheatley
[Ps.-Thomas Aquinas], Expositio in Boethii De consolatione Philosophiae, Editio Parmensis, Vol. 24,
1869, I, 8: “Hic Boetius respondet objectioni: posset enim philosophia sibi objicere dicendo: quale
praemium debuisti reportare, cum tu non studuisti propter commune bonum sed propter vanam
gloriam et propter propriam utilitatem?” Following: http://www.corpusthomisticum.org/xbc1.html
(accessed on 5.5.2015.).
Circa secundum, scilicet stilum copiosum quintupliciter proceditur in hac arte:

1 Prolongando et dilatando;
2 Breviando et constringendo;
3 Dimittendo et relinquendo;
4 Quinque etiam Complectendo et ponderando;
5 Moderando et resoluendo, nihil de necessariis
omittendo et que parum prosunt curiosis
relinquendo.
Circa tercium scilicet nodum tediosum, id est difficultates, propter quas
multi retrahuntur ab hac arte, propter quinque:
1 Primo propter informantem, si graviter infideliter procedit aut modum tradendi
nescit;
2 Secundo propter addiscentem, quia aut durus aut incurabilis, pluribus occupatus;
3 Tercio propter continentem, id est propter locum vel loca, quia non secundum
artem capiuntur;
4 Quarto propter retrahentem aliquem vel qui artem odit vel ei non sapit, aliis etiam
exosam reddit et infatuationem adducit ex ipsa fore propinquam;
5 Quinto propter regulantem, quia secundum aliquos regule minus utiles multipli-
cantur, quibus facte graves et insipide perdunt postea eis appetitum et sic dimittunt
perutilem fructum et tales dicuntur delicati in studio, qui nolunt aliquod per[a3r]
peti. Et bonum est, quod displicet malis, quia per eam essent priores inflati, su-
252 perbi, postea vicio luxurie maculati, ut dicit Gregorius in Moralibus:37 Digno Dei
iudicio agitur, ut qui per superbiam ad sublimia elevatur, et vult esse apud omnes
gloriosus, ut per luxuriam in ima cadat et fit apud omnes contumeliosus et postea forte
indurati non resurgent et sic est melius eis, qui hanc artem exosam habent.
Circa quartum, scilicet locum spaciosum et iste conditiones locorum diligenter noten-
tur, que sunt bis quinque, quemlibet articulum duplicando et sic erunt quasi viginti.
Sed prius locum distinguendo, quia quidam locus est generalis, ut civitas, claustrum,
ecclesia, domus. Quidam specialis, ut officine, camere in claustris et in bursis. Altaria,
forme, anguli in templis. Quidam vero singularis, ut in cameris mense, ciste, tece et alia
ibi contenta. Quidam singularissimus, ut quindecim modi ad hoc distincti, de quibus
dicetur postea.
Directus vel curvatus; I
Sit locus in Rotundus vel quadratus; II
hac arte preser- Coniunctus vel translatus; III
tim specialis Nudatus vel signatus; IIII
Non serenus nec opacus. V
37
Cf. Although Szklarek refers to the Moralia in Iob of Gregory the Great, the quotation cannot be
found there. It is close to Gregory, super Cant. canticorum I, 13: “Ne ergo dum cognoscit secreta Dei
unusquisque, dum occulta iudicia rimatur, dum ad sublimia contemplationis attollitur, extollatur et in
superbiam dilabatur, regis dicitur cubiculum intrare; id est, cui tanto maior reverentia exhibenda est,
quanto magis anima ad cognoscenda eius secreta ducitur.”
Alie conditiones quinque etiam notentur bene.

Cognitus non ignotus; I
Firmatus non mutatus; II
Extensus non constrictus; III
Sit locus Remotus non propinquus; IIII
Unicus vel plicatus, unicus, id est unam vel V
nullam in se habens materiam non est bonus,
nisi caractarisetur.
Circa quintum, scilicet circa modum speciosum procedendi in hac arte compendiosis-
sime:
I Primo per membranas virtuales, id est per loca, que sunt
velut papirus vel pargamenum seu carta;
II Secundo per litteras personales, que habent magnam efficatiam in hac arte;
III Tercio per figuras ideales, id est per idola seu imagines veras vel fictas;
IIII Quarto per regulas speciales;
V Quinto per cautelas singulares.
Circa primum, istas facere oportet admodum cartarum in qua[a3v]ternis vel sexternis,
debet enim ibi esse papyrus probata, ligata, lineata, ornata, eleganter arata, diligenter
et valenter. Unde sicut indecenter papyrum componens et evasive, stricte, penna mala
et parvula scribens non proficit, quia hoc, quod scribit, nec ipsum nec alium legere
delectabit, cito fastidiet, quia animus noster pulcris libenter occupatur. Scribatis igitur 253
artem et loca disponatis, que erunt ut papirus in hac arte cum efficatia, id est bene,
cum prudentia, id est caute discrete, cum diligentia, id est compte, lete, prompte, cum
decentia, id est pulchre, cum distantia, id est ample.
Circa secundum. Vocantur littere per personales quinque nominibus.
Primo littera personalis, quia melius homo ponitur, qui est persona circa locum,
plus enim ex eo et circa ipsum accipimus ad propositum memorie, quam ex alia re,
quamvis38 etiam et alie res possunt esse littere personales. Secundo vocantur caracter
vulgariter znamÿa [=znamię] vel pÿathno [=piętno], quia caracter dat notitiam animalis,
sic noster caracter signat locum et locus nocior erit. Tercio differentiatur, per caracteres
diversos differunt equi et animalia, sic loca nostra facient differre tales littere person-
ales et vocabuntur diferenciatores, qui et numerum ostendent loci faci[l]lime, non sic
quidam faciunt signando semper locum quintum, nos signabimus solum vigesimum
et procedemus per vigenas,39 ubi necesse erit scire distancias inter litteras40 sive quota
est unaqueque in ordine alphabeti, sic statim in prima vigena. In secunda cognoscet
similiter premittendo vigenam primam addendo numerum secunde vigene. Similiter
in tercia vigena presupponendo duas, que faciunt quadraginta in tercia vigena iterum
considerando numerum littere et addendo ad numerum premissum scilicet quadraginta.
Et sic consequenter ad centum et ultra.
38
Misprinted as qnamvis.
39
Vigena – a mnemonic unit containing 20 elements.
40
Cf. Rhet. ad Her. 3, 32.
Nota bene sit quaternus vel sexternus alter, habens in se multas notas litteras per-
sonales et cum notis nominibus vel cognominibus et quidam multas de A, multas de B,
similiter. Et sic de omnibus usque ad V.
Custos vocatur quarto, quia locum custodit quod pretermitti non potest. Exemplum:
Si dico Andreas, Bartholomeus, Clemens, Dorothea, Franciscus statim considero, quia
omisi unum [a 4r] scilicet E - Erasmum vel Elisabeth et sic pauso circa illa duo loca, ubi
est Dorothea et Franciscus, donec invenio illum omissum. Et sic in omni loco. Quinto
potest vocari artifex vel servus, quia quicquid mandaverit ei memorista, omnia faciet,
ipse circa se, circa sua, circa locum et circa loci circumstantias aget infinita consideratus
sub his actibus, scilicet stando, sedendo, flectendo, prostratus, supinatus.
Circa tercium, scilicet figuras vel formas ideales, et vocantur idola vel simulacra sive
similitudines rerum aliquarum, que possunt se habere in quintuplici differentia.
Primo rerum horribilium, ut tempore Herodis, quando misit interficere pueros ex
tortore, faciemus ydolum sic:
I Gladium teneat dextra manu;
II Galeam habeat in capite;
III Puerum confossum in sinistra;
IIII Puerum alium occisum sub pede sinistro;
V Pedem dextrum cum vulnere facto ab hoste41 vel cane.
Secundo rerum delectabilium. Exemplum: Amicus suscipiens amicum in domum offert:

254 I Dextra manu vinum;
II In capite habet sertum;
III In sinistra manu pullum assum;
IIII In pede sinistro calcar aureum;
V In pede dextro vel prope canem pulcrum parvulum.
Tercio componibile, id est mixtum, hoc est partim delectabile, partim horribile,
ut de sancta Katherina42 in:
I In manu dextra spatam;
II In capite coronam;
III In manu sinistra rotam;
IIII In pede sinistro calceum deauratum;
V In pede dextro calceum racamatum,43 id est cum auro serico et gemmis factum.
[a 4v] Quarto mirabile. Exemplum de femina, que habeat:

I In manu dextra gladium;
II In capite galeam;
III In sinistra manu scutum;
41
Misprinted as hospite.
42
Saint Catherine of Alexandria († ca 307/312) was often depicted with a crown and a wheel. Cf.
Chritine Walsh, The cult of St. Katherine of Alexandria in early Medieval Europe. Church, Faith and
Culture in the Medieval West (Burlington, VT: Ashgate Publishing Company, 2007).
43
Embroidery, see Du Cange 7, 3.
IIII In ocrea pes sinister;

V Cum calcari pes dexter.
Quinto rerum possibilium cum manu fracta vel manca vel anulata, id est cum anulis,
aut cirotecata, capite ornato vel raso, pede ulcerato, rostrato,44 nudo vel claudo, et quanto
mirabilius, tanto erit memorabilius. Si quis vult habere sextum45 locum, potest ordinari
circa cingulum, circa bursam vel peram in medio hominis. Quamvis melius per quinque
loca propter numerum, quia duo idola faciunt decem et quatuor idola faciunt XX. Et
sic consequenter.
Sicut multiplicavimus locum singularem per specialissimos, ita possumus multiplicare
aliis modis loca singularissima et possunt fieri XV modi.
Primo per modum hominis, ut patuit in quinque idolis, in quo possunt esse loca
quinque vel sex vel decem;
II Per modum animalis tria vel quatuor aut quinque;
III Per modum arboris tria;
IIII Per modum banci tria in uno, sex in duobus novem in tribus, sicut esse potest in
balneo;
V Per modum quadrati quatuor vel quinque vel sex;
VI Per modum circuli quatuor vel quinque;
VII Per modum semicirculi tria vel quatuor;
VIII Per modum celi tria quatuor vel quinque;
IX Per modum terre sursum tendendo similiter tres quatuor vel quinque; 255
X Per modum scale simple tria loca;
XI Per modum scale duplex46 possunt esse quinque loca;
XII Per modum mense quatuor vel quinque aut decem, in quolibet cornu mense
unum, in medio quintum. Si autem volumus decem habere, imaginemur sedentes
circa mensam vel ad latera mense vel ad cornua et sub men[sa sit canis;
XIII Per modum gradus, sicut per modum scale;
XIIII Per modum currus quatuor vel quinque;
XV Per modum are sicut patuit de modo quadrati.
[a5r] Circa quartum, scilicet regulas speciales, que erunt quinque ad quas possunt reduci
alie:
I Processionis;
II Extractionis;
III Coniunctionis;
IIII Positionis;
V Formationis.
44
I.e., equipped with a bow. Szklarek might refer to the fashionable pointed shoes of 15th century, the
calceus rostratus. See Maria Gutkowska-Rychlewska, Historia ubiorów [History of clothing] (Wrocław:
Ossolineum, 1968), 296–297.
45
Misprinted as sexum.
46
Printed as duple&.
Circa primam, scilicet processionis, que procedit qinque modis, quod diligenter est
considerandum:
I Primo inchoando;
II Secundo dividendo;
III Tercio confingendo;
IIII Quarto similando;
V Quinto coniungendo.
Circa primum quando volumus reponere aliquam dictionem in aliquo loco, si difficile
est eam ponere per se, quia vel res magna vel accidens vel invisibilis.
Exemplum, ubi potest dictio poni per se, ut amphora, baculus, cristallus etc.
Exemplum secundi, ut quia ipsa res est magna, ut civitas, silva, campus et locus
noster est parvus.
Exemplum de tercio, scilicet de accidente, ut risibile loco cuius pono hominem
ridentem.
Exemplum quarti, scilicet de re invisibili, ut est angelus, anima, tunc querimus
aliquam rem sive substantiam, que faciliter et commode potest poni in illo loco, que sic
suum incipit nomen, sicut illa dictio, quamquam memorari volumus.
Exemplum pro re magna, ut civitas, ponimus ciconiam, cinerem vel cistam, que
omnes incipiunt illomodo sicut civitas. Pro silva siliginem, silicem. Pro campo cam-
bucam, camisiam. Pro angelo pono amphoram, Annam, anulum. Pro anima anisium,
256 animal notum vel potius cuius nomen nescitur.
Circa secundum proceditur dividendo, scilicet si dictio longa difficilis, quam memo-
rari volo, dividitur per sillabas et cuilibet res sillabe detur faciliter reponibilis, sic incipi-
ens nomen suum, sicut illa sillaba. Exemplum zophista, signetur prima sillaba sona,47
secunda filis, tercia statera, stamine tele vel stanno.[a5v]
Circa tercium, scilicet confingendo nomen ex re, sicut sunt nomina onomathopeie,
ut fit flagello, quo porcello, qua aneta, cras, corvo.
Circa quartum similando et, si non recte sicut incipit illa res, quam ponimus pro
dictione nostra, quam memorari volumus sed prope sic sonat, ut pro salus potest poni
palus, pro murmurator lapidem marmor.
Circa quintum, scilicet coniungendo, sicut opifici vel artifici instrumentum, ef-
fectum, materiam circa quam versatur, potest dici regula processionis, unde si sutorem
per se ponere nolo, pono subulam, que sic incipit, sicut sutor et ei coniuncta est in
operando, sicut instrumentum vel pono effectum sutoris, scilicet calceum, qui calceus,
et si secundum nomen non sic procedit secundum rem, quia ipse sutor fecit calceum
vel pelle, que est materia sutorum et sic faciliter memoria naturali reducet memorista
id, quod memorari vu[l]t48. Similiter de omnibus artificibus, ut muratorem trulla vel
cemento vel lapide recordabor.
Secunda regula extractionis sive proprietatis circa quam consideranda sunt decem
predicamenta. Substantia cum sua proprietate vel illius rei, quam ponimus aut loci aut
47
I.e., zona (sona) – belt.
48
Misprinted as vut.
littere personalis. Similiter quantitas cum differentijs suis et maxime qualitatis, ubi
infinita accidentia in coloribus, album, nigrum, viride, glaucum. In saporibus suave,
amarum, dulce, stipticum, que omnia artifex huius artis cito inveniet, que erunt con-
venientiora illi dictioni, quam49 memorari vult. Exemplum pro ista dictione suave, littera
personalis aliquid suat et labruscam50 comedat.51
Pro dictione trinitas, tres digiti erecti a caractere, si est homo, aut ponere tria poma
vel imaginari tricam, et sic infinita adduci possunt visis predicamentis premissis et rela-
tione, actione, passione, situ habitu, ubi et quando.
Tercia regula coniunctionis52, que distinguitur in quinque modos.
Primus modus, quando componimus dictionem ex litteris, quarum quelibet signifi-
cat dictionem, sicut patebit de saligia, vagot, et cetera. Ut tibi sit vita semper saligia vita,
ubi septem mortalia [a6r] peccata signantur per S - Superbia. Per A - Avaricia. Per L -
Luxuria. Per primum I - Invidia. Per G - Gula. Per ultimum I - ira et per A - Accidia.53
Aliquid pro exemplo. Serva clum, si tu vis scandere celum, id est quadruplex docu-
mentum, scilicet: Cela secretum, loquere pauca, verax esto, mori memento.54 Et similiter
vagot,55 significat quinque sensus. Versus: Ast sensus vagot, hec dictio quinque figurat.
Similiter hic dat tibi quinque limus, que signat dictio fagus: F – facillimus, A – agillimus,
G – gracillimus, V [!] – humillimus, S - simillimus.
Secundus modus, quando componimus dictionem, cuius solum prima littera signifi-
cat dictionem, sicut patebit in illo versu: Barba carens pilis est omni tempore vilis,56 ubi
ponuntur septem sacramenta, que per primas litteras cuiuslibet dictionis in versu posite,
significantur. Nam prima littera dictionis, scilicet B, significat baptismum, prima vero 257
littera secunde dictionis, videlicet C, significat charisma, similiter prima littera tercie
dictionis - P - significat penitentiam, et prima littera quarte dictionis, scilicet E, significat
eucharistiam, et prima littera quinte dictionis, que est O, significat ordinem sacrum,
similiter prima littera sexte dictionis, que est T, significat thorum, id est matrimonium,
prima vero littera septime dictionis significat unctionem extremam. Et sic de alijs.
Tercius modus potest fieri, quando componimus aliquam dictionem, cuius littere
solum ostendunt numerum secundum tempus, ut sunt ille dictiones in Computo Chi-
49
Misprinted as qnam.
50
Misprinted as labruscat. Labrusca is wild grape (cf. ESŁŚP, s.v. labrusca).
51
It seems that Szklarek associates the first syllable of these two words (suave and suat) and the sensation
(the wild grape’s taste).
52
Misprinted as conicationis.
53
On this popular acronym, see Richard Newhauser, “Introduction,” in: In the garden of evil: the vices
and culture in the Middle Ages, ed. Richard Newhauser (Toronto: Pontifical Institute of Mediaeval
Studies, 2005), 10.
54
This line appears sometimes as the first verse of Documenta vel documentum Aristotelis ad Alexandrum
Magnum. Cela secreta, loquere pauca, verax esto, ne sis velox loquendo, iram scinde, liti cede, nulli deroges,
a vino cave, mementomori, etc.. Walther, Carmina, 2589. See also Pseudo-Aristotle in the Middle Ages:
the theology and other texts, ed. Jill Kraye, Charles B. Schmitt, W.F. Ryan (London: Warburg Institute,
1986), 11.
55
Mnemonic acronym to remember the five senses: visus, auditus, gustus, odoratus, tactus.
56
The absurdity of meaning makes the mnemonic appeal of the verses stronger.
rometrali scilicet Etheras, aretra, faratra, etc., que nihil aliud significant nisi numerum
septimanarum intervalli, sicut patet consideranti significationes ipsarum.57
Quartus modus potest fieri, quando aliqua dictio significat numerum secundum si-
tum ex consideratione aliarum dictionum et etiam secundum numerum litterarum, que
ponuntur in illa dictione. Exemplum potest sumi de Causis per hos versus, scilicet: Cor-
rige, peccatum, lachrimabile, plange, reatum, etc.,58 qui versus continent in se numerum
omnium causarum, ut questionum in Decreto, quod patet, qua hec dictio corrige, que
est prima, significat prime distinctionis materiam et quia componitur ex septem litteris
ostendit, quod habet septem questiones.
[a 6v] Quintus modus, quando facimus dictionem, que principalia illarum Sente-
tiarum, que ibi ponuntur vel illam materiam generaliter vel generalissime in se includit.
Exemplum super Bibliam versus: Sex prohibet peccant,59 etc. Exemplum super libros
Sententiarum: Res tres, etc.60
Quarta regula positionis, scilicet rerum illarum per se in locis vel de partibus illius
rei, ut si quis illiteratus mittitur pro rebus disponendis ad nundinas, ut emat multa, vi-
delicet pannum, telam, zinciber, crocum, siliginem, triticium, anphoram, ollam, vitrum,
balistam, etc., solum loca habeat, ut unamquanque rem qualicunque ordine ponat in
locis illis, et sic recordabitur. Hec regula valet etiam pro confessoribus, qui, si alias regu-
las nesciunt, ut loca habent, possunt reponere illa vicia in illis locis secundum gestum
vel aliquam proprietatem illius vicij in illo loco.
Quinta regula formationis, scilicet alphabeti realis, per aliquas res proportionem
258 habentes ad litteras grammaticales cum quintuplici situ et in quolibet situ aliam sillabam
formando. Sic quod de qualibet consonante sit una et de qualibet vocali tres et loco
liquidarum dum interponunt scilicet L et R, lilium vel rosam vel crinale de eis habeant
caracteres illi, qui formabunt61 istas litteras in aliqua manu aut in capite.
57
Words used in medieval computi. Cf.: Marijke Gumbert-Hepp, Computus Magistri Jacobi: een schooloek
voor tijdrekenkunde uit 1436 (Hilversum: Verloren, 1987), 94: Quicunque igitur voluerit scire pretactum
numerum septimanarum concurrentium inter dominicam immediate sequentem nativitatem Christi et
dominicam ‘Esto michi’ in aliquo anno, debet applicare ciclum lunarem illius anni fl exuris digitorum
secundum convenientem ordinem ad plenum, et notato membro in quo complebatur, debet secundum eundem
ordinem applicare dictiones horum versuum „Etheras aretra’ ponendo in quolibet membro unam integram
dictionem, donec veniat ad ultimum membrum, scilicet in quo finiebatur ciclus lunaris illius anni. Et talis
dictio sic ibi veniens ostendit numerum harum septimanarum per numerum litterarum, quia tot erunt tunc
septimane quot sunt littere in tali dictione. Et ergo necessarium est ut tales dictiones correcte sylabicentur, et
congruit ut absque titellis scribantur. Et etiam diligenter advertendum est, quod hic „h” reputatur pro littera
que stat in prima dictione, scilicet ‘etheras’, et quod ‘anastropha’ debet scribi per „f ” et non per „ph”.
58
Walther, Carmina, 3364; Jakob Werner, Beiträge zur Kunde der lateinischen Literatur des Mittelalters
(Aarau: Sauerländer, 1905), 162.
59
The so-called Summarium Biblicum; see Walther, Carmina, 17610 and Lucie Doležalová, “The
Summarium Biblicum: A Biblical Tool Both Popular and Obscure,” in: Form and Function in the Late
Medieval Bible, ed. Eyal Poleg and Laura Light, (Leiden: Brill, 2013), 163–184.
60
Mnemonic verses about the Sentences of Peter Lombard, inc. Res tres vestigium genuit natura volendo;
cf. Walther, Carmina, 16652.
61
Misprinted as formb unt. In lack of space, we had to omit the original woodcuts of the letters here.
These can be found in Wójcik, Opusculum.
Monemus lectorem, ne quarundam figurarum situm admiretur, si veram litterarum

aut numerorum effigiem non representaverint, id enim non auctoris vel impressorum in-
curia sed sculptoris impericia evenit. Sunt autem litterarum imagines transversum situm
habentes ille, que designant B, F, H, K, L, P, Q, S. Numerorum vero que representant II,
III, VI, IX, X, XII, XIII, XIIII, quibus omnibus nihil preter debitam positionem deest,
que enim dextrum latus respicere debebant, in sinistrum verse sunt, quod intuenti facile
patet. Sed hijs ceterisque erroribus, si qui occurrerint, venia petitur.
[a7r] Formetur igitur sic alphabetum. A primum circino. Secundum A scala ligno
suppodiata.
Tercium A candelabro, quo utimur in matutinis tenebrosis.
Primum A significatum circino consillabicatur cum quinque sequentibus consonan-
tibus, videlicet B, C, D, F, G cum situ diverso
1 Sursum AB
2 Deorsum AC
3 A dextrum AD
4 A sinistrum AF
5 Ad se contra se AG
Similiter secundum A significatum scala suppodiata et ligata consillabicatur cum alijs

quinque consonantibus sequentibus videlicet L, M, N, P, Q. Similiter cum situ diverso.
Nota, quod in hac arte H littera, quod ad hoc non est. Similiter et K, quia coincidit
cum C in sono. 259
Tercium A significatum lucibulari consillabicatur cum reliquis
quatuor consonantibus, videlicet R, S, T, X. Et hoc cum situ diverso. [a7v]
I AL sursum Sursum AR
II AM deorsum Deorsum AS62
III AN ad dextrum Ad dextrum AT
IIII AP ad sinistrum Ad sinistrum AX
V AQ ad se vel contra se
Pro B sumamus citharam faciendo cum ea situm modo perdicto et in quolibet situ co-
niunget sibi aliam vocalem. Sed quia sunt quinque situs et quinque vocales sufficiet de
qualibet consonante habere unam litteram realem sibi correspondentem63 conformiter
faciendo de omnibus consonantibus.
Pro C ponemus cornu curvum.
Pro D ponemus fossorium cum manubrio et pro primo situ manubrium sit superius
et fossorium inserius et secundabit da et alij situs ostendent consillabicationem aliarum
vocalium.
62
Misprinted as ab.
63
Misprinted as corrrum dentem.
Pro E iterum sint tres littere reales. Prima rota fracta, que debet consillabicari cum
primis quinque consonantibus, ut patuit de A vocali. [a 8r] Secundum E est saura. Ter-
cium E est falcastrum64.
I Sursum EB
II Deorsum EC
III Ad dextrum ED
IIII Ad sinistrum EF
V A se vel contra se EG
Pro F media ballista.
Pro G sportula cum suis sitibus.
Pro H, quamvis non est neccessaria, posset poni manubrium, membrum baliste sine
arcu solum cum clauo.
[a 8v] Pro I tres littere. Prima candelabro altaris, secunda sicario, tercia baculo. Et consil-
labicentur cum consonantibus ad modum aliarum vocalium cum sitibus suis. Sicarius65
dicitur baculus occulte in se habens pugionem.
Prima pro I candelabrum. Secunda sica. Tercia baculus.
Pro K modicum curamus,66 tamen si quis vult eam habere, potest ponere cantarum
apertum cum ansa.
[B1r] Pro L ponatur securis. Pro M tripes seu sedile trium pedum. Pro N strepa vel
nates vel calige integre. Pro O ponentur tres littere reales. Prima machina mundi vel spera
260 materialis cum manubrio sursum. [B1v] Secundum O cambuca cum manubrio sursum.
Tercium O caput hominis. Pro P nimbum szipÿen [=sypień].67 Pro Q si quis vult habere
litteram realem, potest ponere curvaturam.
[b2r] Pro R vectem hostij sic. Pro S sistrum, osaka [=osęka].68 Pro T tau.69 Pro V,
ut habeat tres litteras reales. Prima picarius aureus.
[b2v] Secunda torcular. Tercia urna vel tina.
Alio modo sic potest formari alphabetum per litteras personales, qua personis hu-
manis secundum alphabeti principia cum quinque actibus, scilicet
Exemplum de consonantibus, sit aliquis notus a B,
Statione ut Beraldus,70 qui stando in primo actu adiun-
Sessione git A, ut dicetur BA. In secundo actu scilicet sedendo adiun-
64
The two printing variants of the Opusculum have different woodcuts here, Szklarek, Opusculum,
b 7v and the facsimile in Wójcik, Opusculum.
65
Sica – a dagger. As Szklarek wrote below sica was a dagger with a curved blade. The name originates
from the sicarii, i.e. dagger men, Jewish assasins.
66
Cf. what he said earlier about h and k.
67
Sypień is a ladle.
68
Osęka is a crooked tree.
69
The Greek letter tau was considered as saint, powerful and endowed with magical propriety; tau
fastened on the door was believed to provide shelter against pestilence. It played a particular role in the
Franciscan order, see: Damien Vorreux, A Franciscan symbol, the Tau: history, theology, and iconography.
(Franciscan Herald Press, 1975).
70
Berald (Berard) was the name of one of the pupils of St. Francis of Assisi.
Flexione git E et erit BE. In tercio actu flectendo adiungit

Prostratione sibi I, et erit BI. In quarto actu prostratione ad-
et Suspinatione iungit sibi O, et erit BO. In quinto actu scilicet iacen-
do supinus adiungit sibi U, ut dicatur BU
De C Clemens vel Cristophorus, ita quod sit persona nota. Eodem situ, quo et Beraldus
adiunget sibi quinque vocales, ut in primo situ CA. In secundo CE. In tercio situ CI. In
quarto CO. In quinto CU. Et sic uniformiter de omnibus consonantibus solum videndo
principium littere personalis et numerum actus.
Exemplum de vocalibus, ubi erit modico difficilius, quia quelibet vocalis habebit tres
suas litteras personales ad modum litterarum realium.
Prima littera personalis realis est Abbas, que debet consillabicari cum quinque con-
sonantibus primis secundum situm, qui patuit de consonantibus, solum videatur dili-
genter, que erit prima, que secunda [b3r] et que tercia. Secundum A Albertus notus, quod
consillabicatur cum alijs quinque consonantibus Tercium A Arnolphus et consillabicatur
cum ultimis quatuor consonantibus.
Exemplum de E similiter tres littere personales. Erasmus prima. Elena secunda. Eliza-
bet tercia, quia prima masculus, secunda virgo, tercia mulier et eodem modo consillabi-
centur, Erasmus cum primis quinque consonantibus, Elena cum alijs quinque, Elizabet
cum ceteris quatuor.
I similiter habeat tres litteras personales: Jacobum, Johannem, Jeronimum. Primus
cum quinque primis consonantibus. Secundus cum quinque secundis. Tercius cum 261
quatuor ultimis.
O similiter tres litteras scilicet: Olbracht, Osvaldus, Otto. Cum primis consonantibus
quinque Osvaldus, cum secundis quinque consonantibus Otto, cum ceteris quatuor, ut
dicatur, de Olbraht: OB, OC, OD, OF, OG. De Osvaldus: OL, OM, ON, OP, OQ, et
de Otto dicatur: OR, OS, OT, OX.
De V similiter tres littere personales. Valentinus cum primis quinque consonanti-
bus, Valkyer secunda cum alijs quinque sequentibus. Vitus ultima cum ultimis quatuor
consonantibus et sic de alijs.
Circa quintum principale, scilicet cautelas singulares procedendo ad praxim videbi-
mus cum diligentia aliquas cautelas.
Prima erit rubricarum sive titulorum in Decretalibus, aliquando ponendo per unam
dictionem, aliquando per duas, tres, quatuor unum rubrum sive rubricam vel titulum,
quod idem est secundum regulas iam premissas, in quibus utens hac arte locis bene dis-
positis habeat promptitudinem. Exemplum primus titulus libri primi Decretalium est De
summa trinitate et fide catholica. Si volumus per unam dictionem principalem memorari,
quod melius est, ubi potest esse memoria totius tituli. Sicut hic trinitas est principalis
dictio, et quia primus locus est imago sancte Anne,71 pono circa sanctam Annam tres
viros vel tres filias, vel quod tricam plectat filie Marie,72 et sic habetur tri, sillaba per
71
Following the rule of putting the guards (custodes) mantaining the order, the image of St. Anne is
the first one, because her name begins with a, the first letter of the alphabet.
72
In her quality as the daughter of St. Anne.
regulam originis vel processionis, quia trica, vel proprietatis loci, quia tres viri tresque
filie Sancte Anne, etiam per regulam processionis sive originis, quia parum differunt
tre, et tri, sicut salus et palus, secundum quod patuit in regula processionis vel originis.
Et ista repositio vocatur positio per unam dictionem. Si vero [b3v] singulas dictiones
volumus, ponatur hec dictio summa. Anna sumit virum alium et tercium vel viri sint in
bonis suis, ecce sum in dictione sumit pro dictione summa per regulam processionis sive
originis et isti viri a parte dextra, S. Anne filia eius Maria in medio cuius tricam plectit
et sic habemus tri finem naturali memoria recordantes, scilicet trinitatem et habeat
sancta Anna in alia manu fila de serico vel prope se sicque habebimus primam sillabam,
scilicet fi. Infra sanctam Annam calix sit in manu unius nepotis, scilicet sancti Joannis,
vel nepotes ludant cum cane vel catto, sic etiam habebimus primam sillabam ca. Et ista
est repositio per plures dictiones in uno loco. Sic de omnibus titulis vel rubricis, qui per
unam dictionem ponuntur sicut per aliam. Sicut sequens titulus De constitutionibus in
secundo loco, qui est baculus,73 in hostio ponatur contus. Tercia rubrica vel titulus est De
rescriptis circa crates, ubi confessio auditur (nam ille est locus tercius), confiteatur aliquis
per scriptum de carta et sic refert scriptum peccatum confessori. Quarta rubrica est De
consuetudine circa locum D, ubi dominam posuimus pro caractere circa fenestram, que
consuat sibi tunicam, antequam confessor venit. Quinta rubrica De postulatione ponatur
in quinto loco circa ereas candelas, que candele postulantur pro quolibet infirmo74 et
sic ex regula originis et proprietatis vel ponantur poma prope in angulo. Sexta rubrica
est De electione et electi potestate, ponatur in sexto loco circa formam,75 in qua sedeat
262 aliquis vel flectat et pulices eligat vel in libello legat et poma sint in forma clausa. Et sic
consequenter in omnibus quinque libris Decretalium et in omnibus titulis.
Secunda cautela Septimarum seu Libri Sexti, sextus enim liber dicitur respectu prec-
edentium quinque in Decretalibus. Nihilominus vadit ad modum quinque librorum
Decretalium sed non per omnes, unde ubicunque repetitur aliquis titulus per sextum et
non per Clementinas ponatur caracter laycus et sedens et sic propter duo convenit cum
Libro Sexto, primo ex hoc, quod sedet cum sessio sit actus secundus76 et sextus inter tres
libros Decretalium est secundus, primus ei dicitur Decretales secundus Sextus, et tercius
Clementine. Secundo ex eo, quia sedet cum sexto, convenit in prima sillaba aliqualiter
scilicet se.
Tercia cautela Clementinarum unde ubicunque ponitur repeti[a 4[!]=b4r]tio tituli De-
cretalium per Clementinas, ponatur caracter clericus notus vel sacerdos, quia clericus et
Clementine conveniunt in prima sillaba. Et si omnes tres conveniunt scilicet Decretales,
Sextus et Clementine, ponatur clericus sedens. Si vero titulus77 solum in Decretalibus
ponitur, ponatur caracter non homo. Si vero Clementine solum addunt et non Sextus,
ponatur caracter clericus solum, quod non sedeat. Sicut titulus XIX De probacionibus
73
Another guard (custos) is the baculus begining with b.
74
Prayer intention of somebody (postulatio).
75
Forma means pulpit here. Cf. ESŁŚP, s.v. forma.
76
According to the rule that standing is the first act, sitting is the second one, etc.
77
Misprinted as titulns.
in libro secundo ponatur pro caractere clericus, tantummodo non sedeat.78 Similiter in
tercio libro De baptismo, in quarto De consanguinitate et affinitate, in quinto De Iudeis,
Sarracenis et eorum servis, similiter sit clericus non sedens.79 Si autem quis ex caractere
vult cernere utrum Sextus vel Clementine addunt, minuunt vel corrigunt titulum De-
cretalium, quia istud est officium Sexti et Clementinarum, ut communiter corrigere,
addere aut minuere, ponatur in manu caracteris penna, cum qua fit scriptura significans
additionem. Si vero est diminucio, ponatur forpex in eodem loco, quia per forpicem fit
diminucio. Si correctio ponatur, scripturale80 vel cultellus, quia cum scripturali fit cor-
rectio. Et si fuerit hoc per Sextum, ponantur hec: in manu prima sive dextra. Si vero per
Clementinas, ponantur in manu secunda sive sinistra.
Quarta cautela Causarum.81 Sed quia Causas precedunt distinctiones centum et una,
ideo primo de ipsis. Formetur itaque una dictio principalis vel plures illius distinctionis,
et secundum hoc possunt poni in locis suis secundum situm locorum signatorum per
litteras personales cum multiplicacione vigenarum usque ad quinque, quia quinque
vigene faciunt centum et unam distinctiones.82
Exemplum: Jus in communi vel jus naturale aut jus distinguitur, ponamus igitur
pro exemplo in eadem vigena, quam habemus pre oculis et hoc fiat incipiendo a littera
L, ubi pro caractere habetur Leo,83 frater cum Sancto Francisco. Et quia L est littera
undecima, abstrahemus decem ita quod, ubi deberemus dicere undecim, dicemus unum,
quod mihi significabit primam distinctionem. Jus naturale: frater Leo dormit et hoc est
naturale communiter omnibus, scilicet per regulam extractionis. Si autem voluerimus
jus commune reponere, frater Franciscus orat, quod est commune monachis per regulam 263
extractionis. Si autem volumus hoc facere per regulam originis et per illam memorari,
taliter possumus ponere, quod frater Franciscus debilitatus comedit jus, id est brodium
vulgariter iucha [=jucha],84 et sic de similibus potest fieri. [b4v] Secunda distinctio. Jus
quiritum85 in loco, ubi monachus. Monachus iurat pape extensis duobus digitis capiens
licentiam predicandi propter inquisitionem salutis animarum86 per regulam originis vel
sic per regulam extractionis, iste monachus differt ab alio precedente, scilicet Leone,
quia iste est observans, ille autem est conventualis. Et per istam differentiam notabimus
differentiam iuris quiriti ab alijs iuribus, per hoc, quod isti monachi quesierunt, et isti
78
A sitting (sedens) cleric would hint at the Liber Sextus, but this passage is in the Book 2 of the
Decretals, so the cleric should not sit. Cf. Decretales Gregorii (Liber Extra), 2.19.
79
The same logic applies here, as all these tituli are outside the Liber Sextus.
80
A small knife for sharpening a pen, also used to erase the scribal mistakes.
81
The second part of Gratian’s Decree was divided into 36 Causae; and each of them contained
a different number of legal arguments for solving them.
82
5x20 (letters of the alphabet) = 100.
83
Again, Szklarek uses brother Leo, a disciple of St Francis as a mnemonic image.
84
Jucha is a kind of (blood) soup.
85
I.e., ius civile.
86
Franciscans often preached and taught per modum exhortationis in order to propagate penitence and
confession (de poenitentia praedicanda mandatum). See Jerzy Wolny, “Kaznodziejstwo,” [Preaching],
in: Dzieje teologii katolickiej w Polsce. T. I: Średniowiecze [History of Catholic theology in Poland. Vol.
1. Middle Ages], ed. Marian Rechowicz, (Lublin: TN KUL, 1974), 276–277.
non. Tercia distinctio: jus seculare vel ius spirituale. In tercio loco, ubi nates, per regu-
lam originis ponatur securis supra locum, quia concordat in se securis cum illa dictione
seculare, quam securim rusticus posuit ponentes digitos ad sepulcrum iurando, quod hec
securis eum interficere non potuit propter merita beati Simonis, vel per regulam extrac-
tionis, iste est mos secularium, quod osculantur sepulcrum. Modo simili procedendum
est in omnibus distinctionibus vel per unam vel per duas vel tres dictiones secundum,
quod erit necesse. Sed Causarum est alia cautela, quia cause debent poni in locis gen-
eralibus, que debent dividi per tot loca particularia, quot erunt illius cause questiones.
Et quot sunt cause, et quot questiones cuiuslibet cause, demonstrant illa metra Corrige,
etc. Exemplum: locus generalis ad Omnes Sanctos.87 Aqua baptismalis in medio ecclesie.
Causa prima agit de simonia, ponatur casus, quod ibi sacerdos nolit baptisare sine pecu-
nia, sic esset simonia per regulam extractionis vel sacerdos sub silentio verba exprimit vel
compatres silentiose respondent, sic per regulam originis vel baptisatus vocetur Simon.
Distinguamus istam causam in septem questiones. Prima est, utrum emere spiritualia sit
peccatum. Ille locus generalis debet distingui in septem particulares, modo prius dicto,
et ponatur in quolibet caracter per ordinem alphabeti, ut ibidem primus locus Anna
in principio stalli. Secundus Bartholomeus in angulo. Tercius locus candele. Quartus
Dorothea circa aram. Quintus eneum vas. Sextus in limine ecclesie femina. Septimus
in ara ponatur Gregorius. Sic reponetur prima questio. Anna sedens vendat candelas,
ecce vendere vel vendicio et dormit, Polonico spi. Et quia vendit in ecclesia, utrum est
peccatum vel non. Secunda questio, an pro ingressu ecclesie sit pecunia exigenda et si
264 non, si est promissa, utrum est danda, sic ponetur in secundo loco Bartholomeus, [qui]
vult ingredi supra chorum et socij eum nolunt mittere, nisi aliquid det et ille promittit,
postquam venit, nihil eis tribuit dicens se ad hoc non obligari. Tercia questio sic inquirit,
utrum emere beneficia sit simonia, potest sic reponi, ille qui accendit candelas ad[b5r]
venientibus pro igne, negat dare, nisi aliquid recipiat ex quadam proprietate vel aliquis
emat candelas, ut sepeliretur in ecclesia. Quarta questio, utrum filius sit in culpa, qui
hoc ignorat, sic potest poni: Dorothea pregnans accipit sacramentum non consecratum
ignoranter. Quinta questio, utrum liceat ei durare in eadem, in qua male stat88, sic potest
poni: aqua in illo vase non est consecrata, immo intoxicata, que per aspersionem intoxi-
care potest, utrum debet durare in illo vase. Sexta potest poni sic, utrum ordinati ab illo
male sedente sint tollerandi. Femina, que est post limen, ordinata est de facto et non de
iure, utrum est tolleranda cum iam est cognita, vel sic sacerdos peregrinus sedet cum illa
femina et venit de Bohemia, qui ordinatus est ab episcopo excommunicato vel heretico et
non intromittitur in ecclesiam, utrum debet intromitti vel non. Septima questio, utrum
ille episcopus simoniacus potest in sua sede sedere, sic potest poni: Gregorius bibit de
calice et ista duo conveniunt pi et bi et quia multum infudit in calicem, utrum debet
87
For the verse “Corrige, peccatum…”, see note 35. Szklarek here refers to the medieval topography
of Cracow, where the All Saints’ collegiate church stood at the present-day All Saints’ square (plac
Wszystkich Świętych). There were two cemeteries close to the neighboring churches: one next to the
All Saints’ Church, another near the Franciscan church.
88
Misprinted as malestat.
tollerari circa illud altare.89 Eodem modo de omnibus questionibus omnium causarum
est procedendum.
Quinta cautela distinctionum septem De penitentia,90 cum perventum fuerit ad
tricesimam terciam causam et questionem terciam eiusdem cause, tunc dividatur ille
locus tercie questionis in septem loca particularia vel singularia et si locus est parvus
queratur circa illum locus aptus vel fiat translatio versus illam partem ad locum aptiorem.
Sexta cautela distinctionum quinque91 De consecratione, ponantur in fine causarum,
ut priores distinctiones. Similiter et septem precedentes.
Septima cautela historiarum, sub qua erit cautela sermonum, quia eam historiam
aut volumus, ut recordetur solum, aut etiam, ut dilatetur, vel tercio, ut predicetur. Ex-
emplum primi pro recordatione historie interfectionis sancti Stanislai videbuntur lex
verba, scilicet:
I Opus, id est factum, scilicet homicidium;
II Sanctus, id est occisus est Sanctus Stanislaus episcopus Cracoviensis;
III Pravus, id est Boleslaus rex Polonie;
IIII Locus, id est Cracoviensis Rupella;
V Modus, id est crudelissime scissus in frusta;
VI Fructus, id est utilitas ex hoc nobis quia patronus;
VII Casus, quia res publica diminuta in communi bono;
VIII Tipus, id est similitudo interimendi illos qui volunt recte vivere.
[b5v] Exemplum secundi, dilatare per aliquid verba quodlibet verbum et describere con- 265
ditiones pontificis, regis, loci, modi et tantus fructus quantusue casus.
Exemplum tercij. Qui vult predicare formaliter istam historiam, potest eam dividere
in quinque verba.92 Et sic videbimus:
I Subiectum viciosum;
II Obiectum graciosum;
III Respectum copiosum;
IIII Profectum preciosum;
V Defectum lacrimosum huius regni et civitatis ex morte eius.93
89
As Gregory has drunk too much, he got drunk, and the question is whether the presence of such
a person near the altar can be tolerated, or not.
90
The Tractatus de penitentia is a part of Gratian’s Decree (C. 33 q. 3), divided into 7 distinctions.
91
Misprinted as quandoque instead of quinque, because the Tractatus de consecratione, the third part
of Gratian’s Decree contains 5 distinctions.
92
I.e., membra divisionis.
93
The life of St Stanislas was interpreted in a pessimistic tone in the 15th century. See the introduction
of Marian Plezia to Żywot mniejszy św. Stanisława [The minor life of St Stanislas]. in: Średniowieczne
żywoty i cuda patronów Polski [Medieval lives and miracles of the patrons of Poland], transl. Janina
Pleziowa, ed. Marian Plezia, (Warszawa: Pax, 1987).
Circa primum, scilicet subiectum viciosum, iterum videbimus verba quinque. Erat enim
Boleslaus:94
I Animosus;
II Bellicosus;
III Rigorosus;
IIII Furiosus;
V Scandalosus.
I Locus: unde, ubi;
II Circa secundum de Sta- Genus nobilis;
III nislao quinque hec verba Virtus;
IIII videbuntur: Doctus;
V Sanctus.
I Commotionem;
II Circa tercium quinque Correctionem;
III verba Interfecit enim Excessionem;
IIII eum propter: Confusionem;
V Conditionem;
Circa quartum quinque fructus sequuntur ex homicidio eius, quia:

I Consecratus et martyr effectus;95
266 II Admiratus a multis et ex multis;
III Sublimatus translatione96 et canonisatione;
IIII Inclinatus servis et Polonie;
V Deputatus nobis pro patrono a Deo.
Circa quintum etiam quinque videbimus, lacrimabantur enim eum:

I Confratres, id est canonici;
II Concives omnium trium civitatum;97
III Nobiles;
IIII Pauperes;
V Et omnes.
[b6r] Iste sermo sic potest poni per hanc artem memorativam: primo per unam dictionem
principalem cuiuslibet membri sive particule.
94
The very negative characterization of Boleslaus II the Bold (called also the Generous or the Crule,
c. 1043–1081/82) stems from the earlier vitae of St Stanislas. E.g., the Vita maior sancti Stanislai by
Wincenty of Kielcza remains completely silent about the virtues of the king (as opposed to the Chronicle
of Wincenty Kadłubek or to the Vita minor sancti Stanislai). See Plezia, (cf. note 93).
95
St Stanislas was canonized on Sept 17, 1253.
96
The translation of St. Stanislas’ relics from St. Michael Church on Skałka to the Wawel was
celebrated on Sept 27.
97
Probably Poland, Hungary and Bohemia.
In primo loco circa pulpitum ponatur Adam,98 qui habeat sistrum vulgariter oszam-
kam [=osękę] a se vel contra se et erit su, que est prima sillaba illius membri, scilicet
subiectum viciosum, finem memoria naturali perficiendo. Si supplere seu recordari non
possumus, ponamus aliam dictionem, scilicet vinum in manu vel vittam in capite.
Secundum membrum sic. Machina mundi vel spera materialis suspendatur circa bap-
tisterium in primo situ.99 Et sic secundam dictionem reponemus intelligendo grana in
illa aqua baptisterij per regulam originis.100
Terciam dictionem divisionis principalis, scilicet respectum, ponemus Richardum
vel Ribaldum101 sedentem102 et Christum respicientem. Secundam dictionem, scilicet
copiosum, sic reponemus, quia illud latus Christi aperuit hasta,103 que Polonice vocatur
Copie [=kopie]104 vel quia copiositas sanguinis effluxit de latere.
Quartum membrum principalis divisionis, scilicet profectum preciosum, in quarto
loco, ubi est Dura105 vel Dorothea, sit ibi multus pulvis, qui Polonico vocatur proch vel
funda, vel procza [=proca]. Et sic per regulam originis habebimus pro. Vel ponatur littera
realis nimbus, vulgari szipÿen [=sypień]106 in quarto situ107 et Dorothea vel Daniel porriget
illum ad cathedram. Secundam dictionem reponemus sic: ostendens nimbum tergit
vultum, quia est sibi calor, vulgariter pre.108
Quintum membrum ponemus sic, scilicet defectum lachrimosum, in quinto loco
ponemus fossorium in secundo situ, scilicet deorsum. Secundam dictionem sic: lachri-
matur persona confitens ex devotione. Ecce prima divisio principalis est reposita.
Iste principales divisiones huius sermonis dupliciter possunt reponi per hanc artem.
Primo per modum distinctionum vel per modum titulorum Decretalium procedendo 267
per loca et continuando ea. Exemplum primum: membrum principale habet quinque
partes, que patent supra. Et sic reponemus: sit anisium in armario, ubi caracter est fer-
rum, et recordabimur illius dictionis animosus. Secunda dictio ponetur in gradu aliquis
98
According to the alphabetical order: Adam, baptisterium, Christ, Dorothea. A fifth place should be
fi lled by a person or a thing begining with the letter e.
99
I.e., in the upright position, so we have ob.
100
I.e., the first syllable; of the word graciosum here.
101
Rybałt or Ribaldus was a late medieval name; see Słownik staropolskich nazw osobowych, ed. Witold
Taszycki, (Wrocław: Ossolineum, 1974–76), Vol. 4., 522.
102
A real person symbolizing a letter (Richard or Rybałt symbolize r here) is followed by different vowels
depending on what he is doing. The sitting position means that the R is followed by an e.
103
The motif of the spear piercing the side of Christ often appears in late medieval devotional paintings.
See Alicja Karłowska-Kamzowa, “Męczeństwo św. Stanisława w relacji Wincentego Kadłubka. Próba
interpretacji symbolicznej,” [The martyrdom of St Stanislas in the account of Wincenty Kadłubek.
Essay on symbolic interpretation], Studia Źródłoznawcze 20 (1976): 82–83.
104
(Kopie) kopije – a spear. SS 3, 340.
105
Dura is either a misprint, or a form of the popular name Dora/ Dorothy.
106
Sypień (ladle) is the symbol of p in the Szklarek’s alphabet.
107
I.e. on the left side, meaning o.
108
Th is word, coming from the verb przeć, had several meanings. Here it means “it’s hot.” See Andr-
zej Bańkowski, Etymologiczny słownik języka polskiego, [Etymological dictionary of Polish Language]
(Warszawa: PWN, 2000), Vol. 2, 825.
miles vel stipendarius, vel scutum vel gladius ponatur in gradu, quia ista sunt signa
bellica et persone bellice.109 Tercia sit vectis in tercio situ in hostio. Quarta sic: framea
teneatur a se a ianitore custode noui loci, que significat fu. Quintam sic: in decimo loco,
ubi Katherina, ponitur [b6v] scamnum, quod est sub imagine; ostendit nobis primam
sillabam, scilicet scam.110
Procedatur ergo isto modo per hanc vigenam continuando secundum membrum
principalis divisionis, scilicet obiectum graciosum: ponatur locus circa libros, genus
circa virginem gloriosam, virtus circa Nicolaum in fenestra, doctus circa obraz vel ockno
[=okno], sanctus circa passionem Domini.111 Similiter de tercio membro et quarto et
quinto procedendum est. Et sic, quotquot membra erunt in sermone principalis divi-
sionis vel sub divisionis eodem modo, procedendum est.
Alius modus reponendi sermones per modum Causarum,112 ut ponendo principalia
membra divisionis in locis generalibus, prout loca facimus generalia.113 Primum mem-
brum in uno, aliud in alio et tercium in tercio et sic consequenter. Et erunt loca: Om-
nium Sanctorum ecclesia, cimiterium eius, exeundo de cimiterio platea114 tercius locus,
et cimiterium sancti Francisci quartus, quintus locus porticus ad ambitum. Sermo ergo,
quem posuimus pro exemplo, ita posset poni: primum membrum, scilicet subiectum
viciosum, in ecclesia prefata. Secundum, scilicet obiectum graciosum, in cimiterio. Ter-
cium membrum in tercio loco in platea. Quartum in quarto et quintum in quinto loco.
Primum membrum subdividatur in ecclesia tali modo, sicut fecimus de prima causa
Decreti.115 Secundum membrum subdividatur in cimiterio. Tercium membrum subdi-
268 vidatur in platea ad dexteram versus sutores usque ad circulum. Quartum membrum
subdividatur in cimiterio sancti Francisci. Quintum in porticu sancti Francisci. Simili
modo, quando membrum subdividitur circa loca, ubi fit subdivisio, locus queratur et
ibi valebunt illi quindecim modi multiplicandi loca, de quibus patuit.
Octava cautela Sententiarum.116 Distinctiones Sententiarum ponantur, sicut tituli
rubricarum Decretalium vel sicut distinctiones prime partis Decreti vel sicut dictum est in
regula compositionis,117 quod una dictio vel due vel tres generales, que totam materiam
tangant distinctionis, ponantur in suis locis, sicut patuit. Sex prohibet peccant de Biblia et
super Sententiarum per unam dictionem sunt metra specialia, versus: Res, tres, vestigium,
gemit natura volendo, etc. Quelibet dictio ponatur in loco suo et quelibet distinctionem
109
I.e., bellicose.
110
I.e., scandalosus.
111
The meaning of this passage is obscure. Perhaps it refers to a church interior, which was well-known
to Szklarek and his audience, e.g. the Observants’ or the All Saints’ collegiate church. The places are
ordered alphabetically: locus, Maria, Nicolas, obraz (picture) or okno (window), Passion (passio), so we
have l, m, n, o, and p.
112
According to the 4th cautela.
113
The order of places that was created once can be reused anytime later.
114
Th is used to be called ulica Szewska (shoemakers’ street) in Cracow (not identical to the present-day
ul. Szewska).
115
According to the 1st or 2nd cautela.
116
The Sentences of Peter Lombard.
117
Meaning probably the manner of composing sermons that has been discussed above.
suam et materiam suam ostendet et numerus determinationis patebit ex numero loci

vel caracteris et talia metra sunt super omnes quatuor libros Sententiarum. Res, id est
prima distinctio Sententiarum est de rebus et signis. Et que [b 7r] non posset memorari
totam materiam generalem huius disitinctionis, qua ibi etiam tractatur de signis et de
frui et uti, ponantur tot dictiones in primo loco, quot sunt necessarie, quamvis cum
maiori labore. Et similiter in omni distinctione. Sufficit tamen novello studenti habere
repositionem per unam dictionem, ne nimio labore tedio affectus nauseat super hoc
opere. Circa hoc notetur. Si quis vult habere questiones cuiuslibet distinctionis, sicut
ponit beatus Bonaventura, Richardus,118 Thomas119 et alij, erit cum maiori labore et
procedetur, sicut procedebatur in Causis, sic distinctio ponatur in loco generali, articuli
sive questiones in locis particularibus sive membra, ut ponit Alexander de Ales. Etiam
ut patebit immediate in sermonibus in secundo modo recipiendi.120 Et sic tot sint loca
particularia, quot sunt questiones.
Nona cautela questionum sancte Bonaventure aut sancti Thome, Alexandri de Ales
et aliorum posita principali questione in loco generali, ponantur subdivisiones121 vel
ille questiones, que ibi oriuntur in locis particularibus illius loci generalis in tot, quot
erunt loca necessaria, tamen caute procedendum est, ne memoria fatigetur, ut dixi in
cautela precedenti.
Decima cautela quotarum. Numerus ponatur per numerum realem, ut:
Unum baculo. Duo collo cuiuscunque avis puta cigni. [b 7v] Tria serpente. Quatuor
arpice instrumento. Quinque falcastro. Sexto cingulo nodato seu cincto. [b8r] Septem
tigno.122 Octo cathena habente duplex ignile. Novem clava vel cambuca et vulgariter 269
maczuga. Decem cruce vel lapide molari et baculo vel baculo cum speculo aut anulo.
[b8v] Similiter in composito numero. Numerus cum numero, ut duo baculi undecim.
Baculus cum collo avis duodecim. Cum serpente baculus XIII. Et consequenter usque
ad viginti. [XIV – a woodcut depicting a stick and a stole].123 Cingulus cum tigno faciunt
LXVII. Similiter falcastrum cum cathena faciunt LXXVIII124.
Vel per alphabetum reale. Et sic quota erit de ordine alphabeti illum ordinem de-
monstrabit sive numerum capiendo per unam litteram [c1r] non curando, quod vocales
habeant tres litteras125 capiendo quamcumque ex illis. Si compositum vis habere nu-
merum ex litteris realibus, compone litteras reales, sicut nimbus representat quindecim
118
Richardus de Mediavilla (Middleton), called doctor solidus (1249-1307), who wrote a commentary
on the Sentences.
119
St Thomas Aquinas.
120
patebit – it should be rather patuit. Sermons were, not will be considered.
121
Misprinted as sub divisiones.
122
Two planks in the shape of 7.
123
Szklarek omitted the description.
124
Th is is a mistake. The image of scythe means 5, so it should be LVIII.
125
Normally, all vowels have three symbols, so that they can be followed by the 15 consonants, using
the method of five positions (actus). But in this case, this rule does not apply.
et duo nimbi triginta.126 Crux significat decem in numero reali.127 Duplicata signi[fi]
cat128 viginti et sic consequenter, ut patet practicanti.
Tercio numerus efficacius sumitur ex litteris personalibus per vigenas distinguendo
et considerando quota vigena. Si prima simpliciter numerus pronuncietur. Sicut persona
continet litteram alphabeti. Si in secunda vigena etiam facile est videndo, quod prima
precessit et ista secunda numerum ei adiungit. Similiter in tercia vigena, que adiungit
ad duas primas numerum, et sic consequenter usque ad quintam vigenam, que facit
centum. Et iste numerus est efficatior, vel modus computandi quotas efficatior est pro
distinctionibus pro titulis pro questionibus.
Quartus modus reponendi numerum, ubi etiam ponitur numerus libri tractatus
et capituli. Sic potest poni liber per regulam originis, ut phisicorum ponendo globum
filorum vel avem philomenam. Si scire volo quoto libro, ponam litteram personalem, ut si
volo practicare De casu et fortuna, pono Bartholomeum, qui significat librum secundum,
quia B.129 Si tractatum volo scire, puta tercio, ille Bartholomeus flectet, quia actus tercius.
Si numerum capituli reponere volo, pono per numerum realem, ut, si esset capitulo nono,
poneretur Bartholomeus flectens et restem in manu habens vel cambucam naturalem
incurvatam. Exemplum posset capi de tesseribus,130 numerus primus persona, secundus
actu, et tercius numero reali, ut patuit ad oculum.
Undecima cautela nomina doctorum possunt poni duobus modis, primo per per-
sonas notas illis nominibus nominatas, quibus nominantur illi doctores, ut Augustinus
Augustino noto, Ambrosius Ambrosio, Gregorius Gregorio et sic de similibus. Librum
270 de quo pono auctoritatem vel memoria naturali vel regula originis reponam et quotam
modo precedenti immediate. Secundus modus per regulam originis, ut Augustinus auca
vel auro. Ambrosius ampula aurea, Gregorius instrumento purgandi equos, vulgariter
grzeblo131 [=grzebło],132 Anselmus anfora, Crisostomus cristallo, et sic de [alijs].
Duodecima cautela nomina Evangelistarum, ut nomina doctorum: Matheus Matheo
noto, Johannes Johanne, etc., vel regula originis aut proprietatis, ut Lucas lucerna, Mar-
cus marcello, Matheus matta, vulgariter rogoza [=rogoża]133 vel scacis, ubi frenquenter
dicitur mat schach et meth et math, conveniunt Johannem perdice, quia Johannes Evan-
gelista lusit cum hac ave134 vel calice.135 Ista ponantur circa loca imprincipalis divisionis
sermonis vel circa subdivisiones, ubi sunt allegande auctoritates vero ponantur industria
126
Th is image refers to the letter p, the 15th letter of the alphabet.
127
A cross, i.e. X, meaning the Roman numeral.
128
Misprinted as signicat.
129
The 2nd letter of the alphabet.
130
Read de tessaris instead of de tesseribus. This sentence might refer to three aspects of dice-play, because
we there is a person (persona) playing with the dice (actus) and a score (numerus).
131
Misprinted as gizeblo.
132
Iron horse brush. See SS 2, 508.
133
Woven rush mat. See SS 7, 484.
134
The partridge (perdix) appears in a story of the Legenda aurea about St John, according to which
the Evangelist played with a partridge, and he explained his behavior to an astonished guest by saying
that everyone must relax his mind sometimes with some innocent amusement (Legenda aurea, 9, 8).
135
The chalice is an attribute of St. John the Evangelist.
utentis hac arte in eodem loco, ubi sunt [c1v] allegande aut prope aut remote transferendo
secundum prius dicta et que mente habet solum ordinem recordetur, ubi est aliquid
applicandum.
Finit huius artis informatio ad honorem Dei et eternam mercedem docentis ac pro-
fectum discentium, salva super informatione meliori veniamque oro, si quem offendi.
In ecclesia sancti Bernhardini Cracoviensi, Anno salutis MDIII.
Cum legissem artem memorativam in ecclesia nostra sancti Ber[n]hardini136 MDIII
Cracoviensi, que vadit per loca, litteras reales et personales, etc., compendiosissimam,
venit ad manus meas ars alia cuiusdam Arnoldi medici memorativa totius hominis com-
plexionem disponens et presertim caput, ubi memoria conservatur, roboratur et confor-
tatur. Intellectus acuitur et operatur et lucidior efficitur. Et sic homo aptior redditur ad
studia. Perutile mihi visum erat cum priori adiungere, scilicet breviori ac planiori stilo
per modum divisionis, ut in sermonibus publicis soleo facere137, ut pusillos et delicatos
dulcius ad suum fructum trahent. Doses et pondera medicinarum intacta reliqui et prius
medicis ad examinandum dedi, que ars omnibus utilis erit et ex ipsa proficiens Deum
laudet, et pro abbreviatore, peccatore eundem exoret. […]138
Et tamen de hac arte impressa Cracovie, sub anno dominice Incarnationis MDIIII et
finita in vigilia Exaltationis Sancte Crucis.
271
136
Misprinted as Berhardini.
137
Misprinted as faccere.
138
We omit here the end of the treatise, which is a medical excerpt with the title “Magistri Arnoldi ars
memorativa medici de Nova Villa” from the works of Arnaldus de Villa Nova. For a modern edition,
see Wójcik, Opusculum, 192–210.
7. Valentinus de Monteviridi (Grünberg, Zielona Góra):
Praxis artis memorativae (1504)
Valentinus Werner de Monteviridi (Grünberg, now Zielona Góra in Silesia) copied

three memory treatises and several memory images and cards in the period between
1478 and 1505 into ms. 734/I of the Ossolineum Library in Wrocław. Besides a heavily
commented manuscript version of the art of memory of Jacobus Publicius (174r–200r), it
contains a four-folio treatise on the art of memory (168r–171v), copied in Vác (Hungary;
German: Waitzen) in 1504 according to the explicit of the text (“1504 Wacie in profesto
trinitatis”); and De arte iuvandi memoriam, which may likewise have been copied in
Hungary, as it cites the Hungarian word for wine (bor) as an example of memorizing
meaningless word forms.1
The text copied in Vác in 1504 is a modified version of the memory treatise of Con-
rad Celtis. Valentinus omits the name of the author of the treatise and inserts a short
introductory paragraph at the beginning. Words printed in italics do not appear in the
treatise of Conrad Celtis as printed in the Epitoma in utramque Ciceronis rhetoricam 273
(Ingolstadt: Kachelofen, 1492). The short, illustrated De arte iuvandi memoriam (inc.
Ars imitatur naturam secondo Phisicorum), copied to the end of the manuscript, has not
yet surfaced in this form in any other manuscript or printed source. For further details,
see pp. 138–143.
[168r] [N]emini dubium est naturam arte iuuari, ad quod credendum quotidiana edoce-
mur experiencia: propter enim vite comoditatem varia artificia hominibus adinventa sunt:
ob id enim (ut mille innumerabilibus2 obmittantur exempla) agricola arte terram sulcat,
seminat et ipsam irrigat, ut fecundior cum fenore ager sibi fructum aff erat, arte preterea
extruuntur edificia, ut mortale genus ab imbribus et celi calamitatibus esset securum. Co-
dices insuper exarantur, ut que a memoria nostra labili deciderent, per eos in presentem
scienciam nobis reminiscentibus devenirent, pariformiter hoc in spiritualibus reperitur, ut
per quasdam ymagines loca et per inscripciones memoria potest secundaria3 natura ipsa
1
“Habita nonnumquam diccione latina, quae non significat rem aliquam ponderosam visibilem,
capimus imaginem eius auxilio alterius linguae ut por diccione latina cum nihil significat apud latinos
ponam tamen pro imagine id quod in alia lingua significat, hoc est vinum. Nam por est lingua ungarica
et significat vinum.” Ms. Ossol. 734/I, 201r.
2
read: innumerabilia.
3
read perhaps: fecundari a.
noster animus, firmius inscripta per id in memoria potest retinere: quare naturam arte posse
iuuari manifestum est.4
[U]t ergo propositum multis ambagibus exclusis prosequimur, idpreceptum sciat in primis
memorari volens memoriam ipsam fore bipartitam in naturalem videlicet, et artificial-
em.5 Naturalisque nostris animis insita ac ingenita est, quam si quis optime ordinatam
a natura habuerit, gaudeat. Artificialis est, que preceptis confirmatur,6 hec locis ymag-
inibus et comparacionibus quibus7 inscribens8 memorans utitur, corroboratur.9 Scribentitori
maxime similis, ut enim ille cartam vel cerampapirum, in qua10 scribit, sic hec11 locisartificial.
habet, tanquam materialequoddam, ymagines et comparaciones tanquam penicile, per quas
inscribitmemorie, utsicut litteras assumattamquam penicile quoddam: quidem ymaginum ordo et dis-
posicio collocacioque scripture persimilis est: pronunciacio12 autem rerum inscriptarum
cum leccioneid est scriptoris similitudinem trahit, hanc plerique tradidere magnis et difficilis
[!] preceptis inaniinutili quadam locorum ymaginumque invencione, quibus locis et quo
ordine in locis [168v] illeymagines 13 collocande forent. Varie diff usequeample disserentesincipi-
entes[?]
in locorumloci enim racione seruanda esse, que in celoin quibus zodi[acus?], in regionibus,
urbibus, arcibus, villis, edibus, intercolumnis: et an obscuris, an lucidis capacibus [!]14
angustis vel amplis multum intendere debere, ut que ex ordine, quintum quemque locum
ymaginatoaurea manu signo vel caractere numerum distinguente: ne ordinis perturbacioin
memorando
fieret, docuerant. Transeo infinitam quantam precepcionemmodum de invenien-
dis, comparandis colligendisque ymaginibus:15 vel ut cuique rei vocique[diccioni] similem
inveniremus ymaginem cum [!]16 miramad invencionem dignam, incredibilem, trucem, crudelem,
274 nouam, raram, inauditam, flebilem, sordidam et obscenam: illatales effectus imaginum17 memorie
4
Cf. „Sapientum tradit auctoritas – et ad experiendum nos cottidiana cogit necessitas, quod ars
adiuvat naturam in corporalibus et spiritualibus, propter enim commoditatem vite corporalis tam varia
artificia manualia sunt inventa, et ubi deficit natura, supplet artificium.[…] Nam primo, propter cibum
contra famem agricola terram sulcat arte, seminat et runkat, plantat et rigat, ut terra fructum afferat,
incrementum tamen Deo dante. […] Tercio, pro tegumento nature nostre a sole et a pluvia, arte fiunt
edificia et ad hominum usum varium varia instrumenta. […] Quinto, per scriptores libri manuales,
tamquam quedam memorialia, nostre memorie labili, que natura non valet, arte coaptantur.” Pack, “An
Ars,” 229.
5
Celtis [from here on: C]: Memoriam in naturalem et artificialem scindunt
6
C: alteram que prepceptione quadam confirmetur
7
Celtis prints quis, but Valentine’s quibus is correct (unless Celtis meant quīs).
8
C: inscribitur
9
om. C
10
C: quo
11
C: is
12
varias esse artes memorativas artificiales et sentenciam [?] Ciceronis in marg.
13
Intercolumnium […] racionis, ubi interdum racioni in edificio egregie extructo concumbent in marg.
14
C: lucis capacibus
15
secunda ars memorie de ymaginibus […] pre se ferendus in marg.
16
om. C
17
tertia de ymaginibus […] et instrumento desigancionibus per omnes litteras in marg.
7. Valentinus de Monteviridi (Grünberg, Zielona Góra): Praxis artis memorativae (1504)
plurimum conferre dixerunttales. Alii pro singulis compingendis,18 ut difficillime19 ars vo-
let20 arma instrumentaque efinxerunt per que21 figuras litterarum et formas exprimerent:
huiusmodiefixere circular pro A, barbitum pro B, anguem pro S efinxerunt, ut infinita talia,
que admiracionem magis novitatemque,22 quam preciumopereutiliter absoluunt: eas autem
litteras sic depictas tanquam ex arte nunc in ortum et occasum, nunc in meridiem dispar-
ciuntextendunt. Nos vero non sine industria loca et ymagines et earum ordinem sempiternum
et inconfusum viginti litteris latinis complexi sumus, seruata eorum naturali ordine, quo
facilius animo herere possint, parum mutatis transpositisque,23 proutprocter numerum inculcatum
fieri potuit earum litterarumin caracteribus figuris. Vocales enim hic amituntur [!], nisi e [!], que
in vim consonantis transire videtur, A tamen in vertice ordinis naturaliter expressa: quo fit,
ut quintum quemque locum per singula elementa litteras distingui in promptu esset tum
per formam caracterislittere numeri inculcatiimpressi, quam intra et extram sillabam elemen-
tilittere inveniesagnoscis.24 Apponuntur autem elementis singulis quinque sillabe[?], in quibus
seruato vocalium ordinenaturali, tanquam in locis singulis ymagines a singulis sillabislocis
incipientes conquiescunttanquam in locis suis naturalibus. Quasdam a grecis accipere oportuit, ut in
K Kappa ypsilon et z, quodquia [lingua] latina eis diccionibus caret, que a talibus sillabisa k et z
inciperent, presertim hiisdiccionibus, que aliquem [!] insignem[?] ymaginem significarent,
ob eam rem [169r] propria eciam assumpta sunt nominaque25 ymaginespropria nomina […]
communium exprimerent, ut in iob pro summe paciencie viro, in zacharia vetuluman-
tiquum
et iam fluentibus mucidisque naribus accipiamus: oportuit eciam in quibusdam
mutare litteras, a quibus nomina inciperent, ut quistos pro custos, xomonolentus [!] pro
somnolentus, xsurdus26 pro surdus, yasapuleius,27 quod latine filium prodigum dicimus. 275
Hoc autem est,28 quod earum sillabarum dicciones29 a nobis in utraque lingua inueniri
non poterat, presertim quenomina ymaginem aliquem insignem significarent, ordo autem
ymaginum infusus vocalium ordine30 semper erit, si illarum, hoc est a, e, i, o, u uos31
meminisse non pigerit, quottum autem ymaginis32 ex simulacro33 elementi facile inuenies
a prima et ultima ymaginibus. Sunt autem ymagines electe et a nobis invente, per quas
18
C: pro singulis elementis confingendis
19
C: difficilior
20
C: foret
21
C: que
22
C: noviciis
23
C: In singulis notam quinarii numeri inculcantes parum mutatis transpositisque ut fieri potuit earum
litterarum figuris
24
C: facile intueris
25
C: nomina quae
26
C: xurdus
27
C: yosapoleos (υἱὸς ἄσωτος, the prodigal son?)
28
C: Hoc autem ita factum est
29
C: imagines et dictiones
30
C: inconfusus vocalium
31
C: te
32
C: quantum autem imaginum
33
C: simulatio (misprint)
plurimum meminisse poterimus. Notecerte enim sunt et firme familiarissime,34 queymo

facile memoriam nostram35 exuscitarememoriam nostram possunt. Cum itaque36 alicuius rei
verbi sententie, argumenti aut orationis aut carminis meminisse voluerimus, ad ymagines
intendere omni cura nos oportebit.37 Earum38 quarum memoriam rerum habere volueri-
mus39 per illasimagines et comparaciones 40 inscribere et meminisse, aut41 in substantia natura vel
inherenti aliqua proprietate42 notare. Hec autem sunt,43 per que, ut plurimum44 inscribi-
mus et comparamusin arte memorativa, sunt insignia in […] avidus, instrumentaartificis, accionesquod
, affectusmentis, tempusquando, causa, effectuseueniens, formainterior, figuraexterior, habitusutraque,
agat 45
color vestimentum, locusubi, partes corporisan rectus claudus,46 consuetudoque eius fuerit, dictumquid loquitur,
gestumque facit, factumquid faciat, ethymologiainstantia,47 notacio[?], efficacia,48 sermocinaciolatinus
[polonus]
, officina huius artis, amiciqui eius, socii qui eius, convictus, educacio, stirpis nomen49 patria
et mores et ab illorum maxime contrariis et oppositis memoriam rei querere debemus, ut
autem manifescior50 res fiat nobis, ita inscribendum memorie51 ducimus. Si de relligione
nobis52 exordiendum esset, id per abbatem primam ymaginem53 inscribimus per eam
comparationem, que nobis pro memoria fugienda54 succurrere poterit. Si secundo55 de
iusticia nobis narrandum est,56 id in equite scribamus,57 quod eius sit maxime iusticiam
armis tueri. Si tertio de illata nobis58 fraude [169v] et de dolo dicendum, id ad institorem
scribamus,59 quod id hominum genus plerumque fraudibus agat. Si quarto de lite et con-
276 34
C: firme et familiarissime
35
C: nostram om.
36
C: igitur
37
C: imagines nos intendere omni cura oportebit
38
C: Et earum
39
C: voluerimus
40
C: illa
41
C: Que aut
42
C: proprietate Imaginis inuenies et comparationem rei memorande cum imaginis proprietate
43
om. C
44
C: in plurimum
45
C: arma
46
C: corpus
47
instans pro mera [?] in marg.
48
C: effigies
49
C: stirps, nomen
50
C: manifesta
51
C: memoriter
52
C: uobis
53
C: per imaginem primam abbatem
54
C: figenda (recte!)
55
C: Secundo
56
C: orandum
57
C: scribemus
58
C: uobis
59
C: inscribamus
tencione, id ad officialem referamus,60 quod controuersie aput eum decidantur. Si quinto

de pecuniarum61 amissione vel62 per usurarium notabimus. Si sexto de sordidis homini-
bus, id ad balneatorem trahemus. Si septimo de superstitione, id ad beguttam63 facere
possumus, quod id hominum genus superstitioni sit obnoxium et infinita talia semper
ad sequentes ex ordine ymagines scribere possumus. Cum autem quinque articulus [!]
inscripsimus, semper inscripta64 bis aut ter cum suis ymaginibus repetamus, hoc modo
futurum erit, ut natura doctrine suppeditabitur. Multum65 autem pro re66 consequenda
adiumentum67 nobis erit, si humanarum rerum experienciam habuerimus, sic enim facile
comparaciones nobis occurrere possunt. Scisse autem ante omnia oportebit meminisse
volentem, ut elementorum noticiam68 habeat, ut cum caracter[e] semper sibi numerus
quinarius69 occurrat. Dehinc autem omnium ymaginum nomina te mente opportebit
meminisse ita, quod70 a principio in finem et a fine in principium mediasque inter has
collectas ymagines prompte recitare valeas. Verum hec artis memorative precepta71 nul-
lius momenti esse poterint, nisi summa assiduitate exercitacionis iugi studio, labore et
diligencia comprobentur.72 In primo aspectu neque medici neque imperatores nec oratores
(quamuis artis precepta perceperint) quidquam minus laude dignum sine ea exercitacione
consequi possunt.
Ingenuo sermone loqui versuque canoro
ludere et articulis increpuisse lyram
Nemo sine assiduo (si quid mihi creditis versu)
Nemo sine assiduo scire labore putet.
[170r] Elementa seu caracteres memorative artis secundum loca et ymagines uero sicut 277
minus illustria in latinas [?] conficta litteras.
60
C: referimus
61
C: pecuniarum nostrarum
62
C: di (misprint for id)
63
C: cum beguta
64
C: in scripta (misprint)
65
C: Multo
66
C: pro hac re
67
C: adiumento
68
C: elementorum memorabilium quo ad figuras et inculcatos numeros perfectam notitiam
69
C: numeri quinarii nota
70
C: mente teneas meminisseque vt
71
C: Unde et hec de oratoris i. rerum memoria precepta sunt que cum aliis huius epitomatis preceptis
72
C: comprobetur
Ordo Locus Ymago 73

a castitas abbascastitas74
e rapacitas equesrapacitas75
A5 i decepcio institordeceptor
o citacio officialiscitacio
u conduplicacio surariusconduplicacio
ba pallidus balneatorpallidus
be rixa begutarixa supersticio
B 10 bi vinum bibulus
bo stabulum bossequuspastor bonus
bu prandium buccinatorest canens bucca inflata
ca religio cardinalisreligio
ce iusticia cesariusticia
C 15 ci vulnus cirurgicusvulnus a ciro, quod est manus, et raga, quod est
incisio, vel medicus faciens […] percisionem
co siziber76 cocusziziber
cu baculus cursorbaculus
da ciphus dapiferciphus
de vigilia debitor vigilia
D 20 di victoria dimicator victoria
do piretum77 doctorpiretum
278 du magnificencia duxmagnificencia
fa babatum faberbabatum
fe locusta fenisecaqui falcastro fenum secat
F 25 fi argilla figulusargilla a figendo
fo timor fornicatortimor
fu stramen furnariusstramen operans furnum 78
ga cappa gardianusgardi cappa
73
The column ’ordo’ contains the initial letters, which fi x the order of places/backgrounds, and the
words (which act as images here) are attached to them in alphabetic order. The associated meaning of
the images (ie. the thing to be remembered) is noted in the column between the loci and the imagines.
Th is column inbetween is completely missing from Celtis’ printed treatise, as each user had to create
his own associations for the images.
74
Valentinus de Monteviridi, probably as a mock exercise, wrote the meaning he created for these
images with tiny, hardly legible letters above the images themselves. These are mostly identical to the
meanings presented in the column inbetween, or explain their meaning.
75
The tradition of comparing the social layers with sins is present in the well-known parable of the
Daughters of Devil. Each allegorical daughter of the devil is married to a social layer, Robbery to
noblemen, Usury to burghers, Hypocrisy to the Beguines. See some versions of the story in Johannes
Gritsch, Quadragesimale, sermo xvi; and Paul Meyer, “Notice du Ms. Rawlinson Poetry 241,” Romania
29 (1900), 55–57.
76
I.e., ziziber, ginger. Cf. Du Cange 8, 431 (s.v. ziziber).
77
ESŁŚP, s.v. birretum (cleric’s hat).
78
Baker, see ESŁŚP, s.v. furnarius; DuCange 3, 635.
ge amica genetrixamica
G 30 gi temeritas gigastemeritas a genitzo a gigno quasi extare
go assentacio goliardusassentacio, qui coram dominis gesta refert 79
gu fidelitas gustariusfidelis, qui pre libare solet fercula regibus aposita
ha piscator hamariuspiscator
he dissensio hereticusdissensio
H 35 hi libellus hisocrita [!] libellus
ho campana hostiariuscampana tamquam foribus preest 80
hu fumus humariusfumus, qui corpora humat
[170v]
ka suggestio kakodemonsugestio a kakos quod est malum 81
ke tela kerkitectortela qui vertitur kerkesi 82
K 40 ki prudens kingliosprudens cancellarius hinc 83
ko adolescens koradionadolescens a caros saltat est puella
ku rosarium kurekousisrosarium tusor [?] 84
la ecclesia lapicidaecclesia
le oracio legatusoracio
L 45 li traditor lictortraditor, spiculator
lo camisia lotrixcamisia
lu tessera lusortessera
ma caro canis macellarius
me tenuitas mendicus85 279
M 50 mi laurea miles
mo rota molendinariusqui preest molendino
mu iocunditas musice
na nauta
ne necromanticusqui elicit e sepulcris animas
N 55 ni nisiferferens nizum86
no notarius
79
The note offers an interesting definition of goliard poetry. Cf. Du Cange 4, 85.
80
Doorkeeper, see ESŁŚP, s.v. ostiarius; DuCange 3, 709.
81
C: kacademon.
82
As there are no words in Latin starting with the letter K, Celtis and Valentinus used strange, hardly
understandable words as headings. The kerkitector might be a compound form of the German Kirche
(church) and tector, thus it could mean church-builder.
83
Bateman claims that it is an obscene word, though he does not reveal its meaning: John J. Batemen,
„The Art of Rhetoric in Gregor Reisch’s Margarita Philosophica and Conrad Celtes’ Epitome of the
Two Rhetorics of Cicero,” Illinois Classical Studies 8 (1983): 144. According to the notes of Valentinus,
it means a chancellor („prudens cancellarius hinc”).
84
C: kureff s. Celtis’ wordform might refer to the German Kürass (armor).
85
C: medicus. Valentinus clearly understood this word as referring to a beggar, not a physician, hence
he associated it to slimness.
86
Unfortunately, the note does not make the sense clearer. Maybe „one carrying a sparrowhawk
(nisus)”?
nu nummularius
pa papainteriectio admirantis
pe pedagogus grecum a pes pedis quod est puer et gogas duccio
P 60 pi pictor
po podagrosusqui pedum dolores patitur
pu puplicanus87
qua quadrariusqui res omnes quadrat 88
que questorquerendo pecunias
Q 65 qui quisculariusqui sonum facit in fistulo ex cereo 89
quo quotaras90
qu quustoscustos 91 [171r]
ra raptor
re retiariusfaciens recia 92
R 70 ri rixosus
ro rotariusrotas faciens 93
ru rusticus
sa sacerdos
se secretarius
S 75 si simulatorqui se fingit talem qualis non est
so solitudinarius
su sutor
280 ta tabernator
te testamentarius
T 80 ti tirannus
to tornatorqui cauat rotas 94
tu tutor
va vaticinator
ve vetula
V 85 vi vigil
vo votarius95
vu vulgaris
xa xantoraxqui capillarum ornatui intendunt96
87
C: publicanus
88
Stonecutter, see Niermeyer, 874.
89
The explanation refers to fistularius, someone playing on a recorder („qui sonum facit in fistulo …”).
90
C: quotarius. Cotarius, coterius is a field-gard, see Du Cange 2, 598.
91
I.e., custos.
92
Netmaker.
93
Wheelmaker; Du Cange 7, 221.
94
Turner, cf. Du Cange 8, 129 and Klemens Bąkowski, Dawne cechy krakowskie [Old guilds of Cracow]
(Cracow: Tow. Miłośników Historyi i Zabytków Krakowa, 1903), 22.
95
Votary, bound by a vow.
96
C: xantorix.
xe xenologusgenus italie facile conducens hospites advenientes 97

X xi xisticus98stipendiarius
xo xomnolentus
xu xurdus
ya yalurgus99
ye yesus
Y yi yesepolis
yo yob
yu yudeus
za zacharias
ze zelotipusanimo vilius intendens
Z zi zimurgus[…] 100
zo zodiacus
zu zuccarius
Multiplicabis imagines et loca, si singulis ymaginibus plures filios et filias aptaueris.

1504 Wacie in profesto trinitatis.
[200v] Ars imitatur naturam secundo Phisicorum,101 hoc est natura deficienter in suo
opere recursus est ad artem nature adiutricem. Hinc est, quod aliqui summopere an-
helant ad artes muniendi naturam corporis et repellendi defectus eiusdem, ut patet in
artibus mechanicis. Aliqui uero sunt auidi ad artes interiores anime et expulsiuas de-
fectum eius. Et quia anima nascitur defectuosa in tribus potenciis sue alcioris partis, 281
que sunt intellectus, voluntas et memoria, in quibus relucet ymago super [!] benedicte
trinitatis, ea propter, ut illas perficiamus potencias, positi sumus in tugurio huius mundi,
dicente Platone in Thymeo: ad hoc posita est anima racionalis in tempore, ut in eo fenoretur
sciencias et virtutes, que si cum magno fenore venerint, benigne recipietur, sin autem relega-
bitur.102 Ideo dicit Philosophus tercio De anima, quod anima in principio sue creacionis
est sicut tabula, in qua nichil est depictum,103 est tamen depingibilis scienciis et virtutibus,
quasi dicetur: natura anime in parte superiori nascitur inperfecta, sed arte perfectibilis
est sibi correspondente. Unde ars, qua intellectus iuuatur, est sciencia. Sciencia autem est
modus intelligendi et cognoscendi rerum. De isto multi libri per philosophos antiquos,
Aristotelem, Platonem et alios, sunt conscripti. Ars autem iuuandi voluntatem est vir-
97
Ξενόλογος, a recruiter.
98
Ξυστικός, a wrestler exercizing in piazzas or galleries.
99
Glassmaker, vitrarius. Cf. Th esaurus linguae Latinae, ed. Robertus Stephanus et al., (Basel:
Thurnisiorum, 1740), Vol. 2, 523.
100
Fermenter.
101
Arist. Phys. 2, 2.
102
Plato, Timaios, 90a–d. The same sentence of Plato is cited in Göttingen UB, Ms. theol. 121, 30r
in the introduction of the treatise ’Quia natura humana’. See Heimann-Seelbach, Ars un scientia, 260,
n. 20.
103
Aristotle, De anima 3, 4 (429 b, 31–430 a, 2.)
tus. Virtus enim est habitus administratiuus voluntatis, ut velid [!]104 bonum. Est igitur
virtus ars volendi, de qua multa volumina sunt conscripta, tam per philosophos, quam
per theologos, qui varios dederunt modos regulandi voluntatem. Sic suo modo memoria
scripto iuuatur. Scriptura enim est modus verus iuuandi memoriam, ut diuturne recon-
detur ea, que alias de facili obliuiscetur. Vero de ista arte antiqui pauca scripserunt, solus
enim Seneca, huius mundi, huius artis primus inuentor, eandem secretauit sic, quod
ipsam libris scribere voluit Aristoteles, eciam tamquam in latebris breuibus verbis et
vix intelligibilibus, ut secrete tenentur, inclusit. Sed Tulius in opere Rehetorice [!] magis
inuigilauit eandem, magis ceteris prolixauit, quamuis dubiose, propterea nunc lucidius
de arte dicendum est. [201r] De litteris realibus fictis ad proposicionem et similitudinem
litterarum latinarum animaduertendum est, quod pro commendandis memorie sylla-
bis duarum vel plurium <et> litterarum utimur realibus his rebus vel eciam pro com-
mendandis memorie principiis terminorum aut partibus in declinabilibus seu ignotis
diccionibus alicuius lingue incognite, in quibus difficile inueniri potest apta ymago
cum rem corpoream, qua memoria mouetur, non significant nec sine his corporeis rebus
imagines haberi possunt. Sepe et tamen ex voce et sono unius vocabuli rem locamus
alterius lingue pro ymagine sine litteris realibus. Nam his uti non oportet, nisi in neces-
sitate, cum alias nullum auxilium habere poterimus pro invenienda ymagine. Habita
nonnumquam diccione latina, que non significat rem aliquam ponderosam, visibilem,
capimus ymaginem eius auxilio alterius lingue, ut por, diccione latina cum nihil signifi-
cat apud latinos, ponam tamen pro ymagine, id quod in alia lingua significat, hoc est
282 vinum. Nam por est lingua ungarica et significat vinum. Sicut pro negatiua diccione haud
recurrimus ad linguam germanicam et ponimus pellem pro imagine. Pro aliis vero siue
concordancie tales vel auxilia alterius lingue in sono vel voce non reperiuntur, pro his
partibus in diccionibus locandis invente sunt littere reales tot, quot sunt littere alphabeti
latini et tales res excogitate sunt, que aliquo modo in figura habent proposicionem et
similitudinem cum tractibus et figuris litterarum latinarum, ut circinus cum A, lutina
cum B, et sic de aliis, et secundum diuersam reuolutionem vel affi xionem in locis suis
diuersas silabas scribimus, unaqueque vocalis ex quinque litteris habet tres res reales
similes sue figure, in quantum fieri potest, et omnis consonans habet dumtaxat duas. Et
res designantes vocales sumunt ad se consonantes ordine seruato consonantium cum his
faciens silabam et constituens. Res designans consonantes sumit econuerso ad se vocales
ordine vocalium seruato cum his constituentes silabas secundum diuersam affi xionem
et locationem illarum rerum in locis suis. Et in his consonantibus H non censetur, lit-
tera Q et K sub C comprehenduntur, et inter res designantes vocales habendus est ordo,
ut illa res sit prima in ordine, que dignior est et maioris valoris. Alia secunda minoris
valoris alia tertia minimi valoris. Sic simili modo inter res consonancium primam rem
pro prima vocali, scilicet habemus circinum, secundo scalam, tercio artam equi, pro B
habeamus lutinam et bulsi,105 pro C soleam ferream et cornu venatoris, pro D capud
thauri et vas aquarum. Loco E vocalis habemus tres res ordine cancrum incuruatum
104
read: velit
105
Bulbi in the Oratoriae artis epitoma (Venice: Ratdolt, 1485), f. H4v of Jacobus Publicius,.
cum tenaculis, mediam rotam et serram, loco F clauam Herculis et gladium Hectoris,
in quo dona [?]. Loco G habemus fistulam pastoris vel opilionis et tubam rotundam.
Loco I vocalis piscem, turrim sancti Nicolai106 et lanceam vel vitrum cervisie. Loco L
securim et rostrum, loco M coronam et tripedem, loco N patibulum et portam. Loco
O trigoneam [!] pomum est, quod habet imperator in manu, nolam et pomum. Loco
P baculum pastoralem et squamam, quo utuntur, qui eff udunt cervisiam ad vas. Loco
R forpicem et <n> tenellam. [201v] Loco S serpentem involutam in girum et tubam
oblongam, alias stercus in kussione,107 loco T malleum et terebellum, loco V torcular,
rallum apertum108 et virum euersum, loco X instrumentum bellicum Vindelicorum
hellem bartem,109 et crucem Sancti Andree. Scribendo cum his rebus110 scribatur pocior
pars et maior illius rei, que est prima in ordine vocalium realium vel consonancium. Si
prima res designans vocalem A vertitur ad centrum, sumit ad se primam consonantem,
scilicet B, et facit AB. Si eius maior pars vertitur sursum, sumit secundum consonantem
in ordine, que est C, et facit AC. Si ad dextram partem vertitur illius, qui inspicit in
locum, sumit D, et facit AD. Si ad sinistram partem vertitur, sumit F, et facit AF. Nunc,
si secunda res designans vocalem vertitur isto modo, sumit ad se quatuor consonantes,
scilicet G, L, M, N, cum his diversas silabas conficiens. Si tercia vertitur his quatuor
versionibus, sumit P, R, S, T. Sic prima res designans consonantem aliquam, ut lutina
pro B. Si sic utitur prima versione ad terram, sumit A et facit BA. Si ad celum vertitur,
sumit E et facit BE, a dextris sumit I, et facit BI, a sinistris sumit O, et facit BO. Secunda
res designans <vocalem> consonantem sumit V in prima versione ad terram, ut bulbi, et
facit BU, in secunda versione supra assumit L, in tercia R, in quarta nihil. Nam solum 283
illas duas consonantes assumit liquidas et agitur cum omnibus rebus, que significant aut
vocales aut consonantes, et in omnibus seruatur in secunda vocalibus et consonantibus,
ut patet practicanti.
De numero
Numerus triplex est: digitus, articulus et compositus. Digiti sunt nouem usque ad de-
cem: pro unitate pugionem, pro dualitate clauum parietis, pro numero ternario caudam
porcinam, pro quaternario numero instrumentum sartoris wurst buegel,111 pro numero
quinario pedem, pro senario panem quadragesimalem eyn pretzel,112 propter [quod] alii
faciunt membrum virile, pro numero septenario instrumentum aratri ad eleuandum
aratrum, ne intrat terram, et vomer. Pro octenario numero duos annulos cathene, pro
ultimo digito squamam. Primum articulum, scilicet decem facit hasta cum cruce, vig-
106
The tower of a church of Saint Nicholas.
107
I.e., coxina.
108
Open rasor.
109
A type of attack weapon (German Hellebarte, see Jacob Grimm, Wilhelm Grimm, Deutsches
Wörterbuch [Leipzig: Hirzel, 1854–1961], vol. 10, col. 969).
110
Marginal note: consideratur after rebus.
111
German Wurstbügel/Wursthorn, a tool to keep the end of the sausage casing stretched while fi lling
the sausage.
112
Pretzel (German Brezel).
inti falx cum cruce, 30 media pes cum cruce, quadraginta tenellam [!] cum cruce,
pro quinquaginta sustentaculum infirmorum, quod supponunt brachio cum cruce, pro
sexaginta instrumentum fullonum cum cruce, pro septuaginta falcastrum cum cruce,
pro octuoginta [!] calicem cum cruce, 90 claua Herculis cum cruce. Centum per C siue
cornu venatoris significatur. Mille per coronam.
De numero composito
Undecim facit hasta supra infi xo rallo aperto, 12 facit hasta supra infi xo collo anserino,
13 facit hasta supra infi xo terebello, 14 facit hasta supra infi xo ense, 15 facit hasta supra
fi xa manu, 16 facit hasta supra infi xa tuba rotunda, decem et septem facit hasta superius
aut inferius divisa. Decem et octo [202r] facit hasta cum mola, 19 facit hasta cum an-
gwilla. Sic de omnibus numeris istis agendum est. Viginti unum facit falx infi xo rallo,
viginti duo falx infi xo collo anseris.
Item si res signantes compositum et digitum aut articulum, infiguntur in cornu in
superiori parte, vel corona maiorem designant. Si inferius infiguntur , <claues centum
designant et duo> in cornu et corona superiorem minorem designant, ut cornu superius
infi xo clauo ducenta facit. Si inferius <inferius> infigitur, clauis centum designat et duo,
sic eciam de corona. Si cauda porci superius infigitur, in corona tria milia designantur,
si inferius infigitur, mille designat et cum hoc tercio, etc. [expl. 202v]
[203v–207r: chartae memorativae, for reproductions, see Pl. 10-12.]
[205v] De casibus
284 Sex in singulari numero, et sex in plurali numero. Ymago numeri singularis erecto
modo se habet, ymago genitiui singularis inclinat genua et superius quod habeat puerum
in corbe. Ymago datiui singularis sedeat et quod exponat pecuniam et det. Ymago accu-
satiui singularis quiescit in pecto[re] et habet auenam. Ymago vocatiui animet et digitis
ad se se vocet. Ablatiuus quiescit in dorso et affert res. In plurali in nominatiuo et obliquis
ymagines cum istis gestibus duplices fiunt, ut nominatiuus pluralis habet duas ymagines
erecto modo stantes. Genitiuus duas reflexas ad genua, et sic de aliis.
8. Michael de Arce Draconis: Memorandi tractatus, 1505
The memory treatise of this little-known magister survives in ms. 125.2 Quod. 2° (1a) of
the Herzog August Bibliothek in Wolfenbüttel. According to the explicit of the manu-
script, Michael de Arce Draconis was teaching this text in Erfurt in 1505 (“Finis huius
artis in Erfordiensi studio Anno Domini MD quinto.”) The manuscript is bound together
with a densely annotated copy of a 1499 Leipzig edition of the Summulae of Petrus
Hispanus. The scribe of the manuscript seems to be the same as the annotator of the
printed part of the volume, in which his name appears on the title page as “Jacobus
Groper Asthamensis iusto titulo me possidet.”1 Jacobus Groper was later connected to
the University of Erfurt, as he appears among the founders of a bursary at the College
of Law in Erfurt for students from Osnabrück in 1511.2
We know relatively little about Master Michael de Arce Draconis. Unfortunately, his
name does not appear among the students of Erfurt. His name is given as the author of
a paratext (“Magister Michael de Arce Draconis ad Librum ipsum”) in a work of Hierony- 285
mus Emser published in Leipzig in 1505.3 Later, he was present at the newly founded
University of Frankfurt an der Oder in April 1506, where “Michael de arce draconis”
appears among the masters of the Silesian nation (“de natione slesitarum”) elected to the
Consilium facultatis magistri.4 Nevertheless, he was recorded in the “natio Franconum”
in the register in the same month.5 Thus the exact meaning of the place name ‘Arx
1
Die Handschriften der herzoglichen Bibliothek zu Wolfenbüttel, ed. Otto von Heinemann
(Wolfenbüttel: Zwissler, 1908), II/5, Vol. 8, 246–247. The word ‘Asthanensis’ should probably be
corrected to ‘Aschanensis’ (Ascania=Anhalt). Digital copy: http://diglib.hab.de/mss/125-2-quod-2f-1a/
start.htm (accessed on 6.6.2013.)
2
“Jacobus Groper […] artium et iuris baccalaure[us]”. See Georg Oergel, “Das Collegium Beatae
Mariae Virginis (Juristen-Schule) zu Erfurt. V. Die Stiftungs-Urkunde der Osnabrücker Präbende vom
28. Juli 1511,” Mittheilungen des Vereins für die Geschichte und Alterthumskunde von Erfurt 22 (1901): 105.
3
Hieronymus Emser, Dialogismus de origine propinandi, vulgo compotandi, et an sit toleranda compotatio
in republica bene instituta necne (Leipzig: Lotter, 1505), A2r. Th is poem, together with another written
by Emser, is also preserved on two sides of a manuscript leaf in Strasbourg, University Library, ms. 211.
See Catalogue général des manuscrits des bibliothèques publiques de France, Vol. 47: Strasbourg, ed. Ernest
Wickersheimer (Paris: Plon, 1923), 120.
4
Acten und Urkunden der Universität Frankfurt a.O., ed. Georg Kaufmann, Gustav Bauch (Breslau:
Marcus, 1907), Vol. 1, 19; and Michael Höhle, Universität und Reformation: die Universität Frankfurt
(Oder) von 1506 bis 1550 (Cologne: Böhlau, 2002), 74.
5
“Magister Michael de Arce Draconis”: Ältere Universitätsmatrikeln. I. Universität Frankfurt an der
Oder, ed. Georg Liebe, Emil Thenner, Ernst Friedlaender, Vol. 1, 3. The register was started on April
26, 1506.
Draconis’ in his name remains unclear.6 We include his work in our book in the belief
that he might have originated from the Silesian town of Żmigród (Trachenberg), and
because of its close connection to the art of memory of Johannes Cusanus.
We find a poem addressed to him (“Ad Michaelem de arce draconis philosophiae mag-
istro”) in a volume of Georg Sibutus, according to which Michael de Arce Draconis
wanted to be given a mention in his book at any price, whereas Sibutus advised him to
look for fame through his own works.7 Despite their acquaintance, the memory teach-
ing of Michael de Arce Draconis seems to be independent from the mnemonic treatise
of Georg Sibutus contained in the same volume.8 In fact, Sibutus’ treatise abounds in
classical citations, to the extent that it sometimes seems to take the form of a collection
of commonplaces, while Michael follows a more traditional pattern, dividing the places
into categories of big, minor and small loci. Of particular interest are his detailed lists
of symbols, in which he proposes various memory images for abstract concepts, thus
creating a kind of symbolic dictionary of moral qualities. A closely related text can be
found in Berlin, SB, lat. oct. 433, 210v–217v. In this manuscript, the text is identical
to Michael’s copy in most places, only the long list of symbolic meanings is missing.9
Furthermore, Michael’s treatise is closely related to the art of memory of Vibicetus/
Cusanus, and his bibliography reveals that, among the modern practitioners of the art,
he knew Antoninus Florentinus, Matheolus Perusinus, Petrus Ravennas, and Jacobus
Publicius, who is quoted in the marginal notes as well. Besides Erfurt, he may have been
familiar with the city of Cologne, as in one of his marginal comments he mentions the
286 Shrine of the Three Kings in Cologne Cathedral, and the 15-meter-high baptismal font
in the Severikirche in Erfurt as symbols of the cities (see note 29 below). Since the text
is edited here from a single manuscript, together with its notes, we try to stay as close as
possible to the original: only the punctuation has been modernized.
6
It could refer both to Trachenberg (Polish: Żmigród) in Lower Silesia, and to Drachenfels in the
Rhineland. Höhle mentions him as hailing from Drachenburg (p. 74), the Verfasserlexikon connects him
to Drachenfels: Wilhelm Kühlmann, “Hermann von dem Busche,” in Verfasserlexikon Humanismus,
Vol. 1., col. 887. As Trachenberg/Żmigród was a significant town in the 16th century (unlike the other
two), I have opted for this solution.
7
See Georgius Sibutus, De divi Maximiliani Caesaris adventu in Coloniam … panegyricus (Leipzig:
Landsberg, 1506), c6v (VD16 S 6269). See Gustav Bauch, Die Anfänge der Universität Frankfurt an
der Oder (Berlin: Harrwitz, 1900), 100. See also Sabine Seelbach, “Georg Sibutus,” in: Verfasserlexikon
Humanismus, Vol. 2., col. 887.
8
In the De divi Maximiliani Caesaris adventu, Sibutus’ treatise is published in the form of a letter to
Heinrich Bucholt, provost of Lübeck (ibid., h1r.)
9
Th is manuscript (which might originate from a Carthusian context) adds a few further names
(including Johannes Reuchlin) to the list of mnemonic authorities at the beginning, which suggests
that it is a later reelaboration of the same text. The modern authorities cited are “Antoninus archipresul
Florentinus, Joannes Michaelis de Sanopharotus phisicus, Metheus medicus, Jacobus Publicius, Hugo
in didascalicon, Petrus Ravennas, Ioannes Reuchlin, Sulpitius Verulanus, Gregorius Risth, Joannes
Ulricus.” Berlin, SB, lat. oct. 433, 210 v. The same leaf on its blank recto side contains a note (“Salmanca
in britania, ibi tantum in nigromancia operam dant”) and a date in another hand: “Liptzig in collegio
Bernardi anno 1506 precium erat V gr.” Th is might refer to the original pricing of the quire containing
the mnemonic treatise. Cf. Seelbach, Ars und scientia, 64–65.
[1r] Memorandi tractatus per venerabilem virum magistrum Michaelem de arce

draconis traditus incipit
Hermannus Buschius in laudem artis memoratiue

Temporis ut longi spacio precepta teneri
Et possint animo fi xa sedereet manere tuo
Hancartem lege collectam memorandi gnauitersapienter artem
Quaarte sine iudicio mens hebetdebilis est ipse[!] meo
Hecars est ingenii lumen custosque laboris
Erigiteleuat haec sensus intrepidosquesuperbos facit
Nec tu contemnasillud Cicero quod voce diserta
Comprobatlaudat et verbis ornat ubiquein multis libris suis.
Et quod Simonidespoeta seu Metrodorusphilosophus ut aiuntdicunt
Inventum cura gaudeatletetur esse sua.
Quod vel Arestotilessummus philosophus diuinum credere munus
Non dubitat: sophiephilosophia gloria prima sacre.
In quo Carneadesphilosophus totis laudatus Athenishac uniuersitate
Floruit, et Senece vispotentia numerosa fuit.
Rhetoras hecars firmat, iuuat ars iura volentem
Discere vix aliud Pallas amauitmagis dilexit opus.
Hii infrascripti omnem sapientiam ex predicta arte deo propitio venati sunt: 287
Cicero, Quintilianus, Seneca, Marcianus Capella, Steffanus de Lauro, Hugo in Didas-
calon, Arestotiles, Auerrois commentator, Jacobus Publicius, poetice et medicinarum
professor, Simonides philosophus et poeta, Metrodorus philosophus, Carneades, Methe-
olus medicinarum doctor, doctor sanctus Anthoninus, Petrus Rauennatis.10
Opusculum aritificiose memorie ex solidissimis auctoribus collectum

Memoria est:
Naturalis secundum Tullium est, que nostris animis insita et sine multa cogitacione
nata, vel secundum alios est, qua quis bonitate ingenii facile mouetur in rem prius
scitam.11
Artificialis est secundum eundem, quam confirmat inductio quedam: et racio pre-
cepcionis, vel ut alii volunt est disposicio [1v] imaginaria rerum sensibilium in mente,
super quas memoria naturalis reflexa commouetur et administratur, ut prius appre-
hensa facilius, distinctius et diucius valeat recordari.
Memoria artificialis constat ex locis et imaginibus, sicut enim id, quod scribitur carta,
continetur et litteris, sic quod memorie commendatur in locis, tanquam in carta seu
10
Cf. Heimann-Seelbach, Ars und scientia, 64.
11
Marginal note: ”Nam memoria est preteriti, non futurorum secundum doctos, ut quando aliquis
quicquam prius didicerat, et ex memoria ipsius excidit, et postea reperit, istud dicitur memoria naturalis.”
pagina notatur vel signatur. Imaginibus vero quasi litteris seu caracteribus rerum recor-
dacio continetur.
Locos appellamus eos, qui breuiter12 et perfecte13 insigniti aut natura14 aut manuid
est artificio
sunt absolutiperfecte, ut eos facile naturali memoria comprehendere et amplecti
queamus, ut collegia, edes, templa, arces et his similia.
Maiores, ut templa, edes, arces, monasteria et sic de aliis.
Minores, ut cellule, stube, camere, tecta, parietes, vel intersticia
Loci sunt tripartiti: quadrata horum locorum.
Minimi, ut quatuor anguli inferiores et superiores cum suis cen-
tris. Ita quod in qualibet cellula numerus denarius habeatur. In
his autem quemadmodum in locis minoribus a sinistris versus
dexteram procedendum erit, si saltem a principio inchoaueris. Si
vero a fine, a centro superiori versus dextram procedendum erit.
[2r] Tercium:sub tecta semper locatur ignis ne sit lucidi neque tenebrosi nimis ne imagines obscuren-
tur seu hebetentur tenebris aut splendore eff ulgeant.15
Quartum: similitudo locorum, ut mors, vitanda est in hac arte, ut determinate
sciatur, in quo loco quelibet res locata fuerit.16
Quintum: qui multa meminisse velit, multos sibi comparet locos. Eosque semel
aut bis in mense reuoluat. Repeticio enim locorum utilissima est in hac arte secundum
Rauennam.17
288 Sextum: quintus locus et decimus debent signari. Hoc preceptum locum habet in
templiset cenobiis.18
Duo sunt, que impediunt memoriam naturalem: ordinis confusio et impressionis
debilitas. His duobus defectibus dat remedia artificiosa memoria, puta loci et imagines.
De imaginibus
Imagines:19 Terminorum
Orationum
12
Marginal note: „Breuiter eo quod loca non debent esse confusa et magna”
13
Marginal note: „Perfecte hoc est loci debent esse contigui seu continui ut facile procedamur de uno
in alium”
14
Marginal note: „Natura, ut montes, arbores, stelle in celo et sic de aliis”
15
Marginal note: ”Contra illos, qui in pratis locant, et qui in penum[bra] locare velint. Sicut nec in
obscuris locis legatur, non possumus sic nec imaginari”. Further fragmented notes on the left side.
16
Marginal note: ”Debent enim esse disctinti per figuram, ut per mensam vel fornacem, etc.” Further
fragmented notes on the left side.
17
Marginal note: “Nam loci habent similitudinem papiro, que si multiplex non fuerit, in eam multa
exarari non possunt.”
18
Marginal note: ”In templis primo aqua benedicta secundo figuram in pariete et sic de aliis, quintus
locus signetur manu, et decimus cruce, semper quoque manendum est in latere.”
19
Marginal note: ”Imaginesbildinge sunt forme et simulachra siue note eius rei, quam meminisse
volumus.” Suprascript: “que ducuntur ad propriam recordacionem, ubi renditur VIm, penditur circulus”
Precepta imaginum:
Primum: Imagines debent esse mirabiles, delectabiles, crudeles, ridiculose, aut alia
passione affecte. Docet enim Cicero: Vulgari et usitata re non excitari, sed inusitata et
insigni quodam negocio commoueri memoriam.20
Secundum: Imagines non debent esse ociose, quia que exercitio carent, parum aut
nihil memoriam excitare possunt. Excitare enim memoriam naturalem artis huius of-
ficium est, quod imago rei anima carentis et se non mouentis facere nequit.21
Omnis ergo imago se mouebitut sic sit anima sensitiua vel racionandi , aut ab alio mouebitur. Et si
res animata modica nimis fuerit, ut musca, culex, multitudinem earum locare convenit.
In imaginibus in corporibus ita proceditur:
caput
sinistra
sinistra pes
dextra pes
dextra manus
[2v] Tercium: Imagines debent esse proprie ita, ut conuenienter rem memorandam
representent.22
Quartum: Imagines precipue diuersorum locorum minimorum se mutuo exercent,
si casus dederit.23
Quintum: Imagines debent sepius repeti, ut forcius imprimantur, debilitas enim
impressionis impedit memoriam.24 Philosophus: Meditaciones memoriam saluant. In
reminiscendo ac perpetue retinendo frequenter considerare oportet, que conseruare in- 289
tendimus, sic enim non contingit oblivio. Seneca: Memoria nihil perdit, nisi id, quod
sepe non respicit. Cicero: Sed hec imaginum confirmatio tum valet, si memoriam naturalem
exsuscitauerimus hac notacione, ut versu posito ipse nobiscum transeamus semel aut bis eum
versum, deinde cum imaginibus verba exprimantur.25
Sextum et ultimum: Non debent multe imagines in uno loco minimo constitui, quia
una pro alia occurretur, et generaretur error et confusio.
Quottitatem cuiuslibet materie locate facile habere potes, si locum et quinarium eius
consideraueris numerando: a principio quinarii vel a centro superiori secundum quod
materiam locatam ordine recto vel retrogrado recitare velis.
20
Cf. Rhet. ad Her. 3, 36. Marginal note: ”Auerrrois debemus accipere similitudines convenientes,
non tamen inconsuetas. Thomas 2a 2ae quest. 49. art. primo in solucione secundi articuli dicit, quod
magis ammiramur inconsueta.” Further fragmented notes on the left side.
21
Marginal note: ”Hoc preceptum est de necessitate, sed alia sunt de bonitate esse. Et est sentencia
Jacobi Publicii.”
22
Marginal note: ”Ut si volo habere memoriam equi, non ponam leonem, si rustici, non ponam
sacerdotem”
23
Marginal note: ”Dicitur hoc preceptum colligantia alio nomine. In titulis, auctoritatibus valent, ut
ponatur Joannes, flagella, canis, porcus, ceruisia, ordinando, ut mutuo se exerceant.”
24
Marginal note: ”Ut scilicet quando venio ad <imo> quintum, debeo repetere, sic et in decimo, et sic
de aliis.” Further fragmented notes on the left side.
25
Rhet. ad Her. 3, 21.
De speciebus per quas fit locacio

Similitudo
per quas dumtaxat dicciones notas locamus
Comparacio
Species quibus omnis
materia locari poterit
sunt tres Figmentum, qua specie non tantum notas, verum etiam
peregrinas et barbaras et nobis incognitas locamus,
quemadmodum grecas, hebraicas litteras alphabeti
sillabas.
Etiam verba significantia actu nullo exteriore sensu [3r] perceptibilem ut sum, volo.
Similitudo in proposito fieri dicitur, cum pro dictione aliqua ymaginem siue ydolum in
certo loco constituimussimilem.
Accidens, cum esse eius fit inesse, locari conuenit per suum subiectum cui
principalius inest, ut albedo per nectar, cignum, lac, nigredo per cornum,
etiopem et carbonem.26
Omne ens aut est
Inanimata, ut secures, fistula, mensa, birretum, vel aliquod huius-
modi, tunc persona nota aliquid operetur cum tali inanimato, ut
de preceptis imaginum deductum est.27
Substantia
290 Commune, ut homo, bos, leo, episcopus, religiosus, tunc im-
aginare rem significatam per ipsum agere aliquid aut pati: cum
instrumento vel persona nota.28
Animata
Uno modo accipiendo aliquem illo nomine appellatum, qui
aliquid operis exerceat cum instrumento vel persona nota.
Proprium, ut Ioannes, Petrus
Alio modo accipiendo aliquem sanctum illius nomine lo-
cando eum cum sua passione, Ioannem in oleo, Katharinam
cum rota, et sic de aliis.
Nota aliqua accidentia cum cognicionibus eorundem:

Virtus virgo amicta viridi veste
Iusticia libra vel gladius
Fortitudo virgo armata
Prudentia virgo oculata
Temperantia virgo cum arto ore et lucerna
26
Marginal note: „Rubedo per rosam”
27
Marginal note: „Nota regulam: quodcumque subiectum est cathenatum, tunc stat pro accidente, sed
si non est cathenatum, stat pro seipso. Non sufficit habere signum, sed imago debet habere exercitium,
ut aliquid scribat cum creta.”
28
Marginal note: „Ut de abbate qui sedet cum baculo vel alius audiens confessionem.”
Fides virgo ornata stellis

Spes anchora nauis
Amor virgo qui aliquem amplectitur [3v]
Humilitas virgo in veste nigra flectens genua
Obedientia virgo portans mortuum in humeris
Pacientia prebens genam ad percutiendum
Paupertas virgo lacerata veste29
Castitas virgo cum libro et turture
Simplicitas virgo cum obtusis calceis grisea veste
Innocentia virgo brachium proijciens causa leticie
Contemplativa vita portans lumen et inspiciens solem
Activa vita virgo habens manicas sursum ligatas
Laus virgo portans laurum pro coronali [?]
Felicitas virgo cum albo capitio magnum apud se habens thesaurum
Adulacio scorpio lingens et pungens caudam
Superbia mulier inspiciens speculum
Luxuria hircus fetens, vel sus in stercore
Gula lupus vorans carnes
Accidia piger mane non surgens birrea
Invidia aranea nectens telum
Heresis diabolus coronatus
Falsitas interpres 291
Veritas imago Christi: ego sum alpha et o
Murmuracio canis rodens
Intellectus cristallum vel carbunculus
Conscientia bona facies pulchra
Conscientia mala facies mactata
Scientia habens vestem magistralem et capitium in humeris
Logica habens in manibus duos serpentes
Astronomia astrolabium
Medicina urinale
Philosophia naturalis herbe et species in manibus
Visus aperiens oculos cum manibus
Auditus aperiens aurem
Olfactus herbas ad nasum tenens
Gustus lambens mel cum digitis
Tactus tangens pectus alicuius
Somnus campana que pulsatur
Durities lapis
Mollicies sericum cum lana [4r]
Grauitas blumbum [!] Amaritudo fel
Leuitas pluma Dies radius solis
29
Marginal note: „Hirus” (!)
Calor ignis Nox carbonarius,etiops,luna abscondita

Frigus glacies Annus circulus
Tenacitas bitumen Timor lepus
Dulcedo mel Velocitas leo rapiens aliquem
Mundus pomum aureum post quod hircus saltat et capere non potest
Insipiens asinus
Vanitas arundo vacua
Tristicia manus complosas habens supra caput
Ociosus habens manus in sinu
Dolositas vulpis
Iudicatio habens digitum extensum
Secunda speties Comparatio,30 que in proposito fit, quando unam rem longam per aliam
propter habitudinem, quam habent ad inficem [!], ut causa et finis effectus, etiam op-
posite. Iuxta illud:
Causa vel oppositum simul instrumenta vel actuscelebrare missam
Consimiles faciunt te meminisse rei.
Item imago cuiuslibet artificis convenienter pro suo effectu ponitur, vel pro instru-
mento quo ad perfectionem sui effectus utitur, ut pro tunica vel acu sartor notus locatur,
pro clauo vel malleo faber.
Item unum contrariorum sepe alterius reminisci facit et sic imago Neronis occidentis
292 matrem pro virtuoso homine locatur, Etiops pro candido. Hec regula precipue veritatem
habet, cum alterum contrariorum yronice prolatum fuerit.
Item ex quo actus et operationes sunt singularium, et per se fieri non possunt con-
venienter, in agentis memoriam ducunt, ut celebrari missam sacerdotem representat,
arare agricolam.
Item habitus,31 quia diuersarum personarum dignitatum et officiorum diuersi sunt,
diuersas nobis personas, dignitates et officia indicant naciones nonnumquam diuer-
sas. [4v]
Item loca diuersa, quia diuersis abundant, diuersisque insigniis dotata sunt, facile
per hec memorari possunt.
30
Marginal note: „Calceus est effectus, sutor est causa. Nota regulam pulchram: quandocumque
imago debet stare pro opposito, debes imaginari, ut imago ostendat tibi virga. Sobrium pone pro guloso,
Gulosum pone pro continente.”
31
Marginal note: ”Ex habitu distinguuntur:
sexus: masculum feminam
persona: rusticum sacerdotem
officia: fabrum circa nebridem, poetam in talari veste
naciones: saxonem in capaceis, hollondrinum in pileo
locus: Coloniam tres reges, Erfordiam fons baptismatis”
[referring to the reliquary of the Th ree Magi in the Cathedral of Cologne, and the 15 meter high
baptismal font in Erfurt in the Severikirche, built in 1467]
Tertia speties dicitur figmentum.32 Figmento utimur, cum rei memorandae non facile
similitudinem propriam nec comparacionem convenientem invenire possumus ad vo-
calem. Similitudinem nos convenienter, ut pro palam preposicionem palam instrumen-
tum, pro verbo volo aliquem volantem. Rauenna: Similitudine colloco imagines cum rem
dictioni similem, in significacione dissimilem invenio.
Pro littera vel silaba sit: quecumque locabis imaginem rei tibi note, cuius rei nominis
prima littera sit in ea, quam meminisse velis, ut pro littera a vel silaba al locabis Albertum
tibi notum. Rauenna.
Pro litteris alphabeti homines habeo ac personas notas et imagines viuas, in quarum
nominibus prima littera sit ea, quam meminisse volo.
Casus in corpore humano: Nominativus caput
Genitivus manus sinistra
Dativus pes sinister
Accusativus pes dexter
Vocativus manus dextra
Ablativus pectus
Pro numero singulari: puella sive persona nota nuda.
plurali: persona nota vestibus ornata.
Si dictionem casualem locare placuerit,33 applica imaginem rei significate per ipsam
membro puelle, ita ut puella se exerceat mediante membro casui deputato. Si ergo puella
vestita hauserit aquam sinistra manu, habes hunc genitivum aquarum, si hoc idem fecerit 293
nuda, legitur aque in loco.
De locacione oracionum
Cognita bene terminorum locacione haud difficile erit oraciones locare. Nam omnis
oracio, saltem perfecta, ex duabus partibus oracionis constituitur: ex nomine, videlicet
et verbo. Et prius dictum est imagines sine ocio locandas esse: primo subiectum vel
suppositum locabimus, modo supra ostenso, tum vero rem significatam per ipsum agere
aliquid, aut pati, aut circa ipsam aliquid fieri considerauerimus, perfectam oracionem
esse locatam non dubitabimus. Reliquum in [5r] oracione posita, cum determinaciones
horum sint quare relaciones ad hec facile nobis occurrunt, utile tamen est quemque in
terminis se exercitare, ne rem facilem difficilem reddat.
De argumentorum locacione
Argumentacionis potissima speties est sylogismus, cuius locacione bene cognita omnem
argumentacionis speciem locare constabit. Nam sylogismus connumerata conclusione ex
tribus proposicionibus constituitur, si proprio accipiatur large. Cum ergo maior proposi-
cio virtute sit, totus sylogismus ipsam locutionis quemadmodum alias oraciones et si diffi-
cultas apparuerit in minore vel conclusione, ipsas locare licebit, quemadmodum maiorem.
32
Marginal note: „Illa species valet doctis et indoctis”
33
Marginal note: ”Tullius: Cum in omni disciplina infirma est artis precepcio sine summa assiduitate
exercitacionis tum in memoriis minime valet, nisi industria, ingenio, diligentia, studio, labore comprobetur
vel confirmetur.” (Rhet. ad Her. 3, 24, 40)
De carminum locacione34
Carmina, quia de se memoriam adiuvant, notata prima dictione carminis facile memoria
obseruari possunt, vel notetur sententia carminis per unam imaginem vel plures.
Salve festa dies, que vulnera nostra coerces,
Angelus est missus et passus in cruce Cristus,
Est Adam factus et eodem tempore lapsus,
Ob meritum decime cadet Abel fratris ab ense
Off ert Melchisedech Ysaac supponitur aris
Est decollatus Christi Baptista Ioannes
Est Petrus erectus,35 Iacobus sub Herode necatus.36
De autoritatibus, questionibus, et titulis37

Autoritates, questiones, tituli quicumque et similia cum ex oracionibus constituantur
facile iuxta tenorem sentencie locari poterint, ut si locare placuerit hunc titulum cle.
de fid. tri. et di. ca. pene, summam [!] trinitatem ad locum, quem ordo dederit aliquid
agentem, ex qua operatione astantes ad sedem catholicam conuertantur.
Quottitates predictorum convenienter locari poterint in membris organicis autoris
aut persone note, quemadmodum casus per res cifrarum formas habentes.38 [5v] Volens
igitur locare quottitates allegatorum necessarium et utilissimum est, ut tritus exper-
tusque sit processu diuisiuo eius auctoris, quem allegare velit:
1 baculus
294 2 cignus
3 serpens incuruatus
4 circinus39
5 gupsa40
6 erinacius, testudo
7 linea fabri lignarii, gnomen alio nomine
8 rosarium cancellatum vel cathena
9 claua41
10 baculus cum annulo versus dextrum
34
Marginal note: ”Item quivis memorista debet imaginari super qualibet littera in alphabeto unum
nomen proprium, que nomina possint semper habere in promptu.”
35
Read ereptus, correctly in Berlin, SB, lat. oct. 433, 215v.
36
Analecta hymnica medii aevi, ed. Guido Maria Dreves (Leipzig: Reisland, 1893), vol. 15, 22 (nr. 5.).
37
Marginal note: „Illa practica valet ad hoc, si quis velit orare vulgariter longas oraciones, que plures
in se haberent clausulas.”
38
Marginal note: „Nota: imago significans cifram, que fi xa est, et stat seu sedet, magis est principalis et
maiores numerum maiorem representat, sed alia figura que a<p>penderet, numerum minorem significat,
ut si staret baculus et testudo: pendetur baculus decem significat, et testudo sex, ut sic 16.”
39
Berlin, SB, lat. oct. 433, 216r: “farcimen cancellatum”
40
Berlin, SB, lat. oct. 433, 216r: “Gupsa vel baculus quinarii formam habens”
41
Berlin, SB, lat. oct. 433, 216r: “Clava curva”
In omni allegacione caput habetur loco primi et supremi allegati, manus sinistra pro
proximo loco sit, descendendo versus dexterum, quemadmodum in casibus dictum
est, ut si locare placuerit hanc quotitatem [!] Anthonini iii parte ti. 1. c. 1. § vi., pone ad
locum, quem ordo dederit, Anthonium tibi notum, cuius capiti vel collo adiunge ser-
pentem, manui sinistre cignum, pedi sinistro baculum, pedi dextero erinacium, ita quod
membra se exerceant cum adnexis, vel adnexa cum ipsis. Hac locacione bene cognita
facile quamlibet quottitatem locare potes.
De locacione historiarum et epistolarum42

Historias, epistolas et quascumque prolixas oracionesarenga id est epistola locare volens caueat,
ne singula verba notat, nam hoc magis difficile est quam utile. Marcianus Capella: Est
quidem memoria rerum atque verborum, sed non ediscenda sunt verba, nisi spacium med-
itandi tempus indulserit.43 Volens igitur sermonem aut epistolam, historiam, aut similia
locare, ipsam materiam locandam semel aut bis cursim legat notando singula puncta
principalia, in quibus historie seu materie vis consistit in totque partes ipsam diuidat,
quo facto quamlibet partem suis locis per ordinem tradat. Marcianus: Si longiora fuerint
addiscenda diuisa per partes facilius inherescunt.44 Matheolus: Oportet ea, que retinere
volumus ad summam quandam et paucitatem reducere. Hoc enim modo melius retinebi-
mus et tocius memoriam habebimus in summa illa.45 Hugo in Didascalo: Sicut ingenium
in diuidendo investigat [6r] et invenit, sic memoria colligendo custodit.46 Colligere autem
est, ut ea, de quibus prolixius scriptum vel disputatum est, ad summam quandam et
paucitatem redigamus. 295
De sermonum locacione
Sermonem locare volens – materia eius bene intellecta ac notata – quemadmodum paulo
ante dictum est, primo verba thematis47 locet principium quinarii, deductionem vero,
siue declaracionem ad loca eiusdem quinarii,48 quo facto intencionem, sentenciam in
partes vel membra diuidat, et quodlibet membrum ad principium quinarii locet, de-
claraciones vero et allegaciones ad loca secunda quinarii.
Finis huius artis in Erfordiensi studio Anno Domini MD quinto.
42
Marginal note: „Primo debeo ponere litteram, a qua incipiat historia et primus sensus, et per
imagines sentencias.”
43
Martianus Capella, De nuptiis Mercurii et Philologiae, 5, 539.
44
Ibid., 5, 538.
45
The De memoria of Matheolus Perusinus was edited at least seventeen times before 1501. De memoria
augenda. Ed. [Iacobus?] Andreas Boner. [Leipzig, Martinus Landsberg, post 1492, non ante 1495?], f. A 3v:
“Rursus et tertium est admonimentum, quia memoria hominum labilis est et turbe non sufficit, vt dicit
Seneca necesse breuia et pauca esse, que memorari volumus. Ideo oportet, que facilius retinere volumus
ad summam quandam et paucitatem reducere. Hoc enim modo facilius retinebimus, et propter hanc
totius memoriam habebimus in summa illa. Et in communi ad quod reduximus omnia includuntur.”
46
Hugo de Sancto Victore, Didascalicon: de studio legendi, (Washington, DC.: The Catholic University
Press, 1939), 60. Book 3, ch. 12. (PL 176, 772D).
47
Marginal note: „Primo ponimus thema, quia oracio est ut matheria et quotitatem [!] in capite, etc.”
48
Marginal note: „Inferius debes ponere diuisionem thematis et sentencias, auctoritates in quinariis, etc.”
9. Anonymous Observant: Modus reponendi sermones
(1507)
The following anonymous art of memory has its origins among Polish Observants.1 The
treatise begins with a title: Modus reponendi sermons per artem memorativam, and has
survived in the so-called Codex of Theophilus of Bydgoszcz (named after its primary
scribe, Theophilus de Bidgostia), on the on the ff. 107v–109r. It is now kept at the Kórnik
Library of the Polish Academy of Sciences, ms. 119, and was written around 1507,2
in Latin with Polish glosses by various hands, the first of which is the Theophilus of
Bydgoszcz’s own. It has 238 paper folios and like the Paweł of Łomża’s codex is small
in format (155 x 100 mm).
This manuscript miscellany most likely originates from the library of the Observant
convent in Bydgoszcz, from where it was probably taken to the Kórnik Library. It con-
tains copies of papal letters concerning Observants, excerpts from constitutions and
statutes, copies of papal edicts, excerpts of different works of authorities (Aristotle, Ovid,
Quintilian, Isidor, Origenes, Terencius, etc.); a Tabula continens summam doctorum, 297
magistrorum, baccalaureorum, summorum pontificum, cardinalium, regum et principum
qui fuerunt de ordine fratrum minorum; passages from Aristides, Plato, Hesiod, Socrates,
Sophocles, Salomon, Aulus Gellius, Demosthenes, Epictetus, Homer, Pythagoras, Au-
gustine; the collection of sermons; Bernardinus de Bustis’ De corona beatae Virginis;
anecdotes from the history of the Observant order; the list of the Observant convents
in Poland; a verse De virtutibus monasticis;3 De vulneracione naturali; De justo bello ac-
cording to Stanisław of Skalbmierz;4 various excerpts (Interrogaciones de decem preceptis
or De peccatis mortalibus); recipes for pills (pillule caulium, pillule pestilenciales, pillule
preservative contra presiones corporis, contra surditatem, contra dolorem capitis); excerpts
from St. Thomas, Isidor, Albert the Great; the Modus reponendi sermones; excerpts form
papal breves and different episcopal letters; Oratio dominica secundum Astensem; different
regulations, rules and warnings (praecepta) also versified like De vera paupertate (inc.: In
1
We are grateful to dr. Alicja Szulc for having called our attention to this text.
2
Jerzy Zathey, Katalog rękopisów średniowiecznych Biblioteki Kórnickiej (Wrocław: Zakład Narodowy
im. Ossolińskich, 1963), 305–319; this text on p. 312. The codex was written around 1507: Kamil
Kantak, Bernardyni polscy. Vol. 1 (1453–1572) (Lwów: Nakładem Prowincji Polskiej OO. Bernardynów,
1933), 289–293.
3
Inc.: Milles strenuus in omni temtacione… expl.: … nesciebas a te ipso inveniaris. Walther, Carmina,
11015.
4
See Ludwik Ehrlich, Polski wykład prawa wojny XV wieku: kazanie Stanisława ze Skarbmierza De
bellis Iustis [A Polish lecture on just war from the 15th century: the sermon of Stanisław of Skalbmierz
de bellis iustis] (Warsaw: Wydawnictwo Prawnicze, 1955).
proprietate nulla res); Regula fratrum minorum and questions; excerpts concerning Pol-
ish causes, notes and little recipes (e.g. for ink), 6 lines of a verse De aqua benedicta5;
Testamentum Julii pape secundi; Informacio qualiter recipi debeant ad confraternitatem;
again different recipes and little excerpts from authorities. Similar to Paweł of Łomża’s
codex the contents of this manuscript were compiled as an aid to an Observant friar and
was used chiefly as a notebook.
Perhaps the author of this short mnemonic aid was the compiler of the manuscript,
Theophilus of Bydgoszcz.
[107v] Modus reponendi sermones per artem memoratiuam

Primus ponendo in locis potest esse multiplex generaliter per unum membrum diui-
sionis. Et diuisiones membri in locis particularibus illius loci secundum ordinem. Si
vero et subdiuisiones fuerint, ponantur in eisdem locis particularibus secundum aliquem
modum a e i, et de quibus in illa arte vide, aut caracter.
Secundus quod ponantur membra in loco generali uno. Et subdiuisiones membro-
rum secundum ordinem illorum particularium locorum solum faciendo vero tractantur
prime diuisiones, siue secunde membri et processus.
Tercius modus in loco generali thema et in specialibus circa illud diuisiones et declar-
acionem cuiuslibet membri siue diuisionem transferre versus illam partem, versus quam
posita est ipsa diuisio, siue distet prope, ut de Ecclesia ad cimiterium, siue remote, ut de
Cracovia ad sanctum Nicolaum.6 Et quitquam [!] occurrerit ibi siue auctoritates sub-
298 diuisiones potest ponere [!], quia exiuit de loco angusto in mundum et locum spaciosum.
Quartus modus per loca specialia ponendo personas, in quorum qualibet sex sunt
loca. Et sic in prima persona presentis7 diuisio, in secunda prima subdiuisio, in tercia
secunda secundi membri. Et sic consequenter. Si vero plures sunt subdiuisiones alicuius
membri, tot accipi[tur]. […]8 [108r] Eciam ista specialia possunt tripliciter multiplicari:
Celle falangarum transposicionem
Camere per velorum interposicionem
Officine interiorem disposicionem
Et tantum de locis causa breuitatis.
Singularia multiplicantur in 7 modis, que imaginari possunt in generalibus siue in
specialibus, scilicet per modum:
Crucis Terre
Hominis Columpne
Animalis Curie
Arboris alias octo Celi
Tripodis Circuli
Mense Semicirculi
5
Inc.: Dat bona sex unda verbi virtute sacrata…, expl.: Signor edo dono per hec venialia tollo.
6
Th is might refer to a Church of St Nicolaus, and to Cracow, which were supposed to be distant from
each other.
7
Perhaps: particularis or primaria?
8
At least one folio is torn out from the manuscript here.
9. Anonymous Observant: Modus reponendi sermones (1507)
Scale Banci
Quadrati
Circa secundum principale correspondens libro, videlicet caracterum assignacionem,

quatuor notantur, scilicet:
Subiectum
Adiectum
Officium
Vocabulum
De primo. Que possunt esse de omni re, que est tantum, ut lapis, lignum; que est et
viuit, ut arbor, planta, herba; que est, viuit et sentit, ut animalia; que est, viuit, sentit et
intelligit, ut homo et angelus. Et horum omnium imagines pete.
De secundo. Adiectum, id est actus, siue qualitas eorum, que est triplex. Quia di-
cuntur esse:
Notabiles
Mirabiles
Turpes
De tercio. Triplex est officium eorum, videlicet:
Locum notificare
Quotam loci ostendere
Memorabile suscipere
De quarto, scilicet vocabulo sunt idem, re differunt tamen racione, ut patet prac- 299
ticanti:
Persona
Demonstrator9
Caracter
Idolum
Imago <Imago>
Ut autem unum locum faciat differre ab alio, opus est scire, quota est unaqueque
[108v] littera alphabeti decima, de una vigena in aliam facile poterit tangere quotam. Et
tercio de subdiuisione principali.
Tercium principale quod libro correspondenti debet esse literarum impressio, cui
correspondet regularum applicacio, de quibus ad presens breuiter adducentur due regule
principales, quarum prima est <orig> originis, scilicet extraccionis sillabam diccionis,
quam reponere volumus, et reperit rem facile loco applicabilem, similiter suo nomine
incipientem. Et ad hanc regulam adducitur diuisionis, que cum prima concordatur vero,
quod duas sillabas capit noue composicionis: Sillabarum
Literarum
9
Perhaps identical to diff erenciatores loco rum mentioned in the treatise of Magister Hainricus and
Szklarek.
Secunda regula extraccionis siue proprietatis precipue considerat predicamenta circa

locum generalem et ipsius caracterem. Et sic viginti iam sunt proprietates, ut potest
trahere. Demum ea consideret circa locum specialem et ipsius caracterem, quare iam
quinquaginta erunt. Ultimo circa locum singularissimum easdem decem proprietates
et circa eius caracterem, quare iam lxxx erunt.
Et sic nulla diccio erit, que memoriste eff ugiet reposicionem istarum proprietatum siue
decem predicamentorum, que sunt:
Substancia Situs
Qualitas Habitus
Quantitas Ubi
Relacio Quando
Accio
Passio
Et predicamenta qualitatis super omnia magis videlicet consideranda. [109r]

Nigrum Ignarum
Album Planum
Curuum Asperum
Rectum Pulchrum
Bonum alia[s] Distortum
300 Malum Fuscum
Nouum Glaucum
Vetus Pium
Doctum Austerum
1 <Secundam> Historiarum
2 Epistolarum
3 Proposicionum
4 Questionum
5 Sermonum
6 Euuangeliorum
7 Sylogismorum
8 Titulorum
9 Dectretalium
10 Articulorum
In his omnibus est duplex modus aut per dictos, sic secundum primam vel secundam
regulam, aut per partes principales, sic per regulam secundam. Exceptis sermonibus, cau-
sis, titulis Decretalium, Sexti et Clementinarum, prout patet in arte lacius deformata, ibi
recurrant. Hec autem congesta sunt illi, qui etiam sapit in arte, ad retinendum quedam
puncta et genera, imo totam artis medullam succincte et in paruo fasciculo, qui si bene
trituratus fuerit, incomparabilis extimacionis modios [!] dabit suo cultori, qui man-
ducet, ut bene viuat et alios reficiat pro laude dei, salute sui, edificacionem [!] proximi.
Amen.
9. Anonymous Observant: Modus reponendi sermones (1507)
Tria denique notantur breuissime circa litteras reales, scilicet ipsarum inuencio, quot-
tacio, variacio. Circa primum hiis rebus vel aliis iuxta arbitrium memoriste alphabetum
possumus representare:
A Candelabrum B Cithara C Babatum
Circinus
Scala […]10
301
10
The text breaks off here. The last part of the treatise (from ‘prima est originis, scilicet extraccionis’,
here on p. 299) is identical to the incipit of the ms. St Petersburg, ms. Lat. III. Q. 86, 2r. This manuscript
is closely connected to the Modus reponendi sermones and refers to a certain Johannes Pezibiaz as its
source (“Magister Johannes Pezibiaz bohemus studentibus Pragensibus artem memorativam publicat ex
qua hec habeamus”, 12r). Unfortunately, nothing is known about ‘magister Pezibiaz’. A detailed study
and an edition of that manuscript is in preparation.
10. [Henricus Vibicetus – Johannes Cusanus:]
Tractatulus artificiose memorie (1500–1510)
Johannes Cusanus (Johannes Enclen de Cusa) is the most characteristic representative

of the traveling teachers of the art of memory. Although he published a number of
texts, virtually nothing was known about his life and his studies, and his writings have
remained in obscurity.1 As a late testimony of his life, his name appears in a detailed
form among the professors at the University of Cracow in 1529: “Johannes Kusanus Petri
Henklen de Kusan d. Trevirensis, magister Coloniensis…, lector artificose memorie in decem
novem universitatibus et septem regnis.”2 Thus he was apparently the son of Peter Henklen
(Enklen, Enclen), and seems to have been born in Kues, on the banks of the Mosel in
Rheinland-Pfalz, probably in around 1475–1480. He traveled through seven kingdoms
(probably counting the constituent kingdoms and duchies of the Empire separately) and
taught at nineteen different universities. Such a unique career at Renaissance universities
merits an attempt at reconstruction.
We find his name for the first time in the acts of the University of Cologne, which 303
was not only one of the closest universities to his hometown, but the most populous,
too. It could also boast a richer history than the neighboring universities of Heidelberg,
Mainz, or Freiburg im Breisgau. In October 1493, he was inscribed to the Faculty of
Arts in Cologne as a pauper, thus did not have to pay the registration fee.3 He took his
first steps in academic life with his determinatio under magister Dirk van ‘s Hertogen-
bosch (Theodericus de Buscoducis) in 1494, and studied further for his master’s degree
in 1495, which he obtained in 1496 under Magister Rémy de Malmedy (Remigius de
Malmandario).4 After earning his degree, he seems to have embarked on a life of travel
around Europe and to have taught the art of memory at various universities. He seems
to have left Cologne or the Rhineland in 1501, because, according to a note in the
preface of his Textus lecture arborum consanguinitatis, published in Lübeck in 1523, he
1
The only article published about him is A. J. E. M. Smeur, “Johannes Enclen de Cusa en zijn
Algorismus Proiectilium, Zwolle, 1502,” Scientiarum Historia 4 (1962): 63–75, but it concerns only
his mathematical work and leaves the author in the shadow. Unfortunately, he does not appear in
Verfasserlexikon Humanismus. We would like to thank here Borbála Lovas, Brigitta Pesti, and James
Plumtree for providing us with copies of the editions of the Tractatulus.
2
In the acts of the university, he appears among the professors of the university as “Johannes Kusanus
Petri Henklen de Kusan d. Triverensis, magister Coloniensis…, Lector artificiose memorie in decem
novem Universitatibus et septem regnis”. See Wójcik, op. cit., 80.
3
Die Matrikel der Universität Köln, ed. Hermann Keussen, Vol. 2, 1476–1539, Publikationen der
Gesellschaft für rheinische Geschichtskunde VIII, 2 (Bonn: P. Hansteins Verlag, 1919), 345.
4
Ibid., n. 112.
had been traveling around “because of his love of philosophical learning” (philosophicae
amore scientiae) for twenty-two years by that time.5 His first publication, a treatise on
arithmetic, Algorismus proiectilium de integris, appeared in Zwolle in the Netherlands
in 1502, and he may have used this booklet in his teaching there.6 The booklet was
reedited in the following year in Deventer, and it seems quite probable that Johannes
Cusanus was connected to the famous Latin School of Deventer as well.7 In 1505, we
find him in Erfurt already: he was inscribed at the university for the winter semester
as “Ioannes Ordenn de Cusa” (Ordenn being a probable misreading of Enclen).8 From
Erfurt he moved on to the recently founded University of Frankfurt an der Oder in 1510,
where he published under his own name the Tractatulus artificiosae memoriae, compiled
previously by Henricus Vibicetus (see below, and Pl. 13.).9 The only known copy of this
print includes a set of illustrations, which are also known from the previously published
work of Vibicetus (see Pl. 14.).10 As we can see from the single surviving copy, Cusanus
did not try to accentuate his authorship in the first edition prepared by him, as his
name appears only in tiny letters on the verso of the title page in the inscription, and in
the text of an epigram by Eberhard Verbelius, his student in the memory classes.11 He
added one more epigram to the end of the volume in Frankfurt an der Oder, written
304
5
“Anno post virgineum partum Millequingentesimo vicesimotercio Anno peregrinationis sue
philosophice amore scientiae vicesimosecundo.” See Johannes Cusanus, Textus lecture arborum
consanguinitatis, affinitatis, cognationis spiritualis et legalis (Lübeck: Vitus Blancken, 1523), 1v. See also
Wilhelm Jannasch, Reformationsgeschichte Lübecks vom Petersablass bis zum Augsburger Reichstag, 1515–
1530 (Lübeck: Max Schmidt-Römhild, 1958), 191, 380–381 and below.
6
Algorismus proiectilium de integris novus magistri Johannis de Cusa perpulchris aritmetices artis
regulis earundem probationibus exornatus, [etc.]. (Zwolle: A. Kempen “In Arnold Kempis officina,”
October 20, 1502), ff. [8], signed [a]–b4. Copies survive in the British Library, the Plantin-Moretus
Museum, the University Library of Kiel and Bamberg, the Academic Library of Riga (D5/8 R3487;
Klaus Garber, Schatzhäuser des Geistes. Alte Bibliotheken und Büchersammlungen im Baltikum, [Cologne:
Böhlau, 2007], 257), and at the Charles Babbage Institute of the University of Minnesota in Min-
neapolis (see http://www.cbi.umn.edu/hostedpublications/Tomash/pdf/27 Addenda.pdf, accessed on
4.6.2013). For an analysis of the content of the treatise, see Alphons Johannes Emile Marie Smeur,
“Johannes Enclen de Cusa en zijn Algorismus Proiectilium, Zwolle, 1502,” Scientiarum Historia 4
(1962): 63–75.
7
Algorismus proiectilium de integris novus magistri Johannis de Cusa… (Daventriae: R. Paff raet, 1503).
A copy survives in the University Library of Kiel. See Jannasch, Reformationsgeschichte (cf. note 5), 381.
8
Acten der Erfurter Universität, ed. J. C. Hermann Weissenborn (Halle: Hendel, 1884), Vol. 2, 243.
9
Johannes Cusanus, Tractatulus artificiose memorie omnibus cuiuscumque etatis studiosis admodisque
utilis et necessarius (Impressus Francophordie ad Oderam: per Joannem Hanaw, 1510).
10
Uppsala University Library, Ink 31:230/1, b3r–d3v. Th is copy might have belonged to a Czech or
Polish student, as the figure for the letter ‘G’ bears the inscription ‘Dudy’, a Slavonic word for hornpipe.
Recently, another copy has been identified in Warsaw, Polish National Library, SD XVI. Qu. 278.
11
“Eberhardus Verberius Dantiscus auditor artificiose memorie M. Joannis Cusani” Ibid., 1v.
10. [Henricus Vibicetus – Johannes Cusanus:] Tractatulus artificiose memorie (1500–1510)
by Hermannus Trebellius, a student of civil law and poet laureate at the newly founded
Universitas Viadrina.12
The composition of the texts in this small volume on artificial memory remained
unchanged in the years that followed. It was republished in Vienna in the printing shop
of Hieronymus Vietor and Joannes Singrenius in March 1514 when Johannes Cusanus
moved there, probably to teach the art of memory at the University of Vienna as a pro-
fessor extraneus.13 He continued to teach the art of arithmetic, too, as witnessed by the
reedition of the Algorithmus linealis proiectilium in July 1514.14 In both cases, he himself
might have commented on his textbooks: the Budapest copy of the treatise on the art
of memory contains extensive notes (edited below), and the three surviving copies of
the arithmetic treatise are annotated as well.15 He apparently remained in Vienna for
a few years, then moved on to Ingolstadt, where he registered at the university in 1517.16
He found an eager audience among the students there for his teaching of the art of
memory: the Viennese edition surviving in Wolfenbüttel17 within a miscellany collected
by a certain Georg Jobst the Elder contains an enthusiastic note, according to which he
studied the art of memory with Johannes Cusanus, the learned master, in 1517, and it
12
“Hermannus Trebelius Notianus Poeta Laureatus L.L. imperialium Candidatus Lectori.” Hermann
Trebel, born in Eisanach, was a printer in Wittenberg, and a poet and orator at the University of Frank-
furt an der Oder after 1508. See Gustav Bauch, Die Universität Erfurt im Zeitalter des Frühhumanismus 305
(Breslau: M. & H. Marcus, 1904), 155–157. He is mentioned in the Epistolae obscurorum virorum as an
enemy of the “obscure men”: “Et veni ad Franckfordiam, quae iacet apud Oderam, // Ibi Hermannus
Trebellius cum suis poematibus // Multum me infamavit et audacter blasphemavit.” Epistolae Obscurorum
Virorum, ed. Aloys Bömer (Heidelberg: Weissbach, 1924), Vol. 2, 1924, 105. The epigrams of Verbelius
and Trebelius are not present in the earlier editions of the Tractatulus prepared by Vibicetus.
13
Johannes Cusanus, Tractatulus artificiose memorie (Vienna: Hieronymus Vietor et Joannes Singrenius,
xxii. Martii 1514). VD16 ZV 4213. For an edition, see below. Copies survive in Budapest, National
Library (without the woodcuts), Eichstätt University Library (with woodcuts), Würzburg University
Library (L.gr.q. 64, with annotations and woodcuts) and Wolfenbüttel (with woodcuts).
14
Johannes Cusanus, Algorithmus linealis proiectilium de integris perpulchris Arithmetrice artis regulis:
earundemque probationibus claris exornatus: studiosis admodum utilis et necessarius, diligenti opera
per Magistrum Joannem Cusanum in hanc formam collectus (Vienna: Hieronymus Vietor et Johann
Singrenius, xi. Julii 1514).
15
See Munich, BSB, Res. 4o Math. P. 400, 9 (title page); Vienna, ÖNB, 301036-B Rara (1v: “Hanc
Stapulensis haud inscite supposicionem vocat que imo et proprietatibus eius ad opus est accommodata”
referring to the chapter De numeratione); Vienna, ÖNB, Ser. n. 4265, ff. 80r–83r (some parts of the
book copied to a manuscript by Petrus Freylander, a student in Vienna, in 1518, ibid., 229 v). The
manuscript contains printed (192r–201v) and manuscript (108r–111v) anonymous treatises on the arbor
consanguinitatis, which might be connected to Cusanus, since in his later years he repeatedly held courses
on the arbor.
16
“Ioannes Cusanus Trevirensis dioecesis Coloniensis,” matriculated on May 6, 1517, under the rector
Martinus Otingensis and vice-rector Johannes Eck. Die Matrikel der Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität,
Ingolstadt, Landshut, München. 1, Ingolstadt. Bd 1, 1472–1600, ed. Götz Frhr. von Pölnitz and Georg
Wolff (Munich: J. Lindauer, 1937), 407.
17
Wolfenbüttel, Herzog August Bibliothek, A: 104.11 Quod. (5).
cost him three pounds — a significant amount by contemporary standards.18 The story
of this book shows that Cusanus may have carried along several copies of his treatise to
every town he visited and had the Tractatulus reprinted only when he ran out of copies.
Furthermore, he seems to have published his textbook on the arbor consanguinitatis
in 1517, dealing with the levels and rules of family relationships — his third scholarly
field alongside arithmetic and the art of memory, in which he gave private classes. The
1517 Nürnberg edition of Arborum consanguinitatis, affinitatis, cognationis spiritualis et
legalis bears the abbreviation “D. P. J. C.” on its title page,19 which closely resembles the
“D[omino] P[rofessore] M[agistro] J[ohanne] C[usano]” that appears on the title page of
the treatise on the art of memory, and the similar “D. P. J. C.” abbreviation that appears
on the title page of his 1523 Lübeck edition of the book on the arbor.20 We can therefore
assume that Cusanus spent some time in Nürnberg, as well.
Cusanus was apparently a successful teacher of mnemonics in these years, as he had
to arrange for the reprinting of the treatise in Leipzig in 1519.21 After his teaching in
Leipzig, he seems to have ventured further north, to Lübeck, where he published, or
republished, his textbook on the arbor consanguinitatis of Giovanni d’Andrea.22 This
18
“Anno Domini millesimo Quingentesimo decimo septimo hunc audivi de memoria artificiosa
tractatum a magistro Joanne Cusano viro haud inerudito de quo tria dedi talenta audiendi.” From the
description of the copy in the OPAC catalog of the Herzog August Bibliothek, Wolfenbüttel.
19
Arborum consanguinitatis, affinitatis, cognationis spiritualis et legalis, textus noviter impressus a multis
306 vitiis et emendis [!] emendatus, ac bene correctus, enigmatibusque perpulchris pro maiori earundem
intellectu additis, omnibus tam ecclesiasticis quam secularibus utilis et pernecessarius (Nürnberg:
Hieronymus Höltzl, 1517), VD16, J 332. The authorship of Cusanus is supported by the similar wording
of the title to the 1523 Lübeck edition, and by the fact that it has the same epigram of Sebastian Brant
on the title page as the later 1529 Cracow edition (which in turn contains a text written in humanistic
Latin).
20
See below. One wonders if the 1513 Viennese printing of Lecture super arboribus consanguinitatis et
affinitatis: necnon cognationis spiritualis et legalis (Vienna: Vietor & Singrenius, 1513) (VD16, J 327)
can be connected to Cusanus.
21
Tractatulus artificiose memorie omnibus cujuscunque etatis studiosis admodum utilis et necessarius
(Lipsiae: J. Th anner, impensis Joannis Cusani, eiusdem artis professoris, 1519). Known copies
are: The Hague, Koninklijke Bibliotheek, 225 J 26; Oxford, Bodleian, Douce N 243; Osnabrück,
Ratsgymnasium; Halle, Marienbibliothek, 18 an R. 3.143; Rostock UL Ha-1019. See Renata Pennink,
Catalogus der niet-Nederlandse drukken: 1500–1540, aanwezig in de Koninklijke Bibliotheek’s-Gravenhage
(The Hague: Koninklijke Bibliotheek, 1955), 63 (n. 624); and Helmut Claus, Das Leipziger Druckschaff en
der Jahre 1518–1539 (Gotha: Forschungsbibliothek, 1987), 118. The Oxford copy is annotated by
a student who noted even the master’s name on the title page: “Mag. Io. Cusanus”. A comparison with
the 1510 and 1514 editions shows that the very same woodcuts have been used for the 1519 printing,
while the typesetting was completely new, although it tried to imitate the layout of the 1514 Vienna
edition as much as possible.
22
Johannes Cusanus, Textus lecture arborum consanguinitatis, affinitatis, cognationis spiritualis et legalis,
a multis mendis et erroribus (quibus antea plenus erat) per M[agistrum] Johannem Cusanus bene
correctus atque purgatus enigmatibus scitu dignis additis hic candido exhibetur lectori. D. P. J. C.
(Impressus est hic arborum textus in opulentissima Imperiali ciuitate Lübeca: per Vitum Blancken
impensis venerabilis viri ac magistri Johannis Cusani ipsarum arborum publici professoris, Anno
M.D.XX.iii. quinta mensis Octobris.)
edition of the Textus lecture arborum consanguinitatis, which appeared on October 22,
1523, is the first work in which he clearly identifies himself as the author: it includes his
name on the title page, where he claims to have corrected the text in numerous places,
and also a personal preface to the reader (“Johannes Cusanus pio lectori salutem”), which
none of his previous publications had contained. Here he mentions that he has now been
wandering for twenty-two years, directed by his love of philosophy (“Anno post virgin-
eum partum Millequingentesimo vicesimotercio Anno peregrinationis sue philosophice amore
scientiae vicesimosecundo”).23 He continued his wanderings into neighboring Denmark.
He registered at the University of Copenhagen in October 1524,24 where he taught the
art of memory together with the arbor consanguinitatis. He probably continued to teach
in Lübeck, too, where he was accused of spreading the Protestant Reform through his
lectures on the art of memory. He was expelled from the city by the Cathedral Chapter
on August 18, 1527.25
After this period by the North Sea he decided to return to Central Europe, and he
appears at the University of Cracow in 1529. As mentioned above, he was listed there
among the teachers at the Alma Mater Cracoviensis as having taught artificial memory in
seven kingdoms and at nineteen universities: “Johannes Kusanus Petri Henklen de Kusan
d. Triverensis, magister Coloniensis…, Lector artificiose memorie in decem novem Universi-
tatibus et septem regnis.”26 He prepared a new edition of his Textus lecture quatuor arborum
(Cracow: Scharffenberg, 1529), in which he presents himself proudly as the author of
the work, dedicating it to all the doctors and masters at the Collegium Maius.27 In the
preface, dated March 9, 1529, he recalls his long studies of the arbor at several renowned 307
universities and mentions that, at the time of writing, he is in the twenty-seventh year
of his itinerant life.28 In the following years he returned to Western Europe. One more
edition of his explications of the arbor consanguinitatis survives, printed in Paris in
23
One copy was known (Lübeck, Stadtbibliothek, Iur. I 4o 3432), but was lost during the Second World
War (Smeur, o.c., 19.). See Isak Collijn, “Bocktryckaren Veit Blanck i Lübeck 1523–1525,” Nordisk
tidskrift för bok- och biblioteksväsen 13 (1926): 94–96; and Jannasch, Reformationsgeschichte (cf. note 5),
380–381.
24
See Albertus Thura, Regiae Academiae Hafniensis infantia et pueritia sub tenebris pontificiis (Flensburgi:
Apud Korte Fratres, 1734), 37 (“Anno 1524. Mag. Johannes Cusanus Trevirensis Dioeces. fuit inscriptus
9. Octobr. et admissus ad communicandam mensuram quatuor arborum Consanguinitatis, affi nitatis,
cognationis spiritualis et cognationis legalis, una cum mensura memoriae artificialis. Teste Matricula
Acad. Hafn.”); and Henning Matzen, Kjobenhavns universitets retshistorie 1478–1879 (Copenhagen:
Schultz, 1879), Vol. 1, 192.
25
Jannasch, Reformationsgeschichte (cf. note 5), 191.
26
Wójcik, Opusculum, 80.
27
“Candidissimis ornatissimisque viris, divinarum litterarum doctoribus, venerabilibusque
ingenuarum artium magistris insignis Maioris Collegii florentissimi Cracoviensis civitatis Collegiatis,
dominis ac patronis suis observandissimis, Ioannes Cusanus se commendat ac veram foelicitatem
exoptat,” in Textus lecture quatuor arborum consanguinitatis, affinitatis, cognationis spiritualis ac legalis,
a Ioanne Cusano ex diversis harum arborum scriptoribus noviter, clare et compendiosus congestus
(Cracow: Scharffenberg, 1529), 1v. Used copy: Wrocław, Ossolineum, XVI 2347.
28
“Anno vero peregrinationis suae, amore scientiae philosophicae, vigesimo septimo.” Ibid., 1v.
1533,29 and he also wrote a new work — a commentary on the illustrated mnemonic
Bible called Figurae Evangelistarum, often falsely attributed to Peter of Rosenheim. His
explanations of the pictorial Gospel seem to have met with considerable success: they
were published twice in 1532–33 in Antwerp.30 After these last publications, we lose
sight of him.
Note on the text and authorship of the Tractatulus artificiose memorie

All three editions of the Tractatulus artificiose memorie (Frankfurt a.d. Oder, 1510; Vi-
enna, 1514; Leipzig, 1519) name the author of the work as Johannes Cusanus. However,
our investigations into the life of Johannes Cusanus, and especially the textual history of
the epigram of Hermann von dem Busche, written in praise of the art of memory, which
appears in these editions, raise a number of doubts concerning the authorship of the work.
According to the bio-bibliographical literature on Hermann von dem Busche, the epigram
appeared for the first time at the front of a work by Henricus Vibicetus (Tractatulus de
facili et ordinato modo memorandi siue reminiscendi omnium facultatum studiosis admodum
utilis, Cologne?, 1500?, 1v).31 No surviving copy of this work is available at present.32
However, the detailed description of the volume in the Gesamtkatalog der Wiegendrucke
contains the incipit of the work as well, which seems to be the same as that of the treatise
of “Cusanus”. The structure of this volume also followed a similar pattern: the mnemonic
text preceded the figurative alphabet and the numbers, which were followed by a leaf
containing the exchange of letters between Vibicetus and von dem Busche.33
308 Vibicetus was an obscure figure even to his contemporaries: Johannes Butzbach,
a contemporary biographer of German humanists, knew of him only as much as the
Tractatulus reveals.34 Apparently, he wrote a panegyric poem on the entry of Emperor
Maximilian I to Cologne in 1500, thus there is further proof that he was in that city
in the year 1500.35 The later editions of this work appeared without the name of the
29
Declaratio arboris consanguinitatis, affinitatis, hoc est propinquitatis tam civilis quam spiritualis per
Joannem Cusanum jam recens magna diligentia edita (Paris, 1533). Copy: Paris, BnF, Rés. E*-645.
30
Argumenta singulorum (nempe 89) capitum generalia quatuor evangelistarum, auctore Joanne Cusano
(Antverpiae: J. de Ghelen, 1532) (copy: Paris, BnF. A 3900); Argumenta singulorum nempe 89. capitum
generalia: quatuor euangelistarum hoc in libello carmine soluta oratione, imaginibus descripta continentur
(Antverpiae: J. de Ghelen, 1533) (copy: Paris, BnF. 8-T-1638). See Jannasch, Reformationsgeschichte (cf.
note 5), 381–382.
31
Hermann Joseph Liessem, Hermann von dem Busche, Cologne, JP Bachem, 1884–1887. (Programm
des Kaiser-Wilhelm-Gymnasiums zu Köln) I, 8–11; Heimann-Seelbach, Ars und scientia, 61–64; and
Wilhelm Kühlmann, “Hermann Buschius,” in Verfasserlexikon Humanismus, Vol. 1, col. 327.
32
The Gesamtkatalog der Wiegendrucke (GW 50359) locates two copies: one in Wolfenbüttel, HAB,
missing since 1959, and the other at the Fürstliche Waldburg–Wolfegg’sche Bibliothek in Wolfegg,
which was not accessible to us.
33
Th is last part does not appear in later editions. Our only description of it is in Liessem, o.c., I, 8–11;
III, 4–5.
34
Karl Rühl, Das Auctarium de scriptoribus ecclesiasticis des Johannes Butzbach (Bonn: Röhrscheid,
1937), 104.
35
Felix Priebatsch, “Geistiges Leben in der Mark Brandenburg am Ende des Mittelalters,” Forschungen
zur brandenburgischen und preussischen Geschichte 12 (1899): 395.
author, under the title Aureum reminiscendi memorandique prebreue opusculum36, thus
they were often attributed to Hermann von dem Busche by library catalogs, simply
because of the epigram with which the volume begins. Von dem Busche left Cologne
for Rostock already in 1500, thus he probably met Vibicetus only at the occasion of the
first publication of the treatise in around 1500.37
Thus apparently three editions of the work of Vibicetus were published before Jo-
hannes Cusanus took it up and published it under his own name:
1. Tractatulus de facili et ordinato modo memorandi siue reminiscendi omnium fac-
ultatum studiosis admodum utilis, Cologne?, 1500?. Described by Liessem and GW, no
copy is available.
2. Aureum reminiscendi opusculum, Cologne, Ludovicus de Renchen, 1501, 18 ff.
There exists a copy in Berlin, SB (Nn 8116, richly annotated, with woodcuts stretching
from B3r to D3v, see Pl. 13.), and one copy in Cambridge University Library.
3. Aureum reminiscendi memorandique perbreue opusculum mirum in modum naturali
prestans memorie uberrimum suff ragium litteris quoque alphabeticis ac figuris varie dispo-
sitionis ornatum quarum occasione quelibet res memoranda facilius ac citius ad memoriam
reduci potest, Zwolle, Arnoldus Kempen, 1502, 18 ff. There exist copies in Bamberg
UL, Chicago Newberry Library, the Academic Library of Riga (D5/8, R. 3487, Nr. 42)
and Berlin, SB (Nn 8117; not annotated, including the epigrams of Hermann von dem
Busche on ff. A1r and D4v; with woodcuts stretching from ff. B3r to D3v, B2v: „Aureum
artis memoratiue opusculum ex diuersis doctissimorum virorum libris summa diligentia
collectum peruigilique cura emendatum finit feliciter. zuollis impressum et correctum 309
per Arnoldum Kempen Anno millesimo supra quingentesimum secundum ipsibus idibus
septembris”).
In both surviving editions, the image of the mnemonic house on A2r is mirrored
compared to the later editions. The typesetting of the textual part of the third edition is
completely new compared to the second edition, including the image of the mnemonic
house on A3r, for which a new woodcut seems to have been made. Nevertheless, the
figurative alphabet and numbers on ff. B3r–D4v were prepared using the same woodcuts
as in the second edition, while the title page and the last leaf of the volume were changed.
Thus it seems that whoever printed the third edition was in possession of the same wood-
cuts of the mnemonic alphabet that had been used for the second edition. As it is quite
probable that the third Zwolle edition from 1502 was prepared by Cusanus, because he
had printed an Algorithmus in Zwolle in 1502, we may reasonably suppose that also the
1501 Cologne edition is connected to him, as the very same woodcuts were used for it.
While Vibicetus seems to have been the author of the now lost 1500 edition, all the later
editions can probably be connected to Cusanus. He must have commissioned a new set
of woodcuts for the letters A to T of the figurative alphabet in the 1510 edition, as the
drawings differ in this section in minor details compared to the 1501 and 1502 printings.
From the letter V to the number 1,000, symbolized by a crown (C2r–D3v), the woodcuts
are identical and are printed using the same pattern as in the 1501 and 1502 editions.
36
Cologne: Renchen, 1501; and Zwolle, 1502 (VD 16 B9883 and Index Aur. 128.169).
37
Cf. Kühlmann, “Hermann Buschius,” col. 314.
Sabine Heimann-Seelbach registers three manuscript treatises on the art of memory,

which she attributes to Henricus Vibicetus Storkoensis on the basis of Munich cgm
4413b, fol. 1r–6r (inc.: Cicero 3o rethorice dupplicem assignat memoriam, naturalis inquit
est quae animis nostris insita est). The other two manuscripts discovered by her have not
yet been examined.38 Furthermore, there are other manuscript witnesses (Berlin, StaBi.
oct. lat. 433, fol. 210v–217v, dated to 1506, Wolfenbüttel, ms. 125.2 Quod. 2°, dated
to 1505) to the work of Vibicetus in the form of excerpts, but their incipits again differ
from the printed editions or the manuscript versions discussed above.39 These versions
are discussed under the name of Michael de Arce Draconis.
The work was evidently conceived by Henricus Vibicetus around 1500 as a summary
of the most relevant ideas in fifteenth-century mnemonics. Johannes Cusanus may have
been his student at this time. The second edition of Vibicetus’ treatise curiously lacks the
name of the author. This may be an indication that the young Cusanus had assumed the
role of the master after learning from Vibicetus the secrets of the art of memory. This
hypothesis is strengthened by the fact that the first known work of Johannes Cusanus
(Algorismus proiectilium) appeared in Zwolle in 1502, just as the second edition of the
Aureum reminiscendi opusculum. As we have seen above on the basis of his own words
in Lübeck in 1523, Cusanus set out on his travels as an itinerant humanist in 1501. He
therefore started to spread the teaching of his master from Cologne in 1501, continuing
in Zwolle in 1502, but he assumed the authorship of the work only much later, in 1510
in Frankfurt a.d. Oder, when the memory of Vibicetus was likely to have faded.
310 Previously, only one copy of the earliest edition by Cusanus (Frankfurt an der Oder:
Johannes Hanaw, 1510; see Pl. 14.) was known to survive in the Library of Uppsala Uni-
versity in Sweden, under shelf mark Ink 31:230/1.40 It contains numerous notes at the
beginning of the volume, although they are largely unconnected to the art of memory.
All editions of the Tractatulus contain nine woodcut leaves after the text with the picto-
rial representation of the mnemonic alphabet and numerals, following the pattern of
the symbols printed in the Ars orandi, epistolandi, memorandi of Jacobus Publicius (1482
and later editions). In the present volume, the text of the Tractatulus artificiose memorie
of Johannes Cusanus is edited from the copy Ant. 10008 of the Hungarian National
Library (Vienna: Vietor and Singrenius, 1514, published at the expense of Johannes
Cusanus). We have chosen it as the basis of our edition because of the extensive annota-
tions and the two manuscript leaves that have been inserted in the book by its annotator,
who probably took part in the courses given by Cusanus.
38
Heimann-Seelbach, op. cit., 61–64. Soest, StB., cod. 30, 498–506; Trier, StB., 1090 (21), 16v.
The manuscript of Soest is signed by “ frater Johannes Nigri,” probably only as a scribe (“Explicit
tractatus iste per fratrem Johannem Nigri”). See Bernd Michael, Die mittelalterlichen Handschriften der
Wissenschaftlichen Stadtbibliothek Soest (Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz, 1990), 200.
39
40
The owner noted his name on the last leaf: “Liber est Blasy filius civis Gregory Aurifabri Qui eum
furetur tribus lignis asocietur.” Another copy has surfaced in Warsaw, Polish National Library, SD XVI.
Qu. 278.
[A1r]
Tractatulus artificiose memorie omnibus cuiuscunque etatis studiosis admodum utilis
et necessarius.
D<omino> P<rofessore>
M<agistro> J<ohanne> C<usano>
Cicero artis detractoribus.

Neque verum est quod ab inertibus dicitur, opprimi memoriam imaginum pondere et
obscurari etiam id quod per se natura teneri potuisset. Vidi ego summos homines et
diuina prope memoria Athenis Carneadem in Asiam quem viuere hodie aiunt Sceptium
Metrodorum, quorum uterque tanquam litteris in cera, sic se aiebat imaginibus in his
locis, quos haberet que meminisse vellet prescribere.
Libellus loquitur.
Qui me considerant non descipiant id quod non intelligent, quia scientia non habet
inimicum nisi ignorantem.
[A1v]
In laudem memorie artificiose Hermanni Buschij Monasteriensis Epigramma.
Temporis ut longi spacio precepta teneri. 311

Et possunt animo fi xa sedere tuo.
Hanc lege collectam memorandi gnauiter artem
Qua sine iudicio mens hebet ipsa meo.
Hec est ingenij lumen custosque laboris
Erigit hec sensus intrepidosque facit.
Nec tu contemnas Cicero quod voce diserta
Comprobat, et verbis ornate ubique suis.
Et quod Simonides seu Metrodorus (vt aiunt)
Inuentum cura gaudeat esse sua
Quod vel Aristoteles41 diuinum credere munus
Non dubitat, sophie Gloria prima sacre.
In quo Carneades totis laudatus Athenis
Floruit, et Senece vis numerosa fuit
Rethoras hec firmat, iuuat ars hec iura volentem
Discere, vix aliud Pallas amauit opus.
41
The name was written in the form “Aristotiles” in the first edition of the epigram. See Henricus
Vibicetus, Tractatulus de facili et ordinato modo memorandi siue reminiscendi omnium facultatum studiosis
admodum utilis, (Cologne?: s.t., 1500?), 1v. Quoted from the lost Wolfenbüttel copy by Hermann Joseph
Liessem, Hermann von dem Busche (Cologne: J. P. Bachem, 1884–1887), vol. 1., 8. (Programm des
Kaiser-Wilhelm-Gymnasiums zu Köln).
Eberhardus Verberius Dantiscus42

auditor artificiose memorie M[agistri] Joannis Cusani.
Simonidis cupiens inuentum noscere lector

Aut Metrodori nobilis artis opus.
Hic duce Cusano memorandi colligat artem,
Et feret ingenio commoda magna suo.
[A 2r]
Tractatus de memoria artificiosa.
Sapientum tradit auctoritas et ad experimendum nos quotidiana cogit necessitas naturam

et corporalem et spiritualem arte iuuari, propter enim vite commoditatem tam varia
artificia inuenta sunt, vt ubi natura deficiat opituletur artificium.43 Ita etiam memoriam
ipsam que omnis humane doctrine t[h]eca est et reseruaculum arte iuuari experimur.44
Nam post modicam assuefactionem memorie artificialis eiusdem studiosi mirabilia et
quasi impossibilia coram alijs facere possunt, hanc Seneca in se claruisse testatur non
solum quantum ad usum sufficit sed quod in miraculum usque prodijt. Adiutorio enim
eius in vna lectione magistri sui duo milia terminorum memorie commendauit quos
lectione finita eo ordine quod dicti errant et retrogrado memoriter recitauit. Idem in
prologo declamationum ad iuuenes sermonem dirigens sic inquit: Hoc quod in tantum
312 vobis mirum videtur non operosa45 potest tradi arte. Intra exiguum paucissimorum
dierum tempus poterit quilibet facere id quod Cyneas fecit qui missus a Pyrro legatus
ad Romanos postero die novus homo et Senatum et omnem urbanam circumfusam
senatui plebem nominibus suis persalutauit. Sine hac arte Cicero nomen suum adeo
insigne non reddidit vt a plerisque disertissimis viris Aureum flumen eloquentie sit
appellatus, quod omnia memoria potuit custodire. Itaque in libro de oratore gratiam
se habere dicit Simonidi46 quem primum ferunt artem mamorie protulisse ibidemque
inertes47 qui memoriam imaginum pondere dicunt obscurari detestatur. Nemo enim ut
ibi dicit tam hebeti48 memoria est, ut nihil a consuetudine et exercitatione adiuvetur,
42
The son of the famous mayor of Gdańsk/Danzig, Eberhard Ferber Sr. (1463–1529). He was
matriculated at the university of Frankfurt (Oder) in 1507. Michael Höhle, Universität und Reformation.
Die Universität Frankfurt (Oder) von 1506 bis 1530 (Cologne: Böhlau, 2002), 178. See also Ernst
Kästner, “Eberhard Ferber,” Zeitschrift des Westpreußischen Geschichtsvereins 2 (1880): 19–95; 3 (1881):
1–50.
43
Th is sentence (“Sapientum tradit… opituletur artificium”) is identical to the second sentence of the
Memoria fecunda treatise. See Pack, “An Ars,” 229.
44
Gloss in the Budapest copy [hereafter Bp]: “Experiencia est rerum magistra. Ca<pite> quam sit de
eleccione, li. 1.” Cf. Liber sextus li. 1, ti. 6, ca. 6. Cf. Corpus juris canonici emendatum et notis illustratum,
Gregorii XIII. pont. max. iussu editum (Romae : In aedibus Populi Romani, 1582), Vol. 4., 90–92.
45
Bp: “facile arte.”
46
Bp: “Simonidis inventor illius artificiose artis memorie.” Cf. Cicero, de oratore 2, 86, 351–354.
47
Bp: “Neque verum est quod ab inertis [!] dicitur.”
48
Bp: “labili.”
immo necessaria est litterarum studiosis similitudinum sensibilium secundum hanc

artem excogitatio. Cuius b<eatus> Tho<mas> in ij. secunde q<uestione> xl. ix. ar. j. hanc
rationem assignat, quod intentiones simplices et spirituales facilius ex anima elabuntur nisi
quibusdam similitudinibus corporalibus quasi alligent49 quia humana cognitio potentior50
est circa sensibilia.51
Memoria artificiosa a Tul[lio] sic describitur. Est quam confi rmat introductio
quedam et ratio preceptionis. Ab alijs autem sic. Est dispositio imaginaria rerum sen-
sibilium52 in mente super quas memoria naturalis reflexa commouetur et adiuuatur: vt
prius apprehensa, facilius, distinctius, et diutius valeat recordari. Et consistit in duobus,53
in locis videlicet et imaginibus. Loca54 in hac arte se habent vt papirus vel tabula cui res
inscribuntur quarum memoriam habere volumus. Imagines vero vt caracteres materiam
memorandam representantes. Et presens tractatulus in tres diuiditur partes.
Prima pars de locis.

Loca dicuntur que breuiter et perfecte aut natura aut manu sunt absoluta vt facile natu-
rali memoria retineri possint. Et sunt triplicia, nam quedam sunt maxima vt collegia
monasteria, domus et arces. Quedam maiora vt camere. Quedam minora vt perietes
et anguli. Opereprecium55 est in hac arte proficere volenti ordinare x loca maxima in
quorum quolibet x
[A 2v]
maiora ordine certo ita que semper fiat processus versus dextrum si a principio incep-
erimus.56 Si vero a fine fiat inceptio versus sinistrum procedatur. Vel facilius secundum 313
Tullium tres possunt sumi modi locorum. Primns57 enim est accipere domum realem
vel imaginariam in qua sunt diuersa signa vel anguli diuersi et hic modus satis grossus.58
Tamen secundum eundem in hac arte incipientibus necessarius est vt facilioribus et
grossioribus ad difficilima [!] facilior fiat transitus. Secundus modus notabilis est accipere
49
Bp: “alligentur assimilentur.”
50
Bp: “firmior.”
51
Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologica 2a 2ae, q. 49, a. 1, ad 2.
52
Bp: “res sensibiles magis mouere nos quam insensibiles.”
53
Bp: “Sicut duo sunt impedimenta memorie naturali contraria, primum est ordinis confusio,
s[ecundum] impressionis debilitas. […] Inventa sunt duo genera medicine, contra primum
impedimentum inventa loca que ordinem nobis ostendunt, contra [secundum] inventa sunt imagines
vel ipsarum qualitates.” The annotations have been damaged, as the margins are cut off.
54
Bp: “Ci<cero>: loci cere vel carte simillimi sunt et imagines litteris disposicio et collacio imaginum
scripture pronunciacio leccioni.” Cf. Rhet. ad Her. 3, 17.
55
Lege opere precium.
56
Bp: “Nota quod ex memoria locorum dependet memoria ymaginum secundum Quintilianum. Unde
impossiblie est aliquem habere memoriam (mediante hac arte) imaginum oblitis locis.”
57
Lege primus.
58
Bp: “Ci<cero>: quod commodius est in derelicta quam in celebri regione locos comparare, racio
nam deambulacio hominum conturbat imaginum notas” (Repeated on a2v, on the bottom of the page:
“[…]ecle: nota secundum Ci<ceronem> [comm]odius est in derelicta [et] celebre regione lo[care] nam
ambulacio conturbat imagi[nem].” Cf. Rhet. ad Her. 3, 19.
diuersa animalia quorum organica membra hac in hac arte loca esse possunt. Tertius est
modus egregius scilicet seruare Celi seu etiam totius vniuersi ordinem.59
Conditiones locorum.
¶ Prima loca non debent esse nimis parua ne propter locorum paruitatem imagines
confundantur, impedit nimia paruitas locorum maiorum, multiplicationem locorum
minorum, nec debent esse nimis magna ne vage et distracte reddantur imagines etiam
vt magis determinatum sit spacium in quo locata sit imago.60
¶ Secunda Loca non debent nimium distare quia per nimiam distantiam prompti-
tudo memorie impeditur.61 Nec debent esse nimis vicina ne fiat commixtio imaginum,
quia sequeretur error.62
¶ Tertia vt non sit lucida vel obscura nimis, ne imagines hebetentur siue obscurentur
tenebris, aut in splendore eff ulgeant, et que sint optime nota.63
¶ Quarta. Similitudo locorum pre omnibus vitanda est vt determinate sciatur in
quo loco res quelibet locata sit.64
¶ Quinta. Loca debent esse ordinata vt facile et certitudinaliter procedatur de vno
ad alium ordine recto et retrogrado sine errore <versus dextrum procedendo>.65
¶ Sexta. Quintus locus debet signari et notari pre alijs, sitque vnus quinarius dis-
tinctus ab alio, hec loca etiam diuturna meditatione indigent vt sic magis inprimantur
[!]. Nam sine hoc quis parum proficeret in hac arte.
314 De locorum minorum multiplicatione.

¶ Quidam loca multiplicant per res diuersas figuras habentes notantes in domibus
aut ecclesiis optime frequentatis res triangulas, aut quadrangulas, vt sunt scamna, altaria,
pulpita, etc. sub debito ordine distantia et numero. Unde secundum hunc modum res
triangularem figuram habens vnum locum denotat vt sic [drawn triangle].66 Multipliciter
vero quattuor tria ratione dispositionis sue et quartum in centro [drawn triangle with
a dot in the center]. Sed res quadrangularem figuram habens simpliciter sumpta vnum
locum denotat vt sic . Multipliciter vero quinque [drawn rectangle with a dot in the
center]. Diuisione autem vigintiquinque vt patet in figura inferius descripta.
59
Cusanus probably refers here to the order of the zodiac.
60
Bp: “Prima condicio intelligitur de locis maioribus tantum, locus maior non erit nimis magnus nec
nimis paruus”
61
Bp: “Modica distancia unius loci maioris ab alio sufficit.”
62
Bp: ”Loca non debent nimium distare ab invicem in una materia retinenda ut in uno sermone vel
in una oratione.”
63
Bp: “Ci<cero>: nec nimis illustres nec nimis obscuros (naturaliter) locos habere oportebit. accidentales
loci tenebrositas vel claritas non nocet.” Cf. Rhet. ad Her. 3, 19.
64
Bp: “Nota singulariter quod loca a locante id est ab utente arte[m] bene debent distare in quacunque
distancia ut possum esse go[…]sza et habere loca erfurdie. Nam sufficit loca bene [condi?]disse et semel
notasse.”
65
The three last words are deleted.
66
Bp: “Loca 3angularia non sunt incipientibus utilia propter noti[ciam] quinti loci. Diuisi[one?]
uigintiquinque ut patebit in libro mentali […]posicionem personarum”
Alij autem Multiplicationem locorum attendunt penes locorum maiorum siue cam-
erarum varietatem accipientes in huiusmodi cameris iiij angulos pro quattuor locis et
pro quinto loco ianuam vel centrum.67
Alij in cameris modo supradicto notatis accipiunt parietes eo quod sunt [A 3r] angu-
lis magis vsibiles et in eis imaginantur loca triangula vel quadrangula prout proposito
eorum deseruire videntur, secundum materie locande diuersitatem vt patet in figura
sequenti.68
¶ De multiplicatione autem locorum notande sunt quedam regule quarum Prima
est que possumus multiplicare vnum locum secundum omnes differentias popsitionum69
videlicet sursum, deorsum, ante, retro, dextrum, et sinistrum.70
¶ Secunda regula accipiantur animalia diuersa quorum quodlibet animal quinque
conuenientia loca hac in arte habeat considerando huiusmodi animalia habere inter se 315
rationem ordinis vel secundum dignitatem, vt leo dignior est vrso, et Equus dignior
asino, vel secundum rectum ordinem alphabeti, vt primum animal incipiat ab A, se-
cundum in B, et tertium in C.71
¶ Tertia regula est ponamus arborem realem vel imaginariam in cuius trunco septem
sunt rami, et in quolibet ramo est nidus auium et in quolibet nido sunt septem aues,
secundum septem species colorum distincte.72
67
Bp: “Hic camera [ca?]pitur pro loco ma[ior]i appositum prius dictum est, nam quelibet camerarum
potest esse locus maximus”
68
Bp at the top of the page: “[…]ris ordinemus locum quintum minorem quod semper signabitur
in arte, loca minora amplius non subd[iuidemus]” “Unde nota aliam regulam precipuam tenendam.
Loca maxima ad [pla]citum habebunt loca minora secundum eorum magnitudinemet utentis arte
vo[…]tatem. Loca minora que […] horum dabit quinque loca [mi]nora tantum nec plura nec pauciora.
loca minora ulterius non subdiuiduntur, si per posicionem personarum patebit, nam ad loca minora
immediate res locari debent.”
69
Lege: positionum.
70
Bp: “Hec regula practicari poterit in altaribus et in aliis rebus quadratis ut in cistis vel lectis.”
71
Bp: “Secunda regula in libro mentali declarabitur.”
72
Bp : “Hec regula est inutilis propter nimiam similitudinem locorum que est vitanda ut dictum est
in quarta condicione locorum.” „Finaliter non de[bet?] []ci quod locis in arte erunt per[pe]tua et debent
sexius repeti, repeticio locorum nulla potest [precio/red] emi. Hoc rauennas Trape[zun?]cius. Cum igitur
locos nobis p[…]neos nobis constituerimus, cre[bra?] meditacione oportebit e[a?] memoria commendari
f[orti]terque retineri, racio nam im[…] […]nes quidem delemus nec […] modo alias fingimus atque
lo[…] locos autem eosdem manere [ne]cesse est etc.”
[A 3v]
316 ¶ Sed quia isti modi non sunt hic principaliter intenti, sed solum hic positi sunt, vt
si placeant eis vti, non ignoret. Ideo sequitur nunc liber mentalis in quo loca aptissime
ordinari et multiplicari ostenduntur.
oa Abbas
oe Eques
A oi Illuminator
oo Organista
ov Urnarius
o ba Barbitonsor
o be Begutta
B o bi Bibulus
o bo Bouicida
o bu Burgimagister
o ca Cantrifusor
o ce Cesar
C o ci Cingulator
o co Computista
o cu Cultellifex
o da Dapifer
o de Deceptor
D o di Discolus
o do Domificator
o du Ducillator
o fa Faber
o fe Fenerator
F o fi Figulus
o fo Focarius
o fu Funifex
o ga Galactofagus
o ge Gemmarius
G o gi Gimnosophista
o go Goiardus
o gu Gurdus
o ha Hamiota
o he Heremita
H o hi Hipocras
o ho Horoscopus
o hu Humator
o ka Kampanator c
o ke Kreticus c
K o ki Kribator [!]
o ko Kophinarius c
o ku Kupidinarius c
o la Lathomus
o le Leno 317
L o li Lictor
o lo Lorinator
o lu Lutinista
o ma Mango
o me Mendicus
M o mi Mirocopus
o mo Molendinator
o mu Murator
o na Nauta
o ne Necromanticus
N o ni Nictor
o no Notarius
o nu Nummularius
o pa Pannicida
o pe Pellifex
P o pi Pictor
o po Poeta
o pu Pugillator
o qua Quadrigarius
o que Questiarius
Q o qui Quirinus
o quo Quolopifex c
o quu Quursor c
o ra Raptor
o re Rex
R o ri Ristarius
o ro Rotarius
o ru Ruricola
o sa Sartor
o se Serator
S o si Siluanus
o so Somniator
o su Subtractor [A4r]
o ta Taxillator
o te Textor
T o ti Tinctor
o to Tornator
o tu Tubicen
o va Uaginarius
o ve Uenator
U o vi Uinator
o vo Uolipiscus
o vu Uulgator
318 o wa walneator b
w o we wephrotosita
o wi wiliator p
o wo wotarius p
o wu wursarius p
o xa Xaccularius s
o xe Xenodocharius
X o xi Xistitus
o xo Xotularifex
o xu Xubulcu s
o za Zauceps
o ze Zelates
Z o zi Zimarus
o zo Zoilus
o zu Zuccentor
In hoc libro mentali quattuor ponuntur per que quattuor in hac parte necessaria
innuuntur.
¶ Primo enim in hac arte decem loca maxima habere necesse est quodque in quo-
libet decem loca maiora ordinentur, vt etiam supra patuit73 quorum numerum siue
quotiditatem nos scire oportet, ergo primo ponuntur littere capitales quarum quelibet
certo numero adaptata est.
¶ Secundo. Persone note eligende sunt vt de noti noticia ad ignotum aliquod deue-
niamus quod memorari cupimus, persona enim nota semper in hac arte aliquid operetur
cum re memoranda, aut res memoranda cum persona nota aut instrumento, aut cum
materia circa quam versatur.
¶ Tertio. Loca prius electa ordinem infallibilem inter se habere debent ergo hic
tertio loco ponuntur syllabe que certo se ordine sequuntur quarum quelibet vni loco
maiori siue camere correspondet, et sic tam certus erit ordo locorum quam certus est
ordo syllabarum.
¶ Quarto. In hoc libro mentali ponuntur nomina officiorum, et artificiorum per que
fit multiplicatio et distinctio locorum, sicut per syllabas eorum ordo notatur.
Vlterius est sciendum.

Quod in primo angulo cuiuslibet loci maioris ponenda est secundum considerationem
nostram vna persona nota habens officium vel artificium, vt in primo angulo prime
camere ponemus Abbatem nobis notum, si autem non est nobis aliquis verus Abbas notus
tunc illud officium attribuendum est alicui homini noto et illum dicemus esse abbatem 319
nostrum. Et in primo angulo secunde camere constituatur Eques nobis notus si fuerit
nobis aliquis Eques notus, aut aliquis alius quem volumus esse Equitem nostrum si veri
equitis noticiam non habuerimus. In primo angulo tertie camere Illuminatorem nobis
notum determinabimus. Et sic consequenter secundum ordinem libri mentalis.74 [A4v]
¶ Post hoc in qualibet persona nota distinguenda sunt quinque loca naturaliter or-
dinata per modum corone vel circuli secundum quinque organa principalia procedendo
a capite ad manum sinistram deinde ad pedem sinistrum. Post hoc ad pedem dextrum
et ad manum dextram. Et debet quodlibet illorum membrorum specificari per instru-
mentum sui officij siue artificij aut per materiam circa quam versatur. Alios autem tres
angulos non specificatos, relinque quosque maiori copia locorum indigueris. Quia tunc
persone note in qualibet camera addere potes quattuor aut quinque personas notas.
Iuxta illud. Singulis in artificijs coniungere prouidebis viro. Ad costam filium filiam
auum auiamque hoc ordine, vt in secundo angulo cuiuslibet camere determinetur vxor
persone principalis. In tertio filius. In quarto filia. In medio vere siue centro auus. Et si
adhuc preter hec aliquis locus notabilis se offert in illo determinetur auia et sic in toto
73
Bp: “ibi opere precium [est notare] Accipere loca secundum librum mentalem ideo est difficile et
in[…]le nam loca in arte cru[…] sine certa non se ipsa mouent […] ut sit in personis et in [ani]malibus
2a in ipsis s[…]ret nimia similitudo locorum que maxime est vitanda ut prius supra dictum est.”
74
A fragment of a figure at the bottom of the page in the Bp copy: vxor fi lius
auus
[…] […]
erunt quingente aut sexcente persone note. Et conari debes quamlibet personam notam
specificare quinque instrumentis sicut primam et principalem. Instrumenta etiam si
non fuerint nimis parua possunt iterum subdiuidi in quinque secundum modum prius
positum de triangulis et quadrangulis et sic tot loca habere potes quot tuo vsui sufficiunt,
vltime tamen multiplicationes non deseruiunt nisi iam in arte aliqualiter perfectis. Incipi-
entes vero contentari debent vna persona in qualibet camera cum suis specificationibus
quousque magis exercitari fuerint.
Ista est secunda pars istius tractatuli, in qua determinatur de imaginibus.75

Imagines sunt forme quedam et note eius rei quam meminisse volumus. Et sunt duplices
quia quedam sunt dictionum, et quedam sententiarum. Imagines dictionum dicuntur
quando vnaqueque dictio figuratur vna speciali imagine.76 Imagines vero sententiarum
dicuntur cum aliquam rem gestam aut orationem ex pluribus dictionibus compositam
vna simplici imagine aut ex pluribus aggregata notamus. Harum noticia facile haberi
potest cum primo quinque modi locandi ponantur per quos termini qualescunque fuer-
int locari possunt, et cum secundo illi77 ad orationum, argumentorum, carminum, siue
metrorum autoritatum, hystoriarum et sermonum locationem applicabuntur.
Conditiones Imaginum.78
¶ Prima. Omnis imago debet esse Mirabilis, delectabilis, ridiculosa, crudelis, aut
alia notabili passione affecta, quia tales plus mouent memorantem et fortius imprimatur.
320 ¶ Secunda imagines non debent esse ociose. Nam he que exercitio carent parum
vel nihil excitant materiam memorandam. Etiam considerantes motum aut exercitium
imaginum ducimur in notitiam earundem, et ex consequenti in rem memorandam.79
¶ Tertia. Imagines debent esse proprie, it vt conuenienter rem memo-[A5r]randam
representent, non enim res memoranda per quamlibet aliam representari potest. Si ergo
imago aliquando non prompte nos reminisci facit rei intente restringere eam debemus
aut fortiter cogitando de proposito, aut aliquid addendo gratia cuius facilius propositi
nostri valeamus reminisci.80
¶ Quarta. Imagines debent sepius repeti vt sic fi rmius imprimantur. Debilitas
enim impressionis impedit memoriam. Et ideo imagines inuente sunt vt res memo-
rande per eas fortius imprimantur sicut loca propter ordinem, cum ergo ad fi nem
75
Bp: “De locis satis dictum est nun ad imaginum racionem transeamus. Et Ci. imagines sunt rerum
similitudines vel secundum Quintilianum sunt note rerum retinendarum.”
76
Bp: “Tres sunt imagines”. Th is note probably refers to the divisions on f. II*r.
77
Bp: “scilicet modi locandi.”
78
Bp: “est valde utilis.”
79
Bp: “hoc poti[us] […]iam commune circa imagines contingit scilicet imagines rerum [et?]
sentenciarum.”
80
Bp: “Hoc contingit in locacione diccionum vel in locacione parcium indeclinabilium vt infra patebit
in figmento et in inscripcione.”
quinarij81 perueneris repete in eo locata, et cum ad denarium82 perueneris ambos qui-

narios repete.83
¶ Quinta. Non debent esse multe imagines in vno loco,84 quia vna pre alia occurreret
et generaret confusionem, possunt tamen in vno loco constituti multe imagines vnam
rem significantes, vt pro bello plures homines bellantes. Si autem materia locata amplius
vti nolueris, imaginare pannum rubeum trahi per cameras et delere omnes imagines
locatas et non repetite pereunt.
Tertia pars est de practica artis.

Pro qua sciendum est. Quod omnis materia memoranda locatur, aut per similitudinem,
aut per comparationem, aut per figmentum, aut per inscriptionem, aut colligantiam,
aut locatur mixtim per hec.85
De similitudine.86
Per similitudinem dictio aliqua locatur cum pro ea imaginem siue idolum in loco certo
constituimus. Et est aduertendum quod omnis dictio vel est nota, vel ignota. Si ignota
locatur per figmentum vel inscriptionem. Si nota aut significat rem visibilem aut inuisi-
bilem.87 Si secundo locatur per figmentum aut per inscriptionem aliquando etiam per
comparationem vt iustitia. Sed si significat rem visibilem hoc etiam est dupliciter, quia
vel significat substantiam vel accidens. Si accidens tunc locatur per subiectum suum
principalius vt albedo per niuem lilium vel cretam nigredo per coruum, picem autem
carbonem. Si autem significat substantiam visibilem et hoc contingit dupliciter. Quia vel 321
significat substantiam inanimatam vt lapis securis, tunc persona nota faciet aliquid cum
tali substantia aut aliquis alius in ordine ad instrumentum vel personam notam gestu
mirabili aut crudeli vel delectabili. Vel significat substantiam visibilem Animatam et
talis potest etiam esse duplex, quia vel est nomen commune vel proprium. Si est nomen
commune tunc imaginare rem significatam per ipsam agere aliquid cum persona nota
aut instrumento aut pati.88 S<i> est nomen proprium hoc contingit locari dupliciter. Vno
modo accipiendo aliquem hominem notum illo nomine appellatum qui operetur aliq-
uid cum persona nota vel instrumento. Allio modo per signum quo imago sancti istius
nominis specificari solet et sic Petrus locatur per clauem. Paulus per gladium. Ioannes
per calicem. Catherina per rotam. [A5v]
81
Bp: “ad quintum locum minorem.”
82
Bp: “decem [!] locum.”
83
Bp: “hoc nunquam omitti debet in quecunque materia locanda.”
84
Bp: “minori uno atque eodem tempora diuersam materiam representans racio quia una pre alia
occurreret.”
85
Bp: “Omnis materia siue fuerit simplex diccio siue breuis oracio siue totalis sentencia.”
86
Bp: “Nota quod hic per similitudinem intelligere debemus res corporales per se existentes vt (?) est
leo asinus bardus v[olucr?]is bos canis.”
87
Bp: “Per visibile intelligimus hic rem corporalem per invisibilem rem incorporalem ut sunt ebrietas
castitas.”
88
Bp: “Quod hic dicitur personis nos debemus attribuere locis minoribus v[…] res i.e. im (?).”
De comparatione.
Comparatio in proposito fieri dicitur quando vnam rem locamus per aliam propter habi-
tudinem quam habent adinuicem sicut causa et suus effectus opposita, etc. Iuxta illud
Causa vel oppositum simul instrumenta vel actus. Consimilis facient te meminisse rei,
de causa hoc indubitabile existimatur cum omnis noticia vera et necessaria in primis sit
per causam secundum sententiam philosophi primo posteriorum. Exemplum vt causam
felicitatis dicimus sidus Veneris, si Mathematicis credendum est, ergo sidus Veneris apte
locatur aut constellatio.
¶ Effectus etiam non immerito sue cause reminisci facit cum a posteriori et quo
ad nos sit notior. Igitur panis in pistoris, et calceus in sutoris nos memoriam ducit. Sic
bonitas et defectus hec in causa indicant.89
¶ Vnum oppositorum etiam alterius potest esse reminiscendi principium propter
habitudinem inter ea. Aut cum vnum per ironiam prolatum fuerit significat alterum.
Sic peruitiosum valde probum appellamus, et nigrum valde album.
¶ Instrumentum quoque in eius cuius est memoriam ducit, vt penna scriptoris,
equitatis libra, et circulus astronomie.
¶ Actus quia per se fieri non potest agentis conuenienter reminisci facit vt si scribere
aliquem scimus de eo qui sit scribens conuenienter cogitabimus. Etiam quia diuersi actus
diuersis conueniunt vt arare agricole, docere erudito, et sic de alijs.
¶ Simile. Vnum aliud succurrere facit, vt cum aliquis cogitauerit de Horatio, facile
succurrit Virgilius.
322 ¶ Habitus, quia diuersarum personarum, dignitatum, officiorum, varij sunt, varias
nobis personas, dignitates, et officia indicabunt. Nationes etiam nonnunque diuersas.
¶ Penes equalitatem et excessum vnam rem alteri comparare non erit inutile vt maior
Gigante, minor Gnano, et pigrior asino.
¶ Loca diuersa, quia diuersis abundant varijsque insignijs dotata sunt facile per hec
possunt memorari.
De Figmento.
Figmentum in proposito dicimus cum rei memorande90 non facile similitudinem pro-
priam nec comparationem conuenientem habere possumus ad similitudinem vocalem
nos conuertimus et per hunc modum locare possumus dictiones tam notas quam ignotas
tam grecas quam barbaras quarum solam vocem notamus partes indeclinabiles vt quo-
niam, vel nisi, et verba significantia actum nullo sensu exteriori perceptibilem, vt sum,
volo, intelligo, tales enim dictiones per se locari non possunt, sed per notas dictiones res
visibiles significantes. Et fit tripliciter.
¶ Primo. Respectu dictionis vt quando pro dictione ignota vel significante rem in-
uisibilem locamus aliam dictionem notam significantem rem visibilem que est similis
in voce huic pro qua locatur, ut pro palam prepone notamus pa-[A6r]lam instrumentum
visibile quo aliquid operamur.
89
Th is remark probably refers to remembering by an extremely good, or faulty product of a craftsman.
90
Bp: “i.e. vocis memorande.”
¶ Secundo. Respectu syllabe hoc fit dupliciter. Vno modo quando dictionis ignote
plurium syllabarum imaginem componimus ex syllabis diuersarum dictionum siguifi-
cantium91 res visibiles, vt quando pro ita locamus irundinem sede item in tabula tunc ex
primis duabus syllabis illarum dictionum simul iunctis constituitur ita que erat dictio
intenta. Alio modo quando dictio ignota est vnius syllabe tantum. Aut si alicui darent ad
memorandum syllaba quecunque fuerit, tunc accipienda est dictio nota significans rem
visibilem initium sumens ad eadem syllaba quam gladio aut alia re diuisam imaginari
conuenit, vt si locare siue imaginari placuerit illam syllabam Cri imaginari possumus
Cribrum ense diuisum.
¶ Tertio potest sumi similitudo vocis respectu littere. Quod fit cum pro littera lo-
camus dictionem notam significantem rem visibilem cuius prima littera est eadem cum
littera intenta, vt pro A locamus asinum, pro B bouem, pro C ceruum vel canem, etc.
Et si placet cogitare possumus principium illius rei auferri gladio vt prius.
De Inscriptione.
Inscriptio fit cum rei locande nec similitudinem nec comparationem conuenientem
nec similitudinem vocalem inuenire possumus per litteras eandem notamus. Et hoc
dupliciter. Vno modo cum terminum lacandum diuisum partesque eius segregatim scribi
singularibus litteris imaginamur. Exemplum si alicui ignota fuerit hec dictio scharamella
imaginari debet in loco quem ordo dederit primam eius partem puta schara scriptam
creta vel auro aut carbone, postea reliquam partem scilicet mella segregatam a priori. Alio
modo per literas graecas ad instrumentorum similitudinem formatas que diuerso situ, 323
varietate syllabas varias nobis iudicabunt. Quelibet enim vocalis tria instrumenta habet
ipsam designantia quorum primum cum sursum vertitur assumit sibi b, ad sinistrum c,
deorsum siue ad terram d, ad dextrum vero f. Secundum vero sursum assumit sibi g, ad
sinistrum l, deorsum m, ad dextrum n. Sed tertium in altum significat p, sibi iungendum
ad sinistrum r, deorsum s, ad dextrum t. Consonans vero quelibet duo habet instru-
menta. Quorum primum quando secundum considerationem nostram sursum vertitur
assumit sibi a, ad sinistrum e, deorsum i, ad dextrum o, ad medium vero siue ante aut
retro v. Secundum vero consonantis instrumentum reseruatur pro consonantium con-
nextione [!], figuras autem siue instrumenta litterarum in fine videbis.
De Colligantia.92
Colligantia que a nonnullis cathena dicitur est duplex. Nam vna est naturalis et est qua fac-
ile de vno in aliud mouemur propter ordinem vnius ad aliud. Exempli gratia, vt Terra, aqua,
aër, ignis. Horum enim quisque facile reminisci potest si considerauerit ea hunc ordinem
nature obtinere. Alia est artificialis et est cum secundum nostram considerationem vna
imago se exercet cum alia, vt Petrus, flagellum, canis, porcus, [A6v] ceruisia, vermes, arena.
Si horum memoriam habere volumus imaginabimur Petrum flagello cedere, canem qui
dolore concitatus porcum mordet, porcus vero euadere cupiens ceruisiam euertit in cuius
immo vermes sunt procreati, qui arena teguntur ne appareant propter eorum feditatem.
91
Read significantium.
92
Bp: “Textus colligantie est multum v[tilis? / usitatus?].”
De locatione Orationum.
Cognita bene terminorum locatione in varietate sua distinctorum haud difficile erit
orationes locare. Nam omnis oratio saltem perfecta ex duabus partibus orationis con-
stituitur principaliter ex nomine videlicet et verbo, et prius doctum93 est imagines sine
ocio locandas primum suppositum siue subiectum locabimus modo superius ostento.
Cum autem rem significatam per ipsum agere aliquid aut pati aut circa ipsum aliquid
fieri considerauerimus perfectam orationem esse locatam non dubitabimus reliqua in
oratione posita determinationes horum94 sunt ergo relata ad hec facile nobis occurent.
Bonum tamen est quemque primo in terminis se exercitare ne rem facilem difficilem
reddat siue faciat.
De argumentorum locatione.
Argumentationis potissima species est Syllogismus. Eius igitur locatione bene cognita
facile quamlibet speciem argumentationis locare constabit. Syllogismus autem connu-
merata conclusione ex tribus propositionibus constituitur si propositio accipiatur com-
muniter. Syllogisticum igitur argumentum quidam sic locandum existimant, vt maior
propositio in dextra manu notetur, minor in pectore aut in capite, et conclusio in sinistra
manu. Sed quia maior propositio est virtute totus syllogismus eo quod subsumpta minore
extremitate habentur termini ex quibus totus constituitur syllogismus. Igitur succinctior
videtur argumenti locatio si maiorem propositionem locauerimus sub ea notantes si dif-
ficultas apparuerit minorem extremitatem.
324
De carminibus seu Metris.
Carmina quia de se memoriam adiuuant notata prima dictione facile memoria pos-
sunt comprehendi et si qua preter hanc difficultas apparuerit addi possunt similitudines
harum dictionum dumtaxat que maiorem difficultatem generant. Aut notetur sententia
carminis per vnam imaginem, ex pluribus tamen aggregatam pro reliquo. Exempli gratia.
Pauca licet portes argenti vascula puri
Nocte iter ingressus gladium contumque timebis
Et mote ad lunam trebedabis95 arundinis vmbram
Cantabat 96 vacuus coram latrone viator.97
Oderunt peccare boni virtutis amore.98

Oderunt peccare mali formidine pene.99
93
Bp: “in 2a condicione imaginum.”
94
Bp: “scilicet subiecti et predicati.”
95
Read trepidabis.
96
Read cantabit.
97
Iuv. Sat. 10, 19–22. Walther, Proverbia, 20856.
98
Hor. Ep. 1, 16, 52.
99
Walther, Proverbia, 19717 (in opposite order).
Neue puellarum lachrymis moueare memento100

Vt flerent oculos erudiere suos.101
Dulcis amica veni noctis solatia prestans.102
[f. I*r]103
[Nota regulam in arte precipue tenendam quod peccatum est fieri in hac arte per pauca,
quod enim bene potest fieri per plura, i.e. non faciemus ex aliquo loco locum maiorem,
tantum qui bene potest esse locus maximus, sicut refectorium est locus maximus re-
spectu ianue, fenestrarum, mensarum.
Racio regule: nam locis abundare necesse est teste Ci[cerone]. Oportet enim multos
locos comparare, ut in multis locis multas imagines collocare possimus, nam predicto
modo facile locis habundare possimus.
Opere precium: hec particula. Usque ad illum nihil necessitatis vel utilitatis habet
racio nam incipiens in hac arte accipiet ad placitum loca maxima, et locus maximus ad
placitum habebit maiora, et ordo locorum infra in quinta condicione locorum contine-
tur, in voluntate utentis arte est incipere a dextro vel a sinistro latere.
Loca imaginaria non sunt utilia. Racio quia non debemus addere imaginacioni
imaginacionem sicut afflicto non est danda affliccio cap[ite] pe[nultimo] “de clerico
egrotante.”104
325
[f. I*v]
100
Read caveto.
101
Ov. Rem. 689–690 (memento: caveto; erudiere: edocuere). Walther, Proverbia, 16584.
102
Ps.-Ovid. Philomena, 1; Walther, Carmina, 4796.
103
I*r–II* v are handwritten leaves insterted in the Budapest copy between A6v and B1r. Here we include
them in the main text of the treatise.
104
Decretum Gratiani C. VII, q. 1., c. 2. (non debet a nobis fl agellatis addi afflictio).
4a et que sunt optime nota.

Noticia omnium locorum precipue in arte necessaria est. Vnde loca maxima erunt
nobis nota, maiora nociora, minora vero notissima, quia ad loca minora immediate res
locare debent, i.e. imagines.
Similiter. Quod accidentalis loci maioris differencia causat bonam dissimilitudinem,
unius loci maioris ab alio loco maiori ut patet de tribus fenestris in uno loco maximo
positis, que forti per posicionem vel per magnitudinem per colores vel alias res differunt.
Ci[cero]: si quis multa inter columpnia (omnino similia) sumpserit, turbabitur similitu-
dine ignorabitque, quid in uno quoque locorum collocauerit.
Loca debent. Loca. Nam ordo omnium locorum precipue in arte est necessarius.
Ci[cero] Nam putamus oportere ex ordine hos locos habere, ne perturbacione ordinis
impediamur. Ordo enim est qui memorie lumen affert. Vnde loca maxima erunt ordinata
principaliter maiora et minora. Nam obtinebunt illum ordinem, quem in monasterio
vel in domo habent ad invicem. Item maiora obtinebunt illum ordinem, quem in loco
maximo habent.
Quintus locus maior debet notari. Racio: nam quinto loco notato facile scire pos-
sumus, quot sint loca in ordine eum precedencia vel sequencia. Et eius notacio utilis est
teste Georgio Trapezuncio.105 Quintum locum egregie signabimus, omnem locorum
numerum in memoria habeamus. Et multos eciam locos habere conuenit, si multorum
memoriam habere uoluerimus. [f. II*r]
Triplices sunt imagines:
326 Primo simplicium diccionum, vel verborum, ut ymago leonis est ipse leo, auis est
ipse auis.
Secundo vel rerum aut breuium oracionum, ut memoria breuium oracionum vel
diuersorum articulorum, de quibus dicetur de locacione oracionum infra.
Tercio vel sentenciarum, ut sunt totales effectus capitulorum vel canonum, de quibus
dicetur infra de locacione historiarum, ibi scilicet: ‘modi locandi’.
Condiciones imaginum, i.e. imaginum qualitates

Racio condicionis prime: Nam nulla nisi re noua aut admirabili noster commouetur ani-
mus, unde fit, ut rerum cottidie contingencium memoriam diu habere non solemus, ut
patet de ortu solis et occasu eius, sed raro contingencium, ut patet de eclipsi solis et lune.
Racio condicionis secunde: Nam quantum accio vel passio imaginis fuerit mirabilior,
de tanto memoria de ea erit diuturnior et firmior, ut patet de asino quadrupe [!] ludentem
[!] in organis vel in vulpe predicante.
105
Georgius Trapezuntius, Rhetoricorum libri V (Lyon: Gryphius, 1547), 355–361. For its editions cf.
Renaissance Rhetoric Short Title Catalogue, 1460–1700, ed. Lawrence D. Green and James J. Murphy
(London: Ashgate, 2006), 214–215 (RR 1769–1773). Only three editions (Venice: Wendelin von Speyer,
1472; Milan: Leonard Pachel, 1493; [Alcalá de Henares]: Arnao Guillén, 1511) were published before
the work of Cusanus. About the role of mnemonics in the Rhetoric of Trapezuntios, see John Monfasani,
George of Trebizond: a biography and a study of his rhetoric and logic (Leiden: Brill, 1976), 281, and above
p. 23.
Racio condicionis tercie: Nam omnis imago habebit aliquam convenienciam cum illa
re, cuius est imago. Hinc fit, ut res leta letam habebit imaginem, tristis tristem, lugubris
lugubrem.
Imagines debent sepius repeti, quarum diu volumus habere memoriam.
Si autem materia locata […]106
Optima delecio memorie locate est eam non repetere nec de ea cogitare. Vnde res,
quarum diu habere volumus memoriam, conveniens erit in mense semel vel bis (secun-
dum qualitatem memorie naturalis) repetere. Racio secundum Senecam, quia memoria
nihil perdit nisi ad quod sepe non respexit.] [B1r]
De Autoritatibus et allegationibus
In allegandis autoritatibus capita dictionum videlicet littere vel syllabe per se posite
nomina Autorum et librorum representabunt. Exemplum.
A Ambrosius L Lucas
B Bernhardus M Marcus
C Corinthiorum N Numeri
D Deuteronomij O Omelia
E Ezechielis P Prouerbiorum
E Ecclesiastes R Regum
G Genesis R Romanos
G Gregorius
H Hester S Sapientie 327
I Ioannes T Trenorum
K Krisostomus Y Ysaie
¶ Quotitas vero librorum, questionum, distinctionum, et capitulorum, per res nu-
meri formam habentes notabitur.
Sed quia locare nomina propria non est difficile, conueniens est nomina autorum
locare eo modo quo supra doctum est de nominibus proprijs propter librorum, capitulo-
rum, questionum, et distinctionum, faciliorem applicationes. Dictnm107 autem autoris
locari debet per imaginem sententie compositam ex pluribus imaginibus que sensum
autoritatis nobis conuenienter representabit. Aut excogitandum est negocium in quo au-
toritas possit conuenienter allegari. Exemplum. Augustinus de trinitate libro iij cap. v, sic
locatur. Pone Augustinum tibi notum in locum quem ordo dederit habentem tripedem
in capite et in manu sinistra librum aut cartam in qua sit serpens. In manu vero dextra
aut pedem sinistrum habeat cornu erectum in quo stet baculus quinarij formam habens.
Si vero hunc titulum locare placuerit de summa trinitate et fide catholica. Pone in loco
summam frumenti et tripedem aureum cui alligata sit fidis ex vna parte et ex altera parte
cattus. In alijs autem agatur similiter.
106
Unfinished sentence.
107
Read Dictum.
De Historiarum locatione.
¶ Historias locare volens caueat ne singula verba notet. Nam hoc magis difficile
est quam vtile. Volens igitur historiam locare semel aut bis eam cursim legat notando
singula puncta principalia in quibus historie vis consistit in totque partes eam diuidat et
quamlibet partem per vnam imaginem sententie locet que aliquando ex vna propositione
aliquando ex pluribus constabit sub vna tamen conclusione comprehensis.
¶ Pro exemplo sumatur historia de sancta Marina virgine que in legendis sanctorum
habetur. Et videtur hec legenda diuidenda in duodecim partes. [B1v]
¶ Prima. Pater mutauit habitum filie sue rogans Abbatem et fratres vt filium eius
vnicum reciperent. Ui propter preces patris in Monachum receptus et frater Marinus ab
omnibus appellatus siue nuncupatus est.
¶ Secunda. Cum autem esset viginti septem annorum et pater sentiret se morti
appropinquare filiam suam in bono proposito confirmauit, precepitque ne alicui quod
mulier esse[t] reuelaret.
¶ Tertia. Hic ibat frequenter cum Plaustro et bobus, et ligna monasterio afferebat.
¶ Quarta. Conseuerat autem hospitari in domo cuiusdam viri cuius filia cum de
quodam Milite concepisset, iterrogata a fratre Marino se violatam asseruit.
¶ Quinta. Interrogatus Marinus cur tantum flagitium perpetrasset se peccasse fa-
tetur et veniam precatur.
¶ Sexta. Statim de monaterio eiectus est ad hostium monasterij et mansit ibi tribus
annis et sustentabatur bucella panis.
328 ¶ Septima. Postea filius ablactatus Abbati mittitur et Marino educandus traditur,
omnia autem in magna pacientia recipiebat et in omnibus deo gratias agebat.
¶ Octaua. Tandem sue pacientie Fratres miserti eum in monasterium receperunt,
et vilia officia iniungunt.
¶ Nona. Demum in bonis operibus vitam suam finiens migrauit ad dominum.
¶ Decima. Cum autem corpus eius lauaretur respicientes eum esse mulieri stupefacti
omnes veuiam108 postulabant ignorantie et delicti.
¶ Vndecima. Corpus eius honorofice sepelierunt.
¶ Duodecima. Diffamatrix famule dei arripiebatur a demone scelus suum confidens
et ad sepulchrum veniens liberatur. Et multa alia miracula fiunt ibidem.
De sermonum locatione.
¶ Sermo locandus similiter diuidi potest per plura aut per pauciora puncta secundum
quod predicatori placuerit et locare per ordinem ita quod maneant loca circa quodlibet
punctum pro autoritatibus, rationibus, et consimilibus adducendis. Etiam debet dilatare
predicator quodlibet pnctum pro posse suo et secundum exigentiam materie. Iam rep-
rehendendo presentium vitia. Iam terrendo pena inferni. Et attrahendo per gloriam et
ceteris modis materiam declarando. Si vero quis non fuerit copiosus in materia assumpta
videat vt quodlibet membrum diuidere possit.
108
Read veniam.
Vel cis.109 Volens facere sermonem, locet primo verba thematis ad principium qui-
narij. Deductionem vero siue declarationem eiusdem et allegationes ad loca eiusdem
quinarij, quo facto diuidat intentionem suam et [B2r] quodlibet membrum diuisionis
istius locet ad principium vnius quinarij secundum ordinem et sic patebunt loca pro
autoritatibus adducendis, et pro quolibet membro subdiuidendo. Facilimus enim mo-
dus procedendi est per diuisionem. Iuxta illud, vt plerique volunt tribus diuisio valet.
Legentis animum citat mentem quoque probat. Dat plenius capere, dat plenius atque
videre. Firmius ac gerere dat tibi diuidere.
Circa finem huius opusculi est sciendum quod sicut superius posite sunt quedam
conditiones obseruande circa loca et imagines. Sic quoque necessarie videntur quedam
conditiones concernentes ipsum memorantem.
¶ Prima quod hac arte non est vtendum in studio quottidiano sic vt singula que
legerit per artem velit memorie tradere sed potissimum in studijs difficilibus et neces-
sarijs vt in disputationibus, responsionibus in causis forensibus et contionibus. Potest
tamen aliquis effectum certi libri successu temporis memorie intelligere quia sic facilius
possumus effectum materie extrahere, et ad summam breuem deducere qua scita reliqua
patent.
¶ Secunda. Ad vtendum hac arte requiritur vacatio ne per occupationem exteriorum
virtus naturalis distrahatur.
¶ Tertia quod memorans debet esse mansuetus, ne turbetur per iram aut per im-
patientiam. 329
¶ Quarta quod debet esse sobrius ne per ebrietatem virtus naturalis suffocetur, ne
etiam sic sensus interiores superfluis humoribus impleantur.
¶ Quinta quod potius memorari debet matutino tempore propter silentium. Etiam
tunc animus liber est ab occupationibus extraneis.
Quoniam autem memoria principium habet a natura sicut complementum ab arte,

dignum duxi aliqua addere ex doctissimorum scriptis que naturalia confirmant atque
hominem aptiorem arti reddunt. In primis condecere puto ea, que Matheolus medici-
narum doctor peritissimus quinque regulis complexus est.
¶ Prima regula est, quod corpus teneatur mundum a superfluitatibus. Vnde quottidie
sit ventris beneficium, et si non naturale, fiat artificiale. Vina magna fugiantur, immo
vtile est si quis vult habere bonam memoriam, vt aliquot dies abstineat a vino et loco
eius aqua vtatur succari, vitet cacerumiam sicut allea et huiusmodi, et legumina omnia.
Superuitet et coitum superfluum, et carnes facilis digestionis commedat. Acetum et
acetosa cepe etiam maxime nocet, vt dicit Auicenna.
¶ Secunda regula est. Buglossa et zinziber sunt optima memorie quomodolibet ad-
ministrata, et maxime zinziber conditum bis in hebdomada aut ter ieiuno stomacho ad
quantitatem vnius castanee de mane captum.
109
Read sic?
¶ Tertia regula est. Mirabolani110 conditi optimi scilicet semel in hebdomada sumere
vnum Simbrum: est species mente secundum Auicenna est optimum. [B2v]
¶ Quarta regula est. Confectio anacardina ad quantitatem Ciceris sumpta in heb-
domada semel in aurora confert mirabiliter. Similiter Diambra secundum Auicennam.
¶ Quinta regula est. Oleum philosophorum secundum Mesue mirabiliter confert
occipitio iniuncto, ex eo reparat memoriam hec ille. Nihil etiam salutarius tiriaca in
fouendis conseruandisque tum singulis membris et viribus, tum spiritibus atque ingenio.
Matheolus divinus omnium medicorum sententia comprobat. Huius igitur in primis vti
conuenit dragma dimedia aut saltem dragme tertia parte bis qualibet hebdomada Hyeme
et Autumno. Sed Estate atque Vere semel, vel sola, vel si placet humidis frigidisque tem-
poribus cum pauculo mero claro suaui. Temporibus vero calidis siccisque presertim si
natura vel etas sit calidior cum aque Rosacee duabus vnceis aut tribus stomacho scilicet
vacuo sex vel septem horis ante cibum. Hec quisque diligens huius artis obseruator in
finem bonum optimumque studeat applicare, cui non deerit directio creatoris et pa-
trocinium christifere gloriose Marie intercessio sanctorum omnium quibus nos sociare
dignetur qui in secula seculorum est benedictum. Amen.
Tractatulus artificiose memorie finit feliciter. Impressus

Vienne per Hieronymum Vietorem et Ioannem Singrenium.
Impensis vero venerabilis Magistri Ioannis Cusani,
eiusdem artis professoris. Anno domini Millesimo
330 quingentesimo decimoquarto. Die xxij
MARTIJ.
L<aus> D<eo> O<ptimo> M<aximo>111
110
I.e. myrobalane (cherry plum).
111
Bp: “Item quelibet vocalium habet tria signa (ut patet videnti): primum igitur cuiuslibet vocalis
signum immediate sillabicatur cum his quatuor consonantibus, scilicet B C D F. Secundum cuiuslibet
vocalis signum cum his quatuor G L M N. Tercium vero cuiuslibet vocalis signum cum istis quatuor
X Z S T, et faciunt sillabas ut circa signa ipsius ‘a’ videre poteritis. Nam quandocunque occurrit aliqua
diccio locanda (que per antedictos modos locari non poterit), si inceperit a primis quatuor sillabis,
utendum erit primo signo ipsius ’a’, cum signo sue consonantis. Si ab aliis quatuor, secundo signo, si ab
ultimis 4or, ultimo signo.
Item consonans quelibet habet duo signa ut patet videnti: primum igitur cuiuslibet consonantis signum
immediate sillabicatur cum 5 vocalibus, secundum cuiuslibet consonantis signum mediate, i.e. quando
due vel tres consonantes precedunt aliquam vocalem, et faciunt sillabas ut circa signa ipsa B videre
poteris, nam quandocunque occurrit aliqua diccio locanda (que eciam per dictos modos locari non
poterit), si incipit a quinque primis sillabis, utendum erit primo signo ipsius cum signo sui vocalis. Si
ab aliis quinque, secundo signo et quod iam dictum est de signis ipsius B. Idem intelligendum erit de
signis aliarum vocalium et consonantum, quia de similibus idem est iudicium.”
[B3r]
Hermannus Trebelius Notianus112
Poeta Laureatus et LL imperialium Candidatus Lectori.
Paucis te petit et cupit Poeta,

Lector candide candida et iuuentus,
Donec legeris et parum reuoluas
Paucos hendecasillabos eunte
Conscriptos calamo et nihil morante,
Cusanus meus e sinu Mineruae
Raptum, Pieridum sacrariosque,
Iamdudum tibi dedicat libellum,
Quem ne pretereas caueto prudens
Hoc nam Simonides, Solon ue Claruus
Perlecto, poteris teanx vel esse
Cyrus, vel Cicero vel Hadrianus,
Legatus Cyneasque, Scipioque,
Magno cum Mithridate Caesaremque
Longe vincere, teque per virorum
Haud ignobilis eruditiorum
Coetus mittere, candidamque famam
Diuina tibi comparare ab arte. 331
Sed ne te nimium morer legentem,
Hijs lectis abeas valeque lector.
TELOS [B3v]
In artis memoratiue detractorem

Hermannus Buschius hec cecinit.
Inuide ne latres linguam conpesce furentem,

Nec nimium rabidis garrulus esto labris
Aut pete tartareas (superis incognitus) vmbrae
Et Plegetonteos labere adusque lacus
Atque illic potius lites et iurgia misce
Et viuis pacem concubitare sine.
112
Trebelius (Syrwint) was a professor at the University of Frankfurt an der Oder, and supported Greek
studies at the academy of Wittenberg. Michael Höhle, Universität und Reformation. Die Universität
Frankfurt (Oder) von 1506 bis 1530 (Cologne: Böhlau, 2002), 113–116. See also Joachim Johann Mader,
Scriptorum insignium, qui in […] Lipsiensi, Wittenbergensi, Franfordiana ad Oderam academiis […]
floruerunt, […] centuria (Helmstadt: Müller, 1660), n. 79; Josef Benzing, ”Hermann Trebelius, Dichter
und Drucker zu Wittenberg und Eisenach,” Der Bibliophile 4 (1953): 203–204; Heinz Kathe, Die
Wittenberger philosophische Fakultät, 1502–1817 (Cologne: Böhlau, 2002), 12–14.
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Memory Machine in Central Europe (The Text ‘Nota hanc figuram composuerunt
doctores… / Pro aliquali intelligentia…’), in: The Making of Memory in the Middle
Ages, ed. Lucie Doležalová (Leiden: Brill, 2010), 49–78.
Kiss, “Performing”: Farkas Gábor Kiss, “Performing from Memory and Experiencing the
Senses in Late Medieval Meditative Practice: The Treatises Memoria fecunda, Nota
hanc figuram and Alphabetum Trinitatis,” Daphnis 41 (2012): 421–422.
Making of Memory, ed. Doležalová: The Making of Memory in the Middle Ages, ed. Lucie
Doležalová (Leiden: Brill, 2010).
Medieval Manuscript Miscellanies, ed. Doležalová-Rivers: Medieval Manuscript Miscel-
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(Krems, Medium Aevum Quotidianum, 2013).
Pack, “An Ars”: Roger A. Pack, “An Ars memorativa from the later Middle Ages,” Archives
d’Histoire Doctrinale et Littéraire du Moyen Age 54 (1979): 221–275.
PSB: Polski Słownik Biograficzny [Polish Dictionary of Biography], ed. Władysław
Konopczyński et al., 50 Vols., (Warsaw-Cracow: PAN-PAU, 1935–) (http://ipsb.
nina.gov.pl)
Rischpler, Biblia Sacra: Susanne Rischpler, Biblia Sacra figuris expressa: Mnemotechnische
Bilderbibeln des 15. Jahrhunderts (Wiesbaden: Reichert, 2001).
Rivers, Preaching the Memory: Kimberly Rivers, Preaching the Memory of Virtue and Vice:
Memory, Images and Preaching in the Late Middle Ages (Turnhout: Brepols, 2010).
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Słownik staropolski (SS): Słownik staropolski, ed. Stanisław Urbańczyk, (Warsaw etc.:
PAN, 1955–1980).
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feder, 1504).
Thorndike-Kibre: Lynn Thorndike and Pearl Kibre, A Catalogue of Incipits of Mediaeval
Scientific Writings in Latin (Cambridge, MA: Mediaeval Academy of America, 1963).
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List of Plates
Pl. 1a. Mnemonic places in the treatise of the anonymous Hussite. Ms. Prague, NL,
VIII E 3, f. 142r.
Pl 1b. Ms. Olomouc, VK, M I 271, 2r, from the Carthusian monastery Na Dolanech
(Dollein) near Olomouc. An alphabetical (unfinished) list of the mnemonic places
grouped in fives preceding the Memoria fecunda treatise.
Pl. 2. Ars et modus vitae contemplativae, (Nürnberg:Creussner, 1473). Copy: Budapest,
OSZK, Inc. 1243.
Pl. 3. The illustrations of the Nota hanc figuram treatise, Prague, NK, I G 11a, 17v–18r.
Pl. 4. The illustrations of the Nota hanc figuram treatise, Křivoklát Castle, ms. 156,
71v–74r.
Pl. 5. Mnemonic alphabet. Kórnik Library of the Polish Academy of Sciences, ms.
1122, 21r.
Pl. 6. Figure of Christ. Kórnik Library of the Polish Academy of Sciences, ms. 1122, 24r. 335
Pl. 7. Figure of a seated devil. Kórnik Library of the Polish Academy of Sciences, ms.
1122, 24v.
Pl. 8. Figure of a kneeling and praying. Kórnik Library of the Polish Academy of Sci-
ences, ms. 1122, 25r.
Pl. 9. A page documenting the mnemonic exercizes of the scribe. Kórnik Library of the
Polish Academy of Sciences, ms. 1122, 28r.
Pl. 10. Memory cards of Valentinus de Monteviridi. Wrocław, Ossol. ms., 734/I, 203v–
204r. Its usage remains unexplained in the ms.
Pl. 11. Images of the six cases by Valentinus de Monteviridi, Wrocław, Ossol., ms. 734/I,
205v–206r.
Pl. 12. Images of the active and passive conjugation by Valentinus de Monteviridi,
Wrocław, Ossol., ms. 734/I, 206v–207r.
Pl. 13. [H. Vibicetus] Aureum reminiscendi memorandique perbreve opusculum, Köln,
Renchen, 1501, B3r. (Copy: Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin – Preußischer Kulturbesitz,
Abteilung Historische Drucke, Nn 8116 (R)). Annotated page of the pictorial al-
phabet.
Pl. 14. The figurative alphabet. Johannes Cusanus, Tractatulus artificiose memorie,
(Frankfurt an der Oder, Johannes Hanau, 1510), B3r.
Index of names*
Abacuc (Habacuc) 63n, 232, 237 Angelus de Clavasio 163, 163n

Abel 294 Anne, St. 106, 160n, 261–262, 261n
Abélard, Pierre 98 Anonymous Observant 297–301
Abraham 201, 202, 232, 237 Anselm of Canterbury, St. 162, 270
Adam 97–98, 124, 155, 161, 294 Anthony, St. 206
Aesticampianus, Joannes see Sommerfeld Antoni of Radomsko 18, 20, 82–83, 83n,
the Elder, Jan 84n, 85, 102, 248
Agricola Jr., Rudolf 115n Antonius 15, 15n, 204n
Alain de Lille 112n Antoninus Florentinus (Antonio Pierozzi),
Albert of Koło 82, 82n St. 164, 164n, 286, 286n, 287, 295
Albert (Albrecht) of Saxony 179n, 231n Apuleius 146
Albert von Orlamünde 55n Aquinas, Thomas 15–16, 42, 42n, 49, 86,
Albert the Great see Albertus Magnus 87, 98, 117–118, 118n, 120, 122, 124,
337
Albertus de Brudzewo see Wojciech of 150n, 161n, 198n, 205, 205n, 211n,
Brudzewo 213–214, 213n, 227, 228, 228n, 230,
Albertus Magnus (Albert the Great) 98, 244, 269, 269n, 289n, 297, 313, 313n
182, 250n, 297 Pseudo-Thomas Aquinas see Wheatley,
Albrecht of Saxony see Albert of Saxony Guillelmus
Alcock, Simon 150n Aranyasi Gellértfi, János see Gerhardi de
Alexander de Villa Dei 66, 114n, 115, Araniasch, Johannes
133 Aretin, Johann Christoph Frh. von 24,
Alexander Jagiellon 248, 248n 67n, 69n, 70n, 75n, 128, 128n, 221n,
Alexander of Hales 98, 269 333
Alexander the Great 146, 201–202, 202n, Argus 63n
204n, 257n Aristides 297
al-Farghani 51n Aristotle 16, 49n, 51n, 111, 111n, 144n,
Alsted, Johann Heinrich 13n 167, 167n, 198, 257n, 281–282, 287,
Ambrose, Saint 42, 205, 239, 239n, 270, 289, 297, 311, 311n
327 Categories 51
Ambrosiaster 228n De anima 281, 281n
Anaxagoras 229n De memoria et reminiscentia 27, 32, 49,
Andrew, St. 111, 241, 283 69, 229, 229n, 230, 230n
*
The index contains the personal names mentioned in the main text and the footnotes, excluding
modern secondary literature. We have included those mnemonic names, which seem to be identifiable
with a specific person.
Index of names
Ethica 231, 231n Berald or Berard, pupil of St. Francis of

Physica 168n, 182n, 230n, 231, 231n, Assisi 260, 260n, 261
234, 240, 240n, 281, 281n Beran, Mattheus (Matouš) 14, 18, 30,
Pseudo-Aristotle 257n 37–45, 37n, 38n, 39n, 41n, 43n, 49,
Arnaldus de Villa Nova 91, 100–101, 59, 60n, 61–62, 165, 181–217, 182n,
100n, 101n, 249n, 271, 271n 185n, 188n, 189n, 198n, 205n, 206n,
Assmann, Jan 25 207n, 209n, 210n, 211n, 214n, 215n,
Augustine, Saint 41–42, 42n, 84n, 98, 217n
100, 124, 152, 162, 205, 205n, 212, Beran, Václav (Wenceslas) 37n
227, 228, 237, 237n, 238n, 270, 297, Bériou, Nicole 5
327 Berlioz, Jacques 151–152
Pseudo-Augustinus see Paulinus Aquilensis Bernardino of Siena, St. 19–20, 25n, 105,
and Ambrosiaster 158n, 241
Augustinus Moravus Olomucensis 146, Bernard of Clairvaux, St. 42, 42n, 44,
146n, 147n 44n, 125, 162, 199, 206, 229n, 241,
Augustus 146 327, 241
Aulus Gellius 297 Bernardinus Cracoviensis 250
Averroës 167, 230, 230n, 287, 289n Bernardinus de Bustis 297
Avicenna 15, 234, 234n, 329, 330 Bernaw, Petrus Mathie de 37n
Berthold von Regensburg 159n
Babarék (fictional priest) 148 Blasius, son of Georgius Aurifaber (posses-
338 Balbus, Joannes 118n sor) 310n
Baldwin of Savoy 70, 70n Blasius, St. 206
Bär, Jan (Ursinus, Joannes) 74 Blum, Herwig 17n
Barbaro, Ermolao (Barbarus, Hermolaus) Boëthius 56n, 185n, 231–232
144n Pseudo-Boëthius 48, 56, 56n
Bárczi, Ildikó 157n Bohemus, Johannes 55
Barinus, Jacobus 47n Bolesław (Boleslaus) II, King of Poland
Barrocci, Paolo 146 97–98, 154, 265–266, 266n
Bartholomew, St. 241 Bolzoni, Lina 25
Barycz, Henryk 74 Bonaventure, St. 98, 161n, 227, 269
Basedow, Johann Bernard 80n Boncompagno da Signa 12, 12n, 71
Basilius, St. 206n, 241 Boner, [Iacobus] Andreas 295n
Báthory, Nicholas 139–140, 139n Bonfini, Antonio 139n
Bauch, Gustav 77 Bonvicinus de Ripa 176n
Bayerle, Henry 71n Borsa, Gedeon 116, 225n, 226n
Beel 36, 176 Bowker, Geoffrey 24n
Bede, the Venerable 42, 42n, 92, 145, 146, Bracciolini, Poggio 11, 11n, 22, 22n
206 Bradwardine, Thomas 12, 12n, 17, 132n
Bella, Stefano della 80 Brant, Sebastien 306n
Bem, Józef 107 Bromiardus, Johannes 238n
Benedict XIII 111 Bruno, Giordano 79, 101
Benedict, St. 162 Buno, Johann 107
Benavente, Juan Alfonso de 147n Burgundio of Pisa 167n
Beniowski, Bartłomiej “Major” 107 Buridan, John 174n
Index of names
Busche, Hermann von dem 144, 144n, Clemens V (pope) 100

286n, 287, 308–309, 308n, 311, 311n, Clemens, dominus (possessor) 133n
331 Clio 129n
Buschius, Hermann see Busche, Hermann Clogomura, Crispus 134n
von dem Closener, Fritsche 237n
Butzbach, Johannes 308n Comenius, Jan Amos 107
Cornificius see Rhetorica ad Herennium
Caesar, Caius Julius 146, 331 Corvinus, Laurentius 74
Caesarius of Heisterbach 57, 227 Cox, Leonard 115
Callistus 227 Creussner, Friedrich 120, 120n, 122, 122n
Camers, Johannes 144 Cristiannus de Prachaticz 58–59
Camillo Delminio, Giulio 13 Crux de Telcz, Ulricus 49, 49n, 56n, 181,
Campana, Johannes Antonius 222n 221n, 223
Campanus, Thomas 69n Csizi (fictional priest) 148
Capella, Martianus 11, 146, 146n, 287, Cusa, Johannes Enclen de see Cusanus,
295, 295n Johannes
Caracciolo da Lecce, Roberto 20 Cusanus, Johannes (Cusa, Johannes En-
Carrara, Giovanni Michele Alberto 15, 15n clen de, Cusinus) 14, 18, 66, 80, 80n,
Carruthers, Mary 25, 71n, 72 88, 143–145, 143n, 144n, 145n, 150,
Carneades 144n, 287, 311 153, 153n, 286, 303–331, 303n, 304n,
Cassiodorus 98 305n, 306n, 308n, 314n, 326n, 335
Catherine of Alexandria, St. 93, 254, 254n, Cusanus, Nicolaus 130, 130n 339
290, 321 Cusinus, Johannes see Cusanus, Johannes
Celtis, Conrad 18, 22, 23n, 29, 47, 66, Cyneas 312, 331
73–76, 73n, 75n, 88, 133–143, 133n, Cyrus 144n, 331
134n, 135n, 136n, 137n, 138n, 140n,
141n, 144, 250n, 273, 274n, 279n, 335 Dąbrówka, Jan 110, 110n
Chodowiecki, Daniel 80, 80n Dalpran, Alfons 68
Christ see Jesus Christ Daniel 155, 229, 229n, 241
Christoph, St. 240, 243 Dante Alighieri 79, 159, 159n
Christophorus, parish priest of Ľubica David 241
(Leubitz) 110 David, rabbi 139n
Cicero, Marcus Tullius 11n, 14n, 16n, 29n, Dawid, Wincenty 107
32, 35, 68, 70, 72, 74, 75, 111, 117, 133, Decembrio, Angelo Camillo 22, 22n
135n, 136, 138n, 144n, 222n, 226, Demosthenes 297
273, 274n, 279n, 287, 289, 311, 312, Dinkova-Bruun, Greti 5
313n, 314n, 325, 326, 331 Dionysius Aeropagita 162
De inventione 16, 135 Dirk van ‘s Hertogenbosch (Theodericus
De oratore 9, 11, 71, 144n, 312n de Buscoducis) 303
Laelius sive de amicitia 67 Długosz, Jan 65, 66n, 113
as Tul[l]ius, presumed author of the Dolce, Lodovico 13, 13n
Rhetorica ad Herennium 32, 168–174, Doležalová, Lucie 24n, 27–64
176, 223–224, 282, 287, 293n, 313 Dominic, St. 158n, 241
Ciołek, Stanisław 67 Donatus 66
Ciruelo, Pedro 18, 18n Dorothy, St. 99, 155, 156, 161
Index of names
Dragoun, Michal 27n Gallus de Liptowia 116

Dubravius, Joannes 146, 146n Gambara, Maffeo 52n
Dybinus, Magister 63n Gansfort, Wessel 20–21, 21n
Garnerius de Langres 68
Eck, Johannes 305n Gaugin, Robert 131n
Eck, Valentine 115, 115n Gerhardi de Araniasch, Johannes 109–110,
Eiximenis, Francesc 12, 12n, 17, 68, 109, 110n, 113n
110n, 111–112, 111n, 116, 149n, 150, Gerson, Jean 125, 162, 223n
156 Geyszfelh, Vitus (Vitus Hagenoius) 79
Elias 238 Geoffrey of Vinsauf 19, 19n, 176, 176n
Elisha (Elizeus) 238 Geoffrey of Winchester 244n
Emser, Hieronymus 285, 285n George of Poděbrady, King of Bohemia
Enclen de Cusa, Johannes see Cusanus, 45n, 131, 131n
Johannes Giacomo da Mantova 248, 250n
Enclen/Enklen, Peter see Henklen, Peter Giovanni d’Andrea (Johannes Andreae)
Epictetus 297 306
Erasmus, Desiderius 22, 140n Girardus de Cruce 29, 29n, 52n, 67
Este, Leonello d’ 22 Giustiniani, Leonardo 23n
Estreicher, Karol 78n Glassner, Christine 5
Étienne, Robert (Stephanus, Robertus) 281n Glogoviensis, Johannes see John of Głogów
Eusebius Hieronymus 228n Goliath 177
340 Ezekiel 327 Golichowski, Norbert 84n
Ezra 41n, 206, 206n Gonzaga, Gianfrancesco 22
Gossinger, Zygmunt 74
Faber de Budweis, Wenzel 30, 47, 47n Gratianus 87, 96, 96n, 99, 228n, 232n,
Faber Stapulensis, Jacobus see Lefèvre 263n, 265n, 325n
d’Étaples, Jacques Gregory of Nazianzus 245
Ferber, Eberhard Sr. 312n Gregory the Great, St. 41–42, 162, 206,
Ferber, Eberhard Jr. see Verberius Dan- 229, 229n, 237, 238, 238n, 242, 252,
tiscus, Eberhard 252n, 270, 327
Ferdinand I, Archduke of Austria, King of Gregory IX 263n
Hungary 146n Gregory XIII 312n
Ficino, Marsilio 74, 139 Gritsch, Johannes 278n
Francis of Assisi, St. 83n, 84, 84n, 158n, Groote, Geert 125
238, 247n, 250, 260n, 263, 263n, 268 Grosper, Jacobus 285, 285n
Fredelant, Johannes de 29 Grünberg, Valentinus see Valentinus de
Freylander, Petrus 305n Monteviridi
Fridolin, Stephan 121n Grünpeck, Joseph 133n
Fusignano, Iacobus 150n Guarino, Battista 52n, 139, 139n
Fusilius, Sigismundus see Gossinger, Zyg- Guglielmo Gallico 237n
munt Guido d’Arezzo 79, 79n, 92, 145
Fürbeth, Frank 17n Guigo Carthusiensis 229n
Guillaume de Conches 239n
Galen 167, 167n Guillaume de St Thierry 229n
Galilei, Galileo 147 Gutenberg, Johannes 13
Index of names
Habacuc see Abacuc Hugh of St. Victor 11–12, 12n, 20, 49, 98,
Hadravová, Alena 46n 112, 244n, 286n, 287, 295, 295n
Hadrianus 331 Hummer, Edmund 132n
Haller, Jan 55n, 78, 78n Huntpichler, Leonard 19n
Häbler, Konrad 139n Hus, Jan 27n, 29n, 31, 31n, 37n, 47, 51n
Hagenoius, Vitus see Geyszfelh, Vitus Hussite Anonymous 31–36, 167–179,
Hainricus, Magister 29, 67, 117, 122, 128, 335
221–226, 221n, 299n Hutten, Ulrich von 21–22
Hajdu, Helga 51n, 52n
Hanaw, Johannes 143n, 310 Innocenty of Kościan 83
Hanbucellus, Matthias 79 Isaac 189, 294
Hartlieb, Johannes 29, 47, 221n Isaiah 85–86, 327
Hector 283 Isidor 297
Hedvig 242 Iżycki, Władysław 107
Heimann-Seelbach, Sabine 5, 16, 17n,
25, 29n, 46–47, 67, 73, 88, 117, 117n, Jacob 112n, 202, 202n, 204n
151n, 310 Jacobellus de Misa (de Mies) see Jakoubek
Helen, dowager after King Alexander Ja- of Stříbro
giellonian 248 Jacobus de Cessolis 130
Henklen, Peter 303 Jacobus, Magister 258n
Henricus von Langenstein de Hassia see Jadwiga, Queen of Poland 65
Henry of Hesse Jakoubek of Stříbro (Jacobellus de Misa, 341
Henricus de Isernia 60n de Mies) 31, 31n, 51n, 167
Henry 242 Jakub of Lipowa Głowa 68
Henry of Hesse (Henricus von Langen- James, son of Alpheus, St. 238, 239
stein de Hassia) 122, 150, 150n James, son of Zebedee 294
Hercules 283, 284 Jan IV of Dražice 37n
Herod 93, 254 Jan of Dukla 81
Herinacius 242 Jan of Komorowo 82–84, 83n, 84n, 248n
Hesiod 225n, 297 Jan of Oświęcim 70n
Hesse, Benedict 227 Jan of Stobnica 90
Heydecke, Jan see Mirica Jan z Głogowa see John of Głogów
Hilarius de Litomericz, 49n Jaroński, Feliks 78n
Hispanus, Petrus 77, 78n, 147, 285 Jaźwiński, Antoni 107, 107n
Hobbins, Daniel 18–19 Jeremiah 228, 228n
Hochfeder, Kasper 84, 89–90, 101, 248, Jerome of Prague 31n
249 Jerome, St. 132, 146, 205, 228
Hoffman, František 46n Jesus Christ 31n, 36, 38n, 50n, 56, 64,
Homer 297 88, 98, 103, 104, 111, 124, 125, 126,
Honter, Johann 114 126n, 127, 127n, 137, 152, 155, 156,
Horace (Quintus Horatius Flaccus) 67, 157n, 158n, 160n, 161, 162, 163, 176,
322 179, 193, 193n, 223n, 239, 241, 251,
Hölderlin, Friedrich 85n 258n, 267, 267n, 291, 294, 335
Hosstka, Sulco de 37n Job 229n
Hrabanus Maurus see Rabanus Maurus Jobst the Elder, Georg 305
Index of names
Joannes Michaelis de Sanopharotus 286n Ladislas V (Postumus), King of Hungary

Joannes Ulricus 286n 145
Johannes Andreae see Giovanni d’Andrea Láng, Benedek 38–39
Johannes Glogoviensis see John of Głogów Laval, Pierre de 131–132
Johannes Guallensis 63n Lawrence, St. 160n, 242
Johannes de Herbipoli 74 Lazarus 63n, 231
Johannes de Kanthi 51n Lefèvre d’Étaples, Jacques (Jacobus Faber
Johannes de Sacrobosco 51n Stapulensis) 77
Johannes, parish priest of Gelnica 110 Leo, a pupil of St. Francis of Assisi 263,
Johannes von Paltz 238n 263n
John Chrysostom, St. 42, 42n, 159, 159n, Leonard 243
205, 270, 327 Leonard of Dobczyce 101, 247
John, presumed emperor of the Turks 131 Leonicenus, Omnibonus 222n
John of Capistrano, St. 20, 81 Locher Philomusus, Jakob 76
John the Baptist 294 Lombard, Peter 91, 98, 98n, 124n, 258n,
John the Evangelist 34n, 124n, 157n, 242, 268n
270, 270n, 290, 321, 327 Louis XIV 80
John of Głogów (Jan z Głogowa, Johannes Lovas, Borbála 303n
Glogoviensis) 78, 134n Lucanus, Marcus Annaeus 35n, 174n
Joseph, St. 201 Lucia, St. 212n
Joshua 41n, 206 Łukasz of Rydzyna 89, 250n
342 Justinian (emperor) 79 Luke the Evangelist, St. 270, 327
Lull, Raymond 13, 13n, 73, 79, 100, 101
Kadlec, Jaroslav 37n Luśnia, Gabriel 104
Kadłubek, Wincenty 266n, 267n Luther, Martin 77, 112, 112n
Kaimowitz, Jeffrey 145n
Käsenbrot von Wssehrd, Augustinus see Machaut, Guillaume 10n
Augustinus Moravus Olomucensis Maciej a Glazier 247
Kaysersberg, Johann Geiler von 20, 20n, Macrobius, Ambrosius Theodosius 169,
162, 163n 169n
Kazinczy, Ferenc 148, 148n Magdalena 63n
Kempen, Arnoldus 309 Marche, Jacopo delle 20
Kemper, Angelika 5, 43n Marina, St. 151, 153
Kempf, Nicholas 162n Mark the Evangelist 73, 142, 270, 327
Kempis, Thomas à 125–126, 126n, 162, Markowski, Mieczysław 67
162n, 251n Martin of Łęczyca see Martinus Pragensis
Kiss, Farkas Gábor 9–26, 27n, 29n, 68, Martinus Otingensis 305n
109–164 Martinus Pragensis de Lancicia (Martin of
Klemens of Górka 82 Łęczyca, Martinus of Prague) 18, 29,
Klorbius, Thomas 21 48, 49, 50–56, 50n, 51n, 52n, 55n, 59,
Koelhoff, Johann 114n 60n, 62n
Königshofen, Jakob Twinger von 237n Mary, Virgin 103, 104–105, 105n, 106,
Korzybski, Stanisław 18, 20, 82–83, 82n, 112, 120n, 201, 201n, 229, 241, 250,
83n, 84n, 85, 102, 248 250n, 251, 261–262, 261n, 297, 328,
Kunne, Albert 221n 330
Index of names
Marzio, Galeotto 139, 139n Negro Pescennio, Francesco 139n, 140, 140n
Matheolus (Metheus, Metheolus) medicus Neidhart von Reuenthal 46n
286n, 287, 329, 330 Nero 292
Mathias I (Mathias Corvinus), King of Nicholas, St. 243, 283, 298, 298n
Hungary 110, 114, 130n, 131–132, Nicholaus de Dresda 64n
131n, 134, 134n, 135n, 146 Nichols, Stephen G. 5
Matthaeus de Verona 14, 30, 43–45, 43n, Niger, Franciscus Pescennius see Negro
60, 88, 181, 182n, 185, 204n, 212n Pescennio, Francesco
Matthew the Evangelist 100, 113, 124, Nigri, Johannes 310n
160n, 229, 243, 270 Nora, Pierre 25
Maturanzio, Francesco 14, 14n
Matusel (Methuselah) 63n Odstrčilík, Jan 57n
Mauburnus, Johannes see Mombaer, Jean Offenburg, Theobald von 144
Maximilian I 135n, 286n, 308 Ognibene, Leonigo da 133
Mayer, Johannes 114n Oleśnicki, Zbigniew 83
McGuire, James C. 121, 121n Origenes 44, 206, 297
Mechler, Katalin 223n Ovid (Publius Ovidius Naso) 297
Mela, Pomponius 144, 144n De ponto 68
Melchisedec 294 Metamorphoses 73
Metheus/Metheolus see Matheolus medi- Remedia Amoris 325n
cus Pseudo-Ovid, Philomena 325n
Metrodorus 141, 287, 311, 312 343
Michael de Arce Draconis 285–295, 285n, Pacioli, Luca 147, 147n
310 Pallas 287, 311, 331
Michał of Wrocław 98, 98n Panzer, Georg Wolfgang 78
Michałowska, Teresa 67, 68 Paul, St. 111, 124, 228, 237, 243, 321
Mikołaj of Szadek 247n Paulerinus (Pavel Žídek, Paulus de Praga)
Mikulka, Jaromir 51n 31, 45–46, 45n, 46n, 219–220, 219n
Minerva see Pallas Paulinus Aquilensis 212n
Minnis, Alastair 41n Paulinus de Scarbimiria, see Paulinus of
Mirica 134n Skalbmierz
Mithridates 144n, 331 Paulinus of Skalbmierz 20, 66, 85–89,
Mnemosyne 249n 85n, 93, 102, 103, 156, 227–245
Mombaer, Jean 20–21, 21n Paulus de Praga see Paulerinus
Monoreus, Conradus 114n Paweł of Łomża 85, 102, 227, 227n, 297,
Morawski, Kazimierz 74, 78 298
Morinus, Georgius (Morsteyn) 134n Pelbartus of Temesvár 156–164, 157n,
Morroni, Tommaso see Rieti, Tommaso 158n, 160n, 161n, 163n, 164
Morroni di Perotti, Niccolò 47n, 133, 230n
Morsteyn, Georg see Morinus, Georgius Perusinus, Matheolus 30n, 68–69, 69n,
Moses 124 100, 222, 286, 295, 295n
Mnemosyne 71–72 Pesti, Brigitta 303n
Murner, Thomas 18, 23, 66, 71n, 76–80, Peter, St. 73, 111, 175, 226, 251, 290, 294,
77n, 78n, 79n, 88, 142, 142n, 250n 321
Peter called Bradáč from Dvakačovice 51n
Index of names
Peter of Melk see Peter of Rosenheim Rabanus Maurus (Hrabanus Maurus) 228
Peter of Rosenheim 21, 66, 66n, 89, 109, Rabe, Wawrzyniec see Corvinus, Lauren-
113–114, 113n, 114n, 308 tius
Petrarch, Francesco 70, 134n Rabelais, François 42n
Petri, Georgius 147 Rabstein, Johannes 49n
Petrus de Dresda (Petr z Drážd’an, Petrus Ragona, Jacopus de 22
Gerticz de Dresden, Petrus Hereticus) Ramundus, Flavius Guillelmus 134
55n Raphael 243
Petrus de Urbe Veteri (Pietro d’Orvieto) Ratdolt, Erhard 70
150–151 Ravenna, Petrus de see Petrus Ravennas
Petrus Ravennas (Petrus de Ravenna) 75, Raymundus de Pennaforti 163
79, 143n, 286, 286n, 287, 293, 315n Reatinus, Thomas see Rieti, Tommaso
Pezibiaz, Johannes 301 Morroni di
Pierozzi, Antonio see Antoninus Florenti- Reicherstorffer, Georg 146n
nus Reisch, Gregor 76, 78, 78n, 138, 138n,
Pietro d’Orvieto see Petrus de Urbe Veteri 279n, 286n
Piccolomini, Aeneas Silvius 47, 145, 146n Remigius de Malmandrio see Rémy de
Pindar 85n Malmedy
Pirano, Ludovico da 16n, 23n, 150, 150n Rémy de Malmedy 303
Plato 45, 198, 239, 239n, 281, 281n, 297 Reuchlin, Johannes 286n
Plumtree, James 303n Rhetorica ad Herennium 9–11, 14, 16–17,
344 Pliny the Elder 146 16n–17n, 28, 32–33, 33n, 68, 70, 72,
Polak, Emil J. 132n 73, 74, 88, 92, 102, 117, 119, 128, 135,
Poliziano (Angelo Ambrogini) 11n 136, 136n, 167, 168n, 169n, 170n,
Polyhymnia 101, 249, 249n 171n, 172n, 173n, 176n, 222, 222n,
Porphyrius 51, 198 253n, 282, 289, 293n, 313n, 314n
Prejs, Marek 105, 106n Richardus de Mediavilla (Middleton) 269,
Priscian 66 269n
Prokop, scribe of the New Town of Prague Rieti, Tommaso Morroni di (Thomas
62n Reatinus) 22, 22n
Procopius 46, 46n, 177 Rinius, Benedictus 234n
Proust, Marcel 64 Rischpler, Susanne 5
Publicius, Jacobus 14n, 18, 30n, 66, Rivers, Kimberly 5, 111n
69–73, 69n, 70n, 76, 82, 88, 92, 95, Roest, Bert 157n
102, 131, 131n, 132n, 133, 133n, 136, Rolewinck, Werner 223n
136n, 138, 139n, 141, 142, 142n, 143, Romberch, Johann Host von 13, 13n, 17–
144, 145n, 154, 222, 233n, 244n, 273, 18, 79, 143, 143n
282n, 285, 286n, 287, 289, 310 Rosenberg family 29n
Pyrnis de Mysna, Petrus 63n Rosenheymer, Johannes Ulrich 29
Pyrrho 312 Rossi, Paolo 24–25
Pythagoras 297 Rožmberk family see Rosenberg family
Quintilian (Marcus Fabius Quintilianus) Sabellico, Marcantonio (Marcus Antonius

9, 11, 11n, 70, 72, 222n, 243, 286, 297, Sabellicus) 22, 22n
320n
Index of names
Sabellicus, Marcus Antonius see Sabellico, Stephanus, Robertus see Étienne, Robert
Marcantonio Stolle of Głogów, Jan 68
Sallust (Gaius Sallustius Crispus) 70 Strzempiński, Tomasz 65–66, 66n, 113
Salomon 124, 243, 297 Sudhoff, Karl 139n
Samson 244 Sulco de Hosstka see Hosstka, Sulco de
Samuel 244 Suleyman II 109
San Concordio, Bartolomeo da 148–149 Sulpitius Verulanus 286n
Sartori, Conrad 122 Surgant, Johann Ulrich 150
Salvini, Sebastiano 139 Swalwell, Thomas 132n
Sassa, Melchior 13n Szarffenberger, Maciej 80
Sbigneus, archbishop Gniezno 84n Szklarek, Jan (Jan z Dobczyc, Ioannes
Scipio Asiaticus, Lucius Cornelius 144n de Dobczyce, Jan Vitreatoris, Io-
Scipio Africanus, Cornelius 146, 331 annes Vitreatoris, Jan Zasański, Jan of
Seelbach, Sabine see Heimann-Seelbach, Trzemeśnia, or Jan of Cracow) 14, 18,
Sabine 20, 26, 30n, 66, 79, 83n, 85, 86–88,
Seneca, Lucius Annaeus 67, 244, 282, 287, 89–102, 89n, 96n, 97n, 102, 103, 104,
289, 311, 312 105, 106, 136, 145n, 154–156, 155n,
Sibutus, Georg 147n, 286, 286n 157, 158, 159, 161, 247–271, 247n,
Sigismund of Luxemburg 130 249n, 250n, 252n, 255n, 257n, 260n,
Simler, Georg 113n 263n, 264n, 267n, 268n, 269n, 299n,
Šimon of Nymburk 38n 334
Simonides 16, 72, 141, 144n, 287, 311, Szulc, Alicja 102n, 297n 345
312, 312n, 331 Szymon of Lipnica 81
Singrenius, Johannes 55n, 143, 144, 305,
330 Terence (Publius Terentius Afer) 70, 132,
Sintram, Johannes 20, 20n 297
Socrates 198, 297 Theisen, Maria 5
Solon 331 Theodericus de Buscoducis see Dirk van ‘s
Sommerfeld the Elder, Jan (Aesticampi- Hertogenbosch
anus, Joannes) 74–75 Theophilus of Bydgoszcz (Theophilus de
Sophocles 297 Bidgostia) 102, 297, 298
Sottili, Agostino 132n Theutunicus, Adam 63n
Spunar, Pavel 37n Thimotheus episcopus 244
Stanislaus de Gnezna 49, 51n Thomas Aquinas, St. see Aquinas, Thomas
Stanislaus Florianus de Szadek see Thomas, jurist of Nitra and canon of Esz-
Stanisław z Szadka tergom 118n
Stanislaus, St. 97–98, 97n, 102, 154–155, Thomas de Monte Georgii 110
154n, 265, 265n, 266, 266n Thomas de Tuderto 68
Stanisław of Skalbmierz 297, 297n Thura, Albertus 307n
Stanisław of Słapy 89, 250n Tichtel, Johannes 135n
Stanisław of Kobylin 74 Trapezuntius, Georgius (George of Trebi-
Stanisław of Szadek (Stanisław z Szadka) zond) 23n, 74, 75, 315n, 326, 326n
132 Trebellius, Hermannus 144, 305, 305n,
Stephanus de Lauro 287 331, 331n
Stephanus de Nouvent 52n
Index of names
Trebizond, George of see Trapezuntius, Wattenbach, Wilhelm 46n

Georgius Weczdorff de Triptis, Jodocus 76, 138
Tröster, Johannes 145–146 Wenceslaus de Chrudim 56n
Tul[l]ius see Cicero, Marcus Tullius Wenceslaus de Krzizanow 49n
Wenceslaus II, King of Bohemia 46, 46n,
Udine, Bernardino d’ 140 49n, 63n
Ulrich of Rosenberg 51 Wheatley, Guillelmus 251n
Umhauser, Christian 14, 15 Whitfeld, Thomas 132n
Ungler, Florian 69 Whitfeld, Wylliam 132n
Urbanus 232 Wiewiórka, Jan 69, 69n
Urbanus de Pochyech 46n Willke, Ingeborg 96n
Ursinus, Joannes see Bär, Jan Wimpheling, Jacobus 133, 164n
Wincenty of Kielcza 266n
Valentin, Bruder (brother) 139, 139n Wladislas II, King of Hungary 146, 146n
Valentinus de Monteviridi (Grünberg) 71, Władysław of Gielniów 81, 81n, 103–104,
71n, 76, 79n, 137n, 138–143, 139n, 103n, 104n, 105
145, 151, 273–284, 278n, 279n, 335 Wojciech of Brudzewo (Albertus de
Vegetius Renatus, Publius Flavius 175, Brudzewo) 74, 98
175n Wójcik, Rafał 26, 27, 27n, 65–107, 138,
Verberius Dantiscus, Eberhard 144, 144n, 156
304, 304n, 305n Worstbrock, Franz Joseph 134
346 Vergerio, Pier Paolo 244n Wyclif, John 30, 34, 34n, 51n, 178
Versor, Johannes 49 Wydra, Wiesław 103, 223n
Vibicetus, Henricus 14, 18, 286, 303–331,
308–310, 311n, 335 Yates, Frances A. 15–16, 24–25, 71
Victorinus, Marius 16n
Vietor, Hieronymus 80n, 143, 305, 330 Żaba, Napoleon Feliks 107
Virgil (Publius Vergilius Maro) 322 Zacchaeus 162
Georgica 67 Zacharias 215
Aeneid 73 Zarański, Stanisław 107
Vitelius, Erasmus 69n Zathey, Jerzy 85, 227
Vitéz, John 130, 131, 131n Zdanowicz, Aleksander 107
Vitreator family 247n Žídek, Pavel see Paulerinus
Vliederhoven, Gerard van 125, 125n Žižka, Jan 30, 34, 178
Volkmann, Ludwig 24, 24n Zoilus 318
Wadding, Lukas 84
Waleys, Thomas 153, 153n
Index of manuscripts and early prints
Bamberg, Staatsbibliothek: cod. lat. 376: 114

ms. Class. 48: 221 Inc. 510: 150
ms. Class. 52: 46 Inc. 790: 114
Basel, Universitätsbibliothek: Inc. 1243: 116, 120, 223
ms. A VII 8: 122 Colmar, Bibliothèque municipale:
Berlin, Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin – CPC 5: 122
Preußischer Kulturbesitz: Cracow, Archiwum Prowincji OO. Ber-
ms. germ. qu. 1522: 15 nardynów:
ms. lat. fol. 910: 134 M-2: 84
ms. lat. oct. 433: 286, 294, 310 W-20: 83
Nn 8116: 309 Cracow, Biblioteka Jagiellońska:
Nn 8117: 309 Cim. 4068: 249
Bratislava, Slovenský národný archív, Ka- Cim. 5454: 249
347
pitulská knižnica: ms. 257: 45, 219–220
ms. 84: 114 ms. 471: 68, 110–111, 113
Brno, Moravský zemský archiv: ms. 503: 69
fond G 11, ms. 964: 46 ms. 504: 69
Brno, Moravská zemská knihovna: ms. 506: 69
ms. Mk 66: 55 ms. 511: 69
Budapest, ELTE Egyetemi Könyvtár: ms. 512: 69
cod. lat. 73: 109, 110, 113 ms. 554: 69
Inc. 218: 164 ms. 680: 68
Inc. 348: 162 ms. 711: 69
Inc. 444: 135 ms. 715: 69
Inc. 575: 14 ms. 737: 69
Inc. 848: 150 Cracow, Muzeum Narodowe, Oddział
Budapest, Központi Papnevelő Intézet Pá- Czapskich:
los Könyvtár: XVI.821: 249
Ic 31: 114 Cracow, Muzeum Narodowe, Oddział
Budapest, Magyar Tudományos Akadémia Zbiory Czartoryskich:
Könyvtára ms. 1464: 67
Inc. 175: 230 Den Haag (The Hague), Konink. Bibl.:
Budapest, Országos Széchényi Könyvtár: 225 J 26: 143, 306
Ant. 548: 20, 163 Dresden, Universitätsbibliothek:
Ant. 4722: 154, 249 App. 2302: 121–122
Ant. 10008: 143, 305, 311–331
Eger, Főszékesegyházi Könyvtár: Melk, Stiftsbibliothek:

G2. V. 141: 114 ms. 769: 121
Erlangen, Universitätsbibliothek: ms. 1771: 121
ms. 554: 67, 121–122, 221–222 ms. 1819 (nunc 1681): 29
Esztergom, Főszékesegyházi Könyvtár: ms. 1835: 121
S.l.a. I 30: 116, 120, 223 Munich, Bayerische Staatsbibliothek:
Göttingen, Universitätsbibliothek: cgm. 367: 230
ms. 8° Theol. 121: 221 cgm. 1586: 121–122
Graz, Universitätsbibliothek: cgm. 4413b: 310
ms. 966: 55 clm. 3564: 122
Halle, Marienbibliothek: clm. 3590: 122
18 an R. 3.143: 306 clm. 3603: 132
Hartford (Mass.), Trinity College, Wat- clm. 4369: 122
kinson Library: clm. 4417f: 15
BF370.C87 1514: 145 clm. 4749: 29, 117, 221
Kežmarok, Lyceálna knižnica: clm. 5387: 62
Inc. 5.: 114 clm. 13410: 122
Košice, Štátna vedecká knižnica: clm. 14260: 43, 44
Inc. 128: 133 clm. 19668: 121
Kórnik, Biblioteka Kórnicka: clm. 23873: 122
Cim. Qu.2006: 249 clm. 24106: 146
348 ms. 119: 102 clm. 28126: 230
ms. 1122: 85, 227–245 clm. 28505: 122
Köln, Stadtarchiv: Res. 4o Math. P. 400: 305
GB 4o 230: 122 New Haven, Yale University, Beinecke
Křivoklát, Zámecká knihovna: Library:
ms. 156 (I e 13): 29, 121 ms. 306: 47, 60, 121, 122
Kynžvart, Zámecká knihovna: Nitra, Diecézna knižnica:
ms. 20-H-11 (14139): 56 Inc. 12: 114
Linz, Oberösterreichische Landesbiblio- Olomouc, Vědecká knihovna:
thek: M I 24: 29, 62
Adligat zu Ink-160: 122 M I 156: 28–29, 62, 122
London, British Library: M I 271: 28, 60, 63
IA 42476: 14 M I 301: 28
IB 7581: 122 M I 309: 28
ms. Add. 10.438: 22 M I 357: 56–57, 60
ms. Add. 28.805: 132 M I 359: 58
Lübeck, Stadtbibliothek: M I 406: 59
Iur. I 4o 3432: 307 Oxford, Bodleian Library:
Lüneburg, Ratsbücherei: Douce N 243: 143, 306
ms. Theol. 2o 88: 122 Paris, Bibliothèque Sainte Geneviève:
Mainz, Wissenschaftliche Stadtbibliothek: ms. 2521: 52
Hs. I 183: 122 Paris, Bibliothèque Mazarine:
Hs. I 556: 221 Inc. 618: 14, 133
Paris, Bibliothèque nationale: VIII H 22: 56

8-T-1638: 308 X E 19: 50–51
A 3900: 308 X F 17: 56
ms. Lat. 7809: 131 X F 25: 56
Rés. E*-645: 308 X G 16: 49
Prague, Knihovna pražské metropolitní X H 12: 55
kapituly: XI C 1: 56
Inc. I 77, part 11: 51 XI C 5: 29, 47
ms. L XXXVII: 49 XI E 3: 51
ms. M LXXV: 49 XIV F 18: 51
ms. N LIII: 38–39 XIX B 3: 38
ms. O XXIX: 31 Riga, Latvijas Universitātes Akadēmiskā
ms. O LXXI (1655): 56 bibliotēka:
Prague, Knihovna Národního muzea: D5/8 R3487 (42): 304, 309
ms. X E 5: 49 Rostock, Universitätsbibliothek:
ms. XVI E 11: 39 Ha-1019: 306
Prague, Národní knihovna: Saint Petersburg, Российская националь-
1412 (MLVI): 55 ная библиотека (National Library of
adlig. 44.G.47: 29, 46 Russia):
I D 12: 29, 51, 56, 60 ms. Lat. III. Q. 86: 103, 301
I E 38: 49 Salzburg, Stiftsbibliothek St. Peter:
I E 39: 55 b.VI.16: 122 349
I F 11: 51 b.VI.22: 67
I F 35: 38–40, 61–62, 181–217 Sankt Florian, Stiftsbibliothek:
I G 6: 51 XI 626: 49
I G 11a: 29, 60–61, 119, 121, 181–217, Sankt Gallen, Stiftsbibliothek:
221, 223 ms. 764: 221
I G 40: 56 Sankt Paul im Lavanttal, Stiftbibliothek:
III E 15: 56 Cod. 137/4: 43, 60
III E 30: 28 Schlägl, Stiftsbibliothek:
III G 22: 56 Cpl. 119: 49
IV E 10: 28 Strasbourg, Bibliothèque nationale et uni-
IV F 14: 56 versitaire:
IV G 18: 49 ms. 211: 285
V D 23: 49 Tábor, Knihovna Husitského muzea:
V E 8: 49 R 1066 (olim H 2262): 31
V E 9: 49 Třeboň, Státní oblastní archiv:
V E 12: 49 fond Velkostatek Třeboň, registratura
V E 28: 58 IA 3K ß 28e: 38
V F 17: 49 Uppsala, Universitetsbibliotek:
V H 14: 51 Ink. 31:230/1: 143, 304, 310
VIII C 13: 28 Vatican, Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana:
VIII E 3: 31, 59, 167–179 Pal. Lat. 870: 121
VIII G 13: 31 Pal. Lat. 884: 29
VIII H 3: 28
Vienna, Österreichische Nationalbiblio- Wrocław, Biblioteka Uniwersytecka:

thek: Cod. I O 19: 67, 122
cod. 2295: 118 Cod. I O 69: 122
cod. 3011: 119 Cod. I Q 27: 67
cod. 3502: 62 Cod. I. Q. 475: 19
cod. 4342: 51, 55 Cod. IV O 9: 67, 121–122
cod. 4444: 126, 127 Cod. Mil. IV 83: 67
cod. 5254: 29, 51–52, 60 Wrocław, Ossolineum:
cod. 13855: 60 ms. 734/I: 71, 138–143, 273–284
cod. ser. n. 4265: 305 XVI. Qu. 2347: 307
301036-B Rara: 305 XVI.Qu.3407: 249
Warsaw, Biblioteka Narodowa: Würzburg, Universitätsbibliothek:
XVI. Qu. 270: 249 I.t.q. 245: 249
XVI. Qu. 278: 304, 310 L.gr.q. 64: 305
Wolfenbüttel, Herzog August Bibliothek: ms. M. ch. f. 54: 221
A: 104.11 Quod. (5): 305–306
ms. 418 Novi: 221
ms. 125.2 Quod. 2° (1a): 285–295, 310
350
Pl. 1a.
Pl 1b.
Pl. 2.
Pl. 3.
Pl. 4a.
Pl. 4b.
Pl. 4c.
Pl. 5.
Pl. 6.
Pl. 7.
Pl. 8.
Pl. 9.
Pl. 10a.
Pl. 10b.
Pl. 11.
Pl. 12.
Pl. 13.
Pl. 14.

The Art of Memory in Late Medieval Central Europe

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The Art of Memory in Late Medieval Central Europe

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Lucie Doležalová, Farkas Gábor Kiss, Rafał Wójcik

THE ART OF MEMORY

THE ART OF MEMORY

L’Harmattan Italia SRL

Published with the support of

Publishing Director: Ádám Gyenes.

Volumes may be ordered, at a discount, from

Copy-edited by: Rachel Hideg

BJ: Biblioteka Jagiellońska (Jagiellonian Library), Cracow

Introduction (Farkas Gábor Kiss) 9

Artes memoriae and the memory culture in fifteenth-century

The art of memory in Poland in the Late Middle Ages (1400–1530)

2.4. Modus reponendi sermones per artem memorativam 102

The art of memory in Hungary at the turn of the fifteenth

Index of Names 337

Index of Manuscripts and Early Prints 347

And we shall do so if we establish likenesses as striking as possible; if we set up

memory.5 The tradition of Hugh’s meditative works had an important influence on

which the mnemonic tables varied from manuscript to manuscript according to

couriers.”33 The spread of university education necessitated the massive reproduc-

Farkas Gábor Kiss

Artes memoriae and the memory culture

Besides the Rhetorica ad Herennium,3 several art of memory treatises of foreign

1.2. Artes memoriae of Czech origin

a brief treatment of the art in a famous encyclopedia by Paulerinus (Pavel Žídek),

1.2.1. The Hussite Anonymous: Memory as a search

[artificiosam memoriam] iam Tulius constare dixit ex locis et ymaginibus dicens:

…accipe commune exemplum in pueris, qui in puero literas difficulter appre-

Nonus quinarius Ninth group of five

The eleventh quinarius succeeds in bringing quite a vivid picture of violence to

An example of the combinations is then provided in the addition to the text on

1.2.2. Mattheus Beran: Memory as a play with words33

I, brother M. Ber[an], have confessed according to the grace of the Council

Confundarius maior, and explicitly referred to as a supplement to it,49 is not his

Although he speaks of a compendium, Beran obviously claims a different type of

1.3. Other artes memoriae (fragments, parts of larger works,

A number of other texts on the art of memory appear in manuscripts of Czech

appendix.72 Here Paulerinus refers to his lost magnum Vinculatorium, where, as

2. Improving memory by medical means and lifestyle

2.1. Treatises of foreign provenance circulating in the Czech Lands

2.2. Treatises of Czech provenance

Martinus was primarily a mathematician and a doctor.91 As early as 1430 he

IV. De preceptis seruandis in studio et lectione

V. De canonibus lecta et audita memorandi

VI. Propositiones et aff orismos de modo intelligendi

6. Intellectus fortificatur secundum tempora

VII. De adiectis quibusdam que perficiunt intellectum legentis et audientis

54 Quantum hec nostra gloriosissima uniuersitas minuatur, in quibus deficiat studiis,

heartily, however, saying: Et de tali loco agitur in scientia de memoria artificiali,

2.2.2. A reworking of Martinus? (inc. Optimus ille…)

2.2.3. De modulo studendi: “Avoid the art of memory!”

On the art of memory

an imaginative way, etc. Afterwards, if necessary, various coverings of diverse

2.3. Other memory advice

We encounter a number of other texts that provide advice on improving one’s

1370–1439), itself contains a recipe for an ointment and a powder, followed by

3. The contexts of artes memoriae in the Czech lands

VK, M I 271 (M),134 a manuscript from the Carthusian monastery in Dolany

The art of memory in Poland

Although references to different kinds of mnemonic aids can be found in Polish

1. The beginnings of the art of memory in Poland:

1.1. Foreign teachers at the University of Cracow: Jacobus Publicius

knowledge and the arts. Although he considers memory an important element

1.2. Conrad Celtis