Lo Crestià

Beginning of the Terç del Crestià in the manuscript 1792 from the National Library of Madrid. This manuscript has the chapters 1-523 from this book (which has totally 1060 chapters).

Lo Crestià (or The Christian in English) was an encyclopaedia written in Catalan, that was sponsored by the king Peter IV of Aragon and written by Francesc Eiximenis^[1] between 1379 and 1392. The first book and the half of the twelfth one (Dotzè in Catalan) were printed by the German printer Lambert Palmart in Valencia in 1483 and 1484.

According to Curt Wittlin the name should be Lo Cristià.^[2] Originally it should have consisted of thirteen books, that would have explained "in short all the foundations of christianism" in order to encourage the study of theology among the laymen. Nowadays it can be considered as an encyclopaedia of mediaeval life. Lo Crestià is a universal work, that marks an important stage in the western history of literature: it is the last mediaeval Summa Theologica, and it is also one of the first works of didactic and theological literature in Europe, that is not written in Latin any more, since it was written in a vernacular language, the Catalan language.

General project

The general project of this work, which appears in the chapter 4 of the introduction for all Lo Crestià,^[3] is the following:

• The first book should have been a general and apologetic introduction to christianism.
• The second book should have dealt with temptation.
• The third book should have dealt with evil and the different kinds of sins.
• The fourth book should have dealt with the man's freedom to do good or evil, and the help that God gives him in order to do good.
• The fifth book should have dealt with the three theological virtues: Faith, hope and love.
• The sixth book should have dealt with four cardinal virtues: Prudence, justice, restraint and courage.
• The seventh book should have dealt with the ten commandments.
• The eighth book should have dealt with the order of things and creatures according to medieval mentality.
• The ninth book should have dealt with the incarnation.
• The tenth book should have dealt with the sacraments.
• The eleventh book should have dealt with the different kinds of clergy.
• The twelfth book should have dealt with the government of the community.
• The thirteenth book should have dealt with Eschatology and the end of the world, and the reward or punishment that people will then receive, according to medieval mentality.

From the original project, only four books were written: the first three ones, which are devoted to matters of moral and theology, and the twelfth one, which deals with politics, the ideal government of the "republic", princes and their subjects. Nevertheless, most of the matters of the rest of the books of Lo Crestià that were not finally written are scattered through other Eiximenis' works.

Volumes

First volume

The first volume, or Primer del Crestià was written between 1379 and 1381. It is a general introduction to the Christian religion, which includes an apology against Islam and Judaism. It is divided into four parts, which have a different length. It has three hundred and seventy-six chapters, together with five more, which are a kind of general introduction to all Lo Crestià, and so it has totally three hundred and eighty-one chapters. The interest of king Peter IV of aragon in this book was so great, that he gave orders to avoid Eiximenis going out of his convent "until he has not finished the job".^[4]

Second volume

The second volume, or Segon del Crestià was written between 1382 and 1383. It deals with the problem of temptation. It consists of two hundred and forty chapters.

Third volume

The third volume, or Terç del Crestià was written in 1384. It is divided into twelve treatises, with a different length each one, and has totally one thousand and sixty chapters. It deals with the concepts of evil and sin, and it shows with a lot of details the different seven deadly sins and the sins of the tongue, thus enlarging some matters that appear in the second volume.^[5] This volume includes the part How to use properly of the food and the drinks (Com usar bé de beure e menjar) that, even though it does not include receipts, it can be used as a guide in order to know all about that time's gastronomy, such as the service at the table, the protocol and the moral rules that were used when having a meal around a table^[6]

Twelfth volume

The twelfth volume, or Dotzè del Crestià was written between 1385 and 1392. It is divided into eight parts, and has totally nine hundred and seven chapters. It deals with the foundations of government in cities and communities.

Digital editions of Lo Crestià

Manuscripts

• First half (chapters 1-523) of the Terç del Crestià (BNC, ms. 457).

Incunabula

• Primer del Crestià (Valencia, Lambert Palmart, 1483).
• First half (chapters 1-473) of the Dotzè del Crestià (Valencia, Lambert Palmart, 1484).

Lo Crestià inside the complete works on line

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

References

1. ↑ Lo Crestià. Article in the website of the Writers Association in Catalan Language (Associació d'Escriptors en Llengua Catalana).
2. ↑ Wittlin, Curt. "Era Cristià Lo Crestià de Francesc Eiximenis? Història d'un error de Paleografia". Caplletra, 48. Spring 2010. 163-77
3. ↑ Eiximenis, Francesc. Lo Crestià. Barcelona. Ed. 62 / La Caixa. 1983. Pàg. 41. Selection by Albert Hauf.
4. ↑ Introduction to Lo Crestià. Biblioteca Valenciana Digital (Generalitat Valenciana).
5. ↑ Lo Crestià. Article of the Great Catalan Encyclopedia.
6. ↑ Francesc Eiximenis. Història de la nostra gastronomia Article of Juan A. Fernández that was published on page 18 of Sóller, on 29 May 2010 (Catalan)