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Arnaldus de Villanova

c.1240–1311 · Iberia (Valencia)Iberian
Arnaldus de Villanova

Description

Arnaldus de Villa Nova was a physician and a religious reformer.

Facts

Bornc.1240, unknown
Diedc.1311, Genoa

Life & work in brief

Summarised by section — one row per topic, for fast reading.

Work / contributionSignificance
BiographyArnaldus' place and date of birth are debated: some historians believe he was born in Villeneuve-lès-Maguelone, a village near Montpellier; others are doubtful because there are also towns of the same name in Aragon such as Villanueva de Jiloca, in the Kingdom of Valencia, in Catalonia, in Languedoc and in Provence.
WritingsArnaldus was also thought to be an alchemist: the door to his house in Montpellier, France, had carved depictions of a roaring lion and dragon biting its own tail (an Ouroboros), both alchemical symbols, and several renowned alchemists recognized him as an adept.