Figura (Jul 2021)
Classical Tradition and Angelology
Abstract
The article explores the legacy of Pliny the Elder’s Natural History in the angelology of Vincenzo Cicogna (1519? - after 1596), an Italian Catholic reformer who approached Biblical interpretation in search of the harmony between Christianity and pre-Christian philosophical systems. Cicogna’s dedicated his Angelorum et daemonum nomina et attributa... (Los Angeles, Getty Research Institute MS 86-A866, c. 1587) to Cardinal Giulio Antonio Santori (1532–1602), Italy’s Grand Inquisitor, presumably in an attempt to restore the author’s reputation after repeated clashes with the Inquisition. Cicogna’s angel and demon lexicon evoked the mythological Python to explain the origins and limits of the diabolic ability to foresee the future and juxtapose the powers of preaching and fortune-telling. His Christian application of Greek philosophy echoes the ideology of Bishop Gianmatteo Giberti’s (1495-1543) Church reform process, executed with Cicogna’s collaboration.
