Arnald of Villanova: Physician and Prophet by Juanita A. Daly

In the wake of the pioneering studies of Finke and Diepgen,1 written in the first decade of this century, scholarly interest in Arnald of Vilanova has increased steadily. Yet this increase in scholarly inquiry, far from bringing the figure of Arnald into focus, has produced two Arnalds: Arnald the physician and Arnald the prophet. The former is a scientist known in his lifetime and long after his death as the greatest physician of his age; the latter, a seemingly separate entity, is a prophet whose apocalyptic vision influenced both royal and papal courts at the turn of the fourteenth century. What is lost in their split image is the common conviction that informed both Arnald's medicine and his theology. In the absence of a coordinating vision, Arnald is left a failed figure on both counts.