SOCIETY FOR NEO-LATIN STUDIES: ANNUAL LECTURE
November 16th, 5 p.m., University College London
DR MAUDE VANHAELEN (UNIVERSITY OF WARWICK)
Renaissance scholars and their demons:
on Ficino and Iamblichus’ De Mysteriis
In 1486, Ficino suddenly interrupts his commentary on Plotinus’ Enneads and devotes three years
to the translation of other Neoplatonic texts related to some of the most delicate doctrines of the
time: pagan demonology, divination through dreams and theurgy. This paper examines the
circumstances surrounding the production of these texts, and explores the ways in which they
modify ancient and medieval doctrines of prophecy and divination. It also offers an overview of
the immediate reception of Ficino’s translations: it shows that a network of humanists nourished
a special interest in the doctrines revived by Ficino, prompting Savonarola to mount virulent
attacks against his contemporaries’ revival of the pagan cult to malevolent ‘spirits’.
The lecture will take place in the Chadwick Building, University College London, on
Gower Street WC1E 6BT (http://www.ucl.ac.uk/find-us/).