"Wallowing in a Theological Stupor or a Steadfast and Consuming
Faith: Scholarly Encounters with Columbus' 'Libro de las
profecias'"
 
by Delno C. West
 
taken from:
"Columbus and His World"
Proceedings of the First San Salvador Conference
Held October 30 to November 3, 1986 at:
     The College Center of the Finger Lakes
     Bahamian Field Station
     San Salvador Island, Bahamas
     compiled by Donald T. Gerace
 
 
Abstract
The "Libro de las profecias" was drafted in 1501 and remains the
only work written by Christopher Columbus which has not been
thoroughly studied.  This paper describes the document and argues
that the persuasive rhetorical power of noted nineteenth and
twentieth century historians convinced scholars that the treatise
was the ravings of a troubled mind.  Only recently have
historians begun to understand the importance of this work as it
relates to Columbus' mentality and Enterprise of the Indies.
 
Introduction
     Christopher Columbus is the first American hero with all the
rights and privileges, myths and legends, and criticisms the
title carries.  He has been portrayed as imaginative, persistent,
courageous, intelligent, ignorant, audacious, lucky, egotistical,
humble, avaricious, generous, single-minded, tenacious, Spanish,
Italian, Greek, Jewish, a Tertiery of the Third Order of St.
Francis, a scientist, a mystic, a merchant, and a member of the
Masonic Lodge.
     In 1882, the largest American Catholic fraternity was
founded at New Haven, Connecticut, and took the name of Columbus
because, as the founders said, his first act was to plant the
cross of Christ on the New World shores, "a symbol of his sacred
commission."(1)  In the same decade, a movement was mobilized by
Count Antoine Roselly de Lorgues to canonize the discoverer on
the grounds that he had brought the "Christian faith to half the
world."(2)
     Five hundred years of reports, chronicles and scholarship
has investigated every aspect about Columbus and his "Enterprise
of the Indies."  New light is shed on old topics from time to
time as a new document surfaces or our thinking is revised.  As
we approach the quincentennial of Columbus' discovery, mainframe
computers are crunching important data in order to advance our
knowledge and accessibility to the sources, life, thought and
achievements of the Genoese explorer.
     Such abundant attention to the subject has left us a
significant corpus of literature about Christopher Columbus and
his accomplishments.  But even so, one major source about him and
his enterprise, written by the Admiral himself, has remained
generally unstudied.  In the summer and fall of 1501 he drafted a
manuscript titled, "Libro de las profecias."  Scholars have known
of it but have not used it, and it was not put into modern print
until 1892 when Cesare de Lollis included it in the "Raccolta
Columbiana."(3)  Even with a printed critical edition, scholars
continued to ignore it for another sixty years.
     The problem scholars have had with the "Libro de las
profecias" has been one of misunderstanding and credibility.
Historiographically, when Columbus scholars have been confronted
with the "Libro de las profecias," they have looked the other
way.  Our model of Columbus as Renaissance scientist, adventurer
and mariner does not include an obsession with eschatology.
Nevertheless, he believed that God had called him for a special
mission of apocalyptic importance.  As he carefully reminded his
sovereigns in a letter dated 7 July 1503, he had received a
vision while yet a young man in which the Holy Spirit spoke
directly to him in these words:
 
     God ... will cause your name to be wonderfully
     proclaimed throughout the world ... and give you the
     keys of the gates to the ocean which are closed with
     strong chains.(4)
 
     The driving motivational force in his life was ultimately
his role in God's scheme for history:
 
     Who doubts that this light was from the Holy Spirit ...
     whom with rays of marvelous clarity it consoled ...
     with forty-four books of the Old Testament and four
     Evangelists, with twenty-three epistles of those
     blessed apostles, encouraging me to proceed, and
     continuously, without stopping a moment, they
     encouraged me with great haste.(5)
 
     Columbus' spiritual desire was to spread the Gospel and
initiate a new crusade to recapture the Holy site of Solomon's
Temple.  It is impossible to calculate when this mission became
incorporated into a broader eschatological framework, but he
implies that such thinking occurred early in his career and that
these dreams were a part of his arguments before the king and
queen.(6)  Compiling the "Libro de las profecias" must have been
on his mind for several years as elements of it appear in
isolated passages in his early letters, the diary and reports.
The adoption of Xpo Ferens for his signature in 1502 confirms a
specially perceived relationship and calling from God.(7)
     Written between the third and fourth voyages, the timing of
the "Libro de las profecias" was unfortunate due to the stress
caused by losing favor at court.  Later, scholars would come to
the conclusion that this apocalyptic treatise was the product of
a discouraged and troubled mind.  To Columbus, however, it was
the framework in which he wished the world to view his
accomplishments.  The central theme of the book is that an
important stage of prophecy had been fulfilled, in time, by his
discoveries.  The eschatological clock was ticking away and the
next steps, he tells his monarchs, must begin.  First, the Gospel
message must be spread on a global scale beginning with lands he
has discovered and brought under the Spanish flag.  Second, the
riches of the New World should be dedicated to the recapture of
Jerusalem thereby securing the most important site in Christendom
so that other events of the last days could begin.
 
The Document
     The "Libro de las profecias" presents an array of prophetic
texts, commentaries by ancient and medieval authors, fragments of
Spanish poetry and Columbus' own interpretations of these
writings to prove his theses.  Columbus finished the basic draft
in the fall of 1501 and gave it to his friend the Carthusian
monk, Gaspar Gorricio, to read and add more references where
appropriate.  On 23 March 1502, as Columbus left Seville to start
his fourth voyage, Father Gorricio additions were minor as he
indicated in his letter accompanying the manuscript.(8)  This is
the form in which we still have the treatise, a rough draft with
notations and additions to be incorporated.  The "Libro de las
profecias" was first found when the library of Don Diego was
inventoried.  Ferdinand catalogued it with other books owned by
his father and used it in writing his biography.  Bartolome de
las Casas mentions it, and it was catalogued by De la Rosa y
Copes in his "Biblioteca Colombina."(9)
     With the exception of some tutoring from his brother,
Columbus was self-taught.  Despite the hours he spent pouring
over the theories of experts, the years at sea accumulating
practical experience, and the long discussions with scholars,
churchmen and old sailors in many ports, he believed the key to
his success was the gift of knowledge given to him by the Holy
Spirit.  The gift of understanding, spiritualis intellectus,
enables the recipient to penetrate revealed truth, and it
intensifies one's faith so that all things ultimately are seen
through faith.(10)  Columbus never claimed to be a prophet and
only recorded two visions in which he believed God communicated
directly with him.  Neither of these visions were revelations;
rather they were words of comfort and encouragement.  He believed
that he had received the charismatic gift of spiritualis
intellectus which enlightened his mind to enable him to
understand the hidden mysteries of prophetic texts, to gain
practical and intuitive abilities in navigation, and to
comprehend cosmography and related sciences intellectually.  As
he put it,
 
     I have met and I have had discussions with wise people,
     ecclesiastics and laymen, Latins and Greeks, Jews and
     Moors and with many others of other sects.  To this I
     found our Lord very favorable to my desire and I
     received from Him the spirit of intelligence: in
     seamanship he made me abundant, of astrology he gave
     what was needed, and so of geometry and arithmetic and
     ingeniousness in the soul and hands to draw the
     sphere...(11)
     Virgil Milani has argued that Columbus was attempting to
stress a deeper meaning for "intelligence" at this point, and
that he could have meant "entelequia," a term utilized by St.
Augustine when referring to intelligence of or from God.(12)
     The draft structure of the "Libro de las profecias" is
composed of 84 folios (10 pages are missing) divided into an
introduction and four parts.  Although he gives credit to Joachim
of Fiore, the Sybils, Merlin and the pseudo-Methodius, Columbus
limited his citations, with very few exceptions, to the most
impeccable authorities: the Church Fathers and well respected
medieval and contemporary theologians.  The only instance in
which he interpreted an event without supporting authority was
when he proclaimed that his discoveries fulfilled Isaiah's
prophecy about a new heaven and a new earth.  Columbus'
exegetical method was orthodox and his conclusions conservative.
He did not criticize the church, state or society nor did he even
hint at any kind of renovatio ecclesiae or reformatio mundi.  His
interpretations accomplish the opposite in that they strengthen
the established order by advocating the strongest possible
apocalyptic role for the Church, Spain and its Catholic monarchs.
     The introduction (ff. 1v-6r) includes an unfinished letter
to the Spanish monarchs which explains his purpose for writing
the book and lists some of the authorities upon whom he relies,
his general themes, and the scope and character of the treatise.
He particularly calls attention to the prophet Isaiah who
foretold his two principal themes (the salvation of all people
and their gathering on Mt. Zion in the last days) and reminds his
readers that Isaiah was the preferred prophet of St. Jerome and
St. Augustine because the Church Fathers believed him to be the
clearest herald of the Gospel preached to all people.(13)
     Part I (ff. 6v-30v) begins with several quotations from
Psalms announcing the "peoples of the world" and the capture of
Jerusalem, St. Isadore's summary of types of prophecy and how to
interpret them, and the prophecies announcing the triumph of
Christianity when all men will join the faith and history will
culminate in the heavenly Jerusalem.  Part II (ff. 30v-53v)
explores prophecies fulfilled in the past and includes the famous
prophecy of Abdias foretelling lands in the southern hemisphere.
Part III (ff. 54v-67r) is devoted to the present and immediate
future and relates Columbus' discoveries to selected scripture.
The key scripture upon which he builds his case is John 10: "I am
the Good Shepherd and I know my sheep ... and I have other sheep
which are not of this flock and I must bring them in, and they
will hear my voice, and there will be one flock and one
shepherd."(14)  This is then supported by quotations from
Christian authors, especially St. Augustine, and includes the
famous passage from Seneca's Medea.  The final part (ff. 67r-84v)
is devoted to the more distant future and contains many Biblical
quotations about mythical islands and their treasures which
Columbus argued should be donated to the greater cause of
worldwide missionary activity and the recapture of Jerusalem.
Attached to the end are lists of Biblical quotations to be
incorporated into the text at a later date.
 
Columbus Scholars and the "Libro de las profecias"
     The evidence of Columbus' strong spirituality has never been
seriously questioned although that spirituality needs more
detailed definition.  He was closely tied to Franciscan
Observantine reformers who had deep roots in Spiritual
Franciscanism.(15)  His reputation has been that of a man whose
deep religious faith showed a special devotion to the Virgin and
the Trinity.  For the past two hundred years, however, scholars
have been reluctant to incorporate his eschatological beliefs or
his religious treatise on prophecy into his other writings.
     Contemporaries noticed immediately the eschatological
significance Columbus attached to his discoveries.  Agostino
Giustiniani, Bishop of Nebbio, in annotating his "Polyglot
Psalter" left us what is probably the first biography of the
Admiral.  In the margin next to Psalms 19:4, "their message
reaches out to all the world," the bishop gives us a brief
summary of Columbus' life and notes that the Admiral frequently
claimed to have fulfilled this prophecy.(16)  Bartolome de las
Casas recognized the providential role of Columbus in these
words:
 
     But since it is obvious that at that time God gave this
     man the keys to the awesome seas, he and no other
     unlocked the darkness, to him and to no other is owed
     forever and ever all that exists beyond those
     doors.(17)
 
     Early biographers down through Washington Irving generally
accepted Columbus' apocalyptic faith and the "Libro de las
profecias" as normal fare for fifteenth century Christians.
Irving eloquently summarized:
 
     It ... filled his mind with solemn and visionary
     meditations on mystic passages of the Scriptures, and
     the shadowy portents of the prophecies.  It exalted his
     office in his eyes and made him conceive himself an
     agent sent forth upon a sublime and awful mission,
     subject to impulses and supernatural intimations from
     the Deity...(18)
 
     Scholars in the middle and later nineteenth century and
throughout much of the twentieth century have been curiously
reluctant to admit that the first American hero was influenced by
prophetic ideas.  Ironically it is doubtful that many of these
influential scholars bothered to read the treatise, but their
persuasive rhetorical power convinced subsequent historians that
the "Libro de las profecias" was simply the ravings of a troubled
and senile mind.  At best the document was an embarrassment to be
avoided and it thus fell from favor as an historical source.
     In his signal work, "Ferdinand and Isabella," W. H. Prescott
describes Columbus' "Libro de las profecias" as "dark and
mysterious annunciations of sacred prophecy" and "visionary
fancies."  Henri Harrisse called the treatise a "deplorable
lucubration which we sincerely hope will never de published..."
and Alexander von Humboldt, who accepted Columbus' apocalypticism
up to a point, concluded finally that the treatise was the
product of "melancholy and morbid enthusiasm."  By 1891, Justin
Winsor described the hero of the quatracentennial as having
"mental hallucinations" in his later years.  At the turn of the
century, Filson Young grieved deeply at the state of the
Admiral's mental health and lamented about the "Libro de las
profecias,"
 
     Good Heavens!  In what an entirely dark and sordid
     stupor is our Christopher now sunk--a veritable slough
     and quag of stupor out of which, if he does not manage
     to flounder himself, no human hand can pull him.(19)
 
     In the early and mid-twentieth century, scholars have
adopted Freudian explanations, tied the work to other social or
political forces at work in the fifteenth century, or ignored the
"Libro de las profecias" entirely.  Bernardini-Sjcestedt placed
the book in the genre of romantic crusade literature while both
Jaques Heers and Felipe Ximenez de Sandoval believed it to be an
attempt by Columbus to restore luster to his voyages by arousing
Christian enthusiasm through the device of eschatological
forecasting.(20)
     Cecil Jane called Columbus a mystic and describes that
mysticism as "an exaggeration of that of most of his
contemporaries."  Samuel Eliot Morison recognized Columbus'
Christian faith as "genuine and sincere" and goes on to credit
him "that his frequent communion with forces unseen was a vital
element in his achievement."  But the "Libro de las profecias,"
Morison concluded, was simply a ploy to appeal to the Queen's
mysticism "and convince her that he was the chosen man of destiny
to conquer an Other World and bring home treasure wherewith to
recover the Holy Sepulchre."  Morison only mentions the "Libro de
las profecias" once, did not bother to consult it, and proceeded
to ignore it for the rest of his studies.  A few years later
Ballesteros y Beretta stated that the prophecies "bordered ... on
the ridiculous."(21)
     One late nineteenth century study, specifically focused on
Columbus' religious nature, is ambivalent about the depth of his
conviction.  William and Charles Gillett, in their paper before
the American Society of Church History in 1892 titled, "The
Religious Motives of Christopher Columbus," chose the tone of
nineteenth century Protestant rhetoric to portray the
discoverer's piety.  Phrases such as "... Columbus and the
sovereigns, having succumbed to dastardly motives of sordid gain
... lost their pristine missionary zeal," or "in this, as almost
everywhere, the first cry is 'gold,' and the second is
'Christianize'--but with a suspiciously intimate connection with
more gold."  And, in summary, "but in these extracts [from the
sources] we fail to find anything which necessitates or justifies
the suppositions of those who imagine that we must incorporate
religious motives with those of material advantage..."(22)  Not
only did the Gilletts miss the point, they failed to include the
"Libro de las profecias" in their survey of sources!
     On the other hand, Francis Steck in his speculative essay,
"Christopher Columbus and the Franciscans," goes in the opposite
direction and almost canonizes the Admiral when he states:
 
     Christopher Columbus and the Franciscans ... Christ-
     bearers they were ... by unbroken and brave loyalty to
     Christian ideals and principles ... traversing boldly
     the uncharted Sea of Darkness and carrying the Crib of
     Bethlehem, the Sermon on the Mount, and the Cross of
     Calvary to a degraded and down-trodden race ... in the
     love of their Savior, and in the healing power of their
     Sanctifier...(23)
 
     It has been only in the past thirty years that scholars have
sought to find a definition for Columbus' apocalypticism.  Marcel
Bataillon examined Columbus' interpretations from the "Libro de
las profecias" within the context of general millennialism of the
times, and his efforts were followed by an excellent chapter in
John Phelan's book devoted to apocalypticism in the Age of
Discovery.  Professor Phelan was not surprised at Columbus'
eschatological conclusions about spreading the Gospel to the
lands he had discovered
 
     Little wonder that he was obsessed by the image of
     himself as the instrument of Divine Providence.  Little
     wonder that he was convinced that the mission of
     fulfilling the other apocalyptical prophecy had also
     been reserved for him [the capture of Jerusalem].(24)
 
Phelan stressed that Columbus must be taken seriously in his
prophetic statements,
 
     Columbus' unique historical perspective must not be
     forgotten.  He was looking back through fifteen hundred
     years of Christianity.  It seemed to him that his
     discoveries represented the grandiose climax of
     Christian history.  His opening of the 'door of the
     Western Sea' promised the speedy fulfillment ... of the
     words of Mark 16:15...(25)
 
     James Cummins analyzed Columbus' scheme to liberate
Jerusalem in a festschrift contribution published in 1976.
Cummins advocated the provocative idea that the Admiral set about
to fulfill the medieval ideal of freeing the Holy Sepulchre and
saw himself as the new David.  Just as David had provided the
wealth for Solomon to build the original temple on Mt. Zion,
Columbus would provide the gold for the Spanish monarchs to
recapture the sacred site and usher in the apocalypse: "In his
mind, the whole 'empresa de Indias' was only a memo to that
predestined end: the New World was to redeem the Old City."(26)
     The scholarly work by Phelan and Cummins legitimized
Columbus' eschatological ideas, but they have been received by a
mixed audience.  Mario Gongora, for example, incorporated
Phelan's conclusions into his history of colonial Spanish America
as did Luis Weckmann in his study of medieval influences upon
Mexico.(27)
     Paolo Taviani in his important and comprehensive recent
biography about Columbus utilizes the "Libro de las profecias" as
an important source and calls the Admiral a man with a "sincere
profession of religious faith" who could not remain indifferent
to divine mystery and believed that his Christian faith gave
meaning to his life,
 
     The reconquest of the Holy Sepulchre was a mission in
     which he felt privileged to participate...  It was thus
     a vital element in his personal philosophy of
     existence.  It gave him purpose, and for that purpose
     he worked, for that purpose he lived.(28)
 
     Other biographers, however, have not followed suit.  As
recently as 1985, Gianni Granzotto declared that the "Libro de
las profecias" indicates that Columbus,
 
     ...drifted ... away from reality ... because of his
     advancing age, his infirmity, and his continual
     disappointments ... turned [to] made ravings ... mild
     delirium ... came to believe that he had been chosen by
     God for his exploits ... attributed his successes to
     the divine mission for which he had been destined ...
     projected ... delusions into the future ... [by]
     compiling a Book of Prophecy.(29)
 
     The first in-depth study to focus on Columbus'
eschatological ideas was published by Alain Milhou in 1983.  This
was followed in 1985 by Pauline Moffett Watts' article on
Columbus' sources for the "Libro de las profecias."  Milhou
attempted to give exhaustive explanations of Columbus' messianic
mentality and its relationship to his apocalyptic ideas.  The
author has investigated almost every aspect of Columbus'
eschatological statements even to the point that Milhou sees the
Admiral's preoccupation with gold as symbolic Christian
iconography.  Many of Milhou's conclusions are sound and his book
now provides a foundation from which scholars may comfortably
investigate the Admiral's religious motives.(30)
     Pauline Watts has improved our understanding of the "Libro
de las profecias" by showing that Columbus' "Enterprise of the
Indies" was part of a larger scheme to restore the Holy Lands to
Christendom and that "his apocalypticism must be recognized as
inseparable from his geography and cosmology..."  She has clearly
pointed out the extensive use the Admiral made of a wide range of
ancient and medieval authors in composing the treatise.  Watts'
most important contribution is her thorough analysis of Columbus'
use of Pierre d'Ailly's opuscula, the "Imago Mundi," and Pope
Pius II's "Historia rerum ubique gestarum" in developing his
apocalyptic theories.(31)
 
Conclusion
     We have just begun to incorporate the "Libro de las
profecias" into our understanding of Columbus, fifteenth and
sixteenth century apocalypticism, and the treatise's place in the
history of ideas.  Critical translations at least into Spanish,
Italian and English need to be made so that the source is
available to a wider audience.  Columbus' knowledge and use of
the Bible, the Church Fathers, and important medieval
theologians, should be analyzed.  The "Libro de las profecias"
demonstrates that the Admiral was much better read and familiar
with a wider range of literature than is usually assumed.
Astrology also was important to Columbus, and he refers to it
throughout his diary and letters.  The most complete account of
his knowledge on this subject is to be found in his
eschatological treatise.  Last, the "Libro de las profecias"
should be compared with and placed into the larger body of
apocalyptic literature from the late middle ages in Europe,
especially its relation to Spanish and Spanish American
eschatology.
     The "Libro de las profecias" is an important treatise which
gives us insight into the mind of Christopher Columbus.  It is
not the ravings of a psychotic or reflective of an old man's
senility.  It is a standard and rather ordinary apocalyptic text
which displays some urgency for action but no hint for
revolution.  there is nothing radical in the treatise, and in
face, the Admiral limits himself to exploring the meaning of his
discoveries without predicting any forthcoming cataclysmic
events.
     Columbus had an unshakable sense of calling which for him
translated into prophetic destiny.  Prophecy was the bridge
between cosmological theory and fifteenth century science and
God's plan for the world. The secret of the Sea of Darkness to
the Admiral had not been penetrated because God wanted it hidden
until He was ready.  Columbus firmly believed that God had
selected him to uncover its mystery and to reveal new lands to
gain for Christ.  Christoferrens, the Christ Bearer, believed
that God had given him a special spiritual intelligence to
understand the mysteries of prophetic Scripture relating to
unknown regions of the earth and then he set out to accumulate
the intellectual abilities necessary to achieve his mission.
Thus, faith and reason became wedded in his mind and created an
unshakable resolve to reach his goal.
 
 
Notes
     1. C.J. Caufman, "Faith and Fraternity: The History of the
Knights of Columbus, 1882-1982" (New York, 1982), p. 81.  By
1899, the ceremony for members of the fourth degree included a
long discourse on the theme of Columbus' prophetic name which
translated as "Christ-Bearer Dove and symbolized the baptism of
the New World," p. 139.  Thomas Cummings, Writing in "Donahoe's
Magazine," xxxiii (November 1895), p. 1243, stated that Columbus
inspired the Knights of Columbus because he was "a prophet and
seer, an instrument of Divine Providence, a mystic of the very
highest order..."
     2. A. Roselly de Lorgues, "Histoire posthume de Christopher
Colomb, per le c(te) Roselly de Lorgues" (Paris, 1885), p. 381.
Despite widespread support, the effort toward canonization
failed.
     3. "Raccolta di documenti e studi pubblicati della R.
Commissione Colombiana per quarto centenario dalla scoperta
dell'America" (Scritti di Christofono Colombo, ed., C. de Lollis,
Roma, 1894) II, pt. 1, "Libro de las profecias," pp. 76-106.  It
is described briefly in Consuelo Varela, "Cristobal Colon: Textos
y documentos completos Relaciones de viages, cartas y memoriales"
(Alianza Universidad, Madrid, 1982), pp. 262-266.  The actual
incipit (Biblioteca Colombina, Seville, No. 2091, Registro de
Hernando Colon) reads: "Liber seu manipulus de actoritatibus,
dictis as sententlis et prophetiis circa materiam recuperande
sancte ciuitatis et montis Dei Syon ac inuentionis et
conversionis insularum Indie et omnium gentium atque nationum ad
reges nostros Hispanos."
     4. "Raccolta Colombiana," II, pt. 1, "Relazione del quarto
viaggio," Letter to king and queen dated 7 July 1592, p. 192.
     5. "Libro de las profecias," p. 79.
     6. Ibid., p. 79.  "And with this fire, I came to your
Highnesses."  He is speaking here of Divine inspiration using the
word "fire" in its typical medieval symbol for the Holy Spirit as
derived from the fire which came down at Pentecost.
     7. C. Varela, "Christobal Colon," p. 305, for the date of
Columbus' adoption of Xpo Ferens.
     8. Ibid., pp. 75-76 for Gorricio's attached letter.  In the
"Raccolta Colombiana," III, pt. 1, "Autografi de Cristoforo
Colombo," pp. xviii-xxii, de Lollis identifies four handwritings
in the treatise, Christopher Columbus, Bartholome Columbus,
Ferdinand Columbus and Father Gorricio.
     9. "Biblioteca Colombina.  Catalogo de sus libros impressos"
(Seville, 1888), pp. 51-52.
     10. P.F. Mulhern, "Gifts of the Holy Spirit," in "New
Catholic Encyclopedia" (New York, 1967) VII, pp. 99-100.
Spiritualis intellectus was promised in Isaish 11:1-3 and given
to the Apostles at Pentecost.  The Church Fathers saw this and
other gifts as special aids for Christians to use against evil.
St. Thomas Aquinas believed that all gifts from the Holy Spirit
were supernatural aids to enable the receiver to achieve natural
perfection.  In the later Middle Ages, spiritualis intellectus
was claimed by many individuals and groups.  The importance of
spiritualis intellectus to the Spiritual Franciscans, for
example, who greatly affected Columbus' ideas through their
influence upon the Observantine reform movement, was primary as
it validated their claims to be new spiritual men predicted by
Joachim of Fiore.  The Spiritual Franciscans believed that the
age into which the world was entering would be illuminated with a
true form of spiritualis intellectus.  See M. Reeves, "Prophecy
in the Later Middle Ages," (Oxford, 1969), p. 210.
     11. "Libro de las profecias," p. 79 and p. 82 where he
proclaims that his self-education in all fields was secondary to
the insights and knowledge given to him by the Holy Spirit.
     12. V. Milani, "The Written Language of Christopher
Columbus" (Buffalo, New York, 1973), pp. 129-132.
     13. "Libro de las profecias," p. 98.
     14. Ibid., p. 143.  He thoroughly glossed this from St.
Augustine, St. Gregory, St. John Chrysostom, and Nicholas of
Lyra.
     15. A. Bernaldez, "Historia de los Reyes Catholicos D.
Fernando y Dona Isabel" (Sociedad de bibofilos andaluces,
Sevilla, 1890) I, ser. 1, pt. 2, p. 78 clearly states that
Columbus appeared in the streets of Seville wearing the habit of
an Observantine Friar..."  His ties to the Observantine reformers
has been shown most recently by A. Milhou, see note 29.
     16. Agostino Giustiniani, "Polyglot Psalter" (Genoa, 1516),
note D.
     17. Bartolome de las Casas, "History of the Indies," trs. A.
Collard (New York, 1971), p. 35.
     18. W. Irving, "The Life and Voyages of Christopher
Columbus" (New York, 1849) II, pp. 491-492.
     19. W.H. Prescott, "Ferdinand And Isabella" (Boston, 1837)
III, pp. 243-244.  H. Harisse, "Notes on Columbus" (New York,
1866), p. 84.  A. von Humboldt, "Cosmos: A Sketch of a Physical
Description of the Universe," trs. E.C. Otte (New York, 1858),
p. 65.  J. Winsor, "Christopher Columbus and How He Imparted the
Spirit of Discovery" (New York, 1891), p. 504.  F. Young,
"Christopher Columbus and the New World of His Discoveries"
(London, 1906), p. 146.  Similar wording of Columbus' condition
can be found in many late nineteenth and early twentieth century
writers.  Three more prominent writers will serve as examples: J.
Wassermann, "Christoph Columbus, der Don Quichote des Ozeans"
(Berlin, 1926), p. 206 "...die ihn moglich machte, und der wie
die meisten Elaborate des Verfassers den Beveis liefert, dass
sein Bildungsniveau selbst fur das Zeitalter auffallend miedrig
war.  Spanisch Finsternis."  M Andre, "La Veridique Aventure de
Christophe Colomb" (Paris, 1927), p. 259 calls him "quite mad"
and a "possessed and hallucinated being."  And in the famous
volumes by J. Thacher, "Christopher Columbus: His Life, His Work,
His Remains" (New York, 1904) II, p. 566 "Fancy was disordering
his brain."  III, p. 461, the "Libro de las profecias" was
written when the "...aged Admiral was broken in mind and body..."
     20. A Bernardini-Sjcestedt, "Christophe Colomb" (Paris,
1961), p. 275.  J. Heers, "Christopher Colomb" (Bienne, 1981),
p. 579.  F. Ximenez de Sandoval, "Cristobal Colon: evocacion del
Almirante de la mar Oceana" (Madrid, 1968), pp. 277-279.  Ramon
Iglesias, however, seems to have misread the "Libro de las
profecias" when he interpreted it only in light of Columbus'
building a new argument to convince the court to restore his
titles and privileges.  Iglesias ignores the consistency of
eschatological remarks made by Columbus in his earlier writings.
See R. Iglesias, "The Man Columbus," in "Columbus, Cortes, and
Other Essays" ed. L. Simpson (Berkely and Los Angeles, 1969),
pp. 31-32.  A reprint of Iglesia's original article published in
1920.
     21. C. Jane, "The Voyages of Christopher Columbus" (New
York, 1970), p. 27.  S.E. Morison, "Admiral of the Ocean Sea: A
Life of Christopher Columbus" (Boston, 1942), pp. 577-578.  A.
Ballesteros y Beretta, "Cristobal Colon y il discubrimiento de
America" (Barcelona, 1945) II, p. 692.
     22. W. Gillett and C. Gillett, "The Religious Motives of
Chrsitopher Columbus," "Papers of the American Society of Church
History," IV (1892), pp. 14, 18-19.
     23. F. Steck, "Christopher Columbus and the Franciscans,"
"The Americas," III, no. 3 (1947), p. 337.
     24. M. Bataillon, "Evangelisme et Millenarisme au Nouveau
Monde," "Courants religieux et humanisme a la fin de xv(e) et au
debut de xvi(e) siecle" (Colloque de Strasbourg, May 9-11, 1957),
pp. 25-36.  J. Phelan, "The Millennial Kingdom of the Franciscans
in the New World" (Berkeley and Los Angeles, 1970), p. 23.
     25. Ibid., p. 21.
     26. J.S. Cummins, "Christopher Columbus: Crusader, Visionary
and Servus Dei," "Medieval Hispanic Studies Presented to Rita
Hamilton" ed. A.D. Deyermond (London, 1976), p. 45.
     27. M. Gongora, "Studies in the Colonial History of Spanish
America," trs. R. Southern (London, 1975), pp. 206-209.  L.
Weckmann, "La herencia medieval de Mexico" (El Colegio de Mexico,
1984) I, pp. 263-265.
     28. P. Taviani, "Christopher Columbus: The Grand Design"
(London, 1985), p. 113.
     29. G. Granzotto, "Christopher Columbus," trs. S. Sarterelli
(New York, 1985), p. 246.
     30. A. Milhou, "Colon y su mentalidad mesianica en el
ambiente franciscanista Espanol" (Cuadernos Colombinos, XI,
Valladolid, 1983).
     31. P. Watts, "Prophecy and Discovery: On the Spiritual
Origins of Christopher Columbus's 'Enterprise of the Indies',"
"American Historical Review" 90, no. 1 (1985), p. 74.
 
Reprint permission granted by author.