Alain of Lisle
An Encyclopaedia of Occultism (1920)
It has been said by some writers that there were two men to whom was given the name of Alanus Insulensis, one of whom was Bernardine, Bishop of Auxerre, and author of a Commentary on the Prophecies of Merlin ; the other, that Universal Doctor.' whose brilliant career at the Paris University was followed by his withdrawal to a cloister, where he devoted himself entirely to the study of philosophy. Others again maintain that the Bishop of Auxerre and the " Universal Doctor were one and the same. Even the date when they lived is very uncertain, being variously placed in the twelfth and thirteenth centhirteenth centuries. In the year 1600 a treatise on alchemy, entitled Dicta de Lapide Philosophico was published at Leyden, bearing on its title-page the name of Alanus Insulensis. It was thus ascribed to Bernardine, to the "Universal Doctor," and, by still others, to a German named Alanus. Supposing the two first-mentioned to be separate and distinct persons, we have nevertheless no proof that either was interested in alchemy ; and as for the third, there is no proof that he existed at all. On the other hand, we know that it was customary at that time to ascribe works of a very inferior nature to illustrious persons who had died, and were thus unable to deny them. The Dicta de Lapide Philosophico, a work of no great alchemistical value, on account of its vague and indefinite nature, may be, and probably is, a spurious work, wrongly ascribed to Alain. Alamut A mountain in Persia. (See Assassins .)
What Has Changed in the Last Century
When the Encyclopaedia of Occultism wrote this in 1920 it could not say whether "Alanus Insulensis" was one man or two, or even whether he belonged to the twelfth century or the thirteenth. Modern scholarship treats the matter as settled: Alan of Lille, the "Doctor Universalis," was born at Lille around 1128, taught at Paris and Montpellier, and died as a Cistercian at Cîteaux in about 1202 or 1203 — a separate man from Alan, abbot of Larivour and bishop of Auxerre, who died in 1185. He is now read chiefly as a Latin poet and theologian rather than an occult figure, on the strength of the "Anticlaudianus" and "De planctu Naturae," both available in critical editions and English translation, while the alchemical "Dicta de Lapide Philosophico" is still rejected as spurious — exactly as this entry suspected.
Written for this edition, 2026.