Scott or Scot, Michael

An Encyclopaedia of Occultism (1920)

Scottish Astrologer and Magician ( 1175-1234). Though Michael Scott's life is wrapped in obscurity his name is rather a familiar one, various causes having brought this about. In the first place, Dante refer to him in his Inferno, speaking of him as one singularly skilled in magical arts; while he is also mentioned by Boccaccio, who hails him as among the greatest masters of necromancy. Moreover, Coleridge projected a drama dealing with Michael, whom he asserted was a much more interesting personality than Faustus; and then there is a novel about him by Allan Cunningham, while, above all, he figures in The Lay of the Last Minstrel. And Sir Walter Scott, no very careful antiquarian, identifies the astrologer with one Sir Michael Scott of Balwearie, who, along with Sir David Wemyss of Wemyss, went to bring the Maid of Norway to Scotland in 1290; but this identification is manifestly wrong, for in a poem by Vincent de Beauvais published so early as 1235, Michael is mentioned as lately deceased. Of course this does not vitiate the idea that he emanated from the family of Balwearie, whose estates were situate near Kirkcaldy, in Fife; and it is almost certain indeed, that he was a man of gentle birth, it being recorded that he studied at Oxford university, where it is improbable he would have gone had his parents not been in comparatively affluent circumstances. When his Oxonian days were over Michael proceeded to the Sorbonne at Paris, where he acquired the title of mathematicus; and from the French capital he wandered on to Bologna, in those days famous as a seat of learning. He did not tarry here for long, however, but went to Palermo; while subsequently he settled for a while at Toledo, for he was anxious to study Arabic, and that town afforded good facilities therefor. He appears to have been successful with these studies, mastering the intricacies of the Arabic tongue thoroughly; yet there was nothing to induce him to continue in Spain, and accordingly he went to Sicily, where he became attached to the court of Ferdinand II., probably in the capacity of state-astrologer. At least, he is so designated in an early manuscript copy, now in the Bodleian Library, of his book on astronomy; yet it is clear that, at some time or other, Michael had espoused holy orders. For in 1223 the Pope, Honorius III., wrote to the Archbishop of Canterbury, urging him to procure an English benefice for Scott, while it appears that in the following year the Archbishopric of Cashel in Ireland was offered to him, and that he declined this on account of his total ignorance of the Erse language. This refusal to take a post for which he was unsuited reflects great credit on him, and it is patent that he was highly esteemed at the Vatican, for in 1227 Gregory IX., successor of Honorius, made further overtures to the English primate on behalf of Michael; and, whether these proved fruitful or not, according to Roger Bacon the necromancer came to England in 1230, bringing with him the works of Aristotle-at that date virtually unknown in this country and contriving to give them a certain popularity amongst scholars. It is reasonable to suppose that Michael, having come to England, also paid a visit to his native Scotland. And, though no documentary evidence is forthcoming to support this theory, local tradition at Melrose contends that the astrologer came to that town in his old age, and that he died there and was buried somewhere in the neighbourhood. Various other places in the Borders likewise claim this distinction, and Sir Walter Scott tells that, throughout the south of Scotland, " any great work of great labour or antiquity is ascribed either to Auld Michael, Sir William Wallace, or the Devil." One popular story about the necromancer maintains that he used to ride through the air on a demon horse, and another that he was wont to sail the seas on the back of some fabulous animal; while yet a 66 Sea Phantoms further legend recounts that he went as Scottish envoy to the king of France, and that the first stamp of his black steed's horse rang the bells of Notre Dame, whereupon his most Christian majesty granted the messenger all he desired. As regards the writings of Michael, he is credited with a translation of Aristotle's De Animalibus, but the ascription is not very well founded. However, it is almost certain that he wrote Quæsto Curiosa de Natura Solis et Lunae, which is included in the Theatrum Chemicum; while he was undoubtedly author of Mensa Philosophica, published at Frankfort in 1602; and also of Liber Physiognomiæ Magistri Michaelis Scot, a book which was reprinted nearly twenty times, and was translated into various languages. Reference has already been made to a manuscript in the Bodleian Library attributed to Michael, and it behoves to add here that at Corpus Christi College, Oxford, at the Vatican and at the Sorbonne, there are further documents purporting to have been penned by the astrologer himself, to have been written at his dictation, or to have been copied out by scribes soon after the actual author's decease.