Arnau of Villanova, the spiritus libertatis , and the Council of Vienne

In two of his late works, the Interpretatio de visionibus and the Raonament d’Avinyó, Arnau of Villanova severely attacked the spiritus libertatis, a heterodox movement that emerged in Umbria in the early fourteenth century and remained largely confined to that region. Why would the Catalan physician, theologian, and religious reformer devote attention to this movement? This article argues that Arnau’s intervention pursued two closely related aims. First, his denunciation of the spiritus libertatis served to reinforce his broader critique of what he perceived as the profound moral corruption of the church. Secondly, by sharply distinguishing this heterodox movement from the Franciscan Spirituals, Arnau sought to deflect suspicions of doctrinal proximity at a moment when the status of the Spirituals was under intense scrutiny. Read in this context, Arnau’s attacks on the spiritus libertatis emerge as a strategic intervention in the ecclesiastical debates leading up to the Council of Vienne.