Cecco d’Ascoli (Francesco Stabili)

Cecco d’Ascoli (c. 1269–1327) was the diminutive used by the writer and poet Francesco Stabili, from the commune of Ascoli Piceno in central Italy. He was a lecturer on astrology at the University of Bologna, best known for being burnt at the stake as a relapsed heretic. He was first convicted of heresy in Bologna in 1324 by the inquisitor Lambert of Cingoli (fl. 1316–1324), who stripped him of his lectureship and forbade him to practice astrology. Cecco moved to Florence where he became the court astrologer of Duke Charles of Calabria (1298–1328), then ruler of the city. However, he was quickly caught up in the politics of the ducal court. His rivalry with Duke Charles’s chancellor, the Bishop of Aversa, led to the Inquisition’s file on him being reopened. In 1327, following an investigation by the Florentine inquisitor, Accursius, Cecco was found to have relapsed into heresy and was burnt outside the Church of Santa Croce. It is likely that Cecco earned a master of the arts degree at Bologna before being appointed to teach astrology in about 1315. Astrology was then considered an essential adjunct to the practice of medicine and physicians were expected to be competent in casting horoscopes. Material from his lectures is preserved in his Latin commentaries, including one on the Sphere of John Sacrobosco (d. c. 1250). The Commentary on the Sphere was specifically condemned to be burned in 1327 at the same time as Cecco. Cecco also composed a long poem in Italian on the nature of the universe, with a focus on astrology and magic, called l’Acerba. This was also condemned by the Inquisition at the time of his execution. The poem of 4,867 lines is in five books, the last of which was left unfinished at the time of his death. L’Acerba covers the constitution of the heavens (Book 1), virtues and vices (Book 2), the magical properties of minerals and a bestiary (Book 3), questions of natural philosophy (Book 4), and an incomplete theology (Book 5). It is widely interpreted as a criticism of the natural philosophy of Dante Alighieri. It enjoyed some popularity in the early modern period, most likely because of the notoriety of its author. During the 19th century, Cecco’s fate at the hands of the Inquisition led to a revival of his reputation as a potential “martyr of science.” Since then, it has become clear that Cecco’s interests were not “scientific” in the modern sense and most scholarly attention has consequently been focused on l’Acerba.