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Another question from the frequent latin expressions in Umberto Eco's The Name of the Rose. Here a character is complaining about evil followers from Spiritus Libertatis. I saw that this could translate to "spirit of freedom", but didn't find any context for this. Does anyone know if this was a movement or group during the 14th century? The book is placed in a fictional monastery in Italy during this time.

franksands
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1 Answers1

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Yes, the Spiritus Libertatis (Free Spirit in English) was a doctrine declared to be heretical by the Catholic Church.

If you happen to be interested, there is a 1943 text in Latin about this movement: De secta Spiritus Libertatis in Umbria saec. XIV. Disquisitio et documenta by Livario Oliger, available on request here.

Vincenzo Oliva
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