The figure and work of Arnau de Vilanova lasted in the Middle Ages and Early Modern Age, even though they were often deformed by the legend which soon surrounded his name and by the numerous apocrypha which were attributed to him over the centuries. How did the myth of Arnau originate and develop? Why did a mediaeval authority become so widely known in the printed works of the Early Modern Age?
Illustrations: Two depictions of Arnau de Vilanova which show the two main trends in the iconography portraying the master in both the Middle Ages and the Early Modern Age: one is as a university professor in his chair Le trésor des pauvres, Lyon, Claude Nourry, 1527 (above), and the other is with an appearance more similar to a sorcerer or alchemist, dins Isaac Bullart, Academie des sciences et des arts, contenant les vies, et les eloges historiques des hommes illustres, Amsterdam, D. Elzevier, 1682, vol. II, 65.