Biography

Hervaeus Natalis (Variants of his surname include: de Nedellec, Nedelec, Nedelek, Noel; and of his forename: Arveus, Erveus, Herve, or Harvey) was born in Brittany probably between 1250 and 1260, and he entered the Dominicans in April of 1276. From 1302 to 1307, he was in Paris studying theology at the convent of Saint-Jacques. On June 26,1303, while a Bachelor sententiarus, he was one of numerous Dominicans at Saint-Jacques who signed the petition of Philip the Fair, seeking to convoke a council, which would judge Boniface VIII on the subject of royal versus papal jurisdiction. Also during this period, Hervaeus composed his Commentary on the Sentences of Peter the Lombard and received his licentiate in 1308. Besides his Sentences commentary, he authored other works and engaged in numerous controversies, which resulted in various polemical writings. Among these was a Defense of the Doctrine of St. Thomas, plus works directed against Duns Scotus (1266-1308), Peter Auriol (d. 1322), Henry of Ghent (1217-1293), James of Metz (fl. 12951309), Jean de Pouilly (d. c. 1321), and especially Durand of Saint Pourcain (c. 1275-1334). In 1309, Hervaeus became Provincial Superior of the Dominicans in France. In 1318, he was elected Master General of his Order, in which office he remained until his death at Narbonne on August 7, 1323. Worthy of note here is that Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274) was solemnly canonized at Avignon on July 18,1323, but Hervaeus, who as Master General had vigorously promoted his cause, was too ill to attend.