Description

Boccaccio (Giovanni) Trattatello in laude di Dante, decorated manuscript on paper, Florence, first half of 15th century.

293 x 218 mm., II+30 leaves, complete, three regular quires, collation: 1-310, first and last leaves blanks, modern pencilled foliation in upper right corner, text block: 180 x 143 mm, single column, 34-36 lines, first line above top line, ruled throughout, catchwords in centre of lower margin of some leaves, text written in brown ink in a regular gothic mercantesca cursive, verso of first and second flyleaves in cursive in a sixteenth-century hand, containing three exorcism prayers and the Benediction of Animals, 31 four-line initials alternately of red and blue with contrasting flourish, on fol. 1r a six-line blue initial with gabled frame and ground of red and blue pen-work, repair to lower margin of fol. 2 with loss of a few letters, tear at lower margin of fol. 25, insignificant old repair in gutter of fol. 26, edges darkened, on fol. Ir inked note 'Boccaccio. Vita di Dante Alighieri (stampata più volte)', possibly in a nineteenth-century hand, and a later pencilled annotation 'Boccaccio Giovanni s. xiv', contemporary brown calf over wooden boards, diagonally ruled in blind, five brass bosses on upper and lower covers, spine with three raised bands, vellum pastedowns, upper cover stained, some rubbing and worming, upper joint split at foot, lacking clasps, modern black morocco box, folio

Provenance: Giannalisa Feltrinelli (1903-1981; ex-libris on front pastedown; Christie's, The Giannalisa Feltrinelli Library. Part II. Italian Renaissance Manuscripts and Autograph Letters, London, 3 December 1997, lot 139).

Texts:

fols. 2r-29r: Giovanni Boccaccio, Vita di Dante [Trattatello in laude di Dante];

inc.: Solone il chui petto uno humano tempio

expl.: benedicendo inn etterno il suo nome e 'l suo valore

fols. iv-iiv: three exorcism prayers and the 'Benediction of animals'.

A very fine manuscript, in its original binding, containing the first full-length biography of Dante, the first biographical treatment of any 'modern' author, an innovative work written in the vernacular that had a lasting influence on the genre of the literary vita. In his biography Boccaccio combines motifs from both classical and medieval traditions, following the model of the Vitae Vergili circulating in the Middle Ages, and in particular those by Donatus and Servius, as a way of identifying Dante as the new Virgil. He describes Dante's ancestry, his studies, the relationships with Beatrice and Gemma Donati, his political career, exile and death, concluding with an invective against the ungrateful city of Florence. Boccaccio's physiognomical description of Dante's appearance is famous. The chronology of the biographical information which he gives is somewhat uncertain, and there are numerous legendary details. Yet the work is in effect a 'verbal monument' raised in homage to Dante, who was responsible in Boccaccio's opinion for the rebirth of poetry in Italy; at the same time the text can be seen as a political attack on Florence for having sent this outstanding native into exile. The composition of the work seems to have been stimulated by Boccaccio's first meeting with Petrarch when the latter visited Florence in 1350. In March 1351 Boccaccio in his turn paid Petrarch a visit in Padua, where the two writers discussed the value of Dante's work. Having learned that Petrarch did not possess a copy of the Commedia, Boccaccio sent him, between 1351 and 1353, the work (today in the Vatican Library, ms Vat. Lat. 3199). These are the circumstances in which Boccaccio planned to write a biography of Dante in the vernacular, recounting the life of the supreme Florentine poet.

Of the work three different redactions are known, dated 1351-1355, early 1360s, and early 1370s. This manuscript belongs to the group containing the first and longer redaction, derived from the original autograph preserved in the Biblioteca Capitolar in Toledo (ms Zelada 104.6). Of this first version about fifty manuscripts are recorded, the majority of which were copied in Florence over the course of the fifteenth century.

Literature: Boccaccio editore e interprete di Dante. Atti del Convegno internazionale di Roma 28-30 ottobre 2013. Roma 2014; Dentro l'officina di Boccaccio. Studi sugli autografi in volgare e su Boccaccio dantista. Ed. by S. Bertelli and D. Cappi. Città del Vaticano 2014.

Lot 119

Boccaccio (Giovanni) Trattatello in laude di Dante, decorated manuscript on paper, Florence, first half of 15th century.  

Estimate: £30,000 - 40,000

Description

Boccaccio (Giovanni) Trattatello in laude di Dante, decorated manuscript on paper, Florence, first half of 15th century.

293 x 218 mm., II+30 leaves, complete, three regular quires, collation: 1-310, first and last leaves blanks, modern pencilled foliation in upper right corner, text block: 180 x 143 mm, single column, 34-36 lines, first line above top line, ruled throughout, catchwords in centre of lower margin of some leaves, text written in brown ink in a regular gothic mercantesca cursive, verso of first and second flyleaves in cursive in a sixteenth-century hand, containing three exorcism prayers and the Benediction of Animals, 31 four-line initials alternately of red and blue with contrasting flourish, on fol. 1r a six-line blue initial with gabled frame and ground of red and blue pen-work, repair to lower margin of fol. 2 with loss of a few letters, tear at lower margin of fol. 25, insignificant old repair in gutter of fol. 26, edges darkened, on fol. Ir inked note 'Boccaccio. Vita di Dante Alighieri (stampata più volte)', possibly in a nineteenth-century hand, and a later pencilled annotation 'Boccaccio Giovanni s. xiv', contemporary brown calf over wooden boards, diagonally ruled in blind, five brass bosses on upper and lower covers, spine with three raised bands, vellum pastedowns, upper cover stained, some rubbing and worming, upper joint split at foot, lacking clasps, modern black morocco box, folio

Provenance: Giannalisa Feltrinelli (1903-1981; ex-libris on front pastedown; Christie's, The Giannalisa Feltrinelli Library. Part II. Italian Renaissance Manuscripts and Autograph Letters, London, 3 December 1997, lot 139).

Texts:

fols. 2r-29r: Giovanni Boccaccio, Vita di Dante [Trattatello in laude di Dante];

inc.: Solone il chui petto uno humano tempio

expl.: benedicendo inn etterno il suo nome e 'l suo valore

fols. iv-iiv: three exorcism prayers and the 'Benediction of animals'.

A very fine manuscript, in its original binding, containing the first full-length biography of Dante, the first biographical treatment of any 'modern' author, an innovative work written in the vernacular that had a lasting influence on the genre of the literary vita. In his biography Boccaccio combines motifs from both classical and medieval traditions, following the model of the Vitae Vergili circulating in the Middle Ages, and in particular those by Donatus and Servius, as a way of identifying Dante as the new Virgil. He describes Dante's ancestry, his studies, the relationships with Beatrice and Gemma Donati, his political career, exile and death, concluding with an invective against the ungrateful city of Florence. Boccaccio's physiognomical description of Dante's appearance is famous. The chronology of the biographical information which he gives is somewhat uncertain, and there are numerous legendary details. Yet the work is in effect a 'verbal monument' raised in homage to Dante, who was responsible in Boccaccio's opinion for the rebirth of poetry in Italy; at the same time the text can be seen as a political attack on Florence for having sent this outstanding native into exile. The composition of the work seems to have been stimulated by Boccaccio's first meeting with Petrarch when the latter visited Florence in 1350. In March 1351 Boccaccio in his turn paid Petrarch a visit in Padua, where the two writers discussed the value of Dante's work. Having learned that Petrarch did not possess a copy of the Commedia, Boccaccio sent him, between 1351 and 1353, the work (today in the Vatican Library, ms Vat. Lat. 3199). These are the circumstances in which Boccaccio planned to write a biography of Dante in the vernacular, recounting the life of the supreme Florentine poet.

Of the work three different redactions are known, dated 1351-1355, early 1360s, and early 1370s. This manuscript belongs to the group containing the first and longer redaction, derived from the original autograph preserved in the Biblioteca Capitolar in Toledo (ms Zelada 104.6). Of this first version about fifty manuscripts are recorded, the majority of which were copied in Florence over the course of the fifteenth century.

Literature: Boccaccio editore e interprete di Dante. Atti del Convegno internazionale di Roma 28-30 ottobre 2013. Roma 2014; Dentro l'officina di Boccaccio. Studi sugli autografi in volgare e su Boccaccio dantista. Ed. by S. Bertelli and D. Cappi. Città del Vaticano 2014.

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