Leonardo Bruni, Petrarch — c. 1470–1480; Italian, Florence

Title

Leonardo Bruni, Petrarch — c. 1470–1480; Italian, Florence

Shelfmark

MS. Montagu d. 32

Date

c. 1470–1480

Language

Latin

Italian

Contents

Form

codex

Support

parchment

Hands

Humanistic script attributable to Bartolomeo Fonzio.

Decoration

fol. 5v Inserted Indian miniature with a young man in long tunic and headdress, holding a gold staff, with his hand over the shoulders of a young woman in long dress, cloak and veil.

fol. 7r Type initial F(rancesco) Subject Gold 4-line initial with vine-stem decoration on a multicoloured ground.

Fine historiated border. Type border, upper, left and lower margin Subject The border is formed by double gold bars and vine-stem decoration on a multicoloured ground, with an owl, peacock (?) and gold disks. At the bottom of the page two winged putti support a laurel wreath with the coat of arms of Francesco Sassetti.

3- to 4-line gold initials and borders in left and upper margins, formed by sprays of flowers, leaves, fruit and gold disks, on fols. 14r, 138r, 190r. Border on fol. 14r includes an elaborate urn.

Binding

Brown morocco with stamped gold ornament, doublé (early 19th cent. English work), with double-headed eagle displayed surrounded with the motto 'Perseverando'.

Title

Works by Petrarch

Shelfmark

MS. Montagu d. 32

Summary

Works by Petrarch:

(fol. 7) 'Francisci Petrarchae... Vita... a Leonardo Arretino composita': beg. 'Francesco Petrarcha huomo di grande ingegno': followed by a copy of a note about Laura written in Petrarch's hand in a MS. of Virgil at Pavia (fol. 12: beg. 'Laura propriis uirtutibus'), and a fragment of a Latin letter from Petrarch to Jacobus de Columna, bp. of Lombez, also about Laura (fol. 12v: beg. 'Quid ergo ais').

(fol. 14) '... Carminum liber...', the Sonetti and Canzoni; those which occur after fol. 137 Were written after Laura's death: at fol. 184v is 'Rerum uulgarium Fr. Petrarchæ fragmenta finiunt. Sumpta ex quodam exemplari descripto manu Leonardi Iustiniani ueneti..., quod ex eo libro descripserat: quem poëta ipse propria manu conscripsit': then 'Hanc Oden [quæ sequitur, inc. "Diridere ho gran uoglia"], quam frottolam uernacula lingua appellant in quodam peruetusto exemplari repperi post caeteras odas positam.' Four poems are deleted at fols. 70, 88.

(fol. 190) '... Triumphorum liber...': the Trionfo della Morte has some additional lines at the beginning (beg. 'Quanti gia nella eta'): and the poem beginning 'Nel cor' occurs as the first part of the Trionfo della Fama.

At fol. 235v are a short Latin poem beginning 'Valle locus clausa', and a list of Petrarch's works. A later index of first words to the Sonetti and Canzoni occupies fols. 236-8.

Date

written in the 15th century in Italy

Language

Latin

Italian

Physical facet

On parchment, with two illuminated borders and capitals, binding, brown morocco with stamped gold ornament, doublé (early 19th century English work), see below

Physical extent

240 Leaves

Custodial history

The volume was written for 'Franciscus Saxetti', of the Sassetti of Florence, and bears his arms on fol. 7.

'Est nunc Francisci & Filippi Joannis baptistse... Francisci de Saxettis cuius possessio primum fuit' (16th cent. ?): 'E ora di proprietà di Me Marehese Giovanni Gerini' (18th cent.). A Persian miniature of a man and woman is at fol. 5, inserted. The modern binding bears in the centre of each side a double-headed eagle displayed surrounded with the motto Perseverando. Capt. Montagu acquired the book on or before March 17, 1827, the date of a note by him on fol. 3.

Old (until about 1890) MS. Montagu no. 5.