A New Sense of the Past: The Scholarship of Biondo Flavio (1392–1463)

Reappraisal of the pioneering humanist scholar Biondo Flavio
During his lifetime the historian and antiquarian Biondo Flavio (1392– 1463) struggled to obtain recognition as a major contributor to the humanistic movement of the fifteenth century. Throughout the Renaissance, fellow Italian scholars far too often condemned rather than endorsed his scholarly works. His troublesome career and mixed reputation among his peers stand in stark contrast with the highly innovative character of his learning, which proved to be ground-breaking for the further development of various strands of historical and antiquarian research in the Early Modern Age. The authors of this volume aim to contribute to a reappraisal of this pioneering humanist scholar by a fresh assessment of his major writings in the fields of historical linguistics, historiography, Roman topography, and historical geography.

Contributors
Angelo Mazzocco (Mount Holyoke College), Marc Laureys (Universität Bonn), Giuseppe Marcellino (Scuola Normale Superiore di Pisa), Fulvio Delle Donne (Università della Basilicata), Fabio Della Schiava (Universität Bonn), Paolo Pontari (Università di Pisa), Catherine Castner (University of South Carolina), Jeffrey White (St. Bonaventure University), Frances Muecke (University of Sydney)

CONSPECTUS RERUM

— Acknowledgements

— Angelo MAZZOCCO, Introduction

— Giuseppe MARCELLINO, Biondo Flavio e le origini del volgare: un riesame della questione (De verbis §§ 108-111)

— Fulvio DELLE DONNE, Le fasi redazionali e le concezioni della storia nelle Decadi di Biondo: tra storia particolare e generale, tra antica e moderna Roma

— Angelo MAZZOCCO, Humanistic Historiography in Venice: The Case of Biondo Flavio and Pietro Bembo

— Fabio DELLA SCHIAVA, Per l'edizione nazionale della Roma instaurata di Biondo Flavio: indagini preliminari

— Marc LAUREYS, Johannes Hinderbach's Notes on Biondo Flavio's Roma instaurata

— Paolo PONTARI, 'Nedum mille qui effluxerunt annorum gesta sciamus'. L'Italia di Biondo e l''invenzione' del Medioevo

— Catherine J. CASTNER, The Fortuna of Biondo Flavio's Italia Illustrata

— Jeffrey A. WHITE, Biondo Flavio as Henry James's Dencombe (?): Revising the Italia Illustrata

— Frances MUECKE, 'Fama superstes'? Soundings in the Reception of Biondo Flavio's Roma triumphans

— Bibliography

— Contributors

— Index codicum manuscriptorum

— Index nominum

Format: Edited volume - ebook - PDF

ISBN: 9789461661913

Publication: May 31, 2016

Series: Supplementa Humanistica Lovaniensia 39

Languages: English | Latin

Marc Laureys is Professor of Medieval Latin and Neo-Latin Philology as well as Founding Director of the Centre for the Classical Tradition at the University of Bonn.

[...] une référence indispensable pour qui s'intéresse à l'œuvre de Biondo Flavio et à la historiographie humaniste.
A. Schoysman, Scriptorium 2017-1

 

All in all, this is a fine volume that contributes to the revival of interest in one of Italy's more versatile and engaging Neo-Latin writers.
Craig Kallendorf, Neo-Latin News, vol.74, issues 3-4