Rare Boccaccio Manuscript Found

| Mon, 08/19/2013 - 06:30
"Boccaccio reading from the Decameron to Queen Johanna of Naples" - 1849, painting by Gustave Wappers words by Carol King An academic at England鈥檚 University of Manchester has discovered an important and previously unknown manuscript by the 14th-century 禁漫天堂 writer Giovanni Boccaccio. Senior Lecturer in 禁漫天堂 Dr. Guyda Armstrong identified the uncatalogued manuscript by Boccaccio in the university鈥檚 John Rylands Library. An author and poet, Boccaccio wrote the influential works the 鈥楧ecameron鈥, 鈥極n Famous Women鈥 and 鈥楨legy of Madonna Fiammetta鈥.鈥ㄢ The uncatalogued manuscript, 鈥楧es cas des nobles hommes et femmes鈥, is a copy of a rare 1400 translation of the 鈥楧e casibus virorum illustrium鈥, made by the French humanist and courtier Laurent de Premierfait. It has been at the library since 1963 but only a few curators knew of its existence. Armstrong identified its significance and library staff helped her identify its provenance. Armstrong said: 鈥淏occaccio鈥檚 鈥楧e casibus鈥 is a collection of biographies of famous figures from history, whose title can be translated as either 鈥楾he Fates of Famous Men鈥, or 鈥楾he Fall of Famous Men鈥. It鈥檚 a book in the 鈥榤irror for princes鈥 genre, where the horrible histories of the past are used as a political guide for rulers, and is notable for its critique of tyranny.鈥 鈥ㄢ De Premierfait made two versions of his translation of the 鈥楧e casibus鈥, one in 1400 and the other in 1409. Armstrong says the Rylands鈥 manuscript is a rare example of the first version, of which only a few copies exist. She wants to digitise the manuscript, so it can be shared online.