Lorenza Tromboni

In 1494 the French King Charles VIII came to Italy to claim back the reign of Naples. This military campaign had a strong cultural impact in France and in Italy; a remarkable number of works were composed before, during and after the French invasion. This article explores the intellectual production linked to the Italian campaign of Charles VIII with the aim of identifying trends and patterns in the evolution of political thought between the 15th and 16th century. The sources analyzed in this study have been selected accord- ing to a specific methodology of research: the dimension of the geographical itinerary is crucial, as well as the need to document the literary production in different languages – Latin, the vernacular languages (French, Italian), and Turkish. The different perspectives of the authors are stressed in order to highlight the seeds of a modern political awareness.

The relationship between the Florentine philosophical culture of the 15th century and the Dominican friar Girolamo Savonarola is analyzed by means of his two collections of philosophical notes, De doctrina Aristotelis and De doctrina Platonicorum. Both texts can be considered as small repertories in Latin of ancient philosophy used to enrich the sermons with themes, concepts and examples drawn from the works of Aristotle and Plato. The two philosophers are considered as representatives of the highest point that reason can reach without Christian faith: wisdom, indeed, has allowed them to understand many of the fundamental questions about man and his relationship with other living creatures.

The essay analyzes the language of selected prophetical texts from the 14 th century focused on several themes: the prophet as narrator and denuntians; the bond between history and prophecy; the interchange of certainty , expectation, emotions; prophecy as political propaganda. Starting from the definition of the prophet as denuntians by John of Rupescissa, the study involves the value of numbers in Rupescissa and Arnaldus of Villa-nova; the value of images as prophetical language in Ge-nus nequam and Ascende calve; the figure of the pastor angelicus in the Liber de Flore and political propaganda in the short prophecy called Karolus filius Karoli. Together with other texts, the Libellus de statu ecclesiae of Telesphorus of Cosenza shows the link between prophecy and history. «La Sibilla con bocca furente, parlando senza sorrisi, sen-za ornamenti e senza profumi, raggiunge con la voce mil-le anni per virtù del dio» 1. Questo frammento di Eraclito trasmesso da Plutarco nel De Pythiae oraculis descrive il modo in cui la Sibilla utilizza il linguaggio profetico: fi-gura storica di sacerdotessa, solitamente ispirata da Apol-lo, forniva responsi, pronostici e profezie per lo più in forma di enigma, messaggi che per essere compresi ave-vano bisogno di un'interpretazione. Un'interpretazione che era finalizzata alla divulgazione del messaggio stesso, dato che il contenuto, seppur sibillino, non era destinato a pochi iniziati bensì ad essere diffuso e a mantenere la sua forza comunicativa nei secoli-raggiunge con la voce mille anni-per virtù della divinità che ne era la fonte. Una longevità che si trasmetteva anche alla persona fisica della Sibilla, mai descritta come immortale ma straordina-riamente longeva, sempre per volontà del dio. Gli oracoli sibillini, stralci di una remota tradizione profetica, erano utilizzati nell'antica Roma per interpreta-re fenomeni ritenuti fuori dal comune, manifestazioni prodigiose spesso di origine naturale-come terremoti, comete, pestilenze e guerre. La storia riportata da Lattan-zio nelle Divinae institutiones narra che la Sibilla Cumana abbia venduto a Tarquinio Prisco la raccolta di vaticini, incontrando da parte del re una dura resistenza per via del prezzo che pretendeva: la prima volta la Sibilla offre nove libri al re, il quale li rifiuta provocando l'ira della sacerdo-tessa che ne brucia un terzo; Tarquinio rifiuta anche la seconda offerta da parte della Sibilla che ne distrugge un altro terzo; soltanto al terzo tentativo, la Sibilla riesce a convincere il re, che ormai può avere solo l'ultimo terzo 2. Un racconto metaforico che mostra come il messaggio sia difficile da spiegare e da ascoltare, soprattutto per chi non è disposto ad accettare la profondità dei vaticini: e se non viene recepito, il messaggio profetico svanisce, come elo-quentemente spiega l'immagine della Sibilla Cumana che brucia i libri rifiutati dal re. Nel mondo latino medievale gli oracoli sibillini hanno fatto il loro ingresso attraverso diversi canali, i più impor-tanti dei quali sono due: il primo è l'elenco delle dieci si-bille stilato da Varrone e riportato da Lattanzio, dove è narrata anche la vicenda di Tarquinio e della Sibilla Cu-mana 3. Il secondo è il De civitate Dei di Agostino d'Ippona, che nel XVIII libro ci presenta l'acrostico della Sibilla Tiburtina, da lui attribuito all'Eritrea, che predice la nascita di Cristo. Dopo il passo, Agostino cita Lattanzio e afferma che nella sua opera egli aveva inserito delle te-stimonianze sibilline ma in modo frammentario, testimo-nianze che il vescovo d'Ippona riordina dando corpo alla profezia della passione e risurrezione di Cristo; alla fine del capitolo fa anche una precisazione cronologica, e af-ferma che la Sibilla Eritrea sarebbe vissuta secondo alcuni al tempo di Romolo, testimoniando l'esigenza di colloca-re storicamente quella che sarebbe diventata una delle maggiori auctoritates profetiche di tutto il medioevo 4. Furono infatti i vaticini della Sibilla Eritrea 5 e della Tiburtina 6 ad avere maggior fortuna in epoca medievale, dove trovarono il loro posto come numi tutelari della tra-dizione profetico-politica a partire già dall'alto medioevo, anche se le versioni circolanti non erano più quelle anti-che, ma delle rielaborazioni più recenti 7. Un pantheon al quale, con l'andare dei secoli, si aggiungeranno nuovi numi, il più importante dei quali sarà Gioacchino da Fiore con i molti testi figli della tradizione nata dalle sue dottri-ne 8. Possiamo già delineare qui alcune caratteristiche tipi-che del linguaggio usato nella letteratura profetica: da un lato, la presenza costante di una serie di testi e autori che vengono citati come garanzia dell'affidabilità della profe-zia stessa; la menzione di antichi profeti-non solo biblici-e di vaticini di origine remota è indispensabile per ren-dere credibile il messaggio e contribuisce a inserire un piano di mediazione ulteriore tra Dio-fonte e comunità-destinataria del messaggio, che prima di arrivare al profe-ta del presente passa dai profeti del passato che lo porta-no, talvolta in sogno, a chi è incaricato di divulgarlo. Dall'altro, la continua rielaborazione dei testi, che vengo-no adattati al contesto storico per avere un legame effetti

The aim of this article is to investigate the relationship between political facts and written culture in Late Medieval Europe, focusing on the Italian campaign of Charles VIII of France and the intellectual production related to it. Among others, the following texts – originating outside the academic environment – are analyzed: La Ressource de la Chrestienté by André de la Vigne, the Oratio ad Carolum Magnum Gallorum regem by Marsilio Fici- no, the De bello Italico by Bernardo Rucellai, Girolamo Savonarola’s ser- mons, the Vulnera diligentis by Benedetto Luschino, and the anonymous Vaki’at-i sultan Gem.

The purpose of this article is to analyse the Libro del difenditore della pacie e tranquilità, the anonymous Italian vernacularization of Marsilius of Padua’s Defensor pacis: the translation is preserved in the sole manuscript Laurenziano Pluteo XLIV.26 and is dated to 1363. The Difenditore is strongly connected to the historical context in which it was born and can be considered as a cultural answer to the difficult political situation characterising Florence in the fourteenth century. Issues concerning
the genesis of the translation, both from a linguistic and philosophical point of view, are discussed.

The article analyses the chapter on dreams of the Specchio di vera penitenza by Iacopo Passavanti, a Dominican friar who lived in 14th century Florence, focusing on the philosophical sources employed by the preacher. This section of the Specchio is in fact peculiar, since Iacopo discusses here the value of dreams for human knowledge by means of Aristotelian concepts and doctrines, but it does not mention them explicitly. Moreover, while discussing on dreams, Iacopo lingers on the myth of the magnetic mountain following the pseudo-Aristotelian De lapidibus and the treatise On Minerals by Albert the Great. The article studies also Passavanti’s other sources concerning this passage, such as the De lapidibus by Marbodus of Rennes and the Speculum historiale by Vincent of Beauvais.

«I was already trapped in this mistake and i deeply studied those dialogues of Plato, but then, when God gave me the light, I ripped up everything I wrote about it»

In this sentence, pronounced while preaching in Florence on the book of Psalms, on 31 may 1495, Savonarola notes his early fascination with classical philosophy, notably with Platonic dialogues: the Dominican friar employs this personal memory to draw the audience’s attention to the importance of the holy Writ in regard to Christians’ life and moral conduct, stressing the misleading authority of philosophers. In this case, Savonarola refers only to Plato, but we can consider the sentence as a paradigmatic motto that clarifies his attitude towards philosophy in general. The collection of Aristotelian notes, the De doctrina aristotelis, and the twin-text devoted to Platonic philosophy, De doctrina Platonicorum, are important for understanding Girolamo Savonarola’s attitude towards philosophy.

This article describes the De doctrina Aristotelis of Girolamo Savonarola (1452–98), a collection of Latin notes concerning Aristotelian works. This recently edited text comprises a collection of passages, quotations and brief summaries from genuine and pseudo-epigraphical writings. This compilation was not intended for publication or public circulation; these personal notes were employed by the Dominican preacher in his sermons and treatises — in the plain Latin version or via a translation into the vernacular — as didactical devices or rhetorical tools. The text, together with a similar compilation of Platonic passages, the De doctrina Platonicorum, is preserved in the Conventi Soppressi, D.VIII.985 manuscript in the Biblioteca Nazionale di Firenze. After outlining the De doctrina Aristotelis, the article focuses on several passages in the sermons and treatises (from Metaphysica, Physica, De caelo and Meteora) that criticize the scientific value of astrology, which was one of the most important targets of Savonarola’s critique of contemporaneous cultural tendencies.

The essay stresses on the evolution of the image of Jerusalem in Savonarola’s preaching, since the descent in Italy of Charles VIII, King of France, focusing on the sermons on the book of Haggai and on the Compendio di rivelazioni. The Florentine political crisis, which led to the expulsion of Piero de' Medici in November 1494, was the first step of a great institutional change. The Friar increased his preaching activity and he interpreted the historical figure of the French king in eschatological sense, as the new Cyrus. The moral and political renewal of Florence represented for Savonarola the concrete manifestation of the Gerusalemme celeste.

The descent of the emperor Henry VII to Italy (1310-1313) inspires the composition of fundamental works for the history of political thought, such as the Monarchia of Dante Alighieri. The arrival of the emperor modifies the political balance of Italian cities, colliding with the struggle between Guelfs and Ghibellines, but instability is the key for the birth of a new political awareness.

Several texts in different genres bloom across a wide period, before, during and after the descent of King Charles to Italy (1494-1498). In his entourage literary men write propaganda texts to foster the idea of the king as savior and new messiah: this military campaign is portrayed as a new crusade to free the Holy Sepulchre from the ‘infidels’.

available here: https://notes.cendari.dariah.eu/cendari/ARG_Dominican_lectores_in_Florence_during_the_14th_century/notes/42/#Introduction_

This ARG aims to provide information on Dominican lectores (teachers) in the Florentine convent of Santa Maria Novella in 14th century. After a brief introduction, focused on the role of the lector (teacher), the Florentine context and contemporary historiographical sources, there is a list of the most important lectores, from Remigio de' Girolamo (1240-1319) to Leonardo Dati (1365ca-1425). In the subnotes for each lector the date of birth and death, a list of works, modern editions and manuscripts, and short bibliography will be provided.
Single authors entries come from CALMA, Compendium Auctorum latinorum Medii Aevi, with additions on vernacular works.

Defined as “the Savonarola of the 16th century” (Bainton 1940) and as “one of the fathers of scepticism” (Gotor 2013), Bernardino Ochino is undoubtedly one of the most representative historical figures of the Italian history of the reformation due to his charming and fascinating preaching, as well as his doctrines concerning the sacraments, predestination, and salvation.

INSPIrE4Children is part of the dissemination initiatives of the project INSPIrE - “Intellectuals in History. Political Process and Cultural Impacts in Medieval Europe (14th-15th c.)”, funded by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme, under the Marie Sklodowska- Curie grant agreement No 745584. The project is hosted by the University of Strasbourg, Faculty of Philosophy, CREPHAC - EA 2326

INSPIrE4Children fa parte delle iniziative di divulgazione del progetto INSPIrE - “Intellectuals in History. Political Process and Cultural Impacts in Medieval Europe (14th-15th c.)”, finanziato dal programma dell’Unione Europea Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation, Marie Sklodowska-Curie, GA 745584, ospitato presso la Facoltà di Filosofia dell’Università di Strasburgo, Francia. CREPHAC - EA 2326

INSPIrE4Children is part of the dissemination initiatives of the project INSPIrE - “Intellectuals in History. Political Process and Cultural Impacts in Medieval Europe (14th-15th c.)”, funded by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme, under the Marie Sklodowska- Curie grant agreement No 745584. The project is hosted by the University of Strasbourg, Faculty of Philosophy, CREPHAC - EA 2326

Trois conférence à l'Université de Strasbourg, Faculté de Philosophie:
13 février 2018, Didier Ottaviani (ENS-Lyon)
22 février 2018, Flavia Buzzetta (CNRS-LEM)
29 Mars 2018, Stéphane Toussaint (CNRS-LEM, ENS-Paris)

Organisées par Lorenza Tromboni (Marie Curie Fellow-Strasbourg) et Gianluca Briguglia (Strasbourg)