ITA I, Y ( LITE R A TU R K. ) 



173 



All have left works, on which we shall not dwell. 

 In philosophy, or rather dialectics, besides Lanfranc 

 and Anselm, were distinguished Gerardus of Cre- 

 mona, who taught at Toledo, and, among other 

 things, translated, from the Arabic into Latin, the 

 works of Avicenna and the Almagest of Ptolemy, 

 iind Johannes, the Italian, who expounded Plato and 

 Aristotle at Constantinople, and gave instruction in 

 logic. Music underwent an entire transformation 

 through Guklo of Arezzo. The medical art flourish, 

 ed in the school at Salerno, at the end of the 10th 

 century. The physicians there seem to have first 

 studied the works of the Arabians. The oldest 

 monument of the Salernian school consists ot' certain 

 dietetical rules, composed in Leonine verses, entitled 

 Medicina Salernitana, or De Conservanda Bona 

 / 'aletudine. Several physicians, both of Salerno and 

 t'le neighbourhood, were distinguished in these times 

 for their works, viz. Matthaeus Platearius, Saladinus 

 of Ascoli (the last for his compendium of aromatic 

 medicines), and several monks, whom we pass over. 

 Jurisprudence revived with the freedom of the cities, 

 and became a subject of general study. Throughout 

 Italy there were schools in which it was taught ; 

 namely, at Modena, Mantua, Padua, Pisa, Piacenza, 

 Milan, and above all at Bologna, where Irnerius, 

 who acquired for this city the appellation of learned, 

 taught and explained the Roman law, and brought 

 to light the concealed treasures of the Pandects. We 

 might mention many distinguished lawyers of this 

 period, but content ourselves with citing the famous 

 Gratian, who first digested the canon law (in his 

 Decretum sive Concordia Canonum Discordantium), 

 for the use of the tribunals, and is to be regarded as 

 the founder of the canon law. Although the. grossest 

 barbarism prevailed in every thing that related to 

 taste, there were, nevertheless, individuals who paved 

 the way to a knowledge of the ancients, by the study 

 of the Greek and Latin languages, and sought to 

 imitate their style. Among them was Papias, one 

 of the first who compiled a Latin dictionary. The 

 llth and 12th centuries exhibit many scholars, whose 

 works are destitute of elegance, but written in a clear 

 and intelligible style. Such are Arnolphus, the two 

 Landolphuses, Sire Raul, Otho Morena and his son 

 Acerbus, Godofredus Malaterra, and several writers 

 of chronicles, and authors of monastic histories, re- 

 specting whose names and works we refer the in- 

 quirer to Muratori's invaluable collection. 



Third Period. From the Peace of Constance, 1183, 

 to the End of the 13th Century. In this period, the 

 literature of Italy assumes a more pleasing aspect. 

 Hitherto all works had been written in barbarous 

 Latin, but attempts now began to be made in the 

 language (rude, indeed, as yet) of the people (lingua 

 volgare). Poetry, as usual, preceded prose. Dialec- 

 tics and philosophy were improved, and as the 

 sciences gained in solidity and extent, their mutual 

 connexion became more apparent. The crusades 

 had led to new sources of knowledge, and gave, in 

 general, a new impulse to the mind. Notwithstand- 

 ing the internal wars of Italy, letters flourished ; for 

 princes and republics vied with each other in en- 

 couraging scholars, and in founding new schools and 

 institutions of education. The emperors Frederic 1 . 

 and II. effected great improvements. The former 

 promoted the study of jurisprudence in particular, 

 and founded schools ; the latter was himself a scho- 

 lar, possessed an extensive knowledge of the lan- 

 guages, and established public schools throughout the 

 south of Italy. His court, and that of his son 

 Manfred, in Palermo, were thronged with the learned. 

 Besides some poems in Italian, he also wrote a work 

 on the natural history of birds. His learned clian- 

 cellor, Pictro delio Vigne (Petrus de Vineis), was 



animated by the same spirit, and not less familiar 

 with the science of law than with the conduct of 

 political affairs. Besides six books of letters, his 

 collection of Sicilian laws is still extant. Several of 

 the popes were profound scholars, and distinguished 

 as authors, particularly Innocent III. and IV., and 

 Urban IV. The university of Bologna, at the be- 

 ginning of the 13th century, contained 13,000 students 

 trom all countries of Europe ; and Padua, Arezzo, 

 Vicenza, Naples, &c., competed with it. The chiet 

 theologians of this period were Thomas Aquinas, the 

 Franciscan Bonaventura, and Egidio Colonna, all 

 three authors of numerous works. In philosophy, a 

 new epoch began in Italy in this period, when the 

 writings of Aristotle became known to the Italians, 

 though in a somewhat corrupt state. Thomas Aquinas 

 wrote a commentary on them by the command of the 

 pope, and translated them, partly from the Greek, 

 partly from the Arabic. Brunetto Latini produced 

 an epitome of the Ethics of Aristotle, in his Tesoro, 

 which was originally written in French, and is re- 

 markable as an encyclopajdia of the knowledge of 

 the age. Mathematics and astronomy, in connexion 

 with astrology, were cultivated. Campano, the 

 most learned geometer and astronomer of his time, 

 wrote a commentary on Euclid. After him we may 

 name Lanfranco, Leonardo of Pistoia, and Guido 

 Bonatti, the chief astrologer of the time. From this 

 period dates the invention of spectacles and of the 

 magnetic needle. The school of Salerno was the 

 central point of medical study. It had able teachers 

 in Pietro Musandino, Matteo Plateario, Mauro, &c.; 

 but there were also distinguished physicians out of 

 Snlerno, such as Ugo of Lucca, the Florentine Taddeo 

 (who wrote commentaries on the Aphorisms of Hip- 

 pocrates, and on some works of Galen), Simon of 

 Genoa (author of the Clavis Sanitatis, which may be 

 regarded as the first medical and botanical diction- 

 ary), and others. Surgery made still greater pro- 

 gress under such men as Huggieri of Parma (who 

 wrote a Practica Medicines), and his countryman and 

 contemporary Rolando (author of a Surgery, on which 

 four of the principal physicians of Salerno wrote 

 commentaries), Bruno, Teodorico, Guglielmo of 

 Saliceto, and Lanfranco, of whom we have likewise 

 treatises on surgery ; but no science was more zeal- 

 ously or successfully pursued in the 13th century 

 than jurisprudence. In Ferrara, Modena, Milan, 

 Verona, and other Lombard cities, codes were com- 

 piled, on which a Dominican, who passed for a per- 

 former of miracles, John of Vicenza, bestowed a 

 sort of consecration. The first lawyers of this time 

 were Azzo of Bologna (whose Svmmce on the institu- 

 tions and Apparatus ad Codicem have been printed), 

 Ugolino del Prete, also a Bolognese (who incorporate! 

 with the corpus juris the feudal laws, compiled by 

 Anselmus ot Orto, and the decrees of the modern 

 emperors), Accorso, a Florentine (who obtained the 

 surname of Glossator, from his having collected the 

 best glosses of his predecessors, and annexed others 

 of his own), Odofredo (author of a commentary on 

 the Codex and the digests), &c. In the canon law, 

 Gratian's collection had been hitherto held as autho- 

 rity. To this were now added the four collections of 

 Bernardo of Pavia, of Pietro Collivaccino, &c., 

 which were regarded as works of authority till Uiey 

 were supplanted by the collection made under the 

 supervision of Gregory IX., which even yet consti- 

 tutes the greater part of the canonical law. To this 

 Boniface VIII. added, in 1298, the sixth book of 

 decretals. Without dwelling on the most distin- 

 guished canonists, we pass to the principal historians, 

 most of whom wrote with simplicity and integrity : 

 Goffredo of Viterbo (a German, who wrote a chro- 

 nicle, from the creation of the world to 1168, uudrr 



